《Soaring the Heavens》


 Chapter 1: Boundless Secular World (1)

    Chapter 1: Boundless Secr World (1)


    ¡°Stop running! You, Miao brat, you can¡¯t run from me! I, your father, demand that you stop this instant!¡±


    Three young men, each carrying long des, ran in the same direction along the dark and strange trail thaty between the mountains. Every so often, they waved their des threateningly at the man running just ahead of them, signaling him to stop.


    Their threats were useless, since the man wouldn¡¯t even halt in his tracks. In fact, he started to quicken his pace, moving faster than before.


    The young man, wielding a butcher¡¯s knife, ignored their calls as he ran. While sprinting, he looked back and loudly yelled, ¡°Mad dogs! Can¡¯t you see what kind of ce this is? You¡¯re all f*cking nuts!¡±


    It would be crazy if he stopped. His life would be in jeopardy. A snapping sound could be heard from the ces he trod on as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him, ck patches of grass turning to flying dust in his wake.


    All around him, the grass, the trees and all the nts were colored ck.


    They weren¡¯t purposely dyed ck, nor was it a naturally organic color. They were all carbonized, which had caused them to turn ck. Nobody knew what their original state looked like a hundred thousand years ago, and neither would anyone know what would be of them a hundred thousand yearster. In this ce, it was as if time had stoppedpletely. The nts, akin to ckened, life-like statues, were shrouded and concealed within a white mist.


    This ce, simr to theherworld, was known as the Boundless Secr World. Legend has it that a hundred thousand years ago, a hundred thousand celestial troops and generals travelled far across the Heavens, giving chase to the Great Devil, with the sole intent to kill. In the midst of their pursuit, they eventually arrived at this location. Unfortunately, the Great Devil was too strong, leaving the celestial troops and generals no choice but to finallyy out the Ultimate Deathly Strike Formation. With thisst move, they altogether perished, taking the Great Devil with them.


    For the better part of a hundred thousand years, the white mist took on a perpetually treacherous and frightening shade of blood-red. This blood mist appeared menacing, seeming to devour everything in its path. Human, spirits and gods alike didn¡¯t dare to trespass this ce,and so the mist prevented any living creature from going further.


    But once every thousand years, the Ultimate Deathly Strike Formation would leave one side of its vaporous open. When the blood mist turned back to being white in color, mortals were able to go in for a glimpse of whatever mystery was urring within. However, demons and devils and all other non-human living beings were not able to enter arbitrarily, or else they would dissolve into a pool of ck water just from touching the strange dense mist. Not even the strongest cultivator could withstand the erosion of the mist. Overall, it was extremely strange and no one could figure out the reason for this phenomenon.


    However, these were the burial grounds of the Immortal Devil. It was obvious that the treasured items guarded by the Immortal Devil were also buried in the same spot. This piece of news attracted arge number of cultivators to lust after them. Not only that, the area was abundantly rich in an immortal herb called the Glorious Star, a divine healing medicine revered as a priceless treasure by many cultivators.


    Every one thousand years, cultivators began to grow restless whenever the time arrived for the Boundless Secr World to open its ¡®gates¡¯ once more. Since they weren¡¯t able to enter, the cultivators resorted to luring in mortals with promises of riches in exchange for their help in obtaining the items they sought. It didn¡¯t matter who it was, so long as they could find the Immortal Devil¡¯s treasures or the Glorious Star immortal herb, they would be epted unconditionally into their School of Immortals.


    But a certain kind of monster dwelled here. Legend has it that the monster guarded the Immortal Devil¡¯s tomb. It was bloodthirsty in nature and killed as if the lives of others were trifling matters.


    Nobody would dare risk their own lives toe here unless they were either desperate or were fugitives, since ascending to immortality would require at least a life to enjoy!


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t a desperate man, nor was he a fugitive. He was only seventeen years of age, and wasn¡¯t considered as too young or too old. It was viewed as a normal sight for the locals to get married and have children at his age.


    He had his eyes set on the Li Family¡¯s beautiful daughter, who owned a tofu store right in front of his butcher stall. And so he sent a matchmaker over to propose. Once Old Li, the tofu store¡¯s owner, understood what was going on, he instantly threw the matchmaker out of his house. The two families lived close by, just across the street, so why wouldn¡¯t they know each other? A butcher kid with no money and status, with two young burdens to raise, would dare to even dream of marrying his daughter?


    Even if the matchmaker¡¯s words were persuasive enough to raise the dead, it was all futile. Old Li¡¯s wife yelled angrily for quite some time out in the streets, her words impossible to avoid as she flung insults along the lines of a toad wishing to eat swan meat.


    He would have been better off not proposing. Afterwards, Old Li was constantly wary around Miao Yi, guarding against him as if he were a thief. Since then, he never once allowed his daughter, who had grown up with Miao Yi ever since infancy, to meet with him again, fearing that Miao Yi would abduct her without warning. The two families hadpletely cut off ties with each other. Indeed, neighbors always were this quick to turn against each other.


    Honestly, Miao Yi didn¡¯t even like Old Li¡¯s daughter all that much. His family¡¯s financial condition didn¡¯t exactly put him in the mood to be concerned with love affairs. He was onlyplying to society¡¯s local customs. So it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal if the marriage didn¡¯t end up happening. However, after this whole matter, he came to understand a certain truth.


    His foster parents had treated Miao Yi with kindness. Before they passed away, they left behind a son and daughter under his care. Miao Yi didn¡¯t want his siblings to wind up with the same fate as him. And as luck would have it, the Boundless Secr World had lifted its seal, and so he entered its domain with the intention of securing a better future for his siblings.


    But not long after entering, who would have thought that he¡¯d be instantly targeted by his old enemy, Huang Cheng, apanied by hisckeys. Upon sighting them, he had no choice but to make his escape without doing anything, swearing as he went.


    The dense mist lightly swirled through the surroundings. Those who came to take their chances could be seen scattered amongst the thick fog, all turning their heads to stare in shock at the four people giving chase. None of them expected such young fellows, not yet fully grown, would dare to make such a scene in this dangerous ce.


    ¡°That brat¡¯s zodiac must be a dog! He can really run! Boss, I can¡¯t keep up any longer. Let¡¯s rest!¡±


    Zhao Xingwu, second of the Zhao brothers, panted to catch his breath.


    His older brother, Zhao Xingkui, also shouted at Huang Cheng, ¡°That¡¯s right, Boss, let¡¯s rest.¡±


    Huang Cheng, too, couldn¡¯t keep running. He gasped for air as he ced his hand on arge boulder to support himself, with the Zhao brothers resting to the side.


    Miao Yi was dead tired. Seeing that nobody was chasing him anymore, he also braced himself onto arge boulder and turned to sit down, his mouth wide-open as he breathed heavily. He pointed at the three men and shook his head. ¡°Huang Cheng, are you insane? Take a look at where you are before you go around stirring up trouble. Do you really want to die that badly?¡±


    Huang Cheng tapped his long de against the boulder twice before directing it towards Miao Yi. ¡°You should me it on yourself, trying to rise above your station. You¡¯re merely a pig butcher and yet you dream to ascend to immortality? You even dare to aspire above my Huang n? I, your father, havee here today to eliminate all future nuisances!¡±


    His father was the widely-known Huang, the Head Guard serving under the City Lord of Changfeng City. Miao Yi¡¯s home was situated in an area that fell under his jurisdiction. From a young age, both Miao Yi and himself had never seen eye to eye, with Miao Yi always gaining the upper hand. But as it was only a child¡¯s quarrel, it wouldn¡¯t look good if his father abused his authority to intimidate Miao Yi, otherwise the entire neighborhood would drown you in their spit.


    He was immediately shocked to find out Miao Yi wanted to take his chances in the Boundless Secr World. With his family background, even he was unable to suppress Miao Yi. So if Miao Yi were to be an Immortal, wouldn¡¯t that make his current situation even more terrible?


    Even if he ended up beaten to death, he couldn¡¯t allow Miao Yi to surpass him. And so he gathered two of hisckeys, with murder on his mind!


    Miao Yi kept ncing at the gleaming des held in their hands, heaving heavily as he asked, ¡°You seriously intend to kill me?¡±


    The three men gave menacing smiles. Huang Cheng looked around and spoke with a cynical air, ¡°This isn¡¯t the city, so it¡¯s not unusual for people to die out here. Who would be able to figure out the culprit?¡±


    Miao Yi was shocked. As kids, they had gotten into harmless fights, but the most they had done was badly bruise each other. It had never escted to the point of murder. After all, their city¡¯sws weren¡¯t for decorational purposes.


    ¡°You¡¯re f*cking mad! Since you braved all this way to kill me, why do you even need to be scared that I¡¯ll be immortal?¡± Miao Yi eximed in disbelief as he pointed at their surroundings.


    The clear meaning of his words was simple to understand; since they had dared to venture into this ce, they had the opportunity to find its treasures. They could present the treasures to the Immortal for themselves to have a chance to be one as well. Why did they need to be threatened by the thought of him doing so?


    ¡°Che!¡± Huang Cheng grunted in disdain as he took in his surroundings, looking resolute.


    In spite of his arrogance and ignorance of the area, he had wanted to do this. The handmaiden his father had gifted to the Immortal had gotten hold of some insider information, severely warning him not to meddle in Miao Yi¡¯s affairs. As to what she meant by ¡®affairs¡¯, she would not reveal a single word.


    It was because of this big sister¡¯s role, staying by the Immortal¡¯s side as a handmaiden, which had helped his father secure the position as Head Guard.


    ¡°Be good! Stop fooling around, hurry up and go home.¡± Miao Yi waved his hand at them, carrying his butcher knife as he stood up, turned and left.


    Huang Cheng was stunned, but in a sh became furious. That brat was treating him like a kid! He waved his de and shouted, ¡°Stop right there!¡±


    ¡°Catch me if you can. You¡¯re well aware of how dangerous it is inside, soe if you don¡¯t fear death.¡±


    Having said that, Miao Yi strode down his own path, toozy to bother himself with them anymore.


    Huang Cheng looked around him and realized they had already journeyed too deep inside. It would be dangerous if they ventured further in.


    Their initial n was to trail Miao Yi from behind and into this area, with the intention of ambushing him. But the grass in this awful ce was all carbonized. A snapping sound was heard as they walked, so they were found out by Miao Yi before they could even get close to him. As a result, they had made it this far by ident.


    ¡°Great, run then, Miao brat. If you have the guts, run as far as you can. A monk may run but the temple always remains. Anyway, you still have two little kids back home. Dealing with themter on would be the same as dealing with you.¡±


    Huang Cheng didn¡¯t dare to head in any further, so he acted like a ruffian, behaving shamelessly while throwing threats at Miao Yi.


    After saying that, Miao stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned his body around. The man was right in his words; it reminded him that if by chance he couldn¡¯t return, these bastards would definitely bully the heck out of his younger siblings.


    Seeing that the threat was effective, Zhao Xingkui, with a perverted expression, made the situation even worse as he said, ¡°That little sister of his is a beautiful girl with fair and smooth skin. If you rip all her clothes off...¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    Yet, Zhao Xingkui spoke even more perverted words, even adding some lewd actions. Miao Yi was enraged and pointed his knife towards the three, as he gnashed his teeth and said, ¡°You are all courting death!¡±


    Huang Cheng waved at Miao Yi in a yful manner and said, ¡°If you have the guts, don¡¯t run. Come to us! I¡¯ll wait for you right here. Indeed, I am here to court death. Come! Come kill me!¡±


    Miao Yi stifled his anger and stared at the three with an expressionless face. He did not charge forward to fight desperately. Instead, he tightly closed his mouth.


    Normally, he would fight them. Since he had butchered pigs from a young age, he had the strength. Things like fighting against three people at the same time wouldn¡¯t be anything new. However, this time, all three of them had des in their hands, while he himself was not exactly invincible against des and spears. If he was stabbed, that wouldn¡¯t be a joke. Giving his life to three bastards was not worth it.


    Seeing no reaction from him, the three men whistled and cheered, all the while insulting Miao Yi as a good-for-nothing, a spineless coward for thinking he could scare them.


    However, Miao Yi turned his eyes to the other adventurers that were approaching. Among the adventurers, there was a big, sturdy man with a long saber in his hand, revealing a fierce pair of eyes, akin to those of a hawk or a wolf. One nce, and one would know that this man was not a virtuous crop.


    Miao Yi¡¯s lips curled, as he coldlyughed. When they neared him, he suddenly waved his de and shouted, ¡°Hand over the immortal herb!¡±


    Huang Cheng and the other two froze for a second, thinking that Miao Yi had gone mad. Immediately, they noticed something was wrong. They realized that those people passing by them had also stopped, and were staring at them with indecipherable expressions.Those strange eyes sent a chill down the three men¡¯s hearts.


    Seeing that the three were just young, inexperienced fellows, someone moved a step forward in approach. He did not care whether it was real or fake, he intended to make sure of it for himself.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his gibberish. We don¡¯t have the immortal herb. We are just here to get even with him. We are not even here to gather the immortal herb,¡± Huang Cheng hastily exined.


    However, these words had to be more credible. Coming to this ce, one where you could lose your life, just to get even with somebody... What a joke! Did these kids think that they were all idiots?

 Chapter 2: Boundless Secular World (2)

    Chapter 2: Boundless Secr World (2)


    To make matters worse, his exnation sounded like he was trying to cover up the truth. This made them seem even more conspicuous, further raising suspicions about a possible secret motive behind the three men¡¯s intentions.


    ¡°Hand it over!¡± Miao Yi angrily snapped once more. Without warning, he lifted his butcher knife and immediately rushed out towards the three men.


    He had only dealt with killing pigs before and had never killed a man, but now he was ovee with a strong urge to murder these three people.


    Because of Huang Cheng¡¯s reminder, he knew that the moment he allowed them to leave, his brother and sister would be in danger if he didn¡¯t manage to return home from the ordeal. These three sons of b*tches dared tomit murder, what else wouldn¡¯t they do? Today, he must rid the world of these three future menaces.


    The three men panicked, turned on their heels and ran away. However, it was out of their expectations that themotion would cause many spectators to step in, thus blocking their path of escape.


    Their situation was extremely unfortunate. Not only were they chased by a Miao Yi with murderous intentions, around seven to eight people had decided to join the chase as well. Eventually, they were surrounded by the crowd in its pursuit to intercept them.


    Unable to escape using the path they had originally entered from, the trio immediately rushed out without caution. Panicking, they fled in a state of disarray while repeatedly screaming, ¡°We don¡¯t have the immortal herb!¡±


    Raising his knife while in hot pursuit, Miao Yi¡¯s face remained stone cold, a crowd of people following directly behind him.


    It wasn¡¯t long before the entire group ran astray from the safe path, without even realizing what had happened.


    Before arriving here, everyone collected a free map of the area from the Ancient City. Plotted on the map were markers indicating all the safe paths, a result from the amount of deaths that urred during thest time the Boundless Secr World had opened.


    In the end, Huang Cheng and hisckeys were eventually stopped by the group of strong men.


    ¡°What do you all want?¡± Terrified, Huang Cheng could only sputter. He raised his de and started hacking away madly, not wanting to let the men move closer to him.


    The big, sturdy man was obviously well-trained; he approached Huang Cheng in a sh, moving sideways to avoid the hacking de. He captured Huang Cheng¡¯s wrist in a one-handed grip and twisted it on the spot, causing him to cry out in pain, and dropping the de held in his hand to the ground with a loud ng.


    The Zhao brothers were also extremely anxious. With daggers, they threatened the others not toe near them. When it came down to it, maybe they had the capability to bully those of the same age, like Miao Yi, or anyone younger. But running into these strong, young men made them feel as if they were dealing with adults instead, and so subconsciously they became a little timid.


    The big, sturdy man didn¡¯t bother with Huang Cheng¡¯s exnations and was already searching his body with his hands. In the end, he couldn¡¯t find any trace of the immortal herb on him.


    He nced at the Zhao brothers and then turned his head to look at the quickly approaching Miao Yi. He pushed Huang Cheng away and was preparing to search the Zhao brothers when suddenly,the unexpected happened. Who would have expected Miao Yi to rush out at that moment, swinging his butcher knife and stabbing it straight into the stumbling Huang Cheng¡¯s chest.


    Huang Cheng¡¯s eyes widened as he stared at Miao Yi in disbelief and shock. The big, sturdy man, the Zhao brothers and all the others were also appalled by Miao Yi¡¯s actions.


    Puff£¡The fierce-looking Miao Yi hardened his heart, pulling out the knife only to thrust it back in again. He then stabbed Huang Cheng¡¯s body twice more, before raising his hand to hack at his neck with the knife.


    Fresh blood sshed out onto Miao Yi¡¯s body. Huang Cheng covered his neck with his hands, twitching as he fell to the ground, unable to mask the terror and rm in his eyes.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t have cared less, baring his teeth despite feeling terrified inside. Yet he still gripped the blood-stained knife, rushing once more towards the Zhao brothers.


    The two brothers were so frightened by this, that they decided to throw all caution to the wind, frantically waving their long des to fight their way out of their entrapment.


    Taking advantage of them being caught off-guard, Miao Yi quickly approached and plunged his knife into the back of Zhao Xingkui¡¯s waist. Removing the knife, he stabbed him a few more times, letting Zhao Xingkui fall onto a pool of his own blood.


    The vicious appearance of Miao Yi stunned the others, as they never expected this young man to be this ruthless.


    While everyone was distracted, they identally let Zhao Xingwu, who was frantically swinging his de in a desperate fight for his life, escape the circle.


    The group of people watched on emotionlessly as Miao Yi once again, raised his knife, chasing after Zhao Xingwu.


    ¡°Nice going, kid! How incredibly ruthless. Such a young age and already killing without blinking an eye!¡± The big, sturdy man chuckled. The gang of people had also quickly run after them.


    ncing behind him, Zhao Xingwu was seized by terror when he saw Miao Yi viciously hot on his trail, looking fiendish andpletely drenched in blood. It seemed that Miao Yi had no intention of letting him escape, which frightened him to the point that he madly ran for his life, crying as he screamed.


    It was unclear whether his scream had rmed something or it was because they had barged into the dangerous zone, but from mid-air a swooshing sound could be heard, as if something was flying towards their location.


    Swish! An enormous ck figure descended from the sky,nding in the middle of the few people pursuing each other all around.


    The ck figure made norge movements as itnded. It nearly collided with Miao Yi, who was in the middle of running, causing him to stumble to the ground and roll over several times.


    The seven or eight people who managed to catch up came to an immediate halt, their faces terrified as they slowly raised their head to look. It was unknown as to what they saw, but it made them gradually back away.


    As Miao Yi stood up and raised his head, he was shocked as well. A mantis?


    He took another nce before confirming his eyes weren¡¯t ying tricks on him. It really was a mantis, and a huge one at that.


    The length of the body exceeded two zhang, its entire form a shiny ck color, with sharp barbs growing on its four feet. Its forelimbs carried what looked like a pair of sickles, akin to a scythe-wielding grim reaper. It exuded the terrifyingly cold atmosphere of the underworld, and was constantly twisting itsrge head around, the indistinct green eyes flickering as if it were closely studying its prey.


    This creature was the monster described on the map, known as the Hell Mantis. No one expected they would actually get to see the real deal.


    A cold sweat broke out on Miao Yi¡¯s forehead, and his legs turned to jelly. He was standing to the right side of the Hell Mantis, not daring to be rash in his movements.


    The big, sturdy man and the others also broke into a cold sweat, since they were directly at the forefront, facing the Hell Mantis itself. They didn¡¯t dare make anyrge movements, as they continued to slowly back away from it.


    Suddenly, the two ¡®sickles¡¯ of the Hell Mantis scratched against each other in a demonic manner, popping out and withdrawing back again.


    No one clearly saw what it did, but suddenly, the two men standing beside the big, sturdy man disappeared from sight, only to find them hanging with their chests impaled. They were hooked onto the Hell Mantis¡¯s sickles, fresh blood trickling down their bodies as they screamed in pain and agony.


    ¡°We¡¯re dead no matter which way we go...¡± the big, sturdy man warned the others, immediately shouting, ¡°Everyone, split up and run!¡±


    The panic-stricken men immediately turned their heads and ran off in different directions.


    But the man who told everyone to disperse and run away, stayed behind by himself instead of escaping with the others.


    The Hell Mantis¡¯s eyes blinked as it chewed, feasting the head that it held with its sickles. Suddenly, it pped its wings and hovered above the ground, causing a gust of wind to appear, floating sand and stones into mid-air. Its mouth still chewed onto its ¡®food¡¯ as it flew, chasing towards the running men.


    Miao Yi, who at this point was already scared out of his wits, turned to look back and vaguely saw the Hell Mantis ying a game of cat and mouse. It hovered from one side to another, above the people who were in the midst of escaping, still chewing on the food it caught with its sickles.It gave people the impression that it was eating from its bowl, while keeping an eye on the pot, as if it wanted second helpings after finishing its portion. Shrill screams could be constantly heard from afar.


    When the scene of cat and mouse disappeared from his sight, Miao Yi let out a sigh of relief. He reckoned if it weren¡¯t for those people escaping and subsequently attracting the monster¡¯s attention, he would not have been able to avoid a simr fate.


    ¡°I¡¯m saved.¡± The big, sturdy man patted his chest, feeling relieved. Noticing Miao Yi hadn¡¯t moved yet, he felt it was strange. He concluded that this kid was quite smart and had actually seen through his scheme.


    However, he did not realize that Miao Yi couldn¡¯t even run because his legs had given out from terror.


    ¡°Kid, we have strayed away from the safe zone. It¡¯s not wise to stay here for a long period of time. Hurry and leave!¡±


    The big, sturdy man warned him solely out of goodwill, then turned and ran off.


    After watching the man disappear into the dense mist, Miao Yi calmed his shocked state of mind, proceeding to head back to look for Zhao Xingwu, only to discover that he had no idea where that guy had even gone to, due to the Hell Mantis¡¯ previous interruption. It was extremely foggy all around, so even if he wanted to find Zhao Xingwu, he was unable to do so anymore.


    He slightly admired Zhao Xingwu. He himself was too scared of the Hell Mantis to move, and that guy had dared to run away.


    But a depressing thought quickly formed in his mind; since Zhao Xingwu had only cared about escaping, he might not even have noticed the appearance of the Hell Mantis behind him...

 Chapter 3: Boundless Secular World (3)

    Chapter 3: Boundless Secr World (3)


    No longer dwelling on the thoughts guing his mind, he knew he¡¯d already run astray from the safe path. It really wouldn¡¯t be wise for him to stay in the area a moment longer. After Miao Yi studied his surroundings, he carefully backtracked to the safe zone, all the while eyeing the vicinity to see if there were any immortal herbs in sight.


    There was no way he¡¯d continue venturing into the danger zone to find Zhao Xingwu. He wasn¡¯t even sure whether Zhao Xingwu would be able to leave the ce alive.


    By the time he quietly, and with difficulty, found his way back to the safe zone, the sky had already started to turn dark.


    It was too dangerous for him to wander around in this ce at night. He couldn¡¯t even see the road clearly, let alone keep watch for another appearance of that unpredictable monster, which ended up vanishing as quickly as it came.


    The most important thing to consider was that he¡¯d run a long way, so he was dreadfully exhausted, which left him with no choice but to search for a ce to rest. Looking all around him, he felt his way through the darkness into the forest of stones located at the foot of the mountain.


    After barging through the stones, he discovered a small cave hidden amongst them. His heart was relieved. It was the best ce to spend the night, since it was sheltered on the outside by the surrounding forest of stones.


    But what he didn¡¯t expect was that after twisting his body in a cat-like manner to enter the cave, abruptly, arge hand immediately came out of nowhere and started strangling his neck. To save himself, Miao Yi instinctively stabbed out with his butcher knife, but the other person¡¯s own reaction was extraordinary, quickly disrupting Miao Yi¡¯s attack by locking down his wrist.


    The two men finally stood facing each other in the cave. When Miao Yi saw the other man¡¯s face clearly, his eyes flickered to signal the other person to let him go.


    The other person was in fact, the big, sturdy man from before. Never would he have expected the man to hide away in this ce too.


    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± The man was stunned, creasing his eyebrows as he slowly let go of Miao Yi. At the same time, he seized the butcher knife from Miao Yi¡¯s hand with his own. Apparently, he still didn¡¯t feel at ease with Miao Yi. This was because the sight of Miao Yi¡¯s earlier show of cruelty still freshly lingered in his mind. He was worried Miao Yi would stab him in the back.


    ¡°Cough, cough!¡± Flushing a shade of bright red, Miao Yi clutched his neck and coughed twice.


    The man swiftly covered Miao Yi¡¯s mouth, lowered his own voice and snapped, ¡°Shut up! Is the monster still out there?¡±


    As it turned out, he was hiding here because he had run into the monster again.


    Miao Yi waved his hand and waited for the other man to loosen his grip. He gasped for air, shaking his head as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t see the monster when I was on my way here.¡±


    The man poked his head out of the cave and surveyed the area. After a while, he pulled his head back to stare at Miao Yi, frowning as he said, ¡°Kid, such a young age and already so ruthless. Looking back, I still feel something¡¯s not right no matter how I think about it. You didn¡¯t look like you were stealing anything at all. Instead, you looked more like you wanted so badly to dispose of them, just to have peace of mind. Kid, tell me honestly. Did those three people really have the immortal herb on them?¡±


    Miao Yi stared at the butcher knife that had fallen into the other man¡¯s hands. After thinking about it, he decided not to hide the truth. Thus, he roughly exined the situation, but with reservations.


    ¡°Those three were really goddamn fools! I say kid, young as you are, you¡¯re not dumb at all when ites to cheating people. I say... Bah! I¡¯m not that bright either, I was also used in your ploy, and I even almost lost my life.¡± The big, sturdy manughed at himself in self-mockery.


    He looked back, ncing at the bag hung over Miao Yi¡¯s body and asked, ¡°I was too absorbed in running for my life, so I lost all the food and drinks I brought along with me. Kid, you don¡¯t mind sharing a portion with me, right?¡±


    Without another word, Miao Yi unpacked his bag, taking out the rations and water to give to the man and said, ¡°Uncle, how about we take turns resting and guarding tonight? In this awful ce, it¡¯s not safe for a person to fall into a deep sleep.¡±


    He could tell that the man was skilled in martial arts. Right from the beginning, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t have been a worthy opponent for him in a fight. He was also slightly worried that the man harbored ill intentions towards him, so he decided to let the other man understand that he still had some use for him.


    The big, sturdy man threw him a meaningful look, curling his lips into a yful, knowing smile. Without another word, he epted the food and ate while ncing outside the cave, as he mumbled, ¡°I reckon the sky outside is not that dark yet. The fog is quite bad here, so it gets dark earlier.¡±


    Just like that, as both of them ate, they fell into conversation, engaging in small talk. Apparently the big, sturdy man¡¯s name was Yan Beihong, he was originally a Military Commander of a city with a poption of one million people. He got into trouble because he stole the City Lord¡¯s concubine, implicating his entire family in the end. So in a fit of rage, he killed the City Lord and ran away.


    He¡¯d had it rough, living through the days of being hunted everywhere on a regr basis. In a state of desperation, he decided it was a safer bet to simply barge into the Boundless Secr World.


    Yan Beihong also felt it strange that a young kid like Miao Yi woulde all the way here to court death. It was important to be forthright when cooperating with others, so Miao Yi did not conceal the truth from him.


    As promised earlier on, they both took turns between resting and keeping watch during the night.


    They cooperated with each other pleasantly throughout the night, with Miao Yi thinking back on how easily his words had caused a group of people to ransack each other. He understood very well that he would be in trouble too, should he manage to pick the immortal herb for himself. So on the very next day, he took the initiative, and requested to form an alliance with Yan Beihong.


    Yan Beihong neither agreed nor rejected his request. Once the sun had risen, he threw the butcher knife back to Miao Yi, and they went off on the road together.


    After the encounter with the Hell Mantis, they learned from their past mistakes and didn¡¯t dare act rashly by running off the safe path. They wouldn¡¯t be able to narrowly escape every time. Thus, they decided to move along the safe path on the map.


    But what they saw along the way revealed that the so-called safe path didn¡¯t appear to be safe at all. Human body remains, consisting of broken legs and limbs, could be seen all along the path.


    Judging from the bloody corpses that showed traces of being chewed on or were sliced open, it was obvious that many had encountered and suffered the wrath of the Hell Mantis¡¯s ambush.


    Before their own eyes, a herd of Hell Mantises casually crawled past, and they practically shrank back behind a boulder in absolute terror.


    They gradually discovered that although the Hell Mantis was a bloodthirsty killer, it would not totally annihte its victims, and would still give them a path to survival. It was as though the more spineless and cowardly a person was, the more likely the Hell Mantis would not withhold its mercy.


    As they went further in, they were apprehensive to find the aftermath fromndslides and the diversion in course of a river. The destruction seen on the ground was in a state of such disastrous proportions it could not have been caused by a human being. It was hard to imagine the events that had transpired. Unless, the Great War of Immortals and Devil had really happened here?


    The next dreadful encounter made Miao Yi felt lucky that he and Yan Beihong had teamed up together.


    Although the immortal herb, Glorious Star, was only grown natively in the Boundless Secr World, you couldn¡¯t exactly find it growing everywhere. For a few days, they travelled further around the Boundless Secr World, and still they could not see a shadow¡¯s trace of even one immortal herb.


    The most scariest part was that after narrowly escaping the Hell Mantis¡¯s ambush, they encountered another threat, this time from their own kind.


    While fleeing for his life, Yan Beihong had lost the food he had carried on him. Miao Yi, himself, only brought ten days worth of rations, since nobody in their right mind woulde in carrying around one month¡¯s worth, so he could still survive for another ten days if he kept the rations for himself. When shared between the two of them, the rest of the food wouldn¡¯t evenst five days.


    The problem of a shortage of food was obviously apparent to others as well. The two of them found themselves surrounded by a group of five who ordered them to hand over the pathetic amount of rations that they had left.


    Yan Beihong showed no signs of fear as heughed coldly. He immediately unsheathed his broadsword and charged upfront.


    It was no wonder that he was once a Military Commander of a city popted by millions of people. He was skilled and valiant, and nearly every strike of his de was apanied with blood. He forcefully took on all five by himself, beheading the entire group.


    Wiping off the blood stains from his broadsword, Yan Beihong packed up whatever rations he could harvest from the five bodies, throwing them at Miao Yi for him to carry on his back. And so, they had two additional days of food.


    But the next day, Yan Beihong met someone even more skilled than him.

 Chapter 4: Boundless Secular World (4)

    Chapter 4: Boundless Secr World (4)


    At the foot of a mountain, the sounds of shing des and swords echoed sharply through the air. As Yan Beihong walked nearer, he quickly pulled Miao Yi along and crouched behind arge boulder. They could see more than ten people fighting with great intensity at the mountain¡¯s base. Loud piercing screams continuously resounded as they fought.


    A nt, with red stone branches and gem leaves, blossomed at the slope of the steep mountain, emitting a gentle radiance. It was obvious to see why they were fighting each other to this extent.


    Immortal herb? Miao Yi¡¯s eyes brightened as he stared at the gentle light glowing at the side of the steep slope. He was about to stretch out his finger to remind Yan Beihong, but the man silenced him, swiftly covering his mouth with his hand, signalling Miao Yi to stay quiet.


    Yan Beihong took a quick nce at the immortal herb, before focusing his attention to the crowd ughtering each other. His hand tightened on the shaft of his de, as he silently waited for the time to strike.


    Amidst the massacre was a skilled expert, who single-handedly cut down a series of ten people, all while jumping and dodging their attacks. At the end, he lifted his sword and surveyed his surroundings one more time. After ensuring there were no more opponents, he made his way towards the immortal herb growing on the steep slope.


    Right at the moment he let his guard down, Yan Beihong rushed out from his hiding spot. With his de drawn, he leapt through the air, shing furiously with his sword.


    The person¡¯s reaction was fast, he turned around and raised his sword to parry the blows with a ¡°ng¡±, and immediately engaged Yan Beihong in a vicious melee.


    Instantly, the light and shadow of the sword and de shed until they were inseparable. The man¡¯s skill was obviously above Yan Beihong¡¯s. Even after his recent fierce battle, he still had the strength to block Yan Beihong¡¯s heavy attacks. Furthermore, the speed of his attacks were much faster as well¡£


    It wasn¡¯t long until Yan Beihong was losing the battle, and in the end the man swiftly kicked the de from his hands, sending it flying.


    When the man¡¯s sword came shing down onto Yan Beihong¡¯s neck, he frantically gripped the man¡¯s wrist with both hands,as he moved his thigh to capture the man¡¯s iing kick. Their bodies were pressed against each other as he held onto the sword which had already cut through the skin of his neck. Blood flowed out of the corner of his mouth, while his eyes were filled with fury.


    Both of them were locked in a stalemate, with Yan Beihong on the verge of losing ground, when suddenly the man flung his feet out and kicked behind him.


    Bang! Miao Yi, who rushed in for an attempted sneak attack, was thrown backwards.


    But a butcher knife protruded from the man¡¯s back, blood flowing out profusely from his waist.


    The man clutched at his abdomen, roughly turning his head to re in the direction of Miao Yi, who was struggling to get up from the ground. His face was aze with anger, his eyes instantly reddening, as if he himself was a man-devouring beast.


    ¡°Die!¡¯


    With his opponent out of breath, Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t miss this opportunity before him, and with a mighty roar, he grabbed the wrist of his opponent¡¯s sword-holding hand, and elbowed him on the chest, causing him to stagger backwards.


    Using this chance, Yan Beihong snatched away his opponent¡¯s sword and leapt, and with both hands gripping the weapon, he shed at the man with all his might.


    Puff! The expert was cut in half, from the shoulder down.


    Blood sshed into the wind, the victor was decided. Yan Beihong bnced himself with his sword while gasping for air,ughing heartily as he watched Miao Yi clutch his chest, pain clearly showing on his face, a faint trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.


    The feeling of walking out alive after a life and death situation made himugh even more heartily.


    After ripping out part of his clothing to make a simple bandage for his wound, Yan Beihong picked up what was left of his opponent¡¯s food, walked up to Miao Yi, and helped him up by grabbing him by the wrist.


    After checking Miao Yi¡¯s pulse, in a sudden move, he struck Miao Yi¡¯s stomach with his palm.


    ¡°Wah...¡± Miao Yi coughed out a mouthful of blood, but felt relieved from the earlier grave difort on his chest that felt like a brewing storm of seas and rivers. His shortness of breath was gone in an instant.


    ¡°Risking your life to save me even though we¡¯re strangers, was it worth it?¡± Yan Beihong grinned, staring at the pale-faced Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi wiped away the trace of blood from his mouth and rolled his eyes at him, he had never met someone so heartless.¡°You¡¯re strong, I need you as my bodyguard,¡± he snapped at Yan Beihong.


    Yan Beihong pointed his sword at his fallen foe, and answered in a low voice, ¡°He was way better than me, wouldn¡¯t it be a safer bet for you to help him?¡±


    Miao Yi replied with an unreadable expression, ¡°The fact that he was stronger was exactly why he didn¡¯t need my help. On the other hand, I¡¯ve just saved your life!¡±


    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re a sensible person, hahaha!¡± Yan Beihong looked up into the sky and let out a maniacalugh. He pped Miao Yi on the back and continued, ¡°Come on, don¡¯t act like a sissy, it¡¯s just some minor internal injuries, you won¡¯t die from it!¡±


    With his feelings of caution towards Miao Yipletely gone, he turned back towards the steep slope and plucked the immortal herb, and the two of them marveled at its beauty.


    The immortal herb was not even half the length of a chopstick, with nine branches and a leaf on each. Faintly glowing, it was clear and beautiful, with its gold branches and jade leaves. The floating light particles around the immortal herb looked like dancing fireflies, or the stars that lit up the night sky, which was probably the nt¡¯s namesake, ¡°Glorious Star¡±.


    This was the first time the both of them hade across such a treasure. It was only after they shoved their noses closer to the herb that they detected a faint fragrance emanating from the herb, a soothing fragrance able to slip into the depth of their hearts. It was different from the scent of wildflowers that easily attracted butterflies and bees.


    ¡°This is good stuff! No wonder it¡¯s known as an immortal herb.¡± Yan Beihong sighed, and put it away after letting Miao Yi indulge in its fragrance for a few moments.


    Miao Yi stared at him with wide eyes as he wrapped a cloth around the immortal herb, and tucked it into his clothes.


    Noticing the curious nce that Miao Yi was shooting his way, Yan Beihong, who made the immortal herb his own without consulting his partner, coughed with an apologetic expression and said, ¡°Erm, this one is mine, the next one that wee across will be yours.¡±


    Miao Yi looked at the path they hade from and asked, ¡°You have obtained the immortal herb, aren¡¯t you going back?¡±


    ¡°Do you think of me as someone unloyal?¡± asked Yan Beihong as he brazenly pushed Miao Yi forward, ¡°I will continue acting as your bodyguard until you get your share, and we will go back together. But after all is said and done, do not double-cross me for my share of the immortal herb or I will not be responsible for my actions.¡±


    Miao Yi was left speechless. It was his misfortune that he could not best the other guy. If their situation was reversed, he would never have the guts to im the immortal herb as his own without Miao Yi¡¯s permission.


    Yan Beihong did not go back on his own words. From the following day onwards, he robbed every person that they came across, as if trying his best to help Miao Yi in his quest to obtain an immortal herb.


    Quoting Yan Beihong¡¯s words, ¡°Let¡¯s ascend to immortality together!¡±


    Up until now, almost everybody still looking for the immortal herbs were the ¡°poor¡± ones; they did not have the herb, and therefore it was fruitless to steal from them.


    From the very beginning, he didn¡¯t go back on his own words, yet Yan Beihong still broke his promise in the end.


    The duo reached the furthest corner of the safe zone marked on the map, and only God knew what would happen beyond that point.


    Yan Beihong and Miao Yi stood at the top of a hill, stopping at the edge of the safe zone, surrounded by fine mist.


    The concealed horizon was a mysterious realm. Yan Beihong mumbled under his breath, ¡°Brother, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to keep my promise, but I advise you to turn back. This ce only stays open for a month, and it¡¯s been half a month since then. We have no idea how long it will take back down the path, and we won¡¯t be able to return if we¡¯rete... I will do my best on our way back, perhaps we can still snag an immortal herb.¡±


    Miao Yi could understand where his thoughts were leading to, Yan Beihong had already fulfilled his loyalty by apanying him this far, but...


    ¡°Do you not hear something?¡± Miao Yi exploded with a loud ¡°Huh!¡±, while pointing towards the danger zone full of the unknown. ¡°The sound seems to being from that direction.¡±


    ¡°Sound? What sound?¡± Yan Beihong was puzzled, he turned his head left and right to catch the source of the sound, his eyebrows slowly creasing, ¡°I don¡¯t hear any sound!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± Miao Yi was puzzled,and he once again tilted his head and listened carefully.


    A flurry of ¡°ding ding dong dong¡± tones flowed into his ears, like rushing water from the mountains, the different notes sounded passionate, tender and as soft as water, together forming a perfect rhythm. It appeared to be the sound of a person strumming a qin1.


    Footnotes:


    1Qin (ÇÙ q¨ªn) - A Chinese musical instrument belonging to the zither family. A traditional term of calling it.

 Chapter 5: The Scholar (1)

    Chapter 5£ºThe Schr (1)


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes widened as he stared deep into the mist. He pointed once more and cried out in surprise, ¡°There¡¯s someone ying a qin inside!¡±


    ¡°ying a qin?¡± Yan Beihong was speechless. Seeing that Miao Yi did not seem to be lying, he hurriedly dug out his ears with a finger and calmed his heart, focused on listening to the sound.


    After several moments, he still didn¡¯t hear anything, not even the sound of someone farting much less the melody from a qin. He couldn¡¯t help but eye Miao Yi suspiciously. ¡°Little Brother, aren¡¯t you imagining things?¡±


    But Miao Yi was sure that he wasn¡¯t mistaken. He pointed excitedly towards the direction in front of him and said, ¡°Somebody is ying a qin in there, which means there¡¯s also a safe zone just ahead. Let¡¯s go take a look again. Fewer people have set foot over there, which means there¡¯s a higher chance of finding the immortal herb.¡±


    When he turned around, he noticed that Yan Beihong¡¯s expression had slowly darkened. He wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d said to trigger this reaction.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that Yan Beihong hadn¡¯t heard a sound at all. He was a man who clearly knew the difference between gratitude and grudges. This kind of man wouldn¡¯t often allow sand to enter his eyes.


    He was fine with being dragged around as a bodyguard. All Miao Yi needed to do was be blunt about it and the matter would be easily settled. But with Miao Yi¡¯s ¡®excuse¡¯, Yan Beihong felt that he was harboring evil intentions instead.


    Yan Beihong had already experienced first-hand Miao Yi¡¯s scheme in using another person¡¯s knife to kill others. And now, he had an immortal herb in his possession. If by any chance this kid was starting to harbor evil thoughts, then in all likelihood, allowing himself to be careless now would bring about its own setbacks.


    Which was why the trust he had managed to build up with Miao Yi was immediately gone in that instant. He put down his bag on the spot, took out some food to stuff in his arms, and then chucked the majority of the rations along with the bag at Miao Yi¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Since Little Brother chooses not to heed my advice, this is all I can do for now. May we meet again in the near future!¡±


    As soon as Yan Beihong finished, he turned and strode away without looking back.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of his sudden change in attitude, why did he suddenly turn against him?


    He still couldn¡¯t figure out what went wrong, even as he stared with his own eyes at Yan Beihong¡¯s retreating figure disappearing into the mist. He could only assume Yan Beihong did not wish to risk his life apanying him anymore.


    Half a month already went by and yet, he still couldn¡¯t manage to find even one immortal herb. Should he give chase to Yan Beihong, or should he continue searching? WIth Yan Beihong¡¯s skills, he would probably be safer by his side on the trip back.


    Miao Yi stood alone, hesitating for a long while at the top of the mountain. As he thought about the future of his younger brother and sister, he turned his head and looked towards the ce where the qin¡¯s melody had travelled from, whispering softly to himself, ¡°A ce that others have dared to go, how can I be afraid to go alone?¡±


    Looking up at the sky, he took a deep breath. He strengthened his determination, picked up the bag and flung it over his shoulders, and then strode downhill following the direction of the qin¡¯s melody.


    As soon as he reached the bottom of the mountain, from afar the qin¡¯s melody went into disarray, as if it were momentarily restless. But immediately after, it quickly went back to normal.


    After Miao Yi walked for a distance, he discovered that the area¡¯s terrain was abnormally even.


    He continued to follow the direction where the qin¡¯s melody came from, but even after walking at length, it still sounded like it was just ahead, as though no one would be able to get close to it. He began to feel suspicious as to whether he had heard wrongly and that it was in fact, not a qin¡¯s melody at all.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but hesitate.


    In a ce not far from him, where the dense mist swirled around the towering mountain peak, there was a tform. On the tform was a stone table, where an enormous ancient qiny, which measured up to be about one zhang long.


    The body of the old ancient qin was embossed with depictions of the sun, the moon and the stars, along with the deep blue sea and mulberry fields.


    Above the deep blue sea, rose three dragon heads, each turned back to gaze mightily at the sun, moon and stars.


    The bodies of the three dragons brazenly made up the three different colored strings strummed onto the qin, thus making the instrument exquisitely unparalleled.


    Upon moving closer, one would find that in addition to the life-like and finely sculpted dragon heads, the strings resembled four scaley and curling dragon ws. In a moment of carelessness, one could even mistakenly think that the strings had actually been transformed from a dragon turned small.


    It was easy to see that eight dragon strings were meant to be on the ancient qin, but for unknown reasons this ancient qin, which rivalled the works of god, was apparently missing five dragon strings. Only three remained.


    A tall man dressed in a in white robe, stood beside the ancient qin lying on top of the stone table. He wore a in, green cloak, all thin and worn-out, over his robes. The way he was dressed was very ordinary, and if it weren¡¯t for his hairstyle, it would be easy for people to mistake him as a poor, but cleanly dressed, schr.


    His long, clean hair was draped over his shoulders and fell down his waist, and his plump forehead gleamed brightly.


    It was a shame that the snow-colored hair touching his temples ruined the beauty of his long and glossy-ck locks.


    The silvery hair covered his temples, with each lock of hair hanging on both sides at the front of his chest. Another lock of white hair was tucked away at the back of his head and tied into a small knot, thus restricting the ck hair so that it would be draped over his back to prevent the strands from getting messy.


    Although the face of the ¡®schr¡¯ looked to be that of a mature, middle-aged man, he was so handsome to the point his looks were indescribable.


    His nose was well formed, with a hint of firmness between his eyes that also radiated a hint of softness at the same time. His nted eyes disyed a tinge of coldness in them. His firm cheeks appeared to be as tender as the rivers and mountains, with full lips that would make any beauty fall for him with just a kiss.


    It was difficult to describe the impression he gave to others, but one nce was enough to tell that he exuded both an air of righteousness and of sinister intent. Both co-existed within him, along with nobility and normalcy, with both arrogance and gentleness, and certainly withoutcking a chivalrous spirit and a tender form. When he nced back, he would unknowingly reveal a look of scrutiny at the whole world in an imposing manner.


    There was a phrase called ¡®gratifying beauty¡¯, but his form of gratifying beauty and the way it was used to a describe a woman, were different from each other.


    There existed another phrase, which was normally used to describe a woman but could also be used on him as well; above all else, he waspletely and utterly enchanting!


    This was a man of unparalleled looks within his generation, a feat difficult to find in this world!


    On the misty summit, the schr stood straight by the side of the ancient qin lying on top of the stone table, his eyes gazing far off into the distance. With one hand ced behind his back, the five fingers from his other hand lightly yed with the three strings, as light as a cloud or the breeze. The qin¡¯s melody that Miao Yi had heard earlier originated from him.


    With the mountain as a center, within a twenty-li radius there was a basin. The qin¡¯s melody he produced was akin to those soundwaves released by a bat, so anyone who trespassed would not be able to escape his ears.


    He was unable to determine whether Miao Yi was led here by the melody, because there was a chance that he hade here by mistake. However, he was able to sense Miao Yi¡¯s excessive hesitation.


    He raised the hand behind his back to his chest, gently pulling free the knotted ribbon of his cloak and untying it. Throughout this, the five fingers casually ying with the strings did not cease their movements.


    The cloak floated on its own, drifting away from his shoulders into the dense mist.


    Miao Yi, who had stopped in hesitation, became startled when he noticed that the qin¡¯s melody seemed to have moved and changed to a different direction.


    What was going on here? Miao Yi scratched his head, a little perturbed as he looked around his surroundings. Finally, he decided to put on a bold front, forcing himself to once again move in the direction the qin¡¯s melody wasing from.


    The mountaintop schr¡¯s downcast eyes flickered for a moment, as he slowly tilted his head to face towards Miao Yi¡¯s direction.


    Confirming that Miao Yi¡¯s disturbed state was influenced by the qin¡¯s melody, he appeared calm on the surface yet his emotions were seemingly affected as his hand yed faster for a few minutes, the melody starting to sound a bit hurried.


    The qin¡¯s melody kept changing directions, as though someone was literally running around with the qin. Miao Yi, attracted by the sound, quickly hastened his pace, with a strong urge to find out exactly who had the leisurely mood to y a qin at a ce like this.


    There was a chance that he himself had not noticed that the qin¡¯s melody had led him off the Z-shaped route.


    And right along the exterior of the Z-shaped route: arge number of ck mantises, each ofrge and frightening physiques, as if they were wearing armor. All were armed with sickles and barbed limbs, their feelers and hornsing into contact with each other. Some of them were mating, while some chewed and preyed upon bloody corpses with their frighteningly razor-sharp teeth.

 Chapter 6: The Scholar (2)

    Chapter 6: The Schr (2)


    This basin appeared to be the Hell Mantises¡® old nest. Pretty much a swarm of Hell Mantises of all sizes, both big and small, were all over the ce. Yet somehow the sound of the qin carried Miao Yi right past them, narrowly avoiding their group entirely.


    Obviously, if Miao Yi hadn¡¯te here due to the sound of the qin, and instead hade here by mistake, he would have been eaten by the Hell Mantises, until not even his bones were spared.


    When the qin¡¯s melody stopped, he had arrived at the side of theke shrouded by cold mist, a mountain situated by its banks. The waters of theke were calm. The qin¡¯s melody had stopped abruptly.


    The melody of the qin had indeede to an end, because the ¡®schr¡¯ had stopped ying. He stood at the edge of the cliff, the in green cloak returned to his shoulders once more.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t notice him, but the schr had already caught sight of the puzzled Miao Yi who carefully peered about at the foot of the mountain.


    The schr sped his hands behind his back, as he stared with downcast eyes at Miao Yi. He opened his mouth and calmly uttered, ¡°The unblessed will not have luck. Those who enter the Boundless Secr World will either die a violent death or return home empty-handed. They would have difficulty in getting within twenty li near the basin. Those who are not equipped with both wisdom and a valiant character, would have difficulty in getting within twenty li near the basin. Those who have been here for a period of more than half a month would anxiously head back, so what right would they have to see me? Those who trespass within twenty li of the basin, yet cannot empathise with me or is not my Fated One, their fates will not end well. One hundred thousand years have psed in a sh. Since my Fated One has arrived, why waste time? Hurry ande up to meet me!¡±


    After he finished, mist rolled in from afar. As he looked down from his position on top of the mountain peak, he could vaguely see the swarm of Hell Mantises being enveloped all around by the swiftly arriving dense mist.


    Miao Yi, who was at the bottom of the mountain, did not hear a word that was said. He was still ncing around in alertness, wondering where the qin¡¯s melody had gone to?


    When he saw there was actually a man-made stone staircase at the foot of the mountain, which seemed to lead the way up, he carried the butcher knife and moved nearer, slowly climbing up one step at a time.


    Once he stepped onto the mountain peak, he was instantly drawn in by the sight of arge stone. A flying nymph was depicted on therge stone; lithe, rxed and graceful. Although it was a statue, the sculpt was extremely life-like, as well as so poignantly beautiful a person couldn¡¯t help but look twice.


    Fate ends not when the Immortal Hero has a path to walk, a boat made of white bones sails the boundless sea of blood!


    Two vertical lines ofrge, blood-red wordings were situated at the side of the woman¡¯s carved figure, akin to a background narration. The words looked bloody and awe-inspiring, exuding an extraordinary aura, but their meaning was unknown.


    The flying nymph¡¯s appearance was very attractive, but considering his current location, Miao Yi had no interest in leisurely admiring it. He gripped the butcher knife and continued walking forward.


    After advancing several meters, Miao Yi stopped again after noticing a figure standing beside the cliff, with hands sped behind their back. Seeing this, Miao Yi held the butcher knife nervously as he asked, ¡°Were you the one ying the qin?¡±


    The schr turned slowly and looked at Miao Yi with scrutiny.


    Seeing the schr¡¯s appearance, Miao Yi was instantly shocked, his eyes widened and with mouth agape. He had never seen a man that good-looking, with an aura that reached above the clouds. The eyes that studied him were like those of an Immortal looking down from above the Nine Heavens.


    ¡°Immortal?¡± Miao Yi asked nervously.


    The schr shook his head.


    Miao Yi asked again, ¡°Demon?¡±


    The schr shook his head once more.


    Miao Yi abruptly raised his hand and smacked his forehead as heughed uncontrobly, realizing he was worrying too much for nothing. No matter if they were a god, demon, devil, ghost or a monster, they would not be able to enter the Boundless Secr World unless they were mortals. If not, the Immortals outside would have already entered by now.


    Miao Yi smiled and said, ¡°Uncle, you are so handsome.¡±


    The schr nodded with a smile, as if giving thanks for thepliment.


    Seeing that the schr had no weapons, Miao Yi felt slightly relieved and asked again, ¡°Were you the one ying the qin?¡±


    ¡°I was only drawn here by the melody of the qin,¡± the schr finally spoke. His tone was weirdly calm, as he waved his hand and pointed at an ancient qin. ¡°Only the qin is seen, but the qin yer is nowhere to be found. I wonder who was ying the qin.¡±


    ¡°Err......¡± Miao Yi turned his gaze to the tform and felt slightly speechless. If it weren¡¯t for the schr pointing it out, he really wouldn¡¯t have noticed that the gigantic thing was actually a qin. As he walked closer to see it, he immediately felt his heart stir.


    Upon approaching the instrument, he felt an unknown pressure from the qin, and even ncing at it caused his heart to palpitate. The feeling was not due to the qin¡¯s great size.


    ¡±Is this really a qin?¡± Miao Yi asked, unable to stop himself.


    The schr answered quietly, ¡°Should be.¡°


    ¡°What a gigantic qin......¡± A thought suddenly shed across Miao Yi¡¯s mind, unknown to others. Miao Yi looked left and right to check if there were other people. He suddenly spread out his arms and held the qin, grunting as he leaned on it for a while, with his face flushed red.


    The schr looked astonished as he wondered what Miao Yi was doing.


    After watching for a while, the schr understood and grinned.


    The schr hadn¡¯t guessed wrong. Miao Yi had already assumed that this qin was a treasure, because it was impossible for ordinary people to y due to its huge size. Thus, Miao Yi had the idea of taking it. There was no one else around, the schr didn¡¯t look the type that could fight and had no weapons, while he himself did. Therefore, he wanted to seize this chance to flee with this ancient qin.


    However, the thing that made Miao Yi frustrated was that even when he exerted his full strength, he couldn¡¯t move this ancient qin, not even an inch. It was as heavy as a mountain.


    As Miao Yi really couldn¡¯t move it, in the end he let go of the ancient qin and smiled awkwardly, ¡°I was only checking how heavy it is. And it really is heavy......Uncle, what¡¯s your surname?¡±


    ¡°Just call me Lao Bai.¡± The schr smiled and stared at the ancient qin as he asked, ¡°You want to take it outside?¡±


    Miao Yi said with disdain, ¡°You don¡¯t want to take it outside?¡±


    The schr answered, ¡°I too, wouldn¡¯t be able to move it.¡±


    Miao Yi tried asking again, ¡°Are you going to go back and find people to move it outside?¡±


    The schr shook his head slightly as he answered, ¡°I would suggest that you keep this ancient qin a secret, otherwise, you will only bring trouble to yourself.¡±


    Miao Yi felt dubious as he asked again, ¡°Why?¡±


    The schr smiled softly and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice how dangerous it was on your way here? If the Immortals outside knew, even if they sent men to to help you move the qin, they would definitely ask you to lead the way. Therefore, I won¡¯t mention this qin when I get out, because I don¡¯t wish to bring trouble upon myself.¡±


    Miao Yi pondered for a while. He couldn¡¯t help but admit that what the schr said made sense. Disregarding the date for when the Ultimate Formation would be sealed off, Miao Yi himself had already experienced the dangers in this ce. It was already considered lucky for him to be able to make it this far. If he was forced by the Immortals to lead the way, he might not be able to make it back alive.


    Miao Yi thought it through and realized that he could only leave this qin aside temporarily. He then stared at the schr, whose clothes looked clean and spotless and asked, ¡°You really didn¡¯t see who yed the qin just now?¡±


    ¡°If you are talking about just now, I did simply pluck it a few times.¡± The schr walked to the qin and stretched his fingers as he plucked the strings, making a bell-like melody which sounded like the flow of water.


    As the melody of the qin rang, Miao Yi quivered. In that very instant, it was as if he were a man possessed, as he stared at the trembling strings with a nk expression.


    ¡°You are so young, so why did you risk your life toe here?¡± The schr didn¡¯t even turn his head. He only stared at his own five fingers that were ying the qin, and nonchntly asked his question.


    It was as if Miao Yi were dreaming. Whatever the schr asked, he answered honestly.


    When the schr asked everything he wanted to know, he plucked the string with his index finger, making a ¡°Dong¡± sound. Miao Yi immediately woke up from his absent-minded state.


    Before he realized what was going on, the schr stretched out his hand towards Miao Yi, showing a piece of jewelry in his palm.


    It was a string of dark green beads. It seemed to be a ne, appearing simple but very pleasant to look at.


    Miao Yi eximed in shock, ¡°For me?¡±

 Chapter 7: The Scholar (3)

    Chapter 7: The Schr (3)


    The schr nodded andughed. ¡°Fate must have led us to meet, so treat it as a wee gift. Keep it as a souvenir. ¡±


    They had yet to exchange a few words, let alone the origin of each other¡¯s background, and he was already giving him gifts? Miao Yi felt the guy was a bit peculiar, but the item he gifted didn¡¯t look too bad. It might even be of value, so he epted it without hesitation.


    He proceeded to take the item into his hand, feigning generosity as he wore it around his neck, thanking the schr on the spot.


    The schr turned on his heels and set off, walking towards the edge of the cliff. Both his cloak and beautiful hair fluttered amidst the clouds and mist, giving the impression of an Immortal with an extraordinary temperament.


    He lowered his gaze, scanning from the cliff¡¯s point to halfway down the mountain. There grew five nts, each emitting a faint golden glow around them, which the cultivators revered as a divine healing medicine called the Glorious Star immortal herb. It was also one of the items that Miao Yi came here to seek.


    His back turned against Miao Yi, the schr faced the mountainside and with a mere snap of his fingers, three of the five immortal herbs instantly turned to dust by a strange, unexinable force. Only two immortal herbs remained.


    This item that was dreamt of by many, was destroyed with a mere snap of his fingers.


    He left two of the immortal herbs behind, not for any other reason than that Miao Yi had said he had two siblings. He wanted to see how Miao Yi would make his decision.


    The schr pointed towards the mountainside and without turning his head, said in a seemingly passing remark, ¡°Little Brother,e here and take a look.¡±


    Miao Yi still remained vignt in the presence of this peculiar man, never letting go of the butcher knife in his hand. He walked over, keeping his distance between them, and looked towards the direction the man pointed his finger at. His gaze stilled at once as he cried out involuntarily, ¡°Immortal herb! It¡¯s the immortal herb!¡± And there were even two of them.


    But he soon quickly caught on that something was amiss so he turned to stare at the schr, asking, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you gather them? Did you note here because of these treasures?¡±


    ¡°Clothes can easily get dirty if you climb up and down.¡±


    The schr gave a reason which Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry at, turned on his heels and walked off.


    Mouth agape, Miao Yi was speechless. He watched the receding figure of the schr smugly strolling away, and finally understood why the man was clean. Coming to this ce where the nts were carbonized and where every slow step taken can easily get a person smeared in ck, the man could still manage to be untainted by even a speck of dust. He must have a strong obsession with cleanliness.


    Yet Miao Yi still felt heavily dubious about it, if the man was scared of getting dirty then why did he still venture here? Was there some kind of ruse at y?


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Miao Yi gave chase till he reached the side of the stairs and watched the schr retreat swiftly down the mountain. He yelled, ¡°Why don¡¯t we go together?¡±


    ¡°Fate ends not when the Immortal Hero has a path to walk, a boat made of white bones sails the boundless sea of blood! Little Brother, till we meet again.¡±


    The schr¡¯s voice resounded from afar.


    Miao Yi subconsciously nced back at the words on therge stone behind him, and turned to gaze at the bottom of the mountain again, realizing that the schr had already disappeared into the mist.


    Currently, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about anything else. Who cared if the man was scheming or not, he would think about itter because right now, he needed to gather the two immortal herbs first.


    Turning to run towards the side of the cliff, he strapped the butcher knife to his waist and used all four limbs to slowly and carefully climb down.


    The mountain was not extremely steep, leading Miao Yi to sessfully feel his way towards the immortal herbs. His eyes gleamed as his heart pounded in excitement.


    During his travels, he had witnessed with his own eyes many men fighting life and death struggles for this item. It was unclear as to how many men had lost their lives to fight for just one immortal herb alone, and now he had found two of them in short order. It was hard for him to contain his excitement.


    He had seen the immortal herb Yan Beihong had snagged before, but it wasn¡¯t as big as the two immortal herbs he was seeing in front of him now.


    WIth his body pressed against the cliff, Miao Yi was not in the mood to admire the two immortal herbs he had just gathered. The schr had left him anxious and slightly worried about the generosity he had shown him earlier. He then quickly tore off a cloth and wrapped the immortal herbs inside it, hiding it in his clothes.


    After ensuring that the immortal herbs were safely tucked away, he proceeded to climb up for a short distance before he suddenly felt the wind rise and clouds beginning to gather at his side.


    Windy? As he turned his head to look, what he saw almost scared the living daylights out of him.


    A Hell Mantis as long as two zhang was suspended in the air behind him, pping its wings. Green eyes on a three horned head locked onto him, and its razor sharp mouth was chewing incessantly.


    I¡¯m finished! Miao Yi lowered his head and cast a look at theke at the bottom of the mountain. He was going to die no matter which way he went, so he might as well give onest shot. Hardening his heart, he loosened his grip on the cliff, immediately jumping down into theke below.


    Just as he was about to fall and crash onto the surface of theke, he felt his body suddenlye to a halt mid-air before ascending once more.


    Miao Yi went mad. His finger was already able to touch theke¡¯s surface. He struggled in his efforts to reach his hand out towards the water, desperately hoping to dive into theke. But in the end it was all futile, as his body was swiftly dragged away from the surface just within his arm¡¯s reach.


    Who would have thought that the Hell Mantis would save Miao Yi from drowning himself in theke? Sharp barbs covered its four limbs, and they wrapped around Miao Yi as it swiftly swept past the surface of theke into the far-off distance.


    He had finally managed to gather the immortal herbs after great difficulty, but who knew he would fall once again into a Hell Mantis¡¯s grasp.


    Miao Yi felt close to tears. Pulling out the butcher knife strapped to his waist, he aggressively shed twice at the limbs holding onto him, hoping that the Hell Mantis would loosen its grip, and eventually drop him into theke below.


    Two ngs sounded out, and to his surprise, the ces where his butcher knife had shed unexpectedly produced sparks, as though he was hacking at metal. However, he still didn¡¯t manage to leave any trace of a mark on it. Instead, it caused the Hell Mantis, who was flying at a fast speed, to lower its head and gaze at its abdomen.


    Getting stared at by those horrific green eyes, Miao Yi¡¯s expression went rigid, his raised butcher knife frozen still. He didn¡¯t dare to simply sh around furiously anymore, in fear of being strangled to death.


    The Hell Mantis suddenly hastened its speed, flying past clouds and through the mist. Strong gusts of wind hit Miao Yi¡¯s face upfront till he couldn¡¯t even open his eyes, his body quaking from coldness.


    He wasn¡¯t sure how long they flew. After sensing that their speed had slowed down, he opened his eyes only to discover that the Hell Mantis was swooping down to a lower altitude in a sudden movement.


    Seeing that he was about to crash into the ground, Miao Yi felt his heart dragged to his throat.


    All of a sudden, the Hell Mantis turned over in the air, negating the force of the fall, and at the same time, its four limbs loosened its grip on Miao Yi.


    ¡°Ah....cough....¡±


    After falling t on his face onto the ground, Miao Yi struggled to get back up on his feet, spitting out a couple mouthfuls of mud. His movements were swift as he instinctively flipped over to see what the Hell Mantis wanted to do with him.


    ¡°....¡± In the end, he didn¡¯t get to see anything because the Hell Mantis had disappearedpletely, leaving no trace behind. He had no clue as to where the Hell Mantis had gone to. And the most unbelievable thing was...


    Miao Yi widened his eyes as he looked straight ahead. He moved his cold, numbed limbs, and then staggered out of the boundless mist.


    Before his eyes, a jostling crowd of onlookers stared straight at him from outside.


    Behind the crowd was the familiar Ancient City. When the Boundless Secr World lifted its seal, he had set off from here.


    Abruptly turning his head to look behind him, he was greeted with the boundless mist.


    He rubbed his eyes hard, even doing a double take, thinking this was all in his imagination. After a number of confirmations ensuring that he wasn¡¯t seeing things, it finally hit him that he had juste out of the ce. He had actuallye out? The Hell Mantis had actually unintentionally sent him out?


    ¡°Eldest Zhang, is that you?¡±


    A woman with a scarf wrapped around her head kept her gaze on the horrible looking Miao Yi, seemingly afraid to confirm whether it was really him.


    Another reason she didn¡¯t dare confirm his identity was because all the nts in the Boundless Secr World had been carbonized, turning them ck in color. Those who entered all reappeared as if they had juste out from a coal mine. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the butcher knife strapped to Miao Yi¡¯s waist looked familiar in her eyes, the woman would not have bothered to open her mouth to ask.


    As to why she had called Miao Yi, Eldest Zhang, it was because Miao Yi had a younger brother and sister. His brother¡¯s name was called Zheng Fengbao, who was fourteen years old, while his sister was only twelve years of age, called Lu Xuexin.

 Chapter 8: Younger Siblings

    Chapter 8: Younger Siblings


    When Miao Yi was eight years old, his house caught on fire. He became an orphan, and was almost sent to the Manor of Merciful Hope.


    The Manor of Merciful Hope was a charitable ce that aimed to provide support for widows and the needy who did not have the ability to survive by themselves.


    This was a world that waspletely led by cultivators; the strong had their statues ced in every home, so that themon folk could worship them like gods. Everyday they had to face these shrines and pray for six hours, devoting their power of will to them.


    Those who were sent to the Manor of Merciful Hope would also spend most of their time in the same way, except when they needed to eat, drink, urinate, defecate, and sleep. They were no different than the pigs in the farm, living an inhumane life.


    Luckily his neighbor - Lu Xuexin, and her parents, happened to live on the same street, and they adopted Miao Yi just in time. Otherwise, he would have to be sent to the Manor of Merciful Hope, as all orphans below the age of ten were forced to go.


    Unfortunately two yearster, the residence of the Lu family caught on fire one night. Both husband and wife passed away during the fire, leaving their five year old daughter behind.


    In an instant, rumours that Death followed Miao Yi spread by word of mouth. However, there were those who didn¡¯t believe in such hearsay.


    In other words, some people pitied the children and did not wish to see them suffer, and so the street butcher Zhang Tufu decided to adopt the two children.


    Another two years passed, and in the end, Zhang Tufu and his wife died in a forest fire while doing work outside of their house. Another pair of kind souls were lost to the sea of fire. And yet again, another child became an orphan. Hence, Miao Yi had be as the rumours had whispered; the harbinger of death. Since then, no one dared to take him in.


    Fortunately, living with Zhang Tufu and his family for two years, Miao Yi hadn¡¯t stayed for nothing. He did not want to bring along his younger sister, Lu Xuexin, to freeload in the Zhang household, so he would always take the initiative to help Zhang Tufu with misceneous work. As a result, he learned how to ughter pigs.


    The year when Miao Yi turned twelve years old, he picked up the butcher knife Zhang Tufu left behind, and prepared himself to raise both his little brother and sister on his own.


    However, this time Huang, the Head Guard who was in charge of this part of the city streets, brought his men to find the children. As Fatty Zhang and Lu Xuexin did not have any guardians looking after them, as well as the fact that they were also below the age of ten, the guards intended to bring them to the city¡¯s Manor of Merciful Hope as orphans.


    At that time, Miao Yi panicked. He carried Lu Xuexin on his back, one hand leading Fatty Zhang, and another hand clutching the butcher knife, as he stood against the guards. No matter what, Miao Yi simply would not let them take his younger brother and sister away.


    When he was an orphan, Lu Xuexin¡¯s parents did not send him into the Manor of Merciful Hope. When he became an orphan again with Lu Xuexin, the Zhang Tufu couple also did not send the both of them to the Manor of Merciful Hope. So how could Miao Yi helplessly watch both of his foster parents¡¯ children be sent to that ce?


    At that time, the anxious and panic-stricken Miao Yi knew that it would be useless even if he used force. A young boy like him would not be able to win against a group of grown men. As he faced Head Guard Huang and his men, he slipped past them and ran outside to shout for help, causing his neighbors to rush towards him in answer. Miao Yi took the opportunity to ask for justice, and proceeded to use the butcher knife to stab his thigh, all to make clear his true intentions. He would rather die than send his little brother and sister to the Manor of Merciful Hope. Miao Yi told all who listened that he had the ability to raise both of his siblings.


    As the neighbors watched the blood streaming down from Miao Yi¡¯s thigh, they were emotionally moved by his actions. As a result, the neighbors urged Head Guard Huang not to be callous.


    With the pressure from all the neighbors¡¯ morings, Head Guard Huang was unable to act, as he did not want to provoke the public¡¯s wrath. After all, the neighbors all met each other frequently. Head Guard Huang had no choice but to leave in embarrassment.


    Consequently, Head Guard Huang¡¯s family never took an interest in Miao Yi. However, his son, Huang Cheng, would afterwards alwayse around to pick a fight with Miao Yi.


    Nheless, to Miao Yi, that wasn¡¯t important. In short, from that day onwards, he did not mind how tough things would get, since from a young age his living was dependent on butchering pigs. Miao Yi not only raised his siblings on his own, he also made the effort to provide the means for his brother and sister to educate themselves and study. He would work hard to provide the siblings with whatever the other children would generally have.


    The ce the three siblings lived in was the residence that Zhang Tufu and his wife had left behind. Due to this, the neighbors wouldmonly address Miao Yi as Eldest Zhang.


    Hearing a familiar form of address and seeing familiar faces, Miao Yi could finally confirm that he had escaped from the Boundless Secr World.


    Looking back at the endlessly strange ce, he had mixed feelings of sadness and happiness. Other people could not possibly imagine the danger inside. He had narrowly escaped his death numerous times, and now he was finally out of there!


    And he was also safe! For the purpose of maintaining order, an Immortal stood in defense on the walls of the Ancient City. Even if everyone were aware he had treasures on this person, no one would dare loot from him.


    But he would still need to be on his toes and strike no conversation with anyone. Under everyone¡¯s attentive gaze, he quickly left the crowd and headed towards the direction of the Ancient City.


    A lot of people¡¯s gazes fell onto Miao Yi¡¯s bag, specting whether he had found any treasures inside. After all, there were a number of people who managed to get out, still scared out of their wits, but returned home empty-handed.


    The Ancient City was only two li away from the treacherous Boundless Secr World. In early years, the ancestors of the city folk resided at the Ancient City. But after an earthshaking catastrophe transpired in their city, which resulted in the Ultimate Deathly Strike Formation, half the sun became shrouded by a vast blood mist. For ordinary people, the disappearance of half the sunlight would have some impact on their lives, for example, simple chores such as doing theundry. And so, they went dozens li away to build a new city.


    And each time the Boundless Secr World became essible again, they would organize people to rebuild the Ancient City to wee the arrival ofrge numbers of cultivatorsing in.


    The three siblings promised to meet under the old willow tree just outside the walls of the Ancient City. This willow tree had been struck dead by lightning a thousand years ago. So when the siblings came, they were shocked to discover that the old, dead willow tree had unexpectedly revived. It was then that they decided to meet under the old tree.


    Under the shade of the tree was a round and plump Little Fatty. His cunning eyes showed a hint of anxiety as he looked around constantly.


    One little girl wasbing her braids, sitting with her back pressed against the old willow tree, her skin as white as jade. She was a natural beauty, but her eyes looked sore and red, as though she had just been crying.


    ¡°Do you think Big Brother is already dead?¡± The little girl grabbed onto Little Fatty¡¯s pants as she sobbed.


    Little Fatty spat in contempt and said, ¡°You and your big mouth, didn¡¯t you hear what the neighbors said? Big Brother is a harbinger of death, so even if everyone died, Big Brother would not.¡±


    Although he said those words, his anxious eyes betrayed what his heart was really thinking. A few months before the opening of the Boundless Secr World, his big brother suddenly allowed him to learn how to butcher pigs. At that time, he knew that his big brother had already made full preparations. In case something happened to his big brother, he would at least have a trade to support his sister and move on with their life.


    Both siblings did not want their big brother to take this kind of risk, but they could not do anything to stop it.


    Little Fatty was a bit older than Lu Xuexin, so he knew what was going on inside his big brother¡¯s head. The neighbors called his big brother a harbinger of death because he drove both of their parents to death. Maybe his big brother was taking this risk to repay their gratitude, or maybe he was guilty of their deaths, or maybe he wanted to prove something to the neighbors. As long as the opportunity arose, his big brother would do anything to fight for a better living for his siblings.This time, there was an opportunity for the two siblings to be Immortals. Of course their big brother would risk his life to get this power for them.


    ¡°Sob sob, did we get Big Brother into trouble? I heard that Old Li from the Tofu shop refused to let Sister Li marry Big Brother, because we¡¯re burdens to the family,¡± cried the little girl.


    ¡°Little Sister, don¡¯t cry anymore. Your crying is annoying me to death."


    As Little Fatty became impatient from patting the little girl¡¯s head, he suddenly heard a familiar shout, ¡°Little Brother, Little Sister.¡±


    Little Fatty and the little girl quickly raised their heads and looked to where the sound hade from. But they could only see a person, who looked like they had climbed out from a pile of coals, running towards them in a sprint.


    ¡°Big Brother! Big Brother!¡±


    The little girl shouted in surprise, leaping up and rushing towards her big brother, with Little Fatty following.


    The three siblings hugged each other happily.


    As the three of them pulled away from the hug, the little girl straightaway patted Miao Yi¡¯s body. Meanwhile, the Little Fatty scoffed, ¡°Little Sister was even worried that you might have died in there. Little ol¡¯ me told her, who do you think Big Brother is, Big Brother would not die so easily!¡±


    After saying that, he looked around and then sneakily whispered into Miao Yi¡¯s ears. ¡°Big Brother, since you personally went in, did you get it?¡±


    Looking at how he acted, one could tell he wasn¡¯t a good-natured kid. Indeed, Fatty Zhang likedmitting all manner of crimes and do things stealthily from a very young age. When the neighbors resented him for doing such things, they regretted not sending him to the Manor of Merciful Hope, as it would have saved them a lot of trouble.


    Miao Yi patted the bulging package on his chest, hinting at its contents.


    ¡°Really?¡± Fatty Zhang¡¯s and Little Lu¡¯s eyes instantly shone with brightness.


    Miao Yi shook his head slightly and looked around, signalling for them not to make such amotion.


    Fatty Zhang looked like a fox who had stolen a chicken, his hand holding his round stomach as he scoffed, ¡°D*mn it, didn¡¯t Old Huang send his beautiful daughter to the Immortal as a handmaiden, and then used her to be Head Guard? And now he¡¯s using that position to bully us.. When we get back, he¡¯ll see little ol¡¯ me take care of the Huang n, especially that bastard Huang Cheng, I¡¯m going to pinch his balls out! If I don¡¯t exact revenge, then I¡¯m not a man, just you wait and see!


    Fatty Zhang showed a smug expression, but Miao Yi¡¯s expression changed.


    There was a saying that enemies often crossed each other¡¯s paths. After mentioning Head Guard Huang¡¯s name, they saw the man himself, and a dozen of his de-wielding men, appear before them.

 Chapter 9: Fairy Hong Chen

    Chapter 9: Fairy Hong Chen


    Standing beside Head Guard Huang was a man who looked like he had crawled out from a pile of coals. It wasn¡¯t just any man, but one of the Zhao Brothers, Zhao Xingwu, the henchman of Huang Cheng, the son of Head Guard Huang.


    After experiencing first-hand the dangers of the Boundless Secr World, he thought Zhao Xingwu wouldn¡¯t be able toe out of it alive. But never would he have imagined that Zhao Xingwu would actually manage to survive and return from the ordeal.


    Without any exnation needed, just by looking at the big de that Head Guard Huang personally brought with him, Miao Yi knew that Zhao Xingwu had already told him everything.


    Normally, no one would even dare cause such a ruckus here, but Head Guard Huang was one of the heads of security who had just been transferred from a nearby city wall to serve and protect. Since Miao Yi had just killed his son, it was entirely possible that he had found the perfect reason to deal with him.


    ¡°Quickly, climb up the willow tree!¡± Miao Yi frantically pushed his siblings to run towards the tree.


    After the three siblings climbed up, hiding behind the leaves and branches, Fatty Zhang felt like something was amiss. He watched as Head Guard Huang led a bunch of people in search of them, then asked in a lowered voice, ¡°Big Brother, did something happen?¡±


    Immediately, Miao Yi quickly exined in simple terms that he had murdered Huang Cheng and Zhao Xingkui. Shocked, Little Lu covered her mouth, staring nkly at her big brother with her big, beautiful round eyes.


    Fatty Zhang also found himself slightly shocked as well. He would never have imagined that his big brother could kill someone. But very quickly, anger took over and he said, ¡°Since he dared to do the vicious deed, I will kill the entire Huang n myself, sooner orter!¡±


    Just then, cries of rm could be hearding from people inside and outside of the city. Everyone lifted their head and looked towards the sky.


    A magnificent phantom of a golden phoenix soared right above the Ancient City.


    After circling around a few times, the golden phoenix suddenly disintegrated into multiple rays of golden light. Emerging from the light was a woman wearing red clothing that fluttered in the wind. The golden rays of light transformed into dangling golden hairpins on the woman¡¯s head, and the three golden bracelets on her wrists.


    Two pieces of red silk, each about a hundred meters long, flowed into the sky, coiling around the woman¡¯s arms. The silk supported the red-clothed woman as she slowly descended onto the city wall.


    Her red skirt fluttered up, revealing a length of bare, jade-white ankles. A pair of curved red shoes with pointed toes,nded softly on the dent of the city wall. Her posture was elegant, like a real fairy walking over ripples of water.


    The hundred-meter long, red silk on her arms still floated in the sky, as if trying to pull the flowy-dressed woman back to the Heavens, to shield her away from the sphemy of the secr world below.


    This red-clothed celestial maiden stood exactly above the willow tree. The three siblings only had to lift up their heads to see her from a very close distance, each of them struck dumb by her presence.


    This living, alluring woman, a seemingly ageless beauty, had appeared right before the three siblings. Her skin was as smooth as cream, her eyes clear and sparkling. With her small nose and red lips, her overall looks were picturesque.


    A red silk sash fitted right on her waist,plimenting her graceful posture and making her chest appear fuller, and her waist slender and dainty. Between her eyebrows, a small red lotus with six petals bloomed, as vivid as life.


    Above all, her cold aura within her reserved attitude was a sight to behold. People could only gaze from afar, afraid to approach her.


    From where they hid, Miao Yi and his younger siblings could smell the fragrant scent of a valley of orchids. This must be the fragrance of the red-clothed celestial maiden.


    Miao Yi and Fatty Zhang could not believe their eyes. Before, Miao Yi thought Tofu shop Old Li¡¯s daughter was pretty enough, but whenpared with this celestial maiden, it wasn¡¯t just their looks, the aura of one was of Heaven while the other was of Earth; the two couldn¡¯t bepared to begin with.


    A cultivator wearing silver armor rushed over to the city wall, cupped his hands in a gesture of salutation, and said, ¡°I am Yang Qing, Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai from the Fifth Earthly Branch domain. I did not know Fairy Hong Chen would be personallying here. Please excuse me for noting to meet you on time!¡±


    As he said this, the cultivators inside the city were shocked. She was actually Fairy Hong Chen? A lot of people had heard things about her, but had never seen her in person.


    Maybe some people would not know who Fairy Hong Chen was. But it was presumed that the cultivators would know of the Six Sages of Heaven and Earth, since they were the six strongest within the cultivation world. The cultivators could only look up to the Six Sages, feeling overpowered by their strength.


    And Fairy Hong Chen was the youngest disciple of the Immortal Sage, Mu Fanjun, so one could imagine her actual status.


    Little Lu noticed how her two brothers almost drooled when they saw the beautiful celestial maiden. She pursed her lips, looking unhappy. Even from a young age, she knew the taste of jealousy. She stretched her arms towards her brothers and pinched the sides of their waists.


    The brothers snapped back to reality from the agony of their pain. Fatty Zhang rubbed on the spot where he was pinched and gave a warning re at Little Lu. He turned his head back and continued admiring the beautiful woman.


    Miao Yi looked around him and noticed that everyone had been enticed by the red-clothed celestial maiden. This was the right moment to escape back into the Ancient City. Once inside the city, Head Guard Huang wouldn¡¯t dare cause a ruckus.


    He quickly signaled his brother and sister, and the three of them slid down the now revived willow tree, sticking close to the base of the city wall, and bracing themselves for a quick escape.


    But before reaching the bottom of the tree, Miao Yi raised his head and gazed deeply at Fairy Hong Chen once more, imprinting her outstandingly beautiful smile deep into his mind. He imagined how great it would be if he could marry her and take her as his wife one day. As he turned away, he knew that such thoughts were ridiculous. He didn¡¯t even have the qualifications to marry Old Li¡¯s daughter from the tofu shop, much less try to marry a celestial maiden. He really was crying for the moon...


    Fairy Hong Chen had already noticed the three siblings hiding in the willow tree below her. But she only gave them a brief nce, she didn¡¯t even notice the silver-armored cultivator¡¯s salutation. Her puzzled eyes swept all corners of her surroundings, as her lips murmured repeatedly, ¡°Hong Chen inquires at the secr world, a dying tree once again meets spring...¡±


    This prophecy had left her confused for quite a while. A few days ago, the most secretive and elusive Oracle of the cultivation world came unexpectedly to the Realm Beyond Heaven, a paradise for the Immortal n belonging to the Immortal Sage, Mu Fanjun. He came and requested something from Mu Fanjun, who dly agreed, seemingly eager to bestow the request...


    The Oracle was the master of divination. Rumors say that he is able to divine heavenly secrets, but he maintains an air of mystery, keeping a low-profile to prevent people from finding him. The Oracle doesn¡¯t normally seek others on his own, so naturally, Mu Fanjun used this rare chance to ask for a divination.


    Maybe it was because Mu Fanjun had granted his requested favor, and therefore the Oracle did not refuse. He grinded jade into powder, and on his te he divined a prophecy: ¡®Hong Chen inquires at the secr world, a dying tree once again meets spring¡¯.


    Nobody could understand what that prophecy meant. Mu Fanjun consulted the Oracle straightaway, requesting an exnation.


    The Oracle shook his head and said, secrets of the Heavens must never be revealed.


    Mu Fanjun asked again, was it ominous or auspicious?


    But the Oracle titled his head and looked at Fairy Hong Chen, who was there as well. He smiled and said nothing, and soon after that, he left.


    The way he looked at Fairy Hong Chen had naturally caught everyone¡¯s notice. Everyone focused their attention on her, as though they had found a breakthrough In the prophecy.


    Wasn¡¯t there a ¡®Hong Chen¡¯ in Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s name? And the ¡®Boundless Secr World¡¯, which had recently garnered a lot of attention, had already lifted its seal. At that point, everyone seemed to knew what the next course of action would be.


    So, Mu Fanjun sent out Fairy Hong Chen, in the hopes that she could find out the meaning of the words, ¡®a dying tree once again meets spring¡¯.


    However, Fairy Hong Chen had gone to different spots around the Boundless Secr World, and yet she still couldn¡¯t find out what ¡®a dying tree once again meets spring¡¯ meant. This was already the sixth spot she had descended upon.


    Just as she thought that searching this ce woulde to no fruition and was preparing to fly away, her eyes suddenly gleamed, and she directed her stare at a particr area inside the Ancient City.


    Inside the city, she saw a richly ornamented residence¡¯s roof that had a young green leaf sprouting out from it. The timber-turned-beam could actually grow out a new branch, the tender bit of green swaying around in the gentle breeze, fresh and moving.


    ¡®A dying tree once again meets spring...¡± It seemed to Fairy Hong Chen that she had found a clue. She drifted away from the city wall, dragging along two hundred meters of red silk that fluttered in the sky, and headed towards that building inside the city.


    Meanwhile, the old willow tree beneath the shadow of the city wall was left alone, drooping and dancing...

 Chapter 10: As Prophesized (1)

    Chapter 10: As Prophesized (1)


    In a residence¡¯s courtyard inside the city, there was a kind-faced cultivator who carried a sword on his back, decked out in yellow robes. He gazed after Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s figure as she disappeared into the richly ornamented building. Seeminglying to a realization, he murmured to himself, ¡°I see!¡±


    He looked like he had understood something, then gave a smile, and went back into his house. He sat in a lotus stance on the bed, both hands positioned into an Orchid Buddha Seal, each ced on the left and right knees respectively. He shut his eyes and mouth, and chanted in an obscure sanskrit.


    Normal people probably couldn¡¯t see anything, but those with profound transcendence energy would definitely see a stream of golden ¡®swastika1¡¯ words flowing out from his moving mouth. Those words grew from small to big, quickly flying out of the door and disappearingpletely without a trace...


    Inside the city, the three siblings gave a long sigh of relief when they finally escaped Head Guard Huang and slipped past the city walls.


    They found an old well, where Miao Yi scooped a bucket of water to cleanse himself with, then led his two siblings onto the streets. The three of them became exceptionally excited as they walked amongst the crowd, looking forward to their glorious moment of bing Immortals.


    But what gave them a headache was, they didn¡¯t know which School of Immortals to join!


    If they went ording to what normal people would think, joining the greatest School of Immortals would be the best. But the three of them didn¡¯t even know which school was the best.


    Every sect wanted the treasures found from within the Boundless Secr World. From the earliest years of manughter and robbery, the cultivators who gathered here from different schools and sects slowly set out rules and regtions for all. For the sake of fairness, they decided that no one was allowed to pull any tricks, such as ¡®pulling customers¡¯ from the streets. It all depended on the voluntary acts of the treasure hunter. Whoever the treasure hunter chose to gift the treasures to, the treasures would belong to that person or sect.


    But it was impossible to bepletely fair. The bigger sects inside the Ancient City had divided residences that were lofty and grand. The smaller sects, on the other hand, owned residences with standards that were significantly worse. If depending on the voluntary acts of the treasure hunter, the smaller sects would definitely suffer the losses.


    But there definitely were a lot of lofty and grand residences! The three siblings prepared themselves topare each residence.


    ¡°Zhang Fengbao... Zhang Fengbao...¡±


    As the three siblings passed a street corner, Fatty Zhang halted in his tracks and turned his head, his face showing an expression of surprise as he looked around.


    ¡°Brother, what are you doing?¡± Miao Yi and Little Lu stopped to ask.


    ¡°Someone is calling me,¡± Fatty Zhang said, still looking around.


    ¡°Who called you?¡± Miao Yi and Little Lu didn¡¯t see anyone nearby.


    ¡°Listen! It sounds like it¡¯sing from this way.¡± Fatty Zhang pointed towards the other end of the street.


    Big brother and little sister raised their ears but couldn¡¯t hear anything. They looked at each other and shook their heads. Little Luughed sneeringly, ¡°Second Brother is lying again.¡±


    Miao Yi seemed like he didn¡¯t dare speak highly of his little brother¡¯s character. He frowned and said, ¡°Little Brother, stop fooling around.¡±


    Panicking, Fatty Zhang pointed towards the end of the street. ¡°You guys listen for yourselves! Someone keeps calling Zhang Fengbao, Zhang Fengbao.¡±


    Little Lu expressed her suspicions at Fatty Zhang as she said, ¡°Second Brother, everyone who knows you calls you Fatty Zhang, right?¡±


    ¡°I...¡± Fatty Zhang was speechless. He thought he was mishearing things, so he dug in his ear with his little finger and yet, he could still hear it. So he couldn¡¯t help but cry out helplessly, ¡°Big Brother, you guys seriously don¡¯t hear it? You¡¯re not ying me, right?¡±


    Little Lu shook her head. She stared at her unrepentant second brother with disdain.


    Seeing that his brother didn¡¯t look like he was lying, Miao Yi suddenly thought about an incident which happened in the Boundless Secr World. During that time, he heard a qin¡¯s melody and yet, Yan Beihong insisted he hadn¡¯t heard anything at all. The current situation seemed simr to what he had experienced.


    ¡°Go, let¡¯s go take a look!¡± Miao Yi called out, and let Fatty Zhang lead the way.


    After moving past the street, the trio arrived outside a residence¡¯s small courtyard. Fatty Zhang pointed at the courtyard and said, ¡°This is the ce.¡±


    Without saying another word, and not waiting for Miao Yi¡¯s instruction, Fatty Zhang was already pushing open the courtyard gate, shouting, ¡°Who¡¯s there? I...¡±


    He choked on his words. The three siblings¡¯ eyes widened, the three of them finding it difficult to believe what they were seeing inside the courtyard.


    If they hadn¡¯t opened the gate and just looked in from outside the courtyard, they would only see an ordinary building. But once they pushed open the gate, it was a whole different world. There were shing rays of light, waves of auspicious auras intertwining together, the sound of heavenly music in the air, and exotic smells assailing the nostrils. Standing left and right were numerous majestic-looking demigods, d in golden armor. This was not an ordinary residence at all, this ce was clearly a paradise for Immortals.


    Inside the dwelling covered in the glow of the sun, an Immortal d in yellow robes, with a sword on his back, sat cross-legged on top of a lotus flower throne. His face showed an amiable smile, beckoning the three of them toe in.


    With such a great Immortal inviting them in, the three of them did not dare to refuse. As they carefully entered the courtyard, the gate behind them closed by itself.


    The Yellow-Robed Great Immortal swept a look across the three of them, and finally dropped his gaze onto Fatty Zhang¡¯s face. He gave a slight nod and smiled, ¡°Were you the one who heard my summoning?¡±


    Fatty Zhang¡¯s usual sly and crafty attitude waspletely gone. He nodded, looking both earnest and foolish. When running into a formidable man, his style was to act honest and well-behaved.


    The Yellow-Robed Great Immortalughed, ¡°I wished to find a disciple to pass on my mantle. Regrettably, there has been no suitable candidate so far. I met with the Oracle and asked for his advice. The Oracle gave me a prophecy and as expected, the destined one has arrived.¡±


    The three who had kept themselvespliant, cautiously listening to his speech, did not understand a word he was talking about. The Yellow-Robed Great Immortal seemed not to care if the three siblings understood what he said or not. He only asked Fatty Zhang, ¡°Will you be my disciple?¡±


    When the three of them walked around the city, the residences of other Immortal sects who were epting people, all seemed more granderpared to this residence. But upon passing the gates of this residence, they found there wasn¡¯t much difference in grandeur between here and those other Immortal ns.


    Who could tell which one was good and which one was bad? This Immortal¡¯s appearance looked as if it covered a great facade. Miao Yi gritted his teeth, reaching into his clothes in search of something. He took out two immortal herbs, cing one of each onto Fatty Zhang¡¯s and Little Lu¡¯s hands, and then pushed them towards the Yellow-Robed Immortal.


    It was also Fatty Zhang and Little Lu¡¯s first timeying their eyes upon the Glorious Star immortal herb. As they gazed at the herb¡¯s red-stone branches and its gem leaves shrouded by little starlight, they couldn¡¯t take their eyes off for even a moment.


    The Yellow-Robed Immortal was also caught by surprise when he saw the two immortal herbs. Judging by the size of the immortal herbs, he could tell that they had grown for quite a long time, probably more than ten thousand years. The nce he casted at Miao Yi wasced with suspicion. He asked, ¡°Did you enter the Boundless Secr World?¡±


    Miao Yi thought in his heart, what kind of rubbish is he asking, if I didn¡¯t find the immortal herbs and offer them to you, would you even ept us? But on the surface, he nodded and replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    The Yellow-Robed Immortal immediately cast a sharp nce at Miao Yi with his keen eyes, scrutinizing Miao Yi¡¯s entire body. He could tell that Miao Yi only had two immortal herbs on him. He felt sorry, and said, ¡°Your temperament is hard toe by, but it¡¯s too bad that leaving one immortal herb for you would cause you harm instead. No matter!¡±


    After saying that, he lifted up his cuffs. The immortal herb held in Fatty Zhang¡¯s hand flew into hisrge sleeve with a woosh. He then pointed to the ground with his finger, ¡°Why are you still hesitating to kowtow and acknowledge your master!¡±


    Fatty Zhang turned his head back and looked at Miao Yi, who nodded his head in reply.


    Fatty Zhang knelt down on his knees at once and kowtowed, ¡°Master!¡±


    The Yellow-Robed Immortal let out a knowingugh, then he nodded his head at Miao Yi and Lu Xuexin and said, ¡°Him, I will ept. Both of you can leave now.¡±


    The three siblings were simultaneously frozen in shock. That wasn¡¯t right, wasn¡¯t he supposed to ept them both so long as they had the immortal herb?


    Fatty Zhang was the first one to jump up and exim, ¡°Master, all three of us are here together. We have the immortal herb, please ept all of us.¡±


    The Yellow-Robed Immortal shook his head disapprovingly.


    Miao Yi quickly pushed Lu Xuexin to the front, and begged, ¡°Great Immortal, please ept my sister, she too has the immortal herb. Little Sister, quickly kneel down and acknowledge him as master!¡±


    Lu Xuexin was about to kneel down, but the Yellow-Robed Immortal brushed hisrge sleeves, halting her movements. She couldn¡¯t kneel even if she wanted to.


    Fatty Zhang also called out nervously from the sidelines, ¡°Big Brother, Little Sister, both of you quickly kneel down and acknowledge him as master!¡±


    The three siblings were very simple-minded. As long as they were together, they could still look after one another.


    Even if he wanted to, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t tell them that he had risked his life for those immortal herbs, only just managing to bring back two.


    ¡°I am not really interested in the immortal herbs. Besides, our school doesn¡¯t ept female disciples!¡± The Yellow-Robed Immortal shook his head.


    Fatty Zhang immediately gave up, he extended his hand and said, ¡°Then give me back my immortal herb. I don¡¯t want to be your disciple anymore.¡±


    The Yellow-Robed Immortal grinned and said, ¡°This is not a market, you have already kowtowed and called me master. In that sense, there is no going back on your words.¡±


    After he said that, he brushed hisrge sleeves again and the courtyard gates opened automatically. In an instant, a gust of wind swept Miao Yi and Lu Xuexin out of the gates.


    As the gates closed, the two of them were barred outside, unable to enter. No matter how much they shouted for the gates to open, the voices inside and outside werepletely disconnected from each.


    Footnotes:


    1Swastika - A sacred symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism. Means good fortune or well-being.

 Chapter 11: As Prophesized (2)

    Chapter 11 As Prophesized (2)


    After the stubborn siblings had finally pried the gates open, both were once again left dumbfounded. There was only an ordinary courtyard before them, the paradise from before hadpletely vanished without a trace.


    The two siblings searched every nook and cranny inside and outside the house, but there was no one to be seen. Everything from before seemed like just a dream, and Fatty Zhang had disappeared just like that. They didn¡¯t even know where he went.


    ¡°Second Brother, Second Brother, where did you go...¡± Lu Xuexin cried.


    Miao Yi stood there, ming himself for quite some time before noticing the red stone branches and gem leaves in his little sister¡¯s hands. His spirits lifted, and heforted Little Lu, ¡°Little Sister, don¡¯t cry. Little Brother has found a good master. He will be fine.¡±


    Big Brother¡¯s words were always more reliable than Second Brother¡¯s. She wiped away her tears and sobbed, ¡°Big Brother, how do you know that?¡±


    Miao Yi pointed to the red stone branches and gem leaves in her hands and exined, ¡°If he really was a bad person, he wouldn¡¯t have given up this other immortal herb.¡±


    There was some sense to his words, so she asked again, ¡°Where did they take Second Brother to?¡±


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t answer this question...


    In the middle of a wastnd, dozens li away from the Ancient City, the Yellow-Robed Immortal and Fatty Zhang stood face-to-face with each other. One had a big smile on his face, while the other was filled with suppressed frustration.


    A gust of wind blew, fluttering the wild grass. The dust on the Yellow-Robed Immortal was blown away by the wind.


    The hair on his head, the skin on his face, his clothes, and the long sword that he carried on his back were slowly being blown away into dust. He looked like he had been covered in ayer of soot, which was slowly being removed by each gust of wind, revealing the true face underneath it.


    The dust was whisked away from his body, revealing an old, bald, kind-faced monk, his eyebrows two long strands that reached his chest. He looked thin yet energetic, and his deep eyes were brimming with vigor.


    The robes he wore on him, were clean and as white as snow, with ck satin decorating the edges. A gorgeous, interlocking cloud pattern was embroidered in gold upon the ck satin. There was a purple nine-petal lotus flower faintly glowing in between his brows. Overall, he exuded an air of indescribable extravagance. It was obvious that he had a gentle and kind appearance, but he also had an air of nobility, akin to that of a grand ruler, which made him seem like an emperor within the monks.


    Fatty Zhang was staring at him in bewilderment as he stuttered, ¡°You¡¯re a monk?¡±


    The old monk gave him a benevolent smile. ¡°I am afraid that the Celestial Nation does not wee the idea of the Buddha Nation epting disciples from inside their realm. Thus, I have to hide my true form. From being separated by thousands of li, to meeting here as master and disciple, this is indeed fate.¡±


    Fatty Zhang immediately shook his head and waved his hands, ¡°We are not fated to each other, it really is not fate.¡±


    The old monkughed and asked, ¡°If this is not fate, then how are you able to hear my unique Sanskrit? This is more than just being fated.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a monk. I like eating meat and drinking alcohol. I like pretty women, I still want to have a wife...¡± Fatty Zhang panicked as he backed away. He had never in his entire life once thought of bing a monk. It was too terrifying. He turned around to run, and shouted violently, ¡°Big Brother, help me!¡±


    ¡°Fool, there are countless people in this world who have long dreamed of bing my disciple.¡±


    The old monk sighed. The golden cloud pattern embroidered on the ck satin of his cor suddenly came to life, moving like a snake. The cloud flew out from the robe and circted around the old monk rapidly, who stood with his palms together. It gradually grew bigger until it became a huge, golden, phantom flood dragon, binding the old monk and soaring up into the sky.


    The flood dragon flew around, wriggling about and swooping downwards, chasing after the frightened and fleeing Fatty Zhang. The dragon picked him up and flew back towards the sky as if it were pleased with itself, before quickly disappearing into the horizon with the both of them in tow...


    Around the same time, Miao Yi led Lu Xuexin into the crowd and arrived at a richly ornamented residence with a courtyard.


    He actually couldn¡¯t tell which n was the best, or which n was inferior. When he arrived, he could see that quite a number of people had gathered around the residence. Miao Yi overheard from the people around him that the red-clothed celestial maiden, who had earlier stood on top of the city wall, was well-respected amongst immortals. She hadter flown into the building, causing everyone toe flocking there immediately.


    An Immortal who could garner respect from all other Immortals, was naturally not an ordinary one. Miao Yi regretted letting Fatty Zhang meet that Yellow-Robed Immortal, otherwise both brother and sister would be able to take care of each other. But it was already toote for regrets now.


    The two siblings walked up the steps leading to the gate, but were stopped by the Immortal standing guard.


    Miao Yi quickly signaled to Little Lu to take out the sparkling red branches and gem leaves. This high quality immortal herb instantly lit up the gatekeeping Immortal¡¯s eyes.


    Someone among the crowd shouted, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Zhang family¡¯s eldest son and youngest child? Did they acquire the immortal herb?¡±


    Unlike the Yellow-Robed Immortal who was picky about his disciples, as soon as the immortal herb was shown, someone immediately came over to take Little Lu into the residence. However, they refused to let Miao Yi, who wanted to send her off, go in and instead blocked him outside.


    For his sister¡¯s sake, Miao Yi bowed and smiled, ¡°She is my sister, can I send her in and have a few words with her?¡±


    The gatekeeping Immortal extended his arms and blocked him with an expressionless face. ¡°Stand down!¡±


    At the same time, Little Lu yelled from inside, ¡°Big Brother,e in as well!¡±


    The little fool still had not noticed that her brother had only two immortal herbs with him. If it was the sneaky second brother, he would have immediately realized what was happening by now.


    Miao Yi quickly waved his hands, ¡°Little Sister, you go on ahead, I¡¯ll go and see if I can find Second Brother.¡±


    ¡°Big Brother, I will wait for you!¡± Little Lu¡¯s voice appeared diminished behind the closing door, before she was taken away.


    ¡°Little Sister, please take care of yourself!¡±


    Miao Yi tried his best to sound cheerful andughed happily when he shouted from the other side of the gate. He hoped that hisughter would be able to give his sister peace of mind.


    He turned around, facing a crowd who looked at him enviously. Miao Yi pursed his lips, eyes red from almost crying, and maintained his smile. He walked down the steps with a grin and proudly told everyone. ¡°That¡¯s my sister. She¡¯s be an Immortal, along with my brother too. Both my younger brother and sister have be Immortals.¡±


    He was rarely a show off, but he couldn¡¯t stand not letting everyone know about the good news right now. He wanted those neighbors from the street to know that the orphan from the Lu Family and the orphan from the Zhang Family would be spending the rest of their lives with a happiness that was unattainable by a mortal.


    But he missed the hidden sarcasm in the nces of the gatekeeping Immortal.


    Some familiar faces from the same street pulled Miao Yi aside and asked, ¡°Has little Zhang also be an Immortal?¡±


    Miao Yi nodded with a heavy heart.


    A few more familiar faces butted in and asked, ¡°So you went into the Boundless Secr World and got the immortal herb?¡±


    Miao Yi nodded again.


    ¡°How many did you pick up?¡±


    Miao Yi proudly lifted up two fingers, ¡°Two.¡±


    One of them was shocked and said, ¡°Only two? The eldest Zhang, did you not leave one for yourself?¡±


    Miao Yi patted on his chest andughed. ¡°No worries, the Boundless Secr World hasn¡¯t closed yet, right? There¡¯s still a chance.¡±


    Even though he said that, he would not go back inside again. Because once was enough for him to understand how dangerous the ce was, and it wasn¡¯t as if he could meet another person like Yan Beihong, who could help him avert disasters, every single time. As one delved deeper, the environment became even crazier when it came to grabbing and snatching treasure. Going back inside was no different than seeking for one¡¯s doom. It was sheer luck that he even managed toe out alive that time.


    ¡°Tsk tsk, Lu Family and Zhang family got lucky, they were able to adopt a good son. They didn¡¯t die for nothing!¡± one of them eximed with admiration.


    Miao Yi grinned from ear to ear and epted everyone¡¯s congrattions, his face was about to be paralyzed from smiling...


    Inside the courtyard of the richly ornamented residence, Little Lu was led to the backyard and stood on top of a rune-painted jade te.


    Three cultivators stood outside the jade te and formed a triangle. At the same time, they invoked an art and focused their transcendence energy onto the jade te to assess her aptitude for cultivation.


    Onlymon people would think that they could be an Immortal simply by obtaining treasures from the Boundless Secr World. They would not mind spending some resources to train those who were qualified. But no one would waste their resources on those with no aptitude. Those would be sent to do menial jobs.

 Chapter 12: As Prophesized (3)

    Chapter 12: As Prophesized (3)


    The reason why Head Guard Huang¡¯s daughter, who was sent to be an Immortal¡¯s handmaiden, hadn¡¯t allowed her little brother to risk going inside the Boundless Secr World, was because the Immortal that she had been trying to please had already checked on her little brother and deemed him unsuitable for cultivation. So there was no need for him to risk his life by going inside the Boundless Secr World. So what if he were able to find the treasures? He¡¯d be epted and treated as a ve, being sent to do menial jobs. It was better for him to be a rich mortal in the secr world.


    Just like what the old monk had told Miao Yi, leaving an immortal herb for himself would only bring him harm, because he could see that Miao Yi was unsuitable for cultivation.


    It wasn¡¯t as if he wanted the immortal herb, he only wanted to prevent Miao Yi froming to harm, so he had no choice but to ept the immortal herb from Fatty Zhang, just to save Miao Yi from future regrets.


    Just like Little Lu, if she had the aptitude, then the official document at the side would immediately register her results and she would be returned to the gate after that. If she didn¡¯t have the aptitude, then there was no need make a registration, not even the name.


    However, the results from the test shocked everyone standing witness. They could see a phantom of a phoenix rising from the top of Little Lu¡¯s head as she stood on the jade te. The phoenix soared around the sky above the residence.


    Normal people were unable to see it, only cultivators who possessed the transcendence vision could see it. At that very moment, all of the cultivators in the Ancient City were looking towards its direction.


    A lot of people were shocked and involuntarily eximed, ¡°Phoenix form!¡±


    In the world of cultivation, there was a phrase, ¡®The Bearing of Dragon and Phoenix¡¯, that referred to the aptitude best suited for cultivation, which was considered a top-notch aptitude. The dragon signified men, while the phoenix signified women. People with this kind of natural endowment were only found by chance, and most of the time they were highly sought after and fought over by the different sects.


    All the cultivators at the scene found it hard to believe that they were able to meet someone with the qualification of ¡®phoenix form¡¯ in a small ce like this.


    Fairy Hong Chen, who stood inside the loft, suddenly turned around, her eyes focusing on Little Lu who was on the jade te in the courtyard. She mumbled to herself in surprise, ¡°I see, the Oracle¡¯s art of divining heavenly secrets is indeed worthy of his reputation!¡±


    Little Lu looked around nervously, she wasn¡¯t sure why everyone was looking at her in that way.


    The sh of a red shadow flew by. Fairy Hong Chen appeared in the courtyard, her dress fluttered about as she strolled in.


    All the cultivators earnestly lowered their heads and moved to the sidelines at her sudden appearance.


    The elder leading the group twitched, as he sighed discreetly. With Fairy Hong Chen here, there was no way he could keep the little girl for himself. It was clear that the little girl was not fated to be in his sect. D*mn! What was the high and mighty Fairy Hong Chen doing here, instead of quietly staying put at the Realm Beyond Heaven?


    Fairy Hong Chen slowly approached the jade te and looked at the timid Lu Xuexin. She revealed a smile, extended her slender arms, and said in a distinct voice, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, won¡¯t youe with Big Sister?¡±


    Not many were fortunate enough to see her smile.


    With both of them being so near to each other, Little Lu was able to clearly see Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s face. She had never seen such a beautiful Big Sister in her entire life.


    Little Lu¡¯s mind went nk the moment Fairy Hong Chen showed her charm. Under her extraordinary charisma, Lu Xuexin found herself unable to refuse her wishes, and subconsciously nodded her head in confusion.


    As soon as the little girl agreed, Fairy Hong Chen smiled sweetly and grabbed her by her tiny hand.


    In an instant, a two-metre-long sash of red silk flew up into the air, followed by her golden hairpin and all three of her golden bracelets, simultaneously turning into a phantom of a golden phoenix. The phantom whisked both of them away and soared into the sky. It was almost as if they vanished from the crowd in the blink of an eye.


    Only Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s faint aroma of orchids remained in the courtyard. The elder man stomped his feet and sighed. ¡°What a waste! She came of her own will!¡±


    The othermoners outside the courtyard did not see Fairy Hong Chen leaving. Of course, Miao Yi did not get the chance to see her either. He was still worried about Fatty Zhang, so he ran back to check the building again and pushed the door open.


    As before, there was still no sight of anyone inside.


    ¡°Looks like Little Brother really has been taken away by the Immortal.¡±


    After he left the building, Miao Yi once again returned to the ce where he had sent Little Lu away. He went around searching for information about the Immortals inside, but how would most ordinary mortals even know?


    Fatty Zhang had already been taken away, but Miao Yi still wished to personally send his little sister off to be an Immortal. He spent the remaining days waiting inside the Ancient City, waiting for the day when Little Lu would leave the sect.


    But his public announcements from before once again resurfaced. The news about him sending his little brother and little sister to be Immortals had been spread around.


    Finally, Head Guard Huang, who had been waiting eagerly to skin Miao Yi alive, had blocked his way out in the Ancient City. He looked very unhappy. Meanwhile, Zhao Xingwu who had escaped death, was still in a state of shock. After all, he had witnessed Miao Yi¡¯s violence with his very own eyes. He saw him stab Huang Cheng and his big brother to death with a butcher knife.


    Immortals from all over the world were still gathering in the Ancient City, so Head Guard Huang did not have the guts to do anything to Miao Yi yet. Although in the beginning, when he lost his temper and wanted to ughter Miao Yi, his henchmen quickly held him back so he could cool down.


    Miao Yi decided he could not stay there for long. He wanted to escape the city as soon as possible, but he discovered that the four city gates were already being guarded by Head Guard Huang¡¯s henchmen. He reckoned that as soon as he dared to step outside, someone would immediately follow him out to kill him.


    And even if he wanted to, he couldn¡¯t escape by climbing over the city wall because their exits were also being closely guarded. At all times two men followed him around, day and night without fail.


    Head Guard Huang had meticulously made preparations to prevent Miao Yi from escaping. It was obvious that he was nning to keep Miao Yi within the city and wait until the Immortals left before he could kill him.


    In the end, Miao Yi could only hide around ces near the gate where he had sent Little Lu. He hoped that when his little sister, who was about to step onto the path of Immortals, came out, she would be allowed to greet her big brother.


    It may be pointless, but right now, he could only hope and try his luck.


    When it was two days away from the closing of the Boundless Secr World, there was an unexpected surprise waiting for Miao Yi.


    Yan Beihong, who now had two additional bandages on him, appeared before Miao Yi. He had alsoe back alive in one piece.


    Apparently, he had also heard about Fairy Hong Chen. His appearance was unkempt, and he strode past carrying a broadsword at his waist.


    ¡°Big Brother Yan, Big Brother Yan.¡±


    The overjoyed Miao Yi hid in a small alley corner and called out for him twice.


    Yan Beihong was stunned when he heard the voice. It sounded familiar, so he turned around. He was quite surprised to see that it was Miao Yi. He quickly entered the small alley, and said in amazement, ¡°You came back alive? That¡¯s weird, how did you get here before me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin...¡± Miao Yi told him the whole story of what happened after Yan Beihong left him. But he remembered the warning from the handsome man, Lao Bai, so he didn¡¯t tell him about the huge qin.


    ¡°You were thrown out by the Hell Mantis? Such a lucky thing really happened?¡± Yan Beihong was shocked, but if he thought about it further, it was entirely possible. Otherwise, this kid would not be able to return earlier than him. He stroked his chin and clicked his tongue. ¡°D*mn it, I struggled my way through and almost lost my life crawling out from that ce. Lucky you, you just unknowingly flew out like you were in a dream. No wonder you came out faster than I did. If I had known earlier, I would have gone with you.¡±


    ¡°Big Brother Yan, I¡¯vee across some trouble...¡± Miao Yi told him again about how he was intercepted by Head Guard Huang after his younger siblings were sent off to be Immortals.


    Yan Beihong was surprised. ¡°You gave them to your little brother and little sister, and didn¡¯t leave one for yourself?¡±

 Chapter 13: Escape

    Chapter 13: Escape


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly. ¡°I only managed to get two of them.¡±


    Yan Beihong could not help but feel deep respect towards Miao Yi. When they parted ways, he thought of him as a person with impure intentions. He left in disdain because he thought Miao Yi was ying a petty trick on him. But now, he realized that he had been measuring the stature of a great man by the yardstick of a smaller man. If he himself were to be ced in a simr situation, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to do what Miao Yi did¡ªgive everything he had painstakingly acquired to his little brother and sister, who weren¡¯t even rted to him by blood.


    He patted Miao Yi¡¯s shoulders and said, ¡°Brother, I have nothing to say, I am very sorry!¡±


    Miao Yi shook his head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Big Brother Yan. I just want to ask a favor from you. Do you have any clue on how to avoid being captured by the guardsmen? Any idea to help me get away from this mess?¡±


    Yan Beihong chuckled and tugged his arm, ¡°Just leave it to me. Let¡¯s go find a ce to eat and drink first.¡±


    Miao Yi immediately stopped to remind him, ¡°Someone is following me.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just small fry, nothing to be afraid of!¡± Yan Beihong dragged him away. ¡°Let¡¯s eat and drink to our heart¡¯s content and fill up our energy. I will send you off tonight!¡±


    They found a noodle stand that had just opened for business and then ordered a few jin of beef with two bowls of noodles. They ate until they were both full, belching when done.


    Once again, Yan Beihong took away with him arge amount of food, and then they left in search of an unupied residence. He unhitched the door open and ced it on the floor. After that, heid down on the door and slept.


    They whiled the time away until nightfall, then left. To get rid of the people following after them, Yan Beihong picked up Miao Yi and swiftly climbed over the wall. By taking a detour, they were able to shake off their stalkers soon enough.


    Hiding near the shadows under the city wall, Yan Beihong observed the patterns of the patrols above it. Being a former Military Commander, he had his fair share of experience.


    After he had grasped the situation, he took the first opportunity that came and threw a basic grappling hook that he had prepared in advance over the city wall. With one hand holding a rope, he proceeded to climb, pedaling against the wall with Miao Yi in tow. They quickly reached the top of the high city wall and then immediately slid downwards to the other side.


    They sneaked away under the cover of darkness, only stopping after they reached the mountain forest located seven or eight miles away


    Using the moon as a source of light, Yan Beihong pushed a bag of rations he had earlier prepared into Miao Yi¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Big Brother Yan, this is...?¡± Miao Yi held the bag in confusion.


    ¡°Brother, it¡¯s easy to escape, but difficult to return should you choose toe back home in future. Since you¡¯re now free from any attachments, it¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t return to your house. If you go back, you will surely fall into the hands of Head Guard Huang anyway. I know it¡¯s a difficult decision to leave your home, which is why I chose not to say anything before this so you wouldn¡¯t suffer from heartache. These rations willst you for awhile on your journey. Now go. Go as far as you can.¡±


    Yan Beihong turned around and pointed to the other side, ¡°The grappling hook on the city wall will serve as a clue in the end. So just in case, you should go the opposite direction. This is all I can do. Whether this will all be a curse or a blessing, it is beyond my control. The rest will be up to your luck.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Big Brother Yan, but I have one more favor to ask of you!¡±


    ¡°Just say it, I will help if I can.¡±


    ¡°My little sister is inside the School of Immortals that you wanted to join today. Her name is Lu Xuexin. Big Brother Yan, she is still young, so if she ends up in your care in future, I hope you can keep an eye on her for me.¡±


    ¡°Lu Xuexin...¡± Yan Beihong muttered a few times, then nodded heavily. ¡°I will remember that. After today¡¯s farewell, I hope we will meet each other again. I won¡¯t hem and haw like a girl, as I can¡¯t dy my own duties any longer. I will take my leave first, please look after yourself.¡±


    He was indeed not an indecisive person. Yan Beihong had said what he needed to say and did what was needed to be done. He gave Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder a pat before he turned around and strode away without any hesitation.


    Miao Yi watched as Yan Beihong slowly disappeared into the darkness. He lifted his head and looked at the Ancient City, aplicated look on his face.


    When he put himself at risk by entering the Boundless Secr World, at that time he thought he was making the worst decision of his life. But after being lucky enough to return, it was now beyond his expectations to be put on this solitary path. From now on, he had to leave his home and seek refuge alone.


    He turned around and after finding the bearings of his house, Miao Yi immediately knelt down and cried, ¡°Father Lu and Mother Lu, Father Zhang and Mother Zhang, Little Brother and Bittle Sister has ascended to immortality. They shall not suffer with me from now on. Please bless and protect them from the heavens.¡±


    After he finished, he bent his head downwards and kowtowed.


    The dark green bead around his neck glowed weakly. The qin-ying schr from the Boundless Secr World appeared behind him in perfect silence. His appearance was still as unusual and striking as before, silently watching Miao Yi kowtowed on the ground.


    Miao Yi wiped away his tears after he was done. He stood up and unsheathed the butcher knife resting at his waist, as he considered his next course of action. With the knife in his hand, he quickly left in the direction that Yan Beihong had pointed out for him.


    The schr raised his head and nced at the bright moon before he quietly disappeared under the moonlight...


    From dusk until dawn, Miao Yi passed through the lofty mountains and high ranges without knowing how far he ran. He followed the sunrise and eventually came out from the mountains, only to be blocked by a wide river. Miao Yi could guess how far he had gone when he saw the river.


    He was very exhausted and knelt on the riverside, washing his face to refresh himself. He sat on a boulder near the river, taking out the rations that Yan Beihong had prepared for him. He ate a few bites and reached for the goatskin sk strapped to his waist, taking a few swigs of water after removing the cap.


    While he was eating, he pondered on how to cross the river, and where to go next. Just then, he saw a canoe floating downstream, more of a bamboo raft to be exact.


    A man rode on the bamboo raft, wearing a white robe with a in, pale-green cape, a bamboo stick held in his hand.


    The river kept flowing, and his newly created bamboo stick was green and glossy. The schr stood on the bamboo raft and faced the morning breeze with his sleeves fluttering about. It was an otherworldly sight that was very pleasing to the eye.


    Miao Yi, who was chewing his rations, suddenly opened his mouth wide in shock. How could it be him? Wasn¡¯t this the mysophobic guy from the Boundless Secr World?


    ¡°Lao Bai, Lao Bai!¡± Miao Yi jumped up and waved as he shouted, ¡°Here, here, do you still recognize me?¡±


    The schr looked towards the direction of the voice. He smiled, rowing his bamboo raft towards the shore with the bamboo stick. When the raft stopped and stabilized, he looked at Miao Yi, who was in a sorry state, and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s you, Little Brother. So, we meet again. Where are you heading to, in these barren mountains and wastnds?¡±


    Miao Yi asked, ¡°Where were you nning to go?¡±


    The schr looked at the flowing river and smiled gently, ¡°With just a raft flowing down the stream, I came for some sightseeing. There is no specific ce to go, I will go wherever I am led to.¡±


    This mentality, this demeanor, all of it was frustrating to him. Miao Yi noticed that whenever he saw this man, he always seemed to be at peace. Even in that dangerous ce, he also appeared to be calm, and would always be cleanly and inly dressed.


    Miao Yi rubbed his hands, feeling a bit embarrassed. ¡°Since we are on the same path, I don¡¯t suppose...¡±


    It was obvious that he was wondering if he could ride on Lao Bai¡¯s raft.


    The schr understood and nodded his head. ¡°It is better to have apanion along the journey. If you don¡¯t mind my shabby bamboo raft, let¡¯s travel together.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not shabby, not at all. This is my first time seeing such a beautiful raft.¡± Miao Yi jumped onto the raft happily.


    He wasn¡¯t trying to tter him when he said that; the bamboo raft was indeed crafted skillfully. There was even a bamboo-woven dome in the middle of the raft to provide shelter from the sun and rain.


    Using the bamboo stick, the schr pushed the raft away from the shore. The bamboo raft drifted the two of them along the river, going downstream once again.

 Chapter 14: Arts Mustnt Be Easily Taught

    Chapter 14: Arts Mustn¡¯t Be Easily Taught


    It was easier than walking now. After spending the whole night going through the mountain, Miao Yi slumped down on the bamboo raft and let out a long sigh of relief. As he rxed, he realized that sailing on this river actually had an enticing feeling.


    The schr removed the bamboo pole from the water, causing some water to ssh. The schr would only row with the bamboo pole to adjust the direction when the bamboo raft deviated slightly off-course. However, the raft seemed to move quite smoothly along with the wind and waters, and thus deviations rarely happened which made for a very rxing ride.


    Miao Yi did feel slightly tired. He admired the mountain scenery on both sides, toozy to even move.


    Holding the bamboo pole, the schr stood against the wind. Without turning his head, he asked, ¡°Did Little Brother happen to gather the two immortal herbs?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Miao Yi replied. ¡°I did.¡±


    The schr continued asking, ¡°Since you have those immortal herbs, why haven¡¯t you knocked open the doors of the School of Immortals, instead of strolling about in this ce?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin in a few words.¡± Miao Yi did not want to talk about it anymore. He changed the topic and recalling the weird incident from before, asked, ¡°I just don¡¯t understand one thing. The two immortal herbs were right before your eyes, so why didn¡¯t you pick it? Do you really have no desire for that kind of thing?¡±


    The schr chuckled. ¡°I have served a Great Immortal. I have seen the things that Immortals do, and I am already tired of their matters. Thus, I have no interest in bing an Immortal.¡±


    Miao Yi asked in shock, ¡°You were the servant of an Immortal?¡±


    The schr asked back, ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡±


    ¡°No, I do.¡± Miao Yi shook his head, as he felt there was no need for the schr to lie about these things. Also, it did exin why this fellow had no interest in immortal herbs. If the schr had said it was because he didn¡¯t want to dirty his clothes, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t have believed him.


    As he scrutinized the schr before his eyes once more, he realized why he always felt that this fellow had an extraordinary aura. It was because he had spent time with an Immortal and had already partaken the aura of the Immortals.


    However, Miao Yi still felt slightly dubious. ¡°Since you aren¡¯t interested, why did you venture into the Boundless Secr World?¡±


    With the wind blowing against him, the schr replied, ¡°Humans have a lifespan of less than a hundred years. I was already lucky enough to get this chance, which only happens once in a thousand years. And since I was given the chance, wouldn¡¯t I feel regret if I didn¡¯t at least go in and check the ce out?


    Miao Yi was speechless. Seeing the schr¡¯s outlook on life, it was no wonder that he would choose to sail alone on these mountain rivers, unworldly like a floating cloud or wild crane.


    However, Miao Yi kept thinking how unusual it was to venture into that life-risking ce just to check it out. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°You have no interest in the immortal herb... Could it be that you wanted to find some treasures left behind during the Great War of Immortals and Devil?¡±


    ¡°Great War of Immortals and Devil?¡± The schr asked curiously, ¡°What war is that?¡±


    Miao Yi replied with astonishment, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know that the Boundless Secr World is the result of that war? A hundred thousand years ago, a hundred thousand celestial troops and generals traveled far across the Heavens, giving chase to the Great Devil, with the sole intent to kill. In the midst of their pursuit, they eventually arrived at this location. Unfortunately, the Great Devil was too strong, leaving the celestial troops and generals no choice but to finallyy out the Ultimate Deathly Strike Formation. With thisst move, they altogether perished, taking the Great Devil with them. You¡¯ve never heard of it before?¡±


    The white hair drooping down from the schr¡¯s temples fluttered along with the wind. ¡°Oh.¡± The schr still spoke with his back facing Miao Yi, ¡°I have heard about it. It¡¯s just something that happened a hundred thousand years ago. Who has seen it before? Maybe the truth was just the opposite. Maybe it was one hundred thousand Devils pursuing one good man, and the good man killed all the Devils in this Boundless Secr World in the end.¡±


    Miao Yiughed. ¡°Anyway, the legend has always been like that and everyone has always said it as such.¡±


    The schr replied, ¡°Humans are ignorant and often tell lies. How can one believe the rumors so easily? Little Brother, if someone were to one day say that I am a Great Devil, would you believe it?¡±


    Miao Yi smiled and said, ¡°Of course not. You¡¯re someone that stands detached from worldly sess. You¡¯re not even interested in bing an Immortal, so how could you be a Great Devil? In any case... you really don¡¯t want to be an Immortal? As an Immortal, wouldn¡¯t it be easier for you to explore the hills and rivers?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± The schr shook his head and said, ¡°If I wanted to be an Immortal, there would be no need to venture into the Boundless Secr World. The Great Immortal I served passed on a Celestial Art for me to cultivate should I ever decide to ascend to immortality.¡±


    Hearing this, Miao Yi could no longer smile. His expression froze for a while and he asked weakly, ¡°An Immortal entrusted you with a Celestial Art?¡±


    The schr said disapprovingly, ¡°You are interested? If you want, I can just pass it on to you.¡±


    Miao Yi immediately jumped up, asking with immense joy, ¡°Really?¡±


    The schr looked back at Miao Yi and said with a smile, ¡°Really.¡±


    Miao Yi was so excited that he didn¡¯t know what to say. If he could receive something so fortunate, then he might be able to continue caring for his younger siblings after bing an Immortal.


    Rubbing his hands in excitement, Miao Yi said shyly, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen what an Immortal¡¯s Celestial Art is like. Can I see it?¡±


    Miao Yi was afraid that the schr was kidding and wanted to confirm his offer.


    The schr shook his head and said, ¡°I do not have that Celestial Art with me now. The Great Immortal I served lived at the Celestial Mountain overseas. After the Great Immortal ascended the heavens, I had no interest in the Celestial Art that was given to me. Therefore, I left it at the abode of Immortals, the ce where the Great Immortal used to cultivate. Since then, I¡¯ve never taken it out. If you want, I can take you there to retrieve it.¡±


    Miao Yi was shocked as he asked hesitantly, ¡°That Great Immortal died? Aren¡¯t Immortals supposed to live forever?¡±


    The schr smiled and said, ¡°Live forever? That¡¯s just false information spread around by the people of this world. Not all Immortals can live forever. It¡¯s just that the higher your cultivation level, the longer the lifespan.¡±


    ¡°I see......¡±


    As they moved rapidly along the flow of the river, the two kept on talking. The schr always spoke in a calm and casual manner, while Miao Yi asked many questions.


    After chatting, Miao Yi realized that the schr was certainly someone that had spent a long time in thepany of an Immortal, he knew a great many things about them. It made Miao Yi feel extremely excited, to realize the enormity of what had fallen into hisp. Because the schr had no interest in bing an Immortal, he agreed to give Miao Yi the Celestial Art. If it had been anyone else, the oue wouldn¡¯t have been as favorable.....


    From sunrise to sunset, Miao Yi¡¯s excitement was eventually reced with tiredness. Finally, he could endure it no longer.


    Since venturing into the Boundless Secr World, he hadn¡¯t the time to really rest, especially after traveling through the mountains the whole ofst night. Enduring until sunset, Miao Yi finally copsed and slept soundly.


    The bamboo pole was left stuck on the bow of the raft. The bamboo raft moved along with the flow, without any need to adjust the direction.


    ¡°Arts mustn¡¯t be easily taught. If you were a heartless person, you would have no right to my Supreme Great Arts! I would rather wait a hundred thousand more years! If you were heartless, how then could I trust that you¡¯d kill the Nine Heavens, rebuke the stars, and grant me justice one day!¡± With his hands sped behind his back, the schr gazed at the stars. He slowly turned around to look at Miao Yi, who was sleeping soundly. He then said calmly, ¡°Good! You are not a heartless person that can forsake kindness for riches. I hope you won¡¯t fail me!¡±


    In actuality, the schr had been watching him since destroying the three immortal herbs, leaving two for Miao Yi.


    Without hesitation, Miao Yi gave his two chances away to his brother and sister. The schr had seen everything.


    If Miao Yi had not passed this test, the schr wouldn¡¯t have crossed paths with him at the riverside on his bamboo raft. Miao Yi would never have seen the schr again for the rest of his life.


    ¡°Unfortunately, your innate endowment is too weak. It¡¯s just not suitable for cultivation. There¡¯s still a need to shed your mortal body, refine your bones, and remold you thoroughly!¡±


    The schr muttered and stretched out his hand. He opened his palm and the dark green beads on Miao Yi¡¯s neck shed a faint light. A Glorious Star immortal herb, one chi in length, shot out of the beads and descended atop the schr¡¯s palm.


    The floating starlights affixed themselves around the nine red stone branches and nine gem leaves.


    This immortal herb looked different from the two that Miao Yi had picked. Not only was the root two-fold in size, there were also ruby-like fruits that hung on the nine branches. The nine red crystal fruits gave off a hidden fragrance.

 Chapter 15: Heart Facing the Blue Sea (1)

    Chapter 15: Heart Facing the Blue Sea (1)


    All of a sudden, two red dots of light rose out from within the mountain from both banks, seemingly locked on to the Glorious Star immortal herb the schr held in his hand. The two red lights moved along the shoreside, chasing and trailing the bamboo raft floating ahead along the waves.


    Swish! Arge serpent, as thick as a water pail, sprung out brazenly from the banks, its eyes emitting twin points of red light. It seemed very close to achieving the state of bing a demon spirit. The serpent opened its mouth and lunged towards the Glorious Star immortal herb levitating on the schr¡¯s palm.


    The schr didn¡¯t even bother sparing a nce. With a mere wave of his hand, the serpent immediately froze in midair, unable to move another inch.


    The schr flung out his arm in one swipe, causing the serpent to drop ande crashing down into the waters. It then swam to the front of the raft, trembling with fear as it hooked its tail onto the edges. It began to wriggle its body forward and pulled the bamboo raft along, bing a good source ofbor. It did not require anyone to control it anymore.


    The serpent, which had almost attained the state of a demonic spirit, hastened its speed, breaking through the waves as it dragged the bamboo raft onwards.


    ¡°This ny-nine thousand years old Glorious Star is enough to help you shed your mortal body and refine your bones...¡±


    As soon as he finished, he opened his mouth and lightly blew air upon the levitating immortal herb. Starlights adhering to the red stone branches and gem leaves immediately gathered together to form a delicate cloud of stars, seeping into Miao Yi¡¯s nostrils.


    Not long after, an expression of pain surfaced on Miao Yi¡¯s face, as though he was caught up in a nightmare and unable to wake up from it. Curling ck smoke began to flow from every pore of his body, giving out a horrible odor. It was fortunate that the bamboo raft was moving ahead at full speed, so the wind blowing against them was able to carry the smell away.


    After the starlights on the immortal herb hadpletely dissolved, specks of starlight emerged once more from the branches, then the leaves and fruits not long after, kept within an arm¡¯s length.


    The schr blew once more, and the starlights were swept into a cloud of stars, entering Miao Yi¡¯s nostrils once again.


    Three days and three nights passed under this form of repetition. The light particles emerging from the immortal herb gradually shrank and darkened in color. The entire immortal herb slowly withered and faded away. Even the nine red, ruby-like fruits had also dried up and turned unsightly after being drained of its essence.


    And Miao Yi¡¯s body was constantly oozing out a mass of impurities from his pores, its appearance akin to ck mud. His entire self looked as though he had crawled out from a pool of mud, emitting a stench so foul the schr threw him into the river to clean him up...


    The weeping sound of monkeys constantly echoed from both shores, as the boat lightly floated past innumerable mountains. Up ahead, the river widened, and the sight of the magnificent sea could be seen. Miao Yi was still sleeping soundly, the flesh on his entire body had turned white and delicate, giving him the appearance of a sleeping infant.


    The serpent pulling the raft at full speed let go of its tail, and the schr then flung the withering Glorious Star immortal herb into the air. The serpent opened its mouth, catching and swallowing it in one gulp. Rxed, it directed a sound that resembled a jeer at the schr, before turning and swiftly disappearing into the depths of the waters.


    The white hair drooping from the schr¡¯s temples fluttered along with his cloak, as he walked towards the front of the boat to directly face the sea. Beneath him, the bamboo raft suddenly travelled a hundred zhang further, soon flying across the vast sea at an unbelievable speed.


    After half a day had passed, the bamboo raft finally grounded itself on the shore of an unknown ind. The waves rolled and foamed. And Miao Yi remained in a deep sleep.


    The schr let out a look of fatigue, seemingly overwhelmed. For a moment, his entire body became blurred like a mirage, before transforming into a ray of white light. The light entered the dark green beads worn around Miao Yi¡¯s neck to recuperate...


    The tides rose and fell.


    When Miao Yi woke up, the schr brought him to a sealed abode of the Immortals located at the mountain and presented to him a jade archive piece which had the Celestial Art recorded on it.


    With a face full of excitement, Miao Yi stretched out his hands to receive it, but the schr waved his hand and retracted it back, asking solemnly, ¡°Do you really want to cultivate the Celestial Art?¡±


    ¡°I want to!¡± Miao Yi nodded his head repeatedly.


    ¡°Do you know why I don¡¯t want to cultivate?¡±


    ¡°....You¡¯re not interested?¡± Miao Yi remembered that the schr had said this before.


    ¡°Not being interested is just one part of it.¡± The schr¡¯s gaze appeared cid as he said, ¡°There is something I need to mention to you. When the Great Immortal was teaching me the Celestial Art, he told me that once you have ventured onto this path, there is no turning back. It is a path filled with blood and massacres, of suffering and betrayal. The further you walk down this path, the more resentment you¡¯ll have to bear. There is only one way for you to be free and that is to always walk forward, never turning back. You can only leave everything behind you once you have truly stood at the summit. And by that time, you will probably be left with nothing but loneliness... It is for this exact reason that I do not wish to cultivate the Celestial Art.¡±


    Miao Yi felt doubtful. What the schr had said was somewhat different from the cultivation he had in mind.


    The schr asked, ¡°Now, do you still want to cultivate this Celestial Art?¡±


    Thinking about his younger siblings who were already walking down this path, Miao Yi nodded his head without any hesitation.


    ¡°You really will not regret this?¡±


    Miao Yi shook his head.


    Thus, the schr handed over the jade archive to him. Miao Yi was eager to look through it, but soon after he raised his head meekly. He¡¯d had little schooling, so already he didn¡¯t recognize a few of the characters in the opening segment.


    He couldn¡¯t be med for this, since from a young age, he¡¯d had to bear the responsibility of supporting his family. As a result, he didn¡¯t have the time to study, and his younger siblings ended up more educated than him.


    The schr went speechless after hearing his exnation...


    The years they spent within the mountain, they remained unaware of the flourishing world. Time flew upon the blue sea, the days swiftly passing by.


    The first step of cultivation involved the schr teaching Miao Yi how to read. He had no choice but to teach him.


    The cultivation method the Great Immortal left behind was known as the Fiery Star Technique. Miao Yi wasn¡¯t able to understand it, and even if he were to exchange ces with another, they wouldn¡¯t be able to understand it too. Again, the schr was the one to teach him the way, one step at a time.


    Miao Yi discovered that Lao Bai was very knowledgeable. It was little wonder he had stayed by the Great Immortal¡¯s side. He could just consult with him to dispel any doubts regarding a lot of topics.


    There were times when Miao Yi felt regret that a man like Lao Bai did not wish to cultivate.


    Learning cultivation from the beginning was exceptionally dry and dull. Miao Yi had to follow the cultivation technique to circte the qi, sensing the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth so he could absorb it after that.


    After a few months where nothing happened, anyone would begin to feel slightly frustrated.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but ask for help, ¡°Lao Bai, what on earth is Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth? Why can¡¯t I sense it yet?¡±


    Lao Bai said, ¡°Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth is just a narrow way of saying it. To put it broadly, the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth is the Essence of Sun and Moon. I¡¯m sure you must have heard of the Essence of Sun and Moon before?¡±


    Miao Yi nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it before.¡±


    Lao Bai replied, ¡°Then tell me, what is the Essence of Sun and Moon?¡±


    ¡°This...¡± Speechless, Miao Yi was unable to answer.


    Lao Bai asked, ¡°Sun and the moon, you do know what those are, right?¡±


    Miao Yi nodded his head and replied, ¡°The sun and moon in the sky.¡±


    Lao Bai nodded his head and said, ¡°The sun and the moon, including the earth under your feet are merely three tiny celestial bodies. Numerous amounts of these tiny celestial bodies formed the vast ocean of stars in the night sky. Thus, the Essence of Sun and Moon is the omnipotent energy of the stars. Toprehend the absorption of the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, is toprehend the absorption of the omnipotent energy of the stars. This omnipotent energy is not formless. The rise and fall of the tides, the growth and decay experienced by all the living beings you see with your own eyes; they are all influenced by the sun, moon and stars, which in turn are also influenced by the omnipotent energy of the stars. Its formidable force can clearly be observed. Absorbing the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth is to seize the omnipotent energy of the stars, changing all living beings for own use. By the time it bes your strength and when you¡¯re capable of fully controlling it, not only can you utilize it to strengthen yourself, you can even utilize it to influence others. That is transcendence energy. Use your heart toprehend it!¡±

 Chapter 16: Heart Facing The Blue Sea (2)

    Chapter 16: Heart Facing The Blue Sea (2)


    After listening to his lucid exnation, Miao Yi finally understood. He began toprehend with his heart, immersing his body and mind into this world. During a tidal change, Miao Yi finally felt the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth.


    Besides the daily meditation and cultivation, Lao Bai also made Miao Yi exercise continuously.


    For example, he was ordered to create a trench, intercepting a river¡¯s flow and thereby creating a waterfall on the mountain.


    Lao Bai said that the scenery would look better with a waterfall on the mountain.


    This was a huge amount of work. After suffering terribly for his efforts, Miao Yi could only think that this was a useless task.


    Miao Yi seized the chance to ask, ¡°Lao Bai, don¡¯t you think that doing such strenuous work is just a waste of time? I think I should be using all the time I have to cultivate and gather enough Spiritual Qi as quickly as possible to cultivate the first wave of transcendence energy.¡±


    Lao Bai shook his head and said, ¡°Your cultivation has not yet reached the level where you¡¯re able to ignore the fundamental body. What if one day in the future, you couldn¡¯t use your transcendence energy because of an ident? By then, your neglected body wouldn¡¯t even be able to walk without transcendence energy and even an ordinary woman could kill you. Wouldn¡¯t that be pathetic? At this stage of your cultivation, strengthening the body is equivalent to strengthening the Essence, Qi and Spirit, thus, maintaining a healthy state of these elements can only be beneficial. Even if someone were to meditate every day, if his spirit is weak, he would only get half the results with twice the effort. Would that be preferable to the alternative; getting twice the results with half the effort? Most importantly, with a strong body full of Essence, Qi and Spirit, you would not easily fear an enemy encounter holding a powerful aura. This is very important to a beginner!¡±


    In any case, whatever Lao Bai said seemed to make sense. It was as if whatever Lao Bai wanted Miao Yi to do had a reason behind it and therefore, Miao Yi could only continue in earnest.


    A yearter, a waterfall appeared on the mountain, a sshing, silver dragon. Carrying a stick, Miao Yi wrenched out thest big rock and ced it in the waters. He then climbed onto the shore from within the torrents, the fierceness of the water currents almost pushing him down. Some way or another, he had finally constructed the waterfall that Lao Bai wanted.


    Lao Bai had gone sightseeing again. Thus, he did not see the result of Miao Yi¡¯s work at the time it was fullypleted.


    During the third day after the waterfall was constructed, a barefooted and half-naked Miao Yi sat cross-legged on a reef beside the sea. The sea breeze blew by as he meditated with his eyes closed. His chest, palms and soles faced the heavens as he gathered the True Fire of Supreme Yang. This was a necessary process for his cultivation of the Fiery Star Technique.


    The past year spent inbor was not in vain. Miao Yi appeared a lot more mature, and his body was covered with hard muscles. His skin color had turned slightly tanned from his time under the sun.


    ording to Lao Bai, Miao Yi was tanned because he wasn¡¯t able to absorb, use, and control the True Fire of Supreme Yang in its entirety.


    However, after many months and days, Miao Yi still managed to absorb an abundant amount of True Fire of Supreme Yang within his body.


    At this moment, with the Spiritual Qi he had absorbed, there was already an adequate amount of True Fire of Supreme Yang in the meridians of his body that he could utilize.


    As long as he was able to fuse the Spiritual Qi, which is the omnipotent energy of the stars, with his cultivation method and thus control this energy, he would be able to create his first wave of transcendence energy, the sole source of his arts. After that, he would no longer need to exert time and effort fusing the Spiritual Qi and his cultivation method in future. The energy of the stars he absorbed could fuse directly with his cultivation methods. Therefore, this step was important.


    ¡°What is transcendence energy? What is art? And what is energy? Artes from the cultivation method you have cultivated and is also the means for control. The energy is the power you control, also known as the omnipotent energy of the stars. To have arts and no energy, you will have the will but no power. To have energy and no arts, you¡¯re no different than a dead man. It doesn¡¯t matter how strong the energy, it will be useless to you. Only when arts and energy are merged into one, then it will be transcendence energy. Those with profound transcendence energy can change the positions of the stars; they¡¯re able to do anything!¡±


    That was how Lao Bai exined to Miao Yi about the true meaning of transcendence energy, and this was also what Miao Yi was working hard for.


    As the zing sun hung high up the sky, a thunder-like boom sounded within Miao Yi¡¯s body. The energy of the stars had finally fused with the True Fire of Supreme Yang, forming a shapeless force which puffed out of Miao Yi¡¯s pores.


    Miao Yi suddenly opened his eyes, and a glowing budding white lotus appeared between his brows.


    To a cultivator, the area between the brows is called a spiritual point and shows their level of cultivation. It is a reflection of the heart, which is simr to the saying ¡®the outward appearance stems from the heart¡¯. For cultivators, the appearance rtes to the transcendence energy and the heart represents the cultivation.


    Even the people of the world would get their fortune told by looking at the area between the brows. For example, if the area has ckened, it means that the person has bad luck, or if the area glows with brightness, it means that the person has good luck.


    Through the excitement, Miao Yi stood up and clenched his fists. The transcendence energy surrounding him gave him a feeling of omnipotence.


    He poked the surface of the sea and in the next moment, a crystal-clear water dragon burst out from its depths. It was one zhang in length and as thick as an arm.


    Miao Yi held up two fingers in front of him and as his transcendence energy moved alongside his mind¡¯s will, the water dragon immediately flew closer and danced around him.


    Keeping his transcendence energy together, Miao Yi clenched his fist and thrust it downwards at the sand. The water dragon immediately transformed into a ball of water, rapidly rushing towards the sand.


    Boom!


    The mixture of water and sand sttered, and the ball of water left arge hole on the shore.


    ¡°Lao Bai, Lao Bai, I seeded! I can exert the transcendence energy!¡±


    Miao Yi jumped down the reef and dashed away, repeatedly shouting in excitement.


    He returned to that simple-looking abode of Immortals where he saw Lao Bai lying on a rocking chair. Miao Yi immediately pulled Lao Bai up.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lao Bai asked as he scrutinized Miao Yi.


    ¡°Look!¡± Miao Yi, who was already able to use the Inner Sight, knew that when he exerted his transcendence energy, something would appear on the center of his brows.


    After the glowing image of a budding, white lotus flower appeared, Miao Yi stretched out his hand to point at a nearby torch and shouted, ¡°Fire!¡±


    With a ¡°Boom¡± sound, the torch was instantly aze. This was the best trick he knew rting to his fire techniques.


    Miao Yi looked at Lao Bai with anticipation, hoping for praise.


    However, who would have thought that Lao Bai would reply with a calm face, ¡°Just lighting a fire excites you to this point? The Great Immortal that once lived here could move mountains and seas by just the wave of his hand. And it¡¯s just a budding, white lotus between your brows. It means that your foundation is not yet stable and you have only just crossed the threshold. You haven¡¯t even reached the first grade of White Lotus.¡±


    Miao Yi smiled and said, ¡°I know.¡± His face still showed that he was feeling very happy.


    Lao Bai shook his head and left the abode of Immortals as he said, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    He led Miao Yi to the waterfall that he constructed and stood below the waterfall. As the water rumbled, they felt the mist brushing their faces.


    ¡°What?¡± Miao Yi asked puzzledly.


    Lao Bai pointed at the ce where the waterfall made contact and said, ¡°Try exerting your transcendence energy there and see how long you can endure.¡±


    Miao Yi nodded. He wanted to try out the transcendence energy that he had just cultivated.


    Without saying a word, he ran barefoot and dived into the rapid waters below the waterfall. He then sat on a huge rock beneath the waterfall and exerted transcendence energy to protect his body, forcefully defending against its continuous, heavy force of impact.


    However, within less than four hours, the transcendence energy that Miao Yi condensed could no longer withstand the crushing force. As soon as his transcendence energy was used up, Miao Yi was immediately hit and pushed away by the rumbling and strong torrent.


    One should not belittle his time of less than four hours. If it were an ordinary person, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to endure it for that long. Walking into the waterfall would have already been a problem for them, let alone enduring for about four hours.


    ¡°This fellow is quite useful. It¡¯s just that the current of the waterfall he dug out was a little too strong...¡± Lao Bai mumbled, ncing at the waterfall.

 Chapter 17: Heart Facing the Blue Sea (3)

    Chapter 17: Heart Facing the Blue Sea (3)


    Soaking wet, Miao Yi climbed out of the water and returned to Lao Bai¡¯s side, saying with a defeated tone, ¡°The current I can stand, but with the continuous flow of water, it¡¯s suffocating.¡±


    ¡°One month!¡± said Lao Bai as he turned his back to pivot around the rocks, speaking as he moved. ¡°If your transcendence energy is enough tost you a month under this waterfall, you¡¯ll have a firm foundation. I¡¯ll be waiting for good news from you.¡±


    ¡°Ugh......¡±


    Drenched from head to toe, Miao Yi looked at the roaring waterfall, and he finally understood something. He understood that the waterfall that he poured effort to create was to be used for his own torment.


    Of course, he knew that Lao Bai would not let him waste his effort on something for nothing and that there was always a reason behind everything that he was made to do. Each task was all for his own good, and he carried them out with maximum effort.


    Tides rose and fell, seasons changed, day after day he faced the sun for the True Fire of Supreme Yang, day after day he became one with the heaven and earth, taking in its Spiritual Qi, and engrossed in his cultivation, two years had passed.


    After two years, the Miao Yi sitting drenched under the waterfallsted half a month under its onught using his arts.


    In all this time, he still hadn¡¯t been able to master his transcendence energy. But just as he was about to reach his limit, the transcendence energy matured from the pressure, finally taking form.


    An unseen force exploded from Miao Yi with a ¡°Bang!¡±, sshing water everywhere.


    The unseeable force started to spread outwards, with him as the epicenter, forming a transparent ball around him. At his spiritual point, a lotus bud quietly sprouted a petal between his brows.


    Finally stabilizing his foundation, he had trodden into the White Lotus First Grade stage and into the cultivation grade boundary.


    Miao Yi¡¯s mouth twisted into a slight grin but it disappeared almost immediately, and he turned his focus back to withstanding the strong current of the waterfall.


    Lao Bai had said, he mustst an entire month to be considered sessful.


    With his transcendence energy shielding him, the torrent could no longer wash over his skin, and with that, Miao Yisted for five more days.


    But hested no longer than that, due to the depletion of his transcendence energy earlier on. The round transcendence energy shield shook under the continuous torrent of water and copsed.


    The rushing current once again washed Miao Yi, who had already immensely exhausted both his body strength and transcendence energy, into the depths of the water.


    A month passed again, and Miao Yi returned to the waterfall after his body strength and transcendence energy had returned to its optimum state. Once again, he used his transcendence energy to shield his body, went under the waterfall in a sh and quietly sat in a lotus position. A transparent ball shrouded him, not even a drop of water could touch him.


    When a month¡¯s time was up, in the transparent ball under the raging waterfall, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes opened and caught sight of Lao Bai standing outside. He moved quickly from his spot, restraining the transcendence energy as he descended onto the shore. He was still dry.


    ¡°You said one month, and I did it!¡± Miao Yi reported the good news to Lao Bai, but his face was full of bitterness, ¡°We¡¯ve been here for almost four years already, right? I have been painstakingly cultivating for four years and my cultivation has only entered the first grade of White Lotus. Isn¡¯t this too slow?¡±


    ¡°Continue!¡± Lao Bai threw him a vague nce, then without another word, turned and left.


    Until the time came for it, Lao Bai usually never spoke more than a word.


    Shaking his head, Miao Yi turned and walked up to the mountain peak. He could only continue to cultivate.


    Since there was no one topare himself with, he couldn¡¯t have known that having his cultivation at White Lotus First Grade after a span of four years, wasn¡¯t considered as slow.


    Not everyone was fortunate enough to be able to meet and have a tutor like Lao Bai. No matter what doubts Miao Yi would have when in the middle of cultivating, Lao Bai would always stretch out a helping hand. He would easily give an exnation in simple terms, clearing Miao Yi¡¯s doubts and helping him to quicklyprehend the profound meaning behind it so he could improve at a faster pace.


    Lao Bai had arranged Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation method ording to his cultivation progress, and it was well-nned out.


    Regardless of whether it was training to toughen his body or to cut into a mountain and dig out stones to form a waterfall, in actuality, it was all to ensure that Miao Yi would be able to cultivate internally and externally, maintaining perfect conditions of body and spirit. This undoubtedly provided a good cultivation state for Miao Yi.


    Even making Miao Yi undergo the waterfall¡¯s onught was a way to temper his body and willpower. Simultaneously, it was also to energize his training, overall improving his endurance and the ability to bear the pressure of the transcendence energy he was cultivating. This was a type of repetitive tempering which would be immensely advantageous for him should he be faced with strong foes in future.


    Without depending on external forces such as elixirs, it was already considered to be a godly speed for a mere mortal to have ascended into the first grade of White Lotus in four years time.


    After painstakingly cultivating for another year, Miao Yi once again found Lao Bai to clear his doubts, ¡°Lao Bai, ever since I¡¯ve crossed over to White Lotus First Grade, why does it feel like my speed in absorbing the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth has slowed down?¡±


    Lao Bai replied, ¡°It¡¯s not that your absorbing speed has gotten slower. The actual fact is that your capability has berger. Following the upgrade in your cultivation base, the speed of advancement in grades will appear slower than ever, and so it will take a longer time. It will require a good amount of patience. ¡±


    Miao Yi asked, ¡°So how much time will I need to cross over from first grade of White Lotus to second grade?¡±


    Lao Bai threw him a nce and replied thoughtlessly, ¡°Give or take twenty years.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Twenty years?¡± Miao Yi froze in shock, recovered and asked, ¡°Is there a faster way?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°What method?¡±


    ¡°A man¡¯s will is an amazing thing. One man¡¯s will may be insignificant, but when the will of many are gathered together, it will materialize into an amazing power. Cultivators gathered this power for their own use to heighten the effects of absorbing the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. They have used the will of many men to do so, gathering them together and absorbing it with great effectiveness. It has helped to enhance their cultivation at amazing speeds.¡± Lao Bai asked in reply, ¡°I am sure you¡¯re not unfamiliar with this condition?¡±


    Miao Yi asked, ¡°You¡¯re talking about the power of will?¡±


    Lao Bai nodded his head.


    Miao Yi¡¯s mind shed over the shrine in his own home as well as those in other people¡¯s homes. How could he be unfamiliar with the required six hours spent in daily prayer, offering his power of will to the shrine? How could he have forgotten the situation when he and his younger siblings were almost sent to the Manor of Merciful Hope, where they would have been forced to offer their power of will continuously for days and nights.


    All this time, he didn¡¯t understand why those ¡®Immortals¡¯ required this service, why they had to make everyone devote their power of will, but now he finally understood why!


    Miao Yi was curious as to how mystical the power of will really was so he couldn¡¯t resist the temptation to ask, ¡°Once I have attained the power of will, how much higher can my cultivating speed be raised?¡±


    ¡°That depends on whether you will be able to get a sufficient amount of power of will supporting you, as well as the efficiency in utilization towards it.¡±


    ¡°Is there a difference in utilization?¡±


    ¡°You need to know that there are thousands of types of people. The gathered power of will contains a variety of people¡¯s distracting thoughts of the seven emotions and six desires, so when using the power of will, it is a must to clear those distracting thoughts to purely utilize the power of will to reach one¡¯s goal. Or else one will be turned by the seven emotions and six desires, causing an inner demon to form inside of them. If those with a natural talent in cultivating are not careful, they may one day be devoured and possessed by the devil due to their inner demons. For minor cases, they will end up as neither human nor ghost, and will be unable to control themselves. And for the serious cases, they will be bound on a path leading to death.¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s so risky, why do those cultivators still want to utilize it?


    Now, Miao Yi was also considered as a cultivator. And only now he realized that it was a bit ridiculous to be referring to cultivators as Immortals, and so he decided he would definitely not be calling them Immortals anymore.


    ¡°So there is the issue of the utilization efficiency of the power of will. Just use it carefully and gradually. As long as you¡¯re patient and not rushing to seed, there shouldn¡¯t be any issues under normal circumstances.¡±


    ¡°By how much will it really increase the cultivating speed?¡±


    ¡°Under normal circumstances, and if nothing goes wrong, it will have at least a five-fold increase in speed.¡±


    ¡±Five-fold?¡± Miao Yi cried out in surprise. ¡°So that means, if I require twenty years for my cultivation to achieve White Lotus Second Grade, it will only take four years if I use the power of will?¡±


    Lao Bai calmly said, ¡°It can be even faster!¡±


    There was a faint feeling that Lao Bai was trying to gradually tempt Miao Yi.


    It can at least shorten the time required to cultivate by five-fold!


    As Miao Yi listened, his heart began to itch and was on the verge of losing restraint. After scratching his head and pacing back and forth for awhile, he began to speak hesitatingly, ¡°Lao Bai, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for me to continue staying on this ind, cultivating slowly.¡±


    Lao Bai let out an ¡®Oh¡¯ and then asked, ¡°You want to go outside to gather the power of will to cultivate?¡±


    Miao Yi nodded as he replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Since you want to leave, I won¡¯t stop you.¡± Lao Bai walked to the entrance of the cave and suddenly turned around, his gaze bing sharp and intense as he said, ¡°Have you already made preparations to pige the world¡¯s power of will?¡±

 Chapter 18: Heart Facing the Blue Sea (4)

    Chapter 18: Heart Facing the Blue Sea (4)


    ¡°Prepare? Prepare for what?¡±


    ¡°The preparation to pige! The preparation to give you the ability to fight back when others take what¡¯s yours!¡±


    The preparation was a wooden spear!


    Lao Bai asked Miao Yi what weapon he would like, but Miao Yi himself did not know.


    He recalled seeing a cultivator passing by him, resplendently sitting astride on a dragon steed with a silver spear in hand. Therefore, Miao Yi chose the spear!


    However, the ind didn¡¯t have the silver spear he pictured in his mind. Lao Bai also wasn¡¯t nning to let him use the real thing anyway. Since he liked the spear, Lao Bai made him hack a tree and then carve out a one-zhang-long wooden spear.


    Below the rocky mountainside, Lao Bai pointed at the bald, rocky mountain as he said, ¡°Use the wooden spear to destroy it. If the rocky mountain copses but the wooden spear remain intact, then that is considered a sess!¡±


    ¡°This......¡± Miao Yi stared at the wooden spear in his own hand, feeling slightly speechless.


    Lao Bai¡¯s long hair fluttered with the wind as he waved his hand to point at the hill, ¡°You must believe that with this spear in hand, there is nothing in this world that can stop you! Even if it is just a wooden spear in your hand, even if it is a massive mountain before your eyes, or even if it¡¯s an iron mountain, you must believe that you can destroy it with one strike of your spear. This is faith. This is the imposing manner that will make your enemy cower in fright! Without this imposing manner, what right do you have topete with the heroes of the world for the world¡¯s power of will.¡±


    And so, Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation of holding a wooden spear and hacking the rocks of the mountain began.


    Although it was just a wooden spear, when it was used by a cultivator and was imbued with the attribution of transcendence energy, the strength of the wooden spear was more powerful than a real spear used by ordinary people.


    As he thrust the spear out from his hand, it pierced deep within the rocks of the mountain. With a jerk of the spear, pebbles and rocks flew as rumbling sounds reverberated continuously.


    Within a short time, all was still fine. Miao Yi rapidly thrust the spear with immense power, but after a long time passed and when Miao Yi had an inadequate amount of transcendence energy, in the end, the wooden spear was still a wooden spear. Even a real spear wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the force of mountain breaking, let alone a wooden spear.


    Wooden spears broke, one after the other.


    As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. After destroying more than a dozen spears, Miao Yi gradually understood the way ofbining man, spear and the transcendence arts. In the midst of the clumsy and tedious mountain breaking, Miao Yi gradually mastered the use of the spear and the transcendence art to perfection.


    Miao Yi crushed and broke the mountain rocks easily as he waved, thrust, and jerked the spear.


    Massive rocks tumbled down the mountain. Miao Yi jerked his spear and struck the rocks furiously, breaking it into pieces.


    When the entire rocky mountain copsed, already two years had passed. Miao Yi carried his eighty-first wooden spear and stood on top of the copsed crushed rocks as he said to Lao Bai, ¡°I have seeded. Can I leave now?¡±


    The answer was no. Lao Bai said that the depth of the transcendence energy can increase through time. However, situations where lower-leveled cultivators have managed to kill a higher-leveled cultivator, do happen often. The main point is one¡¯s proficiency when using transcendence energy. The most adept one is invincible!


    Lao Bai pointed back to the waterfall!


    And so, Miao Yi carried all the copsed rocks one by one to the area above the waterfall, piling them all up there. He gathered vines and weaved a which helped him bundle up a huge amount of rocks.


    Miao Yi then carried his spear and stood beneath the torrential waterfall with his eyes covered by a cloth.


    Standing on top of that mountain, Lao Bai pulled the weaved vine and its great number of rocks to move along with the torrential waterfall and fall downwards onto Miao Yi. Lao Bai said that this was to train Miao Yi¡¯s perceptivity.


    Miao Yi immediately lifted his spear and angrily hit the rocks rushing down with the flow of water. Yet, the rocks crushed during that first round were less than ten percent of the total amount.


    Again and again. Not only did Miao Yi have to endure the impact of the torrential waterfall, he had to distinguish the rocks flowing within it. It was unknown how many times he was left exhausted to the point of getting hit into the river by the massive rocks.


    As more and more rocks piled up within the valley, Miao Yi became increasingly closer to the area above the waterfall. Miao Yi¡¯s reaction time grew faster, and his skill with the spear became increasingly swift and urate...


    The sea weather tended to change unexpectedly. When a terrifying typhoon was seen approaching on the gloomy, great sea and when the furious waves inundated the horizon, Lao Bai made Miao Yi sail on a wooden raft built out of a pile of coconut shells, and then float out into the tempestuous sea.


    In the midst of the fierce wind and furious waves, the heaven and earth seemed to shake. Standing on the wooden raft, Miao Yi gave up on attributing it with his transcendence energy, upon which the wooden raft immediately capsized and was hit by the massive waves.


    The one hundred coconut shells were immediately sted away by the wind and the waves. Instantly, Miao Yi held his spear and stepped onto the waves, pursuing the coconut shells and then crushing them with one spear thrust.


    He was seen either holding the spear, flying and leaping across the crest of the furious waves, or rushing into the huge earth-shattering waves.


    As the waves calmed down, Lao Bai and Miao Yi sailed towards the deeper regions of the sea.


    In the sea of this valley, a kind of Tyrant Fish lived a thousand meters below sea level. It was one meter long with bony scales all over its body. It wasn¡¯t very active so once it had eaten enough, it loved to hide in its cave and hibernate. However, once it leaves its cave, its reaction speed is extremely fast in the sea and has a shocking force behind the bite of its iron-like teeth. The Tyrant Fish preferred to attack in groups and could even chomp an entire whale into white bones within a short while.


    Naturally, Lao Bai hadn¡¯t led Miao Yi here to admire the scenery under the sea and feed the fish. Instead, he wanted Miao Yi to dive into the bottom of the sea and kill the group of Tyrant Fish.


    The pressure exerted a thousand meters under the sea was astonishingly great. If the wooden spear were not attributed with transcendence energy, it would be crushed into pieces. It was extremely difficult for Miao Yi, who had only just begun diving, to adapt to the pressure, let alone hunting and killing in such a deep region. Plus, it was extremely dark under the sea.


    Lao Bai wanted Miao Yi to see the pressure of the deep sea as the pressure of the transcendence energy exerted by a powerful opponent.Through this method, he could get used to attacking under the pressure of another person¡¯s powerful transcendence energy!


    When Miao Yi finally adapted to such powerful pressure, Lao Bai then did something that made the Tyrant Fish leave their hiding spot from within their sea caves, and then abruptly surround Miao Yi before attacking him.


    During that first time, after Miao Yi killed over a hundred Tyrant Fish under the great sea pressure, he could no longer endure anymore. He fled in confusion back to the surface of the sea and climbed up onto the boat with bloody wounds.


    After he had recuperated, Lao Bai made him do it again but this time with the objective of diving a thousand meters under the sea and killing ten thousand Tyrant Fish. Only then, would this training be considered a sess.


    Time psed quickly.


    The waterfall that Miao Yi arduously dug had disappeared, because the valley beneath had already been filled up with the rocks that Miao Yi crushed with his wooden spear.


    In the midst of the typhoon and furious waves, the one hundred coconut shells would never go missing. Neither the wind nor the waves could stop Miao Yi¡¯s spear from crushing them all.


    The rippled surface of the sea waspletely dyed with blood, as numerous Tyrant Fish floated on the surface. Lao Bai had calcted their corpses and it was exactly ten thousand, neither more nor less.


    Ssh! Holding the wooden spear, Miao Yi leaped out of the sea and descended onto the small boat. He scanned the surface of the sea and smiled, ¡°Although your requests were slightly boring, I did what you wanted me to do!¡±


    His figure looked resplendent, vigorous, and energetic. His eyes were brimming with that radiating vigor and his ck pupils shone bright like the frosty stars.


    His strong muscles were symmetrical, and his physique was upright like a spear. With his resolute appearance, he was handsome in looks.


    After a long period of time, where he repeatedly killed, used up all his transcendence energy and then setting forth to attack again, Miao Yi was prepared like an unsheathed precious sword. He possessed an awe-inspiring and courageous aura. This was a rare confidence!


    It was an amazing type of confidence, built through countless times of failure and then standing up to try again!


    ¡°I never said you were boring.¡± Miao Yi waved his hand and smiled, ¡°I just thought it¡¯s a pity. I spent most of my time doing the things you¡¯ve requested, but if I used this time on cultivating my transcendence energy, my cultivation would definitely improve a lot. I would be able to reach closer to White Lotus Second Grade.¡±


    ¡°As long as there are chances and time, you can cultivate. However, once the foundation is built, it is a lifelong lesson and will benefit you your whole life. If you had lost the chance to build your foundation and were to establish your own methods, then you wouldn¡¯t be able to repair it even if you wanted to. For example, no matter how great your transcendence energy is, you wouldn¡¯t be able to change the way you think, your personality, and your habits.¡±


    Lao Bai was sinct in his advice as he wasn¡¯t the kind of person that would exin non-stop. He nodded, motioning Miao Yi to steer the boat back as he said, ¡°Return!¡±

 Chapter 19: Refugee (1)

    Chapter 19: Refugee (1)


    The moment Miao Yi fulfilled his requests, Lao Bai didn¡¯t go back on his words. He stopped ¡®preventing¡¯ Miao Yi from leaving. But in reality, he had never stopped him; it was more of a reminder. However, Miao Yi would always carry out his reminders no matter what.


    As Miao Yi¡¯s name had suggested, he possessed the willpower that Lao Bai admired. And Miao Yi himself was more self-aware than Lao Bai had initially thought, which saved him from additional preparations or approaches that he was prepared to do.


    The wooden raft, built from the freshly chopped timber, was pushed into the sea. Miao Yi tied his messy long hair into a bun and secured it with a wooden hairpin.


    He jumped onto the wooden raft holding a wooden spear, then turned around to grin at Lao Bai, revealing a row of white teeth.


    Miao Yi was really leaving. Since the moment he arrived at this ind, he had gradually grown from a mature teenager into the sturdy youth he was today. His appearance changed considerably over time. And all of this happened in a sh of ten years.


    Ten years had passed. He was really going to leave.


    ¡°Lao Bai, you really don¡¯t want to go with me?¡± Miao Yi stood on the bamboo raft and asked.


    Lao Bai shook his head andughed softly, ¡°Please take care of yourself. From now on, I won¡¯t be able to guide you on whatever obstacles you face. Remember, from today onwards, you have to depend on yourself!¡±


    Miao Yi nodded heavily. He looked at Lao Bai with conflicting emotions and said, ¡°I should really thank you.¡±


    Lao Bai smiled gently at him, ¡°No need to thank me, if I¡¯m ever in need of your help next time, I hope you won¡¯t turn me down.¡±


    Miao Yi patted his chest and assured him, ¡°As long as it is something that I can do, I definitely won¡¯t refuse you.¡±


    Lao Bai nodded, ¡°I hope you will remember what you have said today.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t forget,¡± Miao Yi asserted. But after that, he scratched his head and asked hesitantly, ¡°Lao Bai, the ¡®Fiery Star Technique¡¯ that I¡¯m cultivating isn¡¯t too badpared to those other cultivators, right?¡±


    ¡°I have neverpared it with other cultivations, so I can¡¯t answer your question. Good or bad, you will know for certain when the timees. But you must remember one thing.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Arts shouldn¡¯t be spread around. The techniques you have cultivated on your own will be the foundation that will save your life. Do not give them away so easily, otherwise, you will bring cmity upon yourself. You must remember! You must!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve told me this numerous times already. I still remember, it¡¯s considered taboo in the world of cultivation!¡± After Miao Yi had finished, a gust of sea breeze blew in from the east. He raised his hand to feel the wind, then shouted, ¡°The wind hase, Lao Bai, I really have to go now. Are you really sure that you don¡¯t want toe with me?¡±


    Lao Bai waved his hands lightly, then turned his back and left with no words of farewell.


    Miao Yi raised his painted sailcloth, which was immediately blown by the sea breeze, and then pushed the raft into the vast waters. He looked at Lao Bai¡¯s silhouette and shouted once more, ¡°Lao Bai, you have so much knowledge, it¡¯s really a pity that you don¡¯t cultivate. Please carefully reconsider it again when I¡¯m gone.¡±


    Lao Bai walked towards the mountain forest with his back facing Miao Yi. The edge of his lips curved, dismissing Miao Yi with a smile...


    Navigating with the wind and the current, the wooden raft imbued with transcendence energy sailed at full speed ahead.


    He watched as the ind slowly disappeared from the sea¡¯s horizon. His excitement at leaving the ind suddenly turned into slight reluctance, with a trace of regret. It was the kind of hesitation that springs forth from one¡¯s ignorance towards the unknown.


    The sun set and rose, and soon a day had passed. Miao Yi still couldn¡¯t see signs of drynd. He suddenly felt doubt as he remembered that it was Lao Bai who steered his bamboo raft to that ind.


    Lao Bai wasn¡¯t a cultivator. With just his bamboo raft, how was he able to sail through the vast sea andnd on that faraway ind?


    He simply couldn¡¯t wrap his head around it. However, Lao Bai was full of wisdom and had known many strange things. It was possible he had some sort of approach up his sleeves that Miao Yi didn¡¯t know about...


    The day had turned into dusk with the setting sun. Just then, a ship appeared on the surface of the sea,ing from the direction that Miao Yi was heading to.


    Truth be told, Miao Yi had never seen such a huge ship before. He stopped directing his flow of transcendence energy on the wooden raft and allowed it to float along the currents. Miao Yi was prepared to take a good look at the massive ship.


    The ship had many levels of deluxe suites. The bamboo curtains were dangling against the windows, letting in the sea breeze to blow through the ship.


    A small child just learning to walk was tottering and crawling around on a thick rug. Two womenughed joyously at the child¡¯s attempts; one was a young, married woman adorned with jewelry; the other, a red-clothed servant girl. The beaded curtain at the door suddenly flipped open. Another servant girl, clothed in green, ran inside and shouted hysterically, ¡°Madame, oh no, oh no, a person is floating in the sea.¡±


    As she said that, the married woman and the servant girl were instantly frightened and covered their mouths.


    The hysterical girl instantly realized that she had conveyed the wrong message and quickly revised her words, ¡°It¡¯s not a dead person. He¡¯s alive. He¡¯s drifting alone in his raft. I don¡¯t know what he must have gone through to end up sailing alone at sea.¡±


    So it wasn¡¯t a corpse. The married woman stood up and walked towards the servant girl to give her a poke on the temple of her head. A few people came up to the balcony and leaned on the rails to look around.


    Miao Yi stood on the wooden raft looking in their direction, and he was the poor guy they were talking about.


    ¡°Steward!¡± The married woman leaned against the railings and shouted at the lower deck.


    A middle-aged man wearing arge bamboo hat immediately ran upstairs. He bowed and asked, ¡°Madame, what is your order?¡±


    The married woman pointed in Miao Yi¡¯s direction, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to that poor man, but since we found him, let us get closer to lend him a hand.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± The steward immediately went downstairs and made arrangements.


    The ship slowly sailed towards Miao Yi. He thought that it was strange, but he waited until the ship drew closer to him. The people on the ship threw down a ropedder and yelled a few words of assistance. It was only then Miao Yi realized that they were treating him as a refugee from the sea.


    Since Miao Yi was clueless as to where he was going, and he was curious about the ship, he might as well just pretend to be a refugee and abandon his wooden raft. He climbed up to the ship, taking his wooden spear with him.


    After climbing on board, Miao Yi looked around curiously. The steward wearing a bamboo hat was already walking towards him.


    ¡°You are lucky to have met with our Madame¡¯s kindness. Come with me,¡± the steward prompted, and led Miao Yi into a storeroom full of items.


    Nobody took notice of the wooden rod in Miao Yi¡¯s hand. At least to their knowledge, that wooden spear was just a wooden rod.


    Soon after, water and food were quickly delivered to Miao Yi to fill his belly. They reckoned that he must be famished from drifting along the sea.


    Miao Yi, on the other hand, thought of them as kind people. The steward had already begun interrogating him on his background.


    Since they had treated him as a sea refugee, Miao Yi took the opportunity to cook up some wild tales about himself.


    Initially, he wanted to experience some respect and recognition by unting his identity of being an ¡®Immortal¡¯. After all, he had just got out from cultivating in the mountains, and showing this kind of attitude as a greenhorn was inevitable. But since these people were kind-hearted, he felt that there was no need to frighten them, so he waved that thought away in the end.


    The steward was starting to notice something strange about Miao Yi. He didn¡¯t seem like a refugee because he didn¡¯t look as dejected as most refugees would be. After a thorough examination, he confirmed that he was indeed a refugee and immediately briefed Miao Yi, ¡°The ship will arrive on drynd within the next few days. If you have nothing urgent, please stay inside the storeroom. There are women on the ship, so do not go running around the deck!¡±


    Miao Yi nodded and thanked him.


    After he had finished the meal they had delivered to him, a green-clothed servant maid came in carrying a nket. She looked at Miao Yi curiously and put down the nket, ¡°Madame ordered this for your stay tonight.¡±


    Miao Yi nodded and watched as she took away the dining utensils.


    His sole intention ofing aboard the ship was to look at the ship¡¯s structure. Miao Yi eventually became bored staying in the storeroom of the ship, and he finally gave in and walked up to the deck to look around.


    After the steward had discovered him wandering around, his expression turned sour. It might be because Miao Yi had refused to listen to his orders.

 Chapter 20: Refugee (2)

    Chapter 20: Refugee (2)


    Not only did they drive Miao Yi back into the cabin, they even locked the cabin door. Miao Yi was speechless. He could only open the small window and breathe in some fresh air.


    Because Miao Yi was bored, he spread out the nket given by the order of the unacquainted Madame and sat in a lotus stance as he cultivated.


    Time passed imperceptibly, and already it waste at night. With his keen senses, Miao Yi noticed another ship approaching. At first, he did not take it seriously, but soon the sounds of nging, fighting and screams of fear rang out.


    The sounds caused Miao Yi to recall the fights that took ce in the Boundless Secr World.


    ¡°Pirates! Pirates! Protect Madame!¡±


    It was the voice of that steward.


    Miao Yi opened his eyes and rapidly stood up, grabbing the wooden spear. He walked to the door and with just a push, the door immediately flew out.


    In a sh, he dashed up to the deck and saw a ship sailing right beside theirs. In the opposite ship, many pirates with sabers in their hands were jumping and climbing onto this ship, waving their long sabers and shouting wildly to induce fear.


    There were many people fighting with the pirates on the ship Miao Yi was in, but it was obvious that the one¡¯s defending were no match for those pirates that made their profits by licking blood off their sabers. Quite a number of people had already been shed by sabers and were left copsed on the ground. Especially when the pirates¡¯ archers fired their arrows, killing many of the men defending the ship Miao Yi was on. The defending men could only retreat as many of their own forces were killed.


    A few falc ropes were hurled over. The pirates leaped out from the sails of their ship wielding their sabers and slid directly along the ropes towards the master¡¯s cabin. It was obvious that they were trying to capture the leader first in order to capture all the followers.


    If they could seize the master, the others would stop fighting back to save their master¡¯s life. This way, the losses during the attack would decrease. These pirates seemed very experienced. It was obvious that this wasn¡¯t the first time they had done something like this.


    The fight outside was extremely terrible. Screams of maids could be heard from the master¡¯s room, apanied by cries of children. The steward was also shouting in the master¡¯s room, ordering the men to stop the pirates froming in.


    Sou! The sound of a sudden, sharp burst of wind sounded as Miao Yi moved the long spear. With a ¡°Duo¡± sound, a white feather arrow trembled as it hit the spear shaft. It almost shot Miao Yi¡¯s head.


    With a shake of his spear, the white feather arrow rebounded from the spear shaft. He waved the spear, which measured up to one zhang long, at the archer who was holding onto the mast.


    Bang! The shapeless force sted the archer who was about to fire again. The archer spat blood and fell, crashing onto the deck. He stopped moving after struggling for a while.


    Miao Yi was dumbstruck by what had happened. He didn¡¯t expect that the opponent would be this weak. Immediately, Miao Yi realized that he was no longer an ordinary being, as ordinary beings wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand his own transcendence energy.


    ng! The pirates had already broke in the door of the master¡¯s cabin room.


    Without any time to ponder, Miao Yi darted up in a sh. As he dashed into the room, the transcendence energy bursted out from his body and immediately sted the group of pirates, causing them to spit blood as they flew out.


    Simultaneously, Miao Yi dashed into the room and thrust his spear through the heart of the pirate who had his saber up in the air and was about to sh the steward.


    As the pirate copsed, the saber in his hand fell to the ground with a ng,nding near the steward.


    The terrified steward, thedy with the child in her arms, and the two maids all saw the expressionless Miao Yi who was behind the pirate that had copsed. They all saw the faintly glowing, one petal White Lotus that was in between Miao Yi¡¯s brows, seeming so abnormally conspicuous.


    Feeling delighted and surprised, the steward pleaded, ¡°Immortal, help! Immortal, please save our lives!¡±


    Without paying him any attention, Miao Yi picked up the load with his spear and carried the corpse with the spear¡¯s tip to the balcony outside to disy his prowess.


    After training his temperament for many years, Miao Yi no longer felt a sense of fear or weakness after doing something like this. Even Miao Yi himself felt it weird that he wasn¡¯t afraid. He could still remember feeling that weakening sensation after he killed Huang Cheng out of anger in the Boundless Secr World.


    When the pirates that were rushing up saw Miao Yi who had the glowing image of the lotus between his brows, every one of them tottered as they tumbled down the staircase.


    Carrying the corpse with the spear, Miao Yi held it up and he shouted, ¡°Those who refuse to leave will be killed!¡±


    With the use of the transcendence energy, his voice resonated loudly on the ship.


    Miao Yi did not want to kill people. As a beginner, he had not established the habit of killing people. He had just wanted to kill one in order to threaten a hundred. Miao Yi harbored no wishes to ughter everyone.


    Everyone already saw the image of the glowing lotus between his brows.


    At that moment, the ship that was noisily fighting instantly became silent, leaving only the sound of the waves striking the ship.


    In this world, the Immortals posed a great threat to the ordinary human beings. No matter how good a human being was at fighting, he would still die even if he went against an Immortal with the lowest rank.


    Seeing that the crowd froze with no reaction, Miao Yi waved the spear as he exerted force.


    Bang! The corpse on the spear was sted into pieces.


    The spear could even st rocks into pieces, let alone flesh and blood.


    Soon, the pirates that had been arrogantly shouting scampered off posthaste like frightened rats, climbing back onto their own ship. There were even people that jumped into the sea without hesitation.


    The pirate ship departed at a fast pace. On the deck that Miao Yi was in, someone was holding the corpses as they cried, ¡°Brother! Brother!¡±


    After crying for a few times, the person suddenly turned to look at Miao Yi and said loudly, ¡°Immortal, you let them go today and they will kill even more innocent people tomorrow. By letting them go, you have harmed even more people.¡±


    As Miao Yi pondered, he agreed with what the person had said. With a sh, Miao Yi flew up the pirate ships. As the long spear was waved, screams resounded and wooden boards flew in all directions. It was as if a bull had charged into a paper house.


    The ship before their eyes soon became pieces floating on the surface of the sea. It had beenpletely destroyed. The big ship was disassembled into pieces.


    Stepping on the waves, Miao Yi rebounded and descended back into the ship he was at. He then watched the pirates struggle as they swam for their lives.


    In the end, he still didn¡¯t kill the pirates, but he destroyed the ship which facilitated the pirates¡¯ evildoing. Whether or not the pirates in the sea could survive depended on their own luck.


    Shaking off the blood on the wooden spear, Miao Yi returned to the cabin under the respectful gaze of the crowd.


    Miao Yi did not want to care about anymore things that happened outside. As for the cleaning and scrubbing, that had nothing to do with him.


    Soon, the steward walked in while bowing and nodding. After apologizing for being a poor host, the steward cordially invited Miao Yi to rest in the main room.


    Miao Yi replied that there was no need.


    The steward could only leave helplessly. After a while, thedy that had calmed herself came to express her gratitude.


    Miao Yi was born in a small town. He might not have known of many great principles, but he did know about some things. He also wondered why ady would make such a long voyage.


    The nobledy naturally had no audacity to keep it a secret. She told Miao Yi her background and talked tirelessly about what had happened.


    The woman¡¯s name was Li Xiufang. She wasn¡¯t from Celestial Nation, but from Boundless Nation. Her family had suffered an unexpected disaster. When she had been driven to despair, a person sent by her uncle, whom she had never met before, fortunately found her.


    She had never seen that uncle before because that uncle had left the house when her mother was still young, seeking to be an Immortal.


    Outside of everyone¡¯s expectations, that uncle actually became an Immortal. The uncle travelled from the Boundless Nation to the Celestial Nation and became an Immortal. This time, she came with her young child to seek refuge with her uncle.


    Under the circumstances where the followers were divided and managed by domains, if one was not an Immortal, one would need a travel permit issued by the region to leave the area. This was to prevent disorganization and to keep the domain from losing followers. If people were caught without travel permits, they would be sent to the Manor of Sincere Hope. It was nearly simr to the Manor of Merciful Hope, the ce that Miao Yi and his siblings almost got sent into. It was just that the Manor of Sincere Hope was for criminals, and the treatment was far worse.


    It was the same in both Celestial Nation and the Boundless Nation. However, because the nobledy had an Immortal uncle to grease the wheels, travelling to another nation was not a very big thing for the nobledy.


    Miao Yi understood, realizing that this nobledy had an Immortal Uncle as her patron.


    After the chat, the nobledy thanked Miao Yi again and again, inviting Miao Yi to rest in the main room. However, Miao Yi still rejected.


    When he had a low profile, he wanted to be high profile instead. But after indulging in public prominence, he instead wanted to switch back to being inconspicuous..


    Soon after the nobledy left, avish amount of food was sent by someone, and the bed was also reorganized. As expected, the treatment was different from when Miao Yi had just boarded the ship...

 Chapter 21: Greenhorn (1)

    Chapter 21: Greenhorn (1)


    That afternoon, the ship arrived at the pier of the East Arrival City inside the borders of the Celestial Nation.


    The booming pier was bustling with people and activity, with shipments filled with the smell of salt and fish being loaded and unloaded from the various ships.


    Madame Ji¡¯s uncle had already sent a carriage to the pier to pick her up. After they became more acquainted with each other, she had specially left an empty carriage for Miao Yi to ride on.


    As soon as they left the pier, one of the informers quickly carried an urgent report back to Madame Ji¡¯s uncle.


    The fleet of carriages were halfway to the East Arrival City when Miao Yi, who was sitting in the carriage, opened the windows to view the scenery. His ears suddenly twitched when he heard a wave of gallops louder than that of a normal horse¡¯s hoovesing towards them. He was no stranger to those sounds; they were simr to the thunderous steps of those dragon steeds that cultivators rode.


    And his guess wasn¡¯t wrong. He heard the steward¡¯s excited voice, ¡°Madame, your uncle has personally arrived.¡±


    Miao Yi looked outside the window and could only see dust being blown about by the wind. Two dragon steeds appeared and galloped madly towards them.


    Their fleet of carriages weren¡¯t able to stop in time, but the two dragon steeds had already rushed towards them like twin bolts of lightning. Abruptly, they reared their front hooves in the air to forcibly stop their momentum. A middle-aged cultivator with twin swords strapped on his back sat steadily on top of the dragon steed. He swept his gaze across the carriages, frightening the carriage footmen.


    Behind the middle-aged cultivator was another cultivator with a head full of white hair, carrying a long, big de. He didn¡¯t look very young, but judging from the situation, he seemed to be part of the middle-aged cultivator¡¯s troop instead.


    Miao Yi predicted that this middle-aged cultivator was none other than Madame Ji¡¯s uncle, since it was unlikely that it was the person at the back bringing a higher authority officer to fetch his niece.


    Miao Yi¡¯s gaze fell onto the two men riding the mighty dragon steeds, feeling slightly envious.


    Dragon steeds were the most basic spiritual beasts mounted by cultivators. Although they had the appearance of a horse, their bodies were twice asrgepared to regr horses. They were also known as dragon horses, which were rumoured to be the descendants of the legendary dragon and heavenly horse. Allegedly, only pure-blooded dragon steeds had the chance to evolve into a real dragon.


    Other than their massive size, their skin was also thick. The vital parts of the head, body, and the four limbs were protected by naturally hard bones, just like armor and thus ordinary swords and knives weren¡¯t strong enough to inflict damage on them. Their sustainability, ramming power, and leaping ability were mind-boggling as well.


    Their tails resembled a snake; shiny and furless. And since the dragon steeds were omnivores, their teeth were long and sharp.


    Two curled and fleshy feelers sprang from the mane, which fluttered like waves at the nape of its neck. Once the stic feelers were linked with the cultivator¡¯s body, both would be able to wlesslymunicate with each other without the need to speak, thus enabling the cultivator to control the dragon steed without any reins. This made the dragon steed one of the mostmon spiritual beasts mounted by cultivators.


    The dragon steeds also possessed extraordinary strength and were able to travel through any form of terrain with ease, be itnd or water. These beasts could run at their fastest speed for days without rest, and were able to cover thousands of li per day. However, non-cultivators wouldn¡¯t be able ride them. It was a feat that would be nearly impossible for an ordinary person to do, even if they resorted to using reins and brute force.


    Hooves the size of ypots noisily stomped on the ground. The dragon steeds had a fierce air around them, exuding a valiant aura which caused the other horses in the fleet to be as quiet as cold cicadas, obediently following behind at a safe distance.


    There was a great height difference between the people who were riding on the horses and the cultivators who were riding on the dragon steeds, naturally due to thetter¡¯srger and taller size.


    The men on the carriages quickly came down to make their salutations. Meanwhile, the steward who was sent by her uncle to escort Madame Ji, quickly parted the curtains and helped her climb down the carriage as she held her child.


    ¡°Master Uncle, this is your niece. And this is your uncle!¡± The steward who was supporting Madam Ji introduced both parties to each other.


    ¡°Ji Fang, greet Uncle.¡± Madame Ji could only manage a half curtsy with a child in her arms.


    The uncle got off his dragon steed, and extended his hand towards Madame Ji to help her up. His eyes were watery and red as he nodded, ¡°Simr, simr, you look so simr to my elder sister. It¡¯s all uncle¡¯s fault, I should have sent someone to find you all, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t be...¡±


    ¡°Uncle...¡± Madame Ji choked, her delicate shoulders trembled as she wiped away her tears, most likely recalling the unfortunate events that had happened to her family.


    Her uncle touched the sleeping baby in Madame Ji¡¯s arms, andforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, let¡¯s head back first then we¡¯ll talk.¡± He signaled the steward to escort her back into the carriage.


    He turned around and climbed up the dragon steed again. Just then, he turned his gaze to Miao Yi, who had poked his head out to look at them.


    The dragon steed immediately strolled to the side of the back carriage where Miao Yi was, as if it knew what its owner wanted to do. From atop his dragon steed, the uncle looked at Miao Yi and asked, ¡°So you¡¯re the friend who rescued my niece from the ship?¡±


    Miao Yi got out of the carriage and, standing near the wheels, replied, ¡°It¡¯s no effort at all!¡±


    ¡°I am Chen Fei, what shall I address you as, my friend?¡± Madame Ji¡¯s uncle¡ªChen Fei spoke, as a three petaled white lotus on his forehead began to glow faintly, clearly revealing his cultivation at the third grade of White Lotus. This was an indication that Chen Fei had no ill intentions towards Miao Yi.


    ¡°Miao Yi!¡± he said, tossing out his name. The symbol of the one petaled white lotus on his forehead glowed as they exchanged their names.


    Chen Fei nodded, ¡°It is inconvenient to talk here, so I will thank you properly when we get back to the city!¡±


    The dragon steed turned around and sped off with Chen Fei on its back. He had heard about his niece¡¯s encounter with the pirates in the middle of the sea, so he personally came looking for her. Now that he¡¯d made sure that she was fine, he could return without worry. Otherwise, it would have been too conspicuous for a cultivator riding on a dragon steed to escort carriages back to the city.


    The white-haired cultivator quickly trailed behind Chen Fei and left...


    The carriages arrived and entered East Arrival City. Several servants were waiting for them at the mansion that had been prepared earlier.


    After the carriage stopped, Miao Yi was not neglected at all. The servant girls listened to their orders and guided him to a first-ss courtyard.


    A scented bath had been prepared. There was a servant girl who assisted him into his bath and helped put on clean clothes that had been prepared for him. Having never experienced it before, Miao Yi wasn¡¯t used to this type of treatment.


    When night fell, various tasty delicacies were served and arranged on the dining table. Madam Ji¡¯s uncle, Chen Fei, appeared once more. He cupped his hand on his chest and said, ¡°Brother Miao, please forgive me for my poor hospitality.¡±


    ¡°You are being modest.¡± Miao Yi showed his respect, as well.


    Chen Fei appeared to be very enthusiastic. He sat down together with Miao Yi without anyone else apanying them. Most people wouldn¡¯t dare to sit and have a meal together with two cultivators.


    Chen Fei expressed his gratitude once again to Miao Yi for saving his niece. After that, he sighed as he told the story about how he unfilially left home when he was younger.


    After a few small topics to break the ice, Chen Fei poured some wine for Miao Yi and then asked, ¡°I am wondering under which domain¡¯s Overlord banner does Brother Miao serve?¡±


    ¡°.....¡± Miao Yi was stunned. He genuinely didn¡¯t understand what he had just been asked.


    When Chen Fei saw his expression, he was also stunned before realizing what had just happened. Heughed it off and exined.


    In the world of cultivation, there were six powerful cultivators collectively known as the ¡®Six Sages of Heaven and Earth¡¯. The Celestial Nation was a territory owned by Immortal Sage Mu Fanjun.


    For the convenience of gathering the power of will and for the sake of managing billions of its followers within the realm, twelve cultivators with profound transcendence energies were assigned. They were categorized into twelve domain Overlords, namely: First Earthly Branch, Second Earthly Branch, Third Earthly Branch, Fourth Earthly Branch, Fifth Earthly Branch, Sixth Earthly Branch, Seventh Earthly Branch, Eight Earthly Branch, Ninth Earthly Branch, Tenth Earthly Branch, Eleventh Earthly Branch, and Twelfth Earthly Branch. It was a requirement that all twelve domain Overlords were to be appointed by Immortal Sage Mu Fanjun himself.


    Each domain¡¯s Overlord controlled ten pces, with each pce controlling ten halls, and each hall controlling ten manors, and each manor controlling ten mountains, and each mountain controlling ten caves.


    ¡®Cave¡¯ was the lowest level. Normally, one Cave Master could control one hundred thousand followers at the least. The more followers one could umte, the better.


    For example, there was a poption of at least a hundred thousand in Miao Yi¡¯s hometown within the city wall. This was guarded by the abode of Immortals situated in the mountains far away from the city.


    Trantor Notes:


    The domains are named after the Twelve Earthly Branches which you can read more on here.

 Chapter 22: Greenhorn (2)

    Chapter 22: Greenhorn (2)


    Apart from cultivating, there were other things for cultivators to do. Obviously, they couldn¡¯t waste their main energy on managing their follower¡¯s life in their own territory. Therefore, they would normally be administered by the appointed local officials. Usually, cultivators themselves would not intervene in local affairs.


    In actuality, the upper echelons would also restrict the lower-ranked cultivators to try their best not to intervene in the administration of the worldly people¡¯s livelihood. A bunch of cultivators who frequently enter closed-door seclusion training just to cultivate, how would they understand governing? Once they intervened, it would only make matters worse. If they made life impossible for the people and lost their followers in the process, where would they go to gather the power of will?


    Of course, topletely put an end to cultivators involving themselves was an impossible task. Cultivators overseeing an area would definitely appoint and nominate a local official they trusted to manage their own territory. For instance, Chen Fei intended to ce his own niece in East Arrival City, so how would the local official dare to not to handle it properly with all his heart?


    However, these were all within the upper echelons¡¯ permissible range. As long as one did not act unruly, the upper echelons would not bat an eye.


    And Chen Fei was scribed under the banner of the Fifth Earthly Branch Domain Overlord, serving directly under Han Lifei. He was the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, the garrison for East Arrival City.


    So, that¡¯s why... Miao Yi perspired tremendously, realizing that he really was a greenhorn rookie.


    But thinking back on it, the me should be ced on Lao Bai. The things that Lao Bai knew weren¡¯t at all meager in quantity. He could tell you things about cultivating and fighting in his own set way, but when it came to the cultivation world, he knew nothing of the details and particrs. And the reason Lao Bai gave him was that he had never wandered through the cultivation world before, so how would he know all those things? In the end, he told Miao Yi that he would find out soon enough once he gradually went out to explore.


    After Chen Fei and Miao Yi clinked their cups, he asked, ¡°Is Brother Miao a Loose Cultivator?¡±


    Without shame, Miao Yi asked in reply, ¡°What is a Loose Cultivator?¡±


    ¡°Cough cough!¡± Chen Fei choked when the alcohol flowed into his mouth, coughing into his drink. After steadying himself, he stared at Miao Yi in disbelief, as though he were saying, you don¡¯t know what a Loose Cultivator is?


    After being asked that shameless question, Chen Fei was finally defeated by Miao Yi¡¯s expression. He coughed, ¡°Those cultivators who are not under any domain¡¯s respective Overlord¡¯s rule¡ªor do not belong to any sects¡ªare known as Loose Cultivators.¡±


    Miao Yi then understood, nodding in reply. ¡°Then, I am definitely a Loose Cultivator.¡±


    Chen Fei stretched his hand out, requesting to drink a toast with Miao Yi and asked once more, ¡°Brother Miao is nning to always be a Loose Cultivator?¡±


    Miao Yi replied disapprovingly, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with being a Loose Cultivator. At least you do not need to be under the control of others.¡±


    Chen Fei waved his hands. ¡°Your words are far from correct, Brother Miao. Not being taken charge of by others may not be true freedom. Among the cultivators, who does not strive to cultivate until they advance to the highest level of enlightenment? Without the assistance of the power of will from every living being, that in itself is very difficult. The followers in this world are all designated to serve under the Overlord of their respective domain. Those who take pleasure in the incense and power of will are also serving under the Overlord of their respective domain. The cultivators who are not initiated into this would of course, not be able to share in these pleasures.¡±


    Miao Yi frowned, ¡°I have to serve under others to receive the power of will?¡±


    Chen Fei nodded. ¡°Correct.¡±


    After hesitating for a while, Miao Yi spoke bluntly, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hide this from Big Brother Chen, but I¡¯m a greenhorn. I don¡¯t have any social connections.¡±


    Now, Chen Fei wasn¡¯t an idiot who couldn¡¯t tell that Miao Yi was a greenhorn by now. He must have had his reasons since the conversation had reached up until this point. ¡°I have a good friend whose name is Cao Dingfeng, serving under Yuan Zhengkun, the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave. He¡¯s gained the considerable trust of the Cave Master. Recently, Transient Light Cave went through some turmoil, and requires more people to help out. If Brother Miao wished to head there, I could write a letter of rmendation.¡±


    Filled with excitement, Miao Yi cupped his fist and said, ¡°Thank you for your trouble, Big Brother Chen.¡±


    Chen Fei was forthright, he grabbed a jade archive on the spot and used his transcendence energy to write a letter, giving it to Miao Yi so he could take it along with him to find his good friend, Cao Dingfeng.


    It was only days after that when Miao Yi finally came to the realization that it was all sheer luck. If not for Chen Fei¡¯s referral, it would have been difficult for a greenhorn Loose Cultivator with a low cultivation base like him to join the vassals of the respective domain¡¯s Overlords.


    There were countless Loose Cultivators in the world, but those that can be a vassal to the domain¡¯s Overlord were not many. This was for no other reason than the fact that all avable posts were quickly monopolized by every sect¡¯s power. It was natural that every sect would want to nurture their own men.


    And as to the reason Chen Fei agreed to voluntarily extend a hand to offer his assistance, it was all to repay a debt of gratitude, to pay back Miao Yi for saving his niece¡¯s life. Miao Yi had protected the only family member he had left in the world, so he was extremely grateful.


    Early next morning, Chen Fei did not detain him. Instead, he pushed Miao Yi to quickly be on his way.


    It wasn¡¯t because he was reluctant to extend his hospitality, but rather, he was afraid that if Miao Yi waste in his departure, some unforeseen events might happen. He was afraid if Miao Yi arrivedte, the avable position at Transient Light Cave would be taken by other sects.


    New clothes and a well-groomed horse, along with some money to be used when on the road, these were all parting gifts given by Chen Fei.


    The horse was an ordinary steed, as Chen Fei didn¡¯t have a dragon steed to give him.


    However, he didmission the city¡¯s cksmith expert to work against the clock throughout the night, selecting fine steel to forge a silver spear for Miao Yi. It would have been an extremely unpleasant sight to let a guest leave with a wooden stick instead.


    After leaving East Arrival City, Miao Yi was in high spirits as he straddled the steed while holding a silver spear, swiftly dashing through the entire journey.


    Obviously, the footwork of an ordinary horse could not bepared with a dragon steed, thetter being far beyondparison. Their speed was such that not even Miao Yi¡¯s own quickness coulde close, even when his Arts were applied. But Lao Bai had once told Miao Yi before, that when in the outside world, he should try his best not to consume his transcendence energy if not necessary. Or else, it would be very problematic for him should he encounter any troubles.


    But moving swiftly for long distances with the use of his Arts was definitely consuming too much of his transcendence energy. Thus, he could only resort to patiently letting the horse run at its own pace, eventually arriving at Transient Light City a few dayster.


    Using his Immortal Status, he asked a City Guard he found in the city to help find the location of Transient Light Cave. He immediately changed horses with the City Guard, once again riding away in his haste.


    Since Miao Yi had ridden in a pressing manner, it couldn¡¯t be helped that his horse had exerted too much of its physical strength, and it could no longer keep up a swift pace. However, the horse that Chen Fei gifted him was a rare breed, so the City Guard did not seem at all unwilling to carry out the exchange.


    Transient Light Cave was situated deep in the mountains, hidden in a ce where clouds and mists wreathed. It was forty li away from Transient Light City and far from disturbances.


    In Miao Yi¡¯s thoughts, Transient Light Cave should be an abode of Immortals which resembled a cavern. Otherwise, why else would it be called a cave?


    Arriving at the main gate, Miao Yi realized that was never the case, as he saw that between the mountains were pavilions, terraces, and open hallsid out in picturesque disorder. Theyplemented the valleys, as well as the swirling clouds and mist deep in the mountains. It certainly felt like some sort of paradise.


    But apparently, this ce seemed to have undergone some kind of disaster. It was aplete, chaotic mess beyond the gate. A mountain had copsed, and trees had fallen into a heap; even the gate¡¯s monument had crumbled into pieces on the ground. Currently, arge number ofmoners rested in the surroundings.


    Underneath the copsed monument, an old man with a brandy nose and a wine pot hanging from his waist was sitting on top of a stone beast, carrying two broad axes on his back. He was improperly dressed and looked as though he hade down in the world, reeking entirely of alcohol. Anyone who took a look at him could tell he was a drunkard. He stretched out his hand to stop Miao Yi in his tracks.


    ¡°Kid, open your eyes and see where this is, is it a ce that you can barge in at will?¡± The old man leaped from the stone beast, ring in a terrifying manner. Before his eyes, a faint glow of a blossoming three-petaled lotus flower appeared between the man¡¯s brows. Impressively, it was a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade.


    Miao Yi was slightly upset as he came to the realization that his cultivation level seemed to be seriously too low. After he got off the boat and came ashore, he had alreadye across two stronger cultivators in a row, both with a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade.


    Dismounting from the horse, he cupped his fists with the spear raised, saying, ¡°Please forgive me for the intrusion. At the request of a friend, I brought along a letter to pay a visit to Cao Dingfeng. Please inform him. ¡±


    When he finished, a one-petaled white lotus faintly glowed between his brows, proving himself to be a cultivator as well.


    ¡°Cao Dingfeng....¡± The old drunkard mumbled, surprised that Miao Yi was also a cultivator.


    He eyed Miao Yi¡¯s mount suspiciously, clearly finding it strange to see a cultivator riding something like this instead of a dragon steed.


    ¡°Wait.¡± After the old drunkard had said those words, he staggered off, not forgetting to gulp down a mouthful of wine on his way.

 Chapter 23: Horse Deputy

    Chapter 23: Horse Deputy


    It didn¡¯t take long before the old drunkard returned with an apologetic smile on his face, submissively following behind a tall, upright man.


    The man was carrying a sword on his back, and gave the impression of a delicate beauty. He sized Miao Yi up and down, and hesitatingly said, ¡°I¡¯m Cao Dingfeng, you are looking for me?¡±


    Miao Yi immediately took out and handed the jade archive over to him. After Cao Dingfeng received it, he studied the archive by pouring his transcendence energy into it. After he was done, his face showed a look ofprehension and he instantly smiled at Miao Yi, saying, ¡°So, it¡¯s Brother Miao. Since Brother Chen entrusted you to me, I¡¯ll do my very best. Please follow me to meet the Cave Master.¡±


    Miao Yi thanked him and was about to rein his horse along when Cao Dingfeng, who was somewhat taken back, asked, ¡°Is this your horse?¡±


    But after seeing the embarrassed look on Miao Yi¡¯s face, he immediately turned to face the brandy-nosed old man and said in a rude tone, ¡°Shi Xiang, look after the horse!¡±


    In the cultivation abode of Immortals, it wasn¡¯t suitable for a profane horse to go about on its own.


    The brandy nosed old man immediately nodded his head and bowed before leading Miao Yi¡¯s horse away, his face full of ttery as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you look after it.¡±


    Miao Yi thanked him, holding onto the silver spear in his hand as he trailed behind Cao Dingfeng to enter the main gate.


    Both of them conversed as they walked. It was obvious to see that Cao Dingfeng had a great rtionship with Chen Fei, or else he wouldn¡¯t be this weing towards Miao Yi, who only had his cultivation at White Lotus First Grade.


    After ascending the limestone flight of stairs, they reached the the outside of the grand hall where they saw a que that had the words ¡°Transient Light¡± engraved on it, Cao Dingfeng requested Miao Yi to wait outside the hall for a while as he turned to go up the dozens of flights of stairs, entering the hall at a hastened pace.


    Miao Yi who patiently waited outside, gave his surroundings a good look. Although this ce was located deep in the mountains, it was far better than any of the ces he had lived in and seen before. There were pavilions, terraces, open halls and a jade-blue lotuske. It was utterly and breathtakingly beautiful.


    But his wait this time was quite long; he had been standing there for about an hour. Eventually, he saw Cao Dingfeng walk out of the hall.


    Although Cao Dingfeng still had his usual grin on his face, Miao Yi could tell his smile was slightly forced. He wasn¡¯t sure whether the man had managed to convince the Transient Light Cave Master to let him join. But by the looks of it, he figured it hadn¡¯t gone smoothly.


    ¡°Brother Miao.¡± Cao Dingfeng stood on the tall steps, beckoning Miao Yi to follow him.


    Miao Yi quickly moved towards him. As they stood side by side, Cao Dingfeng invoked his arts to transmit his voice to Miao Yi. ¡°Brother Miao, no matter what the Cave Master asks you to doter, just agree to it first. When your cultivation has improved in the future, you can fight for more then. The most important thing right now is finding a way to stay. Don¡¯t waste Brother Chen¡¯s painstakingly made efforts. ¡±


    Miao Yi mumbled in his heart. Sure enough, it didn¡¯t go smoothly at all. But he still nodded his head in reply.


    After both of them entered the grand hall, he saw a lean man upying the high seat in the middle in the main hall, with a man and woman standing under him. The three of them were deep in the middle of a discussion.


    Noticing that people had entered the hall, the three of them stopped their conversation and directed their gazes onto Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi swept a nce through the three people, locking his eyes onto the lean manmanding the high seat. He reckoned that the man was definitely the Transient Light Cave¡¯s Cave Master.


    ¡°Brother Miao, this is our Cave Master. Quickly pay your respects!¡± Cao Dingfeng grinned as he gave his referral.


    Miao Yi cupped his spear at once as he bowed, ¡°I, Miao Yi, have toe to pay my respects to Cave Master.¡±


    Yuan Zhengkun, the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave frowned slightly as he said, ¡°I heard from Dingfeng that your cultivation is only at White Lotus First Grade?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Miao Yi didn¡¯t attempt to hide the truth.


    This kind of thing couldn¡¯t be hidden for too long anyway. He revealed the transcendence imagery on his spiritual point, causing the pathetic looking one-petaled White Lotus to emerge from it.


    The man and woman standing below slightly shook their heads with helplessness as they looked towards Cao Dingfeng. Cao Dingfeng cast them a smile in return, as though he were saying please bear with it and let it go for now.


    Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun said half-heartedly, ¡°Dingfeng has followed me for many years, and since he strongly rmends you, I won¡¯t say anything further. Here, we¡¯re currentlycking one more Horse Deputy, so I¡¯m not sure if you would like to take up the post. If you feel that it would be a waste of your talents, then you can go and seek other alternatives.¡±


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t figure out what a Horse Deputy was, but since he had already promised Cao Dingfeng earlier, he naturally cupped his fists and epted it. ¡°Subordinate is willing toply with yourmands.¡±


    Yuan Zhengkun nodded his head. ¡°Then from now on, we are as family. Dingfeng, bring him with you and make the arrangements.¡±


    Miao Yi and Cao Dingfeng gave their thanks and withdrew.


    After exiting the grand hall, Miao Yi followed Cao Dingfeng to the back of the mountain.


    Cao Dingfeng called forth the drunk old man called Shi Xiang and a woman to the front of him.


    As before, old man Shi Xiang nodded his head and bowed, but the woman kept a straight face.


    ¡°Shi Xiang, Madame Shi Xiang. This is the new Horse Deputy. Please assist to make arrangements for him. As it¡¯s his first time here, please help him with anything he doesn¡¯t understand.¡±


    Cao Dingfeng still had some matters to attend to, so after briefing them he made a move to depart. But as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something, then turned to face Shi Xiang and his wife, his face darkening as he said, ¡°Brother Miao is now my brother. Don¡¯t assume that both of you can be insolent just because he¡¯s new. You husband and wife better not y any tricks, because if that¡¯s the case, I can¡¯t be held responsible for what I¡¯ll do!¡±


    He was afraid that Miao Yi would be mistreated, and so he made his position clear to shield him.


    Of course, Miao Yi knew that the reason why he was behaving this way was due to Chen Fei. Both him and Cao Dingfeng did not know each other that well. The man was only trying his best to do what was being entrusted to him, all to show his respect to Chen Fei.


    ¡°We won¡¯t. We won¡¯t,¡± Old man Shi Xiang guaranteed, his face beaming.


    Madame Shi Xiang still kept a straight look on her face, as if someone owed her money.


    After sending Cao Dingfeng on his way, both husband and wife led Miao Yi to look for a residence, one that was situated at the foot of a hill and beside a stream.


    Even though it was a single, small house with a small courtyard, it was stillplete with pavilions, terraces, open halls, flowers and trees. Although small, it didn¡¯tck the necessaryponents and was overall exquisite in every detail.


    ¡°From now on this will be your cultivation residence. Look and see if it satisfies your needs. If it displeases you, there is an empty residence at the foot of the mountain over there. How about we go there to take a look?¡±


    Drunkard Shi Xiang exined politely, smiling in front of Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi toured around the courtyard and discovered there was nobody inside. He asked in surprise, ¡°My cultivation residence? This is for me to live in alone?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Every cultivator in Transient Light Cave will have their own residence and courtyard,¡± Shi Xiang replied with a grin.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t see anything to feel unsatisfied with. He had never before stayed in such an amazing residence like this, so he nodded at once, saying, ¡°There¡¯s no need for the trouble. This is good enough, so I¡¯ll stay here.¡±


    As he was done saying that, he recalled his assigned business. He turned his head and asked, ¡°Senior Shi Xiang. What does a Horse Deputy do?¡±


    Madame Shi Xiang¡¯s words carried a sting as she ambiguously replied, ¡°Horse keeping.¡±


    The madame didn¡¯t seem fond of the two words ¡®Shi Xiang¡¯, giving the impression that she would go mad if she heard the same address again.


    ¡°Horse keeping?¡± Miao Yi was astounded.


    He soon found out the answer. Both husband and wife took him to Hidden Dragon Valley. The Hidden Dragon Valley rose steeply from three sides and was a gourd shaped valley with a narrow exit. All the Transient Light Cave cultivators kept their dragon steeds in this location.


    Miao Yi¡¯s responsibility was to raise the eleven fine steeds in the valley, and thereafter he was known as the Horse Deputy.


    As to the reason why the dragon steeds were gathered together to rear, it was because their owners were all cultivators. For the majority of their day, the cultivators would ce all their energy into cultivating, so who would have the leisure time and mood to take care of their own mounts on a daily basis?


    This type of menial task shouldn¡¯t even be done by a cultivator. But s, a dragon steed has extraordinary physical strength, so a mere ordinary mortal wouldn¡¯t be able to control it. The dragon steed¡¯s rapid speed was like a sudden p of thunder and even a brief backward kick of its hind legs would be too quick for an ordinary person to dodge, the impact enough to batter them to a pulp. Since that one brief kick could result in their death, then rearing a dragon steed would be impossible. So this task could only be done by a cultivator.


    Under normal circumstances, this kind of work was better kept under the table, and would usually be done by the lowest ranked cultivator. And since Miao Yi was new and had the lowest cultivation, who would do it if not him? If it were not to honor Cao Dingfeng¡¯s request, Transient Light Cave¡¯s Cave Master wouldn¡¯t have kept Miao Yi at all.

 Chapter 24: Tenth Surrender

    Chapter 24: Tenth Surrender


    ¡°That mount belongs to the Cave Master, so Brother Miao must not neglect it.¡±


    Shi Xiang pointed towards a valiant, yet exceptionally gaudy, yellow dragon steed. He watched Miao Yi¡¯s reaction as he advised him in a careful manner, thinking that Miao Yi would not be happy doing such a menial task.


    But all this was nothing to Miao Yi. He had always been very interested in dragon steeds and so he was looking forward to having the opportunity to get close to them.


    Seeing that Miao Yi did not show any signs of being upset, Shi Xiang secretly let out a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Miao Yi would be offended andin to Cao Dingfeng. In his anger, he would seek both Shi Xiang and his wife for punishment.


    ¡°Actually, you do not need to let the dragon steeds out everyday. Once every five days is enough since after all, we still prioritise cultivation.¡± Shi Xiang smiled as he consoled him.


    Miao Yi nodded his head.


    After chatting about dragon steeds for a while, Miao Yi found out that the role of Horse Deputy had previously been handled by Madame Shi Xiang, so this was already considered to be a handover.


    Afterpleting the handover, Madame Shi Xiang left with a straight face.


    Shi Xiang then apanied Miao Yi back to his cultivation residence, mainly exining the Transient Light Cave¡¯s situation to Miao Yi. His exnation was a form of introduction, as briefed by Cao Dingfeng.


    Inclusive of the Cave Master, there were a total of eleven people in Transient Light Cave. Cave Master, Yuan Zhengkun, had a cultivation at White Lotus Fifth Grade. Cao Dingfeng and the other two cultivators who had their cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade were Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s capable right-hand men. Even Shi Xiang and his wife had their cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade. The remaining four cultivators were at White Lotus Second Grade. Only Miao Yi alone had a cultivation at the first grade of White Lotus.


    The average ¡®cave¡¯ level allocation has always been eleven people, mainly because there weren¡¯t enough resources to amodate more. It was important to know that for every person epted, they must divide the allocation of followers¡¯ incense and power of will.


    Currently, both of them were conversing with each other in a courtyard pavilion. Madame Shi Xiang soon returned, with two nervous, beautiful maidens trailing behind her.


    ¡°These two servant girls are sent here from Transient Light City by Cao Dingfeng to serve your daily needs,¡± Madame Shi Xiang uttered to Miao Yi with an expressionless face.


    ¡°Serve me...¡± Miao Yi nced over at the two beautiful maidens who had their heads lowered. He still wasn¡¯t used to this kind of treatment. Mainly because he had never properlye into contact with women before this, so it was inevitable that he was embarrassed, like ad¡¯s first time. He couldn¡¯t help but turn his attention to Shi Xiang, asking, ¡°So every cultivator has some?¡±


    If every cultivator had servants taking care of their daily needs, he would simply push the boat with the current and ept it, else it would be quite embarrassing.


    Shi Xiang chuckled awkwardly, not saying a word.


    Madame Shi Xiang sarcastically said, ¡°We don¡¯t have the sort of life where we can order servant girls around to serve us. It¡¯s good enough that we ourselves don¡¯t get ordered around.¡±


    ¡°....¡± Stunned, Miao Yi finally realized that although the husband and wife¡¯s cultivation base was the same as Cao Dingfeng, only second to the Cave Master¡¯s, yet their statuses seemed to be far apart inparison. Cao Dingfeng still ordered the both of them around as he pleased.


    Shi Xiang rubbed his nose, anxious to keep up appearances as he said, ¡°Every cultivator in the cave will have two handmaidens. Since the two of us are married, if we keep a few handmaidens at our side, what if one day I couldn¡¯t restrain myself from being affectionate with them? Wouldn¡¯t it cause our marriage to fall apart? Thus, I gave them up to someone else.¡±


    Miao Yi chuckled, thinking to himself that it turned out Shi Xiang was afraid of his wife.


    As he was about to ept the two handmaidens, who knew Madame Shi Xiang would suddenly re at Shi Xiang, pointing and shouting in a fit of rage. ¡°You good-for-nothing, stop putting feathers in your own cap! It was obvious that you¡¯re being looked down upon by others, so you couldn¡¯t even hold back the handmaidens who were given to us! You have the nerve to say you gave them up to someone else? If you have the guts to, then snatch the handmaidens from them! Even if you give your affections to ten handmaidens, I would pretend I never see it!¡±


    Shi Xiang smiled weakly and didn¡¯t utter another word.


    Miao Yi was shocked to hear such an inside story. Both of them had a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade, but didn¡¯t even have handmaidens, whereas he himself with a mere cultivation at first grade was given two handmaidens. It seemed a little... He hurriedly tried to diffuse the awkward situation, ¡°Big Brother Cao treats me with kindness. I¡¯d rather give these two handmaidens to Big Brother Cao, instead.¡±


    Shi Xiang and his wife were both taken aback at the same time. Madame Shi Xiang¡¯s eyes flickered as she said, ¡°Since he has already sent them to you, just ept his goodwill. Having someone by your side to help you do menial chores can save you a lot of trouble.¡±


    Miao Yi shook his head, got to his feet and said to the two handmaidens, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    When Shi Xiang saw the two handmaidens trailing behind himpliantly, he panicked, instantly shouting, ¡°Brother Miao, don¡¯t...¡±


    The re Madame Shi Xiang sent towards her husband immediately shut him up.


    To Madame Shi Xiang, when others had taken away their own handmaidens, they were simply looking down on them and belittling their position, and so she was unable to stomach it. But if there were seriously two beautiful handmaidens by her husband¡¯s side, she really wouldn¡¯t feel at ease.


    After Miao Yi left with the two handmaidens, Madame Shi Xiang pursed her lips and said, ¡°He didn¡¯t want to have the two handmaidens by his side because it would humiliate us, so he sent them away. He¡¯s a good kid!¡±


    Handmaidens who were sent to serve cultivators had to ce their lives in the hands of those cultivators. Apart from doing menial chores, cultivators had the right to do what they wanted with their handmaidens, so naturally the more the better, with many hoping to have beautiful women gathered like clouds from all directions.


    When Miao Yi sent the two handmaidens to Cao Dingfeng¡¯s side, Cao Dingfeng naturally declined the offer, but seeing Miao Yi sincerely insisting on it, he kindly epted them. His perception towards Miao Yi had increased for reasons other than being acquainted with Chen Fei. He personally went to see Miao Yi out, not forgetting to urge Miao Yi to find him directly if there was anything he needed.


    During his journey back to his cultivation residence, Miao Yi gradually realized that it might seriously be inconvenient in the future to becking two handmaidens, since he was left doing his own menial chores now. At least his cultivation had not advanced to the state that he could cast away the desire of good food. Now, it looked like he would need to deal with everything by himself, regardless of how trivial, just like when he cultivated on the ind.


    After returning to his residence, Shi Xiang was still waiting for him and then cheerfully dragged Miao Yi to attend a banquet at their ce.


    Madame Shi Xiang had personally prepared a table full of delicious delicacies to serve, for which Miao Yi naturally thanked her for.


    But as the words ¡®Madame Shi Xiang¡¯ left his mouth, he immediately noticed that Madame Shi Xiang¡¯s expression had darkened considerably. Miao Yi naturally wanted to find out the reason why. ¡°Madame doesn¡¯t seem to like being addressed as Madame Shi Xiang. Could it be that I have offended you by mistake?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know the inner story so you cannot be med for it.¡± Madame Shi Xiang didn¡¯t hide the truth from him, because Miao Yi would know about it sooner orter. Rather than letting him find out afterwards and being looked down upon by him, she would be better offing clean of her own ord and reveal the truth to him now.


    Apparently, ¡®Shi Xiang¡¯ was apletely humiliating and satirizing form of address. Shi Xiang¡¯s real name was Yan Xiu and Madame Shi Xiang¡¯s real name was Luo Zhen.


    They were both the most senior members in Transient Light Cave. The Cave Master and the members of Transient Light Cave had all changed, one after another, yet only these two had always remained.


    When the enemy attacked Transient Light Cave, husband and wife turned up but did not exert themselves. Afterwards, when the cave¡¯s forces suffered a defeat at the hands of the enemy, both husband and wife surrendered. And the current Cave Master, Yuan Zhengkun, had only just conquered the Transient Light Cave about a month ago, taking up all of its territory.


    For the sake of saving their own skin, both husband and wife once again surrendered to Yuan Zhengkun, and already it counted as their tenth surrender.


    They had made a name for themselves for surrendering countless times. No one in Transient Light Cave thought highly of them anymore. Hence, they were ridiculed and humiliatingly were called ¡®Shi Xiang¡¯ and ¡®Madame Shi Xiang¡¯.


    Trantor Note:


    Ê®½µ [sh¨ª xi¨¢ng] - A derogatory nickname which means ¡®Tenth Surrender¡¯. When heard in passing, it sounds like an actual name so Miao Yi thought nothing of it.

 Chapter 25: Four Realms of Arts

    Chapter 25: Four Realms of Arts


    After listening, Miao Yi sweatdropped tremendously. He discovered that both husband and wife were really something else, but then he also realized that he himself had been extremely disrespectful. He wasn¡¯t even aware of the situation and yet he still blindly called them by those names. It was no wonder Madame Shi Xiang didn¡¯t look pleased. If you¡¯re humiliating others, it would be strange for them to be pleased with you.


    Miao Yi quickly stood up to apologize.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know, so you¡¯re not at fault.¡± Luo Zhen waved her hands. After venting out the frustrations in her heart, she felt more relieved.


    But after seeing the pathetic sight of the brooding Yan Xiu who was plied with drink, a raging fire emerged once more in her heart. Thus, she pointed and shouted angrily in a fit of rage. ¡°What interminably rotten luck to be married to you! I am a great cultivator at White Lotus Third Grade and yet, I am ordered around by a couple of White Lotus Second Grade cultivators. What kind of man are you? When can you be a man for once, so I can hold my head up high and be a person with dignity?¡±


    After berating him, she wiped her reddened eyes, flung her hand and left.


    Speechless, Miao Yi could understand Luo Zhen¡¯s resentful feelings. If he were in her shoes and being purposefully called ¡®Shi Xiang, Shi Xiang¡¯ with such frequency, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take it too.


    However, Yan Xiu apparently had his own way of thinking.


    ¡°Brother Miao, don¡¯t take offense at women.¡± The already tipsy Yan Xiu grabbed onto Miao Yi¡¯s wrist, cheerfully saying, ¡°What does reputation count as? Reputation means nothing. Is reputation more important than our own lives? Just surrendering ten times and she couldn¡¯t even take it? She couldn¡¯t even see, the number of people who¡¯ve been reced or have died in Transient Light Cave throughout these years? Only the two of us survived. And being able to survive is stronger than anything else. This is our ability. The Six Sages of Heaven and Earth want to make the cultivators kill each other, but I won¡¯t ever fall for it!¡±


    Miao Yi deeply felt that Yan Xiu¡¯s words had an ounce of truth to them, but was taken aback after listening to the end, and so he asked dubiously, ¡°The Six Sages of Heaven and Earth want us to kill each other? What do you mean by that?¡±


    Yan Xiu looked at him as if he were an idiot, waved a hand and said, ¡°Every living being¡¯s power of will is only this much, but the number of cultivators keep increasing. Everyone wants to obtain the power of will to help with their cultivation. Have you ever imagined what will happen if things keep going on like this? There¡¯s bound to be more cultivators acting recklessly in their desperation. Once things be chaotic, the first to suffer from disaster would be the myriad number of living beings who have been devoting their power of will. When that timees, it would definitely bring disorder to the Six Sages of Heaven and Earth until they¡¯d no longer be able to lie in thefort of the incense and power of will. Regardless of how powerful they are, can they kill off all the cultivators in the world? Hence, all six of them came up with the rules of the game. They close one eye and open the other, and even if they have the power they won¡¯t put a stop to it; allowing the Overlords of each respective domain to snatch the domain of another, allowing cultivators to kill incessantly, and using this to exhaust and reduce the number of cultivators in the world. After all, no matter who ims the domain, they would never dare reduce the devotion of the power of will to the Six Sages. Those that should be turned over, should still be turned over as per the usual. No matter how many cultivators have died, it had nothing to do with them. It can also help them to eliminate those who are a threat to their status. Brother, it¡¯s precisely that I see it clearer than anyone else that makes me not an idiot like the others. What¡¯s wrong with surrendering? It¡¯s better than losing your own life!¡±


    Miao Yi became speechless. If the situation was truly as what he¡¯d said, he felt that he had been convinced by Yan Xiu¡¯s words. The expression he gave when he looked at Yan Xiu was slightly admiring, as though he were looking at a man of wisdom. He discovered that this drunkard was in fact a real wise man who pretended to be a fool in disguise!


    Miao Yi modestly asked for guidance, ¡°Is there really no one who sees through the Six Sages¡¯ scheme and wishes to stop them from doing this?¡±


    ¡°Stop them?¡± Yan Xiu took a swallow of wine and chuckled, ¡°Their cultivation is the highest among all others in the entire cultivation world¡ªa cultivation at the realm of Golden Lotus! How many would dare to oppose them?¡±


    ¡°Realm of Golden Lotus?¡± Miao Yi asked puzzlingly. ¡°The Six Sages¡¯ cultivation is only at the realm of Golden Lotus?¡±


    Yan Xiu let out a burp and replied, ¡°White Lotus, Blue Lotus, Red Lotus, Violet Lotus, Golden Lotus. The cultivation of these six has already reached the Golden Lotus realm. In this lifetime, we wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to be able to touch the Violet Lotus realm, and yet, you still find it too low?¡±


    He patted Miao Yi¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Brother, cultivation is the same as being a human being. You¡¯ll need to be surefooted and not bite off more than what you can chew. You can boast like that in front of me. Just don¡¯t do the same out there. Be careful not to make aughing stock out of yourself.¡±


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t boasting without shame, he just felt that it was different from what Lao Bai had told him, so with a dubious look, he asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t there an Iridescent Lotus realm above the Golden Lotus?¡±


    ¡°Iridescent Lotus?¡± Yan Xiu eximed in bewilderment. ¡°I have never heard of anyone in the cultivation world to have attained the Iridescent Lotus realm. That realm you¡¯ve mentioned only exists in the legends, which I think were rumored from the Boundless Secr World. In earlier years, someone found a few remnants of information. On it was recorded the hypothesis of the Iridescent Lotus, but no one has seen it before.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Miao Yi mumbled secretly under his breath, while holding his cup of wine, because what Lao Bai had imed wasn¡¯t the same at all.


    Regardless of whether it was White Lotus, Blue Lotus or Golden Lotus, every realm had nine grades, with nine petals making up the nine grades.


    And ording to Lao Bai, he divided the cultivation realm into the Four Great Realms, namely the First Art of Traversing, Second Art of Levitation, Third Art of Soaring the Heavens and the Fourth Art of Infinity.


    Cultivators with a cultivation of White Lotus and Blue Lotus could only traverse freely onnd¡ªand weren¡¯t able to soar through the skies¡ªtherefore, Lao Bai dered it as the First Art of Traversing.


    Cultivators with a cultivation of Red Lotus and Violet Lotus have the power to control objects and levitate through the sky, simr to the incident he saw at Ancient City where Fairy Hong Chen was levitating and flying, and so he designated it as the Second Art of Levitation.


    As for cultivators with a cultivation of Golden Lotus and Iridescent Lotus, they were able to transcend beyond the stars and soar across the universe. Thus, Lao Bai defined it as the Third Art of Soaring the Heavens.


    It¡¯s worth mentioning that for the realm of Iridescent Lotus, every grade could bloom into nine different colored petals. Hence, attaining the highest ninth grade would mean having a total of 9,980 colored petals.


    Previously, Lao Bai had mentioned that the Fourth Art of Infinity was actually the highest realm. He said that if one were to cultivate up to this stage, then it meant that person had reached the realm of boundless transcendence energy, and he would be able to change the pattern on his spiritual point to a design of his choice. Within the highest level in this realm, the phantom between one¡¯s brows further allowed one to turn what was abstract into something real, eventually forming a pattern which belonged to the person himself. For example, for some people, it would be a vermillion dot between their brows.


    Of course, Lao Bai said those words were exactly as what had been told to him by the Great Immortal he had once served.


    Now Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but be skeptical about it. Since no one in the cultivation world had achieved the realm of Iridescent Lotus or the realm of boundless transcendence energy, how would the Great Immortal even know of this? Could it be that the Great Immortal had also based it on a legend he¡¯d heard of?


    From today onwards, Miao Yi was afraid to call both husband and wife as ¡®Shi Xiang¡¯ or ¡®Madame Shi Xiang¡¯ anymore. Honestly, his cultivation level didn¡¯t give him the rights to follow what others called them anyway. Hence, he respectfully addressed them as Senior Yan and Senior Luo, respectively.


    In this ce, where everyone looked down upon the married couple, they were extremely happy to know that there was someone who, unexpectedly, respected them. After spending time in each other¡¯spany, they began to wholeheartedly treat Miao Yi as their own. As a result, Miao Yi didn¡¯t need to take care of his own meals anymore since whenever it was time to eat, Luo Zhen would urge Yan Xiu to invite Miao Yi to join them, improving their rtionship even more.


    Today, Miao Yi needed to head over to Hidden Dragon Valley to let the dragon steeds out. Luo Zhen then personally came over to carefully point out important matters that required attention. She then said she wanted to give a dragon steed to Miao Yi as a gift, but was afraid Miao Yi would detest it.


    ¡°I won¡¯t, I won¡¯t.¡± Miao Yi continuously waved his hands. He had drooled after a dragon steed for a long time, so why would he detest it?


    After arriving at Hidden Dragon Valley, Miao Yi finally understood what she meant by detest. Luo Zhen pointed towards a dragon steed whose entire body was as ck as charcoal. Thus, it was named ¡®Charcoal¡¯, which was a name given by Luo Zhen herself.

 Chapter 26: Charcoal

    Chapter 26: Charcoal


    There was nothing wrong with being darker in color, but the crucial point was that this dragon steed was also as fat as a pig. When the dragon steeds slept, they would sleep while in a standing position, which was no different than ordinary horses. However, only Charcoal had its own original idea and was the only one to sleep while lying down.


    And what made people even more speechless was the fact that Charcoal was incrediblyzy. When the other dragon steeds ran, they were as fast as lightning. But only Charcoal would slowly andzily gallop forever without a sense of urgency. Its speed was not much differentpared to that of an ordinary horse, and it was also useless trying to hit it to move faster.


    Charcoal was one of the dragon steeds that were gathered by the Transient Light Cave¡¯s Cave Master ten years ago. All its kin were chosen and taken away by cultivators, with the exception of this one since it was simply too outrageous, as one would be better off riding an ordinary horse than riding this dragon steed. Could this even be considered a dragon steed at all?


    None of the cultivators were fond of it. They all avoided it like the gue, afraid that it would be forced onto them without room for refusal.


    Thezy has its own luck, and azy dragon steed was also blessed with its ownzy luck. With its surrounding kining and going, and with countless others dying alongside their owners in battle, it managed to survive one disaster after another and was able to live till this day because nobody deemed it worthy.


    As they said, birds of a feather flock together. In spite of everything, Luo Zhen had taken care of Charcoal, perhaps because its personality was simr to Yan Xiu¡¯s. Otherwise, she would have abandoned it to save on rations, or to save herself from the trouble.


    Which was why Charcoal and Luo Zhen had a very close rtionship with each other. After noticing Luo Zhen entering the Hidden Dragon Valley, it immediately let out a long neigh before getting up from the ground, its plump body staggering towards Luo Zhen, before nuzzling its head against her¡¯s.


    ¡°This...¡± Miao Yi nced at the other high-spirited, lofty and valiant dragon steeds before facing Charcoal¡¯s ¡®majestic¡¯ physique. If he hadn¡¯t known better, he would have mistaken it for an enormously huge wild boar, so he couldn¡¯t help but remark with a rigid smile on his face, ¡°It really is something special.¡±


    He really didn¡¯t know what else to say, as this dragon steed had thoroughly toppled his impression of dragon steeds. It really was a bit fat, but then again, he reckoned it wouldn¡¯t have fallen into his own hands if it weren¡¯tparatively unusual in some way.


    Luo Zhen felt a little unsure, so she tested the waters, asking, ¡°Nobody wants it. Either way, it¡¯s an extra, so if you want it, you can have it without the Cave Master¡¯s permission.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a mount of my own, anyway. This is better than nothing.¡± Miao Yiughed.


    ¡°He has a w.¡± Luo Zhen seemed to feel embarrassed for Charcoal. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know that dragon steeds are omnivorous.¡±


    Miao Yi nodded his head and said, ¡°This, I know.¡±


    Luo Zhen said a little diffidently, ¡°Charcoal only eats meat and not vegetables.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy.¡± Miao Yiughed. ¡°If I recall correctly, the feed for the dragon steeds are all sent here by someone from Transient Light City?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Luo Zhen herself couldn¡¯t resist the urge to shake her head. She decided not to beat around the bush anymore and said directly, ¡°Charcoal only eats seafood, such as fish and prawns. It won¡¯t eat chicken or ducks, so basically no livestock. And the fresher the seafood, the happier it is.¡±


    Miao Yi stared speechlessly at Charcoal¡ªthe dragon steed already looked like this, so what right did it have to be so picky with its food?


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to force yourself if you¡¯re not fond of it. You have a good rtionship with Cao Dingfeng, so if there¡¯s a chance, he would definitely help you find a better dragon steed. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve had to take care of this one for many years, so I¡¯m quite attached to it. Now that you¡¯re the new Horse Deputy, I hope you can assist in taking care of it in passing.¡±


    ¡°No problem, just leave it to me... Can I try it out?¡±


    Miao Yi pointed at Charcoal, wanting to ride it to get a feel of it.


    This was naturally approved because if Miao Yi weren¡¯t allowed to ride it, then gifting Charcoal to him would just make a fool out of him.


    ¡°Charcoal!¡± Luo Zhen patted its body.


    Generally, a dragon steed would never acknowledge another person as their master, unless their current master had passed on. This was due to the fact that this kind of spiritual beast had the ability to perceive the life and death of their master through telepathy. Hence, they wouldn¡¯t normally allow anyone else, other than their own master, to control them.


    However, Charcoal was very gentle andpliant. It seemed to only have a slight reluctance towards Miao Yi, but since Luo Zhen hadmanded it to do so, it could only turn its body around to allow Miao Yi to get on without any difficulty.


    Without saying another word, Miao Yi mounted the horse.


    A pair of fleshy feelers emerged from within Charcoal¡¯s glossy, jet-ck mane. They slid along Charcoal¡¯s body and towards Miao Yi¡¯s thigh, eventuallytching onto him.


    Miao Yi immediately felt Charcoal¡¯szy mood, which was transmitted through the fleshy feelers. It appeared to be asking where to go next?


    Miao Yi instantly sensed that it would be very interesting tomunicate with his dragon steed in this manner. He didn¡¯t even need to use reins, which saved him a lot of trouble. He lifted his head, looking towards the Hidden Dragon Valley¡¯s exit.


    Charcoal understood, and at that moment moved its four limbs, stomping the ground with hooves asrge as an earthenware pot, disying a somewhat decent amount of vigor. The only setback was that its speed wasn¡¯t something to speak highly of, as it moved at a slightlyzy pace.


    It wasn¡¯t even as fast as an ordinary horse. Thus, Miao Yi quickly used his mind to urge it to gallop faster.


    But apparently, it was futile to try pushing it to go faster because its speed stayed as it was whether it was being ridden or not.


    After half a day of torture, Miao Yi¡¯s face had turned gloomy, especially after realizing that Luo Zhen had put in a few good words for Charcoal. With this speed, she dared to say it was no different than an ordinary horse? It even slipped when going up the mountain slope...


    Miao Yi finally understood why nobody wanted this beast¡ªit truly was a bastard. Other than the fact that It didn¡¯t have a tiny ounce of awareness as a dragon steed at all, it was practically a freeloader too. And not only was it a freeloader, but it was also a godd*mned picky eater as well.


    After circling for one round, Miao Yi got off the horse and said to Luo Zhen with a mirthless grin on his face, ¡°Not bad... it does have some good qualities. Its plump body shakes as it runs, so my bottom doesn¡¯t press painfully while I ride.¡± He forced himself to trying up with a good trait for Charcoal, as an act of giving face to Luo Zhen.


    Brother Miao was simply too kind. Luo Zhen¡¯s face reddened in embarrassment at the scene, throwing a few kicks at Charcoal. ¡°What a lousy thing!¡±


    As a result, Charcoal indistinctly revealed a very innocent look before nestling against Luo Zhen¡¯s side, neighing.


    Unable to resist the temptation, Miao Yi rolled his eyes at the fact that this beast could even understand human emotions.


    He could tell that both Luo Zhen and Charcoal had a very deep rtionship and felt very familiar with each other. After going back, Luo Zhen prepared a sumptuous meal of good wine and dishes, once again requesting Miao Yi to bear with Charcoal.


    ¡°Pfff...¡± Yan Xiu spurt out a mouthful of wine on the spot, ring at his wife as he asked, ¡°You gave Charcoal, the one you didn¡¯t want to ride, to Brother Miao?¡±


    Luo Zhen then replied with a sour look on her face, ¡°Drinking wine can¡¯t even shut you up?¡±


    ¡°Haha...¡± Unable to restrain himself anymore, Yan Xiu hugged his tummy and doubled up into fits ofughter. He could practically imagine Miao Yi¡¯s reaction when he rode Charcoal.


    Luo Zhen immediately marched up to seize her own husband and began to pinch him violently. ¡°You good-for-nothing, you¡¯re still more uselesspared to it!¡±


    The days gradually went by. Miao Yi led a quiet life in Transient Light Cave. All he needed to do was to cultivate and watch over the dragon steeds. With Cao Dingfeng covering him, no one dared to do anything to him. However, Yan Xiu and his wife were still being bossed around to do menial chores. After being subjected to anger, Luo Zhen would return and immediately st Yan Xiu directly, throwing insults along the lines of being a spineless coward to his face.


    asionally Cao Dingfeng would drop by to visit him. Including Yan Xiu and his wife, apart from the three of them, practically everyone in Transient Light Cave had forgotten there was still such a person among them.


    Miao Yi had yet to see the Cave Master, Yuan Zhengkun, not since the day they met when he first arrived at the Transient Light Cave. He did, however, hear that he¡¯d entered closed-door seclusion training.


    In addition to the others, who were also training in seclusion, Miao Yi didn¡¯t even know all of the associates in the cave. Sometimes, he woulde into contact with some of them when he brought the dragon steeds out, but usually, he would not get called if there were any serious affairs to attend to. They probably minded that his cultivation was too low, so he wouldn¡¯t be of much help. They even wanted to order him to do menial jobs, but since Cao Dingfeng was around to protect him, none of them dared to be disrespectful towards his status.


    Miao Yi had the impression that he¡¯d been forgotten and left behind, so he went on cultivating, continuing to look after the dragon steeds, as well as riding Charcoal who was as plump as a pig.

 Chapter 27: Orb of Will

    Chapter 27: Orb of Will


    Snowkes fluttered about, turning everything to white.


    During his first winter since arriving at the Transient Light Cave, Miao Yi finally entered the Transient Light Grand Hall again. This time around, everyone was in attendance and he could finally get to know all the members of the Transient Light Cave in one sitting.


    The reason for their attendance was because the power of will gathered from Transient Light City had been handed over to them. They came here to collect their own share of ¡®provisions¡¯. Those who were in closed door seclusion training also came out and rushed here because of this.


    The reason why everyone agreed to be ruled over was all for this day, which only happened once a year.


    Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun reported to everyone regarding this year¡¯s harvest; it consisted of about a hundred Orbs of Will which were gathered from an estimated one hundred thousand people.


    Among 80% of the collected orbs were required to be turned over to the higher levels and the cave could only retain the remaining 20%, which left about twenty Orbs of Will.


    Miao Yi had heard about it from Yan Xiu earlier on that among the Orbs of Will harvested every year, with the exception of the 20% which would be kept for the cave, the other 80% would be broken down further; 10% were to be turned over to the Mountain Chieftain, 10% to the Manor Head, 10% to the Hall Liege, 10% to the Pce Lord and another 10% to the Overlord. The remaining 30% would be entirely handed over to the Immortal Sage, Mu Fanjun.


    The other domains of the five sages operated in a simr manner. Anyone who dared to break the rules or get caught attempting to pocket it for themselves, would be immediately sentenced to an unsightly death as an example to others, basically killing one to warn a hundred.


    All in all, no matter who tried to im whoever¡¯s domain, the Orbs of Will to be handed over must not have a reduction in amount.


    The 20% share kept by the cave, were about twenty in total. Cao Dingfeng and the three cultivators who were at White Lotus Third Grade, were Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s capable right-hand men so each of them received two orbs. The remaining seven, inclusive of Miao Yi, were only given one each.


    The others with a cultivation base at White Lotus Second Grade couldn¡¯t say anything about it. Miao Yi didn¡¯t have anything to say, too. However, both Yan Xiu and Luo Zhen still felt slightly wronged since both of them also had a cultivation base at White Lotus Third Grade. But s, nobody cared about the injustice they received, so they could only hold it in.


    The remaining ten orbs belonged to Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun, but ording toYan Xiu, the Cave Master would normally not keep everything to himself, and would leave a few orbs to be given as rewards to others, such as those who made great achievements. It¡¯s important for those who perform a meritorious service to be rewarded. Otherwise, nobody would be willing to work hard in handling their assigned affairs.


    The majority were happy to receive the ¡®provisions¡¯, except for Luo Zhen who couldn¡¯t bring herself to smile. One could tell by looking at her that she was trying to stifle her anger, apparently finding the amount received to be too little.


    After returning to his cultivation residence, Miao Yi sat properly in a lotus position while staring intently at the Orb of Will between his fingers, which was roughly about the same size as a granule. It was sparkling and translucent, emitting an indistinct white glow.


    This was his first time seeing what an Orb of Will looked like. ording to Yan Xiu, this granule-sized Orb of Will was a crystallized form of the power of will gathered from a thousand followers in one year.


    An Orb of Will gathered from ten thousand people in a year would be around the size of a pearl while an Orb of Will gathered from a hundred thousand people in a year would be around the size of a quail egg. Under normal circumstances, the harvested Orb of Will¡¯s maximum size would only be around the size of a quail egg, and it wouldn¡¯t get any bigger than that.


    Miao Yi was anxious to try out the effects of the Orb of Will he¡¯d spent ages longing for. He opened his mouth and ced it inside, performing his Arts to catalyze it.


    Once refined, Miao Yi immediately experienced the power of the seven emotions and six desires contained within the Orb of Will. These were the distracting thoughts belonging to more than thousands of people¡ªjoy, anger, grief, fear, love, hate, desire along with other negative feelings. Their impact on him almost shocked him till he lost his guard on his mind.


    Earlier, he had already asked Yan Xiu regarding the refining method, so he immediately applied his Arts to disperse the onught of distracting thoughts, stripping out the most cordial power of will before refining it for his own use. This was so he could utilize the gathered power of will united from the forces to call upon the Spiritual Qi among the heavens and earth.


    At that instant, he immediately sensed the required Spiritual Qi being gradually filtered from the air into his body. The Spiritual Qi began to collectively gather towards him, eventually absorbed like a trickle of water, making the entire process considerably faster than usual.


    Being able to feel the prowess of the Orb of Will filled Miao Yi with utter excitement. It was no wonder why cultivators in the world would want to get their hands on these. It really was too miraculous!


    Huh!


    To Miao Yi¡¯s surprise, during the process of refining the Orb of Will, he discovered a strange phenomenon. The ¡®Fiery Star Technique¡¯ cultivation method he was cultivating actually had the ability to directly burn away the distracting thoughts of the seven emotions and six desires possessed by tens of thousands of living beings. It was far more efficient whenpared to Yan Xiu¡¯s teachings to gradually strip and expel them out.


    Afraid that it was only a figment of his imagination, he exploited the two methods topare them, once again confirming the Fiery Star Technique¡¯s effectiveness.


    Speedily putting a stop to his Arts, Miao Yi spat out the Orb of Will he kept in his mouth onto the palm of his hand. He wanted to ask Yan Xiu about it so he could get to the bottom of things¡ªexactly what was going on here?


    At that exact moment, the dark green bead he wore around his neck shed a faint glow.


    Miao Yi halted in his steps, suddenly remembering his time back at the ind, when Lao Bai had specially exined to him over and over again.


    First, that his cultivation method must not be leaked. Second, if he were to discover that the Fiery Star Technique had some strange effect on the power of will, then he must not ever let the cat out of the bag.


    Lao Bai mentioned that the Great Immortal he once served had mistakenly leaked out the information, and was forced to live the remainder of his days on an ind. It was as though someone wanted to force the Great Immortal to hand over the cultivation method he was cultivating. As for their reasons to do so, Lao Bai wasn¡¯t sure of the answer.


    Miao Yi¡¯s heart beat wildly for a moment, faintlying to the realization as to why there were people who wanted to force the Great Immortal to hand over his cultivation method.


    ording to Yan Xiu¡¯s theory, on the basis of Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation base, if he wanted to refine this granule-sized orb, a year was required. But if it were calcted based on the speed he used to directly burn away the seven emotions and six desires, he wouldn¡¯t need that long of a time.


    Which also meant that as long as Miao Yi had enough Orbs of Will to refine, then with his own cultivation method and technique, he could increase his cultivation base much faster and further than anyone else...


    Overwhelming feelings of excitement were mixed with the taint of uncertainty; he would need to move one step closer to test and confirm it...


    Three monthster, the snow in the mountain forest had already melted away, while the Orb of Will in Miao Yi¡¯s mouth had also beenpletely consumed until nothing remained.


    It didn¡¯t require a year like what Yan Xiu had informed him, as it only took him three months. Not only that, he had done it while caring for the dragon steeds every few days.


    His own cultivation base had swiftly enhanced to a considerable degree; a granule-sized Orb of Will had unexpectedly saved him five years of normal cultivation.


    Back then Lao Bai told Miao Yi that he would require twenty years to advance to White Lotus Second Grade. Up until now, he¡¯d been cultivating for about five or six years. His time had now been cut short by five years, which meant that he would need at most ten years to break through to the second grade of White Lotus. In terms of Orbs of Will, he only required two more.


    Miao Yi¡¯s blood boiled with indignation. If he possessed two more orbs then he would only need six more months to advance to a cultivation base at White Lotus Second Grade.


    After the initial excitement, he calmed himself down as he realized that he¡¯d been thinking too much. One year would only grant him one Orb of Will and a mere two years were needed for him to obtain the desired two. The time spent waiting for the orbs would have offset the wonders of his cultivation method, causing it to be no different than the two years needed to cultivate ording to Yan Xiu...


    At that instant when Miao Yi was at a loss on how to get more Orbs of Will, Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao, the other two cultivators from Transient Light Cave with a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade, barged into the gates on their dragon steeds. They charged towards the Transient Light Grand Hall and came to a halt, before leaping off the steeds and vanishing into the grand hall.


    ¡°Move!¡± Sun Jiaojiao dispersed the two handmaidens who came up to wee her.


    Both of them looked as though there was some kind of emergency, as they barely gave face to the Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s handmaidens. This type of situation wouldn¡¯t normally happen.


    Yuan Zhengkun, who was meditating and cultivating at the back of the hall, was rmed by their arrival, stopped his cultivation and rose from his seat. Seeing the two people who barged in, he had a faint feeling that something unfortunate must have happened.

 Chapter 28: Li Xin’s Scheme

    Chapter 28: Li Xin¡¯s Scheme


    Transient Light Cave currently belonged to one of the ten caves under the rule of Du Zhangxing, Mount Calming Sea¡¯s Mountain Chieftain. A few days ago, Mount Calming Sea sent out news to each domain¡¯s Cave Master saying that the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, Yang Qing, had broken through to Blue Lotus Fifth Grade. There was a possibility that Du Zhangxing had asked about Manor Head Ding¡¯s ambition, thus requiring each respective Cave Masters to strictly keep a close watch on Yang Qing¡¯s movements.


    Hence, Yuan Zhengkun dispatched two of his best subordinates Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao to go.


    Now, seeing the both of them urgently barging in without ceremony, he deduced that they had news of a radical nature to report. His heart sank as he asked, ¡°How is the current situation? Did Yang Qing listen to the summons?¡±


    Regardless of Du Zhangxing, Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea or Yang Qing, Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, they were all under Lu Yu, the Manor Head of South Edict Manor.


    The moment Yang Qing¡¯s cultivation had broken through to the fifth grade of Blue Lotus, Manor Head Lu Yu had felt threatened, and so he issued aw decree to transfer and appoint Yang Qing to his side. His motive was none other than to separate Yang Qing from his troops, effectively stripping him of power.


    All the Mountain Chieftains under South Edict Manor were waiting to see whether Yang Qing would ept thew decree or not. If he did, then it would prove Yang Qing did not harbor any wicked ambitions, and so everyone could feel at ease.


    Li Xin cupped his fists submissively and exined in a hurried tone, ¡°Cave Master, when the Manor Head¡¯sw decree reached Mount Shaotai, Yang Qing was in a thundering rage. He eximed that Manor Head Lu Yu had gone too far and his behaviour could not be tolerated any longer. In front of everyone watching, he beheaded the Doctrine Envoy, and then immediately banded together his force of ten caves tounch an attack into the territory of Mount Calming Sea. Both Ten Thousand Spirits Cave and Sun Believer Cave have been breached. Yang Qing¡¯s troops are charging towards Transient Light Cave at top speed right now.¡±


    Yuan Zhengkun gasped in shock, ¡°Is Yang Qing mad? He onlymands the forces of one mountain, and now dares to challenge the Manor Head¡¯s forces of nine mountains?¡±


    Sun Jiaojiao cupped her fists with both hands and eximed, ¡°Yang Qing has already obtained School of School of Blue Jade¡¯s support. School of Blue Jade dispatched a band of their sect¡¯s disciples to apany Yang Qing¡¯s army. This is definitely not a coincidence. Yang Qing has obviously been colluding with School of Blue Jade and made ns to attack long before this!¡±


    Li Xin requested earnestly, ¡°Cave Master, Transient Light Cave can no longer be defended, let¡¯s retreat!¡±


    ¡°Scoundrel!¡± thundered Yuan Zhengkun abruptly, in a fit of rage. ¡°The Mountain Chieftain has always been good to me, and I have been entrusted the protection of Transient Light Cave because of his confidence in my abilities. How can I flee without putting up a fight! Who serves as the vanguard under Yan Qing¡¯smand? Once I have straightened out Transient Light Cave, I will crush that scum Yang Qing¡¯s spirit!¡±


    Sun Jiaojiao replied, ¡°The Cave Master of Hundred Blossoms Cave, Qin Weiwei is the vanguard.¡±


    Yuan Zhengkun coldly sneered, ¡°Qin Weiwei, that woman has guts tounch an attack against our Transient Light Cave! Watch how I¡¯ll deal with her!¡±


    Sun Jiaojiao immediately continued, ¡°Yang Qing¡¯s own forces, personally led by himself, are following right behind Qin Weiwei. The moment we found out, we rushed back as quickly as we could, hoping Cave Master will make an immediate decision.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s expression froze, speechless.


    He wasn¡¯t afraid of Qin Weiwei, but if he were to engage in a battle against Qin Weiwei and then Yang Qing followed suit, then the joke would be on him. Putting aside Yang Qing¡¯srge number of forces, there was also the matter of Yang Qing¡¯s cultivation being at Blue Lotus Fifth Grade; he wouldn¡¯t be able to defend against his attacks at all.


    Li Xin earnestly requested again, ¡°Cave Master, we will not be able to defend against Yang Qing with our might alone. Where there is life, there is still hope. Now the most important thing to do is make haste to the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s side at once to help him conserve his strength. Once the Manor Head rounds up his forces tounch a counterattack, it will not be toote for us to fight back!¡±


    Yuan Zhengkun hesitated. After great difficulty, he had finally be the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave, taking pleasure in its benefits for merely a year. With his position, he enjoyed the incense and power of will of ten thousand followers from Transient Light City¡ªhe really wasn¡¯t willing to give up the meat he had in his mouth.


    Sun Jiaojiao warned in a hastened tone, ¡°Cave Master, Qin Weiwei is leading her forces here at great speed. At most, she¡¯ll arrive in two hours so if we don¡¯t retreat soon, then it will be impossible to leave once she has us in her sights!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as if I don¡¯t know that!¡± Yuan Zhengkun lifted his head towards the sky and gave a long sigh. ¡°The Mountain Chieftain has always been good to me. If I leave without engaging in battle, he would not easily forgive me. And even if he kept our old friendship in mind, there is also the Manor Head to consider. He should be bristling with indignation over this whole affair, and I fear he will make an example out of me to serve as a warning to others!¡±


    Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao stared at each other speechlessly. There was no doubt that the Manor Head was furious over Yang Qing¡¯s revolt. If he found out his subordinates had fled without going into battle, the Manor Head would definitely not let them get away with it.


    All of a sudden, Sun Jiaojiao began to speak, hesitated for a long while, before gently parting her lips to say in a low voice, ¡°Surrender!¡±


    Yuan Zhengkun and Li Xin turned to look at her with great trepidation and fear¡ªonly trusted aides would dare to speak of such words between each other.


    But, Yuan Zhengkun rapidly denied the idea of surrendering by shaking his head, ¡°Yang Qing must have promised some benefits to School of Blue Jade for him to agree to support him. Once South Edict Manor has been captured, not only will Yang Qing have to settle positions on his men for their great service, he also has to appease the disciples of School of Blue Jade as well. There really will be too little to go around! There won¡¯t be any advantages for us even if we surrender to them. We would be left standing by the sidelines, our reputations ruined all because we surrendered. So why torture ourselves?¡±


    Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao went silent. They knew Yuan Zhengkun was speaking the truth. The couple, Yan Xiu and Luo Zhen, were the perfect example. Have they ever had any status in Transient Light Cave? Although their cultivation was at White Lotus Third Grade, they were still inferior to a Horse Deputy.


    ¡°I have a strategy that can help Cave Master escape this situation. But, Cave Master is a man of deeppassion and of unwavering loyalty, so I fear Cave Master will not ept this proposal.¡± Li Xin sighed insincerely.


    ¡°We¡¯re already in this mess, so there¡¯s no need to mince your words anymore.¡± Yuan Zhengkun stretched out his hand and said, ¡°Speak out what¡¯s on your mind!¡±


    Li Xin immediately moved closer and muttered in his ear...


    ng ng ng!


    The rm in Transient Light Cave rang, causing all the cultivators to scuttle out of their cultivation residences when they heard it. They rushed to Hidden Dragon Valley, mounted their dragon steeds before rushing swiftly to gather outside of Transient Light Grand Hall.


    Until now, Miao Yi did not have his own mount since his cultivation base was too low. The Cave Master wouldn¡¯t concern himself with helping Miao Yi resolve his life difficulties, so he could only make do with riding the plump Charcoal.


    He still had no clue of the events that transpired. He saw that everyone had taken their weapons with them; Yan Xiu, riding a dragon steed, held a pair of broad axes in his hands and even Luo Zhen wielded a long andrge saber single-handedly, disying her prowess.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Riding Charcoal, Miao Yi slowly caught up behind Yan Xiu. He used his Art to transmit his voice in a quiet inquiry.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing good. The rm rang for a long time, which meant we¡¯re going into battle soon,¡± Yan Xiu made a quiet reminder, ¡°Brother, do you remember what I said to you before?¡±


    The rumored struggle between cultivators had finally arrived? Heart tightening, Miao Yi nodded his head, understanding the meaning behind Yan Xiu¡¯s words. If he could not win then he should just surrender, there was no need to throw your life away.


    Everyone in Transient Light Cave gathered beneath the Grand Hall. A number of people simmered withughter upon noticing the conspicuous ¡®fat pig¡¯ underneath Miao Yi.


    When Cao Dingfeng realized the cause, he muttered to himself that it was due to his carelessness, noting that he would seek a better dragon steed for Miao Yi once he had the chance.


    Abruptly, Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun rode his dragon steed out in a violent rush, directly charging towards the top of the flight of stairs leading to the Grand Hall. He raised a long halberd in the air and angrily shouted in amanding voice, ¡°Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, Yang Qing, is a wolf with wild ambitions. He hold aspirations for the Manor Head seat of South Edict Manor. Already, he has started his rebellion!¡±


    The crowd was in an uproar. Miao Yi instantly transmitted his voice to ask Yan Xiu about the situation.


    ¡°The affairs this time are a bit major than normal. Yang Qing has the highest cultivation base in South Edict Manor, apart from Manor Head Lu Yu. Since he dared to dere war against Lu Yu, he must be confident in his victory...¡± Yan Xiu surreptitiously exined the stakes between them to Miao Yi.

 Chapter 29: Luo Zhen Rides a Horse

    Chapter 29: Luo Zhen Rides a Horse


    Yuan Zhengkun gazed about the crowd, boosting their morale in a loud voice, ¡°Manor Head is furious and has already assembled the entire South Edict¡¯s forces of nine mountains. Yang Qing¡¯s doom is sealed, within the next few days we will tear him apart. Earlier, I found out that Qin Weiwei, the Cave Master of Hundred Blossoms Cave is now serving Yang Qing, and has split her forces into two nks to surround and raid our Transient Light Cave. I desire the head of that b*tch, Qin Weiwei! Who is courageous enough to follow me in facing the enemies of Transient Light Cave!¡±


    Everyone looked at each other in dismay. Before they could grasp the situation, Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao had already stepped forward on their dragon steeds, one after the other, both of them shouting loudly in unison, ¡°We¡¯re willing to follow Cave Master to face the enemy upfront and take Qin Weiwei¡¯s head!¡±


    Startled, Cao Dingfeng rapidly went forward with his dragon steed and cupped his fists. ¡°I am willing to go, too!¡±


    Since Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao had already responded, then as one of Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s zealous subordinates, how could he not firmly state his position?


    Whether or not the others were equally as willing, everyone stepped forward and assented. Even Yan Xiu and Miao Yi went along with the crowd and loudly voiced their support.


    ¡°Good!¡± In an instant, Yuan Zhengkun waved his long halberd at the crowd, and began to appoint tasks to all. ¡°Li Xin, Sun Jiaojiao, both of you will apany me to drive back Qin Weiwei. Cao Dingfeng, you lead the others behind the western mountain range to stop the attacks. You must stall Qin Weiwei¡¯s followers. Once I im Qin Weiwei¡¯s head, I will immediately return to meet up with everyone!¡±


    Li Xin, Sun Jiaojiao and Cao Dingfeng epted the order together.


    ¡°Everyone in Transient Light Cave must make abined effort to deal heavy blows to the enemy invading our territory. Those who have served their duty well will be handsomely rewarded! Forward!¡±


    Yuan Zhengkun did not waste any time. Riding his dragon steed, he leapt down the stairs as he brandished his long halberd and shouted.


    Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao immediately followed suit on their dragon steeds, charging out of the gates and riding away swiftly.


    ¡°Follow my lead! We will head to the back of the western mountain range to obstruct the enemy!¡±


    With his treasured sword on his back and a spear in his hand, Cao Dingfeng turned around and shouted instructions at the crowd following him.


    Under his lead, eight cultivators with their dragon steeds rode as fast as lightning, crossing mountains after mountains as though treading on ins.


    Miao Yi, who trailed behind inst ce, hated that he couldn¡¯t just stab Charcoal to death with his spear. At least if he were to run on his own two legs, then he might be better off.


    Charcoal really gave him too much honor, making it seem like he was of a more craven and cowardly mould than Yan Xiu. How would everyone in Transient Light Cave see him now?


    Yan Xiu had said that if you can¡¯t win a fight then just surrender, but right now, what does it imply if the war hasn¡¯t even begun and you¡¯re already running away? Taking a look at Yan Xiu, although in his heart he has already made full preparations to surrender, at least to anyone watching, he was now riding quickly to battle, so no one could make ament.


    He was downright embarrassed to be in this ce, but little did he know he had already be Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s scapegoat.


    Li Xin¡¯s stratagem was very simple; basically it was to make Yuan Zhengkun instigate the others to meet the enemy head-on, while the three of them made their escape.


    Afterwards, when the higher echelons investigated the matter, Yuan Zhengkun would have an excuse ready at hand that would extricate himself from the responsibility of escaping without fighting. He could then say that only three of them were lucky enough to survive the attack, and even Cao Dingfeng, his trusted aide, had fallen in battle. It wasn¡¯t due to ack of effort on his part to fight as if his life depended on it. On the contrary, Yang Qing personally led his forces into the fray, and tried his best to fight. In the end he couldn¡¯t hold back the opposing forces at all. This was something everyone could understand.


    Not only would he escape the responsibility of fleeing without going into battle, he would use Cao Dingfeng to lead his men to cover his own retreat, and also help stall for enough time for him to make his own escape.


    The most important thing was, after knowing Yang Qing would personally lead his forces forward, Yuan Zhengkun still dared tomand his forces to meet the enemy in battle. There was a strong possibility that his disy of loyalty and bravery might be able to gain the higher echelons¡¯ praise and possibly turn a loss into a gain.


    Since there were so many benefits to it, Yuan Zhengkun did not hesitate and went along with Li Xin¡¯s scheme.


    Seven dragon steeds crossed over to the top of the western mountain range. Cao Dingfeng saw that the base of the mountain revealed a wide open area alternating with the mountains opposite of them. It was an appropriate location to face and deal heavy blows to the enemy. He instantly waved the spear in his hand, pressing the troops to move forward. Eventually he ordered everyone to hide amidst the dense forest halfway up the mountain.


    Everyone had been lying in wait for quite a period of time before Miao Yi finally arrived on Charcoal,st to the scene and with a long look on his face.


    Cao Dingfeng turned his head behind to cast a look at Charcoal underneath Miao Yi, however he made no remarks.


    Exactly at that moment, from within the mountain forest a dragon steed appeared, swooping down from the mountain at great speed. A two-petaled white lotus appeared and glowed faintly between the brows of the cultivator on top of the dragon steed. He nced left and right with his spear raised, keeping a close watch as he moved ahead throughout the whole ride down.


    The moment Cao Dingfeng saw him, he knew instantly that the man hade to open up a path. It looked like the other party was being incredibly careful, therefore it didn¡¯t matter if they nned an ambush, it was already futile.


    Upon reaching this conclusion, he looked around and asked left and right, ¡°Kill one and there will be one less. Who will go first to render a first-ss merit?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Luo Zhen answered without any form of hesitation. Wielding a long de in her hand, she rode the dragon steed and charged towards the bottom of the mountain.


    ¡°You....¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s entire body froze, as he extended his hand to stop her, but to no avail.


    Everyone was astounded, because they never expected that Madame Shi Xiang would be the first one to set out.


    Miao Yi was also surprised. He had listened to the things that Yan Xiu had incessantly taught him, but apparently his wife had chosen to shut her ears instead.


    Little did he know that Luo Zhen was sick and tired of people humiliating her by addressing her as Madame Shi Xiang. All this time she had been suppressing her pent-up anger.


    Ever since the beginning, when Yuan Zhengkun had instigated everyone, Luo Zhen had already hardened her heart. She really did feel weary of people humiliating her...


    The dragon steed who was swooping down at a great speed gave an invigorating leap with Luo Zhen in tow, both emerging from the mountain forest. It leapt up to a height of a hundred metres in the air, with Luo Zhen screaming as she nted towards the rushing dragon steed still in the middle of opening a path.


    The man was takenpletely by surprise. Unable to turn back in time, he rapidly soared upwards, twenty metres high from the dragon steed.


    Usually cultivators would use two types of long and short weapons. The short weapon was normally used for self-protection while the longer weapon would be used to face the enemy when riding on a dragon steed.


    He was also using a long de. He soared into the air, delivering a strike with his de to the dragon steed descending from the sky. But after leaping into the air and witnessing clearly the three-petaled White Lotus between Luo Zhen¡¯s brows, he instantly became frantic.


    The screaming and approaching Luo Zhen had already lunged over with her de to deliver a strike in one rapid movement, parrying the de which wasing straight at her. Simultaneously, she locked the man in his spot with her transcendence energy.


    His reaction speed slowed down significantly after being entangled by a higher level of transcendence energy, his face already disying a look of panic and horror.


    Bang! The hard bones of Luo Zhen¡¯s dragon steed collided head-on onto the man¡¯s chest.


    Puke! Fresh blood violently spurted from the man¡¯s mouth, his chest already copsed inwards from the impact of the collision.


    Why do cultivators love to mount dragon steeds? It was because this spiritual beast was of extraordinary strength, could carry immense loads and had a terrifying impact force, so huge, that even cultivators at the stage of Blue Lotus were afraid of getting rammed hard by a matured dragon steed.


    Particrly the dragon steed¡¯s speed, when it galloped about wildly without any restraint, even a cultivator at the stage of Blue Lotus would have difficulty in catching up to one. Even if they did, they would only be able to do it within short distances. If the chase were tost a longer time, they would definitely not be able to catch up to the dragon steed¡¯s speed and endurance.


    Imagine under this degree of speed and strength, in addition to the cultivator¡¯s transcendence energy, the cultivator¡¯s attack force would achieve almost double the effect. With all these factors, the dragon steed naturally became the majority of cultivators¡¯ favorite mount.


    ¡°Die!¡±


    While the man spurted blood and copsed, Luo Zhen violently shouted once more, brandishing her de high up to the sky, and shed down through the rain of blood.


    Luo Zhen leaped from her dragon steed and descended onto the ground. With the de in hand, she looked back at the mountainside where Cao Dingfeng and the others were at. In one encounter, she had beheaded a White Lotus Second Grade cultivator.


    Gusts of wind rose up suddenly through the mountain, the dark green grass undting in waves, all the more demonstrating Luo Zhen¡¯s grandeur.


    The dead cultivator¡¯s dragon steed let out a mournful whine, galloping to its own master¡¯s corpse¡¯s, unwilling to leave his side.

 Chapter 30: Eleventh Surrender

    Chapter 30: Eleventh Surrender


    Miao Yi was rendered speechless as he nced at Luo Zhen¡¯s imposing presence, trembling slightly at her overwhelming power.


    He couldn¡¯t help but be suspicious that a mere cultivator with a cultivation at White Lotus Second Grade, couldn¡¯t even withstand an attack from a cultivator at White Lotus Third Grade. On that basis, since his cultivation was only White Lotus First Grade, wouldn¡¯t he just be throwing his life away if he ran out now?


    Yan Xiu¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple quivered a few times. It seemed he too, didn¡¯t know what else to say.


    At the mountainside, Cao Dingfeng revealed a smile, nodded his head and praised, ¡°Good! Next time anyone who dares to address her as ¡®Madame Shi Xiang¡¯ will be the same as picking on me, Cao Dingfeng!¡± He nced around and threw a warning at those behind him.


    At that exact moment, a strange sound was suddenly heard from the opposite mountain. The crowd quickly looked in the direction of the sound, only to see five dragon steeds and their riders. Simr to Luo Zhen, they leaped a hundred meters high with a woosh, and then galloped towards the open field where Luo Zhen fought with only a de and her steed.


    Yan Xiu¡¯s grip tightened on his broad axes as Luo Zhen, in a state of shock, quickly urged her steed to hastily dodge them.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    Cao Dingfeng coldly shouted, lifting his spear and charged ahead. The crowd immediately followed suit behind him, racing downwards to rescue Luo Zhen.


    Five out of seven mounts dashed out from the mountain forest, riding through the air and into the battle. In an instant, both parties¡¯ dragon steeds were sprinting to and fro, the madly rushing transcendence energy stirring between them at the scene, killing everyone in a life and death struggle. This sort of transcendence energy was filled with violence, capable of suffocating ordinary people should they venture close.


    Charcoal did not leap out in a shy way, and instead kept slipping on its hooves numerous times. It seemed to be slightly frightened as it slowly galloped to the foot of the mountain.


    Miao Yi could faintly feel the emotions transmitted from Charcoal; it appeared to be saying it was scared, so how about finding a ce to hide?


    Miao Yi really wanted to lift his spear and stab this bastard to death. The most he was thinking of was to surrender after the battle, and this guy was actually thinking of wanting to flee before they even battled it out?


    Simrly, Yan Xiu also held back from leaping out to join in the fight. Instead, he rode next to Miao Yi. This was his usual style, safety always came first!


    At the same time, he also pulled back Miao Yi, who seemed to him as slightly impulsive, shaking his head at Charcoal beneath him.


    Amidst this lifestyle of ceaseless ughter, without the advantageous power of a dragon steed, it would be impossible for one to defeat his opponents. The enemy would just ride off with their dragon steed,ing and going like the wind. With Charcoal¡¯s leg power and speed? He would be sending himself to an early grave if he tried to pursue them.


    An unusual movement was faintly seening from the distance, causing Yan Xiu to quickly raise his head and look in the direction of the mountain peak opposite him. He caught sight of a cold and elegant woman d in a snowy white robe with a bow on her back. She sat on top of a majestic dragon steed, its coat the color of a deep-red date fruit. Her hand held a Serpent Lance, a symbol of a five-petaled white lotus bloomed between her brows.


    Behind her, standing side-by-side, were four cultivators mounted on dragon steeds. All of them had a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade.


    ¡°Qin Weiwei!¡± Yan Xiu¡¯s pupils abruptly shrunk, all of a sudden crying out involuntarily, ¡°Sh*t! We¡¯ve been used by Yuan Zhengkun!¡±


    Being a man who was adept at surrendering, he was naturally skilled in this field and instantly came to the realization that everyone had fallen into Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s trap.


    Wasn¡¯t that Qin Weiwei? Wasn¡¯t she going to split her forces into two nks, and then prepare to attack from the other side? Why is she here? Miao Yi also lifted his head and gazed at the mountain peak across him. He hadn¡¯t yet arrived at the same conclusion, not realizing that they had been tricked by Yuan Zhengkun.


    Yan Xiu did not have the time to exin further, he quickly transmitted his voice through the usage of arts to Luo Zhen. But since she was at a scene of carnage, surrounded by people being endlessly strangled to death by transcendence energy, using Arts to transmit his voice had no effect at all.


    Meanwhile, at the opposite mountain peak, the snowy-white-robed Qin Weiwei gently lifted her finger, pointing towards the bottom of the mountain. The four mounted men swiftly charged and leaped forwards in a sh, descending onto the midst of the battlefield.


    Cao Dingfeng and six others were surrounded on all sides, standing their ground against nine foes; four of them were at White Lotus Third Grade, the other five at White Lotus Second Grade.


    Unfortunately for them, only Cao Dingfeng and Luo Zhen had a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade. The other four men, who were at the second grade, were instantly beat down, leaving them all in a disadvantageous position.


    They were all entangled in the battle, each of them wanting to break free but to no avail.


    The enemy adopted an ingenious battle strategy. A cultivator at White Lotus Third Grade withstood Cao Dingfeng. Three cultivators also at the third grade surrounded Luo Zhen, suppressing her with violent attacks until herplexion turned deadly pale. She had practically run out of strength, barely able to hold her ground anymore!


    Yan Xiu¡¯s chest heaved up and down with urgency, finally lifting the pair of broad axes in his hands. Although he usually kept himself discreetly out of harm, now he had no other choice but to throw himself forward and risk his life to rescue her.


    The dragon steed underneath him barely went forward a step before abruptlying to a halt. Yan Xiu eyes widened at the scene happening before him.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes also widened. Charcoal¡¯s four hooves stamped about in confusion, turning extremely restless.


    A spear was thrust into Luo Zhen¡¯s back. She was in the middle of brandishing her de with both hands, fending off the spears stabbing towards her by a row of people. Before she could even lower her gaze at the bloody spear tip piercing through her chest, a cultivator at White Lotus Third Grade chased after and in one quick movement, shed off her head with one strike of his de.


    Blood sprayed everywhere from the headless corpse still sitting atop the speedily galloping dragon steed.


    The spear piercing through her chest was removed from her corpse. After the three White Lotus Third Grade cultivatorsbined their forces to ughter Luo Zhen, they quickly turned their horses back and besieged Cao Dingfeng together.


    Miao Yi eyes were cold as his gaze locked onto the cultivator who beheaded Luo Zhen, gradually lifting the silver spear he gripped in his hand.


    Neigh! Charcoal let out a long neigh as it faced the sky, both eyes staring at the fallen corpse of Luo Zhen. It constantly snorted in agitation, its four hooves unceasingly plowing the ground. It looked like it wanted to storm forward and breach the enemy ranks, its behavior bing incredibly violent and restless. Miao Yi could feel the wild emotions transmitted from Charcoal.


    However, Yan Xiu extended his hand, grabbing onto the fleshy feelers which connected Charcoal and Miao Yi together. The fleshy feelers were a dragon steed¡¯s most vulnerable weakness.


    He stopped Miao Yi from risking his life.


    ¡°Why?¡± Miao Yi turned back to stare at Yan Xiu and said with coldness, ¡°They killed your wife, don¡¯t you wish to seek revenge?¡±


    Yan Xiu shouted with a look of grief and indignation on his face, ¡°They are too strong, we won¡¯t be able to avenge her! We will only be running headlong into our deaths if we charge out like this! Only by saving ourselves will we have hope for revenge!¡±


    What he said was right, but...all of a sudden, Cao Dingfeng let out a furious roar, ¡°Yuan Zhengkun!¡±


    He had apparently alsoe to the realization that he had been set up by his leader, but it was already toote. Besieged by four cultivators at White Lotus Third Grade, he realized that he was unable to endure it any longer, but before he could shout surrender, with one sh through the waist, he was cut in half, the upper half of his body flying into the air still bellowing with rage.


    Seeing that it was a losing battle, the two cultivators at White Lotus Second Grade, who were lucky to survive this long, shouted surrender at once. They gave up resisting and leaped off their dragon steeds, and were eventually captured, des pressing against their necks.


    The victor had been decided, Qin Weiwei¡¯s few subordinates nced back at Yan Xiu and Miao Yi shrunken at the sidelines, both not daring to move.


    Right at that instant, on the opposite mountain peak, a wave of rustling sounds reverberated through the air. With an astonishing air of grandeur, hundreds of cultivators mounting dragon steeds appeared behind Qin Weiwei, swiftly lining up in a row.


    Qin Weiwei turned around in a swift movement, facing towards a cultivator d in silver armor standing in the middle, who cupped his hands in greeting and bowed.


    The silver armored cultivator was none other than Yang Qing, the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai. With thick brows andrge eyes, as well as an extraordinary might, he faintly exuded an air of domination. He gazed attentively at the battlefield beneath him.


    In actuality, Yang Qing and Miao Yi had once seen each other before, during the time when Fairy Hong Chen had arrived at Ancient City. As a host, Yang Qing weed her arrival, except at that time, Miao Yi was hiding in the old willow tree, and Yang Qing was standing on top of the city walls. Both of them were only a short distance away from each other, but sadly, they never met in person.


    As soon as he saw the spectacle unfold, Yan Xiu hurriedly gave Miao Yi a push. He immediately threw away his pair of broad axes, jumped from his horse with his hands raised up high as he eximed, ¡°I surrender!¡±


    This was his eleventh time surrendering!

 Chapter 31: A Valiant Warrior Indeed (1)

    Chapter 31: A Valiant Warrior Indeed (1)


    Miao Yi did not bother about the number of men in the mountain peak across them. He only stared at the torn upper body of Cao Dingfeng with a nk expression on his face, still wriggling even after death, which had fallen onto the ground.


    Ever since he left the mountain he¡¯d cultivated in, he had made four friends; namely, Chen Fei, Cao Dingfeng, Luo Zhen and Yan Xiu. And now two of them had actually died in front of his eyes, and all he did was stand from afar looking on passively.


    As he watched the deaths of the others, his emotions had barely stirred, but after seeing the terrible deaths of his friends, who had always been looking after him, he was suddenly struck with the extreme cruelty of the cultivation world!


    Inside his heart, he furiously med himself for what he¡¯d done. His younger siblings had a great life going on for them, yet, he had sent them into such a dangerous ce. How could he now face both his foster parents¡¯ spirits in heaven!


    He had caused harm to his brother and sister. He had watched on helplessly as his friends, who had taken such good care of him, suffer a horrible death and still, he did nothing!


    He deserved to die!


    Miao Yi sentenced himself to death in his heart, lifting the silver spear he gripped in his hand. He pointed it at the murderers in front of him!


    ¡°What the hell are you doing? Quick, surrender!¡±


    Yan Xiu kept shouting at him but didn¡¯t get a reaction from Miao Yi. Instead, he saw the expression on Miao Yi¡¯s face bing more and more malevolent, a one-petaled white lotus emerging between his brows, glowing faintly. He immediately dashed over with the intention of dragging Miao Yi down.


    But Miao Yi pointed with his spear, its sharp spear tip pushing against Yan Xiu¡¯s chest, as he said in a low voice, ¡°Move!¡±


    The people high above and at the base of the mountain were staring at this interesting move Miao Yi was making.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Miao Yi stuck out the spear and thundered.


    Neigh! All of a sudden, Charcoal emitted a intive cry, rearing its forelegs up in the air. Once its forelegsnded back on the ground, it immediately bolted forwards in a sh, its speed as quick as lightning.


    Yan Xiu was stunned beyond measure; he had never seen Charcoal burst out into such a fast speed before.


    On the mountaintop, the silver-armored Yang Qing was slightly amazed, not because of Miao Yi¡¯s disy of bravery, but of Charcoal whom Miao Yi was mounting. ¡°He¡¯s riding a dragon steed?¡±


    Someoneughed. ¡°I thought it was a huge wild boar.¡±


    Everyone exploded intoughter, never in their lives had they seen such a fat dragon steed. How could a dragon steed, that was supposed to be adept at running, be fat to this extent?


    At the bottom of the mountain, the few cultivators still in the battlefield locked their gazes onto the quickly approaching Miao Yi with expressions filled with disdain. A cultivator at White Lotus First Grade dared to charge up here, where anyone pulled at random from their group would be, at the very least, at White Lotus Second Grade.


    Everyone looked as if they were watching a dying man¡ªnaturally, those who refuse to surrender would only be killed!


    Cultivators at White Lotus Third Grade felt they were above fighting Miao Yi. One amongst them made a signal, and a cultivator at White Lotus Second Grade was forced to rush out, reluctantly carrying his spear.


    Both of them charged towards each other at great speed.


    When Charcoal saw the man who murdered Luo Zhen charging out, traces of blood appeared in its eyes as its speed increased once more, bing faster than ever before. Yan Xiu stared at the sight, his eyes widened into circles.


    The sound of a ng!


    Both of them collided together. The eyes of the cultivator at White Lotus Second Grade grew wide andrge; the transcendence energy he exerted had apparently not stopped Miao Yi¡¯s movements.


    At that instant they collided, Miao Yi did not waste any unnecessary movements when extending his spear out. With a slight flick, he deflected the tip of the enemy¡¯s iing weapon, then seized that chance to thrust his spear forwards.


    This was a spear trained in the rough waves heaving to the skies. This was a spear trained for years under a waterfall. This was a spear which was often brandished; it had been thoroughly mastered and understood as a result of destroying countless mountain stones, people, Arts and even more spears.


    Lao Bai said his training was only so-so, thus exchanging his wooden spear with the real deal should have some overpowering force.


    With a swift attack, the spear tip drilled into the chest of the Second Grade cultivator, his eyes shing with disbelief.


    As the two dragon steeds passed each other, he sent the other cultivator flying with his spear. He brandished the spear, dragging the corpse along the ground with a single strike. Blood burst from the body as it tumbled backward beneath them.


    Miao Yi held the spear again, as he rushed towards the enemy¡¯s camp.


    Everyone in the mountain went silent, a cultivator with only a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade had quickly killed a cultivator at White Lotus Second Grade?


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s brows creased slightly; it was tantly obvious that her subordinate was incredibly useless.


    The silver-armored Yang Qing had a gleam in his eyes; he was beginning to focus his attention on Miao Yi in a serious manner.


    Two cultivators at White Lotus Second Grade rushed out of the camp, directly charging towards Miao Yi to intercept and kill him.


    The two cultivators¡¯ faces twisted in anger at the thought of theirrade being killed in a humiliating manner. They rushed over to trap and attack Miao Yi from both sides, unable to gauge how powerful he was.


    He lifted the spear!


    In one sudden movement, Miao Yi thrust the spear tip towards the ground, using it to lift up a boulder, before charging towards the two men with the boulder resting on the spear tip.


    When the two sides collided with each other, Miao Yi retracted the spear and sent it piercing out again.


    With a bang, the boulder was smashed into a lump of dust, the crushed stones shooting out towards the two men who were approaching.


    This kind of attack would have easily killed a mortal, but it was useless when used against the two men as the stones couldn¡¯t even break through their shields manifested from transcendence energy.


    The two men waved their spears and an unseen force immediately cleared away the annoying iing crushed stones.


    But once the crushed stones disappeared from their sight, they discovered that Miao Yi was nowhere to be found on the quickly approaching dragon steed. However, they could hear the sounds of something in the air, flying over them with a whoosh.


    He¡¯s above us! Both of them lifted their heads and looked towards the sky at almost the same time, only to be greeted by the sight of a slightlyrger crushed stone flying across their heads.


    As they were looking upwards, Charcoal charged in between the two mounts, and suddenly two spears thrust out from its sides, angled upwards from below. The spears pierced into the two cultivators¡¯ chest, right through their armpits, sending both of them flying off their mounts.


    The two spears dragged the two figures against the ground, instantly causing two patches of blood to spurt out. The figure holding the two spears flipped over quickly from under Charcoal¡¯s abdomen¡ªit was Miao Yi. The extra spear was picked up from the ground, it didn¡¯t matter who it belonged to.


    During such a brief assault, a cultivator at White Lotus First Grade had already ughtered three White Lotus Second Grade cultivators, leaving everyone stupefied.


    If he had killed one, that could be passed off as sheer luck. But, killing three of them consecutively, that wouldn¡¯t be considered as pure luck anymore. It could be said he was well-endowed with both bravery and wisdom!


    Swish! Miao Yi suddenly waved his arm, hurling out a spear directly into the enemy¡¯s camp towards the man who killed Luo Zhen, challenging the man by name.


    A White Lotus Third Grade cultivator captured the iing spear tip with his hand and casually threw it away. The dragon steed he was riding violently bolted out, as he raised his long saber and pointed it at Miao Yi.


    Bang!


    A trembling sound rang out, the spear and saber crossed swords in a sh. Blood spurted out from Miao Yi¡¯s mouth, the webbing between his thumb and forefinger broke, and his body shook violently. He was almost sent flying out by the impact of the tremor.


    The difference between his cultivation base and the White Lotus Third Grade cultivator was too far apart, it wasn¡¯t something that he could withstand. An entire body of transcendence energy had easily dealt a blow on him, and he was nearly defeated by the tremors alone.


    But a strange thing happened. When the two mounts passed by each other, Charcoal suddenly tilted its head, revealing a mouth filled with rows of sharp jagged white teeth. It bit onto the cultivator¡¯s leg, and before the cultivator could react, it pulled the cultivator, who was busy fighting with Miao Yi, down from the saddle.


    Not for anything else, but because this guy had used his saber to cut down Luo Zhen¡¯s head. Charcoal remembered this very well.


    Miao Yi would never waste such an opportunity. He exerted his entire strength and broke through the enemy¡¯s transcendence energy shield with his spear, the raging spear tip prating into the other man¡¯s heart.


    Luckily, Miao Yi¡¯s reaction was quick; otherwise Charcoal would have been crippled. In his attempt to quickly save himself, the cultivator who was suddenly attacked by Charcoal tried to sh down his saber towards the dragon steed¡¯s rear buttocks. If Miao Yi had not thrust his spear in the nick of time, that would have been the end of it, half of its buttocks and hind leg were for sure going to be cut down together.

 Chapter 32: A Valiant Warrior Indeed (2)

    Chapter 32: A Valiant Warrior Indeed (2)


    Still, it did leave a bloody scar on Charcoal¡¯s rear.


    Charcoal, in pain, abruptly went astray from his course of direction, but after circling for a round, it soon came to a stop under Miao Yi¡¯s urging. Currently, they were facing in the direction of the enemy¡¯s camp.


    WIth blood hanging from his lips, Miao Yi gripped the spear and lifted up the White Lotus Third Grade cultivator, disying his prowess to the people in the mountains!


    Anyone could tell Miao Yi was absolutely no match for the White Lotus Third Grade cultivator, but who would have thought that the fat dragon steed would actually assist in the fight. It happened too quickly, and in the process caused everyone¡¯s eyes to almost pop out of their sockets onto the ground.


    The person who had earlier ridiculed Charcoal as a huge wild boar, also couldn¡¯t help but stare at the fat dragon steed, revealing a covetous look on his face. It didn¡¯t matter if the steed was ugly¡ªas long as it was useful, it would be valued.


    Quite a number of people appeared to be setting their sights on Charcoal, only waiting for Miao Yi¡¯s death.


    Yan Xiu was shocked as he stood there nkly, but nobody was paying any attention to him right now. Their attention was all focused on Miao Yi and Charcoal.


    Qin Weiwei scowled, her expression unsightly. Her subordinates consisted of four White Lotus Third Grade cultivators and six White Lotus Second Grade cultivators, and already four of them had beenpletely wiped out by a kid only at White Lotus First Grade. One could imagine what her current mood was like now.


    ¡°Get me his dragon steed!¡± Qin Weiwei let out a cold hmph; she was inly asking her subordinates what were they still waiting for?


    Three White Lotus Third Grade cultivators and two White Lotus Second Grade cultivators immediately charged out, urging their dragon steeds forwards. It could even be said that each and every single one of them felt furious from the embarrassment they suffered. And not only had they been greatly humiliated, they suffered it in front of Yang Qing. Each and every single one of them were dying to swallow Miao Yi alive.


    With a shake of his spear, the pierced corpse split in half and sprayed out a rain of blood, revitalizing Miao Yi as he was bathed in the corpse¡¯s blood. Charcoal, who was underneath him, turned around and fled.


    Five cultivators gave chase on their dragon steed, with the ensuing hunt consisting of him running at the front and five chasing from the back.


    Charcoal¡¯s rear wound did not seem to affect it. Instead, it ran faster and faster with shocking speed. Despite its oversized body, it ran faster than the dragon steeds of the other five cultivators, widening the distance between them.


    Yan Xiu was in a state of disbelief, was this still the same Charcoal he had known for years?


    Miao Yi did not run away, instead he led the five cultivators circling behind him on a merry chase around the open field.


    They wanted to catch up but couldn¡¯t, and the distance between them kept getting further and further apart. They became worried of the slight chance that Miao Yu would get away, and in an abrupt move, one of them rushed out and attacked, hoping to intercept Miao Yi midway. Another cultivator changed course in order to obstruct his path, running in the other direction to face Miao Yi as he circled around once more.


    However, this was the result Miao Yi had wanted all along. If the five of thembined forces against him, he absolutely wouldn¡¯t have a hope of winning. His only resort was to separate them. If he ended up dying, then he would take a few sacrificialmbs down with him; if he could kill one more, then that would be good too.


    Facing a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator that rushed towards him straight on, Miao Yi raised his spear and charged, his face a mask of ferocity.


    With his previous experience against a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator, he did not attempt to fight fire with fire, instead he fought with his life on the line!


    Immediately after they faced each other inbat, Miao Yi¡¯s opponent understood right away the reason behind a White Lotus First Grade¡¯s ability to kill four people in a row. He definitely hadn¡¯t managed it out of sheer luck!


    Relying on his strengthened cultivation alone to pressure his opponent, he discovered that he was unable to suppress the opponent¡¯s reaction speed. It was simply inconceivable. Wouldn¡¯t people normally rely on their profound cultivation base to suppress and beat down their opponent? But the opponent resembled a fish in the sea, he seemed able to swim in the ocean of transcendence energy. Not only that, he could still perform a counterattack under the enormous pressure inflicted on him!


    Miao Yi faced the stronger enemy¡¯s deadly strike head-on, and did not attempt to dodge or defend. He knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the attack just on his cultivation base alone. They might as well stab each other and then die together!


    No one was willing to y a dangerous game like this with him. Instead, the opponent was forced to quickly defend himself. In addition, the moment they brushed past each other, the opponent would still need to be vignt against Charcoal¡¯s personal ambush.


    On the opennd, six dragon steeds chased each other in an endless circle, repetitively going to and fro, assaulting each other at close quarters.


    At this point, everyone was a little unclear as to who was hunting down who. In any case, no one was able to block Miao Yi. The people who were obviously trying to intercept him, instead became flustered the moment they ran into him. This made it seem like Miao Yi was the one who was brutally attacking the five higher leveled cultivators.


    The scene was spectacr to look at, but was something practically unheard of before this. There were five White Lotus cultivators, three at Third grade and two at Second Grade!


    An hour passed, and the chase was still ongoing, with the five cultivators unable to catch this guy at a mere White Lotus First Grade level. The crowd on the mountain were unable to restrain themselves from looking at each other in dismay.


    Yang Qing, d in full silver armor, let his gaze follow the desperately fighting Miao Yi, revealing a look of admiration that he couldn¡¯t quite mask. He then eximed in approval, ¡°A valiant warrior indeed. Given time, when his cultivation base grows higher, he will definitely be an excellent choice as one of the protectors for the domain. What has that Yuan Zhengkun¡ªtoo afraid to show his face¡ªdone to merit such a subordinate to fight his battles for him?¡±


    The instant he said that, the already disgraced Qin Weiwei gritted her teeth, swiftly grabbing the bow she carried on her back. Simultaneously nocking three feathered arrows on the bow-string, she drew back her bow, fed her transcendence energy into them, and set her target at Miao Yi.


    Yang Qing shot a nce at her, abruptly shouting, ¡°Stop!¡±


    With the exertion of his transcendence energy, his voice rumbled and reverberated between the ravines.


    When he began to speak, Qin Weiwei turned back to look at him. She slowly lowered the bow in her hands. Even the five cultivators, who were locked in their chase, were too afraid to disobey his orders; they immediately turned their steeds around and returned.


    Miao Yi pulled Charcoal to a stop, raising his eyes to look in the direction of the mountaintop.


    Yang Qing kept his eyes locked onto Miao Yi, producing a rumbling and reverberating voice. ¡°Who goes there, what is your name?¡±


    Miao Yi hoisted his spear at the mountaintop towards Yang Qing, simrly invoking his arts and bellowing furiously, ¡°Miao Yi is here, who dares to fight me!¡±


    The voice shook the entire range of mountains, filling the sky with his wrath, an ordinary man without fear.


    His fearless, resolute words only served to fill Yang Qing¡¯s eyes with barely concealed respect.


    Lifting his hand, he pointed two joined fingers at Miao Yi at the foot of the mountain and replied, ¡°Miao Yi, if you surrender to me, I will give you the Cave Master seat of Transient Light Cave!¡±


    A storm of protest broke out amongst the crowd when he finished; letting a White Lotus First Grade cultivator be a Cave Master?


    The guy who had called Charcoal a wild boar immediately reminded him in a low voice, ¡°Mountain Chieftain, he only has a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade.¡±


    ¡°It will be alright as long as he can convince the masses!¡± Yang Qing lightly dismissed his protest and everyone else immediately went silent.


    Who knew Miao Yi would show ingratitude towards the offer, continuing to point his spear at Yang Qing as he shouted in anger, ¡°Who dares to fight me?¡±


    Everyone realized that this kid was either a lunatic or was seriously trying to court death, even refusing the marbled meat position of Cave Master that was presented to him.


    Yang Qing nced at Qin Weiwei below and said calmly, ¡°Capture him alive.¡±


    Qin Weiwei, dressed in robes as white as snow, immediately charged downwards, gripping the Serpent Lance as she soared high up into the sky on her dragon steed, before descending down into the open field. She pointed thence at Miao Yi with a nk expression on her face, evidently she was toozy to say a word to him.


    ¡°Die!¡± Miao Yi straightened his spear, hurriedly rushing out towards her.


    But Qin Weiwei¡¯s cultivation was on an entirely different level of powerpared to her underlings. She proceeded to point with her straightenednce and an unseen force, equivalent to that of a sledgehammer, hammered against Miao Yi¡¯s chest.


    It was an attack that had been materialized purely out of transcendence energy. Amidst the White Lotus cultivation realm, the cultivation at White Lotus Fifth Grade was the line of distinction. Only cultivators with a cultivation base that had broken through to White Lotus Fifth Grade or higher would be able to congeal their arts into a tangible form. It couldn¡¯t bepared to the few fireball tricks Miao Yi invoked at the seaside. In the end they were just mere tricks, which had little to no effect when used against cultivators who were guarded by their transcendence energy. Indeed, the attack that Qin Weiwei delivered was a genuine transcendence energy attack.

 Chapter 33: Surrender

    Chapter 33: Surrender


    ¡°Splurt!¡± Miao Yi violently spat out a mouthful of blood. He flew backwards, tumbling a few times as hended.


    Charcoal, who bolted to his side, was stabbed deeply on its rear, with Qin Weiwei rotating the head of the spear around. In pain, Charcoal let out a weird, loud yelp and fled.


    With blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth, Miao Yi leaned on his spear for support, staggering as he slowly stood up from the ground.


    Qin Weiwei leisurely trotted her dragon steed to the front of Miao Yi, the tip of the Serpent Lance in her hand pressing onto his chest. In an indifferent tone, she then said, ¡°Surrender or no?¡±


    In the face of defeat, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes were filled with fury as he red at her. He had the look of someone who would rather die than submit.


    A cold smile appeared on Qin Weiwei¡¯s face, about to teach him another lesson.


    ¡°Surrender! He surrenders!¡±


    Yan Xiu screamed as he ran to their side, supporting Miao Yi with his hands while nodding his head repetitively as he said, ¡°He surrenders!¡±


    He was unaware that Yang Qing hadmanded that Miao Yi be captured alive. In fact, Yan Xiu was worried Miao Yi would be killed by her.


    Qin Weiwei did not pay any attention to him at all. She only stared at Miao Yi as she asked expressionlessly, ¡°Surrender, yes or no?¡±


    Although Yang Qing had told her to capture him alive, he never said she couldn¡¯t give this brat a hard time.


    A few of her subordinates had died at the hands of Miao Yi, so she wanted to take this chance to exact her revenge.


    Yan Xiu was beginning to panic. At once, he invoked his arts and transmitted his voice to Miao Yi, ¡°Brother, your parents gave birth to you and raised you not for the sake of throwing your life away! Just surrender! Where there is life, there is still hope!¡±


    Miao Yi¡¯s gaze was still locked onto Qin Weiwei, the corner of his mouth twitched furiously as blood trickled down. The mention of ¡®parents¡¯ from Yan Xiu¡¯s mouth made him remember his foster parents who had treated him with kindness, as well as his younger siblings...


    He still had no idea how his little brother and sister were faring right now...


    ¡°I surrender!¡±


    Miao Yi abruptly gripped the spear and stabbed it ruthlessly into the ground, letting out a mournful roar as he looked up into the sky.


    He hadn¡¯t managed to avenge Luo Zhen and Cao Dingfeng, and yet he surrendered. A remorseful feeling of grief and indignation filled him wholeheartedly. He had never before thirsted to raise his own strength like he had today!


    If he did not improve his strength, what could he even do if he found his younger siblings? As an older brother, would he have the ability to protect them?


    The heartfelt cry contained in the word ¡®surrender¡¯ made Qin Weiwei¡¯s heartstrings quiver indescribably, her icy cold gaze hesitant. After she cautiously eyed Miao Yi up and down, she slowly moved the head of the Serpent Lance away from Miao Yi¡¯s chest.


    Yang Qing, on the mountaintop, led a crowd of people charging down the mountain, rushing swiftly towards the direction of the Transient Light Cave. Miao Yi had forcefully held up a lot of people for a considerable period of time.


    But Yan Xiu on the other hand, still trembled slightly with fear. He was called by someone to apany Yang Qing¡¯s side.


    Not for any other reason, but because anyone with a pair of eyes could tell that Miao Yi had initially preferred to die rather than surrender, but he was then persuaded by Yan Xiu to submit in the end.


    Yang Qing felt it was a little strange, since he and Miao Yi were total strangers and did not have a past blood feud between them. Yet, he showed no hesitation in putting up a fight to such a degree. Unless Miao Yi had a special rtionship with Yuan Zhengkun, and therefore was this loyal and devoted to him? He figured they had no such special rtionship, since there wasn¡¯t a high possibility that Yuan Zhengkun would ept a White Lotus First Grade cultivator to join Transient Light Cave.


    After some questioning, he found out that Miao Yi and Yuan Zhengkun weren¡¯t especially close and had only seen Yuan Zhengkun twice after arriving to Transient Light Cave for more than a year. Not only that, Yuan Zhengkun had been hard on him, giving him the mere role of a Horse Deputy to do menial jobs.


    And Yuan Zhengkun also had nothing to do with Miao Yi joining Transient Light Cave. It was merely because of a referral from another and the fact that he had gotten in through Cao Dingfeng¡ªthe man had taken care of Miao Yi and therefore he had fought without restraint when Cao Dingfeng was ughtered.


    Truth be told, Yan Xiu believed that the murder of his wife, Luo Zhen was one of the most important factors. Although Miao Yi had been at Transient Light Cave for more than a year, he wasn¡¯t as close to Cao Dingfeng whenpared to both him and his wife. The reason why he rushed over to help Miao Yi surrender was because he felt deeply moved by him.


    However from the beginning to the end, Yan Xiu neglected to inform Yang Qing about the husband and wife rtionship between him and Luo Zhen, as tenth surrender and eleventh surrender wasn¡¯t something that was nice to listen to.


    Yang Qing slightly nodded his head, this time asking about Charcoal, who was as fat as a pig.


    After bing aware of Charcoal¡¯s nature from before, it was hard for Yang Qing to keep a straight face and he indeed erupted intoughter. Back then, Charcoal was purely aszy as a pig, which was why it turned out to be as fat as one. This time around, the reason why the steed had charged out was because its previous Horse Deputy, who had treated it well, had fallen in battle. Indeed, it was truly a special dragon steed.


    But with this, Yang Qing then understood a certain truth¡ªthat Miao Yi hadn¡¯t exactly been wee at Transient Light Cave before this. Obviously, that Cao Dingfeng didn¡¯t think much of Miao Yi either, otherwise why didn¡¯t he help Miao Yi choose a more proper dragon steed? Miao Yi had risked his life to this extent only because of a mere debt he owed to Cao Dingfeng for being treated well.


    Yang Qing gave a slight wave of his hand, dismissing Yan Xiu. At the same time, he cast a calcting nce at the devastated Miao Yi, who trailed behind Qin Weiwei¡¯s squadron.


    Since Miao Yi was now grouped as a prisoner who suffered a defeat under Qin Weiwei¡¯s formation, naturally he would be ced under Qin Weiwei¡¯s watch for the time-being.


    Since a mere debt was enough to make him act like this, could it be that he, Yang Qing, would not be able to surpass what Cao Dingfeng gave?


    The corner of Yang Qing¡¯s lips curled into a knowing grin, as he mumbled under his breath, ¡°Things money can¡¯t buy...¡±


    He very much admired and liked Miao Yi.


    The more ambitious and ruthless a character was, the more he loved to subdue loyal and brave warriors, as this kind of subordinate would make him feel at ease when put to use. Since he was able to subdue that person, then that person would give his life up for him in the future, the same as he did today.


    Even though Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s cultivation was quite high, he only knew how to flee when matters arose. He, Yang Qing, would rather exchange two Yuan Zhengkuns to obtain a subordinate like Miao Yi. It was alright that his cultivation base was slightlycking, as he would be able to improve it after ample time was given. Not only that, Miao Yi had already disyed an impressive side of him which was worthy to be nurtured. Even if he couldn¡¯t be Yang Qing¡¯s own trusted general, he could still be kept at his side as a reliable aide for his own use.


    The crowd of people rushing over to Transient Light Cave brought to mind a dove upying a magpie¡¯s nest. Yang Qing and his men did not n to stay there, and only lingered about for a while. Since thend was recently imed by them, it was impossible for them to not give it a look at least.


    But a squadron of vanguard forces had already been dispatched earlier on to attack the bordering East Arrival Cave, the ce where Miao Yi had disembarked previously after travelling by sea. It was also the ce where Chen Fei currently lived.


    Outside the Transient Light Grand Hall, the respective Cave Masters of Mount Shaotai, along with School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples, leapt off their dragon steeds one after another upon arrival. After they entrusted their mounts to their attendants, they ran towards the Transient Light Grand Hall straight away.


    Afterwards the Cave Master of Changfeng Cave, Xiong Xiao, led his men to inspect the surroundings of Transient Light Cave. Soon he also arrived outside the Transient Light Grand Hall, leaping off his dragon steed.


    Changfeng City fell under Changfeng Cave¡¯s protection, it was also the location of Miao Yi¡¯s old home.


    When he entrusted his mount to his handmaiden, Dong Xue¡¯s care, Xiong Xiao discovered that one of the two personal handmaidens was nowhere to be found, so he spoke thoughtlessly, ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to be wandering around. Where did Chun Xue go?¡±


    Handmaiden Dong Xue pointed towards a lithe figure within the waterside pavilion, she was about to speak and then faltered.


    His personal handmaidens had followed him for a long time so Xiong Xiao was able to tell with a nce that there must be a hidden reason. He strode over to the arch bridge and went straight into the waterside pavilion. There, he was greeted by the sight of the handmaiden Chun Xue sobbing, while leaning on the parapet with her back facing him. He couldn¡¯t help but crease his brows and said, ¡°Chun Xue.¡±


    Hearing the voice, handmaiden Chun Xue quickly wiped her tears away before turning around, revealing her beautiful, tear-stained and tender face. Forcing herself to smile, she made a bow in salute as she said, ¡°Cave Master.¡±


    Xiong Xiao surveyed the surrounding area and asked, ¡°What happened?¡±


    Chun Xue tried her best to force a grin, shaking her head as she replied, ¡°There¡¯s nothing. Sand got in my eyes.¡±


    What a joke. Normally, the handmaidens selected to be by the Cave Master¡¯s side were women who had the aptitude for cultivation. They were meant to be stationed by their side, acting as a personal confidant to be nurtured in the long term. Naturally, Xiong Xiao¡¯s handmaidens were no exception. Currently the two handmaidens by his side were already with a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade, so how was it even possible for ordinary sand to get into her eyes?

 Chapter 34: An Old Friend From Changfeng

    Chapter 34: An Old Friend From Changfeng


    However, they weren¡¯t merely handmaidens, or even just trusted aides; they were often partners in bed as well. There weren¡¯t many masters in existence who could restrain themselves from putting their hands on the delicate beauties at their side.


    A person who was both personal and intimate, how could he not see that she had worries on her mind? Xiong Xiao extended his hand and lifted her chin, his eyes looking at her lovely and pitiful face and asked in a deep voice, ¡°Did someone bully you? Tell me, I will give you justice.¡±


    He, Xiong Xiao had a cultivation at White Lotus Ninth Grade. If he weren¡¯t a subordinate serving under the mighty, powerful Yang Qing, he already had the qualifications to be a Mountain Chieftain himself. Once all matters concerning this war were resolved, he would inevitably be given the position of a Mountain Chieftain. Not only that, he was also one of Yang Qing¡¯s most trusted subordinates, so he had the qualifications to make such a statement.


    Chun Xue shook her head and replied, ¡°No.¡±


    Xiong Xiao pinched her chin, using a tone which did not allow any room for evasion as he forcefully demanded, ¡°Tell me!¡±


    A heartbroken look broke out on Chun Xue¡¯s face. She bit her lips for a moment, before beginning to say, ¡°Mountain Chieftain...¡±


    ¡°Mountain Chieftain?¡± Xiong Xiao was rmed by her words.


    If Yang Qing, the Mountain Chieftain had trulyid a hand on his woman, then he himself had no choice but to swallow his protests for now.


    But immediately after, he sensed something was amiss since Mountain Chieftain Yang Qing was not ascivious man. He had long heard that Yang Qing already had someone he held an unrequited love for, except that there was a vast difference in status and background so he could not fulfill his longings. The majority of Yang Qing¡¯s great aplishments were done for the sake of that beautiful woman, so he absolutely took no notice of other women. This made it impossible for him toy a hand on his trusted subordinate¡¯s woman, unless there was another reason for it?


    Loosening his grip on Chun Xue¡¯s chin, he tested the waters and asked, ¡°What did you do wrong? Were you reprimanded by Mountain Chieftain?¡±


    Chun Xue knew that he was misunderstanding the situation, so she promptly waved her hand and said, ¡°Mountain Chieftain would never bother with a small handmaiden like me.¡±


    Xiong Xiao also thought as such. Curious, he asked, ¡°Then what is the reason?¡±


    Chun Xue revealed a bittered look and replied, ¡°Cave Master, please do not ask anymore. The man is already highly favored by Mountain Chieftain so I do not want to pursue the matter any longer. Also, I don¡¯t wish to bring trouble to Cave Master by being med by Mountain Chieftain.¡±


    So it was a different person after all. Xiong Xiao¡¯s facial expression darkened. Serving under Yang Qing, he had never truly been scared of anyone apart from Yang Qing himself. He coldly asked, ¡°I would like to know who had the audacity to touch my woman, tell me!¡±


    Seeing that he was set on pursuing it to the end, Chun Xue knew the truth could not be hidden anymore. Her Cave Master¡¯s imposing presence also did not allow her to hide the truth. So with her face covered, she broke out into weeping sobs and eximed, ¡°Miao Yi!¡±


    ¡°Miao Yi?¡± Xiong Xiao froze, unable to recall a person with that name within the ranked groups controlled by Mountain Chieftain Yang Qing. But he swiftly came to a sudden realization and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s that Miao Yi who recently surrendered? As a man who yielded, he dared to anger you?¡±


    He was a little unconvinced. That Miao Yi had suffered a defeat under the battle formation of Qin Weiwei, so he should be restricted by Qin Weiwei right now. Where would he get the chance to bully his own handmaiden? He reckoned they did not even have the chance to meet face to face, unless there was another man with the same name?


    Tears streamed down Chun Xue¡¯s face as she exined, ¡°Has Cave Master forgotten the terrible death my brother suffered? In that year, we couldn¡¯t find any trace of the killer in Changfeng City, but who could have thought that ten years after the incident, I finally get to meet him here!¡±


    It turned out that this Chun Xue wasn¡¯t just anyone; she was none other than Huang Yue, the daughter of Head Guard Huang who he¡¯d gifted to the Immortal to act as a handmaiden. She was also Huang Cheng¡¯s sister.


    In the beginning, when she first saw Miao Yi and the other captured men fighting to the death, she had yet to recognize him. Although in her earlier years, due to the fact that they were neighbors, she had seen Miao Yi before, it had already been many years since then and Miao Yi was no longer the juvenile youth he was at that time. His appearance had gone through a huge transformation, so she couldn¡¯t remember him at first sight.


    It wasn¡¯t until the name ¡®Miao Yi¡¯ personally flowed out of his mouth, a name which was imprinted into her very bones, and only then was she struck by terror. It roused the past events and she was able to distinguish vaguely from between Miao Yi¡¯s brows that he was the neighbor at Changfeng City at that time. The same killer who had murdered her own little brother.


    Xiong Xiao was stunned beyond measure. Of course he knew about the incident. At that time, Chun Xue was heartbroken because of it for a long time. He himself personally urged the City Lord of Changfeng City to do everything in his power to arrest the killer, all in order tofort Chun Xue. Except at that time, the kid ran away too quick so they couldn¡¯t seize him on time.


    He was more or less bewildered and doubtful as he asked, ¡°You are certain that this Miao Yi is the same killer who murdered your brother?¡±


    Chun Xue choked with sobs as she nodded her head in reply. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s him. Even if he turned to ashes, I would still recognize him. It¡¯s been so long since the incident has passed, Chun Xue does not wish to bother about it anymore. Simply when I remember my poor brother, Chun Xue still finds it difficult to bear the great sorrow in my heart.¡±


    As she continued to grieve, she quietly eyed the Cave Master¡¯s reaction.


    Xiong Xiao went silent. If this was a normal situation, he could just attack directly and murder a White Lotus First Grade cultivator since it wasn¡¯t too much of a big deal. The issue now was that Miao Yi had already entered the Mountain Chieftain Yang Qing¡¯s transcendence vision, and was obviously highly favored by him. So it would not be easy for him to act recklessly. If due to this, he made Yang Qing lose face, it would not bring any good to him either.


    ¡°For this matter, I have my own ns. I will definitely give you justice.¡±


    Xiong Xiao patted her backfortingly, both of them soon leaving the waterside pavilion together.


    But as luck would have it, just as they arrived outside the Grand Hall, the expressionless Qin Weiwei happened to approach them with Miao Yi in tow.


    Xiong Xiao took the initiative and folded his hands at Qin Weiwei. Although his cultivation was much higher than Qin Weiwei¡¯s, she was the adopted daughter of Yang Qing. She was an orphan, picked up by Yang Qing in his earlier years by the roadside. Since infancy, she was kept and raised by Yang Qing¡¯s side, so QIn Weiwei was considered to be Yang Qing¡¯s most trusted amongst all his trusted aides. He, Xiong Xiao, was better off not disrespecting her.


    Qin Weiwei returned the salutation, and led Miao Yi up the stairs of Transient Light Hall. Yang Qing wanted to meet Miao Yi.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s flickering and doubtful eyes circled around Miao Yi¡¯s face, eventually dropping his gaze onto Chun Xue¡¯s face, who was silently biting her lips.


    Miao Yi had also seen Chun Xue. Although the two used to be neighbors and he had known the Chun Xue from earlier years, Chun Xue had only been fifteen years of age when she was sent away to be an Immortal¡¯s handmaiden. The Chun Xue now was close to thirty years of age. As the saying goes, a woman changes eighteen times before reaching adulthood, the changes were greater whenpared to men. Miao Yi didn¡¯t recognize her, and the thought of her being Head Guard Huang¡¯s daughter would have never crossed his mind.


    Xiong Xiao did not say anything, and left Chun Xue behind as he ran straight towards the Transient Light Grand Hall.


    Chun Xue was not qualified enough to enter when the Mountain Chieftain was discussing official business, so she could only go to the ce where attendants stayed in.


    Inside the grand hall, Yang Qing was seated above all. Every respective Cave Master of Mount Shaotai, along with School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples, stood divided on two sides. After Xiong Xiao saluted and bowed to Yang Qing, he threw a nce at Miao Yi, who stood alone in the middle of the grand hall, before returning to stand at his own designated position.


    ¡°Are the wounds on your body serious?¡±


    Yang Qing, seated high and wearing armor and a helmet, looked down at Miao Yi who stood below, wearing a grin on his face as he asked warmly.


    Miao Yi cupped his bloodstained hands, where the webbing between his thumb and forefinger had split open, revealing a raw wound, and replied, ¡°Not at all.¡±


    The superior Yang Qing dismissed his words with augh, and flipped his palm over, the storage ring on his middle finger shed with a glimmer. A nine red stone branch and nine gem leaves levitated in his palm, with specks of starlight floating around it, looking extremely beautiful.


    Miao Yi was not foreign to the item. It was the Glorious Star immortal herb.


    He saw Yang Qing open his mouth to blow at the specks of starlight on top of the red stone branches and gem leaves. They immediately turned into two wisps of starry clouds, floating towards Miao Yi¡¯s hands.


    Stunned, the blown specks of starlight had adhered to the wound where the flesh could be seen in the webbing. A pleasant feeling, with a slight chill, swiftly spread from the wounds on both of his hands. As the specks of starlight gradually permeated into the wounds, the split webbings on both hands could be seen making a speedy recovery.


    With no more than a moment of effort, the wounds had already recovered to its original unharmed state, causing a great shock to Miao Yi. Everyone had said the Glorious Star immortal herb was revered as a priceless treasure¡ªa divine healing medicine by the cultivation world. Yet, he hadn¡¯t expected the effects to be this unimaginable.

 Chapter 35: Charcoal Wrecks Havoc (1)

    Chapter 35: Charcoal Wrecks Havoc (1)


    When the specks of starlight on the red stone branches and gem leaves finally reappeared again, Yang Qing opened his mouth to blow another mouthful of air. A wisp of starry clouds floated from the red stone branches and gem leaves, directly entering Miao Yi¡¯s nostrils.


    As the specks of starlight permeated into his heart, Miao Yi could feel the internal injuries from within his body being healed at a quickened pace.


    The instant Yang Qing flipped his hand over, the storage ring gave a soft glimmer, and the Glorious Star immortal herb went back into it.


    Inside the grand hall, everyone kept throwing nces at each other, discovering that Yang Qing really looked up to the kid. Not everyone possessed a Glorious Star immortal herb. When the seal was lifted from the Boundless Secr World, the amount gathered was also very limited. Moreover, every time the immortal herb was used, it would be reduced in quantity, so it was extremely valuable. Those who wanted more would need to wait for the Boundless Secr World to lift its seal once again.


    The trivial injuries this kid suffered would have healed with time. Yang Qing must have truly been willing to use the immortal herb, which could have saved lives in the midst of an emergency.


    The most important thing was that Yang Qing had gone as far as to personally help the kid to mend his wounds.


    Everyone could see now that Yang Qing was doing this to win his support.


    But everyone could only keep the thought in their hearts¡ªno one would voice it out just to bring misfortune onto themselves.


    Xiong Xiao lightly creased his brows, the degree of admiration Yang Qing harbored towards Miao Yi had slightly exceeded his expectations. He feared that it would not be an easy feat to give justice to Chun Xue.


    ¡°Miao Yi, previously I promised you...¡±


    Once Yang Qing began to speak, everyone immediately strained their ears, guessing that he was going to announce that Miao Yi would be the next Cave Master of Transient Light Cave. This made everyone feel very upset.


    One of the reasons as to why Yang Qing dared to revolt was because his troops were well-trained and powerful. The Cave Masters under him were stationed elsewhere and there were quite a number of people who possessed the qualifications to be a Mountain Chieftain but regrettably, they had a Yang Qing presiding over them. Yang Qing himself had the ability to be a Manor Head¡ªit was the reason that Manor Head of South Edict Manor, Lu Yu, dreaded.ˬ¡£


    Besides Qin Weiwei, the other respective Cave Masters of Mount Shaotai present on the scene had cultivations at White Lotus Eighth Grade and above. They had endured much to make it this far, and yet they still remained as Cave Masters. This Miao Yi was only a mere White Lotus First Grade cultivator, had recently surrendered and now actually wanted to be a Cave Master himself. Naturally, everyone was a bit unhappy with it.


    Yang Qing had not yet finished speaking when all of a sudden, a loud ¡®bang¡¯ sounded from outside, in addition to a neighing, blood-curdling screech, mixed in with a flurry of chaotic-sounding noises.


    Everyone was bewildered, could it be that South Edict Manor¡¯s Manor Head, Lu Yu, had gathered his forces together and were attacking this ce?


    With Yang Qing in the lead, everyone instantly whipped out the weapons from their storage ring, the whole lot of them bolting out in an instant.


    Within seconds, the entire grand hall was empty, with only Miao Yi remaining behind.


    Miao Yi was a bit speechless. The battle this time had ignited an impatient desire to raise his cultivation, so he really wanted to obtain the position of Cave Master of Transient Light Cave. The reason was simple; to obtain more Orbs of Will.


    With such a sudden turn of events just as Yang Qing was about to say something, Miao Yi didn¡¯t even know who was it that had gotten in his way.


    ¡°Miao Yi! Get the f*ck out of there!¡±


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s shrill shout suddenly came from outside, startling Miao Yi who was about to get to the bottom of what was going on. That woman was too strong, and from the start he himself had never been a match for her at all. So, he was clueless as to what he did to piss her off again.


    For the sake of the Cave Master seat, he would stomach this for now. He would wait until he had built up enough strength, then he would take care of her. Miao Yi quickly ran out obediently.


    He discovered that there was arge group of people crowded together in the open za outside the grand hall. Quite a number of them turned their heads in the direction of the quickly-arriving Miao Yi. Some had a look of astonishment on their faces, while some of them had their lips curled in ridicule. Everyone started to make way for him to pass.


    He was greeted by the sight of Qin Weiwei standing with her hand grasping the Serpent Lance, ring at him with a frosty expression. And at the base of her feet, a dragon steed had copsed and was twitching in a pool of blood. In one nce, Miao Yi recognized that it was Qin Weiwei¡¯s mount, and figured that it would not survive.


    Yan Xiu was nodding his head and bowing, offering apologies and ways to make amends to Qin Weiwei with all his might.


    Miao Yi scratched his head, feeling rather baffled. He¡¯d been inside the grand hall just now, so it was a stretch to say he had killed her mount. Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t have the guts to do so, as well.


    ¡°Why is Cave Master Qin losing her temper at me?¡±


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression also sank. Even though his cultivation base was low, his personality was not weak. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to survive in the streets, dragging his younger brother and sister around to avoid being bullied by others.


    Qin Weiwei brandished her spear and pointed it at Yan Xiu, shouting furiously, ¡°Ask your bastard!¡±


    The tip of the spear almost stabbed into his chest. Yan Xiu meekly moved his body out of harm, revealing a pleased and proud Charcoal behind him.


    Miao Yi still did not understand what she meant by this so he asked Yan Xiu, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°I also didn¡¯t expect that...¡± Yan Xiu stood sideways, pointing at Charcoal as he exined.


    After Miao Yi listened to everything, he broke out in a cold sweat! He was no longer able to steel himself to face QIn Weiwei, who was boiling in anger.


    Ever since he and Qin Weiwei had arrived, both of their mounts were ced together¡ªYan Xiu was helping to keep an eye on Charcoal.


    However, Yan Xiu also hadn¡¯t a clue as to what happened. Charcoal just abruptly ambushed Qin Weiwei¡¯s mount from the side, colliding into its weak spot with all its might.


    Charcoal was usually terriblyzy, but its explosive power was evident to all. The usual dragon steeds were truly iparable to it, so when it directly crashed into Qin Weiwei¡¯s mount it managed to send it flying.


    That wasn¡¯t the end of it. With the ambush seeding, it immediately rushed out and bit into Qin Weiwei¡¯s mount¡¯s crucial spot¡ªits neck¡ªthen gave in to a burst of wild hysterical stomping. Charcoal kept stepping onto the steed, tormenting Qin Weiwei¡¯s mount into this tragic state.


    Miao Yi was considered to have officially fought side-by-side with Charcoal before, and vaguely understood Charcoal¡¯s d*mned temperament. Its sense of vengefulness was very strong.


    Luo Zhen had been killed, and Charcoal thoroughly erupted¡ªMiao Yi understood it wanted to avenge Luo Zhen.


    He didn¡¯t know whether the reason for its act of revenge was partly due to the fact that he¡¯d been beaten and injured by Qin Weiwei. He figured his rtionship with Charcoal had not reached that stage yet.


    But Miao Yi was very certain, that it definitely had something to do with Qin Weiwei stabbing Charcoal¡¯s rear with hernce. The steed knew it wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat Qin Weiwei in a fight, so instead seized its chance the moment Qin Weiwei was not around, to inflict a deadly blow towards her mount. He dared not speak highly of this dragon steed¡¯s ¡®character¡¯.


    As it happened, Charcoal was still unaware that it had gotten into trouble and was still in joy to see Miao Yi appearing before it. It huddled up to Miao Yi, arching its head, and even snorted at the dragon steed lying in the pool of blood, as though it was proudly showing off. It seemed to be saying ¡®Look! What do you think?¡¯.


    Miao Yi so badly wanted to strangle it to death. If the Cave Master position he had risked his life to obtain was thrown away because of this, just wait and see how he would deal with this dragon steedter.


    ¡°What do you n to do now?¡± Qin Weiwei furiously shouted with thence hoisted.


    ¡°I¡¯ll apologize and make amends on my steed¡¯s behalf.¡± Miao Yi sighed. Who asked him to be in the wrong.


    Unable to contain her anger, Qin Weiwei shouted, ¡°A simple apology and that¡¯s it?¡±


    Miao Yi cupped his fists and said, ¡°I will definitely punish itter.¡±


    Qin Weiwei let out an ¡®oh¡¯, casting a nce at her mount who was about to breathe itsst at her feet. She then half-heartedly said, ¡°How are you nning to punish it?¡±


    Miao Yi turned back and pped Charcoal on its head, pointing at it as he scolded, ¡°Your punishment is to go one month without eating any fish and prawns.¡±


    After he finished, he turned back to gaze at Qin Weiwei.


    Qin Weiwei waited for quite a while. Seeing that he had nothing else to say after that, her facial expression instantly darkened as she deadpanned word by word, ¡°This. Is. Your. Punishment?¡±

 Chapter 36: Charcoal Wrecks Havoc (2)

    Chapter 36: Charcoal Wrecks Havoc (2)


    Miao Yi nodded and said, ¡°For this dragon steed, this form of punishment is more painful than killing it.¡±


    At the edge, someone on the scene was trying to stifle hisughter, having the impression that Miao Yi was making a fool out of Qin Weiwei. However, Qin Weiwei was the adopted daughter of Yang Qing. Normally, nobody would dare to cross her, not to mention that Qin Weiwei was never a meddlesome person to begin with, so no one would take the initiative to anger her. This time things had gotten more interesting, someone was unexpectedly making fun of Qin Weiwei in public.


    Luckily, Yang Qing only swept his gaze around coldly, his meaningful nce was filled with the message ¡®Who dares to stir up trouble?¡¯, which made everyone restrain theirughter.


    Miao Yi looked at everyone¡¯s reaction and then eventually caught on. But he didn¡¯t lie about the fact that Charcoal and the other dragon steeds were different. The other dragon steeds were omnivorous. They ate meat and vegetables such as fruits, greens, chickens, ducks and fishes, but Charcoal ate nothing but seafood like fish and prawns. Not letting it eat fish and prawns was no different than starving it for a month. Particrly for Charcoal, who had such a huge stomach, so forcing it to starve for that long was definitely a very severe punishment indeed.


    Unable to contain her anger anymore, Qin Weiwei furiously shouted, ¡°I¡¯m going to make it pay me back with its life!¡±


    She lifted hernce and was about to stab Charcoal, but was stopped by Yang Qing gripping her Serpent Lance with one hand. With creased brows, he said, ¡°Weiwei, this is not a big deal. Don¡¯t let this affect your good rtionship. Just change to a new one!¡±


    He was trying to win someone¡¯s support, specifically Miao Yi¡¯s. At the same time, he wanted all his subordinates to see the generous treatment he bestowed onto a loyal warrior, hoping that everyone understood that he would never mistreat people who were loyal to him. How could he let his daughter ruin this n for him?


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s full chest was heaving quickly, her clear eyes ring at Miao Yi as though they were about to shoot out mes. But since Yang Qing had already said as much, what else could she do? Privately, maybe she could depend on their father and daughter rtionship to throw a tantrum at Yang Qing but for appearance¡¯s sake, she had to protect her father¡¯s face in front of his subordinates no matter what.


    After throwing Miao Yi a nce that said wait and see, she took back thence from Yang Qing¡¯s hand, turned her head and left!


    ¡°Watch your...¡± Yang Qing pointed at the pleased and proud Charcoal and didn¡¯t know what else to say. Was it worthwhile for him to bother about a mere beast?


    He waved his hand, speechless, and also moved to depart.


    Miao Yi pointed at Charcoal as well, as though warning in advance how he would deal with itter. Turning himself around, he followed everyone back into Transient Light Hall. He fully anticipated that Yang Qing would bestow the position of Cave Master to him.


    Little did they know, that as soon as everyone began to walk up the steps of the grand hall, they would be instantly rmed by amotioning from behind, making them turn their heads back one more time.


    They were greeted by the sight of Charcoal once again charging towards Qin Weiwei¡¯s mount, who wasn¡¯tpletely dead yet. It bit the steed¡¯s neck, gripping it tightly while it shook its head like a lunatic, smashing it violently left and right. Very quickly, a hole was formed on the bluestone pavement, and was filled with flesh and blood by all the repetitive smashing.


    After itpletely ended Qin Weiwei¡¯s mount, the steed opened its bloodied mouth and lifted its head to the sky, revealing rows of sharp, eerie teeth as it let out a long neigh.


    Everyone standing on the steps looked at each other. Good heavens, this bastard was full of character, not even permitting onest breath to the steed¡ªit only stopped when the steed waspletely dead.


    Yan Xiu, who had run to the sidelines intending to stop Charcoal, looked at Qin Weiwei¡¯s dead mount. He weakly turned his head to look in their direction, showing signs of wanting to cry yet remained tearless. He had never imagined Charcoal would pull an eradication trick like this.


    Qin Weiwei, dressed in snowy white robes akin to a pear flower, her full chest once again began to heave up and down in a hurried state. That bastard had gone too far, to the extent of practically not giving her any face at all!


    Yang Qing¡¯s face faintly twitched for a while.


    Miao Yi¡¯s face thoroughly crumpled from shame, that steed kept stirring up trouble during his most important moments.


    He bolted towards Charcoal in a sh, taking his spear from Yan Xiu¡¯s hand, then smashed it with the spear as he charged.


    Charcoal broke into a mad run and Miao Yi couldn¡¯t catch up. Even a Blue Lotus stage cultivator was unable to keep up with a dragon steed¡¯s speed, let alone him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t run! Stop this instant...¡±


    Miao Yi¡¯s voice, bursting with anger and shame sounded in the distance.


    After a while, when the whole crowd had returned to the grand hall, they saw Miao Yi dragging his spear back inside.


    Yang Qing didn¡¯t want to bother with an animal but he couldn¡¯t restrain himself from asking, ¡°What did you to your mount?¡±


    Miao Yi held back for a while, feeling rather ashamed, but eventually he still replied honestly, ¡°Couldn¡¯t catch up to it.¡±


    ¡°¡±Hehe!¡± Again, somebody couldn¡¯t control a snort of amusement.


    Somebody sighed, ¡°That¡¯s right, you can¡¯t catch up. If you could, then there¡¯d be no need to use it as a mount.¡±


    Someone bantered, ¡°You can¡¯t be med for this. Just about anyone with a disobedient mount like this would get a migraine too.¡±


    The entire hall roared withughter on the spot. Now, nobody was envious that Miao Yi¡¯s mount knew how to ambush, what was the use of a mount who won¡¯t even listen to its master¡¯s orders?


    Even Yang Qing couldn¡¯t resist smiling, he realized that this man and dragon steed practically deserved each other.


    Even Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t know whether to rage orugh. In short, she rolled her eyes, raising her head to gaze towards the domed roof of the grand hall.


    Yang Qing lightly lifted his hand, halting everyone continuing to make fun of Miao Yi. Before getting back to the subject at hand, he said, ¡°Miao Yi, I previously promised you Transient Light Cave...¡±


    Before he could finish, he was interrupted again. A flurry of the hurried sounds of galloping dragon steeds resounded from outside.


    Everyone¡¯s gaze instinctively went back to Miao Yi again, guessing that his rascal mount was at it again.


    Miao Yi thought so too, his expression thoroughly darkened. That bastard alwayses and causes trouble at important times, watch how I¡¯m going to deal with you!


    Without informing anyone, Miao Yi gripped his spear and proceeded to run out.


    In the end, somebody shouted, ¡°Report!¡±


    Somebody swiftly dismounted from the dragon steed that had stopped outside of the hall and nearly ran into Miao Yi. The person sidestepped and threw a nce at Miao Yi, then immediately delivered a report to Yang Qing with his fists cupped, "Mountain Chieftain, the men that have managed to attack East Arrival Cave were annihted!"


    Everyone in the grand hall was rmed. Yang Qing stood up from his seat, and shouted in a deep tone, ¡°The Cave Master of Colossal Ram Cave has a cultivation of White Lotus Eighth Grade. They can take down East Arrival Cave without any problems, so how could they have been annihted?¡±


    The man exined urgently, ¡°Lu Yu banded together with South Edict¡¯s forces of nine mountains and coincidentally ran into Colossal Ram Cave¡¯s forces. Lu Yu personally beheaded the Cave Master of Colossal Ram Cave. Now Lu Yu is leading his forces towards Transient Light Cave with great speed and urgency! ¡±


    Yang Qing scoffed, ¡°Lu Yu scum, how quick his response is! Alright, might as well. We can avoid the trouble of hitting them hard one by one, and eliminate the effort required to settle him. ¡±


    He looked around and asked, ¡°Does everyone dare to face him with me?¡±


    With a swish, everyone folded their hands in support of the order.


    ¡°Good! Once we have taken Lu Yu¡¯s scum life, I will grant rewards based on your merits!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re willing to give our lives!¡± Everyone called out loudly together, they already seemed to be very excited.


    The people, a number of them already had the strength to be a Mountain Chieftain, so they had been restless beforehand, looking forward to quickly expanding their own domain, and to take pleasure in more power of will. Yang Qing was bound to lead a revolt with the support from these people. To be exact, they had already been instigated by Yang Qing earlier on.


    Yang Qing waved a hand, taking the lead at a quick step, swiftly guiding everyone in leaving the grand hall.


    Miao Yi stepped to the side inside the hall to let the others pass through, he was stunned. Yang Qing left, just like that? What about my affairs?


    Qin Weiwei, thest to leisurely walk past his side halted in her steps. She tilted her head to nce at him and coldly said, ¡°You prisoner, what are you up to, staying here unmoving instead of following Mountain Chieftain into battle? Are you waiting for your master to kill his way back here?¡±

 Chapter 37: The Slumbering Dragon Awakens

    Chapter 37: The Slumbering Dragon Awakens


    ¡°No.¡± Miao Yi frantically shook his hands in denial. He was a bit embarrassed to begin in this way, but this was a matter of great importance to him, so he had no other choice but to rify, ¡°Then what about Transient Light Cave? Do I need to stay and defend it?¡±


    ¡°Why, do you seriously think you¡¯re the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave?¡± Qin Weiwei ridiculed.


    The tone of Miao Yi¡¯s voice was grave as he asked, ¡°Could it be that Mountain Chieftain will go back on his words?¡±


    ¡°...¡± His directness made Qin Weiwei choke back her reply.


    Turning to stride towards the outside of the grand hall, she deadpanned, ¡°Naturally, Mountain Chieftain won¡¯t break his promise. But for matters concerning the granting of domains, these are rewarded based on the merits after the battle. It¡¯s not the time for you to indulge in your fantasies just yet. If you still aren¡¯t going to make a move, then that means you¡¯re deserting us. I can stab you to death with my spear!¡±


    If her father hadn¡¯t set his eyes on him, she really would have followed her impulse to stab him to death.


    Because she felt like she had been lied to and tricked. She¡¯d been utterly shocked when Miao Yi let out that helpless roar in the valley, and had assumed he was brave-hearted, a rare characteristic to find in a man. But who knew he was also a guy who could easily be swayed when faced with benefits. If she had known earlier, she would have made him suffer more at that time.


    B*tch! Miao Yi secretly scolded in his heart, thinking that once he had the strength, just wait and see how he¡¯d take care of her.


    Having the strength was a matter of the future, after he¡¯d actually acquired it. At least for now, it was still necessary for him to remain well-behaved.


    He ran out after Qin Weiwei, and discovered that Yan Qing had already set off with vigor, leading arge number of his forces. Qin Weiwei¡¯s subordinates had already mounted their dragon steeds, awaiting further orders, with Yan Xiu and the two other prisoners from the former Transient Light Cave among them.


    Qin Weiwei climbed up onto her new dragon steed, with bow and arrows draped around her and the Serpentnce in her hand. She hoisted thence, and was about to yell for everyone to set out, only to discover Miao Yi at the side in solitude, looking about. How very arrogant he was, he practically took no notice of those around him. More importantly, he disrespected her, the Cave Master of Hundred Blossoms Cave.


    Pointing her Serpentnce at Miao Yi, Qin Weiwei said in a deep voice, ¡°Disying cowardice just before a battle, do you seriously think I¡¯m too afraid to kill you?¡±


    Miao Yi, unsure of whether tough or cry, replied, ¡°My mount hasn¡¯t returned!¡±


    Qin Weiwei went speechless, finally recalling that the guy¡¯s mount had been frightened away by him and his spear. She realized that she was so pissed by him that she was losing her wits.


    But Qin Weiwei would never go easy on him. And she also found delight in taking revenge. Sheughed coldly, ¡°You¡¯re the one who caused trouble in the first ce, so think of the solution yourself. If you can¡¯t keep up with the group, then you¡¯ll be punished as a deserter and executed without mercy!¡± She turned to point her hoisted spear in the direction of where the main force disappeared, ¡°SET OUT!¡±


    With her at the front, she led the cavalry away as fast as lightning.


    Luckily Yan Xiu assisted him on the side. As Yan Xiu sped past him, he abruptly extended his hand, hauling Miao Yi up onto the steed, the two of them riding together on one dragon steed, trailing behind the group.


    Yan Xiu also had some questions to ask him, so he invoked his art to send a message discreetly to Miao Yi and asked, ¡°Yang Qing is really going to appoint you as the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave?¡±


    ¡°You saw how I was just treated, do I look like I¡¯m a Cave Master?¡±


    Yang Xiu cried out in surprise, ¡°Are you sure? Yang Qing made that promise in front of everyone, how could he back out now? How would his subordinates see him in the future?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t break his promise. He was about to mention this, but was interrupted by Charcoal. It¡¯s more likely the title will be determined after battle, when we¡¯ll be rewarded based on our merits.¡± Miao Yi vigntly peered about his surroundings, before wandering off from the subject, ¡°Charcoal that bastard, he wouldn¡¯t seriously get frightened off and note back anymore, will he?¡±


    ¡°No. For sure he¡¯s back in Hidden Dragon Valley. That¡¯s his old nest.¡± Yan Xiu was very certain, since he¡¯d known Charcoal for many years already so he still had some understanding of his attitude. ¡°Brother, your wounds are already healed this quickly?¡±


    Miao Yi looked at both of his hands. ¡°Yang Qing used the Glorious Star immortal herb to heal them.¡±


    Yan Xiu asked in bewilderment, ¡°Yang Qing personally healed you?¡±


    Miao Yi exined roughly about the events that happened at that time. After keeping silence for a while, he sighed, ¡°I¡¯m not speaking well of him just because I surrendered to him. I also don¡¯t care whether Yang Qing was putting on false pretences or not. All in all, I feel Yang Qing seems like a pretty decent guy, better than Yuan Zhengkun at least. Maybe we made the right decision to surrender.¡±


    What does it mean to win the people¡¯s support? This would be a great example. Obviously, Yang Qing¡¯s actions had earned Miao Yi¡¯s good opinion.


    Yan Xiu too, fell into a deep silence. Of course he understood that Yang Qing wouldn¡¯t be doing this for nothing, and also wouldn¡¯t be doing the same thing for everyone else. Rather, it was because of Miao Yi¡¯s fight to the death that had earned him Yang Qing¡¯s admiration and subsequent special treatment.


    Yang Qing aside, even Yan Xiu was shocked to the core by Miao Yi¡¯s ferocious disy of fearlessness when he lifted the four cultivators using his spear and straight after, battled against five cultivators on his own.


    Moreover, he was shocked by what Miao Yi had just told him. The result of Miao Yi¡¯s fight to the death had not only resulted in him bing the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave at only White Lotus First Grade, but his wounds were also specially treated by Yan Qing.


    And him? So what if he had a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade? He would rather be a live coward than a dead hero. He hadpletely faltered under the notion of safety first. Picturing his wife, Luo Zhen, unreconciled to humiliation and fighting with all her might, made him slowly shut his eyes, his heart full of destion and sorrow.


    Yan Xiu took down a wine bottle gourd he had tied to his waist, then flung it far away.


    ¡°Brother, if you really do be the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave, you mustn¡¯t forget me, your old brother!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let Senior lose out.¡±


    ¡°Brother, I have a question that I¡¯m not sure I should ask.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°You only have a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade, yet how did you manage to endure the pressure of transcendence energy exerted by those with a cultivation at second and third grade, and even go as far as counterattacking under pressure?¡±


    Miao Yi asked puzzlingly, ¡°Under the same conditions, others cannot endure this kind of pressure?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s possible to endure the pressure exerted by a second grade but never with your skill. Not only did you endure the pressure exerted by a third grade, you could still fight back with ease! Judging by your condition at the time, I reckon even a cultivation at White Lotus Fourth Grade would have had a hard time invoking their arts to suppress you. Unless they were at White Lotus Fifth Grade, with a high enough disparity between their level and yours, then maybe they¡¯d have a chance. Just like how Qin Weiwei had wounded you by congealing her transcendence energy into a solid form and using it to attack.¡±


    ¡°Is this normally the case?¡±


    ¡°Under normal circumstances, it would be. You¡¯re the first exception to the rule, though.¡±


    At his words, Lao Bai¡¯s teachings shed through his mind, recalling when he¡¯d faced the waterfall¡¯s onught over the years, the very same words mentioned when Lao Bai made him dive deep into the sea to cultivate, ¡°Treat the pressure in the deep sea as a strong enemy who is using transcendence energy to oppress you. You need to get ustomed to this feeling and learn how to adapt under such oppressive conditions caused by an enemy¡¯s formidable transcendence energy tounch your attack!¡±


    In an instant, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes brightened. He had found the reason.


    Obviously, no matter how much theory Lao Bai had taught him at the time, he would never be able to deeplyprehend it if he hadn¡¯t experienced it beforehand. However, after going through actualbat this time, he finally understood.


    In actuality, Lao Bai had already opened a door for him earlier on. As to what hidden treasures were behind the door, Lao Bai didn¡¯t say. Maybe Lao Bai himself had no idea since he wasn¡¯t a cultivator. Miao Yi would have toprehend it himself, to find the treasures hidden beyond that door...


    Neigh! The familiar sound of whinnying and the trampling of horse hooves travelled from behind him, dragging Miao Yi from his thoughts to reality. Turning his head back to look, he saw the fat Charcoal¡¯s four hooves galloping forth, approaching with a speed akin to a bolt of lightning.


    Yan Xiu hadn¡¯t guessed wrong. Charcoal really was hiding at its old nest, the Hidden Dragon Valley, and had been frisking and rolling about on the spot.


    But once the rumbling sound of hooves had faded in the distance, and after the entirety of Transient Light Cave had fallen into a dead silence, Charcoal got back on its feet again.


    Trotting back to Transient Light Cave and neighing for a few times did not garner it any response, as the whole grounds were empty with no one around.


    Luo Zhen died, and now Miao Yi and Yan Xiu no longer want me as well? Are they abandoning me because they don¡¯t care about me anymore?


    Thus, it immediately chased after them, madly galloping towards the direction of where the sounds of the other sprinting steeds had disappeared.


    Once again it exploded with an rming speed. Although it was under disadvantageous circumstances, where the other dragon steeds had a longer head start, it still managed to quickly catch up.


    Akin to its performance on the battlefield, it could surpass the speed of other dragon steeds despite its fat physique. It was capable of catching up to the enemy, but the enemy was unable to do the same.

 Chapter 38: Decisive Battle of South Edict (1)

    Chapter 38: Decisive Battle of South Edict (1)


    The sound of a galloping steed made everyone turn their heads to look behind them.


    Its mane swished as it rushed forward, flying through the dust as though it were a wanderer in the wind. Even though it was a fat wanderer, it was still swift enough to catch up to Yan Xiu¡¯s mount.


    Letting out a neigh, it even ran neck to neck with Yan Xiu¡¯s mount.


    Miao Yi had assumed that his steed would have been too pissed to join them so he couldn¡¯t help feeling pleasantly surprised by its appearance. Carrying the silver spear in his hand, he leaped from behind Yan Xiu andnded onto Charcoal¡¯s back.


    Two fleshy feelers quickly emerged from Charcoal¡¯s fluttering mane andtched onto Miao Yi¡¯s thigh.


    Miao Yi¡¯s gaze met with the backward nce Qin Weiwei cast him as she looked behind her. The former let out a mischievousugh, as though saying my mount has already returned on its own, you want to embarrass me, well that¡¯s not going to happen!


    Qin Weiwei scoffed coldly and turned to face the front, continuing to lead the troops to gallop through the mountains and high ranges at top speed.


    ¡®Charge to the front! Make that b*tch eat our dust!¡¯


    Miao Yi transmitted his thoughts to Charcoal. Although, with their current cultivation, they were nowhere near to making her really eat dust. Instead, the dust flying up ahead flew towards the back, hitting them in the face. This made him immensely angry.


    Neigh! Charcoal¡¯s eyes gleamed as it produced a long neigh. The steed appeared to be very interested in doing things like this, especially when it was directed towards Qin Weiwei who had stabbed its rear with a strike of hernce.


    In an instant, its four legs flew like a phantom, the speed was akin to a ck-colored spirit amidst the wind. Even though it was a fat spirit, its swiftness was not for show. It sped through the high mountain ranges as if it were on nds and even when crossing the mountain streams, it still raced through in a sh, swiftly leaving behind Yan Xiu, who had been riding alongside them.


    Ordinary people were unable to withstand the quick pace of a dragon steed. Besides the fact that they wouldn¡¯t be able to keep their eyes open, it was an entirely usible thing for them to get blown away by the wind.


    Very quickly, Miao Yi soon reached the front, drawing level with the leading Qin Weiwei, who rode at breakneck speed. Both of them turned their heads to lock eyes with each other, their gazes emitting sparks.


    Miao Yi turned to look up ahead, his lips curling into a smirk. He leaned forwards slightly, stretched out his hand and patted Charcoal¡¯s neck.


    Charcoal got the message and once again increased its speed, slowly exceeding that of Qin Weiwei¡¯s mount by more than half.


    Qin Weiwei seethed with rage and discreetly transmitted to her mount the thought of wanting to exceed Charcoal. The saddled dragon steed immediately exploded with speed, violently chasing after Miao Yi and his mount. Their race caused the cavalry behind them to also hasten their mounts in order to catch up to their leader.


    Yet, Qin Weiwei couldn¡¯t help but gnash her teeth with hatred. That dragon steed, it was as fat as a pig, yet still managed to gallop at a speed that could only be seen as extraordinary. Her own dragon steed had thrown caution to the wind and ran with all its might, yet the distance between the fatty and her own mount continued growing further and further apart. She wasn¡¯t able to catch up no matter how much she tried to.


    Not long after, the fat-wriggling Charcoal had far surpassed Qin Weiwei, taking the lead by more than a hundred meters. This was done under conditions where it had two deep shes on its rear.


    Most excessively, Charcoal seemed to feel thatpeting with speed alone wasn¡¯t enough for it to vent its anger. It actually began to slow down in order to shorten the distance between them. Then, using both of its hind legs, deliberately tossed back a pile of dust, sand, stones and weeds. It was extremely mean-spirited.


    A pile of debris came pelting from up ahead onto Qin Weiwei¡¯s face, although they were all eventually cleared away and then avoided by Qin Weiwei¡¯s arts.


    Miao Yi, riding in front, stifled hisughter, feeling extremely satisfied that he finally had his revenge.


    Yan Xiu at the back sweatdropped tremendously as he watched on. Clearly this was to deliberately mess with Qin Weiwei! He hurriedly transmitted his voice over, eximing, ¡°Brother, stop fooling around! I heard that the Cave Master for Hundred Blossoms Cave is supposedly Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter. Before your Cave Master position is definite, I feel it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t offend her.¡±


    ¡°...¡± The smile on Miao Yi¡¯s face froze, instantly unable tough anymore. He madly scolded in his heart, why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?!


    Unable to control her fury anymore, Qin Weiwei held out hernce and pointed it at Miao Yi. In a cold voice, she yelled threateningly, ¡°Listen to my orders! Your position is behind me, those who defy orders on the battlefield will be executed without mercy!¡±


    Miao Yi meekly made Charcoal slow down, letting Qin Weiwei ride in front of him.


    What did it mean to give someone a dose of his own medicine? It was exactly this circumstance. The things Charcoal had done before, Qin Weiwei¡¯s mount doled out in exactly the same manner.


    Her mount probably wasn¡¯t as smart as Charcoal. It would be weird if she weren¡¯t the one instructing it.


    A pile of rubble came pelting down towards Miao Yi and Charcoal, forcing Miao Yi to incessantly invoke his art to avoid them. When the usage time is prolonged, then the amount of transcendence energy exhausted wasn¡¯t a small amount. However, he didn¡¯t dare voice out anyints. If others could do it, there was no reason why he couldn¡¯t.


    At times, Charcoal would cry out, feeling wronged, but Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t let it take revenge.


    Qin Weiwei kept her gaze towards the front, her face was expressionless, and only she knew in her heart whether she felt satisfied or not.


    To avoid being implicated, the others dispersed into two lines on the left and right as they followed behind, each of them wearing pitiful looks to gaze at the meekly following Miao Yi as he ate Qin Weiwei¡¯s dust.


    Not long after, the group saw that Yang Qing¡¯s main forces were lined up in a battle formation on the vast wastnd.


    The moment Qin Weiwei saw the stance, she knew they were preparing to engage the enemy forces in a decisive battle right there. Thus, she quicklymanded her troops to take their positions in the formation.


    ¡°Miao Yi!¡± With her gaze upfront, Qin Weiwei suddenly called out in a gentle voice.


    Miao Yi immediately led Charcoal to the front to listen to her orders. Qin Weiwei held hernce and pointed in front of them, ¡°Once we cross swords, you¡¯ll spearhead the attack!¡±


    ¡°...¡± This was obviously a case of using one¡¯s position to get even with another person for a personal grudge! Miao Yi put on a bold front and forced himself to cup his fists and said, ¡°Understood!¡±


    Hearing him, a wave of pitiful gazes were again cast at Miao Yi.


    Yan Xiu shook his head and sighed, what was a prisoner like him getting so arrogant for?


    Up ahead, a cultivator on a dragon steed urgently gave chase to another cultivator. Obviously, it was the enemy¡¯s outpost pursuing the scout with murderous intent!


    But upon seeing the battle formation ahead, the enemy¡¯s outpost became afraid to continue further, swiftly retreating.


    The scout then rapidly rushed to the front of Yang Qing beforeing to a stop. He pointed behind him as he reported, ¡°Mountain Chieftain Lu Yu¡¯s forces have arrived!¡±


    Yang Qing gave a slight nod, then waved his hand to dismiss him.


    Soon, a burst of rumbling sounds rapidly closed in from somewhere straight ahead, and even the ground could feel its vibration.


    A herd of dragon steeds came speeding towards them, a ck dense mass which consisted of thousands of cultivators were closing in, eventually halting at four or five hundred meters away.


    Miao Yi looked at the forces on his side, and turned to look at the forces on the opposite side. He guessed that the opposing forces had roughly around thousands of cultivators, while those at Yang Qing¡¯s side barely reached five hundred. He could not help but feel dubious about their chances on whether they could win this battle or not.


    As a matter of fact, the majority of the forces from Yang Qing¡¯s side came from School of Blue Jade, since a lone cultivator from the mountain wouldn¡¯t have the capability to gather this many people.


    The battle formation on the opposite side made a number of cultivators with low-level cultivation bases secretly timid, but when they were swept by the cold gazes of the respective Cave Masters holding the lines at the front, they immediately lifted up their spirits with determination.


    ¡°Yang Qing, you scum!¡±


    A loud roar akin to a sudden p of thunder resounded in mid-air, reverberating over the wastnd.


    On the opposite side, among the ten cultivators d in silver armor, one of the men wielded a Square Sky-Decorated Halberd. He moved upfront, stepping on horses from the group, wielding his halberd as he pointed and furiously shouted at Yang Qing.


    Not to be outdone, Yang Qing simrly went up front by stepping on horses, a silver spear wielded in his hand. He pointed at the other and shouted, ¡°Lu Yu, you old scum, you dare deceive me!¡±


    ¡°In all these years, I have staked my life to fight for you, fought in wars all over and pushed you up to the Manor Head seat with our fellow brothers. I have worked hard, not just for merits, and this is how you treat me? You promote me in name but demote me in reality! You really are pushing it too far!¡± Yang Qing appeared to bristle with anger andpelled to act, he waved his spear at the people up front. ¡°This Lu Yu scum does not have the capacity to tolerate others! Let my current end serve as a warning to every brother! Brothers, why not join me to kill this scum together? When the deed is done, I will stand united with my fellow brothers-in-arms, sharing the world¡¯s power of will together!¡±

 Chapter 39: Decisive Battle of South Edict (2)

    Chapter 39: Decisive Battle of South Edict (2)


    This was practically a subordinate instigating against him in his presence! Naturally Lu Yu would not let him continue his speech of treason any longer.


    ¡°What sheer nonsense!¡± Lu Yu bellowed in rage. ¡°Cease unting your sharp tongue, today will be your turn to die! ¡±


    ¡°Good! Today, you and I will have a final showdown!¡± All of a sudden, Yang Qing steered the dragon steed to rush out, pressing on alone.He positioned himself between both sides in the center of the battlefield. A glowing five-petaled Blue Lotus blossomed between his brows as he pointed his spear at Lu Yu. ¡°Scum, don¡¯t even think of bringing harm to the other brothers. Do you dare to fight single handedly with me to determine which of us is stronger?!¡±


    Miao Yi discovered that this person Yang Qing was extremely courageous, to actually want to duel with Lu Yu, as though it were a mere feat to take him down. His actions immediately caused a great boost in the morale on this side.


    Bear in mind that for this kind of battle, under normal circumstances, the general wouldn¡¯te out to fight in the front line. They would try their best to lessen the consumption of transcendence energy. Otherwise, they would be subject to betrayal, should someone decide to take advantage of one¡¯s depleted transcendence energy. It would be noughing matter.


    Lu Yu had many powerful men amongst his ranks, numbering more than twofold, so he was at an advantage. Thus, it was natural that he wouldn¡¯t want to fight a duel with Yang Qing. The best, guaranteed method, would be for his subordinates to rush forth inrge groups, directly clipping Yang Qing¡¯s wings right before ending the battle with a full-on besiegement.


    But he never imagined that Yang Qing would actually challenge him to a fight in front of this many people, especially since Lu Yu¡¯s cultivation was one level above Yang Qing¡¯s.


    His own forces seemed to focus on him in an instant, seeing whether he dared to take up the challenge or not.


    At Mount Shaotai¡¯s side, Xiong Xiao and the rest were apparently already finished with their discussion. Each respective Cave Master immediately raised their arms and cheered, ¡°Mountain Chieftain is formidable, old scum Lu Yu, dare to ept the battle! Mountain Chieftain is formidable, old scum Lu Yu, dare to ept the battle...¡±


    They led Miao Yi and the rest to rally loudly, as well. The sound of the repetitive chant shook across the four ins, their morales soaring greatly as a result.


    In contrast, Lu Yu¡¯s side fell into a deep silence, all eyes on Lu Yu, waiting to see whether he would dare to ept the battle or not.


    Lu Yu vaguely felt suspicious, was there a ploy at y?


    Yang Qing once again waved his spear at Lu Yu, angrily shouting, ¡°Do you only know how to send your subordinates and brothers to death? You cowardly old scum! Do you dare to fight with me to the death?¡±


    Within a short while, he had forced Lu Yu into a corner. If he was afraid to fight against him today, he wouldter lose face in front of all his subordinates.


    If the person had a higher cultivation level than him, he could still avoid the fight, and it wouldn¡¯t be considered disgraceful. But now, he was facing a challenger with a lower cultivation level than him. In addition, it was also his own subordinate who had revolted against him, directly condemning Lu Yu while pointing at his nose. If he didn¡¯t at least give a proper response, then he¡¯d end up aughing stock.


    If his subordinates started thinking he was just a mere facade without any real substance, he feared that everyone would dare to act like Yang Qing. It could be said that his troubles would keep brewing unceasingly.


    ¡°Pay with your life!!¡±


    Lu Yu roared furiously, a glowing six-petaled Blue Lotus blossomed between his brows. His dragon steed shot forward like a gust of wind, with him in tow.


    With the swift speed of a dragon steed, a distance of a few hundred meters was crossed in an instant. Lu Yu swung his Square Sky-Decorated Halberd, striking out in a fury.


    The spear that Yang Qing brandished shed a blue light, faintly transforming into a phantom that took the form of an ox. The ox crashed headlong at the halberd swinging towards it.


    Boom!


    A loud sound rang out and waves of transcendence energy shook the wastnds. Bits of sands, stones and weeds flew fiercely around in all directions, forcing the violently charging Lu Yu to a sudden halt. Both of their dragon steeds gave out long neighs as they could not withstand the aftershocks. Luckily, they were both protected under their masters¡¯ transcendence energy.


    If ordinary horses had been faced with such pressure, it would have left them both with four broken limbs. But for dragon steeds that could run like a bolt of lightning, its leg power was its most strongest point. And it was because of this that they became the beloved steed of cultivators, treasured by all.


    ¡°So you possessed a Second Grade Yao Core, no wonder you dared to be so audacious!¡±


    Lu Yu said shortly, his Square Sky-Decorated Halberd was simrly emitting a bright blue glow, with the form of a phantom bear faintly seen from it. Lu Yu casually swept his halberd across.


    Yang Qing¡¯s shoulders trembled, and all of a sudden, the beast heads welded on both sides of his shoulder armor came alive, instantly expanding in size as they morphed into two clouds of silver mist. The mist quickly turned into two specks of congealing silver, which then turned into into two ferocious beasts.


    A tiger and a leopard, their upper bodies appearingrge while their lower bodies were smaller inparison. It was as if they had abruptly bore their way out from his armor to crouch on Yang Qing¡¯s shoulders, both suffused by a distinct bright blue glow.


    A tiger and a leopard, in addition to the phantom ox longspear in Yang Qing¡¯s hand¡ªBoom! Together they withstood Lu Yu¡¯s aggressive attacks!


    Surprised, Lu Yu was forced to brandish the Square Sky Decorated Halberd, continuously warding off attacks. Both of them returned to their horses and spun around, chasing one another in an endless loop. The fierce roundabout battle kicked up the sand and stones like a flying typhoon, their vigor was extremely shocking. Should an ordinary human body try to move closer without the protection of transcendence energy, they would immediately be torn to pieces.


    And Yang Qing, as though he had grown three heads and six arms, seemed to fight with the force of three. He delivered blows onto Lu Yu until the Manor Head only had the strength to hold back the attacks, and he was repetitively thrown backwards.


    To Miao Yi, it was the first time he had seen such a spectacle, so he instantly transmitted his voice over to Yan Xiu asking what was going on.


    After listening to Yan Xiu¡¯s exnation, he finally understood why. Yao Grades were not subdivided further. The cultivation of a First Grade Yao was more or less equal to the cultivation of a White Lotus cultivator. The Second Grade is equivalent to a Blue Lotus cultivator, while the Third Grade is equivalent to a Red Lotus cultivator, and the like.


    But the Yao Core contained arge amount of the Yao cultivator¡¯s cultivation, an item that was coveted by many since it could be refined into transcendent artifacts.


    Cultivators with a high cultivation base could use these transcendent artifacts from afar to ughter enemies from remote distances!


    Without a doubt, the premise was to behead the Yao cultivator in order to obtain its inner core.


    But after beheading a Yao cultivator, the inner core containing the cultivation base could certainly not bepared to when they were alive. The core¡¯s potency would be reduced by one grade.


    For example, if one killed a Third Grade Yao cultivator, the inner core obtained would only be equivalent to a cultivation at Second Grade, which is simr to the Blue Lotus realm of cultivators. Once the core has been refined into a transcendence artifact, it will emit a blue light.


    But if the one beheaded was a First Grade Yao cultivator, then the inner core¡¯s grade would be non-existent. It would be of little use even against a White Lotus First Grade cultivator.


    In a sh, Miao Yi came to a sudden realization. No wonder Lu Yu said Yang Qing came to possess a Second Grade Yao Core. It was obvious that the spear in Yang Qing¡¯s hand was fused together with an Ox Demon¡¯s Second Grade Yao Core while the beast heads on the left and right sides of his shoulder armor were fused with a Tiger Demon¡¯s Second Grade Yao Core and a Leopard Demon¡¯s Second Grade Yao Core respectively. Even Lu Yu¡¯s Square Sky Decorated Halberd was infused with a Bear Demon¡¯s Second Grade Yao Core.


    However, Yang Qing and Lu Yu already had a Blue Lotus realm cultivation base to begin with. So the current situation was nothing more than Yang Qing having a cultivation power of Blue Lotus by a factor of four, hitting Lu Yu¡¯s factor of two.


    ¡°Too bad, if Yang Qing had a Third Grade Yao Core, then he would definitely be able to defeat Lu Yu in one strike.¡± Miao Yi sighed, feeling great pity.


    Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t resist the urge to roll his eyes, ¡°Brother, with Yang Qing¡¯s cultivation at Blue Lotus realm, it¡¯s already considered to be a difficult feat to get his hands on a Second Grade Yao Core as he would need to behead a Red Lotus realm Yao. I doubt he has the ability to do so. Let¡¯s not even mention that he already has three cores on him. I seriously have no idea how he even came to possess that many. No wonder he dared to challenge Lu Yu. As for the Third Grade Yao Core, the implication is that one needs to behead a Yao of the Violet Lotus realm. The difference between those cultivations were worlds apart. One hundred Yang Qings added together wouldn¡¯t be nearly enough to kill a Yao of a Violet Lotus Grade. Where would you expect him to find one?¡±


    While both of them were engaged in conversation, the other side was still locked in a vicious battle.


    It became apparent that Lu Yu was about to lose ground, and it was heard that suddenly Lu Yu emitted a raging roar, ¡°Come on and join the fight, let¡¯s kill this rebel together!¡±


    With the exception of the rebel Yang Qing, all nine Mountain Chieftains under South Edict Manor immediately charged over at great speeds to save the situation. Thousands of cultivators moved upon hearing his orders, their screams of attack quaked the heavens as they violently charged forwards.


    On the other side, Xiong Xiao and all the rest¡ªincluding Qin Weiwei¡ªraised their arms and shouted loudly together, ¡°Attack!¡±


    Over the wastnd, the feeling of death hung instantly in the air, the dragon steeds of both factions frantically charged against the opposing side like a tidal wave, and even the ground shook in their presence.


    Miao Yi went speechless when Qin Weiwei¡¯s forcefully pointed her spear at him. Seeing that this woman¡¯s eyes were brimming with pent-up anger, he knew that she intended to carry out her earlier n, making him spearhead the attack.


    Regardless of how ignorant Miao Yi was about the current situation, he still came to understand one thing. If he dared to disobey orders on the battlefield, Qin Weiwei would immediately have an excuse to execute him. In such a case, Yang Qing wouldn¡¯t be able to say anything in his defense.


    So in the end, he could only put on a bold front and force himself to take the lead, charging out from Hundred Blossoms Cave¡¯s camp.


    Yet he was utterly shocked when the usually hidden-at-the-back Yan Xiu unexpectedly shouted ¡®attack¡¯, charging out with both broad axes in his hands. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but do a double take.


    Trantor Note:


    Yao [Ñý (y¨¡o)] - Yao is a race that is made up of Demons, Demonic Spirits, Spiritual Beasts and the like.

 Chapter 40: Decisive Battle of South Edict (3)

    Chapter 40: Decisive Battle of South Edict (3)


    WIth a bow in her hand, Qin Weiwei led the troops of Hundred Blossoms Cave, who were following closely behind. She drew back the bow with five arrows nocked on the string before instilling transcendence energy into them. Quickly charging forward, her slender jade fingers rxed and with a whoosh, five sharp arrows shot out rapidly. They whizzed right past Miao Yi and Yan Xiu, causing them to jump in fright.


    In an instant, the five deadly-sharp arrows, carrying a gentle glow, hit three cultivators in total, causing them to fall from their dragon steeds. The other two arrows were struck away by a higher ranked cultivator brandishing his spear.


    Miao Yi quickly nced behind him. He had a faint feeling that if he didn¡¯t fight like his life depended on it, this woman would use her role of overseeing the battle to shoot him dead with an arrow!


    Nevertheless, the instant when both sides were about to vigorously close in on one another, a sudden change happened.


    Yang Qing was closing in to kill Lu Yu, and as a result he had ventured close to the opposing side¡¯s camp. At that moment, the nine great Mountain Chieftains immediately joined forces with Lu Yu, starting to attack him from different sides.


    Yang Qing was in a perilous situation, and yet his eyes were brimming with joy, hinting that his n had seeded.


    ¡°Great timing!¡± Yang Qing thundered at the nine great Mountain Chieftains who came to corner him.


    Suddenly, the beast head on his helmet exploded into a vast cloud of silver mist, swiftly congealing into a gigantic ape suffused with a glowing red light.


    ¡°Third Grade Yao Core!¡±


    Lu Yu cried out in surprise, giving off a faint feeling that he¡¯d been frightened out of his wits. Even the nine Mountain Chieftains surrounding him also jumped in shock.


    Before they could even turn to run, the gigantic ape, suffused with red light amidst silver, struck out with a punch, eliciting a terrible scream from Lu Yu, as a deep hole was hollowed out directly into the ground. Lu Yu and the other calvaries were instantly smashed into meat patty.


    ¡°Surrender!¡±


    One of the Mountain Chieftains yelled loudly, but it appeared to be toote. Earlier they refused to surrender when they wanted Yang Qing¡¯s life, and now they themselves wanted to surrender? Where were they when the first offer of surrender was given? Why didn¡¯t they take it then?


    How could Yang Qing let them get away with it? Above him, the gigantic ape spread its arms and started to swing them around, violently sweeping everything in sight.


    A series of ¡®bangs¡¯ loudly resounded and the nine Mountain Chieftains who couldn¡¯t manage to dodge in time were flung backwards, spitting out blood as they went. Even their mounts suffered a simr fate.


    The sudden change in situation stupefied the others. Lu Yu¡¯s underlings who had charged out recovered from the shock before immediately turning their heads and running madly away to make their escape!


    The men ranked highest in strength had all been beheaded by Yang Qing. After they lost all those who could have stood their ground against the enemies, Lu Yu¡¯s group simply couldn¡¯t engage in the fight anymore. What¡¯s more, the guy who had shouted ¡®surrender¡¯ had also been killed regardless, so it would be weird if the others didn¡¯t run away.


    Miao Yi, who was being forced to charge ahead by Qin Weiwei, stopped to stare at Yan Xiu, both of them speechless. Just now Miao Yi had said it would be great if Yang Qing had a Third Grade Yao Core at his disposal, but Yan Xiu had replied that it was impossible, but who would have predicted that Yang Qing had really gotten a hold of a Third Grade transcendence artifact. With one battle, the victor had been decided!


    ¡°Yang Qing is ruthless. He was afraid of Lu Yu and his trusted aides escaping so he deliberately didn¡¯t reveal the Third Grade transcendence artifact right at the beginning. Then he eliminated all their forces in one move, ridding himself of future trouble!¡±


    Yan Xiu quietly transmitted his voice to exin.


    Once Yang Qing wiped out Lu Yu and his strongest forces, he immediately led his approaching troops to charge in the enemy¡¯s direction!


    More than a hundred men rushed forward, until the cultivators who couldn¡¯t escape in time were all killed by the assaulting men of Mount Shaotai charging towards them. And those at the front who had already fallen in battle were all practically South Edict Manor¡¯s core cultivators, as the majority of them were Cave Masters or the like.


    For all the people who had charged down on this side, none of them would be shown mercy. The more empty seats there were, the higher chances one would get. It was a bloody sh all along the way.


    Miao Yi and Yan Xiu worked together to give chase and kill a White Lotus Fourth Grade cultivator. Abruptly, three sharp arrows came whooshing down on them. In the midst of being terrified, the man revolved his spear to knock the arrows away with great speed.


    But Yan Xiu let out a snarl, he swung the broad axe in his hand, hitting the man right in the middle of his back.


    The madly approaching Yan Xiu struck out with his broad axe, until blood sttered up high into the sky. The strike of his axe cut down his head and as he brushed past the man, he speedily pulled out the other broad axe from the man¡¯s body into his hand, once again continuing to dash forward as he screamed ¡®Attack!¡¯.


    Miao Yi was amazed, realization dawning on him that Yan Xiu was like a different man, looking as though he had be valiant and fearless of death. Was this the same Shi Xiang who had told him the principle of surrendering?


    After madly chasing their opponents for a long distance, Yang Qing saw that he could no longer catch up to the remaining forces. He put away the transcendence artifacts he wore on his head and shoulders. His voice resounded like a sudden p of thunder as he waved his spear and shouted, ¡°Victory has been decided! Distribute the forces! Clear and upy the respective mountains!¡±


    Judging by hisplexion, it was clear that he had heavily depleted his transcendence energy. After all, he had simultaneously handled multiple transcendence artifacts, all while engaging in the fierce battle. He needed to find a ce to recover his transcendence energy.


    Clearly, the crowd of Mount Shaotai had nned properly in advance before deciding to revolt. It was for this reason that they were now promptly dividing the forces into multiple lines without hesitation. Evidently, they all knew their roles and assigned destinations, and proceeded to charge ahead on their journey forth.


    Then Qin Weiwei led her troops from Hundred Blossoms Cave, following Yang Qing all the way as they headed straight to the nearby East Arrival Cave.


    Inclusive of Yang Qing¡¯s personal men, the party was made up of around twenty people. In less than half a day, they rushed upon East Arrival Cave and practically did not encounter any resistance. They were also unable to withstand anymore attacks.


    The moment they upied East Arrival Cave, Yang Qing immediately went to find a ce to recover his transcendence energy. At a time like this, the general must constantly be at his best condition to deal with any mishaps!


    Qin Weiwei again ordered three White Lotus Third Grade cultivators to make haste to East Arrival City to keep watch. This was to ensure they could guard against the cultivators from the former East Arrival Cave who had fled in disarray, and to prevent them seizing the opportunity to take off with their belongings in the city.


    During night fall, one of Qin Weiwei¡¯s underlings came hurrying to Qin Weiwei, reporting, ¡°The surviving members of East Arrival Cave have supposedly already made their escape. They have not disturbed the peace in the city. All the survivor¡¯s family members were sent into the Manor of Sincere Hope. We¡¯ve ced our men inside to lie in wait, to see whether we can capture the survivors who mighte forward to rescue them.¡±


    ¡°Very good!¡± Qin Weiwei nodded her head in praise.


    On the side, Yan Xiu discreetly transmitted his voice to Miao Yi, ¡°A change of sovereign brings a change of ministers. In the blink of an eye, South Edict Manor has switched skies. The cultivators who ran away will be safe, but their family members are doomed. I¡¯m afraid in this lifetime, they will spend theirst years inside the Manor of Sincere Hope. The Manor of Sincere Hope isn¡¯t exactly a proper ce for people to live in.¡±


    Miao Yi abruptly froze in ce. It wasn¡¯t clear what he¡¯d just recalled, he cupped his fists at Qin Weiwei to apologize before quickly darting out of East Arrival Grand Hall. He found Charcoal and leapt onto it, directly rushing out of the main gate and wildly galloping away.


    Qin Weiwei strolled slowly to the doorway of the grand hall and stood with her hands sped behind her back as she frowned, ¡°What is he nning to do?¡±


    At present, she didn¡¯t believe that Miao Yi nned to escape. Since the whole of South Edict Manor had been conquered, if he ran now then he¡¯d be an idiot. What¡¯s more, if he had wanted to run in the first ce, he would have done it ages ago. That fatty dragon steed¡¯s speed was fast.


    Startled, Yan Xiu suddenly cried out unexpectedly, ¡°Not good!¡±


    Qin Weiwei turned her head and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Yan Xiu was also afraid Miao Yi would stir up trouble, so he reported at once, ¡°Miao Yi has a good friend at East Arrival Cave. He¡¯s the one who rmended Miao Yi to go to Transient Light Cave. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s going to see whether his friend¡¯s family is still there or not.¡±


    As he expected, Miao Yi went alone to charge straight into East Arrival City, arriving outside of the residence of Chen Fei¡¯s niece, Ji Xiufang, only to be greeted by the sight of a seal on the residence¡¯s main gate.


    Miao Yi, for the sake of verifying the conjecture in his heart, immediately returned to his house and asked amoner by the roadside who held a look of admiration, ¡°Where has the master of this residence gone to?¡±


    An old man boldly replied, ¡°Reporting to Immortal, I¡¯m not sure what kind of crime the master of this residencemitted. I heard they¡¯ve already been carted off to the Manor of Sincere Hope by the officials. It¡¯s a pity the workers were implicated. They were dutiful people from the East Arrival City, and all of them came from good families.¡±


    Miao Yi asked again, ¡°Where is this city¡¯s Manor of Sincere Hope located?¡±


    The old man replied, ¡°Answering the Immortal, it¡¯s in the city central beside the temple. It¡¯s very easy to find.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, sir!¡± Miao Yi thanked him, quickly turned and went off, making a beeline for the temple.

 Chapter 41: A Small Favor

    Chapter 41: A Small Favor


    He was no stranger to temples. Every city had one as it was a ce used to gather the power of will from the followers.


    Arriving near the temple, in one nce he saw a residence with a courtyard, with an unbroken chain of roofs and towering fences. On the main gate was a suspended horizontal board inscribed with the words ¡®Manor of Sincere Hope¡¯. The main gate was tightly shut, andnterns were already hung in the doorway. Guards holding onto their des stood to both sides of the main gate.


    Charcoal carried Miao Yi straight ahead, who was disinclined to engage in further inanity.


    Because he knew what kind of ce the Manor of Sincere Hope was, the people who were just sent in were very likely to suffer. Not to mention, Ji Xiufang was a young married woman with good looks, so god knows what the guards would do to her inside those walls. The longer she stayed, he dreaded the more dangerous it would be.


    With a rumbling sound, Charcoal came charging and collided head first onto the main gate, breaking it into pieces.


    And not just the main gate, Charcoal was capable of even copsing a city wall. Carrying Miao Yi on its back, it charged into the courtyard inside, rming the guards by the doorway to flee ignominiously.


    Meanwhile, two cultivators, both with a three-petaled White Lotus glowing faintly between their brows, gripped spears as they went rushing out, pointing their weapons directly at Miao Yi.


    These two men were two of Qin Weiwei¡¯s subordinates, and had also previously fought Miao Yi hand to hand without a victor being dered.


    ncing at the main gate which was now in pieces, one of them frowned and said, ¡°Miao Yi? It¡¯s you! What are you doing here?¡±


    Miao Yi cupped his fists and replied, ¡°Can I trouble both of you to grant me a favor, let me take a few people away!¡±


    ¡°Not a problem.¡± The man extended his hand, saying, ¡°Do you have the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s or the Cave Master¡¯sw edict?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Miao Yi shook his head. ¡°Which is why I asked both of you to grant me a favour!¡±


    The man refused. ¡°Usually we would not mind to give you this face, but today is out of the question. As to why we¡¯re keeping watch here, I¡¯m sure you know very well yourself.¡±


    Miao Yi said, ¡°I came in haste so I didn¡¯t think of it at the time. Hand them over to me first. I¡¯ll report back to Cave Master Qin after this. If anything happens, I will bear the responsibility on my own!¡±


    The other man shook his head and uttered, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t do!¡±


    Miao Yi asked, ¡°Can you let me have a look at them first?¡±


    The man again shook his head. ¡°Bring us thew edict, then we¡¯ll talk.¡±


    They wouldn¡¯t even allow him to see them. Miao Yi felt that the man, a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing, was deliberately making things difficult for him. His face sank, and before their eyes, a glowing lotus flower appeared between his brow. With deliberation, he pointed the spear he held in his hand at the two men as he coldly spoke, ¡°You¡¯re certain you won¡¯t give me this face?¡±


    Agitated, the other man raged on at once, ¡°You seriously think we¡¯re afraid of you?!¡±


    Back then, when a lot of people acted together to fight Miao Yi, they were unable to take him down for a long duration of time. This already made them seethe with rage. If not for the fact that Miao Yi had received high recognition from Yang Qing, both of them would never be this courteous to Miao Yi. Now Miao Yi was making trouble for no reason, so to them, it was tantamount to seizing the opportunity.


    Charcoal¡¯s four hooves were restless, as it felt Miao Yi¡¯s fury.


    When it seemed that they were about to be on the verge of battling it out, Qin Weiwei¡¯s voice came through from outside the courtyard walls, ¡°STOP!¡±


    Startled, both of them quickly vanished the glowing lotus flowers between their brows, only to hear Qin Weiwei¡¯s voice call out once more, ¡°Hand them over to him.¡±


    The two cultivators quickly shared a nce, and together they faced the direction of the voiceing from outside the courtyard walls, cupped their hands and replied, ¡°Understood!¡±


    One of them turned to ask Miao Yi, ¡°Who do you want?¡±


    Miao Yi enunciated, ¡°Ji Xiufang! The person who was just sent here!¡±


    The man looked towards the official, who was hiding under the roof trembling with fear, ¡°Bring the person here.¡±


    The official promptly nodded his head and bowed before leaving. Not long after, he brought Ji Xiufang over, who had been weeping til her eyes were red and swollen.


    Judging by the look of Ji Xiufang, she didn¡¯t appear to have endured any suffering.


    Originally it wasn¡¯t supposed to be this fortunate. It was only because two Immortals suddenly came to stand guard at the Manor of Sincere Hope. The guards inside didn¡¯t understand what was going on so they didn¡¯t dare to act recklessly. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be this fortunate indeed.


    At first, Ji Xiufang was stunned the moment sheid eyes on Miao Yi. She soon broke into a run and plopped down kneeling in front of Charcoal, looking aplete mess as she cried, ¡°Sir Miao, please save my son! Please, on my uncle¡¯s ount, save my son! I¡¯m begging you...¡±


    Miao Yi jumped down from the dragon steed and helped her up with both hands, asking, ¡°Did they make things hard for you?¡±


    As he said that, the guards inside the courtyard were scared to the point they were shivering. They feared that Ji Xiufang would say things that would be unpleasant to hear.


    Ji Xiufang wept endlessly, shaking her head as she cried, ¡°Sir Miao, please save my son! He¡¯s still young!¡±


    Miao Yi immediately turned around and ordered, ¡°Bring all the people you took from her home out right now!¡±


    Needless to say, people young and old were brought out with haste, including the steward that Miao Yi was acquainted with.


    Ji Xiufang threw her arms around her son on the spot, sobbing with abandon, then knelt down in front of Miao Yi and immediately kowtowed.


    Miao Yi helped her up. ¡°Go. Everything is okay now. Go home!¡±


    Under the public eyes of many, he personally escorted therge crowd back to the grand manor¡¯s gate formerly belonging to Ji Xiufang. When he saw the seal on the main gate, he spun around and shouted, ¡°Call the City Lord over!¡±


    Meanwhile, Yan Xiu was currently hiding at a certain dark corner in the street, watching the scene unfolding in front of his eyes with Qin Weiwei by his side.


    He didn¡¯t need to wait long. Soon, a fat and bulky official, apanied by a number of his subordinates hurried over urgently on their horses.


    Miao Yi refused to listen to a word of their nonsense, each sentence filled with fear and trepidation. He pointed at the main gate. ¡°Dear City Lord, if any mishaps were to happen to this family in the future, you¡¯ll be the first person I¡¯ll take care of. Tear off the seal and open the gates!¡±


    It was impossible for him to always be at Ji Xiufang¡¯s side looking over her. The fate of Chen Fei was also uncertain as to whether he was dead or alive. But if it weren¡¯t for Chen Fei¡¯s referral back then, he wasn¡¯t sure where he¡¯d be wandering now. This was all done to repay back his debt of gratitude. The reason why he had gone rampant was to make his attitude known that he would protect their entire family, so as to prevent others from targeting them for being without support and protection.


    ¡°Hmph! What a high imposing manner!¡± Qin Weiwei curled her lips as she coldly scoffed.


    At the side, Yan Xiu forcefullyughed for a while, his eyes trailing Miao Yi as he sent Ji Xiufang and her family back into the manor.


    By the time Miao Yi came out, he again saw Miao Yi speak to the City Lord who was nodding his head and bowing. ¡°Immediately return anything that¡¯s missing from the residence. I want your life if they¡¯re missing even one chopstick!¡±


    ¡°Yes yes yes!¡± The City Lordplied at once, while wiping away the sweat breaking out from his face. He ordered his subordinates to do as hemanded without dy.


    In another corner, Chen Fei, who was dressed up in disguise witnessed the scene with his own eyes. He let out a soft sigh of relief and murmured, ¡°Brother Miao, I, Chen Fei, will remember this great kindness you bestowed on my family. I¡¯ll repay it once there¡¯s a chance in the future!¡±


    Since Miao Yi had stepped forth to take responsibility, he could now leave feeling at ease. He quietly turned around towards the streets, before disappearing into the darkness.


    Miao Yi rode Charcoal in a swift gallop out the city, but then ran into both Qin Weiwei and Yan Xiu who were waiting outside. He quickly came to a halt, cupped his hands and said, ¡°Thank you, Cave Master, for helping me!¡±


    Qin Weiwei had not speciallye over to help out of good intentions. It was because Yang Qing, after he came out from recuperating his transcendence energy, had met Yan Xiu by chance and asked about Miao Yi. After he found out the reason, Yang Qing greatly praised Miao Yi, remarking that Miao Yi was a loyal and righteous man who, having received a small favor by others in times of need, he repaid it back with great deeds. Therefore, he had sent Qin Weiwei to personallye here, to avoid any potential mishaps from happening.


    All he saw was Qin Weiwei revealing a look of ridicule on her face. ¡°That little wife is quite a looker. I thought you¡¯d spend the night over at her ce. ¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not as pretty as you...¡±


    Miao Yi immediatelyplimented. After knowing this woman was Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter, his attitude had be more courteous towards her. But when the words came out of his mouth, he immediately realized they sounded wrong, as though what he said was filled with innuendoes.


    Yan Xiu¡¯s cheeks immediately swelled, as he tried hard to stifle hisughter. He noticed that Miao Yi¡¯s response was too superb. No matter how he listened to it, it still sounded like, ¡®She¡¯s not as pretty as you, so if I wanted to sleep, I¡¯d rather sleep with you.¡¯


    At the same time, he was also scared and couldn¡¯t help but be on the edge for Miao Yi. Miao Yi himself was also feeling nervous, and wanted to p himself for that remark.

 Chapter 42: Hidden Agenda (1)

    Chapter 42: Hidden Agenda (1)


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s expression turned sour, giving off a feeling that she was about to fly into a rage, but she eventually restrained herself in the end. It was because she could tell that Miao Yi didn¡¯t mean a word of what he¡¯d said. If she treated it seriously, then she really would be letting Miao Yi take advantage of her.


    She scoffed coldly, her face tightened as she speedily rode away on her dragon steed.With a guilty expression, Miao Yi and Yan Xiu both cast a look at each other. Thetter give a thumbs-up sign to show a ¡®You have the guts to be presumptuous with Qin Weiwei¡¯ hand gesture. The former drew back his neck, his face sweating profusely. Since when had he be this vile and despicable, and had what it took to utter such lewd words?Both of them hurriedly rode their dragon steeds, giving chase after that fluttering white skirt under the moonlight...


    Once they returned to East Arrival Cave, they immediately apanied Yang Qing as he rushed throughout the night, charging straight towards South Edict Manor. That was the ce which really required Yang Qing to keep watch over...South Edict City was a huge city filled with millions of followers. It was Miao Yi¡¯s first time to see such a massive city and he was surprised at how everything was flourishing there. He had disguised himself as an ordinary person with Yan Xiu, and they loitered around the street observing the local conditions and customs, all the while feasting on fine delicacies.


    Of course, they weren¡¯t just here to have fun. They had been dispatched to patrol surreptitiously, to see if any of the surviving members of Lu Yu¡¯s faction would cause a ruckus. Guaranteeing that the followers in their domain lived in peace and could work happily was a major matter. Or else, if things became chaotic in this city filled with millions of people, it would have an extreme effect on gathering the Orbs of Will.


    One must bear in mind that just the number of followers in this city alone was almost equivalent to the number in Mount Shaotai overseen by Yang Qing back in the day. It had yet to include the other ten mountains.


    Nowadays, this city had turned into the forbidden domain of Yang Qing, the Manor Head of South Edict Manor. The domains of the other ten mountains would then be divided and awarded to the rest based on individual merit. However, those domains would still be considered his, it was only South Edict City that would be directly governed by Yang Qing.


    Consequently, Yang Qing naturally ced extreme importance on the administration of this capital. He not only dispatched arge number of cultivators to undergo investigations, both openly and in secret. At the same time he had also summoned the local officials to dere Lu Yu¡¯s crimes, saying that he had offered his life to crusade against them, and had already beheaded the traitor Lu Yu as a result.


    Of course, after threats, offering titudes was something they wouldn¡¯t disregard. After all, the cultivators under Yang Qing prioritised cultivation, so they wouldn¡¯t have much experience in meddling in local affairs,as they frequently spent their time entering closed-door seclusion training. As a result, if they were to involve themselves in dealing with such matters, they would only make things worse. In the end, they would need to depend on the local officials when it came to administering local affairs.


    More than ten dayster, the Cave Masters who had seized control and cleared each of the mountains, as well as School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples who had apanied them in the expedition, hurried over one after another, assembling in South Edict Manor.


    Situated among the winding and undting grand mountain ranges was a great pce, where the ancient trees rose up high to the sky, the exotic flowers and herbs resembled brocades and all kinds of birds and animals lingered in one¡¯s sight. Within this vast pce, a pavilion towered above the waters, gathering the earth¡¯s riches and honors together with the immortal n, the entirety of it all was faintly discernable.


    To Miao Yi, the Transient Light Cave was like an inconspicuous Earthen Temple whenpared with this South Edict Manor.


    Each and everyone of the domain¡¯s respective Cave Masters were in high spirits and full of joy. They lined up, and one after another ascended the tall steps, entering the magnificent South Edict Manor Grand Hall.


    It was impossible not to be happy, because it was time for them to be rewarded based on their merits.


    The gains from this battle were very impressive. Yang Qing had taken possession of the entire South Edict Manor which meant that their followers had expanded by at least tenfold. The leaders under him naturally rose with the tides. Those who were going to be promoted to Mountain Chieftains from Cave Masters, their followers had more or less increased tenfold too. This signified that henceforth the Orbs of Will gathered every year had also been raised tenfold.


    WItnessing those people entering, Miao Yi paced back and forth in the long hallway of the waterside pavillion, his heart itching. Unfortunately, since he hadn¡¯t been summoned, he was still not qualified enough to enter the grand hall.


    In his heart, he was impatient to know whether Yang Qing would still remember him, hoping that Yang QIng wouldn¡¯t destroy the bridge after crossing the river andpletely forgetting about him.


    But, Yang Qing obviously wasn¡¯t the kind of man he thought he was. Not long after the domain¡¯s respective Cave Masters entered the grand hall, he noticed a beautiful woman dressed in green robes exiting the hall. In a sh, she floated to the long corridor of the water pavilion at the side of the hall, the blooming seven-petaled White Lotus between her brows concealing itself, as she leisurely strolled toward him.


    When Miao Yi saw her walking towards him, his heart stirred and happiness immediately shed through his eyes. He quickly walked up to her, cupping his hands as he bowed in salute, ¡±Miao Yi greets Little Auntie.¡±


    After staying here for a few days, he gradually figured out who Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aides were at his side. He had two personal handmaidens. One was named Qing Mei while the other was called Qing Ju.


    The two servant girls had been serving at Yang Qing¡¯s side ever since he was a Cave Master and now they already had a cultivation base at White Lotus Seventh Grade. Everyone who served under Yang Qing treated the two handmaidens courteously, addressing Qing Mei as Elder Auntie, and Qing Ju as Little Auntie.


    And the Little Auntie in front of him was naturally Qing Ju.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be over courteous!¡± Qing Ju raised her hand to humbly help him up. She clearly knew that Yang Qing held Miao Yi in high regard. She gave a faint smile as she said, ¡°Miao Yi, Manor Head has summoned you to enter the hall to have an audience.¡±


    Now, everyone did not address Yang Qing as Mountain Chieftain anymore and were already officially calling him Manor Head.


    Miao Yi epted the order solemnly, trailing behind her as he followed.


    Inside the grand hall, Yang Qing had already taken off his martial attire, and was instead donned in a brocade robe as he sat in the high seat, his presence extraordinary. All his subordinates were divided into two lines on both sides, akin to court officials attending an imperial court.


    As the both of them entered the grand hall, all eyes were suddenly on Miao Yi. Qin Weiwei, who stood at the very end, gritted her teeth the very moment she saw him. That bastard dared to sexually harass me!


    Neither too fast nor too slow, Qing Ju strolled to Yang Qing¡¯s right side and stood properly. The other Elder Auntie, Qing Mei, had then been standing at the left side of Yang Qing¡¯s seat.


    Walking to the empty space in the middle of the lines of ¡®court officials¡¯, Miao Yi stood there, cupped his hands and bowed, ¡°Ie to pay my respects to Manor Head!¡±


    Yang Qing gave a frivolousugh, raising his hand to indicate he could skip the formalities. He turned to the various people standing beneath and said, ¡°I once promised him the Cave Master seat for Transient Light Cave and I¡¯ll keep my word! Transient Light Cave belonged under Du Zhangxing of Mount Calming Sea. Now that Du Zhangxing has died, who would like toe forward and ept the position of Mount Calming Sea¡¯s Mountain Chieftain? And also take this kid along with you in passing?¡±


    Miao Yi was overflowing with ecstasy. It¡¯s here. It¡¯s finally here. I¡¯m going to be a Cave Master....


    But on the surface, he still acted calm. He had a request, but from the beginning he was unsure as to whether he should ask.


    For the most part, everyone also looked at each other,ughing heartily. The feeling of partitioning domains was truly satisfying.


    This was as it should be¡ª everyone would eventually get their own share so there was no need for them to urgently jump out. Otherwise,they would look very unsightly.


    However, there seemed to be two people who didn¡¯t look happy, one of them was Qin Weiwei, and the other then stepped out.


    Xiong Xiao stepped forward and cupped his fists. ¡°Manor Head, I have a remark which I¡¯m uncertain whether it¡¯s right for me to say.¡±


    Yang Qing was in a good mood. He nodded his head and obliged, ¡°Speak your mind!¡±


    Xiong Xiao stared at Miao Yi and exined, ¡°Miao Yi is nothing more than a prisoner. He only has a mere, insignificant cultivation base at White Lotus First Grade, and has not performed an ounce of an aplishment. If you were to hastily reward him the seat of Cave Master, I¡¯m afraid it will lead to dissatisfaction in the hearts of those old subordinates who have followed Manor Head for many years. ¡±


    Miao Yi was stunned. He quickly raised his head to look at Xiong Xiao, thinking to himself, spoiling my good thing, I don¡¯t think I have a feud with you?


    Yang Qing creased his brows, but after seeing the highly disapproving looks on everyone who were present, he dropped his gaze onto Xiong Xiao as he asked, ¡°Could it be that you want me to go back on my word?¡±


    ¡°No! Manor Head¡¯s promise is worth one thousand in gold. Naturally, you will keep your word!¡± Xiong Xiao once again cupped his fists and continued, ¡°I¡¯m just considering this matter for Manor Head¡¯s sake. I feel, why not formte a statement to let others know that no matter how big or small the aplishment is, as long as they can spare no effort to handle affairs for Manor Head, Manor Head would be generous in conferring. Then they¡¯ll know it¡¯s because he has worked for Manor Head to obtain the seat of Cave Master and won¡¯t say as much. At least on the bright side, it will block the gossip on everyone¡¯s mouth.¡±


    Yang Qing nodded his head in agreement. ¡°Then what do you think we should make him do?¡±

 Chapter 43: Hidden Agenda (2)

    Chapter 43: Hidden Agenda (2)


    Xiong Xiao replied, ¡°Within the region under my administration, there is a ghost cultivator causing mischief. He keeps attacking and disturbing the peace of the followers whoe and go in passing. When I received word of his misdeeds, I immediately sent a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator to go forth and exterminate the problem. When they fought, they were neck and neck in their level of strength, which ended with his escape. I wanted to send out more manpower to wipe him out. But by sheer luck, Manor Headunched his army so I didn¡¯t have the time to punish him. I was going to deal with that ghost afterwards anyway, but now that I think about it, why not send Miao Yi to perform this meritorious service!¡±


    Miao Yi stared at him with widened eyes. That f*cking dog, trying to make me go deal with a ghost cultivator who¡¯s on par with a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator. Does he want me to distinguish myself or does he want to kill me?


    Everyone stared at Xiong Xiao, they were clearly having the same thoughts.


    Yang Qing was not an idiot. He said with an expressionless face. ¡°Before this, it was merely a fluke that Miao Yi managed to behead that White Lotus Third Grade cultivator. Are you certain that on this journey, he will be able to sessfully eliminate that ghost cultivator?¡±


    Xiong Xiaoughed, ¡°This was inherently part of my duties within my realm. Naturally, I cannot ignore it. I will dispatch two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators to apany him to set forth together. In all likelihood, there shouldn¡¯t be any issues for him to perform this deed.¡±


    A sudden realization dawned on everyone present. He really did find an excuse to give that kid Miao Yi credit. This Xiong Xiao sure knew how to kiss the Manor Head¡¯s ass. He was able to so even just by simply beating around the bush.


    Miao Yi let out a sigh of relief in his heart. This was much better.


    Yang Qingughed while nodding his head. He looked at Miao Yi and said, ¡°Miao Yi, you heard what he said. If you agree to go perform this deed, you can go directly to Transient Light Cave and take up the Cave Master post after youe back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m willing to set forth!¡± Miao Yi responded readily. After going through so many ups and downs, he could finally voice out what he had a hard time saying earlier. He cupped his fists and continued, ¡°I only have one bold request to make, and I hope Manor Head can grant me this request.¡±


    Qin Weiwei had a scornful look on her face. This guy had the cheek to negotiate with the Manor Head.


    However, Yang Qing was not a petty man in that aspect. He dismissed it with augh, nodding his head as he replied, ¡°Speak!¡±


    Miao Yi attempted to ask, ¡°Manor Head. Can you change Transient Light Cave to East Arrival Cave? What I mean is, if I perform the deed ande back, can you let me be the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave?¡±


    Everyone stood gazing at each other. There was no difference in followers for Transient Light Cave and East Arrival Cave. There wasn¡¯t any special local product either within that realm, so what would he gain by switching?


    Yang Qing was taken aback by his question. Soon after, he believed he understood the reason why. He recalled Ji Xiufang who Miao Yi had previously gone to rescue from the Manor of Sincere Hope. He figured it was in order to make things easier for him to take care of her in passing.


    In fact, this was only part of the reason. If he really had intentions to take care of her, if worsees to worse, he could have moved her to Transient Light City to settle down after bing the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave.


    The most important thing was that Miao Yi had taken a fancy to the geographical location of East Arrival Cave, situated right by the seaside. Atter being reminded by Yan Xiu anding to a realization as to why he could withstand the pressure of the higher rank cultivator¡¯s transcendence energy, he felt he shouldn¡¯t abandon the cultivation method Lao Bai had taught him. He should continue on with it.


    ¡°I will allow this!¡± Yang Qing agreed.


    He then waved his hand to indicate him to step down, as the uing higher tier appointments weren¡¯t something that Miao Yi with his current rank could participate in.


    Miao Yi naturally thanked him and stepped down, but the annoyed feeling he had towards Xiong Xiao still lingered in his heart. Seeing that he was about to eat the fatty meat which was so close in his grasp, in the end he swallowed a fly first, so he felt extremely awkward about it. Why was it so difficult to be a Cave Master?


    Inside the grand hall, Yang Qing¡¯s voice once again boomed, ¡°Regardless of Transient Light Cave or East Arrival Cave, they all belong to Mount Calming Sea. Who¡¯s willing to move forward to oversee Mount Calming Sea?¡±


    The reason why nobody fought for this seat was because the decision had already been made behind closed doors earlier on.


    Beforehand, Elder Auntie Qing Mei had specially stepped in to personally notify everyone toe forth, one-by-one, to discuss official business at the grand hall. At the time, she had appeared to have spoken something in a casual manner¡ªit goes without saying that the Manor Head¡¯s wish is to promote all nine Cave Masters under him to be Mountain Chieftains, with the exception of Qin Weiwei . As for the remaining mountain, that will be handed over to School of Blue Jade, because Qin Weiwei¡¯s cultivation base is slightly lower. Unfortunately the Cave Master of Colossal Ram Cave died before gaining victory, and we absolutely can¡¯t give two mountains away to School of Blue Jade. It¡¯s better to hand it over to our own people, so that we can all be at ease, isn¡¯t that right?


    Everyone naturally nodded their heads in agreement. It was impossible for them to say it would be more suitable to hand it over to outsiders, because wouldn¡¯t that make them a person that bites the hand that feeds them?


    Although Elder Auntie Qing Mei seemed to be asking casually, everyone understood well in their hearts. Qin Weiwei was mentioned twice and she then said our own people. One can well imagine the profound meaning hidden behind her words, so there was no need to state it clearly.


    Everyone also understood that there were some matters that Yang Qing would have difficulty in voicing out. He was only borrowing the mouth of Elder Auntie to convey his hint.


    Yang Qing wanted to support his own daughter to take up the post, he wanted to let his own daughter take in more incense and power of will, and he wanted very much to quickly raise his own daughter¡¯s cultivation base, so what kind of objection could they have? If it were them, once they had taken up their seats as Mountain Chieftains, they also wanted to promote their own men. Furthermore, they would enact it the moment they returned.


    In the end from the very beginning, Yang Qing had made use of Miao Yi to mention the seat of Mountain Chieftain for Mount Calming Sea. Everyone had already guessed what kind of thoughts Yang Qing had in mind. Even Miao Yi, with a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade was deemed qualified to be a Cave Master, so that person....why couldn¡¯t she then be Mount Calming Sea¡¯s Mountain Chieftain?


    Yang Qing had already prepared the opening statement for everyone else, all he needed to do now was to wait for everyone to take the bait.


    Therefore, Xiong Xiao once again rushed before others and cupped his fists. ¡°Manor Head, I believe Cave Master Qin of the Hundred Blossoms Cave can take up the post.¡±


    ¡°I second the motion!¡±


    ¡°I agree!¡±


    His men, who had been with him since Mount Shaotai, all stepped forward, agreeing in session, except for Qin Weiwei who stood at the same ce unmoving. This kind of matter obviously would not look good on her if she stepped forth to speak on her behalf.


    Yang Qing cast a nce at Qin Weiwei before saying hesitantly, ¡°She only has a cultivation base at White Lotus Fifth Grade. Wouldn¡¯t it be inappropriate to appoint her as the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea?¡±


    Someone hurriedly replied, ¡°Miao Yi with a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade can be a Cave Master, so why can¡¯t Cave Master Qin be the Mountain Chieftain? I believe that we mustn¡¯t shun rtives when considering talent!¡±


    Xiong Xiao continued again, ¡°I recalled Manor Head once said this about Miao Yi, as long as he can convince the masses, then it¡¯s alright!¡± He then turned to ask others in reply, ¡°Cave Master Qin to garrison the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s seat for Mount Calming Sea, is everyone satisfied? In any case, I, Xiong Xiao, hold both hands up in approval.¡±


    ¡°I approve!¡±


    ¡°I approve!¡±


    The respective Cave Masters who had yet to be Mountain Chieftains voiced out their support of the proposal. The feelings of the crowd were intense, as though they couldn¡¯t be convinced of anyone else being the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, apart from Qin Weiwei.


    School of Blue Jade¡¯s men stared at each other, at aplete loss. The Cave Master of Colossal Ram Cave had fallen in battle, so the seat was unupied. They originally wanted to try and fight for it because the reason why they could win this war was due to the agreement between School of Blue Jade and Yang Qing; if it weren¡¯t for their support and the Third Grade Yao Core given to Yang Qing, it would have been impossible for the battle to end in victory.


    They intended to wait until the two Mountain Chieftain seats were left unupied, then take possession of them together.


    Well now, arge number of people supported Qin Weiwei in taking up the post. The principle of majority rules, it left one with no control over matters. Besides, Qin Weiwei was Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter. It wouldn¡¯t be proper for them to stubbornly object to it since after all, arge number of their men would be serving under Yang Qing in the future, and it wouldn¡¯t do them any good to clearly show themselves not giving face to Yang Qing.


    School of Blue Jade¡¯s men were simply stifled with no room to object..


    Seeing everyone insisting on it, Yang Qing revealed a look of reluctance, sighing as he said, ¡°Alright! Qin Weiwei, are you willing to take up the post of Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea?¡±


    In an immediate action, Qin Weiwei stepped forward and cupped her fists, ¡°I¡¯ll do my utmost, and will not disappoint Manor Head and South Edictrades¡¯ great expectations! ¡±


    ¡°Then it is decided!¡± Yang Qingplied with the crowd¡¯s opinion and waved his hand, thus settling the Mountain Chieftain seat of Mount Calming Sea.


    In the following appointments, Xiong Xiao took over Yang Qing¡¯s former seat, and became the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai. One by one, the other respective Cave Masters also became Mountain Chieftains.


    School of Blue Jade only managed to im one Mountain Chieftain seat, but they weren¡¯t at a loss either, as they had already made promises with Yang Qing beforehand. Once they conquered South Edict Manor, arge amount of empty seats under every mountain and cave were to be first given to School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples.


    Which meant from now onwards, the majority of School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples on the whole became people who could officially indulge themselves in incense and power of will. Not only that, they were also granted other allowances. They no longer had to go around painstakingly scavenging for various types of items to slowly increase their cultivation base. This kind of opportunity wasn¡¯t something that every sect could chance upon.


    Because regardless of a sect¡¯s strength, and even if your own strength was powerful, it would never be more powerful than the Six Sages of Heaven and Earth. The Six Sages of Heaven and Earth implemented such rules to suppress every sect, in order to keep them from bing arrogant. No matter which sect wanted to enter this system, they would need to obtain consent. Even if they managed to join, they would still need to uphold this system. Those who dared to force their way in can only attempt to do so!


    Even if School of Blue Jade had the guts of ten men, they still wouldn¡¯t dare to go up against Mu Fanjun, the Immortal Sage from Realm Beyond Heaven.

 Chapter 44: Hidden Agenda (3)

    Chapter 44: Hidden Agenda (3)


    Lastly, Yang Qing stood up and warned, ¡°After everyone heads back, be sure to settle down your region. Anyone who disturbs the peaceful life of South Edict¡¯s followers will, therefore, affect the number of Orbs of Will being transferred at the end of the year. This will incur the wrath of the Hall Master, so if I am not able to deliver my duties, don¡¯t me me for not considering old friendships!¡±


    ¡°We obey thew decree!¡± the crowd promised in unison.


    After discussing official business matters and everyone had received what they needed, they walked out of the grand hall in happiness, cupping their hands at each other as they bade their farewells. They were all preparing to ascend to the higher seats to live it up, each of them in a hurry to head home.


    Arriving at the grand hall¡¯s entrance, Qin Weiwei tilted her head, her gaze locked onto Miao Yi from afar who was walking beside Yan Xiu. Her lips curled into a mocking smile as she looked on. It seemed like there were going to be more than enough opportunities for her to torture that guy in the future.


    If Miao Yi found out Qin Weiwei was going to be his own immediate superior, it¡¯s unclear what kind of thoughts would run through his mind...


    ¡°Both of you are not enemies. And he¡¯s not necessarily targeting you. Besides, with your cultivation base, you definitely need some kind of exnation to convince the masses. Maybe he¡¯s really looking out for you.¡±


    Yan Xiu, who was walking with Miao Yi, muttered ambiguously in an attempt to persuade the other after listening to his prattle.


    ¡°Looking out for me? I can¡¯t tell. I was born a street butcher and sold pig meat for a living. Honestly, I¡¯ve already seen all sorts of people so when that guy looked at me, I felt as if there was something amiss with his eyes. They seemed to be hiding something. In short, I can¡¯t tell if he¡¯s looking out for me. I need to be more careful.¡± Miao Yi snorted twice, the unhappy feeling in his heart lingered on.


    He came from the streets. From a young age, he needed to protect his younger brother and sister. In order to guarantee their safety, he had this habit of not letting anyone get away with even a tiny fault. He wasn¡¯tcking in fortitude either. Otherwise, when outsidersid their eyes upon this family of three children, it would be easy for them toe up and bully them.


    During that time when he had to face the surrounding adults who¡¯de to take them away to the Manor of Merciful Hope, he had been carrying Little Sister on his back with his hand holding onto Little Brother¡¯s. In a moment of desperation and helplessness, he had stabbed his thigh with the strike of a de. It was in that instant that he was forced to understand themoner¡¯s principles of surviving.


    In a fit of rage, he hadn¡¯t been afraid to kill Huang Cheng and Zhao Xingkui in the Boundless Secr World. For the sake of forming an alliance with Yan Beihong for his own protection, he had also dared to stab the other expert in the back surreptitiously. For the sake of his younger brother and sister¡¯s future, he was willing to give up all he had. Seeing Luo Zhen and Cao Dingfeng killed with his own eyes, he was able to risk his life while seething in anger. After being tormented and disgraced by Qin Weiwei, a mere prisoner like him dared to let Charcoal go unrestrained, kicking with its hind legs to pelt debris at Qin Weiwei. Learning about Ji Xiufang being in trouble, once again he immediately rushed to her rescue to pay his debt of gratitude.


    Deep down, he knew he wasn¡¯t a good man, but he also knew he wasn¡¯t a bad one either. That distinctive nature found in ordinary people could also be found in him. In short, if anyone crossed him, don¡¯t give him a chance to fight back!


    ¡°You¡¯re probably thinking too much. With his cultivation base and status, he doesn¡¯t even need to target you,¡± Yan Xiu saidfortingly, before coughing as he asked, ¡°Brother, once you be a Cave Masterter, remember to ask for me.¡±


    Miao Yi chuckled and once again gave his word.


    Within the pavilions and kiosks, all built around a beautifulke and mountainndscape, Chun Xue led two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators from the long hallway outside.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s back faced the three, while he slowly tossed fish food into the pond in front of him, leading the red carps in the pond to fall over each other in their eagerness to fight over food.


    Chun Xue silently stood at his side while the two cultivators beamed with happiness, cupping their hands in unison and eximing, ¡°Congrattions to Cave Master for being promoted in glory as Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai!¡±


    After Xiong Xiao tossed away all the fish food he had, he pped his hands before turning tough, ¡°Zhang Shucheng, Mo Shengtu, I have a task that requires the both of you to carry out.¡±


    The duo hurriedly bent their heads to obey the order. ¡°Willing to adhere to Mountain Chieftain¡¯smands!¡±


    Xiong Xiao beckoned his hand at them, the both of them immediately moved in closer. Xiong Xiao then whispered something into their ears.


    Both of them were surprised at what they¡¯d heard. Mo Shengtu¡¯s facial expression changed as he said softly, ¡°But, that Miao Yi is someone who has found favor with Manor Head.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Xiong Xiao scoffed heavily with his nostrils, seemingly asking, are you two Manor Head¡¯s men or mine?


    Mo Shengtu corrected himself without dy, ¡°Mountain Chieftain, I didn¡¯t mean anything else by it. It¡¯s just that the kid seems to be a bit abnormal. You¡¯ve also seen that battle before. Five people weren¡¯t capable enough to subdue him. We¡¯re afraid we¡¯ll let down Mountain Chieftain¡¯s great trust in us.¡±


    Xiong Xiao shot a nce at Chun Xue, slightly tilting his head to give a signal.


    Immediately, Chun Xue took out a small jade bottle from her sleeve, passing it towards the two men.


    Zhang Shucheng received it into his hand, saying hesitatingly, ¡°This is...¡±


    ¡°Drunken Immortal!¡± After Xiong Xiao prompted him, he said with understatement, ¡°That ghost who dares to cause trouble in my territory needs to be wiped out. That kid, I also don¡¯t want to see hime back alive. And I don¡¯t want the Manor Head to know his death is connected to me. Both of you know what to do, right?¡±


    Mo Shengtu immediately coated his words with ttery, ¡°We will push the me of his death onto that ghost cultivator.¡±


    Pleased with the answer, Xiong Xiao nodded his head. ¡°I have always thought highly of you both. Make it clean, don¡¯t leave room for any repercussions!¡±


    After he finished, he left with his hands sped behind his back, with Chun Xue following quietly behind him.


    Zheng Shucheng and Mo Shengtu saw him off and got up, staring speechlessly at each other.


    Both of them couldn¡¯t figure out why the Mountain Chieftain wanted to pick on a nobody. And the main point was that this nobody was favored by the Manor Head. If something unfortunate really were to happen, wouldn¡¯t it just make things difficult for himself?


    The same principle could apply to them. If the two of them screwed up, they could forget about living the good life. Their only path forwards was to seed with no room for failure...


    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t know where he was going and nobody told him anything about it either. In short, he was still a subordinate of Qin Weiwei, following her as they left South Edict Manor. He set forth to take up his new post.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi left with Xiong Xiao and his forces, rushing to Mount Shaotai to take up his new post.


    Two dayster, during the midday, a wave of swiftly galloping dragon steeds came to a stop at a fork in the road.


    With a smile, Xiong Xiao called forth Miao Yi to give him an advisory talk, as well as encouragement. He wished Miao Yi sess in his endeavor and asked him to visit Mount Shaotai more frequently in the future. His attitude was weing, appearing to give face to Manor Head Yang Qing.


    Soon after, Xiong Xiao led hisrge body of forces to hurry to Mount Shaotai to take up his new post, leaving Mo Shengtu and Zheng Shucheng behind, together with Miao Yi.


    At the fork in the road, the three of them made their introductions and familiarized themselves with each other. They then continued to speed off in the other direction, towards Changfeng City!


    Hearing the words ¡®Changfeng City¡¯ made Miao Yi involuntarily tingle with excitement since that was his hometown. In spite of everything, he faintly had a feeling of eagerness to return back home.


    It had been more than ten years. Ever since he escaped Changfeng City, over ten years had passed in the blink of an eye. This filled him with regret, he really wanted to return back to Changfeng City to see, wanting quite strongly to see, whether those two bastards who¡¯d prevented him from seeing his younger sister onest time, had survived or not.


    ¡°Brother Miao, this isn¡¯t the time to go sightseeing. No one will be able to face Manor Head¡¯s wrath if we hold up the mission he personally assigned. Once we havepleted the mission, we¡¯ll have all the time in the world to have fun.¡±


    A dayter, at a ce where Changfeng City could be seen from afar, Zhang Shucheng stopped Miao Yi¡¯s intention to go into the city.


    He didn¡¯t know what kind of past Miao Yi had with Changfeng City. Miao Yi himself would not say it either. Xiong Xiao would also definitely not reveal the reason behind it.


    ¡°Brother Zhang is right. I¡¯m just being silly. Let¡¯s continue to hurry on.¡±


    Miao Yi, mounted on Charcoal, apologized as he chuckled with his fists cupped.


    Now, Charcoal seemed to be much thinner. He figured it had something to do with how they¡¯d recently been on the move without ceasing, and this was going against his fatty life customs.


    The three of them changed directions, the dragon steeds beneath them once again swiftly galloping forward.


    After dashing up a mountain peak, Miao Yi spun his head to look into the distance of Changfeng City, thinking to himself that Zhang Shucheng was right. It wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to go back now to kill those two bastards. He had to at least wait until he¡¯d gotten rid of Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu first.

 Chapter 45: Hidden Agenda (4)

    Chapter 45: Hidden Agenda (4)


    Instead of entering Changfeng City, the trio arrived at Changfeng Cave to scout out the whereabouts of the ghost cultivator.


    The majority of Changfeng Cave¡¯s cultivators had followed Xiong Xiao to battle, andter were led by Xiong Xiao to Mount Shaotai. Supposedly, the Cave Masters of Mount Shaotai had yet to be confirmed for each respective cave, and so the men of Changfeng Cave would not be back for a while. At the moment, only one cultivator was left behind to stand guard and watch over the ce.


    ording to others, it was said that Xiong Xiao had already been assigned as the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, and the cultivator who remained behind for garrison duty was incredibly ecstatic. Cave Master had risen in rank, and to the old subordinates below him, even if they all weren¡¯t able to follow suit and receive the same benefits, they would still be able to bask in the limelight.


    After the group surrounding the table enjoyed a delicious meal, the cultivator who stayed behind at Changfeng Cave brought over a document sent forth by someone sent over from Changfeng City. It reported of another case of a travelling merchant mysteriously disappearing around the area of Mount Thousand Buddha.


    Miao Yi was originally from Changfeng, so he was no stranger to the ce called Mount Thousand Buddha. ording to rumors, it was originally home to many buddhist temples. Later, Buddhism was then banned and many temples were brought to the ground.


    In the past, he might not have known the reason, but after bing a cultivator, Miao Yi knew that it was definitely rted to the division of the Six Sages¡¯ domains. Immortal Sage Mu Fanjun did not want to see his own realm have two different religions. If he was not treated with honour, would it still be considered his domain? Thus, it had to be eradicated.


    Mo Shengtu closed the document and said, ¡°It looks like that ghost cultivator may most likely be hidden within Mount Thousand Buddha.¡±


    Miao Yi chuckled, ¡° Mount Thousand Buddha is huge. It won¡¯t be easy to find someone, especially when we¡¯re looking for a ghost. How are we going to search for him?¡±


    The cultivator who remained behind replied, ¡°It¡¯s not too hard, the regr travelling merchants are so frightened that they don¡¯t dare travel through Mount Thousand Buddha, and since the ghost cultivator needs to hunt humans for his blood meal, without anyone passing through for a long period of time, he¡¯s bound to lose his endurance. The lot of you can disguise yourselves as regr travelling merchants and travel there back and forth. I bet there¡¯s a high chance he¡¯ll take the bait.¡±


    ¡° Then it¡¯s settled!¡± nodded Zhang Shu Cheng as he pped the board, before making it clear to the cultivator on garrison-duty, ¡° We¡¯ve been hurrying for the past couple of days, so we¡¯ll be resting for the night here. Tonight, you help us get the disguises ready, we n to take action tomorrow!¡±


    In the middle of the night, the rustling insects cry...


    Early next morning, the sun rose from the east, tainting the clouds with a red hue.


    Four ordinary horses were prepared just outside of Changfeng Grand Hall. Among them one horse was not saddled. Instead, it carried a pile of bundled goods,rge and small.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    Miao Yi saw the cultivator on garrison duty take something that looked like a woman¡¯s makeup powder case and opened it up, before assisting Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng to apply it between their brows, right on their spiritual points. He couldn¡¯t help but ask what it was.


    ¡° Soul Concealing Paste,¡± the cultivator replied nonchntly.


    ¡°Oh,¡± replied Miao Yi. He heard Yan Xiu mention about this item before, but it was his first time seeing it.


    If one wished to hide one¡¯s cultivation base, all they had to do was apply this paste between the brows and it would then conceal the glowing lotus blooming from their spiritual point.


    The three of them helped one another apply the paste between their brows. Depending on the shade of their skin colour, they varied the amount applied to maintain the same colour as their skin.


    After preparations were done, the trio armed their weapons and mounted their horses.


    After being ustomed to riding dragon steeds, to suddenly ride a horse that required steering with the usage of reins felt a bit unnatural.


    However, there was no other choice. If they showed up riding the dragon steeds, people would instantly recognize them as cultivators¡ªdrawing the ghost cultivator out after that would be wishful thinking.


    The cultivator took the reins of the horse bundled with goods, passed it to Zhang Shucheng, then folded his hands in salute to give his farewell.


    What he did not know was that during this journey, Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu were not only intending to take care of the ghost cultivator, but were also targeting Miao Yi as well. The task personally assigned by Xiong Xiao would be kept in utmost secrecy by Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu. If this matter was spread around, Xiong Xiao would never let them off the hook.


    The trio rode their horses out from Changfeng Cave and immediately set foot on the main route. After their horses started rushing headlong on their path, the three of them exchanged nces with one another, then shook their heads with a bitterugh.


    After being ustomed to riding dragon steeds, not only did it feel awkward to ride these horses, there was a more significant difference in speed. They felt as slow as snails, and couldn¡¯t even match up to the speed of the three men using their legs to run, much less that of a dragon steed. One was entirely heavenly while the other was of the earth.


    Unfortunately, it was a prop used for the opera, so it couldn¡¯t be thrown away.


    ¡°At this rate, we¡¯ll need at least six hours to make it to to Mount Thousand Buddha.¡± Mo Shengtuughed bitterly.


    Zhang Shucheng looked at the weather and said, ¡°No need to hurry, during the daytime the Yang energy is too potent. Even though the ghost cultivator isn¡¯t like ordinary spirits who are deathly afraid of sunlight, it still doesn¡¯t like to show up in broad daylight. Arriving at night is likely to be more appropriate. Let¡¯s take it slow, or else if we continue like this, the horses won¡¯t be able to endure it.¡±


    Mo Shengtu tilted his head to ask, ¡° Brother Miao, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°My thoughts?¡± Miao Yi chuckled, ¡°I think having you two handle the ghost cultivator is enough. If I go, I¡¯ll only be a burden to you both. Big Brother Mo, Big Brother Zhang, you guys already know that your little brother¡¯s mount is fat like a pig, and riding a body of fat feels sofortable. So, I¡¯m really not used to riding such a lean horse. Not only that, I¡¯m too honest. I can¡¯t act as a merchant at all. It would be better if the two of you go instead. I will stay out of this exciting activity and go roaming around Changfeng City. Once the two of you eliminate the ghost cultivator, you cane find me at Changfeng City. How does that sound?¡±


    He was seriously not joking around. As he spoke, he had already reined in his mount to a halt, looking as though he was going to turn back.


    ¡°No!¡±


    Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng pretty much shouted in unison to stop him, and also reined in their mounts to a halt.


    But once the words left their mouths, both of them were simultaneously taken aback. They cast a nce at each other, realizing that it was a little too excessively in sync.


    Don¡¯t tell me there is actually something amiss? Miao Yi¡¯s eyes lit up in realization as he muttered discreetly in his heart.


    He¡¯d only been testing them, but who would¡¯ve thought he¡¯d actually find something fishy. However, he really could not think of any grudge that existed between him and Xiong Xiao.


    Mo Shengtu quickly replied with a sincere and earnest tone, ¡°Brother Miao, this matter was originally meant toplement your promotion in glory as a Cave Master. The Manor Head will keep his promise. The main focus is you. If you don¡¯t go, and word about this gets out in future, others will assume that we cheated. Even if Brother does not think for himself, you need to help think of us, right? Unlike Brother, we did not find favour with Manor Head. Once Manor Head reprimands us, we really won¡¯t be able to take the me!¡±


    ¡°Haha, if you really can¡¯t, then we¡¯ll leave it at that. Pretend I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Miao Yi chuckled. He shrugged his shoulders, looking indifferent.


    Anyway, as far as he was concerned, they could do as they saw fit. Even if they found the ghost cultivator, he wasn¡¯t nning to take part in the fight. Letting these two guys fight for their lives was good enough. Once the deed was done, he would just take credit for it and return to be a Cave Master. If any other mishaps broke out, he¡¯d feel too sorry for himself.


    In any case, he was somewhat vignt around Xiong Xiao. In other people¡¯s perspective, Xiong Xiao was helping him, but if they were in his shoes, they¡¯d be able to realize the truth after giving it some thought.


    F*cking Xiong Xiao. Making daddy I, a White Lotus First Grade cultivator handle a White Lotus Third Grade ghost cultivator. You call this helping your daddy me? F*ck your grandma!


    The three of them continued along the road, without rushing themselves. Throughout the journey, Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng became more humble, continuously talking about interesting stories of the cultivation world to please Miao Yi. Mostly, they were afraid this guy would once again quit halfway if he became upset, turning back to head towards Changfeng City to roam around.


    They even excused Miao Yi from the task of leading along the goods-carrying horse, which originally they¡¯d nned to take turns doing.


    Two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators must appease a White Lotus First Grade cultivator. This couldn¡¯t be tolerated. Both men had an intense urge to kill this little sh*t with a strike of their spears.


    But s, Miao Yi wasn¡¯t someone to be trifled with. This guy¡¯s disy of bravery and fierceness during the one versus five battle in Transient Light Cave wasn¡¯t a boast. Even if they wanted to strike, they didn¡¯t have the confidence to do so. If by chance this brat ran away, then matters would be very troublesome. They must find an opportune moment, this n must end in sess and not failure. Otherwise, Xiong Xiao would not forgive the two of them.

 Chapter 46: Mystic Arts Temple (1)

    Chapter 46: Mystic Arts Temple (1)


    When night fell, the three of them had already passed by Mount Thousand Buddha and were preparing to turn back to their original route, once again journeying towards the realm of Mount Thousand Buddha.


    They hoped they could draw out the ghost cultivator when the sky darkened.


    However, things didn¡¯t go as they wished¡ªthe sky changed abruptly.


    Dark clouds pushed towards them in the air from a far off distance. A gale swirled, raising the dust on the ground to fly upwards. The wind shook and swayed the mountain¡¯s forest.


    The three of them reined in their steeds in the middle of the main route, stopping to take in the surrounding wilderness and shifting weather.


    Zhang Shucheng frowned and said, ¡°Judging by the weather, it¡¯s going to rain heavily soon. There¡¯s no vige ahead and no inn behind, looks like we¡¯ll be facing some trouble.¡±


    Mo Shengtu waved the horsewhip, pointing it towards the front. ¡°On the way here, I remember there¡¯s a fork on the main route up ahead, with a small grassy path that leads to the mountain. There seemed to be traces of a rut on the road. Under normal circumstances, carriages don¡¯t normally travel into the mountains, so surely there must be a residence or a ce to rest over there. It would be better to go take a look.¡±


    Zhang Shucheng looked at Miao Yi and smiled, ¡°Brother Miao, what do you think?¡±


    Miao Yi nodded his head, replying, ¡°Sure!¡±


    Together, the three men agreed on Mo Shengtu¡¯s suggestion and immediately galloped forward on their steeds.


    After galloping to the middle of a valley, they slowed down their speed and examined their surroundings. As expected, they discovered a small, deserted path on the right side of the main route. Even though it was already buried by weeds, they could still easily distinguish the traces of ruts.


    Seeing that the sky was already filled with dark clouds hanging overhead, the three of them didn¡¯t hesitate any longer. They changed course, their galloping steeds increasing speed as they went. They followed the path, continuously galloping onwards.


    Not long after, the three of them then spotted a residence with arge courtyard up ahead among the foothills. It seemed to be a temple...


    Moving closer to the foot of the hill, the three men found themselves in a gstone za which upied around a dozen mu.


    The top of the za waspletely leveled t, its outer rim decorated with stone carved banisters. One could see on both sides, left and right, the indistinct traces of a copsed building.


    In the center of the za was a massive old-fashioned cauldron, full of stains and with traces of rust. It was a censer.


    Although it was filled with destion, overgrown with weeds that filled the small cracks in the gstones beneath their feet, it was evident that this ce had once seen a golden age of incense.


    Having suddenly found themselves ced in such a leveled za in a barren mountain, without rhyme or reason the trio were ovee with feelings of insignificance. The temple built beside the mountain ahead also gave them a sense of oppression.


    Dark clouds hung low in the sky, and an abrupt crack of thunder broke out with a ¡®BANG¡¯. The mounts beneath the three men fidgeted about, neighing in rm, but their movements were eventually subdued by the three of them pulling in their reins.


    The muffled rumble of thunder rolled past above their heads, and a few cracks of lightning shed in the sky on top of the temple in front. The weather was already very gloomy, yet the shes of lightning as well as the rolls of thunder suddenly made the temple¡¯s appearance even more conspicuous.


    On an aged tree within the high walls of the temple, a flock of old ducks were frightened off by the sudden ps of thunder, quacking as they flew around in circles.


    Everything proved that this entire ce really was an uninhabited dested temple.


    Zhang Shucheng cast a nce at the two men at his sides and said, ¡°It¡¯ll be pouring rain soon, so for now we should first take shelter from the rain inside the temple!¡±


    A small brook flowed in between the za and the temple built by the mountain, with three connecting stone arch bridges built side by side. Zhang Shucheng took the lead and ran towards it while Miao Yi and Mo Shengtu followed suit from behind, pulling along the goods-carrying horse. The sharp and clear sounds of ttering horse hooves resounded from the gstone surface, causing the echos to reverberate indistinctly.


    Arriving at the base of the mountain, Zhang Shucheng did not dismount from his steed. He immediately galloped the horse up the flight of stairs, and the two men behind him simrly followed suit.


    Within the temple surroundings, there grew an ancient pagoda tree, which looked to be thousands of years old. It was illuminated under the beam of lightning that shed amidst the gloomy clouds in the sky, resembling a ring Vajrapani staring straight at them.


    The three of them stood side by side, looking on at the three words ¡®Mystic Arts Temple¡¯ hung over the temple¡¯s tall gates. It had be so mottled it was practically difficult to distinguish its details. As for the courtyard gate, no one had any idea as to where it ended up. Probably it had long rotted away from being exposed to the sun and blowing wind.


    The surrounding courtyard walls had be battered, and perhaps it was due to the ancient pagoda that blocked all sunlight from shining inside, but the walls were unexpectedlycking in things such as vines and weeds.


    Zhang Shucheng dismounted from his horse, leading it inside the temple. The two men behind him also did the same.


    The moment they entered the temple, the three once again halted in their tracks. There were a few ancient pagoda trees inside, their old branches engorged and twisting grotesquely. Each tree was so ancient and immense in their size, even three people holding hands together wouldn¡¯t be unable to reach around and hug one. Each side of the temple had their own pond, roughly about the size of one mu. And towering above each pond was a stone statue of Arhat. The Arhat statue on the left was missing its head, its location unknown.


    Once they stepped through the courtyard gate, they could sense a cool breeze hit them right in the face, causing them to feel a little disquieted by the whole situation. Their horses were also beginning to be anxious and panicky.


    Looking at the shabby temple¡¯s entrance that was wide-open for all to enter, Mo Shengtu drew in a long breath andmented, ¡°The Yin energy here is too strong.¡±


    ¡°These ancient pagoda trees grow along with old residences, which of course made it easier to amass Yin energy,¡± Zhang Shucheng replied casually.


    Although he said that, the three of them still invoked their arts at their own discretion, using their transcendence vision to sweep the surroundings.


    Under normal circumstances, if there were any forms of spirits and ghosts truly in here, the ordinary human eye wouldn¡¯t be able to see them. But to the cultivators equipped with transcendence vision, such beings are unable to remain concealed.


    The truth proved that they had been thinking too much. After using their transcendence vision to sweep the surroundings, they did not discover any evil forces.


    Bang! Up in the sky, the crack of thunder once again resounded explosively. Under the illuminating beam of lightning, the contrast against the shadows added to the eerie and frightful feeling hanging over the deste temple.


    At the same time,rge droplets of rain began to fall, pelting onto the ground with a series of ¡®tap tap tap¡¯ sounds, sshing the surface of both ponds into round ripples.


    Zhang Shucheng smiled humbly, saying, ¡°Right now we indeed have no better ce to go, so let¡¯s just put up with this!¡± He went ahead, leading his steed along into the direction of the grand hall.


    Mo Shengtu and Miao Yi exchanged nces, and were forced to follow behind. The trio trampled the weeds growing from the small cracks in the floor tiles. A soft, rustling sound could be heard as they treaded on the dried leaves.


    After pulling the horse to the hallway of the grand hall and tying it to a stone pir underneath, Zhang Shucheng walked over to the old pagoda tree in the courtyard, dragging arge dried up branch into the temple. The branch was found lying on the base of the tree, most likely broken off by the blowing of a gale..


    A downpour had already started outside and the sky hadpletely darkened. A fire within the grand hall was stoked to a small ze.


    Using the light source from the mes, they could see traces of a previous fire being made there before, and not just at one spot. Mo Shengtuughed, ¡°Looks like this really is a ce where passing travellers will stop to rest.¡±


    Miao Yi stood for a long time, carrying the silver spear in his hand. Using the light from the fire, he directed his gaze at the aloof and remote, magnificent Buddha statue right in the middle of the temple.


    Already, the golden body of the Buddha status had almostpletely faded away. And so, that greatly merciful andpassionate deity, yet to deliver all living beings from suffering, had reversed to be more sinister in appearance.


    Mo Shengtu, who was huddling in front of the open fire, suddenly lightly touched Zhang Shucheng. Both of them nced at Miao Yi before mutually exchanging a meaningful look, then nodding their heads in secret.


    It was at this exact moment that the three of them seemed to hear something. They turned their heads to look outside the gate.


    All of a sudden, a series of shouts travelled from outside the temple, ¡°Quick, take shelter from the rain. Quick, take shelter from the rain...¡±


    They caught sight of a man using both hands to hold arge iron cooking pot over his head in order to block the iing rain. On his body, he carried arge bundle of items. He hurriedly rushed into the temple, and in a single breath, ran into the shrine.


    nging sounds emitted from the man as he went. He had aplete gamut of all sorts of things, ranging from pots, bowls,dles, basics and the like. After entering, he only briefly assessed the three men, before turning to face outside, shouting loudly, ¡°It¡¯s alright! Come in!¡±


    The three men followed after to look, only to see a middle-aged schr running in as well, carrying a basket on his back. The downpour already made him look like a drowned rat, with the long robe on his body thoroughly drenched.


    Following closely behind were two sturdyymen, lifting a soft pnquin as they ran in. On the soft pnquin were poles to support a light pink muslin shroud, through which the lithe figure of a woman half-reclining could be faintly seen.

 Chapter 47: Mystic Arts Temple (2)

    Chapter 47: Mystic Arts Temple (2)


    After the party entered the grand hall, the confucian schr beamed benevolently at the three men and said, ¡°So there are friends who made it first. Do excuse us.¡±


    He turned and shouted while he walked along to a dark corner at the other side of the grand hall, removing the basket he carried on his back. ¡°Cook, quickly grow a fire for us.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± The man who came in first replied and began to take down the mess of items on his body. He held onto a butcher knife as he went off to find firewood.


    The soft pnquin shrouded by light muslin was also moved to a dark corner on that side. Although it could be said to be a soft pnquin, in actuality it was a lightweight and portable chair bed. From the light of the fire, the three of them could see a woman lying down on her side inside it, looking rxed and at ease. However, they couldn¡¯t clearly see her appearance.


    Miao Yi and the other men cast a look of dismay at each other. Never would they have expected to encounter a group of weirdoes at a worn temple within the barren mountain ranges. They looked like shop traders.


    The cook quickly dragged tworge pagoda tree branches into the shrine. After chopping them into pieces in a corner, he rapidly grew the fire.


    The middle-aged confucian schr shouted out again, ¡°Cook, quickly make dinner.¡±


    He took out a few pieces of firewood from the bonfire and started up another fire on the side. He then removed the long robes he wore on his body, wringing it tightly to remove the water, before sitting on the side to heat it dry. The other twoymen who¡¯d lifted the soft pnquin also huddled over, doing the same thing.


    The cook, nimbled-handed and fleet-footed, set up the pot, bowls,dle and basin, including a chopping board. He again took out the ingredients from therge bag he carried beforehand,plete with vegetables and meat, before chopping them with a tter in the grand hall. Miao Yi and the rest watched on, stunned.


    Soon after, they once again saw the cook untie his belt, tying it around a wooden bucket before running outside to brave the rain. He then fetched a bucket of water from the temple courtyard¡¯s aging well, before returning back.


    Ayman went over to assist him, using the basin to catch some water. He poured rice in and proceeded to wash it. Soon after that, he again felt out a couple of fresh bamboo tubes from the cook¡¯srge bag, cut an opening in them, then poured the rice along with the clear water into the tubes. Afterwards, he took the tubes to the side bonfire, roasting them inside the mes.


    Miao Yi and the rest watched on till their teeth hurt. They were unsure as to what else the cook still kept inside that massively full and bulging bag of his. Why did they feel like it could hold more things than a storage ring?


    After the cook washed the iron pot and racked it over the fire, the sizzling sound of sesame oil entering the pot resounded. He threw in the dish and stirred thedle around, stir-frying the ingredients. Not long after, the fragrant smell of a stir-fried meal spread out inside the grand hall.


    It need not be mentioned that their actions immediately dispersed the temple¡¯s eerie and frightening atmosphere.


    Soon, four dishes, two of meat and two of vegetables were ready, along with a bowl of soup. Miao Yi and the rest could clearly see with their eyes and could confirm there were indeed four dishes, two of meat and two of vegetables, along with a bowl of soup.


    The dishes may have looked simple, but in this kind of ce with this kind of environment, to be able toe up with a warm and steaming meal, it could only be described with the word ¡®blessed¡¯.


    The heavy downpour was still going on outside, along with the quaking sounds of thunder. Yet the cook inside the grand hall had covered the water bucket, cing the chopping board on top of it before arranging the four dishes and the soup over it. A simple table was formed.


    The confucian schr walked over to the front of the chair bed and said, ¡°Lady boss, it¡¯s time to get up and eat.¡±


    From the inside of the light muslin tent came the sound of an indolent yawn. One could faintly see the person lying inside was stretching herself before slowly getting up.


    The schr stretched out his hands to unfasten the cloth knot on the muslin tent before parting it. A pair of yellow embroidered shoes extended out, both embroidered with a simple cloud pattern on top. Immediately following suit were a pair of exposed calves that stretched towards the ground. A woman, bright and beautiful, with an amorous appearance, walked out from inside the muslin tent, causing the entire gloomy grand hall to suddenly seem brighter.


    Jet-ck, thick hair was loosely pulled to the back of her head. A lock of the fine ck hair drooped from the side of her ears onto her shoulders. She was without any additional form of essories. Her face resembled a lotus, while her brows were like the willow.


    There was only a close-fitting corset on her upper body, which was red in color and very transparent. Her stiffly bound bosom could be distinctly seen, and her soft, smooth exposed shoulders were draped with a light green-colored muslin robe.


    The corset was very short. Below the ribs, the soft waistline had nothing covering it whatsoever, tempting people to touch what was barely hidden. On her abdomen, the hint of a curved, smooth belly button was intermittently visible from the green colored muslin robe, making it difficult for people to tear away their gazes.


    Her rather perky derriere was wrapped in a green-colored folded muslin skirt, the fringe of the skirt corners were unevenly matched. Hanging from them was a stream of small golden beads that gleamed under the fire¡¯s light. That little bit of weight dragging the side of the skirt further entuated the perkiness of her backside with each step she took. As she walked, the outline of her thighs was also discernible from the skirt.


    The green-colored folded muslin skirt stopped at her smooth and full lustrous small calves. The skirt seemed to be half-transparent yet when facing the light from the fire, the luscious view from within was barely visible. With the addition of reverie amidst the haziness, it was inevitably a little regretful.


    The shapely figure was one exceedingly worthy of pride. With an S-shaped curve-line, without b on the areas that should be thin, ample flesh on the areas that should be well-rounded, her overall appearance caused people¡¯s heart to palpitate unceasingly. Her skin was smooth and exquisite, yet wheat colored. Her brazenly-revealing clothes were painted in strongly distinctive colors. Her charming appearance seemed woven with a bold and unrestrained wildness, richly graced with the feeling of a foreign country.


    Within Miao Yi¡¯s heart, there was already a woman he deemed beautiful over all others, that red-clothed woman with her ethereal lightness he¡¯d seen on top of the city walls of the Ancient City. But now, if he were topare her with this amorous-looking woman before his eyes, then the woman from before seemed too cold in appearance.


    For this creature called women, they were thirty percent appearance, seventy percent temperament¡ªthe differences in beauty was based on their different temperaments.


    Miao Yi and the rest were already dumbfounded just from staring at her, feeling that this woman was too eye-catching.


    The twoymen who lifted the pnquin removed the bamboo tubes from the bonfire and hacked them into halves, abruptly causing the sweet scent of cooked rice to permeate the whole ce. They then quickly grabbed some bowls to hold the servings.


    But that confucian schr took the basket he carried on his back and ced it on the simplistic, small table in an inverted manner. He even draped a cloth on top, pointing to it as he smiled at the woman. ¡°We¡¯re limited by the current circumstances, Lady Boss, so just put up with it.¡±


    The woman lightly swept her delicate, sultry eyes, nodding her head. She moved towards the bamboo tube and was about to sit down, before her clear pupils caught sight of Miao Yi¡¯s group. She smiled slightly, and generously extended her hand in invitation as she beckoned, ¡°If the three of you don¡¯t mind, you might as welle and join our meal.¡±


    In unison. the group of people also looked towards their direction.


    Miao Yi and the rest exchanged looks with each other. The invitation appeared to be a bit alluring.


    Mo Shengtu had already subconsciously licked his lips. He wasn¡¯t thinking of eating dinner per say. Instead, he wanted to eat the woman extending her invitation.


    Although it wasn¡¯t allowed for cultivators to act recklessly towards followers, but inside the realm of Changfeng Cave, ying with one or two women on their own territory would not cause much of a fuss.


    He was about to move closer to get intimate with her but he then heard Zhang Shucheng¡¯s voice transmitting directly in his ears. ¡°Old Mo, don¡¯t forget the mission. After this is done, you can do whatever you want with that woman. Now is a good time to borrow their pot and use the Drunken Immortal!¡±


    He was reminding Mo Shengtu to borrow the other¡¯s cookware to get hold of it himself, then conveniently slip the drug in to poison Miao Yi.


    But who knew Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t give them this opportunity to do so. He cheerfully andughingly stood up, walking over with his hands cupped before their astonished eyes. ¡°Okay. If you insist.¡±


    The twoymen, the cook, the confucian schr, and even the woman appeared to be somewhat startled as they looked on at the approaching Miao Yi.


    Actually, the woman had only given the invitation casually. By right, in this barren mountain and field where they did not know one another, the other party would definitely be at an disadvantage to rashly eat their food. This was a form ofmon sense whenever people are away from home. It was only because she was ustomed to being ady boss, so the cordial habit of entertaining guests made her act in that manner, but who could have known this slip-up would cause the unexpected to happen?


    However, Miao Yi was not an old traveller. Thus, his knowledge and experience was limited. At this point he had not been corrupted yet, so he still held themoner¡¯s rustic side. Such a fragrant meal, and being invited by such a beautiful woman, why act coy about it?


    This is what was known as having no worldly experience. Those who normally left home to travel would not behave this way.


    Miao Yi walked towards them, suddenly stopping midway in puzzlement. Why did it feel like the way they were eying him didn¡¯t seem right, no matter how he looked at it?


    He immediately read and understood the meaning they conveyed. Realization suddenly dawned on him that they were just being modest and he had actually believed their courteous words. Then, he awkwardly scratched his head, saying, ¡°My appetite is massive. Your food doesn¡¯t seem to be enough, so I won¡¯t bother.¡±


    He turned and went off, inwardly thinking how embarrassing that was.


    Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu looked at the awkwardly returning Miao Yi. They turned away, trying to control their faces which were already a deep shade of red. In any case, they knew he had brought shame to himself, and they could barely contain theirughter.

 Chapter 48: Mystic Arts Temple (3)

    Chapter 48: Mystic Arts Temple (3)


    ¡°Little Brother, please don¡¯t be mistaken!¡±


    The women was taken aback, her entire demeanor giving off a feeling of wildness as she quickly let out a lightugh. She raised her hand in the direction of the confucian schr by her side.


    Immediately the confucian schr chuckled as he ran over to him. He heartily pulled Miao Yi¡¯s arm, politely inviting him back.


    One of theymen moved the cook¡¯srge bag andid it t beside him, reaching out his hand to Miao Yi as he signalled him to sit.


    Feeling a bit embarrassed, Miao Yi waved his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ll just squat.¡±


    The confucian schr half forcingly pressed him down to sit.


    Miao Yi reluctantly consented and sat down, facing the group as he smiled awkwardly, ¡°Excuse me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. You¡¯re the guest.¡± The woman generously waved her hands, taking the seat in front of Miao Yi.


    When her hands shook the skirt, a sh of her flesh-colored thigh could be seen from within the clothes¡¯ folds. She again, crossed one leg over the other, blocking the view, her actions full of uninhibitedness. ¡°Your name is?¡±


    ¡°Miao Yi.¡± After he announced his name, Miao asked in reply, ¡°I heard them calling you Lady Boss. May I ask for Lady Boss¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°I deal in a small business, so my name is out of the question. Calling me Lady Boss will do.¡±


    The woman avoided the question. She looked at her underlings at both sides and said, ¡°What are you all waiting for? Serve!¡±


    They responded. One of the porter served a bowl of rice to Miao Yi, saying, ¡°Enjoy the meal.¡±


    He sounded like a true waiter and didn¡¯t seem to be feigning it.


    The confucian schr also served a bowl of rice to the woman. Thetter crossed her extremely sexy legs, and proceeded to twirl the chopsticks through the rice. She then pointed at the piping hot four dishes and a bowl of soup before saying, ¡°Brother Miao. Don¡¯t be shy.¡±


    On top of the simplistic dining table was a te of green vegetables, a te of bean sprouts, a te of simmer-fried muntjac meat, a te of steamed fish, andstly arge bowl of mushroom soup.


    Lady Boss, seeing that Miao Yi still looked a bit embarrassed, couldn¡¯t help but curl her lips into a smile as she realized that this youngster was kind of interesting.


    She reached out her chopsticks and removed a tender piece of meat from the belly of the fish, cing it personally onto Miao Yi¡¯s rice bowl, said ¡°Please.¡± and then started to eat.


    The two porters crouched on the right side while the cook and the confucian schr crouched on the left. They also began to eat, with great enjoyment. None of them concerned themselves with Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu.


    Miao Yi turned around, casting his gaze at the both of them. Seeing that the duo did not look like they had any intentions toe over, he also paid no mind to them, and raised his bowl to eat.


    Miao Yi had already been embarrassed once, so naturally, Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng wouldn¡¯t go over to be embarrassed themselves. Thus, they sat by the fire in silence.


    ¡°Try this. The cook¡¯s skill is pretty good. Customers from the store praise him to high heaven after trying out his dishes.¡±


    The Lady Boss would frequently offer more, enthusiastically helping Miao Yi to the food. Miao Yi promptly thanked her. ¡°Lady Boss, there¡¯s no need to be so courteous. I¡¯ll help myself. I¡¯ll help myself.¡±


    They sat around that simple dining table and ate with great enjoyment. After Miao Yi sampled the dishes, his eyes brightened,ing to the realization that they were indeed very tasty. He proceeded to rave about the cook¡¯s skill, who appeared gratified to receive his praise. He cast a silly smile at Miao Yi.


    Since he¡¯d already eaten, Miao Yi let go of his reserve. And to top it all off, the taste was pretty good, so he quickly devoured his meal ravenously.


    The cook immediately snatched away his bowl, and gave him another serving. Miao Yi thanked him before continuing¡ªhe really was eating without restraint.


    In fact, the Lady Boss was secretly observing Miao Yi¡¯s expression. She saw his face had a look of honesty to it that did not seem to be feigned, and he also didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to be intimate with her, unlike other men. A hint of admiration shed through her clear pupils.


    Unintentionally, Miao Yi noticed that she was observing him. He swallowed the food in his mouth, smiling. ¡°Lady Boss, you¡¯re quite unlike themon folk, seeing as you all dared to stop at this deste temple in the mountain! May I know what it is that you do?¡± He began to inquire about their origins.


    Lady Boss heartily let out a gentleugh. ¡°I¡¯m only a mere innkeeper. The sky gave signs of a heavy downpouring soon. Coincidently, we knew there was a ce for us to rest. If we weren¡¯t here. wouldn¡¯t I have to wait outside in the rain instead? I see the three of you are armed with weapons, you¡¯re the ones who don¡¯t look ordinary at all! I suppose if you¡¯re not a jianghu errant hero, then you should be one of the government officials, right?¡±


    ¡°An escort from an escort house,¡± Miao Yi answered curtly.


    The Lady Boss chuckled. ¡°Then, that¡¯s a relief. We were afraid that we wouldn¡¯t be safe in the barren mountain ranges, so we feel more at ease at having your party protect us as armed escorts.¡±


    The storm went on incessantly outside the grand hall, as lightning shed and cracks of thunder rolled by.


    Miao Yi ate and drank to his heart¡¯s content, and after thanking the Lady Boss and her group, he returned to the other side.


    The cook tidied up the bowls, chopsticks and cookware before carrying them outside, keeping them under the roof. He then braved the rain to fetch water, and proceeded to clean the dishes outside.


    Meanwhile, the confucian schr took out a brush and some ink from his basket, scribbling in an ount book by the fire. From time to time, he would make a report about something to the Lady Boss sitting beside him, and she would listen in a serious manner.


    The two porters were wiping the floors clean, looking as though they were nning to use it to spend the night.


    After the cook returned from washing the dishes, Zhang Shucheng suddenly grinned. ¡°Brother Miao, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s boring just sitting around here? Why don¡¯t we borrow their cookware to brew a cup of hot tea?¡±


    ¡°Might as well.¡± Mo Shengtu indulged him and stood up, walking towards the other side.


    Zhang Shucheng¡¯s expression darkened as he shot a nce at Mo Shengtu, realizing that his ailment of being lecherous could not be changed.


    He saw Mo Shengtu squat beside the lovely Lady Boss, who was listening to the confucian schr reporting their ounts, his gaze wandering over her beautiful figure without the slightest scruple.


    Evidently, he wasn¡¯t satisfied with just using his eyes, and actually went as far as to reach out and grasp the Lady Boss¡¯s jade hand on her thigh.


    Instantly, everyone¡¯s eyes were locked onto him. The Lady Boss¡¯s gaze lowered slightly, eventually dropping onto his hand.


    Mo Shengtu ignored the strange look the confucian schr and the rest were giving him. He stared at the Lady Boss as heughed in glee. ¡°Lady Boss, I would like to borrow something from you.¡±


    The Lady Boss withdrew her hand in a single swipe, frowning. ¡°May I know what the armed escort would like to borrow?¡±


    Who would have expected Mo Shengtu, whose hand was suspended in midair, would again try to grope Lady Boss¡¯s thigh, which was only covered with a thinyer of muslin skirt.


    Lady Boss¡¯s reaction was quick, as though she was very experienced in dealing with skirt-chasers. She lifted his hand off her thigh, before quickly standing up to evade his touch. She moved to the side, giving him a sidelong nce. ¡°Armed escort, please treat me with respect!¡±


    Mo Shengtu immediately stood up, his gaze revealing a covetous look as he stared at her elegant figure. Again, he slowly moved closer to her, reaching his hands out with the desire to embrace her. ¡°I only wanted to borrow your cookware for a while, there¡¯s no need for Lady Boss to be so petty!¡±


    ¡°You better keep your paws away from her!¡±


    Miao Yi¡¯s voice suddenly sounded, his tone slightly cold.


    The group turned their heads and looked, only to see Miao Yi dragging a spear in his hand. The tip of the spear scraped the ground as he approached them, his face expressionless as he came to a stop beside Mo Shengtu.


    Zhang Shucheng also stood up, his brows creasing.


    Lady Boss tilted her head to look at Miao Yi, her eyes shing with a hint of amusement.


    Mo Shengtu turned around, his expression had be slightly sour. He spoke in a deep voice, ¡°Brother Miao, what is the meaning of this?¡±


    Miao Yi was not courteous. ¡°Nothing. I just can¡¯t stand how you keep pawing at her, your behavior is obscene.¡±


    Immediately, Mo Shengtu was furious. ¡°I thought we were in this together?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I just ate their meal and I want to repay them back!¡± Miao Yi responded indifferently.


    Letting out a coldugh, Mo Shengtu repeated again and again, ¡°I will definitely sleep with this woman tonight. I¡¯d like to see what can you can do to me!¡±


    After he finished, his hand immediately reached towards the Lady Boss.


    Swish! With a swift shake, Miao Yi swung his spear, the spear tip emitting a stream of fire sparks from the ground as he pointed it at Mo Shengtu. ¡°You try it and see!¡±

 Chapter 49: Mystic Arts Temple (4)

    Chapter 49: Mystic Arts Temple (4)


    Seeing the situation was about to get out of hand, Zhang Shucheng abruptly shouted, ¡°Stop!¡±


    Speedily making his way to the center of the two in order to smooth things over, he quickly pushed Mo Shengtu away from the Lady Boss. At the same time, he reached out to press down the speartip in Miao Yi¡¯s hand. ¡°We¡¯re all on the same side, don¡¯t let something trivial jeopardize our mission.¡±


    Turning back to the Lady Boss, he jovially said, ¡°Lady Boss please calm yourself. We mean no harm. We just wish to borrow your cookware so that we may brew some tea.¡±


    Lady Boss said indifferently, "Armed escort, you need not trouble yourself to personally do it. Cook, quickly go make some hot tea for them.¡±


    ¡°Aye!¡± the cook responded, when suddenly Zhang Shucheng reached out his hand to stop him, ¡°Just now my brother has erred, and we have yet to make amends, it would be imprudent for us to trouble you,¡± he spoke, as he gave Mo Shengtu a shove, ¡°Hurry and fetch some water.¡±


    Mo Shengtu held back the gloom on his face, and with a cold glint in his eyes, he grudgingly picked up the bucket from the ground, then strode out the temple into the storm.


    Zhang Shucheng then grabbed a pot, subsequently grabbing Miao Yi with him as he went back, and then ced the pot on top of the fire.


    Lady Boss had noticed the suspicious look in Mo Shengtu¡¯s eyes, and being someone used to the ways of the world, she didn¡¯t appear to be bothered by what just happened. She gave that enchanting waist of hers a stretch, and cheerfully told her subordinates, ¡°Everyone quickly pack up and get some rest! We must make our way with haste tomorrow morning.¡±


    While she said this, she made a quick nce to the cook and her eyebrows twitched for a bit. The cook then winked in understanding.


    The few of them obeyed, and immediately started to pack up, whereas the cook took off the soaked clothes he was wearing from when he went out to wash the bowls, and made his way to the back of the hall to dry it.


    Lady Boss gave her soft waist another stretch andid down on the chair bed, the view was so seductive, that even Zhang Shucheng could not keep himself from staring, yet sadly the confucian schr immediately tied the pink muslin tent back up, shrouding that enticing figure, but also made it all the more suggestive.


    Outside the temple under the pouring rain, at the side of the decrepit well between two ancient pagoda trees, Mo Shengtu filled up the bucket with water. After careful eyeing his surroundings, he hastily took out a small porcin bottle from his sleeve and opened it, then poured a white powdery substance into the bucket. After tucking back the bottle, he popped a red pill into his mouth, then hurriedly carried the bucket of water back inside.


    And on the roof of the temple, the cook, unknown from when he had braved the rain to stand there, had been watching Mo Shengtu¡¯s actions all along, and swiftly departed thereafter.


    Coming back inside the temple, Mo Shengtu poured the water he collected into the metal pot. The bottom of the metal pot was starting to redden under the heat, and the cold water made popping sounds as it was poured in.


    The cook had also returned inside. As he picked up the bowls off the ground, he pinched some of the nearby smoldering ash. With his back facing Miao Yi and the rest, he turned and made his way to the chair bed and then mimicked Mo Shengtu¡¯s previous actions outside, sprinkling the ashes in his hand into the bowl.


    The rest of them inadvertently nced towards the chair bed, and Lady Boss, who was inside the muslin tent, simply twisted her body with nonchnce, seemingly giving a casual wave.


    The others understood what she meant, and continued cleaning up.


    Outside the temple, under the beating of the wind and rain, the old pagoda trees in the courtyard howled incessantly.


    It was silent inside the temple, as the giant Buddha statue seated on top of its lotus tform shone and darkened with the flickering light of the me. To the side, the worn-down Arhats and Buddha, both big and small, formed all sorts of peculiar beings, their shapes creating shadows on the wall that were sometimes long and sometimes short, sometimes thin and sometimes robust; much like a constant illusion of demons, devils, ghosts and monsters shifting uninterrupted.


    The boiling sound of water echoed from the metal pot atop the firece, Mo Shengtu took out a can from his luggage, opened it and took out a few tea leaves, then spread it into the iron pot.


    Zhang Shucheng also took this opportunity to stealthily ce a red pill into his mouth.


    Not long after, the fragrant smell of tea wafted from the metal pot. Zhang Shucheng put out the fire underneath, leaving just a small me to keep the pot warm, and scooped up three bowls of hot tea.


    Just at this moment, both the cook and the confucian schr came over, each with a bowl in their hands, the confucian schr bowed and asked with a smile, ¡°May we have a cup of hot tea?¡±


    Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu looked at each other, the former chuckled as he reached out for the teapot, ¡°No need to stand on ceremony, help yourselves!¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± the two said in response.


    The cook was coincidentally standing in front of Miao Yi as he poured himself some tea.


    Miao Yi nced at his back in shock¡ªon the back of the cook¡¯s still wet clothes, was a message written with charcoal. There were only five words: ¡°There¡¯s something inside the tea!¡±


    Miao Yi furrowed his brows, and nced at the tea pot on top of the firece. He took up his silver spear at the side, and lifted up the hem of his clothes to brush the tip of the spear, seemingly with great force.


    After filling their bowls, the cook and the confucian schr gave thanks for the tea, then turned around and made their way back. The confucian schr just so happened to block the back of the cook from being seen.


    As though the tea in their hands was scorching hot, the two hurriedly ran back, and when they had just reached the side of their own firece, the two identally bumped into each other.


    P! The two porcin bowls filled with hot tea slipped from their hands and shattered on the ground.


    The two whose hands slipped looked at each other¡ªMiao Yi also threw a short nce as he continued brushing the tip of his spear.


    To the side Zhang Shucheng just smiled and said, ¡°There is still half a pot¡¯s worth of tea. The three of us won¡¯t be able to finish it, so if you wish to drink, juste and take it. No need to be polite.¡±


    After which, he ced two bowls filled with tea into Mo Shengtu¡¯s hands, and then gave him a light push, ¡°You were in the wrong just now, hurry and apologize to Brother Miao.¡±


    Mo Shengtu, understanding what he was implying. He took the tea into his hands, walked towards Miao Yi, and made an expression full of sincerity as he said, ¡°Brother Miao, my infatuation got the better of me just now and I hope you will forgive me for my misconduct. After drinking this bowl of tea, what say we forget about this!¡±


    Miao Yi was still brushing his spear, but then clutched the weapon and stood up, looking at him silently.


    ¡°It was my fault just now,¡± Mo Shengtu said sincerely, the bowl in his hand presented to Miao Yi once more, prompting him to ept. It really did seem as though he was sincere about apologizing.


    Miao Yi did not ept¡ªlooking at Zhang Shucheng, he asked, ¡°I was also in the wrong just now. Brother Mo is being too kind, how will I be able to ept it?¡±


    With a cup in hand, Zhang Shucheng immediately came over to act as the middleman, saying, ¡°Regardless of who was wrong and who was right, when all of us drink this tea, all will be water under the bridge!¡±


    ¡°In that case, then it seems I will just have to ept!¡± Miao Yi reached out and took the tea from Mo Shengtu, held up the bowl towards the two of them, and said, ¡°Cheers!¡±


    ¡°Cheers!¡± the two smiled as they nodded.


    Knocking their bowls together, the three of them grinned at one another, then ced their bowls at the side of their lips, lifted their heads and drank.


    To the side, the confucian schr and the cook looked at each other in confusion¡ªcould it be that he failed to see the message just now?


    Who would have thought that a sudden change would happen the next instant; the confucian schr and the cook immediately widened their eyes!


    Pu!


    Taking advantage of the moment when Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng had their tea bowls blocking their faces, the spear in Miao Yi¡¯s hand shone with a silver gleam, and had stabbed into Mo Shengtu¡¯s chest with a swift and silent strike.


    Without even giving time for Mo Shengtu to scream, the blood-stained spearhead on his back was being ruthlessly swept towards Zhang Shucheng who was at the side.


    Realizing something was off, Zhang Shucheng made a quick dodge, but was still moments toote.


    An arm instantly flew out, the blood-stained spearhead hacked its way under his armpit.


    Fortunately he was the second one to be attacked, which gave him some time to respond, otherwise his heart might have already been cut out.

 Chapter 50: Mystic Arts Temple (5)

    Chapter 50: Mystic Arts Temple (5)


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    At this moment, Mo Shengtu let out a blood-curdling scream, his hand still gripping onto the cup. It was clear that Miao Yi¡¯s amazing ambush had been so quick, he had been caught off-guard when he struck out with his spear.


    Below the severed arm, blood streamed out from Zhang Shucheng¡¯s torso as he urgently dodged the blow. Simultaneously, he opened up his hand, summoning his spear back into his grasp.


    Bang!


    With a malevolent expression on his face, Miao Yi kicked the screaming Mo Shengtu, sending him flying. At the same time, he swept his spear horizontally, directly lopping Mo Shengtu¡¯s head off, causing blood to immediately ssh out in the air.


    With his body and head in two different ces, Mo Shengtu copsed onto the ground, no longer capable of screaming.


    The Lady Boss, who was lying on top of the chair bed, rose up and watched themotion from inside her tent. Regardless of theymen or the confucian schr or even the cook, none of them had expected Miao Yi to suddenly explode without a heads up, which had given them the impression that he had not seen their earlier warning.


    Only now did they realize that this young man, who seemed so in-looking, also had a considerably brutal side to him. Neither was hecking in shrewdness as well. When he made a move, it would be fatal. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t. He was considerably decisive!


    One could ask what kind of person was Lao Bai, and why would he select a goody two-shoes to teach his art to? Of course, Lao Bai chose Miao Yi after he had done a lot of investigation. If Miao Yi didn¡¯t have the slightest capability to adapt and survive, then Lao Bai would have been wasting his time and effort by selecting a person toe out and send him to the grave.


    Zhang Shucheng was pale, he¡¯d already used his transcendence energy to seal the severed arm along with the wound under his armpit that had prated deep below the bottom of his heart. With a single arm, he captured his spear and pointed it at Miao Yi as he roared in raging fury, ¡°You little scum! You dare to ambush us!¡±


    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t ambushed you, then I wouldn¡¯t have been your match!¡± Miao Yi spoke openly, in a forthright manner. Akin to a death god, he pointed his spear at Zhang Shucheng. ¡°Two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators, going as far as using poison on a White Lotus First Grade cultivator like me behind my back. The thought of killing you two makes meugh! Speak! Whose orders are you following?¡±


    The Lady Boss and the rest looked at each other. No wonder this kid used an ambush tactic. It turned out he was only a White Lotus First Grade cultivator, but he really had the nerve to do so. A mere White Lotus First Grade cultivator actually dared to mount a sneak attack on two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators. He had more guts than the average person!


    Zhang Shucheng looked at his own severed arm¡ªhe¡¯d unexpectedly lost an arm?


    Abruptly lifting his head, he vigorously bellowed in rage, ¡°DIE!¡±


    In a sudden movement, a spear was piercing its way towards Miao Yi,


    Jaws dropping from surprise, Lady Boss and the rest saw that the kid with a White Lotus First Grade cultivation base, did not try to dodge or avoid the attack. He directly faced the White Lotus Third Grade cultivator andunched his counterattack!


    Zhang Shucheng reached him in a sh, but Miao Yi was not in the least scared. His leg stepped out, bing one with his spear as he leapt.


    He rose high up in the air of the grand hall, and ferociously struck out with a spear attack. Practically all his transcendence energy was focused onto the strike of the speartip, simr to his cultivation on the ind in the sea. Even if you were arge stone mountain, I would still destroy you.


    That grandeur, that all-epassing force as he courageously advanced forward, even the Lady Boss and her subordinates felt rmed. He dared to act this way when facing two enemies who surpassed himself by two levels¡ªwhat kind of sect and master would train their disciple into one with such a temperament?


    Boom!


    A loud sound shocked the grand hall, the transcendence energy shaking their surroundings.


    Under the brutal swirls of surging transcendence energy, the few stone statues which were on the verge of copsing, finally gave way with a loud bang. The firece beneath was instantly stifled, having been pressed down and extinguished into burning coals, sparks flying everywhere.


    The bonfire near the Lady Boss had also been nearly extinguished, causing sparks to fly in all directions. Yet, somehow none of the fire sparks could touch the the pink muslin tent of the Lady Boss¡¯s chair bed.


    Outside the hall, the terrified horses whinnied.


    This head-on strike separated them, as they recoiled upon impact.


    The ce where Zhang Shucheng¡¯s arm was severed along with the deep gash in his armpit, violently exploded into two clouds of red mist. He dropped onto the ground and staggered, falling back a few steps as he used his single arm to hold onto the spear in order to steady himself.


    Meanwhile, the attack had momentarily jolted Miao Yi, till he was thrown flying backwards.


    Boom! He crashed right through the stone wall behind him, his figure disappearing deep inside the hole created.


    A ttering sound emitted from the back of the broken wall, and immediately a loud bang followed, causing more than half of the inner grand hall to copse. Among the smoke and dust, as well as the upheaval of tumbling rocks, a speartip slowly extended out from the back of the broken wall. Miao Yi gradually walked out, holding the straightened spear in his hand.


    The disheveled Miao Yi stood steadily amidst the messy pile of rocks. He lifted his hand to wipe away the blood that flowed out from his nose and mouth, once again directing his spear at Zhang Shucheng. ¡°So what if you have a cultivation base at White Lotus Third Grade? With a missing arm and half your chest sliced open, I don¡¯t believe I won¡¯t be able to get rid of you!¡±


    Zhang Shucheng would never have expected that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be afraid to face him straight on. Although his attack had wounded Miao Yi, he wasn¡¯t exactly in good shape either.


    He was already without an arm, and using one hand had greatly reduced the strength behind his spear. On top of that, he had to consume a lot of transcendence energy to seal the grave injury of both wounds, as well as to stabilize his heart which had been inflicted serious damage in his chest.


    Miao Yi saw his chance, and so he focused all his energy into this one strike. In the end, he¡¯d been battered till half the blood in his body came exploding out of his wounds.


    Zhang Shucheng¡¯s body was on the verge of copsing, hisplexion growing more pale by the minute. His wounds weren¡¯t the only ces bleeding out, he also suffered from internal bleeding within his chest.


    Lady Boss and her group were astonished. They never would have thought that Miao Yi, under the suppression of a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator¡¯s transcendence energy, still had the capability tosh out such a swift and fierce counterattack, delivering blows to Zhang Shucheng until he¡¯d been reduced to his current state.


    Zhang Shucheng was so full of regret, his intestines had turned green. He finally understood why this kid could not be defeated even in a fight against five cultivators. The transcendence energy he exerted to suppress Miao Yi appeared to have no effect whatsoever. Miao Yi¡¯s transcendence energy shield had an unclear and unknown method of defensive power. As a result, he vigorously met him head-on, even when seriously injured.


    ¡°Who gave the order?¡± Miao Yi directed his spear at him. ¡°Say it and I will spare your pathetic life!¡±


    Lady Boss and the rest were speechless. A White Lotus First Grade cultivator was actually threatening a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator.


    Suddenly, Zhang Shucheng brandished his spear in one sweep and with a rumbling sound, a fewrge gstones on the ground went flying, smashing in the direction of Miao Yi. In one swift movement, he fled.


    He didn¡¯t believe that by confessing all, Miao Yi would forgive him. He was going to die either way, so why not just stake his entire life on it?


    With a strike of his spear, Miao Yi deflected the flying gstones. He didn¡¯t give chase to Zhang Shucheng who was fleeing in the direction of the main gate. To save time, he headbutted his way through the walls of the temple. Amidst the swirling rubble in the air, with his blurred vision a spear attack came ntingly piercing out. The movement was akin to when he was blindfolded under the rapid flowing currents of the waterfall, striking with equal precision each stone flowing with the torrents.


    Zhang Shucheng was terror-stricken¡ªhe had just flown past the main gate. He had tossed away the broken stone walls with his spear, intending to continue his escape, when suddenly he realized he was no longer able to move.


    He slowly lowered his head to look, only to find a spear had prated through his waist from the side,pletely piercing through his own transcendence energy defense. His transcendence energy no longer had the strength to fortify him anymore.


    ng!


    The spear in Zhang Shucheng¡¯s grasp fell to the ground powerlessly. He wanted to reach out his hand to cover the blood flowing profusely out of his wound, but was unable to do so. There were a number of wounds on his body so how could he cover them all with just one hand? His eyes were filled with terror.


    The rumbling sounds of thunder, wind and rain apanied each other outside the grand hall, Drizzling water came in through the roof, constantly being blown inside with the wind.


    Under the shes of lightning, both of them, to the left and right, their hair stered t from the rain. Under the lightning, it was even more clearly seen.


    The aloof and remote Buddha statue inside the grand hall, silently watched the two men, one at the main gate and the other by the gap in the broken wall...

 Chapter 51: Mystic Arts Temple (6)

    Chapter 51: Mystic Arts Temple (6)


    ¡°Spare me!¡± Zhang Shucheng was facing the storm outside, his face full of terror. He slowly turned his head to look at Miao Yi.


    ¡°Speak! Who gave you the order??¡± Miao Yi asked in a cold tone, his hand holding the spear prating the other man.


    Even an ant desires to live, and in this situation Zhang Shucheng would naturally reach for the faintest trace of hope. He anxiously replied, as his breath became more hurried, ¡°It was Xiong Xiao, I was ordered by Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve long since suspected it was him, but we barely interacted the few times I met him. We hardly ever talked, and shouldn¡¯t bear any resentment towards each other. Why is he targeting me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I really don¡¯t know.... Miao Yi, spare me, please spare me!¡±


    ¡°Coming this far, you still hide the truth?¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know, he didn¡¯t tell me, I wish to know why he¡¯s targeting you, too. Spare me, I beg you....¡±


    Pu! Abruptly, Miao Yi retracted his spear, and sent Zhang Shucheng flying with a kick. At the same time, the silver spear in his hand flew out with momentum, impaling Zhang Shucheng¡¯s head and nailing him to a stone pir under the temple¡¯s eaves.


    Miao Yi walked towards the stone pir, reached out and grabbed the end of the spear, and simply said, ¡°Your wounds are too dire to be saved, so I might as well just give you a swift end!¡±


    The people inside the temple looked at one another.


    With a wave of his hand, Miao Yi pulled the spear out. Zhang Shucheng¡¯s corpse slowly slid down and slumped to the ground. Half his body still hung under the stone path, the blood under the eaves flowing away along with the running water.


    The spear was slowly extended out of the eaves, allowing the trickling rainwater to wash away the blood staining it. As lightning shed, the silver spear gleamed coldly.


    Miao Yi looked at the spear being cleansed by the rainwater, his face expressionless. He was contemting the source of the problem. He really couldn¡¯t understand why Xiong Xiao wanted him dead. Meeting someone with such a position and cultivation, and then to be targeted by him¡ªhow should he proceed from now on?


    It waste at night, and the booming sounds of rolling thunder in the night sky began to slowly subside until all was utterly silent. Even the noise from the torrential pouring rain began to quiet down. In the hall, the billowing me started to stabilize, eventually being left with only the sound of water dripping from the eaves outside.


    The dark clouds in the night sky slowly dispersed, and the sound of bugs started to echo from the surroundings. From the back of the dark clouds, the moon had revealed its timid face. It shone on Miao Yi¡¯s face, and his previously motionless self moved slightly.


    The rain stopped? Under the eaves, Miao Yi snapped out of his contemtion. He retracted his spear and lifted his head to look at the bright, wless moon in the night sky.


    Suddenly, a cold piercing aura slowly emanated from the courtyard, and the bug cries that resounded moments ago abruptly came to a halt. The horses tied at the corridor were nervously moving about, as if they were afraid.


    Having noticed something was off, Miao Yi hastily focused his transcendence energy to his eyes. Surveying the surroundings with his transcendence vision, he instantly saw an obscure ck fog swaying in the middle of the courtyard.


    Ghost aura!


    Miao Yi was startled. Thinking back on what was lurking around these parts, he cursed inwardly, while thinking, he couldn¡¯t be this unlucky, could he? Having just killed off the two ¡°aplices¡±, the thing decides to show up now?


    He wanted to run away at that moment, but realizing there were still people inside, he hastily dashed back. ¡°The rain has stopped, you all should quickly leave this ce!¡±


    Unexpectedly, he was left speechless when he saw that group of people, including the Lady Boss, were looking at him in trepidation. They bunched together, trembling in fear and cautiously said, ¡°Great Immortal, please don¡¯t kill us.¡±


    ¡°Why would I kill you all for no reason? I still haven¡¯t thanked you for tipping me off.¡± Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry, but now was not the time for idle chatter. He immediately shouted, ¡°There might be something foul around here, you all should leave quickly.¡±


    Like a poor defenseless girl, the Lady Boss pinched her skirt anxiously, and meekly asked, ¡°What sort of foul thing?¡±


    Miao Yi stared at her and said, ¡°Ghosts!¡±


    The group was apparently shocked. The Lady Boss¡¯s reaction was even more exaggerated; with both her hands covering her mouth, as though she was a helpless and terrified girl, she pleaded, ¡°Is what Great Immortal said true? But this is the wilderness, and after such a heavy downpour, the mountain paths are sure to be muddy. That will make it even more difficult to find our way in this darkness!¡±


    Miao Yi felt a sense of resignation towards her. At this point in time, she was scared witless, yet she could still afford to be troubled over walking in the rain and dark.


    He couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with her, so he grabbed her hand and pulled her outside, ¡°Leave everything unnecessary behind, only carry your important belongings with you. There are six of us including myself, and there are four horses. You can forget about the one carrying the luggage, and as for the remaining three, we will ride each one in pairs. Before all else, we must leave this ce immediately.¡±


    ¡°Great Immortal is right, but.....¡± The Lady Boss knitted her brows, and said in hesitation, ¡°But I am already promised to someone, I can¡¯t be so close to another man, let alone share a horse together. If word of this got out, how will I face the public?¡±


    Miao Yi was speechless, and couldn¡¯t help scrutinizing her. Reflecting on how enticing her attire was, she should be braver than even a cavewoman, yet she still had the gall to say she was promised to someone¡ªit was hard to imagine where on earth her husband could go to cry.


    Obviously, these were thoughts he kept to himself. Dragging her outside, he straight up ced one of the reins in her hands, and eximed, ¡°You ride one on your own, my leg power is quite strong, so I won¡¯t be any slower than you all. Let¡¯s go!¡¯


    ¡°But I don¡¯t know how to ride a horse, what if I fall down?¡± the Lady Boss said meekly, her subordinates had alle outside as well.


    Now that the gloomy clouds had alreadypletely dispersed from the night sky, the bright moon was shining upon the vastnd.


    Miao Yi was once again rendered speechless, he could already feel the Yin energy within the whole temple slowly bing heavier under the light of the moon. He helplessly shook his head and said, ¡°Then pick someone that you fancy to ride with you! Our first priority is to leave this ce, don¡¯t think too deeply about anything else.¡±


    The Lady Boss reluctantly replied with an ¡°Oh¡±, cast a nce at him and said, ¡°Then it¡¯s best if I ride with Great Immortal! I am timid, and I will feel safe if Great Immortal is with me.¡±


    When he heard this, Miao Yi who was holding the reins, subconsciously leaned against the saddle in order to support himself. Just now she was going on about how it was inconvenient for her to ride with another man since she was already promised to someone, and moments after, she decides toe at him. Miao Yi thought to himself, I am the one who should be worried about my sanctity here.


    Actually, he now had some reservations¡ªhe had yet to ride a horse with a woman before, especially not one so beautiful.


    The Lady Boss saw him pretending to steady himself with the saddle, and couldn¡¯t help rolling her eyes, wondering whether she was really that scary? Normal men couldn¡¯t even hope for this, and he was pretending to be all righteous.


    Miao Yi did not think that now was the time to worry about these trivial matters, so he decisively untied the other two reins to pass to the other four, and took over the one from the Lady Boss. He anxiously said, ¡°Then let it be so! Everyone follow my earlier instructions, we must quickly leave this ce.¡±


    The four of them looked at the Lady Boss in puzzlement, as if asking, Lady Boss are you sure about this, sharing a steed with him?


    The Lady Boss obviously knew what the four of them were thinking. She quickly red at them, pointing towards the figure currently pulling a horse down the stairs. Behind Miao Yi¡¯s back, she opened her mouth and made an ¡®O¡¯ shape. The meaning was clear¡ªshe was messing with him.


    Then immediately after, as though she were a feeble girl, the Lady Boss sheepishly followed after Miao Yi.

 Chapter 52: Mystic Arts Temple (7)

    Chapter 52: Mystic Arts Temple (7)


    As he was mounting the horse, another problem arose.


    The Lady Boss had a wheat-colored luster to her skin, and gave the impression of a rtively toned woman, yet it was as if her body could be easily blown away by the wind¡ªshe couldn¡¯t even get on the horse after lifting her leg and trying to climb up several times.


    Miao Yi could not continue looking on, and had reached out to give her a hand, but she inadvertently shied away. Clenching her lips, she demurely said, ¡°Men and women should not be so intimate.¡±


    ¡°I......¡± Miao Yi almost fainted. You are going to be riding on the same horse with me, and yet you are still ying coy.


    The Lady Boss held the reins for support and once again tried to climb, but to no avail. Miao Yi was going to faint soon, what time did she think it was already.


    Unable to hold back a moment of fury, Miao Yi sent a heavy p straight to her perky butt, smacking it with a crisp ¡®pa¡¯.


    The Lady Boss was shocked, she covered her butt and turned around, her eyes widened as she red at him.


    Theymen that were carrying the pnquin, the confucian schr, and the cook were all wide-eyed, their eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets, and their mouths were gaping so wide one could stuff an egg inside.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t think too much about it, he was simply annoyed by this troublesome woman. Were it not for him being indebted to this bunch of people for sending him that warning, allowing him to avoid misfortune, he really wished to wash his hands of them.


    As though he still had yet to realize what he¡¯d done, he picked up the dazed Lady Boss off the ground, and hoisted her up the horse.


    Just as he was about to get on top of the horse himself...


    ¡°Danng... dang... dang...¡±


    The stifling chime of a lute resounded from the dead silence of the temple, shocking Miao Yi to a standstill. He then hastily pulled down the Lady Boss, who was still staring at him cautiously, to his back and guarded her with his body, his transcendence vision quickly surveying his surroundings.


    Yet he was the only person who was nervous, the others were still looking at him dazedly, clearly still in shock from his previous disy of pping the Lady Boss¡¯ butt.


    After the storm, under the cool refreshing moonlight, the weed-infested courtyard was empty and quiet; there was no trace of a person, yet the rings of the lute continuously resounded throughout the entire courtyard. It was not known from where it came, and though it was quite melodious alongside the trickling sounds of water from the eaves, no one would care if it was melodious or not under these circumstances.


    Miao Yi could not deduce where the lute sounds originated, the Lady Boss and her crew slowly came to a realization and inadvertently nced at the well in the courtyard, then quickly disyed expressions of terror; they nned to see how Miao Yi would handle this situation.


    The ¡°dang dang¡± sounds reverberated incessantly, it carried a lonely and eerie tune, as though it were filled with a frustration that had no ce to vent.


    Miao Yi lifted up the silver spear in his hand, pointed at his surroundings and shouted, ¡°Who is this demonspawn impersonating as ghosts!¡±


    From the ghostly lute sounds, the soft sigh of a girl echoed forth, as the strumming sounds continued, the girl¡¯s voice eerily resounded throughout the courtyard, ¡°A friend thates from a distant ce is a joyous urrence, since you are already here why so anxious to leave? You might as well listen to a song of mine.¡±


    The lute sounds paused, Miao Yi suddenly stared at the well in the courtyard, readying the spear in his hand.


    Only to see a foggy, blood-red Yin breeze creeping up from inside the well. Within the Yin breeze, a greyish-white pearl the size of a quail egg shed outwards, carrying the blood mist with it as it floated to the center of the courtyard.


    The blood mist quickly solidified, eventually turning into a meek and beautiful girl with a hairpin tying up her luscious hair.


    The girl was wearing a red bridal robe, and the bone white lute in her arms slowly descended onto the ground. She tucked her knees and sat on a tuft of grass, gently hugging the lute and ying it by herself¡ªthe depressing chimes of the lute resounded once more.


    When this girl showed up, the three horses instinctively started neighing , as though they were in a state of extreme fear. They stomped their hooves as they tried to circle around the red-clothed girl, and then dashed towards the exit.


    The red-clothed girl ying the lute had an indifferent look on her face, and softly sighed, ¡°Some y the lute to the bull, and here I am ying it to the horse, aye! An animal that does not know my sentiments, what is the use of keeping it.¡±


    As she finished saying this, the three horses had just passed by two ponds that were next to the temple gates. Suddenly, from out of the pond a few ferociouslyrge hands shot out, grabbing their hooves, and in seconds had pulled them into the water.


    The horses struggled in the pond, continuously neighing in distress, iling about with loud sshes, but they were promptly repressed by therge hands, and blood soon rose to the surface of the pond.


    The Lady Boss and crew revealed expressions of shock and fear¡ªthey were all trembling from terror.


    Miao Yi swept a nce at the two ponds, he hadn¡¯t expected that the other party would still have quite a few helpers; it seems it will be hard to end on peaceful terms today.


    But with his temperament, and after being trained by Lao Bai for so many years, he was not someone to waver from fear. He pointed his spear and shouted angrily, ¡°You are a ghost cultivator! We just came to this deste temple for shelter from the rain. We have no grievances with you, so why did you kill my steed?¡±


    The red-clothed girl paid no heed to hisints. She lifted her elegant face, a look of sadness in her eyes as she gazed at him.


    The slender fingers continued to strum the lute, and harmonising with the anguishing tones of the lute, she grumbled despondently, ¡°A new daughter-inw to a certain farmer¡¯s house, visits Buddha in hopes of a seed, but the temple sheltered beasts unforeseen, humiliating and tainting the girl, casting her to the water temple.... Henceforth,under the ancient pagoda trees, the strumming of the lute, the wafting of a dissipating fragrance, filled with a deste sorrow, they carry emotions of over a thousand days¡ªwho will know the tears behind the red song....¡±


    Miao Yi was taken aback, but luckily he learned a bit of poetry with Lao Bai, so he could roughly understand the meaning.


    The female ghost seemed to be saying that she was originally the new daughter-inw to a farmer¡¯s household, but when she came to the temple to pray for a child, she was soiled by the Buddhist disciples, and died in the well....


    Thinking to this point, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help wanting to vomit¡ªhe¡¯d actually eaten food that was cooked with water drawn from the well.


    The Lady Boss and crew¡¯s expressions also began to change. They had also eaten food that was cooked with the well¡¯s water, and were starting to feel a bit nauseous.


    Everyone was disgusted, butpared to the female ghost¡¯s tragic past, they barely managed to ept that fact.


    ¡°You want us to help avenge you?¡± Miao Yi asked cautiously.


    Amidst the resounding of the lute, the red-clothed girl shook her head, and sighed, ¡°I have already taken revenge. I simply wish for a kindred spirit to hear my grievances.¡±


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression rxed, he looked up at the sky, and said calmly, ¡°Very well! Tonight we shall stay here and listen to your grievances, and then leave in the morning.¡±


    He had never fought a ghost cultivator before, so he was prepared to take the safer course of action for now.


    The Lady Boss hid behind him, muttering something to his back. What she was saying couldn¡¯t be heard, but it felt like she was asking about Miao Yi¡¯s mother.


    ¡°Since you are already here, then stay. Why were you in such a rush to leave when you just came? I am quite lonely here, so won¡¯t you spend some more time with me?¡± the red-clothed girlined as she looked at Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi knitted his brows, and asked, ¡°How long do you want us to stay with you?¡±


    The red-clothed girl grumbled, ¡°Naturally it would be best if you could all stay with me forever, listening to my rants every night.¡±


    ¡°Forever?¡± Miao Yi deadpanned.


    ¡°What? You are unwilling?¡± The red-clothed girl had a sad look on her face again, along with the depressing lute sounds, it was even more pitiful.


    Miao Yi turned around to look at the people behind him, looked at the female ghost and smiled, ¡°That is fine and all, but they still have pressing matters to attend to. What say you let them leave first, and I will stay here with you, how does that sound?¡±

 Chapter 53: Mystic Arts Temple (8)

    Chapter 53: Mystic Arts Temple (8)


    The Lady Boss and her group had traces of shock on their faces. They were all examining Miao Yi closely, and caught on that he nned to distract the female ghost by himself, allowing them to escape. But with his cultivation, the end result would be hard to tell.


    There was no longer any signs of mockery in the Lady Boss¡¯ eyes as she looked at Miao Yi; a cultivator with such a temperament was hard to find in the cultivation world.


    Men may not feel much, but in a woman¡¯s eyes, men were all the same!


    ¡°No.¡± The red-clothed girl shook her head. ¡°It has been far too cold here, and since you¡¯vee all this way, then all of you should stay!¡± Her tone brooked no room for discussion.


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression gradually grew colder, it seemed as if nothing he said would be of use. He readied his spear for battle, and slowly uttered, ¡°And if we don¡¯t stay?¡±


    The red-clothed girl looked at her slender fingers as they were strumming the lute. She shook her head slightly and said, ¡°Since you are already here, do you think that decision is up to you?¡±


    Miao Yi slowly clenched the spear, and he pushed the Lady Boss and her crew behind him. ¡°You all retreat to the temple, then leave from the back.¡±


    As soon as he finished saying this, the Lady Boss immediately waved to her back, and the bunch of them instantly ran away, without a single moment¡¯s hesitation.


    Splish splosh splish splosh, they ran inside the temple, but they didn¡¯t leave, and instead hid behind a broken window, looking at the events unfolding outside.


    ¡°Dang dang dang....¡± The red-clothed girl¡¯s fingers sped up, and so did the sounds of the lute. She lifted her head and said to Miao Yi coldly, ¡°Even if you n on leaving, I will still make you stay.¡±


    Miao Yi thrust his spear and shouted, ¡°Let us go, and we can end this peacefully, otherwise, even if I have to sacrifice myself, I will exorcise you, malicious spirit.¡±


    ¡°With just your White Lotus First Grade cultivation you wish to exorcise me? If you had not killed those two, I might have been slightly afraid....¡± the red-clothed girlughed coldly.


    Miao Yi¡¯s spiritual point had already been hidden by the Soul Concealing Paste, yet the enemy still knew his level of cultivation. It was clear that this female ghost had already heard much beforehand, no wonder she chose to show up now.


    The red-clothed girl¡¯s thin fingers suddenly moved faster, the sonorous lute sounds nked hastily throughout the temple, and soon after, loud sshing noises came from the two ponds.


    Miao Yi quickly casted a cold nce at his surroundings, only to find bald zombies crawling out, one after another. He could vaguely see that under all the mud and grass the zombies seemed to be wearing monk robes.


    They had all been turned to zombies. Uncertain as to how many years had passed, the clothes hadn¡¯t even rotted away yet.


    Bald? Monk robes? Could it be that these zombies were originally the monks of this temple? Miao Yi was stupefied¡ªwas it possible that all the monks of the temple were killed by this female ghost?


    In a short while, over a hundred wet zombies were stumbling their way towards him, crowding together and wing around, each of their faces were beyond recognition.


    The lute melody shifted again, and it was as though the over hundred zombies received an order¡ªthey groaned as they circled around the red-clothed girl sitting on the wormwood, and like a wave, they were running towards Miao Yi.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you leaving!¡± Without even turning his head, Miao Yi shouted angrily to the people that were peeking from inside the temple.


    Barely having any time to speak, he was already being surrounded by the group of zombies as they wed around him.


    The Lady Boss and group remained indifferent, and continued to watch the chaos.


    Even though these zombies were full of weaknesses, they were unbelievably strong, and could destroy a low-leveled cultivator¡¯s transcendent defenses. They feared no pain nor death, and were extremely vicious.


    A single White Lotus First Grade cultivator wasn¡¯t capable of defeating over a hundred zombies, and even a White Lotus Second Grade would have a hard time aplishing it.


    It seemed as though the Lady Boss¡¯s group wanted to see how many zombies Miao Yi could defeat.


    Miao Yi moved as fast as a rabbit, the spear in his hand struck out like a whirlwind with a cold glint, hitting an approaching zombie on the chest and sending it flying with a single strike.


    With his spear in hand, he struck out and pulled back. Spear in hand, each of Miao Yi¡¯s strikes rushed forth like the drizzling rain, the cold glint of the spear tip constantly flickering.


    In a few short moments, over ten zombies had rushed forward with their ws ready to strike, and they were all swept away by the spear.


    But the ones in the back did not fear death, and continued to charge, yet were still unable to break past the cold of Miao Yi¡¯s spear.


    However, through the control from the red-clothed girl¡¯s lute, the hundred over zombies no longer converged on a single point, and instead separated from one another, surrounding Miao Yi and attacking simultaneously. The Lady Boss and her group all grew anxious as they saw this.


    What vexed Miao Yi the most was that he always managed to pierce the zombies¡¯ hearts, but was unable to kill them. The zombies that were blown away all got up once again, and continued to attack him.


    Those zombies that had their legs cut off were also crawling towards him, as though there was no way to kill them permanently.


    If this continued, even if he wasn¡¯t killed by these zombies, he would die of fatigue, and the female ghost cautiously watching hadn¡¯t even made her move yet.


    This was also a result of his inexperience in dealing with zombies.


    But as Miao Yi burst the head of a zombie with a single strike, he finally found the experience he needed. This was the experience of battle, more precious than anything else.


    The zombie that had its head blown to pieces iled about on the ground, yet did not get up again.


    Having found an opening, the spear in Miao Yi¡¯s hands struck without mercy, like crushing gourds he burst tens of zombies¡¯ heads, one after the other.


    The red-clothed girl looked on coldly, the tempo of the lute¡¯s melody was furiously fast.


    ¡°Ho......¡±


    The zombies all started roaring, one after another, wildly charging from multiple directions.


    With so many zombies, they had no way to attack together, so those that could not get into the front of the crowd all leaped upwards¡ªover ten zombies charged from overhead, and Miao Yi was suddenly thrust into an extremely dangerous situation.


    The confucian schr and the cook all quickly turned their heads to look at the Lady Boss, but she still had an indifferent expression on her face as she looked on, not showing any response.


    She noticed how at that moment, Miao Yi had a decisive and sharp glint in his eyes, like a hawk. He was calm and quiet, there was not a trace of fear on his face, but actually turned more vicious and upromising.


    She was surprised to see that Miao Yi actually closed his eyes under the congregated attacks of the zombies.


    Lao Bai once said, to a cultivator at your level, the more you panic, the easier it is for your sense of sight to make errors. By confusing your own eyes, you end up making unsuitable choices. This was why Miao Yi had to close his eyes when he stood under the waterfall.


    A wave of cold light suddenly shot out from Miao Yi¡¯s hand, the silver spear quickly pierced and struck its targets¡ª he was spinning and striking within his confinement at a blindingly fast pace.


    And he was striking with his eyes closed.


    He managed to recall the sensation of striking out with his eyes closed from when he was being beaten under the rushing waterfall. He managed to grasp the feeling of when he was surrounded by more than thousands and thousands of Tyrant Fish under the deep sea.


    It was as though he no longer carried any emotion within himself right now, with only a single connection between his target and the spear in his hand¡ªhe only had to strike the target.


    Over a hundred zombies simultaneously charged at him, leaping ferociously.


    Yet even though he was being surrounded to the point his figure could no longer be seen, the sh of the spear in Miao Yi¡¯s hand showed no signs of stopping.


    The cold light that was striking in all directions, it was calm, decisive, vicious, stable, and urate. The zombies either had their heads burst one after another, or were struck backwards hitting the zombies that were charging to the front.


    Such a disy would stupefy anyone. It had nothing to do with the level of strength, and was more like a sheep being surrounded by a hundred tigers, yet the sheep managed to disy a domineering and unbeatable aura.


    The confucian schr and the rest, they all had serious looks on their faces, and once more turned to look at the Lady Boss. They did not know if the Lady Boss shared their sentiments, but right now they felt as though they had the word ¡®solemn¡¯ stuck in their heart.


    ¡°Good kid! Good courage! Good spunk!¡± the confucian schr muttered.

 Chapter 54: Mystic Arts Temple (9)

    Chapter 54: Mystic Arts Temple (9)


    A look of surprise shed through the clear eyes of the Lady Boss.


    She wasn¡¯t someone who was hard toe by, so inherently she was a bit suspicious of Miao Yi, and if he knew of their true identities and what they were capable of. He could have been putting on a pretentious front in order to give a favorable impression of himself, worming his way closer to them.


    However, the scene unfolding in front of their eyes was absolutely not fake. He was heavily surrounded and yet was calmly fighting with the best of his abilities. He was practically disregarding life and death.


    It was justifiable if the person had a high cultivation base, but Miao Yi had a lower-tier cultivation base, did not have a profound level of transcendence energy, and wasn¡¯t assisted by a transcendent artifact. Yet, he disyed the brilliance of an unyielding man¡¯s bravery and temperament. Not just women, even if men saw his disy at this very moment, they could only use shocking to describe it.


    The Lady Boss was now extremely curious as to who Miao Yi¡¯s master was. Judging by Miao Yi¡¯s form of attack, it was evident that this was a method used to countermeasure against group assaults. A person without experience in being beaten by a crowd would be unable to learn this particr method of dealing with group assaults.


    In the cultivation world, people who usually dared to deal with group attacks were those with a profound level of transcendence energy and thus had the ability to suppress a crowd alone. Otherwise, they would normally make a hasty escape in order to save their own lives. But the person who taught Miao Yi obviously had experiences quite different from others.


    Having such a proficient method of dealing with group assaults and at such a young age, Miao Yi had clearly gone through a long period of training. It was impossible that he¡¯dprehended it on his own. She was able to tell, starting from when he had calmly closed his eyes.


    She had no clue as to how Miao Yi¡¯s master had trained Miao Yi to this state. This was certainly not some folk¡¯s tale from the secr world, talking about jianghu heroes who could fight against scores of people on their own. Those were all exaggerated tales. Without the attribution of transcendence energy, a human body made of flesh and bone would be impossible to train to achieve Miao Yi¡¯s skill. Miao Yi¡¯s iing attack had already harmonized man, arts and spear together.


    Perhaps it was easy to teach skills, but this kind of temperament, this kind of vigor that did not falter when facing death was difficult to teach. Without a master who was broad-minded and open, it would be impossible to train a disciple like this. Thus, the Lady Boss was considerably curious as to which master in the cultivation world had the ability to produce such a disciple. In all likelihood, the master must also not be an average person!


    It was uncertain as to when the melody from the lute had stopped.


    Pla! Keeping his eyes closed, Miao Yi dragged the spear as he swept his spear across the ground, before turning it around, revolving his body as he swept it with a quick speed.


    Six of the zombies had yet to fall, all of them with legs severed by the speartip, and instead had their heads burst by the returning cold glint sweeping across. One by one, they flew backwards and fell struggling onto the ground, no longer able to get up.


    The final six zombies had fallen. Over one hundred zombies were left with intestines emerging from their cut bellies, or had been dismembered, or were just pools of ck and sticky blood sttered everywhere. It was a ground that left one full of disgust yet was also a ghastly sight. Some of the arms and legs were still twitching.


    Spear held horizontally in hand, Miao Yi suddenly opened his eyes, ring straight at the red-clothed girl who was now hugging the white-boned lute. Slowly, he hoisted the spear in his hand, directing the speartip right at her.


    The red-clothed girl stood up in a daze, staring at Miao Yi in a dumbstruck manner. She had been heavily shocked by Miao Yi.


    Within the temple, in front of the old window, the Lady Boss¡¯s gaze twinkled as she stared at Miao Yi, a look of extraordinary splendor shing by.


    The confucian schr and the rest were throwing nces at each other. Over a hundred zombies, and yet to their surprise, they were all wiped out by a kid with a cultivation of White Lotus First Grade?


    Miao Yi abruptly nced behind at them, and angrily shouted, ¡°If you¡¯re not leaving now, then until when do you intend to stay?! Do you really want to drag me to my death here?¡±


    The rage he was feeling was practically indescribable. He¡¯d been stalling time for them so they could easily make their escape, but who would have thought this group of people were still here?


    If not for the fact that these few people had warned him in time and saved his life, he wouldn¡¯t be throwing his life away in this ce¡ªhe¡¯d just run away without considering anything else.


    The confucian schr and the rest were slightly embarrassed, had they gone too far? He was obviously filled with grief and indignation to his limits.


    They cast a nce at the Lady Boss as though asking, what do we do now?


    But that Lady Boss, whose bearing gave a feeling of unruliness, pursed her lips tightly¡ªshe was apparently unhappy at the fact that Miao Yi was not afraid to lose his temper at her.


    The melodious sound of the lute gradually sounded out again in the temple.


    The red-clothed girl yed leisurely with her hands, faintly saying, ¡°I never would have thought that a White Lotus First Grade cultivator like you would have such skills. I have underestimated you. You¡¯re called Miao Yi, right? Miao Yi, if you agree to stay and be my partner in Yin-Yang duo cultivation, then I will no longer make things difficult for you. How about from now on, you and I will be in love with each other, forgetting about all the disturbances in the world?¡±


    Under the moonlight that appeared after the rain, the tempo of melodious sound from the lute suddenly became sentimental. The expression of the red-clothed girl seemed to also carry a slight hint of tenderness.


    Yet, the Lady Boss¡¯s lips curled in a shameless manner. When a woman finds another woman to be an eyesore, they tended to behave this way.


    Conversely, her gaze dropped onto Miao Yi, watching his reaction.


    ¡°Can I think about it?¡± Miao Yi asked.


    When the question came out of his mouth, the implied mockery in the corner of the Lady Boss¡¯s lips was even more apparent.


    The red-clothed girl smiled sweetly. ¡°Hopefully, you won¡¯t make me wait too long.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be too long.¡± Gripping onto his spear, Miao Yi leapt over the ground littered with zombie corpses, eventually descending under the eaves of the temple, turned around and then entered.


    The Lady Boss and the rest who were hiding by the temple window, watched him enter and once again acted like they were so scared their legs were too weak to run with.


    Miao Yi shook his head grudgingly, realizing that he had forgotten they were mortals and were frightened till they didn¡¯t dare move about recklessly.


    In the temple courtyard, the red-clothed girl hugged her white-boned lute as she raised her head to gaze at the moon. Her hands strummed the lute, her skirt twirling while she revolved lightly and unhurriedly, as she gently sang and danced with grace.


    She was not afraid of Miao Yi escaping. Miao Yi had fought a round with Mo Shengtu and the other man, and again fought a fierce battle with over a hundred zombies. His transcendence energy definitely would have been more or less depleted. Even if he wanted to run, he would not be able to escape her grasp.


    Indeed, he did not let her wait too long. Miao Yi¡¯s voice travelled out from the inner hall. ¡°I have thought about it.¡±


    The red-clothed girl giggled. ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Come in and we¡¯ll talk.¡±


    She could only hear Miao Yi¡¯s voice and had yet to see any traces of him.


    The red-clothed girl¡¯s eyes flickered. She wasn¡¯t exactly scared that Miao Yi would y any tricks. Spreading out her arms, she lightly descended onto the corridor under the eaves, hugging the white-boned lute as she leisurely strolled in, only to see Miao Yi holding onto his spear towering over her just inside the residence. The othermoners were trembling with fear and trepidation behind his back.


    The red-clothed girl casually strummed the strings of her lute, stretching out her arm and gently held her beautiful, thick hair as sheughed. ¡°Hopefully Husband won¡¯t disappoint me.¡±


    ¡°I definitely won¡¯t disappoint you!¡± On the palm of his hand, Miao Yi held onto a porcin bottle that the cook used to store condiments.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± the red-clothed girl asked puzzlingly.


    All of a sudden, Miao Yi tossed out the bottle and smacked it over with a strike of his spear.


    Pa! A cloud of mist exploded inside the hall.


    The red-clothed girl waved her sleeve, invoking her art as she swept the air back continuously, not allowing the dust to get near her. It was at that moment that she heard Miao Yi shout in a stern voice, ¡°Yin Dispersal Powder!¡±


    ¡°Yin Dispersal Powder?¡± The expression on the red-clothed girl changed abruptly. She appeared to recall something, and looked as though she was terror-stricken. Letting out a shrill scream, she fled from the shrine in a flurry.


    This item, Yin Dispersal Powder, Miao Yi had also heard about it from Yan Xiu, back when he told Yan Xiu he had toe here to eliminate the ghost cultivator.


    This item was said to be formed by utilizing the ghost cultivator¡¯s nemesis¡ªthe drought demon¡¯s inner core¡ªand grinding it. It was an item of supreme Yang properties. For an ordinary ghost cultivator, a small stain would basically burn them until their souls flew away and scattered. For minor cases, they would be burnt till their strength was greatly depleted or their vitality was severely wounded.


    From the change of the red-clothed girl¡¯s expression upon hearing the name, they knew how much of a deterrent power this item had against the ghost cultivator.


    Meanwhile, the group of figures had already quickly fled out of the backdoor of the temple courtyard, scuttling towards the mountain forest under the moonlight.


    In the end, that Lady Boss was carried in Miao Yi¡¯s embrace as he ran madly.

 Chapter 55: Mystic Arts Temple (10)

    Chapter 55: Mystic Arts Temple (10)


    The confucian schr, the cook and the rest ran madly behind them, and were stupefied as they watched the rushing Lady Boss being carried. However, that wasn¡¯t what shocked them the most.


    It wasn¡¯t because Miao Yi suddenly embraced the Lady Boss as he ran, they were shocked to observe that his palm happened to be clutching tightly onto one side of the Lady Boss¡¯s plump bosom, while the other hand, which gripped onto the spear, was propped up against her perky buttocks.


    The sight left them inplete disarray. The expressions on their faces twitched incessantly, and they seemed to forget themselves as they ran at a speed not typical for an ordinary person, actually keeping pace with the speed at which Miao Yi was running in.


    Meanwhile, the Lady Boss was thoroughly embarrassed at being embraced in the arms of a sturdy man. Her bosom and buttocks were in the clutches of a stranger¡¯s hands, and she was at a loss for what to do. Abruptly, her wheat-colored face turned a deep shade of flushed red, and she looked captivated and more than a little intoxicated. Her heart palpitated, thumping against her chest madly.


    The cook transmitted his voice over to the confucian schr, ¡°This time around Lady Boss has gone too far.¡±


    The confucian schr replied, ¡°Yeah! She has brought this upon herself. We can¡¯t even get angry for being taken advantage of since it¡¯s our fault.¡±


    The cook asked, ¡°Do you think...the Lady Boss will chop off his wster?¡±


    The confucian schr replied, ¡°Hard to say.¡±


    ¡°This kid is a pretty good guy. A pity if he dies,¡± the cookmented.


    As she was being carried, Lady Boss turned and looked behind, discovering the strange looks on the guys¡¯ faces. She knew what they were thinking, and her pearly teeth bit her lips as she gave them a ferocious re, as though she was warning them of something.


    They rubbed their noses and smiled in a mocking manner.


    ¡°You guys go and hide. Once I have drawn her away, you must all immediately return using the original route, and then quickly get away from here. Whether you¡¯re able to escape will depend on your luck. I can only do this much and have acted to the best of my efforts. If anything were to happen, you cannot use me of ingratitude,¡± Miao Yi said, as he ran while carrying the Lady Boss in his arms.


    Lying in his arms, the Lady Boss turned her head and looked towards him. Her clear eyes blinked as she asked in reply, ¡°Then, what about you?¡±


    ¡°What else can I do? The worst case scenario is that I make that promise to do Yin-Yang duo cultivation with her!¡± After Miao Yiughed at himself, he rolled his eyes and said, ¡°You won¡¯t understand even if I exin.¡±


    The Lady Boss turned away speechlessly, thinking that a rash and a fool like you, just who is the one who doesn¡¯t understand?


    After fleeing out of the temple, the red-clothed girl was still extremely frantic. She quickly patted her body and used her transcendence energy to separate the foreign matter, fearing that a bit of that ¡®Yin Dispersal Powder¡¯ would stain her body.


    Once she had ensured that she was fine, she was suddenly taken aback, as ifing to a realization. She spread open her hands towards the inner temple, where smoke and dust filled the air, and made a grabbing gesture. A cloud of mist came flying over, rapidly coagting to form into a small, ck-colored spheroid, floating in front of her.


    She moved her nose closer to it and sniffed for a while. Suddenly, she reached out her hand to grab the spheroid¡ªPop!¡ªand immediately crushed it in her hand, as her mouth grated the word, ¡°...Ashes!¡±


    Only then did she realize that she had been yed by this childish trick. This was obviously a shameless, cheap trick used by street hooligans in the secr world.


    ¡°AH!!¡± She let out a shrill scream as she faced towards the sky, her thick, beautiful hair fanning around her, the fine, ck strands flying upwards as her red skirt billowed¡ªshe had reached past her breaking point with a raging fury.


    At this moment, Miao Yi had already tossed the Lady Boss into a grass den, and let the confucian schr and the rest also jumped into it to hide. He had not noticed that if the confucian schr and the rest were ordinary men, how could they then keep up with his speed? As a matter of fact, even the confucian schr and the group themselves were unaware of their actions.


    One party was busy fleeing for his life, while the other party¡¯s attention waspletely fixated on their Lady Boss being taken advantage of.


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi was fleeing to the mountain forest ahead at a speed akin to flying as he rode the wind, gripping onto his spear as he rushed to the treetop, then fled to another direction as he swiftly made his escape.


    He had no choice but to run. With his current degree of transcendence energy consumption, he absolutely did not have the capability to fight again. He could only hope that after helping the group to draw off the ghost cultivator, he could quickly find a ce to hide. If he still couldn¡¯t hide, he could only obey the female ghost temporarily, ande up with another solution in the future.


    The shrill scream of the female ghost traveled far from within the temple. Miao Yi spun around to take a look, only to see under the moonlight, on top of the roof of the temple stood a figure garbed in red. The red garment soon rapidly floated away from the roof, swiftly moving towards the treetop as it charged in his direction. It had obviously locked onto him, and its speed was much faster than his own speed at escaping.


    I¡¯m done for! Miao Yiughed bitterly in his heart. Since he had tricked her, he was uncertain whether she would forgive him and still be interested in Yin-Yang duo cultivation. Granted, if she did agree to forgive him, then he figured his Cave Master position was lost to him.


    ¡°Husband, where do you intend to go, leaving your wife behind?¡±


    Affectionate words sounded from behind him, but the tone appeared to be chillingly cold. He could feel that the speaker said them with rage, between gritted teeth.


    Miao Yi nced behind him and discovered the red-clothed girl¡¯s hair was flying in all directions, as she eerily followed him from behind.


    In a sh, Miao Yi abruptly fled into the forest, realizing in the end that in a sh too, the red-clothed girl already moved and was blocking his path.


    Without saying another word, Miao Yi immediately thrust out his spear violently.


    But truth be told, with his current transcendence energy, the formidable power of his spear was no longer that great.


    Bang! With a wave of the white-boned lute in her hand, the red-clothed girl brushed away the iing strike of the spear. In a swift moment, she was already in front of Miao Yi. She grabbed onto Miao Yi¡¯s wrist, ¡°Husband is so cruel...Ah!¡±


    Before she could finish, the red-clothed girl let out a piercing scream, akin to a cat being trodden on its tail. She quickly moved away, her hand shivering.


    ck smoke entered her view, emitting from the palm that had grabbed onto Miao Yi¡¯s wrist. Her palm felt as though burnt by fire, and was pitch ck.


    She looked at Miao Yi with a face full of terror. When she grabbed him, rather than Miao Yi¡¯s wrist, it felt like human flesh clutching onto a piping-hot piece of metal. It scalded her enough to make her let go of her grip, albeit moments toote.


    ¡°What is the cultivation method you¡¯re cultivating?¡± the red-clothed girl asked, bewildered.


    When she grabbed onto Miao Yi¡¯s wrist, other than the the agonizing pain of being burnt, it actually had the feeling of extensive suppression the spirits normally faced when they saw the sun in broad daylight. It was overwhelming and with just a touch, it shocked her. It was a feeling that made her soul shudder. The cultivation method the other party cultivated appeared to be able to restrain a Yin spirit like her.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t understand what any of this had to do with the cultivation method he was cultivating. Seeing that the girl was unable to touch him, he suddenly became spirited, straightening his spear and began to pierce it towards her, additionally boasting, ¡°A cultivation method that¡¯s especially used to subdue ghosts like you!¡±


    The red-clothed girl dodged the attack, again and again, and was indeed afraid to move a step closer to Miao Yi. However, on both ends of the white-boned lute in her hands, there suddenly emerged two lengths of bones.


    Previously, she did initially want to drag Miao Yi to be her partner in Yin-Yang duo cultivation, but now she no longer wished it. She couldn¡¯t eveny her hands on this man, so forget about having sexual intercourse, it would already be a problem to even share the same bed. So she wouldn¡¯t be able to drag him to be a partner in duo cultivation unless she wanted to make her soul fly away to scatter.


    Right now, she just wanted to kill this scourge.


    Waving the white-boned lute, she parried away the iing spear, and ruthlessly stabbed the bone at the end towards Miao Yi¡¯s chest without mercy.


    With all his strength, Miao Yi dodged by speedily evading to the side, however the red-clothed girl¡¯s attacks were quickly closing in on him, giving him no time to breathe.


    Seeing that Miao Yi¡¯s life was in danger, a ray of white light came shing by at great speed.


    The red-clothed girl, upon seeing the shot of white light from the corner of her eyes, couldn¡¯t immediately mask the look of terror on her face. She no longer continued her chase to kill Miao Yi. Instead, she turned around to run away.

 Chapter 56: Mystic Arts Temple (11)

    Chapter 56: Mystic Arts Temple (11)


    But it was somehow toote.


    Bang! The white light exploded into the phantom of an ox. The ox pounced from the air straight on to her, and instantly suppressed her right where she stood.


    The red-clothed girl was struggling with all her might in the middle of the transparent white-colored, ox-shaped phantom. She kept pushing until the ox-shaped phantom shifted to be all kinds of different shapes, however was unable to escape the entrapment from the beginning till the end.


    ¡°A First Grade Paralysis Talisman!¡± Miao Yi cried out in surprise. This was the first time he saw one.


    After he witnessed the great battle between Yang Qing and Lu Yu, Yan Xiu had shared a discussion with him concerning this item.


    Simr to the transcendent artifact on Yang Qing, this talisman seal utilized the energy of the Yao Core. The grade was also simrly partitioned. Before his eyes, the flickering white light that exploded from this type of talisman seal had obviously been formed from refining a First Grade Ox Demon¡¯s Yao Core.


    If it was blue in color, then it was a Second Grade Paralysis Talisman. If it was red in color, then it was ssified as a Third Grade. This was simr to the color of the glowing Lotus between a cultivator¡¯s brows and so forth.


    But under normal circumstances, no one would use a Yao Core to refine into a talisman seal, because it was too big of a waste. A talisman seal could only be used once. After using it, then it would cease to exist.


    But if it was refined into a transcendent artifact, then as long as the energy was replenished, it could be used repeatedly.


    Who on earth had been so extravagant? Miao Yi rapidly spun around to look towards the ce where the talisman seal had shot out from.


    He saw the Lady Boss, whose bearing was full of unruliness, currently standing tall in acent manner on the treetop swaying with the wind.


    Gasping for breath, Miao Yi quickly widened his eyes, and his mouth gradually fell agape. He was stunned on the spot. This...this woman was also a cultivator?


    The other party had obviously also used an item like the Soul Concealing Paste, since he was unable to tell the grade between her brows.


    Standing on the treetop, the Lady Boss, rolled her eyes as she ridiculed, ¡°What¡¯re you so stunned for? Your saliva is almost dripping from your mouth. Have you never seen such a beautiful woman like me before? This is only a First Grade Paralysis Talisman, so it won¡¯t hold her for too long. Could it be that you still want to wait for her to get out of it and fight you again? I won¡¯t lower myself to fight with her so I¡¯m not going to help youter on.¡±


    Your grandma!


    These were the words that Miao Yi gifted her in his heart. Turning back, he sped up as he carried his spear, heading towards the red-clothed girl entrapped in the Paralysis Talisman, who was eyeing him with a frightened look on her face. He then furiously stabbed down his spear into her.


    Boom! The spear pierced right through the talisman light, ferociously stabbing into the head of the red-clothed female ghost.


    ¡°AH.....¡± The red-clothed female ghost let out a blood curdling scream, and she began to rapidly turn into ck smoke from the head that burst open.


    Meanwhile, the ox-shaped phantom was gradually darkening, due to external forces breaking the transcendence energy. It eventually dissipated without a trace, along with the female ghost.


    A grayish white orb fell onto the ground. It was the female ghost¡¯s Yin Core which had the same effect as the Yao Core.


    Except that the female ghost only had a cultivation at first grade, so the Yin Core¡¯s formidable power was immediately downgraded by one grade. It wasn¡¯t even of a first grade level. Else, it would not be grayish white in color, and would instead have been of a pure white color.


    But Miao Yi still quickly picked it up and stuffed it into his clothes, becauseter on he would need to depend on this item to report back to Manor Head Yang Qing. After thepletion of the mission, he would exchange it for the throne seat of the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave.


    Relieved, Miao Yi barely had the time to rejoice before he recalled something. His facial expression darkened, as he waved his spear, pointing it towards the Lady Boss on the treetop.


    The Lady Boss apparently knew what he wanted to say. With her finger, she shot out a speck of white light at him and eximed, ¡°That¡¯s so you¡¯ll calm down!¡±


    Miao Yi easily sent the speck of white light flying with his spear. He then bellowed in fury, ¡°Is it fun to mess with me?¡±


    The Lady Boss once again couldn¡¯t help herself from rolling her eyes. She replied, ¡°You¡¯re blind as a bat so who to me but you?¡±


    Miao Yi fiercely pointed at her, ¡°Without a doubt, you were the one being purposely deceiving.¡±


    The Lady crossed her arms on her chest and sighed. ¡°And you dare say you¡¯re not as blind as a bat? Before you start scolding other people, shouldn¡¯t you open your eyes wide to clearly see what I have given you? That was an Orb of Will filled with the power of will, which had been collected from ten thousand people in a year. It¡¯s enough to raise your cultivation base to White Lotus Second Grade. If this can¡¯t even block up your mouth, then I might as well take it back.¡±


    ¡°Orb of Will? Ten thousand people...¡± Miao Yi was slightly rambling. He rapidly turned to nce left and right. Using his spear to push aside the grass, he bent his waist to search for it, all while he asked, ¡°Where did it fall to? It¡¯ll be a waste if the thing gets lost. I¡¯ll help you look for it. Where did it go? Please don¡¯t be lost...¡±


    After muttering for a while, he eventually found the orb from within the grass. It was asrge as a pearl and emitted a faint, soft radiance. As though he had gained a most precious treasure, he beamed with happiness, and repeatedly scrutinized it in a careful manner as he held it, and fondled it admiringly.


    This item could not be faked. When a cultivator held it in their hands, they would be able to tell whether it was real or fake. It was an Orb of Will gathered from ten thousand people¡¯s power of will within a year, which was equal to the ten orbs he had gotten from Transient Light Cave.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure you¡¯re really going to give it to me?¡± Miao Yi grasped the orb as he lifted his head to ask.


    The Lady Boss hugged her arms as she replied, ¡°Who asked you to scold me just now, so I have changed my mind. But... if you admit that you¡¯re as blind as a bat, then this Orb of Will will still be yours.¡±


    Without further consideration, Miao Yi waved his hand straight away and said, ¡°Fine. A man like me will not argue with a woman like you. Just regard me as being blind as a bat.¡±


    After he finished, he hurriedly hid the orb in his clothes, as though afraid that the woman would change her mind.


    Till now, he had painstakingly put up a life and death struggle, and wasn¡¯t it all just for this item? He could even tolerate those looks from Qin Weiwei, so why wouldn¡¯t he be able to tolerate her look ofpensation this time. If the woman gave him a few more, he was fine with anything she asked him to say.


    The Lady Boss once again rolled her eyes. She scoffed coldly, ¡°What kind of person are you?¡±


    At that exact moment, the cook, confucian schr and the twoymen who were lifting the soft pnquin shrouded by a pink muslin tent, they all floated over together, beforeing to a halt on the treetops behind the Lady Boss.


    These few people were eyeing Miao Yi with a strange look.


    The confucian schr parted the muslin tent and the Lady Boss went in, indolently lying down on her side on top of the chair bed. She bent her arm and propped her head against her fist, looking at Miao Yi with downcast eyes.


    Miao Yi immediately soared to the treetop and asked, ¡°Who on earth are you guys?¡±


    The confucian schr let down the muslin tent, covering the Lady Boss¡¯s reclining figure, captivatingly lithe and graceful.


    The sound of the Lady Boss¡¯s gentleugh travelled out from inside the muslin tent, ¡°There¡¯s no need for people to meet each other before they know each other. Perhaps we¡¯re both the hurriedly passing traveller in our own cultivation life. In the cultivation world, life and death are all in a day¡¯s work. It¡¯s possible that once we part today, we might not see each other again in the future so there¡¯s no need to know who I am. If there are chances in the future, Little Brother shoulde over to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. Big Sister will act the host, and treat you to a drink.¡±


    As she finished, the group gently lifted the soft pnquin, rose up to the sky and floated away.


    Not travelling very far, from inside the pink muslin tent there suddenly shed out countless golden threads, transforming into a phantom of a golden roc, pping its wings and soaring in the air. It wrapped the group along with the soft pnquin, and akin to time, it speedily swept across to the depths of the night sky.


    The scene before his eyes made Miao Yi understand that the other party¡¯s cultivation base was much higher than his own. They didn¡¯t want to tell him of their identities, so it probably meant it was unworthy of him to know!


    Looking at the direction where they vanished, for a while, he was in a daze and lost in thought. He muttered, ¡°Flowing Clouds Dune Sea...¡±


    He had heard of that ce from Yan Xiu before, but it was too far away from here. He would still need to ride for a long period of time on a dragon steed. It was a zone that was unregted in the cultivation world, where crooks were mixed in with the honest folks. Honestly, based on what the Lady Boss told him, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t be certain whether he would have the chance to go to that ce at all.

 Chapter 57: Pervert

    Chapter 57: Pervert


    After snapping out of his thoughts, he realized he was thinking too far. People resented that his cultivation base was lower than theirs, and did not wish to associate with him from the start. So there was no need for him to constantly be preupied with them, and at present, it was far better to take care of himself first.


    Thinking about the present made him slightly excited. After killing the ghost cultivator, he figured that the seat of Cave Master was definitely his. Not only that, he had also obtained an Orb of Will, filled with the power of will gathered from ten thousand followers in a year. He estimated that would be the amount he¡¯d get once he was a year into the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave.


    But now there was another troublesome matter. Both Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng were dead. How would he report this mission once he returned?


    After some consideration, he concluded that it wouldn¡¯t be at all troublesome. Xiong Xiao had sneakily employed this little tactic, hence, he obviously didn¡¯t want Yan Qing to find out. He would instead me the death of the two men on the ghost cultivator. Xiong Xiao wouldn¡¯t dare to dispute it. However, it was more important that he think of how to deal with that old demon, Xiong Xiao, in the future.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if there¡¯re any valuables on the two guys¡¯ bodies first...¡±


    Miao Yi muttered something, and then swiftly floated to the treetop, going back in the direction of the temple.


    Once he returned to the temple, the mess of the entire courtyard was the same as before. Miao Yi seized both Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng¡¯s corpses and began to dig around, and eventually managed to loot some crystal coins.


    This type of crystal coin was divided into three different colors: white, ck and gold. They were the size of half a thumb and just as wide as one. But they were also as thin as a de, so clutching hundreds of them in one hand didn¡¯t make a thick bundle to hold.


    The conversion rate was 10000:100:1 in that order, which meant that a piece of gold coin would be able to convert into a hundred pieces of ck coins which in turn could be exchanged into ten thousand white coins.


    This type of currency could be used in both the secr and cultivation world. To cultivators, other than the fact that they could use it to buy things in the secr world like ordinary people, it was also a kind of consumption item that could be used to refine transcendent artifacts.


    The reason for this was because these three types of coins all contained a type of essence powder, which consisted of three types of different colored metal powder. This kind of essence powder and transcendence energy made for a fine method ofmunication.


    For instance, Yang Qing¡¯s body armor and silver spear were refined with the essence powder from the white coins, which were aboveparison to the normal silver spear owned by Miao Yi.


    Once Miao Yi¡¯s spear met with a strike from a higher-leveled cultivator, it would be destroyed. Instead, Yang Qing¡¯s weapon¡¯s tolerance was much better. When in battle, even without the attribution of transcendence energy and without utilizing the function of the transcendent artifact, its degree of solidness, as well as its tolerance, was also aboveparison to Miao Yi¡¯s spear.


    Yang Qing¡¯s equipment was forged using essence powder and could be refined into a transcendent artifact. What Miao Yi had was made with ordinary essence steel, and not just any essence steel could be used to refine into a transcendence artifact, otherwise the entire world would be in chaos.


    But the essence powder contained in every piece of crystal coin was too little. Even extracting them was difficult. The amount of white crystal coins spent on Yang Qing¡¯s equipment was practically an enormous figure. It absolutely was not something that a regr cultivator could afford to forge. In the entire area of Mount Shaotai, only Yang Qing had a set, so one could well imagine its cost.


    On the other hand, using a transcendent artifact forged by ck crystal coins would definitely be much stronger than Yang Qing¡¯s. Yang Qing¡¯s transcendent artifact was still unable to perform long-ranged attacks but with the ck crystal coin¡¯s transcendence energy method ofmunication, this would not be an issue.


    As for the golden crystal coins, it was needless to say more. The transcendence energymunication was way better than both ck and white. Previously the sight of Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s golden phoenix phantom at Ancient City, as well as the Lady Boss¡¯s transformation into the golden roc just now, was proof enough.


    To Miao Yi¡¯s current state, even if he became the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, he could only fantasize about it for a while, since those were far beyond his reach.


    Shaking out the crystal coins in his hand, Miao Yi sighed, ¡°Once I be the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, it would be great if I could discover a crystal coin mine on East Arrival Cave¡¯s territory.¡±


    But he shook his head soon after. If he really discovered a crystal coin mine on East Arrival Cave¡¯s domain, then he would have to stand by the sidelines, since he definitely wouldn¡¯t be involved in it. With his strength now, he wouldn¡¯t be able to defend it.


    After stuffing the crystal coins into his clothes¡¯ pocket, he quickly made another discovery that raised his spirits. To his surprise, he managed to find a granule-sized orb from each of Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng¡¯s bodies, which had been half-consumed. It was the Orb of Will gathered from the power of will of ten thousand people.


    Clearly, both of them were unlike Miao Yi, who refined the Orb of Will abnormally, so they didn¡¯t manage topletely refine the Orb of Will they received in time.


    Without saying anything further, it was impossible to not want this item, so he immediately stuffed them into his clothes.


    Invoking his art, he cautiously searched through the two men¡¯s bodies. Since there weren¡¯t any other gains, he held his spear and went off.


    He turned his nose up at the two dead men¡¯s weapons. They were cheap and weren¡¯t like Yang Qing¡¯s weapon.


    Neigh! Under the eaves, a horse was still tied to the stone pir. It whinnied at Miao Yi, who was about to leave.


    Turning back to take a look, Miao Yi rejoiced. Indeed, being out of luck had the advantages of the unlucky. The other three horses were killed by the zombies, but this one on the contrary, because it was carrying goods, no one paid it any heed during the incident at that time. And so it was left tied to the stone pir, which had allowed it to escape its doom instead.


    Miao Yi went over and discarded the goods packed on it. In the midst of untying the rope, he recalled the scene when the Lady Boss put on an act by having difficulty in getting up the horse. Her act truly did appear to be convincing.


    However, Miao Yi was quickly in shock, as he gradually lifted the palm of his hand to observe it, his heartbeat speeding up.


    If he remembered correctly, at that time he seemed to have smacked the Lady Boss¡¯s butt in a fury...


    Thinking back, he confirmed that there was such a scene. The Lady Boss was incredibly stunned at that time, staring dazedly at him in shock...


    Since when had he learned how to do such a perverted and shameless act?


    What right did he have to stop Mo Shengtu? In the end, he was the same trash as him and was even more improper than the other. He had only touched her hand, and at least Mo Shengtu hadn¡¯t touched the Lady Boss¡¯s buttocks, right?


    Miao Yi suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. After his heartbeat sped up, it was then followed by a wave of terror. Why hadn¡¯t she ughtered him then?


    In the midst of being afraid, he couldn¡¯t help but rack his brain over it. Howe he couldn¡¯t recall the feel of hitting her butt at that time?


    Sigh, at that time, he hadn¡¯t been in the mood to think about it. But just what exactly is the feel of touching the Lady Boss¡¯s buttocks? It was his first time touching a woman¡¯s ass, and such a beautiful woman at that, how could he have forgotten...


    ¡°Pui!¡± Abruptly, Miao Yi snapped out of his thoughts and spat at himself.


    p! And inflicted a heavy p on his face while he was at it. He discovered he was getting more and more perverted. Why did he keep thinking about this kind of matter?


    After forcefully cutting off his train of delusional thoughts, he gripped his spear and mounted the horse, immediately galloping out of the ¡®Mystic Arts Temple¡¯.


    There was still one matter which he didn¡¯t have the impression of anymore. While carrying the Lady Boss back then, he had been even more inappropriate. Not only had he groped her butt, he had also felt something else.


    Honestly, he was busy running for his life. The feeling of carrying the Lady Boss was no different than carrying a pig. The ces where he had identally felt or grabbed was no different than when he touched or grabbed pork while selling pork in his stall, so he hadpletely disregarded it. If he had remembered, he would probably be so ashamed of himself he¡¯d ram his head and die.


    Except... he didn¡¯t know if the Lady Boss had kept it to heart.


    A momentary interest in dallying had caused her to y with fire, only to end up burned. He reckoned she had been thoroughly disgusted by him.


    After exiting the Mystic Arts Temple, he returned back to Changfeng Cave using the original route, this time unapanied.


    Not for the sake of anything else, he could not abandon Charcoal. Although that beast was slightly plump and its moral integrity was a bit on the immoral side, Miao Yi had no option but to admit that the beast had character.


    Other than that time when he was crossing swords with a third grade cultivator, Charcoal had abruptly bitten him, thus saving his life. The speed at which he ran in was indeed stupendous. No one else could catch up to it!

 Chapter 58: The Carefree Lao Bai (1)

    Chapter 58: The Carefree Lao Bai (1)


    The horse started to gallop on the road, but Miao Yi did not dislike its terribly slow pace, because he needed it to recover the transcendence energy that was spent.


    Holding out a grain-sized Orb of Will that was already depleted by more than half, he rubbed it gently on his clothes. He felt reluctant to eat it, so he eventually chose to swallow it in, and began channeling his transcendence energy.


    There were not many things that were more useful than an Orb of Will in restoring transcendence energy. It was much better than the pellets that those cultivator sects refined from the scrap materials they collected.


    Especially the rate at which it recovers transcendence energy. It was not something pellets couldpare to, which is why many cultivators tended to keep an Orb of Will by their side, in case they ever needed to recover transcendence energy.


    But those cultivators that were capable of using an Orb of Will to recover transcendence energy were not normal cultivators. To many low-leveled cultivators, such as Miao Yi, using an Orb of Will to replenish transcendence energy was too extravagant, and it was much better to use it to raise his cultivation.


    However, Miao Yi had reaped a great harvest today, and decided to be luxurious, so at the very least he had to try what it feels like to use an Orb of Will to restore transcendence energy. One could say it was another way of umting field experience.


    Two hourster, Miao Yi spat out the Orb of Will and held it in his hand as he tossed a nce, a look of surprise on his face. Unexpectedly, the speed at which the Orb of Will restored his transcendence energy was quite fast¡ªonly two hours had passed and the transcendence energy that he¡¯d used up was almost fully replenished. Normally, even meditation needed a few days.


    After experiencing the benefits of the Orb, Miao Yi craved it even more. Having experienced something so good, who would choose to use lesser methods?


    He decided that he needed to keep an Orb by his side, in case he ever needed it, since an Orb the size of a rice grain was something he could use multiple times, given his current cultivation level.


    Carefully tucking away the miniscule Orb of Will, Miao Yi looked at his surroundings and found his bearings. He halted the horse and jumped down, stoutly smacking its rear end.


    The horse neighed in pain, and galloped away under the moonlight.


    He no longer wanted the horse, because with its weak legs it was virtually useless to him and so he let it go. Whoever found it could keep it.


    Miao Yi then quickly flew towards the forest, leaping from treetop to treetop as he rushed towards Changfeng Cave.


    His way of dashing was already at the level of flying to a mortal¡¯s eyes, but only cultivators understood it themselves. It barely counted as flying. At most, it counted as floating forwards to increase his movement speed. Previously, when the Lady Boss and her gang moved across the night sky in the blink of an eye, now that could be called truly flying.


    He came to a stop somewhere not far from Changfeng Cave and didn¡¯t move another step further. Changfeng Cave still had a few cultivators standing guard.


    Miao Yi stood on top of the tree branch, and held his hand over his mouth to make a hooting sound, like the cry of a night owl.


    After a while, a ck silhouette dashed as fast as lightning towards him from the mountain forest, it ran to the bottom of the tree and ¡®neighed¡¯ as it looked up¡ªclearly it was Charcoal who came after hearing his call.


    Miao Yi chuckled, realizing that this creature was rather intelligent indeed, being able to know that he was summoning him, and leapt down, descending onto its body.


    ¡°Your fat body still makes for afortable ride.¡± Miao Yi snickered as he patted it.


    The two fleshy feelers flew out from Charcoal¡¯s mane, and attached itself to Miao Yi¡¯s thigh. Acknowledging Miao Yi¡¯s will, it immediately adjusted its position and dashed across the mountains.


    His goal this time was not South Edict Manor, but Changfeng City. Miao Yi had a tendency to remember his grudges.


    Since he¡¯de all the way here, he had no intention of sparing the lives of Head Guard Huang and Zhao Xingwu, who had nearly killed him all those years ago. Especially the Huang family, who had not onlye close to killing him, but more importantly, had bullied his siblings for so many years. He was prepared to end this grudge, otherwise he would always have a shadow in his heart, which would in turn affect his cultivation.


    To him, men who did not return grudges were not men, and those who cannot take revenge had no capability.


    As he cantered on the road, just when he was about to reach Changfeng City, he crossed paths with another rider.


    Miao Yi, who was dashing at full speed, was momentarily stunned. He urged Charcoal to stop, and turned around on his path.


    Upon looking at the rider¡¯s face, both of them stopped their steeds, and looked at each other.


    A man dressed like a schr was saddled on top of the horse in front him, decked out in white robes, with two locks of white hair drooping down his chest, and a in cloak lightly floating behind his back. Even under the moonlight, that appearance which was unmatched in his generation and his presence couldn¡¯t be concealed.


    Miao Yi eximed in shock, ¡°Lao Bai!¡±


    This man was indeed Lao Bai. Holding his reins as he sat on his horse, he smiled at Miao Yi, ¡°So, it was you?¡±


    Miao Yi leapt down, stabbing his spear at the ground.


    With nimbleness, Lao Bai also alighted from his horse. Miao Yi held his hands out and immediately gave him a bear hug, hugging and turning him for a couple rounds before stopping. He excitedly asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    As always, Lao Bai had that calm and collected expression on his face regardless of the situation. He smiled and said, ¡°I am heading to the Boundless Secr World to settle some matters.¡±


    ¡°To the Boundless Secr World?¡± Miao Yi¡¯s mouth was agape, and he asked curiously, ¡°What matters?¡±


    Lao Bai replied, ¡°A long time ago, the Great Immortal left a few strange arts, so I wish to head to the Boundless Secr World to study it, and to see if I have any luck.¡±


    So it was that Great Immortal again¡ªMiao Yi probed further, ¡°What is the situation, maybe I can be of some help?¡±


    Lao Bai casually said, ¡°I am going to try to lure out the Hell Mantis, and borrow something from it for a little experiment.¡±


    ¡°........¡± Miao Yi was stunned, the things that normal people avoided at all costs, he actually wanted to lure it out, and borrow something from it?


    He really envied how Lao Bai could be so calm all the time, with such an unshakeable demeanor. He was just a mortal man, yet he treated something so horrific as though it was just a game.


    Miao Yi was a bit dumbfounded, and asked, ¡°What are you intending to borrow from the Hell Mantis?¡±Lao Bai replied rxedly, ¡°The egg of the Hell Mantis.¡±


    ¡°I.......¡± Miao Yi almost fainted, then pped his forehead and said, ¡°I must say Lao Bai, it¡¯s not a problem of wanting to borrow, but do you think the Hell Mantis would be willing to lend it to you? How do you intend to borrow it?¡±


    ¡°The Great Immortal once told me of a method when he was alive.¡± Lao Bai pointed to a cloth bag that was strapped on the horse, ¡°I also don¡¯t know if it will work, so I am just going to try and see.¡±


    Miao Yi inadvertently cast a nce at it, and was surprised to see that the horse looked very familiar, much like the one he released back into the wild not too long ago. But all horses tended to look the same, so it should not be surprising to find one that looks familiar.


    He had been together with Lao Bai for ten years, there was no need to stand on ceremony, so he immediately took the bag from the horse, and opened it up, only to realize that it turned out to be a mirror.


    Whereas Lao Bai had curiously circled around Charcoal twice, he even held out his hand to pull Charcoal¡¯s chin, and looked at its teeth.


    Charcoal was surprisingly meek, it just obediently stood there and let Lao Bai touch it. It even closed its eyes, a look ofpliance on its face.


    After examining Charcoal, Lao Bai shook his head and smiled, ¡°Those without luck have no prosperity, but you brat, are actually someone with great luck, being able to find such a good steed.¡±


    ¡°Other people find it unworthy, so I just make do with it,¡± Miao Yi casually replied, he did not pay any heed to what Lao Bai said, he was still focused on the mirror.


    He held the mirror in his hand and gave it a look all around, but could not find anything special about it. His fingers tapped on the mirror surface a couple times, then hugged it and asked dubiously, ¡°I¡¯m not seeing wrong, am I? You¡¯re going to use this to lure it?¡±


    Lao Bai pointed a finger at the bright moon in the sky, ¡°The Great Immortal once said, if one uses the mirror to reflect the light of the moon into the Boundless Secr World, one will be able to attract the Hell Mantis out.¡±

 Chapter 59: The Carefree Lao Bai (2)

    Chapter 59: The Carefree Lao Bai (2)


    Miao Yi was stunned. He shifted his gaze away from the copper mirror in his grasp, his expression twitching as he said, ¡°This mirror has the ability to lure out the Hell Mantis? Is this for real?¡±


    Lao Baiughed, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, myself. I¡¯m merely trying it out.¡±


    Miao Yi then warned cautiously, ¡°Lao Bai, don¡¯t act recklessly. Truth be told, the more one knows, the more terrified one bes. I now know that the Hell Mantis is extremely frightening. With my current cultivation base, I wouldn¡¯t be able to evade even one of its attacks. Don¡¯t joke around with your life. ¡±


    Lao Bai replied, ¡°I still have faith towards the Great Immortal. ¡±


    Miao Yi thought about it and agreed. The gateway that the Great Immortal left to Lao Bai, every single thing that he indirectly experienced through Lao Bai, not once had they experienced failure.


    Previously, he¡¯d been skeptical towards the methods Lao Bao used to train him, but after leaving and going through numerous ounts of life and death struggles, he then discovered that everything Lao Bai taught him had proven to be incredibly useful.


    Otherwise, he would have died during the battle at Transient Light Cave, not to mention his recent battle against both Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng. He¡¯d faced over a hundred zombies, all by himself, and he wouldn¡¯t havee out of it alive if it weren¡¯t for the painstaking training he went through in the waterfall and the deep sea.


    He hadmuned with that Great Immortal for a long time, and it was such a shame that he¡¯d never have the opportunity to meet him in person.


    Aftering to an understanding, Miao Yi¡¯s interest suddenly overcame him. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I want to see how you¡¯re going to lure the Hell Mantis out.¡±


    Lao Bai let out augh and asked in reply, ¡°Don¡¯t you have any matters to see to? You have the time to do this with me?¡±


    Miao Yi waved his hand and exined, ¡°My own matters aren¡¯t that urgent. It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll send those two bastards to their deathster.¡±


    Now Lao Bai wasn¡¯t some parasite in his belly, so how would he know what Miao Yi was thinking about? So, he asked puzzlingly, ¡°Who do you want to kill?¡±


    ¡°Who else?¡± Miao Yi pointed towards Changfeng City, filled with scattered lights under the night sky. ¡°The pair who wanted to kill me back when I first met you.¡±


    Lao Bai understood, and then shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re already a cultivator, so there¡¯s no need for you to make life difficult for two mortals. You can consider it from a different angle. If they didn¡¯t beat you down, forcing you to steel yourself back then, and if you had lived a smooth and steady life all this while, how would you have today?¡±


    Miao Yi sighed, ¡°Lao Bai, you¡¯ll never understand the feelings of three interdependent orphans, who struggled to earn enough for food and clothes, yet had to put up with being bullied time and again. At the time, I gritted my teeth and managed to pull myself through it all, but in the end, it still left a shadow in my heart. Every time I woke up from my dreams, I would always worry about my brother and sister being taken away. When I sit in meditation and cultivate, in the back of my mind, I will often think about this. And since I¡¯m passing through this ce, if I don¡¯t settle things once and for all, my heart will never be content.¡±


    Lao Bai went silent for a while, briefly nodding his head as he said, ¡°Looks like this matter has already be the inner demon in your cultivation. It¡¯s better to resolve it.¡±


    Both of them did not argue about this matter anymore, and mounted their respective horses. They maintained their speed, galloping side by side, went around Changfeng City and hurried towards the Boundless Secr World, a ce beyond the predictions of even the gods and spirits.


    The Ancient City once again came into Miao Yi¡¯s view. More than ten years had passed and already the Ancient City had be so barren it was no longer presentable anymore. Supposedly, another thousand years would need to pass in order for the Boundless Secr World to lift up its seal once more, and only then would the city be revived again.


    As before, the old willow tree was full of vitality. Miao Yi, riding the dragon steed below the willow tree, sighed deeply with sorrow. Back then, the three siblings had hidden themselves in this very tree.


    Again lifting his head to look towards the city wall, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Back then, I saw a very beautiful woman on the city wall here. Even now, I still remember it. At that time I was thinking that it would be great if I could take her in as my wife.¡±


    Lao Bai let out an ¡®oh¡¯ and asked, ¡°Is she a cultivator?¡±


    Miao Yi nodded in reply. ¡°Yes. She¡¯s a cultivator who¡¯s unattainable. It was wishful thinking for me to desire to marry her. She wouldn¡¯t find a lower tier cultivator like me worthy.¡±


    ¡°Unattainable?¡± Little by little, Lao Bai raised his head, looking towards the vast starry sky, his two locks of frosty hair precipitously dancing in the air.


    He gazed at it for a little while in recollection, lightly shooting a nce at Miao Yi before turning his horse around, moving forward at a gradual pace. ¡°Beauties and fine liquors are just worldly things. Immersing oneself in them will leave one with no desire to improve oneself, unable to move forward. Thus, taking a wrong turn in life. If there truly exists an evesting beauty, then she only waits for the day when the one to ravage heres along, so why would she be unattainable?¡±


    He smacked the horse¡¯s abdomen with his legs, his in green cloak fluttering about under the moonlight, as he galloped quickly towards the Boundless Secr World.


    Miao Yi was taken aback, but then rapidly turned his horse to catch up.


    Both of them came to a halt on their horses beneath the formidable array of the blood mist, which stretched to both heaven and earth. Miao Yi looked behind at the bright moon suspended in the vast night sky full of stars and asked, ¡°How do we proceed?¡±


    ¡°The pavilion closest to the waters receives the moonlight first.¡± Lao Bai took out the mirror, urging the horse to move about. He adjusted his bearings, the moonlight reflected from the mirror towards the treacherous blood mist. A ray of light could be faintly seen prating into the blood mist.


    Miao Yi moved Charcoal to his side, and stared at the mirror in his hand. He again looked at the blood mist that connected the heaven and earth together, asking dubiously, ¡°Is this all that¡¯s needed?¡±


    ¡°Trying.¡±


    ¡°What do we do after we lure the Hell Mantis out?¡±


    ¡°The Hell Mantis cannot leave the Boundless Secr World for too long. Once ites out, I will use the moonlight to attract it, to stop it from struggling. You¡¯ll go and take a look whether there are eggs under its abdomen. If there are, quickly remove some and take them away.¡±


    ¡°Okay. If there are any problems, I will immediately grab you and run.¡±


    Lao Bai gave a smile and asked, ¡°Can you escape its speed?¡±


    ¡°Um....¡± Miao Yiughed dryly. ¡°I can¡¯t just sit around and wait for death.¡±


    They waited for a long time, and the sun was about to rise soon. Miao Yi, seeing that there was still no news of activity, couldn¡¯t help but ask again, ¡°You¡¯re sure this method will work?¡±


    It was uncertain what he was doing, but then Lao Bai, who had kept his eyes shut all this time, suddenly opened his eyes and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s here. Get ready. Remember, it can¡¯t stay out of the Boundless Secr World for too long. Once I hold onto it, the danger will pass. You need to be quick. Don¡¯t be scared.¡±


    Miao Yi turned around to look. As expected, he saw the blood mist suddenly give a quick surge, seemingly suffering from the invasion of a draft.


    Hu! Abruptly, the blood mist split open and an enormous ck silhouette charged out from the sea of mist, causing a wave of sand to surge. Its four limbs touched the ground, standing firm beneath its enormous figure.


    Casting a look, Miao Yi drew back a cold breath.


    The Hell Mantis before his eyes was about ten zhang long, its build was entirely gigantic. He had never seen one like it, even after already entering the Boundless Secr World.


    The body was akin to a suit of ck armor, reflecting a dark gloss under the moonlight. On its limbs were strands of sharp barbs that were simr to an ox¡¯s horn. On its three-horned head were a pair of lush, green eyes that swayed its feelers about, appearing to survey its surroundings.


    The forelimbs, which were akin to the scythe of a death god, gave them a heightened feeling of oppression. Its terrorizing and frightening mouth moved incessantly in a chewing manner.


    The entirety of its body emitted the aura of the frighteningherworld, causing Miao Yi to feel his body turning cold, momentarily having goosebumps, as though he had suddenly arrived in theherworld itself.


    Both of their steeds were also exceedingly agitated and restless, even Charcoal. Miao Yi tried his best to steady him.


    Yet Lao Bai only gently reached out his head to caress and stroke his steed, causing it to eventually calm down.


    A ray of moonlight struck the lush green eyes of the Hell Mantis, which was precisely the lightray that reflected from the mirror in Lao Bai¡¯s hand. In fact, Lao Bai¡¯s lips were also slightly moving, seeming as though he was saying something to the Hell Mantis.


    Being blinded by the moonlight, the terrifying, gigantic Hell Mantis fell static within moments.

 Chapter 60: The Carefree Lao Bai (3)

    Chapter 60: The Carefree Lao Bai (3)


    ¡°It cannot leave the Boundless Secr World for too long. The eggs will be under its belly, so if we don¡¯t take it now, then when will we take it?¡± Lao Bai reminded him starkly.


    Miao Yi was slightly worried, ¡°Are you sure it¡¯ll be alright?¡±


    ¡°Go!¡± Lao Bai shouted, his tone bore no doubt.


    Miao Yi became speechless, then gritted his teeth¡ªhe was relyingpletely on his faith in Lao Bai, and so braved forwards on Charcoal.


    Underneath the horrifying belly of the Hell Mantis, there was enough room for him to ride his horse through.


    However, Charcoal was apparently scared stiff by the Hell Mantis¡¯rge body; it would not budge an inch.


    Under Lao Bai¡¯s urging, Miao Yi had no choice. He had to jump off the horse, and run on his own.


    After charging below the Hell Mantis¡¯ belly, Miao Yi looked up, and sure enough, he could see clusters of ck eggs the size of quail eggs, formingyer uponyer along its abdomen.


    Miao Yi immediately used his arts to float up, and quickly grabbed a bunch of the ck eggs from the membrane.


    He wanted to grab more, but Lao Bai rebuked him, ¡°Do not be too greedy, you will risk angering it. Get the immortal herb on its limbs, it may be of use to you.¡±


    Miao Yi turned his head to see, and found that one of the Hell Mantis¡¯ barbed limbs indeed had a shining Glorious Star immortal herb hanging from it. He quickly flew to grab it, tucking it away, before hastily running out from under the Hell Mantis¡¯ belly.


    When he finally reached Charcoal, who was still shaky, Lao Bai¡¯s lips trembled slightly as he turned the mirror in his hand; the light that was reflected onto the Hell Mantis¡¯ green eyes instantly disappeared.


    Immediately, the Hell Mantis spread out its wings and stirred up a gust of wind, its giant body moving as fast as a ck streak of lightning. It shed into the red mist and disappeared, leaving only the swirling of the red mist, as though it really was afraid of leaving the Boundless Secr World for too long.


    Having slowly recovered from his state of anxiety, Miao Yi gently patted his chest, heaving a sigh of relief. Still feeling a bit shaken up, he said, ¡°And I thought the ones I saw before were big, never would I have thought there was still one much bigger. Even before approaching it, I felt as though I was entering an icy cave. It had such a strong Yin energy, but where do you think the beastes from?¡±


    ¡°It is a demonic beast belonging to theherworld. Normally, it would not appear in the world of the living, but the mist of the Boundless Secr World helps them keep back the Yang energy. Hence, they are able to survive here, but are not able to leave it for too long.¡±


    Miao Yi was stunned, he lifted up the mucous membrane in his hand, and roughly counted, finding at least a hundred of those ck slippery eggs. ¡°Then will these eggs survive if they leave it long enough?¡±


    ¡°Without birth, how can there be death? Without dying, then what is living? Life and death are just two sides of the same coin, it is also an opportunity for them. Right now they are still in incubation, so there is still a chance for them to turn to Yang. So long as we handle them well enough, when the timees that they are reborn from the shell, they will be able to see the light of day.¡±


    Miao Yi found such a strange methodpletely fascinating, and he tried asking, ¡°Can you teach me, so that I may try my hand as well?¡±


    Lao Bai nced at the bug eggs in his hands and said, ¡°I was just trying it out on the spur of the moment. I won¡¯t be able to use too many, plus I can¡¯t even cultivate as well, so it may be more difficult if I were to attempt it. How about I make it easier for you¡ªyou keep a hundred for them, then give the rest to me.¡±


    ¡°Then this immortal herb...¡± Miao Yi held out the Glorious Star immortal herb, dazzling on his palm.


    He did not notice it at first, but upon closer inspection, Miao Yi was astounded. He realized that the immortal herb in his hands was almost one chi long, and even had nine white-reddish fruits. They were all crystal clear, and significantlyrger than the Glorious Star immortal herbs he had seen before.


    Lao Bai smiled and said, ¡°There is more use to you than there is to me, so you keep it.¡±


    ¡°You are considerate as always. I¡¯ve just survived a brutal fight to the death with two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators, and as a result I have some internal injuries. I expect it¡¯ll take around one to two months to recover, so this is just what I need right now. Your immortal herb is a very timely gift.¡±


    Miao Yi chuckled, and without another word, he brought his nose close and inhaled, a wisp of starlight entered his nostrils from the Glorious Star immortal herb.


    As the starlight reached his lungs, his internal injuries instantly felt morefortable. Miao Yi exhaled in surprise, ¡°Truly good stuff!¡±


    Afterwards he kept the Glorious Star immortal herb away, and counted the number of eggs, he took out ten or so to give to Lao Bai, and held the remaining one hundred as he asked, ¡°Now tell me, what do we do.¡±


    Under the starry night, the two of them chatted for a long time, and Miao Yi held his chin as he constantly asked for details.


    After getting all that he needed to know, the sky had already begun to brighten up, and the sun had started to reveal itself.


    It was the work of fate that they met today, so it was natural to leave when it was due. At the same time, Lao Bai casually swept his sleeves and was about to bid him farewell.


    ¡°You really will not follow me? I am about to be the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. When that happens, East Arrival City will be my territory, and you can eat and y to your heart¡¯s content! If you see a girl that you fancy, just say the word, and this Cave Master will be your matchmaker. No one will dare disrespect me, so you can rest assured you will have the beauty in your embrace.¡±


    Miao Yi still tried his best to make him stay.


    Lao Bai gently chuckled and pulled his horse to turn, and with a kick on the horse¡¯s belly, his silhouette began drifting further and further away.


    ¡°Lao Bai,e visit me in East Arrival City when you¡¯re free!¡±


    Miao Yi shouted towards that whitish-green silhouette, but Lao Bai did not turn his head. Without lingering, he silently departed.


    ¡°He is simply too carefree, no wonder he is still single at such an old age.¡±


    Miao Yi clicked his tongue, but in his eyes, he could not help but have a little admiration for Lao Bai¡¯s carefree attitude. Lao Bai seemed to be more free than even the deities¡ªhe just followed his heart to wherever it led him. He was no god, in fact, he was better than one. A normal girl would definitely not be suitable for him.


    Turning his head to look at the barren, old city, Miao Yi¡¯s gaze turned cold. He saddled Charcoal and like an arrow that left the bow, shot straight for Changfeng City.


    He did not ride his Dragon Steed straight into the city, that would raise too much of amotion; instead, he hid inside the nearby forest. He lodged his spear into the ground, and after instructing Charcoal to keep guard, he himself alighted off Charcoal, making his way to Changfeng City.


    He did not go through the city gates; if unfamiliar people were to suddenly enter the city, the city guards would surely conduct an inspection and the like. Since he nned to do bad deeds and was afraid of leaving behind a trail, he just leapt over the city walls.


    After finally reaching here, he was anxious to see how much had changed since he left this ce he used to call home ten years ago. When he came to a building that used to have the sign of the butcher stall, he discovered that the entire ce was no longer the way it was before.


    It was still a familiar atmosphere, but his home had turned into a silk shop; the store employee was opening the doors and getting ready for business.


    Turning to look at Old Li¡¯s tofu shop on the other side, he realised that it was gone, and in its ce was a noodle shop. There was a young couple busily working; they seemed to be younger than Miao Yi, but apparently didn¡¯t have much of an age difference between the two of them.


    Even though cultivators will not say they can retain their youth, but dying the aging process is still not an issue.


    Seeing that Miao Yi had stopped and nced at their direction, the boss of the noodle shop quickly came out of his shop and reached out his hand in an inviting manner, ¡°Customer, the noodles that this noodle shop serves is a local delicacy and can be said to be the best in Changfeng City, would you care to try some?¡±


    There was not much to be done by just standing around in a crowded street; he had to gather information first. Miao Yi nodded with a smile and headed inside. Thedy boss quickly came over with a white towel and wiped a chair, inviting him to sit.


    ¡°What would the customer like to order?¡±


    ¡°Bring out some of your signature dishes for me to try.¡±


    ¡°Please wait a moment.¡±


    With the couple working together, in a short while a steamy and fragrant bowl of yellow broth noodles was served, as they politely told Miao Yi to enjoy his meal.


    Miao Yi had a few bites, and realized the taste was pretty ordinary. He asked in a seemingly casual way, ¡°Boss, I came here a long time ago in the past, and I remembered this used to be a tofu shop, right?¡±


    ¡°Customer, are you referring to Old Li¡¯s tofu shop?¡±


    ¡°I believe so.¡±


    ¡°Sigh! That is a thing of the past, now Old Li no longer sells tofu, he is the Head Guard around these parts.¡±


    Miao Yi was shocked, ¡°How did a tofu seller be the Head Guard?¡±


    The young boss chuckled, ¡°Head Guard Li had a very beautiful daughter, who was wedded to the City Lord, so naturally he himself became the Head Guard.¡±

 Chapter 61: Resolving a Knot In One’s Heart (1)

    Chapter 61: Resolving a Knot In One¡¯s Heart (1)


    Miao Yi came to a realization¡ªyoungdy Li, the very person who he wanted to wed before, was now married?


    Thinking back to past events, he couldn¡¯t resist the temptation to shake his head and smile. He then asked again, ¡°I remembered that back then the Head Guard here was named Huang.¡±


    The young bossughed. ¡°You¡¯re talking about Head Guard Huang? He¡¯s now the City Lord of Changfeng City. Old Li¡¯s daughter married him. And with it came Old Li¡¯s promotion to Head Guard.¡±


    ¡°Eh...¡± Miao Yi almost choked on his noodles¡ªthis old Huang had robbed the cradle. He lifted his head in surprise. ¡°Didn¡¯t Head Guard Huang have a wife?¡±


    The young boss sighed,¡°Customer, there are things you wouldn¡¯t know. Have you seen that silk shop across from here? ¡±


    ¡°What does anything about this have to do with the silk shop?¡±


    ¡°As it turns out, that silk shop was Zhang Tufu¡¯s residence in the city. Eldest Zhang killed Head Guard Huang¡¯s son, and so his wife became gravely ill from sheer grief. Thus, she passed away and then Old Li¡¯s daughter married Head Guard Huang as a second wife. But, I will say this though¡ªthat Eldest Zhang had skill. He stubbornly went into the Boundless Secr World, risking his life to gather two immortal herbs and then sent his own brother and sister off to be Immortals. After hemitted murder, he ran away in a clear-cut manner without another word. I heard that till this day he still hasn¡¯t been caught. But the Zhang family¡¯s residence has been confiscated by the officials, and thus turned into the silk shop you see now.¡±


    Miao Yi furrowed his brows and said, ¡°That Eldest Zhang¡¯s little brother and sister have be Immortals, and the officials still dared toy a hand on their property?¡±


    ¡°The City Lord himself has an Immortal supporting him from the back. So don¡¯t be worried.¡±


    Miao Yi was stunned and suddenly, realization dawned on him. How could he forget about this? Could it be that Head Guard Huang¡¯s daughter, who had been gifted as a handmaiden to an Immortal, had something to do with Xiong Xiao targeting him this time? Could it be that Head Guard Huang had a stroke of luck, and had actually gifted his daughter to Xiong Xiao, the Cave Master of Changfeng Cave as a handmaiden?


    cing this matter to the side, Miao Yi again beat around the bush and eventually asked about Zhao Xingwu.


    As it turned out, Zhao Xingwu had a life worse than death. Head Guard Huang, due to the death of his son and his failure in capturing Miao Yi to exact his revenge, proceeded tosh out all his anger on Zhao Xingwu. He sent Zhao Xingwu into the Manor of Sincere Hope, where no one knows whether he was dead or alive.


    Evidently, Zhao Xingwu was no longer his concern. After Miao Yi finished his meal, he threw down some coins and then left the noodle shop.


    The City Lord Manor wasn¡¯t difficult to find. He approached the side of an alley wall, and after ensuring no one was around, seized the opportunity and climbed over it. He entered the grounds, hiding himself among the trees in the garden.


    Inside the garden, a child with hair tied in a braid faced towards the sky,ughing while ying hide and seek with the servant girls among clusters of flowers. A married woman, young and full-rounded, and adorned with brilliant pearls and jewels, was kneading a handkerchief as she stood beneath the pavilion, looking on gaily. She was apanied by a servant girl who stood by her side.


    Seeing this young married woman, Miao Yi inevitably sighed deeply with sorrow. Because he now knew what had happened, he could already tell from the young woman¡¯s features that she was the daughter of the Li family who had lived across his old home.


    Perhaps due to thevish lifestyle of living like a princess, she now wore fine clothes, her skin was fair and tender, and he could see that her figure had be well-rounded and plump.


    In Miao Yi¡¯s impression, the Li family¡¯s daughter had a face contorted from excess fat, when previously it had been as thin as a goose egg. Her waist had also became thick and with her head all covered in beads and jade, her overall appearance looked very stout.


    Obviously, judging by the situation before him, she had already given birth to children.


    Miao Yi was really envious of Old Huang. He was more than old enough to be her father and yet he could still nab her as a wife, and even had her bear his offspring. He was really something, such a ssic way to rob the cradle.


    He recalled the incident all those years ago, when the matchmaker went over to the Li family to propose, only to be thrown out of the ce, Miao Yi himself felt it was ridiculous. Thinking about it further, he found it amusing.


    If he said he held no more feelings towards this young, married woman, then he really didn¡¯t harbor any feelings. He had moved on.


    To put it more realistically, he no longer had any interest in the Li family¡¯s daughter. If she was given to him for free, he would resent her for being a nuisance instead.


    If he was still living his old life selling pork in the streets, then even having the chance to marry the outstanding beauty across the road would have definitely left him satisfied.


    But, times had changed!


    At whichever mountain one went to, one would gaze at the avable scenery. The yellow flower from yesterdaycked the power to catch his discerning eye!


    The reason was simple. When a man was of lowly means, the woman had the right to resent him for being poor. After the man has emerged as prosperous, he too had the right to turn his back on her. This is what was known as gender equality.


    Fixating his gaze on Li¡¯s daughter, he briefly recalled those days. He surveyed the surroundings to determine the manor¡¯s primary and secondaryyout, invoking his art to investigate the situation inside. He shed by overhead, and wasn¡¯t afraid that he would be discovered by the people beneath him, since mere humans wouldn¡¯t be able to capture him.


    Sneakily entering through a window, he came into a side room of the main quarters.


    A stately cultivator dealing with a mere mortal, this all made him look a bit like a thief.


    But this couldn¡¯t be avoided. A stately City Lord, couldn¡¯t be killed by just anyone. This was illegal, and also broke the cultivation world¡¯sw¡ªsince the City Lord was helping the cultivation world in governing their followers, how could he be killed without repercussions? Once discovered, Miao Yi would be severely punished!


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t want to leave behind anything that could be tied back to him. Otherwise when the time came, he was afraid that even Yang Qing would not let him off the hook that easily.


    Dozens of years had gone by in a sh, and Head Guard Huang, the current dear City Lord, had also put on weight. He had aged, this man of more than fifty years old, dressed in official clothes, with a big belly.


    A housekeeper held in his hands a small, exquisitely carved and finely cut box. A servant carried in a heavy chest and ced it on the small side table.


    The housekeeper waved his hand. After dismissing the servant, he moved closer to Head Guard Huang¡¯s side who was holding a cup, slowly sipping his tea. The housekeeper opened the small chest in his hand, and inside a granule-sized orby on a fluffy cushion, faintly emitting a gentle, white glow. It was an Orb of Will gathered from the power of will of a thousand people.


    Head Guard Huang shot a nce and nodded. The housekeeper opened up the small chest again, and inside the chest was a pile of neatly arranged golden crystal coins.


    Head Guard Huang ced his tea cup down and asked, ¡°The amount is not less than before right?¡±


    The housekeeper bowed and replied, ¡°It is not less. But master, since Cave Master has already risen in rank, and with Miss already supporting him there, there¡¯s no need for us to give the newly appointed Cave Master such a grand gift. Could it be that he dared not give face to Miss?¡±


    ¡°On this matter, you are inferior to my daughter.¡± Head Guard Huang stood up from his seat with his hands on his back, berating him in a firm manner. ¡°My daughter has already sent someone to deliver a letter to me, saying that there¡¯s nothing like having a man on the spot to smooth the way. Although her honor is present, the required gift for the new Cave Master must not be less. The etiquette that we¡¯ve held before must not be inferior in any way as well. There¡¯s no need to upset the Cave Master for the sake of mere riches. When the timees, with the newly promoted Cave Master helping us to put in a good word, in addition to my daughter giving her own rmendation to the Mountain Chieftain, we¡¯ll have a chance to go to Shaotai City. On the other hand, if the new Cave Master tells the Mountain Chieftain that I¡¯m not capable enough to administer a bigger city, I¡¯m afraid that Mountain Chieftain will think twice about it. Your way of thinking is a bit short-sighted. We cannot afford to save a little only to lose a lot.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡± The housekeeper immediately grinned and apologized.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just say yes with your mouth. Check through the other supplementary gifts again. There must not be ack in the amount of gifts,¡± warned Head Guard Huang.


    ¡°Yes, I will go and check them now.¡± The housekeeper nodded and bowed submissively before stepping down.


    Head Guard Huang then spun around, taking and opening the small, exquisitely carved and finely cut box. He twirled the granule-sized orb in his fingers and looked closely at the details. But nobody would have expected a hand to suddenly shoot out from nowhere, snatching the granule-sized orb away.


    It was uncertain when Miao Yi had appeared right at his side. Miao Yi held the granule sized orb to confirm its authenticity. And it was real.

 Chapter 62: Resolving a Knot in One’s Heart (2)

    Chapter 62: Resolving a Knot in One¡¯s Heart (2)


    Naturally, Miao Yi knew where Head Guard Huang had obtained this granule-sized orb from. Normally, City Lords had no right to interfere with the followers¡¯ records and the power of will gathered from them, but this didn¡¯t necessarily apply to the Manor of Merciful Hope and the Manor of Sincere Hope.


    Criminals with nothing to their name and no ce to go, or orphans who had yet to reach the registration age, they were all sent to the Manor of Merciful Hope¡ªthey were the source of Orbs of Will that were obtained privately. To mortals, Orbs of Will had little use, so in the end they could only be used as a means to kiss up to Immortals, just as Head Guard Huang was doing now. It was an expensive gift, after all.


    Head Guard Huang was shocked to find someone had just appeared out of thin air, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Tsk tsk, it seems uwful ways really are lucrative. After making some profit from killing off those two bastards, I¡¯ll get one more here.¡± Miao Yi shook his head as hemented. Then he tucked away the Orb of Will, and nced at the surprised Head Guard Huang with a smile. ¡°Head Guard Huang truly knows many people of importance, but can easily forget a face¡ªhave you forgotten that I was the one who killed your son? It is I, Miao Yi!¡±


    Head Guard Huang was left wide-eyed¡ªafter Miao Yi¡¯s reminder, he finally noticed the vague outline in between Miao Yi¡¯s brows and found his proof. He pointed at Miao Yi, ¡°You.... you... you.....¡±


    He was about to shout for help, but Miao Yi was not going to give him the opportunity. He grabbed his neck, breaking it with a ¡®kacha!¡¯, then ced Head Guard Huang back on his chair, his eyes still twitching.


    He was not keen to stay, the conversation he¡¯d just overheard had reaffirmed his suspicions¡ªOld Huang¡¯s daughter really was the handmaiden of Xiong Xiao, so the fact that Xiong Xiao suddenly wanted to kill him definitely had something to do with that vile woman.


    Naturally, he was not about to leave empty-handed; since he¡¯d already murdered someone, why would he feel bothered about taking a few things with him?


    After smoothly swiping the case of crystal coins, he left!


    Carrying a big bag with him as he left the city, he came to the forest, pulled out his silver spear from the ground, and leapt onto Charcoal. He patted Charcoal and said jovially, ¡°Old partner, we are rich, let¡¯s go! To get a promotion!¡±


    Immediately Charcoal galloped with gusto, carrying him across the mountain paths as though they were t ins...


    Not long after he left, two incredibly luxuriously-dressed young men entered the noodle shop where he¡¯d previously had a meal.


    One had a hat adorned with a piece of white jade, his expression was quiet; the other had a hat decorated with a red gem, and his expression was cold.


    From first nce, the two seemed like esteemed guests, so the boss quickly took down the towel draped over his shoulders and after giving the table a careful wipe, only then did he ask them to sit.


    After asking them what they would like to eat, the young man with the red gem replied coldly, ¡°Whatever.¡±


    The young man with the white jade was staring at the silk shop on the other side, his big eyes, beautiful and bright, were slightly dazed, seemingly lost in thought.


    For the noodle shop, ¡®whatever¡¯ could only get two bowls of noodles with a rich amount of toppings.


    But the two men did not seem interested in moving their chopsticks, and the white jade young man asked, ¡°Boss, there is something I would like to ask.¡±


    ¡°Please ask,¡± the Boss immediately came over in a respectful manner, smiling and being as attentive as possible. After all, one could tell these two were rich guests right from the start, and at the very least, they seemed richer than Miao Yi by a long shot.


    The white jade young man smiled and said, ¡°Boss, I came here once a long time ago, and I remembered this ce used to be a tofu shop. How did it be a noodle restaurant?¡±


    The boss was slightly dazed¡ªwhen the other party smiled, it felt as though it could even put a hundred flowers to shame, and the whole shop appeared more vibrant because of it.


    Were it not for the fact that the other party had a man¡¯s deep voice, he would have started to suspect whether this person was actually a girl dressed up as a man.


    The boss scratched his head, muttering in his heart, it seems like this would be the second time for someone to ask this question today.


    The boss bowed, and once again told the story of Old Li¡¯s daughter being wed to City Lord Huang, resulting in his promotion to Head Guard, and pointed to the silk shop on the opposite side. There was no difference in the way he told the story to Miao Yi.


    In contrast, the white jade young man clearly focused on somethingpletely different from Miao Yi¡ªhe widened his beautiful eyes and asked, ¡°You are saying, that Eldest Zhang only sent his younger brother and sister to be Immortals, and he himself abstained from it?¡±


    Upon hearing this, the red gem young man also lifted his head in surprise.


    The boss smiled and said, ¡°Who would say no, but the truth of the matter was that he only picked two immortal herbs. Among the three siblings there was going to be only one that would be denied that path, and the Eldest Zhang gave the opportunity to his younger brother and sister. This incident is widespread in Changfeng City, all praising the Zhang family and Lu family for adopting a good son.¡±


    The white jade young man was a bit excited and asked, ¡°You are sure the Eldest Zhang only picked two immortal herbs, and he himself did not be an Immortal?¡±


    ¡°It is just as the esteemed guest says, and how would I lie to you? Since this matter is known throughout Changfeng City, you can ask anyone on the street. Furthermore, if he truly had the chance to be an Immortal, would he need to flee for his life? The Zhang¡¯s big brother is a good person, but he was not blessed with a good life. He left Changfeng City for so many years, but no one knows whether he¡¯s dead or alive.¡±


    As they were talking, another customer came in, and the boss immediately excused himself from the two esteemed guests, and ran to the door to serve the customer.


    The white jade young man just sat there in a daze, his eyes were instantly red.


    Seeing the state he was in, the red gem young man knew that he would break down if he waited any longer, so he put down some money, and pulled the white jade young man¡¯s hand and left...


    The two of them came to a small empty alleyway, and just as the red gem young man was about tofort him, the white jade young man could no longer hold back his emotions as he bit his lips, tears gushing forth uncontrobly. He leaned against the small alley, and his body lost the strength to stand as he slid down the wall. He whimpered as he crouched in the corner, ¡°Big Brother... Big Brother.... Where did you go? Big Brother, where are you......¡±


    The red gem young man sighed, and tried to pull him up. He held his shoulders and said, ¡°No one could have guessed that things would end up this way, so stop crying. You know how badly you look when you cry, if those mortalmoners were to see you they would make fun of you.¡±


    However, no amount offort was of any use, so in the end the white jade young man wiped away his tears, and in a strained voice said, ¡°It is because of that Head Guard Huang, he forced my big brother to run away. I want to kill him!¡±


    The red gem young man creased his brows, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you cannot do that. It goes against the rules of the cultivation world. This time, I secretly brought you out here only because you would not stop bugging me about it, but if you were to make matters worse, master will surely punish us both when we get back.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± The white jade young man waved his hand, then angrily turned his head and walked away.


    The red gem young man could only massage his head painfully in surrender, quickly following after him.


    The City Lord Mansion was easy to find, especially to someone who was familiar with Changfeng City. In a sh, the two young men infiltrated their way into the grounds, and after identifying the main building, quickly made their way inside.


    Even though the two of them were trying to avoid being seen, they did not hide around as Miao Yi did.


    Even though Head Guard Huang was significantly fatter, he was still an adult, so his face would not have changed too much. It was not difficult for the infiltrating white jade young man to spot him, especially when he was still wearing the City Lord¡¯s robes.


    Seeing Head Guard Huang ¡®sleeping¡¯ with his head bent on the chair, the white jade young man was instantly enraged. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Surnamed Huang, stand up!¡±


    ¡°Hold it!¡± The red gem young man was not as emotional as the white jade young man. He pulled on the white jade young man as he was about to make his move; the red gem young man could tell something was off.


    ¡°Senior Sister, do not stop me.¡±


    ¡°No! Take a good look.¡± The red gem young man reached out and turned Head Guard Huang¡¯s head over to the side.


    Only to discover Head Guard Huang¡¯s eyes were rolled back, and there were traces of blood on the edge of his lips. Using their transcendence energy for a closer inspection, they found out that he¡¯d died from a broken neck.

 Chapter 63: East Arrival Cave Master (1)

    Chapter 63: East Arrival Cave Master (1)


    ¡°He¡¯s already dead, and he has not been dead for very long.¡± The red gem young man furrowed his brows, ¡°Who had such audacity, to make a move on the City Lord in bright daylight?¡±


    As he was saying these words, he seemed to have forgotten his reason foring here, and was acting like someone who upheld the rules of the cultivation world.


    ¡°Dead?¡± The white jade young man took a closer look, and when he realized Head Guard Huang was truly dead, he squeezed his fists in rage, saying angrily, ¡°Lucky for him, I was not able to kill him myself.¡±


    As he finished saying this, footsteps resounded from outside, at the same time a woman¡¯s voice could be heard, ¡°Is dear still not out yet?¡±


    The red gem young man immediately turned his head and said, ¡°Junior Sister, we must leave, otherwise we won¡¯t be able to exin this turn of events.¡±


    Instead, the white jade young man still had anger he had not yet vented, and he would not leave that easily. He did not heed the warning, and dashed out into the hall.


    The red gem young man was speechless.


    Outside the hall, the City Lord¡¯s mistress and her escorts were all shocked when they saw someone suddenly leaving the room in front of them.


    The City Lord¡¯s mistress asked in outrage, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Just like Miao Yi, the white jade young man could tell that this was Old Li¡¯s daughter from the outline of her brows.


    I have yet to disy my anger, and you wish to vent your anger out on me! The white jade young man¡¯s expression turned cold, he instantly dashed over, and with a blinding speed he pped the mistress twice with a ¡®pa! pa!¡¯, beating her so fiercely, even her teeth flew out.


    ¡°Someone of your calibre dares to hope they¡¯re a match for my Big Brother? You don¡¯t even have the right to carry his shoes!¡±


    The white jade young man was dissatisfied, his mouth was abusive, and his feet did not stop as well. He gave the mistress, who was already on the ground, a few more kicks, and she was beaten to a very miserable state.


    The red gem young man had followed him out, and was also helpless after seeing hispanion, someone who was normally elegant and graceful, suddenly turning into such a shrew today.


    Without waiting for those servants to respond, the red gem young man was already dashing forward, grabbed the white jade young man¡¯s wrist, and they both disappeared into the skies.


    The servants who were at the scene were all in disarray, and after a few moments someone shouted in shock, ¡°They killed the City Lord, they killed the City Lord...¡±


    As it was evident the murderer was a cultivator who could fly, people from the City Lord¡¯s Mansion immediately rode their steeds to report the incident to Changfeng Cave.


    Cave Master of Changfeng Cave was still in the midst of stabilizing his position, and waspletely taken by surprise. Changfeng City Lord was the father of Chun Xue, the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s personal handmaiden.


    He immediately sent men over to investigate, and at the same time, sent someone to head to Mount Shaotai by dragon steed to report to Xiong Xiao.


    It was nighttime, and inside the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters of Mount Shaotai, over ten sticks of bulky candles danced about, brightening up the interior of the room. Three naked bodies were entwined on top of the mattress.


    After going through a battle, being promoted and assigning the individual caves under his jurisdiction, Xiong Xiao could finally take a moment to rx, and it was now his leisure time.


    Handmaiden Dong Xue¡¯s nimble body and Xiong Xiao tussled with each other.


    The fair-skinned and tender Chun Xue had her head under Xiong Xiao¡¯s crotch, trying her best to please as a sign of gratitude for Xiong Xiao avenging her brother. As she was also trying to get her father to be the City Lord of Shaotai City, she was putting in more effort than usual, pleasuring Xiong Xiao till he was moaning.


    The scenes of pleasure inside the room were not a sight meant for others, and outside its walls, someone suddenly ran to the gate and shouted, ¡°Reporting to Mountain Chieftain, Changfeng Cave has sent someone to report that the Changfeng City Lord suffered an assassin¡¯s assault, and perished!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Chun Xue¡¯s shout resounded from inside the room.


    Soon after, the gates flew open. Xiong Xiao, who simply put on a robe, and his two disheveled handmaidens stood at the gate. Pale-faced, Chun Xue could not help but ask, ¡°What did you just say?¡±


    The servant immediately cupped his fists and reported once more, and Chun Xue¡¯s eyes rolled back. Losing all her body strength, she copsed.


    Here she was hoping she could avenge her dead brother, and trying her best to serve the Mountain Chieftain, but who knew that even before she could get news of the mission¡¯s sess, her own father would lose his life?


    Xiong Xiao supported her, and asked Dong Xue to carry her back inside. He had a dark expression on his face, his insides full with rage, and he brought his men along as he made his way to the assembly hall.


    It was not solely because of Chun Xue, but rather he¡¯d just left Changfeng Cave and became the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, and now someone had killed his subordinate City Lord. This was clearly a p to his face, how could he not be angry!


    The sun was high in the sky, and Miao Yi, who could only be bothered to kill and not to bury, was in a good mood. In a ce not too far from South Edict Manor, he delved into the forest and in an obscure location, he buried the big bag he was carrying. Then, he leapt back onto his dragon steed and galloped across the mountain making his way straight for South Edict Manor.


    Riding all the way to the South Edict Manor¡¯s mountain gates, he was stopped by the cultivator guard.


    Miao Yi jumped down the dragon steed, swept his spear and cupped his fists, ¡°Miao Yies reporting for duty to Manor Head, please send word!¡±


    The two guards were both White Lotus Second Grade cultivators, and were not unfamiliar with Miao Yi¡ªthey both knew what it meant for Miao Yi toe reporting for duty, and there was no doubt it was to seize his position as Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. He could very well be the Cave Master with the lowest cultivation grade in history.


    The two of them looked at Miao Yi with envy and admiration, it was frustrating topare, a White Lotus First Grade was doing better than us White Lotus Second Grades. He¡¯s going to be Cave Master, and we¡¯re stuck here watching the gate¡ªwhat sort of reasoning was this?


    Bute to think of it, during the battle of Transient Light Cave, the two of them personally witnessed Miao Yi¡¯s valor; three White Lotus Second Grades and one White Lotus Third Grade had died by this monster¡¯s spear. His fearless ferocity was something they resigned themselves to, and if they were to fight, the two of them might not even be his match.


    The two of them did not make things difficult and instead cupped their hands and smiled weingly, because they knew Miao Yi was someone highly valued by the Manor Head.


    ¡°Brother Miao, please wait!¡± one of them respectfully said, then ran back to report.


    Miao Yi and the other gatekeeper started to chit chat, and found out that one of them was called Qian Zifeng, and the other was Zhou Liqin.


    After talking for a while with Qian Zifeng, Zhou Liqin who had gone off to report hade back. He cupped his hands and said, ¡°Brother Miao, please head to the South Edict Great Hall, Little Auntie is waiting for you.¡±


    After saying this, he even offered to help Miao Yi bring Charcoal over to the stables.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t trouble yourselves, I can do it on my own,¡± Miao Yi responded respectfully.


    Zhou Liqin waved his hand and said, ¡°You need not be too formal for these small matters, I¡¯m sure by the time Brother Miao returns he will be the East Arrival Cave Master, so in the future I will ask Brother Miao to take care of me.¡±


    ¡°Now, now, we can look out for each other,¡± Miao Yi replied politely, and taking out twenty gold crystal coins from his pocket, he stuffed ten pieces each into both of their hands.


    It should be known that low-leveled cultivators are only entitled to around ten gold crystal coins every month, so Miao Yi was being quite extravagant with his spending.


    When it came to forming rtionships, Miao Yi knew the benefits and risks involved, because for the sake of letting his younger brother and sister grow up safely in Changfeng City all those years ago, he would often chop a pig¡¯s ear, or gather some pig head meat, or even intestines and the like to gift to his neighbors¡ªespecially to the little uncle of the City Lord Mansion¡¯s housekeeper.


    He was not able to kiss up to the City Lord Manor¡¯s housekeeper, but his little uncle was an enthusiastic drunk, so Miao Yi would often send some wine and dishes every three or five days.


    They were all inexpensive things, and Miao Yi could not give out expensive things anyway, but be it minor things and such, over a period of time, it helped to establish a rtionship. This was also why he could still ensure his younger brother and sister were well fed, even when up against Head Guard Huang. The little uncle of the City Lord¡¯s housekeeper would sometimes remind Head Guard Huang not to go too far.


    Simrly, whenever there was any business that needed taking care of, his neighbors and the housekeeper¡¯s little uncle wouldn¡¯t forget him.

 Chapter 64: East Arrival Cave Master (2)

    Chapter 64: East Arrival Cave Master (2)


    Of course, this time Miao Yi could afford to spend so much only because he¡¯d made a small fortune¡ªthat case he stole aftermitting murder had contained five thousand gold crystals.


    Whether they were mortals, or cultivators, the will of the people were the same.Qian Zifeng and Zhou Liqin were naturally ecstatic after receiving such a gift out of the blue, but of course, to keep up with appearances their reactions had to be slightly dyed.


    And it was obvious that Miao Yi would ask both of them to keep it, stating that it was a sign of friendship. If they did not ept, it would mean they were looking down on him. Hence, Qian Zifeng and Zhou Liqin could only resign themselves out of politeness, and so epted the gift.


    ¡°Let me take care of your steed. We are all friends now, and Brother Miao need not be too polite, otherwise you will be keeping Little Auntie waiting.¡±¡°Then I will have to trouble you.¡± Miao Yi cupped his hands to them both, then turned his head and walked away.


    Quickly reaching the South Edict Grand Hall, Little Auntie Qing Ju was smiling by the gate as she waited for him, ¡°You havepleted the task that Manor Head assigned to you?¡±


    ¡°All due to Little Auntie¡¯s blessing.¡± Without another word, Miao Yi took out a bag of money from his pockets and offered it to Qing Ju, ¡°A small token of my appreciation, please ept it, Little Auntie.¡±


    When he first saw Qing Ju, he wanted to get in her good books, but unfortunately he did not have anything to offer, and neither could he present her with anything. However, this time he intentionally prepared one hundred gold crystals to gift to her.


    Qing Ju smiled as she shook her head, she took the purse, and even opened it in front of him. Upon discovering at least a hundred gold crystals, she could not help but tease, ¡°Yo! This is quite a sum, and your monthly sry should only be ten gold crystals. Did you prepare this beforehand, or did you make a fortune during your trip, and finally decided toe kiss up to me?¡±


    The meaning behind her words was clear¡ªthis was not our first time meeting, why were you not this courteous then?Miao Yi joked, ¡°I naturally could not let the riches that ghost cultivator had go to waste.¡±


    Qing Ju stopped teasing him, she did not put away the purse, but she did not return it to Miao Yi either. Instead she just carried it in her hand, and turned to lead the way, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    The two of them made their way out from the back of the Grand Hall, and went up the stone steps along the mountain. Qing Ju asked for the details as they walked.At the peak of the highest mountain behind the Grand Hall, there lies a grand and richly ornamented wide,rge pavilion.


    Within the pavilion, Qing Mei was ying the qin, and to the side Yang Qing was enjoying his wine and a few exquisite small dishes. He casually nced at the vast mountain view from his elevated position, and noticed the two who were making their way up the mountain.


    As the two of them entered the hall, Yang Qing lightly waved his hand, prompting Qing Mei to stop ying the qin.


    Miao Yi quickly cupped his hands to salute to Yang Qing, ¡°Miao Yi haspleted Manor Head¡¯s request¡ªI have in the ghost cultivator who has been disturbing the followers within the Changfeng vicinity. Luckily, I was able to aplish it and havee to report for my duty!¡±


    He then passed an exquisitely carved and delicately cut box to Qing Ju.


    He was brash indeed, to actually use the box that Head Guard Huang had used to store the Orb of Will to keep the Yin Core, as though unafraid someone would recognize it.


    Qing Ju opened the box and ced it in front of Yang Qing, who examined the Yin Core within, and smiled, ¡°I trust the matter was smoothly dealt with, without any obstacles?¡±


    Miao Yi immediately reiterated the story he¡¯d told to Qing Ju¡ªZhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu¡¯s deaths were pushed as the ghost cultivator¡¯s fault.Yang Qing was surprised, ¡°Two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators fell in battle?¡±


    Miao Yi could hear the doubt in Yang Qing¡¯s voice as to how he managed to escape unscathed, and thus replied at once, ¡°The ghost cultivator did not act alone. In the Changfeng realm, she¡¯d used the ¡®Mystic Arts Temple¡¯ of Mount Thousand Buddha as her old nest. Over a hundred monks that belonged to the temple were all turned into zombies that hid under the ponds. By the time I finished exterminating those zombies, the two of them had already fallen to the ghost cultivator. Fortunately, she¡¯d been severely injured from her battle with both of them, which was why I could defeat her, and ended up getting the long end of the stick.¡±


    He did not mention that Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng were sent by Xiong Xiao to kill him, because he did not think that he¡¯d be considered more important than Xiong Xiao in Yang Qing¡¯s heart.


    Since he could not seek justice for himself, he would not go out of his way to pick a fight with Xiong Xiao. The most important thing was that he did not have the ability to do so anyway, so he might as well let Xiong Xiao believe those two had been killed by the ghost cultivator, and that he was still unaware of being targeted by Xiong Xiao. If the other party had any more tricks up their sleeve, he would then be prepared. It would be difficult to guard against an arrow in the dark,pared to a spear in the light.¡°With just your White Lotus First Grade cultivation, you managed to exterminate over a hundred zombies¡ªthis is no easy feat. Sure enough, you have not disappointed me.¡±


    Yang Qing had a look of admiration, as heplimented Miao Yi. As for the deaths of Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng, they were clearly irrelevant to him.


    He then took out one of the storage rings from his fingers, and removed a jade archive from it. He invoked his art to write down a decree of duty on the jade archive, and imbued it with his insignia. Finally, he passed it along with the storage ring to Qing Ju, and said to Miao Yi, ¡°Follow myw decree and report to the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, Qin Weiwei. She will help in arranging your position as East Arrival Cave Master.¡±


    Qing Ju passed the jade archive and the storage ring over to Miao Yi¡ªthe decree of duty was a must, the storage ring on the other hand was something only Cave Masters were allowed to possess. Normally, this was supposed to be handed out by the respective Mountain Chieftain, but clearly Yang Qing still had the intention to win him over, so he did this to show how importantly he viewed Miao Yi.


    This ck-coloured storage ring was a treasure, refined from the essence powder extracted from ck crystals. Even though it looked small, but in normal situations it was not something a cultivator of Miao Yi¡¯s level could afford to use.


    Miao Yi received the two items but was not particrly happy, and with a twisted expression he asked, ¡°How did the Hundred Blossoms Cave Master be the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea?¡±Qing Ju chuckled, the bad rtionship between Qin Weiwei and this boy was known to all.


    Yang Qing asked indifferently, ¡°You have something to say about my appointing Qin Weiwei as Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea?¡±Miao Yiughed dryly, ¡°Not at all, I was just curious.¡±


    The main point was that even if he had an opinion about it he could not change anything. He could not give up being a Cave Master, this was obtained by risking his life, and there were many people who couldn¡¯t even get this chance even if they wanted it.


    Yang Qing drank his wine expressionlessly, he was the type who liked to use the carrot and the stick together.Miao Yi found it difficult to extricate himself gracefully, but who would have expected Qing Ju to walk over to Qing Mei, carrying her purse as she smilingly said, ¡°Elder Sister, this fortune was gifted to me by Miao Yi¡ªthere¡¯s a hundred crystal coins inside.¡± Turning her head, she asked Miao Yi, ¡°Did you prepare Elder Sister Qing Mei¡¯s portion as well?¡±


    Miao Yi was sweating buckets, she was exposing his attempts at bribery right in front of the Manor Head Yang Qing himself¡ªpeople who¡¯d been bribed wouldn¡¯t normally mess with you like this.


    Truthfully, he did prepare a portion for Qing Mei, it was just that he was looking for the right opportunity to secretly give to her. How could he do it right in front of Manor Head Yang Qing? But there was nothing he could do about it now, he could only weakly take another purse from his pocket, and present it to Qing Mei, ¡°Elder Auntie, this here is just a small token of my appreciation.¡±Qing Ju took the purse, waving it in her hands, showing that she¡¯d epted it on behalf of Qing Mei.


    Unexpectedly Yang Qing, who was holding onto his cup, suddenly nced sideways at them, and asked indifferently, ¡°Miao Yi, you have prepared gifts for them, but don¡¯t tell me you have none to give to me?¡±


    He was obviously making fun of him, so Miao Yi rxed, and could only resign himself and said, ¡°Manor Head, please stop messing around with your subordinate. This small gift is not worthy of you, but it will not be toote to prepare your gift when Ie across something better.¡±


    Yang Qing nodded, ¡°I will remember your words.¡±


    He turned around and told his two handmaidens, ¡°Pass this on, in the future when hees to South Edict Manor, there is no need to stop him at the mountain gates. He can see me directly, I will be waiting for his gift!¡±This was another attempt to give Miao Yi face¡ªhe was truly unrelenting with his methods to curry favor.¡°Yes!¡± Qing Mei and Qing Ju bowed in response.


    And naturally, Miao Yi thanked him as well.


    With Yang Qing¡¯s status, obviously he would not keep buttering him up for too long. There was no need to degrade himself so much as he still had to maintain his prestige as a superior, so he waved his hands and said, ¡°Go! Make haste to Mount Calming Sea and report to duty for Qin Weiwei.¡±

 Chapter 65: East Arrival Cave Master (3)

    Chapter 65: East Arrival Cave Master (3)


    After Miao Yi left the mountain, Qing Ju took the wine pot and helped pour a cup of wine for Yang Qing. She then asked, ¡°Manor Head, Miss had a bit of a feud with him. When the timees, do you think there will be trouble?¡±


    Yang Qing shook his head in reply. ¡°The most that can be done is to punish him for a bit. Weiwei is in the midst of overseeing Mount Calming Sea, and since this kid was dispatched by me, it¡¯s unlikely she¡¯d go so far as to act recklessly in official matters. Besides, it might even be a good thing if we let Weiwei be the bad guy. If there¡¯s no one acting as a bad person, how could I be a good guy? Otherwise, that kid will still think that he deserved to be the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave.¡±


    Qing Ju nced back at the figure by the base of the mountain, unable to control a smile as she pursed her lips.


    Miao Yi felt really depressed!


    There were ten mountains under South Edict Manor and out of all the mountains, Qin Weiwei just had to be stationed at the garrison for Mount Calming Sea. He was uncertain as to whether his life in the future would be a living hell from now on.


    In the end, he could only turn to self-condolences. Luckily, he wasn¡¯t a subordinate of Xiong Xiao or else his fate would be much worse.


    Retrieving his steed, he met Qian Zifeng and Zhou Liqin at the mountain gate, and once again he became full of energy, deliberately shing the storage ring he wore as he cupped his hands at the two of them. ¡°Doe to visit East Arrival Cave once both of you have the opportunity to do so. I, Miao Yi, will definitely act as your host. Manor Head has given his orders, so I won¡¯t be staying here anymore.¡±


    Qian Zifeng and Zhou Liqin gazed at each other, their eyes revealing a look of envy that was difficult to mask. After saying all that, by now it was obvious that the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave¡¯s position had been confirmed. Hence, both of them immediately cupped their hands in obeisance and eximed, ¡°We dare not! East Arrival Cave Master, please take care!¡±


    It was precisely done so he could listen to them address him as ¡®Cave Master¡¯. Miao Yi beamed with happiness and again cupped his hands as he replied, ¡°Goodbye!¡±


    He mounted Charcoal, and the dragon steed then galloped away with him in tow.


    ¡°He only has a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade and now he¡¯s overseeing a region!¡± Qian Zifeng clicked his tongue, green with envy.


    There were a lot of people who weren¡¯t likely to have this kind of opportunity, even if they were with a cultivation at White Lotus Fifth Grade. Waiting for his own time toe, he was uncertain which year or month it would happen for him.


    The moment he left South Edict Manor, Miao Yi once again urged Charcoal to a gallop, as they surreptitiously delved into the mountain forest and found the ce where he¡¯d previously hidden his things.


    Digging out the items, he examined them for a while, and confirmed that nothing was missing. Spreading out his hand, he invoked his art onto the storage ring on his finger, and immediately contained the items within the storage ring. Tightening his fist, he once again spread his fingers apart, and a silver spear precipitously appeared in his hand. With another clench of his fist, the silver spear was again contained back into the storage ring. It could be said that he could do as he pleased.


    Stroking the storage ring wrapped around his middle finger, he felt invigorated, since he would never have to hold his longspear or carryrge and small bags around anymore. At the very least, he didn¡¯t have to worry that the items he¡¯d stolen would be seen by others.


    Mounting back up onto his steed, he gave Charcoal a pat. ¡°Let¡¯s go and find that vile woman!¡±


    Two fleshy feelers popped up from within the mane, attaching themselves to him before the chubby Charcoal reared and galloped off speedily...


    The reason why Mount Calming Sea came to have its name, was because Mount Calming Sea was the only ce that was located by the sea within the realm of South Edict. Above was Mount Heavenly Grace from Ever Peace Manor and below there was Mount Gathering Justice from Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, with Mount Calming Sea of South Edict Manor located in between. Along with the other two manors, its geographical location formed a triangr zone.


    And East Arrival Cave was at the very peak of the triangr zone in Mount Calming Sea, situated right by the sea.


    Yang Qing naturally had his own reasons to post Qin Weiwei at this geographical location, ced in between two manors. At the same time, she would know first-hand the movement of the two manors, allowing her to avoid mishaps. So of course, he had to assign it to his trusted aide. Other than Qin Weiwei, there was no else as trusted among his loyal aides.


    And Yang Qing promising to let Miao Yie to East Arrival Cave was also his attempt at winning him over¡ªit was not necessarily for the same reasons.


    Currently, Miao Yi, who was now outside the mountain gate of Mount Calming Sea, was speechless. He hadn¡¯t seen Qin Weiwei, yet he¡¯d already had a taste of her wrath.


    At first, when he asked the cultivator standing guard to send word, the guy held onto a smiling face. But who knew that after returning from his report, the guard¡¯s face would immediately turn sour? He then informed him that Mountain Chieftain was busy and requested him to wait outside the gate for now.


    Miao Yi wanted to give some items to the two cultivators standing guard in order to establish a rtionship with them, and at the same time, ask about the current state of affairs. But he would never have predicted that the guy didn¡¯t want to ept his money¡ªthe guy even berated him for it.


    He had rushed over here since early morning and stayed waiting till noon, and they still didn¡¯t seem to have the intention of letting him enter. He vaguely caught on to what was going on¡ªthat b*tch was indeed messing with him.


    Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t foolishly wait under the sun. He led Charcoal beneath the shade of a tree, then lied down, a man and his dragon steed, leaning against each other as they slept.


    The sun sets in the west. Seeing that the sun was about to set, Qin Weiwei,zily lying on top of a chair bed in one of the garrets asked softly, ¡°He¡¯s still sleeping?¡±


    A handmaiden bowed in reply. ¡°Yes. The people from the mountain gate informed that he¡¯s still sleeping.¡±


    Qin Weiwei let out a cold scoff. She stood up and went down with hands sped behind her back. ¡°Doesn¡¯t he like to sleep? Then let¡¯s just let him sleep outside for another night.¡±


    The sky hadpletely darkened. Miao Yi wasn¡¯t a pig, so he couldn¡¯t continue sleeping. Not only that, Charcoal was also whining at the side, indicating that he was hungry.


    Giving him a few pats, Miao Yi pointed to ake situated not far from here, reflected under the moonlight. ¡°Go catch a fish. Get a big one.¡±


    Charcoal immediately sped off. By the time Miao Yi had finally built a bonfire, Charcoal, whose body waspletely drenched, came trotting back with a huge catfish that was estimated to weigh a dozen or more jin. He threw the fish onto the ground at Miao Yi¡¯s side and went back to theke to do the same again. He would have to depend on himself to fill his own tummy since his master was unreliable.


    This scene caused the cultivators standing guard at the mountain gate to look on in shock. Unexpectedly, this dragon steed that was as fat as a pig, knew how to catch fish in the water?


    They were aware that dragon steeds knew how to swim, but it was their first time seeing a dragon steed who could help his master catch fish.


    Roasting the huge, pierced catfish, Miao Yi shot a nce at them, thinking to himself that such a sight had never been seen before, right? So now you know I¡¯m not alone at all.


    Luckily, he already knew beforehand that bying here to Qin Weiwei¡¯s ce, he was bound to run into issues, so he¡¯d made preparations earlier on and bought some goods from the city nearby.


    After drinking and eating to his heart¡¯s content, he tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth, preparing to cultivate while sitting cross-legged. With this, time would pass by very quickly. That vile woman had the capacity to make him wait there for a year. Since he had the Orb of Will given to him by the Lady Boss, in addition to the ones he had plunderedter on, he could cultivate for up to a year and still wouldn¡¯t run out. Not only that, he had someone to provide free protection to him too.


    Miao Yi refused to believe that since Yang Qing had appointed him as the Cave Master of East Arrival Case, that wretched woman would truly be able to keep obstructing him like this. All in all, he absolutely could not fall for that b*tch¡¯s trick¡ªhe had to hold it in.


    In actuality, that was indeed the fact. It was impossible for Qin Weiwei to keep refusing to see him. She only intended to make him lose his patience. If Miao Yi couldn¡¯t stand the humiliation and then ran off, then she could legitimately refuse to give the seat of the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave to Miao Yi.


    The next morning, the mountain gate guard walked over to his side to inform him, ¡°The Mountain Chieftain has summoned you to the grand hall.¡±


    Miao Yi stopped cultivating and spat out the Orb of Will, which he then tucked away. He then spoke to Charcoal at his side, ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people who harbor ill intentions here. Hide further away. Don¡¯t let anyonee near you.¡±


    He had to guard against others who would target his mount. Charcoal had killed Qin Weiwei¡¯s mount before. He couldn¡¯t deny the possibility that Qin Weiwei would try to target Charcoal, and make him walk to East Arrival Cave on foot inste


    In the end, he was right. Qin Weiwei did indeed make arrangements to do exactly that. She didn¡¯t know whether Miao Yi would actually walk all the way to East Arrival Cave. At the very least, she wouldn¡¯t be giving Miao Yi another dragon steed on her side.


    The moment Miao Yi entered the mountain gate, Charcoal shrewdly ran far away.


    One of the cultivators standing guard by the gate couldn¡¯t help butugh at the retreating Charcoal. ¡°This pig-like beast is acting like a human.¡±


    Within the Mount Calming Sea Grand Hall, Qin Weiwei sat in the high seat. She was decked out in white robes akin to snow, and wore a cold expression on her face. She looked on with downcast eyes at Miao Yi standing beneath her and calmly said, ¡°I, the Mountain Chieftain, had important matters to attend to yesterday, which have just been concluded. I¡¯ve made you wait for quite a long period of time. Hopefully, you don¡¯t mind.¡±

 Chapter 66: East Arrival Cave Master (4)

    Chapter 66: East Arrival Cave Master (4)


    In fact, Miao Yi wanted to take offense, but what good would that do?


    ¡°I dare not. Mountain Chieftain¡¯s matters are far more important.¡± Miao Yi cupped his hands in reply.


    No matter how Qin Weiwei heard it, she sensed something was fishy, as though he was satirizing her instead¡ªyou won¡¯t even attach importance to Yang Qing, what else can I say?


    However, Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t seem to mind. She calmly said, ¡°I know your purpose ining here. Do you have the Manor Head¡¯s decree of duty?¡±


    Miao Yi took out the jade archive from his storage ring, then walked up front to present it to her with both hands.


    Upon receiving it, she looked through and held no objections. She could not deliberately make things difficult for him on this matter. Otherwise, that would mean she was disrespecting thew decree set by Yang Qing. Now that would be seriously considered as not giving face to Yang Qing. Then, with her status as the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, she wrote another decree of duty, eventually handing it over to Miao Yi.


    After examining the contents of the jade archive and ensuring there weren¡¯t any issues, Miao Yi cupped his fists and asked, ¡°I would like to ask, are all the members of East Arrival Cave currently at their assigned positions?¡±


    Qin Weiwei nodded and said, ¡°The only one yet to take up their position is you, the Cave Master.¡±


    ¡°I would like to have Yan Xiu transferred to serve under me, so I request Mountain Chieftain to allow this!¡± Previously, Miao Yi had made a promise to Yan Xiu regarding this matter. He really needed one of his own to be by his side.


    Qin Weiwei then impassively said, ¡°I do not require you to teach me how to transfer the crew of Mount Calming Sea. Just watch over your own East Arrival Cave.¡±


    As soon as she finished, a wave of quickly approaching dragon steeds could be heard moring in from outside. In the midst of it all came the sound of Charcoal neighing indistinctly.


    Miao Yi, who was about to say something, suddenly changed his expression. Abruptly, he swept his gaze to stare at Qin Weiwei. Unfortunately, he had guessed right. This vile woman was indeed being sinister by targeting his own mount.


    Qin Weiwei, who was akin to a snow-pear flower, sat in a poised manner in the high seat. He was unable to make out any changes in the cold expression on her face.


    In order to save Charcoal, Miao Yi could only temporarily put down Yan Xiu¡¯s matter for now. He cupped his hands, bidding his farewell as he said, ¡°Mountain Chieftain is busy, so I won¡¯t trouble you any further. I¡¯ll make my arrangements at East Arrival Cave.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not urgent! I still need to talk to you,¡± Qin Weiwei calmly and unhurriedly uttered. ¡°Regarding your current journey to East Arrival Cave, you must make sure to settle the ce down, and cannot do as you please to disturb the peaceful life of the followers...¡±


    This wasn¡¯t even Miao Yi¡¯s first time in entering the cultivation world, so it wasn¡¯t necessary for her to exin all this to him. Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t even need to say it out loud and already Miao Yi knew it was bullshit¡ªhe listened till he tightened both of his fists repeatedly.


    He had seen through her. This b*tch was obviously trying to stall time. But he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. She was speaking of official matters that would be relevant once he took up his position. One could guess what the consequences would be for not listening attentively.


    Miao Yi¡¯s face was as ck as the bottom of a pot. If he could beat this woman in a fight, he¡¯d like to to take out his spear and impale the b*tch to death.


    His expression twitched as he locked his gaze onto Qin Weiwei, both his eyes almost emitting mes. He had no choice but to nod and agree.


    A look of delight shed across Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes as she exacted her revenge through this bantering. On the surface, she appeared to be aloof instead, continuing to stall time as she gradually briefed him.


    When she could no longer hear sounds of movementing from outside, Qin Weiwei finally stood up and walked down from her high seat. Walking to Miao Yi¡¯s side, she tilted her head to look askance at him and warned, ¡°Still using the same words, once you get to East Arrival Cave, you must settle down the ce and cannot do as you please in disturbing the peaceful lives of the followers. If this influences the handover of the Orbs of Will at the end of the year, I will not forgive you!¡±


    ¡°I will definitely not defy the great expectations of Mountain Chieftain.¡± Miao Yi cupped his fists in eptance of the order before asking, ¡°Can I go ahead and make my way back now?¡±


    Qin Weiwei perfunctorily said, ¡°Alright.¡±


    Miao Yi rapidly turned around and left. With a silver spear at hand, once he left the grand hall, he moved to the mountain gate with great haste. Surveying the surroundings coldly, he saw the two cultivators who were guarding the gates, currently rejoicing in another¡¯s misfortune before them.


    ¡°Hush...Hush...¡± Miao Yi clenched his lips, invoking his art in emitting a soft, long shout. He hoped that nothing bad had happened to Charcoal, and he would still be able to hear his call.


    He didn¡¯t wait for long¡ªfar off in the distance, there came the distinct sound of rapid hooves, only to be greeted with the sight of a dragon steed abruptly soaring out from the mountain forest. After it descended onto the ground, it galloped over at great speed, akin to a gale. It was Charcoal.


    Shortly after, he again saw two dragon steeds leaping out from the mountain forest in quick session as they chased Charcoal from behind. They were being ridden by spear-wielding cultivators, precisely the two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators who¡¯d fought with Miao Yi before. Judging by the intense chase scene, they were obviously pursuing Charcoal.


    Charcoal rushed over, quickly hiding behind Miao Yi before letting out a


    Seeing that the master had arrived, the two cultivators nced at each other, lowering their speed.


    In rapid movement, Miao Yi mounted the steed, pointing his spear at the both of them as he angrily shouted ¡°What are you two trying to do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Both of them casually replied with a word. They turned their steeds around, preparing to enter the mountain gates.


    ¡°Stop right there!¡± Miao Yi blocked them with a horizontal swipe of his spear. ¡°nning to leave without giving an exnation?¡±


    ¡°What kind of exnation do you intend to get from me here?¡± A voice came from behind him, belonging to Qin Weiwei.


    Miao Yi turned to look behind him, only to be greeted by the sight of Qin Weiwei, dressed in a white skirt, nimbly appearing on top of the memorial arch of the mountain gate. She stared at him as she towered above, and asked, ¡°Miao Yi, make haste to East Arrival Cave to take up the post. Or do you want to stir up trouble here instead?¡±


    Gnashing his teeth, Miao Yi turned around, and without a word he briefly touched the two men with the tip of his spear. A wise man knows better than to fight when the odds are against him, so Charcoal carried him off speedily into the far distance, like an arrow shooting out from a bow...


    After seeing Miao Yi had vanished, Qin Weiwei dropped her gaze onto the two men. ¡°You can¡¯t even settle the other guy¡¯s mount. Tell me, what right do either of you have to envy him being appointed as the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave?¡±


    An awkward expression appeared on their faces. One of them feebly defended, ¡°That bastard is too crafty. He ran the moment he saw us nearing him so it was difficult to catch up.¡±


    Qin Weiwei ignored them and swiftly flew back into the grand hall.


    With no outsiders around her now, Qin Weiwei immediately flipped out in the grand hall. She kicked the stone pirs, goingpletely ballistic, unable to contain the frustration in her heart.


    Her personal handmaidens, Hong Mian and Lu Liu, came over to her. Lu Liu asked, ¡°Mountain Chieftain, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Qin Weiwei pointed her finger towards the outside. ¡°Those two useless things, they can¡¯t even handle that guy¡¯s steed. They made me look like a bad person for nothing! If word got out, people willugh at me!¡±


    Hong Mian pursed her lips andughed, ¡°Mountain Chieftain, are you that upset that Miao Yi has be the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave?¡±


    Qin Weiwei immediately dashed to her and pinched her nose, feigning anger as she said, ¡°You dare to ridicule me, too? Are you sneering at me for being petty?¡±


    ¡°I dare not! Mountain Chieftain, please have mercy on me!¡± Hong Mian repeatedly begged for forgiveness as sheughed.


    At once, Qin Weiwei ¡®ruthlessly¡¯ came to blows, trampling her underfoot. Only then did she ¡®lividly¡¯ release her.


    Sorting out her emotions, she gradually walked over to the main doorway, sping her hands behind her back as she sighed, ¡°Loathing him is just one of the reasons. Honestly, the guy¡¯s cultivation base is just too low. Manor Head has ced me in such an important position, and the ce that guy is overseeing is situated at a crucial point. Besides, School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples might not obey him. I worry he¡¯ll be unable to achieve anything and will ruin things instead!¡±


    Following her, both Hong Mian and Lu Liu looked speechlessly at each other.


    Qin Weiwei was annoyed.


    Miao Yi was also annoyed, but as he thought of going to garrison a region,manding a hundred thousand followers as well as bing that region¡¯s official Cave Master, he was still ecstatic.


    Below him, Charcoal galloped on incessantly under his urging, dashing at great speed throughout the entire journey. After madly galloping for a day, they finally arrived at East Arrival Cave at dusk.


    This was his second timeing to East Arrival Cave. The first time he¡¯d done so, he had apanied Yang Qing to this ce.


    Up ahead, the faintly discernible unbroken string of buildings amidst the mountain ranges, they were his domain.


    Looking at the storage ring wrapped around his finger, Miao Yi was ovee with joy. He began to mull over what the normal response would be to a Cave Master at the moment the cultivators guarding the mountain gate were to see him.


    Should his reply appear to be imposing or should he be more gentle?


    But when he halted Charcoal to a stop right under the mountain gates, not a single person was in sight. The speech he¡¯d prepared to make the grandeur of the Cave Master more prominent was wasted.


    Where did the people go? Howe there wasn¡¯t anyone guarding the stately East Arrival Cave¡¯s mountain gate? Wasn¡¯t this allowing anyone to intrude into his domain as they pleased?!

 Chapter 67: East Arrival Cave Master (5)

    Chapter 67: East Arrival Cave Master (5)


    After looking around his surroundings for a while, and even riding Charcoal around the mountain gates, repeatedly entering and exiting, no one came to stop him. Not even the shadow of a ghost could be seen.


    This ce, where anybody could just casually enter, was his domain?


    Or was Qin Weiwei making a fool of him, letting him be an abandoned Cave Master?


    The Great Cave Master Miao¡¯s face begins to darken, the joyful excitement of promotion all turned to smoke. He angrily shouted, ¡°Anyone still alive, get your butts out here!¡±


    He invoked his arts as he shouted, and his voice reverberated throughout the wilds of the mountains, startling all the birds of the forest into a frenzy.


    Fortunately the situation was not as bad as he thought, and very soon three figures ran out after hearing his shout.


    The one in the lead was none other than Yan Xiu. Miao Yi recognised the other two as well¡ªthey were the fallen soldiers of Transient Light Cave. To be more precise, they were the two White Lotus Second Grade cultivators who gave themselves up to Yang Qing back then at Transient Light Cave. One was called Dan Biaoyi, and the other was Qiu Shaoqun. One could say they were all Transient Light Cave¡¯s fallen soldiers who had surrendered to Yang Qing.


    Both parties were surprised to see one another.


    Yan Xiu caught a glimpse of the storage ring on Miao Yi¡¯s finger, and he jovially asked, ¡°Have you be the new Cave Master already?¡±


    ¡°Senior Yan?¡± Miao Yi, in contrast, was puzzled¡ªhadn¡¯t Qin Weiwei refused to put Yan Xiu under him? Why was he here? Naturally, he questioned, ¡°Howe you¡¯re here?¡±


    Yan Xiu pointed to the other two behind him, andughingly said, ¡°Mountain Chieftain gave the order for me to guide these two here, to look after East Arrival Cave until the new Cave Master arrives. I¡¯m guessing that must be you.¡±


    ¡°What is that vile woman plotting, is it that fun to mess with other people?¡± Miao Yi rolled his eyes.


    He could hardly fail to realize that since Yang Qing was willing to let Qin Weiwei be Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, she would not dare to mess with official matters. Regardless of how much she despised Miao Yi, she would not neglect official matters. She was also concerned that with Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation, he would not be able to handle his subordinates, so she specifically arranged for Yan Xiu, who had a good rtionship with Miao Yi, to be assigned here, asking him to temporarily oversee the East Arrival Cave affairs. Even the other two from Transient Light Cave who surrendered¡ªDan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun¡ªwere assigned here, increasing the number of familiar people around Miao Yi, so as to avoid any mishaps in East Arrival Cave.


    Yan Xiu asked curiously, ¡°Which vile woman?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh.....¡± Miao Yi cast a nce at Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun, and immediately swallowed his words. It was unbing to speak ill of Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei in front of strangers, so he casually followed up with, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    Yan Xiu immediately understood from his reaction, and could make a pretty good guess which vile woman he was referring to. He knew Miao Yi had a poor rtionship with that person, and some things should not be so casually said in front of Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun, so he waved his hand and changed the subject. ¡°But a promotion to new Cave Master? If that¡¯s true, then please hand out the decree of the Mountain Chieftain. Then I¡¯ll be able to pass East Arrival Cave over to you.¡±


    A jade archive shot out from the storage ring on Miao Yi¡¯s middle finger, andnded onto Yan Xiu¡¯s hand. After giving it a nce, he nodded towards the other two. Immediately, all three of them formed a straight line, and bowed respectfully, ¡°Your subordinate greets the Cave Master!¡±


    If Miao Yi was still the Transient Light Cave Horse Deputy of back then, Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun might not even have held Miao Yi with any importance. But the situation now was different. After the battle at Transient Light Cave, the two of them were witness to Miao Yi¡¯s ability, and the strength capable of single-handedly killing three White Lotus Second Grades and one White Lotus Third Grade cultivator. What¡¯s more, even five people working together could not defeat Miao Yi. They found it hard not to lower their heads, and now were courteous and respectful.


    Miao Yi, who was sitting on top of Charcoal, beamed with a smile. He raised his hand in a humble gesture, ¡°Senior Yan, the three of you need not be so formal.¡±


    ¡°Cave Master must not address your subordinate as such,¡± Yan Xiu remarked, ¡°Your positionmands respect. Cave Master can simply call your subordinate as Yan Xiu from now on.¡±


    Miao Yi chuckled, but as he looked around, his expression turned gloomy again. He pointed towards the unguarded mountain gates and asked, ¡°What is the meaning of this, why isn¡¯t there anyone guarding the gates? Don¡¯t tell me my East Arrival Cave is only for show, and that anyone cane and go as they please? What use of us is there, if we can¡¯t even tell if a thief should ever steal something? Yan Xiu, the Mountain Chieftain put East Arrival Cave under your temporary care, is this how you handle affairs?¡±


    He was being a bit harsh, but it wasn¡¯t that he was not willing to give Yan Xiu face, it was just that the problem was too severe. If this were to continue, what if one day someone were to attack them and they wouldn¡¯t even know? He was truly annoyed by Yan Xiu¡¯s carelessness.


    ¡°Cave Master, you have wrongly used your subordinate,¡± Yan Xiu tried to exin with a bitter expression on his face.


    The reason was none other thanck of manpower. The entire South Edict Manor had ten mountains, requiring at least one thousand and one hundred cultivators standing guard. And after Yang Qing took over South Edict, his territory had expanded exponentially¡ªhis subordinates could hardly make up the numbers, hence most of the spots were filled up by School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples, as per their earlier agreement.


    East Arrival Cave was no exception. Before Miao Yi came, other than Yan Xiu, Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun, the other seven were all School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples. Three were White Lotus Third Grade cultivators, and the other four had a White Lotus Second Grade cultivation.


    Even though Yan Xiu was under orders to manage East Arrival Cave, the other seven were all fellow disciples of the same house, so naturally they stuck together. Added to the fact that they had the advantage in numbers, they barely held Yan Xiu in any regard.


    Yan Xiu picked a few from their group to guard the gates, care for the horses and clean up the trash, but they did not even bother. In turn, they forced Yan Xiu¡¯s group to care for the horses, to clean up the trash, and even prepare meals for them. Where else would they find someone free enough to guard the mountain gates?


    Originally, the East Arrival City Lord wanted to pay his respects with a few servants or gifts, but Yan Xiu knew that once they arrived, they would be taken away and shared by these people. When that happened, regardless of whether the new Cave Master was Miao Yi or not, he would have no way of exining himself to the new Cave Master. Thus, Yan Xiu secretlyid pressure on the City Lord, stating that these matters could only be decided once the Cave Master had arrived. Otherwise, the Cave Master would not spare the City Lord.


    As they were talking, seven blue-robed figures came out. After hearing the noise, they remained unfazed, and simply walked out slowly, unlike Yan Xiu¡¯s group who¡¯de running.


    Miao Yi, who was sitting on top of his dragon steed, squinted his eyes to look at them. His gaze seemed to shine through the seams of his eyes. With both hands on his abdomen, he gently knocked his knuckle with his middle finger that wore the storage ring. It was unclear what was going through his mind at that moment.


    Yan Xiu¡¯s group seemed to be a bit fearful of these people. Yan Xiu did not even dare speak in the open, and instead, secretly transmitted his voice to Miao Yi to introduce them.


    The three people who brazenly walked in the front, were called Song Fu, Wang Zifa, and Zhu Tianbiao respectively. They all seemed to be quite old, especially Song Fu¡ªhe was practically an old man, and looked much older than Yan Xiu, but had a White Lotus Third Grade cultivation.


    Behind them, the other four people all had a White Lotus Second Grade cultivation. They were called Shang Yoi, Hou Sheng, Wang Xiuqing and Nan Sisi respectively. The two at the back were female.


    Seeing Miao Yi, who was seated on a dragon steed, a storage ring on his hand, as well as the reaction of Yan Xiu¡¯s group, the three people in front, including Song Fu, looked at each other¡ªthey understood what this meant, and the mockery in their eyes became all the more difficult to conceal. A White Lotus First Grade brat was going to be their Cave Master? What a joke, did he think School of Blue Jade would be easy to bully?


    The seven of them came over and stood firm. Song Fu, with anguid expression on his face, shouted unreservedly as he pointed at Miao Yi, ¡°Who is it making a racket here?¡±

 Chapter 68: East Arrival Cave Master (6)

    Chapter 68: East Arrival Cave Master (6)


    Miao Yi paid him no heed. He just looked at him coldly.


    In contrast, Yan Xiu hurriedly exined, ¡°The new Cave Master is here.¡±


    ¡°New Cave Master?¡± Song Fu stroked his flowery-white beard, as though surprised. He asked, ¡°Do you have the decree of duty from the Mountain Chieftain?¡±


    Yan Xiu quickly handed over the jade archive in his hand. Song Fu took the jade archive and after examining it with his arts, he nodded slightly, then passed it over to Wang Zifa, who then handed it to Zhu Tianbiao after looking through it.


    When the jade archive finally returned to Yan Xiu¡¯s hand, Song Fu nodded at Miao Yi. ¡°At longst you are here, Cave Master. Quickly ask the East Arrival City Lord to send over this month¡¯s fees and handmaidens, otherwise we will find it hard to focus on cultivation.¡±


    Miao Yi leaned forward slightly, red at him and smiled. ¡°Are you trying to lecture this Cave Master?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Song Fu held his hand in jest, ¡°I am just afraid since Cave Master is young and thus inexperienced, so I wanted to make a small reminder.¡± However, his eyes were as though they were saying¡ªwhat can you even do to me if I was?


    ¡°Inexperienced or not, that is not something that concerns you. I know you are all my subordinates.¡± Miao Yi pointed at the seven of them and suddenly snapped, ¡°Why are you still not paying your respects in front of the Cave Master, are you trying to rebel!¡±


    They looked at each other, and Song Fu chuckled. ¡°Cave Master need not be so agitated. We all came out to see you, is that not considered paying respects to the Cave Master already?¡±


    In a solemn voice, Miao Yi shouted, ¡°Dan Biaoyi!¡±


    Dan Biaoyi was about to see what Miao Yi was going to do, when suddenly his name was called out. He was surprised at first, and then he saw Miao Yi sweeping a cold nce at him. He immediately stepped forward and cupped his fists, ¡°Your subordinate is here!¡±


    Miao Yiughed coldly, ¡°Head over to Mount Calming Sea immediately. Report to the Mountain Chieftain, and ask her to pass this message to the Manor Head: School of Blue Jade does not respect the order of South Edict, and has rebelled! Let Manor Head swiftly make his judgement!¡±


    Forget everything else, for now he would just force a big cap on their heads.


    Song Fu¡¯s group were left wide-eyed. Wasn¡¯t this just messing around too wildly? Did he think they would be afraid?


    Dan Biaoyi¡¯s face twitched, as though asking, are you for real or are you just messing around?


    ¡°En?¡± Miao Yi red at him and made a questioning noise.


    Sua! A silver spear had already appeared in his hand. He could not kill the others, but Dan Biaoyi was just a White Lotus Second Grade cultivator, so Miao Yi still had some confidence.


    Dan Biaoyi trembled slightly, and quickly cupped his fists and acknowledged his order, then turned around to get a dragon steed.


    ¡°Hold it!¡± Song Fu quickly reached out his hand to stop Dan Biaoyi.


    Seeing that Miao Yi was serious, then if they were framed with such a monumental cap, the effects would be far worse than a simple demerit. School of Blue Jade had just gone into an agreement with Yang Qing, so even if both parties had some feelings of disagreement in their hearts, they would not reveal it for the time being. Regardless of the truth, the final result was likely a punishment of fifty smacks each, and School of Blue Jade was sure to punish them heavily in front of Yang Qing in order to avoid disrupting the agreement between them.


    Truth be told, School of Blue Jade was not afraid of Yang Qing, but was apprehensive of the governing force of the entire Immortal Nation set by the Immortal Sage Mu Fanjun, who stood behind Yang Qing. You could challenge Yang Qing, but would you dare challenge the ten Hall Masters who stood behind him? Behind these ten, were ten more Pce Lords, and beyond them there were still twelve domain Overlords, and at the top there was Immortal Sage Mu Fanjun himself.


    ¡°Cave Master¡¯s words are too much.¡± With a dark expression, Song Fu held his hand as a gesture of apology, then turned back and shouted at his fellow disciples, ¡°Quickly pay your respects to the Cave Master!¡±


    The seven of them casually adjusted themselves, and nonchntly cupped their fists, ¡°Your subordinate greets the Cave Master!¡±


    From their words and actions, they had no trace of respect for Miao Yi at all.


    Miao Yi also did not care whether they were sincere or not. He leaned his upper body forward once again, and stared at Song Fu¡¯s eyes. He asked smilingly, ¡°Then from this day forward, you are all willing to heed this Cave Master¡¯s orders?¡±


    This brat was a smiling tiger! They all had this impression of the temperamental Miao Yi in their hearts.


    Naturally they could not openly say they wouldn¡¯t listen to the Cave Master¡¯s orders¡ªthat would be a real rebellion. They would not do anything that could be seen as publicly going against Yang Qing. Their original intention was to coax and pester, to act as if they obeyed, but disregarding him in secret. They would then fight for more benefits for themselves, making it difficult for the new Cave Master to handle them. It would be best if he was driven away, and one of them could be Cave Master. A White Lotus First Grade was looking to be their boss, what a joke! They¡¯d have no face to see other people if they went out!


    Song Fu was thinking, do not be conceited, you brat, when you have problems in the future, with your White Lotus First Grade cultivation, what can you even do to us?


    Unable to say the words in his heart, he only held his hand and smiled, ¡°Why would Cave Master ask such things? We are all under the banner of East Arrival Cave, naturally we will follow the orders of the East Arrival Cave Master.¡±


    ¡°Very good!¡± Miao Yi straightened his body on the dragon steed, his spear pointing at Song Fu. ¡°From this day forth, you shall guard the mountain gates. If any mishaps were to ur, I will hold you for questioning!¡±


    Song Fu¡¯s face froze, fury in his eyes. This was just degrading himself.


    Sitting on Charcoal, Miao Yi could care less about him as he charged towards this group of people in an arrogant manner.


    Even Blue Lotus cultivators did not dare take a hit from a dragon steed, much less this bunch of people. They fearfully dodged to both sides, allowing Miao Yi to pass.


    Song Fu andpany all had dark expressions on their faces¡ªthis brat did not hold the School of Blue Jade disciples in any regard at all.


    Yan Xiu¡¯s group looked at each other, realizing that this Cave Master was quite brash indeed.


    But the three of them secretly felt a rush. They had all been heavily bullied these past days, and now seeing the tables turned on that group, they felt deeply ecstatic inside.


    Yan Xiu called out to the other two, and prompted them to rush alongside him to the East Arrival Great Hall.


    Cave Master is still far too young. He only sees the momentary bliss, and not the ensuing trouble. They had to remind him of this.


    Charcoal spread his hooves andid down leisurely in front of the Great Hall gates, much like a watchdog. Where could one find a dragon steed that could lie down almost anywhere¡ªit was really ridiculous.


    Miao Yi was looking around the Great Hall. Upon seeing the three of them enter, he straightened his expression and proceeded to the only high chair at the center of the hall and sat there. He steepled his fingers together, looking for the feeling of being a Cave Master. He nced towards the three of them and was very expectant of their disy of respect once more.


    The three of them cast a nce at each other, then stood in line, and held their hands in salutation. ¡°We¡¯re here to pay respects to the Cave Master!¡±


    ¡°We are all oldrades of Transient Light Cave. You can even say we¡¯re like family, so there¡¯s no need to be so formal! In future, all of us shall share both our fortunes and problems. I will not treat you badly!¡± Miao Yiughed as he raised his hand, making a gesture to them to rise; the notion of helping one side and beating the other, he was clearly aware of it from his days in the marketce.


    Finding the shallow pride from being respected by others, he was feeling better than ever. As though he was a humble man aplishing a great deed, his face had a trace of conceit and was beaming with its smile.


    But these words evidently struck a chord with this bunch¡ªwho would be unhappy to find out there were benefits?


    ¡°Cave Master!¡± After his moment of happiness, Yan Xiu gave an anxious reminder, ¡°You treated them as such today, so in the future I worry they will just obey on the surface but oppose in secret!¡±


    Clearly, he was dering that they would seek trouble covertly.


    Miao Yiughed coldly. ¡°If I didn¡¯t do this to them, will they even listen to my orders in the future? I am the Cave Master, so if I have to degrade myself in front of them, then why would I be in this position at all? I might as well let them have it. I am the superior in both prestige and position, so why should I fear them at all? They are only looking down on the fact that my cultivation is too low!¡±

 Chapter 69: East Arrival Cave Master (7)

    Chapter 69: East Arrival Cave Master (7)


    Yan Xiu sighed, ¡°You made Song Fu, a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator, guard the mountain gates. Is this not going a bit overboard?¡±


    ¡°If I did not make him guard the mountain gates, should I send the three of you to do it? We are all brothers from Transient Light Cave, I will not do something so cold and ruthless.¡±


    As he said this, Miao Yi felt that his words were a bit too shallow, and he chuckled, ¡°I was raised in a town, I wouldn¡¯t know of other grand logic, I only know that when dealing with those who don¡¯t know their ce, if you back away they will only grow conceited. Just wait and see, I will take care of whoever disobeys. If I can¡¯t even handle them, then I might as well not be the Cave Master.¡±


    The three of them looked at each other, not knowing what to say. They could not say that Miao Yi did not understand the gravity of the situation at all.


    Yan Xiu could only remind him again, ¡°Cave Master, I am only afraid that Song Fu may not guard the mountain gates willingly.¡±


    The meaning behind his words was to ask Miao Yi what could he do if Song Fu really did not care for what he said, and did not go and guard the gates? What if Song Fu only guarded for a short while when he felt like it, or refused to go entirely? Yan Xiu only feared that the one embarrassedter on would be Miao Yi who gave the order.


    ¡°How could I not see that? If he¡¯d truly guard the mountain gates of his own ord, I would not have needed to order him to.¡±


    Miao Yiughed coldly and twitched his eyebrows. He stayed silent for a while, and when he came to he realized the three of them were staring at him, wondering what he intended to do. He lightly coughed, and addressed the matter at hand, ¡°During the time I was away, East Arrival Cave was alright?¡±


    ¡°Other than those bastards who were slightly frustrating, there was nothing else....¡± Yan Xiu reported the recent situation, and then took out the document sent over by the East Arrival City Lord from his sleeves, and handed it up with both hands.


    Miao Yi held it in his hands and sat on his seat as he opened it up to take a look. The document began with some words of praise kissing up to him, followed by a record of the geographical information of East Arrival City, as well as its customs and traditions. Towards the end, there was an borate introduction regarding the number of followers, clearly understanding that this was the Cave Master¡¯s main concern, as it affected the annual tribute of Orbs of Will.


    Seeing the poption had only grownpared tost year, along with the assurance from the City Lord that this year¡¯s Orb of Will would definitely fulfill the tribute¡¯s quota, Miao Yi heaved a sigh of relief and closed the document, tossing it back to Yan Xiu. ¡°Make a few amendments, then copy it onto a jade archive, the Mountain Chieftain is waiting for this.¡±


    This was what Qin Weiwei had especially entrusted to him before he came here, because she needed to know what was going on among those under hermand. In turn, she would have to report the situation of Mount Calming Sea to Yang Qing. After that, Yang Qing also needed to exin the post-takeover situation to the Hall Master. A reassurance, as one could call it. One cannot just take over someone¡¯s domain and just pretend like nothing happened; there was a need to reassure the Hall Master that there will not be any disruptions to his side of the profits.


    ¡°Acknowledged!¡± Yan Xiu cupped his hands and received his order, then switched to a more rxed topic, ¡°Cave Master, East Arrival City Lord prepared a few small gifts, and wishes to pay you a visit. He has also meticulously prepared two handmaidens, and I was the one that personally helped to pick them out, would you like to have them sent here so that you may take a look? If you do not find them to your liking, then it is better if we make a switch early on.¡±¡°Indeed, you have been thoughtful! But we have yet to settle our internal affairs, so now is not the time to indulge. Put them aside for now. Qiu Shaoqun, I have something I would like you to do.¡± Miao Yi waved his hands towards Qiu Shaoqun.


    Qiu Shaoqun immediately proceeded to the side of Miao Yi¡¯s seat to receive his order. Miao Yi did not intend to keep it a secret from the other two, and uttered a few words to Qiu Shaoqun in a low voice.


    Everyone¡¯s faces changed upon hearing it, and finally Qiu Shaoqun could not resist making an ¡®ah¡¯ sound. He had a bitter expression on his face and said, ¡°Cave Master, doing something like this... I fear it won¡¯t be very good?¡±


    Miao Yi simply said ¡®oh¡¯ and looked askance. He said indifferently, ¡°If you do not want to do it, then fine, I will not force you. In the future I will not trouble you, and you can step down now. Even with the support of the Manor Head, I doubt that I¡¯ll be able to take care of those bastards.¡±


    ¡°I....¡± Qiu Shaoqun felt a bit helpless; the Cave Master was implying that he only needed to stand aside from now on. Eventually, he gritted his teeth, and cupping his fists he dered his allegiance, ¡°Cave Master, your subordinate did not mean that. I only felt that destroying our own mountain gates would be a bit unsuitable, but since Cave Master has already decided to do this, then your subordinate will naturally follow!¡±¡°That¡¯s right, we are one family, so why question one another? Comeee, a single person can only n for the short term, but three can n for the long term, so let us discuss this again together!¡±


    Miao Yi waved his hand once again, and beckoned Yan Xiu and Dan Biaoyi forward. They bumped their heads together as they muttered, and who knows what they were secretly nning.


    When they finally reached a conclusion, Yan Xiu, Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun all looked at one another, as though they were anxious.


    Especially Yan Xiu¡¯splicated gaze as he looked at Miao Yi, thinking no wonder he could make a name for himself, it was not without reason. His decisive way of handling problems was not something Yan Xiu couldpare to.It was nighttime, and outside the East Arrival Grand Hall, Charcoaly on the ground sleeping, waving its tail from time to time, and making pping sounds on the ground.


    Within the Grand Hall, candles danced about, each the size of a toddler¡¯s limb.


    A set of dishes wereid upon the short table, brimming with a fragrant scent. These were all handmade by Yan Xiu¡ªfor this former drunkard, cooking was his expertise.


    The eclectic Cave Master disyed his friendliness to his subjects. He sat in his seat, and raised his cup to the other two as they drank together.


    After a while, a distressed Qiu Shaoqun dashed inside. He lowered his head and whispered to Miao Yi, ¡°No one is there.¡±


    ¡°He truly does not pay any heed to this Cave Master¡¯s words. Did he think he could embarrass me like this?¡± Miao Yi snorted coldly, and tilted his head, ¡°Do it!¡±


    Under the gaze of Yan Xiu and Dan Biaoyi, Qiu Shaoqun found his resolve. He cupped his fists at Miao Yi in acknowledgement of his mission, and deciding to bite the bullet, he quickly dashed outside the hall.¡°Drink!¡± Miao Yi raised his cup and called to the other two.


    Putting his cup down, Yan Xiu still felt a bit restless, and asked in a low voice, ¡°What if he¡¯s discovered?¡±Miao Yi said indifferently, ¡°If he was discovered this time, then there is still the next time. If he had guarded the mountain gates obediently like I told him to, to the point where I cannot find any excuse to make my move, only then will Iy the matter to rest.¡±


    As he finished saying this, outside in the direction of the mountain gates a loud crashing noise resounded.Yan Xiu and Dan Biaoyi stood up anxiously.Miao Yi used his chopsticks to grab the food and stuff it in his mouth, his face was devoid of expression.


    In order to raise his own cultivation as soon as possible, in order to be strong enough to find his siblings one day and take care of them, he¡¯d risked his life time and time again to finally sit in the position of East Arrival Cave Master. Thus, he would not tolerate anything that stood in his path.


    The loud noise outside was just the beginning...


    Yan Xiu and Dan Biaoyi looked at Miao Yi¡¯s reaction, and saw that he was calm beyond belief. They felt cold in their hearts, and even Yan Xiu felt like he couldn¡¯t recognize him at all, and his Adam¡¯s apple moved as he swallowed his saliva.


    Not long after the loud noises outside subsided, Qiu Shaoqun sneaked in quietly. He nodded to the others to show that the deed had already been done.


    Miao Yi mmed his chopsticks onto the table. He stood up and walked outside in great strides.The three of them followed behind, forming a line outside the Grand Hall, with Miao Yi as the lead. They stopped just outside the entrance of the Grand Hall, facing the evanescent night sky.After a while, several figures appeared upon hearing themotion, and stopped right outside the East Arrival Grand Hall. Each of them held their weapons¡ªthey were precisely the restless Song Fu and his group.


    Without waiting for the others to speak, Miao Yi was already shouting with a cold expression, ¡°What is going on outside?¡±

 Chapter 70: East Arrival Cave Master (8)

    Chapter 70: East Arrival Cave Master (8)


    This was what Song Fu and his group wanted to ask, but having someone else ask it first, they instead looked at each other, and were clearly unaware of what was going on, so how could they answer?


    Miao Yi immediately dashed towards the ce where the loud noise originated from, and Yan Xiu and his group instantly followed suit.


    Song Fu¡¯s group looked at each other, also following behind to see what had happened.


    Everyone had reached the mountain gates, and under the moonlight, they could see that therge stone memorial arch that had the words ¡®East Arrival Cave¡¯ carved onto it was left shattered to just pieces on the ground. Everyone was shocked to find out that someone had actually destroyed the mountain gates of East Arrival Cave.


    Miao Yi suddenly turned his head, and giving Song Fu and his group a vicious look, he said coldly, ¡°Good! I¡¯ve just arrived today, and it seems like someone was anxious to knock me down a peg! Very good!¡±


    Song Fu and his group were taken aback¡ªthey understood what the other party meant, but this incident was not their doing. They¡¯d just been sitting together and holding their own gathering, discussing precisely on how to teach Miao Yi a lesson from now on, and had only run out after hearing the strange noise.


    At first, they suspected whether Miao Yi and his group were the ones that did it, but after looking at Miao Yi¡¯s reaction, they felt he had no need to destroy his own mountain gates to teach himself a lesson. After all, Miao Yi was the East Arrival Cave Master, and having your sign destroyed right after your promotion was a very humiliating affair.


    They had to make things clear, otherwise if they were med, they wouldn¡¯t be able to shoulder the responsibility. Song Fu cupped his fists and dered, ¡°Cave Master, this incident was definitely not our doing!¡±


    The others also followed suit in cupping their fists and assuring Miao Yi, as though it was the first time they¡¯d honestly treated Miao Yi as Cave Master.


    ¡°Lies!¡± Miao Yi red at Song Fu and shouted, ¡°I¡¯ve only just assigned you to watch the mountain gates today, how could you not be aware if someone had destroyed it? It can only mean you let them do it on purpose!¡±


    ¡°This... ¡± Song Fu stuttered, he hadn¡¯t even been there, and now was not a good time to say that he¡¯d been absent from duty because he didn¡¯t even regard Miao Yi as Cave Master, so he could only cup his fists and respond with ¡®honesty¡¯. ¡°Cave Master has just arrived and so is probably unaware, but East Arrival City has yet to send its servants here, so our meals have to be taken care of by ourselves. To sate my hunger, your subordinate had to leave temporarily, but I couldn¡¯t have imagined that something like this would happen.¡±


    Wang Zifa and the rest also cupped their fists and reassured Miao Yi, ¡°Cave Master, we can assure you, Senior Brother Song Fu was having a meal with us just now.¡±


    Miao Yi pointed to the fallen sign and said angrily, ¡°Then are you telling me this fell by itself? Don¡¯t tell me it was blown down by the wind!¡±


    ¡°......¡± Song Fu was lost for words, and could only raise his hand and say, ¡°Cave Master, I can swear in the name of all the masters from past generations of the School of Blue Jade, this was definitely not our doing. If I¡¯ve uttered a single lie, then let me, Song Fu, die a miserable death!¡±


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes shed as he swept his gaze at everyone around him, and said solemnly, ¡°Could it be that someone is seeking trouble at my East Arrival Cave?¡±


    Everyone was shocked¡ªthis truly was a possibility, and they began to survey their surroundings.


    ¡°What are you all still waiting here for? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re waiting for someone to off you in your sleep? Spread out and search for clues, hurry up!¡± Miao Yi voiced angrily.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Yan Xiu and his group were the first to cup their fists and acknowledge the order, and quickly spread out towards the surrounding mountain forests.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Miao Yi snorted loudly, and red at Song Fu and his group, as though asking¡ªsince this was not your doing, why are you still not searching? Do you know something?


    Right now they had to prove they¡¯d had nothing to do with the incident. Song Fu quickly turned his head around and remarked, ¡°Hurry up and follow the Cave Master¡¯s orders to search!¡±


    They all cupped their fists at Miao Yi, and quickly dispersed.


    But Song Fu was stopped by Miao Yi. ¡°Song Fu, you follow me!¡±


    Song Fu was taken aback, he cupped his fists in acknowledgement, then followed behind Miao Yi.


    Just when all of them had left, a hazy silhouette, like a watery reflection, appeared out of thin air. It was none other than the figure of the ever-graceful Lao Bai.


    He was looking at the fallen stone memorial arch, and lightly shaking his head, he smiled. ¡°The affairs of the world are like a game of chess; a hot-blooded young man should not only have the bravery of a normal man! Brat, I¡¯ve always been worried that you were too kind-hearted, and easily taken advantage of... A boy must rampage with wit, a reckless brute will not reach the heavens. I am now quite reassured.¡±


    As he said this, his figure¡¯s shape oscited like waves, and he quietly disappeared amidst the oscitions, with not a trace to be seen.


    The candles in the East Arrival Grand Hall danced about as Song Fu followed behind Miao Yi and stood still within. Outside, Charcoal had already stood up, and as though sensing something was about to happen, it sneezed loudly.


    Miao Yi expressionlessly nced at his own prized seat, his hands behind his back as he faced Song Fu. He stood there without uttering a sound.


    The atmosphere between the two was slightly tense, and Song Fu waited for a moment, before finally asking, ¡°What does Cave Master ask of me?¡±


    Miao Yi asked in a solemn tone, ¡°Song Fu, are you aware of your sins?¡±


    Song Fu had a trace of mockery on the corner his lips. Looking at the dishes on the short table to the side, he said indifferently, ¡°This incident was not my doing, what sin do I bear?¡±


    ¡°I am not asking about this!¡± Miao Yi suddenly turned around and red at him. Word by word, he asked coldly, ¡°I ordered you to guard the mountain gates, so why did you leave your post? Do you not regard my Cave Master¡¯s orders with any importance?!¡±


    Song Fu was thinking¡ªwhat do you think? I never held it in any regard in the first ce.


    Obviously, he would not say that out loud. ¡°Song Fu has already rified to the Cave Master. I could not help it, and only momentarily left my post to sate my hunger. I do not want to see something like this to happen as well.¡±


    Miao Yi asked, ¡°Do you think if I were to report this to the superiors, Manor Head and Mountain Chieftain, that they would believe your exnation?¡±


    Song Fu chuckled. ¡°A human¡¯s mouth has twoyers, so if Cave Master insists on framing me, then please do as you wish. But Cave Master, please do not forget, I also have a mouth to dispute you, and I am not mute.¡±


    Miao Yiughed. ¡°It seems as though you really will not learn!¡±


    As he said this, Yan Xiu, Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun, one after the other, quickly appeared outside the door. They came inside and cupped their fists towards Miao Yi. ¡°Cave Master, for the moment we have not found any suspicious persons.¡±


    Miao Yi replied, ¡°The suspicious person is right in front of you, why do you say you have not found him!¡±


    Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun, as though receiving a signal, quickly moved to close the doors to the hall.


    Song Fu was shocked upon hearing this, and he quickly turned around, only to find Yan Xiu already angrily swinging forth his broad axes like a reaper.


    Song Fu quickly pulled out the sword he always carried, a cold gleam dashed out from the scabbard, a cling-ng as he hastily blocked.


    Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun also immediately thrust their spears out, attacking Song Fu in unison.


    Yan Xiu and Song Fu¡¯s cultivation base was pretty much equal, so the two of them were matched in the first ce, but with the addition of Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun into the fray, Song Fu¡¯s circumstances immediately became precarious.


    ¡°Shameless thief! To dare frame¡ª¡±


    Being surrounded and unable to escape, Song Fu, who could only wave his sword to desperatelye to a draw with Yan Xiu, had not even finished bellowing, before two frantically thrusting spears pierced through his transcendence protection, brutally stabbing his chest.


    Song Fu¡¯s eyes widened as he desperately turned his head to look at Miao Yi, his lips trembling¡ªthe hatred in his eyes was indescribable.


    He finally understood that this was a plot, the mountain sign falling was not just to pin the me on him, but also to separate him from hisrades and to prevent him from retaliating together with them¡ªthe main objective was to take his life.

 Chapter 71: East Arrival Cave Master (9)

    Chapter 71: East Arrival Cave Master (9)


    If I don¡¯t kill him now, then when?


    Yan Xiu raised his hand and swung down his de. The broadaxe came down ruthlessly, and lopped the head off.


    Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun also withdrew their spears from Song Fu¡¯s body.


    The three of them were still feeling a bit nervous, and immediately cast a nce at Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi did not intervene, and had instead invoked his arts to protect the dishes on the short table in order to safeguard it from the ripples of transcendence energy from the battle.


    Now that he¡¯d quelled his transcendence energy, he opened his hand and grabbed a cup of alcohol, then brought it up and drank it in one gulp. He said indifferently, ¡°The show is over.¡±


    The three of them cupped their fists, then quickly exited through the back of the hall and disappeared.


    Miao Yi had reached the entrance of the Grand Hall at this point. He opened the gates, and crossed over to the sill, then extended his hands to rub Charcoal¡¯s mane, gazing at the moonlight outside as he did.


    His eyes were cold, and in his head he was reminiscing about the past when he¡¯d held Little Brother in one hand, and carried a frightened and bawling Little Sister, all while he faced a group of adults who came to bully them. He was so frustrated that he was unable to do anything, he stabbed a knife into his own thigh, and bled profusely....


    ¡°Little Brother, Little Sister, Big Brother has let the both of you down. I should not have sent the two of you to such a dangerous environment. It is all Big Brother¡¯s fault. Both of you have to take care of yourselves. Big Brother¡¯s abilities are very limited right now, but please give me some more time...¡± Miao Yi softly whispered.


    The dark green bead on his neck shed a faint light.


    Charcoal shook its head and sneezed....


    Themotion on this side and Song Fu¡¯s dying screams had attracted hispanions here.


    Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbiao¡ªthe two White Lotus Third Grade experts¡ªwere the first to arrive. Shang Yoi, Hou Sheng, Wang Xiuqing and Nan Sisi swiftly followed s


    Yan Xiu, Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun were thest to reach, as though they¡¯d also just arrived after hearing themotion.


    They all wanted to head into the Grand Hall to see what had happened, but Miao Yi, sitting on his steed with his spear in hand, stopped them right outside the gates.


    Riding his dragon steed, and wielding his silver spear, Miao Yi stood firm on top of the tform of the hall gates, looking down at everyone from a high angle.


    Outside the Grand Hall, the night fell, and the moon and the stars flickered about.


    Inside the Grand Hall behind Miao Yi, the luminous candles flickered, and the brightening and dimming of the light made it hard for others to clearly see Miao Yi¡¯s expression. It added an air of mystery and majesty, and at the same time they could feel the intense aura of murder emanating from Miao Yi.


    Those from the School of Blue Jade were looking at each other, and eventually Wang Zifa cupped his fists and asked, ¡°Cave Master, just now we seemed to have heard the noise of battle, and also Senior Brother Song Fu¡¯s cry for help. Dare I ask, is Senior Brother Song Fu inside the Grand Hall?!¡±


    ¡°He is! But he has already been beheaded!¡± Miao Yi did not hide anything. He brought up the hand beside his thigh, he was holding someone¡¯s hair, and in his hand a head shone through, when he then threw at the crowd.


    Everyone was surprised, and inadvertently took a step back to avoid it. They could only see a head rolling beside their legs anding to a halt.


    Everyone stared wide-eyed¡ªwhose head could it be if not Song Fu¡¯s?


    At the back, Yan Xiu and his group exchanged nces secretly, but the rest were deeply shocked.


    Wang Zifa extended his finger suddenly, pointing at Miao Yi on the tform. He furiously asked, ¡°You were the one who killed Senior Brother Song Fu?¡±


    Looking down from above, Miao Yi disyed no expression on his face. He coldly said, ¡°I ordered him to guard the mountain gates, and he dared to leave his post, which resulted in the destruction of my East Arrival mountain gate. I asked if he admitted his wrongdoings, and not only did he fail to see the error of his ways, he had the audacity to disrespect the Cave Master. Such an ignorant and arrogant subordinate, he treated this Cave Master¡¯s orders as though it was a child¡¯s game¡ªis this Cave Master not allowed to kill him?!¡±


    As he finished saying this, Wang Zifa and his group all unsheathed their swords and pointed them at Miao Yi. Wang Zifa questioned him furiously, ¡°You dare murder a disciple from our School of Blue Jade?!¡±


    ¡°Impudent!¡± Miao Yi angrily shouted. He warned them, ¡°I do not care which sect you belong to, but since you have already joined my East Arrival Cave, then you should forget about your sect mentality and obey the rules, unless your School of Blue Jade wishes to challenge the millions of soldiers under themand of the Overlord of the Fifth Earthly Branch? A mantis that seeks to stop the carriage does not know its own limits!¡±


    He pointed the spear in his hand downwards, ¡°Song Fu is not the first White Lotus Third Grade cultivator to die by my hand, and he will not be thest! Yan Xiu, Dan Biaoyi, Qiu Shaoqun!¡±


    Towards the back, Yan Xiu and his group also shed their weapons, answering in unison, ¡°Here!¡±


    ¡°If there are any rebels!¡± Miao Yi looked down from above, his spear pointing at Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbiao, ¡°Leave those two to me, the rest of you will handle the other four.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡± Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun, along with the broadaxe-wielding Yan Xiu, shouted angrily, ¡°Rebels will be killed!¡±


    This was what they had nned. Regardless of that thorn Song Fu, Miao Yi had long since decided that he had to eliminate him to serve as a warning for the others, no matter what.


    The two remaining White Lotus Third Grade cultivators, Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbiao, even though Miao Yi was not confident he could kill them, but with the aid of Charcoal¡¯s leg strength, holding them back was not an issue.


    As for the other four White Lotus Second Grade cultivators, having the White Lotus Third Grade cultivator, Yan Xiu, leading Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun was enough.


    If it really came down to a skirmish, once Yan Xiu¡¯s three-man team defeated that group of four, they¡¯d be able to assist Miao Yi in dealing with Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbiao, so the odds of victory were still quite high.


    The School of Blue Jade disciples looked at Miao Yi who wielded his spear, riding his horse on the tform, then turned around and looked at Yan Xiu and his group who were eyeing them¡ªthey had immediately fallen in between two dangers.


    Back then during the battle for Transient Light Cave, as all the witnesses had seen, Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbiao might not be able to defeat Miao Yi even if they joined forces. Once the battle dragged on, with the other four White Lotus Second Grade disciples facing the attacks of the other three, led by the White Lotus Third Grade cultivator Yan Xiu, there was a high chance of failure; the odds were against them in this battle.


    In addition, they still did not know whether Song Fu¡¯s death was the result of Yan Xiu¡¯s group joining forces or not. They only secretly felt shocked that Miao Yi could kill Song Fu so quickly, and inadvertently felt disturbed.


    ¡°Miao Yi is here, who dares fight me?!¡± Miao Yi raised his spear and bellowed once more.


    ¡°You killed a disciple from our School of Blue Jade, and the School of Blue Jade wille looking for you for an exnation.¡± Even though Wang Zifa said this, but the sword in his hand had already been lowered. He did not dare to be rash, and following suit, the others also slowly put down their swords.


    Seeing that he¡¯d already suppressed the group, Miao Yi said coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t care about the School of Blue Jade¡¯s affairs, I only care about the affairs of East Arrival Cave. If you find it difficult to stay in my East Arrival Cave, feel free to leave, I will not stop you. If you wish to stay and heed my orders, I will not treat you badly. From this day forth, to the East Arrival Cave subordinates that will listen to mymands, I will grant three grain-sized Orbs of Will every year to White Lotus Third Grade cultivators, and two to White Lotus Second Grade cultivators. Those that do not can forget about even getting one, so get the hell out while it¡¯s still early!¡±


    As he finished saying this, everyone waspletely taken aback¡ªeven Yan Xiu and his group felt the same, because Miao Yi had never mentioned this to them before.


    Everyone was quickly calcting this in their hearts¡ªEast Arrival Cave presided over an estimated 120,000 followers, and every year they could obtain around one hundred twenty Orbs of Will, eighty percent of which had to be turned over, leaving them with the remaining twenty percent, which was twenty four orbs. Now there were three White Lotus Third Grade cultivators, taking away nine orbs, and six White Lotus Second Grade cultivators also taking another twelve orbs. Out of the twenty four orbs, twenty one would be gone. Why would this Cave Master take this position after so much effort, and only be willing to leave himself with three orbs?

 Chapter 72: East Arrival Cave Master (10)

    Chapter 72: East Arrival Cave Master (10)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    For what purpose did School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples seek to curry favor with Yang Qing, Wasn¡¯t it all for the sake of the Orbs of Will? Song Fu¡¯s matter was immediately cast to the back of his mind. He needed to first confirm whether this Cave Master was speaking the truth about such a generous offer.


    After hesitating for a while, Wang Zifa cupped his fists and asked, ¡°Cave Master. Perhaps you are making jest of us. You should know that if this happens then you yourself will be left with only three Orbs of Will. If we...¡±


    Before he could finish speaking, he had to swallow back the words that were about to leave his mouth. Moreover, he also swallowed his saliva deeply. Everyone¡¯s eyes widened as they looked at Miao Yi. To be exact, they were eyeing the item he held in his hand.


    An Orb of Will roughly the size of an ordinary pearl, sparkling and translucent, pure and crystalline, was emitting a faint white glow that looked utterly conspicuous in the night. As it twirled between Miao Yi¡¯s two fingers, it was extremely soul-catching, causing everyone¡¯s eyes to gleam brightly.


    They were not blind, and their eyesights were far better than mortals. To their surprise, this was an Orb of Will gathered from ten thousand people over the span of a year!


    ¡°Orb of Will? Two or three of them, don¡¯t count as very much¡±, Miao Yi flipped his finger over and the Orb of Will was already kept inside his storage ring.


    Excited, each and every one of them brimmed with excitement, their eyes shining brightly!


    It could be said that they still held some suspicions in the beginning, but after seeing that their dear Cave Master could unexpectedly and easily take out an Orb of Will around the size of a pearl, their hearts immediately palpitated. An Orb of Will of this grade would not be the product of a small city. No matter how generous Yang Qing was, they surmised that he wouldn¡¯t suddenly bestow it to this Cave Master. Perhaps dear Cave Master really has other ways of obtaining Orbs of Will.


    Logically speaking, with a small abode of Immortals like East Arrival Cave, the cultivators who served as vassals did not bother with the grade of cultivation one has . If you didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with the Cave Master, he could give you only one Orb of Will per year, and you couldn¡¯t be angry either. Yan Xiu was a prime example back in the days at Transient Light Cave.


    Now in ordance with Miao Yi¡¯s words, if the supply of the Orbs of Will were to be given in two folds or three folds, then the White Lotus Third Grade cultivators would only need to cultivate for one hundred years to cover three hundred years worth of cultivation. A White Lotus Second Grade cultivator would also only need to cultivate for one hundred year to cover cultivating for two hundred years. So what would this mean? By increasing the supply of Orbs of Will by many folds to substantially reduce the time required to cultivate, one would be able to quickly raise their own cultivation base and strength.


    Some of them even began to harbor wicked thoughts, why not risk a moment and snatch the Orb of Will from Miao Yi¡¯s hand.


    But when they thought about it again, they quickly discovered that it would be foolish . If they acted alone, they would not necessarily be Miao Yi¡¯s match. Yet, if they acted together and snatched it, then who would the prize belong to?


    Even if they managed to aplish it alone, the Orb of Will would only be worth ten granule-sized orbs. ording to Miao Yi¡¯s promise, they could obtain that amount within a period of three years or more.


    It must be borne in mind that to cultivators, a trifling three years in the cultivation life would not be a long period of time. After they snatched it this time, then what would happen three yearster? Wouldn¡¯t they be cutting off their own livelihood?


    After restraining his thoughts from running wild with deliberations of losses outweighing the gains, Wang Zifa summoned up his courage, before cupping his fists and asking respectfully, ¡°Will Cave Master keep his word?¡±


    Miao Yi asked back with downcast eyes, ¡°You disciples from the School of Blue Jade act in collusion. If I don¡¯t keep my word, do you think it will be advantageous for me?¡±


    Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbiao gazed at each other, eventually casting a nce back to nod at their own sect¡¯s disciples who were looking at them in anticipation.


    Shua! Shua! Everyone immediately returned the swords in their hands back to their sheaths, and stood aligned in two neat rows. They shouted out loudly in unison, ¡°Your subordinates are ready to obey Cave Master¡¯s orders!¡±


    Miao Yi sat upright. The situation unfolding before his eyes now truly appeared as if he were the one inmand. This kind of East Arrival Cave was now truly his domain!


    But anyone could just shout out empty words , Miao Yi was not a person who was so easily convinced. He voiced out, ¡°It isn¡¯t enough to just say it with your mouth. You will need to actually take action.¡±


    Everyone looked speechlessly at each other, Wang Zifa once again took the lead, and cupped his fists to ask for instructions, ¡°Cave Master, please shed some light on your meaning!¡±


    Miao Yi then said coldly, ¡°Song Fu disyed insubordination and ignored the orders of the East Arrival Cave!¡±


    Everyone understood his meaning, he intended to make everyone dere their positions on this matter. As expected, it wasn¡¯t easy to simply reap the profits.


    Wang Zifa let out a sigh and said, ¡°Actually, we also felt that Senior Brother Song was at fault. We did try to persuade him a number of times, but Senior Brother Song refused to take heed. We were also helpless since he was still our Senior Brother. A nation has its ownws, and a mountain has its own rules. Cave Master has punished him ording to thew, we have no objections!¡±


    The rest also followed suit, cupping their fists in salute and responding with, ¡°Cave Master has punished him ording to thew, we have no objections!¡±


    The expressions of Yan Xiu and the rest twitched. They looked at each other, grinding their teeth. Before when these bastards bullied the three of them, the disciples weren¡¯t being thispliant then. Now each and everyone of them were very much obedient, pushing all the me onto Song Fu.


    The gazes that the three of them casted at Miao Yi became distinctly revered. From this Cave Master, they had seen his methods of casting clouds with one turn of the hand and rain with the other. In one turn of the hand, he was able to cause the entire sky of East Arrival Cave to change. No wonder Manor Head Yang Qing stood his ground against the opinion of the masses to station Miao Yi at East Arrival Cave!


    ¡°Although Song Fu was vile and deserved to die, he was still a disciple of the School of Blue Jade. Now is the time when the South Edict Manor and the School of Blue Jade are working to cooperate as one. Destroying the two n¡¯s rtionship for the sake of just Song Fu is not worth it. It can¡¯t be avoided that this incident needs to be reported. There is a need to exin to the superiors.¡±


    After exining till this point, Miao Yi paused for a while as he swept his gaze through the group. He then gradually uttered, ¡°I am afraid my words alone would still sound suspicious to the School of Blue Jade. However, if you all from the same sect agree to bear witness, it would naturally erase School of Blue Jade¡¯s doubts. I am not certain that everyone is willing to write down a testimony and report it to Mountain Chieftain along with me for her to grasp the situation?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Yan Xiu and the rest couldn¡¯t restrain their lips from curling while trying to stifle theirughter. They all thought that the Cave Master was extremely ruthless.


    Wang Zifa and his group twitched. They finally understood what it meant by leading the life of a whore and expecting a monument to one¡¯s chastity. This guy killed a man of the School of Blue Jade and didn¡¯t want to take responsibility. He even wanted to make the School of Blue Jade¡¯s men say that their sect¡¯s fellow disciple deserved his death. Didn¡¯t he im he was not scared of the School of Blue Jade and that he didn¡¯t attach importance to the School of Blue Jade?¡±


    Seeing that not one of them uttered a word, Miao Yi sighed, ¡°All of you don¡¯t want to write so I won¡¯t force you to. But there is one thing you all need to think carefully about. Once someone from the School of Blue Jadees to investigate this matter and hears that every year you can obtain two or three Orbs of Will, I¡¯m afraid that no one will look into my responsibility, since the Orb of Will¡¯s face is bigger than the Cave Master¡¯s face. If they choose another to be the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, he won¡¯t be as generous as me. On the other hand, there may be some from your sect that will plot to transfer you guys away, and exchange ces to work for me. I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop it when the timees, what do you think?¡±


    What he said stabbed into everyone¡¯s weak spot. The matter that Miao Yi raised as not just a possibility, it was a definite. When the time came, there would definitely be others who would plot to transfer them away. The School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples who were dispatched to do these low level jobs were originally without any prestigious background. They would not be able to prevent their fellow disciples with connections from pulling some strings.


    Nan Sisi, who is quite the beauty, couldn¡¯t help but mutter, ¡°Senior Brother Wang. Senior Brother Song did not listen to Cave Master¡¯s orders, causing the mountain gates to be destroyed. He should definitely bear the me.¡±


    ¡°Right...¡±


    Immediately a few of them also responded in low voices. They didn¡¯t dare to say it out too obviously, but essentially, they meant the same as well, they were sure Senior Brother Wang would understand.


    Wang Zifa of course knew what everyone was thinking. They did not want their own gains to be taken by others but if they really did this, then it would be lying to their sect. Once they were aboard Miao Yi¡¯s deceit, they would not be able to alight. Even refusing to be his ve would not be allowed.

 Chapter 73: East Arrival Cave Master (11)

    Chapter 73: East Arrival Cave Master (11)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    s, the temptation of the Orb of Will was still stronger, otherwise for what purpose would everyonee running over to yield and be controlled by others? All for the sake of the Orb of Will!


    Under the murmurs of the fellow disciples of the same sect, Wang Zifa gnashed his teeth, and took this as a way to step down. He let out a sigh and eximed, ¡°I answer to every Senior Brother and Sister¡¯s opinion. It¡¯s not my n to call the shots alone. ¡±


    ¡°Naturally!¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, one after another. They also understood Senior Brother¡¯s difficulties as these weren¡¯t the best circumstances for a person to take sole responsibility. It required everyone to be involved in the decision, otherwise in the future, there would always be that uncertainty of whether someone might get upset and spill the beans about the entire incident. If everyone took responsibility, only then would they all feel at ease.


    After the group agreed in unison, they cupped their hands together and eximed, ¡°We¡¯re willing to obey Cave Master¡¯smand!¡±


    Having witnessed the drastic change with their own eyes, Yan Xiu and the rest cast Miao Yi expressions filled with admiration. In a short while, he was able to drag along the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples to collude with him in his deceit. They didn¡¯t have any other choice but to respect him for it.


    But thinking back on it, he discovered that their own situation wasn¡¯t entirely fortunate either. Song Fu had been personally killed by the three of them. If the incident were to be leaked, they could toss away any hope of living a peaceful life. Of course, everyone had now boarded Cave Master¡¯s ship of deceit, and no one would dare dream of disembarking from it.


    ¡°Good!¡± Miao Yi shed the silver spear in his hand, and put it away into his storage ring. He dismounted from his steed, with hands sped behind his back as he stood on the flight of stairs. He put on a smiling face and said, ¡°It¡¯s still early so everyone might as well write it now. If there are no issues after I look through them, I¡¯ll send someone over to deliver it to Mount Calming Sea; they can report it directly to Mountain Chieftain so she¡¯s aware.¡±


    All of them went speechless. They realized that this Cave Master wasn¡¯t even going to give them the slightest chance to back out¡ªhe couldn¡¯t even be at ease with leaving the issue overnight.


    The situation had turned out this way, so what else could they do? They could only nod their heads in agreement.


    Miao Yi immediately lifted his hand and said, ¡°Yan Xiu, get the jade archives and give them to everyone.¡±


    Yan Xiu answered in receiving the order. He quickly ran into the grand hall, grabbed a stack of jade archives out and one by one, delivered them into everyone¡¯s hands.


    Thus, a crowd of people stood at the bottom of the grand hall stairs, each and every single one of them invoking their arts to write.


    There were some people who, after moving their hands, felt ufortable about it and felt unsure as to whether this was fitting towards their fellow dead Senior Brother...


    After someone finished writing, he went up the flight of stairs and presented the item to Miao Yi for inspection.


    After Miao Yi looked it over, he gave a slight nod and eximed, ¡°Very good!¡±


    After looking over the jade archive who was handed in by another person, Miao Yi furrowed his brows and said, ¡°You write it in this manner, making it seem like Song Fu¡¯s sin was not worthy of death. Isn¡¯t it a bit too sketchy?¡±


    The person smiled apologetically and uttered, ¡°I¡¯ll rewrite it, I¡¯ll rewrite it.¡±


    After he looked at another that was presented to him, Miao Yi shook his head. ¡°You wrote too excessively. It¡¯s good enough to be practical and realistic. After looking at this, even I was left wishing for a chance to kill him once again for being guilty of such terrible crimes... Primarily, it will cause your School of Blue Jade to be put on the spot, so make it slightly frivolous.¡±


    Yan Xiu and the others were also not forgotten, each of them wrote one too.


    After everyone had finished and given their jade archives to the receiving Miao Yi, Miao Yi also wrote a report, saying that Song Fu refused his orders, leaving his ce of duty, which caused the mountain gates to be destroyed. He also dared to contradict the Cave Master, so Miao Yi himself, killed him as punishment as ording to thew, and to serve as a warning to others.


    What he wrote was more subdued than the others because he felt he should manifest the heart of a Cave Master. Since there were already so many people speaking ill of Song Fu, hisments as a Cave Master wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference.


    After finishing and signing it with his own insignia, he held it in his hands along with the report delivered from the City Lord of East Arrival City, which he had Yan Xiu amend and copy. Lifting his head, he shouted, ¡°Dan Biaoyi!¡±


    Dan Biaoyi immediately stepped forward, cupping his hands to obey the order. ¡°Here!¡±


    ¡°Immediately set out throughout the night to deliver these to Mount Calming Sea and report to Mountain Chieftain, without fail!¡± Miao Yi passed the items to him.


    ¡°Understood!¡± Dan Biaoyi epted the order and left at top speed.


    It was uncertain as to what kind of expression Qin Weiwei would have after seeing these reports., who had been continuously worried that Miao Yi would not be up to to the task.


    The crowd of people followed Dan Biao Yi with their eyes until he vanished, thinking, he¡¯s seriously not going to leave things overnight?


    After settling his official business, Miao Yi rxed himself and told Yan Xiu, ¡°Inform the City Lord of East Arrival City and ask him toe meet me tomorrow in the morning. Send over the staff that were required to be sent over. We mustn¡¯t disturb everyone¡¯s normal livelihood and hold up anyone¡¯s cultivation.¡±


    Everyone was content with this matter, hence the crowd immediately cupped their hands and said, ¡°Cave Master is wise!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be happy too early.¡± Miao Yi swept a nce across everyone from the School of Blue Jade. ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what kind of crafty thoughts you all had in mind with Song Fu before. Song Fu was detrimental in guarding the mountain gates, thus causing those mountain gates to copse. All of you won¡¯t be able to escape this me. Tomorrow when the person arrives, I don¡¯t want him to be greeted by the sight of my East Arrival Cave¡¯s signboard all smashed by others. You guys will cut into the mountain and dig out stones this very night for me. Repair the memorial arch in order to atone for your crimes. Don¡¯t work half-heartedly. You¡¯ll need to repair it to be pleasing to the eye. It has to have that grandeur! ¡±


    Now, no one could object and they could only agree. On the contrary, those who were supposed to guard the mountain gate tonight weren¡¯t worried, since there were quite a few of them to help out.


    With a wave of his hand, Miao Yi dismissed the group. He turned to tell Qiu Shaoqun again, ¡°Clean up the grand hall.¡±


    Yan Xiu then lead Miao Yi to the back of the hall, which had a private cultivating and bedding area belonging to the Cave Master. Charcoalpletely paid no heed to the rules, and also tagged along behind.


    Yan Xiu, in the middle of leading the way, couldn¡¯t help but lower his voice to ask, ¡°Cave Master, you¡¯re giving out so many Orbs of Will to everyone every year, isn¡¯t it a bit too excessive?¡±


    He treated himself as a trusted subordinate, and put up a front that appeared concerned for the Cave Master.


    Miao Yi raised his brow and eximed, ¡°Why do you think I made Dan Biaoyi send the items in the starry night? Of course, that was all to cement the situation first, so that when timees and I don¡¯t give it to them, what will they dare do? If they¡¯re not scared of the School of Blue Jade looking into their own responsibilities, they can feel free to try to turn against me! ¡±


    ¡°...¡± Yan Xiu was stupefied.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much, I¡¯m only saying it. As long as the Orbs of Will gathered every year is enough, I¡¯ll do as promised.¡±


    Reaching out his hand to pat Charcoal at his side, Miao Yi sighed. ¡°After going out to settle the matter, I¡¯ve finally understood the principle of a horse that doesn¡¯t get fat without extra feed. Everyone conscientiously staying here and taking in a fixed fund is not a solution. We have to think of other ways to n ahead to increase our gains.¡±


    What he said were not empty words, but were in fact, in all seriousness, his true feelings. Not mentioning the first Orb of Will gifted by the gorgeous woman, he had also gained some from killing Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng, and he again had snatched one away from Head Guard Huang. He was itching to try it out again, even after he had already done so. And earlier on, he¡¯d wished toe to East Arrival Cave to reorganize the troops to do bigger jobs. His strength alone was still too weak.


    Charcoal was slightly unresigned that he was stopped at the courtyard between the front and back hall. Up ahead was Cave Master Miao¡¯s quarters and cultivation area, so it was true that it would be inconvenient to have a lug like him entering it. Thus, he could only lie on the ground at the doorway, beingpletelyzy.


    But the courtyard here was quiet, with old aged trees and potted nts, pavilions, flowerbeds and ponds. The environment was filled with elegance, and it was much better than lying outside.


    Miao Yi entered his own private area with hands sped behind his back, and couldn¡¯t resist clicking his tongue as he realized that the treatment of a Cave Master was indeed out of the ordinary. Under his feet was a thick velvet rug and the surroundings were decorated with all kinds of exquisite furnishings, the styles of luxury and elegance in harmony as one. He had never seen such things before, so today had really opened up his eyes.


    However, Yan Xiu¡¯s mind was not present here, and instead was concerned with plotting a way forward as mentioned by the Cave Master. He also wanted to know where the Cave Master¡¯s Orb of Will, that contained the power of will of ten thousand people in a year, hade from. He tested the waters, ¡°Cave Master¡¯s n of seeking another way to improve the gains, how would this be done, exactly? ¡±


    Miao Yiughed, ¡°The best solution is obviously to be like the Manor Head, taking possession of the entire South Edict.¡±


    Yan Xiu was incredibly shocked, and he quickly waved his hands around. ¡°You mustn¡¯t! Our strength is not enough to annex the surrounding domains.¡±

 Chapter 74: East Arrival Cave Master (12)

    Chapter 74: East Arrival Cave Master (12)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡°Of course I know this. If we go to seize other people¡¯s domain now, I¡¯m afraid that we will not only fail to seize it but others will seize our domain instead.¡±


    Miao Yi shook his head in a mildly self-mocking manner. He turned around to sit on the thick velvet of a long carved ivory couch and asked, ¡°What do you think of us taking a trip down to the Sea of Constetions?¡±


    ¡°Sea of Constetions?¡±, Yan Xiu suddenly widened his eyes greatly. He was the one who had told Miao Yi about the ce. ¡°For what purpose do we need to go to the Sea of Constetions? That is within the realm of the Yao Nation belonging to the Yao Sage, Ji Huan! Furthermore, the Sea of Constetions is a ce where the Yao move unhindered. Nearly every human cultivator who trespassed there has nevere back.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that a gradeless Yao Core could be exchanged with an Orb of Will gathered from one thousand people?¡±, Miao Yi asked in reply.


    This was in fact what Yan Xiu had told him after witnessing the grand battle between Yang Qing and Lu Yu.


    Yao Core and Yin Core could be refined into transcendent artifacts, and was also the source of formidable power within the transcendent artifacts. But transcendent artifacts were after all, transcendent artifacts. He couldn¡¯t cultivate them anyway. After being used once, the energy contained within a transcendent artifact would lessen slightly. The more heavily it was used, the greater the energy consumed, so of course it would require its energy to be replenished.


    Hence, lower grade Yao Core and those of simr ilk became the best source to replenish the energy of transcendent artifacts. Since there was a market, naturally they also had value. It would be fine to exchange them with money or Orbs of Will.


    Yan Xiu said anxiously, ¡°Cave Master, don¡¯t tell me ¡®looking for another way¡¯ meant going to hunt at the Sea of Constetions?¡±


    ¡°Hehe. I¡¯m only saying it casually. Look at you getting all worked up. I¡¯m just joking.¡± Miao Yiughed out loud and ended it half-heartedly.


    After dismissing Yan Xiu, he again sped his hands behind his back and entered his cultivation quarters to survey the ce.


    This was a subterranean space, but it wasn¡¯t small. The walls and ground were covered with thick grounded stones, together with light from the copper furnace and oilmp, the brightness was just right.


    A stone chair for the purpose of meditation and cultivation quietlyy ahead of him. There were also threerge pools stacked by jade stones with water flowing out from carved jade beast heads. One pool had spring water channeled into it while the other pool had channeled hot spring water. Both of the springs would then converged into another pool, blending the waters into one of suitable temperature. It was indeed a good ce to take a bath.


    Miao Yi stripped himself of his clothes and submerged himself into the pool water, feeling veryfortable until he moaned continually...


    The next morning, Miao Yi, apanied by a group of subordinates from East Arrival Cave, came to the front of the mountain gate to examine the newly made memorial arch.


    Miao Yi was ecstatic the moment he set his eyes on it. Last night he had hidden himself in his silent quarters, and could faintly make out the nking noise of chiselling hatchets almost the entire night. Six cultivators had worked together against the clock for a whole night. As expected the finished memorial arch was indeed out of the ordinary.


    Primarily there were four pirs and three entrances. The main gate¡¯s entrance was as high as three zhang or more, embossed with vivid, life-like beasts of the fields and birds of the air, with auspicious clouds winding around and continuously twirling amidst them; and threerge eye-catching words ¡°East Arrival Cave¡±. At the bottom were two carved sculptures standing on either side, a coiling dragon and a crouching tiger respectively.


    The entire mountain gate memorial archway had an extraordinary air of grandeur that was both lofty and eye-catching. Miao Yi nodded as he praised, ¡°Not bad. Not bad at all. It¡¯s more imposing than South Edict Manor¡¯s mountain gate memorial archway. Looks like my men from East Arrival Cave would also make a good stonemason if they¡¯re not cultivators.¡±


    Seeing that he liked it, the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples, afraid he would deliberately make things difficult for them, let out sighs of relief. For the sake of this memorial arch, they had thoroughly racked their brains overnight.


    Everyone who heard the Cave Master¡¯s words wereughing out loud, the atmosphere between them became more harmonious in a sh.


    No one expected Miao Yi would then point at their blue robes. ¡°Why does it feel like an eyesore when I look at your clothes? The uninformed will think my East Arrival Cave is the School of Blue Jade. I don¡¯t have any objections if you return to the School of Blue Jade dressed in that. But in East Arrival Cave, it is better to unify the color of your robes. Yan Xiu, go to the city and find a tailorter. Change everyone¡¯s robes to ck.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Yan Xiu cupped his hands in acknowledgement.


    School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples threw nces at each other.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t care whether they were willing or not. He sped his hands and continued to stare in admiration at the memorial archway.


    At the exact moment when everyone had just surrounded the memorial archway in admiration, Yan Xiu suddenly pointed towards the mountain road by thekeside ahead and said, ¡°Cave Master, I think the City Lord of East Arrival City is here.¡±


    Everyone cast their gaze over, only to see a group ofborers traveling along the mountain road by thekeside, meandering their way through to their location. Quite a few of them were carrying a pnquin and leading horses pulling carts. They seemed to have brought quite a number of goods.


    Miao Yi only swept his gaze over casually. However, he took a second nce at thergeke at the foot of the mountain as he stared. He said, ¡°Yan Xiu,ter ask someone to get some fish and prawns to rear in theke.¡±


    Yan Xiu obeyed, knowing that this was to be prepared for Charcoal. That steed was different from other dragon steeds and loved to eat fresh fish and prawns. He also loved to y with water so having such argeke at this ce had actually be Charcoal¡¯s paradise.


    ¡°Wang Zifa, arrange for someone to guard the gate. From now on, you will be entrusted with arranging the crew of this mountain gate region. I will hold you for questioning if it is again destroyed by others! The rest of you head back to the Grand Hall.¡± Miao Yi swung his arm, turned and left. The East Arrival City Lord was still unworthy to have everyone wee him here.


    Naturally, Wang Zifa didn¡¯t have bad judgement, so he obviously would not arrange for the Cave Master¡¯s trusted aides such as Yan Xiu¡¯s group to guard the mountain gate. He left Shang Yoi behind to perform the duty.


    A few moments after the others returned to the East Arrival Grand Hall, the robust and prosperous City Lord of East Arrival City, Xu Xinliang, arrived at the entrance of the mountain gate. He dismounted from his horse, and courteously requested Shang Yoi to send word.


    There was no need to announce it as the Cave Master had already known of their arrival. Shang Yoi allowed them to enter.


    No one dared to enter by riding a horse, so the mounts were all left outside. Only therge pile of goods pulled by horse carts followed behind Xu Xinliang, eventuallying to a stop at the za outside the Grand Hall.


    There was also the pnquin carried by sixteen porters, which was gently ced on the ground. Nobody dared to neglect it as the handmaidens to be gifted to the Immortals were all inside.


    One cultivator having two handmaidens was the standard convention. The rules of the cultivation world would not allow you more. If every cultivator wanted extra handmaidens, with their ability toe and go without a trace, there would not be enough women in the secr world for them to defile. The ones getting affected would be the followers, and affecting the followers would mean losing power of will, so naturally this had to be strictly regted.


    Other people couldn¡¯t enter the Grand Hall without permission. Only the East Arrival City Lord, Xu Xinliang, wiping away his sweat and dressed in official¡¯s robes trembled with fear as he carried a case up the flight of stairs.


    He wasn¡¯t actually scared that the Immortals would harm him. It was just that whenever the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave changed, it was also the time when his seat as City Lord was most insecure. Once the Cave Master deemed you as an eyesore, there was a high possibility that he would rece you.


    Inside the Grand Hall, Yan Xiu and the others stood split on either side. Xu Xinliang who carried the case in, did not dare to raise his head to look directly. He lowered his head as he walked to the designated ce. Immediately, he ced the heavy case down, knelt and kowtowed as he said, ¡°East Arrival City¡¯s City Lord, Xu Xinliang hase to pay respect to the Cave Master!¡±


    Sitting on the high seat, Miao Yi smiled, ¡°City Lord Xu, we meet again.¡±


    Hearing those words, City Lord Xu was taken aback. He lifted his head to look and realized that the Cave Master looked slightly familiar. Immediately, realization dawned on him. It turned out that this was the Immortal who had saved Madame Ji. Never would he have expected that he was actually the newly appointed Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. The new Cave Master looked so young!


    ¡°Stand up to speak!¡± Miao Yi raised his hand to humbly support him.


    City Lord Xu quickly mbered up. He took out a small box from his sleeve and carried it along with the case to offer it. ¡°Cave Master, this is a token of appreciation from the people of East Arrival City. We hope Cave Master will ept it.¡±


    After what happened to Head Guard Huang, Miao Yi didn¡¯t even need to look to know what was inside of it. He gave a slight nod to Yan Xiu who immediately went over to ept the item.

 Chapter 75: QianEr and XueEr

    Chapter 75: Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Miao Yi did not make things difficult for this City Lord and had acknowledged him. He discovered that this City Lord was rather familiar with the people¡¯s livelihood in East Arrival City so he provided him with some encouragement before eventually dismissing him.


    Both parties eventually found themselves without anothermon topic to warrant chatting further.


    City Lord Xu let out a sigh of relief. After he left with his men, Miao Yi made Yan Xiu bring forth the gift and open it to take a look.


    As expected, inside the little box was a granule-sized orb emanating a soft glow. Miao Yi did not act courteous. Immediately, he kept it inside his own storage pouch.


    On the other hand, inside the case was five thousand gold crystals, which wasn¡¯t a small sum at all. This was the wealth of the people of East Arrival City.


    To Miao Yi, who¡¯d been born amoner, he felt a bit conflicted in epting these kinds of gifts. However, he had to ept them as he was not the only person in the entire East Arrival Cave. The many subordinates under him would need to depend on the followers of East Arrival City for survival.


    But Miao Yi did not keep any. Not even one. He let Yan Xiu take and give away a portion of the gold crystals. Each of the White Lotus Third Grade cultivators would get two hundred of it while the second grades would get half of the amount, which was a hundred. The remaining would be spent on the cave¡¯s expenses and were left in Yan Xiu¡¯s care.


    Yan Xiu was in an exceptionally good mood. When he was in Transient Light Cave, he could never have experienced this kind of treatment as a trusted aide of the administration.


    Soon after, everyone exited the Grand Hall, arriving at the za. Sixteen exceptionally beautiful girls trembled with fear as they stood in a row, all of them looking quite young as they waited for the Immortals to take their pick.


    The beauty of the two up front were even more outstanding. Slender and elegant, their heads were lowered, akin to two budding bashful flowers, both small, pure and fresh as well as beautiful and heartwarming.


    The only w was that they seemed to be still too young, their bodies being not yet fully grown. The ces that should be sticking out weren¡¯t jutting out just yet, while the ces where it should be perky weren¡¯t as perky either, so their sex appeal was still out of the question. It could only be said that they gave a different kind of feeling to it. Perhaps there would be people who had this kind of taste.


    Everyone, with Miao Yi in the lead, looked over the group one by one. Even Miao Yi¡¯s heart was stirred. He was curious as to what kind of handmaidens Yan Xiu had personally handpicked for him.


    At Miao Yi¡¯s side, Yan Xiu beckoned to the two young girls standing at the very front. ¡°Both of youe here. This is the Cave Master you¡¯ll be serving!¡±


    Both of them casted a nce at Yan Xiu before giving Miao Yi a quick look. With their heads lowered, they gently and cautiously moved towards them. Both of them bowed in salutation, their voices simr to a weeping oriole as they said, ¡°Zhao Qian¡¯Er, Liu Xue, pay our respects to the Cave Master!¡±


    The other handmaidens couldn¡¯t resist stealing a nce, experiencing a faint feeling of envy. Although every one of them were to be the handmaidens of Immortals, as long as they weren¡¯t dumb, they knew that bing the master of this ce¡¯s handmaiden was naturally of a different status inparison to working as another person¡¯s handmaiden.


    ¡°Raise your heads,¡± Yan Xiu ordered the two to lift their heads for Miao Yi¡¯s admiration. He then exined to Miao Yi at his side, ¡°Both of them are fifteen years old. She¡¯s slightly older than the other. Her name¡¯s Zhao Qian¡¯Er and an expert in dancing. This one is called Liu Xue and is proficient at ying musical instruments. Both of them have the aptitude for cultivating. Is Cave Master satisfied with this selection?¡±


    Able to y and sing? Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but take a good look at Yan Xiu. He was no longer the same ignorant person who didn¡¯t know anything like before. It wasn¡¯t an easy feat to look for handmaidens who had an aptitude for cultivating, moreover they had to be pretty and young as well as talented. Yan Xiu had obviously put in a lot of effort.


    Seeing no reaction from him, Yan Xiu tested the waters and asked, ¡°If Cave Master is not satisfied, you can rece them!¡±


    Miao Yi muttered irresolutely for a while. Despite the fact that many normal men loved beautiful girls, he had already made up his mind earlier on. Regardless of the circumstances, so long as he had yet to find Little Brother and Little Sister, he would not sumb to female charms. What if his Little Brother and Little Sister were currently suffering, and he himself as their Big Brother was having fun instead...


    However, he still nodded his head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for recements. Keep them!¡±


    Keeping both of them at his side to serve him would lessen the disruption of menial tasks, which was advantageous to cultivating.


    After the Cave Master had made his selection, it was the others turn to choose. Even Shang Yoi, who was guarding the mountain gate, was also called over.


    Once everyone had chosen, there were still two left remaining. Yan Xiu then said to Qiu Shaoqun, ¡°Help Dan Biaoyi by taking them to him.¡±


    Qiu Shaoqun nodded his head.


    But everyone had just noticed that there still seemed to be two handmaidens missing. Miao Yi was also puzzled. This matter had been carried out from Yan Xiu personally liaising with East Arrival City so how had he forgotten himself? Hence, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Where are your handmaidens?¡±


    Perhaps others had not realized it yet, but Miao Yi realized it in a split second. In a sh, a strange deste expression indistinctly shed through Yan Xiu¡¯s eyes.


    Forcing out a smile, Yan Xiu bowed slightly and said, ¡°Yan Xiu is old. I¡¯m used to having a quiet life.¡±


    Wang Zifa and the rest immediately made jest of him. ¡°Not old, not old at all. Flowering and seeding is still no problem at all.¡±


    The two women, Nan Sisi and Wang Xiuqin also pursed their lips into a smile. Everyone had received their share of profits so they were all in a seemingly good mood.


    Yan Xiu blushed with shame as he gave a bitter smile. He cupped his hands at the crowd, begging for mercy.


    That woman who couldn¡¯t stand being disgraced, galloped her horse with hoisted de, all for the sake of earning first ss merits in order to wash away her humiliation. In the end, she¡¯d been beheaded instead... That scene suddenly shed across Miao Yi¡¯s mind. He quietly stared at Yan Xiu for a while, before gradually tilting his head without uttering a single word.


    However, he understood Yan Xiu¡¯s reason. Honestly, he¡¯d originally held criticism towards Yan Xiu in his heart because of Luo Zhen¡¯s death. But today, he had seemed toe to an understanding. Some things, he feared, were just difficult to erase from this sweet-talking old man¡¯s heart.


    Qiu Shaoqun, who was also a Transient Light Cave prisoner, casted a pensive nce at Yan Xiu, and said nothing...


    After everyone returned back home with their handmaiden, Yan Xiu called the two handmaidens to follow behind Miao Yi.


    Charcoal, after eating and drinking his fill,y down on the entrance of the back hall, dozing off. His smooth snake tail hit the surface of the ground from time to time. He was living quite leisurely, which was also an old failing of his.


    Hearing movements, he only opened his eyes to take a look. Seeing that Miao Yi had returned, he let out a sneeze and then shut his eyes.


    They stood still in the courtyard. Zhao Qian¡¯Er and Liu Xiu carefully peered about the surrounding environment, holding the same feelings of curiosity and nervousness they had the first time they got here.


    Miao Yi turned around and said, ¡°Yan Xiu. They¡¯ve just arrived so they¡¯re not familiar with the state of affairs here. Help them with the arrangements on what they need to do. I¡¯m taking Zhu Tianbiao to patrol the territory for a while.¡±


    This was also one of the duties that every new Cave Master needed to do. They could not oversee the domain if they were unfamiliar with it. The time needed to be spent when they just arrived would still need to be spent.


    Having heard that he wanted to head out, Charcoal opened his eyes and straightened his ears. He then looked in Miao Yi¡¯s direction with his head half-raised.


    Abruptly. Yan Xiu stopped Miao Yi, who was about to leave. He pointed at the two young girls and reminded him, ¡°Cave Master, you have yet to give them names.¡±


    Miao Yi was surprised. ¡°Don¡¯t they have their own names already?¡±


    Yan Xiuughed. ¡°That used to be their secr world¡¯s name. They¡¯re now Cave Master¡¯s people. Normally, Cave Master is required to give them new names. This means it¡¯s an otherworldly rebirth. This is something that everyone does.¡±


    ¡°I see!¡± Miao Yi scratched his head. Even though he had learned some culture from Lao Bai, the ink in his belly was still limited. Naming was not his forte so in the end, he could onlyugh dryly. ¡°Zhao Qian¡¯Er and Liu Xue, from now on you¡¯ll be known as Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er!¡±


    He had given them these names to save himself trouble. Taken aback, Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t say anything about it. He turned to face the two handmaidens to give them a reminder. ¡°Hurry and thank Cave Master for the names!¡±


    The two young girls quickly bowed in salutation. ¡°Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, thanks Cave Master for the names!¡±

 Chapter 76: A Distressed Qin Weiwei (1)

    Chapter 76: A Distressed Qin Weiwei (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Miao Yi waved his hands and without saying anything else, he turned around and strode off. He wasn¡¯t particrly concerned about the two handmaidens, and simply let Yan Xiu handle them.


    Outside the Grand Hall, Zhu Tianbiao was already waiting with a new change of clothes after receiving his summons earlier..


    As soon as Miao Yi came out, Charcoal dashed out from behind, widened its jaws and bit on Miao Yi¡¯s clothes, unwilling to let go.


    Zhu Tianbiao furrowed his brows as he watched, thinking that the beast, Charcoal, behaved a bit overboard - this was the Grand Hall where East Arrival Cave affairs were discussed, but this bastard actually treated it like a horse ring,ing and going as it pleased. If the upper beam was not straight, then the lower beam would also be crooked. This was all because the master was too lenient on it, just give it a few hard whips and it would be obedient.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t bear to use the whip on Charcoal. Forget about the fact that it had saved his life before, its superb running speed was a huge boon. Not to mention it could do various errands and hunt for fish; only those who had used it would know the benefits.


    Turning around he patted Charcoal on the head, ¡°I have some matters to attend to outside, and it¡¯ll be inconvenient to bring you around. You can go y in theke, there are fishes and prawns there for you to eat.¡±. He raised his hand and pointed in the direction of theke.


    Charcoal loosened its grip, shook its head and snorted. Its hooves dashed against the za, as it galloped away with gusto.


    Zhu Tianbiao felt a little unreconciled with Charcoal¡¯s poor discipline, but on the surface he respectfully said, ¡°Cave Master¡¯s steed has quite the intelligence, it could understand what was being said just by being spoken to. Our steeds cannot evenpare, it must be due to the Cave Master¡¯s correct method of discipline.¡±


    This man was like a closed gourd, even when he was singing praises,he made others feel strange.


    Miao Yi chuckled, he knew that this was empty ttery, the fact that Charcoal¡¯s behaviour was not taken kindly by others was something he had always known, for example Qin Weiwei who wanted it dead, but it wasn¡¯t bad to enjoy the feeling of ttery asionally, even though this time it wasn¡¯t much of one.


    Outside the mountain gates were two steeds left by the East Arrival City Lord.


    It was too conspicuous to be seen riding a dragon steed to patrol the city. Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be able to see what he wanted, to observe the City Lord Xu Xinliang¡¯s capabilities. If his skills werecking and obstructed the handover of the Orbs of Will, then Miao Yi would not be able to hold on to his position as Cave Master for long. If a City Lord needed to be changed then so it be it, even if he had sent gifts, it would be pointless.


    Miao Yi and Zhu Tianbiao whipped the steeds as they departed from the mountain gates.....


    At Mount Calming Sea, Qin Weiwei was sitting cross-legged in her silent quarters. She gently retracted her arts, pressing both palms onto her dantian, as the lifelike shadow of a six-petaled lotus blossomed between her brows.


    As soon as she opened her eyes, Hong Mian and Lu Liu who were waiting by her side both lowered their bodies into a bow simultaneously and said with glee, ¡°Congrattions to the Mountain Chieftain for attaining a higher level in your cultivation.¡±


    Qin Weiwei withdrew her arts, then spat out the Orb of Will in her mouth, tucking it away. She stretched out both her legs and descended from the stone chair. She shook her head and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s just breaking through to White Lotus Sixth Grade.¡±


    It was evident that she only said this as a front, as the unconcealed joy on her face clearly expressed her true feeling.


    Her two handmaidens smiled and without another word, both reached out their hands to help her undress.


    As her clothes fell to the side, it wasn¡¯t long before the voluptuous figure of a proud, fair-skinned body emerged within the silent quarters. Such a fairplexion paired with a luxuriant figure, even a woman¡¯s heart would be set to racing


    A pair of pale jade and wless bare feet slowly slid into the warm pool, as she lowered her body to seat herself down in the water. Her plentiful bosom just barely above the pool water. It was truly enticing.


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu helped untie her hair, and the two of them slowly helped wash her body.


    Using the white towel in her hands, Hong Mian wiped across the edges of Qin Weiwei¡¯s bountiful chest. She chuckled, ¡°Mountain Chieftain truly has a nice figure. Such a fine body yet you do not look for a husband to cultivate together with, what a waste.¡±


    ¡°Who said so,¡± Lu Liu who was wiping her back remarked jokingly. ¡°That would indeed be a waste of heaven¡¯s property!¡±


    There was a faint redness on Qin Weiwei¡¯s face, as she red at the two of them saying, ¡°You two shameless girls!¡± She immediately acted to teach them both a lesson.


    For a moment, the water in the pool sshed about. The two of them dared not fight back, and could only continue begging for mercy.


    After Qin Weiwei was done ying around, Hong Mian said with a straight face, ¡°Mountain Chieftain, let me tell you a secret. Manor Head once summoned us for questioning.¡±


    Spreading her jade-like arms for the other two to wipe, Qin Weiwei curiously asked, ¡°What did Manor Head summon you to ask about?¡±


    Lu Liu snickered, ¡°Manor Head wanted to ask us if you have a gentleman you fancy. He said if there was, we were to let him know immediately and he would think of ways to set you up secretly.¡±


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s face reddened once more as sheined, ¡°Father is so undignified! There are so many official matters to attend to but he doesn¡¯t worry about them, instead he blindly puts effort into these affairs. The next time he asks you, both of you just tell him that I am not looking for anyone. I am doing fine by myself!¡±


    Hong Mian smiled mischievously, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare say such a thing to the Manor Head, otherwise he might even think we were the ones who abetted you. It is better to just wait for you to find someone you like, then report to him.¡±


    ¡°I am not looking!¡± Qin Weiwei mocked, ¡°What good are men, none of them are any decent.¡± She turned to look to her sides, ¡°Both of you are lucky to have followed me, otherwise if you had followed a man instead, well, you¡¯ve seen how those men treat the others even though they are supposed to be handmaidens, in the end they all became nothing short of concubines. I¡¯m getting disgusted just thinking about it!¡±


    Lu Liu quietly stuck her tongue out; she did not dare toment, as even the Manor Head was being scolded.


    Hong Mian smiled, ¡°Then Mountain Chieftain should just continue waiting, and we will help Mountain Chieftain keep an eye out, to see whether there are any gentleman befitting of a Mountain Chieftain¡¯s status, and does not sleep with his handmaidens.¡±


    ¡°So shameless, are you both just reaching puberty? Next time, I will send you two some men to wait on you both in your beds!¡± Qin Weiwei coldly snorted as she threatened them, then she changed the subject and asked, ¡°Nothing is going on outside, right?¡±


    Seeing the topic change to official business, Hong Mian withdrew all traces of jest from her face, and replied seriously, ¡°Nothing much, just someone from East Arrival Cave came to deliver a report. The messenger is still standing by within the mountain, waiting for Mountain Chieftain¡¯s instructions so that he may report back to his duty!¡±


    ¡°East Arrival Cave? That bastard just went there not too long ago, and the report came this quickly. He¡¯s not just patronising me, is he?¡± As she thought of Miao Yi, Qin Weiwei instantly turned sour. She turned her head and said, ¡°Bring the report here.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Lu Liu quickly arose and left the pool. She toweled herself dry, and put on a long robe to cover up before departing in quick steps.


    Very soon she came back carrying a sealed box that had the reports stored inside. She immediately opened it and ced it by the side of the pool.


    Qin Weiwei pulled her raven hair over her snow-white shoulders. Leaning against the edge of the pool, she reached out with her hands to feel what was inside the box...


    ¡®Why were there so many reports, don¡¯t tell me that bastard actually wrote a long poem in here?¡¯


    She took out a jade archive and invoked her arts to check, when she finished, she quickly took a look at another one.


    In the end, it was better if she hadn¡¯t seen it, for when she did she waspletely agape. At first she felt shocked, but soon after her expression looked more and more confused.


    When she finished reading, she thought she must have been mistaken. Ssh-ssh, she looked through all the reports carefully once more.


    She was restless even after reading through them a second time, so she meticulously went through them again, to check if there were any signs of falsification.


    Eventually she ced the jade archives by the side of the pool. Qin Weiwei¡¯s brows creased as traces of confusion and puzzlement shed through her eyes. She couldn¡¯t help but mutter, ¡°What exactly did this bastard do....?¡±


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu didn¡¯t dare interrupt the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s official affairs, but they could tell something was awry with Qin Weiwei. They didn¡¯t know what Cave Master Miao Yi had written on those reports for it to trigger such a response from the Mountain Chieftain, but she didn¡¯t appear angry at all!


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu nced at each other They saw that there were arge number of jade archive reports; just one East Arrival Cave report was equivalent to all the reports sent in by the other Cave Masters of Mount Calming Sea.

 Chapter 77: A Distressed Qin Weiwei (2)

    Chapter 77: A Distressed Qin Weiwei (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Hong Mian waited for a while, but after seeing that Qin Weiwei was still lost in thought and hadn¡¯t given a reaction, she tested the waters softly, ¡°Mountain Chieftain, did something happen at East Arrival Cave?¡±


    ¡°...,¡± Qin Weiwei recovered from her train of thoughts, yet she was still slightly confused. Unsure of what else to say, she gently raised her hand and said, ¡°Look at these and help me figure out what actually happened at East Arrival Cave.¡±


    Without the orders of the Mountain Chieftain, they would never have dared to look through such things because of their status as handmaidens.


    The sight of Qin Weiwei losing herposure made both of them badly want to know what was written inside the jade archives. Now that she had given the orders, both of them hurriedly grabbed a jade archive to look through.


    They would never have known if they hadn¡¯t seen it. But after seeing it, both women also became distressed.


    After the both of them exchanged the jade archives with each other and looked through them, it was obvious that they shared the same doubts as Qin Weiwei, worrying whether these were faked, so they examined them once, and once more after that.


    However, these ten reports were obviously written by the unique transcendence energy of ten different people. The signatures and insignias invoked using their arts could never be falsified as they behaved much like a person¡¯s fingerprint.


    Thest to hold a jade archive, Lu Liu said in a daze, ¡°That Cave Master Miao is amazing! In one night he has subdued all the subordinates of East Arrival Cave!¡±


    Still deep in thought, Qin Weiwei couldn¡¯t resist the temptation to roll her eyes upon hearing that statement. She looked over and scorned, ¡°With his cultivation base, do you think that is possible?¡±


    Hong Mian muttered, ¡°It is a bit odd!¡±


    The two of them had been by Qin Weiwei¡¯s side for a long time, so they were well aware of the current situation of South Edict Manor.


    As far as Manor Head was concerned, drawing the School of Blue Jade into his jurisdiction was like leading a wolf into the house.


    From the very beginning, Yang Qing was never in a hurry to revolt. He had intended to slowly gather his strength. However, the former Manor Head, Lu Yu, could never looked on as Yang Qing began to grow in power. Thus, he set out a decree to transfer Yang Qing to a post by his side with the intent of making him a puppet.


    Yang Qing knew that once he went to Lu Yu¡¯s side, Lu Yu would never grant him the chance to thrive.


    It was exactly because of Lu Yu¡¯s actions that Yang Qing had no choice but to resort to a hastily agreed cooperation with the School of Blue Jade, in killing Lu Yu and seizing the South Edict Manor in one stroke.


    Admittedly, both Yang Qing and the School of Blue Jade had each profited from it respectively, but there were some things that each of them knew all too well.


    The School of Blue Jade knew that Yang Qing was not a person who would be willing to be kept underwing for long. Eventually, he would think of ways to cut off the influence of the School of Blue Jade in the South Edict.


    Yang Qing was also aware that although the School of Blue Jade dared not act recklessly now, once they made use of this alliance to gradually establish connections with others, they would definitely begin scheming of ways to depose Yang Qing.


    The main reason why Yang Qing had dared to revolt was due to thework he had managed to establish within the organization after all these years. He had someone by the Pce Lord¡¯s side to speak on his behalf. Without the recognition of the Pce Lord, even if Yang Qing had managed to capture the South Edict, it would not belong to him. On the contrary, he may even need to shoulder the charge of mutiny.


    The School of Blue Jade was only afraid to act rashly as theycked such awork, so they had not dared to confront his tremendous influence in the organization.


    But once they had established their influence, with the School of Blue Jade at South Edict Manor having more men than Yang Qing, it would be difficult for Yang Qing to resist them once they raised a revolt against Yang Qing.


    Both parties understood well that the alliance was only temporary. At most in fifty years time, both parties may shed all pretense of cordiality. When that timees, depending on whose power was greater, either the East Wind would prevail over the West Wind, or the West Wind would prevail over the East Wind.


    As Yang Qing wascking in manpower, although the main posts were controlled by his own men within therge South Edict Manor, almost all the secondary seats were taken over by men from School of Blue Jade.


    It wasn¡¯t only the other mountains, even Mount Calming Sea was currently facing this predicament. Simrly, Qin Weiwei also faced problems with the men of School of Blue Jade opposing in secret. By virtue of being the adopted daughter of Yang Qing, the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples governed directly by Qin Weiwei did not dare to do anything to her in broad daylight. Now, they still had to give Yang Qing some face, for the most part.


    Unfortunately, the Cave Masters under Qin Weiwei did not have this form of respect. From the reports being delivered, they were allining to Qin Weiwei, saying that the School of Blue Jade¡¯s men were paying lip service and the likes. The affair was difficult to settle.


    The reports that were delivered by the nine Cave Masters under her were allints. Ironically, the Cave Master with the weakest strength had delivered the only good news.


    Only the Cave Master with a cultivation base at White Lotus First Grade, had killed a White Lotus Third Grade disciple of School of Blue Jade the moment he took up the post. Originally, such an incident would have caused a dispute between School of Blue Jade and Yang Qing.


    Yet as a result, all was well! Members from the School of Blue Jade had banded together to charge the person called Song Fu as being guilty, deserving of his punishment, and notorious for his misdeeds. They condemned him unanimously whilst fully supporting the Cave Master¡¯s actions. At this point, even if the School of Blue Jade hadints about it, they could do nothing.


    Seeing this good news, Qin Weiwei could not bring herself to be happy, and instead had a doubtful feeling in her guts. That bastard just went in, and in only one night he was able to immediately manage the entire East Arrival Cave sturdily like a metal bucket?


    On top of that, the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples had united tightly by the Great Cave Master Miao¡¯s side... Was this some kind of a joke? Anyone would feel nauseous and sick just thinking about it.


    So what was this scenario? Was this pping the other nine Cave Masters¡¯ faces or her, Qin Weiwei, the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s face? Could it be that their capabilities were far more inferior to Cave Master Miao? Could it be that her, not wanting to allow Cave Master Miao to take up his post at East Arrival Cave previously was a stupid decision?


    But even if this were to be a fraud, the testimonies from these people could never have been faked!


    Could it be that the man called Song Fu was seriously be this vile?


    But to what extent was his vileness that the entire group of School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples would loathe him so?


    Qin Weiwei gently shook her head and felt that this wasn¡¯t true at all. Even if Song Fu was extremely vile, every single one of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples would never have sent a report condemning him whilst dering their stance in support of the Great Cave Master Miao.


    That bastard just went and with such a low cultivation, where could he obtain such influence?


    To say it took the aura of a bastard to jolt them into being convinced or something of the like, Qin Weiwei would never have believed them even if she were to be beaten to death.


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu also had their brows tightly knotted, lookingpletely puzzled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to bathe anymore. Get dressed, and summon the messenger to meet me!¡±


    Qin Weiwei stood up from the water with a ssh. She invoked her arts as she climbed ashore, a ball of watery mist suddenly coalesced above her fair-skinned body. The beads of water on the surface of her body instantly vanished without a trace.


    Immediately, the two handmaidens helped her into her robes, shoes and socks as well as coiling her beautiful hair. Six white snowy jade hairpins were woven into her hair into the semnce of a butterfly whilst tightly locking her hair into a coiled bun at the back of her head.


    In the Mount Calming Sea Grand Hall, Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei, sat on top of her high seat with a delicate yet cold expression.


    Dan Biaoyi who stood below was questioned to the point of nervousness. However, no matter how Qin Weiwei asked, he would always assert that Song Fu had disobeyed the orders of the Cave Master, causing the destruction of the mountain gates. In addition, he had also been rude to the Cave Master, which led to his execution by the Cave Master as a warning to others.


    With regards to whether it was possible that Miao Yi could kill a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator, Qin Weiwei had no need to be greatly suspicious. She had already seen it done in the battle at Transient Light Cave, and had also heard of theter incident where Miao Yi had eliminated the ghost cultivator. Two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators had died and only that guy hadpleted the mission and returned. Thus, Miao Yi killing just a single Song Fu was entirely possible.


    But she wasn¡¯t stupid. Was it really that easy to make every disciple of the School of Blue Jade deliver their reports to help Miao Yi cast off the me?


    ¡°Dan Biaoyi, are you certain that you¡¯re not hiding something from me?¡± Qin Weiwei coldly scorned as she red down at him.


    The people in the lower tier were not well aware of the war urring in the upper tier. Dan Biaoyi only knew that he had personally participated in the murder of Song Fu. Once he admitted to it, forget about the fact that the people of East Arrival Cave would not amodate him anymore, even the disciples of the School of Blue Jade would want to seek revenge against him. Besides, it would also bring up the multiplied gains of the Orbs of Will.


    Thus, he would never speak the truth even if he was beaten to death. Again, Dan Biaoyi insisted that the situation was exactly as he had said, leaving Qin Weiwei feeling helpless. She faintly felt that East Arrival Cave was truly being managed very sturdily like a metal bucket by that bastard after one night.


    She couldn¡¯t really say that the bastard was naturally born with good luck, and just so happened to bump into arge number of people who desperately avowed their loyalty and devotion to him? Only a mindless ghost would be fooled!

 Chapter 78: A Distressed Qin Weiwei (3)

    Chapter 78: A Distressed Qin Weiwei (3)


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°You can step down now!¡± Qin Weiwei coldly dismissed Dan Biaoyi.


    At the side, Hong Mian waited for a moment until Dan Biaoyi had departed the hall before asking, ¡°Mountain Chieftain, should this matter be reported to Manor Head so that he is aware?¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t even gotten a hold of the situation right now; do you expect me to report it carelessly?¡±


    Qin Weiwei shook her head disapprovingly before immediatelymanding Lu Liu to summon one of the disciples from the School of Blue Jade at random.


    Soon, a disciple from the School of Blue Jade entered the Grand Hall. After he paid respects to the Mountain Chieftain, Qin Weiwei asked, ¡°Do you know your fellow disciple, Song Fu?¡±


    ¡°Song Fu?¡± Surprised, the disciple wasn¡¯t sure of what had transpired but he still nodded in reply, ¡°I do.¡±


    Qin Weiwei asked again, ¡°How is Song Fu¡¯s character?¡±


    Once again, the disciple was taken aback. Without knowing why the Mountain Chieftain was asking this, he naturally cupped his fists and said, ¡°Junior Brother Song is a sincere and honest man; he shows respect to the master and honors his teachings. His character is impable!¡±


    He did not care what had happened to Song Fu and also couldn¡¯t care less about whether he had a good rtionship with Song Fu. But when facing outsiders, fellow disciples of the same sect should naturally defend each other. Especially when he didn¡¯t know head or tails of the situation, speaking good of others was definitely a good move.


    After Qin Weiwei dismissed him with a wave of her hand, she pointed at the retreating figure outside the gate, and spoke to Hong Mian and Lu Liu who were standing on either side of her, ¡°See that? This is what fellow disciples of the same sect should normally say;pletely not like those disciples from East Arrival Cave. That is just simply illogical!¡±


    Hong Mian asked, ¡°Mountain Chieftain, what do you intend to do?¡±


    Suddenly, Qin Weiwei stood up and said, ¡°Don¡¯t believe what other people tell you until you see it for yourself! I wish to go to East Arrival Cave and take a look myself. I want to see whether the subordinates of East Arrival Cave are truly giving their allegiance to our grand Great Cave Master Miao! If he dares to cause any trouble and ruin the current situation, I will never spare him!¡±


    Lu Liu attempted to ask, ¡°What if they have truly and sincerely sworn their allegiance to him?¡±


    Qin Weiwei stubbornly asserted, ¡°That¡¯s not possible. There must be something fishy going on. If they have truly sworn their allegiance, I will give him my seat as Mountain Chieftain. If he truly has such capabilities, then let him be the one to settle the School of Blue Jade disciples in Mount Calming Sea. This will also put Manor Head¡¯s mind at ease!¡±


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu threw a nce at each other with their tongue sticking out. They understood Mountain Chieftain was speaking in a moment of anger so it could not be taken seriously. But Miao Yi had just taken up his post, and immediately, you were going there for an inspection, it did seem a bit...


    Not long after, Dan Biaoyi who had gotten his response could finally return to East Arrival Cave.


    However, he could not feel rxed. Instead, he kept himself on the edge throughout the entire journey, because Qin Weiwei, the Mountain Chieftain, came along with a couple of men in tow!


    The Cave Master had just taken up his post and the Mountain Chieftain was immediately drawn out. Sigh! ....Dan Biaoyi let out a long sigh deep inside his heart. Throughout the journey, he prayed for blessing from the Heavens above, hoping that dear Cave Master had settled the situation appropriately and made certain not to slip up..


    It would be difficult to disembark once you¡¯ve boarded some of the ship of deceits! Although it may be that the ship would be full of holes with water leaking through, those who had boarded the ship still had to make a concerted effort to row forward with all their might. Death by drowning awaited if they did not row forward. At least there was a chance for a reprieve from death should they continue rowing.


    Miao Yi also could not understand the kind of dispute the upper echelons, Yang Qing had with those of the School of Blue Jade; this was the kind of situation that people of the lower rank were in. Also, it hadn¡¯t been long since he had just surrendered to Yang Qing so he also didn¡¯t know much of the internal affairs.


    From his standpoint, he was the legitimate Cave Master of East Arrival Cave so the troops of East Arrival Cave should of course obey him. For those who were disobedient, he would naturally wrangle them up immediately. Was there even a need to drag it on for long? The rational move would be to rapidly grasp the entire East Arrival Cave tightly in his hands. Otherwise, there would be no meaning to him being a Cave Master.


    He would never have imagined that rapidly settling the entire East Arrival Cave at breakneck speed would in turn caused the upper echelons to panic.


    At least for those who were oblivious, there was an inherent advantage in not having to worry about it for now.


    Currently Miao Yi, dressed in exquisite clothes, was leisurely wandering around the streets of East Arrival Cave.


    Zhu Tianbiao was aplete mystery as usual. If you didn¡¯t open your mouth to speak, he also wouldn¡¯t talk either. And the ttery he sometimes gave were nothing short of remarkable. He only knew how to clutch onto his treasured sword as he followed behind, akin to a bodyguard in tow.


    Miao Yi had indeed brought him out to act as a bodyguard; having a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator apanying him would ensure he would be able to defend himself if something were to happen.


    Up ahead by the roadside stood a decorated archway covered in red. It was packed by arge crowd surrounding it. As they were passing by, Miao Yi and Zhu Tianbao were uncertain as to which maiden from a wealthy family would be throwing an embroidered ball; drawing in a second look from them both. However, they did not stop over.


    At the top of the maiden tower, the aforementioned maiden was holding the embroidered ball to her bosom; her clear eyes filled with yearning amidst her shyness as she searched for her ideal husband among the crowd. Very quickly, her gaze was locked onto the passing Miao Yi.


    Although Miao Yi¡¯s current stature could not be described as being a giant among men, having ascended to the prized seat of a Cave Master at a young age, he was now flushed with the feeling of sess. In addition, due to the level of a cultivator¡¯s Essence, Qi and Spirit, his imposing manner could never bepared to amon man.


    What¡¯s more, he had a bodyguard apanying him from behind. With just one nce, she knew that he was a man of status.


    Gritting her teeth, the maiden used both her arms to throw the embroidered ball with all her might; doing so with immense vigor and uracy. She proved herself to be quite daring in throwing the ball and must have been well practiced. Otherwise, it would cause no end of trouble for her if she had thrown it to a shrivelled old man instead.


    Once the embroidered ball flew out, the crowd beneath the maiden tower reached out their arms to snatch it, but was instead greeted with the sight of the ball flying over their heads.


    With his eyes looking straight ahead, Miao Yi didn¡¯t even spare it a nce; a simple brush of his hand sent the colliding embroidered ball recoiling back to the maiden tower again.


    Zhu Tianbao merely tilted his head to look, before silently following closely behind Miao Yi as he brushed past the crowd.


    The maiden carried the returned embroidered ball; looking stupefied as she looked on at them leaving calmly and unhurriedly. Gradually, she bit her lips with her pearly whites; to a girl, this was extremely embarrassing as the ball she had thrown out was unexpectedly returned. This waspletely unheard of.


    The crowd beneath the maiden tower were also bbergasted. One by one they turned around to watch, some standing on tiptoes, with their gazes trailing after the two departing men. Immediately after, they turned back and shouted loudly in a jeering manner, ¡°Miss, throw it again! Miss, throw it again!...¡±


    Instead, the young miss gnashed her teeth; turned her head aside and left, disappearing into the maiden tower....


    A river traversed throughout East Arrival City. After Zhu Tianbao asked the boatman for the price of a boat which was stopped by the shore, both him and Miao Yi boarded the sheltered little boat.


    The boatman rowed them away, with the river sweeping them along.


    Miao Yi stood at the prow of the boat with his hands sped behind his back, while Zhu Tianbao clutched onto his sword at the stern.


    The sheltered boat hadn¡¯t gone far before the sounds of a herd of galloping horses sounded from the shore. The passengers on the boat turned to look, only to see the young miss who had thrown the embroidered ball riding her horse hard as she gave chase with a few sturdy men in tow.


    ¡°Stop right this instant!¡± shouted the young miss as she pointed at Miao Yi, still standing at the prow of the boat.


    Miao Yi peered about his surroundings. Observing that there were no spectators, he invoked his arts to reveal the faint glow of a lotus between his brows to make the other party withdraw after discovering the futility.


    Who would have thought that the other party would continue to give chase on their galloping horses? Were they actually unafraid of Immortals? Miao Yi was surprised but sudden realization quickly dawned upon him. He recalled that he had applied the Soul Concealing Paste between his brows; they could not see it!


    This guy had actually be so used to using this paste. There was no reason other than his fear of others looking down on him for his low cultivation base, even though he was a Cave Master. Thus, he may as well hide the lotus shadow on the spiritual point between his brows, to avoid being ridiculed by others when they saw it.


    With the situation being as it is, he could only secretly transmit his voice to hint at Zhu Tianbao.


    Moving abruptly, Zhu Tianbao turned to re coldly at the young miss; revealing the faint glow of a lotus between his brows. The young miss and her group instantly froze in shock and halted their horses, not daring to act rashly.


    Thus, the young miss was shocked awake from her short-lived illusion, finally understanding why the other party had scorned her. Feeling the vast difference between the two of them, she felt abnormally hurt as she bit her lips...


    To Miao Yi, this was nothing more than a brief interlude.

 Chapter 79: A Distressed Qin Weiwei (4)

    Chapter 79: A Distressed Qin Weiwei (4)


    Trantor: Editor:


    By two shores of the small river, the willows were evergreen; from time to time one could see women crouching down by the riverbank as they washed either their clothes, or vegetables.


    Brothels also stood aplenty; beautiful youngdies waved their handkerchiefs with a sense of wantonness, as they rxed their throats and made coquettish noises in an attempt to attract passing travellers standing at the prow of their boats.


    Further ahead, young men recited poetry by the grassy riverside, looking to charm the groups of young girls strolling leisurely past them. On the other hand, the young girls secretly watched, with faces flushed at the young man with the extraordinary bearing standing firm at the prow of the ck awning boat, relishing the breeze.


    As the ck awning boat passed by a flower boat, a madame wearing heavy makeup also invited the young man at the prow of the boat in a high-pitched voice toe aboard and drink alcohol with her courtesans.


    In the restaurant, wealthy guests called their friends over; greetings were exchanged with cupped fists, and cups were raised as they drank their fill.


    On the shore, traders came and went, whilst children chased one another around in merriment.


    It was simply human nature to set up homes in ordance with the flow of water; thus in making such a journey by boat, one could im to have seen most of East Arrival City in all its splendor.


    The people of this world spent six hours everyday to make an offering of their power of will as well as paying tributes. In return, they obtained the protection of the cultivators for the ying and banishment of demons; exorcising dark spirits, and in upholding the peace of thend.


    The Six Sages of Heaven and Earth also had to rely on the cultivators under their respective domains in order to amass, and harvest a vast amount of the power of will. Otherwise, regardless of how strong they became, they would never have been able to control suchrge territories by themselves.


    And it is precisely because these cultivators exist that the government officials dared not push their followers too much. If anything were to happen to the harvesting of the power of will, the cultivators would be the first to rain terror upon them.


    Even though cultivators did not often make grand appearances, they were surely the ones maintaining the order of the realm.


    Of course out of all the people that stood on either shores of the river, not everyone would take six hours of their time everyday to offer their power of will like every other man. Those with authority and status could always find others from the Manor of Merciful Hope, or simr such ces, to do the work for them. Some would even go as far as to spend the extra dime just to hire others to do it.


    Therefore, those who could work hard, would still work hard; and those who were without scruples would still remain unaffected. Some would be busy whilst others would be free - such are the rules of life, as they have always been.


    Regardless of its merits or ws, to the Miao Yi who currently stood patrolling from the prow of the boat, this domain was his to call his own. Seeing the followers under his jurisdiction leading prosperous lives, now he could at least be relieved of his concerns of difficulties arising whilst obtaining Orbs of Will at the end of the year....


    Night had fallen, Dan Biaoyi was riding his dragon steed; his heartpletely restless as his horse galloped under the moonlight.


    Upon seeing that they were about to reach East Arrival Cave, Dan Biaoyi gritted his teeth and picked up his pace to reach the front. Coming up just behind Qin Weiwei, he cupped his fists and said, ¡°Mountain Chieftain, your subordinate shall head immediately to the abode of Immortals and dere your arrival, so that the Cave Master can ready himself to wee you.¡±


    He actually intended to inform everyone, so that the Cave Master and everyone else could be mentally prepared.


    Qin Weiwei turned around to look at him, and coldly said, ¡°No need.¡±


    Then she ordered her entourage riding behind her, ¡°Keep an eye on him, don¡¯t give him the opportunity to tip them off. I want to see what trickery is going on at the East Arrival Cave!¡±


    Dan Biaoyi felt his heart stop for a moment. Two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators had alreadye forward, and trapped him in the center.


    Under the moonlight, the group of five charged towards East Arrival Cave¡¯s mountain gates with a pace as fast as lightning.


    Shang Yoi who was on guard duty suddenly sprang out from the dark and stood in front of the mountain gates. He lifted his spear, and shouted for them to stop, ¡°Visitors, dismount from your horses!¡±


    His voice reverberated throughout the mountain; also to serve as a warning to the others inside the abode of Immortals.


    As the warning resounded, everyone who was residing in their own training quarters dashed out quickly. Six silhouettes each readied a weapon in their hand as they rode on their dragon steeds, racing towards ¡®Hidden Dragon Valley¡¯, prepared in the event of any unforeseen circumstances.


    Qin Weiwei would not stoop so low as to break the rules by charging past the mountain gates and had already raised her hand to stop the followers behind her. With her at the lead, the five of them quickly steadied their dragon steeds, and stopped just in front of the mountain gates; if they were mortals, they would have been instantly flung off.


    Then they saw on the other side of the mountain gates, another six dragon steeds also charging over at breakneck speeds.


    Qin Weiwei felt somewhat surprised. It was hard to imagine that East Arrival Cave¡¯s response was this swift; this efficiency was not normal.


    That was because Miao Yi had already mentioned, if the mountain gates were to be broken once more, it would be on Wang Zifa¡¯s head.


    Miao Yi also mentioned that those who disobeyed, when the time came, not only would they be unable to receive a single Orb of Will; they would even be expelled!


    What other abode of Immortals would have such a grand treatment? In addition, Miao Yi had something over their heads. It needn¡¯t be mentioned how much effort they were putting into their jobs, they wanted to avoid getting the rap from Miao Yi.


    Seeing as it was the Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei, the gatekeeper Shang Yoi immediately shut his mouth, and cupped his fists to pay his respects.


    In order to prepare against any unprecedented urrence, Yan Xiu¡¯s group raced over in a hurry. They looked at one another and hastily got down from their steeds, before walking over to the front of the mountain gate hurriedly with cupped fists to wee the Mountain Chieftain.


    A number of them casted nces at Dan Biaoyi who followed behind Qin Weiwei, as though questioning why did he had not informed them earlier of the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s visit. There were even people who had secretly transmitted their voice over to Dan Biaoyi to interrogate him.


    However, Dan Biaoyi also had circumstances that made it difficult for him to exin. The two men on either side of him were invoking their arts ahead of him to disrupt, and ultimately block him from transmitting his message across; clearly, they were prepared. Qin Weiwei raised her head to look at the mountain gate memorial arch; she coldly said, ¡°This memorial arch was built in an even more imposing manner than South Edict Manor¡¯s!¡±


    Everyone listening could tell that she did note with good intentions, but none of them knew how to respond.


    Qin Weiwei casted a nce at everyone, before charging straight towards the Grand Hall on her dragon steed with her entourage trailing behind her, and finally dismounting outside the Grand Hall.


    As he was still surrounded, Dan Biaoyi could only follow behind Qin Weiwei and enter the Grand Hall.


    It was empty inside the Grand Hall. Qin Weiwei headed straight for therge courtyard behind the hall, where the Cave Master¡¯s quarters resided.


    In the courtyard, Charcoal was lying down leisurely swishing its tail. Its tail continued to make ¡®pa-pa¡¯ noises as it knocked gently against the ground. Opening its eyes and seeing Qin Weiwei, Charcoal instantly revealed the whites of his eyes and stood up as though unsure of where it should go to hide.


    Under such dire circumstances, Charcoal lifted his hooves and jumped dozens of meters high. Itnded outside the courtyard, and ran away in a hurry.


    ¡®This bastard!¡¯ Qin Weiwei felt angry and ridiculed - ¡®Am I really that scary?¡¯


    Even though she didn¡¯t like Charcoal, she wouldn¡¯t stoop so low as to rush all night to her own subordinate¡¯s residence and kill his steed. If she ever did something as petty as that, she wouldn¡¯t be able to save face.


    Since, she hadn¡¯t seen Miao Yi¡¯s shadow outside; without any warning, she charged straight into Miao Yi¡¯s sleeping quarters and silent cultivation room. She went a full round but still failed to find any trace of Miao Yi.


    As she came out of the room, Qin Weiwei nced about and discovered a side room with candles still lit. She immediately strode towards it. ¡®Pang!¡¯ She kicked open the room doors with a single leg.


    Consequently, she found herself with two beautiful young servant girls dressed in nothing but their undergarments. The girls screamed in shock and hugged each other as they trembled at the sight of Qin Weiwei bursting in.


    Obviously since they were able to stay at the Cave Master¡¯s residence, they must be Miao Yi¡¯s handmaidens.


    Her handmaiden Hong Mian was behind her the whole time. Qin Weiwei nced at her, her eyes full of mockery as though saying - ¡®You see. All men are the same.¡¯


    Hong Mian simply smiled without saying a word. She was the only one who followed this time; Lu Liu didn¡¯te with them.


    After searching the room, she still could not find a trace of Miao Yi, so Qin Weiwei just red at the two frightened little girls and coldly asked, ¡°Where did your Cave Master go?¡±


    The two little girls simply shook their heads and remained silent.


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Qin Weiwei disdained against squabbling with two young handmaidens. She walked away, once again leading her entourage back to the Grand Hall. She strode straight to the high seat, and seated herself at the spot that belonged to Miao Yi. ring towards the therge gates outside, she shouted, ¡°Yan Xiu!¡±


    Yan Xiu, who had been waiting quietly outside the Grand Hall with everyone else, ran in posthaste and conducted himself in an especially respectful manner.

 Chapter 80: Off With His Head!

    Chapter 80: Off With His Head!


    Trantor: Editor:


    Qin Weiwei asked, ¡°Where did Miao Yi go?¡±


    Yan Xiu smiled apologetically and replied, ¡°The Cave Master went to patrol the domain.¡±


    Surprised, Qin Weiwei realized that the guy really felt extremely at ease in his own home. He had just arrived, and dared to drop the affairs of the abode of Immortals to head out on a patrol. She then asked, ¡°When is heing back?¡±


    ¡°This...,¡± Yan Xiu shook his head in reply. ¡°Your subordinate also does not know when Cave Master will be back.¡±


    Qin Weiwei coldly sneered, ¡°Then immediately find him and bring him back to me.¡±


    Yan Xiu was suddenly struck with the urge to cry but had no tears left to do so. ¡°Mountain Chieftain, the entire realm of East Arrival Cave is humongous...¡±


    He did not dare finish his words, but the implication was obvious - ¡®where would I be able to find him in such a huge ce?!¡¯


    After some thought, Qin Weiwei also felt that it was indeed making things rather difficult for him, so she didn¡¯t waste anymore time on this matter. She began to call everyone over one by one, so she could ask what was the matter with everyone reporting to condemn the in Song Fu.


    ¡°Did Miao Yi use any tactic to threaten you all?¡±


    ¡°Mountain Chieftain, where did that ideae from? The Cave Master certainly did not threaten us at all. The me can onlyy on that Song Fu who really did not know the immensity of heaven and earth. Although I am from the same sect, I also cannot bear to overlook his ways any longer.¡±


    It was futile even if she had sealed Dan Biaoyi¡¯s lips. No matter how Qin Weiwei beat about the bush to ask, or how she attempted to threaten coax, coerce and even bribe them; her attempts were all useless. Everyone firmly stood their ground and would not say anything else. They would only speak ill of Song Fu, and were determined to defend the Great Cave Master Miao; thus causing Qin Weiwei to gnash her teeth with hatred. If only the whole of Mount Calming Sea was like this, but sadly, it was only in East Arrival Cave.


    There was definitely something fishy going on here. But these people, regardless of whether it was the men with Yan Xiu whom she had personally dispatched, or the men from the School of Blue Jade, there were all banding together akin to a metal bucket. Their lips were sealed no matter what.


    Qin Weiwei decided to wait until Miao Yi came back before settling the score with him.


    s, she waited for three days and had yet to see Miao Yi return. Even she wouldn¡¯t know when can that guy woulde back.


    What made her more speechless was that even with the Cave Master absent from East Arrival Cave, the group of subordinates managed to maintain the affairs of East Arrival Cave in a clear and orderly manner.


    Every other Cave Master had made reports that disciples from the School of Blue Jade refused to perform tasks such as guarding the mountain gates, or doing menial jobs and the like. However, this was not present in East Arrival Cave. Rather, it was Miao Yi¡¯s trusted subordinates, Yan Xiu and group, who did not need to do these tasks. They were all entirely done by the highly devoted andmitted disciples from the School of Blue Jade.


    Apart from that, the attitude Wang Zifa and the rest disyed to Yan Xiu were clearly very courteous. From this, the kind of attitude that they gave to Miao Yi could also be seen.


    Observe the Great Cave Master Miao! In just one night, he had administered East Arrival Cave to this extent, his prestige shooting to extreme heights in the eyes of his subordinates.


    Moreover, the people whom she had personally appointed hadn¡¯t managed their caves very well. Each and every single one of them keptining to her whilst on the flip side, the person who she wasn¡¯t willing to appoint, had managed the affairs adequately. So whose face was being pped right now?


    The thought almost caused the silently observing Qin Weiwei to cough up blood. Could it be that she was measuring the stature of great men by the yardstick of a small man?


    During such tumultuous times, it was impossible for her to continue staying here. Who in the world would know when will Miao Yi return?


    After waiting for three days, she finally left with her entourage. Nobody knew what she was nning to do. In the end, she had brought Dan Biaoyi along as well.


    This decision caused Yan Xiu¡¯s group, who were seeing them off at the mountain gates, to be in a perturbed state of mind. Each of them threw meaningful nces at Dan Biaoyi implying, ¡®You have to stay strong!¡¯


    Everyone knew perfectly well in their hearts that once Dan Biaoyi failed to resist and spilled the beans entirely, whether or not they would still be able to obtain the Orbs of Will from Cave Master Miao was no longer of importance. The most crucial point was that the men from the School of Blue Jade would never let them get away with it.


    Yan Xiu¡¯s group had killed a disciple of the School of Blue Jade.


    And the disciples of the School of Blue Jade had also betrayed their own sect.


    With this resulting incident, the disciples from the School of Blue Jade were extremely frightened and full of regret. They bemoaned boarding Miao Yi¡¯s ship of deceit with profits high in mind back then, leaving them now fearful of disembarking from his ship when facing Qin Weiwei. Furthermore, they had to desperately work together to row the terribly battered ship, with water seeping in from everywhere, without turning back to shore.


    Out of the corner of her eyes, Qin Weiwei noticed the expressions on everyone¡¯s faces. Putting on a cold front, she was increasingly and absolutely certain that there was something amiss.


    Handmaiden Hong Mian shot a nce at her master, the corner of her lips unable to hold back her smile. She thought to herself, ¡®regardless of whether there was something fishy going on, it was evident that Miao Yi definitely had the unruly men eating out of his hands to be able to make them band together like this.¡¯ It was no wonder that he, just fresh off the boat, dared to throw the cave affairs down and travel as he liked. If the other Cave Masters had this same capability, it would have been much easier to settle Mount Calming Sea¡¯s affairs.


    However she was uncertain if what Mountain Chieftain had said was true, if Miao Yi had seriously obtained the sincere allegiance of his underlings, she would give the Mountain Chieftain seat to Miao Yi...


    Obviously, Qin Weiwei had seen through her train of thoughts and threw her a nasty re. Can the words which were said in a moment of anger be held true?


    Qin Weiwei hurried back to Mount Calming Sea at a tremendous pace throughout the journey without stopping to rest. After briefly inquiring if there were any matters of importance, she then proceeded to rush straight over to South Edict Manor with Dan Biaoyi in tow.


    The trusted subordinate who was personally appointed by Yang Qing, had killed a disciple of the School of Blue Jade immediately on taking up his post. This incident couldn¡¯t be concealed even if they wanted to. Sooner orter, it would be found out. Regardless of whether the School of Blue Jade would have any reaction, at the very least, they would still show interest in it. Qin Weiwei had to personally make a detail report about it, so that Yang Qing could be well aware of the situation beforehand.


    Dan Biaoyi almost lost hisposure when he learned that they were going to South Edict Manor. Why did it seem like this incident was getting out of hand? Was this even necessary?


    The people at the lower tier would not be aware of the affairs of the upper tier, as the hidden power struggles involved were often extremelyplicated. If he had known, he would not have dared to do the deed back then.


    When they had rushed to South Edict Manor, it was not required for Qin Weiwei to announce her arrival when she met with Yang Qing.


    She trailed behind Qing Ju as they arrived at the pavilion, situated on the highest peak behind the mountain. Upon arrival, she saw Yang Qing sitting in meditation as he cultivated.


    ¡°Qin Weiwei hase to pay respects to Manor Head!¡± Dressed in robes as white as snow, Qin Weiwei bowed in courtesy.


    Under the circumstances where they were others around, Qin Weiwei always preserved the etiquette between lower and upper rank. Only when it waspletely private would she call him ¡®father¡¯.


    Yang Qing retracted his cultivation and opened his eyes. He then spat out an Orb of Will roughly the size of a quail egg from his mouth and smiled, ¡°What brings Weiwei here?¡±


    He stood up and walked over to seat himself by the small side table. He extended his hand, signalling her to sit down to talk. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Qin Weiwei seated herself on the opposing chair of the side table. ¡°Manor Head, I am afraid that the Cave Master you have personally appointed for East Arrival Cave has caused quite a bit of trouble for you.¡±


    Yang Qing let out an ¡®Oh!¡¯, his brows furrowing slightly as he asked, ¡°Miao Yi? What did he do?¡±


    ¡°Manor Head, please see for yourself.¡± Qin Weiwei ced down the box filled with reports that she brought along in front of him.


    After Yang Qing opened the box and looked over the contents, he was also ovee with confusion.


    Under the gazes of Qing Mei and Qing Ju, who nced at each other, Yang Qing swiftly examined the contents of the other jade archives again one by one.


    He was a man who knew how to be circumspect and so he did not make a big fuss about it as Qin Weiwei had before. He only asked curiously, ¡°Weiwei, what is going on?¡±


    ¡°I also do not know what¡¯s the matter. To investigate this matter, I intentionally took a trip down to East Arrival Cave. But in the end, that bastard Miao Yi had gone out to patrol his domain...¡±


    Qin Weiwei exined in detail what she saw at that time.


    After Yang Qing was done listening, he tapped his fingers on the surface of table, mulling it over for quite some time. He then shook his head, unable to understand the situation. Finally, he spoke, ¡°Summon the man you brought over to me. I will personally question him.¡±


    Very quickly, Dan Biaoyi was summoned over. It was his first time meeting Yang Qing; him being the kind of person who was aloof and remote. Adding to the fact that he had a guilty conscience, Dan Biaoyi was in a state of extreme panic.


    But there was one thing he managed to do; no matter how Yang Qing asked, he said the same things over and over again.


    Unlike Qin Weiwei, Yang Qing did not beat around the bush to ask anymore questions. He got up and slowly walked over to the front of the pavilion¡¯s banister. Surveying the scenery of the mountains from a distance, he gradually sped his hands behind his back, his face expressionless as he said in a serene tone, ¡°Drag him out and off with his head!¡±


    Instantly, Qing Mei and Qing Ju made their move, seizing Dan Biaoyi¡¯s shoulders together; they suppressed him until he was unable to move before immediately dragging him out.

 Chapter 81: Revelation

    Chapter 81: Revtion


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    This was noughing matter. Qing Mei and Qing Ju both had cultivations at White Lotus Seventh Grade. With the two of them working together and with his mere White Lotus Second Grade cultivation, Dan Biaoyi was not given any opportunity to resist. He was apprehended just like that - resistance was futile.


    Qin Weiwei remained silent as she casted a nce at Dan Biaoyi being dragged away. As Miao Yi was favored by Yang Qing, even if she held no regard for Miao Yi, she still had to give face to Yang Qing. She could not just execute Miao Yi¡¯s subordinate without any proof, but Yang Qing could, and no one would object.


    Dan Biaoyi began to panic. After he had regained a measure of calm, he realised that he was already being forcefully dragged out of the pavilion, and was immediately scared out of his wits.


    He knew Yang Qing could just be trying to scare him. Yang Qing¡¯s main objective was to discover the truth of the matter, but Dan Biaoyi also knew that since Yang Qing had already spoken, if he were to give an unsatisfactory answer, Yang Qing would not likely change his mind for a measly pawn like himself. Even if he were to be killed, Yang Qing would not be affected in the least.


    ¡°Manor Head, it¡¯s my fault! I will speak, so please give me another chance! Manor Head, I¡¯ll speak! I¡¯ll speak....¡±


    Dan Biaoyi, being dragged out of the pavilion, struggled as he begged for mercy; even his face had gone pale with fear.


    Yang Qing hadn¡¯t even turned his head around and just looked over the mountains in mncholy. He slowly rxed his hand from his back, and lifted it up casually.


    Qing Mei and Qing Ju gave each other a look, before releasing Dan Biaoyi together.


    Dan Biaoyi still found it difficult to calm himself. He stumbled his way uneasily back into the pavilion, dropping to his knees before kneeling behind Yang Qing. His face deathly pale as he said, ¡°Manor Head, I will speak!¡±


    Still with his back towards Dan Biaoyi, Yang Qing said in an indifferent tone, ¡°Why did the disciples from the School of Blue Jade collude together and rebuke Song Fu in their reports?¡±


    ¡°It was all because Cave Master Miao.... because Cave Master Miao forced them to!¡±


    With a pained expression on his face, Dan Biaoyi said these words with great difficulty. If Miao Yi was still the East Arrival Cave Master after this matter, it would be difficult for him to continue staying at East Arrival Cave.


    Qing Mei and Qing Ju paid full attention to his words.


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes brightened - ¡®Will the mystery finally be unveiled?¡¯


    Anyone could tell the disciples from the School of Blue Jade were under some enormous pressure, but they didn¡¯t know what methods Miao Yi had used to pressure them so.


    ¡°Exin everything clearly from start to finish!¡± Yang Qing said calmly.


    Even though only Yang Qing¡¯s back was facing Dan Biaoyi and his tone had been calm, Dan Biaoyi still felt an immense pressure because he knew, if the other party could discern something was amiss in what he said, his fate would be decided with but a single thought. There was no room for resistance.


    ¡°For your information, Manor Head, this incident truly originated as a result of the impudence of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s people. Before Cave Master Miao arrived, the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples did not heed the deputy¡¯s orders at all. Instead they always just obeyed overtly, but secretly opposed us and went against us at every turn. Since they had the advantage in numbers, we couldn¡¯t really do anything to them. That day when Cave Master Miao took up his post, he arrived at East Arrival Cave¡¯s mountain gates and saw that it had been left unguarded, so he bellowed in fury...,¡± Dan Biaoyi obediently recounted every single detail of the entire incident.


    Starting from when he, Yan Xiu, and Qiu Shaoqun had rushed to the mountain gates upon hearing Miao Yi¡¯s voice; followed by Miao Yi¡¯s angry reprimand as to why there was no one guarding the mountain gate of the prestigious East Arrival Cave, and Yan Xiu¡¯sint about the School of Blue Jade in response.


    Then he spoke about Song Fu and those from the School of Blue Jade arrivingter at their own leisurely pace, and even taunting Miao Yi.


    Yang Qing, with his back facing everyone, slowly narrowed his eyes as he heard up to this point. A cold glint shed within them; Miao Yi was sent out on his order, and everyone knew that Miao Yi was his trusted aide. The School of Blue Jade had dared to act with such impudence knowing full well his trusted aide was the one taking up the post. Thus, it was evident how the state of affairs would be for the other territories.


    ¡°How did your Cave Master handle the situation then?¡± Yang Qing asked seemingly unperturbed.


    Dan Biaoyi hastily replied, ¡°At the time, Cave Master didn¡¯t say anything else and ordered me to journey to Mount Calming Sea immediately and report to the Mountain Chieftain, stating that the School of Blue Jade had rebelled. The School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples were rmed by this, and only then did they reluctantly pay their respects to Cave Master Miao.


    ¡°Consequently, Cave Master Miao did not back down and ordered Song Fu, the White Lotus Third Grade cultivator, to guard the gate on the spot. He didn¡¯t even bother if Song Fu had agreed to it or not, and immediately charged past them on his dragon steed!¡±


    Standing with his hands behind his back, a smile crept up on Yang Qing¡¯s face. He could imagine how imposing Miao Yi must have been at the time; tyrannical and unrelenting, as though he held the people from the School of Blue Jade withplete disregard. Miao Yi was truly worthy of being a trusted aide personally sent by him, and had brought him, Yang Qing, glory.


    ¡°What happened afterwards? How did he manage to kill Song Fu?¡± Yang Qing asked.


    ¡°Actually Song Fu was not killed by the Cave Master, but through a joint effort by Yan Xiu Qiu Shaoqun, and I....¡±


    Since he had already revealed so much, Dan Biaoyi would naturally no longer keep anything under wraps, and continued to divulge everything.


    He spoke of how Miao Yi had called the three of them over for a discussion, and how they had urately predicted that Song Fu was just being condescending to Miao Yi, with no intention of guarding the gate. So in response, Miao Yi had ordered Qiu Shaoqun to go and destroy their own mountain gate in secret, and prepared to make things difficult for Song Fu. At the time, everyone had felt that the matter at hand was of grave importance and they were afraid that mishaps might ur, but Miao Yi had insisted on making an example out of Song Fu.


    After Qiu Shaoqun had destroyed the mountain gates, and stirred up amotion. Miao Yi had used the opportunity to throw a tantrum, and separated the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples on the pretense of searching for the enemy. He then called Song Fu over to the East Arrival Grand Hall to ask if he would admit to his wrongdoings, to which Song Fu denied having ever made any. Following the n, Yan Xiu, Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun had already secretlye back. Upon Miao Yi¡¯s orders, the three of them had joined forces and beheaded Song Fu inside the Grand Hall.


    Afterwards Miao Yi had coerced the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples, and forced them to write down their reports. He had even forced them to reconstruct the mountain gates overnight. Dan Biaoyi reiterated every single detail of the incident, including how everyone was scared after the incident and had banded together to patronize Qin Weiwei.


    Finally, Dan Biaoyi lowered his head as he finished speaking, ¡°This was how everything had urred.¡±


    Throwing a nce at each other, Qing Mei and Qing Ju realized that they had truly underestimated that Cave Master Miao. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that he had both wit and valor. He had only arrived at East Arrival Cave for a few hours, yet he had managed to subdue the entire East Arrival Cave with his decisive methods; he was a truly capable man.


    Qin Weiwei softly bit her lips. The mystery was solved, but now she felt as though it was better not to have known, had she realised it was going to turn out like this. Listening to nothing but stories of that brat¡¯s imposing manner, she was feeling maligned as it seemed as though that bastard was the only one who was capable in the entire Mount Calming Sea.


    Yang Qing closed his eyes and pondered for a while; then slowly turned around, looked at the kneeling Dan Biaoyi, and said to him, ¡°Rise!¡±


    ¡°Thank you Manor Head!¡± Dan Biaoyi stood up with a pained expression; he didn¡¯t know what was going to happen to him next.


    Unexpectedly, Yang Qing did not make things difficult for him. Instead he said, ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone else know about what you have said today. Just act as if nothing has happened, and no one should question you. In the future, if anything were to happen in East Arrival Cave, I grant you the authority to report to the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea in secret. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    Dan Biaoyi was initially taken aback, but then his expression was full of joy. He had understood what Yang Qing meant; Yang Qing was telling him that he would not reveal this incident, and had even personally appointed him to be his inside man in East Arrival Cave. This clearly meant that he had already been taken notice of by Yang Qing. He had not expected that something good actually came out of this terrible situation.


    ¡°Your subordinate understands, I shall follow your orders!¡± said Dan Biaoyi excitedly as he cupped his fists.


    From shock to fear, and ultimately to joy, there was too much of a difference; he found it almost impossible to react to.

 Chapter 82: The Cave Master is Wise!

    Chapter 82: The Cave Master is Wise!


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡°Reward him!¡± Yang Qing smiled and nodded.


    Immediately, an Orb of Will shed out with a gentle luminance as Qing Mei withdrew it from her storage ring, and gifted it to Dan Biaoyi.


    ¡°Thank you Manor Head, thank you Manor Head for the reward!¡± Unable to restrain his joy, Dan Biaoyi thanked Yang Qing repeatedly.


    ¡°Leave!¡± said Yang Qing with a casual wave of his hand.


    After Dan Biaoyi left the mountain and had walked some distance, Yang Qing shook his head and chuckled, ¡°He has just taken up the post, and already he has destroyed his own mountain gate in secret. I can¡¯t believe that this brat actually thought of something like this. He¡¯s got guts. Aye! He has both wit and valor, I could use someone like this. It would have saved me a lot of trouble if he was a mountain chieftain, but his cultivation is really too low. He¡¯s barely eptable as a Cave Master, and it would be overdoing it to further give him even greater responsibility. Before, I had only assigned a defeated White Lotus First Grade soldier like him to East Arrival Cave just to see how many people in South Edict Manor would heed my words. I had wanted to see the weight of my words; I wasn¡¯t acting on impulse, I only wanted to see who would step out and stop me. When I had actually ced him at East Arrival Cave, I was worried about whether it was the right thing to do. However, now that I have seen that the kid has some ability, it seems I have been worrying for nothing.¡±


    Looking at one another, Qing Mei and Qing Ju could tell that Miao Yi had further impressed Yang Qing. As handmaidens, they had already made up their minds that Cave Master Miao would surely be held in high regard when the time came, so in future they should not act too unfamiliar with him.


    On the other hand, Qin Weiwei pouted as though she wasn¡¯t pleased.


    Suddenly Yang Qing called out her name, smiles and all, before asking, ¡°Weiwei, I trust my judgement was not mistaken in personally assigning this East Arrival Cave Master to you?¡±


    His words were full of jest as he obviously knew that Miao Yi and his daughter had a poor rtionship.


    However, Qin Weiwei did not like to hear those words, so she got up and walked to his side and said spitefully, ¡°He¡¯s enjoying himself now, but I want to see if he will still have this much fun if he can¡¯t procure the Orbs of Will to give to the other parties when the timees!¡±


    Yang Qingughed loudly as he pointed at her and shook his head, ¡°Oh you! Oh you! Do you really spurn the man that your father has handpicked for you so much? All he did was kill your steed, and yet you¡¯re still being so stubborn. Why don¡¯t you think for a second? He has something over all those people¡¯s heads, and they even went as far as to betray their own sect. Even if he does not live up to his promise, what can those people do to him?¡±


    ¡°......,¡± Qin Weiwei was speechless after this shocking revtion.


    Yang Qing walked back to his seat and sat down. He sighed, ¡°If my South Edict Manor had a few talents like that kid, then I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the School of Blue Jade, and South Edict Manor¡¯s affairs could be handled with ease.¡±


    Qin Weiwei furrowed her brows, ¡°Manor Head, after this incident, don¡¯t you feel that brat is too calctive?¡±


    Yang Qing shook his head, ¡°If he was truly calctive, he wouldn¡¯t have intentionally made things difficult for them right from the start, but wouldmunicate his ns with you first. Then, once he had set up a contingency in order to avoid shouldering the responsibility, only then would he act. His actions right now have shown that he believed it was a matter of course, which is why he could go out patrolling like it was nobody¡¯s business after the deed was done.¡±


    Still unreconciled, Qin Weiwei mumbled, ¡°I still feel that bastard was a little too cunning and shameless. You are the only one who admires him so, and sees him in a positive light.¡±


    Yang Qingughed involuntarily, ¡°Regardless of whether you like him or not, or whether I admire him or not, these are not important. At the battle of Transient Light Cave, with his White Lotus First Grade cultivation he dared to meet his foes in a battle to the death and didn¡¯t back down, as brave generals do; when I sent him to the Changfeng territory to kill the ghost cultivator, two of Xiong Xiao¡¯s subordinates at the White Lotus Third Grade fell in battle, whereas he was the only one to have finished the mission alive; when I had sent him to oversee East Arrival Cave, all the other Cave Masters within Mount Calming Sea, nay, the entire South Edict Manor could do nothing butin and quake in their boots at the School of Blue Jade¡¯s forces, whereas he quickly subdued East Arrival Cave with his decisive methods. The other Cave Masters could note up with a single effective countermeasure; do you think they have done right by me in exchange for being allowed to manage a piece of my territory? The point is, Miao Yi has never disappointed me before, is this not a testament to his capabilities? Weiwei, as a superior, at times you must not only consider your own likes and dislikes, you must learn to appreciate the strengths of your subordinates as well. There is no such thing as apletely wless person, only those who know and can use other people well have the makings of a superior!¡±


    Qin Weiwei kept quiet, she knew Yang Qing¡¯s logic was correct, but she could not deny her dislike towards Miao Yi. Regardless, she just hated the sight of that bastard!


    A father knew his daughter best! The observant Yang Qing shook his head as he knew it would be hard to change his daughter¡¯s mindset so soon. s, these matters couldn¡¯t be forced....


    At the docks next to East Arrival City¡¯s great sea, the jade waters stretched out over the horizon. The skies were tall and the seas were grand, whilst seagulls flew about in the air.


    After spending a few days walking around, Miao Yi had secretly returned to the city to visit Ji Xiufang. Afterwards, he came here, to the ce where he had first arrived onnd after crossing the seas.


    As always the docks had a busy undercurrent; various fish stocks were being unloaded off the boats and sailboats were docking after a long journey at sea.


    Miao Yi went abound pulling people aside and asked them about the state of affairs. After which, he remounted his horse and left alongside Zhu Tianbiao.


    After patrolling for a few days, he had obtained a pretty good understanding of the matters in East Arrival City. As the two left the docks, Miao Yi smiled, ¡°That Xu Xinliang is not a bad City Lord. It looks like there¡¯s no need to change him.¡±


    Zhu Tianbiao immediately cupped his fists and said, ¡°The Cave Master is wise!¡±


    ¡°......¡± Miao Yi was speechless. He rolled his eyes - ¡®What did this have to do with me being wise or not? Someone with a good eye chose the City Lord, I had nothing to do with it at all. You don¡¯t even know how to give praise.¡¯


    The two of them rode alongside the shoreline. Miao Yi had lived on an ind for ten years, so he was quite knowledgeable about the sea. He could roughly tell how deep the waters were from its hue.


    As they came to a ce filled with tall reefs, the two of them stopped. Miao Yi dismounted his horse, and darted to the top of the reef to begin examining the surrounding geography.


    Zhu Tianbiao came to his side and asked, ¡°Cave Master, what are you looking at?¡±


    Miao Yi replied with another question, ¡°I heard that in the cultivation world there was a ferry that could travel long distances without the need of manpower?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhu Tianbiao exined, ¡°But to cultivators who have reached the Red Lotus stage and are able to fly, those things are useless, so only cultivators below the Red Lotus stage will use them.¡±


    ¡°Is it hard to construct?¡±


    ¡°Not at all! Actually, on the outside it doesn¡¯t look very different from normal boats, but the artisans need to construct a helical paddle and add it to the stern, then connect it to a gearing mechanism so that it can be propelled forward. Certain constructs require a transcendent artifact in order to move, and those that don¡¯t, could instead move using the leg strength of dragon steeds as they gallop on the wheel of the stern; in either case, the sailing speed is still much faster than those boats powered by mortals. Cave Master, why do you ask this?¡±


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t answer the question. He pointed to an area and said, ¡°It¡¯s this spot. Carve out a small dock here, then construct a ferry. It will be solely for the use of my East Arrival Cave. Inform Yan Xiu to contact workers from East Arrival City and construct this when we have returned.¡±


    Zhu Tianbiao cupped his fists, ¡°The Cave Master is wise!¡±


    ¡°I say......,¡± Originally Miao Yi wanted to ask him - ¡®You¡¯re not even asking what I¡¯m thinking about, yet you say I¡¯m wise. Is your brain damaged?¡¯


    Then again, Miao Yi didn¡¯t have much inmon to talk about with this fellow. Whatever he said may as well be equal to ying the lute to the ox, and Miao Yi couldn¡¯t be bothered for idle chatter. He shed his spear and struck at the reef creating a mark, then left with a wave of his hand, ¡°We¡¯ve been away for a few days, and have gone through almost everything that needed to be seen, let us return!¡±

 Chapter 83: Chapter 83:

    It was clear that Wang Zifa was rather being attentive to his fellow disciples. Four White Lotus Second Grade Junior Brothers and Sisters took turns watching the mountain gates.


    Today, Nan Sisi was the one guarding the mountain gate. Miao Yi and Zhu Tianbao dismounted from their steeds under the memorial arch of the mountain gate.


    ¡°Cave Master, you¡¯re finally back! Everyone is eagerly waiting for your return.¡± Nan Sisi took the reins that both of them passed into her hands, before immediately turning back to invoke her arts to shout loudly, ¡°The Cave Master has returned!¡±


    Miao Yi took a second nce at Nan Sisi, smiling as he went through the mountain gate. He would never have believed that everyone would miss him this much. He figured Nan Sisi was just attempting to butter him up.


    He had yet to reach the Grand Hall when he was then greeted by the sight of his cave¡¯s subordinates dashing over to him with a ¡®shua!¡¯, every one of them giving their respects, ¡°Cave Master has returned!¡±


    Miao Yi nodded his head and led the group of subordinates into the Grand Hall. After he ascended to his high seat and sat down, he asked, ¡°Nothing happen when I was away right?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s trouble!¡± A couple of them practically shouted out almost all at once, a worried look was written all over Wang Zifa and his group¡¯s faces.


    ¡°There¡¯s trouble? Everyone seems fine. What kind of trouble?¡± questioned Miao Yi looking towards Yan Xiu who stood below him. Currently, he still trusted Yan Xiu the most.


    Instead, Yan Xiu appeared to be very calm. He cupped his hands and said, ¡°Cave Master, on the second day you left, Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei rushed over with her men, investigating into the crux of the matters surrounding Song Fu¡¯s death.¡±


    The moment that woman was brought up, Miao Yi¡¯s face turned sour.


    He wasn¡¯t worried that Song Fu¡¯s death would be exposed. Rather, it was the fact that that woman had rushed over so soon to investigate after he had just taken up the post. What was the meaning of this? He had even sent someone to deliver the report to her at once. It was evident that she didn¡¯t trust him.


    Miao Yi swept his gaze over the group, and coldly scoffed in a rude manner. ¡°That bitch didn¡¯t deliberately look for trouble, did she?¡±


    ¡°......,¡±


    Everyone whose faces initially appeared concerned immediately went speechless. One by one, they stared at him with widened eyes as they gave him a thumbs up in their heart. ¡®Cave Master, you¡¯re astounding. You actually dared to insult the adopted daughter of Manor Head in public, calling the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea a bitch!¡¯


    ¡®Cough! Cough!¡¯ Miao Yi coughed dryly, also realizing that he had made a slip of the tongue. How could he blurt out his true feelings in public? He switched into a smiling expression and asked, ¡°Did dear Mountain Chieftain say anything?¡±


    Wang Zifa and his group surreptitiously exchanged a meaningful nce with each other. It appeared that this dear Cave Master and Manor Head Yang Qing¡¯s rtionship wasn¡¯t what everyone had imagined it to be. It seemed to be filled with a deep resentment as even Yang Qing¡¯s daughter was being called a bitch. Thus, it could clearly be seen what their rtionship was like.


    A number of School of Blue Jade¡¯s men, along with Yang Qing¡¯s men, hade with their own agendas so they were never likely to wholeheartedly obey Yang Qing. These people, after being held with something over their heads by Miao Yi, were worried about how they would deceive their own sect in the future. Now it seemed possible that this Cave Master Miao could be made to strive for School of Blue Jade in secret. If they could turn Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide into the School of Blue Jade and nt him by Yang Qing¡¯s side as a spy, then they could report back their duty to their sect. It might even be considered a meritorious service.


    Yan Xiu on the other hand, did not think too much into it. He replied, ¡°Mountain Chieftain on the contrary, did not say much. Just that she incessantly question us closely about the truth of our reports.¡±


    ¡®Just for this!¡¯ Miao Yi initially thought it was a matter of importance. As long as he could contain the people¡¯s mouth from School of Blue Jade here, so what if Qin Weiwei learned of the truth? He would never believe that Yang Qing, having just pushed him up into the seat, would removed him from it just because of this incident afterwards. Wasn¡¯t that just pping his own face and saying that his judgment was not clear?


    He didn¡¯t believe that Yang Qing could do something that would ruin his own Manor Head reputation. Moreover, he also hadn¡¯t done anything wrong, right? East Arrival Cave was originally his own domain so what was wrong with him reorganizing East Arrival Cave? ¡®You, Yang Qing sent me over to East Arrival Cave, even if you don¡¯t support me you also can¡¯t be a hindrance right?!¡¯


    Miao Yi asked disapprovingly, ¡°You guys did not talk drivel right?¡±


    Immediately, everyone spoke at once in reply, ¡°We were actually tight-lipped about it. But the crucial thing is that Dan Biaoyi has been taken away by Mountain Chieftain. We also don¡¯t know whether Dan Biaoyi can hold it in.¡±


    Miao Yi chuckled. ¡°Everyone, you do not need to worry on this issue. I believe Dan Biaoyi will not say things irresponsibly.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say out what he thought in his heart. Dan Biaoyi had taken part in the murder of Song Fu. It would be a wonder if Dan Biaoyi could so easily open his mouth.


    In actuality, both Yan Xiu and Qiu Shaoqun, who appeared to be more calm also thought the same in their hearts.


    As soon as he finished his words, the sound of a wave of galloping dragon steeds rapidly approaching came indistinctly from outside.


    Everyone waited for a while, and soon, they saw the aforementioned Dan Biaoyi quickly entering the Grand Hall. He cupped his hands at everyone in high spirits, before moving between the two parties, to pay his respects, ¡°Cave Master!¡±


    Before Dan Biaoyi could speak, everyone had already surrounded him, promptly asking him as one, whether he had said anything reckless after being taken away by the Mountain Chieftain.


    Assured by Yang Qing¡¯s words, Dan Biaoyi naturally pat his chest and guaranteed that he absolutely did not betray everyone.


    With these words, everyone suddenly felt greatly at ease. Each one of them patted him on the shoulders, saying that he was great.


    Miao Yi who sat above in the high seat was also very cheerful upon hearing Dan Biaoyi¡¯s words. He crossed one leg over the other, secretly pleased with himself in his thoughts. ¡®East Arrival Cave is indeed under my control!¡¯


    ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t be overjoyed too soon. You all know of Zheng Jinlong right?¡± Dan Biaoyi looked around everyone as he asked.


    Wang Zifa nodded his head in reply. ¡°Of course we know. He¡¯s our Senior Brother, having joined the sect earlier than Senior Brother Song Fu.¡±


    Everyone was curious as to why he would mention Zheng Jinlong. Dan Biaoyi pointed outside and eximed, ¡°He came with me. He is now waiting outside for Cave Master to summon him!¡±


    Everyone faintly felt that this was far from good. Immediately, Wang Zifa questioned closely, ¡°Why is Senior Brother Zheng here?¡±


    Dan Biaoyi sighed, ¡°Although I withstood the interrogation, the upper echelons gave our reports to the School of Blue Jade to examine. It seems like one of your fellow senior disciple at South Edict Manor made arrangements between both parties and personally proposed to Manor Head, saying that Song Fu deserved his death for being disrespectful and so requested Manor Head to promise that the School of Blue Jade could dispatch a recement in Song Fu¡¯s ce as atonement for his crimes. Thus, Zheng Jinlong came together with me. Everyone, I will say something that is unpleasant to hear, but your sect seems to have their suspicions raised towards this matter. Throughout the journey, Zheng Jinlong has been beating around the bush with me. Everyone should bear this in mind.¡±


    As he finished, he once again cupped his fists at Miao Yi, ¡°The reason why I purposely left Zheng Jinlong outside is to inform beforehand, hoping Cave Master can n earlier.¡±


    Seated on the high seat, Miao Yi nodded his head. He looked at the crowd and asked, ¡°What does everyone think of this matter?¡±


    After everyone from School of Blue Jade exchanged looks with each other, Wang Zifa proceeded to ask with a grave expression, ¡°Cave Master, I am afraid that the reason why Senior Brother Zheng came here is indeed as Dan Biaoyi said. He is aiming to investigate the truth of Senior Brother Song¡¯s death.¡±


    Miao Yi scoffed, ¡°Your people from the School of Blue Jade seriously have no limits ,actually going as far to investigate the actual situation from us. If he is not well-behavedter, you guys will work together and kill him. We have safety in numbers so there¡¯s no need to be scared of him. Oh yeah, what¡¯s his cultivation base?¡±


    Everyone¡¯s expression changed tremendously. At once, Wang Zifa waved his hands and eximed, ¡°No! Cave Master, if we kill Senior Brother Zheng again, then we will really be in trouble. Senior Brother Zheng may be easy to kill, but what happens after killing Senior Brother Zheng? If by any chance our sect again dispatches another disciple at Blue Lotus cultivation, then what will we do?¡±


    A bystander sees through everything. Yan Xiu, Qiu Shaoqun and Dan Biaoyi looked speechlessly at each other, their expressions slightly twitching. To their surprise, the Cave Master was discussing killing a disciple of the School of Blue Jade with a group of the same school, and looking serious about it. What kind of affairs was this? The School of Blue Jade has indeed epted a bunch of good disciples.

 Chapter 84: Bottomless Pit (2)

    Chapter 84: Bottomless Pit (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Miao Yi casually said, ¡°We can¡¯t go to the left, and we can¡¯t go to the right. So what are you all proposing we should do?¡±


    Wang Zifa cupped his fists and said, ¡°Cave Master, I might have a way to pull Senior Brother Zheng under our banner, I only ask that Cave Master help me with something.¡±


    ¡®Was this the rhythm of gradually pulling your own sect¡¯s Senior Brother under the water?¡¯ Miao Yi mumbled to himself. He said, ¡°Let me know what you have in mind first.¡±


    Wang Zifa replied, ¡°Cave Master, Senior Brother Zheng is also at the White Lotus Third Grade cultivation stage. If... if Senior Brother Zheng could enjoy the same benefits we do with regards to the distribution of the Orbs of Will, then I might have a way to convince him.¡±


    Quite a number of them furrowed their brows, quickly observing Miao Yi¡¯s reaction, because this request was a little overboard. Originally when everyone split the Orbs of Will, there would be three left for the Cave Master. If they had to give Zheng Jinlong three more orbs, then wouldn¡¯t the Cave Master not receive even a single one?


    As expected, Miao Yi¡¯s expression turned grim as he leaned forward, ¡°Wang Zifa, are you joking? If all of you take away the Orbs of Will, then wouldn¡¯t I be the Cave Master for nothing? Let me tell you, when the Orbs of Will are harvested at the end of the year, there will be twenty-four orbs, in which fourteen would be given to all of you. This is already the limit of what I can give, how you choose to distribute it is between the lot of you. If that Senior Brother Zheng of yours can be appeased then let it be so, but if he can¡¯t then just set him up. I absolutely hate it when people try to take advantage of me.¡±


    Miao Yi was not the least bit afraid of whoever this Senior Brother Zheng or Senior Brother Wai was. He had so many subordinates at his beck and call, a mere White Lotus Third Grade cultivator could only be at his mercy on his own territory, why would he need to lower himself and appease others?


    ¡°Please don¡¯t misunderstand Cave Master, that is not what I meant,¡± said Wang Zifa as he waved his hands anxiously.


    Miao Yi coldly said, ¡°Then what do you mean?¡±


    Everyone looked towards Wang Zifa with expressions that showed their full attention was being focused on listening, while Wang Zifa cautiously answered, ¡°Didn¡¯t Cave Master mention that you had an alternate source for the Orbs of Will? What I mean is, when the timees I will first take out three orbs from my Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters to give to Senior Brother Zheng, when Cave Master obtains the orbs from that alternate source, it wouldn¡¯t be toote for you topensate them then.¡±


    As he said this, the looks on Hou Sheng, Shang Yoi, and Wang Xiuqing changed. Needless to say, the White Lotus Third Grade Senior Brother Zhu Tianbiao would not be included in the ones to have their share taken out here and there. It would definitely be those at White Lotus Second Grade, who would suffer.


    Most importantly, the Cave Master¡¯s so-called alternate source of orbs was just something he had said. No one had seen it before, so clearly it was better to rely on the benefits that you could guarantee. Who could say what the future would hold?


    However, since Wang Zifa has already spoken, they could only keep their dissatisfaction to themselves. They did not dare say it out.


    Nan Sisi was unaware of the situation in the hall as she was guarding the mountain gate outside, otherwise she would have definitely been against it too.


    ¡°Is that so!¡± Miao Yi pondered for a bit as he tapped on the armrest with his fingers. He slowly nodded, ¡°I could promise all of you, but when the timees to obtain the Orbs of Will from my alternate source, all of you cannot back out, you muste together with me!¡±


    Yan Xiu felt his heart stop for a moment as a thought shed by his mind - ¡®This Cave Master isn¡¯t really thinking of going hunting at the Sea of Constetions, is he?¡¯


    Wang Zifa immediately nodded and smiled, ¡°Of course, we all obey the Cave Master¡¯s orders, and will definitely go together with you.¡±


    He had not been clear with his words - ¡®On the premise that we will only go to the ces that you, the Cave Master was able to go. We¡¯re following you!¡¯


    Miao Yi smiled as he looked towards the other School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples and asked, ¡°Do all of you have any other opinions?¡±


    Wang Zifa immediately turned around and swept his fellow Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters a cold nce. Thus, even though Hou Sheng and the rest were not really willing, they forced out a smiled and nodded together.


    ¡°Good!¡± Miao Yi pped the armrest, ¡°Then this matter is decided. I will leave you fellow disciples to handle that Zheng Jinlong fellow. Dan Biaoyi, let him in!¡±


    Dan Biaoyi acknowledged his order and left. After a while, a fair and plump blue-robed fellow was brought in from outside. His face carried a gentle smile from beginning to end, seemingly even younger than Song Fu.


    Wang Zifa and the rest cupped their fists and shouted, ¡°Senior Brother!¡±


    The other party cupped his fists in return, then stood firmly, as he paid his respects towards Miao Yi, who was sitting at the high seat, ¡°Your subordinate Zheng Jinlong hase reporting for duty to serve East Arrival Cave, I pay my respects to the Cave Master!¡±


    It looked as though this person was more tactful in his mannerisms than Song Fu; at least Miao Yi did not hate seeing it, so he extended his arm as he gestured for him to rise, ¡°No need to be so formal.¡±


    After a bout of questions from both sides, Zheng Jinlong continued to maintain a respectful attitude that was rightful of a subordinate.


    After some formalities, everyone had already made their way to the far end of the assembly hall, when Miao Yi suddenly said, ¡°Dan Biaoyi.¡±


    As he was walking to the gate, Dan Biaoyi heard his name being called and turned around, ¡°What does the Cave Master ask of me?¡±


    As he slowly made his way down from his seat, Miao Yi stared at him with a deceptive smile and said, ¡°You really didn¡¯t say anything, and that bitc.... Mountain Chieftain just let youe back like that?¡±


    Dan Biaoyi felt his heart stop. He thought back to see if he had mentioned any loopholes, before saying with a shocked expression, ¡°Your subordinate has also been implicated in Song Fu¡¯s murder and has nothing to gain from revealing the truth. Does Cave Master doubt your subordinate?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I was just asking casually,¡± Miao Yiughing jovially as he patted his shoulder. He then turned around and called Yan Xiu as he walked to the back of the hall.


    In the courtyard at behind the hall, the fully sated Charcoal didn¡¯t even bother exercising at all and continued lying in front of the gate, swishing its tail as it slept. When Miao Yi entered the courtyard, it only opened its eyes to steal a nce. Seeing that it wasn¡¯t the woman that had stabbed a knife into its own buttocks, it continued to sleep knowing that it was safe. Yan Xiu, who had followed Miao Yi in, asked cautiously, ¡°Cave Master, you suspect that Dan Biaoyi has revealed the truth?¡±


    ¡°No, I just feel that the bitch Qin Weiwei is not this easygoing. That bitch has always wanted to find my faults,¡± Miao Yi waved his hand. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter even if he did reveal it.¡±


    When they heard that the Cave Master was back, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, who had been waiting on either sides of the courtyard, had already lowered their heads slightly and followed behind Miao Yi and Yan Xiu.


    When Miao Yi entered his quarters and sat down, the two handmaidens immediately served up some fragrant tea, then silently stood to his left and right.


    Miao Yi only cast the two of them a nce, then waved his hand as a sign for them to step down. At this moment, there was still no trust between them.


    After the two left, Miao Yi said to Yan Xiu, ¡°I have marked a spot on the seaside, I want you to head back, contact East Arrival City and organise a few workers....¡±


    As Miao Yi exined his ns to construct the dock and the boat, Yan Xiu immediately felt nervous and asked, ¡°Cave Master, you aren¡¯t really nning on going to the Sea of Constetions to hunt, are you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it, I just need it for my cultivation.¡±


    ¡°Cultivation?¡±


    ¡°The workers¡¯ sries cannot be too little. I leave this matter to you; it¡¯s decided! Since I¡¯ve been out running for a few days, I¡¯ll go take a bath.¡±


    Miao Yi said this curtly and left.


    Yan Xiu could only cup his fists in eptance. As he turned around and left the hall, he saw Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er outside, and casually said, ¡°The Cave Master wishes to take a bath.¡±


    As he was passing them by, his footsteps halted and he reminded them, ¡°In the entire East Arrival City, not everyone can have the opportunity of bing the Cave Master¡¯s handmaidens. Handmaidens who cannot obtain the Cave Master¡¯s trust, will not be able to stay here for long....¡±

 Chapter 85: Bottomless Pit (3)

    Chapter 85: Bottomless Pit (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Inside the silent quarters, Miao Yi had taken off his clothes and was bathing in afortably warm pool. He closed his eyes, enjoying his bath for a while, but opened them again when he heard the sounds of footsteps; he looked towards the door of the stone room - ¡®Who would intrude upon this ce?¡¯


    The answer revealed itself - a fidgety Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er came inside. The both of them had already taken off their robes. Each of their upper body sported a tube top, while their lower body had a pair of short wrap pants.


    All were exposed into thin air - they had fair, jade-like shoulders; delicate white corbones; limbs like lotus roots; and curvaceous waists.


    The two youngdies were akin to shy budding flowers. They had very little clothing on, and came over holding toiletries with reddened faces.


    Miao Yi¡¯s mouth was agape. After being speechless for a moment, he suddenly thought of something. His face was flushed red, as he quickly extended his arms and grabbed a piece of clothing from the shore, then immediately pulled it under the water to cover his crotch. He anxiously asked, ¡°What are the both of you doing in here?!¡±


    ¡°To attend to the Cave Master¡¯s bath!¡± the both of them said with reddened faces.


    Miao Yi covered his lower half and shook his head nervously, ¡°No need, no need, I¡¯ll do it myself!¡±


    ¡°This is what we handmaidens should be doing.¡±


    The two handmaidens clearly remembered what Yan Xiu had said previously. They hardened their resolves and put the toiletries down, as they extended their fair, delicate legs into the pool. The two of them didn¡¯t care whether Miao Yi had agreed to it or not. One reached out her arms and helped spread Miao Yi¡¯s hair out; the other held adle in her hands as she moistened Miao Yi¡¯s shoulders.


    Miao Yi felt unbearably anxious, a little furious from the embarrassment even, but some things are in a man¡¯s true nature.


    How could their thin, translucent short wrap pants withstand the breeze from the spring water? As the two youngdies slipped into the water, their figures could be barely made out from their soaked clothing. Furthermore, under the fragrance of the virgins, Miao Yi could feel his heart instantly beat faster. He did not dare continue looking. He was just about to speak of shooing them away, but he managed to swallow those words back down.


    Even so, he didn¡¯t dare continue staring at the two girls as they shyly covered their half-exposed figures. He could only close his eyes shut as his two hands tightly covered his crotch, and let their soft fingers touch his body. He felt their fingertips graze his skin, and he couldn¡¯t help but quiver.


    Eventually he became used to it, and after he did, he began to feel an indescribable pleasure, only his two hands still wouldn¡¯t let go of his crotch.


    It should be borne in mind that before East Arrival City had chosen these youngdies to dedicate to the Immortals, they had hired tutors specifically to teach them. Clearly, they had to grab the Immortals¡¯ fancy, so the youngdies were taught all kinds of techniques to serve, otherwise East Arrival City would not dare send them.....


    The abode used by Immortals for cultivation, and for overseeing an area would not have a bad environment.


    Lush, dream-like mountains, and in between the mountains and the stone paths, were all manner of beasts both on the ground and in the air. A group of people turned to look at the strange mountain peaks, gazing at the forests, and listening to the dripping of spring water.


    Wang Zifa and his Junior Brothers and Sisters were bringing Senior Brother Zheng around to admire East Arrival Cave¡¯s sceneries. They had all treated their Senior Brother respectfully, wanting him to be familiar with East Arrival Cave¡¯s surroundings.


    ¡°The Six Sages had divided thends, and within each respective territory of each domain, the abode of Immortals have all taken up ces that are abundant with nature¡¯s energy. What a fine ce indeed!¡±


    They all walked into the mountain pavilion, and as Zheng Jinlong listened to his Junior Brothers and Sisters¡¯ introductions, he gazed at the scendscape around andmented that a mere East Arrival Cave¡¯s mountain views wereparable to those of the esteemed School of Blue Jade.


    His face still maintained a demeanor of warmth andughter, and the rest of them could not see anything amiss from their Senior Brother¡¯s expression.


    To his side, Wang Zifa joked, ¡°Now that our School of Blue Jade has joined their ranks, the future is promising!¡±


    Zheng Jinlong simply said ¡®Oh¡¯, then asked, ¡°Does the school still exist in your eyes?¡±


    As he said this, the smiles on everybody¡¯s faces froze and the atmosphere instantly turned awkward. They thought to themselves - ¡®What muste will eventuallye¡¯. ¡°Senior Brother¡¯s words scare me....¡±


    Wang Zifa had not even finished his sentence, when Zheng Jinlong suddenly turned and interrupted him. He still carried a smile on his face, but his tone waspletely chilling, ¡°Scare you? Do all of you still think that your courage is not great enough?¡±


    The rest of them all cast a nce at Wang Zifa¡¯s expression, because he had said he would handle it.


    Wang Zifa had a face full of shock, ¡°What does Senior Brother mean?¡±


    Zheng Jinlong smiled, ¡°Junior Brother, are you ying dumb with me? Are all of you not nning on giving the school an exnation on the death of Junior Brother Song?¡±


    Wang Zifa¡¯s face turned solemn as he said in a deep tone, ¡°Senior Brother Song nearly destroyed our School of Blue Jade¡¯s ns, he deserved to die! If we were given another chance, we would still do the same!¡±


    Zheng Jinlong was surprised. A glint shed in his eyes, and he carefully asked, ¡°Could there be some hidden agenda within this matter? Would you care to tell me the details?¡±


    Wang Zifa said in a hushed tone, ¡°Senior Brother, some things, even if the school does not mention, everyone already knows within their hearts. How could our School of Blue Jade remain beneath another person? There is bound to be a day when Yang Qing will be reced, don¡¯t you think so, Senior Brother?¡±


    Zheng Jinlong refrained frommenting; he did not agree, but he also didn¡¯t deny it. He asked, ¡°Does this have something to do with Junior Brother Song¡¯s death?¡±


    ¡°Of course it does.¡± Wang Zifa asked, ¡°What does Senior Brother think of Miao Yi?¡±


    Zheng Jinlong could not make out what he was trying to imply. He pondered for a moment, and then replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the other details, I just know that with his weak cultivation, it should not have been possible to rise to this position. Without Yang Qing¡¯s support, he would not have been as aplished as he is right now. It would not be wrong to say that he is Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide. Is Junior Brother satisfied with my answer?¡±


    ¡°Senior Brother is truly perceptive!¡± Wang Zifa cupped his fists, ¡°It is as Senior Brother has said! However, Senior Brother only knows one side of the story and not the other. That Miao Yi does not have as close of a rtionship with Yang Qing as outsiders perceive. I have once heard him misspeak, insulting Qin Weiwei and calling her a bitch!¡±


    Zheng Jinlong obviously knew that Qin Weiwei was Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter, but Miao Yi had dared to nder and call the Manor Head¡¯s daughter a bitch? He felt the matter was a little strange and asked, ¡°There was such an urrence? But what does this have to do with Junior Brother Song¡¯s death?¡±


    Wang Zifa immediately brought his lips to the side of Zheng Jinlong¡¯s ear and, after making a few revisions to the truth, whispered it to him.


    Zheng Jinlong was shocked, ¡°Three orbs? Where would he be able to find so many Orbs of Will to give to us?¡±


    ¡°We have personally seen him hold an Orb of Will that was coalesced from the willpower of ten thousand people in a single year.....¡± Wang Zifa whispered a few words again.


    ¡°He has other sources for the Orbs of Will?¡± Zheng Jinlong¡¯s eyes brightened.


    Wang Zifa sighed, ¡°Now Senior Brother knows of our predicament. Forgive me for being blunt, but even though Senior Brother holds a higher prestige within the school than we do, once the school has caught wind of this matter, this small East Arrival Cave will surely fall into a heated conflict. When that happens, the Senior Masters are sure to send their rtives and trusted aides in to rece us. Losing the benefits would be a trivial matter to us, but once news of this is revealed and Miao Yi were to be summoned back by Yang Qing, then wouldn¡¯t our hard work of obtaining a source of Orbs of Will for the school be wasted? This would be the loss of the school, which is why Song Fu had to die!¡±


    Zheng Jinlong could not believe that these fellows would actually help the school obtain a source for the Orbs of Will, it was more likely that they were seeking to obtain it for themselves. But the truth was if they removed Miao Yi from East Arrival Cave, then his promise of three orbs a year would definitely go up in smoke. If someone else was the Cave Master, they surely would not be this generous.


    With that being said, with so many benefits, even he himself felt tempted by it. The reason his Junior Brothers told him this news was not only to let him receive a share of the benefits, but also to get him in the same boat as them!


    Yet this incident had already aroused the school¡¯s suspicions, otherwise they would not have sent him here. Zheng Jinlong furrowed his brows, ¡°Junior Brother, I can understand all of your efforts for the school, but surely all of you must know this matter will not beid to rest unless we give the school a reasonable exnation, so why did you tell me this?¡±

 Chapter 86: Bottomless Pit (4)

    Chapter 86: Bottomless Pit (4)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Wang Zifa knew he was being moved and secretly rejoiced. However on the surface, he acted astonished instead, ¡°Could it be that Senior Brother did not understand what I meant just now?¡±


    Surprised, Zheng Jinlong pondered for a while and yet, he still did not understand. So he asked, ¡°Junior Brother, please exin in detail.¡±


    Wang Zifa lowered his voice and said, ¡°It is as Senior Brother said, Miao Yi is a trusted confidant of Yang Qing but in fact, you should be able to tell that is far from the truth from how Miao Yi had ndered Qin Weiwei as a vile woman. As a prisoner, Miao Yi was obviously rather resentful towards Yang Qing. It must be borne in mind that back then, he would rather have died than surrender. He was forced into a situation where he had no other choice but to surrender to Yang Qing. Being in the middle, the School of Blue Jade has great prospects for the future. If we can turn Yang Qing¡¯s trusted confidant and nt him by Yang Qing¡¯s side... Senior Brother could exin in this manner to the upper echelons to contain their doubts.¡±


    ¡°.......¡±


    Zheng Jinlong went silent. If he seriously did this, then he would be in the same boat with the others. The moment trouble struck, they would be on theirst legs and he wouldn¡¯t be able to run.


    After he returned to the cultivation residence set for him, Zheng Jinlong felt very doubtful and conflicted. On one hand, it was the horrible consequences that awaited him should the sect be enraged. While on the other hand, there was tremendous temptation in the benefits involved.


    However in the end, he couldn¡¯t surrender the potential benefits that he could reap. After a few days of observation and consideration, in addition to the unceasing enticement of the benefits by Wang Zifa and the others, Zheng Jinlong braced himself to write a confidential report.


    The report also listed and fabricated a pile of Song Fu¡¯s arrogant and despotic deeds, saying that Song Fu had not cared about the present conditions in the slightest and deserved his death. After Miao Yi had killed Song Fu, Wang Zifa and the rest were extremely furious, and they almost couldn¡¯t control themselves from engaging in a battle with Miao Yi. Fortunately at that moment, Wang Zifa and the others had unexpectedly discovered that Miao Yi was only deferential towards Yang Qing on the surface. In reality, he was extremely resentful towards Yang Qing, so much that he secretly ndered Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter as a bitch.


    Also, Wang Zifa and his group had also taken into consideration the overall situation. They felt that this was still not the time for the School of Blue Jade to have a falling out with Yang Qing over just a mere Song Fu. Since Song Fu was already dead and could not be revived, it was better to seize the opportunity to act. Thus, Wang Zifa and the group had decided to control the situation and protect Miao Yi first, earning his gratitude and striving to nt Miao Yi as a trusted aide by Yang Qing¡¯s side until the time came that the School of Blue Jade deemed him of use.


    Besides, Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation base was low, which made him easily controlled. Controlling Miao Yi meant taking control of East Arrival Cave. If this incident caused Miao Yi to be withdrawn from East Arrival Cave, once Yang Qing dispatched a person with a much higher cultivation base to takemand, the School of Blue Jade would find it difficult to exercise control over East Arrival Cave.


    Zheng Jinlong then finally said that he felt Wang Zifa and the others were really well-intentioned, and so he requested the sect to consider ordingly!


    In the courtyard, Zheng Jinlong still felt some hesitation as he stuffed the confidential report into the cylinder of the goshawk, unable toe to a decision. Ultimately, he still gritted his teeth and flung the goshawk in his hand into the air.


    The goshawk messenger speedily pped its wings and flew into the far off distance...


    As the saying went, even heroes have a weakness for the charms of a beautiful woman. Perhaps this saying was going a bit overboard, but after taking a bath with his two handmaidens, Miao Yi at the very least, no longer appeared cold and indifferent to the two, and neither did he purely treated them as workers for menial tasks.


    Although Miao Yi had refrained himself from crossing the line, both parties had after all, engaged in skin-to-skin contact under very intimate circumstances. It was his first time bing this intimate with women, so he experienced a different kind of feeling whenever he looked the both of them again. In his mind, he had begun to subconsciously treat the two as his own, and was more casual in ordering them around.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er also no longer appeared to look apprehensive when facing their dear Cave Master. They even felt it was hrious, when they thought of the first time they had helped the Cave master with his bath. To their surprise, the grand Cave Master was unexpectedly more embarrassed and nervous than them. Who would have thought that Immortals could be shy!


    Entering the East Arrival Grand Hall¡¯s rear court, Yan Xiu smiled gently at the sight of Xue¡¯Er strumming the qin with her fingers inside the pavilion. Amidst the beautiful melody of the qin, Qian¡¯Er was dancing lightly and gracefully; her dance postures and movement were elegant, akin to a celestial. Meanwhile, Miao Yi was simply admiring them with a teacup clutched in his hand; living such a life of simple pleasures, it wasn¡¯t bad at all.


    Seeing that Yan Xiu had entered, Miao Yi gave a wave of his hand and both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er stopped immediately.


    Entering the pavilion, Yan Xiu shot a nce at the two and asked with a smile, ¡°Cave Master, are you satisfied with these two? If you are not satisfied, I can ask the City Lord of East Arrival City to rece them with another two.¡±


    Still, due to the followers, no one else could have this kind of special treatment. The moment the Immortals have chosen their handmaidens, they would not normally be allowed to switch them around as they pleased. None of the cultivators could treat every women in the world as their own to use at their leisure. If that had seriously happened, then the whole world would have been in utter chaos; but the Cave Master could still have a bit of special treatment.


    This treatment of assigning handmaidens could only be enjoyed by those under the administration of the Six Sages. The cultivators outside of this system would not have this kind of treatment. There would be no issues should the other cultivators visit the brothels, but if they acted indiscriminately towards the followers and destroyed the bnce in the number of followers of the realm, the cultivators within the system would immediately set forth their troops to entrap and annihte them, giving chase to kill. They had to protect their own privileges!


    This was also one of the reasons why everyone wanted to enter the system, as all kinds of privileges to indulge themselves in couldn¡¯t even bepared to those of the Loose Cultivators.


    The moment Yan Xiu finished, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er instantly looked at Miao Yi nervously.


    Before they were on the verge of bing the handmaidens of Immortals, it could be said that East Arrival City had spent arge amount of effort to train them, providing them with good food and drinks. Also, no one would dare offend them because they were about to be the handmaidens of Immortals; offending them would mean they could very well retaliate in the future.


    But in the event that they were driven out, then it would be like falling from the heavens above onto the ground. Without Immortals backing them, nobody would take them seriously in the future. Not only that, one could well imagine the consequences of being sent back. It would meant they definitely had not served the Immortals well, so naturally those who had expended all their efforts for them would be angry.


    Miao Yi could not stand the expressions the two young girls were faintly throwing him. Recollecting the moment when they had skin to skin contact in the water, he coughed dryly and said, ¡°They¡¯re still alright. They are quite handy so there¡¯s no need to rece them.¡±


    He also did not want people to spread the news of him being embarrassed when taking a bath.


    His words implied that the two young girls had already passed the trial period, and had received an official mark of approval. Thus instantly, their status becamepletely different, officially bing the Cave Master¡¯s intimate partners. There would be few who would dare to offend them. Immediately, even Yan Xiu cupped his hands at the both of them as he addressed, ¡°Elder Auntie! Little Auntie!¡±


    With even an Immortal addressing them deferentially, the two girls suddenly put on a cheerful front. They understood that the Cave Master had officially acknowledged the both of them. Hence, their statuses would be much higher than a number of people from now on. At least the other handmaidens who were chosen with them to serve the Immortals were inferior to them, because both of them were the Cave Master¡¯s handmaidens.


    Before the two came, they also had not known the person they were going to serve was actually a Cave Master. This form of luck could not be had by just anyone, as only two would be chosen from at least a hundred thousand people.


    In their excitement, the young handmaidens let slip endearing traits; the expression they cast at Miao Yi was also different. The two of them moved gently to stand behind Miao Yi on either side.


    Miao Yi did not shun them both again. He knew that once he had settled on these two, he had to start letting them bothe into contact with certain states of affairs, as in the future, they would handle affairs for him just like how Qing Mei and Qing Ju handled them for Yang Qing. Otherwise if they knew nothing, what kind of affairs could they handle?


    ¡°Has Zheng Jinlong given any kind of response?¡± Miao Yi asked.


    Yan Xiu replied, ¡°There has been no response for now. Zheng Jinlong simply remained in his cultivation residence and wouldn¡¯te out. Wang Zifa and the others were extremely anxious, and kept urging unceasingly.¡±

 Chapter 87: Bottomless Pit (5)

    Chapter 87: Bottomless Pit (5)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    While Miao Yi and Yan Xiu were still in the midst of their discussion, Zheng Jinlong who had been pacing back and forth anxiously in the courtyard as he awaited news, suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked towards the sweeping ck spot in the sky and reached out his arm to wee it.


    The goshawk messenger he had released two days ago had finally returned. With a cry, it descended onto his arm.


    He impatiently took out a narrow jade slip from the cylinder at the goshawk¡¯s feet, and imbued his transcendence energy to examine it.


    The words - ¡®Wang Zifa and the others have expended much care and thought, we will cooperate!¡¯ were written on it.


    This was the School of Blue Jade¡¯s reply. Suddenly, Zheng Jinlong let out a heavy sigh of relief. Without knowing the sect¡¯s attitude on the matter, he had not dared to dere his stance to Wang Zifa and the others to betray his sect¡¯s confidence and sell himself out. He feared that he would be implicated when the time came. If by chance the School of Blue Jade wished to investigate further, he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop it.


    Now that he had deceived his sect, Zheng Jinlong finally had confidence. He quickly ced the goshawk back into the hawk nest, turned and entered his residence. After removing the blue robes he was dressed in, he changed into a ck outfit.


    The Cave Master of East Arrival Cave had deemed the clothes from the School of Blue Jade an eyesore, so he insisted on unifying the dress code of East Arrival Cave.


    Dressed all in ck, Zheng Jinlong was walking out of the courtyard gate when suddenly, Wang Zifa and his group appeared out of nowhere; once again ying the same old tune, ¡°Senior Brother, have you considered it?¡±


    They were very anxious as well. If Zheng Jinlong really refused to cooperate, then they could only heed Miao Yi and band together to kill off Zheng Jinlong. Although they knew doing this was a supposed remedy that would only make matters worse, they were already out of options and only cared for the present.


    ¡°For the sake of all of you pledging your heart and soul to our sect, this time I have indeed racked my brains for you all!¡± Zheng Jinlong sighed before handing over to the rest, the confidential jade slip report he had just received not too long ago.


    After each of them had taken turns imbuing their transcendence energy to examine it, all of them were overwhelmed with joy. Under Wang Zifa¡¯s signal, they stood in a row, cupping their hands together and said, ¡°Senior Brother, thank you for going through so much trouble!¡±


    ¡°It has been a few days since I have seen the Cave Master. I wonder how could I be of help to the Cave Master?¡±


    After Zheng Jinlong said this, everyone knew in their hearts that he had decided to join in on the profits. This was to go and ease the Cave Master¡¯s worries.


    Immediately, everyone showered him with praise as they apanied him forward.


    Upon receiving notice from the group, Miao Yi proceeded to lead Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to the front hall from the rear hall. He walked up to his high seat and sat down whilst the slightly nervous Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er stood on either side of his seat. Yan Xiu followed them out and stood at his own ce beneath him.


    ¡°Summon them in!¡± Miao Yi voiced out indifferently.


    Yan Xiu had already briefed the two young girls on the rules and regtions earlier. Xue¡¯Er as a Little Auntie, trembled slightly for a while before abruptly walking over to the Grand Hall¡¯s entrance. Summoning her courage, she shouted loudly at the crowd waiting outside at the base of the stairs. ¡°Cave Master requests everyone to enter the Grand Hall to discuss the state of affairs!¡±


    Her voice wasn¡¯t tiny, but one could obviously hear the quivering in her voice. Clearly she was still a little nervous. It was understandable as it was her first time disying such awe-inspiring authority when facing a group of Immortals.


    As Zheng Jinlong and the rest entered the Grand Hall, Miao Yi took notice of the ck robes they donned on their bodies. He understood that this was Zheng Jinlong¡¯s position. A knowing smile shed through his eyes as he knew that this bastard had been dragged into the mire as well.


    He swept his gaze to Wang Zifa, whoprehended without being told explicitly. Immediately, he transmitted his voice, ¡°It is settled!¡±


    ¡°We havee to pay respects to the Cave Master!¡± Everyone cupped their hands as they said in unison.


    This time, everyone was present atst. In the future, he would no longer need to fear that anyone would be missing in a fight.. Even when going against a White Lotus Fourth Grade cultivator, they could still put up a good fight. Miao Yi smiled, ¡°There¡¯s no need for such formalities!¡±


    Subconsciously, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er snuck a furtive nce at Miao Yi as they came to the realization that the Cave Master was very impressive, having so many Immortals obeying his every word. In reality, there were only nine people below them. With the addition of the one guarding the mountain gate outside, there were only ten subordinates in total. East Arrival Cave would not able to feed everyone if there were to be too many people around.


    But to the both of them who had just arrived, just one Immortal was already an aloof and remote presence in their mind, let alone ten of them. It was already too much! They had never before seen so many Immortals whom they formerly had revered, suddenly appear before them.


    What would they think if they knew that their own master¡¯s cultivation was the worst out of every single Immortal there?


    After the nine of them had separated into two rows and stood still, Zheng Jinlong once again stepped forward, cupping his hands as he said, ¡°Your subordinate, Zheng Jinlong is a neer and has yet to perform a meritorious deed for East Arrival Cave. How could I be of service to the Cave Master?¡±


    This was an approach to make it known that he was willing to be at Miao Yi¡¯s disposal.


    Miao Yi curled the corner of his mouth and said, ¡°Well..., neers must show some disy of conduct. How about you guard the mountain gates for a day first? ¡±


    The group below were caughtpletely off guard. He was making a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator guard the main gates again? Could it be that the Cave Master did not understand their meaning and wanted toy his murderous hands on Zheng Jinlong?


    Zheng Jinlong had also jumped in fright. He had only offered out of courtesy to express his position. He had not expected the other party to actually take it seriously. Only then did he recall that although this bastard before his eyes had a low cultivation base, he had the capability to behead a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator.


    However, he swiftly figured out the Cave Master¡¯s intention soon enough. It was to see whether or not he was wholeheartedly willing to ept his assignments. This man did not trust the empty words spoken from his mouth, and wanted him to take action to dere his stance.


    ¡°Your subordinate obeys!¡± Zheng Jinlong cupped his fists in acknowledgement of the order.


    It was good that he had agreed as Miao Yi could not be bothered to beat about the bush with him. To him, this was his own domain. It was as simple as that.


    ¡°While almost everyone is present here, let me make an introduction to you.¡± Miao Yi raised his finger and pointed to the handmaidens at his sides. ¡°This is Qian¡¯Er and this is Xue¡¯Er!¡±


    After everyone looked at each other, they cupped their fists and eximed one after another. ¡°We greet Elder Auntie and Little Auntie!¡±


    Amidst the feelings of nervousness, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er lowered their bodies into a bow to return the greeting.


    After everyone was done exchanging conversations and left, Zheng Jinlong went to the mountain gate to relieve the sentry, causing Wang Xiuqin who was currently guarding the mountain gates to be in fear and trepidation. Wang Xiuqin would have never dared to trouble Senior Brother to guard the mountain gates.


    After hearing that this was the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s wishes, Wang Xiuqin finally let it be, but still proceeded to warn in a low tone, ¡°Senior Brother, you know what happened to Senior Brother Song. You need to be extra careful.¡±


    Zheng Jinlong nodded his head. On the surface, he appeared to disparage the warning but in fact, his chest had also tightened. He was still slightly worried that the Cave Master would y dirty.


    As for the incident when Song Fu had caused the mountain gate to be smashed before, everyone was not stupid. After the incident, they could guess it was Miao Yi who had been using underhanded means in the dark, looking for an excuse to act out violently.


    Thus, Zheng Jinlong decided to guard the mountain gates to his death today, without going anywhere else, so as to avoid failing miserably at such a simple task...


    The news of Zheng Jinlong bowing his head in submission quickly travelled to Mount Calming Sea. Dressed in a white snowy robe whilst lying on a couch in the loft, Qin Weiwei was looking at the confidential report in her hand, feeling fed up. To her surprise, that brat had again settled the person that the School of Blue Jade had sent over to investigate. Was the entire School of Blue Jade trash?


    For the previous incident, Yang Qing knew that Song Fu¡¯s death could not be concealed in the dark for long. It was pointless to hide such matters as well, so he had immediately summoned forth the person-in-charge posted by School of Blue Jade, letting the other party looked over the pile of reports.


    The man from the School of Blue Jade hadn¡¯t said anything further and instead, directly denounced Song Fu as being deserving of his death. However, he then requested Yang Qing to make arrangements for another person to be dispatched to atone for his crime by meritorious service.


    Anyone would know that atoning for his crime by meritorious service was a lie, and that the desire to go forth and ascertain the facts about the incident was the truth. However, Yang Qing had agreed instantly.


    After the incident, Qin Weiwei had asked Yang Qing why he had agreed? What if they found out the truth?


    Yang Qing had said, ¡°If they find out then so be it. When the timees, I will dere my position to protect the kid. I would like to see what kind of approach the School of Blue Jade will take, and test their limit. Secondly, it¡¯s to send some trouble to the kid and see if he can handle it as well as whether he will disappoint me or not!¡±


    The confidential report was very quickly diverted to South Edict Manor.


    They were still at that mountain pavilion. Yang Qing, upon receiving the report gave a light chuckle. ¡°He turned another one in. This brat has really managed East Arrival Cave into a bottomless pit, swallowing whoeveres! Seems like School of Blue Jade was nothing more than this, they couldn¡¯t even handle a mere tiny Cave Master under mymand. Haha!¡±


    By the sidelines, Qing Mei and Qing Ju shared a nce. That kid once again did not disappoint the Manor Head. They could tell that the Manor Head was growing to admire him more and more. The main point was that the kid had messed with the School of Blue Jade in a manner to the Manor Head¡¯s liking.

 Chapter 88: Hatching Dark Eggs (1)

    Chapter 88: Hatching Dark Eggs (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Once Zheng Jinlong¡¯s matter was settled, it also meant that the School of Blue Jade was also dealt with. Thus for the moment, there were no more worries about future consequences. Miao Yi could finally focus his energy into cultivating.


    But before this, he still had one more affair to attend to. Having just taken over East Arrival Cave before, he had intended to reorganize the ce but didn¡¯t have the time to do so. Now that he had, he decided to try performing Lao Bai¡¯s procedures on the Hell Mantis eggs that they had obtained from the Boundless Secr World before.


    On the next day break, Miao Yi told Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to keep watch outside with the intent of not letting anyone enter to disturb him. He stayed in the silent quarters alone to make preparations. He had no choice but to do so, because Lao Bai had said that this secret art must not be leaked!


    When he took therge cluster of eggs out, the temperature inside the room seemed to drop by a little. The eggs, when held in his hand, resembled a chunk of ice.


    Miao Yi clicked his tongue, ¡°That is really freaky!¡±


    He carefully removed the eggs one by one from the mucous membrane. A hundred ck eggs, each about the size of a quail¡¯s egg, were ced onto a jade te.


    Again, he felt about and drew out a small knife in his hand, holding the handle in his right hand while grasping the cutting edge of the knife with his left palm. Immediately, the palm of his left hand was drenched in blood.


    The blood-drenched palm swiftly flipped over and caressed each of the eggs. Previously, Lao Bai had told him that he had to use his blood to cover and wrap around each egg. There must not be any ce left untainted. The blood essence was used to partition the Yin and Yang of the eggs, and at the same time, it was also to allow the dark embryo in the eggs topletely sense his breathing from the beginning of the breeding stage.


    After expending some effort to make each of the eggs turn into a reddish-ck color, he carefully ensured that there were no mistakes before spreading out his tied hair, and forcing himself to pull some hair out from his head.


    This was also part of the secret art that Lao Bai had exined. The hair needed to beplete and should not snap; the root of the hair must be present as well. He had said that since Miao Yi wanted to incubate the dark eggs, then fate must not be severed.


    In one grip, he pulled out more than a hundred of them. After meticulously picking through them, there were about a dozen strands of hair without the root which were useless, so he plucked a couple of more times repeatedly from his head, eventually making up the numbers for a hundred strands of undamaged long hair with roots.


    He then stained the hundred strands with the blood from his left palm, and clutched the tips of the strands of hair in his hand.


    Invoking his art, the long hairs immediately hardened, resembling ox hair needles and diverged apart, akin to a hedgehog.


    The hand gripping onto the hundred strands of long hair was suspended over the jade te. He invoked his art to individually target each of the eggs on the jade te before immediately pricking them.


    The outer shell of the eggs was not hard but was instead, abnormally tough and smooth. After expending some effort, he finally pierced the blood-drenched hundred strands of hair through the outer shell of the eggs, and into the eggs itself.


    In Lao Bai¡¯s own words, this kind of technique was known as leading a thread through the two realms of Yin and Yang.


    Yin referred to the dark eggs while Yang referred to Miao Yi. Miao Yi¡¯s hairs were the threads of fate for the two to connect. This would allow the Hell Mantis to breed and connect with him in heart and mind, epting his control.


    For Miao Yi, the reason why had he plucked his hair and performed self-harm to bleed, was in the hope that one day, he could control the frightful Hell Mantis.


    Although he did not know exactly how powerful the Hell Mantis was, the fact remained that even after he became a cultivator, he could still feel that he did not have the slightest amount of strength to retaliate when facing off with a Hell Mantis.


    It was practically at that moment when the hundred strands of long hair had stabbed into the dark eggs, that the sensation of a prating coldness was conducted through the hundred strands of hair. It wasn¡¯t purely gloom and cold, instead it seemed a sensation of hallucination had arised, as though he was instantly thrown into theherworld, causing his spirit to shiver because of it.


    Such a strange feeling made Miao Yi instantly sink into an absent-minded state. Gradually, his soul appeared to be floating all about in theherworld, a ce where there were no daylight, drifting about!


    If an ordinary man had taken his ce, this sort of condition would have meant that the spirit had left the body, and it would have been a great deal of trouble indeed.


    Fortunately, the Fiery Star Technique he was cultivating exhibited a great function at this crucial moment. Once the source of the transcendence energy in his body, painstakingly cultivated by him, was eroded by the force of the coldness, it immediately bounced back and circted by itself. A warm feeling swiftly expanded until it enveloped his entire body, instantly expelling out the force of the coldness with lightning speed. It was unable to stand being polluted and was full of tyranny indeed.


    Miao Yi trembled violently for a while, and woke up swiftly from his half-conscious mind with a start. Immediately, he discovered that the surface of the hundred strands of long hair was unexpectedly coated with ayer of ice.


    ¡°Be good, be good! These dark eggs are extremely strange. They could actually cause me to lose my state of mind!¡± Miao Yi clicked his tongue as he gasped in surprise.


    Right now, he was beginning to look forward even more to what this thing would be like once it hatched.


    Calming his state of mind, he carefully recalled and mulled over the core techniques that Lao Bai had taught him. He grabbed the hundred strands of long hair with his hand and began to silently channel his transcendence energy along the hundred strands of long hair into the hundred dark eggs, using the secret art to carry it out within.


    In less than an hour, Miao Yi opened his eyes and retracted his transcendence energy, loosening the grip he had on the hundred strands of long hair.


    Under his cultivation method, the ice on the hundred strands of long hair that had already melted, the frost rapidly pervaded from the root, binding them up again.


    He didn¡¯t know whether doing it this way was of any use, but in any case, he would perform it ording to Lao Bai¡¯s instructions.


    He flipped his hand to retrieve the Glorious Star immortal herb from within the storage ring, before blowing a small wisp of starry clouds from the immortal herb with pursed lips, to the opened knife wound on his left palm. The open, badly mutted wound visibly made a quick recovery.


    After his palm was restored to its former state, Miao Yi stared at the immortal herb in his hand, unable to refrain the urge to shake his head as he reflected. He was incredibly fortunate that the Hell Mantis had unexpectedlye barging out of Boundless Secr World with a Glorious Star immortal herb hanging from it at that time. If it wasn¡¯t for this immortal herb, he feared that he would have run into quite a bit of trouble when trying to hatch the dark eggs.


    There was no other reason except that ording to the secret art Lao Bai had taught him, the dark eggs would require him to use his own blood to be spread throughout their surfaces every day. It would require a total of eighty-one days. For this entire eighty-one days, there must not be even be a single day gap. Otherwise, all his previous efforts would go down the drain.


    In other words, he had to bleed eighty-one times, and had to continuously cut his body for everyday of that eighty-one day period. If not for his good luck in obtaining this immortal herb, forget mortals, even cultivators cutting themselves to bleed everyday would be irksome!


    In the flowing hot spring pool, Miao Yi washed away the blood stains on his hand. Then, turned around and left his silent quarters with the jade te.


    Upon seeing the item he held in his hand, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er who were guarding outside couldn¡¯t suppress their curiosity. What was the ckish red thing that was growing white hair in the te?


    Regardless of what it was, Xue¡¯Er took the initiative to reach out to help Miao Yi hold it.


    Perhaps Miao Yi had now be used to ordering them about, so he handed it over to her in passing. He was about to exin a few words but came to a realization that Xue¡¯Er¡¯s face had instantly paled, trembling as she held onto the jade te, which soon involuntarily slid from her hands.


    Luckily Miao Yi had quick reflexes. He grabbed onto the jade te while his other hand caught Xue¡¯Er¡¯s arm as she fell over.


    He soon realized it was his negligence. The eggs¡¯ Yin energy in the jade te was extremely strong. He had almost fallen into its trap so ordinary people would not even be able to withstand it.


    However, the cultivation method he cultivated was extremely useful in resisting the Yin energy. He quickly invoke his art, channeling it into Xue¡¯Er¡¯s body, sweeping out the Yin energy eroding her body.


    With her eyes still rolled up, Xue¡¯Er gradually recuperated atst. However, her vital energy had already been wounded in that instant by the Yin energy, so she appeared slightly weak as she stood there, herplexion a deathly shade of pale.

 Chapter 89: Hatching Dark Eggs (2)

    Chapter 89: Hatching Dark Eggs (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I forgot you are mortals and cannot touch these things.¡±


    Miao Yi then asked, ¡°Xue¡¯Er, are you alright?¡±


    The expressions that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er threw at the jade te was filled with reverence. It turned out to be something that mortals were unable to touch.


    Xue¡¯Er shook her head, immediately offering her apology for the mistake, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for almost destroying Cave Master¡¯s things.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± said Miao Yi chuckling. ¡°I have some matters for you to attend to. Both of youe with me!¡±


    The two of them trailed behind him as they departed from the main hall, only to be greeted by the sight of the sun shining brightly outside. Once the things residing on the jade te came into contact with sunlight, the hairs that were coated with ice suddenly emitted wisps of ck smoke. The ice vanished and instantly the hairs returned to their natural state.


    When ice met sunlight, it was impossible for it to melt so quickly, and it was also utterly impossible for it to emit ck smoke.


    Therefore, it was inly obvious that the ice covering the hair really wasn¡¯t ice of a natural phenomenon and was instead, formed by an extremely prominent aura of Yin energy.


    The sight of the ice, having suddenly emitted ck smoke before turning back into hair, once again made Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er fearful, because they hadn¡¯t felt celestial energy and instead, had sensed a thread of evil energy.


    All of a sudden, Charcoal, who was lying on his side at the doorway, swishing his snake-like tail and dozing off, let out a loud sneeze. He lifted his head abruptly with widened eyes, looking straight at the item in Miao Yi¡¯s hand, as though he had sensed something as well.


    But after seeing Miao Yi leading the two handmaidens up the ¡®astronomical tform¡¯; and realizing that it wasn¡¯t affecting him in any way, he continued to lie down and sleep, being extremelyzy.


    The astronomical tform was actually a high tform that made it convenient for gazing up at the stars. Upon ascending onto the astronomical tform, Miao Yi ced the jade te on the floor. Once the breeding began to the moment they hatched, ording to Lao Bai¡¯s theory, the eggs should be kept separate from the ground as it was necessary that they must never have any contact with the ground. Thus, cing them on the astronomical tform was ideal.


    Under the scorching sun, Miao Yi crouched down to observe them for some time. The gentle breeze caressed each strand of hair inserted into the dark eggs. He wasn¡¯t sure whether the theory mentioned by Lao Bai, to allow the dark embryo to draw support from the strand of hair, to gradually be familiar and get used to the world of the living was true or false.


    ¡°Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er!¡±


    Miao Yi stood up.


    ¡°Here!¡± The two young girls responded together.


    Miao Yi pointed to the things inside the jade te and said, ¡°From today onwards, I will enter closed door cultivation. Both of you will need to take turns keeping watch under the astronomical tform and not allow anyone toe up and touch this thing. The two of you shouldn¡¯t touch it too, and you mustn¡¯t let ite into contact with the ground under the astronomical tform. Every day when the sun sets, or when the sun cannot be seen on cloudy or rainy days, remember toe to the silent quarters to call me. Every day when the sun rises, both of you must alsoe to inform me at the silent quarters! ¡±


    ¡°We will remember it!¡± The two young girls nodded their heads in reply.


    The three of them went down the astronomical tform and arrived at a pavilion. After Miao Yi informed them both to sit down together, he asked again, ¡°Do the both of you know any needlework?¡±


    Both of them once again nodded their heads in confirmation, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Tailor me a close-fitting vest...¡± said Miao Yi; using gestures, he began to outline the type of cloth bag that he wanted them to make.


    After understanding his intentions, the two young girls swiftly went to retrieve the needles, threads and materials. Upon returning, Qian¡¯Er sat at the side tailoring the cloth while Xue¡¯Er used ab to help Miao Yib and tied his hair back neatly from the mess that it was before.


    At this exact moment, Yan Xiu entered the courtyard. He found Miao Yi and informed that he had already liaised with East Arrival City, so that the construction of the dock and the ship would start work tomorrow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lessen the artisans¡¯ wages.¡± Miao Yi exhorted again and again.


    This wasn¡¯t already the first time he had mentioned it, so Yan Xiu naturally indicated that he would do as he was told. After taking notice of Xue¡¯Er¡¯splexion, he couldn¡¯t help but be out of turn and asked, ¡°Little Auntie¡¯splexion doesn¡¯t seem to look well, are you sick?¡±


    Xue¡¯Er promptly shook her head; recalling the sensation from before, she was still traumatized.


    Miao Yi turned to cast a look at Xue¡¯Er, whose face was still deathly pale. He knew that her vital energy was just slightly wounded earlier and that it wouldn¡¯t be a big issue. Hence, he turned his head back to Yan Xiu and said, ¡°Speaking of them both, I was about to look for you.¡±


    Yan Xiu asked, ¡°What would Cave Master ask of me?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t the two of them have the natural endowment for cultivating?¡±


    As he asked this, Yan Xiu immediately guessed what was Miao Yi trying to say. ¡°Cave Master wants to make them both cultivate?¡±


    Straightaway, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er casted a nce at Miao Yi quietly. After all, it wasn¡¯t their first day here. During these past days, they constantly heard the peopleing and going talk about cultivation, so they knew somewhat hazily what it meant. Their little hearts couldn¡¯t help but tightened; their little ears perked.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct!¡± Miao Yi nodded his head.


    That was indeed his n. He felt that the two weak girls by his side simply couldn¡¯t do anything at all Especially to cultivators; such handmaidens were considered to be a bit bothersome to him. Traveling to the back mountain toe and meet him would require a long walk. When climbing the mountain again in a round trip, they would end up exhausted until they gasped for breath with their facial expressions changing. This wasn¡¯t practical in the long run.


    In the case of Yang Qing, there were two cultivating handmaidens at his side. Thus, handling any state of affair became much easier. Not only that, he could even use them as his personal bodyguards.


    Especially seeing Xue¡¯Er almost meet with a mishap when touching the jade te earlier, led him to seriously consider this matter in his mind.


    ¡°Where can we obtain a cultivation method for them?¡± asked Miao Yi.


    Yan Xiu muttered to himself irresolutely for a while before saying, ¡°Aplete cultivation method is the lifeblood passed on by each sect. It will never be leaked. What¡¯s more, in order to gain control over their sect¡¯s disciples, they also partition it into stages to pass on. I fear that it will be too difficult to obtain. If there is a chance to go to the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, that is a ce of unregted zones. The majority of the Loose Cultivators, who had nowhere to establish themselves in the realm of the Six Sages, are all there. Demons, devils, ghosts and monsters are also mixed in together. It¡¯s normal for some people to double-cross each other. There is a possibility that you can purchase a cultivation method with a high price, but no one can absolutely guarantee that a purchased cultivation method that has yet to be cultivated, will beplete or not. Even worse, they might cultivate until they enter a state of Qi deviation. After all, the majority of the cultivators usually learned their cultivation method by heart so even if they carried it on them, they could also tamper with it, so only they can understand, to prevent their cultivation method from being leaked.¡±


    ¡°Flowing Clouds Dune Sea...¡± Miao Yi muttered a few times, recalling the charming woman he met at Mystic Arts Temple.


    Casting off the shadow of the Lady Boss¡¯s every frown and smile from his thoughts, he shook his head and said, ¡°That ce is too far. Who on earth would have nothing better to do but to run there to risk their life? Moreover as you said, it¡¯s not guaranteed. Are there really no other choices?¡±


    Yan Xiu shook his head. ¡°Very difficult! In order to suppress the numbers of cultivators in the world, there are strong measures taken against trafficking of the cultivation methods in private! This can only possibly happen in a damnable ce like the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t mentioned who was the one doing the crackdown, but upon hearing it, Muao Yi understood he was talking about the Six Sages. The Six Sages did not wish to see too many people sharing the world¡¯s incense and power of will. Once the number of cultivators overflowed, everyone would desire to obtain the power of will, so naturally turmoil would arise. It would give rise to a grave threat against the current rules in force. The Six Sages would never allow there to be people who would be a threat to them.


    Miao Yi furrowed his brows and asked, ¡°Then where did the handmaidens at Manor Head¡¯s side obtain their cultivation method?¡±


    ¡°Naturally, it¡¯s Manor Head passing on his own cultivation method. Usually that should be the case.¡± Speaking of this, Yan Xiu asked curiously, ¡°Cave Master, why didn¡¯t you teach both of them your own cultivation method? You canpletely passed on the teachings to them step by step based on their capability toprehend.¡±


    These words were pleasant to hear. However, it implied that Miao Yi would be like the other sects, partitioning the cultivation method into stages and teaching them gradually. With this method, he could also exercise control over his two handmaidens.

 Chapter 90: Hatching Dark Eggs (3)

    Chapter 90: Hatching Dark Eggs (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    But he did not know that Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation method couldn¡¯t be revealed to others as this was promised to Lao Bai before.


    Miao Yi lightly shook his head and said, ¡°My cultivation method is not suitable for women to cultivate.¡±


    This was not a lie. His art were with the properties of supreme Yang. Thus, it was not suitable to be cultivated by women.


    ¡°I see.¡± Yan Xiu gently nodded his head. He could understand since there were some unique cultivation methods that could not be dual cultivated by both Yin and Yang.


    He did not even think that Miao Yi attached value to it because it was his own cultivation method. Because simr to other sects, partitioning the teachings into stages could only be advantageous to Miao Yi. There would be no disadvantages at all. He still held onto the same reasoning that Miao Yi could be at ease in exercising control over the two handmaidens.


    After hesitating for a while, he began to test the waters, ¡°If Cave Master doesn¡¯t mind, Yan Xiu can instead impart my own cultivation method to them both. But due to the fact that my sect had offended the regtions of the Six Sages in the early years, they were eliminated by two respective armed troops in one night. Hence, the cultivation method I have obtained is iplete. If Cave Master think this is okay, then we can let them cultivate first. It¡¯s not toote to change into a another cultivation method once we have found a better one!¡±


    Miao Yi did not have anything to disapprove of from Yan Xiu¡¯s statement. Thus, he immediately nodded his head and said, ¡°Of course I don¡¯t have any objections, except that this is your sect¡¯s cultivation method, will you be in trouble for divulging it?¡±


    Yan Xiu mocked himself, ¡°My sect has been destroyed for almost two hundred years. Who else is there to hold me ountable? In fact, I hope that there are still survivors in my sect, so at least I will have a backing!¡±


    Although he said this, Miao Yi was also no longer the same rookie as before. He knew Yan Xiu would never have divulged his cultivation method to him if he did not trust him. This was a taboo among the cultivators. It wouldn¡¯t bring about good things should outsiders know about your own cultivation method.


    This friendship, Miao Yi will remember it. He turned to face Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, saying, ¡°From today onwards, Yan Xiu is half of a master to both of you. Hurry and kneel down to pay your respects!¡±


    The two young girls¡¯ little hearts palpitate anxiously, ¡®Are we going to cultivate too?¡¯


    Both of them were still in a slight state of disbelief. They hurried alongside each other, knelt down and kowtowed, calling out ¡®Master¡¯.


    Yan Xiu did not step back; this was what he should contend with. Otherwise, it would not be worthwhile to divulge his cultivation method.


    After waiting for the two young girls to finish kowtowing, Yan Xiu then held out his hand to support them humbly and said, ¡°Both Aunties, forego the formalities!¡±


    Miao Yi voiced out, ¡°From today onwards, you are half of their master so there is no need to call them Aunties anymore. From now on, call them by their names. Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er, you will need to call Senior Yan Xiu ¡®Master¡¯ in the future.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The two young girls were unable to contain their overwhelming emotions. They nodded their heads forcibly before slipping a nce at Miao Yi, their eyes filled with gratitude.


    Both of them were indeed mortals but they weren¡¯t idiots. They understood well the conversation that Miao Yi had with Yan Xiu in front of them. With cultivation methods being so difficult to obtain, if Miao Yi had not spoken out on their behalf, Yan Xiu would definitely never have imparted his cultivation method to them. The reasoning was simple; just what right did they have?


    Before Yan Xiu left, he made an arrangement with the two girls. In future, as long as he was at East Arrival Cave, he woulde over and pass on the arts to them at a fixed time.


    After that, the two girls hurriedly helped rush the work on the close-fitting vest for Miao Yi, because Miao Yi had said that he wanted it today.


    Miao Yi then went back into his silent quarters alone and sat down in a lotus position on the stone chair. He calmed his emotions and threw half of a granule-sized orb into his mouth, exercising his art to refine it in silence.


    All of a sudden, the Orb of Will which was slowly being refined discharged a tremendous amount of the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, shocking his state of mind. Immediately, the true fire of the source of transcendence energy in his body burned it away.


    It was very likely the cultivators in the realm would never believe it, as how could the void Seven Emotions and Six Desires be burnt away?


    But Miao Yi¡¯s Fiery Star Technique could do it. Thus, as long as he had enough Orbs of Will, his cultivation speed would forever be faster than normal people.


    To Miao Yi, although he could understand the Fiery Star Technique was out of the ordinary, he did not know that to other cultivators, this Fiery Star Technique was a heavenly defying existence! He was cultivating against the heavens!


    The tumultuous Seven Emotions and Six Desires kept being emitted from the refined Orb of Will, as though it was boundless. The starry me of Miao Yi¡¯s source of transcendent energy revolved around like a cyclone, burning through them at great speed in order to extract the pure power of will of all living things, and summoning the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth to absorb into his own body at a trickle.


    The Spiritual Qi assimted into his source of transcendence energy. Slowly, bit by bit, his art source strengthened. Only when his art source gained even greater strength, would the transcendence energy he exhibited be even more formidable.


    For the sake of this Cave Master of East Arrival Cave¡¯s seat, it had been a long time since he had calmed his mind to cultivate. To cultivators, raising their cultivation base was the fundamental. The reason as to why he had fought for this Cave Master seat, was precisely to have a better condition to raise his own cultivation.


    To him who was in the midst of cultivating, he was oblivious to the change of time outside. He could only hear the sudden sound of footsteps travelling in from outside; swiftly stopping the refinement of the Orb of Will, he proceeded to absorb thest of the summoned Spiritual Qi into his body before gradually retracting his arts. Abruptly, he opened his eyes to look.


    Qian¡¯Er was standing at the doorway of the stone room. She knew that when the Cave Master was cultivating, it was inappropriate for her to approach and disturbed him, so she stood at a far distance and said, ¡°Cave Master, the sun is setting soon!¡±


    Miao Yi spat out the Orb of Will and put it away. In a sh, he rushed to the doorway and the two of them left together.


    On the astronomical tform, no improvement in the temperature of the dark eggs which had been basking in the sun could be seen. When nearing it, they could still feel the chill.


    Miao Yi carried the jade te into the hall and took the close-fitting vest that Xue¡¯Er had passed to him. He ced each of the dark eggs with hair from the jade te separately into each of the small pockets on the vest. Then, he proceeded to remove his own coat and wore the vest on his body.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er did not understand what he was doing. Yet, Miao Yi put on his coat once again, saying he would go to continue cultivating in his silent quarters. ¡°Inform me again before the sun is about to rise tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The gazes of the two girls trailed after their dear Cave Master as he disappeared into the hall.


    Sitting back onto the stone chair in the silent quarters, Miao Yi realized that wearing a vest that was exuding the aura of Yin energy was really ufortable, as his entire body felt like he was in a cave of ice.


    But Lao Bai had told him to do as such. In the times when there was no sunlight, he had to let the dark eggs continue to absorb the Yang energy from his body. Simultaneously, this was also a process to let the dark embryo be more familiar with him.


    Once again, he threw the Orb of Will into his mouth. The moment he began to circte his Qi to cultivate, instantly, he no longer felt the Yin energy which made him ufortable.


    A night soon passed and Miao Yi sat in meditation on the stone chair, void of feelings and immersing himself in cultivation.


    Until the sound of footsteps once again resounded from outside, Miao Yi then gradually opened his eyes.


    ¡°Cave Master, the sun is about to rise!¡± Qian¡¯Er informed him again.


    Miao Yi nodded his head to imply that he knew, but the moment he retracted his cultivation, he immediately felt the pressing Yin energy from within his vest once again attacking him.


    Once again removing his coat and vest, he carefully removed and ced back each and every single one of the dark eggs into the jade te.


    ¡°Huh! It really is as Lao Bai mentioned! Tsk...¡±


    Removing the dark eggs, Miao Yi discovered a strange phenomenon. The blood he had applied on the dark eggs yesterday was entirely gone, turning the eggs back into a dark color. It had really been absorbed by them. Immediately, he clicked his tongue incessantly.


    Because Lao Bai had said that if this reaction urred, then that meant the method was effective. Thus, there was an extremely high possibility to hatch the Hell Mantises.

 Chapter 91: Hatching Dark Eggs (4)

    Chapter 91: Hatching Dark Eggs (4)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Since it was effective, then it was worth cutting his flesh and bleeding out again.


    Miao Yi looked forward to the day when over a hundred Hell Mantises were at his beck and call, so without another word, a knife shed out from his storage ring and as though he was bleeding someone else out, he did not feel pained in the least as he cut open another bloody opening on his palm, immediately painting every dark egg with fresh blood once more.


    He used the immortal herb to again heal the wound on his palm, then held the bunch of hair strands in his hand, and invoked the secret art taught by Lao Bai to excite the dark eggs.


    Once he was finished, Miao Yi brought the jade te outside, and the ice that had formed on the hairs instantly disappeared in a wave of ck smoke once again as it came in contact with sunlight.


    After he ced the jade te on the astronomical tform, Miao Yi nimbly descended and reminded Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er of their duties once more, before going back to his silent quarters to continue cultivating.


    Besides certain important affairs, Miao Yi had entrusted Yan Xiu to handle daily matters, and had everyone reporting to Yan Xiu if they needed to. He gave Yan Xiu a great authority, almost as if he was the housekeeper for East Arrival Cave.


    To Yan Xiu, who was previously disdained by everyone in Transient Light Cave, this was a treatment that was as different as heaven and earth.


    Furthermore the entire East Arrival Cave knew that the Cave Master was in closed door cultivation, and wouldn¡¯t easily appear in the East Arrival Grand Hall, so if there wasn¡¯t anything important, they wouldn¡¯t go to disturb him.


    In normal circumstances, as long as no one intentionally made trouble for East Arrival Cave, nothing would go wrong.


    In reality everyone was cultivating by themselves, there wouldn¡¯t be a cultivator that would go around leisurely as if they had nothing better to do. If that were truly the case, then there wouldn¡¯t be a need to let mortals take care of East Arrival City.


    Other than some unavoidable rotations they had to go through, like keeping watch on the mountain gate or patrolling outside and gathering intel, one could barely catch the silhouette of a cultivator in the whole East Arrival Cave. In contrast, one could see the handmaidens belonging to the various residences ying outside or cleaning up from time to time.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, having received Yan Xiu¡¯s cultivation methods, had also entered the early steps of half-cultivation and would rarely be seen.


    A cultivator¡¯s lifestyle was basically so, to mortals it was very dull and boring.


    Charcoal was just like it always was, half the time it was guarding outside Miao Yi¡¯s door, lying on the ground sleeping as it whipped its tail around. It didn¡¯t need anyone looking after it; if it was hungry, it would run out and dive into the nearbyke to enjoy a great feast. Once it was full it woulde back and continue sleeping. It was basically toozy to even move, really living a life like a pig.


    The two girls also familiarised themselves with Charcoal. When Miao Yi was not around, the two of them would crouch down at Charcoal¡¯s side whispering and ying with it, and helping to brush Charcoal¡¯s mane. To the side, Charcoal would respond with a sneeze, and enjoy itself with its eyes half-closed.


    This routine repeated itself day after day, and the days slowly passed.


    Forty-nine dayster whilst still in closed door cultivation, Miao Yi could feel the dark eggs inside his vest had seemingly undergone an abnormal change.


    The Yin energy that emanated out from the dark eggs was no longer overwhelming, Miao Yi could feel that the Yin energy would no longer spread out, and was slowly receding.


    This type of change was in line with Lao Bai¡¯s exnations, making Miao Yi incredibly ecstatic. He wanted to invoke his arts to examine the conditions of the dark eggs, but the arts used for examination could not break past the two boundaries of Yin and Yang that made up the outer shell, so he could only give up and wait slowly.


    Eighty-one dayster, the Yin energy of the dark eggs had almostpletely receded and Miao Yi could barely feel anything, even when he kept them inside his vest.


    Recing that energy, there was a strange sensationing from the dark eggs as though they were trying tomunicate with Miao Yi. There was not one, but over a hundred of them, only these feelings seemed to be in disarray, so Miao Yi couldn¡¯t understand what they meant.


    But this was enough for Miao Yi to leap in joy, if he hadn¡¯t guessed wrongly, then the things being incubated inside the dark eggs had already taken shape, and were only waiting to break out of its shell and be reborn!


    ording to Lao Bai¡¯s instructions, from this day onwards, he no longer needed to cut himself and bleed out, nor did he need to keep them on his body to protect them. Instead, they had to be ced outside all the time regardless of whether it was rain or shine; night or day, they had to be be exposed to the outside and feel the world.


    ¡°Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er, from this day forth I will have to trouble the two of you. You will each take turns to keep guard throughout the day and make sure that it is not snatched away by some bird; if anything happens inform me immediately!¡±


    On the astronomical tform, Miao Yi solemnly told the two girls.


    Because during this period, the dark eggs were at their weakest; it was their most precarious time. Previously, the Yin energy that emanated from them would scare off all manner of animals and beasts, but it couldn¡¯t do so now; he reckoned even a sparrow could grab them away in its beak.


    The two girls naturally did not dare slip up.


    After he entrusted the things to the two handmaidens to care for, Miao Yi no longer needed toe out twice every day to keep and let out the dark eggs, and could enter close door cultivation for entire days.


    Right now, he had alreadypletely refined the two small half-Orbs of Will he had stolen from Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng; Those two orbs were almost equivalent to aplete one, and had taken Miao Yi around three months time to finish refining them.


    When he had finished refining about half of the Orb of Will taken from Head Guard Huang, Qian¡¯Er ran to the door of the silent quarters and called for him, ¡°Cave Master, something has happened to the things on the astronomical tform, there are some abnormal disturbances, pleasee take a look!¡±


    Miao Yi quickly revoked his arts and spit out the Orb of Will, tucking it away as he quickly came out to the astronomical tform.


    Xue¡¯Er was currently crouched down and looking at the things on the jade te with an expression full of curiosity. Upon seeing Miao Yi arrive, she hastily stood up.


    Miao Yi gave a closer look, and found that the hair strands embedded in the dark eggs had shortened considerably.


    This was also in ordance with the state that Lao Bai has previously told him about, Miao Yi immediately invoked his arts and listened for any movements; he could vaguely hear a chewing sound from the dark eggs going ¡®sha sha¡¯. If he hadn¡¯t invoked his arts, then it would have been difficult to catch this sound.


    Since Lao Bai had already exined this to him ahead of time, Miao Yi already knew what was happening, the little fes inside the dark eggs were eating the hair that he had stabbed into the eggs. Once they had slowly finished eating his hair, if Lao Bai¡¯s words were correct, then it would be almost time for the things inside to see the light of day once more.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing! If anything else happens let me know again.¡±


    Miao Yi smiled while he turned around and left the astronomical tform. He entered his own quarters under the gaze of the two girls, and continued his cultivation.


    One and a half monthster, Miao Yi hadpletely finished refining the remaining half of the Orb of Will and was quietly sitting down for two days, when his closed eyelids suddenly quivered.


    His source of transcendence energy, which had not seen any growth previously, suddenly grew a littlerger, and the gray, murky art source that seemed like it was spinning chaotically also brightened up a notch; his control over his transcendence energy also seemed like it was instantaneously raised to another level. At this moment, Miao Yi suddenly felt like he was incredibly strong.


    Abruptly, Miao Yi opened his eyes and raised his palms from his knees to the skies, a ball of water suddenly formed out from the pool in front of him and flew over to hover in front of his face.


    The ball of water quickly ttened in front of his eyes to act as a mirror, he could vaguely see his own reflection in the water mirror, and saw the silhouette of a blossoming double-petaled white lotus flower in the center of his eyebrows.


    His cultivation had finally broken through to White Lotus Second Grade!


    The corner of his lips curved into a smile; after looking in the mirror for a while, he was merely happy for a few moments, then lightly shook his head.


    A mere White Lotus Second Grade cultivation was nothing worth rejoicing about. He had only just reached the White Lotus Second Grade, and was still the lowest in cultivation of the entire East Arrival Cave. If he were to show off this cultivation outside he would still beughed at.


    ¡°Aye! I am the esteemed East Arrival Cave Master! I can¡¯t be so ashamed......,¡± sighed Miao Yi in mncholy.


    An object akin to a powder box shed out from his storage ring, he opened it and used his fingers to apply the Soul Concealing Paste on his forehead, hiding away the silhouette of the lotus flower.

 Chapter 92: The Little Ones are Born (1)

    Chapter 92: The Little Ones are Born (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Even though something like the Soul Concealing Paste was very useful, it had a w; it would lose its effect after a while and it could even be washed off. So to Miao Yi, who felt that he could not let others see his cultivation, could do naught but apply some on himself from time to time, feeling as though he was a woman applying make-up whilst looking at a mirror.


    Not knowing if it was two joyous asions arriving at his door or not, Qian¡¯Er had once again run to the door of his silent quarters, ¡°Cave Master, something is happening again!¡±


    Miao Yi waved his hand, the water mirror dropped into the pool and disappeared as he left.


    At the astronomical tform, he could see the dark eggs were currently rolling around on the jade te; they were crashing back and forth making it look as though it was a lot of fun. The hair strands that were stabbed into the eggs were already gone, it had all been gobbled up by the little guys inside.


    From time to time, it could be distinctly seen that something was scratching against the outer shell of the dark eggs.


    Not to mention Miao Yi, even Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er could see that whatever was inside, was soon going to be born.


    The two girls watched with wide eyes and expressions full of curiosity, as they wanted to know what would hatch out of the things that the Cave Master treated like a treasure.


    During this period of time, the two of them had gone through a lot of trouble keeping watch over these things.


    They had taken turns getting a beating from the wind, rain and sun without daring to leave for even half a step, which was why the two of them were quite tanned now, but it seemed as though they had more vigour now than they used to.


    Running up to the astronomical tform in one breath without even panting, there was also more energy in their eyes; clearly it had to do with the fact that they had started cultivating.


    Miao Yi watched with his hands behind his back, he was very interested to find out what the Hell Mantises would look like after hatching.


    He could feel the things inside was giving him a very clear signal, there was only a single conscious thought, and that was toe outside.


    Miao Yi wanted to help theme out but Lao Bai had already instructed him, he could not help them, they had toe out themselves.


    He could only suppress his anxiety and wait.


    This time, he waited at the astronomical tform for the whole day.


    It was only on the next morning when the sun had just ascended over the horizon, that a few ¡®pu pu¡¯ sounds could be heard, a few of the dark eggs that were rolling around were broken through from the inside by some sharp object.


    The little guys that had broke through the outer shell of the dark eggs looked as though they understood how to exert their strength, using their tiny sickles to pierce outwards and continue widening the hole.


    Whilst staring at the sight, Miao Yi had a sudden epiphany, he now vaguely understood why Lao Bai had instructed him to let theme out on their own; if they didn¡¯t experience this, for the moment, he wouldn¡¯t know how he was going to teach the little guys inside how to use their own weapons.


    Very soon, the other dark eggs were all broken with a pop one after the other.


    The first few that had broken through the dark egg¡¯s outer shell had alreadye out, they appeared to be brown mantids; their figures looked thin and fragile as they were slowly shaking themselves, and yet even though they were just born, they were almost the same sizes as normal adult mantids.


    When the little guys came out, they immediately bit at the dark egg¡¯s outer shell, it seemed as though they were really savoring it.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they supposed to be ck?¡± Miao Yi mumbled as he held his chin.


    When he thought about the Hell Mantises in the Boundless Secr World with their deep, ck carapace as though they were wearing armor, it made for an imposing sight. Yet the little guys in front of his eyes right now not only looked thin and weak, but their color looked ugly as well, it seemed as though they were no different than the mantids in the mountain forests.


    ¡°They¡¯re mantids!¡± Xue¡¯Er gasped in surprise, as she and Qian¡¯Er looked at each other.


    From both of their expressions, one could tell after so much effort and having only managed to hatch these mantids, they were clearly a little disappointed, having thought that it was some sort of rare treasure.


    This was truly not something he could take pride in, so Miao Yi felt a little awkward and smiled, ¡°Hehe, these are not normal mantids, these are mantids raised by Immortals!¡±


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er looked at each other and giggled, they had already begun cultivating and realised many things from Yan Xiu. They already knew that the so-called Immortals were simply cultivators, and that the Cave Master was still trying to use that to trick them, thinking they were still ignorant.


    The sight of a swarm of over a hundred mantids on the te making rustling noises as they ate the dark eggs¡¯ outer shells was truly spectacr.


    Those that had finished first slowly shook their wings and opened them; after getting used to beating their wings for a while, they slowly spread them open and flew up.


    One, two, three and four continued to fly up one after the other until eventually the hundred-mantis swarm was circling around over Miao Yi¡¯s head making buzzing sounds.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er looked at Miao Yi curiously; it was strange, these mantids seemed to recognise the Cave Master even though they were just born!


    What they didn¡¯t know was that Miao Yi was being pestered until he was starting to get a headache, the two girls might not be able to feel anything, but he could feel that these little guys were transmitting a kind of feeling towards him..... They wanted to eat!


    What¡¯s more is that the swarm of mantids was continuously transmitting this feeling towards him, there was a sudden wave of fatigue on an emotional level, simr to that felt by people when children are crying for milk.


    ¡®What to feed them?¡¯ Miao Yi was speechless, it seems he had forgotten to ask Lao Bai this, and Lao Bai also hadn¡¯t mentioned it to him.


    Miao Yi who was still lost in thought, was suddenly shocked, because he realised these little guys seemed to have set their sights on Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, they actually treated these two living people as food!


    Just born and they already wanted to eat people, how could this be, did they want to be demons?


    Miao Yi lifted his head and red, stopping these little runts from having any thoughts of misdeed.


    But as it turned out there were some that desired to court death, a dozen birds just happened to fly past, and having suddenly discovered the flying bugs, one immediately dived in looking to hunt.


    Miao Yi was surprised, he was about to invoke his arts and scare them off, but who would have thought that another urrence would shock him even more.


    ¡¯Swish!¡¯ - The hundred-mantis swarm suddenly charged out! That speed was not normal, it didn¡¯t even seem like these little guys were just newly born.


    The flock of birds that came to hunt could not even fly away in time, they were almost instantly subdued in the air by the swarm of mantids.


    Miao Yi squinted his eyes and saw the mantids thrust their tiny sickles down, the birds that were pping in the air immediately froze and were unable to move, as if they were nailed down, before dropping to the ground.


    Something that would make one¡¯s hair stand on end soon unfolded on the floor of the astronomical tform. The hundred-mantis swarm was ravenously biting into the flock of a dozen birds, the area in which it urred might have seemed small, but it was truly bloody.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er slowly widened their eyes and mouths with an expression of incredulity.


    The sounds of snapping and cracking bones made Miao Yi slowly suck in a breath of cold air.


    Without much effort, all that was left on the ground were a dozen or so bloodstains. These horrifying little guys wouldn¡¯t even let go of the birds¡¯ bones and feathers, they devoured the flock of birds without even leaving so much as a scrap.


    After eating their fill of flesh and blood, the little guys seemed like they were satisfied; they stopped making noise and stopped pestering. One after another, they all stood on the ground on four limbs, supporting their round bellies and shaking their small feelers; using the mouthparts that they had used for biting to to clean up the bloodstains on their sickles, it looked like they were licking the blood!


    Once they had finished cleaning up the bloodstains on their bodies, the little guys lifted their heads up to look at the sun in the sky, it seems as though they didn¡¯t really like the sunlight. One after the other, they spread out their wings and flew over tond on Miao Yi¡¯s body, crawling inside his clothes and quickly disappearing without a trace.


    However, the sight of them crawling under his clothes could still be seen.

 Chapter 93: The Little Ones are Born (2)

    Chapter 93: The Little Ones are Born (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er looked at the sshes of blood on the floor and again looked at the scene where the things were crawling around inside Miao Yi¡¯s clothes. A wave of disgust hit them; such disgusting things were actually hiding inside Cave Master¡¯s clothes.


    Miao Yi was also derailed by the things that had dived into his clothes making him feel ufortable all over. Seeing that the two girls were watching him with strange expressions, heughed dryly, ¡°So you have seen, I said that these were mantids raised by Immortals, they¡¯re not ordinary mantids.¡±


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er repeatedly nodded their heads again and again, as though saying they believed it, and that there wasn¡¯t any need for him to prove it.


    After all, both of them had the temperament of normal girls, so they were still frightened when faced with these kind of deadly and disgusting things. They had also never seen such horrifying mantids before!


    ¡°Cave Master, there¡¯s still one more! Quickly put it away!¡± Suddenly taking a step back, Xue¡¯Er pointed at a mantis climbing the banister. It was green in color.


    ¡°Do you think I keep every mantis? This isn¡¯t a mantis that I have raised.¡±


    Miao Yi rolled his eyes in disdain. He bent his finger, flicking casually and a gale hit the mantis until it exploded into scraps. He then nimbly descended the astronomical tform.


    Upon returning to his silent quarters, Miao Yi did not have the mood to cultivate at least for now. Who would have expected there to suddenly be so many little ones entering his clothes? So he naturally needed to properly figure out what was going on.


    He once again tried to use his mind tomunicate with the little ones. Lao Bai had not deceived him; after expending so much efforts and losing so much blood, the hatched little ones did not disappoint him and they were indeed able tomune with each other.


    Under his summons, the little ones climbed out from his clothes again, following his orders to p their wings and float in the air.


    Miao Yi continuously tried out different ways of handling them. In the wake of his thoughts, the group of little ones kept circling around, fluttering about in the stone room. Their speed was sometimes fast, and sometimes slow, and constantly changing formations, making Miao Yi so overjoyed that he opened his mouth wide tough foolishly.


    One would naturally be bored with using the same methods to y around; Miao Yi¡¯s gaze fell onto the water, rubbing his chin as he pondered.


    Under the order of his thoughts, the little ones were like moths to a me. They plunged dauntlessly in, wave upon wave into the depths of the water, sshing the water all around.


    Miao Yi immediately walked over to the shore with a curious look, and watched the little ones swiftly paddling with their wings as they swam about in the water. Not only that, the speed at which they were swimming at was unnatural.


    ¡°Tsk! Surprisingly, they are not afraid of water!¡±


    Miao Yi cherished them very much, as though he had found a very good toy. Of course, he wanted to y with them longer, so he used his thoughts to order the little ones to dive around in the water, scattering in all directions or even holding formations.


    After he was tired of that, he again summoned the little ones out from the waters with a ssh.


    The little ones, upon soaring into the air from the water below, rapidly shook their bodies dry to get rid of the water droplets.


    Looking at the group of the little ones, Miao Yi rubbed his chin, furrowing his brows as he muttered, ¡°They don¡¯t have any use for now. Could it be that I can only treat them as toys before they mature?¡±


    He reached out his hand, summoning one of the little ones to descend onto his palm. After hesitating for a while, he finally decided to try out the level of endurance of the little guy.


    He pinched it again and again with two digits. ¡®Yeah!¡¯ It could still take it. It seemed as though using ordinary strength wasn¡¯t enough to kill it. It was just that the body was slightly soft.


    Miao Yi then exerted some transcendence energy and suddenly pinched the little fe till it struggled with all its might, looking as though it was going to breathe itsst.


    ¡°That¡¯s all you¡¯ve got? You can¡¯t even bepared to your parents! I couldn¡¯t even hack through your parents using a de, um...¡±


    All of a sudden, Miao Yi widened his eyes, unable to mutter out the words stuck in his throat anymore. He loosened his grip on the little guy that was being tortured.


    The sight of a drop of blood that had already flowed out of his finger greeted him. In a sh, it froze into ice, and ayer of frost swiftly emerged to surround his entire body before his eyes.


    The newborn little one was too delicate and had been unable to withstand his abuse, under the circumstances, it naturally brandished its tiny sickles and stabbed him.


    However, it wouldn¡¯t do to underestimate its delicate form as the small sickles were extremely sharp. To Miao Yi¡¯s surprise, it was able to cut through the transcendence energy on his fingers.


    After forcing open the digits that had almost killed it, the little fe quickly shook its head and wagged its abdomen, before pping its wings and flying away in a hurry.


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi was like a rigid block of wood, standing there unmoving.


    The moment the tiny sickles had pierced through his fingers, an extremely cold aura of theherworld rapidly entered his body through the small sickles.


    For a while, Miao Yi was trapped in a trance and once again found himself with the same sensation as before, that his spirit had left his body, as though it was drifting about in the cold realm of theherworld on its own and had nowhere to go.


    At this crucial moment, the source of transcendence energy from within his body rebounded voluntarily, spinning rapidly on itself. It quickly dispersed the extreme coldness from his body in an exceedingly aggressive manner.


    ¡°Hnngh...¡± Miao Yi gave an uncontroble shiver before quickly sobering up.


    He slowly turned around, his gaze gradually dropping onto the swarm of little ones which were pping their wings, suspended in the air. There was no trace of anger on his face, instead he revealed a look of overwhelming joy.


    Instantly, he thought of the scene where the swarm of little ones had preyed on the birds earlier. Hadn¡¯t they also just casually stabbed the birds, causing the birds to be paralyzed?


    ¡°Awesome! Unexpectedly, you can pierce through my transcendence energy without any effort. I have really underestimated you all. Turns out you have this ability.¡±


    Miao Yiughed heartily. He had thought the ability to instantly make the spirit leave the body when they were still dark embryos was gone after they hatched. He did not expect that the ability was not lost but was instead, bound inside their bodies.


    ¡°Worthy to be the offsprings of the deadly Hell Mantises from the Boundless Secr World! Interesting, very interesting! ¡±


    Overjoyed, Miao Yiughed as he rubbed his chin to ponder for a brief moment. He wanted to try again. If it was seriously well-tested, then they might really be of great use.


    But the feeling of being instantly frozen was hard to take, so experimenting on his body was a rather stupid move.


    He extended his arm, and over a hundred little ones immediately flew over to climb under his sleeve.


    Without saying another word, he left the silent quarters while carrying the group of little ones with him, intending to find someone to try them on.


    The moment he went outside, he caught sight of Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    Immediately, the two girls who were sitting in the pavilion probing their cultivation stood up, a little bit curious as to why the Cave Master was not cultivating. They bowed in greeting and said, ¡°Cave Master!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± After entering the pavilion, Miao Yi nodded his head. He circled the two of them with a bit of malicious intent on his mind.


    His expression caused the two girls¡¯ hearts to palpitate madly. They shyly lowered their heads, ¡®Was the Cave Master going to take us as his concubines?¡¯


    Both of them knew that after they were sent here, they already belonged to the Cave Master. One day when the Cave Master expressed his interest, he would most likely take them in as concubines. Hence, even though they were prepared earlier on, they were still nervous and embarrassed.


    Instead, Miao Yi shook his head. He felt that experimenting on the two girls was rather cruel as currently, they were still unable to take it.


    Then who to try it on? As Miao Yi peered about his surroundings, his ears gave a sudden twitch. Turning around, his gaze trailed after the ¡®pa pa¡¯ sound which could sometimes be heard, eventuallynding on the sleeping Charcoal who was lying at the entrance of the main hall.


    Eyes gleaming, Miao Yi quickly moved to Charcoal¡¯s side under the shocked gaze of the two girls.


    Charcoal waspletely unaware of the iing danger. He only opened his eyes to shoot a nce at Miao Yi disapprovingly before continuing to shut his eyes and sleep, swishing his snake-like tail around.


    Miao Yi stared at Charcoal as he paced about to think it through. Even though dragon steeds were known as spiritual beasts by cultivators, they were still a type of Yao and were the specialty within the realm of the Yao Nation.


    He did not know whether this would have any effects on Yao... Miao Yi rubbed his chin. Abruptly, he kicked Charcoal¡¯s stomach a few times. ¡°Damn fatty, stop sleeping! Wake up!¡±

 Chapter 94: The Little Ones are Born (3)

    Chapter 94: The Little Ones are Born (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Charcoal opened its eyes to take a gander, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered, so he closed them again.


    He had even used his strength! Miao Yi stopped kicking. This buffoon had such a rough skin and thick meat that not even kicking would work, so he changed his approach and looked at it slyly, ¡°I¡¯m going out for some fun, are you going toe with me?¡±


    ¡®Harrumph!¡¯ Charcoal snorted as it opened its eyes, his spirit suddenly all pumped up. It stood up and charged straight for the courtyard, all the while shaking its head and flicking its tail; it was very excited.


    Miao Yi chuckled coldly, as a small brown mantis flew out from his sleeve, and quickly hid under Charcoal¡¯s belly. That was Charcoal¡¯s weak spot, the other ces were covered in tough skin, some parts even had armor that swords and spears would find difficult to prate, and thus weren¡¯t easy to act on.


    The small mantis that was hanging under Charcoal¡¯s belly raised its tiny sickle and stabbed.


    The cheerful Charcoal immediately froze, and could not be joyful anymore. Its head swayed for a while as it stood still on the spot.


    Miao Yi dashed to Charcoal and saw that its eyes looked distracted; then he extended his arms and touched it, only to find that its body had gone cold. It had fallen for it.


    ¡®It seems to be effective!¡¯ Miao Yi grinned, then quickly invoked his arts and dispelled the chill from its body.


    Charcoal¡¯s enormous body shivered for a bit, but it had yet to understand what had happened. It turned and took two steps, then began to lower its head to look at its own belly when it felt a paine from below, afterwhich a frighteningly dark and cold aura immediately swept over its whole body as it was gradually frozen on the spot again.


    ¡°Haha! Interesting.¡± Miao Yi shook his head andughed, then reached out his hand and pressed on its body once more, invoking his art to dispel the coldness in its body.


    After recovering some strength, Charcoal quickly lowered its head to look at its belly, saw that a small mantis was dangling from there, so it immediately flicked its tail at it.


    Sadly its tail was a little short and couldn¡¯t reach, so it quickly jumped around crazily, but even after turning around so, its front hooves were also not enough to reach.


    This time it became a little impatient and immediately jumped up, then rolled around on the ground trying to press on it.


    Miao Yi shed his palm, and the small mantis quickly dashed out, escaping its predicament to alight on his palm.


    Charcoal stared with wide eyes at the small mantis that was slowly crawling on Miao Yi¡¯s palm, it neighed and hastily charged forwards, opening its jaws that were full of sharp teeth, and bit down.


    Miao Yi smirked; he knew that this guy had a strong vengeful streak, so he had already been prepared.


    A swarm of small mantids immediately flew out from his sleeves, all a buzz and flitting with their wings.


    ¡®Swoosh!¡¯ Charcoal widened its eyes and quickly halted its hooves, then turned around to run, but under the entrapment of so many of the little ones, how could it manage to hide inside the courtyard?


    Having nowhere else to go, Charcoal took to the skies with a great heave of his breath, jumping over a dozen meters high in one breath, tond a hundred meters away outside the courtyard, before hastily galloping away.


    Running away was Charcoal¡¯s strong suit, the little ones that wanted to flock and chase after it could not catch up to Charcoal¡¯s speed for now.


    Outside, Charcoal¡¯s neighing sounds reverberated, as though it was scolding someone¡¯s mother!


    Miao Yiughed as he shed his palm, the group of little ones quicklynded back on his hand.


    One after the other, they charged into his storage ring; very soon, the little ones had disappeared without a trace, all tucked away inside.


    Miao Yi quickly imbued his transcendence energy to examine their condition inside the storage ring, and saw that once the little guys had entered the storage ring, they immediately climbed the walls; one after another, they retracted their wings and stuck onto the walls, unmoving and silent, as though they were slowly entering hibernation.


    Miao Yi clicked his tongue, it seems as though Lao Bai¡¯s words were correct. Normal animals could not be kept in the storage ring because it was a vacuum inside, and no living thing could survive; but the Hell Mantis was different, it could enter a state of stasis simr to hibernation in order to protect itself; this would be called a state of Deep Sleep!


    After quietly examining them for a while, Miao Yi summoned them with his thoughts once again and the little ones that were silently propped up against the wall immediately started moving again, charging out of the storage ring and flew around Miao Yi for a full circle, before diving into his sleeves once more.


    Miao Yi shook his slightly erged sleeves with an expression of joy, it seemed as though there was no need to worry about the problem of bringing them around and being inconvenient.


    When he thought about this, he felt a little sad; he realised that Lao Bai knew about many things. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that cultivators could not enter the Boundless Secr World, he would have suspected that Lao Bai was also a cultivator. What kind of person was the Great Immortal that Lao Bai followed, if he could teach a servant to be as profoundly knowledgeable as Lao Bai?


    He turned around to look at Xue¡¯Er and Qian¡¯Er; the two of them were staring at him curiously, not understanding what he was doing.


    ¡°You must not tell anyone about any matter on the mantids.¡± Miao Yi suddenlymanded indifferently.


    ¡°We understand!¡± Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er both replied.


    Miao Yi shook his head, and walked towards his quarters; he didn¡¯t know when he would be able to teach his two handmaidens to be as graceful as Lao Bai.


    Once he entered the silent quarters, the little ones flew out again from Miao Yi¡¯s sleeve andnded around the inside of the stone door frame.


    Miao Yi intended to treat the little guys like his own bodyguards while he was cultivating. He turned his head and jumped over the pool, slowly crossing his knees as hended on the stone chair, then he took out the Orb of Will that was gifted by the East Arrival City Lord Xu Xinliang.


    For now, raising his own cultivation was the most important thing.


    However, after thinking through it again, he tucked the Orb of Will away. He decided to keep it for when he need to restore his transcendence energy.


    Again he took out the Orb of Will that was coalesced from ten thousand people a year, and a silhouette that had so many different styles crossed his mind once more....


    ¡°The other party didn¡¯t even deign to reveal her identity to you, basically she wouldn¡¯t even look at you, yet why are you still thinking about her....¡±


    Miao Yi mocked himself, then tucked his feelings away. He threw the Orb of Will into his mouth, closed his eyes and focused on refining it.


    ¡®What!¡¯ After refining the Orb of Will for a little Miao Yi opened his eyes, but slowly closed them back again.


    He discovered that the speed at which he was able to refine the Orb of Will had be slightly faster, but he soon realised, this had something to do with the fact that his cultivation had broken through to White Lotus Second Grade.


    Focusing his spirit, he nced inwards at the art source inside his body and found that the art source that was spinning like a chaotic cloud, had not only gotten bigger, the amount of energy that was stored inside had also grownrger.


    Why were they called art sources?


    When he was at the ind, Lao Bai with his cape billowing and his hair fluttering about, would point at the hurricane on the raging seas and say, ¡°Just like that hurricane, when the energy in the center bes greater, the peripheral force will berger as well; to the point where it can turn the boundless oceans, change the colors of the heavens and earth, moving mountains and churning the oceans in but a single moment.¡±


    Lao Bai had once said, ¡°The center of the hurricane is like a cultivator¡¯s art source with enormous force exerted by its periphery, much like a cultivator invoking his transcendence energy. So if the art source is stronger, you would be able to invoke greater transcendence energy, and when your art source is as strong as the center of that hurricane, your arts can be activated at your whim, changing the colors of heaven and earth with just a flick of your finger!¡±


    Lao Bai¡¯s words had never let Miao Yi down before, and deep down, Miao Yi looked forward zealously to the realm of cultivation that Lao Bai had spoken of!


    But even though Miao Yi discovered that his speed of refining orbs had be faster, after a close examination of the art source inside his body, he realised that in order for him to break through from White Lotus Second Grade to White Lotus Third Grade, there was at least twice asrge a gap as between First Grade to Second Grade, meaning getting from Second Grade to Third Grade would require an even longer period of time.


    This meant that even if he were to cultivate diligently as before, breaking through from White Lotus First Grade to Second Grade already required twenty years of time, and he needed to use four to five of the lowest grade Orbs of Will. Even if he depended on five orbs, going from Second Grade to Third Grade would double the preceding period to forty years, which would need at least ten orbs of the lowest grade.


    The middle grade Orb of Will in his mouth was equivalent to ten low grade orbs, so it could barely help him break through to White Lotus Third Grade, but if he had to follow this rate of doubling, then there was no clue as to how many Orbs of Will he would need to break through to the Blue Lotus realm.


    He finally understood now, why the cultivation lifestyle of a cultivator was so long; no wonder so many cultivators desired the Orbs of Will so. Even his own desire of obtaining more Orbs of Will had be stronger........

 Chapter 95: The Snowy South Edict (1)

    Chapter 95: The Snowy South Edict (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Cultivating was a tedious matter. Ever since Miao Yi had entered closed door cultivation henceforth, he practically never came out.


    His cultivation had not reached the state of abstaining from the need to eat and drink. Every ten days or so, he woulde out of the stone room to eat something. Then, he would again return back to his quarters to cultivate.


    Whenever the little ones perched on the stone door cried out in hunger, he would only transmit his message to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er outside to make preparations before ordering the little ones to go out and eat. He would then summon them back once they were done feasting.


    Four monthster, the Orb of Will in his mouth was only refined by almost twenty percent. He still desired to continue cultivating but in the end, he had no other choice but to exit his closed-door cultivation.


    Because the end of the year had arrived and it was time to gather the Orbs of Will from East Arrival City. After the Orbs of Will were harvested, he had to personally transport and handover the Orbs of Will to Mount Calming Sea. There mustn¡¯t be any losses on the journey there. Otherwise, once he lost the Orbs of Will that were due to be handed over, he would not be able to escape the punishment.


    So he had no option but to leave closed-door cultivation.


    After Yan Xiu entered to report some state of affairs and left, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er then entered, carrying clothes with them.


    In the pool of the hot spring, Qian¡¯Er¡¯s and Xue¡®Er¡¯s young naked bodies were as alluring as before. They helped Miao Yi bath and get changed.


    A refreshed Miao Yi then walked over to the stone door. With a wave of his hand, he tucked the little ones away into his storage ring into a state of Deep Sleep.


    On a day when the snow swirled briskly in the air, Miao Yi left closed-door cultivation.


    Over a hundred flowersy wilted in the courtyard and Charcoal, having appeared to have forgotten past grudges, cheerfully jumped up and neighed on seeing that Miao Yi hade out.


    Miao Yi lifted his hand and stroked the head that was being nudged into his embrace, while Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er draped a ck cloak fixed with white velvet on the inner lining over his shoulders. It added a bit of the grandeur of an important person, to his entire presence.


    This cloak was personally tailored by the two girls for Miao Yi when they saw that winter wasing.


    Miao Yi patted Charcoal¡¯s head and pushed it away. He walked into the courtyard, treading along the snow in an unhurried manner.


    He ascended to the highest level of the loft and from his elevated position, with hands sped behind his back, he surveyed the mountain ranges, wrapped in white as they were by the surrounding heavy snowfall.


    ¡®Another year has passed again. I wonder how Little Brother and Little Sister are doing?¡¯ Miao Yi sighed gently.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er looked at each other, not knowing what Cave Master was sighing about.


    To the both of them, what was there for the Cave Master, an aloof and remote person with such a position to sigh about?


    After being entranced and lost in thought for quite a long while, he heard movement from the far off distance. Miao Yi recovered and titled his head, squinting his eyes to look. He then turned around and lead the two girls down the loft.


    From a distance, arge squadron of forces were producing a morous noise as they moved along the mountain path. They chased oxens and sheep, whilst at the same time, a horse-pulled carriage wasing with a cart of the annual gifts.


    The City Lord, who was freezing till he had shrunken in on himself, was bent over on horseback and leading a group of soldiers in tow.


    Yan Xiu, Zheng Jinlong, Wang Zifa, three of the White Lotus Third Grade cultivators were urging their dragon steeds with weapons in their hand, personally holding the lines at the front and rear.


    On the other side were Hou Sheng, Shang Yoi, Nansisi and Wang Xiuqin; the four of them were constantly galloping their dragon steeds to examine their surroundings.


    In order to escort these items, unexpectedly, seven out of eleven cultivators from the entire East Arrival Cave had been dispatched.


    As to why they had a great number of people involved, it was not only for the horse-pulled carriage carrying the cart of goods, most importantly, it was for the transporting of therge amount of Orbs of Will hidden amidst them.


    The Orbs of Will were hidden within the belly of one of the sheeps. Before they had departed, they had stuffed the orbs into the sheep¡¯s belly. Even Yan Xiu and the other escorts for this batch did not know in which sheep, ox or horse were they actually hidden in.


    The purpose for doing so was very simple; even if someone were to raid during the journey, there wasn¡¯t a high possibility that they would be able to rob everything.


    The City Lord Xu Xinliang also had no choice but to be this cautious. He could only personally sent the Orbs of Will coalesced this year to Miao Yi, to be counted aspleting the handover. Even if trouble happened afterwards, then it would no longer have anything to do with him.


    Outside the mountain gate, Zhu Tianbao, Qiu Shaoqun and Dan Biaoyi saddled on top of their dragon steeds, clutching onto their weapons as they surveyed the surroundings.


    After the horse-pulled carriage with the goods went through the mountain gate, ande to a halt in the za, everyone else retreated outside except for the City Lord Xu Xinliang.


    Miao Yi, wearing a ck cloak lined with velvet, stood on the steps of the Grand Hall¡¯s main entrance with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er apanying him at his sides. He reached out to catch and hold on to the heavy snowfall floating down from the sky..


    From afar, Xu Xinliang bowed with his hands held in front at Miao Yi standing on the steps. Miao Yi gave a slight nod of his head as a gesture and said, ¡°Take them out!¡±


    Xu Xinliang went amongst the herd of sheep and ox. After looking around for a while, he seized a sheep.


    ¡°Baa....!¡±


    With a flick of Dan Biaoyi¡¯s spear, the sheep copsed into a pool of blood. Very quickly, he then took out a small leather pouch from the sheep¡¯s belly. Ripping the leather pouch apart, there was another closed pouch inside.


    Opening the pouch, the insides were filled with a pile of Orbs of Will emanating a soft glow.


    Yan Xiu and the rest huddled up closely together. Once they were done counting everything, they discovered there were a hundred and twenty orbs, not even one less.


    After confirming, Yan Xiu dashed to the front of the Grand Hall, presenting the orbs to Miao Yi respectfully with both of his hands.


    Once Miao Yi counted it himself and ensured that there was no mistake, he immediately tucked them away into his storage ring. Flinging his cloak lightly, he turned around in the storm, leading Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er into the Grand Hall.


    It was only at this time that Xu Xinliang could let out a heavy sigh of relief. He then passed arge case to Yan Xiu.


    Inside the case were ten thousand gold crystals, which was equivalent to a million ck crystals or a hundred million white crystals.


    It was different from the five thousand coins he had gifted before. It was also impossible for him to keep gifting so much.


    This batch of gold crystals were the same as the Orbs of Will. They were required to be delivered and East Arrival Cave could only kept twenty percent of it.


    Xu Xinliang entered the Grand Hall with Yan Xiu¡¯s group, once again he detailed a report of the goods presented to Miao Yi for the year.


    Xue¡¯Er went down to receive it into her hands, before transferring it to Miao Yi¡¯s hands. After Miao Yi flipped it open to take a look, he threw it to Yan Xiu, requesting him to quickly make a copy of it in a jade archive in his name, because he had to present it to Mount Calming Sea.


    Yan Xiu dealt with it on the spot.


    After Miao Yi and Xu Xinliang finished their discussion, Miao Yi dismissed him.


    Upon receiving the jade archive that Yan Xiu passed to him, Miao Yi examined it, and sealed the jade archive with his insignia before putting it away into his storage ring.


    Turning back, he made Yan Xiu open the case and issued the gold crystals to everyone who should received them.


    Under the passionate and anticipating gazes of many, Miao Yi did not disappoint everybody. Except for the Orbs of Will that needed to be delivered, among the remaining twenty four orbs, each of the White Lotus Third Grade cultivators were given three orbs while the Second Grades were given two each.


    The entire group was so ecstatic that they couldn¡¯t even shut their mouths. What cave could get so many Orbs of Will in a year? They figured except for East Arrival Cave, they wouldn¡¯t find another one.


    From his high seat, Miao Yi looked around at the group and said, ¡°I hope everyone will continue to work hard and do your very best for next year. I, Miao Yi, will definitely not treat you all unfairly!¡±


    Immediately, the group of people cupped their hands, bowing in salutation with all sincerity as they eximed, ¡°We sincerely obey Cave Master¡¯s orders!¡±


    This spectacle made Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er sneak a nce at Miao Yi, who was raising his hand to excuse them, giving off a feeling of being slightly ennobled.


    This probably had to do with the fact that Yan Xiu hadn¡¯t yet told the two that Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation was the lowest in East Arrival Cave. If they had known, they probably would not be this pleased in their hearts.


    Miao Yi looked around beneath him again and said, ¡°Zheng Jinlong, Wang Zifa, Zhu Tianbiao, Hou Sheng, Shang Yoi.¡±


    Upon hearing him, the five of them stepped forward with cupped fists, shouting, ¡°Here!¡±


    Miao Yi uttered, ¡°To prevent anything unfortunate from happening, the five of you will apany me to immediately deliver and consign the items to Mount Calming Sea!¡±


    The five of them shouted loudly, ¡°Yes!¡±


    After gaining their profits, everyone¡¯s Essence, Qi and Spirit were obviously different. They obeyed and performed all tasks ordered by the Cave Master, and it could be seen that there wasn¡¯t even the slightest shirking of their responsibilities, causing Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to once again cast sidelong nces at the Cave Master ordering his subordinates with an awe-inspiring presence.

 Chapter 96: The Snowy South Edict (2)

    Chapter 96: The Snowy South Edict (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Miao Yi then looked towards Yan Xiu, ¡°Yan Xiu, lead the others and keep watch over the abode of Immortals!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Yan Xiu received his orders with cupped fists.


    Miao Yi descended from his high seat, and walked out in great strides; Zheng Jinlong and the rest of the five-man team quickly followed behind.


    Upon hearing the summoning whistle, Charcoal also dashed forth from inside and was prancing about, as it had been a long time since it had gone outside.


    Miao Yi turned and ascended his mount, Charcoal carried him and dashed down the steps like a ferocious tiger, galloping down the snowy path.


    Zheng Jinlong and the group carried their weapons whilst riding their dragon steeds, quickly following the cloak that was continuously shifting between ck and white; the party rapidly left.


    Yan Xiu casted a nce at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, who had been looking on from the entrance, then he turned around and ordered the others to clean up the annual gifts at the square....


    On the long journey under the heavy snow, the snow sshed about under the stomping of the herd of a half-dozen dragon steeds, as they galloped their way forward.


    Whenever they encountered a wide expanse ofnd, Zheng Jinlong¡¯s group would quickly follow after Miao Yi¡¯s back.


    If they encountered a forest on the way, the five of them would immediately spread out to the surroundings vigntly. The ones at the back would stand ready while the ones at the front would scout ahead, going through the mountains as they made their way forward, all the while protecting Miao Yi in the center.


    Since it was such a long journey, everyone was afraid that an ident might ur on the way. If it really did, then no one would even think about running, as not even the School of Blue Jade could save them.


    Coming back to this topic, unless there was someone brave enough or was tired of living, not many people dared to do something like steal the yields of power of will. One must know that if they did such a thing, it was equal to crossing the line with the Six Sages. Regardless of how much they stole or how serious the matter was, this was something the Six Sages would not tolerate, the end result could well be imagined.


    If that happened, forget about the fact that each domain¡¯s Overlord would be sending their subordinates to investigate, perhaps even those in the Realm Beyond Heaven would be sending men over to handle it.


    Nevertheless, it was always good to be careful, otherwise it would be toote for regrets if something actually did happen.


    Fortunately, the party didn¡¯t encounter any mishaps.


    Mount Calming Sea Mountain Chief Qin Weiwei was afraid of an ident urring, so she even had scouts keeping guard on the various routes; once they discovered the delivery was overdue, they would immediately report to her.


    Miao Yi and his group met with one of the scouts keeping guard, and had the other party lead the way, making haste for Mount Calming Sea together.


    Once they reached the mountain gates of Mount Calming Sea, the person keeping guard this time did not make things difficult for Miao Yi, and swiftly allowed him passage.


    Once Miao Yi stepped off his dragon steed, someone immediately came over and led Miao Yi to the Mount Calming Sea Grand Hall. Zheng Jinlong and the others did not have the qualifications to enter, so they waited outside.


    At the entrance of the back hall, the guide handed Miao Yi over to Lu Liu.


    ¡°Little Auntie!¡± Miao Yi respectfully greeted Lu Liu as he cupped his fists, and conveniently gifted her a ¡®red packet¡¯.


    Once she received her gift, Lu Liu looked a little strange as she observed Miao Yi .


    Miao Yi was stared at, to the point of being ufortable, and was wondering if that vile woman wasn¡¯t nning something evil again, was she?


    He had already handed Charcoal over to Zheng Jinlong and the rest to keep watch, no one wouldmit a murder in public, would they?


    ¡°Little Auntie....,¡± said Miao Yi, furrowing his brows slightly.


    Lu Liu immediately turned serious and extended her arms as she weed, ¡°Cave Master Miao must be tired from rushing all the way here, pleasee with me.¡±


    Miao Yi extended his arms and gave way first, following behind her as they came to a loft at the backyard, then made their way up the high loft to see Qin Weiwei.


    Qin Weiwei was wearing a dress white as snow, as always. Standing in front of the window with her hands behind her back, she was looking at the swirling snow outside.


    With her shapely, jade-like figure, the epitome of elegance, and her beautiful face gazing at the snowscape outside, it was a truly mesmerising scene. Even Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but feel a little beguiled.


    In appearance, she was quite pretty, but her twisted mind would make people feel disgusted! Miao Yi ndered her in his heart, then took a few steps forward and cupped his fists, ¡°Your subordinate Miao Yi, pays his respects to the Mountain Chieftain!¡±


    Qin Weiwei turned around and looked at him, even though Miao Yi looked respectfully on the front, but she could see that Miao Yi¡¯s eyes did not fall in line with his own words and actions.


    It just so happened that all this while, the other Cave Masters were stillining; the few reports she had seen were repeating the same old matters, they were hoping for the Mountain Chieftain to transfer away the disciples of the School of Blue Jade under them, and rece them with men originally belonging to Mount Shaotai.


    But the truth was that there was ack of manpower, if all the capable people were sent to one ce, then what would happen to the other areas?


    Then there was only this guy, only this bastard¡¯s subordinates werepletely docile, so no one could dig out any faults.


    Which was why, when she saw how devious Miao Yi was, she felt as though he were mocking her. Qin Weiwei wanted to gnash her teeth a little, as he was truly abominable!


    Qin Weiwei replied with a ¡®yes¡¯, raised her hand as she said, ¡°Hand it over then!¡±


    Miao Yi immediately took out the documents, the Orbs of Will, and the coin chest out of his storage ring, then passed it over to Hong Mian and Lu Liu for examination.


    Not a single thing was missing, East Arrival Cave could be said to have sessfully finished this year¡¯s mission.


    Qin Weiwei had taken over the document and was currently examining it, she couldn¡¯t be bothered to speak to him, so she turned her back to him and said, ¡°Stand down for now!¡±


    ¡°Your subordinate excuses himself!¡± Miao Yi cupped his fists, and when he was about to reach the end, he took out another ¡®red packet¡¯ and presented it to Hong Mian, ¡°Elder Auntie, here is a little token of my appreciation, it is nothing much, but I hope you will ept it!¡±


    Hong Miao looked curiously as she took the item. She was about to open it up and look inside, but was stupefied when she heard those words; he was actually trying to bribe her in front of the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s face....


    Both Lu Liu and her were looking wide-eyed at him.


    As the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s handmaidens, getting gifts from the subordinate Cave Masters when they visited was a very normal urrence, but wasn¡¯t it a little overboard to be bribing them right in front of the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s face?


    Now Hong Mian found it difficult to ept, but she couldn¡¯t reject it either.


    Previously, Miao Yi had also felt that this was unconventional, but after experiencing that gift-giving incident at South Edict Manor, he realised that Qing Ju could ept bribes right in front of Yang Qing¡¯s face, and Yang Qing also hadn¡¯t found anything wrong with it, so he believed that this didn¡¯t seem like a big deal in the cultivation realm.


    Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t know when he would get the chance to meet Hong Mian againter; his thinking was that she would usually be by the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s side, so he might as well gift it to her now.


    From Hong Mian and Lu Liu¡¯s expressions, Miao Yi suddenly felt that things were amiss, and he could also feel that Qin Weiwei¡¯s murderous re was already upon him. He suddenly began sweating profusely, and didn¡¯t dare meet her gaze.


    But he had already given it, so it wouldn¡¯t be polite to take it back. In the end, he could only cup his fists and rush down the loft, running away at a splitting pace, cursing Yang Qing in his heart for setting him up!


    With a cold expression on her face, when Qin Weiwei turned around and saw that Miao Yi had gone, she squeezed her fists angrily.


    It was not a big deal to present gifts to her own handmaidens, she wouldn¡¯t look into that too deeply, it wasn¡¯t a trade of benefits of any sort after all, but to have the audacity to bribe right in front of her face; did he not hold this Mountain Chieftain in any regard?


    ¡°Arrogant.....¡± Qin Weiwei gnashed her teeth as the words came out of her mouth.


    She couldn¡¯t use this against Miao Yi, even if she did, the other party could just say that he was giving away a small gift and nothing more than that, just a small gift.


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu both didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry. Wasn¡¯t Cave Master Miao trying to dig all their graves by doing this? The two could only take out their ¡®red packets¡¯ and weakly hand it over to Qin Weiwei....


    Miao Yi and his crew resided in one of the manors in Mount Calming Sea for that night, and were put in charge of keeping watch over the area.


    The next afternoon, all the respective Cave Masters under Mount Calming Sea had arrived, and Miao Yi was once again summoned, so he proceeded to the Grand Assembly Hall of Mount Calming Sea.


    Inside the Grand Hall, other than the respective Cave Masters of each domain, Mount Calming Sea¡¯s own division of forces were there as well; everyone stood in two rows, making for over twenty people.


    No one would regard him with any importance with his White Lotus First Grade Cave Master status. Even though they didn¡¯t show it, but considering the position he was given furthest to the back, it was easy to figure out.


    However, since he was wearing such a fashionable cloak, he was the most eye-catching, and Qin Weiwei found it difficult to ignore him even if she wanted to.


    Truthfully, because of the incident yesterday, Miao Yi also didn¡¯t want to stand in front, and couldn¡¯t wish for more than to be able to stand at the back and avoid the awkwardness, but he could still see Hong Mian¡¯s and Lu Liu¡¯s resentful gazesing his way from time to time.... Qin Weiwei couldn¡¯t find any excuse to vent her anger out on Miao Yi yesterday, so she had taken it out on them instead.

 Chapter 97: The Snowy South Edict (3)

    Chapter 97: The Snowy South Edict (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    In the Mount Calming Sea Grand Assembly Hall, nothing major urred. Once the Orbs of Will and the coins had all been collected, Qin Weiwei ordered each domain¡¯s Cave Masters to lead two other subordinates and follow her to deliver the items to South Edict Manor.


    The Orbs of Will of a whole mountain was no small sum, naturally Qin Weiwei had to be careful.


    Every Cave Master obeyed the order; after exiting the Grand Hall, Miao Yi picked Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa to follow with, andmanded the rest to go ahead and return to East Arrival Cave.


    Even though there were only three of them left, Cave Master Miao was still everyone¡¯s focal point. There was no reason apart from all of East Arrival Cave¡¯s robes being of a unified ck color, whereas the other School of Blue Jade disciples in the other caves still wore their blue robes, so East Arrival Cave was extremely eye-catching.


    After leaving the Grand Hall and mounting their steeds, both Qin Weiwei and Lu Liu couldn¡¯t resist taking another look; it was more sickening the more they looked, no matter how they saw him, they felt that this Grand Cave Master Miao was such an eyesore.


    Because even amongst the men that Qin Weiwei personally led, the School of Blue Jade disciples were still wearing their blue robes, making Qin Weiwei feel as though she was being pped in the face. She gnashed her teeth with hatred at this, as she realised that this bastard had his mind set to make her look terrible on purpose!


    For this guy, sometimes excelling too much was not necessarily a good thing.


    Qin Weiwei had reprimanded the respective Cave Masters on this matter before, now that Miao Yi was doing something that stood out this much, they all felt very resentful, and cursed to themselves, ¡®You brat. Thinking you¡¯re so capable, are you?¡¯


    Miao Yi had also discovered the hostile gazes towards him, but he couldn¡¯t figure out where the problem was, ¡®How did I upset all of you?¡¯


    This was not the time to banter on other matters, official business was at hand, Qin Weiwei looked at the hideously plump Charcoal beneath Miao Yi, she knew that the thing had speedy legs, so she waved her hand and pointed, ¡°Miao Yi, lead your team and open a path in front, if you discover anything amiss, report back immediately!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Miao Yi cupped his fists and answered, turning Charcoal around, and waved his hand, ordering Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa to proceed ahead.


    A thunderous galloping noise resounded as Qin Weiwei rode with her steed in the lead, and thirty others riding behind her like the wind....


    The rain had stopped; the skies turned clear, and were without a cloud for a thousand li; numerous mountains popted thend, boundless and undting. As the sun kissed the snow-coverednd, it was truly a spectacle to behold.


    Someone immediately dashed out of the South Edict Manor mountain gates, pushing his palm forwards and shouting for the visitors to slow down and stop.


    One after another, three dragon steeds abruptly raised their forelegs, their back hooves drawing deep grooves in the ground, as they hastily came to a stop in front of the mountain gates.


    Steadying his steed, Miao Yi stared at the person stopping them, it was none other than the one whom he had dealt with before, Zhou Liqin.


    Qian Zifeng shed out from the side, and cupped his fists towards Miao Yi, ¡°So it was Cave Master Miao.¡±


    Miao Yi shook open his cloak and jumped down his dragon steed,ughing heartily as he walked towards the both of them. Then cupped his fists and said, ¡°So it was actually Brother Zhou and Brother Qian, I have wanted to have a small chat with the both of you; I didn¡¯t think it would just so happen that the two you were on duty.¡±


    Both sides exchanged courtesies for a while, before the sounds of galloping horses boomed not too far away, and a few dozen steeds dashed forwards; evidently, it was Qin Weiwei leading the troops forth.


    Since they were already informed by Miao Yi, Zhou Liqin and Qian Zifeng extended their arms and allowed passage. Qin Weiwei only threw Miao Yi a nce before leading the others and charging directly through the mountain gates.


    Soon, another wave of thunderous gallops could vaguely be heard from afar.


    Qian Zifeng could only cup his fists and apologise to Miao Yi, ¡°Cave Master Miao, the two of us are on duty today. Recently it¡¯s the time for the each respective Mountain Chieftain to pass over their shipments, I am afraid that we will not be able to chat with you for long....¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡± Miao Yi waved his hands and stopped him, then took two coin purses out from his storage ring and stuffed it in both of their hands, whispering, ¡°A little token of appreciation.¡±


    Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa, who had been sitting on their dragon steeds, couldn¡¯t help but share a nce and grumble in their hearts; an esteemed Cave Master had to lower himself to present gifts to two gate sentries? People with low cultivation really had no self-confidence....


    After a few courteous words, Miao Yi was just about to mount his steed when from a distance, the group that were charging this way all came to an orderly stop in front of the mountain gates, after a wave of the hand by the person leading; it was Mount Shaotai¡¯s Mountain Chieftain!


    ¡°Old Brother Miao!¡± Xiong Xiao chuckled as he greeted him.


    Miao Yi felt his heart stop for a bit, then swept his gaze past the two handmaidens behind Xiong Xiao, and saw the two of them staring straight at him, but he didn¡¯t know which one was Head Guard Huang¡¯s daughter.


    However, his gaze didn¡¯t stop on the two handmaidens as he was afraid they might notice something was amiss. He cupped his fists as he greeted Xiong Xiao, ¡°Miao Yi, respectfully greets the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai!¡±


    Xiong Xiao had also been paying attention to his reaction. He had begun to have suspicions on Miao Yi after the incident at the Mystic Arts Temple, not because of Mo Shengtu¡¯s and Zhang Shucheng¡¯s deaths, but because Miao Yi had simply taken his steed from Changfeng Cave and left without a word after the incident; so he suspected that Miao Yi knew something.


    Especially with City Lord Huang¡¯s death afterwards, Chun Xue initially suspected that it had been Miao Yi who did it, because the two incidents had urred at almost the same time.


    Yet in the report from the City Lord¡¯s Manor, City Lord Huang was supposedly killed by two handsome young men. Even though appearance-wise Miao Yi was somewhat gant, there was hardly any corrtion to handsome; in addition, the figures depicted were also not quite the same, and furthermore the City Lord¡¯s wife had also been beaten. The assant had even left a few strange words, so the suspicion was off of Miao Yi.


    Most importantly, other hidden aspects hade into y after the incident, and Xiong Xiao had not dared to investigate further.


    Xiong Xiao could not see anything amiss from Miao Yi¡¯s expression, so he just waved his hand andughed, ¡°Old Brother is too kind, I was just about to head over to see Manor Head for the handover, let us further deepen our rtionship after I return.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Miao Yi cupped his fists and replied.


    Xiong Xiao smiled and nodded his head, then lead his troops into the mountain gates.


    To the side, Qian Zifeng and the rest thought highly of Miao Yi. Xiong Xiao could one day seed Manor Head Yang Qing to be the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, so he was naturally looked upon highly by Manor Head Yang Qing. Such a person had actually called Miao Yi ¡®Old Brother¡¯; it seemed this Cave Master Miao had some good connections within South Edict Manor.


    Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa casted a meaningful gaze at each other.


    ¡°Brother Qian, do either of you know where Mountain Chieftain Xiong¡¯s two handmaidens are from, and what their original names were?¡± Miao Yi turned his head and asked.


    ¡°Mountain Chieftain Xiong was originally in charge of Changfeng Cave, so the two handmaidens should be from Changfeng City; Elder Auntie Chun Xue should be surnamed Huang, but as for her full name I have no idea. With regards to the other Little Auntie, I know even less; normally, those that have been selected as handmaidens would have changed their names, and as with something that has happened so long ago, not many would know if they weren¡¯t from Changfeng Cave.¡± Qian Zifeng replied. Then he got curious and asked, ¡°Cave Master Miao, what did you ask this for?¡±


    Miao Yi dodged the question, ¡°Then how do you know Elder Auntie Chun Xue is surnamed Huang?¡±


    To the side Zhou Liqin sighed, then lowered his voice and said, ¡°Cave Master Miao hasn¡¯t heard the story before? Earlier this year, something major happened in Changfeng City, it was all over the ce, even the Manor Head was taken aback; two people had snuck into the City Lord¡¯s Manor at Changfeng City, and killed City Lord Huang. This City Lord Huang was none other than Chun Xue¡¯s father; it was because of this incident, that we came to know Chun Xue was surnamed Huang.¡±


    ¡°Uh...,¡± Miao Yi was shocked. ¡°Two of them snuck in and killed... so audacious?¡±


    He was at a lost for words. It had been done by him alone, and no one had seen it too! So how did it be an actmitted by two people?

 Chapter 98: The Snowy South Edict (4)

    Chapter 98: The Snowy South Edict (4)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡°That¡¯s right! The Manor Head had originally wanted to investigate further into the matter...¡± Qian Zifeng spoke until this point, before peering about his surroundings and changed into transmitting his voice, ¡°Yet afterwards, a man from Suppressing Second Pce, said to be serving by the side of the Pce Lord, personally took a trip down to South Edict Manor. I have no idea what kind of pressure Manor head was under, but after the visit, Mano Head immediately ordered Mountain Chieftain Xiong to stop investigating. I reckon that the incident wasn¡¯t done by the upper echelons, and was instead, done by someone rted to them. After being called out by someone above, Manor Head didn¡¯t dare to look into it further to avoid a ripple effect. That City Lord Huang had truly died in vain.¡±


    ¡°Suppressing Second Pce...¡± Miao Yi muttered.


    There were ten manors under the rule of Suppressing Second Pce and South Edict Manor was one of them. Just how was Suppressing Second Pce connected with this incident? This made Miao Yi extremely baffled,pletely confused and unable to make head or tails of it no matter how much he thought about it.


    Firstly, let¡¯s not mention the fact that two murderers suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Miao Yi acknowledged that he did not have any kind of rtion to Suppressing Second Pce. He didn¡¯t even know where the pce gates of Suppressing Second Pce were facing, let alone finding someone to plead for him.


    However, it was good that he had washed his hands off the matter. Who cares what pce it is? They were all too distant for him. Miao Yi asked for more details, ¡°Just now, the person at Mountain Chieftain Xiong¡¯s side was Chun Xue right?¡±


    ¡°Correct!¡± Qian Zifeng nodded his head, and then questioned closely, ¡°Are you interested in her?¡±


    Immediately, Miao Yi winked as he said, ¡°I¡¯m just envying Mountain Chieftain Xiong¡¯s good taste.¡±


    ¡°Oh...Oh...¡± Qian Zifeng and Zhou Liqin promptly looked at each other and snickered, revealing a look that implied that they were all men, so they understood very well and dropped the subject.


    After uncovering so much news, Miao Yi was fully aware. He deeply felt that it was definitely worth spending a ¡®small token¡¯. Otherwise, who would sneakily tell you about the private affairs of the upper echelons behind their back?


    Xiong Xiao slowed the speed of his mount and turned to cast a backward nce. Dismounting from his dragon steed, he peered about the surroundings before giving a slight nod of his head to the two Cave Masters behind.


    One of the two Cave Masters was called Fan Renfang, while the other was named Fang Ziyu. They went over to take orders at once.


    Who knew Xiong Xiao would insteadugh, ¡°I wonder if Manor Head will take out some prizes to make everyone slightly bustle with excitement this year.¡±


    Fang Ziyuughed along with him, ¡°It¡¯s the first year. I figure the liveliness can¡¯t be avoided.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Xiong Xiao nodded his head. Soon after, his lips gave a slight twitch as he transmitted a message to the two Cave Masters under him.


    Abruptly, both of their expressions changed. But when they saw Xiong Xiao¡¯s cold and stern eyes sweeping towards them, they cupped their fists together.


    Xiong Xiao turned on his heels and walked towards the direction of the Grand Hall alone, as the others did not have the qualifications to enter.


    After, the two Cave Masters exchanged nces with each other speechlessly, they gradually turned to look towards the direction of the mountain gates...


    As Xiong Xiao predicted, after perfectly receiving the Orbs of Will from within the realm of South Edict Manor over the next two days, Yang Qing was extremely happy. So in front of all his subordinates, he announced that as prizes of good omens, he would give twenty lower grade Orbs of Will to see whoever, out of the hundred Cave Masters under his administration, would be able to snatch it away.


    Behind the mountain range on the right of South Edict Manor was a prairie, but currently it was nketed by the dense, heavy snow.


    The chilling wind was biting cold. Arge group of people were riding their dragon steeds, their figures standing tall from halfway up the mountain. Manor Head Yang Qing was positioned in the center, with the respective Mountain Chieftains under him at his sides.


    More than a dozen dragon steeds rushed headlong onto the snowy path, their hooves quickly drawing boundaries on the snowy ground to partition it into individually distinct areas; so that each of over a hundred Cave Masters would be able to have a showdown in their respective areas to determine whose skill was greater.


    There were twenty Orbs of Will acting as prizes; they would be divided into three ranks. The first rank could obtain ten Orbs of Will, while the second rank would get six orbs, and the third rank would get four orbs.


    Which also meant that, only three people out of the hundred Cave Masters from South Edict Manor would be able to im the reward, but the respective Cave Masters were still eager to get in on the action.


    Because it didn¡¯t matter whether they could get the reward, as long as they could reveal their skills to overthrow a number of opponents, even if they lost in the end, it would still be a glorious defeat. They would be able to bring honor to their Mountain Chieftain. Perhaps they would also get the opportunity to be in an important position should they be highly regarded by the Manor Head.


    Preparations were being made on this side, yet Yang Qing¡¯s attention was drawn by a scene unfolding from afar. He caught sight of Miao Yi, wearing a grand-looking cloak that was shier than his, the Manor Head. He was unsure of what Miao Yi was currently conversing with Qing Ju about after he found her, looking as though he was imploring her about some matter. Qing Ju was so amused that she covered her mouth tough until her shoulders quivered, looking very delighted.


    ¡°What kind of joke are you two talking about? Come here to say it so I can listen too.¡±


    The moment Yang Qing¡¯s words left his mouth, he immediately attracted everyone else to follow his actions to look.


    Qing Ju turned around to face him and bowed slightly, before extending out her hand to invite him as she said with a smile. ¡°Cave Master Miao, Manor Head has summoned. It is better if you ask for a favor from the Manor Head personally.¡±


    Looking embarrassed, Miao Yi said, ¡°Little Auntie, you should let me have some honor left. How could I bear talking about this matter in front of everyone?¡±


    Qing Ju half-frightened him by replying, ¡°Manor Head is waiting. If you don¡¯t go over now, you will anger Manor Head, then I¡¯m afraid that you will really not be able to bear it!¡±


    ¡°I...¡± Miao Yi did not know how to react. He could only trail behind her with a bitter look on his face.


    The reason why it hade to this was in fact because after Miao Yi had asked Zheng Jinlong what battling for good omens was all about, he immediately felt there was no need for him participate in something like this.


    All the respective Cave Masters were apparently with a cultivation at White Lotus Fifth Grade and above. Earlier on, he had already experienced first-hand the kind of strength the White Lotus Fifth Grade was at from Qin Weiwei. It was definitely not something that a mere White Lotus Second Grade cultivator like him could withstand.


    Although he wanted the prize, it had nothing to do with him, so why should hee out to disgrace himself?


    Hence, he had thought of ways to find Qing Ju, and privately requested Qing Ju to amodate his request so that he, the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, would not participate. But in the end, he was targeted by Yang Qing.


    After walking to before Yang Qing, Miao Yi was too ashamed to speak out so he stood there faltering. Was it wrong for him to preserve his reputation? With so many people listening attentively, how could he not be embarrassed?


    Finally, Qing Ju was still the one who exined the cause of her mirth, leading every single Mountain Chieftains to instantly burst intoughter. The gazes that each one of them threw at Miao Yi seemed to be saying, ¡®Seems like a brat like you still has some self-awareness.¡¯


    Yang Qing also shook his head, chuckling incessantly as he finally understood why Qing Ju had been covering her mouth andughing so jovially.


    Amongst everyone on the scene, only Qin Weiwei could not bring herself tough. It was easy for those from the other mountains tough outright as they weren¡¯t the ones being disgraced. The reputation that the Great Cave Master Miao was disgracing, unfortunately, was her Mount Calming Sea¡¯s....


    Qin Weiwei held an icy cold expression on her face, a cold more severe than the chilling weather. She shut her mouth tightly and avoided looking at Miao Yi, to stop herself from losing her temper should she catch sight of him!


    Miao Yi was also furious. ¡®Am I, your father¡¯s low cultivation hrious? Wait for me to try cultivating for a couple of hundred years like you guys and see...¡¯


    ¡°Seems like you very much know your limitations. It¡¯s not like you can¡¯t withdraw from this either.¡± Yang Qing looked towards him with downcast eyes, obviously hinting something.


    Miao Yi raised his head to look, praying that he would by all means please not make things difficult for him...


    Yang Qing then said expressionlessly, ¡°I think you haven¡¯t forgotten about the incident where you bribed Qing Mei and Qing Ju in my presence? ¡±


    Upon hearing that, Qing Ju was unable to restrain a smile and Qing Mei, who was usually well-reserved also couldn¡¯t help smiling.


    The others were shocked to find that this bastard actually had the audacity to daremit bribery with the Manor Head¡¯s personal handmaidens in the Manor Head¡¯s presence?


    ¡°Um...¡± Miao Yi did not what to say.


    But suddenly, Qin Weiwei turned her head to look, her cheek flushing red with anger, he hadn¡¯t just done this in front of her face, and actually had the audacity to do the same to Manor Head as well? How would she, the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, endure this?!


    Having experienced being humiliated in session, Qin Weiwei could not contain her anger anymore. She pointed at him and began to bellow furiously, ¡°Miao Yi, you...¡±


    Yang Qing seemed to have anticipated her reaction, so he gently raised his hand to stop her. His gaze locking onto Miao Yi, he asked, ¡°Where is the present you promised me?¡±

 Chapter 99: The Snowy South Edict (5)

    Chapter 99: The Snowy South Edict (5)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡°.....¡± Everyone was silent.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry, ¡°Manor Head, please don¡¯t make fun of me, the entire East Arrival Cave is just only so big. just tell me if you see something you fancy, I shall have it delivered here immediately.¡±


    Yang Qing nodded his head, ¡°I quite fancy the cloak that you¡¯re wearing right now, if you could find it in yourself to part with it, I shall allow you to retire from thispetition.¡±


    ¡°Sigh...¡± Miao Yi was thinking, ¡®I thought it was going to be something big.¡¯


    Without another word, he immediately pulled on the button on the cloak, took it off and presented it to Qing Ju.


    Thereafter, Qing Ju then handed it over to Qing Mei, who had been sitting on her dragon steed. Qing Mei rode her dragon steed over to Yang Qing, opened the cloak, and tilted her body to personally drape it over Yang Qing¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°It is quite fitting.¡± Yang Qing pulled on both his shoulders, then brushed Miao Yi away, ¡°You can step down now!¡±


    Miao Yi heaved a breath of relief, then hastily ran away.


    Everyone exchanged nces with each other, now they could see that the Manor Head didn¡¯t make light of this guy! How could the esteemed South Edict Manor be short of a cloak? This was clearly not treating the guy as an outsider!


    Two old men from the School of Blue Jade shared a look and nodded meaningfully, then secretly transmitted their voices to each other.


    ¡°It seems Wang Zifa and the rest were not mistaken, this guy is regarded so highly by Yang Qing. If we could bring him to our side, maybe we will be able to give Yang Qing a fatal blow one day!¡±


    ¡°Indeed, this truly has great prospects! It seems that our School of Blue Jade will have to spend a little more effort on this young fellow......¡±


    On the other hand, Xiong Xiao¡¯s eyes brightened as he squinted to look at Miao Yi¡¯s departing silhouette,ughing coldly in secret; this kid had actually managed to escape his predicament.


    Even though these types ofpetitions were held as a battle for good omen, the rules stated that it could only go on until a victor was decided, and no murder was condoned, but earlier, he had arranged for his two subordinate Cave Masters, Fan Renfang and Fang Ziyu, to strike a vicious blow at Miao Yi. He had ordered both of them to think of a way to get arranged into the same group as Miao Yi.


    Once they had ¡®mistakenly¡¯ killed Miao Yi, they could use the excuse that they didn¡¯t think Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation was so low, and were using methods to deal with a White Lotus Third Grade to handle him; the reason was naturally because of Miao Yi¡¯s previous battle records.


    If that were to happen, the ship would have already sailed and even if Yang Qing were to hold Miao Yi in even greater regard; then he, Xiong Xiao, woulde forward and help say a few words on their behalf to plead for them. Afterall, Yang Qing could not do anything else for a dead low level cultivator.


    Who would have thought that this kid actually wasn¡¯t afraid to lose face, and took the initiative to back out of thepetition?


    Xiong Xiao tightened his lips; he had already promised that he would get justice for Chun Xue. He himself was the great Chieftain of a Mountain, yet if he could not even handle such a low level cultivator, how would his own personal handmaidens look at him then? Where would that faith be? Where would a man¡¯s pride lie?


    After the incident at the Mystic Arts Temple, Xiong Xiao had wanted to continue trying to kill Miao Yi, but he had to avoid suspicion, and it wasn¡¯t easy to do both these matters together, so he could onlyy low for the time being.


    This time! He definitely won¡¯t let Miao Yi return to East Arrival Cave alive!


    The snowy grounds at the foot of the mountain had already been prepared; nearly a hundred Cave Masters rode their dragon steeds and charged downwards.


    Regardless of whether the average Cave Master had any capability, with their own Mountain Chieftain and Manor Head Yang Qing in the audience, all of them disyed a show of gantry, daring each other out to step up, calling names and challenging them, with each one louder than thest.


    In the end, all of them were fighting one on one, each in their own space.


    Following Yang Qing¡¯s nod, the Cave Masters of the respective areas that had been looking at each other with great watchfulness immediately charged forward ferociously, the entire scene was very impressive; sand and snow flew about, as they struggled back and forth.


    ¡°Tsk tsk! Spectacr!¡± said Miao Yi, sitting on his dragon steed as he watched the battle, and feeling deeply the gap between his own cultivation and the other Cave Masters. Fortunately he had backed out in time, otherwise, he would have surely been flipped over in a single strike by the other party, and getting humiliated in public was not a pleasant feeling to bear.


    To the side, Zheng Jinlong asked curiously, ¡°Cave Master, why didn¡¯t you take to the field?¡±


    This spot was distant, so Zheng Jinlong didn¡¯t know that his Cave Master had already taken the initiative and backed out; even being disgraced!


    ¡°....¡± Miao Yi felt that this guy really couldn¡¯t read the mood, and said indifferently, ¡°Do you not understand what knowing your own limit means?¡±


    ¡°Cave Master¡¯s cultivation....¡± Wang Zifa secretly transmitted a message to Zheng Jinlong, and leveled a meaningful gaze at him.


    Zheng Jinlong immediately understood that he had said the wrong thing, and hastily shut his mouth.


    After such an exciting battle, the once clean patch of snow had already been trampled to the point no longer being recognisable.


    After the victor had been decided in the first battle, the loser stepped down; the winner called another to step up once more, and the two continued topete.


    Some of the Mountain Chieftains present had a cheerful expression on their faces, whereas some had grim looks.


    Yang Qing slowly nodded; he saw some men with decent skill, which could be used if the opportunity arises.


    Miao Yi was enjoying the excitement, and naturally had no pressure as he watched on zealously.


    The stomping of the dragon steeds boomed like thunder with the battle being extremely intense. In such apetition where they didn¡¯t need to worry about losing their lives, everyone knew whether they could stand out or not rested on this battle today.


    After the third round, many Mountain Chieftains already had darkened expressions.


    When the fifth round was over, many Mountain Chieftains¡¯ expressions had already turned stiff, because too many of their subordinates had been eliminated.


    In contrast, Qin Weiwei had a smile on her face because among her subordinates, two actually managed to get into the top six.


    But she knew deep down, these two subordinates were specifically arranged to support her, out of Yang Qing¡¯s concern for her, so their strength was naturally high among the respective Cave Masters.


    After the sixth round, the only ones remaining were all experts from among the respective Cave Masters. Out of Qin Weiwei¡¯s two subordinates, one had lost and the other had entered the top three with the chance to fight for first ce in the final round.


    Among the other contestants entering the top three battle, one was a subordinate of Xiong Xiao, it was evident that the reason why Xiong Xiao could take over Mount Shaotai wasn¡¯t simply arbitrary; and thest was a disciple of the School of Blue Jade.


    The three of them entered a chaotic battle, and it could be roughly seen that Xiong Xiao and Qin Weiwei¡¯s subordinates were teaming up on the School of Blue Jade disciple.


    Yang Qing creased his brows, he didn¡¯t want to see something that was being done so obviously. He tilted his head slightly and nced at the assisting elder of the School of Blue Jade that was stationed in South Edict Manor, only to find that the other party had no reaction at all, and was abnormally calm.


    Yang Qing could faintly feel that something was wrong!


    The situation now made it difficult for everyone to tear their eyes away, it was no longer a question of who would take first ce now, but whether Yang Qing or the School of Blue Jade would emerge the winner.


    Just when the School of Blue Jade disciple was almost on the verge of copse under thebined assault, he suddenly gave an angry shout during the climax, ¡°Dismount!¡±


    A green crystalline light instantly shone from the long halberd in his hand, splitting arge piece of the earth that had been gouged out and flung towards his head.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯ Snow and dirt exploded, as man and dragon steed leapt towards the skies and broke past every obstacle, sweeping the halberd across the sky.


    The other two joined forces and thrusted out their spears in a cross-block! They tried to catch the halberd that came chopping down from the other side, and almost immediately spat out a mouthful of blood as they were blown off their dragon steeds and were sent rolling to the ground!


    That School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciple stood victorious on the battlefield, raising the long halberd in his hand, and announced himself as the ultimate winner. Then finally, he pointed to the two who were slowly mbering up, and shouted, ¡°You let me win!¡±


    With ashen faces, the two mbering men were rendered speechless. There was no rule stating that you could not use a transcendent artifact, but based on the cultivation of the other party, it would have been quite difficult to obtain a transcendent artifact of this grade. Clearly the School of Blue Jade hade prepared, and made their move at thest moment.

 Chapter 100: The Snowy South Edict (6)

    Chapter 100: The Snowy South Edict (6)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡°Second Grade Transcendent Artifact!¡±


    ¡°Despicable! To actually rely on a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact to obtain victory!¡±


    ¡°Was it not despicable for two to fight against one?¡±


    ¡°They were the ones thatbined forces first, was it wrong to counter-attack?¡±


    The crowd of spectators began to use one another.


    Yang Qing on the other hand didn¡¯t seem like he cared, he still had a smile on his face, and announced, ¡°No need topete anymore, the other two shall take second ce together, as it¡¯s a tie you both can divide the ten Orbs of Will equally.¡±


    After he finished saying this he turned his dragon steed around, then turned his head and went on ahead, a certain someone¡¯s cloak looking very fashionable on him.


    Everyone else had also begun to withdraw, a battle for good omens was meant to be a joyous asion, but now it had ended with an argument because of everyone¡¯s bickering.


    Fan Renfang and Fang Ziyu had been called to Xiong Xiao alone and were especially nervous; the both of them cupped their fists and apologized, ¡°We have failed to fulfill the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s expectations!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t manage to match up with Miao Yi, the other party hadn¡¯t even wanted to step up even if he was killed, so they had no choice in that matter, and of course wouldn¡¯t be med. The main issue was that the two of them hadn¡¯t even managed to get into the top twenty, and just lost.


    Xiong Xiao chuckled and said benevolently, ¡°No need to take it to heart, these kinds ofpetitions are merely a tussle for good omens, don¡¯t take it too seriously. Apetition is an ordinary situation, when the timees for a battle to the death, where the victor lives and the loser dies, how could a cing in apetition hold any weight?¡±


    The two of them hastily thanked the Mountain Chieftain for his benevolence.


    Who knew Xiong Xiao would then casually tell them, ¡°Each Mountain Chieftain has to lead two capable subordinates and apany the Manor Head to deliver the entire shipment of Orbs of Will of South Edict Manor to Suppressing Second Pce. I assume Qin Weiwei will not likely be bringing that brat along, both of you will have to make your preparations early, do you understand what I am saying?¡±


    Of course they understood, he had alreadyid it out so clearly, how could they not?


    Fan Renfang and Fang Ziyu nced at one another, they didn¡¯t know why the Mountain Chieftain just wouldn¡¯t let this guy go. Nevertheless, they could only cup their fists and obey, ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t wish to see that brat return to East Arrival Cave alive. Make it clean and don¡¯t leave any trouble behind.¡± Xiong Xiaomanded, then turned around and left.


    He did not believe that with two White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivators joining forces, that the brat would still be able to escape.


    The men from Mount Calming Sea that were in South Edict Manor had already been gathered by Qin Weiwei; the one that had taken second ce in thepetition, Gongsun Yu, was thest to arrive, walking into the courtyard after changing into a set of clean clothes.


    This man didn¡¯t look too old, his appearance was dignified as if he carried a certain loftiness.


    As soon as he came in, Gongsun Yu immediately asked for her forgiveness as Qin Weiwei stood with her hands behind her, stating how he had disappointed her. The way he looked at Qin Weiwei was a little strange.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi was transmitting a message to his subordinates to the side, ¡°I feel as though the way this Cave Master Gongsun is looking at that vil... at Mountain Chieftain is a bit strange, there¡¯s definitely something nasty going on between them!¡±


    Zheng Jinlong tried to restrain hisughter, it seemed that this Cave Master really did not take too kindly to the Mountain Chieftain, so he replied his message, ¡°Cave Master is really in the dark, I have heard some information from a senior by the gates. When Mountain Chieftain was reporting for her duty at Mount Calming Sea, this Gongsun Yu took the initiative to ask the Mountain Chieftain for an assignment, and said he wanted to follow the Mountain Chieftain. Another small channel of information told me, this Gongsun Yu has indeed been courting our Mountain Chieftain for a while now, as for whether it has seeded, that remains a question.¡±


    ¡°I tell you, no wonder; they¡¯re all working in collusion for their misdeeds with the subordinate taking after the person at the top....¡±


    Miao Yi wore a disdainful expression as he grumbled silently.


    Zheng Jinlong wanted to remind the Cave Master, ¡¯You seem to have ndered yourself as well.¡¯


    On the other side, Qin Weiwei had actually taken the initiative to extend her arms and pulled Gongsun Yu up. Surprisingly, she revealed a smile that was rarely seen, the other party did win some glory for her Mount Calming Sea, so sheforted him, ¡°Victory and loss are verymon things, Cave Master Gongsun need not me yourself, furthermore you did not lose in terms of skill, but lost to the enemy¡¯s transcendent artifact...¡±


    She cast a nce at Miao Yi¡¯s face, and when she saw that look of disdain he had on, her good mood was instantly gone along with her smile, as she coldly added another sentence, ¡°At least you are much stronger than those that would cower from thepetition and didn¡¯t dare to step up and fight!¡±


    ¡°Uh...¡± Gongsun Yu was shocked, then subconsciously turned around to look at Miao Yi.


    The other Cave Masters and their subordinates were all trying to restrain theirughter as they looked at Miao Yi and thought, ¡®Weren¡¯t you a tough guy?¡¯


    ¡°......¡± ¡®Who is she talking about? Why is she venting out on me again?¡¯ Miao Yi¡¯s expression was as dark as the underside of a pot, his face twitching as he looked at Qin Weiwei; he realised he could never get along with this vile woman, ¡®Seeing as Yang Qing has treated me kindly, I¡¯ll put up with it!¡¯


    Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa also found it hard to bear, they belonged to East Arrival Cave after all, and facing such humiliation in public, they naturally wouldn¡¯t feel good about it, and thought to themselves, ¡®No wonder the Cave Master called this woman a vile woman, she was vile indeed!¡¯


    Qin Weiwei couldn¡¯t be bothered with Miao Yi¡¯s feelings, and turned around to continue speaking to Gongsun Yu, ¡°Manor Head has ordered for the respective Mountain Chieftains to bring two capable subordinates and deliver the annual tributes of South Edict Manor, I had originally wanted to bring you along, but now you¡¯re hurt....¡±


    She hadn¡¯t even finished before Gongsun Yu immediately cupped his fists and asked for his orders, ¡°It¡¯s just a minor wound, nothing to fret about; your subordinate is willing to serve like a dog or a horse. Please allow me to follow you Mountain Chieftain!¡±


    ¡®A treacherous couple!¡¯ Miao Yi cursed to himself.


    Qin Weiwei expressed her doubts for a while, but upon Gongsun Yu¡¯s insistence, she agreed in the end.


    She turned around and ordered the rest, ¡°The rest of the troops should return to their respective territories.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone obeyed and dispersed.


    After throwing a furtive look over and seeing the unhappy Miao Yi, Qin Weiwei was in contrast, feeling extremely ecstatic deep down!


    The troops and Cave Masters of the various mountains, arge force, all departed from South Edict Manor one after the other.


    The respective Cave Masters of Mount Calming Sea probably pretended to be courteous to Miao Yi out of respect for Yang Qing, but they still had to travel together for a period of time on their way back from Mount Calming Sea. When the time came to leave and everyone began forming groups, no one had invited Miao Yi along, as they clearly didn¡¯t recognise him as being on the same level as they were.


    The Great Cave Master Miao also didn¡¯t want to travel together to the realm of Mount Calming Sea with those arrogant bastards; He didn¡¯t want to tolerate their attitude throughout the journey and make himself miserable, so he quickly found an excuse to head over to Qian Zifeng and Zhou Liqin¡¯s cultivation residences, and drank his fill of wine before leaving.


    Qian Zifeng and Zhou Liqin were not on duty today, and on ount of both parties having a bit of rtionship, the two of them personally escorted Miao Yi to the mountain gates.


    On the path that had been trampled into a messy mix of dirt and snow, Miao Yi led Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa, and quickly departed.


    Compared to those that were leaving noisily in their own groups, they looked a little lonesome, as well as somewhat out of ce.


    Miao Yi was aware that there was no escaping the truth. With his level of cultivation, bing the East Arrival Cave Master had been entirely because Yang Qing thought highly of him; without Yang Qing, he would not have the achievements he now did. There was arge gap between his cultivation and that of the other Cave Masters, so it was normal for others to look down on him; he couldn¡¯t exactly ask every single person that was stronger than him to lower their status and make friends with him, there was no such logic. In the end, it was because his own cultivation was too weak so he couldn¡¯t me anyone else.


    Approximately two hundred li away from South Edict Manor, three horses charged forth on the pathway.


    The three riders did not make any sort of conversation the entire way, and only rushed forward with heavy hearts; Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa knew that their Cave Master was not in a good mood, so they kept quiet.


    Under the cold skies and on frozen grounds, no one else could be seen on their journey. The three of them dashed on their dragon steeds to the edge of a narrow path between two mountains, when all of them suddenly stopped.

 Chapter 101: The Snowy South Edict (7)

    Chapter 101: The Snowy South Edict (7)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The three dragon steeds reared, with their rear hooves drawing a couple of long deep grooves into the ground and stopped.


    On either sides of the path, the trees of the mountain forests were covered withyers uponyers of snow. Up ahead, a man was riding his dragon steed across the the road alone. Strangely, he was wearing a mask on his face.


    This unusual scene made Miao Yi and two others aware that the man didn¡¯te with friendly intent.


    The gazes of both party locked on to each other and the surrounding became extremely quiet. asionally, there would be snow crashing down onto the ground from the treetops whilst the nostrils of the four dragon steeds breathed out streams of warm air.


    A silver spear shed into Miao Yi¡¯s hand. He slowly lifted it up and pointed at the other party before uttering in a low voice, ¡°Friend, you are blocking the path. What are your intentions?¡±


    Zheng Jinlong¡¯s and Wang Zifa¡¯s eyes revealed a trace of coldness as the faint glow of a three-petaled White Lotus flower quickly emerged between their brows. Clutching onto their weapons, together, they urged forward the dragon steeds under them to protect Miao Yi.


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything. I just want to borrow your head!¡±


    With a cold scoff, the dragon steed under the masked man suddenly charged forwards akin to a drawn arrow being released from the bowstring.


    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Bellowing out in fury, Zheng Jinglong and Wang Zifa sprinted forward, brandishing their spears to block him.


    The opponent hoisted his spear to stab and with a loud rumble,shed out with substantial transcendence energy .


    Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa were takenpletely by surprise, but they had nowhere to hide. They had no other choice but to brandish their spears, using all their might to attack forcefully, with the sole intent ofbining their forces to break through the opponent¡¯s transcendence energy attack.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯


    Arge sound reverberated throughout, and under the shockwaves of the reverberating transcendence energy, a mixture of mud and snow burst from the ground to fly in all directions. Even the snow on the treetops came crashing down from the nearby mountain forests.


    It was just one frontal attack, evenbining their forces together, Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa could not match the opponent in delivering a deadly blow. Although they hadbined forces attempting to smash their opponent¡¯s transcendence energy attack, yet they were the ones facing towards the sky, spurting out blood, and being jolted till they were sent flying off the back of their dragon steeds.


    The transcendence energy exhibited seemed to be simr to an attack of considerable substance. This could only be achieved by those with a cultivation at White Lotus Fifth Grade and above.


    Miao Yi was also rmed as he waspletely outmatched by this powerful cultivator. At the moment, only one thought shed through his mind - ¡®Run!¡¯


    Underneath him, Charcoal hastily swung his body around and turned to dash out with a ¡®Swoosh!¡¯. He loosened his four limbs into a mad run.


    The masked manpletely did not pay any heed to Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa. Once he had jolted the both of them and sent them flying, he did not bother to waste any more time in killing them. The dragon steed carrying him brushed past the two who were sent flying post haste, directly giving chase to Miao Yi. His only target appeared to be Miao Yi.


    The two dragon steeds, carrying the two became embroiled in a chase, there was a gap of a dozen of metres distant between the two parties in this tight pursuit.


    At times Miao Yi would nce behind feeling extremely anxious, because once the opponent caught up, he would definitely be dead!


    ¡®Hurry up and run faster! Do you want me to be the second Luo Zhen?!¡¯


    Miao Yi furiously roared at Charcoal with his mind.


    ¡®Neigh!¡¯ Charcoal was running madly, and let out a blood-curdling neigh. Instantly, its eyes widened greatly and became slightly bloodshot; its four hooves once again picked up speed to the point of it being akin to a phantom.


    The strong wind blowing in his face brought about a tremendous resistance. Swiftly, Miao Yi leaned over, pressing against Charcoal¡¯s back.


    Immediately, the difference in speed between the dragon steeds in pursuit, caused them to gradually pull apart.


    The masked man gritted his teeth. He had already increase the speed of his dragon steed underneath him with the support of his transcendence energy, and he still couldn¡¯t catch up to that fat dragon steed?! It was so fat and it could run this fast, damn it!


    Clearly, he did not wish to give up so easily just yet. To one¡¯s surprise, he brandished his spear and stabbed his dragon steed in its rear with a strike. His dragon steed let out a neigh of pain and sped up a little more.


    Still, the increase in speed wasn¡¯t enough to catch up to Charcoal. The distance between the two parties continued to slowly pull apart.


    This left the masked man without anymore ideas. His transcendence energy was still inadequate tounch a long distance attack on Miao Yi, and since Miao Yi was not an ordinary mortal, he was sure to have the transcendence energy defense ability.


    Amidst the wind, Miao Yiy pressed against Charcoal¡¯s back. At times, he would shoot a backwards nce, and upon seeing that the distance was getting wider apart, he somewhat breathed out a sigh of relief.


    But the other party obviously did not want to let him escape that easily and allowing it to go on like this wasn¡¯t a usible solution.


    He promptly decided to head to South Edict Manor, as in this region, only South Edict Manor was a good ce to take refuge.


    But what he had never expected, was the moment he dashed forth on the mountain path leading to South Edict Manor, a wave of transcendence energy struck out diagonally and charged towards him with a loud rumble.


    ¡°Tai!¡±


    To his surprise, there was an ambush! With nowhere to dodge, Miao Yi let out a dejected snarl and swiftly brandished his spear, using his entire strength in all out effort to strike out with his spear towards the iing transcendence energy attack, intending to pierce through it.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯


    At that exact moment, he suffered a crushing defeat; Miao Yi spat out blood and was sent flying away even the silver spear he held was also flung far from his hand.


    As soon as he crashed down onto the snowy ground and tumbled, another mount had already leapt out from the mountain forest; the rider was also wearing a mask on his face.


    The other party had obviously done their share in preparing for any eventualities, and had evidently guessed if by any chance Miao Yi had escaped the ordeal, then there was a great possibility that he would attempt to escape back to South Edict Manor, so he had waited here. He hadn¡¯t expected that Miao Yi would actually escape the attack.


    These two men were none other than Fan Renfang and Fang Ziyue, who had been sent by Xiong Xiao. Thetter had been the first to intercept in attempting to kill him, whereas the one now before him was Fan Renfang.


    The struggling Miao Yi spat out a few mouthfuls of blood onto the snowy ground. Both of the webs between the thumb and forefinger of his hands had split intorge wounds. Amidst the blood-drenched hands, they could see ghastly white bones.


    Just when Fan Renfang was about to charged forth and deliver another killing blow, Charcoal mbered up from tumbling on the snowy ground. With immense and unbelievable speed, he rushed out, swiftly lowering his head and bit onto Miao Yi¡¯s belt before flinging Miao Yi onto his back afterwards.


    With his hands still trembling, Miao Yi adjusted his posture without dy, both of his legs clutched tightly onto Charcoal, allowing it to carry him as he fled wildly.


    ¡°This...¡± Fan Renfang was stunned by the scene. The bastard Charcoal¡¯s actions sparked a look of amazement to sh in his eyes.


    s, Charcoal was too fat to the point of being incredibly conspicuous. Even if he manage to capture it, he couldn¡¯t use it because once he did, then the culprit for killing Miao Yi would obviously be revealed.


    But Fan Renfang¡¯s reaction was quick, he knew that he mustn¡¯t let Miao Yi return to South Edict, so he immediately went on a roundabout route to intercept and kill. Meanwhile, Fang Ziyu having just recently rushed over in time, rapidly cooperated with Fan Renfang; one of them remained blocking while the other was hot in pursuit.


    Having spat out two mouthfuls of blood, the grief and indignation that Miao Yi felt deep down was beyond description.


    There were actually two cultivators, with at least cultivation levels at White Lotus Fifth Grade or above, wanting to kill him. Just who exactly had it in for him, desiring to send him to his death?


    It was not difficult to guess the answer. At this point in time, the person has to have the ability to send out two cultivators at White Lotus Fifth Grade or higher, and even be able to guess that he would return to South Edict Manor. Also, there weren¡¯t many who desired to send him to his doom, and not only that, he also had not not offend a lot of ¡®higher ups¡¯. Other than Xiong Xiao and Qin Weiwei, there wasn¡¯t anyone else.


    However, Qin Weiwei was a less likely candidate since he had been promoted personally by Yang Qing, she wasn¡¯t likely to go so far as to do something like this behind her father¡¯s back. With Qin Weiwei¡¯s status at South Edict, if she was really determined to deal with him, there would be other means to do so; it was not worthwhile to do this.


    ¡®Xiong Xiao, you fucking scum! I swear I will destroy you!¡¯ Miao Yi violently roared in his heart.


    Once the condition of his body had recuperated a little, another long spear once again flicked out from the storage ring into his hand.


    When he invoked his arts to retrieve the spear, he was caught by surprise on noticing the group of small mantids in his storage ring.


    How could he have forgotten that he still had a hidden trump card in his hand?


    Miao Yi was engulfed by euphoria and yet, he felt slightly apprehensive. He wasn¡¯t sure if the little ones would be of use in dealing with cultivators at White Lotus Fifth Grade and above; he waspletely uncertain.


    But right now, he had no other options. The other party obviously would not let him return to South Edict Manor, and he wasn¡¯t certain whether or not there would be another raid from the front. Should he decide not return to South Edict Manor, even if he borrowed Charcoal¡¯s leg power and escaped back to East Arrival Cave, it was also futile. All the forces of East Arrival Cavebined would not be a match for these two, so returning there was also very much unsound.

 Chapter 102: The Snowy South Edict (8)

    Chapter 102: The Snowy South Edict (8)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    It was also pointless to run all the way to Mount Calming Sea. Qin Weiwei was currently still at South Edict Manor and the remaining people at Mount Calming Sea could not necessarily withstand thebined attacks of these two. If he had fled to other abode of Immortals, they might not necessarily risk their lives for him as was evident from the attitude they had towards him.


    ¡®Escape out of South Edict Manor and request help from other manors? Why would they rescue a low leveled cultivator like you?¡¯


    Since they rushed tomit the deed at this specific moment, it was clear that the other party had nned beforehand and chosen the time strike when he would have almost no options left.


    He could only do his utmost and fight!


    The little ones were summoned out of the storage ring one by one, moving along Charcoal¡¯s rapidly prancing front hooves and hiding themselves amongst the snow.


    Miao Yi could only use an underhanded tactic in exploiting the little ones, as he was well aware that the little ones could notpare to the Hell Mantises from the Boundless Secr World. They were still too weak. Facing them head on, even he, Miao Yi, would be able to kill them off easily, let alone those who were currently pursuing to kill him.


    Charcoal quickly turned about, and charged out from the side, running around in rings on the snowy prairie. Miao Yi took this opportunity to sow the little fes into the snow as though they were seeds.


    Coming to block the pathway to South Edict Manor, Fan Renfang came to a halt. He caught sight of Fang Ziyu pursuing Miao Yi all around in circles and was beginning to panic. He shouted loudly, ¡°Do it quickly! He¡¯s stalling for time!¡±


    Fang Ziyu was also getting worried. With a flick of his spear, the snow on the ground immediately coiled into a snow dragon, flying towards Miao Yi and crashing against him.


    Such a long ranged attack did not cause much damage as his White Lotus Second Grade cultivation was not just for show.


    One after another the snow dragons came, lumps of mud and stones that resembled a gale, showering down onto him, but they were all destroyed with an explosive din, by the rain of numerous, and chaotic rays of cold light shooting out from Miao Yi¡¯s hand.


    Fang Ziyu¡¯s gnashed his teeth with hatred as he realized that this bastard was really a piece of work. Miao Yi had that stupid fatty¡¯s leg power to depend on and he himself could not do anything to him!


    ....If he had the guts to dismount from the horse and fight him, he was sure he could kill Miao Yi with a single blow!


    Throughout the frantic, heated pursuit, the flustered and exasperated Fang Ziyupletely didn¡¯t realize that a small fe had already crawled onto his back. It faced his rear with its tiny sickle hoisted.


    Miao Yi smirked as he realized that the little fe was already in position. Abruptly, he stopped Charcoal in his tracks, and hastily turned him around.


    ¡°ATTACK!¡± Miao Yi let out a furious roar as he dashed towards Fang Ziyu, shing with him head-on.


    He did not know whether the small fe would be of any use against a White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator, but he was already forced to the point that he had no other options but to desperately fight for his life!


    ¡®He is seriously courting death!¡¯ Fang Ziyuughed coldly. He was about to move his spear to strike but suddenly felt a stinging pain spread from his buttocks, a terrifying sensation that made one feel as though they were falling into theherworld rapidly filled his entire body.


    Miao Yi quickly acted in concert with the little one¡¯s movement, as he was afraid that the little one would fail; apart from its innate skill, its body was still too weak and would not be able to withstand an attack from such a skilled opponent.


    He quickly gathered his transcendence energy to the speartip, sweeping it around and gouged into the ground to amass a massive snowball, beforeunching it from the speartip. The snowball streaked violently shooting towards Fang Ziyu.


    Fang Ziyu had intended to turn around to see themotion but only just managed to raise thest vestige of his awareness, wielding his spear to smash the iing snowball attack with a loud bang.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯ A flurry of snow filled the entire sky.


    All of a sudden, Charcoal leapt into the air, carrying Miao Yi as they charged diagonally through the fluttering snowkes.


    Almost subconsciously, Fang Ziyu slowly and sluggishly brought up his spear to receive the attack.


    But an attack of such speed and strength was no longer any threat to Miao Yi, since he also wasn¡¯t one to be trifled with.


    If he could have missed such an opportunity, then the ten years that he, Miao Yi, had spent on the ind would have indeed been wasted.


    With the flicker of a cold gleam in his hand, he delivered a rapid thrust of his spear.


    ¡®SPLURT!¡¯ Fang Ziyu¡¯s head wasunched into the sky.


    Once Charcoalnded, Miao Yi swept the spear in his hand across, blowing away the fluttering snow with a wave of transcendence energy, before turning around to throw a cold re at Fan Renfang.


    From a distance, Fan Renfang was baffled. He could only helplessly witness with his own eyes as a head dropped onto the ground, and a headless Fang Ziyu stilly saddled onto his dragon steed.


    The dragon steed under Fang Ziyu began to run into the distance, and immediately, his headless body copsed onto the ground.


    Having now experienced the taste of victory, Miao Yi was instantly brimming with confidence. He pointed the spear in his hand towards Fan Renfang and bellowed in fury, ¡°Miao Yi is here! Who dares to challenge me?!¡±


    ¡®Fang Ziyu was beheaded just like that?¡¯ Fan Renfang was bewildered and couldn¡¯t wrap his mind around what had happened. But very quickly, he straightened his spear and shouted furiously, ¡°Don¡¯t run if you¡¯ve got the guts!¡±


    His dragon steed immediately lurched forward, rushing towards Miao Yi at great speeds.


    ¡®He would be an idiot if he didn¡¯t run!¡¯ Right now, there was no little one ready on Fan Renfang so naturally, Miao Yi turned Charcoal on his heels and fled. He intended to lead the opponent about the snowy prairie, once more running around in circles again.


    Hence, the previous situation repeated itself. Whilst chasing, Fan Renfang kept brandishing his spear as he fiercely attacked.


    Miao Yi was simply unafraid since he had the help of Charcoal¡¯s leg power. And Charcoal seemed to be in very high-spirits after Miao Yi had turned the tides and beheaded a person. At once, he ran about more gleefully...


    From a remote distance, arge squadron of troops were currently charging at great speeds towards their direction. Yang Qing had already changed into a body of silver armor, leading the respectives Mountain Chieftains in tow as they sped forth, to handover the collected Orbs of Will to Suppressing Second Pce.


    As they sped along the path, the sounds of battle thundered out from afar. Yang Qing quickly raised his hand, prompting everyone to immediately rein in their mounts, every single one of them listening attentively.


    From the side, Xiong Xiao¡¯s expression twisted. He was a little worried whether it could be his two subordinates.


    On listening carefully, it really was a fight. Yang Qing¡¯s face darkened considerably. ¡°Who has the impertinence to dare cause trouble in my South Edict Manor?!¡±


    Xiong Xiao stepped forward, cupping his fists at once, ¡°I shall go forth to investigate!¡±


    Yang Qing was about to nod his head, but who would have expected to faintly hear a furious roar travelling to them at this time, it was Miao Yi¡¯s voice, ¡°Miao Yi is here! Who dares to challenge me?!¡±


    A number of people were stunned. Everyone was not unfamiliar with this voice, and that line! To think at that time, some brat gained Yang Qing¡¯s high regard with that exact line.


    On the other hand, Qin Weiwei furrowed her brows, ¡®Miao Yi? What the hell is that bastard doing now?!¡¯


    It could be said that Xiong Xiao¡¯s expression changed considerably, his gaze rapidly flickered unceasingly, ¡®Could it seriously be.. if it really is... what the hell are those two doing? Could it be that even two White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivators are not able to handle that brat?!¡¯


    ¡°Miao Yi?¡± Yang Qing frowned.


    Before Xiong Xiao could have the another chance to request for permission to move forth, Yang Qing¡¯s dragon steed had already shot out at great speeds, akin to a drawn arrow shot from a bow. He wanted to see for himself just exactly what was going on!


    His troops sped off to trail along after him at once...


    The rumbling sounds of the battle up ahead became increasingly clear to their ears.


    With Yang Qing in the lead, everyone dashed up the hill, swiftly raising their eyes to look.


    They witnessed an enormous snowball being smashed apart by a masked man brandishing his spear whilst Miao Yi shouted angrily, ¡°DIE!¡±


    A mount carrying the visibly reckless Miao Yi, soared high up into the sky. Miao Yi clutched tightly onto his hoisted spear, and thrust vigorously as he bolted at an angle through the fluttering snow.


    Such courageous grandeur caused everyone who looked to quiver deep down.


    ¡®Plop!¡¯ A masked head soared into the sky, breaking through the swirling, disoriented snowkes in the air before dropping onto the ground.


    Yang Qing¡¯s pupils shrank, unconsciously bringing his dragon steed to a halt as he silently watched the fluttering snowkes in the air.


    With his cultivation, when he heard the sound from afar, he had already know that the person fighting against Miao Yi was at least a White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator. When facing against such a strong adversary, that kid had surprisingly charged against the enemy out of his own volition!

 Chapter 103: The Snowy South Edict (9)

    Chapter 103: The Snowy South Edict (9)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Initially, he had thought that Miao Yi was doomed, and even if he wanted to rescue him, it would have already been toote. But who knew that he would instead see a masked heade flying out. Then what about Miao Yi?


    The others were also the same. Nobody moved an inch and were all watching the scene in silence.


    The snowkes began to slowly disperse, and the figure of Miao Yi heaving heavily gradually became visible; he turned his head to look in their direction.


    This fierce battle had exhausted him terribly. They hadn¡¯t directly crossed spears with each other because he couldn¡¯t afford to butt heads with them, but while he was being chased with the intent to kill, he needed to constantly return with spear strikes to destroy the iing hail of transcendence energy, snow, mud and stones from behind his back. Although these hadn¡¯t inflicted any fatal blows on him, the attacksunched with the opponents¡¯ cultivation level were still forces to be reckoned with. Utilizing such fierce counterattacks had already caused his transcendence energy to be depleted terribly.


    Seeing the appearance of Yang Qing and his men, Miao Yi could already roughly guess why these people were here.


    He didn¡¯t know why, but when he saw Yang Qing¡¯s appearance, Miao Yi then felt that he was safe.


    There was one thing that he had to admit, Yang Qing¡¯s repeated actions to win his favor had already affected Miao Yi, as without Yang Qing, he wouldn¡¯t be who he was today.


    But he still did not wish to expose his hidden trump card; the little ones in the snow were speedily approaching him in silence. They emerged from the snowy ground and, using Charcoal as a cover, they dived into Miao Yi¡¯s storage ring one after the other.


    ¡®Harrumph!¡¯ Charcoal shook its head and let out a loud snort.


    Miao Yi turned to cast a nce at the enemy¡¯s mount, having previously fled,ing back to side of the headless corpse, unwilling to leave. Then, he turned to look towards Yang Qing, and their gazes locked onto each other.


    Yang Qing quietly heaved a sigh of relief; it was only at that moment that his dragon steed carried him forth as it dashed over, with the rest also dashing out and following behind.


    Once he arrived, Yang Qing halted his steed in front of Miao Yi. He sized Miao Yi up and down, with the rest also doing the same.


    Now, Miao Yi definitely appeared to be in a sorry state. His hair had gone from being tied into a bun to bing semi-scattered and in a disarray; arge sttering of bloodstains were hanging from the corner of his lips and it could be said that the clothes on his body were ragged, covered in mud and dust. Both of the webs between the thumbs and the index fingers of his hands were split by arge cut, and amongst his blood-drenched hands, ghastly white bones could be seen. Yet, he still held onto the silver spear in his hand and did not let it go. The body of the spear had already been stained with a lot of his own blood.


    To end up in such a sorry state, anyone could well imagine that this man had thrown all caution to the winds to do his utmost, and also, how precarious his situation had been. With just one nce, they knew that he had just narrowly escaped death; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be in this battered and exhausted state.


    A smile faintly shed through Yang Qing¡¯s eyes as he thought in his mind, ¡®This kid...¡¯


    But on the surface, he still maintained the prestige of a Manor Head as he asked indifferently, ¡°What happened?¡±


    It was exactly at this moment, that another two mounts hurried towards them from a short distance away; it was Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa.


    Running to the front, the two also had blood hanging from the corners of their mouths, and looked very much in a sorry state as well. They asked pressingly, ¡°Cave Master, are you alright?¡±


    In fact, the two of them had already arrived earlier. But when facing such a strong adversary, they absolutely did not dare to show themselves. Only upon seeing Yang Qing and the rest arriving, did they dare to run out.


    Yet prior to this, even hiding in the dark and witnessing their fearsome battle from afar could also be said to be nerve-racking. Cave Master had actually used his weak cultivation to behead the two cultivators who were at least at White Lotus Fifth Grade. Witnessing the scene with their very eyes made both of them feel like they were dreaming.


    Miao Yi shook his head, he was not in a hurry to reply to them so he replied to Yang Qing first in a low voice, ¡°Your subordinate is also interested to know what happened. I was about to head back to East Arrival Cave and halfway back, a man suddenly ran out to intercept and tried to kill me. I risked my life to flee towards South Edict Manor, but who knew that the enemy seemed to have anticipated that I would escape back. I then fled here, and fell into an ambush with nowhere to go in front and with one hot in pursuit behind my back. I had no other choice but to go all out and fight back at the risk of my life. Fortunately, I managed to behead these two scums!¡±


    Yang Qing squinted slightly, casting his gaze at the two dragon steeds who were lingering on, reluctant to leave their deceased masters¡¯ sides. Heughed coldly, ¡°Take a look and see who they are.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡± Xiong Xiao rushed out to cup his hands in acknowledgement of the order, and was about to examine of his own ord.


    Nobody expected Miao Yi to abruptly extend his spear, pointing it at Xiong Xiao.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s face turned sour. ¡°Brother Miao, what do you mean by this?¡±


    ¡°What do I mean?¡± Miao Yi let out a coldugh, his expression was suffused with sternness as he said, ¡°Xiong Xiao, you bastardly scum! Do you think I am an idiot? You know perfectly well what I meant. Are you nning to burn the corpse and destroy all traces of your crime?¡±


    After the ordeal he had at Mystic Arts Temple, there were reasons why he had quietly gone to Changfeng Cave, and covertly left with Charcoal to meet Yang Qing alone in South Edict Manor.


    Firstly, he was afraid Xiong Xiao would find out and wouldy murderous hands on him during the journey again. Secondly, it was so that Xiong Xiao would be unable to grasp the entire situation, leading him to worry about whether he had said anything to Yang Qing, and at the same time, making it hard to pin down the situation from theck of indication from Yang Qing¡¯s side. Only then could he cause Xiong Xiao to be cautious and take care not dare to act recklessly.


    But now it seemed like his own forbearance was not returned with mercy by the other party. On the contrary, Xiong Xiao had been ruthless and nearly caused him to lose his life here!


    Since it hase to this, then they may as well shed all pretense of cordiality and let Yang Qing know. Otherwise, it would be even more dangerous for him if he continued to endure it.


    The moment he finished, everyone¡¯s gaze was instantly drawn to Xiong Xiao¡¯s face. For his part, Yang Qing only gradually turned to look in Xiong Xiao¡¯s direction to see what he had to say.


    Everyone knew that Miao Yi would not fire blindly on such matters, he must have discovered evidence.


    There was only one point that everyone could not wrap their minds around, ¡®Why did Xiong Xiao want to kill Miao Yi?¡¯


    Suddenly, Xiong Xiao became furious. He pointed at Miao Yi, fiercely shouting, ¡°You ignorant junior! Do not make irresponsible remarks here!¡±


    ¡°I am ignorant? I am indeed ignorant. If I wasn¡¯t, how could I have allowed you the opportunity to try and kill me over and over again?¡± Miao Yi pointed his spear at Xiong Xiao as he bellowed in fury. ¡°Last time, you pretended to request an order from Manor Head to allow me to eliminate the ghost cultivator so I could have an aplishment, but in reality, the two assistants that were sent instead wanted my life!¡±


    ¡°Full of shit!¡± Xiong Xiao quickly turned to face Yang Qing, cupping his hands and said, ¡°Manor Head. don¡¯t listen to the rubbish this mad person is spouting!¡±


    Yang Qing was expressionless, it was hard to tell if he had believed it or not.


    ¡°Xiong Xiao you scum!¡± Miao Yi had a mouthful of blood, baring his fangs as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you seriously believed that Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng had died at the hands of the ghost cultivator. Today, I may as well not mince words, those two despicable, vile characters had died under my spear. Before they begged for mercy in the face of death, they had already confessed that you were the one behind this. If it wasn¡¯t for you inciting them, we would have had nothing against each other, so why would they want to kill me? Initially, I wanted to expose the incident, but I decided not to because I knew that I was not your match. But who knew that this time around, you scum, you would once again hide a dagger behind your smiles, andy your murderous hands on me!¡±


    Everyone looked speechlessly at each other, It turned out that the two of them had already been feuding with each other in secret.


    Yang Qing narrowed his eyes as he stared at Xiong Xiao tastelessly.


    Xiong Xiaoughed heartily and said, ¡°Absurd! You already know that they had nothing against you, so they shouldn¡¯t have harmed you with no one prompting them. Then what kind of grudge do I, Xiong Xiao have against you? Why would I want to harm you?¡±


    Miao Yi then pointed his spear at the two bodies. ¡°You dare say that these two are not your men?¡±


    Xiong Xiao gave a look of contempt, ¡°You¡¯re asking me? Who should I ask in turn?¡±


    Miao Yi muttered in his heart, ¡®Could it be that they are seriously not this bastard¡¯s men? Otherwise, why is he still so calm?¡¯


    Yang Qing tilted his head and discretely shot a nce at the apanying Qing Ju. Qing Ju understood, urging her dragon steed into a gallop as she went. She collected the two severed heads into her hands, carrying them by their tied hair as she returned. In front of everybody, she removed the masks, showing everyone their faces.


    Once the true faces of the two heads were revealed, there were some who were slightly rmed, while others were muttering, ¡°Fan Renfang, Fang Ziyu...¡±

 Chapter 104: The Snowy South Edict (10)

    Chapter 104: The Snowy South Edict (10)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The majority had already recognized them as Xiong Xiao¡¯s subordinates, and shifted their gaze to Xiong Xiao, waiting to hear his exnation.


    Qin Weiwei knitted her brows tightly. Although she loathed Miao Yi, he was after all, still her subordinate. By doing this, Xiong Xiao really hadn¡¯t held her with any regard at all. She should be the one to take action when it came to handling Miao Yi, it was not meant to be interfered with by others.


    But then she still couldn¡¯t understand why would Xiong Xiao want to target Miao Yi...


    Qing Ju shot a nce at Xiong Xiao as she threw the two heads under his mount in passing.


    ¡®As expected!¡¯ Miao Yi was boiling with rage. Because he had already seen these two following behind Xiong Xiao¡¯s back before, at the mountain gates of South Edict Manor. He knew that they were the two Cave Masters serving under Xiong Xiao. At once, he pointed at the two heads and eximed angrily, ¡°Xiong Xiao you scum! You¡¯re caught red-handed and the truth is out! What else do you have to say?¡±


    Who knew Xiong Xiao would instead reveal a gobsmacked look, turning pale with fright as he called out, ¡°Fan Renfang, Fang Ziyu... How could this be?¡±


    Without a moment¡¯s dy, he cupped his fists at Yang Qing and said, ¡°Manor Head, I am wholly in the dark regarding this matter! I have nothing against this brat so I really have no reason to harm him. Manor Head, please look into this!¡±


    Yang Qing still appeared as indifferent as before. He did not utter a single word even though the truth was ced before him, he also did not make a final judgement.


    ¡°Scum! I¡¯ll see for how long you can still pretend!¡± Miao Yi abruptly hoisted his spear and pointed it at Xiong Xiao¡¯s handmaiden, Chun Xue, who was standing behind the crowd, pursing her lips. ¡°Huang Yue, we haven¡¯t met for dozens of years since Changfeng City. The Miao Yi who killed your dandy young brother, Huang Cheng, is here! Can you still recognize Miao Yi?¡±


    He wasn¡¯t that much of an idiot yet. He could confess to killing Huang Cheng, but he would never confess to the incident of killing Head Guard Huang; if by some chance he was unable to overrule Xiong Xiao, he would instead be plunged directly into that matter as well!


    As the words left his mouth, besides the rest of them, even Yang Qing also turned his head to look. How did a Huang Yue turned up out of the blue?


    Xiong Xiao was rmed. It looked like this brat had already seen through his handmaiden¡¯s identity early on, and must have already made preparations on the sly; no wonder he hadn¡¯t managed to seed in killing him twice.


    But instead, he quickly nced back, angrily ring at Chun Xue as he said in a deep voice, ¡°Chun Xue, could it be that you have done something behind my back using my authority?¡±


    Miao Yi twitched. This old dog really did have skills; just one word and he had picked himself clean.


    Biting her lips tightly, Chun Xue dismounted from her dragon steed and walked to them as she treaded the snow; she came before Xiong Xiao and fell to her knees. Lowering her head, her fragrant shoulders quivering as she sobbed, ¡°Mountain Chieftain, this is all my fault. At the time, I was blinded and possessed by a vengeance, so I did this behind your back.¡±


    Xiong Xiao widened his eyes greatly as he bellowed in fury, ¡°This brat said that Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng wanted to kill him, is that true?¡±


    Chun Xue nodded with teary eyes, ¡°I was the one who looked for Zhang Shucheng and Mo Shengtu in secret, and told them it was Mountain Chieftain¡¯smands.¡±


    ¡°Heavens!¡± Xiong Xiao looked towards the sky as he heaved a long sigh, his chest seemed to be filled with an indescribable amount of grief and indignation. Turning back, he again pointed at her, asking solemnly, ¡°Are Fan Renfang and Fang Ziyu the same as well?¡±


    Chun Xue weeped to the point that her face was drenched in tears, and nodded her head forcefully.


    ¡°You vile servant girl!¡± With an angry roar, he leapt down from his dragon steed, giving Chun Xue a hard p until she copsed onto the ground. Lifting his leg, he kicked and stomped on her repeatedly.


    ¡°Fuck, you really knows how to act! This vile servant girl¡¯s death will not be mourned. Scum, since you can¡¯t find the heart to end her, I, Miao Yi, still have some strength left to help you. Move aside! The spear in my hand does not have eyes! Careful not to get mistakenly hurt!¡± Miao Yi dismounted from his dragon steed, and lifted his spear, getting ready to stab Chun Xue to death.


    Without saying another word, Xiong Xiao sped his hands behind his back and moved aside, turning to face her with his back, unwilling to look on at the scene.


    He would not be able to protect Chun Xue in this kind of circumstance; he could only allow Miao Yi to kill her. However, grooming a trusted handmaiden that suited his thinking was not easy, so he felt incredibly regretful.


    He had already transmitted a message to Chun Xue in secret, telling her that he would avenge her!


    Chun Xue could only lie on her side on top of the snowy ground, crying as she awaited her death!


    Frankly speaking, she felt incredibly wronged. She was entirely ignorant about the fact that Xiong Xiao had sent Fan Renfang and Fang Ziyu to kill Miao Yi.


    But she understood that in such a situation, once Xiong Xiao had been deposed, her life would not be spared as well. Rather than that, it would be better to save Xiong Xiao, at least there was still a chance to seek revenge.


    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± thundered Yang Qing as he red at Miao Yi, finally opening his mouth to speak.


    Miao Yi awkwardly retracted his spear. He shot a nce at Yang Qing, ultimately afraid to disobey Yang Qing¡¯s words, but he was still wearing a look of agitation on his battered and exhausted face.


    ¡°Manor Head, there¡¯s no need to stop him! This vile servant girl¡¯s death will not be missed!¡± said Xiong Xiao as he turned around and cupped his hands. ¡°Your subordinate has shown his ineptitude inmand. I am unable to escape the me for this incident, thus, I request that Manor Head punish me!¡±


    ¡°Deal with your own house matters at home! Stop disgracing yourself here.¡± Yang Qing berated.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    On the surface, Xiong Xiao looked revered but deep down, he was secretly pleased with himself. He had followed Manor Head for so many years, and had been credited for hard work, if not for his merits; it looked like Manor Head¡¯s heart was still with him.


    He clearly understood what Yang Qing had meant. This response meant that he would not be investigating Xiong Xiao anymore, even his own handmaiden as well. Otherwise, he would not have allowed him to settle it back home, and would have killed her here instead.


    That was precisely what Yang Qing meant. It was because he understood that a cultivator grooming a handmaiden that suited his wishes was an incredibly difficult feat. It was easy for him to order this handmaiden killed, but that might leave a bad taste in Xiong Xiao¡¯s mouth. Just like his own handmaidens, Qing Mei and Qing Ju; if anyone dared to kill them, he would definitely show hostility to them. It was enough to put himself in another¡¯s shoes.


    To him, a handmaiden, regardless of being dead or alive, had nothing to do with the overall situation. However, his confrontation with the School of Blue Jade henceforth was a surety that could not be changed. There was simply no need to cause his capable and trusted aide to be bitterly disappointed in him for the sake of an insignificant handmaiden. There were too many subordinates watching this!


    Yang Qing proceeded to cast a nce at Miao Yi who was gnashing his teeth. ¡°You are the one who killed her brother in the first ce. Then from beginning to end, you killed off four of Xiong Xiao¡¯s subordinates in session. You are only a little wounded and have not suffered any permanent damage. Xiong Xiao¡¯s losses are greater than yours. In my opinion, we can shut the lid on this matter right here. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Miao Yi cried out involuntarily. ¡°Let them go just like this?! If I had died by their hands, then wouldn¡¯t I have died in vain?¡±


    ¡®Why is this kid so tactless?¡¯ Yang Qing scolded him in his heart. Sinking his brows, his aura suddenly erupted. Towering above Miao Yi from his dragon steed, Yang Qing uttered solemnly, ¡°Do you have any opinions?¡±


    ¡°I.... have none!¡± Miao Yi stabbed his longspear into the ground, twisting his head to look the other way.


    It would be strange if he had no opinions, there were countless written all over his face; he was only afraid to say them out loud.


    Yang Qing liked this sort of forthright person who did as he pleased, so he did not keep it to heart. He then turned his head to look towards Xiong Xiao, saying in a low voice, ¡°You only have yourself to me for the losses. Leave this matter be from now on and don¡¯t look for trouble with him in the future! Put a stop to it now. Or else, I will not spare you!¡±


    Xiong Xiao cupped his fists and said reverently, ¡°I obey!¡±


    Yang Qing nced ndly at Miao Yi, with his face still full ofints. Flipping his palm around, a Glorious Star immortal herb descended onto his hand. He pursed his lips and blew; three wisps of starry clouds floated out, one wisp diving into Miao Yi¡¯s nostrils while the other two wisps spread out onto the wounded webs on Miao Yi¡¯s hands, gradually seeping in.


    Miao Yi did not turn his head to watch, looking ungrateful as he let Yang Qing carry out the healing.

 Chapter 105: The Snowy South Edict (11)

    Chapter 105: The Snowy South Edict (11)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The two assisting elders of the School of Blue Jade present on this journey threw a nce at each other, and transmitted messages in secret.


    ¡°Those who had eyes could easily tell that Xiong Xiao was just acting, but with Yang Qing protecting him so, it was no wonder Wang Zifa and the others said the kid bore a deep grudge against Yang Qing; it wasn¡¯t for no reason.¡±


    ¡°It is indeed so. Even after almost losing his life, Yang Qing didn¡¯t give him the most basic of justice, even we wouldn¡¯t be satisfied if it was you or me, this kid could definitely be used by our School of Blue Jade!¡±


    While previously there were some who secretly disdained Miao Yi for not daring to get on stage and fight for the rewards, now it could be said that everyone was looking at him in great shock.


    If it was in apetition, this kid might not be a match for other Cave Masters, but in a battle of life and death, he tended to surprise others time and time again; a valiant general belonging to the field of true battles. After this fight, no one in the entire South Edict Manor would dare look down on him again.


    Qin Weiwei studied Miao Yi with aplicated expression on her face. Before she had mocked Miao Yi for cowering from thepetition, but now the other party just used the indisputable facts to tell her - what was fear, and what true courage was!


    The webbing between his thumbs and index fingers that were being healed, the blood stains on his spear, and that horrendously wretched appearance; these were all proof that Miao Yi did not fear death, and would ruthlessly kill any enemy he meets. The corpses of the two White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivators were a testament to that.


    Previously, there had been the battle of Transient Light Cave; then the murder of Mo Shengtu and Zhang Shucheng; the beheading of Song Fu from the School of Blue Jade; and now the deaths of Fan Renfang and Fang Ziyu! When was he not either oveing the gap in cultivation or killing? Who would he, Miao Yi, fear!? How would a meagerpetition for good omen be able to assess this?


    It was only Qin Weiwei that felt Miao Yi had used the facts to give her a ruthless p in the face. Speaking of which, having such a valiant general for a subordinate was clearly something to take pride in, but she couldn¡¯t feel an ounce of happiness at all.


    When Miao Yi¡¯s wounds hadpletely healed, Yang Qing tucked the immortal herb away, and tilting his head, told Qing Ju, ¡°This kid seems to have an opinion against me. Qing Ju, you shall personally see to it that he is returned to East Arrival Cave. If you see that he dares speak ill of me, then help me take care of him; to death if you have to, no need to be courteous!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Qing Ju obeyed her order.


    Everyone sighed to themselves in secret, it seemed as though the Manor Head still held this kid in high regard. Nothing had changed even after the incident with Xiong Xiao, as he was letting the Little Auntie personally escort him.


    Speaking of which, this kid really did deserve the Manor Head¡¯s preferential treatment of him; to single-handedly kill two White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivators, who would dare question his authority as the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave?


    ¡°You look like a beggar asking for food, it would be a disgrace to my South Edict Manor if you were seen!¡± Yang Qing mocked as he inspected Miao Yi. He then flipped his palm, and took out a set of his own clothes from his storage ring, tossing it to Miao Yi¡¯s face with a wave of his hand. He then turned his dragon steed around and ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    No one would feel as though the Manor Head were actually mocking Miao Yi; the other Cave Masters felt envious of such an act of familiarity.


    The School of Blue Jade¡¯s two assisting elders looked at each other with a trace of mockery in their eyes, was this giving sweet candy after whipping with the cane? The guy had almost lost his life, and it was settled just like this? Did that old dog Yang Qing honestly believe him to be a fool?


    Those who stood on different sides naturally looked at the problem from different angles, and very easily believed themselves to be right.


    Galloping out with his back to everyone, Yang Qing had the trace of a smile on his face; that kid had never disappointed him. Once in awhile, he would do such stunning feats; who would dare say that his decision to let that kid take charge over East Arrival Cave then was unjustified? They would only praise his great insight!


    Yang Qing felt iparably ecstatic deep down within!


    As he was leaving, Xiong Xiao searched the two corpses and took out the two storage rings that were previously hidden away to conceal their identities. He red daggers at Miao Yi over his shoulder. He had lost count how many times this brat had called him an old dog today, shaming himpletely; he would remember this debt for now!


    ¡®Old dog! Just you wait!.....¡¯ Meeting his gaze, Miao Yi had the same line of thought.


    Just as he was about to look away, his gaze met with Qin Weiwei¡¯s who had turned to look at him. He inadvertently gave a cold ¡®hmph¡¯, as though saying - ¡®Didn¡¯t you say that I cowered away from battle and didn¡¯t dare fight for the prize? Why don¡¯t you open your eyes and take a look now!?¡¯


    Qin Weiwei immediately ground her teeth with hatred. In the end, he was still her subordinate. She had originally wanted to y her role as the superior andfort him, maybe even give him a few words of guidance; yet when she saw this kind of attitude, she cursed to herself, ¡®He truly was a vile person, and a vile person will always be true to their nature, always so despicable!¡¯


    It was good enough that she didn¡¯t give him a harsh scolding. Why would she even give himfort? Qin Weiwei rode her dragon steed and galloped off hurriedly.


    The scene of the battle turned silent after the fight, tarnishing the snowy field.


    Miao Yi dislodged the silver spear on the ground with a swing of his hand. He invoked his arts and ording to his will, a wall of snow thrust up from the ground, enveloping him within.


    Miao Yi hid himself inside and used the snow to wash his hands and face clean. He tied his hair back, took off the ragged clothes he had on, and changed into Yang Qing¡¯s clothes. The size was a tad off, but he had to put up with it for the time being.


    After he finished cleaning up, he kicked over the snow wall, and jumped onto Charcoal. He led his steed over to Qing Ju and cupped his fists, ¡°Little Auntie, at the behest of the Manor Head, I doubt that old dog willy a hand on me for the time being. There¡¯s no need for Little Auntie to make the long journey; I can return to East Arrival Cave on my own.¡±


    Qing Ju rode her dragon steed and slowly made ap around Miao Yi, then stopped in front of him and smiled, ¡°It seems your anger had not dissipated, you still haveints in your heart.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Miao Yi said with a totalck of honesty.


    ¡°Like I would believe that!¡± Qing Ju rebutted angrily, ¡°Do you need me to ask you to make a move?¡±


    Miao Yi turned around to look at Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa, his two legs sitting right on top of the bone protruding from the sides of the dragon steed, where one would normally ce their feet, and suddenly shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Charcoal carried him away at a gallop, Qing Ju smiled, then hurriedly gave chase....


    Relying on Charcoal¡¯s superior leg strength, Miao Yi took the lead and pulled a great distance away from the other three behind him over the course of the journey, galloping across the snowy in on his own, not wanting to talk to Qing Ju.


    This time he had truly thrown aside all caution to the wind with Xiong Xiao. Initially when he had been holding evidence against Xiong Xiao, he had thought that Yang Qing would deal with him, but he never would have expected Yang Qing to protect him in such a manner. Even though Yang Qing had given him a lot of face by sending Qing Ju to personally escort him, he was still dissatisfied deep down. Who could understand the feeling of barely escaping with your life, not to mention the endless perils he would have to face from now on....


    As he returned to East Arrival Cave, he ignored Wang Xiuqin¡¯s greetings at the mountain gates and immediately entered. He brought Charcoal to a gallop across the za, then suddenly leapt to the skies, over the East Arrival Grand Hall,nding straight in the courtyard behind before he dismounted.


    Seeing their Cave Master suddenly appear out of nowhere, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, who upon hearing themotion were about to head to the front hall, hastily went forward to pay their respects, ¡°Cave Master!¡±


    Miao Yi ignored them, and took strode heavily into his quarters. With a dark expression on his face, he took off his clothes and submerged into the hot springs....


    After a while, Qian¡¯Er came over in a hurry, and reported in a gentle voice, ¡°Cave Master! Auntie Qing Ju is asking for your presence.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m in the middle of my bath?¡± Miao Yi swept her a cold nce as he leaned against the wall of the pool.


    ¡°.....Yes!¡± Qian¡¯Er saw that her Cave Master was not in a good mood, and hurriedly stepped down.


    Inside the living room, Qian¡¯Er ryed to the esteemed guest her Cave Master¡¯s answer with trepidation.


    Standing helpless to the side, Yan Xiu and the rest couldn¡¯t help but shudder when they heard this, they didn¡¯t expect that the Cave Master wouldn¡¯t even give face to the Little Auntie of South Edict Manor.


    On the other hand, Qing Ju didn¡¯t really mind, because to those who were somewhat familiar with the person known as Miao Yi, they would know that the more it seemed like he was throwing a tantrum, the less of an issue it actually was. If Miao Yi had instead kept everything in his heart, treating her with a false pretense of respect and trying his best to put her at ease, then that meant that there was an actual problem, that Miao Yi had truly started to bear a grudge.


    She was actually curiously sizing up Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er for a while. As someone who had been in their shoes, she could tell from a nce that the two were still virgins. She felt somewhat peculiar in her heart; had Miao Yi actually not tainted the two of them yet?

 Chapter 106: Because You Are Unworthy

    Chapter 106: Because You Are Unworthy


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡°Your Cave Master is really gutsy, since he isn¡¯t willing toe out and meet me, then I suppose I will just have to go in and see him myself.¡± Qing Ju smiled as she walked towards the silent quarters.


    Qian¡¯Er was a little anxious now, the Cave Master was still naked and taking his bath. Other than Xue¡¯Er and herself being allowed to enter, how could she let an outsider in? So she took a step forward, and blocked Qing Ju¡¯s path, ¡°The Cave Master is in the middle of his bath, please wait for a moment Little Auntie.¡±


    Qing Ju¡¯s expression instantly turned cold, as she red frostily at Qian¡¯Er.


    She could let Miao Yi¡¯s disrespect pass, but a mere Cave Master¡¯s little girl daring to get in her way, did they truly think she was this easy going?


    Upon receiving her re, Qian¡¯Er waspletely terrified, and could only bite her lip before getting out of the way.


    After seeing her green dress depart, Yan Xiu quickly pulled Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa from the side and asked in a low voice, ¡°What exactly happened?¡±


    ¡°Aye! It¡¯s hard to exin; the Cave Master¡¯s trip to South Edict Manor didn¡¯t end well this time. He almost lost his life on the way back....¡± the two of them briefly exined what had happened.


    Yan Xiu breathed in a breath of cold air when he heard the whole story, he hadn¡¯t expect their Cave Master to be so ferocious, and was actually able to kill two Cave Masters.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were alsopletely taken aback, they didn¡¯t think their own Cave Master was actually so powerful that other Cave Masters were not even a match for their own....


    Inside the silent quarters, when he saw Qing Ju walking in with her face all smiling, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes widened in bewilderment thinking he must have been mistaken. He quickly searched to his left and right, grabbing a piece of cloth into the water and covered his crotch, as he anxiously said, ¡°How did youe in here!? Didn¡¯t anyone tell you I was in the middle of a bath!?¡±


    ¡°It is unwise to use these kinds of excuses to avoid me. Why don¡¯t you spare a thought and figure out who in your East Arrival Cave would dare stop me? You reap what you sow.¡± Qing Ju stood firmly by the side of the pool without a trace of fear in her eyes, and snickered, ¡°It¡¯s no big deal even if I saw anything. Not to mention, you¡¯re covering it so tightly that I can¡¯t see anything at all.¡±


    ¡°Little Auntie, I sincerely admit I was wrong. Why don¡¯t you head outside first, I wille over in a moment.¡± Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry, as he begged for mercy.


    ¡°No need. This is quite nice, at least you¡¯ll be a little more honest.¡± Qing Ju raised the hem of her skirt, and slowly crouched by the poolside. She extended her arm, gathering some water in her hand, before sshing it onto Miao Yi¡¯s face and sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you actually believed the Manor Head had only assigned me to just simply escort you back?¡±


    Miao Yi hadpletely admitted defeat. What sort of woman, when seeing a man in the middle of a bath, didn¡¯t even have any trace of shame? He could only sigh back, ¡°Little Auntie, what are you trying to say?¡±


    Qing Ju asked, ¡°Do you haveints regarding the fact that the Manor Head had been biased towards Xiong Xiao?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± said Miao Yi, before adding another line out of indignation. ¡°But those with eyes could easily tell that Xiong Xiao had been acting.¡±


    ¡°So what? It¡¯s not a problem for the Manor Head to set things right,¡± said Qing Ju in return. ¡°Do you even have the qualifications for him to do so? The reasoning is very simple. Regardless of how well the Manor Head has been treating you, you still don¡¯t have the qualifications to rece Xiong Xiao. Do you honestly believe that the Manor Head will be willing to lose a major general for the sake of a weak cultivator such as yourself? Forgive me for being blunt, but if Xiong Xiao had turned furious out of shame and killed you on the spot, the Manor Head still would not have done anything to him, because you are not worthy. If it were not for the Manor Head¡¯s honor, do you think Xiong Xiao would not dare do so?¡±


    The brutal truth finally made Miao Yi sober up. He silently regained hisposure, mute as a fish. He understood that his own disposition was the problem - he had been too sure of himself and had asked for too much. What qualifications and what right did he have to make Yang Qing run errands for him? He should have realised his own weight in the great order of things.


    ¡°This time I havepletely thrown aside all caution to the wind with Xiong Xiao. He will surely seek retribution in future. If hees at me secretly, I am afraid not even the Manor Head¡¯s words will be able to stop him.¡±


    Miao Yi said in a hushed voice, this was what he was truly worried about.


    Qing Ju smiled, ¡°The Manor Head knows that you are worried about this. For that matter, if the Manor Head had asked you to let him go instead, but you found an opportunity to strike at him in secret, would you let him go then?¡±


    Miao Yi was dazed, but after a moment of thought, he spoke in full honesty, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, so do you understand now?¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not the same, Xiong Xiao¡¯s abilities are far stronger than mine; he could make a move on me at any time, but how would I dare touch him now?¡±


    ¡°Then do you wish for the Manor Head to be by your side and protect you everyday? Some things, you will just have to rely on yourself, others wouldn¡¯t be able to offer you more than that. The fact that the Manor Head sent me here to counsel you is already an act of great benevolence, not many will get to enjoy this sort of treatment; if you still haveints then that¡¯s not my problem anymore.¡±


    Miao Yi slowly nodded his head, ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°The Manor Head has asked me to ry a few words to you - don¡¯t me him for being unjust, he protected Xiong Xiao today, but in the future, he could just as easily protect you. However, the prerequisite is that you, Miao Yi, possess the qualifications to rece Xiong Xiao. He will promise you one thing; if one day you have the capability to do so, forget about killing Xiong Xiao, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem even if you wanted to take over Mount Shaotai. When that happens, the Manor Head will just open one eye and close the other, and the position of Mount Shaotai Mountain Chieftain will be yours! Forcing the others to submit and promoting you to your Cave Master position was already an exception; he won¡¯t be able to keep making exceptions just to help you, because the Manor Head wouldn¡¯t be able to justify it to the others. In the end, you will still have to show your own capability.¡±


    After she had finished speaking, Qing Ju patted Miao Yi¡¯s bare shoulder, using the opportunity to take advantage of his skin, and stood up, ¡°Regardless of whether or not you have managed to think through things, I will only speak up to here. Alright, seeing as I was able to witness the Great Cave Master Miao in the bath, then this trip has not been wasted. If I continue to stay any longer, people might begin to suspect that I have done something improper to you. Take your time in the bath, I have already aplished what the Manor Head asked of me, so I shall return to South Edict Manor now.¡±


    Miao Yi hurriedly spoke up, ¡°Please wait, let me send Little Auntie off.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Qing Ju turned around, staring between his legs at the area being tightly covered up by his hands as he sat in the water, and teasingly said, ¡°Alright then, hurry up and stand up, I¡¯ll wait for you to send me off!¡±


    ¡°Uhh.....¡± Miao Yi¡¯s face twitched, as he was thinking, ¡®How am I going to stand up if you¡¯re still here!?¡¯


    Qing Ju chuckled, then turned around and left, ¡°No need to send me off.¡±


    There were some things that she had not, and would not voice out loud in front of Miao Yi. Miao Yi was someone Yang Qing thought highly of, yet Xiong Xiao had made a move on him behind his back, it would be odd if Yang Qing was fine with this. However, now that South Edict Manor was being being heavily surveyed from the School of Blue Jade. Yang Qing was already short of manpower, so he could not take his anger out.


    When Miao Yi came out of the water and put on his clothes, he ran outside and asked, only to find out that Qing Ju had already left. Yan Xiu had even sent Zheng Jinlong and Wang Zifa to escort her, making the two of them run back and forth, but that was also something that they couldn¡¯t help but do....


    Behind his back, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er both felt like they had something they wanted to say but didn¡¯t. They were wondering if the Cave Master had any clothes on when that Auntie Qing Ju went in, but some things they knew, were not in their ce to question.


    Even though the two of them knew that they were the Cave Master¡¯s handmaidens and that they didn¡¯t have any right to interfere, but they were still a little jealous; they felt that they were the only ones who could enter when the Cave Master was taking a bath. How would it seem if other women, especially the Manor Head¡¯s handmaiden, walked in on that? Shameless!


    ¡°Cave Master, is everything alright?¡± to his side, Yan Xiu asked.


    Miao Yi shook his head as he pondered, but he didn¡¯t answer the question, ¡°I¡¯m going to take a look at the newly built ships by the seaside.¡±


    Yan Xiu had reported earlier that the dock and ships had been finished, but sadly Miao Yi never had the time to go and see it.

 Chapter 107: Riding the Wind through the Waves

    Chapter 107: Riding the Wind through the Waves


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Yan Xiu asked cautiously, ¡°Cave Master, are you nning to head out to sea?¡±


    Miao Yi nodded. Yan Xiu understood, he turned around and left to get his own steed.


    To the side, Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°When will the Cave Master be returning?¡±


    Miao Yi turned to look at the two girls. After thinking about it for a while, he smiled as he asked, ¡°Do the both of you want to follow me?¡±


    The both of them quickly nodded their heads, and Miao Yi smiled, ¡°Hurry and pack a change of clothes.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The two youngdies didn¡¯t say another word, and hastily ran to their own rooms. After a time, they each came out with a fully packed bag.


    They were probably afraid of the cold winter air; after all, the both of them had only just started on the path of cultivation. Each of them had put on a furry overcoat, one ck and one white, made by the finest materials that East Arrival City had to offer.


    Miao Yi kept both their luggages inside his storage ring, then called Charcoal over. He jumped onto his steed, then reached out his hands and pulled the two girls up to sit behind him.


    It was their first time riding a dragon steed so they couldn¡¯t hide the excitement on their faces. However, it wasn¡¯t as if they had never seen how it was ridden before; they learned from example as they stepped on the bones by Charcoal¡¯s sides as though they were pedals.


    The body of dragon steed is one and a half timesrger than that of an average horse, thus seating three people was not a problem.


    When Miao Yi heard the thunderous gallop of a dragon steede to a stop outside, he knew that Yan Xiu had arrived. Turning around, he said, ¡°Hold on tight.¡±


    Qian¡¯Er quickly wrapped both arms around Miao Yi¡¯s waist and held on tightly. When she had waited on the Cave Master in the bath, there was hardly a ce that she had never touched. She was already long used to their physical contact, and wouldn¡¯t be bashful from just a hug. Following suit, Xue¡¯Er held onto Qian¡¯Er.


    Charcoal charged a few steps forward in the courtyard, then suddenly leapt skywards, flying past roof after roof, and frightening the two youngdies to the point where they couldn¡¯t even muster up the voice to scream.


    Fortunately, Miao Yi had used his arts to support them, otherwise the two of them would have been promptly blown off by the momentum.


    When theynded on the za outside the Grand Hall, Yan Xiu, who had been waiting there, was a little shocked. He hadn¡¯t expected that the Cave Master would bring along his two handmaidens as well. Watching the Cave Master gallop away on Charcoal at a breakneck speed, he immediately followed behind posthaste.


    As it was winter, the fields were covered in a nket of white, and the temperature was bitterly cold. Under the extraordinary speed of the dragon steed¡¯s charge, the two youngdies could only hear the winds billowing in their ears as the surrounding scenery shed before their eyes.


    With Miao Yi¡¯s transcendence energy supporting them, the both of them didn¡¯t feel cold in the least, and instead, they had expressions of wonder and excitement. They loved this sensation.


    ¡°When both of your cultivations are capable enough to handle a dragon steed, I¡¯ll get one each for the both of you.¡± Miao Yi turned around and smiled.


    ¡°Thank you Cave Master!¡± The two youngdies giggled, as they eagerly looked forward to theing of that day.


    With the speed of the dragon steed, it didn¡¯t take too long for them to reach the great seaside where the waves relentlessly rumbled.


    The so-called port was actually a cave that opened within the tall cliffs by the shore.


    Leaving the two youngdies outside, Yan Xiu lead Miao Yi down a set of stone stairs and into the cave.


    There wasn¡¯t much light inside, but with the two of them opening their transcendence vision, everything was clear as day.


    The temperature inside the cave was a little cool. A two-storey ship floated quietly in the belly of the mountain. One could tell from a nce that no effort had been spared in its construction.


    Miao Yi boarded the ship and took a look around before nodding his head in satisfaction. He then whispered a few words over to Yan Xiu. Yan Xiu was taken back at first, but soon nodded his head and acknowledged the order given to him.


    Soon after Yan Xiu painstakingly instructed Miao Yi in great detail on steering the ship, as well as how he should use oil to maintain it.


    When the two of them left the cave, Miao Yi left them at the shore, while he rushed to East Arrival City alone on his dragon steed.


    Leaving his dragon steed outside the city, Miao Yi went inside alone and brought out a copious amount of items, keeping them inside his storage ring before leaving the city and riding his dragon steed back to the seaside.


    This time, he brought Charcoal and the two youngdies into the gigantic cave, and onto the ship. The twodies stood in ce obediently, and didn¡¯t dare move around the ship.


    Miao Yi then pulled Charcoal into the inner storeroom of the stern, and used a chain to bolt Charcoal to the side of a capstan. Charcoal was a little unwilling, but when Miao Yi shed out a small mantis and threatened it, it immediately became obedient and started pulling on the chain as it ran around the capstan. Unfortunately for Charcoal, it had to be the driving force for the entire ship.


    At the stern of the ship, the underwater propeller began to spin and pick up speed. Miao Yi personally held onto the rudder as the ship rode the winds, breaking through the waves as it shot out of the seaside cliff.


    On the deck, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were stumbling back and forth when they suddenly caught sight of the sun, and saw that they were breaking past the waves of the great sea; both of them werepletely thrilled.


    As the driving force, the faster Charcoal ran, the faster the ship would sail, but this sensation of running around in circles wasn¡¯t at all pleasant. However , these type of ships were only made to fit a dragon steed¡¯s physique, as a normal horse did not have as much strength and endurance.


    Miao Yi soon came up to the deck, and waved at Yan Xiu who was still on the cliff. Yan Xiu cupped his fists, then jumped back onto his dragon steed and left.


    Miao Yi felt that he had just barely escaped with his life on crossing des with Fan Renfang and Fang Ziyu this time, not to mention the help from the little ones, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that his cultivation had recently achieved a breakthrough to White Lotus Second Grade, he would have long been beaten half to death by Fan Renfang¡¯s ambush. And even afterwards, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to rely on a White Lotus First Grade cultivation to guard against both of their long distance transcendence energy attacks. It was nothing short of scraping by within an inch of his life.


    Because of this Miao Yi once again realised the importance of raising his own cultivation, but he didn¡¯t feel safe cultivating in East Arrival Cave.


    Miao Yi had already discussed everything with Yan Xiu. This trip was as much for cultivating as it was for avoiding misfortune. Because he had already thrown aside all caution to the wind with Xiong Xiao, he was worried that Xiong Xiao would make a move on him in secret. Even though Yang Qing had already stepped up for him, that would only serve as a temporary measure for Xiong Xiao not toy a finger on him, and he wasn¡¯t entirely sure about that either.


    Just as he mentioned to Qing Ju, if he had the opportunity, he would never let Xiong Xiao go, yet it was indeed hard for him to find such a window. On the other hand, Xiong Xiao could find one anytime he wanted, so it was much wiser to take the safer route; at least it was better than being unable to avoid it when the time came.


    For matters pertaining to East Arrival Cave, Miao Yi temporarily gave Yan Xiu full authority, and had specifically told him that if someone were to ask for him, Yan Xiu was to say that he has gone inside the mountains to cultivate.


    As for why he had brought the two youngdies along, it was because he didn¡¯t want his own grudges implicating the two of them. The other cultivators could still choose to submit when encountering a strong enemy, but handmaidens and the like would only be treated as ythings. When Transient Light Cave had been taken over, many handmaidens fell to this tragic fate.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er ran around on the ship excitedly, and chattered about as they pointed to the surrounding seascape.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t have the mood for that, ¡®What was so nice about the seascape?¡¯ He had spent an entire decade at sea, the reason why he was hiding at sea to cultivate was because it wouldn¡¯t be easy to find him.


    Pulling out a jade archive, he examined the nautical charts inside. This had been prepared by Yan Xiu for him in advance, aption of everything that was gathered from the various sea merchants of East Arrival City.


    Examining the countless inds that dotted the sea in the jade archive, he finally decided on a location, then turned to personally steer the rudder.


    A dayter, the ship slowly stopped by the shore of an uninhabited ind. After confirming that the ind had a potable supply of spring water, Miao Yi ttened the reefy ground with a sweep, then proceeded to chop some trees into logs, and also cut up some vines to weave into ropes. He then pulled the ship ashore with Charcoal¡¯s help, holding it steady and camouging it with wood.


    The two handmaidens couldn¡¯t offer any assistance with such heavybour, and could only stand by and watch. They were a bit perplexed as to why the Cave Master needed to do such a thing. Weren¡¯t ships supposed to be on the ocean? Why did he have to pull it ashore?


    The two young girls soon discovered that this outing was not as fun as they had imagined, and they didn¡¯t have other handmaidens to order around as well. The Cave Master had actually opened up a cave here and entered closed-door cultivation, bing true to his title of a Cave Master.

 Chapter 108: The Crystal Coins Eating Little Ones (1)

    Chapter 108: The Crystal Coins Eating Little Ones (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Besides that, there wasn¡¯t anyone present here who would admire their style of dress. The Cave Master also ignored them and only knew how to cultivate incessantly. Other than the two of them taking care of Miao Yi¡¯s meals for him to cultivate in peace, they also gradually immersed themselves in cultivation.


    The beasts on the ind ran amuck, yet none dared to approach this area. Charcoal was like a guard dog. If any dared to venture forth and seek trouble, he would immediately became so excited, to the point that he scurried about happily swishing his tail and hopping on his hooves. Almost like a cat catching mice, he enjoyed himself immensely in vigorous pursuits.


    In addition, the hundred little ones were also now in a growth stage. Those beasts that trespassed into this region very easily became their meals on a tter.


    Charcoal didn¡¯t need anyone to look after him. Whenever he wanted to eat, he need not inform anyone. He would dive headlong into the sea over and over again. Once he was satiated, he would trod back and dozed off. In fact, he greatly loved this kind of life, encircled by the sea and with no one around to bother him. His swimming skills appeared to have improved as well.


    Once he ate his fill, he would asionally catch arge fish from the sea, to let the others spice up their meals.


    Every quarter of the year, Miao Yi would exit closed-door cultivation once and board a wooden raft alone, invoking his art to ride the wind through the waves. He would quietly take a trip back to East Arrival Cave in order to inquire on the situation of his own territory.


    Under normal circumstances, there would not be any issues. He only had to gather his subordinates and show his face to prove that he was still there. Afterwards, he would again quietly and mysteriously vanish without a trace.


    The sun zed over the sea from afar and the vast blue waves stretched beyond the horizon. Standing on the mountain top, Xue¡¯Er gazed at the surrounding seascape from high up under the shade of a tree. Surprised, she suddenly cried out with delight, ¡°Sister, Cave Master is back.¡±


    Almost as if he were treading on the waves, Miao Yi broke through the waves alone as he came in their direction. Immediately, the two girls ran down the mountain.


    Kicking off the wooden raft of three logsshed together, Miao Yi jumped onto the shore. The two young girls paid their respects together, ¡°Cave Master!¡±


    Miao Yi smiled as he nodded his head, leading the two into the cave dwelling. When he arrived at the entrance of the cave, he waved his hand casually and over a hundred little ones immediately emerged from his storage ring, buzzing as they pped their wings over to a tree trunk on the side, hiding in the shade. They still seemed to hate the sunlight very much.


    Entering the cave, Miao Yi did not say anything excessively and turned to sit in meditation on the stone chair, resuming his cultivation.


    The two young girls looked speechlessly at each other, appearing a little disappointed. They had intentionally dressed with great care to wee the Cave Master back but the Cave Master did not seem to notice.


    Outside the cave, a phantom figure gradually materialized. It was none other than the peerless Lao Bai. As if emerging from a dream, his two drooping frost-white locks of hair fluttered about in the windless air, along with his in green cloak.


    Standing with hands sped behind his back, Lao Bai gradually lift his head, a pair of deep starry eyesnded on top of the little ones resting on the tree trunk. He nodded his head slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s almost time.¡±


    He shed out a palm and a handful of gold crystal coins gently flew from his palm, shaking as they floated to rest just before the little ones


    The little ones immediately twisted their heads about, the feelers on their heads began twitching even faster as if they had discovered some sort of mouthwatering delicacy. Every one of them flitted their wings to rise, pouncing on the levitating gold crystals.


    With a wave of Lao Bai¡¯s hand, the gold crystals dropped to the ground, and the swarming little ones immediately pounced onto the ground, seizing the gold crystals as they munched on the coins with crunching sounds of joy.


    Footsteps sounded from the cave as Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er emerged from within. Both of their mouths were slightly pouty, as though they were fairly disappointed at Miao Yi for ignoring them.


    Standing with his hands sped, Lao Bai peacefully tilted his head to throw a nce in their direction. He shook his head slightly as he smiled, it was truly a gorgeous smile.


    Both of the young girls seemed not to have notice Lao Bai at all, even though Lao Bai was standing precisely in front of them. Moreover, their attention were fixated on the ground, turning a blind eye to this peerless man; to women, this would have simply been a crime against nature. Instead, they both continued staring dumbstruck at the little ones munching the gold crystals on the ground.


    With a trace of a smile on his face, Lao Bai¡¯s body gradually became indistinct as he slowly vanished without a trace, just like a mirage.


    ¡°Sister, what¡¯s wrong with them?¡± said Xue¡¯Er, lifting her head in surprise.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± replied Qian¡¯Er, shaking her head. She lifted her skirt up as she ran to the cave in a hurry.


    Not long after, Miao Yi stopped cultivating for the time being and came out trailing hurriedly behind Qian¡¯Er.


    ¡°Cave Master, they¡¯re right here! Please look quickly, they are actually eating coins!¡± Qian¡¯Er eximed as she pointed at the little ones on the ground.


    Staring at the ground, Miao Yi was stunned. He gradually crouched down, looking at the voracious little ones doubtfully.


    He thought he was seeing things. How could the little ones be eating such hardy materials? It should be borne in mind that the toughness of these crystal coins was fairly high. Even when cultivators were refining transcendent artifacts, it was extremely difficult to extract the essence powder from within; the level of the toughness for the crystal coins was undoubtable.


    Yet, the crunching sound that made one¡¯s blood run cold sounded very clear.


    Miao Yi had no choice but to reach out and separate a few little ones, snatching one of the gold crystals with his hand to examine it. Who knew that the little ones appeared to be unhappy at this action, sending out a protesting emotion to him. After seeing that their protests were fruitless, they turned around and jostled into their friends to fight for food.


    Miao Yi clicked his tongue incessantly as he examined the gold crystal again and again in his grip. Evidently, a part of the gold crystal had already been bitten off.


    ¡°Their ws and teeth are already this sharp?¡± Miao Yi reached out to grab one of the little ones, examining him in his grip. He discovered that the limbs and the chewing mouthparts were indeed different from the time they had just hatched; he could tell from the obvious change in texture. Their bodies were also slightlyrger.


    A dagger emerged with a flip of his palm. He pressed the sharp de against the little guy¡¯s mouth. Being oppressed, the little guy struggled and bit incessantly. ¡®Crack!¡¯ A hole formed at that point of the knife.


    ¡°Tsk tsk! Still small and already so crazy! If they matured, then what would they be?!¡± Miao Yi cried out curiously. He let go of the little guy and threw the gold crystal back to the ground. Getting up, he asked the two girls, ¡°Were you the ones who fed them the coins?¡±


    He knew that the subordinates under him had gifted the two girls quite a number of coins, simr to how he had gifted Qing Ju and the rest.


    Both of them hurriedly waved their hands. ¡°Not us! We also just discovered it when we came out.¡±


    ¡°Not you?¡± Miao Yi knotted his brows. Both parties had been together for so long, so he knew that the two girls would not lie to him. But then where did these coinse from?


    Looking around, Charcoal was still sleeping as heid to the side of the cave, swishing his snake-like tail around.


    ¡®That¡¯s not right!¡¯ If someone were toe here, not to mention that Charcoal would raise an rm, the little ones would have also transmitted a message to him. Letting them roam freely was to allow them to do just that.


    ¡°Could it be that you girls identally dropped them without knowing?¡± asked Miao Yi.


    ¡®identally?¡¯ Both girls shook their heads in hesitation.


    They could not be uncertain with such a matter. It would be too dangerous should an outsider have randomlye to his side, and he wasn¡¯t even aware of it. Miao Yi cautiously peered about his surroundings and said, ¡°Count your coins and see if there are less.¡±


    Usually, the two girls absolutely did not have any ce to spend money on since they did not need to worry about food and clothes at East Arrival Cave. As long as they wanted any textiles or essories, East Arrival Cave would have them sent over without requiring them to fork out any money. It was also the same on the ind, even if they had the money, they had nowhere to purchase from.


    Hence, they basically did not carry money on their bodies. They hastily rushed back to the cave to find their coin pouch and began to count.


    After they emerged with their coin pouches, they weakly said, ¡°A dozen coins less.¡±


    Miao Yi breathed out a sigh of relief, pointing at the two as he nodded.

 Chapter 109: The Crystal Coins Eating Little Ones (2)

    Chapter 109: The Crystal Coins Eating Little Ones (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Although the Cave Master did not reprimand them, the two girls looked slightly hurt. They felt that it really hadn¡¯t been done by them because both of them usually didn¡¯t even touch the money. They could not figure out how their coins had appeared in a ce like this.


    Could Charcoal be the culprit? The two of them quietly casted a nce at the beast that was resting by the cave entrance, sleeping as he swished his serpentine tail about. That beast was often up to no good.


    The little ones were still lying on the ground, crunching and munching away without any sign of stopping.


    Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help but ask worriedly, ¡°Cave Master, will their stomach get upset?¡±


    Her worries were not without reason. Since their coins had been dropped here, if the little ones became sick, the Cave Master would most likely me them when the time came.


    Thinking about it, Miao Yi thought it was really usible. The crystal coins were in fact, hard ores which contained essence powders. With ores and essence powders, it would be bewildering if they didn¡¯t get sick. He waved his sleeves and invoked his art without dy, sweeping the little ones to the side, and kept away the gold crystals on the ground before leaving for his cave.


    Who knew that the moment he did so, it was akin to poking a ho¡¯s nest. The little ones followed suit, entering the cave and flying around in circles over his head, continuously transmitting the urge that they wanted to eat.


    Miao Yi could only order the two girls to slice a piece of fresh meat for them, but no one would have expected that they didn¡¯t even bother to touching it, and were still pestering Miao Yi about wanting to eat the crystal coins.


    Miao Yi was pestered to the point he had no choice, if it continued on like this, he simply did not have a way to calm his mind and cultivate.


    Finally, he had no option but to surrender, throwing out the damaged crystal coins he had kept earlier and allowed them to eat. He even coldly snorted, ¡°Don¡¯t me if you get sick when the timees!¡±


    Once they ate, they ate for an entire three days, and only then the little ones hadpletely devoured the dozen crystal coins, did they hold up their hard abdomens and finally came to a rest.


    One gold crystal was the equivalent of 10,000 white crystals, which also meant that several tens of thousands of white crystals were gone, just like that!


    Money was a small matter and Miao Yi was currently not running short of money. He was mainly worried that their stomachs would get upset, so he came out to take a look at them every day. In the end, he realized that their abdomen were gradually deting, seemingly able to to digest the coins as well as their other meaty meals. So he felt reassured and did not worry about it anymore.


    Who knew that half a monthter, a buzzing noise once again resounded above Miao Yi¡¯s head as he was sitting in cross-legged meditation. The little ones were pestering about wanting to eat the crystal coins again.


    Miao Yi leapt off the stone chair and just lost it. ¡°You ate a sum worth several tens of thousands of white crystal coins in just a few days and you still want to eat more? I see that your sickness ising out. There¡¯s no more!¡±


    The crucial point was that it was useless even if you said there was no more, since the little ones¡¯ intelligence could not bepared to humans. They could only vent out by hollering, incessantly that they really want to eat.


    Miao Yi was almost at his wit¡¯s end. He was pestered to the point that he simply had no choice. The main issue was that he was incapable of reasoning with these demons, so he could only cast a handful of gold crystals out. Only then did the whole world be peaceful again.


    However, that peace was short lived. After another half a month had passed, the little ones once again came making noises..


    ¡°I say, seriously? You¡¯re all still being incessant? If I let you guys eat like this again, my entire East Arrival Cave will copse.¡±


    Although he was exaggerating, his mood was understandable. He still wanted to gather some more money so that in the future, he could also refine a transcendent artifact.


    But these little ones did not know how to reason, no matter how solid of an argument you gave, it was the same as preaching to deaf ears.


    After being pestered until he again had no choice, Miao Yi was reluctant to give them gold crystals, so he tested the water by throwing out a handful of white crystals instead.


    ¡®Yes!¡¯ It was effective. The little ones flocked over and were seizing and munching away at them as before. They were alright as long as it was crystals coins and were not picky about their food.


    Miao Yi heaved a sigh of relief. This was good enough. If they only ate gold crystals, raising these little bastards would be seriously vexing. On the other hand, white crystals were alright as a piece of gold crystal could be exchanged for more than 10,000 coins for them to slowly eat away.


    But what made Miao Yi puzzled was that why would the little ones be so interested in the crystal coins? If they had wanted to eat more solid items, there were all sorts of stones outside. Why crystal coins?


    It was alright if he couldn¡¯t wrap his mind around it now; at least he had already appeased the little ones, and they would no longer affect his cultivation, which was the most important part of all.


    Spring fled, and summer arrived. Then autumn bids its goodbye and winter came once again.


    The great waves of the sea were rushing forth and the chilling wind rustled. Another year had again passed.


    Miao Yi was sitting cross-legged on the stone chair with his eyes closed. Slowly, he opened his eyes, spitting out the medium grade Orb of Will from his mouth. The Orb of Will that had been coalesced from 10,000 people a year, had already shrunk to a very small size.


    With his current speed at refining the Orb of Will, he could refine twenty percent of it in nearly five months, which also meant it would take him about two months to refine a low grade Orb of Will.


    Aftering to the ind, the medium grade Orb of Will gifted by the Lady Boss had already been refined by about forty percent. And before arriving on the ind, he had already refined it by almost twenty percent. Adding those numbers together, the medium grade Orb of Will had already been refined by sixty percent.


    Miao Yi conducted an inner scan to examine his art source in silence. He reckoned that after refining the remaining forty percent, he would be able to break through to a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade.


    But this year, he could no longer continue refining it and had to depart from closed-door cultivation. The day for East Arrival Cave to gather the Orbs of Will was here. He needed to deliver the Orbs of Will to Mount Calming Sea, and it was mandatory for a Cave Master like him to step forth and take charge of it.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er once again dressed in a dignified and pleasant manner despite being used to dressing simply. The bodies of the two girls appeared to have grown quite a bit as well, faintly exuding a woman¡¯s grace.


    They had already received news from Miao Yi that they were going to return to East Arrival Case beforehand, so the two of them had already finished packing their belongings. They followed behind Miao Yi, and departed from the cave.


    The little ones were indeed the offsprings of the Hell Mantids, they seemed to especially love the chill winter. The moment winter came, they immediately became lively, wreaking havoc across the ind as they flew about chaotically in the forest.


    Miao Yi shut his eyes for a while and finally used his thoughts to summon the little ones back as he revealed his palm.


    One by one, the little ones flew over in session, quietly disappearing into the storage ring.


    ¡°Huh!¡± Suddenly, Miao Yi cried out in surprise as if he had discovered something. He reached out and grabbed a little one to examine.


    The little ones had grown considerably. Although they were still brown in color and looked the same as normal mantids, but upon closer inspection, one could noticed that the surface of the little ones¡¯ body was unexpectedly and faintly suffused with ayer simr to a metallic gloss.


    Especially the sensation of pinching it in his hands; when he pinched them before, the little one¡¯s body felt slightly delicate. However, it had evidently be hard, simr to a carved sculpture. It was very clear that its resistance to taking a beating was slightly stronger than before.


    Miao Yi revealed a pensive expression on his face, faintlying to a vague understanding as to why the little ones loved to eat crystal coins. He began to suspect that it had something to do with the essence powder contained within the crystal coins...


    He wasn¡¯t able to confirm the actual reason for now, so he flipped his palm open, keeping all of the little ones away into his storage ring.


    After arriving at the harbor, he proceeded to remove the trees that were covering therge ship. Then, he went behind the ship, and sent the tree frames supporting the ship flying with a single kick; moving over to the prow, he invoked his art lightly, causing the entire ship to slide into the sea on top of the rolling trees.


    Miao Yi led the two girls to nimbly descend onto the ship. Although, the two girls¡¯ cultivation had yet to enter a grade, leaping a few metres high no longer posed an issue; they could no longer bepared to the delicate young girls they used to be.


    Charcoal seemed to realize what it meant for the ship to go out to sea; he would once again be forced to do the hardbor of running around in circles, so he paced back and forth on the shore, appearing reluctant to board the ship.


    Miao Yi could not bother spouting nonsense with this stupid fatty who was naturally born without the moral disposition of a dragon steed. With a casual wave of his hand, a few little ones shot out from the storage ring, buzzing as they pped their wings to stop Charcoal, forcing him toply.

 Chapter 110: White Lotus Third Grade

    Chapter 110: White Lotus Third Grade


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Charcoal suddenly felt a little startled, snorting as he turned to his left and right, with his four hooves slowly backing away anxiously.


    It was not the first time that Charcoal had experienced the little ones¡¯ might. Every time it had been disobedient, Miao Yi would use these little guys to teach it a lesson.


    Charcoal was very morose when facing the little ones. Even though it had greater speed, the ind was nothing against the sheer numbers of them; they would flock after it and block its path, able to strike a vicious blow against it at any time.


    It was no use diving into the ocean either, as the little ones had the advantage in speed under water. In addition, the sensation of getting stung in the ocean was worse than it was onnd; if Miao Yi didn¡¯t go and rescue it, it could very well drown in the ocean.


    With no way to retreat, Charcoal could only turn around, taking a leap with its strong hooves, andnded on the ship. Its head was drooping as it obediently entered the inner storeroom of the stern with pressure from the little ones. It obediently let Miao Yi hook the chain onto its body, and started running around the capstan, as the natural-born super driving force.....


    After a day at sea, the ship had returned to the ¡®dock¡¯ inside the reefy cliffs.


    Miao Yi rode off with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er back to East Arrival Cave.


    Life on the ind obviously couldn¡¯tpare to East Arrival Cave¡¯s luxuries, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er werepletely ecstatic to return again. To them, this was their home.


    For the two youngdies, the first order of business upon returning was to immediately gather a handmaiden from each of the respective cultivation residences to clean up the courtyard.


    This was the authority belonging to the Cave Master¡¯s handmaidens; the entire East Arrival Cave¡¯s handmaidens looked to them as their leaders.


    However, they didn¡¯t need the others to help clean the Cave Master¡¯s sleeping quarters, as this was an area that only the two of them were allowed to enter; they would not allow other handmaidens to go in.


    In truth, Yan Xiu would often find servants to clean up this area, but the two youngdies wanted to show their presence off to the other handmaidens. This had something to do with the fact that Miao Yi had never shared a bed with them until now. Both of them had given much thought into how they should prove that they were still the mistresses of this ce, even though they had never shared a bed with the Cave Master before.


    What the both of them didn¡¯t know, was that if it wasn¡¯t for Miao Yipletely subduing the subordinates of East Arrival Cave until they heeded his every word, the two of them might not have been able to touch the other handmaidens, because their positions tended to rise and fall with their master¡¯s.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t bother with other matters. After collecting this year¡¯s supply of Orbs of Will, he left only Dan Biaoyi and Qiu Shaoqun to look after East Arrival Cave, and brought the rest with him as he made haste for Mount Calming Sea.


    There was no reason other than to bring along more people as insurance.


    Journeying through the wind and snow, Miao Yi rushed to Mount Calming Sea, and proceeded alone to the Mount Calming Sea Grand Hall, where he was led by Lu Liu into the loft that Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei enjoyed spending her time at.


    Inside the loft, Qin Weiwei, wearing a dress as white as snow, was talking amicably with Gongsun Yu, another Cave Master. Miao Yi had heard before that this Gongsun Yu was the Cave Master that Qin Weiwei favoured the most.


    However, upon seeing Miao Yi appear, Qin Weiwei instantly turned cold; her expression when facing Miao Yi was less than pleasant.


    After Hong Mian and Lu Liu confirmed the items that were being handed over, Qin Weiwei gave the report from East Arrival Cave a look through, then ced it to the side as she said indifferently, ¡°Cave Master Miao, this year you need not journey to South Edict Manor. Return to your East Arrival Cave.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Miao Yi couldn¡¯t ask for more, he would be saved the trouble of having to meet Xiong Xiao.


    When he cupped his fists and stepped down, he added another line in his mind.... ¡®Adulterous man and a lustful slut, a shameless couple!¡¯


    In contrast, Gongsun Yu had an amicable smile as he cupped his fists and greeted Miao Yi in a warm and graceful manner. An act which further highlighted the difference in temperament between himself and the indifferent Miao Yi.


    Whether it was personality or disposition, in Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes, the two were as different as heaven and earth.


    When Qin Weiwei looked at Miao Yi, she had a trace of disgust in her gaze that was difficult to hide.


    Not only Gongsun Yu, when Miao Yi left the back hall and bumped into the other Cave Masters, they all took the initiative and cupped their fists, greeting him with smiles.


    Naturally, it wasn¡¯t because everyone had changed the way they looked at Miao Yi, but because of Miao Yi¡¯s bloody battlest year, his name had already shaken the entire South Edict Manor.


    One must know that Xiong Xiao¡¯s strength in the entire South Edict Manor was hardly low, so his subordinate Cave Masters would have also had a certain degree of strength to them; but for two of Xiong Xiao¡¯s subordinate Cave Masters to be beheaded by Miao Yi single-handedly, who would dare mock Miao Yi now?


    Miao Yi also returned the courtesies with smiles. He didn¡¯t stay long in Mount Calming Sea, as he led his subordinates and quickly returned to East Arrival Cave.


    After this moment, Miao Yi finally understood; if you wanted to earn someone¡¯s respect, you needed to prove your strength. No one would hold you with any importance if you weren¡¯t strong enough!


    ¡®Just you wait till the day that I can be your equal as a Mountain Chieftain; when that timees, I will see what right do you, Qin Weiwei, have to give me any cheek!¡¯


    Quickly returning to East Arrival Cave, Miao Yi once again left all East Arrival Cave matters to Yan Xiu, before turning around and bringing Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to disappear once more; his destination was clearly that ind again.


    Only Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were a little disappointed as they had just finished cleaning the quarters...


    Spring came and went.


    With the passing waves of spring,es the ruthless heat of the zing summer, followed by the dreary billowing of the autumn breeze.


    At the peak of autumn, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were a little shocked to find the Cave Master that only knew how to cultivate, regardless of night or day, had actually came out of the cave and was slowly walking to the great sea by himself.


    The two of them quietly followed behind, only to see the Cave Master standing silently on the reefs by the shore with his clothes fluttering in the wind, his figure appearing a little lonesome. They were not sure what the Cave Master was thinking about right now.


    After ten long months, he had finallypleted refining that mid-grade Orb of Will, and thus Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation had also reached White Lotus Third Grade as he expected.


    But he couldn¡¯t derive any joy from it.


    As he had predicted, when his cultivation reached White Lotus Third Grade, an inner scan of the art source inside his body revealed the required amount of Orbs of Will needed to break through to Fourth Grade had once again doubled; needing almost another twenty low-grade Orbs of Will to ensure breaking through to Fourth Grade.


    If he were to calcte based on this, then he would need forty orbs to break through to Fifth Grade, and another eighty orbs to break through to Sixth Grade. At this rate, it would be a heavenly sum and with a Cave Master¡¯s share of orbs every year, who knew how long it would be for him to reach the Blue Lotus realm.


    He still didn¡¯t know how his Little Brother and Little Sister were doing, so he couldn¡¯t becent like the other cultivators, who took advantage of their long lifespan to cultivate slowly in peace. Furthermore, Xiong Xiao would not continue wasting year after year without dealing with him, and would definitely not allow him to continue growing stronger. If he were in Xiong Xiao¡¯s position, he would do the same.


    ¡°A horse will not grow fat without feed, it seems I must take the risk and try....¡±


    Standing at the mountaintop, Miao Yi took a deep breath, then suddenly turned around and returned to his cave, tossing a low-grade Orb of Will into his mouth.


    When his cultivation broke through to White Lotus Third Grade, the speed at which he could refine Orbs of Will had increased yet again. Miao Yi predicted that he would at most need another two months topletely refine a low-grade orb.


    In addition to his share from two years, he now had seven low-grade Orbs of Will.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were speechless, realising that their Cave Master was a real cultivation fanatic; he had onlye out for a short while, before going back and immersing himself into his cultivation.


    The both of them had more or less fallen under Miao Yi¡¯s influence as well. Truthfully, they spent most of their time cultivating; at least they could kill some leisure time by doing this and not waste their lives away on this ind.


    Two monthster, when Miao Yi had finished refining the Orb of Will in his mouth, he withdrew from cultivation once more; another year had passed, and winter hade once again.


    After the three of them returned to East Arrival Cave, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er guessed that their cultivation fanatic Cave Master was nning on heading back to the ind and continue cultivating after going to Mount Calming Sea and back, so they didn¡¯t have the same enthusiasm for cleaning the courtyard as they had the time before.

 Chapter 111: March Onwards to the Sea of Constellations (1)

    Chapter 111: March Onwards to the Sea of Constetions (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    After arduously leading everyone to Mount Calming Sea once again, Miao Yi was ignored by Qin Weiwei as always.


    Miao Yi had already gotten used to this, but it wasn¡¯t so bad this way; after all, he wasn¡¯t really needed, so he could have more time to himself and go about his own business.


    Leading his troops at a gallop out the Mount Calming Sea mountain gates, Miao Yi turned to throw Zheng Jinlong a look. Thetter understood his intentions, and brought his dragon steed forward to ride alongside the Cave Master.


    ¡°Are there any signs of movement from Xiong Xiao?¡± Miao Yi transmitted a message to him to ask.


    He had already ordered Zheng Jinlong to get in touch with the School of Blue Jade, to help keep an eye out for any signs of movement from Xiong Xiao, as well as his underlings.


    Every single abode of Immortals belonging to South Edict Manor had the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples stationed within, so if Xiong Xiao himself or even his underlings were to make a move, the School of Blue Jade would be able to grasp their movements almostpletely.


    The purpose of bringing Zheng Jinlong to Mount Calming Sea this time, was distinctly to let Zheng Jinlong get in touch with the person-in-charge here at Mount Calming Sea.


    Zheng Jinlong knew that he was worried that Xiong Xiao would strike at him secretly, so he transmitted back, ¡°Rest assured Cave Master, I have already asked for the school¡¯s help; any sign of movement from the people of Mount Shaotai will be within our grasps. If anyone were to go missing, someone will notify us. For the time being, Xiong Xiao has not made any movements out of the norm.¡±


    He was trying to raise the value of his own face with these words; he didn¡¯t have the qualifications yet to make the entire School of Blue Jade cooperate. It was only because the School of Blue Jade wanted to make use of Miao Yi that they went along with his needs.


    ¡°Very good.¡± Miao Yi felt relieved. At first, he had been a little anxious that Zheng Jinlong¡¯s level of influence was not sufficient to convince the School of Blue Jade to help. Now that he had their assistance, as long as he could grasp the movements of Xiong Xiao and his underlings, he wouldn¡¯t need to be afraid of any tricks that Xiong Xiao might try to pull. Otherwise, he would inevitably feel a little nervous even if it was just a trip to Mount Calming Sea.


    The group quickly returned to East Arrival Cave, and Miao Yi sped back to his own silent cultivation quarters and made a few preparations. He then called Xue¡¯Er over, ¡°Ask Yan Xiu toe over.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Xue¡¯Er replied and left.


    Not long after, Yan Xiu came over in quick steps. Cupping his fists, he said, ¡°What does the Cave Master ask of me?¡±


    Miao Yi waved his hand, sending both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er away from the silent quarters, then beckoned Yan Xiu over; looking at him with a solemn gaze, he told him confidently, ¡°I am preparing to lead the men of East Arrival Cave to go hunting at the Sea of Constetions. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Ah.....¡± Yan Xiu was speechless, and could onlyugh bitterly. He had long guessed that the Cave Master had this idea, only that the Cave Master himself had never admitted it. Yan Xiu could only earnestly advise him, ¡°Cave Master, the Sea of Constetions is a ce of utmost danger; who knew how many have perished every time the ¡®Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade¡¯ was held. I am afraid with just the strength of our East Arrival Cave, it would be a journey with no return. Please reconsider, Cave Master.¡±


    To be blunt, it was because our cultivations were too low that going there was tantamount to courting death.


    ¡°My mind is set. You don¡¯t need to try and convince me otherwise.¡± Miao Yi waved his hand,pletely resolute; he said, ¡°The reason why I am telling you beforehand, is because I trust you, and also because I don¡¯t n on bring you along to the Sea of Constetions to take this risk with me. When I am away, I would like to leave East Arrival Cave in your hands.¡±


    ¡°.......¡± Yan Xiu was unsure whether he should feel grateful for his trust, or if he should feel something else, but there were some things that he couldn¡¯t understand so he asked, ¡°Cave Master, there are some things that I am unsure if I should ask or not.¡±


    Miao Yi nodded and said, ¡°It is fine, speak your mind!¡±


    Yan Xiu said, ¡°Cave Master, even though your current Cave Master position is low, but it is also a starting point that is admired by countless cultivators across thend. In addition, you have Manor Head Yang Qing¡¯s favor, so you would only need to maintain a stable cultivating lifestyle, and in a couple hundred or so years when your cultivation has been raised, a Mountain Chieftain¡¯s seat would be well within your grasp. Why not be patient and slowly raise your cultivation up? You will be able to expect great things in your future; why do you still need to gamble with your life like this? I do not believe that you have the ambition topete and test your strength against the realm¡¯s heroes, and even if you did, if I may be so forthright as to say, there are new talents constantly arising amongst the cultivators of the realm, but those who were able to reign supreme over a single domain are obviously in the minority. Instead, steadily cultivating and slowly improving oneself seems like a better option.¡±


    Miao Yi shook his head and answered, ¡°This has nothing to do with ambition. Do you still remember, back in Transient Light Cave, when I told you about my younger brother and sister?¡±


    Yan Xiu nodded, ¡°I remember!¡±


    ¡°I still remember that Luo Zhen had once warned me, ¡®when your own cultivation has yet to reach a realm that allows you to protect yourself from harm, it is best not to let anyone else know about matters concerning your younger brother and sister. If something were to happen, you will easily be exploited by others, and this will be a soft spot which they can use to take advantage of your siblings¡¯.¡± Miao Yi pursed his lips, and said, ¡°I still remember these words, but I want to find them, and take them in at East Arrival Cave. However, my own situation is not exactly ideal. It is difficult enough to keep myself safe; even if I manage to find them now, I wouldn¡¯t be able to take care of them. I can only continue to endure.¡±


    When Luo Zhen was mentioned, Yan Xiu turned silent and didn¡¯t say anything else; he only nodded his head and smiled, ¡°I understand. When does the Cave Master n on returning from this trip? What if the superiors were to discover something, and ask for your whereabouts? How should I reply then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure when I will return, but I do hope I¡¯ll be able toe back alive. If the superiors were to discover that I¡¯m gone, just tell them that I have gone to the Sea of Constetions to hunt. So long as I can return alive, with Yang Qing supporting me from behind, Qin Weiwei can¡¯t do anything to me.¡±


    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t know what to say of him. Whatever this Cave Master had set his mind on doing, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to put his own life in danger.


    ¡°Cave Master, have you ever considered, once Zheng Jinlong and the rest find out that you¡¯re nning on bringing them to the Sea of Constetions to go hunting, they might not willingly go along with you. When that happens, you might not be able to suppress them on your own.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Miao Yi raised his arm and invoked his arts, wiping off the Soul Concealing Paste on his forehead; the vivid outline of a three-petaled white lotus flower appeared between his brows. He coldly said, ¡°There is only death for those who disobey! Now, they might not be able to defeat me even if they joined hands. I could kill Fan Renfang and Fang Ziyu, could I not do the same for those lot? If they have the audacity, they are wee to try; I will be sure to let them experience how sharp the spear in my hand is! In East Arrival Cave, those who do not heed my orders are my enemies, and I have never shown any mercy when facing my foes!¡±


    He had wanted to go to the Sea of Constetions to hunt a long time ago, but he knew his transcendence energy at the time was not up to par, and couldn¡¯t quell the masses, so he had only endured for the time being.


    Now that his cultivation had broken through to White Lotus Third Grade, he didn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s help. With just the spear in his hand, he had confidence that he would be able to subdue all the subordinates of East Arrival Cave!


    Yan Xiu stared at the lotus outline on his forehead with eyes wide and mouth agape. He was thoroughly stupefied!


    How many years was this? Yan Xiu didn¡¯t expect that Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation had already broken through to White Lotus Third Grade!


    By normal estimations, those with a higher cultivation tended to refine Orbs of Will at a quicker pace. With a normal White Lotus First Grade cultivation, it would take at least a year to refine a low-grade Orb of Will, but it was evident that the Cave Master¡¯s refining speed was greater than normal.


    To achieve this, one needed the aid of a good cultivation method. The greatest difference between a good cultivation method and a bad one was the pace at which they refined Orbs of Will. None of the new talents that constantly emerged in the cultivation realm were so, but it wasn¡¯t known what grade the Cave Master¡¯s cultivation method was.


    Yan Xiu now understood why the Cave Master insisted on taking a risk by going to the Sea of Constetions. The reason was simple, the share of Orbs of Will of a mere East Arrival Cave was no longer enough for the Cave Master to use, and the Cave Master was obviously not strong enough to take over the surrounding territories to obtain more Orbs of Will.

 Chapter 112: March Onwards to the Sea of Constellations (2)

    Chapter 112: March Onwards to the Sea of Constetions (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡°For the time being, do not let anyone else know that my cultivation has broken through to White Lotus Third Grade.¡± Miao Yi instructed, then hid the lotus outline on his forehead.


    The two of them discussed their secret n in hushed voices, then left the silent quarters together.


    As he saw Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er outside, Miao Yi stopped in his tracks and pondered for a while, then took out two Orbs of Will and gave one each to the two young girls.


    The both of them knew this was something good. Once they had sessfully trained their art source, this would be of great benefit to their own cultivation, so naturally they thanked the Cave Master with expressions of heartfelt joy.


    Yan Xiu only looked on and didn¡¯t say anything. He knew that Miao Yi did this as preparation in case he could not make it back, the two Orbs of Will would act as a sort of reparation for the two young girls on ount of their rtionship.


    They watched as the two youngdies left to gather the cultivators of East Arrival Cave for departure.


    Not long after, at the za outside the East Arrival Grand Hall; Zheng Jinlong, Wang Zifa, Zhu Tianbiao, Qiu Shaoqun, Dan Biaoyi, Shang Yoi, Hou Sheng, Nan Sisi and Wang Xiuqin, all fell in line on their dragon steeds with their weapons in hand.


    Even the gatekeeper had been called over; every one of them looked at each other, unsure of what was happening, and why the Cave Master was making such a bigmotion.


    Miao Yi walked over slowly from the treasury. He had already stuffed all the annual gifts from East Arrival City into his storage ring. As he came out of the Grand Hall he called Charcoal over and leapt onto his steed. He turned to look at Yan Xiu, who was cupping his fists to send them off, before waving his hand and saying, ¡°March!¡±


    A puzzled group followed after him as their horses broke into a gallop; their stomps boomed like thunder with overwhelming momentum.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er only felt that their Cave Master looked valiant, and werepletely unaware to when he would return.


    As they journeyed on, Zheng Jinlong could no longer hold back his doubts, and chased after Miao Yi¡¯s back to ask, ¡°Cave Master, where are we going?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll naturally find out once we reach.¡± Miao Yi didn¡¯t leak any information out at all.


    The group rode to the seaside, and one by one brought their dragon steeds onto the ship in the dock.


    To everyone, the existence of this ship was no secret, but they were curious as to where they were sailing off to.


    With other dragon steeds on the ship, there was of course no need for the Cave Master¡¯s own steed to be the ship¡¯s primary driving force.


    What¡¯s more is that the other dragon steeds were more obedient, and did whatever the master told them to, unlike Charcoal, who didn¡¯t have the self-awareness that it was a steed with a master.


    Seeing others suffering, Charcoal felt a rush of energy, and the beast that Miao Yi usually had to force or coax into the power chamber, stepped foot inside of its own ord. With its rump held high, Charcoal made a couple snorts to the other horses that had to be the driving force, as a disy of its status. It even twisted its butt at the others and flicked its tail around, before finally leaving, as though asking the others to work hard.


    Hou Sheng handled the rudder under Miao Yi¡¯s instructions; as the ship headed out to sea, he immediately steered it towards the south-eastern direction.


    The dragon steeds all heeded their master¡¯s orders and obediently stood in a line beside the railing of the ship¡¯s deck, facing the great ocean. Charcoal was the only one that was used to being extremelyx, asionally falling in line, bumping its head on this, and hitting its rump on that; it even ran around on the deck. Its vigor was evident, only that it was a little plump.


    Everyone had already gotten ustomed to this Cave Master¡¯s steed thatcked even the slightest ounce of discipline, and had often been left to run wild in East Arrival Cave. Many of East Arrival Cave¡¯s nts and flowers had been destroyed by this beast. It even ran inside everyone¡¯s cultivation residences where it continued on with its path of destruction, thenid on their flower gardens and slept.


    If it wasn¡¯t Miao Yi¡¯s steed, everyone would have thought of butchering this bastard long ago. A steed that didn¡¯t behave in a steed¡¯s manner, clearly the Cave Master was the one that spoilt it so.


    On the highest deck of the ship, everyone stood behind Miao Yi, facing the ocean as they rode the wind and broke through the waves.


    Wang Zifa and the rest threw a nce to Zheng Jinlong; he could only walk to Miao Yi¡¯s side with much difficulty and ask once more, ¡°Cave Master, what is it that we are supposed to do here?¡±


    Miao Yi slowly turned around, and smiled to the rest, ¡°Doesn¡¯t everyone still remember the fact that I have an alternate source for Orbs of Will? This Cave Master has not forgotten his promise, so this journey is obviously to share the rewards with everyone here!¡±


    The rest of their eyes immediately brightened, ¡®Could it be that we were going to get some Orbs of Will?¡¯


    Then they listened on as Miao Yi added, ¡°Because this matter is of grave importance, I was afraid that someone would leak out the information, which was why I didn¡¯t tell any of you beforehand. I hope all of you will not me me.¡±


    As he became used to being the ¡®esteemed¡¯ Cave Master, his tone when speaking with all of them had gradually be more suited to to the position of Cave Master.


    ¡°Cave Master¡¯s words are too serious!¡±


    ¡°Cave Master is wise. This matter is indeed very important, so it was natural to do so!¡±


    ¡°Cave Master can make all the decisions, we will simply heed your orders.¡±


    The rest of them couldn¡¯t hold back their excitement as their eyes shone; one after another speaking words of ttery.


    Shang Yoi, Hou Sheng, Nan Sisi, and Wan Xiuqin were even more ecstatic.


    They had gone through a lot of pain these past two years. Originally, each of them could get two Orbs of Will every year, but then Zheng Jinlong popped out of nowhere, and the four of them could do naught but take turns readying three orbs every year to give to Senior Brother Zheng.


    They were told to wait until the Cave Master couldpensate them for their share of Orbs of Will from his alternate source, but it had been so long and the Cave Master hadn¡¯t so much as batted an eye at them. They didn¡¯t dare speak their opinions out to the Cave Master or their Senior Brother, so they could only keep everything to themselves. They even thought that it was only a method used by the Cave Master in order to subjugate them previously, and in truth, that the so-called alternate source of Orbs of Will didn¡¯t exist at all. Who knew that the Cave Master would be so appreciative this time around, and was really going to retrieve the Orbs of Will; it could certainly be said to be a pleasant surprise.


    They no longer looked at the Cave Master the same way.


    Only Zheng Jinlong still had some doubts, so he cautiously asked, ¡°If I may ask where the Cave Master is nning to get....¡±


    Miao Yi swept him a cold re that stopped him, and said indifferently, ¡°It seems you¡¯re really interested in knowing the details first? You wouldn¡¯t happen to be plotting something, would you?¡±


    ¡°No! Nothing of the sort!¡± said Zheng Jinlong, anxiously waving his hand. He knew that he had broken a taboo, and didn¡¯t dare continue his inquiry.


    Even if the rest of them had doubts, they knew that the Cave Master was sure to keep this sort of secret to himself, and wouldn¡¯t easily reveal it; thus, no one bothered asking anymore, so long as they could get their Orbs of Will in due time.


    Among them Dan Biaoyi felt a little depressed, as he didn¡¯t know that the Cave Master was bringing them out for this. He was supposed to be the ¡®spy¡¯ that Yang Qing had sent to East Arrival Cave, and needed to report on East Arrival Cave¡¯s situation at regr intervals.


    It really was ¡®too great¡¯; with this sudden move by the Cave Master, he himself was already on the ocean and didn¡¯t have the chance to pass this information out.


    After that everyone made some idle chatter, Miao Yi then decided to head downstairs after listening to a bout of empty titudes, and proceeded to his own personal room; thergest personal room in the ship naturally belonged to him, the Cave Master.


    Day in and day out, they looked at the ocean during the day, and during the night they gazed at the ck curtain of stars; the world seemed to feel boundless.


    Days passed one after another; everyone took turns handling the rudder, and in letting their own dragon steeds be the ship¡¯s driving force.


    With a dragon steed acting as the ship¡¯s driving force, the ship continued to ride the winds and break through the waves of the ocean at a tremendous speed.


    Whereas Miao Yi spent the majority of his time in meditation and cultivated inside the cabin.


    The group of cultivators also didn¡¯t fear the boring days drifting on the ocean, as they could simply use this time to cultivate.


    But a monthter, the ship still showed no signs of reaching shore. With the dragon steeds powering the ship¡¯s speed, this was very abnormal.


    Everyone slowly felt that something was off with the ship¡¯s direction; this direction seemed to be headed towards the Yao Nation, and it especially seemed like it was headed towards the most chaotic ce in the Yao Nation.... the Sea of Constetions!


    They were all no longer greenhorn cultivators, so they could vaguely guess where this ship was headed from the direction of its course, and faintly suspected that the Cave Master¡¯s so-called source of Orbs of Will was to go hunting at the Sea of Constetions?

 Chapter 113: March Onwards to the Sea of Constellations (3)

    Chapter 113: March Onwards to the Sea of Constetions (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    After making this deduction, everyone was shocked. The Sea of Constetions was a wretched ce that they absolutely could not enter with their current cultivation. During every Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, even Blue Lotus cultivators would perish in droves. How could they possibly go do something as dangerous as pulling a tooth out of a tiger¡¯s mouth? Going was tantamount to courting death.


    This time no one would sit still any longer; they had to let Senior Brother Zheng take the lead, and ask the Cave Master for an exnation.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Miao Yi sat cross-legged on his long bed, staring at Zheng Jinlong and the others as they entered with excessive cordiality after knocking on his door.


    The group slowly squeezed inside the room. Zheng Jinlong began hesitantly, ¡°Cave Master, everyone has something they are unsure of, and would like to ask for your rification.¡±


    Miao Yi indifferently said, ¡°Tell it to me straight, I am not someone that is fond of beating around the bush.¡±


    Zheng Jinlong cupped his fists and said, ¡°Then if I may be so bold as to ask, Cave Master, are we heading towards the Yao Nation¡¯s Sea of Constetions?¡±


    Miao Yi knew that they would figure it out eventually, so he nodded and said, ¡°Indeed, we are heading towards the Sea of Constetions in order to hunt.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    The Cave Master had actually replied so honestly. He really wasn¡¯t someone who liked to beat around the bush, but his answer had clearly taken everyone by surprise and they were too frightened for words.


    Zheng Jinlong replied anxiously, ¡°Cave Master, we must not do such a thing, the Sea of Constetions was Yao Saint Ji Huan¡¯s ce of origin. Ji Huan has always been lenient with the demonkind belonging to the Sea of Constetions, which is why all manner of them run amok in the Sea of Constetions. It is not a ce that we should enter recklessly with our cultivation. Please reconsider, Cave Master!¡±


    The rest of them also hurriedly tried to persuade Miao Yi, ¡°Cave Master, we mustn¡¯t go! The Sea of Constetions is too dangerous...¡±


    Miao Yi listened on indifferently, he didn¡¯t say another word. Only when everyone was done nagging did he ask coldly, ¡°Are all of you done?¡±


    ¡°Cave Master, we mustn¡¯t go!¡± Nan Sisi meekly added, as she faked a piteous expression on her face; women liked to take advantage like this very much.


    ¡°Since everyone is unwilling to go, I won¡¯t force all of you toe with. Try to keep an eye out as we sail and if a merchant ship passes by, you can all hitch a ride back. I can go there by myself. I won¡¯t trouble everyone to take this risk with me, but I will let all of you know the bad news beforehand....¡± Miao Yi swept a nce over everyone, and coldly said, ¡°When I return, everything that I have brought back will belong solely to me; there won¡¯t be a share for any of you. When that happens, don¡¯t me this Cave Master for not keeping his promise!¡±


    Everyone looked at each other thinking, ¡®With just your level of cultivation, you would actually dare to go to the Sea of Constetions to hunt alone?¡¯


    ¡°Hmph! Were it not for the promise I made to all of you before, I really wouldn¡¯t have wanted to bring you all with me, and would have just made the trip to the Sea of Constetions alone. It isn¡¯t my first time so naturally, I have my methods; I don¡¯t need anyone toe with me. Alright, I understand everyone¡¯s thoughts now. All of you can leave.¡±


    Miao Yi waved his hand impatiently, as though telling them not to bother with his cultivation.


    However, no one moved a single step; they could hear what the Cave Master was implying with his words, and each of them had a sudden moment of revtion as they thought back to the mid-grade Orb of Will that Miao Yi had before.


    ¡®That¡¯s right!¡¯ If the Cave Master didn¡¯t have a way, how would he daree to the Sea of Constetions by himself? He definitely had some kind of safe passage otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be so confident, so what did they have to fear?


    Seeing that no one had gone, Miao Yi furrowed his brows and said, ¡°Why are all of you still here? Don¡¯t tell me you would like me to send you back, or perhaps force me to jump ship and hand over the boat to all of you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing of the sort!¡± Zheng Jinlong hurriedly waved his hand, and added seriously, ¡°We are the Cave Master¡¯s subordinates, how could we stand by and watch as the Cave Master takes the risk by himself. Since the Cave Master has already made up his mind, regardless of wherever the Cave Master wants to go, we will naturally follow, and work ourselves to the ground for the Cave Master¡¯s sake!¡±


    ¡°We are willing to work ourselves to the ground for the Cave Master¡¯s sake!¡± Everyone gave their answer, as they all tried to make a heartfelt disy of loyalty.


    ¡°All of you truly are my obedient subordinates- You bunch of assholes, did you think I wouldn¡¯t know what was in all of your heads?¡± Miao Yi didn¡¯t give them any face, and directly scolded them, then waved his hand impatiently one more time as he added, ¡°This journey will be full of perils and those who are willing to stay, can stay. As for those who aren¡¯t, I won¡¯t force you to as well, so stop interrupting my cultivation.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡± All of them left one by one.


    In the blink of an eye, suddenly no one wanted to leave anymore, and each of them returned to their own rooms one after the other.


    That East Arrival Cave had this bunch of subordinates, was the Great Cave Master Miao¡¯s ¡®fortune¡¯, but the Cave Master himself wasn¡¯t a good fellow either.....


    Mount Calming Sea had never been assured of East Arrival Cave¡¯s situation, or more urately, Qin Weiwei could never rest easy when it came to Miao Yi. When South Edict Manor Head Yang Qing stationed Dan Biaoyi to be the spy in East Arrival Cave, Qin Weiwei had him send in a secret report to Mount Calming Sea every month on the situation in East Arrival Cave.


    Obviously, Dan Biaoyi could no longer send in his secret reports on schedule since he had been taken away by Miao Yi.


    When she hadn¡¯t received the reports, Qin Weiwei felt that something had gone awry, and immediately sent men over to investigate.


    Miao Yi had already given Yan Xiu prior instructions that he needn¡¯t keep his matters a secret from the higher-ups.


    When Qin Weiwei came to know of what had happened, she was furious, and personally made a trip to South Edict Manor to report the matter to Yang Qing herself.


    ¡°He brought the people from East Arrival Cave to the Sea of Constetions to hunt?¡±


    Inside his mountain-top pavilion, Yang Qing was in deep thought as he stood with his hands behind his back, his brows creased. Like Qin Weiwei, he was very surprised at this revtion. He did not expect that Miao Yi would be so daring as to actually brave such dangers. Even he himself wouldn¡¯t dare enter the Sea of Constetions haphazardly.


    ¡°Yes!¡± To his side, Qin Weiwei answered angrily, then added, ¡°Such a serious matter, yet he didn¡¯t even think to report to me beforehand. Let¡¯s not talk about how he doesn¡¯t even hold this Mountain Chieftain with any regard, but had even taken it upon himself to bring the people of East Arrival Cave there to take this risk with him, leaving only one person to watch over the East Arrival Cave and leaving it almostpletely defenseless. What if someone were to cause trouble at East Arrival Cave? Who gave him the authority to do so!? This wasplete arrogance and a tant disregard for order! As a Cave Master, he only knows about his own interests; if he could even do such a thing, what else wouldn¡¯t he do!?¡±


    Yang Qing pondered for a while, then turned to ask, ¡°What do you n to do?¡±


    Qin Weiwei replied with unrestrained fury, ¡°Manor Head, I think it¡¯s time to change the Cave Master for East Arrival Cave!¡±


    ¡°Change the Cave Master?¡± Yang Qing said solemnly; he continued to ponder as he paced around the pavilion with his hands behind his back.


    Qin Weiwei followed behind him and continued to grumble, ¡°Manor Head, if everyone were the same as him, would South Edict Manor not turnpletelywless? We must not let this trend continue to escte!¡±


    Unexpectedly, Yang Qing turned around to look at Qing Ju and Qing Mei, and asked, ¡°What do the both of you make of this?¡±


    The twodies looked at one another. Qing Mei had never been a woman of many words, and only knew how to follow the Manor Head¡¯s instructions, so she didn¡¯t really have her own opinion on the matter.


    In contrast, Qing Ju hesitated for a while before answering, ¡°Miao Yi has already thrown aside all caution to the wind with Xiong Xiao. Both of them are like fire and water, yet this feud must eventuallye to an end, and things are clearly not favourable for Miao Yi. If he weren¡¯t out of ideas, I don¡¯t think he would have normally taken such a risk in his right mind. He has only done such a thing because he was forced to the point where he has no path of retreat!¡±


    There were no outsiders here, otherwise Qing Ju wouldn¡¯t say such a thing out loud.


    Qin Weiwei hadn¡¯t expected that Qing Ju would be saying words on Miao Yi¡¯s behalf, and coldlyughed, ¡°Is Little Auntie trying to speak on behalf of him?¡±


    ¡°The young miss is mistaken. I only feel that if someone else were to be the Cave Master for East Arrival Cave, they might not do as good a job as Miao Yi. Right now all the abode of Immortals are frustrated because of the people from the School of Blue Jade, and only East Arrival Cave is rtively peaceful.¡± Qing Ju said as she lowered her body slightly.


    She also added another line to herself. ¡®I¡¯m not even trying to speak on his behalf, it¡¯s just that the Manor Head wanted to borrow my voice to speak these words out.¡¯

 Chapter 114: March Onwards to the Sea of Constellations (4)

    Chapter 114: March Onwards to the Sea of Constetions (4)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Is she saying that bastard was the only capable person in the entire South Edict Manor? These words made Qin Weiwei¡¯s teeth itch, and as she gnashed her teeth in hatred, she said, ¡°This is no excuse for him to act as he pleases. Even if this was indeed the case, he still should have informed me beforehand.¡±


    Yang Qing had a faint smile, as he turned around and asked, ¡°If he had told you, would you have agreed to let him go to the Sea of Constetions?¡±


    ¡°I.....¡± Qin Weiwei could not deny it¡ªshe would definitely have disagreed to it¡ªand so added, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the Manor Head is nning on pretending as though this never happened?¡±


    Yang Qing replied with a question of his own, ¡°The ce he is heading towards is the Sea of Constetions, what do you think about his odds of returning alive?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only a small chance he¡¯lle back alive...¡± Qin Weiwei was suddenly shocked as she said this. That¡¯s right! If the person in question died, then what was the point of taking advantage of this situation to exact her revenge on him? ¡°What is Manor Head trying to say?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to say anything.¡± Yang Qing waved his hand slightly, then said, ¡°If East Arrival Cave does encounter any sort of trouble, then you can do as you should to the guy, but of course, on the condition that he makes it back alive. If he doesn¡¯t make it back by the end of the year when it would be time for the handover of the Orbs of Will, then you can make whatever arrangements you want to East Arrival Cave, but for now.... Weiwei, I want you to pretend you don¡¯t know anything. Just keep one eye closed and the other open for now. Any news of this matter will be kept under wraps for the time being.¡±


    This was the equivalent of giving Miao Yi another chance, and Qin Weiwei could only reply solemnly, ¡°What if East Arrival City were to encounter some kind of trouble, and thus affected the handover of the Orbs of Will at the end of the year?¡±


    Yang Qing indifferently answered, ¡°I can still shoulder the loss of a hundred or so low-grade Orbs of Will.¡±


    In the entire South Edict Manor, only he had the confidence to say such words. Without mentioning the other yields of Orbs of Will, every single manor had a major city with a poption in the millions under the jurisdiction of the Manor Head. All things associated with the city under their jurisdiction would be the Manor Head¡¯s taboo, as the thousands of Orbs of Will that were collected from the city belonged solely to the Manor Head and he could control it however he wished.


    When one has reached a certain level, the higher-ups would not be so strict with the rules. They had to leave some autonomy for those subordinates, such as rewards and the like for good merits, otherwise how could they expect their subordinates keeping guard over a single domain to do their job?


    Out of all the stages, those at the Cave Master level were the most pitiful; even though they could take out twenty percent of the Orbs of Will that were handed over every year, that was still only twenty orbs or so. In addition, they still had to take care of their subordinates.


    The treatment of those at the Mountain Chieftain level was different. Although they could only take out ten percent of the gathered Orbs of Will, they still had ten abodes of Immortals under them, bringing it to a total of over a hundred Orbs of Will. Of course, the number of subordinates they had to take care of was increased as well, but they had a small city of a hundred thousand followers under their jurisdiction, and could use over a hundred Orbs of Will every year as they pleased.


    Manor Heads also took ten percent out from the orbs handed over from those under theirmand, and had over a thousand Orbs of Will they could use to take care of their subordinates. In addition, they could have over a million people in the city under their jurisdiction, and thus could freely manage over a thousand Orbs of Will.


    If one reached the Hall Master level, the difference was even greater. Disregarding the fact that they could take out over ten thousand Orbs of Will, they also had a subordinate city with five million people in it, and had the rights to control five thousand low-grade Orbs of Will every year as they pleased.


    Pce Lords had a ten percent share every year, which equalled to a hundred thousand Orbs of Will. They also had a major subordinate city with up to ten million people, and had the authority to freely control over ten thousand low-grade Orbs of Will every year.


    If one manages to be the Overlord of a single Earthly Branch Domain, just their annual share of ten percent reached figures of a million orbs, and under theirmand were ten major subordinate cities with a poption of up to ten million¡ªthus they could freely handle up to a hundred thousand Orbs of Will every year!


    However, at every level the number of followers in the respective subordinate cities were strictly controlled, so one could not expand as they wished.


    The Six Sages that stood at the apex of all living creatures didn¡¯t have any subordinate cities, but even so they still had the Twelve Domain Overlords of the Earthly Branches. Furthermore, the Six Sages had the major share, being able to take out thirty percent, and if the Orbs of Will handed over every year from those under theirmand were to be converted to low-grade Orbs of Will, it would be a total of at least 36 million orbs. How frightening was that!


    To a cultivator like Miao Yi, such an astronomical figure in Orbs of Will was something he could only dream about, and drool over in envy. However, to those cultivators that had reached such a realm, the amount of Orbs of Will they used up were even more colossal in number. In addition, the higher the cultivation the faster the refining speed, so they wouldn¡¯t say it was too much to spend, only too little.


    Since the Manor Head was actually willing to spend those Orbs of Will he could freely use topensate for the possible loss, Qin Weiwei was unable to dispute the matter, and could only gnash her teeth in hatred and say, ¡°What remarkable qualities does he possess for the Manor Head to be so willing to cover for him?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t covering up for him, it is only that I had treated him unfairlyst time. When I kept one eye open and the other closed in regards to Xiong Xiao, I had already forced him on the path of no return. Compared to Xiong Xiao, he is at aplete disadvantage with not a single chance of victory, so if I bound his hands and feet on top of that, and shut him inside East Arrival Cave, it would undoubtedly be sending him to his death.¡± Yang Qing looked at Qin Weiwei and sighed, then added, ¡°Weiwei,st time, after that incident between him and Xiong Xiao, I had already instructed Qing Ju to let him know in private, that so long as he has the ability, I will give him the opportunity. If he doesn¡¯t, then that¡¯s not my problem! You wouldn¡¯t make me go back on my promise, right?¡±


    Since he had already said this much, what else could Qin Weiwei argue about. She forced out a salutation of farewell, then turned around and left.


    Yang Qing leaned on the railing as he stood. Gazing at the figure heading down the mountain, he sighed and asked, ¡°Could she be angry with me?¡±


    Qing Mei poured a cup of tea and ced it beside him, then said softly, ¡°The young miss simply hasn¡¯t thought things through for the time being.¡±


    Besides Yang Qing, only Qing Mei and Qing Ju knew, that Qin Weiwei was actually Yang Qing¡¯s biological daughter. Not even Qin Weiwei herself knew of this inner secret, and only believed that Yang Qing was her adoptive father.


    In the world of cultivation, one was never afraid of having no enemies, so hiding this rtionship benefited both parties.


    ¡°That little runt is as desperate as always. I just knew he wouldn¡¯t sit around and wait for death, so I¡¯ve always looked forward to how he was going to fight it out with Xiong Xiao. But I never could have imagined that he would actually dare to take such a risk by venturing into the Sea of Constetions. Do you two think he¡¯ll make it back alive?¡± Yang Qing asked with his back facing the two of them.


    Qing Ju frowned and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the chances are slim.¡±


    Yang Qing replied solemnly, ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I¡¯ve always felt like that brat won¡¯t let himself die so easily.... I have now given him the chance, I hope he won¡¯t disappoint me.¡±


    Qing Ju smiled. ¡°What aptitude and character does this Miao Yi possess for the Manor Head to think so highly of him?¡±


    Yang Qing gazed towards the distance with mncholy, and slowly said, ¡°Is the Sea of Constetions a ce that everyone dares to enter? Besides him, I still can¡¯t find another one just as courageous amongst my subordinates. Clearly understanding that a tiger dwells in the mountain, but still chooses to brave the mountain path. Just on ount of him actually braving the Sea of Constetions, how could I not admire such a fearless disposition?¡±


    To Miao Yi, the kind of reaction Qin Weiwei would have when she found out that he¡¯d decided on his own to bring men over to the Sea of Constetions was something he could guess even with his butt. However, just as he¡¯d mentioned to Yan Xiu, as long as he could return alive, with Yang Qing supporting him, Qin Weiwei wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him.


    People often found one another annoying, but could just as well have a sense of admiration for one another.


    Qin Weiwei found Miao Yi annoying, Miao Yi also felt the same towards Qin Weiwei. Both of them hated each other.


    Yet Yang Qing admired Miao Yi, and Miao Yi also felt that Yang Qing wasn¡¯t a bad person. He had a certain degree of faith towards Yang Qing¡¯s character. At times, a thing like faith was nothing more than a feeling.


    But to the Miao Yi who had already mounted the tiger and couldn¡¯t dismount, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with so many things right now. Almost three months had passed on their journey at sea, and over the trip they had experienced raging storms and violent waves of various magnitudes. The journey was absolutely spine-chilling, and now they had finally entered the domain of the Sea of Constetions.

 Chapter 115: Who is Singing? (1)

    Chapter 115: Who is Singing? (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The Sea of Constetions was the most chaotic region in the Yao Nation. Legend has it that the Yao Sage Ji Huan had risen abruptly from this ce, where demons traversed about, and was well-known in the cultivation world.


    And the reason why it was known as the Sea of Constetions was that in these territorial waters, there were tens of thousands of inds of all sizes adorning the blue sea, very much akin to the vast sky full of stars, thus earning it the name, the Sea of Constetions.


    The day was high, the sea vast, with the splendid sun shining brightly above, yet the people who trespassed into thend felt their blood running cold. At times, there would be grotesquely shaped towering peaks of shoal rocks and cliffs brushing past the ship as they moved forward, and the sea waters below them were ck.


    The people onboard the ship, every one of them clutched their weapons as they peered about their surroundings, the nervous expressions on their faces difficult to mask.


    It was everyone¡¯s first time toe to this terrible ce, which was ominously known. It would have been strange if they weren¡¯t nervous.


    Even the Great Cave Master Miao, who had imed that it wasn¡¯t his first timeing here, was just feigning calmness. He held onto the jade archive as he examined the inds spread out on the sea map.


    At that exact moment, from the sea surface filled with the bits and pieces of towering peaks of the shoal rocks and cliffs, a rising mist unexpectedly emerged in spirals, causing the sunlight to turn slightly dark. Meanwhile, the ship was also enveloped by the mist, leading the people to be unable to discern the situation far ahead. A strange sensation pervaded everyone¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Cave Master, how much longer till we reach shore?¡± Zheng Jinlong asked apprehensively.


    He¡¯d just finished talking, yet a touching and unending humming resounded faintly from the surface of the sea. It passed gracefully and suavely through the mist as it traveled to them.


    ¡°Loss, loss like the wavering human heart...Mmmm...A predestined love like the resting waters...Mmm...The vast sea, the sky high...Amidst the happiness in the cries of joy and cheerful talk, there¡¯s you and me...and so I foolishly longed for you, unwilling to return... ¡±


    The distinct singing voice traveling in their direction was extremely pleasant to listen to, prating deeply into their hearts. It was as though there was some kind of mystical power that caused them to recall their gentle hometowns, of which they were deeply attached to. To their surprise, it made them forget about their nervousness and dread.


    Miao Yi¡¯s body and mind was also beginning to get caught up in the singing voice, but the art source that could burn down the Seven Emotions and Six Desires in his body rapidly cleansed his emotional state, causing him to quickly wake up.


    Despite the fact that they¡¯d only heard the voice and hadn¡¯t seen anyone singing, it made them believe that this singing voice was definitely produced from the mouth of an attractively beautiful girl.


    ¡°Such a beautiful voice, I wonder who could be singing in such a ce,¡± Zheng Jinlong said, as he looked at his surroundings with a puzzled expression on his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s only a demon who specializes in using their voice to lure men in through singing. The voice is pleasant to hear, but the appearance is incredibly ugly. If you do not fear death, you¡¯re wee to try and find it.¡±


    Miao Yi¡¯s one line of words was all it took to spoil everyone¡¯s mood, frightening them to the point that their state of mind trembled with fear. It could even be said that this caused everyone to rouse themselves awake with a start, and in a sh, they clearly understood how impossible it was for a beautiful girl to be singing leisurely in a ce like this. They quickly held tight to their weapons, invoking their arts to be more vigntly aware of their surroundings.


    In actuality, Miao Yi didn¡¯t know what was going on, so he was only feigning authority to scare them all. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with who was singing, and could care less about which beautiful girl he was insulting. Right now, he only needed everyone to be united together, not to go find beautiful girls.


    The effect that he produced was not bad. At least everyone believed it. They realized that the Cave Master had indeed been here before, and he really did have the expertise. Just by listening, he was able to tell that it was a demon singing to captivate the human heart.


    After examining the map of the sea in the jade archive and verifying that there was an ind up ahead that they could disembark from, Miao Yi flipped his hand and put the map away inside his storage ring. Turning his head, he said, ¡°Send my orders. Steady the rudder and continue moving forth with full speed ahead. It won¡¯t be long until we reach the shore.¡±


    The order was quickly ryed and the ship increased its speed, breaking through the waves as it went.


    The waves were spotlessly white, but when looking at the sea¡¯s surface from the ship¡¯s railing, they discovered that the the sea waters were more pitch-ck in color, like ink. They were uncertain as to what had happened beneath the sea to actually cause its waters to be reflected with such a pitch-ck color.


    Soon, the ship departed from the spiraling mist above the sea. Without the grotesquely shaped towering peaks of the shoal rocks and cliffs, the sea surface once again became more azure. The misty singing voice, so graceful and suave, also disappeared following the ship¡¯s departure from the mist.


    Looking back, everybody couldn¡¯t refrain themselves from rejoicing. Sure enough, something was amiss. Fortunately the Cave Master had the experience. Otherwise, everyone would have fallen to the demon¡¯s trap.


    Miao Yi appeared indifferent, and seemed as though he was rather unimpressed. Everyone felt at ease at the look on his face, the one that seemed like he had a card up his sleeves.


    After seeing the light of day again, drynd bounced into their view up ahead.


    The ind ahead had towering cliffs with raging waves beating against the shore. In the distance, the verdant mountain ranges undted and seemed to extend forever into the horizon. Birds circled around, but the visible coastline did not have any suitable ce for the ship to anchor.


    ¡°Just stop at the base of the cliff in front.¡± Miao Yi randomly pointed to a location.


    Zheng Jinlong immediately turned around to order his fellow Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters.


    The ship gradually reduced its speed as it moved forwards to lean against the cliff by the seaside.


    But right then, the dragon steeds on the ship seemed to appear slightly ill at ease. Charcoal snorted loudly and directly crammed against Miao Yi¡¯s side, who also seemed to be extremely uneasy.


    The group also realized that their own figure standing on the ship appeared to be gradually leaning. The issue did not affect on the people themselves, but rather on the ship itself. It was obvious that the entire ship¡¯s level was gradually inclining to the right. The speed of the ship seemed to recede and it became exceptionally difficult to travel along the route.


    Currently, the ship was still at a distance of seventy to eighty meters away from the cliff by the coast. Everyone¡¯s expression abruptly became distorted as they faintly became aware that apparently something had quietlytched itself onto the bottom of the ship.


    And they couldn¡¯tprehend what was happening to the seawater under the ship. Previously azure, it had now turned pitch-ck again. The sea from afar still appeared to be azure, it was the seawater beneath the ship that was pitch-ck, so one could not tell what could be happening down there.


    Everyone nervously cast their gazes at Miao Yi, since the Cave Master had the experience.


    Miao Yi¡¯s experience was goddamn nonexistent, but right now, even though he had no expertise on the matter, he also knew they were in trouble. He swept a swift nce at his surroundings, inclining his body as he said in a low voice, ¡°Leave the ship! Everyone climb ashore!¡±


    A silver spear shed into his hand as he said that, quickly mounting Charcoal. Charcoal dashed forwards a few steps on deck. Abruptly, with a kick of his strong hooves, he cried out as he soared through the air, fleeing a hundred meters away in an instant, eventually descending onto the cliff that was around over twenty meters high.


    Once he was on shore, Miao Yi quickly took stock of his surroundings. Around him, the bare rocks did not disy any signs of an anomaly, but on the other hand, the sea surface behind him gave a loud rumble, as well as loud cries of fear.


    Quickly turning back to look, Miao Yi¡¯s pupils shrunk in a sh.


    He saw several enormous tentacles stretch out from beneath the ship, grabbing tightly onto the entire ship. Immediately, it wrung the ship until it exploded and was smashed into pieces. It was a ghastly sight.


    ¡°Neigh...¡± There were dragon steeds letting out blood-curdling screeches, and were wrung by the enormous tentacles until blood burst out from them.


    ¡°Cave Master, save me...¡± Wang Xiuqin let out a mournful scream as she was absorbed by the suckers on the tentacles. She had yet to react, and a pool of blood had already exploded from her chest, pierced by a stinger from one of the suckers. The blood-curdling scream came to an abrupt end, and the figure that had extended out her arm to seek help from Miao Yi on the cliff had instantly been drawn into the pitch-ck sea waters akin to ink.


    The other cultivators were losing their minds out of fear, and barely reacted in time to call for their mounts. The dragon steeds were practically overturned in the seawater, struggling to swim in order to save themselves, while the others could only leap into the sky one after another, plunging towards the cliff.


    Rumble! Sshes of water radiated all around from the sea surface. Several enormous tentacles shot out from the sea with unbelievable speed, coiling around six people up in the sky! Zheng Jinlong was also among them.


    The practically terror-stricken Zheng Jinlong swiftly revolved his spear and ruthlessly stabbed it into the enormous tentacle coiling around him. In pain, the tentacle instantly tightened its grip, suddenly turning Zheng Jinlong¡¯s face a shade of scarlet. Abruptly, he lifted his head towards the sky with his mouth agape, appearing to be suffering incessantly.

 Chapter 116: Who is Singing? (2)

    Chapter 116: Who is Singing? (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡®BANG!¡¯ A sttering of blood erupted from mid air.


    Even with Zheng Jinlong¡¯s White Lotus Third Grade cultivation, he had actually been gripped by the enormous tentacle until he burst! It was visibly clear the cultivation base of the sea demon was far superior to Zheng Jinlong.


    Before the other five men could resist, they were instantly dragged below into the depths of the sea by the enormous tentacles. It was uncertain as to whether they were dead or alive, but it was very likely that they were doomed.


    Miao Yi was struck dumb by the scene. He had already heard that the Sea of Constetions was incredibly dangerous. As a testament to that, they had just arrived, barely having time to reach the shore before already suffering extreme losses. It was unexpected that the Sea of Constetions was vicious to this this extent. He wasn¡¯t sure whether he had made the right decisioning here hastily!


    Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbao were fortunate, managing to escape their doom. They had moved quickly andnded on the cliff, their faces a deathly shade of pale as they turned their heads to look.


    Great waves raged on surface of the sea. A few dragon steeds were swiftly swimming to shore, sshing forward through the rolling waves when suddenly, they were drawn by the enormous tentacles back into the sea.


    The ship had turned into countless fragments drifting on the water, and not a single living soul could be visibly seen. The surface of the sea then seemingly subsided into its previously calm state.


    Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbao quivered with fear as they turned their heads to shakily say, ¡°Cave Master...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything! Hurry and run!


    With a wave of the silver spear in Miao Yi¡¯s hands, Charcoal turned around and was about to speedily make his escape from this ce.


    All of a sudden, a rumbling sound reverberated immediately after a ¡®BANG!¡¯, as though something under the sea had collided with the cliff, causing the entire cliff to shake and the very earth to quake. Even Charcoal almost couldn¡¯t keep his footing on the ground as he swayed about.


    Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbao were trembling even more severely, looking almost drunk as they violently wavered about.


    Arge piece of the cliff began to copse, roiling forward as they came crashing down onto the sea surface.


    ¡®BANG!¡¯ Seawater sshed high into the sky before falling back to shower down upon the three men. The trio then swiftly invoke their arts, brandishing their spears to sweep it away.


    Suddenly, the sky turned ck. A massive octopus was charging overhead with an imposingness that was astonishing, blocking out the light and assaulting their nostrils with a burst of foul wind.


    The three of them were stunned. It was a mind-bogglingly, massive octopus; they gauged it to be about thirty metres long, and speckled with multicolored spots from head to toe. High up in the sky, it spread open its eight enormous tentacles before descending past the trio¡¯s heads.


    The moment the massive octopusnded, its body emitted a blue light and rapidly shrunk in size.


    In a sh, the colossus had turned into a gorgeous woman with a full-bodied figure and long, fluttering hair.


    Dressed in a colourful polkadot dress, her figure gently floated about as she descended onto the ground, blocking their path.


    The three of them sucked in a breath of cold air. They could tell from the blue light emitted by the other party during her transformation earlier, that this demon¡¯s cultivation base had attainted the Second Grade; equivalent to a cultivator of the Blue Lotus grade. She was a Second Grade Yao cultivator.


    How could they ward off a demon of Blue Lotus grade? They certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to forcefully break through!


    Miao Yi quickly surveyed his surroundings as he calmly schemed to make his escape.


    The gorgeous woman was fair skinned, her figure elegant and well-rounded. Her full and supple breasts were partially revealed, looking both erotic and alluring. She gazed at Miao Yi and said with a smile, ¡°Cave Master? A Cave Master from whichnd? A mere Cave Master dares to trespass in the Sea of Constetions? You¡¯re really looking for trouble.¡±


    She had obviously heard the scream that Wang Xiuqin let out before her death.


    Miao Yi readied the point of his silver spear at her and asked lowly, ¡°We have nothing against you, why do you want to kill us?¡±


    ¡°Nothing against me? There seems to be about twenty more years until the next Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Let¡¯s not discuss first why you guys havee here, and I also won¡¯t look into the matter of you trespassing into my territory.¡± The gorgeous woman beamed as she asked, ¡°I wonder who said before that my singing voice is pleasant to hear but my appearance is hideous? Dear Cave Master, have you seen me before? Can you please tell me where on earth am I hideous looking? I don¡¯t know when have I ever provoked and angered you, to actually cause you to speak ill of me and insult me, the Madame, in this manner?¡±


    After she finished, she even shook her flowery skirt, and twirled around twice to let Miao Yi exin which part of her was hideous?


    Miao Yi was sweating buckets. It seemed like he seriously could not speak ill of others behind their back; this wasn¡¯t offending a person by mistake anymore, he had instead, identally offended a demon.


    The expression that Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbao casted in Miao Yi¡¯s direction was filled with bitterness. The two of them were disconcerted; since the Cave Master had experience, why did he still desire to attract trouble? It turned out that the Cave Master¡¯s malicious talk had offended her, leading everyone to incur upon themselves a deathly misfortune. Their fellow Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers had really died full of resentment.


    Still clutching his spear, Miao Yi cupped his hands and said, ¡°Just now it was I who had spoken rudely. I have greatly offended you and hope that Madame can forgive me. I hope that Madame can be generous and let us go.¡±


    Instead, the gorgeous woman sized Miao Yi up well with amusement. She realized that Miao Yi was surprisingly unafraid when he saw her, and was abnormally calm. He was unlike the other two who had been terrified until their faces had turned pale.


    Little would Miao Yi have imagined that although he did not attain any world-shaking abilities during his ten years on the ind with Lao Bai, he had gained a fearless temperament in the face of death, even when going against powerful enemies. Granted, even if he wasn¡¯t likely to defeat his opponent, how could the person that Lao Bai had taken great care to teach ever cower in fright on the eve of battle?!


    ¡°Not a problem. So what will I gain from letting you all go? If you can trawl out some sort of benefit that interests me, I wouldn¡¯t mind showing you mercy. If you can¡¯t, then I will use my Yao arts to refine all of you into puppets! When I am in a good mood, I will y with you like dolls. Otherwise, I will kill you all to retrieve the cores.¡± The gorgeous woman gave a lightugh.


    In the cultivation world, it was not just ghost cultivators that have Yin Cores within their bodies, even Yao cultivators have Yao Cores inside their bodies. Men could also cultivate the Yao arts or the Yin arts, but a different approach would be needed to be taken to form the Inner Cores.


    Those who follow such cultivation methods were known as immoral practitioners, not abiding by the ordinary ways, and are said to be going astray. The Devil Sage, Yun Aotian was a talented person in these methods.


    Hence, it was not only the human cultivators who could retrieve the Inner Cores from the Yao cultivators and ghost cultivators. Simrly, the Yao cultivators and ghost cultivators could also obtain the Inner Core of a human cultivator. But the premise was that they had to refine the human cultivators into puppets first, and then further refine the art source within their bodies into Inner Cores. Only then would they be able to remove the Inner Core, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t be able to retrieve it while the art source was in a chaotic state.


    The Inner Cores of demons, devils, ghosts and monsters, were in fact just an art source using a different form to exist. This was thergest difference between the normal human cultivators, and the demons, devils, ghosts and monsters.


    Miao Yi was not an idiot. Under these conditions where the other party had the strength to have full control of the situation, if he had really taken out a benefit that would interest his opponent, it would be even less likely that his opponent would let him go. She would kill him and still im the benefit.


    She was only just gauging him, trying him to see if there was really any form of gains he had on him. If she really had no problem with them, then she would have called out to them in the first ce, and wouldn¡¯t have ughtered them as she pleased.


    Miao Yi¡¯s ability to adapt to changing circumstances and judge current circumstances was certainly notcking, else he wouldn¡¯t have survived until today.


    Moreover, he had initiallye to the Sea of Constetions to hunt, not to gift benefits.


    But things don¡¯t always go as nned. Originally, the n was once they arrived at the Sea of Constetions, they would avoid provoking the strong demons, and only target First Grade Yao cultivators.


    Although beheading a First Grade Yao cultivator would only yield a gradeless Yao Core, worth only a low-grade Orb of Will in exchange, they had many people; it would be enough to join forces and killed several of them.


    s, even the bestid ns go astray. They just reached the shore and hadn¡¯t even killed a demon when instead, seven people on his side were ughtered by the demon in just a few moments.


    Miao Yi disarmed the spear in his hand, looking as though he had shed his defense and slowly said, ¡°I do have some good stuff. It¡¯s just that I do not know if Madame is interested or not.¡±

 Chapter 117: Who is Singing (3)

    Chapter 117: Who is Singing (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The beautiful Madame she asked, ¡°Tell me, what sort of good items do you have?¡±


    Miao Yi waved his hand and pointed to the sea, ¡°It was inside a chest on the ship, but the ship was already destroyed by Madame. I will head down to the sea and search for it.¡±


    He turned Charcoal around as he finished saying this, ready to dive into the sea.


    ¡°A chest, is it?¡± A treacherous glint shed in the beautiful Madame¡¯s eyes, as she chuckled, ¡°I am the best at finding things under the sea, you should just stay put!¡±


    Miao Yi felt his heart thump. He knew things didn¡¯t look good now; as he expected, the other party was definitely going to make a move on them after knowing where the items were located. He quickly transmitted a message to his left and right saying, ¡°Jump into the sea and escape!¡±


    Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbiao were dumbstruck. The other party was an Octopus Spirit, she would be in her natural element under the sea. Wouldn¡¯t they be likembs entering the tiger¡¯s den, sending themselves to their deaths, if they dived into the sea?


    The two of them didn¡¯t do as he said.


    But Miao Yi didn¡¯t have time to bother about them. He had already heard the killing intent from the other person¡¯s words; if he didn¡¯t run now then he wouldn¡¯t make it. While riding Charcoal, he immediately dived into the sea and as he entered, he waved his hand in passing. Over a hundred of the little ones shot out from the storage ring one by one, spreading out over the sea.


    ¡°You wish to escape?¡± The beautiful Madame disdainfully mocked. He was actually thinking of running from her grasp in the sea?


    The voluptuous figure in the flowery dress trembled violently.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯ Transcendence energy gushed forth as her figure rapidly expanded, instantly reverting back to her original form, leaving a gigantic octopus with multicolored spots sitting on top of the reef.


    ¡®Woosh! Woosh!¡¯ Tworge tentacles quickly struck out, pulling Wang Zifa and Zhu Tianbiao, who had been scrambling to the left and right,pletely frightened out of their wits, into her grasp.


    ¡°AHHH! AHHH.....¡±


    Both of their screams reverberated throughout the air, as the two wrapped in the tentacles burst in bloody eruptions from her fierce grip.


    A few tentacles pushed off the ground, and the mighty multicolored body took to the skies.


    At the same time, the tworge, extended tentacles retracted, and promptly stuffed the two ensnared cultivators into a frighteningly gigantic octopus beak, swallowing them on the spot.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    As the giant multicolored octopus pressed into the sea, the surface of the water surged. Even though such an enormous creature had dived in, there wasn¡¯t a single spray of water; one could easily observe that she could control the element of water as she pleased.


    Her eight ws spread out over the sea, disying a figure that was both absolutely massive and tyrannical.


    Tworge horrifying eyes turned around, instantly locking on Miao Yi and Charcoal, who had been hiding behind a coral reef on the seafloor.


    The eight ws squirmed about in the sea, as though she was shaking fromughter; the giant octopus was mocking Miao Yi¡¯s ignorance. ¡®He actually dared to y hide and seek in the sea with her? Doesn¡¯t he know that the octopus is one of the ocean¡¯s greatest experts in hide and seek?¡¯


    She lifted one of herrge tentacles and was about to flip over the rock that Miao Yi had been hiding behind when suddenly, she felt a few dozen prickling sensations over her body. A few dozen chilling auras that resembled falling into a dark abyss were injected into her body, making her dazed for a moment.


    With thest vestiges of her awareness, she discovered there were a swarm of tiny mantids crawling on her body.


    As though afraid that it wasn¡¯t effective, another several dozen mantids flocked over from the water, waving their tiny sickles and viciously breaking the transcendence energy protection she had ced on her skin. Another several dozen chilling auras made her fall deeper into the dark abyss, as they were injected into her body once more, one after another.


    With so many chilling auras being injected, her mind quickly began to grow flustered, ¡®Why would there be mantids in the sea.....¡¯


    Miao Yi, who had been hiding behind arge coral reef, was taken with joy. He patted Charcoal¡¯s back, and it stomped on the coral reef with its mighty hoof.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    The surface of the water sshed about, as Miao Yi burst forth from the water surface on Charcoal¡¯s back.


    With the immense resistance from the sea water, together with the great depth from which they had jumped off the seafloor, by the time Charcoal had escaped the water¡¯s surface, it instantly dropped back down.


    But Miao Yi had already taken this opportunity to leap up with both legs pushing against Charcoal¡¯s back. He took to the skies, brandishing his silver spear with both hands, and focusing all his transcendence energy towards the bald multicolored head that was half afloat on the surface of the sea. Both man and spear stabbed downwards with merciless ferocity.


    ¡®BANG!¡¯


    The scene was reminiscent of smashing a rock into a block of tofu. Fresh blood sprayed about gorily, as Miao Yi and his spear prated deep into the giant octopus¡¯ body.


    When faced with a demon that was many times stronger than him, Miao Yi didn¡¯t dare show any mercy. Once he prated into his opponent¡¯s body, he immediately thrashed his spear about with abandon, putting his utmost effort into destruction.


    Having lost the protection from its transcendence energy, even if the the giant octopus had a higher cultivation, its flesh would still not be able to withstand such wanton destruction.


    Very soon, the enormous figure was dismembered into pieces and fresh blood dyed arge part of the sea a bright red hue. Miao Yi charged out from within with difficulty, holding his spear in one hand, as he slowly floated to the surface. He was holding a white pearl in his hand which was of course, the beautiful Madame¡¯s Yao Core; a First Grade Yao Core.


    The Octopus Spirit had died painlessly. It didn¡¯t even so much as struggle from beginning to end.


    After managing to survive his predicament, Miao Yi gazed at the First Grade Yao Core in his hands, revealing an expression of delight as he felt the power emanating from within.


    He had never thought of killing a Blue Lotus grade demon and obtaining a First Grade Yao Core. When he came here, he had only wanted to find those White Lotus grade demons and obtain some gradeless Yao Cores to exchange one-for-one with an Orb of Will. This was really a pleasant surprise.


    Using the little ones to deal with a Blue Lotus level Yao Cultivator was something he hadn¡¯t had a shred of confidence in, but now it was clear that he had underestimated the little ones¡¯ prowess.


    But to the little ones, doing these things had a huge risk. If they were asrge as the Hell Mantis, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry, but the little ones were still young bugs with barely any defensive strength. Even a White Lotus First Grade cultivator could easily kill them.


    As such, they could only be used to ambush. Otherwise, once the enemy raised their defenses and were on guard, the little ones would not even be able to get close. It was good that they were naturally gifted to break the enemy¡¯s defenses with their sharp sickles, but the rest of their bodies had yet to be able to do anything like that.


    ¡°I¡¯m rich, I¡¯m rich!¡± Miao Yi giggled. This First Grade Yao Core could be traded off for a hundred low-grade Orbs of Will. How many years would he need as the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave before he could get just one? As long as he could return alive, then this trip would have been worth it!


    As he thought about East Arrival Cave, he also thought back to hispletely decimated subordinates; the Great Cave Master Miao was no longer happy. Even if he could return alive, it would be difficult to exin himself. If worst came to worst, he might even lose his Cave Master position.


    While he still didn¡¯t know whether he shouldugh or cry, Charcoal suddenly swam over, intermittently sniffing the Yao Core in Miao Yi¡¯s hand. Its eyes shone as it looked towards Miao Yi with charming innocence. He could see the anticipation in its eyes.


    Miao Yi frowned, ¡°Goddamned Fatso, what are you trying to do?¡±


    ¡®Harrumph!¡¯ Charcoal snorted as it opened its jaws, intending to gobble up the Yao Core in Miao Yi¡¯s hand.


    Miao Yi smacked its head away with a p, ¡°Weren¡¯t you always picky with your food? Go eat your fish and prawns. This isn¡¯t something you can eat, you¡¯re not even afraid you might die from eating this.¡±


    ¡®Harrumph!¡¯ Charcoal shook its head all over, as though begging to eat it.


    Miao Yi pushed it away and was toozy to bother with it. Even if it could digest it, he wouldn¡¯t let the goddamned fatso have something so precious. He tucked it away in his storage ring with a flick of his hand, effectively crushing all of Charcoal¡¯s hopes.


    Miao Yi turned around and dived into the sea once more. He then invoked his arts to find the remnants from his East Arrival Cave subordinates.


    When he burst through the surface of the water from the sea floor once more, he released a long sigh as he looked at the items on his palm.


    As he expected, he did manage to find some Orbs of Will from what was left of the dead bodies of Zheng Jinlong and the rest. Neither too few nor too many, there were exactly twenty orbs. Since he was able to obtain so many Orbs of Will, it was obvious that most of it were those given this year at East Arrival Cave. Everyone still hadn¡¯t had the chance to use it, and now they never would.


    These people were dead, so he could only give a sigh and kept the orbs inside his storage ring. He couldn¡¯t well waste them by leaving them out here.

 Chapter 118: Finally Rich

    Chapter 118: Finally Rich


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    With a flick of his left hand he tucked the Orbs of Will away. Then he spread open the five fingers of his right hand; one could see that his index finger, middle finger, and ring finger each wore a ck storage ring.


    Of course, this was murder and plunder, as the three storage rings naturally belonged to the Octopus Spirit.


    It wouldn¡¯t do to judge the storage ring by its size, a single storage ring required the essence powder of a million ck crystals. What¡¯s more, not everyone knew how to refine something like this. Refining storage rings was the same as refining transcendent artifacts, thus only cultivators who were skilled in the art of refinement of transcendent artifacts could create this.


    Furthermore, the sry needed to extract the essence powder from a million ck crystals was another million ck crystals; one must know that it is not easy extracting the essence powder within the tough crystal coins.


    And finally, the sry given for refining the extracted essence powder was another million ck crystals. Which is to say, a normal storage ring had a value of three million ck crystals, equivalent to three billion white crystals! This was why it wasn¡¯t something any cultivator could afford to use.


    Miao Yi had only been awarded one because he had be the Cave Master for East Arrival Cave; it was given to deal with the responsibilities of his position.


    But now that he had managed to obtain three storage rings in one fell swoop, Miao Yi was already finding it difficult to shut his mouth out of delight. He was finally rich!


    Naturally, he had to take a look at what was inside the three storage rings.


    Imbuing his transcendence energy to examine the ring on his index finger, he saw that there was a vacuum space almost the size of a room, filled with nothing but chests after chests of crystal coins. It was divided into three separate piles of gold crystals, ck crystals and white crystals.


    Sweeping past with his transcendence energy, he made a rough estimation, and found that there were almost five hundred thousand pieces of gold crystals, about ten million ck crystals, and around two billion white crystals. If they were all converted to gold crystals he would have roughly six hundred and twenty thousand of them.


    East Arrival City handed over only ten thousand gold crystals every year, and East Arrival Cave could only obtain twenty percent of that, which was two thousand pieces.


    Miao Yi sucked in a breath of cold air, calming himself down. He felt that this Octopus Spirit was a rich Madame indeed. How many years as the Cave Master would he need before he could umte such a sum of crystal coins. He was also wondered over how many years of wealth did that Octopus Spirit umte such wealth.


    He excitedly imbued his transcendence energy into the storage ring on his middle finger, but the contents of it disappointed him a little. What was all this junk?


    Piece after piece of women¡¯s clothing flew out from the storage ring. There were women¡¯s dresses, socks, shoes, revealing clothes and the like. They all came in a plethora of patterns and colors, and had numerous different styles. Some of the more umon styles even made the Great Cave Master Miao blush a little as he thought about them. There was so little fabric, did women actually wear clothes this transparent?


    A few thousand pieces of clothing, shoes and the like flew out from the storage ring, and were floating on the surface of the ocean, making a part of the ocean look extremely colorful. It was a remarkable view.


    ¡°This slutty Octopus Spirit, why did it collect so many women¡¯s clothes? It must be out of its mind!¡±


    After which, he directed a pile of women¡¯s cosmetics and essories to fly out in droves from inside the storage ring.


    ¡°Can¡¯t toss away the jewellery and cosmetics, they might actually be worth some money....¡±


    He retrieved the ten or so jewellery boxes that he had almost thrown out. There was also arge chest filled with strange gems of various colors.


    After he was done sorting everything, Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry, wondering if the Octopus Spirit really was out of her mind. She had actually used a storage ring to store all these women¡¯s items, and didn¡¯t even hate that they took up so much space. After he cleared all those things out, the storage ring was almost empty.


    This clearly meant that he had yet to understand women. Unless they didn¡¯t have any means to do so, any capable women who could, would of course do the same.


    When it came to dressing up, women would neverin that it was troublesome.


    There was a crystal que ced separately from the rest in the corner. Miao Yi held it up, and felt that it looked rather pretty. He had mistaken it for another women¡¯s essory and was just about to throw it away, when he vaguely felt a tiny pulse of an art source sealed inside.


    ¡°What!¡± Miao Yi said curiously, then retracted the hand that was about to toss out the que, and examined it closely.


    It was cold to the touch, and was the size of a hand. The que was crystal clear, and had a wave pattern traced upon it. One side had the word ¡®Jade¡¯ carved on it, and the other had the word ¡®Order¡¯.


    ¡°Where was this token used for?¡±


    Miao Yi could recognize that this wasn¡¯t a women¡¯s essory, but a token for some ce that was definitely not within the mortal realm.


    This was because there was a thread of art source sealed inside the token. Only cultivators would do such a thing. An art source varied between cultivators, so even if there were some simrities, a difference would exist when the cultivator was not the same person. Even if the cultivation method was the same, the art source would not bepletely identical, thus sealing it into a token was an unforgeable method of identification.


    Other than this, he couldn¡¯t find any other clues. After some thought, Miao Yi didn¡¯t throw it away, and ced the token back into the storage ring.


    Once again imbuing his transcendence energy to examine the storage ring on his ring finger, he found that the contents inside to be a little more satisfactory. There were different kinds of weapons, as well as various consumables for times of need. It was a veryplete contingency, and even had farming tools inside. He didn¡¯t know what this demon had done or was trying to do when she prepared all of this.


    There were two jade boxes that were ced separately inside that aroused his attention. He brought them out, then opened them up to examined.


    When he saw what was inside, Miao Yi immediately burst into a grin. Two pearl sized Orbs of Will were releasing a warm glow. Clearly they were two mid-grade Orbs of Will, the same as the one the temperamental Lady Boss had given back then.


    To the side were an additional eight grain-sized orbs, evidently eight low-grade Orbs of Will.


    He hastily kept all of this in his own storage ring on the middle finger of his left hand, then opened up the other jade box to take a look. Now, Great Cave Master Miao¡¯s mouth burst into a grin that was difficult to close.


    It was a white Yao Core, evidently another First Grade Yao Core. This was equivalent to a hundred low-grade Orbs of Will!


    And to the side were twenty-two impure grayish-white Yao Cores. Twenty-two gradeless Yao Cores; this was equivalent to twenty-two low-grade Orbs of Will.


    He surmised that these Yao Cores were obtained after the Octopus Spirit had killed other Yao cultivators.


    ¡°RICH! I¡¯m RICH!¡±


    Miao Yi was brimming with joy as heughed heartily. He then quickly kept everything away, and patted his own chest in satisfaction. He realised that this trip was definitely worth it! The feeling of striking a fortune was marvelous!


    Even though he was happy, it had not been easying here; he shouldn¡¯t waste anything that he could take with him.


    The Great Cave Master Miao looked to the left and right, then quickly grabbed a hold of the Octopus Spirit¡¯s remains, and started to peel its skin.


    The skin of demons was good stuff, as it was a necessity for refining talisman seals. It didn¡¯t matter that Miao Yi didn¡¯t know how to refine talisman seals, he just needed to understand that the higher the cultivation of the demon, the greater the price for the skin.


    A true talisman seal was not something like the ones those warlocks of the realm just casually drew on yellow paper, those were all to confuse the normal folk. Just think for a bit, how could casually drawing something on a normal piece of yellow paper result in some special ability? A true talisman seal would be able to invoke supernatural phenomenon precisely because it had been imbued with power.


    As to why a demon¡¯s skin was required to refine talisman seals, it was because they possessed a certain threshold and adaptability to transcendence energy, and could hold the energy that was imbued within. Once a demon¡¯s skin was peeled off and refined, it would be a good material for creating talisman seals. The higher the cultivation of the demon, the greater the adaptability and the more transcendence energy the skin was able to hold, and thus it would fetch a higher price as well.


    Miao Yi had painstaking peeled off a pile of skin and kept it in his storage ring. When he turned around, he found that Charcoal was currently swimming on top of the ocean surface, holding onto one of the skinned Octopus Spirit¡¯s giant tentacles with its four hooves. It opened its jaw full of sharp teeth, and quickly took a ferocious bite of the Octopus Spirit¡¯s corpse. It ate happily, as though it was something very delicious.

 Chapter 119: Pi Junzi (1)

    Chapter 119: Pi Junzi (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡°Damn fatty, time to go ashore.¡± Wielding the spear with a single arm, Miao Yi brandished his spear and called out.


    However, Charcoal dragged arge tentacle as he swam over, whimpering as he snorted at him.


    Miao Yi understood what he meant. This bastard seemed to love eating this thing, and wanted him to help in bringing some along.


    What made Miao Yi feel even more strange was that the little ones, who were responsible for standing guard in the surrounding sea and on the surface of the water, were also sending out their state of mind to him; desiring to devour the Octopus Spirit¡¯s flesh.


    Miao Yi was curious. Could it be that eating the demonic spirit¡¯s flesh would be nutritious? Otherwise, why would Charcoal and the little ones drool over it?


    If he didn¡¯t have the image of the Octopus Spirit transforming into a gorgeous woman, Miao Yi would have also desired to roast it to eat. But he felt that it was slightly disgusting, so he put a stop to it and let it be.


    Now that all his subordinates were dead, he still had to rely on Charcoal and the little ones to help outter. Since they wanted to eat something, he couldn¡¯t refuse them this honor, so he could only help out to pack a few.


    However, the storage ring he had was of the lowest grade, so the space was limited and couldn¡¯t amodate anything that was too big. The Octopus Spirit¡¯s tentacles were excessively huge. He could only brandish his spear in session, slicing therge tentacles into pieces, and packing a few of them into the storage ring.


    Inside the storage ring was a vacuum, hence he wasn¡¯t afraid of the tentacles going bad; at least, not while keeping them for just a short moment.


    After tucking away the little ones who were responsible for standing guard in the surrounding sea and surface of the sea, akin to riding the waves and flying, Miao Yi wielded his spear and once again soared to the top of the cliff. In the water, Charcoal was unable to muster any jumping strength, so he could only swim to the reef at the bottom of the cliff, before gathering his force and jumping up.


    Uponnding on the cliff, Charcoal shook his fatty body, flicking off the water droplets.


    MIao Yi swiftly saddled him. From his elevated position under the splendid sun, he wielded his spear with a single arm as he nced back at the sea surface left inplete disarray; he was feeling a little dispirited.


    An esteemed East Arrival Cave Cave Master, personally leading his subordinates into battle. They had just arrived at the Sea of Constetions and nine men had already died out of ten. Only he, the Cave Master was left alone. Even if he managed to survive and return, no matter how easy Yang Qing was to deal with, how would he exin matters to the School of Blue Jade?


    ¡°Sigh... I guess I can¡¯t be a Cave Master anymore...¡± muttered Miao Yi as he nced back at the tall ancient trees of the boundless mountain forest.


    Since he may not be able to safeguard his seat as a Cave Master, and had already arrived at the Sea of Constetions, then wouldn¡¯t it be better to think of ways to dredge up more? So that when the time came, even if he couldn¡¯t be a Cave Master anymore, he still had some security, right?


    After witnessing the scene of the little ones cleaning up the Octopus Spirit, and realizing that even a Blue Lotus level Yao cultivator could be dealt with, the Great Cave Master Miao¡¯s confidence was off the charts.


    ¡°Great wealth onlyes from great risks!¡± Miao Yi yelled loudly to lift his spirits, brushing away his dejected mood.


    Charcoal broke into a gallop, carrying him as he dashed away.


    Miao Yi did not dare to directly dive into the forest. He had just arrived by the coast, and had already encountered a Second Grade Yao cultivator. It was readily apparent that it wasn¡¯t without reason that the Sea of Constetions was said to be frightful.


    To prevent mishaps, he would go around the coast, which should be safer...


    After moving around the coast and trodding a certain distance, he discovered there wasn¡¯t any anomalies. Thus, he let Charcoal reduced his speed and stealthily charged into the primitive forests with the tall aged trees.


    Amidst the mountain forest, there were trees so gigantic that even several men would not be able to carry one. Once a man entered, he would immediately feel how insignificant he was, as though he had just entered a nation of giants.


    Despite the fact that Miao Yi felt he was too conspicuous of a target whilst sitting on top of Charcoal, he could only make do with this. Initially, he had wanted to dismount and go on foot sneakily; however, after considering the issue of speed, if he happened to meet with trouble, he still had to depend on Charcoal¡¯s leg strength to escape.


    Instead, the silver spear he wielded was kept on guard at all times. Even the little ones were let out, to disperse into the surroundings and scout for a path.


    For the greater part of the day, he moved around the primitive forest and met quite a few birds and animals. However, throughout the entire journey, he had yet to counter a single demon. It didn¡¯t seem to be quite as dangerous as he had imagined.


    After going around within a radius of a dozen li, he drew a nk as before.


    He wanted to let Charcoal loose and wildly run about, but Miao Yi was afraid of taking too much risk, since this ce was the terrifying Sea of Constetions of legends.


    The sun was setting in the west, causing the forest to gradually darkened. Just when darkness was imminent, tiny fireflies began to drag their bright tails around, floating about in the empty mountain forest. At times, there would be owls hooting, lending this ancient forest an additional vor of reverie and illusions.


    ¡®Harrump!¡¯ Charcoal would asionally turned back to snort at Miao Yi, giving off a hint of discontent.


    Both of them had been together for so long, how could they not understand each other?


    Miao Yi knew that this bastard¡¯szy habit was acting up again, and he was still thinking about the Octopus Spirit¡¯s flesh.


    Whenpared to his time at Transient Light Cave, Charcoal was already considered to be quite hardworking. Ever since what happened to Luo Zhen, thiszy fatty went through a great change. Although he was still extremelyzy as before, when he was needed for hard work, he didn¡¯t ck in the least.


    Saddling on Charcoal¡¯s back with his spear in hand, Miao Yi stepped onto the bones at Charcoal¡¯s either side and lifted his head to look. Through the thinly spread trees, he saw the twinkling stars in the night sky. asional, a meteor would shoot past.


    In this split second, Miao Yi felt like the entire world was remarkably tranquil and beautiful, but in direct juxtaposition, he was instead charging forth to kill!


    Scanning his surroundings, he casually waved his hand and arge tentacle of the Octopus Spirit was thrown to the ground. He dismounted his steed, and stabbed the silver spear in this hand into the soil. Turning around, he sat on top of arge boulder.


    He called back half of the little ones who were scattered about the surroundings, and chucked a piece of the Octopus Spirit¡¯s flesh so that the little ones could eat.


    Seeing Charcoal and the little ones savouring the flesh, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t refrain from rubbing his chin. He had never eaten a demon¡¯s meat before, should he try it out?


    He felt that as long as he did not think about the voluptuous woman, he should be able to stomach it. What right did a demon have to eat people, and why couldn¡¯t people eat demons instead?


    He acted on what he said at once. He quickly gathered a pile of dry branches from all around and started a fire. Then using a branch, he pierced through a chunk of the octopus meat and racked it on the fire to roast.


    Soon after, the peculiar, alluring fragrance of the meat permeated from it. It was a meaty fragrance unlike anything that Miao Yi had ever smelled before.


    Miao Yi gathered his hands, greatly anticipating the tasteter.


    ¡®Harrumph!¡¯ Charcoal snorted loudly, ring its nostrils. He stared at the roasting food racked up on top of the fire, then once again directed its attention to the food he was eating. He also seemed to have been captivated by the bizarre meaty fragrance.


    Finally, he opened his mouth and bit onto it, before walking over to the fire side and flinging the Octopus Spirit¡¯s tentacle - about half the size of a table - into the open fire, also intending to roast it.


    ¡®PFFT!¡¯ Sparks of fire surged as the ashes flew about in a flurry. It immediately put out the fire and pressed Miao Yi¡¯s almost cooked meat into the pile of ashes.


    The main problem was that the meat that Charcoal had been eating was too big. When something the size of half a table came crashing down, it would have been a wonder if the fire had not been extinguished as a result.


    ¡®I¡¯m in trouble!¡¯ Charcoal knew he had done wrong. He meekly fell back a step, his gaze meeting Miao Yi¡¯s, as they stare at each other in consternation.


    ¡°Damn fatty! Didn¡¯t you always eat them raw? What, do you also want to have a taste of roast meat today?¡°


    Miao Yi waved his hand to swipe away the flying sparks of fire and ashes before him. He didn¡¯t get angry and was instead curious, finding Charcoal¡¯s behaviour strange.


    Seeing that he wasn¡¯t furious, Charcoal was immediately revitalized. He knelt down on all four hooves, lying on the ground and swishing its serpentine tail from time to time; his eyes gleaming as he looked at Miao Yi and snorted. His face held a look full of anticipation as he acted in an endearing manner.

 Chapter 120: Pi Junzi (2)

    Chapter 120: Pi Junzi (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Miao Yi shook his head helplessly, then turned around to gather arge pile of dry branches before starting the fire again. He then felt out a spear from his storage ring, and pierced it through therge piece of meat that Charcoal had thrown over, racking it over the fire to roast.


    As for the almost cooked meat in the ash pile, Miao Yi naturally would not eat it. Thus, he picked it up and chucked it in front of Charcoal.


    Immediately, Charcoal took arge mouthful and it seemed to fit his pte. Just that rtively to his, the portion of the meat that Miao Yi had seemed too little; he finished it with just two bites.


    In the Sea of Constetions, the night was still. Shooting stars trailed in silence through the night sky.


    Under the ancient trees shrouding the night sky, fireflies gently andzily hovered abound. The world was indeed beautiful.


    Beside the fire, Miao Yi was busy flipping and roasting the Octopus Spirit¡¯s meat. One swarm of little ones left after eating their fill, and another batch of them arrived to munch on the raw meat; by the side, Charcoal was swishing his serpentine tail as hey waiting.


    This was truly a night fit for a y!


    A few li away, a figure about two metres tall, a gray rat with fierce teeth, crawled out swiftly from the cave of a cliff.


    Coming to a halt at the entrance of the cave, it lifted its bearded nose and sniffed the strange smell in the air. After verifying the direction, it scuttled out the cave entrance with a swish, crawling at a breakneck speed.


    After getting closer to the source of the peculiar fragrance, a white light shed across the giant rat¡¯s body, transforming into a slender, shabby man, crawling on the ground. He touched the moustache at the corner of his mouth and mbered up from the ground. Then, floated light as a feather in the direction of the firelight.


    Finally, he hid behind arge tree, furtively poking out half his head to covertly spy at the scene by the fire.


    With a dragon steed as a mount, in addition to Miao Yi¡¯s appearance, the Rat Spirit determined that he was a human cultivator. Except why was that dragon steed fat to this extent? It was simply inconceivable, and today, it really opened his eyes!


    Human cultivators who darede to the Sea of Constetions alone were umon. However, he reckoned that he wasn¡¯t that strong; the true experts among human cultivators could soar through the skies and would not use dragon steeds as their leg strength.


    But the Rat Spirit still did not dare to act blindly without thinking. He shifted his head to nce at the mantis that had climbed from the tree trunk onto his arm, and did not pay it any heed. He continued to stare at Miao Yi who was by the fire¡¯s side, his eyes flickering as he mulled over some thoughts.


    Miao Yi, still roasting his meat by the fireside, raised his brows. He had already received the message transmitted by the little one. He remained silent for a while as he waited for the little one to get ready. After that, he suddenly turned his head to look towards therge tree where the Rat Spirit was hiding.


    rmed, the Rat Spirit did not expect that he had been discovered by the other party in this location. He was about to make his escape when all of a sudden, a stinging sensation spread out from his shoulder and aherworldly aura that greatly chilled human souls invaded into his body in a sh.


    The Rat Spirit opened his mouth, his expression stunned as his body copsed to the side.


    Miao Yi on the other hand, had already dashed forth. He swiftly removed the silver spear stuck into the ground by his side, and eventually descended to the side of the copsed crafty-looking man. He was about to raise the silver spear in his hand to strike, but the sight of a white light shing along the other party¡¯s body greeted him. In an instant, he had turned into a giant rat.


    Miao Yi was taken back. It turned out to be a Rat Spirit of the White Lotus Realm. After thinking it through slightly more, he still thrust the silver spear in his hand down.


    He stabbed two times in quick session through the two forelimbs of the Rat Spirit, before releasing a fine steel chain, an item from the Octopus Spirit¡¯s storage ring. Before this, he had wondered how the Octopus Spirit did not find it troublesome to have so much junk around, now he finally had some use for it.


    He threaded the fine steel chain through the wounds of the Rat Spirit, tying them up before dragging the Rat Spirit to the fireside. Then he stepped on the Rat Spirit¡¯s body, invoking his art to dispel the chilling aura of theherworld from within the Rat Spirit¡¯s body. He did not dispel everything and left half of it behind, just in case.


    The Rat Spirit quivered uncontrobly for a while, gradually regaining consciousness. The moment his eyes opened, he immediately saw the speartip that Miao Yi readied at him.


    The Rat Spirit was shocked beyond measure. Without hesitation, he turned to flee, only to realize that the speed of the transcendence energy present inside his body had became rigid and sluggish. Thus, he found it difficult to utilize its power.


    Miao Yi gave a coldugh, as Charcoal promptly dragged the other end of the fine steel chain, running in the opposite direction.


    Tethering Charcoal to be the ship¡¯s driving force, definitely wasn¡¯t something he was willing to do. But this kind of work in ensnaring someone, he was extremely interested and well pleased with himself as he ran happily.


    What a jest! Even a Blue Lotus rank cultivator would not darepare their strength with a dragon steed, let alone a mere Rat spirit of the White Lotus realm; and what¡¯s more, the Rat Spirit was already in his trap.


    If not for Miao Yi stopping him, Charcoal would have been very interested in dragging this giant rat to death.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± The Rat Spirit cried out in pain, finding that both his two forelimbs had been bound together and shackled. With a rustle, he was promptly dragged before Miao Yi by Charcoal.


    The speartip in Miao Yi¡¯s hand was thrust into the thigh of the Rat Spirit with a ¡®pop¡¯! Itnced through the thigh, nailing him to the ground. ¡°Giant rat, you¡¯re wee to try and run again for me to see!¡±


    A white light shed by, and the Rat Spirit once again transformed into a shabby man. He trembled as his body cowered, hugging his impaled thigh with arms shackled by the fine steel chain. He lifted his head to stare at Miao Yi.


    He was grimacing in pain, yet he still managed to say menacingly, ¡°Brat, can¡¯t you see what this ce is? You dare to hurt your Grandpa Pi? I see that you must be tired of living! Hurry up and let your Grandpa Pi go! If Grandpa Pi is happy, perhaps I can spare your life. Otherwise, all hell will break loose on you!¡±


    ¡°Your life is in my hands and you still have the nerve to be stubborn!¡±ughed Miao Yi coldly. He pulled out his spear, and pressed the bloody speartip against the Rat Spirit¡¯s head, ready to thrust straight through.


    The Rat Spirit¡¯s expression immediately crumpled as he cried out oddly, ¡°Great Immortal, please have mercy! Great Immortal, please spare me! I admit my mistakes! I admit my mistakes!¡±


    This bastard had been stubbornly refusing to admit his problem earlier, and even tried to appear as though he was really something. But nobody would have expected that Miao Yi didn¡¯t even need to torment him much, only scare him a little, before he immediately cowered. It turned out that he was just a terrified shit. A sheep in wolf¡¯s clothing.


    Miao Yi found it ridiculous as he pressed the speartip against his head, saying expressionlessly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that all hell will break loose on me? Where is the disastering from? If you can¡¯t exin it properly, I will immediately peel off your skin and remove your core!¡±


    ¡°Great Immortal, please spare me! I¡¯ll talk! I¡¯ll talk!¡±


    Without any need for him to expend any effort, the Rat Spirit promptly confessed to everything in a rattle.


    The Rat Spirit¡¯s name was called ¡®Pi Junzi¡¯. He had cultivated for more than three thousand years, and shockingly had a White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivation, not far from breaking through to the Blue Lotus realm. His cultivation base was much higher than Miao Yi¡¯s.


    Formerly, within this radius of a hundred li was Pi Junzi¡¯s territory. However, three hundred years ago, a ¡®Madame Wu Hua¡¯ suddenly emerged from the sea, defeating him and seizing the territory.


    But Madame Wu Hua did not like staying onnd, so she only treated this terrestrial territory as a temporary residence. She would asionally leave the sea to go ashore and walk around leisurely. The territory was still pushed to Pi Junzi to watch over, thus Pi Junzi became Madame Wu Hua¡¯s diminutivend-based general, making rounds around the mountain.


    However, this was very much in line with Pi Junzi¡¯s intentions. He was still the one looking over the territory and in addition, he had gained a benefactor. When encountering strong enemies invading his territory, he could still find Madame Wu Hua to help. As such, he had lived afortable life.


    The hell he had called out to Miao Yi, was referring to the benefactor behind him, Madame Wu Hua.


    ¡°Madame Wu Hua...¡± muttered Miao Yi as he pondered. Within this radius of a hundred li, was it all Madame Wu Hua¡¯s territory?


    But the range of hundred li also included the ce where he had ughtered the Octopus Spirit. He remembered her mentioning his intruding into her territory. At the same time, the Octopus Spirit also came from the sea, so he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°This Madame Wu Hua you mentioned, was it an Octopus Spirit with multicolored spots and a Second Grade Yao cultivator?¡±

 Chapter 121: Pi Junzi (3)

    Chapter 121: Pi Junzi (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡°Uh...¡± Pi Junzi¡¯s eyes brightened as he nodded his head repeatedly and said, ¡°Correct. Correct. Could it be that Great Immortal is the Madame¡¯s acquaintance? No wonder you are here in Madame¡¯s territory! It looks like we have failed to recognize each other when we are on the same side, simply one family that did not know one another! Since we¡¯re one family, Great Immortal, please let me go and allow me to salute you. Such agony has really tormented me to a frantic state!¡±


    ¡°Hehe!¡± Miao Yiughed coldly for a while, his face revealing a teasing look. He turned and pointed at the meat roasting on top of the fire rack. ¡°Your Madame and I surely knew each other. How could you not notice your Madame is currently roasting over the fire? The meaty fragrance is permeating the entire ce! Hurry up and recognize her!¡±


    ¡°Eh...Madame...¡± Pi Junzi slowly uttered,pletely at a loss for words.


    After having it pointed out, it wasn¡¯t hard to recognize an octopus tentacle roasting over the fire. A normal octopus could never have grown this huge.


    Miao Yi strolled over to the side of the fire. He reached out and grabbed the scalding hot longspear. With a shake, therge piece of cooked octopus meat fell before Charcoal.


    ¡®Harrumph!¡¯ Charcoal let out a loud snort, swinging his mane around as he split open his jaw to reveal razor sharp teeth. He lowered his head and bit down in satisfaction.


    Pi Junzi kept twitching unceasingly, finding it difficult to swallow his saliva. His eyes gradually shifted away from the thing that Charcoal was eating, and finally dropped his gaze onto Miao Yi. Atst, he saw Miao Yi was currently looking askance at him as he smirked. Uncontrobly, he felt goosebumps and could already imagine the scene of himself being propped over the fire and getting roasted!


    ¡°Benefactor!¡± Pi Junzi suddenly faced upwards and let out a mournful cry. He mbered up, and faced Miao Yi to bow down to pay his respects.


    ¡®Neigh!¡¯ Charcoal titled his head to the side. On seeing the guy raise a fuss, he immediately ignore his delicious food for the time being and turned around galloping while dragging the steel chain behind him.


    ¡°AIIIEE!¡± Pi Junzi emitted a blood-curdling scream, and was once again dragged away by Charcoal in a flurry without rhyme or reason.


    ¡®BANG! BANG! BANG!¡¯ ...the crafty, lean figure was being mmed ferociously againstrge trees.


    Due to the suppression of theherworldly Yin energy in his body, it wasn¡¯t easy for him to invoke his defensive arts. He was instantly jolted to the point he was befuddled, simply screaming for his life repeatedly, ¡°OW! Great Immortal, please spare my life! OW! Great Immortal, please spare me!¡±


    Miao Yi was also slightly at a loss for words. He realized that Charcoal always had this evil sadistic streak in him. He had kept the Rat Spirit alive and didn¡¯t kill him because he still had some use for him, so don¡¯t he dare kill him off.


    ¡°Damn fatty! Don¡¯t run too far! Come back!¡± Miao Yi called out to put a stop to it.


    In the end, the still spirited and trembling with excitement Charcoal, dragged the howling and crying Pi Junzi back to Miao Yi.


    He stopped in his tracks with his rear facing Pi Junzi and swished his tail around to disy his prowess, before lowering his head to continue eating his delicious food.


    Like a drowned mouse, Pi Junzi copsed to his side, groaning in pain. His hair was scattered all about in a frazzled state. His entire body covered in mud and withered leaves .


    However, it was important to safeguard his life and Pi Junzi was afraid to dy any further. Using hands pierced and shackled to the bone, he wiped off the blood flowing from his nose after the collisions. Quickly, he mbered up and faced Miao Yi to kowtow. Once again, he cried out in sorrow, ¡°Benefactor...¡±


    As he just finished saying that, he seemed to recalled something. His voice trailed off slightly as he quickly turned his head to cast a nce at Charcoal. It seemed he had really learnt his lesson from his past mistake.


    Just now he had shouted out ¡®Benefactor¡¯, which lead him to be dragged away and be tortured by that fat dragon steed. He was slightly worried that misfortunes woulde from his mouth, and he would be tormented again.


    He was unable to wrap his mind around it. He had only called out ¡®Benefactor¡¯ and yet why had that fat dragon steed over reacted?


    Seeing that he was safe, Pi Junzi heaved a sigh of relief. Once again, he kowtowed and cried out wretchedly, ¡°Benefactor!¡±


    When he lifted his head, one could see the tears flowing from his eyes. The tears that cascaded down his face appeared sparkling and translucent under the illumination of the mes, as he revealed a look of agony on his face.


    Miao Yi found that this Rat Spirit had many cards up his sleeves. He had threatened him in the beginning and soon after, he was begging for mercy. So what was he ying at now? It hadn¡¯t been long, yet the speed at which he had changed his attitude was really fast.


    ¡°You¡¯re calling me Benefactor?¡±


    Miao Yi asked cautiously, feeling a bit suspicious. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he was the only one present, he would¡¯ve almost thought that he heard it wrongly. He had already tormented him to this extent, yet the guy could still kneel down and kowtow, calling him a benefactor while thanking him?


    Pi Junzi once again, sadly wiped away the blood flowing from his nose. He nodded his head, choking with sobs, ¡°Precisely!¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Miao Yi asked in amusement, ¡°I¡¯d like to hear the details!¡±


    Pi Junzi shook his head in anger and grief, saying, ¡°She¡¯s the most poisonous wrench! That Octopus Spirit seized my territory, forced me to be her ve, and often used countless methods of unprecedented brutality to insult and abuse me! Benefactor has not witnessed it personally. If you had, you would know that everything she did would simply make people bristle with anger. For thest three hundred years, I have lived in fear every day and night, and was often startled awake from a nightmare weeping bitter tears. It was the same as a living death! Now that benefactor has punished her on behalf of heaven and beheaded that wretched woman devoid of conscience for me, allowing me to shed off a wretched plight. How could I not be moved to tears? Oh benefactor, please ept my paying of respects again!¡±


    When he said paying his respects, he did it exactly as he said, his attitude was sincere with tears hanging on his face. He kowtowed soundly on the ground one after another, kneeling for a long time with no intention of getting up.


    Miao Yi twitched. Having grown to this age, this was still his first time seeing such a shameless bastard. It would be astonishing if he had actually believed this Rat Spirit. He wasn¡¯t an idiot. The guy was obviously paying lip service for the sake of surviving.


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Miao Yi indifferently, slightly raising his brow.


    Pi Junzi was kneeling with his head pressed to the ground when he suddenly lifted his head. He raised the hands pierced through the bones with the fine steel chain over his head. ¡°It¡¯s true! It couldn¡¯t be anymore true! I swear to the heavens above that I hated to be unable to eat that wretched woman¡¯s flesh, drinking her blood, sleeping on her skin! For the past three hundred years until now, I have wished that I could devour her whole every day and night!¡±


    Miao Yi really had to give it to him, yet he still remained indifferent, ¡°Really?¡±


    Pi Junzi began to panic. He had already spoken to this point and he still didn¡¯t trust him?


    Looking around him, his gaze fell onto the meat that Charcoal was biting on. Since he didn¡¯t believe what he said, he decided to take action to prove how much he really wished he could eat that Octopus Spirit¡¯s meat and drink her blood.


    Without uttering another word, he dragged the steel chain along as he ran over in a hurry. He crouched on the ground, grabbing onto the cooked Octopus Spirit¡¯s meat and gobbled it down whilst madly chewing.


    After devouring a few mouthfuls ravenously, he even faced upwards towards the sky andughed heartily, ¡°Wretched woman! Serves you right!¡±


    Once he had finished scolding, he continued to lunge down with his head, madly eating a few mouthfuls before cursing again. He was virtually drawing the line between him and the Octopus Spirit at any cost.


    Charcoal widened his eyes greatly as he stared at him. He actually dared to rob his delicious food?!


    ¡°Wretched woman! I finally-¡±


    ¡®-BANG!¡¯ Before he could finish, Charcoal had turned around and faced him with his rear, promptly giving him a backward kick. Immediately, Pi Junzi¡¯s words were cut off as he was sent flying.


    What a joke! The dragon steed¡¯s most valiant trait was their leg strength. One could well imagine the consequence of being kicked by a dragon steed.


    Blood spurted out from Pi Junzi¡¯s mouth as he flew backwards. The meal that he had eaten earlier was also vomited out, while the cracking sound of fracturing bones were crisp to the ears.


    He flew halfway up the sky before being dragged to a halt in mid air by the fine steel chain tied to Charcoal¡¯s body. He hovered for a while, then came crashing down onto the ground with a ¡®BANG¡¯!


    Looking at this scene, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but grimace. He could very well imagine the taste of that kick by Charcoal and couldn¡¯t stand thinking of the agonizing pain felt by Pi Junzi. He almost didn¡¯t have the heart to continue watching.


    Lying on the ground, Pi Junzi coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood. After groaning for quite a while, he struggled for a bit, shocked to the point that he couldn¡¯t mber up and was unable to utter a single word. This time his internal injury were really severe.

 Chapter 122: Pi Junzi (4)

    Chapter 122: Pi Junzi (4)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Clutching his spear, Miao Yi walked over to him.


    Pi Junzi turned his head over with exceptional difficulty. Seeing the iing Miao Yi holding his spear, a look of panic shed past his eyes. He exerted his entire strength and did his utmost to kneel, once again coughing up a mouthful of blood as he shook his head forcefully and said, ¡°Great Immortal, please spare me. Don¡¯t kill me! Great Immortal, please spare my life...¡±


    Standing in front of him, Miao Yi finally understood a single truth from Pi Junzi. As expected, he was really a powerless individual and still coveted his life!


    For the sake of living, this Rat Spirit was seriously willing to bear any form of humiliation.


    Despite the fact that Miao Yi knew Pi Junzi only said those words for the sake of living, and so it wasn¡¯t worth an ounce of trust from the start, he still reached out with his spear, lifting his chin as he said, ¡°I believe you! Obey me and I will spare your life. Otherwise, I¡¯ll definitely kill you!¡±


    In a sh, a feeling of happiness engulfed Pi Junzi, as he repeatedly nodded his head and eximed, ¡°Thank you, Great Immortal! This humbled one pledges my life to vow loyalty and devotion to Great Immortal! And absolutely will not be disloyal to you!¡±


    It¡¯s best to just listen to these kind of words and pay it no heed. Most likely, he acted the same while trying to live through the Octopus Spirit¡¯s grasp. Miao Yi shook his head, turned around and left. He again retrieved a piece of meat and roasted it over the fire rack. He pointed to the fire across him in passing, signaling the other person toe over and sit.


    Pi Junzi shifted to the ce with great difficulty, he hobbled over before sitting, grinning apologetically. Bloodstains were all over his face and his moustache was akin to messy grass, looking exceptionally hideous.


    Until now, he couldn¡¯t understand how had he even fallen for his trap, as well as how he could unknowingly fall, so much so that he couldn¡¯t even perceive the depth of the other person¡¯s cultivation base.


    ¡°I came to the Sea of Constetions to hunt. If you cannot assist me in bringing results, then I¡¯ll have to kill you to make up the numbers...¡±


    Miao Yi coerced and threatened, before asking about the state of affairs on the ind.


    For the sake of his life, it could be said that Pi Junzi answered all questions asked.


    The six nations within the Six Sages realm, the control structure was more or less the same from top to bottom. However, the world is so big that nothing should bring surprise. There were bound to be some ces that were different. For instance, ces like the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea.


    Within the realm of the Yao Nation, the Yao Sage Ji Huan came from the Sea of Constetions, so it could be said that it was Ji Huan¡¯s ce of origin. Hence, the Sea of Constetions area was considerably permissive, causing the ce to be rtively unconventional. There weren¡¯t too many rules to be had, only that the strongest would be king.


    The majority of the ces in the entire Sea of Constetions were divided amongst its four kings, who were known by its people as the Four Sea Kings of the Sea of Constetions. Serving under them were the nine Supreme Yao Lords, and under each of the Supreme Yao Lords, there were twelve Grand Yao Generals, with each of the Yao Generals having thirty-sixmanders serving under them. The otherrge and small demons, like Pi Junzi, were also innumerable.


    The mysteries of the vast and obscure sea were far more treacherous than that of thend. Furthermore in this region, there were also the cruel, wild, unwilling to be tamed and unrestrainable Demonic Behemoths. Some of the Demonic Behemoths had even surpassed the seniority of the Six Sages. Although they didn¡¯t have the qualifications to be at the top, or were as well-respected like the Six Sages, their strength was not to be underestimated. It was uncertain as to how many tens of thousands of years they had spent in cultivation.


    These Demonic Behemoths didn¡¯t even hold the Six Sages in high regard. Alone, they may not match up to the Six Sages, but should theybine their forces, even the Six Sages would have to consider, not daring to look for such trouble rashly. As long as a conflict of interest between them didn¡¯t break out, these Demonic Behemoths were selectively forgotten by the Six Sages.


    Of course, the Demonic Behemoths were also reluctant to act rashly by crossing the line with the Six Sages. Due to the fact that conflict already existed between the Six Sages, they would not try working together so easily. However, if they really didy their hands on the Six Sages¡¯ gains, forcing the Six Sages tobine their forces, those Demonic Behemoths would not be able to endure it.


    On hearing that, Miao Yi sucked in a breath of cold air. No wonder many said that the Sea of Constetions was extremely dangerous, and furthermore, even exceedingly chaotic. It turned out there were Demonic Behemoths who were selectively forgotten by the Six Sages. With the presence of these demons, it was no wonder that the Yao Sage Ji Huan found it hard to secure the Sea of Constetions, and allowed it to remain in chaos.


    The rumours that the Sea of Constetions was the ce of origin of Ji Huan, so Ji Huan was quite permissive of them, were supposedly just excuses to put feathers in one¡¯s cap. In reality, it was because Ji Huan couldn¡¯t deal with those Demonic Behemoths.


    In summary, the ten thousand inds and seas of all sizes in the Sea of Constetions, were all dominated by all kinds of demons.


    And currently, Miao Yi was on the territory of the Four Sea Kings of the Sea of Constetions. This ind belonged to the Azure Ape Commander. He was called Yuan Kaishan, a Third Grade Yao cultivator, equivalent to a cultivator of the Red Lotus realm.


    Listening up till this point, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t refrain from asking cautiously, ¡°Then Madame Wu Hua is the subordinate of the Azure Ape Commander?¡±


    A cultivator of the Red Lotus realm was no joke. Amongst the four great realms which Lao Bai divided into the First Art of Traversing, Second Art of Levitation, Third Art of Soaring the Heavens, Fourth Art of Infinity, the Red Lotus rank had already broken through the realm of traversing, thus having the presence of soaring in the air.


    If he truly had provoked these demons, then even Charcoal¡¯s leg strength were like dregs. Not having the means to flee for his life if the asion called for it¡ªto say that he wasn¡¯t fearful would be bogus.


    Pi Junzi shook his head. ¡°Madame Wu Hua is the fifth concubine of Commander Bi Youbo of Jade Stream Manor, which is three thousand li from here. She¡¯s not the subordinate of Commander Yuan.¡±


    ¡°Three thousand li away?¡± Surprised, Miao Yi thought that the distance was quite far, so he asked, puzzled, ¡°How did a concubine of the Jade Stream Manor¡¯smander run over to the Azure Ape Commander¡¯s territory to upy and? The Azure Ape Commander doesn¡¯t care?¡±


    He finally understood slightly why the Octopus Spirit¡¯s patrimony had been rather generous. It turned out she was the concubine of a household.


    Pi Junzi smiled bitterly. ¡°After Madame Wu Hua sized my territory back then, this humbled one filed aint to the upper echelons. In the end, this humbled one found outter that Commander Bi and Commander Yuan have a special rtionship, and apparently were sworn brothers. I heard that he had to call Commander Bi ¡®Big Brother¡¯. With thisyer of rtionship present, naturally it¡¯s be like this. It¡¯s only just that I feel wronged.¡±


    Miao Yi went speechless. So it seemed that she still had some rtion to the Azure Ape Commander. Furthermore, the situation was even more dire. First, Madame Wu Hua was Bi Youbo¡¯s concubine and second, she was also Yuan Kaishan¡¯s sister inw. Him killing Madame Wu Hua was the same as offending the two demonicmanders all at once.


    In any case, he¡¯d managed to gain something from all this. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t refrain from thinking whether he should quit while he was ahead and to quickly make his escape


    But whenever he thought of all of his dead subordinates, it would be very difficult to save his Cave Master¡¯s seat once he returned. If he did not umte more items in gains, he would barely be able to make up for the losses.


    But he still needed to thoroughly understand the situation. ¡°Madame Wu Hua is dead. When do you think Commander Bi and Commander Yuan will find out?¡±


    Pi Junzi knew what he was worrying about. He shook his head in reply. ¡°This, I am not too sure.¡±


    Flipping over the ¡®Madame Wu Hua¡¯ in his hand as he roasted it, Miao Yi coldlyughed. ¡°You¡¯d better consider it carefully. You¡¯re now under mymand. If some mishaps were to happen to me, I will definitely ughter you first as my scapegoat. Perhaps, I should kill you now before any further discussion.¡±


    Pi Junzi was scared out of his wits, eximing again and again, ¡°Great Immortal, this humbled one really doesn¡¯t know. This humbled one doesn¡¯t even know where Madame Wu Hua¡¯s cave is located in the waters. But I heard that the reason why Madame Wu Hua came here was because she was tired of struggling to be favored and was made an outcast by the other wives of Commander Bi Youbo. She had no ce to stay in the Jade Stream Manor, so she temporarily took shelter here. And Commander Yuan would nevere here to meet his sister-inw. It wouldn¡¯t be pleasant to her if this gets spread out. Reportedly, Bi Youbo¡¯s background is extraordinary. This humbled one believes that Commander Yuan would never disregard Bi Youbo¡¯s honor by meeting his sister-inw in private. So this humbled one estimates that for the short term, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone who will discover that Madame Wu Hua is dead.¡±

 Chapter 123: Bejeweled Nectar Conclave (1)

    Chapter 123: Bejeweled Nectar Conve (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡°I¡¯ll repeat this again: before anything happens to me, I¡¯d rather kill you as my scapegoat first!¡± Miao Yi said coldly. He slowly took in a breath of relief, he didn¡¯t think he could avoid discovery forever, but it was best if he wasn¡¯t found out for at least a while.


    Flipping the thing in his hand as he roasted it, he pondered for a while, before asking in a demanding tone, ¡°Do you have any good ideas to help me hunt?¡±


    Charcoal had been eating while standing, then while sprawled on the ground, then while lying on its side. Pi Junzi nced at it and felt that it was really a first for him to see such an odd dragon steed. He couldn¡¯t help but ask cautiously, ¡°Dare I ask what Great Immortal¡¯s cultivation level is?¡±


    Miao Yi squinted at him, then lightly raised his brows and said, ¡°Even if my cultivation was any lower, it¡¯ll still be more than enough to kill you. It would be best if you don¡¯t plot anything malicious.¡±


    Pi Junzi couldn¡¯t help but think mockingly to himself, ¡®A cultivator that still rides a dragon steed, how high could his cultivation be? At most, he¡¯d be a Blue Lotus cultivator. He¡¯s really got guts, to daree running to the Sea of Constetions and hunt with such a low cultivation, and yet I had the misfortune of bumping into him.¡¯


    Both his bolted arms shook anxiously, as he said in distress, ¡°This humbled one had no such intentions, I just wanted to ask how much prey the Great Immortal was intending to hunt. Is there a limit?¡±


    Miao Yi replied, ¡°Obviously, the more the better!¡±


    The more the better? Pi Junziughed bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s best that I let the Great Immortal know, Commander Yuan has seventy-two Fort Masters under him, and each possess a cultivation level at the Second Grade. They¡¯re spread out like a, unlike this humbled one¡¯s ce where it was just me because of Madame Wu Hua. If someone were to infiltrate another¡¯s territory, the rm will surely be raised as soon as you kill one of their own. This humbled one just didn¡¯t want the Great Immortal toe into any kind of trouble.¡±


    Miao Yi scoffed, ¡°Are you being considerate of me, or being considerate of the other Yao cultivators?¡±


    Pi Junzi thought to himself, ¡®I¡¯m obviously not being considerate of you, but being concerned for myself. I¡¯ll be damned if youe into some kind of trouble. If things don¡¯t go well, you might just kill me as your scapegoat, so how could I not be wary?¡¯


    Ignoring the mockery in the other party¡¯s tone, he could only try his best to sound convincing, ¡°Great Immortal, this humbled one really isn¡¯t lying. If you kill only one and then leave, that would be good, otherwise everyone will hunt you down and kill you!¡±


    For his own petty life, and so that the other party would believe his words, he added another line of truth, ¡°If the Great Immortal were toe into any trouble, you would kill this humbled one first as your scapegoat, which is why this humbled one doesn¡¯t wish the Great Immortal to encounter anyplications. This humbled one still wishes to live on.¡±


    Miao Yi was silent. There was some logic in what the other person was saying. If it were so easy to hunt in the Sea of Constetions, who knows how many cultivators would flock over? He said in a low voice, ¡°I came running here from a faraway ce, how could I go back empty-handed? Think again, is there any method for me to obtain a little more in one go?¡±


    ¡°In one go?¡± Pi Junziughed bitterly. ¡°In two months, all seventy-two Fort Masters will assemble at the Bejeweled Nectar Conve...¡±


    He hadn¡¯t yet finished speaking, but what he implied was, ¡®At that time there will be seventy-two Blue Lotus level Yao cultivators gathered together, so there will be plenty of them, but do you have what it takes to handle so many people? It¡¯s best not to be too greedy, you won¡¯t be able to gobble them up!¡¯


    Miao Yi asked inquisitively, ¡°What is this Bejeweled Nectar Conve?¡±


    Pi Junzi exined, ¡°Commander Yuan is fond of fine liquor, so every year the seventy-two Fort Masters brew a batch of quality wine, and everyone will give their assessments together. The wine that everyone regards as the best will be offered to Commander Yuan. Commander Yuan never refrains from handing rewards when he has nice alcohol, because he¡¯s a drunkard. The seventy-two Fort Masters¡¯ process of appraising fine liquor has thus been pegged with the title of the ¡®Bejeweled Nectar Conve¡¯, but in truth it was just to cater to Commander Yuan¡¯s fancies.¡±


    ¡°So that was it, a bunch of ass-kissers...¡± Miao Yi nodded his head thoughtfully, and a bright radiance shed in his eyes.


    Seventy-two Fort Masters¡ªthat was seventy-two Yao cultivators equivalent to the Blue Lotus realm. If he killed these seventy-two people, that would be seventy-two First Grade Yao Cores.


    He was tempted just thinking about it. If he could obtain such a harvest, even if he couldn¡¯t stay as a Cave Master when he returned, it would still be enough for him to use for many years. But the biggest problem was, it didn¡¯t seem quite probable to eliminate seventy-two Fort Masters at the Blue Lotus level in one go. And he would rm the rest if he eliminated one, which wouldn¡¯t be worth a candle if that were to happen.


    Having had the experience of defeating Madame Wu Hua, Miao Yi began to have some faith in the little ones.


    But using the little ones meant that he needed to ambush the target, otherwise the little ones would die like ants.


    Ambushing seventy-two people at the same time¡ªit wasn¡¯t such a likely feat! Unless he had some way of approaching them, and have them lower their guards on top of that. Only then would he have the chance to seed. Otherwise, it waspletely hopeless.


    The meat was cooked. Miao Yi cut half of it and tossed it over to Pi Junzi.


    Pi Junzi thanked him as he smiled rigidly, hugging it as he bit in.


    Miao Yi raised the Octopus Spirit¡¯s meat and hesitated for a moment. As he was about to put it in his mouth, he inadvertently thought about that beautiful Madame, thinking, ¡®I¡¯m actually going to eat her?¡¯


    He slowly tried taking a bite, chewing for a bit, when his eyes suddenly shone. The meat was very fragrant, and was quite chewy. The taste was quite nice.


    Furthermore, once he¡¯d swallowed it into his stomach he quickly felt a warmth flowing through his limbs. This demonic spirit¡¯s meat that had gone through many years of cultivation, and absorbed who knew how much essence of the heavens and earth¡ªit was definitely extraordinary. It was not something normal poultry couldpare with. No wonder Charcoal and the little ones liked it so much.


    As he held onto his roasted meat, Miao Yi chewed silently for a moment, and suddenly raised his head and asked, ¡°Do you have a method to help me infiltrate the Bejeweled Nectar Conve?¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡± Pi Junzi instantly raised his head as he was eating, and cried, ¡°Great Immortal, you really wish to go?! Great Immortal had better think carefully, the cultivation of seventy-two Fort Masters is equal to cultivators at the Blue Lotus level. Even if you managed to sneak in, you¡¯ll still have difficulty finding a chance to make your move!¡±


    ¡°We can talk about whether a chance exists or not once I sneak in. What would you know about my chances if I don¡¯t go inside? You just need to tell me, do you have a way for me to sneak in?¡±


    ¡°This...¡± Pi Junzi was at a loss and gave it some thought for quite a while, but after thinking it over he shook his head and said, ¡°Madame Wu Hua would take part in the festivities once in awhile. She has brought me with her a few times. Looking at the situation back then, without getting permission, it doesn¡¯t seem likely that outsiders can sneak in as they please.¡±


    Miao Yi asked, ¡°Then how would one get permission to enter?¡±


    ¡°Unless someone familiar were to bring the Great Immortal in, or if the Great Immortal had sufficient strength or background for them to wee you in. Even though Madame Wu Hua had no fine liquor to offer and participate in, she had the Jade Stream Manor as her background, and was familiar with Commander Yuan, which was why she¡¯d been able to take part in the festivities. Otherwise, there was no way to get in.¡±


    ¡°Jade Stream Manor....¡± Miao Yi was taken aback, as though something had crossed his mind. He flipped his palm, and an unclouded crystal token shed on top of his palm¡ªthe ¡®Jade¡¯ character that was carved on top was as clear as day. Then he threw it to Pi Junzi and asked, ¡°Can you take a look at this token and see if it has anything to do with Jade Stream Manor?¡±


    Pi Junzi didn¡¯t need to examine it as he held it in his hand. He eximed, ¡°This is Madame Wu Hua¡¯s token, and ites straight out of Jade Stream Manor...¡±


    He quickly understood¡ªthe other party had definitely obtained this token after killing Madame Wu Hua.


    Miao Yi spread open his fingers, and sucked the token back into his hands, waving it as he asked, ¡°Can I infiltrate the Bejeweled Nectar Conve if I have this token?¡±


    Pi Junzi nodded his head repeatedly and said, ¡°If you have that token in your hands, it means that you have the Jade Stream Manor behind you. Bi Youbo and Commander Yuan are lifelong friends, so the seventy-two Fort Masters will definitely give face, and won¡¯t impede your entry. It¡¯s only that the Great Immortal doesn¡¯t have an ounce of Yao aura on your body, which others might find suspicious.¡±

 Chapter 124: Bejeweled Nectar Conclave (2)

    Chapter 124: Bejeweled Nectar Conve (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    As he spoke up to here, Pi Junzi thought a little to himself.


    ¡®If the other party wants me dead, then sooner orter he will move against me. As soon as there¡¯s no longer any benefit in using me, I¡¯m afraid that would be the time that he will strike.¡¯


    ¡®Since he wants to go to the Bejeweled Nectar Conve, why not give him a hand? I doubt he would dare to go alone. So long as he brings me along, I will have a chance to escape. Otherwise, if I were to continue suffering such torment, when would I ever be able to escape this predicament?¡¯


    Miao Yi gave a slight nod as he furrowed his brows. The other person had a point, he didn¡¯t have any Yao aura on him. Even if he were to go, he would be quickly exposed.


    Who would have thought that Pi Junzi would suddenly correct himself, ¡°We are not exactly out of ideas. Since the Great Immortal carries the token of Jade Stream Manor, I have no doubt that no one would dare look askance at the Great Immortal too deeply. Great Immortal simply needs to ensure there is some Yao aura on your body and this is bound to go off without a hitch.¡±


    ¡°How do I do it?¡± Miao Yi¡¯s eyes brightened. Since the other person was suggesting such a thing, he was sure to have a way.


    ¡°I believe the Great Immortal has already taken the Inner Core of Madame Wu Hua. You just need to keep the Inner Core with you, and use your arts to activate the Inner Core to release a little Yao aura. They will be afraid of the Great Immortal¡¯s identity within Jade Stream Manor, and are sure to allow the Great Immortal easy passage!¡± Pi Junziughed.


    Miao Yi smiled and nodded, ¡°Alright! Then we will do as you say. If it really seeds, I will spare your life. However, there are still two months ahead of us. We can¡¯t just beat the grass and startle the snake in these two months. Where should I stay?¡±


    Needless to say, he obviously intended to go to Pi Junzi¡¯s cave.


    After he was done eating, Miao Yi extinguished the bonfire. Then, leaped onto his horse, brandishing his spear and opening his transcendence vision, staying vignt against his surroundings.


    Amidst the night sky speckled with glimmering stars, fireflies danced silently in the ck of night.


    The rattling of steel chains echoed at the fore from time to time. Pi Junzi was pale from all the pain. He had even been tossed around. With his hands bound behind his back, he was limping as he hurriedly ran to lead the way in front of Charcoal.


    Pi Junzi¡¯s cave was not far from where they were; only a few li away. Very soon, he led Miao Yi into a mountain forest filled with many tall rocks. After circling around many oddly-shaped rocks, they stopped in front of a stone cavern.


    It seemed the surrounding terrain made it so that unless the person was standing in front of the entrance. It would have been difficult for anyone to discover that there was actually a cave hiding here if they had looked from another angle.


    The entrance to the cave was not very tall. Miao Yi would have hit his head if he had remained seated on his dragon steed. Instead, he got off his steed and followed behind Pi Junzi as they entered the dark cave.


    Inside the cave, it was like a maze. If it wasn¡¯t for Pi Junzi leading the way, Miao Yi would undoubtedly have lost his way; truly a fitting ce for a Rat Spirit to dwell. After making a few right and left turns, they finally reached the underground pce.


    It was evident from the size of the underground pce, that it was a ce that had seen its glory days. A stone seat was ced up high, clearly for the sake of being worshipped by subordinates.


    ording to Pi Junzi, he had about ten little demons as subordinates during his past glory days.


    But ever since Madame Wu Hua had shown up, she hadpletely destroyed his blissful life.


    His Fort Master had been furious that he had lost his territory, so all of his subordinates were called back. With him being a Rat Spirit that lived onnd, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to follow Madame Wu Hua and stay under the sea for long periods of time. Neither could he gather a cult of little aquatic demons to keep himpany onnd for long. Thus, he had be all by himself, loved by no one despite having done nothing wrong.


    There were many eternalmps lit inside this abode of Immortals. Under the dim light, one could see many bones scattered around the floor. There were beast bones, as well as human skulls. Clearly, Pi Junzi had eaten people before.


    The conditions in the cave were vastly different from the living environment of man. It gave people a creepy, foreboding feeling of a deep Yin aura. There was also a faint Yao aura that lingered in the air. It really did seem like a ce where demons lived. Normal people would have been scared out of their wits if they hade in here.


    But to one who has already entered the Boundless Secr World, killed men, exorcised ghosts, and butchered demons, Miao Yi was not the least bit afraid of an environment that was a little dark and foreboding.


    After sizing up the ce, he asked, ¡°No one will disturb us here, right?¡±


    Pi Junziughed bitterly, ¡°Other than Madame Wu Hua, who would bother this humbled one. Now that even Madame Wu Hua is gone, this humbled one has really be all by himself.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s great!¡± Miao Yi extended his arm and patted him on the shoulder.


    A little one had creeped out from Miao Yi¡¯s storage ring and crawled its way to his fingertip. Taking advantage of the opportunity when Miao Yi patted Pi Junzi¡¯s shoulder, a tiny sickle ferociously stabbed into the back of Pi Junzi¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Great Immortal.....¡± Pi Junzi said in a low voice, before his eyes rolled back and he dropped to the ground.


    A white glow shed about his body. Once again, he turned into a two-meter long, giant gray rat with razor sharp fangs.


    Miao Yi flicked his finger, and a little onended on the body of the unconscious giant rat.


    As he spread his fingers, the little ones flew out of the storage ring in droves, spreading out into every corner of the cavern; some flew over to the entrance and kept guard.


    Miao Yi squinted at Pi Junzi¡¯s prone form lying on the ground. Then, he released the chains from Charcoal¡¯s body, and nailed them to a stone pir at the side.


    Turning around, he made his way up to the stone throne seated high above. Invoking his arts, he swept the seat clean before sitting cross-legged on it. He threw an Orb of Will into his mouth, and closed his eyes as he slowly began to refine it.


    Since there were still two months until the Bejeweled Nectar Conve, he was prepared to wait here for the next two months. He wasn¡¯t nning on heading out to beat the grass and rm the snake during that time and naturally, it wouldn¡¯t do to let Pi Junzi have the chance to y any tricks as well.


    He also wouldn¡¯t blindly wait for two months to pass. There was enough time for him to refine a low-grade Orb of Will, so he obviously wouldn¡¯t let this time go to waste.


    Charcoal strolled about the cave, stomping about with his hooves as he smelled about here and there. He, for one, didn¡¯t have a care in the world.


    Eventually, he came to rest beside Miao Yi¡¯s seat, flicking his serpentine tail around. He closed his eyes and slept.


    No one could have imagined that Miao Yi would be hiding inside the treacherous Sea of Constetions and cultivating. Not even Miao Yi himself had ever thought that such a day woulde.


    The days began to pass. Miao Yi cultivated quietly in the cave and didn¡¯t step out even once. There was enough food for Charcoal and the little ones inside the storage ring.


    It was also no problem if the little ones wanted to eat crystal coins. The Great Cave Master Miao was now rich. Even though it had been stolen from another, it was now rightfully his and he had the right to do with it as he pleased. He could casually sprinkle arge pile and let them eat as much as they wanted.


    Pi Junzi was still the most unfortunate. Every few days, as soon as he slowly regained consciousness and groaned, the little one keeping guard on his body would immediately stab its tiny sickle in, making Pi Junzi fall back into a dazed state.


    Two monthster, Miao Yi finished refining the Orb of Will in his mouth and examined the art source inside his body.


    To break through to White Lotus Fourth Grade, at most he would only need another eighteen low-grade Orbs of Will.


    Although he had enough Orbs of Will to break through to the Fourth Grade now, he needed time. Refining another eighteen Orbs of Will would require thirty-six months; equal to three years worth of time.


    He wasn¡¯t afraid that there would be ack of time to cultivate; only that his Orbs of Will weren¡¯t enough. Since he was here at the Sea of Constetions, it was not the time for him to continue cultivating, but for him toe up with ideas to obtain more items that could be exchanged for Orbs of Will.


    Miao Yi had been sitting cross-legged. Opening his eyes, he extended his palm. Over a hundred of the little ones immediately swarmed over from every nook and cranny of the abode of Immortals upon receiving their summons, and dived into the storage ring one after the other.


    Walking down from the high seat, Miao Yi invoked his arts and dispelled half of the abysmal chill from Pi Junzi¡¯s body. Once again, he didn¡¯t dispel all of them for caution¡¯s sake.

 Chapter 125: Bejeweled Nectar Conclave (3)

    Chapter 125: Bejeweled Nectar Conve (3)


    Trantor: Editor:


    Pi Junzi had been lying on the ground in his original rodent state. Slowly, he opened his eyes and came to. He raised his head and looked at Miao Yi, hiding a bitter smile in his eyes. Until now, he still hadn¡¯t figured out what sort of frightening arts the other party was using.


    His body glowed with a white light, and he turned into that skinny, shifty-eyed, moustached man once more.


    Stretching his curled body, he stood back up as he tried to get his bearings. Then, he greeted Miao Yi respectfully, ¡°Great Immortal.¡±


    Miao Yi lightly nodded, ¡°Two months have passed. Tell me the approximate location of the Bejeweled Nectar Conve.¡±


    ¡°Two months have passed?¡± Pi Junzi was taken aback. He didn¡¯t think that he had been unconscious for so long. Facing Miao Yi¡¯s cold nce, he couldn¡¯t help but tremble a little deep down. He didn¡¯t dare keep anything a secret. Immediately, he knelt on the ground, using his fingers to draw out a map in the soil and highlighted a certain area.


    Miao Yi paid close attention. After he was done imprinting it into his memory, he took out a set of luxurious clothes from his storage ring, and changed out of the ck outfit of East Arrival Cave. He tied his hair with a jade crown, and ced the First Grade Yao Core inside his belt.


    The luxurious clothes, the jade crown; four storage rings on his fingers, as well as the Cave Master¡¯s presence that had been slowly cultured from being at East Arrival Cave. He really did look as though he hailed from some extraordinary ce.


    Miao Yi spread his arms and spun around, then asked, ¡°Do you think this attire is enough for me to participate?¡±


    ¡°The Great Immortal is brimming with grace. It absolutely won¡¯t be a problem!¡± Pi Junzi nodded repeatedly, then asked, ¡°May I know what identity will the Great Immortal use to participate?¡±


    ¡°How about as Madame Wu Hua¡¯s cousin?¡±


    ¡°The Great Immortal is wise!¡± Pi Junziplimented him for the sake of appearances, butpletely disagreed with it. He then asked weakly, ¡°If this humbled one were to apany the Great Immortal, shouldn¡¯t I tidy up my attire as well?¡±


    He lifted both his arms that had been pierced by the steel chains, as though reminding Miao Yi to help him remove them, otherwise they would definitely be exposed if he were to go looking like this.


    Miao Yi indifferently said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to go. I can make the trip alone!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Pi Junzi was shocked, ¡°Great Immortal will go alone?¡±


    He thought that Miao Yi must have been joking. He didn¡¯t know anything about the situation, and dared to charge in on his own. Wasn¡¯t this too audacious?


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t need to exin too much to him. He simply lifted his hand and slowly reached out to pat Pi Junzi¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡®Here ites again.....¡¯ Pi Junzi was fearful in his heart. He opened his eyes wide and stared, as the other party¡¯s hand dropped down on his own shoulder, but he didn¡¯t dare resist.


    As he expected, something pricked him on the back of his shoulder. That frighteningly and abysmal chill quickly invaded his body, and he instantly lost consciousness, falling into a daze.


    Pi Junzi¡¯s eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground once more. Without the support of his transcendence energy, his body glowed white, and he again reverted back to his original form.


    The little one that was crawling on Miao Yi¡¯s finger spread its wings and flew onto Pi Junzi¡¯s body.


    ¡°If I brought you with me, there would be too much opportunity for you to sabotage me. Wouldn¡¯t that be even more dangerous!¡±


    Miao Yi squinted at Pi Junzi, then turned away and summoned Charcoal over before they left together.


    As for Pi Junzi, in a situation where Miao Yi hadn¡¯t settled the matter, there was still a use for him. Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t kill him. There might even be a use for the Rat Spirit when he came back. Miao Yi left one of the little ones to take care of him. He could keep him in this state indefinitely without waking up if he wanted.


    If Pi Junzi had the gall to set him up so that he wouldn¡¯t be able to return, once time passed, the little one would have Pi Junzi for dinner when it got hungry.


    Once he was treated as food for the little one, even if Pi Junzi was still alive and well, he was no different than a dead man. The more the little one ate, the longer you would stay unconscious. It could devour you alive from start to finish.


    With such a giant Rat Spirit, the little one would be able to feast for quite a while.


    Aftering out of the cave, Miao Yi got on Charcoal, and brought his steed to a gallop up the peak of the mountain in the rear. Then, he circled around and surveyed the surrounding terrain.


    After matching the terrain with the map that Pi Junzi had drawn and confirming the path, Charcoal quickly charged out, its four hooves stomping ferociously as it carried Miao Yi and leaped a few hundred meters away. It flew down the mountain in a few more leaps, and quickly galloped away.


    Pi Junzi had assumed Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t dare go to the unfamiliar Bejeweled Nectar Conve alone, but to Miao Yi, this had nothing to do with courage; only whether it was possible or not.


    When he was seventeen years old, under a situation where he didn¡¯t have any guarantees, he had dared to take the risk and infiltrate the Boundless Secr World.


    Now that he had the token from Jade Stream Manor in his hands, he was even more fearless.


    He didn¡¯t even leave Charcoal behind, and just brazenly rode on his dragon steed as he headed to the Conve. This was beyond just being brave.


    To other people, they would probably need extra consideration for such a thing, as they might not be able to sneak in with just the Jade Stream Manor¡¯s token. In addition, riding a dragon steed in would make it easier to be exposed. It was too dangerous.


    But Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t believe so. He believed that it was worth a try since he had the token in his hands. In the off chance that he failed, with Charcoal¡¯s leg strength, he could just run away. The average Blue Lotus Yao cultivator may not necessarily be able to catch up to Charcoal¡¯s legs. He would cross that bridge when it came to a point where he couldn¡¯t escape.


    With these two conditions, given Miao Yi¡¯s personality, it was worth it for him to take the risk.


    He was not someone who was scared of every little thing. The way he saw it, there was no need to think too much. Only if there was a need and whether it was possible to do or not. There was no such thing as absolute sess in this world. Thinking about everything too much, why, if problems could be solved by just thinking about them, then there wouldn¡¯t be a need to do anything.


    In his perspective, the problem was very simple. Where would he find all the conditions to ensure his sess? It was more likely he would go out of his mind!


    As the saying goes, schrs staging a rebellion wouldn¡¯t seed even if they had three years. What it meant was that the more educated someone was, the easier it was for them to oveplicate a problem. The more they thought, the easier it was for them be fearful of the wolves in front and the tigers behind. In the end, everything would just bes a figment of their imagination. They would not be willing to do anything out of fear, feeling as though everything was a risk.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t receive much education in his youth, and having to raise his family from a young age had made him into a man of action. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to feed the mouths in his family by just sticking his head into books, he had to take action. Only then was he able to raise his younger brother and sister. By the time Lao Bai had taught him how to read and write, his disposition had already been established.


    In the past, everyone had said that the Sea of Constetions was dangerous. Even Yan Xiu had continuously advised him not toe, but Miao Yi believed that all would be fine as long as he did not offend any powerful beings. In addition to having a few subordinates under hismand, he also had the little ones¡¯ help. And what¡¯s more, he himself had a pressing need toe to the Sea of Constetions, so why wouldn¡¯t he make the trip?


    The thought process of someone like Miao Yi would probably make many people speechless. This was also the reason why others didn¡¯t dare venture into the Sea of Constetions, but he would.


    Speaking of which, Lao Bai had judged countless people. If Miao Yi had been a person who liked to calcte everything and was wishy-washy, Lao Bai wouldn¡¯t have chosen him. Because even if he was more intelligent, if he only knew how to daydream, then he wouldn¡¯t be able to aplish anything......


    The mountain range had no name, but the demons had established a base here, building a single mountain fortress, and giving it the name Brass Gong Fort.


    It was Brass Gong Fort¡¯s turn to host the Bejeweled Nectar Conve this year, and the seventy-two Fort Masters would all flock over. Miao Yi was openly charging over on his dragon steed at a ferocious gallop.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that person charging over? He¡¯s riding a dragon steed, could he be a human cultivator?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem likely. How would a human cultivator be so brazen as toe charging over on a dragon steed?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll find out as soon as we stop him and ask.¡±


    Two little demons had been patrolling the mountain when they spotted the figure of a person flying over. They hid in the shadows and whispered to each other.

 Chapter 126: Bejeweled Nectar Conclave (4)

    Chapter 126: Bejeweled Nectar Conve (4)


    Trantor: Editor:


    It wasn¡¯t up to them to cast suspicion onto Miao Yi¡¯s identity. The majority of the ces in the Sea of Constetions were inds, so there weren¡¯t many areas which could amodate a dragon steed¡¯s speed as it galloped recklessly.


    The main issue was that the areas were small. With the speed of a dragon steed, it wouldn¡¯t take them long to rush to the coast. Their speed wasn¡¯t bad onnd but in the sea, it was a different story. Thus, dragon steeds had practically no use in the Sea of Constetions. It would be enough to make a round trip with the Yao cultivators¡¯ own leg strength alone on the ind. On top of that, the Yao cultivators were not well-versed in rearing dragon steeds, so usually, only on inds where there was arge area ofnd would they be most likely to use dragon steeds.


    Dressed in exquisite clothes and a jade crown, Miao Yi swiftly charged into the mountain forest, only to hear a shouting from the forest a distance up ahead. ¡°Who goes there?¡±


    Two figures wielding sabers and spears suddenly ran out from the forest. They held their weapons, blocking the mountain path.


    Charcoal raised his front limbs, his rear hooves drawing deep grooves on the ground and violently sending dust flying in all directions beforeing to an urgent stop.


    Sitting upright on top of Charcoal, Miao Yi sized up the two little mountain patrol demons, finding them a little ridiculous deep down. He realized that today was really an eye-opening experience.


    The two little mountain patrol demons roughly had four limbs sprouting from their body. However, one had a wild boar¡¯s physique and a boar¡¯s head, whilst the other had a wild wolf¡¯s physique and head. Their four limbs had also yet topletely transform into a human limbs. They were thick with hair and had dense, fierce teeth, looking more than a little frightening. In stark contrast, the words they spoke was thenguage of men.


    Obviously, these two little demons¡¯ cultivation levels had yet to attain a grade, so now they still could notpletely transform into a human appearance.


    From the two little demons, Miao Yi¡¯s gaze shifted to the fluttering banner at the mountain peak up ahead and instead, asked them an unrted question, ¡°Is that Brass Gong Fort up ahead?¡±


    At first, the two little demons were shocked at Charcoal¡¯s obese physique. They were a bit skeptical, wondering whether or not they had made a wrong judgement. Was this really a dragon steed?


    Atst, they finally diverted their attention onto Miao Yi. They felt a faint Yao energying from him, so they rxed their guard slightly. However, they were still unwilling to let him pass easily. The Wild Boar Spirit brandished his spear and shouted, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Miao Yi revealed the four storage rings on his hands, making the two little demons green with envy. They felt that the bearer was quite oundish.


    As expected, Miao Yi summoned out a crystal token from his storage ring, revealing the ¡®Jade¡¯ word to the two of them. ¡°I am from Jade Stream Manor. I heard that Brass Gong Fort is holding the Bejeweled Nectar Conve so I specially came to join the festivities. I trouble you to please send word to the Fort Master.¡±


    ¡°Jade Stream Manor?¡± The two little demons exchanged nces with each other.


    The Wolf Spirit withdrew his hostile posture, carrying his saber as he walked over. He took the token in his hand and examined it for a bit. He had never seen a Jade Stream Manor token before, but his senses were telling him that there shouldn¡¯t be any issues. He began to inquire, ¡°Dare I ask the name of the esteemed guest, and what position you are holding in the Jade Stream Manor, so this humbled one can report to the Fort Master?¡±


    Miao Yi coldly replied, ¡°Is my name something that a little demon like you can ask? Hurry and go send word!¡±


    He acted extremely high and mighty; so much that the Wolf Spirit, was instead a little scared. At once, he bowed and scraped, ¡°Esteemed guest, please wait for a while. This humbled one will go inform at once!¡±


    Turning around with Miao Yi¡¯s token in his grasp, he promptly dashed out towards the direction of the Brass Gong Fort like a wisp of smoke.


    Sitting up high, Miao Yi threw a cold nce at the Wild Boar Spirit staring at him. Thetter immediately bowed in submission, smiling apologetically as he said, ¡°Esteemed guest, please wait. Please wait. It won¡¯t be long. The response will be back soon.¡±


    Miao Yi asked indifferently, ¡°Pig-headed fool. I ask you, have all the seventy two Fort Masters arrived?¡±


    Let¡¯s not forget where Miao Yi hade from - a background of killing pigs. The number of pig heads that he had personally cut were unknown. He knew very well how many intestines were inside a pig¡¯s belly, so indeed, he wouldn¡¯t attach any importance to a Wild Boar Spirit.


    Hearing that this esteemed guest had directly called him a ¡®pig-headed fool¡¯, the Wild Boar Spirit¡¯s nostrils red as he widened his eyes greatly and nearly turned on him right there and then. Yet he was still afraid to provoke him, so he nodded and bowed, ¡°Soon! Soon! Dozens of them have arrived. Today all of them will be present. ¡±


    It seemed like he really was in time! Miao Yi let out a ¡®Oh!¡¯, ¡°How can you be sure that they will all be present today?¡±


    The Wild Boar Spirit lifted his hairy finger and pointed towards the sky saying, ¡°There are things that the esteemed guest doesn¡¯t know. Tonight is the night when the luminous full moon hangs overhead in the sky. Every year, on the same day as the night of this full moon, the Bejeweled Nectar Conve would drink a toast to wee the moon. Such matter of elegance, how could the seventy-two Fort Masters miss this opportunity? They would naturally all be present before the curtain of night falls.¡±


    ¡®Elegance my ass. A group of demons pretending to be refined schrs, and drinking a toast to solicit the bright moon?¡¯ Miao Yi muttered deep down, but on the surface, he gave a slight nod of his head and said, ¡°I see...¡±


    While he was indirectly asking about the situation in Brass Gong Fort, the Wolf Demon quickly returned with arge bared-arm boorish man trailing behind him, with a pair of twin hammers hanging from his waist.


    ¡°Your token!¡± The Wolf Demon returned the token with both hands, his attitude bing exceptionally respectful.


    It was because the Fort Master had already authenticated that this was indeed the Jade Stream Manor¡¯s token. Not only that, the Fort Master had also said that those have this token would not have a low status in the Jade Stream Manor.


    The big boorish man with twin hammers hanging from his waist, also couldn¡¯t help looking twice at the chubby Charcoal. He muttered in his heart, ¡®Is this a dragon steed?¡¯


    He pushed the Wolf Demon¡¯s face, directly pushing him aside. It was entirely the same way an aggressive boss would treat hisckeys. He turned to face Miao Yi, reaching out his hand to invite him and said, ¡°Esteemed guest, the Fort Master asks of you.¡±


    Putting away the token, Miao Yi nodded his head. He rode his dragon steed and followed behind the other person¡¯s back at an unhurried pace in the direction of Brass Gong Fort.


    As to how Brass Gong Fort had earned its name, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t tell. He could only see that it was hollowed out of a stone mountain cave. A tall pole was set up outside, on which hung a fluttering banner with the three words ¡®Brass Gong Fort¡¯ written on it.


    Currently, the main entrance of the abode was opened wide. Immediately before the entrance, two rows of grotesquely shaped demons, neither humans or monsters stood in a V-shaped formation. The majority of them were small demons who had not yet attained a grade, so they could notpletely transformed into a human form.


    But on the inside, stood a few rows of Yao cultivators who looked human.


    And at the spot where the main gate opened, stood more than fifty people, each and every single one of them were dressed uniquely. Quite a number of them had cloaks draped over their bodies, looking majestic. One look was enough to deduce that these were Yao cultivators on apletely different level.


    On arriving at the entrance of the mountain fortresses, Miao Yi let Charcoal reduce his speed, allowing the big bared-arm boorish man to enter first and send word.


    Miao Yi also discovered that everyone¡¯s gaze was drawn to his mount, sizing it up.


    The boorish man walked over to a short, chubby man with a ck cloak draped over his shoulders and with every single lock of his tough hair sticking up like steel needles. He pointed to Miao Yi and muttered a few words softly.


    The person nodded his head, gradually forcing out a smile onto his face. He lifted his cloak with his hands and cupped his fists as he walked over, his voice loud and clear as heughed heartily, ¡°An esteemed guest from Jade Stream Manor honors us with his presence, your presence brings light to our humble dwelling. Excuse me, Zhu Daneng, for noting to meet you. I hope you forgive me.¡±


    It turned out that this person was the Fort Master Zhu Daneng of Brass Gong Fort. Miao Yi had heard Pi Junzi mention it before. This person was also a Wild Boar Spirit, but his cultivation level had reached the Blue Lotus realm.


    Miao Yi jumped off his mount at once, cupping his fists to return the greeting and said, ¡°I¡¯m happy to hear that Brass Gong Fort is holding the Bejeweled Nectar Conve, so I turned up without being invited. Fort Master, please forgive me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re being modest!¡± Zhu Danengughed heartily, ¡°Having a guesting from afar, I am most delighted! Dare I ask for the esteemed guest¡¯s distinguished name?¡±


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes swept across the Yaos before stopping at an Ox Demon with two horns on his head. He thought to himself that to have dealings with these group of demons, it was inadvisable for his name sound too human, so he casually replied, ¡°Niu Youde is presumptuous to bother Fort Master Zhu!¡±


    ¡°Niu Youde?¡± Fort Master Zhu Daneng was taken aback, but quicklyughed heartily once more as he said, ¡°Good name! Good name! Both amazing and with character! This name is so arrogant! You received a good name with a great domineering influence! When matched with the stately and handsome Brother Niu dressed in exquisite clothes and a jade crown, others will have no choice but to be utterly convinced!¡±

 Chapter 127: Bejeweled Nectar Conclave (5)

    Chapter 127: Bejeweled Nectar Conve (5)


    Trantor: Editor:


    Miao Yi followed suit andughed, thinking, ¡®I just came up with the name on a whim, is it something worth praising so much for? What kind of good-for-nothing conve are they hosting with this level of culture!¡¯


    Zhu Daneng chuckled, and changed the subject as he asked, ¡°Brother Niu, I have also had the courtesy of apanying Commander Yuan to Jade Stream Manor before, but I don¡¯t seem to recall ever meeting Brother Niu. May I ask what position did Brother Niu hold under Commander Bi?¡±


    ¡°A mere idle position that¡¯s too inferior to show to the public. It is not worth mentioning, so it¡¯s fine even if I don¡¯t speak of it,¡± Miao Yi said as he waved his hand. Since the other party had been to Jade Stream Manor, then he wouldn¡¯t want them to ask too many questions about it, for fear that he might expose himself if he spoke too much. Miao Yiughed and changed the topic. ¡°I have juste to visit my cousin. She told me that Brass Gong Fort was hosting the Bejeweled Nectar Conve. I inquired further out of excitement, then cousin gave me this token, saying that if I were to bring it here with me, Fort Master Zhu would definitely regard me as not an outsider!¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t your token?¡± Zhu Daneng was taken aback once again, then cautiously asked, ¡°May I ask who Brother Niu¡¯s cousin is?¡±


    Miao Yi replied, ¡°Madame Wu Hua.¡±


    ¡°Oh... Oh....¡± Zhu Daneng suddenly came to a realization, thinking, ¡®So that¡¯s why I¡¯ve never heard of a character with the surname Niu in Jade Stream Manor being able to obtain Commander Bi¡¯s token. Turns out it was Madame Wu Hua¡¯s token.¡¯


    But did Madame Wu Hua have such a cousin? He couldn¡¯t remember, nor had he investigated before. The sea stretched far and wide, and with him being an earthen demonic spirit it wouldn¡¯t be good to look too deeply into it. Even someone that had nothing better to do wouldn¡¯t go look into Madame Wu Hua¡¯s family background, but since the other person managed to take out Madame Wu Hua¡¯s token, he was probably telling the truth. It was easy to impersonate someone else, but this token could not be faked. It was indeed Commander Bi¡¯s token, without a doubt.


    The fifty or so people behind them looked at each other, then nced at Miao Yi again with an air of mockery. They originally thought some bigshot hade over from Jade Stream Manor, so everyone hade forth to wee him, but it turned out to be just some bloke who relied on women and rtions to get in.


    The fifty or so people were the Fort Masters of the respective mountain fortresses. Once they heard that Miao Yi was actually this kind of character, many of them immediately lost any interest in fawning over him. With a wave of their cloaks, they turned around and returned back into the abode.


    But Zhu Daneng couldn¡¯t do so. If they were on someone else¡¯s territory, he could also turn around and walk away, without having to pay any heed. But today he was the host, and since the guest had arrived at his Brass Gong Fort, even if he didn¡¯t give Madame Wu Hua face, he still had to give Commander Yuan his respect. After all, Commander Yuan still had to call Madam Wu Hua his sister-inw.


    Zhu Daneng¡¯s gaze dropped on Charcoal, and said hesitantly, ¡°In the Sea of Constetions, it is rare to see a Yao cultivator riding a dragon steed.¡±


    Miao Yi was instantly shocked. ¡°This dragon steed of mine is no ordinary dragon steed. Has the Fort Master never seen another dragon steed as fat as this one?¡±


    ¡°Uh.....¡± Zhu Daneng¡¯s face twitched a little, as he nodded, ¡°It is indeed fat beyond belief. That a divine dragon steed could grow like this, it would truly make all the dragon steeds in the world blush with shame.¡±


    Charcoal snorted out a ¡®Harrumph¡¯ as it heard Zhu Daneng¡¯s words, as though it was slightly displeased at the other person for criticizing its appearance.


    Miao Yi gave Charcoal¡¯s head a casual push, calming it down. ¡®Don¡¯t be rash, you¡¯d still be fat even if you let others criticize you once or twice. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll lose a piece of meat.¡¯


    ¡°Fort Master is wise!¡± As though he was a wealthy man¡¯s son, Miao Yi said merrily, ¡°My steed is the only one of its kind in the world. ¡®Tis a great opportunity to let everyone know my steed¡¯s special characteristics.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Zhu Daneng¡¯s mouth was agape, and was a little lost for words. ¡®Is this guy a retard?¡¯


    ¡®Did this guy make some random dragon steed his mount just to show off? But what was the point of showing off such a ridiculously fat dragon steed? Could it actually make other people envy him?¡¯


    Zhu Daneng suspected this guy was quite the oddball. Staring at Charcoal, he sighed. ¡°Dragon steeds are a breed of Yao since birth, unlike the rest of us who need to cultivate in order to be demons. Furthermore, dragon steeds are born with an innate divine power. If they could cultivate, their futures would have been all but limitless. But unfortunately, they are trueborn hybrids. The two bloodlines will suppress one another, making it difficult for them to gain sentience, which is why they are reduced to bing mere mounts. Truly a shame!¡±


    Even though his words were implying that he was feeling sympathetic for the dragon steeds, but his tone made one vaguely feel as though he was feeling sympathetic that Charcoal had be the mount of this retard, Niu Youde.


    Aftermenting, Zhu Daneng didn¡¯t want to say anything more. He called for one of his subordinates, and handed down the order to take care of Miao Yi¡¯s mount, before turning around again and extending his arm towards him. ¡°Please enter, Brother Niu!¡±


    Miao Yi extended his arm and requested him to enter first.


    Zhu Daneng could no longer be bothered to continue being courteous with him. He flicked the cloak that had been dragged across the ground due to his short and fat stature, and led Miao Yi into his abode with great strides.


    Inside the abode, the main hall had quite a bit of space, and on the walls, there were numerous candles lighting up the cavern.


    Zhu Daneng circled around the host¡¯s long table and sat there. Cultivation didn¡¯t matter here. He was the host, so it was only right for him to sit at the host¡¯s seat.


    Even though he wasn¡¯t particrly fond of Miao Yi, he still yed the role of a host and remembered to extend an arm to Miao Yi before sitting down, inviting him to sit.


    And to the side of the host¡¯s seat, there were rows of long tables already arranged, and had all manner of wine and food on top of them.


    All the Fort Masters sat at their respective seats making merry, as the little demons to the side held sks and constantly refilled their cups with wine.


    In the center area, there were two foxydies twisting their bodies and dancing seductively.


    ¡°Please, Lord Niu.¡±


    A little demon said courteously, as he helped Miao Yi refill his cup before stepping back.


    Miao Yi lifted the jade cup and took a whiff of the wine¡¯s fragrance, realizing that the liquid was bright and almost transparent. The fragrance enveloped his senses, and he couldn¡¯t help but take a small sip. A light shed through his eyes¡ªit was indeed a fine wine that was hard toe by. It seemed this pack of demons really knew how to enjoy themselves.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that this was all because Commander Yuan fancied alcohol. If Commander Yuan came and found out that whichever Fort Master didn¡¯t have good liquor, he would be displeased.


    In order to cater to their superior¡¯s fancy, all seventy-two Fort Masters trained hard over the years and obtained a knack for producing superb alcohol. It was not unjust to call it a Bejeweled Nectar, as it was not something other ces in the Sea of Constetions couldpare to. It could be said that Miao Yi had had the good fortune of tasting it on this journey.


    Looking again at the chunks of boiled and roasted meat on his te, he realized that there weren¡¯t any chopsticks. He nced towards the others again, and found out that they were all just using their bare hands to tear the meat.


    He couldn¡¯t very well just blurt out, ¡®Anyone! Get me a pair of chopsticks...¡¯. That would surely expose him.


    He could only reach out and tear a piece of thigh meat of unknown origin, but when he took a bite he almost tried to spit it out, realizing that this meat only had the appearance of being cooked. The taste of blood spread inside his mouth as he bit into it. His mouth had a slippery sensation as he chewed. There was not much difference from eating it raw.


    Yet when he saw the other Fort Masters drinking mouthfuls of wine, and taking simrlyrge bites of the meat as though it was a delicacy, he had to forcefully swallow it down in order not to expose himself.


    After taking a bite, he didn¡¯t want to continue taking another. After all, he didn¡¯t have a tough set of jaws and teeth that these demons had.


    He picked up a vibrant red fruit that he had never seen before and took a bite. The vor was sweet and the texture had a refreshing crunch to it. The vor was rather unique and scrumptious, and worth eating a bit more of.


    He looked at the great Fort Masters around him. They were either sitting together and drinking as they chatted, or wandering around and talking merrily in between their long tables. Everyone was chatting amicably, and most of them looked to be enjoying themselves.


    The atmosphere was quite lively. It was Miao Yi¡¯s first time seeing so many demons, and also his first time sitting together and drinking with so many of them, so he felt somewhat excited.


    Yet, he felt that something was off. He had the esteemed Jade Stream Manor at his back, but why wasn¡¯t anyoneing over to chat with him?

 Chapter 128: Bejeweled Nectar Conclave (6)

    Chapter 128: Bejeweled Nectar Conve (6)


    Trantor: Editor:


    In the beginning, he¡¯d remained inwardly vignt as he was afraid of being exposed. But now it was just as well, since absolutely no one had paid him any attention. He realized that he was just thinking too much, as it wasn¡¯t entirely difficult to mingle with these people.


    Was it too weird for him to be sitting here alone, would it make it easier for him to be exposed?


    Miao Yi looked around him. Upon seeing that everyone was exchanging greetings, he found it slightly difficult to keep still.


    ¡°Old Hei, I heard you¡¯ve got a beauty. Why didn¡¯t you bring her here for everyone to see?¡±


    Not far from him, a couple of Fort Masters were gathering together, teasing one of their members.


    Miao Yi casually grabbed a cup of wine and left his seat. He moved closer, chuckling as he said, ¡°Yeah! Why didn¡¯t you bring her here for us to check out?¡±


    They turned their heads to look. Somebody nced at him with a faint smile on his face, and someone else didn¡¯t bother putting on false pretenses. Another simply chuckled, nodding his head, then one by one, they all proceeded to turn on their heels and leave.


    Miao Yi was left alone in the same spot. He held onto his cup of wine, putting on a rigid smile as he stood speechlessly. You arrogant fuckers, what is the meaning of this?


    ncing around to look, he made his way to another bunch of people gathered together and took the initiative to interrupt them, ¡°Fort Masters, what are you guys chatting about?¡±


    Nobody would have expected to get the same treatment as before. On seeing that it was him, everyone gradually walked away with indifference.


    Someone even replied sarcastically, ¡°What¡¯s it got to do with you?¡±


    Previously, Miao Yi did not wish to expose himself so he came to chat on his own ord. Now that he was being disregarded to this extent, he was instantly agitated. Since when had he been this hated? And being disliked by a bunch of demons at that. It was too damaging for his pride.


    Feeling dissatisfied, this bastard seemed to have forgotten his objective ining here. Out of sheer determination, he went everywhere to exchange conversations with the Fort Masters.


    Should this spectacle be seen by other human cultivators, what would their impressions be? It was very likely that they would be astonished at the arrogance and audacity of this bastard! Forget about the fact that he¡¯d barged into the Sea of Constetions with such a low level of cultivation, he then went so far as to mix in with the demons without the slightest clue of when to withdraw and blend in with the background. Instead, he¡¯d taken the initiative toe up to them. He showed no regard for the Yaos, so how could the Yaos in the Sea of Constetions be able to bear this?


    In fact, if the Fort Masters had studied Miao Yi closely, it was very likely that they¡¯d see through this guy¡¯s true identity.


    But the Fort Masters were very much alike¡ªthey¡¯d never dream that there could be an arrogant and audacious man who didn¡¯t y by the rules.


    When faced against this person who joined the fun on his own ord, theypletely didn¡¯t think of the possibility that he was a human cultivator. On the other hand, they wondered how this guy could be so ignorant? Was he too blind to see that nobody wanted to talk to him?


    The results were obvious: no one spared a nce for the Great Cave Master Miao, causing the Great Cave Master Miao¡¯s pride to take a deep hit.


    Thus, the Great Cave Master Miao, who deep down was full of resentment, began to focus his mind and mull over how to put these guys to death.


    After closely observing them for a while, he watched many of the party-goers enter and leave the area. No ce waspletely free from someone¡¯s field of view. On top of that, the group of small demons serving them shuttled about between the crowd. Hence, he didn¡¯t have the utmost confidence in making use of the little ones to deliver a sinister blow.


    The most important thing was that these little ones were too weak¡ªthey could only ambush. The moment they were discovered, the only path left to them was death.


    Two months prior, the reason why he could kill Madame Wu Hua was because he¡¯d purely used the sea as a cover for his surprise attack. Otherwise, it would be extremely difficult for the little ones to get close to an expert of the Blue Lotus realm. One should never treat the other party¡¯s cultivation base as a decoration.


    He went around the assembly hall a few times. More people meant more chances of being seen, so Miao Yi couldn¡¯t find the opportunity to strike.


    He stretched out the empty cup of wine, epting the fine liquor a little demon was pouring into his cup. His gaze dropped onto Fort Master Zhu Daneng, who was currently engrossed in a conversation with someone else.


    Walking over to them, Miao Yi interrupted their exchange. ¡°Fort Master Zhu, I would like to head out to have a stroll around Brass Gong Fort. I¡¯m unsure whether it¡¯s allowed?¡±


    He wanted to go out to observe the environs, trying to find out whether he could find an opportunity to set his ns into motion.


    Zhu Daneng nodded his head and smiled. He felt he could somehow understand Miao Yi¡¯s current mood. He had witnessed Miao Yi running up against a snag all around, so he felt that Miao Yi was probably inwardly depressed at being a bit out of ce here. It would only get more awkward the longer he stayed here, so he wanted to go out to take a walk.


    He waved his hand to summon a little demon over, making him apany Miao Yi in taking a stroll outside.


    After watching Miao Yi¡¯s figure leave, the person to his side scoffed coldly, ¡°This guy is so tactless. Doesn¡¯t he know that Madame Wu Hua no longer has any power? Why does he feel the need toe and implicate us?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a guest. It¡¯s not good of me to drive him away. Madame Wu Hua no longer has any authority, but if I smear her honor at this time, god knows what that mad woman will do. Brother, please understand my predicament.¡± Zhu Daneng shook his head with a sigh, looking resigned.


    Actually, it wasn¡¯t that everybody looked down on Niu Youde¡¯s influence-peddling. It was just that Madame Wu Hua had already lost her power and influence in Jade Stream Manor.


    It must be borne in mind that Bi Youbo did not limit himself to having just Madame Wu Hua as his only concubine. It gave people migraines when concubines fought amongst themselves for favor, and it was easy to bring disaster to the fish in the moat. If everyone showered Madame Wu Hua with too much respect, then when the news traveled to the ears of the other Jade Stream Manor concubines, there was always a chance that they might be offended.


    Why did the former Fort Master of Pi Junzi want to recall back Pi Junzi¡¯s subordinates? He simply did not want so many people attending to Madame Wu Hua, and was attempting to show his stance to the other concubines of Jade Stream Manor.


    However, it wasn¡¯t good for everyone to offend Madame Wu Hua too excessively. Even Commander Yuan did as such. If by chance, one day, Madame Wu Hua was once again favored by Bi Youbo, she would definitely borrow Bi Youbo¡¯s power to settle the score with themter.


    Madame Wu Hua was not at all scary, and Bi Youbo¡¯s cultivation level had not yet reached the point where it could set rivers on fire and make people tremble with fear and trepidation. The crucial point was that Bi Youbo¡¯s background was fearsome, so even Commander Yuan would withdraw when faced with Bi Youbo¡¯s concubines.


    But as it happened, this Niu Youde was not the least bit tactful. He insisted oning up and being familiar with them, causing them to feel uncertain as to whether they should deal with him or not. This led to everyone hating him so much, and so they could only avoid him at all costs.


    But how could Niu Youde be med for this?


    Miao Yi waspletely in the dark about such aplicated inside story behind Madame Wu Hua¡¯s background. Even Pi Junzi, a Yao cultivator who only held a lowly position, had no way to know the upper echelons¡¯ reasons, andcked the means to tell Miao Yi theplete truth.


    As it happened, Miao Yi was extremely daring. He hadn¡¯tpletely grasped the situation and had the audacity toe forth to fish in troubled water. And thus, he kept hitting a wall wherever he went.


    Miao Yi had initially wanted to make use of the Jade Stream Manor¡¯s power to be well-acquainted with everyone on the scene. Then, he would try to talk to them in private about a small matter, dragging the Fort Masters, one by one, to a secluded area alone so he could do the deed. That was the most safest method.


    But one can well imagine that he was gravely mistaken about the circumstances, and now everybody was avoiding him, leaving him with absolutely no room to strike.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t find an opportunity within the abode, so he went to take a stroll outside. He surveyed the surrounding terrain, and at the same time made some inquiries to the small demon apanying him on the tour, ¡°Where will the Bejeweled Nectar Conve be held tonight?¡±


    The little demon pointed to a in not far from there. ¡°In reply to the Great One, when the luminous moon hangs overhead in the air, the Fort Masters will drink a toast to solicit the moon.¡±


    ¡°There...¡± muttered Miao Yi, faintly shaking his head. The terrain was too open. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to strike.


    His mood was somewhat mncholy as he realized that he hade in vain. He couldn¡¯t find a single opportunity to strike. It looked like there wasn¡¯t any point in staying. Even worse, there was the probability that he¡¯d most likely get into trouble should he stay any longer.


    But this brat was still a little unwilling to give up. For two months, he had waited in the Sea of Constetions without doing a thing. Even the subordinates he brought were all dead, if he returned home like this, he¡¯d be left unassuaged.


    And thus, he remained firm on his decision of taking the risk and observing the situation once more. Who knows, he might really be able to find the opportunity.

 Chapter 129: Bejeweled Nectar Conclave (7)

    Chapter 129: Bejeweled Nectar Conve (7)


    Trantor: Editor:


    By the time the night¡¯s curtain fell, the seventy-two Fort Masters had all sessively rushed to Brass Gong Fort. Everyone was present.


    The little demons of Brass Gong Fort began setting up braziers to provide lighting where the Bejeweled Nectar Conve would be held.


    Long tables wereid out in an orderly manner, and the seventy-plus seats were set up to form a concave shape on the three sides of the joint tables. Only a lonely seat was ced within the gap of the concave shape. It was extremely obvious that the seat was reserved for the master of the Brass Gong Fort¡ªZhu Daneng¡¯s seat. Today, he was the master so he should take the head of the table.


    Miao Yi strolled about, his hands sped behind him as he looked on. He caught sight of the little demonsing and going as theyid out all kinds of liquor, meat and fruits all over the long tables. He watched a group of seductive women dressed in a frivolous manner, their enchanting and seductive figures performing their dance¡¯sst rehearsal.


    By the time the luminous moon was hanging overhead in the night, the brass gong within the mountain fortress let out a startling bang.


    ¡°Haha...¡± The sounds ofughter and footsteps could be heard within the abode.


    The seventy-two Fort Masters were high-spirited and full of vigor. With Zhu Daneng as the lead, they allughed heartily as they walked out to attend the banquet.


    Under the luminous moon and the vast sky full of stars, with the raging fires illuminating the banquet grounds, the group of demons exchanged light conversations as they began the event.


    Contrary to expectations, Zhu Daneng did not neglect Miao Yi too excessively. He had intentionally ced an extra seat on the banquet table, and requested someone to invite Miao Yi to his seat.


    Once everyone was well-seated, with the short and bulky Fort Master Zhu Daneng alone on one side at the top of the table, he pressed his hands together, and the little demons who were moving around immediately came to a halt. The entire site went silent.


    ¡°My fellow brothers, let us begin!¡±


    With a wave of Zhu Daneng¡¯srge hands, he mmed the top of the long table.


    The respective Fort Masters were also shaking their heads from side to side, each one of them speaking in tongues.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t make heads or tails out of it. He suddenly saw a blue light appear before his eyes between every one of the Fort Master¡¯s brows. At that exact moment, transcendence energy surged outwards, undting above the entire leveled in. The demonic Qi they emitted seemed to surge with greater urgency. He could see the thin ck mist amassing together to curl up above them. It was slightly rming to see the seventy-two Fort Masters disying their demonic arts all at the same time.


    Before Miao Yi could react to what was going on, he was abruptly aware of the ground quaking beneath his feet. He swiftly turned to his left and right, vigntly surveying the area.


    He was greeted by the sight of the entire in, rumbling and trembling, slowly rising from the ground. Amidst the surrounding dust filling the air, their banquet grounds began to rise, carried by what appeared to be a rapidly constructed high tform. Under thebined forces of their demonic arts, the demons were gradually elevating the tform, causing it to rise higher and higher.


    The rumbling quake came to a gradual stop only after the entire tform had already surpassed a height of thirty meters above the ins.


    Then all the demons retracted their transcendence energy, looking at each other as they broke out into heartyughter. The group of demons appeared cocksure, looking greatly satisfied with themselves.


    Miao Yi also chuckled along, smiling for no reason. He didn¡¯t know what this group of demons were doing.


    He looked at his surroundings again¡ªthe dust had already dispersed in the gentle, cool breeze. The high tform had risen steeply from the level ground, and had already be the highest ce in the whole of Brass Gong Fort, towering over the hilltop and everything in sight. With just a nce, they could take in the entirety of the surrounding mountain ranges, the glistening vista dazzling in the night.


    The cool breeze, the bright moon and the specks of stars in the vast sky. The trees and the green sea bathed under the moonlight seemed to glow with a peculiar luster, and the fireflies were dancing about. Being apanied by fine wine and food, the singers and dancers making a disy of themselves, and friends casually addressing each other with mutual admiration, it was truly a fine, dreamlike evening indeed.


    Being in this situation and scene, even Miao Yi found himself slightly ensorcelled, and could somewhat understand why the demons had worked together to invoke their arts in raising the high tform. It had been earnestly aplished for the sake of creating a poetic atmosphere¡ªone felt as if they were rising up high to embrace the moon.


    The sounds of singing and dancing had already begun.


    In the very center of the high tform, a group of seductive women had begun performing a provocative and soul-captivating dance, their soft bosoms partially revealed, with waists and legs uncovered and unobstructed from view.


    Their bosoms shook and their hips were unrestrained, both lovely and enchanting. They werepletely unbridled, and gave an air ofpletesciviousness. Yet, he couldn¡¯t help but admit that they were indeed pleasant to watch.


    The heavens and earth were far apart and in the dead of the night, the demons were without restraint. In a moment like this, how many human cultivators couldy eyes on such a sight within the boundless Sea of Constetions, least of all blending into the demon crowd to be a part of it? It was a feat that had been solely taken on by the extremely daring Miao Yi.


    There were several sights that could only be seen by audacious men who dared to foray. As the saying goes, the scenery at the peak of the mountain was merely as such.


    Even if there weren¡¯t any gains to be had on his journey here, Miao Yi felt that the trip itself had been worthwhile.


    ¡°Great!¡± A Fort Master observing the erotic dance called out as he pped his hands. He raised his cup of wine at Zhu Daneng, and both parties drank a toast together.


    Quite a number of the strangely dressed Fort Masters couldn¡¯t take their eyes off the dancing seductive women, shaking their heads from side to side in time with their movements, keen with admiration.


    But sadly, Miao Yi did not have the mood for it.


    Those who are not of our kin must surely be different at heart. Currently, this phrase was most suited to be used on him. To say that he harbored evil intentions was an understatement.


    He was looking to his left and right, trying to find his breakthrough moment. After his eyes flickered about for a while, a resolute look suddenly shed through them.


    He decided to bet on it. If he refused to strike at this opportunity, then it would be toote for him to make a move, especially once the Bejeweled Nectar Conve was over and everyone had left. Tonight was definitely hisst chance.


    One of the palms he ced on the long table was slowly moved under. The little ones scurried out of the storage ring one by one. They covered up the long table, slowly crawling towards each of the surrounding long tables in silence.


    After the meticulously rehearsed performance ended, Zhu Daneng waved hisrge hands and the singers and dancers bowed courteously towards the audience, before gradually retreating into the surroundings to await for their orders.


    ¡°Everyone! A pleasant day coupled with a nicendscape¡ªa fine, dream-like day¡ªit certainly is the best time to drink a toast to solicit the moon and to sample the bejeweled nectar together. Now is the time to discover which n will have the most excellent wine!¡±


    The moment Zhu Daneng¡¯s vehement words came out of his mouth, the demons apuded with a loud rumble. Quite a number of them even rolled up their sleeves for battle, looking as though they were going to fight, each with an air of extreme confidence.


    Inwardly, Miao Yi felt apprehensive. They¡¯d be like this just by sampling some wine. If his ambush failed, wouldn¡¯t these old demons beat him to a pulp?


    ¡°Everyone, I wonder which n should start first?¡± Zhu Daneng looked at his surroundings as he asked loudly.


    Instantly, someone called out a jar of wine from his storage ring, standing up as he proimed loudly, ¡°This is my calling!¡±


    Bang! Immediately another Fort Master mmed the table as he stood, simultaneously shing out a jar of wine, fighting with the other as he said, ¡°Begin with me first!¡±


    ¡°This was brewed three hundred years ago, and preserved until now. Isn¡¯t everyone eager to taste it first?¡±


    ¡°What a joke! A four-hundred-year-old wine is here!¡±


    A bunch of people started arguing, afraid their taste buds would be attacked by another person¡¯s wine first, causing them to suffer losses if they were left behind and the appraisals influenced.


    Miao Yi carefully looked around him, thinking to himself that it would be amusing if they were to fight to the death all for the sake of drinking wine, which would allow him the chance to snag up a bargain.


    He was thinking a bit too much. Each Bejeweled Nectar Conve ended up like this, so they definitely had their own rules to settle the dispute.


    Upon seeing that everyone was engaged in a heated argument and misfortune was about to happen, the old method of drawing lots to resolve the issue of who woulde first andst was once again taken out.


    With this method, naturally there would be people who were delighted while there would be some who were concerned. Inevitably, the wine would be arranged by priority. It wasn¡¯t possible to mix in all the wine and drink them together.


    The one to draw first ce wouldugh heartily, whereas the one drawing the next lot would look sour.


    A Fort Master, delighted in being the first, swept his cloak back as he stood up. Holding a small pot of excellent wine in one hand, he said loudly, ¡°Five-hundred-year-old bloody grapes, eight-hundred-year-old baby ginseng, two-thousand-year-old heartless fruit, and a hundred fifty years of hiding it in a cave to brew this superb liquor, made expressly to sample together with my fellow brothers and sisters.¡±


    Everyone immediately took one of the seventy-two small jade cups which were arranged neatly on the table, and ced it on their table.


    Miao Yi, who was watching, followed suit on the spot. He also took a small jade cup and ced it on his table.

 Chapter 130: Bejeweled Nectar Conclave (8)

    Chapter 130: Bejeweled Nectar Conve (8)


    Trantor: Editor:


    That demon casted a sweeping nce at his surroundings, then suddenly threw the wine pot he was holding into the air. The wine pot flew to the center of the conve and shattered with a resounding bang.


    Fragments of the potid on the floor, but an amber ball of light floated above. This was precisely the alcohol that was inside the pot. Under the glow of the raging fire, it looked absolutely resplendent.


    After that, an enticing aroma wafted out. After everyone took a whiff, many immediately began extolling it.


    Miao Yi also couldn¡¯t help but take a whiff. Even for someone who didn¡¯t drink alcohol often like him, just from the smell of this wine, he couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious to try.


    That demon surveyed his surroundings with a jubnt expression on his face. With a flick of his hand, he invoked his arts and pointed at the floating ball of light. The ball of wine instantly split itself into seventy-three parts, flying into the jade cups on each respective long table. Everyone¡¯s table immediately had an extra cup of fragrant, finely brewed wine.


    Many of the little demons standing around started licking their lips and gulping their saliva, but unfortunately, they didn¡¯t qualify to taste such an exquisite brew for themselves. They could only continue to smell the fragrance and swallow their saliva in envy.


    One after the other, everyone raised their cups to their noses, taking a light whiff, before pouring it into their mouths. Their eyes slowly closed as they relished the vor of the wine, everyone mildly nodding their heads in quick session.


    Miao Yi could see it now. Because of Commander Yuan¡¯s fondness for alcohol, these subordinates of his had all be expert wine connoisseurs and brewers. They might even be considered a rare breed in the entire Sea of Constetions.


    Monkey see, monkey do; Miao Yi mimicked everyone¡¯s actions but soon as the wine entered his mouth, his closed eyes couldn¡¯t help but snap open with a bright gleam. As though a cleansing rain after a long drought, there were no words to describe the vors as it entered his mouth. Even when he had swallowed it down, it repeatedly tossed and turned in his belly like an icy me within a furnace. The wonder was indescribable.


    ¡°A superb wine!¡± Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but exim loudly. Everyone who had been relishing the taste with their eyes closed turned to stare at him.


    The Fort Master that presented his wine was surprised. Initially, he had been one those who couldn¡¯t be bothered with Miao Yi, but he could also hear the sincerity in Miao Yi¡¯s unrestrained praise. Seeing someone sing praise of the wine he brewed, he immediately became jubnt, and thanked Miao Yi with a cup of his fists.


    People all liked to hear words of praise, and it seemed this demon was also no exception.


    A mour of shattering noises resounded as every Fort Master began smashing the jade cups in their hands onto the ground.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind their actions, but after seeing everyone who had smashed their cups taking out another small jade cup and cing it on their table, he understood right away. They were probably afraid that it would mix with the vour of other wines, which was why they changed cups. He promptly learned from example and smashed his own cup, taking out another and cing it on his table.


    One of the Fort Masters smashed his cup then stood up. Holding a pot of wine in his hand, he red at Miao Yi and sneered, ¡°The superb wine is here. I will definitely have you taste it!¡±


    Evidently, he was doubtful of Miao Yi¡¯s previous appraisal of the other demon¡¯s wine.


    ¡°An eight hundred year-old Nirvana Whisker, a thousand year-old Snow Ganoderma, and a thousand year-old Fragrant Lotus, carefully fermented inside a cave for two hundred years. Please enjoy it everybody!¡±


    Miao Yi was left speechless after hearing this. They truly were a drunken lot. Even though he had never seen those things before, he had heard of their names. Those spiritual herbs have always been sought after by various sects and schools. They could be refined into pills to raise the cultivation of their disciples, but this bunch of drunks were actually using them to brew alcohol. Furthermore, they were all hard-to-find spiritual herbs of a prime age. These drunks were surelyvish, it seemed that drinking these bejeweled nectars could also aid one¡¯s cultivation.


    ¡®Crash!¡¯ A wine pot shattered on the ground, and another seventy-three crystal clear globules of wine flew into their cups.


    Everyone was still in the midst of sampling, and as the liquid entered his mouth Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but open his eyes once more. Yet, before he even had time to take a breath, the sceptical Fort Master was already pointing his finger at him, asking enthusiastically, ¡°How was it?¡±


    Miao Yi shook his head and sighed in praise, ¡°Wonderful!¡±


    That person became cheerful right away, and cupped his fists in thanks at Miao Yi.


    When the next pot of wine was brought out and shared with everyone, the next Fort Master behaved simrly, staring at Miao Yi and asking, ¡°Your thoughts?¡±


    Seeing his face, it seemed as though he was going to swallow someone whole. As though warning, ¡®I dare you to try and say that it didn¡¯t taste nice!¡¯


    Miao Yi shook his head yet again, and indeed gave his heartfelt appraisal, ¡°Such fine wine should only belong to the heavens. It¡¯s hard to be able to taste this often in the mortal realm!¡±


    He was simply speaking the truth. He had never tasted such exquisite wine before. It was no exaggeration calling it a bejeweled nectar. He truly felt this from the heart!


    ¡°Haha!¡± That personughed heartily, as though the more he looked at Miao Yi, the more he liked him. He cupped his fists intensely at Miao Yi, as if he had the sudden urge to be sworn brothers with him.


    ¡®It wouldn¡¯t be good to give too high an appraisal¡¯ Miao Yi began to feelter on.


    The wine pots were shattered and shared one after another, and Miao Yi drank bejeweled nectars in quick session; each had its own distinctiveness. After drinking the wine brewed by these demons, he couldn¡¯t help butment when he thought back on the wines he had beforeing to the Sea of Constetions. Those were nothing but hogwash, they couldn¡¯t evenpare to the ones he was having here. The difference was like heaven and earth!


    Miao Yi even thought to himself, ¡®Why are these demons even still cultivating? They should all just go and be wine brewers. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be sought after everywhere they went.¡¯


    What made Miao Yi feel most depressed was that it seemed as though he had stirred up a ho¡¯s nest. Every time after a Fort Master presented their wine, the first thing they would do was look for his opinion of it. He couldn¡¯t say no, and neither could he not give an outstanding appraisal. It would have been best if he had knocked all the appraisals given to the previous Fort Masters down a peg.


    However, he had very little schooling as a youth, and at most had only taken a few lessons from Lao Bai. There was a limit to the amount of knowledge he had, so how could he keeping up with so many different ways to praise?


    ¡®I thought you all didn¡¯t even wee me?¡¯ Miao Yi sarcastically thought to himself as he mocked the Fort Masters and their entire ancestry.


    If hisrades at South Edict Manor could only see him now, their eyeballs would have probably dropped to the ground. Not everyone could have such a rare cultivation experience. It was a good way to train one¡¯s mind.


    After sampling over ten pots, even though he was supposed to be enjoying the bejeweled nectars, the Great Cave Master Miao felt incredibly tormented. He had to rack his brains over what to say! How could he find the right mind to relish the taste of the wine?


    As he struggled to the twentieth pot, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. If he continued like this, the consequence of running out of things to say was terrifying. If worse came to wore, these demonic Fort Masters might even give him a good beating.


    The scariest thing was, even though these bejeweled nectars were being sampled one small cup at a time, they were not something that ordinary men could hold out against. With the rush of intoxication, he was beginning to feel a little light-headed.


    Miao Yi was starting to feel the surging of the alcohol. With his cultivation, he really wouldn¡¯t be able to bear too much spiritual wine. If he continued to drink, he may even get drunk and copse on the spot. If that happened, he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid being examined, and he would be exposed. The end result of that would be too ghastly to imagine.


    The little ones had already climbed into position anyway, so Miao Yi resolved himself. Suddenly standing up, he raised his hand and stopped the next Fort Master, gesturing for him to hold off on presenting his wine momentarily, ¡°Everybody, would you care to hear me speak a few words first?¡±


    If this had been before the presentation of wines, no one would have even cared, but it was different now. Those who had their wines presented before owed him this courtesy, and the ones after were still waiting enthusiastically for his high appraisal of their creations, so for the moment no one was willing to upset him.


    No one rebutted. They were all either nodding their heads or extending their arms, gesturing for him to speak, visibly giving full attentiveness. This turn of events really made it seem as though they were almost friends.

 Chapter 131: Bejeweled Nectar Conclave (9)

    Chapter 131: Bejeweled Nectar Conve (9)


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°The bejeweled nectar of each respective Fort Master has honestly made Miao-¡± With the alcohol rushing up to his brain, he almost said his real name. Miao Yi pretended to belch, and hurried to correct himself, ¡°-they have honestly made me amazed beyond measure. I only regret not being able to bring out an exquisite brew like the Fort Masters¡¯ to share, and can only sit here to simply enjoy it. I¡¯m truly ashamed.¡±


    ¡°Ah! My boy, you are mistaken!¡± Zhu Daneng stood up, magnanimously waving his hands and said, ¡°We are all well-versed in wine so we¡¯re notcking for your brew. Brother, it¡¯s enough that you do not hesitate; sit down and be at ease. If I have been a bad host, please forgive me!¡±


    Everyone nodded in agreement one after another. The next person in a hurry to offer his wine was even gesturing for Miao Yi to quickly sit down. He was still waiting for his world-shakingment.


    But Miao Yi did not do so. If he continued on once more, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take it! He came here to subdue demons, not to let demons mess around with him. Thus, he promptly requested of everyone present with cupped fists, ¡°Everyone, please let me finish and listen to what I have to say first.¡±


    Everyone was currently in high spirits, and as the master, Zhu Daneng couldn¡¯t possibly prohibit his guest from speaking. Hence, he naturally extended his hand and said, ¡°Please speak!¡±


    However, the Fort Master whose turn it was to present his wine, was instead slightly impatient. He urged hurriedly, ¡°Make it brief! Quick!¡±


    ¡®You bastard! Are you in a hurry to throw your life?¡¯ Miao Yi ndered deep down, whilst uttering in aposed manner, ¡°It is not in my manner to freeload. Although I can¡¯t bring out excellent wine to share with the respective Fort Masters, I am willing to produce some prizes, so I can be part of this with the Fort Masters. Whichever Fort Master¡¯s exquisite brew shoulde out on top, I am willing to present a treasure earnestly with both hands!¡±


    ¡°Treasure?¡± Everybody was curious. They weren¡¯t certain what kind of treasure this guy could give, so they all asked in unison, ¡°What kind of treasure?¡±


    Miao Yi smiled at them all. ¡°A treasure which has been bestowed by Commander Bi of Jade Stream Manor. I am certain that once everyone has seen it, they won¡¯t be disappointed after! ¡±


    ¡°Words alone are not proof! Show it to us first!¡± Someone shouted out loudly.


    ¡°This...¡± Miao Yi appeared to be put in an awkward position as he looked at the surrounding singers and dancers. ¡°Naturally, it needs to be shown for everyone to examine, except that this treasure is no small matter. There are too many people, which means there will be more chances for the news of this treasure being seen to spread from here. If this travels to my cousin¡¯s ears, she will most likely say that I¡¯m a ck sheep again and will definitely punish me wellter. Fort Master Zhu, can you please first dismiss the rest who have nothing to do with this?¡±


    Zhu Daneng gave a heartyugh. It was only a simple matter that required a singlemand, hardly any bother at all. Immediately, he waved his hand and shouted, ¡°Everyone, dismissed! You¡¯re not allowed toe up without being summoned!¡±


    He turned to look at Miao Yi and asked, ¡°Brother Niu, can you bring it out now that you can feel reassured?¡±


    The others also followed along to heckle, ¡°Stop dawdling! Hurry up and bring it out for us to see.¡±


    Taking a quick scan around his surroundings, he saw that the entertainers and little demon attendants had already left the high tform of over a dozen meters, and only the seventy-two Fort Masters remained. Deep down, Miao Yi secretly rejoiced as his chances had increased.


    The reason why he had done so was quite straightforward. There were simply too many demons at the scene, surpassing the number of little ones he had at hand. If he hadn¡¯t gotten rid of the other demons, hepletely wouldn¡¯t have had any chance to strike. Otherwise, as long as one little demon gave a shout, the entire mass of demons beneath the high tform would have rushed up and definitely beaten him into a meat patty.


    Earlier when he had been touring Brass Gong Fort, he had already scouted out the situation at the fortress. Zhu Daneng¡¯s subordinates alone consisted of several Yao cultivators equivalent to White Lotus Seventh, Eighth and Ninth grades. The respective Fort Masters who hade to attend the banquet had also brought along quite a number of subordinates with fairly decent cultivation bases as attendants.


    Once he was surrounded by these people, it would be like being trapped in the tiger¡¯s den. With his current cultivation, he wouldn¡¯t be able to flee even if he wanted to.


    Miao Yi nodded his head at the group, revealing both of his hands from his sleeves. He cupped his fists at everyone present and said, ¡°Everybody, please watch closely!¡±


    With a flip of his palm, a Glorious Star immortal herb with glittering hazy starlight about one chi in length descended onto his palm. It was truly the red stone branches and gem-like leaves of lore, bearing with them, nine vivid red crystal fruits in stark contrast to the glittering white starlight. Pure, sparkling and translucent, it was indeed a rare sight in the world!


    A rustling sound resounded from the scene as everyone stood. All the seventy-two Fort Masters were staring wide-eyed, practically sucking in a breath of cold air in unison. They were shocked to the point that they were unable to utter another word.


    Not to mention never having seen a Glorious Star immortal herb of such a great size, a Glorious Star immortal herb that had born celestial fruits was even more unheard of! How many years would it actually take to grow to this extent?


    Now everyone finally understood why this bastard had been afraid of the news traveling back to Madame Wu Hua¡¯s ears. If this treasure was so easily gifted away, this brat would most likely be crippled by his cousin. It looked like Madame Wu Hua was correct, this bastard was truly a ck sheep!


    Times had changed and now Miao Yi naturally knew the worth of the Glorious Star immortal herb in his hand. It was far beyondparison with the ordinary Glorious Star immortal herbs. If the ordinary immortal herb containing the Glorious Star medicinal efficacy could be used to heal a hundred times, then the medicinal efficacy of this Glorious Star immortal herb could at least heal injuries five thousand times. Thus, one could well imagined it¡¯s worth.


    He knew for sure that once he had revealed the item, everyone present would be awed. And this was the kind of effect he wanted.


    The little ones had all crawled under the feet of the respective Fort Masters, not daring to move recklessly. They were waiting for the precise moment to strike.


    Now, the seventy-two Fort Masters hadpletely lost theirposure and were utterly defenseless. There was no time to lose - such an opportunity would nevere again!


    Deciding promptly, Miao Yi secretly transmitted his thoughts to strike. If he did not make his move now, until when would he wait? ¡®STRIKE!¡¯


    Immediately, the little ones swiftly jumped onto the Fort Masters¡¯ legs one by one, brandishing their tiny sickles and viciously stabbing down, injecting a wave of chillherworldly aura into the Fort Masters¡¯ bodies.


    The sight of every single Fort Master groaning greeted him. Their eyesight blurred as their bodies swayed. Some of them raised their hands to smack their heads while others were shaking their heads forcibly, wanting to sober up.


    Afraid that there would be mishaps, Miao Yi did not dare hesitate for even a moment. He decisively swung his hand rapidly, releasing the remaining twenty-seven little ones from his storage ring. As long as they caught any signs of the Fort Masters moving, the little ones would immediately pounced on them to stab them with their tiny sickles, sinking the chillingherworldly aura into their bodies.


    Each and every single one of the seventy-two little ones were resting on the seventy-two Fort Masters¡¯ legs, biting on with their mouthparts without any intention of letting go. Unwilling to even release the pair of tiny sickles which were pierced into their victims.


    The remaining twenty seven were like a swarm of bees, continuously taking turns jabbing and biting chaotically all over the seventy-two Fort Masters¡¯ bodies.


    One by one, the seventy-two Fort Masters all copsed, listing to the ground with a roll of their eyes, immediately smashing all manner of tables, chairs and tes onto the ground.


    Thismotion rmed Miao Yi as he was afraid that the little demons below them woulde up to investigate the situation.


    But such a bastard that dared to risk his life would naturally have his forte, he wasn¡¯tcking in the ability to adapt to circumstances. Heughed out loud heartily and eximed, ¡°Fort Masters, don¡¯t rush. Look one by one!¡±


    Upon hearing themotion, the Yao cultivators underneath the high tform had raised their heads, casting a suspicious gaze at the top of the high tform. After hearing Miao Yi¡¯s words, they exchanged gazes with each other, revealing a look of envy, uncertain as to what kind of treasure that guy had shown to cause the Fort Masters to lose theirposure to this extent.


    ¡®There¡¯s no time to lose!¡¯ thought Miao Yi on the high tform. He immediately kept away the Glorious Star immortal herb with a flip of his palm. A de then fell into his grasp. Starting from the nearest Fort Master, he took two storage rings from the opponent¡¯s hand first.


    Drawing from experience with Madame Wu Hua, he realized that the items inside the Yao cultivators¡¯ storage rings most likely had more worth than the Yao Core within their bodies.

 Chapter 132: Bejeweled Nectar Conclave (10)

    Chapter 132: Bejeweled Nectar Conve (10)


    Trantor: Editor:


    However, now he didn¡¯t have the time to carefully examine what was inside the other party¡¯s storage rings. Time was of the essence. The more he dyed, the greater the danger he was putting himself in. As such, he decided to first tuck them away. After all, as long as he could seed, he would have all the time he needed to look insideter on.


    There was no way for a storage ring to be ced inside another storage ring. Apparently it was because normal storage rings could not achieve the effects of superimposing space yet. Only high-grade storage rings were able to do this. But the materials and capital required to refine such a thing was not something a normal storage ring couldpare with by far.


    He immediately stuffed two storage rings into his clothes. Then, with a swing of the de, he lopped off the other party¡¯s head and promptly cut open his stomach, taking out the Yao core and putting it away inside his storage ring.


    As a result of beheading him, that Fort Master immediately regressed to his original form. His figure quickly grew bigger, knocking away the tables with a crash. Miao Yi was astounded by this. It seemed the one he had just beheaded was a Rhinoceros Spirit.


    Demons with high cultivations really were different after all. For those with Pi Junzi¡¯s cultivation, as soon as you duped them and made them lose consciousness, they would immediately revert to their original forms, but these Fort Masters wouldn¡¯t show their original forms unless they were dead. Such was the difference between the two.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty. There¡¯s no rush! One at a time!¡±


    Miao Yi quickly shouted to cover up his movements.


    But he really did go about things one at a time just like he said. Except he was actually butchering the seventy-two Fort Masters one at a time.


    He quickly removed their storage rings and tucked them away, then followed up with a swing of the de and removed the head. Using his arts to cover his body, he stopped the fresh blood from spilling onto him, then removed the inner core and ced it inside his storage ring. After which, he quickly moved on to the next target; he could not afford to lose any time.


    Miao Yi¡¯s actions were blindingly fast, basically finishing one off in the span of a few breaths. Removing the storage rings and keeping them away in his chest, chopping off the head, then cutting open the belly and removing the Yao core. It was an almost methodical approach.


    They were just lying there for him to kill. There was no counterattack and no obstacles of any sort, so naturally his actions would be quick.


    Not long after, the seventy-two Fort Masters that had been brimming with vigor, all began revealing their true forms. They turned into various kinds of animals with severed heads and split bellies.


    Rhinoceros, wild boar, monkey, lion, tiger.... It was a bloodbath, and the stench of blood pervaded the air. Who knew if the demons below could smell it or not?


    Feeling the pile of storage rings in his chest and smelling the sweet metallic pungence of fresh blood, Miao Yi became taken with excitement.


    Taking another look at the corpses of the demonic spirits, he resolved himself again. He¡¯d alreadye this far, he might as well go all the way. With de in hand, he started moving to one of the corpses again.


    Miao Yi quickly removed the demonic spirit¡¯s skin, thinking that every ounce of profit counted. If he could no longer be the Cave Master upon returning to South Edict Manor, then he might as well earn a little bit more now in preparation for the tough days ahead of him.


    He had to skip theplicated parts. There was no time to slowly skin them now.


    Miao Yi¡¯s hand moved swiftly as he removedrge ps of skin on the bellies and backs of the demonic spirits in their true forms. Even though it was a bit wasteful, but those areas were easy to skin, thus saving time.


    He put the skins into his storage ring after removing them, then quickly moved on to the next demon.


    Under the magnificent beauty of the night sky in the Sea of Constetions, what was supposed to be a conve for appraising bejeweled nectars had now be a silent festival of massacre. Demons were protecting the area surrounding the high tform, whilst keeping guard on the tform itself was the profiteer who was ying a vicious hand.


    The dark green beads on Miao Yi¡¯s neck shed with a faint light, and the vague ripple of a silhouette slowly appeared.


    Under the cool brightness of the moon, Lao Bai stood with his hands behinds his back. As graceful as always, he fluttered about as he looked at Miao Yi hard at work with his butt facing him, and couldn¡¯t help but shake his head andugh bitterly.


    He realised that this guy may just be a little too bold. Sneaking himself deep into a tiger¡¯s den, surrounded by demons on all sides, and yet still having the courage to make a move. This was nothing more than killing and plundering right under their noses. Truly foolhardy.


    It was bad enough that he had made the move, but he should have nned to escape once he seeded. But who knew he still dared to stay and continue making mischief here, unwilling to let go of even the smallest of profits. His audacity was truly infuriating.


    Lao Bai couldn¡¯t read Miao Yi¡¯s mind, so he wouldn¡¯t know all his thoughts. Thus, he didn¡¯t understand Miao Yi¡¯s concerns about losing his Cave Master position once he got back, nor his drive for taking this opportunity to build up his finances and gather more resources in preparation for the future.


    Lao Bai had shown himself because he couldn¡¯t bear to watch on any longer. He was left speechless looking at this brazen fellow rushing off his feet, and could only shake his head whilstughing bitterly.


    He didn¡¯t interfere with anything, nor had he ever any intention of doing so. He was even willing to stand by and watch Miao Yi go through life-and-death perils.


    If Miao Yi could really die from such a minor setback, then he was not worth watching over.


    In the vast expanse of the universe, life was prolific and abundant. A single Miao Yi¡¯s death wouldn¡¯t mean anything.


    The dark green beads would then naturally return to the Boundless Secr World, awaiting the next chosen one.


    Even age-old trees must endure the beatings of rain and wind to slowly grow tall. If one wished to achieve sess, one would have to go through many ordeals and experiences.


    If they were offered assistance all the time, then they would develop a bad habit of always relying on others. At the very least, they would feel that there would always be a contingency, and thus wouldn¡¯t be as willing to work hard to improve themselves.


    A flower that is grown inside a greenhouse will never be able to withstand the fury of a real storm.


    Furthermore, Lao Bai¡¯s wouldn¡¯t be able to help much in his current form. If he really did have that power, then he wouldn¡¯t have needed to put so much thought into Miao Yi and could have just done things on his own.


    Lao Bai was only unable to resisting out and to take a look because of Miao Yi¡¯s impudence, and only to take a look. Afterwhich, his figure turned hazy and he disappeared without a trace....


    What was supposed to be a beautiful night, a grand banquet under the light of the moon, had now be a bloody and horrific sight.


    When the perpetrator had finished mucking about, he quickly kept his de away, then called back all the little ones and hid them away too. He hastily straightened up his clothes, giving the scene a quick scan, before flying up tond nimbly under the tform that was several tens of meters tall.


    ¡°Milord.....¡± Zhu Daneng¡¯s trusted aide that had been keeping guard below the tform came up to Miao Yi to ask something, while hesitantly lifting his head to look upwards.


    It was the rough bloke from before that had descended the mountain to wee Miao Yi. He looked quite formidable with his arms exposed and twin hammers hanging about his waist.


    Miao Yi understood what he was trying to say; he wanted to ask about what had urred.


    He spread his arms,ughing bitterly as he said, ¡°If I had known, I wouldn¡¯t have taken my treasure out. Now look at me, they no longer have any business with me. What kind of attitude is this? Why do I feel like they¡¯re just burning their bridges once they¡¯ve crossed them? Aye! All the Fort Masters are examining the treasure now, I suggest you don¡¯t get in the way of their fun for the moment, otherwise with the way things are, they might just lose their temper. It¡¯s like this bunch of Fort Masters have never seen a treasure before.¡±


    Seeing as he was walking and talking, the rough bloke followed behind him and asked, ¡°Where is milord going?¡±


    ¡°I drank too much just now and misspoke, taking out my treasure in the heat of the moment. I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t be able to exin to my cousin once I get back. I would prefer to get my treasure back now, but the Fort Masters wouldn¡¯t let it go and return it to me. So while the festivities are still ongoing, I am going to rush to find my cousin, and see if she can get it back.¡± Miao Yi quickly walked away in a crestfallen manner.


    The rough bloke behind him couldn¡¯t help breaking out intoughter, thinking, ¡®Since you¡¯ve already spoken out and even revealed the treasure, do you really think the Fort Masters would be that stupid to let you gift away and take back as you please?¡¯

 Chapter 133: Yao Ruoxian (1)

    Chapter 133: Yao Ruoxian (1)


    Trantor: Editor:


    Miao Yi rushed to the inner fortress and found Charcoal. He immediately mounted the steed and ignored the rough bloke sending him off. On the surface, he¡¯d put on a front that he was in a hurry to look for his cousin. But in reality, he was in a hurry to make his escape. Riding Charcoal, he speedily dashed out of the mountain fortress, going down the mountain, scuttling into the forest, traveling further away...


    The rough bloke casted a nce at the disappearing figure in the night and chuckled, ¡°What an idiot!¡±


    Turning back, he tookrge strides and returned to stand beneath the high tform, awaiting for his orders.


    However, after waiting for a long while, he saw no signs of activity from the top of the high tform. From the start until the end, not a single sound could be heard. He could even smell the stench of blood. The rough bloke really wanted to go up to get to the bottom of the matter.


    Regretfully, the Fort Master had made it clear beforehand that no one was allowed to go up unless they were summoned.


    The subordinates of the other Fort Masters also felt that something was not right, so they walked over to ask, ¡°What treasure did that kid take out exactly?¡±


    The rough bloke shook his head in reply, ¡°He was very secretive and refused to tell. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have chased us all away. ¡±


    Everyone could only hold onto their patience and continue to wait. Yet, with the strong stench of blood spreading from top to bottom, they all exchanged looks with each other, still unaware of what was going on up there. What sort of treasure could cause such a heavy stench of blood?


    Some of them were even suspicious that some mishap might have happened up there, but they couldn¡¯t exin why. If something had truly happened, they would have heard the sounds from a battle, right?


    In the night sky, an owl flew over, following the bloody stench. It pped its wings as it descended onto the top of the high tform.


    Everyone who¡¯d lifted their head to watch from the sidelines looked at each other speechlessly once again. Upon seeing that the owl did not leave and hearing the sounds of something pecking at food, the group¡¯splexion slightly changed as they realized that something horrible must have happened.


    The rough bloke was the first one to dash up onto the high tform¡ªthe scene before his eyes shocked him until he was struck dumb.


    The others also flew up in session, each one of them as stunned as the rest as they stood rooted at their own spot, unable to recover. They even thought their eyes must be ying tricks on them.


    ¡°Somebody! Every fortress march out and capture Niu Youde, regardless of whether he¡¯s dead or alive!¡±


    A furious roar thundered the sky.


    Not only were all of Brass Gong Fort¡¯s troops sent out, the respective Fort Masters had also sent out half of their own troops, charging in the direction that Miao Yi had escaped to.


    Rushing to the fortress, the rough bloke seized the Bat Spirit with one hand andmanded in a stern voice, ¡°Hurry and report this to Commander Yuan...¡±


    All seventy-two Fort Masters¡¯ heads had been lopped off, their skins peeled, and their inner cores scooped out. This time, the situation was extremely dire, so it wouldn¡¯t do not to quickly report it, as no one was capable of shouldering this responsibility.


    The Bat Spirit took a few steps back, before leaping into the air. With a faint sh of white light from the surface of his body, he immediately turned into a giant bat, hurriedly pping its wings as it soared under the moonlight...


    The perpetrator knew that this matter couldn¡¯t be concealed for long, so when Miao Yi went down the mountain, he deliberately ran in the opposite direction to confuse the other party.


    After he ran a fair distance, he then quickly changed course and made his escape in the other direction.


    Speeding to the boundaries of Pi Junzi¡¯s abode, he leapt down and immediately barged inside, only to be greeted by the sight of Pi Junzi still in aatose state on the ground.


    Miao Yi reached out his hand to summon the little ones guarding him back into the storage ring. Initially, he¡¯d wanted to kill off Pi Junzi in passing, but after some thought, he had promised not to kill him once the matter was resolved.


    This person, Miao Yi, still considered himself as someone who would stay true to his words and would follow suit with what he¡¯d said. Although he was not an old-fashioned man of honor, he was still a loyal man. As long as he could do it, he would never go back on his word.


    Thus in the end, he left with a swing of his hands, magnanimously sparing Pi Junzi¡¯s life!


    The moment he left the abode, he quickly mounted Charcoal. Both man and dragon steed quickly fled at breakneck speed.


    He had to escape. Miao Yi was fully aware that he had gotten himself into huge trouble by ughtering all seventy-two trusted Fort Masters of Commander Yuan. One could well imagine the consequences of enraging a Third Grade Yao cultivator, so if he didn¡¯t escape now, when was the right time to do it?


    But not long after departing from Pi Junzi¡¯s abode, a group of birds came flying midair. They were scattered in all directions and circling around, searching everywhere in the night sky. It caused the atmosphere of the silent night to abruptly be tense.


    Now to Miao Yi, the biggest issue was how to cross the sea to return home. It was easier with him alone as he could ride the wind and break through the waves with a log. Should anyone give chase, he could just easily dive into the sea to hide.


    However, he had brought along Charcoal, and therge ship from before had already been destroyed by Madame Wu Hua. He also didn¡¯t know if Charcoal had the ability to travel across the ocean.


    Even though he could beat and scold Charcoal, he would never abandon Charcoal for the sake of escaping by himself. This beast had saved his life at crucial moments, and so to say that they should live and die together was too severe and out of the question. At the very least, they should try to share happiness and hardship together, right?


    But even if he had arge ship, he was also afraid to use it as it was too conspicuous a target on the sea.


    Miao Yi was fully aware that it wouldn¡¯t be that easy to run away, hence a greatly harrowing escape would soon begin its course.


    There was one thing that wasn¡¯t good about running in the mountain forest; there would always berge trees blocking their path. Charcoal would need to turn left and right incessantly to evade them, which extremely affected his speed.


    However, right at that moment, Miao Yi suddenly took a backwards nce in horror. The abnormal sounds of pping wings were suddenly heard in the distance.


    rmed, Miao Yi quickly turned back, looking left and right to find a ce to hide. He caught sight of a pit and quickly leaped into it with Charcoal.


    Once they fell into the pit, Miao Yi quickly revolved his arms with grace, as if invoking his art with Tai Chi. The thick, dried leaves on the ground surrounding him immediately rustled as they floated over. Akin to a nket, they covered the top of the pit, shrouding both his and Charcoal¡¯s figures.


    Opening his transcendence vision, he watched the scene unfolding outside through the small cracks of the dried leaves. The sight of a group of unknown birds swept past in the air, and there were quite a number of them circling about in midair. Some even shuttled about in the forest, searching in every corner.


    Miao Yi was extremely terrified. Without guessing, he knew that they were looking for him. He didn¡¯t expect the other party¡¯s reaction to be this quick, and could actuallymand so many birds to make the search.


    Now he faintly understood why even the experts of the Blue Lotus realm were afraid to go to the Sea of Constetions so arbitrarily. Because when trouble was brewing, things would be rming. Cultivators who couldn¡¯t soar would face difficulty in evading all the birds searching for them.


    Miao Yi currently felt a bit regretful for his rash actions. He had truly poked a ho¡¯s nest. Most likely even if he did escape into the sea, those demons could mobilize the fish kin in the sea as their scouts to search. This was a matter that waspletely possible. It would be very difficult for him to escape.


    ¡°Caw... Caw..¡±


    A wave of sharp bird cries suddenly traveled from afar, surprising those people unaware of what had transpired, only to see all the birds which were circling in the sky, shuttling about in the forest, as well as those that had flown past him before, to speedily sweep across the air and make their return, as though they¡¯d been summoned.


    In a second, they all left and the surroundings returned to its previously undisturbed state, the moonlight dreary and fuzzy.


    ¡°Strange...¡± Miao Yi muttered. He listened attentively for a while. With a wave of his hands, the dried leaves covering the top floated apart.


    Patting Charcoal to signal him to wait in the pit, he quickly dashed to the mountaintop by the side, with the intention to observe themotion.


    Arriving on the mountaintop, he made his way onto the treetop of arge tree, cautiously poking his head out of the peak of the treetop to peer about. He didn¡¯t see anything at all.


    He couldn¡¯t put his finger on what was going on, nor why those birds¡ªwhich could undoubtedly bring him great trouble in escaping¡ªhad suddenly retreated?


    Suddenly, while he was pondering over it, he saw two streaks of red light shoot towards his direction at great speed over the horizon. One at the front with the other at the back. Apparently the one behind was giving chase to the one at the front.


    ¡°Niu Youde! Where could you even escape to?!¡± A furious roar thundered in the sky.


    Niu Youde? Miao Yi was taken aback. Had this expert that could soar the skies and traverse the earth discovered him already?


    ¡°Yuan Kaishan, have you fucking lost it?! I already said that I¡¯m not Niu Youde! Stop chasing me so incessantly!¡±


    A loud, flustered and exasperated voice rumbled in response.

 Chapter 134: Yao Ruoxian (2)

    Chapter 134: Yao Ruoxian (2)


    Trantor: Editor:


    ¡°......¡± Miao Yi, who was hiding in the canopy and had hunched his head back down out of fear, was stunned and thought, ¡®What¡¯s the deal with this conversation?¡¯


    He quickly popped his head back up to take a look.


    It seemed as though the red sh in front was not as fast as the one behind it. There was probably no escaping the one behind. Suddenly, it lowered its flying altitude, and charged into a precipitous mountain range, then started to circle around the peaks, ying cat-and-mouse with the red sh chasing behind it.


    You give chase and I¡¯ll circle around. The more you chase, the more I¡¯ll run. The two red shes glided around the mountains at blinding speed.


    As Miao Yi hid in the canopy and watched from afar with his transcendence vision, he couldn¡¯t help but feel awestruck. Just from the fact that they could fly through the air, they should at least be Red Lotus experts.


    But even though he was taken aback, he couldn¡¯t help hiding the doubtful look on his face.


    Isn¡¯t Yuan Kaishan that Commander Yuan from around these parts? As for Niu Youde.... Could it be that the name he randomly made up had actually belonged to someone else?


    After Miao Yi thought about it for a little while, he started to have his suspicions. There was a high chance that Yuan Kaishan suddenly showing up here had something to do with what he did at Brass Gong Fort. Since he was currently chasing this person and shouting the name ¡®Niu Youde¡¯, whereas the person-in-question was denying he was Niu Youde, then could it be that Yuan Kaishan was mistaking this person for Miao Yi himself?


    With this conjecture in mind, Miao Yi was secretly delighted. This could be good as well, as it seemed that the fake Niu Youde was not even Yuan Kaishan¡¯s opponent. If Yuan Kaishan killed that person, he would definitely assume that he¡¯d eliminated the Niu Youde that had wreaked havoc in Brass Gong Fort. When that happened, Miao Yi¡¯s problems would be resolved, and he could run away in peace.


    Catch up to him, catch up to him and kill him, kill him, kill him, kill him, hurry up and kill him... Miao Yi repeatedly cheered for Yuan Kaishan in his mind.


    It seemed as though Yuan Kaishan had gotten sick of ying cat-and-mouse with ¡®Niu Youde¡¯.


    ¡°Hold it!¡± he bellowed.


    The red streak that had been giving chase suddenly crashed into a mountaintop.


    Boom! The earth and the mountains shook so heavily, that even Miao Yi could clearly feel the tremors from where he hid.


    Under the light of the moon, that mountain peak that had been crashed into instantly split to pieces, and was reduced to t ground in the blink of an eye.


    By forcefully crashing into the mountaintop, the red streak that had been chasing behind instantly cut in front of the other red streak that was running away.


    As everything was happening so suddenly, and realizing that there was no way of escaping, the red light that had been running away decisively opted to crash into the red light that had cut in front of it.


    Bang bang bang....


    Each bang shook the earth. The two red lights shed ferociously dozens of times at great speeds¡ªthey had let go of all restraints and started fighting.


    Waves of transcendence energy surged forth from them both, uprooting therge trees from the peaks of the surrounding mountains, as though they were just casually sweeping away the obstacles in their path.


    Peak after peak crumbled to pieces under the violent crashing of the two red lights. Both had a murderous aura, as though they would kill even gods or Buddha if they stood in their way. In the span of a few breaths, dozens of peaks were reduced to t ground, as if they were instantly ttened by the crashing red lights.


    Within the split peaks of the mountains, amidst the clouds of dust and rubble, two red lights interweaved, violently crashing into each other, and the resulting boom shook the heavens and earth!


    Looking at the current sight before him, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but break into a cold sweat, thinking, ¡®So this is a sh between Red Lotus experts, so this is the difference in strength between the two major realms of Levitation and Traversing.¡¯


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but swallow his saliva watching such an overwhelming battle style and aura. It was his first time seeing a sh between Red Lotus experts. It was too overwhelming, andpletely iparable to the battle style of those who had to fight while riding a dragon steed on the ground!


    Strong gusts of wind blowed forth from afar, causing the canopy that Miao Yi was hiding in to shake erratically, but Miao Yi just widened his transcendence vision, and was unable to shift his sights away. He could not miss such an exciting battle.


    As though it had also been alerted by the battle, Charcoal came up without even hearing Miao Yi¡¯s call. It lifted its head and looked at Miao Yi from the bottom of the tree, then tilted its head and looked in the direction of the battle. Feeling as though the situation was unsafe, it circled to the back of therge tree, and popped its head out to watch.


    Far away, after destroying another mountain peak, the two red lights continued to crash into one another as they ascended upwards. They interweaved together as they shot straight up to the skies in a spiral motion.


    Boom! After another violent crash, both the two red lights suffered a powerful rebound, splitting away and crashing into the ground in the chinese character of an eight.


    On the peaks of two mountains, the two stopped for a moment before leaping upwards once more, charging and crashing into each other. They were flying at such great momentum that the air whooshed loudly behind them.


    Boom!


    Another thunderous boom resounded. The two red lights exploded like fireworks as they crashed into one another, and from the center two silhouettes shot out due to the rebound, separating once more and falling hundreds of meters apart. The two invoked their arts and suppressed their momentum, forcefully stopping themselves midair and eyeing each other cautiously.


    Miao Yi squinted with his transcendence vision, and was finally able to see both their faces.


    One of them was an old man with a head of flowery-white hair. The messy flowery-white hair was casually tied up into a ponytail at the back of his head. The man had a wretched look on his face and a slovenly beard. He wore a loose-fitting and dirty blue robe. The sleeves were especially wide, and as a whole, the old man gave others the impression of a sloppy and disorderly person.


    On the other side was a muscr man with fluttering red hair. The man had a burly figure and looked incredibly furious. He wore a red vest that disyed his brawny arms, and on those robust arms of his were tworge ck hoops.


    The two that were facing each other suddenly flicked their arms, and the red lights that were exploding across the mountain range whizzed towards the both of them.


    Countless red lights gathered on the sloppy old man¡¯s hands and quickly formed two ck bar maces. The red light that shone from the two ck bar maces could be seen clearly at night, but one might only vaguely catch a faint red glow during the day.


    Simrly, countless red lights gathered on the burly man¡¯s hands and formed a ck toothed club. A red glow also gleamed from the toothed club.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help feeling envious as he looked, because they both carried in their hands a a third grade transcendent artifact! It would be great if he could get one for himself, as he thought back to how Yang Qing also relied on a third grade transcendent artifact to instantly kill the former South Edict Manor Head, Lu Yu!


    The red-haired man gave his toothed club a wave and pointed it towards the old man as he bellowed, ¡°You old thief that always sneaks around suspiciously. I never knew what you were called before, but it turns out your name is Niu Youde!¡±


    The sloppy old man was wide-eyed as he waved his bar mace and pointed back. ¡°Yuan Kaishan, how many times does this great senior have to tell you? This great senior is not this goddamned Niu Youde. I wouldn¡¯t use such a horrible name even if you beat me to death!¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who you are!¡± the red-haired man shouted, ¡°Do you dare say that you weren¡¯t the one always secretly plotting against my subordinates all these years?¡±


    The sloppy old man gave a dryugh and said, ¡°You must have mistaken me for someone else.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± the red-haired man shouted, ¡°How many times have Ie after you? With your disposition, do you think I would have you mistaken for someone else? Do you think I¡¯m blind? This time I¡¯ve finally caught you red-handed, yet you still dare to deny it. Who else would dare to do such a vicious thing here besides you, old thief?¡±


    ¡°Fine, then!¡± the sloppy old man said awkwardly, ¡°I¡¯ll admit I did all those things in the past, but the incident this time at Brass Gong Fort was really not my doing. I had just barely touched Brass Gong Fort, then I ended up bumping into you. I was unfortunate this time. I really did have nothing to do with the deaths of those seventy-two Fort Masters of yours.¡±


    Footnote:


    °Ë - Eight chinese character

 Chapter 135: Yao Ruoxian (3)

    Chapter 135: Yao Ruoxian (3)


    Trantor: Editor:


    Miao Yi had heard it clearly. That red-haired man was Commander Yuan, while the sloppy old man was the fake Niu Youde. They had really misunderstood each other because of his situation.


    Yuan Kaishan continued to thunder in rage, ¡°Old scum! You¡¯ve really gone too far! There are so many ces in the Sea of Constetion that you could have gone to and yet you stir trouble in my territory! Do you seriously find me easy to mess with?!¡±


    The sloppy old man replied feebly, ¡°Who asked for your domain to be at the outermost edges? I only came here to collect materials. You understand it well yourself that when going in too deep into the Sea of Constetions, it¡¯s not easy to run away when something happens. Coming to your ce is safer. At least it¡¯s easier for me to make my escape and less difficult when not being surrounded and blocked by people... Don¡¯t be so hasty, and listen to me first. I assure you that as long as you let me go this time, I guarantee that I will note here the next time and will definitely go to another person¡¯s territory. I will no longer bother you from now on. What do you think?¡±


    What kind of reasoning was this? Yuan Kaishan almost coughed out blood. My trusted aides have all been ughtered by you and won¡¯t be able to restore their vital energy for hundreds of years. Just one line¡¯s worth of a pledge and you wish to make it okay? What do you take me for?!


    ¡°You shameless bastard!¡± Yuan Kaishan bellowed in fury, ¡°Give me your life!¡±


    With a swing of his hand, there came another streak of red light. The toothed club shot out with a burst, smashing towards the sloppy old man.


    Since his speed in escaping was inferior to the guy and the guy was persistent in having a life and death struggle with him, the sloppy old man couldn¡¯t do anything about it. A bar mace shot out from his hand, intertwining in a fierce battle with the toothed club in the night sky. They were all third grade transcendent artifacts, so for a moment, it was hard to tell which would emerge the victor in their fight.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Yuan Kaishan shook his arms, and the two ck hoops on his arms suddenly burst with red light, breaking up into pieces. Each piece gradually turned into numerous dispersing specks of red light that descended onto both of his hands, before once again condensing, and finally turning into two flickering red glowing rings.


    ¡°Go!¡± Yuan Kaishan casted them out with both of his palms.


    The rings shed and a glowing red light shot out.


    Clutching onto his bar mace, the sloppy old man readied himself to face the attack. But who could¡¯ve known that the two rings with red light shooting towards him would suddenly split into halves, the upper one aimed towards his head while the lower one aimed towards his feet.


    The treasured bar mace wielded by the sloppy old man immediately burst with a sh, turning into numerous rays of red light that circled around him protectively at great speed, akin to a glowing red shroud.


    ng! ng! ng! Up in the air, a wave of rushing explosions erupted, emitting a violent exploding sound of metal.


    Simrly, the two rings of red light revolved in a quick assault, intending to smash through the swirling red light¡¯s defenses. They kept up their attacks until the surrounding glowing red shroud of the sloppy old man gradually darkened in color.


    If this continued, he wouldn¡¯t be able to endure it. The old man reached out his hand to beckon the treasured bar mace, which was engaged in a fierce battle with the toothed club, and it promptly flew back to him.


    Bang! It knocked out and sent one of the red glowing rings flying.


    At the same time, the numerous red specks of light around him condensed in a sh, turning back into the bar mace and falling into the old man¡¯s hand.


    The slovenly old man imbued the bar mace with transcendence energy before making a sweeping movement. Bang! It once again smashed the other red glowing ring, sending it flying! Simultaneously, he dredged up another bar mace into his hand.


    He had only just wielded both bar maces before the toothed club managed to break through the wind, hurtling in his direction. As such, the twin bar maces once again charged out at breakneck speed from his grip.


    Boom! The toothed club was struck flying.


    However, Yuan Kaishan had already spread open his arms, grabbing the two red glowing rings with his hands.


    ¡°ARGHH!¡± Yuan Kaishan faced upwards and roared in fury, his entire body shing with a red light, and his figure suddenly rose dramatically.


    Miao Yi who was struck dumb from the scene, once again widened his eyes. Having risen dramatically into the air, Yuan Kaishan had already revealed his true form, shockingly turning into a figure with a height of around five meters¡ªa giant Azure Ape covered in fiery red fur. His appearance looked ancient and sinister.


    The sloppy old man watched until his facial expression became distorted. Apparently, the other guy wouldn¡¯t stop until he killed him! He wondered who the bastard was thatmitted the fine deed at Brass Gong Fort, causing him to be unjustly med.


    His cultivation had never been a match for Yuan Kaishan, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have chosen to flee previously. Now that the other party had revealed his true form to attack with all his might, it was impossible for him to withstand the attacks.


    Without uttering another word, he dashed forth to make his escape. Yet the toothed club with the shing red light overturned in the sky as it flew in his direction, preemptively blocking his path of escape.


    The twin bar maces left the sloppy old man¡¯s hands.


    Bang! They hit the toothed club until its red glow darkened, immediately sending it flying.


    But the sound of a rustling wind from behind him had alreadye, and the sloppy old man didn¡¯t even nce back to look¡ªnor did he have the time to react¡ªbefore the twin bar maces turned to sweep across in fury.


    BOOM!


    A sound that shocked the sky reverberated throughout. The twin bar maces collided vigorously with the redly lit pair of rings that had been thrown by Yuan Kaishan.


    Under the gigantic figure of the Azure Ape, the sloppy old man resembled a chick.


    Under the forceful collision, he coughed out a mouthful of blood, his figure jolted out like a shooting star and was sent flying.


    The gigantic figure of the Azure Ape was also jolted until he was pressed backwards, staggering.


    Meanwhile, the sloppy old man had been jostled until he was sent flying, akin to a meteor, before bumping into a mountain to copse onto the ground with a reverberating rumble.


    Amidst the copsing mountain that was falling apart and erupting earth and stones that chaotically rocketed into the sky like rain, a figure wrapped in a ray of red light shot out at great speed.


    The sloppy old man knew that he was no match for this opponent so he quickly seized the opportunity to hurry and flee for his life!


    It didn¡¯t matter that he was escaping, but Miao Yi on the other hand was incredibly distressed, because the path in which the man was running in was heading towards his direction.


    Quickly retracting his head back into the canopy, he was insanely worried and afraid that disaster would be brought to the fish in the moat. In passing, he released the little ones, covering the entire area of the canopy, earnestly hoping that they would be of use at a crucial moment.


    But what caught him by surprise was suddenly hearing Yuan Kaishan¡¯s angry roar, ¡°Old scum, get the fuck out!¡±


    What happened? Miao Yi once again poked his head out to look, only to see the two rings with red light hovering before the Azure Ape as he clutched his toothed club. He was currently looking down at the mountain ranges beneath him, seeking everywhere. And that sloppy old man hadn¡¯te to his location so he was unsure of where he¡¯d gone.


    Judging by the situation, Miao Yi gradually came to a realization. He reckoned that sloppy old man knew he couldn¡¯t win against the burly man no matter what, and it was also unlikely for him to get away. Thus, he had found a suitable opportunity to hide.


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression suddenly went stiff, his heart doing aplete somersault, followed by his heart palpitating wildly. He felt like he wanted to cry, but no tears woulde out.


    He hated himself for looking at the bustling scene. He should have seized the chance to escape first, but now it was toote!


    The Azure Ape¡¯s gaze froze in his direction, and had actually met the watchful gaze of the Great Cave Master Miao.


    Miao Yi did not dare to move, wishing that the other party had only nced in his direction by chance and had yet to discover his presence. Even if he did discover me, he can clearly see that I¡¯m not the sloppy old man, so please don¡¯t find me.


    His hope was then shattered as the Azure Ape flew over with a woosh. He slowly descended, his floating figure became level with the other as his gaze met with Miao Yi¡¯s.


    He asked, ¡°Have you seen where the guy just now hid himself?¡±


    Miao Yi waved his hands at once, forcing out an amiable smile as he replied, ¡°It¡¯s none of my business. I¡¯m only looking. I won¡¯t bother you guys anymore, so you lot can continue!¡±


    Immediately, the Azure Ape became angry. He had asked him a question and he dared not to give him an answer?


    He made a grab at Miao Yi in the canopy with hisrge hand.


    Miao Yi was absolutely not the type of person to be resigned to his fate. Seeing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge this by chance, he was already sliding down from the canopy, falling onto Charcoal¡¯s back. Without looking back, he quickly fled as if his life depended on it.


    Riding a mere dragon steed and hoping that you can escape before me? The Azure Apeughed coldly. Soon after, he was taken aback as his gaze locked onto the outrageously fat Charcoal. Recalling the words of the small bandits from Brass Gong Fort, he bared his fangs uncontrobly, seeming to realize something.


    ¡°ARGH!!!¡± Facing towards the sky, he let out a furious roar. He grabbed the canopy, uprooted therge tree before flinging it across.


    When he was about to release his transcendent artifact to strike, a dozen or more stinging sensations traveled from his arm, and a multitude of frightful auras, akin to falling into theherworld, were instantly injected into his body.

 Chapter 136: Yao Ruoxian (4)

    Chapter 136: Yao Ruoxian (4)


    Trantor: Kude Editor:


    The Azure Ape swiftly lowered its gaze, only to find about a dozen of the little mantids biting and slicing into its arm.


    He shook his mighty arm, and about a dozen crisp crunching noises rang out. A single burst of transcendence energy instantly vaporised the little mantids into dust.


    While he was escaping, Miao Yi immediately felt a sting in his heart. He had established a distinct psychic connection to the little ones, so he could sense the little mantids¡¯ deaths.


    That was fifteen of the little ones! And they had died just like that! Miao Yi hated how he couldn¡¯t rush back and duke it out with the Azure Ape.


    But he knew he wouldn¡¯t even be a match for the other demon. Even fifteen little onesbined couldn¡¯t restrain him, what could he do besides sending himself to an early grave if he rushed back?


    As he continued to run away, he no longer dared make the other little ones hold back the enemy. Knowing that they couldn¡¯t stop the demon, he quickly sent his thoughts out and restrained the other little ones from rushing to their deaths.


    In reality, there was somewhat of an effect on the enemy after the little ones had acted.


    After suffering a setback because of his carelessness, the Azure Ape wasn¡¯t in a rush to catch up to Miao Yi. Instead, it swiftly descended onto a mountain peak. His chest drummed, and his whole body was immediately surrounded by ayer of cold frost. His gigantic figure had turned a snowy-white, trying to force out the dark Yin energy that was inside his body.


    But at this exact moment, there was a sudden change. A red sh abruptly shot out from the mountain forest, and hammered down towards the Azure Ape¡¯s head.


    The Azure Ape was shocked. When he realised that Miao Yi could be the actual person responsible for the murders at Brass Gong Fort, he had naturally looked to settle his grievances with the true perpetrator. As a result, he had been temporarily blinded by rage, forgetting that there was another enemy in the surroundings.


    The two hoops that kept guard by his side shot out instantly in a crimson sh, trying to block the attack.


    The sloppy old man hidden inside the red light charged forward with reckless abandon. Using his own transcendence energy to strengthen the transcendent artifact, he crashed down with all his might.


    It was as though he already saw that there wouldn¡¯t be a second chance if he missed this opportunity, and struck with the belief that victory and defeat depended on this one move.


    ¡®BOOM! BOOM!¡¯ Two sounds echoed out as the glowing red hoops were knocked away.


    At the same time, the sloppy old man shrouded in red quickly waved both his arms. The red glow around his body swiftly solidified into two ck bar maces and struck forth, descending ferociously upon the Azure Ape.


    The Azure Ape immediately countered with a whirl of his arms, striking back furiously with his toothed club.


    Just as the attack was about tond, the two bar maces suddenly split off into two separate directions. ¡®BOOM!¡¯ One crashed violently into the toothed club, while the other had slipped around and continued to hammer down.


    Under the constraints imposed by the dark Yin energy, the Azure Ape not only had to deal with this ambush, but he also had to send out a portion of his transcendence energy to restrain the chilling aura within his body. He could no longer be as flexible in adapting with this sudden change. A trace of despair shed through his eyes, as he realized he was powerless to act despite his intent.


    ¡®PA!¡¯ A deep noise reverberated throughout.


    The glowing-red bar macended right on the Azure Ape¡¯s head, instantly pounding the brain fluids out of the his head, splitting hisrge head into pieces.


    The Azure Ape¡¯s massive body trembled as the red glow slowly faded away from the toothed club in his hands.


    The two red hoops that had tangled with the sloppy old man had already regressed back into their original ck color, and fell to the ground.


    As he flew past the body, the sloppy old man waved his arm and immediately stored the two hoops away into his storage ring, obtaining two ownerless transcendent artifacts for free. Uponnding on a nearby mountaintop, the two bar maces wrapped in a glowing red hue floated to his side.


    The Azure Ape¡¯srge body slid down and knelt before him, his toothed club lodging itself into the ground. His body remained unfallen!


    What the sloppy old man found odd was that he hadn¡¯t seen blood spurting out from the Azure Ape¡¯s broken head. Instead, a cold frost quickly had quickly formed on the damaged area, sealing the hot blood inside and preventing it from leaking out.


    ¡°Ay!¡± The sloppy old man shook his head and sighed as he looked at what remained of the Azure Ape¡¯s body.


    Over the past few hundred years, he would asionally sneak over to this ind, and would often be chased away by the Azure Ape. Now that hade to an end.


    With one hand behind his back, he walked to the Azure Ape¡¯s side and reached out with his other hand, extending two fingers to touch the cold frost that had formed on the Azure Ape¡¯s body.


    After he felt the presence of a strange piercing chill, the sloppy old man was immediately puzzled, realizing that it was different from the cold frost that formed in nature. Rather, it seemed to have formed as a result of an overly dark and heavy Yin aura. No wonder Yuan Kaishan was restrained to such an extent.


    The sloppy old man¡¯s ear twitched. He quickly twisted his head to look at the direction that Miao Yi was running in. He pointed two fingers at him and shouted, ¡°Go!¡±


    One of the glowing red bar maces floating beside him immediately shot out like a shooting star.


    At this moment while Miao Yi was currently escaping on Charcoal, he felt happy deep inside.


    On listening to the movements behind him, he had assumed that the other two had begun fighting again, giving him an opportunity to escape.


    Just as he believed he had survived this ordeal, a whooshing noise echoed out from behind him.


    Turning his head to look, he saw a glowing red light shooting towards him. He immediately grew anxious, quickly urging Charcoal to run faster.


    ¡®Harrumph!¡¯ Charcoal snorted. Its eyes became slightly bloodshot as its hooves stomped into a ghostly silhouette, putting everything on the line in order to escape.


    But how could it run away against the speed of a Third Grade transcendent artifact? As the glowing red bar mace closed from behind, it instantly burst into countless red lights. They surged forth, immediately enclosing Miao Yi inside and lifting him swiftly up from Charcoal¡¯s body to return just as quickly.


    Charcoal came to an immediate halt and turned back. Watching Miao Yi being carried away, it immediately charged in a frenzied stampede. When it couldn¡¯t spare the momentum to dodge arge tree, it actually knock it over with a deep ¡®BOOM!¡¯ - focusing all its efforts on the chase.


    While he was encased inside the red light, Miao Yi could only feel himself being carried by a strong wind. There was no point in resisting, yet he immediately summoned his silver spear, wildly striking and sweeping the surrounding red light.


    ¡®Clink-ng! Clink-ng!.....¡¯


    Crisp metallic shing resounded in rapid session. Miao Yi was confounded as he held his silver spear in hand; there was only half of it left. The red lights had left his silver spear useless by chopping it in half like a knife slicing into tofu.


    Before he was able to examine the surrounding red light for weaknesses to exploit, it had already dispersed, tossing Miao Yi to the ground. The red light then immediately congealed into a bar mace, standing guard by the sloppy old man¡¯s side with its counterpart.


    Miao Yi quickly got up as soon as he was knocked to the ground. Wielding half of his silver spear, he red at the sloppy old man looking at him with his hands behind his back.


    He could see even more clearly now that they were face to face. He realized that this old man truly had a wretched face, and looked incredibly slovenly.


    ¡°Hmm....?¡± The old man aimed a fretfully cross expression at him.


    Miao Yi cautiously asked, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm....¡± The old man continued to look disgruntled.


    ¡°........¡± Miao Yi couldn¡¯t decipher what he meant, and said, ¡°Senior, I don¡¯t seem to have any feud with you. Why did you capture me?¡±


    The old man rolled his eyes, and remained petnt.


    Looking as though he had just understood something, Miao Yi slowly turned his head and saw a gigantic body kneeling behind him nestled by a toothed club. He was taken by surprise, and hastily jumped back.


    After taking another look from afar, he realized that Yuan Kaishan had already been struck down. His head was split open, and there was ayer of cold white frost covering his body, as though he had been frozen.


    Miao Yi took a breath of relief, then turned around to look at the sloppy old man, and asked cautiously, ¡°Senior, if there¡¯s nothing, then I¡¯ll be making my move first.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit! Why would I look for you if there¡¯s nothing?¡± The old man scoffed. He waved his hand and tucked the bar maces away in his storage ring. Hands behind his back, he walked to the Azure Ape¡¯s side and grabbed some of the chilling frost in passing, ¡°Kid, tell me. What is the meaning of this? What did you do to Yuan Kaishan?¡±

 Chapter 137: Yao Ruoxian (5)

    Chapter 137: Yao Ruoxian (5)


    Trantor: Kude Editor:


    Miao Yi did a double take. He casted a nce at the corpse on the ground, starting to feel apprehensive deep down. It would seem as though the little ones had somewhat of an effect on Commander Yuan. Otherwise, judging by the earlier situation, this sloppy old man would have been outmatched by Commander Yuan.


    Previously, he had only cared about fleeing for his life, so the little ones who remained in the area had not been taken away. They were currently in the surroundings, ready to be utilized.


    Should I try it out on this old man? Miao Yi muttered in his heart.


    But just now, Yuan Kaishan had decimated fifteen of them at once, which made him feel slightly fearful of blindly acting without thinking things through again. He intended to see how the situation would unfold first. If it really wouldn¡¯t do, he could only force himself to sacrifice a few little ones to test the waters. He had to keep an ounce of hope to take revenge.


    For the sake of expressing his sincerity, Miao Yi threw away the halved silver spear in his hand. He gave a bitter smile, pretending to be confused as he said, ¡°Junior would never dare to make a move against him. I barely had time to flee with my life. ¡±


    As far as he was concerned, this was his only trump card so he had no intention of exposing it.


    The sloppy old man stared at him askance for a while before suddenly dashing towards him. He grabbed onto his clothes with a one-handed grip andughed coldly as he said, ¡°Brat, you¡¯re not being honest...¡±


    His voice came to an abrupt stop. At the exact moment when he¡¯d gripped onto the front of Miao Yi¡¯s clothes, a rattling sound came from Miao Yi¡¯s chest.


    The sloppy old man lowered his eyes, staring straight at the full and bulging chest. He then asked, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    Miao Yi slowly lowered his head to look, thinking¡ªcrap, these were all obtained after he¡¯d risked his life. He immediately shook his head in response.


    Yet, before he had the time to utter any falsehoods, the sloppy old man had already grabbed the front of his top, giving it a tug. His clothes were then torn and suddenly a pile of storage rings came falling down onto the ground.


    There was no need to count. A certain someone was well aware of the number deep down. When added together, all seventy-two Fort Masters¡¯ storage rings made up a total of two hundred and seven rings.


    Grief and indignation filled Miao Yi¡¯s heart as he figured it would be difficult to save them now.


    On the other hand, the sloppy old man was struck dumb. He stared at the storage rings all over the floor and cried out in astonishment, ¡°Where did a brat like you get this many storage rings from? What are you storing that requires so many storage rings? Say...¡±


    Before he could finish, the old man seemed to have realized something. Staring at Miao Yi with a bewildered look, he stretched his arm forward to absorb one of the storage rings into his hand. After imbuing his transcendence energy to examine it for a while, the token belonging to a mountain fortress¡¯ Fort Master fell into his hand.


    Flipping it around in examination, sure enough, it confirmed his conjectures. He prodded the token before Miao Yi, then the old man cried out in shock, ¡°So you¡¯re Niu Youde? The seventy-two Fort Masters were all murdered by you?¡±


    ¡°This...¡± Miao Yi was feeling extremely awkward. Having being caught red-handed, he guessed that no matter how he exined it, there wouldn¡¯t be any use. He could only ask cautiously, ¡°May I ask if Senior is a Yao or an Immortal?¡±


    ¡°Does it matter if I¡¯m a Yao or an Immortal?¡± The old man shook the token in his grip. ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not changing the subject. Knowing if Senior is a Yao or an Immortal, only then will I know how to reply to you in an appropriate manner, so that Elder won¡¯t be mistaken.¡±


    If the other party was a Yao, he would never say he did it even if he was beaten to death. He had killed so many demons. The fox mourns over the death of the hare, and so animals grieve for their kind, therefore one could well imagine the consequences. If he was a human cultivator, then that would be a different story.


    ¡°You brat...¡± The old man was about to speak before the sounds of hooves sounded from behind. ncing backwards, he was once again struck dumb at the sight of a dragon steed leaping through the air towards them.


    Charcoal dropped by Miao Yi¡¯s side. Seeing that Miao Yi was unharmed, he seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief. He snorted loudly with a ¡®harrumph!¡¯ before nudging his head against Miao Yi.


    ¡°This is your mount... your dragon steed?¡± The old man swallowed his saliva before asking, giving signs of being slightly stunned.


    It seemed like everyone meeting Charcoal for the first time would behave this way. But this couldn¡¯t be helped. He was born this way! Miao Yiughed dryly as he replied, ¡°He¡¯s been pampered and spoiled from a young age so he¡¯s a bit chubby. He¡¯s not too bad and can still be used.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s far more than just being slightly chubby. You¡¯re too modest! This grandpa has lived for more than a thousand years and today, my eyes have been opened. A dragon steed that could actually be as fat as a pig! Tsk! Tsk!¡± he said as he waved his hands. The old man proceeded to inquire again, ¡°Back to the subject. Did you kill the seventy-two Fort Masters?¡±


    Miao Yi replied with the same question, ¡°Then is Senior actually a Yao or an Immortal?¡±


    ¡°Brat. You¡¯re quite bold to argue with me,¡± the old man sneered. He turned to cast a nce at the not copsing, kneeling corpse of the Azure Ape. He sighed, shaking his head as he said, ¡°So what if I am a Yao or an Immortal? It¡¯s alright to call me an Immortal or a Yao, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a difference between the two. A demonic and sinister human heart can also be known as a Yao. If a Yao were to show benevolence, then they would be better than humans.¡±


    What profound thoughts was he ying at? It wasn¡¯t any different than not giving an answer... Miao Yi cursed while asking suspiciously, ¡°Are you actually a Yao or an Immortal?¡±


    ¡°Yao Ruoxian1.¡± The sloppy old man nodded his head decisively.


    ¡°What?¡± Miao Yi was at a loss for words. Was this asking him to guess the riddle?


    ¡°I said my name is Yao Ruoxian.¡± The old man red, giving his reply.


    ¡°This...¡± Miao Yi was speechless. Only idiots would believe a person would have this kind of name. It was more ridiculous than Niu Youde2. He coughed dryly and said, ¡°Senior, I didn¡¯t ask for your name. I asked whether you are a Yao or an Immortal?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a real man!¡± The old man was furious. ¡°Does this grandpa look like a demon to you? Do I have the Yao aura on me?¡±


    Miao Yi thought to himself that if he had tried to inhibit his aura, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be able to tell with his own cultivation base. But on the surface, he still nodded his head repeatedly to imply that he understood, and did not say anything more.


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯ve been asking for a long time and you still haven¡¯t told me what¡¯s all this about.¡± The old man pointed at the pile of storage rings on the ground as he red.


    ¡°About this...¡± Miao Yi acted hesitant for a while before weakly replying, ¡°Senior, I have risked my life to get these. It was painstakingly gained through sacrificing myself tortuously. Can you please show me mercy? If you want some, I can give you some. But, please leave some for me. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to get here... Being able to meet Senior at the Sea of Constetions can also be considered as fate. As two human cultivators, we must not massacre one another at the Sea of Constetions and let the demons see us asughingstocks. Senior, am I not right?¡±


    He offered his conditions first. If it really didn¡¯t work out, he could only give all of the items away to safeguard his life. Who asked for his strength to be inferior to this man?


    ¡°You think you¡¯re worthy of being involved in a deadly battle with me? The only one dying will be you if you face me!¡± The old man scoffed coldly. All of a sudden, he seized his wrist, imbuing his transcendence energy into his body to examine Miao Yi. After examining him, he discovered that Miao Yi had a cultivation at the White Lotus Third Grade.


    Verifying that he was right, he let go and cried out in bewilderment, ¡°You killed all seventy-two Fort Masters on your own?¡±


    ¡°You think too highly of me, I don¡¯t have that kind of strength. Actually, those demons were holding some sort of Bejeweled Nectar Conve and were all drunk. So I got lucky...¡±


    ¡°Pui! Drunk, your ass!¡± The sloppy old man instantly spat out a mouthful of saliva at Miao Yi¡¯s face. ¡°You think I¡¯m a dotard and I¡¯m easy to lie to, is that right?!¡±


    Miao Yi wiped away the saliva on his face.


    The sloppy old man pointed at the Azure Ape¡¯s kneeling corpse. ¡°At the start, I couldn¡¯t confirm it in the slightest. Now I know. Those bandits must have fallen for the same method as Yuan Kaishan. What¡¯s with the mantids biting into Yuan Kaishan¡¯s body earlier on?¡±


    ¡°What mantids?¡± Miao Yi pretended to be naive, acting surprised.


    ¡°Fuck! Treating me like an idiot!¡±


    Whoosh! A treasured bar mace, glowing red, flew out from the sloppy old man¡¯s storage ring, smashing right into Miao Yi¡¯s face.


    Footnotes:


    ÑýÈôÏÉ (Yao Ruoxian) - Demon-like Immortal


    Å£Óе (Niu Youde) - Literally means ¡®an ox with morals / a righteous ox¡¯. Figuratively it means, ¡®freaking awesome and righteous¡¯.

 Chapter 138: Yao Ruoxian (6)

    Chapter 138: Yao Ruoxian (6)


    Trantor: Kude Editor:


    ¡°Wait!¡± Miao Yi anxiously shouted. Looking at the glowing red bar mace that was mere inches away from his forehead, he nearly broke into a cold sweat, ¡°Senior, I seem to have recalled what it was about, you can keep your transcendent artifact away now.¡±


    Whoosh! To the side, Charcoal suddenly charged ferociously towards the sloppy old man. Ambushes were truly its fort¨¦.


    The sloppy old man pped it with the back of his hand, and pressed his palm onto Charcoal¡¯s head. He had to move back a step to stabilize himself from the force of Charcoal¡¯s charge.


    And it ended just like that. Charcoal had no way to move another step forward, regardless of how hard it stomped. Red Lotus experts had already stepped into the realm of Levitation. They could even topple mountains with ease, so how could they be forced back by a mere ambush?


    ¡°Tsk tsk, that strength isn¡¯t too meagre. So, this damn fatso could still ambush?¡± The sloppy old man chuckled as he stared in wonder.


    Just as the Brass Gong Fort Master Zhu Daneng had said when he was still alive, dragon steeds are the hybrids of the dragon and the pegasus, and thus possessed two types of extraordinary bloodlines.


    But it is precisely because of the rarity of these two bloodlines that it wasn¡¯t easy for one to suppress the other. As a result, the two bloodlines shed with each other, thereby restricting the dragon steed¡¯s sentience, making it difficult for perception and thought. So despite possessing divine strength, the dragon steed is unable to cultivate, and can only stoop to heeding the orders of others as an obedient steed.


    This is also why it was a first for the sloppy old man to witness a dragon steed with such intelligence. It actually knew how to y these sly tricks and ambush an unsuspecting enemy?


    But after his bout of curiosity, the sloppy old man scoffed, ¡°The owner is dishonest, so the steed will also be dishonest. It seems birds of a feather really do flock together.¡±


    Hisrge sleeves suddenly moved even though there was no wind, and a strong wave of transcendence energy rolled out. The old man waved his hand, and Charcoal was immediately knocked away, crashing down on the ground with a flop.


    Apparently, Charcoal was also shocked. As it got up, it immediately ran behind Miao Yi and hid itself, but how could Miao Yi¡¯s body cover its enormous figure? So, it could only hide its head.


    ¡°You dare to dodge? I¡¯ll break your legs, and then we¡¯ll see if you¡¯ll be obedient or not, you fat thief!¡±


    The glowing red bar mace was lifted up, and he was about to give Charcoal a pounding.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Miao Yi suddenly shouted, ¡°Senior, I don¡¯t want these things anymore. I¡¯ll give them all to you, so please let it go!¡±


    The bar mace returned to the sloppy old man and floated behind his back. The old man nced at the two hundred or so storage rings on the ground, then looked at the dragon steed behind Miao Yi. Seeing Miao Yi extend his arms to stop the attack, a trace of puzzlement faintly shed past his eyes. The old man raised his arm and stroked his slovenly beard, lifting an eyebrow as he asked, ¡°You¡¯d better think carefully. The things inside these storage rings could definitely be exchanged for quite a lot of dragon steeds. You¡¯re really willing to give it all to me?¡±


    ¡°To tell you the truth, Senior, it¡¯s saved my life before. So as long as you don¡¯t hurt it, you can have everything,¡± Miao Yi said as he spread his arms and protected Charcoal.


    To him, Charcoal not only possessed superior leg strength that could be greatly useful during critical times, above all it had saved his life more than once.


    If he had to choose between Charcoal and the little ones, he would rather give up the little ones than abandon Charcoal. There was more than one of the little ones, and if he lost them he could still obtain some more from the Boundless Secr World, but there was only one Charcoal. If it died, he wouldn¡¯t be able to find another one. The two of them had developed a strong attachment for one another over the past few years.


    The sloppy old man slowly stroked his beard, and his eyes had a thoughtful gaze as he slowly assessed Miao Yi from top to bottom. After pondering for awhile, he said, ¡°That won¡¯t do. It dared to ambush me, so how could I release it so easily? Unless you exin what¡¯s the deal with those mantids. Otherwise, I¡¯ll pulverize this fat thief to smithereens!¡±


    Not waiting for Miao Yi¡¯s response, the glowing red bar mace rose up again, and was about to kill Charcoal.


    ¡°I¡¯ll speak!¡± Unable to spare another thought, Miao Yi hastily extended his arm and stopped it.


    The glowing red bar mace awaited orders as it hung in the air, and the sloppy old man shouted, ¡°Hurry up and speak!¡±


    Miao Yi was gnashing his teeth in hatred, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about the overwhelming difference in strength. It was like the difference between heaven and earth.


    One could fly in the skies, whereas the other could only run on the ground. It would be strange if the difference wasn¡¯trge.


    With no way of resisting, Miao Yi looked at his surroundings, and pretended to wave his hand. Ordering them with his thoughts, another twenty or so flew towards him from all over the ce. There were still some that he hadn¡¯t called over. He had to leave a path of survival for the other little ones in case anything happened.


    With his hand pinching his moustache, the sloppy old man stared wide-eyed at the little ones. Looking at them pping their wings and buzzing about in front of him, he asked curiously, ¡°They don¡¯t seem like anything special, though? Are these mantids really the cause behind Yuan Kaishan¡¯s defeat?¡±


    Miao Yi nodded, ¡°Yes, they are.¡±


    The sloppy old man spread open his palm, and a small mantid was sucked into his grasp. He held it in his palm as he carefully examined it.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyelid couldn¡¯t help but twitch, as he threw a nce at the frozen corpse of the Azure Ape. Commander Yuan¡¯s strength was greater than this old man¡¯s, and even he fell to this trap, so then this old man...


    He turned his head again to look at the old man examining the small mantid he held in his hand, thinking, ¡®Heaven opened a path for you, but you didn¡¯t wish to take it, and instead you came knocking on Hell¡¯s door. Old man, you reap what you sow.¡¯


    It¡¯s not as if he¡¯d never thought about using the small mantids on the old man, but there was no way for them to get closer to the other person¡¯s body. Now that the other party had personallye forth, it would be a crime to miss this opportunity.


    Miao Yi signaled with his thoughts, and the small mantid in the old man¡¯s palm suddenly stabbed down with its ¡®tiny sickles¡¯, at the same time opening its mandibles and biting his palm.


    A frightening aura invaded his body, making him feel as though he had fallen into a dark abyss. The old man shivered for a bit, then immediately eximed, ¡°Good fellow, it¡¯s actually breaking past my defenses of transcendence energy!¡±


    The small mantid was instantly shot upwards from his palm, and was restrained with a wave of transcendence energy so that it wouldn¡¯t be able to make any sudden moves. Its ¡®weapons¡¯ might be able to break past transcendence energy, but its body could not.


    The old man extended his arm and pinched the little one¡¯s back, and nodded repeatedly as he said, ¡°Good stuff, good stuff. No wonder you dared toe to the Sea of Constetions with only a White Lotus Third Grade cultivation, and even single-handedly butchered the Fort Masters of the seventy-two forts. Good stuff...¡±


    He couldn¡¯t stop praising them, not to mention his eyes were shining, alreadying to understand the immense value of the little ones for ambushes.


    Miao Yi was a little speechless. He was waiting for the cold Yin aura to activate within the old man¡¯s body, but the old man was acting like it was nobody¡¯s business, still in the midst of repeatedly admiring the little one.


    He couldn¡¯t help but look back at the Azure Ape¡¯s corpse, not understanding what was going on here.


    But not too long after, the old man finally rxed his grip and let go of the little one. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly shut his eyes.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyelids twitched slightly, as his heart began to pound faster and faster.


    He then saw ayer of frost slowly covering the old man¡¯s beard, his skin was being covered in a coldyer of white, and eventually even his clothes suffered the same fate. The frost turned thicker and thicker, and his whole body stood unmoving, looking like it was frozen solid.


    With a slight movement of his fingers, a silver spear suddenly appeared in Miao Yi¡¯s hand. Without any hesitation, he aimed at the other party¡¯s chest, and struck forwards with a wave of his spear, ¡°Die!¡±


    But he was bbergasted by what happened next.


    Still looking frozen, the sloppy old man retaliated in a sh, grabbing the spearhead in a single stroke. He opened his eyes, and coldly red at Miao Yi as he mocked, ¡°Brat, you¡¯re quite ruthless. No wonder that fat thief knew how to ambush a person. It probably picked it up from you.¡±

 Chapter 139: Yao Ruoxian (7)

    Chapter 139: Yao Ruoxian (7)


    Trantor: Kude Editor:


    A surge of transcendence energy rushed forth from his hands. The silver spear moved twistedly, wrung from one side to the other end at lightning speed, forcing Miao Yi to let go.


    Bang! Moreover, Miao Yi was sent flying from the direct impact of the transcendence energy. Stunned, he struggled for a while, unable to mber up, his face distorted as he watched the frozen, frosty old man, as though he had seen a ghost.


    This guy was to me. He hadn¡¯t seen the moment before Yuan Kaishan met his fate. Before Yuan Kaishan died, he¡¯d only been beaten to death by the sloppy old man because his strength was being restrained. But even though he couldn¡¯t unleash his full power, that level of strength could kill Miao Yi as easily as slicing vegetables. He felt the same thing applied to this sloppy old man.


    Charcoal took the chance to quickly scurry over, his speed incredibly fast. He bit onto Miao Yi and flung him onto his back, carrying him away as he ran off.


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly, could they even get away?


    As expected, a bar mace suffused with a red glow dashed in front of them. Charcoal came to an emergency halt, and tried running in several different directions. But he kept being blocked by the bar mace.


    ¡°I advise you two to obedientlye back. If you continue to run, don¡¯t me me for being rude.¡± The voice of the sloppy old man traveled over to them.


    He had no choice and couldn¡¯t even be angry about it. Charcoal, who earlier had felt eager and pleased, was now dejectedly lowering its head as it carried Miao Yi back.


    They had been chased back by the red-glowing bar mace.


    Dismounting his steed, Miao Yi seized Charcoal and proceeded to beat him up. ¡°Did I make you run? Who asked you to run...?¡±


    ¡°Stop pretending, you¡¯re not such a good person yourself. Who was it again who¡¯d tried to kill me just now?¡± Standing there unmoving, the sloppy old man ridiculed Miao Yi in an odd voice, suddenly mimicking a certain someone. ¡°Being able to meet Senior at the Sea of Constetions can also be considered as fate. As two human cultivators, we must not massacre one another at the Sea of Constetions and let the demons see us asughingstocks. Senior, am I not right... You damn brat, you say one thing and yet you do another. You put it so nicely, but when you strike, you don¡¯t hold back at all! Fortunately I still have some skills, or else I would have fallen head first into your hands!¡±


    He found it awfully awkward, but not to the extent of feeling ashamed. Being able to escape between life and death was a form of skill and yet, after being spoken to in such a way, he now longed to find a hole in the ground to crawl in. It was too embarrassing, and the guy simply didn¡¯t spare him an ounce of face.


    After waiting for a while, the sloppy old man suddenly swung his sleeves.


    Bang! The frost wrapped around his body was blown away, falling onto the ground. He had managed to expel the deep-seated chill from his body.


    Charcoal lowered his head. Miao Yi was also lowering his head. The sloppy old man circled around the two of them with his hands sped behind his back. He sneered repeatedly, ¡°Truly the mount mirrors the personality of the master, what a joke, the pair of you! Stop pretending you¡¯re terrified! Raise your heads.¡±


    Miao Yi slowly lifted his head, forcing out a smile as he said, ¡°What advice does Senior have?¡±


    The sloppy old man rolled his eyes. ¡°Brat. I won¡¯t make things difficult for you. I won¡¯t take any of those things which you¡¯ve risked your life to obtain. But you have to give me one thing. If you give me your word on this, I can disregard the fact that I was made your scapegoat.¡±


    Miao Yi was surprised. To be offered something this good? He then asked cautiously, ¡°What is it?¡±


    The old man pointed at the buzzing little ones who were flitting their wings. ¡°Give them to me and the method to control them.¡±


    He understood and had personally experienced their wrath. He understood the value of the little ones¡¯ enormous potential. As long as he could obtain these little ones and exploit them, then a mere two hundred storage rings alone meant nothing to him. For instance, the matter of Yuan Kaishan who had already fallen in battle before him, just the items on him alone would definitely be worth more than the two hundred storage rings.


    ¡°This...¡±


    ¡°What? You¡¯re unwilling? I have already been considerably courteous to you. If you tried this exchange with anyone else, they wouldn¡¯t necessarily let you go, even if they sucked you dry. Don¡¯t refuse such generosity!¡±


    Miao Yi promptly waved his hands and exined, ¡°Senior, I didn¡¯t mean it like that. I can give them to you, but as for the method to control them, even if I wanted to give it, I can¡¯t.¡±


    The old man frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The method to control them is a kind of telepathy. They¡¯re stillrvaes now, although I have raised them for a few years. To be able to build that kind of telepathy, I¡¯ve apanied them since they were hatched. There aren¡¯t any other ways to control them, so I can¡¯t do anything about it as well.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a method such as this?¡± the old man asked dubiously, ¡°So you mean to say that they only listen to yourmands and it¡¯s useless for another person to order them around?


    Miao Yi nodded his head as he smiled bitterly. ¡°That is indeed correct.¡±


    The old man red. ¡°You damned brat. Are you ying me? If I can¡¯t control them, then what use do I have for them?¡±


    Miao Yi replied grudgingly, ¡°Senior, it truly is this way. Even if you kill me because you don¡¯t believe me, I can¡¯t do anything about it!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t deny it! I will know once I¡¯ve tried it,¡± the old man scoffed coldly, walking over and reaching out a hand to ce on Miao Yi. He used his transcendence energy to envelope the entirety of Miao Yi¡¯s body. As long as there were any fluctuations or abnormalities in Miao Yi¡¯s transcendence energy within his body, he would sense it straightaway. ¡°Make them drop to the ground.¡±


    Miao Yi knew that he was testing him. With a slight thought, all of the little ones immediately dropped to the ground.


    The sloppy old man was astonished. He gulped. ¡°Make them fly up and down.¡±


    Without needing to say more, the little ones immediately did as they were told.


    The old man tried out different kinds ofmands, and since he couldn¡¯t find any anomalies in the fluctuation of transcendence energy in Miao Yi¡¯s body, he even made Miao Yi turn around, afraid that he was using his eyes tomand them.


    In the end, the little ones did as they were told.


    Finally, the old man pushed Miao Yi away, staring at the little ones and gulping down his own saliva incessantly, his eyes quickly turning green with anticipation.


    He could control them just by using telepathy. What did this mean? This meant that all wishes would be granted, and he could control them without using any other means. Not only that, no one would be able to snatch them away.


    ¡°Nghh...¡± The old man emitted a sob, swaying as he walked in front of the little ones. He knelt down with a thud, spreading his arms open, looking as though he wanted to embrace the little ones.


    Miao Yi was shocked. Why was he kneeling? He asked cautiously, ¡°Senior, are you alright?¡±


    Suddenly, the sloppy old man made a fist and hammered violently at his own chest, until thumping sounds resounded throughout. He then shook his head as he said with grief and indignation, ¡°It¡¯s killing me! Such a good thing is ced in front of me, right within my hand¡¯s reach and yet I can¡¯t have them. I¡¯m dying from frustration! You damned brat, why did you have to show me something so good? You¡¯re causing me so much suffering! ¡±


    Miao Yi was at a loss for words¡ªhe was the one who¡¯d forced him to take them out.


    ¡°No!¡± The old man suddenly leapt to his feet, ring at Miao Yi, who was startled with shock. He chuckled and said, ¡°I almost forgot. You can hatch them, so why can¡¯t I hatch them too? Hurry up and tell me where these precious thingse from. If you dare to say no, I will kill you immediately!¡±


    ¡°...¡± Miao Yi could only think that the man had won, but he couldn¡¯t say no. He had already fallen into the other man¡¯s grasp, so he couldn¡¯t deceive him anymore! ¡°Eggs of the Hell Mantis from the Boundless Secr World!¡±


    ¡°Ah! Hell Mantis...¡± The old man sucked in a breath of cold air. ¡°They¡¯re hatched from the eggs of the monstrous Hell Mantis?¡±


    Miao Yi nodded his head and replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°No wonder, I was wondering where these freaks came from!¡± Afterwards, the old man twirled his beard with his fingers as he faintly nodded his head, then asked with puzzlement, ¡°No one can enter the Boundless Secr World right now. How did you get the eggs?¡±


    Miao Yi sighed, ¡°Naturally, they were obtained when the Boundless Secr World was unsealed. If you want to get more then you¡¯ll have to wait, more or less, for another one thousand years for the Boundless Secr World to lift its seal again.¡±

 Chapter 140: Yao Ruoxian (8)

    Chapter 140: Yao Ruoxian (8)


    Trantor: Kude Editor:


    Something like this, of course it would be better for him to have it all to himself. If everyone could obtain it, then what use was there? It was best to y dumb when he should y dumb.


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± The sloppy old man instantly burst into rage, like a cat that had its tail treaded upon. He pointed at Miao Yi and shouted, ¡°I knew you would be dishonest, you brat. You just said that they were stillrvae, and that you¡¯ve only been raising them for a few years. Thest time that the Boundless Secr World opened was over a dozen years ago. I dare you to lie to my face again!¡±


    ¡°Uhh.....¡± Miao Yi had the urge to p himself. Why had he gone and said so much unnecessary nonsense? He anxiously exined, ¡°I really did get the eggs when the Boundless Secr Worldst opened dozens of years ago, but I never had the means to hatch them. I only managed to hatch them a few years ago. There¡¯s nothing wrong with the timing.¡±


    ¡°Pfft! Like I¡¯d believe another word of your lies! You won¡¯t tell me, is that it?¡± The sloppy old man made a sly grin, and his gaze descended on Charcoal, ¡°I¡¯ll kill it first, then slowly torture you. Let¡¯s see how long you¡¯ll continue to be tight-lipped.¡±


    Just when the glowing red bar mace shed, Miao Yi immediately shouted, ¡°There¡¯s a way! There¡¯s a way!¡±


    The sloppy old man snickered, ¡°You won¡¯t y dumb and try to lie to me anymore?¡±


    ¡°Ay!¡± Miao Yi gave a long sigh. Making another excuse for himself, he said, ¡°As the saying goes - one must not have the intent to harm others, just as one must notck the desire to protect oneself. This junior couldn¡¯t help but lie to you. Senior, try being in my shoes and think for a moment. If I were to tell you everything, you could simply burn your bridges once you¡¯ve crossed the river, and strike a vicious blow at me again. So how could I willingly tell you, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±


    The old man gave it some thought and agreed. Everyone had a desire to keep themselves safe, but he had a disdainful expression on his face as he said, ¡°Do you think you¡¯re worth me burning my bridges after crossing the river? Your fate rests on mere whim of mine. I could just forcefully pry open your mouth. Do you think I need to spare so much effort for a little rascal like you?¡±


    At this point, even though Miao Yi had just given his excuse, he also couldn¡¯t help but agree after some thought. If the old man really did have that intention, he truly had no need to use such a roundabout method. It seemed that he really didn¡¯t have any intention of harming him.


    Miao Yi immediately took up a stance as though this secret was something only the heavens, the earth, the old man and himself should know of, as he transmitted to the old man, ¡°Senior, go to the Boundless Secr World, and wait for the night of a full moon. Use a mirror to reflect the moonlight into the Boundless Secr World, and you¡¯ll be able to lure the mother mantis out....¡±


    This time he was honest and told the truth.


    But as someone who was in a crisis, he wouldn¡¯t be easily trusted.


    The old man looked unconvinced as he voiced his doubts, ¡°You¡¯re just randomly making this up, right? There was once a Purple Lotus expert thaty in wait outside the Boundless Secr World and attacked a Hell Mantis that was passing near the border. As a result, that monster charged out and ripped that expert to shreds. Something so frightening, and you¡¯re telling me that you can lure it out with a simple mirror?¡±


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. He hadn¡¯t believe it as well when Lao Bai had told him back then. He sighed, ¡°It¡¯s true. This was a method I discovered unwittingly. Why won¡¯t you believe me?¡±


    The old man scoffed, ¡°Me not believing you? Is it my disbelief, or is it your mouth full of lies that makes others doubtful?¡±


    ¡°I... Then what would it take for you to believe me?¡± Miao Yi spread his arms helplessly.


    The old man chuckled slyly, ¡°Simple, you just have to apany me on this trip. I¡¯ll let you go as soon as I obtain thervae.¡±


    ¡°Can I not go?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Miao Yi was speechless, ¡®I knew I had no choice.¡¯


    In contrast, the old man was putting his hands together, as though he couldn¡¯t bear the excitement any longer. He pointed to the storage rings on the ground and said, ¡°It¡¯s best not to stay in this ce for too long. If we somehow attract the Yao General here, we wouldn¡¯t be able to run away even if we wanted to. Hurry up and pick them up so we can leave!¡±


    Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t decline packing them all up. After all, how could he throw away the items he had risked his life for?


    He took out a thin chain from his storage ring, quickly picking up the storage rings on the ground and stringing them together. It would be easy to lose them if they were separated.


    He turned around and saw that the sloppy old man was keeping that ck toothed club for himself, and couldn¡¯t help but envy. How much essence powder needed to be extracted from the ck crystals in order to produce such arge club!?


    When the old man retrieved the Second Grade Yao Core from the Azure Ape¡¯s body, Miao Yi felt his heart sting again. That was a Second Grade Yao Core! How many Orbs of Will would that be!?


    Then he saw the old man taking a few storage rings from the Azure Ape¡¯s body and keeping it inside his robes. The things inside were sure to be extraordinarily wealthy.


    The Great Cave Master Miao could not hold it in anymore, and grumbled, ¡°Senior, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to thank this junior¡¯s assistance. If it wasn¡¯t for my help, how could you get all these things? Three Third Grade transcendent artifacts, and one Second Grade Yao Core. There¡¯s quite a fortune inside Commander Yuan¡¯s storage ring, right? Senior, you¡¯re rich.¡±


    ¡°So what if I¡¯m rich? Haven¡¯t you managed to obtain a lot of stuff as well?¡±


    ¡°I only have a meagre amount here, how about we trade?¡±


    ¡°Get lost!¡±


    ¡°Senior, it must be some kind of fate that we should meet in this Sea of Constetions. You ate the meat, it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to let this junior have some of the broth, would it?¡±


    The sloppy old man was content after keeping his loot away. He hadn¡¯t expected to have such arge harvest when he came this time. Speaking of which, he might actually have this kid to thank for that.


    He was in a good mood right now. Turning around, he chuckled, ¡°Jealous, little rascal? Why didn¡¯t you speak up when this old master was taking the rap for you and nearly lost his life?¡±


    Taking off his clothes and tying the storage ring chain around his waist, Miao Yi fixed his clothes as he said again, ¡°I have also saved your life once, so we¡¯re even. Senior, my weapon was destroyed by you, and until now I don¡¯t have a transcendent artifact I can call mine. How about you just randomly pick one out for me? I also won¡¯t be greedy. Just one is enough. Those two hoops, how about you give one to me?¡±


    ¡°You still say you¡¯re not greedy? You only have a White Lotus Third Grade cultivation, yet you want to use a Third Grade transcendent artifact? Even if I were to give it to you, do you think you would be able to wield it with your cultivation?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I can wield it. I can have it by my side for now. It wouldn¡¯t be toote to use it once my cultivation has increased.¡±


    ¡°Brat, you¡¯re called Niu Youde right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, is there a problem?¡±


    ¡°What a stupid name, it sounds horrible. I could tell that the person that thought up this name definitely didn¡¯t have much of an education background when I heard it. Brat, I just want to say, a normal man is innocent, but he sins by hiding riches. If word gets out that you, a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator, own a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact, I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t even have the chance to wait for the next day to die.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be willing, if I could hold a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact as I die! I could also exchange it for Orbs of Will for my cultivation! Senior, please just give one to me!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not giving. You can exchange it for Orbs of Will, so can I. Who wouldin that they have too many Orbs of Will?¡±


    ¡°Senior, then are my mantids not treasures as well? They wouldn¡¯t be worse off than that Third Grade Transcendent Artifact of yours right? I¡¯ll have to give you such arge gift. Can¡¯t you do the same for me?¡±


    The sloppy old man scoffed, thinking, ¡®Was that supposed to be a gift? If it wasn¡¯t for me being stronger than you and forcing you to spit it out, I¡¯m afraid that I would¡¯ve already died by your hands.¡¯


    He didn¡¯t want to care at first, but looking towards Charcoal at the side, he thought back to how Miao Yi would give up everything to protect a dragon steed. His heart wavered a little once more as his eyes glistened.

 Chapter 141: Yao Ruoxian (9)

    Chapter 141: Yao Ruoxian (9)


    Trantor: Kude Editor:


    When he thought about the huge gains that he was able to reap this time, he did indeed need to thank this kid. The sloppy old man twisted his head to shift his gaze to Miao Yi, looking as though he would let what happened be. He waved his hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s a waste to give the third grade transcendent artifact to a brat like you. How about this. Later, as long as you help me obtain the little mantids, I will personally help you refine a good transcendent artifact.¡±


    Miao Yi asked curiously, ¡°You know how to refine transcendent artifacts? From what I know, there are not many cultivators who know how refine them.¡±


    ¡°Hehe! I can only say that you are a lucky brat! Can¡¯t you see who I am? You can go ask around in Flowing Clouds-¡± The sloppy old man was proudly boasting halfway, beforeing to an abrupt stop. He quickly corrected himself, ¡°So I said, you need to honestly help me obtain the little mantids. When the timees, I will not treat you poorly.¡±


    After the both of them haggled over the conditions for some time, the sloppy old man nodded his head to say, ¡°It¡¯s not wise to stay here long. Let¡¯s make a move!¡±


    Miao Yi reached out his arm, letting the twenty little ones descended onto his arm. He turned to point at the kneeling corpse of the Azure Ape. ¡°You don¡¯t want his skin? If you don¡¯t want it, then I won¡¯t be holding myself back!¡±


    What a joke, a Third Grade Yao cultivator¡¯s skin was worth quite an amount of money. It was such a waste to throw it like that.


    The sloppy old man threw a nce back, staring at the Azure Ape¡¯s corpse as he sighed, ¡°Although we¡¯re not considered friends, we knew each other for several hundred years. This time, if not for you going overboard making me the scapegoat, he would not have wanted to kill me, and I would not have killed him. Brat, let him die with dignity.¡±


    Once he finished, he waved his hand. The bar mace transformed into a multitude of speckled stars that wrapped around the two, beforeunching them into the air at great speed.


    ¡°WAIT!¡± In mid air, Miao Yi¡¯s weird shriek came travelling. ¡°My mount!¡±


    ¡°You damn brat. The dragon steed is too big so bringing it to soar through the skies for a long distance will heavily exhaust my transcendence energy. Besides, that fat willy is chubbier than ordinary dragon steeds. I won¡¯t be able to manage it.¡±


    ¡°No! He has shown his face at the mountain fortress and his distinctive features are too conspicuous. Even if he were to mix in with a herd of dragon steeds, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hide as he¡¯s gloriously radiant. You can see him at a nce. If we don¡¯t bring him along, then he will die. Those bunch of demons will never spare his life.¡±


    ¡°Why do you have so many issues? If you make noise again, I will ughter you.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. If you don¡¯t want to get the eggs, then be my guest and kill me!¡±


    ¡°Bastard, are you treating me like manualbor...¡±


    Finally, even though the weak is unable to dissuade the strong, when met with a person who was persistently stubborn, he also had no other choice.


    From the ball of red light flying in mid air, another ray of red light came streaking out. The other bar mace shot out, instantly turning into numerous specks of red light and coiling Charcoal into the air in an instant.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Miao Yi once again shouted out.


    ¡°Brat, can you cut it out already? Haven¡¯t I already given you face? Do you not want it?!¡± The sloppy old man was infuriated.


    ¡°I won¡¯t increase your burdens. I still have one more thing that I forgot to keep.¡± Miao Yi replied meekly.


    The sloppy old man was slightly dubious. Why did he feel like this brat had suddenly be abnormally diffident? He couldn¡¯t resist the urge to ask, ¡°What is it?¡±


    His words had just finisheding out of his mouth, when he could suddenly hear a wave of buzzing sounds flying in their direction. Turning to look, his mouth was instantly agape. He waspletely at a loss for words.


    There were still sixty little mantids hiding nearby that had yet to reveal themselves. Since he was about to leave already, there was no way that Miao Yi could abandon them in the Sea of Constetions.


    With his cultivation bing increasingly higher, Miao Yi already realized that the effective range of telepathy tomunicate with the little ones had increased. Yet, he still couldn¡¯t contact them from an unlimited distance. If he was too far away, then he wouldn¡¯t be able tomunicate with them, so naturally he needed to bring them along.


    ¡°There were still so many more...¡± After the sloppy old man swallowed the lump in his throat, his face turned sour. He red viciously at Miao Yi, gritting his teeth as he said, ¡°You haven¡¯t been honest. What else are you hiding from me?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re mine so what reason would I have to take everything out and let others see?¡± Miao Yi withdrew his neck before replying feebly, ¡°Um, senior. Open a path and allow them in.¡±


    The red light wrapping around them had a defence mechanism. If the small mantids tried to forcefully break their way in, they would definitely be crushed into pieces.


    With regards to this, the sloppy old man did not have any objections. He immediately opened a hole to make a path, weing them with open arms.


    The few dozen little mantids immediately dived into the hole. Miao Yi spread open his hand and all of the little mantids went back into the storage ring.


    The sloppy old man was instantly furious. ¡°You wastrel! Are you trying to kill them by keeping them in the storage ring?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re quite special. Once they enter the storage ring, they will promptly enter a state of Deep Sleep so they can¡¯t die. I have always been doing this.¡±


    Miao Yi casually exined.


    The angry old man was taken aback. His eyes soon gleamed brightly as he overflowed with excitement. Didn¡¯t that mean that he would be spared quite a great deal of trouble? This time, he really had run into a great treasure.


    Rubbing his hands excitedly, he impatiently shouted loudly, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    He steered the red light to quickly cut through the sky, the red light binding Charcoal quickly followed suit.


    In the night sky and over the vast sea, two rays of red lights streaked across; one in front and the other behind. They were almost like a meteor, and much faster than the time when Miao Yi had used the ship.


    Obviously, Charcoal was not used to this kind of flying art where his four limbs did not touch the ground. He kept twisting around as he looked in all directions.


    This was also Miao Yi¡¯s first time experiencing a flight through the sky. His eyes were wide open as he paid close attention to what the flying red lights carrying them actually were.


    After looking closely, he finally understood. There were tiny ck silk threads which were so fine that the naked eye couldn¡¯t even see, and were faintly suffused with red light. They were spinning at a great speed.


    Miao Yi of course knew what these ck silk threads were. They were refined from the essence powder which had been extracted from ck Crystals.


    The countless ck silk threads bundled around the two were all spinning. As a result of their spinning, a stream of air naturally formed within, supporting the people inside.


    This apparent state of levitation, where their four limbs did not touch the ground, made them feel as though they were treading on air. The exterior was simr to the glowing shroud of an egg shell.


    When the sloppy old man steering the flight changed to fly in different directions, the numerous ck silk threads also immediately spun in a different direction.


    Realization dawned on Miao Yi. It turned out that when flying, the crucial point in rapidly changing directions was on the adjusting the movement of the spinning ck silk threads. Not only that, the faster the ck silk threads spun about, the greater the speed of flight would be.


    Using these things as a shroud on the exterior also had an advantage while flying. They could use it as a sort of defensive shield. When the old man man had been in the fierce battle with Commander Yuan before, Miao Yi had already seen it first hand.


    Miao Yi recalled the golden phantom that he had seen from Fairy Hong Chen and thedy boss previously. In all likelihood, the logic must be simr, except that they must have used the transcendent artifact refined with the essence powder from Gold Crystals which have a stronger connection with transcendence energy.


    ¡°Senior, dare I ask for your name?¡±


    Seeming to recall something, Miao Yi suddenly turned his head to ask.


    The sloppy old man replied expressionlessly, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before? Yao Ruoxian!¡±


    ¡°Uhm...¡± Miao Yi knew he didn¡¯t want to reveal it - Where in the world would someone have the surname Yao? So he could only sigh, ¡°Senior Yao, I wish to consult you about something.¡±


    ¡°Out with it!¡±


    ¡°In the past when I saw people soaring through the skies, the illusion of their protective form was a bird. Why does yours look like an egg shell?¡±

 Chapter 142: Small Fortune (1)

    Chapter 142: Small Fortune (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor:


    As ¡®Yao Ruoxian¡¯ pped his hands together, the halo of light surrounding them immediately turned into an illusion of a huge, vicious bear. As a result, their speed drastically decreased, such that even the red light flying behind them with Charcoal inside was now faster than theirs.


    When he moved his palms further apart, the bear phantom turned back into a glowing shroud.


    Yao Ruoxian stroked his slovenly beard as he cast a nce at Miao Yi. The hand that was stroking his beard suddenly flicked forwards, and the halo of light the two were in abruptly increased its speed, catching up quickly to Charcoal once more.


    He turned back and asked, ¡°Do you understand now?¡±


    Miao Yi replied inquisitively, ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is that with regards to the spirit body that was refined into the transcendent artifact, there are some that are suited to flying, and some unsuitable for flying. For example, birds are ideal for flying, whereas your bear isn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°You can put it that way, but that is not always the case.¡± Yao Ruoxian then asked in return, ¡°Between a First Grade Bat Spirit and a Third Grade Fox Spirit, which would you say possesses a superior flying speed?¡±


    Miao Yi pondered for a while, then answered confidently, ¡°The gap in strength is evident here. What¡¯s more if it has reached a Third Grade Yao cultivation, it would already have the ability to levitate and fly in the air, so the Third Grade Fox Spirit would definitely have the faster flying speed.¡±


    Yao Ruoxian disyed his agreement, then asked again, ¡°What if both of them had a Third Grade cultivation?¡±


    Miao Yi replied confidently, ¡°The Bat Spirit possesses an innate talent for flight. If both had a simr cultivation, the Fox Spirit would definitely lose to the Bat Spirit.¡±


    Yao Ruoxian nodded and said, ¡°For a Bat Spirit that has attained a third grade in its cultivation, its inborn aptitude for flight would be augmented by the levitation ability, and its flying speed would be something only those that have reached the Purple Lotus realm would be able to subdue, otherwise it would be difficult for normal people to even capture it, let alone taking out its Yao Core for refining artifacts. Not to mention, after the Yao Core is taken out, its strength wouldn¡¯tpare to when the Yao cultivator was alive, automatically regressing to second grade. To those whose cultivation have reached the Red Lotus realm, it would be no different than their own flying speed. If it isn¡¯t easy to replenish the transcendent artifact¡¯s energy after usage, and if the recharging process is not as fast as the cultivator recovering their own transcendence energy, the cultivator would normally choose to use their own transcendence energy for flight instead of using the transcendence artifact itself.¡±


    Miao Yi asked puzzledly, ¡°Then why did the person I saw release the bird-type spirit body to control the transcendent artifact?¡±


    Yao Ruoxian casually replied, ¡°Maybe they had urgent matters to attend to, to the point that they didn¡¯t mind expending both their own transcendence energy as well as the transcendent artifact¡¯s energy in order to superimpose the flying speeds of both methods together, increasing the overall flight speed to hurry on their journey.¡±


    Miao Yi thought for a moment to the times when he saw Fairy Hong Chen and the Lady Boss, then shook his head, ¡°They didn¡¯t seem to be in a rush.¡±


    Yao Ruoxian chuckled, ¡°Then the person you saw may be someone fairly important. They had enough Yao Cores to replenish the energy of their own transcendent artifact precisely because they could afford the expenditure. Furthermore, they would either have a Purple Lotus cultivation themselves, or possess a background with a Purple Lotus cultivator, or even a Golden Lotus cultivator.


    ¡°Golden Lotus cultivator?¡± Miao Yi was shocked. That was such a far-off existence. Their cultivation would have already entered the realm of Soaring the Heavens of the Four Great Realms, and were able to surpass the boundaries of the world, soaring through the vast universe. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why do you say so?¡±


    ¡°Simple. In normal situations, for those who can levitate and fly, their cultivation would obviously have reached the Red Lotus realm. To control a transcendent artifact lower than the Third Grade would not be much faster than their own flying speed, even if they released the bird-type spirit¡¯s true body, it would actually be more troublesome. If the other person didn¡¯t have any urgent matters, why would they do such a thing? Hence, there¡¯s a high chance that their bird-type transcendent artifact is third grade and above. What would it mean if they had a third grade bird-type transcendent artifact? It would mean that the bird-type spirit body had a cultivation of the fourth grade when it was alive, which is equivalent to the Purple Lotus realm of human cultivators. Taking its flight speed into ount, it would be difficult to capture it without a Golden Lotus cultivation, but at the very least they would need to have a Purple Lotus cultivation.¡±


    Miao Yi nodded as he listened, expressing his understanding.


    Then he listened as Yao Ruoxian added, ¡°Not many cultivators would be able to use a third grade transcendent artifact. Do you think a Purple Lotus cultivator would be easy to kill? Not to mention a third grade bird-type transcendent artifact.¡±


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t find this information surprising. He had seen Yang Qing use one before, but thinking about it again, he seemed to have heard that Yang Qing had also borrowed it over from the School of Blue Jade, and that it wasn¡¯t his own.


    Miao Yi turned to look at him, and asked, ¡°Then aren¡¯t those dual bar maces of yours two third grade transcendent artifacts?¡±


    Yao Ruoxian shook his head and replied, ¡°Mine is a special case.¡±


    Miao Yi asked curiously, ¡°What special case?¡±


    ¡°None of your business!¡± Yao Ruoxian squinted at him.


    ¡°Fine! Let¡¯s not talk about your special case, but how do you exin the three third grade transcendent artifacts possessed by a single Commander Yuan?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what the deal is with that fellow exactly.¡± Yao Ruoxian shook his head slightly and added, ¡°I have overheard some demons discussing this before. That Yuan Kaishan seems to have made connections with some bigshot, and had a sworn brother by the name of Bi Youbo or something. Word is, that sworn brother of his had an impressive background, and was the descendant of a Demonic Behemoth, which is why he could get so many benefits. Otherwise, how could he have three third grade transcendent artifacts?¡±


    ¡®Bi Youbo?¡¯ Miao Yi believed this.


    Because he knew that Yuan Kaishan and Bi Youbo were indeed sworn brothers. He had also heard from Pi Junzi that Bi Youbo had an impressive background, but Pi Junzi didn¡¯t know how impressive it was. Low-ranking demons wouldn¡¯t know too much about matters of the upper echelons, but he never expected Bi Youbo to be a descendant of a Demonic Behemoth.


    He grew anxious as he thought about this. He knew how tyrannical those Demonic Behemoths were from Pi Junzi. They were people that didn¡¯t give two shits even to the Six Sages. He had murdered Bi Youbo¡¯s concubine, and had even helped send his sworn brother to an early grave. That demon wouldn¡¯t look for him in revenge, would he?


    But he grew relieved after thinking about it again. No matter how tyrannical Bi Youbo¡¯s background was, Miao Yi didn¡¯t believe that he would dare casually run into Mu Fanjun¡¯s territory and wreak havoc.


    What¡¯s more he hadn¡¯t used his real name, so it would be difficult to trace it back to him even if Bi Youbo wanted to.


    After the two of them chatted for awhile, Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t want to gossip with him any longer.


    Seeing as there was nothing better to do, Miao Yi reached into his clothes and took out the storage ring chain that was wrapped around his waist. He dropped therge chain over his shoulder, and began to inject his transcendence energy to examine each and every one of them.


    He didn¡¯t bother avoiding Yao Ruoxian, because he knew, there would be no escape. If the other party wanted to rob you clean, you wouldn¡¯t be able to stop it either.


    If that was the case, why not disy your magnanimity a little? Don¡¯t always treat the other person as your enemy. If you see the other person as your enemy, they would be able to feel it, and there would be a higher chance for them to also see you as an enemy. Some things were just reciprocated.


    Yao Ruoxian twisted his head to look, his face immediately twitching. He thought that he had seen it all, but it was really a first to see someone hugging so many storage rings and fiddle with it on a chain. Since when did storage rings be something so cheap?


    He then saw Miao Yi asionally smiling like a fool as he examined the storage rings one by one.


    How many times would he be able to smile like a fool with over two hundred plus storage rings? When he had finished counting, Yao Ruoxian asked mockingly, ¡°Rich now, are we?¡±


    ¡°No way, no way. Compared to Senior¡¯s harvest, mine is but a drop in the bucket.¡± Miao Yi said humbly, overjoyed as he was.


    Yao Ruoxian scoffed, ¡°Virtues.¡±


    He¡¯s happy even if as he was being scolded. Miao Yi didn¡¯t seem to care what Yao Ruoxian said, and instead smiled like a fool even more.


    He couldn¡¯t help being happy! After counting them all, to a cultivator at his level, he had really struck gold.

 Chapter 143: Small Fortune (2)

    Chapter 143: Small Fortune (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor:


    He totalled everything up. Although the Fort Masters, when counted individually, did not have more crystal coins than Madame Wu Hua, the crystal coins of the seventy-two Fort Masters when added together was also an insane amount.


    When all the Gold Crystals, ck Crystals and White Crystals were counted as Gold Crystals, there would be around thirty million coins altogether. Changing them to White Crystals would be three hundred billion coins, while exchanging them into ck Crystals would him three billion coins.


    This had yet to include the total of sixty hundred and twenty thousand Gold Crystals from Madame Wu Hua.


    To those high level cultivators with status, these may not seem like much. However to Miao Yi, this was definitely an astronomical number. Even if he were to act as the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave for a lifetime, he would not be able to obtain this amount.


    Miao Yi could be entirely sure that even if it was Yang Qing, the Manor Head of South Edict Manor, he would only be able to gather this amount in at least two hundred years.


    He also didn¡¯t know how many years it had taken for the seventy-two Fort Masters to bring forth this wealth. Today, he had benefited greatly from it.


    Wealth was unimportant as some items have worth but no market. For instance, both the Orbs of Will and Yao Core had value in the market. However, one might not be able to buy it even when they were willing to spend. Unless they were people who were in a hurry to spend money.


    The reasoning was simple. Those who did notck Orbs of Will or Yao Cores, the majority of them would also not becking in money to spend. So who would go sell their things for money?


    There were 2,428 low-grade Orbs of Will and a hundred seventy mid-grade Orbs of Will roughly the size of a pearls.


    Eight hundred sixty-two gradeless Yao Cores and ny-seven First Grade Yao Cores.


    These were the Orbs of Will and Yao Cores found inside the seventy-two Fort Masters¡¯ storage rings.


    There were also some items that Miao Yi couldn¡¯t stop himself from drooling over. They were the exquisite brews that he had tasted at the Bejeweled Nectar Conve. The storage rings of the seventy-two Fort Masters had actually kept over ten thousand pots of exquisite wine. If ever he were craving for them, over ten thousand pots couldst him a long time.


    He reckoned that these things were difficult to obtained elsewhere. At least, it would be difficult to get this much. So this time, he had really hit the jackpot.


    Perhaps it was because these Fort Masters wanted to use spiritual herbs to brew their wine, each of their storage rings unexpectedly had quite a dazzlingly endless array of spiritual herbs; with the amount surpassing twenty thousand herbs, each of them oddly new and strange. Miao Yi had nevere into contact with these things before. He might have heard of their names before if the names were to be reported to him, but he wasn¡¯t familiar with them and could not tell which ones were valuable and which were not. Thus, he could only temporarily leave them be for now.


    There were also antique jewelries and others of its like of numerous different varieties. There were too many to count! There were already over hundreds of Legendary Luminous Pearls that were the size of fists. Miao Yi wasn¡¯t interested in any of these so he didn¡¯ bother to carefully scrutinize them.


    What made him smile most foolishly was, to his surprise, realizing that the storage rings of the seventy-two Fort Masters had transcendent artifacts. Each of them had at least one or two first grade transcendent artifacts refined from White Crystals, and there were exactly one hundred and three of them. It was very clear that these were the weapons used by the seventy-two Fort Masters.


    The essence powder extracted from one million ck Crystals could refined a storage ring. Whereas the essence powder required for a ck Crystal weapon would need about an amount required for one thousand storage rings. This was equivalent to needing to extract the essence powder from more than one billion ck Crystals in order to forge a weapon.


    Regardless of White Crystals, ck Crystals or Gold Crystals, the amount of essence powder found within them were the same. The only difference was the quality of the essence powder.


    Which meant that the logic was the same, only the essence powder found within one billion White Crystals could forge a White Crystal weapon.


    And as for the essence powder extracted from the crystal coins, depending on which of the three different types of crystal coins: white, ck and gold; the degree of toughness was different and the difficulty in refining them would vary as well. The fee would be calcted in a one to one ratio. The fee needed to extract out the essence powder from one billion crystal coins would require an expense of one billion.


    The value of one low-grade Orb of Will was worth one thousand crystal coins, whereas the value of one First Grade Yao Core would be worth one hundred low-grade Orbs of Will. When exchanged into Gold Crystals, that would be one hundred thousand Gold Crystals, equivalent to one billion White Crystals.


    Thebor fee for refining transcendent artifacts would be valued based on the grade and the dimension of the transcendent artifact, which would require at least one billion White Crystals.


    After investing one billion White Crystals to extract the essence powder, another fee of one billion would be used to actually extract the essence powder from; the price of a First Grade Yao Core would cost another one billion crystal coins, while thebor fee to refine a transcendent artifact would need another one billion. Totalling everything together, the price of a first grade transcendent artifact weapon would at least be valued at forty billion White Crystals. After exchanging into Gold Crystals, that would be four hundred thousand coins.


    In a brief moment, Miao Yi had gotten his hands on one hundred and three first grade transcendent artifacts. In total, they were worth about forty million Gold Crystals.


    He had really hit it big this time around. How could he not grin from ear to ear, whilst being unable to conceal his happiness?


    His sole regret was that among the seventy-two Fort Masters, none of them actually used spears. They had weapons like the Square Sky Decorated Halberds, tridents, long sabers, toothed clubs and baguettes. There were no long spears in sight. None of them were convenient for him to use.


    He didn¡¯t keep this regret to heart for the time being. Deep down, he silently add up his own Orbs of Will and Yao Cores. These two items could be converted immediately.


    He already owned six low-grade Orbs of Will; Wang Zifa and the rest had left behind twenty of them; there were eight from Madame Wu Hua; whilst inside of the storage rings of the seventy-two Fort Masters, were another four hundred and twenty eight orbs. So in total, he had four hundred and sixty-two low-grade Orbs of Will.


    For the mid-grade Orbs of Will, he had obtained two orbs from Madame Wu Hua whilst from the seventy-two Fort Masters, he had obtained one hundred and seventy orbs. So in total, he had one hundred and seventy-two mid-grade Orbs of Will.


    Converting all of the low-grade and mid-grade Orbs of Will into low-grade Orbs of Will would meant he currently owned 17,662 low-grade Orbs of Will.


    Once the numbers were totaled up, Miao Yi was smiling until his mouth watered. So many Orbs of Will! Even if it was Yang Qing, he reckoned he would need to act as a Manor Head for at least ten years to earn this much.


    He proceeded to count the Yao Cores.


    For gradeless Yao Cores, he had obtained twenty-two cores from Madame Wu Hua and eight hundred and sixty-six cores from the seventy-two Fort Masters, which totaled up to eight hundred and eighty-eight cores. This could be exchanged for eight hundred and eighty-eight low-grade Orbs of Will.


    For First Grade Yao Cores, he had obtained one core from Madame Wu Hua and ny-seven from the seventy-two Fort Masters. In addition, killing Madame Wu Hua and the seventy-two Fort Masters had him a total of seventy-three cores. Thus, there were one hundred and seventy-one cores, equal to seventeen thousand and one hundred low-grade Orbs of Will.


    If he exchanged all of the Yao Cores into Orbs of Will, in addition to the Orbs of Will he had now, in total, he would have 35,650 low-grade Orbs of Will!


    More than thirty-thousand orbs! Enough for him to breakthrough to the Blue Lotus realm! It was extremely worth it to risk his life taking this trip down to the Sea of Constetions...


    Miao Yi was smiling until the muscles on his face had started to cramp. Every cell on his body was blossoming into smiles. He couldn¡¯t restrain himself from chuckling loudly. Indeed, this was because he had yet to see the world.


    Yao Ruoxian was currently eyeing Charcoal with a curious look on his face. He found that while Charcoal was encased within the flying red light, he was currently sleeping; his little tail swishing about, seeming to enjoy his slumber very much. ¡±


    A chuckling sound resounded suddenly by his ears. Yao Ruoxian turned to look. After realizing the annoying state Miao Yi was in, he was immediately engulfed by the desire to roll his eyes. His face full of derision as he said, ¡°Your mouth is watering happily, and yet you say that you¡¯re not rich?¡±


    ¡°Uh...¡± On hearing him, Miao Yi came to himself, unconsciously wiping his mouth. After finding that there wasn¡¯t any drool at all, he realized that the other man was making fun of him.


    However, he realized one problem; he had to have a good rtion with this old man. Otherwise, he would be dead and regardless of how many more Orbs of Will he had, he wouldn¡¯t be able to enjoy it!


    ¡°Small fortune! Small fortune! Excuse me, Senior!¡± Miao Yi chuckled as he cupped his hands.


    ¡°Virtues!¡± Yao Ruoxian sneered.

 Chapter 144: Refining Artifacts (1)

    Chapter 144: Refining Artifacts (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor:


    As the sun rose over the ocean, its golden rays illuminate the turquoise waves.


    Miao Yi¡¯s long and arduous journey by ship had taken him three whole months to reach the Sea of Constetions from East Arrival City. Whereas with Yao Ruoxian carrying him and flying, it had taken them only a night¡¯s journey to fly across the boundless ocean.


    The red light of the transcendent artifacts that could be seen at night were now subdued by the light of day, and only two gray spheres could be seen.


    The two gray phantoms soared through the skies, eventuallynding on the seashore.


    As Yao Ruoxian, Miao Yi and Charcoal descended on the ground, the two gray phantoms swiftly solidified into two ck bar maces. With a simple wave of Yao Ruoxian¡¯s hand, they were stored away in his storage ring.


    Following Yao Ruoxian¡¯s gaze, Miao Yi turned to see the seamless blood-colored clouds in the distance.


    He couldn¡¯t be more familiar with this. It was precisely the view of the Boundless Secr World.


    ¡°Finally, back in the Celestial Nation.¡± Miao Yi spread his arms out and stretched his waist towards the golden sea. It was ratherforting to have the sea breeze blow against his body.


    ¡°This is not the Celestial Nation. It¡¯s the Boundless Nation!¡± Yao Ruoxian scoffed.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Miao Yi looked around at his surroundings with a shocked expression on his face, ¡°Why did you bring me to the Boundless Nation?¡±


    ¡°You only said the Boundless Secr World. You didn¡¯t specify you had to go to the Celestial Nation.¡±


    Miao Yi asked curiously, ¡°You are a Boundless Nation cultivator?¡±


    Yao Ruoxian slowly narrowed his eyes, as he seemed to have remembered something. He asked, ¡°I¡¯m just a loose cultivator. You¡¯re a Celestial Nation cultivator?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.... So you¡¯re a loose cultivator!¡± Miao Yi was a little proud of himself. Even if his own cultivation was any lower, he was still someone with a proper status and background. As long as he could make a proper living for himself, his future was not something a loose cultivator couldpare to.


    But he soon remembered that his own little life was in the hands of the other party. It was best not to be too arrogant. Looking at the Boundless Secr World in the distance, he hurriedly changed the topic and asked, ¡°The Boundless Nation also has a Boundless Secr World?¡±


    ¡°Stop overreacting! One look and I could tell that you¡¯ve never really gone out much!¡± Yao Ruoxian gazed at the Boundless Secr World, and slowly said, ¡°The Lower Realm is mostly taken up by the ocean, and the countless inds within it are mostly monopolized by those Behemoths that have cultivated who knows how many tens of thousands of years. Whereas the tworgest continents are simr to crescents, and are under the control of the Six Sages. The Celestial Nation, Buddha Nation, and Boundless Nation control one of the ¡®crescents¡¯, as the three nations are neighboring countries to one another. The Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun, Buddha Sage Cang Lei and Tao Sage Feng Beichen - none of them wished to cede control of the Boundless Secr World, and have fought each other a few times because of this. But as they always fail to reach a conclusive victory, they eventually decided topromise, cing the Boundless Secr World at the central point of the three nations, and divided their own territories respectively.


    ¡°The Lower Realm..... The Higher Realm.....¡± Miao Yi muttered as he stared at the Boundless Secr World.


    He had heard of this before. As to why there was the phrase of Lower Realm and Higher Realm, the Boundless Secr World also yed a part in it.


    For someone who had originally lived in the Lower Realm, they wouldn¡¯t know their own world was called the Lower Realm. Only when the hundred thousand celestial troops and generals had descended forth to hunt the Great Devil a hundred thousand years ago, and as a result created the Boundless Secr World - did everybody realize that there were greater forces at y, and a greater realm beyond their own. Hence, they started calling their home the Lower Realm, and the ce where the celestial troops and generals hade from the Higher Realm.


    But the Higher Realm had always been the stuff of legends. Word is that the Six Sages wished to ascend to the Higher Realm, but even with the Six Sages¡¯ cultivation of roaming through the vast gxies, they could not determine where exactly in the universe the Higher Realm was located. It was truly because the universe is too vast and endless. It was not something the Six Sages could casually traverse with their capabilities, which was why they could only admire the stars and sigh in dismay.


    ¡°So the Devil Nation, Ghost Nation, and Yao Nation control the other ¡®crescent¡¯?¡± Miao Yi asked.


    Yao Ruoxian nodded and replied, ¡°If we were to head west from the ¡®crescent¡¯ that we are on, when we reach the tip of the crescent, we¡¯ll be at ¡®Flowing Clouds Dune Sea¡¯. After crossing Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, we¡¯ll be at the other ¡®crescent¡¯, which is also where Devil Sage Yun Aotian, Ghost Sage Situ Xiao, and Yao Sage Ji Huan reign.¡±


    Miao Yi asked somewhat curiously, ¡°Who has the highest cultivation among the Six Sages?¡±


    Yao Ruoxian shook his head and answered, ¡°They should be almost the same, but some people say that Devil Sage Yun Aotian was slightly stronger than the rest. However, the Six Sages view one another as enemies and suppress each other as they coexist together. If Devil Sage Yun Aotian wished to rule the realm on his own, the others would join forces and knock him down, which is why the six of them have continued to maintain a bnce. So many years have passed since. How would those with low cultivation like us know which of the six of them was stronger and which was weaker? They are not something we could evene into contact with. Well...¡±


    Thinking back, he suddenly changed the topic and said, ¡°Why am I sharing pointless banter with you? When was it turn for a lowly White Lotus Third Grade cultivator like you to care about matters of the Six Sages?¡±


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t bothered in the least, and chuckled, ¡°Senior is very well-informed. This junior wishes to learn from senior¡¯s experience.¡±


    Yao Ruoxian scoffed, ¡°What¡¯s important is that you help me get some of those bug eggs right now.¡±


    Miao Yi shrugged his shoulders helplessly as he pointed at the sun rising over the ocean, ¡°There¡¯s no moonlight during the day. No moonlight means it¡¯s impossible to lure out the Hell Mantis. We¡¯ll have to wait for nightfall.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll talk it over again at night.¡± Yao Ruoxian turned back to look at Charcoal, and could see it chasing after a group of crabs that were running away on the shore. When it caught up to one it would stomp it into the sand with its hoof, then lowered its head and ate it, swallowing it in two gulps. It seemed to be having fun.


    A more brutal way to y was that it would spread its two front hooves into an ¡®eight¡¯ chinese character and press on two crabs. Then it would turn back to look and raising its rump, it would spread its two back hooves and form an upside down ¡®eight¡¯ character as it pressed down on another two crabs. Seeing that it was dead on target, it happily twirled its tail twice.


    But with its body weight, those crabs that were under its hooves... were most likely already turned to pulp.


    Yao Ruoxian had never seen a dragon steed with such a behaviour before, and could only grimace resignedly as he watched. He flicked his giant dirty sleeves, then sat down cross-legged and said, ¡°After that battle with Yuan Kaishan, I¡¯ve suffered some internal injuries. Not to mention carrying that fat thief over such a long distance, my transcendence energy has taken quite a heavy toll. I could very well use this time during the day to recover a little.¡±


    Miao Yi hurriedly asked ahead the thing he had been thinking about the entire trip, ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise to refine a suitable transcendent artifact for me?¡±


    ¡°I believe I mentioned that I would refine for you after you helped me obtain the tiny mantids, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± Miao Yi anxiously cupped his fists and said, ¡°Senior Yao, I am an honest man, and have always been forthright with my thoughts. You have a much higher cultivation than I do. If I were to break my promise, I wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. But I can¡¯t do anything to you! If I were to fulfill my end of the bargain, and should you choose to escape, I wouldn¡¯t be able to chase after you even I wanted to.¡±


    Yao Ruoxian couldn¡¯t be bothered with him. Tossing an Orb of Will into his mouth, he faced the ocean breeze, and listened to the rhythmic crashing of the waves as he meditated cross-legged and started to recover the transcendence energy that he had spent.


    Miao Yi saw there was no point in saying anything else. He took a gander at his surroundings, and it seemed that there wasn¡¯t much of a chance for him to run away.


    Not that it seemed like it - there wasn¡¯t a single chance at all!


    He could only obediently sit at Yao Ruoxian¡¯s side. He also tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth, then crossed his legs to meditate and slowly refined it.


    When it was noon time, Yao Ruoxian slowly retracted his arts and stood up. He had already replenished the transcendence energy that he had spent using the Orb of Will.


    Miao Yi immediately opened his eyes, kept the Orb of Will away and jumped up, once again asking excitedly, ¡°Senior Yao, it¡¯s still quite early now. Since there¡¯s still a long time to go before nightfall, why don¡¯t you take advantage of this free time to help me refine the transcendent artifact?¡±


    ¡°Do you think refining a transcendent artifact is as simple as cooking a meal? You want me to refine a transcendent artifact for you after such a short cultivation? Fine!¡± He extended his arm, and made a hook with his finger, ¡°Even making a meal requires ingredients. I won¡¯t ask for payment, but you wouldn¡¯t ask me to help you fork out capital as well, would you? Whatever you want to refine, first bring me the materials.¡±

 Chapter 145: Refining Artifacts（2）

    Chapter 145: Refining Artifacts£¨2£©


    Trantor: Kude Editor: - -


    ¡°What materials do you need?¡±


    Miao Yi genuinely did not understand what refining a transcendent artifact required and could only consult humbly.


    With a nasty look on his face, Yao Ruoxian chuckled as he said, ¡°That will depend on what grade of transcendent artifact you want to refine. Gold Crystal transcendent artifactsmunicate better with the practitioner. It can increase the attack power of the transcendent artifact¡¯s spiritual body, most effectively reduce the cultivator¡¯s transcendence energy consumption, and when in battle, it can better withstand formidable attacks. It also wouldn¡¯t get ruined easily. Do you want to refine one? I won¡¯t charge you anybor fee.¡±


    Miao Yi was heavily sweating buckets. He was making fun of him again. If refining a White Crystal spear required four billion White Crystals, then refining a Gold Crystal spear would require four billion Gold Crystals. What kind of idea was this? There was a difference of a million times more!


    If refining from ck Crystals, maybe he could consider it a little more with the items he had at hand, but how many would ce a First Grade Yao Core as the transcendent artifact¡¯s spiritual body when refining ck Crystal transcendent artifacts? cing a First Grade Yao Core as the transcendent artifact¡¯s spiritual body in a Gold Crystal transcendent artifact was out of the question as well.


    Actually, he had seen Yang Qing¡¯s White Crystal helmet refined with a Third Grade Yao Core. But presumably, Yang Qing was pushed too far by Lu Yu, so he made his decision to do it in a hurry as a contingency. Thus, he was unable to maximize and bring the formidable power of the Third Grade Yao Core fully into y.


    ¡°I¡¯m a poor man. Can it be not that extravagant?¡± Miao Yi smiled bitterly. ¡°Can I refine a White Crystal transcendent artifact instead?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Yao Ruoxian nodded his head in reply. ¡°What kind of transcendent artifact do you want to refine?¡±


    It was only natural that he wanted to refine a handy weapon. Thus, Miao Yi asked, ¡°How about refining a spear?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± Yao Ruoxian asked in reply. ¡°Do you know how much White Crystals are needed as raw materials to extract the essence powder in order to refine a spear?¡±


    ¡°I heard it needs one billion White Crystals to be enough?¡±


    ¡°That is just an average standard spear. If you want to have some increase in quality, the expenditure is more than that. Even if it¡¯s one billion White Crystals, do you know how much time is needed to spend to extract the essence powder from one billion crystal coins?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Three years!¡± Yao Ruoxian shoved three fingers to Miao Yi¡¯s face. ¡°Listen carefully. Three years! It¡¯s not like I canplete refining it now even if you made me do immediately.¡±


    Miao Yi undid his clothes right then and there. This bastard now seemed to frequently undo his clothes in front of people.


    Bringing the string of storage rings to his face, a silver white trident quickly came out with a swish,nding onto Miao Yi¡¯s hand. He presented it before Yao Ruoxian and asked, ¡°Can we modify this directly instead?¡±


    ¡°Uh....¡± Yao Ruoxian was dumbfounded. How could he have forgotten that all of the seventy-two Fort Masters¡¯ belongings had been plundered by this rascal?


    Having a readily avable White Crystal transcendent artifact, it was inexcusable to say that extracting the essence powder was troublesome. Yao Ruoxian epted the trident in his hand. After examining it, he squinted and said, ¡°It can be modified for sure. But you have to think it over carefully. Once modifications are made, the transcendent artifact¡¯s spiritual body inside will be discarded and you need to ce a new Yao Core into it to act as the spiritual body.¡±


    ¡°Why?!¡± Miao Yi cried out involuntarily.


    The spiritual body inside was a First Grade Yao Core. If it were to be truly discarded, that would meant one hundred low-grade Orbs of Will wereid to waste! Equivalent to a hundred thousand Gold Crystals being thrown away.


    In cultivating up to this point, since when had Miao Yi ever used one hundred Orbs of Will? Not to mention wasting even one. Even hearing it only made him pained.


    Yao Ruoxian flipped the trident in his grip, raising his hand to invoke his arts. With his cultivation level, he easily erased the art source of the former master in the transcendent artifact.


    After turning the trident into an masterless object, he instantly invoked his arts with a shake, and the trident exploded into a ball of silver mist, transforming into the phantom of a python. It coiled between the two of them as it unconsciously swayed its head, looking slightly intimidating.


    Yao Ruoxian pointed at the phantom python and said, ¡°This is how the artifact¡¯s spiritual body looked like when it was alive. After it was beheaded, it lost its corporeal body. Once it was refined into a transcendent artifact, the Yao Core had already became one with the essence powder. Which also means that this trident has reced its flesh and is its corporeal body now. Thus, re-modifying the trident is the same as once again destroying its body. However, the Yao Core has been refined. Wishing to again extract the Yao Core from the trident is an impossible feat. You can either use it like this, or if you want to change it, then the artifact¡¯s spiritual body will definitely be destroyed. Make your decision.¡±


    With this exnation, Miao Yi clearly understood. It was indeed a pity to destroy it, but he wasn¡¯t used to wielding a trident. What use was a weapon that wasn¡¯t handy to him? Was it to throw his life away when fighting against the enemy?


    Gnashing his teeth, Miao Yi steeled his heart in the end and eximed, ¡°Change!¡±


    Yao Ruoxian beamed, ¡°Do you wish to refine a better spear or a just normal one?¡±


    ¡°Senior Yao, who doesn¡¯t want a better one? Of course I hope for a good one.¡±


    Yao Ruoxian spread open his hand; the phantom python between the two speedily shrunk, turning back into the trident and dropping into his clutches. He shook his head. ¡°This trident is only around two metres long. If I refine it into a one zhang longspear for you, this trident¡¯s quantity seems to be a tad short.¡±


    Miao Yi was a very firm person. Since he had already decided, he would not be petty. Gnashing his teeth again, without uttering another word, he immediately took out a saber from his storage ring, stabbing it into the ground with a woosh before Yao Ruoxian. He asked, ¡°Is this enough?!¡±


    Yao Ruoxian reached out and grabbed the handle of the saber, nodding his head. ¡°This is enough. But to destroy spiritual bodies of two transcendent artifacts. Are you willing?¡±


    Heart aching, Miao Yi nodded and replied, ¡°Refine it!¡±


    ¡°No hurry. It¡¯s still missing some things.¡± Yao Ruoxian shook his head.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Red ze Resin used to refine transcendent artifacts!¡± Seeing Miao Yi widen his eyes greatly at him, Yao Ruoxian immediately spoke out, ¡°I have already given you enormous face in helping you refine a transcendent artifact without charging youbor fee. I would have to consume quite a lot of transcendence energy, so there is no way I will help you get the Red ze Resin. That item is worth a fortune!¡±


    Miao Yi was beginning to get slightly suspicious of whether this sloppy old man was deliberately refusing him.


    He had never seen Red ze Resins before, but he had heard of them. It was indeed a necessary item in refining transcendent artifacts. A piece about the size of a thumb, would cost ten thousand Gold Crystals. Reportedly there were higher grades in the form of Blue ze Resins and Gold ze Resins. The prices were all the more expensive.


    But where was he supposed to get the Red ze Resin all of a sudden? Legend has it that this item was produced in the earth underneath the deep sea.


    Gritting his teeth, Miao Yi said, ¡°Senior Yao, since you know how to refine artifacts, I¡¯m sure you have the Red ze Resin on you. Why don¡¯t you sell some to me? I¡¯m willing to pay a high price!¡±


    Yao Ruoxian swept a nce across the string of storage rings on Miao Yi¡¯s waist. He coughed dryly and looked away. With a flip of his palm, a ruby-like crystal about the size of a thumb revealed itself from his storage ring andnded in his palm. ¡°I won¡¯t ask for much for this Red ze Resin. How does one hundred thousand Gold Crystals sound?¡±


    Miao Yi looked at the size of that thing, his expression immediately distorted. The old man had the nerve to say he wouldn¡¯t ask for much. ording to the rumored market price, he reckoned the man had multiplied it by ten folds.


    ¡®Huh......¡¯ Miao Yi muttered deep inside. But he suddenly became stunned as his gaze dropped onto Yao Ruoxian¡¯s palm. He asked cautiously, ¡°This is the Red ze Resin?¡±


    Yao Ruoxian face was deadpanned as he said, ¡°I¡¯m deadly honest with elderly and child customers. It¡¯s absolutely real. I can help you refine the artifact first before iming payment.¡±


    This was the confidence of one who had the strength. They could help you make the item first and were not afraid of you making a run for it.


    Still dazed, Miao Yi shifted his gaze to look towards the three storage rings on his right hand, seemingly searching for something.


    Yao Ruoxian was rejoicing covertly deep down, thinking Miao Yi a fool for fishing out cash.


    Who knew Miao Yi¡¯s face would suddenly fill with glee. He immediately grabbed a handful of gold, blue and red crystals out, feeling overjoyed as he revealed them in his palm. ¡°Senior Yao, then are these gold and blue colored ones the Gold ze Resins and Blue ze Resins?¡±

 Chapter 146: Refining Artifacts (3)

    Chapter 146: Refining Artifacts (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: - -


    Yao Ruoxian was instantly stupefied.


    Whereas Miao Yi was looking at him excitedly.


    The two of them stared at each other silently for awhile. Yao Ruoxian felt as though he was being strung along, so he asked with a grim expression, ¡°You have so many ze Resins, and you still say you want to buy them from me at a high price? Are you messing with me?¡±


    He had ample reason to believe that Miao Yi was trying to pull the wool over his eyes, because the item in question was being taken out of the storage ring on Miao Yi¡¯s own hand. He had seen Miao Yi wearing those storage rings from the moment he had met him, and they were not hidden on his body like the storage rings belonging to the seventy-two Fort Masters.


    ¡°No, no, I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± Miao Yi replied joyfully, ¡°Senior Yao, so these really are Gold ze Resins and Blue ze Resins then?¡±


    Yao Ruoxian scoffed and said coldly, ¡°Where did you get so many ze Resins? The seventy-two Fort Masters?¡±


    Miao Yi was ecstatic beyond belief. Back when he had killed Madame Wu Hua and examined the items inside her storage ring, he only saw arge crate full of colorful rocks and jewelleries being kept together. He had even thought that they were just some kind of gemstones. Never did he expect that they were actually the ze Resins that were used for refining artifacts. He had even almost thrown them away.


    ¡°No, it was a gift from a friend of mine. I think even he didn¡¯t know they were ze Resins.¡±


    ¡°To have so many with just a simple grab, your friend must have given you quite a lot, right?¡±


    ¡°Not really, this is all there is.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Let me check for a bit.¡±


    Miao Yi wanted to dodge at first, but in the end Yao Ruoxian grabbed hold of his wrist, then forcefully invoked his arts and invaded the storage rings that Miao Yi had just examined.


    ¡®Crash!¡¯ Arge crate flew out andnded on the ground.


    Looking at the crate full of brilliantly shining Gold, Blue, and Red ze Resins under the sunlight, Yao Ruoxian instantly scowled. Shoving Miao Yi away, he grabbed piece after piece of the ze Resins and examined them, as if he found it a little difficult to part with them.


    There was such arge quantity of ze Resins that it was easily a figure in the tens of thousands. What was worse is that they weren¡¯t just Red ze Resins, but also arge pile of Gold ze Resins, and Blue ze Resins as well. With no regard for grade, they had all been stuffed inside a single crate, as though they weren¡¯t thought of as anything precious at all.


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s eyes brightened. To someone who refined artifacts, ze Resins were definitely one of his favorite items, because it was a necessity when it came to refining artifacts.


    He could confirm that they didn¡¯t belong to the seventy-two Fort Masters. How could the seventy-two Fort Masters possess so many ze Resins? If the seventy-two Fort Masters could amass such a fortune, there was no reason that Yuan Kaishan couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me your friend actually had a ze Resin mine or something?¡± Yao Ruoxian swiftly turning his head around to say in indignation. It was the grief of falling short when youpared yourself with another person.


    For a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator to actually be able to pull out such arge crate of ze Resins so casually, how would he - a rare talent that had refined artifacts for countless years - be able to bear being deprived of this?


    If he ever discovered that Miao Yi had nearly thrown this box of ze Resins away back then, he would have definitely jumped in anger and called him a wastrel.


    Miao Yi shook his head, to show that he didn¡¯t know.


    How would he know if Madame Wu Hua had a mine or not? Not to mention, he wasn¡¯t Madame Wu Hua¡¯s friend. He had just used that to trick Yao Ruoxian.


    After all, he wasn¡¯t clear of Yao Ruoxian¡¯s background. As far as he was concerned, the matter of him having murdered someone and stolen their belongings was best kept a secret. It wasn¡¯t good to have too many people know about it. It was not something to brag about anyway, so why give others the opportunity to hold something over his head?


    What he was most concerned about now, was that this sloppy old man would try and take this crate of ze Resins away from him.


    ¡°The ore veins of ze Resins are situated deep in the ocean, and are strictly controlled by those Demonic Behemoths. It¡¯s thergest source of revenue that they took from the Six Sages after joining forces against them. In order to maintain the market value of the ze Resins, they wouldn¡¯t release arge amount into the market easily, so that the ze Resins weren¡¯t sold too cheaply. It was precisely through this method of heavily controlling the market for ze Resins, that the Demonic Behemoths had obtained their own cultivating resources....¡± Yao Ruoxian mumbled continuously as he fiddled with the ze Resins in the crate, unwilling to let go.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi was deep in thought as he listened, ¡®Wasn¡¯t Bi Youbo a descendant of a Demonic Behemoth? For Madame Wu Hua to have so many ze Resins, there was probably a connection to Bi Youbo somehow. It seems that being a concubine with some influence has its perks.¡¯


    As he was thinking, Yao Ruoxian suddenly turned around, and viciously said, ¡°Kid, split half of this box of ze Resins with me. Think of it as payment for me refining an artifact for you!¡±


    ¡°HALF?¡± Miao Yi, who had finallye to realize the worth of the ze Resins, shouted in surprise, ¡°What kind of artifact would need to be refined for such arge payment? Weren¡¯t you going to do it for free? Can I ask you not to refine it anymore?¡±


    ¡®Goddamnit! With so many ze Resins, you think I¡¯d be afraid that I won¡¯t be able to find someone to refine a First Grade Transcendent Artifact for me?¡¯ Miao Yi cursed to himself.


    ¡°NO YOU CAN¡¯T!!¡± With bloodshot eyes, Yao Ruoxian began shouting angrily, ¡°You can go around asking how I handle my business when ites to refining artifacts. I have always been a man of my word. I won¡¯t take back my promises!¡±


    If he didn¡¯t have to worry about the tiny mantids, he couldn¡¯t guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t have forcefully taken them away.


    Simrly, Miao Yi angrily said, ¡°Senior Yao, you can¡¯t just lie to my face like that. What do you mean you don¡¯t take back your promises? Weren¡¯t you going to do it for free?¡±


    ¡°I.... I.... I...¡± After stuttering for awhile, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s eyes brightened as his gaze swept across Miao Yi¡¯s body, as he seemed to havee up with some kind of excuse. He suddenly dered in a rational manner, ¡°I only promised that I would refine one for you without payment. I still need to charge you for refining the others.¡±


    ¡°What others?¡± Miao Yi was stunned.


    Yao Ruoxian came closer with his hands behind his back, and circled around Miao Yi. He tapped on Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you refine another set of armor. How about it?¡±


    He was clearly going in circles to try and take the ze Resins. Miao Yi was a little worried as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to refine anything else. You can just help me refine a spear for free.¡±


    ¡®With so many ze Resins, if I were to just take out a few dozen Gold ze Resins, would I have any fear of being unable to obtain a set of armor? Is there even a need to give half of the crate away? I don¡¯t think I look like such an idiot, do I?¡¯


    Yao Ruoxian pointed his finger at Miao Yi¡¯s nose, and said with a pained expression, ¡°Kid, some things are just material objects. Don¡¯t be sad to part with them. Getting a good set of armor to protect yourself is the wisest decision. Not to mention, how could the transcendent artifacts that I refine bepared with one made by your everyday artifact artisan? As long as it has been done by my hand, then they¡¯ll all be of high quality. Normal people wouldn¡¯t even be able to ask me to refine for them even if they wanted to. You¡¯re in luck, kid. Meeting me could also be your fate.¡±


    ¡°No matter how high the quality is, it will still just be a first grade transcendent artifact! Refining a first grade armor set costs half a crate of ze Resins? I have arge sum of Gold ze Resins here. Gold ze Resins, I tell you!¡± The Great Cave Master Miao argued with an aggrieved expression on his face.


    With a wretched look on his face, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s gaze swept around and finally descended on Charcoal who was lying by the shore. He pointed to Charcoal and added, ¡°Don¡¯t you regard that fat thief rather highly? I¡¯ll help you refine a set of armor, and refine another set of steed armor for that fat thief. How¡¯s that?¡±


    Miao Yi was angry now. He couldn¡¯t take Yao Ruoxian trying to set him up, and said, ¡°Senior Yao, just say it if you want to steal my ze Resins. Have you ever seen a dragon steed wearing armor in the entire cultivation realm? Where would I find so many materials for you to work with?¡±


    Without mentioning anything else, and just speaking of Charcoal¡¯s body, there was so much meat there! If Charcoal were to be equipped from the head down with armor, how much materials would be thrown away just like that!?

 Chapter 147: Refining Artifacts (4)

    Chapter 147: Refining Artifacts (4)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: - -


    ¡°Stop crying poor here!¡± Yao Ruoxian struck out as he said he would, immediately snatching the string of storage rings into his hand from Miao Yi¡¯s waist.


    ¡°Give them back!¡± Miao Yi wanted to snatch them back as these had been obtained with his sweat and blood.


    ¡°I¡¯m warning you. If you¡¯re being troublesome again, you better be careful, or else I will seize everything from you until you have nothing left!¡± warned Yao Ruoxian, pointing at him.


    The warning were effective. Both parties¡¯ strengths were vastly different, so Miao Yi could only be furious and depressed about it from the sidelines, looking on helplessly as the old man was over there counting the items inside the string of storage rings.


    ¡°Tsk! Tsk! Brat, you¡¯ve earn a lot and yet you keep crying poor.¡±


    Scrutinizing the items inside the storage rings, Yao Ruoxian kept clicking his tongue continuously.


    Thest of the weapons shot out in session from the string of storage rings, with a ¡®Cling-ng!....¡¯, and was unceremoniously chucked into the growing pile on the ground.


    These weren¡¯t ordinary weapons; they were the weapons of the seventy-two Fort Masters and all of them were first grade transcendent artifacts - all one hundred and three in total. Every one of them had been shaken out by Yao Ruoxian.


    This wasn¡¯t the end yet. Except for the two First Grade Yao Core he hadn¡¯t piged from the storage rings on Miao Yi¡¯s fingers, the sixty-nine First Grade Yao Cores from the seventy-two Fort Masters were also shaken out onto the ground.


    ¡°You dare say you¡¯re not rich? How many Third Grade White Lotus cultivators could have this many treasures? When I had a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade, I was still fretting about low-grade Orbs of Will.¡±


    Laughing jovially, Yao Ruoxian pointed at the case of ze Resins, then pointed at the first grade transcendent artifacts on the ground; before again pointing at the First Grade Yao Cores. ¡°How could you say there¡¯s no materials? Having these are more than enough.¡±


    Miao Yi felt his heart ache, and was absolutely infuriated, asking, ¡°You want to waste all of my fortune?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by waste?¡± Yao Ruoxian jeered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much. Not everything will be wasted. I am merely helping you look, to prevent you from crying poor. Don¡¯t worry. With these materials for me to choose from, I will definitely help you refine a transcendent artifact that you¡¯ll be satisfied with. When the timees, if you can say that the transcendent artifact I refined for you is not in the least bit good enough, then I will not charge you any fees and I will return everything to you.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know who this person was exactly, to say such words that were brimming with confidence. His haughtiness was going off the charts.


    Yet Miao Yi still kept on a crestfallen front as he said, ¡°Can I not refine anymore?¡±


    ¡°No! Brat, don¡¯t you dare refuse the honor I have bestowed upon you now. If it were anybody else, they would¡¯ve robbed you blind already. There wouldn¡¯t be anyone who was willing to negotiate with you. Don¡¯t you take this for granted!¡± Yao Ruoxian red. With a swing of hisrge sleeves and a spread of his hand, half of therge case of ze Resins immediately flew out into his storage rings.


    Upon receiving the profit of half a case, the sloven old man threw back the string of storage rings. Feeling extremely satisfied with himself, he stroked his beard and smirked as he said, ¡°Put those things away. I won¡¯t covet your items. Once you have helped me get the eggster, I will immediately help you refine and I won¡¯t go back on my words. There¡¯s no need to doubt my professional reputation in the industry!¡±


    It would be strange to say that he held no doubts about it! This was obviously a case of putting on a pretense of doing work in order to extort wages, and yet Miao Yi was powerless against it.


    Now that his valuable items were exposed, there was nothing else to be hide. Miao Yi bluntly seized the opportunity to organize the items from the storage rings numbering over two hundred.


    Who would have expected that Yao Ruoxian who had beenughing heartily at the side, would abruptly stare at the storage rings around Miao Yi¡¯s fingers. His eyes gleamed for a moment, before he suddenly moved over in a sh, once again seizing Miao Yi¡¯s wrists.


    Miao Yi turned around, his face taut with rage as he asked, ¡°What do you want again?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s quite a number of treasures on you. I haven¡¯t seen these storage rings yet. Let me take a gander at what kind of things are inside.¡±


    Ignoring whether Miao Yi had agreed or not, and relying on the fact that his strength was superior, Yao Ruoxian imbued his transcendence energy inside the storage rings and examined them.


    ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯re an unbelieveable brat!...,¡± letting out a bewildered cry, Yao Ruxian grabbed onto Miao Yi¡¯s arm.


    A one-chi long Glorious Star immortal herb was dragged out from Miao Yi¡¯s storage ring, ande to rest on the palm of his hand.


    Even the sunlight was unable to mask the glowing specks of starlight on the immortal herb; its entire body was crystalline and translucent, the genuine red stone branches and gem-like leaves.


    What made him more astonished was not the size of the immortal herb, but the pure nine sparkling and translucent ruby-like crystal fruits hanging from it.


    ¡°Heavens! This is my first time seeing such a massive Glorious Star immortal herb. Fuck, even the fruits are born. A Glorious Star immortal herb can actually bear fruits?! How many years has it grown to mature to this extent?¡± It could be said that Yao Ruoxian was crying out in rm involuntarily.


    ¡°THIS IS MINE!¡± Miao Yi shouted out. He was just about to reach out to seize it back.


    He was really panicking this time around as this wasn¡¯t something he had plundered. This was his own belonging - a contingency in case he ever suffered life-threatening injuries. It was also something that he could depend upon to even daree out and venture towards the Sea of Constetions. This item was worth half of his life.


    A soft glow faintly shed across the dark green bead on Miao Yi¡¯s neck.


    The peerless figure revealed himself unexpectedly with his back to them. It was Lao Bai.


    Yet the two fighting over the Glorious Star immortal herb couldn¡¯t see that another man had appeared before them.


    Yao Ruoxian had already made his judgement. This immortal herb could be said to be more valuable than all the treasures that Miao Yi had plunderedbined. He reckoned that no matter how heavy the injuries a person sustained, as long as he still had breath, he could be saved. It wouldn¡¯t be going too far to say that he could be reborn.


    Yao Ruoxian was manically consumed with the thought of seizing it by force.


    At that exact moment when the thought shoving the immortal herb into his storage ring brewed, the frosty haired Lao Bai, draped in his fluttering green cloak him, slowly turned around.


    Radiating an aura of intense Yao energy and righteousness as he turned, Lao Bai abruptly revealed the magnificence of one that discerned the world - his cold gaze sweeping towards Yao Ruoxian.


    Only Miao Yi would have believed that the immortal herb was identally brought out by the Hell Mantis from the Boundless Secr World. But in reality, if not for Lao Bai, this Glorious Star immortal herb that had grown in the Boundless Secr World for ny thousand years would never havee out.


    Lao Bai would never help Miao Yi, or intervene directly with his affairs. He could even watch on as Miao Yi died and would not care.


    Letting nature take its course was the way, and it was just so, that the way was merciless!


    However, Lao Bai also wouldn¡¯t let a kid with a weak cultivation work bare-handed. This Glorious Star immortal herb was in fact one of the items for Miao Yi to build his foundation.


    The reason why he had gifted the Glorious Star immortal herb and the eggs of the Hell Mantis earlier, was that he had seen Miao Yi being injured at Mystic Arts Temple without having anyone to depend on. He felt that letting Miao Yi go bare-handed into the world was too much. Who would have the luck to escape death every single time?


    Thus, he had appeared ¡®coincidentally¡¯, and then ¡®coincidentally¡¯ bump into Miao Yi, luring him to the Boundless Secr World. Thus, leading to the birth of the Hell Mantis eggs and this Glorious Star immortal herb. Otherwise, where in the world would there be so many coincidences?


    Although times had changed for Lao Bai, a mere Red Lotus realm cultivator dared to steal what was his?


    Snatching was fine, but it depended on whether you have the courage to do it!


    Under his sweeping gaze, Yao Ruoxian, who had been about to shove the immortal herb into his storage ring, suddenly shivered uncontrobly. In a sh, he felt goosebumps all over him.

 Chapter 148: Refining Artifacts (5)

    Chapter 148: Refining Artifacts (5)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: - -


    Yao Ruoxian suddenly felt as though he was being stared at by something so terrifying that it made his soul tremble. As if so long as he dared to take the immortal herb for himself, something horrifying would happen to make him toote to regret it.


    This was a terrifying suppression that made even spirits quiver in fear.


    Like a frightening force that came from the heavens, it was as though it had instantly descended from the vast expanse of the universe with contempt upon all life.


    It was a feeling that Yao Ruoxian had never felt before. It was too frightening; a fear that made even his soul shiver!


    Swallowing his saliva, Yao Ruoxian hastily looked around. He couldn¡¯t find anything, but he didn¡¯t dare to continue shoving the immortal herb in his hands into his storage ring anymore.


    ¡®However, one or two pieces...¡¯ With a swift strike, Yao Ruoxian steeled himself and grabbed a couple of crystal clear fruits from the immortal herb.


    s, some things you could do once or twice but not thrice. As Yao Ruoxian was just about to pluck his third fruit, his hand froze in mid-air, and didn¡¯t dare to move another inch forward. His face went pale; cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and his legs had be weak.


    ¡°I must be seeing ghosts.....¡± Yao Ruoxian mumbled as he looked around, but he really didn¡¯t dare to continue to pluck the third fruit.


    Because he could clearly feel that the strange, frightening presence was already on the verge of bursting into a rage. As though if he dared to pluck the third fruit, he would immediately have to face a thunderous bout of anger.


    This feeling was unduly evident. So much that it was hard not to believe the invisible and formless threat.


    ¡®Harrumph!¡¯ Charcoal snorted as he yed in the sand. As though he could feel something, he turned his head and looked towards their direction.


    Charcoal¡¯s movements made Yao Ruoxian all the more afraid.


    He knew that sometimes animals had more acute sensespared to people, to the point where they could be aware of phenomena that many people couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°OLD MAN, GIVE IT BACK TO ME.....¡±


    Miao Yi was still unable to move under the suppression of Yao Ruoxian¡¯s arts, continued to shout.


    ¡°Why are you being so petty? All I did was pluck out two of your fruits. Here here here, take it, you petty child.¡±


    Feeling a little insufferable, Yao Ruoxian quickly tossed the immortal herb back.


    As soon as he stopped, that terrifying pressure instantly disappeared. Yao Ruoxian heaved a breath of relief, lifting his dirty sleeve up to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead.


    Taking another look around, he still couldn¡¯t see anything. Charcoal also continued to y around in the sand as if nothing had happened.


    Lao Bai¡¯s hazy silhouette had disappeared. He hade suddenly, and also left just as suddenly....


    ¡°Kid, did you feel anything just now?¡±


    Still surveying his surroundings, Yao Ruoxian had a lingering fear in his heart. It was precisely because that feeling just now was too real. It was a terrifying fear, as if he was mere inches away from a dark storm.


    Looking at the Glorious Star immortal herb that had two fruits less now, Miao Yi raised his head and red at him before resentfully nodding his head.


    Yao Ruoxian was stunned, ¡°You really felt it too?¡±


    Miao Yi said aggrievedly, ¡°I feel my heart ache!¡±


    ¡°Heartache? That¡¯s not right, I...¡±


    Yao Ruoxian gathered his words together and came to a conclusion. It seemed as though the two of them had felt different things - the other person was feeling heartache because his things had been stolen, whereas he had felt afraid.


    He took another nce at his surroundings, feeling a little superstitious now. Could it really be because he had broken professional ethics that his line of refining ancestors couldn¡¯t look on any longer from the heavens and were intentionally scaring him as a warning? It couldn¡¯t be such bad karma, could it?


    No matter how much Yao Ruoxian believed he was merely overthinking things, he couldn¡¯t deny that the overwhelmingly terrifying pressure he was vividly feeling before, didn¡¯t seem like it was an illusion....


    ¡°You said that you would do it for free, but in the end you viciously took arge portion of my fortune. And you didn¡¯t stop at taking payment - you stole my immortal herb as well. Is this the so-called professional reputation that Senior was telling Junior not to be suspicious about?¡±


    Miao Yi really felt that his heart was aching. Such a marvelous immortal herb had two of its fruits plucked away by someone else. Just like that! He was not a coward who didn¡¯t dare to even voice hisints when he suffered a loss.


    Yao Ruoxian felt a little embarrassed he listened. It turned out, he seemed to be always breaking his promises, and pping himself in the face as though his professional ethics were indeed a little untrustworthy. If word got out, there probably wouldn¡¯t be anyone who would dare do business with him any longer. No wonder even the ancestors couldn¡¯t bear to look on.


    ¡°You brat, all I did was take two of your fruits. I didn¡¯t even steal the whole thing. Don¡¯t you see that my plucking of your fruits also had its reasons?¡±


    ¡°Of course I see it. The reason is simple. You wanted to steal because you were envious.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! The words of a childck consideration!¡± Yao Ruoxian rolled his eyes, ¡°Isn¡¯t it exactly because of your good deeds in the Sea of Constetions? I¡¯ve forgiven you for making me take the rap for you, but I was injured in the battle with Yuan Kaishan because of you. My wounds have yet to heal. If I don¡¯t get some immortal fruits to treat my injuries, where would I find the concentration to refine an artifact for you?¡±


    ¡°What was that about you taking the rap for me? It¡¯s precisely because your heart had evil intentions that you got your just desserts, and yet you still pin the me on junior. Is there any justice left? Do you dare tell me what you were nning to do by sneaking into Brass Gong Fort?¡±


    ¡®Cough cough!¡¯ Yao Ruoxian held his chest as he coughed, furrowing his brows. He quickly changed the subject, ¡°My injuries are acting up again, let me recover a little first.¡±


    ¡®Shameless old thief!¡¯ Miao Yi rolled his eyes, cursing to himself.


    He looked on as Yao Ruoxian raised his hand and ced an immortal fruit in front of his nose, taking a deep breath. The starry mist that surrounded the immortal fruit formed a thread as it entered his lungs with the rhythm of his breath.


    Soon after, a newyer of starry mist formed around the crystal clear immortal fruit.


    After taking in two breaths, Yao Ruoxian touched his chest and sighed, ¡°The fruits are truly a wondrous thing. My internal injuries feel a lot better after just two breaths.¡±


    As he said this, he flipped his hand and immediately stored the two fruits away into his storage ring. He was being quite shameless about it.


    As he pped his hands, a bar mace shed out. With a whip of hisrge dirty sleeve, he pointed his finger towards the ground in front of him.


    The bar mace instantly burst into a misty form, and drilled downwards like a typhoon.


    The strong gusts created from the transcendent artifact kicked up the surrounding sand and rocks. Miao Yi didn¡¯t know what he was doing, and quickly invoked his arts to resist the gale.


    Not too long after, the typhoon that was drilling downwards came to a stop, and the bar mace shed out from the deep crevice. Yao Ruoxian raised his arm to catch it, then tucked it away into his storage ring.


    Afterwards, with two sweeps of his wide sleeves, the blurry dust in front was blown away, and at the same time a ck storage bangle on his wrist shed.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes shone. There weren¡¯t many cultivators who could use storage bangles. The space inside storage bangles was muchrger than that of storage rings.


    As Yao Ruoxian¡¯s arm gestured, a beautiful wlessly clear, three-legged crystal furnace shot out into the skies. It¡¯s height and width had reached two zhangs; there were numerous patterns etched around the opening rim at the top. It descended into the deep fissure that was just dug up, and a deep boom echoed forth as itnded on the ground.


    Yao Ruoxian himself nimbly descended into the deep fissure with a wave of hisrge sleeves.


    Forgetting about his grievances for the moment, Miao Yi quickly kept his things away, and couldn¡¯t help but follow. Jumping down, he reached out his arm to touch therge beautiful crystal furnace that one couldn¡¯t help but admire. Then, he asked curiously, ¡°Senior, what is this for?¡±


    Yao Ruoxian coldly replied, ¡°Of course it¡¯s for refining the artifacts for you. I¡¯ll refine the artifacts for you first, then you¡¯ll help me obtain the eggs. I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯m a man of my word, lest you constantly nag on and on, and speak utter nonsense!¡±

 Chapter 149: Refining Artifacts (6)

    Chapter 149: Refining Artifacts (6)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: - -


    To the man, it wasn¡¯t a big deal if he obtained the eggs at ater time as he wasn¡¯t worried that Miao Yi would escape his grasp.


    Thus, while being pressured, Miao Yi once again revealed the items that he¡¯d put away, spreading them out on the ground.


    Standing to the side, it could be said that Miao Yi had an expression of agony on his face. His heart ached for his items, and yet he anticipated the artifacts he could use. At the same time, he also wanted to see how artifacts were refined.


    Yao Ruoxian examined the first-grade transcendent artifacts, sifting through over one hundred in number. After selecting the trident, he passed over the long saber that Miao Yu had thrown out earlier, and instead went to rummage out a melon hammer.


    He held and measured the two weapons with his hands for quite some time, before giving a slight nod as he said, ¡°Should be enough to refine a spear.¡±


    He waved a hand once he said it, causing the treasure basin¡¯s multi-sided lids, each with several vents, to lift open with a rumble.


    Casually removing the former master¡¯s art source from the melon hammer, he unfolded it along with the trident in his grasp. Immediately, they exploded into two balls of silver mist, transforming into a python and a wild boar. Like flowing clouds, both illusory forms lengthened before diving into the apex of the treasure basin.


    Once they entered the treasure basin, the python and the wild boar¡¯s figures had shrunk by quite a lot, which left them looking a little silly.


    ¡°Go!¡± Yao Ruoxian once again waved hisrge hand, and a bar mace flew out from the storage ring, exploding into the illusion of a bear up in the sky. It then immediately went into the treasure basin.


    Then, a strange scene unfolded. Once the bear dived into the treasure basin, it immediately seized both the python and the wild boar, madly biting the two. It chowed down as though gorging on a delicious feast.


    And the python and wild boar had foolishly remained unmoving, allowing the bear to eat them.


    But it appeared as though a mirage was eating another mirage, and the bear looked like it was munching on air.


    Puzzled, Miao Yi then asked, ¡°Senior Yao, what is going on?¡±


    Yao Ruoxian exined, ¡°My pair of bar maces exhausted arge amount of energy during the battle with Yuan Kaishan. In any case, since these two artifact¡¯s souls will need to be destroyed, it would be better if I made use of them¡ªjust enough for one of my bar maces to devour their souls to replenish its energy. There is no need to waste Yao Cores now, except that the energy of two first-grade souls might be quite low, which won¡¯t be enough for my third grade bar mace¡¯s soul to regain its energy.¡±


    ¡°Senior is truly wise,¡± Miao Yi praised with an expressionless face.


    Yao Ruoxian wasn¡¯t a fool, so how could he not hear this left-handedpliment? He was tantly saying he was skilled in taking advantage of him.


    ¡°Rascal, you should consider it a blessing that you get to watch me refine artifacts. Normally, I never allow anyone to observe me when I refine items, so as to prevent others from stealing my artifact refinement techniques.¡±


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s words seemed to imply that he was also letting Miao Yi take advantage of him.


    Miao Yi was instead unimpressed. He had no knowledge of refining artifacts so he wouldn¡¯t be able to learn anything just by looking. Perhaps keeping me by your side is because you¡¯re worried that I¡¯ll escape?


    Inside the pure, sparkling and crystalline treasure basin, the white glowingyer enshrouding the python and wild boar gradually darkened as the bear continued to chew. In turn, the glowing red shroud on the bear¡¯s body began to steadily brighten.


    Atst, upon losing thest of their energy, the illusory figures of the python and wild boar crumbled, one by one.


    They manifested back into the trident and melon hammer, falling to the bottom of the treasure basin with two ngs.


    The bear also transformed back into a bar mace and dashed out from the treasure basin. Yao Ruoxian then beckoned it back into his own storage ring.


    Yao Ruoxian turned around and once again stood before a pile of First Grade Yao Cores. Twirling his sloppy beard, he muttered irresolutely, ¡°Brat, do you seek agility or power for the spear you wanted?¡±


    Miao Yi had been keeping an eye on him the entire time. He realized that whenever this sloppy old man entered into a state of refining artifacts, the wretched air surrounding him seemed to disappear. His entire presence seemed altered, as he gave off a feeling of utmost devotion. It really did feel like he had the air of an artifacts refining expert about him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure myself which kind is better. I only seek lethal power when battling!¡± Miao Yi replied.


    Yao Ruoxian pondered for a while and nodded his head slightly. ¡°Cultivators with a cultivation like yours are still unable to fully utilize the long range attacks of a transcendent artifact. When ites to closebat, rather than having agility, it¡¯s better to use the force of one to defeat ten. Therefore, this spear should mainly rely on unleashing its strength. What do you think?¡±


    Miao Yi had never used a transcendent artifact before, so what would he know? He could only nod helplessly and reply, ¡°I¡¯ll listen to you, Senior.¡±


    Yao Ruoxian promptly searched through the pile of First Grade Yao Cores as he pondered over each one. Grasping each Yao Core, he invoked his arts and forced out their living phantom spiritual bodies. The illusions of wolves, apes, snakes and the like, vividly emerged, one by one.


    After thest illusion revealed itself, that of a rhinoceros, only then did Yao Ruoxian nod with satisfaction. He kept away the phantom rhinoceros above the Yao Core and then clutched the Yao Core in his hand.


    He jerked back his hand and pointed at the half-filled case of ze Resins. With a flick of Yao Ruoxian¡¯s finger, a Red ze Resin leaped out from the case.


    Whoosh! The Red ze Resin speedily revolved throughout the immense subterranean pit.


    Chi... After a round of abrupt chafing on the stones of the cave walls, fire sparks emerged from the friction.


    Hum! A zing ball of crimson quickly ignited from the Red ze Resin, and the temperature of the entire subterranean space suddenly increased dramatically, creating a feeling of suffocation in the atmosphere.


    Miao Yi swiftly invoked his arts to withstand the high temperature, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to bear it.


    ¡°Go!¡± Yao Ruoxian snapped his fingers with a wave, and a ball of ignited ze Resin fell into the treasure basin.


    The mes rose with ferocity from the wide opening of the furnace; the insides of the entire transparent furnace were filled with vigorous mes.


    Deep down, Miao Yi was more or less shocked. He¡¯d never expected that such a small piece of Red ze Resin could actually ignite into such a destructive and powerful me. No wonder it was used for refining transcendent artifacts.


    Once more, he saw Yao Ruoxian give another wave of hisrge hand and the multi-sided vented lid of the treasure basin flipped over to a close with a rumble, sealing most of the mes ignited from the Red ze Resin inside the furnace. From time to time, he could see the mes emitting out of the vents of the multi-sided lid.


    With a toss of the Yao Core held in Yao Ruoxian¡¯s fist, it managed to suppress the mes spitting out of the top of the furnace¡¯s opening.


    On the body of the treasure basin was an opening that was the size of a fist, which was covered by an inverted lid. This was to avoid the violent mes inside from spewing out from the sides.


    Yao Ruoxian gave a casual wave of his hand, and the inverted lid flipped open. A fierce surge of mes immediately gushed out, only to be quickly pushed back by a single block of Yao Ruoxian¡¯s palm.


    He then saw him putting two fingers together, invoking his arts to set off a gust of wind, which moved along his fingers, imbuing the wind force that entered the opening.


    With the wind being imbued, the Red ze Resin within the furnace rose more and more dramatically. The Yao Core suppressing the small opening was immediately raised by a spurt of whooshing mes. It levitated to about a height of one chi, and the mes turned orange-white in color.


    The trident and melon hammer within the furnace were also hovering, as they revolved constantly in sync with the imbued wind force.


    Before they knew it, the sky had darkened and dusk had fallen around them.


    The two weapons within the furnace were still revolving within the fire and no changes could be seen from them. Sitting and waiting by the side, Miao Yi was beginning to get a bit impatient.


    The Yao Core on top of the furnace opening had risen by quite a lot and had already been liquefied into a ball, emitting a white misty glow. Every now and then, it would reveal the illusion of the rhinoceros struggling, as though it couldn¡¯t stand being refined anymore and was subconsciously attempting to escape. It was instead being pressed down by Yao Ruoxian as he invoked his arts.


    Miao Yi, who had been quiet all along, finally couldn¡¯t restrain himself from asking, ¡°Senior Yao, is it because the heat isn¡¯t enough? I¡¯ve heard that the Blue ze Resin¡¯s firepower is stronger than that of the Red ze Resin. Do you want to change it and try this with a Blue ze Resin instead?¡±


    ¡°What do you know? The magnitude of the heat is not important. Being perfect is the crucial part.¡±


    ¡°How do you deem it to be perfect? ¡°


    ¡°Shut up! It¡¯s now the crucial point, so stop distracting me! Otherwise, don¡¯t me me if it gets destroyed!¡± Yao Ruoxian suddenly shouted.

 Chapter 150: Refining an Artifact (7)

    Chapter 150: Refining an Artifact (7)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: - -


    Miao Yi immediately peered inside the treasure basin, and he saw that the trident and melon hammer was already responding to the heat. They already had signs of melting, as droplets of silver light started to drip.


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s clothes suddenly billowed all on their own; his hair and beard fluttered erratically as he faced the dancing mes inside the furnace. His small eyes became spirited and focused as he stared at the situation inside the furnace.


    ¡®CLAP!¡¯ Yao Ruoxian pped his hands together; both hisrge sleeves slowly expanded and, as though they were blowpipes, began blowing wind into an opening.


    All ten fingers on his hands were aimed at the opening, dancing about so swiftly that one would feel dizzy just looking at them.


    The trident and melon hammer stuck to each other and flew around inside the furnace. Under the movements of Yao Ruoxian¡¯s fingers, the silver light that dripped from them continuously coalesced into silver globules. They flew out of the top of the furnace along with the rising mes, making light bumping noises as they melded with the already liquefied Yao Core at the top.


    After melding with the liquefied Yao Core, the silver globules separated themselves just as quickly and floated over the liquefied Yao Core, their bodies covered with a pale white glow.


    As Yao Ruoxian¡¯s fingers continued to move in quick session, slowly but surely, silver globules flew out one after another from the trident and melon hammer that were gradually melting in the furnace. They slipped through the liquefied Yao Core, and eventually floated upwards, fusing together with the other silver globules that were now emanating a pale white light.


    Miao Yi looked on with eyes wide open. He didn¡¯t dare to make a noise and disturb him....


    Another day passed, and the mes of the Red ze Resin were almostpletely extinguished. As he watched the mes slowly weaken, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised that a single Red ze Resin could burn for two whole days.


    With a wave of Yao Ruoxian¡¯s hand, another Red ze Resin shot out from the box beside them and flew into the furnace through the tuyere.


    ¡®GONG!¡¯ It instantly red up into a zing ember, and immediately, the mes rose once more.


    His ten fingers continued to dance about at the tuyere. The trident and melon hammer inside the furnace had already lost their original appearance, having shrunken down quite a bit. The liquefied Yao Core had also lost a lot of volume. On the other hand, above the liquefied Yao Core, a white-luminescent pole-like object had already begun to take shape. As it fused with more and more of the silver globules from underneath, its size grewrger andrger......


    Two dayster, the trident and the melon hammer could no longer be seen inside the furnace.


    At almost the same time as the Red ze Resin was burning out, thest few silver globules flew out from inside the furnace, bringing with them the remaining liquid floating over the furnace, and merging into the long spear at the top.


    After being refined and broken down, the Yao Core took advantage of the moment its outer body was fully formed for the white glow on the floating spear to sh out dazzlingly.


    Yao Ruoxian waved his voluminous sleeves, and the floating long spear instantly shot out into the skies.


    The loud ¡®BOOM!¡¯ of an explosion quickly followed from the surroundings.


    Miao Yi quickly leaped out of the pit and looked around, only to find a clump of white mist towering above the raging waves of the sea. Soon, it was dispersed by the wind.


    Evidently, the spear hadnded in that spot. The white mist was caused by the high temperature of the spear rapidly dropping after it hit the surface of the sea.


    In the pit, the Red ze Resin in the upper part of the furnace had already burnt outpletely, the red mes extinguished. Clearly, Yao Ruoxian had a very strong grasp on how to manage the mes.


    Miao Yi looked down as he excitedly asked, ¡°Senior Yao, have you finished refining the spear?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m done refining it already. Go test it out for yourself to see if it¡¯s easy to use!¡±


    Yao Ruoxian wiped away the drops of sweat on his forehead, lightly breathing a sigh of relief. He slowly sat down cross-legged and tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth, closing his eyes to begin recovering the transcendence energy that he had spent.


    Even though the refining process didn¡¯t consume arge amount of transcendence energy, it was still difficult to continue exerting his transcendence energy non-stop for days on end. It was very tiring.


    Miao Yi immediately flew out in excitement. Hended on the spot of the sea that had exploded earlier, and dived head first into the depths to start looking for his weapon.


    In the depths of the blue sea, he saw a long silver spear silently embedded in a colorful coral reef.


    Miao Yi charged towards it and pulled it out with a single stroke. Then, he quickly left the ocean depths, anxious to try out his very first transcendent artifact since stepping into the realm of cultivation.


    Breaking past the waves tond on the shore, Miao Yi swept the spear in his hands outwards, his eyes instantly brightening.


    During the refining process, it had always been shrouded in a pale white glow. Only now could he take a close and clear look at it.


    The spear was around one zhang long, and much thicker than the spears he had used before; it was also much heavier. Under the light of the sun, the spear reflected a strangely beautiful glow.


    To Miao Yi¡¯s surprise, the body of the spear was covered in a pattern of fish scales. The pattern was very orderly and neat, and looked extremely beautiful. No wonder it seemed a little rough when he held it in his hands.


    The fish scales continued until it reached the equally imposing spearhead.


    The tip of the spear was different from the ones he had used before. The keen spearhead was formed from three leaf-shaped des with razor-sharp edges, joined together to form a point in the center. Moving down from the tip of the des, the rear sections of the leaf widened to form three pegs.


    The spearhead alone was half as long as his arm. The design radiated a piercing, tyrannical aura. In addition, the sunlight reflected irregrly on the fish scales that were etched on the triple-edged des, making it all the more frightening.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but try stabbing at the air. As the spear pierced the air, three ringing roars suddenly reverberated, as though three dragons had begun roaring simultaneously. Even Miao Yi himself was shocked at this.


    Taking another look at the tail end of the spear, there was a beautiful dragon head-shaped ingot at the tip.


    Miao Yi promptly turned to stare at a reef nearby. His body shot out as he thrust forth with his spear, the dragon roar ringing out once more as he did so.


    ¡®BOOMMM!¡¯ Where the spearhead struck, half the great reef was ripped apart.


    Descending to the ground and pulling back his spear, he raked the triple-edged de across the ground. What was left of the remaining half of the reef, was a deep scar that many would find astonishing.


    Even if this spear was used just like a normal spear, he could feel that his strength would be increased by a whole level. Especially when he struck out, the spearhead would release a hidden explosive attack.


    But Miao Yi felt that something was off with this spear. At first he couldn¡¯t tell what was wrong. Only when he took a closer look, did he figure out where the problem was.


    The fish scales that were refined onto the body of the spear were facing the opposite direction, and had be reverse scales!


    The Great Cave Master Miao¡¯s expression instantly darkened. To actually miss such an obvious mistake, that old man clearly didn¡¯t care much for his things and just casually refined a defective spear in order to fool him. He was pushing his luck!


    He quickly dashed back with the spear in hand, preparing to find Yao Ruoxian and ask for an exnation.


    As soon as Miao Yi returned to the pit where Yao Ruoxian was recovering his transcendence energy with eyes closed, Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t even bother opening them as he asked indifferently, ¡°How is it? Satisfied?¡±


    But it turned out, what awaited him were not the words of praise and ttery that he had expected.


    With a darkened expression, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but snort, ¡°Satisfied my ass!¡±


    Yao Ruoxian was shocked. Unable to sit still any longer, he quickly stopped his recovery and stood up, eyeing Miao Yi from head to toe as he coldly said, ¡°Kid, don¡¯t set your expectations too high. All transcendent artifacts made from my hands are quality goods. If you don¡¯t want it, there are many others who would!¡±


    Miao Yi pointed to the fish scales on the spear as he angrily said, ¡°Look at it closely once more, the fish scales that have been refined on the spear are facing the opposite direction. They¡¯ve be reversed scales. Was such an obvious mistake the so-called quality goods of Senior? This Junior doesn¡¯t have so many materials for Senior to waste.¡±


    ¡°.....¡± Yao Ruoxian was stunned for a moment as he heard this, unable toprehend what Miao Yi had just said. When he came to understand it, he didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry as he answered, ¡°Kid, you don¡¯t have a single clue how to appreciate the value of these things. Even quality goods will actually be rubbish in your hands. Bring me the spear!¡±

 Chapter 151: Refining Artifacts (8)

    Chapter 151: Refining Artifacts (8)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: - -


    On receiving the spear from Miao Yi, he invoked his arts, causing the spear to float before him. He then pointed at it and asked, ¡°Take a close look once again from the tail end to the spear tip. What does it look like?¡±


    There was no need for him to look carefully again as Miao Yi had already examined it many times beforehand. Looking at it from the dragon head at the base of the spear upwards, the fish scale pattern was indeed not reversed.


    The base was the dragon head and the fish scales resembled dragon scales, whilst the spear tip was akin to a sweeping dragon tail. When the spear struck out, it was simr to a divine dragonshing out with its tail.


    The entire spear resembled an exquisitely carved divine dragon, beautiful and dominating.


    His face still taut, Miao Yi said, ¡°Is it just for the sake of making it look like a dragon? Having the inverted scales was all for the sake making it look good?¡±


    ¡°Yo! You¡¯re still not satisfied?¡± Yao Ruoxian sneered with a face filled with ridicule. He casually grabbed the levitating spear and thrust it at Miao Yi head-on.


    Miao Yi was shocked, thinking that the other party wanted to deliver a murderous blow, but it didn¡¯t seem like he any intention of killing him. The speed at which the spear struck out didn¡¯t look like it was intended to take his life,pletely allowing him room to recover as he moved back to dodge the attack.


    But what amazed him was when he faced it up front, only then did he realize that the sounds of three dragon roars were actuallying from three different directions. If he hadn¡¯t paid close attention to it, he would have been mislead and wouldn¡¯t have known from which direction the spear was being thrusted.


    Brandishing the spear as he directed it at him, Yao Ruoxian asked, ¡°Do you now understand what the advantage is?¡±


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes were already gleaming when he replied, ¡°I can mislead and confuse the opponent?¡±


    ¡°The three dragon roars are transmitted precisely via the triple-edged des through the inverse scales on this spear when it pierces through the wind. The ability to mislead and confuse the enemy is just one of its features.¡± Yao Ruoxian gently caressed the fish scales on the spear as he exined. ¡°When fighting against your opponent, the distributed structure of theyer uponyer of inversed scales can weaken the transmission of power and reduce the strength of the force transmitted. From spear tip to spear end, it¡¯s possible that it can defuse half of the force. Of course when you use the spear, it¡¯s impossible for you to always clutch onto the end of the spear to face the opponent. Still, when the enemy¡¯s full force is being brought to bear upon you, defusing twenty percent of it shouldn¡¯t pose much of a problem. ¡±


    Miao Yi cried out in surprise. ¡°It can defuse twenty percent of the force?¡±


    Yao Ruoxian narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Why? Still think it¡¯s not enough? When facing the opponent in battle, it can reduced the opponent¡¯s strength by twenty percent. Don¡¯t tell me you still don¡¯t know what this means?¡±


    ¡°No! No! No!¡± Miao Yi¡¯s eyes were almost green with anticipation.


    Yao Ruoxian snorted. ¡°There is still one more advantage. Upon receiving the force, the inverse scales can defuse it. That means when the scales release the force, it possesses a different kind of tension. Once that force rushes to the spear tip, it will diffuse explosively. Should the opponent be struck by the spear, even if he didn¡¯t die, superficial injuries can end up bing severe!¡±


    Overjoyed, Miao Yi nodded repeatedly. He had already experienced it when he was trying out the spear on the reefs. There was definitely an explosive power released from the spear tip, granting arge boost to his formidable power. It was just that he didn¡¯t understand what was going on before, but now he understood.


    ¡°This spear in hand has the effect of confusing the enemy¡¯s hearings, has explosive power to add to the might, and has the ability to defuse force to reinforce defences. With these three effects merged into one entity, the entire cultivation world will not be able to find another transcendent artifact with such mystical effects. Yet a little rascal like you would resent me for refining it into ¡®trash¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault! It¡¯s my fault! Senior is the bigger person so please don¡¯t bother arguing with the likes of me.¡±


    ¡°But back to the topic. This spear is not very useful when facing foes with strength and transcendent artifacts that outss you. But for you, a cultivator that can only traverse freely onnd and simply fight there, it still has some good use.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡± Miao Yi¡¯s face was too overwhelmed with joy. He cupped his hands and said, ¡°Junior is the one who¡¯s blind as a bat, unaware of Senior¡¯s painstaking effort in refining the inverse scales.¡±


    Abruptly, Yao Ruoxian began eximing with pride, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the inversed scales. It can¡¯t be copied by simply anyone. Not to mention, the process of refining it focuses on carefully grasping the minute differences in the dimensions of the spear. If the distribution of the inverse scales on the spear is even slightly out of alignment or if there¡¯s even the slightest deviation, then it will not be able to achieve the effects of being able to confuse hearing, have explosive power and defuse force. These techniques are thus, my self-discovered refining methods. In the entire world, there is no one who knows how to do this apart from me. Brat, consider yourself lucky to run into me!¡±


    With a cold scoff, he casually threw the spear back.


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes...¡± Taking the spear, Miao Yi was gleeful to the point that he was grinning from ear to ear, and immediately showered him with ttery.


    Miao Yi could then be seen flinging about and handling the treasured spear in his hand admiringly. He didn¡¯t feel like the inverse scales were an eyesore anymore. On the contrary, he saw them as obtaining a most precious asset.


    ¡°Huh...¡± While flinging it around and taking a closer look, Miao Yi suddenly let out an odd cry. He discovered that on the dragon head at the end of the spear, there were two small inconspicuous characters.


    The words were hidden inside the opening. If he hadn¡¯t examined it closely by chance, it would have been difficult for him to notice it.


    After a careful inspection, he was surprised to find that it read ¡®Zi Yang¡¯. Miao Yi was unable to stop himself from raising his head to ask, ¡°Is Zi Yang a name that Senior Yao has given to this spear?¡±


    ¡®Cough! Cough!¡¯ Yao Ruoxian clenched his fist as he coughed dryly, thinking that the two words concealed in such a hidden ce had already been discovered by this brat. It seemed like this kid had the potential to be a thief.


    He shook his head in denial and said, ¡°It should have been formed unintentionally during the production process. This spear has yet to have a name. If you want a name, thene up with one yourself.¡±


    ¡°Name...¡± With a gleeful expression that was difficult to erase, Miao Yi scrutinized the spear he wielded for a while, before suddenly sweeping it across, and saying with force and substance, ¡°Then it should be called ¡®Inversed-Scales¡¯! Dragons have an inverse scale. Those who touch it will be faced with death[1]!¡±


    Yao Ruoxian was slightly awestruck by his inspiring words, realizing that this rascal had a bit of a dominating air about him.


    Who would have expected that once Miao Yi turned around, his aura would weakened abruptly. Looking embarrassed, he meekly consulted, ¡°Senior, Junior has never used a transcendent artifact before. Can you teach me how to handle it?¡±


    ¡°With your cultivation level, forcibly handling it will be a bit difficult. What¡¯s more, if you¡¯re forcibly handling it, once you face a foe who is stronger than you, it will be easy for them to seize your artifact. So the safest method will be to nt a strand of your art source in the artifact.¡±


    ¡°This... Junior has no knowledge on that. How do you do it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really clueless and yet you obtained so many treasures. Where¡¯s the justice in that? Fuck!¡±


    Yao Ruoxian cursed.


    Drawing back his hand, he ced a Yao Core onto it. He pointed at the Yao Core and exined, ¡°When it was alive, it had a body and could bleed. It also had its own sentience and was able to control itself. After it died, obviously when it was refined into a transcendent artifact, the spear you wield for instance has became its flesh, but it is stillcking its own sentience. No matter how good an artifact is, it is still a soulless dead object. The method to ovee this is to make your own mind a part of it by nting a strand of your art source into its body. That will then be its soul; both you and the artifact will share the same art source between each other. It will acknowledge you as the master, and ept your transcendence energy to control it. The moment you erase the art source within its body, it will immediately turn back into a dead object, an object without a master...¡±


    After receiving this careful exnation, Miao Yi finally understood how it worked.


    After imbuing a thread of his art source into the empty vessel of the Inversed-Scales Spear, Miao Yi bound it, and immediately sensed that the spear had awakened. It was instantly brimming with energy andpletely linked their minds together.


    Propping the spear upright, he moved his art with his mind. The Inversed-Scales Spear instantly exploded into a cloud of silver mist, transforming into the enormous figure of a rhinoceros.


    Miao Yi quickly leaped out of the pit and made a grab at the heavens with one arm. The rhinoceros within the pit leaped out into the sky, instantly transforming into the Inversed-Scales Spear and falling into his grasp...


    Footnotes:


    ording to myths, dragons have one scale growing in the opposite direction (reverse scale) at their throat. The dragons do not like people touching the scale and would harm anyone who dares to do so, so touching the reverse scale has be a figurative expression of ¡®offending a man in power¡¯.

 Chapter 152: Refining Artifacts (9)

    Chapter 152: Refining Artifacts (9)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: - -


    One monthter.


    Standing in front of the treasure basin, Yao Ruoxian was in full concentration as he constantly moved the fingers of his hands towards the hole located at the core of the furnace. His hair and clothes flitted about without the aid of a breeze, and countless silver globules could be seen flying out in rapid session from inside the furnace.


    Miao Yi was currently sitting cross-legged in a corner of the pit, quietly cultivating.


    To be more urate, he had originally been cultivating, but now he was experiencing a very strange turn of events.


    When he first cultivated using the Fiery Star Technique, he had to use his arts to guard his body against the surrounding heat, and ultimately discovered a very strange urrence.


    When he matched the arts he used to deter the surrounding heat with his own cultivation method, he realized that he could actually control the changes in temperature around him through the surge of his transcendence energy.


    He couldn¡¯t help but stop cultivating for the moment, and persistently tried to manipte the high temperatures around him. The more he tried, the better he was.


    Under the surge of his transcendence energy, the high heat that struck forth fluctuated following the changes in his transcendence energy. It would at times shift to the left and sometimes to the right; sometimes floating upwards and sometimes descending downwards; sometimes backing away and sometimes circling around his body; and sometimes, it would coalesce together.


    When he tried to not guard himself against the heat and let it approach him, to his surprise, he discovered that the art source circting inside his body was actually absorbing some kind of spiritual essence from within the heat, simr to the time when he had extracted the True Fire of Supreme Yang and first created his art source.


    What was most astounding was that after the spiritual essence had been absorbed into his art source, tiny red lights actually began to appear within his originally formless, circting art source, adding a new color into the mix.


    Miao Yi was shocked. Lao Bai had never mentioned such a possibility to him before. It couldn¡¯t be there was something wrong with his cultivation, could it?


    At first he wanted to stop his attempts, but he soon discovered that the art source inside his body had actually be more vigorous with the addition of these little red lights; it felt as though a muddle-headed person had suddenly became energetic. It was a very odd feeling.


    Miao Yi faintly realized that absorbing the spiritual fire essence from the burning Red ze Resin seemed to be beneficial to his own art source. He was hesitant to confirm if it was truly beneficial or not, as he didn¡¯t want any trouble. However, it seemed the excited art source inside his body was very interested in absorbing them, to the point where it affected his own mood and invoked feelings of pleasure.


    He was born with a tendency to take risks, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have headed to the Sea of Constetions and raised a ruckus there. After some hesitation, he ultimately decided to try it out slowly.


    He hardened his resolve and decided to carefully absorb the spiritual fire essence. He was prepared to immediately stop absorbing the second he discovered anything wrong.


    ¡°Mastery of fire requires perfection of the true body. One who has surpassed fire shall be able to roam the endless universe without inhibition!¡±


    A gloomy sigh resounded. The graceful figure that was Lao Bai, had unknowingly appeared beside Miao Yi. Looking towards the transcendent artifact that was being refined atop therge treasure basin, he lightly shook his head and said, ¡°Could this be fate?¡±


    He had passed the cultivation method of the Fiery Star Technique to Miao Yi, but he hadn¡¯t yet told Miao Yi the true purpose of cultivation behind the Fiery Star Technique.


    The true purpose of the Fiery Star Techniquey in the two sentences that he had just spoken...., mastery of fire requires perfection of the true body, and one who has surpassed fire shall be able to roam the endless universe without inhibition!


    He naturally had his own reasons for not passing this down.


    Firstly, he was afraid that Miao Yi would be corrupt and greedy. He felt that Miao Yi¡¯s current cultivation was stillcking, so he wanted him to prioritise raising his own cultivation stably, and not go running around everywhere if he didn¡¯t have to.


    Secondly, it was because he wanted to continue watching Miao Yi for the time being, as the hardest thing to grasp in this world was the heart of man. Even Lao Bai himself couldn¡¯t be sure that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t change in the future. He wouldn¡¯t easily reveal his trump card until the time was right.


    But he never would have thought that Miao Yi could actually begin to grasp the true purpose of the Fiery Star Technique as a result of this chance meeting.


    A small gap had already been pushed open on this door, and Lao Bai knew that Miao Yi would continue to push it open and investigate whaty behind it if he ever had the opportunity. Thus, he could only sigh deeply......


    ¡®BOOMMM!¡¯


    A familiar sound once again echoed forth from the great ocean outside.


    Miao Yi abruptly opened his eyes, quickly retracted his arts and jumped out of the pit. After, he immediately honed in on the spot where white mist appeared on the surface of the sea and dashed forward, diving straight into the ocean.


    During this period of time, he had already be addicted to picking up artifacts, and became extremely proficient in it as well.


    It didn¡¯t take long for him to burst out of the waves. He carried a silver helm in hand as he leaped onto shore, grinning widely.


    He didn¡¯t need Yao Ruoxian to instruct him anymore. He immediately set away a thread of his art source and imbued it into the helm, letting the ownerless helm acknowledge his ownership.


    He tossed the helm in his hands. It shot to the skies and exploded into the illusion of a silver lion.


    As he spread both his arms, clouds of silver mist shot out and rose to the skies from inside his storage ring.


    Afterwhich, illusions of lion, tiger, leopard, octopus, wolf, python and rhinoceros descended from the sky in quick session, and charged downwards onto Miao Yi who stood with his arms wide open.


    The lion descended on his head and coalesced into a helm that shielded his brows, ears and neck; where the lion opened its mouth was Miao Yi¡¯s face.


    The eight tentacles of the octopus wrapped around his body, and solidified into a tough yet tensile armor that hung on his shoulders and covered his chest and back; engraved on the front and back of his armor was the pattern of a mighty wave. Below his waist hung a soft ted drape, and on the outer edges of his thighs hung two half pockets. Half of his lower body was protected, front and back.


    The two tigersnded on his shoulders. Their hind legs wrapped around half his arms, and their front legsy perched on his shoulder, whereas the jaws of the two tigers faced outwards with bared fangs. The tigers protected his upper arms and shoulders, and were refined with an intricacy as though they were alive.


    Around his forearms were two leopards; the slightly elevated heads of the leopards shielded his elbows, as their bodies extended towards the back of his palms, turning into a set of awe-inspiring vambraces.


    The python wrapped itself around his waist; as itid its head on his abdomen, it opened its jaws and flicked its tongue out, swiftly turning into a snake-scale belt. Thus, it held in ce the soft armor around his waist, preventing it from loosely shaking around, and at the same time protecting his waist from harm.


    The two wolves hugged his legs, shielding his knees and guarding his feet, immediately bing a pair of bright silver greaves. Just behind his legs were two half-raised wolf heads revealing a set of vicious-looking teeth.


    The rhinoceros fell into Miao Yi¡¯s palm, and instantly solidified into the Inversed-Scales Spear!


    Even though this set of armor was not a single full-body set, some parts were still intricately linked together. The design was borate andplex with great attention paid to the minor details, especially at the joints - there was virtually no awkwardness when moving around. It was indeed the work of a skilled artifact artisan. One would need a great amount of insight and experience to be able to produce such a heavenly creation.


    However, this armor couldn¡¯t be put on through normal means. If one did not invoke his arts, it would be impossible to forcefully put it on, or take it off.


    On his temple rested a valiant lion, on his shouldersy two ferocious tigers, around his arms perched two vicious leopards, and arge python circled his waist. His legs stood atop savage wolves, his chest and back shielded by eight tentacles; and finally, in his hand was the Inversed-Scales Spear. Miao Yi stood on the shore, wrapped in a resplendent white glow. His aura was nothing short of imposing, and as he waved the mighty spear in his hand, he projected an image of dignity and unfaltering strength alongside his overwhelming aura of violence, as though he were a divine god that had descended onto the mortal realm!


    Taking another look at his full set of equipment, Miao Yi was brimming with joy, feeling as though he had just struck gold.


    This whole set of equipment wasposed of ten first grade transcendent artifacts, which meant he had spent ten First Grade Yao Cores, and that wasn¡¯t including the other materials that he had used.


    Looking back to before he had gone to the Sea of Constetions, the Great Cave Master Miao had still been worried about a few low-grade Orbs of Will, deciding to run all the way to the Sea of Constetions to go hunting, in order to obtain more Orbs of Will. He never thought about getting any transcendent artifacts, but who would¡¯ve known that he woulde to own a luxurious ten-piece set of transcendent artifacts in the blink of an eye.


    Even though their value may not be higher than a single piece of second grade transcendent artifact of Yang Qing¡¯s, but what he had was aplete set that had four or five more pieces than Yang Qing.


    Not to mention, his own set of armor was obviously much better than Yang Qing¡¯s aesthetically. If he had topare the two based on looks, Yang Qing¡¯s armor was trashpared to his.

 Chapter 153: Refining Artifacts (10)

    Chapter 153: Refining Artifacts (10)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    The past Great Cave Master Miao would never have dared think about his owning such a set of transcendent artifacts.


    Before refining this set of transcendent artifacts, Miao Yi felt very pained about it. However, after he put on the luxurious set of armor, it felt awesomely exhrating and he felt it was extremely worthwhile to spend the refining items.


    Strolling along the shore, Charcoal slowly trotted back and appeared to also be in awe, halting at Miao Yi¡¯s ferocious getup. He snorted loudly, seemingly afraid to move closer as he circled around Miao Yi a couple of rounds.


    "Damn fatty, do I look good?" Patting himself all around, Miao Yiughed. "I never expected that sloppy old man¡¯s craftsmanship to be so out of the ordinary. Why do I feel like I¡¯mpletely filled with confidence? I think even if I met the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall, I could rush forward to give him a few ps in the face!"


    "Yo! You¡¯ve got some guts. Even when I meet a Hall Master, a person of that rank, I would still need to withdraw quite a distance. I wouldn¡¯t have imagined that you would dare to even p the Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s Hall Master. Go ahead and try giving him a few ps on the face for me to see! You better believe he will reveal his transcendent artifacts and beat you into a pulp with it! I can say for sure that your set of transcendent artifacts now will bepletely useless against it!"


    Turning around to look, Miao Yi realized that Yao Ruoxian had unknowingly snuck up behind him. He chuckled at once, "I¡¯m justing up with ways to sing high praises of your refined transcendent artifacts."


    "Do I even need you to praise that the transcendent artifacts I refine are great?" Yao Ruoxian scoffed as he brushed his beard, looking disdainful. He pointed at Charcoal and said, "Ask the fat bastard not to move. I¡¯m going to measure him. By the time I honor my promise, you rascal had better honor yours immediately as well. After this, we will each go our separate ways and pretend we¡¯ve never seen each other before. We¡¯ll call it quits otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being rude."


    Miao Yi spread his arms and the resplendent silver equipment on his entire body instantly exploded into silver mist before rushing into his storage ring. Turning around, he lightly pointed at Charcoal and hawked, "Damn fatty! It¡¯s your blessing to be with me. Now is the time for you to bask in my glory. Stand still and don¡¯t move!"


    However, Charcoal was misbehaving as always. When he caught sight of Yao Ruoxian approaching him, he instantly ran to Miao Yi¡¯s back and hid.


    Truthfully with a fat figure such as his, he could only hide his head behind Miao Yi. He was acting like aplete ostrich. It wasn¡¯t clear if he was right in the head.


    Naturally, Miao Yi had his own means to deal with Charcoal. He turned around to caressed his neck so that he¡¯s not afraid. A small mantis then crawled out from the storage ring and wrapped around his finger, striking down with its sickle onto Charcoal¡¯s neck.


    ncing backwards, Charcoal¡¯s gaze were filled with resentment as he rolled his eyes and went still on the spot.


    "He can¡¯t move anymore. Senior, please measure." Miao Yi turned to say.


    Yao Ruoxian was stunned for a moment upon realizing that this brat didn¡¯t care about those close to him at all and would use the small mantids to take a jab at just about anyone. He responded somewhat dubiously, "Didn¡¯t you treat this fat bastard as your gem? I see that you¡¯re quite willing to strike out."


    Miao Yi chuckled, "That¡¯s different. Others are not allowed to touch him. It goes without saying that I am allowed."


    Yao Ruoxian was speechless. He was reluctant to exchange nonsense with Miao Yi, and began gesturing with his hand to invoke his arts; the sand on the shore rapidly swirled upward, covering Charcoal until he turned into a sand sculpture in an instant.


    After stepping forward, he reached out to probe and prod around, Yao Ruoxian gestured with his hands again, and the sand sculpture fell apart into ten molds. He immediately swept them into his storage ring before turning on his heels and swiftly departing, going back into the pit where he refined artifacts.


    Miao Yi invoked his arts to erase the abyssal chilling aura within Charcoal¡¯s body. Charcoal promptly red up in anger and galloped off. While running, he kept ncing back to neigh several times. He waspletely filled with resentment, as though he were telling Miao Yi that should he treat him like this again, he wouldn¡¯t be around him anymore in future.


    Miao Yi nonchntly drew out a piece of the Octopus Spirit¡¯s thigh, carrying it in his hand as he swung it around a few times.


    Charcoal who had been ncing backwards as he ran, began slowing down his steps. He looked a little envious, but since he was just bullied, it seemed like he wanted to fight for his rights. So he forcibly turned his head away and swiftly trotted off into the distance.


    ¡®He¡¯s ying this game with me again?¡¯ Miao Yi sneered. How could they not know each other? "Damn fatty! If you have the guts, hold out for half a day and don¡¯te back. If that time everes, I will crawl on the ground for you to ride!"


    By the time Miao Yi returned to the pit, he found that Yao Ruoxian was not in a hurry to refine artifacts and was instead, recuperating his transcendence energy.


    Miao Yi also sat down cross-legged at the side.


    Ultimately, it was just as he had expected. Truly not even half a day had passed before the sound of hooves galloping came from outside the pit, running around it in a circle.


    The damn fatty had an attitude problem; if he was nice to him this time, his temperament would be worse next time... Miao Yi curled his lips into a sneer as he continued to shut his eyes in meditation, not giving it another thought as he waited for Charcoal topletely give in.


    After he was done recovering his transcendence energy, Yao Ruoxian too, didn¡¯t pay any heed to Charcoal. He heard the trotting soundsing from the fat bastard, but just stood up and was readying himself to start up the furnace and refine artifacts again, when a pink item came flying down from above, immediately going straight into the treasure basin.


    rmed, Yao Ruoxian raised his head to look, only to catch sight of the fat bastard stretching out his head to look down. He snorted a few times, as though sizing up Miao Yi¡¯s reaction.


    "What did you just throw inside my treasure basin?!" Yao Ruoxian frowned.


    With a casual wave, the item inside flew out and fell into his grasp. Unfolding it to see, his expression instantly contorted. It was actually a woman¡¯s pink, skin-tight undergarment. That fat bastard had actually thrown a woman¡¯s pink skin-tight undergarment into his treasure basin...


    When he saw that Miao Yi did not show any reaction, Charcoal once again turned around to grab a couple of ¡®presents¡¯ before chucking them down. It was unclear if he wanted to get Miao Yi¡¯s attention or was gifting Miao Yi presents to make amends and apologize. A pile of women¡¯s clothings soon drifted down.


    "FAT BASTARD! YOU STILL DARE TO THROW..." Yao Ruoxian furiously bellowed as he waved his hand to point upwards. He was practically at his wit¡¯s end.


    On hearing that Yao Ruoxian was about to get serious, Miao Yi quickly stopped feigning ignorance. He opened his eyes and dashed forward, pulling him back. He hurriedly apologized on behalf of Charcoal, "Senior, why should you bother yourself with a beast? He doesn¡¯t know anything. Please calm down."


    When he was being curt with Charcoal, he seriously didn¡¯t hold anything back, but once trouble brewed, he would still stand by Charcoal¡¯s side.


    "Take a look, do you see what he threw into my treasure basin?" Yao Ruoxian threw the undergarment in his hand onto Miao Yi¡¯s face. "If you don¡¯t deal with him today, I will help you do it!"


    Miao Yi tore off the item on his face and was at a loss for words after he taking a nce at it. Lifting his head to look, he caught sight of Charcoal once again chucking a couple of them down.


    Miao Yi smoothly caught them to look over, they were still women¡¯s clothes. He couldn¡¯t help but ask Yao Ruoxian, "Where did he even women¡¯s clothes from?"


    "You¡¯re asking me? Who should I ask in return? Hm..." Furious beyond measure, Yao Ruoxian was also taken aback. He calmed his nerves and also asked in puzzlement. "That¡¯s right! There are no households in the area. Where did a beast like him get women¡¯s clothes from?"


    The two of them exchanged speechless looks with one another, before leaping out of the pit soon after to investigate.


    On seeing Miao Yi appear, Charcoal instantly rolled around on the ground, using his frisky behaviour to win him over.


    Both of them watched without interest as he fooled around. Miao Yi picked up a couple of the women¡¯s garments with grass bits from the ground and shook them to take a look. He then turned to ask Charcoal, "Damn fatty. Where did you get these from?"


    Charcoal didn¡¯t know how to speak. He only rolled around and jumped to his feet. His nose sniffed at the storage ring on Miao Yi¡¯s hand, snorting a few times, wanting to eat what was inside!


    Yao Ruoxian peered about the area and said, "People generally won¡¯t wander too deeply into this deste area. Make the fat bastard lead us to check out the situation. I can¡¯t have a random person running out to disturb me while I¡¯m refining artifacts."


    After that, he uncovered the storage bracelet on his wrist and kept the things inside the pit away.


    Miao Yi casually threw away the clothes in his hands, before mounting Charcoal. "Where did the clothese from? Bring us out to see. I¡¯ll give you food after we return."


    Charcoal immediately broke into a mad gallop as it dashed forth. Yao Ruoxian was standing on Charcoal¡¯s back, sping his hands behind his back as he surveyed his surroundings...

 Chapter 154: Chapter 154 - Its a Small World (1)

    Chapter 154: Chapter 154 - It¡¯s a Small World (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Carrying two persons on his back, Charcoal headed straight into a mountainous region dozens of li away. He eventually stopped by the side of ake.


    This ce had such a prepossessed beauty to it; theke was hidden within the mountain range, its waters clear and jade-like. One could sometimes see ripples appear when the fishes kissed the surface of theke. It was indeed a breathtaking view.


    "Damn fatso, where did you get these clothes from?" Miao Yi asked, as he looked around cautiously.


    Charcoal responded with a snort and stomped on the grass as he twisted around, indicating that this was the ce.


    "Senior, there doesn¡¯t seem to be anyone here," Miao Yi said, as he looked towards Yao Ruoxian. However, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s gaze was already fixated elsewhere. Naturally, he followed his gaze and turned to look.


    The only thing that he could see was by the not-so-distantkeside, a giant tree that had been split at the trunk, with its canopy already fallen into the water.


    Before Miao Yi could notice if there was anything amiss, Yao Ruoxian had already flown towards it. Waving thatrge sleeve of his, he blew away part of therge tree floating on the water¡¯s surface and shouted, "Who is the one sneaking around here?!"


    Immediately, Miao Yi charged over on Charcoal to understand what was happening.


    "AHHH....."


    In the space under where the tree had been, came a sudden start of panicked screams.


    Within the rippling crystalline waters, numerous slender, fair-skinned figures were anxiously rushing about.


    Six young women were frantically clenching their thighs together and covering their breasts. They searched for a ce to hide, but to no avail.


    This scene was definitely enough to get one¡¯s blood pumping with excitement.


    Miao Yi and Yao Ruoxian were both astonished. They looked at each other before ncing towards Charcoal, better understanding where the clothes taken by Charcoal hade from now.


    Both of them reached the same conclusion in their minds: the six women had been taking a bath here, when Charcoal took advantage of the situation and grabbed all of their clothes back with him to appease Miao Yi. As a result, the six of them could only hide within the water, afraid toe ashore.


    To the six women, the truth was exactly as the men had surmised. Even though the dragon steed that had suddenly run out was fat beyond belief, it most probably had an owner, as most dragon steed do. Thus, unsure if there was someone hiding nearby and peeping on them, they had been frightened into concealing themselves in the water.


    However, Charcoal hadn¡¯tpletely robbed them of all their clothes, a mouth was not as convenient as a hand after all. As such, Charcoal had left a few pieces of their clothes behind, which they now used in a desperate attempt to cover themselves from shame. Some of them could only make do with what they had, putting on just enough clothing before running off, looking to find something to help theirrades cover up.


    While they were in this predicament, the six women chanced upon a bright idea - six pairs of legs hastily stirred up the mud sitting in the water depths, afterwhich the six women hid their figures within the muddy water.


    An illusory, budding white lotus shone on the forehead of their leader. She covered her breasts with both hands as she red at the two unwee guests, and angrily shouted, "Shameless ruffians! What are you nning to do?"


    Miao Yi felt a little embarrassed and turned his head away; it wouldn¡¯t be nice to stare.


    On the other hand, Yao Ruoxian was eyeing Charcoal and giving a devious smile. His expression was just like a sly fox that had stolen someone¡¯s chickens.


    Having an already wretched appearance in the first ce, now he looked even more reprehensible when he smirked. The women¡¯s hearts palpitated even more at the sight of this.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Miao Yi said, urging his steed to turn around, preparing to leave.


    At that moment, the sound of a dragon steed¡¯s whinny could be heard from the mountain forest, followed by a high-pitched shout, "YOU ANIMALS!"


    Miao Yi turned his head around and opened his transcendence vision to get a clearer picture of the situation.


    Charging towards them with a furious face was a Daoist nun, garbed in the robes of her profession. She rode forth on her dragon steed with her long spear in hand, as a three-petaled white lotus shone on her forehead.


    "Kid, there¡¯s trouble now. It¡¯s all because of your precious steed¡¯s good deeds. This is none of my business. Go take care of it yourself."


    Yao Ruoxian chuckled, acting as though he was there to watch a good show.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. It was indeed difficult to exin himself in this situation. Standing next to several nude girls, it was not hard to be misunderstood.


    After all, he was indeed at fault. He didn¡¯t want to trifle with the other party, and just wanted to make them back down.


    With a flip of his palm, clouds of silver mist burst forth from his storage ring and enveloped his body.


    In the blink of an eye, Miao Yi was d from head to toe in an awe-inspiring set of armor, sitting on his dragon steed in total majesty. Then, as his right hand seemingly grabbed at air, the Inversed-Scales Spear appeared in his hands.


    The six women in the water all sucked in a breath of cold air. They had never seen such a magnificent set of armor before.


    One of them even red at Miao Yi with a vengeance, biting her lips hard as she red daggers at him.


    This woman was quite beautiful; her figure under the water surface could be said to be well rounded and within the elegant features of her face,y an air of boldness. Especially those big round eyes of her, they were particrly spirited.


    Judging from her facial features alone, women with eyes like these were typically headstrong and stubborn.


    Ever since Miao Yi showed up, her gaze had never left his face.


    This woman¡¯s expression became even moreplicated at the sight of Miao Yi¡¯s resplendent armor. Her gaze then descended onto Miao Yi¡¯s arms; that set of armor aside, she could already tell that Miao Yi had an impressive background just from the three storage rings he wore on his hands. At the very least, not a single one of the women there had a storage ring.


    Since it was his fault, Miao Yi didn¡¯t want trouble. Hence, he unted his full set of transcendent artifacts, so that the Daoist nun charging at him would know to back off.


    Unexpectedly, the Daoist nun seemed to be consumed with rage. She continued to charge forward and struck out with her spear, as she shouted, "You shameless ruffian. DIE!"


    Miao Yi looked at his opponent¡¯s charge indifferently. He slowly shut his eyes, no longer even looking at her anymore.


    From the side, Yao Ruoxian was shocked. He felt that Miao Yi was being quite reckless. Even though he was wearing a full set of transcendent artifacts, his opponent¡¯s cultivation was equal to his own. It would be hard to say that there wouldn¡¯t be any mishaps.


    As the spearhead of the Daoist nun charged towards him in fury, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes remained shut. With his eyes closed, he flicked his arm and struck with his spear; the Inversed-Scales Spear glowed with a white luminescence, and the sounds of dragons roaring resounded as the spear descended on his opponent¡¯s head.


    Faced with a dragon¡¯s roaring from three different directions, the Daoist nun was momentarily stunned. If she weren¡¯t directly facing the attack, she likely would have found it near impossible to ascertain the angle from which the spear wasing from.


    s, the speed and precision of Miao Yi¡¯s spear was not something she couldpete with. Even while his eyes were closed, the results would still be the same; someone personally coached by Lao Bai was definitely not to be taken lightly.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯ The tip of her spear was struck upwards in a single stroke, the explosive impact almost knocking her spear away.


    As the two of them charged by one another, Miao Yi - with his eyes still closed - struck decisively with no wasted movement.


    Twisting his spear at an angle, the rear hooks on his spear tip locked itself onto the opponent¡¯s spearhead. When he raised his arms, the long spear in the Daoist nun¡¯s hands was instantly sent flying away to lodge itself in the ground a few dozen meters away.


    It all happened in a sh; Miao Yi hadn¡¯t even opened his eyes, yet he managed to disarm the opponent in a single stroke.


    What did this signify? It meant that if Miao Yi had wanted to take the Daoist nun¡¯s life just now, he would have already struck her down with his spear!


    Yao Ruoxian was slightly surprised as he stared at Miao Yi. He realized that even though Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation was not high, he had extraordinarybat skill; his blending of body, technique and spear was almost seamless. It was absolutely wonderful spearcraft; especially the air of confidence andposure he exuded when he calmly closed his eyes and decisively struck forth. That strike was indeed marvelous.


    The six young women in the water were all shocked; they couldn¡¯t believe that their eldest Senior Sister was not even able to withstand a single spear strike from the other party.


    The Daoist nun that charged past him came to a stop. Her head was clear now; she knew that were it not for the opponent holding back, her own life would surely have be forfeit by now. Even though she survived, she was afraid just thinking about what could have happened.


    Miao Yi slowly opened his eyes. He turned Charcoal around and met the Daoist nun¡¯s gaze, and said, "I ask that you stop trying to fight me. You are not my match!"

 Chapter 155: Its a Small World (2)

    Chapter 155: It¡¯s a Small World (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    He wasn¡¯t boasting since he was already considered to be a man who had gone through great perils, and had been deeply ingrained with the fundamentals of Lao Bai using various methods to train him hard back then. Now, as long as he had a spear in hand, it would be extremely difficult for him to find his match among cultivators of the same cultivation base as him. Under normal circumstances, nobody would be able to escape his triple-spear strike.


    Moreover, he currently had the Inversed-Scales Spear in hand. Apart from the force enhancement from the transcendent artifact, he was able to dissipate twenty percent of force from the enemy¡¯s attack. As well, when attacking others, there was the explosive enhancement. And on top of that, he still had a body of transcendent artifacts as his defense. Thus, there was absolutely no chance a mere White Lotus Third Grade cultivator could be his match.


    "Peeping on women bathing and stealing women¡¯s clothes..."


    Before the Daoist nun could finish, Miao Yi hurriedly stopped her, "This is all aplete misunderstanding. My mount is to me for the trouble and I absolutely did not have any intention of offending. Whether you believe it or not, is up to you. I am here to apologize and I hope everyone can be the bigger person."


    He cupped his fists at everyone around him, before turning Charcoal around to quickly gallop away far into the distance, as he didn¡¯t wish to bother them any longer. Swiftly, they disappeared without a trace into the mountain forest, ignoring Yao Ruoxian who simply looked on passively.


    Stunned, Yao Ruoxian shot a nce at the women in the water and coughed dryly, feeling a little awkward himself.


    A phantom shot out from within his storage ring, directly encasing Yao Ruoxian as it departed, cutting through the air.


    The Daoist nun sucked in a breath of cold air as she cried out in surprise, "Red Lotus expert!"


    Only now did she realize that she really had been too reckless just now. Even the master of their own school was only at the First Grade Red Lotus realm.


    The girl in the water withrge, rounded eyes pursed her lips as she stared at the direction Miao Yi had gone off to; her gaze was filled with bitter resentment.


    Even if Miao Yi had turned to ash, she would still recognize him.


    However, Miao Yi did not know this woman at all, but that didn¡¯t mean that he hadn¡¯t seen her before.


    If he could have had even the slightest recollection, he would have remembered once waving his hand to deflect an embroidered ball thrown his way, whilst going about incognito in the city he governed, East Arrival City.


    The owner of the embroidered ball was precisely this woman with a well-off family, the daughter of the richest man in East Arrival City.


    She had viewed the situation back then as a great shame and humiliation. But she also knew that she was helpless against him. Hence, she proceeded to think of ways to seek immortality, so that one day, she could find him again to set things right.


    From the Celestial Nation to the Boundless Nation, she had travelled through countless mountains and streams to finally join a school of immortals. During that period of time, she had sacrificed a great deal and needed to hone a considerable amount of perseverance and willpower, all for the sake of cleansing the humiliation she had once suffered.


    Who would have expected that she would once again meet the person who had rejected her back then, causing her heart to tighten ferociously.


    From just the storage rings alone, there were six on him plus a whole body of artifacts. He even had an expert of the Red Lotus realm apanying him. He had grown more extraordinary since thest time she had seen him. To her, he was a man who was aloof and remote, incredibly out of reach. As for her, she had just only broke through to the cultivation realm, and didn¡¯t even have a cultivation grade yet.


    Only now did this woman realize that the disparity between her and Miao Yi was too vast. Her own Eldest Senior Sister was unable to block one attack from him. Even her own school¡¯s master only had a cultivation at First Grade Red Lotus; his partner¡¯s cultivation base alone had attained the Red Lotus realm. How was she going to rid herself of this shame?


    But to Miao Yi, the woman who had thrown the embroidered ball was just a passing traveller in his journey, so he did not hold her in his heart at all...


    Catching up to Miao Yi, Yao Ruoxian flew alongside Miao Yi with himself enclosed in the shroud. From time to time, he would look at Charcoal and snigger, "The fat bastard is truly a fat bastard. Quite interesting... hehe...."


    "Senior Yao, are you taking joy in our misery?"


    "No. I just think that if the leader sets a bad example, then the subordinates will follow. There is no other meaning to it. It looks like it¡¯s not wise to stay here any longer. We don¡¯t know which sect those girls are from. Let us not attract trouble from their sect¡¯s people. We need to change ces and hide further away so that we won¡¯t be disturbed."


    After he finished, another bar mace appeared out of the storage ring and exploded into a ball, encasing both Miao Yi and Charcoal together as they swept through the air and left...


    Celestial Nation, Fifth Earthly Branch domain, Suppressing Second Hall under Traversing Moon Pce ¡ª Hall Master Huo Lingxiao had a cultivation at White Lotus Fifth Grade. He was now summoning key individuals to the grand hall to discuss official matters.


    The three great Advisors, the six great Deacons and the ten Manor Heads were all present, together with the Manor Head of South Edict Manor, Yang Qing, ranked among them. However, hisplexion didn¡¯t look good.


    The three great Advisors - Feng Zhihuan, Han Liuping and He Yunye - had cultivations at Red Lotus First Grade. Thus, their rankings in Suppressing Second Hall were preceded only by the Hall Master Huo Lingxiao.


    Yet currently, Feng Zhihuan and He Yunye were the ones arguing head to head with each other in the presence of the Hall Master Huo Lingxiao. The topic of the dispute was none other than He Yunye going so far as to ther persistently about Yang Qing taking over South Edict Manor.


    He Yunye¡¯s reasoning was that Yang Qing was unsuited to govern South Edict Manor simply because until now, Yang Qing was still unable to subdue the School of Blue Jade, driving the men of South Edict Manor into a precarious position.


    He Yunye proposed to the Hall Master to dispatch a person who had more strength to govern South Edict Manor.


    Yang Qing had already turned to Feng Zhihuan. From the yields of Orbs of Will South Edict Manor obtained annually, he would always take out a portion to offer to Feng Zhihuan.


    Now that he met with this kind of circumstance, it wasn¡¯t good for Yang Qing to wrangle directly with He Yunye. Having benefited, Feng Zhihuan would naturally step forth for Yang Qing¡¯s sake, arguing strongly for what was right inside the grand hall by countering that Yang Qing had only just governed South Edict Manor for a few short years and would need time to settle these issues.


    He had to fight for it. If he couldn¡¯t keep Yang Qing, and should He Yunye¡¯s man rece Yang Qing to govern South Edict Manor, then every year South Edict Manor¡¯s offerings to him would definitely go to He Yunye instead, and would have nothing to do with him, Feng Zhihuan. So naturally, he had to safeguard Yang Qing.


    But what raised rms in Feng Zhihuan¡¯s heart was that the former Manor Head of South Edict Manor, Lu Yu, belonged to Han Liuping. ording to reason, Han Liuping should be the person objecting to Yang Qing. Yet there Han Liuping was, keeping quiet as he stood on the sidelines. Why was He Yunye poking his nose into this?


    "Stop arguing." Seated at the foremost position with his gaze slightly lowered, Huo Lingxiao gradually swept his eyes around beneath him. His gaze soon fell on Yang Qing. "Yang Qing!"


    "Here!" Yang Qing quickly stepped forth with cupped fists, waiting for his order.


    Deep down, he was slightly nervous. He didn¡¯t understand why this spectacle was suddenly unfolding and moreover, he didn¡¯t know what the Hall Master was thinking. If the Hall Master really wanted to take away his position as the Manor Head of South Edict Manor, then he couldn¡¯t be angry about it.


    Huo Lingxiao was not like the former Lu Yu, who Yang Qing could kill as he pleased. He, Yang Qing, had yet to obtain such skill, so he could only lower his head to heed the order.


    At the very least, what would happen even if he killed Huo Lingxiao? Wanting to be the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall? That was an impossible feat as the other nine Manor Heads¡¯s cultivation levels were higher than his. No one would yield to him and would immediately join forces to destroy him. What¡¯s more, he did not have anywork in the Traversing Moon Pce, so the Pce Lord of Traversing Moon Pce would never appoint him to be the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall.


    Even though he had be a Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall, the influence under him was still insufficient without sufficient troops. Attending to South Edict Manor was already unbearable enough, with him having to rely on men from the School of Blue Jade to help; let alone attending to such arge domain like Suppressing Second Hall. No matter how high Yang Qing¡¯s cultivation level was, he did not have the ability to take on every little matter in the territory on his own; he would still require the help of others to govern.


    But his thinking was that even though South Edict Manor was seized under his rebellion, it was only with the help of Feng Zihuan obtaining thewful edict of appointment from the Hall Master, after he had captured the territory. In all likelihood, the Hall Master would not go back on his word and publicly p himself in the face.


    "You are to thoroughly manage South Edict Manor! Should there be any mistakes in the transfer of the Orbs of Will, I will hold you for punishment!" Huo Lingxiao said with natural dignity and power.


    As he said that, Yang Qing heaved a heavy sigh of relief deep down. He respectfully replied, "I will definitely not disappoint Hall Master¡¯s expectations!"


    The moment Huo Lingxiao opened his mouth, the entire matter was put to rest. Ultimately, no one dared to raise any further objections.


    After the assembly, the group walked out of the Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s grand hall. Feng Zhihuan exchanged nces wordlessly with He Yunye and scoffed coldly as they did not get along; they went their separate ways.


    Yang Qing naturally followed behind Feng Zhihuan as he departed.


    There was something amiss in today¡¯s matter. He had to find out from Feng Zhihuan what was going on. There would always some degree of matters that those of the lower echelons would be oblivious to.

 Chapter 156: Yang Qing in Trouble

    Chapter 156: Yang Qing in Trouble


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Feng Zhihuan stood with hands sped behind him as he stood under the green pine tree. His gaze trailing after Yang Qing, as he departed unhurriedly towards the base of the mountain.


    A handmaiden from behind gently walked forward a step and softly asked, "Master, Yang Qing swearing allegiance to He Yunye will tarnish your reputation as well."


    She meant to warn her master that he was one of yours. If he couldn¡¯t even save one of his own, others would definitely be bitterly disappointed once word got out.


    The two of them had stayed with each other for so many years, so how could Feng Zhihuan not understand what she was implying? He simply shook his head in reply, "I don¡¯t want him to swear allegiance to others either. Do you think I am willing to let others have a taste of the fatty meat in my hand? I can¡¯t save him! It¡¯s precisely because I can¡¯t save him that I took it into my own hands to let him go to He Yunye. I need him to quickly swear allegiance to He Yunye before trouble brews! Should Yang Qing do as he is told, words will get out that he was the first to turn against me. After this, should I not save him, then others would not say a word against me!"


    Realization suddenly dawned on the handmaiden. No wonder her master had taken the initiative to urge Yang Qing to quickly swear allegiance to He Yunye. It was only before trouble brewed, that letting Yang Qing join He Yunye¡¯s side would allow her master to feign ignorance. Once trouble did actually arise - Who would actually safeguard a traitor?


    If Yang Qing did not swear his allegiance to He Yunye, then the moment something happened and her master didn¡¯t manage to save Yang Qing, then that would truly be a matter for embarrassment; it would definitely leave others bitterly disappointed in him.


    Urging Yang Qing to swear allegiance to He Yunye of his own ord, was exactly to let Yang Qing shoulder the reputation of a traitor. Only with that could her master circumvent me for being unjustly disloyal. Nobody would speak another word about it.


    Whilst the handmaiden was impressed, she couldn¡¯t help but worryinglyment, "Yang Qing is very shrewd. If he sees through master¡¯s n and decides not to swear allegiance, what will happen then?"


    Feng Zhihuan smiled coldly, "I do not n to help him, so does he have any choice now? He killed one of Han Liuping¡¯s. Han Liuping will never ept him!"


    "Master is wise!" praised the handmaiden.


    On the other hand, the moment Yang Qing left the mountain, his expression immediately turned sour.


    He had only feigned civility earlier. In reality, what he truly felt could only be described with the word ¡®hate¡¯. Yet, he had no choice but to act with perfunctory courtesy.


    Since he began administrating over South Edict Manor until now, he had given the majority of his benefits to Feng Zhihuan to secure his control. He had hoped for Feng Zhihuan to help him endure the pressure from above, yet when push came to shove, Feng Zhihuan received his share of the benefits without even the slightest intention of breaking a sweat to protect him. Feng Zhihuan had only given him a cursory line, asking him to swear allegiance to He Yunye, and was unwilling to bother with the least bit of trouble.


    Yang Qing could only hate himself for being blind back then. If he had known things would turn out this way, why would he ever have chosen to rely on Feng Zhihuan? Directly swearing allegiance to He Yunye would have made his life easier.


    He was originally a subordinate of Lu Yu. In order to protect himself, and with the assurance of Feng Zhihuan from the shadows, he was able to revolt against Lu Yu and serve under Feng Zhihuan instead. Now that Feng Zhihuan was forcing him to change sides and swear allegiance to He Yunye, wouldn¡¯t he be a treacherous, double-crossing servant?


    Did he still want to keep his dignity henceforth? After this incident, how could he bear to face everyone? How could he convince the masses, let alone his subordinates?


    He, Yang Qing, was not a fool. He knew exactly why Feng Zhihuan had gone out of his way and convinced him to swear allegiance to He Yunye. But since he was directly involved now, he had no other choice...


    Far-off in the Boundless Nation, Miao Yi was unaware that his great benefactor had run into trouble.


    People on the lower echelons could only see the vast benefits the upper echelons were reaping. They could only picture Yang Qing sitting on the manor¡¯s territory, and wielding the awe-inspiring authority of the Manor Head in his grasp - How could they be aware of the hardships the upper echelons faced?


    Miao Yi was quite envious of Yang Qing. He sat atop the seat of the Manor Head and without raising a finger, every year he would still receive arge number of Orbs of Will; unlike himself, having to risk his life to dashing madly about, all because of Orbs of Will.


    But Miao Yi was now ecstatic.


    Yao Ruoxian had spent another month¡¯s time, and the produced barding was already being worn by Charcoal.


    Charcoal felt ufortable, so he kept twisting his body around. He had never been restricted to this extent before, and the fatty hated the idea of being restricted.


    "Damn fatty, don¡¯t move! Let me check you out properly," Miao Yi circled around him, clicking his tongue as he gazed admiringly.


    Charcoal now appeared all the more striking and formidable; his stature tall, sturdy and dominating. His previous chubbiness couldn¡¯t be seen anymore, because it was now already concealed by a set of silvery armor.


    The helm was tough with a long, sharp horn rising from the temple just like a unicorn. From the mouth of the helm to the ps on either sides of its mouth, were two individual rows of razor-sharp spikes, each roughly the size of a thumb. There were more than ten of them; if anyone were to be brushed by his head, even if they didn¡¯t die from it, their flesh would surely be ripped apart.


    His neckpiece was made up of silvery fish-scales each roughly the size of a fist, cascading down inyers. Only where his mane rested on his nape remained uncovered, lending the exposed mane an even great elegance. Moving onto the chest area, it was also ultimately covered in solid armour sporting another razor-sharp spike jutting out from his chest.


    Charcoal¡¯s well-built physique was covered by numerous fist-sized scales, and on either sides of its abdomen, were three long, razor-sharp spikes. Whilst riding him, they could be used as defence and also as a ce to rest his feet.


    His hindquarters were also enclosed within sturdy armor, leaving his tail exposed to swish about outside.


    Just over the base of his tail was another long, razor-sharp spike, nted towards the back. On either sides of his rear, were a set of three finger-length pointed spikes, forming a triangle.


    Solid armored pieces with moveable joints covered his four limbs entirely, and firmly. A sharp spike could be found jutting out from the side of his thigh pieces; around the joints of his four limbs were four finger-length spikes, while the top of his four hooves resembled earthenware pots with four sharp spikes lining the edges.


    Charcoal¡¯s entire body was not only sealed tight in armor, the ces where it was easy to be struck were refined with spikes of different sizes to act as protection. Once he went intobat, he would definitely gain the upper-hand.


    Currently, Charcoal no longer resembled a mount, and was instead more akin to a sinister monster donning barbed armor. Just standing, the sight of him alone was already extremely intimidating. He truly had a glorious, and frightful appearance, as though he were a dinosaur from ancient times.


    After circling around him, Miao Yi suddenly spread open his arms and a cloud of silvery mist exploded from inside the storage ring to descend onto his body. With a set of remarkably resplendent beast-armor on his body, and the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand, he swiftly descended onto Charcoal¡¯s back.


    A pair of savage wolven greaves stepped onto the sharp spikes on either sides of Charcoal¡¯s abdomen. Brandishing the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand, several dragon roars immediately resounded.


    He pointed the Inversed-Scales Spear at the reef that snaked up and down the coast. Charcoal let out a long neigh as his four limbs shot out rapidly like gusts of wind.


    The were patterns of winds and surging clouds on the armour covering Charcoal¡¯s entire body. When he increased his speed to a galloped, it immediately looked as though he was chasing the clouds and breaking through the wind, projecting an air of fearsome magnificence!


    They were just about to crash head first with a reef by the coast when suddenly, Miao Yi leaned forward on Charcoal¡¯s back; the armour on Charcoal¡¯s body instantly released a crystalline burst of white light.


    ¡®BOOMMM!¡¯


    As a result of the head on collision with Charcoal, a towering reef five to six metres tall was instantly vaporized. Leaning against Charcoal¡¯s back, Miao Yi hurtled out with his mount through the swirl of crushed stones in the air. Without stopping, they crashed all the way into the field of towering reefs by the seaside.


    Miao Yi hadn¡¯t invoked his arts to perform any supplementary attacks, he only invoked his art tomand the armor on Charcoal¡¯s body. He hid himself on Charcoal¡¯s back and held his spear behind him with one hand, allowing Charcoal to charge a path violently throughout.

 Chapter 157: Charcoals Armor

    Chapter 157: Charcoal¡¯s Armor


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Feng Zhihuan stood with hands sped behind him as he stood under the green pine tree. His gaze trailing after Yang Qing, as he departed unhurriedly towards the base of the mountain.


    A handmaiden from behind gently walked forward a step and softly asked, "Master, Yang Qing swearing allegiance to He Yunye will tarnish your reputation as well."


    She meant to warn her master that he was one of yours. If he couldn¡¯t even save one of his own, others would definitely be bitterly disappointed once word got out.


    The two of them had stayed with each other for so many years, so how could Feng Zhihuan not understand what she was implying? He simply shook his head in reply, "I don¡¯t want him to swear allegiance to others either. Do you think I am willing to let others have a taste of the fatty meat in my hand? I can¡¯t save him! It¡¯s precisely because I can¡¯t save him that I took it into my own hands to let him go to He Yunye. I need him to quickly swear allegiance to He Yunye before trouble brews! Should Yang Qing do as he is told, words will get out that he was the first to turn against me. After this, should I not save him, then others would not say a word against me!"


    Realization suddenly dawned on the handmaiden. No wonder her master had taken the initiative to urge Yang Qing to quickly swear allegiance to He Yunye. It was only before trouble brewed, that letting Yang Qing join He Yunye¡¯s side would allow her master to feign ignorance. Once trouble did actually arise - Who would actually safeguard a traitor?


    If Yang Qing did not swear his allegiance to He Yunye, then the moment something happened and her master didn¡¯t manage to save Yang Qing, then that would truly be a matter for embarrassment; it would definitely leave others bitterly disappointed in him.


    Urging Yang Qing to swear allegiance to He Yunye of his own ord, was exactly to let Yang Qing shoulder the reputation of a traitor. Only with that could her master circumvent me for being unjustly disloyal. Nobody would speak another word about it.


    Whilst the handmaiden was impressed, she couldn¡¯t help but worryinglyment, "Yang Qing is very shrewd. If he sees through master¡¯s n and decides not to swear allegiance, what will happen then?"


    Feng Zhihuan smiled coldly, "I do not n to help him, so does he have any choice now? He killed one of Han Liuping¡¯s. Han Liuping will never ept him!"


    "Master is wise!" praised the handmaiden.


    On the other hand, the moment Yang Qing left the mountain, his expression immediately turned sour.


    He had only feigned civility earlier. In reality, what he truly felt could only be described with the word ¡®hate¡¯. Yet, he had no choice but to act with perfunctory courtesy.


    Since he began administrating over South Edict Manor until now, he had given the majority of his benefits to Feng Zhihuan to secure his control. He had hoped for Feng Zhihuan to help him endure the pressure from above, yet when push came to shove, Feng Zhihuan received his share of the benefits without even the slightest intention of breaking a sweat to protect him. Feng Zhihuan had only given him a cursory line, asking him to swear allegiance to He Yunye, and was unwilling to bother with the least bit of trouble.


    Yang Qing could only hate himself for being blind back then. If he had known things would turn out this way, why would he ever have chosen to rely on Feng Zhihuan? Directly swearing allegiance to He Yunye would have made his life easier.


    He was originally a subordinate of Lu Yu. In order to protect himself, and with the assurance of Feng Zhihuan from the shadows, he was able to revolt against Lu Yu and serve under Feng Zhihuan instead. Now that Feng Zhihuan was forcing him to change sides and swear allegiance to He Yunye, wouldn¡¯t he be a treacherous, double-crossing servant?


    Did he still want to keep his dignity henceforth? After this incident, how could he bear to face everyone? How could he convince the masses, let alone his subordinates?


    He, Yang Qing, was not a fool. He knew exactly why Feng Zhihuan had gone out of his way and convinced him to swear allegiance to He Yunye. But since he was directly involved now, he had no other choice...


    Far-off in the Boundless Nation, Miao Yi was unaware that his great benefactor had run into trouble.


    People on the lower echelons could only see the vast benefits the upper echelons were reaping. They could only picture Yang Qing sitting on the manor¡¯s territory, and wielding the awe-inspiring authority of the Manor Head in his grasp - How could they be aware of the hardships the upper echelons faced?


    Miao Yi was quite envious of Yang Qing. He sat atop the seat of the Manor Head and without raising a finger, every year he would still receive arge number of Orbs of Will; unlike himself, having to risk his life to dashing madly about, all because of Orbs of Will.


    But Miao Yi was now ecstatic.


    Yao Ruoxian had spent another month¡¯s time, and the produced barding was already being worn by Charcoal.


    Charcoal felt ufortable, so he kept twisting his body around. He had never been restricted to this extent before, and the fatty hated the idea of being restricted.


    "Damn fatty, don¡¯t move! Let me check you out properly," Miao Yi circled around him, clicking his tongue as he gazed admiringly.


    Charcoal now appeared all the more striking and formidable; his stature tall, sturdy and dominating. His previous chubbiness couldn¡¯t be seen anymore, because it was now already concealed by a set of silvery armor.


    The helm was tough with a long, sharp horn rising from the temple just like a unicorn. From the mouth of the helm to the ps on either sides of its mouth, were two individual rows of razor-sharp spikes, each roughly the size of a thumb. There were more than ten of them; if anyone were to be brushed by his head, even if they didn¡¯t die from it, their flesh would surely be ripped apart.


    His neckpiece was made up of silvery fish-scales each roughly the size of a fist, cascading down inyers. Only where his mane rested on his nape remained uncovered, lending the exposed mane an even great elegance. Moving onto the chest area, it was also ultimately covered in solid armour sporting another razor-sharp spike jutting out from his chest.


    Charcoal¡¯s well-built physique was covered by numerous fist-sized scales, and on either sides of its abdomen, were three long, razor-sharp spikes. Whilst riding him, they could be used as defence and also as a ce to rest his feet.


    His hindquarters were also enclosed within sturdy armor, leaving his tail exposed to swish about outside.


    Just over the base of his tail was another long, razor-sharp spike, nted towards the back. On either sides of his rear, were a set of three finger-length pointed spikes, forming a triangle.


    Solid armored pieces with moveable joints covered his four limbs entirely, and firmly. A sharp spike could be found jutting out from the side of his thigh pieces; around the joints of his four limbs were four finger-length spikes, while the top of his four hooves resembled earthenware pots with four sharp spikes lining the edges.


    Charcoal¡¯s entire body was not only sealed tight in armor, the ces where it was easy to be struck were refined with spikes of different sizes to act as protection. Once he went intobat, he would definitely gain the upper-hand.


    Currently, Charcoal no longer resembled a mount, and was instead more akin to a sinister monster donning barbed armor. Just standing, the sight of him alone was already extremely intimidating. He truly had a glorious, and frightful appearance, as though he were a dinosaur from ancient times.


    After circling around him, Miao Yi suddenly spread open his arms and a cloud of silvery mist exploded from inside the storage ring to descend onto his body. With a set of remarkably resplendent beast-armor on his body, and the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand, he swiftly descended onto Charcoal¡¯s back.


    A pair of savage wolven greaves stepped onto the sharp spikes on either sides of Charcoal¡¯s abdomen. Brandishing the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand, several dragon roars immediately resounded.


    He pointed the Inversed-Scales Spear at the reef that snaked up and down the coast. Charcoal let out a long neigh as his four limbs shot out rapidly like gusts of wind.


    The were patterns of winds and surging clouds on the armour covering Charcoal¡¯s entire body. When he increased his speed to a galloped, it immediately looked as though he was chasing the clouds and breaking through the wind, projecting an air of fearsome magnificence!


    They were just about to crash head first with a reef by the coast when suddenly, Miao Yi leaned forward on Charcoal¡¯s back; the armour on Charcoal¡¯s body instantly released a crystalline burst of white light.


    ¡®BOOMMM!¡¯


    As a result of the head on collision with Charcoal, a towering reef five to six metres tall was instantly vaporized. Leaning against Charcoal¡¯s back, Miao Yi hurtled out with his mount through the swirl of crushed stones in the air. Without stopping, they crashed all the way into the field of towering reefs by the seaside.


    Miao Yi hadn¡¯t invoked his arts to perform any supplementary attacks, he only invoked his art tomand the armor on Charcoal¡¯s body. He hid himself on Charcoal¡¯s back and held his spear behind him with one hand, allowing Charcoal to charge a path violently throughout.

 Chapter 158: Hard to Fulfill the Promise (1)

    Chapter 158: Hard to Fulfill the Promise (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Once again, the sun rose and the mirror held in Yao Ruoxian¡¯s grip let out a cracking sound; it had been crushed into shards.


    Miao Yi pretended he neither heard nor saw it. He rubbed his chin as though he was thinking aloud to himself, "That¡¯s not right! It really workedst time! Why isn¡¯t it working this time around? Could it be that it has to be done in Changfeng City?"


    Trying to be calm on the surface, it would be a lie to say he wasn¡¯t terrified deep down. If it were him, he wouldn¡¯t be willing to take things lying down after being fooled twice in a row.


    Yao Ruoxian really felt like ughtering him, but atst, his desire towards the small mantids still granted him some measure of self-control. He spoke with hatred, "Where is Changfeng City?"


    Miao Yi looked close to tears as he replied, "It¡¯s in the realm of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch, right within the domain of South Edict Manor. Last time, I summoned the Hell Mantis out from that ce."


    "I¡¯ll give you onest chance!"


    Yao Ruoxian roared, his fists tightly clenched. Two bar maces shed out from the storage ring, engulfing Miao Yi before it shed through the air and departed. Even the fat bastard was not left behind, otherwise Miao Yi would not have yielded...


    Their location wasn¡¯t considered far from the Celestial Nation¡¯s Changfeng City. At the very least, it was much closer whenpared with the Sea of Constetions.


    By the time the zing sun shone overhead in the sky, the two of them, including one steed, dropped to the city walls of the Ancient City.


    Directly in front of the city walls was the vast blood mist that spread across the sky and earth, yet Miao Yi lowered his head to gaze at the old willow tree beneath him. Deep down, he felt considerably rueful that dozens of years had already passed in the blink of an eye. The old willow tree was as lush and green as before. Unfortunately, things might have remained the same, yet people had changed. He didn¡¯t know whether he would be able to muddle through this ordeal and meet his siblings again.


    A night with a full moon wasn¡¯t an astronomical event that one could witness everyday. It only urred once a month and once you missed it, you would have to wait for the next month toe along.


    But for cultivators, a month¡¯s worth of time passes by real quickly so it wasn¡¯t terribly hard to bear.


    However, it was unknown whether Miao Yi was out of luck or whether Yao Ruoxian was the unfortunate one. With great difficulty, they waited for the next full moon and were instead greeted with rainy weather apanied by thunder and lightning.


    Standing on top of the city walls, Yao Ruoxian was at a loss for words. Between his brows glowed the silhouette of a two-petaled red lotus flower. By invoking his arts, the mere beatings of the wind and rain were incapable of affecting him.


    Yet his cultivation level had not yet reached the point where with a casual gesture of his hands, he was able to disperse the rain and clouds at his whim.


    For several days, the rain poured incessantly. Should they miss their chance this month, evidently they would have to wait for the next.


    When Miao Yi was in a leisurely mood, he wouldn¡¯t forget to stroll a few rounds within the deste and uninhabited Ancient City. asionally, he would pace about the ces his siblings had gone from, and his mood would appear downcast. He had borne so many responsibilities on his own¡ªto be unable to fulfill them left him feeling slightly exhausted.


    During the times he roamed around, Yao Ruoxian did not follow him. So it wasn¡¯t as though the thought of escaping had never crossed his mind. It was just that he simply did not feel the need to escape.


    If he were to run off and then be captured, Yao Ruoxian would definitely think he¡¯d been lying and wouldn¡¯t hesitate to ughter him without a second thought.


    Standing before the shabby residence, he stared at the nearly rotten door of the courtyard. Miao Yi¡¯s line of thought returned back to the past.


    Yao Ruoxian had unknowingly snuck behind him. He scoffed coldly, "These few days you have been frequentlying to these two residences and zoned out in front of them. You don¡¯t appear very spirited. Are you scared that I will ughter you?"


    Miao Yi suddenly turned around, thinking of how dangerous a situation he was in. Fortunately he had not fled, since sure enough, this old man had been eyeing his every move in the dark.


    "I¡¯ve done nothing shameful, so why should I feel afraid?" Miao Yi rolled his eyes.


    Yao Ruoxian pursed his lips at the residence and said, "A bastard like yourself dared to venture into the Sea of Constetions. You¡¯re fearless! I once thought you were just crazy. I seriously didn¡¯t think that you had this depressing side to you. Why? Are you familiar with this residence?"


    Miao Yi shook his head. He mounted Charcoal and turned around, before trotting off.


    Yao Ruoxian turned on his heels to watch the receding figure and sensed his loneliness. His gaze flickered¡ªit was a feeling he could empathize with...


    The next night of the full moon soon arrived. That night, Yao Ruoxian once again carried the mirror and shone the moonlight into the treacherous blood mist.


    This time around, he had refined arge mirror that was one meter in diameter. This moonlight should be enough?


    But when daylight arrived, he once again smashed the mirror into pieces on the ground. He stepped on it and was awfully curt with his words, "Brat, how do you want to die?!"


    "I don¡¯t want to die. I still have onest method. Let¡¯s go together to find the person who taught me how to retrieve the eggs. He should know where the problem lies and he can certainly find a way to help us find a solution. If it turns out to be pointless, you can waste no time in killing me since I can¡¯t escape anyway."


    Miao Yi was being blunt with his words. As matters stood, he had nothing to fear since he would be killed either way.


    Now he was gambling on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s willingness to try since he couldn¡¯t get the eggs. As long as there was still a chance, he would keep him alive. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have dawdled with him until now. Everyone had endured this suffering so far, so they shouldn¡¯t give up halfway.


    After the two of them stared unswervingly at each other for a while, Miao Yi purposely tried to make his expression look innocent.


    Yao Ruoxian gradually tightened his fists, and said with gritted teeth, "I originally wanted to deal the blow quickly, so you¡¯d better think carefully before spouting nonsense again. If it doesn¡¯t work again, you won¡¯t even get to die painlessly! I will slowly torture you to death!"


    The other party¡¯s tone had softened, and Miao Yi let out a sigh of relief. He¡¯d apparently made the right call.


    Soon, two rays of red light once again enclosed the men and steed, before swiftly departing to break through the sky. Yao Ruoxian had given Miao Yi another chance once again.


    As to where Miao Yi was taking Yao Ruoxian to, it was only natural that he¡¯d bring him to find Lao Bai on the ind he had cultivated on for years.


    He couldn¡¯t figure out what exactly had gone wrong, and could only find answers with Lao Bai. Why couldn¡¯t he draw out the Hell Mantis even after following Lao Bai¡¯s method?


    As he soared through the air across the vast and boundless sea, Yao Ruoxian spected over a certain matter. The person who¡¯d taught this brat the method for acquiring the Hell Mantis eggs was most likely not an ordinary person. He shouldn¡¯t fall for the brat¡¯s trap and be tricked into entering the tiger¡¯s den. Thus, he asked on the spot, "This person who taught you how to obtain the dark eggs¡ªwhat cultivation base does he have?"


    This needed to be rified to avoidnding himself in an inescapable situation if he ended up meeting an expert by chance.


    "He¡¯s a mortal and does not cultivate... Ouch! What was that for?!" Miao Yi rubbed his head.


    Yao Ruoxian, who¡¯d given him a hard knock on his head,ughed coldly as he said, "You¡¯re this close to death and you still dare to trick me? How could a mortal know how to get the Hell Mantis¡¯s eggs?"


    "This mortal is special. I guarantee that you have never seen such a carefree mortal before! He used to be a servant for a Great Immortal, so his knowledge is quite vast..."


    Miao Yi exined in detail, yet Yao Ruoxian was hesitant to lower his guard. He reached out and clutched Miao Yi with a single tight grip, exercising control over Miao Yi¡¯s lifeline; he was prepared to use this brat as a hostage if by chance he were to meet with misfortune.


    Traversing through the air over the boundless blue sea, both of them eventually arrived at the ind which Miao Yi had cultivated on for a decade.


    Upon returning to this familiar ce, Miao Yi surveyed his surroundings and sighed repeatedly. As if they were taking a walk in a park, he brought Yao Ruoxian to the cave which he¡¯d stayed in previously.


    But dust filled the cave¡¯s interior, with cobwebs hanging everywhere. Even a couple of beasts were scurrying around.


    The entrance of the cave was overgrown with trees and grass. Just one nce made it clear that this ce had been vacant for countless years, otherwise the trees at the entrance would not have grown so tall.


    "Where is he?" Yao Ruoxian smiled coldly.


    Miao Yi ran outside, invoking his arts as he yelled, "Lao Bai, I¡¯m back! Lao Bai, I¡¯m back..."


    s, no one answered. The ind seemed to only contain dustden memories, unsure of which part of the world the peerless figure was at now.


    The two of them searched the entire ind and not a sight of a living person could be seen.


    "Where is he?" A chilling smile once again formed on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s face.

 Chapter 159: Hard to Fulfill the Promise (2)

    Chapter 159: Hard to Fulfill the Promise (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Once again, the sun rose and the mirror held in Yao Ruoxian¡¯s grip let out a cracking sound; it had been crushed into shards.


    Miao Yi pretended he neither heard nor saw it. He rubbed his chin as though he was thinking aloud to himself, "That¡¯s not right! It really workedst time! Why isn¡¯t it working this time around? Could it be that it has to be done in Changfeng City?"


    Trying to be calm on the surface, it would be a lie to say he wasn¡¯t terrified deep down. If it were him, he wouldn¡¯t be willing to take things lying down after being fooled twice in a row.


    Yao Ruoxian really felt like ughtering him, but atst, his desire towards the small mantids still granted him some measure of self-control. He spoke with hatred, "Where is Changfeng City?"


    Miao Yi looked close to tears as he replied, "It¡¯s in the realm of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch, right within the domain of South Edict Manor. Last time, I summoned the Hell Mantis out from that ce."


    "I¡¯ll give you onest chance!"


    Yao Ruoxian roared, his fists tightly clenched. Two bar maces shed out from the storage ring, engulfing Miao Yi before it shed through the air and departed. Even the fat bastard was not left behind, otherwise Miao Yi would not have yielded...


    Their location wasn¡¯t considered far from the Celestial Nation¡¯s Changfeng City. At the very least, it was much closer whenpared with the Sea of Constetions.


    By the time the zing sun shone overhead in the sky, the two of them, including one steed, dropped to the city walls of the Ancient City.


    Directly in front of the city walls was the vast blood mist that spread across the sky and earth, yet Miao Yi lowered his head to gaze at the old willow tree beneath him. Deep down, he felt considerably rueful that dozens of years had already passed in the blink of an eye. The old willow tree was as lush and green as before. Unfortunately, things might have remained the same, yet people had changed. He didn¡¯t know whether he would be able to muddle through this ordeal and meet his siblings again.


    A night with a full moon wasn¡¯t an astronomical event that one could witness everyday. It only urred once a month and once you missed it, you would have to wait for the next month toe along.


    But for cultivators, a month¡¯s worth of time passes by real quickly so it wasn¡¯t terribly hard to bear.


    However, it was unknown whether Miao Yi was out of luck or whether Yao Ruoxian was the unfortunate one. With great difficulty, they waited for the next full moon and were instead greeted with rainy weather apanied by thunder and lightning.


    Standing on top of the city walls, Yao Ruoxian was at a loss for words. Between his brows glowed the silhouette of a two-petaled red lotus flower. By invoking his arts, the mere beatings of the wind and rain were incapable of affecting him.


    Yet his cultivation level had not yet reached the point where with a casual gesture of his hands, he was able to disperse the rain and clouds at his whim.


    For several days, the rain poured incessantly. Should they miss their chance this month, evidently they would have to wait for the next.


    When Miao Yi was in a leisurely mood, he wouldn¡¯t forget to stroll a few rounds within the deste and uninhabited Ancient City. asionally, he would pace about the ces his siblings had gone from, and his mood would appear downcast. He had borne so many responsibilities on his own¡ªto be unable to fulfill them left him feeling slightly exhausted.


    During the times he roamed around, Yao Ruoxian did not follow him. So it wasn¡¯t as though the thought of escaping had never crossed his mind. It was just that he simply did not feel the need to escape.


    If he were to run off and then be captured, Yao Ruoxian would definitely think he¡¯d been lying and wouldn¡¯t hesitate to ughter him without a second thought.


    Standing before the shabby residence, he stared at the nearly rotten door of the courtyard. Miao Yi¡¯s line of thought returned back to the past.


    Yao Ruoxian had unknowingly snuck behind him. He scoffed coldly, "These few days you have been frequentlying to these two residences and zoned out in front of them. You don¡¯t appear very spirited. Are you scared that I will ughter you?"


    Miao Yi suddenly turned around, thinking of how dangerous a situation he was in. Fortunately he had not fled, since sure enough, this old man had been eyeing his every move in the dark.


    "I¡¯ve done nothing shameful, so why should I feel afraid?" Miao Yi rolled his eyes.


    Yao Ruoxian pursed his lips at the residence and said, "A bastard like yourself dared to venture into the Sea of Constetions. You¡¯re fearless! I once thought you were just crazy. I seriously didn¡¯t think that you had this depressing side to you. Why? Are you familiar with this residence?"


    Miao Yi shook his head. He mounted Charcoal and turned around, before trotting off.


    Yao Ruoxian turned on his heels to watch the receding figure and sensed his loneliness. His gaze flickered¡ªit was a feeling he could empathize with...


    The next night of the full moon soon arrived. That night, Yao Ruoxian once again carried the mirror and shone the moonlight into the treacherous blood mist.


    This time around, he had refined arge mirror that was one meter in diameter. This moonlight should be enough?


    But when daylight arrived, he once again smashed the mirror into pieces on the ground. He stepped on it and was awfully curt with his words, "Brat, how do you want to die?!"


    "I don¡¯t want to die. I still have onest method. Let¡¯s go together to find the person who taught me how to retrieve the eggs. He should know where the problem lies and he can certainly find a way to help us find a solution. If it turns out to be pointless, you can waste no time in killing me since I can¡¯t escape anyway."


    Miao Yi was being blunt with his words. As matters stood, he had nothing to fear since he would be killed either way.


    Now he was gambling on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s willingness to try since he couldn¡¯t get the eggs. As long as there was still a chance, he would keep him alive. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have dawdled with him until now. Everyone had endured this suffering so far, so they shouldn¡¯t give up halfway.


    After the two of them stared unswervingly at each other for a while, Miao Yi purposely tried to make his expression look innocent.


    Yao Ruoxian gradually tightened his fists, and said with gritted teeth, "I originally wanted to deal the blow quickly, so you¡¯d better think carefully before spouting nonsense again. If it doesn¡¯t work again, you won¡¯t even get to die painlessly! I will slowly torture you to death!"


    The other party¡¯s tone had softened, and Miao Yi let out a sigh of relief. He¡¯d apparently made the right call.


    Soon, two rays of red light once again enclosed the men and steed, before swiftly departing to break through the sky. Yao Ruoxian had given Miao Yi another chance once again.


    As to where Miao Yi was taking Yao Ruoxian to, it was only natural that he¡¯d bring him to find Lao Bai on the ind he had cultivated on for years.


    He couldn¡¯t figure out what exactly had gone wrong, and could only find answers with Lao Bai. Why couldn¡¯t he draw out the Hell Mantis even after following Lao Bai¡¯s method?


    As he soared through the air across the vast and boundless sea, Yao Ruoxian spected over a certain matter. The person who¡¯d taught this brat the method for acquiring the Hell Mantis eggs was most likely not an ordinary person. He shouldn¡¯t fall for the brat¡¯s trap and be tricked into entering the tiger¡¯s den. Thus, he asked on the spot, "This person who taught you how to obtain the dark eggs¡ªwhat cultivation base does he have?"


    This needed to be rified to avoidnding himself in an inescapable situation if he ended up meeting an expert by chance.


    "He¡¯s a mortal and does not cultivate... Ouch! What was that for?!" Miao Yi rubbed his head.


    Yao Ruoxian, who¡¯d given him a hard knock on his head,ughed coldly as he said, "You¡¯re this close to death and you still dare to trick me? How could a mortal know how to get the Hell Mantis¡¯s eggs?"


    "This mortal is special. I guarantee that you have never seen such a carefree mortal before! He used to be a servant for a Great Immortal, so his knowledge is quite vast..."


    Miao Yi exined in detail, yet Yao Ruoxian was hesitant to lower his guard. He reached out and clutched Miao Yi with a single tight grip, exercising control over Miao Yi¡¯s lifeline; he was prepared to use this brat as a hostage if by chance he were to meet with misfortune.


    Traversing through the air over the boundless blue sea, both of them eventually arrived at the ind which Miao Yi had cultivated on for a decade.


    Upon returning to this familiar ce, Miao Yi surveyed his surroundings and sighed repeatedly. As if they were taking a walk in a park, he brought Yao Ruoxian to the cave which he¡¯d stayed in previously.


    But dust filled the cave¡¯s interior, with cobwebs hanging everywhere. Even a couple of beasts were scurrying around.


    The entrance of the cave was overgrown with trees and grass. Just one nce made it clear that this ce had been vacant for countless years, otherwise the trees at the entrance would not have grown so tall.


    "Where is he?" Yao Ruoxian smiled coldly.


    Miao Yi ran outside, invoking his arts as he yelled, "Lao Bai, I¡¯m back! Lao Bai, I¡¯m back..."


    s, no one answered. The ind seemed to only contain dustden memories, unsure of which part of the world the peerless figure was at now.


    The two of them searched the entire ind and not a sight of a living person could be seen.


    "Where is he?" A chilling smile once again formed on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s face.

 Chapter 160: Encroaching Dark Forces (1)

    Chapter 160: Encroaching Dark Forces (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly and said, "That person lives more freely than even the Immortals, and would always traverse the four seas. He might be out on a journey."


    "There are a many demons, devils, ghosts and monsters in the world. Would you believe that a mere mortal could leave the secr world far behind and stay on an ind? The foliage in front of the cave have grown for at least over a decade. You¡¯re trying to tell me that man has gone on a trip for ten years without returning? Lies! You just keep telling lies!"


    Yao Ruoxian emitted a chillingugh as a bar mace dropped into his hand, looking as though he was prepared to kill Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi hurriedly pushed out his hand to stop him. "Senior, don¡¯t be in such a hurry! You want the small mantids, not my life. Listen, and let me finish first before doing anything. It¡¯s not toote by then!"


    With a flip of his palm, eighty-five small mantids flew out from the storage ring.


    The moment he caught sight of the little ones, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s eyes began to gleam.


    "How about I give them to you?" Miao Yi said shamelessly.


    He really didn¡¯t have a choice. Having ventured into the Sea of Constetion, fought with so many demons, and managing to make it through, only to fall into this bastard¡¯s grasp really made him feel incredibly depressed.


    "I can¡¯t even control them. What need do I have for them?" Yao Ruoxian was furious. Miao Yi was deliberately taking out such tantalizing meat that was just out of his reach, and making him crave for it.


    "In truth, it¡¯s not that there ispletely no way for you to control them. It¡¯s just that it needs time. You and they need to spend a long time together in each other¡¯spany in order to gradually establish the telepathy between the both of you. Junior only fears that you can¡¯t wait that long!"


    For the sake of surviving, Miao Yi could only spout nonsense in order to repeatedly stall. Whatever possessed him toe here without ensuring that he would be able find a trace of Lao Bai?


    "Really?" Yao Ruoxian was stunned that it was seriously possible for a bond to grow over time for them to gradually be familiar with each other. He then suspiciously asked, "Brat, you are not beingpletely honest and just trying to deliberately stall for time, are you? How much time is needed to establish a telepathic connection with them?"


    Miao Yi tried to say, "It probably needs ten years. During this period, Junior will do his best to act as a mediator and help you bond with them."


    He waspletely in self-preservation mode for his life before anything else. Now atst, he finally managed to understand the feeling of Pi Junzi when he was seeking survival at that time.


    "Ten years?" Yao Ruoxian pondered for a moment. To a person who had lived for more than a thousand years, waiting a mere ten years was nothing. "Okay. I just happen to need a person to do menial chores by my side. You¡¯ll just stay at my side to do these things carefully, and don¡¯t you dare y any sorts of trick or else. Come with me! "


    "Ah!" Surprised, Miao Yi eximed, "Go with you?"


    Yao Ruoxian red, "If you don¡¯te with me, will these little ones be able to listen to me? What, are you trying to find an opportunity to escape? Brat, I advise you toe with me for your own good. At least I can still supply you with enough Orbs of Will to make your cultivation break through to the Blue Lotus realm. I¡¯m letting you snap up this bargain for free!"


    Miao Yiughed bitterly. "I would like to go with you. If it were a few years earlier, I would have no issues in leaving with you. I would probably have jumped at the chance, except we¡¯ve met ratherte. Even if I wanted to leave with you, I fear that you wouldn¡¯t dare to bring me along. Unless Senior kills me now without anyone knowing, or I follow you without revealing myself in public for this entire lifetime, only death will eventually await me. I might even damn Senior to suffer with me."


    Yao Ruoxian frowned, "What do you mean?"


    Miao Yi coughed dryly. "Senior, Junior won¡¯t even try to conceal this from you now. Niu Youde is not Junior¡¯s real name. My name is Miao Yi, I¡¯m the from the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch domain, the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave under the rule of South Edict Manor. I secretly brought along my subordinates to venture into the Sea of Constetions, resulting in my entire team being decimated. Soon, the time for the harvest of Orbs of Will will be less than a month away. If I don¡¯t return to report back in time, once this year passes, I will immediately be ced on the Celestial Nation¡¯s Bounty Board. Anyone can well imagine what the consequences will be. Is Senior very sure that you still dare to bring me with you?"


    The hierarchy under the Six Sages wasn¡¯t a restaurant that people coulde and go as they pleased. The food that one had eaten in a restaurant have to be paid for; how could they allow you toe and go as you wish? If the rules were really broken, and everyone wished toe and go freely, then wouldn¡¯t the rules established by the Six Sages became nothing than child¡¯s y? How would they control the world then?


    What¡¯s more, as the Cave Master, Miao Yi had caused his troops to bepletely decimated. He couldn¡¯t think of a way to exin himself and still think to run away like it had nothing to do with him? His wanted ranking would definitely be increased by a grade!


    And finally, a person who secretly escaped was a criminal. Those who knew but didn¡¯t report, or chose to shelter such criminals, would all be sentenced under the same crime as an aplice. Anyone who was caught would only be faced with death!


    No matter how powerful Yao Ruoxian was, he wouldn¡¯t dare to confront the Six Sages. However, he instead looked incredulous as he said, "You rascal, who are you kidding? Since when can a cultivation at White Lotus Third Grade be a Cave Master?"


    This was easy to prove; Miao Yi simply took out the appointment jade archive from his storage ring and gave it to Yao Ruoxian to examine.


    After looking through the appointment jade archive, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s expression twitched. "Is there no one else left in the Celestial Nation? They went as far as to let a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator like you be a Cave Master?"


    Miao Yi spread his arms out in exasperation as he exined, "Senior, Junior can never leave with you. Of course, you can also forcefully dragged me along and remain hidden for ten years without allowing me to show myself in public. Once you and the small mantids have established a telepathic connection, you can then kill me and nobody would know. Now, you can also kill Junior and nobody will find out you¡¯re the culprit. But without Junior¡¯s help, you definitely will not be able to exert control over them."


    The meaning to his words were obvious. As long as Miao Yi went with him, then only death awaited him. He would die either way, so did Yao Ruoxian really think that he would still go with him?


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s expression turned sour. He pointed at the flitting little ones beside them. "You have fooled me for a several months and now you want to settle it this way?"


    "That¡¯s not what I meant. It would be better if Seniores with me! Follow me back to East Arrival Cave and join under me, I can help you fix your loose cultivator status ¡ª It¡¯s true! I have a good rtion with our Manor Head. As long as I report it, adding your name into the registry and giving you an official status shouldn¡¯t prove much of a problem."


    "Oh.. Are you pulling my leg? Letting me be your subordinate?!"


    It could be said that Yao Ruoxian was extremely astonished. He realized that this bastard really dared to think that a mere White Lotus Third Grade cultivator could actually keep a Red Lotus Second Grade cultivator like him as his subordinate. He really didn¡¯t fear to biting off more than he could chew...


    At Ever Peace Manor, inside the Manor Head¡¯s silent cultivation quarters ¡ª a map was spread open on the stone chair. Manor Head Zhang Decheng and the Deacon from Suppressing Second Hall, Wan Shunchang were sitting cross-legged with the map between them.


    Thoroughly inspecting the map of the Suppressing Second Hall realm, Zhang Decheng rubbed the short beard at his chin, faintly shaking his head as he said, "Yang Qing is also a force to be reckoned with. Once we begin to assemble our forces on arger scale, Yang Qing will most definitely be on his guard. If we were to march straight in, I¡¯m afraid that our men will not be able to break through to South Edict Manor, and Yang Qing would have already organized his own forces to put up resistance. Meeting force with force will only cause us to suffer severe damage and losses on our side. It should be noted that Yang Qing still has the support of the School of Blue Jade behind him."


    He certainly did not want to risk his life for the sake of others, without anything to show for it.


    Wan Shunchang stared at the map for a while before nodding his head, saying, "That is indeed the case. Although the School of Blue Jade is not on good terms with Yang Qing, in order to protect their mutual interests, they would definitely join their forces to strike. It will be very difficult for us to gain the upperhand if we were to meet brute force with force. We have to seize the chance to attack him and catch him unawares, so he will barely have time to assemble together the troops of his South Edict and the School of Blue Jade. Then, we will definitely seed in one strike!"


    He pointed his finger at Mount Calming Sea, and jabbed at the position of Mount Calming Sea on the map heavily a few times.


    "Mount Calming Sea?" Zhang Decheng¡¯s words carried some suspicion as he said, "I assume that Brother Wan has already schemed this for a long time, and you have a card up your sleeve. Please exin."


    Wan Shunchang replied, "The Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, Qin Weiwei is Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter. ording to what I know, Yang Qing and this adopted daughter¡¯s rtionship is unusual, almost as if they are biological father and daughter. We can start with Qin Weiwei first. If Qin Weiwei were to have an ident, Yang Qing would definitelye forth to save her. If he can¡¯t save his own adopted daughter, his subordinates will be bitterly disappointed. Should other matters arise in the future, who would be willing to risk their lives for him? After that, should we make a move on him in the future, it will be much easier then. Yang Qing cannot afford to pay this price."


    Zhang Decheng shook his head slightly. "I¡¯m afraid that just won¡¯t do. The residence of Mount Calming Sea is not far from South Edict Manor. At least, it is much closer than ours. If anything were to happen, our forces wouldn¡¯t be able to reach it before Yang Qing arrives ahead of us."


    "So we have to lure Qin Weiwei from her den, and keep her far away from Mount Calming Sea¡¯s residence."


    "How do you intend to lure her out from her den?"


    Wan Shunchang moved his finger and brazenly jabbed at East Arrival Cave. "This ce is close to the sea, and located furthest away from the inner realm of Mount Calming Sea. We can lure Qin Weiwei to this ce, where Emerald Forest Cave of Mount Heavenly Grace ¡ª under Brother Zhang¡¯smand ¡ª connects with East Arrival Cave of Mount Calming Sea. Then, Brother Zhang can send a deployment in secret. On the surface, you will hold the rest of your troops in ce at Mount Heavenly Grace to avoid alerting Yang Qing prematurely. You only require several units from both Mount Heavenly Grace and Emerald Forest Cave to raid East Arrival Cave... Now that the end of the year is fast approaching, the time for gathering Orbs of Will is not far behind. After East Arrival Cave has been ambushed, as long as Qin Weiwei receives the news, she will definitely lead her people toe save them. Then, we would have sessfully lured her out."


    Zhang Decheng dubiously nodded and asked, "What do we do after luring her out?"


    A nasty grin emerged on Wan Shunchang¡¯s face as he exined, "After Qin Weiwei arrives, immediately order Emerald Forest Cave to retreat, baiting Qin Weiwei to pursue them; once again dragging the distance between Qin Weiwei and her potential approaching reinforcements further apart. The units of Mount Heavenly Grace can set up an ambush to wait for Qin Weiwei¡¯s arrival. To prevent mishaps, we can still order the troops of another mountain to support the units of Mount Heavenly Grace. Trap Qin Weiwei and besiege her to annihte the reinforcements. Upon receiving the news, Yang Qing will definitely throw aside everything to save her. In that time, Yang Qing will not be able to assemble all his troops in such a short period. Right after Yang Qing makes his move, Brother Zhang must immediately march out. Using Qin Weiwei as bait to lure Yang Qing out, how can we not win if we attack his few with our numbers! "


    Zhang Decheng inwardly praised him and couldn¡¯t help but raise his head to cast a nce at him. Being able to think of such a method, he surmised that for the sake of eating a delectable meat like South Edict Manor, Brother Wan had expended quite a considerable amount of time, thought, and effort into this.


    However, Zhang Decheng was not a saint; he wouldn¡¯t do anything to aggrieve others without benefit to himself.


    His expression was grave for a moment as he dubiously said, "Brother Wan¡¯s scheme is thorough, but Brother Wan shouldn¡¯t forget one point. Yang Qing has third grade transcendent artifacts that he borrowed from the School of Blue Jade. This is what Yang Qing relied on to control South Edict. I admit even that I won¡¯t be able to withstand him!"


    Wan Shunchangughed, "Brother Zhang can be wholly at ease. How could I let Brother Zhang fight a war we can¡¯t win? I won¡¯t be able to gain anything from that. I have already ask around discreetly. Those third grade transcendent artifacts have already been returned to the Sect Master of the School of Blue Jade. He just hasn¡¯t announced it publicly."


    Zhang Decheng let out an ¡®Oh!¡¯ and was immediately at ease. Yet, he remained silent without saying anything.


    ¡®All a bunch of bastards who won¡¯t do anything without gain!¡¯ Wan Shunchang cursed in his heart.


    That bastard Zhang was clearly not going to act without some incentive. He knew he had no choice but to reveal the reward. Nobody would do a job without getting anything in return. He Yunye had felt the same when he requested Wan Shunchang toe discuss, so there was no way that he could make He Yunye himself provide the benefits.

 Chapter 161: Encroaching Dark Forces (2)

    Chapter 161: Encroaching Dark Forces (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Wan Shunchangughed, "Should this seed, Yan Qing¡¯s three second grade transcendent artifacts will belong to Brother Zhang. I¡¯m willing to include the same benefits that Brother Zhang has been honoring the Advisor with for another three years."


    On hearing these words, Zhang Decheng immediately lifted his head andughed, "You shouldn¡¯t have..."


    Deep down, Wan Shunchang was ndering his ancestors yet on the surface, he still spoke with politeness, "It does me no good to step in personally, so I will dependpletely on Brother Zhang. This is just a small token of my appreciation, so Brother Zhang, please don¡¯t decline it. Otherwise, I will not be at ease!"


    Zhang Decheng sighed, "Since Advisor He has already told me to, and since Brother Han personally took care of it, I will definitely do my very best!"


    Wan Shunchang cupped his fists in thanks. "Brother Zhang, there¡¯s no time to lose!"


    Zhang Decheng leapt off the stone chair, walked out of his silent quarters and informed his handmaidens, "Pass on my order. Command all the Mountain Chieftains to immediatelye and see me!"


    With the Manor Head¡¯s order, all of the Mountain Chieftains of Ever Peace Manor came from afar. They enclosed themselves within the grand hall, conspiring for a long period of time.


    After they were dismissed, the respective Mountain Chieftains rushed back hurriedly to their own territories. Not one stayed behind at Ever Peace Manor.


    On the way back, a herd of dragon steeds galloped swiftly with a rumble.


    When Duan Jirui, the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Heavenly Grace, first arrived, he¡¯d initially brought along just two attendants. When he left, however, his party had increased to more than twenty attendants. They were men who¡¯d escaped from Yang Qing¡¯s de after the fall of the former Manor Head of South Edict Manor, Lu Yu, and had sought asylum at Ever Peace Manor.


    The previous Transient Light Cave Master, Yuan Zhengkun, as well as his subordinates Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao were also amongst them. Shockingly, even the former East Arrival Cave¡¯s Chen Fei, rode with them.


    These people had not livedfortably at Ever Peace Manor all these years. The elders of Ever Peace Manor would never give a lucrative post to new men who came to seek asylum. They didn¡¯t care about their cultivation level and were all told to stand at the sidelines, receiving the lowest wage and performing the lowest level of chores.


    Those who were not willing could leave at any time¡ªthey wouldn¡¯t force them to stay.


    However, nobody was willing to leave to be loose cultivators, as their individual cultivation bases didn¡¯t have any special abilities that could support such a lifestyle. They were afraid that it would be extremely difficult to obtain even one Orb of Will.


    It must be borne in mind that it was easy to leave, but to enter the circle again would be a very difficult feat to achieve as they would all be waiting painstakingly for seats to be avable again.


    For the sake of preventing argemotion in maneuvering troops from other areas, Manor Head Zhang Decheng allocated all of the men seeking asylum to the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Heavenly Grace, Duan Jirui.


    Since the first battle would need to start from Duan Jirui¡¯s area, this was considered a way to strengthen his troops in order to avoid any mishaps.


    The end of the year was almost here, the weather gradually turning cold. A group of people rode without rest amidst the chilling wind as they hurriedly traveled back to Mount Heavenly Grace, worn out and weary.


    Upon returning to their own territory, Duan Jirui instantly ordered all the respective Cave Masters toe forth to discuss matters of importance.


    After the respective Cave Masters arrived in quick session, they also went straight for the grand hall, except for the twenty plus men that Duan Jirui brought along from Ever Peace Manor. They were all left stationed outside.


    In the courtyard, more than twenty people huddled together. Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao were with Yuan Zhengkun as usual.


    "Cave Master, they suddenly gathered us here. Do you think there¡¯s something going on?" Li Xin asked, secretly transmitting his voice.


    Behind everyone¡¯s back, the both of them still addressed Yuan Zhengkun as Cave Master.


    This was because the both of them knew quite well that Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s cultivation base was much higher than theirs. If by chance there were any open seats avable to be filled, Yuan Zhengkun would definitely have a higher chance than them. When falling into dire straits, there was nothing to lose by maintaining good rtions since in the future, they might have to rely on Yuan Zhengkun.


    Yuan Zhengkun shook his head. "I don¡¯t know what matter this could be. Sigh! People have to bow their heads under the eaves, so just resign yourself to fate!"


    He really missed the days when he was the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave.


    Nowadays, he could only get one low-grade Orb of Will per year and didn¡¯t even have a handmaiden assigned to him. This lifestyle now was too hard to bear. Luckily, he still had two former subordinates following him.


    Actually, none of the twenty plus people present knew what was going on, but they knew that something was definitely going to happen.


    After waiting for half a day, the courtyard gate suddenly flung open, prompting everyone to simultaneously turn their heads to look.


    A tall, grim man stood at the entrance with two attendants following behind him. No one knew who he was.


    The man swept a chilling gaze across the crowd and uttered expressionlessly, "I am the Cave Master of Emerald Forest Cave, and the Mountain Chieftain has assigned all of you to me. Follow me!"


    Without caring for whether they agreed or not, he had already quickly turned around and left.


    Everybody exchanged speechless looks with each other. To their surprise, a Cave Master had epted all twenty plus of them, which amounted to having enough troops for two caves. What did one cave need so many people for?


    Everybody did not dare to object, and just like that, followed after him without rhyme or reason.


    East Arrival City was bustling as usual. A river flowed through the two banks, and the people, both young and old, only cared about their livelihood and were oblivious to the uphill struggle that cultivators faced.


    The Cave Master of East Arrival Cave was someone too aloof and remote from these ordinary folks. Regardless of whether he was in East Arrival Cave or not, his presence didn¡¯t seem to have any affect on them. Even if he were to stand before them, they wouldn¡¯t know who he was.


    A man wearing a bamboo hat crossed the streets and alleys beforeing to a halt at the backyard of a residence. He lifted his head to look around the vicinity and quickly snuck into the residence when no one was around.


    A chilly wind rustled in the air as the hundred blossoms withered in the courtyard. A small boy was currently prodding an ant¡¯s nest under therge tree.


    The widowed Ji Xiufang came to the courtyard, peering about. Upon finding her son, she moved with quick steps and dragged him away. She was about to lecture him, when suddenly a man wearing a bamboo hat dropped from the tree top onto the ground.


    Jumping with fright, Ji Xiufang was on the verge of screaming, but the bamboo hat man had already rushed to say in a low voice, "Xiufang, it¡¯s me."


    The bamboo hat man raised his head, instantly stunning the terrified and gape-mouthed Ji Xiufang. She immediately cried out in joy, "Uncle, why are you here?"


    The man was not just anyone. He was none other than Jiu Xiufang¡¯s uncle, Chen Fei. Back then, he had lost the battle and then fled from this ce.


    As to why he¡¯de here again, due to his former position at East Arrival Cave, he was familiar with its state of affairs. After being summoned for a private discussion with the Emerald Forest Cave Master, Meng Yide, he was thus sent toe here and fish for information in order to prepare for the ensuing attack.


    Chen Fei now knew, ahead of Yuan Zhengkun and the others, as to why everyone had been temporarily dispatched to serve under the Emerald Forest Cave Master.


    Ever Peace Manor had already sharpened their sword, and East Arrival Cave would be the first ce to be cut through by their de.


    Chen Fei had waited for this day for a very long time. Should they win this battle, the whole of South Edict Manor would definitely have arge amount of empty seats. His difficult life was finallying to an end.


    However, nothing ever goes as nned and it was normal to expect casualties. Should they lose in this battle, Chen Fei was worried that Ji Xiufang would once again suffer. Previously, he had abandoned Ji Xiufang and made his escape because it was toote and he didn¡¯t have any other choice.


    Last time, he¡¯d been fortunate to have Miao Yi protecting her. This time around, he was making aeback by attacking East Arrival Cave. Under such circumstances, he was afraid that Miao Yi would no longer have the ability to safeguard Ji Xiufang.


    Ji Xiufang was the only close rtive he had left in the secr world. Since he was given the chance toe early, he was going to to take advantage of it and make advance arrangements.


    Chen Fei made a gesture, signaling his niece to lower her voice and casually caressed the confused child who lifted his head to look. He then made his niece put him aside to y.


    He sized up the pampered Ji Xiufang from head to toe with a nce. There were no traces of hardships and trouble on her. Chen Fei felt slightly at ease to see that his niece had been living a good life.


    Ji Xiufang watched him gaze at her until she felt embarrassed. She then reached out and extended an invitation, "Uncle, pleasee into the house and sit."


    Chen Fei waved his hand and peered about his surroundings before softly replying, "No need to trouble you. I will leave after I¡¯m done speaking. Xiufang, listen to me carefully. After I leave, you must immediately pack your things and depart from the west city gates. I¡¯ve arranged a person to meet you outside the city."


    "Leave?" Ji Xiufang was shocked as she asked, "Uncle, why do we have to leave?"


    "Xiufang, don¡¯t ask why. Just do exactly as I say. I will never bring you harm."


    Ji Xiufang was too stumped for words. After living through the ordeals fromst time, and upon seeing her uncle behaving suspiciously now, she felt inevitably nervous deep down and could already vaguely guess that something horrible was about to happen. Thus, she nodded, asking cautiously, "Uncle, Sir Miao looked after us with great care. Since we¡¯re leaving, shouldn¡¯t I go bid farewell to him?"


    Chen Fei was more or less taken aback. "You¡¯re talking about Brother Miao, Miao Yi? He¡¯s at East Arrival City now?"


    Ji Xiufang nodded her head in reply. "He¡¯s currently the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. Didn¡¯t Uncle know?"


    Actually, at first she hadn¡¯t known as Miao Yi hadn¡¯t revealed his identity to her. But during each festival, Xu Xinliang, the City Lord of East Arrival City, would personally pay her a visit. And it was exactly from Xu Xinliang¡¯s mouth that she knew Sir Miao was actually the master of the entire realm of East Arrival City.


    "Brother Miao is the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave?" It could be said that Chen Fei was in utter shock! He hadn¡¯t expected Miao Yi to progress at such a great speed.


    He was somewhat dubious when he thought of Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation base. Could it be that his cultivation base¡¯s growth rate was far greater than what he¡¯d imagined?


    Next, it was shocking to have this knowledge about Miao Yi, and how troublesome this was going to be.


    Seeing her uncle furrowing his brows, Ji Xiufang asked, "Uncle, is there something wrong?"


    Chen Fei recovered his wits, "Xiufang, you don¡¯t need to care about the rest. Just follow exactly what I tell you to do. I will inform Brother Miao myself."


    Ji Xiufang acquiesced with a nod, not daring to be disobedient. Towards this uncle who was an Immortal, she still held a feeling of reverence deep down...


    After leaving the city, Chen Fei hid outside the city and witnessed a couple of horse carriages carrying his niece¡¯s family away. After that, he immediately turned to summon a dragon steed which had been hiding in the mountain. Mounting the steed, he threw his bamboo hat away before speeding off.


    After learning about Miao Yi being the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, he made no attempt at concealment, and instead went to openly pay a visit to East Arrival Cave.


    "Who goes there?! Halt and answer!"


    Yan Xiu dashed out from the dark to block the mountain gates, carrying his twin broad axes.


    Bringing his mount to a halt, Chen Fei casted a nce at the newly renovated mountain gates and could only feel its extraordinary loftiness. It was more bounteous than the former mountain gates. He mused that Brother Miao seemed to enjoy exhibiting a show of extravagance.


    "I¡¯m an old friend of Cave Master Miao Yi from East Arrival Cave. I hope that you can help notify him of my presence," Chen Fei replied with cupped fists.


    "Cave Master¡¯s old friend?" Yan Xiu was rather hesitant. ording to what he knew, because the Cave Master was basking too much in the limelight, his rtions with the people in South Edict Manor was poor. Even the Mountain Chieftain did not see eye to eye with the Cave Master, so he didn¡¯t have many friends. It was more likely that he had enemies instead. He didn¡¯t know where this friend hade from, so he couldn¡¯t help but enquire, "Dare I ask what is honored Sir¡¯s name?"


    Chen Fei didn¡¯t reveal his identity. He smiled. "Just inform him that an old friend who exchanged a wooden spear for a silver one hase to pay a visit. Brother Miao will naturally know who I am."


    Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t figure out this riddle, but he was sure that this person may most likely be the Cave Master¡¯s friend, so he cupped his fists in reply on the spot. "Friend, you havee at a bad time. The Cave Master has gone out to attend some matters and has yet to return. Once the Cave Master is back, I will definitely inform the Cave Master of this immediately."


    He did not invite Chen Fei to enter, since Chen Fei did not want to reveal his true identity. And without the Cave Master¡¯s acknowledgement, there was no way he would invite a shady person into his home.


    The most important thing was that he was the only cultivator who had stayed behind at East Arrival Cave. The entire East Arrival Cave was left defenseless, so it wasn¡¯t wise to let a stranger know of its current state.

 Chapter 162: Chapter 162 - On the Brink of Crisis (1)

    Chapter 162: Chapter 162 - On the Brink of Crisis (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    "Not around?" Chen Fei was stunned. He then inquired again, "Do you know when Brother Miao will return?"


    Yan Xiu sure as hell wouldn¡¯t know when Miao Yi woulde back. He had been out for almost a year. He guessed that his dear Cave Master had already gone into eternal rest at the Sea of Constetions forever, and feared that he would no longer return in this lifetime.


    Having nothing better to do but run off to the Sea of Constetions, was the same as courting death. Yan Xiu bore some resentment towards this. He med Miao Yi for acting on his own and for ignoring him.


    "Friend, if it¡¯s convenient for you, you can leave behind your contact details. Once Cave Master returns, I will be sure to inform him."


    Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t possibly tell him that Miao Yi had gone to the Sea of Constetions. He meant for his words was to convey that the other party shouldn¡¯t wait and could head back. The Cave Master wouldn¡¯t be returning anytime soon.


    Chen Fei let out an ¡®Oh!¡¯ and understood. He cast a gaze across the vicinity of East Arrival Cave. Having no intention to stay, he cupped his hands at Yan Xiu. "Farewell!"


    "Take care. Forgive me for not sending you off." Yan Xiu returned the greeting and did not detain him.


    Chen Fei faintly nodded his head, turning his dragon steed around, before swiftly galloping off.


    As he sped along on the way back, he felt greatly at ease deep down. It was good that Miao Yi wasn¡¯t around.


    He owed Miao Yi and did not want to see misfortune fall upon him. He had came here with the intention of tricking Miao Yi into going away so that he avoid this disaster. He would treat this as his returning the favor.


    Nobody would have expected Miao Yi to head out and note back in the meantime. It had saved him the trouble of racking his brain toe up with lies.


    As for the others in East Arrival Cave, he did not have any rtions with them, so he wouldn¡¯t reveal anything.


    Chen Fei had been anticipating the day he would make hiseback for a long time. He would never ruin the chance to rise up once again, and would also never not prioritize himself. Whether others in East Arrival Cave were dead or alive, it had nothing to do with him.


    As they say, one good turn deserves another. This adage still held some truth to it at times. Miao Yi and Chen Fei were considered to be a lucky meeting of good friends...


    "Are there any movements from Ever Peace Manor?"


    Inside the mountain pavilion, Yang Qing had been leaning against the parapet with his hands sped behind his back, gazing into the distance when he suddenly heard Qing Mei¡¯s nearing footsteps, and asked the question without turning his head.


    The chilling wind on the mountaintop appeared to be more intense than at ground level. Qing Mei draped a cloak over his shoulders ¡ª the very same one one that Yang Qing had swindled from Miao Yi before.


    While she set aboutpleting her task with great care, Qing Mei answered, "So far, there is no news of activity. School of Blue Jade has also officiated a response. If anything were to happen, Sect Master Pan will immediately deliver the third grade transcendent artifact to boost the morales of the Mountain Chieftains."


    Yang Qing heaved a mild sigh of relief, and slowly nodded his head; it seemed like the weighty gift he had given to He Yunye was not gifted in vain.


    It could be said that the news was being kept with the utmost secrecy at Ever Peace Manor, but South Edict Manor¡¯s Yang Qing was still a force to be reckoned. Else, the others wouldn¡¯t be afraid to act blindly without thinking.


    Without hesitating, Yang Qing had done as Feng Zhihuan said to do. He had forced himself to prepare a generous gift to He Yunye and sworn allegiance to him. In return, He Yunye had epted the offer smilingly, even saying that he was one of theirs from then on, and would help him put in good words to the Hall Master.


    However, being in an already in dangerous position, Yang Qing didn¡¯t dare be careless. He had managed to get this far today because he had never entirely pinned his own sess or failure in other people¡¯s hands. It was not wrong to be prepared just in case.


    With his purse strings being a bit tight, he had appeased his army without utilizing the respective mountain¡¯s financial resources. Instead, he had forcefully levied a vast sum from the South Edict City that he directly governed. In addition, with the little he had in hand, he had gone straight ahead and bought a flock of spiritual eagles used to send news. He had dispatched them to keep in close contact with the respective mountains under him.


    Furthermore, not only had he ced spies in Ever Peace Manor, above South Edict Manor, Yang Qing had also sent out spies to pay attention to the movements of the Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor which was situated below and didn¡¯t belong to Suppressing Second Hall.


    Zhang Decheng, the Manor Head of Ever Peace Manor had suddenly summoned the respective Mountain Chieftains to assemble before him. When the news reached Yang Qing, it immediately ced him on high alert. He quickly issued out an order for the respective Mountain Chieftains to make preparations for war.


    But the news that soon travelled from Ever Peace Manor after that implied that the forces of Ever Peace Manor hadn¡¯t made anyrge-scale movements. The time to harvest the Orbs of Will at the end of year was fast approaching, so having a number of personnels rush about was entirely normal.


    What¡¯s more, as long as Ever Peace Manor had assembled such a mass of troops, they would not be able to escape his sight! When battling in his ownnd, the advantage he had in the distance and time allowed him to quickly assemble his own troops before the opponent arrived.


    If they dared to invade his territory, he would definitely deal a heavy blow right back at them!


    The tranquility in Ever Peace Manor calmed Yang Qing¡¯s nerves slightly. Maybe he was thinking too much; if He Yunye had epted his gifts and still intended to target him, then his table manners were really horrible.


    However, he did not permit the respective Mountain Chieftains under him to let their guard down...


    Overall, there wasn¡¯t much visible activity going on and not many could actually tell if there were any changes, but very few pieces on the chessboard had began to make slight, difficult to detect movements.


    After assembling the troops of three caves, the men of Emerald Forest Cave had already marched out in the night. To avoid being found out, they hadn¡¯t gone along the usual path, and had instead traversed across the mountain ranges, going straight towards East Arrival Cave.


    But as chance would have it, the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, Qin Weiwei, upon receiving the warning message to prepare for war from South Edict Manor, naturally didn¡¯t dare to lower her guard since she was ced in the most important seat by her adoptive father. The moment she betrayed her adoptive father¡¯s great trust, how could she face him in the future?


    Qin Weiwei wasn¡¯t too worried about all the other locations except for East Arrival Cave, which gave her no choice but to be doubly vignt.


    Because on the whole, East Arrival Cave was empty. Basically, it did not have any capability to defend itself. However, she herself did not have many men to supplement East Arrival Cave. Additionally, Yang Qing had promised to give Miao Yi a chance, so he had still kept East Arrival Cave for Miao Yi. So for a while, it hadn¡¯t been appropriate for her to arrange men to take over the ce.


    Qin Weiwei had to guard against a possible attack. She sent out scouts to lie in wait at the two nearby abodes adjacent to East Arrival Cave; not only in Emerald Forest Cave.


    Therefore, her action proved to be the birth of many unintentional positive oues. After the scouts rified which direction the units of Emerald Forest Cave were sneaking off to, not half a day had passed before a spiritual eagle descended to Mount Calming Sea from the skies.


    Qin Weiwei had been sitting behind a long table when she received the warning sent by the scouts. Dressed in robes white as snow, she mmed the table top and quickly stood up. "Not good! Emerald Forest Cave is going tounch an attack against East Arrival Cave!"


    From her side, Hong Mian cried out in surprise, "Cave Master Miao has brought along almost all the troops with him ¡ª East Arrival Cave is but an empty shell. How could the ce ward off the attack?"


    Qin Weiwei was incensed to the point that she clenched her fists tight, and bellowed in fury, "They must have known that East Arrival Cave is now an empty shell, so they dared to make their move at East Arrival Cave. Look at what that lowly scum Miao Yi has done! You better don¡¯te back from the Sea of Constetions alive. When the timees, even if the Manor Head embraces you, I will never forgive you! I will definitely kill you first before reporting it!"


    Lu Liu frowned. "Mountain Chieftain, now is not the time to be angry at Cave Master Miao. You must quickly report the situation to Manor Head."


    Qin Weiwei breathed in deeply, trying her best to calm her emotions. Swiftly, she invoked her arts to write up a jade archive and, after sealing it with her insignia, quickly handed it over to the two handmaidens.


    They quickly quickly carried out a spiritual eagle from its cage; cing the jade archive into the cylindrical tube at its feet, they carried it to the window, and released it into the sky.


    Emerald Forest Cave were being so presumptuous. Qin Weiwei was afraid that the other party had made preparations to meet contingencies, so now, she must assemble the forces of Mount Calming Sea to prepare to meet any eventuality.


    Next to the long table, Qin Weiwei again immediately wrote up a number of jade archives for deploying an army in quick session. She then sealed each of them with her own insignia which was clearly distinguishable.


    One by one, the spiritual eagles carried the decrees as they rapidly pped their wings, cutting through the sky, and flying towards each of the caves to deliver the news.


    The two girls followed suit to call upon Mount Calming Sea¡¯s own units to assemble with urgency.


    Soon after, Qin Weiwei, d in a garment white as snow, led her own troops to make haste towards East Arrival Cave through the night.


    It would take some time for the respective mountain forces to assemble, but Qin Weiwei had already ordered each cave¡¯s forces to hurry towards East Arrival Cave in the jade archives had she sent out. Everyone should assemble whilst heading there. She had no time left to sit around idly, waiting for everyone to assemble first before marching out...


    At daybreak, about forty men from Emerald Forest Cave were riding their dragon steeds to traversing the mountain ranges. They had already charged into the realm of East Arrival Cave, and were silently hiding in the mountain forest, waiting for the scout¡¯s news to arrive.


    It wasn¡¯t just Yuan Zhengkun and the rest, those men who had sought asylum from the former South Edict Manor were also exchanging nces with each other. Their eyes held an excitement that was difficult to mask.


    The situation had already escted to this stage, they had marched out secretly in the dark to close in on East Arrival Cave. The edge of the de had already been covertly drawn out, and was about to strike into East Arrival Cave¡¯s waist. They would be fools if they still hadn¡¯t guess what Ever Peace Manor¡¯s mysterious actions were for.


    Ever Peace Manor wanted to strike out at South Edict Manor! Obviously, they wanted to start off with East Arrival Cave first!


    Everyone knew, the opportunity for them to make theireback was here so they were brimming with excitement deep down...


    At South Edict Manor, inside the mountain pavillion which the Manor Head loved, Yang Qing was currently sitting cross-legged in meditation to cultivate.


    A spiritual eagle soared through the sky, dropping down underneath the pavilion. A pair of sharp ws clutched onto the railings, before crying out to announce that it had arrived.


    Qing Ju quickly moved forward to retrieve the jade archive from the tube at its leg, and presented it before Yang Qing with both hands.


    Yang Qing did not open his eyes. He epted the jade archive into his hand with his eyes closed. Imbuing his transcendence energy to examine it, his brows had already begun to knit.


    Immediately after, as though he had just realized something, his eyes abruptly opened as he suddenly breathed in a breath of cold air. He promptly leapt to his feet, bellowing in rage, "Qin Weiwei, that foolish girl!"


    "What¡¯s wrong?" Qing Ju asked puzzlingly. On the other hand, Qing Mei simply walked over, revealing a questioning look on her face.


    "Read it yourself!" Yang Qing flung the thing at them both. As though he were an enraged lion, he began pacing about in an aggressive manner in the pavilion.


    After Qing Mei and Qing Ju read through the contents of the jade archive, they were also shocked. "Will young miss be alright?"


    Yang Qing¡¯s tone was grim as he eximed, "That girl is too foolish! Miao Yi had already taken the men of East Arrival Cave with him. It¡¯s now an empty shell so there¡¯s no point in saving it. Instead of rushing back South Edict Manor, to coordinate with me in reserving and assembling our forces, she marched out to East Arrival Cave! She went straight into their trap!"


    Qing Mei tried to help out by putting a word in, "It¡¯s almost time for the Orbs of Will to be harvested. There mustn¡¯t be any losses in harvesting them this time. Young miss must be worried that they would be taken by others so she had gone forth to stop them."


    "Are lives more important, or are the Orbs of Will more important? They purposely chose this moment to strike!" Yang Qing shouted with rage. Abruptly, he stopped in his tracks to turn around, his gaze alight like a zing torch as he said, "Can¡¯t you girls see? Without the approval of Ever Peace Manor, Emerald Forest Cave would have never dared to act on their own to attack East Arrival Cave. They are obviously trying to draw the snake out from its nest, and then besieging her to annihte the reinforcements. Qin Weiwei, that girl is in danger! Damn you, Zhang Decheng! What a way to deceive everybody! You purposely held back your troops to fool me and after, intend to rile me up and upend the overall situation! I have truly underestimated him, for him to havee up with such a brilliant n! This matter can¡¯t be med on anyone else; I am the one who has been negligent and this is the consequence of underestimating Zhang Decheng, my enemy!"

 Chapter 163: On the Brink of Crisis (2)

    Chapter 163: On the Brink of Crisis (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Qing Ju swiftly said, "Manor Head, please don¡¯t be angry. Now, what¡¯s important is to think of a n to save miss! "


    "I¡¯m not angry at her, because I am the one to me. That girl is still too inexperienced; I shouldn¡¯t have rushed things and ced her on that seat. As things are, I¡¯ve put her into harms way instead. I only regret....," Yang Qing stared relentlessly into the distance at the direction of Suppressing Second Hall. Abruptly, he began bellowing in rage, "He Yunye, you old scum! You dare to deceive me?!"


    In just a brief moment, he surmised that this must be the doings of He Yunye plotting behind his back. Even after he had gone forth groveling to swear allegiance, prepared his hard-earned capital to to gift to He Yunye, and borne the shame of a double-crossing treacherous servant ¡ª Who would have expected He Yunye to smilingly ept him on the surface and, without missing a beat, quickly stabbing him in the back?


    Thinking on this point, Yang Qing was so furious that he nearly coughed out blood. In his lifetime, this was his first time being fooled by others so ruthlessly. Unfortunately, he was utterly helpless against them; otherwise, how he wished he could snap their bones into dust!


    "Let the spiritual eagle pass on the message, and summon the young miss back!" suggested Qing Ju anxiously.


    "It¡¯s toote!" Qing Mei shook her head. "Justparing speed alone, the spiritual eagle might not be much faster than a dragon steed. There is only a slight disparity between their speeds caused by the spiritual eagle being able to fly straight through any terrain. However, when young miss sent out the urgent news, she had already left. By the time our news again reaches young miss, I¡¯m afraid that she would have already fallen for their trap."


    Qing Ju became even more panicked. "We can¡¯t just wait here and watch idly as the young miss throws her life away! Since they intend to surround the ce and attack the reinforcementsing to its aid, they won¡¯t be in a hurry to kill young miss. Otherwise, they won¡¯t be able to use young miss as bait. If we rush to her now, we might still be able to save her!"


    Qing Mei pursed her lips and looked in Yang Qing¡¯s direction. In her opinion, the most practical decision was not to save Qin Weiwei at all, but to reserve their strength before seeking vengeance. However, would the Manot Head decide on this course of action?


    Of the two handmaidens, Qing Mei was reserved and rtively calm; Qing Ju on the other hand, appeared quite on edge.


    Yang Qing lifted his head with his eyes closed, his lips pressed tightly closed as a look of helplessness filled his face.


    Even though he had already guessed that the other party must have something up their sleeves, this time around, they had really taken aim at his weak spot.


    If he did not save his own adopted daughter, having already borne the infamy of a treacherous double-crossing servant, he would surely bitterly disappoint his subordinates even more. However, with this perilous situation continuing to escte, the end result would be extremely unpredictable. There was a chance that no one would again fight and risk their lives with him anymore. He was afraid that this might be the reason why they had chosen to make their move on Qin Weiwei.


    What¡¯s more, outsiders wouldn¡¯t know that Qin Weiwei was actually his own biological daughter.


    If he didn¡¯t have these conflicts from within and without, he would have already firmly reorganized South Edict Manor like a metal bucket. Moreover, if it weren¡¯t his own daughter that was the one facing danger, he would have promptly made a decision to sacrifice Qin Weiwei - but now he couldn¡¯t. The morale of his men was extremely crucial, and he already did not have time to take it easy and reorganize.


    It could be said that the opponent¡¯s scheme had hit him where it hurt the most, so he could only be led by the nose.


    "There¡¯s still hope if we try. If we don¡¯t, then all hope ispletely lost. Send my decree..." Yang Qing abruptly opened his eyes, decisively issuing an order mirroring Qin Weiwei¡¯s, ordering all troops to urgently rush forth to East Arrival Cave and join with him along the way.


    Very quickly, the spiritual eagles hurriedly flew in quick session towards the respective mountains of South Edict Manor to send the order, as well as to seek help from the School of Blue Jade.


    After reorganizing his own troops, Yang Qing d himself in silver armor and rode his dragon steed, galloping back and forth on the za outside the South Edict Grand Hall. He brandished the silver spear in his hand, brimming with power and greatness, before turning around and personally leading about a hundred of his cavalry units forth.


    Even Qing Mei and Qing Ju were donned in what appeared to be sleeveless silver battle armors, wielding their spears as they followed closely on the either side of Yang Qing.


    These two handmaidens¡¯ cultivation levels were much higher than ordinary Mountain Chieftains. Having followed Yang Qing for many years and under Yang Qing¡¯s careful guidance, they had cultivations at White Lotus Seventh Grade and were Yang Qing¡¯s absolute trusted aides; they were also sisters in his bed. Now that the time hade for them to do their utmost together, both of them naturally intended to pledge their life to following Yang Qing and serving him faithfully.


    Except for the two gatekeepers who were left behind, the entire South Edict Manor could be said to be empty...


    It was just past noon, the birds were singing songs in the deep, quiet mountains as trees meandered into the horizon.


    Under the shade of a tree, the expressionless Meng Yide was sitting on his dragon steed with his eyes closed, when he suddenly opened them, only to be greeted by the sight of a dragon steed swiftly galloping in his direction.


    Upon reaching the designated ce, Chen Fei dismounted from his dragon steed and reported to Meng Yide with cupped fists, "This subordinate has already scouted out the vicinity of East Arrival Cave. The whole East Arrival Cave is not on alert!"


    Meng Yide nodded in reply, "Good! I will give you three more men. Continue to scout!"


    In order to prepare for any eventualities, he had to act with great care.


    "Yes!" Chen Fei cupped his fists before turning around, mounting his dragon steed and leaving with three others in tow.


    Meng Yide turned around his dragon steed toe face to face with his group. "I¡¯m sure everyone has already well understood why we are here. Yuan Zhengkun!"


    "Here!" Yuan Zhengkun urged his steed forward with cupped fists. On the surface he put up an obedient front but deep down, he was slightly fed up because both of their cultivations were roughly on the same level.


    "I heardst time you lost at the hands of Qin Weiwei?" asked Meng Yide.


    "Truly shameful!" Yuan Zhengkunughed bitterly. "If not for Yang Qing personallying in time, I would have already captured that wretched woman, Qin Weiwei!"


    After seeking shelter at Ever Peace Manor, of course he wouldn¡¯t say that he had made his own subordinate into a scapegoat, and escaped without crossing swords with Qin Weiwei from the very beginning.


    He told his version of the tale, and since he had still lost either way, nobody in Ever Peace Manor had ever thoroughly investigated whether it was true or false. As he, Yuan Zhengkun, was not such an amazing person that others werepelled to find out what had happened.


    Meng Yide nodded his head and said, "I am willing to assign troops to you. If you meet Qin Weiwei again, do you dare to do battle with her?"


    Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s chest tightened. ¡®You only have just a few people. What you meant by ¡®troops assigned to me¡¯ would be at most, the manpower of a cave. Qin Weiwei is now a Mountain Chieftain. I¡¯m not afraid to fight Qin Weiwei alone, I am more afraid of her sheer numbers.¡¯


    Having apanied him for many years, Li Xin knew him all too well and understood what he was worried about even from the sidelines. He immediately transmitted a message to him, "Cave Master, Ever Peace Manor hase prepared. They won¡¯t only have these men and will have more in reserve. They would not move recklessly so there is no need to worry; seize the opportunity to perform meritorious services!"


    ¡®What he said is true!¡¯ Instantly, Yuan Zhengkun was filled with vigor. He cupped his fists at Meng Yide and said, "That Qin Weiwei is quite the beauty. It¡¯s said that she¡¯s still a virgin. If the Cave Master doesn¡¯t mind, I am willing to capture that vile woman for Cave Master, and make her bear the pleasures of being under you!"


    When people heard talk like this, they would definitely be pleased and their morale would be raised. Even Meng Yide¡¯s expressionless face couldn¡¯t help but reveal the trace of a smile.


    It was more so for his subordinates, they were unable to contain theirughter, with quite a few of them chuckling quite wretchedly.


    Meng Yide nodded his head in reply, "I await your good news!"


    "I will definitely not disappoint Cave Master¡¯s expectations!" Yang Zhengkun confidently cupped his fists...


    Within the Ever Peace Manor Grand Hall, Zhang Decheng and Wan Shunchang were currently looking at the map as they discussed official matters in greater detail.


    From outside the hall, a person hurriedly came in and presented a jade archive. Zhang Decheng took it to examine, instantly bursting intoughter. "Brother Wan is truly a mastermind! Yang Qing has fallen for our trap!"


    "Yang Qing found out that quickly?" Wan Shunchang was a little surprised.


    He hadn¡¯t expected Qin Weiwei to discover Emerald Forest Cave¡¯s movements so promptly, and send news to Yang Qing this much in advance. Afterall, nobody could be that thorough.


    But it would not have any effect on the overall situation, they would still act ording to the previous arrangements. Heughed at once, "With Yang Qing¡¯s current actions, our side here won¡¯t be afraid of exposing ourselves. It isn¡¯t good for someone of my status to publicly show my face in this affair. Next, I will grant full authority to Brother Zhang; I wish for you to seed in a single move!"


    Both of them locked arms with each other andughed heartily, looking for all the world as though they were good brothers with no need for formalities between them.


    Afterughing, Zhang Decheng abruptly turned around with a nasty grin on his face as he ordered, "Send my decree. Proceed with the n!"


    Soon after, Zhang Decheng d himself in battle armor and personally led his troops off posthaste.


    Within the realm of Mount Calming Sea, Qin Weiwei also had her helm on, with her upper body d in battle armor. They were all purchased for her by Yang Qing in recent years after he had obtained arger number of resources.


    It should be borne in mind that after reaching the position of Manor Head, once could not only obtain arger amount of Orbs of Will, but the ability to gather resources was greater than ever before. With so many followers at your beck and call, there would be nock of officers or merchants willing to seek connection with Immortals from amongst their followers. Inevitably, there would always be ways in which one could never have imagined obtaining certain items as offerings.


    When Qin Weiwei set off, she only had her own troops at her side. But now, the numbers were increasing as on the way, she had gathered the troops of two caves who were rushing towards East Arrival Cave.


    The respective cave¡¯s troops of the entire Mount Calming Sea were making their move,ing from different areas to urgently make haste in the direction of East Arrival Cave.


    Rapidly charging over without rest, Yang Qing¡¯s side was also in a simr state of affairs; the number of troops at his side were also increasing.


    Along with Yang Qing¡¯s departure, the respective mountain¡¯s troops of South Edict were also making their move and simrly, were also rushing in the direction of East Arrival Cave.


    With Qin Weiwei¡¯s movements on this side, Mount Heavenly Grace was afraid of arousing Qin Wiewei¡¯s suspicion and also made their move. The Mountain Chieftain Duan Jirui¡¯s troops were also growing in numbers, pressing forth towards the appointed ce to aid Meng Yide in preparing for the ambush. Their target was clearly Qin Weiwei.


    Even the respective mountains of the entire Ever Peace Manor had made their move. Zhang Decheng personally led his own troops to speed along the entire journey. The troops by his side were simrly growing in numbers. However, they had already made their preparations in advance, so the speed in assembling their troops together was clearly much faster.


    They had seeded in baiting Qin Weiwei out. Now they were making her widen the distance between her and Yang Qing, because it was exactly this distance between both parties that would give them an advantage over the other; to see who could assemble their men faster and rush there in time to attack the few with the many, in order to gain the upperhand.


    This scheme by Wan Shunchang was to destroy the advantage of time and distance Yang Qing relied on when fighting in his ownnd. If it wasn¡¯t done in this way, no one would be willing to fight Yang Qing head-on, and Zhang Decheng was not a fool. He would never fight recklessly for the sake of others earning a greater share of the profits, at the cost of heavy losses to his own resources. Even if he did win with that, there was no meaning to it.


    In short, all the troops from Ever Peace Manor and South Edict Manor were pressing to rush towards East Arrival Cave.


    At this moment, an insignificant East Arrival Cave had simply be the thorn in the two manors¡¯ sides. It was unclear as to what the Great Cave Master Miao would think, since he had refused Transient Light Cave and chosen this ce to be the Cave Master of by himself. He would probably have given an involuntary tremble from the shock and begin raining curses as he shouted out, asking who he had ticked off this time?


    Standing in Qin Weiwei¡¯s shoes, she detested that Miao Yi had rendered East Arrival Cave useless and it was likely that she wanted nothing better than to skin him alive.


    But standing from Miao Yi¡¯s point of view, it was not necessarily a bad thing for him to have brought his troops and run.


    It must be borne in mind that East Arrival Cave would soon be the beginning of a battle between both manors. Regardless of whether Miao Yi was present here or not, it would not change the upper echelons¡¯ decision. Besides, Wan Shunchang was in the dark about the East Arrival Cave Master dragging his men along too. His n had already taken the troops of East Arrival Cave into ount, and nned to kill them from the onset.


    Even though Miao Yi had the help of the small mantids, he would have been unable to face this formidable, crushing power. Before he left East Arrival Cave, his strength was still far too weak so he definitely would not have withstood it. Running off in advance had perhaps saved his life instead...

 Chapter 164: On the Brink of Crisis (3)

    Chapter 164: On the Brink of Crisis (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    One of the cavalry men returned from the mountain forest in the remote distance; he was a scout assigned under Chen Fei. The scout halted his horse before Meng Yide, cupped his fists and said, "Cave Master, East Arrival Cave was indeed not guarded."


    This person was a subordinate of Meng Yide¡¯s cave. Chen Fei must have fully known what was going on and ordered him to make the report instead. He knew that Meng Yide was still distrustful towards him. Otherwise, Meng Yide wouldn¡¯t have sent his own subordinate to follow him as he spied on the enemy¡¯s situation, so Chen Fei might as well let Meng Yide¡¯s own subordinate report the news.


    Meng Yide nodded his head. Flipping his hand, a long axe appeared from the storage ring and onto his palm. He turned left and right before he calmly ordered, "Zhong Weiyi, Shi Baixiang and Yuan Zhengkun."


    "Here!" The three immediatelymanded their dragon steeds to step forth, cupping their fists to take orders.


    "The three of you will each lead troops and follow me, separating into four paths in order to surround East Arrival Cave. Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s troops will act as the vanguard of the attack. Each unit must act ording to n!"


    "Understood!" The three epted the order.


    BANG! With a wave of his hand, Meng Yide brandished his axe and cut down arge tree in front of everyone¡¯s eyes. He then shouted out his order, "March out!"


    "Yes!" Everyone answered with a loud rumble.


    As the attacking vanguard, Yuan Zhengkun promptly selected seven men from the people who were casted out from the former South Edict Manor. It wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for him to order around Meng Yide¡¯s own units. Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao had always been with him so naturally, they weren¡¯t left behind.


    The seven people obeyed the order and went along with Yuan Zhengkun as the vanguard who would take the lead. They galloped their horses out, making a beeline for East Arrival Cave.


    After Zhong Weiyi and Shi Baixiang were done selecting their men, they both proceeded to take the left and right roundabout route in order to outnk the enemy.


    A subordinate released the spiritual eagle he¡¯d carried with him to send out a message to the Mountain Chieftain Duan Jirui, informing him that they had already begununching the attack on this side. This would make it easier for Duan Jirui to coordinate with their movements, since depending on the manpower here to stop Qin Weiwei was most likely not possible.


    After witnessing the spiritual eagle soaring through the sky into the remote distance, only then did Meng Yide turn around, leading his men to maintain their position from behind...


    Although East Arrival Cave had only been left with one cultivator to guard it and despite Yan Xiu¡¯s assumption that Miao Yi had most likely lost his life in the Sea of Constetions, Yan Xiu had carried out his duties with all his heart. Apart from guarding the mountain gates, he would also take the time to patrol the mountain once a day.


    Even though Miao Yi was not around anymore, he still didn¡¯t dare to neglect Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei¡¯s orders.


    Currently, he was riding his dragon steed, traversing across the dense mountain forest and checking out the vicinity. But he never would have expected to hear the sounds of stomping hooves rumbling towards him from the back of the mountain.


    How could there be someone emerging from behind him?


    Yan Xiu knitted his brows together. As a person who had surrendered repeatedly, this wasn¡¯t his first time encountering an ambush. It could be said that he was rather experienced so his vignce was rather high. He had already vaguely realized that something had gone wrong. Without dy, he quickly grabbed the two axes on his back, urgently riding his dragon steed up the mountain, and then invoked his transcendence vision to survey the scene from his high position.


    The sight of eight cavalries charging from the back of the mountain forest entered his view. They were charging directly towards the mountain.


    Both parties were rapidly approaching and had already caught sight of each other.


    Seeing that the person taking the lead was none other than the former Cave Master of Transient Light Cave, Yuan Zhengkun, as well as his old associates Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao, Yan Xiu initially thought his eyes were ying tricks on him. To say that he wasn¡¯t utterly astonished was an understatement.


    Upon seeing his old subordinate, Yuan Zhengkun was also surprised. Immediately, he directed his long halberd at him and shouted, "Insolent Shi Xiang! Hurry up and dismount from your horse and ept surrender!"


    He was not nning to kill Yan Xiu because he intended to nab him first to find out what was going on. Based on his impression, with so many men closing in with him, Shi Xiang would definitely not dare make a move, and he would definitely dismount from his horse to surrender obediently.


    But people eventually changed. It had been a long time since Yan Xiu had heard himself addressed with the humiliating title ¡®Shi Xiang¡¯. During that time, not only did Yuan Zhengkun leave them to be his scapegoats, he had also caused the death of his own wife, Luo Zhen¡ªit could be said that the old resentment filling his heart instantly rushed to his head.


    He knew very well that he was absolutely no match for Yuan Zhengkun. What¡¯s more, the other party had safety in numbers. The situation was badly against him, so he wasn¡¯t about to stick around. Instantly, he turned his head and ran.


    There wasn¡¯t any need to fire off the rm anymore, since he was the only remaining cultivator in East Arrival Cave. The others were handmaidens who didn¡¯t even have their own mounts. Even if the handmaidens heard the rm, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to escape.


    "Shi Xiang, stop running!" Yuan Zhengkun was furious. That coward had actually dared to escape. He brandished the long halberd in his hand. "Capture him!"


    Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao immediately increased their speed, sprinting away from the troops as they urgently gave chase.


    Having been discovered by the other party¡¯s mountain patroller, the other two units who were taking the roundabout route to outnk the enemy also sped up. The rumbling sounds of hooves stomping in the mountain forest was so shocking it caused the birds to scatter in all directions.


    "Shi Xiang, cease this running!"


    Behind him, Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao were hot in pursuit. As he charged back all the way to East Arrival Cave, Yan Xiu thought of his two half-disciples. If he were to run away, then Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would be in danger. But he had no time to dismount from his steed to bring them both along.


    He could only scream with grief, "Enemy attack! Hide yourselves! Quickly hide yourselves! Quickly hide yourselves..."


    In the end, not only did his warning fail to make the handmaidens go into hiding, it had evenpelled the obliviously green and inexperienced ones to rush out in session, all of them peering about. They wanted to see what was going on and the consequence of this was soon obvious, as each of their beautifulplexions quickly turned pale...


    Chen Fei and the others lying in wait in advance, witnessed the nearing Yan Xiu hurriedly making his escape.


    Chen Fei frowned slightly and did not reveal himself.


    Before this, he had called him a friend. He couldn¡¯t just strike him immediately after. After all, this man was Miao Yi¡¯s subordinate. But on the battlefield, one was always faced with the choice of either you die or I live. Sympathizing with the enemy wasn¡¯t allowed. On top of that, his current predicament made it inappropriate for him to just sit and watch, so he could only tilt his head and signal to the men at his side.


    "Get down from your steed and die!"


    Two of them leapt out on their steeds, couching their spears to block Yan Xiu¡¯s path.


    There were enemies blocking his front and troops in pursuit at his back. Yan Xiu roared in fury before spreading his arms, hoisting his twin axes. In an abrupt movement, the dragon steed under him raised its hooves to the sky, intending to leap over the heads of the enemies intercepting them.


    Simrly, the two men at the front blocking the path with their couched spears thenmanded their mounts to soar into the sky, striking their spears down together from high up in the air.


    The three dragon steeds seemed to be leaping hundreds of meters high up into the air at the same time. A glowing lotus flower suddenly emerged between the three men¡¯s brows; each having a cultivation at the White Lotus Third Grade.


    "Those who are in my way shall die!"


    Yan Xiu bellowed with rage, the twin axes striking out together at once. Up in the air, banging sounds reverberated as they forcefully collided against the assault of two long spears.


    Hot on his tail behind him, Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao were exchanging stunned looks with each other. Since when had Shi Xiang be so bold and powerful? Had they caught sight of the wrong person?


    The long spears were jolted back in mid-air. Simultaneously, Yan Xiu was left quaking until his body wavered¡ªhe had used his force to withstand the two White Lotus Third Grade cultivators, causing him to almost fall off from his dragon steed soaring through the air.


    Both parties leaped out from opposite sides. After an exchange of attacks in the air, they immediately brushed past each other.


    One of them disyed an umon spear technique. The moment the spear in his hand jolted away, he instantly seized the opportunity to swing the spear back. Up in the air, he returned the blow by thrusting the spear out, and it happened to strike Yan Xiu¡¯s left arm.


    "Ngh..." Yan Xiu groaned. The broad axe he wielded with his left hand was instantly knocked away his grasp, and blood sshed out from the back of his arm up into the air.


    Fortunately, both parties brushed past each other in mid-air, so the force of the other party¡¯s countered spear blow was incapable of being extended. Otherwise, this spear strike would most likely have cut off his arm.


    Although it was said to be slow, it was in fact, fast. Both parties had exchanged their blows in mid-air and then instantly dropped to the ground.


    Afternding on the ground, Yan Xiu did not think of anything else and couldn¡¯t be bothered to pick up the discarded broad axe. Wielding just one axe with one hand, he risked his life bymanding his dragon steed to swiftly flee to safety.


    The two mounted soldiers dropped to the ground, and immediately turned around to quickly give chase. Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao were also hot on their trail, unwilling to let him go...


    After a while, the four people pursuing him swiftly returned once again. The apanying Chen Fei shot out from the forest and asked, "Has that man been beheaded?"


    Li Xin shook his head in response, "He put up a desperate fight and only knew how to run. He simply didn¡¯t want to cross swords with us. We were also reluctant to give chase too far ande across possible reinforcements, so we let him make a lucky escape."


    They returned back to East Arrival Cave, only to see that Meng Yide had also arrived. Their forces were already gathered at the za of East Arrival Cave.


    Everyone present had done nothing to exert themselves; they had effortlessly taken over East Arrival Cave. Even Meng Yide felt that there was no logical exnation for their victory. Where on earth had the men of East Arrival Cave gone?


    Meng Yide even felt slightly worried that they had entered a trap. He hurriedly dispatched another group to search the surroundings, broadening their range to ferret anybody out.


    Seeing that Li Xin and the rest had returned together with Meng Yide, Yuan Zhengkun immediately asked, "Did you manage to capture Shi Xiang?"


    Li Xin shook his head. "Unfortunately, he escaped."


    Instantly, Yuan Zhengkun red. "Useless! You couldn¡¯t even capture that fool!"


    Meng Yide tilted his head to look. He inquired, "What Shi Xiang?"


    Yuan Zhengkun instantly withdrew his anger. He turned to smile, "That person used to be my subordinate at Transient Light Cave. I presume he must have surrendered to Yang Qing..."


    He exined the origin of the ¡®Shi Xiang¡¯ title./form of address. After Meng Yide listened to it, he also felt it was beneath his dignity and scoffed coldly, "Let him run then. We originally prepared to let one person live. Fortunately, we didn¡¯t kill him. Or else, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone to inform Qin Weiwei."


    "Understood! Cave Master Meng is wise." Yuan Zhengkun cupped his hands.


    When faced against this form of boot-licking, Meng Yide was not inclined to enjoy it. He twisted his head to the side, staring straight at the gathered handmaidens, all eighteen of them trembling with fear on the za.


    Initially, East Arrival Cave only had sixteen handmaidens. After Zheng Jinlong reced Song Fu¡¯s ce, two more were obtained from East Arrival City.


    This group of handmaidens, who had yet to enjoy the good fortune of an Immortal, probably hadn¡¯t expected to meet with such horrible luck.


    "Where did the men of East Arrival Cave go? Ask them," Meng Yide ordered.


    One of his apanying subordinates immediately leapt off his dragon steed. He walked up to them and pped one of the handmaidens. "Where did the cultivators of East Arrival Cave gone off to?"


    The end result was that each of them gave the same answer: they¡¯d been gone for almost a year and were unaware of their destination.


    Only fools would believe such words. How could a Cave Master overseeing East Arrival Cave bring along his subordinates, leave for almost a year and never return?


    The man promptly pointed a de towards the handmaidens. "If you still refuse to speak the truth, I will kill you all!"


    Under fear of death, one by one the handmaidens all pointed to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, both of which also had their faces pped until they were red and swollen. The handmaidens eximed that they really didn¡¯t know and those two were the Cave Master¡¯s handmaidens, so they might know where they¡¯d gone off to.


    Everyone¡¯s gazes immediately fixated on the more beautiful Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. The two young girls were also scared witless. It was their first time facing such a situation, so they appeared to be more or less frightened.


    On hearing that they were Miao Yi¡¯s handmaidens, Chen Fei¡¯s gaze slightly flickered. He swiftly transmitted a message to the two girls surreptitiously.


    The two girls also turned to face him together.


    After seeing the two girls¡¯ abnormal gaze, the onlookers also trailed after to face Chen Fei.


    Chen Fei took the opportunity to step forth, stopping the advancing cultivator from continuing his interrogation of Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. "Please show some mercy!"


    He then turned and faced Meng Yide seated atop his dragon steed, cupping his hands, and exining, "Cave Master, I was formerly a man of East Arrival Cave. These two used to be my handmaidens. Little did I know that they would eventually be the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave¡¯s handmaidens. You might as well let me ask them."


    Meng Yide did not cast any suspicion of deceit. He slightly nodded and agreed.


    During the time when Chen Fei was interrogating the two young girls, Li Xin, was instead asking Yuan Zhengkun somewhat puzzlingly, "Miao Yi? Could that be Horse Deputy Miao Yi from our Transient Light Cave?"

 Chapter 165: On the Brink of Crisis (4)

    Chapter 165: On the Brink of Crisis (4)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Just then, Yuan Zhengkun also found the name ¡®Miao Yi¡¯ to be familiar. After the reminder, he finally recalled. Yet, he was dubious as he shook his head and exined, "That Miao Yi was rmended by Cao Dingfeng. He only had a cultivation at White Lotus First Grade back then. It has only been a few years, how could he have be the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave?"


    Sun Jiaojiao voiced out, "That¡¯s not entirely impossible. I remember that he was good friends with the Shi Xiang couple. Since Shi Xiang is here, then there¡¯s a high chance that it¡¯s referring to that Miao Yi."


    On hearing that, Meng Yide turned to ask them. "Do you all know this Cave Master of East Arrival Cave? What is his cultivation level?"


    Yuan Zhengkun immediately responded, "I once had a subordinate whose name is Miao Yi. But I can¡¯t be sure whether the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave is actually him. If it is really that Miao Yi, contrary to what you might expect, there¡¯s nothing to fear about him. It can only show that Yang Qing had no other subordinates to use. Yang Qing will definitely lose this war!"


    After listening to him, Meng Yide was also skeptical if it was the same person. A man who can be the subordinate of Yuan Zhengkun, how high could his cultivation go?


    He was only just asking, as for who Miao Yi actually was, he did not feel inclined to care overmuch for now. Regardless of whether he was here or not, it wouldn¡¯t change anything.


    The men who had spread out to investigate their surroundings all came back one after another to make their report. They didn¡¯t discover anything unusual which set Meng Yide¡¯s mind at ease.


    On Chen Fei¡¯s side, he also hadn¡¯t managed to gather any information. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er really did not know where Miao Yi had gone. On the other hand, the escaped Yan Xiu knew.


    But the upper echelons had already passed down a gag order, forbidding him to speak of Miao Yi¡¯s whereabouts so as to prevent opportunists from realizing that East Arrival Cave¡¯s defense existed only in name. Thus, Yan Xiu hadn¡¯t informed the two girls as well; he had been afraid that they would be worried if he told them.


    Meng Yide didn¡¯t waste his time on the two handmaidens. He probably figured out that these handmaidens really didn¡¯t seem to know where Miao Yi and the others had gone. After they mounted a sneak attack, there was absolutely no preparations being made on this side. These handmaidens barely had the time to collude with each other and fabricate a story. Under duress, it was impossible for everyone to unanimously say that they didn¡¯t know.


    If they really did not fear death, they would not have confessed that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were the Cave Master¡¯s handmaidens. This proved that they were seriously in the dark on this matter.


    "Yuan Zhengkun, I¡¯ll leave the rest to you."


    "I will not disappoint Cave Master Meng¡¯s expectations."


    "Remember! Act ording to the n. You must only lose and not win. You must entice the enemies to delve deeply!"


    Before Meng Yide took his leave, he warned Yuan Zhengkun again repeatedly. He then assigned Chen Fei and the others to Yuan Zhengkun to help gather together enough troops for one cave. Only then did he lead the others to quickly embark on the journey back, leaving behind Yuan Zhengkun and his group by themselves at East Arrival Cave.


    If there were too many people around, he was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t be able to lure Qin Weiwei to engage in pursuit. Leaving behind a small number of men was all for the sake of letting Qin Weiwei underestimate the enemy.


    When he left, Meng Yide surveyed his surroundings feeling more or less that he hade here in vain. The reason why Mountain Chieftain Duan Jirui had allocated more than twenty men to him was because he was afraid that he would fail, and wanted him to quickly capture East Arrival Cave with a single stroke, and ensure that East Arrival Cave showed signs of being ravaged.


    But who would have expected that it ended without them even managing to kill even a single cultivator after rousing so many men toe. They had only captured some useless handmaidens. If he had known earlier on that all the cultivators in East Arrival Cave had run off, he would have just let Yuan Zhengkun lead his men to attack straightaway. There wouldn¡¯t have been any need for them to go back and forth in vain.


    Meng Yide did not seize the handmaidens. It wasn¡¯t like he had never seen a woman before. Thus, he left them at Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s disposal.


    Yuan Zhengkun and the others, having been left behind, appeared as though it had been eons since they hadst savored the taste of a handmaiden. It was worthwhile to know that these women who were chosen to be handmaidens, were all one in a thousand. They could never bepared to the likes of thosemon women in brothels.


    Everyone¡¯s gazes, every single one of them, lurked about the handmaidens¡¯ slender physiques. Even Yuan Zhengkun couldn¡¯t wait to indulge. From the beginning, he had already set his eyes on the most beautiful pair, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    It was quite apparent that Chen Fei knew what would be of these handmaidens after this. In order to enraged the iing reinforcements, they had to be butchered. Taking them along was out of the question.


    These two were Miao Yi¡¯s handmaidens ¡ª Miao Yi¡¯s trusted aides, and also partners that shared his bed. Chen Fei owed Miao Yi a favor after he had saved his only loved one, so under the current circumstance where he still had the ability to help, he naturally wanted to save them and return Miao Yi¡¯s great benevolence from before.


    He proceeded to interfere, standing before the terrified Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, shielding them as he cupped his hands at Yuan Zhengkun smilingly, "These two used to be my handmaidens. I hope Cave Master Yuan can be so kind as to let them go!"


    Although at present, Yuan Zhengkun was no longer a Cave Master, Chen Fei still addressed him as such since, when asking for a favor, one must naturally adopt such mannerisms.


    Yuan Zhengkun immediately cursed at his wretched luck since he wasn¡¯t able to take a bite out of the two meats within his grasp.


    There was nothing to be done as their master was right here. He couldn¡¯t just snatch his own subordinate¡¯s women away in front of everybody. He hadn¡¯t yet reached the point where his thoughts werepletely ovee by lust. Now was the time to attend to important matters, it wasn¡¯t worth causing them to fallout and fail. They were just women! Once he had risen back up again, he needn¡¯t fear that there would be none!


    Yuan Zhengkunughed heartily, "I never imagined Brother Chen to be such a swinger. These two have already gone at it with the East Arrival Cave Master and you¡¯re still interested in reiming them?"


    Chen Feiughed bitterly as he shook his head, saying, "I¡¯m the one who let them down when I abandoned them to make my escape before. If anyone is to be med, it should be me. Thus, I request Cave Master Yuan to give me this face."


    Although he wasn¡¯t a subordinate of Yuan Zhengkun, and was only ordered to listen to Yuan Zhengkun¡¯smands, he still loosened his stance and addressed himself as a subordinate.


    Yuan Zhengkunughed, "Since Brother Chen has spoken, there¡¯ll naturally be no objections. But Brother Chen, think carefully now that things have changed. We must prioritize the grave matter at hand; if Cave Master Meng caught you bringing two women as you flock around, he might be upset and punish you for it!"


    "Thank you, Cave Master Yuan; for reminding me. I will make appropriate arrangements and avoid causing trouble."


    "Fine. I have said what needs to be said. You¡¯re on your own." Yuan Zhengkun waved his hands and spared the two young girls.


    "Thank you, Cave Master Yuan; for your help!" Chen Fei cupped his hands with thanks.


    "The handmaidens will be wasted; war is imminent. It¡¯s better to enjoy first and rx." Yuan Zhengkun turned his head to look at the handmaidens. He set his eyes on two whose looks stood out a little, dismounted his dragon steed, and walked directly towards them. Spreading his arms wide open, he dragged the two handmaidens before him, with one arm lifting each of them. Ignoring the two handmaidens¡¯ struggles, he turned tough at Chen Fei, "Brother Chen, don¡¯t neglect the task of scouting out intelligence on the enemy."


    "I will live up to your trust." Chen Fei cupped his fists, epting the order.


    Laughing heartily, Yuan Zhengkun turned to depart, lifting the two handmaidens as he went straight for the East Arrival Grand Hall.


    The others, upon seeing that the ¡®boss¡¯ had made his pick, surmised that the remaining were naturally theirs.


    Since the ¡®boss¡¯ had already taken the lead, the others were also without scruple. They immediately jumped on the bandwagon, snatching up all the remaining handmaidens. Each of them went off to find their own ce to engage in debauchery under broad daylight.


    Every single one of the handmaidens being dragged off were wailing in their direction, "Elder Auntie. Little Auntie. Please save us..."


    Unable to bear it any longer, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help but to step forth. Only to be halted by Chen Fei, who extended his arm. He shook his head faintly at the two of them while transmitting a message to them surreptitiously, "You won¡¯t be able to save them. It was already difficult enough for me to save you both. Don¡¯t drag yourself into this again."


    The sounds of clothes being torn, and the blood-curdling screams of women could be faintly heard resounding from the direction of the grand hall.


    With their faces all red and swollen from being pped, tears immediately poured down their cheeks as Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er wept into a shambled mess. However, they were powerless. They knew what Chen Fei said was right ¡ª they wouldn¡¯t be able to save them.


    "Men are despicable!" Sun Jiaojiao spat from the sidelines. She had a normal sexual orientation and so held no interest in f*cking a girl. Needless to say, she couldn¡¯t join in on the fun.


    Chen Fei turned around to nod at the three scouts that Meng Yide had assigned to him. They still needed to investigate their enemy, so they did not have the leisure to fool around.


    The few of them mounted their dragon steeds. From atop his own dragon steed, Chen Fei reached out his hand to drag both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er on. Immediately, the four dragon steeds madly galloped away into the distance.


    After they left the mountain range where East Arrival Cave was situated, Chen Fei was familiar with the terrain in this area. He sent the other three to lie in wait at the ce where the others would likely cross, if they were to arrive from the direction of Mount Calming Sea.


    After they left, Chen Fei turned to ask, "I won¡¯t be able to bring you guys along as I rush about. Do any of you know of a suitable ce for you to hide?"


    Both of them then pointed towards a location, it was the dock that the Great Cave Master Miao had requested his men to build by the coast.


    Chen Fei immediately galloped there, eventually arriving at the coast.


    After sending the two into the dock within the cliffy reef, he surveyed the enormous space, a little dubious as he asked, "What did Brother Miao build this dock for?"


    The two young girls shook their heads, indicating that they weren¡¯t aware of the reason.


    Actually, they believed that the reason why the Cave Master had this dock built, was to steer the ship to the ind out there to cultivate. But since they were keeping this a secret for the Cave Master, they weren¡¯t willing to reveal it.


    The two young girls were still too inexperienced in front of Chen Fei. He could tell that they weren¡¯t telling the truth, but he didn¡¯t attempt to look into it. He only warned, "During this period, it will be a chaotic mess out there. It¡¯s better for the both of you to remain hidden here for a few days. Otherwise, if you get found out by anyone, I won¡¯t be able to show up by your side in time to save you. I can tell that both of you seems to have crossed over the threshold of the cultivation realm. I guess that staying here and defending your own lives shouldn¡¯t pose as much of a problem."


    Faces still red and swollen from being pped, the two girls expressed their gratitude with a strangled cry, "Thank you, Sir Chen; for saving our lives."


    "You¡¯re on your own!" Chen Fei did not say anymore; he still had matters to attend to. Saving these two young girls was already considered a side mission. He would not neglect his own overriding matters for these two young girls. After he said that, he turned about and departed. For now, this was all he could do.


    They waited for Chen Fei to leave before shifting their gaze around the gloomy dock. The two girls hugged each other, and broke down in bitter tears. "Cave Master... Cave Master... Where are you..."


    In their eyes, they still believed that the Cave Master was an extraordinary man. If the Cave Master were at home, then everyone would not have suffered.


    The ship here was gone. Both of them reckoned that the Cave Master had gone off to sea again. So they decided to hide here, waiting for the Cave Master¡¯s return...


    With his right arm wounded, Yan Xiu carried his axe in one hand as his dragon steed galloped forth madly without stopping. He was rushing to reach Mount Calming Sea in order to report to the Mountain Chieftain.


    He didn¡¯t expect to hear the rumbling sounds of hooves up ahead when fleeing halfway down the path. A mass of cavalry were galloping in his direction from afar. Like a bird being startled by the mere twang of a bow, Yan Xiu was shocked out of his wits. He was about to urge his dragon steed to leap into the nearby mountain forest to hide, but a nce of his transcendence vision revealed that the iing leader was donned in an exceptionally conspicuous silver armor and fluttering white skirt. He was instantly ovee with joy at the turn of events.


    The foremost person leading the troops was none other than Qin Weiwei, the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea. At this time, Qin Weiwei had already gathered the troops of five caves along the journey; including her own forces, she already had almost seventy men. They looked incredibly intimidating.


    Upon seeing the battered and exhausted Yan Xiuing to a halt on the path, the urgently rushing Qin Weiwei seemed to have noticed that the situation was far from good. She raised her hand and the entire cavalry of about seventy units came to a hurried stop, kicking up dust from the ground.


    "Yan Xiu, why are you here?!" Qin Weiwei snapped furiously.


    Yan Xiu replied with dejection, "Mountain Chieftain, East Arrival Cave was ambushed and has already been breached. I risked my life to cut my way out and was lucky enough to break free. However, I fear that the handmaidens at East Arrival Cave must be suffering."


    This was entirely just as Qin Weiwei expected; hoisting the Serpent Lance in her hand, she bellowed in fury, "MOVE!"


    Taking the lead to charge forward, she led the her massive force to urgently make haste in the direction of East Arrival Cave.

 Chapter 166: On the Brink of Crisis (5)

    Chapter 166: On the Brink of Crisis (5)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    At East Arrival Cave, after the human monsters had wallowed in wantonness with the captured handmaidens, they felt refreshed, energized and in extremely high spirits. Now, they were simply wreaking havoc on East Arrival Cave.


    Yuan Zhengkun brandished his long halberd as he charged past the mountain gates. Twice, he charged back and forth. Following a rumbling reverberation, the lofty mountain gate¡ªthe memorial archway of East Arrival Cave¡ªnobly copsed.


    Elsewhere, the other subordinates were being even more aggressive. One by one, each of the residences copsed with a loud rumble.


    A few dragon steeds were violently charging through the East Arrival Grand Hall. After enduring a few rounds, the East Arrival Grand Hall also copsed with a rumble, as smoke and dust rose from the ruins.


    Charging back, Yuan Zhengkun swung his long halberd across to smash into a carved railing by the pond, sting it into pieces that flew about chaotically. He turned around to once again face everyone before loudly yelling, "Ravage them! Completely destroy them! Anything that can be destroyed, must all beid to waste!"


    The buildings, the winding corridors, and the pavilions; each of these fine constructs were turned into nothing but dust and ruins in a mere instant.


    On the za, more than ten handmaidens in various states of undress¡ªso much that they were practically naked¡ªhad either copsed, or were sitting on the floor. Some wore wooden expressions, while others wept with their faces in their hands. The lower bodies of some, still bore bloodstains from being ravaged.


    A ce that used to be a paradise of Immortals in the eyes of the secr mortals, was now left inplete ruins.


    At this precise moment, Chen Fei was hastily returning with his three-man cavalry. He was stunned by the scene whilst rushing to Yuang Zhengkun¡¯s side.


    "Cave Master Yuan, what is the reason for this?" Chen Fei said, frowning.


    He was formerly a man of East Arrival Cave, so he still held some sentiment towards East Arrival Cave. After seeing itid to waste by Yuan Zhengkun, he was genuinely upset.


    Yuan Zhengkun was unconcerned. "Brother Chen, if you wish to lure the enemies deeper, it is necessary to enrage them."


    Chen Fei sucked in a deep breath of air. With the urgency of the current situation, he could not afford to pursue this matter further. He cupped his hands, saying, "Qin Weiwei¡¯s forces are almost here. Cave Master Yuan, please get ready."


    "So fast?" Yuan Zhengkun was shocked. ording to the n, Qin Weiwei shouldn¡¯t have arrived so soon.


    He was unaware that Qin Weiwei had already been warned of the possibility of East Arrival Cave being raided early on.


    "Regroup!" Yuan Zhengkun bellowed in a hurry.


    The troops that were going around wreaking havoc, swiftly moved to regroup. Unexpectedly, Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s gaze became focused onto the group of handmaidens.


    Chen Fei inwardly sighed. He knew that for the sake of enraging Qin Weiwei, he feared that this bastard was now determined to deliver a vicious blow. If Brother Miao were to find out, he would be in a towering rage.


    "These wretched servants have already heard what we¡¯ve said! Don¡¯t let the new of this leak out."


    Following Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s order, the group of handmaidens were dragged away screaming. One by one, they were killed after being hung from their sashes on the ruined beams of East Arrival Grand Hall.


    Those that did not immediately die either had their necks broken, or were quickly stabbed to death.


    Regardless of whether they were partially orpletely nude, the handmaidens were all hung in a line. Every one of them left with their eyes wide open, and their tongues jutting out; some still with blood dripping from their lower bodies. Truly, it was a tragic sight to behold.


    The sound of galloping hooves came rumbling from the distance. Yuan Zhengkun immediately brandished his halberd and cried out with hatred, "Get in formation and face the enemy!"


    With Yuan Zhengkun in the lead, twelve cavalry units immediately set up a defensive line with their weapons in hand.


    Up ahead, Qin Weiwei was hurriedly leading seventy troops forward when they caught sight of the perpetrators who had turned East Arrival Cave into a pile of ruins.


    In apparent response to seeing Qin Weiwei¡¯s forces greatly outmatched them, Yuang Zhengkun again swiftly yelled out, "The enemy outnumber us. Retreat!"


    The twelve cavalry units immediately turned tail and hurriedly ran off.


    The troops that were charging into East Arrival Cave came to a sudden halt. Each of them trailed their gaze over the pile of debris that was once East Arrival Cave; it had been reduced to such a ghastly sight.


    It was a rare sight to see something of this ilk amongst the forcespeting for domains, because if they were to do something like this, even if they did manage to capture it, the reconstruction would only cause more trouble for themselves afterwards.


    The ghastly sight of a dozen dead handmaidens hanging from the ruined beams of the grand hall, caused Qin Weiwei¡¯s beautiful face to take on an extremely chilling cast. Her tone was ice cold as she brandished her Serpent Lance in the direction of the escaping enemy as she said, "Yan Xiu will stay here to guide the reinforcementsingter. The others¡ªfollow me to kill! Don¡¯t allow any of those bastards to get away! I want to tear them limb from limb!"


    Everyone immediately moved to give chase behind Qin Weiwei, eager to ughter the escaping enemies!


    Only Yan Xiu remained at the site. Sitting atop his dragon steed, tears coursing down his aged cheeks as he looked upon his home, one that was destroyed beyond recognition.


    He had cultivated for so many years, and had always lived humbly. Only after joining East Arrival Cave, had he finally found a sense of dignity. He had be the grand caretaker of East Arrival Cave and already treated East Arrival Cave as his own home. Now that his home had been ruined to this extent, how could he not be buried in grief?


    The beating of a chill wind had a sobering effect on Yan Xiu. He seemed to recall something, and swiftly dismounted from his dragon steed. He quickly stepped under the beams where a dozen of the dead handmaidens hung. He carefully identified them one by one, yet from among the dead handmaidens, he hadn¡¯t seen a trace of those two half-disciples of his.


    Once again, he did a recount and noticed that there two were less; Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were indeed not among them.


    "Qian¡¯Er! Xue¡¯Er..."


    Yan Xiu invoked his arts and cried out to his surroundings. He shouted for a long time but nobody answered, so he went into the ruins to search all around once more.


    After searching for a long time, and turning over every nook and cranny of the copsed ruins, he still couldn¡¯t find them, and instead found his entire body covered in dust.


    Precisely at this moment, another force was thundering in his direction with great urgency. The person in the lead was none other than Gongsun Yu, the top talent of Mount Calming Sea. Formerly, he was a personal disciple at Yang Qing¡¯s side, and was considered Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide. He had a cultivation at White Lotus Eighth Grade.


    It was rumoured that this person had been courting Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei from the beginning. The entire South Edict Manor knew of this news. With regards to this matter, Manor Head Yang Qing had asked Qin Weiwei for her opinion in private. If Qin Weiwei acknowledged him, he would step in to y matchmaker. In the end, he was instead mocked by Qin Weiwei for being bored. Thus, Yang Qing hadn¡¯t obtained a definite answer.


    If even Yang Qing couldn¡¯t make heads or tails on where Gongsun Yu and Qin Weiwei¡¯s rtionship had progressed to, outsiders naturally wouldn¡¯t know either.


    But the moment Gongsun Yu received Qin Weiwei¡¯s message by the spiritual eagle, he did not hesitate for a second. Immediately, hemanded his troops to make haste.


    Out of fear that misfortune might befall Qin Weiwei, he had rushed at full tilt for the entire journey without resting for even a moment, hurriedly charging as fast as lightning. But because of the distance involved, no matter how fast he rushed, he still couldn¡¯t catch up to Qin Weiwei.


    The dreadful state of East Arrival Cave before his eyes, made Gongsun Yu shocked beyond measure. His gaze dropped onto the dust-covered Yan Xiu in the ruins. He immediatelymanded his dragon steed to charge forth and angrily berated, "What the hell is East Arrival Cave doing, and where is your Cave Master Miao Yi? Why has it been battered by others to this state?!"


    To the majority, the news about Miao Yi leaving the cave was still being kept a secret so he still was not aware that Miao Yi wasn¡¯t here.


    Yan Xiu sobbed sporadically as he med himself, "I¡¯m useless!"


    "Piece of trash!" Gongsun Yu swung his spear onto Yan Xiu¡¯s shoulder. ¡®Thump!¡¯ Yan Xiu was forced to a semi-kneeling position in the debris on the spot. He again pointed his spear at Yan Xiu¡¯s chest, yelling, "I came here on receiving Mountain Chieftain¡¯s orders¡ªhave you seen any sign of the Mountain Chieftain?"


    Yan Xiu choked back a sob and pointed in the direction that Qin Weiwei had gone to attack. "Mountain Chieftain led her unit to pursue the enemy."


    "Useless piece of trash!" Gongsun Yu coldly scoffed, as though it was beneath his dignity to dawdle with this rubbish any further. He turned with his spear raised as he sternlymanded, "Let¡¯s go!"


    The group did not take a roundabout route. Under Gongsun Yu¡¯s lead, they immediately crossed over the ruins of East Arrival Cave, giving chase in the direction that Qin Weiwei had gone.


    In contrast, Yan Xiu once again mounted his own dragon steed and began to gallop around the surrounding mountain forest. Grasping onto ast strand of hope, he searched every nook and cranny, his voice could be heard continuously in the mountain forest as he cried out, "Qian¡¯Er... Xue¡¯Er..."


    Meanwhile, Yang Qing was also in the middle of rushing with great haste to East Arrival Cave. Simrly, he was rushing at full speed to reach there, and did not make any stops.


    But the tract ofnd for the entire South Edict Manot was immenselyrger than the area of Mount Calming Sea. The speed in assembling the troops of South Edict was definitely not as fast as in Mount Calming Sea. Throughout the journey, Yang Qing could only gather the force of two mountains.


    In the middle of Yang Qing¡¯s journey, a spiritual eagle flew through the air towards him before descending on Qing Mei¡¯s arm. Qing Mei swiftly retrieved the jade archive from the tube at the spiritual eagle¡¯s foot, before passing it to Yang Qing.


    After Yang Qing read through the news in the jade archive, his expression fell. Immediately a cackling sound could be heard as he crushed the jade archive into pieces. As he expected, the other party had indeed made a premeditated strike. Zhang Decheng of Ever Peace Manor had already set a massive n in motion.


    By the time the news reached Yang Qing, it was already toote. Having done his preparations in advance, Zhang Decheng had already almost reached the agreed location with half of his troops, whilst the other half would soon reach the site as well. The scene of waiting to ambush a rabbit from behind a tree was gradually taking shape;. they only had to wait for the opponent to walk right into the trap...


    Having been the first to withdraw, Meng Yide, the Cave Master of Emerald Forest Cave had already set his own subordinates at intervals to act as hidden sentries. News of Qin Weiwei pursuing tightly behind Yuang Zhengkun gradually reached him.


    Meng Yide himself was now beside the Mountain Chieftain Duan Jirui. He continued to update Duan Jirui with thetest news of Qin Weiwei gradually being lured into the trap at every step.


    Right at this moment, Duan Jirui and the rest abruptly turned their head to witness arge squad of troops galloping posthaste across the mountain ranges.


    Duan Jirui immediately nudged his steed forth to wee them. Leading a group of men, he dismounted from his dragon steed, and cupped his hands in greeting, "Greetings, Manor Head."


    It was none other than Zhang Decheng¡ªthe Manor Head of Ever Peace Manor who hade with his troops. Duan Jirui was a little surprised, the Manor Head seemed to have arrived here quite ahead of time. They hadn¡¯t officially engaged with Qin Weiwei yet, so why was he here so soon?


    He was unaware that Yang Qing had already marched out ahead of expectations¡ªforcing the Manor Head to push ahead with his ns and causing a slight upset in the timing.


    "What¡¯s the situation?" Zhang Decheng immediately asked.


    "As Manor Head expected, Qin Weiwei will soon walk into our trap." Duan Jirui replied.


    "It looks like Yang Qing is also almost here. I expect that Yang Qing can only assemble two mountains-worth of men on reaching here, so there is absolutely nothing to worry about." Zhang Decheng coldlyughed, before resolutely calling out, "Mei Yu, Sheng Huaigang, Lun Xutian, Xu Zida!"


    "Here!" Four of the Mountain Chieftains under him stepped forth to receive their orders.


    "The four of you shall lead your troops twenty li forward and lie in wait on either side of the mountain. If Yang Qing hasn¡¯t arrived, do not reveal yourselves. After Yang Qing barges in, the four of you should immediately block off his path. I won¡¯t ask you to kill Yang Qing, just cripple his nk. In the end, if Yang Qing is alone and besieged, the only path left for him is death."


    "Understood!" The four epted the order.


    "Remember. Yang Qing is a sly fox. He always has a n. I worry that he will send a man out to scout ahead. Thus, the jaw of the trap must be far apart. Do not let him discover you."


    "Understood." The four men agreed.


    "Duan Jirui! Luo Wuqing!"


    "Here!" The two Mountain Chieftains stepped forward to receive the order.


    "I¡¯ll leave besieging Qin Weiwei to the both of you. With the current circumstances¡ªwe have more men than the enemy, if the both of youbined still manage to let Qin Weiwei escape, only punishment awaits you!"

 Chapter 167: First Snow (1)

    Chapter 167: First Snow (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    "Yes!"


    "Remember. Just surround Qin Weiwei. Don¡¯t kill her! A dead woman won¡¯t be able to bait the reinforcements to their deaths; the rest of them can be killed without mercy! After Yang Qing charges in, Qin Weiwei will no longer have a use. Those you can capture¡ªdo so; those that you can¡¯t¡ªkill them immediately. Afterwards, join up with my forces tounch a coordinated attack against Yang Qing! After we kill him, we will immediatelyy siege on South Edict, killing all the reinforcements after Yang Qing! We must thoroughly suppress South Edict in this decisive strike!"


    "Understood!" roared the four Mountain Chieftains as they epted their orders. Afterwards, each of them then led their own units away to swiftly begin making preparations.


    Not long after those Mountain Chieftains left with their men, the other Mountain Chieftains under South Edict Manor just arrived at a breakneck pace. They gathered at Zhang Decheng¡¯s side, awaiting orders.


    War was imminent...


    Meanwhile, Yang Qing was rushing forth with great urgency, filled with a burning anxiety. On the other hand, Qin Weiwei was still boiling with fury as she pursued Yuan Zhengkun and the others. She had already charged into the realm of Emerald Forest Cave.


    "Treacherous Scum! Stop running!"


    Qin Weiwei growled angrily; gradually catching up to her fleeing enemy. Wielding her longbow, she nocked three silver arrows and drew back on the bowstring.


    Imbued with transcendence energy, a silver arrow shot out with a ¡®Whoosh!¡¯. Up ahead, a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator swiftly twisted around to deflect an arrow with his spear. However, deflecting an attack from a White Lotus Sixth Grade cultivator jolted his hand, making him lose grasp of his spear.


    Qin Weiwei once again shot another two arrows in rapid session, and with pin-point uracy. After blocking one arrow, he was helpless against the other two. Soon after, one of the arrows struck his waist, while the other pierced through his head¡ªa loud scream erupted¡ªand he fell off his mount, losing his life.


    Qin Weiwei seemed to have figured out that Yuan Zhengkun was the leader of this group. Another five arrows rapidly shot out from within her storage ring into her grasp. She fixed her sights on Yuan Zhengkun, and quickly released five arrows in rapid session.


    On hearing the ¡®Whoosh!¡¯-ing sounds, Yuan Zhengkun hastily twisted his body around and violently swept his long halberd across. From the number of ngs that rang out, he managed to deflect three arrows. Yet another struck his shoulder and¡ªfortunately for him¡ªLi Xing struck out from his side just in the nick of time, deflecting thest arrow. Otherwise, it would have pierced his chest.


    Yuan Zhengkun hadn¡¯t expected that Qin Weiwei would be so skilled in archery. He was almost scared shitless.


    Just at that moment, arge herd of dragon steeds suddenly leaped into the air from the two mountain forest beside them. Over two hundred cultivators rapidly surrounded Qin Weiwei¡¯s troops.


    Qin Weiwei and her troops quickly came to an emergency halt, instantly propping their backs against each other; huddling together to assume a defensive formation facing outwards. All of them looked more than a little frantic.


    Charging back to his own reinforcements, Yuan Zhengkun breathed out a sigh of relief. He lifted his hands to pull out the arrow embedded in his shoulder and tossed it away. Quickly turning around with a nasty grin, he pointing his Square Sky Decorated Halberd at Qing Weiwei as he sternly eximed, "Wretched woman, today is the day you die!"


    Recalling the series of events that had transpired to culminate into the current situation before her, Qin Weiwei¡¯splexion changed in sh. She would be a simpleton not to have noticed that she had fallen into a trap.


    Only now did she realize what a fool she had been!


    From atop their dragon steeds halfway up the mountain, Duan Jirui and Luo Wuqing both simultaneously signalled theirmand without any needless banter¡ªmerely giving voice to a single word¡ª"ATTACK!"


    Over two hundred cultivators immediately urged their dragon steeds to close in for the kill. Pursing her lips tightly, Qin Weiwei shed out her Serpent Lance longspear and responded with a scream, "Everyone gather together! Maintain the formation and don¡¯t fall out of line. Follow me to break through the encirclement!"


    The group quickly turned around with Qin Weiwei in the lead. She led them in a wild, desperate charge, intending to break through the entrapment!


    Abruptly, sounds of shing erupted as the blood-curdling screams of people mixed in with the grief-stricken cries of the dragon steads.


    Some men were beheaded, falling off under their mounts; some dragon steeds were hacked open right across the middle. The battlefield swiftly reached a climax in a maelstrom of fresh sttering blood, and torn limbs strewn about in all directions.


    Among thebined forces of two mountains, there were actually ten Cave Masters working in tandem. They didn¡¯t care about the rest and fixed their sights onto Qin Weiwei, suppressing her and preventing her from retreating even a single step. It was madness to even think of breaking through the entrapment.


    Although Qin Weiwei was a Mountain Chieftain, her cultivation hadn¡¯t reached the level of one. She was only at White Lotus Sixth Grade, which was the cultivation level of a Cave Master. The only reason she had been able to obtain the post of a Mountain Chieftain, was purely because of her paternal rtionship with Yang Qing¡ªhalf of the Cave Masters constantly suppressing her had cultivation levels greater than her own.


    How was she to fight this war now? Qin Weiwei had immediately fallen into a predicament where she could only gnash her teeth and forcefully fight back.


    Two shadowy streaks swept passed the boundless sea, before descending just outside the mountain ranges of East Arrival Cave. Yao Ruoxian kept the two bar maces into his storage ring with a gesture of his hands.


    Charcoal bounced with joy on his four limbs, his serpentine tail twirling about in circles. It seemed like he knew that they were almost home.


    Miao Yi spread opened his arms as he joyously took in his surroundings. "Finally! I¡¯m back in my own domain."


    Yao Ruoxian jeered, "A mere Cave Master like you dared to bring along a group of subordinates by himself to venture into the Sea of Constetions. You¡¯ve left for almost a year, and even caused the death of all the men assigned to you. I don¡¯t believe that your superiors will tolerate your atrocious behavior. Maybe the whatever-Cave Master seat has already been reced. I advise you to juste along with me."


    Miao Yi suddenlyughed bitterly, "Senior Yao, you can¡¯t go back on your words. We had an agreement. If the Cave Master seat has been reced by another, then I will find the Manor Head to write off my name from the registry, quit this circle and go with you. If it is still mine, then you have to abide by your promise!"


    He had spent quite a bit of time talking to Yao Ruoxian until he was blue in the face, to get Yao Ruoxian toe here. It was just as he¡¯d said, the hint of the stupid bet was rather strongly implied.


    If ¡®Yes!¡¯, then he would go with Yao Ruoxian. If ¡®No!¡¯, he hadn¡¯t lost his Caver Master seat, then Yao Ruoxian would join East Arrival Cave for ten years, and slowly foster his rtionship with the small mantids.


    The reason why Yao Ruoxian had agreed, was because Miao Yi had given another justification for it.


    Miao Yi said that Lao Bai knew he was the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. So there was a chance that he mighte looking for him there. If Lao Bai came, then he could naturally figure out why they couldn¡¯t draw the Hell Mantis out from the Boundless Secr World. If that were to happen, then Yao Ruoxian most likely wouldn¡¯t need to wait for ten years. This had Yao Ruoxian hesitating for a moment.


    After Miao Yi had repeatedly failed to fulfill his promise, Yao Ruoxian actually hadn¡¯t killed him yet. Although the main reason was the small mantids, only Yao Ruoxian himself knew that there wasn¡¯t any other factor involved.


    At the same time, only Miao Yi would believe that he had a silver tongue, and was only able to save himself because of it.


    As to why the both of them hadn¡¯t flown directly to East Arrival Cave, it was very simple; Yao Ruoxian did not want his identity to be exposed.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Miao Yi mounted Charcoal and beckoned Yao Ruoxian.


    Yao Ruoxiannded a p on the fat bastard¡¯s rear before jumping to sit behind Miao Yi.


    Charcoal flew into a gallop. He was very familiar with the road here and quickly galloped back down the path...


    While traveling along the path between the mountains, Charcoal just made a turn around a corner when his speed suddenly dropped drastically. His eyes widened profusely as, even though he was just a beast, he knew what East Arrival Cave should look like.


    Up ahead, they could see from afar that East Arrival Cave looked different.


    Miao Yi was instantly frozen in shock atop of Charcoal. His pupils shrunk abruptly as he narrowed his eyes at the ruined East Arrival Cave; his body remained still.


    Yao Ruoxian had simply been sitting behind Miao Yi, stroking his beard and peering about at his surroundings, when he sensed that something was amiss. After catching sight of the ruinednd in the remote mountain range, Yao Ruoxian was a little baffled as he asked, "Brat, this rotten ce is your domain?"


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t utter a single word. His eyes kept being drawn inexorably to that ce, as he allowed Charcoal to head back with him in tow.


    Galloping up to just before the mountain gate, Charcoal came to a stop. He kept twisting his head around to look at Miao Yi a few times.


    "Why does this ce feel like it has been devastated by someone?" Yao Ruoxian clicked his tongue as he leaped from Charcoal¡¯s back.


    Miao Yi¡¯s dull gaze swept across the copsed mountain gate memorial archway. Before he left, this memorial archway wasrge and imposing, with an air of extraordinary grandness. Now, it had be like this.


    Gradually lifting up his gaze, he swept them across a ruined East Arrival Cave. Not a single building was left standing in the entire East Arrival Cave. Everything had been destroyed.


    He then locked his gaze onto the wreckage of the East Arrival Grand Hall. From the ruined beams, hung the corpses of handmaidens lined up in a row, making him start abruptly in shock.


    Charcoal suddenly charged ahead at high speed, abandoning the squinting Yao Ruoxian and rushing to the copsed staircase of the ruined grand hall. Miao Yi lifted his head to gaze at the seat on the high tform where a dozen corpses hung, swaying slightly in the chill wind. They were ced right over the prized Cave Master seat that he normally sat in.


    The twelve handmaidens were all almostpletely naked. Some of their exposed skins still had palmprints on them; some of their naked torsos were left uncovered with blood trickling down from their sensitiveher regions to pool at their feet. Some of the hung corpses even had their stomachs cut open, with their guts hanging and blood oozing out heavily...


    Miao Yi¡¯s entire body was visibly trembling a little, hisplexion turning white. His head was feeling numbed, and his eyes bulged in rage as his heart rate began elerating; his chest heaved up and down with a burning sensation. He gradually clenched his fists until a cracking sound popped out.


    Even if he hadn¡¯t had any experience with sex, he roughly understood the manner of humiliation these handmaidens had faced before death.


    Although he wasn¡¯t experienced, it was obvious from the color of the bloodstains and the fresh traces of the copsed buildings that this had only just happened not long ago.


    Yao Ruoxian floated to his side and stared at the twelve corpses gently swaying in the chill wind. He also seemed to feel that this was really going quite overboard. Knitting his brows, he asked, "Who the hell did this?"


    Miao Yi made no answer, except hisplexion had already turned a ghastly shade of white. Charcoal brought him to step onto the ruins of the grand hall, circling under the ruined beams in order to identity each of their faces.


    He knew all of them¡ªthey were all the handmaidens of East Arrival Cave, but he had yet to catch sight of the corpses of Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er; the ones he didn¡¯t want to see the most.


    Yet, he still let out a furious roar at the heavens, "WHO DID THIS?! GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW! I WILL SLAUGHTER YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY CLAN!"


    The sound was like a sudden p of thunder that shook thend¡ªit resonated with a hum, so much that dust all over the debris began shivering wildly, appearing as though ayer of mist were forming.


    A response quickly came from the distance. Face distorted in rage, Miao Yi turned to look. Yao Ruoxian quickly followed his gaze, only to see a lone rider leaping out from the mountain forest.


    The person was none other than Yan Xiu, who had been looking everywhere for Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. After hearing Miao Yi¡¯s voice, he had rushed back.


    Covered in dust, Yan Xiu stared at Miao Yi in a daze, one hand carrying his broad axe whilst his other arm was wounded and marked with traces of blood. He looked battered and exhausted as he gradually came to a stop at the ruins.


    Glistening tears began to gradually well up in Yan Xiu¡¯s reddened eyes. The Cave Master was still that Cave Master, and Charcoal was still that chubby Charcoal. Everything proved that the Cave Master had indeed returned¡ªhe had really came back, but his timing couldn¡¯t be any worse...


    A chilling wind continued blow as specks of gray shadow began drifting down from the darkening sky.


    Lifting his head to look, Yao Ruoxian extended his hand to catch the things that were falling¡ªit was a snowke that melted in his palm.


    It was the first snowfall of the year, but judging from the scene before his eyes, it seemed to havee at an inopportune moment. Everything was cloaked in white, as if a funeral were being held¡ªonly serving to make the scene before him even more forlorn. It would probably make this brat tremble with cold, wouldn¡¯t it?

 Chapter 168: First Snow (2)

    Chapter 168: First Snow (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Specks of snowkes fell and melted over the ruins. Miao Yi stood, feeling distant and aloof as the twelve corpses hung behind him. A wave of barely suppressed killing intent prevaded from his body as he coldly red down at Yan Xiu.


    He didn¡¯t utter a single word and continued to level his frosty gaze at Yan Xiu, waiting for him to give an exnation.


    "Cave Master! You¡¯re finally home!" Yan Xiu abruptly choked out in sorrow as he recovered his wits. He leapt off his dragon steed and ran up to Miao Yi, before kneeling down on one leg, thrusting his axe into the ground. He was ashamed to face him. Tears streamed down his aged cheeks as he choked back a sob, shaking his head in reply, "Yan Xiu is useless. I have betrayed Cave Master¡¯s great trust. A thousand deaths would not be enough to atone for Yan Xiu¡¯s crimes!"


    With these words, Miao Yi could finally reaffirm that he was still the Cave Master of thisnd. Yang Qing had not reced him with another.


    Truthfully, he had already gathered that was the case after seeing the faces of the handmaidens clearly. If someone else had reced him in overseeing East Arrival Cave, those handmaidens would have already been sent back to East Arrival City to take up posts in the Manor of Merciful Hope. This was the normal convention, as nobody wished for their handmaidens to be second-hand goods. Even if they did, they wouldn¡¯t have retained all of them.


    He had been gone for a long time. Since Yang Qing held his position as Cave Master, it was clear that Yang Qing really held him in high regard!


    Yet it was exactly because of this¡ªbecause he knew it was still own abode¡ªthat such havoc and destruction truly made him feel ovee with fury. His entire body felt as though it had been shocked by electricity.


    His head felt numb; his mouth and tongue were beyond dry. From top to bottom, his entire body felt a tingling numbness.


    Yao Ruoxian shifted his head to cast a nce at Miao Yi. He muttered in his heart, surprised that such a brat was actually the Cave Master of this abode. A Cave Master of White Lotus Third Grade! He had truly seen a ghost!


    Ining here, he had also wished to verify whether Miao Yi was truly a Cave Master. Before, he still held some suspicions but now, it seemed that it was really true. The man before him didn¡¯t look like he was pretending to put on a show together with the brat.


    Looking grim and white, Miao Yi continued ring coldly at the forthright Yan Xiu still kneeling down on one knee. "Who. Did. This?" he demanded mercilessly, angrily biting off each word.


    "While your subordinate was patrolling the mountain, I glimpsed Yuan Zhengkun leading Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao along with the rest, attacking from the behind the mountain. Your subordinate was alone, too weak in power, and wasn¡¯t able to ward them off. I couldn¡¯t save the handmaidens in time. It was all I could do to risk my life breaking through the entrapment. After fortunately making my escape, I immediately rushed towards Mount Calming Sea to deliver the news. I didn¡¯t expect that I would then run into the Mountain Chieftain who, having caught wind of the news, was rushing here with her troops. By the time I charged back with the Mountain Chieftain, the abode had turned into this. I personally witness Yuan Zhengkun and the others escaping. Soon after, Mountain Chieftain and her troops followed in pursuit..." Yan Xiu exined the past situation through choked sobs.


    "Hehe... Yuan Zhengkun... Hehe..." After listening to everything, Miao Yiughed manically in rage.


    Even in his dreams, he wouldn¡¯t have imagined that Yuan Zhengkun would unexpectedly return. He hadn¡¯t forgotten about that man. Back then, that scum had made everyone his scapegoat and almost cost him his life. If it wasn¡¯t for Yang Qing treating him favorably, he would have long been dead.


    The most important thing was¡ªhe had killed Luo Zhen and Cao Dingfeng. Miao Yi didn¡¯t have much friends, and two of the few he had, had died because of that bastard, Yuang Zhengkun. When that bastard wanted to escape, he could have brought everyone along with him. Instead, he had pushed them all to their deaths without any cause. Before he had even taken revenge on him, Yuan Zhenkun had actuallye back to harm him again.


    New hatred and old grudges burned together in Miao Yi¡¯s chest, stifling him and making him feel excruciating agony.


    From the fleshy feelers that remained connected to him, Charcoal felt some restlessness, because he sensed Miao Yi¡¯s unspeakably towering rage.


    Charcoal was agitated and wanted to pace around, but Miao Yi forced him to remain in ce, facing Yan Xiu.


    "Hehe... Yuan Zhengkun..." Miao Yi gave a hollow smile as he stared at Yan Xiu. Then asked, "Where did Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er go?"


    Yan Xiu¡¯s lips quivered uncontrobly as he shook his head. "Yan Xiu is useless! I couldn¡¯t find them anywhere, and they don¡¯t have any mounts. I¡¯m afraid that they didn¡¯t run away in time. I fear that... that they¡¯ve already been captured by Yuan Zhengkun!"


    "Captured?" Miao Yi¡¯s eyes immediately widened.


    The scene before him was enough for him imagine the horrors that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er might be subjected to after being captured. Could it be that it wasn¡¯t enough to torture the two girls to death? They still wanted to drag them along and continue abusing and raping them.


    Was it because they discovered that those two were the Cave Master¡¯s handmaidens, and so decided to do it in this manner?


    Was it for the sake of deliberately humiliating him?


    He always wanted to find his younger siblings so he could take care of them by his side. If he had really brought them here, would they have suffered the same fate?


    Could he even protect them?


    A surge of hot blood instantly rushed to his head. Miao Yi could no longer contain the raging fury inside him. Abruptly, he faced towards the sky and furiously bellowed, "ARRGHH!!! Yuan Zhengkun, you will rue the day you were born! I swear I will kill you! If I do not exact this vengeance, then I am not human..."


    "What are you screaming at...," below him, Yao Ruoxian used his pinkie to dig his ears. "My ears are numb from the noise. Can you kill by shouting the loudest? I¡¯ve never seen it before."


    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t know who the sloppy old man was. He lifted his head to witness Miao Yi bellowing in rage. Seeing the Cave Master grief-stricken, he couldn¡¯t help but lower his head, once again confessing to his mistake through choked sobs, "Yan Xiu is useless, I have betrayed Cave Master¡¯s great trust!"


    After venting out his rage, Miao Yi took a deep breath. He tried his hardest to calm himself down, and shook his head saying, "It¡¯s not your fault. You wouldn¡¯t be able to stop them with just you alone. It was already fortunate that you managed to escape. I am the one to me. If I hadn¡¯t brought everyone with me, it would not havee to this. Now rise!"


    By the time Yan Xiu slowly came to his feet, Miao Yi had flipped his palm over, and promptly plucked a celestial fruit from the immortal herb that shot out from his storage ring. He blew out a wisp of starry clouds which drifted into the wounds on Yan Xiu¡¯s arms.


    After healing his wounds, Miao Yi casually flung over the celestial fruit.


    Upon receiving the celestial fruit in his hand, Yan Xiu was a little stunned. He didn¡¯t know what this item was, but he could feel that it was undoubtedly a divine healing medicine. The mystical effect was almost the same as the divine healing medicine¡ªthe Glorious Star immortal herb of the cultivation world. Was the Cave Master gifting this treasure to him?


    "Keep this item with you. Use it if there¡¯s an emergency!" Sure enough, Miao Yi was gifting this to him.


    This was to reward Yan Xiu, based on the fact that he hadn¡¯t behaved like his past self, but had instead risked his life over simply surrendering. To Miao Yi, this was worth rewarding him generously.


    "Cave Master, thank you!" Eyes reddened, Yan Xiu cupped his hands with his axe raised.


    Beneath the high tform, Yao Ruoxian rolled his eyes. When he plucked two celestial fruits, this brat had been extremely stingy, yet now he was being generous. A cultivator at the Red Lotus realm like him wasn¡¯t even held with any respect.


    "Yan Xiu!"


    "Here!"


    In an unnervingly deadpanned manner, Miao Yi challenged, "Do you dare toe forth with me to take the life of that ursed brigand, Yuan Zhengkun?!"


    Yan Xiu once again cupped his fists. "Your subordinate pledges his life to follow you!"


    ¡®Reward him again!¡¯ Without the slightest hesitation, Miao Yi retrieved a storage ring from his waist and casually flung it at Yan Xiu. "Keep it!"


    After receiving the item in his hand, only then did Yan Xiu notice the six storage rings Miao Yi wore on his hands. He was honestly rather startled. Although he hadn¡¯t stopped grieving, a though still gradually formed in his mind¡ªthe Cave Master had struck gold!


    There were more rewards! Miao Yi gave another flip of his hand, and a pair ofrge silvery broad axes appeared. They were considerablyrger than the ones in Yan Xiu¡¯s grip. Not only that, the handle had chains on them. He also tossed them to Yan Xiu. "I¡¯m giving you a transcendent artifact you¡¯re familiar with, so that you can join me to kill! This is a pair of first grade transcendent artifacts. Remove the thread of art source from within and imbue it with your own, then they will be your transcendent artifacts!"


    He had already forgotten which Fort Master these weapons belong to. Before this, they were almost refined by Yao Ruoxian, but Miao Yi had thought that these transcendent artifacts were rather suited for Yan Xiu¡¯s use, so he had intentionally kept them.


    It wasn¡¯t the end yet; a mid-grade Orb of Will shot out from Miao Yi¡¯s hand and fell onto Yan Xiu¡¯s hand. "Keep it for your use!"


    Yan Xiu was a little rmed. A celestial fruit, storage ring, a pair of transcendent artifacts and a mid-grade Orb of Will... The Cave Master was sovish with his generosity, it seemed like he had really struck gold in the Sea of Constetions. But where were the rest of the men that the Cave Master had brought along gone to?


    To the current Miao Yi, all those weren¡¯t much at all. Even after subtracting the items consumed by Yao Ruoxian while refining his transcendent artifacts, the items he had consumed for cultivation, and the rewards he had just given Yan Xiu.


    Now with just the storage rings he owned alone, including the one from Yang Qing and Madam We Hua, he had two hundred and eleven of them.


    If all his crystal coins were to be converted to Gold Crystals, he would have more than thirty million Gold Crystals in currency.


    He still had eighty-two first grade transcendent artifacts which he hadn¡¯t used.


    As for low-grade Orbs of Will, there were four hundred and fifty-eight of them.


    Mid-grade Orbs of Will, one hundred and seventy-one.


    While for gradeless Yao Cores, there were eight hundred and eighty-eight of them.


    First grade Yao Cores, he had a hundred and seventy.


    There was still half a case of ze Resins, including more than ten thousand pots of spiritual wine brewed from spiritual herbs. Drinking them would definitely assist in raising one¡¯s cultivation level. The other odd bits and ends didn¡¯t count. In short,paring Miao Yi to a normal cultivator of his level, he was very rich.


    Yet how could he have the mood to count these things right now? There were a dozen corpses behind him. It made him bristle with rage. They all stared at their dear Cave Master in wide-eyed torment, their tongues dangling, and with thend before them ruined and ravaged by others!


    Each of the items he had given to Yan Xiu were not for the sake of unting them. They were all for Yan Xiu to apany him on his quest to kill! If his enemies did not fall under his de, he wouldn¡¯t be able to cleanse the grudge branded into his heart!


    "Senior Yao, if I do not seek vengeance then I, Miao Yi, cannot eat or rest in peace. Will you aid me?" asked Miao Yi as he looked towards Yao Ruoxian beneath him.


    Yao Ruoxian lifted his head towards the sky and replied as though it had nothing to do with him. "This is your own enmity. It¡¯s none of my business! Just don¡¯t forget the agreement between us."


    As with the situation now, and before when discussing their agreement, Yao Ruoxian was afraid that he would need to temporarily submit himself under East Arrival Cave.


    However, they had already reached an agreement beforehand that he, Yao Ruoxian, would be able to roam freely and not be tied down by Miao Yi in any way. He also would not be Miao Yi¡¯s subordinate, or be required to respect him as a superior. Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t even dream of ordering him about. He knew Yao Ruoxian would definitely smash him to death with his bar mace.


    Joining East Arrival Cave was all for the sake being an official resident of East Arrival Cave, so it would be easier for him to bond with the small mantids; he wasn¡¯t here to be Miao Yi¡¯s subordinate. Those eighty-five small mantids were now currently creeping about in Yao Ruoxian¡¯s wide sleeves.


    On hearing his response, Miao Yi knew he couldn¡¯t force him, so he didn¡¯t say another word.


    Unexpectedly, Yao Ruoxian then pursed his lips at the twelve corpses hanging from the ruined beams. "Your squabbles are of no concern to me; you go kill whatever you want. I will help you bury these poor bodies."


    "There is no need!" Miao Yi said coldly.


    "Hey!" Yao Ruoxian was instantly upset, and coldly scorned, "I¡¯m giving you face by helping you do some chores. Aren¡¯t you getting riled up, brat??"


    Yan Xiu turned to take a good look at Yao Ruoxian. He didn¡¯t know who he was exactly, but the Cave Master seemed to be afraid of him.


    "Senior, you are mistaken." Miao Yi slowly turned his steed around, and pointed at every single one of the hung bodies with their tongues jutting out. He snapped angrily, "Senior, look at them! All of them have their eyes wide open. Every single one of them is looking at me. If I, Miao Yi, can¡¯t avenge them; even if I bury them, they will not rest in peace. For the time being, let them hang here and witness with their own eyes. For every day that I can¡¯t avenge them at East Arrival Cave, let them watch me for another day longer. I, Miao Yi, will not permit them to absolve me, even if they were to be ghosts. If I can¡¯t avenge them, then East Arrival Cave should never be rebuilt!"


    The moment those words came out, they were powerful and resonating, as though he had sworn to the heavens above. Yan Xiu listened until his lips tightened; even Yao Ruoxian was moved as he stared at Miao Yi in a daze.

 Chapter 169: First Snow (3)

    Chapter 169: First Snow (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    It wasn¡¯t that Miao Yi was overlooking his shorings. Back then, he had caused the death of Wang Zifa and the others in the Sea of Constetions, and wasn¡¯t the slightest bit guilty about it. Those group of bastards never had good intentions to begin with. If he hadn¡¯t taken drastic measures to forcefully subdue them and lure them with profits, they would never have listened to hismands, and would definitely have acted like Song Fu.


    However, these handmaidens were innocent. If Yuan Zhengkun had merely killed them, then it was out of bad luck and that was how their life had turned out.


    But Yuan Zhengkun shouldn¡¯t have humiliated them while they were still living, and continued to insult them further by hanging them here after death.


    His actions were devoid of conscience. Even heaven and earth could no longer bear him! This was something that could only be done by a bastard! He was insulting East Arrival Cave, and furthermore, insulting the East Arrival Cave Master; Miao Yi had never felt such fury before. If he did not seek revenge, then he wasn¡¯t a man!


    Perhaps heaven and earth were truly present in spirit. The moment he cried out, a chilling gust of wind blew past. The twelve corpses began to rock, as if in eager anticipation after hearing Miao Yi¡¯s oath!


    Miao Yi¡¯s gaze swept across each faces on the corpses. Abruptly, he turned his head around and spread open his arms.


    A cloud of silvery mist exploded from the storage ring before descending on him in quick session. An extraordinarily grand andmanding set of silver armor immediately rested on him, with the Inversed-Scales Spear tightly clutched in his hand.


    Beneath him, Charcoal cried out, simrly d in a forbidding armor as if he were a monster that had emerged from ancient times.


    In an instant, Yan Xiu seemed to have forgotten his sorrows as he stared at Miao Yi in wide-eyed amazement, having been caught quite off guard. ¡®A set of transcendent artifacts? Even Charcoal has one? This...¡¯


    "ROARR...," dragon roars resounded throughout the destend, as Miao Yi swung the Inversed-Scales Spear in his grip. Turning his steed around, his gaze once again swept over the unsightly corpses hanging there. "The men of East Arrival Cave are notpletely dead yet! Yan Xiu! Follow your Cave Master into battle... to ughter!" he bellowed furiously.


    Just like a monster, Charcoal swiftly trampled through the ruins, carrying Miao Yi as he charged ahead on his path. The obstructions that hadn¡¯tpletely copsed yet were barreled into and sent flying. They had an unstoppable, and astonishingly formidable presence!


    His entire body quivering, Yan Xiu loudly yelled, "Understood!"


    Quickly leaping onto his mount, they rapidly jumped over the ruins and swiftly pursued after Miao Yi.


    The rumbling sounds of the two traveling dragon steeds gradually disappeared far behind the mountain.


    Yao Ruoxian stood at his original spot, peering about his surroundings. Scratching his head, he realized that he felt a bit bored being by himself.


    Especially considering there were still a dozen grotesque female corpses above him. Whenever the wind blew, they would turn to stare at him with their tongues jutting out and their eyes open wide, making him feel extremely ufortable.


    "F*ck. Did I take the wrong pill? How did I get kidnapped by that brat to help him look after his home...?" muttered Yao Ruoxian incoherently while gripping his beard...


    Inside the realm of Emerald Forest Cave, a bloody battle scene unfolded.


    Still heavily surrounded, the newly refined winged helm had already been struck off Qin Weiwei¡¯s head, scattering her raven hair into a disheveled mess on her shoulders. She was severely injured; her expression was ghastly pale, with blood hanging from the corners of her lips. Her mount had already been beheaded, and her skirt stained with red. Limping, she continued to brandish the Serpent Lance in a circle to ward off attacks. She was already a spent arrow, dragging herself on as she grit her teeth.


    She had already killed two of the ten Cave Masters who had surrounded her, but she was now helpless against the remaining eight. Every single one of the eight Cave Masters held a trace of mockery on their face as they circled around Qin Weiwei. At times, they would strike out to toy with her. Obviously, they could have killed her already but they chose not to, very much like how a cat toyed around with a mouse.


    It¡¯s uncertain if Transient Light Cave was a ce where traitor were born, but the moment that the battle was engaged in earnest, the Transient Light Cave Master under Qin Weiwei immediately cried out in surrender when he saw that he was in danger.


    However, his opponent wasted no time and immediately beheaded the Transient Light Cave Master after heid down his weapon.


    It was precisely because they would only face death regardless of where they turned to, that the remaining men were forced to fight with everything they had.


    Yet, there was too much of a gap in strength between the two parties. The two Mountain Chieftains, Duan Jirui and Luo Wuqing, with Blue Lotus First Grade cultivation hadn¡¯t made a single move, and were simply watching the scene from halfway up the mountain. One by one, the five Cave Masters Qin Weiwei brought were ughtered. Out of about seventy men under her, nobody survived. Only Qin Weiwei was left alive and being toyed around with as a ruse to lure in the reinforcements.


    Both Guan Jirui and Luo Wuqing had lost about twenty men.


    After all of Qin Weiwei¡¯s men were decimated, the two Mountain Chieftains watching the fight gave a signal. Apart from the eight Cave Masters surrounding Qin Weiwei that continued to toy with her, the rest immediately withdrew and hid in the mountain forest on either side.


    When Gongsun Yu arrived with the others in tow and saw that Qin Weiwei was in such a tragic state, his eyes bulged. Without any hesitation, he signaled the others as he thundered in rage, "ATTACK!"


    The units following him began charging towards them from afar at great speeds.


    In response, Qin Weiwei let out an anguished cry, "Gongsun Yu, quickly retreat! It¡¯s an ambush!"


    Although he was shocked, Gongsun Yu still continued charging with his men; trying in vain to rescue Qin Weiwei before making their escape.


    The repercussions of such an act were as expected. More than a hundred men charged out from the mountain forest on either sides, once again trapping Gongsun Yu in the middle.


    Seeing the strategy of ¡®ambushing rabbits from behind the tree¡¯ effectively crippling the enemy forces twice in quick session, even the Manor Head of Ever Peace Manor, Zhang Decheng, couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as he watched the battle from the distant mountain range.


    At exactly the same moment, three Cave Masters serving under Qin Weiwei¡ªthe Cave Master of Ten Thousand Spirits, Wang Hai; the Cave Master of Sun Believer Cave, Li Youqian; and the Cave Master of Coiling Clouds Cave, Zhang Yuniang¡ªarrived together with the forces from the three caves.


    Caught in a pinch, Gongsun Yu was overjoyed as he shouted out in surprise, "Hurry and help us break through the encirclement!"


    These three Cave Masters were seniors by Yang Qing¡¯s side, and were his trusted aides. The reason why they were assigned under Qin Weiwei was to assist her in emergencies.


    After seeing Qin Weiwei in danger, the three of them naturally couldn¡¯t sit idly by the sidelines. They immediatelybined their forces to form a wedge,manding their forces to pierce through like a keen de.


    Signalling with his hand, Duan Jiruimanded thepany of over a hundred cultivators to immediately open up a path, taking the initiative to let Wang Hai and the others in.


    After the three Cave Masters entered with their men, the opening was immediately sealed.


    By the sidelines, Luo Wuqing signalled with a shout, "ATTACK!"


    Another wave of over a hundred men charged out from the mountain forest on either sides. The forces of two mountains once again joined forces to attack from all sides, instantly crushing the cultivators of Mount Calming Sea into a pitiful state.


    Qin Weiwei was painfully overwhelmed by anger and depression. She feared that Mount Calming Sea would suffer utter defeat.


    Gongsun Yu proved himself worthy of being known as the number one expert of Mount Calming Sea. He managed to protect Qin Weiwei, brandishing his spear andunching vigorous attacks while circling around her, forcing the others to keep their distance.


    Wang Hai, Li Youqian and Zhang Yuniang charged towards them swiftly and, together with Gongsun Yu, they enclosed Qin Weiwei to protect her.


    They were truly the senior subordinates under Yang Qing. Even as things came to a head, they still intended to protect Qin Weiwei and risk their lives breaking through. However, the numbers surrounding them were overwhelming. It was easy to get in, but almost impossible to escape.


    However, this instead gave Qin Weiwei an opening. With her hands free, she immediately summoned a bow from her storage ring once more. Standing alone in the center, she quickly drew her bow. A stream of whooshing noises sounded from her hands as the arrows swiftly shot out in quick session, helping her subordinates defuse the crisis. In acting together, they actually managed to, for a brief moment, force the surrounding enemies to keep their distance.


    Nevertheless, she was already severely injured to begin with. On top of that, she was consuming a great amount of transcendence energy. Practically at every moment she imbued her transcendence energy to shoot an arrow, wisps of blood would trickle from the corners of her mouth. Her body was definitely on the verge of copsing. Although, she was doing her best to grit her teeth and hold on, it looked as though she could copse at any moment...


    Snow was falling, drifting about in a flurry, yet the snowfall did not fall heavily.


    Miao Yi and Yan Xiu were charging up the hillside together when they came to a sudden halt. The situation ahead threw them both off.


    It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out the true situation before their eyes. Both of them could tell that Qin Weiwei and the others had fallen for the enemy¡¯s trap and were being heavily besieged. It wasn¡¯t at allparable to the forces that attacked East Arrival Cave under Yuan Zhengkun¡¯smand. Here, it was obvious that there were the forces of two mountains surrounding them.


    "Yan Xiu, stay here and prepare to provide support. If I don¡¯t return, immediately flee for your life from here!" said Miao Yi, slowly raising the Inversed-Scale Spear in his hand.


    Yan Xiu was extremely shocked and quickly cautioned, "Cave Master, the enemy has the advantage in numbers. It would be futile even if you go. Besides, Qin Weiwei has always gone head to head with you. Why do you want to throw your life away in vain? Let¡¯s go back to find the Manor Head!"


    Miao Yi shook his head, and pursed his lips as he said, "Although I dearly wish for that vile Qin Weiwei to die, Yang Qing has treated me with kindness. I cannot watch on idly and ignore as his daughter is on the brink of danger."


    "Cave Master..." feeling anxious, Yan Xiu tried to persuade him again.


    But Miao Yi already waved his hand to cut him off. "Even though I, Miao Yi, was born as a town butcher, I understand a certain principle. A man of character should do what is right and forego what is wrong. Yang Qing has always been kind to me, and a learned man should be ready to die for his bosom friends. Today is the day I repay his kindness!"


    Not far away, Yao Ruoxian had snuck up and was hiding beneath arge tree. Looking as though he had heard some of their conversation, he slowly turned his head to stare at Miao Yi in shock.


    "Cave Master!" Yan Xiu managed to choke out. He could feel his blood racing when he heard Miao Yi¡¯s words, his chest heaving up and down urgently. "I am willing to follow Cave Master through fire and water!" he cried out emotionally.


    With this, he dered his intent to follow Miao Yi even unto death.


    "Yan Xiu! Could it be that I can¡¯tmand you anymore?" Miao Yi swept a cold nce towards him.


    Yan Xiu cupped his fists with gnashed teeth and said, "I will do as you bid."


    ¡®ROARRRR....¡¯ Miao Yi thrust the Inversed-Scale Spear in his grasp straight ahead and instantly, Charcoal shot out swiftly like an arrow released from a bow.


    The sinister battle armor on Charcoal¡¯s body gradually emitted a crystalline white light, fusing together with a simr brilliance emerging from Miao Yi¡¯s body. The speed at which he ran became faster than ever before.


    Observing andmanding the battle from halfway up the mountain, Duan Jirui and Luo Wuqing both had their attention snagged by a lone steed charging towards them at breakneck speed.


    Both of them were caught a little by surprise, and thought their eyes were ying tricks on them. Whose mount was it that would actually don a set of transcendence artifacts?


    Seeing a man with such a luxurious set of armor appear, both of them initially thought that Yang Qing had arrived. However, after opening their transcendence vision to examine more closely, they discovered that it was not the case.


    Yet the imposing manner of this lone cavalryman was incredibly astonishing, and made them worry that some sort of expert had suddenly appeared. They didn¡¯t dare to brashly dispatch troops to intercept him.


    Duan Jirui loudly shouted out, "WHO GOES THERE?"


    Quite a number of the cultivators surrounding Qin Weiwei were also surprised to the point of turning their heads to look.


    "THE CAVE MASTER OF EAST ARRIVAL CAVE, MIAO YI IS HERE! WHO DARES TO CHALLENGE ME?!" Miao Yi angrily bellowed in a response that resonated throughout the mountain range.


    When he finished, a number of the men felt relieved. It turned out that this person was just the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. They had honestly thought that some expert hade.


    However, the besieged men of Mount Calming Sea had their spirits irrationally lifted. The Cave Master of East Arrival Cave who had beheaded Fan Renfang and Fang Ziyu had arrived! Above all, Miao Yi¡¯s powerful tag line of¡ª¡®MIAO YI IS HERE, WHO DARES TO CHALLENGE ME!¡¯¡ªactually made them see a glimmer of hope in breaking through the entrapment.


    Whilst using his spear to parry and kill, Gongsun Yu was instantly filled with joy as he shouted, "Cave Master Miao! The Mountain Chieftain is here! Hurry and help us to break through!"


    With a signal from Duan Jirui, twenty men immediately separated themselves from the troops besieging Qin Weiwei and her group, quickly speeding to meet Miao Yi.


    He didn¡¯t know much of Miao Yi, so he intended to dispatch a few men to check him out first.


    Upon seeing twenty men charging towards him, Miao Yi bellowed with fury, "Those who are in my way shall die!"

 Chapter 170: First Snow (4)

    Chapter 170: First Snow (4)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Two Cave Masters charged to the fore. They rode their steeds in formation, and stabbed their spears forward together.


    There was an illusory six-petaled white lotus on both of their foreheads. Usually, Miao Yi would not be so bold as to go head to head against them. However, with the might of his treasured first grade spear, as well as his own cultivation, he had no need for fear and was fully capable of facing them head on.


    As the Inversed-Scale Spear jerked out, its body was wrapped in a resplendent white light while the roars of dragons swept towards the two men in front of him.


    Ten bitter years of training on the ind was now fully disyed with gleaming sharpness.


    The dragon roars resounded as he struck out with his spear. It was hard to tell how many times he pierced forward in that moment as cold sparks flew in quick session.


    ¡®nk! nk!¡¯ Two loud rings reverberated.


    The spears in the two Cave Masters¡¯ hands had been struck away. While they were still taken by surprise, Miao Yi had already slipped himself between the both of them with his relentless momentum.


    Blood spurted out of the neck of one of the Cave Masters; his entire neck exploded with a ¡®BANG!¡¯ and his entire body toppled over backwards.


    Meanwhile, the spearhead in Miao Yi¡¯s hands had already punctured the other man¡¯s waist, leaving behind a bloody hole. In that instant, Charcoal had already slipped past between the two with Miao Yi in tow, and continued charging forth in a frenzied manner.


    Another spear came from the front, but Miao Yi shook it off with his own. Beneath him, Charcoal had no intentions of evading and directly crashed into the enemy¡¯s dragon steed.


    The sharp, long horn on Charcoal¡¯s forehead pierced right into the head of the dragon steed that came charging forward. The enemy¡¯s dragon steed didn¡¯t even have the chance to scream in agony, before getting rammed into a bloody mess and flipped over by Charcoal¡¯s forceful charge.


    As the person on top of the steed jumped up in shock, a cold glint came from beneath him and prated his stomach, creating another gaping wound.


    Miao Yi flicked him away with a single swing. Immediately after, his spear struck out again like a dragon, piercing forward in a torrential storm.


    "KILL!" Miao Yi screamed in rage, raising everyone¡¯s morale.


    Charcoal, whose movements had slowed down from the crash, widened its eyes as its four hooves stomped ferociously at a frightening speed. It sped up and continued to madly dash forward.


    The Inversed-Scales Spear threw up a terrifying gale above Miao Yi as one cold glint after another thrust forth and withdrew from his hands. He wasn¡¯t concerned with his nk, nor did he care about his back; his only concerns were for the enemies that dared to stand before his forward path.


    Riding his steed with spear in hand, Miao Yi flowed like a stretch of white silk as he met the twenty oing steeds. Yet, he effortlessly broke through them all.


    As the cold glint thrust forth and back again, the roars of dragons continued to resound. Wielding his spear, he rode his steed like a raging wave, not slowing down in the slightest. Not a single soul dared to face the edge of his assault.


    The draconic roars of the Inversed-Scale Spear made one¡¯s spirit tremble even as its cold radiance opened a path. Where Charcoal passed, figures fell from their dragon steeds one after another.


    Not long after eight cultivators had already fallen to the Inversed-Scales Spear, everyone else was now too afraid to try and stop him. They quickly spread out to the sides to avoid him, every single one of them were scared to a deathly whiteness.


    Miao Yi instantly broke past the crowd that tried to stop him, and charge directly at the ce where about two hundred men continued to encircle the others. He lifted his spear and angrily shouted, "Miao Yi is here. Those who stand in my way shall die!"


    From halfway up the mountain, Duan Jirui and Luo Wuqing both sucked in a deep breath. They looked at each other, unwilling to admit Miao Yi¡¯s overwhelming spearcraft, and could only praise, "Truly an entire body of prized treasures!"


    On a far off mountain, Zhang Decheng squinted his eyes as he watched the battle. He extended his arm to point ahead as he asked the people about him, "How was I not informed that Yang Qing had such a fierce general as a subordinate?"


    Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads, they also hadn¡¯t heard of it before.


    Perhaps it was because Miao Yi¡¯s murderous aura was too shocking; it was truly a sharpness none could withstand. The people that stood in Miao Yi¡¯s way all fell to his spear within two strikes.


    Seeing him massacre his way towards them like a bolt of lightning, not a single one of the two hundred men surrounding Qin Weiwei¡¯s group dared to impede his path.


    As he continued to single-handedly battle ahead, Miao Yi was like a rock smashing into tofu. Everywhere he went, men would dodge to the sides. After he had instantly killed two Cave Masters with his spear, all the other Cave Masters didn¡¯t dare test their luck, and cowered from him in fear.


    Without any obstacles, Miao Yi managed to charge directly towards Gongsun Yu andpany all by himself, immediately making them overjoyed.


    As she grit her teeth through her difficult ordeal, Qin Weiwei had aplicated expression as she gazed at Miao Yi, whose overwhelming prowess and might was like a god that had descended onto the mortal realm. As she allowed herself to feel relief, she suddenly lost all tension in her body and began to fall over.


    Arge and strong hand suddenly reached to grab her. As he leaned over, Miao Yi held onto her wrist and pulled, quickly lifting Qin Weiwei over to his own steed and seating her behind him.


    At the same time, he pulled Qin Weiwei¡¯s arm across his waist and gestured for her to hold on.


    "Hold on tight!" Miao Yi shouted. As Charcoal swiftly shifted around under him, the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand trembled with a dragon¡¯s roar as it was jabbed directly towards someone in particr.


    It was none other than the man who led Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao as they stared wide-eyed back at him¡ªYuan Zhengkun. It looked as though the three of them found it a little difficult to believe that this person was the same Horse Deputy Miao Yi back in Transient Light Cave. Suddenly, all they could hear was Miao Yi bellowing, "Bastard Yuan Zhengkun, die!"


    Yuan Zhengkun was startled. He immediately turned around and ran away, hiding himself behind the crowd.


    Unexpectedly, Miao Yi didn¡¯t give chase. Instead, he waved his spear and shouted towards Gongsun Yu and the others, "Follow behind me. ughter our way out!"


    He knew now wasn¡¯t the time to dawdle. He had simply relied on his aura to frighten everyone. If he really were to linger because of a single Yuan Zhengkun, he might not be able to rescue Qin Weiwei from this predicament. If that happened, even if he managed to escape the encirclement, how would he be able to face Yang Qing?


    Including Gungsun Yu, the seven men that were lucky enough to have survived immediately followed after with their own screams, "Kill!"


    Miao Yi swiftly led the charge carrying Qin Weiwei at his back. He plowed his way through and opened a path for the men behind him; no one dared to stand in his way as he led the seven men straight out of the encirclement.


    "Stop them! Those who cower from battle will be killed without exception!" Duan Jirui roared.


    He and Luo Wuqing were furious now. The Manor Head was spectating the battle and yet they couldn¡¯t even stop a single man with so many men. Furthermore, he was obviously not someone with a high cultivation. Did they even want to continue working in the future?


    The two of them leapt over with their respective steeds and stood before Miao Yi¡¯s escape path.


    After the two of them gave such a stinging reproof and personally led the assault, the surrounding crowd immediately came forward to seal off the path.


    Yet it wasn¡¯t enough to stop Miao Yi. With Charcoal¡¯s speed, and the force of his charge fueled by an entire set of treasured armour enveloping its body, there was no need to even worry about Qin Weiwei at his back. Moreover, with Gongsun Yu andpany behind keeping his nk safe, Miao Yi masterfully wielded his spear like a duck took to water and only concerned himself with killing the enemies before him, in order to clear a path for those behind.


    ¡®nk, nk, nk, Boom, Boom...¡¯


    A series of impacts resounded, leaving Qin Weiwei astonished from her seat behind Miao Yi. She was surprised by Miao Yi¡¯s spear skills. About ten men had charged forward, but Miao Yi was actually able to quickly respond to their assault. His movements looked chaotic, but there was actually an order to them and he wasn¡¯t the least bit panicked. It made one feel as though he was unbeatable as long as he had a spear in hand. It was overwhelmingly tyrannical.


    With the opportunity to observe from such a close distance, Qin Weiwei still couldn¡¯t imagine how Miao Yi might have trained to attain such superior spearcraft.


    With moves from only a single sh, three cultivators fell to Miao Yi¡¯s spear.


    There were benefits in having less people, just as there were inconveniences with arge crowd¡ªit was impossible for everyone to gather together and attack simultaneously. Regardless of how many people you had, only a portion of those numbers would be able to attack together. This made it extremely difficult to impede Miao Yi¡¯s relentless charge, fully garbed as he was in transcendent artifacts.


    There were some who took the opportunity to strike at Charcoal. If Charcoal didn¡¯t have a full set of armor protecting it, it would likely have died ten times over. However, it could now withstand the assaults.


    Following Charcoal¡¯s relentless charge, they crashed forward. Using the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand, Miao Yi managed to forcefully open up a path of blood.


    Under the terrifying roars of dragons, those that stood in his way were all killed. Wave after waves of enemies were sent flying away as their steeds were knocked over. Dragon steeds and men alike screamed as fresh blood spurted out.


    Those that continued to block his path were all frightened, their courage lost to the onught. However, those that were spectating the battle could feel their blood begin to boil!


    From within the distant mountains, the spectating Zhang Decheng could also see that Miao Yi was not someone with a high cultivation. But it was exactly because of that, that he couldn¡¯t help suck in a deep breath as he said, "Such valor! He is indeed a valiant general. I can¡¯t believe that Yang Qing actually had someone like this working for him!"


    He was not impressed by Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation, but based on the fact that Miao Yi had charged in alone into such a perilous situation just to save Qin Weiwei, Zhang Decheng was convinced that Miao Yi must be one of Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aides. For Yang Qing to have a subordinate who was willing to go to such lengths for him truly made him envious.


    Waiting for orders a distance away, Yan Xiu was also taken aback by what he saw, and could feel his blood boil with excitement. He hadn¡¯t expected that the Cave Master was so ferocious that he would able to kill his way in and out of such a heavy encirclement of about two hundred men.


    As he hid under a tree, Yao Ruoxian secretly observed the battle. His lips couldn¡¯t help but twitch, as the Inversed-Scales Spear was not some sort of peerless treasure to him, yet it was able to unleash the full might of its destructive force in the hands of a cultivator at Miao Yi¡¯s level. He couldn¡¯t help but grumble to himself, "The Inversed-Scale Spear has really met its fated master..."


    However, there was another undeniable fact. If it weren¡¯t for the protection of theplete set of armor that Miao Yi had on, he definitely couldn¡¯t have been as ferocious. If it were a normal spear without the power of a transcendent artifact to back it up, it would have been impossible to unleash such devastating might; a cultivator that was a few grades higher would be able to knock your weapon away.


    That being the case, Yao Ruoxian had to admit that Miao Yi¡¯s exceptional spearcraft was also a deciding factor in him being able to ughter his way in and out. It seemed that even with his eyes closed, Miao Yi would still be able to find the opponent¡¯s opening andunch a fatal strike. His spearcraft was clean and precise to the limit. If that weren¡¯t the case, he would not have been able to defend against the coordinated attack of such arge crowd.


    As the chill wind howled amidst the cascading snow, a line broke out of the encirclement. Men and steeds were thrown off their feet where a gap emerged, and the men that were previously surrounded managed to ughter their way out in a single file.


    Including Miao Yi and Qin Weiwei, the nine cultivators had now dwindled to five after forcefully breaking out of the encirclement. The four that were in had fallen behind purely because they had been ensnared by the enemy and were unable to keep up with Miao Yi¡¯s charge.


    "Where do you think you¡¯re running off to!?"


    Duan Jirui bellowed, as both he and Luo Wuqing raised their spears in an attempt to stop Miao Yi.


    From the one-petaled illusory blue lotus on their foreheads, it was possible to tell that both of them were Blue Lotus level experts.


    Miao Yi cursed to himself. It would be difficult to leverage the might of a first grade transcendent artifact against a Blue Lotus realm cultivator, whose might was on par with a second grade transcendent artifact.


    Furthermore, the faint white light on both of their weapons revealed that they were clearly using first grade transcendent artifacts as well, and not normal weapons.


    As he continued to charge forward, Miao Yi suddenly shouted, "All of you escape first!"


    His words were meant for Gongsun Yu and the rest who were riding behind him. The three people that remained at his back were Gongsun Yu, Li Youqian and Zhang Yuniang.


    The three of them now heeded Miao Yi¡¯s every word. Under the relentless press of enemies from behind, the three of them immediately split into two separate directions, circling around on either side of Duan Jirui and Luo Wuqing who were continuing to charge towards Miao Yi.


    Duan Jirui and Luo Wuqing were not concerned with the three of them and let them escape. The two of them only needed to stop Miao Yi and Qin Weiwei¡ªespecially Qin Weiwei. If she managed to escape, then all their efforts would have been for naught.


    "Hold on tight!" Miao Yi shouted, and behind him, Qin Weiwei¡¯s arms held tightly onto his waist.


    Charcoal suddenly took to the skies; both Duan Jirui and Luo Wuqing responded by viciously leaping in his way.


    The instant both sides shed, besides the Inversed-Scales Spear, seventeen clumps of silver mist suddenly burst out of the seventeen transcendent artifacts on Miao Yi and Charcoal¡¯s bodies. Seventeen ferocious illusionary beasts abruptly struck out and pounced on the two men.

 Chapter 171: First Snow (5)

    Chapter 171: First Snow (5)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Caught by surprise, it was both Duan Jirui and Luo Wuqing¡¯s first time witnessing so many transcendent artifacts erupting from the same person simultaneously. They initially thought that the armour was formed from just a couple of transcendent artifacts. None of them expected there to be almost seventeen in all. Where on earth did a Cave Master dig up so many treasures from?


    Items like transcendent artifacts did not fear death, as they only listened and attacked ording to their master¡¯smands.


    Witnessing the battle from afar, Zhang Decheng frowned the moment he caught wind of the situation. "This is bad!"


    He saw that the situation was about to get tenuous.


    As expected, Duan Jirui and Luo Wuqing were instantly forced into a flurried frenzy. They barely had the time to react, much less attack Miao Yi. The treasured spears in their hands struck out, unleashing a flurry of blows in rapid session. nging sounds resounded from striking the clouds of ferocious phantom beasts.


    A first grade transcendent artifact is unable to withstand the formidable attack power of a Blue Lotus cultivator. What¡¯s more, the weapons wielded by the two were also transcendent artifacts. Instantly, their strikes on each of the illusory ferocious beasts made their resplendent light darken. The Yao Spirit energy inside the artifact was beaten until they were scattered. With a whooshing sound, they shot back towards Miao Yi¡¯s body and returned to their original armor form.


    Miao Yi was never of the mind that his cultivation base would be enough to put up much resistance against cultivators of the Blue Lotus realm. If his cultivation level had crossed the dividing line into White Lotus Fifth Grade, then he could have pushed on with the transcendent artifacts. As it was, there waspletely no chance for him to do so, let alone fight two cultivators of the Blue Lotus realm.


    By relying on his artifacts, the most he could do was temporarily resist and counter them, in order to seize an opportunity to escape.


    Even as half of the artifacts he had released were beaten to their original form, Miao Yi¡¯s objective had been reached¡ªhe instantly brushed past the both of them.


    The few remaining artifacts that had yet to turn into their original forms, quickly sped back and helped Miao Yi withstand Duan Jirui and Luo Wuqing¡¯s counterattacks. Thus, they were able to to sessfully aide Miao Yi in his escape.


    The moment the distance between the two parties pulled apart in mid air, Miao Yi was instantly overwhelmed with concealed joy. With Charcoal¡¯s leg strength, the opponents would never catch up to him!


    Nobody expected Zhang Decheng, who had been observing the battle from the remote mountain range, to let out a cold scoff before joining two fingers and giving them a flick¡ªa crisp ng sound sounded out from beside his waist!


    The treasured sword suspended on his waist immediately pop


    ped out from its sheath. The whole body was raven ck, and faintly suffused with a blue light. Akin to a bolt of lightning, it shot out across the sky with a ¡®Whoosh!¡¯, shing straight at Miao Yi while he was still hanging in mid air and had yet to touch ground.


    Miao Yi was surprised by a powerful surge of transcendence energy whizzing from behind him. In response, the helm on his head exploded abruptly into an illusory silver lion that twisted its body as it pounced out.


    ¡®KABOOM!¡¯


    A reverberating noise erupted from the air. Suffused with blue light, the iing treasured sword shed the lion into a shower of silver rain. Even the Yao Spirit inside had been destroyed,pletely erasing any hope of recovering it. A first grade transcendent artifact had been destroyed on the spot by a single strike from Zhang Decheng.


    The erupted silver lion had only just momentarily suppressed the might of the treasured blue sword by a little, and wasn¡¯t able to sessfully block the offensive force. It continued to sh towards Miao Yi just as he was about to reach the ground.


    Twisting his body around, Miao Yi swiftly pressed Qin Weiwei down behind him. Utilizing the full might of his cultivation level, he returned the blow with a furious roar, dragging the Inversed-Scales Spear around to counter the attack!


    ¡®KABOOM!¡¯


    The instant the Inversed-Scales Spear shed with the blue treasured sword, the sword was deflected upwards. It flipped over in the sky, and curved in an arc before rolling back in Zhang Decheng¡¯s direction.


    The resplendent light on the Inversed-Scale Spear darkened, it had almost been jolted out of his grasp.


    Miao Yi¡¯s entire body was shaken so violently that it almost became numb. The blood and Chi in his body were doing somersaults. He felt as though his internal organs had been wretched out of ce.


    Charcoal was jolted in midair; so much that he let out whinny.


    Even Qin Weiwei received some shock from the fearsome blow of the blue treasured sword. She spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying from Charcoal¡¯s back.


    Her beautiful hair danced in the air; Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes widened greatly as she stared at herself gradually drifting away from Miao Yi, falling towards the ground.


    At first, she thought that she was going to die, but a thoroughly red-faced, swollen cheek Miao Yi suddenly stuck out his hand. In one hasty move, he¡¯d bent over and grabbed onto her arm.


    His movements were toorge, and he couldn¡¯t hold back a mouthful of blood any longer. Unexpectedly, he spat out the mouthful onto Qin Weiwei¡¯s face and was also able to swiftly hauled Qin Weiwei back.


    While he was dragging Qin Weiwei back, Charcoal had already touched the ground and broken into a mad gallop.


    "Cave Master, hurry up and run! Yan Xiu will cover you!"


    Seeing that the situation was beginning to be tenuous, Yan Xiu urgently rushed over and let out a loud furious roar. The chain bound around his arm shook out with a thunderous noise.


    The broad axe with a long chain tied around it was suffused with a crystalline white light as it flew forth. With two reverberating ngs, it deflected two weapons, sneakily hurled straight at Miao Yi¡¯s back, that would¡¯ve almost sent him flying.


    Grabbing back the hurled broad axe, Yan Xiu swiftly turned his body around to pursue Miao Yi from behind. At times, he would nced back to look around, keeping the twin axes ready in his hand to strike back at all times.


    Although Charcoal¡¯s ¡®?haracter¡¯ was poor, he made up for it in being quick-witted. He knew that this was a life and death struggle and, as though his life depended on it, he broke into a violent gallop with all his might, dragging the distance from the mass of pursuing troops behind further and further apart.


    Qin Weiwei was severely injured. Even the light in her eyes was bing quite faint. She was simply being carried in Miao Yi¡¯s arms.


    The fluttering snowkes were thrown into discord by the mounts charging along the path. A bloodstained white skirt, and a head of beautiful, scattered hair were dancing about in the arms of a silver armored cavalryman.


    With her face covered in blood, Qin Weiwei opened her eyes to weakly nce at Miao Yi, who had blood dribbling out of his mouth at times. The snowkes hitting her face felt icy cold.


    Never would she have imaged that even until now, he hadn¡¯t abandoned a burden like her and made his escape alone...


    The retreating blue treasured sword returned back into Zhang Decheng¡¯s grasp. He stared at the fleeing Miao Yi breaking free from the entrapment. Zhang Decheng was caught by surprise. He never expected Miao Yi to actually be able to ward off an attack from his second grade transcendent artifact. He had originally thought that just this one attack alone was enough to kill Miao Yi and knock him down.


    The crucial point was that Miao Yi¡¯s lion helm had staked everything on defusing arge portion of the blue treasured sword¡¯s might. And again after forcibly taking on the attack with the Inversed-Scales Spear, the enemy¡¯s follow-up attack power was defused by twenty-percent. Thus, Miao Yi¡¯s life was fortunately saved. However despite that, the attack had inflicted serious injuries on Miao Yi.


    The distance between the two parties had already pulled far apart. Based on Zhang Decheng¡¯s cultivation and the capability of the transcendent artifact in his hand, he could only manage an attack within a one kilometre range. Exceeding that one kilometer would also mean going beyond his own ability, and thus, he was unable to deliver a second blow to Miao Yi. He was also incapable ofmanding his transcendent artifact to fight a battle in as fluid and nimble a manner as Yao Ruoxian. Otherwise, Miao Yi would already be dead.


    Truth be told, utilizing this sort ofbat technique was slightly risky. When going against a cultivator of Miao Yi¡¯s rank, there wouldn¡¯t be any issues. But when shing with someone who had a higher cultivation level, he could kiss his transcendent artifact goodbye.


    Although this form of killing technique, where the artifact could be sent flying and return, had a one kilometer range. Once the transcendent artifact left one¡¯s hand, it couldn¡¯t be nimbly controlled from a distance and would be easily intercepted by others.


    Arge number of men had failed to detain Qin Weiwei, allowing just a single man to barge in and rescue her. Even his own weren¡¯t able to stop the other party from doing so. It made Zhang Decheng lose his temper from the shame. Humiliated, he flew into a rage and ordered, "Everyone attack! Order the four ambush units up ahead to stop him!"


    As soon as he voiced out the order, he himself, together with the troops behind him, all charged down the mountain with a loud rumble. Several hundred of the cavalry¡¯s thundering hooves echoed throughout the mountain forest.


    Just because a single Miao Yi had appeared, their entire n had been disrupted. Those men were originally meant to be waiting in ambush for Yang Qing. But now, if they couldn¡¯t even detain Qin Weiwei and allowed her to escape, Yang Qing would nevere here and send himself to his death.


    Now, all they could do was try their best to stop Qin Weiwei. If they couldn¡¯t, then they could still seize the opportunity to fight Yang Qing head on, while he still had yet topletely assemble his forces. Since their troops outnumbered Yang Qing¡¯s, they could still expend more resources to eliminate Yang Qing.


    Yet in order to avoid arousing Yang Qing¡¯s suspicions earlier, Zhang Decheng hadmanded his four subordinate Mountain Chieftains to make the encirclement too wide.


    After the four Mountain Chieftains received the message sent by the spiritual eagles, they urgently pressed forth to stop them but were unable to. They stared on helplessly as countless mounted soldiers broke through the entrapment up ahead, and could only closely pursue them from behind.


    Now for the sake of fleeing with his life, Miao Yi spared no effort. The armors on his and Charcoal¡¯s body were squirming. He immediately grabbed sixteen First Grade Yao Cores out and fed them to the sixteen transcendent artifacts to replenish their energy that had been almostpletely exhausted. He intended to quickly recover his transcendent artifacts¡¯ defensive ability.


    The soldiers were hot on their trail. He couldn¡¯t calm himself down enough to recover his depleted transcendence energy and wounds. Carrying Qin Weiwei in his arms, he would asionally nce behind. On seeing that there was still a massive army charging out from either side, he spat out a mouthful of blood and yelled out behind him, "KEEP UP!"


    Leaning in his arms, Qin Weiwei asionally opened her eyes weakly. She would gaze dazedly for a while at Miao Yi, who had blood trickling down his chin, before eventually shutting her eyes once more due to exhaustion with a perplexed expression on her face.


    Gongsun Yu and the rest frantically urged their mounts to follow closely from behind. At the same time, they shouldered the task of defending against the attacks from behind.


    They realized that Miao Yi¡¯s mount ran at a terrifying speed whilst dragging a body of heavy armor that were now temporarily unable to help; there was another person¡¯s weight on him as well. And yet, he was actually faster than them riding alone. Thus, they had to do their utmost to urge their steeds onwards just to barely keep up with him.


    Initially when Gongsun Yu saw Miao Yi carrying Qin Weiwei in his arms, he was quite perturbed. However, after witnessing the leg strength of Miao Yi¡¯s mount, he could only let it be.


    They made their escape down the path with arge mass of troops chasing closely from behind. The sounds of hooves thundered about, causing dust to fly in its wake.


    Half a dayter, the sounds of thundering hooves closing in came from up ahead. Miao Yi and the rest were overjoyed upon catching sight of Yang Qing already urgently leading his men to rush to their rescue.


    The moment they ran into each other, Yang Qing swept his gaze over Miao Yi, before dropping onto Qin Weiwei¡¯s face in Miao Yi¡¯s arms. After seeing that his daughter had been rescued and was no longer held hostage, his spirits lifted instantly. The worried look on his face was long gone, and a nasty grin shed past instead. "He Yunye you old scum, you dare to double cross me. Do you seriously think that I, Yang Qing, am made out of y? You want to devour me? I would love to see whether your mouth is up for it!"


    His subordinates were already in formation to meet the enemy in battle. Nobody expected Yang Qing to make a sudden decision. He didn¡¯t care why Miao Yi had returned, and didn¡¯t spare any thought on themanding armor that Miao Yi and his mount donned. He even didn¡¯t care about Qin Weiwei¡¯s injuries. Without even a single line of unnecessary words, he brandished his spear and ordered, "Retreat!"


    His subordinates¡¯ troops immediately turned around and headed back with him without engaging themselves with Zhang Decheng¡¯s army, allowing Zhang Decheng¡¯s troops to pursue them from behind.


    Thereafter, Yang Qing swiftly wrote down orders on jade archives before passing it to Qing Mei and Qing Ju. Using the spiritual eagles, they swiftly sent the decree to the other mountains¡¯ troops who had not assembled with him yet.


    After traveling at speed for a hundred li, Yang Qing saw that the pursuing troops were stilltched onto them without any intention of letting them go. He suddenly brandished his spear, pointing it ahead to a fork in the road. Brazenly, he ordered, "Every division, listen to my order! Follow me to charge through the boundary of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. When meeting with a cave, quickly destroy it! When wee across a mountain, topple it! We¡¯llunch a direct assault at Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor!"


    Everyone was shocked beyond measure. Attacking Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor under Suppressing Third Hall?


    Even Miao Yi was also stunned as he continued holding onto Qin Weiwei. Had the Manor Head been driven to madness? Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor territory did not belonged to Suppressing Second Hall. With the current situation, a mere insignificant Manor Head like you still dared to wreck havoc on Suppressing Third Hall¡¯s territory?

 Chapter 172: Reversal (1)

    Chapter 172: Reversal (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Everyone was wondering if they had heard wrongly. The battle between South Edict Manor and Ever Peace Manor was Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s affairs after all. All things considered, they should settle their disputes internally, but if Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor got involved in the battle, it would mean something else entirely. Either Suppressing Third Hall¡¯s authority was being challenged, or they were nning to attack Suppressing Third Hall. There were dire consequences in upsetting the Hall Master of Suppressing Third Hall.


    Pei Jingxiu, Yang Qing¡¯s subordinate Mountain Chieftain, anxiously said, "Manor Head, our troops have yet to assemble. It will be difficult enough dealing with Zhang Decheng¡¯srge army, why create even more trouble?"


    Yang Qing mocked, "Even if our troops were toe together, we would not be able to get the upper hand going against Zhang Decheng directly. Even if we were to win, both sides would suffer severe casualties."


    Qing Mei couldn¡¯t help but remind him, "Manor Head, Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor is under the jurisdiction of Suppressing Third Hall and not under themanded of our Suppressing Second Hall. Should weunch an assault on Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, we will be inciting the wrath of Suppressing Third Hall. I am afraid that responsibility is not something we are able to bear."


    Continuing to lead the charge, Yang Qing coldly snorted and said, "The wrath of Suppressing Third Hall? That is none of my business! Naturally, our mighty Hall Master would shoulder the burden. How could a mere Manor Head such as myself carry such arge responsibility?"


    Everyone else was rendered speechless, astonished by the Manor Head¡¯s words. Their only thought was that their Manor Head was being too reckless. This was not something the usually calm and cunning Manor Head would do. Could it be because his adopted daughter was hurt by others?


    Feeling particrly fragile, Qin Weiwei raised her arm to touch Miao Yi. The Great Cave Master Miao lowered his head in response and could just barely hear her utter the words ¡®Manor Head¡¯ from her mouth.


    Miao Yi understood what she meant; she wanted to go up front and speak to the Manor Head.


    Beneath him, Charcoal immediately sped up and made his way to Yang Qing¡¯s side.


    Yang Qing turned his head to look, and could just make out Qin Weiwei weakly saying, "Manor Head, no need to be rash because of me. Please reconsider your actions, Manor Head!"


    "Weiwei, you are overthinking things." Yang Qing replied as he shook his head, and added, "Originally, I believed that things would pass if I just lowered my head and endured it all. But after this incident, I havee to fully understand that if you do not show your strength, others will just think that you are a pushover. No matter how much you suck it up, you will not be able to change anything. Hmph! There are some who think we are soft and just easy pickings. That¡¯s why, if we do not disy the might of our South Edict Manor in this battle, trouble will continue to hound us even if we were to win. We must let a certain someone understand that it is not easy to eat me, Yang Qing, up. Only then will that he set his sights on someone else. Did Zhang Decheng not want a battle? Then I shall bring him a battle that will sunder heaven and earth. Since he managed to provoke me; then I, Yang Qing, shall see if he has the ability to return with his life!"


    Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t know the true story behind this incident. She had some suspicions, but there were many people around them right now. Yang Qing didn¡¯t want to reveal the details of his ns for the moment either, so he raised his hand and stopped her as he said, "No need for further discussion. I¡¯ve made up my mind!"


    He immediately gestured Qing Mei to tend to Qin Weiwei¡¯s wounds, stopping Qin Weiwei from speaking further before turning around and shouting, "Everyone, do not fret. I know what I am doing. Everyone just match my actions and do as I say. The more glorious we are in this battle, the safer we will be!"


    What else could they say? All the subordinates could only loudly respond with, "We are willing to give our lives for our duty!"


    Qing Mei drew out a small Glorious Star Immortal Herb from her storage ring and brought her steed to Miao Yi¡¯s side. She brought Qin Weiwei over to her steed, and helped tend to her wounds.


    Without being burdened, Miao Yi could feel more rxed. Now that Yang Qing and the rest were around, he heaved a sigh of relief and brought his storage ring in front of his nose to breath in strands of stardust into his lungs. He dispelled the protective arts inside his body and rxed himself so that the medicinal effects could be allowed to heal his wounds smoothly.


    Once his wounds were almostpletely healed, he instructed Charcoal to simply follow Yang Qing and the others. He then tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth, closed his eyes, and began refining it to recover his spent transcendence energy.


    The sky slowly darkened as the men marched relentlessly through wind and snow. Yang Qing had already called for his trusted ex-aide, Gongsun Yu, toe to his side, and started questioning him about the events that had transpired.


    Gongsun Yu was not only his trusted aide, he also one of the witnesses. Naturally,, he wouldn¡¯t hide anything and spoke truthfully on the entire incident.


    He discovered that things were just as he had expected, Qin Weiwei had indeed been ambushed. Yang Qing berated that girl in his mind once more for her folly.


    However, what took Yang Qing by surprise was Miao Yi¡¯s sudden appearance, and that he was able to single-handedly ughter his way in and out of an encirclement of about two hundred men; putting his life on the line and saving Qin Weiwei from her plight.


    Yang Qing was shocked and a little doubtful; based on Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation, how could he possibly have wreaked havoc on his own when surrounded by so many men? He confirmed this matter with Gongsun Yu once more.


    However, Gongsun Yu was filled with admiration as he spoke about Miao Yi. He raved with excitement as he recounted how Miao Yi had killed his way in and out with just a spear in hand. That stirring scene had left quite a deep impression on him.


    Yang Qing felt pleased as he listened, thinking about how he indeed hadn¡¯t misjudged that man back at Transient Light Cave. This time was the same as what he had seen that year in Transient Light Cave; the youngster Miao Yi had put his life at risk in order to rescue his own daughter against all odds.


    Of course, he knew that Miao Yi and Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t get along very well. However, it was precisely so that made this situation so unlikely. Clearly, Miao Yi hadn¡¯t risked his life for Qin Weiwei¡¯s sake, but for him, Yang Qing! His judgement was indeed not mistaken. It was worth his efforts in always treating Miao Yi so favorably.


    After he asked Gongsun Yu to stand down, Yang Qing turned to examine Miao Yi closely. He realized that not only was Miao Yi¡¯s full body armor many times more striking than his own; what was even more outrageous, was that his fatso dragon steed sported a full set of armor as well. This waspletely unheard of. Miao Yi had certainly been quitevish.


    Yang Qing could tell from a nce that were it not for this armor, that fatso dragon steed would likely have been killed a long time ago amidst the chaos. Without the support of a dragon steed¡¯s leg strength, Miao Yi also wouldn¡¯t have been able to ughter his way in and out to rescue his own daughter; he would definitely have met his end.


    His gaze descended to the six storage rings on both of Miao Yi¡¯s hands, then took another gander at the imposing battle armor that he and his dragon steed had donned, as well as that long spear brimming with a savage aura. His expression couldn¡¯t help but twitch as he thought how this brat must have made quite the fortune from his journey. Otherwise, how could a normal Cave Master wear such an overly borate and luxurious set of equipment?


    "You just came back today?"


    The sound of Yang Qing¡¯s transmission suddenly echoed in Miao Yi¡¯s ear. He hastily stopped refining the Orb of Will that he had been using to recover his transcendence energy, and weakly replied to the transmission, "Your subordinate is at fault. I haveete."


    Yang Qing coldly mocked, "You really went to the Sea of Constetions?"


    Miao Yi feebly replied , "Yes."


    He had zero confidence deep down. Not only did the subordinates he had brought with him all perished, even East Arrival Cave had been destroyed by the enemy. He wasn¡¯t sure if he could still keep his position as Cave Master.


    "With your cultivation, you were still able toe back alive after heading to the Sea of Constetions?" Yang Qing continued mocking him; however in reality, he waspletely astonished. This kid really never disappointed him. He actually managed toe back alive from the Sea of Constetions.


    "It was a perilous journey, and the odds of surviving were slim. I have only managed toe back with my life because of good fortune."


    "How was your harvest from this journey?"


    Miao Yi grumbled to himself¡ª¡®You couldn¡¯t possibly be eyeing my things, right? As a superior, you shouldn¡¯t be thinking of forcefully taking your subordinates belongings? If word got out, who would dare work for you in the future...¡¯ However, he humbly replied, "Nothing too grand, just a small harvest."


    "Just a small harvest? I can see that you have amassed quite the fortune! Why? Scared that I might steal your things?"


    "No, no. These little trinkets of mine would hardly pique Manor Head¡¯s interest."


    Yang Qing snorted and asked, "What about those subordinates that you brought with you?"


    Miao Yi was at a loss for words¡ªwhat muste will eventuallye. He hesitated for a moment. When he realized that he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid this anyway, he decisively replied, "Reporting to Manor Head. The Sea of Constetions is indeed a dangerous ce. We had only just entered the Sea of Constetions, and had yet to reachnd, when we were ambushed by a demon. The nine people under mymand were unable to escape and all perished at the spot!"


    "Now you realize that the Sea of Constetions is dangerous?" Yang Qing sneered once again. After a moment of thought, he transmitted, "The School of Blue Jade are only aware that you brought their men away, but not to the Sea of Constetions. When you go back, if the School of Blue Jade questions you, you can just me their deaths on Ever Peace Manor and say that they all died in this battle, understand?"


    Miao Yi was stunned. As he gathered his thoughts, he was overjoyed. Yang Qing was protecting him and it seemed that he would be able to ovee this difficult hurdle just like that; it was worth risking his life to save Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter. He quickly replied, "Thank you for your support, Manor Head!"


    Yang Qing didn¡¯t reply and simply snorted. However, he found this situation truly hrious as he thought about the sort of expression Zhang Decheng had on at this moment.


    He waspletely certain that it didn¡¯t matter whether Miao Yi was at East Arrival Cave or not this time around. It wouldn¡¯t have affected Ever Peace Manor¡¯s decision. What was bound to happen, would happen regardless of whether this kid was present or not. However, it was because of this kid¡¯s sudden appearance that Zhang Decheng¡¯s calctions werepletely disrupted. Knowing this, wouldn¡¯t Zhang Decheng likely be puking blood in anger?


    He also knew that, if Miao Yi hadn¡¯t gone on this journey and came back with a whole body of treasure, if he had stayed in East Arrival Cave all this while with just his current strength, it wouldn¡¯t have made much of a difference.. He might have even risked his life for nothing. Looking at it this way, it was a good thing that the kid had snuck off to the Sea of Constetions. One way or another, Miao Yi helped solve the predicament that he was in.


    Night had fallen, the snow began to fall in earnest as the slippery ground began to amass mounds of snow.


    Therge army galloped without rest on this snowy night. Only dragon steeds had such endurance in their legs; normal horses would have died a long time ago.


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s wounds slowly healed. After recovering about fifty to sixty percent of her expended transcendence energy; naturally, she no longer had a problem to riding a horse. This was a good thing, but Miao Yi was a little lost for words.


    The reason was because Elder Auntie Qing Mei had demanded that they switch steeds. There was no other reason beyond the fact that Charcoal had strong legs. Qing Mei¡¯s steed had some difficulty keeping up with the troops while carrying both Qin Weiwei and herself.


    Previously, Qin Weiwei was injured, so there was no helping it that Miao Yi had to carry her around. However now, it naturally wasn¡¯t appropriate for a man and a woman to share a steed¡ªElder Auntie had said so. Thus, Miao Yi could only switch steeds with Qing Mei.


    Charcoal was not as obedient as Qing Mei¡¯s steed that would heed her master¡¯s every order. He wasn¡¯t cooperative at all when a stranger sat on his back, and only settled down after Miao Yi forced him to.


    There were noints about Charcoal¡¯s leg strength. Its speed didn¡¯t decrease in the slightest while carrying Qing Mei and Qin Weiwei; it had no problem keeping up with the troops.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi found a little difficulty getting used to suddenly sitting on a ¡®scrawny¡¯ dragon steed after being ustomed to the plump Charcoal.


    That wasn¡¯t the least of it; Miao Yi was a little uncertain what Yang Qing was actually nning. He clearly said that they were to attack Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, yet all they had done was circle around the individual abodes under Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor as if they had no intention of assaulting them. Throughout this journey, they had been leading Zhang Decheng¡¯s troops in circles around Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s territory.


    Not only Miao Yi, even the others were confused.


    The Mountain Chieftain Pei Jingxiu had followed quietly all this while. He couldn¡¯t resist any longer and wanted to probe Yang Qing¡¯s intentions once again, when Yang Qing suddenly silenced him with a single sentence. "Come daylight tomorrow, everything will be clear!"

 Chapter 173: Reversal (2)

    Chapter 173: Reversal (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Forget about Yang Qing¡¯s subordinates, even Zhang Decheng¡¯s men were puzzled. They had no idea what Yang Qing nned to do by leading them around Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor.


    As they continued the chase, one of the subordinate Mountain Chieftains Mei Yu reminded him, "Manor Head, for Yang Qing to lead us in circles around Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, there might be some hidden agenda."


    He had voiced everyone¡¯s concerns, so the other Mountain Chieftains also supported him as they listened and said, "That¡¯s right! Manor Head, Mei Yu has a point."


    Clearly, everyone was trying to be more cautious. They all regarded this chase with much vignce.


    Zhang Decheng waspletely furious. It wasn¡¯t that his n hadn¡¯t been detailed enough, but just as it was about to seed, a peon had toe and wreck everything. Hearing how everyone else wanted to halt the chase with that tone of voice, he was quite displeased. However, he still put up a front andughed as he said, "If we were to really stop giving chase, we would have truly fallen to Yang Qing¡¯s scheme!"


    The Mountain Chieftain Sheng Huaigang inquired, "May I ask the Manor Head why that is so?"


    "What do you all think Yang Qing could possibly be plotting?" Zhang Decheng asked as he pointed towards therge toon that was fleeing ahead of them. He added, "Yang Qing is fleeing before us. If he made any move, could he hide it from our eyes? Should there be anything amiss, we can always turn around and run away. What could Yang Qing do to us?"


    Lin Xutian reminded, "A great portion of Yang Qing¡¯s army isn¡¯t with him now. Could Yang Qing be intentionally stalling for time so his subordinates can set up a trap, andter lure us into an ambush?"


    Zhang Dechengughed and said, "Our troops won¡¯t lose to Yang Qing¡¯s in terms of both strength and numbers. What effect could such an ambush have on us? It would be naught but a futile effort! If Yang Qing really had such intentions, then he would be the biggest of fools. If he gathered his forces, he might still be able to put up a fight against us; splitting his troops for an ambush is nothing more than a joke. If that were to happen, forget about the ambush and just concern yourselves with chasing after Yang Qing. We will immediately defeat him with greater numbers. Once Yang Qing fell, any ambush would have been for naught!"


    As they listened, everyone else nodded, beginning to feel relieved. They started to believe this was the case as well after giving it some thought.


    However, Mei Yu was still a little doubtful as he asked, "Yang Qing has been leading us in circles within Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s territory; could he have some sort of pact with Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor? What if Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor were to sortie and form an alliance with Yang Qing?"


    Zhang Decheng shook his head andughed as he said, "We are merely passing by Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor and not intruding on their business. If Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor were to attack us, it would undoubtedly mean that Suppressing Third Hall was attacking Suppressing Second Hall. How could the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor dare to incite a battle between two Halls?"


    Mei Yu continued to ponder atop his galloping dragon steed. He was also beginning to agree with the idea after some thought, but he still felt doubtful and so asked, "Then why has Yang Qing been leading us in circles within Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s territory?"


    "Seeing how relentlessly we¡¯ve been chasing them for a battle to certain death, Yang Qing must be out of options and, knowing that he can¡¯t win, is intentionally creating confusion. He is trying to make us paranoid and intimidate us into ceasing our pursuit." Zhang Dechengughed coldly, then, turning his head to the left and right, said, "Hadn¡¯t all of you almost fallen into his trap just then?!"


    Sheng Huaigang and the rest had looks of shame on their faces. They immediately cupped their fists and said, "Manor Head is wise."


    However, Mei Yu continued to be cautious as he said, "Thinking back, hadn¡¯t Yang Qing been able to conquer South Edict Manor precisely because he suddenly had help from the School of Blue Jade. They may decide to interfere again this time. I am afraid we have no choice but to be prepared."


    "Mountain Chieftain Mei is over thinking things," said Zhang Decheng as he turned to red at him. He was wondering why this subordinate of his kept trying to argue with him, and couldn¡¯t help himself from sounding like he was berating Mei Yu for his cowardice while using Mei Yu of simply over thinking the matter. "Since I dared to attack South Edict Manor, how could I not have ounted for the School of Blue Jade? The School of Blue Jade only interfered with Yang Qing and Lu Yu¡¯s battle previously, because Yang Qing had Advisor Feng supporting him from behind, but now Yang Qing has no one protecting him! I have no qualms about revealing the truth¡ªas soon as our troops departed from Ever Peace Manor, someone from Advisor He¡¯s retinue had already issued a warning to the School of Blue Jade¡ªexternal forces that would interfere with Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s matters without consent, should beware of being crushed under the armies of Suppressing Second Hall! Do you all think the School of Blue Jade dares to challenge our Suppressing Second Hall?"


    Since Zhang Decheng already said this much, it would be tactless if he continued to nag. Mei Yu cupped his fists and said, "Manor Head has already ounted for everything. Your subordinate has indeed been over thinking things."


    "There is no harm in being cautious!" Zhang Decheng said magnanimously, as he waved aside the apology with his hand, and continued to lead hisrge army on a relentless pursuit.


    His face revealed very little of this thoughts, but the worries in his heart were not something that his subordinates could understand.


    They¡¯d created such a bigmotion this time. It would be fine if they managed to take over South Edict Manor. Once Yang Qing was killed, you could fabricate any story you liked in order to deal with your superior. So long as itplied with the superior¡¯s demands, the superior would naturally keep one eye open and the other closed.


    If they couldn¡¯t take over the Manor, then the problem was serious. Even if He Yunye had your back, once Yang Qing reported this matter to their superiors¡ªseeing as all involved were the men of Suppressing Second Hall¡ªwhat reasonable exnation was there for ambushing your own men. If that were to happen, He Yunye definitely wouldn¡¯t admit to have instigated his own men to attack one another; he would even sever all rtions and push all the me onto him, Zhang Decheng.


    Seeing as things had escted to this point, how could Zhang Decheng let Yang Qing go? He wouldn¡¯t let him go even if he had to chase him to the ends of the earth!


    What angered Zhang Decheng the most was still Miao Yi¡¯s sudden appearance, throwing all his carefullyid ns down the gutter. All the benefits he could have easily gained were now a troublesome mess. He would definitely get that kid for this after everything was over...


    The two armies continued to run around in Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s territory. Meanwhile within Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s territory, another group had gathered together; it was the rest of Yang Qing¡¯s subordinates that had yet to join with him.


    As soon as the individual Mountain Chieftains received Yang Qing¡¯s orders, they immediately stopped rushing to his aid. After they met up for a brief discussion, they changed their course midway and directly invaded Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor from South Edict Manor.


    With each Mountain¡¯s troops as an individual unit, the Mountain Chieftains all raised the banner of Zhang Decheng¡¯s Ever Peace Manor from Suppressing Second Hall, as they led their troops in an assault against Definite Peace Cave, Graceful Waters Cave, Definite Luo Cave, etc...


    It was clear that it wouldn¡¯t take much time for a Mountain¡¯s troops to take over a Cave. The seven Mountain Chieftains under Yang Qing split up, and swept over the ten Caves belonging to Mount Bearing Longevity of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor.


    In the end, on this cold, blistering snowy night, the seven squadrons that had massacred everywhere else, gathered at the foot of Mount Bearing Longevity. Theypletely surrounded Mount Longevity and viciously attacked in unison.


    Misfortune seemed to simply rain down on Mount Bearing Longevity. They were attacked without a word of warning. As soon as the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Bearing Longevity released a spirit eagle to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor requesting for support, he intended to lead his men into a bloody bath to escape the encirclement. However, there were seven Mountains worth of men joining forces to attack this lone Mountain of his. Furthermore, they hadpletely eliminated all the forces of his subordinate Caves. As such, the result of the battle was obvious.


    A trio of mountain chieftains with the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, Xiong Xiao, taking the lead, shed with the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Bearing Longevity inbat. Ultimately, thetter was knocked off his horse and killed by Xiong Xiao.


    There were no survivors left in the purged Mount Bearing Longevity; it had undergone a cleansing of blood, and at the end of it, fire was thrown into the Mount Bearing Longevity Grand Hall.


    Under the light of the raging mes, the various Mountain Chieftains gathered together and gave each other a nod. They then swiftly led their forces to dash out of Mount Bearing Longevity, acting in ordance with their ns....


    Under this silent snowy night, Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor was slowly being covered with the whiteness of snow.


    As he cultivated in his silent quarters, the Manor Head Liu Jingtian was disturbed by a set of rapid footsteps barging in. He opened his eyes and saw that it was his own handmaiden.


    Before he even had the chance to ask what was wrong, the handmaiden had already anxiously said, "Manor Head, there is serious trouble. Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s Ever Peace Manor has led its troops to invade our Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor."


    Liu Jingtian was taken aback. Surprised, he immediately asked "South Edict Manor lies in between our two Manors. How did Ever Peace Manor even manage tounch an assault? Is this information urate?"


    "The Caves under Mount Bearing Longevity have already beenpletely eradicated by troops personally led by Zhang Decheng, the Manor Head of Ever Peace Manor. When Mount Bearing Longevity sent in a request for aid, they were already being surrounded!" said the handmaiden as she quickly handed over the jade archive in her hands.


    Liu Jingtian took the jade archive and read it. Beyond all his rage, wasplete shock. What did it mean for Ever Peace Manor to attack Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor? Suppressing Second Hall hadunched an assault on Suppressing Third Hall!


    This incident was no small matter; it was of grave importance, and Liu Jingtian did not dare to dally as he hastily jumped down from the stone bed, and left in great strides.


    Not long after, rms sounded throughout the mountains of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor as messenger spirit eagles flew out of the Manor. Besides the ones reporting to Suppressing Third Hall, there were others swiftly flying to assemble the troops of the various mountains belonging to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor.


    Manor Head Liu Jingtian donned his battle armor and led his men to gallop across the snowy night...


    After gathering a Mountain¡¯s worth of men on the way to Mount Bearing Longevity, he received word that it had already been reduced to rubble. Furious, he bellowed out, "Zhang Decheng!"


    "Report! Mount Returning Loyalty sends word. Arge army was seen moving about suspiciously within our Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor territory!"


    "The opponent came prepared. I order every Mountain to refrain from making any rash movements and quickly assemble under me!"


    As he ryed hismand, Liu Jingtian led his subordinates and quickly departed once again.


    Halfway on their journey, a rider suddenly came up and said, "Mount Shaotai¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao of Suppressing Second Hall, South Edict Manor is requesting to see Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s Manor Head!"


    The other side was sending men to assault them; now this side was sending men to request an audience. Liu Jingtian was extremely confused as he wondered, ¡®Could he be here to deliver a formal deration of war? Yet there¡¯s no need to send a Mountain Chieftain all this way just to deliver a formal deration of war!¡¯


    He quickly gave the orders to let the person through for an interrogation.


    Liu Jingtian brought his steed to a stop and paused to examine the other party. He could tell that the other party didn¡¯t look like an average cultivator.


    The person who had gone to meet Xiong Xiao was beside him, transmitting messages to Liu Jingtian as he verified Xiong Xiao¡¯s identity.


    The person that hade was indeed Xiong Xiao. He brought his dragon steed forward and cupped his fists in greeting as he said, "Mount Shaotai¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao of Suppressing Second Hall, South Edict Manor, hereby requests an audience with the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. There is something I must report; I hope you will grant me an audience!"


    He asked, despite already knowing that the person before him was the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. He pretended that he was unaware of the fact, and continued to request for an audience.


    Liu Jingtian already had a dark expression on his face as he said, "I am he! You Suppressing Second Hall people still have the face to meet me. You really do not fear death!"


    Xiong Xiao immediately wore a look of shock as he hurriedly jumped down from his dragon steed. He took out a jade archive and offered it up with both hands as he said, "Manor Head Yang Qing has personally signed this jade archive and ordered me to meet you, Manor Head!"


    Immediately, someone took the jade archive and handed it over to Liu Jingtian. As he looked through it, Liu Jingtian couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brows.


    The gist of Yang Qing¡¯s message in the jade archive was that their two Manors had always refrained from intruding in each other¡¯s businesses, but Zhang Decheng of Ever Peace Manor had led his troops over and wrecked havoc. He had escaped into Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s territory, which is why Yang Qing was now trying to ask for Liu Jingtian¡¯s assistance in executing him. Even if they couldn¡¯t cooperate, Yang Qing hoped that Liu Jingtian would not shelter Zhang Decheng and instead, drive him back into Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s territory to avoid bringing trouble to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. Once the deed was done, arge amount ofpensation was promised.


    The jade archive had Yang Qing¡¯s transcendence seal; there was no forging it.


    "Drive them back? After killing my men, how would it end with just being driven back?" Liu Jingtian had a bone to pick with Zhang Decheng. It was all the more convenient to have someone to work in order to execute him, but he wouldn¡¯t just blindly cooperate with Yang Qing. He had to appraise the matter with his own eyes at the very least. Otherwise, who could tell what was true from what was false? He did not want to fall for any tricks.

 Chapter 174: Reversal (3)

    Chapter 174: Reversal (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Liu Jingtian didn¡¯t agree, nor did he disagree. For the time being, he made sure that Xiong Xiao stayed with his toon as they travelled; it was the same as taking him hostage.


    On the other hand, Xiong Xiao had an indifferent expression on his face. This time around, his orders from Yang Qing was precisely to gain Liu Jingtian¡¯s trust. If a normal cultivator hade to act as the hostage, it would have undoubtedly been difficult to gain Liu Jingtian¡¯s trust; a Mountain Chieftain however, held enough weight as a hostage.


    Truth be told, Xiong Xiao was risking his life on this journey. If he let anything slip, then he was a dead man.


    Xiong Xiao was indeed worthy of being Yang Qing¡¯s trusted subordinate. It had been worthwhile for Yang Qing to treat him favorably for so many years. In such times of need, he was willing to step up and take a risk for Yang Qing.


    Naturally, this was rted to the way Yang Qing disciplined his subordinates. He was able to create a circle of trust.


    For example, as soon as Gongsun Yu, Wang Hai, Li Youqian, Zhang Yuniang andpany saw Qin Weiwei fall into a heavy encirclement, they still decided to risk saving her despite knowing it was an ambush. Wang Hai had even given his life in that battle.


    There was also Miao Yi who, because of his rtionship with Yang Qing, decided to put his life on the line and forcefully ughter his way through, opening up a path of blood to rescue Qin Weiwei.


    Obviously, there had to be some sort of benefit for Xiong Xiao to take such a risk willingly; he was Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide after all. If Yang Qing fell, then he, Xiong Xiao, wouldn¡¯t necessarily escape unscathed.


    The skies began to shine, enveloping the earth with light peeking from the grey clouds up above.


    Just outside of a ptial mountain-top hall, stood a madam dressed in long white robes. Her lush hair, tied high over her crown; her eyebrows, akin to smooth brush strokes on a painting; and her figure appealing in its proportions. She gently stepped onto the snow, making her way to the edge of the cliff as petals of snow fell softly about her, like plum blossoms. She gazed at the scenery in mncholy as she tried to admire its splendor despite not understanding its beauty.


    This ptial hall was called the Suppressing Third Hall, and the madam that was admiring the snow by herself was none other than the Hall Master of Suppressing Third Hall, Wu Menn.


    Just as she was gazing over the vast horizon, her handmaiden rushed over and handed her a jade archive with both hands.


    Wu Menn held the jade archive in her hand and examined it. As she did, her eyebrows furrowed as she muttered, "Suppressing Second Hall has deployed its troops and invaded my territory? How is this possible...."


    She had a secret pact with Hall Master Huo Lingxiao of Suppressing Second Hall. Others may not be aware of it, but how could those that have attained their level of cultivation not know?


    The Six Sages were generally in favor of the skilled cultivators under them killing one another, but they didn¡¯t feel the same for veterans that have rtively high cultivations; only the new recruits could be chanced with. Otherwise, if the low ranking cultivators didn¡¯t get a chance to prove themselves, things would inevitably get chaotic. If everyone used underhanded methods to take one another¡¯s cultivating resources, it would have been impossible to maintain the current order that had been established in the cultivation realm. Only with the constant cycle of the new recing the old, would there be no one capable of challenging the Six Sage¡¯s position.


    She and Huo Lingxiao would not be so stupid, which was why they had established a secret pact to never deploy their troops and attack each other on a whim. The both of them had cultivations at Red Lotus Fifth Grade. In terms of strength, there were still a far cry from bing Pce Lords. As such, it was a time for them toy low, and slowly build up their cultivation.


    If Huo Lingxiao¡¯s cultivation had broken through to the Purple Lotus realm and he aspired to be a Pce Lord, only then would Wu Menn believe it possible for it to ur.


    Furthermore, if those that have reached their level of cultivation really wanted to attack one another, they wouldn¡¯t go for an all-out massacre like their subordinates. If Huo Lingxiao really had such a desire, then he would definitely havee to get rid of her first. It would be a simple matter to settle down her subordinates once she was gone.


    Thus, if Huo Lingxiao had really wanted to attack Suppressing Third Hall, he wouldn¡¯t have been so stupid as to send hisckeys for an assault. That was pretty much the same as letting her know beforehand, and giving her time to prepare herself. If that was the case, then it was more likely that Huo Linxiao was hit in the head.


    "Have those on the ground confirm the situation, and tell them not to lose theirposure. If someone was reallyunching an assault, if they can¡¯t even defend their own domain, what use do I have for letting these worthless idiotsmand a territory? Don¡¯t tell me they still expect me to go out personally?"


    Wu Menn sneered as she crushed the jade archive in her hand into dust, and let the cold wind carry it away.


    Liu Jingtian continued to gather his men from the various Mountains as he led the charge, and his numbers kept increasing.


    All this while, Xiong Xiao had been following them in the center of the formation. There were four Mountain Chieftains apanying him from his front, back, left and right respectively. He was clearly their captive.


    A group of men came up from the front. Seeing as they were not his men, Liu Jingtian swiftly ordered for everyone to halt and get into battle formation.


    However, Xiong Xiaoughed as he came out, saying, "These are my subordinates!"


    Seeing as there were less than a hundred people, Liu Jingtian didn¡¯t make things difficult and simply let them through. They were ced in the center of his own troops. Clearly, he was holding Xiong Xiao, as well as his subordinates, hostage so that he could immediately surround and kill them in case anything happened....


    Yang Qing continued to lead the pursuing army on as he ran; all the while, receiving a few spirit eagles. After reading the contents of the jade archives they were carrying, he raised his head and looked at the color of the sky, then turned his head around to gaze at the pursuing army engaged in their dogged chase. He smiled coldly as he waved his hand and shouted, "Return to South Edict!"


    After a tiresome night of going around in circles, they were now going to return to South Edict Manor again. Yang Qing¡¯s subordinates werepletely puzzled by his actions. Was he trying to make a fool out of Zhang Decheng¡¯s troops?


    After chasing behind them the entire night, Zhang Decheng was beginning to feel nervous. How much longer must this chase continue? Even dragon steeds could not run forever; they would eventually get tired.


    Zhang Decheng had rage brewing in his guts from the pursuit. ¡®Was this Yang Qing trying to test his patience? Lets see how much longer you can continue to run. Try and run endlessly without any rest if you can!¡¯


    In the mountains between South Edict Manor and Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, taking advantage of the entire night¡¯s worth of time that Yang Qing had created, his six subordinate Mountain Chieftains were already assembled and ready, waiting for the moment to strike.


    Leading his galloping troops, Yang Qing met up with the six Mountain armies that he had stationed, and immediately raised his hand, shouting, "Prepare for battle!"


    The troops that had run about for the entire night, swiftly turned around and took the vanguard, as the six Mountains¡¯ worth of troops entered the formation from behind.


    Air steamed out of the nostrils of the dragon steeds after running all night. The various Mountain Chieftains stood by Yang Qing¡¯s side and assumed a vignt front.


    Qing Mei returned Miao Yi his steed. She knew that arge battle was approaching and that without a high cultivation, Miao Yi had to rely on his steed and his full body of transcendent artifacts. An unfortunate cultivator at the back had to yield his steed over to Qin Weiwei.


    After recovering for a night, Qin Weiwei¡¯s body was already back in prime condition. She casually tied her long hair to the back of her head, and brought out her Serpent Lance once more, as she red coldly at the charging army before her. Only the blood stains on her white dress remained.


    All of her own subordinates were dead¡ªonly Gongsun Yu, Li Youqian, Zhang Yuniang, Miao Yi and Yan Xiu remained. These were the only five people following behind her, the Mountain Chieftain. Mount Calming Sea was now an empty husk of its former self.


    Thankfully, she hadn¡¯t brought Hong Mian and Lu Liu because of their low cultivation. Otherwise, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have ended up much better than the rest.


    On a mountain ridge to the side, were another four hundred men all dressed in uniformly blue robes¡ªit was obvious that they were from the School of Blue Jade. Yang Qing squinted at them, but he didn¡¯t see the other party having any intention of entering his camp to prepare for battle. On the contrary, it seemed like they were just going to stand by the sidelines and watch.


    He also had quite a number of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples within his troops, but they were already under hismand. Those spectating from the side were the eleventh-hour support from the School of Blue Jade. However, they looked as though they had no intention of lending a hand, and Yang Qing¡¯s face gradually darkened.


    At the frontlines, the approaching Zhang Decheng saw that his opponents were readying for battle, so he immediately slowed down and simrly organized his troops for battle.


    A rider descended from the mountain ridge¡ªit was Hong Zhanghai, the elder responsible for negotiations between the School of Blue Jade and South Edict Manor.


    Yang Qing looked at him coldly as he asked, "Elder Hong, what is the meaning of your School of Blue Jade¡¯s actions?"


    Elder Hong cupped his fists and replied, "Manor Head Yang, things are not in our favor. It is because someone from Suppressing Second Hall has issued a warning to our School of Blue Jade. If forces outside of Suppressing Second Hall were to interfere in their matters again, then Suppressing Second Hall will deploy its forces and crush the School of Blue Jade."


    Yang Qing was quite furious then; he had already guessed who it was ying such tricks. Fortunately, he had another card to y. He asked, "Then what are you all still doing here? Coming to enjoy the excitement?"


    "Of course not!" Elder Hong denied. He added, "When we came, the Sect Master had instructed that the forces outside of Suppressing Second Hall were not to interfere, but they didn¡¯t mention that those belonging to Suppressing Second Hall could not. So long as Manor Head is willing to draft a few more of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples into South Edict Manor, then there won¡¯t be a problem. No one else will be able to dispute that. These disciples were all personally prepared by the Sect Master for you, Manor Head. All that matters is how many you want. All rests upon the Manor Head¡¯s desire, the School of Blue Jade dares not force you!"


    A great battle was at hand, yet he still dared say that this was not coercion? Qin Weiwei immediately red over in anger. This was clearly taking advantage of their predicament and making things difficult for them just before the battle!


    As it was, the disciples of the School of Blue Jade stationed in South Edict Manor were troublesome enough. If they were to let anotherrge consignment of disciples from the School of Blue Jade enter South Edict Manor, then wouldn¡¯t South Edict be the School of Blue Jade¡¯s South Edict Manor? Would Yang Qing not be a Manor Head only in name? He could forget about giving orders in the future. Even if Yang Qing managed to win this battle, what was the point? It would still be the same as handing South Edict Manor over to another!


    Standing in line behind Qin Weiwei, Miao Yi was just now beginning to understand the conflicts between Yang Qing and School of Blue Jade.


    Just then, Elder Hong took out a helm from his storage ring and yed around with it on his hand¡ªit was that third grade transcendent artifact. It looked as though he was trying to make Yang Qing reconsider; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t lend the transcendent artifact to him.


    Yang Qing only narrowed his eyes at him coldly, before inly saying, "Elder Hong, kindly return to your side and watch the battle. On this day, I will prove to Elder Hong that I, Yang Qing, need not rely on the School of Blue Jade for every single matter. Even without Elder Hong¡¯s grace, I, Yang Qing will certainly be victorious this battle!"


    The Mountain Chieftains to Yang Qing¡¯s sides immediately swung their weapons and roared, "CERTAIN VICTORY! CERTAIN VICTORY!"


    Qin Weiwei also followed suit. Naturally, Miao Yi and the rest who were behind her, also roared together that they would obtain certain victory.


    "Since the Manor Head insists on doing so, then I will not disobey the Sect Master¡¯s orders. I shall retreat to the sidelines for now. I urge Manor Head to reconsider. When the timees, you can still call for us. Our School of Blue Jade will be waiting by the side and we may still be able to respond in time," said Elder Hong as he tucked the transcendent artifact away; turning his dragon steed around, he retreated back to the mountain ridge.


    On the frontlines, Zhang Decheng had already gotten his troops into formation. He was a little anxious when he saw the sudden surge of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s troops. He didn¡¯t dare make any sudden movements¡ªespecially after seeing the sheen of that helm, he was frightened out of his wits. However, as he gleaned that negotiations between the two sides had fallen through, he was ecstatic; he assumed that the deterrence from his backer, He Yunye, must have been effective.


    Immediately letting out a coldugh, he stepped forward to lead his troops. Standing at the fore, he shouted out, "Coward Yang Qing, why have you stopped running? Could it be you no longer have anywhere else to run!?"


    Just as he finished saying this, the booming of thunderous hooves echoed out from behind him; he was takenpletely by surprise, and turned to look behind him.


    Yang Qing broke out inughter just then. He invoked his arts and transmitted his voice; the sound reverberated throughout the battlefield as he said, "Zhang Decheng, you traitor. You have no idea that you¡¯re on yourst strings. You still dare to spout nonsense!"


    Zhang Decheng¡¯s men all turned to look behind them, only to find arge army swiftly heading their way¡ªtheir faces couldn¡¯t help but contort!


    The rear army was precisely the troops led by Liu Jingtian, who had managed to catch up after Yang Qing had stalled for an entire night. That voice transmission of Yang Qing¡¯s acted as a signal to begin the assault. Within their formation, Xiong Xiao¡¯s eyes lit up and he immediately approached Liu Jingtian to denounce Zhang Decheng for his crimes.


    He then turned to address his own subordinates and, swinging hisrge hand, hemanded, "Zhang Decheng has nowhere else to go. Follow my lead to kill!"


    Xiong Xiao raised his long de as he led his troops in a frenzied charge.


    To the eyes of Zhang Decheng¡¯s men, it seemed like the forces changing towards them were going to surround and assault them alongside Yang Qing¡¯s forces. Faced with such arge army, their morale instantly dropped, and they immediately began to panic.


    How could Yang Qing let this opportunity slip? He raised his spear and bellowed, "Reinforcements have arrived. Kill!"


    He charged ahead, going straight for Zhang Decheng.


    The men behind him instantly had their morale lifted. They didn¡¯t think that Manor Head would have arranged for so many reinforcements. They immediately followed behind Yang Qing, charging at full throttle for the kill!

 Chapter 175: Reversal (4)

    Chapter 175: Reversal (4)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Liu Jingtian raised his arm to call for a halt. Therge army behind him followed suit, and stopped in their tracks as they eyed the situation critically.


    He didn¡¯t want to be rash and simply react on impulse. He had to see if the other party was really battling or not. In the worst possible scenario, they might even team up against him and eliminate his troops.


    Keeping watch on both his front and rear, Zhang Decheng was trying to spot if there was a hidden ambush. Then, he turned around and shouted "Yang Qing, how dare you involve outsiders in the affairs of Suppressing Second Hall!?"


    Yang Qing outright ignored him. He led his troops over as they continued to charge towards Zhang Decheng with a fervent intensity.


    Zhang Decheng raised his arm and gestured ahead with his finger. Following which, the green-glowing treasured sword around his waist flew out of its sheath and soared through the skies, shing towards the oing Yang Qing.


    A green sheen enveloped the long spear in Yang Qing¡¯s hands¡ª¡®BANG!¡¯¡ªhe raised his spear to quickly knock the green-glowing treasured sword flying.


    He was not Miao Yi. A mere second grade transcendent artifact wouldn¡¯t find it so easy to kill him.


    The treasured sword slid back into the sheath by Zhang Decheng¡¯s waist. Zhang Decheng instantly brought his steed into a charge as a green light enveloped his long spear with a hum¡ªhe crashed right into Yang Qing.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    A thunderous boom resounded. From where the two were shing with each other as the center, transcendence energy rolled out in waves, sweeping up dust and rubble as thend sank in.


    The two Manor Heads fiercely battled as sand and rocks continued to be swept upwards. Normal men would find it hard to even get near the two of them.


    asionally, the treasured sword by Zhang Decheng¡¯s waist wouldunch sneak attacks. In return, two illusory beasts would erupt out of Yang Qing¡¯s shoulders, protecting his sides and blocking the flying sword.


    Even though the both of them had second grade transcendent artifacts, there was a difference in their constitutions, which resulted in a contrast on how transcendence energy could be channeled between the two cultivators. Zhang Decheng¡¯s flying sword could kill from a distance, whereas Yang Qing¡¯s artifact could only engage in closebat.


    This was the greatest difference between White Crystals, ck Crystals and Gold Crystals. Zhang Decheng¡¯s second grade transcendent artifact could be called a mid-grade among second grades, whereas Yang Qing¡¯s would be low-grade.


    Yet, Yang Qing possessed three while Zhang Decheng had two; the difference between the two was minimal at best.


    However, those who had a discerning eye would be able to see that Yang Qing was falling behind slightly. If the situation persisted, Yang Qing would lose.


    Moreover at this moment, Yang Qing had to take the lead in the attack. For one, it raised the troop¡¯s morale; for another, he was the only one capable of facing Zhang Decheng on their side. If he didn¡¯t face him, his subordinates would not be able to stop Zhang Decheng from starting a massacre.


    Those who wish to have great aplishments must shoulder a certain degree of responsibility, and be willing to take risks. If he was like the Transient Light Cave¡¯s previous Cave Master Yuan Zhengkun, and tossed his subordinates aside so he could escape, then Yang Qing wouldn¡¯t have as many aplishments as he did now.


    Another important point was that if he stood by the sides and watched the excitement unfold, how could he expect Liu Jingtian to easily be moved?


    Zhang Decheng¡¯s troops stood their ground and went on the defensive. One side faced the front, while the other faced the rear.


    Yang Qing¡¯s troops that had approached from the front, instantly broke past Zhang Decheng¡¯s defenses. From their rear, Xiong Xiao and his troops were also charging at them ferociously.


    Relying on the edge he had from Charcoal¡¯s leg strength and his battle armor, Miao Yi picked up the pace and rushed in front of Qin Weiwei. Even if he had any bias towards Qin Weiwei, at least for the time being, he had to put his grudges aside. He could not let any harme to Qin Weiwei on ount of giving Yang Qing face.


    Gongsun Yu andpany had already seen the destructive might of Miao Yi¡¯s charge, so they immediately understood the idea and followed behind him.


    Staring at Miao Yi¡¯s back as he gantly rushed forward, Qin Weiwei bit her lips; she had no choice but to follow his n and maintained their charging formation.


    Waves of dragon roars erupted as the cold light of the Inversed-Scales Spear flickered. This spear was best used in chaotic battles; it was able to distract the enemy into thinking there was an attacking from the sides, when it was actually a spear strike from the front aiming to burst their skulls.


    With the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand, Miao Yi created a path of blood as five-six men fell to his spear in an instant. He led his team like a sharp knife that viciously drove itself deep into the enemy camp. They charged their way in and killed anyone they passed. They didn¡¯t stop, nor did they engage themselves with any experts.


    Booms continued to thunder across the entire battlefield as transcendence energies rolled out in chaos. If Miao Yi were to use his tiny mantids here, they would probably be crushed from the waves of transcendence energy as soon as they were summoned.


    Both sides had fallen men and steeds. The dragon steeds neighed in agony as they fell to the ground; cultivators screamed in despair as their blood and flesh were ripped apart.


    This was true carnage, not some pretense of a battle. Liu Jingtian, who had been spectating the battle from behind, no longer had any doubts. ¡®Why not take advantage of this situation when I can?¡¯ he thought, as he chuckled. The long spear in his hand emitted a green sheen as he stabbed it ahead and furiously bellowed, "Zhang Decheng! Your life is mine! ughter them, men!"


    As he charged into the fray, how could Zhang Decheng¡¯s subordinates stop him? They were all sent flying, and their steeds were knocked over. Like a line slicing straight through the waves, crowds of men and dragon steeds alike fell on either sides as he charged his way directly through their battle formation, and rushed to join Yang Qing in battle with Zhang Decheng.


    Furthermore, the men behind Liu Jingtian pushed forward in a wave, facing Zhang Decheng¡¯s troops in a bloodybat.


    A single Yang Qing was already difficult enough to deal with; now there was another Liu Jingtian butting in. Zhang Decheng¡¯s eyes almost burst open after he took a moment to turn around and look. He knocked Yang Qing back with a fierce strike of his spear, then quickly turned to the side and started running. He could no longer be bothered if there was an ambush or not from the sides. As he ran, he shouted, "RETREAT! Follow me and retreat!"


    "Zhang Decheng! Where do you think you¡¯re going!?" Yang Qing bellowed as he chased relentlessly.


    "Thief Zhang, don¡¯t run!" Liu Jingtian had broken through the battle formations, and was already chasing after him in a frenzy as the treasured sword on his back slipped out of its sheath¡ªit was also a green-glowing treasured sword, and the flying sword shed at Zhang Decheng ferociously.


    The treasured sword by Zhang Decheng¡¯s waist immediately shot out. ¡®CLANG!¡¯ After blocking a strike, the two flying swords both flipped over and flew back.


    Since things had already escted this far, how could Yang Qing just let him leave? He tucked the long spear in his hand back into his storage ring, and drew a longbow. He pulled ten long arrows and nocked them; imbued them with his transcendence energy, and released!


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s skills were taught by him. So what Qin Weiwei could do, there was no reason Yang Qing could not¡ªhe could only be better.


    Whizzing noises broke out as ten arrows were swiftly shot in rapid session. They weren¡¯t aimed at his person, but rather at Zhang Decheng¡¯s dragon steed. Furthermore, they were only targeting the dragon steed¡¯s rear hooves.


    There was a reason behind this, Yang Qing knew it would be difficult to snipe Zhang Decheng himself due to his cultivation.


    Zhang Decheng immediately began to panic and quickly swung his spear to block the arrows. His speed was considerably fast, knocking away a few arrows sessively. However, Yang Qing¡¯s sniping angle was truly too cunning.


    Underneath him, his dragon steed suddenly raised its back hoof¡ªit had been shot! It carried the long arrow as it jumped up and neighed in agony.


    Zhang Decheng tried to force the steed to continue running, but its speed had already severely fallen.


    Yang Qing tucked his longbow away, and the long spear appeared in his hand once more. He swiftly caught up and immediatelyunched a fierce downward strike with his spear.


    Seeing that he could no longer escape, Zhang Decheng could only turn around and battle it out with Yang Qing.


    "Thief Zhang, your life is mine!" Liu Jingtian shouted as he joined the battle, teaming up with Yang Qing to subdue Zhang Decheng.


    Zhang Decheng had enemies to his left and right. Furthermore, his steed had been injured and lost its agility. He was at the end of his rope, as the old adage went. Terribly dismayed and regretful, he realized that he shouldn¡¯t havee to South Edict Manor to wreak havok. He had been set up by He Yunye.


    "Liu Jingtian! I....."


    Zhang Decheng still wanted to ask Liu Jingtian what exactly was going on. ¡®We have never interfered in each other¡¯s businesses, so why are you trying to harm me?¡¯ he thought.


    Yet how could Yang Qing let him speak? As soon as he saw him opening his mouth, he immediately threw caution to the wind and attacked with greater fervor. Zhang Decheng couldn¡¯t spare any thought to saying another word because of the onught.


    Yang Qing¡¯s fierce assaultpletely upied Zhang Decheng¡¯s hands. Liu Jingtian immediately saw an opportunity, and took the chance;unching a strike and piercing Zhang Decheng¡¯s chest.


    Zhang Decheng spat out a mouthful of blood. With his dying breath, he held onto the shaft of the spear that had pierced his chest. Staring wide-eyed at Liu Jingtian, he spat out more blood as he shouted angrily, "Liu Jingtian...."


    Yang Qing obviously wouldn¡¯t let him utter any nonsense. With a sudden sweep of his spear, Zhang Decheng¡¯s head was sent flying, and fell on the ground.


    Hot blood gushed out from Zhang Decheng¡¯s neck.


    Liu Jingtian raised his spear, and Zhang Decheng¡¯s headless body was lifted off its steed even as it continued gushing piping hot blood...


    On the main battlefield, as soon as Zhang Decheng ran away and sounded the retreat, it had already caused his subordinates¡¯ morale to plummet. They no longer wished to continue fighting and took any chance they could to run in all directions.


    With that, they could no longer rely on each other for mutual support, and this would only increase the number of fatalities against such superior numbers.


    As men continued to be sent flying throughout the battlefield, the screams of men and neighs of dragon steeds also continued to echo. All around, there were many who were frantically running away in order to save themselves.


    Most people had already dered their surrender.


    However, Yuan Zhengkun had a terrified expression on his face as he ran away leading Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao. He really wanted to surrender, but he didn¡¯t dare surrender as Miao Yi was relentlessly chasing the three of them, so they could only run away.


    After the three of them had charged out of the chaotic battle, Miao Yi immediately threw Qin Weiwei and the rest aside as he rode out on his own. "Yuan Zhengkun! Where do you think you¡¯re going!?" he shouted as he furiously chased after them.


    The three of them frantically ran for their lives, but realized that the sound of stomping hooves seemed to be getting closer and closer. When they turned around to look, they were frightened out of their wits.


    The three of them had already seen Miao Yi¡¯s ferocity. He killed normal Cave Masters as if he were chopping up vegetables, and could single-handedly send dozens of men off their steeds. This former Transient Light Cave Horse Deputy was no longer someone the three of them could stop.


    Miao Yi waspletely covered in an imposing battle armor and drenched in blood; even his steed had its own set of armor. He was carrying a vicious long spear in his hand, and chasing after them relentlessly like a vicious evil god. What¡¯s more, he was getting closer and closer. The three of them didn¡¯t seem to have gained any advantage by running out first.


    Trying topare the leg strength of their steeds with Charcoal seemed more than a little naive. While he was skilled at running away, he naturally wouldn¡¯t be poor at chasing others as well.


    Especially when chasing after someone who was desperately running away¡ªCharcoal always felt absolutely terrible when he was being chased by others, but he feltpletely ecstatic when he was on the opposite end, so he put more effort into his gallop.


    If Zhang Decheng had Charcoal¡¯s leg strength when he led his troops to chase after Yang Qing previously, Yang Qing would probably be dead by now.


    Noticing that it was getting harder to get away the longer they went on, the anxious Yuan Zhengkun searched everywhere for a chance at survival. He noticed that there were others chasing after deserters a little behind him to his right, but they epted surrenders.


    Since only death awaited him wherever he went, he could only turn to making a gamble. He swiftly brought Li Xing and Sun Jiaojiao into a sudden turn, and circled back towards their right.


    How could Miao Yi let them go? He immediately turned to continue chasing relentlessly. "Don¡¯t run, you bastard!" he shouted.


    "WE SURRENDER! WE SURRENDER!"


    Yuan Zhengkun and the rest frantically jumped of their dragon steeds, tossing their weapons aside as they faced a group of men who were cleaning up¡ªfrantically howling their surrender.


    "DIE, YOU BASTARD!" Miao Yi shouted as he charged forward. Without another word, he swung his spear at the three of them, intending to cut them where they stood.


    Unexpectedly, a rider charged out from the other group and swung his great de. ¡®CLANG!¡¯ He knocked away Miao Yi¡¯s fatal spear strike.


    They charged past one another. As he swung his steed around, Miao Yi red at the person that had stopped him, and discovered that it was none other than Xiong Xiao.


    Miao Yi¡¯s battle armor waspletely soaked in blood, and Xiong Xiao wasn¡¯t much better off; he was also covered in blood, and it seemed his left arm was injured.


    Drenched in blood, the Mountain Chieftain Xiong and Cave Master Miao red at each other; the two nemesis didn¡¯t even try to hide the animosity in their eyes.


    It was Xiong Xiao¡¯s first look at Miao Yi¡¯s battle armor, which covered not only his entire body, but his steed¡¯s as well. His gaze then swept over the Inversed-Scales Spear that was obviously much better than his own weapon. His mouth couldn¡¯t help but twitch slightly as he felt incredibly displeasure¡ªa Caver Master actually had better equipment than he, a Mountain Chieftain. Where was the logic in that?


    ¡®This bastard is getting more and more arrogant. He doesn¡¯t have the slightest hint of modesty!¡¯ Xiong Xiao sneered to himself. He stared at Miao Yi, and coldly said, "Miao Yi, what do you think you¡¯re doing?"


    Enrage, Miao Yi bellowed, "I am the one who should be asking what is it you think you¡¯re doing. Why are you stopping me from killing the enemy!?"


    Xiong Xiao rationally replied, "I have lost a great number of subordinates in this battle, and need men to make up for that. Now that the three of them have surrendered themselves to me, and since I am willing to ept their surrender, they are now my Mount Shaotai¡¯s men. No one is allowed to kill them as he pleases!"

 Chapter 176: Reversal (5)

    Chapter 176: Reversal (5)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Miao Yi directed the three-pointed spearhead of the Inversed-Scales Spear at Xiong Xiao and decried, "You are doing this intentionally to get in my way!"


    With a bloody open wound on his back, Yan Xiu charged forward with his steed. He held two axes in his hands, with the chain-link wrapped around his arms. He made a stance that indicated he was prepared to live or die alongside Miao Yi.


    While he had fought hard and killed his enemies ferociously in this battle, if it wasn¡¯t for the extra boost to his strength from the first grade transcendent artifact that Miao Yi had gifted him, he might have already perished in the battle just now.


    However even if he had made it here in time,pared to Xiong Xiao¡¯s men, being the lonely branch of a Cave Master with but a single leaf, Miao Yi looked a little too lonesome.


    "Get in your way?" Xiong Xiao sneered. He narrowed his eyes at Miao Yi, scrutinizing him from the top-down with a displeased look on his face, as if to say, ¡®Do you think you¡¯re worth the trouble of me getting in your way?¡¯ However, he added, "You are merely over thinking things. I said that I need to replenish my manpower, but if you are determined to think otherwise, then there is nothing I can do."


    In truth, he was intentionally getting in Miao Yi¡¯s way. If he hadn¡¯t seen Miao Yi so hell-bent on killing these three, he would not have personally stepped out to stop him. He wanted to tick Miao Yi off. He thought back to the time when Miao Yi had greatly humiliation in public, calling him an ¡®old scum¡¯ again and again. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that he had lost all face then, so naturally, he wanted to return the favor when an opportunity presented itself.


    Miao Yi¡¯s lips twitched furiously. He pointed his spear towards the horrified Yuan Zhengkun andpany, as he shouted, "The three of them have carried out abominable deeds at my East Arrival Cave. They are utterly devoid of conscience. I definitely will not let them go! You had better hand them over to me!"


    His tone implied, ¡®otherwise don¡¯t me me for being discourteous!¡¯


    A Cave Master was going against a Mountain Chieftain, without even the least bit of respect, or any attempt at false courtesy.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s subordinates shared a look. The grudge between Miao Yi and Xiong Xiao had spread across South Edict Manor a long time ago; everyone knew of it. This Cave Master Miao was probably the one that disregarded Mountain Chieftain Xiong the most in the entire South Edict Manor.


    It was also inappropriate for them toment. One was their Mountain Chieftain, whereas the other Great Cave Master Miao was also the trusted aide of Manor Head Yang Qing. If Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao didn¡¯t order it, it would be hard for them to help either side.


    Xiong Xiao coldly replied, "The three of them are already men of my Mount Shaotai. How could I let anyone have them just like that? If I don¡¯t give them to you, what are you going to do about it?"


    Miao Yi was furious. He swung his spear and pointed at Xiong Xiao as he shouted, "Old scum Xiong Xiao, do you dare battle me to the death!?"


    With a full body battle armorprised of transcendent artifacts as he was now, he really didn¡¯t fear cultivators below the Blue Lotus realm!


    The other party was calling him out to have a one-on-one battle¡ªhow could Xiong Xiao back away? He swung the de in his hand and shouted, "Why would I be afraid of you? You brought this upon yourself, there are no eyes on my de. Don¡¯t me me if anything goes wrong!"


    He had been having trouble finding the right opportunity to strike. Now that the other party wasing right at him, he couldn¡¯t have hoped for anything better.


    They both brought their steeds to the side; they were really preparing to duke it out man to man.


    However, Miao Yi¡¯s earlier shout had been too conspicuous, as Yang Qing could be seen quickly charging over here. He angrily bellowed, "Stop this at once!"


    Liu Jingtian apanied him forward as well. He looked on in puzzlement as he thought, "Could this be internal strife?"


    Qin Weiwei had been observing from afar. As soon as she saw the sparks fly between the two arch-enemies, she knew that trouble was brewing and quickly dropped her affairs temporarily to lead Gongsun Yu, Li Youqian and Zhang Yuniang over in a hurry. She couldn¡¯t stand idly by when her own subordinate was going up against Xiong Xiao yet again.


    Yang Qing still had Zhang Decheng¡¯s severed head in hand when he charged over with Liu Jingtian. He stepped in between Miao Yi and Xiong Xiao, and gave them a look as he said, "What are you two trying to do?"


    Miao Yi immediately pointed towards Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group hiding behind Xiong Xiao, and said, "These three bastards arepletely devoid of conscience. They went to my East Arrival Cave to pige and rape, destroying everything. They didn¡¯t even spare the ten handmaidens and, after defiling them, hung their corpses on the remaining pirs of the East Arrival Cave Grand Hall. If I don¡¯t kill them, it would be hard to quell the hatred in my heart!"


    Yan Xiu also had a burning desire to rip them to shreds as he red at Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group. There was more than just the grudge from East Arrival Cave between him and Yuan Zhengkun.


    As they brought their horses to a halt by the side, Qin Weiwei¡¯s group also looked at Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group coldly. She obviously knew of the other party¡¯s ¡®good¡¯ deeds in East Arrival Cave.


    However, Xiong Xiao also had something to say, and disputed, "ording to your logic, then should we not kill everyone that has surrendered? Naturally, there will be certain grievances when each person follows a different master. If you had the capability to kill them before they submitted to me, then I wouldn¡¯t have said another word."


    He then turned towards Yang Qing and cupped his fists as he said, "Manor Head, these three have already submitted to me, and I have epted their surrender. The three of them now belong to Mount Shaotai, yet Miao Yi wants to rush in and kill them. What kind of reasoning is this?"


    "Filthy bastard!" Miao Yi shouted as he swung his spear. "Don¡¯t try to twist the facts. You clearly only came up to stop me after seeing me chasing down the three of them! Let the three of theme out here to challenge me if you dare. I¡¯ll show you if I have the ability to reduce them into ground meat or not!"


    ¡®Calling me a filthy bastard again?¡¯ Xiong Xiao thought furiously. Previously in the outerpounds of South Edict Manor, he was the one at fault, so he could only endure even as he was being berated. However, not only was he being called names in front of so many people, there were also men from Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. How could he take this lying down? He immediately swung his sword and pointed it at Miao Yi as he shouted, "A mangy mutt with a mouth full of obscenities. You better watch your tongue, else don¡¯t me me for being discourteous!"


    The two of them were really about to sh right on the spot. If it weren¡¯t for Yang Qing standing between the two of them and stopping them in their tracks, the both of them would have already gone at one other¡¯s throats.


    The others who had just rushed over, now realised that the Great Cave Master Miao really was too fierce, to be so bold as to challenge Xiong Xiao to a showdown. Some couldn¡¯t help but watch on in anticipation.


    They actually dared to show such a farce of an internal struggle in front of outsiders. Yang Qing red at them and bellowed, "SILENCE! Both of you!"


    The two of them looked at Yang Qing and saw how furious he was. They slowly put down their weapons and no longer dared to challenge his authority again.


    In the entire South Edict Manor, only Yang Qing could make Miao Yi a little more obedient. As soon as Yang Qing was a littlex on him, he reckless took his men in secret to the Sea of Constetions without any regard for Qin Weiwei. Considering that he didn¡¯t even recognize the authority of his own Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei, why would he recognize the Xiong Xiao¡¯s authority?


    Yang Qing took another look at his two trusted aides covered in blood. This was the stain of fresh blood that came from a ruthless massacre; from this, one could tell how valiant the two of them had been in battle. Furthermore, the both of them had aplished great deeds individually. If it weren¡¯t for Miao Yi risking his life to rescue Qin Weiwei and thus foiling Zhang Decheng¡¯s schemes, the current situation would be anyone¡¯s guess. Likewise, without Xiong Xiao diving alone into a perilous situation and courageouslying up with ways to trick Liu Jingtian into cooperating, they wouldn¡¯t have attained victory in this battle.


    Yet of all things, these two meritorious vassals were like oil and water¡ªthere was no end to their bickering. Now they were at each other¡¯s throats again, yet they both had done a great service, so it was not good to tantly side with either one.


    "Still not bringing your subordinate away?" Yang Qing shouted in reprimand to Qin Weiwei.


    It seemed like Qin Weiwei had something to say, but after she looked at the ¡®guest¡¯ Liu Jingtian to the side, she could only urge her dragon steed forward and called for Miao Yi. "Come!" she said.


    "They....." Miao Yi was dissatisfied with the oue, pointing at Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group. He still wanted to settle his score with them, but when he met Yang Qing¡¯s cold piercing gaze, his expression twitched and he shut his mouth. He turned to follow behind Qin Weiwei¡¯s back with a dissatisfied look on his face. He turned to look at Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s trio from time to time; his gaze sending chills down their spines.


    The three of them knew that this guy had no intentions of letting them go, but even Yang Qing himself hadid down thew, so they believed that everything would be settled.


    "Bring your men and scoot!" Yang Qing bellowed towards Xiong Xiao.


    It seemed like he was giving more face to Miao Yi because he had used the word ¡®scoot¡¯ against Xiong Xiao, but Xiong Xiao had a thankful expression as he cupped his fists and replied, "Yes!"


    He turned around and swiftly brought his men away.


    Xiong Xiao was quite pleased. The Manor Head seemed like he wasn¡¯t being respectful of him, but in truth he had still taken his side. He still allowed him to keep Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group. Miao Yi still lost against him.


    "A few of my subordinates are ill-behaved. I have shown Brother Liu an ugly sight." Yang Qing said as he sighed to Liu Jingtian.


    Liu Jingtian chuckled in response. It seemed he was quite fond of Yang Qing¡¯s attitude.


    It was mostly due to the fact that Liu Jingtian had received arge boon that Yang Qing had been truly willing to give up, without a shred of hesitation at that. He hadn¡¯t asked for a single thing on Zhang Decheng¡¯s corpse, even that flying sword that he clearly needed. He relinquished it to Liu Jingtian, treating it all aspensation for Liu Jingtian¡¯s prior eptance in answering his plea to deploy his forces.


    This action allowed Liu Jingtian to hold Yang Qing with great favor. Even though he had been the Manor Head of a Manor for so many years, his savings were not meagre. At the very least, it was far from something that Yang Qing, who had only been a Manor Head for a few years, couldpare to. As soon as Liu Jingtian saw the benefits, he immediately felt that this Yang Qing person was someone whom he could befriend.


    Of course, Yang Qing did not relinquish everything. Even though he had won this battle, Zhang Decheng¡¯s side hadn¡¯t been simply sitting still as they were ughtered. He couldn¡¯t avoid losing a lot of troops, so Yang Qing only asked for one thing¡ªto im all of Zhang Decheng¡¯s subordinates that had surrendered, to replenish his own forces.


    After reaping such arge reward, Liu Jingtian wouldn¡¯t stop him from taking some minorpensation. He could replenish his own losses slowly over a few years, but the items on Zhang Decheng¡¯s body were not something he could simply amass over a few years. He naturally epted without hesitation.


    "Brother Yang, even though you and I are neighbors, I must be clear on some things. Although Zhang Decheng deserved to die, since this incident has unwittingly involved my Suppressing Third Hall, the fault still remains with your Suppressing Second Hall. The superiors will definitely look into this incident, and your Suppressing Second Hall must give us a proper exnation."


    Liu Jingtian said to Yang Qing as he rode beside him.


    "The matters between the two Hall Masters are not something you and I can stick our heads into. Just let our respective Hall Masters handle it, why should we have to worry?" Yang Qing said. Then, he suddenly brought his head closer and whispered, "Brother Liu, with regards to the two Halls, I have something I would like to ask of you. I hope Brother Liu will be able to help."


    "Tell me about it." Liu Jingtian replied.


    Yang Qing sighed as he said, "Even though Zhang Decheng has been vanquished and I can already report to my superiors, there is the still the matter of my secretly requesting Brother Liu¡¯s assistance. I¡¯m afraid if word got out, some would use me of colluding with Suppressing Third Hall. This matter of working with outside parties to strike at one¡¯s own forces, no matter where one is, there are bound to be some who would run their mouths without discretion. I¡¯m not sure if I could trouble Brother Liu to write a letter ofint that I can hand over to my Hall Master when I report to him?


    Liu Jingtian was taken aback. He was basically asking him to help ¡®put in a good word¡¯ for him and leave out the matter of him secretly contacting him.


    However, Yang Qing¡¯s words served as a reminder to him that their two parties had cooperated in battle. If there were some from Suppressing Second Hall that would say Yang Qing had colluded with outsiders, then how could there be none from Suppressing Third Hall that would say that he, Liu Jingtian, had colluded with outsiders as well?


    He immediately presented a question, "Then would Brother Yang also write something for me to hand over to my Hall Master?"


    "Since Brother Liu has asked, consider it done." replied Yang Qing.


    For Yang Qing to bring this matter up first, he naturally expected what the other party would want. Without another word, he brought out a jade archive and imbued his transcendence energy as he began writing. After stamping it with his transcendence seal, he handed it over to Liu Jingtian.


    Liu Jingtian received it and gave it a quick read. Yang Qing had first written his apology and the given rpense, then expanded on having failed to control the situation in letting Zhang Decheng run into Suppressing Third Hall territory and wreak havoc. However, after that heined about him, Liu Jingtian. He said that this was Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s affairs, what was the meaning of Liu Jingtian forcefully interfering and killing Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s men?


    This kind ofint was undoubtedly praising that he, Liu Jingtian, was capable of protecting a territory, and was able to respond quickly to kill intruders.

 Chapter 177: Reversal (6)

    Chapter 177: Reversal (6)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Liu Jingtian was quite happy. He kept the jade archive and took out another to write on, before sealing it with his insignia and passing it to Yang Qing.


    The contents inside were all damning in nature¡ªusing Zhang Decheng of actually daring run all the way to his Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s realm to butcher the troops of his mountain. Zhang Dechengcked any restraint whatsoever, forcing Liu Jingtian to have no other choice but to pursue and kill him. He demanded that Suppressing Second Hall provide an exnation.


    From the beginning to end, he didn¡¯t mention the fact that Yang Qing had contacted him in secret and instead, stated that he himself had reacted promptly to pursue and eliminate Zhang Decheng of his own ord.


    That man had already invaded his territory, so taking the initiative to eliminate him was normal. Hence, there were no mistakes in the contents to implicate him.


    Gripping the jade archive, Yang Qing gradually turned to cast a nce in the direction of where Suppressing Second Hally, giving a coldugh in his heart.


    With this item in hand, Zhang Decheng had atst died in vain this time. He could also now pushed the me of getting outsiders involved on to that dead man, Zhang Decheng, instead. Even Suppressing Third Hall wouldn¡¯t be able to investigate and link this matter back to Yang Qing. Thus, he would be innocent.


    Regardless of whether the contents inside were justifiable or not¡ªeven the men of Suppressing Third Hall had used Zhang Decheng of wreaking havoc first¡ªthat was more than enough to silence them. In all likelihood, after going for wool anding back shorn, He Yunye¡¯s face must be incredibly humiliated right now.


    Since He Yunye had already turned on him, there was no need for him to show any regard to He Yunye.


    Even though He Yunye¡¯s cultivation level was far higher than him, Yang Qing refused to believe that He Yunye would openly ughter him without fear.


    Yang Qing was not a loose cultivator. If he were one, then He Yunye would not suffer any repercussions in killing him. However, the fact remained that Yang Qing was still the head of a Manor. No matter how high He Yunye¡¯s cultivation level was, those who have entered this circle would need to abide by the rules of the game. It wasn¡¯t up to them to do as they pleased. Otherwise, what was the point of having rules?


    It was simr to Xiong Xiao, who really wanted to dispose of Miao Yi, but he only dared to act in the shadows. He didn¡¯t yet have the courage to brazenly attack Miao Yi out in the open.


    With the result of the war in his hand, Yang Qing refused to believe that Hall Master Huo Lingxiao would be blind to this. He didn¡¯t have any grievances with Huo Lingxiao, so the Hall Master had no reason to insist on killing him.


    Rather than saying that this war was to defend himself, it was more urate to say that Yang Qing had fought this war so that Huo Lingxiao, the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall, would witness it. His aim was to let Huo Lingxiao understand that he, Yang Qing, hadplete capability in seeding the position of Manor Head. Thus, there was no need to assume he was a pushover and instead, it would be best to clutch onto him tightly without letting go. Only then would Huo Lingxiao target the other Manor Heads under Feng Zhihuan instead.


    Having already obtained what they wanted, Yang Qing kept the jade archive while exchanging a smile with Liu Jingtian¡ªboth of them looked quite smug about the matter.


    Liu Jingtian was beyond satisfied; he would never have imagined that he had been ruthlessly manipted by Yang Qing. Yang Qing had betrayed him, and he was now helping Yang Qing count the spoils.


    Yang Qing wasn¡¯t afraid of him knowing either. At least for this short moment, he wouldn¡¯t understand yet. By the time it finally dawned on him, Yang Qing would have already survived this round. If he wanted to seek vengeance after this, he could strike back with all his might and Yang Qing would ept it with open arms!


    But back to the subject at hand. For a man Yang Qing could manipte like this, he didn¡¯t consider Liu Jingtian capable of brewing trouble between the two Halls like him. Stirring up trouble was easy, but the important part was to allow himself to escape the repercussions after that.


    In this war, South Edict Manor had suffered a loss of more than three hundred men in total ¡ªincluding the troops lost from Mount Calming Sea. The armies of three mountains were gone just like that.


    Liu Jingtian had already lost more than fifty men, not including about a hundred men who had been sacrificed by Yang Qing.


    Apart from Zhang Decheng getting killed, more than eight hundred troops under him had perished among over a thousand men. Almost a hundred of them had escaped while about two hundred men had surrendered themselves to South Edict Manor.


    With an addition of more than two hundred prisoners, South Edict Manor would have lost just about a hundred men¡ªroughly the losses Qin Weiwei¡¯s Mount Calming Sea suffered.


    Although Miao Yi wanted to kill Yuan Zhengkun and the others before this, he was now extremely envious as he stared at the cultivators being held captive.


    It would be a wonder if he wasn¡¯t envious! Wouldn¡¯t he just be a Cave Master in name, if he didn¡¯t quickly supplement his troops? In the near future of East Arrival Cave, he couldn¡¯t just set himself, the Cave Master, to guard the mountain gates, patrol the mountain, and perform menial chores right? How would that work out if he didn¡¯t have some men to help him manage the multitude of followers in East Arrival City? Unless he, the Cave Master, stopped cultivating altogether and just focused on hardbour; that was certainly more likely.


    Yet he had already been a Cave Master in name only, leading a ¡®supporting actor¡¯ like Yan Xiu. He hadn¡¯t had any troops to ept prisoners and, by the time the war was over, the survivors had already been snatched up by others. He had poured in his utmost effort and in the end, didn¡¯t manage to score any benefits at all.


    He eyed Qin Weiwei who was also standing by helplessly. She needed more men, but she also hadn¡¯t had anyone help her receive prisoners because earlier, she has focused on leading her men to charge behind Miao Yi. How would she have extra men to ept the prisoners in this state?


    He had been hoping to seek out Qin Weiwei to solve the problem, but from what he could now see, he could no longer count on her. She couldn¡¯t even resolve her own issues, so Miao Yi could only think of an alternative solution.


    "Brother Miao!"


    While he was riding and circling around on Charcoal and greenly eyeing others in envy, Miao yi suddenly heard someone transmit a message to him.


    He couldn¡¯t resist the urge to turn and nce at the group to his side¡ªa familiar face among them caught him by surprise. He realized that it was none other than his old friend, Chen Fei. He appeared to have several wounds on his body and was currently being tended.


    Miao Yi was a little overjoyed by the unexpected turn of events. He had thought that Chen Fei was already dead when Yang Qing attacked South Edict Manor, leaving behind Ji Xiufang and her son. He would never have imagined that Chen Fei had also became a surrendered prisoner of war.


    Both of them made eye contact; the way that Chen Fei stared at Miao Yi was full of emotions. When Qin Weiwei had been trapped, he had seen how valiant Miao Yi was as he charged in and out alone. From the time that he was just a greenhorn with a wooden spear, he had turned into a man with an imposing presence. After only a couple of years, he was now the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. Chen Fei was truly ashamed when he reflected on himself again.


    Miao Yi was about to head over to greet him, but soon realized that Chen Fei had fallen into the clutches of Mount Shaotai, bing their prisoner.


    He instantly restrained himself from heading over. He didn¡¯t dare to request Xiong Xiao to give Chen Fei to him¡ªhe couldn¡¯t even seize Yuan Zhengkun and the others, let alone Chen Fei. If he requested for Chen Fei from Xiong Xiao, it would definitely bring harm to Chen Fei. If it came to that, he wasn¡¯t sure what kind of torture that bastard Xiong Xiao would put Chen Fei through.


    "Brother Chen, I have some grievances with the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai. You¡¯ve surrendered to him, so it¡¯s not appropriate for me to greet you in person. Please forgive me, else I may bring you harm instead."


    Miao Yi apologized as he secretly transmitted his message.


    Chen Fei then replied, "I saw what happened just now. It¡¯s precisely because of that, that I¡¯ve chosen to transmit a message to you instead. Brother Miao, you¡¯ve really done well."


    "Brother Chen, please don¡¯t mock me. Brother Chen should first stay at Mount Shaotai for now. When an opportunityes, I will get you back."


    "There¡¯s no need to bother. I am already considered to be very lucky, and fortunate to have survive. It¡¯s the same wherever I stay."


    "Brother Chen, I have another thing that I need your help with by leaving you in Mount Shaotai. It¡¯s about Yuan Zhengkun¡ªthose three bastards, I will never forgive them. They caused the death of Cao Dingfeng back then, and troubled me again this time around. Afterwards, please help pay attention to where in Mount Shaotai those three bastards are dispatched to, and find an opportunity to send news to East Arrival Cave."


    Chen Fei was stunned; he figured that Miao Yi wanted to teach Yuan Zhengkun a lesson due to the incident at East Arrival Cave. He never thought that the matter involved Cao Dingfeng as well. He couldn¡¯t help but ask in return, "Brother Cao died at the hands of Yuang Zhengkun?"


    "You were in the dark..." Miao Yi immediately exined everything that happened, when Yuan Zhengkun had forced them to their deaths in the past.


    After Chen Fei finished listening, he knitted his brows and eximed, "I understand now! Brother Miao, I am afraid that there is one matter that I¡¯ve failed you in. I was also involved in attacking East Arrival Cave..."


    He continued to exin what had transpired from the beginning¡ªwhen he had gone to find Yan Xiu at East Arrival Cave, to when he had rescued Qian¡¯er and Xue¡¯er after.


    On this matter, Miao Yi could understand. However, what made Miao Yi pleasantly surprise was that Qian¡¯er and Xue¡¯er were still alive! He had thought that those two young girls were already dead. It was for this exact reason that he had been hot on Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s heels. He instantly asked, "Where are they now?"


    "They are by the coast of the East Arrival Cave boundary, hiding inside a dock by the cliffs. They were the ones who chose that ce to hide in. ording to them, Brother Miao was the one who given the order to build that dock. I assumed that Brother Miao would know where that ce is, and easily locate it."


    Miao Yi was truly overjoyed. He trusted Chen Fei¡¯s wordspletely, and didn¡¯t doubt that those two young girls were still alive. Otherwise, Chen Fei wouldn¡¯t have brought up that dock. If the two girls had to choose a hiding ce, then it would most likely be there. Why didn¡¯t he think to search for them there before?


    Miao Yi thanked Chen Fei over and over again. If it wasn¡¯t for Chen Fei, the girls wouldn¡¯t be alive.


    It wasn¡¯t safe for them to continue conversing for fear of arousing Xiong Xiao¡¯s suspicions. They secretly wished each other well before Miao Yi turned and left.


    He didn¡¯t know how Qian¡¯er and Xue¡¯er were doing right now; Miao Yi wanted to go seek them out immediately. However, it wasn¡¯t appropriate to depart this ce just then.


    After Yang Qing conversed with Liu Jingtian, he gradually rode his dragon steed before the crowd and swept his gaze slowly across them.


    Qing Mei and Qing Ju apanied him by his sides. Both elder and younger aunties were hurt. Elder Auntie Qing Mei had sustained severe injuries¡ªsomeone had thrust a spear into her stomach. If Qing Ju hadn¡¯t rescued her in time, Qing Mei wouldn¡¯t be alive right now.


    The gaze that Yang Qing threw at them both held a trace of anguish, but he didn¡¯t reveal too much unnecessary emotions right then; his expression was steady and resolute. He calmly lifted the head in his hand, and showed it to the crowd¡ªespecially to the disciples from the School of Blue Jade who had been witnessing the battle from the mountains.


    "Zhang Decheng¡¯s head lies here! We won!" Yang Qing suddenly bellowed with dignity.


    In lifting up Zhang Decheng¡¯s head, he had officially dered that the war was over, and announced that he had lived up to expectations.


    Xiong Xiao and the respective Mountain Chieftains, including Qin Weiwei, dismounted from their dragon steeds and cupped their hands at Yang Qing, roaring in acknowledgement, "MANOR HEAD!"


    The others also immediately followed suit, leaping down from their dragon steeds. All the cultivators from South Edict Manor on the scene, including those who had surrendered, faced Yang Qing with their hands cupped and roared, "MANOR HEAD!"


    Every one of them invoked their arts, screaming high into the sky; the shockwaves caused dust to billow out in all directions.


    The grandness with which all of South Edict Manor had acknowledged their allegiance to Yang Qing, made his entire being feel as though he were high in the clouds¡ªaloof and untouchable¡ªwith the ash gray snow-covered mountain at his back.


    At this moment, Yang Qing had used the victory from this war to thoroughly established his position in South Edict Manor, raising his reputation in South Edict Manor to new heights.


    On the mountain top, every one of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples turned pale, especially Elder Hong Changhai¡ªhis face was incredibly sour.


    Although the Sect Master from the School of Blue Jade had agreed to try and force Yang Qing to submit before the battle, Hong Changhai was the one who hade up with that nasty idea. And that wasn¡¯t the least of it, this action had disobeyed the Sect Master¡¯s ultimate wish.

 Chapter 178: Troops Recruitment (1)

    Chapter 178: Troops Recruitment (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Due to pressure from Suppressing Second Hall, the School of Blue Jade did indeed have difficulty allowing their subordinates enter the fray and directly assist Yang Qing. However, the agreement that the Sect Master had with Yang Qing, back when he was readying his troops in Mount Shaotai, was primarily for the third grade transcendent artifact. Should Yang Qing find himself caught in a pinch in future, he could borrow the third grade transcendent artifact from the School of Blue Jade whenever he wished.


    The Sect Master had agreed to allow Hong Changhai to use that transcendent artifact to pressure Yang Qing at critical junctures. However, what the Sect Master had in mind was¡ªwhile they had yet to seize control of South Edict Manor, the terms of the partnership were not to be broken. Yang Qing still needed to be protected, otherwise it would be against the interest of the School of Blue Jade after helping himy im South Edict Manor. Thus, all they needed to do was bluff Yang Qing for a while in the off-chance that he might just cave under the pressure, and agree to their demands. If Yang Qing didn¡¯t agree, then the transcendent artifact was still to be loaned to Yang Qing regardless.


    However, Hong Changhai had taken matters into his own hands. When he saw that Yang Qing hadn¡¯t agreed to his demands, he had hoped to force Yang Qing to the edge where he would eventually have to agree. Unexpectedly, he got himself burnt ying with fire. Yang Qing actually had another trick up his sleeve, and took Zhang Decheng down with a burst of morale.


    In light of that, it would mean that the School of Blue Jade had vited the terms of their partnership first¡ªnow it was Yang Qing¡¯s turn to disregard the terms. Hong Changhai knew that this time, he had made a grave mistake.


    If nothing out of the ordinary urred, then the elders who acted as mediators between the School of Blue Jade and South Edict Manor, would be driven out of South Edict Manor.


    Without these old men overseeing and fighting for the rights of the School of Blue Jade disciples that had already joined South Edict Manor, those disciples would likely have to keep their heads down and obediently heed orders. Otherwise, Yang Qing could kick them out of the system at any time.


    Yet would he still want to take this opportunity to squeeze about four hundred of those School of Blue Jade disciples into South Edict Manor?


    Now, even if the School of Blue Jade were allowed to squeeze those four hundred disciples into South Edict Manor, it wouldn¡¯t have the courage to.


    The reason was quite simple. Without the elders stationed in South Edict Manor acting as internal mediators, and limiting Yang Qing¡¯s powers to allow for a just partnership; ensuring that disciples from the School of Blue Jade would be duly rewarded for their contributions, and not unjustly punished without reason; the disciples would surely be suppressed by Yang Qing. There would be very little opportunity for promotion, and in the event of any disobedience, Yang Qing would even be able to kick them out of the system. It would be fine if it were just being kicked out of the system, but what if Yang Qing were to slowly torment you¡ªwould you still date to run?


    Squeezing the School of Blue Jade disciples into South Edict Manor would mean that he was pointlessly offering his men to Yang Qing.


    Right now, the School of Blue Jade disciples that had already joined South Edict Manor were likely the most helpless. Unfortunately, once you¡¯ve entered in the system, it wasn¡¯t up to you when you wished to enter, and when to leave. Should they heed Yang Qing, or the School of Blue Jade¡¯s orders from now on?


    They surely knew that once the partnership agreement between both parties were severed, the School of Blue Jade¡¯s control over them would be drastically reduced. Consequently, the one that would hold reign over them now was Yang Qing.


    There were some who pondered on whether they should just work under Yang Qing from now on, but they were unsure if they could earn Yang Qing¡¯s trust and recognition with their background in the School of Blue Jade.


    Standing atop the mountain ridge, Elder Hong didn¡¯t even know how he should report to the Sect Master. He had been confident that Yang Qing would agree in the face of a life and death situation, which was why he had done as he did. Unexpectedly, Yang Qing still had another hand to y.


    As he looked down towards the bodies being brought to the side and buried after having fallen in battle, Elder Hong felt a pang. There were many School of Blue Jade disciples among them. The ones that were still alive, likely wouldn¡¯t have any rtions with the School of Blue Jade in the future.


    The School of Blue Jade¡¯s ns for controlling South Edict Manor had effectively gone up in smoke on this day. One wrong move had ultimately ced them in a checkmate.


    In this unpredictable battle, there was only one winner. In the end, the one who hadunched a preemptive strike, Zhang Decheng, was defeated miserably; Liu Jingtian was manipted and was still oblivious; and the School of Blue Jade would have difficulty meddling into South Edict Manor¡¯s affairs again after viting their agreement. Only Yang Qing had managed to force an unfavorable situation around on the brink of disaster¡ªYang Qing was the biggest winner.


    Yang Qing didn¡¯t pay heed to the hundreds of School of Blue Jade disciples atop the ridge. After bidding goodbye to Liu Jingtian and burying all of the dead on the spot, he brought away the living captives; not letting Liu Jingtian have a single person who he could question regarding the cause of events.


    The snow had ceased, and the sun began to shine with a brilliance.


    Therge army didn¡¯t stay overlong in Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s territory, and left straight for South Edict Manor.


    Elder Hong¡¯s expression darkened as he led the hundreds of School of Blue Jade disciples alongside them on the mountain ridge. It seemed like he still wanted to negotiate with Yang Qing.


    Even Miao Yi could tell that negotiations had fully broken down between South Edict Manor and the School of Blue Jade, but he still could not make heads or tails of the hidden implications. This was mostly because he always had a poor rtionship with his Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei, and also because there was no one to tell him of these sort of matters. Furthermore, the School of Blue Jade disciples under him had either been killed by him, or brought along to the Sea of Constetions and killed by demonic spirits.


    The way he saw it, there was nothing special about the men from the School of Blue Jade. It would be ideal if he could recruit them as his subordinates and order them around; if they disobeyed, he could just get rid of them¡ªit was a simple as that.


    He always had the men from the School of Blue Jade obeying his every word regardless, and never had difficulty in controlling the School of Blue Jade disciples.


    Seeing such arge number of troops just standing there, Miao Yi felt a little glum. If he still didn¡¯t get any new hands assigned to him, it was likely that the East Arrival Cave Master himself would have to do the daily chores and duties. When that happened, even if he had enough Orbs of Will, he wouldn¡¯t have the time to refine them.


    But he didn¡¯t feel it was his ce to ask Yang Qing for more men. After all, he wasn¡¯t the only one thatcked troops¡ªeven his superior, Qin Weiwei, would soon be a general without an army. Furthermore, the subordinates previously under him hadn¡¯t perished in this battle; they had been sent to their deaths by him bringing them out for some alternative ie¡ªhe didn¡¯t have any confidence in asking for more.


    The location of the battle had originally been on the border between Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor and South Edict Manor. It was not long before the troops returned to South Edict Manor territory. After finding a wide in, they stopped again to reorganize themselves.


    Reorganizing naturally signified the reassignment of troops for each Mountain. Most of the Mountains already had their casualties replenished by new men. Only Qin Weiwei¡¯s Mount Calming Sea was extremely awkward.


    After replenishing the manpower of the other Mountains, Yang Qing only chose twenty people under his directmand to give to Qin Weiwei.


    It was useless even if both parties had a father-daughter rtionship. In front of everyone else, the necessary punishments still needed to be enforced. He could not pretend as if nothing had happened after struggling through an uphill battle. If that was the case, how would Yang Qing expect to lead his subordinates in the future?


    Qin Weiwei had been rash and fallen for the enemy¡¯s trap, resulting in almostplete annihtion of Mount Calming Sea¡¯s forces. Even though Yang Qing hadn¡¯t med Qin Weiwei in public, everyone could tell that this was the guise for Yang Qing¡¯s punishment to Qin Weiwei.


    As for the rewards for contributions in this battle, Qin Weiwei likely no longer had anything to do with it.


    Two of South Edict Manor¡¯s Mountain Chieftains had died in this battle, so Yang Qing appointed two new men to take over.


    As for the Cave Masters that had died in battle, there were quite a few¡ªbut Yang Qing didn¡¯t interfere in their assignment, and allowed the respective Mountain Chieftains to do it themselves. He wouldn¡¯t take away the authority of those under him.


    As soon as he was done reorganizing his troops, Yang Qing allowed each Mountain Chieftain to have half of their troops stay to defend their own respective territory. The remaining half would follow him, and make a beeline for Ever Peace Manor. He was ready to take this chance while Ever Peace Manor was empty, to conquer it in one stroke.


    Xiong Xiao reminded, "Manor Head, wouldn¡¯t it be inappropriate for us to take over Ever Peace Manor? Wouldn¡¯t we be inciting the wrath of the Hall Master?"


    Yang Qing coldly replied, "How could I let someone else take the fruits of our South Edict Manor¡¯s hardbor? If one doesn¡¯t have even this much boldness, he would continue to be underestimated by others. The harvesting of the Orbs of Will is just around the corner¡ªall of you follow me to first take over Ever Peace Manor. We will talk again once the Orbs of Will are harvested. If the Hall Master really wants us out after the fact, then we can simply retreat back to South Edict Manor once more."


    Everyone else share a look. Since Yang Qing insisted on doing it this way, then they could only cup their fists and obey.


    When he saw that everyone was still a little hesitant, Yang Qing suddenly raised his arm and shouted, "Once we have taken over Ever Peace Manor, besides the harvest of Orbs of Will that Ever Peace Manor has to hand over this year¡ªthe rest shall be everyone¡¯s rewards for this battle. MOVE OUT!"


    Once they heard of such a reward, and figured that even if the skies were toe crashing done, there would be someone higher up keeping it at bay. Since the Manor Head wasn¡¯t afraid¡ªwhat else did they have to fear? They immediately shaped up. With their morales raised, they acknowledged themand in high spirits. They left half their troops behind, while the rest followed Yang Qing, and charged straight towards Ever Peace Manor like brigands.


    Almost all the troops from each respective Mountain had gone, leaving only Qing Weiwei and about twenty of the men she had remaining. Pretty much everyone who belonged to Mount Calming Sea was gathered there.


    Qin Weiwei had no part to y in raiding another territory and the sharing the fruits of victory. Yang Qing leaving her behind would also be considered part of her punishment.


    Truth be told, Mount Calming Sea also had no way to split its forces for the raiding morend. It had about twenty men in total, and having two men to guard each of the abode of Immortals was very well the bare minimum. Where would they find anyone to spare?


    The men that Yang Qing had left behind didn¡¯t feel troubled that they had to follow Qin Weiwei instead of going to share the fruits of victory. This was because almost all the men from Mount Calming Sea were dead. With so many Cave Master positions suddenly bing vacant, the new recements would definitely be selected amongst them. Even if they were not selected to be Cave Masters, they would still be highly recognised¡ªthis was Yang Qing¡¯s strong point.


    Indeed, after Qin Weiwei watched the other troops depart, she immediately filled the six vacant Cave Master positions.


    Naturally, the four Cave Masters¡ªGongsun Yu, Li Youqian, Zhang Yuniang and Miao Yi¡ªremained in their original positions.


    Out of the ten Cave Masters, nine of those had another person assigned to them. Only Miao Yi¡¯s East Arrival Cave was spared the manpower because under hismand, there was still Yan Xiu alive and kicking. The others were more of a lone general than he was. It was in to see how much Mount Calming Sea had fallen from grace.


    Out of the twenty men Yang Qing had left behind, six had been assigned as Cave Masters, and another nine distributed into each Cave. As for the remaining five, Qin Weiwei kept them by her side. Given the size of Mount Calming Sea, it was impossible that she, the Mountain Chieftain, would not keep some men tomand. Furthermore, it would be impossible to distribute the manpower evenly, even if she had to assign them all away.


    Ten Cave Masters¡ªeach lone general apanied by a single aide. They were all a little speechless as they looked at each other.


    Not far away, Hong Changhai wasn¡¯t sure whether he should bring his troops away or not. He was truly uncertain of how he would report to the Sect Master once he returned.


    Miao Yi gazed in envy at the hundreds of School of Blue Jade disciples situated nearby. In a low voice, he begrudginglyined, "Never have I seen such a pitiful Cave Master. This is the first."


    Qin Weiwei turned her head to re at him, feeling that Miao Yi meant that she, the Mountain Chieftain, was useless. She bit her lip, but ultimately endured it and didn¡¯t say a thing. If it were the previous her, she would probably have immediately snapped back with, ¡®If you¡¯re not satisfied with being this Cave Master, you can choose not to do it. I will immediately assign someone new¡¯.


    Gongsun Yu was aware that the Great Cave Master Miao always had a poor rtionship with Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei. Were it the past, he would definitely have jumped out in a heartbeat to side with Qin Weiwei and rebuke Miao Yi. However, things were evidently not the same as before. Nheless, he still loyally helped Qin Weiwei say a few words as he smiled, "Cave Master Miao, so long as we can hold out for the moment, the Mountain Chieftain is sure to find more men to replenish our forces."


    Miao Yi scoffed as he thought, ¡®Obviously this vile couple will put in some good words for one another¡¯. With so many mencking, he didn¡¯t believe that they could be replenished in a short period of time.

 Chapter 179: Troops Recruitment (2)

    Chapter 179: Troops Recruitment (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    It wasn¡¯t like there weren¡¯t any other cultivators avable. There were countless cultivators who wanted to enter the system.


    The key problem rted to the rules of recruitment. Each domain couldn¡¯t just ept anyone. They usually didn¡¯t dare to simply ept cultivators of unknown origin because once something went wrong¡ªsuch as recruiting spies from other nations; the person who made the rmendation would take the me. Hence, unless they had a really had a good rtionship with each other, they usually wouldn¡¯t rmend just anyone to join.


    Thinking back, Cao Dingfeng had first rmended Miao Yi¡¯s entry into Transient Light Cave, purely because of his good rtionship with Chen Fei¡ªhe trusted him. Following which, it was because Cao Dingfeng had put in a few good words and asked Cave Master Zhang, that Miao Yi¡¯s name was added to the registry records. Only then was Miao Yi able to join Transient Light Cave.


    Replenishing manpower was usually done by taking in prisoners that had capitted¡ªso when idents did ur, they wouldn¡¯t be med for it. Instead, they could easily shift the me onto the losing party of the war for their poor screening.


    Apart from this, another option was to recruit disciples from the other sects. If a spy was found among the sect disciples recruited, then the sect who rmended the disciple to join would need to bear responsibility.


    It was reported that the reason why they preferred epting sect disciples, was linked to the Six Sages¡¯ desire to use the Orbs of Will to absorb the sect¡¯s power into the system. It was to make them butcher each other as they fought for territory within the system, weakening themselves and stunting their influence¡ªpreventing them from threatening the Six Sage¡¯s positions.


    Despite the fact that most of them understood this, they still couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of the Orbs of Will. After all, once they entered the system, there would still a chance for them to excel.


    Thus in Miao Yi¡¯s point of view, even if he did manage to obtain men to replenish his troops, his rtionship with Qin Weiwei had never been well¡ªthe men would simply be given to the other abodes first. That viinous Gongsun Yu who always stuck by Qin Weiwei would be the first one to gain from this, and Miao Yi¡¯s East Arrival Cave would only get his turnst. Furthermore, that vile woman, Qin Weiwei, would most likely refuse to replenish his troops just to get back at him. As the Cave Master, he seriously couldn¡¯t imagine how long he would be doing menial tasks in East Arrival Cave.


    He tightened his lips in Elder Hong¡¯s direction and asked, "Is that necessary? They have hundreds of men there, readily avable. What¡¯s wrong with simply recruiting some of them?"


    Gongsun Yu eyed the expressionless Qin Weiwei before turning to reveal a bitter smile as he replied, "Cave Master Miao. Even if you want to recruit them, they wouldn¡¯t dare join."


    Miao Yi failed to understand the reason, so he didn¡¯t believe his words. "It¡¯s because both parties turned against each other and we have refused their entry, correct?"


    He shot a nce at Qin Weiwei and sarcastically said, "If someone has the courage to yield, I will immediately head there and replenish the troops in East Arrival Cave."


    In his opinion, who among all the cultivators in the world wouldn¡¯t want to enter the system, to share in the world¡¯s power of will?


    Gongsun Yu was caught betweenughter and tears. It wasn¡¯t his ce to exin that the reason why the School of Blue Jade¡¯s men were afraid of joining them, was because the Mano Head would beat them down¡ªthey would only throw their lives away at South Edict Manor without any chance of a promotion.


    After listening to Miao Yi¡¯s words practically dripping with sarcasm, Qin Weiwei knew the ¡®someone¡¯ he was talking about was her. She grit her pearly whites and swept him a chilling gaze as she scoffed, "If you can manage it, then by all means, go and recruit them."


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes instantly gleamed, "Mountain Chieftain, are you serious?"


    Qin Weiwei casted a fiery gaze at him. "Do you really take me for the type of despicable person who would go back on their word?"


    The words she spat out now had a different tone to how she would have treated Miao Yi in the past.


    "No. No. How could Mountain Chieftain be despicable?" Miao Yi quickly waved his hands and chuckled happily. "I¡¯m just worried that umm..., what if I were to rece the men of East Arrival Cave with disciples from the School of Blue Jade, and hand in the registry afterwards, only to have you refusing to report it to the superiors? I wouldn¡¯t be able to exin myself to the School of Blue jade. They might even think I was just fooling with them."


    This was obviously saying that he was still worried someone was a despicable person who would break her promise.


    Angered, Qin Weiwei ground her teeth and replied, "As long as the disciples from the School of Blue Jade have the courage to join, you can rope in as many as you want. I will approve and report ordingly¡ªprovided that they do not make any demands, and simply enter like regr cultivators!"


    "Cave Master Gongsun! Mountain Chieftain words carries weight¡ªyou all heard what she said!"


    After Miao Yi asked for everyone to bear witness, he excitedly put his hands together¡ªthe armor on both his and Charcoal¡¯s body transformed into silver mist before entering the storage ring. He turned Charcoal around, making a beeline straight to where the disciples of the School of Blue Jade were.


    All the Cave Masters were rendered speechless; they had no clue where Miao Yi had gotten such extravagant equipment from.


    Everyone¡¯s gaze trailed after Cave Master Miao¡¯s departing figure as he excitedly bounced towards the School of Blue Jade. They shook their heads, thinking to themselves that the Cave Master Miao would need a rude awakening to change...


    Hong Changhai had led his group of men to a location not far away, and was still staring at the direction where Yang Qing and his men had gone¡ªlost in his train of thoughts. How would he exin to the Sect Master when he returned? How on earth would he exin to the entire School of Blue Jade?


    The thundering hooves of a galloping dragon steed pulled him back from his thoughts. He turned his head to see, and a look of shock appeared on his face.


    Back then in South Edict Manor, Hong Changhai had met Miao Yi before.


    Miao Yi also knew who he was; it was just that he had never greeted him before. Thus, he came to halt before Hong Changhai and said with cupped fists. "East Arrival Cave Miao Yi hase to greet Elder Hong."


    Towards this man whom the School of Blue Jade wanted to groom into their spy, Hong Changhai was naturally familiar with him, since he had been involved in the matter from the shadows.


    Shooting a nce to where Qin Weiwei and the rest were, he cupped his hands lightly. "So you¡¯re Cave Master Miao. I heard that the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples at East Arrival Cave had been gone with Cave Master Miao for a long time. May I know where they are now?"


    For him to just open his mouth and shoot straight into this matter¡ªMiao Yi¡¯s lips couldn¡¯t help but give a slight twitch. He sighed, "I am ashamed! They weren¡¯t able to escape during the battle of East Arrival Cave. I came here especially to inform you."


    It turned out he was here to inform him of this matter. Hong Changhai gave a nod to himself in his thoughts, feeling that this Cave Master Miao was more sincere¡ªmuch better than that ungrateful Yang Qing.


    He didn¡¯t suspect that there were other reasons as a lot of disciples from the School of Blue Jade had perished in the recent battle. That those lot from East Arrival Cave hadn¡¯t survived the ordeal wasn¡¯t unreasonable. He was rather glum as he said, "So they have fallen in battle for South Edict Manor. Unfortunately, Manor Head Yang..."


    The words he had yet to say were easy to guess even for a mindless pair of buttocks; he was definitely reproaching Yang Qing for being heartless and unjust.


    However, Miao Yi held no concern for these things, and immediately asked, "Elder Hong, I have a piece of good news to tell you."


    Hong Changhai was caught off guard by his words. "Good news? What good news?"


    He was fairly suspicious. Their rtion with South Edict Manor had already turned sour¡ªwhat other good news coulde of it?


    Miao Yi watched the men behind Hong Changhai and smiled, "Both the School of Blue Jade and I are considered old friends. During that time, I¡¯ve frequently heard about the School of Blue Jade from Zheng Jinlong, and have longe to respect you. As the saying goes, benefits should always be shared among one¡¯s own people. Now that I amcking in men at East Arrival Cave, I thought of you first. Those who wish toe to East Arrival Cave, you can leave with me now. There¡¯s no need to be courteous about it."


    In his eyes, they should be happy that he was willing to allow them to join East Arrival Cave, and be a member of the system to share in the world¡¯s Orbs of Will. There were countless cultivators who wanted to join but were unable to. Miao Yi had shown up to proactively attract customers, expecting them to be overjoyed at the opportunity.


    Little did he imagine that the men before him now weren¡¯t looking happy at all. Instead, they were all stunned, thinking that this bastard was here to make a fool out of them. Their rtionship had already gone sour with Yang Qing, and Miao Yi still wanted them to join?


    ¡®Such a bullshit news!¡¯ Hong Changhai was beginning to suspect whether this bastard was truly a fool, or that he hade here especially to make a joke out of them. He had a strong impulse to spit in Miao Yi¡¯s face.


    But after seeing that Miao appeared normal and didn¡¯t seem intent on screwing with them, Hong Changhai¡¯s eyes flickered a little. He puzzled over what Miao Yi had said, and felt that there was another hidden meaning!


    Just now Miao Yi mentioned that both he and the School of Blue Jade were old friends. Then, he went on to mention that Zheng Jinlong had often talked about the School of Blue Jade. He even went on to say that benefits should always be shared among one¡¯s own people... Thinking up to this point, Hong Changhai thought that he understood what Miao Yi was hinting it. Keeping in mind that Zheng Jinlong and the others had been working to groom Miao Yi into a spy¡ªcould it be...?


    The more he thought about it, the more possible it sounded. Elder Hong shot another nce at Qin Weiwei and her group in the distance, before starting hesitantly, "Will Yang Qing agree?"


    Miao Yi cut straight to it. "Since the Manor Head is not here, it¡¯s the same if Mountain Chieftain Qin agree to it!"


    Astonished, Elder Hong asked, "Did Qin Weiwei ask you toe here?"


    Miao Yi made it seem as though he had been seriously looking out for them as he sighed, "Do you think she would actually ask me toe here? She refused in the beginning. I talked her into giving her approval. Now that she¡¯s being bullheaded and won¡¯t go back on her word, be quick! Otherwise, once she calms downter, you may not be able to join anymore."


    Elder Hong was still undecided, pondering over what Miao Yi was trying to do, and whether it was as he suspected.


    Seeing that he wasn¡¯t being frank, Miao Yiughed coldly to himself. Hadn¡¯t this guye all this way for the sake of getting back into the system? Now he was putting on such an outrageous pretense!


    "If you¡¯re not willing to join, then that¡¯s settled. I will go find someone else." Miao Yi bluntly turned to leave. He didn¡¯t want to deal with the other side¡¯s issues.


    "Wait!" shouted Elder Hong, raising his hand.


    Joy filled Miao Yi¡¯s heart. How many cultivators in the world dreamed of getting such a chance? He was very sure that the other side was reluctant to give it up. Now that he had actuallye up to them with the chance¡ªwho would let go of the opportunity?


    With an expressionless face, he turned around again. "What do you need of me, Elder Hong?"


    A look of determination shed across Hong Changhai¡¯s eyes. As it it was, he wouldn¡¯t be able to exin himself if he returned. He needed to find a way to deal with the current problem. Since the School of Blue Jade had received a ssified report that this brat was secretly at odds with Yang Qing, for now¡ªregardless of whether it was true or not¡ªHong Changhai decided to ce a bet on Miao Yi. It was far better than just making a mess of matters and returning empty-handed.


    "How many men do you want?" Hong Changhai asked, gritting his teeth.


    That was indeed a problem. Miao Yi fell deeply into his own train of thoughts. Naturally, he was eager to have thousands upon thousands of men serving under him, but that wasn¡¯t realistic¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t be able to support them. However, he was still capable of supporting dozens of them right now.


    Yet, as a mere Cave Master, wouldn¡¯t supporting dozens be too brazenly conspicuous? Miao Yi threw a backwards nce at Qin Weiwei. The current esteemed Mountain Chieftain, Qin Weiwei, only had about twenty men under her. Although Qin Weiwei said she would help to approve and report as many as he could roped in, it wasn¡¯t appropriate for him to to be too excessive.


    Miao Yi lifted up two fingers, and cautiously asked, "How about giving me twenty men?"


    Hong Changhai was stunned. He cried out in surprise. "A mere East Arrival Cave can support so many people? Can you really do it?"


    He was clearly meant that letting the disciples from the School of Blue Jade join East Arrival Cave wouldn¡¯t be freebour.


    "You don¡¯t have to worry about that!" Miao Yi nced at the men behind Hong Changhai and asked, "What cultivation levels are the men Elder Hong have brought here?"


    Hong Changhai casually introduced them, "Those here are all elite disciples from the School of Blue Jade. The ones with the lowest cultivation level here are at White Lotus Third Grade. There are three hundred and thirty men who have cultivations at White Lotus Third Grade to Fifth Grade, while fifty eight of them are at sixth grade to ninth grade. As for men of the Purple Lotus realm, there¡¯s twelve of them."


    Miao Yi was shocked beyond measure. The School of Blue Jade¡¯s strength truly couldn¡¯t be underestimated. It was no wonder that he couldn¡¯t catch sigh of any youths whilst studying the four hundred men before him. They were all aged, since they didn¡¯t have any Orbs of Will to draw on¡ªhe had no idea how many decades each one of them had been cultivating for.

 Chapter 180: Troops Recruitment (3)

    Chapter 180: Troops Recruitment (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    The Great Cave Master Miao was struck. For what purpose had he risked his life and ventured into the Sea of Constetions back then?


    One of the most important reason, was that Xiong Xiao¡¯s repeated attempts on his life had scared him out of his wits¡ªto the point that he hadn¡¯t felt safe even in his own territory and was so paranoid that he hid on the ind to train. If he could obtain a bunch of Blue Lotus Realm experts and make them his subordinates, it would be that damned dog Xiong Xiao¡¯s turn to feel restless.


    In the heat of the moment, he did not even bother with beating around the bush and immediately made an exorbitant demand. He pointed at the four hundred men and said, "I do not need the rest. Just give me twenty with the highest cultivations!"


    "What?!" Hong Changhai eximed as his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Cave Master Miao, surely you jest? Even for a Blue Lotus First Grade cultivator¡ªonce they enter the system, even the lowest of wage would cost ten low-grade Orbs of Will every year. There are twelve of them here, so at the very least they would need one hundred and twenty Orbs of Will a year. Including the rest of them, you would need to fork out two hundred Orbs of Will a year at least. From what I hear, your East Arrival Cave¡¯s annual ie is but a meager twenty or so Orbs of Will. What will you use to fund them?"


    ¡®Two hundred orbs a year?¡¯ Miao Yi was brought to his senses with a douse of cold water. Calcting it carefully, with the amount of Orbs of Will he had in hand, he really could not afford to feed them for more than a few years. If he were to sell all the things he had on him and turn them into Orbs of Will, he might be able to feed them for a few hundred years, but their cultivations would also rise and when that happened, he would have to increase their wages. Otherwise if the other party¡¯s cultivation was higher than his and he couldn¡¯t suppress and properly control them¡ªwhat was the purpose of him spending all that money to feed them?


    Additionally, he himself also had to use the Orbs of Will he had on hand. In the event of an emergency, he might even need to spend it elsewhere. He couldn¡¯t use it all just to feed his troops.


    Seeing that he had finally calmed down, Hong Changhai was annoyed and amused at the same time. He kindly advised, "Cave Master Miao, why don¡¯t I just give you ten White Lotus Third Grade disciples? Ten White Lotus Third Grade disciples are more than enough for a single Cave. It is definitely sufficient."


    "No. I do not want any that are below the fifth grade..."


    Miao Yi resolutely declined. A bunch of men who could not threaten Xiong Xiao¡ªwhy would he want them? He would still be unsafe!


    The two of them immediately started bargaining.


    "I cannot give you five Blue Lotus disciples either. I will not be able to report back to the School if I sent five Blue Lotus disciples to a mere Cave."


    "How about four?"


    "No way!"


    "Three!"


    "No, I can give you two at most. And they can only be at Blue Lotus First Grade."


    Both of them bargained as though they were pushing and pulling a saw. In the end, they came to an agreement. Hong Changhai agreed to give him two Blue Lotus First Grade, two White Lotus Ninth Grade, two White Lotus Eighth Grade, two White Lotus Seventh Grade, two White Lotus Sixth Grade and ten White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivators; making up a total of twenty men.


    As for cultivators below the fifth grade, Miao Yi didn¡¯t want them even if it was the death of him.


    Both parties then discussed again about the wages for these twenty men. Miao Yi would only give the lowest price. For example¡ªthose in the Blue Lotus realm, he would only give the bare minimum, which was ten Orbs of Will every year.


    Hong Changhai would not agree to it, as he felt that it mistreated the disciples too much. Even though Blue Lotus Cultivators basically had no way of obtaining ten Orbs of Will within the Sect, they received a certain degree of prestige and the Sect would give them special treatment using other means. That was why they could not be too pitiful when they were bought out, otherwise the School of Blue Jade would lose face.


    Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t budge on the Orbs of Will. He had to save as much as he could for himself. After all, that was what he had gone to the Sea of Constetions and risked his life for. However, that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯tpromise on other aspects; otherwise there would be no way to continue the negotiations. He proposed, "I will raise their sries in terms of crystal coins. I can¡¯t possibly give out too many Orbs of Will, so how about I use money to make up for it?"


    He didn¡¯t have a lot of Orbs of Will now¡ªbut he did have a lot of money. He didn¡¯t have enough of those crystal coins to procure a high-grade transcendent artifact, and the gap was huge; there was no point in purchasing something too low-grade either now that he had a whole pile of first grade transcendent artifacts. This was why he had to save as many Orbs of Will as he could, and spend the money first!


    Hong Changhai was taken aback. He asked doubtfully, "How many crystal coins are you prepared to offer for Blue Lotus realm disciples?"


    Miao Yi replied confidently, "Name your price!"


    Hong Changhai pondered for a while. The market price for one low-grade Orb of Will was a thousand gold crystals. Even though Orbs of Will had a price, without a market, there was no guarantee that spending a thousand gold crystals would assure one could buy it, but it was also just as well if he could help the disciples fight for some benefits.


    He raised a finger and probed with an opening price, "Ten thousand gold crystals!"


    This price gave Miao Yi some room to bargain. Ten thousand gold crystals were enough to buy ten low-grade Orbs of Will ording to market prices. Even though there was no guarantee one could buy it, it would sound nicer to say that with the Orbs of Will and crystal coins together, he had helped the disciples obtain a wage of almost twenty low-grade Orbs of Will every year.


    Without saying another word, Miao Yi raised two fingers, and replied, "Stop fussing. I will give twenty thousand gold crystals!"


    From a distance, Qin Weiwei and the rest watched as the both of them raised their fingers here and there, unable to make heads or tails of what they were doing.


    Hong Changhai was speechless. The other party had immediately doubled the price¡ªwhat else could he say? His mouth was shut in no time by Miao Yi¡¯s twenty thousand gold crystals.


    He didn¡¯t even suspect that the Great Cave Master Miao had almost thirty million gold crystals in hard cash alone. An expenditure of this amount was not a problem at all.


    Since that was done, Hong Changhai then continued discussing with him on the gold crystal remunerations for the rest of them.


    In the end, they concluded that between the two Blue Lotus First Grade cultivators would each receive ten low-grade Orbs of Will and twenty thousand gold crystals every year; for the two White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators, each of them would receive nine Orbs of Will every year, but the money they received was immediately shed in half from the former offer for a total of ten thousand gold crystals.


    The rest of them followed a decreasing trend: Eighth Grades would obtain eight Orbs of Will and eight thousand gold crystals; Seventh Grades would receive seven Orbs of Will and seven thousand gold crystals; Sixth Grades would receive six orbs and six thousand gold coins; and Fifth Grades would receive five orbs and five thousand gold coins.


    Even if such wages were to be found elsewhere, if one didn¡¯t hold some kind of position such as a Cave Master, Mountain Chieftain, Manor Head and the like, it would not be considered low.


    Nheless, even though the position of watching over a domain came with an extravagant treatment, not everyone would get the opportunity to obtain such a position. Anyone could see the benefits, but not everyone could get it.


    With all these expenses considered, the Great Cave Master Miao would have to provide one hundred and fifty two thousand gold crystals and one hundred and thirty low-grade Orbs of Will for these people.


    Even though Hong Changhai was quite satisfied with the price they discussed, and felt that the disciples wouldn¡¯t be mistreated this way¡ªhe couldn¡¯t help but feel that the situation was a little unbelievable. Where would a mere Cave Master find so much to offer?


    Both parties had agreed that if Miao Yi could not produce the amount of items specified, the disciples would immediately withdraw. It was almost the day of harvest of the Orbs of Will, so they would be able to confirm his validity very soon.


    Naturally, a verbal assurance wouldn¡¯t work; it would be too easy to trick someone. If they were tricked by Maio Yi into entering the system, it wouldn¡¯t be as simple to just leave again.


    Both parties had to sign a ¡®Commandment of Conformity¡¯ in order to ensure their agreement on the terms.


    Why was it called the Commandment of Conformity?


    The rules of the Commandment of Conformity originated from the ¡®Manor of Conformity¡¯¡ªa merchant guild under the jurisdiction of the Six Sages. For example, the Celestial Nation has the Celestial Nation Merchant Guild, which specialises in trades of the cultivating world.


    There was nock of fraud when it came to trades. As the number of illicit frauds escted to the point where it affected the profits of thewmakers of the cultivation realm, the Manor of Conformity was thus born. Initially, it helped maintain the agreement terms of the trades, but towards the end, it spread across the entire cultivation realm.


    The Manor of Conformity was not a ce like South Edict Manor, but was more akin to the mortal world¡¯sw enforcement system. The difference was that the Manor of Conformity was targeted at the cultivation realm and was under the direct management of the disciples and descendants of the Six Sages. It was the Six Sages¡¯ single most direct tform of intervention on the affairs of the cultivation realm, so to speak.


    Once two parties have signed a contract, if one party vites the terms and refuses to offerpensations for the breach of contract, the other party could send the contract over to the Manor of Conformity and request for a fair judgement. In turn, the Manor of Conformity would immediately send the Commandment of Conformity over to the party that had vited the terms, and interrogate them to determine whether or not they were willing to take responsibility for breaching the contract.


    If one still wouldn¡¯t admit that they had breached the contract upon receiving the Commandment of Conformity, then the Manor of Conformity would personally send someone for further investigation. If the investigation managed to prove that there was indeed a breach, or found that the other party had made a false report, then the party responsible not only had to pay for the costs of the investigation¡ªthe consequences were severe. The Manor of Conformity had many skilled experts.


    In order to uphold the rules of the game that is the cultivation realm, the Manor of Conformity was definitely a ce where thews were iron-d. Any sort of favoritism was not allowed. This was to reflect the justness and righteousness of the exalted Six Sages. It represented the image of the Six Sages, and thus was not to be taken lightly.


    Truthfully, the contract that was signed between the two respective parties was not called the Commandment of Conformity. Only that which the Manor of Conformity delivered would be called the Commandment of Conformity. However, the current cultivation realm had long since be ustomed to calling the contract, signed between two parties who were willing to ept the Manor of Conformity¡¯s supervision, as the Commandment of Conformity. People eventually became used to it the more they called it as such.


    This was the origin of the Commandment of Conformity, and what Yang Qing and the Sect Master of the School of Blue Jade had signed was precisely one such Commandment of Conformity.


    Miao Yi had no objections to signing a Commandment of Conformity and happily agreed.


    However, Hong Changhai was still a little hesitant. He thought to himself, ¡®If you didn¡¯t manage to keep your end of the bargain, all you have to do is return the School of Blue Jade disciples. You do not lose anything, but how would youpensate for bossing my School of Blue Jade disciples around for nothing? Would I not be yed for a fool by you? How would I report that then?¡¯


    ¡®You are someone that exists within the system. Those outside the system would not dare to oppose you openly, no matter how high their cultivations are, because the biggest support you have behind you are the Six Sages.¡¯ he thought.


    This was also the greatest reason why so many cultivators wanted to enter the system. Normally those outside would not dare openly oppose someone within the system, and those belonging in the system would also need to follow the rules to deal with other within the system¡ªthey couldn¡¯t do it haphazardly.


    In the end, those within the system were those helping the Six Sages maintain order, and enforcing the rules of the cultivation realm. This was not an average status, so it came with a basic assurance that those outside could not enjoy.


    Hong Changhai wanted Miao Yi to hand over something that could serve as a down payment in case he failed to uphold his terms of the agreement. Only then would he agree to sign the contract with Miao Yi. Otherwise for a small Cave Master like him, even if he reported him to the Manor of Conformity and let them kill him, there wouldn¡¯t be a point. It was still better to have something to act as a down payment.


    Without another word, Miao Yi immediately shed out a Square Sky Decorated Halberd from his storage ring and asked, "Would a first grade transcendent artifact be sufficient for down payment?"


    Hong Changhai looked at the single storage ring on his hand, then looked at the six storage rings on Miao Yi¡¯s hand. He lifted his head, and looked at the skies as he almost shed an aggrieved old tear. How many years had he been cultivating? Yet he still wasn¡¯t still doing better than a greenhorn brat. This little youngster of a Cave Master was actually wearing six storage rings whereas most of the men behind him didn¡¯t even have a single storage ring. Additionally, he could casually take out one first grade transcendent artifact, while most of the men behind him had never even used a first grade transcendent artifact before.

 Chapter 181: Troops Recruitment (4)

    Chapter 181: Troops Recruitment (4)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    He finally believed that Miao Yi wasn¡¯t bluffing. This bastard might seriously have the means to fulfill the promise.


    There was no need to say anything further. After both of them finished negotiating the details of the agreement, each of them took out a jade archive and sealed it with their insignia before exchanging the jade archive with each other to seal it with their insignia once more.


    The Square Sky Decorated Halberd was surrendered to Hong Changhai. If Miao Yi broke the agreement, then the disciples from School of Blue Jade were free to withdraw from East Arrival Cave through the Commandment of Conformity. In addition, this first grade transcendent artifact would be confiscated as the penalty fee. On the other hand, if Miao Yi honored the promise, then the first grade transcendent artifact would need to be returned to Miao Yi.


    ¡®Should the School of Blue Jade vite the agreement...¡¯ Miao Yi gazed at the third grade transcendent artifacts in Hong Changhai¡¯s hands, and requested him to write it in as the assurance in the Commandment of Conformity.


    After epting the transcendent artifact along with a copy of the agreement, Hong Changhai reached his hand out to Miao Yi and said, "Please step back and wait for a moment. Allow me to make the selection, I will quickly give the men to you in a moment."


    "Go ahead!" Miao Yi cupped his hands with glee. He wasn¡¯t afraid of the other party going back on their words after signing the Commandment of Conformity. He rode Charcoal and bounced back to Qin Weiwei and the rest.


    On seeing that the bastard had came back, Qin Weiwei only nced at him before eventually turning her head around. She didn¡¯t look at him anymore.


    On the other hand, Gongsun Yu weed him back. Seeing that he had returned on his own, he couldn¡¯t resist the urge to ask, "Cave Master Miao, could it be that Hong Changhai didn¡¯t agree?"


    "He wouldn¡¯t dare to disagree!" Miao Yi drew out a jade archive as he gloated, "He has already signed the Commandment of Conformity. How would he dare to back out?"


    "..." Gongsun Yu was momentarily rendered speechless before again asking with curiosity. "How many men did he agree to give you?"


    Miao Yi held up two fingers.


    Gongsun Yu eximed in surprise, "Only two?"


    "Cave Master Gongsun, you¡¯re too small-minded! There are countless cultivators out there in the world who would want to enter the system. Are only two men worthwhile for me to personally go and recruit?" Miao Yi wiggled the two fingers as he gleefully eximed, "Twenty!"


    "..." Everyone was dumbstruck. Fuck, a mere East Arrival Cave dared to recruit twenty men?


    Qin Weiwei also wasn¡¯t sure whether this brat was speaking the truth or not. She silently bit her lips with her pearly whites, turning to look back once more. Currently, there were only about twenty men in the entire Mount Calming Sea, and now his abode could bepared to Mount Calming Sea.


    How could she, the Mountain Chieftain, endured this?


    Gongsun Yu fell silent for awhile before asking again, "What cultivations do the men he gave you hold?"


    "Two Blue Lotus First Grade, two White Lotus Ninth Grade, two White Lotus Eight Grade..." The great Cave Master Miao continued to report the men he was going to receiveter without trying to cover up the truth. He wouldn¡¯t be able to conceal the fact from them anyway. Later on, when he reported it to Qin Weiwei, he would need to rify as well.


    The entire group was struck dumbpletely. Now, even in the entirety of Mount Calming Sea, there was no cultivator at the Blue Lotus realm. What was this brat trying to do? If that was true, then he really didn¡¯t give an ounce of regard to the Mountain Chieftain at all!


    Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t want to bother with Miao Yi anymore, but on listening to this point, even she couldn¡¯t restrain herself anymore. She became angered once more. "Miao Yi, what are you nning? Don¡¯t you forget what I have said before! If you want to get it past me, my Mount Calming Sea will never ept any additional demands from them! You, Miao Yi, also have no authority to represent Mount Calming Sea in epting any of their demands!"


    She didn¡¯t believe that the School of Blue Jade would be so kind. They must have brought up some demands; otherwise, why would they gift so many of their elites to serve in a mere East Arrival Cave?


    Miao Yi immediately cursed her silently. As expected, this bitch couldn¡¯t bear to see him doing well. He had spent his own capital from his blood and sweat to support the troops, and she had the nerve to object to it?


    "Don¡¯t you worry. I did not represent Mount Calming Sea to ept any of their demands. I will also not deduct any tributes to Mount Calming Sea. I wouldn¡¯t dare to pull off something like that with Mountain Chieftain checking on me. I am only representing East Arrival Cave to recruit the troops for it!" Miao Yi chucked the jade archive towards her.


    Catching it with her hand, Qin Weiwei put on a cold front as she imbued her transcendence energy to examine the contents of the agreement. The more she read, the more speechless she became.


    He really hadn¡¯t deducted any tributes to Mount Calming Sea. He was nning to use his own cultivation resources to support them for the sake of serving Mount Calming Sea, and did not inconvenient Mount Calming Sea in any way. East Arrival Cave was still the East Arrival Cave belonging to Mount Calming Sea. If she still continued to object, then that was indeed inexcusable.


    What¡¯s more, there were no rules of the sort that restricted subordinates from recruiting men with high cultivations, or disallowing them from having more than ten men. There were some men with power who also acted as such, in order to foster their own heirs in the system.


    However, the more definite the matter be, the more upset Qing Weiwei felt. It was pretty obvious that this bastard had indeed struck gold after going on a journey to the Sea of Constetions, and was more wealthy and imposing than a Mountain Chieftain like her. From the start, he didn¡¯t even need to rely on her, the Mountain Chieftain at all.


    Qin Weiwei chucked the jade archive back to him; she had nothing else to say.


    As for the others, upon seeing that there were no objections from the Mountain Chieftain, they were instantly inspired. All of their gazes were directed at the disciples from the School of Blue Jade, each of them roughly intent on mimicking Miao Yi¡¯s actions.


    Gongsun Yu cupped his hands and politely requested to take the jade archive off Miao Yi¡¯s hands to examine. If it was possible, he also wanted to recruit some men over from the School of Blue Jade.


    Yet after seeing the price he was paying, Gongsun Yu¡¯s expression froze. He passed the agreement to the next person in line who wanted to look as well. Nobody wanted to be a lone Cave Master.


    The expressions of every subsequent person to read the contents of the agreement were either distorted, or they were shut uppletely¡ªimmediately shaking of the thought. They honestly couldn¡¯t afford it. Even if they had the mind to, they didn¡¯t have the ability to either.


    Everybody finally understood how the Cave Master Miao was able to recruit those men from School of Blue Jade. He was using his cultivation resources to obtain them. No other abodes would be able to fork out an annual worth of one hundred and fifty-thousand Gold Crystals and, one hundred and thirty low-grade Orbs of Will.


    With this many troops under employ, not even the Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei would be able to support them, let alone the other small Cave Master.


    Everybody was rather dubious as to whether or not Miao Yi could fork out so much cultivation resources. But after seeing how Miao Yi¡¯s hands bore six storage rings, and thinking about the body of transcendent artifacts he had, they couldn¡¯t help but quietly sigh. They didn¡¯t know where this brat had gotten them from, but once there was an opportunity, they needed to get closer to Cave Master Miao and see whether they could get any information out of him.


    The more Gongsun Yu nced at the six storage rings on Miao Yi¡¯s hands, the more helpless he appeared¡ªwith thoughts of admiration, jealousy, as well as hatred guing his mind. He shook his head, thinking that this kid really didn¡¯t know how to be modest. He had worn six storage rings all at once; even his dragon steed was equipped with a body of transcendent artifacts. He was being incredibly shy and high-profile as though he was afraid that nobody would notice that he¡¯d hit the jackpot. Wasn¡¯t he a little afraid that someone would steal from him?


    They couldn¡¯t possibly imagine that Miao Yi didn¡¯t wish to be so high-profile as well. It was just that he had too many storage rings, so wearing a few more truly wasn¡¯t overdoing it for him. On his waist, he had a string with two hundred more storage rings that he was quite embarrassed to reveal to the others. He truly believed that he was being quite discreet already.


    The most crucial point was that these storage rings were organized by categories, filled with items that he didn¡¯t feel safe putting anywhere else. So wearing them on his fingers felt much safer when he could actually see them. At least if they were to go missing, he would know immediately when he wanted to retrieve something. It was also convenient not hiding them in his clothes, since every time that he wanted to retrieve them, he would have to fish them out of his clothes. Wasn¡¯t the purpose of the storage rings to retrieve items easily?


    As for the ridiculously tyrannical armor on Charcoal¡¯s body, he hadn¡¯t wanted it to be that shy either¡ªhe hadn¡¯t even wanted to refine in the first ce, but Yao Ruoxian insisted on doing it, so what choice did he have? He couldn¡¯t beat that bully Yao Ruoxian, so he couldn¡¯t reject it at all.


    Now that the items had been refined, why wouldn¡¯t he utilize it when fighting for his life in the war? He would be insane not to. No matter how discreet he wanted to be, it wasn¡¯t as important as fighting for his life.


    Seeing that everyone was stunned by the agreement, Qin Weiwei suddenly felt incredibly wronged without reason. On the surface, she stiffly warned Miao Yi, "Watch over your East Arrival Cave. Should the items that East Arrival Cave is meant to hand over be any less, don¡¯t me me for not going easy on you!"


    This was to warn Miao Yi not to im any extra resources from East Arrival Cave. She then turned to the others and shouted, "Let¡¯s move!"


    Just like that, she sped along and left with the entire group in tow.


    Miao Yi had been about to reach out with his hand to prevent her from leaving without first epting his register, but upon looking back to nce at the situation on Hong Changhai¡¯s side, he didn¡¯t know how long he had to wait still. A mere Cave Master like himself had no right to request the Mountain Chieftain to obediently stay and wait for him, so it was best for him to banish the thought.


    Next to him, Yan Xiu let out a deep sigh, feeling that the Cave Master had aggravated matters way too much. He reminded, "Cave Master, It wasn¡¯t easy for you to save Mountain Chieftain¡¯s life. I think you should seize the opportunity to better your rtionship."


    "You think I don¡¯t want to? You¡¯ve seen how she acted. She didn¡¯t say a single good word about me from beginning to end, and has written me off as aplete eyesore. Is this the way to treat your saviour? To put it bluntly, this bitch is a thankless wretch. If I had known earlier, I would have left her to die, and that would¡¯ve been the end of it!" Miao Yi coldlyughed.


    On Hong Changhai¡¯s side, once he had selected twenty men, he pulled two of his own immediate disciples to the side and whispered to them. One of them was called Yuan Fang, while the other one was called Lai Yuhan.


    "Yuan Fang. Yuhan. You¡¯ve seen master¡¯s current predicament!" sighed Hong Changhai.


    The two disciples nodded their heads silently, knowing that their master had made a big mess of the situation, and caused the entire School of Blue Jade¡¯s n to implode. Returning now, would only provoke a towering rage from the Sect Master.


    "Initially when I brought you two along, I wanted to help both of you fight for a Mountain Chieftain position, but who knew... sigh! It¡¯s really condescending of you two to serve a minor East Arrival Cave!" Hong Changhai sighed once more.


    The two disciples were no longer youths, but immediately cupped their hands in reply. "It¡¯s not! Master has been thinking of us and the School of Blue Jade, which causes this mishap to happen."


    "There¡¯s no need to be polite." Hong Changhai waved his hands and said, "There is a reason for me to make both of you stay instead of asking the other Blue Lotus disciples. Firstly, it is unlikely for the other Blue Lotus disciples to willingly stay behind, and I didn¡¯t want the both of you toe back with me to get implicated and criticized by the rest. It¡¯s better to shelter at East Arrival Cave and lie low until the fuss dies down. Secondly, I¡¯m the one who caused this, so I have to save myself. We have information from an earlier ssified report that indicates Miao Yi is actually not on good terms with Yang Qing, and may turn against Yang Qing one day. Yet, he¡¯s admired by him and became Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide. Should there be a time when the post of a Mountain Chieftain is inevitably his, then it just so happens that our School of Blue Jade can make use of it. Letting the both of you stay by his side, is to request the two of you to help him seed that position. When this man has amassed enough power, you must think of a way to incite him to revolt against Yang Qing. We, the School of Blue Jade, can then once again seize the chance to intervene in South Edict Manor!"


    Stunned, Yuan Fang asked, "Then wouldn¡¯t he turn into a second Yang Qing?"


    Hong Changhai nodded in reply, "It¡¯s precisely so that he will be a second Yang Qing, to make it easier for us to control him. Both of you must be attentive in gathering information that proves to be harmful to him. Once he seeds, we can use it to threaten him and force him to submit. Back then we werecking in information to strongarm Yang Qing. There¡¯s one more thing, this guy is only a mere Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, yet he dared to actually be this garish. His financial resources are absolutely not what a Cave Master should have. Whilst you are at his side, you have to figure out the source of it. This is extremely important. If his source can be utilized by the School of Blue Jade, then the both of you would have done a great service for School of Blue Jade. This is the main reason why I have nted you by his side. With this n in motion, I won¡¯t be reporting back to the Sect Master empty-handed. Do you understand the painstaking efforts I have put into this?"

 Chapter 182: Troops Recruitment (5)

    Chapter 182: Troops Recruitment (5)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Both of them had felt a little underappreciated at first, but they didn¡¯t dare disobey the Master¡¯s arrangements. However, when they heard these words, their spirits were immediately lifted. So this was the Master¡¯s n after much thought and consideration. It wasn¡¯t simply a n born of desperation to save them.


    They immediately cupped their fists and said, "Your disciples understand. Fret not Master, we shall not disappoint you!"


    "Good, very good. It¡¯s good that both of you could understand!"


    Hong Changhai patted both their shoulders in relief. There was no need for more words if he already managed to get across to them. He turned back and signaled for them to return.


    Not long after, Hong Changhai came forward on his steed, personally leading the two disciples heading the group of twenty men over, from the distant mountain slope. He stopped in front of Miao Yi, then extended his arm to point to the group and said, "Cave Master Miao, I have brought you the men you wanted. Here is the name list, and their details."


    Miao Yi received the jade archive presented to him. After looking through it, he noticed the names of the Blue Lotus cultivators Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan. He raised his head and looked at the group to ask, "Which of you are Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan?"


    "Yuan Fang, Lai Yuhan, greet the Cave Master!"


    Both of them cupped their fists and paid their respects. They remembered the Master¡¯s instructions and didn¡¯t put on any airs, acting fully as expected of subordinates.


    They were two old men. Miao Yi was a little depressed, since of all things, the two old men had feminine names. Those who had yet to see them would definitely have assume that they were women.


    He checked the others, and realised that they were all old men as well. There was not a single youth.


    He couldn¡¯t help but turn to nce at Yan Xiu, who was behind him. Yan Xiu immediately brought his dragon steed forward a step to receive his orders, expecting Miao Yi to have some instruction.


    Unexpectedly, Miao Yi shook his head; he didn¡¯t have any orders for him.


    They wouldn¡¯t expect that Miao Yi¡¯s heart was now filled withment. Yan Xiu was also an old man, and in addition, Yao Ruoxian was an old man as well. It seemed that amongst the cultivators in the entire East Arrival Cave, the Cave Master himself was the youngest. A young Cave Master leading a bunch of old men¡ªwouldn¡¯t it be a little too conspicuous when they ventured out?


    However, he let it be after giving it another thought. What he wanted was their cultivation, their appearance or age didn¡¯t matter as long as he could use them well.


    Upon receiving the records, Miao Yi cupped his fists towards Hong Changhai and said, "Elder Hong, I still have matters to attend to. I shall be taking my leave now!"


    Hong Changhai also cupped his fists and courteously said, "Cave Master Miao, I hope you will take good care of our school¡¯s disciples from now on!"


    "Regarding this, you may be at ease. So long as they heed mymands, I will not mistreat them. I bid you farewell!"


    "Forgive me for not sending you off!"


    Miao Yi swept a nce at his powerful-looking subordinates. His confidence doubled, and his spirits soared as he silently dered to himself, ¡®Xiong Xiao you filthy bastard, wait for me. I will immediately send troops over and butcher Yuan Zhengkun. Let¡¯s see what you can do about it!¡¯


    "Move out!" the Great Cave Master Miao shouted, sweeping his arm and taking the lead at a gallop.


    The group of School of Blue Jade disciples cupped their fists towards Hong Changhai and bid their farewells, then immediately brought their steeds to a gallop and followed after.


    As they traveled, the snow covering the surface of the road was swept up from the galloping dragon steeds. Halfway along their journey, the sunlight began to fade, and petals of snow began sprinkling down from the sky once more.


    The twenty over steeds didn¡¯t stop for a moment, and went straight for the great seaside within East Arrival Cave¡¯s domain. They came to a halt beside the reefs by the shoreline.


    Under the bleak grey sky, petals of snow continued to flutter about, as waves of the mighty sea crashed unceasingly against the shore.


    Seated atop of Charcoal, Miao Yi swept a nce over his surrounding before shouting, "Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er, will the both of you note out and see me!?"


    Not long after, from one of the reefs, a small head poked out as it took a peek. Then, that head turned around for a moment as though calling for someone¡ªafter which, two heads popped out.


    Who else could it be, but Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er?


    In turn, who else could that man¡ªmounted on a dragon steed at the forefront of the crowd¡ªbe, but their Cave Master?


    The Cave Master looked even more imposing than before he had left. There were so many old men loyally standing guard behind the Cave Master. It was obvious at a nce that they were being led by their Cave Master.


    The two youngdies¡¯ hearts were instantly relieved. Before then, they were still worried about whether they could ever meet the Cave Master again.


    Both of them were visibly surprised and overjoyed¡ªholding onto their skirts as they ran out. They stopped just in front of Charcoal to fix their skirts a little, before shouting out together, "We greet the Cave Master!"


    Miao Yi raised his hand gently, indicating that there was no need for formalities, and said, "I have put the both of you through a difficult time!"


    When they heard this, the two youngdies recalled the tragedy that had befallen them, and tears began to flow. However, they wiped off their tears and stifled their wails to respond, "Cave Master, you have returned. Our home has been overrun by invaders, and our sisters...."


    "The enemy has already been chased out. It¡¯s alright now!" Miao Yiforted.


    The two youngdies continued wiping away their tears as they gazed at him and nodded; they didn¡¯t doubt his words at all. In their eyes, the Cave Master had always been extremely formidable. Those evil men who had provoked the Cave Master¡¯s return, would definitely meet with misfortune. There was no doubting that they would be chased away by the Cave Master.


    Besides being quite surprised, Yan Xiu also had tears in his eyes. He thought that the two youngdies had met with a terrible fate. He would never have guessed that they were still alive and actually hiding here, but truly speaking¡ªwhere else could they have hidden? They would naturally hide in a sheltered ce that they were familiar with. How could he not have thought to look for them here? Moreover, how did the Cave Master know that they were hiding here? Looking at both the youngdies¡¯ reactions, it was evident that they hadn¡¯t told the Cave Master beforehand. However, without searching anywhere else, the Cave Master had made a beeline for this ce as soon as he returned, and found them.


    Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t help but admit his inferiority. It was no wonder the other party could be a Cave Master at such a young age. He could even return alive from the Sea of Constetions, so he definitely had a better mind than his own.


    Miao Yi leaned forward of his own ord and extended an arm to the both of them, then pulled the both of them up and seated them behind him. Tugging on the reins, he pulled his horse around and turned his head back to shout, "Return to East Arrival Cave!"


    Behind him, over twenty steeds immediatelyunched into a gallop and followed...


    When theyst left East Arrival Cave, it was still in once piece. However, as they returned to see East Arrival Cave in ruins and the unsightly corpses of their sisters hanging in the fluttering snow, the two youngdies teared up again. They ran up, intending to let down the corpses dangling from the broken beam, but were stopped by Yan Xiu. He pointed towards Miao Yi, who was now walking towards Yao Ruoxian, indicating that it was the Cave Master¡¯s orders.


    Yuan Fang and the rest looked at the ruined East Arrival Cave, then at the hung corpses that had been defiled. Every single one of them couldn¡¯t help but exchange nces with one another.


    Yao Ruoxian had been sitting on a stone pir that had copsed onto the ground. He had one foot hooked over the other, and was quite cheerful as he looked at the approaching Miao Yi. His unkempt beard slightly littered with snowkes.


    "Has Senior been guarding this ce the whole time?" Miao Yi asked respectfully with cupped fists, but he was cursing the other party in his mind.


    Unexpectedly, Yao Ruoxian smiled and responded by asking apletely unrted question, "Is that woman your lover?"


    "...." Miao Yi was stunned. He turned to look back at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, then said, "They are my handmaidens." Yao Ruoxian shook his head, then stood up to pat him on the shoulder and said, "Not them. I was talking about that woman that you single-handedly rescued from the encirclement."


    "Uhhh...." Miao Yi muttered in puzzlement, "You mean our Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei? How could I ever have a thing with her?"


    Yao Ruoxian chuckled and replied, "Then you must be in love with her. Otherwise, why would you risk your life to rescue her?"


    "I¡¯m in love with her?" Miao Yi scoffed. "That vile woman? Me¡ªin love with her? Even if she were to kneel in front of me and beg for my affection, I would still immediately turn away and leave. I would sooner fall in love with a hog than ever fall in love with that vile woman. Senior Yao, what kind of taste do you have? I am indebted to her old man, so I was merely repaying the favor..... Eh, something¡¯s not right! How did you even know that I rescued her?"


    He swept a suspicious nce at the wretched old man from top to bottom, before saying, "You were following me?"


    If Qin Weiwei had heard what he just said, she would probably want to kill him.


    Yao Ruoxian snickered, unsure whether he was telling the truth or not. However, he did see Miao Yi in a slightly new light¡ªto be able to curse her as a vile woman, it really seemed impossible for him to love her. Risking his life to repay a favor, and being willing to throw everything away to save a dragon steed¡ªthis kid was indeed a faithful person. It was truly a little interesting...


    Miao Yi felt a drop of cold sweat form after realising that this old man had really been following him all this time. If he had run away in the midst of it all, his head might have been smashed to bits by this old man¡¯s mace.


    It was not that he had never thought about running away, but even if he could escape this moment, he couldn¡¯t run away his whole life. He was already a part of the system, so it wasn¡¯t up to him to decide when to leave, and when to return. If he had really run away, then it wouldn¡¯t only be Yao Ruoxian who would want to settle a score with him, even the current rules of the system would not let him go.


    Furthermore, Yao Ruoxian already clearly told him that if he dared to escape, he would immediately divulge the secret of his tiny mantids to the public. If that were to happen, there would definitely be countless people who would want to catch Miao Yi. With the entire cultivation realm helping him look, he wanted to see where Miao Yi would be able to hide. If he couldn¡¯t have the tiny mantids, then the brat wouldn¡¯t be enjoying himself either.


    Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t stay on the subject for long. He pursed his lips at the ruined East Arrival Cave and said, "This ce is cold and frigid. Are you really nning on staying outdoors?"


    "I will settle it." Miao Yi replied. He walked over to Yuan Fang and the rest, ordering them to chop down trees and build a temporary shelter against the wind and snow.


    Regarding the reconstruction of East Arrival Cave, he had already made a vow beforehand. As the ten corpses hung in the freezing wind, they continued giving everyone an unearthly chill, and served to remind him of his vow.


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan also didn¡¯t make any fuss. They gave off the impression that they would obey every order without question. They were quite cooperative, and immediately organized their fellow disciples to begin working.


    At Ever Peace Manor, within the courtyard for visiting guests¡ªWan Shunchang was leisurely walking in the snow, admiring both the snow and the plums.


    The sound of a stampede thundered from afar, lifting his spirits after waiting so long for news. He dusted his clothes with both his hands and pulled them into shape. Pointing in the direction of the grand hall to the handmaiden by his side, he cheerfully said, "Good news is here. It must be Brother Zhang¡¯s return after his victory. Come, let us go see!"


    The handmaiden¡¯s lips curved into a smile as she was also pleased. If her master could really leave that Suppressing Second Hall where there was always someone restricting their movements, and be the master of a domain, not only would there be more benefits, she would also have much more freedom. A handmaiden¡¯s status always followed the ebb and flow of the tides.


    Both master and handmaiden quickly made their way towards the grand hall. Suddenly, as they were reaching the hall, they heard the booming sounds battle and death.


    The sounds of battle went on for just a short moment, before everything returned to silence after a few terse screams.


    Wan Shunchang was anxious to see what had happened. He quickly rushed to the grand hall, and was greeted by the sight of Yang Qing leading arge army to invade thisnd. The cultivators that had stayed to keep guard hadn¡¯t had high cultivations¡ªhow could they have withstood the assault of such arge force? For the most part, they were decimated in an instant by therger force, and didn¡¯t put up much of a resistance.


    When he saw Yang Qing leading the troops, Wan Shunchang was taken aback. He thought, ¡®How could Yang Qing be here? Don¡¯t tell me Zhang Decheng lost? This isn¡¯t possible!¡¯


    "Insolent Yang Qing, why are you invading Ever Peace Manor with your men?" standing atop the grand hall, Wan Shunchang shouted as he pointed downwards.


    As one of the six Deacons of Suppressing Second Hall, even though his position was of equal rank to the ten Manor Heads, he was still someone who handled affairs at a higher level and as such, had the right to take such a tone.


    Yang Qing lifted his head to observe him, then raised his arm to stop the men behind him. They all halted in response.


    As he narrowed his eyes to peer at Wan Shunchang for a moment, Yang Qing already had an idea of what was going on.

 Chapter 183: Seizing Control of Ever Peace Manor

    Chapter 183: Seizing Control of Ever Peace Manor


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    There were some matters that were quite obvious, like the fact that Zhang Decheng¡¯s invasion of South Edict Manor had definitely been incited by a third party. Otherwise, Zhang Decheng had no incentive to carry out such an attack, as his level of cultivation was a long way from reaching the Red Lotus realm. Aiming to be a Hall Master at this rate was wishful thinking. Attaining the position of Hall Master would not be as easy as being simply appointed to Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, as Miao Yi had been. He had yet to ascend to the Red Lotus realm, and the Pce Lord of Traversing Moon Pce would never crown a Blue Lotus realm cultivator as a Hall Master. Not only that, Zhang Decheng¡¯s current power meant that the Hall Master Huo Lingxiao would never allow him to hold positions in two manors simultaneously. There was no doubt about it¡ªsomeone was definitely inciting him to action.


    Although he knew that He Yunye was backing Zhang Decheng, he still tried to guess who would be chosen to pick this ¡®South Edict Manor¡¯ peach. But after seeing Wan Shunchang¡¯s appearance, Yang Qing couldn¡¯t stop himself from sneering. It had been this guy all along. Prior to this, he¡¯d still wondered how that fool Zhang Decheng had been able to think of such a wise move. Evidently, someone had personallye to lend a hand.


    "Looks like it¡¯s Deacon Wan!" Yang Qing was neither deferential, nor was he contemptuous. He cupped his fists slightly and then loudly dered, "Zhang Decheng led his troops in revolt and attacked my South Edict Manor. He was then defeated by me, and afterwards I rushed over with my units to destroy the dregs of Ever Peace Manor. I never thought I¡¯d see Deacon Wan here as well. What a coincidence!" His tone was dripping with sarcasm.


    Inwardly, Wan Shunchang was astonished, uncertain whether this deration was genuine or fake. In a sh, he mentally devised a n. Regardless of whether Zhang Decheng was dead or alive¡ªand even if he were dead¡ªit wouldn¡¯t change the oue of taking over Ever Peace Manor instead of South Edict Manor. The harvesting of Orbs of Will would soon be imminent. He would not allow this peach to be picked by Yang Qing.


    He put on an imposing front as he arrogantly shouted, "Nonsense! Hurry up and step down! Lead your forces out of Ever Peace Manor immediately, and if not, don¡¯t me me for reporting you to the Hall Master for conspiring against him!" As he spoke, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards the direction of Suppressing Second Hall.


    But Yang Qing was not one to be so easily deceived. He had dared to lead his men to seize Ever Peace Manor, so naturally he must have made his decision earlier on. He gestured with his hand and pointed at Wan Shunchang, abruptly giving hismands, "Surround them! Kill all rebels without mercy!"


    His subordinates were terror-stricken. Their Manor Head had ordered them to surround the Deacon of Suppressing Second Hall! This wouldn¡¯t be an issue, right?


    But right from the start, everyone here had killed uponmand; there was no mistaking that every order must be executed without fail. What¡¯s more, everyone¡¯s future was already tied to Yang Qing¡¯s. Nobody dared to disobey his orders.


    Instantly, five Mountain Chieftains led their armies¡ªhundreds of cavalry units charging towards both sides with a rumble, surrounding Ever Peace Manor Grand Hall.


    Behind Yang Qing, a group of subordinates stayed behind to protect him, and so he held a calm expression on his face as he sat towering on his dragon steed.


    The handmaiden next to Wan Shunchang turned pale, but Wan Shunchang was furious. He pointed downwards at Yang Qing and yelled angrily, "Yang Qing, what are you trying to do? Have you decided to revolt?!"


    "Hall Master would be an excellent judge on who¡¯s leading a revolt here. There¡¯s no need for you to worry. A Deacon such as yourself has no authority to punish Manor Heads!" Yang Qing sneered as he said, "Deacon Wan, why are you here? Could it be that you¡¯re nning something?"


    "What scheme would I have? It¡¯s nothing unusual for a Deacon of Suppressing Second Hall to check up on all the Manors. Must I seek your agreement, Yang Qing?"


    "Oh! Then how strange. Since you¡¯ve been frequenting Ever Peace Manor, then are you blind? If you¡¯ve been staying at Ever Peace Manor, don¡¯t you dare im that you were unaware of Zhang Decheng attacking South Edict Manor with his own troops! If you knew this already, then why didn¡¯t you report this immediately and attempt to stop it!? You¡¯re still here saying it¡¯s ck when it¡¯s white! Just what sort of intentions are you harboring?!"


    Speechless with humiliation from Yang Qing¡¯s words, Wan Shunchang flew into a rage. He couldn¡¯t say this had all been nned out by the upper echelons, so heshed out, "INSOLENCE!"


    "There are some matters that are known by all. You know very well the kind of filthy scheme you¡¯re nning." Yang Qing suddenly raised his hand and pointed, shouting violently without restraint, "Wan Shunchang! Get the hell out of Ever Peace Manor immediately! Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for not giving face!"


    Wan Shunchang immediately flew into a fit of rage, "Such shameless bravado! I¡¯m standing right here and now, and I¡¯d love to see how you dare to retaliate!"


    "Then I¡¯ll let you see it clearly!" Flipping his hand with ease, Zhang Decheng¡¯s head shed out of Yang Qing¡¯s storage ring. He held it on his hand in disy as he angrily eximed, "I have Zhang Decheng¡¯s head right here. Beheading him was the same as ughtering an animal¡ªas easy as pie. I seized it just like that! You wish for my South Edict Manor, do you not? Come at me, this head will serve as a warning to you! Wan Shunchang! I am giving you onest chance, get the f*ck out of Ever Peace Manor immediately! If not, I will cut your bastard head off and gift the rest of these colluding, viinous, treasonous heads to the Hall Master!"


    Wan Shunchang bellowed with fury, "YOU DARE?!"


    "Having lopped off Zhang Decheng¡¯s head, I have no qualms adding one more to the pile. Let¡¯s see whether I dare to or not!" Yang Qing waved his hands and pointed, as he loudly ordered, "In position!"


    At hismand, all his troops immediately brandished their weapons. They avidly eyed the grand hall¡ªthe moment Yang Qing uttered the word ¡®kill¡¯, they would instantlyunch their attack.


    Wan Shunchang¡¯s expression became twisted at this grand disy of insolence. The handmaiden beside him had turned a deathly shade of pale.


    "Yang Qing! I¡¯ll let you be pleased with yourself for now. Let¡¯s see you try to exin yourself once you reach Suppressing Second Hall!"


    "Your concern is unnecessary!"


    Yang Qing currently held the advantage, therefore Wan Shunchang conceded in the end. He turned around to call out to the handmaiden, "Let¡¯s go!"


    His cultivation level was two grades higher than Yang Qing¡¯s, therefore he wasn¡¯t afraid of duking it out one-to-one.


    But he was unable to charge forwards, as he currentlycked the leg strength of a dragon steed. Under these circumstances, if Yang Qing were to encircle their forces, leading his hundreds of troops to besiege them en masse, Wan Shunchang wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the attack.


    Even if Yang Qing himself did not strike out, Wan Shunchang still wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the powerful impact of so many dragon steeds¡ª he could never outrun their speed.


    What¡¯s more, Yang Qing had easily killed Zhang Decheng, which further intensified his inner turmoil.


    So Yang Qing was not in the least bit afraid of him. If He Yunye were here instead, then Yang Qing would definitely be out of options, and could only obediently withdraw from Ever Peace Manor.


    Both men were seen going down the grand hall together, only to be stopped by arge crowd of troops ring with hostility.


    His path blocked, Wan Shunchang turned to cast a gloomy nce at Yang Qing¡¯s direction. Yang Qing scoffed coldly, "I won¡¯t see you out!"


    The surrounding crowd immediately opened up a pathway. Wan Shunchang quickly left with his handmaiden, retrieving a dragon steed from the back of the mountain before gloomily rushing off.


    Yang Qing appeared unconcerned with Wan Shunchang. Soon after, he ordered his subordinates to inspect the entirety of Ever Peace Manor.


    Naturally, such matters didn¡¯t require a Manor Head to throw his cap into the ring. Nine Mountain Chieftains had gathered by his side.


    Xiong Xiao couldn¡¯t help but worry. "Manor Head, once he returns to Suppressing Second Hall, do you think Deacon Wan will start spreading rumours and cause trouble in front of the Hall Master?"


    Yang Qing sneered. "Will you believe me when I say that he won¡¯t even dare to speak of today¡¯s incident before the Hall Master?"


    Somebody voiced out puzzlingly, "Manor Head, why is that so?"


    "There are some top-level matters beyond your knowledge, and it would be inconvenient for me to borate them to you. To put it briefly, I shouldered the infamy of swearing allegiance to He Yunye, and yet he still double-cross me. In the midst of all this, Wan Shunchang must have decided to join forces with them; he¡¯s too anxious to pluck the peach and thus unwilling to relinquish the merits. This was all because they consider me, Yang Qing, a pushover and a person easily exploited. And thus, they found someone who was willing to help out. There are those who can help Wan Shunchang aplish his goals, whereas I cannot. I can never help him seed. They have already provoked me to take action and if I were to let this pass, what would that make me? As matters stand, if I were to withdraw now, then Wan Shunchang would be the master of Ever Peace Manor. But now I¡¯ve forced him to retreat with his tail between his legs. In the end, who ended up being humiliated? Would a man so ipetent dare to stand before the Hall Master and stir up rumors and trouble, unafraid of others knowing that he¡¯s a good-for-nothing? However, today¡¯s incident can never be hidden from the Hall Master. So long as the master of Suppressing Second Hall remains unchanged, he will never use that good-for-nothing Wan Shunchang again! He will forevernguish in obscurity! He should stop wishing to holdmand over a domain and should just obediently stay as a Deacon. I, Yang Qing, have no reason to be afraid of him!"


    Upon listening to Yang Qing¡¯s words, realization suddenly dawned on the respective Mountain Chieftains. They nodded their heads in full admiration, and had more or less learned something from him: sometimes being adamant can also be an asset. At the same time, they were now more confident of Yang Qing¡¯s decision to seize control of Ever Peace Manor. Since the Manor Head was calm and clear-headed and knew what to do, there was nothing to be afraid of.


    Qing Mei and Qing Ju exchanged nces with each other. The two handmaidens¡¯ hearts eventually calmed down. After seeing their Manor Head turn the tide of battle, as well as his efforts to salvage a desperate crisis to reverse the course of events, the admiration they held towards their master had deepened even more.


    Yang Qing turned to face the audience and said once more, "I emptied out my fortune and shouldered infamy to swear allegiance to He Yunye. In this war, everyone has followed me through water and treaded on fire, yet I am unable to fork out anything to reward you. Fortunately, the harvesting of the Orbs of Will is imminent! I am now forced to borrow the harvest of Ever Peace Manor to reward you all. Xiong Xiao!"


    "Here!" Xiong Xiao cupped his fists.


    Yang Qing smiled. "You were able to lure Liu Jingtian to support us in this war, your contributions cannot go unnoticed! You have of course obtained a first ss merit in this battle. This year, except for Mount Shaotai¡¯s harvest, I permit you to upy two mountains of Ever Peace Manor!"


    Everyone instantly revealed looks of envy. This meant that, as a whole, he had obtained the harvest of three mountains.


    Feeling happy beyond measure, Xiong Xiao thanked him before turning around to jovially cup his hands at the other Mountain Chieftains.


    The other Mountain Chieftains were not left behind, either. Apart from the harvest of their mountains in South Edict Manor, Yang Qing permitted them to upy one mountain each from Ever Peace Manor. This meant that every year, they could im the harvest of two mountains.


    There was no difference in reward between the nine Mountain Chieftains, and they divided up the ten mountains of Ever Peace Manor. After earning first ss merits and obtaining an extra mountain as a result, Xiong Xiao immediately sensed that something was amiss. They seemed to be missing one person. If he now upied two mountains, then what about Qin Weiwei?


    If it were any other person, then perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. But Qin Weiwei was the adopted daughter of Manor Head Yang Qing. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to stomach this.


    Xiong Xiao immediately smiled bitterly. "Mountain Chieftain Qin has suffered the most losses in this war. I am willing to let go of one mountain to Mountain Chieftain Qin."


    Yang Qing raised his hand to stop him. "That can only be med on herself. The trap was so obvious and she still jumped in, almost implicating my entire South Edict Manor. I, Yang Qing, may not be strictly impartial and incorruptible, but I can clearly make the distinction between reward and punishment. You don¡¯t need to overthink this matter. Just set your mind at rest and ept what¡¯s yours. There¡¯s no need to say anything further!"


    "Understood!" Xiong Xiao cupped his hands in response, feeling extremely gleeful deep down. The Manor Head had always treated him well, so he had nothing more to say. It was not in vain that he had followed and devoted his life to him for so many years.


    The subsequent matters were simple to deal with. After wiping out Ever Peace Manor, Yang Qing once again ordered all mountain troops to regte the mountains of Ever Peace Manor that had been given to them.


    The Mountain Chieftains under his leadership were all trembling with excitement. Without hesitation, theyplied with the order and werepletely void of the anxiety and fear they¡¯d felt when attacking Ever Peace Manor.


    What bliss! After settling themselves in, the benefits would be theirs to reap. Who wouldn¡¯t be willing to do something that would benefit themselves? They would throw their lives away in order to do a good job of it. So naturally theyplied with Yang Qing¡¯s orders. Each of them rushed off quickly with their troops in tow. They had to hurry up and settle everything before Suppressing Second Hall ordered them to retreat back to South Edict Manor. They were afraid of having to relinquish their rewards should they arrive toote. Thus, their efficiency in executing this order was extremely high.


    From this, it could be seen that Yang Qing was adept at manipting his subordinates into sacrificing themselves for him, so ordering his troops to conquer all the areas around him was entirely in his element!

 Chapter 184: The Hall Masters Reward (1)

    Chapter 184: The Hall Master¡¯s Reward (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Additionally, Yang Qing himself had already brought his main troops and temporarily stationed them in Ever Peace Manor. Naturally, they wouldn¡¯t surrender the harvest from Ever Peace Manor¡¯s vassal city, Every Peace City, and had already sent men to bring the City Lord over.


    Following which, he also sent Qing Mei and Qing Ju to the Manor of Conformity situated in the capital of the Fifth Earthly Branch¡ªto settle the issues between him and the School of Blue Jade. How could he waste the opportunity that the School of Blue Jade had so generously given to him?


    There was another matter that he obviously couldn¡¯t afford to forget nor dy, otherwise it would be disadvantageous for him.


    Yang Qing personally wrote down a report and attached Zhang Decheng¡¯s head to it, then ordered someone to send it to Suppressing Second Hall.


    Inside the report, Zhang Decheng was naturally the one at fault. Yang Qing was merelypelled to act.


    Likewise, if he had fallen to Zhang Decheng, all the fault would definitely have been shifted to him. Dead men could not dispute an argument, after all.


    As for his conquering of Ever Peace Manor, he didn¡¯t need to beat around the bush with his motives, and simply expressed his dedication in the report. Firstly, he was afraid that the remnants of Zhang Decheng¡¯s forces might continue to wreak havoc. Secondly, the harvesting period for the Orbs of Will were around the corner. He did not wish for the handover of Ever Peace Manor¡¯s Orbs of Will this year to be affected by matters between him and Zhang Decheng¡ªthat was why he had taken over. Once the Hall Master chose someone suitable to relieve the position, he would naturally heed the order to return to South Edict Manor, and asked for the Hall Master¡¯s understanding.


    Once the report reached Suppressing Second Hall, it quickly made its way to the intended recipient.


    The fragrance of plum blossoms originates from the bitter cold.


    Inside the courtyard, the fallen snow had been swept to the sides of the yard. Hall Master Huo Lingxiao held two jade archives in his hand. One was Yang Qing¡¯s report, and the other was theint from Suppressing Third Hall¡¯s Liu Jingtian. After looking through both of them, he held the jade archives behind his back with one hand, and gently brushed the piling snow off the branch of a plum tree with the other. He brought a plum blossom to his nose to take a whiff, then smiled and said, "South Edict Manor did not fall. Instead, theyunched a counterattack and conquered Ever Peace Manor. Even getting Suppressing Third Hall wrapped up in the mix. It seems like I decided on the wrong target."


    He turned to hand Yang Qing¡¯s report over to the handmaiden beside him and said, "Let the three Advisors have a look at this report."


    The handmaiden received the jade archive with an affirmation. As she was about to leave, Huo Lingxiao added, "Look into the sequence of events. I would like to know where he found the audacity to even take Ever Peace Manor for himself!"


    "Yes!" the handmaiden bowed and departed.


    After Han Luping, one of the three great Advisors, read through the report, he fell deep into thought. After his contemtion, he slowly shook his head and said, "It seems like Lu Yu did not die in vain. I¡¯m afraid Feng Zhihuan and He Yunye will be quite displeased. Deliver this to Feng Zhihuan!" hemanded, handing the jade archive over to his own handmaiden.


    After Feng Zhihuan read through the report, his face was covered with a dark shadow. Yang Qing had actually withstood it! Not only had he survived¡ªhe even managed to turn things around and sessfully conquered Ever Peace Manor!


    What did this result mean?


    Out of the ten Manor Heads of Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s ten Manors, five were his own men, who would send him tributes every year. Han Luping had three Manor Heads under him, and He Yunye had two. If he gave Yang Qing up, he still had four¡ªthe most out of the three great Advisors. With Yang Qing¡¯s counterattack, none of the Advisors had gained an advantage, which meant that the Hall Master¡¯s goals of bncing the three Advisors¡¯ forces was not aplished. Thus, he would definitely continue to target the Manor Heads under hismand.


    If the Hall Master wished for it to be, he had no way of opposing him. For the Hall Master to have used such an indirect method, he was already considered giving sufficient respect. If Feng Zhihuan dared to obstruct Yang Qing, he would be provoking the Hall Master to use rougher methods, and setting himself as the target.


    As such, it meant that Feng Zhihuan himself had sacrificed two Manor Heads when he chose to give up on a single Yang Qing¡ªlosing the tributes from two Manors every year.


    When he thought about this, Feng Zhihuan felt an ache in his heart. If he had known earlier, he would have chosen someone else to be the sacrifice. Why had he given up on Yang Qing? Now his losses were even greater.


    Feng Zhihuan cursed to himself, calling He Yunye a useless old fool incapable of even handling a small affair like this properly, wounding himself and others in the process.


    After looking at the report, He Yunye summoned Wan Shunchang over once more. ¡®BANG!¡¯ He pped the tea table into pieces, and pointed at Wan Shunchang¡¯s nose shouting, "Worthless trash!"


    The news spread like wildfire, and shook the entirety of Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s subordinate domain. All the Manor Heads of every respective Manor were greatly surprised.


    Those who could be Manor Heads were no fools, they had their own informationwork amongst the upper echelons. Previously when Yang Qing had been questioned in public by He Yunye within the Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s Grand Hall, everyone had already guessed that Yang Qing would most likely suffer an ill fate, and predicted what was about to happen.


    Everyone thought that since Yang Qing was the weakest in strength, it was normal for him to be eliminated. They hardly expected that the instigator, Zhang Decheng, would instead be destroyed by Yang Qing, and that Yang Qing even had the gall to take over another Manor when he belonged to one already. What was he trying to do? Was he trying to be a Hall Master?


    This was obviously not possible! Yang Qing¡¯s cultivation was only at Blue Lotus Fifth Grade. Not even the Hall Master would believe it even if he heard such a thing.


    These were all not important¡ªwhat was important, was that everyone had a new understanding of Yang Qing¡¯s capabilities, and realised that he was not as easy to trifle with as they had imagined.


    What¡¯s more, this crazy bastard even dared to take over Ever Peace Manor!


    First, he had killed his own Manor Head Lu Yu, and taken over South Edict Manor. Now he had killed another Manor Head, Zhang Decheng, and taken over Ever Peace Manor. His name was practically stered with infamy. Who could assure that he wouldn¡¯ty his hands on other Manors in the future?


    Thus, if Yang Qing could ovee the current obstacle before the Hall Master, everyone considered it wiser to be more courteous towards him should they meet in the future, to avoid inviting trouble upon themselves.


    A dispute between two Manors that had even involved Suppressing Third Hall¡ªwith such argemotion, it naturally wasn¡¯t too difficult for Huo Lingxiao to understand the sequence of events should he wish. There were too many participants among his subordinates, he could unearth everything if he just casually found someone who knew the details, and secretly asked them.


    Outsiders might find it difficult to understand the hidden machinations of Suppressing Second Hall, but with the Hall Master himself sending men over to interrogate, who among those under Suppressing Second Hall¡¯smand would dare to refuse?


    After the snowfall ceased, Huo Lingxiao continued holding his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth between the pavilions. His handmaiden, Liu Xing, trailed behind him as she reported the main points of the incident.


    Beginning from how Zhang Decheng had secretly sent his men to attack East Arrival Cave to draw out Qin Weiwei; to the East Arrival Cave Master single-handedly killing his way in and out to rescue Qin Weiwei and foiling Zhang Decheng¡¯s n; to Zhang Decheng being forced into a corner and having no options left but tounch an all-out attack with his forces in a desperate attempt to eliminate Yang Qing; and how Yang Qing had used himself as bait to lure Zhang Decheng into a chase, in order to buy time for his subordinates tounch an ambush on Suppressing Third Hall¡¯s Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. After that, she recounted how the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai had fearlessly dived into danger and sessfully tricked Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s Liu Jingtian into leading his troops over tounch a pincer attack on Zhang Decheng with Yang Qing¡ªeliminating Zhang Decheng in a single stroke. In addition, she reported how the School of Blue Jade had failed in their attempt to kick Yang Qing while he was down. Following which, Yang Qing led his troops and assaulted Ever Peace Manor against Deacon Wan Shunchang¡ªfrightening him away with Zhang Decheng¡¯s head in hand, and with just that, took over Ever Peace Manor. After the dust had settled, she described how Yang Qing had immediately used Ever Peace Manor¡¯s shares to reward his subordinates and encouraged them to pluck the fruits of Ever Peace Manor at speed, and within a short time frame. Now, even if they were to sent men to Ever Peace Manor, they could forget about reaping any benefits.


    After listening to the sequence of events, a look of surprise shed through Huo Lingxiao¡¯s eyes. He was surprised by how Yang Qing had managed to grasp the opportunity for a moment¡¯s respite in that kind of situation, and immediately devised a strategy that was capable of making aeback.


    He came to a halt in the corridor, facing the frozen surface of theke, Huo Lingxiao nodded and said, "He is someone capable; he has the qualifications to oversee a domain for me. His subordinates are full of talented men, and I can see that he is skilled in managing them. He is an exceptional talent."


    As for why he had said that Yang Qing had many talented subordinates, and that he was adept in managing them¡ªhe was referring to the East Arrival Cave Master who had risked his life to save Qin Weiwei and foil Zhang Decheng¡¯s n, as well as the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai who had braved great peril alone to help Yang Qing fool some reinforcements intoing over.


    Liu Xing smiled from behind him and said, "Hall Master, on my investigation of the matter, I also heard something interesting regarding that East Arrival Cave¡¯s Cave Master."


    "Oh!" Huo Lingxiao eximed curiously. "Tell me about it."


    "That East Arrival Cave Master was originally a Horse Deputy of Transient Light Cave. He was basically a nobody. When Yang Qing was attacking Lu Yu, those that wanted to run away from Transient Light Cave had fled the battle; those who perished died in the skirmish; and those that would give up, had surrendered willingly. Only he¡ªwith a White Lotus First Grade cultivation¡ªwould fight to the death, single-handedly killing three White Lotus Second Grade cultivators, then engaged in battle with three White Lotus Third Grade and two White Lotus Second Grade cultivators on his own. The five of them actually fought a drawn-out battle with him, and were still unable to defeat him. He even taunted Yang Qing, saying ¡®Who would dare fight me?¡¯. If it were a normal person, I¡¯m afraid they would have already murdered this impudent fellow where he stood. However, Yang Qing personally subdued him, then went against the majority and allowed him to be East Arrival Cave¡¯s Cave Master with a White Lotus First Grade cultivation. At the time, many in South Edict Manor still had some prejudice against him, but unexpectedly, when all of South Edict Manor¡¯s men had their hands tied by the School of Blue Jade, only he was able to whip all of the School of Blue Jade disciples in East Arrival Cave into obedience. This time, it was also he who had rescued Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter at a critical moment, and created a tipping point in the state of battle. One could say that Yang Qing¡¯s past efforts on him, had not been in vain."


    "A Horse Deputy? A White Lotus First Grade Cave Master?" Huo Lingxiao eximed. After he had his fill of surprise, he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at this lowly cultivator of low standing. He nodded and said, "I can see that Yang Qing definitely has a knack for managing his subordinates."


    Liu Xing added, "Yang Qing also sent men over to the Manor of Conformity in the capital, and the Manor of Conformity¡¯s Commandment of Conformity has already reached the School of Blue Jade. The Sect Master admitted that they were the ones who had vited the terms of the agreement first, and was willing to abide by the Commandment of Conformity. Yang Qing is already free of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s interference."


    Huo Lingxiao flipped his hand and shed out the jade archive with Liu Jingtian¡¯sint from his storage ring. His lips revealed a cunning smile as he said, "To say nothing of utterly manipting Suppressing Third Hall, he not only managed to wash his hands off everything¡ªhe even prepared evidence to help me deal with Suppressing Third Hall when they woulde for retribution. With his abilities, it is obvious that taking the opportunity to be free of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s interference was a given. It was only a matter of course. I never thought that I had such a talent among my subordinates. Wouldn¡¯t it have been a waste if he had perished? It will be valuable to have him by my side as a strategist as well!"


    In truth, he had been behind everything from the very beginning. No one else had been interested in acting against Yang Qing. As for why he had chosen Yang Qing¡ªit was mainly because Yang Qing had inexorably bound himself with the School of Blue Jade. He despised useless individuals who could only seed by depending on the power of others, and weren¡¯t able to ovee their own obstacles.


    Since he had to pick one of his subordinates to act against either way¡ªhe might as well pick Yang Qing.


    In hindsight, he was the one who had misjudged. Yang Qing either hadn¡¯t found an opportunity because time was too short, or he had other ns in mind.


    No matter. Regardless of how he thought of Yang Qing in the past, righteousness always stood on the side of the victorious.


    At this moment, another handmaiden, Tian Yu, slowly walked in. After greeting him, she spoke. "Hall Master, Advisor He is here again and requests an audience with you. He is waiting outside the pce as we speak."


    Huo Lingxiao coldly scoffed and replied, "What is there to exin? Don¡¯t tell me he still wants me to reward him after failing to perform his task? Just say that I am cultivating."


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing nced at each other¡ªthe former responded with an acknowledgment and left.


    Huo Lingxiao then turned towards Liu Xing and gave an order. "When the time for handing over the tributese, have Yang Qing bring over that Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, and that Cave Master of East Arrival Cave with him. I want to have a look at them as well."


    "Yes!" Liu Xing shouted in acknowledgment.

 Chapter 185: The Hall Masters Reward (2)

    Chapter 185: The Hall Master¡¯s Reward (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Outside the hall, He Yunye had been waiting by the entrance. He approached the handmaiden Tian Yu the moment she stepped out, and smiled with cupped fists, "Elder Auntie, is the Hall Master avable?"


    Tian Yu shook her head apologetically and replied, "Advisor, please return. The Hall Master is still cultivating. Now is not a good time to disturb him."


    The expression on He Yunye¡¯s face froze. This was already the third time he had requested an audience with the Hall Master. It was definitely the Hall Master using this as an excuse to hold him off, and intentionally refusing his entry¡ªhe was expressing his displeasure towards He Yunye¡¯s handling of affairs. Otherwise, why couldn¡¯t he simply stop cultivating?


    Yet, what else could he say? Could he possibly force the Hall Master toe out of closed-door seclusion cultivation to meet him? He could only force out a smile and say with cupped fists, "Elder Auntie, thank you for your troubles."


    Tian Yu nodded, and dismissed him with a smile.


    He Yunye was just about to turn around when three crimson streams of light shed through the snow clouds in the dusk sky. The red light then coalesced together and three figures descended in front of the grand hall¡¯s entrance.


    Sporting a white fur coat, a woman with voluptuous curves led the way dressed in robes. Her thick beautiful hair was strung together tightly, her features picturesque; a faint fragrance wafted from her to assail the nostrils. She was followed by two elderly men with intelligent gleams in their eyes. The sudden appearance of the three surprised both Tian Yu and He Yunye.


    The woman in the lead swept her surroundings with a chilling gaze. She had a grand, imperious presence; one nce was all it took to be able to tell, that she was a person who had long held an eminent status.


    He Yunye immediately cupped his fists to pay his respects, "Hall Master Wu! Brother Pang! Brother Liao!"


    The new arrivals were none other than the Suppressing Third Hall¡¯s Hall Master Wu Menn, and the two Advisors under her, Pang Rang and Liao Busheng. They were all cultivators of the Red Lotus realm.


    Wu Menn nced at He Yunye before throwing him a cold sneer in an offensive manner.


    Pang Rang and Liao Busheng lightly cupped their fists at He Yunye.


    Tian Yu was speechless at the sight of this. Judging from the situation, they hadn¡¯te here with good intentions. She was about to move forward to pay her respects, but Wu Menn had already removed her white fur coat, and rudely gestured with her hand to demand, "Tell Huo Lingxiao to get the hell out right now, and see me this instant!"


    Tian Yu hurriedly replied, "The Hall Master is currently cultivating. Hall Master Wu, please wait for a moment. I will inform him this instant!"


    "He seemed to be just rxing to me!" said Wu Menn, raising her brows. When she had been up in the air, she already saw the state Huo Lingxiao was in inside¡ªto hell with his cultivation! She was already being courteous by not dropping inside immediately. Why was there a need to wait for him to be notified? Without saying another word, she immediately began barging in.


    How could an important ce like Suppressing Second Hall allow outsiders to enter without permission? Tian Yu hurriedly tried to stop and persuade them, but how could she even stop them? Fortunately, Huo Lingxiao¡¯s voice came travelling from the remote distance to save her from the predicament. "Tian Yu, is Hall Master Wu here? Please enter!"


    Tian Yu promptly moved to the side, extending her arms to wee them in and led them from the front.


    Outside, He Yunye was speechless. The Hall Master¡¯s voice was obviouslying from the courtyard. He hadn¡¯t been cultivating and yet, the Hall Master had refused to grant him an audience. Still, it wasn¡¯t appropriate for him to barge in without permission, so he could only fling his sleeve up and leave.


    Inside the vast courtyard, the pavilions and lofts; the rock garden and snow, were at perfect counterpoint to each other. On a quaint pathway, the snow had been swept away cleanly. Tian Yu guided the three noble guests with quick steps throughout the pathway.


    Huo Lingxiao was already standing before the entrance of the main hall waiting to wee them. He smiled at the fast-paced Wu Menn closing in, thinking to himself that she had certainlye here quickly.


    He cupped his fists with a smile. "I¡¯m honored by your presence, Hall Master Wu. I hope you don¡¯t mind my noting out to wee you. Please forgive me!"


    Upon reaching the entrance, Wu Menn waved her hand for the two Advisors to halt outside without entering.


    Huo Lingxiao gave a faint nod to Tian Yu, signalling her to attend to the two of them. In the meantime, he turned to invite Wu Menn into the hall to take her seat.


    Liu Xing had already served up fragrant tea to the both of them, before standing quietly beside Huo Lingxiao.


    "How did you find time to visit me, Hall Master Wu?" asked Huo Lingxiao,ughing heartily as he apanied her in sitting.


    Wu Menn rolled her eyes at him, and bluntly told him off, "Huo Lingxiao, stop asking me as if you do not know! Your forces have already fought inside my territory and killed a mountain¡¯s worth of my forces! You¡¯re still here feigning ignorance?"


    Huo Lingxiao gestured for her to drink her tea, and said in all seriousness, "Wasn¡¯t the matter already resolved? Your men killed the forces of one of my manors. Truly speaking, I¡¯m the one who has suffered greater losses. By right, I should be the one to call on you and condemn your crimes and yet, I have said nothing."


    "Give me a break!" Wu Menn red as she said, "The main perpetrator hasn¡¯t been executed! Don¡¯t think you can get away with it!"


    Caught off guard, Huo Lingxiao cried out, "What main perpetrator? Wasn¡¯t my subordinate, Zhang Decheng, the Manor Head of Ever Peace Manor killed by your men? Could it be that you¡¯re pointing fingers at me? Hall Master Wu, you too, know that it¡¯s a normal urrence for the ones beneath our rank to battle it out. I honestly didn¡¯t have a clue beforehand that they would be causing a ruckus in your territory."


    "I wouldn¡¯t dare to dere that you¡¯re the main perpetrator," said Wu Menn,ughing coldly. "Don¡¯t you dare tell me that you don¡¯t know who was the one that secretly sent men to kill the forces of one of my mountains!"


    "Wasn¡¯t it the Manor Head of Ever Peace Manor, Zhang Decheng? You have already killed him. Taking into ount our rtionship with each other, I won¡¯t look into this matter anymore, since he was the one who was at fault from the start," said Huo Lingxiao, gesturing magnanimously with his hands.


    Wu Menn put on a false smile as she stared at him, trying to see what kind of trick he was pulling now.


    Huo Lingxiao let out a dry cough. "Why are you staring at me like that? You usually have a high standard, so it¡¯s quite unlike you to begin taking a fancy to my figure."


    "Huo Lingxiao, keep acting! Continue to act as much as you want! How could Zhang Decheng actually be the main perpetrator?"


    "Isn¡¯t that the fact? I have your subordinate¡¯s personal testimony in writing¡ªright here!" With a flipped of his hand, Huo Lingxiao retrieved the jade archive with the usation, and pushed it towards her. "There is no mistake in this matter. Zhang Decheng was the main perpetrator. He¡¯s already dead, so there¡¯s no need to ruin our rtionship for the sake of him."


    "Testimony?" Wu Menn was caught by surprise. She took the jade archives into her hands and examine it by imbuing her transcendence energy. It would have been better if she hadn¡¯t read it, but after she did, she felt her insides twist with rage.


    ¡®POP!¡¯ The jade archive in her fair, delicate hand exploded into dust. "THAT IMBECILE!" she cried out with her teeth clenched.


    Huo Lingxiao appeared shocked on the surface, but he was actuallyughing madly in his heart. It wasn¡¯t an easy feat to see this woman so furious. If it were him who had found out that his own subordinate had been fooled and was still counting the spoils for the other, he would be beside himself with rage as well. His man had toyed with her subordinate in the palm of his hands. Wouldn¡¯t it prove that he was the one who knew how to manage his men, and the other party had been using a fool all along? In some ways, it proved that Suppressing Third Hall couldn¡¯tpare to his own Suppressing Second Hall.


    "Hall Master Wu, what are you trying to do?" Huo Lingxiao standing up in shock.


    Wu Menn puffed up her cheeks, and expelled a breath of air from between her cherry lips to blow the dust away. She also stood up¡ªshe could no longer be bothered with beating about the bush, and letting the other man continue mocking her. She didn¡¯t mince her words as she said, "The fool under me didn¡¯t even know he was being yed. It¡¯s needless for you to fob me off with this rubbish, and y me for a fool. It¡¯s pointless for me to pretend further too. I wouldn¡¯t havee here to teach you a lesson if I didn¡¯t understand the situation. Let¡¯s cut to the chase¡ªZhang Decheng was nothing more than a scapegoat! The one who truly sent men to kill the forces in one of my mountains was your subordinate, the Manor Head of South Edict Manor, Yang Qing! Huo Lingxiao, if you still wish to continue our alliance, then give the main perpetrator Yang Qing to me, and I¡¯ll let this go. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for breaking our alliance!"


    She had even singled out Yang Qing¡¯s name. Huo Lingxiao knew she really had investigated the matter thoroughly, and was somewhat stunned by the speed at which this woman had reacted. He had only just found out recently.


    He wouldn¡¯t have guessed that Wu Menn had already sent out her subordinates to investigate, the moment she received the report from Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor on the day of the the incident. Hence, she was naturally faster than him.


    Realizing he couldn¡¯t conceal it anymore, Huo Lingxiao broke into a smile. "I have lost a Manor Head. What do you n to do to this one?"


    He meant that she shouldn¡¯t go overboard with this. Could it be that she wanted to kill another Manor Head of his?


    Wu Menn began drawing circles with her finger on the table. "For this incident, it was your party who offended my side first. So no matter what is said, you are the one being unreasonable. Besides, if the main perpetrator goes unpunished, how do you expect me to bear it? Give him to me, and I¡¯ll leave this matter be."


    Huo Lingxiao sighed, "How about this¡ªyou want to see him punished, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll punish him myself, and I¡¯ll definitely provide you with an appropriate response."


    Wu Menn shook her head and said, "There¡¯s no need to do that. Just surrender Yang Qing to me, and I¡¯ll take him away. I will handle it myself."


    ¡®Why is she insisting on taking him away? Isn¡¯t it the same if he handled it for her?¡¯ Huo Lingxiao¡¯s eyes flickered with a realization. It may be that she had taken a fancy to his subordinate¡¯s talents! Using the guise of punishing him as an excuse, what she really wanted was to poach him from right under his nose!


    He obviously wouldn¡¯t let her do this! Huo Lingxiao silently sneered. He was alsocking in such talents¡ªusing him as a hired thug was a waste. He would need a good brain in the system and talented subordinates couldn¡¯t be underestimated in a fight for the Pce Lord seat. He would never allow others to steal Yang Qing away, only to have him used by others to conspire against him.


    "Why do I have to give you my Manor Head, for you to deal with him? How would my own subordinate see me?" Huo Lingxiao directly refused. "Yang Qing! I¡¯ll never give him to you. If you want to break off the alliance, then I¡¯ll agree to it!"


    On hearing that, Wu Menn realized at once that he had seen through her n, and the two of them instantly broke into a heated argument, going head to head with each other.


    For the sake of Yang Qing, both Hall Masters nearly went at each other¡¯s throats.


    However, it was impossible for the two of them to really brawl for Yang Qing. Working up a storm like that bore no advantages to the both of them, so ultimately, they took a step back.


    He would never allow Wu Menn to take Yang Qing away. Huo Lingxiao took out ten high-grade Orbs of Will¡ªworth a thousand low-grade Orbs of Will¡ªaspensation. Only then did Wu Menn leave.


    Before she left, Wu Menn still had a frosty expression on her face.


    After cutting through the skies with her two Advisors, Wu Menn didn¡¯t go straight to Suppressing Third Hall. Instead, she descended onto Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor.


    "You¡¯re aplete and utter moron! You were tricked and still counted the spoils for him! I was thoroughly embarrassed because of you...." Wu Menn jabbed her finger at Liu Jingtian¡¯s nose as she chewed him out.


    When women reprimanded others, they would always be fearsome. Liu Jingtian broke into cold sweats from her tirade. He was worried that the Hall Master would execute him in a fit of rage.


    Trembling with fear and trepidation, he sent off the Hall Master after she had fiercely vented out her anger. After wiping away the sweat on his forehead, Liu Jingtian ground his teeth in hatred. He pointed and bellowed in rage at the heavens above, "Yang Qing, just you wait! This isn¡¯t the end for you!"


    It was a matter of course that Yang Qing¡¯s extraordinary talent would be fought over by the two Hall Masters¡ªthe fact that he even dared act as he did, showed that he obviously had confidence in its sess. However, he would never have expected it to cause such a ruckus. He had done itpletely out of self-preservation. As the saying goes¡ªit¡¯s better to help oneself than wait for God, and this was exactly such a case.


    With power over two territories, Yang Qing was now busy with the harvesting of the Orbs of Will. If he didn¡¯t sort this out properly, then he would never get through this no matter what cards he managed to y¡ªso he had no idea what was happening with the upper echelons.


    And as for the East Arrival Cave under his reign, they had alreadypleted the annual Orbs of Will harvest.


    Every single one of the School of Blue Jade disciples from East Arrival Cave were in a good mood. Although the ce for their temporary housing was a little wretched by way of being just a humble, simplistic wooden residence; after changing into ck robes, the Cave Master had honored his promise and given them the correct amount of Orbs of Will and Crystal Coins. Not even a single one was missed.


    They hadn¡¯t arrived at East Arrival Cave for long, and already received so many benefits. It was really quite a worthwhile deal.


    "I thought we had an agreement? Why are you refusing it now?"


    Halfway up the snowy mountain, and under the snow-covered tree¡ªMiao Yi held a jade archive in his hand, shouting noisily as he trailed after Yao Ruoxian.

 Chapter 186: Its Easier to Bury Enemies than to Bury the Hatchet with Them (1)

    Chapter 186: It¡¯s Easier to Bury Enemies than to Bury the Hatchet with Them (1)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    "Those were your words, I never agreed to them! I only agreed to enter East Arrival Cave. I didn¡¯t agree to register my name, and enter the current system."


    Yao Ruoxian scoffed as he walked away with a hand behind his back.


    "Senior Yao, I am only doing this out of goodwill. Think about it! You won¡¯t have to stay a Loose Cultivator without any support¡ªto register your name and enter the system is such a wonderful thing. Many others wouldn¡¯t be able to get such a good opportunity even if they wanted to. I don¡¯t even know much of your background, so I am taking all the risk if anything happens. I am taking the initiative here, to help you process an official status. Why won¡¯t you understand this junior¡¯s goodwill? What are you still unhappy about?" Miao Yi said, trying hard to persuade Yao Ruoxian.


    "Bullshit!" Yao Ruoxian cursed. He suddenly turned around and jabbed his finger at Miao Yi¡¯s nose as he berated him. "You think I don¡¯t know what sort of goodwill you have, you brat? If you trick me into the current system, I will be under your thumb, won¡¯t I? Then I won¡¯t dare to kill you openly, right?"


    "Uhh...." Miao Yi said meekly; his n was found out. "Nothing of the sort. Without an official status, it isn¡¯t appropriate for you to stay at my East Arrival Cave. That wouldn¡¯t be too convenient, isn¡¯t it?"


    "What kind of inconvenience is there?" Yao Ruoxian replied; he circled Miao Yi as he continued to rebuke. "Cut the crap. East Arrival Cave is your territory. You are the one with the final say. What does that have to do with anyone else? Stop trying to confuse me here. Scram!"


    "Ugh! My goodwill is being treated as ill-intent..."


    Before he could finish, he saw Yao Ruoxian lifting his leg to kick him. The Great Cave Master Miao hurriedly shut his mouth as he ran away dejectedly.


    He returned to his temporary shelter, and discussed the matter of transporting the Orbs of Will to Mount Calming Sea with his subordinates.


    To tell the truth, Miao Yi was quite unwilling to go to Mount Calming Sea. The main reason was because he didn¡¯t want to meet that vile woman Qin Weiwei. In addition, his sights were now much higher. His troops were quite strong, and his thinking was, ¡®Were a hundred or so Orbs of Will worthwhile for this Cave Master to personally transport?¡¯


    Rather than doing such menial tasks, he could have used the time to raise his cultivation, or, think about ways to take revenge for those ten corpses¡ªhanging as they were in the chill winter breeze, and continuing to serve as a reminder for him.


    However, he had to go. This was the rule. The Cave Master had to personally transport the harvest to the Mountain Chieftain; the Mountain Chieftain had to personally transport it to the Manor Head; then from the Manor Head to Hall Master; the Hall Master to the Pce Lord; the Pce Lord to the Overlord; and finally, the Overlord would in turn directly transport the harvest to the Sage in the Realm Beyond Heaven.


    Seeing the Cave Master about to depart again, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er followed behind him every step of the way. Evidently, there were still a little traumatized from the recent ambush on East Arrival Cave.


    "It will be alright!" Miao Yiforted. He faced the others and said, "Once I leave, all of you should take care of our home. If someone has the gall to cause trouble here again, just kill them first. If you get in trouble, I will shoulder it!"


    "We shall follow the Cave Master¡¯smand!"


    The group of old men from the School of Blue Jade cupped their fists and acknowledged the order. They were strangely obedient and were much easier to handle than the previous group with Song Fu. It seemed that Elder Hong Changhai was putting greater effort into redeeming himself.


    "Move out!" Miao Yi shouted as he jumped on top of his dragon steed. He led Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan to gallop away through the snow.


    This time he didn¡¯t bring many men. He simply brought two Blue Lotus experts with him. If even Blue Lotus experts could not protect him, then he would just be sending the others to their deaths.


    There were eighteen School of Blue Jade disciples besides Yan Xiu staying behind in East Arrival Cave to stand guard. Miao Yi wasn¡¯t at all worried¡ªwith such a formation protecting East Arrival Cave, a normal abode most likely wouldn¡¯t be able to gobble it up, unless they faced a major ambush like the one before...


    Just as he was about to reach Mount Calming Sea, he met up with Gongsun Yu on the way by happenstance; he was also heading towards Mount Calming Sea with his subordinate in tow.


    Gongsun Yu only had one subordinate now. There was no helping it¡ªthe current Mount Calming Seacked manpower.


    This was why Gongsun Yu had been extremely anxious on the entire journey. It was no small matter to lose the tribute of Orbs of Will. It would directly affect the Six Sages.


    When he saw Miao Yi at the fork of the road, Gongsun Yu shouted from afar, "Please hold, Cave Master Miao."


    Miao Yi turned his head and looked at him. He raised his hand, and their three steeds slowed their pace as they waited for the other party to catch up. Then, he asked, "What does Cave Master Gongsun ask of me?"


    Gongsun Yu smiled bitterly and said, "Let us go together. There isn¡¯t enough manpower now to transport the Orbs of Will."


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. He felt a little smug because he had the most manpower out of the entire Mount Calming Sea. If he were upset, he could decimate the entire Mount Calming Sea without resistance.


    The both of them then journeyed together to Mount Calming Sea, and left their subordinates waiting outside. As they entered the courtyard behind the manor, they saw Hong Mian and Lu Liuing towards them. They immediately cupped their fists and said, "We pay our respects to Elder Auntie and Little Auntie!"


    Unexpectedly, Hong Mian and Lu Liu actually bowed low at the knee to Miao Yi in a sombre show of respect¡ªmaking Miao Yi scramble back a little. It wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to help them up. After all, men and women should not carelessly touch one another. However, they were not his handmaidens, so it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to not help them up. Feeling anxious, he quickly said "Please don¡¯t make fun of me Elder Auntie and Little Auntie."


    Hong Mian replied with a serious tone, "We have heard how Cave Master Miao threw caution to the wind, risking his life to single-handedly cut open a path of blood into the encirclement, and saved Mountain Chieftain¡¯s life. Of course, the both of us should pay our respects to you."


    A handmaiden¡¯s entire world revolved around her master. If their master had glory and wealth, they would also prosper ordingly from their humble beginnings. If their master fell on evil days, they would also be lowly servants. Hence, they were truly thankful to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi thought, ¡®I see. They have a much better conscience than that vile woman. She didn¡¯t even have a word of gratitude after I saved her life!¡¯ Miao Yi forced a smile and said, "No need for thanks. This is what your subordinate should do." He pointed towards Gongsun Yu to his side and added, "Cave Master Gongsun and the rest also risked their lives. If you must offer thanks, you should not offer it to me alone."


    He added another line in his mind, ¡®Hurry up and express your gratitude to your master¡¯s illicit lover.¡¯


    Gongsun Yu cupped his fists courteously. Lu Liu smiled as she said, "When Cave Master Gongsun escorted Mountain Chieftain back then, we already thanked him."


    Miao Yi looked Gongsun Yu over from top to bottom for a moment. Then he noticed Gongsun Yu¡¯s gaze turn gentle for an instant as he stared in a certain direction.


    The Great Cave Master Miao couldn¡¯t help but follow his gaze, only to find a white silhouette looking down at them, from beside a window of the nearby loft. He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as his lips curved with ridicule. It was unknown what train of thought he was associating the both of them with, but it definitely wasn¡¯t anything pleasant.


    "Will both Cave Masters please follow us? The Mountain Chieftain is waiting for you." said the two handmaidens, extending their arms and leading the way from the front.


    As they ascended the loft, the two Cave Masters once again paid their respects to Qin Weiwei. After which, they delivered the reports of their respective domains. Naturally, the report held information on the past year¡¯s state of affairs for their respective domains.


    Seated behind the long table, Qing Weiwei read Gongsun Yu¡¯s report. After she was done, her emotions became a little perturbed as she reached out to pick up Miao Yi¡¯s report.


    To a woman who always strove to preserve her purity, some things were really hard to forget. She couldn¡¯t forget it even if she tried. She could not forget¡ªthat scene of being surrounded.


    Just when she hadpletely fallen into despair, when she could no longer endure no matter how hard she grit her teeth¡ªthat voice that she had detested so much in the past, actually stirred within her an unexpected hope. At that critical juncture, there was a peculiar tug at her heartstrings when she heard.... ¡®The East Arrival Cave Master is here. Who dares challenge me!?¡¯


    She wasn¡¯t sure how it could be, that every time he said something along those lines, he would always give everyone an unexpected surprise.


    In that moment of peril, as sheid her eyes on him, that detestable man appeared grander than any other time she had ever seen him before. Armed with a silver spear and armor, and riding a heavily d steed¡ªhis battle armament had radiated a vicious and murderous aura as he single-handedly charged towards her with an indomitable momentum.


    His shout¡ª¡®Those who stand in my way shall die!¡¯¡ªhadn¡¯t disappointed her. He had ughtered his way into the tight encirclement as if he were cleaving through the ocean waves, and then extended his arm to grab her just as she was about to fall, and pulled her back.


    While they had been breaking through the encirclement, they were suddenly struck a vicious blow. As she fell, she watched helplessly as he coughed up a mouthful of blood onto her face.


    She thought she was gone for good then, but he continued to persevere. He pulled her back up again, and held her in his embrace. They galloped away in the snow and the entire time, she felt as though she was flying.


    It was the first time for her to be embraced by a man ever since she hade of age. Whenever she thought back to the sensation of being wrapped around those strong, robust arms, her heart would race a little, and her face would be flushed. She would always remember that sensation; together with the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, as he held her in his arms.


    She really didn¡¯t know how many times she had recalled that scene as ofte. As soon as she had a moment to herself, she couldn¡¯t help her expression bing flustered as she reminisced.


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s attention was not on the report in her hands; Miao Yi¡¯s voice quickly brought her back to reality from her mncholy. From the corner of her eyes, she watched as Miao Yi handed over East Arrival Cave¡¯s harvests to Hong Mian and Lu Liu. Btedly, she realized that Gongsun Yu had been staring at her silently, so she hurriedly shifted her gaze back.


    She quickly skimmed through the contents of the jade archive and put it down. As soon as Hong Mian and Lu Liu confirmed both Caves¡¯ harvests were urate, they delivered it to her.


    Gongsun Yu was in no rush to leave. He would always linger around at this time every year¡ªto consult with the Mountain Chieftain, and seek her counsel for a moment.


    What advice could there possibly be? He already had a cultivation that was even higher than Qin Weiwei. To put such an affair from the cultivation world into more shocking perspective, he had been by Yang Qing¡¯s side and actually watched on as Qin Weiwei grew up. As he saw the little girl slowly be a beautiful woman, all he desired was a chance to get closer to her.


    Speaking of which, there were only a few dual-cultivation partners in the cultivation world whose ages matched one another. One could not make a judgement based solely on age in the cultivation world.


    Of course, some matters could only be spoken of after the Great Cave Master Miao left. Based on Gongsun Yu¡¯s knowledge, the Great Cave Master Miao didn¡¯t have an amicable rtionship with Qin Weiwei, so he would definitely be eager to be excused.


    Unexpectedly, the Great Cave Master Miao was in no hurry. Instead, he was dawdling there, giving Gongsun Yu the urge to ask what the Great Cave Master Miao intended to do.


    Qin Weiwei also felt a little surprised. Based on her understanding, Miao Yi was the kind of person who couldn¡¯t wish for more than to be as far away from her as possible. Today was her first time seeing such a scene.


    "Is something the matter?" Qin Weiwei asked him.


    Miao Yi raised a fist to his mouth and made a hollow cough, then awkwardly said to Gongsun Yu, "How do I put it... Cave Master Gongsun, could you please excuse yourself for a moment? I have something to report to the Mountain Chieftain."


    "Ah..." Gongsun Yu was stunned. He had been waiting for Miao Yi to leave, but instead, the Great Cave Master Miao was actually asking him to go away the moment he opened his mouth.


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu shared a nce. They also felt it was a little strange.


    Qin Weiwei looked towards Gongsun Yu. Gongsun Yu was a little bewildered at first, but in the end, he could only cup his fists and say, "Your subordinate will step away for now."


    As he left, Gongsun Yu threw a curious nce at Miao Yi. He didn¡¯t think that Miao Yi had the same intention that he did, because Cave Master Miao and the Mountain Chieftain would always be in discord. He just felt curious about what Cave Master Miao wished to report.


    After he left, Qin Weiwei sat behind the long table and stared at Miao Yi, before asking, "Cave Master Miao, what is it you wish to report?"


    Miao Yi was all smiles as he shed out a jade archive from his storage ring, and brought it before Qin Weiwei, "Mountain Chieftain, you have promised me something."


    The six storage rings on his hand left Hong Mian and Lu Liu speechless, as they realised that the Great Cave Master Miao had be someone opulent indeed.


    Qin Weiwei took the jade archive and quickly looked through it. There was a list with the names of twenty School of Blue Jade disciples inside. She understood what Miao Yi meant, and marked the jade archive with her transcendent seal of approval before him. She then tucked the jade archive away, and nodded as she said, "I have no objections here. I will pass it over to the Manor Head to register their names."


    Miao Yi breathed a sigh of relief, but he still wasn¡¯t in a rush to leave. Instead, he started fidgeting where he stood.

 Chapter 187: Its Easier to Bury Enemies than to Bury the Hatchet with Them (2)

    Chapter 187: It¡¯s Easier to Bury Enemies than to Bury the Hatchet with Them (2)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Qin Weiwei kept sweeping her gaze past him. After a pause, she saw that he wasn¡¯t going to say anything more and was forced to take the initiative to ask, "Are there any other matters?"


    Miao Yi let out a dryugh; he appeared slightly embarrassed to say anything further.


    "If you have something to say, just spill it," Qin Weiwei said calmly.


    "It¡¯s actually no big deal. It¡¯s just that the damages my East Arrival Cave have sustained are too great. Whenever I think of this, I feel extremely troubled and worried..."


    Qin Weiwei waited for him to continue, yet he uttered nothing further. She then said indifferently, "Haven¡¯t I already promised you an addition of twenty disciples? Are you trying to gain more incentives from me? What do you want?"


    "That¡¯s not what I meant. May I remind Mountain Chieftain that I¡¯m still in shock from the earlier battle. Mountain Chieftain¡¯s condition was too precarious during that time."


    Exining up to this point, he stopped once again. Qin Weiwei furrowed her brows slightly. "Are you trying to remind me that you¡¯ve saved my life and now you want me to show some gratitude?"


    "No! No! No!" Miao Yi waved his hands at once. "I certainly didn¡¯t mean that!"


    Off to the side, Hong Mian simply couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, "Then Cave Master Miao, what exactly are you trying to say? Can you please get to the point?"


    "Elder Auntie, don¡¯t be worried. Actually, it¡¯s nothing much. I just felt it was unfair for the Mountain Chieftain." Miao Yi put on the guise of one filled with amon hatred. He pointed outside the window. "Think about it. The reason she was in danger was because someone had purposely lured Mountain Chieftain into the trap. Yet, that despicable character is still atrge! The more I think about it, the more I feel for the Mountain Chieftain."


    Both Hong Mian and Lu Liu exchanged nces with each other. They weren¡¯t on the scene at the time, so they still couldn¡¯t fully understand Miao Yi¡¯s true meaning.


    But Qin Weiwei on the other hand, couldn¡¯t help but grit her teeth, because she understood.


    She thought this bastard had something important to discuss, but it turned out he was still thinking about Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s head on a stick. What did he mean ¡®he felt for her¡¯? Obviously, he still wanted to teach Yuan Zhengkun a lesson, so he was purposely beating around the bush to incite her temper. Why couldn¡¯t this brat change his nasty behaviour...?


    "Cave Master Miao, thank you very much for your concern," replied Qin Weiwei expressionlessly.


    Miao Yi was slightly disappointed that the scene wasn¡¯t unfolding into what he¡¯d expected, so he continued to remind her, "Mountain Chieftain, that bastard almost cost you your life. Are you really going to let them go?"


    Qin Weiwei then replied, "Xiong Xiao was right. During a battle, everyone works for their own master. There is nothing wrong with using such methods. I¡¯m the one to me for being careless. More importantly, they¡¯ve already surrendered and given their lives to South Edict Manor. What else do you want me to do with them?"


    The moment she mentioned Xiong Xiao, the great Cave Master Miao suddenly became alert, his eyes widening in response. He rubbed his sleeves together, revealing the six storage rings which now looked more and more conspicuous. He¡¯dpletely lost the cultured pretension he¡¯d put on earlier. "That old scum Xiong Xiao never had any good intentions to begin with. It¡¯s because he saw that I wanted to kill them, thus he intentionally came out to stop me by epting their surrender. He¡¯s purposely making things difficult for me. Mountain Chieftain, by all means, you shouldn¡¯t fall for his tricks! Mountain Chieftain, you¡¯ve already seen my disy of loyalty towards you. I¡¯m willing to go through untold dangers for you! It¡¯s certainly not appropriate for you to step in personally, so won¡¯t you allow me to do it on your behalf instead? I promise I will avenge you without anyone realizing your involvement. I will never allow them to look down on Mount Calming Sea!"


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu once again exchanged speechless nces with each other. It would seem that there was more to this story than meets the eye; they would have to question the Mountain Chieftain in more detailter.


    Today, Qin Weiwei was experiencing the full extent of his audacity firsthand. She was struck with the urge to ask the great Cave Master Miao whether he could get anymore shameless than this. He was the one who obviously thought that way and wanted to use her as an excuse. What kind of person was he?! No wonder he wanted to chase Gongsun Yu away.


    Forcibly restraining herself from losing her temper with him, Qin Weiwei continued to say expressionlessly, "Then what do you intend to do?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes brightened immediately, thinking that she was in agreement. Thus, he quickly lowered his voice and said sneakily, "Mountain Chieftain, you have an amicable rtionship with the Manor Head. Can you think of a way to obtain the personnel assignment of Xiong Xiao¡¯s three subordinates so I can find out their location? I¡¯m sure that won¡¯t be a difficult feat for you to pull. Mountain Chieftain, you can put your heart at ease. I, your subordinate, will never let anyone know this matter has any rtion to you. Let me handle it, have no fear, I will definitely avenge you. Even if something were to go wrong, I guarantee that I¡¯ll shoulder the me alone and will not implicate you!"


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s clear eyes stared unblinkingly into his own. Without challenging the truth of his intentions, she simply took in his nonsense.


    Miao Yi felt slightly guilty under her watchful gaze. Once again, with a face full of sincerity, he pledged, "Mountain Chieftain, I can swear to the heavens above, you will not be implicated!"


    However, for anyone who knew the true extent of their rtionship, they would assuredly question his sincerity. Even Hong Mian and Lu Liu were mulling over what this man could possibly be nning.


    In actuality, Miao Yi was also out of options. He really was clueless as to where Xiong Xiao had assigned Yuan Zhengkun and the others to. Although his subordinates were powerful and well-trained, he couldn¡¯t simply attack every single mountain and cave under Xiong Xiao. Presently, he didn¡¯t hold that kind of power and influence yet.


    Initially, he had ordered Chen Fei to look into it, but had to yet to receive word from him. He reckoned that it was inconvenient for Chen Fei to inquire about this matter without getting back on his feet first.


    He¡¯d also considered using the disciples from the School of Blue Jade tounch his investigation; even to this day, they could only be found within the South Edict Manor. But their information channel didn¡¯t seem to be as effective as before.


    To quote Yuan Fang, Yang Qing was now being more strict with the disciples from the School of Blue Jade to guard against any attempts of collusion between them. Hence, it was difficult for them to scout around.


    Both Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan were still extremely supportive of the Cave Master in causing internal strife within Yang Qing¡¯s headquarters. But it really wasn¡¯t easy for them to investigate further.


    Miao Yi was aware of this as well. They had just gone through a ferocious war, so every abode would be keeping their guards up. It was no easy feat getting close to them.


    Miao Yi could afford to wait a little while longer, since this wasn¡¯t really ssified information of extreme importance. As time moved on, he would eventually find out where those three pieces of scum were stationed at. Yet, the problem was that those twelve corpses dangling from the ruined beams couldn¡¯t wait that long.


    It was still alright in the winter but once spring arrived, when the weather became warmer, one could well imagine what those corpses would be.


    Moreover, he felt ufortable staring at those corpses everyday without the having ability to avenge them. He couldn¡¯t rest or eat in peace.


    He¡¯d vowed that he would never rebuild East Arrival Cave unless he avenged them one day.


    The more he thought about it, the more he couldn¡¯t believe that Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t detest those men after nearly being killed. If he were to put himself in her shoes, if that had happened to him, he would desire revenge. Thus, in order for the current scene to be a reality, he¡¯d set his n to revolve around Qin Weiwei.


    But as a Mountain Chieftain and the adopted daughter of Yang Qing, how could Qin Weiwei promise Miao Yi such a matter? Even if she was eager to dismember Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s body into a thousand pieces, she wasn¡¯t allowed to do so.


    If she really was the type of person who didn¡¯t care for the general situation, she would have killed Miao Yi the moment she had the itch to do so.


    Although she agreed with what Miao Yi was saying, she couldn¡¯t possibly promise him. Slowly standing up from the table, she gave a determined shake of her head, saying, "No!"


    Astonished by her reply, Miao Yi persisted, "Mountain Chieftain, I¡¯m doing this for your own good!"


    Qin Weiwei repeated her answer, "No!"


    Miao Yi finally realized that it was futile no matter what he said. He must have brain damage. This woman had always detested him, so to be sharply rebuffed was his own fault. In the end, he had to rely on himself to think of a way.


    "If Cave Master Gongsun was the one to request it, then she would¡¯ve agreed." Gravely upset, the great Cave Master Miao muttered confidently to himself.


    When he spoke, the three women instantly froze at the same time, but quickly recovered after registering what he meant. It wasn¡¯t as if they didn¡¯t know the rumors being said about Gongsun Yu and Qin Weiwei¡¯s rtionship. Even the Manor Head Yang Qing had inquired about it.


    Until now, Qin Weiwei had always believed that an upright man was never afraid of gossip. She had always maintained her rtionship with Gongsun Yu as that of a superior and her subordinate. To now hear those words from Miao Yi, she inexplicably trembled with anger, even knowing it was beneath her to be bothered by such nder. Her expression turned icy as she stiffly said with gritted teeth, "Miao Yi! What do you mean?!"


    "I¡¯m requesting orders from Mountain Chieftain. If there are none, then I will take my leave now!" Miao Yi cupped his fists, turning around to leave.


    "Stop right there!" Qin Weiwei was furious. She wasn¡¯t deaf.


    ¡®Seems like she¡¯s livid with humiliation after being exposed,¡¯ Miao Yi muttered to himself as he gradually spun around. He cupped his fists, asking, "Do you have anything else you wish from me, Mountain Chieftain?"


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s chest heaved, rising and falling for a brief moment. Calming down her emotions, she coldly answered, "Those people out there speak nonsense. It¡¯s not what you think."


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu were extremely rmed. The Mountain Chieftain usually felt it was beneath her to exin this. What had happened to her today?


    Both of them instantly looked towards Miao Yi, intending toprehend the current situation from both of their reactions.


    The great Cave Master Miao let out an ¡®Oh!¡¯, cupped his hands and said, "I understand."


    Looking at this act, Qin Weiwei began to boil in anger again. She fixed a re at him, curling her fists as she asked, "What do you understand?"


    How would Miao Yi understand it actually? At the very least, he should show consideration for others even when he held no regard for her. Even if he was honoring Yang Qing, he didn¡¯t want to have a falling out with her in public that could go out of control. Thus, he changed the topic, "East Arrival Cave has been leveled into ruins. I have to think of ways to rebuild it. If the Mountain Chieftain does not have anything to ask of me, then I¡¯ll take my leave now."


    "Hold it!" Qin Weiwei once more shouted with brittleness, having the sudden urge to charge forward and violently beat him.


    But upon seeing both Hong Mian and Lu Liu widening their eyes at her, she immediately noticed she had lost control. She strived to calm herself down and said slowly, "Stay at Mount Calming Sea for now. When all the Cave Masters have arrived, you can apany me to transport some things to Ever Peace Manor."


    This had been a sudden order from Yang Qing. Qin Weiwei was also uninformed of Yang Qing¡¯s ns. In brief, Yang Qing had personally mentioned Miao Yi by name, so this time he would need to go transport the items. Within the recent report, Yang Qing kept insisting over and over again that Miao Yi must be there. As to why, Yang Qing did not rify.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t give it much thought, and assumed that Mount Calming Sea was understaffed at the moment. And that the reason he was being brought along was to securely transport the items, so he cupped his fists in reply, "Understood!"


    Waving her hand with her back turned, Qin Weiwei signaled him to step down.


    Miao Yi swiftly went down the loft. Seeing that Gongsun Yu was still pacing about the courtyard, apparently reluctant to leave, he sneered inwardly, ¡®How could there be nothing going on between this treacherous couple?¡¯


    "Cave Master Miao." Gongsun Yu faced him.


    Miao Yi pointed his finger at the loft with a teasing smile. "Go on quickly. Mountain Chieftain is waiting for you!"


    Gongsun Yu was immediately alert. He cupped his hands and headed towards the loft with quick steps.


    In the end, not long after he entered the loft, Qin Weiwei¡¯s angry roar resonated from it. "SCRAM!"


    A distressed Gongsun Yu quickly ran out to settle the score with Miao Yi. He had been tricked...

 Chapter 188: Its Easier to Bury Enemies than to Bury the Hatchet with Them (3)

    Chapter 188: It¡¯s Easier to Bury Enemies than to Bury the Hatchet with Them (3)


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Even after he found the Great Cave Master Miao, Gongsun Yu felt he couldn¡¯t really get back at him. First and foremost, he wasn¡¯t sure who would get the shorter end of the stick if they went at each other.


    Respect was something earned through ability. If it were in the past, Gongsun Yu might have actually picked a bone with Miao Yi. However, the current East Arrival Cave Master was not the same man as before. Who would dare say that Miao Yi wasn¡¯tpetent enough for the post of East Arrival Cave Master now? He was bold enough to ask for a one-on-one battle against Mountain Chieftain Xiong!


    That was why Gongsun Yu could only grumble when he found Miao Yi, "Cave Master Miao, you really did a quite number on me¡ªhow was the Mountain Chieftain even waiting for me at all?"


    Miao Yi replied in surprise, "Everyone in South Edict Manor is aware of your rtionship with the Mountain Chieftain. Since you were waiting downstairs, who else could the Mountain Chieftain be waiting for, but you? Don¡¯t tell me you thought that Mountain Chieftain was the one who asked me to call you over to meet her?"


    "...." Gongsun Yu was suddenly at a loss for words. He was very pleased with what he heard, but he still couldn¡¯t help asking, "Is something the matter with the Mountain Chieftain? She was throwing such arge tantrum!"


    In all his years of knowing Qin Weiwei, it was really the first time he had ever seen Qin Weiwei throw such arge tantrum at him. She normally spoke to him in an amicable manner. It was also the first time he heard Qin Weiwei using the word ¡®scram¡¯ on him. He was a little bewildered by her behaviour.


    "Throwing a tantrum at you? I don¡¯t think it could be that bad. Well I suppose it could, she has always had that sort of temperament. I have already gotten used to it." Miao Yi said, shrugging his shoulders.


    "You mustn¡¯t speak of her that way. The Mountain Chieftain does not have a bad temper...." Gongsun Yu anxiously tried to defend Qin Weiwei.


    The two of them continued chatting as they stood in the pavilion.


    As for Qin Weiwei, she had already been upset by what Miao Yi had said earlier. Then, when Gongsun Yu suddenly rush up, and said that Miao Yi told him that she was waiting for him. It made it seem like the both of them really had some sort of illicit affair between them. To make matters worse, Gongsun Yu was looking at her with such a gentle gaze that Qin Weiwei immediately felt like she was being humiliated. With that, she couldn¡¯t hold back the rage burning in her gut¡ªand let all of it out.


    At the moment, she was still pacing back and forth in the loft with her emotions in disarray.


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu observed her silently. The two of them had lived with her for a long time and understood her personality all too well. When Cave Master Miao tricked Cave Master Gongsun intoing up here to meet with the Mountain Chieftain, the Mountain Chieftain looked as though she was a little hurt¡ªbut why would the Mountain Chieftain be hurt by this? The Mountain Chieftain had never cared for that kind of gossip by outsiders....


    It took until the next afternoon for all the Cave Masters to arrive, and hand over all the harvests from their respective Caves.


    Then, Qin Weiwei lead the ten Cave Masters on their dragon steeds into a lightning fast pace as they rushed to Ever Peace Manor.


    Compared to the journey to South Edict Manor in the years past, the distance was almost doubled. It would be Miao Yi¡¯s first time visiting Ever Peace Manor.


    They were hit by another blizzard on the way. With a stony expression on her face, Qin Weiwei continued to press on as she led the way, not uttering a single word.


    Somewhere along the way, Gongsun Yu felt a little concerned and asked whether or not the Mountain Chieftain wished to take a break.


    This caring sentiment made Qin Weiwei purse her lips. She didn¡¯t bother responding, and only focused on the road ahead.


    Without stopping, as soon as they reached Ever Peace Manor, Qin Weiwei left the rest behind and silently entered Ever Peace Manor¡¯s Grand Hall.


    The others were given temporary resting quarters, while Qin Weiwei was escorted to the back by Qing Ju to meet Yang Qing.


    Surprisingly, the first thing Yang Qing said when he saw her was, "Did you bring Miao Yi with you?"


    He knew that Qin Weiwei and Miao Yi had a poor rtionship, so he was afraid that Qin Weiwei wouldn¡¯t bring Miao Yi just because she disliked him.


    There were no outsiders at the moment, so Qin Weiwei stated with an unpleasant tone, "He is here."


    Yang Qing knew her all too well. He could tell with a nce that she was displeased, so he couldn¡¯t help but ask, "What is the matter?"


    Some things could not be shared even with the closest of kin, so Qin Weiwei quickly found another excuse to hide behind. With a flip of her hand, she shed out a jade archive and brought it over as she said, "You will understand once you see this."


    Yang Qing received the jade archive suspiciously, and imbued his transcendence energy to examine the contents. What he found inside was none other than the name list that Miao Yi had submitted after replenishing his forces.


    When he read the contents, Yang Qing furrowed his brows. There was no problem with Miao Yi replenishing his forces, but the issue was that they were all men from the School of Blue Jade. He had even recruited Blue Lotus experts into East Arrival Cave. Yang Qing turned to look at Qin Weiwei and asked, "What is the meaning of this?"


    "The result of losing a bet to Miao Yi....," Qin Weiwei replied.


    Qin Weiwei immediately recounted how after Yang Qing left, Miao Yi set his sights on the School of Blue Jade troops; how she didn¡¯t believe that the School of Blue Jade would dare join South Edict Manor again; and so, in a fit of rage, she told Miao Yi that she would approve as many as he could recruit. Unexpectedly, Miao Yi had actually pulled about twenty men from the School of Blue Jade into East Arrival Cave in a single stroke. The situation had be difficult for her to back out of, so she could only agree.


    After Yang Qing was done listening, he didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. He shook his head, and said, "Weiwei, why did you make such a bet with him? Both of you have known each other for some time now. After going through so much, can you still not see it? If you don¡¯t want Miao Yi to do something, then keep a firm tone. Otherwise that straightforward idiot will definitely not ¡®disappoint¡¯ you. Tell me¡ªwhen has he ever not turned the impossible, possible. He was bold enough to even run off to the Sea of Constetions, and still came back alive. I have pretty much conceded to that brat¡¯s foolhardiness. In his eyes, there are only things he would do, and things he wouldn¡¯t do. He never considers if he can, or can¡¯t do them¡ªat the very least, he doesn¡¯t think too deeply about them. That brat isn¡¯t someone who treads cautiously at every step. As long as he feels it will be worth it, then he will definitely do it. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have run off to the Sea of Constetions in the first ce. As an esteemed Mountain Chieftain, did you really have to make that bet with him?"


    Indeed, he had a knack for understanding men as well as using them. His interpretation of Miao Yi seemed to be pretty spot on. Miao Yi was surely not the calctive type.


    "I already spoke out in front of my subordinates. Do you expect me go back on my words?" replied Qin Weiwei, as she ground her teeth together. "Ultimately, the authority rests with you. It doesn¡¯t matter if I agreed to it, you can still reject it."


    For new recruits below the rank of Manor Head, the authority to approve them or not, typically rested with the Manor Head. This was because those at the level of Hall Master would have at least reached a cultivation at the Red Lotus Realm. This was an entirely different worldpared to the White Lotus, and the Blue Lotus realms. Red Lotus cultivators couldn¡¯t be bothered with those cultivators at the lower levels.


    Even though Hall Masters, Pce Lords, Overlords, and even the Six Sages have the authority to reject recruits approved by the Manor Head; for such matters, one normally wouldn¡¯t make things difficult for their own subordinate Manor Heads¡ªthey didn¡¯t need to. Even if the subordinate Manor Head were to recruit several lowly cultivators, it still wouldn¡¯t pose a threat to them. As long as you could afford it, and it didn¡¯t affect the revenues of the upper echelons, you could recruit as many as you liked. As such, the likelihood of recruits being rejected was rare.


    However, it was different for Manor Heads. If anything happened, they still needed to rely on strength in numbers; so they obviously would not allow their subordinate Cave Masters and Mountain Chieftains to have the authority to approve personnel. Otherwise, they would definitely lose control of their subordinates.


    This was also why Qin Weiwei had said that the final authority rested with Yang Qing.


    Yang Qing mulled it over for a while. In the end, he shook his head and said, "Forget about it. Those few people won¡¯t be able to cause much of a disturbance. Don¡¯t forget that he saved you, and when he and Xiong Xiao were about to have a go at each other earlier¡ªI sided with Xiong Xiao again. Lets just consider this as a form ofpensation. What¡¯s more, that brat is a little rash. If his mind keeps getting gued by me taking his men away from him, I can¡¯t expect what he¡¯ll do this time. Just let him have them, since he can afford them. Even if he has more men, they will be working for me regardless, and the School of Blue Jade is no longer a problem."


    As he said this, he quickly invoked his arts to sign on the jade archive, approving it on the spot. He then handed it to Qing Mei beside him, asked her to make a copy of the name list, and have it sent to Suppressing Second Hall.


    Once Suppressing Second Hall tallied the loss and gain of manpower from each respective domain, it would report to Traversing Moon Pce. In turn, Traversing Moon Pce would report to those ranked above them, and so on, until the report finally reached the Realm Beyond Heaven. This was the state of the entire Celestial Nation¡¯s cultivator system under Mu Fanjun¡¯s grasp.


    After Qin Weiwei confirmed the harvests of Mount Calming Sea in this past year directly with Qing Mei, she was just about to leave when Yang Qing shouted out, "Weiwei, don¡¯t let Miao Yi go back yet. We will bring him to Suppressing Second Hallter."


    "Bring him to Suppressing Second Hall?" asked Qin Weiwei in puzzlement. "Why are we bringing him to Suppressing Second Hall?"


    Yang Qing shook his head, and replied, "It wasn¡¯t my choice. Elder Auntie asked for him specifically, and said that she wants to meet him. Xiong Xiao as well."


    Of course, Qin Weiwei knew that the Elder Auntie Yang Qing referred to definitely wasn¡¯t Qing Mei, but that Elder Auntie Tian Yu of Suppressing Second Hall. She asked, "Elder Auntie Tian Yu wants to meet Miao Yi? What for?"


    "I haven¡¯t figured out the reason yet. I suspect it has something to do with this battle. Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi both aplished great deeds in this battle. Maybe they were a little too conspicuous."


    "There won¡¯t be any danger, will there?"


    "I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that serious. If she really wanted to eliminate the both of them, Elder Auntie wouldn¡¯t need to do it personally. As for what she has nned specifically..., I am still mulling over it right now."


    Since someone from Suppressing Second Hall wanted to meet Miao Yi, even Yang Qing could not refuse. Naturally, Qin Weiwei could only follow orders as well.


    When she returned to the courtyard assigned for the members of Mount Calming Sea to rest in, Qin Weiwei ordered, "Wu Tong, Miao Yi, the both of you will apany me to escort the Manor Head to Suppressing Second Hall. The rest of you will return to your respective domains."


    This was an old rule; it was the same every year. Each Mountain Chieftain would bring two capable subordinates to help escort the Manor Head to Suppressing Second Hall.


    However, when they heard the order, many felt that it was a little strange.


    Miao Yi was a little shocked, wondering why she had picked him to go to Suppressing Second Hall with her. Didn¡¯t she always pick Gongsun Yu every year?


    However, he immediately believed he understood why. Firstly, he had proven his strength. He was obviously one of the most valiant general of Mount Calming sea, so he had the qualifications to assist her in escorting Manor Head. Secondly, he had the most subordinates; thus, it was easiest for him to leave. That being said, he was still surprised that she didn¡¯t chose to bring Gongsun Yu.


    Gongsun Yu was also a little taken aback; he hadn¡¯t expected it. Stepping forward, he cupped his fists and requested, "Mountain Chieftain, your subordinate is willing to follow the Mountain Chieftain on this journey!"


    The other Cave Master Wu Tong had no intention of sabotaging his proposal. Everyone in South Edict Manor was well aware of the rtionship between the Mountain Chieftain and Gongsun Yu; he was willing to y cupid. He was just about to cup his fist and relent-


    Unexpectedly, Qin Weiwei cut him off coldly and said, "This matter is decided. You need not speak any more of this!"


    When she said this, she threw Miao Yi a furtive nce to catch a glimpse of his reaction.


    Gongsun Yu¡¯s expression froze. All he could do was respectfully acknowledge the order.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi was sneering. He believed that it was probably because he had let the cat out of the bag. He thought, ¡®Our Lady Mountain Chieftain is intentionally avoiding suspicion. The harder she tries, the more it means that the two of them have something going on; and that she has a guilty conscience. Stop pretending, you despicable couple!¡¯


    The thing with humans, once they have established a certain preconception, it was difficult to change it. This was why first impressions were very important.


    Qin Weiwei seemed to understand the Great Cave Miao¡¯s twisted thoughts from his warped smile, because it truly carried a heavy hint of mockery. She felt as though whatever she did was useless. Silently tightening her fists, she ground her teeth and quickly turned to walk away, fearing that she wouldn¡¯t be able to restrain her anger...

 Chapter 189: Lone Vassal

    Chapter 189: Lone Vassal


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    The master of Ever Peace Manor had been taken from his throne in the Grand Hall, along with the handmaidens standing beside it.


    Although the cultivation bases of Zhang Decheng¡¯s handmaidens were not considered low¡ªthey had attained the cultivation of White Lotus Eighth Grade¡ªthey were still executed without mercy by Yang Qing.


    Serving as the handmaidens of a domain¡¯s leader had impressive and highly regarded aspects that came with the position, yet there was also the extremely dangerous aspects to consider as well.


    As the most trusted of all trusted aides, they essentially held the highest position within their domain, aside from that of their master¡¯s. For instance, no matter how high a position the subordinates held, they¡¯d still be required to respectfully address these handmaidens as "Auntie" at every meeting. Their status and aplishments would alle from their own master.


    And it was precisely because of this, that upon losing the war, the victor would never leave them be. Keeping such people at their side was too dangerous. As the loyal subordinates of the predecessors, they had every right to avenge their master at the nearest opportunity.


    In conclusion, if these types of handmaidens were determined to follow one particr master, it wouldst a lifetime. The others could surrender, yet even if the handmaidens surrendered, it would be futile. They would still be executed, leaving them to follow their lifelong master even beyond death.


    The respective Mountain Chieftains gathered at Ever Peace Manor. Those that should have been exchanged had already been handed over. They were in rtively good spirits as their gains had been doubled, so how could they not be happy about it? Even after meeting Yang Qing upon gathering at the grand hall, they cheerfully bid their farewells.


    However, Qin Weiwei was the only one among the Mountain Chieftains who did not have her benefits doubled. If she were still rewarded after losing a battle, how could Yang Qing convince the masses from then on? This kind of practise mustn¡¯t be encouraged, so naturally she was put to the side.


    Yet everyone understood all too well. As the Manor Head¡¯s adopted daughter, her losing out was only temporary.


    After the official matters had been discussed, Yang Qing rode his dragon steed, personally leading the respective Mountain Chieftains as they swiftly traversed to Suppressing Second Hall.


    Being among them, Miao Yi was a little ecstatic as he rushed forth at Qin Weiwei¡¯s side along with Wu Tong. He finally had a chance to find out where the main gates of Suppressing Second Hall were facing.


    Despite his excitement, he felt a little disappointed that Xiong Xiao was also a part of their group. A meeting between enemies causes deep anger on both sides. However, due to the system¡¯s restrictions, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    The same logic applied to Xiang Xiao as well, who was also restricted by the system¡¯s rules, so he didn¡¯t dare to openly mess with Miao Yi without fear. Otherwise, he¡¯d be long dead by now, as Miao Yi would have killed him without dy...


    Snow enveloped thendscape, nketing the towering mountains and precipitous ridges, as well as the strangely-shaped pines littered between them. The waterfall was found to be ice-cold. Treading on the snow, the dragon steeds journeyed through the mountains and regions. asionally, piles of snow would slide down, preventing the dragon steeds from passing through.


    This ce held the location of Suppressing Second Hall; thework ofplex buildings that made up its headquarters were scattered around the top of the four surrounding mountains.


    Situated at the highest peak was a magnificent,rge courtyard. Within this courtyard was a richly-ornamented buildingplex that had the resemnce of a genuine pce hall.


    The snowy weather was clearing up, and one couldn¡¯t help but observe the building¡¯s imposing presence, as its grand air shrouded the mountains.


    To be set in the mountains with such terrains, one wondered how much work had been put into building it.


    While Miao Yi was admiring the uniquely beautiful¡ªand dangerous¡ªscenery, it soon dawned on him that it was true, the higher one¡¯s position was in the cultivation world, the more increasingly spectacr the mountains one upied. It was unlikely that he¡¯d ever be tired of these familiar mountains and rivers once the snow melted.


    As he followed the rest in traversing down to the foot of the mountain, they were soon stopped by two men. The majority of thepany had gone ahead to the courtyard to make preparations for South Edict Manor. Of course, both Miao Yi and Xiong Xiao trailed after them.


    But nobody expected Yang Qing to turn around to point at the two. "Both of you,e with me."


    Caught off-guard, the pair of enemies exchanged odd looks with each other before naturally acknowledging the order.


    The pair then trailed after Yang Qing as they traversed through the inclined slope towards the magnificent courtyard situated at the main peak. As for the others, they were barred from entering without express permission.


    The three of them dismounted their dragon steeds outside the main gate and kept the steeds to the side. Once the gatekeeper verified their identities, he allowed them entry.


    The moment they passed through the pce gates, they were struck by the grand building¡¯s air of magnificence. The three of them did not directly proceed to the main hall. Waiting at the side, a small handmaiden dressed in pce attire extended her arm. "Please follow me!"


    She then turned around, guiding the trio to drink tea at a waiting room located in the side courtyard.


    The waiting room was decorated with an assembly of small tea tables and chairs, with a group of people already seated and waiting inside.


    When Yang Qing entered, he immediately cupped his hands to greet the crowd, to which the group graciously returned. They appeared to be quite courteous to Yang Qing. However, the situation was differentpared to when Zhang Decheng was alive.


    After seating himself, both Miao Yi and Xiong Xiao discreetly stood behind Yang Qing, as they weren¡¯t qualified to be seated.


    Upon hearing everyone¡¯s exchanged greetings, they knew that this group was made up of all the Manor Heads of Suppressing Second Hall. For Miao Yi and Xiong Xiao, how were they, in any way, qualified to be seated on equal footing with such people?


    But Miao Yi and Xiong Xiao were puzzled to find that Yang Qing was apparently the only person to have brought two people here. The rest had arrived alone and unapanied.


    asionally, the other Manor Heads would stare at the two men behind Yang Qing, but they never inquired about it.


    Neither did anyone ask about the fight between Yang Qing and Zhang Decheng. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about Zhang Decheng.


    Although Xiong Xiao had no rtions with these Manor Heads, it wasn¡¯t his first time apanying Yang Qing to Suppressing Second Hall, so he had seen most of them already.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi was listening attentively to their conversations, silently memorizing which manor each Manor Head belonged to. Since he was here now, then it shouldn¡¯t be in vain. He had to gain a bit of insight.


    The group exchanged polite conversation with each other, and after a while, another little handmaiden dressed in pce attire came in. After she bowed down to the rest, she said loudly and crisply, "Is everyone present?"


    They smiled, "Everyone is present."


    Only then did the small handmaiden nod her head and say, "The Hall Master has left, and is calling together all Manor Heads to discuss official matters."


    The group of Manor Heads immediately stood up, before walking out in a line. Unexpectedly, the handmaiden extended her arm out to stop the two men behind Yang Qing. She asked, "May I ask Manor Head Yang, are these two men Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi?"


    Both Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi were taken aback. How could this little handmaiden know their names?


    As for the other Manor Heads who had departed from the room, they also couldn¡¯t resist the urge to take a second nce, traces of astonishment shing past their eyes.


    Yang Qing lightly nodded his head, replying, "That¡¯s correct!"


    The handmaiden then said in a crisp voice. "While the assembly is going on in the grand hall, uninvolved personnel shouldn¡¯t enter. It¡¯s better for the two to remain here."


    Slightly surprised, Yang Qing turned and said to the two, "Both of you stay here."


    "Understood!" The two of them cupped their hands and stayed behind.


    By the time all the Manor Heads had left, the little handmaiden once again extended her arm to say, "Both of you, please wait here. Please help yourselves to tea while seated."


    They were left to obediently find a ce to sit down. Prior to this, they hadn¡¯t had the chance to rest their feet.


    But currently, the waiting room was empty with no one else in sight. Only the two old foes, Miao Yi and Xiong Xiao, remained, ring at each other from time to time. Not a courteous word was exchanged. Neither did they break into a fight, which was a good thing. It was only because they didn¡¯t dare to stir up havoc in this ce.


    The little handmaiden was quietly standing at their side waiting. On seeing that they had finished their tea, she promptly refilled their cups.


    "Little Sister, how do you know who we are?"


    Drinking another cup of tea, Xiong Xiao asked her cautiously. He wanted to indirectly find out what was going on, since he felt it wasn¡¯t a simple matter for Yang Qing to bring them along.


    The little handmaiden smiled. After refilling their cups of tea, she invited them to drink but said nothing more than necessary.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s expression froze. It wasn¡¯t appropriate for him to force answers out of her if she refused to reply; this wasn¡¯t a ce where he could behave atrociously.


    Besides him, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but chuckle with glee upon seeing that Xiong Xiao had suffered a setback, giving the impression he took joy in the other man¡¯s misfortune.


    Xiong Xiao cast him a sidewards nce and scoffed.


    After waiting for a while, Miao Yi who was ncing around, was beginning to feel the atmosphere in here was too ufortable for him to bear, especially when Xiong Xiao was sitting next to him, looking like he wanted to ssh Miao Yi¡¯s face with a cup of tea.


    As time passed, Miao Yi was starting to feel restless so he couldn¡¯t resist the urge to ask, "Little Sister, I¡¯m a little bored staying here. This is my first visit to Suppressing Second Hall. Can I stroll around outside?"


    The little handmaiden responded with a smile. "Don¡¯t go too far. Don¡¯t go to ces you shouldn¡¯t go to."


    "Hehe, I¡¯ll keep that in mind. Thank you for the advice, Little Sister!" Immediately, Miao Yi gleefully stood up with cupped fists, casually retrieving a red packet from his storage ring which he then stuffed into her hands. "This is just a small token to show my respect for you. I hope Little Sister won¡¯t be too courteous about it."


    The little handmaiden nodded and epted it with pursed lips.


    Just like that, Miao Yi strutted out of the room. As he left, he sped his hands behind his back before leisurely wandering away.


    Xiong Xiao was slightly dumbstruck. He seriously had not prepared any red packets for a small character like her. Since Miao Yi had given his share, it wouldn¡¯t look good for him not to do the same. Turning around to conceal himself from sight, he quickly tidied up his storage ring and made a red packet as an offering to the little sister, since he was implicated by association...


    Within the Suppressing Second Hall Grand Hall, Huo Lingxiao was seated expressionlessly on his high seat, dressed in a thin, long gray robe, with his hair bound by a jade hairpin. Without saying a word, he slowly lowered his eyes, asionally sweeping his keen gaze across the group beneath him.


    "...even if Zhang Decheng was at fault, you could have reported that you killed him, and the Hall Master would have personally handpicked the next Manor Head for Ever Peace Manor. Why did you seize control of Ever Peace Manor? What gave you the right to hand over Ever Peace Manor¡¯s harvest for this year?! Hall Master, Yang Qing¡¯s motive is despicable..."


    Within the grand hall, the Advisor He Yunye continued to shout as he argued with authoritative force, solely condemning Yang Qing. Naturally, it was still because of what had happened between Yang Qing and Zhang Decheng.


    In the beginning, Yang Qing had given logical and concise justification for his actions, and pushed all the me onto Zhang Decheng.


    As for He Yunye¡¯s condemnation, he refused to say a word in response and didn¡¯t attempt to defend himself. It was as if he was a bystander, coldly observing how long He Yunye wouldst.


    It was clear in his mind all the things he¡¯d brought to pass, including what he should and shouldn¡¯t have done. Thus, debating the matter was pointless. He had killed the trusted aide of the Advisor Han Liuping, betrayed the Advisor Feng Zhihuan and then killed the trusted aide of Advisor He Yunye. Nobody would be speaking up for him anymore, and he had became a lone vassal at Suppressing Second Hall. Saying anything more was fruitless. Further exnations could possibly backfire on him. It would cause everyone to think that he, Yang Qing, was arrogant and disrespectful. Ultimately, the decision still fell on the Hall Master.


    Actually, he wasn¡¯t the least bit worried. After he had seized Ever Peace Manor, there was no immediate reaction from the Hall Master. Since then, he had the vague feeling that he¡¯d safely passed this round. The brain-racking effort he¡¯d put into the war in order to turn the tide should have entered the discerning eye of the Hall Master.


    There was no fault in how he¡¯d responded. After saying what he needed to say, he kept silent and He Yunye became the only person in the grand hall to release his anger and frustration.


    As time passed, even He Yunye himself was starting to realize that something was amiss and that he was the only one pointing fingers and profuse admonishment. His voice was the only one ringing inside the grand hall. Whenpared to the unperturbed Yang Qing, he resembled someone putting on a ptrap to please the crowds, resulting in a great loss in an Advisor¡¯s elegant demeanor. The imposing air he held was gone, thus the topic of argument couldn¡¯t help but weaken.


    Sitting high up, Huo Lingxiao scrutinized the crowd, realizing that Yang Qing had seriously offended everyone. None of the three Advisors were helping him out and none of the Manor Heads or Deacons chimed in to support him.


    Had he became a lone vassal? Good. What he wanted was a lone servant who had no one to rely on and offended everyone! Without support, he could only listen to him and him alone! Opening his eyes, the silently waiting Huo Lingxiao suddenly voiced out, interrupting He Yunye, "Yang Qing!"


    He Yunye was speechless as Yang Qing stepped forth with cupped fists. "Your subordinate is here!"

 Chapter 190: Another Horse Deputy

    Chapter 190: Another Horse Deputy


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Seated on his high throne, Huo Lingxiao stared at Yang Qing indifferently and said, "Zhang Decheng attacked a fellowrade without permission. As such, he deserved to die. This Hall Master shall allow you to manage Ever Peace Manor¡ªyou are to safeguard both Manors well. If there are any mistakes with the tributes from either Manors, I will hold you ountable for what you did this time as well. You would be punished for both offences, and will most definitely not be pardoned lightly!"


    When everyone heard this, they were all shocked. Let Yang Qing manage both Manors? If Yang Qing had resources from both Manors to aid him, then would it not be.... that the Hall Master was trying to help speed up Yang Qing¡¯s development?


    Forget about the reaction from the others, even Yang Qing was stunned. The reason he had tried so hard to turn the tables, was simply to show the Hall Master his ability¡ªto show that he had no trouble overseeing a Manor, and wasn¡¯t inferior to any of the others. It had been purely out of self-preservation. He would have immediately heeded the order to withdraw if the Hall Master willed it. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that he would be allowed to oversee both Manors¡ªthese situations were very rare, and he never imagined that it would happen to him. After all, there was his current cultivation, and strength to consider as well.


    Yang Qing really couldn¡¯t believe that this situation had happened to him. He couldn¡¯t wrap his head around the idea for a moment, and even believed that he had misheard.


    "Oh?" Huo Lingxiao mused aloud with heavy mockery, instantly silencing everyone. "Are you perhaps unwilling?"


    Yang Qing was suddenly brought to his senses. He struggled to hold down the exultation in his heart, as he cupped his fists and confidently replied, "Your subordinate acknowledges the order. I, Yang Qing, shall spare no efforts, so as to not betray the Hall Master¡¯s high expectations!"


    His tone still gave off a sense of barely suppressed exhration. Having worked himself to the bone from a measly peon to a Cave Master, a Mountain Chieftain, and then finally to a Manor Head¡ªwhat had it all been for? Wasn¡¯t it for the sake of earning more cultivation resources, within the boundaries of the game setup by the Six Sages? Was it not for the sake of walking further, and living longer on this road of cultivation?


    Without any ability, those unforgettable figures on their lofty perches would never favour him. Without enough strength, he would barely even have the chance to approach the other party, and speak more than a couple of lines.


    Now that the Hall Master was allowing him to manage two Manors, he was practically given twice the cultivation resources¡ªgiving him a shortcut to walk even further on this road. As such, he was incredibly grateful towards Huo Lingxiao¡¯s reward.


    The other Manor Heads casted envious gazes at Yang Qing. During the Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s assembly, everyone believed that he was a dead man. Yet, in the blink of an eye, he had received such favor from the Hall Master.


    The expression on the three Advisors darkened in response. The Hall Master was using this opportunity to take away their cultivation resources. While they had ten Manors providing them a share of the profits before, now they were only left with eight Manors. As such, their hopes of obtaining the prized throne of Hall Master were even bleaker than before.


    From now on, the three of them could only fight for the remaining eight Manors. They wouldn¡¯t even think of touching South Edict Manor and Ever Peace Manor. The Hall Master had clearly stated his intent to protect Yang Qing. In future, the three of them wouldn¡¯t be able to even consider openly targeting Yang Qing.


    Han Luping and Feng Zhihuan silently cursed He Yunye, ¡®Useless trash, you had the chance, but you couldn¡¯t even do something so trivial.¡¯


    He Yunye felt incredibly vexed. ¡®What do you mean by¡ªZhang Decheng attacked a fellowrade without permission? If it hadn¡¯t been secretly authorized by you, the Hall Master, how could I have allowed Zhang Decheng to go about it so boldly?¡¯


    He Yunye felt like Huo Lingxiao hadpletely used him, then turned around, and pped him in the face.


    However, some matters couldn¡¯t be spoken aloud. Even if everyone clearly understood it, they couldn¡¯t speak of it.


    The matter was simple. It wasn¡¯t that the Hall Master hadn¡¯t given him a chance¡ªhe, himself had failed to aplish the task. After being given the opportunity and failing to seed, what more was there to say? As such, the Hall Master had given the opportunity to someone more capable. If he were to give it to him still, would the two Advisors not be dissatisfied as well?,


    Those were the rules of the game¡ªeveryone had the same opportunities, it was just a matter of seeing who had the ability to take it!


    He Yunye felt like taking the burning ire in his heart out on someone, and nced back at Wan Shunchang behind him. It was bad enough that this useless fool had messed things up¡ªhe didn¡¯t even know how to say a few helping words in the grand hall.


    It wasn¡¯t that Wan Shunchang didn¡¯t want to help¡ªhe didn¡¯t dare to. If it came out that he had run away pathetically from Ever Peace Manor, after being chased off by Yang Qing; how would the Hall Master look at him from now on? Would the Hall Master not treat him as a worthless coward? If that were to happen, then he would definitely be excluded from anything significant thereafter.


    He would never have suspected that Hall Master Huo Lingxiao had already known about it a long time ago.


    "If there is nothing else, then our assembly is adjourned. Each Manor is to hand over their respective tributes to Tian Yu and Liu Xing, then return to your own domains!"


    Huo Lingxiao said a single line, before stepping down from his throne, and began leaving on his own.


    After everyone sent him off, the three Advisors and six Deacons also left the grand hall. The nine Manor Heads then handed over their tributes to both Aunties.


    Yang Qing, who had received the other Manor Heads¡¯ courteous congrattions, took the initiative to stand furthest in line. It was best to remain humble when he should.


    Once the other Manor Heads were done handing over their tributes and left, Yang Qing stepped forward and delivered both Manors¡¯ tributes; then he cupped his fists and said, "Elder Auntie, your subordinate wishes to meet the Hall Master. I hope that you can convey this for me."


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing looked at each other, and smiled. Tian Yu said, "We must congratte Manor Head Yang again for being bestowed the great responsibility of managing both Manors."


    "Yang Qing was fortunate to have received the Hall Master¡¯s grace," Yang Qing replied, as he cupped his fists towards the back of the hall to disy his respects to the Hall Master.


    Tian Yu replied, "There is no need to meet the Hall Master. The Hall Master already knows what Manor Head wishes to say."


    Liu Xing then followed with, "The Hall Master has mentioned that you should just focus on doing your own things. If any matteres up, you need not discuss matters with the three Advisors, or the six Deacons. You can simply look for Tian Yu, and Liu Xing to request a direct audience with the Hall Master."


    Tian Yu again chimed in. "The Hall Master has also said he is aware that youck manpower to handle both Manors, and there is no way to gather enough men in such a short time. As such, he will allocate three hundred of Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s direct subordinates to you. For the remainder, you will have to deal with them yourself. The Hall Master will not do everything for you."


    Yang Qing was shocked; this was quite a pleasant surprise. This was the Hall Master¡¯s way of giving him special privileges¡ªallowing him to disregard the three Advisors, and report to the Hall Master himself. Thus, he wasn¡¯t required to present any tributes to a single one of the Advisors, and he would be able to save up more cultivation resources for himself.


    The Hall Master was treating him as a trusted aide, but with this....


    Yang Qing had never been a simple man. He immediately began reviewing his current situation. He no longer had any choice now, but to continue offending the other three Advisors¡ªhe could never again ally with the other forces within Suppressing Second Hall. However, he also would no longer be one of their pawns. From now on, he didn¡¯t need to consider much beyond obediently being the Hall Master¡¯s lone vassal. Otherwise, should the Hall Master ever decide to withdraw his protection, none of the three Advisors would let him off easily.


    ¡®Was there a need to be this attentive towards a Blue Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator such as himself?¡¯ Yang Qingughed wryly to himself. As the saying goes, ¡®One cannot make an omelette without breaking an egg¡¯. At least for now, what he gained had more than made up for what he had lost...


    Within a courtyard on the highest peak of Suppressing Second Hall, there was an eerie silence hanging about. In addition, no one had ventured out to remind him which of the ces were restricted.


    As it was his first time walking around this area, how the heck would Miao Yi know where he shouldn¡¯t enter? He could only remind himself not to stray too far. After making a few turns, he suddenly caught wind of the faint fragrance of plum blossoms.


    When he looked in the direction of the scent, he caught sight of a moon gate. He walked towards it, and popped his head inside, stealthily scanning about¡ªthere was no one inside. Only a beautiful plum forest with snow-tipped branches, alongside a pavilion and a rock garden.


    The scenery was quite impressive. Miao Yi looked to his left and right again, before tentatively asking, "Is anyone around?"


    After a few more calls, there was still no response, only the forest of plum blossomsid there. Thinking that it would be okay to peek around a little inside, this Miao Yi actually strode in with his hands behind his back.


    He brought his nose before a plum blossom branch, and took a whiff. He nodded with a satisfied expression on his face in response. Then, reached out and plucked off a sprig from the plum blossom branch.


    The branch trembled as a pile of snow slid off the end.


    "Who goes there?" an impassive voice loudly questioned from the other end of the garden.


    Miao Yi jumped in fright, and quickly turned around to look. From another moon gate on the other side of the plum garden, a middle-aged man stalked in. He wore a simple, thin grey-colored robe, with a blue hairpin holding up his hair; he looked rtively unremarkable otherwise. At the moment, he was looking at Miao Yi with a cold expression, as he slowly approached with his hands behind his back.


    Trying to keep the awkwardness from his face, Miao Yi waved the plum sprig around in his hand andughed wryly as he said, "Try not to misunderstand. When I noticed the snowy plum forest, and that wafting fragrance, I could not help but be tempted toe inside and admire it. I did ask if there was anyone around before I came in, but nobody answered, so I entered of my own ord. Oh! And I forgot to introduce myself!"


    After saying that, Miao Yi casually tossed aside the plum sprig that he had just plucked; then he cupped his fists and said, "I came from South Edict Manor¡¯s Mount Calming Sea territory. I am the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, Miao Yi. May I be so bold as to ask for the esteemed one¡¯s name?"


    The other person nced at the plum sprig that was thrown away like dirt, then cast a probing gaze towards Miao Yi as he said, "East Arrival Cave Master Miao Yi? What are you doing here?"


    Miao Yi chuckled and said, "Waiting in the room was boring, so I came out for a walk before stumbling into the plum garden by mistake." He again weakly asked, "May I ask what is the esteemed one¡¯s name?"


    The other person seemed like he was trying hard to hold back augh as he heard this. After considering it for a while, he replied, "Xiao Yizhu, Suppressing Second Hall Horse Deputy."


    "Suppressing Second Hall Horse Deputy?" Miao Yi was shocked. He had been worried that he had entered a ce that he shouldn¡¯t have, and stumbled into someone important and incited his wrath. It turned out, he was just a Horse Deputy¡ªa post normally without any status. This, he had experienced personally. His mind was instantly relieved as he chuckled, and said, "It seems it must have been fate for me to stumble into Senior Xiao. I was also been a Horse Deputy once."


    Xiao Yizhu replied with an ¡®Oh?¡¯ Then said, "Is that so? What a coincidence."


    Miao Yi nodded and said, "May I be so bold as to ask how high Senior Xiao¡¯s cultivation is?"


    Xiao Yizhu eventually replied, "White Lotus Third Grade!"


    Miao Yi was even more reassured when he heard this. He rubbed his hands and said, "What a coincidence. I also have a cultivation at the White Lotus Third Grade."


    The other person suddenly began rebuking him, "This is the Hall Master¡¯s plum blossom garden. Are you not afraid that you will get into trouble by entering of your own ord?"


    Miao Yi waved his hand dismissively, and said, "I only came here to look around. I don¡¯t suppose someone who could be a Hall Master would be so petty, no?"


    "However, you plucked off a sprig from the Hall Master¡¯s cherished plum tree. Usually, the Hall Master would not let anyone freely touch it. I shall report this to Auntie. She definitely will not let you off easily." Xiao Yizhu began showing a threatening expression as he noted Miao Yi¡¯s attitude.


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression froze. He looked around and, on seeing that there wasn¡¯t anyone else, took two low-grade Orbs of Will from his storage ring and grabbed Xiao Yizhu¡¯s hand¡ªstuffing the two Orbs of Will into his hand. He came close and whispered, "Both of us have been Horse Deputies and know how difficult it is. It must also be fate for us to meet, so here is a small token of my appreciation. One should always be forgiving when it is possible¡ªSenior Xiao can just act like you saw nothing. I will be taking my leave now, so let¡¯s keep this a secret between the two of us."


    ¡®Bribery?¡¯ Xiao Yizhu was taken aback. His gaze slowly fell on the six storage rings on the other party¡¯s hand, and lingered there for a while. His lips seemingly curved as he said, "No can do. If the Hall Master finds out, I would be your aplice and be punished together with you."


    "Surnamed Xiao, do not test my patience." said Miao Yi. He revealed a vicious expression as the Inversed-Scales Spear instantly appeared in his hand, with the sharp tip of the spear readied at the other party¡¯s stomach. "Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit. A mere White Lotus Third Grade cultivation, and you dare to be so impudent before me? I have lost count of the number of White Lotus Third Grade cultivators that have died by my hand. Do you not believe that I will end you?"

 Chapter 191: Pledging Brotherhood in the Plum Garden

    Chapter 191: Pledging Brotherhood in the Plum Garden


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    "You dare?! Even if you could kill me, there¡¯s still enough time for me to scream! You won¡¯t be able to escape either!" Xiao Yizhu was being extremely stubborn.


    "Pui! I wouldn¡¯t survive even if you did report me! Do you think I have anything else to fear? How about I kill you as a scapegoat first?" Miao Yi threatened ruthlessly.


    Contrary to what one might expect, Xiao Yizhu didn¡¯t appear to be rmed. After he groaned to himself, he nodded his head, saying, "Alright. I promise I will pretend I didn¡¯t see it. Let me go."


    "Really?" Miao Yi still felt considerably suspicious over his casual surrender, which didn¡¯t tally with his usual understanding of the problem.


    Xiao Yizhu smiled. "Really."


    The other party was behaving too calmly and didn¡¯t appear the least bit afraid. Miao Yi¡¯s mind was thrown off by his current demeanor. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that this bastard wasn¡¯t someone that could easily be dealt with. What if this bastard was trying to pacify him for now, but was actually going to report the incident the moment he was safe from harm? What would Miao Yi do then?


    "Why do I feel like you¡¯re harboring ill intentions?" asked Miao Yi.


    "Am I?" Xiao Yizhuughed involuntarily, shaking his head as he said, "You¡¯re overthinking it. Let me go. The more we dawdle, the more likely someone will spot us here."


    "I feel like something¡¯s not right. I¡¯m not sure I should let you go with such ease."


    "Then what do you n to do?"


    "Uhm..." The great Cave Master Miao was instantly put on the spot with no way to back out. He regretted running around so blindly. It was really unfortunate that he¡¯d chosen to break off a plum sprig belonging to the Hall Master¡¯s favorite tree. In the Hall Master¡¯s eyes, a small Cave Master like him truly couldn¡¯t bepared to a plum sprig.


    With the spear tip pressing against the other party¡¯s stomach, he pondered for a while. All of a sudden, he broke into a smile and said, "How about we share our happiness and hardships together?"


    "Oh?" said Xiao Yizhu in amusement. "I¡¯d like to hear the details. How do we share our happiness and hardships together?"


    Miao Yi pursed his lips at the surrounding plum forest in full bloom. "We should bask in the Hall Master¡¯s light and pledge brotherhood in this plum garden."


    "Pledge brotherhood?" Xiao Yizhu was at a loss for words, unable to wrap his mind around Miao Yi¡¯s intentions. It was all because Miao Yi¡¯s suggestion hade out of nowhere, outstripping the current range of his thoughts in a sh.


    "We were Horse Deputies before and are at a cultivation of White Lotus Third Grade. Being able to meet in this plum forest could also be considered as fate. How could we miss this opportune encounter bestowed by the heavens above? After we be sworn brothers, we will share our happiness and hardships together! Although my East Arrival Cave is small, I¡¯m still the master of one cave with a myriad of followers under my reign. Naturally, we¡¯re notcking in beauties and fine liquors as well. If Brother Xiao has the time to spare, you can always enjoy yourself at my East Arrival Cave. I definitely won¡¯t treat you shabbily. How about it?"


    The great Cave Master Miao offered up a pile of vain temptations, and he didn¡¯t know how much of it he could honor. In short, he wanted to secure the other man¡¯s goodwill first.


    "Bing sworn brothers..." Xiao Yizhu was nheless stunned from the proposal.


    "Don¡¯t hesitate anymore." Without another word, he quickly fished out two jade archives and stuffed one into the other man¡¯s hand. Using the Inversed-Scale Spear to force the man, he urged, "I shall trouble Brother Xiao to write a card stating our brotherhood and then we will exchange it."


    "..." Xiao Yizhu was once again rendered speechless as he stared at Miao Yi like he was a freak.


    He understood Miao Yi¡¯s intent. Wishing to be sworn brothers with him was just a facade, whereas wanting him to write on this sworn brotherhood card was real. Once Miao Yi let him go, then if he ever dared to report him, Miao Yi would definitely take out this card and say they were sworn brothers.


    People who could betray their own sworn brothers had grave issues in their moral integrity. They shouldn¡¯t dream of doing well in Suppressing Second Hall in the future.


    This was trying to use the sworn brotherhood card to ckmail him! When did the act of pledging brotherhood be like this?


    Miao Yi jabbed at him again with the Inversed-Scale Spear, and continued to threaten, "Hurry up and write. Stop wasting time!"


    "I..." Xiao Yizhu wanted to say something but then seemed struck by a sudden thought, and began to smile while shaking his head. Unexpectedly, he invoked his arts and wrote down the sworn statements in the jade archive.


    After Miao Yi examined it, he nodded his head in satisfaction. Keeping it inside his storage ring, he also wrote another one, imbuing it with his transcendent seal before handing it over to Xiao Yizhu. Then, he proceeded tough heartily as he cupped his fists and said, "You¡¯re much older than me. I, your little brother, will respectfully address you as Big Brother! Big Brother Xiao!"


    Caught between tears andughter, Xiao Yizhu cupped his hands and said in response, "Little Brother!"


    "You tter me! It¡¯s our first time meeting and so suddenly, too. I didn¡¯t prepare any gifts but I have a pot of superb liquor as a small token of my gratitude. I hope Big Brother Xiao doesn¡¯t mind!"


    After stuffing the pot of wine into the other man¡¯s hands, Miao Yi immediately bid a hurried goodbye, "Little Brother still has some matters to attend to. Since Big Brother is busy, I won¡¯t bother you further. When you¡¯re free next time,e and visit my East Arrival Cave. I will definitely give you a cordial reception. Don¡¯t bother to see me out."


    He had said everything in a hurry, not giving his big brother the slightest chance to reply or to bid farewell. He quickly turned and ran off, unwilling to stay behind for a moment longer, fearing that an undue dy would cause more trouble. Thus, he swiftly rushed out of the plum garden.


    "..." Staring at the direction that the great Cave Master Miao had disappeared to, Xiao Yizhu remained silent for a long time. So just like that, their brotherhood pledge was consideredplete?


    He could tell that Miao Yi¡¯s Inversed-Scale Spear had been made using extraordinary refinery skills. He initially intended to ask about its origin, but unexpectedly, his ¡®little brother¡¯ wouldn¡¯t even spare him a chance and had run off without a backwards nce. He simply couldn¡¯t catch up with the quick leaps in Miao Yi¡¯s line of thoughts and behavior.


    Those who weren¡¯t fools would know that the great Cave Master didn¡¯t hold this brotherhood pledge to heart or with any esteem. It was clear that he didn¡¯t want Xiao Yizhu to take it seriously as well. It was purely done to act as a handhold for an easy escape. The next time he met Xiao Yizhu again, it was still questionable as to whether he would recognize Xiao Yizhu or not.


    "This convenient sworn brothers tactic was handled too abruptly. It¡¯s as though it fell from the sky. Nomon person could ever think a pledge and a pot of wine would be enough to dismiss me?"


    Supporting the wine pot in the palm of his hand, Xiao Yizhu muttered to himself as his lips curled into a teasing smile.


    He once again looked at the item on his other hand. That conveniently sworn little brother had not only given him a pot of wine but a sworn brotherhood jade archive, as well as two low-grade Orbs of Will.


    ncing back at the pot of wine in his hand, he invoked his arts slightly, instantly popping off the sealing y on top of the wine pot. A wave of fragrance that suppressed the sweet smelling plums of the garden made Xiao Yizhu¡¯s eyes gleam. Just one whiff and he knew that the wine was extraordinary.


    Instantly, a stream of crystalline jade liquid came flowing out of the wine pot. Xiao Yizhu opened his mouth to receive it. He sampled a little and immediately narrowed his eyes, a look of captivation appearing on his face.


    After savouring the aftertaste for a long while, he gently breathed out an intoxicating alcoholic breath. Suddenly opening his eyes, he revealed a look of amazement as he nced at the wine pot in his hand. Gradually shaking his head, he clucked his tongue and said, "He really didn¡¯t fool me. It¡¯s truly a rare bejeweled nectar. The spiritual fluid is amber-colored, suggesting an aged wine that¡¯s used spiritual herbs as a medium! A taste like this is impossible to be brewed unless it¡¯s done by an expert in wine. It leaves a rich aftertaste! Simply memorable! Where did that brat manage to get such a good wine as this?"


    He didn¡¯t know that this ¡®expert in wine¡¯ had been part of seventy-two, and all of them killed by ¡®little brother¡¯ in one sweep. If such a thing were discovered by a person who loved liquor, they would wring their hands andment as they stamped their feet and hammered their chest, since it was truly a crime against nature!


    Taking another sip of the crystalline jade liquor into his mouth, he continued to stare at the pot of wine in his palm, recalling the matters that had transpired earlier.


    "Little brother?" Xiao Yizhu smiled. He heard the faint sound of familiar footstepsing from outside the garden. Turning around, he exited the plum garden.


    It was uncertain as to who he had bumped into outside the garden, and he could be heard saying, "Try tasting this."


    Soon, a woman¡¯s voice could be heard, "Amazing wine! You can¡¯t find an excellent wine like this in Suppressing Second Hall!"


    Xiao Yizhu¡¯s heartyughter sounded from the distance. "My sworn brother gave it to me."


    "Sworn brother?" The woman¡¯s voice carried a trace of confusion.


    Xiao Yizhu¡¯s voice became faintly discernible, traveling from afar as they both walked away. He exined in detail the incident that had transpired, eventually disappearing into the distance as unrestrainedughter rang out from the woman apanying him...


    Inside the waiting room, Xiong Xiao was abiding by the rules as usual. He obediently sat at his former seat, and didn¡¯t try to leave.


    He didn¡¯t overstep his bounds and refrained from saying anything excessive.


    It was because he understood that when arriving at a ce like this, it was better to avoid causing unnecessary trouble. Should he cause a disturbance, there was a high chance he would have to bear the consequences. A cultivator like him, who hadn¡¯t even reached the Blue Lotus realm, was considered as nothing in this ce.


    As a person who had lived for a long time, he knew from experience the truth of that fact. And Miao Yi who had hurriedly returned, was a good example of it.


    Even breaking a plum sprig could cause such trouble. The great Cave Master forced a smile towards the little handmaiden, cupping his hands. He went back to his former seat, with trepidation lingering in his heart.


    He was feeling slightly anxious, and he hoped the sworn big brother would be smart about it. If by any chance he chose to be a brainless idiot by daring to report it, then the aftermath would be difficult to predict.


    Honestly speaking, he¡¯d only thought of this method of coercion because he¡¯d been at a loss about what to do. He sincerely felt that it didn¡¯t count as a brilliant countermeasure at all.


    While he sat restlessly, another little handmaiden dressed in pce attire came in from outside. Her voice was exceptionally sweet as she asked, "Who is Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi?"


    Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi naturally stood up to cup their hands in response.


    "Elder Auntie wants to meet you. Follow me!" With that said, the little handmaiden turned and left.


    The two foes exchanged nces with each other. The aforementioned Elder Auntie must be the Elder Auntie of Suppressing Second Hell. Why did she want to meet them? What was the meaning of this?


    Not daring to hesitate, the two trailed after her, all the while pondering over this baffling turn of events.


    They moved through the ptial gardens and after some distance, Miao Yi realized that the path was a bit familiar. He¡¯d been here before, when he was taking a stroll earlier.


    By the time he caught sight of the moon gate of the plum garden¡¯s entrance, the great Cave Master Miao¡¯s expression became distorted. He had just left this ce, why was he back here again?


    He would be lying if he said he wasn¡¯t nervous. Why would the Elder Auntie of Suppressing Second Hall want to meet with a small Cave Master of East Arrival Cave? Could it be that the fool had truly reported him earlier?


    All of a sudden, an elegant, extraordinary and beautiful woman emerged from the moon gate entrance. She stood in the middle of the moon gate, her eyes looking straight at them.


    The little handmaiden immediately went forth, giving a courteous bow as she said, "Elder Auntie, I¡¯ve brought them here."


    As it turned out, this was the legendary Elder Auntie Tian Yu of Suppressing Second Hall. Miao Yi secretly sized her up with a nce. Xiong Xiao, on the other hand, had met her before.


    The two of them got up to their feet and bowed. "Xiong Xiao, Miao Yi, greets Elder Auntie."


    Tian Yu gestured with her hands to indicate there wasn¡¯t any need for formalities. She stared at Miao Yi and asked, "You¡¯re Miao Yi, the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave?"


    "Correct!" Miao Yi readily nodded his head.


    Upon raising his head, he eventually realized that this Elder Auntie Tian Yu had been staring at him in a weird manner. She scrutinized him from top to bottom before sweeping her gaze back up, as though she was staring at an oddity.


    Feeling guilty as a thief, Miao Yi¡¯s heart instantly raced, could it be that the fool had reported him?


    Even Xiong Xiao had noticed that the Elder Auntie was looking at Miao Yi with a slightly peculiar expression. It wasn¡¯t just slightly, it was incredibly strange. What on earth was going on?


    The look Tian Yu gave was enough for Xiong Xiao to feel nervous as well.


    "Send Cave Master Miao back!" Tian Yu smiled as she gestured with her hands.


    A look of surprise shed past the little handmaiden¡¯s eyes. She felt that the Elder Auntie was treating this small Cave Master with a little more politeness.


    Without thinking further on it, she immediately invited Miao Yi to follow her back.


    Tian Yu¡¯s gaze dropped onto Xiong Xiao, and she curbed her smiling demeanor. With an indifferent tone, she uttered, "You, follow me."


    The vast difference in attitude shown between the two only served to heighten Xiong Xiao¡¯s anxiety, and he submissively followed her into the plum garden.

 Chapter 192: An Honest Man

    Chapter 192: An Honest Man


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Upon returning to the waiting room, Miao Yi felt like a burden had been lifted off his chest. It was good that there were no issues. He sat down on the chair and heaved a heavy sigh of relief, before twisting his body to hurriedly grab a tea cup and frenziedly pouring himself a cup.


    Not long after, with a trace of glee on his face, Yang Qing returned to the room. He was about to gesture for both of his subordinates to head back with him, but noticed that one of them was missing. He couldn¡¯t help asking Miao Yi, who had stood up to salute him, "Where¡¯s Xiong Xiao?"


    "He got summoned by Elder Auntie."


    Taken aback, Yang Qing understood. The reason he¡¯d brought the two of them here this time, wasn¡¯t it due to the Elder Auntie wanting to meet them?


    Pressing his hands, he gestured Miao Yi to sit down with him and exin in more detail, preparing themselves to wait for Xiong Xiao to return before they could depart.


    Once seated, Yang Qing asked, "Elder Auntie didn¡¯t summon you?"


    "I already met her just now with Xiong Xiao. She didn¡¯t even say much to me and told me toe back here. Xiong Xiao was then taken away."


    "Oh?" Yang Qing frowned, as he couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of it. He wanted to inquire more in detail, but after seeing that the little handmaiden was still present in the room, he held back from asking more questions, and prepared to wait for Xiong Xiao to return first before asking further.


    It didn¡¯t take long and soon, Xiong Xiao came back. His face held a faint trace of happiness. The moment he barged through the door and caught sight of Yang Qing, he froze and quickly saluted him.


    Being in the presence of outsiders, Yang Qing stayed quiet. He turned to leave, ordering, "Let¡¯s go!"


    The three of them departed from the pce gate, retrieved their mounts and went down the mountain together. The forces of South Edict Manor waited for them at the foot of the mountain.


    Although this wasn¡¯t Qin Weiwei¡¯s first time going to Suppressing Second Hall, she had never stepped foot in the grand hall situated at the main peak. It had never crossed her mind that her subordinate Cave Master would enter it before she did, and she threw Miao Yi a slightly perplexed look.


    Wu Tong eyed Miao Yi enviously. The other Mountain Chieftains were also gazing at Xiong Xiao in envy.


    After everyone weed Yang Qing, he galloped away and departed the area, the others in tow.


    After exiting the mountain range dwelling of Suppressing Second Hall, they returned to their route. Suddenly, Yang Qing slowed down, turning his head to ask, "Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi shall remain. The others should go on first."


    It was obvious to everyone that Yang Qing had some matters to discuss with them in private. However, even though it was within expectations for Xiong Xiao to be detained, for Miao Yi to also be involved seemed a little... The Manor Head really did look at Miao Yi in a different light. Qin Weiwei bit her lips in secret.


    Acknowledging the order, everyone made haste to continue, while Yang Qing slowed down to look towards Xiong Xiao and inquire, "What did the Elder Auntie summon you for?"


    Xiong Xiao hesitated for a moment before answering, "She brought me to see the Hall Master."


    "She brought you to see the Hall Master?" Yang Qing was caught by surprise. Earlier, when he¡¯d wanted to meet with the Hall Master in private, he had been denied entry. Conversely, his subordinate had been summoned to meet him instead. What was the meaning of this? He couldn¡¯t help but continue to ask, "For what purpose did you meet the Hall Master?"


    Miao Yi was also scrutinizing Xiong Xiao oddly. A mere Mountain Chieftain like him was given the right to personally meet the Hall Master? Then why was he stopped from going? He wanted to see what the Hall Master looked like, too. Could it be that in the Hall Master¡¯s eyes, there was a huge difference between a Cave Master and a Mountain Chieftain?


    Xiong Xiao faltered, "The Hall Master inquired about Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor and their involvement during the battle with Zhang Decheng."


    Void of emotions, Yang Qing probed, "Did you tell him the truth?"


    Xiong Xiao said with gritted teeth, "I didn¡¯t dare to conceal the truth from the Hall Master. Manor Head, please punish me!"


    "Forget about it. What¡¯s done is done. I¡¯m sure the Hall Master already knew about this matter." Yang Qing appeared to be indifferent about it. He then added, "Is there anything else apart from this?"


    "After I answered honestly, the Hall Master rewarded me with two mid-grade Orbs of Will before sending me back. There isn¡¯t anything else."


    Xiong Xiao replied carefully, but hesitated from sharing all the details. He held back from mentioning that Huo Lingxiao expressed his admiration for Xiong Xiao¡¯s abilities, and that he would be promoted once his cultivation base increased.


    He already held the position of Mountain Chieftain. What would a promotion mean then? Wouldn¡¯t that mean he¡¯d be a Manor Head?


    The whole situation kept Xiong Xiao in a constant state of delight. One could see that Huo Lingxiao had effortlessly nted a seed in Xiong Xiao¡¯s heart. Should a chance arise, sooner orter the seed would blossom and bear fruit.


    Except that, he would never dare to inform Yang Qing about this.


    Yang Qing tilted his head slightly, ncing at Xiong Xiao with a calm expression. When he turned around, however, he gazed sharply into the distance, his eyes deeply filled with suspicion. It was unclear how much he really trusted in Xiong Xiao¡¯s words.


    As someone who had been fought over by two Hall Masters, he, Yang Qing, was naturally not a simpleton. Huo Lingxiao¡¯s position and cultivation may be higher than his, but when it came to skills and strategems, Yang Qing wasn¡¯t necessarily inferior to Huo Lingxiao. He might even surpass him in that respect.


    To Yang Qing, the true meaning behind some of Huo Lingxiao¡¯s moves couldn¡¯t be considered as brilliant. He could see through them with just a single nce.


    Although he didn¡¯t know what exactly had been discussed between Huo Lingxiao and Xiong Xiao, he was aware that their meeting had resulted in a link being formed between Xiong Xiao and the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall.


    The logic behind this was simple. It meant that Xiong Xiao was now acquainted with the Hall Master and had conversed with him in private.


    For instance, for the rich and influential households in the secr world, it was perhaps difficult for an ordinarymoner to enter and meet with the master of the household. However, if they had a prior connection beforehand, that was a different matter altogether.


    If they paid the master another visit, the servants would naturally announce their arrival. Otherwise, nobody would know who they were. It wasn¡¯t as if a meremoner like them could meet the master of arge mansion just because they wanted to. Did they even have the right to meet the master? The servants would have asked that person to leave the premises without even dering their arrival.


    From Xiong Xiao¡¯s viewpoint, the situation was the same. Under normal circumstances, what right did a small Mountain Chieftain like him have to meet the Hall Master? If there were any matters to be addressed, it should have been handled by the Manor Head.


    As for the future, whether the Hall Master would request Xiong Xiao¡¯s presence again, that would all depend on Xiong Xiao¡¯s performance...


    Yang Qing sneered in his heart and didn¡¯t question Xiong Xiao any further. He gradually rxed his perplexed gaze, before turning to look towards Miao Yi. He then asked, "Since Elder Auntie called for you too, why did she ask you to head back?"


    Miao Yi was slightly at a loss for words. Like hell he knew why. He was only a lowly Cave Master. Theplexity involved with the higher ups was considered too far-fetched for him currently.


    "It¡¯s most likely that he realized my position was too low to warrant a meeting. Hmm, maybe when I be a Mountain Chieftain, he might want to meet me then."


    He boasted without shame, and earnestly dered his intention for a Mountain Chieftain¡¯s seat. He didn¡¯t even think about the likelihood of a person bing Mountain Chieftain just because they wished for it. Even if he did be a Mountain Chieftain, not every Mountain Chieftain could guarantee a meeting with the Hall Master upon request. It should be borne in mind that there were many Mountain Chieftains who had yet to pass through the main pce gate of Suppressing Second Hall, Qin Weiwei included.


    Inwardly, Xiong Xiao cursed Miao Yi for overestimating his own capabilities without any sense of shame.


    On the other hand, Yang Qing was unable to restrain a smile. This brat made it seem like he¡¯d be a Mountain Chieftain sooner orter. Daring to talk of this in the presence of a Manor Head? He really didn¡¯t care about concealing his own ambitions.


    However, Miao Yi¡¯s character had always been to his liking. He was immoral, yet was consistent in nature. He reeked of themon townsfolk, and ced great value in both affection and loyalty. If one understood his temperament, then it was easy to get along with him, so Yang Qing didn¡¯t need to worry much.


    However, Yang Qing was more or less still puzzled. Since both had been called forth, surely the Hall Master wouldn¡¯t reject meeting one of them because of his lowly position? He couldn¡¯t hold back the question, "Brat, did you do something wrong or say something you shouldn¡¯t have said?"


    Miao was hit by a pang of guilt. He almost did cause trouble, so heughed dryly, "I¡¯m an honest man. You should know that by now. What sort of misdeeds could I possibly do?"


    Yang Qing rolled his eyes and asked, "You consider yourself an honest man?"


    Inwardly, Yang Qing censured his actions. That bastard had destroyed his own mountain gates and pinned the me onto his own subordinates. He¡¯d even taken the opportunity to kill his own subordinate¡ªso honest, my ass!


    "Of course!" Miao Yi guaranteed. Instead, he cast his gaze at Xiong Xiao, revealing a mocking look. "I¡¯m not some filthy scum who acts one way in front of a person, and another way behind their back. He swears that he¡¯s fine on the surface, but then delivers fatal blows from the shadows."


    It wasn¡¯t news that he and Xiong Xiao didn¡¯t get along. And it wasn¡¯t as though Yang Qing didn¡¯t know this as well. At every opportunity, Miao Yi never hesitated to provoke him.


    Xiong Xiao red daggers at him. "Who are you talking about? You¡¯d better watch your mouth!"


    Miao Yi instantly countered. "I¡¯m not even talking about you, so why are you replying? What are you feeling guilty about? What, are you looking for a fight?" Without saying anything more, he shed out the Inversed-Scale Spear in his hand, pointing it at Xiong Xiao¡¯s nose and yelled, "Filthy scum! Are you bold enough to fight me to the death?!"


    This was too sudden! Xiong Xiao was rendered speechless. It wasn¡¯t meant to turn out this way, so for a moment, he didn¡¯t know how to react...


    But soon, he also took out his de and brandished it, saying with uncontroble anger, "As if I¡¯m scared of you!"


    "Manor Head, you¡¯ve seen it. I¡¯m not talking about him and yet he insists that I must be. He¡¯s the one who started this fight, so if I happen to hurt him by ident, I¡¯m not..."


    "SILENCE!" Yang Qing roared sternly. "Both of you can fight to your heart¡¯s content if you don¡¯t want to work for South Edict Manor anymore!"


    As he said this, he shot a merciless re at Miao Yi. He realized that this brat was getting more and more rebellious. A mere Cave Master dared to challenge a Mountain Chieftain so brazenly.


    Miao Yi hurriedly and obediently put away the Inversed-Scale Spear and pretended to be an obedient, honest man. Well, he had to act more obedient than Xiong Xiao, at least.


    He knew a fight wouldn¡¯t break out if Yang Qing was present. He only intended to provoke Xiong Xiao into striking out at him, and then he would have the excuse to lead his troops and wreck havoc on Xiong Xiao¡¯s territory. Otherwise, by the time spring arrived, bringing with it warmer weather, then what would happen to those corpses hanging in East Arrival Cave?


    Xiong Xiao was angry beyond measure, dying to skin Miao Yi alive. At the same time, regret filled his heart as to why he had provoked the wrath of such a troublesome bastard to begin with?


    However, what happened then was then. At the time, Xiong Xiao honestly hadn¡¯t expected he¡¯d face any difficulty in killing Miao Yi and had assumed he could get rid of him effortlessly and without any issues. In order to exact revenge on behalf of his handmaiden, he wasn¡¯t opposed to making a fool of Miao Yi. Instead, he¡¯d stirred up more trouble for himself, and was being frequently ndered as filthy scum. If this went on, Xiong Xiao was going to be the joke of South Edict Manor.


    If he had known all this from the start, either he would have avoided Miao Yi entirely, or unleashed his full power to kill him off in one sweep when he had the chance...


    The troops made their way unhindered, rushing towards Ever Peace Manor. Yang Qing didn¡¯t dismiss the Mountain Chieftains and had instead summoned them to discuss matters of importance.


    This didn¡¯t apply to Miao Yi. After Qin Weiwei said that they could return to their respectivends, Miao Yi did not behave like Gongsun Yu, who had waited for her at Ever Peace Manor so that he could protect her from harm and escort her back.


    If not for his line of duty, Miao Yi would love nothing more than for Qin Weiwei to die an early death. Since his own forces were massive in number, he might even be the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea. Who would have guessed that his forces would end up being the greatest in the entirety of Mount Calming Sea? The feeling of having an army for his own use was superb!


    He cupped his hands at Gongsun Yu when they ran into each other,ughing on the surface while ndering the illicit couple in his heart.


    Afterwards, he immediately departed with Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan, who had been temporarily stationed at Ever Peace Manor.


    Both were first-rate, elite bodyguards from East Arrival Cave, and if the circumstances allowed it, then he¡¯d never let them go. After spending so many resources on them, he wasn¡¯t going to let his efforts to support them be in vain. He¡¯d taken great pains to obtain those cultivation resources. He needed to quickly think of a way to deal with Xiong Xiao, he couldn¡¯t afford to dy it any further...

 Chapter 193: Discipline

    Chapter 193: Discipline


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    A rank at the level of a Cave Master wasn¡¯t qualified to attend the Manor¡¯s assembly, so Miao Yi left with the others in tow. However, chaos had erupted inside Ever Peace Manor Grand Hall.


    Within the grand hall, Yang Qing sat on his high throne, studying the crowd respectfully standing beneath him. He officially dered, "Everyone, the Hall Master has honoured us. From this very day onward, he has permitted me to govern both South Edict and Ever Peace Manors. I hope everyone will work together with me to avoid disappointing the Hall Master¡¯s great expectation!"


    On their journey back, Yang Qing hadn¡¯t leaked any information before this moment. Everyone thought the reason why the Manor Head had assembled them was to make preparations to withdraw from Ever Peace Manor, and make haste to South Edict with their men.


    They would never have expected the Manor Head to unveil such shockingly amazing news¡ªthe Hall Master had actually allowed Manor Head to control two Manors?


    What did this mean? When the Manor Head ate meat, everyone at least had a bowl of soup to drink¡ªwho would want to devote their life to him, if only the Manor Head reaped all the benefits? Wouldn¡¯t this mean that there was a chance the territories they seized would now belong to them?


    An uproar instantly broke out within the grand hall. Everyone was overwhelmed by surprise and happiness. After the first moring roar, they eventually settled down and together, faced Yang Qing seated on his high throne. They cupped their hands, and shouted loudly in unison, "Congrattions, Manor Head! Congrattions, Manor Head! Your subordinates are willing to serve Manor Head faithfully!"


    The crowd truly meant what they said from the bottom of their hearts. Any lingering apprehension they felt from their seizure of Ever Peace Manor¡ªfor fear of punishment from the upper echelons¡ªwas swept away by Yang Qing¡¯s continued bold actions and relentlessness. The Manor Head really had everything in his grasps.


    Yang Qing smiled as he pressed his hands together. After seeing everyone¡¯s expectant gazes, he knew they were anticipating his next words.


    He didn¡¯t disappoint them. "I already said as much. If nobody betrayed me, I certainly wouldn¡¯t treat everyone unfairly. The past few days have seen everyone stationed at two mountains simultaneously¡ªlooking after bothnds and manors. It¡¯s tough, so I want to once again divide everyone¡¯s governednd, and make it easier for everyone to administer. Are there any objections?"


    It really was true! The group was ecstatic; every one of their eyes were alight.


    Naturally, they would agree to dividing the territories once more to rearrange two separate Manors and mountains together. Otherwise, it really was too inconvenient. They all cupped their hands in response, and said, "We will follow Manor Head¡¯s orders without question!"


    Yang Qing nodded his head in satisfaction, but then began furrowing his brows. "There is one more matter that I¡¯ve been having difficulty with..., so I wish to confer with everyone."


    "We are all ears!" The group once again replied.


    From his seat between Qing mei and Qing Ju, Yang Qing stood up and sped his hands behind him. He sighed, "We are short on men. It is possible for us to manage two manors simultaneously, however, it will be difficult to maintain in the long run. The Hall Master empathized with us, and has given me three hundred men, who will be arriving within the next few days. At first, I wanted to divide these three hundred forces to everyone, but I wonder if it will really be alright for us to divide them all?"


    As they listened to the tone of his words, everyone instantly felt their heart strings were being tugged.


    The Hall Master had allocated three hundred men to them. If they scattered them all and didn¡¯t give any concessions, even if the Hall Master wasn¡¯t suspicious of them conspiring against him and they were firm like a metal bucket¡ªhe would still be upset, and those three hundred men definitely wouldn¡¯t just ept it.


    Were they simply going to be subordinates for everyone once they were sent down from Suppressing Second Hall? For cultivators with low cultivations, there wouldn¡¯t be any issues with such an arrangement¡ªbut what if they were established cultivators? If they actually decided on this arrangement, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for them to manage such a difficult person among their subordinates.


    This was him hinting that he intended to separate some of their territories from them!


    Nobody was willing. The smiles on their faces had disappeared without a trace. Yet they still spoke as one, "We willply with the Head Master¡¯s arrangements."


    That was the line Yang Qing had been waiting for. He nodded and said, "I wish to set aside one mountain from each manor to help settle them. I want to know if anyone here is willing to let go of one mountain?"


    It was easy to offend people with such actions. Should he have forcefully arranged it, nobody would have dared to have any objections regardless of who he picked, and they wouldn¡¯t be willing to part with their mountain either way. It was inevitable that there would be resentment. It hadn¡¯t been easy for them to battle for cultivation resources little by little¡ªthey needed a more effective way to gain it.


    Wasn¡¯t it for this exact reason that Yang Qing had resented Lu Yu, and decided to stage a revolt?


    Even if Yang Qing hadn¡¯t risen in rebellion, he would have seized Lu Yu¡¯s nuts from behind by colluding with outsiders, and worked to harm him from the shadows.


    However, such people were easily singled out by others. For instance, Yang Qing was targeted by Feng Zhihuan and, with his help from the shadows, Yang Qing had struck up a rebellion.


    The most important point was, that it would be easy for his subordinates to grow distant. If the hearts of his men fell apart, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to lead the team.


    When he spoke, silence engulfed the area below him. People were lowering their heads quietly, or ncing speechlessly at each other;pletely unlike their previously boisterous and exhrated mood.


    Yang Qing shot a gaze at Qin Weiwei from under his lowered lids.


    Qin Weiwei picked up on his hint, and stepped worth with cupped fists. "At the battle in East Arrival Cave, I knew nothing of the enemy, and behaved recklessly. In being tricked, I almost consigned the entire South Edict Manor to eternal damnation. I cannot escape my punishment¡ªI am willing to relinquish Mount Calming Sea!"


    Everyone was shocked. After that, all of them unconsciously turned to Xiong Xiao, to see how he would react.


    To tell the truth, everyone felt that Xiong Xiao was the most suitable choice. This bastard had three mountains in his clutches, one more than them. Everyone felt that it had been a little unfair from the beginning, but s, the man had indeed performed a great merit¡ªthere was nothing they could say about it.


    However, now the situation had changed. Who was Qin Weiwei? She was the adopted daughter of the Manor Head! Since Xiong Xiao had taken more than his dues, shouldn¡¯t he consider loosening his grip a little? Was he going to watch on impassively as Qin Weiwei fell?


    Everyone was in the same boat, they all had two mountains under them. There was now that punished the majority, so they didn¡¯t have anything to worry about.


    The bird that sticks its head out, gets shot. When Xiong Xiao felt everyone¡¯s gaze on him, it was as if he was under a great pressure. The topic didn¡¯t have anything to do with him, yet the pressure had suddenly fallen on him.


    Yang Qing didn¡¯t even nce at Xiong Xiao. Without any pretense of trying to dy it further, he firmly continued to eye Qin Weiwei as he nodded, and said, "It¡¯s good that you know your mistake. Alright! Relinquish Mount Calming Sea, and prepare to..."


    "Manor Head!" All of a sudden, Xiong Xiao stepped forth from his line to stop him, and eximed loudly with cupped fists, "I beg Manor Head to give Mountain Chieftain Qin one more chance. I have three mountains under mymand, I am willing to part with one!"


    For those following Yang Qing up till this moment¡ªunless they made some grievous mistakes¡ªnone of them had ever stepped down from being defeated in a war. It was normal to kill, win, and lose in the cultivation realm. Yang Qing always gave everyone a chance, and wouldn¡¯t kick someone out because of a loss. The most he would do was punish them.


    Once Yang Qing did this, he would have a hole in his heart. If he were to do this to Qin Weiwei now, then he could go after he, Xiong Xiao, next. When that timees, Yang Qing would have the means to make Xiong Xiao give up all three of his mountains in one go.


    Although the Hall Master Huo Lingxiao had given Xiong Xiao hope, it would still depend on Xiong Xiao¡¯s performance. The Hall Master would never allow an ipetent person attain a high position. He had to at least raised his cultivation level until he was qualified for it.


    Being stripped of one mountain, or having none at all; it was a simple decision to make. What¡¯s more, Yang Qing had always treat Xiong Xiao kindly, so reasonably speaking¡ªjust on sentiment alone¡ªhe needed to lend Qin Weiwei a hand.


    "That¡¯s not right, isn¡¯t it?" said Yang Qing, shaking his head slightly.


    Xiong Xiao once again cupped his fists to reaffirm, "During the battle with Zhang Decheng, the fault did not lie with Mountain Chieftain Qin. From before, Zhang Decheng had long ago hatched schemes with her as the base. If I were in her shoes, I might have been tricked as well. Even if Mountain Chieftain Qin was at fault, she has also done a meritorious deed. If it wasn¡¯t for Mountain Chieftain Qin destroying Zhang Decheng¡¯s scheme at the most crucial moment, all of us would not have the chance to hold two manors. In reality, Mountain Chieftain¡¯s great service was greater than her errors. Earlier, she didn¡¯t receive a reward, to my benefit; I have felt uneasy since. How can I watch as Mountain Chieftain gets punished? Manor Head already once rewarded Xiong Xiao then¡ªhow could you still punish Mountain Chieftain again? I am willing to offer one mountain. I hope Manor Head can understand!"


    "This..." Yang Qing appeared to be ced in a difficult position. However, Xiong Xiao¡¯s words were reasonable, so he couldn¡¯t help but ask everyone present, "What do all of you think?"


    "Xiong Xiao make sense!"


    "I second Xiong Xiao!"


    Everybody was speaking on behalf of Qin Weiwei, and Xiong Xiao. Qin Weiwei remained calm and still, but everyone could feel their heart ache for Xiong Xiao¡ªa mountain had been given away¡ªjust like that.


    Xiong Xiao understood that these group of bastards weren¡¯t actually helping him; they were helping themselves. They didn¡¯t want Yang Qing to begin forcing them to step down from losing in a war; otherwise, there was a chance that one of them would be out of luck.


    Of course, there were also some who were envious of Xiong Xiao¡¯s social status.


    "Since everyone has said so, then it¡¯s decided!" Yang Qing waved his hand, and pped the board.


    As usual, heplied with the majority when it came to matters of distributing their gains. Everything was agreed by them, without being forced by him.


    But in reality, everything had always been in his grasp.


    After that, everything else fell into ce. Dividing everyone¡¯s territories once again, brought the separate governance of two mountains to an end, by cing the territories next to each other¡ªit made it easier for each of the Mountain Chieftain to control and administer; and inevitably, their forces had to be shuffled around Ever Peace Manor, and South Edict Manor.


    Although Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t get punished again, she still only had Mount Calming Sea in her hands; it was honestly due to her current ability and cultivation base. Yang Qing had already made an exception for her by promoting her to a Mountain Chieftain. Should he allow her to govern two mountains¡ªit would be going too far.


    The remaining mountain was naturally left for the men of Suppressing Second Hall. A portion of them would be taken out to enter this mountain.


    After the assembly was over, apart from Xiong Xiao¡ªthe others were visibly delighted, and quite satisfied. The next thing they had to do was to invest some time into tidying up their territories.


    Within the courtyard, Qing Mei trailed behind Yang Qing and asked, "Won¡¯t Xiong Xiao grow resentful?"


    Even though the oue of the assembly just then had gone with the majority decision, those with keen eyes had already noticed that it was an oue steered by Yang Qing. Xiong Xiao wouldn¡¯t be unaware of that either.


    Yang Qing coldly scoffed, "Does it matter if he bears a grudge against me? I have always treated him kindly, and taken his side. What happened today was done to discipline him, so he won¡¯t think that just because he had a few words with the Hall Master¡ªthat I won¡¯t dare touch him. This was to make him clearly understand, that this still isn¡¯t the time for him to indulge in his fantasies. I can take back whatever I have given him."


    "The Hall Master met him alone. If you do it this way, won¡¯t that be a little inappropriate?"


    "There¡¯s nothing inappropriate about it. If I don¡¯t approve, then it¡¯s a no. If I can¡¯t even control my own subordinates, what use does the Hall Master have for me?"


    After a few days, once every respective mountain force had been decided, the Mountain Chieftains came to report one after another. The three hundred men assigned by Suppressing Second Hall were already in their assigned positions.


    Once every Mountain Chieftain left with their men, Qin Weiwei was in no hurry to leave. Instead, she stayed beside Qing Mei and Qing Ju for a long time.


    When she left, she also brought along fifty men. Although they couldn¡¯tpletely replenish Mount Calming Sea¡¯s troops, it was better than nothing. Yang Qing would never have allowed her to be short on manpower for long. Besides that, Yang Qing still needed to think of ways to replenish the remaining vacancies. He needed to set his sights on the avable sects.


    Riding without rest back to Mount Calming Sea, Qin Weiwei was in the middle of bathing her delicate, tender body in scented water; when she suddenly said to Hong Mian, "Take a trip down to East Arrival Cave. Check how the restoration of East Arrival Cave is progressing right now."


    Hong Mian was quite surprised¡ªdid such a matter require her to personally go? Yet, she still agreed in the end.


    Unexpectedly, Qin Weiwei clenched her jaw, and bit her lips before adding, "Yuan Zhengkun, Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao are now being sheltered by Xiong Xiao at Changfeng Cave. Come up with a way to let Miao Yi know. Don¡¯t make it too obvious¡ªyou can¡¯t leave any trace of it behind!"

 Chapter 194: Hong Mians Mission

    Chapter 194: Hong Mian¡¯s Mission


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Earlier, Miao Yi requested her help to find out the allocation of Xiong Xiao¡¯s subordinates, hoping to find out where Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group was. Although had she refused him without a moment¡¯s hesitation, this matter had always been on her mind.


    When she had gone to Ever Peace Manor this time around, she couldn¡¯t help herself from discreetly unearthing the allocation of Xiong Xiao¡¯s forces from Qing Mei and Qing Ju.


    If anyone else had brought up the matter, Qing Mei and Qing Ju would have been on their guard. When the matter was raised from Yang Qing¡¯s daughter, the two aunties didn¡¯t believe that Qin Weiwei would do anything rash that would disadvantage Yang Qing. Moreover, letting Qin Weiwei know more on the current situation wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing either, so they didn¡¯t conceal the truth from her.


    While cleaning her pair of white jade-like hands, Hong Mian and Lu Liu exchanged a meaningful nce with each other¡ªa trace of realization and doubt shed by their eyes.


    Lu Liu cautiously asked, "Mountain Chieftain, Cave Master Miao is a person who dared to be openly hostile with Xiong Xiao. Last time, I heard that for the sake of those three men, Cave Master Miao almost went head to head with Xiong Xiao. If Cave Master Miao finds out where they are now, I am afraid that he won¡¯t be willing to take things lying down."


    Qin Weiwei awkwardly shook her arms to flick off the remaining scented water. The arc of her reddened snowy white bosoms would make any person¡¯s heart race.


    She feigned a smirk as she said, "I almost died at their hands before. How could I not avenge myself? I can¡¯t do it in person, but since Miao Yi has never stayed put anyway, I can make use of him."


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu nce at each other. They had all lived together for many years, so they understood each other well. ¡®Mountain Chieftain, are you the type of person who would not care about the Manor Head¡¯s overall situation for the sake of your own personal grudge? You aren¡¯t type to use your own position to get even with another person! No matter how you try to feign it, you don¡¯t look the part at all!¡¯


    "Mountain Chieftain, do you perhaps..."


    Initially, Lu Liu wanted to cautiously ask, ¡®Mountain Chieftain, do you perhaps like Miao Yi?¡¯


    All of a sudden, Hong Mian shot her a ferocious re. Since both of them knew each other very well, when she caught a glimpse of Lu Liu¡¯s odd expression, she already knew exactly what she wanted to say and quickly stopped it.


    She actually held the same suspicion in her heart. Before, when the Mountain Chieftain had lost herself because of Miao Yi, it was already too abnormal. Women always understood each other.


    However, some words weren¡¯t appropriate to say. If the Mountain Chieftain truly liked him, then it was all the more crucial that they didn¡¯t say it out loud.


    Many years had passed, and yet, when had they ever seen the Mountain Chieftain enamoured with someone before? Even the Manor Head felt that it was a little strange, so he frequently showed concern on this issue. Others would not have expected it, but Yang Qing actually had a strong desire to fulfill his responsibility as a father.


    Now that the Mountain Chieftain finally managed to have this barest of notions, if they said it to her face, her pride wouldn¡¯t be able to take it. Just like a small ember, a casual breath would be able to extinguish it.


    Not only that, they could not be entirely sure just then. The pair¡ªMountain Chieftain and Cave Master Miao¡ªwere practically enemies. They never behaved normally the moment they saw each other.


    On hearing her unfinished words from behind, Qin Weiwei asked, "Do you perhaps, what?"


    Lu Liu secretly stuck out her tongue, understanding her sister¡¯s meaning.


    Hong Mian hurriedly interjected, "What Lu Liu means, is that thest time Cave Master Miao brought this matter up, didn¡¯t Mountain Chieftain refuse him?"


    Qin Weiwei avoided making eye contact for a moment, but quickly collected herposure and said, "How could I ever promise him outright? Do you think my position now is appropriate? That¡¯s why I want you to reveal it to him without leaving any trace behind. Do you still not understand?"


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu nced at each other, before agreeing in unison. "We understand."


    In reality, there wasn¡¯t a need for them to remind him as the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave was currently scheming on this exact matter.


    The Great Cave Master couldn¡¯t sit still any longer. He had been preparing to dispatch his subordinates to scout each and every location in Xiong Xiao¡¯s territory one by one. All of a sudden, he got wind that the forces of South Edict Manor and Ever Peace Manor were going to undergo arge-scale reshuffling, and were once again dividing up the territories.


    He didn¡¯t have any choice. Miao Yi could only wait until the territories of those men were assigned before he could strike.


    When he heard that Yang Qing was given administration of two manors, and was once again dividing the territories, Miao Yi had been a little hopeful. He reckoned that, as the adopted daughter of Yang Qing, Qin Weiwei wouldn¡¯t lose out. There was a chance that he could gain a small advantage as well¡ªwith his men, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for him to upy two caves.


    However, he certainly didn¡¯t expect the other Mountain Chieftains to expand their territory, while only that luckless woman, Qin Weiwei, didn¡¯t receive a single thing from it. Meaning that he, the Great Cave Master Miao, would not get anything from it either in the end.


    "I ended up being the one beingpromised by our beloved Mountain Chieftain..."


    East Arrival Cave¡¯s dear Cave Master was hiding inside his simple room, grumbling about his superiors before his subordinates without any kind of restraint.


    Actually, Miao Yi already knew all too well that with his current cultivation, climbing up to the Cave Master seat was already a special case. Anything higher than that couldn¡¯t be justified. He was just being hopeful, but with his dream crushed, he was still somewhat upset.


    When a person is upset, they tend to have a need to find another poor soul to vent out their frustrations, and Qin Weiwei was naturally the first on his list.


    He wasn¡¯t afraid that someone might leak news about it. He believed that the School of Blue Jade disciples wouldn¡¯t have any interest in telling on him, and he trusted Yan Xiu. So whenever he was upset, he would simply curse. He would curse whoever he wanted to¡ªit was his own territory. He was the one with absolute authority.


    At that exact moment, a subordinate stepped inside with hurried steps. He cupped his hands to report, "Cave Master, Elder Auntie Hong Mian from Mount Calming Sea is here."


    "Huh...." Seated on his wooden chair like a great king of the mountains, Cave Master Miao expressed surprised. "Why is she here...? How many people came?"


    "Two. She only brought one subordinate along."


    "For what purpose?" Miao Yi was slightly puzzled as he stood up and began walking inrge strides. "I¡¯ll go take a look."


    Meanwhile, Hong Mian was stunned as she stood outside the destroyed grand hall. Needless to say, what shocked her the most was the tragic sight of those corpses hanging in the chill wind.


    She had heard about this matter before, but never expected that she would still see this sight after so long and was at once disgusted by it.


    Secondly, she was shocked that East Arrival Cave was still in ruins. There was not a single human figure going about with reconstruction works. Whatever that had copsed, or were destroyed, were still in the same state; broken debris were still scattered about, even as snow cloaked the ruins. From the sight, how could anyone see any sign that it was going to be rebuilt at all?


    What the hell was this great Cave Master Miao doing?


    Furrowing her brows, she was beginning to suspect that Miao Yi was a maniac.


    If he didn¡¯t rebuild East Arrival Cave, then it was fine. However, not burying those exposed female corpses was too disgusting. Didn¡¯t he feel the same when he look at them everyday?


    "Elder Auntie, why were you suddenly struck with the mood toe over to my East Arrival Cave?"


    From far away, Miao Yi chuckled as he cupped his hands in greeting.


    After he made his way to her, Hong Mian pointed at the hanging corpses and frowned, "Cave Master Miao, what is the meaning of this?"


    "Hehe. It¡¯s to remain vignt in times of peace!"


    Miao Yi casually said so, yet a hazy look shed past his eyes as if he had just been stabbed in a wound.


    His own territory had been destroyed by outsiders; his subordinates raped, murdered, and hung there. Yet, a Cave Master like him couldn¡¯t avenge them, and let them rest in peace. Everyday, he thought of it as a disgrace!


    Was ¡®remaining vignt in times of peace¡¯ done this way? Hong Mian felt like vomiting. She once again cursed him as a twisted madman in her heart. This wouldn¡¯t do. When she returnedter, she needed to find ways to stop Qin Weiwei by any means possible. She would never allow Qin Weiwei to fall in love with this twisted bastard. Otherwise, her own sisters would need to serve this crazy maniac as well.


    "Then why aren¡¯t you rebuilding your East Arrival Cave?"


    "It¡¯s too cold and difficult to carry out reconstruction in this condition." Miao Yi once again muddled through her interrogation.


    Hong Mian was rendered speechless, realizing that this bastard had many excuses up his sleeves.


    Finally, Miao Yi asked her a question instead. "Elder Auntie, why are you here?"


    Hong Mian replied, "I was ordered toe and check on the progress of East Arrival Cave¡¯s restoration. But I never would have thought that Cave Master Miao would show me this instead. I am seriously at a loss on how to report back to the Mountain Chieftain on my return."


    Miao Yi cursed inwardly, ¡®Did she really need to send her own personal handmaiden to check up on him?¡¯ He was positive that the bitch was nning something against him.


    "I have a hundred, thousand followers under me. Rebuilding this humble East Arrival Cave is only a trifling matter. No hurry! No hurry!"


    Cave Master Miao chattered briefly, before inviting Hong Mian to his humble home to rest for a moment.


    For this, he had specially emptied out a wooden room.


    After he had spoken with her and figured that she was simply here to pick a quarrel with him, the Great Cave Master Miao excused himself by saying he had other matters to attend to, and left. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with her anymore.


    The task of attending to her was left to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. Currently, East Arrival Cave didn¡¯t have any other handmaidens.


    The main reason was that conditions did not allow for it. Staying in a shack in the mountains and fields, in a world of mountains and snow; even if a group of handmaidens came, they wouldn¡¯t be able to endure it.


    However, Hong Mian had came with a mission, not for the sake of enjoyment. The current conditions here weren¡¯t even suited for enjoying herself.


    After chatting with the two girls and getting to know them for a while, Hong Mian stood at the entrance, and reached out with her hand to an icicle hanging from the eaves¡ªshe broke it with a ¡®Crack!¡¯. Eying the ruins at the foot of the mountain, she sighed, "Your Cave Master is really too outrageous. He actually has the heart to watch his own delicate handmaidens suffer cold and hardships, by refusing to hurry the restoration of East Arrival Cave. And not to mention¡ªlook at your former sisters! He¡¯s heartlessly letting their corpses hang there, without care!"


    On hearing someone talk ill of their own master, the pair of girls bit their lips. With the other woman¡¯s status, they didn¡¯t dare to retort.


    Yet eventually, they couldn¡¯t hold themselves back any longer. Xue¡¯Er defended her master in a low voice, "Elder Auntie. That¡¯s not how it is. You have wronged our Cave Master. He has vowed that ¡®for every day he can¡¯t avenge them at East Arrival Cave, let them watch him for another day longer¡¯. Cave Master..."


    She wanted to continue, but Qian¡¯Er quietly pulled her sleeves, and made her to shut up immediately.


    Before Hong Mian, these two were still too inexperienced.


    "...." Startled, Hong Mian turned to nce at the pair. She didn¡¯t pay attention to their small movements, as realization dawned in her eyes.


    ¡®So that was why! For every day he did not avenge them, he would never rebuild East Arrival Cave?¡¯ She was the one who had mistaken the Great Cave Master Miao for a twisted bastard.


    Yet he really was quite twisted, using this crazy way to demonstrate his sincere conviction...


    Utilizing that information, she managed to find a way to leak information to him without leaving a trace. Shaking her head, she sighed, "Later, persuade your Cave Master to forget about taking revenge. Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group has already begun serving as Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao¡¯s subordinates in Changfeng Cave. We are all colleagues now; just let bygones, be bygones."


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er instantly widened their eyes in surprise. It turned out that those viins were now residing at Changfeng Cave...


    Recently while the pair were by Miao Yi¡¯s side, they always overheard Miao Yi and his subordinates talk about taking revenge everyday. The Cave Master always cracked his head over the whereabouts of his enemies, but it wasn¡¯t possible for him to search for them without attracting attention. Now that their location had been exposed, the two girls couldn¡¯t stop themselves from clenching their fists.


    They were also suffering at the sight of their sisters¡¯ bodies everyday. They wanted to avenge them...


    Silently noticing the pair¡¯s reaction, Hong Mian already knew that she had surely achieved Mountain Chieftain¡¯s purpose in sending her here. There was no need for her to say anything more; otherwise, it would be easy for others to be suspicious instead.


    The topic soon quickly changed to matters such as how was the scenery was around here. Somewhat unnecessarily, she began asking about the matters of the bed between the two girls and the great Cave Master Miao...

 Chapter 195: Debriefing

    Chapter 195: Debriefing


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Putting the two girls aside, even Hong Mian herself was ashamed to be discussing such an intimate topic.


    Yet, she had no choice. This time around, apart frompleting the mission that the Mountain Chieftain entrusted her with, there was another slightly personal mission slipped in because she didn¡¯t desire to see the Mountain Chieftain enter the pits of a living hell.


    Beforeing here, Lu Liu had secretly pulled her over and said, "Could it be that Mountain Chieftain really feels that way towards Cave Master Miao?"


    Hong Mian replied, "So what if she does?"


    Lu Liu had said, "We don¡¯t often cross paths with him. What if there¡¯s something wrong with Cave Master Miao... Sister, if Mountain Chieftain really gets together with him....We have to serve him in the future! You don¡¯t want to be disgusted too, right? Sister, please try and put more effort into it!"


    At this reminder, Hong Mian believed that she was right. Such matters were normal in the cultivation world. After finding their dual cultivation halves, some men would take their consort¡¯s personal handmaidens as their partners too. Some of them would brazenly do so while others would be sneaky about it.


    The pair knew Qin Weiwei all too well. She had always despised men who messed around in that area. If what Lu Liu said were to happen, Qin Weiwei would never be willing to take things lying down. When the time came, she was unsure as to how the chaos between master and servants would develop.


    Thus, the scene before her unfolded. Hong Mian wanted to get to know the great Cave Master Miao from every aspect. The questions regarding bedding were just a small part of it.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were not kids anymore. Naturally, they understood what Hong Mian¡¯s topic of intimacy meant, causing them to blush from sheer embarrassment.


    On seeing how bashful they were, Hong Mian once again reused an old trick of hers: verbally abusing and ndering Miao Yi beyond the bounds of propriety.


    Ultimately, even Qian¡¯Er couldn¡¯t contain herself anymore and exined, "Elder Auntie, Cave Master is not the sort of person you think he is. Not once has he done such things, he hasn¡¯t evenid a hand on us. He¡¯s never behaved as indecently as that!"


    Hong Mian had never counted on Miao Yi to be a real gentleman. In the cultivation world, the stories of masters bedding their handmaidens were toomon. Her sole intention was to find out more about Miao Yi¡¯s character. What¡¯s more, if the Mountain Chieftain really felt that way towards him, then that obviously meant that the Mountain Chieftain could be moved on that aspect as well. What could she say then? But she never expected to receive such an answer.


    Stunned for a long while, Hong Mian eximed in amazement, "You¡¯ve been together for so long. Cave Master Miao has never touched you in that way?"


    Which young woman would not yearn for love? Each time they helped the Cave Master to his bath, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s hearts thudded wildly with anticipation for what the Cave Master might do to them. Prior to being sent to East Arrival Cave, there had been a "mama" who¡¯d taught them in that area in order to please the Immortals.


    So the pair had already been mentally prepared, since they knew that sooner orter they would be partners of the Cave Master. Neither had expected the skills they¡¯d attained to be for naught, since right from the start they¡¯d never been given the chance to serve their master.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s expressions still held traces of embarrassment. One after another, they shook their heads to indicate that Miao Yi had neverid hands on them.


    "For real?" Hong Mian once again interrogated.


    Xue¡¯Er said with a lowered voice, "The Cave Master is not that kind of man."


    "You¡¯re still virgins now?" Beyond stunned and amazed by their answer, Hong Mian couldn¡¯t hold back from prying further, although she herself was still a virgin too.


    The two girls admitted it naturally. Yet Hong Mian still found it difficult to believe. There was still a man in this world who hadn¡¯t had a liaison?


    For this reason, Hong Mian disregarded her Elder Auntie status and hauled the two girls into the closest room. She shut the door and forcefully examined them thoroughly...


    And the resulting oue was two girls tidying up their clothes with mad blushes on their faces, while Hong Mian stared at them in utter disbelief.


    The truth surpassed a thousand words. The great Cave Master Miao had really never touched his own handmaidens...


    Havingpleted her mission after lingering for half a day, she had absolutely no interest in staying any longer, so she happily bid Miao Yi goodbye.


    After Miao Yi personally escorted her through the copsed mountain gates, he rubbed his chin, his eyes trailing after the figure vanishing at the distant foot of the mountain. He mulled over the weird gaze Hong Mian had looked at him with just now. He wasn¡¯t a monster, so he was uncertain as to what thoughts were running through her mind.


    He shook his head¡ªhe wasn¡¯t afraid of her. He was about to turn around and leave when he caught sight of Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er rushing towards him at a mad pace. "Cave Master! Cave Master! We know the enemy¡¯s location...!"


    "What happened?" Miao Yi told them to calm down and collect themselves before exining anything. He questioned them, his eyes ring daggers once he understood the situation. "F*cking shit! Where will you bastards run now?! Men, gather all forces!"


    He roared with anger. After containing it within himself for so long, he¡¯d finally found a way to vent out his fury!


    In short order, Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan rushed over with their men following closely from behind.


    Xue¡¯Er and Qian¡¯Er stood discreetly behind Miao Yi¡¯s back on both sides. They loved how majestic and awe-inspiring their Cave Master looked when he passed down hismands.


    As the grand caretaker of East Arrival Cave, Yan Xiu also took his ce next to Xue¡¯Er behind the great Cave Master Miao¡¯s side.


    On seeing that every member was present, Miao Yi grew calmer.


    If he were to bring along this many men to attack, the numbers alone would quickly expose them all. To top it off, Xiong Xiao and himself had a grievance with the other, so it¡¯d be difficult to pull this off without discovery. This n would make others suspicious of him, but they¡¯d have no proof of his guilt. Such were the rules of the game.


    If you were part of the game, then you had to y by the rules, unless you had the ability to create them yourself. Otherwise, it was better to obediently abide by the rules. If not, you¡¯d be crushed under the weight of the consequences.


    Ultimately, he ordered Yuan Fang to step down with half of the troops, leaving Lai Yuhan and the others to move out.


    After passing down orders to Lai Yuhan, Miao Yi took out ten face masks and handed them over to him. He reminded them all again, "You must capture those three alive. I want to skin them alive before the dozens of corpses hanging from the ruined beams. If by any chance that¡¯s not possible, then bring back their heads to pay respect!"


    "Understood!" Lai Yuhan heeded the order, turning around to distribute the masks by hand.


    This time Miao Yi had ordered him to lead his troops to set upon Changfeng Cave. He acted without dy, as his master Hong Changhai was eager to deepen the resentment between Miao Yi, Yang Qing andpany. So naturally, they had to fulfill it.


    With regards to Changfeng Cave, it was located at Miao Yi¡¯s old home, Changfeng City. Initially, Miao Yi had wanted to personally head there to seek revenge, but in the end he had to face reality, and give up that dream.


    It would be inconvenient for him to act on this matter with his strength alone, unless he were to put on that set of armor. But if he wore them, he was afraid that even an idiot could tell this had obviously been done by him. In the end, he could only let his subordinates handle the matter.


    As for the ten masks, they were remnants from when he¡¯d killed Madame Wu Hua at the Sea of Constetions. That woman¡¯s storage rings held a pile of junk inside, which saved him the need to prepare something simr.


    Soon, they rode their dragon steeds galloping across the snow, Lai Yuhan in the lead with his ten subordinates trailing thunderously behind him.


    Hong Mian had only just divulged the news, and already the men were marching out to seek revenge. The great Cave Master Miao really couldn¡¯t wait another moment longer.


    There were a total of ten subordinates; a Blue Lotus First Grade cultivator, a White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator as well as three more at the eighth grade, seventh grade and sixth grade, respectively. The remaining five were White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivators.


    With such a formation headed out to deal with Changfeng Cave, the great Cave Master Miao was brimming with confidence as he stood at the mountain gates watching them leave. If they could still fail with this many, then the School of Blue Jade had truly sent him nothing but a group of trash. If so, then the next time he deducted their pay, they¡¯d have no right to be angry about it...


    Night had fallen, and snowkes driftedzily down from the sky.


    Hong Mian hurriedly brought her attendant back to Mount Calming Sea. After penning in the dragon steed, she hastily entered.


    Upon hearing amotion in the dead of the night, Qin Weiwei and Lu Liu had guessed she had returned. Otherwise, the night patrollers would sound the rm.


    Seeing her sister and the Mountain Chieftain waiting for her at the main hall¡¯s entrance, Hong Mian swiftly went forward with a bow and said, "Mountain Chieftain, by luck I was able toplete the mission and havee to give my report!"


    Having confirmed that no one else was around, Qin Weiwei seized her hand and pulled her into the room. While they were walking, she once again verified the details of the situation.


    On the other hand, Lu Liu was fairly bouncing as she followed from behind, brazenly perking up her ears as she listened in on them. They acted exactly like three sisters.


    And as for Qin Weiwei, the woman was actually quite pitiful. As a child, she¡¯d never had many ymates by her side, unlike the younger generations of mortals. Ever since she was young, she had been brought up by Qing Mei and Qing Ju at Yang Qing¡¯s side.


    Unfortunately, Yang Qing had yet to reveal to her their blood rtionship with each other.


    For this reason, Yang Qing was overridden with guilt and aimed to fulfill his responsibility as a father. Not only did he wish that his daughter¡¯s cultivation could be more profound, he also hoped that his daughter could enjoy the happiness of an ordinary person. In fact, he was really worried about matters regarding his daughter¡¯s partner.


    And when those two handmaidens came along, Hong Mian and Lu Liu, they more or less became Qin Weiwei¡¯s best friends. In front of others, they scrupulously abided by the ¡®master and servants¡¯ rtionship. But behind everyone¡¯s back, they behaved as they did now, unable to interact seriously as a superior and her underlings.


    She dragged Hong Mian over and sat down together with her on the couch. When Qin Weiwei heard Hong Mian speak about the situation at East Arrival Cave, she was also slightly surprised. "East Arrival Cave has yet to carry out any renovations? Those ten corpses are still hanging there?"


    Hong Mian nodded her head and said, "I heard this straight from Cave Master Miao¡¯s personal handmaidens themselves. Cave Master Miao made a vow before the corpses that for every day he couldn¡¯t avenge them and let them rest in peace, then East Arrival Cave would stay broken another day, letting them watch him from dawn to dusk."


    Lu Liu drew back a breath of cold air. She eximed in shock, "This Cave Master Miao is truly a man of honor!"


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes flickered as she scrupulously bit her lips.


    Earlier on, she hadn¡¯t known whether it was right or wrong of her to do this, even going as far as thinking that she had been rash. Now that she¡¯d heard of the situation at East Arrival Cave, her heart felt indescribably at ease.


    "Mountain Chieftain. There¡¯s still one more thing I found quite interesting. It¡¯s about Cave Master Miao and his two handmaidens." Hong Mian suddenly giggled withughter.


    Lu Liu¡¯s mouth frowned at that. With that kind of rtionship, what other matters could there be?


    Qin Weiwei also frowned and sneered. "No man can be considered as ¡®honorable¡¯."


    "Mountain Chieftain, it¡¯s not what you think!" Hong Mian stifled herughter as she said, "Those two girls are still virgins."


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s expression, which had gradually turned cold, immediately stiffened. Dumbstruck, she stared at Hong Mian, a bit at a loss for words. There were some questions she wanted to ask but she couldn¡¯t say it out loud.


    Women were stubborn¡ªperhaps it was due to their strong pride.


    Lu Liu was also amazed at the news. But then, she asked curiously, "Really?"


    "It¡¯s true! I didn¡¯t believe it at first, so I checked the two girls..." Hong Mian sniggered as she exined the matter in which she¡¯d thoroughly examined the pair. Even she was thinking how absurd it was for her to go that far.


    The suspicion she¡¯d carried in her heart had dissolved and Qin Weiwei fell silent, a peculiar look shing past her eyes. Nobody knew what was on her mind, and she would never disclose her thoughts to outsiders.


    The two handmaidens¡¯ gazes seemed to fixate on her simultaneously, and they quietly scrutinized her.


    Unable to read her reaction, Lu Liu tried to tease her, "Mountain Chieftain, a man who doesn¡¯t fool around has really appeared. What to do now?"


    "What do you mean by ¡®what to do now¡¯?" Qin Weiwei replied without thinking, but then recovered quickly. She was immediately awash with shame and anger, and she flipped Lu Liu onto the couch and began to spank her. "You dare to tease the Mountain Chieftain. You¡¯re really out of control!"


    Hong Mian also pounced up to assist in spanking her, tormenting Lu Liu until she cried for mercy again and again.


    Once they were done fooling around, Qin Weiwei tidied up her clothes and stood up with a cold scoff. "Do you two think that I¡¯d take a fancy to just any man? Even if he had ten thousand good things about him, he still doesn¡¯t deserve to even carry my shoes!"


    Upon saying that, she flung her sleeves and departed from the room. Standing underneath the eaves, she looked up at the fluttering snowkes. Dressed in a skirt as white as snow, her gaze appeared a little lost, and that moment came to mind¡ªwhen she had been in great danger and then pulled up to safety onto someone¡¯s dragon steed.


    "Hold onto me tightly..." That stern shout would ring through her ears from time to time, asionally entrancing her.


    When she¡¯d hugged the tough and stocky build, pressing tightly against him, that scene was all the more unforgettable, forever etched into her memories...


    Walking slowly to the entrance, Hong Mian and Lu Liu looked at each other as they stuck out their tongues...

 Chapter 196: Caught Them!

    Chapter 196: Caught Them!


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    At Changfeng Cave, the chill night had frozen the ground solid.


    From a distant mountain forest, ten riders came and lightly treaded their way through the snow. They finally came to a halt on the mountain peak, and surveyed the dimly lit region from their elevated and far-off position.


    Once night had fallen, the ten riders changed into white garbs.


    After scouting about in the distance for a moment, they met up to converse in low voices. Then one after another, they began untying their hair, letting it hang loose in a dishevelled mess on their shoulders, and each fastened a mask on their face.


    Matters which didn¡¯t abide by the rules could be acted upon in the dark, but their identities must not be exposed¡ªMiao Yi had already warned them repeatedly on this.


    It was simr to before, when Xiong Xiao wanted to get rid of Miao Yi. He could only do so behind everyone¡¯s back, and would have never dared to act in the open.


    At the head, Lai Yuhan sat on his dragon steed and scanned his surroundings, then slowly raised his hand to signal.


    Three riders, a White Lotus Eight Grade, seventh grade and sixth grade cultivator, immediately scattered. They wound their way through the surrounding mountain range to guard the four routes leading to Changfeng Cave, including an additional one for this side.


    After making preparations, Lai Yuhan pointed out Changfeng Cave¡¯s location on the mountainside.


    The six riders behind him, five White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivators, and a White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator; let loose with their speed, and charged forth at a mad thundering gallop into Changfeng Cave¡ªno longer concerned with being secretive.


    On hearing themotion, a cultivator standing guard at the Changfeng Cave mountain gates invoked his transcendent vision to look¡ªonly to see six masked men with dishevelled hair charging towards him on their dragon steeds.


    Having seen such strange garbs, he obviously knew it was abnormal without even thinking about it, and his expression turned a ghastly pale.


    ¡®AWOOOO...¡¯ He immediately sounded the rm.


    After the rm sounded, human figures rushed out of their individual cultivation residence in Changfeng Cave one by one, and quickly prepared their defensive countermeasures.


    The gatekeeper didn¡¯t bother discovering the cultivation bases of the invaders. It went without saying that he was heavily outnumbered, so he turned and ran.


    Yet how could his pair of legs surpass the speed of dragon steeds? The masked man leading the charge swept the tip of his long spear into the ground, and flicked it upwards.


    Formidable transcendence energy manifested and sted out¡ªthe White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator was the first to act!


    A line snaked across the snowy ground, and with a rumble¡ªarge b of earth and snow was thrust into the sky.


    ¡®BANG!¡¯ It immediately squashed the retreating gatekeeper into the ground, only his face was left exposed and coughing out blood.


    The six riders rushed past without stopping to finish him off.


    Judging by the strength disyed, the gatekeeper being pressed into the ground and spewing blood, instantly knew that the invaders were no virtuous crops. This was at least the strength of a White Lotus Fifth Grade, but from the force used by the other party¡ªhe was afraid that the cultivation was far beyond a White Lotus Fifth Grade.


    The cultivator resigned himself to shutting his eyes, and pretending that he had been crushed to death on the ground.


    By then, the Changfeng Cave Master had already organized his troops, and was charging to meet the enemy head on. While closing the distance, he started bellowing furiously, "WHO GOES THERE?! YOU DARE TO ASSAULT MY CHANGFENG CAVE?!"


    Nobody answered him from the other party; they continued charging forward and finally shed with the enemy force head on.


    The masked man in the lead immediately engaged in a fierce battle with the Changfeng Cave Master; with the former striking out skillfully and easily, while thetter instead began feeling extremely fearful.


    The Changfeng Cave Master only had a cultivation at White Lotus Fifth Grade¡ªthe moment they crossed each other inbat, he instantly knew that he was never the other party¡¯s match, and cursed to himself.


    However, he soon realized that the enemy didn¡¯t have any intention of killing him. A spear strike sent the weapon in his hand flying, then the raised long spear immediately seized the chance toe crashing down straight onto the head of his mount, sttering its brain. The man didn¡¯t continue pursuing him with the intent to kill, as he continued to dodge. Instead, the masked man took a jade archive in hand, and closely examined the forces under the Cave Master one by one.


    Keeping in mind that among the six masked men who hade, apart from the White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator in the lead, the other five were all equal in strength with the Changfeng Cave Master. How could the men of Changfeng Cave ever hope to ward them off?


    Amidst the thundering noise of gstones flying about at random under the flurry of transcendence energy, snowkes madly swirled about. The men of Changfeng Cave instantly suffered a crushing defeat.


    However, it puzzled them that although the enemy had barged in with full force, and attacked them until they no longer had any energy left to defend themselves; they only killed the mounts, not the people.


    Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao were also mixed with the chaotic battle. Both of them, as usual, stuck by Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s side.


    Even though Yuan Zhengkun also had the strength of a White Lotus Fifth Grade, he couldn¡¯t handle so many men with simr strength working together. He grumbled silently in his heart, ¡®Didn¡¯t I just surrender not long ago? Why do I keep encountering this kind of situation? What is wrong with South Edict Manor? Why is it never peaceful?¡¯


    After blocking an iing spear strike, the dragon steed beneath him let out a cry before copsing onto the ground¡ªit was killed in a sh by a cold glimmer. Yuan Zhengkun swiftly dodged out of the way, and leapt off.


    Within a short time, all of the mounts belonging to the troops of Changfeng Cave had been killed. One by one, the men recoiled and huddled about the Changfeng Cave Master¡¯s sides.


    The six masked men already had already urged their steeds into a line, and raised their spears.


    "Who the hell are you?! Why are you attacking my Changfeng Cave tonight?!" asked the Changfeng Cave Master in a fit of rage.


    To his surprise, the head cultivator simply swept his gaze through the crowd with the jade archive in hand, then abruptly pointed at Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group, and delivered an ultimatum. "Those three! Hand them over to us, and I will let you all live. Otherwise, we will show no mercy, and ughter everyone!"


    The five riders by his side swiftly shot out, and charged straight towards the trio.


    Shocked, Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group seemed to understand something in that instant.


    ¡®Why were they the only ones being targeted?¡¯ The trio didn¡¯t need to think very much to figure out who they had an enmity with. They could roughly guess who these invaders were.


    "RUN!" Crying out in terror, Yuan Zhengkun, Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao immediately turned tail, and ran.


    Yet how could they ever outrun dragon steeds?


    When the sound of the wind being sliced came from behind, the trio quickly raised their spears to block.


    ¡®BANG! CLANG! BANG!¡¯ Three sounds rang out with a trembling note. The weapons in the hands of Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group were either swept away, or jolted out of their grip.


    Several loud ¡®BANG!¡¯ sounds followed immediately after¡ªthe trio were brutally knocked back by five charging dragon steeds in a sharp wedge formation, and were sent flying. The results were hardly surprising after being disadvantaged by the loss of their dragon steeds.


    Even a cultivator at the Blue Lotus realm wouldn¡¯t dare collide head on with a dragon steed, let alone the three of them.


    The impact of the dragon steeds was rming¡ªthe crisp fracturing of their bones was clearly audible in the night, as they coughed out blood.


    The five riders quickly overtook them, and struck with their spears¡ªpiercing through the trio¡¯s guts. Then, raising their spears into an overhead swing, again brought the trio crashing down to earth.


    The trio copsed where theyy on the ground, coughing up blood and screaming in terror. The five riders again swiftly turned back in their direction. Scared shitless, the trio covered their bleeding guts, and cried out in a panic, "SURRENDER! WE SURRENDER! AH..."


    The five riders continued charging over;pletely ignoring their pleas to surrender. The long spears in their hands jabbed out in quick sessions, thoroughly crushing their ability to fight back.


    Crippled, the three bodies continued to wail in anguish as they were picked up by three of the riders.


    "AWOOOOOO...." the leading masked man with dishevelled hair unleashed a long howl as he faced the snowy night sky. It was a signal of sess to the four men who were guarding their escape routes in the surrounding mountains¡ªtheir failsafe, should they need to flee.


    Soon after, he turned his dragon steed around, and swiftly departed with the five riders trailing after him.


    Sure enough, they fulfilled their promise and didn¡¯t attack any of the others.


    As for the men of Changfeng Cave, none of them dared to actually strike after the threat from the masked leader, because the enemy forces really had the strength topletely ughter them without resistance!


    To top it all off, both manors knew of the grudge between Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi. After Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group was assigned to them as subordinates, the Changfeng Cave Master had already been worried that the insane Miao Yi woulde to seek vengeance.


    Obviously, since Miao Yi would even dare to fight head on with Xiong Xiao, he wouldn¡¯t be afraid of a mere Changfeng Cave!


    ¡®As expected...¡¯ the Changfeng Cave Master ground his teeth and said, "This was definitely done by that insane Miao Yi. I heard that his East Arrival Cave recruited twenty experts, and he actually used them today on my Changfeng Cave! Fuck!"


    Near him, someone immediately asked, "Cave Master, should we give chase?"


    The Changfeng Cave Master turned around, and spat in his face. "Chase? What chase? We don¡¯t even have mounts anymore! What are we going to pursue them with? Even if we catch up to them, do you seriously think they won¡¯t dare wipe us out? We can¡¯t afford to deal with this matter! Let the Mountain Chieftain handle it himself!"


    The moment the ten riders met once more within the snowy forest in the dead of the night, Lai Yuhan lifted the hair of the three wailing captives to confirm their identities. After that, he motioned with hisrge hands, "MOVE!"


    The ten riders immediately left with a thunderous mour...


    The next afternoon, the ten riders had crossed several fields and mountains paths throughout their journey, before finally arriving at East Arrival Cave.


    Dismounting from his dragon steed, Lai Yuhan quickly hurried over to the shack that the Cave Master currently resided in, and bumped right into the Great Cave Master Miao, who heading out after hearing themotion; he had been immersed in cultivation.


    Leaving the doorway, Miao Yi narrowed his eyes at the foot of the mountain, and said with a smirk, "Have youpleted the task?"


    "With luck, we were able toplete the mission sessfully. We have caught them."


    Lai Yuhan cupped his fists, and reported the oue. While he was exining, he led Miao Yi down to the base of the mountain.


    "Did it go without any problems?"


    "It went well."


    "You lot didn¡¯t kill anyone else from Changfeng Cave, right?"


    "No. We went ording to the Cave Master¡¯s orders. We have only injured them and killed no one."


    "Great job! Except that we¡¯ve let that scum Xiong Xiao off easily. I¡¯ll wait for him to pick a fight with me!" Miao Yi mouth twisted as heughed coldly.


    The sensation of having your men carrying out orders without the need to personally risk oneself was amazing.


    His first instincts had been to kill every single man under Xiong Xiao, and let him have a taste of being a lone Mountain Chieftain.


    However, that wasn¡¯t very realistic. Evenpletely wiping out all of Xiong Xiao¡¯s forces in one cave, was already not a small matter to begin with. South Edict would undoubtedly topple the heavens to investigate the matter thoroughly. If he were caught, Yang Qing would never let Miao Yi off.


    Yet since Xiong Xiao had acted the same, then Miao Yi could pull the exact same trick. ¡®Weren¡¯t you, Xiong Xiao, able to send over your masked subordinates to kill me. Refusing to admit it, even if you were to be beaten to death and caught red-handed?¡¯


    ¡®This time, I¡¯ve sent masked men of my own to wreck havoc in your territory. Not killing anyone else, and simply capturing Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group was to let you, Xiong Xiao, know that I am the main perpetrator. When the timees, I will never admit to it too. What can you do to me without any evidence? Are you going to forcefully pin it on me?¡¯


    Recalling the events from before when Yang Qing sent Qing Mei over to pass on a message saying that¡ªif there came a day where he, Miao Yi, was able to rece Xiong Xiao¡¯s position in South Edict Manor, Yang Qing would let him take over Xiong Xiao¡¯s Mountain.


    Miao Yi regretted that his own cultivation base was still too low, and that he didn¡¯t have many forces in hand. His foundation was still too weak; it wasn¡¯t enough for him to oversee Xiong Xiao¡¯s territory.


    Looking at it more objectively, it was impossible for a White Lotus Third Grade cultivator to be a Mountain Chieftain, being a Cave Master was already considered a difficult proposition.


    Were it not for this fact, Miao Yi would definitely have led his troops to openly seize Xiong Xiao¡¯s territory without hesitation, and directly eliminate that beast.


    While he really wished to kill Xiong Xiao, it was difficult for him to brazenly trigger a dispute within South Edict Manor.


    Provoking a dispute was certainly possible for him, but the most crucial point was, he had to end it. For example, after killing Xiong Xiao, he needed to instantly seize control of Xiong Xiao¡¯s territory.


    He couldn¡¯t just kill Xiong Xiao, and leave behind a chaotic mess. The Manor Head would have to clean up after him, and appoint another capable person to tidy up Xiong Xiao¡¯s territory, or the like.


    That wasn¡¯t realistic. If Yang Qing seriously did that, besides outsiders suspecting that it was done under his orders; the hearts of the men would waver, and the rules would be aplete mess.


    In the future, what if anyone with a grudge continued to do such a thing? After having done it, have Yang Qing clean up the mess again? Otherwise, why was Miao Yi alone allowed to do such things, and others were forbidden to do it?


    Would Yang Qing be able to clean up every mess that was made? Truly, this was why the rules were necessary!


    Thus, Miao Yi intentionally gave the game away, and let Xiong Xiao know that he was the perpetrator¡ªhoping that it was enough to provoke Xiong Xiao into starting a fight.


    If Xiong Xiao was the one to single him out first, nobody would say anything about him even if he killed Xiong Xiao. Everyone would abide by the rules!

 Chapter 197: Skinned Alive

    Chapter 197: Skinned Alive


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Clouds filled the sky overhead, as a chill wind blew.


    ¡®SMACK!¡¯ Pathetically battered, and on the verge of death¡ªYuan Zhengkun, Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao were mercilessly thrown to the ground.


    If it were the normal folks in their shoes, they would have already died much earlier. The trio were using their transcendence energy to keep their heart beat from stopping, barely keeping themselves alive.


    Of course the main reason was that the men who captured them hadn¡¯t done the deed, or else¡ª how could they still be alive?


    As their faces crashed into the icy snow, they began shivering; the fog in each of their minds slowly receded, and they gradually lifted their heads.


    The threey on their stomachs at the foot of the steps leading to the destroyed East Arrival Grand Hall. The moment they raised their heads, they caught sight of the twelve unsightly corpses¡ªstiff from the cold as they hung from the destroyed beams of the East Arrival Grand Hall.


    Why were these corpses still hanging here? Their pupils shrank, and their hearts were instantly racing.


    This was their handiwork. How could they not know where they were?


    There was no one in front of them apart from the hanging cadavers. The three desperately twisted their heads to look about, and found the nine masked men with disheveled hair behind them, encircling them in a half-fanned position. One by one, they began taking off their masks, revealing their true faces.


    From afar, a grating sound pierced their ears.


    Miao Yi was letting the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand drag; as the tip scraped against the ground¡ªit drew a line in the snow. The friction between the metal and gstones gave birth to a terrible sound that raked at everyone¡¯s ears.


    Qian-Er and Xue¡¯Er were following behind him on either sides. Simrly, the dishevelled Lai Yuhan, and Yan Xiu trailed after them; along with Yuan Fang and the rest in tow. The entire East Arrival Cave was walking toward the ruins of the East Arrival Grand Hall.


    On a cedar tree by the mountains, Yao Ruoxian sat on a branch that jutted out, with one leg hung over the other; he was cradling one of his wide sleeves. He opened the mouth of the sleeve to peek at the eighty-five mantids crawling inside.


    After he chucked a piece of Gold Crystal in, a frenzied crunching sound broke out that would make any person¡¯s blood run cold.


    Yao Ruoxian was attending to the mantids as though they were his ancestors. He tilted his head to cast a nce in the direction of the East Arrival Grand Hall, and chuckled to himself, muttering, "This brat is really persistent. He actually caught them."


    As Miao Yi and his entourage stalked over, the nine men encircling Yuan Zhengkun and his group immediately parted in two, opening up a path.


    The trio¡¯s bloodied chests began heaving up and down urgently, their eyes widening in fear as they watched Miao Yi gradually inching closer towards them with his spear in tow.


    After personally verifying the trio¡¯s identities, Miao Yi¡¯s lips curled into a knowing smile; he chuckled as he said, "I trust the three of you have been well since west met!"


    On seeing these three again, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er ground their teeth in hatred. Gazing at the hanging corpses of their sisters, they recalled the scene where they watched on helplessly as their sisters were being defiled; their eyes reddening once more.


    Yan Xiu was ready to shoot mes from his widened eyes, his fists tightened until cracking sounds rang out.


    Their bodies were extremely weak; they struggled to mber up to their feets, but they were already spent. As they faced Miao Yi slowly closing in on them with his spear, they could only push themselves back slightly. They could already imagine what would transpire, and were frightened out of their wits.


    As the saying went, ¡®Death isn¡¯t terrifying. Only the moment before Death itself¡¯.


    All of a sudden, Miao Yi stopped dead in his tracks before them¡ª¡®BOOM!¡¯¡ªhe abruptly stabbed the long spear into the ground.


    The trio were startled by his actions. After groaning in pain the entire night, Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s voice was coarse as he hissed, "Surrender! I surrender! Please don¡¯t kill us! I surrender..."


    Li Xin and Sun Jiaojiao also desperately pleaded for mercy, "Surrender! We surrender..."


    "HAHAHA!" Miao Yiughed long and hard, facing the sky as he stood and supported himself with his spear. Suddenly, he ceased and stared at the three, breaking into a cold sneer, "Do you take me for a fool? Should I ept your surrender after seizing you from Xiong Xiao¡¯s grasp¡ªwould I be doing it because I fear that they can¡¯t find enough evidence to use against me?"


    The trio were taken aback. That was true¡ªif they had fallen into another¡¯s hands, they could still perhaps surrender. However, Miao Yi and Xiong Xiao were of the same mold. If Miao Yi were to ept their surrender, wouldn¡¯t that prove that Miao Yi was the one who hadunched a night raid on Changfeng Cave?


    In other words, the fate of the trio could only be death... They immediately panicked!


    Miao Yi was already pointing his finger at the twelve corpses hanging from the ruined beams, "They have always been waiting for all of you!"


    "NO!" Sun Jiaojiao instantly screamed. She desperately tried to crawl forward, making her way to Qian¡¯Er¡¯s feet. She hugged Qian¡¯Er¡¯s thigh and pleaded to Miao Yi, "Don¡¯t kill me! Please don¡¯t kill me! She can be a witness. Their death was not my doing! I never did anything to them! It¡¯s all on those two!" She pointed towards Yuan Zhengkun and Li Xin.


    This testimonial made Yuang Zhengkun and Li Xing pale further into deathly shade. Unfortunately, they had nothing to say in their defense.


    "Is that true?" asked Miao Yi, shifting his gaze towards Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    The two girls were caught between a rock and a hard ce. When the handmaidens were being raped, Sun Jiaojiao was a woman so she wasn¡¯t able to do such things. As for whether Sun Jiaojiao had done anything else after that, they had already been taken by Chen Fei at that time, so they hadn¡¯t see anything. For a moment, they weren¡¯t sure of how to answer him.


    Miao Yi got the troubled hint from the two girls¡¯ expressions. He nodded, and said, "Since that¡¯s the case, I will end you quickly!"


    ¡®SWOOSH!¡¯ Without another word, the spear quickly struck out from the ground¡ªthe sharp spear point impaled Sun Jiaojiao¡¯s heart from behind. Three streams of blood instantly spurted out from the grooves of the three-pointed spear tip. Qian¡¯Er was shocked, and swiftly backed away.


    "You..." Sun Jiaojiao lowered her head to stare at one of the keen tips of the spear faintly protruding from her body.. A mouthful of blood flowed profusely from her mouth; she used thest of her strength to nce at Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi¡¯s face was devoid of all emotions. He once again thrust the spear in his hand forward¡ª the sharp three-pointed spear tips abruptly burst out from her chest¡ªshining bright silver, and dripping with blood.


    ¡®PLOP!¡¯ The Inversed-Scales Spear was pulled back along with a mess of flesh, and bones, torn out by the barbed tip of the spear point. It was truly a fearsome killing weapon.


    A bloodied hole appeared in Sun Jiaojiao¡¯s chest in that single abrupt movement. She copsed to the ground; her body twitching for a few seconds until eventually, there were no more signs of life from her.


    "Yan Xiu, I will leave both of them to you!" said Miao Yi, turning to Yan Xiu. He invoked his art to clean thest traces of blood from the spear point.


    He knew Yan Xiu always desired to avenge Luo Zhen, but he simply suffered silently since he didn¡¯t have the ability to do so. Hence, he never brought it up.


    When Yan Xiu heard that, he instantly bared his fangs¡ªa sinister look warped over his entire face. He shed a de out of his storage ring, and with the de in hand; he charged straight towards them!


    "NO! NOOO..." Yuan Zhengkun and Li Xin screamed as they scrabbled back.


    Yan Xiu stomped on Li Xin, and stabbed Yuan Zhengkun with his de. He then proceeded to methodically strike out¡ªsevering the tendons on the two men¡¯s hands and legs, before proceeding to skin Yuan Zhengkun alive before everyone¡¯s eyes. It was truly an act without a shred of mercy. As he lifted the skin from his back, the entire scene was reminiscent of a horror film.


    "AHHHHHHH..." Writhing in excruciating pain and sheer terror, Yuan Zhengkun instantly erupted into a blood curling scream


    Eyes bulging in shock, Li Xin immediately fainted from the scene unveiling before him.


    The majority of them were startled as they stared at Yan Xiu. This waspletely out of their expectations. They never imagined that the caretaker had such a vicious and sadistic nature¡ªgoing so far as to cruelly skin people alive. Needless to say, each and every one of their blood ran cold at the sight of Yan Xiu¡¯s ruthlessness.


    The majority of the men were in the dark regarding the grudge Yan Xiu had with Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group. They were unaware that Yan Xiu¡¯s wife had been killed by them.


    Although Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er badly wanted to avenge their sisters, seeing such a bloody and horrifying scene before them made them feel nauseous. They simply couldn¡¯t take it anymore and quickly turned away.


    Miao Yi had been butchered pigs since a young age. He had lost count of the amount of blood and gore he had seen before. It was not like he had never killed people before, yet even he didn¡¯t have the desire to stay there longer and listen to the abysmal cries and blood-curdling screams.


    Putting away the Inversed-Scales Spear, he nced over at the twelve hanging corpses swaying gently in the chill wind, and let out a heavy breath¡ªhis oath had finally been honored.


    He then turned to speak to Yuan Fang, "There¡¯s a chance that scum Xiong Xiao wille for revenge. From today onwards, dispatch more men to stand guard in the surroundings."


    Yuan Fang replied with cupped fists. "Understood!"


    After quickly briefing him, Miao Yi strode off with the two girls in tow.


    The others also didn¡¯t have any interest in watching such a disgusting act any further. They too turned to leave, leaving Yan Xiu alone to wield his de.


    The stench of bloodpletely pervaded the air, after Yan Xiu was done skinning the two of them alive by himself. He sat on the remains of the staircase, both his hands drenched in blood; long-suppressed tears flowed down his cheeks. He was sobbing, and choking with emotion, as he said, "Little Zhen..."


    He was finally letting out the grief; the pain and remorse, that he had been holding back in his heart for longest of times. He regretted with a passion that¡ªbecause of his cowardice and ipetence¡ªhis wife had lived a pathetic life. While he had finally managed to summon up the courage to begin anew, the woman who had apanied him in misery for a lifetime would never have the chance to enjoy the same¡ªthe remorse he felt was beyond indescribable.


    "Master looks like he¡¯s crying?"


    Xue¡¯Er asked in a strange tone, as she stood next to Miao Yi by the window.


    Miao Yi¡¯s fixed his gaze onto Yan Xiu weeping at the foot of the mountain. Without saying another word, he returned to his couch, and sat cross-legged to continue cultivating...


    In South Edict Manor, Xiong Xiao still used Mount Shaotai as his main base of operations despite governing two mountains.


    Mount Shaotai was where Manor Head Yang Qing had risen to power. It wasn¡¯t appropriate for Xiong Xiao to abandon it, and take charge of another mountain as a recement.


    The Changfeng Cave Master had already arrived at Mount Shaotai, and was currently briefing Xiong Xiao on the circumstances surrounding Changfeng Cave¡¯s ambush.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s expression already began distorting when the Cave Master reported that the invaders had only seized Yuan Zhengkun¡¯s group. Xiong Xiao didn¡¯t even need the Changfeng Cave Master to exin any further to guess who the perpetrator was. Other people wouldn¡¯t have the leisure to go about bringing trouble to themselves.


    The more he thought about it, the more furious he became. A measly Cave Master dared to attack his territory! He was insolent beyond measure!


    Unable to control his anger, he mmed the table and stood up¡ªbellowing in fury, "THIS DECEITFUL MIAO YI! YOU¡¯VE GONE TOO FAR!"


    With a ¡®BANG!¡¯, the long table before him instantly exploded from the force of his palm; falling to pieces, and scattering sawdust as it fell to the floor.


    Shaking with rage, Xiong Xiao was akin to an enraged lion. He paced about the hall with a ferocious look on his face.


    Standing at either side of the chair, Chun Xue and Dong Xue were speechless. Chun Xue silently bit her lips. She never expected that the butcher brat from Changfeng City, who had to obediently follow Huang n¡¯smands, was actually so defiant. He didn¡¯t hold his own master in any regard at all.


    The resentment from the death of her own father and brother still gripped her heart, but she couldn¡¯t speak anymore of it. Now, Miao Yi had already grown in influence, and wasn¡¯t someone who Xiong Xiao could carelessly send his subordinates over to deal with unless heunched arge force to do battle.


    However, Chun Xue also knew that without a proper reason, mustering arge force was out of the question. She couldn¡¯t possibly allow her master to be humiliated for the sake of her family feud, unless her master was asking for trouble himself. Although she was the personal handmaiden of the Mountain Chieftain, it wasn¡¯t likely that he would be reckless for her sake.


    This time, Chun Xue had glimpsed another opportunity.


    However, she was disappointed when Xiong Xiao slowly began to calm down after pacing back and forth for a moment. He stopped pacing, and uttered in a low voice, "We should report this incident to the Manor Head, and let him decide."


    The Changfeng Cave Master was stunned. "Mountain Chieftain, are we going to let him go just like that?"


    Xiong Xiao turned an icy re on him, "Do you have any proof that he¡¯s the perpetrator? If you can show me proof, I will immediately lead my army to wipe out East Arrival Cave!"

 Chapter 198: Case Investigation

    Chapter 198: Case Investigation


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    The Changfeng Cave Master was at a loss for words. He thought to himself, ¡®Since you know there¡¯s no proof, what use is there to report this to the Manor Head? Are you hoping that the Manor Head will help you in framing Miao Yi?¡¯


    Little did he know that Xiong Xiao was now fearful of the consequences and the person he was currently afraid of was Yang Qing, the man who now governed two Manors and held a position of great power.


    As one of his oldest subordinates, it was unlikely that Xiong Xiao didn¡¯t know how difficult it was to deal with Yang Qing. He¡¯d gone from a nobody to a Cave Master, eventually bing a Manor Head who held control over two Manors. Everyone had witnessed Yang Qing¡¯s methods.


    Now, Xiong Xiao was beginning to feel afraid. It wasn¡¯t as if he didn¡¯t understand why Yang Qing had taken away one of his mountains. He had done it to discipline Xiong Xiao, and to make it clear that he knew the true meaning between his meeting with the Hall Master.


    It was evident that Yang Qing was issuing him a warning that he could easily take back what was given, so he¡¯d better be on his best behavior. Now wasn¡¯t the time for him to jump ship yet, otherwise he would have to face the consequences!


    Deep down, Xiong Xiao understood this all too well. Although the Hall Master had meant what he said, Xiong Xiao stillcked the qualifications to govern a Manor. If a serious incident were to happen between him and Yang Qing, it was obvious who the Hall Master would favor between them. It certainly wouldn¡¯t be Xiong Xiao, and he would be immediately cast off.


    This was simr to that time when Yang Qing had sided with him when he¡¯d gotten into an argument with Miao Yi.


    If he dared to brazenly strike out after being reminded, Xiong Xiao was afraid Yang Qing¡¯s opinion towards him would change.


    Honestly speaking, he was still very apprehensive of causing Yang Qing any vexation. He knew quite well that Yang Qing could keep him on tenterhooks to his dying day. Zhang Decheng had served as a warning to him.


    There was no need to be like this¡ªworried and at the edge of his rope¡ªall for the sake of those three prisoners of war.


    After he gestured with his hand to drive the Changfeng Cave Master back to his own territory, Xiong Xiao remained silent for awhile. He slowly drew in a breath of air, before taking out a jade archive and wrote an exnation for everything in the form of a report. Passing it to Dong Xue, he said, "Summon the spiritual eagle. Send this to Ever Peace Manor!"


    Dong Xue responded by taking the item, soon leaving in quick steps.


    Xiong Xiao then sat back on his seat. He tilted his head to gaze at Chun Xue who had her head lowered. He then gently patted his thigh.


    Taking the hint, Chun Xue obediently went over and sat down on hisp.


    Caressing her soft waist, Xiong Xiao took pleasure in the soft and warm flesh of her jade-like body, sighing, "I know what¡¯s on your mind. When have I not desired to kill that piece of scum? But now the situation is a bit different. For the time being, we must endure. The moment the right opportunity presents itself, I will pull out his tendons and rip his bones away to dispel the hatred in my heart!"


    "Everything will depend on the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s arrangements!" Chun Xue obediently replied as she nestled against him in his arms, slowly offering her own tenderness...


    Within the Central Lake Pavilion at Ever Peace Manor, where a beautifulke and vast mountainndscapes could be found, Yang Qing of two Manors was personally entertaining guests at a banquet.


    Those attending were the Sword Deviate Sect¡¯s Elder Hu Cunxin, the Jade Lady Sect¡¯s Elder Lu Yuhua, as well as the School of Imperial Beasts¡¯ Elder Cheng Shengtang.


    These three sects were the threergest sects in the realm of the Fifth Earthly Branch domain. Every single one of them possessed an extraordinary strength. And the three elders before him had attained the cultivation of the Red Lotus realm. Among them, the strength of the Sword Deviate Sect was the most valiant¡ªjust their disciples alone were over ten thousand in number.


    The three esteemed guests were all invited by Yang Qing, for no other reason than that there were still eight hundred vacancies under him. He would require men from these three sects to fill the seats.


    Actually, prior to when Yang Qing was still the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, he had already made the move to contact them. But to no avail, as their high profile statuses attracted greater scrutiny and so they were afraid to participate in such matters, fearing they would be targeted by the Realm Beyond Heaven. They had no choice but to take great care in their actions. Thus, with no further avable options, Yang Qing had to form an alliance with the School of Blue Jade and was forced to be under their control.


    Now things had changed. Yang Qing governed two Manors and was in a position of power. No one would voice out any objections if he were to directly replenish the troops under him. This was permitted by the rules of the game.


    The three sects gave thought to their disciples so they naturally agreed without dy, each of them sending out their respective Elders of the Red Lotus realm to attend the banquet.


    Truthfully, nobody was willing to give up their disciples to be used by others. But there were no other options avable. The world¡¯s incense and power of will were dominated by the Six Sages. If they didn¡¯t enter into the game which the Six Sages had set up, none of them would be able to get their profits.


    All sects were actually well aware of the tricks the Six Sages had up their sleeves. Their purpose was nothing more than to constantly consume the strength of each sect, and the replenished troops they received were used to fight and seize other territories for the sake of profits. Once the troops were consumed, they would again find another sect to replenish their troops from. Using such a cycle to consume the cultivators in the world, it was simply to prevent from challenging the Six Sages¡¯ positions and to allow the game to carry on. Ultimately, the true reapers of benefits would always be the Six Sages.


    However, they were seriously out of options. Without the help of the Orbs of Will, they were incapable of raising their cultivation bases quickly. There were also numerous disciples under them who wanted to stand out among their peers. The upper echelons of the sect would not be able to suppress them any longer, and for those disciples with no chance to excel, why would they listen to them? Thus, each sect could only help them to find a way out.


    Of course, such methods weren¡¯t entirely disadvantageous to the upper echelons of the sects. The sects had taken great pains to cultivate the disciples, so they would need to reciprocate the favor as well. For instance, they would need to give up some of the Orbs of Will they received annually to their sect.


    With this method, the disciples would be content and the upper echelons of the sect would be satisfied as well.


    Should the disciples under the sect seed, it also acted as a form of protection to the sect. For example, Sword Deviate Sect had a disciple who became a Hall Master, and the Jade Lady Sect as well as the School of Imperial Beasts each had a disciple who assumed the position of a Manor Head.


    But Yang Qing had learned his lesson from the School of Blue Jade. He would no longer again ce all his eggs inside one basket, so he invited representatives from three sects to meet him.


    The eight hundred seats would be divided by the three sects, so the three Elders were in low spirits as they each wanted to hog everything to themselves. Yet they were afraid to do anything to Yang Qing, who had all Six Sages acting as his benefactors. Inparison, the trio¡¯s own cultivation at Red Lotus realm seemed unimportant, and they found themselves having to sit beneath Yang Qing, upying the seats on his left and right, as they patiently exchanged small talk. They had to put on a smiling front and didn¡¯t dare to give him attitude. This was defined as having status.


    Qing Mei and Qing Ju constantly poured wine for the trio behind Yang Qing.


    Atst, they came to a decision. Sword Deviate Sect would provide three hundred men while Jade Lady Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts would each provide two hundred and fifty men.


    The three great sects signed the Commandment of Conformity with Yang Qing, guaranteeing to Yang Qing that there were no issues in the men they supplied. Should there be any problems, the three great sects would bear responsibility.


    Once the guests and host enjoyed themselves to the fullest, Yang Qing personally escorted the three Elders out of Central Lake Pavilion. He cupped his hands to bid goodbye over the pontoon bridge, his eyes trailing after the three Elders as they speedily returned to their respective sects, each of them cutting through the sky.


    He had just sent off the three great sects¡¯ Elders, when a spiritual eagle swept down from the sky. It perched on the railing by theke and cried out.


    Qing Ju stepped forth to retrieve the jade archive from the tube at its leg, revealing an odd expression as she examined its contents. She passed the jade archive to Yang Qing. "It¡¯s a report from Mountain Chieftain Xiong."


    "Xiong Xiao?" Yang Qing¡¯s gaze instantly shifted. After receiving the jade archive and examining the contents, he thought it was rting to some matter of importance. Yet it was just those two brats at it again. He coldly scoffed, "I fear that Xiong Xiao¡¯s usation is correct. There¡¯s a high chance that this was done by that brat. He really is a man unwilling to suffer losses. Xiong Xiao sent out his masked men to try to kill him before. This time, Miao Yi has sent out masked men to pay him back."


    As he said that, he casually passed the jade archive to Qing Mei for her to read. There were some matters that needed to be made known to his two handmaidens. By doing so, they would be kept informed and able to assist him in settling such matters if he weren¡¯t avable.


    Therefore, such personal handmaidens weren¡¯t just pretty faces who did menial chores. They were the most trusted of his trusted aides.


    After reading through, Qing Mei shook her head and said, "This is just a one-sided statement from Xiong Xiao. There is no proof that pinpoints such a thing was done by Miao Yi. How are you going to deal with this?"


    "What else can I do? That brat has made it clear he will humiliate Xiong Xiao. Xiong Xiao stubbornly denied his guiltst time, and now it seems that Miao Yi might do the same. How could Xiong Xiao himself not know? That brat Miao Yi is just a measly Cave Master and he persists in stirring up trouble. If I made him a Mountain Chieftain, what would be of him? Why did I ever ept such a troublesome kid? And now he¡¯s learned how to use the rules of the game to y the rascal." Yang Qingughed. Lifting his hand, he added, "Come up with some pretense and give an exnation to Xiong Xiao. Then send a message to Qin Weiwei and request her to investigate."


    Very soon, a spiritual eagle took to the sky, flying towards Mount Calming Sea at breakneck speed...


    Upon receiving the message, Qin Weiwei was slightly at a loss for words. The news had originally been leaked through her. She knew very well what was going on, except that she never expected that the great Cave Master Miao would move so fast. It had only been a day and even the Manor Head had caught wind of it already.


    Lu Liu cried out in surprise, "Cave Master Miao is really fast to act on such matters! Doesn¡¯t he need to make preparations beforehand?"


    Even Hong Mian was slightly dubious as she asked, "Is it possible that someone else has done it and purposely pinned the me on Cave Master Miao instead?"


    Little did she imagine that after she had divulged the news and left, Miao Yi had immediately sent out his men to do the deed. Not even a bit of time was wasted.


    "I¡¯ll go take a look." Qin Weiwei made a decision.


    "Is there a need for you to go personally?" advised Lu Liu. "It¡¯s fine if me or my sister headed over instead."


    "The Manor Head asked us to investigate. We have to at least look like we followed orders." Qin Weiwei denied the proposition.


    Soon after, Qin Weiwei brought along Hong Mian to personally lead five soldiers out of Mount Calming Sea, charging to East Arrival Cave posthaste...


    Once they arrived at East Arrival Cave, they didn¡¯t even need to investigate since both Qin Weiwei and Hong Mian already knew what was going on. This was because East Arrival Cave was currently undergoing arge scale reconstruction.


    Out of the three thousand conscripted from East Arrival City, around five hundred manual workers had already arrived, and were frantically working hard.


    The great Cave Master Miao was wealthy. He could afford to double the wages for all ten thousand manual workers.


    The piles of debris and remains were currently being cleared. The dozen corpses hanging from the destroyed beams were also gone from sight. The revival of East Arrival Cave was just around the corner.


    The great Cave Master Miao had sworn not to rebuild East Arrival Cave until he had gotten his revenge. When he got wind of news that the Mountain Chieftain had personallye to his abode, he had alreadymanded his subordinates, quickly rushing over to wee the Mountain Chieftain.


    Although he didn¡¯t get along with the Mountain Chieftain, the expected customs still needed to be carried out. He wasn¡¯t a three year old kid who couldn¡¯t even grasp this principle. He wouldn¡¯t behave that excessively yet.


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes flickered when Miao Yi came before her to greet her. She flung her white skirt and dismounted her dragon steed, walking towards the direction of the grand hall. As she did so, she asked, "Are you rebuilding East Arrival Cave?"


    Falling behind by a step whilst apanying her at her side, Miao Yiughed, "Mountain Chieftain is brilliant! Yes, it wouldn¡¯t be a probable solution to have everyone living in a shack for a long time."


    Walking next to Qin Weiwei¡¯s other side, Hong Mian couldn¡¯t resist the urge to stifle augh, "Cave Master Miao, didn¡¯t you say that the weather was too cold to carry out constructionst time? What made you change your mind this quick?"


    "Did I say that before? Oh! I recall now!" Miao Yi calmly smiled at her. He added, "It was because I have been enlightened by Elder Auntie¡¯s words which led me to change my mind."


    Hong Mian appeared stunned. "My words? I don¡¯t think I have said anything."


    Miao Yi cupped his hands. "Elder Auntie mentioned it before so I considered it seriously for some time. In the end I realized that even though it wasn¡¯t convenient for us to carry out construction in this cold weather, it was still possible to clean it up in advance. Once spring arrives, we will immediately begin the full operations."


    Qin Weiwei and Hong Mian subconsciously turned to look at him, their eyes clouded with deep emotion. They realized that this bastard didn¡¯t even need to n out a script for his lies.


    Suddenly, Hong Mian was hit with a pang of worry deep down. If the Mountain Chieftain seriously fell for a man who could easily lie like this, she was unsure whether it would be a good or a bad thing. Why did she feel so worried?


    Miao Yi felt thoroughly disconcerted from their sudden scrutiny. He coughed wryly, changing the topic as he asked, "Aftering all this way, what does the Mountain Chieftain require of me?"

 Chapter 199: A Welcoming Reception

    Chapter 199: A Weing Reception


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    What else did she need of him?


    Flipping her hand over, Qin Weiwei gave him a jade archive¡ªthe one with Xiong Xiao¡¯sint to the Manor Head. "Take a look."


    As he held it in his hand, Miao Yi could already guess the contents without checking it. It didn¡¯t make much sense for Hong Mian toe again with this vile woman just after she left otherwise.


    After he read through¡ªit was just as he had expected. He immediately began expressing his indignation, "I¡¯ve been framed! This is definitely a set up! Mountain Chieftain, you should know of my feud with that scum Xiong Xiao! You mustn¡¯t believe whatever he has targeted me with!"


    Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t admit it even unto death. Xiong Xiao had been able to act the same, so there was no reason for him not to do so.


    However, he noticed that the gaze Qin Weiwei was eyeing him with, had turned slightly perplexed. Hong Mian¡¯s gaze was also extremely strange.


    Miao Yi could only reassure himself¡ªhe had nothing to fear. He already made mental preparations earlier on should others discover the truth. In any case, he would never admit to it, no matter what.


    "Is it really none of your doing?" asked Qin Weiwei indifferently.


    Miao Yi firmly shook his head. "No! Absolutely not!"


    If he weren¡¯t rebuilding East Arrival Cave right now, there was a chance that Qin Weiwei might still have doubts, and think that she had been mistaken. But it would be a wonder if she believed his words now.


    She had a new understanding of the Great Cave Master Miao, and it vexed her a little. How could a person be like this? He genuine felt no shame whenever he lied.


    However, after giving it some thought¡ªshe realized that he really couldn¡¯t admit to it. She ought to understand his situation, but she still felt quite ufortable towards Cave Master Miao¡¯s character. "The Manor Head asked me toe here to investigate. I hope what you just said is true."


    Miao Yi gestured towards his surrounding, and vehemently said, "Investigate as much as you please! I¡¯m truly not lying to you!"


    He absolutely didn¡¯t believe that the School of Blue Jade disciples would betray him after the feud with Yang Qing. Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would of course, never betray him either.


    As for Yao Ruoxian, that old demon never got on well with others from the start, and wasn¡¯t willing to stick together with the rest. He figured that the probability of him meeting Qin Weiwei was zilch.


    Therefore, he was quite assured. They could investigate to their heart¡¯s content without any issues.


    Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t say another word. She merely nodded.


    Amidst the backdrop of mountains and fields, Miao Yi travelled by Qin Weiwei¡¯s side and personally remarked on their surroundings, exining East Arrival Cave¡¯s state of affairs and terrain. He was apanying her on her walk, and keeping an eye on the situation.


    After a time had passed, Hong Mian was slightly at a loss for words as she watched Qin Weiwei and Miao Yi asionally exchanging a few lines of affable conversation ahead of her. She lifted her head to scan the skies, and began muttering silently that the Mountain Chieftain probably wouldn¡¯t be heading back today...


    Miao Yi had originally thought that his dear Mountain Chieftain would leave after she couldn¡¯t find anything amiss. Unexpectedly, the Mountain Chieftainpletely didn¡¯t have any intention to leave at all.


    He honestly didn¡¯t wee Qin Weiwei. But s, since the Mountain Chieftain didn¡¯t say that she wanted to leave¡ªas a subordinate Cave Master, he couldn¡¯t well drive her away. If he really did do that, it was difficult to tell who would be the one to drive the other person out of East Arrival Cave when it came down to it.


    Miao Yi could only quickly find time to clean up his ¡®grand mansion¡¯ shack, and give up the wooden room he resided in to the Mountain Chieftain to rest in temporarily.


    During the evening wee banquet, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er prepared a table of scrumptious delicacies to entertain the Mountain Chieftain.


    The cooking skills of the two girls weren¡¯t bad. Before they were sent here to serve Immortals, cooking skills was one of the main focus of their studies. East Arrival City was afraid to neglect the Immortals, so they searched everywhere for famous cooks to teach them. Thus, their culinary talent naturally wouldn¡¯t becking.


    As well, the ingredients that East Arrival Cave offered to support the Immortals were extravagant as well. Practically everything that East Arrival City could offer was avable.


    As the sky gradually darkened, thebourers made their return one after another, after bustling about for an entire day at East Arrival Cave.


    In turn, Miao Yi humbly invited Qin Weiwei to the temporary drawing room to sit, whilst he sat by her side.


    Apart from himself as the host apanying her, there was no one else in East Arrival Cave who was qualified to sit beside her¡ªnot even Hong Mian, who was obediently standing behind Qin Weiwei.


    If it was in public, Qin Weiwei naturally wouldn¡¯t breach the order between superiors and subordinates, and request Hong Mian to sit down together¡ªeven though she usually ate together with Hong Mian and Lu Liu on the same table.


    But this time, she turned to tell Hong Mian, "Withdraw yourself, and have your meal."


    Then she turned to Miao Yi, and said, "Cave Master Miao, there¡¯s something we have to discuss in private."


    Taken aback, Miao Yi could only send the attending Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er away from his side, "Both of you, please serve Elder Auntie well."


    "Understood!" The two girls invited Hong Mian out. But before Hong Mian left through the doorway, she couldn¡¯t resist the urge to sneak a second nce at the two.


    The atmosphere inside the drawing room had turned a little strange¡ªat least, Miao Yi found it slightly weird.


    After entering the cultivation world for so many years, this was his first time receiving his superior, and it was also a first for him to have a meal together with the Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei. Moreover, they were having their meals together¡ªalone. He feltpletely ill at ease.


    Sneaking a nce to scrutinize Qin Weiwei, he realized that whilst she sat calmly in her white skirt¡ªQin Weiwei¡¯s face was actually quite pretty under the illumination of the oilmp.


    An oval-shaped face that was both delicate and fair; her jade-like nose, both gentle and beautiful; a pair of long, delicate eyshes, and sparkling eyes; along with the six snowy white jade hair pins arranged in the shape of a butterfly, locking her coil of hair tightly at the back of her head¡ªtogether, everything made her seem as though she had the elegance of a beautiful woman. As well, she was rather full in ces that should be perky. She was definitely a beauty.


    It was a shame that she had a heart as malicious as snakes and scorpions. He dared not speak highly of her character¡ªit really was a pity.


    As Miao Yi muttered how much of a pity it was, his gaze unexpectedly met with Qin Weiwei¡¯s, watching him from the corner of her eyes. The former quickly shifted his gaze to avoid eye contact, whilst the other turned her eyes away after being discovered stealing nces at him.


    "What? You don¡¯t even have wine to entertain me?" After sweeping her gaze across the table, Qin Weiwei quickly found a topic to dissolve the awkwardness.


    "Of course! Of course I do!" Miao Yi was flustered at being caught peeping at her.


    Wine? He had a lot. There were about ten thousand of them in his storage rings alone!


    Hurriedly retrieving a pot, he removed the sealing y and personally poured a full cup for the Mountain Chieftain, before pouring one for himself. He then sat down and smiled apologetically, "The conditions here now are not favorable. I hope Mountain Chieftain doesn¡¯t mind."


    The moment the fragrance of the wine wafted out, it deeply touched the heart. Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes immediately gleamed despite not being much of a drinker herself¡ªher eyes were fixed on the glowing amber in the cup. She nodded and eximed, "Just the smell alone is enough to reveal that this is not amon wine. I never expected Cave Master Miao to collect such excellent brews."


    "Hehe, it was gifted to me by others!" Cave Master Miao instantly twisted the truth, and extended his arms to invite her to it, "Mountain Chieftain, how about you have a try?"


    He never expected that Qin Weiwei would instead reached out her slender jade hands to lift the cup of wine towards him. "I give a toast to you with this wine!"


    "Huh...?" Miao Yi was stunned. ¡®Give a toast to me? What is this vile woman nning now?¡¯


    He hurriedly picked up his cup of wine, and mbered up, saying, "No! No! I should be the one to toast you!"


    After Qin Weiwei pressed his hands down and gestured for him to sit, she exined, "You rescued mest time. This cup is to thank you."


    "That was merely my responsibility." Miao Yi still looked as if he couldn¡¯t bear it.


    rms had begun ringing out in his heart. This vile woman was suddenly being so humblepletely unlike her usual devious ways. She must be plotting something! There was no such things as a free lunch in the world. Something fishy was definitely brewing. He had to be extra careful now, so he wouldn¡¯t be yed, right under his own nose.


    However, Qin Weiwei insisted that she wanted to thank him. So at thest, Miao Yi could only drink a cup with her, and considered it as having epted her thanks. Yet, the rms inside him kept ring more and more.


    As a result, Miao Yi attended her with great care, and was afraid to slip up¡ªgiving off the impression that he was treading on thin ice.


    Qin Weiwei wasn¡¯t dumb. She could obviously feel the distance between her, and the Great Cave Master Miao in his words.


    She initially wanted to seize this opportunity to ease the tension between her and Miao Yi. It had already been rather difficult of her to do this much. However, she didn¡¯t expect that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t appreciate the kind gesture. She didn¡¯t know what to feel inside.


    It was hopeless. Women were stubborn creatures, and she couldn¡¯t bring herself to lower her position andpromise with Miao Yi¡ªshe had her own pride. It was all she could do to move one step back and tone down her attitude, hoping that Miao Yi could grasp something. Apart from this, what else could she do?


    One can well imagine the result. Under the passionate and flickering oilmp, a table full of scrumptious delicacies were arrayed. Yet, the two people in each other¡¯spany found them tasteless.


    One of them appeared perplexed and reserved, while the other was vigntly on his guard. Both of them were utterly incapable of opening their hearts up to one another.


    This was the main obstacle between the rtionship of a superior and a subordinate.


    Miao Yi again poured another cup of wine, and Qin Weiwei drank it in one go. She didn¡¯t have anything else to say. The atmosphere became extremely oppressive as she drank another, then another...


    Halfway through the dinner, Qin Weiwei finally excused herself from the table, reeking of alcohol. Hong Mian helped her up, and left with her in tow.


    The moment she went out, Qin Weiwei icily muttered, "Let¡¯s go back to Mount Calming Sea!"


    "Mountain Chieftain, it¡¯s alreadyte. How about we wait until morning-" Hong Mian said, looking to the sky. s, before she could finish, Qin Weiwei¡ªstill reeking of alcohol¡ªshouted, "LET¡¯S GO BACK!"


    The Great Cave Master Miao even went up to insincerely urge them to stay the night. Unable to detain them, he could only personally escort them out to the mountain gates, and cupped his hands to bid them goodbye.


    The dragon steeds rushed away. After witnessing the group disappear, only then did the Great Cave Master Miao feel relieved. ¡®They finally left. There¡¯s no way they could trouble him any longer.¡¯ Flinging his sleeves up, he strode back withrge strides...


    In the gathering darkness, a rider arrived at Ten-Thousand Thriving Manor at lightning speed. Mei Yu leaped down from his dragon steed quickly stepped into the manor. After announcing his arrival to the Manor Head¡¯s handmaidens, he waited inside the courtyard with eager anticipation.


    He was formerly a Mountain Chieftain under Zhang Decheng. At the time, he already felt that there had been something amiss when Yang Qing baited the troops of Ever Peace Manor into a chase. But s, even when he had pointed it out numerous times, Zhang Decheng paid no heed to him.


    When war broke out between the two parties, he kept his eye on the situation and bolted the moment he noticed something abnormal. Fortunately, he survived.


    He thought about serving Yang Qing after that. But he knew, going back to being a Mountain Chieftain for Ever Peace Manor was an impossible feat. The subordinates who had devoted their lives to Yang Qing would be the first ones to disagree. In addition, his two personal handmaidens had been executed when Yang Qing seized control of Ever Peace Manor, making him grind his teeth in hatred.


    After he caught wind of the news that Liu Jingtian had been used by Yang Qing. He reckoned that if a chance was given, Liu Jingtian would want to take revenge on Yang Qing. Since they were in the same boat, he decided to swear allegiance to Liu Jingtian.


    In order to have a chance at making aeback, Mei Yu took on the entire task of scheming for Liu Jintian¡¯s revenge. As expected, Liu Jingtian gave him a chance to redeem himself.


    After the handmaiden reported his arrival, she came out and extended her hand to allow his entry, "The Manor Head requests your presence!"


    Mei Yu arranged his clothes and quickly stepped in. On seeing the seated Liu Jingtian, he quickly saluted, "Greetings, Manor Head!"


    "Mei Yu, it¡¯s alreadyte. Is there something wrong?" asked Liu Jingtian indifferently.


    Mei Yu immediately moved forward, and replied, "Manor Head, there is an opportunity for us to make a move on Qin Weiwei!"


    Eyes brightening, Liu Jingtian stood up and asked, "What kind of opportunity?"


    Mei Yu quickly shed out a map and unfolded it on the long table. He marked a point in the map and said, "Please look, Manor Head. Today, Qin Weiwei has brought six people from Mount Calming Sea to East Arrival Cave. I guess she won¡¯t be in a hurry to make her return after going there with such haste. Judging from the time, she will definitely be spending the night at East Arrival Cave. East Arrival Cave is just North of us. We can send men to swiftly end her!"


    "Killing Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter. Heh, heh, heh..." Liu Jingtian felt gleeful just thinking about it. Imagining the look on Yang Qing¡¯s face when the time came¡ªhe couldn¡¯t resist the temptation tough maliciously.

 Chapter 200: Masked Again

    Chapter 200: Chapter 200 - Masked Again


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    However, he wasn¡¯t a fool. He furrowed his brows and asked, "Is this information reliable? Are you sure that Qin Weiwei has gone to East Arrival Cave?"


    If it was only to take over a mere East Arrival Cave and kill a bunch of worthless pawns¡ªhe wasn¡¯t the least bit interested. That wouldn¡¯t affect Yang Qing in any way, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to seize East Arrival Cave for himself. He had no need to do something so tedious, without any returns.


    Mei Yu replied, "Not long ago, Yang Qing reorganised the troops of both Manors, and it just so happens that a former trusted aide of mine, was assigned to Mount Calming Sea. He finds his situation in Mount Calming Sea rather dissatisfying, and I have long since made contact with him to establish a channel of information. There is definitely no mistaking it."


    Liu Jingtian was inclined to agree, but after a moment, he hesitated before adding, "I have heard that the East Arrival Cave Master possesses unfaltering valor. Even with the encirclement of Zhang Decheng¡¯s two hundred strong army, he managed to carve a bloody path in and out¡ªand no one was able to stop him. Since Qin Weiwei has gone to East Arrival Cave, I fear that it will be no easy task to make our move! Even if we hurried there, we would still only reach the following day. By then, there¡¯s still a question of whether or not Qin Weiwei is still there!"


    Shaking his head, Mei Yu replied, "The rumors are slightly exaggerated. Your subordinate saw it with his own eyes. While it is true that this person won¡¯t be easy to handle, with his full body set of transcendent artifacts, the most he could do was run away. If we used brute force, as long as he doesn¡¯t escape, even I alone will be enough to take his head. He could barely face off against those White Lotus Cultivators¡ªagainst a Blue Lotus Cultivator, he will have no chance. Manor Head only needs to deploy men from a few Caves, along with one or two Blue Lotus experts for everything to fall into ce. Even if that East Arrival Cave Master manages to escape, it will be fine so long as Qin Weiwei remains behind! In the unlikely event that we fail¡ªwithout any evidence¡ªwhat could Yang Qing possibly do even if he knows we are the perpetrators? Would Yang Qing be so bold as to assault Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor again? Even the Suppressing Second Hall Master won¡¯t be able to save face if Yang Qing repeatedly trifles with Suppressing Third Hall!


    Liu Jingtian nodded with a sneer, thinking back to how Yang Qing had led arge army over and made a bloody mess of things. However, Liu Jingtian didn¡¯t have the resolve to do the same¡ªto charge towards South Edict Manor, or Ever Peace Manor; and look for Yang Qing to get his revenge. The main reason, was that he had no idea how to settle the trouble that would brew between the two Manors after the deed¡ªjust like Yang Qing had done. He couldn¡¯t afford to bear that responsibility.


    This was also why, he hadn¡¯t been able to find a chance to take his revenge against Yang Qing all this while. If only Yang Qing dared to bring his men over once more, that would have be the easiest solution.


    If he could properly settle this matter, he could show the Hall Master that he wasn¡¯t useless.


    As soon as he gathered his thoughts, Liu Jingtian suddenly mmed his palm and dered, "Very well! I will order Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Su Biao to personally lead a few Caves¡¯ troops forward. We shall teach Yang Qing a lesson tonight. Let him understand the consequences of angering me!"


    It would be a breeze; he simply had to slip in and out a short skip away, and the task would be done. Once Qin Weiwei left East Arrival Cave, it would be difficult to find another opportunity. He took action as soon as he said he would¡ªgoing back to quickly scribble down detailed instructions into a jade archive. Imbuing it with his transcendence seal, he gave it to his handmaiden to send out.


    One after another, spirit eagles swiftly flew off into the night sky.


    In the meantime, Liu Jingtian himself had donned his armor, and mounted his dragon steed. He quickly lead his men over to the frontlines, where the battle would soon break out. The troops of his subordinates were also gathering there.


    He wasn¡¯t trying to go to war with Yang Qing¡ªbut he wanted to be ready. In case Yang Qing lost his temper, he would be prepared and avoid being caught off guard on the off-chance that it did happen...


    Under the night sky, a spirit eagle descended onto Mount Returning Loyalty. A short momentter, an aerie of spirit eagles flew off in different directions, calling the various troops of Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Caves to arms.


    With a cultivation at Blue Lotus Second Grade, the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Returning Loyalty, Su Biao, led his men straight in the direction of the East Arrival Cave border.


    He continued to gather his men from the various Caves along the way. By the time he and his troops reached the boundary before South Edict Manor, he had already assembled three Caves worth of men. Together with his own direct subordinates, he had amassed a force of nearly fifty men.


    As a precautionary measure, Su Biao continued to wait patiently.


    He continued to wait until all the troops from the ten Caves had assembled; then, ordering two Caves to stay behind for backup, he lead over a hundred men with him in a relentless charge towards East Arrival Cave....


    Just then, the faint light of dawn was beginning to touch the sky.


    Miao Yi was still unaware that trouble was brewing. He was still cooped up in his own shack cultivating cross-legged.


    Whenever he had time, he would use it on cultivation.


    As they say, ¡®Better safe than sorry¡¯. Ever since the Great Cave Master Miao caused a ruckus at Changfeng Cave, he was always worried that Xiong Xiao woulde to take revenge. As such, out of the twenty or so cultivators in East Arrival Cave, he sent eight out to take turns keeping guard over the perimeter. They rotated every day as a precaution against an ambush.


    As a result, he was prepared¡ªnot for Xiong Xiao, but another group instead.


    In the boughs of a great ancient tree within the gloomy mountain forest, a hidden guard of East Arrival Cave was sitting in cross-legged cultivation. From the surrounding silence, he suddenly picked up the sound of galloping hoovesing from afar¡ªhe quickly opened his eyes, and stood up.


    The vision of a normal human couldn¡¯t possibly make anything out at this time of the day. He hastily invoked his arts, and utilized his transcendence vision to investigate¡ªonly to find arge army in front of him, charging right in his direction.


    The strange thing was¡ªthey all had masks on, making it hard to make out their identities.


    He was one of the members who had used a mask, and caused a ruckus in Changfeng Cave, so he naturally had some experience in the matter. Once he saw this scene before him, he knew the situation didn¡¯t look good. He hastily jumped downnding on his dragon steed at the base of the tree, and quickly began riding back.


    He rushed across mountains and ridges as he returned to East Arrival Cave. "AOOOOOO...", he invoked his arts and shouted while he was still a distance away to warn the others. His sharp wails echoed from afar.


    Not only did the then-cultivating Miao Yi quickly open his eyes, and rush out to mount his steed; the cultivators in the nearby wooden shacks also raced out to their horses. Everyone shouted to warn the guards stationed around the perimeter, to quickly return and assemble.


    Their party quickly urged their dragon steeds towards the opposite end, where the rm was sounding out from. As he rushed past Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, Miao Yi swept the two of them onto his dragon steed, and charged on.


    Leading the charge, Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Su Biao knew that something was amiss the moment he heard the wail¡ªthey had already been discovered! He swung his hand forward, and urged the troops behind him to pick up the pace.


    When thepany of men reached East Arrival Cave, they were all stupefied. They were at a loss on how to react after seeing East Arrival Cave in such a tragic state.


    In a distant mountain, after finally assembling his scattered subordinates, Miao Yi watched on with his transcendent vision. He couldn¡¯t help scoff, "Masked men again? They truly have a guilty conscience! It seems Xiong Xiao is really determined to seed this time, to have sent so many men against me!"


    They had long ago decided on their contingency n. If a situation came up, they were to first retreat temporarily. Once everyone was assembled, and if there was still time, they could then observe the situation.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were shifted onto Yan Xiu¡¯s mount. Then, Miao Yi spread his arms out ¡ªclouds of silver mist burst out from his storage ring. Both man and steed were instantly covered in formidable battle armor¡ªwith the Inversed-Scales Spear already in his hands. Only the original helmet had been destroyed by Zhang Decheng.


    Qian¡¯er and Xue¡¯Er were quite nervous. It was obvious that East Arrival Cave had met with trouble yet again. Only then, did they realize that the world of ¡®Immortals¡¯ was far from being asvish as they had assumed. When they were in East Arrival City, they thought that they could enjoy the fortune of Immortals once they were on the other side. They never expected that they would be at risk of dying so often.


    However, it was still a first for them both to see Miao Yi don such a formidable set of battlearmor¡ªthey were both shocked; a sense of wonderment shing across their eyes.


    Miao Yi turned back and instructed Yan Xiu, "Bring the both of them away and hide. Once I have dealt with these mongrels, I will look for you all."


    Yan Xiu nodded, and swiftly turned his dragon steed around to bring the two littledies away.


    They had already agreed on this beforehand¡ªif anything were to happen, he was to first bring the two handmaidens off to the pier to hide.


    When dragon roars sted out from behind them, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er turned their heads back to look¡ªonly to see the Cave Master thrusting his spear forward as he grandly shouted, "East Arrival Cave Master is here!"


    The two young maidens were immediately unafraid. They realized that the Cave Master would always be magnificent, and there was nothing that the Cave Master could not handle.


    Su Biao and his men were already looking in their direction. He motioned with his hand, and the forces behind him immediately followed along with his charge.


    In contrast, the men behind Miao Yi were very calm. They were well aware of the situation¡ªamongst Xiong Xiao and his subordinates, there was not a single Blue Lotus expert. While the men on their side were few in numbers, they were not a force that could be defeated by sheer numbers alone.


    As he watched the enemy forces charge up the snowy slope, Miao Yi raised his spear and nonchntly mentioned, "Those with notable aplishments¡ªthis Cave Master will not be stingy with the rewards. Now, go and kill!"


    From his sides, Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan immediately led the assault in a zealous downwards charge. Soon, their squad of twenty shed with therger force charging up the snowy slope.


    Charcoal was excitedly kicking around with its hooves a little, yet it could do nothing with Miao Yi restraining it. He held onto his spear, and stayed put¡ªobserving the battle.


    After spending so much of his resources to feed so many men, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to personally take the lead every single time there was a problem. When it was time for the subordinates to step up and test the waters, then they should step up. If anything went wrong, he would have ample time to make preparations. Otherwise, what was the point in feeding so many men?


    Since it wasn¡¯t possible topete with the enemy in numbers, the twenty man squad simply lined up in a wedge-shaped formation and charged straight in.


    From behind his vanguard on the lower end of the slope, Su Biao swept his gaze across the men charging forth from the opposing side, and immediately realized that something was off¡ªhe was shocked!


    Didn¡¯t they say that there wouldn¡¯t be any Blue Lotus Grade opponents? Why were there two Blue Lotus cultivators with a single-petaled flower on their foreheads charging at the fore? There were even White Lotus Ninth Grades, and Eighth Grades behind them! It seemed like the lowest cultivation was the White Lotus Fifth Grade¡ªthere wasn¡¯t even a single Fourth Grade in sight!


    Su Biao silently cursed, but it was already toote for second thoughts. Yuan Fang was already striking out with his spear.


    ¡®GONG!¡¯ Su Biao swiftly swung the long spear in his hand to parry the strike. He wasn¡¯t afraid, he was simply worried that there would be heavy casualties among his subordinates.


    With this sh, Yuan Fang also realised that something was amiss. Didn¡¯t they say that there were no Blue Lotus level experts on Xiong Xiao¡¯s side?


    Su Biao was masked, so Yuan Fang couldn¡¯t directly see the cultivation on the forehead of the other party. Both parties immediately engaged in a fierce battle. Waves of transcendence energy rolled out, creating clouds of snow and dirt, and making it difficult for normal people to get close.


    Twenty against a hundred; the sounds of a fierce battle instantly thundered as they mercilessly butchered the men that were charging up the slope likembs to the ughter.


    After a brief confrontation with Su Biao, Yuan Fang immediately realised that he was too much for him to handle. The other party¡¯s cultivation was higher than his, and he could only passively deflect his strikes. Realising that it would be difficult for him tost long, he immediately shouted, "Junior Brother. Aid me!"


    After defeating multiple opponents like a hurricane, Lai Yuhan swiftly swept his spear across to clear the area. Then turned about, and made his way towards Yuan Fang to battle Su Biao in concert.


    There were too many men amongst the enemy forces¡ªa few managed to slip out and charged towards Miao Yi¡¯s position on the slope.


    As he gazed down, Miao Yi also realised that something was wrong. Did Xiong Xiao have someone that would make it hard for two Blue Lotus First Grade experts to defeat together?


    When the men charged at him, Miao Yi¡¯s body emitted a resplendent white glow. The Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand roared in lightning-fast strike¡ªpiercing to his left and right sessively¡ªstriking his enemies off their dragon steeds in an instant.


    Even then, there were still dozens behind the first group. Just then, Charcoal¡¯s body began shining with a bright light. He harrumphed excitedly and carried Miao Yi down the slope. Following suit, waves of cold light burst forth from Miao Yi¡¯s hand as the men in their path were continuously thrown from their steeds.


    Miao Yi¡¯s target wasn¡¯t these men, but the one that Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan were currently engaged in battle with. Once he slipped past the foes charging at him, Charcoal immediately leapt upwards, carrying Miao Yi straight towards Su Biao.


    Su Biao was taken aback, whereas Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan were ecstatic. The two of them threw caution to the wind, and began a relentless assault¡ªtrying their utmost to entangle him.

 Chapter 201: An Unexpected Calamity

    Chapter 201: An Unexpected Cmity


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    With two men delivering ruthless blows on either side of him, and a dragon steed charging straight at him from the front¡ªhis dragon steed couldn¡¯t possibly run in reverse!


    In an abrupt move, Su Biao charged his transcendence energy to its limit, and swept his spear full circle¡ª¡¯CLANG! BANG! CLANG!¡¯¡ªknocking back Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan¡¯s relentless assault! In that instant, he seized the opportunity to send a formless st of transcendence energy straight at Miao Yi. Both man and steed had charged towards him with a rumble, and were now leaping over to him


    Immediately after, he continued to deftly parry the attacksing from the two adversaries beside him.


    The charging Miao Yi abruptly thrust forward the Inversed-Scales spear in his hand¡ªsuffused with a dazzling sheen, it hummed loudly in the air before striking through the swift, iing st of potent transcendence energy.


    If it were still in the past, Miao Yi would never have been able to defend against this attack; but now he had the treasured spear¡¯s formidable power. The Rhinocerous Spirit¡¯s demonic soul in the Inversed-Scales Spear, had enough strength to break through an attack of this level of transcendence energy. What¡¯s more, it had the ability to reduce the force received by two-folds¡ªthus, the attack didn¡¯t faze Miao Yi at all.


    If Su Biao had delivered a solid strike instead of his careless st, Miao Yi definitely would have had difficulty defending against the attack.


    After piercing through the strike, Miao Yi and his mount were instantly enveloped in a resplendent white glow¡ªready to collide violently into Su Biao, the man Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan were doing their best to entangle.


    Su Biao was instantly hit with panic.


    Truthfully speaking, the gap between a Blue Lotus First Grade and a Second Grade was simr to the gap between a White Lotus First Grade and a Second Grade. It wasn¡¯t that great of a difference. If Su Biao was faced with just one, he would have no trouble defeating that man. However, against the two of them, there was a risk that it wouldn¡¯t be so clear-cut.


    Even with Miao Yi joining the fray, he wasn¡¯t really concerned. However, colliding with a dragon steed decked out in a suit of armor wasn¡¯t aughing matter. Even if he didn¡¯t die, he would still be severely injured. The attacking strength of a dragon steed had always been astonishing; even Blue Lotus cultivators didn¡¯t dare to battle them head on¡ªand Charcoal was even enhanced with power from a set of transcendent artifacts! One could well imagine the result if they were to sh.


    His fists alone were not enough to ovee the four of them; Su Biao was rattled. In desperation, he used all his strength to parry Lai Yuhan and Yuang Fang¡¯s attacks, before his mount abruptly leapt into the sky.


    Fighting in such close quarters, how could Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan let him off so easily? They thrust their spears at almost the same moment, and together impaled the leaping dragon steed¡¯s belly. Again, their spears moved as one, and in an instant, the air exploded with a rain of blood¡ªalong with the dismal whinny of the pitiful dragon steed.


    Su Biao¡¯s mount was ughtered in midair, but Su Biao himself had leapt into the air.


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan would never let him go. The dragon steeds underneath them shot to the sky simultaneously, attacking him while he was still high up in the air.


    Meanwhile, after Miao Yi failed to strike Su Biao and fell down to the ground; the men who hade to save Su Biao from his predicament, immediately charged forth to surround Miao Yi, and engaged him in a fierce assault from all sides.


    Charcoal hastily spun about on the spot whilst carrying Miao Yi. d in his armor, Miao Yi struck out with his spear like a dragon from Charcoal¡¯s back, swiftlyunching counter attacks against his surroundings; he wasn¡¯t the slightest bit perturbed. The Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand sent out waves of echoing dragon roars to mislead the enemies, as heunched several streams of cold light.


    Where the sharp triple-edged spear points struck, pools of blood would gush forth and sttered everywhere. After carrying him through one revolution, about five to six of them had already fallen to their deaths under his dragon steed.


    After executing everyone around him, Miao Yi circled about with his steed; then swept his spear around, and coldly scorned in a booming voice, "THE CAVE MASTER OF EAST ARRIVAL CAVE IS HERE! WHO DARES TO CHALLENGE ME?!"


    The men who hade up to surround him were frightened by his iparably devastating might¡ªto the point that they quickly retreated in rapid session. Nobody dared to move forth against him again.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t the least bit courteous. Charcoal carried him forth as they suddenly charged out, with Miao Yi lifting his spear to strike out and kill.


    He didn¡¯t bother about Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan¡¯s situation. The enemy no longer had his mount. If those two still couldn¡¯t end him, then they were truly trash.


    He only concerned himself with charging forward, helping them to fend off the forces who wanted to rescue Su Biao from his entrapment.


    Predictably, once the trio battling in the sky dropped to the ground, Su Biao¡¯s face had turned ghastly pale. Without a mount, he absolutely didn¡¯t dare to force a head on fight¡ªwith the two men hot on his trail, he turned on his heels and ran.


    However, Lai Yuhan and Yuan Fang wouldn¡¯t let him get away. Their dragon steeds dashed forward like lightning, quickly catching up to him.


    Hearing the hurried swish closing in from behind, Su Biao twisted around to return the blow¡ªfueled with grief and indignation¡ªthe spear he thrusted out immediately shed with Lai Yuhan¡¯s longspear.


    ¡®CLANG!¡¯ A loud sound rang out; the force of the sh sparking with white light.


    Lai Yuhan¡¯s body swayed a little on his dragon steed. Even with help of the dragon steed¡¯s strength, he was still almost knocked down¡ªthe enemy¡¯s strength was still there. Then, he swept past Su Biao¡¯s figure.


    Yet, the long spear in Su Biao¡¯s hand was instantly jolted out of his grip. Blood spewed out from the web between thumb and forefinger, as his entire figure stumbled backwards.


    In a normal sh of force, Lai Yuhan would never have been able to match him; but with his strike being enhanced by the powerful impact of the dragon steed, the situation was different. Having the additional power and speed on top of Lai Yuhan¡¯s own strength, the resulting attack was astonishingly vicious. In one move alone, Lai Yuhan was able to send Su Biao¡¯s spear flying.


    This was the reason why the cultivators still in the Realm of Traversing didn¡¯t dare to wage war without dragon steeds. Battling without a dragon steed was equivalent to losing half of their life.


    Even if on the off-chance that a White Lotus First Grade cultivator was faced with a White Lotus Ninth Grade expert, if thetter didn¡¯t have a dragon steed, the former could still borrow the leg strength of the dragon steed to make his escape when he failed to defeat thetter. So for cultivators of the White Lotus and Blue Lotus realms, dragon steeds were a necessity.


    Su Biao received such a strong jolt, that his legs jerked about chaotically as he staggered back. He barely had time to steady his footing, before his eyes began to widen in panic at the sight of a ray of cold light hacking right at him. Unarmed and defenseless, he couldn¡¯t hope to block off the attack no matter how desperate he was.


    "DIE!" Yuan Fang immediately charged over in a fury. In an instant, his spear impaled Su Biao¡¯s heart. He hoisted it¡ªlifting Su Biao¡¯s body¡ªbefore immediately flinging his body off.


    On the other end, Lai Yuhan had already swiftly turned about, and prompt galloped his dragon steed to gallop back towards them. With a strike of his spear, he shed through Su Biao¡¯s airborne body, and a rain of blood fell to the ground.


    With the death of Su Biao, Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s men¡ªalready being crushed by the forces of East Arrival Cave¡ªinstantly fell into a state of panic. Those Cave Masters fortunate to have thus far survived gestured at once, and shouted, "RETREAT!"


    Hundreds of men hadunched the raid, yet only about thirty were fleeing in disarray.


    The men who fled were full of grief and indignation¡ªthey had been tricked! How were the forces of a measly East Arrival Cave be so powerful? There was not a cultivator below White Lotus Fifth Grade in sight! Theirpany of over a hundred men seemed to be shing with twenty Cave Master, and even experts at the Mountain Chieftain level¡ªtheir fighting strength couldn¡¯t bepared at all! The enemy were all individuals who would take on several of their own, and even a Mountain Chieftain with Blue Lotus Second Grade cultivation had fallen in battle. There was no way for them to continue fighting this war.


    After scanning his surroundings, and seeing there was no one left alive, Miao Yi immediately urged Charcoal into a gallop. With Charcoal¡¯s first-rate leg strength, it didn¡¯t take long for him to take a bite out of a man who wasgging behind the others. Leaning forward, Miao Yi flicked his spear and knocked over the man¡¯s mount. That man was instantly thrown away.


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan rushed forward to nk Miao Yi, brandishing their spears in the air. Waves of formless, potent transcendence energy immediately struck out at the man until he spewed blood and copsed to the ground, rolling around, and writhing.


    Miao Yi swept the spear in his hand across and held it out horizontally¡ªstopping the men behind him from continuing to give chase. They still didn¡¯t know the enemy yet, and these group of invaders didn¡¯t seem to be Xiong Xiao¡¯s men. They had to understand the current situation thoroughly first, so they wouldn¡¯t fall into a trap.


    Charcoal lightly carried him forward. Reaching out with the Inversed-Scales Spear, Miao Yi flicked the mask off the man¡¯s face. He immediately cried out, begging for mercy, "SURRENDER! SURRENDER! I SURRENDER!"


    The sharp triple-edged spear points were pressed against the man¡¯s chest. Miao Yi scornfully questioned, "Who are you to dare assault my East Arrival Cave? Speak! If you dare lie, I will make you regret being born into this world!"


    "Mount Returning Loyalty! We¡¯re Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s men!" The man pointed to the ce where Su Biao was executed. Trembling with fear, he exined, "That¡¯s our Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain, Su Biao! Everything I said is true! I beg Cave Master to be magnanimous and spare my life!"


    He was seriously frightened out of his wits by this Cave Master; his army was truly powerful and well-disciplined. Only about twenty men had appeared and almost wiped out the forces of an entire mountain¡ªwas this even a Cave? Or had they been prepared in advance?


    "Mount Returning Loyalty?" Miao Yi frowned. Mount Returning Loyalty was his neighbor; it was impossible for him not to know of them. "Are you Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s men?"


    "Yes, yes, yes! We are!" The man nodded continuously as hey on the ground with blood coating his mouth.


    Yuan Fang and the rest exchanged nces with each other. The men from Ten-Thousand Thriving Manor were truly deplorable. Were they trying to cause a rift between the two halls?


    Miao Yi was also slightly puzzled by this turn of events. "Why are youunching a night raid on my East Arrival Cave?"


    "I don¡¯t know much of the details." The man shook his head and replied, "I only know that the Mountain Chieftain sent word to us. If anyone of us could capture or kill Mount Calming Sea¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei, we would be handsomely rewarded!"


    "Qin Weiwei?" Miao Yi was caught by surprise.


    However, he quickly understood the underlying reason; Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor was trying to seek revenge on Yang Qing!


    None of them dared to strike deeply into South Edict Manor for fear of leaving behind any evidence that could be used against them; it would bring them no end of trouble. It had taken them a great deal of difficulty to find out that Qin Weiwei hade to East Arrival Cave. They had felt that it would be a short round trip to quickly end her. With East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces alone, they shouldn¡¯t have been able to stop them. In that one move, they could wipe the te clean and walk off without a second thought¡ªpractically giving Yang Qing a p in the face.


    Their superiors literally hadn¡¯t held East Arrival Cave with any regard at all. What they failed to grasp was that East Arrival Cave had a powerful and well-disciplined army¡ªleading them to crash into an iron wall. They hadn¡¯t managed to kill Qin Weiwei, and instead gave their enemies the opportunity to kill their Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain.


    ¡®F*ck!¡¯ His birth date truly didn¡¯t align well with the bitch¡ªit was quite the opposite! After she happily left, she had instead brought an unexpected cmity to his East Arrival Cave!


    Miao Yi began cursing heavily. His East Arrival Cave had helped Qin Weiwei escape her doom¡ªit was madness! A Cave Master like him had truly done his job well; he ought to get a reward from Yang Qingter...


    After interrogating the prisoner for some time, apart from finding out that there were forces from Mount Returning Loyalty providing support at the border of East Arrival Cave, there weren¡¯t any other information of value.


    This pawn wouldn¡¯t know whether the upper echelons had any follow-up operation. Miao Yi didn¡¯t waste any more time. He turned to ask, "Send someone to watch him closely. There¡¯s still some use in keeping him alive. Yuan Fang, send two men to scout out more information about what¡¯s going on in Mount Returning Loyalty."


    Yuan Fang immediately selected two White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivators.


    The rest quickly clean up the battlefield. Only after cleaning it did was Miao Yi outraged, realizing that he had lost a White Lotus Sixth Grade cultivator, and two White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivators. Losing three in such a short while, along with some of the group being injured, made his heart ache; as he felt that the number of his subordinates weren¡¯t that much to begin with.


    However, this wasn¡¯t something that could be helped. The men surrounding them were greater in numbers, and did notck Cave Masters among them. Casualties were inevitable in the midst of such besiegement.


    Under the rules of the game created by the Six Sages, the cultivators in this world continuously fought for the sake of their own interests. Everyone was ustomed to life and death, so there was nothing to grieve for. The ¡®so-called¡¯ funeral arrangements were simply just burying the bodies.


    At the same time, everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Each of them had a look anticipation as they focus their attention on the items in Miao Yi¡¯s hand. For the storage rings alone, there were already seven; among them, two belonged to Su Biao.


    The most important matter was still the Orbs of Will. Everyone knew that the handover of the Orbs of Will had only just passed not long ago, so none of them had a chance to use their Orbs of Will yet. Right then, they had killed about sixty men¡ªamong them a Mountain Chieftain and some Cave Masters¡ªso one could well imagine the number of Orbs of Will gathered.

 Chapter 202: Accusations

    Chapter 202: usations


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Miao Yi held the storage ring of Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Su Biao in his hand, and examined it; his lips soon inadvertently curved. For the men that he was raising before him, he had only just recently forked out 152,000 gold crystals, and a hundred and thirty low-grade Orbs of Will.


    It turned out that Su Biao¡¯s storage ring had 156 low-grade Orbs of Will; and if all his crystal coins were changed into Gold Crystals, it would amount to almost 400,000 Gold Crystals. He even had two first grade Yao Cores, and a few ungraded Yao Cores; he had no idea whether Su Biao was keeping them to refine transcendent artifacts or not. He didn¡¯t bother counting the rest of the items for the time being.


    As it was, if all of these were taken into ount¡ªjust by killing Su Biao¡ªnot only did he earn back his previous losses, he even made a profit!


    Miao Yi was deep in thought. It seemed that strengthening his troops wasn¡¯t simply an expense. So long as they often engaged in battle, and ensured that they won most of them, it seemed like a possible path to riches. It was much safer than risking his life in the Sea of Constetions!


    Needless to say, Miao Yi pocketed Su Biao¡¯s storage ring in one quick movement.


    Even though he was tempted by the rest of the items as well, he knew that he couldn¡¯t expect to ¡®Let the horses run without feeding them¡¯. He still had to give rewards when it was necessary.


    It was not easy for a Cave Master with low cultivation like him to lead a group of experts. The hearts of the subordinates were important. It was crucial to give them rewards¡ªespecially since he still needed them to risk their lives afterwards.


    He swiftly distributed the remaining items to everyone ording to their achievements.


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan naturally had the greatest achievements for killing Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Su Biao. All the Orbs of Will from the five deceased Cave Masters were distributed to the two of them. The remaining spoils were divided among the others ording to their respective levels, and finally, the remaining six storage rings given to six with the highest cultivations.


    After everyone received such a huge windfall¡ªwith the rewards of a single battle greater than their entire annual earnings¡ªother than the absurdly wealthy Miao Yi, who understood how vast the ¡®world¡¯ was; they were all visibly excited. Quite a number of them even secretly hoped that a few more parties would be foolish enough to send themselves right to their doorsteps just like this.


    However, all of them knew that the other party simply hadn¡¯t realized the depths of East Arrival Cave¡¯s strength before charging over. It wasn¡¯t possible to have such a good fortune all the time. If they truly waited until the other party was fully aware of their capabilities¡ªit would be after they were done making ample preparations, and most likely spell ill tidings for everyone. At the moment, the forces of East Arrival Cave were still weaker to each Manors¡¯ forces.


    Truth be told, if Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Su Biao hade prepared, the results of this battle would still be anyone¡¯s guess.


    Miao Yi gathered the injured together, then plucked out a leaf from the Glorious Star Immortal Herb and blew out clouds of stardust. After treating them, he reorganized his subordinates once more.


    With Yan Xiu temporarily sheltering Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er at the beachside dock, and out of the twenty men, three were dead; two were out scouting the enemy, and he left one behind to bring the injured prisoner of war into the depths of the mountain, and hide him there. Right now, he only had fourteen subordinates remaining at his disposal.


    The others couldn¡¯t understand why he had to specifically assign someone to hide the prisoner of war in the mountain depths. Lai Yuhan cast a nce towards his fellow Sect member bringing the prisoner into the mountain, and couldn¡¯t help but ask, "Cave Master. What is the purpose of this?"


    He didn¡¯t expect Miao Yi to dodge the question by scoffing, "That filthy bastard Xiong Xiao has crossed the line! To have masked men ambush us¡ªthis is an act of revenge for Changfeng Cave!"


    The rest were taken aback. They looked at each other as they thought, ¡®This and that are two different matters, what nonsense is this?¡¯


    Lai Yuhan cautiously repeated, "Could the Cave Master be thinking that Xiong Xiao colluded with the men from Mount Returning Loyalty to ambush us?"


    "No! Xiong Xiao was the one who ambushed us!" Miao Yi asserted. He turned around and asked, "Yuan Fang, what do you think of this?"


    "..." Yuan Fang was speechless. Unsure of how he should answer, he replied, "Cave Master, I¡¯m afraid we will not be able to stay in this ce much longer. We still don¡¯t know if the enemy intends to take further action. If theye prepared this time, I¡¯m afraid we may not be able to defend against it. Let us retreat from charging in for now, and decide on our next step once reinforcements havee from the Manor Head."


    Miao Yi nodded, and said, "You¡¯re right! Everyone, heed my orders. We must not stay here any longer¡ªfollow me to Mount Shaotai! We will take revenge on that filthy bastard Xiong Xiao!"


    Everyone was once again at a loss for words. ¡®Mount Returning Loyalty was the one that ambushed us. Why should we seek out Xiong Xiao for revenge?¡¯


    However, seeing the Cave Master already signalling with his arm, and taking the lead by charging away on his dragon steed; the rest of them could only hastily follow.


    In the cave of a nearby mountain, Yao Ruoxian eyed the forces that were departing and shook his head, saying, "A mere East Arrival Cave could also be this tumultuous....."


    Fifteen steeds sprinted under the dim morning light, kicking up clouds of snow with their hooves as they thundered forth. Miao Yi led the way, the battle armor on both man and steed had been put away, and he was now moving forth in a light getup.


    Hastily following behind to nk the Great Cave Master Miao, were Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan. In the end, they couldn¡¯t stop themselves from saying, "Cave Master. That war prisoner already clearly confessed that the ones who ambushed us were Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s forces, and not Xiong Xiao¡¯s."


    Atop of Charcoal, Miao Yi¡¯s figure shook slightly as he galloped along the path. He stoically replied, "I have no enmity with Mount Returning Loyalty, so they would not ambush me without reason. This is surely the plot of that filthy bastard Xiong Xiao."


    Lai Yuhan was beginning to be annoyed, and earnestly advised, "Cave Master, I believe it may not be so. They came for Mountain Chieftain Qin. The enemy was trying to take revenge against Manor Head. This shouldn¡¯t involve Xiong Xiao at all."


    All of them were clearly not fools. Even though they had not spoken it aloud, they knew what was going on.


    Seeing how his men hadid everything out, Miao Yi shot back with his own question, "So what you are saying, is that you want me to lead the meager forces of East Arrival Cave to attack Mount Returning Loyalty? What if Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s Manor Head Liu Jingtian has made preparations? With just us charging over, would that not be courting death?"


    The topic immediately shifted towards Liu Jingtian. To his left and right, Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan nced at one another, realising that the Cave Master had been aware of everything all along¡ªhe was just ying the fool!


    Miao Yi added, "With just our forces, we will not be able to defeat Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. It is better to wait for the Manor Head to gather his forces beforeunching a counterattack. Our heads are not tough enough to bear the consequences of interfering with affairs that involved the two Manors. It is better to observe the situation for now...."


    He soon changed the subject, and began cursing, "Goddamnit, that Xiong Xiao has be more of a coward. He clearly knows that it was I who ambushed Changfeng Cave, yet he was able to keep hisposure instead of seeking me out for revenge. Men like these, who know when to yield and when not to, are truly fearsome; and his status within the two Manors is much higher than mine. If I do not take this chance to eliminate him now, he will eventuallye back to bite me. Since he will note and seek me out, I will use this chance to find him, and end him first! As for Mount Returning Loyalty... that son of a bitch, Ever Peace Manor already used my East Arrival Cave as the opening act for their attack. Now, even Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor is doing the same. What do they think my East Arrival Cave is? Do they think I am some weakling that is easy to bully? They will soon see¡ªall the grievances that I have suffered today, I will im it back from Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor one day. If I do not show everyone how tough my East Arrival Cave is, there will be no end to this! It is ridiculous that my East Arrival Cave has been so longed for by everyone day after day. There is no way I can continue being so tense with worry every single day!


    On this, Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan could sympathize. They also felt that this East Arrival Cave really was too unfortunate. Forces asrge as Ever Peace Manor and Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor would always treat East Arrival Cave like a weed that they could step at any time; it would certainly be hard for anyone to ept. Whoever was the East Arrival Cave Master would always be wracked with nerves.


    However, the two of them believed that even though the incident this time involved Qin Weiwei, it was most likely rted to the geographical location of East Arrival Cave as well. Since it was in the middle of the two Manors, it was the best ce to spark a ze.


    Who could deny it? The Great Cave Master Miao had not known, because his foresight had been limited in the past. After he gained more experience, he roughly understood now, and was filled with regret. He could have had it nice and easy as the Cave Master of Transient Light Cave¡ªwhy did he decide to run to East Arrival Cave? Now he barely had any time to cultivate in peace. So long as there was the slightest rustle in the wind, he would be the first to be rmed. These days had been quite harsh on him, leaving him more than a little distressed.


    However, South Edict Manor was not his home after all. He couldn¡¯t choose to be transferred wherever he pleased. Even if he was willing, the other party might not be. He couldn¡¯t justin that East Arrival Cave was too dangerous, and ask Yang Qing to transfer him again so that someone else could take the brunt of it . He still wanted to be promoted to Mountain Chieftain, so it would not be favorable to earn the contempt of the others.


    After a fit of whinging to his subordinates, Miao Yi drew out a jade archive, and invoked his arts to start writing a report whilst he rode his steed.


    The contents denounced Xiong Xiao¡ªsaying that he had deployed arge number of masked men to attack East Arrival Cave¡ªand asked the superiors to right this injustice for him.


    Once he was done writing, he grasped the jade archive in hand and said, "Spirit Eagle!"


    Yuan Fang signalled to the back with his arm. A cultivator quickly came forward with an eagle¡¯s cage slung on his back. He lifted the spirit eagle from the cage, and ced Miao Yi¡¯s jade archive into the tube at its leg; then quickly released it into the skies.


    All of them looked up to the skies; the screech of the spirit eagle rang out into the lightening sky as it swiftly flew away.


    Yuan Fang withdrew his gaze, and asked, "Cave Master. If we kill Xiong Xiao, I am afraid we won¡¯t be able to exin ourselves to Manor Head! For someone in a Cave Master position such as yourself to act on your own ord and kill a Mountain Chieftain, it would be trouble regardless of how you rationalise it."


    Miao Yi coldly replied, "Then we shall continue to wear masks then."


    Lai Yuhan furrowed his brows and added, "Even if we cover our faces, I am afraid that the Manor Head will be able to deduce that we are behind it."


    "We just helped the Manor Head¡¯s adopted daughter escape misfortune, and even achieved an overwhelming victory. We will not ask the Manor Head to reward us, but you can¡¯t tell me that he will easily punish a meritorious subordinate? Where is thepassion in that!? We have to at least be able to persuade him with some superficial reasoning. When the timees, just say that we fell for Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s trap. We can use that prisoner of war well!"


    The Great Cave Master Miao seemed to be slowly grasping how to use the rules of the game to his own benefit, and was beginning to excel at it....


    At Mount Calming Sea¡ªupon her return, Qin Weiwei hadn¡¯t rested for long after her shower, before she received a message from East Arrival Cave. She was utterly shocked. She didn¡¯t think that after her departure from East Arrival Cavest night, something of this sort would happen. She furrowed her brows as she paced about beside her couch.


    She did not doubt that there was anything wrong with the message from East Arrival Cave. It was not possible to keep such arge battle a secret.


    To her side, Hong Mian had a furious expression as she shouted, "Xiong Xiao has gone too far! To actually deploy his forces to attack Mount Calming Sea¡¯s territory. Does he not know this is the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s domain? It is fortunate that Mountain Chieftain had promptly returnedst night. Otherwise, if something went wrong, I would like to see how that Xiong Xiao exins himself to the Manor Head!"


    Lu Liu also angrily said, "Clearly Xiong Xiao was trying to take revenge against Miao Yi for that incident at Changfeng Cave. But why did he not see whose territory East Arrival Cave belongs to? This Xiong Xiao is too arrogant!"


    Qin Weiwei had a cold expression on her face. She also believed that Xiong Xiao wasn¡¯t giving her face¡ªto actuallyunch an attack on her territory! This was not simply disrespecting her position, but disrespecting Manor Head Yang Qing.


    Her pacing stopped. Xiong Xiao was Manor Head Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide, and another Mountain Chieftain just like her¡ªshe had no authority to punish him. She immediately wrote a report, and handed it over to Lu Liu to send over to Ever Peace Manor. It was still up to Yang Qing to make the final decision on this matter!


    They never would have expected that soon after their message was sent out, Ever Peace Manor¡¯s own messenger spirit eagle would arrive. After bring over the jade archive and reading it, Qin Weiwei was once again taken by shock.

 Chapter 203: Just in Time

    Chapter 203: Just in Time


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    It was a report personally written by Yang Qing, stating that arge movement of troops was discovered within Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. Qin Weiwei was also asked to take caution, and not make any careless moves. She was instructed to withdraw her forces, and wait a day for them to analyze the situation before anything else; and to not allow something as reckless as before to ur again.


    Ever since he made an enemy out of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, Yang Qing always had his guard up against the other party, even sending hidden guards to monitor them as a precautionary measure.


    As a result, he really did catch signs of trouble brewing....


    Ever Peace Manor¡ªYang Qing had been strolling between pavilions when he received Qin Weiwei¡¯s report. After reading through it, he tossed the jade archive to Qing Mei, and Qing Ju with a grave expression on his face.


    He was able to rise to a position where he couldmand two Manors today, because he wasn¡¯t as gullible as Qin Weiwei. One look at the report, and he knew that the problemy with Miao Yi.


    Xiong Xiao had followed him for so many years. How could he not understand him? If the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea hadn¡¯t been Qin Weiwei, then there was indeed a chance that Xiong Xiao would deploy arge force to attack East Arrival Cave.


    With Qin Weiwei reigning over Mount Calming Sea, even if Xiong Xiao wanted Miao Yi dead, he would never create such a hugemotion. At most, he would resort to assassinations. Otherwise, Miao Yi would have been in trouble a long time ago.


    Furthermore, Xiong Xiao had just been reprimanded by him, so it was even more unlikely that he would create the hugemotion that Miao Yi had described in the attack on East Arrival Cave. Even if Xiong Xiao was heavily displeased, he would endure it for the moment to give Yang Qing some face. Only if Xiong Xiao was getting tired of living, would he dare to smack Yang Qing in the face so openly.


    "After seeing the report, Qing Mei also expressed her doubt and asked, "For Xiong Xiao to be this impudent...., it¡¯s not likely to be true?"


    Even Qing Ju shook her head after looking at the report. It seemed she also felt that it wasn¡¯t possible.


    When one lived at greater heights, even with an average intelligence, having a more extensivemunicationwork, and a greater volume of information would be enough to help see the bigger picture. This was the greatest difference between ayman, and one who had a higher standing. They would hold an advantage, whether it was in grasping the possible developments of a situation, or in conducting trades. It wasn¡¯t necessarily because someone who stood above others was more capable.


    Yang Qing was scornful, "Ever since that brat got his hands on some troops, it seems he has be a little restless. If worstes to worst, he might even seek out Xiong Xiao of his own ord and cause a ruckus. Qing Mei, send another message to Weiwei to remind her to keep an eye on that brat. Now is not the time to cause any internal strife."


    The reason his expression turned sour wasn¡¯t because of Miao Yi. To him, even if Miao Yi had twice the force, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to stir up any waves. He could p him back down whenever he wanted.


    If Miao Yi really got on his bad side, he could immediately issue a decree and forcefully strip Miao Yi of his East Arrival Cave Master status, transfer away all of the troops under Miao Yi¡¯smand by force, and forcefully kick him out of the system, or just have him arrested. He would like to see how Miao Yi would fight back then.


    He believed that the incident in East Arrival Cave may just be Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor making its move. Miao Yi would not report an incident if there wasn¡¯t one. Something this big could not be kept under wraps.


    As soon as he made his decision, he immediately drew out several jade archives and began writing out a series of decrees. Then, ordered his handmaidens to send them to the respective Mountain Chieftains, and have them begin assembling their forces....


    Yang Qing was no irvoyant after all; he still underestimated the Great Cave Master Miao¡¯s desire to kill Xiong Xiao.


    The Great Cave Master Miao had almost died twice because of Xiong Xiao; it was only by luck that he had been fortunate enough to keep his life. The animosity between them had truly grown to epic proportions, and what¡¯s more, he knew that the other party wouldn¡¯t let him go. If it were anyone else¡ªeven they wouldn¡¯t continue pretending as if nothing had happened. When the opportunity to turn the tables presented itself, with Miao Yi¡¯s one-track personality, he would not give Xiong Xiao another chance to strike at him a third time.


    Before Qing Mei could even send out the reminder to Qin Weiwei from Yang Qing¡¯s side, Miao Yi was already leading his fourteen subordinates from East Arrival Cave, to a mountain forest a few dozen Li away from Mount Shaotai.


    After they marched in and were given some basic instructions, Miao Yi threw out a few masks from his storage ring. They were all Madame Wu Hua¡¯s previous belongings. He didn¡¯t know why this Octopus Spirit had so many opera masks¡ªall in all, there was a plethora of colors, and designs for men and women of all ages.


    In the mountain forest, the fifteen men sat atop their dragon steeds, and loosened their bound hair; leaving it to drape over their shoulders as masks were ced over their faces.


    Seeing the lord Cave Master once again donning the two-set armor for both man and steed, before untying his hair, and putting on his mark; everyone was at a loss for words. They could not keep up with this.


    Yuan Fang threw a nce at the Cave Master¡¯s fat dragon steed; that imposing full-body battle armor; as well as the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand. He couldn¡¯t help thinking, ¡®Donning these arms¡ªwho in South Edict Manor won¡¯t be able to recognize it? Is there even a need to wear a mask? You¡¯re clearly doing this to purposely tick everyone off.¡¯


    In the end, he couldn¡¯t help himself from saying, "Cave Master, you can just leave this to us. It would be too easy to recognise us if you join the assault."


    Miao Yi was sweeping his hair back with an enchantingly feminine mask on his face, and reaching around to feel his mask; checking to see if he had put it on properly.


    His eyes blinked from behind the sockets of the mask as he chuckled, "It does not matter! So what if we are recognized? Did you not just say that we won¡¯t be able to hide this incident from the Manor Head? We¡¯ll eliminate them all if we can, but even if we can¡¯t¡ªwe¡¯ve already prepared a countermeasure anyway. That filthy bastard Xiong Xiao almost killed me twice. Since I¡¯ve already made it all this way to his front door, I would be letting him off too easily if I do not kill him myself!"


    Swinging the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand, he gave the signal to begin the attack. He took the lead by charging ahead, while his party of masked men could only follow his trail...


    There was just one thing that Miao Yi wasn¡¯t aware of¡ªhis information channels within the two Manors was limited after all¡ªso he did not know that Yang Qing had already caught wind of the odd movements by Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor.


    When Qin Weiwei¡¯s group received Yang Qing¡¯s first reminder, Xiong Xiao¡¯s side had received it as well. Following orders, Xiong Xiao already sent word to the respective Cave Masters, and ordered them to gather towards him. Once the Manor Head gave the word, their side would immediately sortie.


    Yang Qing¡¯s second decree, for the troops of the two Manors to assemble, had yet to arrive.


    The two Mountain forces on Xiong Xiao¡¯s side had yet topletely assemble. If the forces of all the twenty subordinate Abode of Immortals, and his own direct subordinates hadpletely assembled¡ªthe Great Cave Master Miao would probably find this trip rather irritable. Fortunately, he arrived in the nick of time.


    The scenery of Mount Shaotai resembled that of a painting; the afterglow from the sunset lent everything an orange cast, with the hills and rivers ced side by side, and the distant mountain peaks a hazy blur.


    A few Cave Masters were trailing behind Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao. Everyone was extremely respectful towards Xiong Xiao as they reported the current spread of their forces in their respective abodes of Immortals.


    They had to be as courteous as possible. After the battle with Zhang Decheng, Mount Shaotai lost a significant chunk of its forces. It hadn¡¯t been easy to use the captured men to fill the gap. However, with Xiong Xiao¡¯s territory being doubled, it was equal to the number of subordinates getting halved as a consequence.


    These four Cave Masters who handled eight abode of Immortals knew deep down, that once the number of subordinates were fully replenished¡ªnot everyone would be be the Cave Master of two Caves. When that timees, Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao would definitely reorganise. So naturally, they had to get on the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s good books.


    As expected, after listening to the reports, Xiong Xiao gave them advanced notice. He wanted the subordinates to mentally prepare themselves, and to not keep a grudge in their hearts because they could not ept when it happened.


    "All of you need not worry about theck of manpower. I have already received news from the Manor Head¡¯s side that a Commandment of Conformity has already been signed with the Sword Deviate Sect, Jade Lady Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts. These three major schools will soon send eight hundred of their disciples to enlist in the two Manors. When that happens, I will first replenish each and every person¡¯s respective subordinate forces. However, there is something that I would like to make clear with all of you first. Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor still holds a grudge over what happened before. The Manor Head is worried that trouble may arise, with the strength of the two Manors being slightly weaker, so he asked for quite a number of Blue Lotus cultivators from the three major schools."


    He looked straight at them all and saw that every single one of them were listening with their ears perked. This matter concerned everyone¡¯s benefits, so it was only natural.


    Xiong Xiao turned to walk forward as he continued speaking in an indifferent tone, "Miao Yi¡¯s previous assault on my Changfeng Cave was a forewarning. For a mere East Arrival Cave to be so impudent in front of my face, he is really pushing his luck! In increase the forces of both my Mountains, I took the initiative to request for a few Blue Lotus experts from the Manor Head. However, as you all know, even I am but a mere White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator. To have them heed my orders is already diminishing their pride, it is even more unlikely for them to be subordinates in the various Caves. Hence, I am prepared to secure the Cave Master posts of five Caves to be assigned to them. I hope you all will not disagree.... This is the Manor Head¡¯s idea as well!"


    He was not someone that was easy to deal with. Hisst sentence pushed the responsibility back onto Yang Qing¡¯s head. Even Xiong Xiao himself did not dare second-guess Yang Qing, what more of his subordinates?


    Every one of them was speechless. Finally, someone asked, "Forgive me for being overbold, may I ask the Mountain Chieftain when the men from the three major schools will be arriving?"


    Xiong Xiao chuckled and replied, "For the opportunity to enter the system designed by the Six Sages, and have a chance to share in the power of will of the world, I¡¯m sure many of those belonging to the schools have been eyeing the opportunity. I believepetition among the disciples of the major schools will be unavoidable. However, it should be soon. At most, it will be about another month before the new members arrive. All of you need not fret, when that happens-"


    ¡®AOOOO.....¡¯


    Before he could finish, the an rm sounded from afar.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s expression changed as the rest turned to look.


    Truth be told, Xiong Xiao was a little fearful of Miao Yi now. To be more specific, after he did some investigating, he was fearful of the two Blue Lotus First Grade subordinates that Miao Yi had.


    This whole matter was like a damn setup. Xiong Xiao couldn¡¯t help but secretly criticize Yang Qing as he grumbled to himself. Yang Qing clearly knew that he and Miao Yi had a grudge, yet he still allowed Miao Yi¡ªa mere Cave Master¡ªto possess such a powerful force. Was he intentionally trying to make him sit on pincusihons?


    It would have been fine if it was anyone else, but for a Cave Master to have two Blue Lotus realm subordinates, what kind of a joke was this?


    He would not believe that Yang Qing did it unintentionally, nor would he believe that Yang Qing had missed the two Blue Lotus realm cultivators on the reported namelist ¡ªbecause the final authority to approve rested in Yang Qing¡¯s hands. Qin Weiwei did not have that kind of authority, much less Miao Yi. If Yang Qing did not agree, it would not be possible for Miao Yi to have his way.


    Even though Xiong Xiao didn¡¯t know the specifics, he had followed Yang Qing for many years, and could more or less understand that Yang Qing was not a man who would do something unnecessary. He could vaguely feel that Yang Qing was most likely taking advantage of the conflict between him and Miao Yi, and was secretly raising Miao Yi¡¯s strength to suppress him; and at the same time, raising the strength of Qin Weiwei¡¯s forces.


    As for why he had chosen to strengthen Miao Yi and not any other Mountain Chieftain¡¯s forces¡ªit was because Miao Yi¡¯s strength was too weak¡ªhe couldn¡¯t stir up any waves under Yang Qing. Thus, Yang Qing could control him easily. If the other Mountain Chieftain¡¯s strengths were raised, they could be a threat to Yang Qing¡¯s position.


    Xiong Xiao was secretly a little happy when he first met the Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s Hall Master Huo Lingxiao, but after experiencing the pressure exerted by Yang Qing, he truly felt somewhat regretful.


    It wasmon knowledge that everyone wanted to be sessful, it was just a matter of whether the time to openly express it hade or not.


    The Hall Master Huo Lingxiao¡¯s actions had clearly brought out the conflict between him and Yang Qing prematurely. Huo Lingxiao could make use of Yang Qing, but at the same time, have an extra pair of eyes to help monitor him. Those above always liked to y these games of inhibiting and bncing out their forces. Xiong Xiao hated these very much¡ªbecause he was still just a pawn!


    It was precisely because of this that he was now a little scared of that crazed bastard Miao Yi, and why he had also arranged for hidden guards to monitor East Arrival Cave in addition to his own Mount Shaotai¡¯s perimeter; much like how Miao Yi was keeping his guard up against him. The both of them were on guard against each other.


    Since the signal for an enemy attack had already been sent out, there was no need for hesitation. Starting from Xiong Xiao, each of them left with haste....

 Chapter 204: Tricked

    Chapter 204: Tricked


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    "Where are you running off to!?"


    With his portly steed d in fearsome armor, his hair fluttering in the wind, and his face covered by the enchanting maiden¡¯s mask¡ªMiao Yi charged alone, wrapped in battle armor from head to toe. He held the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand, as he chased after the Mount Shaotai cultivator that sounded the rm.


    The rest of the steeds behind him had been left in the dust. Their mounts had no way of keeping up with Charcoal¡¯s full speed.


    Relying on Charcoal¡¯s superior leg strength, he finally caught up to the fleeing cultivator. Dragon roars boomed as his triple-edged spearhead grazed the ground and struck forth.


    That cultivator was deathly pale in fear. Even though the enemy had a mask on, he didn¡¯t have any trouble recognising that this was the infamous, and brutal East Arrival Cave Master at first nce. There was no one else in the two Manors besides him who donned armor such as this.


    The name of the East Arrival Cave Master that managed to pave open a path of blood in and out of an encirclement of about two hundred men had shaken both Manors. He even dared to issue a challenge to Mount Shaotai¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao to his face. How could he stop a person like that?


    Yet, he had no choice. The other party did not have any intention of letting him go¡ªhe had no choice but to try and quickly counter with his own spear strike,


    Still in the midst of striking with his spear, Miao Yi flicked his wrist and knocked aside the opponent¡¯s spear shaft.


    Attacking with such blinding speed, yet still being deft enough to make an instant counter¡ªthe Great Cave Master Miao¡¯s spear arts was truly at the pinnacle of finesse. A cold light struck forth lightning-fast, and the fearsome triple-edged speartip lodged itself into the opponent¡¯s underarm. The explosive impact of the spearhead instantly ripped open a bloody hole in the enemy¡¯s underarm.


    With a swipe of the Inversed-Scales Spear, it rained blood as the enemy cultivator screamed in agony and fell.


    He was nowhere close to being able to withstand even a single strike from Miao Yi; he was instantly struck off his steed from a single exchange of their spears.


    Meanwhile, the thunderous booming of a stampede from up ahead forced Miao Yi to quickly reign back Charcoal from his relentless charge.


    Charcoal raised its front hooves; its back hooves kicked up a cloud of dirt and snow as it etched a deep and lengthy mark into the ground. Only then was it able to hold back its upper body ande to a stable halt.


    After that, the fourteen mounts following behind him came to a stop as they observed the oing forces ahead.


    Mount Shaotai¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao personally led apany of about seventy men over. They stopped a hundred meters away, and were ring at the few dozen steeds before them.


    Miao Yi was at a loss for words¡ªhow could there be so many men within Mount Shaotai¡¯s own forces?


    He was still unaware that Yang Qing had already sent a call to arms to the respective Mountains. Naturally, in normal circumstances, Yang Qing the Manor Head would not skip levels and personally send an order to a mere Cave Master such as Miao Yi. If that really were the case, how could he expect the subordinate Mountain Chieftains to tolerate it? The Great Manor Head might as well take over his subordinate Mountain Chieftain positions as well.


    He wasn¡¯t aware that this was only half the forces of the eight Caves. Even though there seemed to be the forces of eight Caves¡ªin reality, these were only the troops from four Caves, numbering up to forty men. With twenty men from Xiong Xiao¡¯s own division, the total number of people amounted to seventy.


    With a hostile expression on his face, Xiong Xiao¡¯s gaze descended on the frontmost figure with both man and steed wrapped in an borate and fearsome battle armor.


    It would have been better not to have looked. After he saw this, Xiong Xiao instantly burst into rage, ¡®This brat Miao Yi must take me for a fool! Did you think I won¡¯t be able to recognize you just because you wear a mask?¡¯


    "Miao Yi, you little turd! How dare you piss me off time, and time again!" Xiong Xiao bellowed, swinging his long sword to stab forth with.


    As he listened, Miao Yi cast a nce at Charcoal. It was indeed difficult to pull a wool over someone else¡¯s eyes when he put on his armor, but it would be dangerous if he did not. Even if he didn¡¯t wear it, Charcoal¡¯s figure alone would also stick out like a sore thumb among dragon steeds, so he would still be recognized. It would only be possible to trick them, if he didn¡¯te along.


    While he was feeling helpless because of his own low cultivation, Xiong Xiao was enraged till fumes were blowing out of his nose and ears because he thought that Miao Yi was intentionally trying to mock his intelligence¡ªthinking that he would be fooled with just a simple mask!


    Miao Yi did not answer. It was the other party¡¯s business whether they knew or not, but he couldn¡¯t publicly admit. Otherwise, there would be no going back. Thus, he turned back and muttered in a low voice, "The enemy is vast in numbers. Do not dy. Just focus on killing the mastermind Xiong Xiao!"


    As soon as he finished instructing, he swung his arm forth, sending out the signal to begin the attack.


    He took the vanguard and raised his spear, leading the dozens of steeds behind him in a ferocious charge straight at Xiong Xiao.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s expression twitched as he realised that the Great Cave Master Miao was indeed relying on the fact that he had experts as his subordinates, and was not the least bit afraid of him¡ªhe was so bold, it was outrageous! He would actually brazenly attack Mount Shaotai. Even if he was wearing a mask, he was still brazenly attacking!


    "KILL!" Xiong Xiao swung his hand forth, and the men on either sides of him bolted forward.


    He did not join in the fray because it was obvious that Miao Yi could not take over Mount Shaotai even if he conquered it. He was clearly onlying after him.


    Xiong Xiao was incredibly vexed. Back then, he should have ended this man no matter the cost. In the end, he had allowed this man to seed, let himself be the one pressured by him now.


    Thunderous booms rang out as the two parties furiously crashed into one another. Dragon steeds screamed, as men fell and their steeds were knocked over¡ªa scene of chaos and carnage!


    As he observed the battle, Xiong Xiao narrowed his eyes and saw that, with Miao Yi leading the charge for his men at the fore, they were like a sharp dagger that stabbed deep into his own formation. Miao Yi was like a violent hurricane that blew away everything in his path. Wherever the coldlight in his handnded, those that stood in his path would be knocked down. The steed he rode on was even more fearless as it charged ferociously without any heed for its own safety¡ªcrashing into dragon steeds that impeded its path, throwing out stters of blood and flesh in the process. Together with the help of the two experts by his side, there was no one that could stop this assault of man and steed. They charged straight towards him as though they could split the waves.


    Xiong Xiao was anxious at the sight of this. He had also heard of the incident where Miao Yi had killed his way in and out of an encirclement of two hundred strong. He had been a little doubtful, because he hadn¡¯t witnessed it for himself. Even if he donned a full body of armor, they were still just first grade transcendent artifacts. How could they protect from being surrounded by so many men?


    Only now that he was witnessing it, did he know that the rumors were not unfounded. The brat was ferocious and without equal with the spear in his hand, as thought he was highly versed in dealing withrge mobs. He was at a loss as to how Miao Yi had even managed to train to such a level of skill.


    To either sides behind him, Chun Xue and Dong Xue also had stunned expressions on their faces¡ª especially Chun Xue. She was aghast; she never would have imagined that the pig-butcher brat, that had to kiss up to her Huang family back then in Changfeng City, had be so terrifying!


    Seeing the enemy charge ever closer, and getting close to ughtering their way through all theiryered defences, Xiong Xiao¡¯s began heart pounding like mad. He could sense that things were looking grim. It was difficult enough for him to face a single Blue Lotus cultivator¡ªif he had to face two along with Miao Yi in addition to that, it likely wouldn¡¯t end well for him.


    ¡®While there is life, there is hope!¡¯ Xiong Xiao abruptly turned his horse around, and solemnly shouted, "GO!"


    He turned back to lead his two handmaidens and two of his trusted aides, as he hastily made a run for it¡ªleaving behind the subordinates who were still in the raging battle, trying to stop the enemy.


    Miao Yi had been focused on killing, but quickly noticed Xiong Xiao retreating in the distance. He immediately grew anxious¡ªit hadn¡¯t been easy for him to travel all the way here. If he allowed Xiong Xiao to escape once again, it would be too unfair.


    He really wanted to leap over there with his steed and stop him, but it was very dangerous to do so while surrounded by enemies. Once he jumped up, he would receive attacks from his front, back; left, right; top and bottom¡ªfrom every direction. It would be difficult to shield Charcoal¡¯s abdomen, with just the protection of a first grade transcendent artifact.


    Even if he could leap over, Yuan Fang and the rest behind him would be in trouble.


    A Blue Lotus First Grade cultivation was not invincible. It made one capable of defeating many White Lotus cultivators, but it did not make one resistant to the charge of several dragon steeds. When that happened, they would most likely be annihted.


    Only with him in the vanguard¡ªutilizing Charcoal¡¯s full body armor designed for ramming¡ªas the razor-edge of the front lines, could he open up a path for everyone else. Otherwise, they would be in a pinch.


    "THOSE WHO IMPEDE ME SHALL DIE!" bellowed, Miao Yi as he began attacking with renewed ferocity. The Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand stabbed wildly, sting those standing in his path off their steeds.


    Under that threatening cry, and on seeing their Mountain Chieftain fleeing¡ªthose standing in his way ceased desiring to risk their lives any longer, and fearfully cleared away to either side to open up a path.


    With that, Miao Yi sessfully led his subordinates swiftly out from the enemies attempting to stop them. He pulled out all the stops, and aggressively charged in the direction that Xiong Xiao was retreating in.


    Charcoal¡¯s speed continued to increase as he swiftly carried Miao Yi over mountains, and past ridges. He left the men behind him in the dust, desiring to first reach Xiong Xiao before anything else.


    Once he fled to a mountain peak, Xiong Xiao turned back to look and couldn¡¯t help jumping in fright; he never thought that the leg strength of Miao Yi¡¯s steed was so fast. It was quickly closing the distance between the two of them¡ªall he could do was cry out to his surroundings, and anxiously speed up his retreat.


    He could not describe the hatred in his heart. To save his own life, he had lost all face in front of his subordinates today. It would be impossible to avoid the slurs and mockery that others would throw behind his back¡ªthis was an irreparable stain to his authority as a Mountain Chieftain.


    "Mountain Chieftain....," voiced out Chun Xue; pale with fear she began transmitting her n over.


    Xiong Xiao was moved when he heard it, but turning back to look at the two handmaidens who had loyally followed him for many years, he shook his head and rejected it. "No way!"


    When she turned back to look, Chun Xue had also became anxious. She could also see that Xiong Xiao was not Miao Yi¡¯s opponent¡ªotherwise he wouldn¡¯t have run away. Thus, she resolutely said, "This incident happened because of me. Even death will not redeem me. Furthermore, if Mountain Chieftain can¡¯t escape, the both of us will die anyway. That filthy bastard will not let us go. So long as Mountain Chieftain still lives, then there is still a chance for us to be avenged. Mountain Chieftain must not hesitate any longer, otherwise there will be no time!"


    In the end, a nervous trusted aide received the clothes that Xiong Xiao tossed over and put it on himself.


    As they were passing through a canyon, Xiong Xiao broke off alone with his dragon steed into the canyon to hide. He watched as Chun Xue and Dong Xue guard his personal trusted aide, as they made their way to the other end of the canyon; the sound of their hoof beats disappeared into the distance.


    Not long after, he saw Miao Yi on his dragon steed cross over from the top of the canyon.


    Soon after that, he saw dozen more dragon steeds fly over his head.


    He waited until the thundering hoof beats disappeared before he sighed. "HAARGHH!" Xiong Xiao smashed a fist into the stone wall, as his face filled with sorrow and anger. His dragon steed then swiftly leapt tens of meters high up to the top of the canyon, and turned back on the path they hade from.


    After chasing up to tens of lis, Miao Yi saw that the fleeing ¡®Xiong Xiao¡¯ along with his two handmaidens were just ten meters ahead of him, and began shouting angrily, "Xiong Xiao you filthy bastard, where do you think you are running off to!?"


    Underneath him, Charcoal bolted as if he were flying and suddenly leapt, crashing down on the four people fleeing before it.


    Chun Xue, Dong Xue, ¡®Xiong Xiao¡¯ and another of Xiong Xiao¡¯s trusted aides turned around revealing shocked expressions on their faces.


    Pointing forward with his raised spear, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes narrows as he locked onto ¡®Xiong Xiao¡¯s face. How could he not know that he had been tricked then? He was instantly filled with rage.


    "Please run away Elder Auntie, Little Auntie. We will stop him!"


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s trusted aides both immediately brandished their spears, and engaged in a fierce battle with Miao Yi, who had dismounted. As the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s trusted aides, their cultivation wasn¡¯t too low. The both of them had cultivations at White Lotus Fifth Grade, and indeed had the ability to face Miao Yi in battle.


    However, after Miao Yi swang his spear to loosely blocked them, he didn¡¯t bother with them at all and instead, continued chasing after Dong Xue and Chun Xue, who had continued fleeing. He alread let Xiong Xiao escape; if he were to allow that vile woman Huang Yue to escape as well, then he really would have wasted his timeing all the way here.


    He chased after the two women with Xiong Xiao¡¯s two trusted aides pursuing closely behind him. They wanted to help the two aunties escape; they were worthy of being Xiong Xiao¡¯s trusted aides.


    Yuan Fang and the others behind them had caught up by this point. Once they saw the situation, they immediately spread out to stop them.


    After he saw his own troops circling around in front of him, and both Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan alreadyunching their attacks, Miao Yi shouted, "Leave these two alive!"

 Chapter 205: Xiong Xiaos Grief

    Chapter 205: Xiong Xiao¡¯s Grief


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    In an instant, Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan had already dashed past, in between the two handmaidens. Although Chun Xue and Dong Xue weren¡¯t harmed, the dragon steeds under them instead let out terrified cries as they copsed to the ground, killed by the two Blue Lotus experts in an instant.


    On seeing that the situation couldn¡¯t be saved, Xiong Xiao¡¯s two aides wanted to turn on their heels and run¡ªbut it was toote. They were immediately cut off by Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan, and after briefly crossing des, they were executed; blood spewing as they fell to the ground.


    Both ChunXue and Dong Xue were in a pitiful situation, they both knew that they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape after losing their mounts. Wielding the long des in their hands, both of them huddled together with their backs pressed against the other. They were trapped in the middle of dozens of cavalry keeping close watch on them, and unable to break themselves free.


    Miao Yi leapt off Charcoal. A pair of savage wolven boots came smashing onto the ground, creaking as they tread on the snow. His body of silver armor glimmered splendidly under the sunset, as he charged forward with the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand.


    He quickly came to a stop when he neared them. Raising his hand to lift the mask, he stared at Chun Xue with a sneer. "Huang Yue. It¡¯s been a while! I don¡¯t want to make things difficult for you, so tell me where Xiong Xiao is hiding. Help me find him, and I will promise to show you mercy!"


    In the current situation, it would be quite troublesome to search for Xiong Xiao. Only the two well-informed handmaidens had the greatest probability of helping him find Xiong Xiao.


    ¡®Pui!¡¯ Chun Xue spat at him.


    Miao Yi casually gestured with his hand, and a surge of transcendence energy emanated to block off the spit. "Do you really want it the hard way? I¡¯ll give you one more chance!"


    Chun Xue¡¯s beautiful face abruptly turned menacing, and she began cursing uncontrobly, "Do you think a street butcher, and trash like you is even worthy of wagging your bottom as you beg for mercy before the Huang n¡¯s gate?!"


    Miao Yi remained unfazed. He shifted his spear to target Dong Xue. "She doesn¡¯t want this chance. I¡¯m giving thisst chance to you."


    "Sister! We¡¯re bound to die anyway. Join me and fight him to our deaths!" Chun Xue cried out as she turned around.


    Face ghastly pale, Dong Xue nodded. The two of them immediately joined forces, and brandished their long des in a forward rush. They were really prepared to die rather than betray Xiong Xiao¡¯s trust.


    Those with cultivation higher than Miao Yi¡¯s may not even be his match, let alone two handmaidens with cultivation levels not up to his. How could they be Miao Yi¡¯s match? A trace of coldness shed in Miao Yi¡¯s eyes¡ªthe Inversed-Scale Spear roared, glimmering in the sunset light as he struck out.


    ¡®CLANG! CLANG!¡¯¡ªtwo strikes rapidly rang out!


    Two des sliced forward¡ªone high in the air by Dong Xue, while the other in Chun Xue¡¯s hand swept low to hack at Miao Yi from the side. Mio swiftly stomped onto the back of that de, immobilizing it.


    ¡®BANG!¡¯¡ª Dong Xue loosened her grip on the long de. She lowered her head to look at the bloody hole that had erupted in her chest. The sharp triple-edged spear head then lightly tapped her on the shoulder, and she copsed to the ground¡ªpowerless; she was unable to withstand even a single blow!


    "Sister!" Turning to look at beside her, Chun Xue instantly cried out in grief, tears cascading down her face.


    Miao Yi invoked his arts and stomped harder a second time, the shaft of the de tightly gripped in Chun Xue¡¯s hand broke into pieces on the ground.


    Before she could react, the sharp triple-edged spear head shifted from Dong Xue to strike her shoulder.


    Miao Yi drew his arm back¡ªthe sharp barbs on the spearhead hooked onto the back of her shoulder¡ªblood gushed out immediately; her shoulder de was almost snapped by motion as he rapidly hooked her to him, and forced her into a kneeling position in an instant. She couldn¡¯t keep herself on her feet no matter how much she struggled.


    "SCUM! LOWLY TRASH! YOU DOG..."


    While being hooked on her shoulder bone by the sharp barb of the spearhead, she couldn¡¯t move, and began cursing in rage. Her eyes looked as though mes were shooting from them as she red daggers at Miao Yi.


    It was clear that no matter what he did, he could no longer hope for this woman to cooperate.


    Miao Yi lowered his gaze, there was nothing left to consider. "My siblings and I had intended to pass our days peacefully. We had no grudges or animosity with the Huang n, and yet, your n still kicked us around and tortured us. No matter what, you lot never intended to leave us be. Your n caused my siblings and I to feel ill at ease, even when we were trying to earn an honest-living, and forced us apart from one another, both in life and death! Making me disappoint my foster parents in the Heavens above¡ªdo you even know of the hatred I feel in my heart? The reason why the Huang n took advantage of their position to bully us was all because of you! If I let you go now, I won¡¯t be able to face my unfortunate brother and sister! Nevermind! From now on, the enmity between your n and mine wille to an end!"


    "You scum! I¡¯ll haunt you even after I¡¯ve be a ghost!"


    Chun Xue had thrown all cautions to the wind and only knew how to curse incessantly.


    Miao Yi coldly scoffed and transmitted his voice instead, "I have no qualms about letting you die knowing the truth. Your brother died by my hands. Your father, the City Lord of Changfeng City hadn¡¯t died at the hands of others¡ªit was I who killed him. I will now grant you mercy, and send you to reunite with them!"


    There was a reason why he had used voice transmission¡ªnews of him killing Head Guard Huang could not be leaked¡ªthese were the rules of the game. If Yuan Fang and the others heard it, they would have something to ckmail him with.


    Chun Xue finally shut up, her eyes widening as she stared right at him; he was the one who killed her father...


    A crazed scream eventually erupted from her throat. "AHHHHH!!! YOU FILTHY BASTARD..."


    A cold glint shed past¡ªMiao Yi did not let her say anything further; the sharp spear head casually sliced through Chun Xue¡¯s fair neck. Her severed head flew through the air, as fresh blood spurted out profusely from her neck, before falling to the ground!


    Face devoid of emotions, Miao Yi leapt back off the ground, descending onto Charcoal¡¯s back, light as a feather whilst keeping hold of the spear.


    A couple of subordinates swiftly searched the corpses, and presented the items before Miao Yi; they had found a few Orbs of Will.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t at all interested; it was the first time that hecked interest in Orbs of Will. He quickly swept his gaze across some of his wounded subordinates. It was fortunate that the battle had been quickly resolved, and his subordinates only suffered light injuries from it. Nothing had been lost. He calmly instructed, "Divide them among you all."


    The crowd joyfully thanked him.


    Miao Yi shot a nce at Chun Xue¡¯s corpse, and gently exhaled a breath of air. The enmity he had with the Huang n had finally came to an end. That son conceived between Old Huang and Old Li¡¯s daughter from the tofu store, had better stay put. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t mind eliminating the Huang npletely.


    "Move! Let¡¯s head back!"


    Miao Yi shouted aloud, and began leading his subordinates back to East Arrival Cave, thundering off on another path.


    The man he truly wanted to kill had escaped, but it was clear to everyone that the search area was toorge. If they lost him, it would be difficult to find him again; and searching for him aimlessly was futile, so they could only return...


    The sky gradually darkened as the curtain of night closed in¡ªthe thunderous pounding of hooves was audible in the distance.


    Under Xiong Xiao¡¯smand, apany of two hundred and ten units were travelling towards them. Apart from the thirty men of certain Caves¡¯ forces, the rest of the ny-odd men were all finally present.


    He was quite pleasantly surprised that the Sword Deviate Sect, Jade Lady Sect, and the School of Imperial Beasts¡¯ forces hade earlier than expected; much faster than he had first imagined.


    Yang Qing had assigned a hundred and twenty men to him¡ªwith three Blue Lotus First Grade experts among them. Thus, he now had two hundred and ten mounted men before him.


    Based on the ie he was reaping by securing two Mountains, he could definitely afford to raise them.


    With such arge force, along with three Blue Lotus First Grade experts, Xiong Xiao was no longer afraid of Miao Yi and his group.


    Even if his own forces hadn¡¯t been replenished with men from the three great sects, Xiong Xiao believed that he had already found a way to deal with Miao Yi¡¯s men¡ªby gathering the dragon steeds into a collective charge. Even at the risk of death, or being grievously wounded, they would charge ahead with their steeds¡ªmaking use of the herd¡¯s destructive impact in a gamble of life and death. He didn¡¯t believe that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t die because of this.


    Moreover, he had a well-disciplined and powerful army. While gathering his men and making his way back again, Xiong Xiao was brimming with confidence.


    However, he couldn¡¯t find even a single trace of Miao Yi left. What greeted him was a couple of corpses, along with two dragon steeds unwilling to part with their masters.


    Xiong Xiao leapt off his dragon steed and embraced Chun Xue¡¯s body, burying his head and weeping before his subordinates¡ªhe was truly heartbroken.


    With the ability to oversee a domain¡ªregardless whether it was a Cave Master, Mountain Chieftain, Manor Head, or even a Pce Manor¡ªthe handmaiden¡¯s beside them were iparable to an ordinary cultivator¡¯s handmaiden; they were all meticulously chosen. Not only was their beauty first-rate, but their cultivation aptitudes were also nurtured as the trusted aides amongst all trusted aides.


    To him, both Chun Xue and Dong Xue were his most trusted aides, the women who shared his bed; and the disciples he had imparted his arts to. When he was engaged in closed-door seclusion cultivation, there were matters he would assign them to handle without worry.


    He once promised the two of them that one day, when matters were settled after he gained power and authority, he would have children with them.


    Now, everything had vanished. The two women he had spent over two decades cultivating with, the ones who were already adept at dealing with matters for him¡ªwere dead. Nurturing another from the beginning would take a long time.


    More importantly, during that time, he would probably have to take care of a lot of trivial matters himself, since it was impossible for novices to handle matters for him right at the start due to theirck of experience. This would definitely distract him from cultivation.


    He had already lost two handmaidens when he was still a Cave Master in the past. Now two more had died; what¡¯s more, they had died to save him. It definitely created great sorrow and grief in his heart.


    The over two hundred men sitting upright on their dragon steeds behind fell into silence. Everyone knew the importance of handmaidens for those charged with an area. When it came to trusted aides, no one could evenpare to the Elder Auntie and Little Auntie by the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s side.


    At the fore of the cavalry were three people. One of carried six long swords on his back, while another one had beast pouches hanging by his waist. Both of them were old men who had several years behind them. The first one was Tu Sanliang of the Sword Deviate Sect; thetter was Ma Hu, from the School of Imperial Beasts.


    The beautifuldy in a silver muslin dress between them, was Lan Ye. She looked young, but her age was actually not far from the other two. The Jade Lady Sect was simply skilled at retaining their youthful appearances.


    The three of them were obviously the first-rate Blue Lotus experts from the three great sects now serving under Xiong Xiao.


    When they saw how much grief Xiong Xiao was in, as he wept non-stop; the three of them exchanged nces with one another before dismounting their dragon steeds in session. As the representatives of the three sects, they cupped their hands and saluted Xiong Xiao simultaneously, "Mountain Cheiftain, our condolences!"


    The three persons¡¯ words seemed to have some effect on Xiong Xiao. He released the body and got to his feet. Facing the trio, he cried out in pain, "MIAO YI, YOU SCUM. I will never let him go! Will the three of you assist me in taking vengeance?!"


    The three looked at each other in dismay. They already had a rough idea of the situation on their journey here, but seeing that almost seventy men had failed to block little more than a dozen others, they were still quite surprised.


    This wasn¡¯t a one-on-one battle where those with the highest cultivation could emerge victorious. In a battle where arge number of forces were entangled with the formidable might of a herd of dragon steeds, even Blue Lotus cultivators would feel incredible threatened. It wasn¡¯t something that could be easily dealt with just because of a high cultivation level.


    Yet they had been unable to hold them off. It was uncertain whether the men of Mount Shaotai were too useless, or those dozens of men were too strong. To actually be killed by a Cave Master with a low cultivation, until they were thrown off their steeds.


    "We are willing to obey Mountain Chieftain¡¯s orders!" The trio cupped their hands together. The reason they came here was for their future prospects¡ªhow could they choose not to obey when they were neers?


    However, Tu Sanliang still hesitantly added, "Mountain Chieftain. I¡¯m uncertain whether this is appropriate for us to do so. I¡¯ve heard that the East Arrival Cave is in the hands of the Manor Head¡¯s adoptive daughter. Should we kill her subordinate, won¡¯t the Manor Head..."


    He didn¡¯t finish his sentence, but his concerns were evident to everyone. Participating in an internal power struggle right from the get go; even putting their hands on Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter¡ªit would be hard for the three of them not to worry.

 Chapter 206: Tipped Off

    Chapter 206: Tipped Off


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    It would have been better if Tu Sanliang hadn¡¯t mentioned Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter. Xiong Xiao had already begun to regretting his past decision dreadfully.


    To save Yang Qing face, he had silently endured the first time Miao Yi sent his men to raid Changfeng Cave. In return for his suffering, Miao Yi had be more aggressive, and he almost lost his life.


    For his tolerance of Miao Yi, he paid with the lives of both his personal handmaidens.


    This time, Miao Yi had brazenly assaulted his Mount Shaotai, and killed two of his personal handmaidens¡ªXiong Xiao would be called a coward if he tolerated Miao Yi any longer. They would make him the butt of jokes within the two Manors, for being pushed around by a mere Cave Master. If that happened, he would never be able to show his face in the two Manors ever again.


    "I will shoulder the me if the Manor Head makes any usations. You all are simply following orders, the me will not be yours to bear!"


    Xiong Xiao imed responsibility for the potential consequences.


    With Xiong Xiao stating hismitment to such an extent, Tu Sanliang and the other two new subordinate Blue Lotus experts had nothing else to say; they could onlyply with the wishes of the Mountain Chieftain.


    Chen Fei could only force a smile as he stood among the men. He hadn¡¯t known that Miao Yi could be this bold when he first met him. This time, Miao Yi hadpletely enraged Xiong Xiao. There was no doubt that Miao Yi would be in big trouble soon!


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s men and dragon steeds had retreated to Mount Shaotai, carrying with them Chun Xue and Dong Xue¡¯s corpses. These were ced in the Mount Shaotai Grand Hall.


    "Chun Xue, Dong Xue, don¡¯t worry. I will not let your deaths be in vain. I will crush East Arrival Cave, and pluck Miao Yi¡¯s head as a burial offering for the two of you!"


    Xiong Xiao mourned, and as he gazed at the lifeless bodies of his handmaidens¡ªhe swore an oath to them in the grand hall before his men.


    Just then, a spirit eagle arrived at Mount Shaotai. One of his men received the delivered jade archive, and quickly brought it to Xiong Xiao in the grand hall.


    The jade archive was an order from Yang Qing to reposition, and informing that unusual movements in Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor had been detected. Xiong Xiao was told to gather his men, and move to the designated location immediately.


    After reading the contents, Xiong Xiao gripped the jade archive in his hands. The decree from Yang Qing was quite timely¡ªhe already nned to lead hundreds men to take care of Miao Yi. With Yang Qing¡¯s decree, he could use the opportunity to gather all of his troops in Mount Calming Sea, and settle the matter once and for all.


    However, he was also concerned that suspicious activities had been reported in Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. Yang Qing would definitely inform Qing Weiwei of the current situation, so he wondered if Qing Weiwei would already be marshalling her forces. It would be inconvenient for him if Miao Yi had been called to gather his men at the designated location as well.


    Xiong Xiao turned his head back, and called out, "Wu Zhanglin!"


    "Here!" His subordinate Cave Master stepped forward, and bowed with his hands cupped.


    "Send someone to East Arrival Cave, and report the situation back to us. Keep an eye on that wicked Miao Yi, and see if he is already back in East Arrival Cave."


    "Yes, sir!" Wu Zhanglin replied, and left the grand hall with haste.


    In the meantime, Xiong Xiao, began writing on a jade archive¡ªcharging Miao Yi for his act of violence against him, and sent one of his men to deliver it to Yang Qing.


    It would be impossible to hide such arge incident from anyone, so he needed to take the initiative and inform Yang Qing of the situation as soon as possible. Otherwise, Yang Qing would suspect Xiong Xiao of disrespecting him, if he waited until the situation had be worse to give his exnation.


    He already made his calctions before writing the jade archive. By the time Yang Qing received his missive, even if Yang Qing sent any more orders to Xiong Xiao after that¡ªXiong Xiao would have already arrived in East Arrival Cave to kill Miao Yi. He already had a good reason to wage war against Miao Yi, if the Manor Head decided to look into the matter.


    When Wu Zhanglin left the hall, he scanned through his men. His gaze stopped at Chen Fei, before beckoning him to say, "You were in East Arrival Cave before. I presumed you are no stranger to that ce."


    Chen Fei was stunned by the sudden inquiry, as he didn¡¯t know what Wu Zhanglin was leading to. He cupped his fists, and replied, "Cave Master. Yes, you are correct!"


    "Good! I will send two of my men to apany you. Go forth to East Arrival Hall immediately,....." Wu Zhanglin briefed Chen Fei on the mission that was given by Xiong Xiao.


    Chen Fei was speechless¡ªwhy was he once again the scout? It seemed that his experience in East Arrival Cave would always be put to good use. He really wondered when East Arrival Cave would stop their activities, and quiet down.


    Regardless, he epted the order with cupped fists. He brought along the two helpers assigned by the Cave Master, and galloped on his way under the light of the moon.


    Not long after, Xiong Xiaopleted his arrangements and stepped out of the grand hall leading two columns of his elite troops. They mounted their dragon steeds, and charged toward their destination together.....


    At Mount Calming Sea, Qin Weiwei was extremely shocked after receiving the missive from Yang Qing. She was now aware that those who tried to assault East Arrival Cave might have been from Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. She wasn¡¯t sure if Miao Yi already knew, or simply pretended not to know, but one thing was for sure¡ªMiao Yi would definitely take the opportunity to exact revenge against his hated enemy, Xiong Xiao.


    Qin Weiwei quickly issued a stern warning to Miao Yi¡ªordering him to avoid looking for trouble with Xiong Xiao, and demanding that he closely monitor the situation at Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. Otherwise, she would appoint someone else to be the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave.


    When Miao Yi received the warning from Qin Weiwei, he and his troops were already on their way back to East Arrival Cave.


    After he finished reading the jade archive, Miao Yi sneered. It wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t want to listen to her orders, but her response on this matter was toote. He had already done what she didn¡¯t desire him to do.


    The Great Cave Master Miao didn¡¯t take the matter to heart, as he had already been well prepared to go against Xiong Xiao. However, he did regret letting Xiong Xiao escape after all that.


    He was still unaware that Xiong Xiao¡¯s forces had been strengthened after retreating to Mount Shaotai. Moreover, Xiong Xiao had alreadypleted preparations to exact his revenge. Miao Yi thought that with his own troops, Xiong Xiao wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him. He truly had yet realized the shit-ton of trouble he had brought upon himself with his actions.


    The entire East Arrival Cave was still the same as ever when they got back. Apparently, Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor hadn¡¯te to assault East Arrival Cave again. Miao Yi sent his subordinate to contact the two scouts he had sent out earlier.


    Miao Yi was secretly frightened after being briefed by his scouts. Arge number of men had gathered at Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. He surmised that the entire army of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor had assembled.


    He quickly sent a few more scouts to secure their defenses, and ryed his situation to Mount Calming Sea; asking for reinforcements.


    In reality, Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor was more nervous than he expected.


    The Great Cave Master Miao was now well known in Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Su Biao led a charge of hundreds of men to raid East Arrival Cave, but they were thwarted and evenpletely wiped out by just around twenty men¡ªeven Su Biao with a cultivation at Blue Lotus Second Grade had been killed as well!


    After Liu Jingtian received the news of his death, he began readying hisrge army, and instantly had a terrible migraine.


    He wasn¡¯t in agony because of Su Biao¡¯s death, but because he had made such a huge mess! Suppressing Second Hall and Suppressing Third Hall would definitely be alerted, and he had no idea how he should end all of this.


    Liu Jingtian had thought that there wouldn¡¯t a problem if Su Biao personally led his army to raid a measly East Arrival Cave. After killing or capturing Qin Weiwei, he nned to swiftly clear the entire area and return without leaving any evidence behind. Even if Yang Qing knew that he was the perpetrator, he wouldn¡¯t be able to charge him of anything, because he had no proof to do so.


    He hadn¡¯t done this only for himself, but also for Suppressing Third Hall. When the time came, Hall Master Wu Menn would have praised him for a job well done, and he would have been able to redeem himself from showing his previous ipetence before her.


    Who would have known! Instead, he got himself into trouble without finishing the job, and his forces suffered heavy casualties. On top of that, he left behind evidence for his enemy.


    What should he do when Suppressing Second Hall presented the evidence to charge him with the assault?


    Start another assault to destroy the evidence? His opponents weren¡¯t idiot. Were they stupid enough to wait for him to attack East Arrival Cave again, and destroy the evidence?


    If this matter continued to grow bigger, he would have to bear all the consequences.


    Mei Yu received a bacsh for his idiotic scheme, and was reprimanded by Liu Jingtian, "Didn¡¯t you say that the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave was easy to defeat? Didn¡¯t you say that you can defeat him by yourself? Why don¡¯t you go ahead and kill him for me!"


    Mei Yu was at loss for words. Was the Cave Master of the East Arrival Cave the bane of raids? Zhang Decheng was thwarted by Miao Yi too. And now, Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor was also disrupted by Miao Yi. Yang Qing had definitely chosen a genius to oversee such a strategic location!


    Liu Jingtian was distressed and terrified. How would the Hall Master punish himter.....


    Miao Yi was already on high alert; the reconstruction of the East Arrival Cave had already been brought to a halt.


    He took the time to visit the dockyard, and allowed Yan Xiu, Qian¡®Er and Xue ¡®Er to continue hiding as usual.


    Miao Yi then went to visit a cave near East Arrival Cave, where Yao Ruoxian was currently residing. He hoped that Yao Ruoxian would lend a hand at a crucial moment, should things in East Arrival Cave go awry.


    Inside the cave, Yao Ruoxian sat cross-legged on a stone couch and scoffed: "Don¡¯t give me that. Even if you kneel down and call me ¡®grandpa¡¯, my answer is still no."


    Miao Yi pointed at therge sleeves with the little mantids, and earnestly said, "Senior Yao, think for a second. If I die, these little fellows will no longer stay by your side obediently. If that happens, won¡¯t that be a huge waste?"


    "It¡¯s better for you to die, than sending me to my grave, alright? If this loose cultivator at the Red Lotus Realm decides to meddle in your business, Suppressing Second Hall or Suppressing Third Hall will immediately send a few Red Lotus experts to investigate the situation. Even if I¡¯m able to defeat those Red Lotus experts, there¡¯s a chance that Traversing Moon Pce might be alerted. If they send a Violet Lotus expert to find me, do you think I will live or die? On top of that, there¡¯s also the Golden Lotus experts. Whates after that is Mu Fanjun from the Realm Beyond Heaven. How many would dare provoke them? I still want to live a couple more years!"


    Yao Ruoxian waved his hand with an expression that wasn¡¯t open to negotiations and said, "You are not thinking of taking this opportunity to screw me over, are you?"


    That was it¡ªhe lost all hope, even with such a highly skilled cultivator by his side. After all that, Miao Yi returned with low spirits.


    As soon as Miao Yi returned to his room, a subordinate guarding the mountain quickly entered, and sped his hand to his chest before saying: "Cave Master, there is someone at the mountain gates looking for you!"


    ¡®Who woulde to look for him at this hour?¡¯ Miao Yi curiously asked, "Who is it?"


    The soldier replied, "He refused to reveal his name. He asked me to let Cave Master know that an old friend who helped exchanged a wooden spear for a silver one hase to pay a visit, and that you will naturally know who he is."


    "Exchanged a wooden spear for a silver one...." Miao Yi froze. He could immediately guess who that person was. Yan Xiu had mentioned the same phrase before. Miao Yi knew that this person was currently under Xiong Xiao¡¯smand; it must have been something urgent for him toe all the way to East Arrival Cave. He gestured with his hand, and said, "Bring him to me!"


    Not long after that, a fatigued Chen Fei, with his hat pulled to its lowest, was brought inside. Miao Yi stood at the entrance to wee him, but was signalled by Chen Fei to stop disying such gestures in the presence of others.


    Miao Yi quickly ordered his subordinate to leave, as he brought Chen Fei into his room.


    Before any greetings were exchanged, Chen Fei already opened his mouth and said, "Brother Miao, get out of this ce quickly. Otherwise you will be in big trouble!"


    Miao Yi was stunned, and asked, "What do you mean?"


    Chen Fei forced a smile, and said, "Do you need me to recount the things you¡¯ve done at Mount Shaotai? Xiong Xiao is leading arge army to this ce to raze East Arrival Cave, and take your life. I¡¯ve been sent to scout the situation. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to shrug off the other two men, and inform you of this matter, you know."


    "Xiong Xiao?" Miao Yi raised his eyebrow, and chuckled coldly, "I was beginning to worry that I wouldn¡¯t be able to find him. How bold of him to send himself to my doorstep!"


    "I knew you¡¯d be like this. I was afraid that you would look down on your enemy, so I came to personally warn you." Chen Fei was clearly anxious as he continued, "Xiong Xiao had takenmand of two hundred men, including three Blue Lotus First Grade experts...."


    Chen Fei also used the time to exin about the participation of disciples from the Sword Deviate Sect, Jade Lady Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts to Miao Yi as fast as he could.

 Chapter 207: Screwed Up

    Chapter 207: Screwed Up


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    After listening intently to what Chen Fei had to say, Miao Yi was shocked for a moment, as if he had been sshed with a pail of cold water.


    Why were members from the Sword Deviate Sect, Jade Lady Sect and School of Imperial Beasts popping up all of a sudden?


    He noticed that his informationwork was terribly weak, as he could only cover the area within East Arrival Cave.


    "Brother Miao, stop being in a daze¡ªgo quickly! Xiong Xiao should already be on his way with his men after I left to look for you. If you don¡¯t go right now, it will be toote." Chen Fei solemnly reminded Miao Yi of the current situation.


    Miao Yi cupped his hands with a grateful expression on his face. "Thank you Brother Chen, for the warning."


    Chen Fei quickly cut to the chase, "I can¡¯t stay too long, or they will notice something suspicious is going on. Brother Miao, make your moves carefully. I shall take my leave now."


    Chen Fei turned and hastily left, he truly mustn¡¯t stay too long.


    Before he could run back to his post, Miao Yi stopped him with a yell, "Wait a moment!"


    Chen Fei turned back to look, and saw Miao Yi take out ten low-grade Orbs of Will from his storage ring. He grabbed Chen Fei¡¯s wrist, and shoved them into his palms.


    "This...." Chen Fei was a little flustered, but it was no secret that he did desire them.


    "Just a small token of my good will. Don¡¯t make it a shoving match between the two of us." Miao Yi quickly spoke first, before Chen Fei could cough out any words of courtesy.


    "If you insist. I¡¯m off then!" Chen Fei held onto the Orbs of Will, and cupped his hand once more to bid his farewell.


    Miao Yi also knew that it was risky for Chen Fei toe here, and that he should not remain any longer. With that, Miao Yi tried not to dy him any further, and waved, "Farewell!"


    Chen Fei left; quickly hurrying his way down the mountain slope, and hopped onto his dragon steed¡ªleaving the site at once.


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi paced back and forth near the entrance, finding his current situation ironic. He was ted when he had the chance to torment Xiong Xiao before, but now it was time for Xiong Xiao¡¯s turn to torment him. He didn¡¯t expect the situation to flip around like this so quickly.


    "Everyone gather around!"


    Miao Yi waited until Chen Fei was gone before calling for his men.


    After everyone had assembled a momentter, Miao Yi briefed them on the current situation. They shared the same thoughts as him¡ªnever expecting that the situation would end up flipping around so suddenly. Everyone was consumed by an unending fear.


    Lai Yuhan cupped his fist and said, "Cave Master, we can¡¯t hold off that many people. We have to shelter ourselves from danger."


    ¡®Shelter from danger¡¯ had a nice sound to it, but it actually meant ¡®fleeing¡¯.


    "Where can we go? We can run away now, but we can¡¯t do it forever. We can run from today, but we can¡¯t run away from tomorrow," said Miao Yi, as he shook his head.


    A small frown creased Yuan Fang¡¯s forehead as she asked, "What does the Cave Master have in mind?"


    "We can only take a risk. Let¡¯s see if we can wipe them out."


    "How are we going to do that?"


    Miao Yi pointed in the direction of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, and said, "Liu Jingtian¡¯s troops are assembled near the border. If I don¡¯t use the Manor Head¡¯s previous approach as a lesson for my next move, I would be a fool. It¡¯s best to learn from his experience!"


    His men glimmered with hope; this method could actually work. If those men from Mount Returning Loyalty made the first move and raided their territory, then they wouldn¡¯t be held ountable for the consequences of their actions.


    After Miao Yi organized his men, he took the lead and hastily departed with them. There was no need to guard this old cave like a treasure for the time being...


    Just then, Xiong Xiao was leading arge army to his intended destination, when he was stopped midway by Chen Fei and the two other scouts.


    After receiving the report from Chen Fei, Cave Master Wu Zhanglin quickly recounted the situation to his superior Xiong Xiao, "Mountain Chieftain. That scum Miao Yi has indeed returned to East Arrival Cave!"


    Xiong Xiao immediately revealed a sinister smile, and withdrew a scrap of ck cloth. He covered his face it¡ªpreparing to deal Miao Yi the same way he was dealt with.


    His men followed suit, and covered their faces as well.


    "Crush East Arrival Cave¡ªlet no one live! Anyone who can kill Miao Yi will be greatly rewarded. Capture him alive, and you will be granted the seat of a Cave Master regardless of your cultivation level!" ordered Xiong Xiao. Then he gave a signal with his hand, and yelled,"FORWARD!"


    Xiong Xiao clearly did not want Miao Yi to experience a quick death. He wanted to capture him alive, so that he could torture him to death, and quell the hatred in his heart.


    Once his orders were given out, the eyes of his men shone with zeal. ¡®Was it really true that they could be a Cave Master regardless of their cultivation, if they managed to capture Miao Yi alive?¡¯


    Their dragon steeds cried out, as the army charged towards East Arrival Cave with Xiong Xiao in the lead.


    Just as they managed to enter the mountain where East Arrival Cave was nestled, Xiong Xiao suddenly caught sight of a squad of men scuttling out of the forest, as if they did not wish to engage his men¡ªhurriedly riding their steeds in the opposite direction to escape.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s eyes quickly narrowed as he caught sight of an armor-d figure leading the fleeing men. Who could it be, but the man he sought¡ªMiao Yi!


    "AFTER THEM!" roared Xiong Xiao, pointing out his adversary. His troops quickly adjusted their formation, and gave chase as fast as they could.


    Both South Edict Manor and Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor shared the same piece ofnd, so Liu Jingtian¡¯s troops were able jump into action, right after they received news of an iing assault.


    Liu Jingtian wasn¡¯t a fool either. Since it hade to this, he had to defend himself against Yang Qing¡¯s assault. Naturally, he had sent scouts to investigate, and received word that arge army was storming towards them. In an instant, he ordered his men into battle formation.


    From what he had gathered, the number of enemy troops was quite little¡ªonly two hundred men in all. This number wasn¡¯t a threat, so he decided to focus on his own defense without any intent of stepping over his border.


    Miao Yi would look back once in awhile, as he led his men in their flight from Xiong Xiao¡¯s pursuit¡ªcontrolling the distance between them. He wanted to lead them towards Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s area.


    During their retreat, the two scouts dispatched earlier on came back and rejoined their group. They reported the location of Liu Jingtian¡¯s army to Miao Yi, leading him to change course, so that he could lead Xiong Xiao¡¯s army towards Liu Jingtian¡¯s men.


    When Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor just entered his sights, he suddenly saw Liu Jingtian and his army standing by in battle formation near the border.


    Miao Yi and his men quickly took up arms, and shouted, "CHARGE!"


    After which, an awkward situation presented itself to him.


    In close pursuit behind Miao Yi, Xiong Xiao was caught by surprise on catching sight of thousands of men ahead of him¡ªespecially once he used his transcendence vision, and realized that Liu Jingtian wasmanding the army. He immediately called for a halt! His men came to an urgent stop¡ªtheir steeds churning up mud on the ground.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s eyes flickered brightly despite his face being covered with the scarf-mask. He had taken a great risk back when he tricked Liu Jingtian and used him¡ªbecause of that, Liu Jingtian would still be harboring a deep hatred in his heart; waiting for the moment when he would be able to break his bones, and turn him into ashes.


    The urge to kill Miao Yi was strong, yet he couldn¡¯t afford to throw away his life recklessly by making rash moves.


    Miao Yi noticed that there wasn¡¯t anymotion behind him after he called for his men to go forth and kill. He quickly turned to look back almost immediately and broke out in a cold sweat. ¡®Why weren¡¯t they moving forward?¡¯


    He quickly called for a halt by raising his spear, and seventeen steeds immediately stopped.


    He had no choice but to stop¡ªthere was about a thousand men ahead of him. These few dozen soldiers would be ground to dust if they rushed into battle!


    Miao Yi initially nned to lead Xiong Xiao and his men forward, obviously allowing Liu Jingtian¡¯s army to rush in for the kill as well. He would then lead his men to escape from the side of the battle, and force Xiong Xiao and Liu Jingtian to fight each other to the death.


    Unexpectedly, not only did Xiong Xiao¡¯s men stop; Liu Jingtian¡¯s troops didn¡¯t make make a move either. Miao Yi figured that those two would not make a move unless his men moved first.


    On one side, a thousand men were ready to go; while on the other, two hundred men would not budge from their position; andstly, a few dozen men were trapped between these two forces looking a bit helpless and lonely. With all Xiong Xiao¡¯s men concealing their faces, the current situation was more than a little hrious.


    Liu Jingtian sat atop his dragon steed, and surveyed Xiong Xiao and his men. ¡®Were these also Yang Qing¡¯s men? If they were what he presumed them to be, was it necessary to cover their faces? What was the meaning of this?¡¯


    On the other end, the masked Xiong Xiao was quick to realize the situation. He didn¡¯t expect that Miao Yi would actually think of luring his men to the lion¡¯s den, and use Liu Jingtian to annihte him. That was close!


    Miao Yi was speechless as he watched the scene unfold. He noticed that while his n was theoretically perfect, the reality of it was far crueler than he had expected.


    It was at this moment that he finally realized the meaning of ¡®One may know a man¡¯s face, but never know his heart¡¯. Yang Qing seemed like he was enjoying himself taking part in war schemes, so Miao Yi thought that he could learn his ploys simply by imitation. What he didn¡¯t know was that Yang Qing had secretly made numerous arrangements in order to fool Liu Jingtian into his scheme. The disparity between a well thought-out n, and its execution was too great! That was known as experience. Miao Yi failed to achieve what he set out to do.


    The three factions didn¡¯t make a sound. Liu Jingtian didn¡¯t make any attempt to approach, nor did he retreat. On the other hand, Xiong Xiao didn¡¯t want Miao Yi to slip away¡ªyet he didn¡¯t dare to make a move on Miao Yi. While Miao Yi was stuck between the two forces, and was caught in a dilemma¡ªhe could not move forward, nor could he move backwards. He could still retreat through the sides, but he was unwilling to do so at the moment.


    After some time had passed, the three factions still didn¡¯t make any moves. Yuang Fang and Lai Yuan already figured out that the Cave Master had made a huge blunder. As they got their brains in gear to try to think of their next move, they noticed that the Cave Master had instead decided to furiously shake his spear at Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, shouting, "THE CAVE MASTER OF EAST ARRIVAL CAVE MIAO YI IS HERE. WHO DARES CHALLENGE ME!?"


    He thought that he could goad Liu Jingtian and his men into moving in for the kill. If he could do that, then he would be able to lead them to Xiong Xiao¡¯s side afterwards.


    Whispers could be heard in Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡¯s side. ¡®So this was the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave that they have been hearing about.¡¯


    Liu Jingtian had already made preparations, so that when the Hall Master asked him of the situation, he would be able to push all the responsibility to that dead Su Biao. Even though he didn¡¯t dare try to recklessly cross into Suppressing Second Hall, he would not have his own honor sullied either. He sat straight up and said, "CAVE MASTER OF EAST ARRIVAL CAVE MIAO YI? YOU¡¯VE GOT GUTS! I WILL GRANT YOU YOUR WISH¡ªYOU CAN FIGHT WHOEVER YOU WANT ON MY TERRITORY. COME IF YOU DARE!"


    Those words immediately made Miao Yi lose his temper, and he silently thought, ¡®If I was brave enough to cross over to your side, I would have done so from the beginning. Do I need you to say it out loud?¡¯


    The Great Cave Master Miao then aimed his spear to the other side, and said, "OLD SCUM XIONG XIAO! COME FIGHT ME TO THE DEATH IF YOU DARE!"


    Xiong Xiao remained indifferent. He already saw through Miao Yi¡¯s precarious scheme, so there was no way he would not fall for it again. Moreover...., as expected, once Miao Yi called out his name, Liu Jingtian¡ªstanding across from Xiong Xiao¡ªimmediately began to focus his gaze on him with a gleam in his eyes. Apparently, Liu Jingtian still remembered the Xiong Xiao¡¯s previous maniption; which was why Xiong Xiao was even more determined not to fall for Miao Yi¡¯s trick again!


    The Great Cave Master Miao became furious after yelling at the top of his lungs. ¡®So the both of you won¡¯t respond? I¡¯ll see how long you guys can stand before you run out of patience!¡¯


    "Liu Jingtian, I didn¡¯t think a Manor Head like you would turn out to be such a coward...; Xiong Xiao, you scum! How dare you gang up with Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor to assault my East Arrival Cave. The Manor Head will never forgive you for this..."


    The Great Cave Master Miao began cursing at both parties nonstop. It was truly a first for everyone to see a Cave Master freely cursing both a Mountain Chieftain and a Manor Head at the same time. It seemed as if he was basking in the limelight¡ªsuch an overbearing attitude!


    No one knew that Liu Jingtian was actually wrestling with his thoughts then. ¡®What kind of situation is this? Why is he cursing the other person now? Perhaps some kind of internal conflict? It can¡¯t be! He might be attempting to make me fall for his scheme again!¡¯


    Miao Yi became parched after cursing the entire day. Even Charcoal couldn¡¯t help but to turn its head to stare at him for time to time. This was his first time seeing Miao Yi thering so much nonsense.


    His subordinate were speechless. ¡®Cave Master, don¡¯t you feel tired...¡¯


    After uttering a string of curses, Miao Yi was finally getting tired. As he began to get exhausted, his temper also cooled down. ¡®Forget it.¡¯ he thought. Since everyone wanted to drag this on, he would y his part. Besides, he wasn¡¯t in any great danger. He would stay put until reinforcements arrived.


    Just before midnight, Xiong Xiao¡¯s men came up from the rear on their steeds, and muttered to Xiong Xiao for a good minute.


    Xiong Xiao stared coldly at Miao Yi for a moment; he seemed unhappy with what he just heard. Then, he tore off his scarf mask and finally revealed his true face, making Liu Jingtian grit his teeth in anger.


    Xiong Xiao must have nothing to fear if he was brave enough to do that.


    All of his troops followed him, and took off their masks as well.

 Chapter 208: Protecting Manor Head

    Chapter 208: Protecting Manor Head


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Grasping the situation, Miao Yi figured that that reinforcements had arrived. There was no way for Xiong Xiao to continue pretending.


    As he expected¡ªnot long after, a thunderous tremor came from afar.


    Everyone¡¯s gaze was drawn over to it, and caught sight of Yang Qing leading an over two thousand strong army from the two Manors, on a thunderous charge in the night.


    Yang Qing was a little thrown when he saw the confrontation happening from afar. ¡®What is that brat doing, gathering a few dozen men in the center?¡¯


    The moment he caught sight of Xiong Xiao¡¯s forces, Yang Qing¡¯s face darkened considerably¡ªhe could roughly guess what had happened.


    After he received Xiong Xiao¡¯s report that mentioned Miao Yi had charged to Mount Shaotai and killed his two personal handmaidens, Yang Qing already knew then that Xiong Xiao would not leave the matter be. If Yang Qing were in his shoes, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to take it lying down either. This time around, Miao Yi had really crossed the line.


    Thus, Yang Qing hadn¡¯t sent a missive to stop Xiong Xiao after receiving the report¡ªhe knew it would be toote to put a stop to it. After all, an esteemed Mountain Chieftain being cut to a sorry state by a mere Cave Master; it went without saying that Yang Qing should indulge Xiong Xiao this once. He could only see whether Miao Yi would manage to escape this time around. However, he assumed that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be so easily resigned to his fate.


    Sure enough, just as before, that brat Miao Yi was still alive and well. He hadn¡¯t disappointed him at all.


    Seeing Yang Qing arriving with his formidable army in tow, Xiong Xiao swiftly turned back with his men. He cupped his fists at Yang Qing, before leading his men to join the army¡¯s battle formation.


    The over two thousand strong army swiftly took its position on the battlefield opposite Liu Jingtian¡¯s army, with Yang Qing as the center of their formation. To Yang Qing¡¯s left and right, were the ten respective Mountain Chieftains, and behind them were the three Blue Lotus experts from the three great sects. Immediately behind Yang Qing, six Blue Lotus experts fanned out to guard him.


    Turning to look, Miao Yi¡¯s heart quivered. Yang Qing was capable of affording, and supporting more men after tapping into the cultivation resources of two Manors. The current Yang Qing had really grown to have a powerful and well-disciplined army.


    Yang Qing nced coldly at Liu Jingtian across from him, before gradually turning his gaze on to Qin Weiwei, beside him.


    Qin Weiwei caught the hint, and shouted out an order, "East Arrival Cave Master. Come forth and report!"


    Miao Yi immediately scrambled forward with his men. With Yang Qing being right here, he was safe. It was impossible for Xiong Xiao to make a move on him in Yang Qing¡¯s presence.


    "East Arrival Cave¡¯s Cave Master hase to pay his respects to Manor Head and Mountain Chieftain!" After cupping his fists at Yang Qing, he cupped his fists at Qin Weiwei.


    On the opposite side, Liu Jingtian drew in breath of cold air. He never expected Yang Qing to have so many men serving under him. Didn¡¯t they say that although Yang Qing was governing two Manors, his army hadn¡¯t been replenished yet?


    Liu Jingtianughed heartily, and called out, "Brother Yang! We meet again!"


    The current circumstance was of greater import than his personal interests. Before, he desired to seek vengeance from Yang Qing¡ªyet look at him now, he was weing Yang Qing with a smile on his face; as if he had forgotten the enmity they had between them.


    Yang Qing merely threw him a cold gaze, before ignoring him and red at Miao Yi, "Who attacked East Arrival Cave? Tell me the truth. If there is even a single false word, you will be executed!"


    The tone of his voice did not leave any room for doubt. If any discrepancy was really found, after saying such words in public, he would definitely execute Miao Yi without mercy!


    Miao Yi had already begun pointing his finger at Xiong Xiao. However, after seeing that baleful look on Yang Qing¡¯s face, he swallowed back the words he had been intending to say. Yet his finger was already pointing at Xiong Xiao, he couldn¡¯t honestly take it back, so he seized the opportunity to justify it, "I initially thought that this was done by Xiong Xiao. Later on, I discovered that I had been tricked; someone intentionally mislead me. It truth, it was actually done by Mount Returning Loyalty of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor!"


    "UTTER RUB-" Xiong Xiao almost died from anger when he saw that Miao Yi had aimed an using finger at him. He was half-way through speaking the words ¡®Utter rubbish!¡¯ before realizing that Miao Yi wasn¡¯t using him in the end. So he could only force the words back down, feelingpletely insufferable.


    Yet everyone, including Yang Qing, shifted their gaze to him on catching wind of the phrase ¡®Utter rubbish!¡¯¡ªthat he intended to say. Miao Yi never said that he was the one to me, yet there he was trying to say ¡®Utter rubbish!¡¯. Could it be that Xiong Xiao wanted to admit that he was the perpetrator?


    Miao Yi was also looking at Xiong Xiao with a dumbfounded expression on his face.


    Xiong Xiao flushed deep red in anger, as he grit his teeth in hatred. ¡®Why was he always on the short end of the stick when this brat was involved?¡¯ Yet it was hopeless, he found it difficult to exin himself.


    "Done by Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor?" Withdrawing his gaze from Xiong Xiao, Yang Qing regarded Miao Yi as he continued to ask, "Do you have proof?"


    "Yes!" Miao Yi withdrew Su Biao¡¯s severed head from his storage ring. "When Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Su Biao led his men to raid East Arrival Cave, he was killed by my men¡ªhere is his severed head. We captured one of his men alive, who can attest to it. The evidence is irrefutable! There is no room for him to deny it!"


    Now it was the other army¡¯s¡¯ turn to draw in a breath of cold air. ¡®Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Su Biao had a Blue Lotus Second Grade cultivation¡ªhe was killed by this brat?¡¯


    A look of astonishment shed across Yang Qing¡¯s eyes, as the suspicion he held in his heart was ultimatelyid to rest.


    From the beginning, he had already suspected that Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor was the one who raided East Arrival Cave. However, Miao Yi¡¯s earlier report had insisted that it was carried out by Xiong Xiao. Now that there was damning evidence, together with Qin Weiwei¡¯s earlier report that she had been in East Arrival Cave before the incident¡ªshe just left and East Arrival Cave was attacked!


    Yang Qing¡¯s expression went cold. He already knew the reason why Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor had done this. The assault on East Arrival Cave was merely a front¡ªwhat they truly desired was to make a move on his daughter instead!


    Since that was the case, that brat Miao Yi had saved his daughter. Not only did he do so, he also turned the entire situation around. It turned out to be the right choice to station that brat here at East Arrival Cave¡ªhe could wreck havoc and still perform his duties. He was hardly an ipetent man.


    A trace of admiration quickly shed through the cold re that Yang Qing directed at Miao Yi. Following which, he red at the opposite side, and bellowed, "LIU JINGTIAN! YOU DARE TO DECEIVE ME!?"


    Liu Jingtian cupped his hands in the distance, and eximed, "Brother Yang, there must be some mistake! I was unaware of Su Biao¡¯s actions. Don¡¯t you fret. I will definitely investigate this incident thoroughly, and give a proper exnation to Brother Yang!"


    Yang Qingpletely ignored his response, and forcefully yelled out in a clearly murderous tone, "KILL!"


    The ten Mountain Chieftains instantly signalled, and carried on the cry¡ª¡®KILL!¡¯ in unison. The two thousand strong army rumbled forth like a relentless tide.


    Miao Yi had been about to apany them to kill, when he subconsciously shot a nce at Xiong Xiao. His eyes ultimately met with Xiong Xiao¡¯s, and a tangible chill swiftly shed within it. Miao Yi¡¯s heart palpitated for a moment, as he considered whether that filthy scum was going to deliver a murderous blow to him in the middle of the chaotic battle.


    ¡®It is entirely possible! A chaotic battle is the best ce for him to strike, since it won¡¯t be easily noticed by others!¡¯


    The word ¡®KILL!¡¯ erupting from his mouth, quickly transformed into a yell as he brandished his spear. "The Manor Head must not suffer any misfortune in East Arrival Cave! Follow me to protect the Manor Head!"


    It was safest to stay by Yang Qing¡¯s side.


    Yuan Fang, Lai Yuhan and the rest had just been about to charge out, but quickly stopped in their tracks¡ªthey were left somewhat speechless. They almost disobeyed the Cave Master¡¯s orders and charged out on their own. The Cave Master¡¯s signal had been too misleading! No wonder even Xiong Xiao¡¯s words ¡®Utter rubbish!¡¯ were half-spoken.


    ¡®However, we are your subordinates, not Xiong Xiao! Was there a need to pull such a trick on us?¡¯ It almost caused them to disobey a direct order before the others. ¡®Wasn¡¯t it embarrassing for the Cave Master as well? Seriously!¡¯


    They quickly turned about, and apanied Miao Yi to stand guard by Yang Qing¡¯s side.


    This time, Yang Qing didn¡¯t personally charge forward to lead his men. Back then, he didn¡¯t have the strength to win the battle against a stronger enemy, so he took the lead to boost the morale of his men¡ªonly then would everyone risk their lives for him. He had taken the lead because his life depended on it.


    Now that he had strong men, and sturdy steeds; battling a weaker enemy from a position of strength¡ªit would be too much to ask the main general to risk his life to lead the assault. If the main general risked his life in the lead every single time, then what was the point in employing so many men?


    He had been painstakinglybored for all these years¡ªwasn¡¯t it all for the sake of lessening his risks today, as well as in the future?


    There were already six Blue Lotus First Grade experts standing guard beside him. Yang Qing didn¡¯t need the shrimpy soldiers and a crabby general to protect him, but he kept his silence. Instead, he shot a thoughtful nce at the ¡®faithful and devoted¡¯ Miao Yi protecting him. Then his gaze once again shifted to witness the battle unfolding before them.


    The rumblings of a fierce battle thundered from up ahead¡ªthe cries of dragon steeds erupted; both men and steeds were thrown off their feet.


    The moment the forces on both sides crossed swords when they shed with one another, Liu Jingtian felt that something was wrong. The enemy not only had greater numbers, they also had quite a number of Blue Lotus experts.


    He was certain that he had no chance of winning this war, so he had to shrug off the embarrassment of running away. It wasn¡¯t as though he didn¡¯t put up a fight, rather¡ªit was because he had no chance of fending off the attacks at all.


    As Liu Jingtian hastily made his escape, he loudly yelled, "RETREAT!"


    Those who didn¡¯t manage to retreat in time were overrun by the charging forces. None of those in the midst of fleeing for their lives, cared about the death of theirrades, since they wouldn¡¯t be able to save them no matter what they did. They only concerned themselves with their own lives.


    The frontline of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor was instantly crushed. Yang Qing¡¯s army seized the opportunity to chase for kills. Men and steeds were thrown off their feet, with arms and legs being hacked off along the way¡ªblood spurting out in all directions.


    There was a reason why everyone was fighting so desperately¡ªit was all for the sake of plundering cultivation resources¡ªbecause of that, they drew the battle out into a series of life and death shes.


    Under heavy guard, Yang Qing wrote on a jade archive atop his dragon steed. Then he ordered his subordinate to deliver it via spirit eagle to Hall Master Huo Lingxiao, of Suppressing Second Hall.


    After the spirit eagle cut through the sky and left, he gave a signal with his handmanding the forces at his sides to pursue past the enemy frontline, and enter the boundary of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. This was already his second time charging into the realm of Suppressing Third Hall.


    It was actually wrong for him to do this. Admittedly, Liu Jingtian was the one who had provoked him first, and he had definite proof of it. But by right, once Liu Jingtian withdrew¡ªmatters involving the two Halls should have been reported to Suppressing Second Hall first, for Huo Lingxiao to take charge of, instead of reporting it after the deed wasmitted.


    However, Yang Qing wanted the opponent to pay the price first. He had just seized control of two manors, and an outsider already wanted to mess with him¡ªhe couldn¡¯t show his weakness! Since Liu Jingtian had attacked him, he had to return the favor!


    Liu Jingtian was considered to be extremely unlucky for crossing a person like him.


    However, Yang Qing didn¡¯t over do it. After his army killed about three hundred men, the situation had devolved to the point where they were simply chasing after the escapees. There was no meaning for him to continue giving chase; that might force the other Manors of Suppressing Third Hall to respond andy siege on him. Thus, Yang Qing decisively ordered his forces to retrieve their spoils of war, and retreat.


    Once they were back in the realm of South Edict Manor, a quick check in numbers revealed that about ten men had fallen in battle, or were injured.


    After concealing some men at the boundary, the majority of their forces withdrew. They temporarily stationed themselves at East Arrival Cave to guard against the opponent¡¯s army at all time, while waiting for news from Suppressing Second Hall.


    After dawn broke, more than two thousand men apanied Yang Qing to stop over at the ruined East Arrival Cave. Yang Qing scanned his surroundings, and was rather shocked at the scene.


    He originally intended to rest at East Arrival Cave, and never expected that it would be in such dire straits. He wasn¡¯t used to staying in such a ragged ce like this, after living in a posh ce that was like paradise on Earth. As the sunlight fell onto the rows of wooden shacks at the edge of the mountain slopes, he asked, "You¡¯ve all been staying there every since then?"


    Having no choice but to apany Yang Qing, since he was visiting Miao Yi¡¯s territory; Miao Yi gave a dryugh, "The living conditions here are quite poor. Manor Head, please excuse me."


    Yang Qing casually asked, "Why haven¡¯t you rebuilt the ce yet?"


    Miao Yi replied, "After East Arrival Cave was so badly ravaged, I didn¡¯t wish to again have such a painful experience and employed more men to defend it, so my budget has been a bit tight...."


    The expression he showed Yang Qing was full of expectations. Yang Qing had yet to reward him for saving his daughter before, and now that he had save his daughter once again¡ªthe stage was set¡ªshouldn¡¯t he at least reward him with something?

 Chapter 209: Dogfight

    Chapter 209: Dogfight


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    ¡®His hands were a bit tight? Was he certain that it wasn¡¯t because of other reasons?¡¯


    Qin Weiwei ground her teeth, silently cursing in her heart. She couldn¡¯t understand how Miao Yi could be shameless enough to deceive both the Mountain Chieftain and the Manor Head into fighting with each other. Such audacity...


    Yang Qing wasn¡¯t a fool either. He leveled a re at the Great Master Miao Yi when he deduced what he was really hinting at from his words and behaviour.


    His gaze fell to the six storage rings on Miao Yi¡¯s hands. ¡®How dare he im himself to be a poor man?¡¯ Yang Qing turned his face away from Miao Yi, pretending that he hadn¡¯t understood a single wording from Miao Yi¡¯s mouth.


    Miao Yi was at a loss for words, and began muttering silently in his heart that it probably wasn¡¯t an opportune moment to directly request it of Yang Qing just then.


    The conditions were crude and simple, only allowing the two thousand men to spread out to the sides, and look for ces to rest.


    Somewhere inside an unknown cave, Yao Ruoxian rolled his eyes. He didn¡¯t wish to bump into anyone, so he decided to dodge all sorts of encounters and slip into the deeper parts of the forest...


    The best location to rest now was at Miao Yi¡¯s shack; Yang Qing and the others would have to make do with it for the moment.


    After entering the shack, Yang Qing realized that the interior wasn¡¯t as crude as it appeared on the outside. Even though it was small, the furnishing wasplete. If it could amodate the men of East Arrival Cave for official matters, then it could certainly amodate Yang Qing and the other Mountain Chieftains.


    Yang Qing immediately seated himself on Cave Master Miao Yi¡¯s ce as soon as he entered the shack. The other Mountain Chieftains took their respective seats on either sides.


    The Manor Head didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to give him a reward, but Miao Yi didn¡¯t want to neglect him since Yang Qing had personallye to his territory. He turned back to face Yuan Fang, and said, "Prepare a feast for one table."


    There was no need to take care of the others; he couldn¡¯t possibly take care of the appetite of two thousand men. It was enough for him to only take care of the Manor Head and the other Mountain Chieftains.


    Yuan Fang was just about to acknowledge Miao Yi¡¯s order, when Yang Qing abruptly said indifferently, "Nevermind. Let¡¯s start with the matter of Changfeng Cave first. Xiong Xiao!"


    "Here!" Xiong Xiao cupped his fists as he stepped forward.


    Yang Qing began his interrogations, "Who attacked Changfeng Cave?"


    Miao Yi stood to the side; appearing dutiful, and pretending that nothing had happened; but he knew what wasing without needing to make a wild guess.


    As expected, Xiong Xiao targeted Miao Yi with a firm finger and said, "It was East Arrival Cave Master Miao Yi!"


    Yang Qing nced at Miao Yi, and said, "I will give you a chance to dispute his im."


    Miao Yi stepped forward and cupped his hands, then thered as he tried to shift the me. "Manor Head, Xiong Xiao has been plotting my death from the start. His words cannot be trusted! Before you came with your army, Xiong Xiao was leading his men to kill me. He may even be in league with Liu Jingtian. Both parties were thinking of joining forces to attack me."


    He truly thought too highly of himself. ¡®Would Xiong Xiao and Liu Jingtian have needed to join forces to attack him and his meagre squad of men?¡¯


    "Bullshit!" Xiong Xiao growled furiously.


    Yang Qing calmlymanded, "Stick to the point."


    Failing to frame Xiong Xiao, he continued, "I have nothing to do with matter at Changfeng Cave. If it wasn¡¯t for Mountain Chieftain¡¯s questioning, I would not have known that something shocking happened in Changfeng Cave."


    He turned to face Xiong Xiao, he said "Even if you want to frame me, you have to show evidence to support your im. May I be so bold as to ask, does Mountain Chieftain have any such evidence on hand?"


    His tone was calmer, as if he were presenting reasonable fact; unlike before when he had first seen Xiong Xiao¡ªcursing him at the top of his lungs, delivering threats and wishing to fight him to the death. Those who have taken advantage of others would not be anxious; they would always feign innocence.


    Yang Qing cut in as well, "Xiong Xiao. If you have evidence, show it. I will settle this case fairly!"


    Xiong Xiao replied, "The men that assaulted Changfeng Cave only took away three people¡ªYuan Zhengkun, Li Xin, and Sun Jiaojiao. It could only be someone who bears a grudge against these three people, or wants them dead. The answer is as clear as day!"


    Yang Qing turned to Miao Yi and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"


    Naturally, Miao Yi would never admit that it was him. He gave a hard re to Xiong Xiao as he scoffed, "Mountain Chieftain Xiong is abusing his power to bully others. Do you think that counts as evidence? If that is the case, then both Fan Renfang and Fang Ziyu, who attempted to take my life, were also once Mountain Chieftain Xiong¡¯s subordinates. Should I take this as evidence too?"


    The crowd listening to the conversation watched them both indifferently. They had nothing to do with this dogfight, so they couldn¡¯t care less to know who was the murderer, or the victim. However, for a Cave Master to be able to calmly assert his argument against a Mountain Chieftain before the Manor Head; he must be privileged with being indulged by the Manor Head himself.


    If it was some other Cave Master, they wouldn¡¯t have the privilege of speaking so daringly before the Manor Head.


    Yang Qing then swept his gaze to Xiong Xiao, waiting for him to present his own evidence.


    Xiong Xiao was out of arguments; knowing that the direction of the debate wasn¡¯t going well, he quickly switched topics and countered Miao Yi¡¯s argument by saying, "Then do you dare deny that you were the one who invaded Mount Shaotai, and killed two of my personal handmaidens?"


    The listening crowd was shocked by Xiong Xiao¡¯s words. They had heard some of what had gone on at Changfeng Cave, but not about the assault on Mount Shaotai. Every single person turned their head to look at Miao Yi with shock. ¡®Did this man really invade Mount Shaotai? Even murdering two of Xiong Xiao¡¯s personal handmaidens? How powerful was this man? What was Xiong Xiao even doing?¡¯


    Qin Weiwei was also shocked as she looked at Miao Yi in astonishment. ¡®Did he really assault Mount Shaotai?¡¯


    Miao Yi showed a stunned expression, then furrowed his brows and said, "Mountain Chieftain Xiong, you have gone too far. Are you saying that I was the one who assaulted Mount Shaotai? What kind of joke is this? I don¡¯t understand what you are saying."


    He then turned towards Yang Qing with his fists cupped and continued, "Manor Head, Mountain Chieftain Xiong is trying to frame me. Look at his troops, how could someone like me assault Mount Shaotai? What a flimsy motive! Manor Head, please punish him!"


    Xiong Xiao became furious, and pointed usingly at Miao Yi, "You little scum. I saw you with my own eyes. Don¡¯t you dare dispute my ims!"


    "Dog scum!" Miao Yi was also enraged as he snarled back, and jabbed his finger at Xiong Xiao, "The two Manors already know that you want me dead. I didn¡¯t think that you would take it this far¡ªdaring to use me over, and over again. Don¡¯t think that everyone will be bullied so easily! You want to kill me, is that it? Fine! I will give you a chance. Come outside and fight me to the death, if you dare!"


    Miao Yi would never win if he had to face an entire army, but he could depend on his first-grade transcendence artifacts in a one-on-one battle; he would certainly have a higher chance of emerging the victor then.


    "I feared that you would never ask!" Xiong Xiao behaved as if he wanted to battle Miao Yi right then.


    Xiong Xiao was actually not confident; but how could he admit defeat in front of a crowd. However, he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to start a fight with Miao Yi whilst Yang Qing was around.


    As expected, Yang Qing spoke up, "Does my existence mean nothing to the both of you?"


    Miao Yi and Xiong Xiao quickly stood straight, and withdrew from their antics. Both of them did not dare to carelessly make a single move.


    Yang Qing then began interrogating Xiong Xiao once more, "So you saw him assault Mount Shaotai with your own eyes?"


    "That¡¯s correct!" Xiong Xiao replied angrily, and continued, "Even though he was wore a mask¡ªthat battle armor he wore, the spear he wielded, and the mount he was on as he led his men¡ªthere is no mistaking it!"


    "Allegations! These are purely allegations!" Miao Yi quickly stood before Yang Qing and exined, "After East Arrival Cave was raided, I have not once left this ce at all. I¡¯m sure Manor Head will be able to judge for himself!"


    After invading Mount Shaotai, he had personallybed the area so that there wouldn¡¯t be any evidence left behind. He knew that he couldn¡¯t hide this matter from Yang Qing, but he would never admit to that.


    "I saw you with my own eyes. How dare you try to absolve yourself of your actions!" Xiong Xiao red at Miao Yi, as he fumed.


    Miao Yi retorted, "You said that person was wearing a mask. How could you even tell that the person was me? You didn¡¯t even inspect that person thoroughly!"


    "Can anyone imitate your battle armor, and dragon steed?"


    "If someone wishes to frame me, I don¡¯t see how that¡¯s impossible to do."


    "Who do you think you are? Who would want to frame you?"


    "You, Xiong Xiao; you would. You have been trying to take my life more than once but you got off because of your lies. Justice prevails in one¡¯s heart. Everyone clearly knows whether it was you, or someone else!"


    "SILENCE!" Yang Qing mmed his armrest, shutting up both Miao Yi and Xiong Xiao with his cold gaze. He then focused his attention on Xiong Xiao, and said, "Show me your evidence, and I will give you justice!"


    Xiong Xiao cupped his fists, and said, "There are many from Mount Shaotai who were at the scene. There are about ten from my division who can stand witnesses to my ims!"


    "Manor Head!" Miao Yi quickly cupped his fists, and interjected, "Xiong Xiao¡¯s subordinates will definitely conspire with him without a shred of resistance. His subordinates cannot be taken as witnesses. If that is the case, my men from the East Arrival Cave can prove that I haven¡¯t left the cave recently!"


    Xiong Xiao said, "Manor Head! If I interrogate his men, the truth will be revealed!"


    ¡®What a joke!¡¯ This was Miao Yi¡¯s greatest fear¡ªhaving his subordinates taken for interrogation. If they were severely tortured to wring out the truth, no one would be able to guarantee that every one of them could keep their lips sealed. Should that happen, he would have to bear all the consequences by himself.


    The reason why Miao Yi could continued this charade¡ªwas that he did not believe that Yang Qing would force him into a hopeless situation after saving his daughter¡¯s life. However, if that was truly the case, the subordinates from the two Manors were bound to be disappointed by Yang Qing. Yang Qing could not afford to upset his men just for the sake of the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. Yang Qing should know it better than anyone else.


    Miao Yi quickly retorted and said, "Manor Head! Xiong Xiao ns to force my men into confessing false charges under severe torture! If I interrogate his men instead, I can also make them confess to false charges, and prove that they were forced by Xiong Xiao to frame me!"


    This was the moment for him to stand up for his own subordinates. Otherwise, no one would want to work for him anymore!


    Those two had been at each other¡¯s throats for a while. The other Mountain Chieftains felt stressed on behalf of the Manor Head. One was a trusted subordinate who had served as a Mountain Chieftain for a long time, and the other was the savior of his daughter¡¯s life. Being biased in this endless dispute would do more harm than good, as it could easily leave everyone in the scene disappointed.


    However, in terms of sentiment, most Mountain Chieftains would stand with Xiong Xiao. It was quite outrageous for a mere Cave Master to behave with such arrogance against a Mountain Chieftain.


    "Are you two finished?"


    Yang Qing rumbled coldly; both parties stopped using one another immediately.


    "Xiong Xiao. Since you weren¡¯t able to show any substantial evidence, this matter will be temporarily put on hold!" Yang Qing made a final decision on the spot.


    Xiong Xiao widened his eyes, and choked out, "Manor Head..."


    He was forced to swallow back his words, when Yang Qing shot a ferocious re at him. Xiong Xiao put on a straight face, and cupped his fists, before slowly retreating to his original position.


    Miao Yi breathed a sigh of relief. It was worth saving the life of Yang Qing¡¯s daughter after all.


    Yuan Fang and the others outside the shack breathed a sigh of relief as well. Even though they knew the Cave Master was a ridiculous man, he was still a responsible man. He was able to stand up for everyone in the end.


    Just then, Yang Qing changed the topic. He gazed at Miao Yi indifferently, and asked, "Have you prepared an exnation on the false report of Xiong Xiao attacking East Arrival Cave?"


    The crowd looked at each other, realizing that matters between Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi weren¡¯t finished. Both sides were iming that the other had assaulted their territory.


    Miao Yi cupped his fists and replied, "Before the incident urred, I made a report to Manor Head first. It wasn¡¯t a false report because I was deceived into thinking that it was Xiong Xiao¡¯s doing!"


    Yang Qing continued to ask indifferently, "Do you have evidence for that?"


    Miao Yi replied, "I have."


    Yang Qing looked at him with impassive eyes and said, "Bring it to me!"


    Miao Yi had already prepared his evidence beforehand, and turned his head back to shout to someone outside, "Yuan Fang. Bring him in!"


    Not long after, Yuan Fang brought in a trembling cultivator with him. He was the one captured from Mount Returning Loyalty during the attack on East Arrival Cave.


    Trantor¡¯s Thoughts


    Kude Kude


    Hey guys, I can¡¯t believe I stuck with STH for this long. For those who know me will know that I started out as a trantor for The King¡¯s Avatar manhua, before deciding to take up a novel on my own. I¡¯m d that GT was gracious enough to let me trante a novel back then despite the fact that I didn¡¯t have any prior experience in dealing with novels. But I have souphunter to help me out ever since he joined the project earlier on this year so am extremely grateful for that! He¡¯s a great trantor!


    Now honestly, STH is my first work and I am not a reader of fan-tranted novels. (I prefer reading the raws.) So I have to admit, tranting all these raw Chinese text into English is tough for me but I think I did a decent job, else you wouldn¡¯t have stick around for this long. :P


    Although this novel isn¡¯t that well-received by many, I personally don¡¯t really care since this is a novel that I really like so I don¡¯t let the ratings andments get to me. But any support is greatly appreciated!


    I¡¯d like to take this opportunity to thank you all again for following STH for this long! Banzai!

 Chapter 210: Demoted to a Horse Deputy

    Chapter 210: Demoted to a Horse Deputy


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    When the man was brought over, Miao Yi pointed at him and told Yang Qing, "His name is Qiu Xian, a subordinate of Su Biao, Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor."


    Yang Qing lifted his gaze to look at him. "Qiu Xian? Are you the subordinate of Su Biao?"


    Before Qiu Xian could reply, Miao Yi had already flipped over his hand and drawn out the Inversed-Scales Spear. Jabbing the spear at him, he warned, "Manor Head is asking you a question. If you dare to say even one false word, I will surely kill you with without mercy!"


    "Understood!" Qiu Xian was terribly frightened; turning back to Yang Qing, he quickly bowed, and said, "Yes!"


    Yang Qing leveled a gaze at Miao Yi. "I don¡¯t need you to cut in while I am questioning him."


    "Of course!" Miao Yi nodded to indicate that he understood.


    Yang Qing continued to question Qiu Xian, "What level of cultivation are you now? And what position do you hold in Mount Returning Loyalty?"


    Qiu Xian invoked his arts slightly, revealing the shadow of a three-petal white lotus between his brows, before replying, "White Lotus Third Grade. Under themand of Morning Storm Cave in Mount Returning Loyalty. No position."


    Yang Qing asked again, "Why did you attack East Arrival Cave?"


    Qiu Xian answered a little nervously, "I don¡¯t know the exact reason for the attack. I¡¯ve only heard from my superiors that Qin Weiwei, the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, was in East Arrival Cave. They said that whoever killed, or caught Qin Weiwei alive would be rewarded generously!"


    After these words were spoken aloud, all the Mountain Chieftains nced at each other in dismay; immediately realizing that the attack on East Arrival Cave was actually targeted at Yang Qing¡¯s adopted daughter. It was obviously an act by Liu Jingtian to get revenge on Yang Qing for the past humiliation!


    Qin Weiwei pursed her lips, and nced at Miao Yi. She had brought trouble down on him once again.


    Yang Qing gave a slight nod. A cultivator at White Lotus Third Grade from the low-level Caves would only take orders, and not be privy to details. If Qiu Xian imed to truly know Liu Jingtian¡¯s intentions like the back of his hand, Yang Qing would have suspected the credibility of his words.


    He asked again, "When you fell into Cave Master Miao¡¯s hands, did you confess the truth?"


    Qiu Xian¡¯s heartstrings tensed up. He was instructed on this matter some time ago. If he did not repeat what he was told, Miao Yi who was currently standing behind him, would not let him live. He hesitated for a second, then forced himself to answer, "I didn¡¯t confess the truth. When I was caught, I told the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave that I belonged to Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao, of Mount Shaotai in South Edict Manor."


    Yang Qing¡¯s eyebrows rose slightly. "Why would you say that?"


    Qiu Xian replied, "It was all because Cave Master Miao was heavy handed in my capture, and I began holding a grudge against him. I heard that Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, Xiong Xiao, and the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, Miao Yi, were at odds; so I wanted to provoke them to get revenge!"


    Yang Qing¡¯s nce swept across the faces of Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi, as he sneered, "It looks like the notorious internal power struggle between my subordinates is already known by everyone outside!"


    Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi remained silent. Yang Qing continued questioning once more, "Then why did you tell the truthter?"


    Qiu Xian replied, "The reason is thatter on, Cave Master Miao found that something wasn¡¯t right, and that there were some inconsistencies with what I said. When Cave Master Miao tortured me, I had no choice but to confess."


    "So that¡¯s the reason!" Yan Qing humphed, and without expressing an opinion, asked Miao Yi, "Cave Master Miao. Is what he said the truth?"


    "To answer Manor Head¡ªyes, this was exactly what happened. He didn¡¯t say anything wrong," said Miao Yi, cupping his fists at Yang Qing with his spear in hand. Then he turned to glower at Qiu Xian, and began angrily shouting, "You despicable little shit! Daring to drive a wedge between us; almost causing Mountain Chieftain Xiong and I, to begin having internal conflict!"


    Everyone sneered inside their mind, ¡®You two were embroiled in strife since the very beginning. What¡¯s the need for others to instigate?¡¯


    But before they could react to it, they heard Miao Yi¡¯s shouting again, "Scum! How can I let you live!"


    A cold glimmer shed in his hands. The sharp spearhead pierced directly into Qiu Xian¡¯s heart from his back, and three streams of blood shot out violently from the groves of the triple-edged spearhead.


    "You..." Qiu Xian¡¯s eyes widened. He strove to turned his head back, and pointed at Miao Yi with his hand, as if he wanted to say something.


    However, Miao Yi didn¡¯t leave him a chance to continue speaking. The spearhead was twisted, and shed across; cutting him open right from the chest, with blood gushing out to pool below.


    As Qiu Xian fell to the ground, looking as though he had died without getting justice¡ªhis wide eyes continued staring at Miao Yi. ¡®The other person clearly said that as long as he followed instructions...¡¯


    Miao Yi shook off traces of blood from his spear, and ced it back into his storage ring; then turned back and said, "Get him out!"


    Yuan Fang stepped forward and quickly dragged away Qiu Xian¡¯s corpse. Only the puddle of blood was left on the ground, with the stench of blood gradually filling the air in the room.


    All was quiet inside. Everyone nced at each other.


    A shiver ran across Xiong Xiao¡¯s heart, ¡®This person was truly merciless. He initially thought that there were quite a few holes in Qiu Xian¡¯s statement and wanted to question him further. But he never expected that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t even give him a chance to do so!¡¯


    Just then, Miao Yi red at him. Sparks flew between their eyes, and they quickly turned to avoid looking at one another; the hostility was clear even without words.


    Yang Qing didn¡¯t yet express his stand on the matter, and nced at Qin Weiwei¡¯s face before finally asking Miao Yi, "If you were awareter that Qiu Xian lied, why didn¡¯t you quickly report it!"


    Miao Yi was caught by surprise. ¡®Wasn¡¯t that matter already settled? Why was he still holding on to it?¡¯


    While he was busy thinking of a response, Qin Weiwei had already stepped out of line, and cupped her hands towards Yang Qing, "Reporting to Manor Head. Miao Yi did report to me afterwards; it was I who forgot to report it again."


    After these words, even though the other Mountain Chieftains did not feel anything, Yang Qing was actually startled. Something flickered in his eyes.


    Others might not be able to tell truth from lie, but how could he not know? Even if she forgot to report to him at the time; after she met up with him and he mentioned this matter before¡ªwouldn¡¯t that have been enough to jolt her memory into reporting it?


    ¡®Is she trying to help Miao Yi out?¡¯ Yang Qing muttered in his head. ¡®Isn¡¯t she at odds with this guy all this time?¡¯


    Miao Yi lowered his head, and pondered over it as well. ¡®What is this woman trying to do? Help me out? Is it even possible for her to be this kind?¡¯


    Yang Qing quickly stood up, and began shouting, "Whatever the case may be¡ªhe didn¡¯t do his due diligence beforehand! He carelessly reported without clearly knowing what happened, and almost made me misjudge the state of the enemy. How can such a serious matter by overlooked as a ¡®careless oversight¡¯? If everyone handled their work so carelessly in the future, won¡¯t our two Manors be in imminent danger? This can¡¯t be excused so easily!"


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as he stared at him. ¡®Can¡¯t be excused easily? Does he n on punishing me?¡¯


    Everyone else also raised their head, and stared at him. Only Xiong Xiao¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened.


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s red lips were slightly apart, staring at Yang Qing in astonishment as well.


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan were waiting for orders outside the room; they looked at each other in dismay, their ears perked.


    Yang Qing¡¯s gaze fell onto Miao Yi¡¯s face, then he waved his hand and ordered, "From now on. Miao Yi will be dismissed from the position of Cave Master of East Arrival Cave."


    Miao Yi was instantly in a daze, feeling as though he had misheard it, even though he knew that he hadn¡¯t. The Cave Master of East Arrival Cave¡ªa position he had fought so hard for with his life¡ªgone, just like that?


    He clearly knew it in his heart, Yang Qing always had the power to do this.


    He was not like Yang Qing back then when Lu Yu wanted to dismiss him, and transfer Yang Qing to South Edict Manor. At that time, Yang Qing managed to revolt in anger; but what would happen if he, Miao Yi, dared to revolt?


    Watching Miao Yi carry a stunned expression on his face, Xiong Xiao almost failed to hold back hisughter. ¡®Who asked you to make up wed arguments? You thought you could get away just because there was no evidence?¡¯


    All Mountain Chieftains were experienced men; they knew very well the difference between a normal cultivator and a Cave Master. Not to mention the abundance of power and wealth one had from having ten thousands followers on hand. One could easily receive at least ten low-grade Orbs of Will each year, if one paid close attention. Even the normal servants of a Manor Head would not receive such treatment¡ªthough additional benefits were another matter.


    Everyone clearly knew that if it was anyone else here today, this sort of punishment would be difficult to ept. The change in their perceived standing would be more painful than killing them; especially for someone like Miao Yi. After covering all the loose-ends on Xiong Xiao¡¯s side, he was let down by the Manor Head because of a small w.


    No wonder Manor Head didn¡¯t get to the bottom of the matter earlier; he was actually waiting for Miao Yi to arrive to this point. It seemed like he had long since prepared to drive Miao Yi out of his position.


    Yang Qing swept his formidable gaze across, and everyone, including Xiong Xiao, felt a cold shiver in their hearts. They realized that he was using Miao Yi as a warning to everyone! The fact that he could deal with Miao Yi in such a way, meant that he could deal with others the same too. If anyone dared to deceive their superiors like Miao Yi¡ªtreating Yang Qing as though he was blind or deaf¡ªthis, was the example that they should take heed of.


    "East Arrival Cave is the territory of your Mount Calming Sea, therefore, you should select its Cave Master yourself." Yang Qing said to Qin Weiwei.


    Qin Weiwei wanted to say something, but hesitated; she did not wishing to make the Manor Head lose face in front of everyone else. She simply cupped her hands and said, "As youmand!"


    As she stepped back, she shot a nce at the motionless Miao Yi.


    "Xiong Xiao!"


    "Your subordinate is here." Xiong Xiao stepped out of the crowd and cupped his hands.


    "You heard what Qiu Xian just said. The strife between you and Miao Yi has already be infamous to outsiders. End whatever was going on between the two of you. If I discover any more of your underhanded schemes, you should be prepared to give up your Mountain Chieftain position, and surrender it to someone else!" Yang Qing said coldly.


    What he was really saying was, ¡®Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know what you have been doing behind everyone¡¯s back. The fact that I haven¡¯t med anyone for it before, does not mean that I won¡¯t ever do it in the future. Forcing the punishment onto Miao Yi was in consideration for you being a senior subordinate of mine. There won¡¯t be such preferential treatment next time.¡¯


    "Yes..." the reply was a little forced from Xiong Xiao. He was reluctant to let Miao Yi off like this; it was much easier to deal with Miao Yi now, since he had fallen out of power.


    Yet he didn¡¯t dare disobey the order, otherwise, he could lose even more.


    "Manor Head!" Miao Yi suddenly spoke, as he cupped his fists, "I¡¯m willing to withdraw from the Immortal Records. I plead that Manor Head can write off Miao Yi¡¯s Immortal Records, and Miao Yi is willing to roam freely in the world as a loose cultivator!"


    Everyone shook their heads secretly. Young people truly tended to act on impulse. He was holding a grudge in his mind, and didn¡¯t wish to work under Yang Qing any longer!


    It was true that Miao Yi was rather despondent. ¡®Damn! I tried to save your daughter with all my might, and this is how you treat me? I would be better off going with Yao Ruoxian! As for this stupid Cave Master post that stresses my mind¡ªI call it quits!¡¯


    Qin Weiwei immediately paid attention to both side. She didn¡¯t know if Manor Head will ever agree to this.


    "What kind of ce do you think this is, that you cane and go as you wish?" Yang Qing said scornfully¡ª¡®Being defiant? Then I will add more to it.¡¯¡ª"Continue to listen to orders in East Arrival Cave. Mountain Chieftain Qin, you should make arrangement after you go back and let him be the Horse Deputy of East Arrival Cave!"


    "Yes!" Qin Weiwei had no choice but to obey in front of everyone else.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes widened, until he almost lost himself to the rage. ¡®From a Horse Deputy in Transient Light Cave, to a Cave Master of East Arrival Cave; and now he was being degraded from a Cave Master back to a Horse Deputy. While everyone else had progressed as they lived, he ended up living backwards. Caring for the horses of his former subordinates? How embarrassing that would be...¡¯


    Yang Qing waved his hand, "Only Mountain Chieftain Qin shall stay. The rest of you may leave!"


    Under the order of the Manor Head, everyone cupped their hands, and excused themselves.


    Under the eyes of all the Mountain Chieftains, Miao Yi left the shack with a long face, and strode down the mountain; not even sparing Xiong Xiao a second nce, as he stared coldly at Miao Yi from the side.


    Yan Xiu had juste back then with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. They returned after the Cave Master Miao had sent men to inform them, and were waiting at the foot of the mountain just then.


    Seeing Miao Yiing down, the three of them cupped their hands together, "Cave Master!"


    Miao Yi waved his hand and said sourly, "I dare not! The Cave Master of East Arrival Cave has switched hands. Call whoever you wish in the future!"


    He strode off, leaving the three of them aghast...

 Chapter 211: Is Everyone Together on This?

    Chapter 211: Is Everyone Together on This?


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Snow coated the verdant mountains, its trees covered in frost.


    As she walked out of the wooden shack, Qin Weiwei stood by the doorway, gazing at Miao Yi¡¯s departing figure for a moment. Then she turned back, and said, "Stand down. All of you!"


    "Understood!" The men beside the doorway heeded her orders, cupping their fists before leaving.


    When Qin Weiwei turned back, she found Yang Qing had been standing behind the doorframe with his hands behind his back.


    She moved to stand by his side. Dressed in her snow white dress, Qin Weiwei gazed down the mountain, and couldn¡¯t help but ask, "Manor Head, didn¡¯t you always regard him highly? Why did you repeatedly demote him this time?"


    Yang Qing narrowed his eyes at the figure leaving with great strides down the mountain, then moved his gaze to his daughter beside him, and intentionally avoided the subject, "Do I need a reason?¡¯


    Qin Weiwei stayed silent for a moment, but in the end she still asked, "Father. I wish to know the reason."


    She wouldn¡¯t have suspected that Yang Qing was probing her attitude. He looked at this daughter of his¡ªshe would never publicly call him ¡®Father¡¯. Yet here she was using her status as his daughter to ask for his advice. He immediately concluded that Qin Weiwei had indeed been trying to help Miao Yi earlier.


    He was somewhat curious as he asked, "As far as I know, you have not always seen eye to eye with this East Arrival Cave Master, and always desired to demote him. Why do you want to help him now all of a sudden?"


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s gaze flittered a little at those words. "He helped me to dodge a bullet this time, and foiled Liu Jingtian¡¯s n. You could say that he has aplished some merit. Furthermore, he has already saved my life once before. I do not wish to be indebted to him."


    Yang Qing had expected something along this line of thought, and asked, "Then how do you think I should punish him?"


    "How he should be punished is up to you, Father. I am simply curious why you kept getting on his case this time?


    "This brat is bing more, and morewless. Just because he had some men on his hands¡ªas a mere Cave Master, he would dare lead them to attack a Mountain Chieftain time and again."


    "It seems that in Father¡¯s heart, Xiong Xiao is still more important than he is."


    "Is this how you see it?" asked Yang Qing, as he turned to regard her.


    Qin Weiwei asked in return, "Have I misread your intentions, Father?"


    Yang Qing shook his head, and replied, "Based on their positions alone, Xiong Xiao is naturally more important than Miao Yi. It is true that I was biased towards Xiong Xiao¡ªwhen facing the Mountain Chieftains of the other domains, I can only be biased towards him. If I weren¡¯t biased towards a trusted aide that followed me for many years, and instead chose to support a new member¡ªit would alienate the hearts of the others. Who would choose to risk their lives for me then? However, that was just for appearance sakes. If it weren¡¯t for my leniency, where would he have the men to battle against Xiong Xiao? Let me ask you again, do you think he is Xiong Xiao¡¯s opponent right now?"


    Qin Weiwei solemnly replied, "Before the arrival of the forces from the three major sects¡ªwith the forces he had, I¡¯m afraid that even Xiong Xiao was a little fearful. That Miao Yi was able tounch an assault on Mount Shaotai, and kill Xiong Xiao¡¯s two personal handmaidens is proof of this. However, now that Xiong Xiao¡¯s forces have been replenished with disciples from the three major schools...."


    Before she could finish her sentence, Yang Qing interjected, "This is precisely the point. Right now, that brat Miao Yi is at a disadvantage. This brat waswless to the point that things escted this far, giving Xiong Xiao ample reason to get rid of him. Since he could use this ploy, how could Xiong Xiao not? With Xiong Xiao¡¯s current forces alone, along with the fact that the brat just handed him an excuse to act¡ªdo you think Xiong Xiao would let him go again? If it were not for the debt that I owe Miao Yi for saving my daughter, I would have kept one eye open and the other closed this time, and just allow Miao Yi to fool me. After that, I would see how Xiong Xiao teaches him a lesson!"


    Qin Weiwei immediately realized his intent, and looked at Yang Qing with an admiring gaze. She couldn¡¯t help but be impressed by his ingenious methods.


    With Yang Qing¡¯s rification, she immediately understood everything.


    At this moment, Xiong Xiao had a powerful army that far surpassed Miao Yi¡¯s forces; and once Xiong Xiao decided to return the favor, Miao Yi would most likely perish.


    With that, Yang Qing borrowed Qiu Xian¡¯s reason of how Mio Yi and Xiong Xiao¡¯s internal enmity had spread, and be infamous; as an excuse to be furious and forcibly punish Miao Yi. He even ordered Xiong Xiao not to privately act against Miao Yi in the future. It would seem like he was biased towards Xiong Xiao, and was punishing Miao Yi¡ªbut in truth, at that point, he was looking for an excuse to deal with Miao Yi, so he could help him.


    With this, not only could he use the high-handed method of punishing Miao Yi, as an excuse to instill some fear into Xiong Xiao and the rest; threatening Xiong Xiao not to covertly act against Miao Yi in the future, helped Miao Yi eliminate the danger he would have to face; all while leading the everyone to believe he was biased towards Xiong Xiao. Therefore, both his subordinates¡¯ hearts, and his objectives were not lost.


    If he really wanted to get rid of Miao Yi and support Xiong Xiao, Yang Qing could have easily allowed Xiong Xiao to eliminate Miao Yi afterwards. Once the matter was finished, he could have just given Xiong Xiao a couple of words of warning, and be done with it.


    Once Qin Weiwei understood everything, she pursed her lips and said, "I¡¯m just afraid that Miao Yi does not know the underlying reason, and is holding a grudge against you for it. Would it be best to find an opportunity to exin to him?"


    "Exin? What is there to exin?" Yang Qing scoffed, before coldly saying, "That brat¡¯s path has been a little too smooth. It is also time to give him a good smack in the head. That dogfight between him and Xiong Xiao left both of them with tufts of fur their mouths, those I can close an eye to¡ªbut why look at what he has done! Right now, he is bing more and more audacious; daring to make a false report of the enemy to me, and trying to pull the wool over my eyes right to my face. It was obviously Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor that attacked East Arrival Cave, yet he still dared to pin the me on Xiong Xiao. As a Cave Master that oversees a domain, he actually disregarded the safety of both Manors all for the sake of some petty personal vendetta; this has already crossed my bottom line. If I hadn¡¯t realized it sooner, who knows what could have happened? What else would he have done? This is all because I have been too forbearing with him. This time, it is precisely because I want to teach him a lesson. I have already granted him mercy by letting him be East Arrival Cave¡¯s Horse Deputy. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he saved you life, just see how I would have dealt with him!"


    Qin Weiwei knew that Yang Qing was in the right, but from Miao Yi¡¯s perspective, that might not be the case. However, what else could she say? She could only smile wryly.


    "What is that brat trying to do now? Showing off the final vestiges of a Cave Master¡¯s authority?" Yang Qing said, pursing his lips as he gazed at the foot of the mountain.


    Qin Weiwei looked back, only to find that¡ªnext to the rubble of the East Arrival Grand Hall, the forces of East Arrival Cave were gathered once again.


    She turned back to ease the Manor Head, "It should be nothing. They aren¡¯t capable of causing any damage."


    "Damage?" Yang Qing coldly mocked, "Does he still think he is a Cave Master? This time, I¡¯ll let him know how cold the world truly is. Without the position of a Cave Master, let him see who will still heed his orders! With this opportunity, he will be able to see who was loyal to him and who was simply pretending. It might not necessarily be a bad thing."


    Even though Manor Head Yang had an exceptional wit, he was still oblivious to the truth!


    At the foot of the mountain, after hearing the truth from Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan, Yan Xiu was a little dumbfounded.


    The Manor Head actually gave the order himself, to have the Cave Master discharged and even demote him to a Horse Deputy again?


    Miao Yi sat atop a ruined tform, clearly displeased. He had truly suffered major losses this time. Not only was he unable to rid himself of Xiong Xiao, he even lost his treasured Cave Master seat.


    On hearing the terrible news, both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s eyes also reddened. On was behin him, helping to massage his shoulders; the other was crouched down in front of him, helping him to pound hi legs. They were using their actions tofort the person who had now be a former ¡®Cave Master¡¯.


    The changes in East Arrival Cave may affect other people, but to both of these youngdies, at most they would not be able to enjoy the treatment of an Elder Auntie and Little Auntie anymore. It still would not change the fact that they were Miao Yi¡¯s handmaidens.


    The forces of East Arrival Cave were all also gathered in front of him.


    "I am no longer the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. From now on, I will be caring for everyone¡¯s steeds. I wonder what you all think about that!"


    As hezed atop the tform, Miao Yi was being a little secretive. While he enjoyed the service of the two handmaidens, his gaze constantly swept across everyone¡¯s faces. Under his casual demeanor,y a trace of a piercing scrutiny.


    After being the Cave Master for so long, whatever remained of his once imposing authority still held weight in East Arrival Cave.


    Everyone kept quiet. ¡®What opinions could they possibly have?¡¯


    Seeing how everyone keeping silent, Miao Yi began directly calling out their names, "Yuan Fang, Yuhan. Both of you have the highest cultivation here. I want you both to speak out first, tell me your thoughts."


    The both of them looked at each other. It would be a lie to say that they did not have any opinions at all. The both of them had the highest cultivation here, and were also the most likely candidates to seed as East Arrival Cave Master.


    Everyone¡¯s gaze all gathered on the two of them. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s hands also slowed down. The two youngdies were no longer as ignorant as before, and also watched both of them warily.


    This scene made the both of them feel quite pressured.


    Yuan Fang cupped his hands and replied, "Cave Master..."


    "Don¡¯t!" Miao Yi immediately raised his hand and cut him off, then scornfully said, "I am unable to bear such responsibility. I am now East Arrival Cave¡¯s Horse Deputy, not its Cave Master. Do not call me by such a title again in the future. From now on, just call me Horse Deputy Miao. All of you can rest assured, I am a big-hearted person of considerable magnanimity. A mere title will not make me to throw a fit of anger from the shame. I will be sure to put in my best efforts to help raise all of your dragon steeds. I can guarantee that I will raise your steeds to be plump and robust. Aye!"


    He swept his hand out, and pointed towards the not-so-distant Charcoal as he said, "I am not bluffing. You can tell just by seeing how fat I have raised my steed to be that everything I¡¯ve said is true. I am sure that all of you will be very satisfied!"


    To the side, Yan Xiu was sweating buckets. ¡®Charcoal being so fat is due to his ownziness. How could you raise him to be that?¡¯


    All of them were not fools. They could tell that the ¡®Cave Master¡¯ carried some grievance deep inside, and was being sarcastic. If anyone really went along with it¡ªwith the audacity that this former ¡®Cave Master¡¯ had, it was likely that everyone¡¯s steeds could forget about peaceful days in the future.


    Yuan Fang cupped his fists again and said, "We do not have any opinions."


    "You really don¡¯t have any opinions?" Miao Yi narrowed his eyes, and immediatelyid everything bare, "You and Yuhan have the highest cultivation here. In the past, I was there to suppress you both. But now that I¡¯ve stepped off the pedestal, you two are most likely to seed as the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave!"


    The two that were called out nced at each other once again. Lai Yuhan cupped his fists and smiled wryly as he replied, "We do wish that it would be so, but as you are aware, just from our School of Blue Jade background, this good fortune will notnd on either one of us for the time being. There is a high chance that someone from the outside will be transferred over."


    "It is good that you know. I thought that the both of you still didn¡¯t understand this, and was about to give you a reminder!" Miao Yi remarked as he waved his hand. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er soon backed away. He stood up to face the rest of them, and sighed, "If it was either one of you seeding as East Arrival Cave¡¯s Cave Master, I would have epted it. After all, we are acquainted with one another; I would have obediently raised your steeds. However, the both of you don¡¯t have this opportunity! I can¡¯t ept someone elseing over! It was due to my efforts that East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces grew to be so powerful. What right does another have to reap these benefits? Which is why...."


    His tone abruptly changed, even his entire being looked to be brimming with vigor as he said, "I will make matters clear now. Since I am unable to remain the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, then whoever seeds afterwards can forget about having it easy. We should all band together and take care of whoeveres. Thus, we can ensure that we would still have the final say in East Arrival Cave in the future. Is everyone together on this?"


    Indeed, after his stance changed; even the way he tackled problems was different from before. When he first arrived in East Arrival Cave to report for duty, and Song Fu was trying to cause trouble for him, the Cave Master¡ªhe immediately took care of Song Fu. Right now, his methods were actually no different from Song Fu¡¯s. It was merely a test of who was more unfortunate.

 Chapter 212: Hes Involved, Again?

    Chapter 212: He¡¯s Involved, Again?


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Before they could voice out their opinion, everyone wanted to survey the situation first and see how it would unfold. But judging from the present circumstances, if the Cave Master seat were to be taken by someone else, the new Cave Master wouldn¡¯t be able to afford them either. They still needed to rely on the former Cave Master.


    Primarily, they were here because Elder Hong Changhai had heavily entrusted them with a mission.


    Having no other choices left, everyone nodded and answered this former Cave Master, "Alright!"


    However, Yuan Fang still attempted to give him a reminder, "If we¡¯ve caused trouble and provoked the superior¡¯s wrath, what should we do if we¡¯re distributed between the two Manors¡¯ respective regions?"


    Miao Yi waved his hands disapprovingly and replied, "That isn¡¯t a problem. I have signed the Commandment of Conformity with the School of Blue Jade. Regardless of whether I have vited the agreement on my side, you can report it directly to the Manor of Conformity and make aint against me. So long as someone from the Manor of Conformity gets sent over, I¡¯ll immediately admit that it¡¯s my fault. You can seize the opportunity to withdraw and return back to the School of Blue Jade. With the existence of the Commandment of Conformity, nobody can do anything to you. In any case, I¡¯ll bear all responsibility. So just put your minds at rest, and follow me without fear as we wreak havoc!"


    "Apart from Cave Master Miao, we¡¯ll never acknowledge anyone else in East Arrival Cave!"


    Yuan Fang¡¯s words were pleasing to hear. Everyone immediately followed suit to respond, causing Former Cave Master Miao to beam with joy. Hands sped behind his back, he nodded continuously. They were fine with disregarding the title as long as someone bore responsibility should anything happen. That didn¡¯t seem bad at all.


    He had already made ns, thinking that once the new Cave Master imed the seat, it was time for him to secretly teach a lesson to Mount Returning Loyalty. This was because if anything were to break out, it would rest on the new Cave Master¡¯s shoulders.


    Yan Xiu let out a sigh of relief in his heart because things had ended up with Miao Yi still in control of East Arrival¡ªhe could continue his days here without difficulty. The only problem was which unfortunate soul would be the one to take over as the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. Due to Miao Yi¡¯s hoodlum integrity, he¡¯d won over the forces of East Arrival Cave, and now the new Cave Master was screwed.


    Qian¡®Er and Xue¡¯Er looked at their master with gazes filled with admiration and respect. Their master was still as amazing as ever. Even if he couldn¡¯t be a Cave Master, he still had the final say in all matters concerning East Arrival Cave. Didn¡¯t this mean that even if there were a new Elder Auntie and Little Auntie, they would still be considered inferior to their own positions at East Arrival Cave?


    The statuses of the handmaidens would change with their master¡¯s. Both of them knew of this principle all too well.


    Yang Qing still thought that Former Cave Master Miao wouldn¡¯t be able to wreak any havoc after suffering a setback and losing his power. Little did he know that before the future East Arrival Cave Master had yet to take his post, the Former Cave Master Miao had already instigated his men, waiting to cause trouble...


    At Suppressing Second Hall, within the Hall Master¡¯s quarters, Huo Lingxiao was dressed in thin gray robes with his hair bound by a jade hairpin. He held the jade archive that Yang Qing had presented, reading it while he walked out from the silent cultivation quarters.


    "East Arrival Cave. East Arrival Cave Master Miao Yi. He¡¯s involved, again? This brat is truly unfortunate. Why is he always on the short end of the stick?" Shaking his head, Huo Lingxiao mumbled, "Should I meet with him one day or assign him to a safer position? I¡¯d start to feel anxious for him, otherwise!"


    Apanying him, Handmaidens Tian Yu and Liu Xing knew he was ridiculing the former Cave Master, so they couldn¡¯t restrain a smile as though in understanding.


    After examining the contents of the jade archive twice, he waved it in his hand as he turned around tough, "Last time, Wu Menn barged into my ce and ckmailed me. This time I want to make her spit out those ten high-grade Orbs of Will and fork out the interest! Liu Xing, order Feng Zhihuan and He Yunye toe and see me!"


    "Understood!" Liu Xing went off cheerfully.


    Not long after, Liu Xing led Feng Zhihuan and He Yunye into the pce, meeting the approaching Huo Lingxiao in the yard. The two Advisors bowed together, eximing, "Greetings, Hall Master!"


    "Mm!" Huo Lingxiao nodded and ordered, "Both of you apany me on a trip down to Suppressing Third Hall."


    The two exchanged silent nces with each other. Feng Zhihuan then cupped his fists to ask, "Might I be so bold as to ask the Hall Master for what reason are we going there?"


    "Suppressing Third Hall¡¯s men have invaded my territory. Come with me to teach Wu Menn a lesson!"


    After Huo Lingxiao finished, he flung his sleeves, and a plume of light encapsted him. A gale swept past the surroundings, and the shroud of light wasunched into the air with a ¡®whoosh¡¯!.


    Feng Zhihuan and He Yunye stared at each other in astonishment. Afraid tog behind, they both shot to the skies together in hot pursuit.


    The three shrouds of light resembled round eggs enveloping the three people, with one at the front while the other two followed closely from behind. They quickly cut through the horizon, instantly vanishing into the far-off distance...


    Riding dragon steeds would probably take days of travel. For the trio, not even half a day had passed by, and already they¡¯d crossed thends, descending onto the summit of the vast ranges of snowy peaks.


    Currently, Huo Lingxiao¡¯s face was as cold as ice, as he led his two Advisors to barge through the pce gates of Suppressing Third Hall.


    The guards at the gate attempted to obstruct them but were instead pushed away by Huo Lingxiao. A thunderous, furious roar erupted, shaking the heavens. "I demand Wu Menn to get the f*ck out and see me this instant!"


    Those who were on the side of justice had the confidence. With such a loud voice, was there still a need to send word?


    Before the guards from Suppressing Third Hall could run to the Hall Master¡¯s quarters, the shapely Wu Menn hade out, dressed in a fur coat, with her two handmaidens in tow.


    Wu Menn¡¯s expression was beyond sour. Prior to this, Liu Jingtian had yet to report to her of the amazing deed he¡¯d done. She¡¯d only found out not long ago after Liu Jingtian¡¯s defeat, which couldn¡¯t be concealed any further.


    It would have been fine if Liu Jingtian had vented out his frustrations on the previous matter. She would have praised his capability and won back her reputation. However, not only did that trash Liu Jingtian fail to take revenge and erase the humiliation, he had suffered a crushing defeat and as a result, hadpletely thrown away the face of Suppressing Third Hall. She was almost overwhelmed with fury.


    She would have dismembered Liu Jingtian¡¯s body into a million pieces, but was mindful of the fact that killing her subordinates over a loss would only prompt others to ridicule her. They would mock her foolish choice in subordinates, and would say that she only knew how to vent out her pent-up frustrations on those who served her. This would only cause harm to her aloof and remote graceful demeanor.


    She had already made the decision that once this matter gradually died down and after everyone had forgotten about it, she would kick that useless trash off the Manor Head post. Anyway, he was no match when faced against Yang Qing! If not, she wouldn¡¯t even know how many times he¡¯d continue to humiliate her!


    Deep down, she understood that this situation wasn¡¯t because Liu Jingtian had been ipetent. Those who could be Manor Heads weren¡¯t at all useless. It was only because Yang Qing was too sly. Anyone else would fail to be a match against Yang Qing too. It was precisely because of this reason that she hadn¡¯t reced Liu Jingtian back then.


    What infuriated her further was Liu Jingtian¡¯s behavior; if hecked the capability to take on Yang Qing, he shouldn¡¯t have pretended otherwise. Don¡¯t humiliate her in the process!


    "Hall Master, Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s Hall Master Huo Lingxiao..."


    Before the iing guard could finish his announcement, Wu Menn had already brushed him off with a wave of her hand and said, "I know!"


    How could she not be aware? Huo Lingxiao¡¯s voice was too loud, and the entirety of Suppressing Third Hall had heard him. It would have been odd if she hadn¡¯t heard him at all.


    From his point of view, he was in the right and hade to pay back the incident fromst time to p her right in the face!


    But back then, the critical point was that she also hadn¡¯t reaped many profits from him since Yang Qing had already prepared a contingency in advance for Suppressing Second Hall. The Suppressing Third Hall¡¯s blockhead of a litigant had given hand-written testimony as solid proof. This meant that Suppressing Second Hall had strong grounds to oppose any objections she might have and could even ignore herpletely.


    However, this time around, Suppressing Third Hall waspletely in the wrong. On top of that, they were also at a disadvantage. Being pped in the face after suffering a loss would leave them with an unpleasant aftertaste.


    But the moment she saw the sunken-faced Huo Lingxiao striding over with his two Advisors in tow, Wu Menn refused to lose out in portraying an elegant demeanor. She beamed, "Hall Master Huo has personallye to Suppressing Third Hall! What a rare visitor!"


    Huo Lingxiao scoffed coldly, unrestrainedly throwing her a rude look. "Look at what your Suppressing Third Hall has done!"


    Wu Menn pretended to ask in surprise, "What has happened to anger Hall Master Huo to this extent?"


    "Wu Menn, are you nning to make me argue with you publicly with so many in in view?" Huo Lingxiaoughed coldly, implying that if she weren¡¯t afraid of being humiliated, he wouldn¡¯t mind as well.


    "Hehe... Those who arrive here are guests! How could I neglect you!" Wu Menn¡¯s light and casual words were enough to dispel the embarrassment the other party had put her in. She turned to face the main hall¡¯s entrance, extended her hands, and said, "Go on in!"


    Leaving Feng Zhihuan and He Yunye behind, Huo Lingxiao went into the main hall with her.


    The moment he sat down in the main hall, Huo Lingxiao chucked Yang Qing¡¯s report at Wu Menn. "Look at what you lot have done!"


    And so they spent the remaining time, both of them fighting and arguing with the other.


    Of course, when considering the big picture, incidents urring between their subordinates weren¡¯t worth influencing the rapport shared between the two.


    However, when it came to matters where one was in the wrong, they must provide an exnation. The men on your side ran all the way to my territory to wreak havoc for no apparent reason, how can I pretend nothing has happened? There¡¯s no logic in that!


    After the matter was settled, Huo Lingxiao came out with an appeased look on his face. Wu Menn wasn¡¯t in the least bit interested in sending him off.


    After meeting his two Advisors, Huo Lingxiao shot a backward nce, the corner of his lips curled into a slight trace of ridicule.


    Yang Qing had helped him earn one thousand low-grade Orbs of Will. Not only did he get back the ten orbs he¡¯d lost back then, but he¡¯d also earned an additional thousand in return.


    This wasn¡¯t a small sum. His subordinate had helped him reap such benefits, so Huo Lingxiao didn¡¯t mind personally taking the trip himself. He had no problem taking extra trips either since he wasn¡¯t the one being embarrassed. He could stille forth to give a p and reap more profits, what could he have against it?


    He was right to protect Yang Qing all this time! Huo Lingxiao turned to order, "LET¡¯S HEAD BACK!"


    The three glowing shrouds encased the trio, beforeunching swiftly into the sky.


    Below them, Wu Menn¡¯s voice rang out in the main hall as she ground her teeth in hatred. "Bring Liu Jingtian to me!"


    Yang Qing¡¯s report was as clear as day. Huo Lingxiao already knew where Yang Qing¡¯s forces were gathered, which was the East Arrival Cave he¡¯d intended to visit.


    But realization soon dawned on him. Swiftly flying through the sky, Huo Lingxiao mumbled to himself, "East Arrival Cave Master Miao Yi, Little Brother..."


    Shaking his head with a smile, he ultimately gave up his thoughts of heading to East Arrival Cave. Up in the sky, he wrote a jade archive containing his orders before chucking it at Feng Zhihuan who was flying behind him. "Send orders to Yang Qing. Command him to withdraw his men andy this matter to rest!"


    Three streams of light flew over East Arrival Cave. Two streams among them didn¡¯t stop over and flew off into the distance, shocking Yao Ruoxian who was hiding in the mountain forest as he lifted his head to take a peek.


    The other ray of light revealed Feng Zhihuan¡¯s true form as he descended upon East Arrival Cave.


    More than two thousand men shifted their attention over in unison. A countless number of them were in awe and envious of those who had a cultivation where they could soar through the skies.


    Yang Qing appeared before Feng Zhihuan in quick steps. He greeted him with cupped hands. "Yang Qing pays his respects to Advisor Feng."


    "The Hall Master has ordered you to withdraw your men andy this matter to rest!" Feng Zhihuan¡¯s face was devoid of all emotion when he handed the jade archive to Yang Qing.


    To this man who had abandoned him, he didn¡¯t know what feelings Feng Zhihuan currently harbored. He wasn¡¯t able to tell much from the surface either.


    After examining the jade archive, Yang Qing cupped his hands in the direction of Suppressing Second Hall and eximed, "Yang Qing obeys the Hall Master¡¯s orders!"


    Feng Zhihuan didn¡¯t say much. Now that Yang Qing was under the direct care of the Hall Master, it wasn¡¯t his ce to make any remarks. Now that he¡¯dpleted his task of delivering orders, he quickly took to the skies.


    Yang Qing cupped his hands at the sky to send him off. By the time the light disappeared, he immediately issued an order to withdraw his forces made up from both Manors.


    He was truly carrying out the decree of the Hall Master without hesitation. This point alone was worthy of being studied by the deceitful Miao Yi...


    Upon losing the war, Liu Jingtian fearfully arrived at Suppressing Third Hall. He didn¡¯t dare to conceal any more details, and exined the whole sequence of events.


    Sitting upright, Wu Menn furrowed her brows and mumbled to herself, "East Arrival Cave¡¯s Cave Master Miao Yi, Miao Yi..."


    After listening to the honest ounts from Liu Jingtian, she didn¡¯t think that there were any critical issues in Liu Jingtian¡¯s scheme to seek vengeance. The primary cause was that he had bumped into a nail at East Arrival Cave. Otherwise, there shouldn¡¯t have been any difficulties.


    Due to her previous defeat, she made clear of everything that happened because she didn¡¯t want to be at a foolish disadvantage again.


    Back then, Ever Peace Manor¡¯s Zhang Decheng¡¯s strategy was said to be meticulously nned, but in the end, his scheme was foiled at the hands of the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. This time, Liu Jingtian had also lost to that measly East Arrival Cave¡¯s Cave Master. She could argue the first time had been due to luck, but this had already happened twice. She was instantly a little interested in that insignificant East Arrival Cave¡¯s Cave Master...

 Chapter 213: Cave Master Yan

    Chapter 213: Cave Master Yan


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    The two Hall Masters had settled the matters ordingly, which had resulted in ending all wars. The troops from both South Edict Manor and Ever Peace Manor promptly left East Arrival Cave and returned to their bases.


    Qin Weiwei personallymanded the Mount Calming Sea Troops and escorted Yang Qing from East Arrival Cave.


    She wasn¡¯t in a hurry to leave just yet since East Arrival Cave was still part of her jurisdiction.


    After escorting Yang Qing away, she turned around and gave orders to the Cave Masters to return to their respective caves at once.


    She made her troops stay behind because she still had to settle the personal affairs of East Arrival Cave. The position of Cave Master of East Arrival Cave couldn¡¯t remain vacant forever.


    East Arrival Cave consisted of neen cultivators, including Miao Yi. They followed Qin Weiwei into the Cave Master¡¯s shack, which had been set up as a temporary meeting room.


    Since Miao Yi had been relieved of his position as Cave Master, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had lost their rights to enter the residence with them.


    Qin Weiwei sat on the Cave Master¡¯s throne and surveyed the two columns of East Arrival Caves¡¯ forces in front of her, before finally moving her attention to Miao Yi.


    Cave Master Miao Yi hid among thest row of the forces, seemingly ashamed to face anyone. He was actually protesting silently in his heart for what had happened to him.


    Everyone knew what woulde next. Perhaps it was time to announce a new Cave Master for East Arrival Cave.


    Initially, Qin Weiwei had wanted to say a few words, but as she nced at Miao Yi who was concealing himself from the eyes of the troops, she held back her words in the end. She then proceeded to take out a piece of a jade archive and swiftly invoked her art to write down her orders, before sealing it with her insignia. She held the jade archive in her hand and swept a nce across the faces of the troops.


    Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on that piece of jade archive, knowing that the name of the next Cave Master was written down somewhere amidst her orders.


    "Yan Xiu! You are now Cave Master of Mount Calming Sea¡¯s East Arrival Cave!"


    The troops did not blink, so focused were they with every word she spoke. Qin Weiwei announced her final decision, stating one word at a time without haste.


    When she had finally revealed her orders, everyone was stunned. Miao Yi, who was hiding behind the troops, quickly whipped his head up with a surprised expression, thinking that he might have heard her wrong. His eyeballs darted rapidly, looking across the room.


    Everyone thought they¡¯d mistakenly heard her orders. Their attention turned to Yan Xiu in an instant.


    The Cave Master of East Arrival Cave was now Yan Xiu? How could this be?


    No one had Yan Xiu in mind when it came down to the appointment of the next Cave Master. Most of them had thought that after Miao Yi¡¯s termination, the next Cave Master would be someone else from the other division. Even if the position were to be selected from the East Arrival Cave forces, no one would think of Yan Xiu as the next possible Cave Master.


    She hadn¡¯t even taken into consideration the capabilities of everyone at East Arrival Cave before making her decision. These men were the ones who had dared to attack a Mountain Chieftain. Most of them possessed a cultivation base of White Lotus Five Grade and above. Even the former Cave Master had a cultivation base of Blue Lotus and below, and he¡¯d dared to charge into battle like the brute that he was.


    What virtues or abilities did Yan Xiu possess? How could he even control anyone?!


    Yan Xiu was a bit dumbfounded too. ¡®I am the Cave Master?¡¯


    Suddenly, he felt as if his back had been stabbed with a needle, and not just one at that. He meekly turned around to look at the troops and realized that all of them were staring at him with a strange expression. At that moment, he felt a huge feeling of pressure pressing down on him.


    "What are you still waiting for,e take your orders!" Qin Weiwei snapped, still holding the jade archive in her hands.


    Yan Xiu quickly cupped his fists and rejected her orders, his words filled with profound respect and humility, "Mountain Chieftain, Yan Xiu cannot take on the position to be the current Cave Master. I¡¯m afraid that I cannot live up to your expectations. I earnestly request that the Mountain Chieftain choose someone more capable than myself!"


    His tone of rejection was strongly adamant. He spoke as if he had touched a piping hot sweet potato¡ªhe had to let go of it swiftly.


    A great opportunity had been bestowed on him, yet he wasn¡¯t happy in the slightest. This opportunity was just too much for him.


    It wouldn¡¯t have mattered if those from outside the cave knew nothing of his situation. He could still remember quite vividly the lecture that the former Cave Master had given during that recent meeting below the mountain. He had been amongst the men being lectured.


    All members of East Arrival Cave had agreed that they would go against the new Cave Master!


    While they imed they would do so, if the new Cave Master weren¡¯t a cultivator at Blue Lotus or above, he or she wouldn¡¯t be able to control the entire East Arrival Cave by themselves.


    If he really took on the position as a Cave Master, the only thing he would be courting was death. The position was akin to a pit, to ept would be like knowingly jumping in. Should the troops decide to take care of him, it would be nothing less than a death sentence. He had seen what the former Cave Master was capable of. The former Cave Master was always ruthless and daring, and he was not.


    Before the announcement had been made, he¡¯d been trying to figure out which unfortunate fool would be the next Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected to be that unfortunate fool. How could he take up the position now?


    He was well aware of his own capabilities. If he picked a random person to fight amongst the troops of East Arrival Cave, he would never be able to defeat them. Not everyone would be able to control these men like Miao Yi could.


    If he had the highest cultivation base in East Arrival Cave or Miao Yi was transferred to another division, he would perhaps be bold enough to take this opportunity to be the next Cave Master.


    Having Miao Yi remain in East Arrival Cave would be like an act of defiance against his father! Obviously, these men would only listen to Miao Yi¡¯s orders.


    He turned around to look at everyone. As expected, they wore expressions that said, ¡®Good thing you know what to do.¡¯


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s expression turned cold as she asked, "You dare defy my orders?"


    Yan Xiu went pale and replied, "...Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t dare to!"


    Helpless, he was forced to go forward and receive the jade archive from Qin Weiwei¡¯s hands. Yan Xiu slowly retreated to his position without saying any respectful words of thanks to the Mountain Chieftain.


    "Miao Yi!" Qin Weiwei spoke up and looked at the former Cave Master, who was rubbing his chin while ncing at Yan Xiu.


    "I¡¯m here!" Miao Yi stepped forward and cupped his fists.


    Qin Weiwei said nonchntly, "Give the Cave Master¡¯s storage ring to Yan Xiu."


    Miao Yi chuckled, sticking out his lips as he stared at Yan Xiu and said, "I was aware that I wouldn¡¯t be the Cave Master for long, so I¡¯ve already passed the storage rings to Cave Master Yan. See, I was the one who gave him the storage ring in his hand."


    Miao Yi¡¯s words sent Yan Xiu shivering. The words ¡®Cave Master Yan¡¯ had his hairs standing on end.


    The former Cave Master had spoken. Following this statement, Yan Xiu quickly showed the storage ring on his finger to Qin Weiwei and confirmed, "It is indeed as he said."


    Qin Weiwei caught Yuan Fang and the others making teasing looks at Yan Xiu. This made her understand that a certain someone was still in charge of East Arrival Cave after all.


    She was impressed at that person for being able to manage East Arrival Cave so solidly, as if he was born to be the School of Blue Jade¡¯s nemesis. Starting from when he¡¯d killed off the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciple Song Fu, he would always be able to take care of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s men splendidly.


    Despite this situation being within her expectations, she still needed to help Yan Xiu make a good impression. She then said, "Everyone in East Arrival Cave is required to obey Cave Master Yan Xiu¡¯s orders. Everyone has to be united. If someone intends to make a ruckus, don¡¯t me me for being harsh with you. If you slip up the handover of the Orbs of Will before the year ends, all members will be punished together!"


    "We will respectfully follow the Cave Master¡¯s orders!" Miao Yi took the lead and shouted from the top of his lungs. It was obvious that he was the leader when the others quickly followed him as well.


    On the surface, he seemed sincere. However, no one really knew what he was thinking deep inside his heart.


    "Yan Xiu, stay behind. The others may leave!"


    The Mountain Chieftain had given her orders. The others left, and Yan Xiu was left alone with a feeling of immense pressure on his back.


    It was necessary for a Mountain Chieftain to brief the new Cave Master on their position. At the end of her briefing, Qin Weiwei suddenly said, "The reason that East Arrival Cave was able to turn the tide even after two assaults is all due to Miao Yi¡¯s contribution. Should you encounter any difficulties, you might want to listen to Miao Yi¡¯s opinions and suggestions."


    "..." Yan Xiu raised his head and looked at her with a stunned expression.


    Qin Weiwei did not exin further and waved her hand. "You may leave. Tell Miao Yi to see me."


    "Understood!" Yan Xiu retreated, his mind filled with suspicion.


    Not long after, Miao Yi came and greeted the Mountain Chieftain with respect, acting like he was listening to orders while looking self-assured.


    ¡®There¡¯s no need to be pretentious. Do you think I still don¡¯t know what kind of person you are?¡¯ Qin Weiwei thought as she gnashed her teeth with hatred.


    Miao Yi, who was pretending to be well-behaved, thought that Qin Weiwei was going to warn him not to cause mischief for Cave Master Yan Xiu.


    However, it seemed that Qin Weiwei had no intention of staying. As she swept past him in her white dress, she halted momentarily. She then turned her head towards him slightly and said, "It¡¯s not exactly a bad thing to relieve you as Cave Master. The Manor Head wants me to pass this message to you: Xiong Xiao will note for you for now. You should take this time to improve your cultivation base with some peace of mind. Don¡¯t go around causing trouble."


    Yang Qing had actually never said those words. He wanted to take this opportunity to knock some sense into Miao Yi¡¯s head, so there was no reason for him to say this to Miao Yi.


    However, Mountain Chieftain Qin did not want the former Cave Master to harbor ill intentions towards Yang Qing, which was why she¡¯d used Yang Qing¡¯s name to impart Miao Yi with some advice.


    Moreover, Yang Qing would never have expected Qin Weiwei to appoint Yan Xiu as Cave Master. It would be impossible for Yang Qing to not know about Yan Xiu¡¯s character. How could Yan Xiu control the unruly troops of East Arrival Cave? If she appointed Yan Xiu as the Cave Master, how was that knocking some sense into Miao Yi? This would only fuel Miao Yi¡¯s arrogance and insolence. He would definitely cause trouble of some sort to everyone!


    If Yang Qing knew Qin Weiwei had made such a decision without his knowledge, he would be at a loss for words. All his efforts to be the bad guy would certainly be wasted!


    Miao Yi was immediately stunned. Qin Weiwei had no obligation to be direct with him, and she hadn¡¯t fully exined Yang Qing¡¯s intentions, but Miao Yi was certainly no fool. He¡¯d been reprimanded to the point of realizing the truth. Perhaps Yang Qing was taking this opportunity to protect him?


    The hatred he¡¯d harbored for Yang Qing vanished instantly in a puff of smoke. What did he have to say now that a Manor Head was considering the situation just for him?


    When he¡¯d returned to his senses, Qin Weiwei¡¯s beautiful figure had already drifted away. The subtle scent of a natural body fragrance was the only thing that lingered...


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t able to escort the Mountain Chieftain in the end. By the time he managed to reach the foot of the mountain, Yan Xiu had already brought a few men to escort Qin Weiwei from East Arrival Cave.


    When everyone turned around and saw Miao Yi approaching, each had a strange expression on their faces. Yan Xiu felt extremely awkward; he didn¡¯t know what to say to Miao Yi when facing him like this.


    Miao Yi watched the troops fading into the distance, wearing an expression as if in deep thought. After that, he became aware of his surroundings and settled his gaze towards Yan Xiu. He quickly adjusted his clothes, red at the others and said, "What are you all so dazed for? Now join me in paying respect to the Cave Master!"


    The group of men was caught by surprise but promptly went behind Miao Yi with smiles on their faces. They followed Miao Yi by cupping their fists and greeted, "Cave Master!"


    Standing nearby, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were also looking at Yan Xiu in a well-behaved manner. Both of them were conflicted, however. They would feel extremely awkward and would be forced into a difficult position should their owner and master cross des with each other.


    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t know whether he should cry orugh. He thought, ¡®Everyone stood by you when you called to them. What¡¯s the use of having me as the Cave Master?¡¯


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s words from before had banished the shroud of confusion in his head. He finally understood why she had chosen him as Cave Master. Yan Xiu didn¡¯t dare act contemptuously as he quickly moved forward to hold Miao Yi and said, "Cave Master, please don¡¯t tease Yan Xiu anymore. I can¡¯t bear it."


    "How can you not! You are the Cave Master of East Arrival Hall, who was officially conferred by the Mountain Chieftain in front of everyone. Aren¡¯t you making fun of me by calling me ¡®Cave Master¡¯!" Miao Yi let out a bellow ofughter.


    There was no need for Yan Xiu to continue holding him, so Miao Yi quickly pushed him away. Miao Yi turned to face everyone and gave a thumbs up before pointing at Yan Xiu and said, "Everyone, from now on, I won¡¯t be in charge of your affairs anymore. You must look for Cave Master Yan next time. I¡¯m only in charge of your steeds now. I will guarantee that your mounts will be plump and sturdy, like the steed I have now."


    Everyoneughed and jeered brazenly in response. If Miao Yi wasn¡¯t here to support Yan Xiu, who¡¯d even fear this Cave Master in future?


    The Mountain Chieftain had just left this territory, yet they¡¯d already begun to make a ruckus. Yan Xiu was left feeling the extreme helplessness of the situation.

 Chapter 214: List of Renumerations

    Chapter 214: List of Renumerations


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Yet, some things couldn¡¯t be stated so clearly in front of everyone. Yan Xiu could do nothing but grab Miao Yi¡¯s arm and secretly send a voice transmission.


    "Cave Master, my Cave Master status is just for the sake of keeping up appearances. Just now, the Mountain Chieftain has already reminded me to heed your opinions more often."


    When he heard this, Miao Yi no longer had a heckling expression as he turned around and narrowed his eyes at him.


    He had been jeering only because he wanted to see if Yan Xiu could read the mood or not; it was not umon for someone to lose sight of their goodwill in the presence of personal gain.


    If Yan Xiu was someone who could be full of himself despite obtaining so many benefits from him, then Miao Yi himself could not be med for putting their rtionship aside. He thought to himself, ¡®Should that happen, I might not dare to retaliate openly against you, the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s appointed Cave Master, but I will have plenty of chances to make my move covertly. Why don¡¯t you take a look and see who actually holds East Arrival Cave in his grasp? Would you dare challenge me alone?¡¯


    Seeing as Yan Xiu understood it all, Miao Yi stopped making things difficult for him. He waved his hands towards everyone and said, "Meeting, now!"


    Following the lead of the East Arrival Cave¡¯s Horse Deputy, everyone re-entered the shack.


    As he stood next to the Cave Master¡¯s esteemed seat, Miao Yi made no move to sit upon it and instead turned around and asked, "Cave Master, should I speak while standing or sitting?"


    Yan Xiu smiled bitterly and said, "Please sit down. This was originally your seat, to begin with."


    With everyone¡¯s gaze upon him, Miao Yi did not hold back and sat down. He saw Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s heads peering just outside the door, so he called out, "Come inside, you two girls."


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er both knew that the only handmaidens who had the qualifications to enter the assembly hall were the Elder Auntie and Little Auntie of East Arrival Cave. Now that their master was stripped of his Cave Master position, both of them did not dare to enter.


    But after hearing their master¡¯s words, the twodies were a little excited as they walked inside once more. Once again, they stood beside Miao Yi, sharing his honor.


    With Yan Xiu in front, everyone cupped their fists once again and said, "We greet the Cave Master!"


    This group of people waspletelywless. They were simply ignoring Yang Qing¡¯s decree and had appointed a Cave Master themselves!


    If Yang Qing were to find out, he would probably explode with rage. This was an open challenge to the Manor Head¡¯s authority!


    Miao Yi was no fool as well. He waved his hand and pointed towards Yan Xiu as he said, "Don¡¯t call me that carelessly. Yan Xiu is the Cave Master that was appointed by the Mountain Chieftain. From now on, just call me Horse Deputy. Calling me Cave Master is highly inappropriate. If the upper-heads catch wind of it, I¡¯ll be in serious trouble. The only reason I am sitting here is because Cave Master Yancks experience and has ordered me to act on his behalf. Since the Cave Master has ordered me to do so, how could I, the Horse Deputy, disobey his orders!? Once Cave Master Yan bes familiar with the situation, we¡¯ll still have to do things in ordance with the rules."


    When they heard these words, everyone chuckled as they thought, ¡®With you being the representative, Cave Master Yan is unlikely to ever get the chance to familiarize himself with the situation.¡¯


    However, the hearts of the East Arrival Cave members quickly settled down.


    Yan Xiu, however, could only smile bitterly as he thought, ¡®Is this what it¡¯s like to be a whore but at the same time build a monument to validate one¡¯s chastity?¡¯


    "The Cave Master has already assigned a separate task to me, but I find it difficult dividing my time doing two duties. I may not understand the grand scheme of things, but I can stillprehend some minor reasonings. I understand that my own matters are of little importance and the Cave Master¡¯s matters are paramount. I also can¡¯t forsake my duty because of personal circumstances. Thus, I¡¯m afraid that I will have to put the matter of caring for everyone¡¯s horses on hold. How about we continue as we were for the time being?" Miao Yi asked.


    Who could still expect the former Cave Master to care for their horses? Everyone naturally cupped their fists and replied, "Understood!"


    "With the threat of the Manor Head hanging over them, then even with Xiong Xiao¡¯s mighty forces, he wouldn¡¯t darey a hand on East Arrival Cave for the time being. Therefore, the matter of rebuilding East Arrival Cave has to be sped up," Miao Yi said. He looked towards Yan Xiu and added, "Yan...Cave Master, you will continue to be in charge of this."


    "Understood!" said Yan Xiu, cupping his fists.


    "Even if Xiong Xiao won¡¯t dare to act carelessly, we cannot be too careful against scoundrels. Compared to the other abodes of Immortals, we still have a sufficient number of troops at East Arrival Cave. The matter of our defenses shall go on as it were. Do not dy. Otherwise, everyone will pay the price with their lives. Our enemies outside are watching us closely, so all of you must be united!"


    "Understood!" Everyone cupped their fists again and acknowledged the order.


    "Cave Master!"


    "Here!"


    The hierarchy of the positions in East Arrival Cave had already gonepletely awry; a dignified Cave Master was actually at a Horse Deputy¡¯s beck and call.


    Yet, none of them found it strange. They all felt that this was how it should be. Otherwise, East Arrival Cave might really be thrown into disarray, and no one would be able to cultivate in peace.


    "Use your status as Cave Master to send a jade archive requesting forpensation to Mount Returning Loyalty on the other side. They ambushed my East Arrival Cave, so they shouldpensate for the damages my East Arrival Cave has suffered. They must shoulder all the casualties and deaths in battle as well as the cost of rebuilding East Arrival Cave. Send someone to deliver the message to themter on."


    "Ah! This..." Yan Xiu panicked as he thought to himself, ¡®You must be joking. I¡¯m already putting on the act of a Cave Master because I could not object to it and have even returned the actual authority back to you. You still want to use my name to stir up trouble? Aren¡¯t you just trying to set me up like this?¡¯


    Everyone cast pitiful looks towards Yan Xiu. Apparently, the former Cave Master was still brooding over this incident.


    "What are you thinking about now?" said Horse Deputy Miao Yi as he stood up from the treasured seat of the Cave Master. With his hands behind his back, he furrowed his brows and added, "For my East Arrival Cave to be met with tragedy twice is mostly because of East Arrival Cave¡¯s impractical geographical location. Every time someone has a problem they usually start off with my East Arrival Cave. If I just took this lying down, how much more will I endure? Dare I ask all of you, what should we do when someone just randomly attacks us again in the future? Have we not been wronged? We must let these outsiders know that our East Arrival Cave won¡¯t be so easily pushed around. Only then can we avoid cmity. Ever Peace Manor has already fallen under themand of the Manor Head, so it is unwise to choose to settle the score with them. Therefore, we can only retaliate against Mount Returning Loyalty."


    He had always wanted to create a safe domain. Without a safe haven, he didn¡¯t have the courage to look for his little brother and little sister, considering what a dog-eat-dog world the cultivation realm could be. Even if he did find them, hecked the confidence to receive them.


    For the sake of one day fulfilling his responsibility as the eldest sibling, he had always worked hard. To this end, he did not mind being ruthless.


    He also wanted to have a peaceful and stable life. No one liked doing anything that could endanger their lives.


    Nobody understood the reason behind his mncholy state when he silently watched the starry skies on his own.


    "May I know what the Cave...." Yuan Fang felt his words were a little awkward-sounding as he cupped his fists, so he rephrased himself, "May I know what the Horse Deputy intends to do?"


    "I just said it. Have thempensate us."


    "What do we do if they decide not to offer remunerations? Don¡¯t tell me we are really going to take action? The consequences of inciting conflict between two Halls is not something we can shoulder."


    "I don¡¯t expect them topensate us at all. It is not a convenient time to take action now either. I am just looking for an excuse. Once the right opportunityes along, we will use this as a pretense to make our move. If we can use this to provoke them into striking first, that would be even better. When that happens, we won¡¯t have to worry about shouldering any consequences," mocked Miao Yi coldly. He waved his hand, pointing towards Yan Xiu and added, "Just do as I said and send the list of remunerations over to them. If they ignore it, then we will send one every year. We must not let this matter be gradually forgotten. Keep sending it until we have the chance to take our revenge. When that happens, we won¡¯t even need to look for an excuse!"


    Yan Xiu said worryingly, "The Hall Master has just ordered this matter to be hereby resolved. Won¡¯t it be inappropriate for us to do something like this?"


    Miao Yi shrugged and replied, "The Hall Master is someone that sits high above. How would he know the struggles of those of us down below? Three people from my East Arrival Cave have died in battle, and I don¡¯t see the Hall Master providing anypensation for it. Furthermore, we are not stirring up trouble. We are just courteously sending out a list of remunerations over to them. If they do notpensate us, we are in no hurry to be rash as well. Of course, if the other party is displeased and finds the list annoying to even look at, and therefore chooses to pick a fight, then we are no longer to me for what we do in return."


    Seeing as he had it all nned out, Yan Xiu felt a little relieved and cupped his fists to acknowledge the order.


    Afterwards, everyone discussed the amount that Mount Returning Loyalty shouldpensate.


    In the end, Horse Deputy Miao Yi once again made the decision for them. Three of East Arrival Cave¡¯s troops had died in battle so they would ask for apensation of three hundred orbs.


    Adding to that the other wounded members of East Arrival Cave, the total amount they were going to request was four hundred low-grade Orbs of Will. They even held Mount Returning Loyalty ountable for the destruction of East Arrival Cave and requested an additionalpensation of three hundred thousand gold crystals.


    The list of remunerations was personally delivered by a White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator under Lai Yuhan¡¯s escort. As to why Lai Yuhan had to personally make the trip, it was because they were afraid that Mount Returning Loyalty would kill the messenger in a fit of anger. With Lai Yuhan¡¯s cultivation, they had some insurance at least.


    Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s forces weren¡¯t fully replenished yet. The new Mountain Chieftain was called Wen Qishan.


    When his subordinate reported that someone from East Arrival Cave was requesting an audience, Wen Qishan felt that it was a little strange. Once he read what Lai Yuhan sent over, his face darkened.


    ¡®Compensation? The Hall Masters of both Halls have alreadye to terms regarding the matter. What is there topensate? What qualifications does your little abode of Immortals have to ask forpensation?¡¯


    If not for East Arrival Cave¡¯s fame, then with the difference in status between both parties, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered to even meet with them.


    However, Wen Qishan did not burst out in a fit of rage, because he was a little confused with regards to East Arrival Cave¡¯s intentions.


    He also knew that Liu Jingtian had already upset the Hall Master. The Manor Head himself was in a precarious position, so right now Wen Qishan did not want to cause any trouble. In the end, he decided to let the person who started it all¡ªLiu Jingtian¡ªhandle this strange matter and then distanced himself from further trouble.


    Lai Yuhan was asked to return; he did not obtain a response.


    Very soon, the list of remunerations was brought over to Liu Jingtian.


    Once Liu Jingtian, who had constantly been sighing as ofte, saw the list, he was taken aback with rage. Everyone dared to bully him. They really thought he could be easily pushed around...


    However, he knew his own situation. Even though East Arrival Cave was small, this incident involved two Halls. Liu Jingtian himself no longer dared to involve himself between the two Halls.


    In the end, he decided to bear with it. The list of remunerations was once again personally passed over, this time to Suppressing Third Hall¡¯s Hall Master, Wu Menn. He cautiously asked for her advice regarding the list.


    "This East Arrival Cave again. Oh... Cave Master Yan Xiu? Was the Cave Master not Miao Yi? Who is this Yan Xiu? To actually be so bold!"


    Wu Menn was surprised after looking through the jade archive. How could she be bothered to remember a mere Cave Master? She only remembered Miao Yi, but now even Yan Xiu had made his way into the mind of Hall Master Wu.


    "ording to my sources, Miao Yi made a false report and upset Yang Qing. Yang Qing has stripped him of his Cave Master position and demoted him to Horse Deputy. Yan Xiu was previously Miao Yi¡¯s subordinate. It is likely that he was unable to repress Miao Yi, and that East Arrival Cave is quite possibly still under themand of Miao Yi," Liu Jingtian cautiously said at her side.


    He, too, had never regarded the insignificant East Arrival Cave with any importance in the past. It was precisely because of this that he¡¯d suffered a loss and henceforth was now paying more attention to it. And it wasn¡¯t easy for a Manor Head to keep a close watch on a Cave Master.


    "Demoted to Horse Deputy? Hehe, that is a pity. I found it strange as well and wondered how they could all be so bold. But now it seems that brat is still causing trouble. Apensation of four hundred low-grade Orbs of Will and three hundred thousand gold crystals. He actually dares to ask for this!" Wu Menn sneered. Pa! She crushed the jade archive in her hands and added, "Don¡¯t bother with him. I would very much like to see what this puny East Arrival Cave dares to do. I could not hope for anything more than someone impudent from that side to stir up some trouble. If they won¡¯t cause a fuss, how can I ask Huo Lingxiao for remunerations? Keep a close eye on him!"


    "Yes yes, understood!" Liu Jingtian nodded repeatedly.


    Trantor¡¯s Thoughts


    Kude Kude


    Tranted by soupHunter


    He¡¯s away at the moment so posting on his behalf again.

 Chapter 215: A Word of Warning

    Chapter 215: A Word of Warning


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Ever Peace Manor.


    Naturally, Yang Qing didn¡¯t know that the Hall Master of the Suppressing Third Hall had been startled by the list of remunerations sent from the demoted Horse Deputy Miao Yi. In actuality, Miao Yi hadn¡¯t expected it to turn out this way either.


    At the moment, Yang Qing was sitting inside the waterside pavilion, shaking his head as he read Qin Weiwei¡¯s report.


    The matter of reassigning personnel for both manors would eventually go through Yang Qing in the end. Meanwhile, one of the points in Qin Weiwei¡¯s report had mentioned that Yan Xiu had been ordered to be the new Cave Master of East Arrival Cave.


    "This Yan Xiu might not be able to control Miao Yi by himself." Qing Ju chuckled, standing at one side.


    When she thought about how Miao Yi had been demoted to a Horse Deputy¡ªthat same person who¡¯d looked so awkward as he covered his private parts during his bath¡ªshe couldn¡¯t help herself from finding the situation funny.


    Yang Qing shook his head and sighed. "Even though I¡¯d like to repay Miao Yi¡¯s kindness, there will be a time for that. That being said, she can¡¯t do things like this. This girl Weiwei is still too inexperienced. She didn¡¯t take Xiong Xiao¡¯s feelings into consideration. In fact, does she think him a fool? By doing so, she¡¯s exposing my true objectives to Xiong Xiao. He won¡¯t endure such treatment! I really can¡¯t do anything about this girl. She¡¯s nothing like me, she¡¯s more like her mother."


    When Qin Weiwei¡¯s biological mother was mentioned, Qing Mei and Qing Ju, who knew of the matter, were instantly solemn.


    Yang Qing stood up and looked around before saying, "I enjoy the views seen from the mountaintop, so I have a preference for the South Edict Manor¡¯s domain. Dispatch my orders: Set up the headquarters for both manors back at South Edict Manor!"


    Setting up their headquarters at South Edict Manor just because he enjoyed the views from the mountaintop?


    Qing Mei and Qing Ju spected that his decision had something to do with Qin Weiwei¡¯s recent appointment. Qing Mei tried her luck and asked, "Are you sending someone to exin to Xiong Xiao that the decision was made by the young miss, and had nothing to do with you?"


    "Exin? Weiwei is my daughter, and so any appointment of hers is a reflection on me. Do you think Xiong Xiao will believe our exnation? And do I really need to justify myself to him? Is his approval necessary for my daughter¡¯s appointment of a subordinate?" Yang Qing sneered.


    His words affirmed what they¡¯d always assumed: the Manor Head was in fact awfully fond of the young miss despite his scrupulous impartiality when it came to work and personal affairs. Even if the young miss had done something wrong, this great father would never raise his voice at her. He would deal with the aftermath of her problems in secret while being careful not to hurt his daughter¡¯s heart, and he would find another way topensate for his mistreatment of her.


    Although he was helping to absolve Qin Weiwei from me, yet moving to South Edict Manor now would make Xiong Xiao think that matters regarding East Arrival Cave were Yang Qing¡¯s own idea.


    The Manor Head would take on all responsibility. He wanted to intimidate Xiong Xiao by moving back to South Edict Manor and prevent him from causing harm!


    "If the Manor Head confronts the matter directly, Xiong Xiao might harbor hatred towards you in his heart!" warned Qing Mei.


    "Then now would be a good time to n ahead and consider someone else to take over Xiong Xiao¡¯s position..." Yang Qing muttered casually.


    Qing Mei and Qing Ju looked at each other for a while. If the Manor Head followed his urges, it would lead to the dismissal of Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao. The only thing left was to observe Xiong Xiao¡¯s reaction to Yang Qing¡¯s decision.


    However, a frown appeared on Yang Qing¡¯s forehead as he said, "This time, Weiwei¡¯s actions are a bit illogical. Do you two think there¡¯s something fishy going on?"


    Qing Ju asked, "Isn¡¯t the young miss just trying to repay her debt to Miao Yi for saving her life?"


    "There are many ways to repay his kindness. This is not Weiwei¡¯s style of doing things." Yang Qing suddenly turned around and said, "Send someone to watch over Weiwei for a while, to keep her safe from possible mishaps!"


    "Mishaps?" The twodies were stunned. "What sort of mishaps?"


    Yang Qing mumbled, "I¡¯m worried that Miao Yi has used an underhanded method to coerce Weiwei. If he really has done such a thing, I will never forgive him!"


    The twodies were caught by surprise, but managed to nod their heads before they went away to quickly make the arrangements...


    His worries were not entirely without reason.


    As expected, Xiong Xiao was furious when he received the news of Miao Yi¡¯s demotion and Yan Xiu¡¯s subsequent promotion as the new Cave Master of East Arrival Cave.


    He was no fool. By doing so, Qin Weiwei clearly wanted Miao Yi to continue managing East Arrival Cave.


    "That b*tch Qin Weiwei can only rely on Yang Qing¡¯s support. Isn¡¯t she thinking too little of me? Is she trying to make things difficult for me?"


    Xiong Xiao cursed angrily under his breath like an enraged lion. He paced around the grand hall, wondering suspiciously if this had been Yang Qing¡¯s idea.


    By contrast, the two new young and beautiful handmaidens were trembling with fear, to the point that they were afraid to take a single breath of air.


    Just then, the sound of gusting wind was heard from outside. A spirit eagle hadnded in its nest on the horizontal bars under the roof outside of the grand hall.


    ¡®What news is there now?¡¯, Xiong Xiao thought as he turned around to look, waiting for his personal handmaidens to fetch the message.


    In the end, the new handmaidens remained motionless where they stood. Xiong Xiao then realized that these two were new, so they did not understand what they needed to do in that situation. He felt dazed, and couldn¡¯t help but think of his departed handmaidens, Chun Xue and Dong Xue.


    "Xia He, Qiu Yu, go fetch the jade archive inside the message tube on the spirit eagle¡¯s leg for me," Xiong Xiao said with a sigh.


    The girls, both around ten years of age, immediately affirmed hismand and went outside to fetch the jade archive. However, when they saw the spirit eagle perching ferociously on the horizontal bar, they felt quite anxious as they didn¡¯t know how to retrieve the jade archive from it.


    Both of them couldn¡¯t afford to hesitate any longer. A pair of fair-skinned hands shivered as they extended their arms towards the spirit eagle.


    Just then, the spirit eagle turned its head and let out a ¡®screech¡¯, which frightened the handmaidens into pulling their hands back immediately.


    This type of vicious bird enjoyed bullying the weak, yet it was slightly angered when the handmaidens had recoiled in reaction, as if they were trying to provoke it. Suddenly, the eagle pecked at them, its sharp curved beak snipping skin, causing blood to flow.


    "Ah!" Xia He cried in pain as she held her wrist and retreated backward a few steps. The back of her delicately fair hand was bleeding profusely, a portion of her flesh torn away.


    Qiu Yu was frightened and retreated as well.


    Xiong Xiao appeared and was left speechless when he saw what had urred. These handmaidens couldn¡¯t even manage such a miniscule job. This made him yearn for Chun Xue and Dong Xue even more than ever.


    He took out a small elixir bottle, grabbed Xia He¡¯s hand, and poured the white powder onto the bleeding wound. He beckoned Qiu Yu to lead Xia He away to recover.


    He then personally took the jade archive from the message tube on the spirit eagle¡¯s leg and started inspecting the archive as he walked into his residence.


    It would have been better if he hadn¡¯t read it, and for a while, he stood buried in deep thought. His expression twitched, and he mmed his palms down quickly.


    Crack! The table was smashed into pieces. Xiong Xiao gritted his teeth in anger and said, "Yang Qing and his daughter, they¡¯ve pushed me too far!"


    The message on the jade archive was about something else, specifically the news of Yang Qing moving the headquarters of the two manors back to South Edict Manor.


    "Yang Qing! You¡¯re the one being heartless now. Don¡¯t me me for the damages that I¡¯ll inflict upon you. I, Xiong Xiao, am not one to resign myself to death. Chun Xue, pick someone suitable and let them go with Gongsun Yu..."


    He immediately froze, his sentence unfinished. He turned to look at the empty grand hall and saw no sight of Chun Xue. Chun Xue and Dong Xue were already dead by Miao Yi¡¯s hands. He was still not used to the absence of his two former handmaidens...


    Qian Liufang, the Cave Master of Ancient Cave at Mount Shaotai and one of Xiong Xiao¡¯s generals, was an old acquaintance of Cave Master Gongsun Yu of Long Viridescent Cave at Mount Calming Sea. They often met each other from time to time.


    This time around, Qian Liufang hade to Long Viridescent Cave with some ¡®matters¡¯ to attend to. It was amon practice for him to impose whenever he passed by the territory of his old friend.


    Both of them were quite familiar with each other. Moreover, they were both of equal standing and were both Cave Masters. It was natural that Gongsun Yu would abandon his cultivation and attend to his old friend personally. Preparing a table for a feast and wine was a must.


    The two of them chatted and raised their cups with great enthusiasm. Suddenly, Qian Liufang signaled Gongsun Yu discreetly, asking him to dismiss the handmaidens beside them.


    Gongsun Yu was unhappy with this gesture. His personal handmaidens were his trusted subordinates, and they would never sell him out regardless of the situation. There was no need for him to do anything that would arouse their suspicion.


    However, the guest had requested for their dismissal. Gongsun Yu didn¡¯t want to upset him, and at the same time, he wanted to know why Qian Liufang was behaving suspiciously. He finally dismissed his handmaidens before asking, "Brother Qian, what¡¯s the problem?"


    Qian Liufang chuckled. He raised his cup and clinked it against his old friend¡¯s before gulping down its entire contents. As he personally refilled Gongsun Yu¡¯s cup, he said with a smile, "The Manor Head¡¯s daughter Qin Weiwei is excellent in both appearance and charm. Too bad no one can live up to the power and influence of the two manors. Otherwise, she could be a great partner for dual-cultivation."


    In the midst of talking, he could see a frown creasing on Gongsun Yu¡¯s forehead. Qian Liufang quickly switched topics by saying, "I heard that Brother Gongsun has pursued Qin Weiwei for many years. I have been meaning to ask but had no opportunity until now. While we¡¯re still in high spirits from the wine, I¡¯d like to ask Brother Gongsun whether this is true or false. If it¡¯s true, how will you progress with your approach? I don¡¯t think Brother Gongsun will hide this from me!"


    His tone hinted of one teasing an old friend, so Gongsun Yu finally rxed his frowning expression. He was a bit embarrassed as he let out a cough, "It¡¯s all just rumors. The Mountain Chieftain is a person of integrity, how can I be disrespectful to her like that."


    "So they¡¯re just rumors!" Qian Liufang nodded, and he seemed upied with his own thoughts. He continued, "Since we are friends, I want to warn Brother Gongsun on this matter. Qin Weiwei... but, then again, it¡¯s all just rumors. I might be thinking too much. It¡¯s better if I don¡¯t say it."


    "..." Gongsun Yu froze. Suddenly, he couldn¡¯t gulp down his wine. He put down his cup and asked, "What do you want to warn me about?"


    Qian Liufang only cared for his wine. He shook his head without replying.


    Gongsun Yu asked again, "Is this something to do with Mountain Chieftain Qin?"


    Qian Liufang only nodded his head, still without uttering a single word.


    After knowing it had something to do with Qin Weiwei, Gongsun Yu felt an itch in his heart. He grabbed Qian Liufang¡¯s wrist and said with widened eyes, "Why is Brother Qian being ambiguous, perhaps I have not treated you well enough?"


    "Since there is nothing between Brother Gongsun and Qin Weiwei, there is no need for me to cause problems by telling tales."


    "Perhaps Brother Qian doesn¡¯t trust me. Are you afraid that I will tell everyone?"


    "Brother Gongsun is thinking too much."


    "Brother Qian, only you and I and the Heavens above will know of this conversation. I will not spread this around to anyone outside these walls."


    Qian Liufang still shook his head and refused to say anything.


    Gongsun Yu¡¯s expression twitched, and he finally forced himself to confess, "To be honest with Brother Qian, I did, in fact, admire the Mountain Chieftain for a long time. I¡¯m only saying this because it has something to do with the Mountain Chieftain. Please forgive me, Brother Qian!"


    "Why didn¡¯t you say this earlier?" Qian Liufang stared at him in anger. He immediately put down his cup, looking as if he was making a great sacrifice as he spoke without reserve. He looked around suspiciously before he leaned his head against Gongsun Yu¡¯s and said, "The Manor Head has received the Hall Master¡¯s favor and taken responsibility for the two manors, and now he controls their cultivation resources. After thousands of years pass, the Hall Master may be fortunate enough to receive a promotion. During this time, if the respective Manor Heads of Suppressing Second Hall cannot outdo each other and there is no improvement to their cultivation base, then the Hall Master will certainly give his recognition to Yang Qing instead. This means that Yang Qing will be appointed as the next Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall. If you be dual-cultivation partners with Qin Weiwei, how can the Manor Head not take care of you? Naturally, Brother Gongsun will be given the power to wield one manor."


    Gongsun Yu released his grip on Qian Liufang¡¯s hand. He thought he had something more serious to say. How could anyone not see that even if Yang Qing did not be the Hall Master, he would definitely take good care of whoever became Qin Weiwei¡¯s dual-cultivation partner? Was there a need to even exin such a thing?

 Chapter 216: Failed To Run Away

    Chapter 216: Failed To Run Away


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Is this what Brother Qian wanted to talk about?" Gongsun Yu asked, a frown creasing his brow.


    Qian Liufang was not bothered by it and continued to speak, "If anyone else were to try to take advantage of this rtionship, I¡¯m afraid that the Manor Head would still be worried. However, it¡¯s a different case for you, Brother Gongsun. You have been the Manor Head¡¯s faithful aide from the start, and you¡¯ve gained his heartfelt trust. Not to mention, you¡¯ve been acquainted with Qin Weiwei for many years. Only the thin veil of the paper window stands in your way. You could say that,pared to other people, you could attain twice the results with half the effort. On ount of our rtionship, I am naturally in support of your sess. But s, there has been a development in the situation, and I cannot help but worry for you, Brother Gongsun!"


    "Development?" Gongsun Yu asked dubiously, "What kind of development?"


    Qian Liufang was stunned and replied, "Don¡¯t tell me you are this naive, Brother Gongsun? Do you not know of the words ¡®love rival¡¯?"


    "Love rival?" Gongsun Yu asked. Anxiety was reflected in his eyes as he asked his friend to borate.


    "Let me ask you this: are you aware that Qin Weiwei promoted Yan Xiu as East Arrival Cave¡¯s Cave Master?"


    "Yan Xiu?"


    Evidently, Gongsun Yu already knew about this matter. When Qin Weiwei had been in danger at East Arrival Cave, he had bumped into Yan Xiu. He still clearly remembered how he¡¯d made the man kneel with a single strike of his spear.


    Gongsun Yu felt utter contempt for that old man who choked as he called himself ¡®decrepit and ipetent¡¯. Gongsun Yu asked, "The ¡®love rival¡¯ that Brother Qian mentioned isn¡¯t referring to Yan Xiu, right? With his capabilities, how can he hope to manage East Arrival Cave? It¡¯s not likely to go smoothly, and does he think Miao Yi is a pushover? You know how Miao Yi is. He has no regard for even your Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao. How can that mere Yan Xiu ever hope to restrain him? If my predictions are correct, I¡¯m afraid Miao Yi is still calling the shots at East Arrival Cave. Yan Xiu can forget about getting involved. Do you think that old coot is worthy of the title ¡®love rival¡¯? Brother Qian, you haven¡¯t drunk too much wine, have you?"


    "Muddle-headed! You are absolutely muddle-headed!" Qian Liufang eximed with a distressed expression on his face. He pointed at Gongsun Yu repeatedly and added, "I am not talking about Yan Xiu. The one I am referring to is precisely Miao Yi. Don¡¯t tell me you cannot see it?"


    "Miao Yi?" Gongsun Yu was surprised, but soon after, he shook his head andughed. "I am more aware of the matters at Mount Calming Sea than you are. It is not possible for Miao Yi."


    He was on the edge of mentioning that Miao Yi was an egotistical bastard and had always been at odds with Qin Weiwei. If it weren¡¯t for Yang Qing restraining their actions, they would probably be at each other¡¯s throats already.


    "How is it not possible?" Qian Liufang then exined, "Can Brother Gongsun not see it? Since Brother Gongsun is aware that it is not possible for a man of Yan Xiu¡¯s caliber to manage East Arrival Cave, then why did Qin Weiwei break custom and promote him to Cave Master? The reason is obvious¡ªQin Weiwei is looking out for Miao Yi! Why is she looking out for Miao Yi? I¡¯ve heard some rumors outside saying that Qin Weiwei has been in love with Miao Yi ever since he risked his life to save her, which is why she¡¯s taking care of him this time! If Brother Gongsun has affection for Qin Weiwei, how can you not notice this?"


    What rumors? And falling head over heels? It was all just nonsense that he¡¯d fabricated. He was actually under Xiong Xiao¡¯s instructions to incite conflict.


    "Qian Liufang, don¡¯t tell me you were sent by Xiong Xiao to try and sow discord?" Gongsun Yu shouted as he suddenly mmed the table and stood up, a menacing cold gaze in his eyes.


    The grudge between Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi was already public knowledge. For him toe over at this time and talk about this, it was hard not to be doubtful. Gongsun Yu was no fool, after all.


    "You really treat my goodwill with malice!" Qian Liufang also stood up brusquely. He pointed at Gongsun Yu¡¯s nose and shouted, "I did not want to say it, but you were determined to make me speak. Once I did, you then use me of sowing discord. Hmph! Gongsun Yu, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re too full of yourself? Sowing discord? Even if there was a grudge between our Mountain Chieftain and Miao Yi, would I need to look for you and sow discord? Why don¡¯t you take a look at yourself first? Sowing discord between you two? Are you able to kill Miao Yi? Are you a match for Miao Yi?"


    For him to be sent over to sow discord, he clearly had a couple tricks up his sleeve.


    Even a patient man had his limits. Gongsun Yu¡¯s face darkened at being so belittled, and he said, "I shall not send you off!"


    "Goodbye!" Qian Liufang mmed the table as well. He turned around and kicked the chair over, fuming with anger as he left.


    As he saw the figure disappearing outside the hall, Gongsun Yu¡¯s expression eased slightly, yet remained dark at the same time.


    As his anger dissipated, he thought about what the other person said and figured his words were not wholly unfounded. He was indeed not a match for Miao Yi, so did Xiong Xiao really need to look for him as someone to sow discord with?


    ¡®Miao Yi?¡¯ Gongsun Yu was deep in thought as he remembered the scene back at Mount Calming Sea. At that time, Qin Weiwei seemed to have lost herposure because of Miao Yi. Why did she lose herposure? Could it really be.....


    Some things should not be contemted because the more they¡¯re thought about, the easier it is to be paranoid, to find them more suspicious,, and one ends up fixating on them more and more. After being egged on by Qian Liufang, Gongsun Yu¡¯s mind was full of even more doubt.


    When he came to his senses, Gongsun Yu was surprised to find that he had no idea when he¡¯d made his way to the courtyard.....


    A messenger azure eagle flew off from the mountain forest near to East Arrival Cave. It was headed towards the School of Blue Jade.


    The biggest difference between this kind of messenger azure eagle and a spirit eagle was that the former could only send a message between two predetermined locations, whereas the spirit eagle was more flexible.


    In the forest, after quietly releasing the azure eagle, Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Their master Hong Changhai had been very anxious about them. Yet little did he know that the former Cave Master was a restless person, who constantly dragged everyone into vicious battles and stirred up trouble. It was not easy for things to finally settle down for the time being, and some matters could not be exined so quickly.


    The reconstruction of East Arrival Cave continued on under the zing sun.


    Three thousandmonfolkbored to cut wood and chisel stone. One after the other,rge logs were transported down the mountain and giant stones were gathered. The entire East Arrival Cave became onerge construction site.


    Miao Yi went to the nearby mountains and found Yao Ruoxian toin to.


    "Senior Yao, I have decided to leave with you."


    "You have made up your mind?"


    "That¡¯s right! I have made up my mind. To be demoted from a Cave Master to a Horse Deputy, I ampletely disheartened! There is no longer any meaning in staying here. Please take me away."


    "You should have done this in the first ce. What good is there in being some crummy Cave Master? Go and remove your Immortal Records first. Afterwards, I¡¯ll take you to see the broader world outside. It¡¯s definitely better than being cooped up here."


    "There is no way to remove it. Since I¡¯ve been demoted from a Cave Master to a Horse Deputy, you should know that I¡¯ve lost the affection of my Manor Head. Previously, I did ask to have my Immortal Records removed, but the Manor Head was not willing."


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s face darkened as he thought, ¡®What kind of joke is this? If I brought you away, someone who has an Immortal Record, wouldn¡¯t that just be asking for trouble? When that happens, I will have to suffer the same punishment.¡¯


    "Brat, you are doing this on purpose, aren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t think you can intimidate me with this. Let me tell you, if the tiny mantids still don¡¯t heed mymands once the ten-year period is up, I will butcher you!"


    "I know. I didn¡¯t mean anything by it. I was really just bored from staying here. Since there¡¯s no way forward, I decided to make other ns. Why don¡¯t you bring me with you and we can run away secretly?"


    "Beat it!"


    Miao Yi¡¯s scream suddenly echoed. He then walked miserably out of the mountain forest, cursing and swearing, wearing arge footprint stamped on his rear end.


    The weather grew warmer, and spring fell upon thend as the mountains turned green and the flowers bloomed crimson.


    After two months of hardbor from the East Arrival City¡¯s crew of three thousand skilled craftsmen, the rebuilding of East Arrival Cave was finallyplete¡ªits size was now muchrger than it was before.


    After all, the forces of East Arrival Cave had expanded as well.


    Cave Master Yan Xiu did not have the luxury of staying in the most extravagant courtyard in the entire East Arrival Cave, seeing as Horse Deputy Miao Yi had imed it already.


    The funds for rebuilding East Arrival Cave all came from Horse Deputy Miao Yi, so naturally, he¡¯d confidently decided to stay there.


    As soon as he stepped into his new residence, still smelling of paint, Miao Yi called Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er over and said, "From this day forth, I will be in closed-door cultivation. Both of you have to work hard as well and quickly raise your own cultivations to the grade scale. That way you can help me more effectively."


    "Understood!" the two girls said.


    Miao Yi turned around and left. He entered into his silent quarters, sat cross-legged on the stone couch and tossed a mid-grade Orb of Will that was the size of a pearl into his mouth.


    And from that day onwards, Miao Yi entered into a tranquil, closed-door meditation state, which was difficult to attain.


    He let Yan Xiu handle most matters, and unless it was something very important, he did not allow anyone to disturb him. At the moment there was nothing going on that was very important either...


    To a person in cultivation, once they became focused, a year¡¯s time could pass by like the flick of a finger.


    He shut his ears to the affairs of the outside world. In the blink of an eye, snow started to fall again.


    Within the silent quarters, Miao Yi was still sitting cross-legged on the stone couch, his eyes closed like a stone statue.


    Then, he noticed Qian¡¯Ering inside to report, "Master, the Cave Master requests your presence!"


    His eyes still closed, Miao Yi murmured, "What is the matter?"


    Qian¡¯Er replied, "East Arrival City¡¯s harvest for this year has already been gathered. The Cave Master is asking about the matter of heading to Mount Calming Sea for the handover."


    "I am now East Arrival Cave¡¯s Horse Deputy, so there is no need for me to go. Let him bring someone else... Have Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan escort him."


    "Understood!"


    "Go make something delicious and then find a way to invite Senior Yao to stay over for a couple days."


    Now, it was worth mentioning that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had already familiarized themselves with Yao Ruoxian. This was because the two of them were always sending food over to Yao Ruoxian.


    Miao Yi would sometimes toss over a gon of fine wine and have the two of them go off to improve their acquaintance, causing Yao Ruoxian to praise the wine and always eagerly await the two girls¡¯ visits.


    After some time, it seemed that the two girls had caught his interest, and they would actually receive some pointers on their cultivation from Yao Ruoxian. It was not known whether Miao Yi¡¯s fine wine had any effect in this.


    There was one time when the two girls came back and reported that Yao Ruoxian had actually asked them to give up on the cultivation method handed down to them by Yan Xiu, then offered to hand down a much better method for the both of them to cultivate in.


    When Miao Yi heard this, he was a little suspicious as to whether that old zombie was eyeing his handmaidens. After some further questioning, he realized that he was being overly sensitive, and instantly gave his approval.


    In terms of cultivation, Yao Ruoxian was definitely much better than Yan Xiu, so Miao Yi was happy to see what they would be. He was just a bit disgruntled wondering why that old demon was not this nice to him.


    Now that he¡¯d let Yan Xiu bring away the Cave¡¯s experts, there was no one to protect it, and it was no longer safe. Therefore, he could only have the two girls lure Yao Ruoxian over. In case something happened, he was not counting on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s help, but on ount of the two girls, as well as the fact that they could be said to have somewhat of a master-student rtionship, there was the possibility that he¡¯d at least warn them beforehand, right?


    "Understood!"


    As soon as Qian¡¯Er left his silent quarters, Miao Yi did an internal examination of the progress of his cultivation.


    When his cultivation had risen to White Lotus Third Grade, he realized that he would still need twenty low-grade Orbs of Will to raise his cultivation to White Lotus Fourth Grade.


    Since his journey to the Sea of Constetions, he had refined about five orbs. And he¡¯d almost refined half of the Orb of Will currently in his mouth from the closed-door cultivation this time. He should be almost there after refining another ten Orbs of Will.


    With his current speed of refining one low-grade Orb of Will every two months, it should take less than two years worth of time...


    As they trod through a path of wind and snow, Yan Xiu was leading a group of six steeds straight towards Mount Calming Sea. He was just about to reach Mount Calming Sea when he was stopped by someone right at the entrance of the mountain.


    To be exact, he was not stopped. It was more like that person had been waiting for the people of East Arrival Cave to arrive. And that person was none other than Long Viridescent Cave¡¯s Cave Master Gongsun Yu.


    "Cave Master Gongsun!" Yan Xiu replied, feeling somewhat cautious as he cupped his fists.


    He hade with the tribute. If anything happened, he couldn¡¯t shoulder the responsibility. One must know that he was now the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. If something were to happen, he would be the first person to be med.


    But after seeing the two bodyguards at his side¡ªYuan Fang and Lai Yuhan¡ªhis heart was slightly calmer.


    Gongsun Yu really did not hold Yan Xiu in any regard. After casually cupping his fists and replying to Yan Xiu¡¯s greeting, he cast a probing gaze at the troops behind Yan Xiu. When he did not see the person he wanted to see, he could not help but ask curiously, "Cave Master Yan, why do I not see Brother Miao with you?"

 Chapter 217: Discreetly Cultivating

    Chapter 217: Discreetly Cultivating


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    The ¡®Brother Miao¡¯ he was referring to, was obviously Miao Yi.


    Hepletely didn¡¯t regard the current East Arrival Cave Master as an equal, and instead focused on the former Cave Master; making the others feel somewhat awkward.


    Even Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan glowered a little at Gongsun Yu. Both of them were now also part of East Arrival Cave¡ªGongsun Yu¡¯s words and actions appeared to be slighting East Arrival Cave. After all, while Yan Xiu was out, he represented East Arrival Cave.


    However, Yan Xiu was self-aware. He knew that in the scenario where a butcher hangs a goat¡¯s head but sells dog meat¡ªhe was the goat¡¯s head. He wasn¡¯t too offended and replied, "He is currently in closed-door cultivation."


    Gongsun Yu replied with an ¡®Oh¡¯. When he noticed the cold gazes from the two Blue Lotus experts, his nerves were shaken. Without another word, he turned his dragon steed around, and led his men in a gallop to Mount Calming Sea.


    Yan Xiu also gathered his men and followed suit.


    As soon as they reached Mount Calming Sea, the two of them were brought by Little Auntie Lu Liu into the loft where Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei handled the daily affairs of Mount Calming Sea.


    After the tributes were handed over, Qin Weiwei held onto East Arrival Cave¡¯s jade archive report, appearing a little distracted, before asking, "Horse Deputy Miao Yi has not been giving you trouble, I hope?"


    To the side, Gongsun Yu immediately cast a scrutinizing gaze over at Qin Weiwei, and observed the changes in her expression.


    Yan Xiuughed bitterly to himself. Even though he was officially the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, but evidently, the one in East Arrival Cave that truly deserved everyone¡¯s concern was still Miao Yi.


    How could they not? Miao Yi twice led the defence of East Arrival Cave against assaults from formidable foes, and forcefully turned the tides. Miao Yi¡¯s battle record was outstanding. Between the two Manors, and in Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, his fame was widespread. When East Arrival Cave was mentioned, everyone seemed to ¡®acknowledge¡¯ the former Cave Master more. At least, this seemed obvious to Yan Xiu for the short time that he had been representing East Arrival Cave, and brushing with the outside world.


    Faced with the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s question, Yan Xiu replied, "Horse Deputy Miao is very dutiful to his task, and is very cooperative with me."


    Qin Weiwei nodded, and asked, "Did hee with you this time?"


    Yan Xiu replied, "No, he did not."


    Gongsun Yu was quietly observing, and noticed a hint of something within Qin Weiwei¡¯s gaze¡ªdisappointment; as if.... she was a little disappointed that Miao Yi hadn¡¯te. ¡®What was she disappointed about? Don¡¯t tell me she wanted to see Miao Yi?¡¯ he thought.


    Gongsun Yu felt something pull on the back of his mind; he appeared to have noticed something from his fixation.


    Qin Weiwei raised her head to look at Yan Xiu, and asked, "What has he been doing for the past year?"


    Yan Xiu replied, "Besides doing his own duties, he practically never left his quarters and was always in closed-door cultivation."


    As soon as she heard this, Qin Weiwei was a little hesitant to speak. For the always-mischievous Miao Yi to actually be so obedient¡ªshe couldn¡¯t help but suspect that he was still brooding; displeased over being demoted to Horse Deputy, and expressing his resistance with silence. However, in the end, she didn¡¯t say anything strange by asking about it.


    To Gongsun Yu, she looked a little too concerned. ¡®Does a Mountain Chieftain like yourself need to be so concerned with the Horse Deputy of a single abode?¡¯


    Hong Mian, and Lu Liu also quietly shared a nce...


    Afterpleting his duty of handing over the tribute for this year, Yan Xiu hadn¡¯t yet earned the right to apany the Mountain Chieftain to deliver it to South Edict Manor. However, he did manage to bring back a piece of unfavourable news for Miao Yi.


    It seemed Xiong Xiao was also spending most of his time cultivating¡ªhis cultivation had undergone another breakthrough, and reached Blue Lotus First Grade!


    "I see! Don¡¯t forget to sent a list of remunerations over to Mount Returning Loyalty every year."


    Regarding Xiong Xiao¡¯s cultivation breaking through to another level, Miao Yi was not surprised at all. It seemed that being in a state of focused cultivation for nearly a year had allowed Miao Yi¡¯s temperament to mellow.


    Miao Yi only came out to say a few words and meet with everyone. After he handed over the expected wages, he returned back to his closed-door cultivation.


    He made it impossible for Yuan Fang and the others to try digging up any dirt, because they barely had any chance to even see Miao Yi¡¯s face.


    Miao Yi had truly immersed himself in a state of closed-door cultivation. He now had sufficient Orbs of Will, a temporary safe haven to cultivate, and a bunch of subordinates to protect him. He also had a hundred thousand followers supplementing him with cultivation resources, as well as the care of his handmaidens¡ªso it was a given that he was well provided for. He also did not need to waste his time dealing with affairs that demanded the Cave Master presence. Yan Xiu was there to handle these. In a manner of speaking, he had nothing to worry about, and could focus single-heartedly on his cultivation!


    Such a state of cultivation was coveted by many Loose Cultivators, and disciples of the various sects. Even Miao Yi himself could feel it as he mellowed.


    Not only did Loose Cultivatorsck a hundred thousand followers to supplement the every aspect of their livelihood, the safety of their environment was always a constant worry, and they had to fight for limited cultivation resources. Normally, loose cultivators did not dare to steal from the people under the jurisdiction of the Six Sages either, so the poor and miserly could only fight amongst themselves. It was a negative cycle of poverty and brutality, creating a difficult environment to survive in, let alone having the necessary amount of Orbs of Will. That was of course, unless they had a patron to support them.


    This was also the reason why many Loose Cultivators dreamed of entering the system. In normal situations, there was at least no need to worry about ensuring their safety. They would even be able to earn a fixed amount of cultivation resources.


    Even if the disciples of the various schools had slightly better livelihoods than Loose Cultivators, the schools themselves required a source for their cultivation resources to support those disciples of theirs. Not only did those disciples need to handle menial chores, they had to go around and handle various tasks for their masters. Fighting and killing, mining; or even things like gathering herbs weremonly done. Otherwise, no school would have their cultivation resources simply fall into yourp to support you.


    Miao Yiy unmoving like a stone statue in his silent quarters, while time outside just flew him by.


    Another year passed and the time for tributes hade again. It was still Yan Xiu leading the troops over. Miao Yi was again nowhere to be seen; it was as though he was slowly fading away from the eyes of the people within both Manors.


    For him to suddenly be so inconspicuous to the point that there was barely any news of him at all¡ªprompted Mount Calming Sea to send Hong Mian over from their side to investigate.


    When all the people of East Arrival Cave were called to assemble, Miao Yi arrived for a brief moment. He hid the furthest behind everyone else, alone and quiet¡ªas though he was truly a lowly Horse Deputy. Hong Mian ground her teeth slightly at the sight of this.


    As soon as Hong Mian left, Miao Yi continued his closed-door cultivation.


    After Hong Mian returned to Mount Calming Sea, she was immediately met with Qin Weiwei¡¯s interrogation. "How is East Arrival Cave¡¯s situation?" Qin Weiwei asked.


    "Reporting to the Mountain Chieftain. Everything is normal."


    "Miao Yi did not cause any trouble for Yan Xiu, I hope?" Qin Weiwei always beat about the bush, and used this as an excuse to dig up some information on a certain someone¡¯s situation.


    Hong Mian more or less understood her intentions, and knew what she was concerned about, so she replied, "No, he didn¡¯t. All I saw, was that all of East Arrival Cave¡¯s affairs were handled by Yan Xiu. Miao Yi was being very low-key, to the point that he was unwilling to meet me. It seemed he didn¡¯t have even the slightest intention of speaking with me."


    Qin Weiwei fell silent. After a moment, she solemnly asked, "Did it seem to you that he was unresigned about being demoted to a Horse Deputy?"


    Hong Mian shook her head and replied, "It didn¡¯t seem that way. From his words and actions, his entire being seemed very tranquil."


    Qin Weiwei creased her brows and asked, "Then could it be that, against our expectations, Yan Xiu haspletely taken over East Arrival Cave? Could Yan Xiu be suppressing him?"


    Hong Mian did not know whether tough or cry as she thought, ¡®If you really want to go have a look, then go make the trip and see for yourself. Even though you are the Mountain Chieftain, there is no need for a woman to be this rigid, right? If you want to let the other person understand something, then you should just directly express it to him. If you don¡¯t say it out loud, how would you know how the other person feels? If you are always this rigid, how would the other party know how you feel?¡¯


    Lu Liu felt a little helpless. Even though she already had some idea of Qin Weiwei¡¯s feelings, she thought that it would be unwise to directly ask her about it. She was scared that this seemingly strong, and dauntless Mountain Chieftain would be intimidated back into her shell.


    "I didn¡¯t see any signs of him enduring any suppression. Even though he was very discreet, I could see the way the rest of them treated him¡ªit was still very respectful. Even while he was being discreet about it, his position within East Arrival Cave is still very high. The resident manor that belongs to the Cave Master is still upied by him. Yan Xiu had nothing to do with it." Hong Mian replied.


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s teeth gently pressed down on her red lips, she was speechless....


    It was not only her. Even Manor Head Yang Qing was a little surprised.


    Even though Yang Qing treated Miao Yi favourably, but for himself, he had to deal with two Manors. He couldn¡¯t always focus merely on Miao Yi. There were still many people and affairs within the two Manors that were much more important to Yang Qing than him.


    However, after not hearing any news of Miao Yi for some time, a day naturally came when he recalled Miao Yi¡¯s existence. He inquired a little from Qin Weiwei, but she would not reveal that anything was amiss, and would only say that Miao Yi had been very obedient; that there was nothing out of the ordinary.


    Yang Qing immediately felt that it was strange, so Qing Ju had to inadvertently take a quick look at East Arrival Cave.


    It was almost the same as when Hong Mian came to East Arrival Cave. Miao Yi still hid at the back of the crowd at all times. It was absurd how discreet he was being; he didn¡¯t have any intention of meeting Qing Ju.


    Qing Ju clearly had a more blithe personality than Qing Mei. Using the fact that they knew each other to her advantage, she took the initiative to stop him and have a conversation, asking, "How does it feel to be a Horse Deputy?"


    Miao Yi courteously replied, "Not bad."


    "Not bad?" Qing Ju rolled her eyes, then smiled as she said, "Do you want me to say a few good words in front of the Manor Head, and help reinstate your position?"


    Miao Yi shook his head, and replied, "I am grateful for Little Auntie¡¯s kind offer, but I am quite satisfied with where I am now."


    Regardless of how Qing Ju asked, Miao Yi always maintained a courteous manner while replying, and seemed little perturbed by anything; not allowing Qing Ju to discern any of his feelings.


    As soon as Qing Ju returned to South Edict Manor, her report to Yang Qing was pretty much the same as Hong Mian¡¯s.


    Yang Qing immediately found it strange, and said, "Did this brat really turn over a new leaf, or did he be obedient after being punished by me....."


    It was not important what the people outside thought. For Miao Yi himself, he had to make the most of his time, and raise his own strength.


    ¡®I don¡¯t give a rat¡¯s ass about reinstating my position. I¡¯m no longer interested in the Cave Master¡¯s seat. If I had to choose, I would choose to be a Mountain Chieftain.¡¯


    There would be a day when he would exhaust the resources in his hands. He could not simply go to the Sea of Constetions, and rob again. After going there once, he understood that he may not be lucky enough toe back with his life every time he went to the Sea of Constetions. It would be best to first obtain a stable position with a high ie. For example, the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s position.


    He knew that his major disadvantage was that his cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough. Right now, he had to take advantage of his surrounding environment to quickly raise his own cultivation. Only when he himself had unfaltering strength, would he truly have capital. Continue to pay out of his own pocket for a group of men to protect him wasn¡¯t viable in the long run¡ªhe couldn¡¯t afford it.


    However, he knew he had an advantage. So long as he had enough Orbs of Will, his cultivation speed would be much faster than the average person. He still had a chance of eliminating Xiong Xiao.


    Furthermore, after gaining some experience, he had slowly matured. He now had a long-term n in mind. The next time he made a move against Xiong Xiao, he would not simply kill him off¡ªthere was no need to do something that benefited others. If he killed Xiong Xiao now, he would be doing exactly that. Then next time he wanted to be promoted, he would have to sh with someone again. Why go through all that trouble?


    Therefore, if he were to actually make a move¡ªhe would take Xiong Xiao¡¯s life and his position for himself.

 Chapter 218: Master is a Tycoon

    Chapter 218: Master is a Tycoon


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Miao Yi had also been keeping tabs on Xiong Xiao¡¯s movements, utilizing the School of Blue Jade. Currently, the rtionship between the School of Blue Jade and South Edict Manor was no longer as strained as it was before, so it wasn¡¯t that troublesome to get in touch with Yuan Fang and the others.


    What he found strange was that the situation on Xiong Xiao¡¯s end was almost simr to his¡ªXiong Xiao was using most of his time in closed-door cultivation. It seemed like he was also in a rush to raise his own cultivation, and wasn¡¯t hard-pressed on seeking Miao Yi out for revenge. Compared to taking revenge on Miao Yi, it seemed he prioritized raising his cultivation more.


    Deep in the mountains, in a waterside pavilion in the abode of Immortals. Summer wasing to an end.


    Within the silent quarters, Miao Yi was sitting cross-legged like a statue when suddenly, the faint silhouette of a four-petaled white lotus shone from his forehead. He slowly opened his eyes; his gaze revealing a mystifying glow.


    Originally, he would have needed little more than three years for his cultivation to break through to White Lotus Fourth Grade; but because of interference from several other matters, he spent nearly four years before finally breaking through.


    Miao Yi was neither surprised nor delighted, it wasn¡¯t anything to be joyous about either.


    The fact of the matter was, all his subordinates in East Arrival Cave have higher cultivations than him¡ªeven Yan Xiu had already broken through to White Lotus Fourth Gradest year.


    After he quietly conducted an internal examination, he couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly.


    As expected, it doubled again. Based on his past experience, he estimated that it would require around forty low-grade Orbs of Will, if he wanted to break through to White Lotus Fifth Grade.


    Forty orbs wasn¡¯t such arge sum to him right now, but it was quite frightening that it would continue to double this way.


    Roughly calcting, if he wanted his cultivation to break through to the Blue Lotus Realm, just breaking through from White Lotus Ninth Grade to Blue Lotus First Grade alone would require over a thousand low-grade Orbs of Will; and the amount necessary to break through from Blue Lotus Third Grade to Blue Lotus Fourth Grade would be over ten thousand already.


    When he reached theter Blue Lotus stages, the amount of Orbs of Will he needed to spend would be numbered in hundreds of thousands.


    Miao Yi found it a little difficult to imagine how many Orbs of Will a Red Lotus cultivator such as those of the Hall Master rank would need to use¡ªit was no wonder cultivation took so many years! Even if there were enough Orbs of Will, one would still need to persevere through an unreasonably great length of time before the results would slowly reveal themselves.


    Thus, it was easy to imagine what life was like for those cultivators who did not have much Orbs of Will. No wonder Yuan Fang and the others had already be old men with merely a Blue Lotus First Grade cultivation.


    To begin with, cultivators did not age easily. One could well imagine the number of years that would need to pass for a cultivator to be an old man. s, even though a cultivator had long lifespans, they spent more of their time in solitary cultivation, and might not even be as happy as mortal in their short lives.


    There was no point in thinking about how to cross that bridge until one got to it. Why did he need to think so hard for? Weren¡¯t there a lot of cultivators who had high cultivations, but still looked very young?


    Since someone else could do it, there was no reason why he couldn¡¯t do it too.


    Miao Yi gave himself a little motivation, and invoked his arts to refine the remaining half of the mid-grade Orb of Will in his mouth once more.


    As expected, once he examined his speed of refining Orb of Will more closely after breaking through to White Lotus Fourth Grade, his refining speed had clearly be much faster.


    Initially when he was at the third grade, he needed almost two months to refine a low-grade Orb of Will, so he could only refine six orbs in a single year. Now it seemed like he would be able to refine nine orbs in a year, essentially needing only around a month to refine one orb.


    Based on these calctions, it would only take him a little over four years to finish the forty Orbs of Will necessary to break through to the fifth grade.


    As soon as he had a rough figure in his mind, he was about to continue cultivating, when he was surprised by good news.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er voices called out from outside the silent quarters, and said, "Qian¡¯Er. Xue¡¯Er. We request to see master."


    Still seated in his cross-legged posture, Miao Yi slowly opened his eyes. He could feel there was something different about the two girls¡¯ tone, so he said, "Enter!"


    The two girls entered side by side. When they reached the pond, they separated and circled around from the sides. They came to a stop in front of the stone seat, before standing together once more, and lowered their bodies in greeting. Both of them had an ecstatic expression on their faces, and their eyes held a brilliant shine.


    "What is the matter?" Miao Yi asked.


    The two lively girls share a look and nodded. When they looked towards Miao Yi again, a ripple of transcendence energy surged from their bodies as the shadow of a single-petaled white lotus flower shone on their foreheads.


    Miao Yi was taken aback at first, but soon let out a heartyugh, "It turns out that both of your cultivations have entered the grade scale. Good, good, good. Truly one joyous news after another."


    Seeing their master happy, the two girls revealed brilliant smiles as well¡ªthinking that the consecutive news he was referring to, was how the both of them had broken through to White Lotus First Grade together.


    They didn¡¯t know that Miao Yi was referring to how his own cultivation had also broken through to White Lotus Fourth Grade. The two joyous news was referring to how both Master and handmaidens had broken through together.


    After he finished rejoicing, Miao Yi studied the two girls once more, feeling a little mncholic. Their cultivations were truly at White Lotus First Grade.


    Thinking back to when the two girls first began following him, he had only just arrived in East Arrival Cave, and his cultivation was only at White Lotus First Grade then. Now, the two girls had also broken through to White Lotus First Grade in their cultivation.


    He remembered back then, the two girls were still a pair of snot-nosed brats. However, now they had already grown into veryely figures. They dressed with elegance, and were both charming on the outside, yet intelligent inside. Their skin was fair and soft; their lips lusciously red. They were poised and graceful; their bright eyes shining with a gleam that was all too alluring. Both of these fine youngdies had truly be women. How many years had passed already?


    Miao Yi sounded a little hesitant as he asked, "The both of you have followed me for almost seven years now, right?"


    The two girls also sudden realized the same after hearing him speak. They looked at one another, then nodded simultaneously and said, "A little over seven years."


    "Seven years...," muttered Miao Yi. He remembered how back when he was cultivating on the ind, he only spent four years to break through to White Lotus First Grade. On the other hand, the two girls spent a whole seven years for their first step. It seemed they were much slower than he was back then.


    He wouldn¡¯t have known that if it wasn¡¯t for Yao Ruoxian giving them advice mid-way, and if the two girls had continued to only cultivate under Yan Xiu¡ªthey would probably have spent over ten years for this first step.


    Seeing their master so quiet, the two girls were somewhat restless because they had been pushed toe in by Yao Ruoxian; he was just outside.


    After reminiscing for a moment, Miao Yi snapped back to reality and chuckled, "Both of you are White Lotus First Grade already. In the future, it will be more convenient for you two to help me do tasks. A reward for the both of you!"


    He reached into his robes, and took out two storage rings. He held one in each palm and smiled. "Take it. With your transcendence energy now, you will be able to use it. It will also be more convenient when you two need to take items."


    The two girls both stepped forward, and reached out with both hands to receive the rings. Then they excitedly said, "Thank you, Master."


    Originally, the both of them always addressed him as Cave Master, but recently, Miao Yi had the two of them change it. He told them that right now, Yan Xiu was still the Cave Master after all.


    It seemed to be a littlecking to just gift them with two rings. After Miao Yi gave it some thought, he reached into his storage ring again, and took out four mid-grade Orbs of Will that gave off a gentle glow. "As of now, both of you already have the ability to refine Orbs of Will. This Orb of Will will help you to quickly raise your cultivation. For now, both of you will each take two orbs to use. It shouldst you two for some time. Come find me to get more when it isn¡¯t enough. If you two have anything you do not understand as you are using them, you can look to Senior Yao for advice."


    The two girls excitedly received the items, and thanked Miao Yi again.


    "You two don¡¯t have to worry about not having sufficient Orbs of Will to use. Just use them as you like. What¡¯s most important is to work hard and raise your cultivation. Only when your cultivation is high will you be able to better help me aplish tasks." Miao Yi smiled as he swept his hand out, and said, "Go then! Focus on your cultivation!"


    "Understood!" the two girls excitedly left the silent quarters, and no longer bothered his closed-door cultivation.


    As the two girls left the silent quarters and made their way into the courtyard outside the house, they saw Yao Ruoxian in the pavilion sneakily waving his hand at the two of them.


    The two girls immediately skipped over. Each girl held onto one of his arms as they excitedly said, "Teacher. Master really rewarded us."


    These two girls got along extremely well with Yao Ruoxian. Even though Yan Xiu was considered half their teacher as well, their time with Yan Xiu was a little more restricted.


    It wasn¡¯t because they wanted to y up to Yao Ruoxian due to his higher cultivation, but because Yao Ruoxian had a frivolous nature to begin with. He wasn¡¯t one for formalities, so the two of them found that they liked him; it was normal for youngsters to be yful after all.


    On the other hand, because Yan Xiu had to be conscious of the two of them being Miao Yi¡¯s handmaidens, he would always treat them like Elder Auntie and Little Auntie. He abided by the formalities closely, making both parties feel somewhat distant from one another.


    In contrast, Yao Ruoxian did not care about differences in status. Even the former Cave Master Miao would have to endure a beating when facing him. ¡®Don¡¯t act like some pretentious Cave Master before me. I will beat a Cave Master up, just as I would beat anyone else up.¡¯


    "Didn¡¯t I tell you? I already said that you two would be rewarded if you went inside to tell him the good news. That brat isn¡¯t a virtuous man, but he is still quite soft towards the people by his side,"ughed Yao Ruoxian as he stroked his mess of a beard. "Hurry up and show me. Let me take a look at what that brat gave you two."


    The two girls immediately shed out the items in their hands. On each of their palms, was a storage ring and two mid-grade Orbs of Will.


    Normally, this reward was considered quite good for someone who just entered the White Lotus First Grade. If it were anyone else, how would they be able to get a storage ring? Two mid-grade Orbs of Will were already equivalent to twenty low-grade Orbs of Will.


    Yao Ruoxian took the storage rings from both their hands, and imbued his transcendence energy inside to take a look. He thought that there would be something inside at first, but it turned out that they were empty.


    After he ced the storage rings back on the two girls¡¯ palms, he began grumbling peculiarly, "I thought he gifted you two something good¡ªyou two are his personal handmaidens after all¡ªyet he only gifted so little. That brat is unbelieveable. It seems he needs a beating."


    The two of them immediately stuck their tongues out in response. Xue¡¯Er shook her head and said, "Teacher. These two gifts are already quite significant. Many in East Arrival Cave don¡¯t even have a storage ring."


    Qian¡¯Er also nodded and said, "That¡¯s right. Two mid-grade Orbs of Will are equal to twenty low-grade Orbs of Will. The others in East Arrival Cave won¡¯t even be able to obtain so many Orbs of Will in a year. It is already enough for us to use for a long time."


    "Pfft! Shortsighted girls. You already consider these mere trinkets as treasures?" Yao Ruoxian rolled his eyes and sneered whilst he stroking his beard, "That Master of yours is a small tycoon¡ªhe is practically swimming in wealth. Back when he was in the Sea of Constetions, he alone killed off seventy-two Second Grade Yao cultivators and gathered all the treasures from the bodies of those seventy-two Fort Masters. In just storage rings alone, he has a staggering two hundred pieces."


    The two girls were shocked. Now, they were aware that a Second Grade Yao cultivator was on par with a Blue Lotus realm cultivator. They couldn¡¯t imagine that their Master had killed seventy-two of them by himself. However, their Master never mentioned this to them before.


    Nheless, the two of them always revered Miao Yi, and believed that it was normal for Miao Yi to be impressive. They had never seen Miao Yi not being able to aplish something before.


    "Now do you know how rich your Master actually is? This is fine and all, but most importantly, that brat has an Immortal Herb. Not your average Immortal Herb, but a divine treasure that is hard toe by even in tens of thousands of years. Just that Immortal Herb alone is worth more than my entire fortune. He is swimming in riches, yet he only gifted these few things to his personal handmaidens. He truly is too unbelievable. It¡¯s as if he¡¯s trying to brush you two off like beggars with just a few trinkets."


    Qian¡¯Er waved her hands and said, "It¡¯s not like this. Master said that we could just use the Orbs of Will as we please, and that we can go ask for more from him if we don¡¯t have enough."


    "What¡¯s the use of just having Orbs of Will?" Yao Ruoxian said as he pped his hands together. Then he shrugged, and said, "You two are too simple-minded! Transcendent artifacts! What about the transcendent artifacts? The two of you should have your own transcendent artifacts at least. That way, you two will be able to protect yourselves somewhat in the event of danger, and not be sitting ducks!"


    He swept his hand to the two of them, and added, "Go, go, go. That brat has plenty of materials for refining transcendent artifacts on him. Go ask him for more, and have him gift you two with some materials for refining transcendent artifacts. After that, I will personally refine a piece of transcendent artifacts for you two to call your own."

 Chapter 219: Accidentally Consuming a Yao Core

    Chapter 219: identally Consuming a Yao Core


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    The two girls were a bit reluctant. Their Master had gifted them so many things just now, so they didn¡¯t have the nerve to go inside again, and disturb their Master.


    On top of that, these two weren¡¯t Yao Ruoxian¡ªthey weren¡¯t as thick-skinned as he was.


    However, because both of them knew Yao Ruoxian for quite a while now, they had a few tricks up their sleeves in dealing with him.


    Xue¡¯Er quickly grabbed onto his arm, and started swinging it innocently; then tried to switch the topic by saying, "Teacher. What are the materials used for refining transcendent artifacts?"


    On this topic, Yao Ruoxian was an expert, and naturally answered reflexively, "First, you naturally need the essence powder refined from Crystal Coins. Once you have enough essence powder, you will be able to smelt it into the initial form of the artifact. After that, you will require the appropriate Yao Core to match it. Obviously, the ze Resins are of necessary as well. That brat has a whole bunch of these. Go ask them from him quickly. Don¡¯t hesitate. I know that kid, if both of you ask for those items, he will definitely give them to you."


    Qian¡¯Er immediately grabbed onto his other arm, and fluttered her eyshes. "Teacher. What are ze Resins?"


    Yao Ruoxian flipped his hand over to show three pieces of crystals. He picked each of them up and exined, "This red one is the Red ze Resin; the blue one is the Blue ze Resin; and the gold one is the Gold ze Resin. The gold one is the best....."


    After he finished exining the three types of ze Resins, Xue¡¯Er swung his arm again, and asked, "Teacher. What does the Yao Core look like?"


    The girls secretly stole a look at each other. They were prepared to ask Yao Ruoxian to teach them the process of refining artifact using the Yao Core, after he was done exining the fundamentals of the Yao Core. Essentially, they would continue to ask questions until Yao Ruoxian had a headache. Naturally after that, he would avoid their questions, and run away.


    Yao Ruoxian flipped his hand over once more¡ªholding a pure white Yao Core between his fingers, he proceeded to exin to the girls, "This is a First Grade Yao Core; a blue color would mark one as a Second Grade; the red color, a Third Grade; the purple color as a Fourth Grade; and the gold color, a Fifth Grade. However, at the present, I have only seen the Fourth Grade Yao Core, not the Fifth Grade Yao Core. My guess is that the Fifth Grade Yao Core is a bit impossible to encounter in the cultivation world, because after killing a Yao Cultivator, the Yao Core retrieved from them would decrease by a grade. For example, the Second Grade Yao Cultivator will only yield a First Grade Yao Core. Think of the concept of retrieving a gold color Fifth Grade Yao Core....."


    He continued giving a detailed exnation to the girls. Charcoal let out a sneeze from under the roof, and turned to look at them.


    When Charcoal saw the Yao Core on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s hand, its eyes widened and shone. In one swift movement, Charcoal rose and began moving its hoofs. The dragon steed marched into the pavilion, and circled the three of them; nudging its head at Yao Ruoxian every now and then.


    Because of Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, Yao Ruoxian would oftene by to visit. Recently, he would asionally stay for the night¡ªwhich was why Charcoal had be familiar with him. Quite unlike the first time, when Charcoal would show fear around Yao Ruoxian.


    Once he noticed Charcoal nudging at him, and disturbing his teaching session with his disciples, Yao Ruoxian swiftly gave Charcoal¡¯s head a lump with a swing of his fist, and said, "Fat thief! Go off to the other side."


    Charcoal withdrew his head, and circled them once more, before going back towards Yao Ruoxian again. It nudged its head against him, with its nose sniffing at the Yao Core on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s hand.


    Yao Ruoxian was amused, "Fat thief, what do you think you¡¯re doing? You think this is something edible!"


    Charcoal sneezed as if in reply to him. Then extended its slimy tongue, and licked the Yao Core that Yao Ruoxian was still holding, as if it were a child licking candied haw on a stick. After Charcoal finished licking, it smacked its lips as if it had tasted something extremely appetizing.


    Yao Ruoxin was so disgusted with Charcoal¡¯s actions that he quickly wiped the slippery saliva off his hands onto his clothes. He kept holding onto the Yao Core feeling annoyed, but he was a little amused at the same time. "You really want to eat it?"


    "Harummppp!" Charcoal nodded in reply, as if stating that it badly wanted to eat the Yao Core.


    Yao Ruoxian was instantly amused by Charcoal. With an evil expression, he said, "Fat thief. You really do want to eat it! Alright, I will give this to you. Don¡¯t me me if you die after eating it."


    He casually tossed the Yao Core over; Charcoal¡¯s response was fast¡ªextending his neck, Charcoal swung its head and opened its mouth, catching the Yao Core at the right moment; and gulped it down in an instant. Then he flicked his snake-like tail in a satisfied manner, and turned to leave.


    "Heh heh!" Yao Ruoxian revealed a smirk as he watched Charcoal leaving.


    The girls nced at each other; Qian¡¯Er decided to ask, "Teacher. You just said it might die from eating it.... Will Charcoal be fine after eating the Yao Core?"


    Yao Ruoxian chuckled, "It would be weirder if Charcoal was fine. What do you take the Yao Core to be, food? Of course it will die after consuming it. That fat thief is full of fat. One look is all it takes to realize that this is the result of eating without consideration. Today I will give it a long hard lesson and help it lose weight."


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er was stunned by his words and began to panic a little, "Teacher, this won¡¯t do. Charcoal is Master¡¯s mount; he has treats Charcoal like his little brother. If anything bad were to happen to Charcoal, Master would be furious."


    "Furious?" Yao Ruoxian said in a disdainful tone, "He can throw a fit in front of you girls, but if he tries to make a scene in front of me, I will crush his skull into pieces."


    "You can¡¯t! Make him spit it out quickly." Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er went into full panic mode, and ran towards Charcoal to make it spit out the Yao Core.


    They didn¡¯t expect Yao Ruoxian to suddenly block them from going forward,ughing, "Don¡¯t panic. He was willing to eat it, but I¡¯m wasn¡¯t willing to give it to him. Don¡¯t worry, he will not die. Charcoal will feel pain inside stomach, and when the pain is unbearable, he will spit it out. I only want to give this fat thief a lesson, that¡¯s all."


    After they listened to Yao Ruoxian¡¯s words, the girls let out a sigh of relief. They felt that Yao Ruoxian would never think of troubling them, and make their lives worse than before.


    However, Qian¡¯Er was still uncertain about it, so she asked, "What if he doesn¡¯t spit it out?"


    "Doesn¡¯t spit it out? Then the energy of the Yao Core will eat through his stomach and damage his inner organs. If that happens, the only path for Charcoal will be death."


    "Ah!" The girls were once again shocked.


    "No need to panic. This fat thief isn¡¯t a fool; he¡¯s cunning. When he feels pain, he will naturally spit it out." Yao Ruoxian took out another Yao Core, and said, "Come. We will continue with the lecture."


    They decided to continue the lecture of the Yao Core, but the girls were preupied another matter. They asionally checked on Charcoalying under the roof, flicking his tail every once in awhile.


    When they realized that Charcoal was fine, both of them eased down a little, and continued to listen to Yao Ruoxian¡¯s exnation of the Yao Core.


    However, things never always went well. After Charcoal nodding off a while ago, he suddenly widened his eyes, and stood up abruptly; then began galloping around the courtyard.


    The trio inside the pavilion turned their heads to watch Charcoal¡¯s movements.


    Not long after that, they could all see that Charcoal was moving erratically, like a drunkard. He then started iling its head, as if in a drunken fit, making the hair at the nap of his neck into aplete mess.


    His movement became increasingly erratic. Charcoal swayed, and swayed.


    Yao Ruoxian sat inside the pavilion and snickered, "Fat thief. Do you learn your lesson now?"


    "Teacher. Is he okay?" Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had a nervous expressions on their faces.


    Yao Ruoxian confidently brushed their concerns aside, and said, "Don¡¯t worry. He will be fine once he spits out the Yao Core. He should spit it out soon."


    However, there were moments where even an expert senior in the cultivation world would miscalcte.


    They could all see Charcoal was breathing heavily as he swayed; he seemed to be losing his bnce. The ¡®huffing¡¯ breath began to sound more like a wind belt¡ªhorrifying those who heard it.


    Charcoal struggled to open its heavy eyelids, but they kept closing on their own as if he was sleepy. When he saw his ¡®old nest¡¯, the dragon steed tried to step towards his ce while wobbling about.


    After making an effort to climb onto the tform, Charcoal continued to sway towards his permanent resting area until his limbs gave out.


    ¡®Dong!¡¯ Charcoal flopped onto the ground without hesitation.


    Charcoal curled his limbs into a fetal position, and tried its best to curl its body so that its head would meet the tail.


    Once Charcoal curled into a ball, his eyelids that were fluttering to open, gave out as he lost control. In the end, Charcoal tightly shut its eyes and didn¡¯t open them again. The only thing left was that horrifying ¡®huffing¡¯ as Charcoal continued to breath steadily.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s eyes stared with wide eyes, as they waited for Charcoal to spit out the Yao Core it had consumed.


    They didn¡¯t even notice that right beside them, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s face was twitching as he ground his teeth in anger. "Is this fat thief crazy? He won¡¯t spit it out despite being in pain. He really is seeking his own death!"


    When they heard those words, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er began to panic. It wouldn¡¯t be a funny joke if they managed to cause the death of their Master¡¯s mount.


    "Teacher. What is happening? There won¡¯t be a problem right..."


    "Don¡¯t rush. I will make him spit it out."


    Yao Ruoxian lifted his arm, and calmed himself. Then in a sh, hended beside Charcoal and violently kicked his body twice. "Fat thief. Give back grandpa¡¯s Yao Core! Are you still asleep? If you keep on sleeping, you will die. Wake up! Quickly spit out that Yao Core!"


    However, Charcoal remained motionless as if he were dead, no matter how much Yao Ruoxian kicked him. If it wasn¡¯t for the ¡®huffhuff¡¯boured breathing like a wind belt, the others would have thought that Charcoal had really died.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er came running towards them, before pleading in panicked voices. "Teacher. Please quickly save him!"


    "Don¡¯t rush me! I will invoke my art, and force it to spit it out."


    Yao Ruoxian immediately knelt beside Charcoal, and pressed his palm against Charcoal¡¯s abdominal area by invoking his art to check inside.


    "Huh!"


    He would never have known if he didn¡¯t check first, but once he did, he noticed something abnormal was happening inside Charcoal¡¯s body¡ªit made him exim in shock involuntarily.


    After invoking his art into Charcoal¡¯s body, he discovered that the intestines and stomach had been automatically sealed. The orifices inside its body had been sealed as well, and the intestines seemed to have curled into a tight knot, like a ball. He had no idea how the jumbling happened, especially the tight knot around the intestines. It would be quite difficult for him to untie the intestines, even if he tried to invoke his art to do it.


    It wasn¡¯t entirely impossible for him to force the knot loose. However, doing so would definitely damage Charcoal¡¯s internal organs.


    Moreover, Charcoal¡¯s dragon steed heart was contracting at quite an rming speed. The rate of blood flow inside his body was up as well¡ªthe blood was circting at an abnormally high speed.


    Most importantly, Charcoal¡¯s body temperature felt hot to the touch, when his hand rested on its body.


    Yao Ruoxian was still shocked, even with years of experiences and knowledge¡ªhe had never seen such strange phenomena before.


    "Teacher. What happened?"


    ¡®Cough cough!¡¯ Yao Ruoxian let out a dry cough before he continuing to say, "This.. uh, is a bit strange. I fear it won¡¯t be easy to retrieve the Yao Core like this. The best way to retrieve it now is to dissect this fat thief, and take it out."


    "What!" Xian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er cried out at the same time.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I have celestial fruits. After cutting him open, and retrieving the Yao Core; I will start healing him immediately. There won¡¯t be a problem."


    "Teacher. Are you certain?" The girls began to show signs of distrusting his words.


    "How could Teacher lie to you." Yao Ruoxian forced a quickugh.


    He turned his attention back to Charcoal, and pressed his palm against its abdominal area once more. He invoked his art to look for the Yao Core located somewhere in that position.


    In the end..., time continued to pass. There was barely any result from his investigation, yet his face had been twitching continuously from the start.


    In the time it took for an incense to burn, droplets of sweat began forming on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s forehead. His hands were still stroking Charcoal¡¯s body.


    Even with his cultivation base, he wasn¡¯t able to find the location of the Yao Core inside Charcoal¡¯s body. The high cirction of the blood inside Charcoal seemed to have triggered some sort of mysterious energy, which actually stopped Yao Ruoxian from prying into Charcoal¡¯s body further. Even with Yao Ruoxian¡¯s transcendence energy, he wasn¡¯t able to prate through this mysterious energy.....

 Chapter 220: A Horse’s Mouth on a Cow’s Head

    Chapter 220: A Horse¡¯s Mouth on a Cow¡¯s Head


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Such an incident had already exceeded Yao Ruoxian¡¯s scope of knowledge. He didn¡¯t have a clue about what was happening¡ªit was too abnormal! So much, that he was a little fearful of simply tearing open Charcoal¡¯s belly to find that Yao Core.


    That was in the case if anything did happen to Charcoal, but now it didn¡¯t seem like there was a problem. It just seemed as if it was sound asleep.


    However, Yao Ruoxian was a little unsure of how he would exin things to the two girls, and just continued crouching there, feeling about Charcoal¡¯s body with an awkward expression.


    He was too ashamed to look at them. Time and time again, he had guaranteed that things would be fine; that he would be able to deal with it. In the end, he failed to pull through. How would those two girls think of him now? His image of a Teacher in the two girls¡¯ hearts was probably ruined by now.


    The two weren¡¯t idiots after all; after being around Yao Ruoxian for so long, they were aware of the kind of person Yao Ruoxian was. As soon as they saw him dawdling around, they knew he couldn¡¯t resolve it.


    The two of them stopped putting their hopes in him, and anxiously made their way towards Miao Yi¡¯s quarters.


    "What do you two think you are doing?" said Yao Ruoxian, as he strode ahead of the two girls, and stopped them.


    "We¡¯ve caused trouble." Xue¡¯Er said miserably.


    Qian¡¯Er added, "We will inform Master, and ask him to punish us."


    "What is there to inform him about? I will obviously settle the matter." Yao Ruoxian assured them, and patted his chest.


    However, the two girls had very little confidence in his words now. Xue¡¯Er bit her lip, and asked, "Teacher. Can you assure us that Charcoal will be fine?"


    From her tone and words, she was obviously implying to Yao Ruoxian, ¡®If anything else happens, we will never trust you again.¡¯


    This was asking Yao Ruoxian to give them a final promise!


    "This....." Yao Ruoxian was quite reluctant to do so. On the off-chance that he couldn¡¯t deal with it, he would be trampling on thatst ounce of respect he had in those two girls¡¯ hearts. Yet, even he himself couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of the situation, so it was a little difficult to make such a promise so easily.


    With that moment¡¯s hesitation, the two girls were sure now. ¡®Teacher doesn¡¯t have any confidence at all.¡¯


    In a quiet voice, Qian¡¯Er said, "Master has many ideas. If we let Master know now, maybe Charcoal can still be saved."


    Xue¡¯Er nodded her head vigorously. The two girls had absolute faith in Miao Yi.


    Yet, Yao Ruoxian was displeased by those words. ¡®Why did it seem like he wasn¡¯t as capable as that brat?¡¯ He red at them and said, "Him? Do the two of you think that I would be less capable than him?"


    The two girls did not have the mood to dally along with him. ¡®Who cares if you¡¯re more capable or not? We need to save Charcoal urgently.¡¯


    They circled around Yao Ruoxian¡¯s sides, ready to head inside the silent quarters to ask for aid, and be punished.


    Yao Ruoxian was anxious now. Once again, he shed in front them both and stopped them. He scanned his surroundings, then lowered his voice to whisper, "Both of you are such idiots! That brat won¡¯t leave his closed-door cultivation if nothing happens. So long as we keep quiet about this matter, how will he know what happened? If he ever asks, both of you can just simply say that had no idea. What could he do then? We-"


    Before he could finish, he found himself unable to continue.


    The way the two girls were looking at him now was loaded disappointment, as if to say, ¡®Teacher. How could you be this kind of person?¡¯


    The two girls didn¡¯t say another word, and again circled around him; leaving hurriedly.


    "...." Yao Ruoxian was speechless for some time. Then, he turned around and grumbled as he left. "Those two girls are so hard-headed. They don¡¯t even realize that I said that for their sakes...."


    Within the silent quarters, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were already kneeling in front of the stone couch; once again disturbing Miao Yi from his closed-door cultivation. With tearful faces, they exined to him everything that had happened outside without holding anything back.


    ¡®Charcoal is going to die?¡¯ Miao Yi¡¯s eyes slowly widened.


    When he finished listening to the two girls¡¯ report, Miao Yi had already jumped up. As he spread his hand open in mid-air, a cold light shed and the Inversed-Scales Spear appeared in his palm. Immediately, he dashed out of the silent quarters.


    Once he charged out of his quarters, he twisted around and caught sight of Charcoal¡¯s unconscious form, andboured breathing. He went up to him, and gave Charcoal a couple of kicks, shouting, "DAMN FATSO! DAMN FATSO!"


    Seeing that there was no response to his shouts, Miao Yi¡¯s expression twisted. He suddenly turned around to re at Yao Ruoxian, who was standing with his hands behind his back¡ªpretending to have a leisurely stroll in the courtyard. With a wave of his spear, he jabbed at him angrily and shouted, "YOU SHAMELESS OLD BASTARD!"


    He instantly dashed forward¡ªthe dragon¡¯s roar reverberating through the air. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had rushed out after him, but before they could stop him, they caught sight of Miao Yi viciously striking at Yao Ruoxian with his spear.


    Initially, Yao Ruoxian had intended to talk matters out with Miao Yi after he came out.


    He hadn¡¯t expected Miao Yi to react so strongly; he was irrationally picking a fight with him without any room for discussion¡ªmaking Yao Ruoxian somewhat speechless. From this, it was clear that this kid had a very close rtionship with that damn fatso. Even when he knew he couldn¡¯t beat him, he still chose to pick a fight.


    However, the reality was, there was an enormous gap of strength between both parties. It was no longer a difference of one or two stages, but a difference like Heaven and Earth!


    Yao Ruoxian swung his hand forward with his palm opened, to face the iing Inversed-Scales Spear. Arge and powerful surge of transcendence energy rippled out, and instantly froze the iing Inversed-Scales Spear in mid-air.


    Miao Yi was frozen in mid air with the spear in his hands. His whole body was stuck¡ªhe couldn¡¯t move an inch! With his cultivation, he couldn¡¯t hope to resist Yao Ruoxian at all.


    "Brat, are you sick of living?" sneered Yao Ruoxian looking on in contempt as he mocked Miao Yi for even daring to fight him!


    With such overwhelming transcendence energy restraining him to the point that it was difficult to even speak, Miao Yi was consumed with rage as he invoked his arts and forcefully shouted, "Qian¡¯Er. Xue¡¯Er. Notify the men of the Cave immediately, and have them quickly request for Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s experts to kill this old bastard. I want to make sure this old bastard no longer has a ce to shelter himself in this world!"


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s expression froze, immediately finding himself unable tough any longer.


    Even though the other party¡¯s cultivation was low, he had a whole hierarchy of power supporting him from behind. Forget about Red Lotus experts, he could have Purple Lotus experts; and even Golden Lotus expertsing over.


    Even though he didn¡¯t know any of the experts in the upper echelons of the system, he was a member of the system. So long as it was a reasonable request, even the Realm Beyond Heaven¡¯s Mu Fanjun could be asked toe out. If that happened, Yao Ruoxian would definitely be backed into a corner.


    This was the greatest difference between a Loose Cultivator, and a cultivator within the system. The former didn¡¯t have any support unless they were under the protection of an expert; whereas thetter had the support of a whole hierarchy behind them, and a force that was iparablyrge!


    Yao Ruoxian could see it now. This kid was trying to get revenge on him, even if he had to give up his own life. He had lost all reason.


    It wasn¡¯t that he was scared of Miao Yi. With his cultivation, he could easily kill at the men of East Arrival Cave before news of it spread, but there was no need to go so far for just a dragon steed. On the off-chance that news of this were to leak out, he would most likely have to face a great deal of suffering for the rest of his life.


    Most importantly, once he killed Miao Yi, he would be out of luck with the tiny mantids.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er was now in a panicked state. To one side, was their Master; and the other was their teacher¡ªthey didn¡¯t know what they should do.


    Seeing the two of them still not moving, Miao Yi bellowed, "Are you two disobeying my previousmand!?"


    These words had a strong impact on these personal handmaidens of his. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s delicate bodies trembled; their expressions change, and they hurried away wanting to do as Miao Yi instructed.


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s face twitched. He pushed his palm forward and sent Miao Yi flying away, then stepped in front of the two girls and stopped them. Then, pointing at Miao Yi, he shouted, "Brat, were you bitten by a rabid dog? If you want to fall out with me, don¡¯t you think you should at least let me know why?"


    As soon as Miao Yinded, he swang his spear and pointed at Charcoal. "You have caused the death of my steed..."


    "Bullshit!" Yao Ruoxian pointed at Charcoal as well, and added, "Is he dead? He¡¯s obviously sleeping soundly over there. Where does it look like he¡¯s dead to you?"


    "..." the furious Miao Yi was a little dazed after he turned to look. Charcoal was was snoring so loudly¡ªhe really wasn¡¯t dead.


    Before he could give it any more thought, Yao Ruoxian already snorted, "You haven¡¯t even assessed the situation properly, and yet you had the audacity to pick a fight with me. Do you really think I wouldn¡¯t dare to kill you?"


    Miao Yi was stunned. In hindsight, he realised he really had been a little too rash.


    He had let the blood get to his head when he came, but right now his aura was visibly weakening with Yao Ruoxian¡¯s words. "Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er told me-"


    Before he could finish, Yao Ruoxian cut in again, "What do those two girls know? As if they could understand. I was just joking with them, but they thought it was real. They don¡¯t understand. You don¡¯t understand either!"


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er nced at each other. His words were highly suspicious to the two of them, as they had seen how guilt-ridden he was¡ªalmost to the point of breaking out in a cold sweat before.


    Miao Yi was instantly lost for any words to rebuke with. He slowly tucked the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand away, and turned to stop by Charcoal¡¯s side. He crouched down, and invoked his arts to examine him.


    He felt a strange force stopping his transcendence energy from probing within Charcoal¡¯s rapidly flowing bloodstream. He sped up the cirction of the art source inside his body, and strengthened his transcendence energy for inspecting. Finally, he easily broke past the barrier, and could see the internal state of Charcoal¡¯s body¡ªhow all the orifices within its flesh were sealed. Then, he locked in on the Yao Core that was being closely enveloped by Charcoal¡¯s organs.


    A strange substance was being secreted from Charcoal¡¯s stomach, and was slowly digesting the Yao Core. Miao Yi¡¯s transcendence energy could detect that the Yao Core¡¯s energy was being released from the corrosion, and was slowly being absorbed by Charcoal.


    "What!?" Miao Yi eximed in surprise. "Senior Yao, can a dragon steed refine a Yao Core?"


    "Well...." Yao Ruoxian was still thinking of an excuse he could use to sway Miao Yi, when he heard those words; he turned and said, "Huh?"


    He walked over with a look of surprise on his face, and curiously asked, "Refine a Yao Core?"


    "Didn¡¯t you know?" Miao Yi was stunned, and said, "You¡¯ll understand once you take a look."


    Yao Ruoxian had a doubtful expression on his face, as he pressed his hand on Charcoal¡¯s body once more to examine it. The result was the same as it was before¡ªhis transcendence energy couldn¡¯t determine what was going on within Charcoal¡¯s body at all. He then probed with a question, "You found the location of that Yao Core?"


    "It¡¯s just inside its tightened up stomach!"


    "Huh?" Yao Ruoxian wanted to say, ¡®Are you trying to trick me?¡¯


    Then, he abruptly rolled his eyes, and gave a light chuckle. He had figured something out in his head, ¡®This kid has probably realised that he can¡¯t afford to provoke me, so he is looking for a way to save some face.¡¯


    As though he understood what the other party was talking about, Yao Ruoxian nodded and said, "That¡¯s right. It is refining the Yao Core."


    The truth was, the two of them were as ill-matched as ¡®A horse¡¯s mouth on a cow¡¯s head¡¯.


    Taking his hand off, Miao Yi nced at the unconscious Charcoal as it snored; before asking curiously, "Senior Yao. How did this happen?"


    Since the brat was being tactful, Yao Ruoxian figured he might as well y along with it. It wouldn¡¯t do any good if they were to fall out with each other.


    He stood up, ced his hands behind his back, and pretended to be experienced in the matter as he said, "The reason he is sleeping so heavily, and isn¡¯t waking up is clearly because he is concentrating his mind on refining the Yao Core inside his body."


    "I¡¯ve never heard of a dragon steed being able to refine a Yao Core before." Miao Yi also got up and asked. "There won¡¯t be any problems, will there?"


    "Just like how the skies have unpredictable weather, man has his own ups and downs. Even idents can happen during cultivation. No one can assure that there won¡¯t be any problems at all. We shall see when the timees." Yao Ruoxian casually replied. With these words, he wouldn¡¯t be held responsible if any problems were to arise.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er nced at each other and were lost for words. ¡®Could Teacher really be joking just now? His acting was very real indeed. We¡¯ll have to be careful about what Teacher says from now on, and not let him trick us again.¡¯


    "Senior Yao. Why did you let Charcoal consume a Yao Core?"


    "Do you think I have plenty of Yao Cores to spare? He was the one that kept nagging me to let him have it. Forget it, I won¡¯t hold the matter of a single Yao Core against him. I¡¯ll just think of it as feeding it a nutritional supplement."

 Chapter 221: Charcoal Awakens

    Chapter 221: Charcoal Awakens


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Seeing him being so magnanimous, Miao Yi felt somewhat awkward. After ring up in rage before assessing the situation properly, it seemed he had indeed gone a tad overboard. Now he felt a little sorry.


    ¡®Just apologize to the old man, make amends and be done with it. This old man is rather shameless. I need to avoid him from striking while the iron is hot.¡¯


    Miao Yi wanted to leave after dropping a single sentence, "Qian¡¯Er. Xue¡¯Er. Call for me once Charcoal wakes up."


    "Hold it! Don¡¯t be in such a rush to leave."


    Yao Ruoxian stopped Miao Yi, who was trying to avoid the awkwardness and pretend like nothing had happened, in his tracks.


    Miao Yi turned around with a smile, and said, "Is something the matter, Senior Yao?"


    "Are you not concerned with the two of them anymore?" said Yao Ruoxian, pointing towards Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. "Both of them already have the ability to wield transcendent artifacts. You¡¯re not going to prepare any transcendent artifacts for them to protect themselves?"


    Miao Yi choked, and was speechless for a while. He looked at the two girls and asked, "What transcendent artifacts do you two want?"


    The two girls shook their head, and waved their hands as they said, "We don¡¯t need it!"


    "The two of them aren¡¯t so thick-skinned. How could they dare to ask from you? I am the one who is requesting on their behalf." Yao Ruoxian was very direct. He didn¡¯t beat around the bush, and simply asked, "Are you going to give, or not?"


    A little suspicious, Miao Yi asked, "What transcendent artifacts do you think they should have?"


    "It¡¯s simple. Just fork over some materials, and I will help each of them refine another Inversed-Scales Spear. You will provide the materials, and I will provide thebour for refining. Is that sincere enough for you?" Yao Ruoxian said as he waved his hand generously.


    "Inversed-Scales Spear....," asked Miao Yi suspiciously. "Why must it be the Inversed-Scales Spear?"


    Yao Ruoxian shot back with a single sentence, "Can¡¯t the two of them like using spears? Don¡¯t tell me you want to force them to use something that they don¡¯t like?"


    Miao Yi was lost for words. He faced the two girls again, and the two of them anxiously waved their hands and said, "There¡¯s no need, no need."


    "What do you mean you don¡¯t need it? Do you two hope to always have someone by your side protecting you? A time wille when you have to face danger alone." Yao Ruoxian berated the two girls. He faced at Miao Yi again and asked, "Tell me, do you think my words are true, or not?"


    Miao Yi gave it some thought and realised he had a point. Just like the time when Yuan Zhengkun had attacked East Arrival Cave, if it weren¡¯t for Chen Fei protecting them from the shadows, the two girls would have suffered the same humiliation as the other handmaidens and died. The two girls needed to have some ability to defend themselves. There wouldn¡¯t be someone to save them in crucial moments all the time.


    Right after he nodded, he took out three first grade transcendent artifacts from his storage ring. These totaled together would be enough to refine into two Inversed-Scales Spears. He also took out another two First Grade Yao Cores, as well as a few Red ze Resins and handed it all to Yao Ruoxian.


    He didn¡¯t expect that after Yao Ruoxian kept these things away, he would stick out his hand again and demand, "Not enough. Hand over a bit more."


    "Not enough?" Miao Yi red at him and said, "Don¡¯t try to trick me. I am aware of the number of materials required to refine an Inversed-Scales Spear."


    "Do you think with their abilities, they will be able to protect themselves with a single spear? I will refine a few more talisman seals for them, so they can better protect themselves in times of need." Yao Ruoxian said as he continued to extend his arm.


    "Talisman seals...." Miao Yi said with surprise, "Even I didn¡¯t have something like this."


    "It doesn¡¯t matter if you have it or not. Can their strengthpare to yours? You can kill your way in and out of an encirclement of one-two hundred people. As they are now, it would be difficult for the two of them to face a White Lotus First Grade cultivator even if they fought together. Qian¡¯Er. Xue¡¯Er. You two see it now, right? I¡¯ll be blunt, the two of you are going to be his women for the rest of your lives. Even your lives are his, and yet he isn¡¯t even willing to give the two of you a few things to protect your lives. I¡¯m telling you, in the future, you two-"


    "Senior Yao!" Miao Yi was sweating buckets, and hastily cut in; not allowing Yao Ruoxian to raise any more problems, and asked, "What other materials do you need?"


    "Fork out another twenty First Grade Yao Cores. Also-"


    "Twenty cores!?" gasped Miao Yi, as he interrupted once again. "What do you think I¡¯m-"


    "Qian¡¯Er. Xue¡¯Er....." Yao Ruoxian immediately turned around, and continued to stir up their master-servant rtionship.


    "Fine, I¡¯ll give! I¡¯ll give!" Miao Yi was terrified of him. With a darkened expression, he took out twenty First Grade Yao Cores.


    In the end, it still wasn¡¯t enough. Yao Ruoxian exacted a pile of demonic beast skins, as well as dozens of Red ze Resins out of him before he was willing to let him go.


    Miao Yi ran away hurriedly as if he had been defeated, and quickly slipped into his silent quarters to continue closed-door cultivation. If he stayed any longer, he was worried he might even lose lose his pants.


    After exacting arge haul, Yao Ruoxian was deeply satisfied. He moved over to face the two girls and gleefully said, "Didn¡¯t I tell you? Even though this kid isn¡¯t much of a role model, he still treats his own people well. You can tell it just from the way he treats his steed alone. If I ask him for things, it would be like a desperate matter of life and death for him. But if I use the two of you as an excuse to ask things from him, he would give it immediately. Since your teacher has given you two so much, don¡¯t you think you should thank me?"


    The two girls had no intentions of thanking him. They weren¡¯t new to the cultivation ream, so they obviously knew that the items that Yao Ruoxian had extorted from their Master was worth quite a hefty sum, and made the Master lose a significant chunk of his wealth. As such, the two were feeling uneasy.


    "Teacher. Why don¡¯t you return those things to Master? We don¡¯t need to use so much on normal asions." Qian¡¯Er said with guilt.


    Yao Ruoxian had his own half-assed excuses ready, and sighed, "Girls. There is nothing to feel sorry about. Even your lives already belong to him, so don¡¯t you think that what is yours is also his? If you two have better items, wouldn¡¯t it make it easier for the two of you to help him with tasks in the future? You don¡¯t wish to be a burden to him in the future right? Where would he find the time to alwayse and save the two of you?"


    Yao Ruoxian had a point with those words. The two girls would be able to be more useful, and help Miao Yi with greather aplishments. They had to be like the Elder Auntie, and Little Auntie by the Manor Head¡¯s side at least. They hear that Elder Auntie, and Little Auntie had been very impressive when they followed the Manor Head to charge into the enemy lines to ughter the enemy. Whereas for the two of them, Miao Yi didn¡¯t even dare send them on a long journey, fearing that it would be dangerous.


    Now that there was nothing weighing on their minds, Xue¡¯Er tentatively asked, "Teacher. I don¡¯t like to use spears. Can I use swords?"


    Yao Ruoxian immediately whacked her on the head like he was cracking a chestnut open. Xue¡¯Er cried out in pain, and forcefully massaged her temples.


    "You fool!" Yao Ruoxian pointed at her nose, and scolded,. "Do you know what¡¯s the most impressive thing about that brat? Common folk would think that his full-body of transcendent artifacts is most impressive, but they are wrong¡ªit¡¯s actually that exceptional spear arts of his! It truly felt, as though as long as he had a spear in his hand, he would be able to walk unhindered even against a massive army. I have lived for a long time, and never had I see such an awe-inspiring spear art against groups. I don¡¯t even know how he managed to train to such a level. That kid¡¯s cultivation is a little too low right now, so he isn¡¯t able to unleash the full might of this spear art, but once his cultivation has gone up in future, he will truly be a force to be reckoned with. Since the chance to learn such a good skill is just beside you, wouldn¡¯t it be a shame if you didn¡¯t learn it? Let me tell you, it is easy to refine a transcendent artifact, but it isn¡¯t easy toe by an opportunity to master a good set of skills. If you two choose to use a sword, then you¡¯ll really lose out. For others, it would be really be difficult for them to even try making him handover those skills of his, but it¡¯s a different matter for the two of you as his personal handmaidens. You two are not outsiders, but his women, so there will be plenty of opportunities. You two silly girls should just listen to me. I won¡¯t be wrong. Once the spears are refined, the two of you just need to carry it over, and act pitiful in front of him. That brat won¡¯t turn a blind eye and just watch the two of you carry a useless poker. When the timees, he will teach you both a few moves at least!"


    The two girls were terrified when they realised that this Teacher of theirs always did these kinds of swindling schemes¡ªespecially when most of it was targeted at their own Master.....


    Curled up under the eaves, Charcoal continued sleeping heavily. Miao Yi was still somewhat worried about its condition, and woulde out to check up on it every ten days or so.


    After two months had passed, Yao Ruoxian, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er realised that Miao Yi was staying much longer this time around. He was crouched by Charcoal¡¯s side and had his hand over Charcoal¡¯s belly without moving an inch.


    At this point, Yao Ruoxian began thinking to himself, ¡®This brat is putting up a pretty good act. Could he really be able to break past the strange force in the damn fatso¡¯s body, and inspect the situation in its belly? Impossible! Even my own cultivation could not aplish that.¡¯


    However, he also leaned forward, and pretended like he was concerned as he asked, "What is the matter?"


    Crouched beside Charcoal, Miao Yi creased his brows and replied, "The Yao Core has already been fully digested. I¡¯m not sure if he will be waking up."


    "Huh?" Yao Ruoxian was rather doubtful in his heart. With some suspicion, he crouched down and extended his hand to probe inside once more.


    Like always, he had no way of discovering anything.


    However, just as he was about to withdraw his hand, he couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow when he suddenly realised that the strange force within Charcoal¡¯s body was somewhat abating. With that, he tried to probe inside again.


    The strange force within Charcoal¡¯s body was indeed abating and was slowly fading away. Yao Ruoxian was able to slowly probe into the situation inside Charcoal¡¯s body once more.


    Charcoal¡¯s rapid heart beat was slowing down, and so was the rapidly circting bloodstream within its entire body. The orifices within its flesh that had been tightly shut were slowly rxing, and the stomach and intestines that had been tightly wrapped together were also loosening up. That strange force slowly dissipated into nothingness.


    Miao Yi and Yao Ruoxian practically turned to look at each other in the same time. Miao Yi was still fine, but Yao Ruoxian was looking at Miao Yi in shock.


    Yao Ruoxian appeared a little lost for words. ¡®The situation turned out just like this brat said so. Could this brat really be able to probe into the situation within the damn fatso¡¯s body? How is this possible?¡¯


    When Charcoal¡¯s heavy breathing slowly stabilised, and his body returned to its normal state, his two eyes that had been tightly shut for the past two months, suddenly opened.


    However, his eyes instantly made everyone¡¯s hair stand on end¡ªthey were giving out a terrifying, demonic red gleam, as if full of demonic aura.


    Charcoal¡¯s two eyes werepletely red to the point that they were glowing. It was a little eerie and unsettling, shocking Miao Yi and Yao Ruoxian so much that they swiftly got up and backed away a step.


    Charcoal gave his serpentine tail a flick, and lifted his head up to look at the two of them. With a swish, he jumped up and began stamping his hooves; shaking his head and tail, looking ecstatic to finally see Miao Yi, who was always in closed-door cultivation for long periods of time. Charcoal snuggled his head against Miao Yi.


    However, Miao Yi and Yao Ruoxian backed away as they stared at those demonic, glowing red eyes of Charcoal, and were a little afraid to let him get close.


    At the foot of the steps, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were also staring wide-eyed at Charcoal.


    It seemed like Charcoal hadn¡¯t noticed the changes to its own body. When he saw Miao Yi avoiding him, Charcoal appeared a little puzzled as it let out a ¡®harrumph¡¯ towards Miao Yi.


    However, the demonic red glow in its eyes slowly faded away, and its red eyes slowly returned to normal.


    Miao Yi and Yao Ruoxian shared a nce, then both back turned to re-examine Charcoal closely. It seemed like there wasn¡¯t much difference from the way he was previously; he was just thinner.


    Even though Charcoal was still very fat, he no longer appeared as though he was bulging with fats like before.


    Charcoal moved forward once again. This time, Miao Yi didn¡¯t back off, and let his head tussle around in his embrace. Miao Yi also extended his hand, and touched Charcoal¡¯s head.


    Yao Ruoxian also could not help but extend his arm and touched Charcoal¡¯s body. The two of them could not detect any other abnormalities from Charcoal¡¯s body.


    Trantor¡¯s Thoughts


    Kude Kude


    Tranted by: soupHunter


    He seems to be away from keyboard so posting on his behalf.

 Chapter 222: Stealing Arts

    Chapter 222: Stealing Arts


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    After snuggling his head in Miao Yi¡¯s embrace for a while, Charcoal reverted back to its true nature. The fatso truly loved to eat!


    Charcoal turned around and put Miao Yi out of his mind; leaping down the steps, he trotted around the courtyard, before taking to the skies andnding outside. From there, he could be heard galloping away to thekeside to look for food.


    Miao Yi and the two girls were dazed as they looked in the direction that Charcoal had run off to.


    Meanwhile, Yao Ruoxian had raised hisrge sleeves to look at the swarm of tiny mantids hanging inside; then turned to see where Charcoal had been sleeping before; before finally ncing back at Miao Yi again. His face appeared full of curiosity.


    Not to mention the Hell Mantis¡¯ children being plenty bizarre already¡ªnow there was a dragon steed that could refine Yao Cores; a Glorious Star immortal herb that had already borne its immortal fruits; that astonishing spear arts; as well as the fact that this kid could probe into that damn fatso¡¯s body and examine him, whereas even he could not do so with his cultivation...


    With all these bizarre events coinciding together, Yao Ruoxian felt as though Miao Yi was full of mysteries.


    "Senior Yao. What is going on with Charcoal?" Miao Yi turned to ask.


    ¡®Do I look like I¡¯d know?¡¯ Yao Ruoxian grumbled to himself. However, he still pretended like he knew everything and said, "Nothing is wrong with him. He just received a great boon from consuming the Yao Core."


    "A great boon?" Miao Yi was stunned. It was the first time he had ever heard of obtaining arge boon from consuming a Yao Core.


    Without waiting for him to inquire further, Yao Ruoxian already turned around and started shouting at the two girls, "What are you two sitting around here for? Hurry up and train some more."


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know what kind of training they were doing, and caught sight of Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er shyly drawing out Inversed-Scales Spears from their storage rings.


    The two girls obeyed their Teacher¡¯s instructions. The Inversed-Scales Spears rang out with dragonic roars as they danced about while the two girls began sparring with each other.


    Even though their spears were the same as Miao Yi¡¯s, in the hands of the two girls, it was like they were swinging around a giant embroidery needle. It was too feminine, and everything was a mess. Miao Yi found it a little painful to watch on.


    They would probably be able to kill an enemy with this level of spear arts; however, even though they would be able to kill the enemy, there was a chance they would injure themselves as well.


    Yao Ruoxian snuck a peek at Miao Yi¡¯s twitching expression. There wasughter in his eyes as he coughed and said, "Train slowly you two. Practice makes perfect." After saying this, he ced his hands behind his back, walked off leisurely.


    As he continued watching the two girls train, Miao Yi finally found he couldn¡¯t continue watching any longer, and shouted, "STOP!"


    He strode down the steps, and made his way to the sides of the two girls; they had already drawn back their spears, and stood at attention. He held his face with both hands, and rubbed it vigorously before asking, "Qian¡¯Er. Xue¡¯Er. Is this the spear arts that Senior Yao taught the two of you?"


    The two girls looked at each other with a little guiltily, before Xue¡¯Er weakly replied, "Teacher never taught us any spear art."


    "Never taught you?" Miao Yi furrowed his brows and asked, "Then what are the two of you doing, swinging those around like it was actually training? Are you just blindly training?"


    Qian¡¯Er bit on her red lips with her teeth as she lowered her head and replied, "It was Teacher¡¯s idea to have us purposely practice in front of you, for you to watch."


    "Practice for me to watch? What does that mean?" Miao Yi could not understand them.


    "Teacher said that Master¡¯s spear art was an exceptional spear art....."


    The two girls didn¡¯t dare to keep any secrets from him. He didn¡¯t need to force them to say anything and they sold Yao Ruoxian out immediately, revealing everything that Yao Ruoxian said before.


    After listening to them, Miao Yi fell silent. He didn¡¯t me the two girls. Even though Yao Ruoxian¡¯s intentions were still a mystery, it did seem like most Masters would teach some of their skills to their personal handmaidens and treat them like trusted aides. It was bad enough that he didn¡¯t teach them his own cultivation techniques, but if he didn¡¯t even have them learn a little self-defense, then he would really be out of excuses to save himself.


    These two girls are his trusted aides, and it wasn¡¯t wrong to call them his women as well. If he wanted their bodies, it was only a matter of when. He indeed needed to give them some training. In future, it would be useful for when they needed undertake tasks for him. Especially, for certain matters that he would hesitate to leave in the hands of others.


    "Has Senior Yao finished refining the talisman seals for you two?" Miao Yi was rather concerned about this matter. That shameless old man was always trying to trick him into handing over his stuff.


    The two girls nodded, and each of them took out ten book-sized talisman seals; they were the color of ink.


    Miao Yi took them into his hands and examined them. He saw that some of the talisman seals had a ¡®Destroy¡¯ character floating on it, whereas some had an ¡®Open¡¯ character floating on it. He had never seen these kinds of things before, so he curiously asked, "What kind of talisman seals are these?"


    Qian¡¯Er replied, "This is a First Grade Mountain Destruction Talisman, it can destroy obstacles in times of danger. This is a First Grade Paralysis Talisman, it can hold enemies in ce. Teacher said that First Grade talisman seals are enough to deal with White Lotus realm cultivators. It has very little use up against Blue Lotus or higher cultivators."


    Miao Yi nodded. He had heard of them before, but it was still his first time seeing them.


    He counted them all. Yao Ruoxian had actually refined five Mountain Destruction Talismans and five Paralysis Talismans for each of the two girls, totaling up to twenty talisman seals. He felt a little pained just thinking about them. Without counting all the other materials, a single talisman seal was equivalent to using up a single First Grade Yao Core, which was equal to a hundred low-grade Orbs of Will. Twenty First Grade Yao Cores would be equal to two thousand low-grade Orbs of Will.


    Casually using a talisman seal in battle would be equal to a hundred low-grade Orbs of Will gone¡ªjust like that! This was too extravagant! This definitely wasn¡¯t something a normal cultivator would be able to indulge in. This must be why it was so rare to see it someone use it. He had only seen the Lady Boss use it that one time, back in the Mystic Arts Temple.


    He had never splurged so much on himself, but now his own handmaidens were morevish than he was. Where was the logic in this?


    Miao Yi wanted to keep a few pieces in case of emergencies, but he was a little embarrassed to do so. As a Master, for him to covet his handmaidens¡¯ belongings wasn¡¯t right.


    After returning the seals to the two girls, Miao Yi turned to walk back towards therge hall. When he reached the hall doors, he fell deep into thought again and stopped.


    Eventually, he slowly turned around and walked back to the two girls. Then in a serious tone, he said, "Even if I can pass on my spear arts, it isn¡¯t something a normal person can learn. For those practicing my spear arts, it bes increasingly difficult to master the higher one¡¯s cultivation is. They would have to start over like a nk canvas. In this, the two of you meet that criteria. However, if you wish to study my spear arts, you will have to endure much suffering. Can you two do this?"


    The two girls were immediately ecstatic, and nodded repeatedly, saying, "We can endure it."


    "That¡¯s fine. If you can¡¯t endure it, you can always stop training." said Miao Yi as he smiled.


    Afterwards, he called Yan Xiu over and, after handing over a few instructions, brought the two girls onto Charcoal, and rode towards the mountains.


    Not long after, a few silhouettes quickly flew out from the mountains. Yao Ruoxian had invoked his arts and carried the three of them together with Charcoal, to quickly fly towards the vast ocean.


    Eventually, they descended onto the ind that Miao Yi had brought the two girls over to cultivate before.


    After examining the geography, they stopped before a waterfall within the mountains. Miao Yi stared at the waterfall as he pondered for a moment, and couldn¡¯t help but lightly shake his head.


    "What¡¯s wrong? Is this ce not suitable? We can look for another one." To the side, Yao Ruoxian looked even more anxious than the two girls.


    Miao Yi shook his head again. It was not that it wasn¡¯t suitable; rather, he was just thinking back to how Lao Bai had taught him back then. Now he could vaguely feel that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had probably passed the optimal time to build up their bones and muscles. When he first started, he hadn¡¯t even seeded in creating his art source before he dug out the waterfall. Inparison, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s cultivations were already at White Lotus First Grade.


    At that time, he didn¡¯t know the reason for it, but now he realized how much of a difference it made.


    Miao Yi turned to face the two girls, "From this moment on, both of you will stop using Orbs of Will. The foundations are the most important aspect for training in my spear art. You are not to use Orbs of Will to aid in your cultivation."


    Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t bother understanding, and immediately instructed the two girls, "Do the two of you understand that? Remember your Master¡¯s words. From this moment on, the two of you are not to use Orbs of Will anymore. It will not be toote to use them once you two have mastered the spear art." After he said this, he turned back to politely asked Miao Yi, "Was this what you meant?"


    "That¡¯s exactly what I meant." Miao Yi nodded, before adding, "From this moment on, when the two of you are cultivating¡ªdo it under this waterfall. Invoke your arts and try to endure the relentless torrent of this waterfall." Pointing towards the waterfall, he didn¡¯t mention at what point they would be considered to have seeded.


    "Understood!" The two girls nodded in response.


    To the side, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s eyes were shining as he quietlymitted those words to memory.


    ¡®Who was he kidding? He had his eyes set on Miao Yi¡¯s spear art long time ago. However, he knew that these kinds of hidden trump cards wouldn¡¯t easily be revealed to outsiders. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, how could he miss out?¡¯


    Afterwards, Miao Yi brought them before a few rocky mountains, and personally carved two wooden spears before tossing them to the two girls. Pointing at a mountain, he said, "Use the wooden spears in your hands to break them apart. You are not to use any other methods or tricks to help you seed. When the rocky mountain has been crushed, and your wooden spears are still intact, only then will you have seeded."


    With that, from that day forth, the two girls¡¯ harsh, and austere training days began.


    To these two delicate girls who were strangers to heavybour and always had their needs provided for them in East Arrival Cave, it was definitely a great torture. The two beautiful girls were tossed about like beggars¡ªit was truly a pitiful sight.


    Even Yan Xiu found it difficult to watch on after seeing how miserable they looked. To a cultivator, the most important goal was to raise their own cultivation. He had never seen such a training method before.


    Women adored beauty the most. When they saw their own snow-white skin begin to turn rough and dark from the sun; as well as how they couldn¡¯t stop their hands from developing thick and bloody calluses even whilst using transcendence energy to shield them; every time they were faced with those massive mountains that would take who-knew-how-long to break apart; and thought about how the chaotic torrent of the waterfall would crash onto them every time after their stamina had been thoroughly exhausted¡ªthe two girls cried an uncountable number of times, and began to have thoughts of giving up.


    Throughout the ordeal Yao Ruoxian was always by their sides encouraging them, despite his heartache. "You two silly girls. This opportunity is difficult toe by, you must endure. Some skills, once you learn them, will benefit you for life."


    He looked towards Miao Yi as he said this. Miao Yi didn¡¯t ask about them at all, and quietly cultivated by himself within a mountain cave. He would asionallye out to check on the two girl¡¯s progress.


    Miao Yi would never have expected that ever since the day he instructed the two girls at the start of their training, Yao Ruoxian had also quietly stopped using his own Orbs of Will.


    When the two girls were working on the stone mountains within the mountain range, Yao Ruoxian would quietly sneak under the waterfall, and sit down cross-legged to cultivate.


    However for him, he could barely feel anything from the waterfall crashing down on him. He would often raise his head to look up, until he finally concluded that it would be possible for him to sit under the waterfall for his whole life¡ªa mere waterfall¡¯s torrent couldn¡¯t hope to move him at all. Forget about trying to knock him off his feet, he wouldn¡¯t even be soaked by a single drop of water.


    Nheless, he still quietly sat under the waterfall and tried to experience what it was like to have it crash onto him as he awaited the day that he would reach enlightenment.


    One night, when the exhausted Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were seated cross-legged under the waterfall and cultivating, Yao Ruoxian quietly made his way to the other side of the ind. He crafted a wooden spear in secret, and started a vicious attack on one of the stone mountains in front of him.


    With his cultivation, forget about wooden spears; even if he used his head to bump into the stone mountain, he would be able to reduce it to rubble. With just a single wooden spear, he had reduced the entire stone mountain into a teau.


    As he looked at the undamaged wooden spear in his hand, Yao Ruoxian was a little lost for words. If the stone mountain crumbling while the wooden spear was intact would be considered a sess, then did this mean that he had seeded?


    Trantor¡¯s Thoughts


    Kude Kude


    Tranted by: soupHunter


    He¡¯s stuck so Imma assist. :3

 Chapter 223: Digging Ones Own Grave

    Chapter 223: Digging One¡¯s Own Grave


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Had he really seeded?


    Yao Ruoxian wanted to believe that he had seeded, but as he swung the perfectly intact wooden spear in his hands, he didn¡¯t feel anything out of the ordinary.


    Some things you just couldn¡¯t lie to yourself. With the wooden spear over his shoulder, Yao Ruoxian held his chin with his hand and thought deeply for a moment, when he suddenly faintly heard the sound of rushing wind from afar. Without wasting a second, he hastily left and hid himself.


    Very soon, a shadow rushed over under the night sky andnded right on the spot where the stone mountain had been reduced to a teau; the dust still hadn¡¯t settled yet.


    The person that came was none other than Miao Yi.


    Previously, he had been at the waterfall observing Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, and just returned to his cave to cultivate, when he suddenly heard the faint st of exploding rocks from the other side of the ind. Feeling something was amiss, he quickly rushed over to investigate.


    In the end, there wasn¡¯t a single person in sight anywhere; but the dust in the air was proof that the rocky mountain had only just been shattered.


    Miao Yi¡¯s lips revealed a sly smile. He didn¡¯t need to think very much to know whose handiwork this was.


    It hadn¡¯t taken him much time to rush over after hearing themotion¡ªto be able to pulverize a rocky mountain within such a short period of time¡ªit was impossible for a Blue Lotus realm cultivator to possess such terrifying strength! Other than a certain someone, it wasn¡¯t likely for anyone else to have done this on the ind.


    He knew from the very beginning that a certain someone had questionable intentions when he had encouraged Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to master his spear arts. He had expected this.


    Nheless, it didn¡¯t matter. He could learn if he wanted to, so long as he had the ability to actually master it.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t stay over long. He dusted off both his sleeves and smugly left, going back to his cave to continue his cultivation.


    Not long after he left, Yao Ruoxian jumped out from a nearby area with the wooden spear in his hands. He looked at the pulverized stone mountain with a flickering gaze.


    After some time, the wooden spear in Yao Ruoxian¡¯s hands instantly burst into a fine powder. With a slight nod, he said, "I get it now. My cultivation isn¡¯t something those two girls canpare to, so naturally I would have passed the initial stages. I only need to learn the crux of the art in its final stages, but...."


    Yao Ruoxian suddenly found himself in a bit of a quandary. Miao Yi said that to train in his spear art, one cannot use Orbs of Will to speed up their development. In that case, should he continue to use Orbs of Will, or continue to abstain from it....


    From that day onwards, Yao Ruoxian suddenly became bored out of his mind. He would just keep blindly pacing around the ind, deep in his thoughts; always contemting whether or not he should use his Orbs of Will.


    If he didn¡¯t use it, and cultivated without any resources at his level¡ªhis cultivation speed would be pretty much negligible. However, it wouldn¡¯t be good for him to ask Miao Yi either.


    Since he was bored, he started hanging out with Charcoal again; since it wasying about on the ind most of the time. He would always tug on Charcoal¡¯s tail, or try to pry open his jaws. He wanted to understand how this dragon steed came to be able to refine Yao Cores.


    However, even after thoroughly examining Charcoal from head to toe with his transcendence energy, Yao Ruoxian found that he wasn¡¯t any different from any other dragon steed. He couldn¡¯t find anything out of the ordinary.


    Charcoal was annoyed with Yao Ruoxian messing around with him, and would run away the moment he saw him. In the end, the old man shed out another First Grade Yao Core in his hand, and shouted, "Fat Thief, why don¡¯t you have a look at what this is?"


    He shook the Yao Core in his hand, as if he were holding a bone and trying to tempt a dog.


    As he was running, Charcoal turned his head around to look¡ªand immediately came to a stop. He stomped about in ce, his four hooves giving away his thoughts; then slowly turned around and galloped back again. He snorted at the Yao Core in Yao Ruoxians hands.


    Yao Ruoxian chuckled, and tossed the Yao Core far away. Charcoal immediately chased after it fast as lightning. Just before the Yao Core was about to touch the ground, he managed to chomp down onto it, and immediately swung his head up to swallow it down.


    The end result was predictable¡ªnot long after, Charcoal looked like he was drunk again. He walked back to his ¡®old nest¡¯ with uneasy steps, and dropped down. Once again, its breathing began to sound like bellows.


    Yao Ruoxian had been closely following behind, and quickly took this opportunity to invoke his arts and examine it¡ªbut the results were the same as before. When the blood flow inside Charcoal¡¯s body sped up once again, Yao Ruoxian lost another Yao Core in vain. He circled around Charcoal hundreds of times while he was sleeping heavily, but he still couldn¡¯t make a detailed examination of the him.


    Miao Yi appeared on one of his asional forays out of his cave, and realized that Charcoal was sleeping again. He couldn¡¯t help asking Yao Ruoxian, "You fed him Yao Cores again?"


    As he continued to circle around Charcoal, Yao Ruoxian gave a depressing nod, and stroked his beard.


    Even though Miao Yi didn¡¯t know what was going on, this already happened before, so he paid it no mind at all. There was nothing wrong with Charcoal after consuming the Yao Core. When he tried to ride him, he discovered that Charcoal¡¯s speed had even gone up a little.


    The Seniors of the cultivation world had a vast store of knowledge. This was why he believed it when Yao Ruoxian said that dragons steeds would gain arge boon from consuming Yao Cores.


    All in all, Miao Yi had to admit that he didn¡¯t have enough Yao Cores for Charcoal to gorge on as he liked; he couldn¡¯t indulge in such methods for Charcoal to obtain great boons. Since Yao Ruoxian wasn¡¯t afraid of wasting his Yao Cores and was willing to use them as supplements for Charcoal, he himself wouldn¡¯t bother with it.


    He crouched by Charcoal¡¯s side and invoked his arts to probe into his body. Afterwards, he withdrew his hand, and nodded, "It seems his speed in refining Yao Cores has be slightly faster than before."


    "Slightly faster?" Yao Ruoxian looked surprised, as he watched Miao Yi move away.


    By the time that Charcoal had woken up again, Miao Yi¡¯s words were indeed proven to be correct. Charcoal was a few days quicker in waking up this time. Furthermore, he became even thinner. It seemed that Yao Cores had a slimming effect on Charcoal.


    Yao Ruoxian immediately felt like he was going a little mad. ¡®What was going on? Why did it feel like he had be an idiot, ever since he came to this ind?¡¯


    With that, Charcoal became addicted to the taste of Yao Cores and kept pestering Yao Ruoxian, asking for more food.


    Yao Ruoxian would then aggressively grab onto Charcoal, and examined him from head to toe.


    Charcoal didn¡¯t run off anymore, and allowed Yao Ruoxian to examine him as he pleased. From his previous experience, Charcoal understood that he would be able to eat Yao Cores after being messed around with. As such, he tried to be as obedient as possible towards Yao Ruoxian.


    Unable to find anything conclusive from his examinations, Yao Ruoxian wrung his hands and left¡ªnot willing to waste anymore of his attention on this.


    However, Charcoal threw a tantrum and¡ªas though believing that he could not allow Yao Ruoxian to mess with him for nothing¡ªbegan following Yao Ruoxian wherever he went, and annoyed him endlessly.


    In a rage, Yao Ruoxian took out a Yao Core that glowed with a blue light, and fiercely growled, "I don¡¯t believe that you can continue to eat like this without any repercussions. This old man will not believe something so ridiculous!"


    He viciously stuffed a Second Grade Yao Core into Charcoal¡¯s mouth.


    He still had a few First Grade Yao Cores on him, but this was the only Second Grade Yao Core he had. After all, it wasn¡¯t easy to obtain a Second Grade Yao Core. This Yao Core was the one found inside of the body of the Azure Ape Commander, from the Sea of Constetions¡ªand he fed it to Charcoal just like that.


    As a result, Charcoal acted like he was drunk again. Looking high, he walked off as if he was fluttering on air, before dropping to the ground once more.


    When Miao Yi came outside to check up on Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s training progress again, Miao Yi found Yao Ruoxian standing guard by Charcoal¡¯s side. As he invoked his arts to examine Charcoal again; he eximed in shock, "Senior Yao. You fed it a Second Grade Yao Core?"


    An Ungraded Yao Core was only worth a single low-grade Orb of Will. A First Grade Yao Core¡¯s worth was a hundred-fold of that, and a Second Grade Yao Core would be another hundred times of that. A single Second Grade Yao Core was equivalent to ten thousand low-grade Orbs of Will!


    He didn¡¯t suspected that it was precisely because it was worth a fortune, that Yao Ruoxian would stand guard by Charcoal¡¯s side and keep him under constant supervision. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯ty about to apany Charcoal like that. A mighty Red Lotus realm cultivator had no need to stand watch over a dragon steed so.


    Yao Ruoxian looked at him indifferently, but his face was twitching madly. Right now, he was absolutely sure that the brat could see what he couldn¡¯t¡ªhe had been the only one present when he fed Charcoal the Second Grade Yao Core.


    Yao Ruoxian stared at Miao Yi for a moment, before nodding in a reticent manner.


    "That was a Second Grade Yao Core!" Miao Yi said in shock. "Why did you do such a thing?"


    "Mind your own business! I had leftovers to spare and had nothing better to do, okay?"


    Yao Ruoxian viciously twisted his head to the side in anger, but he almost broke out in tears. At this point, even he wanted to know why he did such a thing.


    "Uhh... please do as you wish, Senior." Miao Yi shook his head and sighed as he left. It was Yao Ruoxian¡¯s belongings, after all. He could do whatever he wanted with it, and others couldn¡¯t say anything about it.


    However, deep down he was wondering about how thick the old man¡¯s pockets were. Red Lotus cultivators were truly not someone normal people couldpare to. They could even casually take out a Second Grade Yao Core, and feed that Fat Thief like it was candy.


    He was a little depressed about the treatment he was receiving. Yao Ruoxian was truly kind to the two girls, and treated Charcoal even better; it was only he, himself that Yao Ruoxian wasn¡¯t particrly nice to.


    ¡®Aaeee! If I had known earlier, I would have tried to improve my rtionship with the old man. It¡¯s such a waste that I can¡¯t ride on his coattails..."


    Charcoal slept for a long while this time around. After he downed the Second Grade Yao Core, Charcoal didn¡¯t wake up even after a full six months had passed.


    The winter snow already began falling by the time Miao Yi left his cave once more. Seeing Yao Ruoxian still standing guard by Charcoal¡¯s side, he stepped forward and cupped his fists, asking, "Senior. Please send me back for a moment."


    Back when they had first arrived, the two of them had already agreed that Yao Ruoxian would have to send him back to East Arrival Cave to check up on matters every few months or so. This time, it was because it was time for East Arrival Cave to hand over its annual tribute, so he had to make the short trip back. The members of East Arrival Cave were waiting for him to give out their wages.


    "The Fat Thief will probably wake up soon." Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t want to see his Second Grade Yao Core go up in smoke just like that, so he was keeping a close guard over Charcoal and wasn¡¯t willing to leave. He waved his hands and said, "It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t have any legs. Go back yourself."


    Miao Yi was really impressed that he would take such good care of Charcoal on his behalf. It seemed like he couldn¡¯t simply me the old man for their poor rtionship; he had to see if there was something wrong with he, himself to begin with. Maybe it was because he wasn¡¯t respectful enough, and there was a problem with his manners.


    He then began invoking his arts to probe the situation in Charcoal¡¯s body. Afterwards, he politely cupped his fists towards Yao Ruoxian and said, "Senior. Charcoal won¡¯t be waking up for a while. He only just refined half of the Second Grade Yao Core in his body."


    Yao Ruoxian slowly lifted his head and looked over. He naturally believed what Miao Yi said now¡ªsince he said that only half of the core in the Fat Thief¡¯s belly was refined, then it must be true.


    Nevertheless, he still wanted to ask Miao Yi, ¡®How are can you see that? Why is it that I can¡¯t find anything even though my cultivation is higher than yours?¡¯


    s, he had already boasted about his own abilities, and acted like everything was within his expectations. If he were to try asking now, and the brat found out that the Second Grade Yao Core was lost due to his own ignorance¡ªwouldn¡¯t he be aughing stock then?


    Sometimes, one¡¯s own pride was more important that one¡¯s life. Many people would risk their lives for the sake of their pride. Yao Ruoxian could only grind his teeth, and pretend he knew everything as he gave a nod. With a wave of his giant sleeve, he wrapped Miao Yi up and they flew off; this time, without Charcoal along with him...


    Back in East Arrival Cave, Yuan Fang and the rest were a little anxious as well. Their master Hong Changhai were pushing them hard, but they could barely catch a glimpse of Miao Yi¡¯s shadow ofte¡ªhow could they discover the source of Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation resources, if they couldn¡¯t even get in touch with him?


    After Miao Yi returned and distributed everyone¡¯s wages, he disappeared again without a trace. They clearly saw him walking towards a certain direction. Yet, even when Blue Lotus cultivators like themselves quietly following behind him, they couldn¡¯t even catch a glimpse of Miao Yi¡¯s shadow after....

 Chapter 224: This Old Man is Coming

    Chapter 224: This Old Man is Coming


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Another half a year had gone by before Charcoal awoke once more. After gobbling the Second Grade Yao Core, he had been asleep for over a year.


    Charcoal had no concept of how much time had passed while he slept. When he opened his eyes, they shone with a demonic gleam. After shaking his head and wagging his tail like a pug, he headed straight over to Yao Ruoxian, who had been standing guard over him for the past year. He nestled in Yao Ruoxian¡¯s embrace to demonstrate his affection.


    Clearly, he didn¡¯t think that he had slept for very long. Judging by the way he looked, it seemed like he wanted to ask Yao Ruoxian for more Yao Cores to eat. Otherwise, there was no need for him to suck up to him so.


    Yao Ruoxian pushed him away and examined him closely.


    While Charcoal was lying on the ground, he hadn¡¯t looked any different. Only when he stood up would you notice that the once fat thief had now be slim. His figure was almost the same as a regr dragon steed¡¯s, all sleek and dark.


    Especially those robust muscles of his¡ªthey were like bands of steel. At first sight, they seemed to be filled with an explosive strength.


    With his four muscr limbs, his sleek and shiny ck coat; and that mane of his that flowed beautifully in the sea breeze as he happily shook his head and flicked his tail¡ªafter the demonic read gleam in his eyes slowly faded away, one could say that his appearance had be incredibly striking.


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s lips twitched. He had thrown away a Second Grade Yao Core without any visible results, and instead made this Fat Thief be a lot more handsome; transforming him into an outstanding breed amongst dragons steeds. ¡®That was a Second Grade Yao Core that was worth ten thousand low-grade Orbs of Will!¡¯


    Yao Ruoxian had nowhere to vent his frustration. To make matters worse, Charcoal continued pestering him, asking for Yao Cores to eat.


    ¡®Do you really think I¡¯m such an idiot?¡¯ Regardless, Yao Ruoxian was done messing around, he couldn¡¯t afford it! He pushed Charcoal away.


    However, Charcoal continued to act shamelessly. Humiliated by his antics, Yao Ruoxianpletely snapped¡ªhe lifted his foot, and stomped hard on the ground.


    A strong wave of transcendence energy rippled out, shaking the earth heavily, and tearing it asunder.


    Charcoal neighed in panic; iling with his four hooves as he fell into the breach.


    Then, with a vicious expression, Yao Ruoxian pped his hands together. The sundered ground rumbled, and mmed shut once again¡ªsting dust and dirt everywhere! Truly an astonishing scene.


    This was the terrifying strength of a Red Lotus cultivator! Charcoal was buried alive on the spot.


    Miao Yi was in closed-door meditation inside his cave, when he was startled by themotion. He rushed over just in time to see Yao Ruoxian shaking his sleeves, and walking over with a dark expression.


    "What happened?" Miao Yi quickly looked around, then asked, "Where is Charcoal?"


    "I buried him alive!" growled Yao Ruoxian; he was peeved.


    "Ah!" Miao Yi was speechless. Before he could ask anything, the two of them were startled by amotion behind them, and turned around to look.


    All they could see was the closed-up ground trembling heavily as cracks started to form; the ground sank and rose repeatedly, as though something was about to burst out from beneath the surface.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    Finally, something ripped open the surface of the ground, spewing up a huge cloud of dirt and rock that flew everywhere! Yao Ruoxian and Miao Yi both swept at theirrge sleeves to brush away the debris of dirt and rock.


    Within the dust, they saw a grey silhouette leaping into the skies; his four hooves stomping restlessly asnded amidst the rain of dirt and rock.


    The surrounding dirt and rock were still falling like rain, but within the dust, a dragon steed stood with his head held high to the sky and screamed.


    As he neighed at the skies, the sound waves sted throughout the ce¡ªsending dust rolling away from his shriek¡ªrevealing his stalwart figure, and eyes that gleamed with a demonic red glow. In that instant, it looked as though a devil had risen up from Hell.


    Miao Yi was dumbfounded.


    Yao Ruoxian stared at the twenty-meter deep crater in the ground;pletely stupefied.


    He had buried Charcoal alive out of anger just now, because he wanted to teach him a lesson. With the amount of earth on top of him, there was no way a normal dragon steed would have been able to escape.


    Under such immense pressure from being buried deep in the ground, this Fat Thief was actually able to burst out from the ground and escape in a single breath. How much explosive strength did he need for this to be possible? How could a dragon steed possess such power?


    Charcoal¡¯s neighsted, but for a moment. Yet witnessing the intense aura released by Charcoal, as he cried out to the skies by the crater; Yao Ruoxian couldn¡¯t help swallowing deeply. ¡®This Fat Thief is very strong¡ªso strong that it¡¯s a little absurd! When did dragon steeds possess such a tyrannical aura? Could this be the aftereffects of refining a Yao Core?¡¯


    "Could it be...." Yao Ruoxian narrowed his eyes as a thought shed across his mind.


    Legends tell that dragon steeds are the offsprings of a dragon, and a pegasus or otherwise known as a draconic stallion. ording to those legends, the two powerful bloodlines negated one another, and made it difficult for dragon steeds to gain sentience; they only knew how to breed, and eventually became the mounts of the average cultivator. However, if one of the bloodlines were to awaken and suppress the other then...


    As Yao Ruoxian stared at Charcoal, his eyes suddenly took on a mysterious shine, and he swallowed his saliva again. He stuck his tongue out and licked his lips, as though he were quenching his thirst...


    Even Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, who were worn to the bone with training, were startled by themotion and came to take a look. With their clothes in rags, and holding wooden spear in their hands¡ªthey were stunned as they stared at Charcoal crying out by the crater in the earth.


    Charcoal stopped crying out after a while, and the demonic red glow in his eyes also gradually faded away. He shook his whole body, throwing the dust off him, and revealing his sleek ck coat. His figure and image was absolutely handsome¡ªa stark difference from his previous damn fatso appearance.


    Charcoal scuttled off to Miao Yi¡¯s side, still a little fearful after catching sight of Yao Ruoxian. After being treated that way, he no longer dared to ask him for Yao Cores to eat, and hid by Miao Yi¡¯s side.


    Even though his appearance had changed a lot, that personality of his was obviously the same as always.


    "How did this happen?" Miao Yi turned to ask Yao Ruoxian. Reaching out tentatively with his hand, he touched Charcoal¡¯s head. He honestly had a hard time recognizing him.


    His steed was always theughing stock to others. Now that he had be an outstanding breed among dragon steeds, he found it rather difficult to adjust to.


    "Don¡¯t worry It¡¯s nothing serious." Yao Ruoxian was suddenly all-smiles, and rubbing his hands together. Sticking his head out from beside Miao Yi¡¯s body, he waved his hand at Charcoal and said, "Fat Thief. Do you still want to eat Yao Cores?"


    His smile was extremely radiant.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of what was going on with him¡ªone second he was dour; and the next, absolutely chipper! ¡®Why is this tramp of an old man trying to do by first being so overbearing, then suddenly bing so friendly?¡¯


    Charcoal was absolutely terrified of Yao Ruoxian after experiencing his fit of rage. When he was forced underground just now, he had experienced what death truly felt like¡ªthe trauma was still vivid in his mind! He realized that this old man was truly too terrifying. He moved his body again and hid on the other side of Miao Yi¡¯s body; terrified of facing Yao Ruoxian.


    "I was just joking with you just now!"


    Yao Ruoxian chuckled and circled around. He was holding a First Grade Yao Core in his hand, and waving it at Charcoal, still trying to tempt him.


    Charcoal wouldn¡¯t forget so quickly and simply brush off the fact that he was almost killed just now; that near-death sensation was too horrifying. Even if he was offered a Tenth Grade Yao Core now¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t dare ept it. Once again, he tried to hide on the other side of Miao Yi¡¯s body.


    "Senior. What are you two up to?" Miao Yi twisted his head back and forth as he asked.


    "Nothing. Nothing at all."


    Yao Ruoxian tucked his Yao Core away and held his chin to ponder for a moment. Then, as if hitting upon an idea, he nodded and said, "I¡¯ll have to test this out."


    Without any forewarning, he suddenlyunched himself into the sky and enveloped himself with a ball of light in mid-air, then swiftly shot towards the distant horizon.....


    Unsure of what Yao Ruoxian was nning to do, Miao Yi simply shook his head. Putting out his hand, he ced it on Charcoal¡¯s body and once again invoked his arts to examine his body. As always, besides the fact that he had be slimmer, he found nothing out of the ordinary.


    He hopped onto Charcoal and rode him for apletep around the ind. He discovered that Charcoal had gotten even faster now, though not significantly faster than he was before.


    Finallying to the entrance of his cave manor, he jumped down and patted Charcoal, "It¡¯s good that you¡¯ve be thinner. Now you won¡¯t have to be mocked by others any longer."


    However, looking at the crater in the ground, he still turned to take a few more nces at Charcoal with some doubt in his eyes.


    Just now, Charcoal¡¯s explosive strength was absolutely shocking. It seemed that consuming more Yao Cores was indeed beneficial to him. However, he himself didn¡¯t have that much capital on hand; he didn¡¯t have enough Yao Cores to feed him with. ¡®Let¡¯s think about this in the future. Right now, my priority should be to focus on raising my own cultivation. Only when my cultivation is higher, will there be more chances of obtaining Yao Cores in the future.¡¯


    Seeing Charcoal scrambling away to the ocean to look for food, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but shake his head and smile. Turning towards the ragged and worn-out Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, he simply said, "Fill up this crater." Afterwhich, he returned to his cave manor, and resumed his closed-door cultivation.


    Celestial Nation. A few gray silhouettes flew across the sky, andnded in the depths of a certain mountain forest. The only things in sight were Yao Ruoxian, and a couple of dragon steeds.All that could be seen was Yao Ruoxian with a couple of unidentified dragon steeds.


    After making sure no one was around, he took out two First Grade Yao Cores and fed it to the two dragon steeds.


    The two dragon steeds did not cooperate, and instead shook their heads as they took a step back. It seemed they weren¡¯t the least bit interested in Yao Cores, and didn¡¯t disy the gluttonous behaviour that Charcoal did.


    After trying to feed them for a long while without any luck, Yao Ruoxian lost his temper. Invoking his arts, he just shoved the two Yao Cores down the throats of the two dragon steeds.


    However, soon after forcing it down, the two dragon steeds looked like they were in terrible pain from the ache in their stomachs; and retched out the Yao Cores from their bellies.


    Yao Ruoxian picked it up, then stuffed it back down their throats.


    When the dragon steeds again retched the Yao Cores back out from the pain, Yao Ruoxian picked them up and stuffed them back down again.


    After trying this for a while, Yao Ruoxian forced it down their throats once more¡ªand soon after, invoked his arts to restrain the two dragon steeds¡ªpreventing them from retching it out.


    As a consequence, the two dragon steeds began bleeding not long after from all their seven orifices; their stomachs bloated up terribly, and they looked terribly pained.


    After invoking his arts to examine the reaction within the stomach of the two dragon steeds, Yao Ruoxian simply sighed, and shook his head in the end.


    He couldn¡¯t see the shrinking of the stomach in their bodies like in Charcoal¡¯s case. Instead, their organs were beginning to bleed from being aggravated by the energy of the Yao Core. If he continued to experiment with them, these two dragon steeds would surely explode and die.


    He quickly invoked his arts and retrieved the two Yao Cores. After tucking them away, he scanned around; when he confirmed that there was no one else around, he took out an immortal fruit, and blew several wisps of stardust into the two dragon steeds¡¯ nostrils.


    After healing the injuries of the two dragon steeds, he loosened the binding of his transcendence energy, and released them.


    Miao Yi would probably never have expected, that the old fool who always threatened to smash him to a pulp with his mace, would actually have such a kind-hearted side to him. He was actually willing to use an immortal fruit to treat the injuries of the dragon steeds.


    Looking at the silhouette of the two dragon steeds swiftly disappearing into the mountain forest, Yao Ruoxian twisted his slovenly beard and clicked his tongue as he said, "He truly is quite different. Quite different indeed. Could that legend be true? It seems this old man has struck gold this time. I cannot let the kid know the truth of this matter. Otherwise, I might not be able to obtain him."


    When he thought about how amazing this was, he giggled like a fool and almost drooled. Suddenly bursting into a dance from the excitement, he crowed, "Fat Thief. This old man ising!"


    A ball of light enveloped him, and he instantly shot towards the horizon¡ªswiftly flying in the direction of the ind.

 Chapter 225: Exchange

    Chapter 225: Exchange


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    The skies were blue, and the ocean was a crystalline turquoise with roiling waves.


    At the center of the ind, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were each standing at the foot of two adjacent rocky mountains, holding themselves like ants shouldering an enormous burden. They each gripped a wooden spear, and were attacking the two mighty mountains with fervor¡ªevery strike shattering stone. Their aura was rather astounding, butpared to the mountains, it still felt like they were overestimating themselves¡ªlike ants trying to shake arge tree!


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    Qian¡¯Er shattered a giant boulder to pieces with a single spear strike, causing two enormous boulders atop the mountainside to tremble heavily. It eventually tumbled down with a bunch of other rocks of varying sizes.


    Qian¡¯Er suddenly raised her head; her eyesight instantly sharpening. As an enormous boulder tumbled her way, she swiftly twisted her body withdylike elegance and¡ªusing the momentum from her body¡ªstruck out a piercing strike to the skies.


    ¡®BANG!¡¯ The giant boulder instantly shattered, and burst into pieces.


    Soon after, rocks of all shapes and sizes tumbled down from the mountain top, and came down on her like rain.


    Qian¡¯Er didn¡¯t seem the least bit afraid. Instead, sheunched her spear out like a rampaging dragon, quickly shifting her posture to match her footwork. The rocks that came close to her head were quickly smashed to bits under a flurry of spear strikes, though she did miss a few.


    All the while, she was continuously jumping and twisting her body aside. Then, stepping on the descending rocks, she shifted her position in mid-air and leveled a strike with her spear at the other giant boulder crashing to her side.


    ¡®BANG!¡¯ The enormous rock exploded, but the wooden spear had also been snapped in two.


    As the pebbles rained down onto the ground, Qian¡¯Er ended bynding on her feet gracefully. Looking at the broken wooden spear in her hand, she couldn¡¯t help but shake her head. For consecutive high-speed attacks, she was still a littlecking in controlling her strength; otherwise, the spear wouldn¡¯t have broken.


    Casually tossing away the broken spear in her hands, she jumped away andnded on a nearby stone pile behind her; dozens of wooden spears had been stuck into it like pins. Easily picking one out, she made her way back to the foot of the mountain, and the explosions could once again be heard.


    At the foot of the other mountain, Xue¡¯Er was not performing any worse either.


    The two of them battled almost every day. With the constant battles, the two of them constantly improved their utilization and harmony of body, art and spear.


    On a nearby mountain ridge, Miao Yi nodded with a faint smile. These two handmaidens of his had finally gotten rid of the dainty feebleness they once had.


    Miao Yi realized that this spear spear training method that had Lao Bai taught him was basically building a rough foundation of sorts. The Master merely guided the disciple to the entrance, while the growth was up to the disciple themselves¡ªit was definitely that sort. There was basically no need for the Master to teach anything. It was a very apt technique for thosezy masters to pass down to their disciples. The could just speak a couple of lines, and leave their disciples to act on it themselves.


    However, the situation seemed to be different for each person. Even though it was the same training method, there was a plethora of ways in which it could be modified. It could freely draw out the potential that was most suitable for the person involved; or perhaps, it was because the two girls were female.


    Miao Yi¡¯s spear arts were tyrannical and precise; giving others the feeling of a honed weapon waiting to strike, and carried an aura of unstoppable momentum.


    The two girls¡¯ spear artscked that tyranny, but had a supple flexibility that Miao Yi did not possess¡ªadding a beautiful versatility with the sharpness of their strikes. It was quite apparent just from observing how elegantly the two girls were moving their bodies tounch their spears and received attacks. Miao Yi himself didn¡¯t have such a versatile moveset.


    There was a hint of praise in Miao Yi¡¯s smile as he watched the two girls. Even though the two of them had yet to fully master the spear arts, based on hisbat experience, the two girls already possessed the ability to fight against an opponent of the same level.


    He didn¡¯t stay long, and turned to leave. When he reached the outside of his abode, he saw Yao Ruoxian scuttling about in circles around Charcoal. He held a Yao Core in his hand, and tried to tease Charcoal, but the usually gluttonous Charcoal wasn¡¯t swayed and tried to avoid him instead as he dodged from and right.


    "I really wonder if this old man is a cultivator sometimes; following behind Charcoal¡¯s rump day after day¡ªdidn¡¯t he need to cultivate? Red Lotus cultivators really had thick pockets indeed, that they didn¡¯t have to worry about Yao Cores. It ticked him off just thinking about it..." grumbled Miao Yi as he shook his head. Turning back, he walked towards his cave manor.


    Seeing that he had returned, Charcoal immediately followed behind Miao Yi into the cave manor.


    Miao Yi sat cross-legged on the stone seat, while Charcoaly sprawled at the bottom of it.


    Soon after, Yao Ruoxian stuck his head through the entrance of the cave and peered inside. Seeing Miao Yi notice him, he coughed dryly and walked inside with his hand behind his back, circling around to Charcoal.


    After he looked back on it, he soon realized that Charcoal was truly different from dragon steeds.


    Other dragon steeds would stand as they sleep, but he would lie down as he slept.


    Other dragon steeds were omnivorous creatures, but he would only eat the likes of fish and prawns.


    Furthermore, this Fat Thief even knew how to help his master set up ambushes and responded to the person¡¯s emotions. Yao Ruoxian had experienced this himself back in the Sea of Constetions.


    Previously, he thought that it was because the Fat Thief had only learnt bad habits and gained a thief¡¯s cunning. Now Yao Ruoxian could barely keep hisposure when he thought about this; he had the urge to drool everytime he saw Charcoal. If he didn¡¯t obtain him, he would have difficulty sleeping or eating.


    To this end, he had stolen Charcoal away secretly sometime ago after considering the time that Miao Yi spent in closed-door cultivation. He nned to tame Charcoal in a hidden and isted location.


    However, it frustrated him to no end that this sentient dragon steed seemed to hold a grudge against him. Charcoal didn¡¯t respond to resentment normally either¡ªhe was extremely vindictive. There was almost no chance of Yao Ruoxian taming him. Even if he killed Miao Yi, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get Charcoal to follow him.


    After a few tries without any results, Yao Ruoxian had no choice but to secretly send Charcoal back onto the ind....


    Charcoal lifted his head to look at Yao Ruoxian, then turned around and looked at Miao Yi. Seeing that Miao Yi was still there, he felt more secure and closed his eyes; ignoring Yao Ruoxian.


    "Senior. You keep pacing around in front of me. I can¡¯t focus on cultivation!"ughed Miao Yi bitterly in protest.


    "Don¡¯t worry. Just focus on your cultivation. I won¡¯t bother you. I can even help stand guard over you. Where else would you find such a good bargain?" Yao Ruoxian waved his hands.


    Miao Yi curiously asked, "Senior. Why do you keep staring at Charcoal?"


    "Keep staring at him? Did I?" Yao Ruoxian was surprised. Thinking back, he realized that he was being a little too obvious about it. He immediately mocked, "Why would I keep staring at this Fat Thief? I just think it¡¯s a little strange. This fat thief has always been a glutton. Why does he reject Yao Cores when I try to feed him now? I just want to understand what caused such a thing."


    Miao Yi thought, ¡®Isn¡¯t it because you scared him so?¡¯; but smiled and asked, "Then have you found the cause?"


    "I have not. Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m still trying to figure it out?" Yao Ruoxian shook his head and sighed, "Why doesn¡¯t he want to eat anymore?"


    He wanted to mend his rtionship with Charcoal, but s, Charcoal wouldn¡¯t be enticed by Yao Cores anymore. It didn¡¯t matter how much he tried to butter-up to him. Yao Ruoxian couldn¡¯t help but grind his teeth at this.


    Charcoal wasn¡¯t a fool; he was actually a dragon steed with a rather intelligent nature. Even though he liked to eat Yao Cores, he remembered how the old man had immediately lost his temper with him, and buried him alive after he ate his Yao Core. That near-death sensation was too terrifying for him. He didn¡¯t want to experience it ever again. What¡¯s more, he had also been secretly taken away by Yao Ruoxian once. How could he not be wary of Yao Ruoxian now?


    "Aiee! I¡¯m a soft-hearted person after all. I will easily bond after being with someone long enough. Just like how I am with with those two girls, and the Fat Thief." Yao Ruoxian sighed deeply as if in self-pity. He already had a habit of calling Charcoal ¡®Fat Thief; it was hard to change it all of a sudden.


    Miao Yi could indeed see that the other party treated Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er and Charcoal very kindly; but he still showed his doubt, "I believe we have also spent quite some time together. Why don¡¯t I see Senior treating me kindly?"


    "..." Yao Ruoxian was speechless. He coughed and said, "How could you say that we have spent a lot of time together? You are either busy with your own things, or in closed-door cultivation. Did you spend more time with me, than I did with the others?"


    Miao Yi had to agree on that. He never liked to waste time, so he didn¡¯t argue. He examined this old man closely, unsure of what this old man wanted to say.


    As expected, Yao Ruoxian changed the topic. He narrowed his eyes at him and said, "Brat. I have something I want to talk to you about."


    "What is it?"


    Yao Ruoxian pulled his sleeves open and let Miao Yi have a look at the tiny mantids that were perched on the inside of his sleeves, "I want to return them to you."


    Miao Yi was shocked, and suspiciously asked, "Are you serious? Without any other conditions?"


    He did not believe that Yao Ruoxian would be so kind. If he really were so kind, a mighty Red Lotus expert like himself would not have stayed at a meager East Arrival Cave for so long; he would have left for the boundless skies a long time ago. There was surely something worth waiting for, for Yao Ruoxian; and it was obviously the tiny mantids.


    "Aiiee! I already said that I easily bond with others after being with them long enough. This Fat Thief seems rather intelligent, and catches my fancy. Why don¡¯t you gift him to me? I will trade him with the tiny mantids." said Yao Ruoxian in a serious manner.


    "Uhh...." Miao Yi was in extremely doubtful. ¡®Was a dragon steed that valuable to a Red Lotus cultivator? I think it¡¯s not even worth as much as a single tiny mantid, no?¡¯


    He proved a little more by asking, "How should we exchange? You know how dragons steeds are, since Charcoal had acknowledged me as his master, I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t switch loyalties that easily."


    "This is easy. The Fat Thief is very smart. It isn¡¯t as dumb as regr dragon steeds. All you need to do is have him get closer to me, while you treat him a little worse than usual. As time goes by, he will naturally want to follow me."


    Miao Yi was stunned. Without another word, he extended his arm and said, "Sure. I can promise you that. Return the tiny mantids to me, then."


    Seeing that he had agreed, Yao Ruoxian immediately grinned. However, he waved his hand and said, "I cannot do that now. I will help you raise the tiny mantids for now. When the Fat Thief¡¯s rtionship with me has some improvement, I will return the tiny mantids to you at intervals, one by one...."


    He had already calcted everything; he wasn¡¯t that greedy. Out of the eighty-five tiny mantids, he only needed to keep fifty of them. He would use the remaining thirty-five he as leverage for Miao Yi to help him persuade Charcoal.


    Once his rtionship with Charcoal was mended and he was able tomunicate with the fifty tiny mantids, he would immediately bring Charcoal and the remaining tiny mantids with him and leave¡ªkilling two birds with one stone, so to speak.


    Miao Yi¡¯s gaze shed as he nodded and said, "Sure, but you will have to ept one condition of mine."


    Yao Ruoxian magnanimously waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and say it."


    "The damn fatso is thinner now." Miao Yi said, pointing towards Charcoal who was lying on the ground fast asleep. "The battle armor that you refined for him no longer fits. Could you refine a new set for him again?"


    "No problem." Yao Ruoxian extended his hand and said, "Hand the original battle armor over to me."


    Without another word, Miao Yi summoned out Charcoal¡¯s battle armor and tossed it to Yao Ruoxian.


    "And?" Yao Ruoxian waved his hand and added, "There are still ze Resins and Yao Cores."


    Miao Yi gave out a mockingugh. If it were in the past, he might have given it over to ensure Charcoal¡¯s safety. However, after seeing that Yao Ruoxian could even feed a Second Grade Yao Core to Charcoal as though it was candy, he could not let Yao Ruoxian further bereave a poor man like himself, any longer.


    "Senior. I have to leave some capital for my own cultivation somehow. I have already agreed to your conditions. You wouldn¡¯t be so stingy that you¡¯d refuse to provide a little ze Resins and Yao Cores, would you? If that¡¯s the case, then I think we don¡¯t need to trade....."


    "Fine, fine, fine!" Yao Ruoxian put his hand out to stop him. "I¡¯ll fork it out." After he said that, he grabbed the necessary items, and turned to leave.


    He stopped again at the the entrance of the cave, and turned back to gesture at Charcoal with his mouth.


    Miao Yi understood what he meant. He jumped down from the stone seat, and without any warning¡ªhe threw a few punches and kicks at Charcoal, startling him awake from his slumber; then yelled out, "SCRAM!"


    After he chased Charcoal out of the cave manor, Miao Yi shrugged his shoulders at Yao Ruoxian. ¡®Isn¡¯t it just treating Charcoal a little badly? This is easy. I always catch Charcoal and give him a heavy beating. Too easy.¡¯

 Chapter 226: A New Discovery

    Chapter 226: A New Discovery


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Hehe!" Yao Ruoxian¡¯s old face was creased with amusement.


    He realized that this kid really didn¡¯t know how to hold back. ¡®I can¡¯t believe he agreed just like that, but this is good as well. This is good, very good.¡¯


    He tucked the battle armor into his storage ring. Without another word, he quickly stepped out of the cave manor, and chased after Charcoal.


    "Fat Thief! Fat Thief!"


    After just being mistreated, Charcoal head snapped back in horror¡ªseeing it was the old man, he immediately dashed away.


    Yao Ruoxian rose up into the skies and chased him from up above. He continued to use a Yao Core to entice him, but seeing that it had no effect; he rolled his eyes and tossed it over agreeably. Then, hended and stopped giving chase to avoid startling Charcoal.


    Unexpectedly, this didn¡¯t work either. Charcoal simply jumped over the spot where the Yao Core had dropped in front of him.


    Yao Ruoxian was speechless. He slowly walked over to the Yao Core and sucked it back into his hands. He stood with his hands behind his back, and watched in a daze as Charcoal¡¯s silhouette slowly faded away.


    Finally he gave a pitiful sigh. If he knew that things were going to be like this, he wouldn¡¯t have done something like bury that Fat Thief alive back then.


    But then again, if he hadn¡¯t buried Charcoal alive back then, he wouldn¡¯t have associated Charcoal with that legend at all.


    He couldn¡¯t help but shake his head with a sigh, "No rush, no rush. I will eventually.... Huh..."


    Yao Ruoxian blinked. After carefully scanning around with his eyes, he slowly rxed his hands from behind his back, and revealed the hand holding the Yao Core. He saw that a tiny mantis had climbed onto his palm, and was takingrge bites out of the Yao Core to munch on.


    It was probably because the Yao Core had just been at the edge of this sleeve, and attracted it over.


    Ever since he started feeding the tiny mantids, their figures had grown slightlyrger. The greatest change was that their bodies had be more sturdy.


    Perhaps it was because they were constantly fed with crystal coins. Their bodies had various, gold, ck, and silver-colored marks. They were mostly silver-colored, probably as a result of mostly eating White Crystals. At the edge of their tails were silver loops and, added to the tiny mantids¡¯ original body colour, made their entire appearance seem quite mysterious, yet beautiful.


    "..." Yao Ruoxian was speechless. Dazed, he lifted his head to look in the direction that Charcoal had disappeared in. ¡®This thing eats Yao Cores too?¡¯


    The speed at which the tiny mantis consumed the Yao Core was evidently faster than when Charcoal was refining the Yao Core. Its abdomen just kept gettingrger, andrger. After about half-a-day had passed, it finished tucking the entire Yao Core into its stomach, and slowly climbed back into therge sleeve.


    Yao Ruoxian wanted to closely examine this. Pulling open his sleeve, he checked on the situation inside, and found the tiny mantispletely motionless.


    Sticking his arm out, he tried to grab it for a better look. The other tiny mantids turned their heads to look at him in rm¡ªif Miao Yi hadn¡¯t already ordered them not to, they would have stabbed down with their tiny sickles already.


    Only the tiny mantis with the bloated stomach was unresponsive after eating the Yao Core. Yao Ruoxian pulled it out to examine, and found that it was still motionless. If he hadn¡¯t discovered signs of life, he would have assumed it was dead.


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s eyes widened as he invoked his arts to examine it. There was no mysterious force interfering with his probing, like the one within Charcoal¡¯s body. He could clearly feel that the tiny mantis was slowly refining the Yao Core inside its body.


    "This....." Yao Ruoxian was dazed for a moment. Then, he suddenly took out a pile of Ungraded Yao Cores from his storage ring, and immediately threw it into the nest of mantids.


    As expected, the little fellows immediately became rowdy and fought for the Yao Cores.


    Yao Ruoxian patiently waited. When the Yao Cores werepletely consumed, all the little fellows stopped moving immediately. They hung onto the inside of his sleeve as though they were dead.


    He invoked his arts and checked on each of them. They were the same as the one before¡ªall eighty-five tiny mantids had entered a state refinement on the Yao Cores.


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s eyes brightened as though he had discovered newnd. He put the matter of Charcoal aside for the moment; he even forgot about refining a new set of battle armor for Charcoal, and found a cave to coop himself up inside. cing the tiny mantids on the ground one-by-one, he kept watch over them and closely paid attention to their every move...


    One monthter, the slumbering mantids woke up one-by-one. Only the tiny mantis that had consumed the First Grade Yao Core had yet to awaken.


    Their situation was different from Charcoal¡¯s. Charcoal became slimmer after he woke up, whereas after these little fellows woke up, they actually grewrger.


    ¡®They can grow faster by eating Yao Cores?¡¯ Yao Ruoxian immediately let his imagination run wild. He thought about how terrifying of an existence the Hell Mantises of the Boundless Secr World were¡ªthey were an existence that could even kill a Purple Lotus expert!


    ¡®If these little fellows could grow up to that size, and live outside of the Boundless Secr World....¡¯ Yao Ruoxian shuddered at the thought of it.


    Immediately after, he felt a welling of joy. If he could have eighty-five of these monsters from the Boundless Secr World by his side¡ªwhat kind of crazy idea was that?


    "Wahaha....." Yao Ruoxian danced as if he had discovered a new continent.


    However, after a brief moment of happiness, he realized that the little fellows on the ground weren¡¯t obeying him anymore; they were all spreading their wings and flying out of the cave.


    "Hey, hey, hey! Where are you guys going!?" Getting a little anxious, Yao Ruoxian hastily tucked the tiny slumbering mantis on the ground away, and swiftly chased after them.


    He wouldn¡¯t have known that after the tiny mantids had awakened, Miao Yi¡ªwith his blood bond to them¡ªhad abruptly opened his eyes from his meditation, whilst cross-legged on the stone seat.


    He had been a little surprised because originally, the tiny mantids had left the boundary of their psychic connection. Now the connection had been re-established and¡ªfrom the distance between them¡ªit felt like they were probably on the other side of the ind.


    ¡®There¡¯s such a great distance between us, yet I can actually detect the presence of the little fellows. This never happened before. What is going on?¡¯


    Miao Yi immediately used his psychic bond to summon the little fellows to him. He wanted to find out what had happened.


    Not long after, a bunch of the little fellows swarmed inside the cave. Miao Yi extended his arm, and the little fellows allnded on top of it.


    Once he saw the little mantids appear, Charcoal¡ªwho had been lying down beside the stone seat¡ªimmediately stood up in rm. He was a little fearful of these little fellow. Stomping his hooves, he ran off; almost crashing into Yao Ruoxian just as he was about to enter.


    However right now, Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t spare a thought for him. Immediately dodging to the side, hended inside the cave and red at Miao Yi, saying "Brat. What are you trying to do? They belong to me. Are you trying to take them away? Don¡¯t think that this old man won¡¯t smash your head to a pulp with his mace!"


    Miao Yi was used to him always shouting threats at him, so he didn¡¯t bother with it. Instead, he stared at the little mantids on his arm and eximed, "It seems they have grown a lot. How did this happen?"


    He reached out and grabbed onto one, then flicked the little fellow¡¯s carapace with his finger. His flicks made a ¡®pa pa¡¯ sound.


    Just with that, the silver loop on the little fellow¡¯s tail was identally flicked off. Miao Yi and Yao Ruoxian jumped in fright, thinking that the little fellow was injured.


    Yao Ruoxian was enraged. He sucked the silver loop that dropped onto the ground, into his hand and waved it as he bellowed, "You used so much force and flicked it... flicked... flicked-"


    It seemed his attention was caught by the thing in his hand. He swallowed the words he was about to say, and eximed in wonder after closely examining the shiny silver bit in his hands;pletely dumbstruck. "High Purity Crystalline Silver.... This..."


    "Crystalline Silver?" Miao Yi felt it was strange. Crystalline Silver was made from White Crystals. While Crystalline Obsidian was made from ck Crystals, and Crystalline Gold from Gold Crystals. He couldn¡¯t help asking, "Aren¡¯t Crystalline Silvers made from condensing the essence powder released from refining White Crystals? Why would it appear on the tiny mantids body....."


    His voice stopped, as he thought about how the tiny mantids ate that sort of thing. Looking as though he had just realized something, he slowly lowered his head to look at his own arm.


    Yao Ruoxian suddenly invoked his arts and sucked one of the tiny mantids over from Miao Yi¡¯s arm. Positioning it in his palm, he imitated what Miao Yi had done before, and flicked it with his finger.


    With a ¡®pa¡¯ sound, the silver loop attached to the little fellow¡¯s tail fell off. He held it in his hand, and examined it. After that, he examined the little fellow¡¯s tail.


    It was difficult to discover if you didn¡¯t look hard enough. It turned out that there were numerous tiny pores on the little fellow¡¯s tail. It was impossible to see without opening your transcendence vision to examine.


    Checking the little mantid again, it didn¡¯t seem like there were any signs of injury on it. He sucked another little fellow into his hand and flicked it with his finger, another silver loop dropped off. He kept repeating it on the little mantids.


    Miao Yi also caught on to the idea. Grabbing one of the little mantids, he squeezed the silver loop on its tail. Without using much force, it dropped off.


    He also closely examined the little fellow¡¯s tail, and concluded that the silver loop was actually the little mantid¡¯s excrement.


    This silver loop stuck on their tails had grownrged¡ªso back then, they assumed it was part of the little fellows¡¯ body. No one carelessly touched it. Only now did they realize that this wasn¡¯t the case at all.


    Soon, the two of them extracted all of the silver loops on the little fellows¡¯ tails. The ones in Miao Yi¡¯s hands were snatched away by Yao Ruoxian.


    With the silver loops from over eighty little fellows¡¯ tails gathered together, it was only a small handful on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s palm. However, this small handful required countless White Crystals to be refined.


    After raising it in his hand and closely examined it, Yao Ruoxian broke out in dance again as he crazilyughed, "It¡¯s fully pure. It¡¯s actually a Crystalline Silver that is free of any impurities. I can¡¯t believe Crystalline Silver free of impurities actually exists in this world. Wahaha! To think I have actually stumbled onto it."


    As a professional artifact artisan, he was naturally an expert in appraising these kind of items.


    And to a professional, high-grade materials for refining artifacts were an absolute favorite.


    Miao Yi was also in awe. He knew that it was difficult to extract the essence powder within Crystal Coins. Most importantly, it was difficult to maintain its purity; there would always be some degree of impurities mixed within. With the presence of impurities, if the essence powder was refined into transcendent artifacts¡ªit would disturb the effect of transcendence energy on the transcendent artifact to some extent. It was a first to hear of Crystalline Silver that was free of impurities.


    "So the little fellows could actually excrete the essence powder within the Crystal Coins after ingesting them. I actually thought that it all went into their carapace, which was why their carapace became harder. I never thought it would be like this."


    "Brat. Do you know what a fully pure Crystalline Silver means? It means that for channeling transcendence energy, it will beparable to a normal Crystalline Obsidian. Transcendent artifacts refined using this kind of Crystalline Silver will achieve the same results as those refined by normal Crystalline Obsidians."


    "If the little fellows were to only eat ck Crystals, then wouldn¡¯t the Crystalline Obsidians that would extracted be fully pure as well? Wouldn¡¯t they beparable in effect to a Crystalline Gold transcendent artifact? If they were to only feast on Gold Crystals, then what would the Crystalline Golds that are extracted be like?"


    "Wahaha! I have already found the method to speed up the little fellows¡¯ growth. Therger the little fellows are, the more they¡¯ll be able to eat, and at a much faster pace too. Won¡¯t that mean that they will be able to excrete these things faster, and inrger quantities as well? Wahaha, good stuff! This is really good stuff!"


    Yao Ruoxian seemed to havepletely lost himself in his excitement. He gestured about here and there, and without his realizing, his saliva was raining down everywhere. He looked like he was going mad.


    Miao Yi was also very excited after hearing this, but he didn¡¯t feel as strongly about it as someone who refined artifacts like Yao Ruoxian. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t be as excited as Yao Ruoxian, to the point of losing his ownposure.


    He was also concerned about another problem. He curiously asked, "Could I know if Senior has discovered some method to help them grow up faster?"


    "Just feed them-" The overexcited Yao Ruoxian suddenly mped his previously unchecked mouth shut. He had finally regained his senses with Miao Yi¡¯s question. Drawing back his crazedughter, he widened his eyes and mocked, "You don¡¯t have anything to do with the method of speeding up their growth. You don¡¯t need to concern yourself with my things."


    With an indifferent expression, Miao Yi doused him with cold water by saying, "Senior. Please don¡¯t forget, you already exchanged them for Charcoal."


    "I...." Yao Ruoxian was lost for words, ¡®How had he forgotten about that?¡¯¡¯ After being dazed for a brief moment, his face tensed up as he replied, "We haven¡¯tpleted the exchange yet, no?"


    Miao Yi mocked him in his mind, ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter if the exchange is made or not. Do you really believe that the little fellows will listen to your instructions and go away with you?¡¯

 Chapter 227: The Two Girls’ Initial Growth

    Chapter 227: The Two Girls¡¯ Initial Growth


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Of course, some things he could only keep to himself. If he said it aloud, he was sure to be smashed to bits by Yao Ruoxian¡¯s mace.


    Meanwhile, Yao Ruoxian was soon happy again. He was ready to feed the little fellows only Gold Crystals from this day onwards.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t find this surprising. ¡®How many years had he raised the little fellows? Yet, they¡¯ve only produced this much Crystalline Silver.¡¯ If he really wanted to produce en masse, he had to wait for the little fellows to grow a few notches first.


    Most importantly, without a billion Gold Crystals to extract the essence powder from, he could forget about refining any transcendent artifacts. What kind of crazy idea was a billion Gold Crystals? If everyone could take out this sort of money, then would the skies not be filled with Crystalline Gold transcendent artifacts already?


    Miao Yi was still more concerned about the method that Yao Ruoxian had used to speed up the little fellows¡¯ growth.


    After tucking the little fellows back into his own sleeve, Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t even bid goodbye before walking offughing.


    Once he left the cave and saw Charcoal loitering by the seaside, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s feet froze in ce; his expression twitched. ¡®Use the tiny mantids to exchange for Charcoal?¡¯


    Right now, he did not want to give even a single tiny mantis up. Of course, he didn¡¯t want to give Charcoal up as well.


    Of course, this wasn¡¯t a major problem with his cultivation. When the time was right, even if he took them away by force, Miao Yi probably wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him anyway. For the sess of his n, he had to think of a way to control Charcoal and the tiny mantids. This was the most important thing.


    There was another very real problem standing before him¡ªthere were eighty-five mantids! If he was going to use Yao Cores to feed them and Charcoal, where would he be able to find so many Yao Cores? Clearly, Yao Cores with a higher grade would have a better nourishing effect.


    He couldn¡¯t simply run off to the Sea of Constetions, and start a bloody ughter of the Yao cultivators. If he really did that, it would mean he was getting sick of living.


    As he thought about all this, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s facial muscles twitched. It was good to make new discoveries, but these beasts were not something he could afford to raise.....


    The ocean waves boomed furiously. A typhoon strong enough to move mountains and overturn the oceans; made the trees on the ind il violently, as though they were about to be uprooted.


    Miao Yi and Yao Ruoxian stood atop a small hill, enduring the monstrous gale. They stared at the two rocky mountains before them that had already been reduced to t ground.


    Within the howling wind, Yao Ruoxian clicked his tongue as he shook his head. Those were tworge mountains¡ªwhat¡¯s more, they were mountains of rock and stone. He found it a little difficult to imagine how those two delicate little girls managed to endure these past three years; and the kind of mental fortitude they needed to do so.


    The two of them stood on the small hill for a whole day and a whole night, waiting the whole time for the two girls toplete their final strike.


    When the final few booms dissipated, Xue¡¯Er was facing straight ahead after shattering the final giant piece of stone with her spear; then she stared down at the wooden spear in her hands¡ªshe finally did it!


    She turned around and saw Qian¡¯Er smiling at her with a wooden spear in her hands as well. Qian¡¯Er had finished her task sooner than she did, and had been waiting for her.


    Xue¡¯Er ran over excitedly and hugged Qian¡¯Er, eximing, "Sister. We did it!"


    Qian¡¯Er gently pushed her away, and turned around saying, "Master is waiting for us!"


    Xue¡¯Er stuck her tongue out. The two of them held each other¡¯s hands and leapt over tond before Miao Yi, before paying their respects.


    Seeing the two girls¡¯ initial growth, Miao Yi felt happy for them. He gave a light nod and said, "How do you feel about your training?"


    The two girls nodded tedly; they could feel the sharpness of their spear arts now, but they didn¡¯t think it would be good to boast.


    Miao Yi let out an ¡®Oh¡¯, then put out his hand and said, "Hand me a wooden spear."


    Qian¡¯Er immediately drew out a wooden spear from her storage ring, and presented it to him with both hands.


    Miao Yi grabbed the spear and stepped into the typhoon. He came to a standstill at a certain point, and simply said, "I will control my cultivation to a level simr to you two. You will both fight me together!"


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s interest was immediately piqued; he knew that Miao Yi¡¯s spear arts were exceptional. If the two girls could match Miao Yi with their spear arts, then it meant that they had already mastered it.


    "Hurry up. Your Master wishes to test the fruits of your training." said Yao Ruoxian excitedly, as he waved his hand.


    The two girls shared a nce; they were also eager to test their hand. They both gripped onto their spears and jumped over. Standing on either sides of Miao Yi, they eyed him cautiously and raised their spears¡ªtrapping Miao Yi in the center.


    They didn¡¯t expect Miao Yi would then stab the spear in his hands into the ground¡ªactually taking out a piece of cloth, and covering his own two eyes with it.


    Yao Ruoxian and the girls were stunned. This was... not only was he going to restrict his own cultivation to the same level as the two girls¡ªhe was going to fight them blindfolded?


    The howling of the wind was very loud just then. With the weather being so chaotic, not only would it affect one¡¯s vision and hearing, it would affect the sensing of transcendence energy as well.


    Even Yao Ruoxian felt that Miao Yi was being a little too confident. If Miao Yi were to really restrict his own cultivation to the same level as the two girls, and cover his own eyes on top of that; he was going to have it rough.


    In order to make certain that Miao Yi was not employing some sort of trick, Yao Ruoxian immediately invoked his arts and covered the entire field with his sense, examining the fluctuation of transcendence energy in the three of them.


    "Begin!" said Miao Yi, turning to his side.


    The two girls couldn¡¯t help but bite their lips. Being able to use a single wooden spear to decimate a giant stone mountain with their low cultivation had a huge impact on their mentality. Their temperament had already undergone a massive change, especially the confidence and boldness they had when dealing with affairs¡ªit was no longer the same as it was before.


    Under such a terrible conditions, the Master not only lowered his own cultivation, but also intended to fight them blindfolded. They felt he was belittling them a little too much.


    Xue¡¯Er grit her teeth as her feet took off; under the mighty wind, sheunched the spear with a woosh.


    Demure as a maiden, Miao Yi didn¡¯t even bother looking; he had no way to with his eyes covered anyhow. However, the instant Xue¡¯Er struck out, he swiftly moved his hands and pulled the spear around; twisting his elbow, he returned a strike back in the direction Xue¡¯Er was stabbing from.


    ¡®PA!¡¯ With pinpoint uracy, the tips of the wooden spears shed together.


    To be more specific, it wasn¡¯t that Xue¡¯Er¡¯s spear strike was urate, but that Miao Yi had precisely struck at her iing spear tip¡ªforcefully stopping her piercing strike.


    Xue¡¯Er gaze underwent a great change, she had to concede that her precision wasn¡¯t at such a level. Furthermore, the moment both spears shed, she could feel that Miao Yi had indeed restrained his cultivation to fight against her. He had restrained his cultivation so much that it was actually slightly lower than her own¡ªhe had only used the cultivation of one who had just attained White Lotus First Grade!


    Sensing the changes within the battlefield, Yao Ruoxian sucked in a breath of cold air; secretly praising how strong the brat¡¯s sensory ability was under such harsh conditions.


    Qian¡¯Er¡¯s eyes were alight. No longer having any hesitation, she shifted her waist and quicklyunched her spear out, joining forces with Xue¡¯Er to face Miao Yi in a vicious battle.


    With spears in their hands, they danced around Miao Yi¡ªtheir long, sharp spears stabbing at high speeds.


    Miao Yi more or less stood in ce, quickly shifting his body about; he didn¡¯t go head on with the two girls, and barely shed with their spears. Instead, he would strike with wless precision whenever he saw an opening amidst their torrent of strikes.


    His spear strikes were almost impossible to see. Furthermore, they were incredible precise and free of any unnecessary mboyance; simple, yet effective¡ªhis every strike was fatal. He constantly struck at the vital points of the two girls, forcing them to a distance. Every time they even attempted to approach, the sharp point that sought out their vital points would force them on pins and needles, as they anxiously tried to protect themselves.


    The two girls became more astonished the more they fought. Their Master had blindfolded himself, and lowered his cultivation to an even lower level than their own, yet he was still able to keep them at bay, and force them on the defensive. Both of them had finallye to realise the vast divide between their Master and themselves. ¡®If the Master were to fight without a blindfold...,¡¯ the two girls broke out in cold sweat just thinking about it. Only then did they realize how arrogant they had been, back when they thought they could be confident about themselves.


    Yao Ruoxian shook his head as he watched. Originally, he thought that on spear arts alone, the two girls were good enough to traverse the cultivation realm. However,pared to Miao Yi¡¯s spear arts, he realized that the difference between them was not small at all. He finally understood, how Miao Yi was able to ughter his way in and out of an encirclement of one to two hundred men.


    Suddenly, Miao Yi, who had been defending on the same spot, started to go on the offensive. It was no exaggeration to say that with a spear in hand, his strikes were both precise and vicious¡ªforcing the two girls to their wit¡¯s end. They had no choice but to join forces to defend themselves from him.


    As they anxiously retreated, the two girls secretly transmitted messages to each other. Qian¡¯Er abruptly swept the ground with her spear, sweeping up dust and rubble towards Miao Yi. Xue¡¯Er took advantage of the opponent¡¯s confusion caused by the dust, and swiftly struck out. Qian¡¯Er closely followed suit with another strike from her spear as she twirled her body around.


    Two girls, one in front and one behind; one from above and one below. One sweeping strike and one downwards strike, both striking simultaneously.


    When they saw Miao Yi quickly using his spear to deflect the rubbleing at him, they thought their n had seeded. Suddenly, Miao Yi gently snapped up the point of his spear¡ªimmediately striking the underpart of Xue¡¯Er¡¯s spear tip, and flicking her spear upwards. In that moment, Miao Yi used the momentum to instantly strike out with his spear. His strike quickly scraped past her chest by a hair¡¯s breadth, only tearing her clothes a little before he drew it back.


    If it was a true battle with an enemy, Xue¡¯Er would probably already have a cold gaping hole in her heart from being pierced by Miao Yi¡¯s spear.


    Retracting his spear slightly, Miao Yi used the momentum to flick the spear downwards¡ªdeflecting Qian¡¯Er¡¯s oing strike. He didn¡¯t follow up with a fatal strike; instead, he hurriedly stepped in and twisted his body, striking back from under his rib. As Qian¡¯Er crossed paths with the spear, her back was immediately struck by the tail of the spear.


    Qian¡¯Er gave out a muffled cry; staggering as she fell to the ground. She looked at Miao Yi in awe, her back a little numb. He had already stabbed his spear into the ground, and ceased attacking. She knew that Miao Yi had been holding back just then. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been struck with the tail end of the spear.


    The victor had already been decided. There was no longer any need to continue battling. In truth, it had been easy to tell which side was stronger, and which was weaker from the very beginning.


    The two girls stood side by side¡ªlooking at the blindfolded Miao Yi standing stoically, as his clothes fluttered amidst the howling wind. There was a marveling gleam in their eyes. After following their Master for so many years, they had finallye to realize how powerful he was.


    The two girls were absolutely certain that from the battle with him¡ªfrom start to finish¡ªMiao Yi had faced them with a cultivation that was lower than their own. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t use any external objects such as transcendent artifacts. With a single wooden spear, he had suppressed the both of them to the point where they barely had any strength to resist at all.


    They understood clearly that if Miao Yi had intended to defeat them from the beginning, they wouldn¡¯t have had any opportunity to showcase their skills.


    If he had treated the two of them as enemies, even with his suppressed cultivation now, he would have long killed them both.


    The thing that they found the most mysterious was that even when blindfolded, Miao Yi could actually not be distracted by any external objects. Sometimes, it was almost as though he had a set of eyes behind his back¡ªthere was no hesitation in his strikes; furthermore, they were incredibly precise.


    The blindfolded Miao Yi seemed to be able to guess their thoughts. He quietly turned to his side and said, "Sometimes, what you see with your eyes is not real. The eyes are but a part of your body. Do not be ustomed to letting only your eyes guide your entire body, doing so will only limit your own capabilities."


    The teachings that Lao Bai had bestowed upon him that year; right now, he was telling the two girls the same thing.


    Even Yao Ruoxian had a serious expression after hearing it. He was slightly astonished as he stared at Miao Yi¡ªhe never knew that this brat could actually have such deep insight.


    Miao Yi raised his hands to the back of his head and untied the cloth. As he opened his hand, the cloth was immediately carried away by the strong wind; opening his eyes, he looked at the two girls with a calm gaze, and said, "A mountain is not a living being. It isn¡¯t much to be able to decimate a stone mountain with a wooden spear. Are you willing to continue enduring this bitter training?"


    The two girls immediately bowed, and said, "These girls are willing."


    As such, Yao Ruoxian invoked his grand arts again and created another waterfall within the mountain.


    The two girls carried the rubble from the decimated stone mountain up the waterfall one by one like ves; then wove a and ced the stones inside the pocket formed; andstly, they pulled open the, and allowed the stones to flow down the fast-flowing waterfall. Under the torrential crashing of the waterfall, they swung their spears at the stones hidden in the waters, and proceeded to shatter them. The process was incredibly arduous¡ªit wasn¡¯t something a cultivator should be doing at all.


    Yao Ruoxian came to understand the more he watched¡ªhe would not have any luck with this damn spear art at all, ¡®No wonder that brat never forbade me from observing. Yet he didn¡¯t mention it sooner, and made me lose a few years worth of cultivation...¡¯

 Chapter 228: The Broken Ten Year Promise

    Chapter 228: The Broken Ten Year Promise


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    The roars of dragons rang throughout the mountain forest.


    The thunderous booms scared the birds away. Utilising the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand, Miao Yi was striking out at his surroundings like a dragon.


    Waves of near-tangible transcendence energy rolled out, splittingrge trees and shattering giant boulders in quick session.


    After a rapid flurry of strikes, Miao Yi suddenly stilled. Standing quietly in ce, he gazed at the destruction about him, with the dust still in the air. Finally, his gaze dropped onto the Inversed-Scales Spear.


    On his forehead, the outline of a five-petaled white lotus shimmered.


    After four years on the ind, he had finally broken through the divide within the White Lotus realm and attained White Lotus Fifth Grade.


    He hade alone to test his hand a little. The transcendence energy of a White Lotus Fifth Grade was quite tangible as he attacked. When paired with the Inversed-Scales Spear, the strength certainly had an exponential increase.


    It was just as Yao Ruoxian had said; with the increase in his cultivation, the might of his spear arts would increase as well.


    Tucking the Inversed-Scales Spear away, Miao Yi was neither happy nor sad as he calmly departed.


    Once he returned to the cave manor, he crossed his legs and sat back down onto the stone couch. Tossing a mid-grade Orb of Will into his mouth, he started refining it quietly.


    After refining it for a short while, Miao Yi revealed a faint smile with his eyes still closed.


    As expected: to break through to White Lotus Sixth Grade, he would need about eighty low-grade Orbs of Will.


    However, what he didn¡¯t expect was that once his cultivation had broken through to White Lotus Fifth Grade, not only did the might of his arts increase greatly, the speed at which he could refine Orbs of Will had also greatly increased.


    He initially estimated that he would need about a month to refine a low-grade Orbs of Will, which should have enabled him to refine around twelve orbs in a year. Unexpectedly, he didn¡¯t even require a month to refine an orb now. As he factored this into his calctions, he reckoned that he would probably be able to refine almost twenty orbs in a year.


    With this in mind, he would only need four years to break through to White Lotus Sixth Grade. It might even be faster than the time it had taken for him to break through to White Lotus Fifth Grade, from White Lotus Fourth Grade.


    It was only then that Miao Yi understood. No wonder White Lotus Fifth Grade was considered a significant divide within the White Lotus realm. Not only did the might of his transcendence energy increase drastically, even the speed at which Orbs of Will were refined had increased.


    However, he foresaw that this happiness would only remain for the brief moment that he was still in White Lotus Fifth Grade. He would probably have it rough once he reached White Lotus Sixth Grade...


    The realm¡¯s cultivators were never aware of the changes in the mortal realm, nor would they notice the passage of time.


    A mere four years were but a fleeting moment for someone in cultivation.


    When the silhouette of a six-petaled white lotus flower bloomed on Miao Yi¡¯s forehead, his lips revealed a bitter smile. He couldn¡¯t help but shake his head slightly.


    Sure enough, he was only happy for the brief while that he was in the White Lotus Fifth Grade. Not every breakthrough in cultivation could be simr to when he broke through to the Fifth Grade, where the speed of refining Orbs of Will would increase exponentially.


    It doubled yet again. He would probably need a hundred and sixty Orbs of Will to break through from Sixth Grade to Seventh Grade. However, inparison, the speed of refining Orbs of Will had not increased very much.


    He tested his new refining speed, and estimated that he could probably only refine two-and-a-half orbs in a single month; so in a year, he could probably only refine thirty orbs.


    This also meant that he would require a staggering five years to break through to White Lotus Seventh Grade. If it was like this, how long would it take to break through to Eighth Grade? How long would it take to break through to the Blue Lotus realm that he dreamed about?


    The lifespan of a cultivator was long to begin withpared to other mortals. He told himself that he should be content with where he was right now, and cleared his mind of any distracting thoughts. He had to focus on progressing forward; so long as he puts in the effort, he was sure to seed.


    The bitter smile on his face slowly eased. Once again, he sat quietly like a stone statue, not moving in the least....


    Another two years passed. Dressed from head to toe in ragged clothing, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er tugged on their sleeves as they came to the entrance of the cave.


    They were both wearing fabric shoes and three-quarter pants, revealing their smooth and clean ankles. They stood in line outside the cave and said, "We wish to see the Master."


    They were not as impudent as Yao Ruoxian, who would enter as he pleased without so much as a word.


    "Come in!" Miao Yi¡¯s clear voice rang out from inside.


    The two girls went inside together, and bowed.


    Miao Yi opened his eyes and asked, "Do you think you are capable now?"


    The two girls nodded and replied, "Please have a look, Master."


    Miao Yi ceased cultivating and stepped down from the stone couch, then led the two girls out the cave.


    Once the three of them found Yao Ruoxian, he invoked his arts and enveloped the three of them within, then took off to the skies.


    High in the sky over the boundless sea, clouds rolled through the blue skies; whilst waves rumbled on the jade seas with no end in sight.


    The four of them soared through the skies and stopped in mid-air. Below them was the location that Miao Yi had trained in all those years ago. Under the fathomless ocean, was the old nest of the ¡®Tyrant Fish¡¯.


    Yao Ruoxian snapped his hand out, and tossed a withered bough into the ocean. Then, he withdrew the light surrounding the four of them. They descended nimbly, and stood steadily on the withered driftwood that was floating in the ocean.


    The two girls turned to face Miao Yi. He smiled, and gave them a nod, "Begin!"


    "Understood!" the two girls immediately drew out their wooden spears and, gripping it tightly in their hands¡ªjumped into the crashing waves. They quickly dived into the depths of the fathomless ocean without even raising up a single wave.


    After training all these years, the two girls who couldn¡¯t swim at all before, could now navigate the ocean depths as nimbly as any fish. Just from this alone, they had learned much.


    Yao Ruoxian was standing atop the floating driftwood and rubbing his hands, then shook his head and he said, "These two girls have endured much these past few years. They¡¯ve even almost lost their lives several times. I¡¯m telling you brat, how could you put these two dolls through such brutal training?" He turned to re at Miao Yi, then stared out at the surface of the ocean whilst vigorously rubbing his hands once more. He was somewhat worried as he said, "Let¡¯s hope that they¡¯re able to seed this time."


    After departing from the mortal realm for so long, Miao Yi¡¯s temperament had be quite detached. He gently smiled and said, "The fragrance of a plum blossom springs from the bitterness of winter. If ten years of harsh training can be exchanged for a lifetime of benefit, then what was a little suffering? I too have no wish for my personal handmaidens to be mere flower vases that can only manage menial tasks like serving tea, or pouring wine. Naturally, I wish for them to share in my concerns. Regardless, isn¡¯t Senior here to save them anyway?"


    He was quite aware that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had almost ended up as fish food multiple times.


    The Tyrant Fish here had tough and sturdy scales, and their teeth were incredibly sharp, even capable of leaving bite marks on a steel te. Theirs was an existence more akin to demon beasts. Moreover, they stayed in schools in the ocean depths. Once they were provoked, they would attack in droves in a heartbeat. They were extremely vicious, and would not stop until their opponents were dead. Were a normal White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator tossed into their territory, he would most likely face death if he didn¡¯t manage to escape.


    There were several instances when Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would be covered in bite wounds. They would climb out of the surface of the ocean full of blood. They had been, as one would imagine, quite miserable.


    Yao Ruoxian had ground his teeth as he watched them being tormented so.


    Cultivators only focused on raising their own cultivation. After pursuing an unrivalled grand art, they would be able to go anywhere they please. Was this necessary? It was even worse than the martial artists of the mortal realm.


    However, that was only the case in the beginning. After being instructed by Miao Yi back then, Yao Ruoxian even had to follow them into the ocean depths and be prepared to save them if things went south. Now, he could gradually leave them be.


    As the two were talking, the corpses of the Tyrant Fish had begun to float up to the surface one-by-one.


    One fish after another floated up the surface, and were eventually washed away by the waves.


    Miao Yi tucked his hands into his abdomen area, then took out an Orb of Will and tossed it into his mouth to continue cultivating where he stood.


    Beside him, Yao Ruoxian was stroking his beard with one hand, and counting the number of dead fish that floated up to the surface with the other, "One, two, three..., eighty..., three hundred..., three thousand..., eight thousand..., fifteen thousand...."


    About four hourster, Yao Ruoxian suddenly shouted, "Enough. That¡¯s enough. There are twenty-one thousand already. Girls, hurry up ande out! It¡¯s already enough!"


    Miao Yi spat out the Orb of Will out of his mouth, and opened his eyes to look at the bodies of the fishes that were floating on the ocean surface.


    Not long after, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er leapt out of the water andnded on the floating driftwood. They held onto their wooden spears, and were panting heavily as they looked towards Miao Yi, waiting for his approval.


    Miao Yi examined them both. All he could see was that they were soaked through and through. With their muscles severe exhausted, it was hard to avoid the seawater from soaking their bodiespletely revealing their voluptuous bodies; with their shapely bosoms, slender waists, firm buttocks, and long, elegant legs. Although they looked quite miserable about their skin being dark, it gave them a different sort of charm.


    Miao Yi remembered when he had trained on the ind all those years ago, he had taken four years for his cultivation to break through to White Lotus First Grade. After that, he spent six years on the hellish training for the spear art. In total, he had spent ten years training on the ind.


    On the other hand, although they had already broken through to White Lotus First Grade, the two girls had to train bitterly for ten years before they seeded; there was still somewhat of a gap. They spent around four years more than he did, but these two girls had truly managed to persevere, and finally perfected their training. All the blood, sweat and tears hadn¡¯t been shed in vain.


    Without another word, Miao Yi turned around and nodded to Yao Ruoxian, "Let us return."


    Folds of light enveloped the four of them, and they quickly took to the skies.


    Once they returned to the ind where they had trained, Miao Yi told the two girls, "Clean yourselves up, and get ready to return to East Arrival Cave."


    The two girls were ecstatic¡ªthis was his acknowledgement of their sess! They both acknowledged hismand, and left.


    "Has it truly been ten years already since we came to this ind?" Miao Yi looked at Yao Ruoxian and teased, "Senior, our ten year contract passed long ago. It seems it is time for us to part ways."


    Yao Ruoxian had always refrained from talking about this ten year promise between them, and pretended as though he had forgotten all about it. He never thought this brat would actually mention it before he did. He immediately snapped back viciously., "Brat. I would have forgotten about that if you hadn¡¯t mentioned it. Ten years have passed, so why aren¡¯t the tiny mantids obeying mymands? Were you screwing with me?"


    "I wouldn¡¯t dare!" Miao Yi said with cupped fists, "I have no experience in this matter either. Since there is no sess¡ªdon¡¯t you like Charcoal, Senior? Senior can just return the tiny mantids to me, and take Charcoal away then."


    Yao Ruoxian red. "That Fat Thief doesn¡¯t want to get close to me at all. You failed to keep your promise in helping me get close to him, yet now you still want to take my tiny mantids?"


    Miao Yi shrugged with his hands and replied, "In this, Senior was the one who failed his end of the bargain first. I already did my part in treating Charcoal a little worse, but Senior held the tiny mantids tightly in his hands. We already agreed that you would hand them over to me in batches. Unexpectedly, you didn¡¯t hand over a single one. How could you expect me to continue treating Charcoal badly and help you two get more closer then? Does Senior intend to take both Charcoal and the tiny mantids away?"


    This was exactly Yao Ruoxian¡¯s goal, but now he couldn¡¯t take away either one. He could always take them by force, but if they didn¡¯t recognized him as their Master¡ªwhat was the use in bringing them away?


    At least by Miao Yi¡¯s side, not only could he take control of either one whenever he pleased, he could have Miao Yimand them to do his bidding.


    He now realized that so long as he watched over Miao Yi, it would be as if he were indirectly controlling both treasures simultaneously.


    "Hmph! You¡¯re twisting the facts!" Yao Ruoxian scoffed.


    "Very well then. This junior will make anotherpromise. Senior can bring both Charcoal and the tiny mantids away. After that, we will no longer have anything to do with each other." said Miao Yi generously.


    "....," Yao Ruoxian was speechless. He never expected Miao Yi to be so magnanimous.


    s, if he could bring them away, he would have long since done so. It would be better if he could bring Miao Yi away with him as well. However, Miao Yi still had a damn Immortal Record. Moreover, he had upset the Manor Head and been demoted to Horse Deputy. He couldn¡¯t remove his Immortal Record even if he wanted to. Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t want to bring such a big pain-in-the-arse along with him.


    "What do you think you¡¯re up to?" said Yao Ruoxian, furious with shame. Pointing at Miao Yi¡¯s nose, he rebuked him. "After you tricked me so many times, you think you can brush me off so easily? Do you have a deathwish?"


    Miao Yiughed bitterly, "Then what does Senior wish to do? To show my sincerity, Senior can just tell me what to do, and this Junior will just go along with what you say."


    "That¡¯s more like it." Yao Ruoxian held his chin and thought for a moment, then abruptly swept his hand out and said, "I will not fuss over this with you for the time being. Wait until I¡¯ve thought it over for a bit, and decided on what to do. Then, we can talk about it."


    "Very well. I shall follow Senior¡¯s instructions. Once Senior has considered it, feel free to tell me about it." Miao Yi nodded, and epted his terms. Yet he was actually thinking, ¡®This old man probably won¡¯t be able to think it through until everything is in his hands.¡¯

 Chapter 229: A Long Cry in Suppressing Second Hall

    Chapter 229: A Long Cry in Suppressing Second Hall


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    In a short while, after they have cleaned themselves up, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er returned and made their way to stand behind Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi turned ato throw them a nce. He was a little surprised to realize how different Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er looked after putting on a new set of dresses.


    Previously, even though both the two girls¡¯ cultivation had reached White Lotus First Grade, their faces still carried traces of a delicate femininity and gave off a feeling of daintiness.


    Now, their demeanors were serene andposed: their eyes gleamed with a faint sharpness in them, and their beautiful tanned faces carried the air of a warrior¡¯s spirit.


    A tightly strapped waist belt made their bosoms look bigger, their waists thinner, and their buttocks more firm. Their limbs were slender and well-proportioned, and it seemed that they had gotten slightly taller than before. As they stood upright with their heads high and their chests out, they looked both elegant and valiant in bearing.


    The two girls never expected Miao Yi to stare at them like that. It was still a first for them to keep getting eyed by him so. The previously calm and sharp gaze in their eyes couldn¡¯t help but shy away in embarrassment; hey couldn¡¯t help getting all sorts of ideas.


    Yao Ruoxian wasn¡¯t the least bit bothered. Pulling out a few transcendent artifacts, he enveloped both humans and steed together before bringing them skywards; past the skies and into the distance.


    As per their agreement, before they reached East Arrival Cave, Yao Ruoxian dropped the lot of them off then departed on his own.


    There was no other reason for it, Yao Ruoxian just didn¡¯t wish to meet with anyone else.


    Truthfully, after all these years in East Arrival Cave, other than Miao Yi and the two handmaidens, only Yan Xiu had ever seen Yao Ruoxian.


    As for the others, if Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t want to meet them, it would be difficult for them to be aware of his existence as well.


    Charcoal was very familiar with these parts. After being away for ten years, he had finally returned to the territory around East Arrival Cave. Realizing that he wasn¡¯t confined to the tiny ind any longer, he immediately stomped his four hooves in joy.


    Miao Yi jumped up on his back and, with a wave of his hand, invited the two girls to seat behind him.


    "The two of you should have a steed to call your own now. Once we return, have Yan Xiu assign one to each of you." said Miao Yi, as he turned to face them.


    When Su Biao of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manorst ambushed East Arrival Cave, he left a few perfectly uninjured dragon steeds behind. They had been kept in East Arrival Cave all this time.


    "Understood!" replied the two girls excitedly.


    Miao Yi brought his hand over to gently tap on Charcoal¡¯s back. Charcoal immediately spread his four hooves, and broke into a gallop.


    Charcoal had been a little restless from staying on the ind. With his speed, that ind was truly much too small, he would reach the end of it with just a casual trot. There was no fun to be had in that at all.


    Charcoal made a beeline straight for East Arrival Cave. Then, carrying the three people on his back, directly jumped into the courtyard behind the grand hall.


    Right after they dismounted, Charcoal made a dash for the spot he so dearly missed, flicking his small tail as he did. He found that this was the mostfortable ce toy down on¡ªafter all, it was clean and there were no bug randomly creeping about.


    Yan Xiu quickly came over upon hearing news of their arrival to pay his respects. He was quite surprised to see how different the auras of the two girls were from before.


    Miao Yi began walking towards the antehall, and asked, "I trust everything has been fine as ofte?"


    "Everything is fine. The Mountain Chieftain only came by once for a brief inspection. After she heard that you were out training, she even gave me a good scolding¡ªordering me to manage East Arrival Cave¡¯s men properly and not get into any trouble." replied Yan Xiu.


    ¡®Qin Weiwei?¡¯ Miao Yiughed. That woman definitely didn¡¯t have any good intentions in seeking him out. He could not be bothered with her.


    Once Yan Xiu reached the doors of the antehall, he noticed a dragon steed sleeping under the eaves. Wondering if Miao Yi had changed his mount, he asked in puzzlement, "What happened to Charcoal?"


    Hearing this, Charcoal harrumphed at him, then lowered his head to continue sleeping as he swished his tail around.


    "Isn¡¯t this Charcoal. He¡¯s just gotten thinner." Miao Yi casually pointed Charcoal out, before entering his quarters.


    The two girls closely followed suit behind, and entered after him.


    Yan Xiu stood at the door, stunned. He stared at Charcoal, and kept giving him the once-over. He was a little afraid to believe it. He doubted that the once-fat Charcoal, who never ever lost a little bit of weight even if he wanted to, could be such a handsome steed.


    However, after seeing that difficult-to-imitate behaviours of his, he slowly started to ept it.


    Someone had always maintained the cleanliness of the courtyard. Once Miao YI entered and sat down, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er stood by his sides once again.


    After Yan Xiu answered a slew of questions from him, Miao Yi gave Yan Xiu a hearty congrattions.


    The reason was, Yan Xiu¡¯s cultivation had broken once again through, to White Lotus Fifth Grade.


    After Yan Xiu became the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, Miao Yi would give out the wages of Orbs of Will for everyone else in East Arrival Cave. Of the remaining twenty-four Orbs of Will from the cave¡¯s annual tribute, Miao Yi would take away fourteen and pass the remaining ten to Yan Xiu. Thus, Yan Xiu wasn¡¯t treated too poorly. It was more or less simr for Cave Masters of the other Caves.


    From this perspective, Yan Xiu was fulfilling the role of Cave Master perfectly.


    After ten years, Yan Xiu had umted over a hundred low-grade Orbs of Will. This was something unimaginable for him in the past. It was a pity that Luo Zhen had died prematurely, and couldn¡¯t share in his good fortune.


    A White Lotus Fourth Grade cultivator would only need forty low-grade Orbs of Will to break through to White Lotus Fifth Grade. To Yan Xiu, who had an ample supply of Orbs of Will, it was not considered fast to break through to Fifth Grade after spending almost ten years.


    He had no idea that Miao Yi had already broken through White Lotus Fourth Grade and beyond in that time, and was already a White Lotus Sixth Grade. Miao Yi was already focusing his efforts towards the Seventh Grade. The gap between the two of them wasn¡¯t considered small at all.


    Once he gained the strength of a Fifth Grade, it was no longer too far-fetched for Yan Xiu to y the role of East Arrival Cave Master. However, the troops of East Arrival Cave were truly a little monstrous, even the lowest cultivation was a White Lotus Fifth Grade. Theypletely overshadowed the Cave Master¡¯s radiance.


    The two of them discussed various matters. After Yan Xiu gave a detailed report on the situation in East Arrival Cave to Miao Yi, he had nothing else to add and soon took his leave.


    "The conditions on the ind were poor, so I never had a proper bath. This time, I¡¯ll have to get a good wash in." Miao Yi softly said, then got up and left.


    Upon entering the silent quarters used for cultivation at the rear, Miao Yi made his way to the side of the bath and spread his arms out.


    Carrying the bathing amenities with them, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er immediately put them down and stepped forward to help him undress.


    The two of them had long gotten used to seeing Miao Yi¡¯s naked body, so he had nothing to be shy about. Completely in the nude, he got down into the bath and leaned against the wall of it, soaking in the warm spring waters with a rxed expression on his face.


    At the top, the two girls were also disrobing themselves, their voluptuous figures covered by only a tube top and a short skirt. They gently lowered their legs down into the water.


    After ten years of bitter training, not a single ounce of fat could be seen on the two girls¡¯ bodies. They were shapely in ces that should be, and thin in ces where it mattered. Their limbs were long and slender, and the outline of muscles could even be seen on their abdomens. Together with their beautiful, endearing faces revealing a trace of boldness¡ªthe view right then was filled with an exotic charm.


    The only w was that their skin had be deeply tanned above their corbones, past their elbows, as well as their calves. It was a stark contrast in colorpared to the whiteness of their bodies.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but giggle.


    Leaning close to his sides and dousing his body with water as she washed him, Qian¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help but ask, "What are youughing about, Master?"


    Miao Yiughed, "Do the two of you not realise that your skins have a sharp contrast of ck and white?"


    The two girls looked at themselves. Xue¡¯Er stuck her tongue out and asked, "Is it very ugly?"


    She was clearly implying, ¡®Do you not like it?¡¯


    "Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er are the prettiest girls there are. How could you be ugly?" Miao Yiughed.


    Qian¡¯Er lifted one of his arms up and ced it over her own shoulder. Continuing to wash him, she smiled and said, "We know you are just trying to make us happy. Deep down in your heart, you definitely don¡¯t consider us to be beautiful."


    Miao Yi then curiously asked, "Why do you think so? Both of you were selected from tens of thousands in East Arrival City. How could you not be beautiful?"


    Qian¡¯Er pondered over it for a while. She decided not to hide her thoughts and bluntly said, "When those sisters previously in East Arrival Cave were still alive, they said that after they reached their master¡¯s side, they were quickly bedded by their master. However, you have never touched us, so we were sure that Master did not think that Xue¡¯Er and I were beautiful."


    The hand that was resting on Qian¡¯Er shoulders easily pulled on her ear in mock anger as Miao Yi said, "What a shameless girl to even say such a thing."


    Qian¡¯Er knew he was joking, so she immediately pretended to beg for his forgiveness. "It is only because I do not dare hide things from you, that I told you the truth as it is."


    Miao Yi pinched her cheeks, then rxed his hand as he shook his head and said, "The two of you are overthinking it. I have two beautiful women who are a feast for the eyes by my side. How could I not be tempted? It¡¯s just that I have other matters guing my mind at the moment. Once I have finished doing the things I need to do...." He used his other arm and raised Xue¡¯Er¡¯s chin as he continued, "The two of you are mine from the beginning. You are the feast ced by my side, and I can have you anytime I want. Wouldn¡¯t you say so, Xue¡¯Er?"


    The air wasn¡¯t so stiff between the three of them when they were together in private. They could be awkward for a time, but not after about ten years. After all, they were always having skin-to-skin contact. Saying such teasing words were alreadymonce.


    Xue¡¯Er allowed him to hold on to her chin as he pleased, as she curiously asked, "What do you want to do?"


    Miao Yi gave her nose a light pinch. Heid down on her body, resting his head on her buxom chest, and raised one leg up from the water; propping it on Qian¡¯Er¡¯s shoulder. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment, then intentionally changed the topic, "The both of you have grown calluses on your hands. If I don¡¯t focus, I might even think I¡¯m being washed by the hands of two men."


    The two girls sniggered. They stopped asking anything more, as they knew he didn¡¯t want to mention it.....


    Suppressing Second Hall. The mountain peaks towered up high, bathed in the golden radiance of the morning light.


    "WUU...."


    Suddenly, a long cry reverberated forth from the inside the pce hall. It echoed across the mountains and frightened the morning birds away. All eyes in the surrounding mountains focused their gazes on this ce. Even the guards of the pce gate turned their heads to see what had happened inside the pce gate.


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing quickly rushed out from the Hall Master¡¯s sleeping quarters, to the silent quarters used for cultivation. Just as they reached the door, they bumped into a bright-eyed Huo Lingxiao as he was walking out. They quickly saw that the silhouette of a six-petaled red lotus flower was shining on Huo Lingxiao¡¯s forehead.


    It was as they expected! Tian Yu and Liu Xing revealed expressions of joy as they kneeled with one knee, and respectfully said, "Many congrattions to the Hall Master!"


    Huo Lingxiaoughed, andughed his heart out. For a cultivation at his realm, it was truly difficult for him to make a single step forward. It had taken him over a whopping three hundred years to grind through to Red Lotus Sixth Grade from Red Lotus Fifth Grade, and this was still considered fast.


    When he had broken through, he couldn¡¯t help releasing the pent-up emotions he held in his heart for the past three hundred years in a long cry. It was absolutely exhrating! All the tension in his body and mind were shed.


    "No need for formalities!" Huo Lingxiao said, and he extended his hand to beckon them to stand. Taking a fewrge strides forward,he added, "Send an invitation over to Wu Menn, and have here over to celebrate with me. I want to present her with a toast of celebration!"


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing pursed their lips up in a smile. The knew their Hall Master was trying to anger Wu Menn, or he just trying to show off to her. They remembered how their Hall Master had pursued Wu Menn for a very long time in the past, but sadly he had never been able to win her favor.


    "Understood!" both of them answered simultaneously.


    As he walked into the hall, Huo Lingxiao shook his hands and brushed his robes. Sitting in his rightful ce, he flung his hands out and said, "How could I not have any wine on such a joyous day?!"


    Liu Xing immediately took out a pot of fine wine from her storage ring and opened it, presenting it to him with both hands.


    Huo Lingxiao grabbed it and lifted his head to chug it down. He allowed the wine to trickle down the sides of his cheeks to soak his body. All because he was extremely thrilled.


    However, after finishing half the wine pot, he ced it down and he shook his head, saying, "This wine isn¡¯t good enough. After drinking the wine given to me by that cheapskate little brother of mine, my Suppressing Second Hall seems to have run out of fine wine. Have East Arrival Cave gift some fine wine over, and celebrate with me!"


    The two girls shared a nce. Then, Tian Yu asked, "Is Hall Master really nning on having East Arrival Cave gift fine wine over?"

 Chapter 230: The Hall Master Has to Take the Blame Too

    Chapter 230: The Hall Master Has to Take the me Too


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    "Why not?" The usually calm Huo Lingxiao flung his arms out, and continued to speak insolently, "I am in charge of the entire Suppressing Second Hall. Who dares defy my orders? Not just good wines, I can have anybody¡¯s head swiftly handed to me if I so desire it!"


    Tian Yu knew that he was currently in a good mood, so she was cheerful as well. However, she still had to remind him,"Hall Master, The Cave Master of East Arrival Cave has been reced with another. That Miao Yi was already demoted to a Horse Deputy by Yang Qing, remember?"


    "Eh...."


    Her reminder had Huo Lingxiao stumped on the spot.


    Indeed, Huo Lingxiao was that Xiao Yizhu. The one forced by Miao Yi to be sworn brothers after meeting each other in the plum garden of Suppressing Second Hall.


    Miao Yi had only done so to escape from the scene. Then, he shoved a pot of wine to Xiao Yizhu, and left swiftly after that.


    For Miao Yi, the pledge of brotherhood was insignificant, as he had never taken it to heart at all.


    Huo Lingxiao was aware of that. Of course, he didn¡¯t have any respect for a mere Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. For him, just like it was for Miao Yi, the pledge in the plum garden was just a momentary whimsy. He never kept that little brother in mind.


    After all, he was the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall. Without a doubt, he would never let another soul know that he had pledged brotherhood with a mere Cave Master.


    If news of the brotherhood spread to the public, Miao Yi could only gain from it as he didn¡¯t need to take any responsibility. With his limited capability, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to bear an ounce of responsibility for the situation, so there was no psychological burden whatsoever.


    However for Huo Lingxiao, once news of that leaked out to the public, he would be put in a slightly awkward situation. As a Hall Master, he had tremendous power and authority. It wouldn¡¯t make sense for a powerful man like him to pledge brotherhood with someone like Miao Yi.


    Logic aside, if Huo Lingxiao were to be sincere about the pledge, he would definitely have to take good care of Miao Yi. Yet, what kind of brotherhood had both of them pledged to? Wouldn¡¯t it be burdensome to drag along a man of such a mediocre standing? It would be better if he continued to act like nothing had happened at all.


    Moreover, what kind of scene would it be for the Hall Master tomand the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave¡ªwho was about a hundred and eight thousand li apart¡ªto serve him wine? That person he wished to call wasn¡¯t a Cave Master anymore. If he insisted on East Arrival Cave serving him wine, that person as a Horse Deputy, might not oblige him. Huo Lingxiao couldn¡¯t possibly re-assign the Horse Deputy to serve wine, could he?


    If he really wished to go that far, everyone would definitely investigate the matter further.


    "Forget about my desire!"


    Huo Lingxiao sighed and waved his hand, eventually giving up on his spontaneous impulse....


    At Suppressing Third Hall, a piece of good news had arrived from Suppressing Second Hall.


    Handmaiden Fei Yun came to the entrance of the silent quarters and knocked on the door. "Hall Master."


    "Come in!" Wu Menn casually replied from inside the silent quarters.


    Not long after Fei Yun entered the quarters, Wu Menn let out a deep groan, "How shameless!"


    Wu Menn¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t just bad. Her face expressionless as she returned to the main hall, and seated herself. She crushed the jade archive in her hands with a ¡®crack¡¯. This woman seemed to have a habit of crushing things with her hands.


    Fei Yun asked, "Will Hall Master going to attend the feast to convey your congrattions?"


    "Congratte? Should I bring a gift for Huo Lingxiao and congratte him?" said Wu Menn, rolling her eyes at Fei Yun.


    Realizing that her inquiry had upset her master, Fei Yun quickly ducked her head and remain silent.


    "You really think that he wanted to have a feast with me? He just wants to show off to me!" Wu Menn mmed the tea table, before continuing with a determined tone: "Pay no attention to him!"


    Despite saying so, Huo Lingxiao had surpassed her cultivation level, so her mood was obviously still affected. From the look of it, she would have no mood to continue cultivating for the moment. Wu Menn faced her, and asked, "Has anything happened recently?"


    "Everything is as it were. No serious issues have cropped up." replied Fei Yun, as she took out a pile of jade archives from the storage ring, before cing it on the tea table.


    Wu Menn was still irritated, and took one of the jade archive to examine it, hoping to divert her attention to something else.


    Huo Lingxiao and her used to be lovers, but because of Huo Lingxiao¡¯s involvement with another woman, both of them had an argument and went their separate ways. After that, Huo Lingxiao realized that she was still the best for him, so he pursued her once more. With Wu Menn¡¯s temper as it was, she asked him to bugger off without saying another word.


    In the end, both of them shed with each other using their strength. After somepetition, one thing led to another¡ªwhich led them to both achieve their current status.


    Upon achieving their position, both of them had to maintain a cooperative rtionship with each other for their benefits and interests.


    As she continued to read each of the jade archives, Wu Menn discovered that most of the jade archives were from Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. She could immediately understand why this was so.


    Nowadays, Liu Jingtian couldn¡¯t afford to make any mistake, regardless of whether it was a small mistake, or a big one. He continued to ask for instructions no matter how big or small the matter was.


    "Why is it East Arrival Cave again?" Wu Menn straightened her head all of a sudden. She waved the jade archive in her hand and asked, "Are the list of remunerations from the East Arrival Cave still being delivered here every year?"


    "Yes!" replied Fei Yun. "This is the thirtieth one. Even though Mount Returning Loyalty has denounced the message, East Arrival Cave still continues sending the archive without changing a single word from thest."


    Wu Menn didn¡¯t know whether to cry orugh. "I have been waiting for them to stir up problems so that I can see and deal with Huo Lingxiao. Yet what is up with them sending these jade archives every year? Even if he doesn¡¯t consider the East Arrival Cave annoying, I¡¯m already fed up with reading these jade archives."


    She tossed the jade archive to the table and said, "What is wrong with them? Had Liu Jingtian not discovered anything of them?"


    "I have asked Liu Jingtian before. He reported back by saying that the East Arrival Cave is different from the other abodes of Suppressing Second Hall. He can easily retrieve information from members of the other abodes once there confused, but the members of East Arrival Cave are very unified, like a piece of solid metal. Moreover, those members are keeping a low-profile, so it is difficult for an outsider to retrieve anything from them."


    "Why do I keep thinking that scum Huo Lingxiao is intentionally trying to provoke me?" Wu Menn mumbled to herself, as she grabbed the jade archive again.


    In reality, as the Manor Head of the Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, Liu Jingtian was quite grateful that East Arrival Cave kept sending the jade archive every year.


    While Wu Menn kept suspecting that Huo Lingxiao was trying to provoke her, she didn¡¯t want him to think that she was angry as a result of being embarrassed at her subordinates. This was why she hasn¡¯t made her move against Liu Jingtian, otherwise his position as the Manor Head would have already been reced with someone else.


    "Asking that good-for-nothing person to ask for information is useless! I want to see for myself what they are really doing." said Wu Menn tossing another the jade archive again.....


    In Suppressing Second Hall, between a mountain and ake, a boat was floating in the middle of the water.


    Huo Lingxiao was in a good mood, and continued to rx as he sat at the rear of the boat fishing. Liu Xing knelt at the side while cooking fresh fish on a small stove, which was giving out an appetizing aroma.


    A silhouette slided over the water andnded on the boat¡ªit was Tian Yu. She approached Liu Xing and took a whiff of the delicious aroma from the pot; she showed a content expression.


    "Is there any reply from Wu Menn?" asked Huo Lingxiao, as he held onto his fishing pole.


    "No. I guess she isn¡¯ting to celebrate with master." Yian Yu chuckled.


    Huo Lingxiao swung his fishing pole upwards, yet there was nothing on the hook. He swept his gaze across theke, and with a sudden swing of the fishing pole, the fishing line plunged swiftly into the water. In the next moment, he quickly lifted up the pole. A heavy fish weighing ten jin was hooked onto his fishing line.


    He threw the fishing pole with the fish onto the floor of the boat. Standing up, he pped his hands, and said, "If she¡¯s noting, I¡¯m going to look for her."


    He upped, and left straightaway, his silhouette took the sky instantly.


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing nced at each other, and shook their heads speechlessly. The delicacy they had meticulously prepared for their dear Hall Master was all for nought.....


    On the outskirts of East Arrival Cave, a person was riding on a dragon steed and galloped steadily towards the cave. It was none other than the Hall Master of the Suppressing Second Hall, Huo Lingxiao.


    Initially, he wanted to directly head to Suppressing Third Hall to invite Wu Menn to have a feast with him. Since she wasn¡¯ting to him, he decided that he would personally go and bring the feast to her.


    In reality, he just wanted to provoke Wu Menn. That woman had provoked him quite a lot, including harassing him inappropriately. How could he let it slide after all of that?


    Halfway through his journey, he realized that he had already crossed over to the territory of South Edict Manor. At that moment, he couldn¡¯t help but think about the East Arrival Cave in this area. Since he had came to this side, he decided to make a few jug of wine at East Arrival Cave. Wasn¡¯t he going to bring a feast for Wu Menn? It would be a good excuse to have good wine as well.


    It would be inconvenient if he allowed East Arrival Cave to deliver those fine wines, because they would raise a ruckus. Since he had personallye, it would be better for him to stop by for a short while. Those at the lower levels might not be able to recognize him anyway.


    And so, Huo Lingxiao had summoned a dragon steed and prepared to rush towards East Arrival Cave to pretend to pay a visit to his sworn brother.


    In an unexpected turn, when he arrived at the path to East Arrival Cave, he was met with another steeding from the opposite direction.


    When he saw the dragon steed in front of him, Huo Lingxiao thought his eyes were ying tricks with him. He quickly halted his mount, and opened his eyes wider to take a closer look.


    The steed in front of him halted as well. Atop the mount was a beautiful woman of peerless elegance.


    The two dragon steeds stopped before the entrance, and the humans riding them were left speechless when they saw each other. One man and one woman, their eyes widening as they caught sight of one another.


    This beautiful woman wasn¡¯t a stranger. She was Wu Menn, the Hall Master of Suppressing Third Hall.


    The two Hall Masters would never have dreamed, that they would meet each other like this at this point. Moreover, both of them happened to bump into one another whilst mounted on their dragon steeds. It was quite an unbelievable sight.


    Huo Lingxiao ordered his dragon steed to circle Wu Menn slowly a few round. He examined this woman from top to bottom, and noticed that she had already changed to a full in blue casual wear. Despite that, she was still as elegant as ever.


    "Wu Menn. What are you doing here?" Huo Lingxiao cautiously asked with his brows raised.


    In contrast, Wu Menn was sneering at him silently. ¡®Why would a Hall Master of Suppressing Second Halle all the way to this tiny East Arrival Cave?¡¯ It seemed she was right about this scum being up to some kind of mischief, and intentionally provoking her.


    "This may be your territory, but there are no rule suggesting that I can¡¯t pass by, right? Unless you¡¯re thinking about going to the Pce Lord to tip him off?" snapped Wu Menn.


    "Passing by?" Huo Lingxiao peeked at the path leading to East Arrival Cave, before turning back to observe Wu Menn¡¯s dragon steed. He thenughed coldly and said, "As a Hall Master of Suppressing Third Hall such as yourself, it is quite surprising for you toe by while riding on a dragon steed."


    Wu Menn argued, "As the Hall Master of the Suppressing Second Hall yourself, I also think that it is strange for you to ride a dragon steed and appear here!"


    "This is my territory. I do what I want."


    "Perhaps you have an objection to my actions?"


    "Of course not." Huo Lingxiao turned to look in the direction of the East Arrival Cave again and continued, "However, for you to appear here like this, I can¡¯t help but doubt whether or not you have an ulterior motive. Let¡¯s stop beating around the bush. Tell me what you are doing here?"


    "Take a look yourself." Wu Menn took out a jade archive from her storage ring, and tossed it in his direction.


    Huo Lingxiao caught the jade archive in his hands, and took a look at it. After he read the contents of the archive, he was stunned. "List of remunerations.... Mount Returning Loyalty attacked the East Arrival Cave again?"


    He was thinking how it was that he didn¡¯t know about it. This matter concerned two halls, so there was no way that his subordinates would daringly hide this fact from him this way.


    "Pretend! Keep pretending." Wu Menn pointed at the jade archive in his hand,ughing coldly all the while. "Huo Lingxiao. Do you dare say that you did not secretly give themand?"

 Chapter 231: A Big Embarassment

    Chapter 231: A Big Embarassment


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    "What do you mean ¡®Imanded¡¯?" Huo Lingxiao was rather confused, "You mean Imanded Mount Returning Loyalty to attack East Arrival Cave? Wu Menn. You aren¡¯t really so deluded, are you?"


    "Pfft! Stop acting innocent!" Wu Menn pointed at the article in his hands. "It¡¯s the event that happened over ten years ago. At the time, you already squeezed outpensation from my hands. Then, East Arrival Cave sent over a list of rpense after that. What are you trying to achieve by doing this?"


    Huo Lingxiao was a little lost. "Something over ten years ago? You¡¯ve been keeping something like this all this time?"


    He said, as though he was implying she had nothing better to do.


    "Pfft! This is already the thirteenth one. East Arrival Cave has been sending me a list every year. I came here precisely to find out what exactly you are scheming!"


    ¡®Send a list every year?¡¯ Huo Lingxiao was speechless. ¡®What is this East Arrival Cave trying to do?¡¯


    He finally grasped the entire picture and, not knowing whether tough or cry, he said, "Wu Menn. Are you still day dreaming? How could an honorable Hall Master like as myself send a directmand to a Cave to do such a thing?"


    Wu Menn¡¯s face was full of mockery as she said, "Then may I ask what the honorable Suppressing Second Hall Master is doing secretly riding a dragon steed to this East Arrival Cave?"


    "....." Huo Lingxiao was at a lost for words, and looked down at the dragon steed he was mounted on. It really felt like a giant target had fallen down from the skies, andnded on his shoulders. Not only had he been unjustly med for something he had no idea about, he was still being pressured because of it. This time, he really had no way of talking his way out of this.


    "Why? Are you speechless because I revealed your true intentions?" scoffed Wu Menn.


    "This is truly unjust!" said Huo Lingxiao, sighing helplessly. "If I tell you that I came here to gift you some wine for a celebration, would you believe me?"


    "What do you think?" said Wu Menn, narrowing her eyes. "Could the great Hall Master Huo have such great foresight, that you already knew I would being here; and so came all this way, just to celebrate with me?"


    "Give me a chance to exin this. Miao Yi, the East Arrival Cave Master-"


    Wu Menn cut him off before he could finish, "As far as I know, that Miao Yi is no longer the East Arrival Cave Master, no?"


    "Let me finish. That Miao Yi has some great liquor stashed away. The reason I came here is precisely to seek him out, and ask for a few pots; after which, I would them deliver to you." As soon as he finished speaking, he caught sight of Wu Menn¡¯s disdainful expression, and couldn¡¯t help immediately shaking his head. Heughed bitterly, "Fine. I knew you wouldn¡¯t believe me."


    "If you want me to believe you, can you at least use your brain a little? You have to at least make it sound believable if you¡¯re going to tell lie! Why could the honorable Suppressing Second Hall Mastere all this way just for some good wine when he could just order his men to send it over?" Tilting her head, Wu Menn continued asking, "Why don¡¯t you go ask if anyone in your own Suppressing Second Hall would believe your nonsense? Huo Lingxiao, oh, Huo Lingxiao. After so many years, your nature of deceiving women with a mouthful of lies has not changed at all! Your lies might work on other women, but do you think these tricks would still work on me?"


    Huo Lingxiao¡¯s expression twitched; that escted quickly. No one would believe him anyway even if he told the truth.


    He threw both his hands up, as though announcing his surrender, and earnestly said, "Let me tell you the truth then. That East Arrival Cave Master, Miao Yi, is actually my sworn brother. However, he doesn¡¯t know my true identity. I don¡¯t want him to discover it either, which is why I came all this way, dressed like this."


    Wu Menn was a little startled. "Your sworn brother? An honorable Suppressing Second Hall Hall Master like yourself would swear an oath with the Horse Deputy of a mere Cave?"


    Huo Lingxiao didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. "I didn¡¯t wish for it either! I only swore an oath with him, because I was held at spearpoint and forced to do so."


    Wu Menn was quite astonished. Given Huo Lingxiao¡¯s cultivation, it was easy to imagine how powerful a cultivation the person had, to force him to swear this oath. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, "Who was it that forced you?"


    Huo Lingxiao pointed into the distance, "It was precisely that Miao Yi of East Arrival Cave."


    "..." Wu Menn¡¯s face darkened. Thinking that she had been duped yet again, she became furious with shame. Her dragon steed suddenlyunched a surprise attack, and viciously charged at Huo Lingxiao.


    Huo Lingxiao thrust forward with his palm¡ªthe air rippled, and the oing dragon steed was forced to a halt by the might of his transcendence energy. He hurriedly tried to exin, "WAIT UNTIL I FINISH! This incident started off in my Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s plum blossom garden. That day, I...."


    He soon detailed the events that led to Miao Yi and he bing sworn brothers. Wu Menn stayed her hand, and started listening to what Huo Lingxiao said as he eventually exined himself.


    After listening to his exnation, and looking through the writ of oath he handed over, Wu Menn was convinced. She was surprised, andmented, "There¡¯s actually someone so odd in this world?"


    "What do you mean by odd? I was only doing it for a bit of fun back then. I¡¯m warning you, you better not let news of this get out. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being discourteous!"


    From atop her dragon steed, Wu Menn immediately beganughing her head off, thinking about how Huo Lingxiao was held at spearpoint by a mere Cave Master, and forced to swear an oath. She almost cried fromughing too much. She pointed at him and continuedughing, "So that¡¯s why you¡¯re sneaking around here now? This is called ¡®Reaping what you sow¡¯."


    Huo Lingxiao smiled to see Wu Mennughing her heart out, and teased, "You still look the same as you did back then when youugh. That charming energy of yours is still there. When I think back...., those were such fond memories!"


    "...." Wu Menn instantly stoppedughing. Realizing she was being teased, she red and said "Piss off!"


    "Why are you acting so distant?" said Huo Lingxiao as he shook his head. "I even told you such a dark secret of mine. Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t even understand a little of my wish?"


    Wu Menn stuck out her hand and said, "Gosh, that¡¯s quite simple. If you want me to understand your wish, just hand over your entire fortune to me! Then, we can talk."


    ¡®Did I overdo it?¡¯ Huo Lingxiao raised his head to gaze at the skies, and feigned ignorance. "Wait for me here. I¡¯ll be back soon. After I get the fine wine, we can sit down and have a nice long talk."


    Turning his dragon steed around, he brought it to a gallop straight at the entrance of the mountain.


    Wu Menn scoffed at him. Then, quickly turned her dragon steed around, and chased after him.


    Hearing some noise behind him, Huo Lingxiao turned around to look. He waited for her to catch up to him, and furrowed his brows, asking "Why are you stilling along? I¡¯ve told you that the list of rpense had nothing to do with me. Why would you hold this against a mere East Arrival Cave?"


    "I just want to have a peek at what the Great Cave Master Miao, who could even force the Great Hall Master Huo to submit, looks like." Wu Menn said with a faint smile.


    Huo Lingxiao shook his head. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop her.


    Once the two of them reached the entrance of East Arrival Cave, they were stopped by the gatekeepers. The gatekeepers asked them to state their identities, but neither of them were willing to name themselves.


    Seated on his high horse, Huo Lingxiao said with an overbearing tone, "Tell Miao Yi that an old friend from Suppressing Second Hall hase to visit."


    Once they heard it was from Suppressing Second Hall, the gatekeepers went away with a hint of suspicion in their hearts.


    Not long after, Qian¡¯Er received the gatekeepers¡¯ report, and proceeded to the silent quarters to ry the message.


    "An old friend of Suppressing Second Hall?" Miao Yi had been sitting cross-legged in the midst of his cultivation. He thought for a moment, then said, "I barely know anyone from Suppressing Second Hall.... Where did this impudent fellowe from? To dare use Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s name toe up here. Have Yan Xiu bring some men to handle it!"


    After he said this, he closed his eyes once again and resumed cultivating.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t so arrogant that he would be unwilling to even meet the other party. It was just that there were too many of these crafty fellows looking to take advantage of others in this cultivation realm. Sometimes, they would say they were from Mount Calming Sea; other times, South Edict Manor. They would always use the name of the superiors, because it was risky to get on their bad side.


    It had been fine while Miao Yi was still in charge of East Arrival Cave¡ªeveryone knew he was highly regarded by Yang Qing, and that he was incredibly ferocious in his own right. So no one dared to take advantage of him.


    Ever since those bastards from the three major schools began popting the two Manors, they weren¡¯t well liked. They had never experienced Miao Yi¡¯s might before. Moreover, as the new head of East Arrival Cave, Yan Xiu was nowhere as unyielding as Miao Yi; someone who had the audacity to even make an attempt on the life of Mount Calming Sea¡¯s Mountain Chieftain, Xiong Xiao.


    There was a reason why East Arrival Cave was repeatedly harassed so. It was because most of the members of East Arrival Cave were from the School of Blue Jade. After the disciples of the three major schools joining the two Manors came to know of the grievances between Yang Qing and the School of Blue Jade, they thought that there wouldn¡¯t be any repercussions if they took advantage of this ce; unlike the other territories, where they couldn¡¯t be too excessive out of courtesy to their fellow disciples.


    In the meantime, Miao Yi had been going out to sea for long periods of time during his training; not concerning himself with most trivial affairs. So Yan Xiu had to spend quite a lot of effort to deal with those people.


    Even now after Miao Yi¡¯s return, they still met those hooligans looking to take advantage of them on two separate asions. After Miao Yi asked what was behind this matter and understood the situation, he simply had Yan Xiu kick them out without another word.


    ¡®So what if you¡¯re from Mount Calming Sea? If you want to take something, have Qin Weiwei take it from me herself!¡¯


    ¡®So what if you are from South Edict Manor? I have already been demoted to a Horse Deputy. If you have the ability, have Yang Qing terminate my Immortal Record then.¡¯


    This time, it was even more absurd. To dare im that they were from Suppressing Second Hall....


    Soon after, Yan Xiu finished gathering ten men, and rode to the mountain gates. Each of them held a weapon in their hand, and acted very hostile to their visitors.


    Outside the mountain gates, Huo Lingxiao and Wu Menn shared a nce. They could see that something wasn¡¯t right with the situation. No one would wee guests in this manner.


    At the forefront of the pack, Yan Xiu aimed his broad axe at them and roared, "Where are you impudent fellows from? Why did youe to my East Arrival Cave?"


    Wu Menn smiled, and watched Huo Lingxiao intently.


    Huo Lingxiao creased his brows, "Who are you?"


    "I am the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave!" Yan Xiu clearly replied.


    "Yan Xiu?" Huo Lingxiao wasn¡¯t at all familiar with this name, but he wasn¡¯t fazed in the least and asked, "Is Miao Yi here in East Arrival Cave?"


    Yan Xiu red at him, "Who are you? Why do you act so suspicious, and not state your name?"


    After bing Cave Master for a time, Yan Xiu was beginning to carry an imposing aura.


    Huo Lingxiao slowly lowered his eyes and said, "You still don¡¯t have the qualifications to know my name. Go and tell Miao Yi that his sworn brother is here. He will know who I am."


    Wu Menn immediately stifled augh.


    ¡®Miao Yi¡¯s sworn brother?¡¯ Yan Xiu was taken aback, but no longer dared to carelessly provoke the other party. He quickly had someone rush over to report.


    Soon enough, Qian¡¯Er entered the silent quarters once again, and said, "Master. The visitor says that he is your sworn brother."


    "Well, I am his sworn grandfather." Miao Yi scoffed. "First, he impersonated someone from Suppressing Second Hall. Now, he has be my sworn brother. I have never sworn an oath of brotherhood with anyone before. Those bastards are really pushing their luck. Have Yan Xiu seize them and bring them to me!"


    The person that received the order hurriedly returned to the mountain gates, and cupped his fists towards Yan Xiu, "Cave Master. The Horse Deputy said that he has never sworn an oath with anyone before, andmands you to immediately capture these people and bring them to him!"


    When Huo Lingxiao heard this, his mouth was instantly agape.


    "FuFu! AHAHA... HAHAHAHA..." On the other hand, Wu Menn couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. When she saw Huo Lingxiao getting embarrassed so, she sat on her dragon steed andughed her heart out. She wasughing so hard, she was clutching her stomach¡ªher belly almost cramped up fromughing too much.


    At the same time, this proved one thing¡ªthat the Cave Master was actually at the behest of the Horse Deputy of this East Arrival Cave.


    As soon as Yan Xiu gave the signal, the men behind him quickly moved out and surrounded the two visitors, all the while keeping a watchful gaze on them.


    "Will you two obediently dismount, and let us capture you? Or do you want us to do this the hard way instead?" Yan Xiu asked in an icy tone.


    Huo Lingxiao finally understood. That cheapskate brother of this never held their swearing an oath of brotherhood to heart at all, just as he expected.

 Chapter 232: Wu Menglan went Ballistic

    Chapter 232: Wu Menn went Ballistic


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Huo Lingxiao couldn¡¯t hide his embarrassment any longer. He almost sumbed to the urge of charging into the cave, and dragging Miao Yi out to punish him in front of everyone.


    In any case, he didn¡¯t want Wu Menn to witness him being mocked further, so he let out a bitter groan and tossed a jade archive to Yan Xiu. "Give this to Miao Yi to jog his memory."


    Yan Xiu caught the jade archive in his hands and examined its contents. After doing so, he was shocked. This was indeed the writ that proved their pledge as sworn brothers. Most importantly, this writ had Miao Yi¡¯s transcendence seal invoked on it. The seal could never be copied or imitated. Yan Xiu was suddenly at a loss¡ªhe couldn¡¯t tell who was telling the truth among the two men.


    Yan Xiu was always prudent and meticulous when performing his tasks, because he was afraid of causing trouble. He quickly ordered his men to watch Huo Lingxiao and Wu Menn, while he went inside to personally to deliver the jade archive to Miao Yi.


    Wu Menn was the only one trying to catch her breath as she continued tough at Huo Lingxiao. She still couldn¡¯t get over how hrious the situation was....


    Yan Xiu went into the silent quarters to see Miao Yi and exined the current situation to him. He handed over the jade archive, and said, "In case there¡¯s been a misunderstanding, I would like the Horse Deputy to verify this jade archive."


    When Miao Yi heard about the writ, he was struck by a sudden recollection. He took the jade archive and examined it, then pped his forehead.


    He suddenly let slip a gasp ¡®Aiiyah¡¯. If he hadn¡¯t seen this jade archive, he wouldn¡¯t have remembered the existence of an elder brother with whom he had pledge brotherhood.


    "Xiao Yizhu, so it¡¯s him. What is he doing here? Please tell him toe inside! No...., I¡¯ve offended him already. I will personally invite him inside!"


    Miao Yi jumped off the stone couch, and hastened his steps.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er looked at each other in bewilderment. ¡®Did their master really have a sworn brother?¡¯


    As Yan Xiu followed after Miao Yi towards the entrance, he quickly asked, "Is he really your sworn brother?"


    "You could say that, kind of. I only swore it without thinking. I didn¡¯t think that he would actuallye running here like this. What is wrong with him? Anyway, he didn¡¯t seem to be well off at Suppressing Second Hall, so I guess he¡¯se to seek financial aid. Since he¡¯s here, I have to give him my warmest wee," replied Miao Yi, waving his hand as if he didn¡¯t want to think of the past.


    As he picked up the pace going towards the gates, he could see Xiao Yizhu was indeed one of the two people surrounded by his men. Miao Yi quickly waved his hand, and said, "They¡¯re my acquaintances. Leave them be. Quickly move away!"


    Yuan Fang and the others immediately broke off the encirclement around those two.


    Miao Yi smiled, and cupped his fists, "I didn¡¯t know that Big Brother wasing all the way here. Little Brother has greatly offended you. Please forgive me!"


    Miao Yi turned his attention to the beautiful woman beside him, and couldn¡¯t help but look twice. He didn¡¯t know who this person that Xiao Yizhu had brought with him was, but her appearance and aura were quite extraordinary.


    At the same time, he noticed that this woman was also scrutinizing him with eyes full of curiosity.


    Everyone at the East Arrival Cave nced at one another. This guest was really the sworn brother of their ¡®Cave Master¡¯! Moreover, he was from Suppressing Second Hall? Did the connections of their ¡®Cave Master¡¯ really stretch as far off as Suppressing Second Hall?


    Huo Lingxiao calmly sat on his dragon steed and sighed, "You tter me! Little Brother is quite something. It¡¯s not easy to meet you. I almost lost my life because of that."


    "I know Big Brother is really angry about it, but I had no choice. I will exin to Big Brotherter." Even after a few bantering words, Xiao Yizhu still had a grim expression on his face. Miao Yi quickly faced Wu Menn and cupped his fists, "Big Brother. Is this your wife?"


    If ¡®Yes!¡¯, then he would have guessed correctly.


    If ¡®No!¡¯, then it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to crack a joke between a man and a beautiful woman under this heated circumstance.


    Wu Menn stoppedughing. She red at Miao Yi and scowled, "What! This brat is talking bullshit!"


    Huo Lingxiao was caught be surprise from Miao Yi¡¯s words, his previously grim expression evolved into a bellowingugh, releasing all the anger he had harbored in his heart. Throwing aside his pompous manner, he jumped down from his dragon steed. Then he went forward to tap on Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder, and with a jesting tone, he said, "How could you have seen this wrong?"


    After that, he quickly whispered behind Miao Yi¡¯s ear. "Little Brother! Only you can understand my feelings. Why, she is my unrequited love!"


    A look of understanding shed in Miao Yi¡¯s eyes¡ªthis was a one-sided love! Since Xiao Yizhu was bringing her into his territory, Miao Yi understood that this was a situation that called on him to support his Big Brother!


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t think that Xiao Yizhu would bring someone with a high cultivation base, but nheless, he still had to give face to his older brother.


    He immediately cupped his fists, and asked Wu Menn, "If I may, could I know your name?"


    Wu Menn dismounted her dragon steed, and casually replied, "Menn. ¡®Meng¡¯ [1] written with the character for ¡®child¡¯ and ¡®vessel¡¯, and ¡®Lan¡¯ of the orchid flower!" She was afraid of being linked to the Hall Master, and so quickly exined her name to Miao Yi.


    To the side, Huo Lingxiao was listening with a smile at the corner of his lips.


    "So you are Sister Meng. Since you are a friend of Big Brother, then you are also my friend. Please!" Miao Yi gestured with his hand to wee her, and personally led his guests into the cave.


    As he allowed both of them to enter the cave before him, he quickly gave an order to Yan Xiu, "Prepare a table of the finest dishes!"


    Yan Xiu received the order, and went ahead to prepare.


    Huo Lingxiao turned around and observed their exchange curiously. A Horse Deputy giving an order to the Cave Master, yet the Cave Master was willing to ept his order. This was interesting indeed.


    The weather was just nice when the three of them entered the courtyard behind the main hall. Miao Yi immediately weed his two guests into the pavilion in the center of the courtyard, and invited them to take their seats.


    After Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er served the guests some scented tea, they went and stood behind Miao Yi at hismand.


    Huo Lingxiao and Wu Menn couldn¡¯t help ncing at the two handmaidens a few times. The handmaidens they had seen before were all clean and pale. They never expected that Miao Yi¡¯s handmaidens would be tanned to the point of being ck.


    They wouldn¡¯t have known that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had actually became less dark in recent days, after taking care of their skin. They were initially much darker after firsting back from their training, as they had gone through a lot of hardships and experiences.


    However, the unusual warrior spirit of the handmaidens caught the interests of these two Hall Masters. It was rare to see such distinctive qualities from women, especially handmaidens.


    Wu Menn nodded, and said, "Your handmaidens have good qualities."


    Miao Yi smiled, then gestured with his hands for his guests to have some tea.


    After Huo Lingxiao picked up his tea and took a few sips, he looked around and said, "Little Brother, I heard you were demoted to a Horse Deputy, yet I still see you staying at a ce much like a Cave Master¡¯s residence, am I correct?"


    "This is the Cave Master¡¯s idea. I¡¯m just following his orders." Miao Yi casually exined. He then shot back with a question, "May I know what bring Big Brother to this ce?"


    Huo Lingxiao chuckled, "After drinking Little Brother¡¯s fine wine, no other wine that I drink couldpare. I came to ask for some more wine. I don¡¯t think Little Brother will mind, will you?"


    Miao Yi burst outughing, "There¡¯ll be enough!"


    He wasn¡¯t a drinker most of the time, unless when he was in the mood. In the past few years, a few thousand pots of wine had been taken by Yao Ruoxian. However, there was still enough, as he had a surplus of ten thousand pots stocked in the space. It would naturally be enough for just two guests.


    Miao Yi then turned his attention to Wu Menn and said with a smile: "Sister Meng has a beautiful figure that is beyond captivating, and a beauty so great that it can outshine the moon. East Arrival Cave is greatly honored honored to be graced by your presence. I still haven¡¯t asked¡ªwhat is Sister Meng¡¯s post?"


    Women always love to listen to words praising their appearances, and Wu Menn wasn¡¯t an exception. Keeping her expression calm, she replied, "I am just a Loose Cultivator. It isn¡¯t something worth mentioning about."


    "Loose Cultivator?" Miao Yi turned to look at Xiao Yizhu, he had a faint smile on his face. At that moment, Miao Yi understood what he intended. Perhaps this cheapskate Big Brother brought this woman here, so that Miao Yi could help solve the problem of her being a Loose Cultivator. Miao Yi took the risk and asked her a question, "My words are still significant before the Cave Master of this cave. It will not be difficult to ask the Cave Master to help resolve your current condition. If Sister Meng doesn¡¯t mind, why not join East Arrival Cave?"


    Wu Menn froze.


    A corner of Huo Lingxiao¡¯s eye twitched, he almost spat out the tea he had been slowly drinking from the beginning. It took him some effort to swallow back his tea. He realized that this kid was really trying to show respect to him, to the point that he would recruit the Hall Master of the Suppressing Third Hall into hismand!


    Huo Lingxiao coughed, and gave a nod, "What Little Brother says is true." He then cocked his head towards Wu Mengan and said with a serious tone, "Menn. I think you should ept the offer. Don¡¯t disappoint my Little Brother and his good intentions!"


    Huo Lingxiao deliberately cupped his fists at Miao Yi and said, "I¡¯m sorry to have troubled Little Brother."


    Miao Yi thought he had guessed correctly. He responded in kind with cupped fists, and said, "As long as Sister Meng is willing, it won¡¯t be any trouble at all. In honor of my Big Brother, I will not allow Sister Meng to suffer in East Arrival Cave."


    "Are you two done echoing each other?" Wu Menn frostily demanded.


    "Eh...," Miao Yi looked at Huo Lingxiao in bewilderment. ¡®This...., perhaps she is unwilling to do so?¡¯


    "I¡¯m used to being free for so long. I appreciate Brother Miao Yi¡¯s kindness, but I must decline your offer." Wu Menn said without considering it at all.


    Huo Lingxiao abruptly shook his head and sighed, as ifmenting the waste of an opportunity.


    When Miao Yi saw his reaction, he naturally wanted to offer his aid. He took the initiative and further advised, "Sister Meng. You and Big Brother seem perfectly suited to each other. Wouldn¡¯t it be convenient if both of you could serve in the same ce, at Suppressing Second Hall?"


    Wu Menn red, "Don¡¯t lump me together with him. I¡¯m not involved with him."


    Miao Yi thought, ¡®Would you follow Xiao Yizhu here if you had nothing to do with him?¡¯


    ¡®What was the point of him beingpassionate and generous to Wu Menn if she wouldn¡¯t have anything to do with Huo Lingxiao?¡¯


    ¡®Who did she think she was! Why does she show such an unpleasant attitude when she is just a Loose Cultivator? No matter how beautiful she is, she is still an elderly woman. She won¡¯t be able to retain her youthful looks with her current cultivation base as she grows older. Hmph!¡¯


    On the other hand, Huo Lingxiao let out a few chuckles, as if there was nothing to worry about.


    Wu Menn nced at the two men, and couldn¡¯t help thinking that she had brought trouble upon herself bying to East Arrival Cave. She didn¡¯t want to let Huo Lingxiao off so easily, and continued, "Brother Miao. It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t tell between what¡¯s good and what¡¯s bad for me, but when I think about your Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall¡ªI feel disgusted. I do not want to serve under themand of such a person."


    Huo Lingxiao quietly took his cup and sipped his tea.


    Miao Yi was surprised and asked, "Has Sister Meng met our Hall Master?"


    "I was fortunate enough to have met him once. Huo Lingxiao was said to havemitted all kinds of atrocities including rape and plundering...."


    Huo Lingxiao suddenly cut into their conversation and said, "Why! Even Menn¡¯s reputation was ruined at the hands of our Hall Master."


    "..." Together with Miao Yi, both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s eyes widened as they stared at Wu Menn. No wonder she wasn¡¯t willing to join East Arrival Cave; her feelings had been trampled by the Hall Master of the Suppressing Second Hall before. The Hall Master was too cruel, this woman was quite beautiful, and she was a cultivator on top of that. Was the Hall Master not able to amodate one woman within the entire Suppressing Second Hall?


    Wu Menn shot a furious re at Huo Lingxiao, she was really pissed off this time. She clenched her teeth and said, "Don¡¯t you think for a second that I won¡¯t expose you if you spout another line of bullshit again?"


    Miao Yi and the others quickly turned their attention to Huo Lingxiao, curious about what he had done to her. A me of gossip sparked in the eyes of the three, as they strained their ears to listen to the conversation attentively.


    Huo Lingxiao let out a dry cough, and said, "Let¡¯s leave it at that and not go that far! After all, I am from Suppressing Second Hall." When he was done speaking, he mped his mouth shut.


    On the other hand, Wu Menn snapped, and hurled all kinds of curses, "Huo Lingxiao is just a dirty swine, worse than pigs and dogs. He is cruel and cold-hearted, a beast in a human clothing....."


    Within a tirade of curses, vulgar words were inevitable.


    Huo Lingxiao appeared aloof, remaining indifferent to her curses, only asionally taking sips of his tea when he heard some particrly brutal curses. At that moment, he decided that he would never let Miao Yi know his true identity in the future at all costs.


    Miao Yi took a deep breath, thinking that this woman was better off not being invited to East Arrival Cave¡ªhe couldn¡¯t afford to do so; that mouth of her would exhaust him sooner orter.


    Aftershing out so ferociously, Wu Menn must have finally gotten thirsty, so she stopped to drink her tea as well. Then, turning to Miao Yi, she said, "Brother Miao. What do you think of Huo Lingxiao?"


    Huo Lingxiao squinted at Miao Yi, wondering what kind of appraisal a Cave Master under hismand would give to himself.

 Chapter 233: Artisans Hidden Signature

    Chapter 233: Artisan¡¯s Hidden Signature


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Haha!" Miao Yi chuckled, "I have never seen the Hall Master, thus I have no right to judge him."


    Huo Lingxiao faintly smiled.


    Wu Menn red at him viciously, before pressing Miao Yi to speak, "Since you serve under Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s banner, even if you have never seen him before, you should at least have some impression of Huo Lingxiao¡¯s despotic leadership. Tell me a little something about it."


    She obviously wanted Miao Yi to insult Huo Lingxiao to his face and embarrass him.


    Huo Lingxiao quietly shot a nce at Miao Yi from the corner of his eyes.


    Miao Yi continued to chuckle, "Sister Meng. I truly have never seen the Hall Master before. It wouldn¡¯t be good to make carelessments."


    Wu Menn raised her eyebrow, "Brother Miao. Don¡¯t be such a killjoy. Do you think we are outsiders?"


    Miao Yi was no idiot. He could insult those who were at Qin Weiwei¡¯s rank, but he had to be wiser with words against those at Yang Qing¡¯s level, much less those at Hall Master¡¯s rank. Why would he risk provoking someone who could easily end his life with a single word, by insulting him behind his back when there were no grievances between them?


    He thought to himself, ¡®Who are you if not an outsider? Does this woman have a screw loose in her head? She keeps forcing a mere Horse Deputy like myself to gossip about the Hall Master. This is just my second time meeting Xiao Yizhu, and not to mention, it¡¯s my first time meeting you. I don¡¯t have any idea about your exact identities. Is it necessary for me to let these kind of people hold something over my head?¡¯


    "The Hall Master is wise and valiant!" Miao Yi cupped his fists in the direction of Suppressing Second Hall. He simply ttered and did not criticise, as he would much rather offend Wu Menn over the other person.


    Huo Lingxiao rxed his brows, again revealing a faint smile.


    Wu Menn coldlyughed, "Brother Miao. You have never seen Huo Lingxiao before. How would you know that he is wise and valiant?"


    Miao Yi smiled, "Someone who could be a Hall Master is naturally wise and valiant. If the dayes that I be a Hall Master, others would have the same to say of me as well."


    "Dear Little Brother is so intelligent. Your future is sure to be bright!" said Huo Lingxiao, as he raised his thumb at him.


    Rage started to creep up Wu Menn¡¯s face. She was about to erupt in fury when, fortunately, Yan Xiu brought some people over with the delicacies. So she could only hold it in for the time being.


    A group of handmaidens walked into the pavilion in an orderly fashion, neatly cing a spread of mouth-watering food on the table before retreating.


    As the Cave Master, Yan Xiu offered a couple words of greeting, but Huo Lingxiao and Wu Menn only nodded their heads slightly in response¡ªthey didn¡¯t hold Yan Xiu with any regard at all. In the end, he left awkwardly.


    Miao Yi took out several wine pots from his storage ring and passed them to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. The two girls opened them up, and poured wine for the three of them. As the host, Miao Yi invited his two guests to have a drink.


    After taking in the alluring fragrance of the wine, Wu Menn¡¯s gaze quivered slightly. She shelved her dissatisfaction aside for the moment and took a light sip. Her eyes closed as she savored the vour.


    Enjoying a mouthful of wine himself, Huo Lingxiao smiled and prompted, "Meng Lan. What did I tell you? The wine here has a pretty good taste, no?"


    "What a great wine! The person who could brew such a concoction is sure to be an expert with many years of experience in the field. My guess is, there are several suitably-aged spiritual herbs within this brew. To invest so much to create spiritual wine...," Wu Menn nced at Miao Yi, and said, "Brother Miao. Forgive my bluntness, but does your East Arrival Cave have the resources to create a wine like this?"


    Truth be told, she was doubtful that Miao Yi had the capability to produce a wine at this level.


    "Sister Meng is intelligent. This is indeed not brewed by my hand."


    "May I know who it is that made such a fine brew? Would it be possible to introduce me to the person?" Wu Menn¡¯s eyes immediately shed with interest.


    Even Huo Lingxiao¡¯s eyes began to sh, much less hers. He wouldn¡¯t have any scruples with trying to pull in such an expert brewmaster to his own Suppressing Second Hall. That way, he could avoid his honorably self sneaking here to ask for some wine.


    Miao Yi rubbed his nose, thinking, ¡®How am I going to introduce you when I¡¯ve already killed them all?¡¯


    He smiled bitterly and replied, "I am also unsure as to who produced such fine brews. I stumbled across it inside a cave, and thus managed to bring it back with me along the way."


    "I see!" Wu Menn nodded; she concurred. No matter how much of an idiot the person was, someone who could concoct a wine such as this wouldn¡¯t likely associate themselves with someone of Miao Yi¡¯s standing.


    The two Great Hall Masterspletely believed Miao Yi¡¯s statement.


    The three of them asionally raised their sses to one another. With such fine wine livening up the mood, they drank on with a very lively atmosphere. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er carried the wine pots, and ghosted about the three of them to constantly refill their cups.


    All of a sudden, Huo Lingxiao ced his wine cup down in the midst of drinking, and asked, "My dear Little Brother. When I met you for the first time in Suppressing Second Hall, I saw that your spear artifact was quite special. Could you let this foolish Big Brother of yours have a look at it?"


    Something that could catch Huo Lingxiao¡¯s eyes was sure to be extraordinary. Wu Menn also ced her cup down, and looked on with interest.


    "This....," Miao Yi was somewhat troubled. ¡®Wasn¡¯t it a little odd to show his own transcendent artifact for someone else to examine?¡¯


    He was a little annoyed that Xiao Yuzhu had raised such a request. One must know that a cultivator¡¯s transcendent artifact wasparable to half his life. If the strengths and weaknesses of his transcendent artifact were discerned by someone with malicious intent, then that would be a hidden threat to the cultivator himself.


    However, when he considered that his transcendent artifact wasn¡¯t such an outstanding one to begin with, he ended up agreeing to it. He drew the Inversed-Scales Spear out from his storage ring, and handed it over.


    Huo Lingxiao took the spear and gave it a twirl. Dragonic roars immediately erupted from the spear, and echoed across the pavilion.


    "A fine spear!" praised Huo Lingxiao as he spun it about in his hands. Before he could say anything more, Wu Menn had alreadye over and stuck her hand out. Smiling bitterly, he handed the spear over to her.


    Miao Yi was somewhat speechless. ¡®What do these two think they¡¯re doing? This is my transcendent artifact. Shouldn¡¯t you ask for my permission first before handing it over to someone else to examine?¡¯


    "Even though this spear artifact is not an overwhelming transcendent artifact per se, the artisan¡¯s unique insights are clearly engraved into the spear, ingeniously manipting the principles of design to create an overwhelming force. Its maker is someone with a deepprehension of the principles of design and has excellent craftsmanship. It is definitely not something the average artifact artisan cane up with," praised Wu Menn as she twirled the Inversed-Scales Spear around. However, once she cast her nce at the lower-half of the dragon¡¯s head at the tail end of the spear¡ªshe gasped in surprise. Her head shot up to ask, "Brother Miao. where did you obtain this spear artifact from?"


    "Uhh....," Miao Yi was even more speechless now. Not only did this person not ask for his permission before taking a look at his belongings, she even wanted to ask about the origins of said object.


    His rtionship with these two wasn¡¯t so good that he could share all his information with them. He pointed at the wine cup, and said, "When I found the wine inside the cave, this spear was there as well. Icked a dependable weapon at the time, so I naturally wouldn¡¯t miss it."


    Huo Lingxiao turned to Wu Menn and asked, "Is there a problem?"


    Wu Menn brought the dragon head at the tail end of the spear to his face, and replied, "Look at the artisan¡¯s hidden signature on it."


    Huo Lingxiao cast his eyes on the spot she was pointing at, and closely examined it. There were indeed two small hidden characters on it. Trust a woman to be so meticulous¡ªhe did not even realize there was such a thing earlier.


    "Zi.... Yang....," read Huo Lingxiao. He wouldn¡¯t have known had he not examined it closely, but once he did, he couldn¡¯t help but suck in a breath of cold air. He raised his head and eximed, "This transcendent artifact is Sir Zi Yang¡¯s handiwork? No wonder a mere first grade transcendent artifact could be refined with such a delicate intricacy."


    Miao Yi had noticed the two characters ¡®Zi Yang¡¯ a long time ago. It was soon after Yao Ruoxian finished refining this artifact, that he discovered those two hidden characters. At the time, Yao Ruoxian told him it was identally engraved during the refining process. He didn¡¯t have any experience in the field, so Yao Ruoxian pulled the wool over his eyes just like that.


    Now that he saw the expression on both their faces, he realized that things were not be as they appeared. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, "Weren¡¯t these two characters just identally engraved onto the spear during the refining process? What is the artisan¡¯s hidden signature?"


    Huo Lingxiao and Wu Menn shared a nce, realizing that this guy was trulycking in experience.


    "The so-called ¡®artisan¡¯s hidden signature¡¯, refers to the artisan secretly engraving his own name into the transcendent artifact as he is refining it. Normal artifact artisans are still not qualified to conceal their signatures so, because no one would know who they were even if they signed their names on the artifact. As a result, many artisans who weren¡¯t famous would use underhanded means¡ªsuch as forging signatures of famous artisans; just so they could sell the transcendent artifacts they refined for a good price," Huo Lingxiao casually exined.


    Miao Yi immediately asked, "Then may I know if this spear artifact of mine is a forgery?"


    This question was very important to him. He might be able to discover Yao Ruoxian¡¯s identity and origins.


    Wu Menn shook her head, "It should be real. There are obvious traces, so it should be a genuine work of Sir Zi Yang¡¯s hand. Otherwise, someone who had such refining skills would definitely engrave his own name. Even though it is just a first grade transcendent artifact, it would not sully the name of the maker. There was no need to let someone else have this glory."


    Miao Yi was reassured by this. Then, continued to ask, "Sister Meng, is this ¡®Sir Zi Yang¡¯ someone famous?"


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er shared a nce, and perked up their ears as well. The Inversed-Scales Spear in their hands were made by the same person who produced the one their Master owned.


    Wu Menn returned the Inversed-Scales Spear in her hands back to Miao Yi. She wouldn¡¯t stoop so low as to harbor desire for a mere first grade transcendent artifact. She asked, "He was someone who almost became the sessor to the Sect Master of the Exquisite Refinement Sect, so what do you think?"


    "Exquisite Refinement Sect? What is that?" Miao Yi was lost.


    Huo Lingxiao couldn¡¯t help butugh, "Dear Little Brother. How could you not know about the world¡¯s greatest artifact refining school¡ªthe Exquisite Refinement Sect? I see that the treasured artifact that you have picked up is just being swung around like any cheap old weapon. HAHA!"


    "World¡¯s greatest artifact refining school?" remarked Miao Yi in surprise. "Where is it?"


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er exchanged nces.


    Huo Lingxiao answered, "It isn¡¯t in the Celestial Nation, but in Dao Sage Feng Beichen¡¯s Boundless Nation. Immortal Sage Mu Fanjun tried to reel them in once, hoping to bring the Exquisite Refinement Sect over to the Celestial Nation, but s, it ended in failure."


    Wu Menn nodded, "The Immortal Sage wasn¡¯t the only one who tried to reel them in, all Six Sages did. The reason Feng Beichen could attract the Exquisite Refinement Sect over, was because their Sect Master married Feng Beichen¡¯s disciple. With this kind of rtionship present, how could outsiders hope to shake their resolve?"


    Miao Yi was astonished. He thought that these two people might not even have cultivations greater than his own, but their insight and knowledge was not something he couldpare to. He immediately raised his cup towards the two of them.


    cing his wine cup down, he asked, "Sister Meng. What did you mean when you said this Sir Zi Yang almost became the sessor to the Sect Master of the Exquisite Refinement Sect?"


    Wu Menn narrowed her eyes, "You are just East Arrival Cave¡¯s Horse Deputy. Why are you so concerned about this matter?"


    "Just out of curiosity!" Miao Yi cupped his fists and added, "I picked up the transcendent artifact he refined and have been using it ever since, but I know nothing of his origins. How could I not feel remorse? Please tell me, Sister Meng."


    "I merely heard about it in passing. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not."


    "No matter. This Little Brother will listen to every word." Miao Yi immediately swung his hand, and gestured for Xue¡¯Er to quickly refill her wine.


    Xue¡¯Er immediately brought the wine pot over, and helped fill the cup to the brim.


    As the saying went, ¡®Those that receive goodwill from others, are more likely to do their bidding¡¯. After being treated with fine wine, Wu Menn answered seriously, "An outsider cannot hope to be clear on the details of the incident. I only heard that the Exquisite Refinement Sect¡¯s Sect Master had a daughter whose beauty rivalled that of a divine fairy. It was precisely this girl who was the child born of the Sect Master and the disciple of Dao Sage Feng Beichen. You should know that when ites to the art of refining artifacts, only one¡¯s level of craftsmanship mattered¡ªcultivation wasn¡¯t as important. One day, the Sect Master of Exquisite Refinement Sect announced that the Exquisite Refinement Sect¡¯s Artifact Refining Competition would be convened. Then, he said that he would betroth his daughter to the victor."


    With glowing eyes, Huo Lingxiao interrupted, "What kind of status do you think the Sect Master¡¯s daughter had? Her mother was the disciple of Feng Beichen of the ¡®Boundless Realm¡¯, thereby making her half a disciple of the ¡®Boundless Realm¡¯. Think about it¡ªnot only was she the daughter of Exquisite Refinement Sect¡¯s Sect Master, she also had the backing of the Dao Sage. What did it mean to marry her? Everyone understood perfectly¡ªthe person that married her would undoubtedly have a bright future!"

 Chapter 234: A Problem of Shame

    Chapter 234: A Problem of Shame


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    As soon as he was finished talking, Wu Menn immediately diverted the topic. She narrowed her eyes at him and mocked, "It seems that some people are still very interested in matters that involve ying up to people of power and influence. Hehe, I guess some people are just cheap!"


    Huo Lingxiao was at a loss for words. His mouth quivered violently as he narrowed his eyes and said, "We were talking about matters involving the Exquisite Refinement Sect, yet you still found some way of changing the topic to me. I advise you not to create trouble, when there is none to be had."


    "Was I talking about you in particr? Could it be that you feel guilty from all your misdeeds, and thus feel like you could rte to it?" mocked Wu Menn.


    ¡®Could these two be sworn enemies? Then why did theye here? If you two want to argue and fight, don¡¯t do it at my ce!¡¯


    Miao Yi grit his teeth and hastily interrupted their argument; bringing their focus back on the topic, he said, "Then which talented disciple of the Exquisite Refinement Sect won the hand of the Sect Master¡¯s daughter?"


    Huo Lingxiao shut his mouth, otherwise he himself would end up being unhappy. Since it was in front of outsiders, he had to endure it!


    Wu Menn shot a nce at him. After gaining the upper hand, the tension on her brows rxed and she was slightly happier. She replied, "At the time of the Artifact Refining Competition, all of Exquisite Refinement Sect¡¯s disciples showcased their individual skills, but in the end, it was the Sect Master¡¯s own two personal disciples that had won everyone¡¯s acknowledgment. Their skills exceeded that of their fellow disciples by far, with both Senior and Junior Brothers standing at the peak in the final battle. Sir Zi Yang was the Junior Brother of the two. However, between both Senior and Junior Brothers, one was remarkably handsome and elegant; whereas the other waspletely unappealing. Sir Zi Yang was evidently thetter."


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression twitched. He didn¡¯t even need to think too deeply. Yao Ruoxian was indeed unappealing in appearance, that much was true. Could the two of them really be the same person?


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t refrain from secretly sharing a nce as well. They probably had the same idea as Miao Yi.


    "Then did Sir Zi Yang lose to his Senior Brother in the end?" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help asking. If Yao Ruoxian was really that Sir Zi Yang, then his suspicions should be correct. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have wandered to his side, and just hide in East Arrival Cave.


    Wu Menn nodded and said, "Precisely so! In the final match, both Senior and Junior Brothers used every ounce of their ability to refine their respective transcendent artifacts, and had them appraised by the elders of the sect. In the end, the Sect Master publicly announced the more attractive Senior Brother as the victor. At the same time, he announced that he would betroth his daughter to him, and established the Senior Brother as the seeding Sect Master of the Exquisite Refinement Sect on the spot! However, an ident suddenly ured at this time...," Wu Menn sighed, shaking her head with a sympathetic expression.


    ¡®Why do you have to sigh now? Stop being such a tease.¡¯ Miao Yi anxiously asked, "What ident?"


    "Rumors says that both Senior and Junior Brotherspeting in the final match fancied the Sect Master¡¯s daughter. How could Sir Zi Yang stand by and watch as the woman he loved married another man? He could not ept his defeat. He charged out from the crowd, and used the Sect Master, as well as the elders, of being biased in their judgement. Sir Zi Yang shouted that he was dissatisfied! He ran to the statue of the founding ancestor and screamed for justice before it!"


    Miao Yi instantly sucked in a breath of cold air. It was easy to imagine the consequences of going against the Sect Master of such arge sect. "Didn¡¯t he get into trouble for going against the Sect Master so publicly?"


    Wu Menn sighed, "How unfortunate that he was a hopeless romantic! He obviously did get into trouble. The Sect Master was furious and asked where the injustice he imed to be was. Sir Zi Yang rebutted and said that the reason he lost wasn¡¯t because the transcendent artifact he refined was inferior to his Senior Brother¡¯s, but because he was not as handsome as his Senior Brother. He then ran straight to the Sect Master¡¯s daughter and grabbed her, wanting to take her far away; away from that ce of injustice and unfaithfulness!"


    Astonished, Miao Yi asked, "Did the Sect Master¡¯s daughter follow him then?"


    Wu Menn shook her head, "The Sect Master¡¯s daughter rejected him. Furthermore, she told Sir Zi Yang in front of everyone, ¡®Senior Brother, it is your loss!¡¯. It¡¯s easy to imagine how Sir Zi Yang must have felt at that moment. Not only did he fail to win the fairdy¡¯s hand, he was severely beaten on the spot for his brashness. He would have lost his life too, but fortunately the Senior Brother that hepeted with didn¡¯t hold it against him, and stood out to protect him. Only then was he able to keep his life. However, the Sect Master decided to publicly denounced him as a traitorous pupil¡ªimmediately banishing him from the Exquisite Refinement Sect! While Sir Zi Yang was being dragged out of the Exquisite Refinement Sect, he shouted that he was still dissatisfied. He promised to one day create a peerless transcendent artifact and trample over the Exquisite Refinement Sect, clearing away the shame he suffered on that day!"


    Miao Yi sighed and turned to look at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. Both of them felt the same way he did. He asked again, "Then did Sir Zi Yang manage to clear away the shame he suffered after that?"


    "That was easier said than done. The Exquisite Refinement Sect had the support of the Boundless Realm. Without the Exquisite Refinement Sect providing cultivation resources to support him, he was reduced to a Loose Cultivator. At that point, it would be difficult to even obtain materials for refining artifacts. How could he have the chance to clear away his shame then?"


    "Then where is he now?"


    "Nobody knows. Isn¡¯t it shameful enough for someone like him who already had a bad reputation? Apparently, he would do his best to keep a low profile. I heard that he was often seening in and out of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, but it seems that his ventures weren¡¯t very sessful. I don¡¯t know if that news is credible or not, nor am I aware of his exact whereabouts."


    Miao Yi quietly nodded. With this, it seemed like there was a high chance that the Yao Ruoxian hiding in East Arrival Cave, was the same person as that Sir Zi Yang. No wonder he came up with a name as ludicrous as ¡®Yao Ruoxian¡¯. He wouldn¡¯t reveal his true name even if it killed him. Moreover, he didn¡¯t want to meet outsiders too much because he was afraid of being embarrassed.


    "Has Big Brother and Sister Meng ever met Sir Zi Yang before?" probed Miao Yi.


    He was just asking in passing. He wouldn¡¯t go so far as to drag the two of them over to prove Yao Ruoxian¡¯s identity. If he actually pissed Yao Ruoxian off by embarrassing him, even if he wasn¡¯t smashed to bits with his mace, he would probably be in for a whole lot of pain.


    The two of them shook their heads, implying that they have never seen him before. Huo Lingxiao continued to add, "There aren¡¯t many who have seen him ever since he was exiled from the Exquisite Refinement Sect, I¡¯m afraid."


    Miao Yi nodded. He didn¡¯t ask any more questions. Raising his cup, he said, "Cheers, Big Brother. Sister Meng."


    The two of them followed suit.


    At this moment, Yan Xiu came in again. He walked across the pavilion over to Miao Yi¡¯s side and softly whispered by his ear, "Men from Mount Calming Sea have arrived."


    "So what if they did? What does that have to do with a Horse Deputy like myself? You, the Cave Master, should be plenty enough to deal with them." Miao Yi couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with them.


    Huo Lingxiao and Wu Menn felt that his words were quiteical. The hierarchy in this East Arrival Cave waspletely out of whack.


    Yan Xiu dropped a hint, "They¡¯vee to patrol again."


    Miao Yi understood. These bunch of bastards wereing to take advantage of them again. He raised his brows and asked, "How many of them are there? Do they have any documents from Mount Calming Sea?"


    "There are only two of them. They only stated their identities, and said that they have received verbal orders toe here."


    "So it means that they don¡¯t then?" Miao Yi scoffed, "It would not do us well to offend those that the higher-ups ordered toe here. Bring them over and let them patrol as they wish. If they ask for any benefits...., seize them immediately and bring them over to me. I will hand it to them myself! Fucking bastards. Do they think my East Arrival Cave is some brothel or whorehouse? Those with dicks all keep wanting toe for a round or two!"


    The two Hall Masters chuckled lightly at the analogy. They felt that it was quite a vivid description indeed.


    The two of them roughly had a gist of what was going on. In truth, they encountered these kinds of situations as well. Those from the likes of Mount Calming Sea, or South Edict Manor definitely wouldn¡¯t be so bold as to try and take advantage of them. However, those monsters and freaks under the more superior Traversing Moon Pce, or the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s Overlord would.


    Yan Xiu acknowledged his order and left. With Miao Yi¡¯s words backing him up, he had the confidence to deal with the situation. Otherwise, he would not have the courage to offend Mount Calming Sea.


    The two Hall Masters shared a nce. From their own experience in handling these situations, they know that these people were not so easy to brush off. They wanted to see how Miao Yi was going to deal with it.


    Truthfully, the two of them did not have manymon topics to share with Miao Yi, and were about to take their leave. However, now they were no longer in any hurry to leave. They wanted to watch how the events would unfold.


    Raising her cup for a drink, Wu Menn suddenly asked, "Brother Miao. When I wandered over to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, I coincidentally heard the cultivators there discussing a certain matter. They said that you would send a list of rpense over to their Mount Returning Loyalty every year. Is this true?"


    Huo Lingxiao shot a nce over from the corner of his eyes. He also wanted to hear how Miao Yi was going to exin this matter.


    Miao Yi was taken aback. With a surprised expression, he said, "There was something like this? How is it that I have never heard of it before? If there really was such an incident, then it should be the arrangement of our Cave Master. I am just a Horse Deputy. I am only concerned with feeding and caring for the steeds, and nothing more."


    He simply feigned ignorance and pushed everything onto Yan Xiu.


    Wu Menn smiled, "Brother Miao. You are obviously lying. Your Great Cave Master is clearly subservient to you. Without your approval, would he dare do something like that concerning the two Halls?"


    "Ahem!" Miao Yi coughed dryly. Since it was already so obvious, he wouldn¡¯t try to hide it any longer, andughed dryly, "The two of you might not know this, but over ten years ago, Mount Returning Loyalty ambushed my East Arrival Cave in the night. They burned, piged, and did all manner of despicable deeds: stealing from my East Arrival Cave, killing my men, and even destroyed my Cave manor. It wouldn¡¯t be too much for me to send them a list of rpense, and ask them for some reimbursement, is it?


    Huo Lingxiao was indifferent as he responded, "However, I heard that at the time, the Hall Master already went to Suppressing Third Hall to ask forpensation. Isn¡¯t it inappropriate for you to ask for anotherpensation then?"


    Miao Yi eximed once more, "Is this true? Has the Hall Master already imed thepensation? Then why didn¡¯t he inform my East Arrival Cave? Big Brother, the Hall Master isn¡¯t someone who would not sympathize with his subordinates. If he had imed thepensation, then he would surely use it to make up for my East Arrival Cave¡¯s losses. Therefore, it¡¯s best that you do not take such words seriously in the future. Otherwise, it would sully the Hall Master¡¯s good name, wouldn¡¯t you say?"


    Huo Lingxiao was left speechless by these words. ¡®Why should an honorable Hall Master like myself go out of his way to inform your little East Arrival Cave after making a decision?¡¯ However, it was true that he had imed all thepensated items, while his subordinates were the ones that died....


    Seeing how a mere Horse Deputy had shut him up, Wu Menn smiled and happily said, "Brother Miao is right. Huo Lingxiao isn¡¯t a good person to begin with. However, Brother Miao. Aren¡¯t you afraid that Suppressing Third Hall would use this toin to Suppressing Second Hall?"


    Puzzled, Miao Yi asked, "What is there toin about? My East Arrival Cave did not pester nor make trouble for them. We would just politely send over the list of rpense every year. When they chose to ignore it, we did not even utter a single word ofint. So what fault does my East Arrival Cave have then?"


    This was also the part that confused Wu Menn. She couldn¡¯t help but furrow her brows and ask, "Brother Miao. Since they won¡¯t give anypensation, why bother sending them a list every year? What are you trying to achieve by doing this?"


    ¡®Are you kidding? Are we that close? Could I tell you everything?¡¯ Miao Yi thought to himself. He abruptly began speaking in hushed tones, "Truth be told, it is nothing more than a matter of shame¡ªI can¡¯t lose face because of this. Think about it, I was the one that suffered heavy losses, yet I didn¡¯t have the courage to seek revenge from the other party. As the Cave Master at the time, how could I endure such a disgrace? Thus, I had to put up appearances for the sake of my subordinates."


    "Is that so?" said Wu Menn rather doubtfully.


    "Sister Meng. Why is a Loose Cultivator like yourself so concerned about this? Do you wish to join my East Arrival Cave?" quipped Miao Yi.


    Just then, the sound of dragon steeds galloping could be heard from outside. The sound of crashing steel soon rang out. They turned their head in the direction of themotion, and listened attentively.


    Not long after, themotion dissipated, and the thunderous hoofbeats of dragon steeds quickly approached them.

 Chapter 235: Didnt See Anything

    Chapter 235: Didn¡¯t See Anything


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    "It seems the battle with the patrollers from Mount Calming Sea has ended," said Huo Lingxiao as he chuckled.


    It wasn¡¯t hard to guess. From listening to themotion, he could roughly discern what had happened. Huo Lingxiao looked at Miao Yi and asked, "Aren¡¯t you going to go take a look? Aren¡¯t you worried that your men might be at a disadvantage?"


    Miao Yi silently snickered deep down. If Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t win, he wouldn¡¯t resort to force in the first ce. With Yan Xiu¡¯s overly cautious personality, he would be sure to ask for Miao Yi¡¯s advice before doing something like that.


    Naturally, Miao Yi would not utter such words in front of outsiders. He got up and cupped his fists, "Big Brother. Sister Meng. Please wait for a moment. I will go take a look."


    He then brought Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er past the secondary courtyard, and left through the side gate.


    Once he was outside the gate, he saw Yuan Fang and the rest of the mounts, with two men restrained at the foot of the steps. Their weapons had been confiscated; they were tied up and kneeling on the ground, with bloody wounds all over their bodies. Each of their mouths were gagged by a steel chain, through which they continued to mumble incessantly.


    Miao Yi strode down the steps nked by his two handmaidens, as Yan Xiu brought them over and said, "It¡¯s these two."


    Miao Yi nodded and walked over to the two men, who were ring daggers at him while making illegible noises. He looked to his left, then to his right; before giving a slight nod to the person restraining them. The other party immediately loosened the steel chain gagging the two.


    "Is East Arrival Cave trying to instigate a rebellion!? How dare you attack Mount Calming Sea¡¯s patrollers!?"


    "Release us immediately. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire!"


    Watching the two of them continue to shout, Miao Yi tilted his head and said, "If they continue to make noise, cut off their tongues!"


    To his side, Lai Yuhan immediately took out a small knife from his storage ring. He gripped one person¡¯s mouth and readied the edge of the knife to pry his teeth open.


    The residents of East Arrival Cave hated these bunch of patrollers for a long while, but Yan Xiu always acted cautiously. As a result, everyone had a lot of pent-up anger. However, this time Miao Yi had returned, and even personally stepped out. Everyone obviously felt thrilled.


    Restrained on the ground as they were, the two of them became horrified. They immediately shut their mouths and shook their heads in an attempt to beg for mercy.


    Miao Yi raised his hand. Lai Yuhan immediately tucked his knife away, and returned to his side.


    Now that the scene was silent once more, Miao Yi looked down at the two men and ndly asked, "Do you know who I am?"


    "We don¡¯t!", the two men shook their heads,pletely terrified. They also wanted to know who this person was.


    "I am East Arrival Cave¡¯s Horse Deputy¡ªMiao Yi!" he said with an indifferent air. Then added, "You daree over to my East Arrival Cave and cause trouble when you don¡¯t even know who I am. You have guts."


    The two of them finally understood, this was the rumored former Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, who had been demoted to Horse Deputy.


    The two of them had long heard of his name before, the former Cave Master Miao¡¯s deeds were often heard while they were in Mount Calming Sea. However, they didn¡¯t know how fearsome he was, which was why they dared toe over hoping to sponge off him.


    After seeing him today, they realized that he was no benevolent character. Yet, why did nothing happen to the people who had previouslye here to sponge off of them? Why were they so unlucky? The two of them couldn¡¯t understand it at all. Could it be because they looked easy to push around?


    They weren¡¯t to know that it was because Miao Yi had isted himself, and couldn¡¯t be bothered with the matter. Those that came before were considered lucky. Now, he had officially returned to the ind, yet there were still people who dared toe knocking on his door time and time again. With the former Cave Master Miao¡¯s personality, it was easy to imagine what the consequences of that would be.


    Miao Yi shifted his gaze away from the two, and turned to ask Yan Xiu, "How much did they ask for?"


    Yan Xiu stepped forward and answered, "One thousand Gold Crystals and four low-grade Orbs of Will."


    Miao Yi raised his eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes at Yan Xiu and asked again, "How much does my East Arrival Cave make in a year?"


    Yan Xiu awkwardly replied, "Twenty-four Orbs of Will, and two thousand Gold Crystals."


    Of course, these were just the numbers on paper. Perhaps they didn¡¯t have many Orbs of Will, but there were plenty of rich tycoons who wanted to kiss up to Immortals within the whole of East Arrival City. Every year, they would gift a hefty sum of Gold Crystals as tribute.


    "Quite the appetite! Day after day, someonees asking for stuff. If this goes on, my East Arrival Cave would have to survive on an empty stomach." Miao Yi red at the two men on the ground, and said, "What is your cultivation?"


    The two men ground their teeth in hatred. s, they had fallen into the enemy¡¯s hands and were up against a ruthless character. They could only hold firm to the belief that it was never toote to take one¡¯s revenge. Once they escaped their predicament, they would return to East Arrival Cave and seek it. Thus, they obediently replied, "White Lotus Third Grade!"


    Miao Yi was relieved after hearing this. These two hadn¡¯t even bothered understanding the strength of East Arrival Cave. Anyone here could easily end them in an instant. There really were fearless fools out there. A mere White Lotus Third Grade dared toe knocking here?


    He then asked, "Do you have the necessary documents sanctioning your patrol from Mount Calming Sea?"


    The two of them slowly drooped their heads, "We do not."


    Miao Yi raised his eyebrow, "That means you two are trying to trick us then?"


    The two of them hurriedly exined, "We really are Mount Calming Sea¡¯s men. Cave Master Yan can be our witness."


    "It doesn¡¯t matter who is your witness. Even if the Mountain Chieftain was your witness, it is useless. If I say you two are guilty, then you two are guilty. If I say you are innocent, then there is no chance for you to be guilty." Miao Yi swept his gaze over everyone, and tantly dered on the spot, "Listen up! In East Arrival Cave, this Horse Deputy¡¯s word isw!"


    It seemed like these words were for the two kneeling on the ground, yet at the same time, it seemed like he was trying to remind everyone else as well.


    As he said these words, from behind his back, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help but straighten their backs.


    There were more handmaidens in East Arrival Cave now than before. The two girls were no longer the official Elder Auntie and Little Auntie, and thus no longer had as much courage to order the other handmaidens around as they did before. Now that their Master had stepped out and dered it, they immediately regained their courage.


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan shared a look and smiled. The other disciples from the School of Blue Jade were grinning as well. As always, things were different when the former Cave Master stepped out. His every word was so imposing, it gave them a sense of relief just listening to it. They didn¡¯t know where the former Cave Master had gone into istion, but he should have returned long ago, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have had so much pent-up frustration.


    As fellow disciples of the School of Blue Jade in the two Manors, they asionally kept in contact with one another. They found that the School of Blue Jade disciples in the other Caves were also having a rough time, because of the disciples from the three major schools. They thought that the days when the School of Blue Jade could push South Edict Manor around without repercussions would never return; fortunately, there was still someone here who could stand up for them.


    Yan Xiu smiled bitterly. This man did not even hold the Mountain Chieftain with any regard, he should not hold any misguided thoughts.


    The two kneeling on the ground were taken aback. They had long ago heard about this Horse Deputy¡¯s name, but only today did theye to realize how truly arrogant he was. He still dared to say such things even with the East Arrival Cave Master right beside him¡ªhe didn¡¯t give him any face at all!


    Seeing no one disagree, Miao Yi coolly called out, "Qian¡¯Er. Xue¡¯Er."


    The two girls immediately stepped forward from behind his back, then faced him and bowed. "We are here."


    Miao Yi jerked his head at the two prisoners kneeling on the ground, and ordered, "One for each of you. Go and chop both their heads off."


    It was pointless to only have a good set of spear skills. The two girls had never even killed a chicken before. He believed there was a need for them to stain themselves with a little blood; otherwise, how could he rely on them to handle tasks for him in this cultivation realm, where survival of the fittest reigned supreme? He would not have two mere flower vases by his side.


    The girls¡¯ faces instantly paled as they exchanged nces. They were extremely apprehensive, and didn¡¯t dare ept the order at once. They had never killed a chicken before, much less a person.


    The two people kneeling on the ground were afraid now. They never thought that this person would not even ask for their names before desiring to kill them. They immediately struggled and shouted, "Miao Yi, you dare! We are Mount Calming Sea¡¯s men, and Sword Deviate Sect¡¯s disciples. You dare harm us!"


    Miao Yi shot a look over, and the two men were immediately gagged with the steel chain once more. Completely restrained, they kept making muffled screams with their bloodshot eyes widened in a frenzy.


    At that moment, Yan Xiu stepped forward with cupped fists and said, "Horse Deputy. They are still Mount Calming Sea¡¯s men. It doesn¡¯t seem appropriate to do this!"


    "I have not seen anyone from Mount Calming Sea. All I see are two conmen trying to trick us." Miao Yi cast his nce around at everyone else, and asked, "Have you all seen anyone from Mount Calming Sea?"


    Yuan Fang and the rest exchanged nces, then answered, "WE HAVE NOT!"


    It was instantly clear and understandable who it was that held the authority here in East Arrival Cave. This was what you called prestige!


    Yan Xiu was instantly lost for words.


    The two men who were being restrainedpletely lost it. They were fearful and angry, and tried their hardest to break free.


    Miao Yi looked at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er again, "It seems like my words no longer carry any weight with you two."


    The two girls were terrified, and hastily bowed, "We acknowledge the order!"


    The two handmaidens drew out the Inversed-Scales Spear from within their storage rings, and gripped them tightly in their hands as they turned to face the two men kneeling on the ground.


    Through the muffled screams and the desperate struggling of the two Sword Deviate Sect¡¯s disciples, the two girls grit their teeth and struck out with their spears. A cold glint shed, and two flopping sounds were heard. Two perfectly fine heads sailed through the air andnded on the ground; fresh blood spurting out from their severed necks.


    The two girls didn¡¯t dare continue watching. They quickly turned their heads away and cupped their fists, reporting that their task had beenpleted. Their hands shook heavily, and their voices clearly trembling.


    Yan Xiu watched the two corpses twitching on the ground. Then, shook his head and gave a bitter smile, before stepping forward again and cupping his fists to say, "How should we handle this?"


    "Just toss them in the mountains. The beasts inside will take care of it naturally. What are you worried about? Don¡¯t tell me that you still want to hold a funeral for these two conmen, who darede to East Arrival Cave to trick us?"


    "No. Your subordinate is asking how we should exin this to Mount Calming Sea? After all, we just killed two of their men!"


    "Exin to Mount Calming Sea? Why should we exin anything to Mount Calming Sea? Yan Xiu, as East Arrival Cave¡¯s Cave Master, why do you always create trouble for East Arrival Cave? Mount Calming Sea never sent anyone over to patrol East Arrival Cave, so why should we have to exin anything?" Miao Yi turned to everyone else and asked, "Have we killed any of Mount Calming Sea¡¯s men?"


    Everyone was taken aback, but soon smiled and replied, "WE HAVE NOT!"


    Miao Yi added, "I have not seen any of Mount Calming Sea¡¯s men passing by these parts. Have you?"


    Everyone¡¯s conviction was absolute as they all cupped their fists and answered, "REPORTING TO THE HORSE DEPUTY, WE HAVE NOT SEEN THEM. WE DIDN¡¯T SEE ANYTHING AT ALL."


    "Do you see now?" said Miao Yi, as he turned to face Yan Xiu. "Some problems are actually easily solved, but you are just over-thinking them. There is no need to be so wary of every move you make, and let yourself suffer such humiliation. It¡¯s all a matter of decisiveness. If youck the courage to pull through with your choices, then trouble will creep its way up to you. But if you have the decisiveness to eliminate the problem, then there will evidently be less trouble."


    He turned to the crowd and dered, "From this day forth, all that daree to my East Arrival Cave to pull these tricks will be punished ordingly. Kill all thate. You don¡¯t have to worry about burying them. It is our duty as subordinates to help the Manor Head eliminate a few bad apples that are spoiling the bunch! It goes without saying, but make sure the cleanup is done nicely. Don¡¯t leave any evidence that can be used against us. All of you are men that have fought against the jaws of death by my side ande out victorious. Do not screw up such an easy task."


    Everyone cupped their fists and replied, "UNDERSTOOD!"


    "Oh right, and from now on, just leave the executions to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er," said Miao Yi as he turned to leave. He still had guests inside, and it would not do to make them wait for too long.


    Shortly after murdering someone, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had yet to regain their mental strength when they heard thismand. Their bodies trembled as they thought about doing it again...


    Yan Xiu was speechless as he watched Miao Yi¡¯s departing figure. He found being a Cave Master inexplicably tiring, whereas the other party did it in such a rxed manner. This was the difference between the two of them!


    Even though Yan Xiu was no longer the same person he was before, this difference had nothing to do with a fear of death. Some things deeply inscribed within one¡¯s bones, and difficult to change. He had been cautious and careful all his life after all.


    Yan Xiu turned back to see that the School of Blue Jade disciples behind him were already dragging the corpses away, and there was someone quickly cleaning up the bloodstains on the ground.....

 Chapter 236: Longing to Journey Afar

    Chapter 236: Longing to Journey Afar


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    "Sorry to make Big Brother and Sister Meng wait."


    Miao Yi cupped his fists as a gesture of apology as soon as he came back to the pavilion. Then he flipped his long gown, and took his seat.


    Theplexions of both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were still pale, it seemed they hadn¡¯t yet regained theirposure.


    Huo Lingxiao asked, "Has everything been settled?"


    "Just a small matter, it¡¯s nothing worth mentioning. Those men were dismissed. Everything is fine now." Miao Yi chuckled, then began suggesting a toast.


    ¡®Dismissed? He really didpletely eliminate them!¡¯ The two Hall Masters exchanged a nce, then proceeded to toast one another.


    Miao Yi figured the pavilion was far enough from themotion that the visitors here wouldn¡¯t be able to hear anything. However, he was underestimating both his guests¡¯ cultivation bases. They heard the entiremotion, and knew everything that had ured outside.


    Yet neither of them revealed anything to Miao Yi, and kept casually smiling. They knew they didn¡¯t have long to stay now.


    They were onpletely different levels from one another after all, so they didn¡¯t have much inmon to talk about. Staying longer simply wouldn¡¯t be advisable.


    While they were taking their leave, Huo Lingxiao took the initiative to remind Miao Yi about the pots of wine. Miao Yi then gifted them both with ten pots of wine each as a token of his regards.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t being a cheapskate by gifting only twenty pots of wine to his guests, nor was he looking down on this Big Brother whom he had pledged with. It was simply because he wasn¡¯t obligated to be a good friend to begin with.


    He more or less understood his own position. No matter how enthusiastically he had treated his guests, their disdainful manner of speech and behaviour showed that they didn¡¯t actually wish to be close to Miao Yi. They kept a certain distance between themselves and Miao Yi, which made it difficult for them to be real acquaintances. In other words, both of them were looking down on Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi could not fathom how these two could harbor such an air of superiority around them. Was it because that Xiao Yizhu was the Steed Deputy of Suppressing Second Hall?


    If that wasn¡¯t the case, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t have minded giving away a hundred thousand pots of wine to his guests.


    The disguised Hall Masters didn¡¯t consider that Miao Yi was a stingy person; they knew that these bejeweled nectars were hard toe by. Rather, they simply thought that Miao Yi didn¡¯t have a bountiful supply under his belt, and that it wouldn¡¯t be easy for any ordinary person to even receive a pot of these wines. They considered Miao Yi to be quite generous for giving them twenty pots of wine in one go.


    Even if the two of them thought that the number of wines was insufficient, they wouldn¡¯t argue over the matter of a few pots of wine due to their true identity and post.


    In any case, they were still guests. Miao Yi considered himself to have done his part. Not only had he taken care of his guests with enthusiasm and respect, he personally apanied them all the way to the mountain gates, and cupped his fists to send them off.


    Miao Yi waited until their silhouettes disappeared down the mountain path before turning back and returning to East Arrival Cave.


    When he came back to the courtyard and saw Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er cleaning up the pavilion, he went up to them and ordered, "About Senior Yao¡¯s affairs, just pretend that you never heard it. If you meet Senior Yaoter on, do not mention it. Treat him like you always have."


    "Yes!" The twodies replied....


    On the mountain path, the two of them were simply riding their mounts when Huo Lingxiao suddenly spoke out, "No wonder this Little Brother was able to remain in East Arrival Cave and turn the tides twice for Yang Qing. He¡¯s good at settling any situation at hand neatly and decisively with deadly resolve! It¡¯s a pity that his perspective and cultivation base are still limited. If he has the chance to grow stronger in future, he won¡¯t be simple to deal with!"


    Wu Menn gave a short ¡®Oh¡¯, before asking him, "How did you gather that? Is it because of how he dealt with those two from Mount Calming Sea?"


    "That¡¯s only one of the reasons," said Huo Lingxiao, shaking his head. "You weren¡¯t able to retrieve any useful information that you needed. On the other hand, we provided some news that he wanted. We only remembered his enthusiastic wee, and the food and wine we had. After all that, we were sent off. Don¡¯t you think that was rather brilliantly done?"


    Wu Menn dark brows slowly furrowed. She thought it over carefully, before nodding and said, "It¡¯s definitely a waste of talent to station him as a Steed Deputy." She then turned to face him and said, "Great Hall Master Huo, what do you think of promoting your Little Brother?"


    Huo Lingxiao smiled without saying a word. He had noment....


    "LITTLE SCUM MIAO YI! HOW DARE HE DEFY AND REBEL AGAINST HIS SUPERIORS!"


    Two cultivators had their backs set against each other¡ªtheir hairs stained in blood as seven cavalry units from East Arrival Cave encircled them. One of them was pointing at Miao Yi and screaming at the top of his lungs; he was unwilling to sumb to defeat without putting up a fight.


    This was the second group that hade to get money and sponge off him. Like the first, they were men from the Sword Deviate Sect. It seemed that disciples from the Sword Deviate Sect were especially arrogant and boastful.


    Moreover, these two particr men hade here to East Arrival Cave for the third time in the past few years. They managed to scrounge some benefits from their first two visits, but this time, their goal was thwarted. This was a prime example of ¡®Receiving retribution for one¡¯s deeds¡¯.


    Miao Yi stood on the tform near the doors of the East Arrival Grand Hall. He maintain an expressionless front, as he turned back to enter the hall.


    Meanwhile, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er finally let out a sigh of relief when they realized they didn¡¯t have to do the dirty work. They quickly turned to follow Miao Yi as he proceeded into the main hall.


    The mounted troops surrounding the two men went in for the kill. Even though the two possessed a cultivations base at White Lotus Sixth Grade, they were almost defenseless as they were inevitably killed. They weren¡¯t able to mount their dragon steeds and flee, before the mounted troops came closer. It was easy to imagine what happened next after being surrounded by the ferocious troops of East Arrival Cave.


    Unable to flee or evade the troops, the bodies of the two men were pierced by their long spears and sent flying in the blink of an eye. Both their mounts immediately fled, and were followed by a stream of cold glints. Blood rained into the air, leaving only the echoes of anguished screams.


    As Yan Xiu watched the corpses being dragged away, he couldn¡¯t help but forced augh. Six men from Mount Calming Sea had been killed, yet that person wasn¡¯t afraid of things getting out of hand. He would have them all mercilessly killed, without caring how many woulde for him....


    Six people were lost in the span of two months from the troops of Mount Calming Sea. Since there was no news, it was only natural that a thorough investigation wasunched.


    They didn¡¯t need to do much investigations, as one person or other would readily provide them with information. Those six men appeared to have gone to East Arrival Cave. As for what business they had there, many would already know the answer.


    Of course, no one could really confirm if they had really gone to the East Arrival Cave. Once Mount Calming Sea asked for their whereabouts, East Arrival Cave would deny ever seeing them, iming that no one had seen anyone from Mount Calming Seaing to East Arrival Cave. Instead, they would asked what was the matter.


    Six men had gone, and six had failed to return. Those who intended to go East Arrival Cave to fool around immediately had second thoughts. Even though they had no idea what exactly happened to those six, things had escted to a point that caused them to think twice about making any arrogant moves against East Arrival Cave.


    Inside a loft, a few pieces of the puzzle finally fell into Qin Weiwei¡¯s hands. Although she could not confirm that the missing men had gone to East Arrival Cave, the clues all pointed to that very direction.


    "East Arrival Cave?" Qin Weiwei stood up and pressed down on the table, furrows creasing her forehead. "What were they doing in the East Arrival Cave?"


    Hong Mian replied, "Naturally to get some money and benefits."


    "What do you mean?" Qin Weiwei was curious.


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu nced at each other andughed wryly. This young mistress had been under the eaves of the Manor Head. Everyone knew about her rtionship with Yang Qing, so no one had tried to ckmail her before. It was no wonder that she wasn¡¯t familiar with that sort of predicament.


    Lu Liu quickly exined the reasoning behind Hong Mian¡¯s answer. Finally, she added, "It is actually quitemon for such situations to arise. I¡¯m afraid even Manor Head would need to deal with those sent from the upper echelons."


    Qin Weiwei immediately understood the root of the problem. She could guess that none of that had happened to her, because of her rtions with her foster father.


    Then she asked, "Why did the missing men go to East Arrival Cave in particr?"


    Hong Mian sighed, "All the abode of Immortals within Mount Calming Sea are aware that East Arrival Cave has thergest number of troops, which means that East Arrival Cave is the richest among them all. A lot of men were rumoured to possess storage rings and, after knowing that the School of Blue Jade had offended the Manor Head¡ªwith the majority of the troops in East Arrival Cave from the School of Blue Jade, the results are as you see before you. The veterans in Mount Calming Sea knew that Miao Yi isn¡¯t one to be messed with, so none of them tried to touch him. However, the disciples from the threergest schools don¡¯t share the same view. I fear the problem lies there."


    Qin Weiwei was silent for a moment,, then she asked, "Have there been men going to East Arrival Cave like this in the past?"


    "Inevitably, and highly likely!" Hong Mian nodded.


    Qin Weiwei shed her an angry gaze, ¡®BAM!¡¯. She mmed the tabled and said in a t tone, "Those six have already met with disaster. Miao Yi has returned!"


    Curious, Lu Liu asked, "How so? Wasn¡¯t Miao Yi always out there?"


    "Ah. So that¡¯s how it is," Hong Mian came to a sudden realization.. "It was fine all this while because Yan Xiu didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble. But what about Miao Yi? He is a man who was bold enough to lead a few dozen men to invade Mount Shaotai to pursue Xiong Xiao. This is his style. Those six men who met him wouldn¡¯t havee to a good end. If one or two went missing, that would still be fine¡ªbut with all six of them are gone, then it is possible that Miao Yi has returned. Otherwise, Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t dare! East Arrival Cave will only do such things because of Miao Yi. I fear that those six men may never return!"


    Lu Liu clicked her tongue and said, "Ever since Miao Yi was demoted to a Steed Deputy by the Manor Head, I think it¡¯s been a decade since west saw him?"


    "I need to investigate this matter thoroughly!" Qin Weiwei abruptly turned around andmanded, "Issue a decree to East Arrival Cave. Order Miao Yi toe see me!"


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu secretly shared a nce behind her back......


    Once East Arrival Cave received the order, Miao Yi began to make preparations for a long journey.


    By pushing Yan Xiu to the forefront of responsibilities in East Arrival Cave, Miao wasn¡¯t just a little free¡ªhe was absolutely free. He didn¡¯t need to ask permission from anyone to go wherever he desired.


    The post of a Steed Deputy was simply too low, so he could go anywhere he wished without asking permission from Mount Calming Sea. All he needed was a word of consent from Yan Xiu, and how could Yan Xiu say no to him?


    Which was why he could leave anytime he wanted to. As long as Yan Xiu was still the Cave Master of the East Arrival Cave, he could go as long as he wished.


    As for the destination, he was considering the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch. He wanted to go to the Chamber of Commerce in the Celestial Nation to exchange some Orbs of Will.


    He originally had a hundred and seventy mid-grade Orbs of Will, and four hundred low-grade Orbs of Will. With the additional ie yielded by East Arrival Cave, he had umted about two thousand low-grade Orbs of Will. However, Miao Yi had high living expenses as well.


    Most people would earn their living from their territory to take care of their troops, but he, on the other hand, took care of his troops to protect his territory. In these past 10 years, the expenses he and his subordinates had incurred were quite arge sum.


    Even if he still had a little less than eighty mid-grade Orbs of Will, he could still support everyone for a few years. However, he wanted to always keep a little extra with him, just in case something happened.


    In fact, the two Manors and the cities under their direct jurisdiction actually had branches of the Chamber of Commerce in the Celestial Nation as well. However, the things he had with him were of a dubious nature.


    These were the items that he had gathered from the seventy-two Fort Masters in the Sea of Constetions. If he exchanged arge amount of them in a small ce, it would stand out too much.


    It was said that the sworn brother of Commander Yuan, Bi Youbu, had a terrifying background. He caused the demise of his sworn brother, and had his concubines killed; so it would be best to be cautious of him. Additionally, members from the two Manors, and from Suppressing Second Hall recognized him; so he needed to consider those factors as well. In the end, he decided to run as far as possible towards the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch, and broaden his horizon at the same time.


    After crossing into the realm of cultivation, he never really visited the other areas. He realized that he never knew of the world¡¯s top artisan sect, until after conversing with Xiao Yizhu and Menn¡ªhe had never even heard of them before! His perspective on the world was just that narrow and pitiful.


    The capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch domain was a great, and astoundingly flourishing city that had a poption of ten million followers. Even though it would be a long and distant journey, his heart was filled with nothing but anticipation!

 Chapter 237: Qin Weiwei Wishes To Become Friends

    Chapter 237: Qin Weiwei Wishes To Be Friends


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Seeing the decree from Mount Calming Sea, Miao Yi thought about it for a moment, and decided to stop by on his journey.


    The thing was, he had no choice but to go. This was a decree from Mount Calming Sea, and it specifically asked for him to head to there.


    Normally, this would be quite an underhanded ploy. s, with Miao Yi as a mere Steed Deputy, and the other, a superior bestowing a decree specifically to a mere Cave¡¯s Steed Deputy¡ªwould you dare to disobey?


    Miao Yi went to look for Yao Ruoxian. He didn¡¯t know how long this journey was going to take, so he wanted to ask for half of the tiny mantids to be by his side in case of an emergency.


    However, it seemed that ever since Yao Ruoxian realized the little fellows could refine the essence powder within Crystal Coins, he treated them like prized treasures. He wouldn¡¯t let Miao Yi have a single one. He still held the incident back in the Sea of Constetions against Miao Yi, when fifteen of the mantids were killed Yuan Kaishan; and berated him for being so irresponsible.


    He was afraid that Miao Yi would lead more of them to their deaths, and wouldn¡¯t hand over any over to him. Caring for the tiny mantids so as though they were his ancestors¡ªwho knew what his actual intentions were?


    Miao Yi did not tell Yao Ruoxian that he was about to go on an extended journey.


    In the whole East Arrival Cave, only Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er knew where Miao Yi was headed. The two of them had never been to such a faraway ce before either. They also wanted to see the splendor of that faraway city, and were hopeful that Miao Yi would bring them along.


    The two girls even brought their dragons steeds to linger about in front of Miao Yi. It was clear that they were trying to imply¡ª¡®We won¡¯t be a bother to you. We can even take care of you along the way.¡¯


    Under the eaves, Charcoal raised his head and snorted, staring at the two dragon steeds entering his territory. When he saw that they were brought in by Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, heid his head down and went back to sleep.


    It was a clear and sunny day, with flowers blooming in the courtyard.


    Standing at the entryway of the antehall, Miao Yi held his hands behind his back, and smiled at the sight of the two girls. He already told them that he couldn¡¯t bring them along with him, but it seemed like they weren¡¯t going to give up, and were silently putting up a final struggle.


    When they learned that he was going on a lengthy journey the night before, the two girls stood before his silent quarters and knocked on his door, requesting to see him.


    They faced Miao Yi as he sat on the stone couch cultivating , the two girls asked, "When will you return, Master?"


    Miao Yi replied, "The road ahead is uncertain, and will have plenty of dangers. It¡¯s hard to predict what will happen. I¡¯m not sure if I can evene back alive."


    The two girls asked, "If Master knows that the road ahead will be full of dangers, why do you still choose to walk this difficult road? Master could just stay here in East Arrival Cave. If dangeres, all Master has to do is give themand, and all of us will fight with our lives to protect you. Your safety is practically assured. Isn¡¯t it better to stay in East Arrival Cave?"


    "After my conversation with Xiao Yizhu before, I came to realize something. East Arrival Cave is too small. Mount Calming Sea is too small. Even South Edict Manor is notrge enough," said Miao Yi. "My mind has been confined to this tiny space. My knowledge probably can¡¯t evenpare to the travelling merchants of East Arrival City. This thought has been guing my heart for many years, and I regret that I have restricted myself all this time. It is past time for me to resolve this."


    The two girls continued to plead, "We are willing to apany and serve the Master on his journey."


    "I can barely ensure my own safety as it is," replied Miao Yi. "With your cultivations, how do you expect to be able to follow me?"


    Seeing that he still wasn¡¯t convinced, the two girls stepped closer and leaned in on either side of him, demurely offering themselves. Then, brazenly asking if they could undress him, and wait on him through the night. If any mishaps were to befall him, at the least, he would be able to remember this day¡ªone in which they were able to live up to being Master and handmaiden for once.


    Miao Yi gave a great heartyugh, and haughtily announced, "Very well! Who else can take your virginity and purity but me? Hold onto them for now. I will im them once I return!"


    His one statement was more effective than consoling them ten times over.


    The two girls could feel their heart pattering endlessly. Since he already made them such a promise, they no longer pleaded and shyly withdrew. They looked forward to the day when the promise would be fulfilled.


    Standing by the entrance of the antehall, Miao Yi collected his thoughts and gestured towards the two of them.


    The two girls stepped forward, following which Miao Yi advised, "When I¡¯m not around, have Senior Yao be more cautious. If anything happens, I don¡¯t hope for him to protect East Arrival Cave, I just want him to keep the both of you safe."


    After he said this, he took out two Orbs of Will and gave it to them.


    The two girls knew there was no arguing with him. Clearly, he had chosen to leave them behind. They could do naught but remind him, "Please return quickly, Master."


    Miao Yi chuckled, then kicked out at the snoozing Charcoal, "Damn Fatso. It¡¯s a great big world out there. Why are you stillzily drowsing away here? Will you follow me on this grand journey!?"


    Charcoal snorted in response, and raised his head to look at Miao Yi. He couldn¡¯t understand what he was saying.


    Even though he was intelligent, he still had difficulty understandingplex sentences. Thus, Miao Yi¡¯s exuberance was met with disappointment.


    Miao Yi rolled his eyes, and clearly said, "Damn Fatso. Time to go out and y."


    Charcoal¡¯s eyes shed with interest. He got up excitedly and made a leap to the center of the courtyard. Then, he charged around and chased the two dragon steeds off to the side, joyfully shaking his head and wagging his tail around all the while. After he warned the ¡®outsiders¡¯ that this was his territory, he stomped around and waited for Miao Yi to go out and y together.


    Miao Yi leapt up andnded on his back. Two feelers extended from Charcoal¡¯s mane and wrapped around Miao Yi¡¯s legs.


    The two girls sent him off, but Miao Yi didn¡¯t even look back. Under him, Charcoal leapt to the skies and instantlynded outside. Spreading his hooves out, he immediately galloped away.


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan had long been waiting outside. Seeing this, they quickly turned their dragon steeds around and hurriedly followed behind him....


    The three of them didn¡¯t make any stops as they galloped across the windy ins. Along the way, they would sometimes quickly pass by a few mortals, hiding away as they looked upon the three in reverence. Some would even kneel on the ground and bow to them, but they simply passed them by.


    Once they arrived in Mount Calming Sea, they were stopped by the gatekeeper, and soon allowed passage after word was sent.


    Since they didn¡¯t receive any summons, Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan naturally didn¡¯t have any right to enter the inner recesses of Mount Calming Sea. Miao Yi was walking up the steps alone, when he caught sight of Hong Mian standing by the gates of the grand hall in a cherry mood.


    "Miao Yi. It¡¯s been over ten years since west met, isn¡¯t it? Have you been well?" asked Hong Mian with a smile.


    Miao Yi cupped his fists and respectfully said, "I pay my respects to Elder Auntie. Everything has been fine, thank you for asking."


    Hong Mian nodded, then turned around to lead him. "Follow me!"


    They passed through the front and back halls, then entered the courtyard within. Although he hadn¡¯t seen it in over ten years, the loft that Qin Weiwei used to handle her official affairs still looked the same as it did before.


    As they ascended the loft, Hong Mian announced, "Mountain Chieftain. Miao Yi has arrived."


    After saying this, she went up and stood next to Lu Liu, who was standing by Qin Weiwei¡¯s side.


    Seated behind the long table, Qin Weiwei looked as beautiful as ever, with a white dress that was simple yet elegant. She stared at Miao Yi as he approached, appearing a little distracted, as shes of a beautifully tragic scene quickly flittered through her mind.


    Miao Yi stepped forward and cupped his fists respectfully, "East Arrival Cave Steed Deputy Miao Yi, respectfully greets the Mountain Chieftain!"


    Miao Yi seemed to have ced a heavier emphasis on the words ¡®Steed Deputy¡¯, as though he were reminding Qin Weiwei¡ª¡®I am a mere Steed Deputy. I don¡¯t deserve having an Honorable Mountain Chieftain like yourself summoning me to your presence. Under normal circumstances, no one would be able to keep up with your ways. If you have any problems, just find our Cave Master. At the very least, you could have just directly summoned me. Passing down an official decree to a Steed Deputy like myself is a little overboard.¡¯


    He never considered that, if it were a normal summons, would he even turn up? He was sure to make Yan Xiue up with an excuse, and say that he wasn¡¯t avable, or something of the sort.


    Qin Weiwei was secretly grinding her teeth, but pretended to be indifferent on the surface and said, "It has been over ten years since west met, correct?"


    "Indeed!" said Miao Yi respectfully.


    "No need to restrain yourself so. Sit down and talk. I have something I would like to ask you.", said Qin Weiwei, extending an arm to the chair beside her.


    Miao Yi snickered¡ª¡®When have I ever restrained myself?¡¯ However, he still walked over to the side and sat down. Then, he asked, "May I know the reason as to why the Mountain Chieftain has summoned me?"


    Qin Weiwei stared at him for a moment, before asking, "Six people from Mount Calming Sea have mysteriously disappeared after heading to East Arrival Cave. What is your view on this?"


    Miao Yi thought to himself¡ª¡®I knew that it wouldn¡¯t be anything good for this woman to call me over. So she has suspected my involvement already. Could she be trying to make a move on me?¡¯


    Miao Yi carefully examined his surroundings. The three people before him were not his opponents by themselves, but he was a little worried that there might be an ambush hiding nearby.


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu exchanged nces; they were utterly speechless. One look at Miao Yi was enough to tell that he was strongly biased against the Mountain Chieftain. The Mountain Chieftain herself could see it as well, The two of them could see Qin Weiwei¡¯s fists slowly tightening under the table.


    Very soon, Miao Yi unexpectedly said, "Your subordinate doesn¡¯t understand. Have Mount Calming Sea¡¯s men gone to East Arrival Cave? I don¡¯t know about this matter. I am just East Arrival Cave¡¯s Steed Deputy. All I do is manage the steeds, and do my best to fulfill the responsibilities bestowed upon me. I don¡¯t have the right to be concerned about other matters. Mountain Chieftain can try and summon the Cave Master over to question him. He should know better."


    She knew that he wasn¡¯t going to confess to it from the start. This was within her expectations.


    Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t carry too much hope in him admitting it either. Since she couldn¡¯t get an answer, she changed the subject, "Miao Yi, do you have some sort of prejudice against me?"


    "I wouldn¡¯t dare!" Miao Yi hurriedly cupped his fists and added, "Your subordinate does not have any sort of prejudice against the Mountain Chieftain. Only awe and respect!"


    "Miao Yi. I believe we should have an open and honest conversation for once."


    "Your subordinate is all ears."


    Qin Weiwei took a deep breath and said, "After so many years, if there was any misunderstanding in the past, it is high time we let them go. You saved my life once, and I have always kept that in mind...."


    Miao Yi hurriedly replied, "Your subordinate was just doing his duty."


    Your subordinate this, your subordinate that. Qin Weiwei felt ufortable just listening to it. She clenched her teeth and backed down, saying, "I am sincerely willing to settle the misunderstandings between us. Today, you don¡¯t need to treat me as the Mountain Chieftain, and I also will not treat you as a subordinate. Just take it as a casual conversation between friends, and of course, if you are willing, we can continue to be friends from now on. That¡¯s right, we can be friends who can talk about anything with each other!"


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu were shocked. It seemed that not seeing him for over a decade, pushed the Mountain Chieftain to resort toying all her cards on the table. ¡®Starting from friends, was it? This wasn¡¯t such a bad idea....¡¯


    Only those who knew the details would think in such a way. However, she said she wanted to be friends, right after raising the matter of the mysterious disappearances of Mount Calming Sea¡¯s members in East Arrival Cave. Coupled with the fact that the two had never gotten along from the beginning¡ªif it were anyone else, they would also suspect that it was some kind of trick.


    Clearly, Qin Weiweicked experience on certain matters. Moreover, her judgement wasn¡¯t on the same level as her father, Yang Qing, either.


    As expected, Miao Yi immediately suspected if this woman was trying to use ¡®bing friends¡¯ as a pretense to get him to talk, or something else. This change was a little too sudden. ¡®How could the both of us of all people, suddenly be friends who can talk about anything with each other? What kind of joke is this? Are you just naive, Or do you think I¡¯m a fool?¡¯


    He respectfully replied, "Your subordinate naturally could not wish for anything more than to be friends with the Mountain Chieftain. However, I am afraid that I am unworthy."


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes instantly shed. She said, "Since we are friends, there is no such thing as being worthy or not. You and I are equals. From this day forth, we are friends."


    "Haha!" Miao Yi could do naught but chuckle uneasily. It wouldn¡¯t do him well to ept it so easily, as he still wasn¡¯t sure what sort of ploy this woman was working.


    "Since we are friends, you can rest assured. I will take care of your problems. Once I have discussed it over with Yan Xiu, I will help reinstate you to your East Arrival Cave Master position. You don¡¯t have to worry about the Manor Head. I will take care of it for you," said the Great Mountain Chieftain Qin, immediately trying to disy how dependable she was as a friend.


    "Uhhh....," Miao Yi was taken aback. He didn¡¯t have any intentions of hiding behind a woman¡¯s skirt and relying on her to provide for him. He was utterly confounded by the extreme contradictions between her words, and could barely keep up with the conversation. He began to have some suspicions, ¡®Could it be that after not seeing her in a decade, this woman has mastered her old man Yang Qing¡¯s knack for trickery?¡¯ He immediately rejected the offer with a wave of his hand, "Mountain Chieftain. Yan Xiu is doing quite well as the Cave Master. Your subordinate willingly serves under him."

 Chapter 238: Overwhelmed By Honor

    Chapter 238: Overwhelmed By Honor


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    He was speaking from the heart. At this point, if he became the Cave Master, he would be restrained by East Arrival Cave¡¯s affairs, and lose the freedom to go wherever he wanted. Not to mention, East Arrival Cave was already under his control. It didn¡¯t matter if he had the hollow title of Cave Master or not. He would reconsider the matter if it was a Mountain Chieftain title instead though.


    "I am not joking with you. If I said that I can do it, then I will." Qin Weiwei reassured him.


    "Your subordinate is not attempting to be courteous," said Miao Yi, as he politely refused again.


    Qin Weiwei thought he was doing so because her words were too direct; thus, making it difficult for the other party to ept. After all, given the rules of the current system, who wouldn¡¯t be willing?


    She tried again to reassure him of her sincerity but Miao Yi was adamant with his refusal. She found it difficult toprehend the reason, but she stopped trying to force the issue.


    After thinking for a moment, she gave a nod and said, "Since you aren¡¯t willing to be the Cave Master; and being the Steed Deputy isn¡¯t suitable for you as well; why don¡¯t I transfer you from East Arrival Cave to Mount Calming Sea, and let you manage the city under Mount Calming Sea¡¯s jurisdiction?"


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu immediately smiled, they felt the direction the Mountain Chieftain was going at Miao Yi with was truly wonderful. If he really transferred over, then they would be able to meet with one another every day from then on.


    They would never have suspected that after hearing this, Miao Yi would go intoplete shock. He felt that this woman¡¯s methods were really on an entirely different ne. She actually went a whole circle just to try and strip him of his forces. Once he was transferred away from East Arrival Cave, the forces of East Arrival Cave would no longer be under hismand. This was his foundation for taking the prized seat of Mountain Chieftain in the future. She was trying to iste him.


    "No, no, no. Mountain Chieftain. I think it is best for me to remain in East Arrival Cave as the Steed Deputy," Miao Yi immediately plead with cupped fists.


    He had no choice but to lower his head since he was under the other person¡¯s roof. After all, she had full authority in her hands.


    "Isn¡¯t being a Steed Deputy too humble a post for you?" asked Qin Weiwei in curiosity. "Rest assured, you will not earn any less from when you were East Arrival Cave¡¯s Cave Master, if you work by my side."


    "It isn¡¯t too humble. Not too humble at all!" said Miao Yi, hurriedly waving his hands.


    ¡®What¡¯s wrong with being a Steed Deputy? Sure, being a Steed Deputy with no authority is bad. However, it¡¯s apletely different story for a Steed Deputy who has authority.¡¯ Within the entire cultivation realm, Miao Yi was probably the only one who knew what that was like. There wasn¡¯t another Steed Deputy out there who wielded authority like he did, so naturally, he would know best what that feeling was like.


    Even though he was the Steed Deputy, how could he really be expected to do something like releasing the steeds to graze within East Arrival Cave? If someone did, he could immediately crumble East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces and dissolve them. Once the Commandment of Conformity was breached, all the School of Blue Jade disciples would have to scuttle back to where they came from. No one could hope to get any benefits from him.


    Not only did the current East Arrival Cave Master Yan Xiu not have any such thoughts, it was useless even if he did have any intents of usurping Miao Yi. The School of Blue Jade disciples would not listen to him, because the one that decided whether they could continue to stay within the system was Miao Yi.


    That was why ever since he became East Arrival Cave¡¯s Steed Deputy, he had never once let the horses out. Naturally, someone would do that for him. Now, he even had a substitute for dealing with those arbitrary affairs requiring the Cave Master¡¯s personal presence. Miao Yi could focus solely on his cultivation and was only required to manage the Cave¡¯s general direction of progress.


    There was an even greater benefit. Now he could go wherever he wanted. So long as he said the word, Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t be able to refuse even if wanted to. Furthermore, every time the superior¡¯s asked, Yan Xiu would even have to bite the bullet, and say stuff along the lines of Miao Yi being sent out to handle affairs on his behalf.


    Qin Weiwei looked at him suspiciously.


    Seeing as she hadn¡¯t yet agreed, Miao Yi became a little anxious. All he could do was shamelessly smile and ask, "Mountain Chieftain. Didn¡¯t you say that we...., we¡¯re friends? Then, you know..."


    He didn¡¯t finish his sentence, but what he implied was quite clear¡ª ¡®Since you said you want to be my friend, then help me out like one.¡¯


    Seeing him admit that they were friends himself, Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes brightened. Her snow-white dress fluttered as she stood up from behind the long table. Then, she went around it and walked over to Miao Yi, before raising her jade-like palm before him.


    Miao Yi also stood in surprise, but he didn¡¯t understand what her intent was.


    "Friends!" hinted Qin Weiwei.


    Miao Yi finally understood. She wanted them to p their palms together as a pledge to reaffirm their friendship.


    Since he had something to request of the other person, how could he deny her something as trivial as this? At times, even Miao Yi was capable of reading the mood. However, he was a little hesitant while he was raising his palm. He kept wondering¡ª ¡®I won¡¯t be digging my own grave right?¡¯


    Qin Weiwei wasn¡¯t as reluctant as he was. When she saw that his hand was raised, she took the initiative and pped it with her jade-like palm¡ªa crisp p rang out. Thus the matter was settled.


    In that instant, the Qin Weiwei who was usually cold and distant before outsiders, abruptly opened her small mouth, and revealed a beautiful smile.


    The beauty behind this smile would have been enough to shake anyone¡¯s heart¡ªMiao Yi was instantly stunned. He realized that this woman was truly beautiful when she smiled. It was such a shame that she always maintained such a solemn face.


    However, he could understand why this was so. With Qin Weiwei¡¯s position, she couldn¡¯t afford to be too frivolous; otherwise, she would lose her prestige. This was especially true because she was a woman. Others would easily make light of her. Only by maintaining a strict demeanor for an extended period of time would she be able to induce fear in her subordinates.


    Seeing him staring dazedly at her, Qin Weiwei could feel a pull at her heartstrings. She tried to conceal the embarrassment in her heart, by turning around and telling her personal handmaidens, "From this day forth, Miao Yi is my friend. There is no need to report his arrival when hees to Mount Calming Sea, he cane look for me directly."


    "Understood!" The twodies stepped forward and respectfully lowered their bodies, "Hong Mian. Lu Liu. We respectfully greet Lord Miao!"


    Their way of addressing him changed all too suddenly. Not to mention, it was such a lofty title.


    However, this pedestal was a little too tall. Miao Yi was sweating buckets, and hurriedly cupped his fists, "Elder Auntie. Little Auntie. Please don¡¯t be like this."


    In his mind, he thought¡ª ¡®What exactly is this woman scheming?¡¯


    The twodies covered their mouths and giggled, "Since Lord Miao is Mountain Chieftain¡¯s friend, from now on, if there aren¡¯t any outsiders, you can just call us Hong Mian and Lu Liu."


    "I wouldn¡¯t dare!" Miao Yi cupped his fists, almost breaking out in a cold sweat


    He didn¡¯t expect what came next. Qin Weiwei began to solemnly say, "You are my first friend!"


    "Uhhh..... Your subordinate is overwhelmed by your honor!"


    "From now on when it¡¯s just us, let¡¯s stop calling each other by our titles. That would be too distant. I will call you Miao Yi, and you can call me by my name too. You can call me...., call me Weiwei as well...." When she said this, even Qin Weiwei herself could barely stop her face from blushing. Fortunately, she was used to keeping an indifferent expression, so it was easier for her to hide it.


    ¡® Who is calling who, what now? Call you Weiwei? Oh heavens, save me please!¡¯ ¡ªMiao Yi¡¯s expression twitched, "Your subordinate...."


    He finally knew what it meant to be vicious this very day. A nimble knife was more vicious than a tough one when ites to killing people. Previously, he thought this woman only had an average intellect. If she wasn¡¯t fortunate enough to have a good father, she would probably...., but today hepletely admitted defeat.


    "I said that we can be friends when it¡¯s just us, and to call each other by our names." Qin Weiwei admonished.


    ".....," Miao Yi¡¯s expression looked like he had just eaten salted honey. There were no words to describe it. However, that wasn¡¯t important. What was important was his own matters¡ªhe had something to request of the other person. He clenched his teeth and said, "Qin... Qin Weiwei, about my matter..."


    When he called her name, Miao Yi feltpletely awkward. It made it seem as though he had some intentions to pursue her.


    Even Hong Mian and Lu Liu had weird expressions on their faces, much less Miao Yi himself. They seemed to be puffing out their cheeks to stop from giggling.


    Qin Weiwei felt awkward listening to it as well. She felt as though her name was akin to a stiff rock bursting out from Miao Yi¡¯s mouth. However, waves were rippling in her heart. Even if it was a stiff rock, being dropped into theke of her heart would still stir up waves, and ripples as well.


    "Since you¡¯re not willing to, it¡¯s fine. If you ever change your mind, you can look for me any time. I will do my best to help you solve it."


    The Great Mountain Chieftain Qin was extremely faithful to her friends! Even her gaze was full of a bright, fiery glow when she looked at her friend.


    Miao Yi felt like a great burden was lifted, but several things were still stressing his mind. He wanted to gather his thoughts and logically assess the reason why the other party was putting up this act today.


    Several ideas instantly shed through his mind as he weighed numerous possibilities. He even wondered¡ª ¡®This woman couldn¡¯t have fallen in love with me, right?¡¯


    However, he quickly scrapped this idea.


    What kind of background did he have? He was an orphan and a street butcher that was always covered in grease.


    Ever since he was young, no woman had ever liked him. How many of the opposite gender would like a butcher that was always dirty and covered in grease? How many families would be willing to have a son-inw who had no parents, no background, and was even carrying two little dead weights with him?


    Ever since he was young, no woman had ever fancied him. Only he had ever harbored intentions for another person.


    He had secretly longed for Old Li¡¯s daughter from the tofu shop, but when he went to her house to propose a marriage, even the matchmaker was kicked out.


    When he was at his butcher shop by the street, he would disy a naked desire whenever he saw a beautifuldy. However, nodies were willing toe near to that dirty and greasy pig butcher shop. They would always circle around and away from him.


    Back at Ancient City, when he saw Fairy Hong Chen descending from the skies, he was instantly bewitched by her divine and matchless beauty. That moment was instantly seared into his memory. However, the other person¡¯s gaze only gently swept past him as she looked down. He was like an ant to her. Even showing him disdain would have been doing him a great honor, much less showing him fancy. She was a far off existence that he could only admire from the sidelines.


    Even though once upon a time, Lao Bai lightly told him, "Beauties and fine liquors are just worldly things. Immersing oneself in them will leave one with no desire to improve oneself, and be unable to move forward. Thus, taking a wrong turn in life. If there truly exists an evesting beauty, then she only waits for the day when the one to ravage heres along, so why would she be unattainable?"


    These words had struck a chord with him at the time. This was precisely the case of ¡®A loud noise made by merely a few sounds¡¯.


    However, this didn¡¯t change the fact that no woman had ever liked him. The realm Lao Bai was talking about was the absolute pinnacle, where one¡¯s strength forced all into submission!


    If any woman ever had, perhaps Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would count. However, everyone knew that was different.


    This was why Miao Yi had long since gotten used to it. He had gotten used to not experiencing love, so how could he believe that a woman would fancy him?


    With Qin Weiwei, he believed this was all the more unlikely. He always kept in mind Qin Weiwei¡¯s haughtiness and her dislike of him. He believed that was a form of loathing that stemmed from looking down on someone, as a result of her identity and background.


    Yet, Miao Yi was a normal man and Qin Weiwei, a beautiful woman¡ªenough that he would asionally steal a nce or two. It wasn¡¯t like he had never fantasized about her before.


    However to his knowledge, once someone reached the point of ¡®looking down¡¯ on you, they would never be able to trulye to like you.


    Not to mention, the events that transpired today were a stark contrast to how she was before. It was utterly questionable and wholly puzzling. Him even considering this, was because she fancied him, was just his wishful thinking.


    This was why those kind of thoughts only stayed in Miao Yi¡¯s mind for a fleeting moment, before immediately being tossed to the back of his head. He was used to not experiencing love, so he wouldn¡¯t get any unseemly ideas.


    "Prepare a set of wine and food. I wish to have a drink with Miao Yi."


    Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t know what was on his mind. but she turned to instruct the two handmaidens behind her.


    "There¡¯s no need for all that. I am under the Cave Master¡¯s orders toplete a task...," Miao Yi hurriedly looked for an excuse to get away. He didn¡¯t know what was going on at the moment, and was afraid that he would fall into some kind of trap if he stayed any longer. The unpredictability this woman disyed today had him somewhat terrified.


    What could Yan Xiu possibly order him to do? Qin Weiwei clearly knew this was an excuse, but she wouldn¡¯t go so far as to brazenly make him stay. As such, she didn¡¯t manage to make Miao Yi stay for wine and, in the end, she let him leave.

 Chapter 239: First Visit to the School of Blue Jade

    Chapter 239: First Visit to the School of Blue Jade


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Once he left the Mount Calming Sea Grand Hall, Miao Yi motioned with his hand and said, "Let¡¯s go!"


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan had been waiting outside. They quickly mounted their steeds, and the three quickly galloped off.


    Miao Yi was a little reluctant about this long journey now. ¡®Should I return to East Arrival Cave? I don¡¯t understand what that woman is up to. She better not try to trip me up behind my back....¡¯


    Qin Weiwei stood by the window of the loft. Her snow-white dress billowing out from the faint entering breeze, to reveal the elegant outline of her body.


    From there, her line of sight was being blocked by the roof of the grand hall, so she couldn¡¯t see the za outsize the hall, but she could see the area about the mountain gates.


    Qin Weiwei watched on as Miao Yi brought his men charging out through the mountain gates. Her gaze chased after his figure for a long while, her expression slowly softening as she revealed her anticipation towards the blooming of young love...


    Beside her, Hong Mian and Lu Liu asionally exchanged nces. After today, the two of them could finally reaffirm who Qin Weiwei was in love with. If this wasn¡¯t the case, Qin Weiwei definitely wouldn¡¯t behave like this.


    However, they never expected that Qin Weiwei would actuallye up with the idea of bing friends, and use it to bravely take her first step. She hadn¡¯t even discussed it with the two of them beforehand.


    They exchange a nce and snickered, realizing that it was really convenient to woo a man when you had authority in your hands. The two of them believed that Qin Weiwei should have done this from the start. If you have authority¡ªdon¡¯t waste it!


    However, the two of them knew Qin Weiwei all too well. Given her personality, it was already a first for her to go this far. She was only able to take this first step after gathering a substantial amount of courage.


    It was only possible for her to take this first step, by using the pretext of bing friends as her cover. Otherwise, she truly couldn¡¯t hope for more with that arrogant tongue of hers.


    Even so, the two of them had to keep pretending they were oblivious to it all. Before Miao Yi expressed his intent, they couldn¡¯t let anything slip. Otherwise, she would surely crawl back into her shell. Qin Weiwei¡¯s pride was no joke!


    The thing that Hong Miao and Lu Liu was more concerned about, was whether Miao Yi would have an intention of courting Qin Weiwei. ¡®An onlooker certainly sees best¡¯¡ªthe two of them could tell that Miao Yi was still keeping Qin Weiwei at a distance, or perhaps it was more appropriate to say that he was on his guard against her. Could that man truly be the Master that they would have to serve in future?


    The trio continued to gallop at full speed as they left South Edict Manor¡¯s territory. With their dragon steed¡¯s superior leg strength, they sped along for two whole days, before finally entering the center of a bleak and barren mountain range.


    They continued to cross mountains and traverse forests; across rivers and through tunnels from atop their steeds. They eventually reached the looming mountain peaks, and within the mountain range before them, a cluster of buildings with varying heights were arranged in an orderly fashion.


    The trio brought their steeds to a halt, with their mounts panting heavily. Then, Yuan Fang raised his hand to point ahead, "Please look, Milord. There lies our School of Blue Jade."


    "Oh!" Miao Yi stared at it for a moment, then turned back with a smile. "To drop by unannounced wouldn¡¯t be too rude, I hope?"


    Lai Yuhan replied, "Don¡¯t worry, Milord. We already informed our Master beforehand!"


    Miao Yi nodded, "It has been a while since Ist met Elder Hong. I look forward to it."


    "Milord, the two of us Senior and Junior Brothers have something we would like to ask of you!" Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan abruptly jumped down from their steeds simultaneously and began pleading with Miao Yi with their fists cupped.


    Miao Yi was startled by how suddenly they had be serious, and asked, "What is it?"


    The two of them shared a nce then. Yuan Fang cupped his fists and said, "Milord. On that year, our School of Blue Jade wasn¡¯t able to offer our assistance during the battle between Manor Head and Zhang Decheng. The main reason was because our Master had taken matters into his own hands, and thus jeopardized the School of Blue Jade¡¯s affairs. Because of this, he incited the Sect Master¡¯s wrath. Most of our fellow disciples med our Master as well. Now, Master Hong is in a difficult position within the School of Blue Jade. Since the two of us Senior and Junior brothers have returned, we must share our Master¡¯s burden!"


    "So that was the case. I was wondering what the School of Blue Jade was thinking at the time," said Miao Yi as he came to a sudden realization. Then, curiously asked, "What can I do to help?"


    "Milord. Since us Senior and Junior Brothers began working under Milord¡¯smand, this became the sole matter that our Master was allowed to manage within the School of Blue Jade. He was mostly stripped of his other authorities. Even then, Master had done his best to defend Milord. Otherwise, our Master wouldn¡¯t have been able to allow twenty elite disciples into the ranks of a Cave in the first ce." After saying this, Yuan Fang hesitated for a moment.


    Miao Yi nodded, "The two of you have followed me into the jaws of death and back. Just be frank with me if you have something to say. Why must you hesitate!?"


    "Understood!" Yuan Fang cupped his fists and said, "Milord. On this visit of yours to the School of Blue Jade, I¡¯m afraid that someone will attempt to steal our Master¡¯s final shred of authority. Once Masterpletely loses his authority within the School of Blue Jade, us Senior and Junior Brothers will surely to be implicated as well. In future, if we still wish to obtain the continuation of our cultivation arts, we will also surely be obstructed by others. If that were to happen, all we can do is betray our Master, and rely on someone else. Such a treacherous reputation is not one we can bear!"


    Miao Yi was stunned. Then, hesitantly asked, "So you want me to ignore everyone else and onlymunicate with your Master?"


    "An astute observation, Milord. Yes, that is precisely what we mean!" Yuan Fang nodded.


    This wasn¡¯t actually his idea, but after he found out that Miao Yi wished to visit the School of Blue Jade, he immediately sent a message over to Hong Changhai. After that, he received Hong Changhai¡¯s instructions.


    Hong Changhai was really anxious¡ª¡®Miao Yi. Why do you have toe to the School of Blue Jade of all ces? I told everyone that you were only willing tomunicate with me and me alone. Wouldn¡¯t the cat be out of the bag if youe here? When that happens, I¡¯ll be kicked to the sidelines, and won¡¯t be able to involve myself in these affairs anymore. Naturally, I¡¯ll lose out on the School¡¯s cultivation resources as well. Afterwhich, I will only be able to retire and wait for my death.¡¯


    When one was at Hong Changhai¡¯s age, if they didn¡¯t have cultivation resources to maintain a certain level of progress in their cultivation, then their lifespan would soon reach its end as well.


    In such a situation, how could he not be anxious? Naturally, he had his disciples do everything in their power to make sure that Miao Yi was on his side.


    "This...," Miao Yi was a little troubled. After giving it some consideration, he couldn¡¯t help frankly telling them, "I understand your desire. Yet, since your Master has already lost his authority within the School of Blue Jade, and has no way of utilizing its resources¡ªhow would he be able to be of service to me from now on?"


    This was a genuine problem. He didn¡¯t treat either of them as outsiders, so he had to make it clear to them.


    ¡®My rtionship with your Master Hong Changhai isn¡¯t so good that I would surrender my own benefits for him. Did you think I came all this way to the School of Blue Jade for a leisure trip? I¡¯m here to have your School of Blue Jade help me with some tasks. Why else did Ie all this way for then?¡¯


    Yuan Fang replied, "Your subordinate understands! However, Milord is overthinking it. If it were anyone else who had caused the School of Blue Jade such loss, and kindled everyone¡¯s animosity¡ªthat person would have been sentenced to death. Since Master was still able to retain some authority, he naturally had some leverage. The one and only Grand Elder in our School of Blue Jade is none other than our Grand Master! So long as Milord offers his cooperation, Master still has ways to help that will not disappoint Milord. If he failed to do that, then it wouldn¡¯t be toote for Milord to change his mind still!"


    The School of Blue Jade was not a veryrge school. At best, it was below average. Miao Yi had heard about this School of Blue Jade Grand Elder before. He was the only remaining Elder who was also a guardian of the mountain. Apparently, his cultivation was at Red Lotus Third Grade¡ªtwo grades higher than even the School of Blue Jade¡¯s Sect Master himself. Miao Yi never expected that he was Hong Changhai¡¯s Master.


    "Is that so?" Miao Yi gave a slight nod, and figured that he might as well give it a try.


    Seeing that he was still reluctant, and not knowing what was going on in his mind, both Senior and Junior Brother exchanged a nce. While facing Miao Yi who was seated high above, they suddenly swept their long robes and got down on one knee, cupping their fists as they pleaded, "Milord. Please grant our request! If we are able to help our Master ovee this obstacle, us Senior and Junior Brothers are both willing to give our lives for you!"


    "No need! Witnessing your show of loyalty to your Master, how can I deny you?" Miao Yi raised his hand and gestured, "Stand up!"


    "Thank you for agreeing, Milord!" The two of them immediately breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. They were finally able to fulfill their responsibility to their Master.


    The three of them continued on their dragon steeds. Very soon, the barren and deste mountain gave way to an ethereal forest filled with bright flowers. An ancient stone path, worn over countless years appeared before them, and on either side of it, were two ancient boles.


    Under the archway of the ancient mountain gate before them, a party was already there here to wee them. The archway was actually sculpted from arge chunk of blue jade and had three giant characters¡ª¡¯School of Blue Jade¡¯¡ªengraved upon them.


    Once they got closer, it wouldn¡¯t be good to rush in. Otherwise, it would be disrespectful to the School of Blue Jade. Miao Yi raised his hand a little, and the three of them slowed their steeds to a walk. The steps of their dragon steed¡¯s hooves rang out in crisp clomping sounds.


    Pagoda trees soon began to appear beside them, their flower petals cascading like snow.


    Truth be told, after taking a rough look andparing their scendscapes, Miao Yi realized that the entirend that the School of Blue Jade upied might not even be much better than his own East Arrival Cave. It was only after aeons of being managed by men, that the surroundings had been beautified to such a great extent.


    However, this was understandable. The various famed mountains and great rivers across the realms that were spiritually endowed by nature were mostly monopolized by the various Earthly Branches, Pces, Halls, Manors, Caves, and the like. A small school like the School of Blue Jade didn¡¯t have much to choose from.


    Miao Yi swept his gaze past the people that were standing under the archway of the mountain gate into the distance, and indeed found Elder Hong Changhai, standing in the midst of them. However, he was standing at the far end of the crowd, leading two disciples. For the man who originally possessed a status second only to the Sect Master, to be reduced to such a state was a clear sign that he had lost much prestige.


    On the other end, three aged men were standing before the crowd. The one in the lead had a head of white hair; and while hisplexion was rosy like a child¡¯s, his aura towered over the rest.


    Taking advantage of their slowed pace, Miao Yi secretly sent a transmission to ask, "Who is the person leading them?"


    "The one to the left is called Zhan Lisong. The one to the right is called Tang Yue, and the one leading them is called Tong Renmei. They are all Elders of the School. Right now, it is that Elder Tong who has taken over Master¡¯s authority within the School!" Yuan Fang quickly transmitted his voice in reply.


    ¡®Tong Renmei?¡¯ Miao Yi unconsciously turned to look at Lai Yuhan. He realized that all the old men of this School of Blue Jade seemed to like having feminine names.


    When they were still five or six zhang away from the archway of the mountain gate, as a show of respect to the School of Blue Jade, Miao Yi raised his hand for them to stop. The three of them then jumped down from their dragon steeds.


    He knew that the reason so many Elders hade out to personally greet him was not so much for his cultivation, than it was for his status.


    To make an analogy: in the cultivation realms, the School of Blue Jade was simr to the rustic vigers of the mortal world. While Miao Yi was like a government official of the mortal world. No matter how low his position was, he still had status. When a government officiales, the vigers would naturally have to gather to wee him.


    However, it wouldn¡¯t do for Miao Yi to go overboard with it. Firstly, he had already been demoted to a Steed Deputy, at least in name. Secondly, he had something to request of the other party this time around.


    Likewise, even though the School of Blue Jade sent so many Elders out to wee him, it wouldn¡¯t be good for them to act too humbly. Seeing that Miao Yi could read the atmosphere, they came out from under the archway and walked towards him with smiles.


    At this moment, Hong Changhai already shot a nce at his two beloved disciples from the rear of the party. Both Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan caught his eye and stealthily nodded their heads, signalling that the matter had been settled.


    After worrying all this time, Hong Changhai instantly heaved a sigh of relief. He gazed in approval at his two disciples, as thoughplimenting them for not having disappointed their Master.


    "You¡¯re the East Arrival Cave Master Miao?" Elder Tong Renmei, cupped his fists and inquired.


    Miao Yi cupped his fists, and said self-deprecatingly, "The East Arrival Cave Master couldn¡¯te, but the Steed Deputy is here in his stead. I apologize for disappointing everyone."


    Tong Renmei immediately burst out inughter. The othersughed as well when they heard it, feeling that this fellow was truly amusing. Everyone obviously knew that Miao Yi was the real person in charge of East Arrival Cave. He was just making a joke just now. It wasn¡¯t meant to be taken seriously.

 Chapter 240: Roping Him In

    Chapter 240: Roping Him In


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Everyone was just meeting for the first time. Jokes andughter were abound as both parties rxed the tension in their hearts. It was best if they could easily acquaint themselves with one another.


    Under the cover of the many pagoda trees that lined this shaded path, the ambience was quite pleasant. Together with the beautiful scenery, it made everyone feel as though they were a couple of old friends at first sight.


    Obviously, this was all simply an act of courtesy for appearance¡¯s sake. It would be odd if they acted like they were truly old friends on their first meeting.


    "I am Tong Renmei. I serve as the School of Blue Jade¡¯s....," Tong Renmei was in the midst of introducing himself as the School of Blue Jade¡¯s Chief Elder.


    Nobody expected that after Miao Yi cupped his fists towards them, he wouldpletely ignore Tong Renmei. He directed augh at Hong Changhai and said, "Elder Hong. We finally meet again. I, Miao Yi, havee to pay you a visit. Why are you hiding in the back? Did I do something to offend you?"


    Everyone was silent. The disciples from the School of Blue Jade looked towards Tong Renmei. With his fists half-cupped, he stood there like a duck held at the neck¡ªunable to continue speaking. After realizing that he was actually being ignored by Miao Yi, his expression tensed as he awkwardly lowered his hands.


    However, it didn¡¯t take long for him to regain hisposure. He even smiled as he stepped out of Miao Yi¡¯s path and allowed him to reunite with Hong Changhai at the rear.


    Beside him, Zhan Lisong stealthily transmitted, "This fellow is being too impolite. He is just a puny Steed Deputy. Does he actually think he is an important person? How dare he behave disrespectfully to you, Senior Brother?"


    "No matter. It is possible that he is still unaware of my identity," Tong Renmei was rather tolerant.


    Miao Yi went up and grabbed ahold of Hong Changhai¡¯s arm, holding onto it as they chatted away merrily; as though he werepletely oblivious to the people around him.


    After they were done, Hong Changhai was the one who first broke the ice and introduced Tong Renmei and the rest to Miao Yi. When he heard this, Miao Yi gasped, "Elder Hong. Aren¡¯t you the School of Blue Jade¡¯s Chief Elder?"


    "I am not thatpetent," Hong Changhai said in embarrassment.


    "I hope Great Elder Tong will not hold this against me. My ignorance is to me for offending you so!" Miao Yi hastily apologized.


    In truth, his actions had been intentional. It wasn¡¯t solely because he wanted to give Hong Changhai face, but because there were too many people here who had a higher cultivation than he did. He wanted to make everyone understand¡ª ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter if your cultivations are higher. I don¡¯t consider any of you to be important.¡¯


    For matters like first impressions, extreme measures were sometimes required. Otherwise, if he lowered his head too much, everyone wouldn¡¯t think very much of him. Especially since he hade here on his own, arge portion of them would be inclined to regard him with contempt.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped that some encounters ended up this way.


    If you had a slightly more overbearing air, then even if the other person was unhappy, that person would still be a little more mindful. This was because that person knew that you were not someone who regarded him or her with any importance. If he or she said anything disrespectful, then you were sure to be furious¡ªwhich would put both parties in a difficult position.


    If you take a step back, then the other person would assume that you know your ce. Then, the other person would believe that they had the more dominant temperament, and may not continue to treat you respectfully. Bluntly speaking, they would think that you were easy to bully.


    This was exactly the case for the current situation. Even though the majority of them weren¡¯t pleased with Miao Yi, they would still console themselves in their mind and tell themselves not to hold it against such an ignorant fool. Each and every one of them would still have to cup their fists in a respectful manner towards Miao Yi for appearance¡¯s sake.


    "You are too humble, Milord!" Elder Tong turned around to extend his arm, "When the Sect Master heard that Milord would being, he came out of his closed-door cultivation. Pleasee!"


    "Oh! After you, Elder Tong!" Miao Yi politely replied, and followed by his side.


    The rest of the party split themselves onto either side of the road, and followed after the two of them as they walked up the stone steps. The other members would asionally hear jokes andughtering from the two before them.


    As they walked up the stone steps, they came upon the walls of a courtyard guarded by a mighty gate. Once they were past the walls of the courtyard, they were greeted by another long flight of steps. Up on the other end, they were finally able to see the great width of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s Grand Hall.


    When the crowd reached the foot of the steps to the grand hall, the majority stood in ce. Only the few who had the qualifications to enter the grand hall continued onwards.


    Once Miao Yi walked past the doors of the grand hall, he could see an empty seat under the statue of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s founding father. He assumed it was the seat of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s Sect Master, though he had yet to arrive.


    Miao Yi could understand the reason behind this. The Sect Master represented the face of the School of Blue Jade. It was already a great show of respect for them to send the Elders to wee him. If an honorable Sect Master was already seated here and waiting on a Steed Deputy like him, what would that imply? Miao Yi figured that he didn¡¯t have the qualifications for that yet.


    Even if Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei were the one here, she would likely get the same treatment. Yang Qing might be the only one who could have the School of Blue Jade¡¯s Sect Master personallye out to wee him.


    Once they entered the hall, the disciples¡¯ expressions instantly turned solemn and respectful. The first thing they did was to bow before the statue of the founding father. Miao Yi didn¡¯t follow suit, and instead cupped his fists, greeting thrice as a gesture of respect.


    After that, they simply waited. In a short while, a young boy came out from the side gate behind the hall. In a clear voice, he announced, "The Sect Master¡¯s carriage has arrived!"


    Everyone replied in unison, "We respectfully greet the Sect Master!"


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t need to shout along with them for this.


    After which, a middle-aged man dressed in ceremonial robe appeared, with a mitre crowning his head. This person was none other than the School of Blue Jade¡¯s Sect Master, Feng Hai.


    Feng Hai appeared much younger than the Elders, but his cultivation was higher than theirs. He carried himself in a remarkable manner as he walked over to the high seat, and seated himself whilst two boys stood at attention beside him.


    As he took his seat, Feng Hai¡¯s eyes brightened as he looked at Miao Yi. Thetter cupped his fists and said, "Miao Yi respectfully greets Sect Master Feng."


    Feng Hai smiled, "Milord must be tired from the long journey here. Please have a seat!"


    A School of Blue Jade disciple immediately carried a chair over and ced it by his side. The Sect Master gestured for Miao Yi to take a seat. Everyone else in the grand hall didn¡¯t have the right to do so. Miao Yi had this right not as a result of his strength, but as a show of respect towards Miao Yi¡¯s background as a government official. It was inexcusable to have a government official stand beneath him whilst they were speaking.


    "May I know the reason as to why Milord hase to visit my School of Blue Jade?" Feng Hai asked.


    "This....," Miao Yi gazed took in everyone else. It wasn¡¯t convenient to share his matters with the public, so he replied, "I have some personal matters that I wish to consult Elder Hong with. I never expected that I would cause the Sect Master toe over himself in his carriage. I am truly sorry."


    Everyone immediately understood that it was a sensitive matter that was difficult to disclose in public. Feng Hai threw a look at Hong Changhai, but he didn¡¯t probe any further.


    Following that, they simply exchanged a few casual words of courtesy, but it was impossible to have the leader of a sect like Feng Hai apany a mere Steed Deputy like Miao Yi, and be all chummy.


    After Feng Hai instructed Tong Renmei to entertain their esteemed guest well, he departed and was sent-off by everyone.


    As Hang Changhai sent the Sect Master off from the grand hall, his expression twitched ferociously. Miao Yi had already stated that he had private matters to consult with him, but the Sect Master still asked for Tong Renmei to entertain him...


    The mighty School of Blue Jade naturally wasn¡¯t short of guesthouses to entertain guests with. Tong Renmei personally apanied Miao Yi into a guesthouse.


    Great walls surrounded arge courtyard as ancient boles cast towering shadows. Water flowed beneath a small bridge, creating a beautiful contrast with the rockery. A pavilion stood by the water¡¯s edge, surrounded by a peacefulndscape. ¡®The sparrow may be small, but it¡¯s vital organs were whole¡¯ ¡ªthis was an ideal ce for one who wished to have a quiet stay. It was perfect for entertaining guests.


    Tong Renmei personally guided Miao Yi on a tour around the guesthouse with its serene and tranquil environment, saying, "This ce is not as well-endowed by nature as thend East Arrival Cave resides in. I hope Milord will not mind that the conditions may not be to your satisfaction."


    Miao Yi shook his head, "Elder Tong is exaggerating. Even though the environment in East Arrival Cave is good, it has seen much turmoil and conflict. It cannotpare to thisnd¡¯s deep-rooted tranquility."


    He wasn¡¯t giving shallow praise. Every one of the Caves were constantly at war and had seen much destruction. They were truly incapable of creating such a foundation. Take the ancient trees that were easily a hundred years old in the courtyard for example¡ªnone of those were in East Arrival Cave. They could only approximate a foundation like theirs by transnting some grass, flowers, and the like. This was the difference in foundation. All the money in the world could not buy it.


    "Speaking of seeing much conflict. I have heard much in the School of Blue Jade of Milord¡¯s heroic feats in leading your subordinates to defeat strong foes time and time again. Milord is a very promising youth whose future is bound to be bright."


    "I was just lucky. I have the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples to thank for always risking their life to help me. If therees a day when my future is truly bright and assured, I surely will not forget the deeds that the School of Blue Jade has done for me."


    The two of them spent some time in the courtyard tooting each other¡¯s horn. Once they entered the main hall and took their seats, Tong Renmei finally touched on the main topic, "Previously in the grand hall, I heard Milord say that you havee to visit to attend to a personal matter. May I know if I could be of any assistance?"


    Miao Yiughed to himself. ¡®Was it because his background as a government official was mighty? Or was it because he himself was very important indeed? There were actually people who couldn¡¯t wait to cast Hong Changhai aside so that they could work for him.¡¯


    Naturally, he couldn¡¯t believe that he was very important. He only believed that it was because his background as a government official was mighty.


    No matter how strong he was, he was still just a Steed Deputy. He had no idea that the reason for this treatment wasrgely because of Hong Changhai. To protect himself, Hong Changhai heavily boasted of Miao Yi¡¯s deeds and praised him to the skies. He made it seem as though Miao Yi had some great potential worth manipting.


    He had no choice. If Miao Yi lost any value to the School of Blue Jade, even if Hong Changhai monopolized on this connection between them, no one would pay him any heed.


    Not to mention, ording to the news sent over by the other School of Blue Jade disciples in the two Manors, this former East Arrival Cave Cave Master was indeed rather proud.


    When Yang Qing was on the brink of a precarious situation, this fellow battled against Zhang Decheng¡¯s forces to the north¡ªsingle-handedly killing his way in and out of an encirclement of two hundred men and saving Yang Qing¡¯s daughter against all odds. Then to the south, he fought against Liu Jingtian¡¯s ambush¡ªforcing the other party to return in defeat, and even killing Mount Returning Loyalty¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Su Biao. Even though he was a mere Cave Master, his battle records among both Manors were nothing short of valiant.


    If no idents ured to someone like him, he was bound to be promoted. Otherwise, it would be an injustice.


    What was even more awe-inspiring, was that he actually dared to lead the forces of a single Cave to attack Mount Shaotai¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao twice. His was a mighty presence within Yang Qing¡¯s two Manors.


    As for him inciting Yang Qing¡¯s wrath, the School of Blue Jade would not believe it. When they were still working with Yang Qing previously, the School of Blue Jade knew that this fellow was highly regarded by Yang Qing. He even went as far as to promote him to a Cave Master, even with his White Lotus First Grade cultivation. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to call him Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide.


    When he was demoted to a Steed Deputy and Yan Xiu took his ce as East Arrival CaveMaster, the authority in East Arrival Cave still resided in his hands. It might seem like Yang Qing was biased towards Xiong Xiao and was punishing Miao Yi, but the School of Blue Jade was sure that Xiong Xiao¡¯s ce in Yang Qing¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t evenpare to Miao Yi.


    As such, the School of Blue Jade was sure that it was simply a matter of time for him to be reinstated. When his cultivation increased, he would probably be a Mountain Chieftain within the next hundred years.


    Additionally, almost all of his subordinates were the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples; and all of them were under Hong Changhai¡¯s line of disciples to boot. What did it signify once he became a Mountain Chieftain? It meant that there was no one else he could use. Once he was promoted to Mountain Chieftain, most of the posts of his subordinate Cave Masters were sure to be taken up by Hong Changhai¡¯s disciples.


    The situation now was no longer as it was before. Yang Qing was no longer restrained by the School of Blue Jade. Once the time came, Yang Qing surely wouldn¡¯t be too opposed to it.


    When that happened, this also meant that Hong Changhai¡¯s disciples would gain control over a territory popted by over a million followers. The benefits that the School of Blue Jade would be provided with would instantly multiply. For example, allowing the School of Blue Jade to have a monopoly over a certain area within their territory purely for business endeavours, it would already be able to provide the School of Blue Jade with a wealth of Crystal Coins in profit.


    When that happened, the entire School of Blue Jade would have to act on the whims of Hong Changhai. Otherwise, if he was even slightly unhappy, he could simply order his disciples to obstruct the supply. At that time, Hong Changhai would probably be brought back to his high pedestal with the help of his disciples.


    How could any of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s Elders resist such a great benefit before their eyes? Tong Renmei naturally didn¡¯t want Hong Changhai to seed. Since he had already taken this position, how could he part with it so easily?

 Chapter 241: A Matter to Entrust

    Chapter 241: A Matter to Entrust


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    However, Miao Yi made Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan a promise. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t disappoint his two subordinates so easily. He reckoned he was still rather trustworthy when it came to his own people.


    That being said, he wasn¡¯t so easy to sway. It wasn¡¯t purely out of luck that he managed to survive for this long. Since he dared toe here alone, he clearly had his own ns, so he wouldn¡¯t outright deny Tong Renmei.


    "How could I trouble Elder Tong for something so trivial! Haha. I am slightly tired from the arduous journey these past two days...," Miao Yi smiled as he lifted the cup of tea to his lips and took a sip.


    This was an indication for them to leave. Seated beside him, Zhan Lisong and Tang Yue¡¯s expression darkened as they threw a cold re at Miao Yi.


    Tong Renmei narrowed his eyes at Miao Yi as well, but he didn¡¯t press him too hard. It wasn¡¯t polite to press the other person when he just arrived. He immediately stood up and smiled, "Milord must be tired from the long journey. Please rest for the time being. Once you have regained your strength, we shall hold a grand banquet for you! We shan¡¯t disturb you any longer."


    Miao Yi stood up and smiled, "Then, I won¡¯t be sending you off!"


    Both parties cupped their fists and bid their farewells. As Tong Renmei lead the other two Elders out the main hall, he shifted his nce towards two young boys who were ordered to stand beside the door and furrowed his brows slightly.


    Once the three gained some distance from the guesthouse, Tong Renmei stopped in his tracks. He turned and asked Tang Yue, "Junior Brother. Why did you arrange for two young boys to wait on him?"


    Tang Yue was startled, "Senior Brother. Isn¡¯t this our usual arrangement when guests pay a visit?"


    Zhan Lisong nodded, "That¡¯s right. Guests normally liked to have their own privacy. That¡¯s why they are most at ease when we arrange for a couple of young boys who don¡¯t have much of a cultivation. They prefer this as well."


    "Is he your average guest?" Tong Renmei asked. He waved his hand and said, "He is not. For someone of the administration like him, the treatment he received was different from the cultivators of a school like us. He would always have beautiful women by his side waiting on him. He might not like that we arranged for two young boys."


    His two Junior Brothers were taken aback. In the School of Blue Jade, the only ones present besides their follow disciples, were their family members. They were a legitimate school, and not some immoral ce. Where would they find beautiful women to wait on the other person? They couldn¡¯t very well have someone rush out of the mountain on horseback to the nearest city, and have two hostessese over right then, could they?


    That was impossible. If they invited hostesses over to the school, it would sully the school¡¯s reputation. The consequences would be severe if word of it got out. Not to mention, the other person already had a hundred, thousand followers under his control¡ªhe could probably obtain all manner of beautiful women with a single word. He might not even take a fancy to any of those hostesses. Why go through so much trouble for something that didn¡¯t guarantee rewards?


    Seeing that the other two still didn¡¯t understand him, Tong Renmeimanded, "Go find two young and beautiful female disciples and bring them here."


    "Ah! This...," Tang Yue burst out in cold sweat. This was making things difficult for him. He added, "Senior Brother. Is it appropriate to have our school¡¯s female disciples ¡®entertain the guest¡¯? I¡¯m afraid those female disciples won¡¯t be willing to do something like that as well. If the Sect Master hears of this..."


    "Do something like what?" Tong Renmei abruptly faced them and asked, "Did I say that we would have them do something unscrupulous and shameless?"


    ¡®Isn¡¯t this exactly what you mean?¡¯ The two grumbled to themselves. However, on the surface, they still let out a flustered, "No."


    Tong Renmei spoke earnestly, "We are having them represent the School of Blue Jade to fulfill our roles as the host and entertain the guest¡ªnot to have them do anything else. However, you have to make it clear to them that this is someone who could fill East Arrival Cave with twenty of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples in a single breath. Now that three have perished, it is probably a given that he will recruit another two more. Whomever is able to entertain the guest satisfactorily, may just be considered for recruitment into East Arrival Cave. When that happens, he only needs to say the word and our side naturally won¡¯t hinder him."


    The two Junior Brothers were sweating buckets. ¡®You just went full circle but in the end, we¡¯re still having our school¡¯s female disciples do that kind of thing.¡¯


    Tang Yue was in charge of handling this matter, and this put him on the spot a little, so he said, "Senior Brother. I feel that the cultivation of those young female disciples isn¡¯t sufficient to join East Arrival Cave, isn¡¯t it? Those who are, will be a little too old. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s suitable either."


    "That will depend on their capabilities. Under normal circumstances, they would never get the chance to show themselves. Such an opportunity is difficult toe by. At their young age, they would be able to enter East Arrival Cave, and have a share in the bountiful power of will of the realm. Their cultivations would rise by leaps and bounds with it. This is something that many could only dream of achieving. It is their good fortune toe across it. Whether they can grasp this opportunity or not is up to them."


    "....Understood!"


    "Remember. Find two dependable ones. It would be best if they could serve as our spies, should they seed in entering East Arrival Cave. Currently, East Arrival Cave is filled with only Hong Changhai¡¯s men. His every word is taken as thew on keeping abreast of the situation, whilst we remainpletely in the dark. Additionally, have them keep an eye on Miao Yi during his stay here."


    "Understood!" Tang Yue could only grit his teeth and ept it, whilst thinking to himself¡ª ¡®You won¡¯t even say a single ¡®unclean¡¯ word, yet you¡¯re having me do something so unscrupulous. How would an honourable Elder like myself ask this of those female disciplester on!? This is like forcing young girls from respectable families to prostitute themselves!¡¯


    Thus, two of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s female disciples who were a cut above the rest in both body figure and beauty came to the guesthouse in the end. They intended to rece the two young boys who were waiting on their esteemed guest.


    However, they were stopped by the two guardsmen at the gate of the courtyard¡ªYuan Fang and Lai Yuhan.


    Even though the two of them were the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples, they were currently East Arrival Cave¡¯s men as well. It was their duty to ensure Miao Yi¡¯s safety. How could they allow someone to enter so easily and disturb Miao Yi?


    After the two female disciples respectfully greeted their two fellow seniors, they awkwardly stated the reason for theiring here.


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan still remembered the School of Blue Jade¡¯s rules clearly. When guests paid them a visit, they were always waited on by intelligent and capable young boys. Why would they change to female disciples?


    The two of them were a little suspicion as they verified the two girls¡¯ identities. Then, one of them brought them in to switch with the two young boys.


    The two young boys had been in the midst of boiling water to prepare for the guest¡¯s bath. Not everyone had a hot spring after all.


    As he went to bathe, Miao Yi wasn¡¯t aware of how the School of Blue Jade usually entertained their guests, so he didn¡¯t feel it was odd when he saw two girlsing in to attend to him. He had already gotten ustomed to having Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er wait on him.


    He very naturally extended his arms and allowed the two female disciples to undress him.


    However, he felt something was off. These two female disciples behaved like novices. Their movements were clumsy as they tried to undress him, and were even trembling somewhat.


    After Miao Yi dipped down into the water, the two fidgety girls grit their teeth and took their own clothes off in the end. For someone who could ept Tang Yue¡¯s conditions and perform such an act, they had surely already surrendered everything for the sake of their future.


    They revealed their graceful figures and snow-white skin. With only their body huggers on, they trembled as they got into the waters. They stood on either side of Miao Yi and started washing him with their shaky hands. They were clearly unustomed toing into contact with a man¡¯s skin. Theypletely couldn¡¯tpare to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, who had gone through rigorous training before being sent to East Arrival Cave to serve Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi looked at flushed faces of the two girls beside him and shook his head. ¡®These two don¡¯t even know how to attend to someone at all. Why were they sent here?¡¯


    In the end, Miao Yi took it upon himself and casually washed himself. Then, he got out of the bath, put on his clothes and walked away. He didn¡¯t do anything to the two girls, and didn¡¯t say a single word to either of them either; he left the two female disciples feeling baffled and stuck in the water.


    It seemed they failed to win the esteemed guest¡¯s fancy!


    The two female disciples ground their teeth. Since the situation hade to this even after taking all their clothes off..., the two of them were prepared to pull out all the stops tonight. For the sake of their futures, they would have to disappoint a certain Senior Brother of theirs!


    That night, Tong Renmei held a banquet for Miao Yi at the guesthouse. He acted like he didn¡¯t notice that the two young boys previously serving Miao Yi had been reced by two female disciples, and carried on as if he had absolutely nothing to do with it.


    The banquet came to an end. After a few people bid their farewells, Hong Changhai finally managed to sneak over, and asked his two disciples in a low voice, "Have Tong Renmei and his lot left?"


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan nodded. After looking around, they allowed their Master to enter.


    When he entered the main hall, Hong Changhai suddenly caught sight of the two female disciples serving there. After being stunned for a moment, he sternly questioned them, "What are the two of you doing here?"


    The female disciples nervously replied , "We are here to serve the Lord."


    "Serve him?" Hong Changhai suspiciously said.


    He didn¡¯t think anything of it, and simply assumed that Miao Yi was used to being waited on by women. After rebuking the two girls, he had them withdraw before entering the main hall and went to stand beside Miao Yi.


    "Elder Hong. Is something wrong?" asked Miao Yi, gesturing to the two female disciples who were departing out the door with his lips.


    "Haha! It¡¯s nothing." Hong Changhai waved his hand. Since the guest liked to be waited on by women, he wouldn¡¯t spoil his fun.


    Miao Yi was suddenly shouldering a crime he did notmit. He didn¡¯t ask to be waited on by any beautiful women.


    He wasn¡¯t some lustful beast that wanted to mount every woman he saw. If he were, not only would Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er have long lost their purity¡ªwhat manner of beautiful women in East Arrival City could he not obtain? It would only take a single word, and someone would instantly find some way to amodate him.


    When the two sat down, Hong Changhaiughed, "Milord. Did you have a good discussion with Elder Tong?"


    Miao Yi knew what he was worried about. He smiled and said, "Fret not, Elder Hong. Your beloved disciples are working under mymand. How could I act in a manner that would chill the hearts of my subordinates?"


    Hong Changhai was instantly relieved. He rxed his brows and said, "Earlier today in the grand hall, Milord told the Sect Master that you had a personal matter to consult with this old man. This old man hase here precisely to hear Milord out."


    He had secretly asked Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan once about what Miao Yi hade here to do. However, the two of them didn¡¯t know anything either. They only knew that Miao Yi had suddenly decided toe here. There weren¡¯t any forewarning or clues beforehand whatsoever. They couldn¡¯t make a good guess even if they wanted to.


    "Actually, it¡¯s nothing major. I simply wanted to ask whether Elder Hong still remembers thest time the Boundless Secr World opened?"


    "I naturally wouldn¡¯t forget an incident as significant as that. It was something that happened over tens of years ago."


    "Yuan Fang and the rest told me that the School of Blue Jade didn¡¯t take part in this incident at the time."


    Hong Changhai revealed a bitter smile, "How could any school take part in something like this? The Glorious Star Immortal Herb is something desired by all sects and schools. The ones that took part in this incident were the major schools within the twelve Overlord¡¯s domains. My School of Blue Jade was forced to stand aside by them. Why is Milord asking about this?"


    "There is a city within South Edict Manor¡¯s territory called Changfeng City. When the Boundless Secr World opened that year, there were a few schools that were in the vicinity," recounted Miao Yi, before asking, "Can Elder Hong help me inquire around about the schools that were sent to Changfeng City at the time?"


    Hong Changhai wasn¡¯t sure what Miao Yi intended with his line of questioning, and simply replied, "The ones that were able to take part in that incident were those schools alone, so it shouldn¡¯t be hard to discover. It should be clear after simply asking around the schools that took part in the incident that year."


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression abruptly tensed, "Does Elder Hong know of any familiar schools to ask?"


    Hong Changhaiughed, "Even though the School of Blue Jade isn¡¯t some major school, but this old man has been around the cultivation realm for many years. I still know a few familiar faces within some schools. This shouldn¡¯t be too difficult."


    "Then can I entrust Elder Hong to handle this matter?"


    "Milord is exaggerating. Such a small matter is no trouble at all, so why go to the extent of asking if you can trust me with it or not? This old man will simply try his best," said Hong Changhai as he indulgently waved his hand. However, he still carried a slight suspicion and asked, "Did Milorde here simply to ask about these schools?"

 Chapter 242: Twin Fairies Beyond Heaven

    Chapter 242: Twin Fairies Beyond Heaven


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Of course it wasn¡¯t simply to ask about these schools. Miao Yi was a little hesitant, but in the end still said it out, "My main objective is to find two people."


    "Oh!" Hong Changhai asked, "Who is Milord searching for?"


    "One boy and one girl. That year, when the Boundless Secr World¡¯s seal was lifted, the two of them entered two different schools that were situated around Changfeng City. s, I¡¯m not sure which two schools they were. I only have a few clues to work with. I¡¯m not sure if Elder Hong can figure anything out from them."


    "Since you can provide clues, that will surely allow us to narrow down the search. Pray tell, Milord. Maybe this old man can determine which school it was based on them."


    Of course he was going to speak of it. Miao Yi gave a nod, and thought back with a solemn face, "Now that I think about it, there were many strange things about one of the schools that set it apart from the others. At the time, it was actually hidden within a small residence, but when we pushed open the gates and entered, we found an entirely different realm within. Inside, we were met with shing rays of lights, and waves of a rich aura interwoven together. The sound of heavenly music lingered in the air as exotic smells assailed our nostrils. Standing to the left and right were numerous majestic-looking demigods d in golden armour. The sight was truly awe-inspiring, as though it was a sacrednd beyond heaven. Within the inner reaches of the residence, surrounded by all that dazzling light and rich auras¡ªwas a yellow-robed cultivator sitting cross-legged on a shimmering lotus flower throne, with a sword on his back. He possessed an amiable countenance, and seemed both friendly and benevolent. Has Elder Hong ever heard of a school with such an extravagant disy, or one with a cultivator who enjoyed such extravagance? A cultivator bearing a friendly countenance, wielding a sword, and clothed in yellow robes?"


    "....." Hong Changhai waspletely stupefied. He mused, ¡®shing rays of light? Interwoven waves of rich auras? Sounds of heavenly music lingering in the air? Nostrils assailed by exotic smells? A lotus flower throne? And majestic-looking gods d in golden armor? Are you messing with me?¡¯


    After being stunned for a while, Hong Changhai didn¡¯t know whether he shouldugh or cry as he said, "Milord. Forgive me for being blunt, but what you just described is exactly the legend being spread among the mortals. It¡¯s too strange, and practically inconceivable¡ªthere shouldn¡¯t be any school in the cultivation realm with a disy as exotic as the one you just described. Where did Milord hear this from? Could there be a mistake?"


    Miao Yi shook his head, "There is no mistake. I saw it with my own eyes!"


    "Uhh..., you saw it with your own eyes?" Hong Changhai immediately tried to think of something as he stroked his beard. He racked his brains, but simply shook his head in the end, "I have never heard of a school with a disy so overly mboyant. Furthermore, when the Boundless Secr World¡¯s seal was lifted, the various schools had an agreement on the recruitment of disciples. For the sake of fairness, they were forbidden from making disys of any sort to try and entice mortals, much less such a spectacle. Did Milord mistake it for something else? You must know, not even the Six Sages themselves would create such an unbelievable disy of grandeur. Forgive me for being blunt, but the scenes Milord described only exists in legends that are spread among the mortals!"


    Miao Yi was adamant, "There was no mistaking it. Please consider it once more, Elder Hong. Check if you may have missed anything."


    "This....," Hong Changhai didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. That said, he still did as he was told and racked his brains to try and think of something. However, he still ended up shaking his head, "I have truly never heard of any such school with such an unbelievably pretentious disy. Not to mention, Milord said that the yellow-robed cultivator was sitting on a glowing lotus flower throne. That made even less sense. Of all the cultivators in our Celestial Nation, none of the schools follow the practice of sitting on a lotus flower throne. There might be a possibility if it was a cultivator of the Boundless Nation, or the Buddha Nation, but it is impossible for the Celestial Nation to allow those two Nations to send their schools over to her own territory and recruit disciples right when the Boundless Secr World¡¯s seal was lifted."


    When Miao Yi heard this, he thought for a moment and had to agree. What the other person said was indeed logical. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh in disappointment, "Has Elder Hong really never heard of a school like this?"


    Elder Hong shook his head, "It could be that my knowledge is limited, but the way I see it, there may be one other possibility..."


    Miao Yi anxiously asked, "What is that possibility?"


    Elder Hong looked up at Miao Yi and said, "An illusion! Someone with arge reserve of transcendence energy used a great art to create an illusion, and then casted a deceptive vision over Milord¡¯s mind¡¯s eye"


    Miao Yi was shocked, "Is that possible?"


    "It is!" Elder Hong nodded his head with certainty. "To someone possessing a deep and profound cultivation, it shouldn¡¯t be a difficult matter. If it really was a Milord described, then I believe there is arge possibility that this was the case. ording to the agreement made by the various schools, they were not allowed to set up any grand disys in those ces to draw in the mortals. Not to mention the sound of heavenly music, the scene Milord described was simply too grand¡ªit would be impossible to escape the attention of the various schools as they watched one another, especially in such a small confined space. Unless there was truly someone who could create a new dimension within that space, only then would it be possible. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to hide it. Even more so in such a small residence. All these signs point to one thing¡ªthere is a high chance that it was an illusion intentionally created by someone with ill intent."


    ¡®Little Brother!¡¯ Miao Yi felt a surge of worry, and stood rooted to the spot in a daze. ¡®If it was really the work of someone intentionally hiding his true identity, then how was he going to find his Little Brother from now on?¡¯


    He couldn¡¯t understand why the other person would do such a thing. If it was for the sake of obtaining the immortal herb, the other person could have easily tricked him into giving away the other immortal herb in his hand at the time as well....


    Miao Yi thoughts were inplete disarray....


    "Milord. Milord!" Hong Changhai had to shout a few times before Miao Yi came to his senses. Miao Yi cupped his fists and apologized.


    Hong Changhai asked again, "May I know about the clue pertaining to the other school?"


    As he said this, he was wondering, ¡®The other school can¡¯t be even more inconceivable, would it?¡¯


    After Miao Yi regained hisposure, he thought for a moment before saying, "The clues surrounding the other school were a little more obviouspared to the previous one. Many had borne witness to it. At the time, Fairy Hong Chen of the Realm Beyond Heaven descended upon that particr school. Its location was roughly at-"


    "Fairy Hong Chen?" Hong Changhai eximed, cutting him off. At first, he couldn¡¯t figure out where this tiny Changfeng City was, but when Miao Yi mentioned Fairy Hong Chen, it immediately came to his mind. Nodding repeatedly, he said, "So it was THAT Changfeng City! I understand now. The school Milord is speaking of must be the one within the domain of the First Earthly Branch¡¯s Overlords¡ªthe Glorious Cloud Sect."


    "Glorious Cloud Sect?" Miao Yi¡¯s earlier dejected spirits was instantly lifted. "How can Elder Hong be sure that it was the Glorious Cloud Sect? There is quite a distance between the domain of the First Earthly Branch¡¯s Overlord, and the Fifth Earthly Branch."


    "If Milord didn¡¯t mention about Fairy Hong Chen, I would never have realized. Has Milord never heard of the ¡®Twin Fairies Beyond Heaven¡¯ from the Realm Beyond Heaven?"


    "The Twin Fairies Beyond Heaven?" Miao Yi nkly said. He rubbed his nose, fully aware that his own knowledge was limited. He could only cup his fists and ask for guidance, "Please unravel this mystery for me, Elder Hong."


    "Milord¡¯s mind is taken with the affairs of the Cave. It¡¯s natural for Milord to not have any concern to spare for this." Hong Changhai was afraid that things would be awkward for him, so he immediately humoured him to ease the situation, before chuckling, "Speaking of these ¡®Twins Fairies Beyond Heaven¡¯, they are a couple of stunning fairies of the Realm Beyond Heaven. One is Fairy Hong Chen. The other is Fairy Yue Yao. Without even speaking of their cultivations, their beauty alone is enough to convince those who behold them that they were born of divinity. Their peerless beauty is truly enough to topple nations. Not only do both of these heavenly beauties belong to the same school, they are also disciples of the Mu Fanjun of the Realm Beyond Heaven. They are not someone that the everyday riffraff can hope to approach. People like us can only admire them from afar."


    Miao Yi nodded. This, he believed.


    This was because he had the fortune of catching a glimpse of Fairy Hong Chen from not far away. Saying that her appearance was a peerless beauty capable of toppling nations was no exaggeration at all. Even after all this time, he still felt a deep yearning in his heart. That one moment was firmly engraved into his heart, so much that he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to forget it for the rest of his life. He had yet to see a woman more beautiful than Fairy Hong Chen in his entire life. She was truly too beautiful. Any man who saw her would probably have difficulty trying to forget her as well.


    Only, this wasn¡¯t his main concern. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but curiously ask, "Does this have anything to do with the school that I¡¯m talking about?"


    "How could it not have anything to do with it? Fairy Yue Yao was precisely from the Glorious Cloud Sect! Wait, that¡¯s not right. That¡¯s not exactly the case either." When it came to the subject of beautiful women, it seemed even old men were no exception; Hong Chanhai¡¯s attention had been caught and he excitedly said, "It happened exactly during thest opening of the Boundless Secr World. For some unknown reason, Fairy Hong Chen descended upon thend where the Glorious Cloud Sect was situated. It was just then that the Glorious Cloud Sect recruited a follower with a ¡®Phoenix form¡¯ as their disciple."


    "Phoenix form? " Miao Yi sucked in a breath of cold air. Even though his knowledge was limited, he was no longer the ignorant fool he was before. He obviously knew the significance of the so-called ¡®Phoenix form¡¯ in the cultivation realm.


    The ¡®Bearing of Dragon and Phoenix¡¯ referred to certain types of people, with the male being the dragon, and the female being the phoenix. People bearing these two types of cultivation aptitudes would have twice the results with half the effort when it came to cultivation. It was a gift bestowed upon them by the heavens. It wasn¡¯t something that one could obtain just because he or she wished. It was the greatest cultivation aptitude in existence.


    Dating back to ancient times, the people that bore these types of aptitudes would either find great sess or go out to create sects and schools. The various major schools would attempt to recruit them at all costs each time one appeared. It was clear how highly sought after they were.


    Miao Yi never expected that a ¡®Phoenix form¡¯ bearer would appear in the ancient Changfeng City right when the seal on the Boundless Secr World was lifted that year. He wasn¡¯t sure if that person was a local of Changfeng City, or someone that had rushed to Changfeng City from a foreignnd. There were many people from variousnds that congregated at Changfeng City at the time, after all.


    "Correct. It is indeed the Phoenix form!" Hong Changhai chuckled, "It was unfortunate for the Glorious Cloud Sect. A Phoenix form bearer was already at their doorstep right when Fairy Hong Chen coincidentally descended upon them. Let me ask Milord¡ªif Fairy Hong Chen took a fancy to that person and wanted to bring her away, who in the Glorious Cloud Sect could resist? In the end, they could only stand by and watch as Fairy Hong Chen brought the person away with her and flew off. After which, that female disciple was immediately bestowed with the title of ¡®Yue Yao¡¯ by Mu Fanjun as soon as she stepped into the Realm Beyond Heaven and was epted as Mu Fanjun¡¯s disciple. Right now, she is Mu Fanjun¡¯s youngest disciple and also the Fairy Yue Yao that we know of today. Such a fortuitous opportunity would make anyone sigh in jealousy!"


    "It¡¯s indeed quite deserving of a sigh!" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t helpmenting either when he heard this¡ªfrom a mere mortal, to instantly bing Mu Fanjun¡¯s disciple; it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that the sheer distance that she had jumped between these two statuses was akin to having crossed a gap that normal people would have to struggle for ten thousand years to attain. No words could describe the amount of envy that he felt.


    However, he never even thought that this person could be his Little Sister. In his eyes, his Little Sister was nothing but a dirty, snot-nosed little crybaby. He hadn¡¯t considered her beautiful even though they stayed together for so long. If someone told him that his Little Sister was able to grow to be Fairy Yue Yao, whose beauty was on par with Fairy Hong Chen¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t believe it even if they beat him to death; he wouldn¡¯t have such unbelievable thoughts of his Little Sister either.


    s, the world was like a game of chess. The rise and fall of the river of fate was full of unexpected twists and turns!


    However, he still tried to ask, "Then do you know of that Fairy Yue Yao¡¯s true name?"


    "This I do not know. It seemed no one had ever mentioned it in the rumors before!" Hong Changhai shook his head.


    Now, Miao Yi finally understood why Hong Changhai could be so sure that the school he was referring to was the Glorious Cloud Sect. For something so coincidental to ur, it would be difficult to forget about it even if one tried.


    ¡®It seems like Little Sister is at Glorious Cloud Sect then. I wonder how she is doing!¡¯ Yi took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Then he cupped his fists and said, "Is Elder Hong familiar with anyone in Glorious Cloud Sect that you could introduce me to?"


    He never expected that his Little Sister would be so far away. The distance between the First Earthly Branch and the Fifth Earthly Branch wasn¡¯t small. It would likely be dangerous for him to head to such a foreign ce with his cultivation, but how could he even be bothered with danger right now? His only concern was that Glorious Cloud Sect¡¯s status was too high and no one may even pay him any heed if him didn¡¯t know anyone there. Therefore, he had to ask Hong Changhai.

 Chapter 243: Inconsiderate

    Chapter 243: Inconsiderate


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    "Anyone familiar hmm...," Hong Changhai mumbled, then shook his head. "In my younger years, I was acquainted with a disciple of the Glorious Cloud Sect. I wouldn¡¯t call us acquaintances though. More like enemies. I nearly lost my life to him once."


    Miao Yi was speechless. ¡®You¡¯re better off not telling me then.¡¯ Thinking to himself, he got up and started pacing back and forth with his arms crossed behind his back, muttering under his breath all the while.


    "Milord, you wish to go to the Glorious Cloud Sect?" Hong Changhai asked probingly.


    He didn¡¯t know if Miao Yi heard him or not, but Miao Yi came to a sudden halt, his eyes brightened as he suddenly remembered a certain someone. That person was highly likely to be in Glorious Cloud Sect.


    He lightly sped his hands and resolved in his mind. Abruptly turning around, he said, "Elder Hong. I wish to make a journey to the Glorious Cloud Sect. Does the School of Blue Jade have any manpower to spare me on this journey?"


    It would be unwise to go on his own for a journey this long. It was best to find some bodyguards.


    Right now, not knowing who abducted his Little Brother was already quite worrying. Only the traces he found of his Little Sister were more reassuring. Since matters had escted to this extent, he was in a hurry to make this journey. He could only cast the matter of visiting the capital aside for the moment. He couldn¡¯t lose his Little Sister as well after losing his Little Brother.


    As for his Little Brother, he would think about that after finding his Little Sister. In the future, he would definitely pull out all the stops and have all the people across the realm help him search. This, he swore!


    "Ah!" Hong Changhai stood up as well. He was at a loss for words. To have the School of Blue Jade send an escort to apany him to such a faraway ce... He couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly, "Milord. The distance between the Fifth Earthly Branch to the First Earthly Branch is oveid with many mountains and rivers. There are many unpredictable factors in such a journey. I¡¯m afraid the School of Blue Jade... May I know what kind of person Milord is searching for exactly?"


    Normally, it would have been fine, but he now no longer had the authority to influence the School of Blue Jade¡¯s manpower anymore. He could work something out if it was within the school¡ªafter all, he still had his own line of disciples who would listen to hismand¡ªbut if it was to undertake missions outside of the School of Blue Jade, then he must first gain approval.


    ¡®Do I really need to tell you who exactly I¡¯m searching for?¡¯ Miao Yi could hear from his tone that it would be difficult for him. He faintly smiled, "Can I trust Elder Hong to keep the matters we¡¯ve discussed today a secret?"


    Hong Changhai replied, "Besides you and I, only the Heavens and the Earth shall know of it."


    Contrary to his expectations, Miao Yi then chuckled and said, "After travelling for so many days, I am feeling a little tired."


    Hong Changhai was dumbfounded. ¡®He¡¯s sending me off already?¡¯


    The other party was so decisive that he found it hard to keep up. The second they had a single disagreement, he was practically pushing for him to leave without a single exnation. This was way too erratic... However, Hong Changhai immediately stepped forward and cupped his fists to say, "Please rest for now, Milord. I shall go and figure something out for you. Regardless of whether or not I seed, I will definitely give you an answer before sundown tomorrow!"


    "Please!" Miao Yi nodded. He didn¡¯t make things difficult for the other person. He extended his arm and gestured to the door for him. Then, he personally sent him out the front gate.


    After Hong Changhai left, Miao Yi stood at the foot of the steps leading to the front gate, staring at the moon with a nk expression on his face. Then he turned and said, "Yuan Fang. Yuhan. I want both of you to rush back to East Arrival Cave through the night.


    The two charged with keeping guard exchanged nces, then cupped their fists to receive the order. They then asked, "Milord. Are you not returning?"


    "I have other matters to attend to. You don¡¯t have to worry about me. Once you return, make sure to protect the Cave well!" Miao Yi motioned with his hand andmanded, "Leave this instant!"


    "Understood!" Both of them replied. Then, Yuan Fang asked, "Where are you going, Milord?"


    "I¡¯ll be fine. If any mishaps ur within the School of Blue Jade, the both of you won¡¯t be able to protect me anyway. Just go!"


    "Understood!" The two of them immediately departed. Very soon, the faint sounds of dragon steeds galloping could be heard under the tranquil moonlight.


    Miao Yi was standing by the gate with his arms behind his back, basking under the cold moonlight, when he heard a sound from inside. He rushed back in and stood in the center of the courtyard shouting, "Somebody there!?"


    In the end there was no reply. He shouted a few more times after that, then he heard the subservient voices of two female disciplesing from his sleeping quarters saying, "Milord!"


    ¡®What is going on?¡¯ Miao Yi furrowed his brows. Something strange was going on. He immediately drew out his Inversed-Scales Spear and moved towards his bedchamber. Then, he lifted his leg and kicked the door open with a ¡®Bang!¡¯ .


    Inside the room, the candlelight flickered. All the furnishings were still intact. Outside, Miao Yi readied his spear. The Inversed-Scales Spear glimmered under the moonlight; its light reflecting onto Miao Yi¡¯s face, and revealing his frosty expression.


    He swept a cold gaze across the room as he slowly entered with spear in hand, ready for any unforeseen threat.


    Miao Yi kept his spear raised and stood inside the room. After quickly scanning around, his gaze fell upon his bed. He saw that there was something shuffling under the sheets. Someone was clearly hiding there.


    "Come out!" Miao Yi shouted.


    Something trembled from under the sheets, yet it didn¡¯t listen to him ande out.


    Miao Yi slowly approached, and carefully reached out with the sharp tip of his spear. Suddenly, he stabbed into the nket and flicked his hand up, sending it flying.


    When the people under the sheets were revealed, they immediately eximed, "AHHH!"


    Miao Yi stared wide-eyed at the scene before him, the icy expression on his face frozen in abject shock.


    Two young girls were frantically curling up their snow-white slender bodies, bringing their knees up to their chests and trembling all the while.


    Under the candlelight, every part of their skin was exposed. Looking like nothing more than startled little rabbits, their well-developed bosoms and privates were roughly visible, and quite arousing to one¡¯s blood.


    Miao Yi was utterly speechless. Even though Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would always wait on him in the bath, they would at least wear body huggers. This was the first time in his life that he had seen women stripped naked like this.


    His base instinct had him subconsciously swallowing a gulp of saliva, but he quickly calmed himself down. It was a little too abnormal for two of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s female disciples to sleep on his bed buck naked.


    "What are you two doing?" Miao Yi asked coldly.


    The two female disciples were ashamed to meet his eye, and kept their backs to him, their voices were quivering as they replied, "We havee to serve Milord."


    "Serve me?" Miao Yi was surprised. Then, he vaguely understood what was happening. ¡®They were buck naked. How else could they serve him?¡¯


    "If Milord doesn¡¯t mind, we are willing to warm Milord¡¯s bed for the night!"


    Their voices were already trembling so much, yet they were still able to say something like this. It was clear that they were really willing to go all the way for their futures.


    Miao Yi mocked, "I can¡¯t believe it. The honorable School of Blue Jade would actually go so far as to y these kinds of tricks. I¡¯ve truly seen everything today. Get up and get dressed this instant!"


    The two girls curled on the bed with their eyes closed from the shame, snapped open their eyes and bit their lips. One grit her teeth and asked, "Why is Milord being so cruel?"


    "Cruel? You whore, you actually dare y me for a fool. You have no idea what you¡¯re up against!" Miao Yi swung his spear. The roaring of dragons reverberated as transcendence energy rippled, "Do you think my spear isn¡¯t sharp enough? If you don¡¯t get up now, don¡¯t me me for bathing the sheets with your blood!"


    After being threatened, the two girls jumped up in fright. Burning from the unbearable shame and frustration, they covered up their ample bosoms and quickly mbered out. In that instant, all their skin was revealed. After getting off the bed, they quickly picked up their clothes, and faced their backs to Miao Yi as they hurriedly dressed.


    After they finished getting themselves in order, they turned to face Miao Yi again. Their faces were flushed with embarrassment as they bit their lips. Too afraid to lift their heads.


    For the two of them to bump into such an inconsiderate man, they felt like they had lost all their face from eight lifetimes on this day. They despised Elder Tang for having them do something do shameful.


    Miao Yi shouted, "Leave! Go and request for Elder Tong Renmei to see me now!"


    The minds of the two girls were in turmoil, shocked by his words, they abruptly raised their heads. When they heard that he wanted the Chief Elder toe over, the two of them were immediately nervous. Thinking that their guest wanted to talk to the Chief Elder about this matter, they immediately went on their knees with fear, and anxiously begged, "Please spare us, Milord. We know we are wrong. Milord, please spare us!"


    How would the two of them know that they were under Elder Tong¡¯s instructions toe here in the first ce? They only knew that if Elder Tong found out that they did something like this and made the School of Blue Jade lose face, he would never let them go! What was worse was that Elder Tang wouldn¡¯t admit to it when the timees, and there probably wouldn¡¯t be anyone who would go against him for their sakes either.


    "You girls are overthinking the matter. This has nothing to do with the two of you. You girls aren¡¯t worth getting into an argument for. I didn¡¯t see anything, and nothing happened. Hurry up and ask for Elder Tong. Just say that I have matters to discuss with him."


    The two girls left uneasily, with their hearts still perturbed. It was difficult to assure them both with mere words.


    Miao Yi tucked his spear away and walked out of the room. He went to stand in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, and waited under the moonlight. It was a cool and chilly night, with the shadows of old trees dancing about outside.


    He didn¡¯t have to wait long before the two worried-looking girls came back with Tong Renmei before them.


    The two cupped their fists and greeted each other. Miao Yi extended his arm and gestured for them to continue speaking in the main hall.


    After they entered the main hall and sat down, the two girls¡¯ hands were still trembling when they tried to serve them tea.


    "There¡¯s nothing more for the two of you to do here. Leave us!" Miao Yi dismissed the two girls. Then, he turned to face the smiling Tong Renmei and said, "Elder Hong came by just now."


    "Oh! Is that so?" Tong Renmei revealed a surprised expression. In truth, he had already known about it from the two girls earlier. The other reason the two girls were sent here, was originally to be used as spies. Additionally, he also had people keeping a watch over this ce. "It seems like Elder Hong really has a deep rtionship with Milord. He didn¡¯t even forget to pay Milord a visit sote in the night."


    "I wouldn¡¯t consider our rtionship to be as deep as you believe." Miao Yi said as he raised his cup of tea towards Tong Renmei. He took a sip, then ced it down and smiled, "At the very least, when I asked for Elder Hong¡¯s assistance on a small matter just now, he wasn¡¯t able to agree to it on the spot."


    Tong Renmei¡¯s interest was piqued, "May I know what matter of business troubled Elder Hong so?"


    "Truthfully, I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s such a big deal? It¡¯s just that I wish to make a long journey, and looked for Elder Hong to secure some men to escort me. s, Elder Hong was too rigid, and can only give me an answer before sundown tomorrow. What¡¯s more, it isn¡¯t guaranteed that he will seed," replied Miao Yi, shaking his head as though he was disappointed.


    When he heard this, Tong Renmei sneered to himself. Right now, he was the Chief Elder. Without his approval, Hong Changhai didn¡¯t have the authority to send their forces out on missions, unless he was able to obtain the Sect Master¡¯s approval.


    He could understand why Hong Changhai found this matter troubling, as well as the reason why Miao Yi sought him out. He slowly struck a stance, and leaned his body backwards slightly before smiling, "Elder Hong did right by being cautious."


    Tong Renmei raised his cup of tea and lifted the lid, gently blowing on the leaves floating on the surface. He was unhurried and nonchnt, and didn¡¯t continue speaking.


    He was waiting for Miao Yi to negotiate the terms with him.


    Miao Yi lightly raised his eyebrow, and replied, "Oh. Then in that case, I might as well wait for Elder Hong¡¯s reply then. He said he was going to look for your esteemed school¡¯s Grand Elder. I originally believed that the Grand Elder need not be troubled by such a trivial matter, which is why I asked Elder Tong. But now it seems like I was a little hasty." He cupped his fists, "For troubling Elder Tong withing all this way for such a trivial matter, it makes me ill at ease. I shan¡¯t disturb you any longer."


    If they couldn¡¯t agree, he would send them off immediately. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with their mannerisms.


    He wasn¡¯t someone so easily pushed around. For him to reach where he was standing today, he knew where his advantages, and disadvantages lie.


    Since the other party hadn¡¯t followed standard procedure, Tong Renmei was struck dumb. ¡®Don¡¯t you have something to ask of me since you asked me toe here? We haven¡¯t even discussed anything, and yet you don¡¯t want to talk about it anymore?¡¯


    Tong Renmei stood up. It seemed like he didn¡¯t intend to stay long either. However, he remarked, "Milord. You might not be aware of this, but Grand Elder is off on a trip to visit a friend. He won¡¯t be back so soon, I¡¯m afraid."


    Indeed, Miao Yi didn¡¯t know that the Grand Elder wasn¡¯t around. However, his matters were fixed, whereas the people handling them were flexible. How could he be threatened so easily. He gave a nod and said, "No matter. I¡¯ve already ordered Yuan Fang and Yuhan to rush back to East Arrival Cave through the night and gather my forces. If I don¡¯t hear Elder Hong¡¯s reply the end of the next day, my subordinates will naturally rush over to escort me!"

 Chapter 244: The Fallen Elder Hong

    Chapter 244: The Fallen Elder Hong


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan obviously didn¡¯t return to gather East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces. They were only returning to East Arrival Cave.


    There was a change in ns. For the moment, he decided not to head to the capital, and would instead be leaving the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s territory on a long journey to the First Earthly Branch. It would be inconvenient for him to thoughtlessly bring East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces across borders with his current status. After all, he was no longer the East Arrival Cave Master in name.


    There was another important reason for asking the two of them to return. He didn¡¯t want to make it difficult for Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan to face their Master Hong Changhai.


    Even though he promised them that he would stay on Hong Changhai¡¯s side, he was very dissatisfied with Hong Changhai¡¯s reply. ¡®What do you mean regardless if you seeded or not, you would give me an answer before sundown? Since it¡¯s troublesome for you to even manage some manpower within the School of Blue Jade, why should I offend someone else for your sake? Was our rtionship that good?¡¯


    One point was simply to help Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan avoid awkwardness. After this, Hong Changhai was sure to contact the two of them and ask about what happened. This time, he wanted to see what the two of them would do when faced with such a decision. He didn¡¯t mind what they ended up choosing in the end, but they had better not forget their current identities. If they were people who only knew how to follow Hong Changhai¡¯s instructions, then Miao Yi would really have to think hard about their standing from then on.


    He wanted Hong Changhai to understand one thing¡ª ¡®If you want to use me, better show me what you can help me with. If I ask you to do something, you better be quick about it. Don¡¯t give me some vague answer like whether you seeded or not.¡¯


    ¡®If you can¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll just find someone else. You¡¯re not my only option. In the future, you better throw your back into my tasks!¡¯


    It was the same for Tong Renmei. ¡®If you want to use me, show me what you can do. You don¡¯t have the right to negotiate with me!¡¯


    Tong Renmei seemed liked he wanted to leave, but he was stuck in his tracks, unable to take another step. When he came earlier, he did see that Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan, who used to guard the gate, were already gone. Furthermore, he already had people watching over this area. Those by the mountain gate already informed him that the two of them were returning to East Arrival Cave.


    He dropped his previously haughty air immediately. He was definitely someone who knew when to yield, and when not to. "Why must Milord trouble East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces? This old man still has ways of handling such a trivial matter. May I know how many men Milord requires, and where Milord is heading to?"


    "I¡¯m making a journey towards the domain of the First Earthly Branch¡¯s Overlord. The journey will be rather long. As for the number of men, I¡¯ll trust Elder Tong to handle it as you see fit."


    "The First Earthly Branch?" muttered Tong Renmei in bewilderment. He realized that this fellow was rather difficult to deal with¡ªhe simply did not let his guard down until he got what he wanted! Tong Renmei asked, "When is Milord nning to leave?"


    "The sooner the better. I¡¯ll be making my move once the men have assembled."


    "Please wait, Milord. I will make the necessary arrangements now." Tong Renmei had humbled his stance, quickly cupping his fists and intended to leave immediately.


    "Elder Tong!" Miao Yi suddenly shouted to him, and brought him to a halt.


    Tong Renmei turned to look back at him. He had already shown enough sincerity; he wasn¡¯t sure what else Miao Yi was going to ask of him.


    He never expected that Miao Yi would then say something so brazen, that it made his heart hammer with excitement.


    With an indifferent tone, Miao Yi said, "I trust Elder Tong knows about my rtionship with the Mount Shaotai Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao? I don¡¯t mind telling you this. I have been eyeing the Mount Shaotai Chieftain post for a while now. On this long journey, I will be sure to see if Elder Tong¡¯s line of disciples are helpful or not. If they are, when I gather my army andunch an attack on Mount Shaotai in the future, will Elder Tong be willing to lend me the necessary manpower for my campaign?"


    Truly someone who didn¡¯t lower his guard until he got what he wanted. Just after Tong Renmei took a step back andpromised, he revealed this sweet reward.


    Tong Renmei¡¯s eyes brightened. He immediately realized one thing¡ª ¡®After beating around the bush for half the day, this may be the true reason this fellow hade to the School of Blue Jade.¡¯


    He quickly walked back to Miao Yi, his attitude instantly changed as he continued in a whisper, "I don¡¯t have a problem on my end. However, I¡¯m afraid that Yang Qing might not be so willing to agree to our people joining."


    "I will settle this problem," said Miao Yi, narrowing his eyes at him. "Xiong Xiao is at the helm of two Mountains. You should know that for my East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces to take over those two Mountains, our forces are far from enough. Once the deed is done, I wonder if Elder Tong is willing to offer me ten Caves¡¯ worth of forces to help me oversee ten of the twenty Caves involved."


    "Milord need not worry about this!" assured Tong Renmei, and immediately after, whispered, "If Milord really requires our assistance when the timees, I can order the School of Blue Jade disciples within Xiong Xiao¡¯s forces to cooperate with you. Then, we will be able to eliminate Xiong Xiao and the disciples from the three major schools from both within and without!"


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t joking around. Since he had already progressed this far with his cultivation and strength, a tiny little East Arrival Cave was no longer enough to satisfy him. It was already at a point where dealing with Xiong Xiao was just a matter of time.


    His decision toe to the School of Blue Jade was made after much consideration. It wasn¡¯t simply done on a spur of the moment decision. Asking about his Little Brother, and Little Sister was just one of the reasons. Previously, he hadn¡¯t expected that he would hear news of his Little Sister so soon. Thus, his ns had changed.


    His other reason was as Tong Renmei guessed. It was toe to the School of Blue Jade to secretly negotiate and request for manpower. However, he first wanted to see how the School of Blue Jade would react.


    The reason he so decisively cast Hong Changhai aside before, was precisely because after their discussion, he realized that Hong Changhai¡¯s authority within the current School of Blue Jade wasn¡¯t enough to meet his needs. He didn¡¯t have the time, nor the obligation to help Hong Changhai slowly regain his original prestige.


    He still had the same thing to say¡ª ¡®My rtionship with you, Hong Changhai, hasn¡¯t reached that point yet. We are merely using one another for our own agendas. If I, Miao Yi, didn¡¯t have some value that you can use, you wouldn¡¯t even bother with me. Naturally, I have to find someone more capable to discuss matters with.¡¯


    Some matters were very real. To deal with a real-life problem, you had to be pragmatic.


    Within the courtyard, the two of them whispered in secret under the moonlight, going on for quite some time. Once they satisfied each other¡¯s requirements, Tong Renmei excitedly cupped his fist towards Miao Yi, and quickly turned to leave.


    When he reached the front yard, he caught sight of the two restless female disciples. Tong Renmei stopped, revealing a pleased expression as he nodded, "The esteemed guest is very satisfied with your service. The two of you did well. Go find Elder Tangter, and have him increase the resources you are receiving from the school by one level from now on."


    ¡®The esteemed guest is very satisfied?¡¯ The two girls were taken aback. Before they could understand what had just happened, Tong Renmei was already gone like the wind....


    Soon after discussing the matter with the Sect Master, Tong Renmei departed from the grand hall, and quickly gathered twenty of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s disciples to brief them. Among them were two Blue Lotus First Grade Cultivators, one Blue Lotus Second Grade Cultivator, as well as one disciple at Blue Lotus Fourth Grade. The rest of them were all cultivators at White Lotus Seventh Grade and higher.


    As soon as he briefed them, Tong Renmei specifically instructed the Blue Lotus Fourth Grade disciple, "Tian Qingfeng. Milord¡¯s safety is of paramount importance to our School of Blue Jade. You must ensure Milord¡¯s safety at all costs during this journey. If any mishaps were to happen to Milord, I¡¯ll have all of you answer for it!"


    "Understood!" The Blue Lotus Fourth Grade disciple called Tian Qingfeng cupped his fists and epted his order.


    Not long after, Tong Renmei brought his party to meet up with Miao Yi. Then, he introduced Miao Yi to the men he brought.


    Such an escort party was much stronger than Miao Yi¡¯s East Arrival Cave forces, so he was deeply satisfied.


    About twenty men were just mounting their dragon steeds, when Hong Changhai rushed over out of nowhere after hearing themotion. He went to stand right before Miao Yi¡¯s steed, and anxiously asked, "Milord. Where are you going? Will you be able toe back by tomorrow?"


    He was still hinting that he would give Miao Yi an answer by sundown tomorrow.


    "Elder Hong. I don¡¯t have time to wait until sundown tomorrow. Get out of my way!"


    Miao Yi coldly said these words from atop Charcoal. He shot Hong Changhai with a sharp, merciless retort¡ªchilling his heart, and leaving him dazed where he stood.


    The School of Blue Jade disciples apanying him tensed up when they saw him chastising Hong Changhai without holding back right before them. Additionally, the overbearing pressure from Miao Yi¡¯s tone already had most of them holding back their lofty attitudes.


    After all, there were many among them who possessed cultivations higher than Miao Yi. It was inevitable that they would be a little conceited.


    Yet, now they discovered that the other party didn¡¯t even hold their School of Blue Jade Elder with any regard, and scolded him like he would his grandson. They would naturally pale inparison to that.


    However, this was precisely the effect that Miao Yi wanted to create.


    One couldn¡¯t me Miao Yi for doing this to Hong Changhai. This journey would be long and arduous. If he were to bring a bunch of men that didn¡¯t heed his orders, even if there wasn¡¯t any danger, it would still be quite the headache.


    Since Hong Changhai hade at this moment, Miao Yi might as well use him to establish his might!


    Sometimes, sess was not only built atop the corpses of others; it was also created by stepping on the shoulder¡¯s of another. There was no mercy!


    "Senior Brother. What are you doing? Why are you standing in Milord¡¯s way?" From beside him, Tong Renmei stepped up and pulled the dazed Hong Changhai away from the spot.


    Bathed under a watery moonlight, Miao Yi cast a cold, resolute gaze straight ahead of him. Then from beneath him, Charcoal suddenly burst forth and the twenty mounts behind him hurriedly gave chase.


    As he watched them leave, Tong Renmei turned his gaze to the fallen Hong Changhai as he left dejectedly; and back again at the departing herd of steeds as they galloped into the distance. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh towards Zhan Lisong and Tang Yue standing beside him, and say, "This fellow is verypetent. He is someone that can do great things!"


    Under the moonlight, twenty-one steeds crossed though mountains and forests.


    Two men led the way at the front of the pack, as they were ustomed to travelling long distances and had some familiarity with the path. Miao Yi followed behind them, while the other eighteen steeds galloped behind him.


    They galloped from night till sunrise, then onwards through the morning without rest.


    In five days, the party already left Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s territory. Then, finding a river in a mountain valley, they decided to take a break.


    For them sitting on the dragon steeds, it wasn¡¯t a problem to gallop for days without rest. The issue was that the dragon steeds couldn¡¯t endure the pace; they were made of flesh and blood after all. Five days of galloping without rest, no matter how well-endowed they were, they still needed to take a break to recover themselves.


    While the other dragon steeds spent their time resting, grazing and drinking water by the river, Charcoal shook his tail along the stream, and caught fish to eat. He didn¡¯t seem tired at all.


    Miao Yi sat cross-legged on a giant rock by the river and cultivated. The School of Blue Jade disciples split in two and spread across the perimeter, taking turns to keep guard. They had been constantly reminded when they left, that Miao Yi¡¯s safety was of the utmost priority on this journey.


    They rested for a whole day. If the duration was too short, the dragon steeds wouldn¡¯t be able to recover their strength.


    By morning the next day, the party was already back on the road. In another few days, they finally left the domain of the Fifth Earthly Branch.


    Less than two days after they had entered the Ninth Earthly Branch, their path was obstructed by a mighty river that spanned across before them. They could barely see the end of it. Miao Yi gazed into the distance; it was the first time that Miao Yi had seen such a wide river on the continent.


    After discussing it among themselves, they decided to have their dragon steeds swim across while they leapt over the river. They were about to get down from their mounts, when the unexpected rumbling of dragon steeds sounded out from the edge of the river.


    There were approximately ten men, each of them holding weapons. After sweeping a watchful gaze across Miao Yi and his party, the leader of the group pointed his finger at them and shouted, "Who are you people? Why are you lingering around here?"


    Miao Yi looked at the other party¡¯s formation and surmised that they were the forces of a Cave. He rode out atop of Charcoal and answered, "Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s East Arrival Cave. Here on orders from above. May I know which Cave you are from, friend?"


    "Do you have any proof?" The other party asked.


    Miao Yi took out the jade archive bearing the decree of duty and tossed it over. This was the decree of duty that he received when he reported in as the East Arrival Cave Master. For some reason, Qin Weiwei never asked him to return it, and Yan Xiu obviously wouldn¡¯t ask for it. Now, it seemed like it could be put to use.


    Once the other party received it and had a quick read, he was able to confirm Miao Yi¡¯s identity. Signalling with his hand, he motioned for his subordinates to stand down, then stepped forward to have a conversation with Miao Yi.

 Chapter 245: Luo Shuangfei

    Chapter 245: Luo Shuangfei


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Once they spoke, Miao Yi¡¯s theory was proven right. The other party was indeed the forces of a Cave guarding this area. The Cave Master was surnamed Zhao.


    The two were of simr rank. Both being Cave Masters, and without a difference in hierarchy between them, both parties joked and spoke in an easy manner.


    "Where is Brother Zhao bringing your subordinates to?"


    "We¡¯re not going anywhere. We¡¯re just patrolling the area."


    "Cave Master Zhao is so dutiful. I¡¯m embarrassed."


    "Do you think I want to be!?" Cave Master Zhao shook his head, and briefly exined the underlying reason.


    The reason he was personally leading the patrol squad, was because a group of renegade cultivators had appeared recently. They specifically targeted and robbed travelling cultivators. Last month, they even kidnapped the wife of a certain Manor Head from their Hall. Not only did they rob her, they even killed her and her escorts!


    The Manor Head was absolutely furious, and deployed the entire might of the Manor¡¯s forces. However, just when they started searching on this end, the other party immediately ran elsewhere tomit their crimes. After they wreaked havoc in both east and west, everyone couldn¡¯t help taking every possible precaution. In the end, they even rmed the Hall Master, and all ten Manor¡¯s forces were organized tounch a great manhunt across their territories.


    Miao Yi¡¯s curiosity was piqued when he heard this, and said, "There¡¯s actually someone bold enough to go against the administration. Where do these renegade cultivatorse from?"


    Cave Master Zhao shrugged, "Things would be a lot easier if we knew where they came from. It is precisely because we don¡¯t know, that we¡¯re searching blindly. Let¡¯s not talk about this. I¡¯ve been so busytely that I haven¡¯t had the time to focus on my cultivation. It¡¯s so stressful. Could I ask where Cave Master Miao is heading to?"


    "We¡¯re crossing over the border and heading to the First Earthly Branch to fulfill our mission."


    "Wow, that¡¯s still a long ways to go. Since Brother Miao hase all this way to my territory, why don¡¯t you rest for a bit at my cave manor? Allow me to be a proper host."


    "Thank you for the offer, Brother Zhao; but my business is rather urgent, so I must hurry. I shan¡¯t distract Brother Zhao from his duties either, so I will be taking my leave. In the future, if Brother Zhao has time, do pay a visit to my East Arrival Cave. I will be sure to wee you kindly."


    "Haha! Very well. I don¡¯t mind if Brother Miao finds this peculiar, but because I reside in this area, I have never seen what the ocean looks like. Just two days ago, my handmaidens asked me what the ocean looked like. At the time, I simply made empty boasts. I never expect that I would meet Brother Miao, who was stationed right by the ocean, today. I will be sure to visit East Arrival Cave someday, and have a look at the mighty ocean."


    "It¡¯s a promise! I have constructed a ship for sailing the seas. Its able to ride the winds, break past the waves, and is highly capable of going long distances. When the dayes, feel free to bring your handmaidens along as well, Brother Zhao. You definitely won¡¯t be disappointed."


    Cave Master Zhao was ecstatic. He flipped his hand and took out a jade archive. Then, he scribbled something down and handed it over to Miao Yi, "Brother Miao came at an inopportune time. No doubt you will bump into a few more checkster on. I wrote you a writ of passage here. Perhaps it will be of use, and save Brother Miao some trouble."


    Miao Yi received the jade archive and skimmed through. Then, he cupped his fists and offered his thanks. After both parties promised to meet each other again, Miao Yi and his party all got off their dragon steeds and released them into the water. The dragon steeds then swam towards the opposite side of the river.


    After turning to Cave Master Zhao again and bidding his farewell with cupped fists, Miao Yi and his party leapt up to the skies. They invoked their arts and jumped atop the waves as they crossed the river over to the opposite shore.


    Afternding on the opposite shore, they waited for their dragon steeds toe ashore and shake the water droplets off their bodies. Then, they mounted their steeds once more, and continued on their journey.


    Just as Cave Master Zhao said, they met with a few more checks on the road ahead. However, the matter was usually settled after Miao Yi revealed his identity.


    When they saw that he was arade from a faraway ce, there were many who were eager to make a friend from a foreignnd. As such, there came quite a few warm invitations to Miao Yi, saying that they wish to fulfill their duties as hosts. However, Miao Yi politely refused each one.


    These were trying times, so another two Cave Masters helped prepare him a writ of passage which affirmed his identity and purpose.


    Naturally, there were some who were a little more difficult to deal with. These people wouldn¡¯t hold a foreign Cave Master like him in any regard. However, after Miao Yi showed the numerous writs of passage he possessed, they didn¡¯t make things difficult for him.


    The School of Blue Jade disciples apanying him couldn¡¯t help but sigh.


    If it were them being faced with such checks, even if things weren¡¯t intentionally made difficult for them, they were sure to be ¡®closely¡¯ examined. The other party would even take some of their things while they were at it. What¡¯s worse was that they couldn¡¯t even talk back to them. This was the benefit of having the status of an official of the system.


    The wind howled in their ears as they rapidly left the scenery around them behind. They crossed barren ins, and came across an enormous mountain.


    Not long after the twenty mounts charged onto the main road of the mountain, a dragon steed rider suddenly appeared from the small lush forested path beside them.


    Miao Yi and his party turned around to find a man with baster skin.


    He had a thin figure, with a pair of big bushy eyebrows andrge, clear eyes underneath them. However, on that lily-white face of his was arge, ck mole with two strands of hair sprouting from it¡ªquite a waste of good skin. To make matters worse, he had grown two long whiskers on his face. He gave off a really odd feeling.


    Furthermore, it seemed as though the other person didn¡¯t even know how strange he looked. When he saw them watching him closely, he immediately shed a straight set of teeth and smiled. Unfortunately, it was a set of big yellow teeth that looked as though they had been smoked.


    When he smiled, those big eyes of his immediately curved into crescent moons. It was somewhat striking.


    Even though those eyes were absolutely beautiful when he smiled, Miao Yi and his party couldn¡¯t help but feel a disgusting chill. It was precisely because this person¡¯s face had both the good and bad featuresbined that when he smiled, it was too ¡®disturbing¡¯. It was truly unattractive.


    No one paid him any heed. Only Tian Qingfeng tilted his head, and immediately gestured for a few School of Blue Jade disciples to be constantly vignt against that person. The road was wide, and they each were going on their own path. It wouldn¡¯t be nice to chase the other party away.


    However, other than this person sticking to them the entire way, nothing much ured. When they slowed down, he lowered his pace as well. When they increased their momentum, he also stuck to them like glue.


    This made them suspicious of his intents. As he galloped, Tian Qingfeng immediately approached him and said, "Friend. Why are you following us?"


    That man immediately smiled, curving his eyes and cupping his fists to loudly apologize, "Please don¡¯t me me, friend. I can¡¯t help it. I hear that there is a group of renegade cultivators wreaking havoc as ofte. I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be safe if I travel alone, so I¡¯ve been apanying your party. If anything happens, we can take care of each other as well. I assure you that i don¡¯t have any malicious intents. I hope you¡¯ll forgive me, and allow me to apany you!"


    To show that he had no malicious intents, he went ahead and shed the silhouette of a nine-petaled white lotus on his forehead to them, allowing them to have a gauge of his strength.


    When they saw this, their hearts were very much at ease. They had four Blue Lotus realm cultivators, and there were so many of them. They were not afraid that he would be able to cause any trouble on his own, so they no longer bothered with him.


    However, once they started a conversation, this Brother ¡®ck Mole¡¯ couldn¡¯t stop talking. He kept trying to have a conversation with them, "Friend, where are you and your party heading to?"


    However, no one paid him any heed. He couldn¡¯t bear the loneliness, so he cast his gaze towards Miao Yi, who was being guarded by everyone else. His eyes went around Miao Yi a couple times, and asked, "Friend. You should be their leader, correct?"


    Miao Yi turned to look at him, but he didn¡¯t pay him any heed.


    "Haha. Friend. Your bear a highly respectable countenance and an extraordinarily noble aura. Gant and tall¡ªa truly handsome young man. I can tell that you¡¯re no ordinary folk from a single nce. This dragon steed is very handsome indeed, truly handsome beyond measure."


    Miao Yi was speechless. ¡®Are youplimenting me or my mount? Who puts both these remarks together like this?¡¯


    "My name is Luo Shuangfei. May I know what your name is, friend?"


    No one bothered with him still, but that mouth of his was incessantly yapping away. Nobody was talking to him, but he was still able to chat away to himself while facing Miao Yi, and wasn¡¯t tired in the least.


    After galloping for two days straight, the party found another river in the mountain valley to rest up and recover themselves.


    The dragon steeds grazed and drank by the river, while the rest of the party collected water to wash themselves. Charcoal was the only one running in the stream, catching fishes and shrimp again to feed on.


    That strange man Luo Shuangfei was cast aside by everyone, and could only sit by himself upstream of them. asionally, he would pick up pebbles and toss it far into the water. It seemed he was rather bored.


    For some unknown reason, for every rock that he touched, once he tossed them into the water, there would immediately be a ck spot within the stream. However, it was soon washed away by the currents.


    There were some among the School of Blue Jade disciples keeping their eye on him, but because of their line of sight, they didn¡¯t discover anything amiss.


    Everyone continued about their duties like washing, collecting water, and cooking. Once they finished dining, they took turns keeping watch and sitting cross-legged in cultivation.


    That Luo Shuangfei also sat cross-legged on his own not far away. A small slit would asionally open on his closed eyes, and he would throw a nce towards them with a sly glint.


    As night fell, a few fires were lighted as the party sat around in circles.


    In the silence of the dead of night, stars cloaked the night sky. From where he was sitting nearby, Luo Shuangfei took out a small bell, then held it in his hands and fiddled around with it using his fingers. The crisp ringing of the bell reverberated throughout the mountain valley, recing the stillness of the mountain with a soothing and rxing sensation.


    Everyone opened their eyes and turned to look at him. However, they knew he was a chatterbox. Once they started a conversation with him, there would definitely be no end to it. Since they were in a foreignnd and weren¡¯t clear of the other person¡¯s identity, it was best not to create trouble.


    Everyone didn¡¯t pay him any heed and continued cultivating. However, for some reason, they kept feeling fuzzy and found it difficult to focus, as though they were assailed with an onset of dizziness the more they listened to the ringing of that bell.


    Suddenly, they could vaguely hear the faint sounds of an approaching stampede of dragon steeds from the mountain forest..


    Everyone was startled and hastily stood up. Luo Shuangfei also stood up, but he began massaged his temple and weakly said, "My head is dizzy, so very dizzy. No, no. I can¡¯t stand straight anymore..."


    He weakly fell to the ground as he said this.


    The bell in Luo¡¯s hands stopped ringing. Before they could react to what just happened, Miao Yi and his party were suddenly struck by a strong dizziness, and they could barely hold themselves together.


    Invoking his arts to resist, Tian Qingfeng bellowed, "This is bad! We¡¯ve been poisoned!"


    It was toote by the time he noticed it. It was useless even though he had the highest cultivation out of all of them.


    While they invoked their arts to resist the drowsiness, Miao Yi and his party fell one by one. In the end, Tian Qingfeng also fell to the ground with an indignant expression.


    Even the dragon steeds swayed about, and fell to the ground one by one. Charcoal had been the only one lying on the ground taking his nap¡ªhe now opened his eyes and stood up. With a shake of his head, and a flick of his tail, he looked around him but couldn¡¯t understand what was happening. He walked over to Miao Yi and touched him with his snout, asionally letting out a snort.


    Miao Yi was lying on the ground, trying to open his eyes, but he couldn¡¯t. With his final shred of will, he tried to resist the boundless sleep. He never expected that he would fall in such a ce.


    A starlight ignited within the art source in his body, instantly expanding like a mighty me that illuminated his entire art source in the blink of an eye. His art source started circting rapidly, wrapping around his limbs and bones like a tornado, and burning the foreign substance in his body to nothingness.


    As the foreign substance in his body was slowly being burned away, the dizziness in Miao Yi¡¯s head slowly dissipated as well. However, as his eyes steadily regained their rity, he caught sight of that Luo Shuangfei, who was the first to fall to the ground, had actually gotten back up and waszily stretching his waist.


    Miao Yi gently raised his eyebrow as a cruel glint shed in his eyes. Then, he slowly shut them again.

 Chapter 246: An Unruly Bunch

    Chapter 246: An Unruly Bunch


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    At this moment, about forty steeds came rumbling down from the mountain forest in the night, shattering the pebbles by the riverside with their hooves andpletely destroying the tranquility by the mountain stream.


    The forty steeds lowered their speed and slowly approached. The men and women atop the dragon steeds took in the scene by the riverside and revealed expressions of glee.


    The stacks of wood burning in the fire crackled as sparks flew.


    Paying no attention to the forty steeds behind him, Luo Shuangfei caressed the two strands of hair on his mole, and ced his hands on his waist. "HAHAH! You want to guard against this Lord? Do you think you can? Even if you take every precaution, you still have to drink the water that¡¯s used to wash this Lord¡¯s feet!"


    He turned to the crowd, "Isn¡¯t it great to follow me? We¡¯ve seeded again. My words remain the same¡ª ¡®Cowards afraid of death have no escape, and Loose Cultivators have no future, while we who provide for ourselves will have a bright future!¡¯


    "Boss is wise!"


    "Boss is brilliant!"


    "When Boss strikes, he never misses!"


    The group of men and women shouted words of praise and ttery. Even though theirpliments were beyond embarrassing, Luo Shuangfei seemed to be enjoying himself as though he was addicted to it. He pinched the two strands of hair on his mole, his shoulders quivering as he chuckled; and his pair of bushy eyebrows shaking, while his bright eyes curved as heughed. He was being unbelievably haughty.


    Still twidling the two ck strands of hair, he came up to Miao Yi and lifted his leg to give him a couple kicks. "You¡¯ve been acting all high and mighty this entire time, ignoring this Lord. Let¡¯s see how well you can keep pretendingter on, you bastard!"


    Even though he was kicked a couple times, Miao Yi didn¡¯t react at all as though he was dead.


    With his eyelids getting heavier by the second, Tian Qingfeng tried his hardest to retain his consciousness; befitting of one with the highest cultivation in the party. However, he could no longer move a muscle. He couldn¡¯t do anything as he watched the events before him unfold, thinking that all hope was lost.


    Before they embarked on this long journey, he knew that it would be dangerous. However, he never expected that he would bump into such a group. If his guess was correct, these people should be the band of renegade cultivators that had recently been going aroundmitting crimes. What bad luck.


    They hadn¡¯t even had a proper fight, before the entire party was already wiped out. These renegades were truly despicable.


    Meanwhile, Charcoal let out a harrumph at Luo Shangfei. He was keeping his guard up against him.


    Charcoal was the only one unaffected because at the time, he had gone far away to catch his fishes and prawns.


    Luo Shuangfei turned to look at his own mount, then took another nce at Charcoal. He snickered, "What a handsome steed. It¡¯s mine now."


    He turned to the crowd and motioned, "Get down from your steeds and get moving! We¡¯ll follow the old rules: sweep them clean, and leave no one alive. Once we¡¯re done robbing them, leave immediately!"


    "Alright!" The troupe smiled as they dismounted from their dragon steeds. Someone with a sharp eye nced towards Luo Shuangfei and suddenly eximed, "BOSS. WATCH OUT-"


    Before they could even react, a silver light shed in Miao Yi¡¯s hand from his prone position. The Inversed-Scales Spear suddenly appeared in his hand and in a shimmer of cold steel, its dragon roars echoed out as Miao Yi instantlyunched an ambush.


    Luo Shuangfei didn¡¯t even have time to turn around before the sharp triple-edged spear viciously stabbed into his back with a bang.


    However, a dark-red sh appeared at the point struck by the sharp spearhead. The powerful impact immediately sent the defenseless Luo Shuangfei flying over ten meters away.


    As he struck out, Miao Yi used the momentum to get up. However, he felt something strange was going on. It seemed like the other party had some kind of armor protecting his body. Even when heunched such a hidden strike, he wasn¡¯t able to kill the other person¡ªalmost as if he hadn¡¯t even pierced his body.


    On their journey, he already knew that Luo Shuangfei possessed a cultivation higher than his own at White Lotus Ninth Grade. That was why he tried to ambush him, seeking to kill him with a single strike. However, he never expected that even when he seeded inunching an ambush with his full strength, he still couldn¡¯t kill the other person.


    After being blown away, Luo Shuangfei rubbed his back with the back of his hand. He grimaced in pain, "Nice try, brat. You actually dared to ambush this Lord. ALL OF YOU, GO! GET HIM!"


    Luo Shuangfei quickly jumped up onto his own mount. With a flick of his hand, a long spear with a wide serrated edge appeared. Its serrated edge was like a hangnail.


    The people who just jumped down from their mounts quickly got back up. They all shed their weapons and hurriedly charged towards Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi leapt up andnded on Charcoal¡¯s back. Clouds of silver mist burst out of his storage ring, enveloping his entire body together with Charcoal.


    Soon after mounting his steed, a heavy suit of armour enveloped them both, lending them a gant and imposing aura.


    The people charging towards him immediately stopped, and stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief. They werepletely dumbstruck by Miao Yi¡¯s appearance. It was a first for them to see a dragon steed equipped with battle armor. They were so stupefied that they momentarily lost the courage to take another step forward. Clearly, they were just an unruly bunch.


    By the valley¡¯s river, the mes of the bonfire flickered under the lustrous moon illuminating the mountain.


    Charcoal was clearly quite excited to be in his new battle armor. Crisp cracking sounds rang as he stomped on the riverside pebbles. The newly-refined and vicious-looking spiked battle armor, along with his current robust figure, made him look all the more imposing and ferocious!


    With his beast armor on, even though Miao Yi no longer had a helmet, it did not lessen the aura on both man and steed in their armors.


    Ever since that helmet was destroyed by Zhang Decheng in the past, it had never been reced.


    Under the cold moonlight, Miao Yi sat on his steed with spear in hand, steady as a rock. Man, steed, and armorbined into one. They were shining under the moonlight, a mercurial radiance enveloping his body as the flickering bonfire zed behind his back under the night sky, filling the valley with his astonishing aura.


    Holding the spear angled in his hands, Miao Yi suddenly raised and thrust it out. As the dragon roars thundered, he thrust the spear towards the astonished Luo Shuangfei, and coldly said, "Do you dare fight me to the death!?"


    "A fine fellow. We really bumped into a rich bastard today. Even his dragon steed is equipped with artifact armor. We¡¯ve really struck gold today!" said Luo Shuangfei snickering. He swept his spear across and shouted, "Attack him together, and get rid of him. I only want his mount and his suit of armor. All of you can have the rest. ATTACK!"


    Clearly with a great reward before them, there would definitely be folk brave enough to step forward. Members of the band immediately gave a shout, and howled as they charged forth on their dragon steeds.


    Miao Yi swept them with a cold gaze, and discovered that there wasn¡¯t a single person among them, whose lotus mark was above White Lotus Fifth Grade. They were truly an unruly bunch. It was no wonder they could only use such despicable means.


    He had no idea how these people were gathered, being so bold as to to go about robbing in the Celestial Nation with just this amount of strength. What audacity!


    He swept his hand out and leveled the Inversed-Scales Spear at them. Immediately, Charcoal charged towards the first ten people at the forefront like an arrow released from the bow.


    A sword came shing towards him. Miao Yi knocked it away with a swing of his spear. Then used the momentum tond a blow to the opponent¡¯s head, smashing it open like a watermelon.


    As he passed by the headless corpse, the spear in Miao Yi¡¯s hands instantly struck out like a dragon, with ray after ray of its cold glint shing about.


    "AHHH.... AHHH....."


    The next instant, screams echoed out, as none of them could receive a single strike from Miao Yi¡¯s spear. Man and steed were as one. The long spear thrust itself straight into the crowd, as though slicing through the waves of an ocean. Miao Yi went on a killing spree,unching people off their steeds with flesh and blood sttered about.


    In just a single confrontation, over ten people have fallen already.


    As hey by the riverside with heavy eyes, Tian Qingfeng saw a ray of hope.


    Then, Charcoal swiftly swerved back and chased after the rest of them. The remaining twenty to thirty people were crippled by fear from that one confrontation. They couldn¡¯t hold a candle up to the other person, and immediately beat a retreat, abandoning their Boss.


    With the help of Charcoal¡¯s speed, Miao Yi quickly let loose a flurry of strikes with his spear. Near-physical, formless des shot out as explosions echoed out through the air. Another five to six people coughed out blood as they fell from their steeds.


    The renegade cultivators that had been retreating together all this while, immediately scattered into the surrounding mountain forest. These renegades could hardlypare to the disciplined forces of the various abode of Immortals that were being governed by a strict administration. They struck in force when they had the upper hand, but when things weren¡¯t going their way, they immediately made a run for it without having the slightest intent of doing battle. They were truly an unruly bunch through and through.


    When he thought about how he had almost fallen into their hands, Miao Yi felt that it would have been rather unjust indeed.


    It would have been fine if they continued running together, but scattering in all directions made Miao Yi uncertain who he should be chasing. He gave up the pursuit, then swung back around and struck out with his spear. A renegade that had been struggling on the ground was instantly stabbed to death. As he did so, his gaze shifted to Luo Shuangfei on the other end of the field.


    After being abandoned by his subordinates, Luo Shuangfei staring in shock at the surrounding mountain forest. ¡®All my subordinates are already gone in the blink of an eye?¡¯


    "You bastards. Even if you run away, shouldn¡¯t you tell me first?" Luo Shuangfei shouted furiously at his surroundings, implying¡ª ¡®You guys didn¡¯t even bring me with you when you were running away. Does this Boss still exist in your eyes?¡¯


    "I HAVEN¡¯T EVEN RUN AWAY YET. THE VICTOR HASN¡¯T BEEN DECIDED. WHAT ARE YOU ALL RETREATING FOR? GET BACK HERE!"


    This bellow seemed to have some effect. A few people reemerged from within the mountain forest, but they simply hid around and watched. Not daring to approach.


    Seeing that there were still some brothers who hadn¡¯t abandoned him, Luo Shuangfei immediately perked up. Leveling his spear at Miao Yi, he shouted, "HEY YOU! HALT. YOU DARE MURDER MY SUBORDINATES! I WILL HAVE YOUR LIFE!"


    He immediately brought his mount into a charge, and whirled his long, serrated spear. It glowed with a white light¡ªit was evidently a first grade transcendent artifact.


    A wail of agony rang out as Miao Yi stabbed towards the ground, and gave a flick. The screaming person impaled by the spear was instantly sent flying at the iing Luo Shuangfei.


    It seemed this Boss cared quite a bit for his subordinates. He quickly swept his spear across, controlling the amount of force he used, wishing to pull his subordinate aside and save his life.


    Unfortunately, Miao Yi was still charging forth with the momentum and didn¡¯t give him a chance to do so. The dragon roars thundered out as he quickly closed in, andunched another strike.


    ¡®BANG!¡¯ Blood spurted out as that subordinate¡¯s final screams of agony became one of despair.


    Blood and flesh sttered about. A white sheen appeared on the Inversed-Scales Spear as it struck out.


    Invoking his arts, Luo Shuangfei knocked the sttering towards his face away, and anxiously struck back to deflect the oing Inversed-Scales Spear. Realizing that the opponent¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t stronger than his own, he instantly perked up.


    The two mounts instantly chased after one another as they carried their masters, and spun about in ce.


    The two atop their steeds crossed spears again and again. Their skills were both extraordinary, kicking up clouds of dust from the ripples of their transcendence energy. Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t have been able to attack with such force if he was still below White Lotus Fifth Grade.


    In an instant, the two of them had crossed spears more than ten times. Luo Shuangfei was more astonished, the more he fought. His spear art had been taught to him by someone extremely skilled. However, he could only continue to defend against this nameless person before him. If his cultivation weren¡¯t higher than his opponent, he probably wouldn¡¯t havested this long. He had never faced such a situation before.


    What he found even more astonishing was that even with his higher cultivation, the other party could still go head-to-head with him in a contest of strength. ¡®We¡¯re both using first grade transcendent artifacts. There shouldn¡¯t be much of a gap in strength! What¡¯s going on?¡¯


    He wouldn¡¯t know the secrets of Miao Yi¡¯s Inversed-Scales Spear¡ªit could reduce the opponent¡¯s attack by twenty percent, and had already leveled out the advantage brought about by his higher cultivation.


    As hey on the ground, Tian Qingfeng saw that Miao Yi managed to gain the upper hand against this White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator, and rxed the tension in his body. He couldn¡¯t hold on any longer; he closed his eyes and fainted.


    Miao Yi was surprised as well. Ever since he became a cultivator, he had never seen someone who could defend against his spear art for so many turns. It seemed like he truly was a frog in a well. If he hadn¡¯t emerged from his shell, he would never have known that there were so many capable people in the world. Even the random leader of a band of renegade cultivators could be so skilled.

 Chapter 247: Insurance

    Chapter 247: Insurance


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    With regards to spear arts, it was a first for him toe across one so vicious and cunning, yet at the same time so precise. When Miao Yi saw that the opponent could actually to guard against his attacks, he immediately began attacking with greater ferocity.


    "Let¡¯s see how long you¡¯ll be able to keep up!" shouted Miao Yi, upping the intensity of his strikes another notch.


    Immediately, the tyrannical edge in his hands became even more overbearing. His onught struck at every possible opening with a precision that could thread needles, and with a force capable of overturning the mountains and oceans.


    Luo Shuangfei waspletely bewildered. He suddenly couldn¡¯t keep up with Miao Yi¡¯s attacks.


    ¡®Du du du du ...¡¯ In an instant, he was stabbed seven to eight times. His body twitched atop the dragon steed, as he winced in pain each time.


    Luo Shuangfei was speechless. He realized that even when he was barely able to defend himself, his opponent hadn¡¯t even used his full strength yet.


    Miao Yi was equally speechless. Even though the opponent couldn¡¯t block his attacks, he could withstand them. Even after piercing him several times, he wasn¡¯t at all injured. Every time his spear struck his adversary¡¯s body, there would be a dark-red sh of light protecting him from a potentially fatal blow.


    ¡®No matter how precise your spear art is, no matter how many times you stab me, I will still be fine. All I need to do is protect just a small part of my body. What can you do to me?¡¯


    Miao Yi focused his attention on the hole-riddled clothes of adversary, and began switching his angle of attack. He flicked his spear as he stabbed, intending to uncover what manner of treasure was hiding under his opponent¡¯s garbs.


    ¡®Rippp. Rip.¡¯ Piece by piece, fabric continued to flow off Luo Shuangei¡¯s body as he grew increasingly frantic.


    When he noticed that more and more of his baster skin was showing, Luo Shuangfei began to look quite anxious, and afraid. Yet, he still couldn¡¯t defend against his opponent¡¯s attacks ¡ª¡®BANG!¡¯¡ª he deflected an attack with his spear and without a moment¡¯s hesitation, quickly urged his steed to dash off.


    The renegade cultivators, furtively eyeing the battle from the surrounding mountain forest, saw that their leader had lost the battle and was running away. They didn¡¯t dare stay a moment longer, and immediately turned to flee the area.


    With so many of the men he broughtid low, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t let his adversary retreat so easily. Charcoal immediately gave chase.


    With Charcoal¡¯s speed, it didn¡¯t take long for him to catch up to the opponent. Miao Yi chased after Luo Shuangfei and started swinging his spear at him, rippingrge pieces of fabric off of his back.


    Constantly having to twist around and counter his attacks, Luo Shuangfei was growing more panicked by the second. He couldn¡¯t outrun the steed behind him even if he dearly desired to. The clothes on his upper body had already beenpletely stripped away by the other party, and he only had a piece of ck leather armor left!


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s snow-white neck was slender like a swan¡¯s; his corbones were fair and delicate; his shoulders, supple and smooth. He had slender arms that resembled a snow lotus, and the tender skin below his armpit was just barely visible.


    Miao Yi was a quite speechless. It was a first for him to see a man with such good skin. If it weren¡¯t for the other person¡¯s voice, his t chest, and if he hadn¡¯t seen that Adam¡¯s apple along with those two long whiskers... His gaze shifted to the opponent¡¯s face, then to that feminineplexion of his¡ªMiao Yi felt a disgustingly cold chill and continued the assault with his spear, showing no mercy to his adversary.


    Heunched several strikes at the ck leather armor. Every time he struck, he could see that leather armor emitting a red glow as it shielded his jabs.


    ¡®So this was the thing protecting him. I wonder what sort of treasure it is.


    Realizing that his attacks to the upper body weren¡¯t effective, Miao Yi quickly stabbed viciously at the opponent¡¯s lower body. Luo Shuangfei strained to defend himself, but Miao Yi twisted his spear, and the triple-edged de immediately ripped off arge piece of fabric from his trousers.


    His fair and delicate thigh was immediately revealed under the moonlight. This guy had ridiculously good skin through and through.


    When he saw the opponent trying to strip his trousers now, Luo Shuangfei became manic, and frantically tried to defend himself. He kept cursing as he did so, "This Lord is a man! What are you trying to do, you damn pervert!?"


    He continued to curse as Miao Yi continued striking. Luo Shuangfei ground his teeth, then he pursed his lips and whistled. A ruffling sound came from the bag at his hip that used to be hidden under his clothes earlier¡ªa purple light abruptly shot out from it towards Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi was startled and quickly swept his spear across. However, that purple light was unbelievably fast. Itnded on the shaft of Miao Yi¡¯s spear¡ªactually breaking through Miao Yi¡¯s transcendence energy defenses. Then it went straight for Miao Yi¡¯s face, spreading its jaws wide, ready to bite-down with its sharp fangs.


    The instant that light charged at his face, Miao Yi could finally clearly make out what it was¡ªa green-eeyd, sharp-fanged marten shrouded in purple light. It was extremely agile despite its small stature.


    He struck at it again, but the purple marten used the force of his strike to leapt away from his arm. It was gone before he couldnd a strike.


    Miao Yi¡¯s movements were immediately muddled up from dealing with something that fast. Since he himself was in a precarious situation, he didn¡¯t concern himself with chasing after Luo Shuangfei, and concentrated on dealing with the purple marten that was running amok about his body.


    Luo Shuangfei stopped running away as well. He twisted his mount to around, and waved the spear as he shouted, "How dare you try to molest this Lord? Bite him, bite him, bite this damn pervert to death."


    Within the moonlit valley, the purple marten ran circles around Miao Yi and Charcoal, jumping about in a haphazard manner. Its speed created trailing rays of purple-light that wrapped around Miao Yi and Charcoal. It would chomp down whenever itnded, releasing loud metal nking noises with every bite.


    Before Miao Yi¡¯s strikes couldnd, the purple marten would immediately dash off. With Miao Yi¡¯s speed, he couldn¡¯tnd a single strike, nor was he able to catch it.


    It was fortunate that even Charcoal was fully wrapped in armor. However, the purple marten¡¯s jaw strength waspletely astounding. With but a single bite, there would be an imprint of its fangs on the lustrous armor.


    It was only able to bite down on a small area, and couldn¡¯t keep attacking the same spot, so it didn¡¯t manage to damage the armor. As soon as a bite mark was imprinted on the armor, with a single sh of light, the damage would be instantly recovered to its original state.


    "Idiot. Bite the ce with flesh showing," shouted Luo Shuangfei, waving his naked arm.


    All of a sudden, Miao Yi closed his eyes. Without being distracted by the shing purple trails, cold rays of light fluttered around his body as he skillfully struck out with his spear.


    Luo Shuangfei widened his eyes in stupefaction, on seeing the other person closed his eyes. Yet it was as though he ironically became capable of predicting the purple marten¡¯s movements. Even though his speed was no match for the purple marten, his strikes were unbelievably able to predict its attacks every time. They would always just barely connect, and shave off the purple marten¡¯s tiny life away. Just narrowly avoiding danger by a hair¡¯s breadth.


    Watching this, Luo Shuangfei was drenched in cold sweat, and muttered to himself, "Where did this bastarde from? Even though his cultivation isn¡¯t high, he¡¯s really formidable!"


    s, with him using a long spear against such a tiny fellow sticking close to the body and attacking, Miao Yi was still at a disadvantage. Furthermore, its speed was truly amazing. In a moment of carelessness, the purple marten finally managed to bite down on his arm.


    There was nothing between the armor covering his upper arms and his wristguards. With such a gap, he was ultimately struck.


    After being bitten, he didn¡¯t even have time to strike back, before realizing the peculiarity of this purple marten. His whole body shook as a strange feeling instantly came sweeping forth from the purple marten¡¯s jaws. In an instant, it swept across his limbs, paralyzing his entire body. His exposed face and neck, which weren¡¯t protected by the armor, had turned purple in the blink of an eye. It was quite a frightening sight.


    Miao Yi cursed to himself, once more understanding that had he not decided to venture out, he would never have realized how there were truly countless mysterious and peculiar attacks in this world.


    He struggled his hardest to invoke his arts to resist it. Starlight shed once more in the art source inside his body, and quickly burst into mes, wrapping around Miao Yi¡¯s internal organs like a tornado.


    When he saw Miao Yi was finally struck, Luo Shuangfei already seemed assured of his victory already, and immediately broke out inughter, "WAHAHA! How dare you try to molest this Lord. Just watch how this Lord is going to skin you!"


    With a sweep of his spear, his mount immediately charged towards Miao Yi as though he wanted to kill him where he stood.


    However, a sudden change happened just then. The purple-faced Miao Yi suddenly opened his eyes, the purpleplexion on his face instantly receding like the tide as he regained rity in the blink of an eye.


    The purple marten still had its fangs embedded in his arm. It squeaked, and loosened its grip¡ªdesiring to escape, but its speed had dropped drastically as though it received some sort of bacsh. The The green light in its eyes grew dull, while the purple glowing fur on its body reverted to a normal purple shade, its speed clearly no longer the same as it was before.


    Miao Yi swept a cold eye over, then made a sudden grab for it. He caught the purple marten in mid-air with his hands and squeezed its neck, as if intending to murder it on the spot.


    Charging forward with wide-eyes, Luo Shuangfei hurriedly came to a halt. He never expected the other person to be fine after receiving a bite from the purple marten. Seeing that matters had gonepletely beyond his expectations, he immediately shouted, "Stop! Don¡¯t hurt Zi Er! I yield, I yield!"


    "You yield?" Miao Yi hardened his grip on the purple marten struggling painfully in his hand. He raised his spear and pointed at it, "After all you¡¯ve done to my guards, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a littlete for you to surrender? Even if you don¡¯t surrender, you won¡¯t be able to run away either!"


    He was about tounch a fatal strike against the purple marten struggling in his hands, when Luo Shuangfei once again shouted, "They¡¯re not dead. They can still be saved. They¡¯ve just been poisoned and won¡¯t die for the time being. Let go of Zi¡¯Er, and I¡¯ll cure the poison in their bodies."


    Miao Yi gave it some thought. He turned to look at the valley behind him, then turned back and said, "First go and cure the poison within them. If they¡¯re fine, I¡¯ll let it go!"


    Luo Shuangfei immediately red at him, "I can only cure the poison after you release it."


    Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t possibly believe him. Raising the purple marten, he tightened his grip. The purple marten immediately thrashed about heavily, squeaking one second, and muffled the next. Clearly, it was in great deal of pain.


    ÂÞË«·ÉÒ§ÑÀÇгݵغðµÀ:"Íõ°Ëµ°,¿ì·ÅÁËËü,Ïë¸øÄãµÄËæ´Ó½â¶¾ÕýÒª¿¿Ëü,ËüÈôÊÇËÀÁË,ÄãµÄËæ´ÓÒ»¸öÒ²±ðÏë»î."


    Luo Shuangfei ground his teeth as he cursed, "Bastard. Let it go! You¡¯ll need it if you want to cure the poison inside your guards. If it dies, all your guards can forget about surviving through this as well."


    When he heard this, even if Miao Yi didn¡¯t believe it, his hand still loosened up a little as he coldly asked, "Why should I believe you?"


    "Let it go, and I¡¯ll have it cure the poison on your guards immediately."


    "It wasn¡¯t easy catching it. If it keeps me at bay and you manage to escape after that, what can I do then?"


    Luo Shuangfei grit his teeth, realizing that this bastard wasn¡¯t so easy to fool. That was indeed his n, but it seemed like it wasn¡¯t going to work anymore. He growled, "Then what do you want to do?"


    Miao Yi swept a cold gaze across his body as he examined it.


    On being examined like this, Luo Shuangfei finally realized how exposed his body was. He subconsciously hugged his chest and red at Miao Yi, "What are you looking at? Never seen a man before?"


    Miao Yi was speechless. ¡®Why are you acting like a girl?¡¯ He pointed to the armor artifact on his body, "Take off your armor artifact."


    Luo Shuangfei eyes instantly widened as his expression twitched, "You damn pervert. What are you nning to do? I am a man!" He hugged his chest even tighter.


    "I think your artifact armor is quite fine. I¡¯ll hold onto it as insurance. So if you pull any tricks, I won¡¯t bepletely at a loss. Now, take off your armor artifact and hand it to me!"


    ¡®So that¡¯s it!¡¯ Luo Shuangfei finally understood, but his face flushed as he said, "I won¡¯t take it off! Think of something else!"


    Seeing him treasuring his prized armor so, Miao Yi even more unwilling topromise. Once again, he gave the purple marten a squeeze, "My patience is limited. Take it off this instant!"


    "Don¡¯t hurt Zi¡¯Er. I¡¯ll give you my own life and you can hold me hostage as insurance, okay!?" Luo Shuangfei was practically begging.


    Miao Yi instantly felt this was strange¡ª¡®Was his life more important or his prized armor?¡¯ However, this method of using the person himself as hostage was clearly much better.

 Chapter 248: Mad from Shame

    Chapter 248: Mad from Shame


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Very well!" Miao Yi nodded, and epted the terms. Tightening his grip on the Inversed-Scales Spear, he ced it back into his storage ring. Then with a flick of his wrist, a chained morningstar appeared in his hands. He erased the art source within this transcendent artifact and imbued it with his own.


    Luo Shuangfei was still wondering what Miao Yi was trying to do, when he abruptly raised his arm and flung the shining morningstar at him.


    Luo Shuangfei was taken by surprise. ¡®BANG!¡¯ With a sweep of his spear, he knocked the morningstar away. However, the instant they shed, he realized that the amount of force within the morning star didn¡¯t seem like it was intended as an attack.


    "Since you¡¯re going to be a hostage, you¡¯ll have to look like one. You better surrender easily, otherwise..." as he spoke, he raised the hand gripping onto the purple marten.


    "Don¡¯t! I¡¯ll do as you want, alright?" Luo Shuangfei immediately withdrew his spear artifact and held both his arms out, allowing himself to be restrained.


    Miao Yi twirled the morningstar around once more as he invoked his arts to control it. The morningstar began to emit a radiant glow, and nimbly danced in mid-air like a snake. Dragging its long chain along, it bound Luo Shuangfei¡¯s hands to his back.


    Against a cultivator at Luo Shuangfei¡¯s level, normal chains were no longer enough to keep him bound, unless he was tied up by having his limbs pierced through the same way Pi Junzi was back in the Sea of Constetions.


    However, it was obvious that Luo Shuangfei definitely wouldn¡¯t allow him to do that.


    Which was why Miao Yi had instead taken out a first grade transcendent artifact¡ªthe chained morningstar. Erasing the remnant art source inside, he imbued the morningstar with his own art source and had it acknowledge him as its master


    If he didn¡¯t have the recognition of ownership from the transcendent artifact and used it to directly tie up the other person, then it would have been even more useless than a normal chain. The other person could easily invoke his arts to control the morningstar. Only by gaining the morningstar¡¯s recognition, could he use it to tie up the other party.


    A single chain hung between the two of them under the moonlit sky, giving out a radiant glow.


    With both his arms tied behind his back, Luo Shuangfei secretly tried to invoke his arts and free himself from the restraint. Not only was he unable to struggle free, Miao Yi threw a piercing re at him. Evidently, his attempts had been discovered.


    "Shouldn¡¯t you release Zi¡¯Er now?" Luo Shuangfei grumbled.


    His tone sounded like he had been wronged. Miao Yi had no idea if it was because his robbery attempt had failed and instead ended with his capture, or, because he had never been subjected to such humiliation.


    Miao Yi gave a cold snort. Suddenly, he raised his arm and pulled at the chain.


    Luo Shuangfei gasped in surprise. He couldn¡¯t stop his body from falling off the dragon steed. ¡®BFFTT!¡¯ ¡ªclouds of dust were kicked up as Miao Yi dragged him several metres away. Immediately after, he hopped up and shouted, "What the heck are you doing!?"


    "I¡¯m warning you. You better not try anything funny!" Miao Yi said, attaching the other end of the chain to Charcoal, as though warning Luo Shuangfei¡ª ¡®If you dare try anything funny, then it won¡¯t be like what I did just now. Instead, I¡¯ll have my steed drag you around a fewps.¡¯


    Luo Shuangfei ground his teeth and growled, "Let go of Zi¡¯Er."


    Miao Yi jumped off his steed. His wolven greaves creating sharp, crunching noises as he trodd on the pebbles. With a flick of his wrist, the Inversed-Scales Spear reappeared in his hands.


    ¡®FSSHH!¡¯ The razor-sharp tip of the spear was now resting on Luo Shuangfei¡¯s shoulder, its triple-edged des practically hugging his entire neck. If he dared to make any sudden moves, Miao Yi could have that slender crane-like neck of his spurting blood with a single pull of the spear.


    Raising the purple marten in his grasp, Miao Yi asked, "How do you cure the poison?"


    "First let it go!" After saying this, Luo Shuangfei saw that Miao Yi didn¡¯t respond. Instead, he saw a gleam in his eye that told him Miao Yi was still suspicious. He ground his teeth and said, "I¡¯m already in such a state. What are you afraid of?"


    Miao Yi acted decisively then. With a swing of his arm, the purple marten escaped its captor andnded on the ground. Then, it quickly scuttled off towards Luo Shuangfei, climbing onto his shoulders and began squeaking beside his ear. Miao Yi didn¡¯t know what it was saying, but its green eyes seemed filled with fear when it looked at him. He had no idea what part of him was so frightening.


    Luo Shuangfei also squeaked back at it a couple times, then pursed his lips towards the river bank.


    The purple marten perched on his shoulder immediately scampered off, and hurriedly making its way to the river bank. Then, it jumped onto the bodies of those poisoned, and bit down on the back of their arms.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes gleamed as he observed with his transcendence vision. He saw that in those being bitten, the ck aura faintly seeping out from the skin of their faces began to quickly receed. Then, a ck mist would be sucked out of the bite wound on the back of their arms, and be quickly absorbed into the purple marten¡¯s belly.


    Once the darkness on the back of the victim¡¯s handpletely disappeared, the purple marten would then quickly jump onto another person¡¯s body and do the same.


    One after another, as the ck mist on the victims¡¯ bodies was absorbed into the purple marten¡¯s belly, its eyes started to regain its green shine and vigor, and the purple glow on its body was appearing once more¡ªa sign that its previously expended vitality was being recovered, as though the poisonous mist was something very nourishing to it.


    Soon, the purple marten finished absorbing the poison from both the men and their steeds. Then it quickly scuttled back to Luo Shuangfei¡¯s shoulders; all while continuing to stare at Miao Yi in fear.


    "The poison within their bodies has all been absorbed. Now let us go."


    Miao Yi asked, "Then why haven¡¯t they woken up?"


    "They fell prey to the ¡®ck Rakshasa¡¯. The poison has only just been removed. How could you expect them to wake up immediately after? In a couple hours, they will naturally awaken."


    "ck Rakshasa? " Miao Yi muttered. He didn¡¯t know what poison it was, but he could afford to wait a couple hours. Staring at the purple marten on Luo Shuangfei¡¯s shoulder, he asked, "Is this marten of yours capable of only curing a single type of poison, or various types of it?"


    "That¡¯s of course¡ª" the proud Luo Shuangfei said a few words, before abruptly stopping himself, and eyed Miao Yi cautiously, "What¡¯s it to you? Hurry up and release me."


    Miao Yi could tell from his reaction that this purple marten of his could probably cure quite a number of different poisons. He was quite astonished, and secretly praised the marten for being such a valuable asset; it was such a waste for it to be in the hands a mere renegade. Although,e to think of it, this renegade cultivator possessed quite a number of quality goods.


    His gaze trailed over the leather armor on Luo Shuangfei. He didn¡¯t ask any other questions, and just nkly said, "There¡¯s no rush. They have yet to awaken."


    Luo Shuangfei began shouting angrily, "I¡¯ve told you already, they will naturally wake up in a couple hours."


    "Your words have no proof. Why should I trust you? Be obedient and wait!" his words rendered Luo Shuangfei speechless. Then, Miao Yi eyed the purple marten on his shoulder, and said, "Keep this monster that¡¯s been constantly ring at me away. It just took a bite out of me, yet it still has the gall to re at me. Does it really think that I won¡¯t kill it?"


    When Luo Shuangfei heard that Miao Yi might kill his purple marten, he immediately blew a whistle. The purple marten instantly dashed inside the beast sack around his waist.


    He didn¡¯t expect that right at that moment, Miao Yi would suddenly strike out¡ªpulling away the beast sack from around his waist, and quickly tying up the opening. The purple marten could forget about running away now. Such a treasure had fallen into his hands just like that. Miao Yi hung the beast sack around his body.


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s eyes widened as he bellowed, "Bastard! You¡¯re not keeping your promise! You shitty asshole. Return my Zi¡¯Er!"


    Miao Yi pressed his spear over his neck. Blood instantly seeped out from the snow-white skin of his neck, and he no longer dared to move.


    However, his worst fears had yet to be realized. With him restrained, Miao Yi suddenly ced his hands on Luo Shuangfei¡¯s body and tried to take off his armor artifact.


    This armor artifact was different from Miao Yi¡¯s battle armor, which was rigid and couldn¡¯t be forcefully taken off. On the other hand, Luo Shuangfei¡¯s armor artifact was a leather shirt that was supple to the touch. However, it was able to block Miao Yi¡¯s ferocious attacks. Miao Yi had no idea what kind of treasure it was.


    Miao Yi was a little curious whether or not this fellow was hiding some other treasure underneath his leather armor. Else, why would he so willingly surrender and be a hostage? He didn¡¯t even want to take off this artifact armor to give him as insurance¡ªit was very strange. If it were anyone else, they would obviously know that they wouldn¡¯t be able to keep this leather armor once they became a hostage.


    "What are you trying to do?" Luo Shuangfei was utterly horrified as he watched Miao Yi rapidly unsped the buttons on his leather armor. His voice couldn¡¯t help but quiver as he said, "I¡¯m warning you. There aren¡¯t many who would dare touch me in this entire realm. You had better¡ª"


    He suddenly felt a cold breeze on his body. Miao Yi had already taken off the leather armor. Luo Shuangfei shut his quivering lips and closed his eyes. He wanted to turn his head to the side, but the edges of the Inversed-Scales Spear hung close to his neck and held it in ce.


    Miao Yi had taken the leather armor off up till the arms, but he then realized that it would be difficult topletely take it off with the other person¡¯s hands tied up. He turned back to look at the men that had yet to awaken by the river bank. Afraid that this bastard still had another hidden card to y, Miao Yi didn¡¯t dare push him too hard.


    Truth be told, Miao Yi still suspected that the other person had something up his sleeve. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have surrendered so easily. ¡®Surrendering because he didn¡¯t want to take off his leather armor? That didn¡¯t make sense. He definitely had some kind of contingency, else he wouldn¡¯t be so bold.¡¯


    Underneath the leather armor was a spotless and fair-skinned body. Miao Yi didn¡¯t discover anything hidden at all.


    The leather armor was pulled all the way down to his bound hands. Luo Shuangfei¡¯s upper body was almostpletely naked at this point. Under the radiance of the moon, his skin was all the more fair and unblemished like jade; his lily-white waist as slender as can be. His figure was beautifully slim and elegant, giving him the seductive allure of a woman.


    The only manly trait on Luo Shuangfei¡¯s body were the tworge, sinewy pectoral muscles on his chest.


    There was point in his skin being fairer; his figure, nicer; and his chest, bigger. Miao Yi had no interest in men. He closely inspected Luo Shuangfei¡¯s practically naked upper body, but he couldn¡¯t find any hidden treasures.


    He even felt all over Luo Shuangfei¡¯s trembling skin; it had a pleasantly smooth and glossy feel to it. Then, he poked at those firm pectoral muscles of Luo Shuangfei with his fingers, making sure that they were truly made of flesh and not hiding anything.


    Having his body touched all over by Miao Yi, and even being prodded in his chest, Luo Shuangfei¡¯s face flushed red, looking as though he wanted to bash his head into a wall and die.


    The heart-shaped ne hanging atop of his snow-white chest caught Miao Yi¡¯s attention. It was very intricate and beautiful, but he couldn¡¯t find anything peculiar about it after examining it.


    Miao Yi also examined the storage ring on Luo Shuangfei¡¯s fingers, but he didn¡¯t find anything inside. The only noteworthy item was that spear with the serrated edge. Miao Yi wasn¡¯t interested in all the other random bits, so he didn¡¯t take this storage ring away.


    Then, he patted about Luo Shuangfei¡¯s thighs over his pants.


    After not finding any treasures, Miao Yi pulled his leather armor back up and helped him sp the buttons back on, as though to reassuring Luo Shuangfei and implying that¡ª ¡®I¡¯m only checking you to make sure you can¡¯t y any tricks. I have no intention of stealing your armor artifact.¡¯


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t expect Luo Shuangfei to slowly open his eyes and grind his teeth¡ªas if enraged from the shame of it all¡ªbefore clearly saying, "You will pay for what you¡¯ve done today. Release me!"


    "Of course I can¡¯t let you go yet!" Miao Yi circled around him and took off his storage ring. He waved it in his face, using this gesture to warn him¡ª ¡®I have to first confiscate the things you can use to resist me before letting you go.¡¯


    Miao Yi withdrew the chained morningstar binding Luo Shuangfei, and returned what limited freedom he had. Since he had shown so much anxiety for the purple marten, now that it¡¯s in Miao Yi¡¯s hands, he wasn¡¯t scared that Luo Shuangfei would run away.


    Based on Miao Yi¡¯s earlier actions back in the Sea of Constetions, he would have definitely killed Luo Shuangfei first before taking away hisst remaining armor artifact. However, he was worried that this fellow had some kind of contingency, so he could only hold back his urge for now, and wait for the others to awaken before acting further.


    "What are you following me for? I¡¯m warning you. Don¡¯te too close to me!" Miao Yi abruptly turned back and leveled his spear at the approaching Luo Shuangfei.


    The corner of Luo Shuangfei¡¯s eyes were slightly reddened as he shouted, "Asshole. I want to change my clothes. Give me my clothes!"

 Chapter 249: A Love for Thieving

    Chapter 249: A Love for Thieving


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Miao Yi was surprised. Then he realized Luo Shuangfei¡¯s storage ring was still in his hands. He took a few clothes out of his storage ring and tossed them over.


    On catching his clothes, Luo Shuangfei turned and ran off to hide behind a giant boulder by the river. Rustling noises were immediately audible.


    By the time he came out from behind the boulder, he hadpletely recovered from his previously scruffy appearance. The wound on his fair neck was already healed, and only a scab remained.


    With only the items he had in hand and his storage ring already taken away, Miao Yi had no idea how he managed to heal his wound so quickly.


    As though thinking of something, Luo Shuangfei was repeatedly biting his lips, when he heard a suddenmotion. He lifted his head to look.


    He watched as Miao Yi swung his arm around, and dropped the branches from the river bank onto the smoldering bonfire. The mes then slowly grewrger again.


    ¡®Thud!¡¯ Standing in his silver armor, Miao Yi stuck his Inversed-Scales Spear into the ground and straightened it. His armor gave off a silver sheen as he stood against the gradually ring mes of the bonfire.


    Charcoal also hadn¡¯t had his battle armor removed yet. He would asionally sneeze, his four hooves stamping in boredom by Miao Yi¡¯s side.


    Noticing how quiet it was behind him, Miao Yi turned around to find Luo Shuangfei had already climbed on top of the giant boulder. He sat there hugging his legs with his knees drawn up, lifting his head to gaze at the starry night sky. Miao Yi had no idea what he was thinking of, but he slowly buried his head into his knees. He was oddly quiet. A whole different person from the previously energetic, despicable and shameless renegade cultivator Boss. Within the valley, he gave the others a feeling of fragility...


    After the silence persisted for a while, Miao Yi slowly opened his shut eyes as thoughing to some kind of decision. He suddenly broke the silence in the valley, "You¡¯re a Loose Cultivator, right?"


    With his head buried into his knees, Luo Shuangfei was startled. He raised his head and looked around, but all he saw was Miao Yi standing there with his back facing him, and reflexively asked, "Are you asking me?"


    "Is there another person here besides you who could respond to me?"


    "So what if I am?" said Luo Shuangfei in that hostile tone of his again.


    Miao Yi pulled his spear out and turned around. The light of the me lent his wolf greaves a silvery glow as he walked over, creating sharp crunching noises as he stepped on the pebbles.


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s body scrunched up subconsciously, his arms hugging his chest.


    Miao Yi stopped and stuck his spear in the ground where he was standing. He raised his head to stare at Luo Shuangfei on the giant boulder and said, "You don¡¯t seem like a Loose Cultivator to me. How can a mere Loose Cultivator have so many treasures on him?"


    Immediately, Luo Shuangfei retorted with an indignant tone, "How do I not seem like a Loose Cultivator? So what if I have many treasures? Why don¡¯t you think about what exactly it is that I do? This Lord has merely failed in doing something absolutely simple today. Otherwise, all the treasures you have right now would have been mine."


    "Are you really a Loose Cultivator?" Miao Yi asked again.


    "So what if I am?" Luo Shuangfei gave off an air, as though he was proud of the fact that he was a Loose Cultivator.


    ¡®It would be best if he really is a Loose Cultivator!¡¯ thought Miao Yi. Then, his tone was serious as he said, "What good is there in being a Loose Cultivator? Not only do you not have a ce to call home within the Six Sages¡¯ domain, for someone like you who goes around robbing day after day, even if you¡¯re able to make a small profit right now, it isn¡¯t capable of sustaining you for long. Eventually, you¡¯ll be caught by the system¡ªjust like how I caught you today. Fortunately, your luck is pretty good to havee across me, of all people. I am a person who appreciates people of talent, and I can¡¯t bear to watch you fall like this. I am willing to put aside our grievances and offer you a future. What say you?"


    Luo Shuangfei disbelievingly said, "Offer me a future?"¡ªhe pointed at his own nose¡ª"You¡¯re saying you want to give me a future?"


    Miao Yi nodded, "That¡¯s right. I want to offer you a future."


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯srge eyes were blinking in disbelief, as he inquired a little more, "You wish to recruit me?"


    Of course! Miao Yi was intending to recruit him.


    Originally, Miao Yi wanted to wait until Tian Qingfeng and the rest woke up before putting an end to him, then taking the artifact armor he had on away as well.


    However, after giving it some thought, he didn¡¯t know if he had left some kind of hidden card on Tian Qingfeng and the rest. In the event that he would discover some kind of leftover ailment on Tian Qingfeng and the rest after killing him, he would probably have to make the long, arduous trip to Glorious Cloud Sect on his own. He dreaded the thought of what would happenter on if he were to stumble here.


    Should this happen, the most he could obtain was only an armor artifact, and a spear artifact.


    He had plenty of first grade transcendent artifacts. The spear artifact wasn¡¯t a very important treasure to him.


    Even though the armor artifact was good, he had already proven during the sh with Luo Shuangfei previously that it was merely a defensive transcendent artifact. It didn¡¯t possess any offensive capabilities, else Luo Shuangfei would have used it long ago.


    The purple marten in the beast sack was a great treasure. He intended on taking it for himself when he took it away, but after giving it some thought, he realized that he couldn¡¯t control it at all, so it was pointless even if he took it.


    In a nutshell, out of all those treasures, that armor artifact was the one that was most beneficial to him.


    Meanwhile, Luo Shuangfei was different. Not only was he able to control all these treasures, he possessed great skill in the spear. He had the makings of a great fighter in the frontlines.


    Should he be able to recruit him to join his banner, then Luo Shuangfei would be his man, so naturally, Miao Yi could use his other treasures for his own use. For example, he could order him to use the purple marten if any of his men were poisoned.


    Once he returned, whether it was in attacking Xiong Xiao or something else, with this fellow¡¯s spear skills and his treasures, he could be of great use.


    Recruiting him was definitely a great idea of killing two birds with one stone. He should recruit more talented individuals when he had the chance. He couldn¡¯t ce all his eggs in a single basket like the School of Blue Jade.


    It was because of this decision that the situation has turned out this way.


    Miao Yi nodded, affirming that he was indeed trying to recruit him.


    However, Luo Shuangfei was still in utter disbelief. He pointed at his own nose again and asked, "I am not mistaken, am I? You wish to recruit me ?"


    Miao Yi loudly replied, "What¡¯s wrong with serving me? Isn¡¯t it better than you being a renegade cultivator that¡¯s always being chased around and hiding all the time?"


    ¡®Che!¡¯ Luo Shuangfei lifted his head to look at the skies with an amused expression. After which, he jumped down from the giant boulder. cing his hands behind his back like an esteemed lord, he circled around Miao Yi a couple times and examined him. Then he said, "Pretty big words. You actually wish to recruit me. Who are you? What qualifications do you have to recruit me?"


    Miao Yi earnestly replied, "Fifth Earthly Branch, East Arrival Cave Master!"


    "Wha... What?" Luo Shuangfei was stunned, his eyes seem like they were almost popping out. "A Cave Master? I didn¡¯t hear wrongly, did I? A mere Cave Master wishes to recruit me?"


    Miao Yi coolly said, "What¡¯s wrong with that?"


    Luo Shuangfei pointed at himself, then pointed at him. Suddenly, he broke out inughter. Heughed maniacally, to the point that he could barely stand properly and leaned back on the giant boulder as he held his stomach. It looked like his stomach was cramping from theughter; even his eyes seemed like they were about to tear up fromughing too much. He shook his hand vigorously at Miao Yi. He couldn¡¯t muster the energy to speak.


    "Why?" Miao Yi coldly said, "Don¡¯t tell me this Cave Master position of mine isn¡¯t better than the bleak future you have as a renegade Loose Cultivator?"


    ¡®Whoosh!¡¯ He struck out with the Inversed-Scales Spear and pressed it against the other person¡¯s chest, as though warning him¡ª ¡®You are nothing but a defeated opponent.¡¯


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s face twitched as he smiled, raising his arms in surrender and said, "Fine! You win. But I want to know, if I join that whatever-Cave-of-yours... What cave was that again?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s face darkened, "East Arrival Cave!"


    "Oh! East Arrival Cave." With his arms raised in surrender, Luo Shuangfei chuckled, "What sort of benefits would I get if I join this East Arrival Cave of yours? Would I earn more than robbing?"


    Immediately, Miao Yi rebuked him, "How can robbing sustain you for long!? I, on the other hand, can give you an official status within the system and allow you to free yourself from the current state you¡¯re in, with neither status nor identity. There are many who yearn for such benefits. With the status of an official, when you get promoted in future, you will have an endless supply of power of will year after year. How can the wealth you obtain from a moment of robbingpare to the umted power of will over the years? You should know that the amount of Orbs of Will a Hall Master possessed in a year are over ten thousand. How long would you have to risk yourself robbing to get that amount? Furthermore, the former is a wealth obtainable year after year. You can simply sit around and enjoy the riches. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re not the least bit tempted!?"


    Luo Shuangfei rolled his eyes, and pushed away the spear pressing against his chest. His tone suddenly bing serious as he asked, "You know as well I, that that¡¯s a Hall Master you¡¯re talking about there. However, you are but a Cave Master yourself. If I ept your offer, don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ll have to be your abode of Immortals¡¯ Horse Deputy, Hall Master? It¡¯s a question of whether you can achieve that yourself. Aren¡¯t you thinking a little too far on my behalf?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s lips twitched. His current status was precisely that of a Horse Deputy. He took in a breath of air, "As long as you¡¯re willing to surrender yourself to me and serve me, I can assure you that it won¡¯t be long before you be a Cave Master!"


    Luo Shuangfei swept his hand, "I have no interest in being some pitiful Cave Master. I much prefer being a robber."


    "I guess you don¡¯t want your marten anymore then." Miao Yi said a single sentence then turned and walked away.


    "Hold it!" Luo Shuangfei¡¯s eyes widened as he stepped forward and stood in front of Miao Yi, "Are you trying to y some cheap trick? You want to go back on what you promised?"


    Dragon roars thundered as he struck out with the Inversed-Scales Spear and forced Luo Shuangfei to back away, "How would I know if you really cured their poison or if you had some hidden card up your sleeves? I¡¯m taking that marten of yours as hostage for now. Once I confirm that they¡¯re fine, I¡¯ll return it to you."


    "You bastard! How dare you set me up! No one has ever dared to set me up!" Luo Shuangfei was mad. He lifted his arm and grabbed the air, when he remembered that his storage ring had already been taken away.


    He couldn¡¯t defeat the other party even with his spear artifact, much less without it. After being speechless for a while, he shouted towards Miao Yi, who was walking away, "If I agree to join this whatever-Cave of yours, will you return my Zi¡¯Er to me?"


    Miao Yi stopped, then turned around and said, "Yes! So long as you agree to it, I¡¯ll return all your things to you."


    "Fine!" Luo Shuangfei extended his arm and said, "I¡¯ve agreed to your terms. Return Zi¡¯Er to me."


    "Don¡¯t you know the rules? Only when you¡¯ve formally registered with the Immortal Record would I consider you to have truly consented. I¡¯ll hold on to your things for now. After you¡¯ve received the binding status of the Immortal Record, it wouldn¡¯t be toote to return them to you then."


    "You...." Luo Shuangfeiughed in anger, "You want to restrict me using the status of the Immortal Record? What a joke. That useless thing can only restrict idiots like you. You want to restrict me? You¡¯ll have to see if Mu Fanjun has the guts to do so or not!"


    Miao Yi assumed he was just talking nonsense out of anger, and provoked, "Hmph. If you¡¯re not afraid of the restriction, then there¡¯s no harm in joining and giving it a try."


    "Fine!" Luo Shuangfei gnashed his teeth in hatred and said, "I¡¯ll promise you. When the timees, if you don¡¯t return Zi¡¯Er to me, I¡¯ll make sure you have something to cry about."


    "It¡¯s a promise!" Miao Yi nodded in acknowledgment.


    Luo Shuangfei swept his sleeves and turned around, jumping back onto the giant boulder then tucked his knees angrily.


    After he calmed himself down somewhat, he seemed to have thought of something. He turned to look at Miao Yi, sweeping his gaze up and down a few times as he mumbled to himself, "If I can be a Cave Master on this side, then I no longer have to hide around whenever I bring my subordinates robbing and instead can do so openly. That seems rather fun as well...."


    Suddenly hearing giggling sounds from the other side, Miao Yi turned to look. He wasn¡¯t sure what that fellow was secretly giggling about...


    As Luo Shuangfei stated, two hourster, the poisoned dragon steeds lying on the ground started standing back up one by one, shaking their heads as they got to their feet. After which, Tian Qingfeng and the rest also massaged their temples as they got back up. It seemed that dragon steeds were stronger than cultivators in this respect.

 Chapter 250: Immoral

    Chapter 250: Immoral


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "He¡ª"


    After waking up, Tian Qingfeng saw Luo Shuangfei standing nonchntly by Miao Yi¡¯s side and immediately pointed at him, gasping in surprise.


    Miao Yi raised his hand and continued, "¡ªhas already surrendered to me."


    ¡®Surrendered? ¡¯ Everyone was stunned, but they didn¡¯t have any right to rebuke. They were actually a little ashamed¡ªit had been their duty to protect Miao Yi. They never expected to be the ones being protected by him instead.


    The School of Blue Jade disciples tidied up the ce. They still chose to rest at the same spot for the time being.


    Daybreak the following day, Miao Yi tossed Luo Shuangfei¡¯s storage ring back to him, which surprised him a little.


    "Uhh Cave Master. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll..." Luo Shuangfei waved his storage ring around, implying¡ª ¡®Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll ambush you once you return my weapon to me?¡¯


    Tian Qingfeng and the rest had already woken up, so it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to ambush him now. Ignoring him, Miao Yi asked, "What about those subordinates of yours?"


    When he thought about those subordinates that left him for dead, Luo Shuangfei ground his teeth in hatred, "When there was something to gain, everyone was eager to share. But when there was danger, they would cast their Boss aside and run away. Bunch of bastards. I¡¯m better off without them!"


    Miao Yi nodded, then motioned with his hand, "Let us hurry along on our journey then!"


    A squad of dragon steeds galloped out of the valley. Luo Shuangfei caught up to Miao Yi and asked, "Uhh Cave Master. Where are we going exactly?"


    "You¡¯ll know once we¡¯re there."


    Luo Shuangfei turned to look at the men behind him, then switched to voice transmission and asked, "Last night, you were poisoned by my ck Rakshasa, then bitten by Zi¡¯Er. How are you fine?"


    "I don¡¯t know."


    "Cave Master, aren¡¯t you being a little too aloof here? I¡¯ve already be your subordinate. Just reveal a little something to me..."


    A few dayster, a ck eagle with a wingspan over one zhang was circling around the sky at the their previous location. It has sleek ck feathers,rge and vicious talons; and a razor-sharp beak. Its head constantly moved, the gaze from its gold irises sweeping across the mountain range beneath it with a ferocious and terrifying aura.


    On its back, was a ck panther with a powerful build. The panther had spiny blue quills on its back, just like a porcupine; and a pair of sharp fangs looming over its lower jaw. It kept sniffing around with its red nose.


    The giant ck eagle was hovering up in the sky with the ck panther on his back. It was a strange sight to behold.


    ¡®Growl....¡¯ The ck panther suddenly lifted its head and growled. Then, abruptly jumped off with its mighty legs, falling straight from the sky towards the ground beneath them.


    The ck eagle circled around in the air once more, then gave out a high-pitched screech before quickly swerving around to fly off. It became a ck spot, and eventually disappeared into the distance.


    The odd-looking panther had nimbly descended onto the ground by then. It sniffed around the surrounding mountain forest, then quickly dashed past the trees. Soon, it arrived at a river nestled in a valley, and paced about the riverside, constantly sniffing around.


    Shortly after, the ck eagle that had flown off, returned carrying a ck-robed man on its back. The man was tall and slim, with aplexion fair like jade. Stroking his three long tufts of facial hair against the billowing wind, his gaze was deep and still like the ocean.


    The ck panther by the valley¡¯s river below howled at the skies. The ck-robed man looked down at it, then vanished from the ck eagle¡¯s back; descending onto the river valley in the blink of an eye. He surveyed his surroundings, before coldly remarking, "There was a battle here, Little Hei. Are you sure that the Young Princess was here before?"


    The ck panther began shining with a blue light as it approached, shapeshifting into a blue-haired man. He spread his arms and stood up, cupping his fists, "Sir Zuo. This ce has a trace of Zi¡¯Er¡¯s scent that¡¯s a few days old. If we didn¡¯t chance upon this ce as we did and came by even a momentter, I¡¯m afraid that even I wouldn¡¯t have been able to detect anything."


    The ck-robed Sir Zuo threw a cold gaze at him, "Little Hei. Zi¡¯Er usually never leaves the Young Princess¡¯s side."


    The blue-haired man called Little Hei understood what he meant, and replied, "It¡¯s precisely because Zi¡¯Er¡¯s scent is a little special that it¡¯s easy to identify. The average person would have a hard time leaving any sort of trace in such a breezy ce after two days. I suspect the Young Princess has some way of concealing her scent."


    Sir Zuo¡¯s eyes brightened, "Why do you think this is the case?"


    Little Hei pointed around him, and said, "The surrounding vicinity doesn¡¯t have any trace of Zi¡¯Er¡¯s scent. Only this ce does. This clearly shows that someone knew it would be easy to track them once they exposed Zi¡¯Er¡¯s scent, and likely kept Zi¡¯Er hidden all this while. The only one who knows about this is probably the Young Princess. Which is why I am confident that she has been concealing herself this entire time."


    Sir Zuo¡¯s eyes gleamed as he swept his gaze across the river bank, "Even though the Young Princess knew that she would be easily discovered if she released Zi¡¯Er, she still used it here. What¡¯s more, this was the scene of a battle. It seems like the Young Princess met with some sort of trouble. Let¡¯s hope that she¡¯s alright."


    He continued, "With this, it seems that the Young Princess should be within the domain of the Celestial Nation. At least we have an idea of her location. This little Junior Sister is really such a handful. It seems we¡¯ll have to send word to the search parties in the other nations, and have them focus their efforts in the Celestial Nation."


    After saying this, the ck eagle hovering in the air swooped down into the valley. The two men jumped onto the its back, then they quickly flew off into the distance....


    At a brothel called Rouge Manor.


    In a private room, amidst a table full of fine foods, wine, and the high-pitchedughter of women, Miao Yi was wedged between two youngdies; utterly speechless.


    He watched Luo Shuangfei seated on the opposite end, endlesslyughing in a lewd manner. Heughed in delight as he wrapped his arms around two youngdies, kissing one, then the other; having a sip of the wine offered by thedy on the left, then tasting the food fed to him by thedy to the right.


    Even more confounding were his hands, constantly groping the bodies of the two youngdies; forcing them to frequently squeeze their legs, twist their bodies, and cover their chests. They would teasingly joke, "Young Master is so bad."¡ªto which Luo Shuangfei would madlyugh in response. He waspletely enjoying himself.


    Their party had journeyed far before finally reaching this city. Some of them were stationed just outside the city to keep watch over their mounts, while some entered the city to purchase a few necessities. Meanwhile, Luo Shuangfei had dragged Miao Yi with him, telling him that he was going to bring him to a nice ce.


    Along their journey, Miao Yi realized that Luo Shuangfei was rather knowledgeable, so he had a high opinion of him, thinking that he had recruited a talented individual. Miao Yi¡¯s knowledge was severelycking, so he would ask for Luo Shuangfei¡¯s opinion at times. This was also why he didn¡¯t reject Luo Shuangfei¡¯s invitation when he asked.


    He never imagined that Luo Shuangfei would actually drag him to a ce like this.


    As they entered, Miao Yi saw how Luo Shuangfei acted like he was the boss, shouting orders and casually throwing his money about after taking a quick look around the ce. This bastard was clearly a frequent patron of such ces. He knew his way around extremely well.


    In the midst of his merrymaking, Luo Shuangfei would secretly nce over at Miao Yi from time to time. He saw that Miao Yi waspletely disinterested with the twodies serving by his side all this while. The two young women reluctantly serving him could only sit coolly by the side, and watch the excitement over on the other end of the table.


    After giving a kiss to the twodies by his side, Luo Shuangfei let go of them, then leaned forward and asked, "Brother Miao. Do thedies here not catch your fancy? We can change them if you¡¯re dissatisfied. We¡¯ll keep changing them until you¡¯re pleased."


    It was best not to address him as Cave Master since they were already in a brothel.


    Miao Yi indifferently said, "Hurry up."


    "Then could it be you¡¯re dissatisfied because there are too fewdies?" asked Luo Shuangfei. He didn¡¯t wait for Miao Yi to answer before giving thedies beside him a push, "Four of you, serve him together! Ladies, you¡¯ll have to showcase your best skills today. As long as this Lord is satisfied with your services, you¡¯ll be heavily rewarded!"


    ¡®PAH!¡¯ Luo Shuangfei dropped arge bag of Gold Crystals on the table. It was probably worth about a few hundred thousand White Crystals.


    The fourdies¡¯ eyes instantly brightened. All four of them held onto Miao Yi, and tried their hardest to please him in any way possible. On the other side, Luo Shuangfei looked on with delight whilst pinching the hair of the ck mole on his face.


    If they were in East Arrival City, Miao Yi could simply toss out thedies who were constantly annoying him. However, they were in someone else¡¯s territory, which made thesedies the followers belonging to said person¡¯s domain.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Miao Yi shouted at Luo Shuangfei. He didn¡¯t have the patience to apany him any longer. Tearing himself away from thedies, he stood up and took his leave.


    As soon as he opened the door, Luo Shuangfei yelled from behind him, "Very soon. Very soon. Just wait a little while longer."


    Miao Yi turned around and saw Luo Shuangfei had already brought the fourdies with him to the bedside.


    Luo Shuangfei pushed the fourdies onto the bed. As he quickly undressed them, he poked his head out and shouted, "Brother Miao. Please help me close the door. I¡¯ll finish this quickly. Please wait a moment."


    Miao Yi was lost for words. He stepped outside, closed the door, then waited in the corridor with his hands behind his back.


    Inside, Luo Shuangfeiughed lewdly and ripped out a few strips of fabric, tying them around the eyes of the fourdies.


    "Young Master. Why are you blindfolding us?"


    "To make things more interesting."


    "So Young Master likes these sort of things!"


    The rustling sounds of clothes being taken off came from within the room, apanied by Luo Shuangfei¡¯s deviousughter.


    Soon, the shameless moans of the women could be heard from inside the room. Miao Yi waited outside with his hands behind his back, not fazed in the least. If he wasn¡¯t worried that the bastard had something else nned, he would¡¯ve left him here long ago.


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s so-called ¡®moment¡¯ ended up with Miao Yi waiting outside for two whole hours. There were a few times when he wanted to go inside and rush him, but the lustful voices inside stopped him from barging in.


    ¡®ck!¡¯ The door opened, and Luo Shuangfei walked out with an expression full of vigor. He gave his clothes a little tug and tightened his sash, then cupped his fists towards Miao Yi, "I¡¯ve made Brother Miao wait long."


    A sinful smell drifted out from inside the room. Miao Yi furrowed his brows, and quickly turned to leave.


    Seeing Miao Yi leave with hurried steps, Luo Shuangfei puckered his lips and snickered.


    Followed by the earnest invitations of the madam for them toe again, the two walked out of the Rouge Manor. Miao Yi turned to face Luo Shuangfei and warned, "Don¡¯te to these ces so often from now on."


    Luo Shuangfei was puzzled and asked, "Where else can men go if not to ces like these? Are you dissatisfied because thedies here aren¡¯t beautiful enough? Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t disappoint you next time."


    "I don¡¯t have much of an interest towards such establishments."


    "How is that possible? How can there be a cat that¡¯s not interested in fish in this world? You can stop pretending. I am also a man. How can there be a man who is not interested in these things?" As he walked beside Miao Yi, Luo Shuangfei leaned his head forward and examined his expression. Seeing the indifferent look on his face, Luo Shuangfei couldn¡¯t help asking, "This can¡¯t be your first time in such a ce, right?"


    This question was an awkward topic for someone who had never experienced such things before. Miao Yi refused to answer, and tookrge strides towards the crowded street.


    However, Luo Shuangfei wouldn¡¯t let the matter rest, and continued to pester him, "Is it really your first time visiting such an establishment?"


    "I told you I have no interest in these immoral establishments."


    "Immoral?" Luo Shuangfei chased up Miao Yi and sized him up a few times. Then he sighed, "I get it now. I forgot that you have personal handmaidens! That¡¯s why themon girls here don¡¯t catch your fancy. s, I can¡¯tpete with you. You have your personal handmaidens doing these things for you. People like me can onlye to these ces. That¡¯s right! Are those handmaidens of yours pretty? How pretty are they?"


    Miao Yi was too tired to even bother with him.


    However, Luo Shuangfei was relentless, and kept heckling Miao Yi on the subject. Even going so far as to ask Miao Yi if he often did it with his own handmaidens, or not.


    Miao Yi was starting to go crazy. As soon as they departed the city gates, and he saw that fellow still jabbering away, he couldn¡¯t help rebuking, "My focus is entirely on my cultivation. I haven¡¯t before participated in such depraved acts before. In future, speak less of it when I am around.


    "You haven¡¯t done it with your personal handmaidens either? That¡¯s impossible. You¡¯re definitely lying to me."


    "If you mention this again, don¡¯t me me for being discourteous!" Miao Yi gave Luo Shuangfei a serious warning, then swept his arm and left.


    Frozen where he stood, Luo Shuangfei¡¯s eyes gleamed. Back in the brothel, he noticed Miao Yi¡¯s reaction and was a little suspicious about whether Miao Yi had done those such things before or not. Now that he forced the words out of Miao Yi himself, he couldn¡¯t help biting his lip. Then, he snorted, "I don¡¯t believe you!"

 Chapter 251: Big Brother Yan

    Chapter 251: Big Brother Yan


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    A certain person was still true to his good-for-nothing nature. Along the journey, he would leisurely look around, asionally whistling or singing some lewd songs.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know where this bastard learnt them from, but one thing did change; ever since their visit to the brothel, Miao Yi realized that Luo Shuangfei no longer mentioned the purple marten.


    Earlier Luo Shuangfei would either keep pestering him to return it, or beat around the bush to ask him to give it back. Ever since the two visited the brothel, Luo Shuangfei didn¡¯t mention the purple marten even once, as though finally resigning himself and was willing to follow Miao Yi back to East Arrival Cave...


    Towering above them, verdant mountains stood at varying heights, dotted byvishly decorated homes.


    Over twenty steeds came to a halt in the mountains. Miao Yi heaved a sigh of relief as they gazed towards the horizon.


    Since their departure from the School of Blue Jade, over two months had passed. Through wind and rain over the long and arduous journey, they finally reached the Glorious Cloud Sect.


    Their journey here wasn¡¯t as dangerous as Miao Yi initially thought. After all, there weren¡¯t many who would dare wreak havoc within the Celestial Nation¡¯s domain. Meeting someone like Luo Shuangfei was a rare case. Even if there were someone with malicious intents, they would normally behave after seeing a party of this size.


    All in all, it was still much safer to have brought more men with him on this journey. It could hardly be considered a wasted effort. To Miao Yi, this was a necessary preparation to ward off any mishap. He didn¡¯t have much experience in long journeys, after all.


    The Glorious Cloud Sect was just right in front of them. Even gazing at it from afar, its majestic aura wasn¡¯t something the School of Blue Jade couldpete with. It wasn¡¯t surprising that it was the number onergest sect within the First Earthly Branch.


    ¡®Is Little Sister cultivating here? I wonder how she¡¯s grown. Will she still be able to recognize me?¡¯


    Whenever he thought about how he sent away an orphaned young girl with a steel-heart, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t restrain himself from facing towards the sky. He felt that he had betrayed his foster parents¡¯ spirits since he did not fulfill his duty in looking after them.


    ¡®I wonder how Little Sister is faring in this ce. If she¡¯s not faring well, I¡¯ll have to take her away no matter the cost!¡¯


    ¡®Little Sister! Big Brother is here. Big Brother is sorry that it took me so long to find you! But that¡¯s because Big Brother could barely protect myself back then. Now, I have some ability at least!¡¯


    Raising his head to gaze at the skies, Miao Yi was a little caught in the moment, his eyes slightly reddening. He already decided that if he were to bring his Little Sister back with him on this journey, he would first ce her in the School of Blue Jade. Once he killed Xiong Xiao and eliminated any future threats, he would have his Little Sister returned to his side, and never allow her to endure any hardship ever again!


    His feelings on the matter were obvious from the way he rushed over to this ce along their whole journey.


    Looking about from his seat atop the dragon steed beside Miao Yi, Luo Shuangfei identally caught a glimpse of the glossy sheen in Miao Yi¡¯s eyes, and couldn¡¯t help being startled. ¡®This ruthless bastard is crying?¡¯


    Curious, he asked, "Cave Master. What is the matter?"


    "Nothing. Let¡¯s go!" Miao Yi swept his arm and brought his men to a gallop down the slope.


    Luo Shuangfei pinched the hairs on his mole. Filled with curiosity, he chased after the rest of the party....


    The major sect was true to its fame indeed. With such arge group arriving unannounced at the mountain gate, quite a number of shadows could be seen moving about behind the mountain gate, concealing themselves in the surroundings to prepare against any mishap.


    "Who goes there?" The two guardsmen by the mountain gate raised their arms and shouted for them to halt.


    Miao Yi raised his arm, and everyone came to a stop. Then, he tossed a jade archive over.


    After the two guardsmen received the jade archive and took turns looking through it, they exchanged nces. The other person was actually a Cave Master from the Fifth Earthly Branch. Even if he had journeyed here on his dragon steed without rest, it would probably have taken him a month or two.


    One of the guardsmen cupped their fists and asked, "May I know what business Cave Master Miao has with the Glorious Cloud Sect?"


    Miao Yi jumped down from Charcoal¡¯s back, stepped forward and cupped his fists, "I¡¯m here to inquire about a certain individual."


    The other person asked, "May I know who this person is?"


    "Lu Xuexin!" Miao Yi politely replied .


    When Miao Yi said this, Luo Shuangfei¡¯s eyes brightened. He coldly snorted as he muttered towards the person beside him, Tian Qingfeng. "You can tell this name is obviously a woman¡¯s as soon as you hear it. I thought he was some kind of respectable gentleman. It turns out he came all this way just to see a woman. He sure is respectable, alright."


    Tian Qingfeng turned to face him, not understanding what nonsense he was going on about.


    "Lu Xuexin?" The guardsmen exchanged nces. Then one of them asked, "Junior Brother. Have you ever heard of such a person?"


    The other person thought for a moment, then shook his head and replied, "I¡¯ve never heard of this person before."


    Miao Yi¡¯s heart thumped. One of the guardsmen cupped his fists and said, "Our sect has numerous disciples. We hope it is simply because we are unaware of this person¡¯s existence. I will go and ask for our sect¡¯s record-keeper Deacon, who is in charge of the disciples¡¯ records. I¡¯ll have to trouble Cave Master Miao to wait for a moment."


    Contrary to everyone¡¯s expectations, Luo Shuangfei thoughtlesslymented, "What impudence. You don¡¯t even know to invite us inside to have a rest. Ask your Sect Master to get the hell out and speak to us!"


    Those words of his were as arrogant as they came¡ªactually demanding the Glorious Cloud Sect Master, whose cultivation was already at the Purple Lotus realm, to personally step out.


    As soon as they heard these words, the two guardsmen¡¯s expressions instantly changed¡ª ¡®Are you trying to challenge us?¡¯ The two parties on both sides of the mountain forest immediately tensed, ready to take up arms.


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression twitched. He wondered whether or not this Luo Shuangfei was some ignorant fool. Even if he himself were in the School of Blue Jade, he wouldn¡¯t dare to say such things, much less in this foreignnd before a school that was who-knew-how-many-timesrger than the School of Blue Jade. Demanding their Sect Master get the hell out¡ªhe actually dared to say such things!


    "Shut your mouth!" Miao Yi told him off, then turned back to face the guardsmen and politely said, "I hope the two of you won¡¯t hold it against him. He just recovered from a major illness, so his brain isn¡¯t functioning properly yet."


    Luo Shuangfei pursed his lips, but he didn¡¯t say anything more. Probably aware that his words were out of line as well.


    Meanwhile, Tian Qingfeng and the rest stared at him in disbelief, as though seeing a monster.


    Luo Shuangfei red at Tian Qingfeng, "Why are you looking at me like that? Did anyone forbid me from speaking?"


    "Please wait!" One of the disciples on guard duty left with a sweep of his sleeves. His attitude was clearly poorer than before, simply because of Luo Shuangfei¡¯s words.


    One must know that the other party was only being polite because of Miao Yi¡¯s status as an official. If Miao Yi¡¯s party really wanted to stir up trouble, they wouldn¡¯t be afraid of a mere Cave Master. Within the First Earthly Branch, the Glorious Cloud Sect had produced many a Cave Master, Mountain Chieftain, and Manor Head. There was even a Hall Master.


    Soon, an old man garbed in a robe of coarse woven grass gracefully walked over. The guardsman apanying him pointed at Miao Yi, then stepped forward and returned the jade archive back to Miao Yi, before introducing the old man, "This is the senior of our school who is in charge of record-keeping¡ªDeacon Liu."


    Miao Yi stepped forward and cupped his fists, "Miao Yi respectfully greets Deacon Liu."


    Deacon Liu nced at the men behind him, then cupped his fists, "I respectfully greet Cave Master Miao. I heard that Cave Master Miao hase here to search for someone?"


    "Precisely so!" Miao Yi again informed him of the name Lu Xuexin.


    "Lu Xuexin?" Deacon Liu thought for a moment, before shaking his head and said, "Our sect doesn¡¯t have a disciple that goes by that name."


    Miao Yi was a little anxious, "Deacon Liu. I personally saw her join your esteemed sect. How is it possible that she¡¯s not here?"


    Deacon Liu pointed at his own head and smiled, "The names of the tens of thousands of disciples of our sect are all inside this old man¡¯s brain. There are only fifteen people with the surname Lu, and none of them are women. There is no mistaking it. Maybe Cave Master Miao saw wrongly?"


    Miao Yi asked him to confirm it again, but the other party was adamant that she wasn¡¯t here. Miao Yi¡¯s heart was instantly chilled at the news.


    He didn¡¯t dare probe any further about Lu Xuexin¡¯s status. He once heard that some sects would torment some of their disciples, who had no background, to death. He couldn¡¯t help growing more worried. If this was really so, in order to keep their misdeeds a secret, they might not reveal the victim¡¯s status to him. He immediate probed with another question, "Then may I know if Yan Beihong is in your esteemed school?"


    "Yan Beihong?" Deacon Liu said with surprise. Then nodded, "He¡¯s one of the outstanding disciples of our sect."


    ¡®Outstanding disciple?¡¯ Miao Yi was struck with glee. It seemed that Yan Beihong was faring rather well in the Glorious Cloud Sect. At the time, Yan Beihong should have entered the Glorious Cloud Sect along with his Little Sister. Miao Yi had even asked him to take care of his Little Sister, so he should be more aware of how his Little Sister was doing. He quickly cupped his fists and said, "I¡¯m an old friend of Yan Beihong. One of my reasons ining here is precisely to pay him a visit. May I meet with him?"


    "So it turns out you¡¯re Yan Beihong¡¯s friend. However, I¡¯m afraid Cave Master Miao came to the wrong ce."


    "What do you mean? Isn¡¯t he a disciple of your esteemed sect?"


    Deacon Liu chuckled, "Yan Beihong is now working within the Traversing Heavens Pce, as the Mount Azure Cloud Mountain Chieftain of Suppressing Seventh Hall¡¯s Peaceful Heaven Manor. He is charged with overseeing the defense of a domain, so isn¡¯t it true that Cave Master Miao hase to the wrong ce then?"


    Miao Yi sucked in a breath of cold air as soon as he heard this, "Yan Beihong became a Mountain Chieftain?"


    He believed that his own cultivation speed was already at a staggering pace. He didn¡¯t even tell anyone else for fear that he might attract the wrong attention. He didn¡¯t expect that Yan Beihong was already a Mountain Chieftain. He wondered if his cultivation was higher than his as well.


    "Exactly!" Deacon Liu nodded, "If Cave Master Miao wishes to find Yan Beihong, I feel you¡¯ll have to spend another two days journey to Mount Azure Cloud."


    "Many thanks to Deacon Liu for the information!" After Miao Yi asked for the exact whereabouts, he cupped his fists and bid his farewell.


    After mounting his steed, he led his men away posthaste.


    No one expected that before Miao Yi could even punished Luo Shuangfei for his impudent words earlier, Luo Shuangfei would approach him and ask, "Cave Master. Who is this Lu Xuexin to make you bear her in your mind so? Is she very pretty?"


    "Luo Shuangfei, aren¡¯t you talking a little too much?"


    "Why so petty? I¡¯m not going to take her away from you."


    Miao Yi was gnashing his teeth in annoyance, wondering if it was the right choice to recruit this fellow, thinking if he should just stab him to death with his spear right now, and be done with him...


    Two dayster, the party finally reached Mount Azure Cloud as Deacon Liu said they would.


    It was different from the Glorious Cloud Sect, which had over tens of thousands of disciples keeping guard over it. Such a number was impossible for Mount Azure Cloud to achieve because they wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it.


    Miao Yi was bringing arge party with him, which was an obvious threat to Mount Azure Cloud. Before they could even get close, they already sent the men of Mount Azure Cloud into full alert.


    When the cultivator keeping guard by the mountain gate motioned for Miao Yi and his party to halt, Miao Yi could already see around a dozen men assembled behind it, waiting for orders.


    "Who goes there?" The gatekeeper shouted.


    Miao Yi and his party obviously wouldn¡¯t force their way through. They were not here to attack this ce, so they all stopped outside the mountain gate.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t respond to the gatekeeper¡¯s question, and threw his gaze directly at the person-in-charge, standing among the dozens of men gathered behind the mountain gate.


    That man donned a long, dark red robe over a burly figure, his hair wasn¡¯t held up with any essories and was simply draped over his back to sway leisurely in the wind. His gaze was fierce and full of vigor, while his beard remained unchanged from how Miao Yi remembered it. Seated atop his dragon steed, his aura was magnificent, especially with that long dark red robe of his lending him an imposing aura.


    Miao Yi could tell from a nce that it was definitely Yan Beihong. However, the previously dejected air was no longer visible on the current Yan Beihong. His aura had changed drastically.


    "Who goes there?" The gatekeeper shouted again.


    Miao Yi still didn¡¯t respond. He was excited to see the old friend who had shared a life and death encounter with him back then. Waving his hand, he shouted, "Big Brother Yan. Do you still remember this Little Brother?"


    As soon as Miao Yi said this, the gatekeeper was startled, turning his head to look behind.


    Yan Beihong kept feeling Miao Yi was a familiar face, but he couldn¡¯t quite ce where he had seen him before.


    He was different from Miao Yi. When they both just knew each other, Yan Beihong¡¯s facial features was already fixed, so his appearance didn¡¯t change much over the years. Hence, Miao Yi could recognize him with a single nce. On the other hand, Miao Yi was still just a youngster back then, so his appearance would obviously have changed a lot once he grew up. It wouldn¡¯t be possible to recognize him with just a single nce.

 Chapter 252: *Chapter Hidden*

    Chapter 252: *Chapter Hidden*


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Yan Beihong truly couldn¡¯t remember where he had seen Miao Yi before¡ªat least, not the Miao Yi before him right now. However, he felt like he knew Miao Yi¡¯s face from somewhere. What¡¯s more, Miao Yi was calling him ¡®Big Brother Yan¡¯, further proving that they were old acquaintances.


    ¡®Who exactly is this person?¡¯ Yan Beihong thought to himself. Raising his hand, he motioned to his subordinates behind him that there wasn¡¯t any danger, so they didn¡¯t need to be on edge. Then, he slowly rode his dragon steed forward.


    Miao Yi chuckled, and turned back to tell the party behind him to wait. Then, he brought Charcoal charging past the mountain gate.


    Seeing the Mountain Chieftain giving some sort of a response from his behaviour, the gatekeeper wasn¡¯t sure if he should stop Miao Yi or not. In the end, he simply watched as Miao Yi charged in.


    Finally, the two came face to face on their steeds. Seeing the confused expression on Yan Beihong¡¯s face, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t helpughing, "Big Brother Yan. Do you still remember this Little Brother?"


    "Uh..." Yan Beihong was still a little hesitant. He slowly circled around Miao Yi on his steed, and kept examining the smiling Miao Yi. Finally, he came to a stop and asked, "May I ask who this honoured individual is?"


    "It seems that a man of Big Brother Yan¡¯s station is apt to be forgetful," said Miao Yi with a smile. "Do you still remember the Boundless Secr World?"


    "Huh¡ª" Yan Beihong jumped back in surprise, his eyes widening. Suddenly pointing at Miao Yi, he blurted out, "You¡¯re Miao Yi?"


    Once his memory was jogged, everything immediately came to him. In his mind, the face of that youngster finally meshed together with the person before him.


    "HAHA!" Miao Yi wasughing as he jumped off his dragon steed. Cupping his fists, he formally gave his greetings, "Miao Yi respectfully greets Big Brother Yan. Has Big Brother Yan been well all these years?"


    Yan Beihong quickly jumped off his dragon steed, excitedlying up to Miao Yi and giving him a hug, spinning him a full circle before putting him down. Lightly punching Miao Yi¡¯s chest, he ribbed, "You¡¯re seriously one lucky kid. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still alive!"


    Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t deny that one of the reasons he could be as sessful as he was today, was because Miao Yi had risked his life at a critical moment to ambush that expert back then. Otherwise, he would have died in the Boundless Secr World.


    Simrly, if Miao Yi didn¡¯t have Yan Beihong¡¯s aid, he would have long since perished in the Boundless Secr World¡ªmuch less being able to retrieve the immortal herb andter on sending his Little Brother and Little Sister on the path of cultivation. Even after that, when Head Guard Huang was searching for him to exact his vengeance, it was Yan Beihong who helped him escape the Ancient City of Changfeng.


    In a manner of speaking, the two of them shared a rtionship forged from the intertwining of their lives. It was only possible for them to be as sessful as they were today, precisely because they each received the other person¡¯s aid.


    However, Yan Beihong figured that back when Miao Yi gave away his chance to join an immortal school, Miao Yi would only be able to live out the rest of his life as mere mortal. It was already questionable whether or not Miao Yi could escape his pursuers; and even if he did manage to escape, after so many years had passed, he was sure to have aged. Yang Beihong never expected that he would be the fine young man before him now.


    Clearly, the reckless kid all those years ago had also be a cultivator, and a rather sessful one at that, it seemed. Yan Beihong¡¯s gaze swept across to the men outside the mountain gate, recognizing that they were all Miao Yi¡¯s.


    It wasn¡¯t as though Yan Beihong never tried to look for Miao Yi after he had found some sess. Whenever he thought about the events that transpired in the Boundless Secr World, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh. At the time, after Miao Yi escaped the Ancient City of Changfeng, he had to avoid his pursuers¡ªso all traces of him were gone. Yan Beihong didn¡¯t know where he should begin to look even if he wished to.


    When everyone saw the way the two acted, the forces both inside and out all let down their guards.


    "Someone! Go and escort our guests inside to rest." Yan Beihong raised his hand and pointed to the men outside the mountain gate, motioning for his men to invite their guests in. Then, he grabbed onto Miao Yi¡¯s arm and dragged him away. "Come! Let us drink to our hearts¡¯ content!"


    That straightforward and unreserved attitude of his was the same as always. Miao Yi could still see the silhouette of the former Military Commander Yan who was forced to go on the run after killing his superior officer all those years ago.


    Just as the two entered with their arms draped about over each other into the Mount Azure Cloud Mountain Chieftain¡¯s courtyard, they met two beautiful women dressed in red. Needless to say, these were obviously Yan Beihong¡¯s personal handmaidens.


    "Hong Xiu. Hong Fu. Come meet my brother." Laughing boisterously as he did so, Yan Beihong pointed to Miao Yi and introduced him, "This is the Miao Yi I¡¯ve always mentioned to the two of you about. My Brother Miao."


    The two women had rarely seen the Mountain Chieftain act so friendly with outsiders, much less address them as brothers. They could tell that it wasn¡¯t simply an act for the sake of formality.


    They were confused at first, but when they heard that his name was Miao Yi, they instantly understood¡ªrealizing that he was the saviour whom the Mountain Chieftain always spoke of, sighing with regret every time that he did so. Their Mountain Chieftain often spoke to them of Miao Yi¡¯s loyalty and righteousness. How he decisively threw away his own future for his younger brother and sister. What¡¯s more, they weren¡¯t even of his own blood. They were left behind by his adoptive parents. This man was greatly admired by their Mountain Chieftain.


    The two girls never expected that their guest would turn out to be this person. They werepletely taken by surprise, and immediately lowered themselves, "We respectfully greet Lord Miao."


    "No, no." Miao Yi cupped his fists in response, "I respectfully greet Elder Auntie and Little Auntie."


    "I¡¯ve always hated people who act on shallow formality. We¡¯re all friends here. Why act so distant? Just call them Hong Xiu and Hong Fu." Yan Beihong swept his arm out, "Prepare us some food and wine. I will drink my fill with my Little Brother here!"


    As he himself said, he had always despised those who put on airs. Miao Yi thought back to how he had cast him aside because of the mysterious melody of a Qin back in the Boundless Secr World. Then when he realized that it was a misunderstanding, Big Brother Yan immediately came to his aid once more.


    If it weren¡¯t for that personality of his, why would someone like him¡ªalready the Military Commander of a city at the time¡ªruin his future by killing his superior officer and be forced on the run? If it were anyone else, he or she would probably try to make apromise, and not to throw everything away like he did.


    "Understood!" Hong Fu quickly left.


    Hong Xiu followed behind the two men as they crossed the small bridge over a tiny creek in the courtyard, up a rock garden, and finally into the cool shelter of a pavilion. She offered the two tea as they took their seats.


    From his seat in the pavilion within the rock garden, Miao Yi gazed at the surroundings and couldn¡¯t help shaking his head as he chuckled, "After not seeing each other for so many decades, I never expected that Big Brother Yan was already so sessful. This Little Brother is truly in awe."


    Yan Beihong chuckled, "To have over twenty men apanying you. I think Little Brother is rather sessful yourself. May I know where Little Brother is holding his esteemed position?"


    "I wouldn¡¯t call it an esteemed position. I¡¯m working as the Horse Deputy of East Arrival Cave, situated in the domain of the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s Traversing Moon Pce."


    "Fifth Earthly Branch... Horse Deputy?" Yan Beihong was taken aback, "Little Brother. Surely there¡¯s something you¡¯re not telling me? How can a mere Horse Deputy have so many men apanying you over tens of thousands miles just toe here?"


    Miao Yiughed dryly, "I was originally the East Arrival Cave Master, but I upset the Manor Head and was demoted to Horse Deputy. To tell Big Brother Yan the truth, the current East Arrival Cave is still under my control."


    "So many men in a mere Cave?" Curious, Yan Beihong asked, "How many followers does your East Arrival Cave have?"


    He was no amateur. He knew that unless the number of followers belonging to East Arrival Cave far surpassed the average Cave, it wouldn¡¯t be able to support so many men with its annual earnings.


    "Big Brother Yan is mistaken. The men apanying me are bodyguards I employed from the School of Blue Jade. They¡¯re not my Cave¡¯s forces."


    "I see. For a Cave Master to be able to borrow so many men, is hardly a simple matter either."


    As they were speaking, Hong Fu brought in a group of handmaidens with wine and several tters of food.


    Once the others retreated, both of Yan Beihong¡¯s handmaidens stood behind either of the two and served them.


    Once the host himself offered up a toast, Yan Beihong curiously asked , "Little Brother. When you escaped the Ancient City of Changfeng all those years ago, I thought it would be impossible for you to transcend the mortal realm. How did you manage to be a cultivator all of a sudden?"


    "I was just lucky. On the second day after escaping the Ancient City of Changfeng, I came across a hermit who guided me on the path of cultivation¡ªwhich is how I ended up where I am today." Looking back, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help sighing at the unpredictable nature of fate. Waving his hand, he said, "I am not worth mentioning. I am more curious about how Big Brother Yan became a Mountain Chieftain in just several decades. It is truly astonishing. Please enlighten me."


    To mortals, several decades was akin to their entire lives, but to cultivators, it was but a passing moment.


    Yan Beihong chuckled and waggled his hands.


    That year, after he separated from Miao Yi in the Boundless Secr World, he identally picked something up on the way back. At the time, he didn¡¯t think it was anything useful. It was only after he became a cultivator did hee to realize its peculiarity, and slowly unearthed the mysteries hidden within it. His achievements now wasrgely in part due to that particr item.


    It was not wise to share such personal information with someone else, so Yan Beihong quickly changed the subject, "I just entered Mount Azure Cloud not too long ago. How did Little Brother find this ce?"


    Noticing that the other party didn¡¯t wish to disclose any more, it wouldn¡¯t be nice to probe further. Miao Yi simply replied, "I only found out after asking the Glorious Cloud Sect."


    "Oh! You went to the Glorious Cloud Sect..." Yan Beihong thought for a moment. Then a thought crossed his mind, and he whispered "Are you here to ask about your sister?"


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t expect that he still remembered. He cupped his fists and asked, "Big Brother Yan. I have indeede to look for my Little Sister, but the Glorious Cloud Sect told me that the person ¡®Lu Xuexin¡¯ doesn¡¯t exist. I am quite confused by this. Big Brother Yan entered the sect with my Little Sister that year, so I thought you might know of the details behind this mystery."


    "I always kept in mind the matter Little Brother entrusted to me. That year, after I bade you farewell and joined the Glorious Cloud Sect, I went to look into this matter. I discovered that only a few dozen people had joined the Glorious Cloud Sect including myself, and all of them were men. There wasn¡¯t a single woman. Your sister was not among the new recruits."


    "That¡¯s impossible!" Miao Yi eximed, "I was the one who personally sent her off at the gates. I¡¯m not mistaken."


    "Wait until I¡¯ve finished speaking, Little Brother." Raising his hand, Yan Beihong urged Miao Yi to calm himself. "Upon my return to the Glorious Cloud Sect, I overheard the sect¡¯s cultivators discussing a certain matter, and discovered that the Glorious Cloud Sect did indeed recruit a female disciple at the time. When she was tested, they found out that she actually possessed the ¡®Phoenix form¡¯. s, before they could get her name, she was taken away by the Realm Beyond Heaven¡¯s Fairy Hong Chen, who had coincidentally stopped by. Now I hear news that the girl who was taken away has be the direct disciple of the Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun, and is the current ¡®Fairy Yue Yao¡¯ that we all know."


    Miao Yi¡¯s jaw dropped open in disbelief. Previously in the School of Blue Jade, he had heard Hong Changhai mention the Fairy Yue Yao. At the time, it was nothing but a passing thought¡ª ¡®Could Little Sister really be the Fairy Yue Yao?¡¯


    Immediately, Hong Xiu and Hong Fu were staring at him and thinking to themselves, ¡®If Fairy Yue Yao is truly his younger sister, then his future will definitely be bright.¡¯


    Miao Yi abruptly strode over. Seating himself beside Yan Beihong, he held his arm and asked, "Are you sure of this, Big Brother Yan?"


    "How can I verify such a matter so easily? The Realm Beyond Heaven is beyond the reaches of men like you and I. How would I find the strength to go and verify it? That being said, since I dared tell you this, I naturally have reliable evidence."


    Miao Yi anxiously asked, "What proof is there?"


    Yan Beihong patted the back of his arm and exined, "The fact that I saw with my own two eyes, that every person who joined Glorious Cloud Sect that year were male, is proof enough! Think about it, Little Brother. Of all the people who dared to risk their lives and enter the Boundless Secr World, how many could be women¡ªmuch less a young girl? How can a normal young girl manage to retrieve an immortal herb from the Boundless Secr World? Other than the younger sister that Little Brother personally brought in, there probably isn¡¯t another young girl who could enter the Glorious Cloud Sect with an immortal herb in hand."


    The idea shook Miao Yi¡¯s mind and threw it into disarray. ¡®Could that snot-nosed crybaby Little Sister of mine really be THE Fairy Yue Yao whom everyone was extolling? How is this possible? But Yan Beihong¡¯s words do have a point.....¡¯


    Chapter 252 - Little Sister is Yue Yao?

 Chapter 253: Capital City

    Chapter 253: Capital City


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    The pavillion was quiet. Miao Yi remained speechless,pletely at a loss for words.


    Before, he had been searching for his little sister. Now that he was almost certain that Fairy Yue Yao was his little sister, he scarcely knew what to do at that moment.


    It seemed his little sister was living a much better life than he had, or one could say, one a hundred thousand times better than he was. She didn¡¯t need his guidance anymore. The only concern that he had if he managed to find her, was who would be looking after who instead...


    Yan Beihong held his cup and quietly sipped his wine, continuing to observe Miao Yi¡¯s expression with from the corner of his eyes.


    Noticing that Miao Yi didn¡¯t respond after a long while, Yan Beihong put down his wine and said, "Actually, I¡¯ve been trying to let you know since I discovered that your sister was taken away by Fairy Hong Chen. Who knew, maybe I could have basked in your limelight too. But I didn¡¯t know where you were at that time."


    There was truth in what he said. Miao Yi¡¯s little sister had gone to the Realm Beyond Heaven, and being affiliated to them was naturally a good thing. It also why he had been keeping this information in mind until now.


    Miao Yi regained hisposure and forced a smile, "Big Brother Yan. You¡¯re too thoughtful."


    Yan Beihong asked, "With Fairy Yue Yao backing you, you can expect to soar to the top in no time. When are you going to go look for your little sister?"


    Miao Yi fell silent once more. After a long moment, he lifted his head and slowly said, "I hope Big Brother Yan will never speak of this matter to anyone."


    Miao Yi¡¯s words caught Yan Beihong by surprise. After blinking for a few times, he responded with a ¡®mm¡¯ reply while nodding his head.


    Even though it hadn¡¯t been long since Miao Yi arrived, he didn¡¯t wish to linger any longer. Simply asking Yan Beihong to visit him in East Arrival Cave whenever he had time¡ªMiao Yi left his wine unfinished and hastily asked to take his leave. He seemed to be avoiding the discerning gaze of Yan Beihong.


    Yan Beihong personally escorted Miao Yi towards the mountain gates. When he saw Miao Yi and his troops were far from the gates, he went back inside the pavillion and continued savoring his wine.


    Beside him, Hong Xiu quickly refilled his cup while asking, "Mountain Chieftain. Master Miao left rather quickly. Is he that impatient to meet with Fairy Yue Yao?"


    Yan Beihong shook his head, "He¡¯s most likely going to confirm whether Fairy Yue Yao is his little sister or not first. If it is, I fear he might never meet with her."


    "Oh!" Hong Xiu was surprised and continued asking, "Why is that?"


    "Have you never heard of the saying about poor rtives?" Yan Beihong scoffed. "He came all the way here just to find his little sister, and you can tell that he¡¯s given a lot of thought into this. However, if Fairy Yue Yao had wanted to find her brother, it would have been much easier because she had all the resources to searchpared to him. Miao Yi¡¯s identity is in the register, so his name would have popped up if she wished to investigate, and the siblings would have met sooner. But as you know, poor rtives will always be resented. Miao Yi is a man who is usually honest with his feelings, but now he doesn¡¯t have enough courage to confirm whether Fairy Yue Yao is truly his little sister."


    Hong Xiu and Hong Fu exchanged a nce before realization dawned on them. Miao Yi was afraid. Once he managed to confirm the truth, they feared he would be even more disappointed...


    Following after Miao Yi as he hurriedly left Mount Azure Cloud, Luo Shuangfei and the others didn¡¯t know what happened. Miao Yi only mentioned going back, and didn¡¯t utter another word. No one could pry another word from him, not even when Luo Shuangfei intentionally provoked him.


    Once when Luo Shuangfei misspoke while asking about Lu Xuexin again, Miao Yi immensely became incensed. He almost acted on it, and it shocked Luo Shuangfei to no end.


    Miao Yi was never that furious when he tried to kill Luo Shuangfei, so this really had Luo Shuangfei shocked. He shut his mouth, a sense of helplessness shing across his gaze. He became quite sulky and stopped talking to Miao Yi entirely.


    All in all, everyone had a feeling that Miao Yi wanted to leave this ce as soon as possible, as though he had never stepped foot into this area before.


    This made everyone speechless. ¡¯He came all the way from such a distance, and didn¡¯t seem to have aplished anything. He went home just like that. Did he really have nothing else to do...¡¯


    It took another three months on their journey before they reached the capital of the Fifth Earthly Branch.


    The weather here was clearly different from South Edict Manor. It was already winter, yet spring flowers were already in bloom.


    The entire capital was separated by mountains, waters, and nds. The entire area was bound by mountains andkes. Even before stepping into the city, they could already sense the prosperity of this ce from the peddlers and porters strolling along the path. With a million people gathering in one ce, prosperity was inevitable.


    In order to not disturb the lives of civilians, a path was specifically made only for the cultivators and dragon steeds to use. As Miao Yi and his troops galloped through over a massive bridge, the boats underneath the bridge caught Miao Yi¡¯s eye.


    Gazing over the scenery as a whole, the entirendscape of the mountain river curving along the settlements and stores was like a scene from a painting. The streets were upied with people bustling about and endless streams of horses and carriages. The whole area seemed boundless, giving his mind a sense of ease. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but sighed, "This ce is indeed great, but the whole area is surrounded by water. The followers might be inconvenient by this when theye and go. Why did they choose this ce to build the city?"


    Luo Shuangfei still seemed to be sulking, but his lips twitched as if mocking Miao Yi¡¯s ignorance.


    As it wasn¡¯t Tian Qingfeng¡¯s first time to the capital city, he exined to Miao Yi, "The daily lives of the followers cannot be whole without water. With a million of followers living together, they require arge amount of water to live. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible to choose a ce without a source of water to build a city upon. Someone joked about this before that the mostmonly used transport is the boat and the mostmonly trodden area is the bridge, because there are bridges everywhere."


    "I see!" Miao Yi nodded. Then continued, "I heard the Overlord of the Fifth Earthly Branch lives within the city. Do you know where it is?"


    "Sir. Please look!" Tian Qingfeng indicated a majestic mountain and continued, "The Overlord lives on that mountain. If you are interested, we can go stay there for a few days."


    Miao Yi thought he had misheard and asked, "Are you joking? We can stay where the Overlord resides?"


    Tian Qingfeng chuckled, "You¡¯re mistaken, Sir. The poption in the capital is too numerous, so there isn¡¯t a lot of space to amodate a lot of them, which is why the mountain that the Overlord stays in has more of a purpose. However, no one can really disturbs the Overlord as the upper half of the mountain is restricted. The lower half has been taken by the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce to do businesses. Cultivators going to the capital are allowed to stay, but the fee for that is a quite high. I heard that you need quite a substantial amount of Crystal Coins to stay a night, but with that, you will haveplete safety while staying in there. Normally, no one will dare cause a ruckus in the Overlord¡¯s territory. I can¡¯t guarantee the same for the other areas."


    "Oh!" Miao Yi was immediately interested. "Let¡¯s go! We check out the situation there. If all is well, we might even be able to be neighbors with the Overlord."


    Hearing that, Luo Shuangfei pursed his lips as if displeased with the idea. However, as he peered at the unusually bustling atmosphere of the ce, his eyes brightened. One could tell that he was a person who loved a lively atmosphere.


    On their way towards the great mountain, they could see a few caverns among the rows of smaller hills. At times, people could be seen entering and leaving the caverns. Miao Yi pointed at them and asked, "What are those used for?"


    "Cultivators can stay there too. Normally, Loose Cultivators are the ones upying these caverns. While payment is still needed to stay there, the advantage is that it¡¯s certainly much cheaper."


    "You need to pay to stay in these type of caverns?"


    "Every inch of the capital costs money. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not possible to find somewhere to stay without paying."


    "Is there not an inn in the capital?"


    "Most inns are too noisy, and not an ideal ce to cultivate. Loose Cultivators can¡¯t afford the best inns either. Well, you know how it is for Loose Cultivators."


    Miao Yi nodded in agreement. He knew that all too well. Loose Cultivators were often more like normal civilians at times.


    Normal civilians had to offer their power of will everyday for protection. As the cultivators¡¯ main source for the power of will, they will receive greater protection. If those Loose Cultivators were to intervene on the lives of these normal civilians with their transcendence energy, ordinary followers would lose to them. This was the reason why officials forbade Loose Cultivators frompeting with normal civilians, so that their lives would not be disturbed.


    Much like other sects, no one could ever intervene during an ongoing business operation. They would have to find a representative for these normal civilians possessing good backgrounds. Anything would be better than the background of the School of Blue Jade that has been trying to expand inside the South Edict Manor. This was the same concept, so to speak.


    As such, most Loose Cultivators may not be able to earn as much as normal civilians do. Normal civilians would have legal ie, while Loose Cultivators had none; so it was understandable why they could not afford to live in good inns. Of course, Loose Cultivators could use their transcendence energy to struggle for it, but they must be prepared to bear the consequences of their actions.


    However, Miao Yi was curious. He knew that Loose Cultivators were always at a disadvantage, yet he had never seen them gathering in East Arrival City as a group. Why were there so many in this ce?


    He couldn¡¯t help asking Tian Qingfeng about it. "If they have to pay to live inside the caverns while having such a difficult life, why are they still here instead of leaving this ce? They will have better lives even if they randomly search a remote forest to live in. At least they don¡¯t have to spend their money like this. Don¡¯t most Loose Cultivators go to the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea to find a living?"


    "You must be joking, Sir. Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is a dangerous ce, and I¡¯m talking from the perspective of an individual¡¯s power. People from that ce will do anything to win with power and violence because there are no rules. Those who can¡¯t defend themselves will notst long. However, it¡¯s different here. At least this ce is peaceful. They can depend on the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce for something to do whenever those people need someone to deliver goods. Most importantly, the capital can provide more opportunities than any other ces. If they can meet a nobleman and build a good rtionship with them by getting goodmendations, they could easily be an official. This is amon urrence, and this is the real reason why Loose Cultivators gather to live in this ce."


    "I see!" Miao Yi nodded. He just arrived, and yet his views had already broadened.


    As they continued to talk, there was an middle-aged woman standing out on the side of the mountain cave. Charming and retaining a graceful manner, she frequently nced left and right. She spotted a group of dragon steeds approaching from below who were pointing around as they moved forth at a slow pace. With one nce, she could tell they were neers.


    The middle-aged woman suddenly lit up when she saw them. She immediately arranged her hair and pulled her cor low to reveal half of her perky bosoms before rushing towards them and stopping in their path.


    Miao Yi and the others were caught by surprise. They halted their mounts, feeling a little bewildered with the current situation.


    That middle-aged woman greeted them with a gesture before asking, "This must be your first time to the city. Do you need a guide?"


    Tian Qingfeng waved his hand and said, "There is no need. Step aside."


    Meanwhile, the middle-aged woman¡¯s gaze had fallen onto the six storage rings on Miao Yi¡¯s fingers. Her eyes lit up. Ignoring Tian Qingfeng¡¯s words, she intentionally revealed a bit more of her already half-exposed bosom and said, "That gentleman over here. I¡¯m very familiar with the best ces to go have fun and eat in the capital. I can give everyone a free tour. I guarantee you will have the time of your life."


    Her chest was quite a sight, and with her standing in front of them in an extremely revealing attire, it was difficult for Miao Yi and the others not to look and steal a few nces at her.


    And in the midst of that, Luo Shuangfei had been keeping quiet all the while, then decided to coldly re at Miao Yi and speak out, "Sir. where are you looking at? Never seen a woman before!?"

 Chapter 254: Jade Capital Peak

    Chapter 254: Jade Capital Peak


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    It was truly remarkable how that question shot straight to the heart. Truly remarkable. One normally wouldn¡¯t ask such questions in the presence of others. Acting like a flock of startled birds, the eyes of the men quickly darted from the middle-aged woman¡¯s bare bosoms to Miao Yi.


    "Eh..." Miao Yi was put in an awkward position after being singled out from the group.


    There wasn¡¯t actually anything wrong with taking a nce or two. He wasn¡¯t intentionally looking, or desiring to look at her chest. He wasn¡¯t having lewd thoughts either. It was the other party who had exposed more of her chest. It would be hard to avoid noticing it at that point.


    Not to mention, he was already used to looking at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s breasts, so he didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with a nce or two. Of course, theirs weren¡¯t as magnificent.


    He was in that position mostly because of the middle-aged woman in front of him, and that extremely disrespectful subordinate of his. Miao Yi never dreamed that Luo Shuangfei would abruptly blurt out words like.


    The woman in question had a hard time stopping herself from smiling, and somehow managed to hold it off in the end. Moreover, when she heard Luo Shuangfei addressing Miao Yi as ¡®Liege¡¯, she knew in a sh that Miao Yi was indeed a person of authority. It was the first time she had seen an official wearing six storage rings at once. Her heart sped up when she realized that he must be someone with an extraordinary status.


    Miao Yi pretended that he hadn¡¯t heard anything and turned his head away to ask a question, "Tian Qingfeng. Are you familiar with this city?"


    "I¡¯ve been here quite a few times, but this city is quite big so I can¡¯t say I¡¯m actually familiar," replied Tian Qingfeng.


    Miao Yi then asked the others, "Are you all familiar with this ce?"


    With that, everyone got the hint without needing to guess. The middle-aged woman¡¯s eyes lit up at this point, filled with anticipation for what was toe.


    Everyone shook their heads. Just then, Luo Shuangfei drew out his long spear. Leveled it at the middle-aged woman, he coldly said, "Scram! Don¡¯t make me kill you if you don¡¯t step aside!"


    "Shut up," scoffed Miao Yi.


    Luo Shuangfei lips twitched. He gave Miao Yi a deadly stare before reluctantly putting away his spear.


    Miao Yi raised his head to watch the middle-aged woman jumping down from caverns, and asked, "What¡¯s your name?"


    She quickly replied, "I¡¯m Lin Pingping." After she finished, she didn¡¯t forget to add, "The Loose Cultivators living here have all been checked and vetted by the authorities. Our backgrounds are clean. I¡¯m definitely not someone with a criminal background."


    "I can¡¯t tell the difference." Luo Shuangfei said in mockery.


    Miao Yi shot him a cold re as a warning, before he turning to the woman and said, "Then I will have to trouble you to guide us in the city."


    On his first visit to the city, he obviously wanted to have someone familiar with the city to be their guide. Of course, after listening to what Tian Qingfeng said, he knew that these Loose Cultivators had a difficult life. This woman had decent charm and qualities; she was determined to let go of her ego and endure whatever mockery Luo Shuangfei threw at her just for an opportunity to thrive through her difficult life.


    Even though she said she would guide them for free and he never mentioned offering to pay for her service, Miao Yi already decided that he wouldpensate her for her efforts if she did a good job. He was born in a small town, so he could understand the pain and difficulties she was in.


    "No trouble, no trouble. Please wait for a moment, sir."


    Lin Pingping was ted. She knew that people like him would not waste her efforts once they agreed, so she quickly went off to perform her task right away.


    "And here I wondered why he was acting chivalrous. It seems he likes women with big breasts. Yet taking a fancy to someone that old, you certainly have strong preferences," muttered Luo Shuangfei, tilting his head to the side as he said so.


    "Luo Shuangfei. Why does your mind always go that way?" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but giving him a little advice. "Try not to think nonsense in the future."


    He assumed Luo Shuangfei easily jumped to such conclusions because he was always in such risque ces.


    "My Liege. I serve under you, but that does not mean cultivators can¡¯t go to those ces, isn¡¯t it?" scoffed Luo Shuangfei.


    Tian Qingfeng and the others were quite speechless. They had no idea why Miao Yi would want to recruit such an irresponsible as Luo Shuangfei, and Miao Yi was even being so patient with him.


    To be honest, Tian Qingfeng and the others were envious of Luo Shuangfei. It was clear that Miao Yi intended to give Luo Shuangfei a position of authority. For a plundering Loose Cultivator to gain such a promotion was an envious sight for them. After following Miao Yi everywhere and taking orders from him for a long time, they never received such treatment from Miao Yi before.


    Everyone was bitched in their hearts. ¡®What was the use of having such a rebellious underling like Luo Shuangfei?¡¯


    They had no idea that some people were capable and useful in their own way.


    For Luo Shuangfei to have a Ninth Grade White Lotus cultivation this young, it clearly meant that his cultivation method was exceptional and there was plenty of room for improvement. While, Tian Qingfeng and the others were already old men.


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s skill was extraordinary. His fierce and cunning spear art couldn¡¯t even be matched by the School of Blue Jade disciples. Moreover, with his precious defensive armor on, he could easily gain the upper hand even in a battle against arger group. He was the best choice to charge into a battlefield under Miao Yi¡¯s banner.


    Also, Luo Shuangfei could poison twenty of them by himself. Up till now, no one knew how he managed to do it. With that capability alone, he was far stronger than Tian Qingfeng and the others in Miao Yi¡¯s opinion. He would definitely be useful in the future.


    Luo Shuangfei could even control that marten to cure poison, which led Miao Yi to value him even more.


    If Tian Qingfeng and the other men had simr capabilities to Luo Shuangfei, Miao Yi would definitely treat them better; just like how Yang Qing treated him in the past.


    A dragon steed suddenly charged out from a nearby ravine. The rider was none other than Lin Pingping. She came up to Miao Yi and said, "My Liege. Do you want to rest somewhere first?"


    Miao Yi motioned with his finger at the mountain peak with the dense mass of clouds. Now Lin Pingping was sure that he was indeed an extraordinary person. That was a ce that ordinary cultivators would not normally live. She quickly nodded and said, "My Liege. Pleasee with me."


    Luo Shuangfei was furious when he saw her. Seeing her pale bosoms bouncing up and down distractingly as she rode her dragon steed. He quickly used his spear to jab at her and shouted, "Cover your fat bouncing boobs immediately. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for killing you in a single strike when I grow tired of looking at you."


    Everyone speechlessly stared at this weird man. Miao Yi didn¡¯t know what to say either. He couldn¡¯t allow Lin Pingping to expose her bosoms like that either. Others might think Miao Yi had other intentions if he allowed her to be as she was.


    This time, Lin Pingping was the one embarrassed. She quickly pulled back her cor and buttoned up her clothes;pletely covering her perky bosoms. Only after that was done, did she asked them all to follow her.


    Luo Shuangfei rode beside Miao Yi, hogging that space without allowing anyone to overtake his position. Tian Qingfeng could only fall back, allowing Lin Pingping to apany Miao Yi and introduce the surrounding area. She was indeed more familiar with the city than him, because she was able to tell which street was which.


    By the time everyone arrived at the ¡®Jade Capital Peak¡¯, where the Overlord of the Firth Earthly Branch stayed, they more or less had an understanding of the city¡¯s customs and practices after being briefed by Lin Pingping.


    Tian Qingfeng and the other men never stayed at Jade Capital Peak before, which made it even more apparent that Lin Pingping was more familiar with the city than them. She quickly led them to the registration counter once they arrived at Jade Capital Peak.


    Lin Pingping already briefed them earlier about the current location. The ce where the cultivators were permitted to stay in Jade Capital Peak was categorized into four sses. Naturally, it wasn¡¯t anything like the dugout caverns the loose cultivators stayed in, and it wasn¡¯t anything like an ordinary inn either. They were all istedrge and small residences.


    First ss was located at the foot of the mountain, and was the cheapest among all sses; the second ss was located at a higher altitude, where guests would be able to see more of the city¡¯s scenery. Naturally, the second ss would be a bit expensive than the first ss. Third ss had better ambience, and of course, it would be more expensive than the second ss. Fourth ss was obviously the best of them all. All the Pce Lord would choose to book the fourth ss every year they came because it was convenient whenever they came to visit the Overlord. The Pce Lords could afford to book the fourth ss, so they didn¡¯t mind spending a huge amount money for that ce.


    Before the counter, the manager grinned and asked, "Which ss would our esteemed guest like to stay at?"


    Miao Yi replied, "Third ss."


    The manager then looked at the group behind him and asked, "How many will be staying?"


    Miao Yi turned to Lin Pingping beside him and asked, "Why don¡¯t you stay with us?"


    This was an offer too great for Lin Pingping to handle. She quickly waved her hands and said, "You don¡¯t have to, My Liege. If you have any request, please quickly let me know. I will wait for your summons below the mountain."


    "Why trouble yourself so much by going up and down? You live quite far from here. If it¡¯s convenient, we can stay together. In case we have an emergency, it will be easier to find you too."


    "In that case, I will ept your decision." Embarrassed, Lin Pingping agreed. She quietly shot a look at Luo Shuangfei.


    As expected, Luo Shuangfei scoffed with a grumpy mood.


    Miao Yi quickly informed the manager, "Twenty-three people."


    The manager smiled, "If it¡¯s third ss, ording to the head count, each person will have to pay fifty Gold Crystals everyday. For twenty-three people, that will be 1,150 Gold Crystals."


    This price was staggering. Fifty Gold Crystals per day would be equal to half a million White Crystals per day. If Lin Pingping hadn¡¯t informed him earlier, Miao Yi would have been shocked by the amount he had to pay now.


    However, he could still afford to fork out this amount of funds without a problem. He was interested in going through this experience, so the money didn¡¯t ount for much.


    During the payment process, Miao Yi took out his Cave Master jade archive to prove his identity to the manager.


    As Lin Pingping mentioned to him before there would be discounts if he had an official status as well.


    And as a result, he was able to enjoy getting special treatment once more after showing proof of his identity as an official. The charge for each person was discounted by ten Gold Crystal per day, which meant forty Gold Crystals per day. In total, that would be nine hundred and twenty Gold Crystals per day for this group..


    Lin Pingping gazed at Miao Yi with a gleam in her eyes. As expected, he was indeed someone with authority.


    However, to Luo Shuangfei¡¯s eyes, her expression was instead instantlyced with ill-intentions.


    The manager handed twenty-three check-in passes to Miao Yi, and proceeded to call someone to escort the guests up the mountain.


    Miao Yi and the others were quite arge group, and with Luo Shuangfei insisting on staying together without separating the group, the manager decided to arrange a bigger residence for them instead.


    Their residence was located about halfway up the mountain. It was peaceful and quiet with a hint of ssical influence in the scenery. The trees on the edge of the forest swayed as the wind whistled through the pines. A few trees towered into the sky, whist scattered leaves were painted with wildflowers on the sidewalks. The fragrance of the wildflowers was subtle. Turning to gaze at the cityscape with its curved rivers, Miao Yi found it quite pleasing to his eyes. The view below was that of a flourishing mortal world, whilst the mountain seemed extraordinarily ethereal. He felt lofty and powerful at this height. The scenery just then was like a painting.


    Someone already led their dragon steeds to their settle down within the residence. The number of servantsing forth to greet them in advance were enough to cater to their needs.


    These servants were all young people below the level of Loose Cultivators. Those with normal status or stable ies would nevere here to be servants. Employing ordinary civilians was also out of the question because they would not cope with dragon steeds. Loose Cultivators were the best option for this position as they would be obedient and not dare to cause problems.


    Lin Pingping mentioned she had worked in the mountains when she was younger. The Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce relieved her of her duty because she was getting older and losing her youth. They feared that guests would be unhappy looking at her. The Loose Cultivators working here earned their living with their youth. However, most Loose Cultivators did not have the power of the Orbs of Will, so their cultivation would progress slowly and they would age faster. They wouldn¡¯t be able to depend on their youth to keep living a stable life for long.

 Chapter 255: The Outlandish Luo Shuangfei

    Chapter 255: The Oundish Luo Shuangfei


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    The Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce wasn¡¯t afraid that there would be nobody for them to make use of, as there was a vast number of young Loose Cultivators struggling to find work in the capital city. They could fire the aging and easily reced them with rookies. There were countless people out there waiting in line for the opportunity.


    In reality, apart from getting lucky and receiving gratuity from noble guests, the Loose Cultivators could only work for the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce. Jobs that other followers could perform in the capital were forbidden from being done by Loose Cultivators. Even if they didn¡¯t use any of their transcendence energy and honestly set up a stall just to sell some buns, they weren¡¯t allowed to. Once they were found out, the officials would never be courteous to a Loose Cultivator without any background.


    Miao Yi had a hunch that it would have been worth every penny using Lin Pingping as a guide. She really exined every area they went into without fail, and with great detail. She could even properly exin the conditions of the Loose Cultivators working there. This was at least something Tian Qinfeng wasn¡¯t too knowledgeable about. Only a Loose Cultivator in the capital city, as Lin Pingping herself was, could urately describe their conditions as she knew the circumstances all too well.


    However, Miao Yi was a little bewildered with how blunt Lin Pingping was with her words. She didn¡¯t even try to sugarcoat her own low and degrading status.


    Even Tian Qingfeng and the others were sighing profusely on hearing her words. As members of a sect, although they couldn¡¯tpare to officials, they were in a much better position than the Loose Cultivators.


    The only exception was Luo Shuangfei, who still found Lin Pingping a sight for sore eyes.


    Inside the residence, all the necessities were present including pavilions and the like. The servants were also avable at any time. Although it was expensive to live here, it was definitely a ce that was worth staying.


    They didn¡¯t need the resident¡¯s servants to lead the way as Lin Pingping had worked here before. She stayed by Miao Yi¡¯s side and exined everything in detail whilst they were touring the ce. She could even knew how many people could aodate the respective rooms in detail. On hearing that, Miao Yi requested Tian Qingfeng and the others to go off by themselves and find a room of their own to rest.


    Although Lin Pingping had worked here before, it was still her first time staying at such a ssy ce as a guest, so she was feeling a little perplexed.


    Some of the servants working there recognized Lin Pingping. When they saw that she managed to secure the job of being a guide for the esteemed guests and even stay at ce like this, they were green with envy. Yet, they didn¡¯t dare to step forth and greet her. There were rules instilled here. Guests were guests, and servants were just servants. Should they upset the customers, they would be fired without hesitation. They were many others waiting in line for the job.


    Whilst still touring around the residence, Miao Yi once again bumped into Tian Qingfeng and the group. He ordered them to rest while he and Lin Pingping headed out for a bit.


    Luo Shuangfei instantly voiced out at his side, "I¡¯ll go too."


    "Why? Rest here." Miao Yi motioned with his hands. He had personal matters to attend to and wasn¡¯t willing to bring extra baggage around.


    "No. As your subordinate, I have an obligation to protect you and prevent others from plotting anything against you." Luo Shuangfei stared at Lin Pingping from the corner of his eyes.


    Spending arge sum of money to stay here, was because it was pretty safe. Perhaps more so than East Arrival Cave. Nobody dared to cause a disturbance under the watchful eyes of the Overlord. So what was there for him to protect there?


    Miao Yi was caught betweenughter and tears. He was worried before that this guy might run away and, feeling like he had no choice, even apanied him to a brothel. Now he had really done it. The man was like a burr that he couldn¡¯t get rid of him no matter what.


    "No need." Waving his hand, Miao Yi grabbed Lin Pingping and headed out.


    Even after he said there was no need¡ªit was futile. Luo Shuangfei had his own pair of legs and quickly tagged along, ring daggers at Lin Pingping all the while.


    Tian Qingfeng and the others remaining were speechless. Luo Shuangfei wasn¡¯t obedient at all. ¡®What need was there for a subordinate like him?¡¯


    As they descended the mountain on foot, they feasted their eyes on the amazing scenery of the capital city. It left neers feeling carefree and rxed. As Lin Pingping indicated and introduced each region in the capital city, Miao Yi kept kept nodding his head. The only issue was that stones kept raining down on him from behind, which spoiled his mood to no end. If he were amoner, his life would have been in danger.


    Luo Shuangfei wasgging behind him, whistling and kicking down some rocks from the roadside like it was nothing. It wasn¡¯t until he kicked arger rock and sent it tumbling forward, did he startle a man from the Chamber of Commerce intoing over to warn him about being careful on the road. Instead, Luo Shuangfei started taking out his temper on the poor man. However, after Miao Yi shot a cold re back at him, Luo Shuangfei looked away and finally controlled his anger.


    The trading stores in the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce were Miao Yi¡¯s main objectiveing here. Lin Pingping¡¯s experience made the progress easy as she brought him straight to the ce. Warning him to pay attention to the rules when they entered the trading store, she helped him to take a number on her own ord.


    Inside the trading store, a person immediately brought Miao Yi alone into a small chamber. With the thick copper door shut tight, it was difficult for the average cultivator to use his transcendence energy to investigate.


    They rxed while waiting in the hall of the trading store. Luo Shuangfei has his arms crossed in front of his chest. After scanning about for a while, he walked over to stand before Lin Pingping and pursed his lips at the doorway. "Lin Pingping. Let¡¯s have a little chat outside."


    Lin Pingping was instantly ovee with fear. Of course she knew that this man wasn¡¯t friendly with her. Thoserge stones raining from behind her were directly aimed at her head. The reason was pretty obvious. She shouldn¡¯t have deliberately exposed herrge bosoms.


    She really didn¡¯t have any intention of selling her body. However, she knew that she didn¡¯t have any strengths and only had a cultivation at second grade. On top of that, her youth was fading¡ªher youthfulness and good looks had long since parted from her. The only thing about her that could attract people¡¯s attention was her still attractive figure and her pair of breasts.


    If she didn¡¯t reveal something that could attract their attention¡ªwho would notice her? If she had other ways, she wouldn¡¯t so willingly be shameless and endure disdainful looks from others.


    In her past experiences and encounters with numerous people, even if some outright ignored her, she never met with such a hideous and oundish man like Luo Shuangfei, who would keep making life difficult for her.


    "Sir Luo. If you have something to say to me, say it here." Lin Pingping was afraid to leave. She felt it was safer to stay inside the trading store.


    She was frightened by the nine-petaled White Lotus Luo Shuangfei revealed between his brows before. Her own cultivation was no match for his. It was too easy for him to kill her without anyone knowing.


    Luo Shuangfei didn¡¯t give a crap that this was a trading store. He red, lifting his nted andrge, heavy thick-set brows. ¡®She didn¡¯t want face even when he was trying to give her face?¡¯ He swiftly reached out and hooked his arm around Lin Pingping¡¯s neck, immediately dragging her out.


    Lin Pingping never expected that this bastard would be this aggressive. The trading store in the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch was one of twelve branches under the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce with an expert overseeing it. Yet, Luo Shuangfei dared take action against her in this ce. It scared her witless. She was too frightened to let out a cry for help, and was dragged out just like that.


    Once she was hauled outside, Luo Shuangfei immediately pushed her against the wall and scowled, "Let me warn you. Don¡¯t think you¡¯re all that just because you haverge breasts. I have seen my share of women withrge breasts, but I have never seen one as arrogant as you. Just because they don¡¯t show it, doesn¡¯t mean that theirs aren¡¯t bigger than yours. It¡¯s because they know shame. Do you understand?"


    Lin Pingping nodded again and again. "Sir Luo. I don¡¯t have an ulterior motive."


    "You dare say you don¡¯t have any motive by doing that? Milord can¡¯t tell, but do you think Ick the experience to see through your scheme? Your cor was obviously intentionally pulled open. You are trying to seduce Milord!" Luo Shuangfei fiercely yelled whilst pointing at her chest. "If you dare to be a slut in front of Milord in the future, watch out for I cut you to pieces until you have nothing else to sell. Do I make myself clear?"


    Lin Pingping nodded, "Loud and clear..."


    Luo Shuangfei leaned half of his torso away to take a peek inside the trading store. Seeing that Miao Yi wasn¡¯t out yet, he withdrew his body and once again warned her, "For the sake of Milord, I will let you go. But I¡¯m warning you now, Lin Pingping. Milord has a wife. Before we departed, the mistress already told me that Milord is forbidden from touching another with his hands, so that her body will not be tainted by others. Whoever dares to plot something, I will kill them. "


    Lin Pingping didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. ¡®Why was there a wife like his? No wonder this man kept harassing her. It turned out there was a female tiger keeping watch at home.¡¯ Yet, she nodded and said, "Sir Luo. I won¡¯t dare to continue doing so any more."


    Luo Shuangfei sped his hands behind his back. "Words alone are not proof. You have to act on it."


    Lin Pingping was caught off guard. She thought that he wanted to drive her away so she pleaded, "Sir Luo. Please don¡¯t drive me away. It¡¯s not easy for me to stay in the capital city. Please give me a chance!"


    "Who says I¡¯m driving you away?" Luo Shuangfei quickly leaned out to peek into the trading store again.


    If he ran Lin Pingping off now, Miao Yi would know that he was the culprit. Thus, he withdrew his body and uttered in a low voice, "Although you¡¯re older and look average, you know well that all men are pigs. If you keep unting yourrge bosom in front of him, I can¡¯t guarantee that he won¡¯t be tempted."


    Lin Pingping was stunned. "Then what do you suppose I should do?"


    Luo Shuangfei pursed his lips at her chest. "You need to think of some way to deal with your full bosom."


    Lin Pingping cried out in rm. "What are you nning?!" She subconsciously shielded her chest with her arms, believing that he really wanted to slice them off.


    She didn¡¯t expect that Luo Shuangfei would rummage around with his hands behind his back, and dangle a long cloth before her eyes. "Go. Find somece to bind your chest smaller."


    Lin Pingping was speechless. She had never seen someone this bizzare before.


    "Stop dawdling and quickly go." Luo Shuangfei forcefully shoved the long cloth into her hand...


    In the private, secure customer chamber, the clerk of the Chamber of Commerce responsible for serving Miao Yi was surnamed Luo. His name was Luo Ping. After he was done introducing himself across the table from Miao Yi, and exined in detail the scope of operations of the Chamber of Commerce, he asked, "May I know what Cave Master Miao wishes for the Chamber of Commerce to assist you with?"


    Miao Yi dug out a storage ring and pushed it towards him. "I want to exchange some storage rings."


    He said some , not one. Luo Ping understood his meaning and again asked, "Does Cave Master Miao wish to change them for Crystal Coins or another item?"


    Miao Yi resolutely replied. "Exchange them for Orb of Wills!"


    Luo Ping took the storage ring to examine it for a while, then smiled and said, "With this low-grade storage ring, one of it can be exchanged with twenty low-grade Orbs of Will. How many does Cave Master Miao wish to exchange them for?"


    "Only twenty?" Miao Yi eximed in surprise. "Isn¡¯t it thirty?"


    It should be borne in mind that one storage ring would require the essence powder extracted from one million ck Crystals to sessfully refine one. The money to extract essence powder would cost another one million ck Crystals. The artifact artisan¡¯sbor fee would cost an additional one million ck Crystals. So one storage ring was worth three million ck Crystals. It could be converted into thirty thousand Gold Crystals. A low-grade Orb of Will had a market value of one thousand Gold Crystals. Which meant that one storage ring could be exchanged for thirty low-grade Orbs of Will based on the market value.


    Miao Yi knew thating here to carry out a trade would result in some amount being deducted, but he never expected thirty percent to be taken off at once. The Chamber of Commerce was rather ruthless in this regard.


    Luo Ping exined, "Cave Master Miao should well know that Orbs of Will are the true hard currency, and can be used to trade for anything. While this low-grade storage ring will usually have buyers who are able to use it, none of them will be willing to buy it with Orbs of Will. Although the market value dictates that one thousand Gold Crystals can be exchanged into one low-grade Orb of Will, in actual fact, there is a high chance that nobody will want to exchange Orbs of Will with you even if you take out two thousand Gold Crystals. I¡¯m sure Cave Master Miao knows that only tradingwork of our Chamber of Commerce covers the entire nation, even reaching the outer realms. This gives us more opportunity to encounter those who urgently need them and to clear the goods. If you hold onto it, it will be very difficult to sell to someone at a suitable price. So the price our Chamber of Commerce offers is already considered a good deal. If you don¡¯t trust us, you can try with others. You definitely won¡¯t be able to get a price as good as this."

 Chapter 256: Goods Exchange

    Chapter 256: Goods Exchange


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Miao Yi understood the reasoning. Otherwise he wouldn¡¯te to Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce to trade on purpose. However, with the sudden plunge in market value, his heartache was only natural.


    "Isn¡¯t twenty a little too low? Can¡¯t you go a bit higher?" Miao Yi asked, frowning.


    Luo Ping shook his head. "Cave Master Miao, from the way you speak, you may not be aware that normal people are only offered eighteen low-grade Orbs of Will for this kind of low-grade storage ring. But as part of governing body, the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce takes upholding the privileges of government officials like yourself into consideration, and offered you twenty orbs as a deal. You may take a look at these different price levels."


    He handed over a jade archive to Miao Yi that consisted ofmon trading prices. Surprisingly among them were the exchange rate of storage rings against the Orbs of Will.


    Upon looking over it, only then did Miao Yie to realize realize that there were actually three price categories for exchanging storage rings with Orbs of Will. Non-government officials would be offered fifteen orbs without exception. An ordinary cultivator holding a government official title would be offered eighteen orbs. People like Miao Yi who held the position of a local authority starting from the title of Cave Master would be offered twenty orbs.


    Miao Yi secretly felt deeply ashamed. If he were to reveal his identity as the Steed Deputy, then one storage ring could only be exchanged with eighteen Orbs of Will. He finally felt the advantages of being a Cave Master.


    He only just began to realize the importance of an authority¡¯s status after the truth came to light. It allowed one to enjoy special privileges everywhere in the Celestial Nation, including a discount in aodation. He didn¡¯t expect to also be given a deal when exchanging items with the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce.


    Naturally, Miao Yi also understood the reason behind these deals. The Chamber of Commerce handled the trade throughout the entire Celestial Nation. If they didn¡¯t give a good deal to dwellings of different branches, then who was going to take care of them?


    Taking East Arrival Cave as an example: if the Chamber of Commerce had any sea cargo arriving at East Arrival Cave, it wasn¡¯t likely for their goods to be snatched due to their powerful influence. However, East Arrival Cave could still deliberately make things difficult for the Chamber of Commerce. Within their strictly defined power and responsibility, the Chamber of Commerce had no rights to take action against them. Instead, they would have to look for a more powerful authority to pressure East Arrival Cave.


    In reality, if the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce had any issue in trading, they would also instantly seek help from the local authority. In this way, everyone maintained a mutually beneficial and reciprocal rtionship.


    Miao Yi pushed the jade archive back and muttered with a little hesitation. "I believe there¡¯s room for negotiation with regards to the stated price, right? It¡¯s impossible for it to always remain the same rate."


    "There are fluctuations, but the prices are set ording to the overall state of trading for each item. Intion always exists, butmon trading goods like these are always used and don¡¯t really change in the cultivation world. Thus, we¡¯ve observed that they don¡¯t fluctuate very much. Inparison, special items like the Glorious Star immortal herb don¡¯t have a fixed price, and definitely have room to bargain. However, formon items like these, Cave Master Miao should know that we will give the fairest price. Not only that, the price is also made public so you maypare it with everywhere else. There¡¯s no room for bargaining in this."


    Since this was the case, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t really do anything about it. In the end, he had no choice but to nod. "Alright, twenty it is."


    Luo Ping nced at the six rings he wore on his hands and inquired, "So how many would you like to exchange, Cave Master Miao?"


    Miao Yi reached into his clothes and fumbled about for a moment¡ª ¡®nk!¡¯ ¡ªin a sh, he pulled out several strings of storage rings and tossed them on the table. "Two hundred."


    It had been very exhausting to lug these heavy things around for such a long time since he couldn¡¯t store them in other storage rings. He was finally going to get rid of them today.


    He didn¡¯t take out all of the storage rings he won from battling in the Sea of Constetions. He disposed of two hundred of them, and kept twenty as reserves.


    He initially thought that he would shock the other person by suddenly tossing out so many storage rings, but Luo Ping only faintly smiled then proceeded to calmly and carefully check the goods.


    The Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce served the capital cities of the twelve branches. These few storage rings hardly amounted to anything because they had seen a great number of other amazing sights. Compared to them, the few items that Miao Yi pulled out were hardly worth mentioning.


    Miao Yi came to realize that he was overthinking matters. It seemed he hadn¡¯t made a wrong decision ining here. Those items he had taken out weren¡¯t that conspicuous.


    Luo Ping had Miao Yi wait for a moment. After he was done checking the goods, he turned around and tapped open the other copper door of the secure room. He stepped inside, and vanished behind the closed copper door.


    The Chamber of Commerce here was a round building. The secure rooms were built around in a circle together with the lounge, and connected to the central administration room in the center via a passage.


    A short whileter, the copper door swung opened again. Luo Ping came out from the central administration room with another old man. After both of them inspected the goods together, Luo Ping asked, "Cave Master Miao. Would you like to withdraw the Orbs of Will immediately, or store it here with us for now?"


    Miao Yi was aware that hard currency like Orbs of Will could be stored in the Chamber of Commerce like money, and be withdrawn from any Manor within the Celestial Nation whenever needed, and at any time¡ªfor example, the Chamber of Commerce had a branch in South Edict Manor. However, prior notice needed to be given before withdrawal; and payment would only be received after the branch managed get in touch with the capital for verification. Although the waiting time was a little inconvenient, the goods would be delivered instantly after everything was settled, and without any additional charge. The service was definitely reputable. Otherwise, this kind of business wouldn¡¯t be possible.


    Of course, if the distance was too far or the location was too tricky to travel to, they wouldn¡¯t be within the area of delivery.


    Even so, the Chamber of Commerce would still encourage their clients to store their items here, so they would have more resources to circte around. Most importantly, deadly battles were normal urrences in the cultivation world and the death rate every day, month or year was immeasurable. Naturally, the items that had lost their owner would belong to the Chamber of Commerce. Every year, the Chamber of Commerce greatly benefited from just this alone.


    "Withdraw immediately." Miao Yi replied.


    The old man standing beside Luo Ping nodded. After re-counting Miao Yi¡¯s storage rings, he shed out the storage bracelet he wore on his wrist and produced four small boxes made of silver. He then handed them over to Luo Ping.


    After Luo Ping performed a thorough check on them, he pushed the four small boxes towards Miao Yi. "You have exchanged two hundred low-grade storage rings. The exchange rate for each ring is twenty low-grade Orbs of Will, making that a total of four thousand low-grade Orbs of Will. Each of these four boxes contains one thousand low-grade Orbs of Will. Please verify the transaction, Cave Master Miao."


    Miao Yi was obviously going to verify the transaction without being told to do so. These were all the items he had obtained by risking his life. After opening every boxe and verifying their contents, he nodded and said, "The number is correct. There is no problem."


    Luo Ping then promptly retrieved a jade archive to scribble down the transaction details and sealed it with his insignia. He then let Miao Yi sealed it with his insignia, after verifying it once more, passed it to the old man to do the same.


    Upon verification by the three parties, the old man put away the official document along with the two hundred storage rings on the table. He opened the copper door that led to the central administration, entered and vanished behind the closed door.


    Luo Ping gestured for Miao Yi to put away the four boxes of Orbs of Will before he asking another question. "Do you have any other request, Cave Master Miao? Perhaps even purchase some goods?"


    Miao Yi casually grabbed at a first grade transcendent artifact and, without batting an eye ced a shiny, silver toothed club on the table. Pointing at it, he asked, "How many Orbs of Will can this be exchanged for?"


    Luo Ping was speechless. He silently thought to himself that Miao Yi should have taken everything out in one go if he still had something to sell. ¡®Was he doing this on purpose?¡¯


    Despite the grievances in his heart, they was no sign of them on his face. He picked up the item and appraised it with a professional smile.


    It seemed like this item had room for bargain because unlike the storage rings, it had no fixed standard price.


    Luo Ping even took out a scale and weighed the toothed club, checking to see how much essence powder had been used.


    ording to the general construction cost, including the materials and manufacturingbor fee, his final evaluation was 3.5 billion White Crystals. Equivalent to 350 thousand Gold Crystals. One thousand Gold Crystals could be exchanged for one low-grade Orb of Will. Therefore, it was worth 350 low-grade Orbs of Will.


    However, just like the storage rings he had traded earlier, besides the market price, the Chamber of Commerce still had to make money. Therefore, one third of the value was deducted, and they were only willing to pay 230 low-grade Orbs of Will.


    The price of the first grade Yao Core inside was calcted separately.


    The real worth of a Yao Core was high. Its price was equivalent to the Orbs of Will and it was the standard market value. A First Grade Yao Core could be exchanged for a hundred low-grade Orbs of Will.


    It was unfortunate that it had been refined into a finished product. If you took out an untouched Yao Core, you would be immediately offered a hundred Orbs of Will, but if it had been refined into a finished product, it would have issues meeting the needs of customers during resale. Not every transcendent artifact fit the customer¡¯s needs, just like how Miao Yi was used to using a spear, he definitely would never be willing to use this toothed club.


    A deduction of 20% was immediately done. They were only willing to offer eighty low-grade Orbs of Will for the First Grade Yao Core inside the toothed club.


    In the end, this first grade transcendent artifact was priced at 310 low-grade Orbs of Will.


    After the lesson he received earlier, Luo Ping smiled and said, "Cave Master Miao. If you still have other items, you may take all of them out at once to exchange. The Chamber of Commerce will most definitely ensure your safety and privacy."


    That was Miao Yi¡¯s first transaction so he was indeed a little apprehensive about it. Now that he was acquainted with the procedure, he wasted no time in immediately tossing out another forty-nine first grade transcendent artifacts on the table with a loud tter.


    Looking at the pile of first grade transcendent artifacts before him, Luo Ping was quite bbergasted and gave Miao Yi a look of amazement.


    He had secretly been a little baffled earlier¡ª ¡¯How did a Cave Master manage to find so many storage rings?¡¯ ¡ªeven so, he hadn¡¯t dwelled on it. Now, he was stunned. ¡®This is a whole pile of transcendent artifacts! Not just one or two, but a massive pile! Where did all thesee from?¡¯


    The corner of Luo Ping¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡®Could a Cave Master possibly have obtained all this by himself?¡¯


    However, this wasn¡¯t important. Other than receiving a fixed wage from working here, he could get a 0.0001%mission from each transaction. Hence, instead of worrying about receiving too many items from clients, he only feared the clients would bring too few items.


    In the Chamber of Commerce, every employee usually had their own regr and major clients. Clients would also usually look for the employees they knew well to make a transaction.


    Luo Ping wasn¡¯t that experienced, so major clients wouldn¡¯t look for him. He hadn¡¯t expected to run into one today. He was instantly in high spirits, and began bargaining with Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi¡¯s earlier experience with the toothed club gave him a vague idea of the worth of the remaining transcendent artifacts.


    As expected, examining fifty transcendent artifacts one by one took up quite a bit of time. The main reason being, that the price of the Yao Cores required some effort to determine. Also, the amount of essence powder used in every transcendent artifact was different, so it was impossible to tag them all with the same price.


    When all the prices were settled for the fifty transcendent artifacts, the grand total came to 14,085 Orbs of Will.


    Luo Ping asked Miao Yi whether or not he had anything more to exchange. If he did, he might as well settle them all together. Naturally, Luo Ping was eager to receive more.


    Of course, Miao Yi still had more in his hands but he didn¡¯t sell all of his first grade transcendent artifacts and saved some to keep in reserve. As for hard currencies like Yao Cores, he didn¡¯t have any fear of not being able to sell them¡ªbesides, his own transcendent artifacts would need the Yao Cores to replenish their energy when he fought. Hence, he wasn¡¯t going to sell them for now.

 Chapter 257: That Was Disgusting Enough

    Chapter 257: That Was Disgusting Enough


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    He had ze Resins too as well as other misceneous items, but he didn¡¯t want to take them out just yet. This was his first time making a transaction in the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce. He didn¡¯t want to throw out all of his resources because he feared that it might be very risky.


    "That¡¯s all." Miao Yi said, shaking his head.


    "Cave Master Miao. Please wait!" Luo Ping then went to the central administration of the Chamber of Commerce again.


    When he re-emerged, he brought that old man with him once more. The old man was clearly surprised to see a mountain of transcendent artifacts in front of him.


    Together with Luo Ping, they weighed the transcendent artifacts while Luo Ping notified the old man of the prices for each artifact he had settled with Miao Yi just a moment ago.


    After the old man had inspected and confirmed that there was no discrepancies, Luo Ping then asked Miao Yi again, "Cave Master Miao. Do you want to continue withdrawing the Orbs of Will?"


    Miao Yi shook his head and said, "Help me deposit them in the Chamber of Commerce."


    Luo Ping gleefully replied, "Alright! No problem. You can be absolutely assured that with your deposits in our Chamber of Commerce, you can withdraw them anytime in any Chamber of Commerce within the Celestial Nation as well as in the other five nations. We have branches in each nation, so you can withdraw without any problem so long as you are able to find one."


    Miao Yi nodded, and grumbled in his heart, ¡®What would I go to the other five nations for?¡¯


    After Luo Ping and that old man made some preparations toplete the proof of transaction, he handed over a jade archive specifically made for the Chamber of Commerce to Miao Yi, so that he could seal it with his transcendent seal. The jade archive contained information such as the amount of Orbs of Will deposited.


    Miao Yi had other reasons foring here. The day to hand over the Orbs of Will was drawing near, which also meant that he would soon have to pay the troops of East Arrival Cave. Since he had travelled quite a fair distance, he wouldn¡¯t be able to go back to settle their payment in time. Miao Yi intended to send the payment through the Chamber of Commerce to their branch in South Edict Manor, then inform Yan Xiu to withdraw the payment from there.


    Luo Ping nodded, "No problem. Just follow the procedures here. Our branch in South Edict Manor will send the payment straight to East Arrival Cave. If you have any doubt in your mind, you can check with the branch in the South Edict Manor."


    And so, Miao Yi gave him another small surprise. Miao Yi deposited about one thousand, five hundred billion White Crystals into the Chamber of Commerce, which amounted to fifteen million Gold Crystals.


    He had about a total of thirty million Gold Crystals in hand. Among those, the Gold Crystals and ck Crystals were eptable, but the White Crystals had taken up an absurd amount of space. Once he took out one thousand, five hundred billion White Crystals for the deposit, three of his storage rings were instantly cleared. Finally¡ªhe didn¡¯t have to wear six storage rings around everyday as he moved from ce to ce!


    It was precisely because of this that he decided to deposit all that money into the Chamber of Commerce. The other reason was because he couldn¡¯t return to East Arrival Cave in time. It would be better to deposit them in the ce either way.


    Miao Yi followed through with the procedure and calcted the exact amount of Orbs of Will and money that they would withdraw. Once it was time, the Chamber of Commerce in the South Edict Manor would deliver those items to East Arrival Cave, or he could inform Yan Xiu to withdraw them¡ªeither way was fine.


    Luo Ping was ted. He quickly settled everything for Miao Yi before he inquiring a little, "Is this the first time Cave Master Miao has dealt with the Chamber of Commerce?"


    "Yes," replied Miao Yi with a nod.


    There was a subtle gleam in Luo Ping¡¯s eyes. ¡¯So it is,¡¯ he thought.


    Miao Yi just forked over two hundred storage rings, fifty first grade transcendent artifacts, and a thousand, five hundred billion White Crystals. It wasn¡¯t a coincidence that they were whole numbers. Luo Ping surmised that Miao Yi still had more in hand but he was still worried because it was his first time dealing with the Chamber of Commerce.


    Without hesitation, Luo Ping handed a jade archive over to Miao Yi and said, "If Cave Master Miao hasrger transactions in the future and you¡¯re worried about making them in other branches of the Chamber of Commerce, you can show them my business card in any of the branches. They will inform me immediately, and I can render my services to you as soon as possible."


    Most cultivators with smaller transactions would never be able to obtain this type of on-call business name card.


    Miao Yi was astounded when he took a closer look at the name card. Luo Ping would be avable at any hour¡ª ¡®There¡¯s even such caring service like this?¡¯ ¡ªit seemed he was really gaining quite the experienceing to the Chamber of Commerce.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but ask, "If I¡¯m at a ce far from you, aren¡¯t you afraid that you won¡¯t be able to reach me in time?"


    Luo Ping chuckled, "You worry too much, Cave Master Miao. As long as it¡¯s arge transaction, the Chamber of Commerce will send out a Red Lotus expert to escort me at the fastest possible speed. I will definitely reach Cave Master Miao in time. You have no need to doubt this."


    "Then that¡¯s good. If I have arge transaction next time, I will find you." Miao Yi said, waving the name card in his hand.


    Luo Ping nodded and gave a bow, "Remember to find me. I will definitely give Cave Master Miao the best price I can offer."


    Who was he kidding¡ªhe could receive quite a tidy sum from themission of suchrge transactions. Important clients must be retained, so a door-to-door service was nothing.


    Miao Yi kept the name card and bid his farewell, "I still have business to attend to. I will take my leave."


    "Of course!" Luo Ping quickly opened the bronze door of the secure room and personally apanied Miao Yi to the main entrance of the Chamber of Commerce enthusiastically and with respect.


    Waiting for Miao Yi all this while, Lin Pingping was well aware of the rules in this ce. When she saw Luo Ping enthusiastically escorting Miao Yi to the exit, her eyes gleamed. Only big clients would be able to enjoy such treatment.


    Luo Shuangfei had grown impatient from the wait. He curled his lips, he said, "Why were you gone for so long? And here I was thinking that you might have been robbed and murdered by the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce."


    The smile on Lou Ping¡¯s lips froze in the midst of cupping his fists to send Miao Yi off. He stood there on the steps before the entrance of the Chamber of Commerce thinking¡ª ¡®What kind of person is this? He has some guts to say that the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce would rob and murder people. How dare he say things that can harm the reputation of the Chamber of Commerce?¡¯


    If it were an ordinary citizen saying those things, Luo Ping would definitely have gone forth and given a strict warning. However, for Miao Yi¡¯s sake, he decided to forget that it even happened.


    By the time the three of them left the Chamber of Commerce, the sky was already dark. The streets were lit up with colorfully decoratednterns. It was apparent that Miao Yi had spent too much time inside making transactions.


    "Milord. Where are your eyes looking?"


    Noticing that Miao Yi would gaze at Lin Pingping¡¯s bosoms every now and then, Luo Shuangfei scornfully sent a warning to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi let out a dry cough because he couldn¡¯t resist taking another look. It was quite odd. He noticed that Lin Pingping¡¯s bosoms had abruptly be tter. It made no sense, and really piqued his curiosity. ¡®Could these parts berger or smaller at any given time?¡¯


    On the other hand, Lin Pingping was embarrassed. There was nothing she could do after what Luo Shuangfei did to her.


    In any case, Miao Yi felt that it would be a terrible question to ask her, so he told Luo Shuangfei, "It¡¯ste. Go back and inform Tian Qingfeng and the others to descend the mountain. We will go for a stroll around the city together. Remember to let them know that they should change their School of Blue Jade uniform into something else."


    "Understood!" Luo Shuangfei loved the excitement of a lively atmosphere. When he heard that they were going for a stroll, he immediately got hyped and ran towards the mountain. However, after running a few steps forward, he realized something was amiss. Then, he ran back and gave Lin Pingping a fierce look before saying, "You go inform them. I will stay here and protect Milord."


    Miao Yi was speechless. ¡®When did he ever feel concerned about my safety?¡¯


    Lin Pingping nced at Miao Yi. Seeing that he didn¡¯t respond to that, she hastened her footsteps and quickly left to ascend the mountain.


    "Did you do something to her?" asked Miao Yi, turning to Luo Shuangfei.


    Luo Shuangfei replied with his own question, "What could I possibly have done to her?"


    Miao Yi felt that Lin Pingping¡¯s shrunken bosoms had something to do with this guy because he had a lot to say about herrge bosoms. However, Miao Yi didn¡¯t know how to address it properly as he wasn¡¯t ustomed to discussing a woman¡¯s bosoms with anyone.


    Luo Shuangfei took the initiative and asked on behalf of Miao Yi, "Milord must be curious why Lin Pingping¡¯s breasts have be smaller, right?"


    With a serious expression, Miao Yi replied, "I noticed that."


    "Of course you must have noticed it. Your eyes were glued to her breasts for the longest time. It would be weird if you didn¡¯t notice it." Luo Shuangfei didn¡¯t even consider protecting Miao Yi¡¯s face as he sighed, "I see Milord is still inexperienced!"


    Maio Yi didn¡¯t wish to talk about it, but Luo Shuangfei made him curious about Lin Pinging¡¯s bosoms. He couldn¡¯t help himself and asked, "What does her shrunken bosoms have to do with me being inexperienced?"


    "It¡¯s fake, didn¡¯t you realize that? Her huge breasts were the result of being squished together. Women will squish them together like this, to look more rounded and make them look bigger than before," exined Luo Shuangfei. He used both his hands to squish his chest as a demonstration. Fearing that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t believe him, he pressed hard and squished his solid chest to show how it was done. His action alone was disgusting enough.


    Understanding suddenly dawned on Miao Yi¡¯s face.


    Luo Shuangfei couldn¡¯t help but turn his face away slightly and breaking out a smile, thinking¡ª ¡®This guy really has no experience on the affairs of men and women. He didn¡¯t even know of this idea, and was easily deceived.¡¯


    Luo Shuangfei leaned his head back to pat his chest, and proudly said, "I always frequent the brothel. Such tricks will not evade my eyes. I exposed her earlier, and she made her breasts return to normal, just like that. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask herter."


    It would be weird to find Lin Pingping and ask her this sort of question. Miao Yi turned away from him and enjoyed the scenery, as if he hadn¡¯t heard him at all.


    He suspected that he would eventually be misguided by Luo Shuangfei the longer he stayed with this fellow.


    Both of them didn¡¯t have to wait long. Tian Qingfeng and the others had changed into their in clothes and were descending the Jade Capital Peak. They would have attracted a lot of attention if they continued to wear the School of Blue Jade uniforms instead.


    Both parties finally gathered together. Only after specifically ncing at Lin Pingping¡¯s chest to see that they were ttened down, did he begin to speak, "Lin Pingping. You are familiar with the city. Take us for a stroll."


    "Sure," replied Lin Pingping. "Milord. I know of a small restaurant that serves good food, and they are quite special. It¡¯s located not far from here. Would you like to eat something first?"


    "Lead the way." Miao Yi responded with a nod.


    Lin Pingping quickly forged ahead enthusiastically.


    Everyone followed behind without their dragons steeds. It would be inconvenient and troublesome to ride one through this busy street with all the passing crowds, bumping into people here and there. Besides, the city forbade cultivators from riding dragon steeds along this bustling street anyway.


    They crossed over arge bridge, witnessing a ¡®flower boat¡¯ passing by underneath as they did so. Then, Lin Pingping led the group into a small, and quiet street. Compared to the bustling of the main street, this street was rather dull.


    The street was paved with limestones, andnterns hung along the entrance of every shop. A few children of unknown families were shouting and running about the street.


    While everyone else was still gazing about, Lin Pingping suddenly hastened her steps towards a small restaurant. It seemed like she wanted to inform the restaurant first.


    As Lin Pingping approached the restaurant, she bumped into a woman at the entrance. Both of them were surprised to see each other. Lin Pingping quickly held onto that woman¡¯s hand and smiled, "Hong Hong. Quickly go inside..."


    Before she could finish, the woman flung Lin Pingping¡¯s hand away and shoved her. With a detestful expression, she said, "Why are you here again? Go away. I don¡¯t have any extra money to give you."


    In the next moment, a man with a towel around his shoulder appeared. He cupped his fists and said, "You are a capable person. I beg of you, please leave us alone, alright? Our business hasn¡¯t been that good either."


    Miao Yi and the others approaching grew curious of the situation. They only saw Lin Pingping exining to the woman, "Hong Hong. I don¡¯t mean to shame you. I have brought guests to eat at your restaurant." She pointed at Miao Yi and the others, but as she turned around to look at them, Miao Yi and the entire groups were already looking at her curiously. Her face looked red, as if she had gotten into an argument, and looking quite embarrassed at that.


    "What happened?" Miao Yi asked as he led his men to the scene.


    Lin Pingping was flustered. She waved her hands and said, "Nothing. It¡¯s nothing, Milord." She turned back to the woman and said, "Hong Hong. Quickly greet the guests."


    The couple standing at the entrance saw that Lin Pingping had brought about twenty guests to the restaurant. At a nce, these guests didn¡¯t seem ordinary either. They quickly changed their attitudes and bowed simultaneously, stepping aside before giving a warm wee to invite the guests inside.

 Chapter 258: A Trivial Skill

    Chapter 258: A Trivial Skill


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    It was as the man said¡ªbusiness in the restaurant hadn¡¯t been going very well. There wasn¡¯t a single customer in sight. The couple seemed to be the owners of the restaurant.


    The restaurant was two-storeys high. On the lower floor, there were only three tables beside the counter and kitchen.


    Miao Yi threw a nce at the woman called ¡®Hong Hong¡¯ and realized that her facial features bore some simrities to Lin Pingping¡¯s. Their ages seemed to be simr as well, so he couldn¡¯t help asking, "Are you two the owners?"


    To which the man replied, "Yes. Indeed we are. This store belongs to us husband and wife."


    "Milord. It is more spacious upstairs. Please have a seat there." Lin Pingping quickly interrupted, seemingly afraid that Miao Yi would probe deeper.


    Miao Yi shot a nce at her, but he didn¡¯t say anything else and nodded his head. He allowed her to lead everyone up the wooden steps onto the second floor.


    The second floor was clearly more spacious, and was fitted with six tables. It was clearly enough to aodate them all.


    Miao Yi and a few others sat at a table beside the window. The rest of them sat at a table of their own liking.


    "Honorable guests. What would you like to eat?" The boss asked in a deferential manner.


    Miao Yi turned to Lin Pingping beside him and said, "You¡¯re familiar with this ce. You help us order."


    Lin Pingping immediately told the couple, "Bring out all the best dishes your restaurant has to offer."


    "Yes. Of course. Please wait a moment, honorable guests," replied the boss before quickly going downstairs.


    Thedy boss was about to pour tea for everyone, but Lin Pingping stood up and went over to tell her, "Go and do your work downstairs. I will help you serve them." After that, she carried a pot of tea over and started working her way around table by table.


    When she finally sat back down next to Miao Yi, he asked, "It seems you¡¯re very familiar with the owners of this restaurant?"


    "I am¡ª!" blurted Lin Pingping, before faltering towards the end.


    Suddenly, they overheard the conversation between the couple downstairs. It made Lin Pingping¡¯s cheeks flush red with shame, and the air became extremely awkward.


    "Why is your mother here again?" It was the boss¡¯s voice.


    Thedy boss muttered, "But didn¡¯t she bring us many customers?"


    "Don¡¯t you know how your mother is? Yes, she did bring us customers. Yetter if she asks us for the earnings that we made from these customers, we will have to give them to her. Then it would have been a wasted effort for us."


    "I think this should be thest time."


    "These are your words. You go talk to your motherter on. Hong Hong. I don¡¯t mean anything by it, but business has been bad for us. Our lives are not faring any better than hers. Our eldest child has also reached the age where he should be saving money for marriage. All these years, we have always provided for her. She should spare some consideration for us as well..."


    The couple downstairs thought their voices were low enough because they were whispering, but they didn¡¯t realize what sort of people were sitting upstairs. It was such a short distance between the two floors, that everyone heard what they said loud and clear.


    The gaze of everyone upstairs went to Lin Pingping. Her face was red all the way to her neck as she bit her lip with her head bowed, feeling unbearably embarrassed.


    Miao Yi furrowed his brows and asked, "The one below is your daughter?"


    The couple downstairs could not have made things any clearer. Lin Pingping knew that she couldn¡¯t hide it any longer, and awkwardly nodded, "Milord. They are my daughter and son-inw."


    Everyone exchanged nces. This mother and daughter pair looked almost around the same age. The daughter even seemed to be slightly older among the two. They never expected her to be Lin Pingping¡¯s daughter.


    However, in the cultivation realm, this wasn¡¯t unheard of. After all, a cultivator aged much slower than a normal person did, so it was understandable.


    "I knew it was strange how there wasn¡¯t a single customer when we entered. My guess was that the food here probably tasted bad, but a certain someone said that a restaurant she knew had exquisite food and insisted on bringing us here." Luo Shuangfei didn¡¯t mince his words, and continued, "It turned out they were family. This Lord¡¯s sharp judgement saw through your ruse long ago. The cat¡¯s out of the bag now, don¡¯t you think?"


    He turned to Miao Yi, "Milord. Don¡¯t you see now? It¡¯s not that I am biased against her. Even her daughter and son-inw do not look upon her kindly." He stood up and swept his gaze over everyone, then began pulling back his sleeves to reveal a pair of fair and slender arms. "I doubt there will be anything delicious here. Why don¡¯t we just raze this restaurant to the ground?"


    Tian Qingfeng and the rest were speechless. A cultivator that would dare to destroy a follower¡¯s restaurant in the capital city must be tired of living.


    Lin Pingping had experienced how bloody ignorant Luo Shuangfei could be. He was someone who would dare openlyy a hand on her in the halls of the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce. If he didn¡¯t even hold the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce with any regard, how could he be bothered with such a small restaurant?


    Lin Pingping hastily stood up and pleaded to Luo Shuangfei, "Sir Luo. Please spare them. The both of them can only rely on this small restaurant to survive. You mustn¡¯t destroy it. I just wish to help my daughter gain some business for her restaurant. I don¡¯t have any malicious intent."


    She turned to Miao Yi and knelt, "Milord. The fault all lies with me. Please grant them your benevolent mercy and pray do not make things difficult for them."


    Miao Yi reached out to support her arm, "There is no fault in helping to bring your daughter¡¯s restaurant a little business. It is something anyone would do, so there is no need to me yourself so."


    "Hey! If you¡¯re going to talk, talk. What do you think you¡¯re doing getting all touchy?" Luo Shuangfei ran over and pushed Lin Pingping aside, pping away Miao Yi¡¯s hand that was holding onto Lin Pingping¡¯s arm. He red at Miao Yi and chided, "The situation is already clear as day, yet you¡¯re still taking her side. Tell me honestly. Do you fancy her? I knew you had some interest in her long ago, and now you actually dare to take advantage of this situation to win her fancy. You finally reveal your true intent!"


    This information was beyond shocking. Tian Qingfeng and the rest gazed at Miao Yi in surprise thinking¡ª ¡®Howe we never thought about that? Could it be that Luo Shuangfei realized something as we descended the mountain?¡¯


    Lin Pingping was stunned. Gazing at Miao Yi in a daze, she thought¡ª ¡®He¡¯s taken a fancy to me?¡¯


    Miao Yi was furious. He mmed the table and abruptly stood up, "GET LOST! I can¡¯t stand a subordinate like you!"


    "You¡¯re chasing me away because of her?" Luo Shuangfei¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. He pointed at Lin Pingping, then at himself, then also burst into a rage and thrust his hand out. "I don¡¯t want to serve you anymore either. Return Zi¡¯Er to me. I¡¯ll leave immediately after you do."


    Completely taken by rage, Miao Yi immediately pulled out the beast sack from inside the lower hem of his robes and threw it at Luo Shuangfei. He pointed out the window and shouted, "Get out of my face!"


    He had enough of this bastard¡¯s vexatious tendencies. He was fine with letting go of such a disobedient subordinate. Since he couldn¡¯t control the purple marten himself anyway, he had no qualms about giving it back.


    "Fine! You¡¯re the one asking me to leave. Even if you beg me to in the future, I won¡¯te back." Luo Shuangfei snorted indignantly, and turned around to leave, rushing down the restaurant with quick steps.


    Everyone gazed at Miao Yi in shock, thinking¡ª ¡®Could Milord really have taken a fancy to this woman who still retained some of her once graceful bearing? Otherwise, why would he chase away Luo Shuangfei, whose willfulness he always tolerated. Is it truly because of Lin Pingping?¡¯


    Lin Pingping was quite restless as well. She fidgeted around, unsure of what she should do.


    Unexpectedly, they could hear the thumping of footstepsing up to the second floor once again. Everyone turned to look, only to see that Luo Shuangfei hade back. He had on a calm expression as if nothing had happened. Then brazenly sat back down at his seat right beside Miao Yi.


    Everyone¡¯s jaws almost dropped to the ground. ¡®He looked so angry just now. Yet why, in the blink of an eye, did it seem like the incident just moments ago had nothing to do with him?¡¯


    Even Miao Yi¡¯s anger had yet to simmer down. How could anyone have calmed so quickly? He stared in astonishment as Luo Shuangfei began leisurely sipping his tea beside him.


    "Why did youe back?" Miao Yi asked pensively.


    "Haha, it¡¯s a trivial skill," said Luo Shuangfei, raising his cup with one hand and waving the beast sack in the other. He smiled at Miao Yi, "If I didn¡¯t do it like this, how could I get you to return Zi¡¯Er to me?"


    He pulled open the lower hem of his robes, and tied the beast sack back onto his waist. Then, he took another sip of the tea in his hands in satisfaction.


    Miao Yi was lost for words¡ª ¡®Did I get tricked just like that?¡¯ He furrowed his brows, "Since I¡¯ve already returned the thing to you, aren¡¯t you already free to go as you please? Why are you still here!?"


    "Ayii!" Luo Shuangfei sighed, putting his cup down. Then, he grabbed Miao Yi¡¯s arm with both his hands and pulled him back to his seat. Pushing a cup of tea up to Miao Yi, he said, "Drink some tea and cool yourself down. It was just a small matter. Do you really need to be so angry? I¡¯ll admit it¡¯s my fault, alright?"


    Then, he pped himself on the chest, "I am someone who keeps my promises. Since you¡¯ve already returned Zi¡¯Er to me, I will honor my end of the agreement and follow you. That¡¯s why I told you that you should have returned Zi¡¯Er to me first, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t feel secure. Now do you see how trustworthy I can be? I am just as great a man as any other¡ªI keep my word!"


    After which, he pursed his lips towards Lin Pingping and transmitted his voice to Miao Yi, "Take a look at how pitiful a Loose Cultivator can be. I really don¡¯t want to be a Loose Cultivator either. Since you¡¯ve given me the chance, I naturally wouldn¡¯t let it pass."


    Miao Yi was surprised by the unexpectedly fortunate turn of events. ¡®So does this mean that I won¡¯t have to worry about this bastard running away ever again?¡¯


    Miao Yi turned to Lin Pingping who was still looking lost by the window, and pointed to the empty seat beside him. "Tell me. Why does your daughter and son-inw look upon you with such disfavor?"


    Lin Pingping slowly walked over and sat down, smiling bitterly as she shook her head and replied, "Milord. Truth be told, it isn¡¯t their fault. I am the one to me for causing so much trouble for them. Usually, I have a hard time finding any work to do, so I won¡¯t have any ie. When ites to food, I could head deeper into the mountain and make do with some wild game. However, since I am living in the capital, even if it is inside a cave; I have to pay rent every month. I do earn a little from various odd jobs, but whenever I am at my wit¡¯s end, I would ask for some money from them. They were already under a lot of pressure from their own lives. You heard it yourself. After some time passed, they naturally began to find me bothersome."


    Miao Yi furrowed his brows, "Since you know that you can¡¯t survive in the capital, why not leave?"


    Lin Pingping¡¯s expression was anguished as she replied, "There are still more opportunities in the capital. Once I leave the capital, my chances be slimmer. I also hope to be able to make something of myself one day and give them a better life. What¡¯s more, they are my only rtives. I don¡¯t wish to part from them. I don¡¯t mind that they find me bothersome. Sometimes, even looking at them from afar is enough to make me happy."


    From his end, Tian Qingfeng said, "I¡¯ve heard before that for the Loose Cultivators in the capital to survive, they will tend to look for a dual-cultivation partner and give birth to a child. Once the child is grown, he or she will be a normal follower of the capital. When these Loose Cultivators can¡¯t find any work to do, they will rely on their children to support them. After all, their children can find work just like any other mortal."


    Lin Pingping nodded, "There are indeed quite a number of Loose Cultivators who do this, and a majority of them are able to survive in the capital for a long time because of this, before finally receiving assistance from a benefactor. These Loose Cultivators will have their lives changed overnight, and then share their fortune together with their children. This is also why many Loose Cultivators like to adopt this method."


    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but sigh after listening to her. Even though cultivators are said to possess profound transcendence energy, they couldn¡¯t help but feel that Loose Cultivators sometimes had it worse than even mere mortals.


    Miao Yi asked, "What happened to your dual-cultivation partner?"


    "Milord. Even though there are plenty of Loose Cultivators in the capital that do this, I am not like them. I cannot simply be with someone just to birth a child. I am a runaway from Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. My husband¡¯s family was once famous in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, but we eventually came across a strong enemy. All the members of my husband¡¯s family were killed, and my husband himself died then. It was only because a band of loyal, old servants risked their lives that I had the chance to escape Flowing Clouds Dune Sea with my newborn babe still in her swaddling clothes." Lin Pingping painfully recounted her past.

 Chapter 259: Causing Trouble Again

    Chapter 259: Causing Trouble Again


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Watching her remain motionless with her face flushed red and looking immensely ufortable, she didn¡¯t seem like a Loose Cultivator who would be so shameless that her child would discriminate against her. He understood her situation after listening to what she had to say. It was little wonder that she found it difficult to return to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, it turned out she had enemies there. She would only be sending herself to her death should she return with her current cultivation base.


    Miao Yi asked, "Is the one downstairs the child you escaped with?"


    Lin Pingping noded in response, "Yes. We settled here after escaping from that ce. There¡¯s little I can do when my child doesn¡¯t have the aptitude for cultivation. I can only raise her like a normal child. I feel relieved watching her grow up and marry someone but as a mother, I feel sorry for her. I couldn¡¯t prepare any dowry for her and on top of that, I have troubled them both so much. I really feel sorry for them."


    Tian Qingfeng hesitated a little before saying, "From your looks, you must have been quite beautiful when you were younger. It would not have been difficult to find someone better to support you."


    Lin Pingping understood his meaning. Her face appeared pained as she continued, "As you said, I don¡¯t mean to praise myself, but I was indeed quite attractive in my youth. Because of that, it wasn¡¯t difficult to find work in the city back then and it was considerably easier raising my daughter. Coming from a family of great status, I¡¯m not so shameless that I would sell my body. It¡¯s just that as I became older, the circumstances have be so bad that I have to sacrifice my dignity in order to survive. If I don¡¯t force myself to unt my body, no one will even take notice to me anymore."


    When she thought about how she had pulled her clothes down to reveal parts of her full bosoms to these men earlier, Lin Pingping¡¯s face flushed red even further. She quickly added, "I¡¯ve only ever flirted to survive. I have never done prostitution before."


    It wasn¡¯t important to them whether she sold her body before or not. They could only secretly sigh after listening to her words. They could well imagine how difficult it was for a woman from a great family to pull in customers for a living in this age.


    Luo Shuangfei shot an odd look at Lin Pingping, he clearly knew what he had done to her. He let out a dry cough and said, "You¡¯ve worked hard to raise this daughter of yours, yet she doesn¡¯t even respect you. Instead, she wants to send you away. Why do you still want this daughter?"


    Fearing that this man would want to destroy the restaurant again, Lin Pingping quickly defended her, "Actually, it was good in the beginning. But as time passed, it was inevitable that we would have a difference in opinions. They still treat me well."


    The situation was akin to an ungrateful child standing by the bedside of an ill parent. Cultivators always lived longer than ordinary people. Luo Shuangfei let out a cold sigh as he and the others came to have a little more understanding about her current situation.


    The couple continued to provide generous servings of food and drinks to their tables. There wasn¡¯t even a single waiter inside the restaurant to serve them.


    Everyone tried the food but did notpliment them. The taste was indeed nothing special. It was of no wonder the business was doing poorly. No one said a word for Lin Pingping¡¯s sake.


    Luo Shuangfei was the only one who cocked his head at the couple and spat the food he was chewing onto the floor.


    His actions were a little exaggerated. Even though the taste wasn¡¯t great, it wasn¡¯t terrible to the point of vomiting¡ªit just wasn¡¯t appetizing enough. The couple were quite embarrassed because of that.


    This p to their faces was a bit extreme, but the couple could finally understand why their business was doing so poorly.


    A few tables were filled with food and wine. Everyone casually took a bite out of the food.


    Indeed, they were unappetizing. These men couldn¡¯t sacrifice their tongue for the sake of Lin Pingping anymore. There was no need to force themselves to do so either, so they got up and left.


    As they went downstairs to settle the bill¡ª ¡®BAM!¡¯ ¡ªLuo Shuangfei mmed the counter, frightening the owners, "How much!"


    The owner looked at Lin Pingping in embarrassment before forcing a smile and saying, "Forget about the odd numbers. That will be three thousand White Crystals!"


    "The taste was so horrible, yet you dare charge us this much? If it wasn¡¯t for your mother-inw, I would crush your restaurants into bits," huffed Luo Shuangfei. He began taking money out to pay the bill when Miao Yi casually tossed a piece of Gold Crystal onto the counter.


    "Keep the change." Miao Yi left with those words, signalling to Luo Shuangfei that he should not interfere any longer; then led his men off the premises.


    One piece of Gold Crystal was equivalent to ten thousand White Crystals. It meant that Miao Yi had given an extra seven thousand. This was obviously done on behalf of Lin Pingping.


    "Honored guests. Please take care." This small surprise made the couple escort their guests to the front door as quickly as possible.


    Lin Pingping hastened her steps to catch up to Miao Yi¡¯s side. She proceeded to offer her apologies, then suggested bringing Miao Yi and the others somewhere else for a meal.


    Miao Yi rejected the proposal with a wave of his hands. They would be fine even without eating anything for ten days or half-a-month. What¡¯s more, they just lost their appetite. He diverted the topic and asked, "Where are the best attractions in the city?"


    Lin Pingping replied, "If it¡¯s the best attraction you¡¯re after, should you choose to stay a few more days, the various Pce Lords will being to visit the Overlord in a few days for the handover of the annual tribute. Courtesans from the major brothels will be leading the activity held in the ¡®Jade Lake¡¯ on the night of the annual festival. It will be an extremely lively event."


    Luo Shuangfei cheered up immediately. He liked lively atmospheres. "Great! Then we shall stay a few more days¡ª" Just as he was saying so, his expression abruptly froze as he realized he was making decisions on behalf of Miao Yi again. Luo Shuangfei turned his head meekly around to nce at Miao Yi, then turned his statement into a question by adding, "¡ªif that is alright?"


    It seemed he was still a little shaken by Miao Yi chasing him away in the midst of his rage earlier on, and knew that he had to stay humble from now on.


    Miao Yi intended to expand his knowledge when he came to the city. Hearing that the Pce Lords of the Fifth Earthly Branch would soon be arriving, he became rather excited.


    The highest ranking person he had ever seen was Yang Qing. He wanted to see if he could have the chance to discover how the respective Pce Lords looked like. It was customary for the Hall Masters under the Pce Lords to travel together for the handover of the annual tribute. Perhaps he could even discover how the Hall Master of Second Suppressing Hall looked like. Miao Yi nodded, consenting to stay for a few more days.


    Luo Shuangfei immediately cheered and danced for joy.


    There was a ce that they must absolutely visit whening to the city, and that was the ¡®Heart Ind¡¯. A ce designed to amodate cultivators gathering in the city. As the name suggested, it was an ind situated in the middle of the river.


    They rented a boat and enjoyed the scene of other boats floating by. Eventually, they drifted towards the shore and hopped onto the ind.


    The cultivators on this ind were all in smaller groups, either moving about or sitting on the ground. Their conversations were mainly about cultivations, and the most discussed topic was about the ¡®Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade¡¯ that wasing in a few year¡¯s time. It was held once every three hundred years, and the date of the next crusade was nearing. A few years were a mere snap of the fingers in the cultivator¡¯s point of view. When the time for ites, six countries would dispatch arge amount of troops to participate in a bloody fight of life and death.


    "I wonder who South Edict Manor will dispatch then?" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help asking when he overheard the discussions. He quickly shook his head, guessing that likely no one would wish to participate because he knew many would die in that bloody battle.


    Tian Qingfeng assured him, "The Manor Head has always been very kind to you, Milord. I don¡¯t think he will select you for the battle."


    Miao Yi chuckled. He wasn¡¯t worried about that. Even though it was said that outstanding cultivators below the Red Lotus cultivation could participate, the Hall Master Huo Lingxiao had great regard for Yang Qing in allowing him to rule over two manors. He definitely would not allow Yang Qing to participate in theing battle.


    Furthermore, the allocation of South Edict Manor¡¯s men was controlled by Yang Qing himself. He continued to treat Miao Yi well even after demoting Miao Yi to a Steed Deputy, by allowing him to stay in East Arrival Cave. Moreover, Miao Yi had saved Qin Weiwei¡¯s life multiple times before, so Yang Qing probably would not send him to his death in the Sea of Constetions.


    Just then, another Loose Cultivator approached them. Warily keeping watch of her surroundings, Lin Pingping quickly stepped forward, extending her arms to block the path and firmly said, "These are my guests."


    She gave off the impression that she was determined to defend her interests.


    She had no choice. Most of the onesing to the ind were cultivators. In addition, Miao Yi had arge group of men behind him and stood out a lot. Those who had even the slightest ability to judge the situation would be able to see that he was a man of status from a foreignnd.


    The Loose Cultivators in this ind didn¡¯t seem like they wanted to find work like Lin Pingping did. Miao Yi and the others were guests that Lin Pingping managed to secure with effort. Naturally, she didn¡¯t wish for anyone else to steal them away from her. She already blocked a few Loose Cultivators who tried to take away her guests.


    That Loose Cultivator who was being blocked off seemed unwilling to give up. However, Miao Yi and the others cooperated with Lin Pingping and didn¡¯t give any of their time to that Loose Cultivator. They continued moving forward, hoping that the Loose Cultivator would give up.


    Not long after that, three cultivators wearing the que with the word ¡®du¡¯ (supervisor) steadily marched up towards them. Lin Pingping seemed to be afraid of them, and quietly hid behind Miao Yi and his men.


    However, the old man leading the group had sharp eyes, and was able to spot her immediately. He halted his advance and shouted, "Lin Pingping."


    Miao Yi and the others were surprised. Lin Pingping stepped out from the group meekly and greeted him, "Greetings, Lord Xing."


    The old man caressed his goatee and chuckled, "The due date for this month¡¯s payment is near. Have you prepared your monthly payment? Don¡¯t me me for legally kicking you out of the city if you can¡¯t pay up this month."


    "I understand!" Lin Pingping nodded submissively.


    The old man suddenly cracked a smile and said, "It¡¯s alright even if you can¡¯t pay. Just like I¡¯ve said before, if you take care of me for a night and service me until I¡¯m satisfied, I will help you pay for this month."


    Lin Pingping immediately bit her lips without saying a word. Her face was flushed red, yet she did not dare to respond.


    The old man burst outughing after teasing her a little. He didn¡¯t want to overdo it, not while there were other people around. He waved his hand and gestured for the two of his men to continue moving. One of them asked, "Lord Xing. Are you still interested in women of that age?"


    "Interested my ass. I¡¯m only interested in beautiful, young women. You guys wouldn¡¯t know about it, but that woman liked to act as if she were noble-born when she was young. I wanted to perform dual-cultivation with her, but she refused. I will not be able to face myself if I don¡¯t tease her a little. Sooner orter, she wille to me of her own will like a skinned bitch. Now that¡¯s what I call ¡®venting out¡¯. Eyyy...."


    Suddenly, a piece of rock came flying at the old man. Before he could dodge the iing projectile, the rock bashed him right on his back, staggering him. A Fourth Grade White Lotus appeared on his forehead as he twisted around and shouted, "WHO DID IT!?"


    Who else could have done it but Luo Shuangfei? He stepped forth and pointed to himself, "It was me!"


    Lin Pingping was instantly terrified and quickly whispered a warning to him, "They are men of the Martial Manor. We can¡¯t afford to provoke them."


    Luo Shuangfei turned to nce at Miao Yi, afraid that Miao Yi would me him for causing trouble.


    However, after Miao Yi quickly scanned his surroundings and noticed that there was nobody around, he whispered to Tian Qingfeng and the others, "Go to the four corners and surround this area. Do not let anyone else approach us."


    "This..." Tian Qingfeng and the others were hesitant. They had no idea what he was trying to do. ¡®He wouldn¡¯t be thinking of going against the men of the Martial Manor, would he?¡¯


    Miao Yi swept a cold gaze over his men. Only then did Tian Qingfeng and the others quickly spread themselves to the four corners.


    As he watched the old man angrily approaching them, Miao Yi turned to Luo Shuangfei and whispered, "Since you started it, then finish it quickly. Leave no survivors!"


    ¡®No survivors?¡¯ Lin Pingping was dumbfounded.


    Luo Shuangfei was equally shocked. He initially thought that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t want to cause trouble, and was worried that his sudden impulsive act would enrage Miao Yi. Yet it turned out that Miao Yi was even more vicious than he was. Luo Shuangfei only wanted to teach them a lesson, but Miao Yi wanted to murder them!


    However, this was more to his liking. He quickly straightened up and pushed Lin Pingping aside. "Milord has spoken. To hell with the Martial Manor. This Lord will boldly set them on fire even if they are from the Realm Beyond Heaven!"


    As a matter of fact, Miao Yi had no choice. There are times when men should be able to adapt to the circumstances at hand and not unt their superiority blindly. He didn¡¯t wish to cause trouble in the city either¡ªas a Cave Master, he was nothing in this city. However, since things had escted to this point, there was no possibility of reaching a good end because of the background of these kind of men. Because of that, he decided to put an end to it immediately. He never hesitated whenever he made a decision!

 Chapter 260: Qin Weiwei is Furious

    Chapter 260: Qin Weiwei is Furious


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Who are you people?" Lord Xing stepped up to Luo Shuangfei, shouting at him while pointing at his nose. "How dare¡ª"


    His words caught in his throat before he could finish as a cold piercing glint shot towards him. He suddenly felt a sharp pain from his throat, and blood began spurting out.


    Lord Xing was in shock. He didn¡¯t expect that someone would dare make a move on an official from the capital city¡¯s Martial Manor.


    The twockeys behind him were taken aback. By the time they saw the White Lotus Ninth Grade mark on Luo Shuangfei¡¯s forehead, they couldn¡¯t even muster a scream before Luo Shuangfei pulled the spear from Lord Xing¡¯s neck andunched another two piercing strikes at them.


    As Miao Yi mentioned before, Luo Shuangfei¡¯s spear art was vicious and extremely cunning. The two couldn¡¯t dodge his strikes that sought their necks like a vile serpent. The sound of tearing flesh could be heard momentster in close session.


    Among the three, Lord Xing had the highest cultivation at White Lotus Fourth Grade; the other two were at White Lotus Third Grade. Against a White Lotus Ninth Grade like Luo Shuangfei, they had no chance at all. Not to mention, the three of them never expected that someone would dare try to kill them in the capital city. With no forewarning whatsoever and with such a short distance between them, they had zero chance of survival when faced with Luo Shuangfei¡¯s vicious and serpentine spear art.


    Luo Shuangfei tilted his spear and opened his palm, tucking his spear artifact back into his storage ring.


    In just a single confrontation, Lord Xing and his twockeys had fallen to the ground.


    Lin Pingping covered her mouth in shock.


    ¡®The officials of the Martial Manor were killed off just like that?¡¯ Tian Qingfeng and the others beside them looked over in a daze. They just became lookouts and aplices to a crime. If word of this got out, not only would they be in a great deal of trouble, even the School of Blue Jade wouldn¡¯t get off lightly.


    They had no idea what the problem with Luo Shuangfei was. His body was brimming with evilness as he tilted his head, then shed that big set of yellow teeth of his to smile at Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi remained expressionless as he said, "Take the corpses away and dispose of them."


    Luo Shuangfei nodded and immediately sucked the three corpses into his storage ring.


    Miao Yi beckoned the dumbfounded Tian Qingfeng and others toe over, and asked in a low voice, "The people around us didn¡¯t notice anything, right?"


    They shook their head in response. Miao Yi gestured for them to return back to their posts. He no longer had the mood for a tour, and calmly led the group back.


    On the way, he asked Lin Pingping about her rtionship with the three. She told him that Lord Xing was originally a Loose Cultivator like herself. However, he somehow eventually managed to curry favor with the Martial Manor Lord Lan Hou, who was a Purple Lotus Realm expert.


    A Cave Master like Miao Yi belonged to the lowest possible rank, and had no city under his authority. Only once he attained the post of a Mountain Chieftain would he be in control of a city with a hundred, thousand followers. Furthermore, the Orbs of Will harvested from the vassal city would all belong to the Mountain Chieftain and didn¡¯t need to be handed over.


    Unlike other areas, the number of followers in a vassal city were strictly controlled. Only by attaining a particr rank would one be able to enjoy the treatment from a specific number of followers. They were not something one could increase as he or she pleased.


    Simrly, a Manor Head could only be charged with a vassal city of a million followers; a Hall Master would have one with five million followers; and a Pce Lord would control one with ten million followers.


    When one was at an Overlord¡¯s level, obviously they wouldn¡¯t obtain a vassal city of a hundred million followers. That was not a poption belonging to a normal city. A poption of ten million was already the limit to what a city could provide for. Thus, Overlords would obtain ten vassal cities, each with a poption of ten million followers.


    The Martial Manor Lord Lan Hou was exactly the person charged by the Overlord with managing these ten vassal cities. It was not wrong to call him the Overlord¡¯s trusted aide.


    With Lan Hou¡¯s status, a single word from him would have his subordinates in the Martial Manor offer work to Lord Xing and resolve the problem of his status. It wouldn¡¯t be anything difficult at all.


    However, when Miao Yi and the rest heard that Lord Xing actually had a connection to the Martial Manor Lord Lan Hou, they were surprised. They didn¡¯t think that a cultivator at White Lotus Fourth Grade would be able to have any kind of rtionship with an important figure like Lan Hou. They initially thought that he was just an average grunt.


    However, the deed was done. There was no point in being fearful now.


    Lin Pingping really wanted to cry but she couldn¡¯t. She still didn¡¯t know what their true identities were, and she was already dragged into an incident like this. The esteemed one before her was a little too bold, actually killing people off from the Martial Manor at the drop of a hat. Just because of a minor dispute, he didn¡¯t just kill one, but three in a single stroke. ¡®Even I could endure it. Why couldn¡¯t you? I dread the thought of what would happen if word of this got out.¡¯


    However, she knew better than anyone that this incident happened because they were trying to stand up for her.


    "Milord. Let us return. We mustn¡¯t remain in the capital city any longer," nervously said Tian Qingfeng.


    Luo Shuangfei quipped, "What a coward. No one knows we¡¯re the ones who did it. I¡¯m the one who killed them and I¡¯m not even afraid. What¡¯s a lookout like you so scared about?


    Tian Qingfeng was renderedpletely speechless¡ª ¡®Of course you¡¯re not afraid. You¡¯ve always been putting your life on the line doing things like this. Plundering others and murdering them was your original line of work. How could wepare to you?¡¯


    He never expected that Miao Yi would sing the same tune. "Now that the situation hase to this point, all the more reason for us to stay."


    Tian Qingfeng asked, "Why?"


    Miao Yi shook his head, "Our residential status is recorded in Jade Capital Peak. If we leave immediately after people from the Martial Manor disappeared, we are sure to attract suspicion. It will be easy to find us then, by looking at the records from the ce we are staying at. Don¡¯t think too hard about it. We don¡¯t need to sneak around like that. All we did was kill a few puny grunts. It won¡¯t attract too much attention. We can just leave normally after the night of the annual festival."


    Even though he said that, once their group returned to the courtyard of Jade Capital Peak, they were still a little tense. It wasn¡¯t a minor incident after all. They were prepared to spend the next few days quietly in their courtyard, observing the situation before nning their next move.


    Meanwhile, Luo Shuangfei waspletely unfazed. He ordered the servants in the courtyard to step away, then tossed out the three corpses. Holding a small jade bottle in his hand, he pulled the lid open and poured some white powder onto the corpses¡¯ wounds. Smoke began to rise immediately after the white powder came into contact with blood.


    Spreading from the wounds, bubbles began forming and melted the corpses away, emitting a mysterious and refreshing fragrance. In but a short moment, all traces of the three corpses were gone¡ªleaving some sort of liquid substance in their ce which would be turned into fertilizer.


    Lin Pingping could feel chills all over her body. Miao Yi and the rest looked at Luo Shuangfei and thought¡ª ¡®As expected of someone who came from a history of thievery. He is very adept at disposing of corpses and erasing any evidence of foul y.¡¯


    In the flower garden, Miao Yi called for Tian Qingfeng to apany him and began transmitting his voice over, "This incident could either be major or minor. I¡¯m afraid that Lin Pingping might surrender to her fears. Have your men keep a watchful eye on her. If you discover anything amiss, I don¡¯t wish to see someone making any reports. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?"


    This incident happened because they wanted to stand up for Lin Pingping. However, if this woman didn¡¯t know how to appreciate that and insisted on reporting them, then Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t care whether she was a pitiful person or not.


    Tian Qingfeng nodded, "Understood. I will make the necessary arrangements."


    Over the next few days, the group seemed to just stay in their courtyards and residences to focus on their cultivation.


    Lin Pingping was rather restless because Miao Yi and his group could leave as they wished, but she still had to live in the capital city. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t do anything foolish...


    Temperatures were warmed in the capital city as flowers bloomed all around. In stark contrast, South Edict Manor was still covered in snow and frost at this time with the cold winds howling incessantly.


    Mount Calming Sea ¡ª Yan Xiu led his forces over, unabated by the wind and snow. Leaving his subordinates, he alighted from his dragon steed and rushed into the grand hall.


    Within the loft where the Mountain Chieftain handled her official affairs, a few Cave Masters were already present and having a conversation with Qin Weiwei.


    After paying his respects to the Mountain Chieftain, Yan Xiu handed his annual tribute over to Hong Mian and Lu Liu.


    Gongsun Yu could clearly see that Qin Weiwei was a little distracted. When she spoke, she would asionally shoot a nce at Yan Xiu.


    After Yan Xiu was done with his handover, he stepped forward and asked Qin Weiwei if she had any further instructions for him, expressing that if there weren¡¯t any, he would take his leave.


    Yan Xiu was fully aware of his own capabilities. He was meant to do Miao Yi¡¯s legwork in the first ce, and shouldn¡¯t hope for the Mountain Chieftain to regard him too highly. If there was nothing to be asked of him, it was best to quietly leave.


    "You stay." Qin Weiwei ordered him to remain, while waving her hand at the others, "The rest of you can leave."


    "Understood!" Gongsun Yu and the rest bowed before retreating away.


    Everyone else was simply curious why Qin Weiwei had asked Yan Xiu alone to stay, whereas Gongsun Yu¡¯s lips couldn¡¯t help but twitch.


    When everyone left, Qin Weiwei extended her hand and motioned for Yan Xiu to sit down and talk with her.


    Yan Xiu graciously epted her invitation and sat down. Then, Qin Weiwei asked, "Is everything alright with East Arrival Cave?"


    "Everything is fine." Yan Xiu courteously replied, but he couldn¡¯t help butugh bitterly deep down as he had a pretty good guess about what the Mountain Chieftain wanted to talk to him about. She already sent word to East Arrival Cave before he left, that he was to bring Miao Yi with him, and that she had something to talk to Miao Yi about.


    As he expected, after Qin Weiwei gave him a nod of approval, she moved on to ask, "Is Miao Yi here with you?"


    Yan Xiu had an awkward expression as he continued to help Miao Yi shoulder the me, "Your subordinate has previously ordered Miao Yi to run an errand outside. It appears he has yet to aplish his task which is why he couldn¡¯t make it back in time. When he returns, I will have hime see you immediately."


    Qin Weiwei narrowed her eyes at him. ¡®Some things we just choose not to say it out loud. It would be odd if you were actually able to order Miao Yi to run errands for you. After all, how could anyone POSSIBLY KNOW who¡¯s the one really giving the orders?¡¯


    "Thest time he was here, I sent a message over to East Arrival Cave not long after he left. You responded by saying that he had gone on an errand. It seems like he hasn¡¯t returned to East Arrival Cave all this while? Over half a year has passed. What errand does your little East Arrival Cave need that requires such a long duration?"


    Yan Xiu broke out in a cold sweat, and awkwardly replied, "I ordered him to go purchase several items."


    Qin Weiwei knew this was definitely just an excuse, but she didn¡¯t make things difficult for him. She knew that he was most likely forced by Miao Yi to reply that way, and simply asked asked, "Where did he go? How many men did he bring with him?"


    "It is a small matter. He didn¡¯t bring anyone with him and departed alone. For the moment, I don¡¯t know where he is."


    "Didn¡¯t bring anyone with him? Is he not afraid of danger?" Qin Weiwei furrowed her brows and continued, "There are so many mouths to feed in East Arrival Cave. If he doesn¡¯t return, what will you use to pay their sries? Aren¡¯t you afraid that East Arrival Cave will be thrown into disarray? Have you heard no news from him all this while?"


    Yan Xiu weakly replied, "It seems like he has deposited the sries with the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce branch within South Edict Manor has already sent word over that we are able to withdraw from it once every year. Your subordinate is thinking of doing just that during this trip."


    ¡®What sphemy was this? Not only was the entire East Arrival Cave waiting on a Horse Deputy to distribute their wages, even the Cave Master had to go and make the withdrawal himself.¡¯


    "Withdraw once a year?" ¡ª ¡®BANG!¡¯ ¡ªQin Weiwei mmed the desk and abruptly stood up. Furious, she asked, "Is he thinking of staying outside forever and never returning?"


    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t have the slightest clue when Miao Yi would decide toe back. Startled, he stood up and repeatedly tried to douse Qin Weiwei¡¯s fury, "Please calm yourself, Mountain Chieftain. He will return soon. I promise."


    "What impudence! He doesn¡¯t hold the binding authority of my Mount Calming Sea with any regard at all!" shouted Qin Weiwei. "Yan Xiu. Don¡¯t you know that he is someone that always likes to cause trouble? You listen to me. Once he returns, have hime and see me immediately. If he wishes to leave East Arrival Cave in the future, he must have my approval first. You have no authority to grant him this permission. Otherwise, I will have both your Immortal Records erased!"


    "Yes. Understood!" Yan Xiu was dripping cold sweat as he acknowledged this order.


    "Now leave!"


    "Understood!"


    As he left the loft, Yan Xiu shook his head with a bitter smile. ¡®Why did a Cave Master like himself have to be stuck in the crossfire between the Mountain Chieftain and the Horse Deputy?¡¯


    After departing from the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s residence, Yan Xiu was greeted by Gongsun Yu waiting outside. Gongsun Yu came up to him and cupped his fists, "Cave Master Yan!"

 Chapter 261: A Coincidental Encounter on Jade Lake

    Chapter 261: A Coincidental Encounter on Jade Lake


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Yan Xiu didn¡¯t expect that Gongsun Yu would be waiting over here to greet him. He quickly returned the courtesy. "Cave Master Gongsun."


    Gongsun Yu sized Yan Xiu up, making him feel quite ufortable. The memory of being struck down to his knees by Gongsun Yu¡¯s spear in the past was still vivid in his mind.


    "Is something wrong, Cave Master Gongsun?" asked Yan Xiu, confused.


    "Nothing much." Gongsun Yu smiled, "May I know what manner of business did the Mountain Chieftain wish to speak with you privately about?"


    ¡®This question is a little too rude. Why do I need to let you know what I talked over with the Mountain Chieftain?¡¯ Yan Xiu furrowed his brows and gave a perfunctory reply. "Nothing important. If there¡¯s nothing else, Cave Master Gongsun, I shall be taking my leave."


    "No rush!" Gongsun Yu immediately stuck his arm out and stopped in front of Yan Xiu. He didn¡¯t hold Yan Xiu with any regard at all. "I believe the Mountain Chieftain was speaking with you about Miao Yi just now?"


    Surprised, Yan Xiu gave him an odd look¡ª ¡®How did he know?¡¯


    Judging from Yan Xiu¡¯s reaction, Gongsun Yu knew his guess was correct. He only asked on a whim and never expected that his deduction would turn out to be true. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "What did Mountain Chieftain say about Miao Yi?"


    Yan Xiu¡¯s expression darkened. "Cave Master Gongsun. Don¡¯t push it. Do you think you have the authority to question the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s affairs?"


    Realizing that something was off with the situation, Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan hurried over to stand beside Yan Xiu. Yuan Fang icily asked, "Cave Master. What seems to be the problem?"


    Gongsun Yu ignored Yuan Fang and red at Yan Xiu in mockery, "Yan Xiu. You should know best how much weight you carry. You¡¯re far from being the master of East Arrival Cave. Just because I call you Cave Master Yan, do you really think of yourself as the Cave Master?"


    "Cave Master Gongsun. You have no right to concern yourself in East Arrival Cave¡¯s affairs!" Yuan Fang growled.


    Suddenly, a scornful voice rang out, "Yo! Aren¡¯t you disciples from the School of Blue Jade?" A man and a woman came over to stand behind Gongsun Yu. From their attires, they were obviously disciples from the Sword Deviate Sect and Jade Lady Sect. By now, Gongsun Yu¡¯s Long Viridescent Cave had already replenished its forces as well, with most of them being disciples from the three major sects.


    The Sword Deviate Sect disciple pointed at Yuan Fang¡¯s nose and scoffed, "The two Cave Masters are speaking. Since when do you have the right to butt in? If you wish to y, my Sword Deviate Sect will be more than happy to oblige your School of Blue Jade."


    Gongsun Yu revealed a faint smile. The School of Blue Jade wouldn¡¯t be bold enough to challenge the Sword Deviate Sect.


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan held back their anger. While the School of Blue Jade indeed would not dare challenge the Sword Deviate Sect and the Jade Lady Sect, seeing these two bastards behave so impudently towards two Blue Lotus cultivators like them¡ªthey must be tired of living!


    They were about to burst into rage. Yan Xiu didn¡¯t wish to cause any trouble in such a ce, and sternly said, "Pay them no heed. Let¡¯s go."


    Gongsun Yu suddenly reached out and stopped him. "This subordinate of yours has no sense of respect. How dare he yell at me, a Cave Master. First have your subordinate bow his head and apologize. Then, you may leave."


    "Gongsun Yu. Don¡¯t push your luck!" Yan Xiu was furious. Even the most level-headed men have their limits.


    "Cave Master." Lai Yuhan cut in from beside him, and urged Yan Xiu not to be hasty. Then, he cupped his fists towards Gongsun Yu, "It¡¯s nothing much to have us bow our heads and apologize. However, I must ask Cave Master Gongsun one question¡ªare you absolutely sure you wish for East Arrival Cave to lower its head to you on this day!?"


    There was a heavy weight behind thest few words he uttered.


    Gongsun Yu¡¯s expression changed as he abruptly came to his senses. He didn¡¯t understand why he lost control of his emotions just then. Even though the men before him were pushovers, East Arrival Cave still had a madman that had yet to show his face. It wouldn¡¯t do him any good to offend that bastard. Nothing was impossible for that fellow. If Gongsun Yu really pissed him off and Miao Yi decided tounch an assault on Long Viridescent Cave, Gongsun Yu¡¯s forces wouldn¡¯t be able to hold a candle to his.


    He slowly lowered his hand. "Forget it. Out of respect for Brother Miao, I will not hold it against you."


    He acted as though he were the benevolent one forgiving them for their misconduct.


    Lai Yuhan forcefully cupped his fists and replied, "I shall remember Cave Master Gongsun¡¯s treatment today. Once I return, I will be sure to give a detailed ount to Steed Deputy Miao. I believe Steed Deputy Miao will surely repay your kindness with great enthusiasm. Farewell!"


    The meaning behind his words were clear¡ª ¡®We might not be bold enough to touch you, but there is someone in East Arrival Cave who is!¡¯


    Gongsun Yu¡¯s lips twitched strongly. The other party was obviously implying that he was only capable of bullying easy prey, but cowered before someone he couldn¡¯t push around. He watched on as the three men left, not daring to keep them any longer than he already did. He was even worrying a little about what he should do if a certain maniac came knocking on his door. It was true that Gongsun Yu was Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide, but so was Xiong Xiao, and he almost lost his life to a certain someone regardless.


    Gongsun Yu was a little regretful. It seemed ever since Miao Yi was demoted to Steed Deputy, he only met with Qin Weiwei once over an entire decade. Gongsun Yu couldn¡¯t even get a proper grasp of the situation yet. How could a person who was usuallyposed like himself, suddenly lose his cool like that...


    Fifth Earthly Branch Capital City, Jade Capital Peak ¡ª Standing in the midst of the courtyard, Miao Yi and the rest lifted their gaze up to the sky as dozens of light rays approached from the horizon, swiftly descending upon the tallest point of Jade Capital Peak.


    Today was the day the various Pce Lords would flock to the capital city for the handover of the annual tributes. They would be escorted by the respective Hall Masters serving under them. The sight of them soaring through the skies was a breathtaking one to say the least, with the lowest cultivation among them being Red Lotus realm experts.


    Today was also the day of the new year celebration, so the entire capital city was illuminated with bright lights and festive decorations. Soon, another dozen rays of light shot over from a different direction across the sky, causing both citizens and cultivators alike to look up in awe.


    Even though they were on the mountain side, Miao Yi and the rest could hear themotion going on from down below. s, Miao Yi and his group¡¯s cultivations were not high enough. Furthermore, the speed at which they were going was astonishing; they couldn¡¯t make out how any of the Pce Lords and Hall Masters looked like at all.


    Miao Yi and his group could only sigh in admiration as they gazed up at the skies. They didn¡¯t know when their own cultivations would ever be high enough to reach the level where they could freely traverse the realm.


    It seemed like Luo Shuangfei wasn¡¯t interested in flying around. Instead, every once in a while, he would pluck blooms from the nearby flower beds, and ce them into his hair. He even had a mirror on hand that he would use to peer at his reflection from time to time. Feeling delighted with himself, he would raise those thick, bushy eyebrows of his in a flirtatious manner while shing thatrge set of yellowed teeth. With therge, ck, hairy mole on his face alongside the bloom on his head, he lookedpletely disgusting. Yet he seemed unabashed in his tion. It sent chills down their spines whenever passersby asionally caught sight of him, and made them wish for nothing more than to go over and nt a couple of kicks in his face.


    When night fell, the entire capital city was covered in a festive light. All around, fireworks could be heard as beautiful bursts of mes rose up to the skies. The juxtaposition with the surroundingndscape made the scenery iparably beautiful.


    Aftering down from Jade Capital Peak, Miao Yi and his group could smell the heavy scent of smoke in the air. As they walked down the streets, they allowed themselves to bask in the joyous and rowdy atmosphere, taking in the excitement from the festivities.


    They were on their way towards the most bustling ce of the night¡ªJade Lake. They wanted to admire the scenery, but the streets were too crowded with celebrants. Thus, they decided to rent a cruise boat instead, one adorned withnterns of various colors. They dined on pastries and tea as they sailed across the water. However, even the water was quite crowded; full of boats going back and forth on this day.


    Both shores on the river were in full festive swing, with bright, shy lights further adding on to the excitement. Luo Shuangfei was taking it all in with his eyes until he finally couldn¡¯t sit still any longer. With wine in his hand and food in his jaws, he ran back and forth across the deck. When he caught sight of a cruise boat carrying a crowd of women pleasantly chattering together , he immediately swallowed the food in his mouth and blew a wolf whistle at thedies, waving at them with an ted expression on his face.


    The women on the boat waved their handkerchiefs and said invitingly, "Come up here, Young Master!"


    "I will. Don¡¯t worry. I will be there in a short while!" Luo Shuangfei winked and made signs at them. He waspletely overjoyed.


    Looking at that behaviour of his, Miao Yi and the rest within the cabin shook their heads. ¡®How could there be a cultivator as peculiar as him in this world?¡¯


    Leaning on the railings, Miao Yi swept his gaze about and couldn¡¯t help giving praise to such a magnificent sight. "What a wondrous spectacle."


    As the boat followed the river¡¯s course into the Jade Lake, the river suddenly stretched out before them. Near and far, countless cruise boats of varying sizes were strewn across the surface of theke. Their reflections rippled across the water like innumerable stars across the night sky, flickering rhythmically alongside the radiant moonlight on this starry night. It was a soothing and pleasant sight to behold.


    The sound of string and wind instruments could be heard, alongside the melodies of song and dance when the cruise boats asionally passed each other by. The great,vish boats used by the brothels were muchrger in size,pared to Miao Yi¡¯s boat which was used merely for ferrying guests.


    ording to Lin Pingping, the courtesans¡¯petition for the right to lead the festival was being held in the center of Jade Lake, where a giant ship was stationed. They were still a ways off from that ce.


    A medium-sized ship many timesrger than the one Miao Yi and the rest were on, passed by ahead of them. The white curtains surrounding it fluttered against the night breeze, revealing a long couch within. Sitting cross-legged on it was a man dressed in thin, gray robes, with his hair tied neatly by a jade hairpin.


    ¡®Wuwu... wuwuwu...¡¯


    Ady with a voluptuous and alluring figure was sleeping on his thighs with a tear-stained, yellow, striped flute resting against her lips. The melody of the flute carried an ethereal beauty, mimicking the fickleness of life as it rose and fell in tune with her perfect fingers. Anyone listening to it would be lost in its depths. It was a stark contrast to the songs yed on those boats full of chattering women.


    Thedy yed the flute with her eyes closed in mncholy. Her skin was white as snow; her two fair bountiful bosomsid half-bare to the open air; and her thick raven hair was lusciously alluring. She was garbed in a thin, light yellow muslin-like dress, the hem of which hung all the way down and was now spread over the couch. The dress had a slit that began from just below her groin, revealing a pair of slender and wless, jade-like legs that would drive any man mad. Beginning from the base of her thighs, her legsy exposed with her bare feet strewn atop the couch.


    The man reached out to a golden pail beside him and picked up a clump of ice. He traced the frostiness gently across the woman¡¯s snow-white bosoms, leaving a trail of water. Thedy revealed a faint smile in response whilst continuing to y the flute.


    Having their attention caught by the profound, yet alluring melody of the flute, Miao Yi and the rest couldn¡¯t help but take a closer look. As the curtains fluttered against the night winds, Miao Yi caught a nce at the man¡¯s face and couldn¡¯t help jumping in shock. ¡®Xiao Yizhu?¡¯


    The man embracing the alluringdy turned out to be the brother he had swore an oath with¡ªXiao Yizhu. ¡®But why is he here?¡¯ Miao Yi thought he was mistaken, so he immediately rushed to the bow of the ship and shouted, "BIG BROTHER XIAO!"


    On the boat, Luo Shuangfei and the rest were confused. ¡®He even has close acquaintances here?¡¯


    The two boats already passed each other. On hearing a familiar voice, Xiao Yizhu reflexively turned his head to look. When he saw it was Miao Yi standing on the bow of the boat, his lips couldn¡¯t help twitching as he hurriedly turned his head back, acting as though he hadn¡¯t noticed him.


    This Xiao Yizhu was obviously Suppressing Second Hall Master Huo Lingxiao. He was a little dismayed. ¡®How could I bump into this kid here? What¡¯s an East Arrival Cave Steed Deputy doing all the way out here?¡¯


    However, turning his head back enabled Miao Yi to fully identify, and confirm that it was really him.


    The sombre melody of the flute came to a stop. Thedy resting on Huo Lingxiao¡¯s thighs gently opened her eyes; keeping her face expressionless, she said, "Since it¡¯s an acquaintance, why won¡¯t you return the greeting?"


    Her leisurely tone carried a trace of absolute authority. After she said her piece, the melody of the flute could be heard once again, apanying the movements of her wless fingers.


    Huo Lingxiao was a little startled. He didn¡¯t expect that she would notice something was off just from his slight movement. He smiled and said, "Perhaps he just mistook me for someone else."


    Thedy continued ying the flute with her eyes, drowning herself in her own music as though she wasn¡¯t concerned with anything else.

 Chapter 262: The Lord’s Bountiful Reward

    Chapter 262: The Lord¡¯s Bountiful Reward


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Big Brother Xiao!" shouted Miao Yi as he ran over.


    At first, Huo Lingxiao wanted to transmit a message over to Miao Yi and tell him not toe over. However, he was afraid that the ripples of transcendence energy from it would fail to escape the scrutiny of thedy before him. In the end, he decided to try his luck.


    Yet, Miao Yi didn¡¯t give him any face at all. He actually leaped atop the waves andnded on his ship. Huo Lingxiao was utterly lost for words.


    Outside the curtained pavilion, two iparably handsome men stepped up and stuck their arms out, stopping Miao Yi and barring him from entering.


    "Who are you!?"


    "I am looking for my Big Brother." Miao Yi replied while pointing at the silhouette behind the white curtain.


    Miao Yi¡¯s boat already changed course and was heading over. Miao Yi had ordered his men to wait on the boat, but Luo Shuangfei couldn¡¯t resist leaping over to stand beside Miao Yi. He poked his head around trying to get a good view of the inner reaches of the ship.


    The sound of the flute came to a stop, thedy resting on Huo Lingxiao¡¯s thighszily opened her eyes and gave amand, "Stand down!"


    The two men that stopped Miao Yi immediately responded, and retreated behind the screen, where a group of musicians were seated alongside their instruments.


    Miao Yi walked over and lifted his hand to pull open the cascading white curtain. As he entered, he couldn¡¯t help being startled when he saw thedy on the couch.


    Thedy had just gotten up from Huo Lingxiao¡¯s body, her lush, ck hair leaving his thighs. Her lips were a luscious red; her eyes intelligent, yet seductive; while her wless face carried an air of nobility. Her half-bare, snow-white bosoms bounced as she moved her perfectly rounded slender thighs, and touched the ground with her bare feet. It was a sight that would make any person¡¯s face flush red to their ears. The slit on her long gown was really just over the tip of her groin.


    Her long gown draped over her tall, voluptuous figure as she slowly walked forward, dragging it along the ground as she went. Her long tresses cascaded down to her waist, fluttering freely in the wind. The corner of her lips arced into a smile, which she leisurely threw at the dazed Miao Yi as she invited him in.


    Thisdy wasn¡¯t exactly peerless beauty¡ªshe wouldn¡¯t be ablepete with Fairy Hong Chen in terms of looks. However, the unique air she exuded together with her seductive attire, was enough to instantly send Miao Yi into a daze.


    Luo Shuangfei stared at thedy, then shot a nce at Miao Yi. He couldn¡¯t help pursing his lips as he gazed upon him mockingly. However, he was afraid Miao Yi would ask him to leave, so he didn¡¯t dare run his mouth.


    With furrowed brows, Huo Lingxiao got down from the couch as well. Regaining his senses, Miao Yi hastily entered and cupped his fists towards him, "Big Brother. I didn¡¯t expect to run into you here."


    "What are you doing here?" asked Huo Lingxiao with his brows creased.


    "I just so happen to have a matter to attend to around these parts. This is... ?" Miao Yi felt a little uncertain when he looked at thatdy. He thought¡ª ¡®Isn¡¯t Meng Lan the one Xiao Yizhu is wooing? But I clearly saw this woman lying on hisp earlier. How could they do something like this if they are in a normal rtionship?¡¯


    Huo Lingxiao was worrying about how he should introduce thisdy.


    She abruptly took the initiative with a smile and said, "Just call me Xiao Xiao."


    Her voice was pleasing to the ears; filled with a mature charm, whilst carrying an air of calm seductiveness. What¡¯s more, there was a hint of superiority under her sinct and polite manner of speech. All these factorsing together made her voice very enticing to the ears.


    Thedy calling herself Xiao Xiao, gave her beautiful waist a twirl, her long gown trailing behind her as she walked over to a short table beside her, filled with various delicacies and all kinds of fruits. She lifted her hand and invited with a smile, "Why don¡¯t you sit down and talk?"


    Miao Yi was observing Huo Lingxiao, and realized that he seemed a little displeased about Miao Yiing here.


    However, thedy already invited them in. No matter how displeased Huo Lingxiao was, he had to y along with her wishes. Extending his arm, he also invited them. "Have a seat, dearest brother."


    Even though he asked them to take a seat, there wasn¡¯t a single chair in sight. They basically sat where they stood. With a sweep of her gown, thedy was the first to sit down.


    Miao Yi only just sat down for a moment, when he realized there was someone who shouldn¡¯t be here next to him. Luo Shuangfei had taken a seat of his own ord, when Miao Yi abruptly shouted, "Why are you here? Go back!"


    "I came here to protect you, Milord." rebuked Luo Shuangfei, pursing his lips


    He would asionally throw a nce at Xiao Xiao¡¯s snow-white breasts and barely visible jade-like feet. He seemed a little annoyed at the sight of them.


    ¡®Even if you¡¯re here to protect me, I didn¡¯t say you could sit down. Where in the world is there a subordinate like you?¡¯ At that point, Miao Yi sternly said, "My Big Brother is here, so I don¡¯t need your protection. Go back!"


    "Not even the hosts themselves are chasing me away. Why are you in such a hurry?" Luo Shuangfei looked like he was determined to stay. He even turned to Xiao Xiao and Huo Lingxiao and shamelessly asked, "You won¡¯t chase me away, will you?"


    Huo Lingxiao waspletely indifferent. On the other hand, Xiao Xiao closely examined Luo Shuangfei. Then, her seductive figure moved to Luo Shuangfei¡¯s side, and she stretched her perfect arms as she leaned on his shoulder. With a yful air as though she just found a new ything, she looked straight at Luo Shangfei¡¯s eyes, and gently traced her wless fingers over his bearded chin, teasing him. "Since you¡¯ve alreadye here, that makes you my guest. Where is the logic in chasing one¡¯s guest away? Especially with a rare guest like yourself."


    Miao Yi stared wide-eyed in disbelief as he realized this Xiao Xiao was rather promiscuous. She actually went up to Luo Shuangfei of her own initiative. ¡®Given his lewd nature, wouldn¡¯t she be in trouble?¡¯


    He snuck a peek at Huo Lingxiao and sure enough, his expression was already darkening.


    Luo Shuangfei shot Miao Yi a nce from the corner of his eyes and snickered, acting like he was just that attractive. If he hadn¡¯t seen Xiao Xiao resting on Miao Yi¡¯s so-called Big Brother¡¯sp earlier, he would have reached out and grabbed her by the waist. However, since he was being pressured by Miao Yi¡¯s re, he pulled his arm back.


    Xiao Xiao turned to Huo Lingxiao and asked, "Howe I never knew that you had a younger brother?"


    Unsure of how to exin himself, Huo Lingxiao coughed. Fortunately, Miao Yi answered for him. "I am Miao Yi. East Arrival Cave Master, and also Big Brother Xiao¡¯s sworn brother."


    "Big Brother Xiao? Your sworn brother?" Xiao Xiao voiced in surprise.


    Huo Lingxiao didn¡¯t wish for Miao Yi to know his real identity, so he hurriedly transmitted his voice over to Xiao Xiao¡ªexining how he got caught up in the moment and was forced to swear the oath of brotherhood with Miao Yi. Xiao Xiao immediately burst outughing and teased, "You are always such a meanie."


    After he finally managed to exin everything, Huo Lingxiao breathed a sigh of relief. Then he asked Miao Yi, "East Arrival Cave Master? Weren¡¯t you demoted to Steed Deputy by Yang Qing? Could he have reinstated you as Cave Master?"


    Miao Yi was lost for words¡ª ¡®Why are you revealing my secret?¡¯ ¡ªand awkwardly replied, "Right now, I am still the Steed Deputy."


    "Ah!" Luo Shuangfei¡¯s eyes wererge to begin with, but now they widened even more, "You¡¯re a Steed Deputy? Yet you still dare to recruit me!?"


    "Well, how do I put it? I still have the highest authority in East Arrival Cave," said Miao Yi, rubbing his nose.


    "Che! A Steed Deputy is a Steed Deputy. Why are you acting as if you¡¯re the Cave Master!?" Luo Shuangfei swept his arms disdainfully. He immediately lost all his respect for Miao Yi. The final restraints binding him back werepletely gone. He reached out and plucked a grape from the table, but stopped right just as he was about to toss it into his mouth. Gazing at the perfect arm wrapped around his shoulder, he gaily brought the grape to Xiao Xiao¡¯s mouth.


    Xiao Xiao spread her luscious lips, revealing her glossy teeth as she gently bit on the grape. She even stuck her red tongue out and licked Luo Shuangfei¡¯s fingertips.


    Miao Yi and Huo Lingxiao¡¯s expressions both twitched simultaneously. In stark contrast, Luo Shuangfei wasughing like a sly fox that had stolen a chicken. Reaching out, he grabbed a cluster of grapes and began plucking them one by one, happily tossing them into his mouth. Every once in a while, he would bring them to Xiao Xiao¡¯s mouth and feed her.


    "How are Xiao Xiao and Big Brother rted?" Miao Yi asked Huo Lingxiao. He was a little uncertain about their rtionship. If she really were Huo Lingxiao¡¯s woman, how could she flirt around so openly with Luo Shuangfei?


    "Don¡¯t you understand this much?" Luo Shuangfei rolled his eyes at Miao Yi with food still in his mouth. Brazenly wrapping his arm around Xiao Xiao¡¯s beautiful waist, he chuckled and asked, "Xiao Xiao is your stage name, right?"


    Xiao Xiao leaned against him and teased, "What do you think?"


    "HAHA! I knew it." Luo Shuangfei chuckled, "As expected of the capital city in the Fifth Earthly Branch. It is quite a rare sight to behold such a beautifuldy in brothels. May I know which establishment my fairdy belongs to? I will be sure to pay you a visit another day."


    Xiao Xiao shook her head and teased, "Not telling you."


    Huo Lingxiao coughed a little, then brought his cup to his lips and downed his wine.


    Miao Yi appeared to have finally realized, and surmised that this Xiao Xiao was likely from a brothel.


    Suddenly, Luo Shuangfei lifted Xiao Xiao off her feet andid her down on his thighs. Lifting Xiao Xiao¡¯s chin with his finger, he said, "This Lord is a wealthy man. Spending an exorbitant amount of money is but a normal urrence to me. Won¡¯t it be a shame to miss such an opportunity?"


    Xiao Xiao replied, "Oh. Is that so?"


    "Go!" Luo Shuangfei pushed Xiao Xiao up. "Go and show me how you dance and sing. This Lord will reward you well."


    "Hehe!" Xiao Xiao knelt down and tapped on the table. She lifted her face up and revealed a beautiful smile, then lowered it and shook her head; her lush, dark tresses sliding over her shoulder.


    "What¡¯s the matter? Afraid that this Lord can¡¯t reward you?" jested Luo Shuangfei.


    Xiao Xiao swung her hand about as she twirled around and stood up. She sashayed to the center of the deck, her long gown trailing behind her. Her full, ravishing figure was truly remarkable. With eyes holding a hint of mncholy, she gaze up towards the radiant night sky beyond the fluttering white curtains.


    Like a trickle of water, the melody of a qin was suddenly audible from behind the screen on the ship¡¯s deck. The stirring vibrato of stringed instruments quickly followed in apaniment, along with the hushed tones of a flute slowlying after. Xiao Xiao made her move then. Lifting her arm up into the sky, she bent her lithe waist back and slowly twirled around; her long gown rising with her every move.


    Gripping onto his wine ss, Huo Lingxiao¡¯s hand froze as he stared wide-eyed in disbelief. It seemed he never expected Xiao Xiao to actually perform a dance.


    Her dance was truly the epitome of elegance and grace, especially when her long gown rose as she twirled around, and her wless bare feet gently stepped over the ground. Miao Yi found himself unable to look away.


    "Great!" said Luo Shuangfei, pping his hands as he praised. Then, he casually tossed a handful of Gold Crystals onto the table. He really did have a reward in store.


    When the melody of the qin started to be a little faint, Xiao Xiao¡¯s dance became even more enchanting with light, nimble steps. As she swept her arms and sleeves across, the wind blew strongly against her lush hair. Indulging herself in her performance, she raised her arm to the sky and slowly lifted her gaze in a melodramatic fashion, staring at the orchid-like gestictions formed from her fingers, as her voluminous sleeves slid down to her shoulders. Then, her lips slowly parted as she began to sing in a deeply haunting voice.


    "Oh time~ it waits not for any man~ waits not for any man~"


    "Oh beauty~ shall never age~ shall never age~¡¯


    "Traversing across the mortal realm~ this mortal realm~"


    "He who pursues his dreams lies at the endless horizon, lies at the endless seas~"


    It was a grand and beautiful song. Together with her pure and clear voice, the performancepletely moved one¡¯s heart and drew one¡¯s soul to it. The way she sang was so hypnotic that it rooted her three spectators to the spot like statues. As they watched her alluring figure and lily-white limbs gracefully dancing about in her fluttering gown, at times she would go slow and gentle; and other times, it would be hurried and powerful. Such a mesmerizing sight that any who caught sight of it would not be able to resist wallowing in it. Such was it, that they could faintly discern the silhouette of a person in their minds¡ªgoing through the fickleness of life, and lost as to where he, or she belonged. They could not tell if it was a man or a woman, or even they themselves.


    No one knew when the song came to a stop, but Xiao Xiao eventually stood in ce quietly, her long ck tresses and light yellow gown fluttering in the wind. She looked misty-eyed at the deste night sky beyond the fluttering white curtains, seemingly unwilling to part with it.


    Only when everyone came to their senses did they realize that the performance had already ended. Luo Shuangfei stood up and gave a rousing apuse. "Great. Extremely impressive. What a spectacr performance!"


    Huo Lingxiao and Miao Yi couldn¡¯t resist giving a standing ovation as well.


    Miao Yi¡¯s gaze was glued to Xiao Xiao¡¯s alluring back as he sighed in admiration, "Truly exemry! It¡¯s a first for me to have witnessed such a moving performance. My trip to Jade Lake has not been in vain."


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would frequently dance and sing for him as well, but he had to admit that Xiao Xiao was on an entirely different level. Withoutparing the other factors, just the emotion reflected in her theatrical performance was not something Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldpare to. It carried a deep philosophy towards life that waspletely melded into the performance.

 Chapter 263: Dont Question the Rights and Wrongs

    Chapter 263: Don¡¯t Question the Rights and Wrongs


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Huo Lingxiao¡¯s apuse was more restrained.


    Xiao Xiao turned around and swept her gaze across the three men. Her smile was as clear as the sky, and it was extremely charming.


    "Reward!" Miao Yi tossed a bunch of Gold Crystals ttering on top of the table.


    But in that moment, someone outside shouted abruptly, "Stop the boat, stop!"


    A few of them tilted their heads to look at the situation. It turned out that the boat Miao Yi had rented had been moving alongside a bigger boat. Tian Qingfeng and the others had the good fortune to witness and listen to a beautifuldy dancing and singing on the other boat.


    Before they knew it, a speedboat with antern stered with the word ¡®du¡¯ approached their boat. A few cultivators, all of which also had a que with the word ¡®du¡¯ tied around their waists, were standing at the bow of the boat. A trembling cultivator without a que at his waist suddenly pointed at Lin Pingping, who stood among Tian Qingfeng and the others, and said, "It¡¯s her, and that¡¯s them."


    The cultivator of the Governor¡¯s Office standing at the front of the bow immediately gave the order for Tian Qingfeng¡¯s boat to stop.


    When Tian Qingfeng and the other men saw the members of the Governor¡¯s Office, they were startled, their reactions most likely due to a guilty conscience. If he remembered correctly, the trembling cultivator standing beside the members of the Governor¡¯s Office must be the Loose Cultivator who¡¯d been blocked by Lin Pingping on the ¡®Heart Ind¡¯ that day.


    After halting both vessels, small andrge, five cultivators from the Governor¡¯s Office brought the Loose Cultivator along andnded on Tian Qingfeng¡¯s side of the boat. The one in charge of the group was a man. He swept his gaze across the passengers of the boat before asking the Loose Cultivator beside him, "Are you certain it¡¯s them?"


    The Loose Cultivator nodded his head. His eyes darted across therger boat on the side and after spotting Miao Yi and Luo Shuangfei, immediately extended his arm and pointed, "And the two of them over there."


    That day on the Heart Ind, Miao Yi had led the party while Luo Shuangfei had looked strange in terms of appearance. That would easily leave a deep impression on anyone¡¯s mind, so they were quickly recognized by that man.


    The man in charge waved his hand andmanded, "We¡¯ll take the suspects along with the boats. Apprehend them all!"


    Two men swiftly revealed their weapons from behind and jumped onto the bigger boat, intending to arrest both the ship and the people on it.


    Xiao Xiao turned around. As she dragged her long skirt towards the couch, she gave what appeared to be a casual flick of her sleeve. No one could sense any transcendence energy emanating from her, yet when those two men boarding the ship tried to push aside the white curtain hanging above the rail, ¡®Ah!¡¯ was the only terrified scream that rang out from their mouths.


    Two streams of delicate white curtain cloth swiftly flowed like passing clouds and struck fiercely at the two like steel tes. Before they could even react to the sudden assault, they were quickly struck several dozen meters away to the air.


    Bang bang! Both exploded into bursts of bloody rain as their bodies were turned to pulp, scattering into theke.


    Sensing that there was going to be trouble, Miao Yi was stunned,pletely astonished by the two streams of flowing, delicate curtain cloth!


    The passengers on both boats were instantly shocked at the scene. What a ferocious cultivation base; two cultivators had been quickly beaten to a literal pulp!


    Everyone looked around but were stunned at the fact that they couldn¡¯t tell who¡¯d made the move. Huo Lingxiao was the only one quietly shooting a nce at Xiao Xiao, who was already reclining on her side on top of the couch, her long skirts slightly unfolded.


    The rest of the members of the Governor¡¯s Office were shuddering in fear. They knew they¡¯d just met a master. No one dared to board the bigger boat without obtaining permission first.


    "Who are you people, how dare you murder members of the Governor¡¯s Office right here in the city? You should know the consequences of that!" yelled the man in charge.


    Huo Lingxiao took a few steps forward and pushed aside the white curtain, which startled the members of the Governor¡¯s Office, forcing them to take a step backward, thinking that he was the one who did it.


    Huo Lingxiao frowned and asked, "Why did you stop my boat for no reason?"


    The man in charge pointed at Miao Yi and the others. "A few days ago, three members of the Governor¡¯s Office were killed on the Heart Ind. These people are suspects, and I want to take them in for interrogation!"


    ¡®Members of the Governor¡¯s Office were killed?¡¯ Huo Lingxiao turned around and looked at Miao Yi. He thought, ¡®This kid isn¡¯t that bold, is he?¡¯ He then turned back to the man and asked once more, "Do you have evidence?"


    The man murmured, "Anyone who appeared on the ind that day are suspects. The Governor¡¯s Office has rounded up most of the people present at the time, and there¡¯s an eyewitness who saw them there. This is an order from the Governor¡¯s Office, so you muste with us. Don¡¯t tell me you want to go against the Governor¡¯s Office? Quickly submit yourself to us!"


    This man was too gutless to make a move, so he was using the name of the Governor¡¯s Office to pressure others.


    Miao Yi, who felt curious about the eyewitness of the murder that day, suddenly had a gleam in his eyes. He realized where the problemy, and it might be the bloodstains that they hadn¡¯t managed to clean up. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be in this current situation where, due to ack of physical evidence, everyone who¡¯d appeared on the ind that day had to be captured for interrogation. If there was evidence, they could easily point them as the murderers!


    Miao Yi could not help but be rmed at the controlling powers of the Governor¡¯s Office. How were they able to find those who¡¯d been at the ind when these people were all strangers to one another?


    It was just as he¡¯d said in reality. Inspections in all regions and routes were designated by the Governor¡¯s Office every single day. If three people suddenly went missing, they would naturally look for them. Just as they were investigating the route that Lord Xing and his two men were stationed, they¡¯d discovered bloodstains indicating that three people had fallen. Coincidentally, the men who¡¯d gone missing had been those exact three. With that, the Governor¡¯s Office immediately realized that something had happened to the three men.


    Wasn¡¯t it horrible enough that someone dared to make a move against the members of the Governor¡¯s Office? This was simply a challenge to the authority of the Governor¡¯s Office, and this incident hadpletely shocked Governor¡¯s Office Head Lan Hou. The only words Lan Hou said were, "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! I would rather kill the wrong person than let them get away with this!"


    Being in charge of tens of thousands popting a city that covered arge area, and to be able to frighten those Loose Cultivators from acting rashly in its every nook and cranny, it was evident how much power the Governor¡¯s Office had in possession to control the city.


    With just a direct order from Lan Hou, the Governor¡¯s Office had immediately investigated the entire city, their movements so unobtrusive they hadn¡¯t disturbed the ordinary citizens in the slightest. As for those who had set foot on the ind before, they¡¯d all been swiftly captured. Several cultivators who had left the city were caught in the middle of their journey. Those who had been captured also reported to the Governor¡¯s Office of those they had seen before on the ind.


    Huo Lingxiao wasn¡¯t fool enough to ask Miao Yi in front of all these people whether he had really killed the men of the Governor¡¯s Office or not. If Miao Yi admitted to the usation under pressure while facing a crowd, as a Hall Master of the Suppressing Second Hall, how could he endure this? His own underling hade to the city and killed the members of the Governor¡¯s Office while he was in the city too.... Not to mention the other stuff he¡¯d done. Would he allow the members of the Governor¡¯s Office to capture his men in front of him, or put up a fight with the Governor¡¯s Office? Huo Lingxiao couldn¡¯t afford to provoke the Governor¡¯s Office as well.


    He turned around and looked at Xiao Xiao.


    Xiao Xiao spoke out as shey on her side on the couch. With her elbow upright and a fist to support her head, she closed her eyes and said in a soft manner, "You want to take us away without evidence? Leave now while my mood isn¡¯tpletely terrible. It will be toote if you want to run awayter on."


    Her tone was gentle, yet there was no room for doubt that she¡¯d do as she said.


    When she spoke those words, Miao Yi and the others were shocked. They quickly turned to look at this woman, and they were all baffled.


    The expression of the man in charge from the Governor¡¯s Office twitched in reaction. ¡®This person doesn¡¯t even respect the Governor¡¯s Office.¡¯ Realizing they¡¯d hit a snag in their case, and this person wasn¡¯t someone they could afford to provoke, he didn¡¯t dare to say anything more and waved, "Let¡¯s go!"


    They didn¡¯t even care to hop back into their speedboat, instead fleeing quickly by pedaling on top of the waters.


    "Big Brother, who is she?" Miao Yi asked, looking curiously at the napping woman on the couch.


    For a woman to be able to say those words, it would be foolish to still treat her like an ordinary hostess from a brothel.


    Huo Lingxiao decided not to answer that question and instead asked his own by murmuring, "Miao Yi, did you really kill the members of the Governor¡¯s Office in the city or not?"


    "No!" Miao Yi tly denied the usation.


    Miao Yi would never admit it, even if he were to be beaten to death. As a matter of fact, he wasn¡¯t lying. He wasn¡¯t the murderer, because Luo Shuangfei was the one who did it. Miao Yi just gave the order to carry out the murder.


    "There are no strangers here, so tell me the truth. Did you do it or not?" Huo Lingxiao kept asking again.


    When he remembered that Miao Yi had threatened to kill him back in the Suppressing Second Hall, and the repeated improper behaviour he had disyed in the South Edict Manor, it was possible that this man had the gall to do many things that were considered impudent and atrocious.


    "That¡¯s enough," Xiao Xiao interrupted, stillying rxed on the couch, "The killing has been done, and they have no evidence of it. No evidence means no killing. Miao Yi is your sworn brother after all, why do you want to be so unreasonable and deliberately make things difficult for him?"


    When she opened her mouth, Huo Lingxiao immediately went silent and shut his mouth. He knew that someone woulde forward to shoulder the responsibility when a problem urred.


    Luo Shuangfei, on the other hand, was picking up the Gold Crystals he had given out as a reward from the table. He realized he¡¯d been fooled, and this reward was just a joke. Naturally, he would want to get them back.


    He didn¡¯t seem like he was afraid of anything. He was simply a weirdo.


    The woman on the couch stretched with her eyes closed, and yet all movement inside the boat seemed to be under her control. With her eyes still closed, she asked, "Didn¡¯t you reward that to me? Why are you taking them back?"


    "You wouldn¡¯t be interested in this small sum. Rewarding you will only be an insult to you, and I cannot do that. Of course, I must take them back." Luo Shuangfei, who had already pocketed the reward money, slowly approached the couch and blurted a ¡®hey¡¯ before continuing, "Who exactly are you?"


    Xiao Xiao gave a gentle smile. She tapped on the couch, motioning him to sit down.


    Luo Shuangfei then actually proceeded to sit his rear down on one side of the couch. Xiao Xiao ced her head on his thighs, replying sleepily, "Is it important to know who I am? Weren¡¯t you just treating me like a woman from a brothel? Such a waste of a beautiful ambience on such a fine day. Let¡¯s just talk about the ambience and forget about questioning the rights and wrongs."


    "You said it yourself." Luo Shuangfei was only trying his luck with that question.


    Xiao Xiao nodded with her eyes closed.


    And then, a situation appeared that both angered and surprised Miao Yi at the same time. Luo Shuangfei moved like a frightened little rabbit as he swiftly touched Xiao Xiao¡¯s pale and half-exposed bosom with his hands. Realizing that Xiao Xiao, who still had her eyes closed, wasn¡¯t reacting to it, a smile curled on his lips. He took the risk and ced his hands fully on Xiao Xiao¡¯s bosom while making faces at Miao Yi, as if he was asking Miao Yi to join in on the fun.


    Miao Yi was sweating bullets, realizing that Luo Shuangfei was simply driven by lust to do such an outrageous act. The audacity of this man had gone to the point of creating aplication. He tried to peek at Huo Lingxiao, but he saw that he only turned to the other side instead.


    Miao Yi, who¡¯d been watching at the sidelines, began to make a guess as to who this woman was. Xiao Yizhu was a steed deputy of the Suppressing Second Hall, so how was he able to tour the Jade Lake together with such a person?


    Then an image shed through his mind, and it was the image of Xiao Yizhu and Menn at East Arrival Cave. He remembered when they¡¯d talked about the marriage of the daughter of the Exquisite Refinement Sect. Xiao Yizhu had said that there would be boundless prospects for the person who was able to marry their daughter, which prompted sarcasm from Menn after that.


    Menn mentioned before that there were still some people who were still interested in ying up to the power of others, and those people were scum and so forth.


    Menn¡¯s words were clearly meant to ridicule Xiao Yizhu... When he thought about that, Miao Yi seemed to have a revtion. Perhaps Menn was saying that Xiao Yizhu was attached to this woman for power?


    Just as he pondered this thought, Huo Lingxiao¡¯s expression changed slightly as he cocked his head towards the direction of the Jade Capital Peak.


    Above Jade Capital Peak, two streaks of red light sliced through the night sky and shot through the Jade Lake.


    "Interrupting my sleep!" Xiao Xiao, who was still lying on the couch, heaved a sigh and continued to cushion her head on Luo Shuangfei¡¯s thighs. With a casual flick of her sleeves, the curtains began to flutter aggressively, and ripples began to form abruptly on the surface of the Jade Lake.

 Chapter 264: A Battle of Experts

    Chapter 264: A Battle of Experts


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    In the next instant, theke began to churn as if they were in a stormy ocean. Gasps of surprise could be heard from the cruise ships in the distance.


    From where Tian Qinfeng and the others were standing at the edge of their small vessel, it now resembled nothing more than a lonely raft that was in danger of capsizing at any moment from the force of the mighty waves. Everyone joined hands and tried to use their transcendence energy to stabilize the boat, but to no avail. They didn¡¯t dare jump onto therge ship Miao Yi was on either. They already saw an example of what would happen¡ªwith thest two victims being sent to their deaths by the white curtains of the ship. Stuck between a rock and a hard ce, their expressions drastically changed.


    Looking around, Miao Yi realized that the ship he was on remained untouched and was unnaturally steady despite being in the midst of such turbulent waters and mighty waves.


    The two red streaks of light hurtled through the sky towards the ship.


    However, before they could reach the ship¡ª ¡®WHOOSH!¡¯ ¡ªtwo massive torrents of water in the form of dragons abruptly burst out from the mighty waves surrounding the ship. The crystal clear bodies of the twin water dragons rapidly swept out and hurdled up into the sky, charging straight towards the two men above the ship and aiming to knock them down.


    The power with which the water dragons¡¯ was climbing made the two in the aire to a hasty stop. They both swept their arms out and pointed downwards. The halo surrounding them quickly coalesced into two bright-red transcendent artifacts; these swiftly left their grasp and flew straight towards the heads of the two rising dragons.


    ¡®BANG! BANG!¡¯


    Both water dragons opened their maws and each swallowed one of the two transcendent artifacts into their bellies. They imprisoned the two third grade transcendent artifacts there and stopped their movements, before charging straight at the two assants.


    The two men werepletely taken by surprise. Quickly dodging, they narrowly escaped the assault from the dragon heads. However, the tails of the dragons caught them by surprise with a vicioussh.


    From their mouths, blood spurted out into the sky. They were thrown over a hundred meters away beforeing to a stop mid-flight.


    Floating in mid-air, the two had their hands over their chest as their foreheads shone with the Red Lotus Fifth Grade mark. Without even catching a glimpse of the person attacking them from the ship, they already suffered such severe injuries.


    Discovering that there was such arge disparity in strength between both parties, they realized that they were no match for the other party and together said, "Let¡¯s withdraw!"


    Then, they quickly turned around and flew off.


    The two water dragons hovering above the cruise boat abruptly burst into a shower of rain before falling onto theke. Having already stuck his head out to take a look, Miao Yi was startled by this and quickly drew his head back.


    The two transcendent artifacts that were gobbled down flew onto the deck of the ship. All this while, Xiao Xiao had beenzily lying on Luo Shuangfei¡¯sp, pretending to be asleep. She swept her sleeve out, and casually stowed the two third grade transcendent artifacts into them in an instant.


    The turbulent turquoise waters around them slowly stilled once more. Miao Yi took a deep breath and turned around, staring at the woman on Luo Shuangfei¡¯sp in disbelief. ¡®Is this still the same woman who was singing and dancing just a moment ago?¡¯


    He knew thisdy was strong, but he never imagined she was this powerful. She barely moved at all. With a sweep of her hand, she crushed two Red Lotus experts and stole their third grade transcendent artifacts. Despite how terrifying her cultivation must be, he could not see any indication of how strong she was from her forehead.


    Staring down at the pretty face on hisp having a peaceful slumber, Luo Shuangfei suddenly felt like he was embracing a beautiful gorgon. Feeling fearful, he gently withdrew the hand resting on the other person¡¯s lily-white bosom. He didn¡¯t dare to casually grope around any longer. He lifted his face to look at Miao Yi and quietly stuck his tongue out. He seemed to have also realized that he was ying with forces that were far beyond his capabilities.


    However, he didn¡¯t dare to push the other person away. Thus, all he could do was sit quietly and be herp pillow.


    After Tian Qingfeng and the others managed to stabilize the small boat and keep it from lurching with their transcendence energy, they stayed on the edge of the boat and stood there gawking at the other party in astonishment.


    Meanwhile, Huo Lingxiao wore and indifferent expression and stood like a statue with his arms in his sleeves, as though he knew that would be the oue from the very beginning...


    Jade Capital Peak ¡ª At a manor located just one ss below the mountain peak, a purple streak of light shed through therge gate. A man abruptly appeared at the top of the steps leading to the entrance.


    A purple-gold crown rested on his hair. He wore arge purple robe embroidered with gold motifs, these were held together at the waist by a jade belt. His face was neatly chiseled andpletely wless, with sharp eyebrows resting atop dark, confident eyes; a sharp and straight nose; and lips that were bright red. His gaze was now cold and stern, yet he exuded a bold and imposing aura. From birth, his features were handsome and his countenance, extraordinary.


    Inscribed on the name que above his head were threerge and powerful characters¡ª (¶¼¶½¸®)¡®Governor¡¯s Office¡¯!


    Judging from the look on his face, it seemed he was rmed by themotion from the battle outside.


    Two silhouettes shot out from the sky and descended onto the ground uneasily. They quickly approached him and cupped theirs fists. "Governor. It is a strong opponent. Even with both of us joining hands, we were injured by the other person and had our transcendent artifacts stolen away in a single confrontation."


    This man was the Head of the Governor¡¯s Office under the Fifth Earthly Branch¡ªLan Hou.


    Standing atop the steps, Lan Hou questioned, "Who is the other person?"


    "Your subordinates regretfully inform that we failed to even catch a glimpse of what the other party looked like," said the two, cupping their fists in embarrassment.


    ¡®SUA!¡¯ By the time the two raised their heads, any trace of Governor Lan before them was long gone.


    From his seat on the long couch of the cruise ship, Luo Shuangfei suddenly jerked his head as the hem of a gown faintly shed by his eyes, giving his face a light flick that was neither painful nor irritable. Only then did he realize that the beauty lying on hisp had vanished without a trace.


    Looking back up, he saw Xiao Xiao already standing several meters away, walking out of the ship¡¯s pavilion with her bare feet. The hems of her light-yellow gown that used to trail along the ground, were now fluttering behind her¡ªrevealing a pair of wless and curvy, yet slender legs in all their splendor. Even the base of her thighs were visible. She pulled the fluttering skirt along as she slowly strode forward. It was a sight that would send any man into a primal frenzy.


    Her lush, ck hair danced about behind her as herrge sleeves beat against the wind. Her figure seemed distant and aloof, as though she were about to fly off into the sky.


    It looked like she had simply taken a gentle step out with her bare feet. In reality, she moved several meters in a single step, as though the ground shrank beneath her feet. Her figure gave off such grace and allure, that itpelled one to wallow in it. Even Miao Yi could feel his heart racing when he looked at her. His gaze followed after that seductive figure without blinking.


    Seeing Miao Yi¡¯s reaction, Luo Shuangfei rolled his eyes and stood up. Then, walked over to him.


    Yet where would he have the time to be concerned about Luo Shuangfei. Before Miao Yi could realize, the tear-stained flute was once more in Xiao Xiao¡¯s grasp. Bringing it to her lips, she took a few steps forward, the ground seemed to shrink for her once more, before she finally came to a halt at the bow of the ship.


    ¡¯Wuwuwu.... wuwu....¡¯


    The haunting melody of a flute arose as the aloof Xiao Xiao closed her eyes where she stood; her dark eyebrows like distant peaks, as her wless fingers flitted over the flute¡ªno words could describe the beauty of this sight. It was enough to move the hearts of both men and women alike.


    The surroundingke rippled once more as raging waves quickly churned out, even stronger than before. Many horrified screams and exmations of shock could be heard from afar, as it seemed like every single vessel on the Jade Lake would soon capsize.


    A purple streak of light flew in from the horizon. The Govenor Lan Hou descended from the sky and hovered high in the air, wearing a purple-gold crown on his head, garbed with his purple robe and its gold motifs. The silhouette of a Purple Lotus Fifth Grade cultivation shone on his forehead as he pressed down with his palm.


    Instantly, the rumbling waves of the Jade Lake calmed down, suppressed with a single palm strike by Lan Hou and thus saving countless mortal lives on the Jade Lake. Otherwise, the nightly festival this year would have be a night of mourning.


    Hovering in mid-air, Lan Hou rapidly swept a cold nce down below. When he saw thedy ying the flute on the bow of the ship, he frowned deeply.


    She still had her eyes shut, but the tone of her flute suddenly changed. Instantly, the surrounding temperature dropped to freezing temperatures. Everyone shivered from the cold as a chilly fog enveloped the still surface of theke.


    ¡®SWOOSH!¡¯ Suddenly, the silence on theke was broken as innumerable icicles shot out from the water. Like a gale-force hurricane, they quickly shot up in a tall cloud towards Lan Hou.


    Hovering in the sky in an overbearing manner, Lan Hou swept his sleeves across, rolling out waves of powerful transcendence energy. The countless icicles abruptly burst into mist as they shot towards him, and he collected all that moisture beneath his feet.


    He swept his sleeves out again as thoughmanding all the mist and moisture, then stepped onto the condensed cloud. Pointing downwards, he quickly descended onto the cruise ship atop the cloud of mist.


    On the stillke, the cruise ship immediately made creaking noises as though it was being torn apart, and sinking under a terrifyinglyrge weight. Even the multi-colorednterns hanging on the side were instantly put out.


    Miao Yi and the others on the ship werepletely caught by surprise. Fortunately, with another shift in the melody of the flute, the multi-colorednterns on the sides instantly red up once more. The creaking sounds vanished as well, and the ship floated back up from almost being sunk beneath theke.


    A strange wind continuously surged over the ship¡¯s deck, whipping the white curtains into a frenzy as though the entire ship were about to take flight.


    Realizing it was a battle between two mighty experts, the people onboard didn¡¯t dare make any thoughtless moves. They didn¡¯t even try to leave this treacherous ce.


    Huo Lingxiao turned to look at Miao Yi and was lost for words. ¡®It seems like ever since I bumped into this fellow, I¡¯ve experienced nothing but bad luck. She actually caused such a hugemotion for his sake.¡¯


    Just then, all they knew was that the ship was sudden rising and dipping.


    "ENnn...!?"


    Suddenly, a questioning murmur erupted from the very tip of Jade Capital Peak like a thunderp. It was filled with an overbearing authority, forcing all who heard it to quake in fear.


    From where he stood atop the high cloud in the sky, Lan Hou withdrew his hand with a wave of his sleeves and turned to look. Then, he quickly snapped his body around and flew off. The condensed cloud immediately dispersing after.


    The flute¡¯s melodying from the bow of the ship also came to a sudden stop. From where she stood, Xiao Xiao opened her eyes and gazed at the sky above. With a wave of herrge sleeves, turquoise waves came rushing over from all sides. Instantly enveloping the entire cruise boat in a bubble and quickly sinking it to the depths of theke.


    Onboard their vessels near and far, those witness to the entiremotion immediately noticed that the cruise ship causing everything had abruptly disappeared without a trace.


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi and the rest onboard the ship realized that it was swiftly moving through the depths of theke, with the view at the bottom of theke quickly passing them by. Standing at the bow of the ship, Xiao Xiao still appeared distant and aloof.


    In moments, the cruise boat travelled well over a thousand meters underwater, escaping from right under the noses of the mortals. At the bow of the ship, Xiao Xiao flicked her sleeves then shot into the sky, the hems of her gown trailing behind her like dancing waves. She appeared sinister, yet beautiful as she instantly broke past the bubble protecting the ship and flew away.


    The water pressure suddenly crashed into them from all sides, immediately tearing the cruise ship apart underwater. By the time those onboard the ship breached the surface and looked about after stepping onto the waves, they already lost sight of where Xiao Xiao had flown off to.


    Miao Yi turned to Huo Lingxiao and asked, "Big Brother. Who exactly is Xiao Xiao?"


    Huo Lingxiao cast his gaze at Jade Capital Peak as if deep in thought, and dismissed him with a casual reply, "Knowing too much will do you no good."


    Miao Yi continued asking, "So what should we do now? How do we get away now that we¡¯ve offended men from the Governor¡¯s Office?"


    "Everything is fine now. You could say that your luck is good. Someone has already solved your problem for you. I still have matters to attend to, so I¡¯ll be making my move now." Huo Lingxiao turned and leapt across the waves as he left. It seemed as though his cultivation wasn¡¯t high, but in truth, he just didn¡¯t want to reveal his identity in front of Miao Yi.


    "Everything is fine? It¡¯s solved?" Miao Yi was confused, but soon came to a realization. ¡®It¡¯s probably because Miss Xiao Xiao decided to lend a hand.¡¯


    Under the radiant moon atop Jade Capital Peak, and just outside the Governor¡¯s Office at the edge of the mountain, Lan Hou stood with his hands behind him as he gazed at the Jade Lake in the distance.


    A purple streak of light approached as Xiao Xiao descended from the sky andnded next to him. The two stood beside each other, but one was facing forward, while the other faced back. Neither even nced at the other.

 Chapter 265: An Overjoyed Lin Pingping

    Chapter 265: An Overjoyed Lin Pingping


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    The man had on a purple-gold crown, and was dressed in a purple robe decorated with gold motifs. He looked sharp and formal, with a bold and imposing aura.


    Thedy wore a gown that danced in the wind. Her wless feet were bare, whilst her figure was voluptuous and seductive.


    Under the moonlight, the man and thedy stood next to each other, yet neither looked at the other person. One cast his gaze down the mountain, and the other eyed therge words on the name que of the Governor¡¯s Office. One had a prating gaze, the other, a quiet one.


    After a long while, with an expressionless face, Lan Hou said, "You went too far today."


    "Did I? Compared to what you did to me, would that be considered too far?" Xiao Xiao replied indifferently.


    "This is the capital city under the Overlord¡¯s jurisdiction. You should not have ced the lives of so many followers at risk at Jade Lake. It would not do you any good to provoke the Overlord either."


    "The men from your Governor¡¯s Office were the ones pushing their luck. How dare puny grunts like them try to unt their authority aboard my ship."


    "They didn¡¯t know who you were, and they didn¡¯t do anything wrong either. This incident involved the safety of countless followers. The authority of the Governor¡¯s Office when seeking justice within the capital city must not be challenged. Any who dare challenge it must be severely punished!"


    "Oh! Then, I just killed two of your men from the Governor¡¯s Office. What do you intend to do with me?"


    Lan Hou¡¯s face twitched. His throat moved slightly but in the end he decided to let it go and ask something else. Skipping around the matter of the murder atop the ship altogether, he asked, "Are the ones who murdered the men on Heart Ind your subordinates?"


    "Be careful what you say. What proof do you have?"


    "First, hand the suspects over. After the trial, if they are found to be innocent, I will naturally release them."


    "If you have any proof, then I will hand them over to you. If you don¡¯t, go ahead and try touching my Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s men. Even if we have to go before the Overlord, I won¡¯t be afraid of you."


    "You¡¯re being unreasonable."


    "Unreasonable? Then I will show you how unreasonable I can be. The ones who were on Heart Ind were acting on my orders. The mastermind is standing before you now. You have always been a ruthless person. What do you intend to do with me then? Are you going to kill me? Or will you capture me and bring me before the Overlord?"


    "Xiao Xiao. Don¡¯t test me."


    " Silence! Do you think you are fit to call me by that name? What right do you have to call me Xiao Xiao?" shouted Xiao Xiao, abruptly turning to cast a cold gaze at the side of his face.


    Lan Hou was silent, his face remained expressionless, but he had aplicated gaze as he stared ahead without moving. His hands moved from his back to grip the jade belt hanging around his waist as he changed the subject. "Regardless of whether it is his status or his appearance, that man is not good enough for you. His intents in courting you might not be sincere either. The gap between you two is too wide. All he is interested in may just be the benefits that you can give to him. The two of you are not a good match."


    "Oh Great Governor Lan. Don¡¯t you think your Governor¡¯s Office¡¯s jurisdiction is a little too wide? You want to butt in on my personal affairs as well?" mocked Xiao Xiao, as she lifted her gaze. "I will choose to be together with whichever man my heart desires. What right do you have to order me around?"


    Lan Hou¡¯s lips twitched. "I am just trying to give you friendly advice. I don¡¯t mean anything by it."


    "Do I need your advice? Is there another man that has treated me more ruthlessly than you?! When does a cold, unfaithful scoundrel like you have the right to lecture me?" she mocked, as she continued ring to the side of his face. "Let¡¯s cut the bullshit. I was the one who killed your Governor¡¯s Office¡¯s men. What are you going to do about it?"


    Lan Hou¡¯s hands on his jade belt slowly clenched as he sucked in a deep breath. "Don¡¯t force me to do this! You should know that you are no match for me. If this happens again, I will not spare you lightly. Leave the two transcendent artifacts and begone!"


    Seeing this man avoid looking her in the eye from start to finish, and not sparing her so much as a nce, Xiao Xiao bit her lips and levitated up into the sky¡ªher figure as elegant as the fleeting moon.


    The hems of the light-yellow gown gently swept past Lan Hou¡¯s nose. He didn¡¯t evade it. His gaze didn¡¯t waver as he stood there motionlessly. Only, he could smell a familiar fragrance from the hems of the gown.


    Hovering in mid-air, Xiao Xiao flicked herrge sleeves. Two transcendent artifacts shot out and pierced the ground behind Lan Hou. Still, Lan Hou stood unmoving like a statue.


    Seeing this, Xiao Xiao bit harder on her lips. Then, with a purple sh, she instantly disappeared into the night sky.


    At this moment, the two who were injured earlier came out from the Governor¡¯s Office and asked, "Governor. What should we do now?"


    "Inform those down below to cease whatever they are doing. This matter ends here. Don¡¯t let it escte further!" Lan Hou said indifferently with his back facing the two.


    "Ah!"¡ª ¡®Didn¡¯t you tell us that it was better to mistakenly kill the suspects than let them go?¡¯ ¡ªone of them eximed, "Are we just going to let them go like this? This matter has alreadye to the attention of the Overlord. What should we do if the Overlord inquires about it? If you do not wish to deal with her, then you can just have the Overlord punish her¡ª"


    Lan Hou abruptly turned his head, his gaze bing sharp as he coldly interjected, "¡ªI told you that this matter ends here. Did you not hear me, or did you just choose not to listen?"


    "Yes! Your subordinate understands!" blurted the person as cold sweat dripped from him.


    The other person hastily apologized, "We do not mean anything by it. We are just thinking of you, esteemed Governor. For such argemotion to happen on Jade Lake on the night of the new year, we are afraid that even you, esteemed Governor, would have a difficult time exining it to the Overlord."


    "The two of you need not worry about this. I will exin this to the Overlord myself." With a flick of his sleeves, Lan Hou turned around with his purple-gold crown and robes, and strode over to the Governor¡¯s Office withrge strides.


    ¡®Not pushing the responsibility away when you could. Wouldn¡¯t you just be making things difficult for yourself?¡¯ The two exchanged nces and shook their heads, then pulled their respective transcendent artifacts off the ground and stowed them away....


    The chaos on Jade Lake gradually died down, but the battle from before was still vivid in Miao Yi¡¯s mind.


    If the battle between Yao Ruoxian and Commander Yuan earlier at the Sea of Constetions was to be called a skirmish between experts, then the one he just witnessed today was a sh between powerhouses of a whole new level. He realized for someone like him who could only kill men and steeds onnd, this realm was still too far away. Right now, all he could do was gaze in awe.


    "Hey! Don¡¯t you think that Xiao Xiao was pretty? Do you think she is sexy enough?" Luo Shuangfei was throwing Miao Yi suggestive gestures beside him as he asked, "That woman is pretty spunky, right?"


    Miao Yi turned to look at him. Truth be told, he was a little jealous. He himself didn¡¯t dare make any thoughtless moves, but this bastard was bold enough to grope her lily-white bosom. Miao Yi hated not being able to chop off those lustful ws of his.


    However, he couldn¡¯t refute Luo Shuangfei¡¯s questions, and nodded.


    Then, Luo Shuangfei asked, "Then do you fancy her?"


    Miao Yi nodded. "Humans are not devoid of emotion like nts and trees. Any man would fancy a woman like that if they saw her. I am also a normal man, so naturally, I am no exception."


    "Cheh!" Hearing Miao Yi¡¯s heartfelt opinion, Luo Shuangfei immediately became angry and scoffed, "For a puny Steed Deputy like you? A toad lusting after a swan¡¯s flesh. Why don¡¯t you think about whether the other person would take a liking to you or not? That is an existence beyond your reach. You shoulde back to reality, puny Steed Deputy!"


    "Indeed, she would not take a liking to me." Miao Yi nodded knowingly. He lifted his gaze up to the bright moon hanging in the night sky as Lao Bai¡¯s elegant silhouette flitted past his mind. He had always admired Lao Bai¡¯s broad mind and calm temperament. With his face raised to the sky, the words slowly slipped off his tongue without him realizing¡ª"Beauties and fine liquors are just worldly things. Immersing oneself in them will leave one with no desire to improve oneself, and be unable to move forward. Thus, taking a wrong turn in life. If there truly exists an evesting beauty, then she only waits for the day when the one to ravage heres along, so why would she be unattainable?"


    "....." Luo Shuangfei noticed that the temperament reflected both in his tone and his expression was instantly more calm andposed by several levels. He never expected Miao Yi would actually say something so profound and ambitious. The Miao Yi immersed in such a state waspletely different from his normal self. He instantly had a profound air about him that caused Luo Shuangfei to gaze at him in stupor.


    However, Luo Shuangfei quickly recovered and scoffed, "What a great ambition. You can even make women like this your goal to push yourself forward. How worthless. A puny Steed Deputy is nothing more than a puny Steed Deputy, looking at the sky from inside the well. I can tell from a single nce that you¡¯ve never seen a more beautiful woman."


    Constantly being called a puny Steed Deputy, Miao Yi was a little annoyed. "At least a puny Steed Deputy like me can solve the problem of a Loose Cultivator¡¯s standing for you. If you don¡¯t want it, you can always leave. I won¡¯t send you off!"


    He turned and departed, leaping across the waves.


    "Hey! I was just joking with you! Don¡¯t be mad. Don¡¯t be so sensitive!" Luo Shuangfei chased behind him then chuckled, "Aren¡¯t you going to search for the others? Not going to look for them anymore?"


    "If they could not find us, they would have definitely returned to the courtyard."


    Their ship had travelled far through the bottom of theke using Xiao Xiao¡¯s transcendence energy. When they re-emerged from the depths of theke, the two of them were already separated from Tian Qingfeng and the rest.


    Tian Qingfeng and the rest indeed came back not long after the two had returned to Jade Capital Peak¡¯s courtyard themselves. Still thinking about what had ured tonight, they were all in a state of shock¡ªespecially Lin Pingping, who was simply following behind them.


    As soon as Tian Qingfeng saw them, he said, "Milord. It is best we leave quickly."


    After such an incident, it was indeed unwise to stay in the capital city any longer.


    However, Miao Yi didn¡¯t agree to leaving immediately because Huo Lingxiao told him that everything was fine. He wanted to wait a little longer and see whether that was true or not.


    If something were to happen, leaving now would arouse even more suspicion. By staying here, even if they were caught, they could still deny they had any rtion to the incident. It was an entirely different matter if they were caught while on the run.


    The party stayed another couple days on Jade Capital Peak, and nothing happened in that time. Evidently, the crisis really passed just like that. Otherwise, with the reach of the Governor¡¯s Office, they should be able to discover that Miao Yi and his party were staying here.


    Everyone felt relieved. Then, Miao Yi called Lin Pingping alone to his side.


    Obviously, a certain someone ran over as well to join in on the excitement. He couldn¡¯t be chased away even if Miao Yi wanted to. It appeared he was not afraid of anyone simply because of his past as a thief.


    "Lin Pingping. Are you willing to serve under me?"


    When Miao Yi said this in the hall, Lin Pingping was instantly overjoyed. She almost trembled from the intensity of it.


    She knew what these words meant. She knew how countless Loose Cultivators in the capital city painfully waited for such an opportunity toe by. She finally came across it! Immediately, she nodded repeatedly and knelt down to show her sincerity, saying, "I, Lin Pingping, am willing to serve Milord with my whole life. Lin Pingping sincerely asks Milord to give her this opportunity!"


    "Arise!" said Miao Yi, reaching out and urging her to stand up. Then he stepped closer and said, "If I need manpower, I could always look for those schools and sects. There is no need for me to use a White Lotus Second Grade Loose Cultivator like yourself. I want you to stay in the capital city for now. After three years, if your performance is satisfactory, I will give you an official status."


    Lin Pingping cupped her fists excitedly, "Please tell me what to do, Milord. Lin Pingping will not disappoint you."


    Since she would be working for him, Miao Yi naturally wouldn¡¯t allow her to continue staying in one of those decrepit caves. He obviously wouldn¡¯t allow her to stay in the courtyard they now resided on the Jade Capital Peak either, as that would be too expensive. He instructed her to head to the foot of the mountainter on and reserve a small courtyard at the lowest ss. Even though the conditions weren¡¯t as good as the ones situated higher up, it was enough for her to get by with. What¡¯s more, as a resident of Jade Capital Peak within the domain of the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce, her safety could be guaranteed to an extent.


    Miao Yi would give her one low-grade Orb of Will every year, along with Crystal Coins and the like. Miao Yi would arrange for it beforehand with the Chamber of Commerce, and allow Lin Pingping to enter the Chamber of Commerce herself to make a withdrawal every month. This provided Lin Pingping with enough resources to continue living well in the capital city.


    Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t be providing those resources for nothing. Miao Yi ordered Lin Pingping to remain in the capital city to gather information and report to him once a month. If her performance was good, he would fulfill his promise to her and officially relieve her of her Loose Cultivator¡¯s status three years from now.


    To Miao Yi, this wasn¡¯t offering much. However to Lin Pingping, this was already a major change to her life, so she gratefully epted it.

 Chapter 266: Mother’s Pride

    Chapter 266: Mother¡¯s Pride


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Once he was done briefing Lin Pingping, Miao Yi handed a jade archive over to her and instructed, "Bring this name card with you to the Chamber of Commerce and ask Luo Ping toe see me."


    "Understood!" Lin Pingping took the name card and quickly departed.


    The Chamber of Commerce where Luo Ping worked was just at the foot of the mountain, so it didn¡¯t take long before he came back alongside Lin Pingping. He gave Miao Yi a short greeting as soon as they met.


    Luo Ping didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry when he found out what Miao Yi¡¯s business was. He assumed Miao Yi had some kind of huge deal that he wished to offer him. He never expected to be called over for something as trivial as this.


    "I just wanted to try and see if it works." Miao Yi shut Luo Ping up with just this single sentence.


    ¡®Since I came all this way, I might as well get it done. A minor issue like this can be easily handled after all.¡¯


    Miao Yi clearly defined the withdrawal limit that Lin Pingping would be allowed each time in the contract. She had to engrave her transcendence seal on it as well, in order to avoid another person impersonating her to make a withdrawal.


    Furthermore, if Miao Yi did not wish to allow Lin Pingping to make any further withdrawals from the Chamber of Commerce, he could notify any of their branches. The information would be ryed over, and Lin Pingping would be barred from doing so.


    Even though he wasn¡¯t offering much, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t let Lin Pingping withdraw a whole year¡¯s worth of wages in one go either. What if she couldn¡¯t aplish the task after withdrawing her wages? It was best to have her withdraw it once a month; at least there was a limit.


    Once their business was done, Lin Pingping escorted Luo Ping back to the Chamber of Commerce. When she returned, she brought two messenger spirit eagles along with her.


    The neck of a spirit eagle has a ring of feathers differently colored from the rest of its body,monly known as spirit feathers. This was the most mystifying part on the spirit eagle¡¯s body. As long as one plucked and kept a spirit feather from its neck, no matter where they were, the spirit eagle would be able to feel their approximate location and find them. This was why they were such an effective means ofmunication.


    The price of a spirit eagle depended on the number of spirit feathers on its neck. If all the spirit feathers on its neck were plucked away, it would lose all value and no one would try to even buy or sell it.


    Miao Yi and Lin Pingping both plucked a spirit feather from the neck of each spirit eagle. Lin Pingping held onto one of the spirit eagles to easilymunicate with Miao Yi; and he took the other one with him, to send messages over to the capital city as well.


    Once everything was settled, Miao Yi and the rest left Jade Capital Peak. Then made their preparations to return to East Arrival Cave.


    With no words to describe how grateful she felt, Lin Pingping insisted on escorting Miao Yi out the capital city. She watched them for a long time after they left. Once Miao Yi¡¯s party werepletely out of sight, she wiped her reddened eyes. Then, rode her dragon steed back.


    She couldn¡¯t wait to return to her ¡®new home¡¯. It was the cheapest amodation on Jade Capital Peak. Simply a small house within a small courtyard.


    Inside the house, there was a single bedroom, a study room, a living room, and a kitchen. In the small courtyard outside, there was a small alcove beside a rock garden. There was even a tiny pond with several ornamental fish living inside, a giant tree providing shelter against the heat, and a small bed filled with blooming ornamental flowers. A channel entered the courtyard, fed from a spring in the mountains, which made gathering water a simple task.


    Even though the ce was small, it had all the necessities covered. It was very well-designed and tidy. There were even cleaners who would immediately respond when called, so it was no problem at all for a single person. This was intentionally built for someone staying alone in the first ce. It couldn¡¯t amodate many people.


    Even though the environment wasn¡¯t as beautiful as the residence they stayed in before¡ªhigher up the mountain where they had a group of servants at their beck and call, it was still much, much better than the inns outside of Jade Capital Peak. The cave she previously stayed in couldn¡¯t evenpare. Most importantly, this ce was safe. Those ruffians would not dare to cause trouble here in Jade Capital Peak.


    After touring the ce, Lin Pingping sat under the alcove, admiring the peaceful and serene garden surrounding her.


    This was the ce she was renting out for her long-term residence. To help her focus on her task, Miao Yi spared no expense in paying for this ce. From now on, this was her home. No longer would she have to run around to make ends meet. No longer would she have to be looked down upon by her own daughter.


    She gently touched the jade table. Suddenly,rge drops of tears trickled down. She held her mouth as muffled cries escaped them.


    She felt that it had been too difficult for her. Being born to a prestigious family, she considered herself well-provided for in her youth, with prestige wherever she went. However, for thest few decades¡ªcould the lifestyle she had still be called a life?


    She always cooped herself up in that small, dark cave. Not only was there no water source, she had to walk quite a distance even just to relieve herself. Her life was worse than a normal civilian¡¯s. What¡¯s more, she lived in fear every single day. There was no shortage of shameless scoundrels among Loose Cultivators who would suddenly barge in and harass her. How could a cave shelter her from these ruffians when it didn¡¯t even have a door? Everyday, she would either live restlessly, or have to fight for her life.


    Looking back at how she was forced to look for work to survive, how countless humiliations had allowed her to thicken her face, and in the end, she even forgot her own upbringing and cast whatever was left of her honor aside. To the point where she felt she had no choice but suck in her pride, and pull her clothes open to reveal her pale bosoms....


    When she thought about her own upbringing, and then about how she had to do all those shameless things, she felt ashamed for herte husband. Not only that, she remembered how she couldn¡¯t evene up with a dowry for when her daughter was married. She would never forget how the groom¡¯s parents looked at her then.


    Now, she no longer had to go through those difficult times ever again. Lin Pingping¡¯s grief changed to joy and she finally crouched over the jade table, crying her heart out with tears of joy streaming down her face.


    Startled by her crying, the spirit eagle locked up in the cage under the eaves cawed, bringing her back to her senses.


    She wiped her tears away, remembering that Miao Yi didn¡¯t provide her with such a good environment just for her to cry, but for her to focus on the tasks he assigned. If she couldn¡¯t aplish Miao Yi¡¯s tasks satisfactorily, then she would lose all of it just as quickly.


    Lin Pingping took a deep breath. It wasn¡¯t easy for her to earn all of this. She couldn¡¯t afford to lose it again. She must not disappoint Miao Yi! So long as she performed well, Miao Yi told her that he would officially resolve her Loose Cultivator¡¯s status.


    Remembering the Orb of Will that Miao Yi left her before he departed, she carefully took it out. It emitted a gentle glow on her fingers and was such a beautiful sight. She lost count of how many years it had been since she hadst used an Orb of Will. She almost forgot how it felt like to use one, and even thought that she would never have another chance to use one again before she died. Now, this orb belonged to her, and her alone. As long as she did her duty well, she would get one every year from now on.


    She carefully stowed the Orb of Will in her robes once more. Then, took out a hundred Gold Crystals. Obviously, these were also given to her by Miao Yi before he left.


    Miao Yi understood that it would be difficult for her to perform the tasks he requested when she didn¡¯t even have money, so he provided her with some capital beforehand. For her subsequent wages, she would need to withdraw from the Chamber of Commerce. Miao Yi already thought of everything for her; taking into ount that she might face problems, Miao Yi told her to head straight to the Chamber of Commerce and ask Luo Ping for assistance if she did happen to run into any. He already spoke with Luo Ping about this matter.


    She took out fifty pieces of the Gold Crystals and stored them away. The remaining half, she wrapped in a handkerchief and tucked it in her clothes. Then, she stood up and left her modest courtyard.


    She crossed the stone bridge once more, entered a small alleyway, and came up to the restaurant managed by her daughter and son-inw. They were cleaning the restaurant. When they saw her approaching, they couldn¡¯t help but frown.


    The son-inw shook his head and sighed, "I told you. I told you that she didn¡¯t bring those guests from before here to our restaurant for nothing. Hong Hong. It was good that I had you prepare the money in advance, right?"


    The daughter bit her lip. She quickly walked to the counter and took out a small pouch. Then, came out and tossed it onto the table. Not even looking at Lin Pingping, she turned her head away and said, "Take it."


    Lin Pingping didn¡¯t take the money on the table, but stood there with her chest out as she said, "Come here, both of you. I have something to tell you."


    The couple exchanged a nce, realizing that her tone was different today. Since she was still their elder, at least in name, the two eventually walked over with their brows creased. The son-inw probed, "Too little for you?"


    Lin Pingping admonished them both. "I know it isn¡¯t easy for the two of you to manage this restaurant. Business hasn¡¯t been good, and you two are barely able to get by. However, don¡¯t you think you should figure out what the problem is? You two saw what happened earlier with your own eyes. Your dishes are trulycking in taste. The guests were very unsatisfied. I suggest you both close down shop for a while. Sharpening your axe will not dy your work of cutting wood. It won¡¯t be toote to open your restaurant again once your cooking skills have improved."


    The daughter immediately rebutted, "Easy for you to say. If we close the restaurant, how will we eat? What will we drink? We still have to spend our time everyday to offer up our willpower, unlike you who can go wherever you please day after day without a care. Where would we find the time to improve our cooking skills? At times, you would even take some money from us without warning. We don¡¯t dare to close the restaurant, and we can¡¯t afford to either!"


    Lin Pingping took out her handkerchief and opened it up on the table, revealing the very eye-catching sight of fifty Gold Crystals. The couple stared at it with their mouths agape.


    "Take this money. It should be able to help you two support the restaurant for a while. I wish you both the best of luck."


    Lin Pingping didn¡¯t say anything else. She turned around and left. No longer would she have to lower her head in shame as though she had done something unspeakable; as it was before, when she would walk through the door in the past. Instead, she now walked out with her head held high and her chest puffed out.


    After all these years since her daughter was married, she could finally disy a mother¡¯s pride in reprimanding the two young ones. As she walked down the road, her eyes were moist with tears.


    The couple in the shop kept staring at the money left on the table, then exchanged nces. Fifty Gold Crystals was equivalent to five hundred thousand White Crystals. It was no small sum to mortals. It was enough for them to live off of without having to open the restaurant for a long time...


    As soon as the twenty steeds entered Suppressing Second Hall territory, Miao Yi split off from Tian Qingfeng and the rest. They had to report back to the School of Blue Jade, and at the same time, Miao Yi had tasked them to pass on a few words to Tong Renmei.


    As soon as both parties separated, Miao Yi and Luo Shuangfei carried on with their journey for several more days; it was a long and arduous journey before they finally made it back East Arrival Cave.


    When the gatekeepers saw him from afar, they obviously wouldn¡¯t stop him. Miao Yi brought Luo Shuangfei charging in. They even cupped their fists and called out ¡®Milord¡¯ in greeting.


    Miao Yi simply nodded in reply, and proceeded to the small courtyard behind the grand hall before dismounting from his dragon steed. Then, he brought Luo Shuangfei straight in through the side gate.


    Upon hearing themotion, Xue¡¯Er came to take a look. Then, she joyfully eximed, "Master is back. Master is back."


    Qian¡¯Er soon ran out as well. The two chattered away beside Miao Yi,pletely ecstatic.


    Following behind them, Luo Shuangfei eyed the two youngdies with a scrutinizing gaze, then said, "Hey. These are your two personal handmaidens?"


    After walking into the house and taking a seat in the living room, Miao Yi nodded to Luo Shuangfei and said, "This is Qian¡¯Er, and this is Xue¡¯Er. This is Luo Shuangfei. He will be a member of the Cave from now on."


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er began greeting him, when Luo Shuangfei suddenly scoffed, "This is what your personal handmaidens look like? They¡¯re a little toocking in terms of looks. It¡¯s an insult to your status, Milord. I suggest you change them. I¡¯ll help you find two prettier onester on."


    ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were instantly stunned. They didn¡¯t know if Luo Shuangfei¡¯s words held any weight with Miao Yi. However, considering he was able to say such a thing to Miao Yi¡¯s face, their rtionship must not be normal. Truly shocked, both girls looked as if they were struck by lightning. The joy from seeing their Master return was instantly gone as they anxiously turned to look at Miao Yi.

 Chapter 267: A Cat Meowing

    Chapter 267: A Cat Meowing


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Miao Yi had long since be ustomed to Luo Shuangfei¡¯s nonsense. However, even he couldn¡¯t help being stunned. He never expected Luo Shuangfei would go so far as to insult his own handmaidens.


    When he finally reacted, he was once again astounded with how lecherous this bastard was. His face darkened as he said, "I¡¯m warning you. You better keep your rogue habits in check now that you are in East Arrival Cave, and you better be more respectful to them both. If you dare be disrespectful again in any way¡ªdon¡¯t me me for being discourteous!"


    "Hehe! Don¡¯t worry. I was just having a little friendly banter." Luo Shuangfei winked at the two youngdies and whistled. "I was just joking around."


    That lewd and mischievous gaze of his caused the two to feel slightly apprehensive.


    "Have Yan Xiu and the otherse see me in the Grand Hall."


    Setting the matter aside for the moment, Miao Yi gave a signal and issued amand. He had been gone for too long, so he had to first handle the work he missed out on.


    Xue¡¯Er immediately received the order and left, whilst Qian¡¯Er followed behind Miao Yi as they walked over to the grand hall. Following behind them, Luo Shuangfei asionally whistled as he gazed about.


    Not long after, other than those who were assigned work, Yan Xiu and the others were all gathered within the grand hall.


    Watching everything from the sidelines, Luo Shuangfei was feeling gleeful when he saw the situation in East Arrival Cave Grand Hall. He pinched the hair on his mole, feeling amused. ¡®A Cave actually has so many men. The Cave Master stands below and makes his report, whereas the Steed Deputy sits on the Cave Master¡¯s seat and requests for updates. This is not normal at all. How interesting.¡¯


    "You don¡¯t have to mention the daily affairs. I trust that you have handled them well." Miao Yi raising his hand to stop Yan Xiu. Then asked, "Nothing out of the ordinary happened, right?"


    "Everything was normal." Yan Xiu replied.


    Lai Yuhan suddenly stepped out of line, before cupped his fists and said, "Your subordinate has something to mention."


    Miao Yi nodded his assent. Lai Yuhan immediately recounted how Gongsun Yu had harassed them whenst they ascended Mount Calming Sea for the handover of the annual tribute. Yan Xiu looked terribly ufortable as he listened.


    Seated on his high throne, Miao Yi slowly leaned his body forward and raised his eyebrow. "Did Gongsun Yu know that I was not in East Arrival Cave?"


    "He should have been unaware." Lai Yuhan thought for a while, then continued, "I can¡¯t be sure."


    Then, Miao Yi asked, "Could Long Viridescent Cave have a Blue Lotus realm cultivator among their ranks?"


    "I don¡¯t think so." For a mere Cave, how many could afford to hire a Blue Lotus cultivator?


    As soon as Lai Yuhan answered, Miao Yi pped his armrest and roared, "Then what are you all afraid of?"


    Everyone was silent. ¡®Not everyone can be like you, having ties that extend all the way to the Manor Head himself. In the entire Mount Calming Sea, how many dared to actually cause trouble right on the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s doorstep?¡¯


    Miao Yi coldly swept his gaze over them. He didn¡¯t single out Yan Xiu as he still needed to protect Yan Xiu¡¯s authority for him. Then he decided to scoff, "Who among the two Manors don¡¯t know that I have the highest authority in East Arrival Cave? That piece of shit. Does he think that just because he has something going on with the Mountain Chieftain, that I won¡¯t dare touch him? A mere Cave Master dares unt his authority over me? How dare he challenge me! Since when did that Gongsun Yu have the right to give a p to my face? Does he think that I hired so many subordinates just for the fun of it!? One day, I will bring East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces for ap around Long Viridescent Cave. Then I¡¯ll see if that Gongsun Yu still has the balls to do so much as fart. What impudence! He¡¯s really pushing his luck!"


    He suddenly grabbed a jade archive and quickly scribbled something down. Then, he tossed it over to Yan Xiu and pointed at him as hemanded, "Have someone send this over to Long Viridescent Cave immediately and deliver it up to Gongsun Yu himself. Just say that this Steed Deputy recently returned after journeying abroad and finishing his task. You can even tell Gongsun Yu that I have missed him terribly, so I have prepared a feast for him, and am hereby inviting him over to East Arrival Cave for a meal."


    "Understood!" All Yan Xiu could do was acknowledge the order. ¡®It¡¯s over. Trouble is brewing again. Every single person in the two Manors knows that Gongsun Yu has an intimate rtionship with the Mountain Chieftain. If you do this, there¡¯ll probably be huge blowout in store for us.¡¯


    Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan exchanged nces. It was impossible for them to expect Yan Xiu to help them vent their frustrations on Gongsun Yu, but the person who could has finally returned....


    Once the assembly was finished, Yan Xiu followed behind Miao Yi as they walked into the courtyard at the back of the hall, and reported, "When I was handing over the annual tribute, the Mountain Chieftainpletely blew her top because of your absence. Shemanded me to have you go to Mount Calming Sea and see her immediately once you return..."


    He described his encounter with Qin Weiwei. Some things could not be easily said in public, and thus, he could only tell Miao Yi in private.


    Regardless, Miao Yi intended to look for Qin Weiwei anyway to resolve the issue of Luo Shuangfei¡¯s status and add another member to East Arrival Cave. The number of men in East Arrival Cave was already severely over the limit. He figured that it was probably impossible for Yan Xiu to handle it, so he had to do it himself.


    "No rush. First, I¡¯ll deal with Gongsun Yu. Then, I¡¯ll look for Qin Weiwei to resolve his status as a Loose Cultivator," said Miao Yi, turning to introduce Luo Shuangfei to Yan Xiu. "I¡¯ll first capture that Gongsun Yu for Qin Weiwei to see. I don¡¯t care if she mes me for threatening her, but if she doesn¡¯t resolve this issue for me¡ªjust wait and see how I deal with Gongsun Yu."


    Yan Xiuughed bitterly. "That wouldn¡¯t be good, right? In the two Manors, everyone knows of her rtionship with Gongsun Yu."


    "Rx. I¡¯m already demoted to a Steed Deputy. What else can she do to me? Even if she wants to erase my Immortal Record, she still needs the approval of the Manor Head, and the Manor Head is a man who cares much for the opinion of his subordinates. After all, I saved his daughter before. He won¡¯t go too far," said Miao Yi, signalling with his hand that he didn¡¯t wish to speak of this issue any longer. He had a clear image in his mind and knew how far he should go. Pointing to Luo Shuangfei, he said, "I remember when we rebuilt East Arrival Cave, we built a few extra residential quarters as well. Assign one to him."


    "Understood!" Yan Xiu replied.


    Unexpectedly, Luo Shuangfei waved his hand and refused, "It¡¯s no trouble. There are plenty of rooms here. Just give me any one of these. I¡¯m not a very picky person. What¡¯s more, I can better protect Milord as well."


    "Absolutely not!" Miao Yi sternly disagreed. "There is no ce for you to stay here. You must stay outside. Yan Xiu. Go and make the arrangements for him."


    He did not dare let Luo Shuangfei stay here. If he allowed such a huge pervert to stay here, he would be worried for Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s safety.


    Yan Xiu left to make the arrangements, but Luo Shuangfei was adamant about staying. He didn¡¯t want to stay anywhere else but there. As though understanding what Miao Yi was worried about, he made hundreds of assurances that he wouldn¡¯t touch a single hair on Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s head; that if he did, Miao Yi could chase him away and not resolve his Loose Cultivator status; and could even kill him.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t even have the time to warn Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er himself about this bastard, before Luo Shuangfei blurted them all out himself. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were instantly anxious and decided to stay away from Luo Shuangfei from then on.


    After Luo Shuangfei¡¯s endless pestering and countless assurances, Miao Yi finally relented, and instructed the two youngdies to clean out one of the rooms in the spare courtyard for him.


    The two youngdies received their order and left. After chattering beside Miao Yi for a while, Luo Shuangfei stepped away as well, saying that he wanted to go outside and look around East Arrival Cave.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t suspect him at all, and never expected that this bastard would actually sneak into the spare courtyard. When he saw the two girls cleaning inside one of the rooms, he walked up to the door and waved, "My two beautiful youngdies. I hope you will forgive me for my transgressions earlier."


    The two girls looked at him and shook their heads without saying anything. They still had their guard up against him.


    Luo Shuangfei leaned against the doorframe and chuckled, "Shall I tell you both a secret? It has to do with Milord. It¡¯s about one of our experiences while we were abroad. It was truly shocking!"


    ¡®Something to do with Master?¡¯ The two youngdies exchanged nces. They were very curious. Xue¡¯Er cautiously asked, "What is the secret?"


    Immediately, Luo Shuangfei made a cone with his hands and whispered to the two, "Milord and I went to a brothel for some fun."


    The expressions of bothdies froze. They were wondering what kind of secret it was, but it turned out to be one of those vulgar affairs between men¡ª ¡®How dare he mention something like this!¡¯¡ª Qian¡¯Er¡¯s face darkened as she warned, "Luo Shuangfei. You better not be spouting nonsense. Master is not that kind of person. If you speak of this nonsense again, I will tell Master."


    "So you two know about this secret as well." Luo Shuangfei shrugged before continuing, "Of course I know Milord is not that kind of person."


    The two girls were stunned, and couldn¡¯t wrap their heads around what he was saying.


    Luo Shuangfei scanned behind himself carefully, then snapped his head back around and whispered, "I only found out after visiting the brothel with Milord. It turns out, Milord doesn¡¯t have the ability when ites to that aspect."


    "What ability?" Xue¡¯Er curiously asked.


    Luo Shuangfei pointed to his own pants and exined, "The tool down here that men possess. Milord¡¯s tool doesn¡¯t work, so he can¡¯t do those things with women. Don¡¯t you two know?"


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were instantly astonished. They both cupped their hands over their mouths and slowly turned their heads to exchange a nce, as though finally understanding why their Master had never touched them all this time. They finally knew the reason why.


    Luo Shuangfei paid close attention to the expression on their faces¡ªhis eyeballs rapidly moving back and forth. Earlier on, when Miao Yi told him that he had never done these kinds of vulgar things before, he was rather suspicious. ¡®It¡¯s not possible that he hasn¡¯t even done it with his own personal handmaidens before, right?¡¯


    Now, he finally obtained the proof he needed. From the two girls¡¯ reaction, he could tell that Miao Yi really had never done it before. Otherwise, the two girls wouldn¡¯t react in such a way.


    ¡®It seems that fellow truly hasn¡¯t even touched his own handmaidens. What a weirdo!¡¯ Luo Shuangfei snickered silently. Now that his objective wasplete, he coughed and waved his hand, saying, "I¡¯ll let you two get back to work. I¡¯m going out for a walk."


    This bastard leisurely ced his hand behind his back and whistled as he left, leaving the two unable to recover for a long time as they stood dazed in the room.


    If Miao Yi found out what this bastard did, he would surely strangle him to death. It would have been fine if he just set him up, but he even tarnished Miao Yi¡¯s reputation.


    Once night fell, Miao Yi returned from Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan¡¯s quarters. After casting Hong Changhai aside, he needed to reassure these two fellows as well. He couldn¡¯t act as if nothing had happened. At the same time, he could also observe how the two reacted.


    As soon he returned to his manor, Miao Yi finally said he wished to take a bath after such a long and arduous journey. The two girls responded and apanied him to his silent quarters.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s skin already regained their snow-whiteplexion. As the two seductive figures apanied him into the bath, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help stealing nces at them. However, hepletely didn¡¯t notice that their gaze looked a little odd as they nced at his lower body from time to time.


    When the two girls touched his body, Miao Yi already felt a little amorous and pulled their supple bodies into his embrace.


    The two looked at him in surprise. Miao Yiughed and said, "Before I left, I promised you two that I would have you both once I return."


    After hearing about the secret from Luo Shuangfei, the two girls didn¡¯t know how to respond. They wanted to speak, but the words weren¡¯ting out of their mouths. Still, they gently leaned into his embrace. Those matters couldn¡¯t be asked lightly after all.


    Right when Miao Yi¡¯s hand had slipped down over the two girls¡¯ bosoms, a ¡®meow¡¯ was hearding from outside the silent quarters.


    ¡®A cat¡¯s meow? A cat came inside? There¡¯s a spirit eagle just outside. How could a cat dare toe inside?¡¯ Startled, Miao Yi quickly pulled the two girls behind him and shouted in a deep voice, "Who is it!?"


    All he could see was a head peering in. Who else could it be but Luo Shuangfei? He chuckled and said, "I see you¡¯re taking a bath. Haha. Carry on, you three. I won¡¯t disturb you. I¡¯ll keep watch outside and make sure everything is safe."


    Miao Yi was speechless. No wonder he couldn¡¯t sense someone approaching. It was because this bastard had a higher cultivation than him.


    ¡®If it wasn¡¯t for him sneaking around, how could I not have sensed him?¡¯ Miao Yi was instantly furious from embarrassment. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to get into the mood. Now his mood waspletely killed off, and he furiously roared, "SCRAM THE FUCK OFF!"


    The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard outside.


    Miao Yi obviously lost all interest after that. There was someone who could be watching at anytime out there. It would have been good enough if he could actually bathe in peace, let alone have any such interest...

 Chapter 268: He Knows Too Much

    Chapter 268: He Knows Too Much


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    This time, Luo Shuangfei really pissed Miao Yi off.


    After taking his bath, Miao Yi went to the spare courtyard and ordered Luo Shuangfei to get out immediately and move into the ce he arranged for him. However, Luo Shuangfei was adamant about staying.


    The consequences were severe. Even Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan had toe. Within the spare courtyard, six of East Arrival Cave¡¯s members with the highest cultivation surrounded Luo Shuangfei armed with weapons.


    In the end, Luo Shuangfei could only bite his lip and lower his head, like he was being unfairly treated, as the six men dragged him away. Just before leaving the gate of the courtyard, he shot a gaze at Miao Yi staring at him indifferently.


    Miao Yi gently sighed as he met the resentful gaze in his eyes.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t wish to treat Luo Shuangfei so harshly at first. He was the first talent he recruited himself, so he had great hopes for Luo Shuangfei. He wanted to be like how Yang Qing was when he had first recruited Miao Yi, always treating him with kindness. That was why whenever Yang Qing had a problem, he would risk his life to serve him. In light of that, perhaps he himself had been a little too lenient on Luo Shuangfei.


    He believed that he was already quite lenient, but never expected that it wouldn¡¯t work on that fellow at all. Now he had actually be so brazen that he would peek on him and his handmaidens while they were in the bath. If he continued allowing such misbehaviour to ur, who knew what that fellow would do next?


    Obviously, he had to teach him a lesson. This time, he must make sure that Luo Shuangfei understood that if there was a next time, Miao Yi could very well take his life; and that within East Arrival Cave, he, Miao Yi, had that authority!


    Miao Yi breathed a sigh of relief. He never imagined that his first time recruiting a talent would be so disastrous. ¡®It seems like I¡¯ll have to settle the issue of this bastard¡¯s Loose Cultivator status as quickly as I can. Maybe that will let him settle down sooner. Once he¡¯s bound by the Immortal Record, surely he wouldn¡¯t dare to fool around anymore!¡¯


    He turned back and returned to his silent quarters to cultivate. After such an incident, he already lost his mood to do it with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er....


    Long Viridescent Cave ¡ª Sitting cross-legged in cultivation inside his silent quarters, Gongsun Yu said, "Come in."


    A handmaiden slipped in and reported, "Cave Master. There¡¯s someone from East Arrival Cave requesting an audience with you."


    "East Arrival Cave?" Gongsun Yu opened his eyes, then curiously asked, "Who wishes to see me?"


    The handmaiden replied, "He says that there¡¯s a letter from the Steed Deputy of East Arrival Cave, Miao Yi, that needs to be handed to you in person."


    When he heard the words ¡®Miao Yi¡¯, Gongsun Yu¡¯s heart thumped. ¡®That lunatic can¡¯t really be looking to stir up trouble with me, right?¡¯


    However, he dismissed the thought a momentter. ¡®If he really wanted to cause trouble for me, he would havee looking for me after the handover of the annual tribute. Why wait until now?¡¯


    He stopped his cultivation, then quickly got up and left the silent quarters. As he entered the living room, he waved his hand and said, "Bring him to see me."


    After a short while, the handmaiden brought the messenger over. He cupped fists and said, "I respectfully greet Cave Master Gongsun."


    Gongsun Yu nodded. "Miao Yi has a letter for me?"


    "Indeed!" The messenger took out a jade archive and gave it over to the handmaiden, after which she passed it over to Gongsun Yu.


    Gongsun Yu lifted the jade archive and imbued his transcendence energy to read. His eyebrows immediately rose. Miao Yi¡¯s tone was rather polite in the jade archive.


    The content was¡ª ¡®I, Miao Yi, was previously abroad on a mission. When I returned, I was fortunate enough to hear of how generously Cave Master Gongsun had treated East Arrival Cave. As such, I wish to thank you and have specially prepared a banquet. I humbly invite Cave Master Gongsun to visit East Arrival Cave for this feast. I hope Cave Master Gongsun will give me this much face and attend. I, Miao Yi, will be looking forward to it with anticipation.¡¯


    How could a mere Cave¡¯s Steed Deputy have the right to invite other Cave Masters to attend a banquet? However, Miao Yi clearly had the ability to do so. Everyone knew that the real person in-charge of East Arrival Cave was actually Miao Yi.


    His invitation was polite, but it gave Gongsun Yu goosebumps. Earlier, he thought that Miao Yi had be more tame, but it turned out the bastard hadn¡¯t at all. He wasn¡¯t even in East Arrival Cave to begin with, so he didn¡¯t know about the incident during the handover of the annual tribute at Mount Calming Sea. He probably just found out after returning now, and immediately sent this invitation.


    Gongsun Yu truly understood what it would mean to attend a banquet hosted with bad intents now. That madman had a powerful army at his beck and call. Out of all the Cave Masters in Mount Calming Sea, his forces were the strongest. Gongsun Yu had heard of how men from the three major sects went to East Arrival Cave seeking to take advantage of them had never returned. He was a little doubtful if even he coulde back alive if he ever went to East Arrival Cave. There was nothing that madman wouldn¡¯t dare to do. He even dared make an attempt on the life of Xiong Xiao, a Mountain Chieftain. How would he even be bothered by a measly Cave Master like Gongsun Yu then?


    Gongsun Yu was filled with regret at that moment. ¡®Why did I act so rashly then in Mount Calming Sea? Why couldn¡¯t I just control my own emotions?¡¯


    All in all, he definitely didn¡¯t dare to attend this banquet. He ced the jade archive on a side table and smiled at the messenger, "I¡¯ll have to trouble you to report back to Brother Miao and say that I currently have important matters to attend to and thus, will not be able to attend his banquet. I will definitely host one myself and send an invitation to Brother Miao one day."


    He wrote a gentle rejection on a jade archive and handed it to the messenger, then brushed him off dismissively just like that. After which, he immediately gathered his forces and discussed how they should go about this.


    East Arrival Cave ¡ª After Miao Yi heard the response brought back by the messenger, he sat on his throne in the grand hall looking through the jade archive and scoffed, "He wishes to hide? Gongsun Yu. Since you had the balls to lord over my head, do you think you can hide so easily without giving me a proper exnation?"


    The men standing below could feel their frustrations being released just from listening to him. They chuckled as Miao Yi wrote another jade archive and tossed it to the messenger. "I¡¯ll have to trouble you to make another trip. I want to see just how long he thinks he can hide. If he doesn¡¯t apologize, he can forget about me letting this matter slide."


    As such, the messenger held onto Miao Yi¡¯s jade archive and made another long, tiresome trip back to Long Viridescent Cave.


    When he heard the messenger came back, Gongsun Yu knew it couldn¡¯t be anything good and immediately hid himself away, afraid that there would be no turning back once he met him. As soon as his handmaiden received the jade archive, she told the messenger, "The Cave Master is out patrolling his domain. When he returns, I will be sure to pass the message onto him."


    Once she dismissed the messenger, she naturally handed the jade archive over to Gongsun Yu.


    The letter basically said¡ª ¡®Gongsun Yu. Do you think that just because I, Miao Yi, am a Steed Deputy, that I don¡¯t have the status to invite a Cave Master like you? Is that why you don¡¯t wish to give me face? If you don¡¯t attend the banquet, then I guess I will just have to bring my men personally over to Long Viridescent Cave and impose on you.¡¯


    A threat. This was a tant threat. It clearly implied¡ª ¡®If you don¡¯te, I will just bring my men over and settle things with you.¡¯


    ¡®What arrogance!¡¯ Gongsun Yu ground his teeth in hatred. Yet, he knew he couldn¡¯t win against this opponent. He could only swallow his pride and send word to Mount Calming Sea in the hopes that the Mountain Chieftain could step forth and mediate.


    As soon as the news reached Mount Calming Sea, Qin Weiwei gripped the jade archive and paced around her loft, furrowing her brows as she said, "Miao Yi has returned! I¡¯ve never heard of any grievances between Gongsun Yu and Miao Yi before. How did he offend Miao Yi?"


    Gongsun Yu obviously wouldn¡¯t mention about how arrogant he was at Mount Calming Sea, only that he had unintentionally offended Yan Xiu and now Miao Yi craved justice for him. Gongsun Yu stated that he did not wish for there to be internal strife in Mount Calming Sea and thus, asked the Mountain Chieftain to step in as a mediator. He was even willing to make amends and apologize.


    He really wanted to apologize and get this issue over with, but it would be too shameful to submit that way. How would his subordinates see him then? If Qin Weiwei were to step out, he could still say that he was giving the Mountain Chieftain face, and thus retreat with his dignity intact. At the very least, it was better than being intimidated into submission by Miao Yi¡¯s military might.


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu shook their heads. They have also never heard of how Gongsun Yu and Miao Yi developed a grudge.


    "That bastard is so hateful. How dare he note to see me now that he has returned. Did my words fall on deaf ears?" said Qin Weiwei as she pped the long table. She previously instructed Yan Xiu that if Miao Yi returned, he was to see her immediately. Yet, not only did he not visit her, he was more concerned with Gongsun Yu¡¯s affairs instead. She turned and somberly demanded, "Send an official decree and order Miao Yi toe see me this instant!"


    When the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s official decree reached East Arrival Cave, Miao Yi sneered to the crowd from atop his high seat, "It seems Gongsun Yu has made aint to Qin Weiwei. Luo Shuangfei. The chance to resolve the issue of your official status has arrived."


    He originally thought that Luo Shuangfei would be very happy to hear this, but unexpectedly, he only replied with an apathetic ¡®Oh!¡¯ from where he stood. After that, he wentpletely quiet, standing there listlessly with hunched shoulders.


    Ever since Miao Yi set harsh measures and him kicked out, Luo Shuangfei lost the usual exuberance that hung around his face and seemed listless day after day. If he wasn¡¯t summoned out, he would just coop himself up in his own residence and note out at all.


    Yan Xiu wanted to head to the city to help him arrange for two handmaidens, but Luo Shuangfei didn¡¯t want that either.


    For the fellow who was always jumping around, to be suddenly reduced to this and have that pitiful look on his face every day. Even Miao Yi could feel his heart lurch after seeing such arge difference, and even wondered if he had pushed him too far....


    Suppressing Second Hall ¡ª All the respective Manor Heads were gathered in the grand hall. Yang Qing was naturally among the crowd as well. It was an important day for the entire Suppressing Second Hall.


    The ¡®Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade¡¯ that came once every three hundred years was just around the corner, so each Manor had to draft two members in to participate. Since Yang Qing managed two Manors, he had to hand over four names.


    This was a matter that would antagonize many. Even though one was heavily rewarded if one performed well in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, the probability of death was too high, so no one was willing to go. At the same time, it offered the Manor Heads a chance to eliminate potential threats to them.


    As soon as the meeting was over, each Manor Head handed over the respective name lists they decided upon over to Little Auntie Liu Xing. From his high seat, Huo Lingxiao gestured with his hand and adjourned the meeting. Then, he left with his two handmaidens.


    In the meantime, all the Manor Heads waited for their final orders in the holding room. The final authority for the name lists they handed in was still in Huo Lingxiao¡¯s hands. All the Manor Heads couldn¡¯t help feeling a little restless. If Huo Lingxiao were to put their names in, then they would be doomed.


    Inside the harem, Huo Lingxiao looked through each of the jade archives handed in by the respective Manor Heads. For the most part, he had no objections and immediately approved of it. Beside him, his handmaidens immediately noted down the names on the name lists, as ultimately, they would have to tally these names together and hand it over to their superiors.


    When he reached Yang Qing¡¯s name list, Huo Lingxiao was surprised to see Xiong Xiao¡¯s name among the four he handed in. He furrowed his brows, originally intending to cross off Xiong Xiao¡¯s name, but as he ced his finger on the jade archive¡ªhe stopped. In the end, he erased another name and filled a different one in its stead.


    This name was none other that Miao Yi¡¯s!


    He casually handed the names over to Liu Xing to tally. When she saw Miao Yi¡¯s name, she was slightly taken aback. She shot a nce at Huo Lingxiao, understanding that there must be a reason why he did this.


    Once all the name lists for Suppressing Second Hall were confirmed, Liu Xing carried the pile of jade archives over to the holding room, and delivered the Hall Master¡¯s orders down to all the Manor Heads.


    When the Manor Heads looked through the list, most of them sighed in relief that the Hall Master did not make things difficult for them.


    Yang Qing was the only one startled when he looked through the name list. He handed in four names of cultivators all at Blue Lotus realm. He guessed that the Hall Master might cross off Xiong Xiao¡¯s name, but the Hall Master unexpectedly gave him face. Instead, he added Miao Yi¡¯s name to the list and made Yang Qing utterly confounded as to the reason why.


    All the other Manor Heads dispersed and returned to their own domains.Yang Qing instead went to therge gates at the harem and requested an audience with Huo Lingxiao.


    However, Huo Lingxiao did not meet with him. Tian Yu stopped him and said, "The Hall Master knows what matter you wish to discuss, and said that you should just follow the order."


    Yang Qing was stunned. He cupped his fists and asked, "Miao Yi is only a White Lotus realm cultivator. May I ask why the Hall Master drafted him into the list?"


    All he wanted was an exnation¡ªa reason why¡ªbut Tian Yu indifferently replied, "The rules don¡¯t state that a White Lotus realm cultivator cannot participate. Please return, Manor Head Yang!"


    After dismissing Yang Qing, Tian Yu wanted to know about the reason as well. When she saw Huo Lingxiaoter on, she couldn¡¯t help asking, "Hall Master. Why did you add Miao Yi¡¯s name inside?"


    "Because he knows too much." Huo Lingxiao only gave a short and perplexing answer in response.

 Chapter 269: Adding Insult to Injury

    Chapter 269: Adding Insult to Injury


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing shared a nce and noticed the confusion in each other¡¯s eyes. As far as they knew, Miao Yi wasn¡¯t aware of anything and seemed like he had yet to realize that the Hall Master was his sworn brother. Neither had Miao Yi ever troubled him in any way. They didn¡¯t know why he wanted to send Miao Yi off to his death in the Sea of Constetions.


    Huo Lingxiao knew what the other two were thinking. However, some things could not be mentioned even to those closest to him, especially when this extremely private affair of his concerned his reputation.


    He never wanted to antagonize Miao Yi in the past. Simply put, the difference between them was too great. Miao Yi didn¡¯t pose any threat to him at all and wasn¡¯t worth keeping tabs on. Otherwise, Miao Yi would have died countless times by now.


    It was only when he read through Yang Qing¡¯s name list and saw Xiong Xiao¡¯s name that Miao Yi came to mind. Then he remembered about the night in the capital city. Even though he believed that Miao Yi would never have another opportunity to meet Xiao Xiao and realize her true identity, he believed it was better to be safe than sorry and just eliminate this potential threat.


    In the eyes of influential people, whether those of a lower-ss lived or died was but the matter of a moment¡¯s whim and was hardly significant. He was merely taking this opportunity because it had conveniently presented itself in front of him...


    Mount Calming Sea ¡ª Yuan Fang and Luo Shuangfei escorted him as Miao Yi rushed over without rest.


    Luo Shuangfei was still his listless self, not saying a single word throughout the entire journey. Whenever Miao Yi asked him something, he would only give short replies with two words or less. Miao Yi was quite unustomed to seeing Luo Shuangfei like this.


    It was exactly because of this, that right when Miao Yi was ready to bring Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan along, he decided to take Luo Shuangfei instead. He originally thought that Luo Shuangfei would be pleased to know he could go out, given that he enjoyed excitement. However, he was still the same as always, like a wilted petunia.


    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me I have to invite you back to stay with me in my residence before you wille back to life?¡¯ Miao Yi turned to look at Luo Shuangfei as he walked up the steps. Then, he spun his head back to see Hong Mian by the gates, smiling as she examined him. He cupped his fists and said, "I respectfully greet Elder Auntie."


    Hong Mian turned around and led him inside. Then, she asked him in a very familiar manner, "Nothing happened on the way here, I hope?"


    "Thank you for your concern, Elder Auntie. Nothing out of the ordinary happened."


    "Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you. The Mountain Chieftain is very furious..."


    The two entered the courtyard and ascended the loft. Then, they saw Qin Weiwei; dressed in her usual white gown, and standing gracefully before the window as she gazed outside. Her back was facing Hong Mian and Lu Liu as she issued amand to the both of them, "The two of you. Leave us for a while."


    Miao Yi turned his head about to see the two girls departing with faint smiles on their faces. Then, his gaze descended on Qin Weiwei¡¯s alluring back. A man and a woman were left alone in the loft as ady¡¯s fragrance wafted throughout the building.


    After receiving Hong Mian¡¯s reminder earlier on, Miao Yi assumed that Qin Weiwei was furious because of the incident with Gongsun Yu. Yet, when Qin Weiwei turned to look at him, the usually cold, deadpan but equally beautiful face of hers actually revealed a rare winning smile. She asked, "Will you note and see me unless I send out an official decree?"


    "Uh..." Miao Yi was dumbfounded by her question. ¡®This cold-face beauty is smiling at me? What is she ying at? I have already gone so far as to even make a move on your lover. Yet you¡¯re still able to smile?¡¯


    As always, his guard was up against Qin Weiwei. Despite grumbling to himself, he still kept up appearances and politely greeted, "Your subordinate greets the Mountain Chieftain."


    "If you act this way, it means you do not think of me as a friend. I told you to call me by my name when we¡¯re speaking privately," said Qin Weiwei as she walked up to him.


    The two of them faced each other, only inches apart. Miao Yi raised his head and their gazes met one another. Suddenly, the two were momentarily dazed as though they just realized that they were a tad too close to one another.


    Miao Yi could clearly smell the fragrance from Qin Weiwei¡¯s body and even vaguely feel the warmthing from it. Then, he reflexively took a step back.


    He could not find it within himself to call Qin Weiwei by her name so easily. It would be too awkward. Even though he still remembered how they pped their palms together and suddenly became friends thest time, he still had qualms deep down. ¡®How could a superior and a subordinate ever be friends?¡¯


    Suddenly realizing they were too close to each other, Qin Weiwei was a little nervous at first. However, when she saw the other person take a step back like he was somewhat fearful of her, she felt more confident in herself, and became a little more natural as she extended her hand and said, "Take a seat then!"


    Miao Yi acknowledged the order and sat down. Suddenly, Qin Weiwei poured a cup of tea of her own ord, then pushed it towards him and said, "Please. Have some tea."


    "...." Miao Yi felt somewhat overwhelmed by the kind treatment, a little terrified even, as he realized this woman¡¯s methods were getting more unfathomable by the second. He anxiously stood up and thanked her.


    Qin Weiwei sat down as well on the opposite side of the tea table. She ground her teeth secretly as she tried to give a reassuring smile. "Miao Yi. I had hoped that we could be friends who could share anything with each other, but it seems like you still have some prejudice against me."


    "I wouldn¡¯t dare." replied Miao Yi with a dryugh. However, his nerves instantly tensed up. ¡®Share anything with each other? Aren¡¯t you just trying to pry information out of me?¡¯


    "For you to use the words ¡®wouldn¡¯t dare¡¯ clearly means that you still don¡¯t think of me as a friend." Being the more confident one in the conversation, Qin Weiwei was able to articte herself more naturally.


    "No, that¡¯s not true. It is my honor to be friends with the Mountain Chieftain."


    "Calling me Mountain Chieftain again?" teased Qin Weiwei, acting displeased.


    Facing the feigned anger in her re, Miao Yi made a dryugh as he struggled to say the words, "Qin...Weiwei."


    As soon as she heard the name, a peculiar expression shed by Qin Weiwei¡¯s face. Then, she extended her hand and urged Miao Yi to have some tea.


    Deep down, Miao Yi was shouting¡ª ¡®Damn it! I¡¯m a fucking man, for crying out loud. How can I be scared of a woman? Since when have I ever been afraid of her? There is only two of us here. Even if we were to do battle, I wouldn¡¯t be afraid to face her on my own. How did I get so nervous?¡¯


    Immediately, he eased up, mentally steeling himself against whatsoever he may encounter and convinced himself that there was always a solution to every problem. He acted rxed and leaned back on the chair, lifting his cup to take a sip of tea. Then, he crossed his legs and asked, "Qin Weiwei. Why did you ask me toe here?"


    Qin Weiwei was startled to see the other party suddenly behaving like this, and found it difficult to adjust herself. "Are we friends or not?"


    ¡®You¡¯re the one with the final say in this matter. Who asked you to be the direct superior? I have no choice but to follow what you say. If you say it¡¯s true, then it¡¯s true. If you say it isn¡¯t, then it isn¡¯t.¡¯ thought Miao Yi.


    He smiled at her, "We made a promisest time when we pped our palms together that we would be friends. You¡¯re not thinking of going back on it, are you?"


    Qin Weiwei asked in response, "Since we¡¯re friends, can¡¯t I look for you even if I have nothing to talk about?"


    ¡®This woman is too fake. You clearly called me here to talk about the matter with Gongsun Yu. Yet you still say you have nothing to talk about!¡¯ Miao Yi cursed in his heart. However, he revealed a jubnt expression as he chuckled, "Since we¡¯re friends, then you don¡¯t always need to use the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s status to send down an official decree and force me toe here, right? Why am I always the oneing over? Couldn¡¯t youe to my ce of your own ord instead?"


    Qin Weiwei thought long and hard about the words he said, and realized that he did have a point. It seemed like she did ce herself a little too high up. This was not the way to be a friend. How was she anything like a friend with the stance she disyed? Clearly, she was still relying on her position as a superior to pressure him. As such, she earnestly nodded, "Very well. I shall remember what you just said. From now on, I will go and look for you myself."


    "Uhh..." Miao Yi was startled. He cursed to himself¡ª ¡®Shit. This woman has be so terrifying now. I kept my guard up, but I still fell into her trap. Isn¡¯t this like asking her toe over to East Arrival Cave myself and cause trouble?¡¯


    Miao Yi hated not being able to p himself. He never felt like a bigger idiot before.


    He changed the subject as he cautiously asked, "Mountain... Qin Weiwei. You really don¡¯t have anything to talk about?"


    Initially, she did not want to raise these other matters up so soon, but since he already asked, Qin Weiwei furrowed her brows and questioned, "How did you and Gongsun Yue into conflict?"


    ¡®I knew you were still worried about Gongsun Yu. Why act innocent...?¡¯ Miao Yiughed, "That little white-faced prick is nothing..."


    As soon as Miao Yi uttered the words, he suddenly remembered the rtionship between Gongsun Yu and Qin Weiwei. A white-faced man was a mocking title to describe a man who liked to seduce women. Wouldn¡¯t he be insulting Qin Weiwei as well by calling Gongsun Yu a white-faced prick to her face? He anxiously exined, "Mountain Chieftain. I did not mean anything by it. I just feel that Gongsun Yu¡¯s face is rather pale and fair. It looks quite good."


    Without the need for further exnation, Qin Weiwei knew what he was hinting at, and couldn¡¯t resist clenching her teeth. How could she not be aware of how her rtionship with Gongsun Yu was perceived among the two Manors? Even Yang Qing had asked her about it. However, she never thought to exin herself in regards to these matters, because she believed that the innocent need not exin themselves if they were truly innocent, whereas the sinful would still be of sin no matter how hard they tried to prove differently. Thus, she never saw the need to exin herself. Yet Gongsun Yu had to purposefully make things seem vague, as though admitting that they were in a rtionship, and making others believe that they really did have something going on.


    She felt like she absolutely must exin this matter clearly today and not leave so much as a shred of doubt.


    The bountiful bosom under the white gown heaved as she sucked in a deep breath, and exined, "Miao Yi. I can tell you very responsibly that my rtionship with Gongsun Yu is not in any way like what everyone else is saying. Those are all baseless rumors that are spread outside."


    "Yes, I understand. They most definitely are rumors." Miao Yi immediately nodded in assurance.


    He did not even take the time to think. It was too obvious. Qin Weiwei was not a fool, so how could she not see that he was just sucking up to her? She ground her teeth and said, "Gongsun Yu and I definitely do not have that kind of rtionship between a man and a woman. We are innocent."


    Again, Miao Yi did not even stop to think as he nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes. I understand. Mountain Chieftain is not that kind of person. Those are just baseless rumors that are spread outside. I have never believed in this nonsense even once, and have always helped Mountain Chieftain to refute such ims."


    That attitude of his as he went along with her every word without so much as a second thought almost infuriated Qin Weiwei to the point of mming the table and standing up. Her bountiful chest heaved a couple more times in her impatience, as she ground her teeth and asked, "What will I have to do for you to believe that he and I are innocent?"


    ¡®Is there a need to exin yourself to me?¡¯ Miao Yi thought as he replied, "I believe you."


    "You¡ª" Qin Weiwei suddenly pointed at his nose as she ground her teeth in frustration and said, "You don¡¯t believe me at all."


    ¡®Why are you still asking if you already know the answer?¡¯ Miao Yi put on a serious face and said, "I really believe you."


    He felt that there was no need to continue discussing about this topic. He came here today on official business, and not to argue with her. ¡®If we continue to dwell on this topic, this woman might just blow her top from the embarrassment. Don¡¯t let this ruin what I came here to do.¡¯ He quickly smiled and changed the subject, "Mountain Chieftain. It is not that I am biased against Gongsun Yu. However, he is truly too overbearing."


    From calling her Mountain Chieftain in the beginning, to calling her Qin Weiwei, and now he naturally shifted back to calling her Mountain Chieftain. It was evident how deep the prejudice this fellow had against Qin Weiwei.


    Yet Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t want to change the subject. She felt like she must exin this matter clearly today. Her expression turned cold as she said, "What will I have to do for you to believe that he and I are innocent?"


    ¡®This woman is even trying to be forceful now. She isn¡¯t going to give it a rest. Fine! You forced me to do this!¡¯ Miao Yi coughed as he put on a serious face and said, "It is not difficult to quell the voices of the public. Your subordinate is willing to do this for Mountain Chieftain. That bastard Gongsun Yu is not a decent fellow anyway. After this, I shall help you ughter him. Then, this matter can be put to rest. Your subordinate assures that there won¡¯t be any traces left behind."


    "....." Qin Weiwei was stunned. She quickly waved her hand and said, "No, you can¡¯t do that."


    ¡®Your intention is clear with such a simple test. For you to try and protect him so anxiously, you still dare say that there is nothing going on between you two?¡¯ Miao Yi replied with an amused, "Oh!" Clearly implying with his tone¡ª ¡®Now you understand what I¡¯m saying.¡¯ Then, he just kept quiet.

 Chapter 270: Repay With My Body

    Chapter 270: Repay With My Body


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Qin Weiwei was utterly lost for words, but she understood him well enough.


    It would have been better if she hadn¡¯t. When she did, she almost wanted to grab the teapot from the teapoy and smash it on his face. She abruptly stood up, biting her lip as she red daggers at Miao Yi. Her face had paled with anger. She had never received such injustice before in her entire life. Yet she could not even exin herself in a way that he would understand.


    Miao Yi quickly stood up as well, on guard against a sudden ambush from the other party.


    Seeing him keep his guard up against her so, Qin Weiwei regained herposure. She knew that she couldn¡¯tpletely me Miao Yi for this. She herself yed a big part in the problem as well. Looking back, she remembered how she used to always antagonize him¡ªseeking to remove him from his Cave Master position and even wanting him dead once. When they first met, she inflicted some serious injuries on him. If she were standing in his position, she would be wary as well. This was amon urrence in the cultivation realm.


    Yet despite all that, he had returned her hatred with benevolence. If it were anyone else when she was being surrounded, they would probably have ferverently wished for a nemesis like her to die. Yet he still risked his life to save her from her predicament.


    At the same time, everyone in South Edict Manor had always assumed that Gongsun Yu and her were a couple. She never stood up and exined herself either. She remembered back then in South Edict Manor, she didn¡¯t leave Miao Yi a shred of dignity at all when she publicly ridiculed him and gave him a vicious p to the cheek before everyone. She pped him, and showed favor to Gongsun Yu at the same time. It was probably difficult for him not to misunderstand after that.


    Qin Weiwei could imagine herself how humiliating it must be for a man to be treated like that by a woman before a crowd. If she were the one on the receiving end back then, she would probably wish to kill her too. At the very least, she would carry a deep resentment. Considering the circumstances, it was indeed a little too much to ask for him to suddenly change his opinion of her. He might even think that she had some malicious n in store for him.


    Thinking back on how badly she treated him in the past, even Qin Weiwei started to feel a little resentful of herself. She quickly regained control of her emotions and silently sighed. Then, she pointed to the side, "Sit down and let¡¯s talk slowly."


    After saying this, she sat back down and refilled Miao Yi¡¯s cup of tea.


    Miao Yi cautiously sat back down with augh as he said, "Mountain Chieftain. Please forgive me for my transgressions. If I said anything to upset you, please don¡¯t hold it to heart. I hereby apologize to you." Under another person¡¯s roof, he had to lower his head.


    "No matter. I am to me for this as well. You are notpletely at fault." Qin Weiwei shook her head as she calmly continued, "I know that everyone in the two Manors believe that Gongsun Yu and I are in a rtionship. I also won¡¯t deny that Gongsun Yu has indeed been trying to woo me. However, I do not feel the same for him. I only think of him as a trustworthy and reliable subordinate. As for why such rumors of us spread, it was not entirely Gongsun Yu¡¯s fault either. I was the one who believed there was no need to exin myself. I didn¡¯t want to do it either. I stand true to my actions and beliefs, and I was not afraid that I would be misunderstood by others. If there was, then there was. If there wasn¡¯t, there wasn¡¯t. Looking back on when I was surrounded back in East Arrival Cave¡ªhe risked his life to save me, thus proving that he is indeed a loyal and trustworthy subordinate. In light of that, why would I make things difficult for him by exining to the public?"


    "Clearly, you have heard many rumors about him and I as well. Too many rumors can confuse right from wrong. Being influenced by public opinion, you believe these rumors to be true as well. Miao Yi. I hereby tell you in all honesty, that if I, Qin Weiwei, were to have any illicit rtionship with Gongsun Yu, I will admit it with pride. I don¡¯t need to, nor do I wish to hide something like this as though we were doing something unspeakable. I can even tell you with all honesty that I, Qin Weiwei, have never been in a rtionship with a man in all my life. I am truly innocent!"


    "Uhh...." Miao Yi was dazed on the spot. Her every word was articted with such earnestness that even he believed that he had misunderstood her.


    He thought she had a point¡ª ¡®That¡¯s right! If she really was in a rtionship with Gongsun Yu, what¡¯s wrong with being open about it? Why would she need to hide it?¡¯


    Actually, Qin Weiwei should have just broken this matter down from the beginning, and exined it piece by piece. However, faced with someone as heavily biased against her as Miao Yi, she obviously had no way to properly exin herself all this while.


    Still, Miao Yi felt something was off. ¡®Our rtionship isn¡¯t that good,¡¯ he thought, and couldn¡¯t help asking, "Since you¡¯ve always felt there was no need to exin yourself, why did you choose to exin this to me today?"


    Qin Weiwei earnestly replied, "I think of you as a friend, Miao Yi. I truly do. That is why I wish you will not sully my name like the others did."


    "A friend?" Miao Yi was a little suspicious as he thought to himself¡ª ¡®You¡¯re joking with me, right? You didn¡¯t hold back in the least when you punished me. Yet now you say that we¡¯re friends. Do you think I¡¯m a fool!?¡¯


    Qin Weiwei was not an idiot. She could immediately tell from his tone that he clearly didn¡¯t take the matter of them bing friendsst time seriously. She found it infuriating andical at the same time. However, she could understand where he wasing from, and simply asked, "You don¡¯t believe me?"


    "I believe you. I believe you. It is my honor to be friends with Mountain Chieftain." Miao Yi chuckled, but he still didn¡¯t believe her. He was not a three-year-old. He wouldn¡¯t be swayed so easily just because she said this was this, and that was that.


    "You still don¡¯t actually believe me." Qin Weiwei instantly saw through his lies.


    Since she brought it up, Miao Yi figured it wouldn¡¯t be good to beat around the bush any longer. His heart could not bear continuing to be confused and paranoid of her every move either. "Why does Mountain Chieftain want to be friends with me?"


    Qin Weiwei exined, "My impression of you was very poor in the past."


    "Haha. Even if Mountain Chieftain didn¡¯t say this, I knew."


    "But ever since you saved me that one time, my impression of you haspletely changed."


    "Just because of that?" Miao Yi cautiously asked, "I believe I wasn¡¯t the only one who risked his life to save you at the time. Gongsun Yu was also one of them. Don¡¯t tell me you became friends with all of them as well?"


    Feeling like her thoughts were being seen through, Qin Weiwei averted her eyes from Miao Yi. "I just think of them as trustworthy subordinates. You are different from them."


    "Didn¡¯t we all risk our lives to save you? What is the difference? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s even a difference on a matter like this?"


    Qin Weiwei thought up a reason. "I offended you so much. Yet you were still willing to risk your life to save me. It moved me very much."


    Miao Yi really wanted to tell her¡ª ¡®If it wasn¡¯t for Yang Qing treating me kindly, and offering me help and encouragement, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to save you. In fact, I could barely wait for you to kick the bucket.¡¯


    Obviously, he wouldn¡¯t say such things out loud.


    ¡®Who cares if she¡¯s being truthful or not. I first need to settle my own problems.¡¯ Miao Yi asked, "Mountain Chieftain really considers me a friend?"


    Qin Weiwei confidently nodded. "I grew up by my adoptive father¡¯s side since my youth. Everyone whom I¡¯ve been acquainted with so far are his subordinates. I never had a real friend. You are the first friend that I have ever made, so I cherish this bond very much!"


    Then, Miao Yi asked, "If Mountain Chieftain really thinks of me as a friend, can you help me with a little favor?"


    "If you continue calling me Mountain Chieftain, then I will handle things professionally. If you address me as a friend, then we can talk about whatever matter you wish to discuss as friends." The ice queen told a cold joke that wasn¡¯t the least bit funny.


    Miao Yi understood, andughed dryly. "Qin Weiwei. Can you help me with a little something?"


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s mood immediately improved, so she asked, "What is it about?"


    Miao Yi pulled out a jade archive and pushed it towards her. "Back when Mount Returning Loyalty ambushed my East Arrival Cave, three of my subordinates perished. Before, you would always make things difficult for me, so you definitely wouldn¡¯t agree if I said I wanted to replenish my forces. Now that we¡¯re friends, I wish to add a new member to my ranks. Could you help me with this matter?"


    "Always making things difficult for you? Am I such a tyrant in your eyes?" Qin Weiwei asked in response.


    ¡®You and I know fully well how it was. Why do you have to force me to say something I don¡¯t mean? What¡¯s the point in pretending like this?¡¯ Miao Yi silently grumbled. However, for appearances¡¯ sake, he still waved his hand repeatedly and said, "Mountain Chieftain is as beautiful as a divine fairy in my eyes. wless like jade, and graceful like a flower. How could I ever have thought of you as a tyrant? I could barely wait to be closer to you."


    Even though she knew he was just showering her with shallow praise, but when heplimented her so, Qin Weiwei¡¯s heart still went all aflutter. Regardless, she purposefully replied him with a simple, "Mmm"; before saying in a questioning tone, "Mountain Chieftain?"


    Miao Yi was slightly taken aback¡ª ¡®Why is this woman so shameless?¡¯ ¡ªand hastily rephrased, "Qin Weiwei."


    Qin Weiwei narrowed her eyes at him.


    "Weiwei!" Miao Yi quickly swallowed his pride and rephrased once more. Even he felt his skin crawl from how affectionate it sounded.


    Even though she knew that this fellow was forcing himself to say it, Qin Weiwei still revealed an expression of joy. She lifted the jade archive and looked through it, then said, "Luo Shuangfei, White Lotus Ninth Grade. A Loose Cultivator?"


    Her lush eyebrows furrowed as she turned to ask Miao Yi, "He is a Loose Cultivator? Don¡¯t you have a way to recruit men from the School of Blue Jade? Why did you decide to take a Loose Cultivator? Miao Yi. Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you. Have you done a background check on the person? If there is some kind of problem with him, as the one who recruited him, you will have to take responsibility. I suggest you to go back to recruiting men from the School of Blue Jade. You don¡¯t have to stop at one. Even if you want to recruit three men, I will be able to resolve it for you. After all, the School of Blue Jade will be the one held responsible if anything happens. Yet now you¡¯re trying to recruit a Loose Cultivator. I¡¯m afraid the Manor Head might not agree to it once I report this to him. The Manor Head is not willing to recruit an unnecessary potential risk. This might be a little difficult."


    Miao Yi thought¡ª ¡®How difficult can it be? When I was a Loose Cultivator, Yuan Zhengkun still resolved it for me just like that. Why do you need to be so careful?¡¯ He threw her a smile, "Weiwei. This is the first time I¡¯m asking you for a favor as a friend. What¡¯s more, it¡¯s not a serious matter either. You¡¯re not going to deny me this much face, are you? The Manor Head is your adoptive father. If you really wanted to resolve it, I believe he wouldn¡¯t make things too difficult for you."


    One moment he called her Weiwei, and the next he called her a friend. Qin Weiwei was at an impasse, but what else could she do? She couldn¡¯t resist rolling her eyes at him, but she didn¡¯t reject him any further as she sighed, "Fine. After this, I will personally talk to the Manor Head about it. I believe it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. However, on the off-chance that there is a problem with this person, it will be difficult for you to escape responsibility as the one who recruited him. You best think it through."


    ¡®That¡¯s settled!¡¯ Miao Yi chuckled, "It¡¯s fine. Since I¡¯m willing to take him in, I am prepared to take responsibility for it."


    Qin Weiwei waved the jade archive in her hand and said, "To help resolve your matter, I still have to personally make a trip to South Edict Manor and convince the Manor Head. How are you going to thank me for it?"


    "Isn¡¯t it a little too hurtful to be talking about giving thanks amongst friends?"


    "Since you think of me as an evil woman anyway, being hurtful one more time shouldn¡¯t matter." Qin Weiwei looked like she was rather enjoying this, to actually be in the mood to crack jokes.


    Miao Yi knew she was joking around, so he followed suit and teased, "What do you want from me as thanks. A mere Steed Deputy like myself can¡¯t take out anything worth noting to thank you. You don¡¯t expect me to repay you with my body, do you!?"


    He never expected that Qin Weiwei would suddenly behave so serious and look like she was actually entertaining the idea. Then, she nodded. "I was just searching for a dual-cultivation partner. If you wish to repay me with your body, I don¡¯t have any objections."

 Chapter 271: Betrayal

    Chapter 271: Betrayal


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    When she said this, it was impossible to tell if she was joking or not. Judging from her expression alone, it seemed like she was serious. However, considering that she was just joking about earlier on, it would be more logical to assume that this was a joke as well.


    Obviously, Miao Yi assumed she was just joking. Given her status, how could she ever take a liking to him? He had never seen a woman who fancied him before, much less beautiful ones and especially one whose status was higher than his own. However, he was still surprised to see that a cool beauty like Qin Weiwei could joke about a topic like this. He suddenly felt this woman might not be so difficult to get along with after all.


    Jokes that crossed the line between two individuals would always make it easier to close the distance between them. After imposing on Qin Weiwei to settle his own problems, Miao Yi immediately tried ttering her. "I do wish to repay you with my body, but I am not fitting for you. I¡¯m afraid the number of people who wished to be your dual-cultivation partner could form a line from Mount Calming Sea all the way to South Edict Manor."


    Keeping her face impassive, Qin Weiwei replied, "How do you know you are not fitting if you don¡¯t give it a try?"


    For her to be able to say something like this was already unprecedented. It had taken her a lot of courage to do so. Even though she made it seem like she was joking, it was truly not easy for her. She could only say such things by sounding vague or by joking around.


    Miao Yi chuckled, "I am not that bold. If the Manor Head finds out that a toad like me lusts for the swan¡¯s flesh, he is sure to kill me. I shall refrain from such inappropriate thoughts. It is already enough that we could be friends."


    That fellow ended the conversation just like that. Qin Weiwei had more to say but held back. Considering her personality, it had already taken her a lot of effort to bring the conversation this far. Unless Miao Yi was more proactive and took another step forward, she truly wouldn¡¯t be able to say anything more. She still had her own dignity, and wouldn¡¯t beg him so shamelessly.


    "What happened between you and Gongsun Yu?"


    Qin Weiwei glossed over the previous conversation and didn¡¯t continue on with it, giving the impression that her forwardness earlier was simply said in jest. In that manner, she protected her own dignity and avoided being treated as an easy woman.


    "Since you said that you don¡¯t have that kind of rtionship with him, I¡¯ll be honest then." Miao Yi scoffed, "When Yan Xiu came to Mount Calming Sea earlier on for the handover of the annual tribute, and after being scolded by you, he was stopped by Gongsun Yu at the courtyard outside. He forcefully questioned Yan Xiu, wishing to know what you discussed with him..."


    Miao Yi briefly exined the situation. After listening to him, Qin Weiwei furrowed her brows. Gongsun Yu had always been pursuing her, so she could roughly guess why he would treat Yan Xiu that way. She thought it over for a moment, and decided not to reveal the reason, then she solemnly said, "Could it be some kind of misunderstanding? Gongsun Yu isn¡¯t the kind of person who would rely on superior numbers to bully others."


    "I used to think he was a decent fellow as well. However, don¡¯t you think he¡¯s acting a little too arrogant to my East Arrival Cave? Since he was trying to lord over me, I figured I should return the favor. So I personally extended an invitation for him to visit East Arrival Cave for a feast. That bastard was all hot blood, but cold feet. He was actually afraid toe. Then, I sent him another invitation telling him that if he didn¡¯te to East Arrival Cave, I would bring my men over to Long Viridescent Cave to find him. I didn¡¯t expect him to tattle to you so quickly." Miao Yi chuckled.


    Qin Weiwei asked, "Miao Yi. You¡¯re not really thinking of making a move on him, are you?"


    Miao Yi rolled his eyeballs and asked, "If I really did so, as your friend, will you stand by me?"


    Qin Weiwei found this irritating yet amusing at the same time. How could she not catch his intent to test her? She couldn¡¯t help rolling her eyes and said, "It seems like I am only your friend when you have a use for me. When I don¡¯t, I guess you probably won¡¯t truly treat me as a friend."


    Miao Yiughed dryly. "Of course not! It is I, Miao Yi¡¯s, honor to be friends with Mountain Chieftain. I would never dare sully our friendship so. I just wish to know if something did happen, whose side would Mountain Chieftain take?"


    Qin Weiwei shook her head. "Miao Yi. You don¡¯t have to test me. Even if Gongsun Yu were not my trusted aide, given my position, I would not choose to side with anyone. You had better not do anything rash."


    Miao Yi lifted his cup and took a sip, and didn¡¯t continue speaking. He never expected Qin Weiwei to take his side in the first ce.


    Qin Weiwei could see it as well. If Gongsun Yu really did offend him first, this bastard likely wouldn¡¯t let the matter rest so easily. She did not wish to see Gongsun Yu and Miao Yi going at each other¡¯s throats, and offered to mediate. "I will reproach Gongsun Yu for his actions and have him apologize to you, but you will need to let the matter rest as well."


    She did not mention that Gongsun Yu had already made it clear to her that he wished to apologize to Miao Yi. In order to quell Miao Yi¡¯s anger, she had to make it seem as if she were going to give Gongsun Yu a scolding.


    Obviously, Miao Yi didn¡¯t wish to let him go. ¡®After bullying my men that much, you think you can just casually walk away after an apology? Sure, let me tear you a new one first. Then, I can apologize to you as well.¡¯


    "Alright. I¡¯ll pay a visit to Long Viridescent Caveter and see whether or not Cave Master Gongsun is sincere in his desire to apologize," replied Miao Yi, pretending to give her face.


    Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t hate his guts in the past for no reason. She couldn¡¯t trust his words, and said, "I¡¯ll have Hong Mian send my message over and apany you to Long Viridescent Cave."


    ¡®Wouldn¡¯t having Hong Miane with me ruin my ns?¡¯ Miao Yi epted with some hesitation.


    They finished discussing both private and official affairs. Once again, Qin Weiwei invited Miao Yi to stay for a day, preparing to wee him as a friend. However, Miao Yi declined the offer.


    Qin Weiwei was somewhat disappointed. The two of them only met once or twice in over a decade, so she wanted to create more opportunities for both of them to interact more and close the distance in their rtionship. However, she wouldn¡¯t lower her pride and beg Miao Yi to stay. She couldn¡¯t do something so degrading.


    However, she still gave Miao Yi face and personally apanied him down the loft.


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu were keeping guard downstairs. Seeing the two walk next to each other, they revealed knowing smiles and stepped forth to greet them, "Mountain Chieftain. Lord Miao!"


    Miao Yi felt quite ufortable hearing them call him ¡®Lord Miao¡¯. He responded to their greeting with ¡®Elder Auntie¡¯ and ¡®Little Auntie¡¯. It was fine for them to be polite, but he truly couldn¡¯t believe that their rtionship was so good that he could afford to discard all formalities.


    He turned around and cupped his fists towards Qin Weiwei, "Mountain Chieftain. This is far enough. Your subordinate shall take his leave now."


    "Since you and I have be friends, doe visit Mount Calming Sea whenever you are free. I believe you don¡¯t wish for me to use my position as Mountain Chieftain to send an official decree and summon you every time either," reminded Qin Weiwei.


    "Alright, I understand." Miao Yi obviously had to act like he verbally agreed at least.


    He didn¡¯t expect Qin Weiwei to add, "I am a woman who keeps her promises. Since I¡¯ve promised you that I would visit East Arrival Cave, from now on, I will frequently visit East Arrival Cave as a friend. I hope that you won¡¯t find me too troublesome then."


    Miao Yi¡¯s lips twitched. He med himself for not thinking before he spoke earlier on. On the outside, he still had to act like he was looking forward to it. "Your subordinate wishes for nothing more than for Mountain Chieftain to visit East Arrival Cave. Haha. I couldn¡¯t wish for more." Deep down, Miao Yi hated not being able to p his own mouth.


    "I¡¯ll remember your words." Qin Weiwei nodded, then turned to Hong Mian and instructed her to apany Miao Yi to Long Viridescent Cave. At the same time, she secretly transmitted a message over and urged her to be vignt of Miao Yi.


    In the end, Miao Yi with Yuan Fang and Luo Shuangfei in tow, departed Mount Calming Sea with Hong Mian and two other escorts and headed straight to Long Viridescent Cave.


    As soon as Miao Yi left, a spirit eagle flew out from Mount Calming Sea, to inform Long Viridescent Cave to be ready beforehand. It was clear that Qin Weiwei truly considered Gongsun Yu as one of her trusted subordinates and didn¡¯t wish for him toe to harm...


    Suppressing Third Hall ¡ª Surging Waves Manor Head Zhao Mu was waiting outside the pce gates.


    A momentter, Fei Yun, the Hall Master¡¯s handmaiden appeared by the gate. She smiled and said, "Manor Head Zhao. The Hall Master is ready to see you."


    Zhao Mu cupped his fists in thanks, then followed after her to the rear pce. There, he saw Wu Menn sitting elegantly, having juste out of her closed-door cultivation.


    Fei Yun walked up to stand beside Wu Menn as Zhao Mu greeted, "Zhao Mu respectfully greets Hall Master."


    Wu Menn simply acknowledged his response, then continued, "Zhao Mu. It has only been a few days since you left. Why have you returned? Fei Yun told me that you have something that has to be reported to me personally. What is the matter?"


    "This matter concerns Suppressing Second Hall. Your subordinate does not dare to make this decision on his own, so I came here to ask for Hall Master¡¯s guidance." Zhao Mu handed over a jade archive with both hands, which was then passed to Wu Menn by her other handmaiden, Fei Wu.


    "Suppressing Second Hall?" Wu Menn threw him a curious gaze, then focused her attention on the jade archive. After she read it through, she was a little startled and raised her head to ask, "Is this Xiong Xiao the same one who risked his own life for Yang Qing and tricked Liu Jingtian to deploy his forces in an attack on Zhang Decheng all those years ago?"


    Zhao Mu replied, "Yes, this is truly that Xiong Xiao. Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide. As Surging Waves Manor is close to Mount Shaotai, Xiong Xiao thus contacted your subordinate."


    Wu Menn asked, "Since he is Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide, he is sure to be highly regarded by Yang Qing. Why would he wish to defect to my Suppressing Third Hall? As far as I know, this Xiong Xiao is rather well-treated by Yang Qing and was given charge of two Mountains. Given his cultivation, he won¡¯t obtain any benefit whatsoever by defecting to my Suppressing Third Hall. Was there some kind of unforeseen development in the situation?"


    Zhao Mu replied, "ording to Xiong Xiao, Yang Qing did not treat him as well as outsiders thought; and that it was only a facade. He said Yang Qing was petty and unforgiving. He already sensed that Yang Qing would make a move on him eventually, and found out that Yang Qing had drafted him into the ¡®Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade¡¯¡ªwishing to use this opportunity to eliminate him. Therefore, in order to save himself, Xiong Xiao is willing to defect to our Suppressing Third Hall."


    Wu Menn knit her brows and said, "There are still a few more years till the Sea of Constetions Subjugations Crusade. Normally speaking, Yang Qing wouldn¡¯t reveal the name list too early either. How did Xiong Xiao find out?"


    Zhao Mu replied, "Your subordinate also found this suspicious, and also asked about it earlier. He said that he has a spy in Suppressing Second Hall. This matter involves the two Halls so your subordinate dares not to make this decision, and has thuse forth to ask for Hall Master¡¯s instructions. Xiong Xiao wishes to defect over to me. Should I ept it or not? Please advise me what I should do, Hall Master!"


    Wu Menn stood up, her voluptuous figure under the long dress was seductive and alluring, as she slowly paced around the hall. Suddenly, she stopped andughed, "ept it! Why wouldn¡¯t you ept it? It¡¯s not like my Suppressing Third Hall is stealing his forces. Xiong Xiao is the one who wishes to defect of his own ord. That Huo Lingxiao can¡¯t me anyone else if he can¡¯t hold on to his own forces. Don¡¯t tell me he wille to my Suppressing Third Hall and try to take him back? Hahaha! Zhao Mu. Do as you wish for this matter."


    "Very well! Your subordinate understands," replied Zhao Mu with cupped fists.


    Now that he had the Hall Master¡¯s instructions, Zhao Mu had nothing left to worry about. He acted swiftly and the response was soon sent over to Mount Shaotai.


    After receiving the reply, Xiong Xiao lifted the jade archive and carefully examined it. Seeing that there was even the transcendence seal of approval from the Suppressing Third Hall Master herself, Xiong Xiao was immediately relieved. He gripped the jade archive tightly and revealed a devious smile, "Yang Qing. Since you¡¯re so heartless, don¡¯t me me for being unfaithful. Miao Yi, you little thief, this time, I will put an end to all our past grievances!"


    He whisked his hands about and wrote out several jade archives one after another on the spot. Then, passed them to his handmaiden beside him and said, "Immediately send this to all the Cave Masters and gather them up! I want to tten East Arrival Cave and rip that little thief Miao Yi to shreds to wash away this hatred in my heart!"

 Chapter 272: Private Apology

    Chapter 272: Private Apology


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Since he decided to defect, he was bound to be in opposition to Yang Qing. Xiong Xiao no longer needed to hold himself back under Yang Qing¡¯s suppression any longer.


    His cultivation level was already at Blue Lotus First Grade, and he even had three other Blue Lotus First Grade cultivators as his subordinates. Along with the might of twenty Caves, he had long possessed the power to trample East Arrival Cave with ease. Killing Miao Yi and taking his revenge would not be difficult at all. If he wasn¡¯t fearful of Yang Qing, he would have done this a long time ago.


    It was precisely because he was fearful of Yang Qing and aware that Yang Qing was already quite displeased with him, that he had suppressed his resentment. He kept a low profile for thest few years and threw most of his time into cultivation, taking advantage of the fact that he was charged with two Mountains and had a sufficient supply of Orbs of Will. He tried his utmost to bolster his own cultivation in the event of any mishap.


    It could be said that things were rather peaceful between him and Miao Yi throughout these past few years. He was afraid to touch Miao Yi because of Yang Qing, while Miao Yi was simrly wary of the forces he possessed, realizing that he could not beat Xiong Xiao at the present moment. As such, both sides endured, ushering forth over a decade of peace.


    He never expected to receive such terribly distressing news¡ªYang Qing had actually secretly drafted his name into the list of men for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade! Every time that the crusade was held, a ten percent survival rate was already an optimistic estimate for the cultivators. Those that coulde out of it alive were definitely the cream of the crop. The Celestial Nation was veryrge and had numerous talented individuals. Xiong Xiao admitted that he was no elite, and couldn¡¯tpete with those who were gods among men. Once he went to the Sea of Constetions, he basically has no chance of survival.


    Xiong Xiao was full of bitterness. He had already suppressed his resentment and maintained an abnormally low profile. He never expected that Yang Qing wouldn¡¯t even give him the chance to slowly raise his cultivation level, and secretlyid a trap for him.


    Now that he was determined to betray Yang Qing, he didn¡¯t mind using thest of his authority to eradicate Miao Yi. He even thought ofunching an assault on Mount Calming Sea to kill Qin Weiwei as well, to rub it in Yang Qing¡¯s face!


    However, he knew that that n was unrealistic. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t have the ability to kill Qin Weiwei off. He was very much capable of doing so.


    However, his subordinates may not feel the same way he did. Even if he did not let them know of the n from the beginning, once they reached Mount Calming Sea, it was likely that no one would be willing to obey his orders to move against Qin Weiwei even if hemanded them to. This was because Yang Qing was standing behind Qin Weiwei. If they still wanted to continue on within the two Manors, then no one would dare act on Qin Weiwei. Therefore, Xiong Xiao could only give up on this.


    He was not confident that he could convince his subordinates to defect alongside him. There were many among his subordinates who had benefited greatly from being inmand of two Caves. Should they decide to defect as well¡ªwhere else would they find such a ce that could provide them with such lucrative gains? Even Xiong Xiao himself wouldn¡¯t do such a thing for his own gain. It was only because Yang Qing had forced his hand that he had to defect. He was not confident of convincing his subordinates to leave with him at all.


    Killing Miao Yi though, was not a problem. Everyone knew of the grudge between him and Miao Yi. It wasn¡¯t unusual for both parties to fight.


    After issuing an official decree to the various Caves, Xiong Xiao immediately assembled his main forces. Rolling out in a thunderous gallop, he continued to gather his forces along the way but didn¡¯t yet reveal to them that they were about tounch an attack on East Arrival Cave.


    This time, he didn¡¯t throw his personal handmaidens aside. He brought Xia He and Qiu Yu along with him. After over a decade of training, his two handmaidens were already close to reaching White Lotus First Grade cultivation. It wasn¡¯t easy to foster two reliable and trustworthy aides from scratch; so naturally, he had to bring them along...


    Long Viridescent Cave ¡ª After receiving word from Mount Calming Sea, Gongsun Yu heaved a sigh of relief. With the Mountain Chieftain stepping out, and with even Hong Mianing over, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem anymore.


    However, when he thought about meeting that lunatic Miao Yi, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel a little apprehensive.


    Gongsun Yu calcted the amount of time it would take for them to reach, and brought his men over to the mountain gates ahead of time to wee them.


    After waiting for a couple of hours, the sky was already beginning to darken when the six steeds lead by Hong Mian finally appeared in the distance.


    Six steeds galloped over and stopped before the mountain gates. The six riders dismounted their steeds as Gongsun Yu stepped forth and greeted, "I respectfully greet Elder Auntie."


    "Cave Master Gongsun," replied Hong Mian with a smile. Then, she turned to find that Miao Yi and Gongsun Yu had already locked their gazes with one another.


    Miao Yi was all smiles as he looked at Gongsun Yu.


    Gongsun Yu seemed very uneasy, but he still stepped forward of his own ord. With his dignity as a Cave Master, he greeted Miao Yi, a Steed Deputy, first. "Wee, Brother Miao. We meet again."


    "Indeed." Miao Yi smiled as he cupped his fists and continued, "Twice I have sent invitations to Cave Master Gongsun, but Cave Master Gongsun would not give me face. I even thought you had forgotten about me. Or is it because that I was demoted to Steed Deputy that you don¡¯t hold me with any regard?"


    "How could my rtionship with Brother Miao be shaken by something like status or position? You and I were oncerades in arms, sharing life and death together. How could I forget such brotherhood? It was only because I was busy with work that I could not leave at then. Today, let me make it up as the host and offer Brother Miao my sincerest apologies." Gongsun Yu turned and extended his arm. "Elder Auntie. Brother Miao. Please,e inside!"


    In front of his subordinates, he sure made it sound pretty. He did not mention that it was because he had offended East Arrival Cave, and thus had no choice but to apologize now that the other party hade up to his doorstep. Instead, he made it seem as though he was apologizing to Miao Yi because he was unable to attend his banquet.


    To the side, Yuan Fangughed inwardly¡ª ¡®Weren¡¯t you very arrogant back at Mount Calming Sea? Against Yan Xiu, you had the utmost confidence but when Miao Yi stepped out, you immediately submitted. Evil can truly only be suppressed by a much greater evil.¡¯


    From the corner of his eyes, Miao Yi shot a nce to Hong Mian. He had to give Gongsun Yu face in front of her. Otherwise, he would have definitely ripped Gongsun Yu¡¯s facade apart and put him on the spot.


    Gongsun Yu followed behind the two as they walked in under the Long Viridescent Cave¡¯s name que.


    The group entered the Cave Master¡¯s residential quarters together. The two escorts that Hong Mian brought, along with Miao Yi¡¯s two subordinates, were invited to a separate location to be entertained. It wasn¡¯t appropriate for them to share a seat with their masters because of their status. In the mean time, Gongsun Yu personally entertained Hong Mian and Miao Yi with a weing feast in the Cave Master¡¯s residential quarters.


    The dishes were all prepared earlier, and were ready to be served as soon as they arrived. Gongsun Yu cordially invited the two to sit down, and his two personal handmaidens swiftly poured wine for the three of them.


    Hong Mian narrowed her eyes at Gongsun Yu¡¯s two beautiful handmaidens, with their radiantplexions resulting from rich foods, and lightly shook her head.


    She was long acquainted with Gongsun Yu. Before Gongsun Yu became a Cave Master, he didn¡¯t have the authority to choose handmaidens with an aptitude for cultivation. The human handmaidens by his side were changed multiple times. Those that grew old and lost their charm would be sent to ces like the Manor of Merciful Hope to receive new duties, and would then be substituted with young, beautiful women.


    She obviously knew that Gongsun Yu was trying to pursue Qin Weiwei. Moverover,pared to the other cultivators in the two Manors, Gongsun Yu was rather decent in terms of both looks and loyalty. Not to mention, he was also Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide. Even Yang Qing himself intended to match them both together at first. To Yang Qing, Gongsun Yu switching handmaidens as often as he did was nothing out of the ordinary.


    However, that was looking at things from a man¡¯s perspective. Hong Mian sighed inwardly. Why couldn¡¯t Gongsun Yu just stand from Qin Weiwei¡¯s perspective as a woman? Even disregarding the fact that he took such pleasure in his personal handmaidens, his status was nowhere near Qin Weiwei¡¯s and his strength was all the more so. Yet he still wished to be Qin Weiwei¡¯s dual-cultivation partner. He ced Qin Weiwei at the same level as those of his handmaidens when it came to pleasures of the flesh. How could Qin Weiwei be willing to ept that?


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu had shared many of these private conversations with Qin Weiwei when it was just them, so they knew her thoughts for the most part. s, such was the way of the world. However, Qin Weiwei wasn¡¯t expecting any man to really keep his chastity for her his whole life either. At the very least, whoever Qin Weiwei would marry, her two personal handmaidens would eventually have to wait on the husband in bed as well . Qin Weiwei was not so selfish as to deprive Hong Mian and Lu Liu of the taste of a man for the rest of their lives.


    That being said, as mistress of the house, Qin Weiwei wished to be first in line. All she wanted was for the husband to restrain himself, and not flirt around too much. Wasn¡¯t it enough already for a man to have several women beside him? Qin Weiwei believed that this wish of hers wasn¡¯t too difficult to fulfill.


    If Gongsun Yu didn¡¯t have these traits that Qin Weiwei detested, Hong Mian believed that Qin Weiwei would likely have been wed to Gongsun Yu and she herself would already be waiting on him in bed. s, this was not meant to be!


    Hong Mian then looked at Miao Yi. She found this fellow rather decent. He was faithful and was never too flirtatious when it came to women. When it came to romance, he possessed moral qualities that were rather difficult to find in the cultivation realm. If Qin Weiwei were to truly marry him one day, it would not be too uneptable to wait on him in bed either.


    Little did she know that she was over-estimating Miao Yi. If she knew about how Miao Yi wanted to take Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s chastities but had his ns foiled by Luo Shuangfei, who knew what she would think then?


    The two handmaidens stood to the side after filling the cups with wine. Gongsun Yu raised his cup and smiled cheerfully. "Elder Auntie and Brother Miao have travelled far toe here. I shall first offer a toast to the two of you."


    Miao Yi did note all this way just to drink and chat with him. He came here to demand Gongsun Yu topensate for his transgressions. He did not want to raise his cup and sat there like a statue.


    With his cup raised, Gongsun Yu was left in an awkward position. Beside Miao Yi, Hong Mian immediately kicked him in the shin under the table and shot him a re. Only then did Miao Yi reluctantly raise his cup and half-heartedly drink to Gongsun Yu.


    The look on Miao Yi¡¯s face reflected his thoughts. There were no outsiders here. Hong Mian shot Gongsun Yu a nce to remind him¡ª ¡®I¡¯m afraid the patience of this fellow beside me is terribly short. You better do what you should be doing quick. Otherwise, if you wait until this fellow casts all courtesies aside, it would look bad for everyone. Don¡¯t waste the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s goodwill.¡¯


    Gongsun Yu understood what she was trying to tell him. He refilled his cup, then raised it with both hands and said, "Brother Miao. Back in Mount Calming Sea, I offended East Arrival Cave. It was all my fault. I hereby offer my sincerest apologies to Brother Miao. I hope Brother Miao will not lower yourself to my standard and hold it against me."


    Miao Yi looked around. ¡®Damn it. There isn¡¯t a single outsider here. You think that everything would be over by just hiding here and apologizing in private? Don¡¯t you think you need to make a public apology at least? Otherwise, who would know that you apologized to me? You think that just because you want to save face, my East Arrival Cave doesn¡¯t? Just wait and see!¡¯


    He raised his eyebrow, about to burst out in fury and show Gongsun Yu a piece of his mind. However, Hong Mian immediately interjected when she realized something was off, and said, "Miao Yi. Everyone serves under the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s banner together. Even if Cave Master Gongsun is at fault, East Arrival Cave did not suffer any loss. Now that Cave Master Gongsun has made a sincere apology, I hope you will not make things difficult for the Mountain Chieftain."


    She was sent over by Qin Weiwei to mediate between these two in the first ce. Naturally, she would not allow things to escte and tried her best to solve it peacefully.


    Miao Yi¡¯s lips twitched. Now that Hong Mian brought Qin Weiwei up, he couldn¡¯t deny her this face, at least in public. If he really caused Qin Weiwei to lose face, that would be a p to not only Qin Weiwei, but to Yang Qing¡¯s face as well. Yang Qing would definitely punish him severely for that.


    It wouldn¡¯t be good to stir up any trouble with Hong Mian sitting here. All Miao Yi could do was lift up his cup and nkly say, "I can feel the sincerity behind Cave Master Gongsun¡¯s apology. It would not do us any good to discuss this topic any further. Let bygones be bygones."


    Hong Mian immediately pped her hands together and smiled, "How easy-going! Precisely because of such admirable traits, I shall take this drink together with the two of you."


    As the mediator, she lifted her cup and stood up. Miao Yi and Gongsun Yu could only follow suit. The three then knocked their cups together before drinking.


    As soon as the three of them sat down, Hong Mian and Gongsun Yu were finally able to heave a sigh of relief.


    Miao Yi ced his cup down and looked about him, then said, "Cave Master Gongsun. It is my first time visiting Long Viridescent Cave. I have yet to explore its beautiful scenery, and soe tomorrow¡¯s daybreak, I wish to take a look around. What do you think, Cave Master Gongsun?"


    Hong Mian immediately shot Gongsun Yu a nce, as though saying¡ª ¡¯He is already willing to let you off the hook so easily. You¡¯re not going to decline even such a simple request, are you?¡¯


    Gongsun Yu immediatelyughed, "Well said. Tomorrow, I will be sure to personally apany Brother Miao for a tour around the Cave as the host."

 Chapter 273: Lend Some Orbs of Will

    Chapter 273: Lend Some Orbs of Will


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Seeing him agree to it, Miao Yi finally smiled. The tension in his words and actions loosening up as he amicably chatted with the two.


    As he offered a toast to Hong Mian, Miao Yi asked, "Elder Auntie. Would you like to join us on tomorrow morning¡¯s tour as well?"


    "I won¡¯t be joining. Both of you may go ahead." Hong Mian shook her head.


    She came here to help the two reconcile, not to be on a leisure trip. Now that the two had set aside their petty grievances, her mission was concluded as well. What¡¯s more, it wasn¡¯t her first time visiting Long Viridescent Cave. She had seen everything it had to offer long ago. She wasn¡¯t interested in exploring the ce again.


    Miao Yi replied with a simple, "Oh." The smile on his face grew even wider as he continued offering toasts to the other two.


    The three of them drank until it waste at night before they left. Gongsun Yu then personally escorted the two to the guests¡¯ lodgings at the rear mountain before taking his leave.


    As soon as he entered the lodgings, Miao Yi dismissed the handmaidens that came to serve him with a wave of his hand. He then motioned for Yuan Fang and Luo Shuangfei who were following behind, to inspect the surroundings.


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s head was still drooping listlessly, and hepletely failed to see Miao Yi¡¯s signal. Yuan Fang was the only one who quickly left to scan the area.


    Miao Yi was a little lost for words as he looked at the lethargic Luo Shuangfei. Ever since he caused this fellow to be like this with his forceful methods, this fellow became like a frosty eggnt. That devious smile could no longer be seen on his face, and he seemed pitiful day after day. Even Miao Yi was starting to regret his actions.


    He reached out and tapped on Luo Shuangfei¡¯s thin shoulders. Luo Shuangfei reflexively jerked his body, then twisted his shoulder and swept Miao Yi¡¯s hand away.


    Miao Yi¡¯s arm hung in the air. Surprised, he asked, "Are you angry at me?"


    Luo Shuangfei shook his head. "I wouldn¡¯t dare."


    Miao Yi would not apologize because he didn¡¯t think he did anything wrong then. As his own subordinate, Luo Shuangfei had indeed gone too far with what he did. It wasn¡¯t a problem to peek on him bathing, but there were two other almostpletely naked women in the bath as well. No man would be alright with another man seeing his women naked.


    However, Miao Yi would still try and talk things out with him. With a sombre tone, he said, "Luo Shuangfei. What you didst time had indeed gone too far."


    Luo Shuangfei raised his head, and bit his lips as he said, "Do you detest me for interrupting you while you were about to do it with your personal handmaidens? If I didn¡¯t move out then, were you going to kill me? " He heavily emphasized on thest two words.


    Under the moonlight, the corner of his eyes were slightly red, as though he was suffering a terrible injustice.


    Miao Yi was silent for a while, and didn¡¯t answer. Instead, he reached out and ced his arm over Luo Shuangfei¡¯s shoulder. He felt his body jerk again. It seemed like he was wincing away out of reflex.


    Miao Yi immediately curled his arms around Luo Shuangfei¡¯s neck, not allowing him to pull himself away. Towing him by the shoulder, Miao Yi pulled him towards the living room. "I¡¯ve already discussed with the Mountain Chieftain. Your Loose Cultivator status should be resolved soon enough."


    He tried to apologize to Luo Shuangfei in a different way using his words and actions. However, Luo Shuangfei still remained silent.


    Miao Yi pulled Luo Shuangfei along under his shoulder and walked up the steps to the living room. Then, he said, "As long as you don¡¯t do anything foolish in East Arrival Cave, you can go have fun at the brothels in East Arrival City from now on."


    " FILTHY! " Luo Shuangfei suddenly shouted. He twisted his body to the side and pulled away from the arm around his shoulders. Then, he jerked his head to the side, and simply stood under the eaves.


    Miao Yi was utterly speechless. ¡®You¡¯re the one that enjoys messing around in brothels. How did I be the filthy one?¡¯


    Then, Yuan Fang came back right after inspecting the surroundings. He shook his head towards Miao Yi, signifying that there were no problems, before asking, "Milord. Did Gongsun Yu apologize and make amends?"


    Miao Yi scoffed, "With Qin Weiwei repeatedly reminding me from up above, it wouldn¡¯t do me well to let the matter escte either at first. If he publicly apologized, I could have allowed this matter to be resolved just like that. However, this bastard sent all outsiders away and only apologized in private. He is someone who isn¡¯t willing to lose even a little bit of face. These kinds of men may seem like they know when to yield and when not to, but in truth, they are very petty and narrow-minded. Even if you forgive him, he will not remember your benevolence; and if you offended him, he wouldn¡¯t hold himself back either..."


    On the morning of the following day, Gongsun Yu, apanied by his two handmaidens, invited Miao Yi to go on a tour. Simrly, they invited Hong Mian again. She declined the offer still, but she didn¡¯t leave just like that.


    Hong Mian was still worried that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t leave Long Viridescent Cave peacefully. She was concerned that this fellow would start something again once she left, so she decided to wait and leave together with him.


    Before Gongsun Yu and Miao Yi left the residential quarters, Yuan Fang and Luo Shuangfei tagged along behind them and intentionally separated Gongsun Yu¡¯s two handmaidens away from him to the back of the group. Gongsun Yu turned to look, and his heart thumped as he vaguely felt that the situation wasn¡¯t good.


    He turned back to look at Miao Yi full of smiles, and his heart instantly tensed. ¡®This bastard can¡¯t be thinking of using this chance to make a move on me, right?¡¯


    Maybe someone else wouldn¡¯t, but this bastard would even dare make a vicious attempt on Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao. A Cave Master like himself would probably warrant even less of a consideration. Gongsun Yu naturally had to have a contingency. He acted like everything was fine as he turned to his handmaidens and said, "How can we not have wine when we are going on a tour? Go and prepare some."


    At the same time, he secretly transmitted a message instructing his handmaidens to gather his forces as a safeguard.


    Originally, he wanted them to ask Hong Mian toe over as well. However, Hong Mian already said she wouldn¡¯te. If he told Hong Mian of his concerns, and nothing were to happen, she would surely make light of him. Then, news of him being cowardly would quickly reach Qin Weiwei¡¯s ears. Thus, he refrained from informing Hong Mian.


    One of his handmaidens responded and speedily departed.


    The five didn¡¯t walk far along the vast, lush mountains before the handmaiden returned with eight men following after her.


    Miao Yi turned back to briefly nce at them. Then, continued to chat away amicably with Gongsun Yu.


    They traversed across the lush mountain forest amidst the majestic scenery. Miao Yi wanted to walk further away at first, but Gongsun Yu was against it. He was especially adamant about straying too far from Long Viridescent Cave when he saw that Miao Yi wanted to walk further away. He just briefly told Miao Yi that there wasn¡¯t any good scenery up ahead, and only brought him around the nearby vicinity of Long Viridescent Cave.


    Both their ns involved Hong Mian in some part. One didn¡¯t want Hong Mian to hear themotion and foil his ns, the other was afraid she wouldn¡¯t be able to hear them if they were too far.


    Miao Yi would asionallypliment the scenery along the way. Just when the sun was at its zenith, the group decided to sit down under the cooling shade of an old tree with tightly wound roots. There was a simple stone table under the tree right from the beginning.


    The two handmaidens quickly served the wine and food, as Miao Yi and Gongsun Yu sat opposite each other. They engaged in friendly banter, raising their cups every now and then, with their own respective forces standing behind them.


    After some small talk, Miao Yi diverted the conversation to the main topic, "Cave Master Gongsun. I have a small request. I would like to borrow something from you."


    Gongsun Yu cautiously asked, "May I know what Brother Miao wishes to loan?"


    Miao Yi sighed, "Aii! You should know what it¡¯s like for my East Arrival Cave as well. There are too many men, and the yearly expenses are truly too much to handle. This year, the profits are a littleckingpared to the expenses, which is why I wish to borrow some Orbs of Will from Cave Master Gongsun."


    Gongsun Yu almost spat in his face. ¡®Why did you hire so many men if you can¡¯t afford to?! Asking me to lend you some Orbs of Will to pay your men. I can¡¯t believe you could say something like that!¡¯


    However, Gongsun Yu was not an idiot. He finally realized that this bastard wasn¡¯t satisfied with yesterday¡¯s apology. Asking to borrow orbs from him was just an excuse. What he really wanted was to extort somepensation. This was why he avoided Hong Mian and raised such a request. ¡®It seems if I don¡¯t offer somepensation today, this bastard won¡¯t be letting me off.¡¯


    Furthermore, Miao Yi mentioned that he was ¡®borrowing¡¯. At the very least, he didn¡¯t put Gongsun Yu on the spot for the sake of appearances. It was still up to question whether or not he would actually do so in the future though.


    ¡®Forget it! Just think of it as spending money to avoid cmity!¡¯ Gongsun Yu sucked in a deep breath and made anotherpromise as he forced a smile, "May I know how much Brother Miao wishes to borrow? I am rather tight on resources as well. I don¡¯t have much in excess I can offer."


    Miao Yi smiled, "Not much. Lending me two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will should be enough."


    When his words came out, Yuan Fang snickered, whereas Luo Shuangfei didn¡¯t have much of a reaction. It didn¡¯t seem like he understood the significance of two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will to a single Cave.


    Meanwhile, the men behind Gongsun Yu were all wide-eyed in disbelief. Gongsun Yu himself was staring at Miao Yi with his mouth agape. He already gave Miao Yi an excuse beforehand and told him that he was short on resources and didn¡¯t have much in excess. He never expected that this bastard would ask for so much regardless.


    Gongsun Yu forced a smile and said, "Surely you are joking, Brother Miao? Long Viridescent City receives a little over a hundred low-grade Orbs of Will in a year. Besides those that were to be handed over for tribute, the twenty percent that Long Viridescent Cave is left with only amounts to around twenty orbs. Where would I find two hundred orbs to lend to you?"


    Miao Yi waved his hand and said, "Cave Master Gongsun misunderstood me. I am not asking for you to lend it to me in a single stroke. You only need to lend me twenty orbs a year, over the next ten years."


    Now that Miao Yi made things clear, Luo Shuangfei finally came to a realization. His lips perked up as his bushy eyebrows twitched. His face finally revealed a smile, but a suppressed one at that.


    Gongsun Yu¡¯s expression twitched. ¡®If you borrow it all away, what about me?¡¯


    This matter concerned the benefits of everyone in Long Viridescent Cave. Finally, one of the men behind him couldn¡¯t resist speaking up, "Steed Deputy Miao. Are you dreaming? Long Viridescent Cave only receives around twenty orbs a year as profit. If you borrow these away for ten years, then wouldn¡¯t it mean that we would not have any wages for ten whole years?"


    The one that spoke up was called Tao Ruping. He was the old man who spoke out and threatened Yuan Fang back then at Mount Calming Sea.


    Last time, he dared to disregard Yan Xiu. This time, he even addressed Miao Yi directly as Steed Deputy. Naturally, he had a fallback of some sort. What he relied on was precisely his White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivation as well as his Sword Deviate Sect background. With his cultivation, it was only because there wasn¡¯t enough resources to share around that he had no choice but to lower himself to serve under a Cave. He really did not hold someone like Miao Yi with any regard.


    When Yang Qing was recruiting the disciples of the three major sects, all of them wanted the opportunity. Naturally, the more capable disciples were the ones who won out when theypeted internally. They didn¡¯t mind starting from a low position either as they believed that with their cultivation, they would eventually be able to set themselves apart from the rest. It was because of this that Yang Qing¡¯s forces rapidly increased in strength.


    This was evident from the fact that there was also two White Lotus Seventh Grade disciples from the Jade Lady Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts respectively.


    Yuan Fang immediately transmitted a message secretly over to Miao Yi and told him that this old man was the one who insulted themst time at Mount Calming Sea.


    Little did he know that Miao Yi was fully aware that Long Viridescent Cave was unable to fork out so many Orbs of Will, and only wanted to incite them. If the other party didn¡¯t take the bait, Miao Yi had even worse things to say. Miao Yi didn¡¯t expect someone to immediately fall for it though, but it did save him much effort. He immediately narrowed his eyes at the other person and asked, "Which sect are you from?"


    He was asking a question for which he already knew the answer to. It was obvious if one simply judged by the other person¡¯s attire¡ªhaving four swords strapped with des-pointed up on his back.


    Arrogantly, Tao Ruping said, "Sword Deviate Sect!"


    "So what if you¡¯re from Sword Deviate Sect!?" Miao Yi did not mince his words, mocking them right in their faces. "Do you dare to touch even a single hair on this Steed Deputy¡¯s body?!"


    When he said this, the three Sword Deviate Sect disciples took a step forward, their faces flushed with rage. The other party actually dared to insult their sect. Tao Ruping pointed at Miao Yi, and furiously bellowed, "How dare a puny Steed Deputy be so insolent. If you don¡¯t apologize, even if the Cave Master gives you face, we are not be afraid of you!"


    The Sword Deviate Sect indeed didn¡¯t dare to openly touch Miao Yi. However, the three of them were already a member of the system. Not to mention, Miao Yi¡¯s status at the moment was that of a Steed Deputy and not a superior officer, so they had nothing to be afraid of.

 Chapter 274: One Versus Eight

    Chapter 274: One Versus Eight


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Insolent!" Gongsun Yu turned back to shout. Then, he turned back to Miao Yi and with a bitter smile, said, "Brother Miao. I really can¡¯t fork out two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will."


    "Eyy! We can slowly discuss this matter between us," said Miao Yi, lifting his hand to stop him. He continued meeting the contemptuous gazes of the Sword Deviate Sect disciples and said, "What happens if I don¡¯t apologize?"


    Tao Ruping scoffed, "Then don¡¯t me us for being discourteous."


    "Stand down!" Gongsun Yu bellowed once more.


    "Cave Master Gongsun. It¡¯s alright. I won¡¯t lower myself to their standards," said Miao Yi, standing up to indicate the men behind Gongsun Yu. Not only was he provoking the Sword Deviate Sect, he was also insulting the Jade Lady Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts. "I am not looking down on your Sword Deviate Sect, Jade Lady Sect and School of Imperial Beasts¡ªbut with just you lot, you aren¡¯t even fit to hold my shoes for me."


    His words were too arrogant. Someone immediately shouted, " What did you say?! "


    "Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t give you all any chances," said Miao Yi as he pointed to the two men behind himself. "From the two of them, one has a Blue Lotus First Grade cultivation and the other, a White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivation. Why don¡¯t we spar a little? The lot of you can join forces and strike together. Just pick any one of them. I will allow you all to fight the few with the many. If you win, I will make no mention of the matter of borrowing Orbs of Will anymore. If you lose, then I won¡¯t be borrowing those two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will anymore. Instead, you will have to obediently hand them over. Do you dare take this wager?"


    It wasn¡¯t that Miao Yi was confident he would win, but he already discussed with Luo Shuangfei and Yuan Fangst night. He told them that he would try to stir up some trouble today, and would use only one of them to incite the wrath of the many. This way he would be able to set the ball rolling. If they couldn¡¯t win, it would be fine. The remaining two would then strike together and beat the entire Long Viridescent Cave into a pulp before deciding their next move.


    The disciples of the three major sects were no pushovers. Each sect naturally had their own unique traits for them to be what they were today. It wasn¡¯tpletely without reason that they dared to provoke two Blue Lotus First Grade Cultivators like Yuan Fang and Lai Yuhan back at Mount Calming Sea. When they joined forces, a normal Blue Lotus First Grade cultivator truly might not be their match.


    Seeing how arrogant Miao Yi was now¡ªnot only looking down on them, but insulting their three major sects as well¡ªthey were all seething with rage.


    However, they did not have the authority to decide on wagering two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will for their bet. They still needed Gongsun Yu¡¯s approval after all. Tao Ruping tried urging him, "Cave Master. This bastard is too overbearing. We cannot endure this any longer, and neither do we have to!"


    Gongsun Yu slowly raised his hand and motioned for Tao Ruping not to be hasty. He stood up and chuckled to Miao Yi, "Brother Miao. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little inappropriate to conduct matters like this? If word gets out, others might even think that my Long Viridescent Cave is bullying the few with the many."


    His tone was already more rxed than before. For a spar with such great odds, even he couldn¡¯t help being tempted.


    He was afraid that Miao Yi would rally his East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces and fight as a group. The strength of the entire Long Viridescent Cavebined far paled inparison to that of East Arrival Cave. In truth, out of all the Caves under Mount Calming Sea, the strength of East Arrival Cave was undoubtedly the first.


    However, if they battled it out this way, things might not turn out that way. Gongsun Yu had seen the might of his subordinates when they worked together. The three major sects lived true to their name. A Blue Lotus First Grade cultivator might not truly be their match. He would be able to mp down on Miao Yi¡¯s arrogance and do away with his unreasonable request at the same time. How could he not be tempted?


    "Bullying the few with the many?" Miao Yi jeered. "Cave Master Gongsun. My East Arrival Cave has never been afraid of these situations where the few are bullied by the many. With just over a dozen men, we were able to kill most of Xiong Xiao¡¯s men and sent him running with his tail between his legs. Why would we be afraid of this bunch then? I am not looking down on your subordinates, but with their strength¡ªis it truly apt to call this ¡®bullying the few with the many¡¯?"


    ¡®Truly unbearable!¡¯ The whole crowd was furious. "Cave Master. Why do you still hesitate? Is our Long Viridescent Cave just going to sit here and suffer such humiliation?"


    Gongsun Yu raised his hand and put on an act, "What do you know? It¡¯s not that I am afraid, I just don¡¯t wish to bring harm to the harmony between our two camps." He turned to Miao Yi and continued, "Brother Miao. You best think this matter over. idents are amon urrence during spars. You must not act impulsively."


    Miao Yi was thinking, ¡®If idents don¡¯t happen during spars, then why am I sparring in the first ce?¡¯ Then asked in response, "Don¡¯t tell me Cave Master Gongsun is afraid to take the wager?"


    Gongsun Yu turned his head back to look at his handmaidens behind him. His ego as a man rose and he snapped his head back to chuckle, "Since Brother Miao put it that way, I have nothing more to say. Why would I be afraid to make this wager? May I know where does Brother Miao intend the spar to be?"


    "Let¡¯s not make it troublesome. We will just spar here." Miao Yi casually pointed to a piece of t ground nearby, then turned back to say, "Yuan Fang. Go show them what you can do."


    It was obviously better to take the safer route for this kind of situation. He obviously had to choose the one with the highest cultivation to step forth.


    Yuan Fang was just taking a step forward and brought out his long spear when Tao Ruping shouted, "Hold it!"


    Miao Yi asked, "Trying to go back on your word?"


    "We are not trying to go back on our word. Earlier, I remember you mentioning, Steed Deputy, that we are allowed to pick any one out of the two of them. If you are true to your word, then we will pick him !" said Tao Ruping, pointing at the listless Luo Shuangfei standing to the side.


    Miao Yi wanted to take the safer route, but the other party weren¡¯t idiots either. Seeing Miao Yi acting so confident, Tao Ruping didn¡¯t want to take any risks. He knew that Yuan Fang¡¯s cultivation was at Blue Lotus First Grade. The pressure on him would be quite significant if they fought. After all, a Blue Lotus cultivation was apletely different realmpared to that of White Lotus. Therefore, he obviously chose the one with a lower cultivation.


    Luo Shuangfei was surprised, and looked a little puzzled as he pointed to himself, "You are choosing me? Why choose me?"


    "Why?" mocked Tao Ruping. He added, "Don¡¯t tell me you are afraid of facing us in battle? Or is a certain someone trying to go back on his word? If he is, then he better keep that dirty mouth of his shut."


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t appear to be paying any heed to his words. Regardless of whether he won or lost, and whom among them had to step up, once he saw any signs of losing¡ªthe remaining two, him included¡ªwould immediately join forces and strike together.


    All the rules they discussed beforehand was just a lie. Strength was the onlyw here. It didn¡¯t matter if he broke the rules or not. In the worst-case scenario, he would just forgo the two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will.


    Luo Shuangfei was a little speechless. He was not someone who was afraid to take risks. He reached out at thin air, and the long, serrated spear inside his storage ring appeared in his grasp in a sh. He raised the spear and turned to walk to the nds nearby. Then, he stood in position and readied his spear.


    Tao Ruping looked about him and said, "Everyone. That is someone who doesn¡¯t hold any respect for us. Thus, there¡¯s no need for us to hold back either. Let us strike together!"


    The three Jade Lady Sect disciples all pulled out a nine-jointed steel whip capable of both long and short-range attacks; the two School of Imperial Beasts disciples held long scimitars; whilst the three Sword Deviate Sect disciples did not take out any weapons¡ªthe swords strapped upside-down to their backs were their weapons.


    The eight of them walked onto the nds. Tao Ruping began bymanding, "Wu Liu. Ye Piaopiao. The three of us will take the vanguard. The rest of you will act as our support!"


    Wu Liu was from the School of Imperial Beasts, and Ye Piaopiao was from the Jade Lady Sect. Both had White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivation.


    Tao Ruping had good reason to select the two of them to take the vanguard with him. The rest had very low cultivations that did not even surpass White Lotus Fifth Grade, which made it difficult for them to directly face off a White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator. Only the three of them could endure such a force head-on.


    Everyone nodded. Tao Ruping, Wu Liu and Ye Piaopiao immediately surrounded Luo Shuangfei from three separate points, keeping him in the center. Then, the other five created anotheryer of encirclement around theirs.


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s forehead shone with a Ninth Grade White Lotus mark as he held his spear at an angle. The others also had white lotuses glowing from their foreheads as they began circting their transcendence energy. The dried grass on the ground began moving despite there not being any wind and was ripped to shreds by the transcendence energy to flutter about.


    Tao Ruping raised both his arms. Several scraping sounds could be heard as the four swords strapped to his back abruptly shot out. Two hovered over his shoulders and two next to his forearms. Then, four cold glints shot towards Luo Shuangfei.


    The Sword Deviate Sect was famous for its unique Sword Control Technique. The higher the cultivation, the more flying swords one was able to control.


    As soon as he made a move, the rest instantly followed suit and struck together.


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s eyes shed with a serious glint. He quickly spun his body around, the white glow on his spear artifact covered by the sun¡¯s rays. All that could be seen were a bunch of silver flowers as it struck out. In that single moment, one could have mistaken it as thousands of silver flowers instantly blooming to envelope his body and protect it.


    nking sounds could be heard as the ten flying swords flying towards him were knocked away. The three whipsshing through air to descend upon him were simrly knocked away. As it was difficult tounch long-range attacks with a scimitar, only Wu Liu, who went the closest, had struck down viciously but his attack was parried as well. There was still quite a gap between his and Luo Shuangfei¡¯s cultivation after all. What¡¯s more, Luo Shuangfei was using a first grade transcendent artifact. The scimitar in Wu Liu¡¯s hand was almost sent flying from the impact.


    It was almost instantaneous. Everyone¡¯s simultaneous attack was countered by Luo Shuangfei in the blink of an eye.


    Miao Yi silently nodded at the sight. ¡®This fellow¡¯s spear art is indeed rather impressive.¡¯


    On the other hand, Yuan Fang waspletely astounded. He never thought that a Loose Cultivator could actually have such an astonishing spear art. He had to admit that he himself would not be able to match that.


    Gongsun Yu took a deep breath. He had seen Miao Yi break out of an encirclement of two hundred men before, so he naturally knew that Miao Yi¡¯s spear art was impressive. However, he never thought that Miao Yi¡¯s subordinate would be this powerful as well, and could handle a group of enemies with simr ease.


    Being in the battle himself, Tao Ruping was stunned. Luo Shuangfei countered their joint attack in a single stroke. He immediately took advantage of the opening, narrowing his eyes on his target, then raised his spear and struck out.


    Tao Ruping hastily called back the two flying swords that were first knocked away and tried to block the strike. However, Luo Shuangfei¡¯s spearhead was like a dragonfly gently dipping on water¡ªhe swept it across and knocked the flying swords away once more. The force behind his spear did not lessen in the least as it continued its original course.


    Tao Ruping grabbed the two other flying swords anxiously, and cut towards the approaching serrated spearhead in panic.


    However, the spearhead mysteriously blurred, then came up under the two swords that were slicing at it before shing back like a venomous snake. Tao Ruping had yet to even understand what had happened. All he could feel was a sudden pain at his neck.


    Luo Shuangfei didn¡¯t even bother looking as he quickly retracted his spear, and unleashed another flurry of piercing strikes. Several nging sounds rang out as he knocked back the chaotic strikes around him once more.


    Only now did everyone notice a spurt of blood gushing out of Tao Ruping¡¯s neck. His footsteps staggered as his eyes widened in disbelief. His two swords fell to the ground as his hands tightly clutched onto his bleeding neck.


    After countering all their attacks, Luo Shuangfei flipped his hand around and struck out again. A cold glint sank right into Tao Ruping¡¯s head. Clods of reddish-white brain paste instantly burst out. Then, Luo Shuangfei swiftly retracted his spear and struck at the others once more.


    Seeing Tao Ruping lose his life on the spot and fall to the ground, Gongsun Yu pointed towards him in shock. ¡®Didn¡¯t we say that it was a spar? Why did you kill someone?¡¯


    However, before he could say the words, he immediately recalled that he himself mentioned that there would always be idents during spars.


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s viciously cunning and bafflingly unpredictable spear art was filled with an evil aura. With the strongest Tao Ruping out of the way, the cold glint of his spear was like a vile snake in hiding¡ªalways ready to ambush the enemy. He immediately threw the rest into a panicked scramble. No one dared to let him approach and everyone anxiously tried to defend themselves. The pressure from their joint attacks was instantly broken and lost.

 Chapter 275: Merciless Slaughter

    Chapter 275: Merciless ughter


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    As soon as their party fell into disorder, that serrated edge became all the more ruthless in its ughter. In the blink of an eye, another was stabbed right in the mouth by the serrated edge; the sharp spearhead protruded out of the back of his head, before being quickly retracted and directed towards the others once more.


    The ones in battle werepletely terrified. The Jade Lady Sect disciples immediately disyed their skills, and snapped their nine-jointed whips around. Numerous small openings were visible on the steel body and with every attack, it let loose a cacophony of cries¡ª ¡®Wuuwuu ...¡¯ ¡ªmaking those who heard it feel dizzy.


    Even Miao Yi and the others to the side felt their minds bing befuddled. They quickly invoked their arts to guard against it. Luo Shuangfei was obviously affected as well, his spear strikes began to waver. He was losing his bnce and was in a dangerous position.


    " STOP! " A female voice rang out from the foot of the mountain. A silhouette was rushing over. It was none other than Hong Mian.


    Back in Long Viridescent Cave, Hong Mian suddenly heard the sound of battle and had a bad premonition, so she immediately followed it here. It turned out she did find the two parties battling.


    With the cries from the cracking of the whip muddling everyone¡¯s minds, who could spare the time to listen to her?


    As she rushed over, Hong Mian realized something was off. Her mind was also being befuddled. She quickly invoked her arts to protect her mind.


    With his arts invoked and on guard against the cries, Gongsun Yu¡¯s eyes brightened. He pretended like he couldn¡¯t hear Hong Mian¡¯s shouting for the moment as he caught a glimpse of victory. He had to at least wait until his own subordinate killed Miao Yi¡¯s subordinate before deciding to stop.


    Miao Yi and Yuan Fang silently cursed. The three major sects indeed had some tricks up their sleeves. They were about to head in and assist, when they suddenly heard a clear ringing sounds.


    The cries that confused one¡¯s mind was gone. The tail of Luo Shuangfei¡¯s spear suddenly had a string of purple bells attached to it that was continuously ringing.


    One normally wouldn¡¯t feel much of a sensation when listening to the sound of these bells. However, right then, the ringing felt quite pleasant to the ears and was extremely refreshing to the mind.


    Once he regained control of the situation, Luo Shuangfei immediately struck out at the culprit, Ye Piaopiao without hesitation¡ªwith his spear giving off a viciously cunning aura.


    Ye Piaopiao was quite surprised. She quickly pulled her whip back, wishing to entangle the encroaching de with it.


    However, the serrated edge suddenly swept across and drew a bloody arc across both of Ye Piaopiao¡¯s arms.


    It was not a deep cut. Even through the others could barely notice anything, Ye Piaopiao could feel an intense and unbearable pain in her wrists. She knew that her muscles were already torn apart by this ruthless bastard.


    Pressured by the opponent¡¯s transcendence energy and no able to longer retain her grasp on the nine-jointed whip, Ye Piaopiao dropped it and turned tail to run.


    However, the unpredictable spear struck her and pierced through her heart, sending blood gushing out of her chest.


    With a cold, indifferent expression, Luo Shuangfei didn¡¯t even bother giving her another look. After sessfullynding the strike, he quickly drew his spear back and attacked the others. Amidst the shing cold glints, three others fell in the blink of an eye.


    " What do you both think you¡¯re doing!? " shouted Hong Mian. Seeing six people had already fallen to the ground, Hong Mian red at Miao Yi and Gongsun Yu. "Are you still not going to ask your men to stop?"


    "Cave Master Gongsun was the one who requested to spar," said Miao Yi, immediately pushing all responsibility onto Gongsun Yu.


    "You..." started Gongsun Yu. He couldn¡¯t exin himself either but just then, his eyes started to shine again as he looked towards the battlefield.


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression had also turned serious. Hong Mian quickly turned to look as well.


    They saw that Wu Liu had taken the chance to tap on the beast sack by his waist. With a ¡®Whoosh!¡¯ , over a hundred odd-looking ck bats rose to the sky. They had sharp fangs and ws, and on their heads was a sharp horn. Carrying a fishy stench, they screeched as they circled around in the sky above the battlefield. When Wu Liu pursed his lips and whistled, the bats suddenly dived ferociously towards Luo Shuangfei from every direction.


    "Not good!" Yuan Fang shouted, "The School of Imperial Beasts¡¯ Heart-Devouring Bats!"


    As someone who was also from a sect in the cultivation realm, he was very clear about what these creatures were.


    The Heart-Devouring Bat was named as such precisely because it eats the hearts of men and animals alike. Its speed is abnormally fast and its piercing power is astounding. The sharp horn on its head is able to prate transcendence energy shields. The transcendence energy shields of those below Red Lotus realm are not able to guard against them at all. They could pierce through a body in a single dive and devour the heart. Furthermore, they were also venomous. Truly vicious creatures indeed.


    Yuan Fang never expected Wu Liu to be carrying such ghastly creatures with him. It seemed this Wu Liu had some background in the School of Imperial Beasts. A normal disciple of the School of Imperial Beasts would not have something like this. If it were him, Yuan Fang had to admit that even he would not be able to defend against the attacks of the Heart-Devouring Bats.


    "Milord. Save him quick!"¡ªYuan Fang secretly transmitted the message. Miao Yi could tell that something was off from how anxious Yuan Fang sounded, and immediately shed out the Inversed-Scales Spear.


    Gongsun Yu narrowed his eyes and immediately eximed, "Miao Yi. We agreed that there would be no helping."


    "Rubbish! Who said that you can¡¯t help in a spar!?" Miao Yi immediately denied. He couldn¡¯t care less about the rules right now. His gaze met Yuan Fang¡¯s; they were both about to join hands and strike back¡ªbut on seeing the situation on the battlefield, they were stunned once again.


    As the Heart-Devouring Bats all rushed towards Luo Shuangfei from every direction, he suddenly raised his spear and spun his body around. Amidst the ringing of the bells, he flicked hisrge sleeves¡ªa fiendish ck smoke suddenly billowed out, enveloping his entire body within it.


    Those Heart-Devouring Bats that dived into the ck smoke immediately screeched in agony; their sharp cries piercing through their ears. They quickly shot out from the ck smoke, desperately pping their wings as they anxiously tried to escape. However, they didn¡¯t manage to fly far before they started dropping to the ground one after another.


    Those that had yet to dive in also shrieked, looking as though they had seen a ghost when they saw the ck smoke. Terrified that they would not be able to avoid it, they didn¡¯t even dare approach and immediately beat their wings to fly off in a panic.


    The Heart-Devouring Bats that fell, were iling about on the ground because of the poison. Then for some reason, they began screeching in agony. Their whole bodies started rotting away one by one and released a terrible odor. It was a sight that made one¡¯s skin crawl.


    In a moment, over sixty Heart-Devouring Bats had melted into ck liquid pools and white foaming bubbles. The stench was absolutely putrid.


    Gongsun Yu, his two handmaidens behind him and even Hong Mian were dumbstruck.


    The expressions on Miao Yi and Yuan Fang¡¯s faces twitched as they nced at one another.


    As for the one who released the Heart-Devouring Bats, Wu Liu was dumbfounded. Something struck his memory and he cried out, " The ck Rakshasa! "


    The ck smoke billowing about the area quickly shrank. Luo Shuangfei appeared right where he initially stood with his spear angled off to the side. The ck smoke swiftly plunged into hisrge sleeves. He stared at Wu Liu and scoffed, "A bunch of devious tricks. This Lord has seen at least three thousand, if not ten thousand of them. To actually dare try to fool this Lord with such mediocre skills. DIE! "


    He lifted his spear and started rushing forward.


    Wu Liu came back to his senses and revealed an expression of horror. He turned to run, hollering, " SAVE ME, CAVE MASTER! "


    How could he outrun Luo Shuangfei with his cultivation? Without a dragon steed to assist him, Luo Shuangfei caught up to him in an instant. Wu Liu twisted his body around and struck with his sword, but his sword froze in mid-air¡ªa cold glint had already pierced through his neck.


    As the serrated edge was pulled back, it almost tore his entire neck off.


    A wicked air hung about his whole body after killing the others without so much as blinking. Luo Shuangfei abruptly turned his head to cast a cold re at the remaining enemy. It was a Sword Deviate Sect disciple with a White Lotus Third Grade cultivation. As his cultivation was too low, he had been hiding at the other edge of the encirclement all this while. Thus, he was able to survive until now.


    When he felt Luo Shuangfei¡¯s cold gaze sweep across his body, he trembled heavily. Like the others, he immediately fled straight towards Gongsun Yu. Since he knew that he couldn¡¯t win, how could he dare to face the battle?


    Luo Shuangfei raked his serrated spear across the ground and thrust it forward. A formless, corporeal transcendence energy rolled out and crashed into that person¡¯s back. He instantly spat out blood and was thrown to the ground from the impact.


    ¡®Whoosh!¡¯ Luo Shuangfei threw out the serrated spear¡ª ¡®Splurt¡¯ ¡ªit instantly pierced his back and went through his heart.


    The disciple was bleeding from his mouth and nose. He tried to lift his head to look where Gongsun Yu was standing on the mountain. He reached out his hand, spitting out another mouthful of blood as he did so, as if still imploring to be rescued.


    Yet Luo Shuangfei abruptly dashed over and stomped on his head, burying it straight into the ground¡ªnot even giving him the final chance to call out for help.


    Luo Shuangfei reached out and grabbed the spear that was embedded in his back, then wrenched it out. The inverted edge of the spearhead pulled out flesh and blood with it as it was retracted, dripping all over with blood.


    From Long Viridescent Cave, eight cultivators had joined hands in battle, but they all lost their lives to his serrated spear. He did not let even a single one go. It was a merciless ughter!


    Even Gongsun Yu, his two handmaidens, and Hong Mian¡¯s expressions twisted at the sight of such brutality.


    Keeping his Inversed-Scales Spear away, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help rubbing his nose as heughed bitterly to himself. This bastard Luo Shuangfei was at times listless, at times ruthless, and sometimes he was so ignorant that it was maddening to watch. Sometimes he was easily bullied, and at other times, he would cry for almost no reason at all like a woman and made others feel sorry for him. He was also quite lecherous, and looked so weird and ugly that one had no way to describe what he was like at all. Miao Yi could feel a wicked auraing off Luo Shuangfei¡¯s body. He had no idea what kind of oddball he had recruited.


    Miao Yi thought¡ª ¡®Even thoughst night I said that you don¡¯t need to hold back once we fought, you didn¡¯t need to be so ruthless, right? This was still under the pretense of a ¡®spar¡¯ after all, but you made it look like a massacre. Wouldn¡¯t Gongsun Yu immediately know I was intentionally setting him up then? You didn¡¯t even leave a single way for me to find an excuse.¡¯


    That being said, considering Luo Shuangfei¡¯s history as a thief, Miao Yi found his actions understandable.


    Before he recruited Luo Shuangfei, Miao Yi already knew that this bastard was extremely ruthless. Not only did he steal, he would kill everyone regardless of gender. Hepletely didn¡¯t understand the meaning of mercy. As though once you were within his grasp, it was logical to kill you. It was evident from the scene that just yed out before him that this fellow didn¡¯t think very much of killing others. Miao Yi didn¡¯t know where he got such a vile temperament from¡ª ¡®Are all thieves like this?¡¯


    Yet in the end, after witnessing Luo Shuangfei¡¯s skills today, Miao Yi deeply felt that it had been worth it to recruit this fellow!


    Yuan Fang took a deep breath as he stared at Luo Shuangfei, andughed bitterly to himself. This Tao Ruping had been courting his own death. If he had allowed Yuan Fang to step up to battle earlier, then he and the others might not have ended up like this.


    After witnessing this battle, Yuan Fang thought¡ª ¡®The three major sects live true to their name indeed. Against the confusion caused by that strange whip of the Jade Lady Sect alone, I would definitely have lost my concentration and have a hard time dealing with it, much less against the Heart-Devouring Bats. If I were the one to step up just now, I definitely would have lost. It wasn¡¯t without reason that Tao Ruping and the rest dared to offend a Blue Lotus cultivator such as myself. They truly did have the rights to be boastful.¡¯


    s, Tao Ruping could not have made a more terrible choice. He thought that Luo Shuangfei, the White Lotus Ninth Grade, was easy to bully, but it turned out that Luo Shuangfei was incredibly cunning. His cultivation was not high, but he specialized in countering all sorts of tricks. Tao Ruping had more or less sent himself to his own death at the hands of Luo Shuangfei.


    Yuan Fang finally understood. No wonder Miao Yi was always been so lenient on this Luo Shuangfei in the past. He was indeed someone capable, and deserved Miao Yi¡¯s good treatment of him.


    Luo Shuangfei invoked his arts and cleaned the bloodstains off the serrated edge of his spear with a shake. Then, he moved back to Miao Yi¡¯s side and cupped his fists at him, before obediently moving to stand behind him and became listless once again.

 Chapter 276: A Stumble to Prevent a Fall

    Chapter 276: A Stumble to Prevent a Fall


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Luo Shuangfei was indeed quite listless. Ever since he was chased out from Miao Yi¡¯s residence, he had be lethargic.


    However, in the eyes of Gongsun Yu, he was simply acting weak to deceive the strong, and it was all part of Miao Yi¡¯s n to set him up. Gongsun Yu now understood that he had fallen for Miao Yi¡¯s trap.


    "What do you two think you are doing?" Hong Mian asked icily.


    She directed the question to both of them, but her gaze was sternly locked onto Miao Yi¡¯s face. The total number of cultivators registered in Long Viridescent Cave was eleven, including Gongsun Yu. Miao Yi¡¯s subordinate killed off eight of them just like that. If two more were killed, Long Viridescent Cave would have bepletely barren with but a lone member.


    Hong Mian did not need to make much of a guess to realize that Miao Yi¡¯s actions were intentional, as she already knew the underlying reason. She was quite outraged that even with her presence in Long Viridescent Cave, Miao Yi still dared to do such a thing. He didn¡¯t hold her with any regard at all! And if he made light of her, that meant he was making light of Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei as well, because she was sent over by Qin Weiwei precisely to mediate.


    Miao Yiughed dryly. "Elder Auntie. We were sparring and made a wager on it. I told Cave Master Gongsun that he could pick any one of my subordinates to fight, and that his subordinates would not be able to win even if they joined hands. He didn¡¯t believe me, and made a wager of two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will with me. The result is obvious¡ªI won."


    Hong Mian abruptly turned to re at Gongsun Yu. "Cave Master Gongsun. Is this true?"


    "Miao Yi! You set me up! I did agree to the spar, but I didn¡¯t say that you could kill anyone!" Gongsun Yu was furious. Most of his subordinates were killed, and he was almost reduced to a lonely Cave Master of a barren Cave.


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression changed as he said in an icy tone, "Gongsun Yu. Don¡¯t treat me like a fool. Who was it just now who assumed that he would win because he was bullying the few with the many? Who was it just now who said that idents aremon during spars? Yet you still dare to provoke me with your words. Do you finally feel regretful now?"


    "You¡ª!" Gongsun Yu was lost for words.


    Hong Mian looked at Gongsun Yu in astonishment. ¡®Didn¡¯t you ask the Mountain Chieftain to step in and mediate precisely because you were afraid of the other person? Yet you still dared to provoke him?¡¯


    Hong Mian would not believe Miao Yi¡¯s nonsense so easily. She immediately pointed at the two handmaidens and ordered in a prating voice, "The two of you. Exin to me what just happened. If I find out that you¡¯re hiding something, don¡¯t me me for being discourteous!" She would not believe just one side of the story, and wanted to see it from every angle.


    The two handmaidens panicked and turned to look at Gongsun Yu. Hong Mian immediately cast him a cold re and said, "Cave Master Gongsun!"


    Gongsun Yu quietly nodded, and his two handmaidens immediately exined what had happened in a meek manner.


    Naturally, they sided with Gongsun Yu and avoided mentioning some parts of the story that were disadvantageous to him.


    However, Miao Yi was standing right beside them. Obviously, he would remind them and ask them questions like¡ª"It seems you two forgot to mention something?"¡ªevery so often.


    Hong Mian immediately asked, "Did you?"


    The two handmaidens quietly looked towards Gongsun Yu. They didn¡¯t dare to make a sound. Hong Mian immediately shouted, "Did you or did you not? Answer me!"


    Once they finally exined the entire situation, even Gongsun Yu realized how dumb he was. He broke out in cold sweat as he hastily exined, "Elder Auntie. This is a plot that Miao Yi devised!"


    Hong Mian wanted tough in exasperation. ¡®What¡¯s the point of you understanding this now!? How could I not know that Miao Yi intentionally devised this scheme to stir up trouble? However, if you didn¡¯t let your greed get the better of you, how could you have fallen for it? With my presence here, Miao Yi obviously wouldn¡¯t do anything hasty. That was why he had to employ such a roundabout method. If you had endured it, the matter would have ended just like that. But you had to be so stupid to think that you could even beat him with numbers and take advantage of him. If you could win against Miao Yi so easily, why did you need the Mountain Chieftain to mediate? Not only did you fall into the other person¡¯s trap of your own ord, you even dared to taunt him, and allowed him to be in the right, ultimately letting it escte into a spar between the both of you. What¡¯s more, you even mentioned to him that idents would always ur during spars prior to the battle. Aren¡¯t you just handing yourself over to him on a silver tter then? You¡¯ve already set the rules and agreed on everything beforehand. What¡¯s the point of having me say anything then?¡¯


    ¡® Fortunately, the Mountain Chieftain was wise enough to not ept the pursuits of an idiot like you. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t I also have to serve a damn fool like you?¡¯ Hong Mian thought disdainfully andughed out of anger. She turned her head to the side, tired of speaking on the matter anymore. She was utterly infuriated by Gongsun Yu.


    "Ahem!" Miao Yi coughed, then took out a jade archive and said, "Cave Master Gongsun. I know as well as you that you aren¡¯t able to take out two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will in a single stroke. We can divide it up to ten years. However, wouldn¡¯t it be best to first sign a Commandment of Conformity?"


    Yuan Fang stifled aughter. ¡®Only Milord is capable of doing something like this. It would be impossible for Yan Xiu. How refreshing it is to vent this frustration!¡¯


    "Miao Yi. You set me up on purpose!" repeated Gongsun Yu. His body quivering from rage; however, he was at fault as well and didn¡¯t know what else to say.


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression darkened at his words. He threw him a murderous re and said, "Cave Master Gongsun sure knows how to make a good bargain. If I lost, nothing would happen to you. Now that I have won, you wish to annul our wager. You don¡¯t wish to suffer any loss at all. Do you think I am such a pushover?"


    Pressured by his vicious re, Gongsun Yu¡¯s heart thumped, and he turned to look at the two men behind Miao Yi. Just one of his subordinates was enough to challenge his entire Long Viridescent Cave... He was absolutely regretful now. He didn¡¯t know what hade over him for him to offend Yan Xiust time.


    "Elder Auntie!" Gongsun Yu shot a beseeching gaze at Hong Mian. It would be a lie if he said he wasn¡¯t afraid after seeing the murderous re from Miao Yi. Not all the men of East Arrival Cave had arrived yet¡ªonly three were here. Yet he couldn¡¯t defend against any one of these three before him at all.


    ¡®You¡¯ve already made all the decisions. What do you still need me for?¡¯ Hong Mian was enraged and really wished she could wash her hands off the matter and leave. However, Gongsun Yu was absolutely loyal to Qin Weiwei. Not only did he risk his life to save her back then, he was also Yang Qing¡¯s trusted aide once. If she really were to allow Gongsun Yu to sign the contract like this, then the Orbs of Will that Long Viridescent Cave would earn in the next ten years, would all be given to Miao Yi. When that happens, who would be willing to serve under Long Viridescent Cave? Gongsun Yu would also have to forget about being a Cave Master anymore. He wouldn¡¯t be able to anyway.


    "Miao Yi. You¡¯ve already killed so many of his men. You will be going too far if you continue to cause any trouble!" Hong Mian reprimanded.


    Now that Hong Mian had spoken up, it wouldn¡¯t be wise to continue causing trouble. Miao Yi slowly tucked away the jade archive in his hand. "Out of respect for Elder Auntie, and since she is here to bear witness, we don¡¯t have to sign the Commandment of Conformity. However, I¡¯ll keep those two hundred Orbs of Will in mind for now."


    Even though they didn¡¯t sign the Commandment of Conformity, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t just leave the two hundred Orbs of Will aside either. If Gongsun Yu were to suddenly be rebellious one day, he woulde to reim his debt.


    ¡®This bastard.¡¯ Hong Mian could feel her head ache a little. She didn¡¯t know what to say about Gongsun Yu either. ¡®You can¡¯t win against the other person in terms of strength, and you even lost to him when ites to scheming. Yet you still dared to offend East Arrival Cave. Do you not have anything better to do!?¡¯


    After something like this, Miao Yi naturally wouldn¡¯t continue to dawdle any longer. Hong Mian wouldn¡¯t let him either. She had to hurry back and make her report as well.


    Before he left, Miao Yi sat on his dragon steed and openly said, "Gongsun Yu. Whenever I meet an opponent that isn¡¯t my match, they would only be able to endure, avoid, or make apromise. However, you¡¯ve got some guts. Despite knowing fully well that you cannot win against me, you still dared to lord over the head of my East Arrival Cave. Let this be a lesson to you. If you make the same mistake again, I won¡¯t let you off so easily! Hmph!"


    He then departed Long Viridescent Cave alongside Hong Mian.


    On the main road, they were about to go their separate ways when Hong Mian asked, "Miao Yi. You just killed so many men of Long Viridescent Cave. Don¡¯t you think you should be apanying me back to Mount Calming Sea and exin to the Mountain Chieftain?"


    "Elder Auntie. The facts are right before you. Why do you need me to exin any further?"


    "You sure phrased it nicely! You and I both know what actually transpired."


    "Elder Auntie. I have always been an advocate of the truth. I can¡¯t do anything if you wish to make random assumptions."


    Even though Miao Yi believed he was in the right, he still felt a little guilty. It was better not to head to Mount Calming Sea.


    Eventually, both parties went their separate ways at a crossroad. Miao Yi cupped his fists and bid farewell, then watched as the three steeds disappeared. After that, he turned around and smiled, "Luo Shuangfei. You did well this time. I will remember this deed of yours."


    "Oh!" Luo Shuangfei gave a short response, then returned to his usual silent self.


    Yuan Fang also smiled, "Brother Luo is truly outstanding. If it were me back there, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t even be able to withstand the techniques of the three major sects. It won¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that Brother Luo is the number one expert of East Arrival Cave."


    Luo Shuangfei thought¡ª ¡®If I was the number one expert of East Arrival Cave, I wouldn¡¯t even be here.¡¯ He was a little depressed, and said, "I am but a defeated opponent of Milord. I wouldn¡¯t dare hope to be the number one expert of East Arrival Cave."


    "Uhh...." Yuan Fang looked at Miao Yi in stupor and shot him an inquisitive gaze. He didn¡¯t know of the process by which Miao Yi recruited Luo Shuangfei.


    Miao Yi revealed a faint smile, and didn¡¯t say anything else. Then, he waved his hand and said, "Let¡¯s go back."


    The three dragon steeds bolted away in a thunderous gallop once more. Yuan Fang still carried an expression of curiosity. Given the skills that Luo Shuangfei disyed, he was obviously not using his full strength. It didn¡¯t require much effort for him to kill those eight disciples. Even though Yuan Fang¡¯s own cultivation was a realm higher than Luo Shuangfei, he himself believed that it would be difficult for him to win against Luo Shuangfei. At the same time, he believed that he was stronger than Miao Yi. ¡®How did Luo Shuangfei lose to Miao Yi? Could he have hidden some kind of trick?¡¯


    In truth, things were indeed so. Back when the eight disciples from the three major sects joined hands, Yuan Fang would have definitely been disadvantaged if it were him fighting. However, if it was a straightforward battle of strength, Yuan Fang¡¯s cultivation was evident. At best, Miao Yi would only be able to bring the fight to a stalemate by relying on his full set of transcendent artifacts. It would be very difficult for him to win against Yuan Fang. Avoiding to fight a Blue Lotus expert was the irondw.


    However, Yuan Fang¡¯s cultivation was useless against Luo Shuangfei, and might not even be able to prate the defenses of his armor artifact. Without taking into ount of any other factors, Luo Shuangfei only needed to summon his purple marten to deal with Yuan Fang.


    However, whether it was Luo Shuangfei¡¯s ck Rakshasa or purple marten, though they may be useful against other opponents, these devious tricks werepletely useless against Miao Yi. In the end, he was only able to fight normally. That being said, when it came to a normal fight, that rather impressive spear art of his was unable to defeat Miao Yi as well. Ultimately, it ended with him losing terribly against Miao Yi instead.


    Hence, not only Yuan Fang had been unable to understand; even Luo Shuangfei, who excitedly lead a bunch of Loose Cultivators into plunder but was eventually defeated and recruited by Miao Yi, found it very vexing as well.


    Basically in East Arrival Cave, Yuan Fang¡¯s cultivation was able to suppress Miao Yi; Luo Shuangfei¡¯s techniques were able to suppress Yuan Fang; and Miao Yi¡¯s skills were able to suppress Luo Shuangfei. Who knew whether this was a vicious spiral, or a virtuous one....


    Night-time, East Arrival Cave ¡ª Situated in one of the caves nearby, Yao Ruoxian was sketching variousplicated designs on the stone wall. He would asionally draw a couple strokes on the stone wall, while other times stroking his beard in deep thought. Amidst his contemtion, his ears slightly twitched, and he abruptly turned to look at the outside of the cave.


    "Why do so many things keep happening to this tiny East Arrival Cave?" said Yao Ruoxian, furrowing his brows. With a sweep of his giant sleeve, he stowed away the tiny fellows that were chewing on white crystals on the stone couch. Then, he flew out the cave.


    Under the starry night sky, he descended onto the courtyard of the Cave Master¡¯s residential quarters, and shouted, "Girls,e out quick."

 Chapter 277: Another Bloodbath

    Chapter 277: Another Bloodbath


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were in cultivating in their own rooms when they heard Yao Ruoxian¡¯s voice. They quickly stopped circting their transcendence energy, opened the door and walked out.


    "Teacher. Is something the matter?" Qian¡¯Er asked curiously.


    Yao Ruoxian shook his head, and said, "I¡¯m afraid trouble ising to this abominable East Arrival Cave. You two should leave with me."


    The girls shared a nce and asked, "What kind of trouble?"


    Yao Ruoxian pointed about, "Arge force is surrounding East Arrival Cave. There is a high chance that they are nning to attack this ce. The two of you should follow me into hiding."


    "AH!" The girls were shocked. They perked their ears up to listen, but they couldn¡¯t hear anything. However, they knew there was a big gap between theirs and Yao Ruoxian¡¯s cultivation. Additionally, it was much better to believe that something like this was true rather than not.


    Still shocked, the two exchanged a nce, then nodded. They began to shout a warning, "ENEMY AMBUSH! ENEMY AMBUSH!"


    Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t stop them. He knew that it was normal for them to sound the rms. If they didn¡¯t, it would mean that they were leaving the numerous lives of East Arrival Cave to their own demise.


    The two girls invoked their arts and shouted a few more times. The cultivators of East Arrival Cave were naturally familiar with their voices and immediately responded. In a short while, the men gathered their dragon steeds and galloped towards the source of the shouts.


    Yan Xiu quickly rode his steed over. He didn¡¯t concern himself with formalities at a time like this and leapt with his dragon steed,nding directly within the Cave Master¡¯s residential quarters. He was surprised at first to see Yao Ruoxian. He never knew the identity of this mysterious old man, only that Miao Yi was quite afraid of him.


    He quickly asked the two girls, "Elder Auntie. Little Auntie. What happened?"


    The two girls immediately repeated Yao Ruoxian¡¯s words. Yan Xiu was stunned. He hadn¡¯t heard any sign of movement. He turned to ask Yao Ruoxian, "Sir. Is this true?"


    Yao Ruoxian rolled his eyes at him. However, knowing that the situation was grave, he didn¡¯t beat around the bush and immediately gave a warning. "There are at least two hundred steeds. At the moment, they are starting to approach from every corner at a breakneck pace. However, the they casted was too wide and has yet to fully close. Thus, the gap in the southwest corner is slightlyrger than the rest. Take advantage of this and charge out immediately from the there, and you might still have a chance."


    Yan Xiu would rather choose to believe in such matters than not. After all, it was better to be prepared beforehand than to lie in wait. Yan Xiu immediately said to the three of them, "Then you must quickly follow us in breaking through the encirclement."


    Yao Ruoxian shook his hand and said, "You all should go on your own. Just leave the safety of the two girls to me."


    Yan Xiu wasn¡¯t aware of Yao Ruoxian¡¯s abilities, so he hesitated for a moment. The two girls quickly said, "Teacher Yan. We will be fine in the old senior¡¯s hands. You shouldn¡¯t waste anymore time."


    Seeing the two say so with such confidence, Yan Xiu realized this mysterious, shabby old man must definitely be extraordinary. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t cause Miao Yi to be so fearful of him.


    "Alright then. Take care, Elder Auntie. Little Auntie. Don¡¯t forget to send a message if you need help." Yan Xiu nodded. Given the urgency of the situation, it wouldn¡¯t do him good to hesitate any longer. He immediately rode his dragon steed and jumped out the courtyard.


    Lai Yuhan was stationed outside when he vaguely heard themotion, and his expression instantly changed.


    "There is arge forceing to assault us. Follow me to break past the encirclement from the southwest corner!" Yan Xiu shouted to the men gathered outside. He swung the broadaxe in his hand and led everyone towards the southwest corner at a gallop.


    The speed of the dragon steeds were really too quick. Previously, only Yao Ruoxian could hear them. Then Lai Yuhan could and now, almost everyone could hear them.


    Under the night sky, a spirit eagle pped its wings and flew off. Carrying another caged eagle on their backs, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er rushed to the astronomical tform and gazed into the distance. Seeing Yan Xiu quickly leading the men off, the two suddenly leapt outside the courtyard.


    Yao Ruoxian was stroking his shaggy beard when he heard them make a move and turned to look. He immediately chased after them and with a flick of his sleeves, stopped them outside. "Where are you two going?"


    "They left too hurriedly. Those sisters have yet to be ced in a safe location. We have to hide them." Qian¡¯Er anxiously said.


    The two girls couldn¡¯t forget the sight of those handmaidens brutally hung, naked on the ruined beams the previous time. They didn¡¯t wish for the current handmaidens to follow in their footsteps.


    "Silly girls. There¡¯s no time." Disregarding whether or not they both agreed, Yao Ruoxian swept hisrge sleeves, and two rays of light enveloped around the two before shooting straight into the sky.


    It was none other than Xiong Xiao who hade to surround East Arrival Cave with his forces.


    Xiong Xiao, Tu Sanliang of the Sword Deviate Sect, Lan Ye of the Jade Lady Sect, and Ma Hu of the School of Imperial Beasts. These four Blue Lotus First Grade cultivators each led an army of men and quickly enclosed the area from four separate directions.


    Since the men of East Arrival Cave were able to hear themotion outside, the ones surrounding them could naturally hear the movements of the men from East Arrival Cave as well.


    The southwest corner that the men of East Arrival Cave were heading towards, was exactly the gap between Tu Sanliang and Lan Ye. As soon as the two noticed their movements, they immediately deduced that East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces were intending to escape. However, they were unsure as to how East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces managed to know of their assault ahead of time. Even they themselves only just received word that Xiong Xiao was nning to attack East Arrival Cave once they reached here. There shouldn¡¯t be any chance for an information leak prior to that.


    Even though the two of them were in two separate locations, they both issued amand at almost the same time and led half their troops over to stop East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces.


    Under the moonlight, Yan Xiu and his men saw two forces ahead of them, up to about fifty men were approaching from two sides to block their charge. Wielding a pair of broad axes in his hands, Yan Xiu gave an absolutely ferocious bellow, " KILL! "


    The men behind him all readied their swords and spears. Every one had a sombre expression¡ªthey knew it was time to fight for their lives. They followed behind Yan Xiu in a furious charge.


    At the foremost of the right army, Tu Sanliang shouted, "Sword Deviate Sect disciples. Sword Formation!"


    As he raised his arms, the six long swords strapped to his back sliced through the air as they shot upwards. Then, six cold glints shot viciously towards Yan Xiu at the forefront.


    The chain wrapped around Yan Xiu¡¯s arm suddenly emitted a white glow and loosened up. He released one of the broad axes and spun it around using the chain attached to it. The broad axe spun so quickly that not even wind could get past it.


    A crisp nging rang out¡ªhe actually managed to block the assault from Tu Sanliang¡¯s six flying swords!


    Even so, Yan Xiu¡¯s arms were a little numb from the impact. Tu Sanliang¡¯s cultivation was higher than his after all. Fortunately, the pair of broad axes gifted by Miao Yi to Yan Xiu was a first grade transcendent artifact. Otherwise, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to block the strikes.


    However, even if he managed to block Tu Sanliang¡¯s attack, he couldn¡¯t defend against so many Sword Deviate Sect disciples at the same time. The Sword Deviate Sect disciples from the left and right armies had all already released their flying swords and sent them slicing over.


    Over a hundred flying swords rained down upon them like a storm. Even if Yan Xiu could block the front, he couldn¡¯t guard against the sides. East Arrival Cave forces iled their weapons about in panic as they rushed to block the attacks from the sides.


    Dragons steeds neighed and their members screamed in agony. Some had already fallen among the East Arrival Cave¡¯s forces.


    Both sides instantly charged into one another and began a bloody brawl. Wearing a silver muslin, Lan Ye snapped her whip¡ª ¡®ng!¡¯ ¡ªwrapping it around Yan Xiu¡¯s chained axes and holding him back.


    Lai Yuhan ughtered his way out from the sides and flicked Lan Ye¡¯s whip away with his spear, returning Yan Xiu his freedom. As long as any of the men from East Arrival Cave were still alive, they immediately followed behind Lai Yuhan; assembling together and risking their all to charge forward and out of the encirclement.


    Standing on a gigantic treetop in the distance Yao Ruoxian hid in the canopy along with the two girls he abducted. Keeping his eyes shut, he listened closely to themotion and slowly shook his head. "It seems they¡¯ve been stopped. I¡¯m afraid their chances of survival are slim now."


    East Arrival Cave ¡ª Xiong Xiao and Ma Hu¡¯s forces had already reached East Arrival Cave and were galloping around the ce, searching around. A few dozen handmaidens were trembling in horror as they were brought over and gathered together.


    Even though he could hear the sound of battle from the other end, Xiong Xiao still shouted at the girls, "Where is Miao Yi? For those hiding any information, only death awaits!"


    How could these frail girls withstand the intimidation? Those that knew immediately stuttered, "I heard from the Master that he has gone to Mount Calming Sea!"


    " Mount Calming Sea? Argh!! " Xiong Xiao raised his head and roared. He almost spat out blood. He came here with such a force precisely to eliminate that bastard, but he actually wasn¡¯t here!


    He continued to interrogate the girls, but they didn¡¯t provide any different answers. In his fury, Xiong Xiao pointed to the girls and uttered a single word¡ª" KILL! "


    The girls begged and wailed but dozens of flying swords swooped in and impaled them. The girls died screaming in agony, their bodies twitching in their own pools of blood. The stench of blood instantly enveloped the area, causing the two handmaidens behind Xiong Xiao to turn pale from the horror.


    "Ma Hu! Search the area thoroughly. Don¡¯t miss any clues, not even at the bottom of the rocks. I don¡¯t wish to see anyone alive from East Arrival Cave. Soak everything all in blood!" Xiong Xiaomanded. Then, he signalled with his hand and said, "The rest of you. Follow me and eliminate the retreating enemy!"


    He still couldn¡¯t believe in such a coincidence. He had attacked with such a great force, but Miao Yi just so happened to have gone to Mount Calming Sea. He quickly led his troops over to the scene of battle, still carrying a trace of hope.


    Ma Hu tapped on the beast sack around his waist. About ten pudgy long-nosed rats with red snouts dropped to the ground. After Ma Hu squeaked a couple times, their noses twitched as they began sniffing around and started searching for clues. As long as someone was still hiding, it would be difficult to escape their noses.


    The group of men continued to search around the vicinity of East Arrival Cave.


    Presently, as they surrounded the enemy, Tu Sanliang and Lan Ye were both astounded and frustrated. They finally understood why a mere East Arrival Cave had been so bold as to assault Mount Shaotai previously and sent Xiong Xiao packing. They were truly too ferocious.


    East Arrival Cave¡¯sbat strength was nothing short of savage. Their strengthy in ignoring everything else and banding together to create a sharp charging force that was absolutely terrifying. Their synergy was quite good as well, as though it wasn¡¯t the first time they were using such a knife-like charging formation. What¡¯s more, they were all experts above White Lotus Fifth Grade. If it wasn¡¯t for the overwhelmingly destructive force of the Sword Deviate Sect¡¯s flying swords, even Tu Sanliang and Lan Ye wouldn¡¯t dare to forcefully block the powerful charge of this pack of dragon steeds.


    Lai Yuhan charged at the forefront with his spear, while the men behind him provided cover and killed the enemies approaching from the sides. Yan Xiu also blocked many flying swords for him as he spun his chained broad axes around. Everyone knew that Lai Yuhan¡¯s cultivation was the highest, and that they needed to rely on him to break through the encirclement. As such, they all ensured that he wouldn¡¯t have anything to worry about.


    Meanwhile, Lai Yuhan imitated Miao Yi in disregarding everything else and only focused on charging forward. Hepletely did not concern himself with the life and death of the men behind him. Those that could keep up would follow him and kill their way out. Those that couldn¡¯t, would be left to their own fates. He wouldn¡¯t stop for anything.


    Tu Sanliang and Lan Ye were not strong enough to kill Lai Yuhan in a single strike. As soon as both parties shed, they were swept away by the pack of dragon steeds charging from behind him. Lai Yuhan acted like the sharp edge of a knife.


    Fifty troops from both sides almost failed to stop them after twenty of their men were killed. They almost allowed these men to break past the encirclement. Fortunately, the remaining forces from the two other divisions quickly rushed over and stopped Lai Yuhan and the rest once more.


    The might of the Sword Deviate Sect¡¯s flying sword attacks were truly destructive and was difficult to guard against. The dragon steeds were either killed on the spot, or fell after having their hooves sliced off. Around ten men from East Arrival Cave fell from their dragon steeds in rapid session and cast the corpses aside immediately. In the end, only four men remained. They could no longer crowd together to form a strong charging force, and were ultimately surrounded. They put up a strong resistance, but their bodies were soaked in blood and not a single one of them did not carry a serious injury. It was truly a horrifying sight to behold.

 Chapter 278: Waited a Long Time

    Chapter 278: Waited a Long Time


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Yet even so, no one surrendered.


    The School of Blue Jade disciples knew that they would not have any chance of survival if they fell into the hands of the three major sects. Since they would die either way, they may as well fight to theirst breath.


    Yan Xiu had enough of submitting to the enemy. Ever since he straightened his back, he never thought about bending down again.


    This was an unsettling sight for their assants. Once again, they realized how these men before them had been able to keep butchering through, until even Xiong Xiao was forced to retreat in shame and even casting aside his personal handmaidens back then.


    Everyone ceased their attacks and surrounded these four men, giving them a chance to surrender.


    " I am the East Arrival Cave Master! Follow me and kill! " The blood-soaked Yan Xiu bellowed furiously at the sky, as though wanting to prove a point before hisst moments. He grit his teeth and iled about with the pair of chained axes as he charged towards the enemy.


    Protecting each other back to back, Lai Yuhan and the rest quickly turned their dragon steeds around and charged behind Yan Xiu...


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    The earth suddenly gave a huge shudder. Tu Sanliang and the rest were just about tounch their attack when the ground mysteriously cracked open. Arge chasm abruptly split open the earth and almost threw them off their steeds. Everyone¡¯s steeds momentarily lost their bnce, and they hastily tried to stabilize them.


    However with this, Yan Xiu and the rest were presented with a chance to escape. Their four steeds immediately leapt up and out of the encirclement.


    After steadying his mount, Tu Sanliang bellowed, "Don¡¯t let a single one of them escape!"


    He was the first to jump with his dragon steed and chased after the four. Dozens of steeds followed suit. The flying swords of the Sword Deviate Sect swiftly shot out like a violent hurricane.


    While in mid-air, the window of attack they left was greatly widened for an instant. The four who jumped up on their dragon steeds hastily twisted their bodies around and iled with their weapons to block the oing attacks.


    nging sounds rang out as the four desperately tried to defend themselves. However, they couldn¡¯t help defend the dragon steeds beneath them against the flying swords attacking from under their bellies.


    Spurting sounds could be heard as blood gushed out of the bellies of the four steeds.


    The four immediately stepped on the backs of their dragon steeds that were still neighing in agony, and jumped up to the branches of a giant tree to escape.


    After jumping onto arge tree, Yan Xiu suddenly saw a ck hand reaching towards him. A strong transcendence energy suppressed him and stopped him from moving. The silhouette coveredpletely in ck garbs grabbed Yan Xiu and quickly hid away in the canopy ahead.


    How could Lai Yuhan and the rest escape without the help of a dragon steed¡¯s speed? The swords raining down from the sky immediately knocked the three of them down.


    As soon as two fell to the ground, they were instantly pinned down by several flying swords and died.


    One of Lai Yuhan¡¯s thighs was pierced through by a flying sword. With a simr gaping wound from another flying sword in his belly, Lai Yuhan hopped about on one leg. His hair was a mess and his body covered in blood. He desperately twirled his long spear about to block the storm of swords shooting towards him.


    ¡®WHOOSH!¡¯ A nine-jointed whip snapped through the air and tangled the long spear in Lai Yuhan¡¯s hands.


    Lan Ye had personallyunched a strike from atop her dragon steed. She pulled on her nine-jointed whip and firmly kept Lai Yuhan¡¯s spearhead at bay.


    With the situation as it was, what happened next was easy to imagine. Over a dozen flying swords shot out. Spurting sounds could be heard as Lai Yuhan¡¯s body trembled from the onught, blood gushing all over his body. With the spear in his hand already pulled away, he resembled nothing more than a hedgehog from all the flying swords stabbed into him,


    ¡®Swoosh!¡¯ Over a dozen flying swords flew out from his body and returned to their masters¡¯ hands.


    With his cheeks swollen, Lai Yuhan¡¯s eyes widened as he held back from spitting out a mouthful of blood. He staggered about and forcefully kept himself up.


    No one was concerned with him anymore. Tu Sanliang looked about and bellowed, "Where did thest one go? He won¡¯t be able to run far without a dragon steed. Go and hunt him down. The Mountain Chieftain has ordered that we can¡¯t let any one of them escape!"


    The dragon steeds immediately galloped in different directions to search. One of them charged over and crashed directly into Lai Yuhan¡¯s chest.


    " PU... " Lai Yuhan hacked out blood as he flew out, his bones gave out sharp, crunching noises. He flew over ten meters away and crashed into a giant tree, making it shake and drop its leaves. He slid down the bark to the ground and sat beneath the tree with his legs forked. His eyes were wide as his head slumped to the side. Then, he waspletely still.


    No one felt pitiful about his death. Only a few leaves floated onto his body before being drenched by his fresh blood. From the corner of his mouth, blood was still dripping...


    Not long after, Xiong Xiao rushed over with his forces and met up with Tu Sanliang, whose men were still searching about on his orders. Xiong Xiao¡¯s first words were, "Did you see the little scum Miao Yi?"


    Tu Sanliang cupped his fists and replied, "Most of those that tried to break through our assault were killed by us, but we did not see the little scum. Also, there was a sudden tremor just now that was very strange; it allowed that East Arrival Cave Master Yan Xiu to escape. However, he already lost his mount and I believe he won¡¯t be able to run far. We are searching for him as we speak."


    From Xiong Xiao¡¯s expression, he was clearly quite incensed. It seemed that the situation was just like those girls described¡ªthe little scum had really gone to Mount Calming Sea.


    He really wished tounch an assault on Mount Calming Sea and kill Miao Yi along with Qin Weiwei. However, he had already made his move. By the time his forces reached Mount Calming Sea, not only would the enemy have likely long since made their preparations, these subordinates of his wouldn¡¯t have the audacity to attack Mount Calming Sea either. Qin Weiwei was Manor Head Yang Qing¡¯s daughter after all.


    " ARGHHH!! " Xiong Xiao roared out all his indignation at the sky.


    Within the distant mountain range, a ck shadow pulled Yan Xiu along and flew across the sky. As soon as he descended, he pushed the blood-soaked Yan Xiu away.


    The ck shadow pulled off the ck garbs on his body and revealed his true face¡ªit was none other than Yao Ruoxian.


    Hidden in the mountain range, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er quickly ran out to support Yan Xiu. "Teacher Yan. Are you alright?"


    Yan Xiu swept a despondent gaze across the three. He didn¡¯t have the mood to think about anything else either when he saw Yao Ruoxian, and just stared at the two girls as he shook his head. His tears streaked across his haggard face as he mumbled, "Yan Xiu is useless. Not even ten thousand deaths will be able to redeem my mistakes. I have failed the great responsibility entrusted to me by Milord!"


    He was quite an unlucky one. Miao Yi was absent twice, and these two times he caused East Arrival Cave to go through a bloodbath. He was aplete harbinger of bad luck. Even he himself waspletely ashamed to face anyone else when he thought about it.


    Qian¡¯Er anxiously asked, "Teacher Yan. Where are the rest?"


    Yao Ruoxian looked at Yan Xiu and answered in his stead as he shook his head, "From the sounds of it, they have all met their ends."


    Distressed, Xue¡¯Er asked, "Teacher. Since you saved Teacher Yan, why didn¡¯t you save the others as well? You could have saved them with your cultivation."


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s eyes bulged at her as he berated her, "Kiddo. Don¡¯t say something so cruel. If it weren¡¯t for you two crying and screaming that you were indebted to him as a teacher and forcing me to rescue him, I wouldn¡¯t even have concerned myself with him. Don¡¯t you know how dangerous the situation was back there? I was almost revealed. If that happened, once word got out, Suppressing Second Hall and Moon Traversing Pce would immediately send their experts over to hunt me down. Wouldn¡¯t I have to run for my life when that happens? All you two care about is them. Why don¡¯t you spare some consideration for me? I¡¯m not even that close to them. Why can¡¯t you two just consider my difficulties sometimes?"


    He turned back to regard Yan Xiu. Recalling that final scene, the tragic valor of Yan Xiu and the rest had surprised him as well. He couldn¡¯t help sighing, "Not surrendering even in the face of death. You are all good men. It is indeed a waste that so many of you have perished. However, the cultivation realm is not a ce for good men. Those kinds of men normally die premature deaths here."


    He had described the dog-eat-dog world that is the entire cultivation realm with a single line. After living for such a long time, he had seen many things after all...


    The search perimeter of Tu Sanliang and the others continued to expand, forcing Yao Ruoxian to have no choice but to bring the other three further off to hide away again.


    They still couldn¡¯t find Yan Xiu after a long search. Eventually, they had no choice but to give up looking for him. It wasn¡¯t worth it to continue straining themselves for just Yan Xiu. After they met up with Xiong Xiao, they all rushed back to East Arrival Cave.


    Catching sight of dozens of women lying in a pool of blood, among Xiong Xiao¡¯s forces, Chen Fei sighed inwardly. Xiong Xiao¡¯s movements this time were too swift, and hepletely did not let anyone else know of his intention to attack. Only when they pressed in on East Arrival Cave did he give the order to attack. Chen Fei couldn¡¯t find a chance to warn East Arrival Cave at all.


    There were disciples from the School of Blue Jade amongst the men as well. They all wore solemn expressions. They hadn¡¯t received any prior word from their school, so they could only each serve their own masters. Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to maintain their foothold in the future.


    Once she tallied their numbers, Lan Ye discovered that they lost almost thirty men as well. She shook her head, and said, "This East Arrival Cave had frighteningbat strength indeed. Even with such a heavy encirclement, they were still able to kill so many of our troops."


    "Mountain Chieftain. The little scum Miao Yi is not here. What should we do next?" asked Tu Sanliang from the side. "Should we return?"


    Xiong Xiao gazed about coldly and ordered in a prating voice, "I will not give up so easily until I kill that little scum today."¡ªhe swept his finger out¡ª"I want all of you to hide in the nearby areas. I don¡¯t believe that that little scum Miao Yi won¡¯t ever return. If you see him returning, show no mercy and kill him immediately! I will present five hundred low-grade Orbs of Will and bestow a Cave Master position of three Caves to whoever kills Miao Yi!"


    With the announcement of such a rich reward, everyone¡¯s eyes lit up¡ªespecially Tu Sanliang, Lan Ye and Ma Hu¡¯s. They were the strongest and thus possessed the greatest chance of eliminating Miao Yi. It was a reward of five hundred low-grade Orbs of Will and a Cave Master position of three Caves after all!


    After Xiong Xiao issued themand, everyone acknowledged the order and divided themselves into several groups. They hid around the surrounding areas of East Arrival Cave and waited for Miao Yi to return.


    Meanwhile, Xiong Xiao found an excuse and led his two personal handmaidens Xia Yu and Qiu He to gallop off. The forces of the two Mountains didn¡¯t suspect a thing. No one would have thought that Xiong Xiao was leaving them behind and running away.


    As soon as they left the domain of East Arrival Cave, Xiong Xiao immediately brought his two handmaidens in a hasty charge towards the domain of Ten-Thousand Thriving Manor, leaving all his troops behind. He was officially betraying Suppressing Second Hall now.


    He couldn¡¯t really wait until Miao Yi returned. Who knew when that would be? What if he couldn¡¯t wait long enough for Miao Yi to return and reinforcements came for East Arrival Cave instead? If that were to happen, the other parties would be subduing him with orders from higher up. Even his own subordinates would likely turn against him.


    Xiong Xiao had gone against Yang Qing¡¯s will to do such a thing. Seeing that he had failed his one chance, he immediately chose to escape. As for the forces of the two Mountains, since he couldn¡¯t bring them along anyway, he might as well leave them behind and use them as a contingency. They would continue to follow his orders to stay behind and eliminate Miao Yi. If Miao Yi really wished to court death ande charging over, Xiong Xiao might even manage to get lucky and kill off that little scum.


    Under the light of the moon, a master and his two subordinates bolted along a road, having already entered the domain of Ten-Thousand Thriving Manor.


    One had no choice but to admit that Xiong Xiao was truly deserving of once being a highly regarded trusted aide of Yang Qing. His wit was quite impressive indeed. This contingency of his was truly brilliant.


    As expected,te into the night and unaware of what had transpired in East Arrival Cave¡ªMiao Yi, Luo Shuangfei and Yuan Fang returned.


    They galloped straight into East Arrival Cave. Upon seeing that there was no gatekeeper at the mountain gates, Miao Yi¡¯s brows were already furrowed.


    Smelling the faint stench of blood in the air, the three bolted towards the za. They were shocked to see arge pool of blood on the ground. Sweeping their gazes around, they found several dozen female corpses floating on the lotus pond nearby.


    The three quickly scanned around coldly. Even the listless Luo Shuangfei knew that something had happened and gathered all his wits.


    "Yan Xiu! Where are you?" Miao Yi furiously roared.


    "Mountain Chieftain has great foresight indeed." Tu Sanliang¡¯s heartyughter could be hearding from the mountain forests to the side. "Little scum Miao Yi. We have been waiting a long time for you!"

 Chapter 279: Charcoal Breaking Past the Encirclement

    Chapter 279: Charcoal Breaking Past the Encirclement


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    The three of them turned to look at the source of the sound.


    Under the moonlight, the mountain forests seemed ethereal. As the beating of the dragon steeds hooves echoed, over two hundred men suddenly jumped out from both sides, and quickly blocked Miao Yi¡¯s escape route.


    Tu Sanliang, Lan Ye and Ma Hu each led their own troops and secured an area, their gazes feverish as they stared at Miao Yi as if he was a pile of treasure.


    It would be rather difficult not to think of Miao Yi as treasure. The temptation of five hundred low-grade Orbs of Will and a Cave Master position of three Caves along with the assurance from their overwhelming numbers erased any doubt the three of them could ever have. How could they resist such an enticing opportunity? The Blue Lotus on their foreheads were already shining, and they were itching to strike.


    As they were slowly surrounded by over two hundred men, Miao Yi saw the outline of a blue lotus on the foreheads of the three and was inwardly startled. Such an overwhelming force was already difficult enough for the three of them to deal with, much less against the three Blue Lotus experts at the same time.


    He shot a nce at their attire and could roughly guess where they came from. He looked about and saw Chen Fei in the mix, and was even sure of himself, unable to help grinding his teeth as he shouted, "Xiong Xiao you dog scum. Come out!"


    Lan Ye mocked, "Why would the Mountain Chieftain need to personally step out to deal with a little scumbag like you?" She turned to her sides, andughed with an affectionate tone, "My two big brothers. Just leave this little scumbag to your little sister."


    "There¡¯s no need to trouble yourself, little sister. You can just stand aside and watch!" Ma Hu chuckled. Everyone wanted to behead Miao Yi and im the reward.


    Even Luo Shuangfei and Yuan Fang felt a little trepidation in their hearts at such a sight before them. They would be lying if they said they were not scared.


    Miao Yi spread his arms out, and clumps of silver mist enshrouded him within. Instantly, both man and steed donned their armors, and the Inversed-Scales Spear materialized in Miao Yi¡¯s hands.


    When they saw the treasures wrapped around his whole body, the eyes of Tu Sanliang and the rest brightened even further. They wanted to prevent Miao Yi from going off even more now.


    Luo Shuangfei and Yuan Fang naturally readied their weapons as swiftly as they could as well.


    Miao Yi quickly scanned their surroundings, and narrowed his eyes on the gap between the three Blue Lotus experts. With a thrust of his spear, he roared, "Follow me and kill!"


    There was no chance of victory in this battle. They could only hope to break past the encirclement.


    ¡®Harrumph!¡¯ Under Miao Yi, Charcoal could feel the fury he released only when he was about to risk his life, and gave a long neigh. He swiftly beat his hooves and charged towards the forces surrounding them.


    Luo Shuangfei and Yuan Fang both raised their spears and swiftly followed suit.


    "Stop them! Don¡¯t let them escape!" Lan Ye shouted.


    "Us Sword Deviate Sect disciples will be the ones to take the kill! Sword Formation!" Tu Sanliang shouted as the six flying swords on his back abruptly shot out.


    Almost instantly, hundreds of flying swords shot over like a violent hurricane under the moonlight.


    nging sounds echoed as Miao Yi, Luo Shuangfei and Yuan Fang furiously iled about with their spears.


    Swinging his spear about with the force of a mighty storm, Miao Yi instantly broke past the torrent of swords. nging sounds could be heard as sparks flickered on Charcoal¡¯s body. Fortunately, Charcoal was protected by the armor artifact. Otherwise, he would definitely have perished on the spot. The flying swords simultaneously released by all those Sword Deviate Sect disciples were terrifying indeed.


    Luo Shuangfei wasn¡¯t performing too badly either. Sparks flew as he swung the serrated spear about, knocking away the flying swords that were shot at him. asionally, a few that escaped his parries would manage tond a strike, but even those were deflected away by the dark red glow that shed under his clothes.


    Sadly, his mount was not as fortunate. It didn¡¯t have an armor artifact protecting it like Charcoal did, and was struck by multiple flying swords almost instantaneously. It neighed in agony as it copsed to the ground and tossed Luo Shuangfei away.


    Yuan Fang had it even worse. Even though his cultivation was great, he did not have an impressive spear art like those of the two before him to protect himself against the relentless torrent of flying swordsing at him. In addition, he didn¡¯t have any armor artifact protecting him.


    If it was a one-on-one battle, or even if it was him against several of them at once, that would have been fine, but against the simultaneous onught of so many Sword Deviate Sect disciples, it was easy to imagine what the result of that would be. It happened in mere seconds¡ªhe was stabbed thrice in session in the back, the tips of the swords piercing through his heart and out his chest, bringing out spurts of blood with it.


    Simrly, his mount neighed as it fell to the ground, and tossed him off. His body trembled in mid-air as he was pierced by an additional dozen flying swords. While airborne, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and dropped his spear, falling to the ground like a hedgehog.


    Luo Shuangfei had been sent flying across the sky and was iling about with his spear, deflecting dozens of flying swords while he was in mid-air. He was cursing inwardly when he suddenly heard a sudden rush of wind, and quickly struck behind with his spear. However, he soon realized that it hade from Miao Yi¡¯s spear.


    As the two spears crossed one another, the reversed edge of the Inversed-Scales Spear twisted and hooked onto Luo Shuangfei¡¯s spearhead. With a tug of his arm, Miao Yi pulled Luo Shuangfei, along with his spear, over while he was still in mid-air.


    As he cut across the wind, Luo Shuangfei understood Miao Yi¡¯s intent. He twisted his body around to knock away several flying swords. With his back facing Miao Yi, he spread his legs and bnced behind him, rapidly swinging his serrated spear about to knock away the chaotic torrent of swords. At the same time, he smiled, "And here I thought you would just be concerned with running away by yourself, and leave me behind."


    He had been so listless before. It had been such a long time since a smile was seen on his face. Yet he was smiling now, while they were in the midst of such danger.


    Turning to look at Yuan Fang being buried under the stomping hooves of dragon steeds, Miao Yi was filled with an indescribable rage. How could he be in the mood to joke around with Luo Shuangfei? He already charged straight into the crowd before him, his spear dancing like a dragon as countless cold glints erupted from his hands. He sent men flying continuously as he thrust with his spear, furiously roaring, " Those who stand in my path shall die! "


    Furthermore, with Luo Shuangfei and his extraordinary spear art behind him eliminating any potential cause for worry, Miao Yi only concerned himself with madly charging straight ahead. Flesh and blood sttered about as he butchered his way through.


    Rushing in from both sides to stop him, Tu Sanliang and the other two never expected that Miao Yi¡¯s charging force would be so savage. They were unable stop him even with their great advantage in numbers¡ªas if he were cleaving through waves, men and their mounts fell under Miao Yi¡¯s onught. In that instant, Tu Sanliang eximed, "Stop him! Whoever retreats shall die!"


    It wasn¡¯t the first time that Xiong Xiao¡¯s subordinates had to fight against Miao Yi. They already had some experience in dealing with him. Immediately, a dozen cultivators leapt away from their dragon steeds, and sent a final order to their mounts. They were prepared to sacrifice their dragon steeds to stop Miao Yi. A dozen dragon steeds ferociously charged straight towards him without a care for their own survival.


    Miao Yi was extremely surprised. Before he could react, he suddenly felt a torrent of rage surging from Charcoal¡¯s body and faintly saw a demonic red glow in his eyes. Miao Yi instantly recalled the scene on the ind.


    Luo Shuangfei didn¡¯t sense the change in Charcoal¡¯s behaviour from where he was seated at the back. He only felt that the dragon steed under him had suddenly be faster by a great deal, to the point where even he was a little disbelieving. ¡®How can a dragon steed actually run this fast?¡¯


    Whilst swinging his spear about, Miao Yi also took a deep breath then. He had never experienced Charcoal running so fast before. His entire body felt like it was piercing through the rushing wind.


    " WUU... " Suddenly, Charcoal made a roar that didn¡¯t seem possible for a dragon steed to make. Lowering his previously raised head, he charged straight ahead with the top of his skull facing forward. He clearly intended to challenge the dozen dragon steeds charging at him alone. An astonishingly fearsome aura instantly erupted from Charcoal.


    The dragon steeds surrounding them on either sides appeared to have sensed something peculiar as well and became quite jittery; so much so that even their masters seated on them found it difficult to rein them in. Their eyes revealed a sense of dread and terror, as though they wanted to avoid Charcoal and didn¡¯t dare to approach him.


    The dozen dragon steeds charging over were in a simr situation¡ªall of them tried to move aside to avoid Charcoal. However, both sides were moving too fast and there was no time to dodge.


    Charcoal¡¯s full-body armor began to shine with a dazzling glow as he charged forward like a lightning bolt. Several deep booms resounded, and blood spewed from the dragon steeds charging over as they were sent flying one after another. Charcoal¡¯s momentum didn¡¯t fall at all as he continued plowing his way through, sting dragon steeds away in quick session. Those witnessing the sight werepletely horrified by the earth-shattering force behind those thundering booms. ¡®Those are dragon steeds that are being sent flying away in a straight-on collision! They¡¯re being sted away...¡¯


    The ferocity and ruthlessness of that charge caused most of the cultivators nning to stop him to back away in fear. How could they survive if they crashed into him?


    The cultivators that had been rushing in from both sides were now retreating back from the terror of it as well.


    A gap instantly appeared in the path ahead. Charcoal quickly leapt andnded a hundred meters away, then fiercely stomped his hooves and galloped away.


    Over a hundred mounts behind him immediately spun about to chase after him. Ma Hu even released a swarm of ¡®Venomous Golden-Winged Bees¡¯ from his beast sack to give chase. However, not even they could catch up to the two men seated on the dragon steed ahead.


    The rest of them naturally fell further behind from their target as well. Ma Hu eximed, "What an astonishing armor artifact for a mount!"


    They immediately assumed that Charcoal¡¯s unstoppable momentum and speed was due to his armor artifact. A dragon steed would not have been able to run so fast otherwise.


    Lan Ye painfully said, "He actually managed to escape!"


    Tu Sanliang ground his teeth and said, "There wille a time when the energy supply of his armor artifact ispletely expended. He won¡¯t be able to maintain it for too long, much less while carrying two men. He will slow down eventually. We can¡¯t let him escape. After him!"


    The rewards to be obtained from killing Miao Yi caused these two hundred mounts to chase after him in a frenzy.


    Riding on Charcoal in a desperate effort to escape, Miao Yi was as surprised as he was pleased. He never thought that Charcoal could erupt with such an explosive burst of strength at such a crucial time. His strength was so immense that it was difficult to believe it was real. It was truly astonishing. If it weren¡¯t for Charcoal today, he and Luo Shuangfei may still be in a precarious situation.


    ¡®Could it have something to do with Charcoal refining Yao Cores?¡¯ With the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand, Miao Yi gently patted Charcoal¡¯s back. His mind was set. Since Charcoal could obtain such benefits from refining Yao Cores and since he liked to eat it anyway, from now on Miao Yi decided to obtain more Yao Cores to feed Charcoal if he could. Even if it was just to thank him for his efforts.


    Seated back-to-back behind him, Luo Shuangfei saw that they had already left their pursuers so far behind that not a trace of them could be seen. He suddenly jumped up and returned to a normal sitting position and asked cheerily, "I never thought your dragon steed¡¯s armor artifact could be so impressive. Where did you get it? One day, I¡¯ll have one made too."


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression was sombre. He was in no mood to entertain Luo Shuangfei. The sight of dozens of the corpses on the lotus pond and Yuan Fang¡¯s brutal death was still vivid in his mind. If his guess was correct, then the others might have...


    "Xiong Xiao you dog scum! I swear I will not rest until either one of us is dead!" Miao Yi grit his teeth and suddenly roared.


    Behind him, Luo Shuangfei asked, "Where do we go now?"


    "We will first head to Mount Calming Sea to steady our position and assess the situation. Then, we will take revenge on that dog scum!" As he ground his teeth, Miao Yi suddenly looked down and discovered Luo Shuangfei¡¯s arms were wrapped around his waist. Knitting his brows, he asked, "What do you think you are doing?"


    He never had a habit of being embraced by men. He never expected that from behind him, Luo Shuangfei would meekly reply, "Your mount is going too fast. I¡¯m a little scared."


    Miao Yi was lost for words. The demonic red glow in Charcoal¡¯s eyes had already dissipated and he was out of his berserk state. How could he be too fast now? He was clearly back to his normal state. At most, he was just slightly faster than normal dragon steeds. It wasn¡¯t to the point that one would feel terrified.


    "Release your hands," said Miao Yi, tapping on a certain someone¡¯s arms.


    "I almost lost my life just now. I was so scared that my legs are still a little weak right now. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re losing anything just from me hugging you a little. Why be so petty?" Luo Shuangfei found a good excuse, and rendered Miao Yi speechless. Then, he chuckled as he asked, "Milord. It was such a dangerous situation just now. Why did you still think of saving me?"

 Chapter 280: Something’s Odd

    Chapter 280: Something¡¯s Odd


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    That cheery tone caused Miao Yi to realize that the listless fellow behind him seemed to have revived after the predicament. He turned to ask, "So what you¡¯re saying is it seems like I shouldn¡¯t have saved you, is that it?"


    "No, no, it¡¯s good that you saved me. All is good. A friend in need is a friend indeed." Luo Shuangfei chuckled as he pressed himself against Miao Yi¡¯s back.


    Just then, someone suddenly shouted from the side, "BRAT!"


    Miao Yi turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw four people emerging from the forest by the roadside. It was Yao Ruoxian, Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er looking quite overjoyed. Yao Ruoxian would have definitely survived, but he never expected that the other three were alive as well.


    He didn¡¯t have high hopes on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s help to begin with. Taking away Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er with him was possible, but he previously thought that Yan Xiu would have already been left to wallow in disaster.


    Charcoal was galloping too fast and shed past them. Yao Ruoxian then swiftly carried the other three along as he pushed past the woods and onto the highway, and chased after Miao Yi.


    It was only now that Yan Xiu realized that East Arrival Cave had been hiding a Red Lotus realm expert all this while.


    Miao Yi halted Charcoal immediately. Yao Ruoxian and the others managed to catch up with him. Miao Yi gazed at Yan Xiu covered all in blood and asked, "Why are you guys here?"


    "Yan Xiu is useless. I have betrayed Milord¡¯s trust..." Yan Xiu recounted the overall situation with a quivering voice.


    After listening to his exnation, Miao Yi understood that after Yao Ruoxian had saved the bunch, he went deep into the forest and hid himself. Afterwards he crept back to East Arrival Cave to investigate whether or not those men had left. As a result, he found that those men were still hiding around East Arrival Cave. Without a second thought, he knew that this trap was set specifically for Miao Yi.


    Yao Ruoxian returned and met up with Yan Xiu and the others, not knowing when Miao Yi would return. They all quickly made a decision to head for the routes where Miao Yi would pass to wait for him, but it turned out that they were still a step behind. By the time they managed to camp beside the highway, Miao Yi had already passed by. In the end, he was met with trouble at East Arrival Cave.


    Before Miao Yi could exin how he managed to escape from East Arrival Cave, the faint sounds of dragon steeds approaching their way could be heard. He didn¡¯t expect that those men would be this persistent. Miao Yi¡¯s voice was sombre as he whispered, "You all should continue to hide. I will head to Mount Calming Sea."


    The situation did not allow him to stay any longer. Leaving a few words, he mounted Charcoal and flew away quickly. The rest of them quickly went back into hiding. Not long after, apany of troops came flying pass them in haste....


    Once Hong Mian arrived back to Mount Calming Sea from Long Viridescent Cave, she was informed that Mountain Chieftain Qin Weiwei had already brought Lu Liu to South Edict Manor. Before she could get any rest, she received a distress call from the East Arrival Cave¡ªXiong Xiao had assaulted the East Arrival Cave!


    Hong Mian was caught by surprise. She wasn¡¯t sure whether Miao Yi had already returned to East Arrival Cave and got caught in the attack. She alone would not be able to rouse the troops of Mount Calming Sea. All she could do was quickly prepare a jade archive and ry the news to the South Edict Manor at the earliest possible moment...


    South Edict Manor, inside a pavilion on the mountain peak ¡ª Qin Weiwei climbed up and immediately entered without announcing her arrival. She was the most right to do so within the two manors.


    Yang Qing was sitting cross-legged on the couch while he cultivated. Qing Mei and Qing Ju moved forward and gave their greetings, "Miss."


    Yang Qing ended his cultivation and opened his eyes as well, revealing a kind smile as he said, "Weiwei. You¡¯vee."


    "Manor Head." Qin Weiwei moved forward for a greeting.


    Yang Qing put both his feet down as he stood up and asked, "You didn¡¯t tell me that you would being before. Why the sudden visit? Did something happen?"


    Both father and daughter sat beside each other around the tea table. Qing Mei and Qing Ju served them scented tea as Qin Weiwei gave a rough summary of the matters surrounding Gongsun Yu¡¯s provocation of Miao Yi to Yang Qing.


    Yang Qing listened and revealed a slight frown. He understood the crux of the problem after giving it some thought. Shaking his head, he said, "Weiwei, don¡¯t you see? Gongsun Yu lost his reason because of you. That is why he provoked Miao Yi. It is because he cares about you. Weiwei, Gongsun Yu may not be excellent but he is good at taking orders. If the both of you live together, he will make you his priority. Moreover, he is serious about you. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to reconsider him a little?"


    "Father, why do you still talk about this matter? I¡¯ve mentioned before that you don¡¯t need to worry about these things," Qin Weiwei said unhappily, before continuing, "Gongsun Yu and I are not suitable. Don¡¯t tell me you wish to see mepromise just for the sake of general interest?"


    Yang Qing gave a forced smile and said, "What do you mean by ¡®not suitable¡¯? Weiwei, a woman has to understand that there are no perfect men in the world. It¡¯s not about whether you would match or not, but whether or not that man is suitable for you. Men and women are different. As one who cultivates, especially as a woman, only a suitable man will be able to help lessen your worries. This is notpromising for the sake of general interest. What¡¯s wrong with being a little humble? If you find an overly ambitious man instead, I would worry for you day in and day out. Isn¡¯t it nice to have a little peace and quiet between husband and wife?"


    "Father, I don¡¯t have feelings for Gongsun Yu." Qin Weiwei reiterated her point.


    Standing at one end, Qing Mei and Qing Ju exchanged looks, thinking that Yang Qing would only be growing more desperate from now on.


    It was to be expected. Yang Qing being both a father and a mother, had be desperate. A few decades ago, he was standing from the viewpoint of a father looking into the matters of his daughter¡¯s affairs, so he wasn¡¯t that worried. A few decadester, his attitude had switched to that of a mother, so he became worried¡ªfeeling that he hadn¡¯t fulfilled his duty as a parent, and that he had overlooked his daughter¡¯s marital affairs.


    He tapped on the tea table a few times and said in a sombre tone, "Then go find one who you do have feelings for! Tell me who you have your eyes on! Why are you making me anxious about not being able to do anything for you? Why did you have to let the rumors fly in the public? Is it so difficult for you to find a man? What faults could my, Yang Qing¡¯s daughter possibly have? Weiwei, there are many difficulties in the cultivator world, and one can fall at any moment. I just want to take advantage of the fact that I¡¯m still in control, to help you deal with a few matters and find someone who will not wrong you. If something were to happen to me one day, at least I¡¯ll have my peace of mind!"


    Qin Weiwei faced away and said, "Why do you always have to impose your experience on me? Do you think the man you find will definitely be good for me?"


    "You¡ª!" Yang Qing was furious. He mmed the table and pointed at Qin Weiwei, but when he saw the expression on her eyes as she stared at him, his heart melted again. He owed his daughter too much, so he couldn¡¯t say words that were too harsh on her. He sat back down and waved his hands, saying, "I don¡¯t want to argue with you anymore."


    "You¡¯re the one who wants to argue." Qin Weiwei murmured.


    Yang Qing instantly grimaced. However, Qin Weiwei pushed a jade archive to him, interrupting what he was about to say.


    Yang Qing picked up the jade archive while holding in his anger. After seeing the content of the archive, he frowned and said, "East Arrival Cave again? And a Loose Cultivator at that?" He tossed the jade archive onto the table and continued, "I¡¯m not allowing it! My two manors do not recruit Loose Cultivators. There¡¯s no need to take even that slightest risk."


    Qin Weiwei pushed the jade archive back to him and said, "I¡¯ve already promised Yan Xiu."


    "Stop talking nonsense. The troops for the East Arrival Cave are already more than sufficient. Why would that Yan Xiu or whatever his name is take such a risk for this person?" Yang Qing narrowed his eyes at her and said, "The one you promised is Miao Yi, right?"


    "Regardless of whom I¡¯ve given my promise to, I have already given my consent on this matter as the Mountain Chieftain. You won¡¯t make me go back on my word, would you?"


    "Alright, fine. You win, alright?" Yang Qing pointed at the jade archive and continued, "Loose Cultivators with unclear backgrounds are a no. Doesn¡¯t that kid have a good rtionship with the School of Blue Jade? Can¡¯t you have him take one from there instead?"


    Qin Weiwei had the same thought when she discussed this matter with Miao Yi in the beginning, but he insisted on recruiting this person no matter what. All she could do now was to persist further, "It¡¯s just one Loose Cultivator, nothing drastic will happen. If something does happen, then Miao Yi will be the one to suffer the consequences. Just give your consent on this."


    "..." Yang Qing¡¯s words were stuck in his throat. He narrowed his eyes at Qin Weiwei, then picked up the jade archive to examine it again.


    As he read the archive, his eyes shed with a curious expression.


    After considering for a moment, Yang Qing pressed his hand down on the jade archive and subtly asked, "You just came to see me because of this one Loose Cultivator?"


    Qin Weiwei appeared a little guilty and tried to hide her expression, but none of that could escape Yang Qing¡¯s observation.


    "I only brought this matter up out of convenience. Gongsun Yu was your trusted aide and confidante in the past after all. Some things could not be properly exined in the message, so I personally came to ask you. This is how I settle things. Is that fine with you?" exined Qin Weiwei.


    However, this exnation seemed a little far-fetched for Yang Qing. He didn¡¯t show any trace of his suspicions as he smiled and said, "Since he was already transferred to you, then you should deal with this matter as you see fit. Let¡¯s put away official business for the time being. Weiwei. It¡¯s been a long time since you¡¯ve apanied me for a meal. Since you¡¯re here, don¡¯t leave so hurriedly."


    A meal with him wasn¡¯t unusual. Qin Weiwei looked at the jade archive in his hand and pouted, "Then you give your consent on this matter?"


    Yang Qing nodded with a smile and said, "You¡¯ve travelled a long distance. Head down and take a rest."


    Seeing that he had given his consent, Qin Weiwei then gleefully dismissed herself.


    Yang Qing held a jade archive and stood up with one hand sped behind his back. He walked towards the balcony and watched Qin Weiwei as her silhouette descended the mountain. With his back facing Qing Mei and Qing Ju, he loosened his grip and waved the jade archive in his hand before calmly saying, "Something is odd."


    Thedies came closer, and Qing Ju asked, "Is there perhaps a problem with this Loose Cultivator?"


    Yang Qing lightly shook his head, "I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s any problem with the Loose Cultivator, but this girl Weiwei is definitely hiding something from me."


    Qing Mei asked, "How so?"


    Yang Qing turned around, and gently whacked the jade archive onto his palm as he said, "I was thinking about what is wrong with this girl. Since she already solved Miao Yi and Gongsun Yu¡¯s matter, it was enough for me to be informed of the following matters through messages. She did not need to personallye all the way here just for this matter. Don¡¯t tell me she really came here just because Miao Yi rmended a Loose Cultivator? As a Mountain Chieftain, she was willing to make such a trip herself just because a Cave Master decided to rmend a Loose Cultivator?"


    After listening to his analysis, the twodies looked lost in their own thoughts. Qing Ju probed, "Maybe Miss is trying to repay Miao Yi¡¯s kindness for saving her life."


    "Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit far-fetched to match this exnation with Weiwei¡¯s actions?" Yang Qing narrowed his eyes and continued, "It¡¯s inconvenient for ady to be outside. She must have brought either Hong Mian or Lu Liu with her. Since Hong Mian had already left for Long Viridescent Cave before she came here, then that means she must have brought Lu Liu with her. I have already made an excuse to keep Weiwei here. It might be better for youdies to talk things out between each other. You two should take advantage of this opportunity to go find Weiwei and Lu Liu separately, and see what you can get them to disclose to you. Let¡¯s see what is going on with this girl Weiwei and Miao Yi. I had felt something was slightly off when she appointed Yan Xiu as Cave Master of East Arrival Cave before. She can¡¯t keep using the kindness of saving her life as an excuse to dodge me all the time, can she?"


    Qing Mei and Qing Ju exchanged a nce with one another. They sighed in their hearts as they pondered whether it was a good or bad thing for Qin Weiwei to have a father who employed such tactics. She was no match for him. He had already set a trap for her without her knowing.


    "Yes!" The two of themplied with the order and left.

 Chapter 281: Yang Qing Firmly Forbids

    Chapter 281: Yang Qing Firmly Forbids


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Very quickly, Qing Mei found Qin Weiwei after descending the mountain. She told Qin Weiwei that it had been a long while since theyst saw each other, and wanted to have a private talk with her for a bit.


    Qin Weiwei had initially been brought up solely by Qing Mei and Qing Ju, so they were very close and couldn¡¯t do without one another. Thus, she didn¡¯t put up her guard against them.


    As Yang Qing expected, Lu Liu hade, but since the two mentioned that they wanted to chat in private, Lu Liu could only dismiss herself. She ended up ¡®coincidentally¡¯ running into Qing Ju. Hooking onto her arm, Qing Ju grinned and pulled Lu Liu to the side, concerned about how Qin Weiwei¡¯s life was at Mount Calming Sea.


    Lu Liu knew about how close Qin Weiwei¡¯s rtionship was with the two aunties, so it waspletely normal for Qing Ju to be concerned about Qin Weiwei¡¯s life. Thus, the conversation shared between them began to slowly broaden.


    Having stayed by Yang Qing¡¯s side for many years, both Qing Ju and Qing Mei had learned a lot of things from Yang Qing. When the two colluded together, Qin Weiwei and Lu Liu would never be their match. Qing Ju very easily squeezed information out of Lu Liu...


    When the two girls met with Yang Qing again, Qing Mei exined that after probing further, she realized that Qin Weiwei seemed to think well of Miao Yi now. It was definitely different from before, so Qing Mei tried to ask about it. After all, wasn¡¯t she always disagreeing with Miao Yi and arguing with him? What was with the sudden change of heart? In response, Qin Weiwei only gave an evasive answer¡ªthat Miao Yi had saved her life and she was indebted to him. However, she had expressed that it was quite regrettable Miao Yi seemed still at odds with her; and went on to say that, for the sake of Mount Calming Sea, she would strive her hardest to dispel the past misunderstanding between them.


    On the other hand, Qing Ju found out from Lu Liu that Qin Weiwei had be friends with Miao Yi. Moreover, Qin Weiwei was the one who had lowered herself to be friends with Miao Yi out of her own will. Yet, Miao Yi still seemed to be keeping his distance towards this newly found friendship.


    Putting together the news they gathered, Yang Qing was led to a shocking conclusion. His eyes widened for a moment before he breathed out, "Friends? Such good friends! I hope I¡¯m not thinking too deeply into this. Both of you are also women. From your perspective as women observing Qin Weiwei, do you sense anything amiss?"


    The two speechlessly shared a nce with each other, a little hesitant to speak. It seemed like they had a hard time telling him.


    Yang Qing urged them on. "Speak without fear. I just wish to listen to your honest opinions. From a man¡¯s point of view, I¡¯m afraid that I may be mistaken in my judgement on the behavior of a woman in this case."


    Since the conversation had escted to this point, Qing Mei uncertainly muttered, "If I haven¡¯t guess wrongly, I¡¯m afraid Young Miss has fallen in love with Miao Yi."


    Qing Ju nodded, obviously also agreeing with her opinion.


    ¡®Ssss!¡¯ Yang Qing drew in a sharp hiss. His greatest fear had came true. Slowly shaking his head, he said, "How could this be? Weren¡¯t they always at odds with each other?"


    Qing Juughed bitterly. "Apparently, Miao Yi also couldn¡¯t ept the sudden change in Young Miss¡¯s attitude, so he has yet to realize her feelings for him. Currently, it appears that Miss¡¯s love for Miao Yi is still one-sided."


    Qing Mei calmly continued, "It is easy for a woman to pursue a man. Along with her beauty and status that many men can only dream about, yet cannot grasp. Young Miss had fallen in love with him out of her own will. This is his blessing. So long as Manor Head ys the matchmaker and gives them a little push, this won¡¯t be a problem. You can assist the Young Miss at the right time."


    "That¡¯s right," said Qing Ju with a nod. "If that brat dares say ¡®no¡¯, I will be the first to never forgive him!"


    " NO! " Yang Qing lifted his hand to stop them. "I will never allow them to be dual cultivation partners."


    Taken aback by his outburst, the two women were thinking, ¡®Weren¡¯t you the one who kept urging Young Miss to find a partner? Now that Young Miss has someone in mind, why would he be so against it?¡¯


    Yang Qing lowered his gaze and said, "Thest time I visited Suppressing Second Hall, I submitted four names to participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. The Hall Master then crossed out a name and personally added another person on it. Care to guess whose name the Hall Master personally added?"


    The two women exchanged nces with each other. Since the topic was currently on Miao Yi, and he had asked the question so abruptly, the additional person couldn¡¯t be anyone but Miao Yi.


    But how could this be? Why would the Hall Master personally add Miao Yi¡¯s name to the list?


    Even if it that were the case, Qing Mei still cautiously asked, "Is it Miao Yi?"


    Yang Qing nodded, "It was."


    " AH! " Although they were both mentally prepared, they still didn¡¯t manage to suppress a startled cry after Yang Qing confirmed it.


    Qing Ju persisted in saying, "Even if Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation is progressing at a rapid pace, I am sure that he hasn¡¯t broken through to the Blue Lotus realm. Why would the Hall Master appoint a White Lotus cultivator to participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade? Isn¡¯t this just sending him to his death?"


    Yang Qing shook his head in reply. "I was also shocked by the revtion at first, so I quickly requested an audience with the Hall Master, intending to dispel all doubt about the matter. However, the Hall Master refused to see me and only ordered me to proceed with it."


    Everyone fell silent. Qing Ju and Qing Mei were all the more speechless, and kept shooting nces at each other. From the eyes of a woman, it wasn¡¯t easy for Qin Weiwei to open her heart. If she discovered this, they feared that she would only be left with a broken heart.


    Yet, Qing Mei still managed to remain rational and lightly nod. "If that really is the case, then Manor Head is right. We definitely should not fulfill the wishes of the Young Miss. Even if it were to cause her momentary grief, it would be better than having her suffer for a lifetime."


    Yang Qing waved his hands and said, "Qing Mei. That¡¯s where you are wrong. I didn¡¯t object because that kid is going to the Sea of Constetions. Even if that kid manages to survive and return from the Sea of Constetions without fail, I will never agree to it."


    Puzzled, Qing Ju asked, "Why is that so?"


    Qing Ju actually quite liked Miao Yi. It wasn¡¯t because she had seen him taking a bath. Rather, it was an issue that concerned Miao Yi¡¯s character. Just then, she had been thinking that perhaps she could wait and see whether Miao Yi would be able toe back unharmed from the Sea of Constetions. After all, Miao Yi had already survived the Sea of Constetions once. What she hadn¡¯t expected was Yang Qing¡¯s strong determination to forbid Young Miss and Miao Yi from being together.


    Yang Qing sighed, "I would rather Qin Weiwei end up with Gongsun Yu. I would never wish for her to be with Miao Yi."


    Qing Ju was more or less trying to help Qin Weiwei as she eximed, "Manor Head. Please forgive me for overstepping my bounds by saying this. Although Gongsun Yu is your trusted subordinate, based on ability alone, I think he honestly has no chance against Miao Yi. For Gongsun Yu¡¯s ability, the most he can do is be a subordinate. Only Miao Yi could genuinely be suited to oversee a region. What¡¯s more, even when ites to looks, Miao Yi does not lose to Gongsun Yu either."


    She still had words in her heart that she didn¡¯t say it out loud. That Miao Yi¡¯s temperament was better than Gongsun Yu, and he was more masculine with a zing heroic spirit. Gongsun Yu¡¯s appearance and traits were instead more inclined towards a pretty boy.


    "It¡¯s precisely because Miao Yi¡¯s ability is stronger than Gongsun Yu and even surpases that of Weiwei¡¯s, that I do not wish for them to be together." Yang Qing exined in all seriousness. "Even though Miao Yi has strong capabilities, he is an expert in causing trouble. He doesn¡¯t know what it means to know his ce. He¡¯s impulsive at times, and is always ready to take risks. He doesn¡¯t know what it means to progress one step at a time. Should Qin Weiwei go with him, it would be too dangerous for her. I do not wish to see him putting Weiwei in harm¡¯s way from his high-wire acts over and over again. It¡¯s not that I have anything against Miao Yi. On the contrary, as one man to another, I have the utmost admiration for him. However, when ites to Weiwei¡¯s marriage, I am not choosing the most capable subordinate. I am choosing the most suitable son-inw instead. It¡¯s alright if Gongsun Yu¡¯s ability is mediocre. It¡¯s enough for me that he is willing to listen to Weiwei¡¯s words. If Weiwei ends up with Miao Yi, I fear that she will pay for Miao Yi¡¯s recklessness. For instance, this time around, I have no idea how he managed to even provoked the Hall Master. It¡¯s absurd! Pray tell how I could ever offer my daughter¡¯s hand in marriage to a man like him?"


    ¡®So that was it!¡¯ The two women stared at each other and sighed deep down. From the perspective of a man, perhaps Manor Head¡¯s judgement was quite cool-headed and reasonable. However, from their perspective as women, feelings would alwayse first.


    However, when it came to this matter, the two couldn¡¯t say much to Yang Qing since he had the authority to make decisions about his daughter¡¯s marriage. They simply kept their silence...


    Although having their meal on the mountaintop would have meant a lovely scenery, feeling at home was more important when it came to a father and daughter reunion. Thus, Yang Qing descended down the mountain.


    Inside the residence of the Manor Head, a tabledened with delicacies was already prepared. Dressed in a white outfit, Qin Weiwei stood next to the curio shelves with her hand behind her back as she admired the strange trinkets offered to Yang Qing as tribute from the respective cities.


    "Weiwei!" Yang Qing called out with a smile as he strode into the room.


    "Father!" Qin Weiwei turned and walked off from them.


    There was nobody else inside the room. Qing Mei and the others had intentionally left to give the father and daughter their own private time. Usually one to pull a long face, Qin Weiwei finally revealed the mannerism of a gentle and carefree daughter.


    Not wasting time for formalities, Yang Qing simply took a seat at the table and began helping Qin Weiwei put some food in her bowl.


    Halfway through their meal, Yang Qing abruptly shifted the topic to Miao Yi. Without any prelude, he abruptly mmed the chopsticks down and he scoffed, "That bastard is really getting out of line! He knew Gongsun Yu is my subordinate and dared to target him. He really doesn¡¯t hold me with any regard. Does he really think that I won¡¯t do anything to him? I will destroy his Immortal Recordter. Let¡¯s see how arrogant he can still be then!"


    "Ah!" Qin Weiwei jumped in shock, before hurriedly exining, "Actually, Gongsu Yu was at fault at first. Besides, I already sent Hong Mian to make peace, so there¡¯s no need to make a big deal out of it."


    Yang Qing replied in all seriousness. "Since you¡¯re speaking up for him, I¡¯ll let this slide for now. But I worry that keeping him as your subordinate will soon bring trouble to you. How about I transfer him to South Edict Manor and keep him by my side. That will stop him from stirring up trouble."


    Currently, Qin Weiwei¡¯s only advantage over Miao Yi was that she could still rely on her position as his superior tomand him back and forth. Once he was transferred to Yang Qing¡¯s side, he would have nothing to do with her anymore. Thus, she quickly moved to stop him at once. "Father. There really isn¡¯t any need to. I can manage him. Ever since he was demoted to a Steed Deputy, he has learned his lesson and be more obedient to me."


    Looking askance, Yang Qing asked, "Really?"


    Qin Weiwei hurriedly agreed with a nod.


    With a perplexed gaze, Yang Qing sighed. Shaking his head, he kept his silence and didn¡¯t reveal to Qin Weiwei that Miao Yi was already among those who would participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade.


    Just then, Qing Ju hurried barged into the room from outside.. "Manor Head. Hong Mian sent news from Mount Calming Sea that Xiong Xiao has mobilized his army to attack East Arrival Cave!"


    Upon hearing that, Qin Weiwei stood upright with a start. She watched on as Yang Qing received the jade archive and examined it. Seeing Yang Qing¡¯s expression became strange without saying a words, she couldn¡¯t help asking, "How¡¯s East Arrival Cave doing?"


    "If Xiong Xiao dared to choose this moment to make his move, it seems like... news has been leaked from the Suppressing Second Hall," groaned Yang Qing as he passed the jade archive to Qin Weiwei.


    Apart from the name list of those participating in the crusade being leaked, Yang Qing couldn¡¯t think of any other reason for Xiong Xiao to suddenlyunch an attack on East Arrival Cave at a time like this.

 Chapter 282: Promotion

    Chapter 282: Promotion


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    He already used the punishment for Miao Yi as a stern warning to Xiong Xiao. Xiong Xiao himself had been keeping a low profile all these years, afraid to cause trouble. Suddenly making such a move didn¡¯t seem to be in Xiong Xiao¡¯s best interest. His current strength wasn¡¯t enough to rebel against Yang Qing, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to survive the consequences of doing so either. The only possibility was that something made Xiong Xiao desperate, and as of now, the candidate list for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was the only possible reason.


    Indeed, Yang Qing had thoughts of taking action against Xiong Xiao, but now wasn¡¯t the right time. Besides, Xiong Xiao had been following him for many years. Without some sort of pretext, Yang Qing would never be able to make a move on Xiong Xiao.


    The main reason he had submitted Xiong Xiao¡¯s name to the candidate list was to test Huo Lingxiao, and see how much support he was giving to Xiong Xiao. With that, he would then choose the appropriate method to deal with Xiong Xiao. He wouldn¡¯t be that foolish to forcibly act against Huo Lingxiao. Besides, he didn¡¯t have the ability to do so either.


    After receiving the reply for the names he submitted, Yang Qing understood that Huo Lingxiao would not go so far as to try something against him for Xiong Xiao¡¯s sake at this time.


    Even so, Yang Qing still refused to announce the candidate list for the time being. He would wait until he had everything nned before revealing the contents of the list to Xiong Xiao. He would then figure an appropriate way to force Xiong Xiao to rebel against him.


    If Xiong Xiao decided to head to the Sea of Constetions obediently when the time came, it would be fine. But if he did decided to retaliate, then Yang Qing would have a reason to seize him. By then, he would have already made the proper arrangements and Xiong Xiao wouldn¡¯t be able to run away even if he wanted to.


    However much to everyone¡¯s surprise, Xiong Xiao was no fool either. He reacted quickly and did not confront Yang Qing. He didn¡¯t try to save or dy the inevitable either. In the heat of the moment, he decided he would rather surrender the benefitsid before him.


    The reason Xiong Xiao reacted this way was clearly because he had already received the news beforehand. However, who was it that leaked the information to him?


    Other than Yang Qing and a few others who knew of the candidate list submitted to the Suppressing Second Hall, only Hall Master Huo Lingxiao would know about it. Yang Qing hadn¡¯t even told his personal handmaidens about the list. Moreover, after the candidate list was sent out, he received a swift reply afterwards. There weren¡¯t a lot of people handling the list. Other than those in Suppressing Second Hall exposing the list, he couldn¡¯t think of any other who could have seen it....


    Qin Weiwei couldn¡¯t wait any longer and proceeded to inspect the contents of the jade archive. It only carried news of Xiong Xiao assaulting East Arrival Cave, but held no details of the cave¡¯s current situation. East Arrival Cave had immediately sent out a Spirit Eagle to ry the news before the assault ured, so there wasn¡¯t any detail of Miao Yi¡¯s condition that Qin Weiwei wished to know.


    Hong Mian also attached another report with the jade archive¡ªit was the news of Miao Yi ughtering eight of Gongsun Yu¡¯s men at Long Viridescent Cave. However, in contrast to Xiong Xiao assaulting East Arrival Cave, this piece of news was obviously set aside by both father and daughter immediately.


    "Xiong Xiao has gone too far. He¡¯s treating my Mount Calming Sea as if it were nothing. I beg of Manor Head, please hand him a severe punishment!" Qin Weiwei sped her fists together and pleaded.


    "Severe punishment?" Yang Qing mockingly said at the thought. Standing up, he left the dining table and paced about slowly before saying, "I am afraid I won¡¯t be able to punish him even if I want to. If I am not mistaken, Xiong Xiao has already defected. Judging by the timeframe, I¡¯m afraid the only ce he could have contacted in such a short period would be Suppressing Third Hall. I¡¯m guessing that the one who leaked the information didn¡¯t expect Xiong Xiao to make this move. That person might be angry from this embarrassment."


    Qin Weiwei and Qing Ju became confused after listening to his words because both of them didn¡¯t know that Yang Qing had already signed Xiong Xiao up to participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade as a candidate.


    However, Qin Weiwei wasn¡¯t concerned about that. She wanted to know the current situation of East Arrival Cave. Most importantly, she wanted to know Miao Yi¡¯s current status. Seeing that Yang Qing had no intention to punish Xiong Xiao, she was in no mood to ask about the entire sequence of events, so she dismissed herself and left hastily.


    Yang Qing did not detain her either. Instead, he sent a few experts from South Edict Manor to apany her along the way.


    Even if he suspected Xiong Xiao of defecting, he felt that there wasn¡¯t a need to make a big fuss over it. He would deal with it ordingly, depending on the upper echelons¡¯ reaction. However, nothing was certain in this world. It waspletely possible that Xiong Xiao would take desperate measures and strike a vicious blow at Qin Weiwei again, so he thought it would be safer to send out a few experts to protect her from harm.


    At the same time, Yang Qing had another order for Qin Weiwei. Xiong Xiao was acting maliciously this time around. Yang Qing feared that East Arrival Cave would only be met with ill winds from now on. If Miao Yi did manage to survive, then he would re-appoint him as the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, but Yang Qing would not send out any troops for Miao Yi. Miao Yi would have to think of another way to solve his problem.


    Currently, they didn¡¯t have any news about whether Miao Yi was dead or alive. Qin Weiwei couldn¡¯t believe that Yang Qing still had the time to be concerned about Miao Yi¡¯s position right now. She clenched her pearly whites and acknowledged the orders before turning to leave...


    Just then, Miao Yi had already taken Luo Shuangfei with him and fled to Mount Calming Sea. Along the way he bumped into Hong Mian, who breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Miao Yi unharmed. After being briefed on the situation at East Arrival Cave, she then ryed the information back to South Edict Manor.


    Miao Yi managed to find the disciples of the School of Blue Jade at Mount Calming Sea and made them immediately think of a way to contact Tong Renmei of the School of Blue Jade, as he was in dire need of men!


    Meanwhile, Tu Sanliang and the others who had been pursuing Miao Yi stopped their chase when they reached the borders of Mount Calming Sea. Would they dare assault Mount Calming Sea just because of Miao Yi? They didn¡¯t have the guts to do so.


    What made them even more bewildered was that they hadpletely lost contact with their Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao. ¡®How could this be? What should they do next?¡¯ In that instant, they werepletely confused...


    Suppressing Third Hall ¡ª Xiong Xiao brought his two handmaidens with him to the gates of the hall after a hurried, arduous non-stop journey. He was feeling quite anxious.


    After a while, the handmaiden Fei Yun serving under the Hall Master gradually approached them with a smile and said, "The Hall Master requested for you. Pleasee with me."


    "I am sorry to have troubled you," replied Xiong Xiao with an unusual respectful tone. He turned back to instruct Xia He and Qiu Yu, "Wait for me here."


    "Yes!" Thedies were as nervous as he was when they gave their reply. They remained outside without the daring to move around and watched as Xiong Xiao obediently followed Fei Yun.


    On reaching the main hall at the rear of the chamber, Xiong Xiao could see Wu Menn seated demurely without paying attention to him. She was looking at a jade archive in her hand.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s chest tightened. He quickly went up and paid his respects, "Xiong Xiao is honored to see the Hall Master!"


    Wu Menn continued to stared at the jade archive in her hand and casually asked, "Are you that Xiong Xiao who went to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor and tricked Liu Jingtian into dispatching his troops?"


    Xiong Xiao shot a nce at her. He didn¡¯t think that this woman would mention this, so he nervously replied, "Yes!"


    Wu Menn nced at him and sneered, "Such audacity. You have offended my Suppressing Third Hall, and now you have the guts to surrender to me. Do you think Suppressing Third Hall is such easy game?"


    Xiong Xiao was already extremely nervous, yet he managed to summon enough courage to reply, "Hall Master. We were serving different masters back then. I received strict orders from above and did not dare defy them. Now that I have surrendered myself to you, I will certainly serve you with my life."


    "That is indeed music to my ears." Wu Menn put down the jade archive in her hand and continued asking, "Yang Qing has treated you well, and yet you can still betray him. Today you surrendered yourself to me, but can you guarantee that you will never betray me in the future? Just because he signed your name up for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, you betrayed him. There¡¯s no such situation in the world of cultivation where leaders will never send out their underlings to fight to their death. If everyone were like you¡ªa man who dishonors his lord¡ªhow could I dare to take you in?"


    "Hall Master. If it was just asking me to head the Sea of Constetions, I would not bear any hatred in my heart. Back then, I risked my life for Yang Qing and fearlessly leapt into danger at the Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. How does that make me a cowardly person who clings to life, fearing death?" said Xiong Xiao with a sorrowful face, before letting out a long sigh.


    He was well aware of the fact that whether the Hall Master would be satisfied with his answer, would determine his fate. He shook his head helplessly and continued, "I didn¡¯t want to betray Yang Qing. My betrayal has nothing to do with how he treated me, and it has nothing to do with sending me to the Sea of Constetions. Even if he mistreated me a little, I would not gone to the point of betraying him. In reality, Yang Qing is small-minded and he couldn¡¯t tolerate me anymore, so he deliberately nned and put me in a ce of danger and death. No matter what I do, even if I leap over a boiling cauldron, or a zing fire for him, he still desires to harm me. Why should I risk my life for such a person? I betrayed him because I was driven to desperation!"


    Wu Menn replied, "Oh? Driven to desperation? ording to you, you won¡¯t have any qualms with me allowing you to continue participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade this time then, am I correct?"


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s resolve shook slightly, but he quickly got it under control. If the Hall Master intended to ept him just to kill him off, she wouldn¡¯t need to meet him personally like this. He sped his fists together decisively and said, " Whatever orders the Hall Master gives, I am willing to risk my life to fulfill them."


    Wu Menn gave a satisfied nod. Regardless of whether Xiong Xiao was being sincere or pretentious, at the very least he had passed her test. That was enough to satisfy her.


    "Go to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor." Wu Menn¡¯s sudden order took Xiong Xiao by surprise.


    He initially wanted to seek refuge with Manor Head Zhao Mu at Surging Waves Manor, but now he was being told to head to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor instead. There was enmity between him and Liu Jingtian, the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor! Wouldn¡¯t this put him on the block?


    He saw Wu Menn writing a jade archive of appointment and tossing it to him. Xiong Xiao took a closer look at the archive after receiving it. His jaw almost dropped in shock after reading the contents. The order on the archive dered that he was appointed as the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor...


    He thought he had wrongly read the content and re-read the message multiple times just to be certain. Indeed, it wasn¡¯t a mistake.


    "What¡¯s wrong? Are you not satisfied with being the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor? Perhaps you also want me to offer my position as Hall Master to you?" Wu Menn coldly asked.


    Xiong Xiao came back to his senses immediately and hastily waved his hands in ferverently, "I dare not think of it. I pledge to serve Hall Master with my life!"


    Wu Menn cocked her head at handmaiden Fei Yun standing by her side and said, "Go and personally escort Xiong Xiao to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor to assume his position. Liu Jingtian has repeatedly suffered many losses at the hands of Yang Qing. That position is no longer suitable for him. Tell him toe to Suppressing Third Hall."


    "Yes!" Fei Yunplied.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s eyes constantly flickered. She had revealed too many hidden meanings within her words. Could it be that she was intentionally giving him a tform that would allow him to face off against Yang Qing?


    Wu Menn wasn¡¯t interested in listening to Xiong Xiao¡¯s nonsense any longer. She made him write an issue of surrender as proof and then signalled for him to stand down with her hand.


    She then turned to write another jade archive before handing both the archive and the issue of surrender over to her handmaiden Fei Wu. "Give this to Advisor Liao. Let him go to the Suppressing Second Hall and take these to Huo Lingxiao, so that he knows that Xiong Xiao has already surrendered to me."


    "Yes!" Fei Wu took the items and left.


    Just then, a teasing smile curled on the corner of Wu Menn¡¯s lips. She wondered what kind of expression Huo Lingxiao would make after seeing those items.


    Xiong Xiao was ovee with joy as he crossed the pce gates to see both of his trembling personal handmaidens waiting for him. He almost let out a burst ofughter in front of them.


    This oue hadpletely taken him by surprise. He initially thought that surrendering would be a loss as he would never be charged with two mountains under Zhao Mu. Unbeknownst to him, good things came when he least expected it. With this turn of events, he actually became the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor¡ªsuddenly bing an individual of the same status as Yang Qing. Bing a Manor Head had always been his dream. The surprise that came from surrendering himself was way out of his expectations. It was simply an extraordinarily fortuitous encounter. He never would have dreamed of such a thing. This was truly a situation where a change would make one¡¯s life better!


    Despite already knowing of her intent in appointing him as Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor from Wu Menn herself, he didn¡¯t mind it at all. With the resources of the manor under his grasp and Suppressing Third Hall as his pir of support, there was no longer a need to fear Yang Qing anymore!

 Chapter 283: Shocked Senseless

    Chapter 283: Shocked Senseless


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    The borders of Mount Calming Sea were surrounded by apany of troops. Hong Mian had been told to stand guard, but she felt uneasy about the situation. In the end, she called upon a couple of guards to apany her and went down the mountain. She confronted the troops and asked, "Are you here to invade Mount Calming Sea?"


    Tu Sanliang and the others gazed at one another without uttering a single word. They saw Miao Yi and Luo Shuangfei who had escaped from East Arrival Cave standing beside Hong Mian, but no one dared to make a move!


    Most importantly, even if they were able to make a move, they still couldn¡¯t find the person to collect their reward from because Xiong Xiao was nowhere to be found. They could neither leave nor stay. All of them whined in their hearts, ¡®What the hell is Mountain Chieftain Xiong Xiao doing? Such an important matter is not to be trifled with!¡¯


    "Elder Auntie. Please allow me to approach them and ascertain their intentions." One of the disciples from the Sword Deviate Sect residing at Mount Calming Sea requested of Hong Mian.


    After Hong Mian gave a nod as consent, he swiftly mounted his dragon steed and darted down to face Tu Sanliang. He frowned and said, "Senior Brother Tu. Are you all crazy? Perhaps you are unaware of who currentlymands Mount Calming Sea? How dare youe here and act rashly!"


    Tu Sanliang didn¡¯t know whether he shouldugh or cry. He went on to exin his problem to the disciple.


    ¡®Xiong Xiao has gone missing?¡¯ The disciple felt a bit strange when he heard this piece of information. However, he decided that he should give his advice to Tu Sanliang, "There is nothing difficult about this matter. He will indefinitely return to where he came from, that being Mount Shaotai. However, you guys are not at Mount Shaotai waiting for Xiong Xiao¡¯s return, instead you came to Mount Calming Sea to wait for him. Where is the logic in that? Are you trying to alert the troops from two manors and encircle us here?"


    Tu Sanliang thought about it and the disciple¡¯s words made sense. After discussing with Lan Ye and the rest, they decided it was wise to return back to Mount Shaotai without caring whether they would be receiving orders from Xiong Xiao for the time being.


    "Xiong Xiao is missing?" Hong Mian became suspicious after receiving that bit of information from the disciple.


    Listening off to the side, Miao Yi felt it was a little odd. He wondered what kind of trick Xiong Xiao was trying to y this time.


    Half a dayter, Qin Weiwei rushed back with several men from the South Edict Manor. When she saw Miao Yi unharmed¡ªshe let out a sigh of relief. When Hong Mian sent the other message to South Edict Manor, she was already en route here, so she was unaware of the current situation.


    For now, she would naturally ask Miao Yi about his situation. At the same time, she also informed him that the Manor Head had already decided to reinstate his position as the Cave Master of the East Arrival Cave.


    "Then what about Yan Xiu?" asked Miao Yi in astonishment.


    Qin Weiwei said in all seriousness, "East Arrival Cave has lost many of its troops. You still want me to reward him?"


    Yan Xiu had followed Miao Yi for many years. Where there was contribution, there was also hard work. He had been loyal to him, especially during the time he had to go against the Mountain Chieftain. He also took the me on behalf of Miao Yi. To dismiss him from the position as though it was nothing, that was a little overboard. Even though everyone knew that the real Cave Master of East Arrival Cave was Miao Yi, he still fought for the sake of Yan Xiu. In that regard, he turned towards Hong Mian and Lu Liu and smiled, "Elder Auntie, Little Auntie. I would like to present my report to Mountain Chieftain privately."


    He didn¡¯t have the power to make them go away, so they nced at Qin Weiwei for her reply. She gave them a nod, and they both stifled a smile as they went down.


    It was only then that Miao Yi got up and stood before Qin Weiwei. Acting love-struck, he said, "Well, uhm. Weiwei, aren¡¯t we friends?"


    Qin Weiwei felt goosebumps rise on her body when she heard those words. However, she couldn¡¯t deny hearing it made her feel good. She nodded and replied, "Of course we are friends."


    "Since we¡¯re friends, could you do me a favor privately, please?" Miao Yi jovially asked.


    Qin Weiwei almost lost her patience, ¡® What kind of person is he? When he needs something, he¡¯ll treat you as a friend, but when he doesn¡¯t need anything, he will stay far away from you.¡¯ She grit her teeth and asked, "What is it?"


    "It is still about Yan Xiu." Miao Yi became serious and continued, "I think Yan Xiu is more suitable as the Cave Master of Long Viridescent Cave than Gongsun Yu. You should really consider that."


    If he didn¡¯t mention anything about Long Viridescent Cave, Qin Weiwei would have forgotten about it due to the invasion at East Arrival Cave. Her expression grew cold as she said, "Miao Yi. I sent Hong Mian to mediate the situation. However, you went on to mercilessly ughtered the men at Long Viridescent Cave. Do you hold any respect for me at all?"


    "Weiwei. You have wrongly used me. I had no choice. Gongsun Yu wanted to spar with me no matter what. He saw that I had brought a handful of men, so he sent out eight of his own to fight against one of mine, treating my subordinate as a pushover. He really was trying to kill my man. My underling was forced to return the favor."


    Qin Weiwei turned around and stood face-to-face with him. She sneered, "Miao Yi. Are you taking me for a fool? I have already seen the report from Hong Mian at South Edict Manor. Clearly you were the one who set up the trap and intentionally aggravated Gongsun Yu."


    "Weiwei. Hong Mian only knows about the general stuff but not the details! She doesn¡¯t know that Gongsun Yu is passionately devoted to you-"


    "What nonsense. What do you mean ¡®passionately devoted¡¯?" interrupted Qin Weiwei with grit teeth. "Miao Yi, let me repeat myself. I am not engaged in a love affair with him!"


    "I understand. I really do." Miao Yi quickly continued as he nodded. "But that Gongsun Yu must have taken our rtionship the wrong way because he kept on being excessively jealous whenever he saw me. He was well-behaved in front of Hong Mian, however whenever she turned her back, he would provoke me . He even warned me to stay away from you. Don¡¯t you think I am being treated unjustly? If you didn¡¯t exin to me beforehand, I might still think that both of you are in a romantic rtionship. I was forced under desperate circumstances to spar with him."


    While listening to his exnation, Qin Weiwei¡¯s bountiful chest rosed up and down. Her breathing seemed a bitboured, and her expression was a sight to behold. She believed in Miao Yi¡¯s words because she assumed Gongsun Yu really would do such things based on her knowledge of him. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to provoke Yan Xiu like that during the tribute at Mount Calming Sea.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t really care whether she and Gongsun Yu were engaged in a love affair. He just wanted Qin Weiwei to understand. ¡®Didn¡¯t you, Qin Weiwei say that you aren¡¯t in a love affair with him? If you help him, that means you definitely are in one...¡¯ All in all, Miao Yi was just trying to save his own skin.


    "Weiwei. I really think that Yan Xiu is more suited than Gongsun Yu as the Cave Master of Long Viridescent Cave." Miao Yi persisted on his suggestion.


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes flickered and she came back to her senses. She decided not to delve deeper into the matter of whether Gongsun Yu really had said those words. At the very least, the fellow in front of her was trying to make Gongsun Yu retire and rece him with one of his own for the position.


    "Don¡¯t think too much about Gongsun Yu¡¯s matter. Don¡¯t you realize that you already infuriated the Manor Head when you ughtered those men at Long Viridescent Cave? The first thing he wanted to do was to remove your Immortal Record. If it wasn¡¯t for my begging, you would already have be a Loose Cultivator," said Qin Weiwei.


    "Er..." Miao Yi was speechless. He must never lose his Immortal Record. If he didn¡¯t have thisyer of tiger skin, he would be swiftly killed and robbed of his precious treasures. He wouldn¡¯t be able to defend himself with his current strength. Before he could even leave Mount Calming Sea, he would have already been killed.


    Immediately, he didn¡¯t want to talk about this for now, so he asked, "Did the Manor Head give his consent with regards to Luo Shuangfei being added to the Immortal Record?"


    Qin Weiwei remained expressionless and said, "Manor Head rejected it. But I used my close rtionship with him and wasted my breath begging him to give his consent."


    Miao Yi breathed a sigh of relief. He didn¡¯t dare to ask for anything else. As for Yan Xiu, he would have to put the matter aside for the time being. However, there was one other problem he needed to solve. "Currently, I have no men I can use in East Arrival Cave, and because of Xiong Xiao¡¯s watching my every move, you see..."


    Qin Weiwei calmly replied, "You still have two underlings with you. I will think of someway to get another eight men from Mount Calming Sea, and then you will have ten men under you. Am I not generous as your friend?" She was viting Yang Qing¡¯s order of not providing Miao Yi with any troops.


    ¡®Only eight of them?¡¯ Miao Yi froze. He tried to probe a little, "What kind of cultivation do these eight possess?"


    Qin Weiwei retained her cold expression and said, "Naturally, in ordance to the usual arrangement of the abode of Immortals."


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression twitched, "Weiwei. You are well aware of the situation at the East Arrival Cave. The current situation of the cave isn¡¯t favorable, as that ce will always be spilling blood. I don¡¯t want to look for trouble, but trouble will alwayse after me. For instance, Ever Peace Manor and Thriving Ten-Thousand manor. I had no quarrel with them, yet when something happened, they will alwayse after East Arrival Cave. With that said, the usual arrangement for the abode of Immortals will not cut it."


    Qin Weiwei sighed, "You are also well aware of the situation at Mount Calming Sea. Where in the world can I find so many experts for you?"


    Miao Yi exined, "What I meant is, I want to replenish the troops I have lost. If not, I would like to recruit twenty more people from the School of Blue Jade. Can you help me negotiate with the Manor Head?"


    Qin Weiwei knew that this man had this sort of intention from the beginning. She sighed again, "When the Manor Head wanted to remove your Immortal Record, it took me a lot of convincing to cover for you. When the Manor Head felt he had no choice but to transfer you to South Edict Manor and suspend you, it was I who covered for you again. I also fought in order to reinstate you as Cave Master. Moreover, when the Manor Head decided not to allow the Loose Cultivator to join the two manors, it was I again, who used my status as his daughter and begged him to give his consent. And now you want to recruit more men from the School of Blue Jade? I don¡¯t know what more I can say to beg the Manor Head for that. Miao Yi. Don¡¯t you think you are a tad too demanding?"


    Miao Yi was embarrassed after she said it like that, and said in a meek voice, "Weiwei. Aren¡¯t we friends? A friend in need, is a friend indeed." He felt guilty uttering those words. Even he felt he was being a little too despicable.


    Qin Weiwei was silent for a while before she said in a determined voice, "Alright! I can help you, but how will you return the favor?"


    Miao Yi wanted to give a frivolous reply but before he could, Qin Weiwei quickly added on, "I don¡¯t want to hear any lip service from you."


    Miao Yi was speechless. He could only inquire further, "What kind of favor do you desire from me?"


    Qin Weiwei turned to face the long table and sat down. She ced her hands on the table and eyed him, "Thest time we met, didn¡¯t you say that you want to devote your heart to me?"


    Miao Yi chuckled, "I meant that as a joke."


    Qin Weiwei shook her head, "But I took it seriously then."


    "Eh..." Miao Yi was stunned for a moment, then he let out a hollowugh, "Don¡¯t tease me, alright? I know my ce very well. How can someone like you take a fancy for someone like myself..."


    "I¡¯m not joking around," continued Qin Weiwei with a serious expression. "Weren¡¯t you the one who said that friends should help each other? Now I have something I need you to help me with."


    ¡®Indeed that is what I said. But how can someone like you take a fancy to me? Then again, what sort of problem forced her to talk about devoting myself to her?¡¯ Miao Yi dubiously asked, "What is the problem?"


    Qin Weiwei was serious as she said, "You are well aware about the rumors going haywire between Gongsun Yu and myself. I was lectured by Manor Head because of that when I went back to South Edict Manor before. I don¡¯t want to pretend anymore for the sake of these unnecessary rumors. The best way to solve them will be by ending my single status, then those rumors will eventually fade into oblivion. This is why I want you to go to the Manor Head and ask him for my hand in marriage. Just tell him you want to marry me."


    "Ah..." Miao Yi swayed and almost fainted from the shock. He waspletely bbergasted by her words with sweat rolling down his back. "Don¡¯t frighten me like that."


    Qin Weiwei calmly said, "Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t really want you to devote your life to me, I just want you to bear this false reputation."


    ¡®God dammit, why should I bear such a huge reputation? This woman must be nuts!¡¯ Miao Yi was dumbfounded and said, "It¡¯s just a small rumor. You don¡¯t have to go so far as to destroy your clean reputation. How about this¡ªI will help you kill Gongsun Yu, and you will help protect me from the aftermath. How about it?"

 Chapter 284: Promises

    Chapter 284: Promises


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Gongsun Yu really had a bad streak of luck. Regardless of whether they wanted to protect him or harm him, he would always be the topic of their conversation.


    Qin Weiwei grit her teeth. This guy would rather murder Gongsun Yu than ask her father for her hand in marriage. How could she stomach this?


    "It¡¯s not just about Gongsun Yu. Father has also been forcing me to settle my marital affairs as soon as possible. However, this kind of mutual consent can never be forced," said Qin Weiwei. She shook her head and sighed.


    "That¡¯s right!" Miao Yi promptly nodded his head. "It¡¯s useless to force these matters. It will be over if you just refuse him."


    "But I have already promised him."


    "Er..." Miao Yi still had his reservations and continued to ask, "Since you¡¯re not willing, why did you promise him?"


    "Because of your matters. If I hadn¡¯t promised him, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to help you solve your problems all at once while I was at South Edict Manor then," said Qin Weiwei, keeping an indifferent expression without any emotion. "For the sake of you, my friend, I have tried my very best. Can¡¯t you just help me for once?"


    "This..." Miao Yi was still hesitant, wondering whether or not this woman was trying to y him for a fool. However, after giving it a bit more thought, he realized Qin Weiwei wasn¡¯t the type to use her reputation as a joke. For a moment, he didn¡¯t know what he should say. He could only force a smile and said, "It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t wish to help you, but how could I help you with such problem!"


    "Simple. Go and ask my father for my hand in marriage."


    When Miao Yi imagined the scenario of himself asking Yang Qing for his daughter¡¯s hand in marriage, he instantly felt buckets of sweat breaking. His expression was a little sour as he wiped his forehead and said, "Qin... Wei... Wei. Is it appropriate for a mere Cave Master like myself to run to the Manor Head and talk about marriage? If I do, won¡¯t he strike me down in anger?"


    "You will be fine. I will go with you. I will exin that we yearned for each other for a long while already. As long as you propose the idea of marriage to him, I naturally will have a way to make father agree to it."


    "


    "Yearned for each other?" Miao Yi¡¯s eyes went wide. He was silent for a while before hesitantly saying, "Isn¡¯t it inappropriate?"


    "Inappropriate? I already made a promise to father about my marital matters just to solve your problems. This happened because of you, and now you don¡¯t want to help me? Does that mean that I should go find a random guy to marry just because of your problems?"


    "This... I do wish to help you, but this sort of matter... I don¡¯t care about myself, but I fear this will besmirch your reputation! Think about it. If you and I carry a status like that, how will you marry in the future?"


    "You don¡¯t have to worry about that. If I truly meet someone I like one day, I will exin my reasons to him."


    "Exin? Will you be able to exin your reasons properly? Qin Weiwei. I truly am thinking of your own good. In the eyes of a man, even if you try your best to exin, the other person will still feel resentful about it."


    "So you think nobody would want to take me as his wife, the daughter of the Manor Head of South Edict Manor?"


    "No, no. You have the authority, power, and status; you are beautiful as well. There are many men out there who would want to marry you..." Miao Yi scratched his face. He didn¡¯t know what else he should say. He didn¡¯t think he would ever encounter a situation like this one. He was beginning to suspect that this woman was trying to trick him. But as a woman, she didn¡¯t need to use her reputation to toy with him like this. In the end, he meekly said, "Actually, you could try and find others to do it. I think... Gongsun Yu is actually a decent choice. He will definitely be happy to help you with your problem..."


    ¡®BANG! ¡¯ Qin Weiwei mmed the table and stood up with a frosty expression on her face. Miao Yi was taken aback by her sudden action.


    "OUT!" Qin Weiwei angrily yelled, pointing to the door. "I won¡¯t help you with your problems anymore. The problem between Gongsun Yu and you hasn¡¯t been settled yet. I will leave it to Manor Head to deal with. I don¡¯t give a damn anymore!"


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression twitched. He was finally experiencing how it felt like to be pressured by a higher ranking officer. However, going back to the main point, even Miao Yi felt he was quite shameless for saying such things to her. When he took a step back and thought about it, if he really did allow Qin Weiwei and Gongsun Yu to end up together, Gongsun Yu would take the opportunity to give him a hard time; let alone Qin Weiwei.


    "Don¡¯t be mad," said Miao Yi with a horrendous smile on his face.


    "Mad? It¡¯s not worth getting mad over someone like you," yelled Qin Weiwei once again. "GET OUT!"


    "I... I promise, alright?" Miao Yi took the initiative to beg. "Weiwei. Don¡¯t be mad. We¡¯re friends. How can I stand by and do nothing? I promise that I will find the Manor Head and speak with him about the marriage proposal, alright?"


    Qin Weiwei rapid breathing eventually calmed down. She stared at him coldly and said, "You better think of this carefully. It¡¯s your decision. I¡¯m not forcing you to do it."


    ¡®You are clearly forcing me to do it and you still deny it? I am only being polite because I am not strong enough, and both you and your father are my superiors!¡¯ Miao Yi felt that his tears were flowing into his stomach instead, yet he still had to show her an apologetic smile. "No, no. Since we are friends, there¡¯s no way that I won¡¯t lend a hand after seeing my friend in trouble."


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes shone. She could suddenly feel the joy in having her authority.


    To be honest, when she forced Miao Yi into being friends in the beginning, she already felt that sensation before. After having her first daunting experience with it, she discovered that authority was quite an effective tool to use. Her skin eventually ¡®thickened¡¯, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t be able to say such words to Miao Yi.


    Of course, she had to disguise herself to be able to say such things¡ªlike pretending to help him with his problems. If she had to say what she truly felt, how could she bring herself to do it? Even if she were to be beaten to death, she would never speak the truth.


    She didn¡¯t know anything about falling in love as she has no experience with it either. She would rather simplye across as tough while concealing the truth.


    Her cold expression was slowing warming up. Qin Weiwei sighed again and said, "Actually, if we do it like this, you will be able to reap a lot of benefits. If you and I take on that false status, I can dispel those rumors and my father¡¯s forced marriage. You will be able to talk through some of your problems with Manor Head. It won¡¯t do for me if I keep taking your side to solve your problems. With thisyer of rtionship between us, my father might think of a way to promote you as Mountain Chieftain as soon as possible."


    ¡®I do want to be a Mountain Chieftain but not through this kind of method!¡¯ Miao Yi forced a smile and said, "You might be able to dispel your rumors, but I am afraid that I will be doused with more rumors. When that timees, someone will definitelybel me as a kept man."


    Qin Weiwei was stunned. She hadn¡¯t considered this point before. When she considered them being together, it didn¡¯t seem like there were any disadvantage for Miao Yi. After thinking about it for a moment, it would indeed be a little too much for a man to bear such reputation. It seemed that her status and background were not as much of an advantage as she initially thought. A sh of regret visible passed her eyes.


    Miao Yi was not really concerned about reputations and the like. As a person who grew up in a street as a filthy butcher, he was already used to being despised by others. Now all he was worrying about was how he should tell Yang Qing of the marriage proposal. Gazing out the window, he asked, "If I really take up that status, does that mean I have to stay in Mount Calming Sea in the future?"


    Qin Weiwei replied a little awkwardly. "Sure."


    "Ah! That¡¯s unfortunate," Miao Yi sighed.


    "What do you mean by that?" Qin Weiwei asked in turn. "Were you thinking of staying in the same room with me?"


    ¡®I want to!¡¯ Miao Yi gaze flew from the window to Qin Weiwei¡¯s pretty face, then darted to her pert bosoms. He let out a hollowugh and said, "Unfortunately, this is all an act. It is too bad that we would be couples in name only. Others may think that I really do have a beautiful wife."


    Qin Weiwei stayed calm and replied, "Oh. Do you want to seriously court me then?"


    Miao Yi teased, "My dear Mountain Chieftain is so beautiful. Any man would wish to court you."


    Qin Weiwei coldly replied, "I will not stop you. If you have the balls for it, then why don¡¯t you try it? Maybe I won¡¯t refuse."


    ¡®Cough! Cough!¡¯ Letting out two dry coughs, Miao Yi¡¯s expression turned awkward as he thought, ¡®This woman is very certain that I don¡¯t the guts to touch her.¡¯


    To be honest, he really did desire courting Qin Weiwei. If he actually took on that status with such a beautiful woman beside him, he would desire to be intimate with her just as any other men would.


    Having said that, there was nothing he could do as he worked under her father¡¯smand. If he angered Yang Qing, he could very easily be turned into a Loose Cultivator with just a single kick. Forcing himself on Qin Weiwei was like taking his bright future as a joke. He couldn¡¯t afford that! Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t perverted enough to go on such a desperate route yet...


    In the Suppressing Second Hall, Advisor Liao Busheng from Suppressing Third Hall silently waited beside Huo Lingxiao, after delivering the archive to him under Wu Menn¡¯s orders.


    Huo Lingxiao sat there with an arm resting on the tea table, impassively studying the contents of the jade archive.


    Liao Busheng kept on observing Huo Lingxiao, but there was hardly any reaction on his face.


    After he was done reading through the contents of the jade archive, Huo Lingxiao put it down and tilted his head upwards with a smile. "I never expected Wu Menn to be this interested in my subordinate. Go back and inform her, there are many men who are stronger than Xiong Xiao in Suppressing Second Hall. If she still wants one that badly, I can personally hand-pick some for her and I can assure that she will not be disappointed."


    Liao Busheng¡¯s expression twisted slightly. This was an insult to his Hall Master, but as he was alone, he dared not act recklessly. He could only mutter, "Farewell."


    Huo Lingxiao raised his hand slightly and responded, "See yourself out!"


    After Liao Busheng flew off, Huo Lingxiao¡¯s expression gradually became grim. Suddenly, his transcendence energy began surging.


    ¡®BANG! BANG! BANG!...¡¯


    A number of explosion rang out, and several items inside the room were pulverized. Yu Tian and Liu Xing¡¯s faces paled from fright as they nced around the room.


    Sweeping his sleeves, he blew dusts from the exploded items outside. Huo Lingxiao then scornfullyughed, "Well done, Xiong Xiao. You have quite the pair on you. How dare you ridicule me like this! I guess you have a death wish."


    Yang Qing was right. The reason Xiong Xiao¡¯s name had been leaked from the list was because of Huo Lingxiao.


    Of course, how could a Hall Master do such a thing that could easily go wrong? Naturally, he wanted to somehow reveal the list to Xiong Xiao so that he would be able to understand the good intention the Hall Master had for him, as long as he was smart about it.


    The reason he did so was simple. He wanted to support someone who was equally powerful to Yang Qing and had the ability to keep him in check, while he supported Yang Qing at the same time. In case Yang Qing refused to obey him, he could use that person against him.


    The rules of the game did not dictate that problems could be only solved with those who have higher cultivation base. The most important thing was whether they were intelligent or not. During the battle between Yang Qing and Zhang Decheng, Xiong Xiao had performed remarkably, which was why Huo Lingxiao had taken a fancy to him.


    When Yang Qing delivered the candidate list to him, it was obvious that he, as the Hall Master, shouldn¡¯t show an obvious bias towards Xiong Xiao. On the surface, he did not cross out Xiong Xiao¡¯s name but he allowed someone else to reveal the list to Xiong Xiao. The reason he did this was to see whether Xiong Xiao had the ability to contend with Yang Qing. If he showed some ability, the candidate list could always be altered at the veryst minute.


    Surprisingly, Xiong Xiao was not a fool either. He felt that the support Hall Master had given to him was too weak. Moreover, he was more knowledgeable of Yang Qing¡¯s shrewdness than the Hall Master was, and he knew that the Hall Master was simply using his life as a chess piece to his game, without regards to his life or death. Because of that, he decided not to fight against Yang Qing and defected by himself to quickly escape!

 Chapter 285: Proposal

    Chapter 285: Proposal


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Walking inrge strides, Huo Lingxiao intended on going to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor personally, but in the end, he stopped after he stepped towards the door.


    With his current cultivation, killing Xiong Xiao wouldn¡¯t be a problem. However, that woman Wu Menn clearly wanted to see how much of a fool he could be. If he was caught in the act...


    These trivial matter could still be handled by his subordinates. What would people think if a Hall Master like himself ran to another person¡¯s territory just to kill a pawn? Not only would he bring shame to himself, he would be viting the rules as well.


    When he thought about these points, Huo Lingxiao became even more furious. Xiong Xiao had been certain that he wouldn¡¯t dare to act recklessly like this!


    Filled with pent-up anger, Huo Lingxiao produced a piece of jade archive with a flip of his hand and invoked his arts to swiftly scribble something down. He tossed the archive at Yu Tian and said with a grim expression, "Deliver it to Yang Qing. Tell him to give me an exnation!"


    "Yes!" Tian Yu acknowledged the order and left...


    Inside a pavilion, on the mountain peak of South Edict Manor ¡ª Yang Qing had a solemn expression on his face after receiving the message from Suppressing Second Hall. ¡®Xiong Xiao actually became the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor after defecting to Suppressing Third Hall?¡¯


    In the jade archive, Huo Lingxiao didn¡¯t hold back at all as he reprimanded Yang Qing, and questioned the way Yang Qing supervised his subordinate. If Yang Qing¡¯s handling of the matter continued to be unsatisfactory, the Hall Master would give his position to someone else. The contents seemed to treat Yang Qing more like a dog in a manger.


    "It was Huo Lingxiao, himself who suffered losses after trying to take advantage of me. Yet now you wish to put the me on me? This is simply ridiculous!" Yang Qing scoffed.


    Such words could only be said behind his back. He had to give Huo Lingxiao an exnation. Who could possibly prove that the Hall Master had a connection to this matter? In due time, everyone would only know that the defector had escaped under Yang Qing¡¯s watch, and it was Yang Qing who hadn¡¯t supervised him properly.


    ¡®Most importantly...¡¯ Leaning against the parapet, Yang Qing gazed icily at the boundless mountain range from on high. The Mountain Chieftain who defected under his watch had be a Manor Head. He would be the butt of jokes if word of this got out. What would the other Mountain Chieftains under him think of that in the future? Would they also defect if they were ever in trouble? If so, how would he be able to manage the two manors from then on?


    When the other names of those who would be participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was announced, everyone would follow in Xiong Xiao¡¯s footsteps. What would he do when he couldn¡¯t even send out the people he signed up?


    "Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor? Xiong Xiao, are you trying to pit your strength against mine..." Yang Qing murmured to himself. A flicker of uncertainty glinted in his eyes.


    Just then, Qing Ju¡¯s voice rang out from behind, "Manor Head. Miss and Miao Yi have arrived."


    "Hm?" Yang Qing turned his head around and frowned, "Why did theye together?"


    He raised his hand, gesturing for them to be allowed inside. Then, went back to take his seat.


    After a while, Qin Weiwei and Miao Yi came in together and greeted the Manor Head together.


    Yang Qing swept his gaze over their faces. He clearly noticed that Miao Yi was very nervous. In fact, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes were darting all over the ce, trying to avoid meeting his eyes. Yang Qing was instantly suspicious of him.


    "Heh heh. Miao Yi. We haven¡¯t seen each other for years." Yang Qing gazed at both of them before he continued to say, "Why did you twoe together? Is there a problem?"


    Qin Weiwei remained silent. She tilted her head slightly and shot a nce at Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi¡¯s forehead began to sweat bullets. He came specifically to make a marriage proposal to Yang Qing. Despite already preparing himself mentally for this situation, he realized that after meeting Yang Qing face-to-face, the pressure he felt was extraordinary. It was enough to make him want to flee from the scene.


    Yet he was already here. All he could do now was to summon his courage and present a beautiful gift box tied with a big red bow from his storage ring. He presented the box with both his hands and said, "A small token of our appreciation for you."


    ¡®What do you mean by a small token of appreciation?¡¯ Qin Weiwei grit her teeth in anger. ¡®This is clearly a betrothal gift for the proposal, and it was I who prepared it for you...¡¯ Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t say these things on behalf of Miao Yi to her father.


    Qin Weiwei had already mentioned that the gift was prepared for the sake of pretending. Naturally, she couldn¡¯t allow Miao Yi who just arrived here to ¡®help¡¯ her prepare the betrothal gift.


    "What kind of gift needs you to go through such great lengths to make it so fancy?" Yang Qing chuckled as he raised his hand. From her ce beside him, Qing Ju grinned and walked over to Miao Yi to take the gift from him.


    Miao Yi was sweating bullets. He lowered his head and weakly said, "It is a betrothal gift. I intend to ask Manor Head about a proposal... a marriage proposal. I wish to marry Qin Weiwei."


    His voice was so weak that almost no one heard it. Fortunately, they weren¡¯t just any ordinary people; their hearing was extraordinarily sharp.


    Qin Weiwei gave him a fierce re. ¡®Why are you making a marriage proposal with such a soft voice? You aren¡¯t a thief!¡¯


    However, she was beginning to grow nervous just like Miao Yi.


    ¡®Betrothal gift? Marriage proposal? Marry Qin Weiwei?¡¯


    The pavilion was immediately silent. The only sound they could hear was the asional breeze blowing in. Thendscape was painted with the greenery of the mountains and the river, whilst the clear sky was flecked with white clouds.


    The smile on Yang Qing¡¯s face had instantly frozen. Qing Ju had done the same as well. Her movement froze as she was handing the gift to Yang Qing. Both handmaidens and master focused their gaze at the big red bow on top of the gift box and finally realized that this was actually a betrothal gift. No wonder the gift box looked extravagant. The three were quite shocked at the turn of events.


    Yang Qing eventually regained hisposure and shot a cold re at Qin Weiwei, a hint of anger shing across his eyes. With his intelligence, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess why Qin Weiwei would appear together with Miao Yi before him. It was obvious that she already knew about the marriage proposal, yet she failed to inform him of such important news beforehand. This was uneptable!


    Qin Weiwei was flushed red as she slowly lowered her head as well. She did not dare to look Yang Qing in the eyes.


    ¡®BANG!¡¯ Yang Qing abruptly mmed the table and stood up, shocking everyone back to their senses. Qing Mei and Qing Ju quickly turned their attention to Miao Yi and Qin Weiwei. Miao Yi bowed his head even more, while Weiwei raised her head up and looked at Yang Qing with courageous and determined eyes, as if unwilling to yield to him.


    Qing Ju held the betrothal gift in her hands, not knowing whether she should continue delivering the gift to Yang Qing or not.


    Yang Qing finally realized what it meant by¡ª¡®You can¡¯t keep a grown woman home¡¯¡ªwhen he saw his daughter¡¯s gaze. She was already beginning to side with an outsider rather than with him. He didn¡¯t think that she woulde with a man to discuss a marriage proposal together. She didn¡¯t have to do it like this, right?


    Regardless of how he had predicted Qin Weiwei¡¯s feeling for Miao Yi, and however much he wanted her to marry someone, the moment had finallye. But when the time came, he didn¡¯t feel right about it; as Miao Yi wasn¡¯t the son-inw he preferred.


    In the end, Yang Qing wasn¡¯t a match for Qin Weiwei¡¯s determined gaze. He slowly moved his gaze to Miao Yi, who still had his head lowered, and calmly said, "Miao Yi. What did you say just now? I didn¡¯t hear it clearly. Lift up your head and repeat it once more."


    Miao Yi silently cursed inside, ¡®There¡¯s no way you didn¡¯t hear what I said just now. Why the furious anger when you didn¡¯t even hear it clearly? It¡¯s weird. I came to act my part; came to help for the sake of happiness, and I haven¡¯t done anything wrong. What am I afraid of?¡¯


    Miao Yi calmed down and lifted his head up. sping his fists together in a dignified manner, he said, "I came to make a marriage proposal to Manor Head. I wish to marry your daughter Qin Weiwei."


    ¡®And you dare speak of it so loudly?¡¯ Yang Qing was furious. He wanted to ask Miao Yi, ¡®What right do you have to marry my daughter?¡¯


    However, when he saw the determination in Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes, Yang Qing let out a sigh in his heart. He couldn¡¯t hold it against them. Instead, he slowly let out a smile on his face and picked up the betrothal gift from Qing Ju¡¯s hands. Then he beamed and asked, "Is this the betrothal gift?"


    "Yes!" Miao Yi awkwardly replied.


    "Great! I will ept this gift," replied Yang Qing as he ced the dowry on the tea table at his side.


    ¡®That¡¯s all?¡¯ Miao Yi was surprised by the response.


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s determined gaze began to soften up. In her surprise, she gradually showed an embarrassed expression on her face and thought, ¡®If father epted the dowry, this means that he has agreed to the marriage.¡¯


    She then subtly turned her head to the dumbfounded Miao Yi and urged him to give a response.


    Miao Yi came back to his senses and quickly responded by sping his fists together. "Thank you, Manor Head, for fulfilling our wishes."


    Yang Qing chuckled as he waved his hand, "Qing Ju. Bring Weiwei with you and head down. I want to have a private talk with my future son-inw."


    This wasn¡¯t the first day Qing Ju had been with Yang Qing, so she understood his behavior quite well. Agreeing to this matter with such ease didn¡¯t seem to fit Yang Qing¡¯s style. Moreover, he had been adamant against Qin Weiwei and Miao Yi being together. A faint glint of concern shed across Qing Ju¡¯s eyes, yet she managed to maintain a cheery expression on her face. She walked over to Qin Weiwei and hooked on to her arm, easily dragging the shy woman along with her.


    Yang Qing slowly walked towards the railings of the pavilion, staring at the shadow of the mountain that was drifting away from him. He then turned around to face Miao Yi and extended his arm with a grin, "Let¡¯s sit down and talk."


    Miao Yi was well-aware that he didn¡¯t have the rights to sit or stand at the same level as Yang Qing, and simply responded, "I am fine like this."


    Yang Qing did not persist further. Miao Yi did not sit down, so he didn¡¯t either. It seemed like he already casted aside the matter of the marriage proposal from his mind, and didn¡¯t say another word of it. Instead, he casually took out the jade archive that he received from Huo Lingxiao, and without any hesitation, said, "This is news the Hall Master sent to me. Take a look."


    Miao Yi was slightly dubious. Was it appropriate to look at the archive sent by the Hall Master? With a nod of approval from Yang Qing, he then took the archive from his hand and examined the contents.


    He was shocked when he saw it. Miao Yi almost lost his voice as he cried out, "Xiong Xiao has be the Manor Head of the Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor?"


    He couldn¡¯t stop himself from expressing his surprise at this new information. A tiger had set itself closer to him, and he feared that he wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep or eat well in the future.


    "You have seen the reprimand that the Hall Master has given to me." Yang Qing walked along the side of the railing with hands sped behind his back. Miao Yi was following from behind with a frown on his face, when Yang Qing continued, "I must also share the me for the fued that has been going on between you and Xiong Xiao."


    With things going to this point, it would have been fine to only let Miao Yi be aware of the situation. However, Yang Qing threw out another news that would stun Miao Yi by mentioning, "The candidate list of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade for the two manors... has your name on it."


    Miao Yi was bbergasted. He had been to the Sea of Constetions before, and he already knew that ce was full of danger before he could even he could go in deeper. If he hadn¡¯t met Yao Ruoxian, he might not have been able toe back alive.


    "Manor Head. Did you try to add my name to the list just because of the marriage proposal?" This matter concerned his life. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help bing desperate.


    Yang Qing could only shoot a nce at him when faced with such usations. However, he wasn¡¯t angry. He waved his hand and said, "You are thinking too much. The list already contained your name even before you came here. It wasn¡¯t I who added your name into the candidate list. Speaking of which, I wish to ask you¡ªdid you ever offend the Hall Master?"


    "Offend the Hall Master?" Miao Yi was surprised. "How did that develop into this?"


    "Originally, the candidate list I sent didn¡¯t have your name on it. However, the Hall Master personally crossed out one of the names and added yours instead. I was surprised by this. If you did not offend the Hall Master, then why would he add your name for no reason at all?" Yang Qing turned to ask Miao Yi.


    "This..." Miao Yi was shocked. "This is impossible. I have never seen Hall Master before. How did I even offend him?"


    Based on those words, Miao Yi suspected that Yang Qing was perhaps trying to deceive him.


    "See for yourself." Yang Qing flipped his hand-over and handed a jade archive to him.


    Miao Yi took the archive and looked at the contents. He realized that this was actually the candidate list of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Inside, there were four names; including Xiong Xiao¡¯s. Of course, his own name was in there as well. However, Miao Yi¡¯s name had obviously been added to the list after one of the names was crossed out.

 Chapter 286: Promoted to Mountain Chieftain

    Chapter 286: Promoted to Mountain Chieftain


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Faced with the facts, Miao Yi had nothing to say. Yang Qing didn¡¯t have the time to forge the candidate list that he had shown to him on the spot. Moreover, it was impossible for him to replicate another copy and alter the names for the Hall Master to see.


    "Only Hall Master and I know of this list. As of this moment, you are the third person to know." Yang Qing was clearly warning him, ¡®If someone else finds out about the list, you will not be forgiven.¡¯


    Miao Yi quietly returned the list to him. He was still confused as he asked, "I don¡¯t even know what the Hall Master looks like. Why did he add my name in there?"


    "You really don¡¯t know the Hall Master?" Yang Qing questioned.


    Miao Yi shook his head helplessly, "I do want to be acquainted with him, but unfortunately, I really don¡¯t know him. Otherwise, I would have asked him the reason myself. Typically, Blue Lotus Cultivators participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Why throw me, a White Lotus Cultivator, in there? Isn¡¯t this trying just thrusting me into danger?"


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t seem like he was telling a lie. Yang Qing frowned and said, "Now, that is strange. Why would he do that for no reason at all?"


    Miao Yi abruptly cocked his head upwards and asked, "Manor Head. Could it be because of then¡ªwhen Hall Master met with Xiong Xiao but didn¡¯t meet with me after summoning us. Did he added my name when he saw that only Xiong Xiao was added to the list?"


    "That might be possible if you put it that way, but..." Yang Qing shook his head and muttered, "But what is the point of doing that? It doesn¡¯t make sense at all."


    Miao Yi had some guesses in mind. The only thing that could have offended the Hall Master was plucking of the sprig from the plum garden. After that, the Hall Master called for Xiong Xiao and not him. He did feel the situation was odd at that time, and now all of a sudden, his name had appeared on the candidate list. When he added two and two together, he finally realized, ¡®That dirty dog. Xiao Yizhu must have reported me to his superiors. He better wish I don¡¯t meet him again next time!¡¯


    Both of them continued discussing this matter. Yang Qing purposely did not mention the marriage proposal again to him.


    Miao Yi could not help himself letting out a helplessugh in his heart. The reason Yang Qing told him about Xiong Xiao bing the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor was to make him understand, ¡®Your situation is precarious. How can I allow you to marry my daughter in peace?¡¯


    It was more apparent when he disclosed the candidate list to him, as if Yang Qing was saying, ¡®This matter was already decided by the Hall Master. Even I can¡¯t change that fact. I don¡¯t know if you will survive after joining the crusade. Is it appropriate to marry my daughter now?¡¯


    This matter concerned his daughter¡¯s marriage, and yet he did not even mention a word of it to him. This was simply too strange. Miao Yi wasn¡¯t a moron. It was clear to him that Yang Qing disapproved of their marriage, and he wanted him to take the initiative to back out from it. If he was still clueless, the discussion of marital affairs would take a turn for the worse.


    Speaking of this tactic, Miao Yi was very impressed by Yang Qing. He epted the betrothal gift for the sake of appeasing Qin Weiwe first. Afterwards, he sessfully send Qin Weiwei away. Right now, he was indirectly pressuring Miao Yi to break off the marriage by Miao Yi¡¯s own will. He managed to manipte both sides without displeasing either of them!


    ¡®Yang Qing. You managed to settle both sides, but Qin Weiwei will definitely direct her anger at me. You are ruthless!¡¯


    Yang Qing observed Miao Yi¡¯s reaction and knew that he understood his intentions. He couldn¡¯t help regarding him with an appreciative nce¡ªhe knew Miao Yi was a clever man, but he was definitely not suited for Weiwei. He would only bring harm to her should they end up together.


    Yang Qing knew he was being a little excessive in handling the matter this way. But as a father, he needed to take into consideration his daughter¡¯s marriage. He could not risk sending his daughter to the lion¡¯s den knowing how dangerous it was. Yang Qing took a deep breath, then looked at the betrothal gift on the tea table and pursed his lips, "What is inside this box?"


    ¡®I admit you are formidable, alright?¡¯ Miao Yi almost forced out a bitter smile. Yang Qing knew that he understood the situation, and was now suggesting for him to take back the gift.


    Miao Yi cupped his fists together and said, "To be honest with you, this betrothal gift was actually prepared by Mountain Chieftain Qin herself, because she said you have been pushing for her to get married ..."


    He took action and waspletely honest in telling Yang Qing about Qin Weiwei making him act along with the marriage proposal scene together with her.


    "This girl is a fool!" Yang Qing scoffed. He nced at Miao Yi for a moment. He was well-aware that his daughter wanted the act to be real, but this guy was so dense that he couldn¡¯t even discern the truth. Yang Qing couldn¡¯t bring himself to impart the truth either.


    "Mountain Chieftain had no choice." Miao Yi was being courteous. He cupped his fists again and said, "But if she finds out about this, I fear that she will not let me off that easily."


    He was trying to tell Yang Qing, ¡®You will definitely put the me on meter. If I am to be pushed into a corner, it will end badly for you once I spill the beans to her.¡¯


    Yang Qing waved his hand, dismissing the threat. He muttered, "Xiong Xiao is now inmand of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. The enmity between you and him hasn¡¯t been settled yet, and that will be a threat to you. Should Xiong Xiao bes impudent, your small East Arrival Cave will not be able to hold up against him. Return to Mount Calming Sea and assume your new post."


    As soon as he was done talking, he swiftly invoked a piece of jade archive and wrote a writ of appointment before giving it to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi received the archive and examined it. He was shocked and surprised, because Yang Qing actually appointed him as the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea. He finally achieved what he had been seeking for many years.


    "Thank you, Manor Head!" After Miao Yi expressed his gratitude by clenching his fists together, he couldn¡¯t help but be anxious and asked, "If Imand Mount Calming Sea, then what bes of Mountain Chieftain Qin..."


    Yang Qing calmly responded, "You may approach me directly should you face any problems in the future. You don¡¯t have to go through her anymore. I will relocate her from Mount Calming Sea to somewhere else."


    "Yes, sir!" Miao Yi let out a sigh of relief. As long as Qin Weiwei was not his superior, there was nothing to worry about. He cupped his fists together and said, "If Manor Head has no othermand, I will take my leave now."


    He didn¡¯t want to stay longer and see Qin Weiweiter on.


    Yang Qing understood his predicament. If Miao Yi didn¡¯t manage to leave in time, it won¡¯t be easy for him me Miao Yi in front of his daughterter. He gave a nod to consent to his leave.


    Even though Xiong Xiao is very powerful, you have your own advantages as well. You will be going to the Sea of Constetions soon and as they say¡ªthose who have nothing, will fear no one. There are some things that Xiong Xiao will not dare do. However, if you do slip up a little dealing with him, I will simply punish you by sending you to the Sea of Constetions when the timees. As long as it isn¡¯t too big of a ruckus, I will cover for you.


    Miao Yi was surprised. He immediately understood what Yang Qing meant. With a calm expression, he sped his fists together once again and excused himself.


    "Do you really have to relocate Miss from Mount Calming Sea?" Qing Mei asked as she approached Yang Qing and went to stand beside him. She had been calmly observing from the sideline.


    Yang Qing nodded, "Xiong Xiao has defected. People at Mount Shaotai are beginning to panic. If I have to send someone to mediate the situation, it would be better to send my daughter to do the job. It is for her own good if I let her take up the tasks of two mountains. Isn¡¯t this reason enough to relocate her from Mount Calming Sea?"


    "How about the marriage proposal?"


    "Miao Yi was the one who backed out from the marriage-"


    Miao Yi and Luo Shuangfei quickly dashed through the mountain gates of South Edict Manor as though running from something.


    Luo Shuangfei noticed something was wrong with Miao Yi, so he asked, "My Lord. What happened to you?"


    "Nothing much. Just a little shaken up." Miao Yi chuckled.


    This was the second time his marriage proposal was rejected. The first was at the tofu store; his betrothal gift was immediately tossed out by Old Li, and he was verbally abused right after.


    Although the situation was much better this time around and it was all an act. He still felt a little shaken up, even though he was the one who wanted to back out from the proposal..


    Regardless of whether it was the Li Family from the tofu store or Yang Qing, it was obvious that they thought less of him. They felt that he had no rights to marry their daughters. In reality, that might actually be the truth. What made him think that he was qualified to marry Yang Qing¡¯s daughter?


    Luo Shuangfei was curious, "What happened?"


    Miao Yiughed, "Manor Head has appointed me as the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea."


    Luo Shuangfei eximed, "That¡¯s great news!"


    "Indeed. This will be myst time ving myself for him. After this, I will owe him nothing. From now on, no one should think of controlling my destiny, otherwise they will have to answer to my Inversed-Scales Spear!" Miao Yi suddenly faced the sky and let out a maniacalugh. Yet hisughter seemed tinged with a depressed air.


    He wasn¡¯t a fool either. It really didn¡¯t feel good being exploited like this in real life...


    A mount was seen entering the territory of Mount Calming Sea alone. This visitor was a familiar individual; it was none other than Cave Master Gongsun Yu of Long Viridescent Cave. The loss of troops at Long Viridescent Cave had to be replenished. This was the reason why he hade to seek Qin Weiwei¡¯s assistance.


    When Gongsun Yu found out that Qin Weiwei wasn¡¯t at Mount Calming Sea, he became a little disappointed. However, he was pleasantly surprised after being informed by Hong Mian about East Arrival Cave. ¡®East Arrival Cave has been massacred by Xiong Xiao¡¯s troops?¡¯


    Gongsun Yu did not show his true feelings before Hong Mian, but in truth, he was bursting withughter in his heart. ¡®Indeed, evil will always be punished. You deserve it, Miao Yi!¡¯


    Qin Weiwei wasn¡¯t around, so he decided to wait until she returned. He departed the main hall; just as he was about to proceed to the guest room at the back of the mountain, he saw two mounts approaching quickly from a distance. At first he thought that it was Qin Weiwei returning, but after using his transcendence vision, he realized that it was Miao Yi and Luo Shuangfei instead.


    And so, Gongsun Yu firmly stood outside of the main hall. He waited for Miao Yi to close in before, cupping his fists together with a pained expression to say, "Brother Miao. I heard that East Arrival Cave has met with disaster. My deepest sympathies."


    Miao Yi gave him an odd look and smiled, "I guess Cave Master Gongsun isughing on the inside right now, isn¡¯t it?"


    Gongsun Yu knew his strength was no match to Miao Yi. In any case, Miao Yi still had the hardy and dauntless Luo Shuangfei by his side. Even though Gongsun Yu was trying to mock him, he managed to keep a serious expression as he said, "Brother Miao is mistaken. As arade under the Mountain Chieftain, I am truly sad for your loss."


    ¡®I would be a fool if I believed you!¡¯ Miao Yi chuckled. He reached out and patted Gongsun Yu¡¯s shoulder with an expression that seemed to be saying, ¡®You are on your own now¡¯. Shaking his head, Miao Yi ascended the stairs.


    Gongsun Yu didn¡¯t know what Miao Yi meant by that, but he did notice that Luo Shuangfei was looking at him very strangely. He couldn¡¯t help but feel everywhere about his body and adjusting his clothes to check if anything was out of ce .


    "Cave Master Gongsun. How are the preparations going for the two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will? You won¡¯t get away for not paying up!" Luo Shuangfei sneered and swiftly followed Miao Yi from behind.


    After Miao Yi met up with Hong Mian, he borrowed a spirit eagle to deliver a message to East Arrival Cave and instructed Yan Xiu to bring Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to Mount Calming Sea.


    He didn¡¯t tell Hong Mian that he had already been promoted to the position of Mountain Chieftain because he would still need to make some arrangements with Qin Weiweiter on. However, he didn¡¯t want to see her, so the reason he called Yan Xiu over was to authorize him to carry out the transfer on his behalf.


    Afterwards, he met up with the disciples from the School of Blue Jade whom he had contacted before in Mount Calming Sea. He intended to seek them out and request troops from them.


    However, these disciples weren¡¯t inexperienced fools. Miao Yi¡¯s troops often died before they could even reap any benefits from their battles as he did not cherish his troops at all. Tong Renmei¡¯s response to his request was a little evasive. He said that he was still discussing this matter with the others.


    Miao Yi quickly wrote a jade archive stating that he had be the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, and he was prepared to reward the support they had given to him all these years. He also stated that he required twenty Blue Lotus Cultivators while attaching the meeting point in the archive.


    After releasing the eagle, Miao Yi took Luo Shuangfei with him and left Mount Calming Sea in haste...

 Chapter 287: A Small Compensation

    Chapter 287: A Small Compensation


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Half a day after Miao Yi had left Mount Calming Sea, Qin Weiwei rushed to chase him down without a break, yet she was unable to catch sight of him.


    Miao Yi knew she would being for him, so he slipped away ahead of time.


    After learning of Miao Yi¡¯s promotion to Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, Hong Mian and Lu Liu nced at each other. While the relocation of their own Mountain Chieftain to Mount Shaotai was a good thing, they couldn¡¯t say a word of congrattions to Qin Weiwei, even when they were well-aware of her rtionship with Miao Yi. This was because they could tell something was wrong when they saw the deste expression on Qin Weiwei¡¯s face.


    The one who was most shocked by the news was Gongsun Yu, who had been waiting for Qin Weiwei at Mount Calming Sea. ¡®Miao Yi has be Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea. Doesn¡¯t that mean I have be Miao Yi¡¯s subordinate?¡¯


    At that moment, he began to panic. He finally understood why Miao Yi and Luo Shuangfei had made strange faces at him. He gestured towards Qin Weiwei by sping his fists together and said in an urgent tone, "Mountain Chieftain, you are well-aware of the grudges between Miao Yi and me. If I be his subordinate, he will definitely crush me. I beg of you, please bring your humble servant with you to Mount Shaotai for your new post. I am willing to give you my loyal service."


    Qin Weiwei looked at him with mixed feelings. They had definitely known each other for a long time, but they had never worked together before her arrival at Mount Calming Sea. With that said, neither had a deep understanding of the other. She had actually regarded Gongsun Yu as a decent person before the conflict between him and Miao Yi. However, her opinion of him changed after she had gone through several ordeals with him.


    Regardless of whether the nder using Miao Yi of foul y was true, the news that Hong Mian had brought back from Long Viridescent Cave at least proved that Gongsun Yu was more of a fool than he¡¯d seemed. He¡¯d been easily fooled by Miao Yi just because he thought he could take advantage of the situation due to having arger number of troops. Wouldn¡¯t that make him a snob? Hong Mian had already concluded the matter by giving him the verdict of ¡®idiot¡¯.


    Back at the South Edict Manor, Qin Weiwei had also heard that Yang Qing had given him the verdict of ¡®loyal, but not to be put in an important position¡¯.


    That was how rtionships between people worked. One would not be able to discern the true character of a person without experiencing ordeals with them.


    However, this man had been loyal to her and had even risked his life for her as well. She said catingly, "I am prepared to bring some of my loyal men with me to Mount Shaotai this time, but only after the transferal ispleted."


    She was no longer the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, so she couldn¡¯t take her troops with her as she pleased. That would be bad for Miao Yi. She would need to acquire his consent during the transferal before she could take them with her.


    Gongsun Yu naturally understood this logic, but he was still afraid. He cupped his fists together and said, "What if Miao Yi doesn¡¯t want to let me go?"


    Qin Weiwei wrinkled her face slightly. ¡®Since you are afraid of Miao Yi, then why did you even provoke him in the first ce?¡¯


    Hong Mian, who¡¯d been standing on the sidelines, came to his rescue with a smile by saying, "Cave Master Gongsun, the two manors are still under the control of Manor Head. If Miao Yi won¡¯t consider this and chooses not to show respect to Mountain Chieftain¡ªto put it simply¡ªif Miao Yi refuses toply, you can still ask Manor Head for help."


    East Arrival Cave.


    "My Lord has been promoted to Mountain Chieftain?" Qian¡¯Er eximed.


    Yan Xiu smiled as he nodded. He couldn¡¯t believe it either. Despite East Arrival Cave having experienced a huge loss, Miao Yi was able to get a promotion.


    "I knew it, nothing can stop our lord." Xue¡¯Er and Qian¡¯Er hugged each other and let out a cheer.


    Their status would always align with Miao Yi¡¯s. If Miao Yi had be a Mountain Chieftain, then it meant that they¡¯d be the Elder Auntie and Little Auntie of Mount Calming Sea.


    The empty East Arrival Cave had sunk into the depths of depression these past few days. Three of them went out to collect the troops who¡¯d died for East Arrival Cave for a proper burial, but by then some of the corpses had already been badly mauled by wild beasts.


    To Yan Xiu, he was already ustomed to matters of life and death in the world of cultivation. There was no sadness, but only a sigh. It was a lucky thing to be alive since those who died would quickly be forgotten in everyone¡¯s mind. And ordinary mortals would still be offered incense sticks after they died, unlike these men.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had been shedding buckets of tears these past few days. Today, they¡¯d received some pleasant news for once.


    Yan Xiu did not bother the two from basking in happiness. He was overwhelmed with emotion as well.


    The scene of Miao Yiing to Transient Light Cave to be a steed deputy was still vivid in his mind. For a cultivator, a few dozen years was considered short. But Miao Yi had now be a Mountain Chieftain. He would soon be able to control hundreds of thousands of followers and have beautiful women and riches with extreme ease.


    After the twodies were done being joyous, Yan Xiu then said, "My Lord has asked both Aunties to go get Senior Yao Ruoxian and make the journey immediately. Mount Calming Sea is still waiting for the transferal to proceed."


    Thedies nodded. With excitement in their hearts, they swiftly flew to a nearby mountain.


    After they managed to locate Yao Ruoxian and ry the good news, Yao Ruoxian could onlyin and grumble. He didn¡¯t want to move around as he felt that he had been hiding quite well in this ce. The higher the status Miao Yi gained, the more people he would be surrounded with. It would also mean that he could be exposed quite easily.


    But there was no choice. He could never change the orders of an authoritative figure no matter how high his cultivation was. The little mantids could not leave Miao Yi for too long either, so he could only leave the mountain to follow them.


    After a moment of packing, Yao Ruoxian prepared a dragon steed and covered himself with a ck robe before leaving with the others.


    When they arrived at Mount Calming Sea, Yao Ruoxian then headed towards the deeper part of the mountain. Yan Xiu brought the twodies with him as he reported his arrival before entering the mountain gates.


    The three of them still greeted Qin Weiwei as ¡®Mountain Chieftain¡¯ when they came to her mansion. After all, she was still the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea as the transferal had yet to be processed.


    Qin Weiwei swept her gaze across all three. Most importantly, she looked at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er for a while before she asked, "Why is Miao Yi not here for the transferal?"


    Yan Xiu took out the authorized jade archive that Miao Yi had sent to him. He handed over the archive with both hands and said, "My Lord has already given me full authority to carry out the transfer regarding Mount Calming Sea."


    After Qin Weiwei confirmed that there were no mistakes in the jade archive¡¯s contents, she gritted her teeth. She realized that Miao Yi was intentionally trying to avoid her.


    She didn¡¯t me Miao Yi for revealing the truth. After all, she had nothing to be embarrassed about. Miao Yi wasn¡¯t aware that she wanted the act to be real, and Yang Qing hadn¡¯t revealed the truth to him because he wanted to protect her pride.


    Despite Yang Qing telling her that Miao Yi was the one who spilled the truth to him on his own ord, she knew that it was her own father who¡¯d used some sort of trick on Miao Yi after separating them back then. She was well-aware what kind of person her father was.


    When she¡¯d rushed to Mount Calming Sea, she had still wanted to unleash her anger on Miao Yi.


    If she had really seen Miao Yi after reaching Mount Calming Sea, she definitely would have let loose her fury towards him. However, after resting for a day or two, she eventually calmed down from the whole situation.


    When it came down to his power and status, Miao Yi could onlyply with her father¡¯s moods. If she herself already had a hard time saying no to her father, then what of Miao Yi?


    Despite that, she still felt a slight twinge in her heart.


    The moment Miao Yi had spouted a mouthful of blood on her face, his expression filled with pain, was unforgettable. She had tasted the saltiness of his fresh blood with the tip of her tongue, and as sheid above his silver armor, above the pool of blood that he¡¯d shed from saving her, her feelings at the time had been engraved in her heart ever since.


    ¡®Am I really that terrifying in your heart that you can¡¯t be near me? You keep on avoiding me whenever you can. I know I have my faults, but why can¡¯t you see or feel that I am trying my best?"


    The transferal involved the relocation of troops as well as the poption, and reports on the condition of the followers in Mount Calming Sea. This was to ensure that the new Mountain Chieftain could assume his control over Mount Calming Sea as soon as possible.


    After passing items of relevance to Yan Xiu, Qin Weiwei then handed over a piece of jade archive to him and said, "I want to take some people from Mount Calming Sea with me."


    Yan Xiu took the archive and examined it, realizing that she wanted to take away less than ten people with her. He had heard that these people were Qin Weiwei¡¯s trusted subordinates, and Miao Yi had already predicted that this situation would arise. However, Miao Yi did remind Yan Xiu to keep an eye out for one of the subordinates, and this person was on the list of people that she wanted to bring with her.


    Seeing Yan Xiu¡¯s hesitance, Qin Weiwei scowled, "Is that a no or can you not make a decision on this?"


    Yan Xiu smiled bitterly and said, "My Lord has a specific order; if Gongsun Yu desires to leave as well, he will have to leave something behind before he¡¯s allowed to go."


    "Go fetch Gongsun Yu," Qin Weiwei gave the order, cocking her head slightly.


    Lu Liuplied with the order and went away. After a while, she brought back an anxious Gongsun Yu with her.


    Gongsun Yu had already heard the details from Lu Liu on his way to meet Yan Xiu. He gestured to Yan Xiu politely by cupping his fists together and said, "Brother Yan, what do I need to leave behind?"


    Yan Xiu was a bit embarrassed to say it, especially in front of Qin Weiwei. However, Miao Yi wanted to do it this way no matter what, so Yan Xiu had no choice. He could only force a smile as he said, "My Lord Miao Yi has mentioned before that Cave Master Gongsun still owes him two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will. You can¡¯t just leave with Mountain Chieftain Qin whenever you like. Of course, he also said that he doesn¡¯t think you can cough out those orbs so he will not chase you down for them. With that said, one cannot move an inch further without being credible. A signed document acknowledging a debt must be left behind. If you don¡¯t want to hand over the signed document, then don¡¯t expect to leave and abandon the terrible mess of Long Viridescent Cave without an exnation."


    Hearing those words, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er could only think that their liege was quite cool in handling this matter.


    On the other hand, Hong Mian and Lu Liu gazed at each other. Qin Weiwei could only frown wordlessly.


    Gongsun Yu did not trust Miao Yi¡¯s character. If he were to leave behind a signed document of debt, he could never be sure whether Miao Yi would let him off in the future. He immediately looked at Qin Weiwei with an awkward expression, hoping that she could mediate the situation on his behalf.


    Two hundred Orbs of Will wasn¡¯t a small amount. Gongsun Yu may not be able to fork out those orbs, but Qin Weiwei could.


    She had already received more than a hundred orbs from the ten caves under hermand during the annual tribute. Even though she had used those orbs to tend to her troops, she would still receive more than a hundred additional Orbs of Will that were harvested annually from the vassal city. Those orbs counted as her personal ie as a Mountain Chieftain. And because she had Yang Qing to shield her, no one dared to ask her for money. That ie went entirely into her own pockets.


    And based on her current cultivation, she wasn¡¯t able to refine so many orbs within the year. She¡¯d saved arge amount in Mount Calming Sea after all these years.


    If it were for anyone else, Qin Weiwei might not have offered the Orbs of Will to them. But Gongsun Yu had risked himself to save her life before. After thinking about it for a moment, she made up her mind to treat it as a way to repay his kindness. Qin Weiwei then took out two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will from her storage ring and said to Yan Xiu, "I will help him pay for it."


    Gongsun Yu was instantly ovee with gratitude when he looked at her. A glint of sincerity shed in his eyes when he felt how kindly Qin Weiwei still treated him.


    Yan Xiu did not take the orbs, however. Instead, he waved his hand and said, "My Lord has also mentioned that if Mountain Chieftain Qin decides to pay these Orbs of Will on behalf of Cave Master Gongsun, he will not ept them. He said that he owes these orbs to you. Even if you could get a Blue Lotus First Grade Cultivator with two hundred Orbs of Will, it will be enough for that cultivator to serve you for many years instead. He also predicted that this amount will be enough to make Cave Master Gongsun Yu serve you for a hundred years, and it is also enough to help you repay Gongsun Yu¡¯s kindness for saving you. With that said, he still wants you to take back these two hundred Orbs of Will. Just take it as a smallpensation for what my lord owes you."


    No one knew what Miao Yi owed to Qin Weiwei, including Yan Xiu.


    Qin Weiwei was the only one who knew what Miao Yi meant when he said he owed her: he¡¯d promised to clear up the rumors about her and Gongsun Yu, and at Yang Qing¡¯s insistence that she be wed, he¡¯d agreed to ask Yang Qing for her hand in marriage.


    However, Miao Yi had backed out and run away in the midst of it. She didn¡¯t think that he would make arrangements here and take the opportunity to make Gongsun Yu understand that she had repaid his kindness for saving her. As a result, she no longer owed Gongsun Yu anything. Miao Yi had utilized another way to resolve the rumors, but it would be up to her on how the rumors would hold up. He had already used another method to help her as much as he could.


    In an instant, Qin Weiwei froze when she finally understood Miao Yi¡¯s intention behind the orders. It was just a small gesture of loving concern, yet it was enough to almost make her cry.

 Chapter 288: Using Oneself as Bait

    Chapter 288: Using Oneself as Bait


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Gongsun Yu was rather embarrassed by those words.


    Indeed, that was the case. Risking his life for Qin Weiwei back then had became a source of ie for him. Even though he didn¡¯t manage to rescue her directly, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to repay his heroic act. After all, it was still a life saving deed. No amount of marypensation would ever be enough to repay that. Due to Qin Weiwei¡¯s character, she was easily bound by Gongsun Yu because she still owed him for his deed.


    Yet now it was different. With Miao Yi intentionally causing trouble for him, these two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will were a lifesaver for Gongsun Yu. Everyone knew the kind of person Miao Yi was; once you signed a document acknowledging the debt, he woulde after you whenever he pleased. Otherwise, Gongsun Yu wouldn¡¯t be that fearful in the first ce.


    In other words, as Yan Xiu clearly stated, "Miao Yi wants to take your life, but because Qin Weiwei has intervened and saved your ass, she is no longer indebted to you."


    Qin Weiwei quietly took back the orbs. She appreciated Miao Yi¡¯s kindness. Gesturing to Gongsun Yu, shemanded, "Return to Long Viridescent Cave first. You can find me after you are done with the transferal of the cave."


    "Yes!" Gongsun Yu took his leave, looking quite awkward.


    He had no choice but to be embarrassed; his selfish motives were exposed.


    Yan Xiu was more or less ovee with joy when he saw Gongsun Yu leave with a forlorn face. Miao Yi had already exined the reason he wanted Yan Xiu to settle matters this way. He wanted Gongsun Yu to bow his head to Yan Xiu.


    Miao Yi also mentioned in the message, "Although Gongsun Yu isn¡¯t a bad person, he is a despicable one. Yan Xiu, your humiliation might have be Gongsun Yu¡¯s boasts during any conversation with strangers. The rumor between Qin Weiwei and him is a good example; most of it was greatly attributed to him. I have already been despised by others, so I do not wish to see my trusted subordinate being looked down upon too. In future, you are the person tasked to step forth and assist me. As long as Gongsun Yu bows to you, he will not dare speak of your humiliation. Don¡¯t be modest when dealing with despicable people."


    If it wasn¡¯t for his regard for Yang Qing and Qin Weiwei holding him back, Miao Yi would have crushed him without hesitation.


    After Gongsun Yu left, Qin Weiwei began to write onest decree to every cave of Mount Calming Sea, stating that she had been relocated to Mount Shaotai and that Miao Yi had been appointed by Manor Head to be Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea. Then ordered Hong Mian and Lu Liu to use the Spirit Eagles to convey her decree.


    The transfer was finallyplete. Qin Weiwei did not tarry any longer, but before she departed with her handmaidens, she left a message with Yan Xiu. "Tell Miao Yi that I am not angry at him and that we are still friends. Tell him to drop by Mount Shaotai and visit me whenever he has time."


    Yan Xiu was shocked for a moment. Then cupped his fists together and said, "I will remember your message. When I see my lord, I will definitely tell him that."


    Yan Xiu brought Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er with him to send Qin Weiwei and her handmaidens off at the mountain gates.


    Qin Weiwei turned around to take onest look at Mount Calming Sea before mounting her dragon steed. There was a hint of reluctance in her eyes but in the end, she lead the way; galloping off with her white dress fluttering in the wind.


    Just then, Miao Yi and Luo Shuangfei were hiding themselves somewhere in the depths of a mountain forest.


    Luo Shuangfei heard something move and immediately darted his eyes towards the source. He could see apany of troops galloping towards the forest. He turned to face Miao Yi and said, "The men from the School of Blue Jade are here."


    Miao Yi withdrew from his cultivation and stood up. A momentter, he could see twenty mounts heading towards him.


    The mounts finally stopped moving. The individual leading these men wasn¡¯t just anyone¡ªit was none other than Tian Qingfeng, who was considered an old acquaintance of Miao Yi and Luo Shuangfei.


    Tian Qingfeng leaped down from his dragon steed and came forward with his fists cupped together, "Tian Qingfeng received the Sect Master¡¯s orders and brought disciples from the School of Blue Jade to serve Milord."


    "Are these the men I requested?" Miao Yi asked.


    Tian Qingfeng took the hint and beckoned to the men behind him.


    The other neen men dismounted from their dragon steeds and disyed the illusory blue lotus on their foreheads. Most of them were Blue Lotus First, Second, and Third Grades with Tian Qingfeng being the highest with an astonishing cultivation at Blue Lotus Fourth Grade. They all came forward, cupped their fists together and greeted, "Milord."


    Miao Yi was delighted to see twenty Blue Lotus experts gathering together. He nodded and said, "I have been waiting for you all. Follow me to depart."


    He mounted his steed and took the lead with the others following after. Twenty mounts crossed over the boundary between Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor and South Edict Manor, and directly charged into the territory of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor.


    They continued their journey day and night without a single stop. There was a sudden heavy downpour of rain, but they continued pushing on through the rainy night until the sun shone again. Miao Yi face was inscrutable as he lead the way, braving the winds and the rain.


    After over a day of rushing towards their destination, once they were close to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, they hid themselves in the forest to reorganize.


    Miao Yi and Luo Shuangfei were still fine. But Tian Qingfeng and the others had continuously travelled from the School of Blue Jade with nary a rest. Their dragon steeds were already fatigued from being without their much needed rest.


    They finally understood that the purpose of their journey was to seek out Xiong Xiao and settle a score. After the fight was done, they would immediately retreat. It would not do to be caught on their way back just because the dragon steeds¡¯ leg strength hadn¡¯t recovered to their best condition.


    Under the night sky, all of them gathered around the map of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor and began their discussion; continuing to scribble and write on the map ceaselessly...


    The next day, all of them set forth once again on their dragon steed. Just as they were about to reach the manor, Miao Yi signalled to his left and right. Following the n they discussed the night before, seventeen of them divided themselves and hid along either sides of the forest. Meanwhile, Miao Yi took the remaining four and led them down the path.


    When the five of them reached the gates of the manor, they were stopped by two guards. "Who are you all?"


    "I am Cave Master Miao Yi of East Arrival Cave of South Edict Manor. I am here to meet with your Manor Head." Miao Yi didn¡¯t attempt to enter with force, and instead tossed a jade archive to the guards.


    The guards stared at each other. They had heard of the great reputation of Cave Master Miao Yi of East Arrival Cave. He had killed the previous Mountain Chieftain Su Biao of Mount Returning Loyalty, and even the previous Manor Head Liu Jingtian had suffered losses under the hand of this Miao Yi. They also heard rumors that the new Manor Head who hailed from South Edict Manor had a feud with Miao Yi as well.


    The guards could not afford to dy their actions. They sped their fists together and said, "Cave Master Miao Yi, please wait a moment." And with that, they swiftly left to report their encounter.


    However, it could be said that Miao Yi hade at an inopportune moment. As it was Xiong Xiao¡¯s first time taking charge of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, it was necessary for him to reorganize the whole ce. He was in the middle of convening with ten Mountain Chieftains gathered in the grand hall of the manor to discuss matters of importance.


    Xiong Xiao was already having a slight headache because of that. Some matters could go on for days, yet nothing would be concluded from the discussion.


    The reason was because of Xiong Xiao himself. He came alone and only had a modest cultivation base. The Mountain Chieftains had higher cultivation bases than Xiong Xiao. To put it simply, they refused to obey him. As of now, Xiong Xiao didn¡¯t have any power of his own. Each Mountain Chieftain pretended toply with him for the sake of earning some benefit for their own.


    Some Mountain Chieftains with influence were musing about the method they would use to overthrow Xiong Xiao. Naturally, their intention was to take his seat. If it wasn¡¯t for the sake of Hall Master Wu Menn, they would have already seized power from him, just like Yang Qing had done to Lu Yu.


    If they immediately overthrew a person who was just appointed by the Hall Master herself, the Hall Master would definitely be infuriated by this. Moreover, Xiong Xiao was personally apanied by Elder Auntie to take up his role. In that sense, the best way to achieve their goal was to let Xiong Xiao achieve nothing, creating a Manor Head who was shown to be incapable of dealing with matters. Naturally, for them to be able to overthrow this kind of Manor Head, there should be someone who deserved the role more than him. The others would speak well of this person so the Hall Master would have nothing to say against it.


    However, Xiong Xiao wasn¡¯t a fool. His biggest crutch was the support from Wu Menn, and he already expected this kind of situation to ur. These past few days, he had been directing his attention to the troops of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor; killing a few in a slew of rage and also substantially rewarding a few others as well. At the same time, he hinted that he would rece the Mountain Chieftains under him with a few of his trusted subordinates. With that, he immediately took control of his own troops, showing himself to be extremely capable. All that was left was to deal with the vassals under him.


    It might be official business on the surface, but he wanted to take the opportunity to see the true nature of these subordinates before formting a n to deal with them. He could not afford to rush these things, otherwise they would be desperate and he would have to put himself in great danger.


    At that moment, a guard came in to make a sudden report¡ªMiao Yi had arrived. Xiong Xiao was instantly surprised; standing up, he asked, "How many troops did he bring with him?"


    The Mountain Chieftains stared at each other, ¡®Mountain Chieftain Xiong¡¯s enemy has came for him this quick?¡¯ Some of them had a hint of banter and insincerity in their eyes.


    Xiong Xiao couldn¡¯t help being astounded... He predicted that Yang Qing would most likely take vengeance on him, but he didn¡¯t expect that Yang Qing would call such a bold assault. After all, both of them were now associated with two different halls, so it was even more unlikely for the other party to brazenly assault his manor. However, now Miao Yi had sought him out under broad daylight¡ªit was simply uneptable!


    The guard cupped his fists and said, "Only four subordinates."


    "Only four subordinates?" Xiong Xiao was surprised. ¡®Isn¡¯t that guy seeking death? Daring toe here with only four people. Does he not know that I have be the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor?¡¯


    After pondering for a moment, it was possible that Miao Yi still wasn¡¯t aware that he had be the Manor Head. After all, he didn¡¯t tell anyone in South Edict Manor that he had already surrendered! He examined the jade archive that was delivered to Xia Yu, a frown creasing his face. He muttered, "List of remunerations? Four hundred low-grade Orbs of Will, three hundred thousand Gold Crystals ..."


    He was a little confused. Yang Qing hadn¡¯t know of this. How could he? He couldn¡¯t help but ask those in the hall, "What is this list of remunerations?"


    He signalled for Xia Yu to pass on the list of remuneration to the others below.


    Everyone had a smile on their faces after examining the list. From the chaotic babble that followed below, Xiong Xiao finally understood what it meant. He never considered there would be such a thing. It turned out that East Arrival Cave had been sending the list of remunerations here every year. Miao Yi clearly knew it would be hopeless, yet he managed to persist with this matter for dozens of years? This was truly a joke!


    ¡®Count yourself unlucky for falling into my grasp. I can¡¯t let you run away now that you have sent yourself to me!¡¯ Xiong Xiao swept his gaze over everyone below and revealed a sinister smile. He had no expectations of the others lending a hand to him. However, seventy of his troops was more than enough to deal with a mere five men.


    He pushed off his armrest and stood up. With a coldugh, he said, "It seems that it is time for me to settle an old score. Liu Tong. Gather up my troops immediately ..."


    Back at the gates, the cultivator acting as a messenger quickly ran back. He signalled to Miao Yi and the others and said, "Please follow me."


    Miao Yi kept an eye on his surroundings. They slowly entered whilst mounted on their dragon steeds. Miao Yi was obviously trying to use himself as bait.


    Once they entered, the cultivator leading them turned around and said, "Visitors entering the manor are not allowed to mount their steeds. Please dismount at once!"


    ¡®Dismount? Isn¡¯t losing the leg strength of the dragons steeds asking us to die?¡¯ Miao Yi couldn¡¯t be bother toply. He calmly replied, "We have no time for such nonsense, especially from a little pawn like you. Continue leading the way!"


    The cultivator did not dare to disrupt the ns of his Manor Head, so he endured his anger and continued leading Miao Yi and the others further into the manor.


    Just as they arrived in the middle of the public square outside of the Grand Hall, they suddenly heard the galloping noise of dragon steeds. Miao Yi and the others were surprised by the suddenmotion and quickly looked around their surroundings.


    A momentter, arge toon came rushing in from both sides, surrounding Miao Yi and the others in an encirclement.


    Miao Yi extended his arms. A cloud of silver mist burst forth from the storage rings and cloaked his body. In an instant, he and his steed were d in armor; with the Inversed-Scales Spear readied in his hand.


    The four cultivators behind him quickly readied their weapons as well.


    Miao Yi swung his spear at his surrounding and furiously roared, "I am a member of Suppressing Second Hall. What do you think you are doing?"

 Chapter 289: Today Will Be The Day You Die

    Chapter 289: Today Will Be The Day You Die


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "We know you¡¯re from Suppressing Second Hall," bantered one of them.


    This person was none other than Liu Tong, a cultivator of Blue Lotus First Grade. He was the first among the troops of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor to surrender to Xiong Xiao. When Xiong Xiao had killed the troops in a murderous rage, he had significantly contributed to the eradication as well. As a result, he had acquired Xiong Xiao¡¯s heavy support. Furthermore, Xiong Xiao had also promised Liu Tong a seat among the ten respective Mountain Chieftains after he hadplete control of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor.


    When Liu Tong responded to Miao Yi, a bunch of them smiled teasingly, as if to say, ¡®You asked what we were doing, isn¡¯t it obvious?¡¯


    Miao Yi pointed his spear at Liu Tong and said, "Perhaps you are trying to start a war between two manors."


    "Miao Yi, you piece of scum. It¡¯s been a long time, I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here. And I¡¯m certainly relieved to see you. Looks like there¡¯s divine justice after all!" Heartyughter rang out from behind.


    The sounds of more galloping pierced through the air. Those who were surrounding Miao Yi and his men quickly stepped aside, revealing Xiong Xiao as the leader of the second wave. His arrival was imposing, with a row of ten Mountain Chieftains following behind him. Behind each Mountain Chieftain was a number of subordinates too. These subordinates then blocked the exit from where they entered.


    "Xiong... Xiong Xiao. Why are you here?" Miao Yi acted as if he were confused and shocked.


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s actions were more exaggerated. He had never met Xiong Xiao before, yet he looked so overwhelmed with fright he could shove a fist in his mouth from how ck-jawed he was.


    Meanwhile, Tian Qingfeng and the other two who tagged along with Miao Yi, appeared quite dignified, unlike Luo Shuangfei, who was over-exaggerating his act. He almost gave away their true intentions.


    Miao Yi was actually quite surprised, not because Xiong Xiao was here¡ªhe¡¯d known about it already¡ªbut because of the presence of the ten Mountain Chieftains of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor who apanied him.


    When Yang Qing and Liu Jingtian teamed up to annihte Zhang Decheng, Miao Yi had briefly encountered these Mountain Chieftains before.


    As of now, there were hundreds of troops surrounding the five of them. The ten Mountain Chieftains were all Blue Lotus Cultivators, including a few troops from the Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor too. Fortunately for Miao Yi, Xiong Xiao had spent the past few days personally exterminating some of them to secure his control over the troops.


    Even so, it was still enough to make Miao Yi think that the situation had gone awry. The twenty Blue Lotus Cultivators he¡¯d brought with him might not be able tost through the battle.


    The School of Blue Jade was just a small sect, not a bottomless pit of endless cultivators. There were only two Red Lotus Cultivators in the entire school. The other Blue Lotus Cultivators had been worn down repeatedly at the South Edict Manor, and Miao Yi kept getting his forces killed. The School of Blue Jade were already terrified by this oue. More importantly, they saw no benefit to helping Miao Yi because of this. So when Miao Yi requested for more troops this time, Tong Renmei was hesitant and only replied ambiguously.


    After being informed that Miao Yi had been promoted to Mountain Chieftain¡ªand that Miao Yi was allowing them to charge him with a higher interest¡ªTong Renmei sent out nearly all the remaining Blue Lotus Cultivators in the School of Blue Jade. A few skilled ones stayed behind to guard the sect, but the rest were dispatched just to fulfill Miao Yi¡¯s requirement of twenty people.


    If none of the disciples survived like on previous asions, Miao Yi would not be able to enlist another person from the School of Blue Jade ever again.


    ¡®Why am I so unlucky? How could I let Xiong Xiao slip away again this time?¡¯ Miao Yi could only force augh in his heart. No matter how much he nned things out, fate would always intervene.


    Seeing how shocked Miao Yi was, Xiong Xiao let out a boisterousugh to the sky¡ª"HAHA!" He was quite delighted to find that this guy really had no clue that he¡¯d be the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. No wonder these five people had brazenly rushed into his manor. They¡¯d really thrown themselves into a perilous situation.


    After Xiong Xiao was doneughing, he loudly announced to Miao Yi, "I have be the new Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor!"


    Miao Yi was once again shocked. He pointed at Xiong Xiao with his spear and asked, "You are the Manor Head?"


    "That¡¯s right!" Xiong Xiao crowed. There was an evil smile stered on his face.


    Miao Yi pointed at Xiong Xiao with his spear again and furiously roared, "Xiong Xiao, you dog scum. How could you betray the Manor Head?"


    "You¡¯re wrong! A wise man chooses a good master to serve. Yang Qing couldn¡¯t tolerate me anymore, so naturally I surrendered and pledged to serve another master¡ªone more capable and wise." Xiong Xiao was not ashamed of his actions. Instead, he continued tough as he said, "Yang Qing is a Manor Head, and now I am one as well. We are both Manor Heads, how can you say that I betrayed him?"


    "Manor Head will definitely not forgive you!" Miao Yi said with a righteous tone.


    "You don¡¯t have to worry about that. You¡¯d better worry about yourself," Xiong Xiao mocked, "Miao Yi, if you surrender to me of your own will, I will spare your life."


    This was a false promise. He wanted to force Miao Yi into writing an issue of surrender and then send someone to deliver it to South Edict Manor to agitate and taunt Yang Qing. Hadn¡¯t Wu Menn highly rmend because she wanted to see this scenario y out? As long as he could make Wu Menn happy, Xiong Xiao wouldn¡¯t mind sparing Miao Yi¡¯s life for the time being.


    However, once Miao Yi wrote the issue of surrender, he would still kill him. How could their years-long enmity be resolved with just one ¡®surrender¡¯? If that were the case, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t havee all the way here to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor.


    Nevertheless, for Xiong Xiao to be able to be a Manor Head this quick with his current cultivation base, Miao Yi definitely had a hand in Xiong Xiao¡¯s swift advancement. Both of them had an effect on each other¡¯s lives.


    "Manor Head has been treating me well. I would rather die than surrender!" Miao Yi was adamant when he refused to yield. However, his tone instantly turned milder when he said, "I am a member of Suppressing Second Hall. If you dare touch me, have you thought of the consequences?"


    Xiong Xiao clicked his tongue and shook his head, "Who saw me make a move on you exactly? It¡¯s obvious that you were the one who came to attack my manor. I was forced to fight back. So you think you can humiliate my people of the Suppressing Third Hall just because you are from the Suppressing Second Hall? Do you think the Suppressing Third Hall won¡¯t retaliate against you?"


    He was able to utter those words because he could see that Miao Yi and his men were unable to escape and that no one would be able to go back to Suppressing Second Hall to make a report. Silencing Miao Yi and his men would mean that no one would live to tell the tale. If they died at Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, then wouldn¡¯t that mean they could fabricate the reason for their deaths as they pleased?


    Xiong Xiao waspletely emboldened and fearless. No matter how divided his subordinates were to him, they wouldn¡¯t go to the Suppressing Second Hall and report him as the initiator of the fight. If someone were to really do that, Wu Menn would be the first to hunt the snitch down without mercy.


    "I am not going to engage with you in a battle of wits or dispute the rights with the wrongs." Miao Yi pretended to be nervous and took a deep breath before he continued, "I came here for a different issue. Dozens of years ago, your Mount Returning Loyalty ambushed my East Arrival Cave. I have sent the list of remunerations every year, yet you keep ignoring it. I have no choice but toe personally to collect the debt. As long as you pay up ording to the list, I will leave immediately."


    "Is something wrong with his brain?" Liu Tong sneered at one side. Instantly, many of them burst intoughter.


    Xiong Xiao, on the other hand, scowled. "Perhaps you are desperate to reorganize your troops after your East Arrival Cave has been through a bloodbath. Is that why you¡¯vee all this way to collect the debt?"


    Miao Yi acted stunned as if Xiong Xiao had correctly guessed his n. However, he refused to admit to it, and he didn¡¯t dare mention the person who annihted his East Arrival Cave. He only asked, "Are you going to pay or not?"


    "What will you do to me if I don¡¯t pay up?" Xiong Xiao responded with a sneer.


    Even if he could pay up, he would not do so. The debts from previous years had never been paid, and he would not embarrass himself by entertaining the debts right after being appointed as the new Manor Head. Besides, there was no need to pay Miao Yi in the first ce. Only a weirdo would keep on sending the list of remunerations for dozens of years without fail.


    "Then let¡¯s talk about it when you are willing to pay up." Miao Yi guided his dragon steed to turn around and said, "Let¡¯s go!"


    Miao Yi suddenly became courteous¡ªhe didn¡¯t even retaliate. In the eyes of the crowd, it was clear that Miao Yi was frightened.


    "You wish to leave?" Xiong Xiao guffawed. He waved his hand and roared, "Take him down!"


    Upon his signal, about ten people immediately rushed in.


    "Wu..." Tian Qingfeng faced the sky and instantly howled. His voice reverberated through their surroundings as illusory petals of the Blue Lotus Fourth Grade appeared on his forehead. Xiong Xiao twitched at seeing its image.


    ¡®This guy has a Blue Lotus Fourth Grade Cultivator apanying him?¡¯ Xiong Xiao was stunned.


    But there was still more. Except for Luo Shuangfei and Miao Yi, the others were all Blue Lotus Cultivators. The group that rushed towards them were no match for these five people.


    Miao Yi struck his spear out like a dragon and knocked out a number of foes; Luo Shuangfei¡¯s strange yet poisonous spear technique had also killed several with one strike. Meanwhile, Tian Qingfeng and the other two used their highly-skilled cultivation to overwhelm their forces, killing them with their spears.


    With a few close strikes, ten people had beenpletely struck down from their steeds. The ground pooled with blood¡ªit was a terrifying scene.


    At the same time, everyone was surprised to hear the sounds of galloping approaching from both sides of the forest, prompting them to look around at their surroundings.


    "Who dares harm our lord?!"


    Seventeen voices shouted at once, shaking the surrounding mountain as they burst forth from the forest. With nine people in one group and eight in the other, the uniformed Blue Lotus Cultivators converged together. Their leader had already joined Miao Yi¡¯s side with amanding air, ready to act no matter the terrain. These cultivators came forward at full speed, like ferocious wolves and tigers from both sides.


    At that moment, Miao Yi revealed a sinister expression. He thrust back his spear and pointed at Xiong Xiao. "Xiong Xiao, you dog scum. How dare you look down on Suppressing Second Hall. Today will be the day you die. Go for the kill!"


    As per their n, it was advised that they should not entangle themselves in battle. Their priority was to take Xiong Xiao¡¯s life. Tian Qingfeng, who had the highest cultivation base, immediately rushed towards Xiong Xiao for the kill. Miao Yi and the others turned their spears around with the intention to guard Tian Qingfeng against all sides. Three Blue Lotus Cultivators followed Tian Qingfeng from behind and lunged straight for Xiong Xiao like a sharp de.


    The Blue Lotus Fourth Grade Cultivator was the first to pounce at him. Xiong Xiao was greatly frightened and growled furiously, "Stop them! Go for the kill!"


    Several Mountain Chieftains behind Xiong Xiao exchanged nces, and then unexpectedly turned around and left with their men. These people really wanted Xiong Xiao dead. They couldn¡¯t take action on their own ord, but now that someone else had decided to kill him, they wouldn¡¯t hinder their course. It would be better if they didn¡¯t interfere.


    Seeing them leave the scene, the other Mountain Chieftains hesitated for a while before looking at the situation. They were shocked at the sight¡ª¡®Shit, they¡¯re all Blue Lotus Cultivators. We have no rtion to you, Xiong Xiao, and we aren¡¯t friends either. Why should we risk our lives for you?¡¯


    None of the ten respective Mountain Chieftains wanted to help Xiong Xiao. But they weren¡¯t fools either. They didn¡¯t immediately run away because if they did, they wouldn¡¯t be able to report the details of their duty to their superior. Instead, they shrieked at the top of their lungs to cheer for the opposition forces while running around amidst the chaos. In other words, none of them wanted to engage in the fight.


    Xiong Xiao had a few Blue Lotus Cultivators among his troops. On top of that, he had a great number of troops to hold back the opposition forces. They managed to block Tian Qingfeng and the others from reaching Xiong Xiao.


    It would be unthinkable to be trapped by so many and have their mobility hindered. Miao Yi and the others were suddenly caught in a dangerous situation as they engaged in the bloody battle.


    Fortunately, the reinforcements came down from both sides in a ferocious surge and killed Xiong Xiao¡¯s troops as if cleaving through a wave. The massacre had dragon steeds shrieking in pain, with blood and carnage spilling all over the ce. Whatever path they ughtered through, screeches and cries would follow.


    Seventeen Blue Lotus experts were able to easily shake off the assault. After regrouping with Miao Yi and the others, they moved forward and went on the offensive like madmen.


    Amongst Miao Yi¡¯s troops, three Blue Lotus Third Grade Cultivators charged ahead with great strength to aid Tian Qingfeng in breaking through the opposition¡¯s fortification, and immediately massacred two Blue Lotus Cultivators from the Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. One of them was Liu Tong¡ªhe was beheaded with one strike.


    Without any experts to hold them off, none of them could endure the assault much longer. Twenty-two mounted cultivators immediately broke through the siege with Tian Qingfeng in the lead, throwing men and steeds off their feet. They were unstoppable as they charged at Xiong Xiao, who stood at the end of the line.


    Xiong Xiao almost spat out a mouthful of blood when he looked around to see the ten Mountain Chieftains loudly running around, making no effort to take action.

 Chapter 290: Defeated at the Hands of His Own Men

    Chapter 290: Defeated at the Hands of His Own Men


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Based on his own capabilities and Wu Menn¡¯s support, he could definitely take full control of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, provided that he had a bit more time to do so.


    He had also made the assumption that Yang Qing wouldn¡¯t dare to openly attack the Suppressing Third Hall. But before he knew it, an unforeseen situation had arisen. Miao Yi really gave him no time to prepare and hade in for the assault. Xiong Xiao hadn¡¯t even warmed up to his seat as Manor Head yet!


    If he still hadn¡¯t realized that he¡¯d just fallen into a trap, it would be safe to call him a fool. Once he saw several of the Blue Lotus experts heading his way, Xiong Xiao couldn¡¯t risk staying a moment longer, so he immediately turned the opposite way and ran.


    Before the fight broke out, Miao Yi felt somewhat certain that he would seed. But when he saw the ten Mountain Chieftains appearing from behind Xiong Xiao, his chances seemed slim. The opposition had a few dozen Blue Lotus Cultivators and hundreds of troops, and that had already ced him and his own troops at a disadvantage. He had done his best to prepare for this battle. If all else failed, then they would break out from the siege and withdraw from the battle while there was still hope.


    Initially, Xiong Xiao thought that this would be a bloody battle where he would live and Miao Yi would die. However, none of the Mountain Chieftains were lifting a hand to help him. Instead, they were cheering with enough volume to frighten the enemy away. Was everyone just putting up a facade?


    How could this be? When Miao Yi saw Xiong Xiao running away alone without a single guard, he immediately realized what had happened. Miao Yi was also a man who was familiar with the organization¡¯s inner structure. He almost burst intoughter when he witnessed the scene¡ªXiong Xiao¡¯s rtionship with the others was merely a false front. Instantly, his spirits were restored.


    After throwing back their enemies, twenty-two cultivators on mounted steeds managed to break away from the siege. They disregarded everything as they immediately pursued Xiong Xiao, who was fleeing for his life. They had a very clear target¡ªkill Xiong Xiao and disengage with the others.


    Miao Yi wanted to kill Xiong Xiao for revenge and to give himself peace of mind. The School of Blue Jade wanted to kill Xiong Xiao too as a way to avenge their fallen disciples. Because of that, Miao Yi and the cultivators would chase after Xiong Xiao to the bitter end.


    "Xiong Xiao, you dog scum, don¡¯t try to run away!"


    Miao Yi roared furiously. Charcoal began to unleash a formidable leg strength and slowly made its way ahead of the twenty-two steeds.


    Miao Yi was determined not to let Xiong Xiao run away this time, otherwise Xiong Xiao¡ªwith his status as Manor Head¡ªwould be able to employ greater resources against him. That would pose a great threat to Miao Yiter on.


    Tian Qingfeng and the others elerated their speed even more and frantically chased after Miao Yi.


    The ten Mountain Chieftains ceased their incessant running and shouting. One of them revealed a sly smile on their lips, and in a sudden rage, he waved his hands and yelled, "Quickly, save the Manor Head!"


    This person led the pursuit with his men. The other Mountain Chieftains gazed at each other for a while. They then immediately raised their fists and roared as they directed their men to give chase as well.


    They didn¡¯t have to put in so much effort, but they also couldn¡¯t just stand idly by and do nothing. Otherwise, no one would be able to endure the rage of their Hall Master when they returned to give their report. No matter how unwilling they were to save Xiong Xiao, they still needed to make it seem like they had tried their best to do so.


    However, no one was particrly exerting themselves to catch up to them. Even as they gave chase, they moved at a considerably slower speed. While chasing from afar, one of them yelled, "Don¡¯t panic, Manor Head, we areing!"


    Xiong Xiao almost vomited blood from frustration. ¡®It will be weirder if I don¡¯t panic. If I wait for you lot toe save me, I¡¯ll be dead before I know it.¡¯


    Inside the mountain forest, the sounds of murderous yelling echoed without stopping. The galloping of the dragon steeds rumbled through the forest like a sh of lightning, which frightened the flying beasts nesting inside.


    Xiong Xiao looked panicked as he escaped into the forest. He kept twisting his head to look behind him, and he could see Miao Yi getting closer. A sh of grief and resentment passed through his eyes.


    Back when he was still the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Shaotai, he had subordinates forming a blockade to protect him from being pursued by Miao Yi. Now that he had be the Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, he was well-equipped with excellent and powerful troops. And yet despite all of that, he was now reduced to being an isted man, running away for his life.


    "Xiong Xiao, you dog scum, today will be the day you die. Where are you running off to?"


    Miao Yi had already caught up to him and swiftly thrust his spear at Xiong Xiao.


    Xiong Xiao adjusted his body and swung his long de in retaliation. Two streaks of cold sparks shed together, and a ¡®ng¡¯ rang out, nearly knocking away the Inversed-Scales Spear from Miao Yi¡¯s hands.


    After all, Xiong Xiao had demonstrated how far he¡¯d gone with his cultivation, and in a situation where his cultivation was higher than Miao Yi¡¯s, he¡¯d fight with every ounce of his strength. Compared to Xiong Xiao, Miao Yi was quite inferior to him!


    Fortunately, the Inversed-Scales Spear that he¡¯d received from Yao Ruoxian was able to increase twenty percent of his attack power. Otherwise, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be able to hold onto his spear while shing against Xiong Xiao¡¯s power.


    Miao Yi was well-aware of his own limitations. He didn¡¯t need to use force to battle it out with Xiong Xiao when he could just attack from behind and assault his mount instead. If he could kill his mount, Xiong Xiao was as good as dead as soon as Tian Qingfeng and the other cultivators managed to catch up to them.


    A frenzied shower of cold sparks shot out from Miao Yi¡¯s hand. Xiong Xiao sensed Miao Yi¡¯s n and hastily blocked his attack.


    ng ng ng... Bang bang bang...


    The long de and long spear were locked violently with one another, cleaving every tree in the proximity of their shes. Each tree creaked and tumbled in session.


    Xiong Xiao spared no transcendence energy and was constantly swinging back his de to protect himself. He swung out a few streaks of formless yet substantial transcendence energy, afraid to let Miao Yi close in on him.


    It would not do to keep crossing weapons with Xiong Xiao like this. However, Miao Yi was still able to hold off his transcendence energy with the Inversed-Scales Spear.


    A few streaks of transcendence energy were released with every swing of Xiong Xiao¡¯s de. However, Miao Yi did not evade his attacks. Instead, he closed the distance, thrusting his own transcendence energy from the spear to break off Xiong Xiao¡¯s attack.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s de technique and Miao Yi¡¯s spear technique were on two different levels. Miao Yi¡¯s random spear assault seemed like a phantom unleashing attacks of transcendence energy. At times, he would focus on viciously attacking Xiong Xiao¡¯s mount, forcing Xiong Xiao to be flustered and defend himself.


    With each sh between his spear and Xiong Xiao¡¯s de, Miao Yi could feel his hands almost going numb from the forceful vibrations. But even in that state, Miao Yi refused to give up. There was no way he would let Xiong Xiao get away again after snatching this opportunity to kill him.


    Seeing them both struggling to best the other¡ªwith Miao Yi using his White Lotus Cultivation against Xiong Xiao¡¯s Blue Lotus Cultivation¡ªTian Qingfeng and the others were feeling anxious as they looked on from behind.


    Sadly, the leg strength of their mounts couldn¡¯tpare to Miao Yi¡¯s steed. They wanted to catch up to them but couldn¡¯t in any case. They had no choice but to feel anxious for Miao Yi.


    However, Miao Yi became increasingly faster as he thrust his spear at Xiong Xiao. Xiong Xiao was bing increasingly disorientated as he twisted his body around to protect himself. Both mounts charged in between the mountain slopes, with Xiong Xiao¡¯s mount in a slightly higher position. This immediately gave Miao Yi the optimal opportunity to strike. He took a moment and stabbed his spear at the hind leg of Xiong Xiao¡¯s dragon steed, then swung the spear sideways. Blood and sinew immediately sttered everywhere.


    "Harrumph!" The dragon steed neighed and toppled over. Xiong Xiao was instantly tossed from the steed and flew outwards in a state of panic.


    Xiong Xiao was pale with fright when he saw the twenty or so steeds approaching with malevolence, especially when he could clearly see the petals of the Blue Lotus Fourth Grade on Tian Qingfeng¡¯s forehead. He took his de and fled towards a nearby copse of trees like a madman.


    Miao Yi did not rush to chase him down. He quickly invoked his transcendence art and healed his numb arms. He had been enduring the unpleasant sensation and struggled not to let Xiong Xiao run away from him. After grappling for the opportunity to strike his spear at Xiong Xiao¡¯s dragon steed, he would now let Tian Qingfeng and the others handle the rest.


    After losing the leg strength of his dragon steed, Xiong Xiao could no longer run away. Tian Qingfeng and the others were focused on giving chase. They immediately broke their formation and hastened their pursuit of Xiong Xiao.


    Once they managed to catch up to Xiong Xiao, he tried to quickly evade their attacks from the top of a tree, with five of the cultivators surging upwards almost simultaneously.


    "Kill!"


    Seeing five spears dashing towards him, Xiong Xiao could only howl hysterically while struggling to swing his de through the air in frustration.


    A distinct ¡®ng¡¯ rang out in the air. With the speed of the dragon steeds, as well as a blow from a Blue Lotus Third Grade cultivator, Xiong Xiong was sent flying from the tree, his blood spilling forth. The long de in his hand was knocked away as well.


    At the top of the forest, one mount suddenly made its appearance. Luo Shuangfei thrust his spear through the air in a perfect arc and struck the serrated edge into Xiong Xiao¡¯s heart.


    Xiong Xiao, his body covered in blood after being impaled, suddenly felt the world turn silent. His body was in the air, and he could see his troopsing in for ¡®reinforcement¡¯ nearby the mountain peak. Seeing this sight, his eyes filled with untold resentment.


    ¡®I have gone through all sorts of bloody battles, more than hundreds of them. Countless people have fallen before me. I survived not because of sheer luck. But today, I lost not because I was incapable, but by the hands of my own men...¡¯ These were the final thoughts that shed through Xiong Xiao¡¯s mind.


    Boom!


    Luo Shuangfei soared and thrust his spear, piercing through Xiong Xiao. He soared again, swooping down andnding in the forest, taking Xiong Xiao with him. With another strike of his spear, he pinned him against arge tree trunk. Luo Shuangfei spared no strength, and in doing so, hepletely destroyed the tree as well.


    Xiong Xiao¡¯s clothes were already tattered and drenched in his own blood. Blood was gurgling in his throat, and he only stopped after he was pinned to the second tree. His vision was fading to ck as he gazed at Miao Yi wearing a full set of silver armor dashing towards him, his spear readying to strike. After that, he immediately lost all sense of feeling.


    Xiong Xiao was beheaded with one strike of the spear. Miao Yi then took Xiong Xiao¡¯s head and stored it inside his storage ring. He sliced off Xiong Xiao¡¯s arm and held it in his hands. He quickly took off three storage rings from the severed arm and kept them with him.


    Miao Yi tossed the severed arm away before turning around to look at the opposing troops running towards them. He swung his spear and shouted, "Let¡¯s go!"


    Luo Shuangfei pulled out his spear, releasing Xiong Xiao¡¯s headless corpse from the tree which then fell to the ground.


    Twenty or so steeds followed an armor-d Miao Yi from behind and quickly galloped away by turning towards another direction.


    When arge number of troops reached the scene and saw Xiong Xiao¡¯s corpse, the ten Mountain Chieftains looked at one another in an unspoken agreement.


    One of them murmured, "Miao Yi, that piece of scum has killed our Manor Head. We can¡¯t let him get away. Everyone must quickly dispatch one representative to the Manor Head¡¯s mansion and send a Spirit Eagle to the troops from each mountain to intercept the murderers. The others will pursue them immediately!"


    Each respective Mountain Chieftain responded in agreement before following the direction where Miao Yi and the others had fled to resume their pursuit.


    This time, it wasn¡¯t a joke. This was no longer a two-faced ploy against Xiong Xiao¡ª this time they were really going to pursue Miao Yi for the kill.


    The reason was simple. Because Xiong Xiao was dead, the seat of the Manor Head would naturally be avable. Whoever managed to kill Miao Yi would be rewarded with great merit.


    If they didn¡¯t put in more effort into their performance this time and continued to deal with the situation half-heartedly, they wouldn¡¯t be able to present their report to Hall Master Wu Menn. Even though it was just for show, they were going to give a spectacr performance just to remove all suspicion from them.


    Arge number of troops continued to pursue Miao Yi and the others with vigor. Meanwhile, the remaining smaller group of troops quickly made their way to the Manor Head¡¯s residence. Xia Yu and Qiu He, who were anxiously standing guard by the doors, saw them approaching and asked, "How is Manor Head?"


    One of the men replied, "Manor Head has been murdered by that piece of scum, Miao Yi. Auntie, you must quickly retrieve the Spirit Eagle and allow us to contact the Hall Master and assemble the other troops at the same time. We can¡¯t let that scum run away."


    "Manor Head is dead?" Thedies looked dazed, as if they had been struck by lightning. Xiong Xiao hadn¡¯t just been their Manor Head, but their man as well.


    "Elder Auntie, Little Auntie, don¡¯t falter now. If we keep stalling, and that piece of scum manages to escape from the territory of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, we won¡¯t know what to do next!"


    Thedies returned to their senses and looked at them with a glint of hatred in their eyes. It wasn¡¯t as if they didn¡¯t notice what had really happened. There was one way Xiong Xiao could have died at the hands of Miao Yi despite the presence of these people¡ªthey had pretended toply without putting in any effort to protect the Manor Head.


    However, there was nothing they could do to change the situation anymore. Both of them could only shed tears and bite their lips as they turned around to lead the others to retrieve a Spirit Eagle to transmit their messages.


    But as soon as they entered the inner mansion, one of the Mountain Chieftains suddenly unsheathed his sword and ambushed the twodies from behind. In a lightning speed stance, the man stabbed through their stomachs from behind, leaving gaping wounds on their bodies.


    Thedies had expressions of disbelief as they turned around in despair. But their perpetrator immediately kicked them to the ground.


    Someone eximed, "What are you doing?"


    "Didn¡¯t you all see the hatred in their eyes? None of us will be spared from the responsibility of the Manor Head¡¯s death, so naturally, we should cover for one other. His troops will not dare to provoke so many people, but these two are Xiong Xiao¡¯s personal handmaidens. If we let them tip off the situation to the Hall Master¡¯s ears, what do you all think will be the consequences of that?"


    Everyone nodded their heads and felt that those words made sense. In an instant, they decided to ignore the deaths of these twodies and strode over their bodies pooling in blood...

 Chapter 291: Pursue and Kill!

    Chapter 291: Pursue and Kill!


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    About ten or so Spirit Eagles went soaring through the air for the sake of assembling the troops of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor together.


    Twenty or more steeds hastily galloped away into the forest, across the terrain, beyond the streams, and leaping through ravines. They moved with the relentless speed of a mighty wind, none of them having the courage to stop for a break.


    Although they had already ughtered Xiong Xiao, none of them could rx. The group¡¯s overall mood was grim; they knew that killing Xiong Xiao was just the beginning, and they would definitely be pursued as a consequence. As long as they were still within the vicinity of the Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, anything could happen at any moment.


    Arge group of troops were chasing them down from behind. But because of their own dy in taking action, they had lost sight of Miao Yi and his men. However, the dragon steeds in Miao Yi¡¯s group had left noticeable tracks, so the troops were able to speedily give chase by following the trail.


    On top of that, when Miao Yi and the others arrived at Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor, the weather was dreadful and raining heavily. The sky was filled with pitch-ck clouds, and the roaring sounds of thunder. Rain droplets, each the size of arge bean, poured down violently.


    As the rain drizzled down his face, Miao Yi gradually eased his tense expression. He tilted his head up and gazed at the sky, watching the raining down in torrents.


    He turned back and saw that Luo Shuangfei¡¯s steed was the first to follow closely behind him. He took a headcount of his men again; they had started out with twenty-two, and it was the same number going back. None had been left behind, and only a few had suffered minor injuries.


    "Haha..."


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t contain himself and let out a bellowingugh at the sky. Just like that, he had ughtered Xiong Xiao. He had finally relieved himself of all the pent-up frustration and anxiety he¡¯d endured for so many years. At that moment, he allowed himself to burst intoughter. He even took out Xiong Xiao¡¯s head and showed it to everyone behind him.


    Tian Qingfeng and the others gazed at each other for a moment before they joined Miao Yi and roared withughter. Together, they shared their raucous merriment under the heavy rain.


    For a sect that felt demoralized by the officials, they were extremely delighted with their performance for this job. Twenty or so people had carried out a direct assault on a manor¡¯s headquarters and killed their Manor Head. Looking back on their actions, they had been quite bold and heroic. The School of Blue Jade would never have dared to make such an audacious move, simply because they¡¯d be too afraid.


    However, they realized that if the Mountain Chieftains of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor hadn¡¯t stood to the side, they might not even have survived the encounter, much less kill Xiong Xiao. For now, escaping with everyone still alive was the best oue¡ªthey were truly lucky to be alive.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t discard Xiong Xiao¡¯s head and put it back into his storage ring instead. He needed to bring it back to Yang Qing to show that he had aplished his task.


    Even though Yang Qing hadn¡¯tmanded him outright, the hints he had thrown at Miao Yi were quite obvious. ¡®I have restored your status to Cave Master from Steed Deputy, and then immediately promoted you to Mountain Chieftain. I¡¯ve even told you that those who have nothing, would fear no one; and that Xiong Xiao wouldn¡¯t dare to do the things that you are willing to do.¡¯ In other words, Yang Qing was trying to tell Miao Yi, ¡® You must not take your role as Mountain Chieftain for granted. You should know how to repay me by now. The power of authority doesn¡¯te free of charge.¡¯


    Another interpretation of this would be: ¡®If you, Miao Yi, want to hold onto your position as a Mountain Chieftain, you must aplish something that can convince me of your worth.¡¯ As for what that matter could be, Yang Qing had already made it in what he¡¯d meant.


    Even though Yang Qing had said in effect, "Since you¡¯ll be going to the Sea of Constetions anyway, if you do slip up, the most I could do was to simply punish you by sending you to the Sea of Constetions. As long as it isn¡¯t too big of a ruckus, I will cover for you."


    Miao Yi could only sneer in his heart, ¡®It¡¯s no small thing to go to the Suppressing Third Hall to exterminate a Hall Master. If this isn¡¯t too big a deal, then what exactly is a big deal? If it¡¯s so inconsequential, wouldn¡¯t the odds of sess be higher if you handled it yourself? And you say you¡¯ll cover for me? Once the Suppressing Third Hall conducts an investigation, how can you, a Manor Head, cover for me?¡¯


    But Miao Yi still risked his life toe here. And he didn¡¯t journey all this way to only fulfill Yang Qing¡¯s orders; he did it to eliminate Xiong Xiao as soon as possible. Otherwise, his future would be riddled with dangers, with Xiong Xiao targeting Miao Yi at the earliest opportunity. So long as Xiong Xiao was alive, Miao Yi would always find himself at risk of being killed. He¡¯d never be able to sleep or eat in peace because of it.


    However, he didn¡¯t believe in Yang Qing¡¯s bullshit words, and he didn¡¯t have high hopes that Yang Qing would do his best to cover for him in the eventual uproar. If what Yang Qing promised was true, then his name shouldn¡¯t even appear on the candidate list for the ¡®Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade¡¯. Yang Qing could have fought with the Hall Master regarding the list, but in the end, Yang Qing would rather not disobey his superior.


    If that was the case, then why should Miao Yi entrust his safety to Yang Qing in the first ce?


    He could only depend on himself. He would always avoid trouble whenever he could. Because of that reason, he decided to use the ¡®list of remunerations¡¯ as his cover and risked his life to deliver himself to Xiong Xiao¡¯s front door. He did this just so he could lure Xiong Xiao into making the first move.


    This n was extremely risky. If the reinforcements hadn¡¯t arrived on time, he would have died at the hands of Xiong Xiao.


    ¡®This matter concerns the two manors, yet they risked my life just because they want to be in the right. I only came to demand mypensation and had no intentions of starting a fight. Xiong Xiao, you didn¡¯t want to pay up, so I took my men and left. I was obedient up to that point. Surprisingly, you still wanted to kill me and cause harm. It¡¯s only natural that I, Miao Yi, would exim that "you looked down on the Suppressing Second Hall" and acted in defense of my life.¡¯


    Now that he had killed Xiong Xiao, even if everyone could see that it had been a trap, who would dare say that Miao Yi hadn¡¯t acted reasonably for doing so? ¡®I didn¡¯t even provoke you, Xiong Xiao, yet you attacked first!¡¯ With this solid justification, if the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall still refused to protect him, then this Hall Master would be nothing but trash.


    If not for this ¡®reason¡¯, it would¡¯ve been faster to eliminate Xiong Xiao byunching a sneak attack with a group of people. There was no need to risk his lowly life in order to do so.


    No matter how they did it, they had still seeded.


    However, just as Miao Yi said to Luo Shuangfei, this would be thest time he¡¯d agree to do Yang Qing¡¯s dirty work!


    Miao Yi did not resent nor harbor hatred towards Yang Qing for exploiting him. The rules of the game that the Six Sages had created were indeed cruel in nature. In fact, Yang Qing had treated Miao Yi well, and there was no reason for Miao Yi to bear a grudge against him. However, he had already risked his life multiple times to save Qin Weiwei back then, and during the recent ughter of Xiong Xiao. In that sense, he had already repaid the kindness he owed to Yang Qing. From now on, any achievement he received would be from his own hard work. He did not owe Yang Qing anymore!


    Breaking off this train of thought, Miao Yi fished out the storage rings he had stolen from Xiong Xiao. A sly smile could be seen emerging from his lips.


    Xiong Xiao was a Mountain Chieftain who had been tasked with the responsibility of two mountains for dozens of years. In just one year, he had collected two hundred or more Orbs of Will from just the tributes received from the two mountains. Miao Yi believed that Xiong Xiao had been using these orbs to maintain and support his own troops. Furthermore, Xiong Xiao was able to yield an additional two hundred Orbs of Will from the other two vassal cities within that same year as well. Based on Xiong Xiao¡¯s cultivation base, he couldn¡¯t have refined all those orbs in just the span of one year.


    After Miao Yi checked the rings, he discovered that Xiong Xiao actually had one thousand two hundred low-grade Orbs of Will, which he assumed Xiong Xiao had saved up when he¡¯d been tasked with the matters of the two mountains. A Cave Master couldn¡¯t possibly save up that many Orbs of Will¡ªhe needed all of that and more for refinement.


    Xiong Xiao had umted about a total sum of more than a million Gold Crystals. There were three First Grade Yao Cores amongst them too, and Miao Yi had no idea how Xiong Xiao could have obtained them. Aside from having a tidy sum of savings, it would seem that Xiong Xiao had been preupied with the refinement of transcendent artifacts as well.


    Disregarding the useless items inside the storage rings, all the fortune that Xiong Xiao had umted for the past year now belonged to Miao Yi.


    Once the rain had stopped, the sky began to clear, turning the road into a muddy path. That was the beginning of their troubles¡ªthe troops pursuing them had begun to appear in quick session.


    Miao Yi retreated to the middle of the formation to seek the protection of his troops. It seemed like he didn¡¯t even need to make a move. With Tian Qingfeng in the lead, the others followed and rushed forward to break off from the siege.


    If the troops of the Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor had been one big force, Miao Yi would have been more concerned about their situation. However, they were facing a small group of people, and it was clear that they were no match for their team of twenty or so Blue Lotus Cultivators. He was more worried that they had already alerted the experts in the Suppressing Third Hall. There was no way that the Suppressing Third Hall would remain idle when a situation like this had broken out.


    Because of that, they had been running away relentlessly without a thought of stopping to rest. Time was of the essence, and he must make sure that they were able to escape from the territory of the Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor before the experts from the Suppressing Third Hall could show up...


    And just as he¡¯d expected...


    Suppressing Third Hall¡¯s Wu Menn was in the middle of her cultivation when she was disturbed by her handmaiden, Fei Yun, who held an emergency report from the Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor in her hands.


    Wu Menn¡¯s face twisted with rage after reading the urgent report. She then barked, "I took Xiong Xiao as apetent man and gave him ample support in hopes that he could take on Yang Qing face to face, thus restoring my reputation. Who knew he¡¯d prove to be just an idiot who could be duped with such a mundane trick? Silenced by a mere Cave Master¡ªhow can I ept this? I can¡¯t let Huo Lingxiao have thestugh!"


    She then flew down the couch, fixating her gaze on Fei Yun, and screamed, "What are the people in Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor doing? How can so many people let their opponents slip away, free of harm, right within their own territory? Have I raised a bunch of useless morons?"


    Startled, Fei Yun had taken a step back from Wu Menn¡¯s outburst. She didn¡¯t know how she should respond. She had no way of knowing the exact details, so how could she possibly know the reason why arge number of people hadn¡¯t been able to block Miao Yi and his men from escaping?


    "Miao Yi, you shit! You have treated Sister Meng with nothing but rudeness!" Wu Menn stared at the jade archive in her hand,ughing after her anger had reached its breaking point.


    Fei Yun raised her head in confusion, unsure what the Hall Master was talking about, ¡®What Sister Meng?¡¯


    "Miao Yi, you scum! You are shrewd, very shrewd indeed. Your ¡®list of remunerations¡¯ is truly astounding. You were actually able to use it to this extent, and remarkably well at that. Never in my dreams did I expect you to use such a method. I have really seen it all! Little Brother, you carried out your n without a w. You have ughtered my men, and you didn¡¯t even give me a reason for doing it. It seems like I have greatly underestimated you. I have decided to acknowledge you, Little Brother!" Wu Menn smiled despite her anger, and continued, "Do you think I won¡¯t retaliate just because you had a reason for your actions? How dare you barge into my territory and humiliate me? Did you think you could insult me so easily?!"


    She looked at her handmaiden, Fei Yun, and snapped abruptly, "Inform Advisor Pang Rang immediately. Tell him to pursue and kill them!"


    When Yang Qing had caused a hugemotion at the Thriving Ten-Thousand Manorst time, she did not let anger get the best of her. She had even ordered her subordinates to investigate the matter thoroughly before making a final judgment. However, there was no need to conduct an investigation this time. She was well aware of the enmity between Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi, and she personally knew Miao Yi as well. Moreover, she had learned about the ¡®list of remunerations¡¯ long before this. Without conducting an investigation, she already knew that the events at Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor were true.


    "Yes!" Fei Yun left, swiftlyplying with the order.


    After a while, a streak of red lightunched itself from a manor situated on a mountain peak in the Suppressing Third Hall, swiftly piercing through the night sky. This light quickly made its way towards Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor.


    But when Pang Rang managed to catch up to the scene, he was a bit toote...


    After achieving their goal, Miao Yi and the other cultivators had immediately fled the scene. They didn¡¯t n on lingering, so they quickly escaped at the fastest possible speed.


    The news of the ensuing uproar was then transmitted through a Spirit Eagle to the Suppressing Third Hall. And by the time Advisor Pang Rang managed to rush his way back to the Thriving Ten-Thousand Hall, the entire ce was in shambles. A group of handmaidens was cleaning up the mess, and none of the men could be seen. After questioning one of the handmaidens, he found out that all the troops of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor had gone off to pursue Miao Yi.


    Pang Rang was a cultivator and not¡ªas most ordinary folks seemed to think¡ªsome celestial being. With no directions to guide him, he couldn¡¯t possibly know where in the hell Miao Yi and his troops could have fled to.


    It had been raining heavily yesterday, so the tracks of those chasing after Miao Yi had been washed away. Pang Rang was left with no clue to follow. However, he knew that Miao Yi and his men would definitely flee to South Edict Manor. In the end, he could only resort to the dullest method to seek out his targets.


    Assuming that he was on the right path, he managed to track down a few scattered troops from his viewpoint above the sky. Afternding down and questioning these troops, he was able to confirm where his targets had fled to. He soared through the air in an instant, moving at full speed in hot pursuit...

 Chapter 292: Ghost Rain

    Chapter 292: Ghost Rain


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Miao Yi, you piece of scum! Don¡¯t think you can run away!"


    Miao Yi and the rest had broken through a heavy siege. At the sound of the angry curses behind them, they reined in their steeds, then leaped through the air over a river a dozen meters wide. When their steedsnded on the other side, they had entered the territory of South Edict Manor. The river acted as a boundary line between the two territories.


    Finally, they¡¯d managed to flee into thends of South Edict Manor. Miao Yi and his men turned back and saw a group of steeds hastily halting their movements on the other side of the river. The enraged men pointed at Miao Yi and cursed furiously, yet they were afraid to cross over to pursue him further.


    The twenty or so cultivators on that side stopped as well, and all of them let out consecutive sighs of relief. They gazed at each other and came to the realization that everyone had made it back safely. Suddenly, they burst intoughter. That had truly been a thrilling adventure.


    The troops opposite the river were bing increasingly harsh with their curses. On the other hand, Miao Yi and the others were feeling relieved, and theirughter redoubled, as if they were trying to taunt the cursing men.


    But suddenly a whooshing sound rang out from afar on the other side of the river. A silhouette came rushing from a distance and abruptly stopped right above the river. An old man was levitating in mid-air, with bright eyes and a Red Lotus Third Grade blooming between his brows. He gazed coldly at Miao Yi and the others at the other side of the boundary, as though he was a celestial being.


    This person wasn¡¯t a stranger. He was one of the two great advisors of the Suppressing Third Hall¡ªPang Rang.


    Miao Yi and the others¡¯ eyes were wide open¡ªthis was a Red Lotus expert! Instantly, they became nervous. If this person tried to make a move, they could kiss their lives goodbye.


    "It¡¯s Advisor Pang!" Those who had seen Pang Rang before couldn¡¯t help but exim at the sight of him.


    However, they soon bemoaned the situation as it became apparent that Pang Rang also didn¡¯t dare to cross the boundary to kill them. If the underlings were to stir up trouble, it was still possible for the superiors to control the situation. But if Pang Rang tried to vite the rules, then there was a possibility that both manors would get caught up in the fight and create a great war between them.


    Miao Yi and the others could also tell that Pang Rang was afraid to cross the border to kill them. And with that, they felt relieved. It was truly fortunate that they had managed to reach this side on time. If they had been a bit toote, their lives would now be in great peril. Evidently, the Suppression Third Hall hadn¡¯t dispatched a Red Lotus expert just to monitor the situation. It was obvious after carefully considering the circumstances.


    Pang Rang was aggravated when he shifted his gaze from the opposite bank to the troops of Suppressing Third Hall beneath him. These people had failed to catch their target. It was utterly pointless to stand guard on that side since they were only making things worse.


    Of course he would be mad. He was sent here by order of Wu Menn to decimate the escapees. Regardless whether his targets had crossed the boundary or not, he could still cross to the other side and annihte them. This was a wastnd surrounded by barren mountains; no one would ever know that he had crossed over to kill a group of people in their territory.


    However, there were hundreds of people watching him from below. Despite being members of the Suppressing Third Hall, they could still spread rumors given therge number of witnesses. Who could guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t leak out the news should he decide to kill Miao Yi and the others? He couldn¡¯t possibly silence hundreds of troops just for the sake of killing twenty or so people, could he?


    Miao Yi and his men were afraid to run as well. They stood there and stayed respectfully still. They were afraid that any sudden movement on their part would only serve to irritate Pang Rang, and they couldn¡¯t afford to provoke him into crossing the border and killing them instantly.


    Nothing good coulde out from crossing the border and killing these people. But he couldn¡¯t report back to the Hall Master if he didn¡¯t kill them either! A mischievous glint shed before Pang Rang¡¯s eyes as he suddenly extended his arms. A ck gourd emerged from his storage ring, and with a pop of its neck, the gourd poured out ck ink, leaving a mass of ck water floating in the air.


    With one hand, Pang Rang took back and stored the ck gourd while he submerged two fingers with his other hand into the floating water. He stirred the water rapidly and turned the mass into a whirlpool.


    Even though Miao Yi didn¡¯t understand what the hell this person was doing, he could tell that something wasn¡¯t right. Certainly, Pang Rang wouldn¡¯t do anything without reason given the circumstances. He was definitely going to direct this whirlpool at them.


    Now wasn¡¯t the time to be concerned about that. Miao Yi quickly turned around and yelled, "This isn¡¯t good. Quickly, run away!"


    The twenty or so steeds immediately turned and ran the other way as fast as they could.


    The troops on the other side of the river looked up at the sky and saw Pang Rang forcefully stirring that mass of ck water. The mass then rapidly expanded, causing the water to turn into countless ck droplets.


    They invoked their transcendence vision and looked closely, realizing that Pang Rang¡¯s transcendence energy had transformed the mass of ck water into a cluster of ice needles, each as thin as a cow¡¯s hair.


    "Go!" Pang Rangmanded, suddenly flinging his sleeves. With his transcendence energy going berserk, the many ice needles immediately shot toward the opposite side of the boundary like a sudden torrential rain.


    Miao Yi and the cultivators were shocked as they turned their heads to look behind them. They immediately turned their bodies around, spinning their weapons to fend off the needles.


    A series of ¡®clings¡¯ and ¡® ngs ¡¯ ensued. Their weapons moved rapidly, shattering the densely-packed shower of ice needles into pieces.


    As expected of a Red Lotus expert, he could easily shoot these fragile ice needles from a distance. Not only had he managed to break their transcendence energy defenses, their hands were now numb, and they almost loosened their grip on their weapons from the vibration.


    Even if Miao Yi¡¯s spear technique was considered formidable, he would have a difficult time blocking all these fine, speedy ice needles. All he could do was struggle with all his might to protect himself from harm. The others did the same as well. They could only care about their own protection above everything else.


    The worst part was that Miao Yi had already taken off his battle armor because he¡¯d wanted to reduce Charcoal¡¯s burden, and because they would be fleeing a long distance. Besides, he would be protected by Tian Qingfeng and the others, and they hadn¡¯t expected such a dangerous encounter along the way.


    Despite their best efforts to resist the attack, they were beginning to feel pain on several parts of their bodies. They had been pierced with a few shards from the ice needles.


    Their own dragon steeds were naturally wounded as well. The twenty or so cultivators and steeds were immediately thrown to the ground from the assault.


    But the strange thing was, upon piercing the body, these projectiles immediately dissolved once they came into contact with their blood. Only small droplets of blood appeared on the surface of the skin. It seemed like they hadn¡¯t suffered any major injuries, but they did feel twinges on their bodies, and even their dragon steeds suffered the same as well.


    The luckiest one among them all was none other than Luo Shuangfei. He wrapped his legs around his dragon steed¡¯s abdomen area and protected his head and whatever he could from harm. These ice needles couldn¡¯t hurt him at all because he was protected by the armored artifact underneath his clothes.


    It didn¡¯t matter whether they were harmed or not since their top priority was to escape from danger first. All of them reined in their steeds once more and fled for their lives.


    Floating in mid-air on the other side of the river, Pang Rang revealed a sardonic grin as he watched Miao Yi and the others disappearing from his view. He hadn¡¯t crossed the boundary and killed anyone. With a hurl of his sleeves, he abruptly darted away into the distance, leaving the group by the river to exchange confused looks...


    Pang Rang returned to the Suppressing Third Hall to report what he¡¯d done. By the misty mountain valley outside the pce hall, he saw the well-developed figure of Wu Menn, d in a long dress, overlooking the distant mountains in a dignified manner.


    "How did it go?" Wu Menn spoke without turning her head.


    Behind her back, Pang Rang sped his fists together and said, "When I arrived there, they had already fled into the territory of the Suppressing Second Hall. Because there were a lot of witnesses, it was quite inconvenient to cross over to the other side to kill them. There wasn¡¯t a better way to handle the situation at that moment, so I showered them with ¡®ghost rain¡¯ from a distance. They probably won¡¯t be able to find a cure at South Edict Manor. I believe they will not survive long enough to find the cure."


    "Nicely done. I appreciate your efforts in dealing with this trouble, Advisor Pang. Head down and take a rest," Wu Menn said with a nod.


    "Not at all. I will take my leave!" Pang Rang gestured by cupping his fists. He then turned around and floated away...


    Miao Yi and the others had been focused on running away to Mount Calming Sea, so at first they didn¡¯t seem to notice the effects of being inflicted with the ice needles. They found nothing weird after repeatedly invoking their arts to examine themselves. They even asked one another about their condition, and everyone felt the same.


    They immediately began to suspect that something was amiss. What was the meaning of their opponent¡¯s skill? Luo Shuangfei was the only one who remained silent throughout their escape.


    Just when they were about to reach Mount Calming Sea, everyone slowly began to notice that something was wrong. They could feel their blood cirction gradually slowing down and showing signs of solidification.


    In an instant, they knew that they were in grave danger. They tried to invoke their arts to elerate their blood cirction, but the attempts were futile, as they could only feel their bodies getting colder. The coldness made their bones ache, and with that, they knew that they had been poisoned.


    Miao Yi had never been poisoned before. Once he noticed that something was amiss, he quickly invoked his arts and powered up the source of his transcendence energy, sparking a me at its core. This swiftly destroyed every bit of the poison in his body into ashes. The ability to remove poison was incredibly effective.


    Because Luo Shuangfei wasn¡¯t inflicted with the ice needles, he waspletely fine.


    On the other hand, the ability of the dragon steeds¡¯ constitution to resist poison seemed to be much superior than those of a human. They only began to show a reaction toward the poison after reaching Mount Calming Sea. The steeds carried the cultivators at a pace much slower than their normal speed, and barged through the Mount Calming Sea¡¯s mountain gates. Their speed at that moment was akin to that of a normal steed.


    The cultivators guarding the mountain gates already knew that Miao Yi had be the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea. They didn¡¯t block him from entering. Instead, they cupped their fists together and greeted, "Mountain Chieftain!"


    Miao Yi ignored these guards and quickly charged through the gates with Tian Qingfeng and the others behind him. The cultivators at the gates gazed at Tian Qingfeng and the others in astonishment.


    They did this because these men were shivering incessantly on top of their steeds. They were coated with ayer of frost. Their current condition made it appear like they had been stung by the little mantids.


    As soon as they rushed toward the side entrance of the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s residence, Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er, who were startled by the noises, were already running out.


    Seeing Miao Yi and the others¡¯ distress, Yan Xiu eximed, "Mountain Chieftain, what is going on?"


    When they heard the news that Miao Yi had returned, the troops of Mount Calming Sea rushed over to greet their Mountain Chieftain. Miao Yi wasted no time on these niceties and quickly ordered the crowd to support Tian Qingfeng and the others, who were facing difficulty in dismounting them from their steeds, into the residence.


    Miao Yi promptly reined in Charcoal and jumped into the courtyard first. Charcoal¡¯s resistance was clearly stronger than ordinary dragon steeds, but Miao Yi could feel that the poison inside Charcoal¡¯s body had begun to show an effect. Charcoal would at times give a pained expression to Miao Yi.


    Tian Qingfeng and his men were carried into the courtyard and crossed their legs to sit on the ground, struggling to resist the poison by desperately invoking their arts.


    "Mountain Chieftain..." Someone tried toe forward and greet Miao Yi in an attempt to be friendly with him. After all, Miao Yi¡¯s influence in Mount Calming Sea was greater than that of Xiong Xiao in Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor.


    He didn¡¯t expect Miao Yi to be in a foul temper. He said in a low voice, "Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er can stay. As for the others, get out. No one cane in without my permission."


    "Mountain Chieftain, what happened?" One of the troops asked as they gazed at Tian Qingfeng and the other cultivators, trying to show their concern.


    Miao Yi¡¯s face twisted and he roared, "Scram!"


    Everyone was speechless from his rebuke. In their hearts, they thought, ¡®Sure enough, this guy is famous for being overbearing. The days ahead will be difficult. ¡¯ They could only dismiss themselves in embarrassment.


    After waiting for them to sp their fists together and dismiss themselves in quick session, Miao Yi then looked at Charcoal, who was already staggering and swaying about. He quickly went in front of Luo Shuangfei and said in a low voice, "Can purple marten cure them of their poison?"


    Luo Shuangfei nodded, but quickly shook his head, as if something had popped into his mind.


    Clearly, he was hiding something from him. Miao Yi looked cold and said, "Quickly take out the purple marten and cure them of the poison."


    Luo Shuangfei shook his head again, which prompted Miao Yi to extend his hand and reiterate, "Take it out!"


    Luo Shuangfei widened his eyes and stared at him. He took a step backward and shook his head once more.


    Just then, a few thumping noises rang out from outside. Miao Yi swiftly shed toward the noise and saw twenty or so dragon steeds tumbling down one-by-one. They were already frozen solid from the frost on their bodies.


    After Miao Yi examined the steeds by holding out his hand and invoking his art, he gasped in surprise. These dragon steeds had no transcendence energy to resist the frost, so they had already been poisoned to death.

 Chapter 293: Came So Quickly

    Chapter 293: Came So Quickly


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Even though the dragon steeds¡¯ resistance to poison were much superior than that of a human, they would still die much faster than those cultivators once the poison began to take effect. After all, they didn¡¯t possess any transcendence energy that they could use to resist against the poison attack.


    The limbs of these dragon steeds who had suddenly died, became stiff. The blood and flesh of their bodies had already been frozen solid together.


    It wasn¡¯t that Miao Yi didn¡¯t want to reach out to help these steeds. He had already tried to do so in the midst of their escape. The technique he had cultivated could only save his own life, but he was unable to use it to save other people.


    Initially, he thought that the condition of the steeds and the cultivators was almost simr to that of the little mantids¡¯ bites. But after he tried to save them, he realized that these two conditions werepletely different from each other. The bites of the little mantids inflicted the sensation of an extremely cold aura of theherworld, whereas everyone was just inflicted with a cold type of poison.


    The source of transcendence energy that he had cultivated inside his body could indeed destroy this type of poison. However, this source was at the moment only a ¡®source¡¯ and not yet a ¡®spring¡¯. He was unable to release the transcendence energy outside of his body just yet. Only when he was able to unbind the shackles between the body and the external world would he be able to let the ¡®spring water¡¯ flow outwards.


    Once that set of shackles has been broken, it would also mean that he had opened up the Bridge of Heaven and Earth between his body and the external world. From then on, he would be able to soar the sky and fly through the air.


    If he could reach this realm, then he would already be a Red Lotus expert. In other words, he could only save the others with the method that he used to save himself once his cultivation had reached the Red Lotus realm.


    He was able to dispel the extremely cold aura of theherworld inflicted by the little mantids, but not the cold poison, due the difference between the nature of each respective substance.


    For example, when the darks eggs were initially hatched, the outeryer of the dark eggs were also covered in a thickyer of frost. However, when the eggs were taken outside and touched the ray of sunlight, the frost on those eggs immediately dissolved into thin air. On the other hand, the dragon steeds who had died on the ground were alsoying under the sun, yet the frost formed on their body still remained dazzling and untouched. This was the difference between the two.


    Even though the Glorious Star Immortal Herb was a divine healing medicine, it wasn¡¯t a divine detoxifying medicine. It could heal wounds, not cure poison. Otherwise, Miao Yi would have already generously applied it to them.


    Miao Yi began to grow frightened in his heart seeing this situation in front of him. He turned around and quickly shed into the residence.


    Once he reached inside, Charcoal was already staggering closer to him. It used its head to nudge itself against Miao Yi, and weakly neighed. It seemed like it was suffering as it begged Miao Yi to help it.


    This damn fatty had followed him for so many years and saved him a countless amount of times from dire situations, yet he couldn¡¯t even save it! Miao Yi eyes were instantly red as he strode toward Luo Shuangfei and roared, "Take it out and cure their poison!"


    Like before, Luo Shuangfei shook his head without uttering a word.


    "Take it out!" Miao Yi directly grabbed Luo Shuangfei by hispel.


    Luo Shuangfei, on the other hand, held back his tears in hisrge eyes and continued to shake his head.


    Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er gazed at each other in confusion. They saw Miao Yi grabbing Luo Shuangfei and forcefully dragged out a beast sack from underneath his clothes with his hand. Miao Yi then relentlessly threatened Luo Shuangfei, "If you don¡¯t give them the cure, I will kill it!"


    "I can save them. But can we go somewhere further away and not right here?" Luo Shuangfei pleaded.


    "Why do we have to go somewhere else? We don¡¯t have the time for that now. If we keep dragging on, they will die!" Miao Yi swung his hand and pointed at the direction of the dead dragon steeds.


    Luo Shuangfei continued to stare at him, his clear eyes filling with tears. Luo Shuangfei, who seemed very distressed, finally submitted to Miao Yi¡¯s authority. He also knew for certain that this matter could not be dragged any further.


    A purple marten with a subtle fragrance was taken out out from the beast sack. It was small and delicate, with small eyes that were glossy-green in color, with fur that glowed purple. It leaned against Luo Shuangfei¡¯s shoulder, making it seem extremely adorable. The marten gazed at everyone with a sense of alertness in its tiny eyes.


    Yan Xiu and the others were looking at this marten curiously. ¡®This little thing can cure the poison?¡¯


    Luo Shuangfei pursed his lips and gently ¡®shushed¡¯ at the marten a few times. He extended his arm and pointed at Charcoal, who was on the verge of copse, its body already covered with frost. He had followed Miao Yi for so long, so he knew Miao Yi¡¯s rtionship with Charcoal was of a special kind.


    The purple marten took off from his shoulder with a purple sh, and began scurrying about as soon as itnded on Charcoal¡¯s back. After finding a soft spot, it bit down with its sharp teeth, and began sucking contentedly with its eyes closed.


    The miraculous effect could be seen as soon as the purple marten took a bite. The frost on Charcoal¡¯s body immediately melted away at a steady rate, and Charcoal¡¯s body eventually began to stabilize and stopped staggering. Its previously drowsy eyes began to slowly open as well.


    Before everyone could react at the situation, the purple marten then shed toward Tian Qingfeng¡¯s body with a swish and took a bite on the back of his hand...


    After it hadpletely removed the ice poison from twenty of them consecutively, the fur of the purple marten had be brilliant and luscious. Sucking on these toxins seemed to be immensely nourishing for this marten. With a sh of its silhouette, Luo Shuangfei retrieved the purple marten and returned to the beast sack.


    Charcoal had already found a spot toy down and then dozed off. Tian Qingfeng and the other cultivators, all sitting cross-legged, cupped their fists together to Miao Yi as a gesture of gratitude, theirplexions still pale. Their vital energy had already been damaged by the ice poison.


    Miao Yi waved his hand as a way to tell them that they didn¡¯t have to thank him. This was what he was supposed to do in the first ce.


    He swept his gaze at everyone. The School of Blue Jade who came to lend their strength consisted of one Blue Lotus Fourth Grade, three Blue Lotus Third Grade, six Blue Lotus Second Grade, and ten Blue Lotus First Grade.


    After some consideration, Miao Yi then took out the storage ring he had taken from Xiong Xiao and walk towards them to give out Orbs of Will one-by-one. He gave fifty low-grade Orbs of Will to Tian Qingfeng, forty orbs to every Blue Lotus Third Grade cultivator, thirty orbs to every Second Grade cultivator, and twenty orbs to every First Grade cultivators.


    Among the 1,200 Orbs of Will he had plundered from Xiong Xiao, he had already used up 550 of them in an instant. Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er were left speechless when they realized that Miao Yi was indeed financially secure. He gave away hundreds of Orbs of Will just like that without hesitation... They didn¡¯t even know it was plundered from Xiong Xiao. They didn¡¯t realize either that Miao Yi was the one who benefited the most out of it.


    Even though this group of old fellows had cultivated for so many years, this was their first time receiving that many Orbs of Will for their own use. Each of them became excited and promptly stood up to give their gratitude, their legs still wobbling.


    "You all deserve this. I will never mistreat those who have risked their lives to serve me." Miao Yi waved his hand, gesturing them to recover first before they tried to talk again.


    He turned around and took out another hundred Orbs of Will in his hand, preparing to give it as a reward to Luo Shuangfei for saving Charcoal and the other guys. That fellow had earned a first-ss merit, so naturally his reward would also be thergest among them all.


    But when he turned around, he noticed that Luo Shuangfei had disappeared. So he immediately asked, "Where did Luo Shuangfei go?"


    Yan Xiu pointed outward, "He went outside."


    Miao Yi was surprised. He knew he was being slightly ruthless with his earliermand, but he¡¯d had no choice. He quickly went outside and stood near the entrance of the residence to look around for him. Just then, he saw the back of Luo Shuangfei¡¯s silhouette walking toward the mountain alone, his head lowered. He seemed abnormally deste.


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    ¡®Crap, is he listless because of me?¡¯ Miao Yi bitterlyughed and proceeded to sh towards him. After floating in an osciting manner toward the foot of the mountain, he stopped Luo Shuangfei in his tracks.


    Both of them gazed at each other. Miao Yi shed one hundred low-grade Orbs of Will in his palm and grinned, "You have saved a lot of people, and you have earned a first-ss merit this time. Take it as your grand reward."


    Luo Shuangfei¡¯s gaze went from Miao Yi¡¯s face to his palm. He continued to stare at the Orbs of Will as if he was lost in thought.


    "Why?" Miao Yi frowned. "Is it too little?"


    Luo Shuangfei quietly shook his head and said, "Just keep it for your own use."


    ¡®Seems like this guy is angry at me.¡¯ Miao Yi sighed, "I hope you can understand why I acted like that. After all, it concerns the lives of so many people. I don¡¯t understand why you refused to take out the purple marten. Were you afraid that people would be covet it?"


    Luo Shuangfei gave an nonmittal answer and said, "After you meet up with Manor Headter, please remove my Immortal Records."


    "..." Miao Yi was stunned. He then responded with a low voice, "You are just being childish. Can can you not suffer a bit of injustice in your entire lifetime? As my subordinate, aren¡¯t you supposed to heed my orders?"


    "You don¡¯t understand." Luo Shuangfei shook his head and continued, "My lord, I am not being childish. I am just unfit to stay here any longer."


    How could he easily let go of a person whose talent was to his liking, especially after he¡¯d managed to ask him to join his troops! Miao Yi went silent for a while before he said, "Luo Shuangfei, I will tell you a secret. The candidate list for the ¡®Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade¡¯ in the next few years has my name on it. I haven¡¯t told anyone of this news yet."


    "Eh..." Luo Shuangfei, who was feeling mncholy, immediately became shocked. "You are joking, right? Aren¡¯t you sending yourself to your death if you go there with your current cultivation base?"


    "It was Hall Master who put my name into the list. In any case, I must go." Miao Yi sighed before he continued in an earnest tone, "Charcoal is very important to me. With its leg strength, I can at least increase half my chance for survival once I go to the Sea of Constetions."


    There was an obvious meaning behind his words. ¡®Just for this reason, I was angry at you because you turned your back on me.¡¯


    It would be uneptable for a Mountain Chieftain to admit defeat to their subordinates. However, he was using another method to persuade Luo Shuangfei to stay.


    "Which son of a bitch is trying to make you suffer behind your back?" Luo Shuangfei asked with a re.


    "I don¡¯t even know which superior I offended." Miao Yi shook his head. He then gave his promise and said, "I will promote you to Cave Master once Ie back from meeting with Manor Head. You can choose which dwelling you like among the ten in Mount Calming Sea."


    He shed the hundreds of low-grade Orbs of Will once more, motioning to Luo Shuangfei to take them. What he meant by this gesture was, ¡®If you don¡¯t ept my token of kindness again, then you are just being rude."


    One should know that Miao Yi hadn¡¯t be a Cave Master immediately after joining the rank of officials. It could be said that Luo Shuangfei was now pardoned for his offenses as he was able to be a Cave Master after following Miao Yi for less than a year.


    Luo Shuangfei was speechless for a while. As he looked at Miao Yi, is eyes gave away theplex feelings he had for this situation. But in the end, he still shook his head and said, "My lord, I really have to go. Just remove my Immortal Records."


    With a handful of orbs in his palm, Miao Yi¡¯s face became stern as he said, "What do you think this ce is? Do you think you can juste and go as you wish?"


    Luo Shuangfei did not be angry. Instead, he forced a smile and said, "Actually, it doesn¡¯t affect me whether you remove my Immortal Records or not. Removing my Immortal Records is for your own good, as I fear I will only bring you trouble. My lord, to be honest with you, I am actually not a Loose Cultivator. I snuck out from my house and came out to y. When the time to go home arrives, my family¡¯s troops wille looking for me. I must go back at any cost."


    Miao Yi was slightly shocked when he heard this confession. He knew from the beginning that Luo Shuangfei was a bit different, and that he had extraordinary capabilities. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have treated him like a talented person and requested for him personally. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help himself and asked, "May I know which sect you came from?"


    "A rare sect. I can¡¯t reveal it to anyone. Don¡¯t force me to say it, my lord." Luo Shuangfei smiled bitterly.


    Miao Yi stared at him for a moment before he said, "Then we will talk about thister after your family arrives."


    After he had said his piece, he turned around and left. Miao Yi didn¡¯t give his consent nor disapproval to Luo Shuangfei¡¯s request to leave.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t a three-year-old kid who would believe anything that Luo Shuangfei told him. This wasn¡¯t a ce where one coulde in or leave as they pleased. He would like to see with his own eyes what kind of sect had the balls to take away his subordinate from the officials.


    It was evening. Half of the mountains and rivers were touched with the golden rays of the sun as it was setting. In the middle of the dazzling setting sun emerged a ck dot. In an instant, a giant ck eagle appeared and spiralled at a high altitude, which was then closely followed by several other ck eagles soon after.


    Luo Shuangfei sat on top of a rock in one of the mountain peaks all by himself. The mountain breeze embraced him as he looked up at the sky and muttered, "They came so quickly this time!"

 Chapter 294: Two Ladies Deflowered

    Chapter 294: Two Ladies Deflowered


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    A few ck eagles continued circling in the sky as the gold-banded eagle scanned thend below with its sharp eyes. It¡¯s gaze quickly locked onto the person sitting on top of the rock, as if it¡¯s trying to recognize this individual.


    As he basked in the sunset, Luo Shuangfei cocked his head to gaze at Mount Calming Sea sitting among the beautiful backdrop of mountains and rivers. Then, he turned his head back and headed straight into the depths of the mountain in one swift motion.


    ¡®SCREEEE!¡¯ The distinct cry of an eagle rang out from high above. A number of therge ck eagles spread their wings to embrace the wind and began a controlled unidirectional glide through the sky, slowly following the individual deeper into the mountain forest.


    Astride one of the ck eagles was a muscr ck panther, with bright blue quills on his back and two tusks that protruded past its lower jaw. There was a cold look in his eyes as he snuffled at the wind with his red nose under the rays of the sunset.


    Seeing the ck eagle already locked onto its target, the ck panther held its head high and roared. One of the ck eagles gliding alongside the others immediately turned back and vanished into the distance with haste.


    Below in the mountain forest, a head emerged from a cave and looked toward the sky. This fellow was none other than Yao Ruoxian.


    "Demonic birds? How are there so many demonic birds here?" Yao Ruoxian clicked his tongue in surprise, then quickly pulled his head back into the cave; clearly, afraid to stir up trouble.


    Having gone quite a distance from the dwellings of Mount Calming Sea, Luo Shuangfei finally stopped at the edge of the cliff after weaving his way through the mountain. He lifted his head to gaze up at the sky, as if intentionally trying to draw the attention of the scouts flying in the air.


    The line of ck eagles dropped down and dived past the cliff. The muscr form of the blue-backed ck panther flew at the edge of the cliff and safelynded on the edge of the cliff.


    The figure emitted a fearsome aura as it slowly moved its limbs and paced about on the ground beside Luo Shuangfei, before crouching down at his feet and basking in the golden rays of the sunset together with him.


    The scene seemed reminiscent of a sunset painting filled with the splendours of the wilderness.


    Not long after, the ck eagle that had vanished into the distance came back with another person.


    ¡®Swish!¡¯ A tall, slender man in ck robes fell from the sky and soonnded beside Luo Shuangfei. His face was white as jade, with three strands of his beard swayed along to the mountain breeze. Standing there with his hands behind his back, he scrutinized Luo Shuangfei indifferently for a few moments, then abruptly broke out with a bitter smile and said, "Little Junior Sister. You have really made it difficult for us to find you!"


    Luo Shuangfei rolled his eyes and waved his hand, saying, "Who told you to look for me? I¡¯m happy having fun by myself. You all should just quickly go back and not disturb me."


    His voice now sounded like a melodious silver bell that was pleasant to the ears. It was the voice of a carefree woman. If Miao Yi were here, he would definitely be shocked and have a hard time believing that this voice was actuallying from Luo Shuangfei¡¯s mouth.


    "Little Junior Sister. Stop being stubborn. It¡¯s dangerous for you to be outside like this. Let¡¯s go back. If you don¡¯t, all of us who have been looking for you will be put in a difficult situation. The honorable sage is already furious." The man in ck robes sped his fists together at a direction in the distance, as a gesture of respect.


    Luo Shuangfei raised his head and said, "Not leaving!"


    A cold expression flickered past the eyes of the man in ck. He didn¡¯t continue arguing with Luo Shuangfei. Instead, he turned toward the blue-quilled ck panther lying on the ground and asked, "Little ck. How did the little princess manage to hide herself here?"


    The blue-backed ck panther stood upright with its body raised up. As it raised its forelegs, its body began glowing with a green light. In an instant, the panther had transformed into a muscr man with blue hair. sping his fists together, he responded, "Sir Zuo. There is a mansion situated on the mountain peak. Zi¡¯Er¡¯s scent came from there. That might have been where the little princess had been hiding herself."


    "How dare they hide our little princess!" said the man ck-robed man in contempt, before ruthlessly saying, "Go assemble our men and kill them all. Leave no survivors!"


    "Zuo Nanchun. You dare!" Luo Shuangfei quickly spun about, fuming in anger.


    The ck-robed man named Zuo Nanchun, coldly said in response, "In this big world, the honorable sage is the greatest power among them all. There is nothing I won¡¯t dare do. If the honorable sage is enraged, the blood on his hands will flow like a river. Their life and death will depend entirely on little Junior Sister¡¯s attitude."


    "Zuo Nanchun! You dare threaten me!" Luo Shuangfei grit her teeth and growled, "Go ahead and kill them if you can!"


    Zuo Nanchun stared at the blue-haired man and calmly said, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go. If there are any survivor left, I will take your head instead!"


    "Yes!" The blue-haired man lifted up his head up to gaze at the sky, attempting to summon the ck eagles circling in the air.


    Luo Shuangfei was suddenly in a panic. She knew that these merciless people weren¡¯t the type to joke around and would certainly mean what they said. After aplishing their task, they would definitely take her away by force. She quickly halted them with an urgent cry, " STOP! I... I will return!"


    With that, the blue-haired man turned to look at the ck-robed man for his next order. Zuo Nanchun waved his hand at the man behind him, telling the other man to back off. Then he gave a nod to Luo Shuangfei and said, "Little Junior Sister is kind for saving their lives."


    Luo Shuangfei barked angrily, "Are you mocking me for nearly causing their deaths?"


    "I wouldn¡¯t dare." Contrary to his words, Zuo Nanchun¡¯s chilly face was painted with a subtle smile. Clearly, he was agreeing with what Luo Shuangfei had said just now.


    Luo Shuangfei stomped her feet in anger; yet she was helpless against this man. She grit her teeth and said, "I can go back with you, but you must help me first."


    Zuo Nanchun nodded and said, "Little Junior Sister. Just say the word."


    "I was in danger before this, and someone saved me from that. I cannot leave before saying farewell ..." Luo Shuangfei continued exining to Zuo Nanchun.


    The favor she asked of Zuo Nanchun was simple. He was to apany Luo Shuangfei back to Mount Calming Sea to notify the others before they left.


    It wasn¡¯t a difficult request. Besides, Zuo Nanchun had already found the person he was looking for. He wasn¡¯t afraid that Luo Shuangfei would y any tricks on him. He gave a nod and agreed to her terms. After that, he apanied Luo Shuangfei and they flew back to Mount Calming Sea together.


    The patrols did not stop Zuo Nanchun when they saw him. Luo Shuangfei was the one who brought him over, so they let them pass.


    Tian Qingfeng and the others were still sitting cross-legged under the veranda inside the residence, trying to recover their vital energy. Zuo Nanchun scanned about as he dashed inside while apanying Luo Shuangfei.


    Miao Yi was just assembling the troops of Mount Calming Sea to familiarize himself with each personnel. He was now inside the loft where Qin Weiwei used to manage her duties, listening to Yan Xiu¡¯s report on the arrangements in Mount Calming Sea.


    When Xue¡¯Er alerted him that Luo Shuangfei had brought his Senior Brother with him, Miao Yi was shocked. ¡®That person really dide as he said they would. This fast? Did that Luo Shuangfei deliberately find someone just to fool me?¡¯


    He allowed Yan Xiu to cease giving his report for the time being.


    A momentter, Xue¡¯Er brought Luo Shuangfei and Zuo Nanchun to meet him.


    When both parties met, Zuo Nanchun was observing Miao Yi whilst Miao Yi did the same in return.


    Zuo Nanchun stood with his arms folded; his expression was aloof and cold. He had no intention of paying any respect to Miao Yi.


    "Milord. Ie to formally give my farewell to you. My Senior Brother hase to bring me back." Luo Shuangfei cupped his fists and continued, "Luo Shuangfei hereby thanks you for all the trouble you have taken on my behalf in this time. Now, I will take my leave. Please take care, Milord."


    ¡®Leave?¡¯ Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er were stunned.


    Hearing those words, Miao Yi¡¯s heart was burning with anger from his seat behind the long table. ¡® He¡¯s really leaving on a whim. What did he think this ce is? How dare he juste and go as he please? I gave you so much preferential treatments, yet I can¡¯t make you stay?¡¯


    Miao Yi nced at Zuo Nanchun and asked, " May I know your name?"


    Zuo Nanchun casually replied, "Zuo!"


    "So it¡¯s Sir Zuo." Miao Yi coldly continued, "Your Junior Brother already has an Immortal Record at the present. I assume you must already known about it. Those with Immortal Records cannot leave as they please."


    Zuo Nanchun¡¯s gaze became indifferent. If he hadn¡¯t heard that this Mountain Chieftain saved his Junior Sister¡¯s life, he would have immediately lost his temper.


    "I have been to the Realm Beyond Heaven. A mere Immortal Record cannot frighten me. My Junior Sister came to say her farewell to you just to show you respect. Asking you to remove her Immortal Record is because she doesn¡¯t want to cause you trouble. Can it be that you still wish to stop her from leaving?" Zuo Nanchun scoffed. A Red Lotus Ninth Grade lotus abruptly appeared on his forehead as he continued, "I am going to take her back. The rest is up to you!"


    Miao Yi, Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er were immediately terrified. ¡®A Red Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator? A cultivator that will soon step into the Purple Lotus Realm?¡¯


    Miao Yi was dumbfounded. ¡®What kind of background does Luo Shuangfei have? How can a Senior Brother possess a cultivation at Red Lotus Ninth Grade? What manner of of cultivation does his Master have then?¡¯


    Before this, Miao Yi actually thought that Luo Shuangfei was making someone up to deceive him. However, how could he randomly find a Red Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator, whom Yao Ruoxian would avoid at all cost should he see one? This person even said that he had been to the Realm Beyond Heaven before.


    Luo Shuangfei showed a hint of guilt in her eyes. It was her who intentionally called Zuo Nanchun to frighten Miao Yi so that she could force Miao Yi to remove his Immortal Record. She actually didn¡¯t care whether he had an Immortal Record or not. She just didn¡¯t wish to cause any trouble to his patron Miao Yi in future.


    "If he isn¡¯t afraid of trouble then let him be, Junior Sister. Let¡¯s go." Zuo Nanchun turned to go and beckon to her.


    "Farewell, Milord!" Luo Shuangfei briefly shot a dark look at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. She then cupped her fists together at Miao Yi and proceeded to nod at Zuo Nanchun.


    With a flick of Zuo Nanchun¡¯s sleeves, a strong wind surged inside the loft as he took Luo Shuangfei with him through the window and vanished off into the distance...


    Just then, the loft had gone silent within as Yan Xiu and the others stared nkly at Miao Yi.


    His expression cloaked in gloom, Miao Yi gave a sudden forcedugh. This was the first time he had rmended someone. He hadn¡¯t expected that the person would make him feel helpless, and conflicted about his judgment of others. Then he left just like that, and Miao Yi couldn¡¯t even be angry about it.


    He could take advantage of his background as an official to issue an arrest warrant against Luo Shuangfei, but he considered such an action against his own interest¡ªwouldn¡¯t it would be like digging his own grave? Letting out a heavy sigh, he gestured with his hand, "Yan Xiu. Continue your report."


    "Yes!" Yan Xiu steadied hisposure and continued reporting on the situation...


    There were benefits to Luo Shuangfei leaving. At longst, Miao Yi could now remove the knot in his heart¡ªthat knot of always being fearful of someone peeping on him. Luo Shuangfei had indeed cast a shadow over Miao Yi¡¯s heart, making him constantly worried that someone would peep or eavesdrop whenever he wanted to do ¡®that¡¯. After all, cultivators have extraordinary hearing.


    As night fell, and after being constantly on the run for the past few days, Miao Yi finally took a bath with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er serving him.


    Inside the clear jade pool, the twodies were bing embarrassed after being stared at by Miao Yi¡¯s eager eyes. On the other hand, this was Miao Yi¡¯s first time reaching out to pull their sleeveless tops.


    Their breasts were like perky lumps of jade, with their nipples protruding from under their tops as their delicate faces flushed red. The twodies used their jade-like arms to cover their chests.


    Miao Yi stepped out of the pool, lifting the two delicate figures on each of his arms, sshing water out as he went. Then walked to his room and threw the twodies onto his bed.


    Seeing two figures bashfully covering their exquisite jade-like bodies, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t resist any longer. He pounced at them fiercely like a pack of hungry tigers and wolves. It would be his first time with his two handmaidens.


    The experience of his first night went about gently and naturally. The twodies did not resist his approach and weed him without holding back. The curves of their delicate bodies were fondled endlessly, and their snow-like voluptuous breasts were enjoyed to their fullest. Their arms lost strength as their pale flesh began to quiver, their hair bing undone and falling down from the convulsions. The twodies kept blushing and gasping for air as they continued being ravaged by Miao Yi; their bodies intertwined with one another as if intoxicated, with sensations that were at times gentle, and at times intense.


    On this night, there were drops of blood; for the twodies had been deflowered. The first-timer was still going strong with no idea how to restrain himself. Miao Yi continued to satisfy thedies several more times until he was done.


    After being ravaged so, the twodies, realized that the rumor they heard before was fake. They happily drowned themselves in pleasure despite the pain on their body.


    As for the person who started the rumor, she was standing on a ck eagle under the star-filled sky as it flew through the air. She had a lonely expression on her face, as if she knew what would happen after she left. The scene ying in her head appeared the same instant it did in reality, yet there was no way she could stop it...

 Chapter 295: Report

    Chapter 295: Report


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Morning dawned in the mountains as the morning fog floated about.


    Inside the silent quarters, a naked, well-built figure broke through the water¡¯s surface with a ssh. Miao Yi sat inside the pool with his unkempt hair hanging over his shoulders. Amongst all cultivators, there weren¡¯t many who had a build like Miao Yi¡¯s; he had bs of dense muscles on his body.


    Two fair-skinned bodies leaned closer to him and scooped water up to wash his body.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were both stark-naked as well. A night of pleasure had finally convinced them to take off theirst piece of loincloth. However, the blush of embarrassment was still visible on their faces. Yet under their embarrassment, there was a hint of delight as well.


    In that one night, this muscr man was no longer only their master, but he had also be their man. They gazed sweetly at Miao Yi with gazes radiating love and tenderness for him. They had truly devoted their hearts to Miao Yi.


    When their delicate fingers touches his skin, it felt different yet special.


    Miao Yi stared at the ripples in the pool, seeing the shadows of the twodies being pleasuredst night in them. Miao Yi had no idea what came over him as he suddenly recalled the scene of him killed two of Xiong Xiao¡¯s personal handmaidens. He figured Xiong Xiao must have had this moment with his own handmaidens as well. He couldn¡¯t help but slowly closed his eyes and abruptly muttered, "Did Qin Weiwei also take her bath in here before?"


    "..." The two girls shared a nce without saying a word. Mentioning such things at this moment, they figured they knew what he was thinking about. Xue¡¯Er replied with, "Mmmm. Maybe."


    Meanwhile, Qian¡¯Er had turned to retrieve ab from the poolside and held it in her lips. She went behind Miao Yi and knelt down, causing her voluptuous breasts to peek out from the water. With water still dripping from her body, she neatly gathered Miao Yi¡¯s hair with both her hands and, taking theb from her lip, began attentivelybing part by part.


    Miao Yi kept his eyes closed as he quietly sat in the waters, allowing the two girls to do whatever they wanted with his body. He then calmly asked, "What kind of person am I to you both?"


    The twodies exchanged nces with one another once more. They didn¡¯t know how to reply to his question for a moment. After a moment of silence, Qian¡¯Er responded, "You are our master. A capable person."


    "A capable person?" Miao Yi smiled. Still keeping his eyes closed, he asked, "Both of you were scared and kept silent yesterday. Do you call this ¡®capable¡¯ as well?"


    "..." They didn¡¯t how to answer that.


    Miao Yi grinned again and said, "You might not know about this, but I was mocked even when I was still an ordinary mortal. I even went to ask permission for a marriage proposal after I took a fancy to a neighbor¡¯s daughter, but in the end, my betrothal gifts were tossed out. You wouldn¡¯t know this, but I even went to South Edict Manor to discuss a marriage proposal with Manor Head..."


    Both of thedies were shocked. "You discussed a marriage proposal with Manor Head?"


    "Yeah... Qin Weiwei wanted me to marry her. In the end, Manor Head declined the proposal and refused to say anything further. I was even forced to suffer through a distant raid to ughter Xiong Xiao and nearly lost my life for it. Luckily, I was able to survive ande back in one piece. Of course, in return for that, I was promoted to Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea. I gained this position in exchange for my life." Miao Yi suddenly grinned with opened eyes before saying, "The worst partes after. The candidate list for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusadeing up in few years has my name on it."


    The twodies were aghast and cried out, "Master is going to the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?"


    These two were no longer the ignorant girls they used to be. Naturally, they knew what the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade would entail. Xue¡¯Er added, "Can you not go?"


    Miao Yi shook his head gently and said, "This is beyond my control. I must go, unless I flee like Xiong Xiao did."


    Qian¡¯Er clutched his hair and grit her teeth, "Fleeing isn¡¯t bad. Wherever master goes, we will follow."


    "Xiong Xiao¡¯s fate is an example of that. If I really do run away, these people here will never forgive me. They will send a second or third person like myself to kill me. They will stop at nothing until I am dead!"


    Xue¡¯Er knelt in front of him and said in a trembling voice, "Do you have to go? We can run away a bit further to somewhere they will never find us."


    Miao Yi reached out and gently stroke her face, "Even though the world is vast, there is no ce for the likes of us. Without power, we will end up with the same fate no matter where we run. We will still be fooled by others. At least I have some foundation here. If I want to stand out, running away will not help. The only way to achieve that is to face it head on. Back when I first began and decided to head down the path of cultivation, a person told me that this was a path of no-return. He asked me if I really want this path... I didn¡¯t understand it at first, but now I do. Once I take on this path, I will have no control over it. Right now, this is the only path I can walk on. I will not run away even if this path is full of thorns, bumps, and endless corpses. I saw a saying once when I was at the Boundless Secr World¡ª¡®A boat made of white bones sails the boundless sea of blood!¡¯¡ªI don¡¯t even know which senior wrote it, but the road to cultivation is indeed filled with endless hardship and bitterness."


    He scooped up Xue¡¯Er¡¯s white-skinned body and ced her on his thigh. His hands caressing her busty bosoms as he said, "At least the rules of the game provide me a way out. Even if the game wants my life, it still gives me the chance to foster my strength¡ªwhy then, should I flee? That being said, both of you should not be afraid. There is no need to panic. I will strive for the best and never give up, and I hope you two will not either. If something happens to me, I want both of you to live on. If you live, there is hope."


    The twodies bit their lips and remained silent. It felt as if their master was trying to leave his will to them.


    "Both of you are my most trusted confidants. Don¡¯t tell anyone else about me going to the Sea of Constetions for now. But on your way back, you can tell Yao Ruoxian about it."


    Qian¡¯Er was still kneeling behind,bing his hair as she asked, "Do you want to ask Master to apany you?"


    "There is no need to do that. Just inform him about it. When Ie back from South Edict Manorter, I have to find him to discuss some other matters as well."


    "Understood."


    After he was done bathing, Miao Yi went out of the pool in the nude and invoke his arts to dispel the moisture from the surface of his body. Thedies, with exquisite figures that would make anyone¡¯s heart race and their blood pumping, did not hurry to dress. Instead, they stood on either side of Miao Yi and assisted him in dressing.


    After the three of them were dressed, they went outside and saw Yan Xiu waiting for them in the courtyard. Tian Qingfeng and the others were there as well; their vital energy was already recovered.


    Miao Yi stood on the tform and swept his gaze over everyone. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er stood behind on either side of him.


    Everyone cupped their fists together and said, "We havee to pay respects to Mountain Chieftain. Greetings Elder Auntie and Little Auntie."


    All of them noticed that both Elder Auntie and Little Auntie looked quite well today. Theirplexions seemed unusually radiant.


    However, the disciples of the School of Blue Jade were mainly focusing their anticipation on Miao Yi. They only came because Miao Yi had offered the School of Blue Jade disciples benefits.


    "Tian Qingfeng. Ou Yulin. Niu Sheng. Yang Liqun." Miao Yi looked towards them as he called out their names.


    "Present!" They stepped forward alongside each other and sped their fists together.


    "The four of you will follow me to South Edict Manor to give a report!"


    "Understood!" A Blue Lotus Fourth Grade cultivator and three Blue Lotus Third Grade cultivators acknowledged the order.


    It was clear that Miao Yi wasn¡¯t negligent about his own safety. He would definitely bring experts to protect him on his journey if given the chance.


    Miao Yi then directed his gaze at Yan Xiu and said, "When I return from South Edict Manor, I want to see every Cave Master in Mount Calming Sea awaiting my orders. Go and convey this message to them."


    "Understood!" Yan Xiu acknowledged.


    "In my absence, I want you all to heed Yan Xiu¡¯smand," said Miao Yi. Then he turned to Yan Xiu and continued saying, "If someone harbors ill intent¡ªI don¡¯t care if they are from the three major schools or whoever¡¯s trusted subordinates¡ªkill them! If anything happens, I will bear the responsibility!"


    The incident at Xiong Xiao¡¯s Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor was a lesson he had learnt from experience. He would never allow this situation to happen on his own territory. With so many Blue Lotus experts at his disposal, he wanted to see who would dare make such a scene in his domain.


    "Understood!" Everyone acknowledged once again.


    Charcoal had been lying down under the entrance of the loft. Miao Yi suddenly kicked at him to get up.


    Yan Xiu fetched four dragon steeds for Tian Qingfeng and the others. Not long after, five of them mounted their steeds and dashed out of Mount Calming Sea with a rumble...


    They hurried toward their destination without stopping. They did not meet with any danger during their journey and so were finally able to make it to South Edict Manor without any incidents.


    Five of them dismounted their dragon steeds, and Miao Yi then went up all by himself.


    After Miao Yi announced his arrival, he was led to the pavilion behind the mountain. Once again, he was met with a stern-looking Yang Qing sitting inside the pavilion.


    Qing Mei and Qing Ju weren¡¯t the only ones looking at him with aplicated expression, Yang Qing was a little flurried as well. If he had relented back then, this guy would already have be his son-inw!


    Qing Ju silently sighed. To be honest, Qin Weiwei and Miao Yi seemed quitepatible for each other to her. However, she didn¡¯t have the final say in that matter.


    "Ie to pay my respects to Manor Head," greeted Miao Yi.


    Yang Qing gestured him to stand up, motioning to Miao Yi to forego all formalities. Then smiled and said, "Coming back to see me so soon? Did youe across any trouble in Mount Calming Sea?"


    Miao Yi took out a casket from his storage ring and presented it with both of his hands, "Your subordinate had the good fortune to aplish his mission. The tyrant has been punished!"


    Yang Qing was caught quite by surprise. ¡®Could it be...¡¯ He gave a nod to Qing Ju, who quickly went over to receive the casket.


    She couldn¡¯t just deliver anything that was meant for Yang Qing to him. Naturally, she had to check the contents of the casket first. What would she do if something dangerous was hidden inside?


    Qing Ju opened the casket and as expected, it contained a head inside. There was no questioning the identity of the head¡¯s owner, as she could easily recognize it. Anything stored inside the storage ring would not rot easily.


    Qing Ju invoke a little of her arts and made the head inside the casket float in the air to face Yang Qing. Who could the head belong to if not Xiong Xiao? Everyone at the scene was quite familiar with this person.


    Yang Qing slowly stood up and narrowed his eyes at the head for a while. After confirming that this was without a doubt Xiong Xiao¡¯s head, he then scrunched his eyes shut and nodded. After that, Qing Ju put back the head into the box.


    "If you had known it woulde to this, then why did you do it in the first ce!" Yang Qing sighed. It wasn¡¯t quite clear who those words were directed at, but there was a hint of helplessness in his voice. It sounded quite genuine. Xiong Xiao had followed him for so many years after all. It would be impossible for Yang Qing not to have any sentimental feelings for Xiong Xiao.


    He opened his eyes and gazed at Miao Yi. There was a hint of wonder in his eye. He figured that Miao Yi would have still been busy re-organizing Mount Calming Sea. Regardless of whom it was, the first thing anyone would do after being promoted would be to re-organize their respective station. He didn¡¯t expect that Miao Yi could pluck Xiong Xiao¡¯s head in a matter of days. This speed was... Yang Qing had to ask, "How did you manage to do it so easily?"


    "It was not that simple. I nearly lost my life because of it. This is purely luck." Miao Yi forced a smile before he presented a jade archive to Yang Qing.


    Yang Qing personally took the archive and looked at it. He only read the contents describing what had happened during Miao Yi¡¯s mission. From the moment Miao Yi received the order, he immediately contacted the School of Blue Jade and made known his interest to hire twenty members of the Blue Jade cultivators to borrow their help. Together, they quickly rushed towards Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. The dangers he had encountered during the mission were reported in the archive as well.


    Yang Qing would at times give Miao Yi side nces as he examined the contents of the archive. He was particrly impressed with the clever use of the list of remuneration. It was bold of him to lead a few men to find Xiong Xiao directly and lure him into a trap. If there were any slight miscalctions on his part, he would definitely have lost his life. Yang Qing was secretly amazed by his courage.


    Especially the part where he was surrounded by arge number of Xiong Xiao¡¯s troop, Yang Qing shuddered when he read it. In his heart, he thought to himself, ¡®Luckily I didn¡¯t give my consent for this kid to marry Weiwei. Otherwise, I might have to constantly be worried and anxious all the time.¡¯


    However, going back to the point, if it wasn¡¯t for this risk, Xiong Xiao¡¯s head might never have appeared in this ce. If they had dragged this matter further, it would be much more difficult to attempt the same thing in future.

 Chapter 296: Got Another Little Sister For No Reason

    Chapter 296: Got Another Little Sister For No Reason


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    After reaching the part where Miao Yi and the others sessfully escaped from the Red Lotus cultivators¡¯ pursuit, the contents of the archive ended. Yang Qing put down the jade archive and sighed. "What luck! What is this ¡®list of remunerations¡¯ you speak of?"


    Despite his calm exterior, Miao Yi was feeling cautious when he said, "I have a difficult time forgiving that incident when Mount Returning Loyalty assaulted East Arrival Cave. Each year, I take the chance to have a copy of the list delivered to them, hoping that the other party will pay a portion of it. Surprisingly, they didn¡¯t pay any of it. This time, however, I was able to use it for my mission."


    Yang Qingughed. "Xiong Xiao is your old enemy. This time, you were able to resolve your worries all at once."


    "Still, it is fortunate. If it weren¡¯t for the disloyalty of the respective Mountain Chieftains towards Xiong Xiao, and their disregard for hismand, I fear that the one to end up being beheaded would have been me." Miao Yi didn¡¯t dare admit how formidable he could be. Nothing good ever came from dering to a Manor Head how easy it was to y another Manor Head.


    Yang Qing shot a nce at him and asked, "It seems that you have a good rtionship with the School of Blue Jade. You were able to borrow twenty Blue Lotus cultivators from them with ease. Don¡¯t you know of the enmity between the School of Blue Jade and me?"


    There was a slight note of criticism in his words. Standing to the side, Qing Mei looked impassive when she heard this; Qing Ju had a worried look on her face.


    "The Blue Lotus cultivators from the School of Blue Jade have experienced countless torments, and were nearly impaired because of it. These twenty cultivators are almost all of the remaining members in the School of Blue Jade." Miao Yi tried to show that the School of Blue Jade was no longer a threat to Yang Qing.


    Yang Qing was naturally well-aware of the School of Blue Jade¡¯s resources. He nodded and said, "How do you n to settle things with these people?"


    "Naturally, I am going to reward them based on their contribution. When I go back, I will give the position of Cave Master to them." Miao Yi was straightforward with his response.


    Yang Qing couldn¡¯t help himself from smiling as he asked, "At present, most of the Cave Masters in Mount Calming Sea areprised of members from the three major schools. Aren¡¯t you afraid that they will raise an objection?"


    "I have no choice, either. When I wanted to kill Xiong Xiao, the men in Mount Calming Seacked the capability to help out. I could only ask the School of Blue Jade. And they couldn¡¯t just lend me their men for nothing." Miao Yi forced augh, took out a piece of jade archive, and presented it with both hands.


    Yang Qing examined the archive as soon as he received it. It was a list of names of all twenty cultivators from the School of Blue Jade who Miao Yi had intended tomit into the officials. On the other hand, there was one name inside that he had asked to have their Immortal Record removed. The front part of the archive had already exined that Luo Shuangfei had been ughtered at the hands of that Red Lotus expert.


    Yang Qing did not question it further, and approved of the archive on the spot. He then turned around and gave Miao Yi a reminder, "There¡¯s still a few years before the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. You have to make preparations as early as possible. When the timees, all the major schools will send someone to participate. It will be of great advantage to you if you can build a good rtionship with them before going to the Sea of Constetions."


    "I understand," Miao Yi responded.


    "You have shown effort this time in ying Xiong Xiao. I will give you a reward!" Yang Qing turned around and discreetly signaled to Qing Mei.


    Qing Mei came forward and took out one hundred low-grade Orbs of Will from a storage ring, and gave them to Miao Yi as his reward. For a manor, the reward of hundreds of Orbs of Will was said to be a lofty one. He was able to receive this much only because of his great efforts in ying that tyrant. Miao Yi received his reward, and expressed his gratitude.


    Both of them then continued to discuss other matters. Afterwards, Miao Yi dismissed himself and left.


    Meanwhile, Yang Qing casually handed over to Qing Mei and Qing Ju the report that described Miao Yi¡¯s execution of Xiong Xiao at Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. He asked what their opinion was toward this matter.


    Qing Ju sighed after reading the report. "Courageous and astute."


    "Courageous and astute doesn¡¯t bode well when colluding with the School of Blue Jade," Qing Mei calmly said.


    Qing Ju was surprised. She turned around and asked, "Elder Sister, perhaps you suspect that Miao Yi will n a rebellion?"


    Yang Qing continued, "I have always admired that kid. At least he constantly gives his all in everything he does, and he¡¯s never disappointed me before. I need this kind of subordinate. I don¡¯t wish for him to walk down Xiong Xiao¡¯s path. So this is why it¡¯s time for the School of Blue Jade to be eradicated."


    ¡®This will cut off Miao Yi¡¯s foreign aid!¡¯ Qing Ju once again eximed in shock, "The School of Blue Jade has two Red Lotus experts!"


    Yang Qing walked over to the railing, and gazed at the distant mountain. With his back facing the twodies, he said, "What is the name of Elder Wu¡¯s ughtered grandson, the one who he inquired about in Long Viridescent Cave?"


    "Wu Liu," Qing Mei replied as she approached Yang Qing.


    Yang Qing nodded. "That¡¯s right! Elder Wu doesn¡¯t want his disciples to think that he abuses his power for personal interests, so he ced his grandson at Long Viridescent Cave to serve the troops. He notified me secretly in the beginning, hoping that I could give special attention to his grandson. Before I could get the chance to, Miao Yi had already killed him. Based on Elder Wu¡¯s inquiry, I can see how furious he is. It¡¯s time to give him an exnation."


    Qing Ju frowned, "Perhaps Elder Wu will dare to make a move against Miao Yi?"


    "Miao Yi is one of the officials after all, so he wouldn¡¯t be rash and act blindly. However, the School of Blue Jade is another story." Yang Qing turned around and calmly said, "Didn¡¯t Miao Yi want to give the position of Cave Master at Mount Calming Sea to the disciples of the School of Blue Jade? This kid isn¡¯t the least bit worried that he¡¯ll be monopolized by his subordinates. I will help solve this immaterial problem for him. If Miao Yi were to give them those positions, the disciples of the three major schools will definitely have an opinion about that. When that timees, I will find the chance to exin to Elder Wu that the members of the School of Blue Jade are the ones ying tricks behind the scenes. There are no ill feelings between Miao Yi and that grandson, and Wu Liu was nothing but a victim to the power struggle led by the School of Blue Jade. I think Elder Wu will seek out the School of Blue Jade for our benefit."


    Qing Mei and Qing Ju quietly nodded. ¡®This is just to give Elder Wu an excuse for him to avenge his grandson.¡¯ The School of Blue Jade and the School of Imperial Beasts were not of the same level anymore. Once the School of Imperial Beasts made their move, the School of Blue Jade was certain to meet their doom...


    After leaving South Edict Manor together, Miao Yi did not immediately go back to Mount Calming Sea. Instead, he went to South Edict City, which was a city directly under the jurisdiction of South Edict Manor.


    Miao Yi did not want to attract too much attention, so he ordered Tian Qingfeng and the others to wait outside the city, while he abandoned his mount and walked into the city by himself.


    Walking on foot inside South Edict City where it bustled with activity, normal people would not be able to perceive his identity as a cultivator. Only a cultivator would be able to discern his true identity on sight from the storage rings on his hand.


    Through an inquiry, Miao Yi was able to find the highest ce in the city. It was a mountain lodge on top of a hill, which also served as a branch of the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce at South Edict Manor.


    The guards did not question him when they saw the storage rings in his hand, and immediately allowed him inside the building.


    As he entered the premises and took a look around, he noted that the ambience was quite pleasant. The courtyard was quiet, but too vacant. Clearly, they didn¡¯t have many business dealings in a small ce like the South Edict Manor.


    Since customers rarely came by, three of the employees rushed out at the same time to solicit the potential client, all tasked to deal with business transactions.


    "What would the esteemed client like to buy or sell?"


    They surrounded Miao Yi, each behaving with the utmost courtesy. Every sessful transaction would yield them amission. No matter how small, a client was still a client. It was always better than having none. Besides, Miao Yi was wearing three sets of storage rings in his hand. It would be impossible for those dealing with transactions to fail in perceiving them.


    Miao Yi was quite bothered by their chatter. He swept his gaze across the three of them, with two of them being male, and one being female. The female was quite beautiful in appearance. She was wearing a pink dress, which, coupled with her fair skin, made her quite pleasant to look at. With that, Miao Yi picked thedy with a point of his finger.


    Thisdy quickly gave him a captivating smile, and proceeded to cup her fists at the other two employees, saying, "Please excuse us, you two. This is my client."


    The other two were immediately disappointed, and left. Those specializing in sales who had an attractive appearance would always gain the upper advantage.


    Thedy dressed in pink quickly and respectfully brought Miao Yi to her own guest room, and quickly poured a cup of tea for him.


    Miao Yi swiftly waved his hand without even sitting down and said, "No need to trouble yourself." He took out the name card given to him by Luo Ping from the capital city¡¯s Chamber of Commerce, and ced it on the table.


    Thedy in pink picked up the card and took a good look at it. In that moment, a glint of disappointment shed before her eyes. It turned out he was a client of an employee based in the capital city. Clearly, Miao Yi wanted to summon this person to serve him, so there was no need for her services. It should be noted that those who were able to obtain this kind of name card to call on the employee¡¯s services were all big clients. Themission rate would definitely be huge.


    She then asked with a subtle hint of envy, "Where would our esteemed guest like Mr. Luo to contact you?"


    "Mount Calming Sea. Miao Yi. Ask Luo Ping toe see me as soon as possible," Miao Yi said nonchntly.


    Thedy tried to probe, "Are you Mountain Chieftain Miao Yi of Mount Calming Sea?"


    Miao Yi was shocked. He examined this person closely and asked in a curious tone, "You know me?"


    She didn¡¯t really know Miao Yi, but he did specify the location as Mount Calming Sea, and he had the ability to summon an employee from the Chamber of Commerce in the capital city to serve him. Naturally, she would guess that he was someone of high status in Mount Calming Sea. Surprisingly, she had guessed it correctly.


    Instantly, her spirits lifted. As they say: ¡®firste, first serve¡¯, so she still had a chance to fight for this opportunity. If he really was a big client, then it would be great if she could rake in some business through him in the future.


    "Mountain Chieftain Miao is well-known in Mount Calming Sea. I have admired you for quite some time." Regardless of whether she knew Miao Yi or not, she decided to serve him a tter of ttery first. She then quickly poured a cup of tea for Miao Yi, and took the opportunity to hand her name card to him. "I am Wen Fang. In fact, if Mountain Chieftain Miao wishes to make a transaction, there is no need to go as far as troubling Mr. Luo toe all the way from the capital city to meet you. Wen Fang can assist you in making the proper arrangements too. This is no different than calling Mr. Luo to serve you, and I can make transfers throughout the entire country for anything rted to transactions."


    Miao Yi let out a chuckle. He had been born in a marketce, so it would be impossible for him not to notice thisdy trying to sabotage someone else¡¯s business. He took the name card, examined it, and nodded, "We will talk about it next time. Remember, ask Luo Ping to find me as soon as he can."


    The reason he hade to the Chamber of Commerce this time was to prepare for his journey to the Sea of Constetions. No matter how many possessions he currently had at hand, they were not as important as his own life, which was why he intended to get himself a better set of equipment even if he needed to spend his entire fortune on them. Because of that, the transaction amount this time would berger than ever before. Miao Yi felt a bit uneasy with the capability of this branch and thisdy, and he still felt that Luo Ping from the capital city was more reliable. After all, he had gone through dealings with him before in the past.


    Wen Fang was disappointed. Miao Yi was clearly looking down on her insignificant branch. But in all seriousness, this had proven that Miao Yi was definitely attempting to make arge transaction, otherwise he could have just made a transaction here in the first ce.


    Mount Calming Sea was just nearby. She wasn¡¯t afraid that there wouldn¡¯t be a second chance in the future. Whether she could grasp the opportunity would have to depend on her capability.


    And so, she resumed her smiles and said with assurance, "Don¡¯t worry, Mountain Chieftain Miao. I will definitely help you inform him as soon as possible."


    Miao Yi nodded. He took back two of her name cards and excused himself.


    Wen Fang sent him off, all the while retaining a smile on her face. When they reached the door, Miao Yi asked her to go back, but she wouldn¡¯t budge and insisted on apanying him further. While walking to the exit, their conversation was mostly about asking Miao Yi to look for her in regards to any future transactions. She was willing to run any type of errand for him in South Edict City.


    Miao Yi was especially muddled when Wen Fang called herself his ¡®Little Sister¡¯ and Miao Yi the ¡®Elder Brother¡¯ after a brief acquaintance. It was quite intimate, too. She even told him that Little Sister would go and visit Elder Brother when she was free, hoping that Elder Brother would not close the door on her upon her visit.


    Suddenly, he had another Little Sister for no reason at all. Miao Yi was very speechless. She was quite enthusiastic about it, and it wouldn¡¯t be nice to tell her that she was unwee at Mount Calming Sea. With that, he politely told her she would indeed be wee, wishing that this woman would not take it seriously. He wouldn¡¯t have the time to deal with her, or anyone else who wished to see him.


    Wen Fang sent Miao Yi off until they reached the foot of the mountain, where she stopped and waved goodbye. If Miao Yi hadn¡¯t urged her to contact Luo Ping as soon as she could, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to stop her from following him. She had managed to send him off to the outskirts of the city, but if Miao Yi had allowed it, thisdy might have even sent him all the way back to Mount Calming Sea.

 Chapter 297: Quarrel

    Chapter 297: Quarrel


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    As soon as the five of them returned to Mount Calming Sea, Tian Qingfeng and the other three quickly ushered their dragon steeds into the ¡®Hidden Dragon Valley¡¯. They needed to contact their martial brothers toe to the Grand Hall of Mount Calming Sea for a meeting. They were feeling a little excited, because they were told on their journey back that Miao Yi already had a solution to the dilemma of how they would be officials. Soon, twenty of them would have backgrounds as officials.


    As usual, Miao Yi stayed mounted on Charcoal and rushed inside the manor residence.


    After he leapt down, Charcoal trotted back under the loft by itself andid down. This was an old habit of his.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er weed Miao Yi and continued to follow behind him as Miao Yi strode toward the main hall and asked, "Has every single Cave Masters arrived?"


    Xue¡¯Er replied, "They have. Master Yan has settled them in the residence behind the mountain to rest."


    Miao Yi nodded and seated himself. Qian¡¯Er brewed a cup of tea and served it to him. She whispered to his ears as she did so, "I have already told Master of that matter."


    Miao Yi knew that she meant the matter of him heading to the Sea of Constetions. He couldn¡¯t help but asked, "What was Senior Yao¡¯s reaction?"


    The twodies nced at each other without giving a response. They seemed a bit reluctant to answer.


    After seeing their behavior, Miao Yi gestured with his hand. There was no need to give a reply as Yao Ruoxian definitely didn¡¯t have anything good to say about it. He withdrew his inquiry andmanded, "Tell Yan Xiu toe to the grand hall for a meeting."


    "Understood!" Xue¡¯Er heeded his order and left.


    By the time Yan Xiu arrived in the grand hall for the meeting, Tian Qingfeng and the other disciples of the School of Blue Jade had already arrived.


    Miao Yi led his two handmaidens out out from the back of the hall. They then ascended to a high tform, before Miao Yi sat down on the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s seat. Meanwhile, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er stood on either side of him.


    Down below stood two rows of people cupping their fists together as they greeted in unison, "We havee to pay our respects to Mountain Chieftain!"


    Miao Yi signalled with his hand to forego all formalities. He scanned the men below and said, "The position of Cave Master for East Arrival Cave is vacant at the moment. Also, there are two more Cave Masters who will be following the previous Mountain Chieftain to Mount Shaotai. I want to take this opportunity to proceed with the rearranging Mount Calming Sea¡¯s personnel. Yan Xiu!"


    "Present!" Yan Xiu took a step forward.


    Miao Yi dered to everyone at the scene, "Yan Xiu has followed me for several years, showing how loyal and faithful he is to me. In addition, he was once the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. Now, I wish to transfer him to be the Cave Master of Long Viridescent Cave. Are there any objections?"


    The location of East Arrival Cave was deemed too dangerous. Just like he said before, Yan Xiu had always been loyal to him, but he was truly not suited to stand in the front lines. Now that Miao Yi had great authority in his hands, he would naturally use it to help Yan Xiu change the location. Somewhere more suited for him to stay.


    On their journey back, Miao Yi already informed Tian Qingfeng and the others that he would be rewarding the School of Blue Jade in return for their many years of support, as soon as they returned to Mount Calming Sea. The majority of them were set to assume the positions of Cave Master of their respective dwellings. They would soon be figures able tomand a hundred thousand followers.


    Commanding a hundred thousand followers was nothingpared to the cultivation life in their schools. They could now have all the women, power and extravagance at their disposal; this wasn¡¯t simply a matter of their concern regarding their cultivation resources anymore. They were choked up with emotions just thinking about it.


    The ability to control a region after joining the officials was quite the temptation. They felt that it had been worth it all following Miao Yi andying their lives down for him.


    However, Miao Yi had already specified that those with cultivations of Blue Lotus Second Grade and above would forget about getting the posts of Cave Master. Instead, they were told to stay at Mount Calming Sea. Tian Qingfeng and the others had no objections to it. Even though it would be good to oversee a region, they were indeed quite unsuitable to be Cave Masters with their cultivation base.


    Yan Xiu was an old subordinate who had been by Miao Yi¡¯s side. How could anyone object to Miao Yi¡¯s arrangement for Yan Xiu to be Cave Master? Tian Qingfeng and the others immediately cupped their fists and dered, "We have no objections."


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er nced at each other with a glint of excitement in their eyes. They were happy for Yan Xiu. After all, Yan Xiu was half a Master to these two. In the past, he was considered a Cave Master, but everyone knew that he was actually Miao Yi¡¯s shadow. Now that Master could finally oversee a region as a real Cave Master, they were naturally happy for him.


    Miao Yi nodded and was about to put in a final word when Yan Xiu suddenly stepped forward and cupped his fists, "Mountain Chieftain. Your subordinate does not have much ability. I fear that I am notpetent enough to be a Cave Master. I am willing to apany Mountain Chieftain wherever he goes. I humbly request that Mountain Chieftain search for someone more capable to assume the role."


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were stunned. Tian Qingfeng and the other stared at him as well. They weren¡¯t sure whether Yan Xiu was telling the truth or not. Was he willing to give up the power to control and oversee a region, just like that?


    Yan Xiu more or less understood during his time at East Arrival Cave that he was indeed unsuited tomand an entire region. If he assumed his role in Long Viridescent Cave, he would have to face several people from different schools. He admitted that he didn¡¯t have half of the capabilities that Miao Yi had when he first came to East Arrival Cave, fighting and killing his own subordinates the moment he assumed his post. Not only that, Miao Yi had wiped out his own men twice in a row. Yan Xiu felt he wasn¡¯t suited to do those things, and he didn¡¯t have the ability to control others either.


    After he calmly considered everything, Yan Xiu realized that he was actually more suited to executing orders. Moreover, he was morefortable staying by Miao Yi¡¯s side.


    Miao Yi could see that he was telling the truth. He had actually known that Yan Xiu was never an ambitious man¡ªhe wasn¡¯t suited for such matters like struggling for power and money. Besides, Miao Yi was not a person who could be concerned with either official or trivial matters, so he needed someone like that beside him. He was used to having Yan Xiu for those matters, and Yan Xiu had never shown given cause to doubt his loyalty for Miao Yi as well.


    However, Miao Yi still pensively asked, "Are you sure you are unwilling to head to Long Viridescent Cave?"


    One must know that many cultivators have dreamt of overseeing a region on their own. Not only could they enjoy the privileges of women and power, they could also obtained experience in serving as an official overseeing a region. With those experiences in hand, they could easily climb their way to the top. If they managed to get promoted in the future, they would have their own worries as well. If they couldn¡¯t even handle the affairs of a cave, how could anyone believe that they had the capability to attend to the matters of one mountain?


    "Your subordinate is willing to follow Mountain Chieftain." Yan Xiu expressed his intent once again.


    "Alright!" Miao Yi nodded. He would never treat Yan Xiu badly, yet with Yan Xiu¡¯s current cultivation, none of the positions in Mount Calming Sea were suitable for him. Miao Yi pondered for a moment before deciding, "Then you shall be the Supervisor of the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s manor."


    "Thank you, Mountain Chieftain, for fulfilling my wish." Yan Xiu expressed his gratitude and returned to his position.


    Tian Qingfeng and the others exchanged nces. This wasn¡¯t an official position, yet no one dared look down on it. Mountain Chieftain had taken Yan Xiu as his personal trusted subordinate. Everyone would have to build a good rtionship with Yan Xiu from now on.


    "Hu Tongzhi, Ren Qiong, Wang Yng, Yang Shutian, Zhang Huixin, Jiang Yunlu, Fang Renyi, Tang Qing, Chang Chaoqun, Liang De." Miao Yi called all ten name of the School of Blue Jade disciples with cultivation base of Blue Lotus First Grade one by one.


    Ten people came forward and acknowledged his order.


    Miao Yi gazed at them and calmly said, "The position of Cave Master isn¡¯t one you can undertake immediately, and I can¡¯t forcefully appoint ten Cave Masters all at once as that will be unfair to those old subordinates who originally assumed the positions in Mount Calming Sea. Their pir of support is the Manor Head, which means their response will be collectively directed back to him. I won¡¯t be able to hold it on on my own, which is why I wish to hold apetitionter on. Winners will go up and losers will step aside. Are you all willing to participate?"


    Ten of them were already advised by Tian Qingfeng and the others that Miao Yi would need an appropriate excuse to appoint them as Cave Masters. He couldn¡¯t afford to incite the entire garrison of Mount Calming Sea into a rebellion against himself. Furthermore, the cultivation base of Blue Lotus First Grade was obviously a huge advantage to the position. If they still couldn¡¯t gain the upper hand, then they shouldn¡¯t kick up a fuss when they told to stand and watch from the sidelines.


    "We are willing." The ten of them clearly responded as they sped their fists together.


    Tian Qingfeng stroke his beard and smiled. This was obviously apetition that Miao Yi was setting up in favour of the School of Blue Jade. Miao Yi had finally begun to return the favor after the School of Blue Jade invested several years of their time on him.


    Miao Yi nodded. He was determined to help these people. With their support, the rest of the personnel would be easier to handle. He turned his gaze to Yan Xiu and said, "Yan Xiu. Tell the other Cave Masters and all the troops of Mount Calming Sea toe in."


    Yan Xiu acknowledged the order and left.


    At a signal from Miao Yi, Tian Qingfeng quickly ordered the disciples of the School of Blue Jade to stand in two rows, before withdrawing a few steps to the sides, allowing the middle section to be vacant.


    Not long after that, nine Cave Masters and about forty men of Mount Calming Sea poured into the hall one after another. These people included the three Great Advisors, six Great Deacons, and the nine Cave Masters standing at the foremost line.


    "We havee to pay our respects to Mountain Chieftain. Greetings Elder Auntie and Little Auntie." Everyone greeted in unison. Immediately after, they swept their eyes to both sides of the hall. Looking at their stance, they immediately understood that the new Mountain Chieftain had assumed his role, and the the process of rearranging personnel had officially begun.


    Each and every Cave Master was ovee with emotions. The person seated at the top was also a Cave Master like them not long ago. Now, he had finally be a superior, a Mountain Chieftain; and gained the respect of his subordinates. The times had indeed changed!


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er swept their gaze over the guests below. They were feeling a little excited, as these peopleing over to pay their respects to their Master weren¡¯t the ones who visited East Arrival Cave at the beginning. There were even individual Cave Masters amongst these people too!


    The twodies felt honored seeing that their Master was shown respect after managing to stand out from these people. From this point onwards, now that the others had paid their respects, thedies would be officially known as Elder Auntie and Little Auntie of Mount Calming Sea.


    In fact, before Miao Yi returned from South Edict Manor, a lot of people hade forward and gifted the twodies with a few presents. The new trinkets alone already filled one room. They just couldn¡¯t manage to savor everything in one moment.


    The most anxious one of all was Gongsun Yu, standing below the loft. Even though he said he would be going to Mount Shaotai, and that Yan Xiu had given his consent before Qin Weiwei, Miao Yi would still be the one to give his consent in the end. He was worried that Miao Yi would not agree to his transfer and intentionally y him for a fool.


    Fortunately, Miao Yi only gave him a few nces and didn¡¯t make things difficult for him as a show of respect to Qin Weiwei. He asked Yan Xiu to get Qin Weiwei¡¯s name list, picked out nine names from the list to begin preparing to release them and permitted their return to Mount Shaotai.


    There was one who made a request to bring over two of their subordinates as well.


    Miao Yi granted all their requests., Those who were ready to follow Qin Weiwei breathed a sigh of relief. Initially, they were also worried that Miao Yi would be untrustworthy, but now all was well. They could finally leave Mount Calming Sea to join Qin Weiwei at Mount Shaotai.


    One must understand that Qin Weiwei was now inmand of two mountains. Naturally, her benefits could not bepared with that of Mount Calming Sea. Those who left to follow her would undoubtedly have their situation improve together with her gains.


    The nine of them who received approval gave their thanks. With that, one Advisor post, three Deacon posts and two positions as Cave Master were immediately vacant. As nine of them were also taking away twelve subordinates with them, Mount Calming Sea lost twenty-one people in an instant.


    But those who could leave, could go ahead and leave first. As for the rest who were still with positions, they would still need to return to their dwellings to do the transferral process before they could leave to Mount Shaotai.


    "Mount Calming Sea has lost three Cave Masters, especially East Arrival Cave and Long Viridescent Cave¡ªthese two are more or less vacant. We can¡¯t dy this issue any longer. We have to solve this first." Looking around at those down below, Miao Yi asked, "I am not quite acquainted with all of you either. I have no idea who should assume these posts. Do all of you have a choice of person to rmend?"


    There was no need for courtesy on these matters. The scene below immediately broke into chaos. Opinions shed as all of them rmended a person that would benefit their cause, especially the remaining two Advisors and three Deacons¡ªthey were all members from the three main schools. They supported their own sides, condemned the others for their terrible suggestions and over-exaggerated in praising their own.


    The others who did not have any posts were simple eager to cause trouble. It was a scene ofplete chaos down there.


    Miao Yi wore a serious expression as he listened to the arguments. He nodded at the words of one side and proceeded to do the same to the other side. He felt that both parties seemed to be making sense, and showed a face of indecisiveness at the end. One would almost suspect that he was intentionally fanning the mes of discord to create a rift between them.


    All this while, Tian Qingfeng and the others standing on either sides of the hall watched indifferently without uttering a word.


    Those below were at it for so long, that they were just a step away from turning the quarrel into a fight. It was apparent that these people didn¡¯t have any respect for the newly promoted Miao Yi, especially Zhou Huan from the Sword Deviate Sect and Liu Qian from the Jade Lady Sect. These two Advisors of opposite genders were at each other¡¯s throats just because they wanted to push for benefits on behalf of their own respective disciples. Both of them even stood at the forefront to quarrel with each other.


    "Everyone stop quarreling,"manded Miao Yi and managed to subdue their bickering. Then he proceeded to ask, "In the end, there was no conclusion from the result of your squabbles. I am almost dizzy with your endless disputes. Why don¡¯t you all just tell me who is morepetent to assume the respective positions of Cave Master?"


    Those words were clearly meant to bait everyone into continuing their quarrel. In an instant, the scene below was noisy again.


    Miao Yi cocked his head to the side, allowing Xue¡¯Er to brew a cup of tea for him. He sat on his high seat and slowly enjoyed his tea, all the while watching the people below continuing their arguments.


    Yan Xiu stood below him and bitterlyughed in his heart. This was the exact reason why he didn¡¯t want to oversee a region. However, this wasn¡¯t the first time he was with Miao Yi. Looking at the situation, he believed that Miao Yi was soon going to return things to order.

 Chapter 298: The Capable Ones Should Assume The Roles

    Chapter 298: The Capable Ones Should Assume The Roles


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The reason was to fulfill the promise that Miao Yi had made to the School of Blue Jade.


    From Yan Xiu¡¯s perspective, Miao Yi¡¯s method of solving problems would generally start with provocation. Once the situation had been instigated, Miao Yi¡¯s involvement woulde next. For example, when he first came to East Arrival Cave to assume his position, the first thing he did as a Cave Master was to secretly destroy the mountain gate. Afterwards, he would proceed with his murderous scheme by ming someone else.


    No matter how he looked at it, Yan Xiu could only see the present situation as Miao Yi¡¯s intentional provocation. Otherwise, based on Miao Yi¡¯s aptitude to lose his temper and then start a war, there was no way that he¡¯d have the patience to watch those people leisurely arguing with one another.


    For Yan Xiu, it had been worth following Miao Yi around for so many years. Miao Yi had admitted that he didn¡¯t have Yang Qing¡¯s skill of solving a problem byposedly utilizing tactics. He was quite used to stirring up the situation first before identifying the weak point, and then acting with violence to solve the problem directly!


    Yang Qing had a softer way of solving a problem, whereas Miao Yi¡¯s was more violent.


    "Everyone stop quarrelling." Miao Yi handed his teacup to Xue¡¯Er, and allowed her to brew another. He turned around and mmed his armrest, subduing themotion once more before he shook his head and said, "Since we are unable to settle on the assignment of Cave Masters at the moment, then we shall leave it aside for now. There is one vacancy for Advisor and three vacancies for the Deacons. Who do you all think is qualified for these roles?"


    The current issue was no different than the previous issue. And as expected of the situation, once Miao Yi had asked that question, the crowd below began to quarrel again, and continued to engage in a heated argument.


    Naturally, the members of the Sword Deviate Sect would push for their own people to assume the positions; the Jade Lady Sect would not concede either. The Deacon from the School of Imperial Beasts wanted to be an Advisor, but found it embarrassing to nominate himself. Instead, he discreetly asked his own people to make an uproar while he strived to acquire the three Deacon positions for them in return.


    ¡®Quarrel! Continue your quarreling!¡¯ Miao Yi took the teacup that Xue¡¯Er had served and slowly drank his tea while he listened to their bickering. He continued allowing everyone to remain in a state of dispute.


    Since the beginning of dawn, it was believed that these situations would ur during the meetings inside the Grand Hall in Mount Calming Sea. This matter concerned their self-interest, so no one was willing to back down. The argument was so intense that they almost overturned the roofs of the manor.


    Arguments were considered a good thing. The disciples from the Sword Deviate Sect, Jade Lady Sect, and School of Imperial Beasts criticized each other, spit flying from one side to another. They argued so much that their faces flushed red with anger, and were almost close to hurling abuse at one another. One yelled that the other was useless, while the other countered back by calling them trash. They fought until their bodies had came in contact with each other. The whole situation almost broke out into a full-blown fight.


    The men from the School of Blue Jade did not join in. From time to time, they shifted their gaze towards Miao Yi at his high seat.


    Both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er did the same as well, asionally casting nces at Miao Yi. The twodies also noticed that the three great sects were disying their disrespect towards Miao Yi, since they felt free to argue without any restraint. The twodies were undoubtedly a little anxious at what the situation had be.


    Yan Xiu understood the reasoning behind this. If Yang Qing had been here instead¡ªor even Qin Weiwei herself¡ªnobody would dare to disy their rage with such audacity. However, Miao Yi deliberately allowed them to continue on.


    Miao Yi finished drinking his cup of tea, stared at the visible bottom of the cup, and suddenly flung it away from his hand.


    ¡ªcrash!¡ª The teacup shattered below the tform. Miao Yi suddenly stood up with a chilly expression and swept his cold gaze at everyone. Once he decided to turn hostile, he would do it in a moment¡¯s notice.


    The sharp noise had frightened everyone, and in an instant, the Grand Hall fell into silence. Everyone focused their attention on Miao Yi. Those who had turned crimson from anger in the midst of a heated argument were caught by surprise, as if they realized that they had gone a bit overboard with their squabbling.


    But there was no choice. The Mountain Chieftain was clearly seeking everyone¡¯s opinion to make a decision. If they didn¡¯t fight for the opportunity, would they be able to watch the other sects take their benefits away from them?


    Zhou Huan, Liu Qian, and the others discreetly waved at their respective disciples to stand back at their original position. The chaotic scene in the Grand Hall was quickly restored back to order. The shattered teacup under the tform remained a startling sight to see.


    "It¡¯s fine to argue, but to actually fight during a meeting in the Grand Hall, does this Mountain Chieftain still exist in your mind?" Miao Yi apathetically inquired, "Is this a challenge issued against me?"


    The authority of appointment was still currently under Miao Yi¡¯s control. It wouldn¡¯t be good for everyone to overdo it, so they apologized for their offense, "Please calm down, Mountain Chieftain."


    Miao Yi said in a low voice, "I wasn¡¯t here during the first moments of my appointment, and I have dragged on the matters of Mount Calming Sea for a while. East Arrival Cave and Long Viridescent Cave are currently an empty shell. We can¡¯t prolong this any longer."


    Some of them below muttered in their hearts: ¡®The East Arrival Cave is vacant because of your enmity with Xiong Xiao, which caused Xiong Xiao to execute a bloodbath. You are fortunate for being able to escape. The current state of Long Viridescent Cave is your work too. You nearly killed everyone in there, and now you have the guts to say these things? If you weren¡¯t favored by the Manor Head, what makes you think you can take up the position of Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea!¡¯


    "I suspect that everyone must be thinking in their hearts as to what I did to assume this position. There are certainly many who remain unconvinced of my current status," Miao Yiughed sardonically, then continued with a stoic expression, "This incident happened a few days ago, so I think the majority of you must have heard of it. Xiong Xiao had defected to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor and became their Manor Head. These past few days, I have been quite ipetent. I personally went to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor and took Xiong Xiao¡¯s treacherous life. I even brought his head back and took it to Manor Head. With that said, I have risked my life to obtain this position as Mountain Chieftain for myself. Reward will go to those who deserve it. Manor Head has given it to me, so it is useless to remain unconvinced of my position!"


    When he was done speaking, everyone was shocked. ¡®Xiong Xiao is dead?¡¯


    Everyone was dubious of Miao Yi¡¯s truthfulness. ¡®He crossed through Suppressing Third Manor¡¯s territory, went to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor and killed Xiong Xiao?¡¯


    However, they were also aware that Miao Yi would never back down from an embarrassing situation even if he were found out as a liar in front of everyone.


    Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t contain his shock either. ¡®No wonder Mountain Chieftain was absent these few days¡ªhe went to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor to kill Xiong Xiao!¡¯


    Miao Yi only wanted to unt his achievement for a while, and there was no need to ramble on further. Even if he allowed himself to continue, he wouldn¡¯t be able to convince the crowd that he wasn¡¯t a lying bastard. He would have to be a bit realistic when facing these people. He swept his cold gaze at them and muttered, "We need a solution for the vacancy of Advisor, Deacons, and Cave Masters by today. Zhou Huan!"


    Zhou Huan was the disciple with the highest position in the Sword Deviate Sect of Mount Calming Sea, and who also had a cultivation base of Blue Lotus First Grade. Naturally, he stood out. He cupped his fists together and replied, "Present!"


    "Those you have rmended are disciples of the Sword Deviate Sect, right?" Miao Yi asked.


    Zhou Huan didn¡¯t shy away from the question as he replied, "That¡¯s right, they are the disciples of Sword Deviate Sect. But I think any rmendation should not exclude close kin, as those who are capable are expected to assume the position."


    Miao Yi nodded and said, " ¡®Those who are capable will assume the position¡¯. Nicely put. I agree with your words." His eyes fell on Liu Qian, and he continued, "Liu Qian, your rmendations are all disciples of the Jade Lady Sect, right?"


    Liu Qian, who represented the Jade Lady Sect at Mount Calming Sea, also had a cultivation base of Blue Lotus First Grade. She said the same thing as Zhou Huan as she cupped her fists together, "My rmendations are all exceptional. Simrly, my rmendations do not exclude my kin."


    Miao Yi looked at the School of Imperial Beasts and asked, "Miao Yifan, what motive do you have for rmending your own disciples?"


    Miao Yifan was more unlucky with this one. As the leader of the School of Imperial Beasts in Mount Calming Sea, he also had a cultivation of Blue Lotus First Grade. By principle, he was also qualified to be an Advisor. s, Qin Weiwei had previously arranged to have one of her trusted subordinates to be an Advisor. Three people were left to strive for the two positions of Advisor.


    Qin Weiwei had Yang Qing¡¯s support, so she didn¡¯t have to worry too much about it. For the sake of fairness, she had allowed three people to draw straws, and the result was naturally a miserable one for Miao Yifan. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have be a Deacon in the first ce.


    Miao Yifan cupped his fists and responded, "Of course, the capable ones will assume those positions. Your subordinate has no selfish motives!"


    "No selfish motives, my ass!" Miao Yi sneered, before he continued, "What a capable one indeed. It¡¯s fine. I will listen to you all. Those who are capable will receive the position. From now on, all Advisors, Deacons, and Cave Masters will be relieved from their roles. Make all the positions vacant!"


    Everyone was shocked. Zhou Huan nked out for a while, before he furiouslyshed out, "Why?!"


    Liu Qian moved forward as well and asked, "If I may, Mountain Chieftain, why did you discharge us for no reason at all?"


    Naturally, Miao Yifan would not remain silent, "We didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Did you sack us because we were arguing just now? How can we ept it if Mountain Chieftain ends it like this? We refuse to ept this!"


    He loudly cried out, and the disciples of the School of Imperial Beasts began to follow suit, "We refuse to ept this!"


    Zhou Huan and Liu Qian both turned around, and their disciples immediately roared, "We refuse to ept this!"


    "We refuse to ept this!"


    Everyone was now worked up inside the Grand Hall, and jointly opposed their Mountain Chieftain together.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had uneasiness stered all over their faces. They didn¡¯t know what to do if things carried on like this.


    Miao Yi remainedposed and observed themotion for a while before abruptly shouting in anger, "ENOUGH!"


    His voice reverberated throughout the entire Grand Hall and in an instant, everyone fell silent. Zhou Huan took a step forward and said, "We have spared no effort to serve Mount Calming Sea to the best of our abilities, yet Mountain Chieftain has discharged us for no reason at all. If you don¡¯t give us a satisfactory exnation, we will go to South Edict Manor and ask Manor Head to bring us justice!"


    "Exnation?" Miao Yi turned his cold gaze at him and continued, "Didn¡¯t all of you already exin it just now? Weren¡¯t you all arguing endlessly and causing a ruckus during the meeting in the Grand Hall, saying that the capable ones would upy the positions?"


    Liu Qing sped her fists together and said, "Perhaps Mountain Chieftain thinks weck the capability to take on the position?"


    "Your words do not count in regards to whether you are capable or not. Show me proof with your strength!" Miao Yi snapped. He then faced everyone and said in a low tone, "From now on, everyone will be treated equally without discrimination. But those who think they arepetent enough for the positions of Advisors, Deacons, or Cave Masters will be able to sign up for it, after which they must engage in a fightingpetition. The winners will immediately receive the positions, while the losers will step aside, with no more talking about how capable they are!"


    "..." Zhou Yuan and the others were immediately speechless. After quarrelling for a long time, they finally realized that they had inherently dug their own graves.


    But the reason had already been clearly exined. They were the ones who said that the capable ones should upy the seats. Even if they were to bring this issue to the Manor Head, they would still be the ones to suffer the consequences.


    Nheless, they didn¡¯t expect that their earlier justification would include themselves as well. They had intended to strive for their own side, and it would not be favorable to exclude themselves if they continued to stick to that reason now, would it? They seemed to have fallen into a giant pit of their own making.


    In an instant, they were rendered speechless.


    Those below exchanged nces.They were quite eager as well. By the looks of it, everyone would have a chance now!


    In that moment, no one wished to argue anymore.


    "Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er!" Miao Yi cocked his head to both sides and said, "Go and fetch their writ of appointments and storage rings."


    "Yes!" The three of them obeyed hismand.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er went down the tform, following Yan Xiu from behind.


    Yan Xiu was already used to executing Miao Yi¡¯smand by now. He went in front of Zhou Huan first and sternly cupped his fists at him, "Advisor Zhou, I will have to trouble you to hand over your writ of appointment and storage rings."


    Zhou Huan only had himself to me for being the type to stand at the forefront of the crowd.


    He would never take back his own words. Gritting his teeth, he put up a bold face and cleared the items inside the storage rings in front of everyone. After that, he handed them over to Yan Xiu, along with the writ of assignment.


    After Yan Xiu had verified these items upon inspection, he then gave them separately to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, before walking toward Liu Qian. He gestured to her by cupping his fists together.


    There was no need for further response, and she was now choking on her own words. Liu Qian could only hand over the items resignedly.


    The next one was naturally Miao Yifan.


    The three of them were still fine because when after some thought, they remembered that they were the only three Blue Lotus First Grade cultivators in Mount Calming Sea. After a briefpetition, they would be able to retrieve the things they deserved, and rightfully take back their titles, confirming that these three were still considered suitable for their respective positions. Thus, they didn¡¯t put up a fight.


    The ones who were trulymenting at the three were the Cave Masters. They had their positions, but they made no mention about capable people and what they deserved. Initially, the majority of them had been able to directly assume their role as Cave Masters in Mount Calming Sea due to their background.


    These Cave Masters finally realized their current situation after furtively ncing at the burning eyes of the other disciples. There were many who had a higher cultivation base than them, and there were many who desired to take on their positions. If they were to hand over their position, they weren¡¯t sure whether they would be able to seize back their title. They were suffering because of those three bastards!


    The Cave Masters were cursing at the ancestry of eighteen generations of Zhou Huan and the other two. So what if they were of the same sect or schools? They continued to curse without fail!

 Chapter 299: An Expected Outcome

    Chapter 299: An Expected Oue


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    At first, everyone had banded together against the Mountain Chieftain, all while shouting at the top of their lungs that they refused to ept the oue. But now, everyone was remaining silent. Each had an ulterior motive in their hearts. The change in their reaction was very quick.


    The benefits that were normally reaped by a small group of personnel suddenly became something that could be possessed by the majority. Those who objected to the idea and wished to rebuke it would find it difficult to step forth and risk offending everyone. The unity they disyed before had already crumbled into pieces.


    Once he had retrieved all the writs of appointment and storage rings belonging to the Advisors, Deacons and Cave Masters, Yan Xiu returned to stand at his original position, sweeping his gaze over the silent audience. He sighed inwardly. How had his lord even managed to rise above these men and be the Mountain Chieftain? This hadn¡¯t happened without a reason. If he were in Miao Yi¡¯s shoes, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do it. It was better to just be obedient and perform his duties!


    Qian¡¯Er carried the pile of storage rings, while Xue¡¯Er carried the pile of jade archives. They walked up the stairs together, holding on to the items as they stood before Miao Yi.


    Back in his own seat, Miao Yi took a jade archive from Xue¡¯Er¡¯s hands and examined it under the eyes of many. He directed his gaze at the people beneath him and calmly said, "Those who are capable can upy the high grounds! I¡¯ll answer everyone¡¯s call! This will be a fair assessment, those who are capable can upy the high grounds! If anyone wishes to go back on their words... please step forth!"


    He had made preparations beforehand. If anyone were to take back what they¡¯d said and throw him excuses, he would immediately act out with violence and order Tian Qingfeng and the others to promptly make their move.


    Fortunately, everybody kept their silence. Those with objections were obviously those who upied the positions with vested interests. Unfortunately, Zhou Huan, the trio who were representing them, did not utter a word, so it wouldn¡¯t do them any good to object to their earlier derations. They held the most weight amongst the people in the three great sects.


    However, Zhou Huan and the others realized that it wouldn¡¯t look good to retract their statements to give them a p across the cheek, since they were the ones who suggested it in the first ce.


    "Good! Since there¡¯s no objections, then we havee to an unanimous decision. I will respect everyone¡¯s choice." Miao Yi nodded, reaching out to grab all the jade archives from Xue¡¯Er¡¯s embrace into his own. Facing the audience, he supported the archives on one palm, and abruptly mmed the stack with his other palm.


    ¡ªSLAM!¡ª The jade archives were crushed into powdered dust before the audience¡¯s very eyes. With their destruction, anxiousness gripped the hearts of those who once wrote in the jade archives. Did this mean that their positions were gone just like that?


    Invoking his arts to shake away the powdered dust from his hand, Miao Yi gestured towards Qian¡¯Er, signaling her to hold on to the storage rings. The two then parted ways and once again took their positions at Miao Yi¡¯s sides.


    "I¡¯ll give everyone an hour to register their names. Those who wish to participate in the tournament can register their names with Yan Xiu." Miao Yi shifted his gaze towards Yan Xiu. "Yan Xiu, I¡¯ll leave the matters of registration to you."


    "Understood!" Yan Xiu acknowledged the order.


    With a wave of his hand, Miao Yi said, "You¡¯re all dismissed."


    Yan Xiu was the first one to leave the grand hall. He knew all too well that some of these men would definitely find it inconvenient to register in front of their peers in the same sect, so he had to find a suitable ce.


    As for the remainder, the majority of them also left in quick session. The only ones who stayed back at the hall were Tian Qingfeng and the others. They looked up at Miao Yi, who sat on his high seat with a fiery gaze. They¡¯d held back their tongues from start to end, waiting for Miao Yi to give an exnation.


    Miao Yi only had one thing to say. He briefly exined, "I have gone through all this trouble for all your sakes. Do not use me of not giving you a chance. If you can¡¯t seize the opportunity, you have no right to me it on me!"


    Tian Qingfeng turned to nod at his junior brothers. After they all cupped their fists at Miao Yi in silence, they quickly dashed out of the grand hall to register their names.


    Staring at the deserted grand hall, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er revealed looks of admiration towards Miao Yi. Their master was still as amazing as ever in their eyes. Their worries were all for naught.


    With his cultivation base, there was no need for Tian Qingfeng to register. He didn¡¯t need to fight with his own peers. Miao Yi had promptly forced onto him a position as his personal escort, so wherever Miao Yi went, he just needed to follow him around to protect him.


    Tian Qingfeng did it grudgingly. However, Miao Yi had been generous with his offer, and it was one of the highest in the entirety of Mount Calming Sea. On top of that, the fact still remained that he should stay by Miao Yi¡¯s side since he was responsible for maintaining contact with the School of Blue Jade, so he had no more objections.


    The two whispered to one another as they walked towards the back hall, with the twodies swiftly following behind.


    Once they reached the courtyard, they enjoyed the scenery in the garden. The standards of a Mountain Chieftain¡¯s residence naturally was of a different calibre than the one he had when he was a Cave Master.


    Miao Yi casually plucked a flower and held it to his nose. He took a whiff and said, "I¡¯ll need the School of Blue Jade to send more people to me."


    Tian Qing was slightly speechless. He forced a smile and said, "My lord, the School of Blue Jade does not have the Blue Lotus disciples to spare. It¡¯s not that we are not willing to serve My Lord. We need some men to serve at our school so we really can¡¯t send anymore."


    Miao Yi shook his head in reply. "I don¡¯t dare to ept any more Blue Lotus disciples. If I did, I fear that I¡¯ll incur the Manor Head¡¯s displeasure."


    Tian Qingfeng¡¯s eyes brightened at his words. The School of Blue Jade could at least dispatch more disciples of the White Lotus realm, so he couldn¡¯t help but ask, "How many more men does My Lord need?"


    "Gongsun Yu has taken away thest two remaining men in Long Viridescent Cave. Now East Arrival Cave and Long Viridescent Cave have been deserted, and about twenty more men have left for Mount Shaotai, so around forty or more seats are unupied at present. There¡¯s only about twenty of you here. Take advantage of the fact that the Manor Head cannot reject our proposal since we have ughtered Xiong Xiao and have performed a merit. On top of that, we are seriouslycking in personnel right now, so go and request the School of Blue Jade to send us another twenty disciples," exined Miao Yi.


    Tian Qingfeng smiled, "I will contact my schoolter."


    Tilting his head to the side, Miao Yi warned him, "I still have other matters to attend to, so I don¡¯t have time to waste on these human affairs. Now that both East Arrival Cave and Long Viridescent Cave are nothing but empty shells, if anything were to happen, I will not be able to exin myself to my superiors. In the span of ten days, all personnel must take up their positions."


    Tian Qingfeng withdrew his smile, his expression turning solemn as he cupped his fists and replied, "Your subordinate will definitely inform my school so they can quickly dispatch some men to take up the posts."


    Their discussion was then cut short; Yan Xiu was already hurrying over with a jade archive in hand.


    Miao Yi received the archive and scanned its contents, smiling faintly as he did so. Only six men were registered topete for the Advisor position. Zhou Huan and the other two at Blue Lotus First Grade were pitted against three Blue Lotus Third Grade cultivators from the School of Blue Jade; now he finally had a show to watch.


    As for the group of men that registered to seize one of the six Deacon positions, it was a match between a couple of White Lotus Eighth or Ninth Grade cultivators from the three great sects and six Blue Lotus Second Grade cultivators from the School of Blue Jade. The matchup didn¡¯t seem like much of apetition for this tournament.


    As for those who registered to fight for the ten Cave Master seats, it was needless to exin further. Miao Yi shook his head and passed the candidate list to Tian Qingfeng. He once again mentioned, "If you lot can¡¯t even win these seats, then you cannot me me for it."


    After Tian Qingfeng looked over the list, he revealed a joyful expression on his face, saying ¡®yes¡¯ again and again.


    Miao Yi then turned to return the candidate list to Yan Xiu. "Time is of the essence. Start organizing the tournament immediately. The personnel must be decided and arranged by today." He once again said to Tian Qingfeng, "Go and apany Yan Xiu. We must ensure that the tournament is fair, so there must absolutely be no mistakes in this round. Of course, if anyone were to cause any trouble, kill them without mercy!"


    The man was seriously unforgiving towards his own subordinates! Both of them trembled with fear as they acknowledged the order and left.


    Yan Xiu initially wanted to request Miao Yi to go with him, but Miao Yi didn¡¯t want to be a judge as it would just rub the others the wrong way. He would just leave the task of offending people to someone else, as usual.


    There was nobody else inside the garden. Miao Yi¡¯s gaze dropped onto Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s bodies, and his eyes swept over their shapely curves, a peculiar look in his gaze. Beckoning them over, he held their hands and led them into his private quarters.


    Standing before the bed, the twodies flushed with redness, feeling shy beyond measure. How could they not understand what they were about to do? Was it even... suitable to do it at a time like this?


    Having recently experienced this for the first time, Miao Yi didn¡¯t allow them any room to reject him. But they would always go along with his wishes and weren¡¯t about to deny him. Their dresses were easily removed and thrown aside, exposing snowy peaks and jade thighs. The moment they were revealed, Miao Yi had already wrapped his arms around their bodies, falling on the bed.


    Before they entered East Arrival Cave, and in order to serve Immortals, they¡¯d had a ¡®mother¡¯ who taught them how to serve men. Since they felt ashamed beyond relief during that first time, they didn¡¯t take the skills they¡¯d learned into consideration. This time around though, they attempted to use what they were taught to bring Miao Yi unimaginable pleasure.


    The tournament outside had already started. For the sake of their own interests, men belonging to the same sect fought with each other, their faces red with fury. While the tournament was awfully intense, the battle between the Mountain Chieftain and the twodies did not lose to them as well...


    Marriage was originally a deep-rooted issue Miao Yi had to tackle in the mortal world. At times when he was free, he couldn¡¯t help but allow his thoughts to wander and be concerned about it. Afterpletely iming the two girls, it had finally be something that wasn¡¯t really essential in his life. He finally managed to break free from his inner demons, which was advantageous to his cultivation progress.


    Once they came out from their quarters, the flush on the girls¡¯ faces had yet to vanish and they appeared more radiant and beautiful than ever. They followed Miao Yi from behind and ascended the loft, pushing open the windows to gaze at the tournament from a distance.


    One of them carried over a tray, while the other served Miao Yi the cup of tea from the tray. They gazed at Miao Yi with eyes full of tender affection.


    After they had given their bodies and hearts entirely to this man, they finally feltpletely at ease. The feelings they shared between them were nowpletely different. They weren¡¯t obediently attending to Miao Yi¡¯s needs because he was a Mountain Chieftain. Instead, they were now tenderly taking care of him because they saw him as their own man. Judging at how meticulous they were with their treatment of Miao Yi, it could truly be said that they cherished him with all their hearts, and that they would always try to look out for him.


    After the tournament ended, Yan Xiu returned with Tian Qingfeng in tow. They ascended the loft together and delivered the results of thepetition.


    Without even looking at the contents, Miao Yi could already guess the oue of thepetition from the smiling expression on Tian Qingfeng¡¯s face. Once he looked through the jade archive, the results were exactly as he¡¯d expected.


    After listening to the two men¡¯s report, he found that there wasn¡¯t much to be concerned with for the other matches. Under the situation of a duel, it was expected that a White Lotus cultivator was no match for a Blue Lotus cultivator, since it was a battle between two different realms. The men who fought for the Cave Master positions hadn¡¯t been expecting Blue Lotus cultivators to appear out of nowhere, so the majority of them forfeited the match before it even began.


    To everyone¡¯s surprise, during the fight for the three Advisors positions, Ou Yulin and the other two Blue Lotus Third Grade cultivators had almost lost to Zhou Huan and the other two with a cultivation of Blue Lotus First Grade.


    The reputation attached to the three great sects was truly well-deserved as they were all capable. If they had utilized mounts to solve the differences they faced in speed, as well as to evade the strikes, it would have been hard to guess who would emerge as the victor. Fortunately, the tournament ured on a leveled ground. So in the face of desperation, Ou Yulin and the rest forcibly settled the match using their higher cultivation bases. Under a situation where they allowed no room for the enemies to show them what they were made of, they defeated Zhou Huan and the rest.


    Even if that were the case, Ou Yulin and the other two cultivators were still covered in injuries and wounds inflicted by Zhou Huan and his men. It was a dangerous victory.


    Once the match ended, Zhou Huan and his men were not convinced. But they still showed signs of fear when they faced the twenty Blue Lotus cultivators, especially when Tian Qingfeng revealed his Blue Lotus Fourth Grade cultivation base. So they could only concede, their faces gloomy.


    "Keep watch over Zhou Huan and his men," Miao Yi tilted his head and spoke to Tian Qingfeng.


    Tian Qingfeng gave an understanding nod, signaling that he understood the meaning behind Miao Yi¡¯s words. Even if it weren¡¯t for the sake of protecting his own benefits, he wouldn¡¯t have even tolerated Zhou Huan and his goons trying to overthrow the results of this match. He would definitely inform his peers to keep a watchful eye on the trio.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t in the mood to gather everyone again and announce the appointments to provoke the others. He remained in his loft, wrote about a dozen writs of appointment before ordering Yan Xiu to send them off. At the same time, he immediately called forth the respective Cave Masters who had epted the appointment.


    When the new Cave Masters arrived, Miao Yimanded them to quickly head to their respective dwellings to assume their roles. He wouldn¡¯t give Zhou Huan the chance to collude with his peers, and so promptly transferred his former subordinates away by ordering the East Arrival Cave Master and the Long Viridescent Cave Master to take the men with them for now.


    As for Zhou Huan and what remained of his men, when faced with Tian Qingfeng and the other nine cultivators with at least a Blue Lotus Second Grade cultivation, they wouldn¡¯t be able stir up much trouble even if they wanted to.


    Miao Yi decided to allow the avable positions in Mount Calming Sea to remain vacant. It was more important for him to stabilize the present conditions first.


    He wasn¡¯t afraid of potential misfortune with so many Blue Lotus experts at his side. He would wait for the disciples of the School of Blue Jade to arrive to assume their posts and make the ten newly appointed Cave Masters fully understand the circumstances of their own subordinates. Only then would he attempt to reorganize the entire Mount Calming Sea. Obviously, the areas with arge number of thorns would need to get eradicated first.

 Chapter 300: Yue Yao is Here?

    Chapter 300: Yue Yao is Here?


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    At Suppressing Third Hall that night, Hall Master Wu Menn¡¯s face looked icy as her eyes trailed after Huo Lingxiao¡¯s figure departing from the drawing room.


    Huo Lingxiao smiled when he met up with his two subordinates. He arrogantly turned his back on Wu Menn, then with a swing of his sleeves, he shot towards the sky with his two subordinates.


    As they swept over the night sky, Huo Lingxiao could no longer control himself and burst into heartyughter. He¡¯d gone there to criticize her fiercely. It was an amazing feeling for a thief to use another of being a thief.


    He didn¡¯t expect Yang Qing to get rid of Xiong Xiao that quickly. He didn¡¯t even think Miao Yi¡¯s list of remunerations trick would be that useful either. Even though he already knew of the list in advance, the same could be said for Wu Menn, so he believed that she must be seething with anger right now.


    Even though all of them had been aware of the trap set by Miao Yi, that guy still didn¡¯t get in trouble for it!


    Of course, an esteemed Hall Master wouldn¡¯t allow his own subordinates to be bullied. The other party was really out of line. Just now, Huo Lingxiao had finally gained the upper hand over Wu Menn.


    When he recalled her expression, Huo Lingxiao once again burst into heartyughter.


    He shook his head, heaving a sigh once he was doneughing. That cheapskate little brother of his was truly talented, so it really was unfortunate...


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi was holding a feast in the pavilion garden, withnterns strung high around it. He beckoned Zhou Huan and his men over for a discussion. It could also be said that he was trying to appease them, so he didn¡¯t worsen the situation since the trio¡¯s cultivation base was not for show.


    He promised them that their share of payment would never change, but their previous authority would need to be revoked.


    "I must dare to ask Mountain Chieftain, what about the others?" Zhou Huan still wanted to help his men who¡¯d lost their positions and wanted to fight for their benefits.


    He was seriously pushing his luck! Miao Yi raised his brows, "Are you implying that I have too much money and I have nowhere to spend it?"


    The trio fell silent. If news of this matter were to reach the ears of the Manor Head, they could never justify themselves. If they wanted to cause a ruckus here, they had to carefully observe whether they could win this round or not. They were only at the level of a Blue Lotus First Grade cultivation. The people opposite them were at least Blue Lotus Second Grades.


    Although the three great sects were indeed powerful, they didn¡¯t dare to meddle with the affairs of the officials. Should this matter be reported to their sect, there was a high chance that they¡¯d be called trash by their own peers.


    Miao Yi had agreed to maintain their wages, and his actions could already be considered as highly respectful. They thought about it, and could only back down.


    After half-heartedly drinking a couple of cups of wine with the Mountain Chieftain, they then left with forced smiles on their faces.


    The moment the trio left, Miao Yi drank and enjoyed a cup of wine by himself under thenterns in the pavilion. Yan Xiu soon walked from the moon gate behind him and entered the pavilion. With a worried look on his face, he said, "My lord, all the positions in Mount Calming Sea have fallen into the hands of the School of Blue Jade now. If we let this continue, then won¡¯t this be an issue in the future? Back then, they and the Manor Head were..."


    His worries were not without reason. Nothing major might happen for now, but for cases like these, those with power in their hands will inevitably harbor treasonous thoughts. This didn¡¯t concern just one person, but a whole group of them. There would definitely be someone with more greedy thoughts, and they would incite the others in secret.


    And Miao Yi should understand this fact better than anyone. If the School of Blue Jade had known their ce, they wouldn¡¯t have betrayed Yang Qing back then. But he didn¡¯t have much of a choice.


    To put it in nicer terms, this was to repay the School of Blue Jade for all their years of support, and it would at least be counted as fulfilling his obligations towards them. However, everyone knew that both parties were taking advantage of the other. If they didn¡¯t benefit from the association, why would an esteemed sect even support a nobody like him?


    To put it in an unpleasant way, he had no time to waste on such matters. He had to borrow the power of the School of Blue Jade to quickly exercise control over Mount Calming Sea.


    Once the present situation had stabilized, only then would he have time to prepare for his journey to the Sea of Constetions. He wasn¡¯t even sure whether he¡¯d be dead or alive within the next few years, so he didn¡¯t want to waste time worrying about something that would happen in the far-off future. He wanted to stabilize the current situation first.


    "There won¡¯t be any problems. Although the important posts are now in the School of Blue Jade¡¯s grasp, the majority of personnel are from the three great sects. If the School of Blue Jade cannot replenish arger number of troops, then it won¡¯t be easy for them topletely seize control of Mount Calming Sea." Miao Yi waved his hands. For the time being, he wasn¡¯t going to tell Yan Xiu that he had to go to the Sea of Constetions.


    Yan Xiu nodded. He just wanted to give him some warning, but he trusted that Miao Yi would know better on how to handle this situation...


    At noon the next day, Miao Yi was sitting in a cross-legged position to cultivate within his silent quarters when he was suddenly interrupted by Qian¡¯Er.


    "What¡¯s the matter?"


    "Master, a woman has arrived outside. She said that she¡¯s your sister."


    "What?" In one abrupt movement, Miao Yi opened his eyes, wide with shock. Who else could he have for a sister? In this world, he only had one. A look of disbelief appeared on his face as he asked, "My sister?"


    Qian¡¯Er nodded in reply. "That¡¯s what she said."


    In a sh, Miao Yi leaped down from the stone chair. He grasped Qian¡¯Er¡¯s shoulders, and asked in a voice trembling with emotion, "Where is she?"


    Qian¡¯Er had never expected him to be this emotional. "She¡¯s being stopped outside the mountain gate. The gatekeeper is the one who came to announce her arrival."


    "Quick! Send her in!"


    Qian¡¯Er left to heed his order.


    Having no mood to cultivate anymore, he quickly stepped out into the drawing room, anxiously pacing back and forth in the main hall.


    All kinds of feelings invaded his heart and mind as he wondered whether it was really his little sister. Why would she be here? Could it be that she saw my name after I was promoted to Mountain Chieftain? That must be it! Little Sister never forgot about her big brother. Even when she became Fairy Yue Yao, she never forgot me. I¡¯m the one who thought too deeply about it...


    He hadpletely lost control of his emotions. Xue¡¯Er was watching him with a curious look on her face. She had never seen him this nervous before.


    Miao Yi suddenly jumped in front of her. Pulling at his clothes, he asked, "Xue¡¯Er, help me make sure that I¡¯m dressed okay."


    Honestly, his outfit already looked neat and tidy. The twodies were the ones who helped him put it on. How could they allow a Mountain Chieftain like him to be dressed in an untidy manner when meeting with guests? But she still attentively helped him fix his clothes before nodding her head.


    Not long after, the sounds of footsteps could gradually be heard from outside. Miao Yi intertwined his fingers together, his chest anxiously heaving up and down as he looked towards the doorway, feeling extremely nervous.


    When Qian¡¯Er appeared at the entrance and courteously led a woman inside, Miao Yi looked as though someone had sshed a basin of cold water at him. He was instantly speechless. This wasn¡¯t his sister at all...


    The person who¡¯de in was none other than Wen Fang, the employee from the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce at South Edict Manor. The moment she caught sight of Miao Yi eyeing her in that manner, she was caught off-guard as well. She hurriedly took a quick nce at herself, thinking that there didn¡¯t seem to be anything wrong with her appearance!


    However, Wen Fang still took the initiative to step forward and pay her respects, "Little Sister greets Big Brother Miao! Why are you looking at me like that? Did you forget about me even when we¡¯ve only parted not long ago?"


    "It¡¯s you!" Miao Yi said with disappointment. He didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry, so much that he had the sudden impulse to rush forward and give her a few kicks. He wouldn¡¯t have minded so much if this woman had reported her name, or any other title that she had when she came over to see him. She could have announced herself as anything, yet she chose to mention that she was his sister. This made him believe that it really was his little sister, the rumored Fairy Yue Yao, who hade to visit him in person.


    He had been hesitating on whether to greet Fairy Yue Yao as a subordinate or as a big brother. In the end, all his worries were for nothing.


    Wen Fang appeared to feel wronged as she said, "Little SIster hase all this way just to visit Big Brother. Why is Big Brother acting this way? Is it because I¡¯m not wee here?"


    Miao Yi was really tempted to say her presence wasn¡¯t wee. F*** this, the joke was too much for him to bear! It had caused him to bepletely carried away with excitement!


    However, it wasn¡¯t to the point where he wouldsh out at a guest who had dropped in. Besides, as an employee of the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce, it wouldn¡¯t do to offend her. Even if it was someone of a lower rank, all of them came from powerful backgrounds. Of course, the most important part was that they had the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce backing them.


    And as for their employees, they held positions that were highly revered and envied in the cultivation world. Although they were cultivators as well, they didn¡¯t need to engage in battle. Simr to the rest, they would receive their wages based on their rank. In addition, they were givenmissions as well, so long as they strictly obeyed the rules set by the Chamber of Commerce. Barring any disasters, they¡¯d be safe for their entire lives.


    Unfortunately, not just anyone could join their organization. If it were the slightest bit possible, Miao Yi would rather give up this Mountain Chieftain post and exchange ces with Wen Fang.


    In the earlier days when the Six Sages were in the midst of conquering the world, a number of people serving under them had died during the war. After the Six Sages ruled and secured their titles, they did not forget about the descendants of those men. Although they weren¡¯t bestowed with high positions or great wealth, the Six Sages had gifted them with a peaceful life, assigning them to work for the Chamber of Commerce.


    The men¡¯s life¡¯s work was then passed on to their offspring, and inherited from one generation to another. Anyone with an aptitude for cultivation could continue to work for the Chamber of Commerce. The Six Sages were said to have appeased the souls and spirits of their old subordinates who had fallen in the war. Now, outsiders wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the Chamber of Commerce so easily, as it was already a self-established system from within. With the Six Sages currently upying the high grounds, they wouldn¡¯t be so ready to interfere with these matters. If anyone still wished to enter, it could probably be aplished by going through the back door with the help of the Six Sages¡¯ disciples.


    It didn¡¯t pose a problem if the disciples wanted to make arrangements to assign someone to work for the Chamber of Commerce, since themanding officer of the Chamber of Commerce was also a disciple of the Six Sages.


    "Why are you here?" Miao Yi smiled bitterly. After he sat down, he extended his arms to invite his guest to take a seat as well.


    Qian¡¯Er also noticed that it was a misunderstanding. She¡¯d also thought that her master¡¯s own sister had really arrived, so her behavior towards Wen Fan was exceedingly courteous.


    Actually, Wen Fang had been afraid that it would be difficult for her to enter. Although the Chamber of Commerce belonged to the officials, the influence they held were of apletely different nature. There was no need for either of them to respect each other. After she said that she was the sister of Mount Calming Sea¡¯s Mountain Chieftain, it was evident that it had been very effective. They had immediately announced her arrival, and she was received right away.


    Besides, she believed that she hadn¡¯t lied in that aspect. When they were in South Edict Manor, she had already addressed Miao Yi as Big Brother.


    "Little Sister hase to visit Big Brother. It wouldn¡¯t do for me toe empty-handed, so here¡¯s a small token of my appreciation. I have personally made some light refreshments for Big Brother." Wen Fang presented a small gift box to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi opened up the gift box to look at its contents. This was really a light gift. It was a box of fine pastries. He could see at a nce that a lot of work had been put into them. He just couldn¡¯t tell whether it was really made by her, or if they were actually bought at South Edict Manor.


    Turning around, he realized that Wen Fang was already engaged in a conversation with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. She¡¯d only just arrived, and already she¡¯d gifted two striking and delicate head ornaments to the twodies.


    Miao Yi was rendered speechless. She had also prepared gifts for his own handmaidens. Tapping his fingers on the table, he asked, "Wen Fang, is there some matter you want to discuss with me?"


    "Can¡¯t Ie visit Big Brother when I¡¯m free?" Wen Fang smiled sweetly. Seeing the speechless expression on Miao Yi¡¯s face, she corrected herself and said, "I¡¯ve never been to Mount Calming Sea before, so I wanted to stop by and admire the scenery. I hope Big Brother has no issues with it."


    Miao Yi was aware that she still wanted his business. But since she didn¡¯t mention it, he would pretend he didn¡¯t know anything. Thus, he smiled at Xue¡¯Er. "Xue¡¯Er, go apany her. I still have some matters to attend to, so I won¡¯t be joining."


    Once he finished, he went back to his silent quarters to cultivate.


    The three women headed outside into the garden, chatting together as they took a stroll.


    More than half the day had passed, yet Wen Fang didn¡¯t seem to have any intentions of leaving. Instead, she was able to talk about a lot of things with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    When it was almost evening, a stream of light shot across the horizon, descending outside the Mount Calming Sea Grand Hall.


    Wen Fang¡¯s eyes instantly gleamed when she turned around to look. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were shocked as well by the sudden appearance. Obviously, anyone who could soar across the sky wouldn¡¯t be just anybody, so of course, they had to check up on it.


    Wen Fang trailed after them.


    The moment they came out of the main hall, they saw an old man, and a pale, smiling man; both had been stopped by the men from Mount Calming Sea. The subordinates were afraid to act rashly. People who could soar through the skies had to at least be a Red Lotus cultivator, so who would dare to act blindly without thinking?


    Mustering their courage, both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er stepped forward to ask, "Who goes there?"


    The pale-faced man was obviously well-ustomed to this. He smiled with cupped fists. "Both of you must be the Elder Auntie and the Little Auntie of Mount Calming Sea. I would like to trouble the both of you to report my arrival to the esteemed Mountain Chieftain. Just mention that Luo Ping from the capital city has arrived upon request."


    Following closely behind, Wen Fang¡¯s eyes flickered.


    "Capital city?" Qian¡¯Er voiced out with uncertainty. She told him to wait for a while before quickly darting off.

 Chapter 301: Desperately Poor

    Chapter 301: Desperately Poor


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Soon after, Miao Yi briskly walked out of the grand hall. The moment his eyesnded on Luo Ping, he cupped his hands and smiled from the distance, "I had hoped for Brother Luo to arrive, and you¡¯re finally here."


    Darting down the stairs, he caught sight of Wen Fang who was standing at the side. Somewhat caught by surprise, he wondered why this woman was still here.


    Luo Ping also cupped his hands, smiling in reply. "I never expected Brother Miao to be so quickly promoted to Mountain Chieftain. Congrattions."


    Miao Yi gestured, signaling the troops surrounding them to dismiss themselves. Then he turned and extended his arms towards the grand hall and said, "Please."


    With a nod, Luo Ping beckoned to the old man behind him, and they both followed Miao Yi into the hall.


    The dismissed troops of Mount Calming Sea would asionally turn around to look, each and every single one of them bewildered. They¡¯d never expected the Mountain Chieftain to have friends from the capital city. On top of that, they were Red Lotus experts.


    Although she wasn¡¯t invited, Wen Fang shamelessly followed Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er from behind.


    To put it clearly, she had rushed here because she¡¯d already predicted that the news had reached the capital city, and had taken into ount the time that Luo Ping would take to arrive at Mount Calming Sea. She didn¡¯te here to visit her Big Brother Miao Yi and had instead wished to observe and analyze just how much influence Miao Yi held. She wanted to find out whether it would be worth expending a great deal of effort to rope in this big client. After all, Miao Yi was a Mountain Chieftain, so she¡¯de to determine the truth.


    Once everyone arrived at the main hall, Miao Yi informed both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. "Don¡¯t allow anyone toe near my silent quarters without my permission."


    "Understood!" responded the twodies in unison.


    Luo Ping also nodded at the old man he¡¯d brought over, signaling the man to stay here and wait.


    "Please!" Miao Yi once again extended his arm, leading Luo Ping into his own cultivation quarters, and even going as far as to push the heavy stone door to cover the entrance.


    His silent quarters was considered to be an underground room, so the soundproofing was quite good. It was a suitable ce to use for a private discussion.


    Both of them sat cross-legged across from one another atop the stone chair. Luo Ping smiled and began, "I went to find Lin Pingping before I came, and asked if she had anything she wanted me to inform you. I¡¯m sorry to say that she had no message for me to pass on."


    As soon as he could, he was making it clear that he¡¯d always kept Miao Yi¡¯s request in mind in order to close the distance between them.


    Miao Yi knew deep down that if Lin Pingping needed anything, she would have ryed the news herself. She wouldn¡¯t have told Luo Ping to do it for her, of course. So, he asked, "Is she doing well?"


    "With Brother Miao taking care of her, she¡¯s naturally much better than before. It¡¯s just that in the beginning, there were times when a couple of crooked-minded loose cultivators harassed her after seeing her live a better lifepared to before. And with no one to depend on for help." Seeing Miao Yi¡¯s eyes narrow at his words, Luo Ping¡¯s eyes flickered with a cold glint. Based on his experiences with people, he instantly knew deep down that this bastard was a murderer... He waved his hands and said, "Brother Miao need not worry. I¡¯ve already dealt with those loose cultivators. Of course, after I warned them in person, insignificant loose cultivators like them wouldn¡¯t dare bother her anymore. The only problem is that I was unjustly med for no reason at all."


    Miao Yi asked in return, "How is that so?"


    Luo Ping shook his head, a bitter smile on his face, as he replied, "Quite a number of people believe that Lin Pingping is a mistress I¡¯ve been keeping at Jade Capital Peak."


    Shocked at the revtion, Miao Yi immediately pped his thighs inughter. He could imagine how awkward it must have been for him to be paired with a woman of that age. Cupping his fists, he requested, "Then I would like to ask Brother Luo to keep up this act, and continue to assist me in looking after her."


    Luo Ping forced a smile with cupped fists. After using private matters to pull their rtionship closer, he went straight to the main point and started, "I¡¯m sure Brother Miao wouldn¡¯t request for my presence without reason. How can I assist you?"


    Miao Yi fell silent for a while before saying, "I want to purchase some Crystalline Obsidian."


    The Crystalline Obsidian he mentioned was the essence powder extracted from ck Crystals. Luo Ping replied quickly with a question, "May I know how many jars Brother Miao needs?"


    The ¡®jars¡¯ he talked about referred to the small pots used to store essence powders. A jar required the extraction of about 100 million crystal coins to be filled up. Ten jars were enough to refine a spear.


    Obviously, Miao Yi had been mentally prepared in advance. He instantly dered, "One hundred and fifty jars!


    Luo Ping¡¯s eyes gradually widened; deep down, his heart was overwhelmed with happiness. Sure enough, he hadn¡¯t made this trip in vain. He cautiously confirmed once more, "A hundred and fifty jars?"


    It should be made known that after a jar of Crystalline Obsidian was extracted from 100 million ck Crystals, it would incur twice the amount inbor fees. In terms of Gold Crystals, it would cost 2 million. Thus, one hundred and fifty jars were equivalent to 3 billion Gold Crystals. 3 billion Gold Crystals! It wasn¡¯t White Crystals or ck Crystals. When exchanged into White Crystals, it cost 3 trillion. What a tremendous sum indeed!


    "That¡¯s right! One hundred and fifty jars!" After Miao Yi confirmed the amount, he asked hesitantly, "Could it be that you don¡¯t have enough stock right now?"


    Luo Ping instantly let out a heartyugh, "Brother Miao is funny. Forget one hundred jars¡ªeven if it¡¯s one thousand or ten thousand jars, the Chamber of Commerce can supply them. We¡¯re not afraid of you wanting more but are more scared of the fact you might want less. However, Brother Miao, I will put it bluntly: the price will have to go ording to the market value. I cannot give you any discounts because the amount you¡¯re purchasing has yet to reach the threshold where you will be given discounts."


    "Understood!" Miao Yi nodded.


    He understood the reasoning behind it. If he sold something to the Chamber of Commerce, he wouldn¡¯t be able to sell it at market value. Yet, if he were to purchase some items from the Chamber of Commerce, they would sell it to him at market price. That couldn¡¯t be helped as they operated for profit, and wouldn¡¯t do anything in vain.


    "May I know if Brother Miao will exchange items for them, or will you be paying in cash?" asked Luo Ping.


    "No rush!" Miao Yi waved his hands and brought out a storage ring, then instantly withdrew a case from it. He patted the case and said, "Help me estimate how much this is worth."


    Once he finished, he immediately flipped open the lid of the case and toppled the contents out. A pile of gold, blue, and red crystal stones about the size of a thumb came rolling out from it.


    After he cleared the contents of the case, he ced it to the side, extending his arms to invite Luo Ping to make his estimation.


    "ze Resins?" Luo Ping inhaled sharply, his eyes once again widening in shock.


    It wasn¡¯t that he¡¯d never seen them in person before. It was because he had never seen this many from any of his previous item dealings, especially from a Mountain Chieftain.


    The more items he dealt with, therger hismission. Luo Ping was secretly overwhelmed with joy, but quickly put on a more calm and professional expression. Picking up a Red ze Resin, hemented. "The market price for this is 10,000 Gold Crystals. The Chamber of Commerce can purchase this at 8,000. Since you¡¯re an official, a discount will be applied. In addition, you¡¯re selling in bulk. I can make the decision, and offer you 9,000."


    He took up a Blue ze Resin. "The market value costs 50,000 Gold Crystals. The Chamber of Commerce will purchase it at 40,000. I can make the decision, and offer you 45,000."


    Lastly, he picked up a Gold ze Resin, "The market price for this costs 100,000 Gold Crystals. The Chamber of Commerce will purchase this at 80,000. I can decide myself and offer you 90,000."


    Putting the item down, he continued, "Brother Miao, please rest assured that the price I gave you is the discounted amount. Please think about it for a while. Should you agree, we will do the count."


    Miao Yi cursed the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce for being too sly. He had risked his life to obtain these items, yet they were having the time of their life profiting from it.


    But again, it couldn¡¯t be helped. Ordinary folks couldn¡¯t afford these many items, and he didn¡¯t have the connections to find a suitable buyer, so he could only sell them off at a cheaper price. He finally nodded and said, "I believe in Brother Luo. Please do the count."


    Luo Ping¡¯s spirits were lifted at his straightforward answer. He quickly took out a jade archive to make his counting easier. First, he picked out all the Gold ze Resins and threw them into the empty case at the side.


    The Gold ze Resins came to a total of four hundred and forty pieces. Luo Ping swiftly registered the amount in the jade archive as he said, "90,000 a piece. The grand total for the Gold ze Resins is 39,600,000 Gold Crystals."


    Soon, he once again threw the pile of Blue ze Resins into the case,ing to a total sum of seven hundred and thirty-five pieces. He picked up the jade archive again and registered while he detailed, "45,000 a piece. The grand total for the Blue ze Resins is 33,075,000 Gold Crystals."


    He again threw the Red ze Resins into the case,ing to a sum of one thousand and two hundred pieces in total. Simrly, he picked up the jade archive, recording it as he said, "9,000 a piece. The total value of the Red ze Resins is 10,800,000 Gold Crystals."


    Silently counting for a while, Luo Ping lifted his head with a smile stretched across his face, "This half-filled case of ze Resins amounts to 83,475,000. Brother Miao, I didn¡¯t make any mistakes, did I?"


    Miao Yi nodded. He was well aware of the total amount of items in that case. When the price of each item was announced, while the other man was still doing the calctions, he¡¯d already deduced the total value in his head.


    Heaving a light sigh, he said, "So, this means that if I want to purchase those one hundred and fifty jars, I still need to add about another 220 million?"


    "To put it precisely, you are short of 216,525,000 Gold Crystals." Luo Ping gave him the exact amount. It was no wonder he was a businessman.


    Miao Yi fell silent. He still had about 30 million Gold Crystals at hand. But he was short of about one trillion and eighty million. He still had one hundred First Grade Yao Cores to spare, but those were only worth 10 million Gold Crystals at most. There was still arge gap to fill. Even if he sold almost eighteen thousand Orbs of Will, he¡¯d only manage to cover 20 million and would still fall short of the required amount. The gap was too big!


    His scraps were worth nothing.


    He was itching to take out and sell off the shockingly resplendent Glorious Star immortal herb he had at hand. He estimated that the immortal herb would fetch more than enough if he sold it.


    But that was paramount to his life support when he went to the Sea of Constetions. Once he sold it away for real, what would he do if he was injured? Under such dangerous conditions, he couldn¡¯t guarantee that he could escape unscathed.


    What was the reasoning behind his desperate attempt to fork out his entire fortune just to create a set of better quality transcendent artifacts? Wasn¡¯t it all for the sake of keeping himself alive while in the Sea of Constetions?


    Wealth was merely a worldly possession. So long as he safely returned from the Sea of Constetions, so long as he passed this trial, armed with good quality transcendent artifacts, he would have great prospects for the future within the system. What he lost could easily be regained.


    Right now, he was a little angry at Yao Ruoxian for taking away half of the ze Resins in the case. If he didn¡¯t do that, he could have covered arger portion of the required amount.


    But s, it was difficult to get them back. And even if he could seize them back, he wouldn¡¯t. He still needed to rely on that man to help refine the transcendent artifacts after this. Based on the current market, that old bastard¡¯sbor fees would not be a small sum as well. Especially when it involved a higher grade transcendent artifact. If they really fought it out, he wouldn¡¯t be able to gain the upper hand.


    Seeing that he remained silent, Luo Ping cautiously asked, "Brother Miao, is there a problem?"


    Miao Yi, who was still mulling over what else he could sell, recovered his senses. He chuckled dryly for a while and abruptly whipped out a pot of wine. He presented it before Luo Ping. "Brother Luo, try this."


    "Uh..." Luo Ping forced a smile and pushed it away with the palm of his hand. "Brother Miao, this isn¡¯t the time for a drink. It won¡¯t be toote if we share thister. Let¡¯s discuss our official business first."


    Miao Yi smiled in reply, "Offering Brother Luo a drink is official business. See how much my exquisite wine is worth."


    "Ah!" Luo Ping was dumbfounded.


    Miao Yi had already removed the lid of the pot and invited him to have a taste.


    An overwhelming fragrance emerged and permeated the room. Luo Ping¡¯s eyes gleamed instantly. He invoked his arts and flicked his finger. A stream of clear spring wine bore its way into his mouth like a snake from the pot.


    The moment he swallowed it, Luo Ping, who had tasted it with his eyes shut, opened his eyes and sighed, "Such amazing wine!"


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes shone as he asked, "How much does Brother Luo think it¡¯s worth?"


    "I..." Luo Ping spread out his arms and eximed, "Although the wine is exceptional, but I¡¯m not really a drinker so I¡¯m not familiar with this. To tell Brother Miao the truth, this is my first time meeting someone who wants to sell wine to me."


    Miao Yi was so desperately poor that he was running out of options. Miao Yi said awkwardly, "Offer me a price."


    Luo Ping didn¡¯t know how to handle this, but he could tell he was a bit tight. Because he was a major client, and carrying the notion that he shouldn¡¯t offend him if he could avoid it, he sighed and asked, "May I know how many pots of wine Brother Miao has?"


    Miao Yi revealed a finger. "More than ten thousand pots."


    "Uh..." That was seriously a lot. Luo Pingughed forcefully, shaking his head as he said. "Brother Miao, I can use my personal connections to contact a senior from the Chamber of Commerce to determine the price, but I advise you not to put too much hope into this."

 Chapter 302: An Unexpected Surprise

    Chapter 302: An Unexpected Surprise


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    His words were quite clear. ¡®It is unnecessary for the Chamber of Commerce to send someone over from a great distance all for the sake of some unworthy item, which is why I¡¯ll use my personal connections to find a senior to appraise these wines. I am doing you a favor.¡¯


    "Understood." Miao Yi cupped his fists together and said, "Then I shall trouble Brother Luo for this."


    Luo Ping was about to speak, but hesitated for a while. He wanted to ask Miao Yi what he was nning to do with all his purchases. He took a moment to think about it¡ªwith this bulk purchase of Crystalline Obsidians, Miao Yi was definitely nning to refine transcendent artifacts. What other possible alternative could he have besides that? Moreover, the rules of the Chamber of Commerce specified to only conduct purchases and sales, and not to impose on or disclose a client¡¯s privacy to anyone else. He swallowed back the words in his mouth down into his stomach.


    "I will go outside and ask Senior Liu to find someone." Luo Ping stepped down from the stone chair.


    Miao Yi took back his items and went out of the silent quarters together with him.


    It was already dark outside. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were following hismand by guarding the entrance path to the silent quarters. Miao Yi was a bit speechless to see that Wen Fang still hadn¡¯t left yet. Could it be this woman was thinking of staying the night at his residence? It didn¡¯t feel right to chase her out. After all, she was stationed at South Edict Manor. There woulde a time when he would require her help for his matters someday.


    "Senior Liu!" Luo Ping sped his fists together as he walked up to the old man he had brought with him earlier. The old man nodded silently. It was apparent that Luo Ping was giving him orders to fetch someone over.


    .


    The old man strode out and left the residence. When he reached the courtyard, he morphed into a ray of light and took off to the sky in one shot.


    Miao Yi turned around and ordered Qian¡¯Er to prepare a feast. A warm reception for Luo Ping was unavoidable.


    After the feast had been prepared, Miao Yi felt that he shouldn¡¯t leave Wen Fang behind since she was still his guest after all. He decided to invite her to join the feast. Surprisingly, Wen Fang seemed to be avoiding Luo Ping. She felt embarrassed to be at the feast and be served by both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, so she declined the offer.


    Miao Yi had been born in a marketce, and he had dealt with businesses before. It would be impossible for him not to notice that Wen Fang was actually trying to avoid Luo Ping from discovering her true identity as someone in the same line of work. If she were to be exposed, Luo Ping would definitely assume that Wen Fang was attempting to poach his client. She might possibly offend him with her presence.


    It was still fine if she couldn¡¯t attend the feast. Nevertheless, Wen Fang could tell that the transaction must have been arge amount if Luo Ping was made to stay back for this dealing.


    With that, Wen Fang was silently regretting everything. She didn¡¯t expect a mere Mountain Chieftain could be a big client as well. It seemed to her that she must not look down on these Mountain Chieftains anymore. She pondered whether she should pay her respects to all Mountain Chieftains in South Edict Manor as soon as she went back...


    Luo Ping had stayed at Mount Calming Sea for a whole day now. His treatment was much better than Wen Fang¡¯s as Miao Yi personally apanied him to visit the scenery around Mount Calming Sea.


    It wasn¡¯t until the night of the second day that two streaks of red light were seen striking through the darkness andnding at Mount Calming Sea.


    The old man who had left the other day brought another old man with him, this one with white hair and a beard. The old man had a red drunkard¡¯s nose, and was addressed as ¡®Uncle Hua¡¯ by Luo Ping.


    Conducting business required the meticulous maintenance of confidentiality. Both of them were businessmen from the Chamber of Commerce and they would not divulge anything while being surrounded with outsiders. Luo Ping then invited Uncle Hua to join him and Miao Yi in the silent quarters together.


    And now another Red Lotus cultivator had appeared. The people of Mount Calming Sea were inwardly frightened of their presence, and even Wen Fang was anxious as well as she wasn¡¯t sure what Miao Yi was doing with such a big transaction.


    The three of them entered the silent quarters and shut the thick stone door behind them. It was then that Uncle Hua began to speak, "Little Luo, what did you want that you had to drag me to this far off ce?"


    "I would like to ask Uncle Hua to help appraise the price of a slightly special item." Luo Ping cupped his fists together in response and smiled.


    "Special item?" Uncle Hua was curious and asked, "You were trained by the Chamber of Commerce too. What kind of item would you need me to appraise for you? Take it out and let me have a look."


    Luo Ping turned toward Miao Yi and nodded his head, gesturing at him to take the item out.


    Miao Yi immediately took out a pot of wine.


    At the sight of the wine, Uncle Hua¡¯s eyes lit up. As he received the wine and took off the seal, a whiff of a cool fragrance, like the crisp scent of snow, emerged and permeated the room. Uncle Hua¡¯s eyes gleamed. He then invoked his arts with a flex of his finger, allowing a stream of clear wine to enter his mouth like a little snake from the pot.


    After a long time being scrutinized by both Miao Yi and Luo Ping, Uncle Hua finally gulped down the wine, scrunching his eyes while savoring the taste. He slowly shook his head and eximed, "This is truly a good wine!"


    As soon as he was done, he quickly took out something from his storage ring and sealed the opening of the wine pot. He held it in his hand as if he was unable to part with the wine, all while making clicking noises with his tongue.


    Miao Yi shot a nce at Luo Ping, prompting Luo Ping to apologetically smile back and let out a dry cough. "Uncle Hua, what will be the appropriate price for the wine if our Chamber of Commerce wishes to purchase it?"


    "One hundred thousand Gold Crystals!" Uncle Hua replied.


    "What?" Luo Ping and Miao Yi cried out together. One pot of wine was worth one hundred thousand Gold Crystals¡ªthis wasn¡¯t a joke, right?


    Luo Ping remained stern and said, "Uncle Hua, your junior is talking about business. You must not make an arbitrary decision because of your hobby!"


    "You youngster! Seems like the Chamber of Commerce should start adding wine tasting as part of your training. But on the other hand, sipping a little wine won¡¯t be enough to train you properly.. And it¡¯s a waste to use this kind of fine wine to train you all. Moreover, you need talent for this too. We can¡¯t train just anyone for this kind of thing."


    Uncle Hua rolled his eyes at him and patted the pot of wine in his hand, "This isn¡¯t ordinary wine, it¡¯s a spiritual one."


    With his eyes shut as if immersed in thought, he continued, "An eight-hundred-year-old Nirvana Whisker, a thousand-year-old Snow Ganoderma, and a thousand-year-old Fragrant Lotus, and among these brewing ingredients are spiritual herbs of sufficient age. Moreover, this wine has been fermented inside a cave for at least two hundred years. Not everyone can brew such wine like this. A wine brewed with just one type of spiritual herb will be too dry, and a wine brewed with too many different types of spiritual herbs will give it aplex taste. However, the winemaker brewing this wine managed to smoothly blend the taste and medicinal properties of several types of spiritual herbs together, and somehow managed to make it a distinct beverage. He must truly be an expert in brewing this bejeweled nectar! No wonder this person was willing to use spiritual herbs to brew wine. Not only are the medicinal properties inside the herbs unwasted, the properties infused into the wine can boost one¡¯s cultivation after drinking it. It¡¯s not an overestimation for this fine wine to cost one hundred thousand Gold Crystals. I suggest the Chamber of Commerce not to sell this back to the market once purchased, but to auction the wine off. Those who are knowledgeable in wine will naturally offer this amount. Of course, those who can drink this type of wine are all rich people. Such a small amount of money won¡¯t matter to them."


    Miao Yi and Luo Ping exchanged looks. There was a glint of unexpected surprise in Miao Yi¡¯s eyes, while Luo Ping felt stunned by his words.


    Uncle Hua, who hade back to his senses from his initial euphoria, turned to look at Miao Yi and asked, "How many pots of this wine do you have? This wine appraisal sounds troublesome. Why don¡¯t you sell it all to me and be done with it? In any case, I was privately called in by Little Luo without going through the Chamber of Commerce. We can discuss the price between us in secret."


    In an instant, Luo Ping became unhappy. He said in a low voice, "Uncle Hua, what kind of joke is this? The Chamber of Commerce does not allow their employees to make private deals."


    In other words, ¡®If you purchase them all in private, how will I gain mymission?¡¯


    "Hehe, it¡¯s a joke, it¡¯s a joke. When I go back, I¡¯ll look for the Chamber of Commerce to purchase them with the internal price." Uncle Hua chuckled. He then gazed at Miao Yi and asked again, "How many do you have?"


    Miao Yi replied, "More than ten thousand pots."


    "How... how many?" Uncle Hua was caught by surprise. His eyes widened as he almost lost his grip on the pot of wine in his hand.


    Fearing that he would drop it, Luo Ping quickly extended his arm to hold up the wine. That pot of wine was worth one hundred thousand Gold Crystals. It would be a disaster if he were to identally drop it. They must be careful at all costs.


    "More than ten thousand pots," Miao Yi repeated in affirmation.


    Uncle Hua instantly broke into a sweat, and firmly grabbed onto the wine pot. He realized that he was truly joking when he said he would purchase them all. It was truly terrible to think that he could purchase more than ten thousand pots of wine by himself. Once he managed to go back to the Chamber of Commerce, he would purchase a few for his own personal consumption. He decided not to buy them all.


    Meanwhile, Luo Ping continued to ask for advice, "Uncle Hua, can I really ask the Chamber of Commerce to send someone here to appraise these officially?"


    "Don¡¯t worry," Uncle Hua continued with a nod, "We will ask someone in the Chamber of Commerce to send Old Dong here as well." Once he was done talking, he returned the pot of wine in his hand to Miao Yi with a little reluctance.


    Miao Yi was pleasantly surprised by the oue. However, before an appraisal could be determined, he couldn¡¯t let himself feel ted this soon, for he feared that the disappointment that might follow would be much greater than he¡¯d expected.


    The three of them came out of the silent quarters again. Luo Ping went to find the old man waiting outside once more and gave him an order. After that, the old man went out of the Grand Hall and flew out one more time.


    As they went back inside, Miao Yi treated both Uncle Hua and Luo Ping to another feast. However, he didn¡¯t serve the spiritual wine this time. As a substitute, he allowed Xue¡¯Er to fetch a fine wine contributed by the locals.


    Having tasted the exquisite wine from Miao Yi, and drinking the local wine soon after, Uncle Hua felt that the local wine tasted like rubbishpared to the former. He quickly shook his head with displeasure¡ªthe local wine was quite stale.


    Luo Ping shot Miao Yi a strange look. He remembered that a moment ago, Miao Yi had indeed served him spiritual wine. But now, he had switched it with ordinary wine.


    However, it was understandable. That pot of wine was worth one hundred thousand Gold Crystals. A few random sips of the wine would drain away one billion White Crystals in an instant. If it were him, he would not serve the exquisite wine again either. On top of that, he could see that Miao Yi wascking in funds at the moment.


    Miao Yi was quite embarrassed by Luo Ping¡¯s scrutiny. He felt uneasy by his own pettiness too. In the end, he took out the pot of wine that Uncle Hua had tasted before and served it to his guests.


    Uncle Hua was slightly overwhelmed by this honor and declined several times to be served the exquisite wine. He said, "The price of this wine is too great. Even though I want to drink it, I fear that the Chamber of Commerce will take it as a bribe once word of me drinking it leaks out. They will question this business deal. For the sake of upholding the integrity of this transaction, I will ept the kindness behind your offer."


    These words had Luo Ping restless with anxiety. Prior to this, Miao Yi had served him the wine, and he must have consumed at least two pots. In other words, did he consume two billion White Crystals worth of his client¡¯s wine? Wasn¡¯t this a bribe? Breaking out in a sweat, he hoped that he hadn¡¯t put something worth that much money into his stomach.


    However, with Miao Yi¡¯s constant insistence, Uncle Hua rubbed his palms together and said, "Then I will have a small cup. A small cup is fine."


    He took a wine cup and poured the wine into it from the pot before quickly sealing up the pot again. Afterwards, he took a small sip and savored the wine. With his eyes scrunched up, he said with a click of his tongue, "Old Liu didn¡¯t have the good fortune to taste this!" He then showed an expression as if his trip to Mount Calming Sea had been worthwhile.


    The Old Liu he had mentioned was the same footman Luo Ping had brought with him.


    Miao Yi then asked Luo Ping to enjoy the wine again, but his offers kept being brushed aside. He had already consumed a lot of wine and he truly was afraid to drink any more. He would never be able to return this expensive favor if he kept on drinking the wine...


    After a day had passed¡ªit was night time again¡ªthe time was already past midnight. Two more streaks of light whistled through the air andnded on Mount Calming Sea. This urrence had the people of Mount Calming Sea feeling anxious and suspicious. Why were these Red Lotus cultivatorsing and going these past few days? What kind of people did the Mountain Chieftain associate himself with?


    Wen Fang, who had been staying at Mount Calming Sea, was even more anxious as she watched the movements between Miao Yi and the Red Lotus cultivators. This was definitely a huge transaction if he was able to make the Red Lotus cultivators travel back and forth for him!


    Wen Fang was deeply immersed in regrets. Miao Yi was a big client within her scope of operation, yet she hadn¡¯t seized the opportunity when presented. Instead, she had allowed someone else from a distantnd to gain the advantage.


    While hiding inside his mountain cave, Yao Ruoxian was also startled by what was happening at Mount Calming Sea. He had been hiding inside the cave these past few days without the courage to go out, fearing that he would be discovered by someone else.


    Another old man had arrived at the silent quarters this time. Naturally, it was Old Dong, who had been sent for by the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce to Mount Calming Sea.


    The four of them had been holed up in the silent quarters for half a month without evering out. There were more than ten thousand pots of wine that required individual appraisal, because not every wine was brewed with the same ingredients. Besides, they needed to appraise the authenticity of these wines too as they could never sell a liquor that might be filled with water. Furthermore, they had to put out a price for each pot of wine. The amount of time needed for tens of thousands of pots was undeniable.

 Chapter 303: A Large Sum

    Chapter 303: A Large Sum


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Outside the silent quarters, Wen Fang felt more miserable the longer they were holed up inside. She almost went mad from it.


    Although her ancestor was also someone who had helped Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun build her empire, but because they didn¡¯t possess a high status, along with the many years that had passed since then, who would still remember who her ancestor was? It was only because of her ancestor¡¯s grace that she was able to go and work within the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce. Without a significant background, she obviously wouldn¡¯t have the opportunity to be delegated to the branches in the major cities.


    The branches in the major cities woulde into contact with a lot of cultivators, so they would naturally have a greater number of transactions. With more transactions, the potentialmission from them would obviously be higher as well. And the better one¡¯s performance within the Chamber of Commerce was, the greater the chance of being assigned to an evenrger city. Likewise, the chances of promotion would also be higher.


    She had only recently finished her training under the Chamber of Commerce, and was assigned to the South Edict Manor branch for a little over a year. There weren¡¯t many major transactions to be had in such a small ce. All the deals she came across were always short and easily settled. She had never seen one like this before.


    Given the state of the negotiations before her, she didn¡¯t even dare to imagine what it was like inside. ¡®Those are two Red Lotus cultivators from the Chamber of Commerce who are inside. They¡¯ve holed themselves up in the silent quarters discussing for more than half a month already! Just how big is this business deal going to be? The Chamber¡¯s Red Lotus cultivators wouldn¡¯t be this patient if it was just a minor transaction!¡¯


    To have missed out on such a major business opportunity when it was right within her designated area and from someone whom she addressed as ¡®Big Brother¡¯ no less¡ªmeant that she still wasn¡¯t putting in enough effort and wasn¡¯t thick-skinned enough. She even felt like killing herself now.


    It was toote even if she wanted to butter up to the people beside Miao Yi at this point.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were guarding the passageway leading to the silent quarters and forbade anyone from approaching. Additionally, four others including Tian Qingfeng were posted outside the gate and keeping guard. Besides Senior Liu being able toe and go through the living room as he pleased, security was all but imprable. As a guest, all Wen Fang could do was pace around outside. She couldn¡¯t approach at all.


    Within the silent quarters, after they sampled the taste of one fine wine, both Uncle Hua and Old Dong would use clear water to cleanse their mouths in order to avoid the residual taste affecting the appraisal of the next pot of wine. This caused them much distress.


    The feeling of alternating between a sip of wine and a sip of water was not pleasant in the least. However, the wines were truly nothing short of bejeweled nectars. To be able to sample so many different varieties of bejeweled nectar in one sitting, it was not an opportunity that came by easily. The two were enjoying themselves immensely despite the unpleasantness. Although they were being tormented, they epted it wholeheartedly.


    No one else could possibly imagine what the two were experiencing. They finally understood what it meant to ¡®find joy in misery¡¯!


    In order to avoid ruining the taste and potency of each pot of wine, they would poke a small hole on the seal of the pot, then hastily draw out a small portion of the bejeweled nectar before quickly plugging the pot back up, and engraving the insignia of the Chamber of Commerce on the seal. Only then did the two begin their appraisal.


    The two were true wine connoisseurs. They could clearly identify the types of spiritual herbs used and the number of years fermented for every type of wine they sampled, then set a price for it.


    With a jade archive in hand, Luo Ping would quickly jot down the price and ce the appraised wine into the storage ring. At the same time, Miao Yi would ce the next pot of wine before Uncle Hua and Old Dong.


    Even though he hadn¡¯t rested at all for over ten days, Miao Yi was still brimming with excitement.


    Luo Ping was the same. He hade across a truly major business deal this time, so how could he not be in good spirits?


    The four of them conducted their appraisals at a pace of five hundred pots a day. After twenty days, they finallypleted appraising all ten thousand pots of wine.


    Luo Ping quickly calcted the sum of the prices.


    Heaving a sigh of relief, Uncle Hua and Old Dong shook their heads in disbelief.


    "Unbelievable. It¡¯s a first even for me to witness so many different fine wines brewed utilizing such a vast array of spiritual herbs," sighed Old Dong, shaking his head.


    To which Uncle Hua added, "It¡¯s not as simple as that. Have you realized, Old Dong? The spiritual herbs used to brew these fine wines not only included those that you and I are aware of, some are even materials only found within the treacherous waters of the Sea of Constetions. What¡¯s more, some are even deep-sea treasures found only within the territories of those Demonic Behemoths under the ocean. Truly inconceivable!"


    Miao Yi felt a little guilty upon hearing this. These were the gains he had obtained from ughtering and plundering the people from the Sea of Constetions after all. Since Yuan Kaishan and Bi Youpo were sworn brothers, it probably wasn¡¯t difficult for Yuan Kaishan to obtain some deep-sea treasures from thetter.


    Old Dong nodded, "Anyone would be bbergasted by the quantity and quality of the spiritual herbs used to brew these ten thousand pots of fine wine. Truly astonishing. In all the years that I have been alive, I can¡¯t imagine what kind of individual would put in so much effort to produce such goods merely to sate the pte."


    The two suddenly turned to Miao Yi and asked, "Mountain Chieftain Miao. Did you brew all of these?"


    Miao Yiughed dryly, "That¡¯s confidential information."


    "Ah..." Old Dong and Flower Grandpa immediately pretended that they hadn¡¯t asked the question at all. The rules of the Chamber of Commerce stated that they should not question the customer¡¯s privacy and must never reveal the customer¡¯s personal information.


    "These things will be worth quite a sum." Uncle Hua squinted at Miao Yi and chuckled, "I think it will be worth over eight billion Gold Crystals at least"


    Contrary to their expectations, Miao Yi wasn¡¯t happy to hear it at all. Instead, his expression quickly darkened and he abruptly shouted, " THAT GODDAMNED OLD FOOL! "


    Stunned by the outburst, Old Dong and Uncle Hua stared at Miao Yi in confusion. The only ¡®old fools¡¯ here were the two of them after all.


    "AH!" Luo Ping raised his head in shock as well.


    A little startled, Miao Yi hurriedly waved his hand and gave a dryugh, "Don¡¯t be mistaken, Seniors. I wasn¡¯t talking about you two. I was just scolding the fool that was always stealing my wine."


    The wine-stealing fool was just an excuse. There had only been one man who would pester him incessantly for wine. That man was none other than Yao Ruoxian.


    At first, Miao Yi only allowed Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to asionally send a single pot over. Afterwards, Yao Ruoxian became addicted to the taste and would often force the two girls to ask Miao Yi to hand some over. At the time, Miao Yi only knew that these wine were beneficial to one¡¯s cultivation, so even though he treasured them, he didn¡¯t think much about giving them away either.


    How could he have known that these pots of wine would be worth so much? He definitely wouldn¡¯t have given any away if he did!


    With a simple calction, Miao Yi realized that Yao Ruoxian had drunk over three thousand pots over the years that they had been together!


    ¡®How many billions of Gold Crystals would three thousand pots of wine be worth!?¡¯ Miao Yi felt his head ache from the thought alone. He even thought about catching Yao Ruoxian and forcing him to spit it all back out. However, that wasn¡¯t possible. The maces in his hands were noughing matter after all.


    There was another matter that was making Miao Yi feel a great deal of pain. If he had known that those seventy-two Fort Masters in the Sea of Constetions were this amazing, he wouldn¡¯t have killed them back then. It would have been much better if he had abducted them all away and turned them into his own wine-brewing ves, then made a profit off them.


    However, this thought didn¡¯t make him feel that regretful. He knew that it was unrealistic to think of abducting them all away. Even if he could have tied them up and bring them all back with him before, he had no way of procuring the ingredients to brew those spiritual wines anyway. Thus, he only sighed in regret for a moment. It was quite a waste to have killed all those peculiar demons. It would probably be difficult to meet another group like them in future!


    Miao Yi never would have thought that the ten thousand pots of wine that he used to think were the least valuable things in his storage¡ªwould turn out to be the most valuable ones after the immortal herb. How inconceivable!


    If he had known earlier, he would have been able to invest in a good set of transcendent artifacts andpletely pulverize Xiong Xiao long ago. He wouldn¡¯t have risked running off to Ten-Thousand Thriving Manor.


    "Brother Miao. Look what you did to me." Luo Ping didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry as he stared at the jade archive in his hands. "I¡¯ll need to do a recount."


    Miao Yi was surprised for a moment. Then he realized that his shouting of ¡®goddamned old fool¡¯ must have disrupted Luo Ping¡¯s thoughts. He hurriedly cupped his fists and apologized.


    Uncle Hua pped the back of Luo Ping¡¯s head, and said, "This is not a small sum. You can try to hide the joy on your face as much as you want, boy, but what¡¯s wrong with doing a recount?"


    It was obvious that the two shared a good rtionship with one another. Otherwise, Luo Ping wouldn¡¯t have been able to use his personal ties to invite the other person all the way over. After all, these wines didn¡¯t have any assigned value in the first ce. If they didn¡¯t have a good rtionship, a prestigious Red Lotus cultivator wouldn¡¯t have made such a journey for no reason.


    Why was it that Wen Fang only operated within the tiny South Edict Manor branch, whereas Luo Ping worked in the Chamber of Commerce of the capital city?


    It was easy to imagine the reason why. There was a clear difference between the backgrounds and personal ties of the two.


    From another perspective, it was the right decision for Miao Yi to look for Luo Ping instead of Wen Fang. If he had decided to look for Wen Fang, he might not have been able to make such a transaction for the wines.


    Even though he was pped on the head, Luo Ping wasn¡¯t bothered at all. Grinning all the while, he continued his calctions to verify the sum from his previous tally.


    After he was done with his confirmation, Luo Ping took in a deep breath; then stared at Miao Yi and excitedly said, "Brother Miao. The total amountes up to eight billion, sixty-seven million, one hundred and ten thousand Gold Crystals. Please verify it."


    This was not a small sum. Miao Yi obviously had to verify it. He had made his own calctions just now as well. He had simply added on the prices as the two old men mentioned them. Even though he didn¡¯t double-check the sum like Luo Ping did, their numbers matched up all the same.


    Although it was arge sum of money, Miao Yi could not find it within himself to rejoice at all. When he first heard that a pot of wine could be sold for a hundred thousand Gold Crystals, he roughly calcted and assumed that the total amount would exceed ten billion Gold Crystals.


    He didn¡¯t expect that the ingredients used, the quality of the wine, and the number of years it was left to ferment would have an impact on the price as well. The price of the most expensive pot of wine even went up to one million and five hundred thousand Gold Crystals, whereas the cheapest was only at ten thousand Gold Crystals. After he roughly tallied the sums together, he hade up with the aforementioned price for these ten thousand pots of fine wine.


    He didn¡¯t know if this was a suitable price or not, because he could not objectively appraise these wines. All he knew were that they were good to drink. Not to mention, it wasn¡¯t like they had a set price he could refer to like the other goods the Chamber of Commerce usually dealt with. So he could only leave it to Uncle Hua and Old Dong to settle the issues regarding the price, as well as the appraisal of the wines. He himself was stuck in the dark the entire time.


    The two old men already informed him that they would not give him a bad price. The Chamber of Commerce was still quite reputable in this regard, but they would undoubtedly take in a cut of the profits as well. What¡¯s more, the two of them sampled so many different fine wines in one go. Once they drank too much of the good ones, their appraisal as well as the agreed price would surely be affected when sampling some of lesser quality. It was not a very fair assessment.


    That said, it was truly impossible to give a fair price for something such as this precisely because there was nothing simr to refer to. At the same time, the Chamber of Commerce behind them wouldn¡¯t be able to gauge how much they could profit off selling these pots of wine as well. Therefore, the two of them could only guarantee a fair price on the precondition that the Chamber of Commerce would not suffer a loss. Otherwise, why would the Chamber of Commerce support them if all they did was make them incur losses?


    Even though it was a little unfair to Miao Yi, the two old men exined that the best option was to allow the Chamber of Commerce to auction these pots of wine off. Then, the Chamber of Commerce could offer simr items to those high-profile customers of the cultivation realm to sample, and organize a special auction afterwards. These ten thousand pots of fine wine were enough to organize a special auction once.


    After the Chamber of Commerce took out themission earned from the auction, the remaining amount would all go to Miao Yi, thereby ensuring he would get a fair price.


    Miao Yi asked how long it would take for the results of the auction toe about. Luo Ping told him that these things could not be rushed. If he wished to get a good price, he would need to make the proper preparations. It would take at least a few years.


    However, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t possibly wait that long. If he could wait a few years, he wouldn¡¯t need to sell off all his assets.


    Thus, Luo Ping couldn¡¯t offer him any more assistance than he already had. From the perspective of the Chamber of Commerce, this was the best price he could offer. And Miao Yi could do little, but grit his teeth and ept it.

 Chapter 304: Heavy Bleeding

    Chapter 304: Heavy Bleeding


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Seeing that Miao Yi was silent, Luo Ping felt slightly worried that Miao Yi would go back on his word. This transaction wasn¡¯t small either. He tried to probe, "Brother Miao. If the intention of your transaction is still the same... Otherwise, it will be troublesome to tally these wines again. When that happens, we¡¯ll have to deliberately appraise them again for a second time to ensure the validity of the transaction. That would be a waste. Why don¡¯t I issue you a proof of receipt and you can hand over these wines into our safekeeping for now?"


    Miao Yi could only force augh and nod his head. He didn¡¯t have any good rtionships orworks with other people, and he was quite powerless in this regard too. Otherwise, he would definitely look for someone with the knowledge for this business to negotiate the price.


    The most powerful person he¡¯d ever known was Yao Ruoxian. However, he couldn¡¯t put his hopes on this man either. Yao Ruoxian could not be expected to expose himself to the public for the sake of helping him on this matter. Besides, whether Yao Ruoxian had knowledge about wines was another story. Based on how that Old Yao had sloppily gurgled this precious wine to the point that some would trickle down the corner of his mouth, Miao Yi deduced that he wasn¡¯t a connoisseur of wine. Otherwise, how could he afford to waste that bit of wine like that?


    Luo Ping was ted. He then teamed up with Uncle Hua and Old Dong, and immediately wrote out a proof of receipt for Miao Yi, stating that they had received the unpaid goods. They then proceeded to take away the ten thousand pots of bejeweled nectar from him.


    Luo Ping sighed in relief and asked, "Brother Miao, will you still be selling that case of ze Resins?"


    Uncle Hua and Old Dong exchanged looks. ¡®How much would it be for a CASE of ze Resins?¡¯ Both of them were unaware of the ze Resins deal that had been discussed prior to the wine appraisal.


    Miao Yi did some calctions in his mind for a while before he took out a case filled with zed Resins, grinding his teeth as he said, "I¡¯m selling it!"


    "Alright!" Luo Ping lit up with pleasure. He then quickly pulled over the two old men and started taking inventory of the case.


    There was no other choice. Once this case went back to Miao Yi¡¯s hands, what would he do if there was less inside than it had in the beginning?


    Not that Luo Ping didn¡¯t want to believe Miao Yi, but ording to the transaction rules of the Chamber of Commerce, once a transaction has been settled, it must be thoroughly verified. In addition to that, Luo Ping must not decide on the amount as he pleased¡ªhe still needed the Chamber of Commerce to deploy someone to verify it. Those people, for example, would be Uncle Hua and Old Dong who stood in front of them.


    Uncle Hua and Old Dong were speechless when they saw a half-filled case of brightly-colored zed Resins in front of them. They couldn¡¯t help gazing back at Miao Yi, unable toprehend the fact that a mere Mountain Chieftain could garner so many valuable items at once. Damn it all, the total pots of bejeweled nectars were in the ten thousands, whereas the ze Resins all came in onerge case...


    Both of them then turned to look at Luo Ping. Under normal circumstances, no one would treat a Mountain Chieftain as a big client. They were wondering how this kid was able to score such a big deal. It looked like themision he would earn this time would be massive!


    When the amount tallied to the previous quantity, the three of them teamed up once again and wrote down another proof of receipt and handed it over to Miao Yi.


    Luo Ping immersed himself in his calctions once more as he held a jade archive in his hand, "The ze Resins are valued at 83,475,000 Gold Crystals. The spiritual wines are valued at 867,110,000 Gold Crystals, bringing the total to 950,585,000 Gold Crystals. Brother Miao wants to buy one hundred and fifty Crystalline Obsidians, so 300 million Gold Crystals will be deducted. Brother Miao, I will now call someone to send one hundred and fifty Crystalline Obsidians and the remaining bnce of 650,585,000 Gold Crystals here."


    Miao Yi waved his hand and said, "No rush. I still have to buy some more things."


    Luo Ping¡¯s eyes lit up. Even though it was the same kind of transaction, he would still be able to draw out a percentage from all corresponding transactions. He quickly nodded and said, "Brother Miao, please tell us what you¡¯d like to buy. If the capital city is in short supply, we will help you search throughout the entire nation. If the Celestial Nation does not have them, I will find a way to ask the Chamber of Commerce to search beyond the borders. We will definitely think of the fastest possible way to satisfy your demands."


    Uncle Hua and Old Dong looked at him slyly after listening to his words. They were thinking that this youngster had scored big time, and that they should sternly teach him a lesson when they went back.


    Miao Yi muttered, "I want to buy some Second Grade Yao Cores."


    "No problem," Luo Ping said reflexively, "Yao Core is a strong currency. Ten thousand low-grade Orbs of Will will amount to one piece of Yao Core. You will lose nothing with this kind of deal."


    Miao Yi was well-aware of this market price. The Orbs of Will and Yao Cores were both the strongest forms of currency in the world of cultivation.


    The gradeless Yao Core could only amount to a piece of low-grade Orb of Will; by turning it to a First Grade Yao Core, the price would immediately increase a hundredfold, valuing at one hundred pieces of low-grade Orbs of Will. On the other hand, a Second Grade Yao Core would yield a hundred times more than a First Grade, amounting to ten thousand pieces of low-grade Orbs of Will. The Third Grade would continue to yield a hundred times more than the previous grade, resulting in the value of one million low-grade Orbs of Will. Whoever could turn it to a Fourth Grade Yao Core would be able to yield one hundred million Orbs of Will in a sh.


    There was no helping the fact that these amounts could increase in such a ruthless way. Take for example the Third Grade Yao Core: only those who were able to kill a Purple Lotus Yao cultivator would be able to obtain them. A living Purple Lotus cultivator would be worth way more than just one million low-grade Orbs of Will. Only after they perished and were devoid of life would it be possible to assign such a price to them. After all, the dead could never be valued in the same way as those alive¡ªit wouldn¡¯t make any sense.


    Miao Yi said, "Use the crystals to buy them."


    He didn¡¯t have that many Orbs of Will with him. He had squandered his fortune by selling a great deal of items in exchange for crystals, all for the sake of buying those items.


    "You want to use Gold Crystals to buy them, I see!" Luo Ping sighed and let out a bitterugh, "Brother Miao, you know this too. Normally, the market value for one low-grade Orb of Will will amount to 1,000 Gold Crystals. One Second Grade Yao Core worth ten thousand low-grade Orbs of Will will have a market value of nearly 10 million Gold Crystals. But if you want to buy it now¡ªording to the current market price¡ªone Second Grade Yao Core will require 20 million Gold Crystals!"


    That was twice the initial amount!


    "WHAT!?" Miao Yi shot him a re and roared furiously, "Isn¡¯t your Chamber of Commerce a little too shady? That¡¯s twice the original amount. Isn¡¯t this embezzlement?"


    "Brother Miao, listen to me." Luo Ping wasn¡¯t angry at all as he waved his hands in response. "We aren¡¯t trying to short-change you deliberately, but the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade ising soon. Many participants have been rushing to purchase Yao Cores and the like for the sake of their own protection. Not only in the Celestial Nation, but the other five nations who have to participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade are experiencing shortages in their supplies too. With that said, the price will naturally skyrocket. It¡¯s considered cheap if you buy them now. If we wait until the moment when all the participants in the candidate list are announced, I fear that the price will only soar, I..."


    Luo Ping suddenly froze in mid-sentence, seemingly having a revtion of the situation. He stared at Miao Yi with wide eyes and cried out, "Brother Miao, you¡¯re not going to participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade too, are you?"


    In that moment, he seemed to have understood why Miao Yi was rushing to sell his items.


    Uncle Hua and Old Dong were also gazing at Miao Yi thoughtfully.


    Miao Yi knew he couldn¡¯t hide it any longer after his intentions had been exposed. He nodded slightly, implicitly admitting to the truth of the matter.


    He looked a little pale. Luo Ping¡¯s words were not good news to him. Based on the current situation, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t the only one who had squandered his fortune away in preparation to go to the Sea of Constetions. Wouldn¡¯t this mean that thepetitive strength by then would be a lot stronger and thereby more dangerous?


    "Brother Miao, I think it is better for you to think of ways to bail out instead." Luo Ping gave the advice with good intentions. He didn¡¯t want to lose such a big client either.


    Miao Yi snorted, "You think I¡¯m so willing to get myself killed? The superiors have already given their orders, and it was the Hall Master who personally put my name on the list. I have no other choice but to go. It is beyond my control."


    Luo Ping silently nodded his head, indicating that he understood the situation. He pondered for a while before saying, "I have looked into this before I came here. The one above South Edict Manor is the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall, and above him is Traversing Moon Pce." He turned toward Uncle Hua and asked, "Uncle Hua, aren¡¯t you familiar with the Pce Lord of Traversing Moon Pce? Why don¡¯t you go plead for Brother Miao and help him avoid this disaster?"


    Miao Yi was pleasantly surprised. He immediately gazed at Uncle Hua with anticipation.


    However, Uncle Hua¡¯s expression changed as he flew into a rage, "Luo Ping, are you toofortable with your life that you wish to be expelled from the Chamber of Commerce? Do you think such matters are something the Chamber of Commerce can simply meddle in?"


    He then turned toward Miao Yi to exin, "Mountain Chieftain Miao, it¡¯s not that we don¡¯t wish to help you, but the Chamber of Commerce has always taken care not to interfere with the internal affairs of the members of the system. We have been independent of each other as one is a trader in nature, and the other a martial force. You might even say that one is geared towards knowledge while the other towards military strength. The Chamber of Commerce does not participate in any matters of war, otherwise it can turn into an extremely sensitive matter when a strong martial force is assimted with the elevation of financial resources. Because of that, the two sides never mix with each other. Please forgive me for my powerlessness on this matter. Don¡¯t listen to the nonsense spewed by this brat, Luo Ping."


    When he was done, he gave a vicious re at Luo Ping. He surreptitiously reprimanded Luo Ping, "Do you like to be involved in this sort of thing?"


    Luo Ping had an awkward expression on his face. Even though he knew Uncle Hua was right, he also knew that sending his regards over and making a request for the sake of a Mountain Chieftain wasn¡¯t a big deal. However, Uncle Hua felt that there wasn¡¯t a need to go through with such a risky affair as he had no ties with Miao Yi whatsoever. On the other hand, if Luo Ping himself were to meet with a simr situation, Uncle Hua would definitely lend a hand to him.


    Luo Ping could only revert back to the original conversation, and he said, "Brother Miao, we definitely do not intend to rip you off. The current market price is just as we¡¯ve said."


    Miao Yi nced at Uncle Hua. He wouldn¡¯t beg for his help. Both of them were unfamiliar with each other to begin with. Uncle Hua had already exined the severity of the situation, so he knew that begging would be futile. He then nodded and said, "I appreciate the kindness Brother Luo has offered. Then we shall go ording to the market price."


    Luo Ping nodded, "How many Second Grade Yao Cores do you want?"


    Miao Yi held up a jade archive and made some calctions. He still had more than 650 million Gold Crystals avable. With more than 30 million Gold Crystals on hand, it would be enough to retain just a few million crystals. He could round up the sum and fork out 680 million crystals.


    With this in mind, he then said, "Give me thirty-three Second Grade Yao Cores and one hundred First Grade Yao Cores."


    His heart bled at these words. Under normal circumstances, he could have bought twice the quantity. But now, his fortune had already been halfway depleted. This was indeed a heavy wound. Anyone would feel awful if they were in his shoes.


    This was another big transaction. Luo Ping refreshed his mind and quickly held onto a jade archive to make his calctions, "ording to the current market price, one Second Grade Yao Core will cost 20 million Gold Crystals. Thirty-three pieces will be 660 million Gold Crystals. One First Grade Yao Core is worth 200,000 Gold Crystals, and one hundred pieces will amount to 20 million Gold Crystals. Altogether, the total is 680 million Gold Crystals... Brother Miao, with the surplus from your side, you still have to pay about 30 million Gold Crystals. Do you want to take a look?"


    Miao Yi waved his hand and replied, "Go ahead. I have cash on hand to pay the difference."


    "There¡¯s another thing that I first need to rify with Brother Miao. The Yin Core, Inner Core, and Yao Core have the same effect, thus their price is the same. In case supplies are insufficient, what would Brother Miao think if I were to use the other two as substitutes?" When Luo Ping mentioned that point, Miao Yi was visibly shocked. Seeing that expression, he quickly added, "Like I said before, the Yao Core is in high demand at this point. I¡¯m only afraid in the off-chance that it won¡¯t be enough. Of course, if Brother Miao insists on a Yao Core, then we will definitely think of something to amass them."


    This wasn¡¯t a problem. Yao cultivators had Yao Cores inside them; Ghost cultivators had Yin Cores; and Devil cultivators were called as such because they had cultivated the so-called ¡®evil techniques¡¯ that had gone beyond the scope of ordinary human cultivators. Like demonic ghosts, they could also form cores inside their body, which led them to be seen as a different species. This was why they were seen as devils, because Devil cultivators could also form Inner Cores in their body.


    Killing Ghost cultivators could yield Yin Cores; killing Yao cultivators could yield Yao Cores; and the result of killing Devil cultivators could yield an Inner Core. If an ordinary cultivator were to fall into either of their hands, they could use the demonic arts to refine and condense the cultivation base of an ordinary cultivator into an Inner Core, killing the cultivator and seizing the Inner Core in the process.


    Human cultivators were used to utilizing Yao Cores only because the demon form manifested when controlling a transcendent artifact was more easily eptable in their minds.


    Miao Yi considered it for a while before he gave a nod and said, "As long as the grade is about the same, then it¡¯s fine."

 Chapter 305: A Done Deal

    Chapter 305: A Done Deal


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Seeing that Miao Yi didn¡¯t have any other particr requests, Luo Pingughed, "Rest assured, Brother Miao. The Chamber of Commerce will be sure to deliver your order over as soon as possible."


    Miao Yi nodded and took twenty million crystals out of his storage ring on the spot. Then, he drew out the ount records of the funds he had previously stored in the Chamber of Commerce and had Luo Ping transfer another ten million over.


    Since all the money was already prepared, there was nothing else to be said. After he was finished with the procedures, Luo Ping asked again, "Does Brother Miao still require anything else?"


    Of course Miao Yi still had things he wanted. He wanted to obtain a third grade transcendent artifact, but a single Third Grade Yao Core was already worth a million Orbs of Will. Even if he piled together all the things he had sold in this transaction, he wouldn¡¯t be able to exchange them for a single Third Grade Yao Core.


    Regardless, as Yao Ruoxian told him, even if he had a third grade transcendent artifact, he wouldn¡¯t be able to control it with his cultivation.


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly and he shook his head.


    Luo Ping nodded, then immediately turned to Uncle Hua and Old Dong with cupped fists, "Uncle Hua. Old Dong. I will have to trouble you both to make another trip and deliver Brother Miao¡¯s goods over posthaste."


    The two nodded in acknowledgement.


    After the discussions were over, the four who had been cooped up in the silent quarters for around the past twenty days finally came out.


    Both Uncle Hua and Old Dong didn¡¯t exchange pleasantries with anyone and immediately flew off after stepping out of the living room.


    Luo Ping and Senior Liu decided to stay in Mount Calming Sea for the time being while they waited for the other two to deliver over the goods that Miao Yi ordered. They would only leave once that was settled.


    Therge gate that was so tightly guarded all this while was finally opened. Luo Ping walked out beside Miao Yi engaging in friendly banter.


    At the pavilion outside, Wen Fang could tell from a single nce at the wholly cheerful expression on Luo Ping¡¯s face that he had earned arge sum. She was absolutely envious.


    Miao Yi was surprised to see Wen Fang. ¡®It¡¯s been so many days, yet this woman is still here? She sure has grit. Alright. I suppose I could offer her a few business deals if the opportunity presents itself.¡¯


    Tian Qingfeng had been standing guard just outside the gate. He stepped forward and reported, "Milord. Master has brought the School of Blue Jade disciples over."


    ¡®Tong Renmei personally brought the men over?¡¯ Only after asking did Miao Yi find out that Tong Renmei had arrived since a long time ago. However, Miao Yi had been cooped up in the silent quarters negotiating his business deal all this while. Everyone else couldn¡¯t reach him either. Even so, Tong Renmei was quite patient and waited all this while.


    Miao Yi immediately said, "Quick. Ask them toe over."


    Soon after, with his chalk-white hair and youthfulplexion, Tong Renmei came over with quick strides under Tian Qingfeng¡¯s escort.


    "Brother Luo. Please make yourselves at home for now. I have guests to attend to." Miao Yi informed Luo Ping.


    "No trouble." Luo Ping smiled and nodded. Together with Senior Liu, they brushed past Tong Renmei as he approached.


    Miao Yi¡¯s fists were already cupped as he said, "My apologies. I didn¡¯t realize that Elder Tong had personallye. I hope Elder Tong will forgive me for the wait."


    "The Mountain Chieftain¡¯s affairs are of grave importance. I wouldn¡¯t dare to hold it against you." Tong Renmei very courteously replied with cupped fists.


    Not only had Miao Yi¡¯s status soared, just the fact that he helped so many of the School of Blue Jade disciples rise up to their new positions was enough to cause the entire School to go abuzz with excitement. This was why Tong Renmei had personallye over to congratte Miao Yi on his promotion on behalf of the School of Blue Jade.


    He never expected that Miao Yi would be too upied to attend to guests as soon as he arrived. Not to mention, Tian Qingfeng secretly informed him that Miao Yi had a few Red Lotus realm friends over. Tong Renmei didn¡¯t dare to interrupt them, and neither did he let his patience run short and leave. He stubbornly persisted in waiting for about twenty days in Mount Calming Sea. At the same time, he made arrangements to improve the gift meant to congratte Miao Yi on his promotions by a few notches.


    Just moments ago, he noticed the two Red Lotus experts flying off and couldn¡¯t help being astonished. He never expected Miao Yi to be acquainted with individuals of such caliber.


    Since Miao Yi had such an impressive background, at this rate, it seemed like the day when Mountain Chieftain Miao would be a distinguished Manor Head was all but a matter of time.


    With such thoughts in his mind, Tong Renmei obviously felt the need to cling onto such a reliable backer as soon as he could. If he didn¡¯t do it now, it would be toote once the other person was promoted.


    Miao Yi invited him inside to take a seat while Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er served tea. Tong Renmei immediately stood up and cupped his fists, "Please don¡¯t trouble yourselves, Elder Auntie. Little Auntie."


    These two women were Miao Yi¡¯s closest aides. After all, hadn¡¯t Xiong Xiao ended up like he did precisely because of a single personal handmaiden of his? It was obvious howpelling pillow talk could be. Tong Renmei obviously wouldn¡¯t dare to be discourteous.


    Once he sat back down, Tong Renmei took out a decorated box and presented it to Miao Yi. "Our Sect Master ordered me to offer Milord his congrattions for your promotion on behalf of the School of Blue Jade. This is but a small symbol of our sincerity."


    Miao Yi nced at the box and realized that it was filled with over ten different types of spiritual herbs overflowing with rich spiritual aura. He didn¡¯t have the eye for these kinds of things, so he couldn¡¯t tell if they were good or bad. However, since the other party dared to show it off in front of his face, it shouldn¡¯t be a simple gift. He courteously replied, "Such avish gift."


    He was a poor man right now, so he obviously wouldn¡¯t reject if gifts were sent his way. Giving a nod, he epted it. Qian¡¯Er immediately came over and brought it away.


    Then, Tong Renmei handed a jade archive over, "These are the men that Milord requested. I have personally brought them over."


    "How could I have troubled Elder Tong to personally make the trip for something so trivial?" Miao Yi said courteously, taking the jade archive. Seeing that there weren¡¯t any problems after reading through it, he approved it on the spot then handed it to Xue¡¯Er. "Send this over to South Edict Manor immediately to request the Manor Head¡¯s approval."


    "Understood!" Xue¡¯Er acknowledged the order and brought the jade archive away.


    After that the two spoke for a while. As the Chief Elder, it wouldn¡¯t be too good for Tong Renmei to be away from the School of Blue Jade for too long. Since he already met Miao Yi, it wouldn¡¯t be wise for him to continue staying much longer, so he was about to take his leave.


    The prestigious Chief Elder of the School of Blue Jade personally came all this way. As the host, Miao Yi naturally had to do his part and invite Tong Renmei to stay for a banquet personally hosted by himself, before letting Tong Renmei go.


    After he sent Tong Renmei off, Miao Yi sent orders for Yan Xiu to be summoned. Then, asked him about the recent situation of the various Caves.


    As he expected, things were not very peaceful in the various Caves. The disciples from the three major sects weren¡¯t very willing toply with orders. Although they could do nothing directly before a Blue Lotus realm Cave Master, they still caused their respective Cave Masters trouble under the guise of obedience, given the Cave Masters¡¯ck of experience in overseeing a single domain.


    Originally, Miao Yi only needed to keep an eye on situations like these and nothing more. His forces had greatly expanded already and he needed to manage a million followers in this vastnd. He couldn¡¯t do everything himself; he would exhaust himself to death that way. All he needed to do was oversee the overall state of affairs. It was also necessary for him to let go and train those working under him.


    However, he wanted to stabilize Mount Calming Sea as soon as possible right now. To do so, he had no choice but to directly interfere in the affairs of his subordinates and mediate between the two factions.


    After he understood the situation of his subordinates, he immediately ordered Yan Xiu to bring the twenty School of Blue Jade disciples that Tong Renmei had brought over.


    After meeting those disciples and giving them their instructions, he immediately wrote out an official decree and handed it over to them. They were ordered to report to the Caves in need of manpower as soon as possible and assist the Cave Masters in stabilizing the situation. At the same time, he was transferring the more troublesome members of each Cave over to his side. Simply put, he was swapping those members out with these disciples.


    Once those troublesome members were at Mount Calming Sea, against a bunch of Blue Lotus experts like Tian Qingfeng and the rest, they wouldn¡¯t be able to stir up any trouble even if they wanted to.


    Miao Yi also wanted to strengthen the forces of Zhou Huan and the rest. He couldn¡¯t oppress them to the point of no relief. It wouldn¡¯t be wise to allow Tian Qingfeng and the other School of Blue Jade disciples to monopolize Mount Calming Sea. Otherwise, his informationwork would be at risk of being manipted. There was merit in having an opposing force with regards to the stability of Mount Calming Sea.


    As such, the twenty men that had just reached Mount Calming Sea immediately departed on their dragon steeds once again.


    Not long afterwards, the City Lord of Mount Calming Sea¡¯s vassal city arrived in a horse-drawn carriage, bearing arge pile of gifts for the newly appointed Mountain Chieftain.


    Upon noticing the endless flow of peopleing and going from Mount Calming Sea, Luo Ping and Wen Fang, who had been staying over for the time being, realized that Miao Yi was practically upied day in and day out. There wasn¡¯t time for him to entertain them at all. They couldn¡¯t help but sigh to themselves, ¡®So being a Mountain Chieftain and overseeing a single domain is such a taxing upation! It seems like it isn¡¯t at all easy to manage one¡¯s territory ...¡¯


    South Edict Manor ¡ª Miao Yi¡¯s name list already arrived. At almost the same time, another secret report came in as well.


    Yang Qing paced around inside the pavilion. He came to the railing and leaned on it, silently gazing into the distance.


    He had spies in Mount Calming Sea, and already received secret reports on the recent influx of Red Lotus experts into Mount Calming Sea. He was deeply astonished and wary. He didn¡¯t know anything regarding the identities of those Red Lotus experts, why they had cooped themselves up with Miao Yi in his silent quarters for over twenty days beforeing out, and how Miao Yi became acquainted with these Red Lotus experts.


    Before, he was still rather puzzled why an esteemed Suppressing Second Hall Master would personally draft Miao Yi into the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. ¡®If I were to base my deductions off the current situation, could it be that the Hall Master have realized something beforehand?¡¯


    Once he approved the name list sent by Miao Yi, Yang Qing personally wrote out another jade archive, and handed it to Qing Ju. "Send this to Elder Wu of the School of Imperial Beasts."


    Meanwhile in Mount Calming Sea, Uncle Hua and Old Dong didn¡¯t make Miao Yi wait too long and quickly returned the next day.


    They moved back into the silent quarters and continued their meeting in private.


    After Miao Yi inspected the goods, he confirmed that not a single piece was missing from the one hundred and fifty urns of Crystallized Obsidian that the two sent over. The thirty-three Second Grade Yao Cores, and one hundred First Grade Yao Cores were also of decent quality.


    Miao Yi was somewhat surprised. Luo Ping had informed him earlier that there was a chance that Yin Cores and Inner Cores might be used as substitutes instead. It seemed like the other party was trustworthy after all. He had tried his best to gather up as many Yao Cores as he could for Miao Yi.


    Now both sides of the bargain wereplete. The four of them each created a proof of receipt. Thus, this business deal was finally done.


    The four left the silent quarters and Luo Ping, who had been staying here for several days now, finally announced his leave.


    Miao Yi was also aware that Luo Ping had been away from the capital city for too long and didn¡¯t try to make him stay longer. He escorted everyone to the courtyard and watched as they flew off.


    Just after he sent them off, a gloomy voice could be heard from the pavilion, "Are you free, Big Brother?"


    "Ah..." Miao Yi turned around and saw a beautiful girl pouting her lips as she walked over. He didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry as he said, "Wen Fang. Do you not have to attend to your business deals back in South Edict Manor anymore?"


    Wen Fang feigned anger and said, "I can¡¯t believe you still have the gall to mention this, Big Brother. You¡¯re so cruel. You knew that I am in the trade as well, but you didn¡¯t even think to take care of your Little Sister for such a major transaction. Even if it¡¯s a minor deal from Big Brother, I think it would be worth it even if I don¡¯t attend to my business deals in South Edict Manor for a year."


    The business deal he justpleted with Luo Ping was a rather substantial one indeed. After a bout of sales and purchases, Luo Ping had closed a deal worth almost 200 million Gold Crystals. Even without mentioning themission he would gain, a deal of this proportion alone would be enough for the Chamber of Commerce to promote Wen Fang to the major city in Suppressing Second Hall if she was the one toplete it. Then, she wouldn¡¯t have to set up shop in this destend.


    The more deste thend, the worse it was for one¡¯s future!


    Miao Yi noticed this woman quite liked to act as if they were very familiar with one another, and she was rather thick-skinned as well, inevitably pulling their rtionship closer. If a stranger who didn¡¯t know any better heard this, they would definitely think the two were actual siblings. Even Miao Yi didn¡¯t know how he should respond to that.


    Miao Yi awkwardly rubbed his nose andughed dryly, "It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to take care of you. But your South Edict Manor branch is a little too small. I¡¯m just afraid you won¡¯t be able to handle it."

 Chapter 306: Are Those Wines That Expensive?

    Chapter 306: Are Those Wines That Expensive?


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡¯Sure enough, it was a big transaction!¡¯ Wen Fang felt hatred gnawing at her, and said, "Big Brother has severely looked down on other people. Even though our branch in South Edict Manor is small, it¡¯s still a branch of the Chamber of Commerce. As long as you hand over your transaction to your Little Sister, I can mobilize our resources just as well. It¡¯ll be no different than that Luo Ping. But you won¡¯t even give your Little Sister so much as a chance. In any case, even if you are afraid that I won¡¯t be able to handle it, you can at least leave something small for me to look forward to. It¡¯s such a pity, especially after Little Sister made those fine pastries and came such a long way to see you. You are so ungrateful."


    Miao Yi was speechless. ¡®Since when did youe to see me? Wasn¡¯t poaching another person¡¯s business your true intention?¡¯


    Some things were not appropriate for Miao Yi to say. For example, the matters of ten thousand pots of wine. ¡®If Luo Ping hadn¡¯t utilized his personal connections to find someone to appraise them, Luo Ping himself wouldn¡¯t know how to price them, either. If you, Wen Fang, were to take over, these wines might have been kept away and continued to be served to Yao Ruoxian as a mouthwash. It would be weird if you were able to do the same thing as Luo Ping did.¡¯


    Of course, those words could only be thought inside his head. He remained apathetic as he said, "Haha, next time. I will definitely find you next time."


    Wen Fang lit up immediately. She took the opportunity and cut to the chase, "Big Brother, you said it yourself. You must not deceive Little Sister for her ignorance or make a fool out of her. I will take it seriously."


    "I will remember that," Miao Yi chuckled.


    Unexpectedly, Wen Fang held out her pale pinky finger in front of his face, causing Miao Yi to lean his head back slightly. He asked, "What¡¯s this for?"


    Wen Fang beckoned her pinky finger at him and said, "Let¡¯s pinky swear on it. You must abide by your promise, and you are not allowed to go back on it."


    Feeling pressured by her forcefulness, Miao Yi helplessly extended his pinky finger and sped it with hers to make the promise. He noticed that her skin felt good to the touch, but this situation felt like he was ying house with a child instead.


    Miao Yi could not help but sigh at such actions, "I say, Wen Fang, you¡¯ve even managed to conduct business in such a state. The people at the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce are fools for not putting you in a higher position."


    "If you don¡¯t want this Little Sister¡¯s potential to diminish, then you as the Big Brother should provide some assistance, right?" Wen Fang giggled after she loosened her grip from their locked fingers, "I see that you¡¯re quite busy. Then I shouldn¡¯t disturb you anymore. Little Sister will go back, but I¡¯ll pay my respects to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er first."


    After paying her respects to the twodies, she went outside the residence. She smiled at Miao Yi, and reminded him once again, "Big Brother. Little Sister will wait for your news at South Edict Manor. If you make Little Sister wait too long, don¡¯t me me foring to your doorstep again and disturb you."


    Feeling unconcerned, Miao Yi nodded his head and chuckled. In his mind, he was thinking that he had finally sent this woman away from his residence.


    As Wen Fang turned around and left, the beautiful smile on her face gradually became strained, and then bitter. However, she quickly collected herself and put on a determined look, believing that she would seed if she just kept on working hard. She would not be warming the bench at South Edict Manor forever, and she would not be constantly looked down by others...


    After Miao Yi had swiftly settled his misceneous duties, the general situation of Mount Calming Sea had finally been resolved. It was only then that Miao Yi went into the depths of the mountain with Qian¡¯Er together.


    The mountain was quiet and still, with the asional sounds of birds singing around the old tree vines. Qian¡¯Er took the lead in front, wearing an innocent and charming smile. The mountain paths were not difficult to walk on for cultivators such as themselves. But in spite of that, Miao Yi sometimes needed to extend his hand and attentively hold her delicate waist as he followed from behind.


    Ever since he was assigned to Mount Calming Sea, Miao Yi hadn¡¯t seen or met up with Yao Ruoxian once. He only knew that Yao Ruoxian was hiding deep in the mountains, but his exact hiding spot remained unknown to Miao Yi. Moreover, the hiding location was very far away from Mount Calming Sea because the number of troops there wasrger. If he were to hide somewhere closer, he would certainly be easily exposed.


    Both of them finally arrived at the outskirts of a cave that was situated on a perilous peak. They stood at the entrance and saw Yao Ruoxian writing and drawing on the stone walls.


    Qian¡¯Er shouted with a clear voice, "Master, we havee to see you."


    "Haha, you¡¯vee¡ª" Yao Ruoxian turned around to look and saw that Miao Yi hade as well. His expression immediately turned stiff, and then pretended he hadn¡¯t seen him as he continued to stroke his beard with one hand, while using the other to draw on the stone wall.


    Qian¡¯Er wanted to say something more but was stopped by Miao Yi. He signaled at her to wait for him outside of the cave entrance. He then went in all by himself and said, "Senior Yao, I came here to take back my mantids."


    Yao Ruoxian turned around and gave him a cold stare, "You are going to die soon. What do you still need these worldly possessions for?"


    Miao Yi knew that he was talking about his imminent journey to the Sea of Constetions. He replied with a chuckle, "If I die, you won¡¯t be able to control these mantids either."


    "Trying to provoke me, kid?" He casually tossed away the stone from his hand and walked towards the stone chair with his hands behind him. He watched a bunch of mantids lying on top of the crystal coins to nibble on them, and he said, "Just say what you want to say and get on with it. Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know what you mean when you sent those two girls to leak that information to me."


    "Senior is indeed clever." Miao Yi walked behind him and swept a nce at the little fellows on the stone chair. He then continued, "Help me to refine a set of protective transcendent artifacts."


    "There¡¯s no problem in refining the artifacts. That is my profession." Yao Ruoxian extended his arm and said, "Give me the materials."


    Miao Yi swung his arm and piled up one hundred and fifty urns of Crystalline Obsidians on the ground. He ced a wooden case on top of the pile and opened it, revealing one hundred neatly arranged First Grade Yao Cores inside it, with thirty-three pieces of Second Grade Yao Cores ced at the top of the case.


    Yao Ruoxian was stunned at what he saw inside the wooden case. He then picked up a Crystalline Obsidian to examine it. Clearly surprised, he said, "How did you stumble on such a fortune this time?"


    "I¡¯m now poor as dirt. How can I even be rich?" Miao Yiughed bitterly, "These are the things I¡¯ve bought by selling off all my assets."


    As he said that, the little mantids on the stone chair started buzzing around and flew towards the Yao Cores inside the wooden case. Yao Ruoxian swung his arm and swiftly stored them inside the storage ring. He turned around and said with suspicion, "The ones who flew back and forth from Mount Calming Sea were people from the Chamber of Commerce? Did you sell them the Glorious Star immortal herb?"


    Yao Ruoxian had already thoroughly checked this kid¡¯s entire fortune. Besides selling off the Glorious Star immortal herb, he couldn¡¯t think of any other way Miao Yi could have earned enough cash to purchase these items.


    Miao Yi shook his head and said, "No. Ultimately, that item will be crucial in protecting my life when I go to the Sea of Constetions. How could I sell it? That is, unless I don¡¯t want to live anymore."


    Yao Ruoxian nodded his head slightly. He thought that it made sense. However, he stroked his beard as his eyes darted across the pile. ¡®It looks like this kid found another way to gain his fortune!¡¯


    With a dry cough and a serious expression, he asked, "What kind of item do you want me to refine?"


    Miao Yi pondered for a while. The more prepared he was for his journey to the Sea of Constetions, the better his chances of survival. He then forced himself to take out fifty pieces of First Grade Yao Cores and deposited them into the case containing the other Yao Cores.


    He¡¯d already had these Yao Cores from the beginning, most of which he¡¯d retrieved from the Sea of Constetions. In the past few years, he¡¯d used them to refine transcendent artifacts and replenish the artifacts¡¯ energy for battles, and now only a hundred remained. And now, he had to brace himself to fork out half of the remaining Yao Cores. He was going to hold on to the other half for his time at the Sea of Constetions just to replenish the energy of his transcendent artifacts. He had truly poured in everything he had for the sake of these preparations.


    Miao Yi let out a deep breath, and pointing a finger at a few items, he said, "Help refine a set of Second Grade transcendent artifacts for me and Charcoal. Use the rest of the Yao Cores to refine various protective charms for me."


    "Seems like you¡¯re really going all out for the sake of protecting your own life. To think you¡¯re willing to pay anything to refine single-use items such as these. These charms are going to cost a lot to make." Yao Ruoxian chuckled, "Aren¡¯t you missing a few materials to make them?"


    Miao Yi swung his hand again and took out a pile of skins peeled from the seventy-two Fort Masters. These were all materials needed to refine charms. He had been keeping them with him, and now he could finally clear them out from his storage ring. He then asked, "Is this enough?"


    Yao Ruoxian beckoned to him and said with a look of a dishonest tradesman, "I need a lot of ze Resins to refine these many things!"


    He knew that Miao Yi still had quite a lot of ze Resins with him. If he didn¡¯t extort them from him now, when would he be able to do itter on?


    Miao Yi nonchntly replied, "I don¡¯t have them. I¡¯ve already sold it all."


    "Er..." Yao Ruoxian was shocked. He proceeded to dismiss that statement by saying, "It¡¯s fine if I use my own ze Resins. Just count them into my payment. You should just focus on my payment. I don¡¯t need much from you either, so just give me eight or nine billion Gold Crystals."


    "I don¡¯t have them. I¡¯m poor to the point that I can¡¯t even fork out ten million for you." Miao Yi retained a calm expression on his face.


    Yao Ruoxian chuckled coldly, and responded, "Kid, are you kidding me? You want me to refine so many things in one sitting, yet not only are you not paying me, you¡¯re expecting me to fork out a share as well. Did you take the wrong medicine?"


    "I really don¡¯t have any cash left. I will have to owe you for now."


    "You¡¯re kidding me. With your cultivation base, no one knows if you¡¯lle back alive from that sted ce. What if you died with nothing intact, who will I collect my payment from?" Yao Ruoxian extended his arm and continued, "Don¡¯t y dumb with me. Give me my payment first, and I will give you your refined equipment. I don¡¯t take credit."


    Miao Yi flipped over his hand and gave it to him. However, it wasn¡¯t his payment, but a jade archive.


    "What is the meaning of this?" Yao Ruoxian was suspicious. He invoked his transcendence energy to examine the archive. It was only then that he realized that this was a recent proof of receipt of the transaction between Miao Yi and the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce. He continued to read it and finally understood that Miao Yi had really sold all those ze Resins to them.


    When he saw the selling price of those wines, a wonderfully interesting expression crossed his face. But soon after that, his expression slowly became rigid, as if he had realized something. He meekly lifted up his head and asked, "Are those wines that expensive?"


    There was hardly any strength in those words. He seemed to recall that he¡¯d drunk quite arge amount of them!


    Miao Yi said, surprised, "Can it be that Senior doesn¡¯t know that he was drinking spiritual wines? Such expensive spiritual wine was easily worth tens of thousands of Gold Crystals for a single pot. Did you see the most expensive one on that list? I was afraid that Senior would be fussy, and that you would be unhappy if I gave you anything of poor quality. For the sake of ttery, most of the wines that I¡¯ve given you were the ones that cost 1,500,000 Gold Crystals per pot. You¡¯ve drunk more than five thousand pots in thest few years... Senior, what¡¯s with that expression? My god! Senior, you really didn¡¯t know about these wines? Are you purposely trying to feign ignorance for the kindness I have shown you? I didn¡¯t even make you pay, so you shouldn¡¯t upset me like this, right?"


    To be honest, Miao Yi didn¡¯t know that the spiritual wines he had given to Yao Ruoxian had some sort of grading in the sales ranking either. He surmised that these wines had both bad and good rankings. The five thousand pots he¡¯d mentioned to Yao Ruoxian earlier wasn¡¯t true, but an amount of three thousand pots might be possible. However, Miao Yi believed that he would certainly not make a deliberate effort to remember how much he¡¯d drunk after he¡¯d treated those spiritual wines like mouthwash. Yao Ruoxian wouldn¡¯t be able to recall the exact amount either, even if Miao Yi added two thousand more into the number.


    "More than five thousand pots..." Yao Ruoxian face went nk. He really couldn¡¯t remember how much he¡¯d drunk, but through some calctions and considering his frequent drinking during the years, a few thousand pots could be true despite the uncertainty of the exact number.


    A receipt of more than five thousand pots, more than 1,500,000 Gold Crystals per pot...


    Yao Ruoxian shivered with shock as he made a quick calction. He had gulped down more than seven billion Gold Crystals into his belly. For real?

 Chapter 307: Ship Construction Task

    Chapter 307: Ship Construction Task


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Yao Ruoxian looked through the prices listed on the jade archive again and again. He couldn¡¯t believe what Miao Yi had told him, that the price of a single pot of wine was worth 1,500,000 crystals. If that were true, the prices of these wines were quite startling indeed.


    With all the wine he¡¯d been drinking all these years, Yao Ruoxian almost broke out in a cold sweat from the thought of the total price. Realizing that he had been too wasteful, he felt an unbearably sharp pang in his heart.


    He was partly distraught by the fact that he¡¯d drunk so much money away. But what was most distressful wasn¡¯t just that. He drank all that fine wine without a care in the world as if they were in water. It would have been fine if he¡¯d swallowed them all up into his stomach. Yet, he¡¯d carelessly chugged them away, and let them drip down the sides of his mouth as he did so.


    ¡®What a waste! How much money did I throw away just like that? I could have bought so many materials for refining transcendent artifacts with that money!¡¯


    His heart ached the more he thought about it. Yao Ruoxian ced a fist on his chest out of reflex, his face wincing in pain as he asked, "You¡¯re just messing around with me, aren¡¯t you, kid?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief as he replied, "Senior. You have the bill between me and the Chamber of Commerce in your hands. Do you think I could fake something like this? Take another look for yourself."


    "Say no more." Yao Ruoxian ced the jade archive back onto Miao Yi¡¯s palm. "I don¡¯t want to see it anymore."


    He turned to face the stone wall and took in deep breaths repeatedly. If he were to continue to look or hear another word about this matter, his heart would definitely ache terribly. His experiences were a little embarrassing to look back on. He¡¯d gone through a miserable time in his life when he was extremely poor and lonely. After hundreds of years of living as a miser, he¡¯d finally managed to pull through. He had never been so wasteful in his entire life. It was a new experience for him to be such a spendthrift. And his heart was bleeding terribly because of his failure. He wanted to hang himself now.


    His heart was aching? As the owner of those pots of wine, Miao Yi was the one whose heart was truly in pain. If he didn¡¯t make the other party aware of the severity of his mistake, then Miao Yi would be in even more pain. Because to do otherwise would be equivalent to dumping all that wine into the sea. And that would be even worse! Miao Yi continued to rub salt on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s wounds as he said, "Senior, let me calcte how much the wines you drank were worth. I¡ª"


    "¡ªYou shut up!" Yao Ruoxian abruptly turned around and pointed at Miao Yi¡¯s nose. He stomped his feet in anger and scolded, "Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner? Why didn¡¯t you tell me those wines were so expensive?"


    "I assumed you could tell that on your own."


    "As if! I¡¯m not some drunkard."


    "Fine, then! Let me put it differently. If I were to tell you from the start, do you think I¡¯d still have been able to keep those pots of wine?"


    "Uh..." Yao Ruoxian was slightly taken aback. He probably would have tried all sorts of ways to take as many of them as he could. However, he quickly came up with a response. This brat was questioning his integrity. Yao Ruoxian furiously bellowed, "Bullshit! Those wines weren¡¯t yours to begin with. You only obtained them through ughtering the original owners and taking it from them. Anyone who knows this should be eligible for a share of the wines. So what if I drank them for free? What can you do to me?"


    "Senior. If you wish to put it that way, then I have nothing to say."


    "Spare me your excuses. You¡¯re not some altruistic person, you brat. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re plotting. You¡¯re only telling me all this because you want to use those wines to cover the cost of me refining the transcendent artifacts for you. Keep dreaming, kid."


    With his hands behind his back, Miao Yi secretly made a beckoning gesture with his finger.


    Outside the cave, Qian¡¯Er immediately came in to stand beside Miao Yi. She stared at Yao Ruoxian with keen expectation in her eyes and shouted, "Teacher!"


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s expression twitched. He swept his arm and said, "The two of you are in cahoots with this act. I won¡¯t fall for it."


    Qian¡¯Er pleaded, "Teacher, if anything were to happen to Master in the Sea of Constetions, Xue¡¯Er and I wouldn¡¯t be able to continue living either. Master¡¯s enemies wouldn¡¯t let us go so easily."


    Yao Ruoxian instantly froze when he heard those words. He had been by himself for the majority of his life. He enjoyed Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s care andpassion very much, to the point where he felt the sensation of a family in them. He liked these two youngdies very much. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have offered to pass his cultivation art down to them in the first ce. Not to mention, he wouldn¡¯t try to pry good stuff from Miao Yi at every opportunity he could for their benefit either. After so many years, he¡¯d formed a deep bond with the two youngdies. He practically saw them as his own daughters.


    Evidently, this was one of the aspects about him that Miao Yi was trying to exploit.


    Even though Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t belong in the system, he knew how harsh it could be. If anything were to happen to Miao Yi, then as his personal handmaidens, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would definitely be the next ones to bear the brunt of his downfall.


    When he thought about all the pain and humiliation that the two youngdies might have to go through, Yao Ruoxian couldn¡¯t help trembling. He grit his teeth and said, "Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll bring you both away. It may not necessarily be a bad thing for the two of you if this brat were to die. You don¡¯t have to be a servant for the rest of your life just for his sake."


    "Teacher. Master is my man as well. The same goes for Xue¡¯Er. If anything were to happen to him, how could we just go into hiding without avenging him?"


    "Little girl, are you trying to make me mad?" asked Yao Ruoxian as he pointed at Qian¡¯Er¡¯s nose. His voice was quivering with rage. He then turned to point at Miao Yi and chided him, "Brat, are you still a man or not? How dare you use women for your own ends. Despicable!"


    Miao Yi smiled. He turned and pulled Qian¡¯Er into his embrace. Then he gently kissed her jade-like forehead.


    Qian¡¯Er was evidently unustomed to having such intimate acts of affection be witnessed by other people. She was embarrassed, yet happy at the same time. Yao Ruoxian instantly rolled his eyes at the sight. ¡®Daughters would never take your side once they grow up¡¯¡ªor so he was feeling at this moment.


    Like a grasshopper skipping on water, Miao Yi gave Qian¡¯Er a gentle peck. He then tapped her on the back and released her. "Go back for now."


    Qian¡¯Er still seemed like she had something to say as she looked at Yao Ruoxian. It seemed she was a little worried.


    "I¡¯ll talk things out with Senior Yao on my own!" Miao Yi nodded, gesturing for Qian¡¯Er to obey his instructions.


    Qian¡¯Er nodded, then turned around and left.


    Once Qian¡¯Er was far enough, Miao Yi turned back and said, "I know that Senior has always treated them both with kindness."


    "Don¡¯t change the subject. Whether I treat them kindly or not is my business. It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with you paying for my work or not. If you¡¯re a man, don¡¯t use them as your shield."


    "They are my women now."


    "So what? Rest assured, if you die, I will be sure to help them both find a dual-cultivation partner that¡¯s much better than you. So you can rest in peace."


    Miao Yi was unfazed as he waved his hand and said, "That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about. I am more concerned than you are with regards to their safety. The two of them are orphans. They were sent to the ¡®Manor of Merciful Hope¡¯ at a young age. Then they were chosen to be trained and finally sent to my side... What I¡¯m saying is, they don¡¯t have anyone they can rely on, so I want you to adopt them both as daughters."


    "Uh..." Yao Ruoxian was immediately excited. However, he quickly flew into a furious rage and said mockingly, "You¡¯re willing to do anything just to get me to refine some transcendent artifacts for you. You¡¯re more worthless than scum. In the end, you¡¯re still trying to take advantage of them. And to think how faithful they are to you."


    "Even if Senior were to help me refine a transcendent artifact, I still can¡¯t guarantee that I¡¯ll be able to make it back alive." Miao Yi gazed resolutely at Yao Ruoxian and firmly said, "The reason why I want Senior to adopt them as your daughters is because I wish to let you know that if I¡¯m unable to make it back alive, I hope that Senior will bring them away and keep them safe as an adoptive father. I have killed many people over the years, and I don¡¯t even know how many enemies I¡¯ve ended up making. They will have no chance of survival if they continue to stay here."


    "...." Yao Ruoxian was surprised to see that Miao Yi was really trying to entrust him with the two girls. He understood now why the brat had asked Qian¡¯Er to go back ahead without him... The rage on his face slowly dissipated and he coldly said, "You don¡¯t need to tell me that. Naturally, I will take care of them."


    "There¡¯s also one more person," Miao Yi added, "Yan Xiu! If I am unable to return, should he desire to continue staying within the administration, then let him. If he wishes to follow Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, then I will arrange for someone to help him erase his Immortal Record. I would like to trouble Senior to bring him along as well. It would be good to have him by your side; he could at least handle your menial tasks."


    "I¡¯m not listening to this nonsense." Yao Ruoxian looked very annoyed as he waved his hand and said, "This won¡¯t work against me either. I will not refine a transcendent artifact for you for free."


    With a flick of the wrist, he called one of the tiny mantids over. Right now, they had grown to be asrge as crabs from their original finger-sized bodies. The glint on their ws was already starting to reveal a vicious sharpness. Perhaps it was because they¡¯d ingested plenty of Gold Crystals that they had tints of gold around their carapace. A bright, golden hoop had formed around their rear ends as well.


    "In order to feed these tiny fellows, I have already used up all the Yao Cores in my possession. Yet they¡¯ve only grown to be this big. The material they excrete from ingesting crystal coins is perfect for refining transcendent artifacts. I will have much use for them. However, they are still too small, and the pace at which they ingest crystal coins and excrete the materials is still too slow. At this rate, I don¡¯t know how many years I¡¯ll have to wait. I am in need of an abundant supply of Yao Cores to bolster their growth rate. I want you to get as many Yao Cores as you can on your trip to the Sea of Constetions. That will be your payment to me for helping you refine your transcendent artifacts..."


    When he heard these words, Miao Yi smiled. It meant that Yao Ruoxian was agreeing to help him refine the transcendent artifacts...


    As soon as he descended the mountain and returned to his abode, Xue¡¯Er delivered the jade archive sent from South Edict Manor over to him.


    After reading through it, Miao Yi had Xue¡¯Er bring Yan Xiu over to show him the jade archive.


    Yan Xiu nodded after reading it and said, "The preparations for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade have begun."


    For the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, each Manor had to send out two participants, meaning that each Hall would send out twenty, each Pce would send out two hundred, and each Earthly Branch would send out two thousand participants. The numbers from all the twelve Earthly Branches coulde up to as many as twenty thousand participants. The various sects and schools were also required to send in participants. Add those together and the entire Celestial Nation would be sending out about thirty thousand participants.


    The other five nations were going through a simr situation. When the time came, the designated battlefield within the Sea of Constetions would be a chaotic war between one hundred and fifty thousand Yao, Devil, Ghost, and Human cultivators, each disying their individual prowess for survival. It was easy to imagine what sort of massacre that would be.


    But enough about this for now. Just the fact that the Celestial Nation would have to send thirty thousand cultivators over to the Sea of Constetions meant that they required arge number of ships that were capable of sailing long distances. After all, the participants were all beneath the Red Lotus realm, and were unable to fly. So a great number of long-distance ships would have to be constructed.


    Such a major construction was not something that could be easilypleted within a single ce in a few short years. In order to ensure that the work waspleted on time, construction would definitely be divided among the various coastal territories.


    Because there was a natural port situated within the domain of Mount Calming Sea, it was designated as one of the locations tasked with the construction of the ships. The port was given the task of constructing tenrge, long-distance ships. The orders from above stated that Mount Calming Sea must finish construction six months prior to the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, as the journey across the ocean would take a few months as well.


    If they failed toplete the task, they would surely be punished severely. When the time came, someone from the higher-ups would be sent over to check on their progress.


    The blueprints for therge ships, as well as the funding required, would be quickly sent over. The orders from South Edict Manor stated that Mount Calming Sea was to immediately organize the necessary manpower and begin preparations. Failure would not be tolerated.


    "Each ship would have to amodate the forces of a single Pce, which is to say, lodgings for two hundred people as well as their dragon steeds would need to be prepared. The size of the ship will undoubtedly be massive. Additionally, it needs to be very resistant to the wind and waves. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to find enough skilled artisans to finish constructing tenrge ships in time for the deadline. At least, not from East Arrival Cave alone." Miao Yi raised his head and looked at Yan Xiu, "What I¡¯m saying is that we should gather one hundred skilled artisans from the various cities to assist East Arrival Cave. What do you think?"


    Yan Xiu nodded, "It¡¯s doable. It should be enough with one thousand skilled artisans at work. If the number ofborers iscking, then it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for East Arrival Cave to fill in the gaps."

 Chapter 308: Adoptive Father

    Chapter 308: Adoptive Father


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    "Failure will not be tolerated in this matter. Otherwise, it will be very troublesome if the higher-upse investigating. I will leave the supervision to you. You will have to visit East Arrival Cave often. As for Mount Calming Sea..." Miao Yi turned to the two girls, "Whenever something happens, I want you to bring the two of them along and show them the ropes. Whenever you¡¯re not around, just let the two of them handle some of the affairs of Mount Calming Sea. It¡¯s high time for them to get to know these things as well."


    He didn¡¯t mention why he really wanted them to start learning of these matters. He was afraid that he may not return alive from the Sea of Constetions. With the two girls being raised like sheep since they were young, their survival capabilities within the cultivation realm was rather worrisome.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er both looked awkward, knowing that they hadn¡¯t been able to help Miao Yi with the major affairs and share his burdens.


    Yan Xiu looked at the two and nodded in acknowledgement.


    Miao Yi then ordered Yan Xiu to inform the East Arrival Cave Master of this matter as soon as possible. In the meantime, he sent word to the respective Cave Masters, requesting their assistance and began writing a response to South Edict Manor.


    After the spirit eagles were dispatched towards the various Caves, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er returned to find Miao Yi waving a jade archive in his hand, saying, "From this day onwards, I want you two to look through all the report that pass through Mount Calming Sea. Once you two have an idea on how to respond to each one, pass them to me. I will be asking for your opinions."


    "Understood!" The girls nervously acknowledged the order.


    The next day, South Edict Manor sent over someone bearing the blueprints for the construction of the ship and millions of Gold Crystals. Miao Yi was afraid something would go wrong, so he made a copy of the blueprint and held back half of the funding. The rest he had someone deliver it to Yan Xiu at East Arrival Cave.


    After he settled this issue, Miao Yi said to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, "Follow me, you two."


    The two followed him into the silent quarters. They were a little bashful, thinking that Miao Yi wanted to do it with them again. However, Miao Yi turned around and asked, "What do you two think of Senior Yao?"


    The two immediately realized they had been reading too deeply. Their faces flushed with embarrassment. Sharing a nce, they replied, "Even though Teacher¡¯s words may be harsh, he¡¯s actually very soft-hearted. He¡¯s actually a pretty good person."


    "I could tell that from the start." Miao Yi gave a nod and continued, "If I were to have you two acknowledge him as your adoptive father, would you be willing?"


    The two were surprised, wondering why Miao Yi wanted them to acknowledge Yao Ruoxian as their adoptive father. However, they still nodded and obeyed, "We will follow Master¡¯s arrangement."


    "Don¡¯t just follow my arrangement." Waving his hands, Miao Yi said, "These things can¡¯t be forced. It depends on your true feelings. Whether you¡¯re willing or not, it¡¯s fine. I wish to hear an honest answer."


    The two couldn¡¯t understand his intentions. Sharing a nce, then quipped, "We are not against it. We shall follow Master¡¯s arrangement."


    This evidently meant that they still didn¡¯t have a clear opinion on the matter. Miao Yiughed helplessly and said, "Alright then. I shall decide on this matter for you two."


    Once he exined everything, Miao Yi had the two girls prepare gifts. It wouldn¡¯t be good to go empty-handed.


    A few dayster, after the two had their gifts prepared, Miao Yi brought both girls to the mountains.


    Once they reached the cave that Yao Ruoxian had hidden himself away in, Miao Yi suddenly gave a loudugh and said, "Senior Yao. I have good news for you."


    Yao Ruoxian was stroking his beard and fiddling around with several Yao Cores. Without even raising his head, he sneered, "Come to take advantage of me, have you?"


    Miao Yi walked to his side and chuckled, "I have brought the two of them here. I asked them, and they said they are willing to acknowledge you as their adoptive father. Rest assured, I didn¡¯t force them. They are willing to do so themselves. The rest is up to you. Of course, I won¡¯t force you either. It all depends on whether you¡¯re willing or not. If you aren¡¯t willing, I will immediately bring them back. You can pretend as if nothing happened."


    "Ah... This..." The Yao Ruoxian who would always shout at Miao Yi as though it was second nature, was instantly startled and didn¡¯t know how to respond. He looked towards the two beautifuldies, then looked back at his slovenly self. He didn¡¯t know what he should say and was a nervous wreck.


    Miao Yi threw him a strange look, thinking, ¡¯Isn¡¯t this a little too extreme? Aren¡¯t you always arrogant?¡¯


    However, he could tell that the old man was willing to ept them. Miao Yi quickly gave the two girls a hint with a nod.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er immediately stepped forward and kneeled on the ground. With both hands, they each presented a gift and clearly said aloud, "Your daughter greets her Father."


    The gifts were not actually very expensive. One was a ck robe simr to the one Yao Ruoxian always wore, and the other was a pair of shoes. Both were handmade by the two girls.


    Miao Yi had this arranged. "The old man is richer than we are. We can¡¯t afford to give expensive gifts. It¡¯s fine as long as our intentions are conveyed."


    "Ah..." Yao Ruoxian¡¯s face was red and choked with emotions. He was restless and didn¡¯t know how to respond. He looked towards Miao Yi for help, as though asking him what he should do. Just then, it seemed like he had turned into an utterly clueless fool.


    "What are you stuttering for?" said Miao Yi. He pointed to the girls kneeling on the ground and said, "Are you willing to ept them or not? Say something!"


    "I¡¯m willing. I¡¯m willing." Yao Ruoxian finally managed to squeeze out the words, nodding his head enthusiastically.


    Miao Yi snickered, "Do you want them to keep on kneeling forever?"


    "Ah!" Yao Ruoxian cried out, and hurriedly stepped forward, grabbing the girls¡¯ arms and helping them up, "Oh my gracious daughters. Quickly stand up now, you two."


    The two girls were feeling a little shy. Lifting up the items in their hands, they said, "Father. Your daughters have prepared these clothes and shoes for you. Pray see if they fit."


    After that, they ced the items to the side, and walked up to Yao Ruoxian to help him take off the dirty, long-sleeved robe he was wearing. Then, they spread open the newly made ck robe and draped it on Yao Ruoxian.


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s jaws were quivering with emotion as he allowed the twodies to do as they pleased. Then, they helped him to the stone couch to sit and helped him take off the ragged shoes he was wearing before putting on the new pair of shoes for him.


    "Father. Why don¡¯t you stand up and see how they fit?" The two girls helped him stand up, and had him turn around to check if the gifts fit.


    Spinning around with his arms out, Yao Ruoxian fervently nodded, "Good... Very good..."


    Beside him, Miao Yi remarked, "Senior Yao. Even though these things are not costly, they were handmade by these two, piece by piece. It has great sentimental value! Just take a look at the neatness and intricacy of the needlework. Normal tailor shops would not be able to produce such quality. These were personally made by them and tailored to your exact measurements. They have followed me for so many years and not even I have ever had the opportunity to experience such care. Take another look at that perfect needlework. Isn¡¯t it more beautiful than the transcendent artifacts you refine?"


    The two girls were speechless and rolled their eyes at him. ¡¯What a tant lie. Weren¡¯t all your clothes personally tailored by the both of us as well?¡¯


    Miao Yi secretly hinted at the two of them to keep quiet. He had his own ns.


    "Yes, yes, yes..." said Yao Ruoxian, nodding fervently. He kept nodding as he tugged on his clothes and lifted his feet to look at his shoes.


    As his eyes continued to dart about, his eyes began to moisten and tears began falling. He raised his hand to wipe them but it was endless, as though his eyes were springs.


    Miao Yi and the girls were utterly lost for words. ¡¯Isn¡¯t this too extreme? He¡¯s actually so moved to the point of tears?¡¯


    The three of them couldn¡¯t possibly understand the experiences that Yao Ruoxian had gone through. As a disciple that was publicly humiliated, expelled and fallen from grace, he had to endure all kinds of hardship for a thousand years. How much pain had he suffered? How many had looked down on him and mocked him? Slovenly as he was, he had to live in hiding. Who then, had ever cared for him? The tenderness shown to him today struck the softest part of his heart. He would actually have two beautiful daughters, and his life would no longer be a lonesome one. His emotions were spiraling out of control.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were starting to panic as well and didn¡¯t know what they should do; they looked to Miao Yi for help. Yao Ruoxian was now their adoptive father. The two had been orphans since they were young, so acknowledging him as a father was quite important to them as well.


    However, Miao Yi simply made a dry cough. Taking advantage of Yao Ruoxian losing control of his emotions and his mind not being in the right ce, Miao Yi chose to strike while the iron was hot and said, "Senior Yao. Your two daughters brought you gifts. Don¡¯t you think you should reciprocate with one of your own as well? How about it? Didn¡¯t you manage to obtain a pair of third grade transcendent artifacts from the Sea of Constetions? Why don¡¯t you give one to each of them? I think that would be very suitable."


    "Alright, alright." Quickly wiping away his tears, Yao Ruoxian shook the storage bangle on his wrist and he took out two ck hoops, preparing to gift them to the girls.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes lit up instantly. Those were two third grade transcendent artifacts. Even a single one of them would be worth more than all the items he just sold. And what belonged to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would naturally belong to him as well.


    He quickly shot a nce at the girls to quickly receive it and not let Yao Ruoxian have any opportunity to take it back.


    The two girls were somewhat hesitant. It would be fine in the past, but Yao Ruoxian was now their adoptive father. Would it be appropriate to take advantage of their own father while his mind was clouded? With a pained expression in their eyes, they looked at Miao Yi as though pleading for him to stop doing such a thing.


    Miao Yi almost wanted to stomp his leg in anger when he saw their actions. Yao Ruoxian was the one who was always setting him up and taking away his possessions. It wasn¡¯t easy to find such an opportunity to return this grievance. How could he give it up?


    However, Yao Ruoxian had lived for a thousand years; he wasn¡¯t a fool either. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have lived to such an age. He had been secretly observing the actions of the three, and wanted to test whether or not the two little girls truly treated him as their father.


    Now that he had confirmed the stance of the girls, he realized that he hadn¡¯t misjudged them at all and couldn¡¯t help raising his head,ughing heartily without ceasing. After being alive for a thousand years, there was finally someone who truly cared about him and ced him in their hearts. His long life was not in vain after all. It was a trulyforting thought in his old age.


    Miao Yi and the girls stared at him with puzzled looks, unable to fathom what was going on in his head.


    Yao Ruoxian wiped his tears away and pointed at Miao Yi as he said to the girls, "My good daughters. This kid is no saint. He doesn¡¯t so much as blink when deceiving, robbing and killing others back in the Sea of Constetions. Don¡¯t let him bring us father and daughters apart."


    He knocked on the hoops in his hand, "Even though these two items are worth quite a sum of money, they are not suitable for you two at all. Don¡¯t worry. Later on, Father will be sure to help you two refine a fine set of transcendent artifacts as gifts. Father will never treat you both poorly."


    Miao Yi sucked in a breath of cold air, as something finally clicked in his head. He realized, ¡¯This old bastard has been acting all along. Damn it. What a convincing act. At his age, he¡¯s able to cry whenever he wants. Even I fell for it.¡¯


    Then, he looked on as Yao Ruoxian tucked the two third grade transcendent artifacts away, and he couldn¡¯t even grumble.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er looked weakly towards Miao Yi as though afraid he was going to me them. Seeing this, Yao Ruoxian mocked, "Why are you afraid of him? With me around, I¡¯d like to see him try to make things difficult for the both of you!"


    After that, Miao Yi immediately became an outsider, watching from the sidelines as the other three bonded as father and daughter.


    After staying for four whole hours, Miao Yi left with the two girls in tow.


    Once they were far enough away from the cave that Yao Ruoxian was secretly staying in, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er cautiously said, "Master..."


    Miao Yi knew what the two were worried about, so he waved his hand and said, "You two did nothing wrong. I was too anxious and almost fell for that old man¡¯s tricks. He¡¯s too cunning."

 Chapter 309: Yao Ruoxians Presents

    Chapter 309: Yao Ruoxian¡¯s Presents


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The twodies had been raised in a conservative environment, so they were still pure and innocent. They failed to see the internal struggle between Miao Yi and Yao Ruoxian. When they noticed that Miao Yi wasn¡¯t angry, they let out a sigh of relief.


    On the contrary, there was a trace of a smile on the corner of his lips.


    He didn¡¯t consider it a loss when he failed to obtain those two pieces of Third Grade transcendent artifacts. That old guy¡¯s background wasn¡¯t that simple. He was Sir Zi Yang, who was notorious throughout the world for refining transcendent artifacts!


    With the twodies having him as their dependent, Miao Yi was finally able to put his mind at ease.


    The twodies had acknowledged him as their adoptive father. It would be a joke if the old man tried to mention killing Miao Yi again. He should be asking his two daughters whether they were willing to let that happen or not.


    ¡¯ If I need to refine any transcendent artifacts in the future, I don¡¯t need to turn to him personally anymore... ¡¯


    Now in a good mood, Miao Yi immersed himself in a state of cultivation after he went back.


    One monthter, Elder Auntie Qing Mei rushed down from the South Edict Manor to personally check on the progress of the ship¡¯s construction. It was apparent that Yang Qing had considered this matter an important one.


    Qing Mei saw Miao Yi pouring his mind into his cultivation, and asked him about the progress in preparation of the ship¡¯s construction. In response, Miao Yi only told her that he had delegated that task to his subordinates to handle. Elder Auntie Qing Mei¡¯s expression turned unpleasant at the way he¡¯d handled the situation. She gave a stiff warning to Miao Yi and said, "Mountain Chieftain Miao, this matter must be managed from top to bottom. There must be no idents or mishaps, so I do hope you try to be more diligent about it. Do not disappoint the Manor Head and fail to meet the expectations he has for you."


    She was slightly afraid that Miao Yi would abandon progressing with the ship¡¯s construction altogether since he would soon be going to the Sea of Constetions. Should any problems arise, he could drag Yang Qing¡ªas well as the Hall Master¡ªthrough the mud with him.


    Because of this, Yang Qing was a bit regretful that he¡¯d informed Miao Yi in advance that he would be going to the Sea of Constetions. However, at that time, thoughts of the ship¡¯s construction hadn¡¯t crossed his mind.


    Miao Yi could tell that she was upset with him. In his heart, he ¡¯paid his respects¡¯ for a moment, but he still cupped his fists together and said, "I will heed Elder Auntie¡¯s advice."


    "I want to take a look at East Arrival Cave." Qing Mei had already made up her mind.


    Miao Yi could only put aside his cultivation for now. He apanied her without bringing Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er along. He left them behind at Mount Calming Sea to settle some matters on his behalf. It looked like he¡¯d already started to allow the two to deal with various businesses by themselves.


    When they reached East Arrival Cave, the stern-looking Qing Mei did not stop to rest and continued rushing towards the site to check on it personally. She was more attentive and responsible than Mountain Chieftain Miao Yi of Mount Calming Sea could ever be.


    The location of the ship¡¯s construction was chosen to be on the seaside. There were a lot of manual workersying down the groundwork in preparation to construct the base of the ship first.


    Inside the depths of the woods, more than thousands of manual workers were chopping down trees to salvage pieces of lumber that were suitable for the ship¡¯s construction. Giant trees were rolled down the mountain through the use of rolling logs. The process of delivery for the fallen trees was extremely arduous.


    Trees that had been freshly chopped down could not be used for the ship¡¯s construction right away. The wood must be dried out in the sun, be rid of moths, and treated through a series of processes before they could be used to construct the ship. The process cycle could be lengthy, which was why the wood had to be prepared ahead of time.


    "Heave-ho! Heave-ho..." asionally, the deep rumble of singing echoed throughout the mountains in a synchronized manner as the manual workers in the mountains pulled the towline, using a lever to move the fallen trees.


    At the sight of these manual workers risking their lives in the mountain forest, sweat pouring down their backs, Miao Yi could not help but frown. He turned around and said to both Yan Xiu and the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, "The manual workers must receive their sries on time. If I find that someone has tried to embezzle their sries, don¡¯t me me for being merciless!"


    If Yao Ruoxian were to hear these words, he would definitely turn against Miao Yi and say, "Where¡¯s my sry then?"


    The Cave Master of East Arrival Cave and Yan Xiu cupped their fists together in acknowledgement.


    Seeing that everyone was busy working in an orderly fashion, and all the preliminary works were progressing as nned, Qing Mei felt relieved.


    When Miao Yi and the others apanied Qing Mei back to Mount Calming Sea, Yan Xiu followed them as well. He wasn¡¯t required to stay on site for a long period of time. The starting process would always be difficult, but once the preliminary works werepleted, it would be fine for him toe back to check up on their progress after a certain period of time.


    Fearing that the people in East Arrival Cave would not work together, Miao Yi purposely brought Zhou Huan and a Deacon along so that he could station them there to supervise the situation. Essentially, if something were to go wrong, he could use them both of negligence.


    Qing Mei nodded her head in approval. Zhou Huan and the Deacon could onlyply with the order helplessly.


    epting this order would mean that they had to stay here for several years. It would be fine if they could execute things their way, but Miao Yi would not let them do as they pleased. He made them stay together so that they could monitor and supervise each other.


    After he had sent off Qing Mei, Miao Yi returned to Mount Calming Sea and resumed his charade of asking others to do things for him. He dumped everything on his subordinates for them to handle while he continued to concentrate on his cultivation.


    Days passed by. Those who secluded themselves to cultivate would be unaware of how much time had passed.


    The East Arrival Cave was as busy as little ants filling in the ditch.


    Besides cultivating, Yan Xiu would sometimes call for Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to handle things together. Both of them had apanied Yan Xiu twice to East Arrival Cave to check on the progress of the ship¡¯s construction. Under Miao Yi¡¯s instructions, a few Advisors and Deacons would look for them to discuss and ask for their decisions on some matters.


    The twodies weren¡¯t stupid. Their ability to handle matters with diligence had greatly improved. In fact, their mentality had slowly matured. As expected, human beings could only grow by experiencing more things. Age was irrelevant in the matter.


    One day, half a yearter, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er came to the silent quarters to announce some good news, "Master, father has given us two sets of transcendent artifacts as a present."


    "Oh?" Miao Yi lit up, seemingly interested in their news.


    They extended their arms outward, and all he could see were a pair of exquisite feminine bracelets sped around their fair-skinned wrists. They were very beautiful.


    Miao Yi pointed with shock at the bracelets and asked, "Could it be that he gave each of you a pair of storage bracelets?"


    "Father refined these for us." Thedies nodded in reply, seemingly ted by their presents.


    Even Yang Qing still seemed to be using storage rings. Miao Yi looked at the storage rings on his fingers again and felt bitterness in his heart. ¡¯ I¡¯m unting myself with just a few rings, yet both of you are already using storage bracelets, and a pair at that. This is making me look awkward. ¡¯


    He realized that the old man was clearly taking precautions against him by intentionally refining storage bracelets that were deemed feminine. Even if Miao Yi were to snatch them for himself, he would be embarrassed to meet others while wearing such bracelets on his wrists. What would others think if he, as a man, were to wear a pair of bracelets meant for women? On top of that, he wouldn¡¯t be able to fit those bracelets on his wrists anyway. Otherwise, he could have made do by using the bracelets for their functionality, even if they were meant for a woman¡¯s use.


    He would¡¯ve asked thedies to wear one bracelet each and give up the remaining ones for him. However, he quickly dismissed the thought. Feeling slightly jealous, he said, "That old man is really narrow-minded. He gave both of you only a pair of bracelets each."


    Surprisingly, the twodies tried to exin further, "No, father gave us a set of treasured armor as well."


    "Don¡¯t both of you already have a set of treasured armor?" Miao Yi asked curiously, "Hand them over so I can take a look."


    The twodies nodded. Their purpose ining to see him was so that they could let him have a look at the items. They asked him to go outside to see what they were talking about.


    Miao Yi followed them outside, and when he did so, he saw them pulling along two dragon steeds into the courtyard.


    Thedies hopped onto their mounts and shed a storage bracelet on one arm. What came next was a cloud of ck mist exploding from each bracelet, which enveloped both humans and mounts. He could barely see their silhouettes amidst the ck fog. They looked like ghosts that had appeared under broad daylight.


    ¡ª swish swish¡ª The ck mist suddenly vanished. At that moment, thedies had transformed from angels into devils atop their dragon steeds. This caused Miao Yi to stare at them with widened eyes for a good minute.


    Thedies¡¯ ck battle armor had covered everything below their neck in an imprable manner. They had two thorns protruding slightly from their shoulder armor, with phoenix wings extending from the earlobe area of their helmets. Their breasttes were wide, and the area around their waists was covered in tiers. Battle armor covered their long legs as they straddled their mounts. A pair of ck battle boots etched in cloud patterns were linked together to the overall armor. There were two thorns protruding from the area around their ankles as well.


    Both of them wielded a pitch-ck Inversed-Scales Spear in their hands. The wings of their spears gleamed with a subtle cold light. Moreover, their mounts were covered in vicious-looking ck armor as well. They weren¡¯t any different than the ones Charcoal wore, but their colors were ck inparison. Thedies seemed quite mighty and dignified as they used their battle boots to step on the thorns protruding from each side of their mounts¡¯ ribs.


    Thedies and their mounts seemed to bepletely covered in ck metal armor. Only their fair-skinned faces and necks were exposed. Their skin was exceptionally pale in contrast to the ck armor on their bodies.


    Such armor in an oppressively gloomy ck was able to emit an air of murderous intent while exposing the fair-skinned beauty of their faces. This had formed a sharp contrast inparison, allowing the gracefulness of thedies to show through the imposing air of their armor.


    A white lotus was shown blooming on their foreheads. The twodies and their mounts were glowing with a resplendent blue light. Even under the sunlight, their shining glow wasn¡¯t too ring, and Miao Yi could still breathe in some cold air. He cried, "A full set of Second Grade transcendent artifacts?"


    He saw thedies slightly raise the glowing Inversed-Scales Spears in their hands.


    ¡ª swish! ¡ª The sharp and barbed tri-edged spearheads abruptly struck outward in unison, causing the three des to overturn andbine together with a cking sound. With this movement, the spearhead had changed into a different form. It still looked like the sharp tri-edged spearhead, but without the barbs.


    The twodies drew in their transcendence energy and their feet touched the ground with a ck. They walked in their ck armored boots and rattled towards Miao Yi one step at a time. The armor was fitted to their slender waists and made the two girls seem particrly charming as they walked towards him. It was apparent that their armor was made specifically for the two of them.


    The battle armor concealed their hips and swayed as they moved. The other parts were moving as a whole, unlike Miao Yi¡¯s silver battle armor, which had empty spaces between his shoulders and bracers.


    Even though the armor had covered the joints on their body, the metal was clearly refined so that the joints could move freely without affecting thedies¡¯ movements in the slightest.


    "The battle armor uses a lot of transcendence energy when we try to invoke the arts." A smile spread over Xue¡¯Er¡¯s fair-skinned face as she wore the ck battle armor.


    "This is natural. It will definitely be strenuous for the both of you to wear a full set of Second Grade transcendent artifacts while having the cultivation base of a White Lotus First Grade." Miao Yiughed humorlessly. He felt that it would be more appropriate if he were to use those artifacts on himself. Why did this adoptive father Yao Ruoxian make moreplete sets of women¡¯s armor? It was as if he were trying to stop Miao Yi from nning something.


    However, this was nothing. Miao Yi focused his attention on the Inversed-Scales Spears held in thedies¡¯ hands and looked at the change in their spearheads. He pointed at the spears and asked, "What is the meaning of this?"


    Qian¡¯Er exined with a smile, "Father said he¡¯d been through enough in the past. Although having spearheads with barbs is undoubtedly lethal, if we were to face opponents stronger than us, they could easily use their weapons to lock against the spearhead and seize our weapons away. With the spearheadpletely reformed, we¡¯ll be able to avoid this sort of risk during a dire situation like that."


    "Not bad, not bad." Miao Yi clicked his tongue, gaining another piece of insight on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s superb artifact-refining skill. He then eximed, "Senior Yao is certainly willing to use his capital since he¡¯s refined a set of Second Grade transcendent artifacts for each of you. He didn¡¯t even forget about the dragon steed mounts either."


    Qian¡¯Er forced a smile on her face as she said, "Father is afraid that we might be bullied by the people here after you go off to the Sea of Constetions. With a set of transcendent artifacts, we can defend ourselves at any critical moment."


    "He really did take you both into consideration." Miao Yi had a look of envy as he nodded in approval. He still hadn¡¯t received anything yet after squandering his fortune, yet these two were already settled after recognizing Yao Ruoxian as their adoptive father. If he had known how it would be, he would have taken Yao Ruoxian as his adoptive father as well. However, that old guy would never agree to that.


    Charcoal, who was lying down under the loft, was clearly attracted to the two other creatures of the same species. Charcoal then trotted over and circled around the heavy armor-d dragon steeds.


    Miao Yi gazed at thedies¡¯ mounts before he looked at their battle armor. Suddenly, his expression changed as he said in a low voice, "Where did this old man get so many materials? This is bad..." With a sh of his silhouette, he exited the courtyard and quickly flew towards the inner mountains.

 Chapter 310: A Let Down

    Chapter 310: A Let Down


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    When he arrived at the mountain cave that Yao Ruoxian had secluded himself in, he could sense a wave of heat pouring out from within.


    Once again, Yao Ruoxian had carved deeper into the cave. The pathway inside stretched down several hundred meters deep until it reached an underground river. Beside the river was an artifact-refining cauldron burning intensely over mes. Yao Ruoxian was flipping over a pile of demonic beast skins for examination. asionally, he would throw a piece of skin directly into the cauldron, which would turn into ashes inside.


    "You came? I was just looking for you." Yao Ruoxian cocked his head to look at Miao Yi. When he saw the abnormal expression on Miao Yi¡¯s face, he quickly became amused, "Your face has turned so sour. Did you eat dog shit?"


    Miao Yi drifted to his side and sternly asked, "Where did Qian¡¯Er¡¯s and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s Second Grade transcendent artifactse from?"


    "Is your brain alright? Of course, I¡¯m the one who refined those artifacts for them. Should I count on you to do it instead?"


    "I¡¯m asking you about the materials used to refine those transcendent artifacts. Where did theye from?"


    "None of your fucking business," Yao Ruoxian responded with a sneer. All of a sudden, he froze, as if he had finally understood something. He stopped what he was doing and ced his hands behind his back, scrutinizing Miao Yi closely. He then asked, "What are you trying to say?"


    "Did you use the materials I gave you to refine their Second Grade transcendent artifacts?"


    "Is it a crime to use your materials to refine transcendent artifacts for your women?"


    "It¡¯s not. Since they¡¯ve chosen to follow me, they are my women. I will not treat them poorly. However, you should always handle matters in their order of importance. Shouldn¡¯t you have informed me of this decision first?" Miao Yi was trying to smother the anger inside him. He had already squandered his fortune away just to make protective transcendent artifacts.


    "What¡¯s there to inform? Do I need you to tell me what to do when ites to refining transcendent artifacts?"


    Miao Yi reminded him with a furious roar, "Those are my materials! I will decide how they should be used!"


    "Sure, sure, sure. Alright, you make the decisions." Yao Ruoxian pointed at his nose, and with a wave of his hand, he tossed out a bunch of items from the storage bracelet onto the ground. He scoffed, "Take back your stuff. Take them back and make your own decisions. Don¡¯te back with those things and bother me ever again."


    "..." Miao Yi was suddenly speechless. He examined the things on the ground for a moment, and realized that all one hundred and fifty Crystalline Obsidians were still there, including thirty-three pieces of Second Grade Yao Cores, and one hundred and fifty pieces of First Grade Yao Cores inside the case¡ªnothing was missing.


    "This..." The great Mountain Chieftain Miao was left dumbfounded.


    Yao Ruoxian, who had been innocent all along, broke out in curses right away, "Do I still need your materials to make some gifts for my daughters? Bah! How could I even make two sets of transcendent artifacts with just one hundred and fifty Crystalline Obsidians?"


    Miao Yi was sweating profusely. He had considered that problem before. Initially, he¡¯d thought that Yao Ruoxian had some Crystalline Obsidians on him, and most of the materials used to refine the artifacts had belonged to Miao Yi. Miao Yi then replied meekly, "Didn¡¯t you say that the little mantids had exhausted your supply of Yao Cores?"


    Yao Ruoxian looked stern and said, "I left the mountains for a while, and personally went to the Chamber of Commerce to sell off a Third Grade transcendent artifact. In exchange I got the materials I needed to refine artifacts for my daughters. And that¡¯s none of your fucking business. What makes you think you can run up here and scream at me?"


    With a flick of his finger, he continued, "Take your stuff and scram!"


    Miao Yi quickly smiled and walked to Yao Ruoxian¡¯s side. He held onto Yao Ruoxian¡¯s arm and chuckled, "Don¡¯t be angry, don¡¯t be angry. Cool your temper. We¡¯re a family, and families shouldn¡¯t be reserved with one another."


    "Scram!" Yao Ruoxian smacked Miao Yi¡¯s hands away and said, "Who would be in a family with you? Leave now!"


    "Two of my women have became your daughters. If we aren¡¯t a family, then what are we?" Miao Yi shamelessly gave him an apologetic smile.


    There was no helping it. Yao Ruoxian was stronger than him, and Miao Yi was the one who had asked him for help. He was resilient because he had always been hard on himself. As a butcher of many years on the streets, he would have died long ago if he didn¡¯t know how to be flexible in the first ce, much less raising two little ones with him.


    Yao Ruoxian wanted to puke blood at Miao Yi¡¯s words. He had two daughters of exquisite beauty! Yet, both of them had slept on the same bed as this kid, which was simply intolerable. Why did this have to happen before they acknowledged him as their adoptive father? And now, he couldn¡¯t change anything about it even if he wanted to. But what¡¯s done is done, and there was nothing he could do about it.


    Yao Ruoxian was so furious that he flew into a fit of rage, "They are they, and you are you. Don¡¯t give me that crap. Scram! If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll kill you."


    "I will leave, sure! Senior, you must also know this, only one out of nine people going to the Sea of Constetions will make it out alive. I will still need some transcendent artifacts to protect myself. If you don¡¯t want to refine them for me, then shouldn¡¯t you be returning those eighty-five little mantids to me?" Miao Yi sighed.


    Yao Ruoxian gritted his teeth and said, "Son of a bitch, you wish! I have spent so many Yao Cores on them and watched them grow from day to night. When have you ever concerned yourself with them? Now you want to pick the fruits of mybor? No way!"


    "Fine! You¡¯re heartless!" Miao Yi sighed and turned around to leave. As he walked away, he shook his head and said, "When I go back, I will tell Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er that their adoptive father is eager for me to die, and he is eager to make them widows. It is better to suffer from short-term pain than long-term torture. I don¡¯t want them to face any difficulties, so I will exin it clearly and let them choose another partner. But they¡¯ll probably cry from grief, so please help to console them the next time Senior sees them. Sigh!"


    Yao Ruoxian tried to imagine his beautiful daughters, who were always cheerful when they met up with him, suddenly stricken with grief... his expression twitched. He went crazy once he realized that Miao Yi had really hit his soft spot. He had an urge to vomit blood as he furiously roared, "Stop right there!"


    Miao Yi stopped in his tracks and turned around. With a ¡¯resigned¡¯ expression on his face, he asked, "What other orders does Senior have for me?"


    Yao Ruoxian almost covered his face with tears as he gazed up and hissed, "The two girls are a let down! A let down!!"


    There was nothing more to say. On top of that, his eyes were filled with tears. He was the one hurting in the end. Yao Ruoxian forced himself to turn around and walk toward a pile of demonic beast skins.


    "Remember! To refine talismans, you can¡¯t just use any skins. You need the pores on the skins to be able to absorb and release energy. Skins that are smooth and moist cannot be used." He picked up arge piece of octopus skin and tossed it into the cauldron, turning it into ashes.


    "Skins that have long scales cannot be used either." He pulled out a piece of snake skin and proceeded to toss it into the cauldron.


    "As long as the skinsck pores, we cannot use them." Yao Ruoxian continued to pull out pieces of demonic beast skins and tossed them into the cauldron.


    After a series of tossing skins around, the pile was left to less than half of its original amount. Yao Ruoxian turned around and said, "If you want to refine a lot of talismans, this little amount won¡¯t be enough. Go back to the Chamber of Commerce and buy more."


    Miao Yi inquired, "Can I use something else to substitute the skins?"


    "You can use Crystalline Silver, Crystalline Obsidian, Crystalline Gold, and so forth as substitutions. But to be able to use those things to refine into talismans, you will need to go through an extremelyplicated process to give them the same absorption and release properties of a natural piece of skin. Even if I spend three months to do it, I¡¯ll only be able to produce a single talisman from that. Three months worth of consuming ze Resins can sufficiently allow you to buy a bunch of skins. No one is dumb enough to do it this way just for the sake of producing some low grade talismans."


    "Er..." Miao Yi nodded. "Then I will still think of a way to get more skins."


    At present, he didn¡¯t have any ze Resins on him. The ones being used belonged to Yao Ruoxian. He didn¡¯t mind it, but the point was that he could only produce a single talisman within three months. How many years would it take for him to make a few pieces of talismans then?


    Luckily, demonic beast skins weren¡¯t that expensive right now. First Grade demonic beast skins would cost nothing more than 100 Gold Crystals. Second Grade skins were estimated to be around 10,000 Gold Crystals. Moreover, he still had about 7 or 8 million Gold Crystals left, so buying these items wouldn¡¯t cost him too much.


    After settling matters with Yao Ruoxian, he went back to his Mountain Chieftain manor. He summoned Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er and ordered them to go to the Chamber of Commerce in South Edict City to find Wen Fang and then buy the required demonic beast skins.


    He did say that he would ask for Wen Fang¡¯s help in matters of business. This would be a kind gesture rting to their promise. Besides, this small transaction wasn¡¯t worth summoning Luo Ping toe here from the capital city.


    The past few years had also turned Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er into millionaires. Other than the money Miao Yi rewarded to them each year, they also received gifts from other people as well. For example, when Miao Yi was promoted to Mountain Chieftain, the respective Cave Masters serving under him had paid a lot of respects to them.


    Both of them had nothing to spend their money on, and they didn¡¯t need to worry about meals either. Moreover, they had the best of everything from the tributes they received from the governednds. Even if they wanted to spend their money, they wouldn¡¯t know where they should spend it. For them, crystal coins and stones weren¡¯t any different. Their storage rings now contained more than a million pieces of Crystal Coins.


    When they were told to go somewhere far to buy something on their own, and that they didn¡¯t have to spend a lot, they were a little ecstatic. Finally, they had found a ce where they could spend their money. They waved away Miao Yi, refusing to ept his money. They said they had their own money to spend on things.


    First of all, they were both trying to do their best for Miao Yi. Second, they felt a sense of aplishment in spending their own cash. If they didn¡¯t use it, the money they earned every year would be meaningless if they just kept depositing it without ever withdrawing any... If their thoughts were made known to Miao Yi, who was currently feeling poor, they wouldn¡¯t know what he would do next. Only those who took charge would know the gravity of responsibility!


    After Miao Yi had thought about it, he decided to take out all the First Grade transcendent artifacts that he had in his possession. In addition to a few scraps, including the spiritual herb that Tong Renmei had given to him, he gave them to thedies and asked them to find Wen Fang to sell them off.


    In fact, he wasn¡¯t in a rush to sell these items right now. However, since he intended to let thedies see the world, he decided to let them sell some items for him so that they could understand the sales procedures in the Chamber of Commerce. It would benefit thedies¡¯ assessment of the situation if they learned more about these things.


    For their safety, Miao Yi returned to Mount Calming Sea and arranged for Tian Qingfeng to personally take charge of this matter by apanying thedies, together with three Deacons.


    Bothdies led the four people behind them, and they mounted their dragon steeds as they rushed out of the mountain gates excitedly. Their scope of activity on a normal day was indeed too small.


    On that night, nearing the end of the year where the weather was changing, snow fell from the sky. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er who had been inside the manor were suddenly not by his side, something Miao Yi was not ustomed to. He didn¡¯t have the mood to cultivate, so he called Yan Xiu to apany him for the night.


    After having a few drinks, both of them walked to the courtyard together. With Miao Yi leading in front, they stepped onto the snowy tform of the star observatory, gazing at the indistinct falling snow in the night. They could hear the sounds of drifting snow slowly umting on the ground.


    "It¡¯s snowing... It¡¯s easy to go astray amidst the snow. Will Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er be alright?" Miao Yi suddenly asked.


    Yan Xiu chuckled beside him, "Master thinks too much. You have sent so many experts to protect them, and Tian Qingfeng is also with them. Unless there¡¯s arge amount of troops attacking South Edict Manor, they will certainly be fine. Besides, it¡¯s not like they haven¡¯t experienced a snowy night before. As cultivators, they aren¡¯t so frail that they can¡¯t defend themselves against a gust of wind."


    Miao Yi nodded his head. He realized he was indeed thinking too much into it. He gazed into the distance, which was getting hazy. He still remembered how back in his younger days, he would hole up with his little sister and little brother inside a nket as they shivered coldly under the snowy night. His eyes were slightly wet as he thought about it.


    Little Sister was now Fairy Yue Yao in the Realm Beyond Heaven, and his little brother should be a person with an enigmatic cultivation. Both of them were blessed people, and they should be much stronger than him. He wouldn¡¯t need to find them anymore since he wouldn¡¯t be able to help them anyway. As the useless big brother, he might just be a burden to them instead...

 Chapter 311: The Destruction of the School of Blue Jade

    Chapter 311: The Destruction of the School of Blue Jade


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The echo of hurried galloping pierced through the silence of the snowy night, causing Miao Yi to break away from his thoughts at the star observatory tform, "Are the girls back already?"


    "Doesn¡¯t seem like it. I can only hear the sounds of one steed moving," Yan Xiu replied, shaking his head.


    "One steed?" Miao Yi¡¯s heart tensed. He quickly turned his head around and said, "Go find out what it is."


    Yan Xiu quicklyplied to the order and left.


    The galloping sound of a dragon steed stopped at the gates of the mountain for a moment, quickly followed by indistinct cries of panic. Miao Yi stood on the tform and watched from afar through his transcendence vision, and he was able to clearly see that the steed was galloping toward the back of the mountain.


    Not long after, Yan Xiu came back with a group of disciples from the School of Blue Jade and stood under the star observatory tform. All of them tilted their heads upward to the tform, and the air was thick with falling snowkes drifting around them.


    A distressed woman stood below, and sobbed with her fists cupped together, "Disciple Su Yuhuan from the School of Blue Jade respectfully greets Milord."


    Miao Yi turned around, his forehead slightly creasing into a frown. Even though this person seemed distressed, he was able to vaguely recognize her by her beautiful appearance. During his first visit at the School of Blue Jade, she¡¯d been one of the women with an ulterior motive when serving him.


    He walked down from the star observatory tform and swept a nce at their expressions. When he realized that each of them had a pained look on their face, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, "What happened?"


    Yu Suhuan sobbed, "Milord, three days ago, the School of Imperial Beasts suddenly mobilized a massive raid on the School of Blue Jade. They had arge number of experts, and we were outnumbered in terms of strength. The School of Blue Jade were unable to defend against them. The Grand Elder and Sect Master were killed in action. It was aplete bloodbath! The entire School of Blue Jade has been wiped out!"


    The remaining disciples of the School of Blue Jade bit their lips. Some of them had tears welling up in their eyes.


    Breathing in the cold air, Miao Yi eximed, "Why did the School of Imperial Beasts attack the School of Blue Jade?"


    Su Yuhuan whimpered, "After the cmity, I eavesdropped on the conversation between the disciples of the School of Imperial Beasts. They say our disciples crushed their disciples at Mount Calming Sea, and that they killed Wu Liu, grandson of Elder Wu from the School of Imperial Beasts. At that time, he¡¯d been serving at Long Viridescent Cave. Moreover, the one who attacked the School of Blue Jade was none other than that Elder Wu. Grand Elder and Sect Master were also killed by Elder Wu as well."


    Wu Liu from Long Viridescent Cave? Miao Yi was slightly surprised. He recalled that when Gongsun Yu was still assuming hismand at Long Viridescent Cave, Wu Liu was a disciple from the School of Imperial Beasts that Luo Shuangfei had ughtered.


    The reason Wu Liu had left such an impression was because he¡¯d released a formidable ¡¯Heart-Devouring Bat¡¯ at the time. Unfortunately, he¡¯de across the more vicious Luo Shuangfei and ended up dead at his hands.


    Afterward, he¡¯d heard from Yuan Fuang that in the School of Imperial Beasts, those who were able to tame ¡¯Heart-Devouring Bats¡¯ would most likely be people with some sort of background. Now that he thought about it, it was certainly true. That Wu Liu had actually been the grandson of the School of Imperial Beasts¡¯ Elder. However, why would a person with such a background be stationed as a nameless soldier at Long Viridescent Cave?


    Putting this aside for now, by personally leading his forces to dispatch an assault, he feared that Elder Wu had possibly abused his power for revenge. With that said, wouldn¡¯t that mean he was the one who¡¯d caused harm to the School of Blue Jade?


    However, Miao Yi was more or less suspicious of the situation. Frowning, he asked, "Even your Grand Elder and Sect Master weren¡¯t able to survive. With your cultivation base, why were you able to escape from such a predicament?"


    "Senior Brother saved me..." Tears rolled down from Su Yuhuan¡¯s eyes like pouring rain, but she wasn¡¯t embarrassed. She exined how she was able to escape and survive long enough to find Miao Yi.


    It turned out that this woman and one of the senior brothers had been in a romantic rtionship. They were having a date under an old tree that night, and coincidentally, there was a hole under the tree. When the School of Imperial Beasts carried out their violent assault, the senior brother allowed Su Yuhuan to hide inside this hole. Unfortunately, the hole could only amodate one person. For the sake of saving his loved one, the beloved senior brother decided to give her the chance to live.


    At that time, the ¡¯Heart-Devouring Bats¡¯ that filled the sky took advantage of the moonlight and swept through the entire School of Blue Jade. They killed everyone they saw, leaving no survivors. That beloved senior brother had not been an exception to their killing spree. Before he died, he¡¯d used his body to block the exposed hole under the tree to save his junior sister so that no one would discover her.


    After the bloodbath was over, the disciples of the School of Imperial Beasts went all over the ce to find any survivors. Su Yuhuan overheard the aforementioned conversation while she was still hiding inside the hole under the tree.


    She waited until the disciples had retreated before she crawled out from the hole. It was then that she realized that the entire School of Blue Jade had beenpletely wiped out. The remnants of mutted corpses were scattered everywhere; all of them had once been the disciples of the School of Blue Jade.


    Being all alone, Su Yuhuan was left startled and frightened. She didn¡¯t know where to go or what to do next. In the end, she remembered that the School of Blue Jade was still stationed at Mount Calming Sea, so she quickly journeyed out and rushed over without a break...


    "Ah! The School of Blue Jade." Miao Yi let out a soft sigh. He observed Su Yuhuan for a while, and came to the conclusion that she had no reason to tell him such a lie.


    However, he realized that this woman was seriously fortunate to be able to escape from death this time. He vaguely remembered her graceful figure when she¡¯d stripped herself naked in front of him. She was rather good looking, but since she already had a lover, why had she done that? That was quite unfair to the senior brother who¡¯d died for her.


    Just at that moment, the sounds of galloping echoed from outside. Yan Xiu, who had quickly climbed to a higher tform to check, flew down to the ground and said to Miao Yi, "Milord, Elder Auntie and Little Auntie are back."


    Shortly afterwards, the sounds of galloping dragon steeds stopped. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were still in good spirits, even after they braved through wind and snow to quickly lead the others inside.


    The twodies were stunned when they saw so many School of Blue Jade disciples looking devastated. Their smiles quickly vanished and they slowly stood by Miao Yi¡¯s side, not having a clue as to what had actually happened.


    Tian Qingfeng frowned, "What is the meaning of this?"


    "Senior Brother, the School of Blue Jade is finished!" One of them let out a terrible wail.


    "Martial Uncle!" Su Yuhuan turned around and cried. She immediately dropped on her knees and knelt beside Tian Qingfeng, clutching at his thigh as she ryed the catastrophe the School of Blue Jade had suffered.


    As he listened to her ount, Tian Qingfeng looked as if he¡¯d been struck by lightning; he was utterly frozen on the spot.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er exchanged nces with each other. They didn¡¯t expect that such a tragic thing would happen. On top of that, they had seen the bloodbath of East Arrival Cave before, so they were immediately sympathetic.


    "Martial Uncle! You have to avenge the School of Blue Jade!" Su Yuhuan wailed as she shook Tian Qingfeng¡¯s thigh.


    Revenge? That would be entirely absurd. Tian Qingfeng swept a dazed gaze at his disciples. What could he use to avenge them? Should he use them? How would he fight with the School of Imperial Beasts? When the School of Blue Jade was still in existence, they had never been a match for the School of Imperial Beasts. Now that their school had been annihted, it was ever more impossible for him to avenge them.


    Even Miao Yi could only offer his sympathy¡ªrevenge was not possible. Mount Calming Sea would not be able to handle a fight against a colossal force like the School of Imperial Beasts, much less the Suppressing Second Hall. Unless the Traversing Moon Pce was willing to lend a hand...


    But Traversing Moon Pce would never interfere with such matters. Their opponents had not provoked the officials, and it was just a fight between two cultivation schools. The Traversing Moon Pce could care less about whether they lived or died.


    "Milord, I wish to bring a few men back to the School of Blue Jade to check on the situation." Tian Qingfeng sped his fists together, his expression sorrowful.


    Under the circumstances, Miao Yi would never refuse such a request. He nodded, "Go!" He turned his attention toward Su Yuhuan and added, "Then she will stay at Mount Calming Sea. When I go back to report this matter to Manor Head, I will settle her official status as well."


    The School of Blue Jade had ended up in such havoc, so this was all he could do for them for now. It would not be realistic to seek revenge with the School of Imperial Beasts on behalf of the School of Blue Jade.


    Besides, if he didn¡¯t mention this to the officials, Tian Qingfeng and the others would beg him to take in Su Yuhuan eventually. When that moment came, it would be awkward to refuse their request. In that case, he decided to take the initiative and grant them a favor now.


    When he said those words, Su Yuhuan immediately turned to him and gestured her gratitude. She sobbed, "Thank you, Milord, for taking me in."


    The School of Blue Jade was unfortunate, yet she had found great luck in this misfortune. Otherwise, she would never have been able to join the officials that easily with just the cultivation base of a White Lotus First Grade. When she stripped herself naked during their first meeting, she hadn¡¯t managed to turn it into an opportunity. But now, she had seeded.


    "Thank you, Milord!" Tian Qingfeng cupped his fists to thank him. He then turned to his disciples and said, "Help her down so she can get some rest."


    Not long after, the group of School of Blue Jade disciples departed. Miao Yi took Qian¡¯Er and the others back into the residence. He then quickly wrote a report and sent it to South Edict Manor to notify Yang Qing of the situation.


    Immediately, the sounds of dragon steeds galloping in haste rang out from outside and soon left Mount Calming Sea. He believed that Tian Qingfeng and the others had already left to check on the situation.


    Standing at the door, Miao Yi sighed, "The School of Blue Jade has struggled for so long at South Edict Manor. Back in the day, they had fought incessantly with Yang Qing, and almost took control of the entire South Edict Manor. It only took one wrong move for them to end up defeated. Yang Qing was able topletely break away from their constraint all because of Hong Changhai¡¯s inept efforts in the matter. By involving the entire School of Blue Jade, it looks like Hong Changhai has caused harm to his own people instead. If that didn¡¯t happen, then why would the three main schools join the two manors after that? The School of Blue Jade ispletely finished this time. I am more or less responsible for this matter."


    He was able to utter those words because he still had no clue why the School of Blue Jade was finished. In fact, only Yang Qing, Qing Mei, and Qing Ju knew of this matter. Yang Qing applied some tactics, and took the opportunity to send out a letter, which ultimately caused the School of Blue Jade to fall apart. They had fought with Yang Qing in the beginning, and now they had lost to him in the end.


    In actuality, the reason why Yang Qing had allowed the three main schools to join the two manors was to prepare a counterattack against the School of Blue Jade. If they had abided to thew and behaved themselves, he would have stopped at that. After all, he still had some use for them. However, the School of Blue Jade had never given up, and they¡¯d even tried to make aeback by using Miao Yi.


    How could he tolerate any outsiders trespassing on his interests! The School of Blue Jade was a sect excluded from the officials, yet they repeatedly tried to meddle with Yang Qing¡¯s affairs. How could he continue to tolerate them? Even if Miao Yi had prevented Luo Shuangfei from killing Wu Liu, the massive support that the School of Blue Jade had shown to Miao Yi was already a great offense to Yang Qing. Naturally, he would use heavy force to dig up the roots of future trouble!


    This was bad. The School of Blue Jade had destroyed themselves by ying with fire.


    After expressing his thoughts, Miao Yi turned around and asked, "Tian Qingfeng and the others were in a rush to check on the aftermath. Yan Xiu, do you think they will use this as motivation to avenge the School of Blue Jade? If that¡¯s the case, then I fear that Mount Calming Sea will no longer remain tranquil. I feel that we need to make preparations soon."


    "Revenge?" Yan Xiu shook his head. "It¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing for the School of Blue Jade to perish. At least you no longer have to give them a share of your annual Orbs of Will. Besides, how will they be able to exact their revenge with their current strength? They¡¯re not foolish enough to charge headlong to their deaths. It would make a bit more sense if one of them managed to rise up to the position of a Pce Lord. With the destruction of the School of Blue Jade, such an aspiration would be impossible since their cultivation methods would be put on hold. They rushed back to their school to check on the oue not because they wanted revenge, but to see if they can find theplete cultivation method of the School of Blue Jade among the ruins. That¡¯s what they¡¯re most anxious about."


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "How did youe up with that conclusion?"


    Yan Xiu forced a smile, "Milord, have you forgotten that I have suffered the same fate as well? I can understand their feelings more than anyone else."


    Miao Yi replied with an ¡¯oh¡¯ at the sudden realization. He gazed at the fluttering snowkes illuminated by the light outside, and narrowed his eyes. "The destruction of the School of Blue Jade isn¡¯t necessarily a good thing for me. I have lost the considerable support of an outside force. Luckily, I was able to kill Xiong Xiao first before this happened. However, if I ever want to find another mercenary sect like the School of Blue Jade in future, it might be very difficult to do so."


    Yan Xiu remained silent. He was there during the entire process of Miao Yi¡¯s retaliation, and that was also partly due to the support shown by the School of Blue Jade. Manor Head Yang Qing had been able to rise up to his current position thanks to their support as well. In the end, the fate of the School of Blue Jade today was all because they had been too involved with the officials.

 Chapter 312: Fickleness of Human Relationships

    Chapter 312: Fickleness of Human Rtionships


    Trantor: Kude Editor: TomYummy


    Aside from being sympathetic to the School of Blue Jade, Miao Yi¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t much affected by their fate. They were merely using each other for their own gains. He was now more concerned about his excursion to the Sea of Constetions a few years from now. Miao Yi turned to enter his residence and asked the twodies, "How did the trading go for you two?"


    Thedies revealed to him the results of their deals. They had sold everything for a total of five million Gold Crystals. The priciest items of all were the spiritual herbs that Tong Renmei had given him.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but exchanged a few nces with Yan Xiu. This was probably thest gift that the School of Blue Jade would give to him.


    As for the demonic beast skins that Miao Yi required, thedies didn¡¯t manage to buy them as there wasn¡¯t enough stock in the branch at South Edict Manor.


    There were essentially not very many cultivators in South Edict Manor, and even less of them them who would use Yao Cores to refine disposable talismans. These items hadn¡¯t been bought for a few hundred years, which was why the branch in South Edict Manor would generally not prepare a stock of them.


    However, Wen Fang had already gone to gather the skins. She said she would delivery them personally once she returned.


    Since the branch in South Edict Manor didn¡¯t have any stock, it was little wonder that thedies couldn¡¯t finish their job sessfully. However, there was no rush to get those skins yet.


    Turning back, Miao Yi was worried that the School of Blue Jade disciples would grow unsettled, and so he ordered Yan Xiu to inspect every corner of Mount Calming Sea.


    After Yan Xiu received the order and left, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er decided to show a bunch of souvenirs to Miao Yi. Some of them were edible, and some were for ying; it seemed like both of them had gone all out in the city and bought back quite a lot of items.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether to cry ofugh after he took a nce at the items. These were all souvenirs sold in the marketce. The girls weren¡¯t interested in thevish items they had received from their followers, but they were quite amused with these little inexpensive souvenirs they bought themselves. One could imagine the life they had gone through when they lived in a confined environment long ago.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t interested in these peanuts and trinkets. He didn¡¯t disturb thedies from their y and allowed them to carry on by themselves. In the meantime, he would go off and continue his cultivation...


    A few dayster, Tian Qingfeng and the others returned with solemn faces. By then, news of the destruction of the School of Blue Jade had already reached the two manors. The disciples of the three main schools were delighted with their misfortune; the disciples of the School of Blue Jade, on the other hand, were depressed and sorrowful about the news.


    Regardless whether it was Yang Qing at the top or Miao Yi at the bottom, both of them only looked on coldly from the sidelines. They could not possibly ask for justice on behalf of the School of Blue Jade, as there was none to begin with in the world of cultivation. Only those with more power would be able to win. Besides, both of them didn¡¯t have the means of doing such a thing.


    As the ringleader of this incident, Yang Qing would not be concerned with it. As for Miao Yi, if he died, would the School of Blue Jade avenge him? The answer was most certainly a no.


    In any case, Miao Yi was the same. Their rtionship hadn¡¯t reached a point where one would risk their lives for the other.


    Most importantly, the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was drawing near. Each great school would send their candidates to participate as well. If he tried his hardest to offend the people of the three main schools now, they would surely have a merciless death for him once they were all in the Sea of Constetions. As he was a person of office, no one would dare to do anything to him now. However, if he were to offend anyone, the repercussions of that would be apparent when it came time to head to the Sea of Constetions.


    The most logically way to handle it was to turn a blind eye to this matter. He would have to consider it a personal grudge between two cultivation sects...


    It seemed like around this time of the year, there would always be heavy snowfall when it came time for the tributes of the Orbs of Will.


    Each respective Cave Master came over with their troops one by one. He paid them the Orbs of Will in full, but there were no expressions of joy visible on their faces.


    Miao Yi¡¯s earnings had significantly increased. He hadplete freedom to do as he wished with a hundred Orbs of Will harvested from the vassal city. Additionally, his followers would offer him with another hundred more.


    Even though Mount Calming Sea was housing so many Blue Lotus experts right now, the total poption hadn¡¯t increased at all. After paying the Orbs of Will to the original number of experts, he had to use more of the tributes to cover the wages of the new Blue Lotus experts too.


    Yet at the end of the year, Miao Yi still had some surplus of Orbs of Will on his hands. One must know that during his years in the East Arrival Cave, he hadn¡¯t even supported this many Blue Lotus experts. However, each year he had to fork out another one to two hundred orbs from his personal funds. Now, he was earning more instead. This was a good thing. The advantages and disadvantages of bing a Mountain Chieftain were slowly bing more apparent to him.


    The joy of receiving Orbs of Will was more or less mitigated by the dark clouds that hung over the School of Blue Jade disciples.


    ording to the custom in years past, each respective Cave Master would have to escort Miao Yi to South Edict Manor for the tributes.


    However, due to the urgency of the ship¡¯s construction in the East Arrival Cave, all of the Cave Masters were dismissed and sent back to their own territories. Should East Arrival Cave encounter any problems, the other Cave Masters would be able to send reinforcements in time.


    Miao Yi called out to Tian Qingfeng and two Deacons. In addition, he brought along Liu Qian from the Jade Lady Sect, Ma Hu from the School of Imperial Beasts, and an ex-Deacon from the Sword Deviate Sect at Mount Calming Sea. Altogether, he called a party of six to apany him to South Edict Manor.


    When he reached South Edict Manor, he would have to meet with the three main schools. Doing so would send a message to them, allowing the three main schools to see his goodwill.


    He had no choice. There would be a hundred and fifty thousand cultivators raging war in the Sea of Constetions. There was no need to exin the harsh conditions they would have face. Yang Qing had already warned him beforehand, allowing him to build a good rtionship with the three main schools. Yang Qing¡¯s warning made sense. He didn¡¯t wish to battle with a hundred and fifty thousand cultivators all by himself; doing so would only seal his fate. If he could form a team with the disciples from the three main schools participating in the crusade, then he would have a greater chance of resisting danger and boost his own survivability.


    Liu Qian and the others had a mischievous expression on their face when they knew of Miao Yi¡¯s arrangement for them, and exchanged nces with each other. It seemed that this Mountain Chieftain was still quite sensible after all.


    Tian Qingfeng and the others were more or less dour when they realized Miao Yi n. They weren¡¯t aware that Miao Yi was going to the Sea of Constetions, and only felt that that human rtionships were a fickle thing indeed.


    Noticing their expressions, he called Tian Qingfeng to stand behind him, and gave him a reminder, "Don¡¯t think too much of it. Every year, Manor Head will set aside some of the tributes as rewards and allow the every Cave Master a chance to earn them. With your current situation, it is not rmended for all of you to bask in this limelight just yet. Please understand my struggle. Go down and exin this to your disciples."


    Tian Qingfeng felt better after he received a satisfying exnation from Miao Yi. Suddenly feeling enlightened, ¡¯So that¡¯s how it is.¡¯


    He had heard about part of the tributes being used as rewards before. Based on their overall power as Blue Lotus cultivators, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry too much about grabbing the rewards for themselves. However, this was indeed a bad time to do that. If they insisted, wouldn¡¯t that mean they would have to intentionally throw the towel and admit defeat to prove themselves wrong? Not participating in that would be the best way to handle it.


    "Your subordinate understands." Tian Qingfeng cupped his hands together and gave his thanks.


    Miao Yi turned around and led six subordinates on mounts out from the gates of Mount Calming Sea. However, they were faced with a person riding a mount on the mountain path. This person was no stranger¡ªit was Wen Fang.


    With one look , Miao Yi immediately what she intended with her arrival. He knew that she came to deliver the demonic beast skins to him. However, he was busy right now. Besides, he already handed over the matter of dealing with trades over to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    When Wen Fang saw Miao Yi, she was delighted and immediately halted her mount in the snow.


    However, Miao Yi simply greeted her with a smile and nodded, before saying, "Go find Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er."


    After tossing a few words at her, he left and passed her by; his men cutting through on either side of her. In an instant, they were already miles away.


    Wen Fang turned her steed around to watch their silhouette disappear from the horizon. She bit her lips as her ck hair blew against the falling snow. Her eyes had turned slightly red as she felt a little insulted. She breathed heavily atop her mount, with white mist billowing out through her mouth.


    Previously, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had sought her out after they reaching South Edict City. When she learned that it was Miao Yi¡¯s transaction, her spirits were instant lifted by a tremendous amount. Even though Miao Yi hadn¡¯t give her a big deal like she was expecting, this was a good beginning. She must let Miao Yi see her most professional attitude in handling his business.


    Unfortunately, South Edict City did not have the skins that Miao Yi wanted. At the time, Wen Fang quickly assured the twodies that she would definitely delivery them as soon as possible.


    The amount of skins that Miao Yi wanted weren¡¯t very expensive. Hence, the superiors would not bother to send Red Lotus cultivators for the sake of personally delivering such inexpensive items. After waiting for her message to reach Suppressing Second Hall, their response was that they had some supply, but it wasn¡¯t sufficient to meet her demands.


    After all, there weren¡¯t many people who would use talismans in Suppressing Second Hall. Particrly, it was too wasteful to use Yao Cores for talismans that could only be used once. Not many people would use them in such a small ce like that.


    When she was informed that the branch in Traversin Moon Pce would immediately delivery some of their stock to them¡ªfor the sake of delivering the skins to Miao Yi and saving some time¡ªWen Fang rushed to Suppressing Second Hall through the night. A lone woman relentlessly journeying whether it was day or night; even braving through violent snow storms without rest before finally delivering the items to Mount Calming Sea in haste. She did this so that she could express her sincerity to Miao Yi.


    Against her expectations, her wholehearted sincerity was only met with Miao Yi¡¯s casual greeting. Such a minor character like herself was not held with much regard by him. She felt her nose growing sore after having her bitter hard workpletely ignored.


    Taking note of her mount¡¯s condition, Wen Fang saw that it was already weary from the journey. Wiping away the tears in her eyes, she took a deep breath and gave herself an encouraging smile. She believed that as long as she continued to work hard, Miao Yi would one day summon her through the use of her name card¡ªjust like how he had done for Luo Ping.


    She swept back her hair that was dishevelled by the wind and snow behind her fair-skinned earlobes, and turned her exhausted dragon steed around toward Mount Calming Sea once again...


    After leading his troops to South Edict Manor, Miao Yi met up with Yang Qing and paid his tributes. When he was done reporting the situation of Mount Calming Sea, he then headed straight to the waiting room.


    Most of the respective Mountain Chieftains had already arrived. The majority of them had odd expressions on their faces as they gazed at Miao Yi. Inside everyone¡¯s mind, Miao Yi had given the impression that his rise to his position was all due to the School of Blue Jade. Now that they had been destroyed, Miao Yi was deprived of foreign aid. Many of them were delighted with his misfortune.


    However, no one dared to show it on their faces. If this lunatic was able to lead his men and charge into Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor in Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s territory to kill Xiong Xiao¡ªwhat else was he wouldn¡¯t he do? Because of that, when they saw Miao Yi enter the waiting room, they cupped their fists together and greeted him.


    However, this was just a courteous greeting. Facing a neer like Miao Yi, each respective senior Mountain Chieftains maintained just the necessary niceties around him. It was apt to say that they were quite jealous of Miao Yi¡¯s abrupt rise to his post. If it wasn¡¯t for his fierce reputation of being a person not to be trifled with, some would have most likely ridiculed Miao Yi by now.


    Miao Yi could read the thoughts in their eyes. However, he didn¡¯t take it seriously as they hadn¡¯t done anything to him yet. Would he be able to control the thoughts of others? He wouldn¡¯t be able to control the Six Sages either. One should take it easy when the situation allowed; otherwise, the others would only grow frustrated, and he would be the only one to be enraged.


    Qin Weiwei was here as well. Undoubtedly, she was quite well-respected by the all the Mountain Chieftains. When she saw Miao Yi, she smiled and gave him a nod. After that, she walked toward him, and keeping her smile on her face, said, "Would you like to go out for a walk?"


    Miao Yi hesitated for a moment. Wouldn¡¯t it be bad if Yang Qing were to see them walking together? However, in the end, they still walked out together.


    As the two of them walked alongside each other, they passed by a gallery with ornamented beams and painted ridges while having some light conversations; each exchanging queries on their situation after they being promoted to their respective positions. As the mountain ridge piled with snow, they continued chatting amicably as they gazed about the snowy ridge.


    Cocking his head slightly, Miao Yi took a peek at Qin Weiwei¡¯s charming appearance amidst the snow. Seeing that she wasn¡¯t angry about the previous matter, Miao Yi smiled and said, "Mountain Chieftain Qin. There is something I need your help with."


    Qin Weiwei turned to him and said, "It seems you will only treat me as a friend whenever you need my help. However, I still treat you as my friend. How about you?"


    "Alright, Weiwei." Miao Yi changed his form of address to her.


    Curious, Qin Weiwei asked, "You are already a Mountain Chieftain now. If there¡¯s any matter, you can always look for Manor Head directly. What do you still need me for?"


    "This is unrted to Manor Head. I have a friend who¡¯s under you. His name is Chen Fei. If it isn¡¯t an inconvenience, please help me take care of him."


    "If you want to transfer him over, I can let him go."


    "It is be better for him to stay at your side than at mine." Miao Yi shook his head. If he didn¡¯t have to go to the Sea of Constetions, he would have asked Qin Weiwei to transfer that person to him earlier. However, having Chen Fei transferred over could possibly exposed him as Miao Yi¡¯s trusted follower. If Miao Yi didn¡¯t make it back from the Sea of Constetions, it might not be convenient for Chen Fei at all.

 Chapter 313: Empty-handed

    Chapter 313: Empty-handed


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Alright! Chen Fei..." Qin Weiwei nodded, taking note of the name.


    "There¡¯s also Yan Xiu as well." Miao Yi smiled. "If Yan Xiu seeks you out one day, I have to trouble you to take care of him as well."


    Qin Weiwei was immediately surprised. She was well-aware of the rtionship between him and Yan Xiu. Why would Yan Xiu seek her out? She couldn¡¯t help herself and asked suspiciously, "Are you in some sort of trouble?"


    Miao Yi knew from her expression that she still had no clue about the candidate list for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, and shook his head in response, "What else but the matters of the School of Blue Jade. Well, it¡¯s nothing to be honest. I just want to prepare everything just in case."


    This was the only arrangement Miao Yi could manage for Yan Xiu. If Yan Xiu still wanted to remain as an official when the time came, the newly appointed Cave Masters stationed at Mount Calming Sea would not use his trusted subordinate. He feared that the days toe would be difficult. Seeking refuge with Qin Weiwei wasn¡¯t a bad choice. If he wanted to leave with Yao Ruoxian, he would have to look for Qin Weiwei to remove his Immortal Records. With her background, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to do so.


    As for Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, it would be best for them to leave with Yao Ruoxian if he were to perish. Yao Ruoxian would never abandon his two daughters.


    Naturally, Qin Weiwei had heard of the incident with the School of Blue Jade. However, she couldn¡¯t quite understand the connection between that and asking her to take care of Chen Fei and Yan Xiu. But since Miao Yi had asked, she didn¡¯t refuse his request. Instead, she asked, "Then how are you going to thank me? I have been helping you all the while, yet you have never once repaid me."


    Recalling that Yang Qing was the one that secretly coerced him, Miao Yi forced a smile and said, "You wouldn¡¯t go as far as have me devote my heart to you, right?"


    Qin Weiwei raised her leg and used the tip of her toe to draw a mark on the snow. As if she were joking, she said, "If you are willing, nothing is impossible."


    "Since Mountain Chieftain Qin is such a beauty, I would be the one benefitting from it the most. It has nothing to do with whether I¡¯m willing or not." Gesturing off in the other way with his mouth,he said, "The unwilling one is in there."


    He tried to tell her that it wasn¡¯t him who was unwilling to help her, but because he was powerless to do so.


    "Oh!" Qin Weiwei had already guessed the truth of the situation. She scoffed, "If you are sincere in repaying my favor, who can possibly stop you from doing that? There¡¯s no harm in avoiding that person."


    Miao Yi took her words as a joke and humored her, "Are you trying to do something with me that cannot be undone?"


    A rarely seen mischievous expression appeared on Qin Weiwei¡¯s face. She blinked her eyes and said, "That¡¯s not a bad idea. Why don¡¯t we try that?"


    "HAHA!" Miao Yiughed. He realized that she wasn¡¯t hard to get along once he spent more time with her. She could even crack a joke like this too. Quite unlike the usual cold front she disyed when she first appeared. However, if they continued joking like this¡ªas a man, he had no problems¡ªhe would have to bear the suspicion of being a hoodlum to someone¡¯s daughter. It would be excessive if they continued any further. Taking the hold of the conversation, he changed the topic and said, "I will entrust you with them both. Just take it as a favor that I owe you. If there¡¯s a chance, I will repay your kindness one day."


    Qin Weiwei did not go into the matter of ¡¯devoting his heart¡¯ any further. She had her own restraint as well, and she wasn¡¯t a shameless person. However, there was a little confusion in her bright eyes. She immediately shed a pleasing smile and said, "Alright. I will wait and see how you will repay me when the timees."


    Just as in years past, Manor Head Yang Qing drew out a batch of Orbs of Will as prizes. The location of thepetition was the exact same ce they were currently in.


    Everyone gathered on the mountainside to spectate thepetition. Miao Yi felt awkward as he joined the others. One could say that he was somewhat ufortable because Qin Weiwei was visibly sitting her mount next to him and continued conversing with him.


    From behind, Gongsun Wu would at times shoot his gaze at them. When he saw Weiwei and Miao Yi talking so closely, it wouldn¡¯t be an understatement to say that there was jealousy and envy in his eyes.


    He had followed Qin Weiwei to Mount Shaotai, so naturally, she wouldn¡¯t treat him unfairly. She had allowed him to continue his position as a Cave Master.


    No one dared to raise an objection toward the change of personnel at Mount Shaotai. First of all, Qin Weiwei had ties with Yang Qing and secondly, Xiong Xiao¡¯s incident had shocked everyone. It wasn¡¯t because of the personal grudge between Xiong Xiao and Miao Yi, but because they had assisted Xiong Xiao in his defection. It was already considered fortunate for them that no investigation was held to discover who was responsible. No one dared to raise any objections and allowed Qin Weiwei to handle matters however she liked. All of them behaved themselves with all sincerity.


    With respect to Yang Qing¡¯s wishes, Qin Weiwei took the opportunity to demote every Cave Masters stationed in the two caves into positions handling various other tasks. There was instantly ten extra posts for Cave Master avable, which was how Gongsun Yu managed to obtain his position sessfully.


    Miao Yi had also seen Tu Sanliang behind Qin Weiwei. Facing this person who had ambushed East Arrival Cave back then and tried to take Miao Yi¡¯s life, Miao Yi instead greeted him with a smile and a nod.


    However, Tu Sanliang gave him a look that was a little disdainful and turned his head away, seemingly scornful of Miao Yi.


    At the same time, Miao Yi also sensed the subtle nces that Yang Qing was shooting at them. Miao Yi sighed in his heart. He knew that Qin Weiwei only did this so that she could attract Yang Qing¡¯s attention. Even so, he didn¡¯t feel it was right to drive her away from his side.


    Thepetition began. Each respective Cave Masters mounted their dragon steeds and rushed down the mountain slopes to enter the arena. Gongsun Yu was rushing down as well.


    However, no one from the Mount Calming Sea was participating. This attracted a lot of mocking gazes from the crowd. Those gazes were clearly saying that once the School of Blue Jade fell, this guy had became a coward after losing his foreign aid.


    Liu Qian and the others felt a bit ufortable, let alone Tian Qingfeng himself. No matter how you went about it, they were now part of Mount Calming Sea after all. They felt disgraced having their Mount Calming Sea being looked down upon.


    Even Qin Weiwei from her ce beside Miao Yi, was able to easily sense the mocking gaze from everyone. She tilted her head to look at Miao Yi, but all she could see was an indifferent expression on his face. His eyes were calm, undisturbed by the disdain the surrounding people were shooting at him. His attention was focused on thepetition below.


    To Qin Weiwei, this didn¡¯t seem like the trouble-causing attitude that Miao Yi would normally disy. Shemended him for this attitude in her heart. This man had grown increasingly mature as the years went by... Perhaps this was what was meant by ¡¯beauty is in the eyes of the beholder¡¯.


    Unexpectedly, from where he stood behind Qin Weiwei, Tu Sanliang seemed intent on shaming Miao Yi and said, "Mountain Chieftain Miao. Why aren¡¯t the Cave Masters of Mount Calming Sea participating in thispetition? Perhaps they are afraid of showing an embarrassing scene and are hiding themselves?"


    People from both ends instantly burst intoughter. A frown creased Qin Weiwei¡¯s forehead and she turned to re at him. Only then did Tu Sanliang let out a humorlessugh and fell silent.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t intend on offending the members of the three main schools due to his imminent journey to the Sea of Constetions. However, if people wanted to harass him, he wasn¡¯t someone to be trifled with. He burst intoughter and said, "Indeed. They are afraid of causing embarrassment, because if my subordinate Cave Masters were to fight in thepetition, the other Cave Masters would not be a match to them. I fear that the others will be embarrassed and shame theirrades, which is why I didn¡¯t bring them along."


    His words were like a smack to the face of all the Mountain Chieftains, including Qin Weiwei. Because of that, Qin Weiwei gave him a sharp re. Miao Yi smiled back and apologized to her.


    A Mountain Chieftain with the surname ¡¯Wang¡¯ scoffed, "Mountain Chieftain Miao. Aren¡¯t you afraid of biting your tongue with that haughty tone of yours?"


    "Biting my tongue?" Miao Yi shot a nce at him and calmly continued, "Those who know me will understand that I don¡¯t like making statements just for the sake of being eloquent. I prefer to do things seriously with real des and spears. My subordinates like to kill and spill blood to achieve their goals. If you want apetition for fun, then forget about it. That sort of thing isn¡¯t suitable for them. I don¡¯t wish to blow my own horn, but imagine how twenty of my men from Mount Calming Sea were brave enough to assault Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor and pluck Xiong Xiao¡¯s dog head from his body. How can they be afraid of a merepetition? Speaking of that, aside from my Mount Calming Sea, are there any other mountain that can achieve the same? If any Mountain Chieftain is unconvinced, why don¡¯t you sign up for a challenge? So long as you aren¡¯t afraid that you will not live to see the day, I will personally lead twenty of my men to enter battle next time!"


    ¡¯Not live to see the day?¡¯¡ªwhen those words were uttered, both sides burst into an uproar and condemned him for his arrogance.


    Miao Yi, on the other hand, remained calm amidst the storm. Simply giving a cold re to those people below. If anyone dared to ept his challenge, he wouldn¡¯t mind cing an additional bet to the prize money. It just so happened that he was recently a bit tight on his budget as well.


    Several in the crowd around him were throwing curses and almostshed out at him as a mob. However, none of the Mountain Chieftains dared to ept his challenge.


    If it were any other, then perhaps someone would shout something like ¡¯Who¡¯s afraid of who¡¯ along with their curses. However, the main problem was that Miao Yi was known widely for his notoriety, so no one dared to ept his challenge. It was already proven that this lunatic would treat everything seriously. The number of Blue Lotus cultivators in Mount Calming Sea numbering over twenty was no joke. No one was willing to y with their lives like that.


    Tian Qingfeng and the others, Liu Qian included, instinctively straightened their backs. The words spoken by their Mountain Chieftain were truly powerful and had vented his spite upon those people.


    Qin Weiwei was speechless. After just praising him for being mature, who knew he would challenge every single Mountain Chieftains after just one remark thrown at him!


    Yang Qing let out a deep ¡¯ Mmm ¡¯ and cocked his head, narrowing his eyes at them. The crowd immediately stopped their condemnation of Miao Yi in response, and forced their attention back on thepetition below.


    During the third round of thepetition, Gongsun Yu was defeated. He felt ashamed facing Qin Weiwei afterwards.


    Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t think much of it. Indeed, the strength of her two manors were been greatly increased now. Many of the Cave Masters were members of the three main schools, who were both skillful and capable. It would be impossible for Gongsun Yu toe out on top again like before.


    After thepetition ended, Miao Yi took the initiative to look for Qin Weiwei. He asked for her to help introduce him to the experts from the three main schools currently stationed in South Edict Manor.


    Qin Weiwei did not refuse his request. She only told him that he owed her another favor.


    When he paid a visit to the experts from each of the three main schools in sequence, Miao Yi prepared a few modest gifts and presented them to each one to help establish a rtionship.


    Unfortunately, the responses the experts gave him were far from warm. They epted the gifts, but did not give in to Miao Yi. If it wasn¡¯t for Qin Weiwei, they would not have even responded politely when Miao Yi visited them.


    Some of them went straight to the point. Mount Calming Sea had unfairly demoted the people sent from the three main schools quite swiftly. If a bond were to be established, they hoped that Mountain Chieftain Miao would repent his ways in time before it was toote.


    The meaning to their words were very obvious. In other words, he should brush off the School of Blue Jade in Mount Calming Sea, and reinstate the positions to their own disciples. Otherwise, there would have nothing more to talk about.


    To be honest, when Miao Yi subverted the people from the three main schools before, he never expected that the School of Blue Jade would be destroyed.


    Back then when he supported the School of Blue Jade, he did so for his own benefit. The sects were always openly and secretly fighting for their own interests and no one was able to bring them together. Thus, going to the Sea of Constetions, he did not count on the fact that they would revolve their lives around him when the time came. They could care less about him since they had safety in numbers. One should know that the three main schools had disciples stationed elsewhere aside from the two manors. Even Yang Qing himself would not be able tomand the three main sects within the Sea of Constetions. However, the School of Blue Jade was a different case. The benefits of the School of Blue Jade in Mount Calming Sea were tied to Miao Yi. Once he went to the Sea of Constetions, the School of Blue Jade would definitely ordered their disciples to protect him carefully. It was easy then to determine the right choice to make.


    However, no one had expected the School of Blue Jade to be abruptly destroyed. Miao Yi was taken by surprise because of that. He was helpless against it as well.


    Even though he wouldn¡¯t indulge in getting revenge for the School of Blue Jade¡¯s sake, he wouldn¡¯t go as far as to reshuffle each and every position of the School of Blue Jade disciples in Mount Calming Sea once again. If that were the case, wouldn¡¯t he be a wretchedly fickle man?


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t a man of great moral integrity, and he didn¡¯t mind being a wretched person either. Yet even so, he would never be that sort of vile, deceitful and treacherous person.


    One could well imagine how that ended. Without getting any promises from the three main schools, Miao Yi gave his presents in vain. He didn¡¯t manage to establish any sort of rtionship with them, and ended up empty-handed.

 Chapter 314: White Lotus Seventh Grade

    Chapter 314: White Lotus Seventh Grade


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Forget it. There¡¯s no need to find the next one."


    Aftering out from a certain cultivation residence behind South Edict Manor, he smiled and stopped Qin Weiwei from taking him to the next residence.


    Qin Weiwei was feeling vexed on Miao Yi¡¯s behalf after seeing him smile even when the others had given him attitude. She asked suspiciously, "This doesn¡¯t seem in-character for the Great Mountain Chieftain Miao to visit people and ask for help. Are you in trouble?"


    Miao Yi chuckled, "Is it so rare for me to visit others and ask for help? I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve asked you for a favor. I almost had to devote my heart to you just to get your help."


    Qin Weiwei teased in response, "You¡¯re the one who keeps talking about heart devotion, but I don¡¯t see you putting that into action. You¡¯ve even given out quite a number of presents today. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever received a present from you, and I¡¯ve helped you so many times, have I not?"


    Miao Yi replied, "Didn¡¯t you say that we¡¯re friends? It hurts my feelings to have my friends asking for gifts."


    Qin Weiwei rolled her eyes at him, and asked, "Are you sure you don¡¯t want to go to the next residence?"


    "No need. I don¡¯t have that many gifts to give away for free. I think I have to give some to the Manor Head as well." Miao Yi waved his hands. Both of them then walked down the mountain together.


    Halfway through the slope, Miao Yi was halted by a maidservant and was told that the Manor Head was looking for him. As she was informing him of the matter, she turned around and pointed at somebody behind her.


    On top of the hill on the far distance, Qing Ju was beckoning to them. Miao Yi and Qin Weiwei bid each other farewell and swiftly parted.


    "Greetings, Little Auntie." Miao Yi approached Qing Ju, cupping his hands together to greet her.


    Qing Ju caught a glimpse of Qin Weiwei who was already far away. She then turned to look at Miao Yi and sighed to herself, before gesturing at him to follow her. While they walked, she smiled and said, "You seemed to have offended all the Mountain Chieftains today. Mountain Chieftain Qin, however, didn¡¯t seem to mind at all."


    "Little Auntie is exaggerating. I have been under Mountain Chieftain Qin¡¯smand for many years, so she understands me and knows that I speak without malicious intentions." Miao Yi chuckled.


    Qing Juughed with a ¡¯snort¡¯, "Speak without malicious intentions? It would be strange to trust you after you said that!"


    Yang Qing was not receiving guests at the pavilion on the mountain peak this time. Qing Ju led Miao Yi directly towards the Manor Head residence.


    Inside the main hall, Qing Mei was seen attending to Yang Qing by his side.


    Miao Yi paid his respects to Yang Qing before he did the same to the stern-looking Elder Auntie, Qing Mei.


    He hadn¡¯t noticed it back then, but now, Miao Yi could sense that this Elder Auntie Qing Mei was being increasingly cold to him. He didn¡¯t even know how he¡¯d offended her, but he felt quite bothered by her change in behavior.


    Yang Qing appeared to be quite amiable and approachable. He extended his hand toward Miao Yi, gesturing for him to sit down for a talk. He even allowed Qing Ju to pour him a cup of tea. After that, just like Qing Ju, he proceeded to remark on how Miao Yi had offended the Mountain Chieftains earlier on. In the end, he casually asked, "Weiwei seemed to be quite close to you. Have you been in contact with each other?"


    Miao Yiughed bitterly in his heart. He finally realized that this was the reason Yang Qing had summoned him. He replied, "We haven¡¯t been in contact with each other since bidding farewell at Mount Calming Sea. I met up with her this time to ask for her help."


    "Oh?" Yang Qing continued with amusement, "What do you need her help with? Could it be that you found someone more suitable than me to help you with the two manors?"


    "I wouldn¡¯t dare trouble Manor Head for such a small thing." Miao Yi sighed, "You¡¯ve exined to mest time that I should establish a rtionship with the three main schools. I¡¯m in this predicament because I have offended the three main schools in Mount Calming Sea. I fear they won¡¯t deal with me ever again. With Qin Weiwei acting on my behalf and making the introduction, I think they might more or less show me a little bit of respect."


    So that was it! Yang Qing immediately understood his difficulties. He nodded his head slightly. Indeed, it wouldn¡¯t be convenient for him to act on behalf of Miao Yi on this matter. Most importantly, it would still be useless even if he decided to do it. The three main schools in the two manors might show respect to him. However, if Miao Yi went to the Sea of Constetions, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have to concern themselves with him since no one outside would know what exactly was happening in there. Without a doubt, it was appropriate for Miao Yi to ask Qin Weiwei to act on his behalf rather than asking Yang Qing.


    "What are their opinions?" Yang Qing asked.


    "Gifting presents to them will never satisfy them. They¡¯ve been eyeing the long-term benefits they can reap from Mount Calming Sea, so they want me to demote the people from the School of Blue Jade from their posts."


    With a sideways nce, Yang Qing asked, "Did you agree?"


    Miao Yi shook his head and said, "No. The people from the School of Blue Jade followed me as we charged into Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor. Now that the school is destroyed, how can I possibly double-cross them?"


    Yang Qing smiled and shook his head. He didn¡¯t know what to say to Miao Yi at all. For many years, Miao Yi had been in the world of cultivation where the weak would be at the mercy of the strong, yet there was still a part of him that allowed his emotions to cloud his judgment. At this point in time, he was still particr when it came to breaking someone else¡¯s faith. However, as the Manor Head, it would not be favorable for Yang Qing to encourage his subordinate to double-cross others. If he were to unknowingly encourage his subordinates in that matter, they might conveniently find a chance to betray him. One needed to distinguish their matters between those of importance and triviality. It was up to Miao Yi toprehend which was which in regards to his cultivation.


    But back to the topic at hand, this was the reason why Yang Qing had great admiration toward Miao Yi.


    But because of that, Yang Qing could not allow Miao Yi to marry Qin Weiwei. Those who could not distinguish between the reality of the cultivation world, and instead allowed their emotions to handle matters, would quite easily die an early death.


    "I am unable to help you in any matters that have already been decided by the Hall Master. If you have a problem in any other aspect, you can find me any ime. I will help you as much as I can, provided that I have the power to do so." Yang Qing promised him once more.


    Miao Yi muttered in his heart, ¡¯ What can you help me with? If you could, then you would have helped me a long time ago. Perhaps you are still abstaining from that matter, and you¡¯re unwilling to allow Qin Weiwei and I to get in touch with each other anymore?¡¯


    Yang Qing continued, "Once you go to the Sea of Constetions, you won¡¯t have to worry about Mount Calming Sea. ording to the rules, before the crusade is done, the participants will be able to continue retaining their respective position. No one will be able to touch your post. The rewards for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade haven¡¯t been settled yet. Perhaps this might be your chance to shine. I have faith in you. Not once have you disappointed me in anything you¡¯ve done. Besides, you have an advantage that no one else has. After all, you have been to the Sea of Constetions before."


    "Thank you, Manor Head, for your advice." Miao Yi nodded, but deep down, he was cursing with all his might. Could that even bepared? This time around, a total of 150, 000 demons and monsters would be fighting to their deaths at the Sea of Constetions. Besides, if it weren¡¯t for Yao Ruoxianst time, he wouldn¡¯t even have made it back alive.


    Both of them did not converse for too long. Yang Qing had already turned around and ordered Qing Mei and Qing Ju to gather the respective Mountain Chieftains to depart and deliver their tributes to the Suppressing Second Hall.


    Miao Yi also followed the formation as they departed. He took only Tian Qingfeng and Liu Qian with him, and sent the others back to Mount Calming Sea.


    Even though the number of people delivering the tributes were less thanst year¡¯s, most of the people in this formation were Blue Lotus cultivators. Their collective power was greater thanst year¡¯s formation.


    Qin Weiwei was contemting something throughout the whole journey. She kept talking to Miao Yi throughout their journey and did not ride beside Yang Qing, something that Miao Yi suspected she might be intentionally trying to show Yang Qing. This had Yang Qing turning around to gaze at them several times. Miao Yi could only groan in his heart from being in this situation.


    He was already in a terrible predicament. If he were to provoke Yang Qing any further, it could end quite badly for him...


    Miao Yi actually wanted to find out what had happened to the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall, and why this person had picked him to go to the Sea of Constetions. But when they reached the ce, he didn¡¯t even get a chance to go into the towering hall at all.


    He had wasted his time making the journey. After Yang Qing had delivered the tributes, Miao Yi apanied him back to South Edict Manor. Afterwards, the other Mountain Chieftains were allowed to go back home...


    After returning to Mount Calming Sea, Miao Yi gave a few instructions to his subordinates and then quickly entered a state of closed-door cultivation.


    This time, he¡¯d been given the cold shoulder when he sought out the three main schools. With that, he hadpletely given up on trying to mend his rtionship with them ever again. He couldn¡¯t avenge the School of Blue Jade, and he would never do such a thing. In spite of that, he would never agree to take down the disciples from the School of Blue Jade from Mount Calming Sea.


    In the world of cultivation, it didn¡¯t matter how many deceptions and ckmailings there were, or how often the weak were preyed on by the strong, Miao Yi would not be righteous all by himself and be some sort of saint. However, there would always be a trace of morality in his heart that only belonged to himself.


    Moreover, he had finally seen clearly the true nature of their people. Their eyes were always gazing upward, and they had been looking down on him from the start. Even if heplied with the three main schools, it wasn¡¯t guaranteed that they would help him once he went to the Sea of Constetions. There might be a chance that they would push him to be their scapegoat. If that was the case, then why should he betray Tian Qingfeng and the others and do such despicable things in the first ce?


    This time he understoodpletely that the world of cultivation was no different than the secr world. He had to be humble whenever asking for help, and he had to look at their facial expressions too. There were some situations where he could never ce his hopes on other people. All he could do was depend on himself...


    Spring had passed and autumn came. In the blink of an eye, four years had passed.


    Miao Yi, who was sitting cross-legged on a stone chair inside his silent quarters, slowly opened his eyes. A White Lotus Seventh Grade bloomed between his brows as he gently let out a breath of air. Finally, he had broken through to White Lotus Seventh Grade.


    For the sake of breaking through with his cultivation as soon as possible, he had barely left the stone room for more than half a step in the past four years. Only by elevating his cultivation base would he have extra protection once he went to the Sea of Constetions.


    He had poured his heart into his cultivation these past four years, and during this period, he had never shown any affection to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. He had seldom seen them, and he had also left the twodies and Yan Xiu to handle most of the outside matters by themselves. Miao Yi had practically immersed himself in a state of istion.


    He didn¡¯t attend the tributes that had taken ce during that period either. He only sent a message to South Edict Manor informing them that he had closed himself inside to cultivate in order to prepare for his excursion to the Sea of Constetions. With that, he requested Yang Qing to give consent to his absence.


    Since Yang Qing had promised that he would help him, he would naturally give his consent in regards to this little request. In the end, Miao Yi¡¯s absence was approved.


    Miao Yi silently invoked his art and checked the situation of his cultivation base. As expected, if he wanted to break through to Eighth Grade from his current grade, he required at least 320 low-grade Orbs of Will for it to happen.


    He tried to refine the remaining Orbs of Will inside his mouth once more and estimated that he could only refine fifty orbs in a year. In other words, he would require six to seven years to be able to break through to the next level. The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade would start next year. It would be impossible to think that he could go there with a cultivation base of White Lotus Eighth Grade.


    He was now most concerned about the battle armor set that Yao Ruoxian would be refining for him. A few months ago, Miao Yi had asked about the progress of his battle armor when the twodies came to ask for instructions on some matters. Both of them responded that Yao Ruoxian said he would have them done soon.


    However, there was no news yet. This caused Miao Yi to be somewhat anxious on what Yao Ruoxian was doing with his armor. Thedies¡¯ Second Grade battle armor sets were already done, but why hadn¡¯t his armor set been refined after so many years? That old man couldn¡¯t possibly be swindling him, could he?


    In the beginning, Miao Yi had managed to endure this matter because he was closing himself in to break through his cultivation base. Now that his cultivation had already reached the seventh grade, he couldn¡¯t endure it any longer. He had to go to Yao Ruoxian and find out what was going on.


    He pulled himself out from the silent quarters and walked out to the passageway outside. He could see Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er sitting cross-legged on the chair on each side of the entrance to the passageway. They were in the middle of their cultivation as well. Both their cultivation bases had broken through to White Lotus Second Grade justst year.


    When they heard movements, thedies quickly retracted their cultivation to check on the situation. When they saw Miao Yi finallying out after secluding himself for several years, they couldn¡¯t help greeting him with the utmost delight.


    Miao Yi smiled and motioned to them with a nod. Before he could say anything, Qian¡¯Er made the first move to speak, "Master, father has already finished refining your battle armor justst month. He said this is the critical period of your cultivation, so he wouldn¡¯t allow us to disturb your cultivation. He only told us to wait until you are free before we bring you and Charcoal together to try them on."


    Miao Yi was pleasantly surprised as he listened. The battle armor set had taken a few years to make, and now it was finally done. With a happy wave of his hand, he said, "Let¡¯s go and have a look together."

 Chapter 315: Full Set of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts

    Chapter 315: Full Set of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Under the eaves outside the door, Charcoal, who was dozing off as itid on the ground while flicking its tail, was kicked awake again. This steed widened its eyes to look at the perpetrator but was no longer in a bad temper after it realized that it was Miao Yi who¡¯d kicked him.


    Miao Yi leaped onto his steed and beckoned to the twodies. They let out bright smiles and lightly hopped on as well, sitting just behind him.


    Charcoal leaped forward andnded outside of the courtyard, before galloping away toward the mountain forest.


    This scene of a man and two women sharing a ride on a steed caused the maidservants bustling around Mount Calming Sea to be envious of them. They were envious of both Elder Auntie and Little Auntie because the only person who could ride a steed in such an ¡¯offensively¡¯ lovey-dovey way in Mount Calming Sea was none other than the Mountain Chieftain himself.


    They should only be jealous of other happy couples, yet what could they do when their hearts were full of discontent, both blinded by lust and resentment?


    They galloped over mountains and through ravines throughout the whole journey. When they reached the entrance to Yao Ruoxian¡¯s cave, the three of them then jumped off of Charcoal.


    Thedies held hands and ran into the cave. Miao Yi could see how these two were able to go in and out of this ce, and they seemed to already be familiar with the cave as if it were their own home.


    Yao Ruoxian did not go underground to refine anything today. He was sitting on a stone chair inside the cave, with his legs crossed in cultivation. When thedies went inside and cheerfully called out ¡¯father¡¯, he opened his eyes and instantly let out a chuckle. He gazed at thedies with a look full of love and affection.


    However, when he saw Miao Yi entering behind them, he quickly let out a scoff. His smile vanished instantly.


    "Senior Yao, I heard that my battle armor is already done?" Miao Yi approached him and cupped his fists together.


    Yao Ruoxian flicked his hand and tossed something at him. Miao Yi raised his hands and caught the object. It was then that he realized that it was actually a storage bangle. He couldn¡¯t help but ask in surprise, "Is this for me?"


    "This was refined from using the remaining Crystalline Obsidians. Your items are stored inside the storage bracelet." Their conversations had always been disagreeable. Yao Ruoxian was not in the mood for any nonsense, either.


    Since Yao Ruoxian had used his items to refine the bracelet, then there was no need to be courteous about it. Miao Yi quickly slipped on the storage bracelet onto his wrist. The size was perfectly fine for him.


    Miao Yi imbued his transcendence energy and analyzed the bracelet for a while. An expression of joy immediately appeared on his forehead when he found out that the capacity inside the storage bracelet was almost fifty timesrger than ordinary storage rings. This item could save him some trouble, and at least he didn¡¯t have to wear so many storage rings on his fingers anymore.


    Miao Yi was no longer a greenhorn like he used to be. He had more or less acquired some understanding toward the field of refining artifacts.


    One should never see it as just a storage bracelet.


    Even though storage rings or any sort of simr objects weren¡¯t considered decent transcendent artifacts, ordinary artifact artisans couldn¡¯t refine them. It was said that one required a substantial understanding of the facets of space in order to refine those artifacts. The ability to refine storage rings was a turning point when it came to the skills of artifact artisans. Those who were able to refine storage bracelets with greater capacity were represented as artifact artisans of a higher level.


    Miao Yi secretly eximed in his heart. He realized that this old man was indeed someone special. Yao Ruoxian had never failed in whatever he had set out to refine, and so it was within expectations that he¡¯d be able to refine something like this after saying that he could.


    Miao Yi actually didn¡¯t know much about the process. Heter heard that refining transcendent artifacts wasn¡¯t 100% guaranteed to seed every time. Artifact artisans with bad skills would easily fail and yield unsessful results most of the time. They would waste a lot of Yao Cores too. However, when the artifacts were being refined by Yao Ruoxian, it seemed like the attempts had never resulted in failure.


    The spacious storage bracelet contained two sets of battle armor. Miao Yi quickly invoked those items and held them in his hands. After the transcendent artifacts had recognized their master, he turned around and went outside of the cave.


    Yao Ruoxian, who was in a bad temper, brought his daughters along and walked out to see what was happening.


    Miao Yi called Charcoal to his side and tossed the battle armor into the air. As he pointed at the armor, they simultaneously exploded mid-air into ck mist, before covering Charcoal and himself.


    The ck mist enveloping them abruptly vanished. A set of battle armor as ck as ink had suddenly attached itself onto Miao Yi¡¯s body.


    Just like the armor refined for thedies, Miao Yi¡¯s armor set covered him fully. From the helmet to the boots, every piece was an integral part of the armor. The greatest difference between his armor and theirs was the sword attached to his hip.


    Miao Yi was slightly disappointed when he looked at the battle armor on his body. Aplete set of armor like this felt somewhat strange, even though it was better in terms of protection since none of his weak points were exposed. However, the armor seemed a bit crude in appearance, unlike Qian¡¯Er¡¯s and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s sets of armor, which were far more exquisite and beautiful than his. In other words, the armor felt like it was poorly and hastily refined.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were a bit disappointed as well. The disparity in quality between this armor and theirs was too great. Qian¡¯Er scowled, "Father, did you refine this? It doesn¡¯t look good at all." As she said that, she suspected that he hadn¡¯t refined the armor with caution and diligence at all.


    Yao Ruoxian shook his head and replied, "Silly girl. What do you know about armor? What¡¯s the point of looking good? He¡¯s going to the Sea of Constetions, and you¡¯re afraid that he won¡¯t stand out or attract attention. Should I make an armor set that will provoke people into chasing him down and killing him? I intentionally made it look a bit crude."


    Alright! Miao Yi approved of the reason he gave. He could ept the exnation, but... when he tried to stretch his limbs, he wanted to cry. "It feels a bit small. This doesn¡¯t quite fit my body!"


    "Ah!" Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er eximed. What was the use of an ill-fitting set of armor?


    "What are you making a fuss about?" Yao Ruoxian pointed at Miao Yi¡¯s body and said, "There is a slight change added to the armor¡ªa certain amount of space for sticity. Try to invoke your art and adjust the armor yourself."


    Miao Yi listened to him and invoked his art. A sh of blue light immediately appeared on his battle armor. Everyone was able to see that his armor had expanded a little. Miao Yi nodded cheerfully as the blue light converged onto his body. He clicked his tongue and eximed, "This is useful."


    "That¡¯s good. This will give you another way to adapt to the situation. When you go to the Sea of Constetions, you might be able to hold on longer before you die..." Before he could finish his words, he saw the look of bitterness in his daughters¡¯ eyes. Yao Ruoxian rolled his eyes and changed his words, "It¡¯s useful for you. It¡¯s useful for others as well. If this item falls into the hands of someone else, they can use it with ease once they wear it on their body."


    He motioned a finger at Charcoal, and said, "The battle armor set on this fat thief also has a certain space for sticity."


    When he was done, he let out a sigh in his heart. There was some reluctance in his eyes as he gazed at Charcoal.


    To be honest, he didn¡¯t want Charcoal to follow Miao Yi into the Sea of Constetions. However, he also knew that Charcoal¡¯s leg power might possibly save Miao Yi from danger during a critical moment.


    What was the implication of allowing Charcoal¡¯s battle armor set to have a certain space of sticity? It meant that Miao Yi could adapt better to any changes should the situation call for it. Yao Ruoxian had already made preparations just in case Charcoal died. Should that happen, Miao Yi could still use Charcoal¡¯s battle armor on other dragon steeds as well.


    Miao Yi nodded, indicating that he had understood what he meant. In actuality, he couldn¡¯t see the difference between Charcoal¡¯s previous set of armor and the one it had on its body now. The only difference he could see was the color. Even so, it seemed like the armor set it had on now still looked better than his own armor.


    He turned around and closely analyzed the battle armor on his body. Suddenly, he cried out and lifted up his head, "This battle armor is doubleyered?"


    Yao Ruoxian shook his head, "I can¡¯t say it¡¯s doubleyered. Try to take a closer look at it."


    Miao Yi took another look at the armor and realized that it was indeed not doubleyered. There looked to be a densely consistent mesh in between the exterior and interioryers. If he hadn¡¯t looked more closely, he might have taken the mesh as some sort of filler material. After analyzing it carefully, he realized that they were actually made from Crystalline Obsidians. They were an integral part of the armor as well.


    When he was done analyzing the armor, he lifted up his head and asked, "Why is it made like this?"


    "Besides having the defensive ability of a basic Second Grade transcendent artifact, when you receive damage, the middleyer in this armor set will be able to neutralize 30% of the impact force. The armor set on the fat thief has the same ability too," Yao Ruoxian said casually as if it were a trivial piece of information.


    In truth, Yao Ruoxian had spent arge amount of time and energy in order to refine that tinyyer in between the slightly thick suit of armor. It wouldn¡¯t simply work just by adding ayer of instion to the armor. This was also the reason why he required many years to refine these sets of battle armor.


    "30%?" Miao Yi was pleasantly surprised as he listened to Yao Ruoxian exnation on the armor. He would have to cup his fists together and thank him multiple times for that.


    He turned around and unsheathed the sword from the hollow meshed scabbard around his waist. The sword waspletely dark. It had a normal shape, yet this was also considered a Second Grade transcendent artifact.


    "Go!" Miao Yi scanned his surroundings before he suddenly hurled the sword into the air. The transcendent artifact glowed with a blue light, but before it could travel about 200 meters away, he was able to sense the subtle disconnection of his transcendence energy with the sword. He invoked his art with his finger and allowed the flying sword to cut down from the sky.


    Rumble! A piece of mountain rock was split open. Miao Yi gestured with his hand and pulled backward, causing the flying sword to fly back to him and return to the scabbard on his waist with a swish.


    Miao Yi breathed heavily after attempting to slice with the flying sword, which promptly caused him to shake his head. Based on his cultivation base, the flying sword had consumed too much of his transcendence energy. It was fine if he used it asionally, but it definitely wouldn¡¯t work if he tried to use it constantly. If it were Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, he feared that they might not be able to perform it based on their current cultivation base.


    He then raised his hand and flicked his fingers. A ck Inversed-Scales Spear appeared on his hand from his storage bracelet. When he invoked a little bit of his art, he could immediately sense the differences between this spear and the previous one.


    Gleaming with a blue light, the sharp and barbed tri-edged spearhead appeared with a swish! The wings on the tri-edged spearhead turned around at the same time, causing the barbs to twist upward, swiftlybining the three edges into one and turning it into another form of a spearhead.


    Miao Yi was very fond of it. From his many victories in closebat, he already knew that the barbed spearhead did indeed have its own advantages and disadvantages.


    The advantage was that the barbs could increase his might. At the moment when the spear was unleashed and retracted, as long as the barbs were out, his enemies would be killed or fatally wounded, especially during a situation where he was swarmed by the enemies. He could brandish his long spear recklessly and with extreme lethality.


    The disadvantage would be the incapability of attacking when faced with enemies of a higher cultivation base. The barbs on the spearhead could easily be locked by the opponent¡¯s weapon, and therefore, once the spear was locked, the opponent might fling away his weapon if he continued to attack them with force. If he didn¡¯t already have an extraordinary spear technique, he might have encountered this situation a long time ago.


    Miao Yi used to have mixed feelings about the advantages and disadvantages of the barbed spearhead. He¡¯d had a bit of a hard time choosing as well. But it was all good now. He initially didn¡¯t think that Yao Ruoxian would be able to turn a useless item into something of value. For Yao Ruoxian to be able to make such changes to the spearhead, Miao Yi was excited knowing that the spear had been strengthened.


    He turned back, gazed at Charcoal, and then proceeded to jump onto his steed while wielding the spear. Miao Yi rushed down all the way from the mountain and swung his spear in every direction, swiftly piercing the air.


    When he reached the foot of the mountain, he motioned with a sudden thrust, causing Charcoal to swiftly turn around and charge up the mountain. The only thing that could be seen was the spearhead of the Inversed-Scales Spear continuously changing with each thrust of his spear, cking every time it did. The spearhead became barbed, and then it changed into the form of a pyramid.


    Yao Ruoxian could only give a light shake of his head as he saw Miao Yi use his spear without difficulty, even though he didn¡¯t have an opponent. He silently sighed, ¡¯ By refining a set of Second Grade transcendent artifacts for this kid, I don¡¯t know how many people will end up dying at his hands. He isn¡¯t a good kid, and he won¡¯t be soft-hearted or hesitate to act!¡¯


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er exchanged nces with each other. It sent chills through their hearts when their master unleashed his spear technique. Each piercing motion was seething with the word ¡¯kill¡¯. Their own spear techniquescked the domineering force and murderous intent that Miao Yi had!


    When he reached the outskirts of the cave, Miao Yi took back his spear and jumped down from his mount. A cloud of ck mist exploded in the air as he quickly stored his weapon inside the storage bracelet on his wrist.


    "This Second Grade transcendent artifact uses too much transcendence energy. The rate of consumption is ten times faster than when I use a First Grade transcendent artifact. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t use it for a long time," Miao Yi said energetically, but at the same time sounding regretful as well.

 Chapter 316: Extortion

    Chapter 316: Extortion


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Yao Ruoxian stared at Miao Yi¡¯s fading illusory Seventh Grade White Lotus on his forehead and shook his head, "Your cultivation base is only at Seventh Grade White Lotus. Naturally, you will consume a lot of energy when using the Second Grade transcendent artifact. You might even have difficulty in controlling a Third Grade transcendent artifact. How did you even offend your Hall Master in the first ce? Why is he making you struggle all the way to the Sea of Constetions with your current cultivation base?"


    Miao Yi forced out augh and replied, "I¡¯m thinking about finding out the truth as well. But to no avail, I don¡¯t even have the qualifications to meet this person."


    "I haven¡¯t started on the talismans yet. We will speak about it when I¡¯m free." Yao Ruoxian shook his head as he turned around and went back inside the cave.


    With a set of Second Grade transcendent artifacts in his hands, Miao Yi was in no rush to use the talismans just yet. He didn¡¯t even try to urge Yao Ruoxian to refine them. Miao Yiter took thedies with him and went back home.


    When they reached his residence, he asked thedies about Mount Calming Sea¡¯s situation during the past few years. The twodies were already familiar with the matters here, and knew it like the backs of their own hands. They exined tirelessly to him of the situation with the respective caves, as well as the current situation at the headquarters in Mount Calming Sea.


    Ultimately, a cultivator would spend most of their time in a state of cultivation. A mere few years were nothing to a cultivator. There weren¡¯t any major issues, but there were quite a number of ¡¯disputes¡¯ that had happened during the past few years. The fight for wealth and privileges between the disciples from the three main schools and the disciples of the School of Blue Jade had constantly been going back and forth.


    Miao Yi immediately disregarded these matters. As long as the stability of Mount Calming Sea wasn¡¯t disturbed, he would allow them to continue their arguments. After all, he couldn¡¯t possibly go ording to everyone¡¯s wishes.


    Before he closed himself in, Miao Yi had already exined to thedies about the principles for dealing with anything. They should never be biased toward anyone, and they should never allow the underlings to fight each other in a duel. This was amon urrence as a result of having an overwhelming number of troops. Even so, they should never lose their control with these underlings no matter what.


    All these years, he had allowed the twodies to handle things themselves. As expected, their ability to handle tasks had been considerably strengthened and matured. The only regret Miao Yi had was that the twodies stillcked a certain ruthlessness in some of their decision-making, and they were somewhat unable to alleviate the situation properly. Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t use real weapons to deal a few bloody blows in these circumstances. They would never learn if he spoon-fed them on everything.


    After that, the twodies prepared a feast of delicacies for him. They stayed with Miao Yi and enjoyed the meal together. In the midst of eating, Miao Yi started getting into the mood. He then took thedies into the bedroom and enjoyed a round of lovemaking with them.


    After they were done, Miao Yi ced his arms around their stark-naked, fair-skinned bodies and sighed. If only there were no more disputes, it would be great to stay like this forever!


    Miao Yi did not stay with thedies in tenderness for too long. After they had attended to Miao Yi and bathed him, he quickly went into a state of closed-in cultivation once more. Any attempt to further his cultivation base before going to the Sea of Constetions would count as a step forward...


    Those who had secluded themselves to cultivate would not know how much time had passed by. In the blink of an eye, another year was gone.


    When Qian¡¯Er entered the silent quarters to notify Miao Yi of something, he must go out of this ce no matter what.


    The construction of the tenrge long-voyage ships had already beenpleted at their best quality as scheduled. The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade wouldmence in half a year. Because they would have to float at sea for about three months before they could reach there, this meant that the participants would have to assemble and board the ships three months before the event.


    News came from the upper division that the Suppressing Second Hall had sent a Deacon to the East Arrival Cave to check on the ten ships before they could be epted. Yang Qing would being as well. Since the Manor Head wasing, Miao Yi didn¡¯t think it was right to continue his closed-in cultivation. If this Mountain Chieftain did not show his face during the inspection, it wouldn¡¯t end well for him.


    When he got out, he cleaned himself up. He estimated the time and sent a message informing the East Arrival Cave to prepare themselves for the inspection. He left Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to look after his residence and personally selected ten people to go with him. Miao Yi and the others swiftly left Mount Calming Sea and rushed all the way to the side of the highway to stand in wait.


    Yang Qing would be there to apany the Deacon sent by the Suppressing Second Hall. They had no reason to go to his Mount Calming Sea, and would head straight to the East Arrival Cave for the inspection.


    After waiting for a full forty hours, they finally saw traces of troops rumbling toward them. Yang Qing and a pale fatty were riding side-by-side in front of the troops.


    Without requiring an exnation, that pale fatty must be the Deacon sent by Suppressing Second Hall if he was able to ride beside Yang Qing like that.


    The troops swiftly came rushing toward them. When Yang Qing saw Miao Yi and the others cupping their hands together to greet him, he raised his hand, causing all the steeds toe to a sudden halt.


    "This is Mountain Chieftain Miao Yi from Mount Calming Sea." After Yang Qing made the introduction to the pale fatty, he turned to Miao Yi and roared, "Quickly pay your respects to Deacon Shen Fenghua of Suppressing Second Hall!"


    Miao Yi sped his fists together and said, "Your subordinate pays respects to Deacon Shen."


    "That¡¯s very nice." Shen Fenghua beamed and nodded, seemingly quite gentle and amiable. He then turned to Yang Qing and said, "Brother Yang, we have urgent business to attend to. Let¡¯s resume our journey."


    Yang Qing nodded. He then waved his hand, signaling Miao Yi to bring his men together with him. Immediately, two groups of troops merged into one as they hurried straight for East Arrival Cave.


    Yang Qing had brought Qing Ju along for this journey. Once Miao Yi joined the group, he naturally ced himself next to Yang Qing, which happened to be in the same row as Qing Ju. They had a good rtionship as they were able to smile and nod in greeting when they saw each other. They chatted through quiet conversations, which made the journey quite interesting.


    As soon as the troops entered the vicinity of East Arrival Cave, they could see Cave Master Jiang Yunlu and his subordinates, whom he had brought in advance, waiting on the roadside to receive them. Zhou Huan, who had been sent from Mount Calming Sea, was among the troops as well.


    These people were unworthy of making Yang Qing stop for a greeting. He kept a steady gaze and looked straight ahead as he led the troops and rushed past them. Jiang Yunlu and the others weren¡¯t angry at all. This Manor Head wouldn¡¯t know who the hell they were, why should he be courteous to them?


    In the end, Miao Yi waved his hand at them, hinting that they should keep up with their pace. A group of people then immediately followed the passing troops from behind.


    They didn¡¯t even go into East Arrival Cave and went straight to the dock near the sea. Before they could reach the seaside, they were able to see tenrge ships towering alongside each other at the docks. It was quite a magnificent sight to see.


    The docks had already been nicely cleaned up beforehand. The mortal workmen were already gone as well. When they reached the shore, those who were on their dragon steeds seemed so small inparison to therge ships.


    Deacon Shen Fenghua seemed strict, with an exceptional sense of effectiveness. He wanted to board the ships for inspection right away. Yang Qing looked at Miao Yi and nodded, while Miao Yi looked at Jiang Yunlu and called for him.


    Jiang Yunlu quickly led everyone on board and took the responsibility to make the presentation. Whatever questions Shen Fenghua shot at him, Jiang Yunlu would always answer them smoothly, "Naturally, there¡¯s no problem in withstanding sea conditions and waterproofing the ship. The whole body of the ship is built with wood oil mixed with limestone and ground seashell powder. When these materials arebined, they will not leave cracks or gaps, and they are resistant to termites as well..."


    East Arrival Cave¡¯s Cave Master Jiang Yunlu had clearly put in a lot of effort for the sake of constructing these ships. He was quite knowledgeable in this area. There was no choice either since this matter had put a lot of pressure on him. Unlike Miao Yi, he couldn¡¯t just ask someone else to do it for him. Zhou Huan even had a professional understanding of the ships as well.


    Most of the area below the cabin was reserved as stables for the steeds, with about two hundred separated steel cages inside. Above this area were two hundred single rooms, all arranged within three floors.


    Once the two hundred cultivators and two hundred dragon steeds boarded the ship, they would have to live together on this boat for about three months. The environment inside the ship wasn¡¯t torturous either.


    After everyone had taken a brief look around the ship, Shen Fenghua then decided to run a trial voyage for each of the ships. In actuality, the ship had already been tested multiple times. But since he wanted to have a look, they had no choice but toply with him.


    Jiang Yunlu was forced to assemble the troops under hismand and allowed ten dragon steeds to enter the engine room together to serve as the ship¡¯s power. There wasn¡¯t any alternative as the ship was too big. One dragon steed would never be able to start up the speed for the ship.


    Tenrge ships took turns and sailed around the shore for one round. By the time they were done, the sky was already dark. Everyone decided to stay in therge ship for the night since there were enough rooms to amodate their numbers.


    A banquet was unavoidable. After Miao Yi had served his superiors, he randomly found a room and opened a closed window. He stood in front of the window and watched the great waves crashing into therge sea under the moonlight.


    After a while, Yan Xiu and Jiang Yunlu knocked on his door and entered. In terms of facial expression, they didn¡¯t look good.


    Miao Yi felt strange when he saw their faces. He was soon going to be a person heading for the Sea of Constetions, so there was no way he¡¯d bend over his knees to amodate Shen Fenghua. Because of that, he had handed over this matter to Yan Xiu and Jiang Yunlu for them to handle. Seeing that something wasn¡¯t right from their expressions, he asked, "What happened?"


    Jiang Yunlu pulled a long face and said, "Mountain Chieftain, that Deacon Shen said that the quality of our ships does not pass the standard. He wants to report to the Suppressing Second Hall and use us of this crime."


    Miao Yi curiously inquired, "He was quite pleased when he was having a feast earlier. He didn¡¯t even say there was a problem! Jiang Yunlu, tell me honestly. Did you properly construct the ship ording to the drafts?"


    Jiang Yunlu bowed with his hands folded and replied, "Mountain Chieftain, I wouldn¡¯t dare cheat onbor and materials for such an important matter. Me being impatient with life seems more probable than that. Your subordinate can guarantee that there are definitely no problems. But..."


    Miao Yi creased a frown and asked, "If there¡¯s no problem, what¡¯s the ¡¯but¡¯ for?"


    Jiang Yunlu gave a bitter smile and said, "If Deacon Shen is intentionally trying to find fault in our work, then we have no choice!" Some words were difficult to say it out loud. He gestured to Yan Xiu and cupped his fists together.


    Yan Xiu took a step forward and said to Miao Yi in a low voice, "Deacon Shen hinted that with one hundred low-grade Orbs of Will, he will forget about this matter once and for all."


    Miao Yi suddenly came to the realization that this Deacon had taken the opportunity to use his authority to ckmail him. Where in the world would the East Arrival Cave be able to cough out one hundred Orbs of Will now? This was clearly an act aimed directly at Miao Yi. ¡¯God damn it. I am about to send myself to death by going to the Sea of Constetions soon. And you still dare to ckmail me? Have you ever seen anyone spending money on their death? Don¡¯t bully someone like that!¡¯


    "Scumbag. One corrupted Deacon cannot control me. I still have South Edict Manor to defend me." Miao Yi sneered, "Don¡¯t even think of getting anything from me, not even a single hair!"


    "Master, this matter can go two ways. If he goes back to Suppressing Second Hall and speaks recklessly of this, I fear that will cause problems for us," Yan Xiu forewarned.


    Miao Yi hesitated for a moment before he said to the two, "Letting him linger here isn¡¯t the solution either. What if he tinkers with something on the ship discreetly... We will curb his movements first, and then we will talk about it again after he leaves. Yan Xiu, go and tell him that we don¡¯t have much on us. We will give him our deepest gratitude once we get back to Mount Calming Sea."


    Yan Xiu was speechless, ¡¯ording to your words, it seems like you don¡¯t want to give him anything!¡¯


    Miao Yi shot a sideways nce at Yan Xiu. Yan Xiu had no choice but to obey hismand and he left to deal with the task...


    The following day, Jiang Yunlu let out a sigh of relief. They had finally sent that person away. But soon after that, his face was painted with a bitter smile. Miao Yi hadmanded the troops of East Arrival Cave to move into the ship and live inside temporarily. They would have to wait for another three months before the official transferral could be processed.


    Yang Qing was a bit depressed as he apanied Shen Fenghua in the middle of their journey back home. He had more or less gifted some presents to him, but when Yang Qing asked for his opinion on this inspection, Shen Fenghua evaded the subject and discussed something else just so he wouldn¡¯t have to answer him. This caused Yang Qing to be frustrated in his heart.


    What further surprised Yang Qing was that when they were approaching Mount Calming Sea, Shen Fenghua actually suggested to drop by and have a look.


    This Deacon had the right to conduct an inspection tour around the workce of his subordinates. It wasn¡¯t favorable for Yang Qing to say anything about it. He could only apany the Deacon and pay a visit to Mount Calming Sea together.


    Only Miao Yi and Yan Xiu knew what this great Deacon wanted to do. He came to Mount Calming Sea for the purpose of collecting money. What could they do when the Great Mountain Chieftain Miao had promised to give his deepest gratitude?


    After Yang Qing¡¯s troops had settled down, Miao Yi called Yan Xiu over and made arrangements, "Don¡¯t be impolite at Manor Head¡¯s side. As for that Fatty Shen, do not give him any water, not a tiny drop of it. I want to see how long he can endure it!"


    "Ah!" Yan Xiu forced augh and continued, "Mountain Chieftain, won¡¯t that be too much if we do it this way?"


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er exchanged nces with each other.


    Miao Yi taunted, "I¡¯m not afraid, so why should you? Send out my orders. Let¡¯s see what happens to whoever dares to defy mymand and attempts to tter him secretly! Ever since I came to Mount Calming Sea, I haven¡¯t ughtered anyone yet. My hands are itching for it!"

 Chapter 317: Confrontation

    Chapter 317: Confrontation


    Trantor: Kude Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Inside the guest house in Mount Calming Sea, Shen Fenghua sat unfazed on the main seat in the main hall as he waited to be served.


    However, he quickly noticed that something wasn¡¯t quite right. After he came in here to take a rest, he was met with warmth and enthusiasm at first, but waster served with just a cup of tea. After that, not only was there no one to shower him with ttery, no sound could be heard from the outside as well.


    He was pondering over what could have happened, when one of the two subordinates he¡¯d brought along, Zhang Buping, stepped inside and whispered into Shen Fenghua¡¯s ears, "Deacon, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but the servants in this residence have been withdrawn."


    "Withdrawn?" Shen Fenghua was shocked, but soon revealed an enlightened expression on his face. It would seem that Miao Yi didn¡¯t want too many people to witness him giving presents to a Deacon.Thinking that Miao Yi was going toe soon, he waved his hand andughed, "It¡¯s alright. A guest should suit the convenience of the host."


    Since he said it that way, his subordinates had no further opinions about it.


    However, after waiting for less than half a day, a silhouette had yet to be seening through the door. There wasn¡¯t even anyone serving tea or pouring water for him. Moreover, there was no food delivered to him as well. Normally, there would always be good wine and good food served to him whenever he came down to make an inspection. Today was quite odd indeed.


    After dawdling until the sky was almost dark, Shen Fenghua could not sit still any longer. Even though this bit of time was nothing for a cultivator, and meditating in cultivation could pass by in the blink of an eye, it was still difficult for him to just sit there and drain away his time. He then said with a gloomy face, "Zhang Buping, go and see what¡¯s going on."


    "Understood!" Zhang Buping epted his order and hastily went out.


    About an hourter, Zhang Buping hurriedly ran back and said, "Deacon, Miao Yi and the others are at Yang Qing¡¯s side. They are having a feast and entertaining Yang Qing and his men."


    Shen Fenghua vaguely felt like he had been fooled. But when he thought about it, it didn¡¯t seem possible for that to happen to him. A mere Mountain Chieftain would not dare to do such a thing. He stood up and said, "Take the lead. Bring me there so I can have a look."


    The three of them then went out through the door by themselves. The moonlight was spectacr in the night sky. Zhang Buping took the lead in front and brought the other two to the residence at the other mountainside. As they walked toward the door of the other residence, they could smell the aroma of delicious wine and food. Laughter could be hearding from inside.


    This area was lively, yet as an envoy sent from their superiors, there was no one at his side taking care of him. Shen Fenghua immediately flung his sleeves, pushed aside the guards at the door, and forced himself in, breaking into the banquet at the main hall directly.


    Yang Qing was sitting on the main seat inside the hall, while Miao Yi and the others were sitting in a row on both sides. A group of people were drinking excitedly as they raised their cups at each other. However, the main hall suddenly went quiet at the appearance of an uninvited guest. Everyone turned to look at Shen Fenghua standing at the entrance, who was gazing around the main hall.


    Yang Qing¡¯s forehead was slightly creased. This fellow had just forced himself in like that. He really wasn¡¯t giving him any respect at all.


    Even so, Yang Qing still stood up and smiled, "Deacon Shen has arrived. Prepare a seat!"


    Shen Fenghua directed his gaze at Miao Yi and realized that he had a yful smile on his face. At that moment, he finally understood that he¡¯d really been fooled by Miao Yi. He had never seen a Mountain Chieftain so bold as to fool a Deacon from the Suppressing Second Hall before, so he thought that there must be someone causing mischief behind his back. He stared at Yang Qing and let out a strangeugh, "It¡¯s quite lively at Manor Head Yang¡¯s corner. As expected of a Manor Head thatmands two manors. There¡¯s no one serving tea or pouring water for us at my side. Nothing canpare to this treatment I¡¯m getting!"


    Yang Qing narrowed his eyes at hearing the churlish words. How dare he ridicule him in front of his subordinates. A Deacon with no power could never have control over this Manor Head!


    In reality, he was actually a bit unhappy with Shen Fenghua. This guy had taken his gifts, yet he did not even express anything to him. So after they had arrived at Mount Calming Sea, he didn¡¯t feel like going over to the other side to take care of him. He didn¡¯t even think about the situation at Shen Fenghua¡¯s side either.


    Hearing what Shen Fenghua had said, Yang Qing turned to look at Miao Yi and asked, "Miao Yi, did you neglect your guest?"


    Miao Yi stood up and replied, "Manor Head, it¡¯s not that I wanted to neglect him, but Mount Calming Sea is unable to provide the items that Deacon Shen requested. Because of that, I have to save up and be economical for another two days. Perhaps from that, we might be able to save up enough for him."


    Everyone gazed at one another in their seats. They felt that this guy had really neglected his guest indeed!


    Yang Qing was too speechless to reply.


    Shen Fenghua, who was burning with rage, waved his finger at Miao Yi and roared furiously, "Such audacity! Men! Take him down!"


    The two subordinates behind him were also furious as well. They immediately came forward as soon as the order was given out, preparing to act against Miao Yi.


    However, Miao Yi¡¯s face suddenly darkened, and with a ¡¯bang¡¯, he kicked away the long table filled with dishes and wines in front of him, causing food and drinks to fly everywhere. Tian Qingfeng and the others quickly left their stations outside and poured into the residence Each of them wielded their weapons and surrounded Shen Fenghua and his two men.


    A rumbling noise came from behind them, and cultivators mounted on dragon steeds burst into the courtyard.


    Everyone on their steeds were shocked by the scene and proceeded to stand up as well. Why did they feel that this scenario looked a bit like a mutiny? What was this lunatic Miao Yi thinking?


    Qing Ju stood aghast and stared at Miao Yi. She finally understood why Yang Qing did not want Qin Weiwei to marry this guy.


    On the other hand, Yang Qing coldly nced sideways at Miao Yi.


    Shen Fenghua wasn¡¯t afraid of therge number of people around here. Despite feeling furious, he looked at the troops surrounding him andughed. He then pointed at Miao Yi and snapped, "You piece of scum, are you trying to start a rebellion?"


    Miao Yi extended his fingers and yelled back, "If you can take out Hall Master¡¯s orders, I will immediately let you apprehend me without putting up a fight! But if you can¡¯t, then my Mount Calming Sea isn¡¯t a ce that some dog scum can casually wander in and act with impudence!"


    Shen Fenghua could not show the orders. He turned to the indifferent Yang Qing standing to the side and shouted, "Yang Qing! Are you trying to start a rebellion?"


    ¡ª bang! ¡ª Yang Qing flipped the long table in front him with a kick, and it flew across the room. He stared coldly at Miao Yi and inquired, "Miao Yi, what are you trying to do?"


    What kind of joke was this? He¡¯de to his own subordinate¡¯s territory, and had been enjoying a grand banquet that had been arranged for him. And now to be suddenly ambushed? If there were a scheme behind this, he would be in great danger.


    Miao Yi cupped his fists in response, "Manor Head, this old piece of scum with the surname of Shen is terribly cruel. He had the audacity to threaten your subordinate on the matters of ship construction. He said that if we don¡¯t give him one hundred Orbs of Will, he would go back to Suppressing Second Hall and report that the ships constructed had problems. Mount Calming Sea is surrounded by barren mountains and unruly rivers. I have also raised so many troops under me, so where in the world can I find one hundred Orbs of Will to give him? Since all my options lead to death, and since that Shen Fenghua doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯ll back down, I have no choice but to take down this dog scum first before going back to Suppressing Second Hall to ask for my punishment!"


    Yang Qing finally understood the situation. No wonder that Shen guy was acting a bit strange. He hadn¡¯t expressed anything all this time even after receiving Yang Qing¡¯s gifts, and he still wanted toe to Mount Calming Sea to have a stroll. His rtionships were built from briberies.


    But back to the topic at hand, Miao Yi wasn¡¯t someone incapable of forking out one hundred low-grade Orbs of Will. That person didn¡¯t always have important matters to handle, but now he had finally found this opportunity to make extortions. Why couldn¡¯t Miao Yi just give him what he wanted? Why make such a fuss?


    Yang Qing abruptly thought about Miao Yi¡¯s ¡¯all options lead to death¡¯, and then came to a realization. That was true! This guy would be going to the Sea of Constetions soon. Was he trying to pick the pocket of a dead man?


    He swept his gaze at the troops of Mount Calming Sea inside the main hall. Yang Qing was also worried that this lunatic Miao Yi would drive himself to despair, so he didn¡¯t dare provoke him into an act of desperation.


    Moreover, what was the meaning of Shen Fenghuaing to the territory of a vassal state to seize his subordinate? If he were to be taken away just like that, then where would his authority as a Manor Head fit in all this?


    Shen Fenghua naturally wouldn¡¯t admit that there was indeed a case of demanding bribery. He growled furiously, "Little scum, don¡¯t even think that you can make a nderous charge against me!"


    "Shen Fenghua!" Yang Qing interrupted, "We can work this out, but to take my subordinate away... what gives you the right to do that? If that¡¯s the Hall Master¡¯s order, then you might as well take it out and show it to us!"


    "..." Shen Fenghua gritted his teeth. How in the world would he be able to show proof that it was the Hall Master¡¯s order? He gave a ferocious nod and said, "Yang Qing, I knew that you were behind this. When one door closes, another opens. I will settle this with you when we go back!"


    Yang Qing was speechless. It looked like he would have to take the me after all. No matter how hard he tried to exin to Shen Fenghua, he would never believe that a mere Mountain Chieftain would dare do such a thing like that.


    "Let¡¯s go!¡¯ Shen Fenghua flicked his sleeves and walked away with both of his subordinates. However, before they could leave, a few long spears were shoved in front of their faces, blocking them from going further.


    Miao Yi did not say that he would let them go. Naturally, Tian Qingfeng and the others would not step aside either.


    Shen Fenghua quickly turned his head toward Yang Qing and said, "Yang Qing, don¡¯t tell me you are still thinking of making a move against me?"


    "Let them go!" Yang Qing said coldly.


    Miao Yi immediately waved his hand, allowing his troops to step aside and open a path for them.


    A depressed-looking Shen Fenghua held in his resentment and left.


    To be honest, when Miao Yi was watching their silhouettes walking away, he really didn¡¯t feel like letting them go. He wanted to use hisplete set of Second Grade transcendent artifacts to take Shen Fenghua¡¯s head. However, he also knew that if he were to truly detain and kill the envoy of the Suppressing Second Hall, it would be a p to Manor Head¡¯s face. He feared he¡¯d be doomed even before he could reach the Sea of Constetions.


    Tian Qingfeng and the others quickly retreated after taking cues from Miao Yi. They were palpitating with fear knowing that things had turned out this way. But there was no choice. If they didn¡¯t do it today, Miao Yi would set them up tomorrow.


    Yang Qing¡¯s troops inside the main hall let out a slight sigh of relief. They initially thought that a fight would break out. Luckily, nothing had happened.


    However, Yang Qing waved his hand and said, "Miao Yi will stay. The others, leave!"


    It was a great banquet, but unfortunately, it had ended in a different direction. Everyone who left subtly shook their heads in disappointment. Before they left, they shot a strange look at Miao Yi. This lunatic truly had the audacity to ruin things, even to the point of offending the Deacon from the Suppressing Second Hall. Wasn¡¯t he afraid that the Deacon woulde back and give him a severe punishment? They thought that it would be best to not provoke this lunatic in the future.


    Some of the people leaving the banquet were people from the three main schools that he had gifted presents during his time at South Edict Manor. Miao Yi was able to gift them gifts, but why didn¡¯t he give some to that Deacon? With that, they thought that Yang Qing must be the mastermind behind this matter.


    After everyone had left, Yang Qing, Qing Ju, and Miao Yi were the only ones remaining in the main hall.


    "How dare you unt your prowess in front of me. You¡¯ve got some nerve, Miao Yi!" Yang Qing suddenly burst out in rage.


    "Your subordinate understands his crime. But I am unable to fork out one hundred Orbs of Will for him. I have no choice but to make this unwise move!" Miao Yi smiled bitterly.


    There was a certain ruthlessness in his words! Amongst the Mountain Chieftains in the two manors, Miao Yi was the most extravagant of them all. Could he really not fork out one hundred low-grade Orbs of Will?


    Yang Qing suddenly narrowed his eyes. He realized at that moment that Miao Yi had changed. He wasn¡¯t the same Miao Yi from all those years ago. He had actually worked out a n to go against him and make him a scapegoat!


    "Is it because you are going to the Sea of Constetions soon, or is it because I rejected your marriage proposal?" Yang Qing suddenly implied, a double meaning to his words.


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression slowly turned indifferent as he held his head up high. He stood there, neither humble nor arrogant, and smiled without taking consideration of the distinction in their ranks, "This and that are unrted. I will always remember the gratitude I have for receiving help from the Manor Head that year. I have tried to return your kindness by risking my life numerous times, and I have thought of following Manor Head for eternity. But because of Xiong Xiao, I am now able to think this way. Manor Head might not be able to ept me when the timees. Even if that should happen one day, I will not hold grudges against Manor Head because the rules of the game are just like that¡ªit will always circte around the topic of recement. If it were me, I would do the same to Manor Head too."


    With those words, Qing Ju felt like she couldn¡¯t recognize Miao Yi anymore. Her eyes slowly widened as she continued to stare at him.

 Chapter 318: Candidate List Announcement

    Chapter 318: Candidate List Announcement


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Miao Yi, you insolent whelp!"


    Qing Ju suddenly snapped. Yang Qing raised his hand as if to tell her to stop talking.


    "Miao Yi, you are indeed cocky to actually speak to me like this," Yang Qing said impassively. "You are not stupid. Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re speaking inappropriately to me right now?"


    Miao Yi replied, "In three months, your subordinate is going to depart for the Sea of Constetions. I don¡¯t know if I will evere back here alive. If I don¡¯t say what needs to be said, I fear that I might not have the chance to do so again."


    "Since you know that, then why the impudence? Perhaps you think that I will not touch you because you¡¯ll soon be in the Sea of Constetions? Or perhaps you think you are independent now, so you have the right to challenge me?" Yang Qing calmly continued, "Did you think that the troops of Mount Calming Sea will act as rashly as you? I only need to mention that your name is in the candidate list for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Are you willing to believe that they¡¯ll immediately turn their spears back at you once I give the order?"


    Miao Yi responded, "I have always admired Manor Head¡¯s tactics and wisdom. I am not thinking that far ahead. However, some words are still pent-up inside, and I can¡¯t spit them out fast enough!"


    Yang Qing replied with an ¡¯oh¡¯ and said, "I shall listen to your exnation then!"


    "The reason why I can be audacious in front of Manor Head is because I have always been one to repay what I have owed and avenge against those who have hurt me. I have kept close to my heart the good deeds the Manor Head has shown me that year. If it weren¡¯t for that, I wouldn¡¯t have lied, and I wouldn¡¯t have offended Manor Head before going to the Sea of Constetions. I would have kept up my pretense of polite obedience. And because of this, I want Manor Head to understand that I want to see things through to the end properly. I don¡¯t want us to fall out and be enemies, and I don¡¯t want things to end abruptly. If I die in the Sea of Constetions, then everything will finish. If I cane back alive, then I hope Manor Head can promise me one thing."


    "Speak!"


    "If I choose to find another ce to live and serve a different master, I hope Manor Head will not stop me."


    He knew quite clearly that even if he coulde back alive from the Sea of Constetions, that Hall Master that was hopped up on the wrong medicine would try to bring him to his doom again. If he continued to stay in the Suppressing Second Hall, he would have a hard time sooner orter. However, it would be much worse if he were to bear the title of a defector like Xiong Xiao.


    Yang Qing¡¯s eyes lit up, and he seemed to have more or less understood Miao Yi¡¯s meaning. "This time I am going to the Sea of Constetions. I admit it, and I will not give you any trouble. I only hope that if I manage to survive, and if I wish to leave South Edict Manor, you will allow me some liberties. For example, if I were to break out the news that you are the one who wants me to leave, and not that I wanted to defect."


    Who could tell whether this guy woulde back alive or not? Yet he was already nning what he¡¯d do if he dide back! Yang Qing shook his head in his heart. After remaining silent for a while, he lifted up his head and said, "I promise you."


    "Thank you, Manor Head, for fulfilling my request." Miao Yi cupped his fists together to give his thanks.


    Yang Qing raised his hand slightly and said, "Don¡¯t thank me just yet. How do you n on ending this matter? Shen Fenghua will definitely make nderous remarks in front of the Hall Master once he goes back. If he says that there are problems with the quality of the ships constructed, Hall Master will be furious!"


    Miao Yiughed, "How can a mere Shen Fenghua be Manor Head¡¯s opponent? I remember when Manor Head attacked and conquered Ever Peace Manor. Back then you handled Deacon Wan Shunchang as if he were nothing. How can you be afraid of one Shen Fenghua?"


    "No need to tter me. I won¡¯t be able to smooth things over for this incident with Shen Fenghua. I will leave him be, but I will not take responsibility on your behalf in front of the Hall Master. You are going to the Sea of Constetions anyway, and so you will take the me for this instead." Yang Qing calmly continued, "Write down your justification for the entire event and give it to me. I will send the archives together to Suppressing Second Hallter. You are a smart man; you don¡¯t need me to teach you how to write it."


    He said that he wouldn¡¯t teach him, but he already had by saying that he ¡¯would be going to the Sea of Constetions anyway¡¯. As for the other matters, Yang Qing would naturally help him mediate the situation.


    Since it hade down to this point, there was nothing that Miao Yi couldn¡¯t do. He quickly took out a piece of jade archive and wrote down his justifications on this matter.


    Yang Qing received the jade archive from him and examined it. The content was nothing more than a thorough defamation of Shen Fenghua, followed by a statement on how poor he was. He also mentioned the number of troops he had to look after, and it was hard enough for him to bnce his annual ie and expenditure. Moreover, he said that he¡¯d been left with no options when Shen Fenghua asked for one hundred Orbs of Will, which he was unable to fork out. Since he would be going to the Sea of Constetions soon, all his options led to death. He asked the Hall Master to handle this matter however he wanted. In the end, he mentioned that he¡¯d been forced into this mess. He almost wrote that the Suppressing Second Hall had gravely insulted him with this incident.


    Yang Qing epted the jade archive and turned to Qing Ju, "Gather our troops. We are going back."


    Standing at his side, Miao Yi asked, "Why don¡¯t you rest for the night and leave when the sun rises?"


    "You have already said your piece. Don¡¯t you find this kind of pretense insufferable?" With these words, Yang Qing left him and strode out from the residence.


    Qing Ju shot a disdainful look at Miao Yi, causing him tough without humor. It was as if Yang Qing had been driven away by his own subordinate.


    By the time Yang Qing¡¯s troops had left Mount Calming Sea in a rumbling haste, Shen Fenghua and his men were already gone. He had left feeling quite furious since no one had bothered to see him off.


    Under the moonlight, Miao Yi sent Yang Qing to the memorial archway of the mountain gates. After seeing Yang Qing and his troops leaving in the distance, he turned around and saw his subordinates looking at him anxiously.


    Yan Xiu stepped forward and asked, "My Lord, will we be fine after doing this?"


    Miao Yi faced everyone and burst intoughter. "What problem can there be? If I hadn¡¯t received someone¡¯s suggestion to do this, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to offend the Deacon of the Suppressing Second Hall."


    He was still trying to me Yang Qing! As expected, he was making a clean break from his rtionship with Yang Qing...


    Even though he did not name the person who¡¯d made the suggestion, everyone immediately linked it to Yang Qing. In an instant, they all looked like they¡¯d had a sudden revtion. No wonder Mountain Chieftain had dared to flip the table in front of Manor Head. So he was the one who gave Miao Yi the order to do so. Then there shouldn¡¯t be any problem. They finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    Under the moonlight, Qing Ju was galloping away on her dragon steed as she looked back at the waning lights at Mount Calming Sea. She then asked Yang Qing, "Manor Head, Miao Yi was so cocky just now. Why did you let him go that easily?"


    Her question made it sound like she was still angry over what just happened. In actuality, she was worried that Yang Qing wouldter go back and settle the score with Miao Yi. She feared that doing so would hurt Qin Weiwei¡¯s feelings.


    Yang Qing replied, "Even though he was impudent, he was telling the truth. Besides... did you really think that he was acting so blunt out of recklessness? Even though he can be reckless and bold, he is still a brave and cautious person. You can see a part of that from how he assaulted Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor in order to pluck Xiong Xiao¡¯s head."


    Qing Ju was shocked as she listened to his words, "You are saying that he made preparations for this?"


    "Whether there are preparations or not, I don¡¯t know. However, he must have had something to back him up. Courage is built on confidence unless he is a mere fool who acts on impulse. I admit that this guy has a temperamental side, but does he seem like a guy who can only derive courage from being reckless?? His earlier anger wasn¡¯t spurred by impulse because he had already prepared his troops to be on standby outside. This was clearly a deliberate act. If he had no confidence, then being obedient would be the only thing he could do. How could he dare try to bargain with me!?"


    "Manor Head, where does his confidencee from?"


    "You have to ask him that yourself! It¡¯s not important where his confidence stems from. In less than three months, he will be going to the Sea of Constetions. I¡¯m not at the point where I can¡¯t even put up with him for another two or three months. I have already lost Xiong Xiao, and it will be bad for my reputation if I lose another Mountain Chieftain! He¡¯s right. It¡¯s best if we see things through all the way to the end!"


    Inside Suppressing Second Hall, Shen Fenghua hade back from the inspection and was now standing in front of Huo Lingxiao. He not only raised doubts about the quality of the ships constructed, but he also denounced Miao Yi for his arrogance in actually defying the envoy sent by the Suppressing Second Hall. Because of that, he pointed out that the mastermind behind this defiance was none other than Yang Qing himself.


    Huo Lingxiao sat high above, listening with a nk expression. Tian Yu and Liu Xing stood on each side next to him. Both had a strange look on their faces as they watched Shen Fenghua continue his angry usations. He had actually tried to extort the Hall Master¡¯s sworn brother.


    After waiting for Shen Fenghua to finish, Huo Lingxiao picked up two pieces of jade archive from the tea table and tossed them to him, "Take a look for yourself."


    These two jade archives were reports detailing Yang Qing¡¯s and Miao Yi¡¯s justification on this matter. Yang Qing had sent both of them together, which had reached the Hall Master first before Shen Fenghua arrived.


    If Miao Yi weren¡¯t involved in this matter, he would have actually believed Shen Fenghua. It was impossible for those with high statuses to engage in all sorts of matters themselves. Therefore, they could only depend on the people beside them to report certain matters before they handed out their judgment.


    Huo Lingxiao had no clue whether Miao Yi was capable of forking out that many Orbs of Will. However, he knew that Miao Yi would be going to the Sea of Constetions, and that was true. He had risen to power from a low status, and it was normal for those above him to assume authority and extort things from him. Huo Lingxiao could only turn a blind eye to this sort of thing. However, the main point was that Shen Fenghua had extorted from the wrong person this time. Miao Yi would be leaving soon, and Shen Fenghua still had the nerve to demand to be ttered, picking the pockets of a man who was going to die in the near future. In any case, it was inexcusable.


    Once this person was forced into desperation, he could do anything. If he were to set the ships on fire, how would Huo Lingxiao be able to construct that many ships within these few months? He wouldn¡¯t be able to exin to Traversing Moon Pce should that actually happen.


    Shen Fenghua examined the jade archive, and he suddenly broke into a cold sweat. ¡¯That guy is actually going to the Sea of Constetions to die? No wonder he showed no fear of me. Still, you should have told me that earlier!¡¯


    Huo Lingxiao asked calmly, "Be honest. Is there actually a problem with the quality of the ships, or are you bearing a grudge because you failed to extort a bribe?"


    Shen Fenghua stammered, sweat rolling down his back. There was no exnation needed for this kind of response. Most importantly, this time Huo Lingxiao didn¡¯t seem like he would turn a blind eye on this matter based on his tone. If Huo Lingxiao were to make an effort to investigate this matter, Shen Fenghua would not be able to conceal the truth anymore.


    "The responsibility of the ship¡¯s construction is managed from top to bottom. It is an order decreed by the Realm Beyond Heaven. How dare you belittle such an important task because of one hundred low-grade Orbs of Will? You want Orbs of Will?" Huo Lingxiao sneered. He turned to Tian Yu and continued, "Deduct ten years worth of his Orbs of Will!"


    This punishment was considered light. After all, Huo Lingxiao had to protect the pride of Suppressing Second Hall too. Severe punishments such as a demotion or removal of position were not considered.


    Ultimately, Shen Fenghua stepped out of the pce hall in disgrace. He gnashed his teeth in hatred, full of resentment against Yang Qing...


    There was one month left until the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. The candidate list that had caused many to palpitate with fear and anxiety was finally released. Yang Qing, who controlled two manors, had dispatched four people to participate. These four were Su Jinggong from the Sword Deviate Sect, Wan Yanhua from the Jade Lady Sect, Li Yaoqi from the School of Imperial Beasts, and Mountain Chieftain Miao Yi from Mount Calming Sea.


    Yang Qing did not touch the other Mountain Chieftains of the two manors, only Miao Yi. The other respective Mountain Chieftains in the two manors were filled with immense jubtion and sadness. They felt the Manor Head had taken good care of his old subordinates, so it had been worth following him for so many years. However, some of them were curious as to why Miao Yi was on the list. Judging by the situation, it was clear to them that Miao Yi had already been chosen when he was still a Cave Master. Each of the Mountain Chieftains struggled to find the reason why he¡¯d been selected. Yang Qing had no reason to set Miao Yi up like this!


    Of course, they didn¡¯t know that the person Yang Qing wanted to set up was Xiong Xiao. Despite that, Huo Lingxiao managed to change that person to Miao Yi. Indeed, those at the top could determine the fate of a person with just a flick of their finger.


    "Miss, Manor Head is still in closed-door cultivation!"


    Inside the Manor Head¡¯s residence in South Edict Manor, Qing Mei and Qing Ju blocked the door, unwilling to grant passage to Qin Weiwei.


    "Step aside!" Qin Weiwei had an indifferent expression when she quickly pushed them aside and forced herself into the residence.

 Chapter 319: Endless Visitors

    Chapter 319: Endless Visitors


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    It was rare for Qin Weiwei to be so stubborn when facing Qing Mei and Qing Ju. Generally, she would not behave like a little miss to either of them because they could more or less be considered as her stepmothers. They had raised her since she was very young.


    Today, it was obvious that she had swallowed the wrong medicine.


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu had alsoe along, and they chose to wait in the courtyard instead. When they saw Qin Weiwei forcing herself into the residence, they didn¡¯t have the guts to follow her and go against Qing Mei and Qing Ju. Within the two manors, only Qin Weiwei would dare to do such a thing.


    However, there were also traces of anxiety in their eyes as well. After the candidate list for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was released, they hadn¡¯t been able to believe it either. They knew the kind of feelings Qin Weiwei had for Miao Yi. As expected, she immediately rushed over without stopping to rest.


    Inside the silent quarters, Yang Qing, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, slowly opened his eyes to see Qin Weiwei striding into the residence. He didn¡¯t expect that she would force herself in. It was as though the girl who would never publicly address him as her father and the one before him now were two different people.


    He knew that she woulde looking for him once the candidate list was announced, which was why he¡¯d shut himself in to avoid her. It wasn¡¯t because he felt guilty; he just didn¡¯t want to see his own daughtering to look for him just because of that man. This annoyed him quite a lot.


    However, he now acknowledged that the person approaching him was not just his daughter, but a woman. In the structure of a woman¡¯s life, being a daughter was just a part of it and never above her identity as a woman. Because of that, women were able to put aside their parent¡¯s words whenever love was involved in the discussion.


    "Weiwei, do you realize what you¡¯re doing?" Yang Qing questioned sombrely.


    Qin Weiwei stood firmly in front of him and questioned him as well, "What¡¯s with the candidate list?"


    Yang Qing became furious, "Impudence! Are you going to talk to your father with that kind of attitude?"


    Qin Weiwei bit her lips and asked again, "Why is Miao Yi¡¯s name on the list?"


    The moment she knew of the candidate list, she immediately thought that she had gotten Miao Yi into trouble. She was certain that the marriage proposalst time had angered her father. Otherwise, how could someone let a cultivator from the White Lotus realm participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade? Wouldn¡¯t that mean that he wanted to send Miao Yi to his own death?


    His daughter was Yang Qing¡¯s greatest weakness. Seeing that her eyes were slightly red, he couldn¡¯t bear staying angry with her for long. He calmly asked, "Do you like Miao Yi?"


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s heart trembled as she firmly denied it. "No. I just want to know if you made his name appear on that list because of the marriage proposal."


    It would be strange if she said she didn¡¯t like him. Yang Qing sighed in his heart, ¡¯If you don¡¯t like him then why are you getting this worked up? ¡¯ He shook his head and said, "You are overthinking things. Miao Yi¡¯s name wasn¡¯t even on the candidate list in the first ce. It was the Hall Master who crossed out one of the names and added Miao Yi to the list. So there¡¯s no need to be suspicious. I know you won¡¯t believe me with this kind of statement, but to be honest, I don¡¯t know why Hall Master added Miao Yi¡¯s name. I really don¡¯t have anything to do with this matter, and Miao Yi knows this. I think he¡¯s the only one who can guess why his name appeared on the list. This wouldn¡¯t have happened without a reason."


    Qin Weiwei widened her eyes and choked out a response, "Miao Yi already knew about the candidate list?"


    Yang Qing nodded.


    In that instant, Qin Weiwei finally realized why Miao Yi had entrusted those two people to her, and why he¡¯d given gifts to the three main schools that time. He had done all of that because he was making preparations for his excursion to the Sea of Constetions.


    After bidding farewell to Yang Qing, Qin Weiwei turned around and left the residence. She then immediately brought Hong Mian and Lu Liu along and rushed straight to Mount Calming Sea. She didn¡¯t bring any other subordinates with her for this journey...


    Once the candidate list had been announced, the rowdiest ce was none other than Mount Calming Sea. The disciples of the three main schools were bursting with joy as they spoke all sorts of words of retribution behind Miao Yi¡¯s back. They seemed poised to do battle once Miao Yi left for the Sea of Constetions.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had already prepared themselves mentally a long time ago. They didn¡¯t pay too much attention to this matter since Miao Yi himself didn¡¯t seem concerned most of the time. Bit by bit, they had already put their hearts to rest. Both of them had blind faith in Miao Yi, and most importantly, Miao Yi had never disappointed them before. In their eyes, Miao Yi was a person who could face any problem he encountered.


    Of course, Miao Yi¡¯s words offort to thesedies had taken effect, ¡¯This isn¡¯t my first time going to the Sea of Constetions!¡¯


    However, the disciples of the School of Blue Jade were shocked. Their school was already destroyed, and if Miao Yi were to leave again, they could imagine the kind of unfavorable circumstances that would follow. Not to mention that the next Mountain Chieftain to assume the role would never be like Miao Yi, who was willing to give up his ie every year to take care of their overwhelming number of troops.


    Naturally, the first thing that Tian Qingfeng and the others did was to request an audience with Miao Yi to verify whether the news was real or fake.


    Inside the hall, Miao Yi swept a nce at the disciples of the School of Blue Jade and nodded his head, "It¡¯s true."


    "My Lord, why are they letting you go to the Sea of Constetions?" Tian Qingfeng said with utter anguish. These few years had been a series of blows to the School of Blue Jade, and thistest piece of news was a bit hard to swallow.


    "This isn¡¯t important. The most important thing is that the three main schools tried to pressure me to demote all of you from your current positions after the destruction of the School of Blue Jade. But I managed to endure that pressure in the end." Miao Yi stood up from his chair and continued, "I am telling you this because I want you all to understand that I have given you fair treatment, so when I¡¯m not here, you must conform with Yan Xiu and take good care of Mount Calming Sea. I will authorize Yan Xiu as the temporary Mountain Chieftain for Mount Calming Sea. When I return, I will give out fair rewards to those with contributions. I will definitelye back from the Sea of Constetions!"


    Do you think you cane back just because you say so? Everyone was filled withplex feelings. Despite that, they still responded in unison, "Understood!"


    After the group retreated, Miao Yi brought an upset Yan Xiu along with him to the loft at the courtyard. They had avoided Qian`Er and Xue`Er along the way.


    He wrote down a jade archive of authorization and handed it to him, "While I¡¯m away from Mount Calming Sea, I will entrust all matters here to you."


    Yan Xiu took the jade archive and cupped his fists together, "Yan Xiu will not disappoint Mountain Chieftain¡¯s trust."


    Miao Yiughed, "Some things aren¡¯t appropriate to say in front of Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, but I shouldn¡¯t hide this from you. This time, the odds are stacked against me on this journey to the Sea of Constetions. The chances of returning are small. I heard there will be a substantial reward for anyone who survives, and I will gamble for that small chance. You don¡¯t have to worry either. If I don¡¯te back, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er will naturally leave with Yao Ruoxian. I have also arranged a path for you should that happen. If you are willing to follow Qian¡¯Er and the others to a distantnd, you can go find Qin Weiwei at Mount Shaotai and ask to remove your immortal records. If you want to continue hanging around in the administration, I will not force you either. If you find it hard to gain a foothold in Mount Calming Sea, you can go to Qin Weiwei. I have already notified her of this matter."


    Yan Xiu hadn¡¯t expected Miao Yi to arrange an escape path for him too. He felt touched beyond words. With his feelings slightly beyond his control, he said with a trembling voice, "My Lord, you have made these arrangements beforehand. Did you already know that you¡¯d be going to the Sea of Constetions?"


    Miao Yi nodded his head, "I¡¯m so sorry for hiding it from you this whole time."


    After he finished assigning tasks to Yan Xiu, another guest had arrived on a steed. This visitor wasn¡¯t a stranger; it was Wen Fang from the Chamber of Commerce at South Edict Manor. She had brought along another box of pastries that she¡¯d made herself.


    She had no choice since she wasn¡¯t some sort of rich person. In her eyes, Miao Yi was wealthy, so he would definitely look down on any present she tried to give him. In that case, she figured she might as well make something from scratch to express her sincerity.


    She had also thought of gifts for both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. She gifted them two sets of beautiful jewelry and proceeded to chatter away with them.


    Inside the hall, Miao Yi opened the box and sat beside the tea table. He took out a piece of pastry and took a bite of it. The taste was quite nice. He didn¡¯t even get to touch the ones she gifted himst time. This time, he got to taste it with a smile. He then asked, "Did you really make this?"


    "Big Brother, your words wound me. Do you think I would lie to you?" Wen Fang left the twodies and sat on the other side of the tea table, acting like this was her home and she wasn¡¯t a stranger. After hesitating for a while, she tried to probe, "Big Brother, I heard rumors that you will be participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?"


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "Does your Chamber of Commerce usually concern themselves with matters of battle? You¡¯re quite well-informed with the news."


    "I heard it from someone who came to make some transactions in the Chamber of Commerce."


    Wen Fang observed his expression as well as Qian¡¯Er¡¯s and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s reactions to her answer. Miao Yi could be pretending to be calm, but she had interacted with the twodies before, and she knew very well that they weren¡¯t calcting women. She could see them holding onto the two sets of jewelry and whispered to each other as if they weren¡¯t worried that their master was going to the Sea of Constetions. Their eyes seemed deeply absorbed with thoughts.


    Miao Yiughed, "You know that I¡¯m going to the Sea of Constetions soon, and you¡¯re still dropping by? I might note back once I go there. No matter how much you try to establish a rtionship with me, I won¡¯t be able to give consideration to your business."


    "Little Sister isn¡¯t the snobbish type. Even if Big Brother isn¡¯t here, I will stille often to visit Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er." Wen Fang patted her chest and assured him, "I won¡¯t call anyone else ¡¯Big Brother¡¯ because when I do, I will call them that forever!"


    "Forever?" Miao Yiughed. It would be weird if she was here because of affection and not because of business.


    Of course, he could only keep those words in his heart. There was no need to say them out loud to hurt her.


    As they continued to chat, someone outside informed him that Qin Weiwei had arrived.


    Not long after that, he saw Qin Weiwei striding toward him from the courtyard. Hong Mian and Lu Liu followed her from behind. Miao Yi asked Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to apany Wen Fang before he personally went out to greet her, cupping his fists together. "Mountain Chieftain Qin has honored us with your presence. I wee you to revisit your old territory."


    How could he still crack a joke at a time like this? Qin Weiwei shot him a disdainful look. She ordered Hong Mian and Lu Liu to apany Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯er while she headed toward the loft she¡¯d once been familiar with. At the same time, she called Miao Yi and said, "Come up, I have something to discuss with you."


    When they reached the loft, she noted that the furnishings inside didn¡¯t seem to have changed much. Qin Weiwei immediately walked toward the long table and sat down. That space used to be her original seat too.


    Miao Yi, who¡¯d followed her from behind, forced out a smile and said, "Weiwei, that seat seems to be mine now. With you sitting there, why do I feel like we¡¯re back to when I was a Cave Master of East Arrival Caveing to greet you?"


    Qin Weiwei did not humor his joke and asked him with a scowl, "Did you know beforehand that you¡¯d be going to the Sea of Constetions?"


    As expected, everyone came here just for this issue! Miao Yi sighed, "Yes!"


    Qin Weiwei gritted her teeth and probed, "Is it because of the marriage proposal that Manor Head deliberately tried to make things difficult for you?"


    Miao Yi was shocked. He quickly shook his head and replied, "This thing really has nothing to do with Manor Head. It was the Hall Master who chose me."


    Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t believe him. "Why did the Hall Master select you personally for the Sea of Constetions?"


    "I¡¯m curious about this too. I suspect that I¡¯ve been betrayed by my sworn brother."


    There was more to the story? Qin Weiwei was stunned, "Your sworn brother? Who?"


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t tell her that he forced the other party to pledge brotherhood with him, so he just sighed. "It¡¯s a long story. In short, this was back when I apanied Manor Head to Suppressing Second Hall. I unintentionally went into the Hall Master¡¯s plum garden and touched Hall Master¡¯s favorite plum tree. It seems like the Hall Master is angry at me because of this incident. Other than that, I really can¡¯t think of anything that might have offended the Hall Master." Miao Yi shook his head and let out a bitter smile. At this point, he had nothing to hide anymore.


    Qin Weiwei abruptly stood up and stared at Miao Yi with exasperation. She said in great distress, "Miao Yi, you¡¯ve left me speechless. You can¡¯t just blindly enter the Hall Master¡¯s private area!"


    "How should I know that a great Hall Master would be that narrow-minded? Besides, this is just my guess. I can¡¯t be certain of it yet."


    While they were still conversing, Qian¡¯Er suddenly came in to make a report, "Master, there are people outside who wish to meet with you. They said they were sent by your Elder Brother."


    "..." When did I ever have an Elder Brother? Miao Yi was stunned. Did Xiao Yizhu reallye for me because I talked about him just now? He didn¡¯t want the same urrence to happen like the time he¡¯d mistaken Wen Fang for his ¡¯little sister¡¯, so he asked, "Which Elder Brother?"


    "The guards said they wouldn¡¯t say who. Only that the two people were women who are calling themselves Hong Xiu and Hong Fu. They also said that Master will know once I report this to you."

 Chapter 320: Yan Beihong’s Trust

    Chapter 320: Yan Beihong¡¯s Trust


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Hong Xiu? Hong Fu? Miao Yi was surprised.


    Miao Yi could never forget such unique names that easily. Weren¡¯t those the names of Yan Beihong¡¯s handmaidens? He finally realized who that Big Brother really was.


    The friendship between him and Yan Beihong began from the time the both of them were still nobodies. They were each other¡¯s savior, and could be considered good friends with one another. If anyone were to call himself Miao Yi¡¯s big brother in the world of cultivation, Yan Beihong would be most deserving of that recognition.


    What made him curious was that they were quite a distance apart. Why would Yan Beihong send his two handmaidens here? Could it be that Yan Beihong was here as well?


    When he thought of Yan Beihong, he couldn¡¯t help himself from thinking of the Glorious Cloud Sect. Not only was that thergest sect in the First Earthly Branch, it was also the top sect in the entire Celestial Nation. They were much greater than the forces of the Sword Deviate Sect¡ªhow could he have forgotten about the rtionship between Yan Beihong and the Glorious Cloud Sect? If he could ask Yan Beihong to take advantage of his connections with his sect, wouldn¡¯t that mean he would have strong support within the Sea of Constetions? In high spirits, he loudly ordered, "Quickly let them in!"


    Qian¡¯Er received the order and left.


    "I have visitors. Please allow me to head down and check on them." Miao Yi turned to Qin Weiwei and apologized.


    Qin Weiwei was also curious about this. What kind of visitors were they to make Miao Yi look like he had been jolted by an adrenaline rush? She followed him down the building as well.


    After waiting a moment in the courtyard, she could see Qian¡¯Er bringing in two elegantdies inside. They were wearing bright red dresses that stood out from the others, with alluring figures and an air of gracefulness between their brows. However, exhaustion was visible on their faces after rushing here from a long way off.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes lit up. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, these two were Yan Beihong¡¯s handmaidens.


    When Hong Xiu and Hong Fu saw Miao Yi standing in the courtyard in a towering manner, their eyes lit up as well. After Qian¡¯Er saw them in, she went to stand behind Miao Yi. The twodies hurriedly stepped forth and knelt on one knee, then together gave their sincere greetings, "Hong Xiu and Hong Fu respectfully greet Lord Miao!"


    "Stand up, stand up." Miao Yi didn¡¯t think that these two would give him such a grand greeting. He quickly went up and supported them by their arms. After taking a nce at their expressions, he said, "It must have been grueling to rush here on such a long journey. Is Big Brother Yan here?"


    Both of them nced at each other, then looked at the six women in the courtyard and shook their heads. It appeared they weren¡¯tfortable disclosing the matter openly before the others.


    Understanding their predicament, Miao Yi said, "Follow me." Turning around, he brought the girls to his silent quarters.


    It seemed the rtionship between Miao Yi and these visitors wasn¡¯t simple; they actually addressed Miao Yi as ¡¯Lord Miao¡¯. This was what Hong Mian and Lu Liu used to address Miao Yi as well. They all exchanged nces in the courtyard, before Qin Weiwei asked Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, "Who is this ¡¯Big Brother Yan¡¯ Miao Yi spoke of?"


    Thedies shook their head, indicating that they had never heard of it before. Even if they did, they would not tell others openly without Miao Yi¡¯s permission to do so.


    After taking Hong Xiu and Hong Fu to his own private cultivation room, Miao Yi turned to them and smiled, "There are no outsiders here. If there¡¯s anything you want to say, just say it."


    After they both exchanged a nce, they cupped their fists again and said, "Hong Xiu and Hong Fu congratte Lord Miao on his promotion."


    Miao Yi was stunned. He had been Mountain Chieftain for a few years already. It was a bitte for them to congratte him now. However, he quickly realized that when hest sought Yan Beihong, his status then time was still the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave. To be more precise, he had been the Steed Deputy of East Arrival Cave.


    However, Miao Yi was quite curious; their territories were quite a distance apart¡ªhow did they know that he had be a Mountain Chieftain? A light appeared in his eyes and he tried probing, "Could it be that you girls went to East Arrival Cave first?"


    Hong Xiu nodded and smiled, "Lord Miao is wise. We did head to East Arrival Cave first to pay our respects. We heard from the cultivators guarding the gates that Lord Miao had been promoted to Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, so we quickly changed course and came here."


    In their hearts, thedies were amazed. Even though Miao Yi¡¯s rise wasn¡¯t as quick as Yan Beihong, they both knew that an ordinary person couldn¡¯t be a Mountain Chieftain just within a short couple of years. Their Master¡¯s Little Brother was indeed not simple!


    "I apologize for leading you on such a chase."


    "Thank you, Lord Miao, for your concern. Compared to the journey from the First Earthly Branch, this extra journey was nothing."


    "Indeed." Miao Yi nodded. He decided to stop beating around the bush and directly asked them, "When I asked if Big Brother Yan was here, I saw that both of you hesitated to answer me. Did something happen?"


    Thedies instantly turned glum at the question; and Hong Fu replied, "Our Master has encountered a problem. We fear this problem may put his life at risk this time."


    Miao Yi was shocked, "How so?"


    Hong Xiu swiftly took out a jade archive from her storage ring and presented it with both hands, "This is the letter that Master ordered us to deliver to Lord Miao."


    Miao Yi quickly took the jade archive and examined the contents. It was indeed Yan Beihong¡¯s personal letter. But when Miao Yi read what he wrote, he couldn¡¯t help but let out a bitterugh.


    It turned out that Yan Beihong had also been selected for the candidate list to the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. However, his situation was a bit more extreme than Miao Yi¡¯s because the progress of his cultivation was too swift and violent. It was much faster than Miao Yi¡¯s current cultivation rate. In just a few years, his cultivation base had already reached Blue Lotus Second Grade. On top of that, Yan Beihong liked going on conquests. Before Hong Xiu and Hong Fu came, Yan Beihong had already conquered two mountain strongholds. He was a Mountain Chieftain of three mountains now.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but sigh at those facts. No wonder when he first met Yan Beihong, he was already a Mountain Chieftain.


    As they say, the outstanding ones were prone to be attacked by others. Those who were deemed too outstanding would be easily hated and envied by others. An abrupt rise to power would definitely offend a lot of people. Yan Beihong¡¯s extraordinary rate of progress in his cultivation had stirred up the Manor Head¡¯s fear. Even the Glorious Cloud Sect could detect that something wasn¡¯t right as the rate of progression for their cultivation technique had never been that fast. Moreover, Yan Beihong didn¡¯t have any extra resources for his cultivation. Because of that, they secretly tried to force Yan Beihong into divulging the source of his progress. Yan Beihong refused toply and, with his status as an official, the Glorious Cloud Sect simply couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    As a result, one could well imagine what had befallen Yan Beihong. Since he had offended the Glorious Cloud Sect and given his Manor Head reason to fear him, when the candidate list was announced, Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t escape from it.


    The reason why Hong Xiu and Hong Fu hade was simple.


    The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was a ce where the elites of Blue Lotus level in the world of cultivation would gather together. A hundred and fifty thousand cultivators would rush toward the Sea of Constetions. Adding the troops of the Lords in the Yao Nation, it was estimated that the number of troops would exceed one hundred and eighty thousand men. Before such arge-scale war, even Yan Beihong would lose confidence regardless of how sure of himself he had been.


    Furthermore, Yan Beihong had offended every other force around his territory. Once he went to the Sea of Constetions, one could well imagine what would happen to Hong Xiu and Hong Fu next. No man was willing to see their own women end up in a miserable state. The reason he let Hong Xiu and Hong Fue here was because there was no one close to him that he could trust them with. After considering a few options, only his Little Brother Miao Yi was worth his trust because he had seen how Miao Yi behaved with his own eyes, and felt a sense of relief putting them under his care. Otherwise, how would he have allowed Hong Xiu and Hong Fu to make such an arduous journey?


    On the archive, Yan Beihong exined the entire story in detail. He solemnly entrusted both his women to Miao Yi and stated that if he were toe back alive, he woulde here to personally pick them up. If he couldn¡¯t survive the ordeal, since he would be dead anyway, he casually mentioned that he¡¯d let Miao Yi take his two women to bed, considering that they were not bad-looking at all. The only thing he asked of Miao Yi was to not treat them badly, before ending the letter with a word of gratitude for his kindness!


    The immoral and promiscuous words on the archive had Miao Yi drenched in nervous sweat. ¡¯Am I that type of person who will take your women and sleep with them?¡¯


    However, he could also somewhat understand Yan Beihong¡¯s concerns and helplessness. Who would be willing to take care of another person¡¯s women for the rest of their lives? If it was only for a short period of time, it would be fine. But in the long term, anyone would feel a little bit worried about that. The only solution was for them to stay together. Hong Xiu and Hong Fu¡¯s cultivation base weren¡¯t that high and they didn¡¯t have much they could offer Miao Yi; what else could they bring to the table to seal the deal? They had nothing but their bodies. For the sake of securing an escape route for Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, even Miao Yi himself had to allow them to recognize Yao Ruoxian as their adoptive father.


    After he finished reading the jade archive, Miao Yi sighed and inquired, "Do you two know what Big Brother Yan wrote in this jade archive?"


    Their eyes were slightly red as they remained silent, their heads drooped. After a while, they nced at each other before lifting up their heads and looked at Miao Yi with determined eyes, "If Master doesn¡¯te back from the Sea of Constetion Subjugation Crusade, Hong Xiu and Hong Fu are willing to serve Lord Miao." Implying that they would wait until the result was confirmed before deciding whether or not they would devote their bodies to him.


    As expected, they knew about it already. It seemed that Yan Beihong already exined to them before they came. Miao Yi could see a shred of difort from their determined eyes. From the looks of it, thedies appeared ready to endure humiliation should Yan Beihong fail to return for them; and would wait for the day toe when they could exact their revenge for their master!


    "You girls think too much. Big Brother Yan and I are good friends, so I won¡¯t touch his women. I, Miao Yi, am not such a shameless scoundrel." Miao Yi waved the jade archive in his hand and continued, "From your journey, the announcement for the participants in the candidate list must have been released earlier than here. I guess that Big Brother Yan is already on his way to board the ship. I wonder where he will head to board. If we aren¡¯t too far apart, then there is still time to meet him one more time."


    As he would be going to the Sea of Constetions as well, in case he couldn¡¯t make it back, they would have to follow Qian¡¯Er and the others and move away. It would not be safe for them to stay in Mount Calming Sea any longer. Thus, if Yan Beihong alone were toe back alive, it was very likely that he wouldn¡¯t be able to find the two of them. They would need a way to agree to a rendezvous should they want to meet each other then.


    Hong Fu replied, "Three months ago when the candidate list for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was announced, Master only knew that the First Earthly Branch¡¯s forces would assemble together before they depart, but he doesn¡¯t know where they will set sail from. He wanted us to escape beforehand, so we didn¡¯t have the time to hear more information about it."


    Since they didn¡¯t know where the troops would set sail from, then there was no helping it. In any case, it was highly unlikely that they would board a ship from East Arrival Cave. Miao Yi already received news from his superiors for him to start making his own preparations. All the designated troops of the Fifth Earthly Branch would gather at East Arrival Cave to board the ships. Onerge ship could aodate two hundred people, so tenrge ships were just enough to hold the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s two thousand people inside.


    "Hong Xiu. Hong Fu. I have some unfortunate news to tell you." Miao Yi forced a smile and continued, "It seems like Big Brother Yan and I are both in the same boat. That year, both of us braved countless life and death situations together in the Boundless Secr World. I didn¡¯t think that we would once again participate together in this Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade."


    " AH! " Both of them were surprised. Together, they cried out, "Lord Miao is going to participate as well!"


    Miao Yi nodded, "You don¡¯t have to worry about anything. You can stay here in peace. While you¡¯re here, just treat this ce as your home and don¡¯t be shy. I have already made arrangements for the escape of my own handmaidens. Try to get closer to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Erter. I will make the proper arrangements for you two as well. If anythinges up, they will bring both of you away and leave for safety together. I will not betray Big Brother Yan¡¯s trust."


    Both of them exchanged nces. It seemed like there was no need to worry about devoting their bodies in shame anymore. They bowed together in gratitude and said, "We will follow Lord Miao¡¯s arrangements."


    Miao Yi nodded. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of helplessness in his heart. Initially, he nned on asking Yan Beihong to get in touch with the Glorious Cloud Sect. In the end, Yan Beihong himself could hardly protect himself. Miao Yi ultimately had to throw that idea aside once and for all.

 Chapter 321: Mass Movement Of Six Nations

    Chapter 321: Mass Movement Of Six Nations


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    He led them both out of the silent quarters. The orders from the South Edict Manor had arrived just as he handed over Hong Xiu and Hong Fu to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    Even though there were still a few months left until the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, it would still take about three months to sail by sea towards the destination. Thus, the time to depart was already less than half a month. The Fifth Earthly Branch had already dispatched the participating officials from their territory. They would reach East Arrival Cave for the assembly within half a month, and after that, they would prepare themselves to board the ships at the appointed time.


    Yang Qing ordered Miao Yi to have Mount Calming Sea start the preparations immediately to avoid causing the unexpected to happen. Hemanded Miao Yi to lock the offices in their departure area and clear the entire docks at the East Arrival Cave. In the meantime, they would be prohibiting ordinary folks from all marine activities and lift the restriction after the participating troops had departed. They were to prevent any mishaps from happening at all costs.


    Meanwhile, Yang Qing nned to take half of the respective troops from the two manors and rush towards East Arrival Cave to maintain order and avoid a chaotic situation. He would also rush down personally to take upmand of the troops. Suppressing Second Hall would dispatch their experts to East Arrival Cave as well.


    After Miao Yi had looked over the orders, he smiled at Qin Weiwei, who was waiting for him. He said, "Mountain Chieftain Qin, the troops from both manors are getting ready to move soon. I fear that you must go back to Mount Shaotai at once."


    After that, he handed the jade archive to Qin Weiwei for her perusal, before turning to Wen Fang. He said, "Wen Fang, I have something I must attend to, so it¡¯s inconvenient to have you remain here. I¡¯m afraid that I must see you out soon."


    Wen Fang noticed that he¡¯d received an order and spoken to Qin Weiwei first, so she instinctively knew she shouldn¡¯t disrupt their official business. She then gestured to him, showing that she would immediately take her leave.


    Qin Weiwei went silent after she had seen the orders. Yang Qing wanted to take half of the troops from both mountains and bring them to East Arrival Cave. Mount Shaotai certainly wasn¡¯t an exception. She had to hurry back as this matter could not be dyed. With that, she was forced to take her leave as well.


    Wen Fang, who had just familiarized herself with Qin Weiwei, quickly suggested leaving together with her. After knowing that Qin Weiwei was the Mountain Chieftain of two mountains, she had set her mind on bing friends with her as well. Moreover, she had acquired some experience from Miao Yi. Should there be a chance in the future, she would be prepared to go around and visit the respective Mountain Chieftains in South Edict Manor.


    Outside the mountain gates, Qin Weiwei wore her snow-white dress as she straddled her dragon steed. She had a look of reluctance on her face. She looked at Miao Yi, who had personallye to see them off, and hesitated from speaking her mind. A glint of despair shed before her eyes, yet she was powerless to do anything. The Hall Master had already decided on the selection.


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu, who were both standing behind Qin Weiwei, understood her very well. Naturally, they knew what she wanted to say. However, they feared that she might open up and pour her heart out to him at this critical moment.


    Both of them felt torn for Qin Weiwei. They¡¯d hoped that she could tell him the things she had kept in her heart, but at the same time, they didn¡¯t want her to say it to him. In the past, they definitely would have wanted her to rify her feelings. But Miao Yi would be going to the Sea of Constetions soon! If word were to spread out, and in case Miao Yi couldn¡¯t make it back from that ce, there would be a blot on Qin Weiwei¡¯s reputation. Wouldn¡¯t that make it awkward if she found another partner for her dual-cultivation in the future?


    She had stayed for half a day and didn¡¯t seem to be leaving anytime soon. Miao Yi asked curiously, "What¡¯s wrong?"


    She opened her mouth, her words at the tip of her tongue. Yet when she saw Wen Fang at the side, her presence inevitably became a stumbling block on this final stretch. Qin Weiwei pouted her red lips for a while before she finally swallowed her words back down.


    Even in this kind of situation, she still couldn¡¯t take the initiative as a woman because of her personality. She hesitated; she still didn¡¯t know whether Miao Yi would ept her suggestion. Because of Miao Yi¡¯s words and behavior, she didn¡¯t dare to say those words to him. Still, it would be great if she could show some signs or a hint of her intentions!


    With some difficulty, she changed what she meant to say and said, "We are friends!"


    Miao Yi beamed with a nod. "Friends! So please don¡¯t ever forget the things I¡¯ve asked of you!"


    Qin Weiwei forced a smile on her face as she said, "Take care!"


    "I will not see you off!" Miao Yi cupped his fists together as a gesture of farewell.


    Qin Weiwei forced herself to look away and turned her dragon steed around. Her white dress fluttered in the wind, with Hong Mian and Lu Liu following closely from behind.


    "Goodbye, Elder Brother!" Wen Fang waved with a smile before quickly trailing after Qin Weiwei.


    After watching them fade into the distance, Miao Yi immediately wiped the smile off his face. He turned around and allowed his subordinates to see the dignified side of Great Mountain Chieftain Miao as he strode back towards his residence.


    To some men, especially those who had shouldered responsibilities since they were young, romance was an extremely luxurious thing to have. He had yearned for it too, but there would always be other priorities in his life. Undoubtedly, he ced love and romance behind his survivability, and so he would never be too devoted in romantic affairs. And because of that, he would always let slip the opportunity. Perhaps some men would regret it after they had achieved sess in life. Most of them intended to make up for it after they had acquired fame and sess. In the end, however, they would always regret it!


    As soon as he returned to the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s residence, Miao Yi quickly wrote down a list of orders for Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to distribute to his subordinates.


    Following the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s decree, the troops from the respective caves in Mount Calming Sea began to move out.


    A messenger from East Arrival Cave passed on the orders at the City Lord¡¯s manor in East Arrival City. As a result, the City Lord quickly assembled all of his officials inside the city and mobilized all of their powers to announce the ban on marine activities. The officers then hurried toward the docks and began the evacuation and blockade.


    The inconveniences brought upon themon people were inevitable. However, there was simply no room for discussion at the moment.


    The forces from the two manors were also moving in haste. Yang Qing had already received the candidate list of official troops participants, and South Edict Manor was tasked to verify the people boarding the ships. He personally led his men and departed once more to East Arrival Cave.


    The official troops of the Fifth Earthly Branch assembled together as one unit from various ces in the area. After that, they rode off together and hurried towards their next destination: East Arrival Cave.


    All the official troops from the Fifth Earthly Branch had to assemble at East Arrival Cave, whereas the non-official troops would have to assemble at the harbors in other ces instead. East Arrival Cave wasn¡¯t the only ce that had harbors designated for ship construction.


    Throughout the Celestial Nation, troops rushed from their respective territories and hastened to the ocean.


    The 180,000 troops summoned by the six nations were all on the move. Their destination was the Sea of Constetions. The entire world of cultivation was stirred up because of it.


    This spectacr event was soon about tounch. The event urred once every three hundred years and spanned ten years. Some would eventually achieve sess and gain recognition after the event ended. However, only a small number would be able to achieve that, and only a few would return in one piece. The majority would be buried in the Sea of Constetions forever. And just like the name ¡¯Sea of Constetions¡¯, they would forever be the nameless stars that adorned the night sky.


    Miao Yi would soon be leading his men in setting out for the journey. Once he departed, aside from cooperating his forces with Yang Qing¡¯s, it would be impossible for him to go back to Mount Calming Seater on since he would immediately board the ship and start his journey to the Sea of Constetions.


    Before his departure, Miao Yi refused to meet with anyone else. He intimately made love to the twodies all day. Countless emotions and sweet affection were disyed on this day.


    On top of the bed, he tore himself away from the intimate embrace of thedies¡¯ jade-like limbs, freeing himself from their graceful, well-developed, fair-skinned bodies. He held their beautiful, delicate faces and looked at the glistening tear stains on their cheeks. He let out a sigh, feeling regretful for not being able to do anything. Miao Yi could not intoxicate himself in sex with thedies any longer¡ªhe still had to leave in the end.


    However, there was one thing he could never forget. Miao Yi brought thedies along and arrived at Yao Ruoxian¡¯s secluded cave.


    Yao Ruoxian also knew what he wanted to retrieve¡ªfifteen pieces of Second Grade talismans and one hundred and fifty pieces of First Grade talismans. He finally handed these items to Miao Yi.


    Yao Ruoxian initially hoped that there would be some sort of ident so that he could deduct some of these items for his own use. However, he still had to hand over the items to Miao Yi in the end.


    Under Yao Ruoxian¡¯s guidance, Miao Yi turned a Mountain Cleaving Talisman into a ray of white light, which burst out from Miao Yi¡¯s hand, hitting the side of the mountain.


    A thunderous sound rang out upon impact, causing a big piece of the mountain to copse and fall into the deep ravines below. The rumbling sound of the rocks reverberated in the air.


    After testing it once, he was now fully prepared for what was toe.


    Miao Yi turned around and took out two pieces of jade archives customized by the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce. He handed them over to the twodies and said, "I don¡¯t know when I wille back once I go there. For the sake of preparing for this journey, I have nearly squandered my whole fortune. Thus, I have nothing left to give to you two. I need to bring the transcendent artifacts with me for protection when I go to the Sea of Constetions. However, I still have 18,000 low-grade Orbs of Will in my possession. Among that amount, I have already deposited 14,000 orbs at the Chamber of Commerce. Here are two jade archives. One is the proof of deposit and the other details the procedures that the Chamber of Commerce and I have settled on. Both of you can withdraw from them anytime. The 10,000 orbs are yours. Hong Xiu and Hong Fu were entrusted to me by Big Brother Yan, and he was my savior. If he doesn¡¯te back from the Sea of Constetions as well, you must give them the remaining 4,000 orbs."


    Hearing this, Yao Ruoxian shot him a nce. There was a trace of sadness in his heart. Even though this brat wasn¡¯t exactly a good person, he could be a person of kindness and righteousness deep inside his heart.


    "We will remember it." Thedies sobbed and nodded, with tears streaming down their cheeks.


    "Don¡¯t cry!" Miao Yi revealed a rare look of gentleness on his face. He lifted up his hands and wiped away the tears from their delicate faces. After that, he took out four pieces of sparkling and translucent ruby-like crystal fruits from his storage bangle. A resplendent halo of light enveloped each fruit. He then handed them to thedies, "These four fruits were born from the Glorious Star immortal herb. The effectiveness of these fruits are quite simr to an ordinary Glorious Star immortal herb, and you can use them more times than that of the ordinary immortal herb. Keep them to defend yourself."


    The Glorious Star immortal herb in his hand had born a total of nine fruits. Yao Ruoxian had taken two fruits away from him, and Miao Yi had given one away to Yan Xiu. With this four, he had given away a total amount of seven fruits. So out of nine fruits, he was now only left with two.


    Standing to the side, Yao Ruoxian eyes lit up once more at seeing the fruits. He snorted, "I see you still have some conscience, kid."


    Miao Yi shot him a sideways nce at his words. There was a reason why he was giving these fruits to the twodies with Yao Ruoxian watching. He knew that they would not be able to stop this old guy if he nned to take their stuff. In that case, he¡¯d rather be a bit more generous with the fruits. Perhaps he might be able to earn a few points for making a good impression on Yao Ruoxian too.


    "I have arranged for a person in the capital city. Her name is Lin Pingping, whom I have mentioned to you before. I have already given her the status of an officialst year. Also, I have given her the order that she shouldply with both of yourmands in case of an emergency."


    The twodies could only nod their heads firmly.


    After he had finished handing over his orders, Miao Yi turned to Yao Ruoxian and cupped his fists, "Senior Yao, won¡¯t you let me take those little mantids away?"


    "Scram!" Yao Ruoxian roared furiously, "I won¡¯t give them to you!"


    The little mantids were too important to him. He needed the substance secreted by the little mantids to refine a treasured artifact to wipe away his humiliation. He would never give them to Miao Yi, no matter what.


    Miao Yi smiled wryly and said, "If I go now, I¡¯ll be away for ten years. If I¡¯m away from the little mantids for too long, you won¡¯t be able to control them. Why don¡¯t you return them to me? They can give me extra protection."


    Yao Ruoxian was foaming with rage as he red at Miao Yi, "Before youe back, I can put them in a deep sleep by storing them in a storage bangle. If you are unable to return, I will think of a way to raise them in captivity by force. It doesn¡¯t matter if I can¡¯t tame them, it¡¯s better than letting them disappear with you if you can¡¯te back!"


    Miao Yi was speechless. He didn¡¯t need to say anything further because Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were already pleading to Yao Ruoxian, each holding an arm as they begged, "Father, just give them to Master!"


    What was this, ¡¯a woman¡¯s heart would always be with her husband¡¯? It seemed like Yao Ruoxian was finally experiencing it today. His face twitched. In the end, he was defeated. He really couldn¡¯t stand these two daughters, so he gnashed his teeth and released thirty-five little mantids from his storage bracelet. He said bitterly, "I will give you only thirty-five of them, and no more than that. Take it or leave it."

 Chapter 322: The Troops of the Fifth Earthly Branch

    Chapter 322: The Troops of the Fifth Earthly Branch


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Only thirty-five?!"mented Miao Yi, a bit disappointed.


    "It¡¯s better than sending them all to die with you!" said Yao Ruoxian, growling furiously. "If you keep talking, I¡¯ll make you leave that fat thief behind too!"


    "Alright, alright, fine. Then it¡¯s settled!" It was better to have some than none. Miao Yi beckoned to the little mantids and thirty-five of them entered his storage bangle in a bunch. Turning to Yao Ruoxian, he cupped his fists at him and said, "Senior Yao. I will entrust them both to you."


    Yao Ruoxian scornfully waved his hand and said, "I don¡¯t need you to tell me about my own daughters. Remember the fees you owe me. Find a few more Yao Cores and whatnot, beforeing back to repay your debt."


    Miao Yi smiled, then gave a subtle wink to Yao Ruoxian and quietly told him something before turning to thedies with a smile. "I¡¯m going!"


    Once he was ready, there was a glint of reluctance in his eyes as he quickly turned to leave. As expected, thedies instantly burst into tears and tried to chase after him, crying out, "Master..."


    Yao Ruoxian, having received instructions beforehand, shed before them and stopped the weepingdies from pursuing any further. He sighed and said, "My girls. This journey will be his chance to show off his strength. If you follow him with tears running down your cheeks, it will make him sentimental and he won¡¯t be able to put on a brave face. The subordinates will see you two as his weaknesses, and that might make him overcautious and indecisive. Just let him go."


    Yao Ruoxian felt awful as well after seeing them cry. He actually didn¡¯t want Miao Yi to go to the Sea of Constetions either. Everyone had gotten along with each other for so many years. Besides the twodies, it would be a lie if he said there was no emotional ties in their rtionship. After all, there were some parts of Miao Yi that he liked too.


    However, he could not stop Miao Yi from going. The Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall had personally added his name to the candidate list. If Miao Yi knew of this earlier, he would have thought of looking for Yang Qing to remove his immortal record and slipped away with Yao Ruoxian. He would rather be a Loose Cultivator than send himself to his death. But when the Hall Master selected him, even Yang Qing wouldn¡¯t be able to help him pass the barrier that was the Hall Master himself. Everything had been toote.


    Yao Ruoxian did not have the guts to escape with Miao Yi while he was carrying the immortal record. He still needed to exact his revenge, and he didn¡¯t want to stir up such arge ho¡¯s nest for himself.


    "Master..." Thedies were still wailing.


    Miao Yi steeled his heart and didn¡¯t look back. He quickly shed away and left.


    "Don¡¯t worry. This guy is very lucky. He will definitelye back alive!" said Yao Ruoxian with a sigh.


    These words weren¡¯t purely to console thedies. The scene where he tried snatching the two immortal fruits from Miao Yi reyed in his mind. That mysterious and horrifying coercion had left a deep mark on his mind. When he saw Miao Yi giving the twodies the immortal fruits, he suddenly came to a realization¡ªcould that terrifying pressure have something to do with Miao Yi?


    The more he thought about it, the more it seemed possible. The Glorious Star immortal herb that bore those immortal fruits, the dragon steed Charcoal, the little mantids¡ªnone of these were simple; yet they had all appeared in the hands of a White Lotus cultivator. When he linked these things together, he could vaguely sense that some arcane power behind Miao Yi seemed to be watching over him somehow...


    Outside of the grand hall at Mount Calming Sea. Tens of riders on dragon steeds were awaiting for their instructions.


    Inside the grand hall, Miao Yi was apanied by Yan Xiu and Tian Qingfeng as he walked out from the back of the hall. After everyone had settled in to their ces, the people below all greeted in unison, "We respectfully greet Mountain Chieftain!"


    Miao Yi swept a cold gaze at his subordinates down below and called out their names as he sat on the throne of the Mountain Chieftain, "In theing days while I am not in Mount Calming Sea, Yan Xiu will assist Elder Auntie and Little Auntie, and will temporarily have the authority and responsibilities of a Mountain Chieftain. Everyone must be carry out their orders without fail. Those who choose to defy their superiors and incite rebellion; kill them! Those who deign to plot conspiracies; kill them! For those who would defy orders and act in contempt; kill them!"


    "We will obey Mountain Chieftain¡¯s orders!" Everyone epted the order in unison.


    Many people refused to obey him in their hearts, yet on the surface, they still had to show an attitude of respect. They all knew that this lunatic was being forced into desperation, so it was best for them not to provoke him for now. They decided to n their next move after this guy was gone, so they all appearedpliant on the outside for now.


    "Those who have been chosen will apany me to receive the Manor Head. The others will stay here and guard this ce!" Miao Yi stood up, waved his hand, and left. There was no nonsense at all. If he said anything more, it would all be falsehood. It was fine for him to express his desire. After that was done, Miao Yi turned around and proceeded to the back of the hall.


    "Understood!" Everyone responded and dispersed one-by-one out of the grand hall.


    Some of them took their dragon steeds and went back, while others simply hopped onto their dragon steeds and awaited for further instructions.


    Miao Yi returned to the rear the residence and cupped his fists when he saw Hong Xiu and Hong Fu, saying, "Both of you should be able stay without any worries. Remember what I told you. With that, I will now take my leave!"


    The twodies bent down and gave their salutations, "We handmaidens wish Lord Miao a smooth journey ahead!"


    Miao Yi nodded his head and did not speak any further. He had already briefed them quite clearly in the beginning. He turned and left; thedies tailing behind him to send him off.


    Thest thing they saw was Miao Yi entering through the doors of the main hall and kicking Charcoal awake from the ground where he was sleeping. Then he hopped onto Charcoal and shouted, "GO!".


    Charcoal could sense that Miao Yi intended to go on a long journey. It galloped happily and jumped out from under the loft. After running around the courtyard to increase its speed, Charcoal suddenly leapt and soared into the sky. He flew to the grand hall at Mount Calming Sea andnded in the main square outside the hall.


    There, Miao Yi took the lead and flew off towards the mountain gates of Mount Calming Sea. The ten mounted troops in the main square immediately turned to face where Miao Yi was heading and quickly followed from behind. The ground rumbled as they rushed toward the mountain gates.


    Tian Qingfeng and Yan Xiu stood beside each other and cupped their fists together to see them off from afar. After watching the troops fly off and disappear into the horizon, they eased their hands and exchanged nces with one another. They weren¡¯t sure if Miao Yi would ever return once he left this mountain gate.


    Miao Yi did not bring them both to the East Arrival Cave and allowed them to stay at the base to watch his residence. He had chosen two Advisors and three Deacons to apany for his journey and brought away half of the troops from Mount Calming Sea with him.


    The squad of about ten mounted men rode out from the mountain range where Mount Calming Sea was stationed, and rushed to the highway. Then, they stopped at a grove to await Yang Qing¡¯s arrival.


    After less than half-a-day¡¯s wait, they could hear thunderous galloping approaching from a distance. In just a few moments, they could make out Yang Qing personally leading arge number of troops toward them as they whipped the dust behind their trails.


    Miao Yi waved his hand and led his own troops toward the highway.


    Yang Qing looked at Miao Yi and beckoned at him, prompting Miao Yi to immediately lead his group and join Yang Qing¡¯s troops. He made his way between the rows of individual Mountain Chieftains and shared a nce with Qin Weiwei.


    From the rear, Gongsun Yu was following along from behind. He was overjoyed by Miao Yi¡¯s misfortune when he saw the outline of his back. Clearly, he also knew that Miao Yi was going to the Sea of Constetions soon.


    About a thousand troops continued the exodus under Yang Qing¡¯s lead and quickly made it to the docks in East Arrival Cave¡¯s territory. When they arrived, the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave quickly went up and paid his respects.


    With so many cultivators appearing all at once, the prefectural officers guarding the docks were all in a nervous state.


    Yang Qing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that everything was settled and prepared at the docks; thinking to himself that Miao Yi hadn¡¯t take the opportunity to cause trouble and create a disturbance.


    He then turned around and beckoned at Miao Yi toe forward so that he could give some instructions. After, Miao Yi called out for the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave and affirmed the instructions by ordering the city guards to fall back to about five kilometres away; prohibiting any other personnel toe closer. The guard duties would be taken over by Yang Qing¡¯s troops instead.


    The logic behind this was obvious. Once the troops from the respective regions arrived, the prefectural officers would not be able to maintain order then.


    The Cave Master of East Arrival Cave turned away and quickly called forth the City Lord to give a briefing. A momentter, the prefectural officers were seen scurrying away. Yang Qing then ordered each Mountain Chieftain to assign their troops for guard duties.


    The warehouses and temporary foothold for the officers at the docks were now upied by the troops of each respective mountain. The residence of the officer originally assigned to manage the docks had the best living standard; so naturally, it was upied by Yang Qing himself.


    Miao Yi did not treat himself shabbily either. This was originally his territory, after all. The room next to the dock¡¯s officer was of course upied by him as well.


    That night, three steaks of lights swept through the horizon andnded directly on the docks. The three Great Advisors of Suppressing Second Hall; Feng Zhihuan, Han Liuping, and He Yunye had personallye. Three Red Lotus cultivators were specifically sent here by Suppressing Second Hall to oversee themand.


    Yang Qing immediately led his men and went up to pay his respects.


    The next day, about two hundred troops from Traversing Moon Pce escorted by a Red Lotus cultivator, were the first to reach the docks at East Arrival Cave. This region was the territory of Traversing Moon Pce. The distance from their base was quite short, so it made sense that they were able to reach here the quickest among others.


    After Feng Zhihuan and the other two Advisors greeted the Red Lotus cultivator from Traversing Moon Pce, Yang Qing¡¯s side was then responsible for verifying the participants ording to the candidate list. There were two hundred people on the list, yet there was only 199 people in front of them. That one missing person was parading about the docks atop his dragon steed with his subordinates to watch these participants. It was as if he wasn¡¯t one of the participants boarding the ship.


    This scenario caused even those who came to watch the excitement, such as Gongsun Yu, to feel gloomy. They were a little suspicious of whether or not Miao Yi was really going to the Sea of Constetions.


    The participants were checked and properly verified. He Yunye soared into the sky andnded on the top of therge ship. An illusory Red Lotus appeared on his forehead as he overlooked the docks, frightening those who were about to board the ship. If anyone dared to be disobedient, the consequence of that would be predictable.


    A long and tall gangnk was ced on the docks to make a pathway into the ship. 199 people on their dragon steeds ran up the inclined gangnk and boarded the towering ship.


    Mounted on his dragon steed, Miao Yi watched the passing of the participants of both genders before him; all of them kept a straight face as they walked. He sighed in his heart. These people were the same as him¡ªthey were all unfortunate souls!


    Su Jinggong from the Sword Deviate Sect, Wan Yanhua from the Jade Lady Sect, and Li Yaoqi from the School of Imperial Beasts were three of the unfortunate ones among the four participants from the two manors. They all knew who Miao Yi was. When they passed by him, they turned to look at him with strange expressions, as if asking why this guy wasn¡¯t boarding the ship together with them.


    Miao Yi smiled and waved at them, making no effort to be pulled in together with them. If he could steer away from offending them, he would do exactly that. Miao Yi turned around and called the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave to his side and whispered, "Leave the best room for me."


    "Don¡¯t worry, my lord." Jiang Yunlu nodded, signalling that he had already arranged everything. This was under his jurisdiction, and he would never put his superior in an unfavorable situation. Miao Yi still hadn¡¯t left yet. If he did not make the proper arrangements, he would be the one having a hard time instead.


    The cultivators boarded the ship and led their dragon steeds under with the help of a guide into the hold of the ship below. Inside the hold, were three long rows of steel cages. Each row had about seventy stalls specifically prepared to amodate dragon steeds. There would be no problems amodating two hundred dragon steeds inside the hold.


    Each person stabled their dragon steeds into one of the stalls and locked the steel gates. After that, they would retrieve the number que associated with the gates and leave with it. This was done to prevent confusion from not being able to distinguish the owners of these many dragon steedster on.


    Aftering out from the cabin below, 199 people were separated into different single rooms. The facilities inside the rooms weren¡¯t that shabby. The people in-charge wouldn¡¯t make the living conditions too harsh for these people who were going on thest journey of their lives.


    After the handover of all the participants was concluded, the Red Lotus expert from Traversing Moon Pce and the people in the docks proceeded with the hand-over procedures, then he soared off to report thepletion of his task.


    The timing for the other troops toe had already been calcted. It was estimated that they would not take more than three days toe should there be no shorings during their journey. Within three days, the troops from the other ten respective pces in the Fifth Earthly Branch had arrived one-by-one.


    Traversing Celestial Pce, Traversing Heavens Pce, Traversing Land Pce, Traversing Sun Pce, Traversing Moon Pce, Traversing Metal Pce, Traversing Wood Pce, Traversing Water Pce, Traversing Fire Pce, and Traversing Earth Pce; two hundred troops from each pce had arrived. In total, two thousand troops would board the ships in order. Each ship would be upied by the troops from one pce.


    The schedule to depart had been calcted as well. After another two days, two streaks of light swept out from the horizon andnded on the docks. One of them was a graceful woman wearing a long, violet dress; looking quite demure and beautiful. The other one was an old man with bright eyes, who stood just behind the graceful woman.


    He Yunye and the other two then went forward and paid their respects to these two.


    Miao Yi stood aghast as he watched from the side in front of his troops. His jaws almost dropped from the shock as he stared at that woman, and also... at that bright-eyed old man.

 Chapter 323: All Options Lead To Death

    Chapter 323: All Options Lead To Death


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Miao Yi began to suspect that he might have been mistaken with what he was seeing.


    The reason was, because he recognized the two figures that just soared through the sky to arrive here. One of them was Sister Menn, who visited him at East Arrival Cave before, and the other was the Red Lotus expert who had assaulted him at the border river during his escape from killing Xiong Xiao previously.


    ¡¯Why are the two together? Was Menn a Red Lotus cultivator too?¡¯ Miao Yi had a bit of a tough time believing the sight before him. He turned his head away for a moment and blinked several times, before turning to look at them once more. He was still stunned by what he saw.


    Clearly, he wasn¡¯t mistaken. These two were the Hall Master of Suppressing Third Hall Wu Menn and her subordinate, Advisor Pang Rang.


    Wu Menn was gazing about at her surroundings when she suddenly caught sight of Miao Yi. She was shocked to see his face. Seeing the bbergasted look on it, a yful smile curled on her beautiful lips. She decided not to pay any attention to him for now and continued listening to the report being given by Feng Zhihuan and the others.


    When she was done listening to the reports, Wu Menn nodded and said, "Proceed with the transferral soon and immediately set sail."


    "Understood!" Feng Zhihuan then turned back and said, "Yang Qing. Hand over the candidate list to Hall Master Wu."


    Stepping forward, Yang Qing handed over the candidate list after he had checked that there were no mistakes. Wu Menn took the list, then scrutinized Yang Qing with a look before calmly asking, "You are Yang Qing?"


    "That is indeed the name of this humble servant!" Yang Qing cupped his fists in response. He knew why this Hall Master was showing interest in him, but he wasn¡¯t afraid that Wu Menn would do anything to him as he served his own master.


    After that, Wu Menn didn¡¯t question him any further. Instead, she tilted her head a little and gazed at Miao Yi who was deep in his own thoughts. Then, she called out softly, "Miao Yi. Why didn¡¯t you pay your respects to me when you saw me?"


    Her identity had already been exposed when they addressed her.


    ¡¯Menn? Hall Master Wu Menn of Suppressing Third Hall? So it was her!¡¯ Miao Yi had a sudden epiphany and was in the middle of berating himself, when he abruptly heard someone call out to him. He jumped a little in fear. When his eyes locked with Wu Menn¡¯s, he quickly hopped down from his mount and went forward to greet her, "Your humble servants pays his respects to Hall Master Wu."


    With that, arge group of people had their attention focused on Miao Yi. Feng Zhihuan, He Yunye and Han Liuping had never seen Miao Yi before. They didn¡¯t know why the Hall Master of Suppressing Third Hall would know Miao Yi either.


    Yang Qing, Qin Weiwei, Gongsun Yu and the others were also surprised and wondering how Miao Yi would know Hall Master Wu Menn from Suppressing Third Hall. Seeing the two of them like this, it seemed like they have been acquainted with each other for quite some time.


    "Miao Yi. It¡¯s been a long time since west saw each other," said Wu Menn mockingly. "I heard you were very arrogant recently. Running into my Suppressing Third Hall territory for the purpose of plundering and wrecking violence. Even the Manor Head of my Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor was killed by your hands. Care to exin what happened?"


    Pang Rang red coldly at Miao Yi with his bright eyes. He hadn¡¯t quite figured out why those men who had been inflicted with his ¡¯ghost rain¡¯ then were all fine now. When news of their condition reached them, he was severely reprimanded by Wu Menn afterward.


    "Your humble servant would not dare be arrogant. The Manor Head of Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor was quite an unbelievable tyrant. I tried to be patient and find apromise, but he wanted my life regardless. It was just for self-defense!" said Miao Yi, trying to sound neither too disrespectful, yet not too humble. He didn¡¯t think that Wu Menn would dare do anything against him in this ce, so he was very calm about it.


    "That¡¯s quite some self-defense. I will let you say what you like for now. You should know what you really did. I¡¯m not going to waste my breath on this matter with you either," snorted Wu Menn before continuing to ask, "I heard you are going to participate in the Subjugation Crusade this time?"


    "That is correct." Miao Yi replying with proper formality.


    Wu Menn raised her eyebrow and said, "Do you know why I am here?"


    Miao Yi respectfully replied, "Your humble servant is uncertain of the reason."


    Wu Menn then calmly said, "Listen to me now closely. The person responsible for this naval voyage to the Sea of Constetions, will be me!"


    As the territory where the troops of the Fifth Earthly Branch were assembling for departure this time belonged to Traversing Moon Pce, the Overlord of the Fifth Earthly Branch had naturally allowed Traversing Moon Pce to take charge of this matter. And because the troops of Traversing Moon Pce would gather in the territory of Suppressing Second Hall, the Pce Lord then assigned this matter to the Suppressing Second Hall. However, for some unknown reason, the Pce Lord of Traversing Moon Pce had asked Wu Menn to take up the responsibility instead, which was how the situation had unfolded to this point.


    "Ah... What?" Miao Yi cried out, lifting his head up. He couldn¡¯t be calm any longer.


    The minor yers would always be thest to know or be informed of the entire situation. It was not until this matter was revealed here that they knew the full truth. In fact, even Yang Qing had only somewhat guessed what was going to happen when he saw Wu Menn appearing at the docks.


    "Why? Do you have aint?" said Wu Menn, giving a sidelong nce at Miao Yi with a faint smile on her face; as if saying, ¡¯Weren¡¯t you very calm earlier? Weren¡¯t you neither arrogant nor humble? Are you scared now?¡¯


    "Your humble servant... has noints!" said Miao Yi, forcing a smile. He had a hard time spitting out the words from his mouth. In his heart, he was wondering why his life was so full of trials. He was hoping he wouldn¡¯t die on this journey before even reaching the Sea of Constetions.


    He angled his head to re at Yang Qing. Since things hade to this, he showed a look of undisguised hatred to Yang Qing. ¡¯I have destroyed Xiong Xiao for you. Are you satisfied now? I am going to die because of you!¡¯


    ¡¯Why are you looking at me for?¡¯ Yang Qing was a little speechless. In his heart, he thought, ¡¯How can you me me for everything? Can you dare say that you will let Xiong Xiao slip away if I hadn¡¯t suggested you to do it?¡¯


    Though of course, Yang Qing did feel rather guilty in his heart.


    "It¡¯s good that you do not have anyints. Of course, even if you have any, it¡¯s useless." Wu Menn then switched the topic and asked, "Which one is the Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s ship?


    "That one!" Miao Yi truthfully said, pointing to one of the ships.


    "Excellent. I will be boarding that ship then." said Wu Menn. Turning her gaze to Miao Yi, she then asked, "We are going to depart soon. What are you doing standing here and not boarding the ship? Perhaps you want me to invite you aboard the ship?"


    "Of course not. Your humble servant will board the ship now!" He had no choice but to be humble after being trapped under someone else¡¯s roof. Miao Yi quickly hopped onto his mount and scanned his surroundings as he rode on Charcoal.


    Everyone was looking at him with pitiful eyes, as if looking at a dead man.


    Qin Weiwei bit her lips, confusion swirling in her eyes. She didn¡¯t even have the chance to say goodbye to him. With several Red Lotus experts on the scene, there was no chance for her to just say what was on her mind.


    Gongsun Yu, on the other hand, had a great big smile on his face. He never would have imagined that he would be able to see Miao Yi being struck such with bad luck right then. When he recalled the time Miao Yi had humiliated him andpred it to the contrasting situation now, he almost burst intoughter. In his heart, he was shouting, ¡¯Retribution!¡¯


    The troops of Mount Calming Sea had mixed feelings of joy and sadness. Those delighted were naturally members of the three major sects. The ones feeling sad were the disciples of the School of Blue Jade. They could tell that their Mountain Chieftain would have no chance ofing back alive. Their master had seriously offended Suppressing Third Hall, and now he had fallen into the grasp of the Hall Master of Suppressing Third Hall. They feared that he would not even make it to the Sea of Constetions alive, much lessing back alive from the site itself.


    ¡¯Why are these people gazing at me with such pitiful gazes?¡¯ thought Miao Yi, feeling dismay in his heart. However, he quickly straightened his back and swept away the ominous look on his face. ¡¯Even if I die, I will die like a living man!¡¯


    With that, he assumed the bearing of a general and rode his mount with an aura of majesty. Quickly rushing over the raised gangnk, Charcoal kicked off the ships deck and leaped again after running on the deck; before finallynding on the skydeck of therge ship.


    Turning his mount around, Miao Yi faced the crowd at the docks, and coldly looked down from the deck. He swapped gazes with the thousands of eyes looking at him. The scenery was filled with blue sky and the azure sea, making him seemed a little lonely and isted.


    Wu Menn turned away, taking her focus away from Miao Yi and gave out hermand, "Begin the journey!"


    When she was done, her silhouette shed out, soaring through the sky beforending on top of the ship¡¯s mast. She threaded on air like a celestial; her position much higher than where Miao Yi currently stood.


    Pang Rang flew toward the stern of the ship instead.


    Ten of the high gangnks setup on the docks were quickly destroyed. The anchors for these ships were lifted up, and the first ten dragon steeds were arranged to serve as the driving power in the engine room for each ship. The stern was beginning to shudder and drift on the surface of the water.


    Wu Menn¡¯s ship became the gship for the journey. Hers was the first to leave the port, followed by the others in session. The ships slowly drifted away into the distance.


    After all the ships disappeared into the horizon at sea, He Yunye and the others then flew off to send their reports.


    Yang Qing let out a sigh of relief. After the ship departed the docks, the duties of the two manors were considered to beplete. Soon after that, he ordered his subordinates to head home and return to their own dwellings.


    From atop the back of her dragon steed, Qin Weiwei stayed at the docks for a good while. She continued watching the sea, unwilling to leave for a long while with a despondent expression on her face.


    Gongsun Yu tightened his lips. This time, he finally ascertained that Qin Weiwei was indeed deeply in love with Miao Yi...


    Under the vastness of the sky and sea, a figure stood amidst the wind wearing a fluttering violet dress atop the mast of the ship. Before her, was a great azure blue sight. Wu Menn was in a happy mood. When she looked down and saw Miao Yi sitting silently atop his mount on the skydeck, she floated down to him.


    "Why didn¡¯t you lock your mount inside the stable?" Wu Menn asked,


    Miao Yi jumped off his mount and pped Charcoal on the butt. Charcoal immediately went to lie down on the ground with its buttocks toppling over to one side. Charcoal swished its tail around, feeling the wind of the sea breeze as it dozed offfortably.


    Wu Menn was shocked. This dragon steed could actually lie down and sleep?


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi put his hands behind him and said, "Before this ship reaches the Sea of Constetions, I am the Steward of this ship. I still have some rights to that."


    He actually spoke with such attitude with his hands behind him before her. Wu Menn raised her eyebrows and scornfully said, "Are you already impatient with your life that you dared use that kind of attitude to speak with me?"


    Miao Yi calmly said, "You won¡¯t let me get away either way anyway. Since all options lead to death, why should I die with such agony?"


    Wu Menn remained indifferent, "Finally feeling scared?"


    "I¡¯m already past being scared. I have finally let it all go, in fact." Miao Yi abruptly spread his hands out and suddenly forced a smile, "Sister Meng. You have lied to me so hard! Why don¡¯t Sister Meng let Little Brother die with an exnation, for the sake of the warm wee I gave to you back then? Who is Xiao Yizhu?"


    Wu Menn replied with a side nce, "You don¡¯t seem to be a dumb person. I have already shown myself like this. You still can¡¯t figure out who he is?"


    "Xiao Yizhu. Huo Lingxiao. Xiao Yizhu. He is the head (zhu) of Suppressing Second (yi) Hall, isn¡¯t it?"


    "What do you think?" Wu Menn shot back at him.


    Miao Yi was suddenly anguished. He didn¡¯t need to ask any further about it, so he shook his head and said, "I am really dumb. I should have guessed it a long time ago. It seems that the Big Brother I have sworn with was actually the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall. Before I could even take advantage of him, I have already brought trouble upon myself."


    Wu Menn scrutinized him for a moment and curiously asked, "Speaking of this, I wish to ask you something. When I saw the candidate list from Suppressing Second Hall, I was surprised. Although you and Huo Lingxiao had pledge brotherhood in name only, based on your rtionship with him, Huo Lingxiao should be taking good care of you at the very least. Why did your name still appear on the candidate list for the subjugation crusade?"


    After listening to her words, Miao Yi burst intoughter. There was a certain despair in his smile when he said, "It was my sworn brother who chose me to journey to the Sea of Constetions!"


    Wu Menn was stunned, "It was Huo Lingxiao who put your name on the list and forced you toe here?"


    Miao Yi felt something was strange and replied, "Does Sister Meng really not know about it, or are you pretending not to?" He was about to ask her the reason why he had been chosen for the crusade.


    Wu Menn scornfully remarked, "Who do you think you are? Why would I care about your affairs?"


    ¡¯That does make sense,¡¯ Miao Yi thought, smiling bitterly.


    Wu Menn then suddenly changed the subject and muttered, "Even though that Huo Lingxiao isn¡¯t such a good person, he was a man who still cares a bit for his reputation. He wouldn¡¯t go so far as to make you suffer because you forced him to pledge brotherhood with you. Besides, he was just joking with you then in moment of yfulness. There is no reason for him to do that!"

 Chapter 324: Truth

    Chapter 324: Truth


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Miao Yi felt strange about it too, not to mention that she felt the same as well.


    Miao Yi initially thought his troubles were because he¡¯d plucked the plum sprig from the plum garden at Suppressing Second Hall. Now that he knew Xiao Yizhu was Huo Lingxiao, he could only deduce that Huo Lingxiao was joking with him no matter how he looked at it. He wouldn¡¯t have gone to the extent of making him suffer because of one plum sprig.


    Miao Yi could only me himself for being powerless. Otherwise, he would have definitely put Huo Lingxiao in an embarrassing situation! Hatred engulfed Miao Yi. They were unreasonably sending him to his own death. When he swept his gaze at Wu Menn¡¯s well-developed and demure figure, his eyes lit up. He could never stomach this insult if he didn¡¯t take his vengeance against Huo Lingxiao.


    He remembered Huo Lingxiao mentioning that he was trying to pursue Wu Menn. Regardless whether this was true or not, he wanted to wreck him first before finding out the truth. Most importantly, Miao Yi had nothing else he could use to take his vengeance against that guy.


    He changed the topic and asked, "Sister Meng, has Huo Lingxiao been trying to pursue you this entire time?"


    Wu Menn face became stiff as she turned her cold gaze at him and asked, "What makes you think you have the right to ask about my personal affairs? Do you think I won¡¯t kill you just because you¡¯ve called me ¡¯Sister Meng¡¯ once or twice?"


    "I have no other intentions, and Huo Lingxiao was the one who told me himself. I now think this Huo Lingxiao person has a problem. I don¡¯t want to see Sister Meng getting fooled by him."


    "I know how Huo Lingxiao treats others, and I know him better than you do. You don¡¯t need to remind me of that," Wu Menn said snidely, "You¡¯ve got some nerve. You keep addressing your Hall Master without honorifics whenever you speak. It looks like your hatred for him isn¡¯t so typical. nning to take vengeance on him?"


    "I have no right to do that. I just want to tell Sister Meng about his secret."


    "From you? You just found out his real identity, how could you even know of his secret? But, no matter. If there¡¯s no harm in it, tell me."


    He could tell that Wu Menn was trying to appear nonchnt, but in fact, she was still interested in knowing about Huo Lingxiao¡¯s private matters.


    Miao Yi chuckled. "Sister Meng, can I have something in return for this secret?"


    Wu Menn shot him a sideways nce and asked, "What do you want?"


    "I will tell you this secret, but you must allow me to reach the Sea of Constetions safely, alright?"


    "What makes you think you have the right to bargain with me?" Wu Menn sneered, an unusual tone of disdain in her voice. However, she continued to speak to him, "Tell me what you know first. I will see if this secret is worth your little life or not."


    "This has something to do with Sister Meng¡¯s marriage, which is naturally more valuable than my little life." Miao Yi approached her and whispered beside her, "Sister Meng, I have unintentionally discovered that Huo Lingxiao has another woman in his life."


    Why did his words make her feel like she¡¯d caught someonemitting an act of adultery? This made it seem like she really did have some sort of rtionship with Huo Lingxiao. Wu Menn¡¯s pretty face turned cold as she asked, "What do you mean? Even if he has another woman, what does that have to do with me?"


    "This woman isn¡¯t an ordinary person. Her cultivation base is high, and perhaps the highest one I have seen so far in my entire life. I believe that her cultivation base has already reached the Purple Lotus Realm."


    "Purple Lotus Realm?" Wu Menn lit up. "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve seen her in action before. What kind of person did you see?"


    Seeing that she¡¯d be interested in the woman, Miao Yi reminded her of his terms again, "Sister Meng, do you agree to the exchange then?"


    Wu Menn had no intention of killing him to begin with. She was just trying to intimidate him. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have talked nonsense with him in the first ce. She said impatiently, "Cut the nonsense. Just tell me your part."


    Miao Yi chuckled. This could be considered as an agreement to his exchange. He then whispered, "I don¡¯t know what kind of person she is. Several years ago, I went to the capital city and identally saw Huo Lingxiao and a beautiful woman snuggling together on a flower boat at Jade Lake. After that, we shed with the members of the Governor¡¯s Office. The transcendence energy that the woman disyed back then was simply too horrifying. She quickly attacked the people from the Governor¡¯s Office."


    "She dared to make a move against members of the Governor¡¯s Office right in the capital city?" Wu Menn was shocked. "Exin in more detail what happened that day."


    Miao Yi had nothing to lose, so he quickly recounted the events of that day in detail. However, after describing the facial appearance of that woman called ¡¯Xiao Xiao¡¯, Wu Menn suddenly ¡¯sniggered¡¯ and covered her mouth. She pointed at Miao Yi as sheughed, not knowing what she should say to him.


    "Sister Meng, what¡¯s wrong?" Miao Yi was stunned. He didn¡¯t think there was anything funny in his recollection.


    As a result, Wu Menn continued tough without restraint. She shook her head and said, "I thought something was weird. I know Huo Lingxiao too well. Even if you have offended him somehow, he wouldn¡¯t need to be so discreet in his retaliation. At most he would just kill you off directly. Now I know why Huo Lingxiao wanted to send you to the Sea of Constetions. Everything is your fault."


    Miao Yi was shocked for a moment. He wasn¡¯t a fool. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have survived this long, and he wouldn¡¯t have be the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea this quickly. He pondered for a while before he cried out, "Perhaps it has something to do with what I¡¯ve just told you?"


    Wu Menn patted her plump chest and tried to calm herughter. She then shook her head and giggled, "Indeed, there aren¡¯t many who know of Huo Lingxiao¡¯s secret. But I am one of the people who do. I have long been aware of Huo Lingxiao¡¯s rtionship with that woman, so why would I need you to tell me? I say, it would¡¯ve been fine if you discovered some other secret of his, but you had to stick your nose in this one. He is particrly resentful when ites to this topic, and he definitely wouldn¡¯t want his subordinates to know about it. I understand now. It¡¯s not like Huo Lingxiao had no choice but to kill you. You¡¯re not worth so much of his concern anyway. If you were, you¡¯d be dead by now. I believe he didn¡¯t want to stir up trouble and embarrass himself, so he decided to conveniently send you away through an opportune situation. How did you know that Huo Lingxiao was the one that chose you to go to the Sea of Constetions?"


    "I saw the candidate list from Manor Head beforehand. Originally, I shouldn¡¯t have even been on there. But Huo Lingxiao had crossed out a name and added mine to the list."


    "It appears that I¡¯ve guessed correctly. Huo Lingxiao did indeed put your name on the list for his own convenience. I was wondering why he needed to be so cautious just to eliminate you. You¡¯ve dug your own grave, and you can¡¯t me anyone for it." Wu Menn doubled over withughter.


    In her opinion, Miao Yi had brought this on himself. However, Miao Yi¡¯s expression darkened, and with zing anger burning in his heart, he said with rage, "He wants me to die because I saw him meet someone in secret?"


    Wu Menn waved her hand lightly and said, "It¡¯s not because you caught him in the act. The main point is who he met with when you caught him."


    "Because of that woman? Who is she?"


    "That¡¯s not something a small fry like you should concern yourself with. It¡¯s just as you say¡ªher cultivation base is very strong¡ª even I can¡¯t afford to offend her, which is why I will not discuss it." Wu Menn turned around and walked toward a small room with beautifully ornamented beams in the middle of the sky deck. She immediately changed the subject and asked, "Is this my room?"


    Miao Yi followed her with a frown. His stomach was twisting into knots. Apparently, he shouldn¡¯t have been here in the first ce. He was even considering capturing Huo Lingxiao and skinning him alive.


    However, it was useless to dwell on the past. He could only concern himself with whaty ahead. He quickly caught up with Wu Menn and said, "Yes. We wouldn¡¯t dare let Sister Meng live alongside unrefined people like us."


    He now addressed her as ¡¯Sister Meng¡¯ whenever he spoke. Walking ahead, he opened the door to the small house, allowing Wu Menn to enter.


    Inside the house, there was a main hall and a special room. The construction of the room was exquisite, with aplete set of tables, chairs, a tea table, and other furniture too. They had even prepared a study in advance. There were calligraphy scrolls and paintings hung on the wall as well. All four sides of the room had windows that could be opened to view the scenery of the endless sea. This was the best ce to see it all. The other levels below this room were not as well-designed as this one. In a sense, there was no other room like it in the entire ship. Originally, they had prepared these living quarters for those who had jurisdiction of the ship.


    Once Wu Menn had inspected every room inside the house, she returned to the main hall and said, "If you don¡¯t want to lose your life before reaching the Sea of Constetions, then as the steward you must manage everything in this ship to the best of your abilities. Come report to me every day. Now, go! I don¡¯t need you to keep mepany."


    ¡¯Who wants to apany you!¡¯ Miao Yi dismissed himself and departed with Charcoal. He sighed a breath of relief, believing that he should be safe from this woman now.


    His room wasn¡¯t that bad either. It was situated at the ship¡¯s bow and was muchrger than two normal roomsbined. Even though he couldn¡¯t have windows on all four sides to see the view of the sea, he still had three windows on three sides to enjoy the view. On top of that, he had a balcony that he could enjoy all by himself.


    Initially, this balcony was a pathway connecting two rows of rooms that everyone could share. But when the Cave Master of East Arrival Cave, Jiang Yunlu, found out that Miao Yi was going to participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, he quickly directed the artisans to seal off this path at the veryst minute and simply turned two rooms into one. After proceeding with the renovation, the balcony that had been intended for public use was converted for Miao Yi¡¯s own private use.


    As the ship¡¯s temporary steward, Miao Yi found it unnecessary for Charcoal to be locked up inside the stable. Charcoal quickly followed Miao Yi, hopping down from the top of the sky deck to the balcony.


    Charcoal went up the balcony and lied down, swinging its tailfortably.


    Miao Yi opened the balcony door and entered the spacious, yetfortable room.


    It wasn¡¯t his first time entering this area. He picked up a chair, ced it on the balcony, and sat down to watch therge ship riding the wind and breaking the waves. He muttered to himself, "The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade..."


    Many years ago, when the Six Sages had just divided the nation into different territories, it was inevitable that conflicts would break out between their subordinates. If an invading subordinate didn¡¯t seize an area, then another one would do it instead. In the end, matters would tend to veer out of control, causing everyone to feel uneasy. In addition to that, the reputation of the Six Sages was affected as well. Afterward, for the sake of tranquility for all living creatures in the world, Buddha Sage Cang Lei suggested carving out a ce far away from the secr world and to designate that area for turmoil and chaos. Cultivators from all six nations would be able to settle their disputes, as well as to calm down the aggression between six nations. Henceforth, the event slowly became the incentivized Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade seen today.


    In short, six nations would collectively contribute a sum of their cultivation resources, which were then offered as a reward for the cultivators under the six nations to fight and strive for. After ten years, they would reward the survivors with those resources. The reward would be divided depending on the amount contributed. The dead would not be given any, of course.


    Some say that this was actually one of the tactics that the Six Sages used to deplete the cultivators below them. With 180,000 cultivators gathered in the Sea of Constetions, thest one hundred people to survive would be able to enjoy that sum of resources. It was easy to imagine why everyone feared to go to the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Only 100 among 180,000 people were allowed to live! That was a ratio even lower than one in a thousand!


    Even if 180,000 pigs were allowed to run amok for the cultivators to kill them, it would take a long time to do so. And there were a lot of cultivators participating in this event. This was one of the reasons why it could take ten years for the event to end.


    When he thought about that, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but force augh. Among these ten ships with two thousand people on board, only one or two would live. Would he be one of them?


    He was immersed in his thoughts when he heard a knocking on the door behind him. Miao Yi, who was used to givingmands, instinctively answered, "Come in!"


    The door opened, and a sneering voice was subsequently heard, "Mountain Chieftain Miao seems to know how to enjoy his life. This room of yours is so much bigger than ours!"

 Chapter 325: Your Death Will Be When You Leave The Ship

    Chapter 325: Your Death Will Be When You Leave The Ship


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    At the sound of the voice, Miao Yi turned to the door. He realized that his visitors were none other than the three other unfortunate souls from South Edict Manor: Su Jinggong of Sword Deviate Sect, Wan Yanhua of Jade Lady Sect, and Li Yaoqi of the School of Imperial Beasts. With Miao Yi at the balcony, the four unfortunate souls of the two manors were finally assembled together.


    A crease appeared on Miao Yi¡¯s forehead, he stood up to leave the balcony that faced the vast sea. The moment he walked towards his room, he realized something was wrong. He could see a small crowd outside his door blocking the entrance. Just then, he couldn¡¯t make out how many people were gathered around the door.


    However, Miao Yi quickly figured out what was going on, and slowly retreated back to the balcony. Su Jinggong and the other two had brought their men through the pathway and entered the room. About twenty people were squeezed into the room. With a single look at their attire, all of them were undoubtedly from the three major sects; and as expected, the Sword Deviate Sect was thergest of them all. Their members already upied half of those in this room.


    All the participants in these ten ships were people from the Fifth Earthly Branch. Just on this ship alone, there were about twenty members from the three major sects. One could see that there were a lot of those from the three major sects in the Fifth Earthly Branch being sent out to the Sea of Constetions.


    ¡¯Damn it. Are these people that desperate for me to die? Are they daring enough to make their move in this ce?¡¯


    Miao Yi¡¯s nerves tensed. He wasn¡¯t sure what kind of cultivation base these people possessed. As soon as he retreated to the balcony, he was already making preparations and was ready to flee at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Seeing him retreat in fear, Su Jinggong and the others showed expressions that were either disdainful or mocking.


    "What business do you have with this steward?" Miao Yi asked.


    Clearly impatient, Wan Yanhua said, "Cut the nonsense. Switch rooms for us."


    ¡¯Switch rooms? ¡¯ Miao Yi was surprised, "Why should I switch rooms?"


    Su Jinggong said dourly, "I have a question as well. Why did you have all of us stationed at the lowest level of the ship?"


    No exnation was needed for that one. Miao Yi had offended the members of the three major sects. If he wanted to stay far away from them, he would have to live at the top most part of the ship and allow the three major sects to live at the lowest level. He wanted to avoid bumping into them all the time and risk causing trouble for himself. Hence, when they were boarding the ship, he already had someone make the arrangements for him. Miao Yi felt that such arrangements was right for everyone, both from a professional standpoint as well as a personal one.


    ¡¯So they came for this reason. I must say, how could they be so bold as to cause trouble on the ship? Do they take themander of this ship, Wu Menn, to be a figurehead?¡¯ An idea popped into Miao Yi¡¯s head and he asked, "Is something amiss?"


    Wan Yanhua was fuming as she said, "Of course you won¡¯t feel something is amiss when you¡¯re the one staying at the highest part of the ship. Why don¡¯t you go down and see for yourself. What kind of system is this, letting a bunch of smelly men walking above our heads? It¡¯s so noisy and annoying hearing footsteps above us. It¡¯s impossible to cultivate peacefully like this."


    The three major sects had indeede to him because of this reason. They hadn¡¯t intentionallye to look for trouble with Miao Yi. The boards on this ship were made from wood. If someone were to walk around above, they would definitely hear it. If there were only a few people living above them, then it would have been fine. However, there was arge group of people living on the upper floor. It was inevitable for people to frequently walk around the hallway above most of the time. They couldn¡¯t very well allow people to walk in and out through the windows instead.


    Obviously, those who stayed at the very bottom level of the ship would be quite disturbed and ufortable. They couldn¡¯t figure out how Miao Yi got to be a steward. They weren¡¯t like Su Jinggong and the others who were more familiar with Miao Yi and knew him; they knew they couldn¡¯t afford to cause trouble as they pleased, and could only endure the situation for now.


    Miao Yi was ted when he heard her words. "Wan Yanhua. A bunch of smelly men aren¡¯t willing to let a bunch of women walk around above their heads either!"


    After hearing that, the men from the Sword Deviate Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts couldn¡¯t hold back their smiles. Li Yaoqi chuckled, "Those words don¡¯t sound bad at all."


    The words ¡¯a bunch of smelly men¡¯ had instantly insulted all the men at the scene. Su Jinggong shot back at her, adding, "It¡¯s very normal for men to be on top and women to be at the bottom."


    His words had a hidden meaning. Most of the smelly men smiled, Miao Yi included. He hoped that the argument between these people would continue to escte.


    "What are you trying to say?" Wan Yanhua was furious, and the female disciples behind her were angry as well.


    "Take it easy everyone. I have a great idea." said Miao Yi, drawing their attention before chortling, "Why don¡¯t you all stay in the same room together? This way, there¡¯s no need to see who¡¯s going on top and who¡¯s going to be at the bottom."


    Li Yaoqi and Su Jinggong exchanged nces. They both nodded their heads at the same time and smiled, "That isn¡¯t a bad idea. I have noints."


    The disciples of the two sects behind them cheered along, "Great idea!"


    The bunch of smelly men began to randomly ogle at the body of the women. Even though these women would be considered old, the Jade Lady Sect were skilled at making themselves appeared youthful. Otherwise, they would not have called themselves the ¡¯Jade Lady Sect¡¯ in the first ce. All of them still appeared young and fit.


    "Bullshit!" A woman popped out from behind Wan Yanhua and spoke out. Once she stepped forward, Wan Yanhua had to step aside for her. Clearly, her position in the Jade Lady Sect was higher than that of Wan Yanhua. The woman pointed at Miao Yi and furiously shouted, "Are you going to switch or not?"


    Miao Yi evaded the question and said, "You have to make clear who¡¯s going on top and who¡¯s going to the bottom first. I also have noints if everyone wishes to stay together."


    He really hoped that these people would continue fighting with each other. However, Su Jinggong and the others only made a fuss for a short while; they weren¡¯t fools. They didn¡¯t dare to raise a ruckus inside the ship. In the end, it didn¡¯t go the way Miao Yi hoped.


    "Whoever goes on top or on the bottom, and whether we will live together or not is our own problem," said Su Jinggong. Waving his hand, he said, "Just get straight to the point and switch rooms for us."


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t that stupid either. He had already offended the three major sects. If he tried to offend the others, he would really be seeking his own death. Once he reached the Sea of Constetions, he would be screwed over by a group of people. In other words, if he raised a huge ruckus on the ship, he would have to bear the consequencester on.


    "I don¡¯t have the power to do that." said Miao Yi; he waved his hands and continued, "You guys should go switch rooms by yourselves."


    However, they didn¡¯t want to offend everyone and attract grudges before reaching the Sea of Constetions. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t havee to look for Miao Yi from the start.


    Li Yaoqi smiled, "You are the ship¡¯s steward, so it¡¯s best if you act on our behalf and switch rooms. Even if the others don¡¯t respect you, they have to take into ount Hall Master Wu behind your back."


    Now that he was certain these people did not dare cause trouble on the ship, Miao Yi did not feel the need to speak nicely and said, "Everyone please return. I have no power over this matter."


    Su Jinggong¡¯s expression darkened and he gave a warning, "Miao Yi. The participants that the three major sects dispatched aren¡¯t just the few of us in this boat. There are more of us in every ship. All the respective sects have dispatched disciples outside of the administration to the other ships as well. If you don¡¯t show respect to us now, don¡¯t me us for not showing any to you when we reach the Sea of Constetions."


    His words reeked of threat. The gazes they shot towards Miao Yi were filled with loathing andpletely made light of him, as if saying, ¡¯Whether or not you agree with it, you have to agree now. Even if you don¡¯t wish to, you have to no matter what.¡¯


    Miao Yi burst into rage after seeing the look on their faces. However, it wasn¡¯t ideal to stir up trouble on the ship, so he suppressed his anger and stiffly said , "If you wish to change, then go ask for it yourself. As a steward, I do not deal with such petty matters."


    Li Yaoqi scoffed, "Miao Yi. You should carefully consider the consequences!"


    Miao Yi responded with a sneer, "I have thought it over carefully. I don¡¯t need to be reminded."


    "You asked for it. Let¡¯s go!" Su Jinggong shook his hands and turned around, intending to leave his room. He wasn¡¯t brave enough to make his move here just yet.


    Surprisingly, Wan Yanhua came forward and destroyed their unity by saying, "Miao Yi. If you do not wish toe forward and switch rooms, I will not make things difficult for you either. As long as you set aside this room for my Senior Auntie, the Jade Lady Sect will not bother you any longer. Who knows, we might even take good care of you in the Sea of Constetions." She said, extending her arms and indicating that the woman who just stepped forward earlier was her Senior Auntie.


    It would be weird if Miao Yi believed those words. He had no hope that the three major sects would let him off that easily. After being rejected in South Edict Manor, Miao Yi finally understood that even if he were to mix in with them, as an outsider, even if they decided not to deal with him in the Sea of Constetions, they would push him to take the lead at the frontlines. He would be pushed to ept the responsibility of taking the first risk as an outsider. All in all, if he mixed in with the people from these sects without enough power, he would only be seeking his own death; which was why he had dismissed any thought of asking for their help. He could only depend on himself and not put his hopes on others.


    Hearing those words, Li Yaoqi stopped in his tracks. Looking around at the posh and spacious room, he said, "What right do you have to get him to surrender this room to the Jade Lady Sect? Miao Yi. If you give us this room, you can join our School of Imperial Beasts once we reach the Sea of Constetions."


    Anyone could make empty promises. Even if he add one more to the pile, it wouldn¡¯t matter much.


    Miao Yiughed coldly, "Why don¡¯t the three major sects hold apetition? I will surrender my room to whoever wins the fight. If you are afraid to die, then don¡¯te here and act almighty."


    That was obviously a provocation to these three, but they weren¡¯t fools either. With that, Wan Yanhua snapped, "Miao Yi. Don¡¯t push your luck!"


    Miao Yi had been supporting his family since he was a youngd. Even though he was standing all alone in this ce now, it wasn¡¯t in his nature to be pushed around. He pointed to the door and roared, " ALL OF YOU GET OUT! "


    Their expressions changed. Li Yaoqi snapped again, "What did you say?"


    "Then let me say this one more time. I want you all out of here! " said Miao Yi, before taunting them with, "What¡¯s wrong? Unsatisfied? Do you want me to meet Hall Master Wu and have a word with her?"


    With Wu Menn in the picture, their anger immediately dissipated. Most importantly, even with these three together, they would simply be fodder to Wu Menn. If they were brave enough to look for Wu Menn, why would they need to find Miao Yi in the first ce?


    "The School of Imperial Beasts will remember this!" threatened Li Yaoqi, sounding absolutely furious. He took his fellow disciples and left.


    Wan Yanhua let out a scoff before she leaving as well. Before Su Jinggong walked out to the door, he left a message for Miao Yi, "Brat. You will die once you leave this ship!"


    After he watched these people leave his room, Miao Yi shut the door immediately, his expression turning flinty. He swung around with a cold light flickering in his eyes, muttering "Why don¡¯t you have a good look at who holds the authority right now? Do they really think this steward wanted to manage the ship because I have nothing better to do? Let¡¯s not wait until we are off the ship. I shall torment you all near to death. Let¡¯s see who will die first when we reach the Sea of Constetions!"


    He hadn¡¯t thought of causing trouble inside the ship before. Initially, he wanted to avoid the people from the three major sects until they reached their destination. However, they themselves already made it quite clear that they would kill him as soon as they left the ship. He wasn¡¯t one to be trifled with either. Naturally, he wanted to strike first to gain the upperhand.


    Miao Yi turned to walk toward one side of the room, and opened arge case carved from a piece of cold jade. Inside the chilled case were various fresh fruits. Their skins had even been sliced off, and the fruits were already cut into individual pieces before being stored inside the chilled case. All of this was a special luxury that the Cave Master Jiang Yunlu had prepared for him beforehand. Even Wu Menn didn¡¯t have this luxury in her room. Among the ten ships in the sea, none of them had this luxury; only him.


    He took a jade te and filled it with a few sliced peaches. Then, he walked toward the balcony and slowly indulged in the fruits; feeling cooled and refreshed. There was a peculiar look in his eyes. Who knew what exactly he was thinking about.


    An hourter, he leapt up to the deck, his clothes were fluttering in the sea breeze like a celestial. Miao Yi walked straight to the lonely cabin in the middle of the spacious deck and called out respectfully, "Sister Meng."


    "What is it?" Wu Menn¡¯s voice was faintly audible from the cabin.


    "Little Brother has something to report."


    "Come in."


    Miao Yi lightly pushed the door open and entered. There was nobody in the main hall. He walked towards the bedroom door and took a peek, poking his head inside. What he found was Wu Menn sitting cross-legged on the couch with her eyes closed.


    When Miao Yi was about to step inside with his foot out, Wu Menn said, "Just tell me outside of my room."


    Miao Yi retracted his foot and smiled, "Well, it¡¯s like this, Sister Meng. The disciples from the Sword Deviate Sect, Jade Lady Sect, and the School of Imperial Beasts admire your beauty and wish to pay their respects to you."

 Chapter 326: Abused Power For Personal Revenge

    Chapter 326: Abused Power For Personal Revenge


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡¯What kind of situation is this? Admire my beauty?¡¯


    She had indeed heard that right. The word was ¡¯beauty¡¯.


    Wu Menn abruptly opened her eyes. ¡¯I can understand if they said they admired my position and cultivation base. But my beauty? And they wished to see me?¡¯


    Why did their words sound so distasteful, as if they wished to be intimate with her? Were these words appropriate for underlings to use on a Hall Master? Even if they were looking for a prostitute, she would never be a woman they could have rtions with.


    Some words were eptable for certain women. But the same words used on someone like Wu Menn were undoubtedly inappropriate. Somehow, these words were suspiciously frivolous.


    The expression on Wu Menn¡¯s face abruptly turned cial, and she quickly narrowed her eyes. Something felt wrong. Would disciples from the three major sects be brazen enough to say such frivolous words about her like that? It seemed more like they were tired of living in this world.


    "They said they wanted to admire my beauty?" Wu Menn scoffed.


    "..." A peculiar look shed through Miao Yi¡¯s eyes, which he tried to hide. He seemed to have realized that something was wrong too. After looking shocked for a while, he quickly corrected himself and said, "I was the one who said that. Sister Meng is so beautiful and elegant that you can¡¯t me others for harboring thoughts of admiration for you. I even heard that some of the old men have been praising your figure from head to toe."


    ¡¯Some of the old men were praising me?¡¯ Wu Menn was utterly disgusted. Her expression twitched as she continued, "You¡¯d better stop saying such nonsense, or do you think I won¡¯t tear your mouth into pieces?"


    "Alright, alright, alright!" Miao Yi let out a quickugh, "Actually, it¡¯s like this¡ªsome of them are my associates. When I heard that those old men admired Sister Meng¡¯s beauty, I couldn¡¯t resist and had to boast that I was quite familiar with you. Hence, they asked if I could help introduce them to you."


    Wu Menn somewhat believed his words. It was quite normal for the underlings to brag about being very close to their superiors and such. Wu Menn sneered, "You didn¡¯t promise them, did you?"


    Miao Yi forced a smile and said, "Sister Meng, I have nothing but the force of a single man in the Sea of Constetions. I need some support from the three major sects. Just let them meet you up close for a while, for the sake of this Little Brother addressing you as an Elder Sister numerous times. You won¡¯t lose anything by letting them meet you for a few seconds either, right? Just consider this as giving aid to your Little Brother."


    Wu Menn could understand his predicament. She could imagine the situation once hended on the Sea of Constetions. But what did he take her for? A prostitute in a brothel? Should she just allow anyone to see her just because they wanted to? Her expression went cold as she asserted, "My patience has its limits. If you keep babbling around, don¡¯t me me for being hard on you!"


    "Sister Meng, forget about those old men. The Jade Lady Sect are all women. Surely you can let them admire your beauty, right?"


    "Scram!"


    Seeing that she was furious, Miao Yi hastily retreated and went out through the main door. He let out a sigh of relief, ¡¯I knew you wouldn¡¯t want to see them.¡¯


    He left the sky deck and quickly went down to the lowest level of the passenger cabin. Regarding the room locations, Miao Yi had some idea where the members of the three major sects were designated. He immediately found Wan Yanhua¡¯s room, which was the closest to him. As soon as he reached the door, he heard the women inside discussing how to punish him after settling this matter.


    Luckily, he had already gained the upper hand. Miao Yi let out a cough and knocked on their door.


    Wan Yanhua¡¯s voice rang out from inside, "Who¡¯s there?"


    "It¡¯s me!" Miao Yi responded.


    The door was swiftly opened, and Wan Yanhua appeared from behind the door. Miao Yi then peeked inside the room. ¡¯Nice, the Jade Lady Sect members are all here.¡¯


    Wan Yanhua was stunned for a moment when she realized that it was Miao Yi. After that, she jeered, "What? Did youe here to switch rooms voluntarily because you¡¯re scared?"


    "Scared? I haven¡¯t read a lot of books in my life, so I don¡¯t know how to write the word ¡¯scared¡¯." Miao Yi gestured outside and grinned, "Everyone from the Jade Lady Sect,e out and follow me. Hall Master Wu wishes to see you all. Those who came to me just now muste with me."


    Hearing those words, Wan Yanhua¡¯s jeering smile froze on her face. The women inside were all shocked as well. Why did Wu Menn want to see them?


    Wan Yanhua trembled with fear and asked, "Why does Hall Master Wu want to see us?"


    Acting like a scoundrel that radiated with sess, Miao Yi said, "Not only did she want to see you all, everyone from the Sword Deviate Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts must follow as well."


    Wan Yanhua abruptly gritted her teeth and inquired, "Did you tell Hall Master Wu something?"


    "Nothing, really. I only told her what happened just now, that¡¯s all. I don¡¯t feel like talking nonsense with you guys. If you have anyints, then you can take it up with Hall Master Wu. I¡¯m going to look for the other two sects." Miao Yi flicked his sleeves and walked away. Shuddering in fear, the other women were left feeling nervous.


    Even though they itched to tear Miao Yi apart, one by one, they all crawled out from the room obediently and followed Miao Yi from behind.


    Dong dong dong! Miao Yi knocked on Su Jinggong¡¯s door. When Su Jinggong showed his face at the door, Miao Yi skipped past the niceties and just waved his hand at him. "Call everyone from the Sword Deviate Sect and follow me. Those who were stirring up trouble just now muste along. Hall Master Wu wants to see you all."


    Su Jinggong was staring at Miao Yi, wondering why the Jade Lady Sect members were all following him from behind. When he heard those words, he was instantly taken aback.


    "Hall Master Wu wants to see us?" Su Jinggong cracked his voice.


    "If you have doubts, then ask them." Miao Yi pointed at Wan Yanhua and the others. He then flicked back his sleeves and continued his search for the next group.


    Su Jinggong quickly asked Wan Yanhua, "Why does Hall Master Wu want to see us?"


    Wan Yanhua fumed. "This dirty dog must have abused his power for his personal revenge by going to Hall Master Wu and incriminating us."


    Su Jinggong immediately felt scared. He didn¡¯t think that Miao Yi and Wu Menn had such a close rtionship. This small matter had actually prompted Wu Menn to take control of the situation.


    Yet, he wouldn¡¯t dare miss out if Wu Menn had summoned for them. In the end, he diligently went to his disciples¡¯ rooms and knocked on their doors. After he had ryed the news to them, the disciples of Sword Deviate Sect were beginning to shudder in fear as well.


    Dong dong dong! He knocked on Li Yaoqi¡¯s door as well. Li Yaoqi¡¯s reaction was more or less the same as Su Jinggong¡¯s.


    Miao Yi beckoned to him and said, "Gather your men from the School of Imperial Beasts and follow me. Those who were stirring up trouble just now muste along. Hall Master Wu wants to see you all. If you have doubts, then ask them. Those who don¡¯t want to leave with me, I will not force you either."


    Feeling shocked, Li Yaoqi quickly went over to ask Su Jinggong and the others about the situation. When he learned the truth, he gritted his teeth in anger, eager to curse Miao Yi on his ancestor¡¯s grave.


    Soon after, everyone from the three major sects followed Miao Yi from behind. Those who had been inside Miao Yi¡¯s room were all ounted for. No one dared to miss out, and no one dared to run away. None of the Blue Lotus cultivators would be able to endure the rage of a Red Lotus expert.


    These people didn¡¯t expect that their retribution woulde so quickly. To be precise, they didn¡¯t think that Miao Yi woulde for vengeance this fast. Those who were more timid became limp from fear, and they shrunk to the far end of the line. Miao Yi strutted rather than walked as he led the group, bullying the others by unting his powerful connection.


    Miao Yi also knew that the people behind him were eager to tear him apart. But he had no choice. At this point, it was either him or the others. They could only rely on their own means from now on.


    The main point was that Miao Yi had already forgiven them, yet they had tried to kill him instead. Even if he had a heart of gold, there was little he could do but utilize the boisterous means of the Vajra Arhat against them.


    The group began to climb up to the second floor, but in the end, some of them could no longer bear the pressure. Instigated by his fellow disciples, Su Jinggong quickly hastened his footsteps to block Miao Yi from moving forward. He then said, "Steward Miao, let¡¯s talk this through."


    Miao Yi stopped and curiously inquired, "What is there to talk about between us? Didn¡¯t you all say that I¡¯d be dead the moment I leave the ship?"


    Su Jinggong¡¯s wrinkled old face went pale. He cupped his fists together and said, "I have offended you with my rude remarks. As associates, I hope that Steward Miao will pardon my transgressions."


    "That¡¯s right!" Li Yaoqi moved forward and cupped his fists as well, "We apologize for our actions too. We also hope that Steward Miao will put in a good word for us in front of Hall Master Wu. Please cut us some ck."


    Miao Yiughed, "How should I put in a good word?"


    Li Yaoqi replied quietly, "Steward Miao should say that the previous matter was just a misunderstanding."


    Miao Yi eximed, "Won¡¯t that make me contradict myself in front of Hall Master Wu? What should I do if Hall Master Wu forgives all of you, but seeks me out afterward?"


    Wan Yanhua put up a smile and stepped forward. "Steward Miao, we were the ones in the wrong. If you help us this time, we will repay your kindness when we reach the Sea of Constetions."


    Instantly, Miao Yi smiled. In his heart, he thought, ¡¯Like hell I¡¯ll believe you. How will I know what kind of repayment you will give me at the Sea of Constetions?¡¯


    "Repay? How do you intend to repay me?" A perverted look crossed his face. He brazenly swept his gaze over the bodies of the women from the Jade Lady Sect, then rubbed his chin with a chuckle, "I heard that the disciples of the Jade Lady Sect keep their chastity their entire life. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s true either, but I¡¯m very interested to find out. Why don¡¯t you bring your Senior Auntie and Junior Nieces to my room and reciprocate my kindness?"


    Su Jinggong and Li Yaoqi coughed dryly at his words. On the other hand, the disciples from these two sects stood aghast as they looked at Miao Yi, as if they were overwhelmed by his demeanor.


    The women were ashamed and resentful of Miao Yi. Under normal circumstances, they would have immediately killed Miao Yi by cutting his corpse into pieces. Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie emerged again and shrieked in anger, "Surnamed Miao, you... don¡¯t push your luck!"


    In the end, she didn¡¯t dare to use harsh words on Miao Yi.


    Su Jinggong and Li Yaoqi quickly came out to stop her. Fearing that Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie would spoil everything, they anxiously tried to calm her down, "Let¡¯s settle this through discussion. Let¡¯s do that instead."


    They then discreetly warned that Senior Auntie, ¡¯Let¡¯s endure this for now. If we pass this stage, we can kill Miao Yi however we want in the Sea of Constetions. We will hold him down for you, and you can unleash your anger on him yourself.¡¯


    "Steward Miao, this repayment is sort of over the top. Let¡¯s change it to a different kind of repayment. Let us do that." Su Jinggong yed the role of a nice old man again.


    "I was just joking, and you all took it so seriously. Both my handmaidens are prettier than you." Miao Yi cheerfully waved his hands at the Jade Lady Sect, giving them a look that seemed to say that he had no interest in their appearances.


    These women began to gnash their teeth in anger at once. They really wanted to pounce on him and tear him apart with their teeth while he was still alive.


    That was the virtue of a woman. If you tried to molest them after being enticed by their charm, they would wage war against you. If you mentioned that they looked ugly and did not wish to touch them, they would harbor hatred for you in their hearts forever. Honest men who were stuck in the middle and did nothing were not to their taste. Since ancient times, being a man was difficult.


    Su Jinggong and Li Yaoqi quickly obstructed both paths and cupped their fists at Miao Yi, "Steward Miao, let¡¯s properly discuss the repayment. We still have some Orbs of Will and money on us that we can gather together..."


    Miao Yii quickly held up his hand and stopped them from continuing. He wasn¡¯t a fool. If he were to ept their offering, these people might toughen up and condemn him in front of Wu Menn should they be forced into a corner. He wouldn¡¯t destroy himself for a meager benefit.


    "Forget about the repayment," Miao Yi said quietly, "You guys came to my room and tried to coerce me into switching rooms. Wouldn¡¯t it be inappropriate to dismiss this matter after happened? How about giving me three bows as an apology? It¡¯s not too much, right?"


    "Not too much, not too much." Su Jinggong and the others quickly waved their hands inpliance.


    Around twenty people lined up swiftly in an orderly fashion, then they respectfully bowed three times in session together. They apologized sincerely to Miao Yi, yet in their hearts, they screamed, ¡¯You piece of scum, we will settle this ount with interest once we reach the Sea of Constetions.¡¯

 Chapter 327: Light Punishment

    Chapter 327: Light Punishment


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    As Miao Yi watched them line up and bow in an attempt to apologize, Miao Yi reminded himself of what they¡¯d done. They blocked a weak and lonely person inside his own room, and tried to threaten him indiscreetly.


    It was a situation he had experienced before at a young age, where a group of people had surrounded him in his own cabin. Only that time, he had two little ones with him. He¡¯d been forced to stab his own leg too, which was why he disliked having to feel this way again.


    However, the situation had changed very quickly. In an instant, the tables had turned for the group of people who¡¯d tried to force him to submit!


    Miao Yi retained a smile on his face. He realized that he quite liked experiencing this drastic turn of events. When everyone had bowed to offer their apology, he sighed. "I can only try my best to talk to Hall Master Wu. However, I can¡¯t guarantee what will happen."


    Everyone¡¯sughter sounded a bit forced. They were a bit skeptical about whether he would do his best to talk to Wu Menn. Despite that, they managed to paste on a smile and said, "It is what it is."


    "Let¡¯s go!" Miao Yi beckoned to them and continued to lead the group upstairs.


    When they reached the third floor¡ªwhich was the floor Miao Yi was staying at¡ªthey continued to climb the wooden stairs until they reached the deck.


    It was only after they climbed to the top that they could feel the momentum of the ship braving the strong winds and torrential waves. This ship led the fleet, with nine otherrge ships following from behind.


    On top of that, they were able to feel the rapid blowing of the intense sea breeze as their clothes fluttered about with the wind. They saw that the sky was changing from blue to grey with the setting sun, leaving an inky darkness that was devoid of light. The sounds of the ship and the waves crashing against one another filled the air.


    Their hearts grew tense when they saw the wooden cabin, with its decorated beams and painted rafts, located on the spacious deck. Everyone knew that Wu Menn was staying inside this cabin. They weren¡¯t sure what would happen to them in the end either.


    "You guys wait here first." Miao Yi gave the order, turning to them.


    Everyone couldn¡¯t understand him, and they stared at him with questioning looks. Miao Yi gazed at the wooden cabin, seemingly afraid that Wu Menn would hear his words. He then changed to telepathic transmission and exined, ¡¯I will report myself and sound her out first.¡¯


    Su Jinggong and the other nodded. Miao Yi then braced against the strong wind and walked the rest of the few dozen meters leading towards the cabin.


    The wind and the waves were intense, so they couldn¡¯t quite hear what Miao Yi was saying. However, they were able to hear Miao Yi faintly calling out for ¡¯Sister Meng¡¯ at the entrance before he pushed open the door and went inside.


    Sister Meng? Everyone gazed at each other. Naturally, they were only able toprehend that the ¡¯Sister Meng (first month of the season)¡¯ Miao Yi called out was actually ¡¯Sister Meng (dream)¡¯.


    Had Miao Yi actually addressed Wu Menn as ¡¯Sister Meng¡¯? If he was someone who could address the Hall Master of Suppressing Third Hall as his elder sister, it was no wonder that he could ask Wu Menn to deal with this incident. They weren¡¯t sure how this guy had managed to move up to that level of rtionship so quickly either. Didn¡¯t this guy go to Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor to kill Xiong Xiao or something...?


    They had been hiding below deck when the ship was about to depart, so they hadn¡¯t heard Wu Menn threatening Miao Yi. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have jumped to this conclusion.


    Inside the cabin, Wu Menn stared at Miao Yi standing inside the hall and asked in an unfriendly tone, "Why are you here again?"


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly and said, "Sister Meng, you know about my situation. If I offend the three major sects now, I will surely be dead when we reach the Sea of Constetions. So..."


    "So you aren¡¯t afraid to offend me and decided to bring them here?" Wu Menn tilted her head slightly at him and released her transcendence energy. Swish! The windows burst open, allowing her to gaze indifferently at Su Jinggong and the others, who were standing a few dozen meters away.


    Even though it was noisy outside from the sails and the waves, her cultivation base still allowed her to sense that there were people within that distance.


    When Su Jinggong and the others met Wu Menn¡¯s cold gaze, their hearts shuddered. It seemed like this Hall Master Wu really didn¡¯t have a good opinion of them!


    They were afraid to look at Wu Menn eye-to-eye, so they quickly lowered their heads.


    Wu Menn turned back her head and pulled back the windows with a burst of transcendence energy. She threw a chilling look at Miao Yi and said, "It appears that I have been a bit too lenient with all of you."


    Looking at this situation, she was prepared to punish them all, including Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi quickly cupped his fists and bowed, "Sister Meng, it¡¯s not what you think. I did tell them that you didn¡¯t want to see them, but they didn¡¯t believe my words. It must be because I boasted too much. I told them so repeatedly, and they began to suspect my words, which was why they wanted to verify it for themselves. Sister Meng, please just go out and exin to them. Or maybe speak a word or two from inside the cabin."


    The people outside didn¡¯t dare invoke their arts to listen in on Wu Menn¡¯s conversation inside the cabin. If they were to hear any of it, they would surely burst in and demand an exnation.


    Wu Menn was nning to put these people on the spot, but as she listened to Miao Yi, she then thought, ¡¯Do you think I will go outside just because you all want me to? Then what am I to you? What right do you have to ask for that?¡¯


    "Ask them to leave at once, before I lose my temper!" Wu Menn scoffed.


    Miao Yi wanted her to lose her temper and punish these people. It would put an end to his problem once and for all, and it would also save him the trouble of dealing with them himself. However, that wouldn¡¯t do. If Wu Menn were to seriously make a move against those people outside, his two-faced deeds would be exposed immediately. He could not handle that kind of confrontation by himself.


    Since he¡¯d gone so far as to trick Wu Menn, it was clear that the unlucky one would end up being Miao Yi himself, and not Su Jinggong and the others.


    Miao Yi forced a smile. "What will happen if they can¡¯t see you and just continue to stand outside at the brink of death?"


    His words seemed to suggest that they would. Su Jinggong and the others weren¡¯t fools. Why should they continue to expose themselves to the elements without walking away?


    As expected! Wu Menn¡¯s voice suddenly rumbled and reverberated through the entire ship, "Then let them continue to stand there!"


    Hearing those words from outside, the expressions of Su Jinggong and the others changed. Those still in their rooms downstairs began to make amotion as well. Even Pang Rang, who was at the farthest end of the stern, flew upwards to the deck and looked at the situation with raised brows.


    Miao Yi was astounded, his heart ovee with joy. He was about to coax the others himself, but Hall Master Wu had unexpectedly beaten him to the punch by doing him this honor. She had been straightforward about it. By directly invoking her art to warn those outside, she had saved him a lot of effort for what he nned on doing next.


    "Why are you still standing here? Do you want me to escort you outside?" Wu Menn stared coldly at him.


    "No, not at all!" Miao Yi quickly stepped outside.


    After he walked out, he quietly closed the door before shaking his head and sighing as he walked toward Su Jinggong and the others.


    Facing them, Miao Yi sighed once again when he saw the uneasiness on their faces. He then sent a transmission to them and said, "Hall Master Wu says that she will punish everyone for brazenly stirring up trouble in the ship that she personallymands! This will serve as an example to the others!"


    Everyone was instantly frightened. Miao Yi then continued, "I tried my best to talk to her, and in the end, I managed to persuade her not to give you guys the death penalty. But unless you¡¯re deaf, you must have heard what she said. She wanted you all to continue standing here. I don¡¯t know what will happen to those who dare to move from this spot."


    In actuality, Wu Menn¡¯s words did not have that sort of implication. She only warned them and allowed them to stand there because of Miao Yi¡¯s words, and not because of the reason he¡¯d just mentioned.


    Words left unsaid could make people shudder in fear. Everyone finally let out a breath of relief; it was fine as long as they weren¡¯t dead. With their current cultivation bases, they had no problem standing here for a long time.


    Perhaps they were scared, but no one tried to speak another word. However, they seemed to look at Miao Yi with a trace of gratitude.


    Miao Yi was slightly embarrassed by their stares, so he waved his hand and called out, "Let¡¯s go! Don¡¯t just stand there like fools."


    Everyone quickly looked at him in anger, realizing that this brat was actually trying to trap them. Wu Menn had said that they were to keep standing there, yet this brat was actually trying to make them walk away. If this wasn¡¯t an attempt to harm them, then what else could it be?


    Miao Yi quickly reacted to the situation. He believed that without Wu Menn¡¯s orders, these people wouldn¡¯t dare to move around freely. He quickly used his transmission and exined, ¡¯I have helped put in a few good words for you guys. If you continue to stand here, Hall Master Wu will only feel irritated seeing you whenever she opens the window or leaves her cabin. She understands my reasoning, and she doesn¡¯t want you all to keep staring at her like this. That¡¯s why she agreed to let you all go downstairs and stand at the stern. You can benefit from doing this, and you can avoid letting Hall Master Wu see you. Won¡¯t that remove the uneasiness you¡¯re feeling now? If you stand somewhere else, you can even scratch as you please whenever you have an itch. Isn¡¯t it inconvenient standing here?¡¯


    Could this brat actually be so kind as to act this concerned for them? They couldn¡¯t help but suspect his intentions, and it seemed like he was just trying to find an excuse to get rid of them. Wu Menn might be infuriated if they left, and she might kill them for defying her orders.


    Seeing that they remained indifferent, Miao Yi suddenly shouted loudly, "You are all truly a bunch of idiots! Why do you refuse to listen to me? Fine, I¡¯ve wasted my breath trying to convince Hall Master Wu, and you¡¯ve almost dragged me into this mess. I don¡¯t care anymore. If you guys like standing here, then continue doing that. Don¡¯t me me if you get into trouble!"


    He didn¡¯t use transmission for his outburst, and his voice was slightly raised, with a note of exasperation in his tone. He was trying to convince this lot that he wasn¡¯t lying. At the same time, he wanted Wu Menn to hear his words to prove to her that he hadn¡¯t lied to her.


    When he finished speaking, he waved his hand and left.


    Su Jinggong and the others exchanged nces before they looked at the wooden cabin with its decorated beams and painted rafts. When they saw no reaction whatsoever, they nodded their heads and quickly turned around to follow Miao Yi downstairs.


    The logic behind this was simple. Based on Wu Menn¡¯s cultivation base, it would be impossible for her not to hear Miao Yi¡¯s loud voice. If Wu Menn disyed no reaction to that, it meant that Miao Yi was most likely telling the truth.


    If Miao Yi had continued to speak to them through transmission, they definitely wouldn¡¯t believe him. Since he had spoken in such an imposing manner, they had no reason not to believe his words. Even if something were to happen, they could always say that it was Miao Yi who had falsified the orders.


    At the lowest level, cultivators from both sides of the hallway had opened their doors and were standing at the entrance. They looked curiously at Miao Yi as he led Su Jinggong and the others through the middle corridor, where they arrived at the other side of the exit.


    Miao Yi halted his footsteps and pointed at the stern ahead. He coughed and looked at the people behind him. "I don¡¯t think you need me to teach you what to do next. Just stand at the stern quietly. Of course, if you don¡¯t want to stand, I will not force you either. I¡¯ve helped you guys up to this point, the rest is up to you."


    Li Yaoqi led the others and cupped his fists at Miao Yi as a gesture of gratitude. The others followed as well, each gesturing in session as they passed by him. None of them hesitated to stand at the stern.


    All twenty people who¡¯d previously made a ruckus in Miao Yi¡¯s room were now standing obediently at the stern of the ship, braving the wind and seas as ¡¯self-punishment¡¯.


    After dealing with those people, Miao Yi sighed heavily in relief, his back slightly drenched with sweat. It was too dangerous and took too much effort to do something like this; it was like walking on a tightrope. If he¡¯d been the slightest bit careless, Wu Menn could have be furious from embarrassment and then sent him to his death with a single p. It was important that he controlled even the most miniscule change in his expression throughout the ruse, and he had no choice but to give it everyst ounce of his focus. The deception was not as easy as he¡¯d made it seem.


    He¡¯d bet on the notion that both Wu Menn and the Su Jinggong party wouldn¡¯t suspect him of ying tricks with such a short distance between them. As a result, he¡¯d sessfully fooled both sides. He was doing nothing short of ying with fire. Only someone really bold could have pulled it off.


    Wu Menn¡¯s cultivation might be higher than Yang Qing¡¯s, but Miao Yi was relieved to see that her wit was not as well-developed. If it were Yang Qing, then Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t have even attempted to carry out the carefully calcted ruse to his face. There was no telling who¡¯d be the one fooled then.


    Miao Yi looked at the people standing on the stern of the ship, then turned to the sky and thought to himself, ¡¯The winds are strong. A storm should being soon, I think?¡¯


    Miao Yi turned around and was passing through the corridor when one of the cultivators standing at their door asked, "Steward Miao, what happened to them?"


    "Ai!" Miao Yi sighed. Candidly, he admitted, "This is the result of offending Hall Master Wu. She gave them a light punishment."


    The people in the corridor suddenly realized something. No wonder they could hear what Hall Master Wu had said just now. These three major sects just had to go and put themselves in this situation.


    "You and you,e with me for a moment." Miao Yi randomly selected two people, including the one who asked him the question.


    Both of them followed Miao Yi as he led them to the stable at the lowest level. Unable to contain their curiosity any longer, they asked, "Steward Miao, what is the meaning of this?"


    Miao Yio sighed, "There are no good consequences for offending Hall Master Wu. Their punishment is one thing, but they¡¯ve even involved their dragon steeds in this matter. There are three more months until the Sea of Constetions. From now on, their dragon steeds will specifically be responsible for supplying the driving power for this ship."

 Chapter 328: We Are Friends

    Chapter 328: We Are Friends


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    This was the viciousness of a woman¡¯s heart! They had finally experienced that today.


    The two who had been called to follow Miao Yi suddenly felt chills down their spines. However, they could only let out a sigh. ¡¯Indeed, this woman cannot be provoked. They¡¯re even punishing their dragon steeds as well.¡¯


    However, it was still fine. The engine room could only house ten dragon steeds at a time. Those punished numbered to twenty people. Their mounts could take turns in running the engine. For the dragon steeds, it wouldn¡¯t be too great of a problem.


    The three of them then entered the stables. Miao Yi remembered the room numbers of the three major sects, and their numbers should correspond with the numbers at the stable. They took out ten dragon steeds belonging to Su Jinggong and the others and then forced them into the engine room through a passageway.


    Inside the engine room, there were already ten dragon steeds connected to a chain. This allowed them to run around the turntable individually, like a donkey mill. Each of their respective masters would sit cross-legged on one side and take turns steering the boat.


    There were two hundred cultivators inside the ship registered as participants. For the sake of fairness, ten dragon steeds would pull the turntable for a day before taking turns with the next group. Each dragon steed was estimated to assume the duty of pulling the turntable three times before they could reach the Sea of Constetions.


    When they saw Miao Yi and the others pushing dragon steeds into the engine room, the ten people sitting cross-legged opened their eyes quickly and stood up to assess the situation. It wasn¡¯t the time for the next shift to take over yet, so why did theye here? Naturally, they wanted to ask what was going on.


    The two who had been called along quickly exined the story of Su Jinggong and the others offending Wu Menn. The ten people inside the engine room felt sorry for them but refrained frommenting. Their mounts did not have to suffer any longer, so everyone felt satisfied.


    To avoid the ship from suddenly stopping, the ten people quickly switched out their mounts, one-by-one, with the mounts of Su Jinggong and the others.


    Naturally, Miao Yi needed to brief the matter in detail so that the next group of mounts belonging to the three major sects would assume their roles in the engine room once the current group switched shifts with the next group.


    Before he left, Miao Yi reminded them once more, "I have an association with the three major sects. We are friends. You guys don¡¯t have to worry about feeding their dragon steeds. I will personally manage their fodder. When you switch to the next shift, just pass the message to them."


    Everyone could care less about the feeding if it could save themselves some trouble. At the same time, some regarded Miao Yi as a righteous man, while others thought that Miao Yi was trying to tter the three major sects. They presumed that he was doing so just to ensure that he had some form of reliance at the Sea of Constetions.


    Miao Yi could care less what they thought of him.


    Right when he returned to his room, the violent storm had just appeared on the vast sea. He took out some chilled fruits from the cold jade case and sampled them as he walked towards the window. It was inconvenient to open the door to the balcony because of the storm, so he could only open a gap in the window, and allow the wind and rain to pour into his room.


    Miao Yi peeked through the gap and saw around twenty people, Su Jinggong included, standing firmly on the ship¡¯s bow, all while embracing the baptism of the violent wind and storm. All of them were Blue Lotus cultivators, so they were still able to withstand the windy downpour that would normally blow away an ordinary person. He could see that much from the way they stood at the bow without budging a muscle.


    However, he still could not bear the sight of their cruel circumstances, especially when their faces were repeatedly hit by the torrential waters as one mighty wave after another came crashing on the ship¡¯s bow. More than anything, this showed how strong Su Jinggong and the others were for withstanding the storm.


    Miao Yi slurped at his food as he watched the scene. Too bad the storm couldn¡¯t extend to three months without stopping, otherwise he could have made this lot suffer even more.


    The reason he allowed them to stand at the bow and not at the deck for their punishment was because he feared that Wu Menn would feel strange at seeing them. With that, she definitely wouldn¡¯t hesitate to ask them for an exnation. That question would certainly expose his deeds, so he decided that it would be best if Wu Menn did not catch sight of their situation.


    Miao Yi closed his window and sat cross-legged on a chair. He tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth and continued his cultivation.


    The storm quickly came and left. After less than half a day, the dark clouds and rain were gone, revealing a pure, vast sky filled with sparkling stars. It was alreadyte at night. The sounds of calm waves after a violent storm were pleasing to the ears. Charcoal, who had entered the room to hide, waved his serpentine tail as he dozed off.


    Miao Yi halted his cultivation and went down from his bed. He opened the door and walked to the balcony, raising his head to see the brilliant stars blinking in the night sky. The sight of the sea without the bright, radiant moon was particrly delightful. Miao Yi then looked toward the bow, where about twenty people still stood firmly in the same spot.


    Miao Yi soared to the sky andnded on the deck. The group was still in the middle of their cultivation, but at his approaching footsteps, they opened their eyes and turned around.


    "Everyone must be tired." Miao Yi sped his fists together.


    "Steward Miao, we have something to trouble you with," said Wan Yanhua.


    Miao Yi swept his nce at the women. One disadvantage of being a cultivator was that even after encountering a furious storm, they still weren¡¯t drenched. Otherwise, he would be able to discern whether the bodies of these maidens were any different than ordinary women.


    "What is it?" Miao Yi inquired.


    Li Yaoqi sighed, "Steward Miao, it doesn¡¯t matter if we keep standing here. However, we still need to ensure our dragon steeds perform their duty. We can¡¯t have them slow down the speed of the ship and anger Hall Master Wu, so I wonder if Steward Miao can handle this for us."


    Miao Yi chuckled, "No need to worry. I have already readjusted the order of the ship¡¯s engine duty. Your steeds no longer have to go on duty anymore. They can rest in their stables. Considering all of you are in the middle of your punishment, the others were able to understand your predicament."


    There was a terrible feud indeed between Miao Yi and this group of people. Miao Yi wasn¡¯t the slightest bit ashamed when he said these words. Their dragon steeds were constantly running the engine even though they were quite exhausted. Yet Miao Yi had told them that their dragon steeds were resting instead.


    "Many thanks to Steward Miao." Not caring whether he was sincere or dishonest, they cupped their fists as a gesture of gratitude.


    Wan Yanhua then continued, "Steward Miao, there¡¯s another thing. We have to remain here due to our punishment, so I fear that there¡¯ll be problems with our dragon steeds¡¯ food intake. And so, I will have to trouble Steward Miao with that as well."


    "About that!" Miao Yi took the chance to mention his terms, "Everyone knows that I am potentially weak in strength. I wonder if the three major sects could look after me for a while once we reach the Sea of Constetions?"


    With that, everyone began to rx. They were initially worried that he would take the opportunity to tamper with the situation. Clearly, this person was still trying to please the three main sects so they would protect him. He wouldn¡¯t dare to offend them too far. Evidently, honor wasn¡¯t as important as his own life.


    Everyone sneered in their hearts. On the surface, they nodded politely and said, "Of course."


    Su Jinggong added his assurance, "When we reach the Sea of Constetions, you are free to follow any group from the three main sects."


    "That¡¯s right." Li Yaoqi and Wan Yanhua assured Miao Yi as well. They decided to hold down Miao Yi first before anything else.


    Miao Yi immediately smiled and cupped his fists in response, "Don¡¯t worry, everyone. Just leave the matters of your mounts to me. As long as everyone is well, it will be of great assistance to me once we reach our destination."


    Afterpleting the exchange, Miao Yi dismissed himself and left.


    After waiting for him to leave, Su Jinggong and the others exchanged nces behind his back. With flinty looks, they sneered at Miao Yi. ¡¯You want us to help you in the Sea of Constetions? By then, we¡¯ll see that you die! If you hadn¡¯t disclosed this matter to Wu Menn, we wouldn¡¯t have to suffer that violent storm.¡¯


    The violent storm hadpletely washed away any gratitude these people had for Miao Yi. As they braced against the windy downpour, their hearts were screaming for ruthlessness! But s! That guy had a rtionship with Wu Menn. As long as they were still on this ship, they couldn¡¯t afford to provoke either of them. They had no choice but to endure for the time being. Once they reached their destination, they would take their revenge on that brat.


    Miao Yi had the same cold smile on his face when he turned his back on them and left. He wanted them to rx their guards by begging them for a trade-off. There was no hope in relying on these three major sects to protect him once they reached the Sea of Constetions. He had to rely on himself to protect his own life. Entrusting his life to others, especially his enemies, would never be safe.


    ¡¯And you want me to feed your dragon steeds? Let¡¯s see if you can still be arrogant while riding a bunch of weak-legged shrimps when we reach the Sea of Constetions!¡¯


    Of course, he would still feed their dragon steeds, but he¡¯d limit the quantity. Eventually, he¡¯d slowly weaken their bodies.


    Even though doing this was rather cruel, he had no choice but to do it. Regardless of whether he had his opponents killed or his opponents¡¯ dragon steeds killed, all his deeds would be exposed to Wu Menn before he could leave the ship. It would be impossible for Wu Menn to forgive Miao Yi since he had yed her as a fool.


    It was certainly refreshing to take revenge so openly when given the opportunity to do so. But there was no need to ce himself in trouble. There was no need to rush. He had already grasped control of the situation, so he decided to take it nice and slow.


    When he returned to his room, he locked his door and continued his cultivation.


    The next morning, the round, golden sun emerged from the boundless expanse of the sea¡¯s clear surface. Miao Yi halted his cultivation and walked out to the balcony before jumping down. He then walked toward the bow and said to Su Jinggong and the others, "Hall Master Wu wants me to report on the ship¡¯s situation every day. I¡¯m just about to head there, so I can plead for Hall Master Wu to cut you some ck and see if she¡¯ll let you all off the hook."


    "We are sorry to have troubled you." Everyone quickly cupped their fists in gratitude. In truth, they were beginning to foster a deep hatred for a certain someone the longer they stood at the bow.


    "No need to thank me. We are friends. We still have to rely on each other when we reach the Sea of Constetions," Miao Yi said courteously before he left.


    ¡¯Friends? Who¡¯s your friend?¡¯ Everyone sneered at Miao Yi¡¯s words.


    Miao Yi flew up to the deck and raised his head to view the vast cloudless sky before he looked at the golden morning sun. A mischievous smile then appeared on the corner of his mouth. He estimated that the sun would be a bit hotter today. Withst night¡¯s shower and today¡¯s long exposure to the zing sun, that bunch of people was quite fortunate indeed.


    Dong dong dong! Miao Yi turned toward Wu Menn¡¯s door and knocked. He then greeted respectfully, "Sister Meng!"


    In any case, no matter how upset Wu Menn was, Miao Yi would never respect her as a Hall Master. He insisted on greeting her as ¡¯Sister Meng¡¯, which affected her more or less. At least it was easier to have things go his way whenever they talked by calling her ¡¯Sister¡¯.


    "Come in!" Wu Menn¡¯s voice rang out from the cabin.


    Miao Yi invoked his arts and unbolted the pins behind the door. He pushed the door and entered, then headed towards Wu Menn¡¯s bedroom door. As usual, he saw her sitting cross-legged on the couch, immersed in her cultivation. He cupped his fists and said, "Little Brother has followed Sister Meng¡¯smand and came to give you my daily report."


    Without bothering to open her eyes, Wu Menn said indifferently, "Report."


    "Everything is normal on the ship. But..." Miao Yi hesitated for a bit.


    Wu Menn opened her eyes and asked, "But, what?" She didn¡¯t wish for anything to happen on the ship. Only after sending all participants to the Sea of Constetions would her duty be consideredpleted. If she didn¡¯t absolutely have to, she didn¡¯t want to start killing people on the ship and cause chaos.


    Miao Yi smiled, "Everything on our ship is fine. But we don¡¯t know about the other ships. Why don¡¯t I inquire about their situation on behalf of Sister Meng?"


    Wu Menn¡¯s eyes lit up, and a sardonic smile appeared on her mouth, "Were you always this kind? Do you have some sort of scheme up your sleeves?"


    "Nothing can ever be concealed from Sister Meng." Miao Yiughed humorlessly. He then pulled a face and said, "I¡¯m not going to lie to Sister Meng. I do have some ns of my own. Because Little Brother has offended the three major sects, I thought that I might be able to find some assistance from the other ships when we reach the Sea of Constetions. But don¡¯t worry, I will look into the other ships¡¯ conditions as well... Sister Meng, it¡¯s rare for me to be sincere. For the sake of Little Brother¡¯s enthusiastic entertainment at East Arrival Cave, please allow me this."

 Chapter 329: Adopting Another’s Power To Do Evil

    Chapter 329: Adopting Another¡¯s Power To Do Evil


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡¯Why is he mentioning his passionate treatment at East Arrival Cave again?¡¯ Wu Menn was angry, yet found it amusing at the same time. ¡¯Didn¡¯t I just eat a bit of your food and take a few pots of your fine wine? Was that worth having you talk about it all the time? You make it sound like I should owe you for eternity.¡¯


    "You only remember the treatment you gave me at East Arrival Cave. Why can¡¯t you remember the incident where you charged into my territory and killed my people?" Wu Menn asked sarcastically.


    "Your men have also invaded my territory and killed my people... but, let¡¯s not talk about the past. Sister Meng, as a great person, you would never stoop to pettiness and grieve about the past, so why do you need to take your Little Brother to task?" Miao Yi smiled apologetically.


    Wu Menn waspletely impressed by him. She had seen shameless people before, but never one as shameless as him. ¡¯You are allowed to reminisce, but when I mention the past, you just tell me not to stoop to pettiness as a great person.¡¯


    But back to the topic at hand, she really couldn¡¯t allow Miao Yi to stoop to pettiness as well. Because of her status and cultivation base, she was indeed the greater person. And with Miao Yi essentially describing himself as the petty person, he wasn¡¯t far from the truth, which was why Miao Yi could say those things, but not her.


    Now she could finally understand why her subordinates kept sustaining losses in her rival¡¯s territory. It was because they weren¡¯t as shameless as the opposition. If she was able to get this brat to be her subordinate, then she believed that he could contend on equal grounds with Yang Qing.


    She sneered for a while, tacitly admitting that Miao Yi was indeed a petty person. With that, she finally stopped squabbling with Miao Yi. Otherwise, she might lose her status as a Hall Master.


    Grasping the situation of the other ships was exactly what Wu Menn wanted. Miao Yi took great lengths to nail on an idea that would cater to her expectation. Because of that, she did not disapprove of his request. However, she warned him sternly, "If you cause any sort of problem, don¡¯t me me for being merciless."


    This meant that she had agreed to his proposition. Miao Yi was ted as he replied, "Of course, of course! But..."


    Wu Menn scowled, "Don¡¯t push your luck!"


    "No, no." Miao Yi smiled bitterly and continued, "It¡¯s just that if I go around talking nonsense, the people on the other ships might not believe me. I might even be thrown off the boat as soon as I hop on one. Sister Meng, couldn¡¯t you just write a brief order for me?"


    Wu Menn thought about it and agreed. She flipped her hand and grabbed a jade archive with her palm before writing a few simple words on it. Those words essentially ordered Miao Yi to inspect the situation of every ship in the fleet. She did not give him authority for anything else.


    Miao Yi received the archive and examined it. With a feeling of joy in his heart, he thanked her and dismissed himself to attend to his task.


    He really did what he said he would. The moment he went down to the guest cabin, he randomly knocked on the doors of two rooms and summoned two people to him. He then immediately gave his order, "In respect to Hall Master Wu¡¯s order, I¡¯mmanding you both toplete a task."


    The two were shocked. They asked, "What kind of task?"


    Miao Yi pointed at the rooms on both sides of the hallway and said, "Note down all the names of the cultivators in every room on this level. Question them in detail about their cultivation base and their position in their respective outposts. Carefully record which sect they were born in, as well. After that, pass those records to me tomorrow. When Ie back, I have to send these records for Hall Master Wu¡¯s review."


    Previously, the disciples of the three major sects had been met with misfortune, so neither them dared to disobey his order. Theyplied with themand, yet their hearts were cursing Miao Yi for utilizing someone else¡¯s power to do his own bidding.


    In truth, Miao Yi was indeed using another person¡¯s power for his own selfish deeds. Moreover, he nned on carrying on his evildoing until the end. Wu Menn hadn¡¯t authorized him to investigate everyone¡¯s unsavory past.


    Despite that, Miao Yi wanted to investigate that matter for himself, and he did so immediately while unting Wu Menn¡¯s banner. He didn¡¯t even show the orders Wu Menn had decreed to the two either.


    In actuality, before he even knew Wu Menn was going tomand the ship, the reason he utilized his authority to obtain the position of Steward for this ship was due to this n.


    To take a sentence from his own book¡ªhe hadn¡¯t be a Steward just because he had nothing else to do. Even if Wu Menn hadn¡¯t been themander of the ship, and he hadn¡¯t been given an official order, he still would¡¯ve done the same thing.


    Wu Menn¡¯s appearance was a pleasant surprise to him. He quickly extracted the order from Wu Menn and decided to carry out his initial n on the entire fleet.


    As far as Miao Yi was concerned, Wu Menn had ttered herself to be a big shot. It would be a waste not to make use of every single bit of her authority.


    He went down to the second floor and found another two people. He exined the same thing to them.


    It was the same for the first floor. However, he added an additional order, "You don¡¯t have to count the three major sects. They are currently in the middle of their punishment, so there¡¯s no need to disturb them. Besides, I know about their situation. You can save yourself some trouble by excluding them."


    After that, he went to the lowest floor to take a look at the stables and the engine room. Su Jinggong and the others¡¯ mounts were still running in circles, working themselves to the bone. This was fantastic.


    After settling the matters in this ship, Miao Yi went to the stern and gazed at the fleet of ships following behind them. He immediately soared into the air and ran across the sea, leaping over the waves before he finally flew up andnded on a big ship a hundred meters away from the ship he resided.


    His actions had prompted several people on this ship to block him, and then ask, "Why is a person from Traversing Moon Pce here on our ship?"


    Miao Yi boasted shamelessly, "On behalf of the Fleet Commander, I am here on business in ordance with her order. Let me meet your Steward."


    If he didn¡¯t have Wu Menn¡¯s order, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to leave his ship at all. Those who left their ship without permission were seen as someone who¡¯d fled from their duty. They would be killed on the spot!


    One of them who¡¯d heard Miao Yi immediately came forward and sped his fists in response. "I am the Steward of this ship."


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t the Steward of this ship, so it wasn¡¯t practical for him to say whatever he wanted. He quickly took out the orders Wu Menn had decreed and handed it to the other Steward for his perusal.


    After the other party had examined the written order, he returned the jade archive to Miao Yi and asked, "May I know what themander has instructed?"


    Miao Yi replied, "Themander wants you to carefully record the name of every cultivator, their cultivation base, their position in their respective outpost, and which sect they were born in. She wants to see it by tomorrow. Those who disrupt her progress will be severely punished!"


    The other Steward was dubious of what Wu Menn was trying to do. However, with the orders handed to him by Miao Yi, there was no need to doubt her intention. He quickly cupped his fists and said, "Your humble servant obeys yourmand!"


    If even Wu Menn couldn¡¯t expect Miao Yi to be this bold, then this man would never suspect that something was amiss about the order.


    Miao Yi smiled, "I also hope you can make use of your time to handle your task quickly. I will look for you and collect what themander wants to see tomorrow. Just get busy, I still have to go to the next ship to pass on themander¡¯s orders. I will not keep you from your work."


    "We will not see you off!" A number of people followed the Steward and cupped their fists together as a gesture of farewell.


    Miao Yi returned the same gesture and dismissed himself. He soared up and strode over to the deck before he jumped to the stern and proceeded to hop across the sea. After a hundred meters of riding and leaping across the waves, he then arrived at the next ship.


    Like before, he found the Steward of this ship, and after he had fooled him, went on to continue his journey to the next ship.


    He was sessful until he reached thest ship, where he finally encountered an obstacle. The moment he hopped onto the ship¡¯s bow, a silhouette shed in front of him to greet him.


    The one who came to greet him wasn¡¯t just a stranger, it was Advisor Pang Rang from Suppressing Third Hall, who had almost killed him back then. He stared coldly at Miao Yi and shouted, "Why did you leave your ship without permission ande here?!"


    From the look of him, it seemed like he could kill Miao Yi at any moment without uttering another word.


    Miao Yi quickly took out the Wu Menn¡¯s order and handed it to him, "I came on business with respect to Hall Master Wu¡¯s order."


    Pang Rang frowned, ¡¯You killed the Manor Head of Suppressing Third Hall. How is it possible that the Hall Master has assigned you with responsibilities?¡¯ He didn¡¯t believe his words, so he took the orders and examined it. Indeed, it was an order from Wu Menn. There was her transcendence seal on top of the archive, and no one could possibly fake it.


    In spite of that, he was still a bit dubious. He returned the archive to Miao Yi and barked, "Stay here and wait!"


    Swish! Pang Rang morphed into a phantom-like silhouette and flew to the sky. In an instant, hended on the ship where the leader of the Traversing Moon Pce resided. He proceeded to issue a greeting with his fists sped together outside the wooden cabin, "Your subordinate Pang Rang requests for a meeting."


    He went inside and exined the situation to Wu Menn when he saw her. Wu Menn smiled, "Indeed, I did allow him to take charge of this task. Didn¡¯t he show you the order I decreed?"


    "I did read it. But I still feel a bit strange about it. He charged into the realm of the Suppressing Third Hall and did what he wanted without restraint. Hall Master was even eager to kill him, so why did you put him in charge of this task?" Pang Rang could not understand her actions.


    Wu Menn smilingly said, "Because Huo Lingxiao is sending him to his doom. Even if he is fortunate enough toe back from the Sea of Constetions, he will no longer dare to return to Suppressing Second Hall. I don¡¯t mind putting up with him for now. If hees back, then I will recruit him. The capability of this brat is undisputed. Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor needs someone like him, someone who can reim my reputation."


    Pang Rang¡¯s forehead creased with a frown as he said, "Hall Master, forgive me for being blunt, but do you really think he¡¯lle back alive from the Sea of Constetions?"


    Wu Menn shook her head in response, "It¡¯s fine if he can¡¯te back. All of his options lead to death anyway, and we won¡¯t have anything to lose. Besides, this brat really does have some skills. You¡¯ve seen how he charged into Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor to kill Xiong Xiao too. That¡¯s both courageous and perceptive. No one can guarantee that someone like him will nevere back. Like I said, we won¡¯t have anything to lose. I¡¯ll make an exception for him, so why not have him serve me just in case hees back alive?"


    Pang Rang knew about the privatepetition between Wu Menn and Huo Lingxiao. He felt some disapproval for her intentions, but still managed to tter her on the surface, "Hall Master is wise!"


    When he flew back to thest ship, he left Miao Yi with only a sentence: "Go do your business." Afterward, he didn¡¯t stay, nor did he speak with Miao Yi face-to-face. Pang Rang¡¯s silhouette immediately shed, and he returned to his cabin atop the deck.


    After being kept in suspense all this while, Miao Yi breathed a sigh of relief. He then went to look for the Steward of this ship and exined the task.


    When he finally made his way back to Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s ship, he stood at the balcony and enjoyed the scenery of Su Jinggong and the others standing at the bow and bracing themselves from the heat of the zing sun. A smile appeared on his face as he returned inside the house and opened the windows on all three sides. While embracing the soothing sea breeze, he tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth, sat on the couch with his legs crossed, and then continued his cultivation.


    The sun had set, allowing the bright moon and a sea of stars to fill the sky outside his window. The radiant moon rose above the sea, and one could easily be lost in reverie at the night¡¯s scenery. The moonlight fell on Miao Yi¡¯s face, yet he had no mood to appreciate the beauty outside of his window when he was sitting cross-legged on the couch for his cultivation. What a waste of a good room.


    The next day, Miao Yi revisited the other ships and looked for their respective Stewards. While he collected the information theypiled on every cultivator, he asked them about the situation in their respective ships.


    When he returned to Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s ship, he went to look for Wu Menn again to report on the situation of every ship. Everything was fine on their side, but he kept the jade archives he¡¯d collected secretly in his possession. He didn¡¯t hand them over to Wu Menn.


    It was obvious that Wu Menn did not want him to stay and chat for long. Miao Yi then returned to his room and took a nce at the people standing under the hot zing sun at the bow. He quickly locked all the windows and doors afterward.


    He whipped up a te of chilled fruits and ced it on the tea table before sitting leisurely on one of the side chairs. Miao Yi flipped his hand over and took a look at a jade archive. The jade archive had information about the members on this ship. He continued to examine the jade archive as he ate his fruits.


    Out of the 18,000 cultivators heading to the Sea of Constetion, Miao Yi had no confidence that he would be one of the hundred lucky survivors. Even if he had a set of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts, he still wasn¡¯t sure of his survival. However, he would not sit quietly and wait for his doom. Even if there were a tiny chance of survival, he would seize it no matter what. Even if there weren¡¯t a chance, he would create a chance and continue to survive.


    There was nothing wrong with being weak, but he thought that maybe he might not be the only weak cultivator in this ship. Even an ant would struggle for its life, so he believed that not a single person would be willing to send themselves to death. Without the support of the three major sects, it was natural for him to think of a way to establish ties with others in order to protect himself from harm.

 Chapter 330: Establishing Relations

    Chapter 330: Establishing Rtions


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Another Manor Head..."


    "Another Blue Lotus Ninth Grade..."


    "This one is at Blue Lotus Eighth Grade..."


    Miao Yi was beginning to shudder in fear the more he looked at the jade archives in his hand. Based on this ship alone, the Traversing Moon Pce had about thirty-seven Manor Heads and two hundred or so Mountain Chieftains participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Moreover, their cultivation bases were mostly excellent. Aside from his unfortunate self, the other Mountain Chieftains had cultivation bases that actually exceeded Blue Lotus Fifth Grade.


    There was no need to specte any further. Their Manor Heads must have felt that the Mountain Chieftains threatened their positions, and so they applied underhanded tactics.


    The most frightening piece of information was the fact that there were sixteen Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators among the two thousand people. They were only a step away from breaking through to the Red Lotus realm. As long as they could cross over that threshold, they could reach another terrifying realm.


    Nearly one-fifth of the participants had a cultivation base at Blue Lotus Fifth Grade. And that was just in the Fifth Earthly Branch alone. What would the total be if he added all twelve branches together? How many would there be if he added all six nations to the equation? Miao Yi gasped. Would there be any chance of survival for those with a cultivation base at Blue Lotus Fifth Grade and below? There was nothing more to be said for a White Lotus cultivator such as himself.


    If he hadn¡¯t read it, he wouldn¡¯t have known. Now that he had seen the archive, he realized that South Edict Manor was indeed too small. The experts out there were as numerous as the stars in the sky.


    "Eh! There¡¯s another unfortunate soul...!" Miao Yi suddenly eximed.


    He initially thought that he was the only White Lotus cultivator in the Fifth Earthly Branch. Unexpectedly, he discovered that there was one more like him, and a woman at that. Moreover, her cultivation base was even lower than his; she was only at a White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivation. She wasn¡¯t born from any sect, and her name was Qi Xiuhong.


    There was a person even more unfortunate than him. Miao Yi suddenly regained a lot ofposure in his heart. He then discreetly noted down the name ¡¯Qi Xiuhong¡¯ and her room number, preparing himself to goter and check what was going on. After all, he had the right to go to other ships and run around as he pleased.


    "I can¡¯t have any from the three major sects..."


    "There are more people from Suppressing Second Hall and Suppressing Third Hall who¡¯ve heard about me. It¡¯ll be difficult to control them, so I can¡¯t use them..."


    "Those with a sect background will only coborate with theirrades. They won¡¯t work together in unison, so I can¡¯t use them either..."


    "Can I contact this Manor Head? He still has his subordinates. Maybe he will form a group with his subordinates? No, he might have been the one who personally enrolled them in the list of participants. It would be weird if they didn¡¯t hate him for that, so it¡¯s impossible for them to form a group with him. Even if they¡¯re willing to, this Manor Head will probably suspect his subordinates will use underhanded tactics on him. I can contact this guy."


    Miao Yi took each jade archive and began to cross out names. When he saw the disciples of the three major sects on one of the archives, he drew a line and removed them. He removed the ones from Suppressing Second Hall and Suppressing Third Hall too. He removed those with a school background as well. As such, he ended up excluding most of them. That left him with about four to five hundred people that suited his criteria.


    However, this amount was already of immense strength to him. It was fine without the rest. Only those without support and wished to survive would huddle together and thus, be easier to rope in. No one from the three major sects would bother with him even if he tried to rope them in. They were confident in their power, so even if they were to give him their attention, they would definitely prepare a huge list of conditions. Moreover, during a critical moment, they would ask him to make the first sacrifice to protect their own interests.


    The three major sects. If he hadn¡¯t read the documents, he wouldn¡¯t have known about two hundred of their members were among the two thousand participants in the entire fleet. They were indeed deserving of their reputation as the three major sects of the Fifth Earthly Branch. And as expected, their forces were colossal. No wonder Su Jinggong and the others were that confident.


    After looking over the candidate list of two thousand people, he proceeded to weigh in his decision carefully. He analyzed the list for several days, and in between each day, he would take the time and give a courtesy call to Wu Menn for a short time.


    Because of this matter, he had almost forgotten to feed the mounts of Su Jinggong and the others at the stable. For a moment, he couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. If he were to kill their mounts now, then he feared that it would be difficult for him to leave the ship without facing the consequences. He then quickly went down and settled that problem.


    After spending a few days to confirm the participants on the candidate list, Miao Yi finally opened the windows in his room and let out a sigh of relief. He saw that the twenty people still remained at the bow, bracing themselves against the heat of the scorching sun. He snorted at the sight and left his room.


    When he reached the ship¡¯s stern, he leaped down the boat once again and flew over the sea by riding on the waves. When he finally arrived at the ship belonging to Traversing Celestial Pce, he unexpectedly bumped into the ship¡¯s Steward yet again.


    This Steward immediately came forward and cupped his fist to greet him, "Brother Miao, are there any more instructions from the Fleet Commander?"


    "Haha, no. Fleet Commander wishes for me to go around each ship every now and again. She doesn¡¯t want any idents to happen before we reach the Sea of Constetions. Brother Hong, please run along. I will go around on my own¡ªyou don¡¯t need to apany me..."


    "Brother Miao, if you aren¡¯t in a rush, why don¡¯t youe to my room and have a drink? I brought along some fine wine with me when I boarded the ship."


    "No need, no need. I dare not disrupt the task that themander entrusted to me. We will talk about it after I have finished this task. When I¡¯m free, I¡¯lle back and look for Brother Hong. I¡¯ll sample that wine then."


    After dismissing that Steward, Miao Yi then entered the guest cabin and walked to the middle of the passageway. He observed the te numbers hanging at the doors before he suddenly lit up and stopped at one of them. If he remembered it correctly, this was the room of that Blue Lotus Ninth Grade expert, and one of the people that he¡¯d intended to establish a rtionship with. It would be of great help to team up with such an expert in the Sea of Constetions. How could he miss this chance?


    Dong dong dong! Miao Yi quickly knocked on the door after looking at both ends of the passageway and determining that there was no one around for the moment.


    He heard footstepsing from the inside, followed by the creaking of the door. The lustrous eyes of a slender middle-aged man scrutinized Miao Yi. ¡¯I don¡¯t recognize him. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen him o n this ship before.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t hold back from asking Miao Yi suspiciously, "Who are you?"


    ¡¯He doesn¡¯t look that old, yet he¡¯s managed to acquire the cultivation base of Blue Lotus Ninth Grade. Evidently, he has a great future ahead of him. No wonder he incurred the envy of others¡ªand so they sent him to the Sea of Constetions!¡¯ Miao Yi muttered in his heart. He then smiled, "I am Steward Miao Yi of Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s ship. I came with orders from the Fleet Commander to visit the other ships. I was wondering if I coulde in and have a few words with you, sir?"


    The other guy frowned, clearly a bit unwilling to let a mysterious person enter his own room. However, Miao Yi had orders from the Fleet Commander, so he could only step aside and say, "Pleasee in!"


    Unexpectedly, as soon as Miao Yi came in, he quickly closed the door shut before turning back to the man and saying in transmission, "May I know if you are the honorable Manor Head Zhao Fei?"


    The other party was stunned. Seeing that Miao Yi was speaking in transmission, he assumed that no one should overhear this discussion, so he replied in the same fashion and asked curiously, "Does Steward Miao know me?"


    Indeed, it was him. He hadn¡¯t walked into the wrong room! Miao Yi smiled, "Zhao Fei from White Cloud Manor of Traversing Celestial Pce. No schools nor sect, and born as a Loose Cultivator. Am I right?"


    Zhao Fei scrutinized Miao Yi for a moment before he continued, "Why is Steward Miao so knowledgeable about my background?"


    "A few days ago, when Fleet Commander asked for details from every cultivator in the ship, I was the middleman handling this task."


    "Oh!" Zhao Fei suddenly understood and nodded, "What does Steward Miao need from Zhao Fei?"


    Miao Yi grinned, "I came because of Manor Head Zhao¡¯s safety in the Sea of Constetions. May I sit down and talk with Manor Head Zhao for a moment?"


    Zhao Fei¡¯s eyes lit up. He could more or less guess the real intention why Miao Yi hade, but he couldn¡¯t be certain of it. He then turned around and extended his arm, "I have a simple and crude room, but if Steward Miao insists, please sit down and talk."


    Miao Yi cupped his fists as a gesture of gratitude. The room had only a bed, two chairs with a tea table, and nothing else. It couldn¡¯tpare to Miao Yi¡¯s luxurious room.


    They sat at the tea table. Zhao Fei was quiteposed, as expected of a Manor Head. He had an expression of unrelenting tranquility as he waited for Miao Yi to state his purpose foring over.


    Miao Yi did not beat around the bush and asked him directly, "I¡¯d like to know if Manor Head Zhao will be willing to team up with me in the Sea of Constetions?"


    "I¡¯m afraid I will have to disappoint Steward Miao," Zhao Fei said calmly, "I have already formed an alliance with the Sect of the Three Founders. If Steward Miao feels that he will have difficulty in defending himself at the Sea of Constetions, I am willing to help by making a few rmendations for you."


    As expected, a Manor Head wasn¡¯t so simple. The moment he began to speak, he was already trying to find out Miao Yi¡¯s background. Miao Yi muttered in his heart, ¡¯If I agree with his rmendation, then I might expose myck of confidence. If that happens, then I will have to give up on recruiting him.¡¯


    "I understand Manor Head Zhao¡¯s kindness." Miao Yi chuckled. "However, I think Manor Head Zhao is making a joke."


    "A joke?" Zhao Fei seemed surprised as he continued, "Why would Steward Miao say that?"


    "Manor Head Zhao, you said you have an alliance with the Sect of the Three Founders. If that isn¡¯t a joke, then what is? Might I dare ask how Manor Head Zhao formed an alliance with the Sect of the Three Founders?"


    "Naturally, with my cultivation base of Blue Lotus Ninth Grade. Perhaps Steward Miao thinks there are cultivators participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade with a cultivation base higher than mine? Can it be that my cultivation base isn¡¯t enough to be of great support to the Sect of the Three Founders?"


    "The Sect of the Three Founders is nothing more than a middle-grade sect within the Fifth Earthly Branch. It¡¯s not too much of a stretch to call them second-rate sects too. From my understanding of the situation, there are less than fifty disciples from the Sect of the Three Founders throughout the entire fleet. Does Manor Head Zhao think these meager troops can make any difference in the Sea of Constetions?"


    ¡¯Luckily, I prepared beforehand,¡¯ Miao Yi muttered in his heart.


    "Can it be that Steward Miao has forgotten that the Sect of the Three Founders has troops that don¡¯t belong within the administration in the fleet?"


    "Then what about it? Are you suggesting that their total number of troops can exceed more than a hundred people?"


    Zhao Fei replied with an ¡¯oh¡¯ and asked, "I wonder which sect Steward Miaoes from? And how many troops from your esteemed sect are participating in this crusade?"


    "I have no school nor sect. I am just like Manor Head Zhao, someone born as a Loose Cultivator."


    "Then that¡¯s strange. I wonder how Steward Miao mustered the confidence to seek me out?"


    Miao Yi proudly said, "Well, just by the fact that I¡¯ve already formed a coalition with two hundred people among the fleet. This includes two experts at the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade, and I still have two hundred more waiting for me to recruit them. Manor Head Zhao is precisely one of them."


    Zhao Fei was shocked, "Steward Miao isn¡¯t joking, right?"


    "Of course not. This is because I have an advantage that Manor Head Zhao does not have. In my hands, I have information rting to every cultivator in the fleet, and the Fleet Commander has tasked me with her orders, so I can freely go back and forth to any ship. Take for example how I¡¯m able to sit here with Manor Head Zhao right now. I should let you know that everyone in my coalition is simr to Manor Head Zhao¡ªweak on their own, a background without a sect, and with no way to retreat. Joining my coalition is nothing short of their only chance of survival. We can only fight in unity! Do you think I must ept Manor Head Zhao¡¯s rmendation to join the Sect of the Three Founders? Let me be blunt. I fear Manor Head Zhao will understand it, too. Allying with the Sect of the Three Founders is like asking a tiger for its skin. Once a dangerous situation arises, they will definitely push Manor Head Zhao into the frontline first. Will you form an alliance with me and fight, or will you die for the sake of the Sect of the Three Founders¡ªdoes Manor Head Zhao still need to hesitate?"


    Zhao Fei hesitated, but suddenly lifted his head and asked, "Steward Miao might be acting on the Fleet Commander¡¯s orders, but you¡¯re actually going around and secretly establishing yourwork. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll report you? Or rather, is Steward Miao not afraid that the others will report you?"


    Miao Yi chuckled, "What¡¯s the benefit in reporting me? Will you be rewarded, or will you still be obligated to go to the Sea of Constetions to meet your doom? Moreover, I am the one greatest chance everyone has at survival. If it¡¯s Manor Head Zhao, will you still report me?"


    Zhao Fei went silent, then asked again, "May I ask Steward Miao what cultivation you have, and what position you possess among the officials?"


    Miao Yi shamelessly boasted, "I¡¯m not that capable. Like Manor Head Zhao, I have the cultivation base of Blue Lotus Ninth Grade too. Before I boarded the ship, I was the Manor Head of Changfeng Manor."


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t even know Changfeng Manor¡¯s location. He knew about Changfeng Cave, but what did that matter? Traversing Celestial Pce was located far away from Traversing Moon Pce. Miao Yi didn¡¯t think that Zhao Fei could grasp the precise situation of the thousands of manors in the Fifth Earthly Branch.

 Chapter 331: The Final Nail in the Coffin

    Chapter 331: The Final Nail in the Coffin


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Most importantly, the other party didn¡¯t hold the same advantages that he did, and he couldn¡¯t run around every single ship as he did. Zhao Fei couldn¡¯t possibly run to Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s ship and probe into his background.


    It was of no importance whether he was telling the truth or not. His little white lie was all for the greater good. Right now, the most important thing would be to gather up those who held no advantage. As long as everyone could stick together and fight against the tides of fate, so what if his lie was exposed? Miao Yi believed everyone would only feel thankful for him then; no one would hold a grudge against him. Once the group took form, it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to split up the people who decided to join forces. Everyone knew it was much more dangerous to be on their own.


    Zhao Fei was taken aback yet again. He never thought that the other person possessed a simr cultivation and position as himself, despite looking much younger. If he were to join forces with this guy... He couldn¡¯t help but ask, "Just now, Steward Miao mentioned that there were two Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators among the two hundred people who have already joined forces. May I know if you included yourself as well?"


    It was very easy to discern the truth behind something like cultivation. He didn¡¯t believe in the slightest that Miao Yi could lie to him regarding his cultivation.


    Miao Yi shook his head, "I didn¡¯t include myself. If you join us, we would have four Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators, including myself. There are also plenty of Eighth Grade and Seventh Grade cultivators among us. Can Manor Head Zhao not see the direness of the situation? Is there a need to even hesitate?"


    Zhao Fei slowly sucked in a breath of cold air. There would be four Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators once he joined...


    Miao Yi was smiling as he exited the room. Zhao Fei had personally sent him out. Both men cupped their fists and bid one another farewell.


    As Zhao Fei stood by the door to see Miao Yi off, he watched him knocking on another person¡¯s door and enter inside. Afterward, his gaze shone with excitement and resolve. If they could form the coalition that Miao Yi spoke of, then it would be a highly substantial force.


    "Mountain Chieftain Qiu. There is no need to doubt the strength of our coalition. Are you familiar with Manor Head Zhao Fei of White Cloud Manor? He is staying just a few rooms ahead of you."


    "I know him!"


    "Manor Head Zhao¡¯s Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivation is much higher than yours, and he is also a member of our coalition. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can go ask himter on..."


    Not long afterward, Miao Yi wore a smile on his face yet again as he exited the room, then proceeded to the next room...


    Discussing with and trying to recruit each person individually like this was a very tiresome matter, and truth be told, it was very straining on his nerves.


    No one could say that lying was something difficult to do. However, it truly wasn¡¯t easy to generate something out of nothing. s, Miao Yi had to do it, and he had to do it all by himself, for no other reason than the fact that he would inevitably die if he were to fight on his own with no one to support him. Even if it was a dead end in front of him, he had to carve out a path of his own. He wanted to live for much longer than this. He firmly believed that his destiny was in his own hands, so he couldn¡¯t just sit around waiting for a miracle to fall on hisp. Only by daring to do the impossible would he be able to find a way out. As a man, how could he be afraid of a little pain!?


    Fortunately, Miao Yi¡¯sing was like the sweet advent of rain after a long drought to those restless participants whomanded no influence. No one wished to pass by such an opportunity, so it had been easy for Miao Yi to convince them. If he had to bepletely honest, this was all within his expectations. Even an ant would try its best to survive. Who wouldn¡¯t want to live on?


    Nevertheless, he still had to discuss the matter with each person individually. At most he would be able to convince twenty to thirty people in a single day.


    After doing this consecutively for a few days, Miao Yi eventually came up to the room belonging to that ¡¯Qi Xiuhong¡¯. He had arrived at the door of that White Lotus Fifth Grade female cultivator.


    As he stood in front of the door, he hesitated for a while. Was there a need for him to recruit a woman who was a mere White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator? However, he still knocked on the door in the end.


    As soon as the door opened, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes fell upon a dainty and pretty little girl. She wore a in yellow dress, her gaze slightly guarded as she looked curiously at him.


    When Qi Xiuhong heard the reason why Miao Yi hade, she was very surprised, and also a little happy with excitement. She felt like she had finally gotten a chance to survive this trial before her. She didn¡¯t know how she should thank him.


    "Qi Xiuhong. To be honest with you, there are already four Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators within our coalition, myself included. Even the one with the lowest cultivation was at least at Blue Lotus First Grade. With your cultivation... truth be told, I was very hesitant when I stood outside your door just now." Miao Yi felt no shame in saying these words. After lying so much, it seemed like even he believed that he had a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivation. His tone wasn¡¯t doubtful in the least.


    Qi Xiuhong bit her lip, then nodded, "I understand! However, since Steward Miao came here, it must mean that you are willing to give me a chance. I won¡¯t be able to guarantee anything else, but as long as you are willing to offer me this chance, I shall swear on my life that I will follow behind you, no matter what, my lord!"


    "This is not what I wanted to hear. I¡¯m just curious why a White Lotus Fifth Grade female cultivator like yourself ended up going to the Sea of Constetions. I can see that you are not bad-looking either."


    In the end, Qi Xiuhong gave a very inconceivable answer¡ªshe was sent here precisely because she looked pretty.


    It was because her Manor Head coveted her for her beauty and wanted to be dual-cultivation partners with her. However, she rejected him. After trying to coax her time and again, her Manor Head grew furious with shame. However, considering they were both officials, it wouldn¡¯t be wise to rape her. He then tried to threaten her by saying he would draft her into the candidate list for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. However, she remained unrelenting. Ultimately, in a fit of rage, her Manor Head really did enlist her into the list of participants for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. The answer was as simple as that.


    After she boarded the ship, she didn¡¯t want to ept her fate so easily, so she looked for the other sects on the ship and hoped she could join them. But s, her cultivation was too low. No one was willing to take on someone as burdensome as her. There were a few who gave her a verbal agreement, but the conditions were terrible¡ªthey wanted her to go to their rooms at night. It was evident what they were trying to imply. In the end, she decided to reject her final ray of hope.


    "So that was the case!" Miao Yi stood up and left. As he was walking off, he said, "Just follow me once we reach the Sea of Constetions!"


    "Thank you, my lord!" Qi Xiuhong was very excited as she sent Miao Yi off...


    After spending around twenty days recruiting others, Miao Yi had finally returned to the balcony of his room. He sighed in relief as he watched the group of twenty people still standing firmly on the ship¡¯s bow, not daring to leave at all.


    Turbulent winds howled above the high seas as lightning streaked the sky, apanied by the sound of thunder rolling across the dark clouds. One thunderbolt after another roared angrily atop the mighty ocean; a heavy storm was brewing!


    Miao Yi shut his windows, then sat back down on the couch, crossed his legs and resumed his cultivation. Not long afterward, booming thunder could be heard outside as a terrible storm came ruthlessly crashing down...


    One monthter. Nightfall. A streak of purple light stretched across the night sky and descended outside the cabin on the deck of themanding ship. The light revealed itself to be an old man. He asked, "Is Hall Master Wu present?"


    The candles inside the cabin instantly lit up. The wooden doors opened, and Wu Menn finally stepped outside. Upon seeing her guest, she cupped her fists, then stood aside as she invited him in, "So our visitor turned out to be Advisor Lu. Pleasee inside and have a seat."


    The old man called Advisor Lu nodded gently and followed her in. After the two took their seats within the cabin, they remained deep in discussion for about an hour before Advisor Lu took out a storage ring and ced it on the tea table. He said, "They have released the ns of the Six Nations. When the timees, just act ording to the instructions stated inside this ring. Kindly ept it, Hall Master Wu."


    Wu Menn held the storage ring up and invoked her arts to examine its contents. She then nodded her head. With a flip of her hand, she took out a jade archive and wrote a document of approval. She imprinted her transcendence seal on the document and then handed it to the other party.


    Upon receiving the jade archive and after checking to make sure there were no mistakes, Advisor Lu stood up and said, "I have delivered the items, so I shall be taking my leave now."


    Standing up to see him off, Wu Menn courteously invited him to stay longer. "It must have been an arduous journey for you, Advisor Lu. Why not stay and rest for tonight? I can have someone prepare a decent room for you."


    "The Pce Lord has orders for me. I still need to rush to deliver the items to the other fleets. This is far enough, Hall Master Wu!" As soon as he stepped outside the cabin, Advisor Lu simply left a few words of parting before morphing into a purple light and shooting towards the darkness of the night sky.


    After she saw the purple light off, Wu Menn went back into her cabin and shut the doors. She donned the storage ring on her finger, then took out a jade archive and examined its contents, gently nodding her head as she sank into deep thought.


    Daybreak, the next day. As usual, Miao Yi visited Wu Menn and reported that everything was normal. After he concluded his report, he was about to take his leave. This was because Wu Menn didn¡¯t want to be alone with a man like him for too long. At least that was how Miao Yiforted himself after being chased away almost every single time. He couldn¡¯t always be thinking that she hated dealing with him and that was the reason she chased him out every time. That would dampen his mood.


    Unexpectedly, Wu Menn ced her legs down from the couch and said, "No need to leave in such a hurry."


    "Uhh..." Miao Yi felt taken aback; he was just about to turn around and leave. The door opened slightly, and a fragrant scent assaulted his nose. Wu Menn had stepped out of her bedroom and passed him by, taking her seat in the main hall. Following behind her, Miao Yi asked, "What does Sister Meng need of me?"


    Wu Menn pointed downwards and said, "Sit down and talk."


    It was rare to see her act so courteously towards him. Miao Yi was a little lost, but he didn¡¯t refrain from holding himself back. He did as she said and took a seat.


    "I¡¯m about to let you in on some good news. Do you want to hear it?" Wu Menn asked.


    ¡¯What good news could there be for a participant of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?¡¯ Miao Yi probed, "They canceled the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?"


    Wu Menn rolled her eyes and sneered, "In your dreams. How could something that has gone on for tens of thousands of years be canceled just like that?"


    Miao Yi sighed, "Then what good news could there be?"


    Wu Menn answered, "The participants of this year¡¯s Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade are a little more fortunate than the previous ones. Aside from the reward of a hundred thousand Orbs of Will provided by each of the Six Nations, they also added on another prize to the pot. The first hundred survivors will not only obtain a share of the six hundred thousand Orb of Wills given out as a reward, but they can also be the Manor Head of any single manor belonging to their respective Earthly Branch. Furthermore, the individual rankings will determine each person¡¯s privilege to choose!"


    As esteemed as the Six Sages were, each of them only had to fork out a hundred thousand low-grade Orbs of Will, which they would divide amongst one hundred people. They were not ashamed in the least to think of taking out such a measly sum!


    Or so Miao Yi thought to himself. Of course, he understood that this was just a mere formality. The real prize was from killing the opposition and taking away their belongings.


    He said begrudgingly, "What sort of prize is this? If people were allowed to give up on the opportunity to take part in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, I reckon they wouldn¡¯t even think of trying to win this prize. Not to mention, many were already Manor Heads in the first ce."


    "You can forget about giving up your participation rights, unless you have someone from the Realm Beyond Heaven pulling strings on the outside for you. Otherwise, not even a Pce Lord can make any changes to the list of participants, which has already been reported and confirmed. It is unchangeable. Of course, it should be possible if an Overlord steps out to help you. However... I suggest you cease your wishful thinking. One more prize is better than no prize at all. The right to choose where to serve as Manor Head means that regardless of how strong or weak your cultivation is, you can be promoted to Manor Head as long as you make it back alive. Furthermore, you are allowed to choose where you wish to take up the post. There are many manors with crystal coin mines within their territories. It is a tremendous fortune for a person to have. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re not even the slightest bit tempted?"


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t feel tempted. He shook his head, "I would still need to be alive to be able to enjoy such fortune. Without my life, all the prizes in the world are just dust in the wind."


    Wu Menn narrowed her eyes, "I feel like I¡¯ve been spouting nonsense to you this whole time."


    "Uhh... no, not at all." Miao Yi let out a dryugh, "I am aware of Sister Meng¡¯s good intentions. May I ask why they decided to increase the prize for this particr session?"


    "I don¡¯t know the full details myself. All I know is that the Six Sages have sent out their new disciples to participate as well. To make the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade more exciting, they decided to increase the bounty in order to motivate the participants."


    "..." Miao Yi¡¯s expression twitched. ¡¯There are members from the Six Sages¡¯ side participating as well? How would low-level grunts like us survive against that? Who could win against them?¡¯


    He gnashed his teeth in hatred and said, "Sister Meng, what kind of prize is this? This is clearly the final nail in the coffin!"

 Chapter 332: Arrival

    Chapter 332: Arrival


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "There¡¯s no useining." Wu Menn sighed, "Seeing as you¡¯ve been calling me Sister all this time, I will add another bonus for you. If you cane back alive, you¡¯re free toe to my Suppressing Third Hall. I will allow you to be in charge of two manors. You won¡¯t be any worse than Yang Qing."


    "...." Still gritting his teeth, Miao Yi was startled by her words. He asked suspiciously, "Are you serious?"


    Wu Menn nodded, "Rest assured. Your sister here has a better character than Huo Lingxiao. I don¡¯t go back on my promises. As long as youe back alive to me, I won¡¯t disappoint you."


    Initially, she hadn¡¯t nned on letting Miao Yi manage two manors, but after receiving the new rules and the subsequent increase in reward, she had to make some changes of her own. The survivors could take on the post of Manor Head in any location within their own Earthly Branch. For example, Miao Yi would be able to pick any manor within the Fifth Earthly Branch. Naturally, he would pick a ce with great prospects. Wu Menn was afraid that the ten normal manors under hermand would not be able to attract Miao Yi, so she quickly decided to entice him by offering two instead.


    Even though the chances of Miao Yi returning alive were small, but if he could give an outstanding performance in the Sea of Constetions, then giving him a manor or two was not out of the question.


    Miao Yi was curious as to why this woman was suddenly being so nice to him. He couldn¡¯t help asking, "Does Sister Meng think I can return alive from the Sea of Constetions?"


    Wu Menn replied indifferently, "Don¡¯t overthink about something so far ahead. It¡¯s decided where you¡¯ll bepeting within the Sea of Constetions. This time it will be held within the domain of the Western Constetions Master¡ªthe Western Star Sea. I suggest you start your preparations soon. We have less than a month before we reach our destination. The better you prepare, the higher your chances of survival."


    ¡¯The Western Star Sea...domain of the Western Constetions Master?¡¯ Miao Yi was stunned. The four Constetions Masters controlled the Sea of Constetions. Didn¡¯t he visit the Western Star Sea all those years ago?


    He almost broke out in a cold sweat from the thought. ¡¯Why there of all ces? I stirred up a majormotion back there, and it¡¯s the ce where I made my fortune. If any of the demonic spirits manage to recognize me, I¡¯ll have a big problem on my hands. It¡¯ll be hard to avoid a joint attack from all those demons then.¡¯


    "Sister Meng. Are the demonic spirits of the Western Star Sea participating as well?" Miao Yi asked.


    "More or less. But before that, the Yao cultivators within the Western Star Sea will probably be evacuated from the area. They will only return once the Subjugation Crusade is over. Even if there are participants, they¡¯ll only be Second Grade Yao cultivators."


    Wu Menn obviously had no interest in chatting with him for too long. After all, they weren¡¯t on the same level and had no simr interests to talk about. After she gave him a few simple instructions, she abruptly raised her voice with her transcendence arts, "Pang Rang. Come over!"


    Her loud voice echoed across the ocean, startling the people on each ship.


    Shortly after, a silhouette shot over from across the sky. Pang Rang walked into the cabin, then cupped his fists and paid his respects to Wu Menn.


    With a flip of her hand, Wu Menn took out a golden bangle and a jade archive, then handed them over to Miao Yi. Receiving both items, Miao Yi asked in confusion, "What are these things for?"


    "Put this on your hand," said Wu Menn, pointing to the golden bangle.


    Miao Yi did as she told and put it on his wrist. Wu Menn then instructed, "Fasten it."


    Miao Yi fastened thetch on the golden bangle with a click. Then, Wu Menn said, "Imbue the golden bangle with your transcendence seal."


    Miao Yi was a little puzzled, but he still followed her order. Once he imbued the golden bangle with his transcendence seal, it glowed with a golden radiance. He couldn¡¯t help but ask curiously, "What is this?"


    "This is to prevent you all from escaping once you reach the Sea of Constetions." Wu Menn said indifferently, "The Six Sages have already ced arge barrier around the Western Star Sea. The barrier will detect any cultivator that enters the Western Star Sea without permission, and they will be killed. This is to ensure the fairness of the Subjugation Crusade and prevent the participants from cheating by inviting experts to help them. Simrly, with this on, should the participants wish to escape from the Western Star Sea, they will immediately be discovered once they cross the border. Someone will then chase them down to put an end to them."


    Miao Yi was startled by her words, and he instinctively tried to take off the golden bangle. However, he discovered that he couldn¡¯t take it off at all.


    "Don¡¯t waste your energy," Wu Menn remarked, "Not even my cultivation can open it, much less yours. Not unless you chop off your own hand. The purpose of the Subjugation Crusade is to see who can obtain the most golden bangles from their opponents. This will be used to gauge their ranking."


    At seeing Miao Yi so frustrated, Pang Rang finally revealed a mocking smile on his face.


    Miao Yi was fuming with rage. He felt like livestock being led to the ughterhouse. His face tensed as he asked, "We still haven¡¯t reached the Sea of Constetions. Why have me put this on now?"


    "All of you will have to put it on. This is just to show you and Pang Rang how to use it. I want you to go to every ship right now and distribute them. Have everyone put them on immediately. Everything you need is inside here." Wu Menn tossed the storage ring she receivedst night over to Miao Yi. She then turned to Pang Rang. "Advisor Pang, you will be in charge of supervising him. Make sure everyone puts it on. I will not tolerate failure."


    "Understood!" Pang Rang cupped his fists and acknowledged the order. He then left, bringing Miao Yi with him.


    Obviously, they had to start with this ship. Miao Yi called for someone to inform everyone on the ship to gather on the deck of the ship¡¯s bow.


    Twenty people were standing on the bow at the front of the crowd. Given all his pent-up anger, Miao Yi naturally wanted to take care of Su Jinggong and his group first.


    When he saw this group of people standing firmly in ce, Pang Rang frowned. "What are these people doing?"


    Miao Yi bluntly exined right in front of Su Jinggong and the rest, "They upset the Hall Master, and their punishment is to stand here."


    Seeing how Miao Yi put it so bluntly, and with Wu Menn on the ship no less, Pang Rang didn¡¯t doubt him at all. He just scoffed at Su Jinggong and his group. Since they had upset the Hall Master, he naturally had to show some support for her. In the end, he did manage to scare Su Jinggong and the rest. They didn¡¯t dare utter so much as a peep.


    With Pang Rang behind him, it made things much easier. Su Jinggong and the rest all put on the golden bangle handed to them and fastened it onto their wrists obediently. Pang Rang stared at each golden bangle and only shifted his gaze after seeing them shine with a golden light.


    When the rest of Traversing Moon Pce arrived, they received the same treatment as well. Each of them received a jade archive and a golden bangle for them to put on. Standing to the side, Pang Rang kept a vignt eye the entire time to ensure nothing went wrong.


    Once they were done with Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s ship, Miao Yi and Pang Rang went to the next ship and proceeded with their task....


    After he distributed the golden bangles to all participating cultivators throughout the entire fleet, Miao Yi returned to his own room and examined the jade archive that Wu Menn had given him. He discovered that it detailed the rules of this year¡¯s Subjugation Crusade. The major rules were exactly as Wu Menn described, but she didn¡¯t mention a few of the minor ones, so he needed to read them in depth.


    The jade archive described the scale and boundary of the Western Star Sea in order to prevent the participants from venturing out unknowingly and getting themselves killed.


    On the map, there were over ten thousand inds, both big and small, within the waters of the Western Star Sea. They truly looked like the stars in the sky, which was probably where the name ¡¯Sea of Constetions¡¯ hade from.


    The map also showed where the cultivators of the six nations would disembark. They were assigned to various points across the Western Star Sea. There would be no interaction between the six nations during disembarkment, which also meant that there would be no danger when they reached the shore. Their fleet would be disembarking far away from the ce that Miao Yi had visited thest time he¡¯d been in the Sea of Constetions. He sighed in relief when he found out.


    The map highlighted one point, in particr. It was the pce belonging to the Western Constetions Master. This was also the ce where the cultivators would gather in the end. Once the 180,000 participating cultivators has been reduced to a mere one hundred, the golden bangle on everyone¡¯s wrists would constantly shine with a golden light, reminding everyone that the battle was over. The remaining one hundred participants could then stop fighting and head over to the Western Constetions Master¡¯s pce to receive their prize. After that, they would escort the participants back to where they came from. And thus, this year¡¯s Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade would then officiallye to a close.


    Given its long-standing infamy over the years, the cultivators on board became more and more restless as the fleet approached the Sea of Constetions. Many of them repeatedly read the rules of the Subjugation Crusade as though they could find one that would help them survive. It was hard for someone else to imagine the kind of immense pressure slowly building up inside them.


    Miao Yi was equally nervous. Out of 180,000 warriors of all kinds, only a hundred would be able to survive. He didn¡¯t know how many Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators there would be. Even if one¡¯s cultivation were at Blue Lotus Ninth Grade, they wouldn¡¯t be fully confident that they could survive either.


    Miao Yi was frequently going to and fro all ten ships and talking to the members of his alliance, telling them that they were the strongest force in the entire fleet. This was to help ease everyone¡¯s tension.


    But s, some things could not be avoided. What muste will eventuallye to pass. The day that everyone was so nervous about had finally arrived. Many cultivators walked out of their rooms and gazed towards the blurrynd on the distant horizon.


    Even Wu Menn, with her purple dress fluttering in the wind, was standing on the roof of her cabin and gazing far off into the distance. She looked down towards the nervous bunch and slowly shook her head. She didn¡¯t know how many of these people would be able toe back alive. Maybe not even a single one of them could. Because the Six Sages had sent their own members to participate as well, the chances of aplete obliteration of the cultivators on this ship were rather high.


    As nervous as everyone else was, Miao Yi called out for ten people. They were all members of his coalition. They proceeded to the stables in the lowest level of the ship and hastily changed the steeds of Su Jinggong and his group, which had been suffering over the past three months. Miao Yi wanted to avoid Su Jinggong and the rest noticing anything amisster on.


    After they came out of the stables, Miao Yi dismissed the group and went up to the ship¡¯s bow. He said to Su Jinggong and his group, "Everyone. Your punishment has ended." He turned and pointed to the deck with his lips.


    Su Jinggong and his group turned to see Wu Menn standing on the rooftop.


    They all breathed a sigh of relief. With their cultivation, it hadn¡¯t been difficult to stand there for a few months, but it was still a torturous experience. It was precisely because the ocean weather was too temperamental. At times the sun would be zing hot, and other times there would be a heavy storm. There were even times when there would be drastic changes in the weather in a single day. It was not afortable feeling at all.


    After exposing their faces, even the female disciples of the Jade Lady Sect were darkly tanned. It had been a difficult journey indeed.


    Not a single one of them thanked Miao Yi. When they turned around to leave, they threw him a murderous gaze before quietly going their way.


    The long stretch ofnd before them was getting closer and closer. The fleet¡¯s formation changed from a serpent to that of a straight line.


    Wu Menn¡¯s voice echoed above everyone¡¯s heads, "To all members of each ship, bring your steeds along and prepare to disembark! I don¡¯t wish to see a mess before we reach the shore. To all Stewards, maintain the order on your respective ships!"


    Everyone proceeded to the stables and brought out their steeds. For those that could not fit on the ship¡¯s bow, they stood on the stern instead. All of them looked tense, and not a single person said anything.


    Charcoal swaggered onto the balcony and stood there arrogantly. It looked like he was quite happy to be standing higher than the other dragon steeds.


    Beside him, Miao Yi looked towards Su Jinggong and his group. They were all seated on their dragon steeds and making preparations. It seemed like they still hadn¡¯t realized anything yet.

 Chapter 333: Merits of the First Battle

    Chapter 333: Merits of the First Battle


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Right before everyone¡¯s eyes was a shore as beautiful as though it hade out of a painting. The waves crashed rhythmically onto the clean, white sands of the beach, the winding shore as wless as a jade belt. Further away were ins of uneven heights, and even further beyond that was a lush forest. Tall and mighty mountains stood past the majestic trees. It was hard to tell how tall they were, only that their long-standing summits were all but covered in white snow.


    From afar, the scenery looked like an assortment of ribbons of various colors. The ten mighty ships approached, startling the seagulls on the shore into flying away. The animals crawling on the beach quickly ran towards the ins, stopping to peek at them from a safe distance.


    Boom boom boom... .


    The ten towering ships trembled and stirred up the waves as they came to a halt, one after another, atop the sands submerged under the sea. Because the ships extended much deeper into the sea, they were unable to reach the shorepletely and stopped a few dozen meters away from the beach.


    Everyone on board the ship jolted briefly upon impact. Although the stretch of sand before them was very beautiful, everyone¡¯s eyes were brimming with vignce.


    A man was standing on the beach. As soon as the ships stopped, he immediately flew over andnded next to Wu Menn. After they both verified each other¡¯s identities, they stood shoulder to shoulder. He was most likely the intermediary from the Sea of Constetions.


    A ball of fire suddenly appeared on the man¡¯s hand, which he then shot towards the shore, setting it aze. Everyone on the ship exchanged nces, unsure of what he was trying to do.


    The man¡¯s voice resounded across the sky, "Disembark immediately! We will kill all those that remain on the ship after the fire has been extinguished! No exceptions!"


    The heavy silence instantly broke the moment the words left his tongue, and everyone was utterly startled. They didn¡¯t know how long that ball of fire could stay aze. A frenzy of activity ensued aboard all ten ships as the participants scrambled onto their steeds, or at least, those who hadn¡¯t done so already. One after another, dragon steeds carrying cultivators on their backs leaped dozens of meters across the ocean surface andnded on the sandy beaches.


    As soon as the people on the bow disembarked, the crowd behind them quickly followed their lead. The cultivators from the back end of the ship hastily brought their dragon steeds to a gallop from the passageway of the guest cabins. One after another, they charged towards the ship¡¯s bow with their dragon steeds, then leaped over to the other side of the shore.


    In a few short moments, two thousand cultivators aboard all ten ships had alighted to the shore.


    The impact of the death threat was great indeed. Otherwise, there would surely be many who wished to stay longer on the ship and see how dangerous the situation was before doing anything else.


    As soon as they touched the ground, every single one of the cultivators brandished their weapons to avoid being run over by the ones behind them. They quickly backed away onto the ins once theynded, their eyes cautiously scanning their surroundings. Now that they were here in the infamous Sea of Constetions, no one dared to make any sudden movements.


    Suddenly, the ins had filled up with people armed to the teeth. Not many had revealed their transcendent artifacts back on the ship. But now, as long as they had one, they would equip it immediately, preparing to guard against any sudden attack at a moment¡¯s notice.


    There were treasures of varying quality amongst the crowd. But one thing was certain. There were many who, like Miao Yi, had used up their entire fortune to prepare for this journey into the Sea of Constetions.


    Standing on the balcony, Miao Yi jumped onto Charcoal and leaped down to the deck. Bringing Charcoal to a gallop, he then jumped off the ship¡¯s bow. He was thest person in the entire fleet to reach the shore.


    There was no helping it. Who asked him to stand on the balcony and show off? It was toote to try and cut in by the time everyone below him had started racing off. If he had jumped down, he would have definitely crashed into the frenzied crowd trying to get off the ship.


    The man standing beside Wu Menn swept his cold gaze quickly across the shore and tallied the number of participants.


    As soon as Miao Yinded on the shore, he realized something was amiss and quickly brought Charcoal to a halt. Before him, there were twenty armed riders spread out in a semicircle, blocking his path forward. Every one of them revealed mocking expressions; they were either snickering or justughing smugly.


    It was none other than Su Jinggong and his party. Given the size of the Western Star Sea, it would be hard to find Miao Yi again once everyone separated. As such, they couldn¡¯t possibly allow Miao Yi to escape. They had to stop him here and now, and deal with him.


    Wu Menn was still standing on the balcony at the top of the ship, her eyebrows creased as she noticed Miao Yi¡¯s predicament. However, as soon as the participants aboard the ship touched down on the Sea of Constetions, they were out of her hands. She had no right to interfere. If she did, it would be an infringement of the rules. If she did, they¡¯d most likely punish her immediately.


    Still teetering next to the shore, the two thousand participants noticed something was amiss as well, and they cast their gazes over. Zhao Fei and the others who had already allied with Miao Yi were a little unnerved by the three major sects and the equipment they wore. They didn¡¯t dare go over to support him.


    Miao Yi¡¯s gaze quickly swept across his surroundings and came into contact with Zhao Fei and the rest. His expression turned cold when he saw that none of the members of his coalition were stepping forth to help. However, he knew what they were afraid of. After all, they couldn¡¯t be sure whether he¡¯d really managed to recruit so many members. If it was a lie, and they ran out now and offended the three major sects, they would undoubtedly be courting death.


    Miao Yi flexed his arms as clumps of ck mist erupted out of his storage bangle and enveloped his entire body.


    Everyone watched as the ck mist suddenlypressed itself. And then, there stood a dragon steed on the deste ins, wrapped from head to toe in fearsome armor, stomping its hooves and kicking up dust. Its rider garbed himself simrly in an equally imposing set of armor. As the ck mist dissipated, the Inversed-Scales Spear appeared in his hands, its sharp tip tilted towards the ground.


    The dragon steed¡¯s armor, the rider¡¯s armor, as well as the spear in his hands were all pure ck. The only whiteness found was that of the cold expression on the rider¡¯s face. Both man and steed stood firmly in ce, with a spear at the ready. Their killing intent was overwhelming as they stared at the people ahead surrounding them in a semicircle.


    Many people sucked in a breath of cold air. ¡¯To think that he had a set of Crystalline Obsidian armor. How much would that even cost?¡¯ They were all wondering whether or not the armor had been entirely refined using Second Grade Yao Cores. If so, then that would make it aplete Second Grade armor set.


    For many in the crowd, it was a first for them even to see a dragon steed donning a Crystalline Obsidian set of armor. After all, quite a number of the participants didn¡¯t even have a single artifact on them. This sight in front of them was a little too extravagant for those present.


    Standing in the crowd, Qi Xiuhong, who didn¡¯t even own a single transcendence artifact, was ecstatic at the sight. She didn¡¯t think that Miao Yi could be so powerful. It seemed like the chances of her survival would be considerably higher if she went along with him. Nheless, she couldn¡¯t help feeling a little worried when she saw thebined forces of the three major sects.


    Standing on the balcony at the top of the ship, Wu Menn was momentarily dazed as Miao Yi had given her a big surprise. If that really were aplete Second Grade armor set, then it would have been difficult to put together, even for her.


    "It looks like this brat is well-prepared!" Wu Menn mumbled to herself. She shifted her gaze towards the disciples of the three major sects from the other ships. Seeing the greed in their eyes, it didn¡¯t take her long to realize the trouble Miao Yi had just gotten himself into.


    Looking at the random assortment of First Grade Transcendence Artifacts they wore, then turning to see the ones Miao Yi possessed, Su Jinggong and his group were almost drooling. It would be good if they could kill him now and obtain any one of his transcendence artifacts. It would also be a great help to them on their expedition in the Sea of Constetions.


    The vicious killing intent in their eyes grew even more fervent. They were less likely to let Miao Yi go now.


    Suddenly, the roars of a dragon erupted across the shore. Miao Yi raised his spear towards the crowd and asked in an icy tone, "Why are you stopping me?"


    Pointing his scimitar at Miao Yi, Li Yaoqi sneered. "Miao Yi, you little rascal. Do you still remember Wu Liu¡¯s death back in Changfeng Cave? Elder Wu has since then ordered me to chop off your dirty head!"


    As expected, they wouldn¡¯t let him go no matter what! With an emotionless expression on his face, Miao Yi kept calm. However, beneath him, Charcoal was already restlessly kicking his hooves, a bloodthirsty excitement in his eyes. It seemed like every time he could feel Miao Yi¡¯s killing intent, his thirst for battle woulde surging forth.


    However, Miao Yi forced down that burning desire inside Charcoal. He pointed his spear towards Su Jinggong and Wan Yanhua, asking coldly, "You two wish to kill me too?"


    Su Jinggong snickered. "You little rascal. After you cast down all my fellow Sword Deviate Sect disciples back in Mount Calming Sea, did you not think this day woulde?"


    "Why waste your breath on him? Whoever kills him shall obtain his transcendent artifacts!"


    Before Wan Yanhua could say anything, her Senior Auntie behind her scoffed as she charged ahead on her dragon steed. Her forehead shone with the mark of a Blue Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator, and she waved the nine-jointed whip in her hand at Miao Yi.


    As soon as Miao Yi raised his spear, Charcoal instantly shot out like an arrow. His eleration took everyone by surprise. ¡¯It can run so fast even with armor on. What powerful leg strength!¡¯


    Charcoal moved swiftly, but Miao Yi¡¯s spear didn¡¯tg behind either. He swung his spear like a pole, a stark contrast from the way he usually wielded it. It instantly shed together with Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie, and as he struck down, a dragon¡¯s roar echoed from the tip of the spear. The spear emitted a dim blue hue, revealing its nature as a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact before everyone¡¯s eyes.


    Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie¡¯s nine-jointed whip was also a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact. She¡¯d heard long before that Miao Yi was only a White Lotus cultivator. As a Blue Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator, she wasn¡¯t intimidated. She pulled on her nine-jointed whip with both hands to block Miao Yi¡¯s spear, intending to disarm Miao Yi first and take away a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact for herself.


    nk! Their weapons shed with a sharp, ringing noise and Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie widened her eyes, as though she was utterly terrified.


    When her nine-jointed whip shed with the opponent¡¯s spear, she realized that something was wrong. She¡¯d absorbed the brunt of Miao Yi¡¯s strike, but her steed couldn¡¯t take it. Its hooves weakened, and it copsed to the ground.


    With such arge opening, she suddenly found her chest embedded with the sharp tip of a ck spear. Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie looked at Miao Yi in disbelief. As she felt the intense pain seeping through her chest, she noticed that he¡¯d lifted her body up, away from the dragon steed that copsed on the ground.


    Harrumph! Charcoal neighed as he raised his two front hooves and came to a sudden stop. Miao Yi sat on his back, bloodied spear in hand, fresh from his recent kill. With a flick of his spear, he tossed Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie up in the air. Everyone was astonished by his ability to kill with one strike!


    Stabbing down with his spear, Miao Yi nailed the loser to the ground as Charcoal brought his hooves down. He pulled out the blood-soaked tip of the spear and hooked it through the nine-jointed whip in Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie¡¯s hands.


    Miao Yi raised his hand and immediately sucked the Second Grade Transcendent Artifact into his storage ring. In an instant, he¡¯d managed to obtain a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact.


    Simultaneously, he chopped off Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie¡¯s wrist with his spear. The lopped-off handnded in his grasp, and he took both the golden bangle and storage ring and stored them away.


    This act established the first person to steal a golden bangle among the cultivators of the Fifth Earthly Branch who had reached the shores of the Sea of Constetions. The speed was unbelievably fast, and it had happened in the blink of an eye.


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression immediately turned cold. With a flick of his spear, he tossed the bloody corpse of Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie back over to herrades.


    Wan Yanhua was still in a daze when the bodynded in front of her. All the disciples of the Jade Lady Sect cried, "Senior Auntie!" Their beautiful faces twisted with sorrow.


    The dragon steed that had copsed on the ground also got up and ran towards Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie¡¯s body. Its eyes showed signs of grief as it stood beside her.


    What ferocity! Many in the crowd couldn¡¯t help but suck in a breath of cold air as they spected Miao Yi¡¯s actual cultivation. His opponent was a Blue Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator wielding a Second Grade Transcendence Artifact, yet she couldn¡¯t even withstand a single blow. Even her steed¡¯s legs weren¡¯t strong enough and fell under its weight. His skill with the spear was even more astonishing if he could cut down a Blue Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator with a single strike and steal her artifact. He was absolutely too ferocious!

 Chapter 334: A Spear and a Steed

    Chapter 334: A Spear and a Steed


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Pang Rang flew over to Wu Menn¡¯s side and slowly turned his head towards her. He had always treated Miao Yi with disdain, but now he exchanged looks of shock with Wu Menn. He couldn¡¯t hide his surprise!


    This one strike of Miao Yi¡¯s had proven that Xiong Xiao hadn¡¯t died unjustly at his hand. What cultivation did Miao Yi have exactly? How could a White Lotus cultivator even overwhelm a dragon steed with the residual force of a single strike? Even a Blue Lotus cultivator wielding a Second Grade Transcendence Artifact and leveraging a dragon steed¡¯s momentum might not be able to achieve such a thing. It wasmon knowledge that a dragon steed¡¯s leg strength was virtually unmatched for those below the Red Lotus realm. Not unless the dragon steed was targeted directly and killed.


    Wu Menn looked back at Miao Yi, who seethed with killing intent in his ominous ck armor. Her eyes shone with interest. ¡¯It seems like this kid really has a chance of making it back alive. If I could recruit him, I¡¯ll be sure to rest easy knowing he¡¯s guarding my domain.¡¯


    Pang Rang gently nodded. ¡¯No wonder Hall Master viewed this kid in a new light. He does indeed possess traits worth recruiting.¡¯


    In the crowd, Zhao Fei and the others¡¯ eyes lit up as well, their confidence instantly surging. If Miao Yi was so terrifying, then his coalition had great potential indeed!


    "Miao Yi is right here! Who dares to fight me!?" Miao Yi bellowed as he pointed his blood-soaked spear towards the people blocking his way.


    The mouths of all twenty of them twitched. They didn¡¯t expect Miao Yi to be so terrifyingly ferocious that he could bring a dragon steed down to its knees with a single strike¡ªand with the residual force from his blow no less! They were truly confounded.


    "Everyone, gather together! We¡¯ll strike him simultaneously!" Su Jinggong exchanged nces with Li Yaoqi. They then raised their hands as one and shouted.


    All twenty of them grouped up as soon as they heard the order. However, there was no need for them to strike simultaneously at all. Before they could even mount an attack, Miao Yi had raised his spear, and beneath him, Charcoal was already charging forth once more at full speed.


    "Those who get in my way shall die!" Miao Yi bellowed angrily. He was taking the initiative to attack the group before they could react.


    ¡¯How bold!¡¯ About two thousand people were staring wide-eyed at the scene before them.


    "Sword Formation!" Su Jinggong shouted as heunched his attack together with almost ten of his fellow disciples behind him.


    In the next second, dozens of flying swords shot out and rained down together, all aiming to kill the man charging forward with spear in hand¡ªMiao Yi.


    "Kill!" Li Yaoqi and Wan Yanhua shouted at their respective groups. Both disciples from the School of Imperial Beasts and the Jade Lady Sect immediately charged behind them, ready to mount a joint attack.


    However, Li Yaoqi and Wan Yanhua were rather intimidated by Miao Yi¡¯s might. He had killed Wan Yanhua¡¯s Senior Auntie in a single strike, so they were a little afraid of charging in front.


    "Kill!" Miao Yi bellowed as he readied his spear. Charcoal charged ahead with his head lowered, and both his and Miao Yi¡¯s armor started glowing with a blue light. Both man and steed unfalteringly charged straight ahead as they faced the raining torrent of flying swords.


    Gasp! Everyone¡¯s eyes widened. It really was aplete set of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts!


    A series of ringing sounds resounded as the glowing Inversed-Scales Spear in Miao Yi¡¯s hands struck forth, with every strike carrying the force of a dragon. Its might was fearsome, and its course nigh untraceable. Its wielder possessed an extraordinary spear art indeed. Within a second, he deflected all the flying swordsing at him. He carried an aura that gave the impression that so long as he had a spear in hand, he was undefeatable!


    Gasp! Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. What an impressive spear art!


    Wu Menn¡¯s eyes shone once again. ¡¯This kid must truly be gifted if he can still distinguish himself even while under Yang Qing¡¯s brilliance. Indeed, he is quite unique.¡¯


    Little did she know that if it weren¡¯t for his Second Grade spear artifact, Miao Yi would barely have been able to defend himself against the onught of flying swords from so many Sword Deviate Sect Blue Lotus disciples. After all, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s expert artisanal skills when it came to transcendence artifacts had allowed the Inversed-Scales Spear to dissipate twenty percent of the opponent¡¯s force. Not to mention, most of their flying swords were only First Grade Transcendence Artifacts. And since they were remotely controlled, they wouldn¡¯t have the support of their wielders¡¯ cultivation, thus severely reducing their strength. How could they expect to stop Miao Yi directly while he had his Second Grade Inversed-Scales Spear in hand?


    As long as he could withstand the pressureing from the rain of swords, why should Miao Yi fear a few dozen flying swordsing at him when he had once faced tens of thousands of ¡¯Tyrant Fish¡¯ in the deep ocean? If their attacks hade from all sides, maybe he would feel slightly threatened. But they wouldn¡¯t be able to break past Miao Yi¡¯s spear if they only came at him from a single direction.


    In the next second, the disciples of the School of Imperial Beasts and Jade Lady Sect proceeded to surround Miao Yi from both sides as they charged at him on their dragon steeds.


    As soon as he broke past the rain of swords, Miao Yi immediately changed his spear attack. He maderge movements with his long spear¡ªa stark contrast from how a person would normally wield it¡ªand randomly smashed it around like a giant hammer.


    One disciple from the School of Imperial Beasts took the first charge forward. As he swung his de, his expression immediately went pale. His eyes gazed down at the steed beneath him, feeling that something was terribly amiss.


    Bang! The dragon steed instantly crashed to the ground and almost sent him flying.


    Both parties passed each other in an instant. Without so much as a backward nce, the Inversed-Scales Spear in Miao Yi¡¯s hands instantly changed its course and pierced the back of the other person¡¯s waist. The spear moved with the fluidity of a river as it instantly dealt a killing blow. The other party fell while crying out in agony.


    Miao Yi quickly pulled out the sharp, bloody, tri-edged tip of his spear, and he swung it towards the scimitar and the nine-jointed whip attacking him from both sides. He didn¡¯t seem to base his spear movements on a particr technique. He was just randomly swinging it around and recklessly smashing the opponent¡¯s attacks.


    nk nk nk! A series of ringing sounds echoed forth.


    Gasp! The crowd watching the battle all sucked in a breath of cold air. He was truly too ferocious!


    As though he was cleaving through the ocean¡¯s waves, Miao Yi broke past at least a dozen Blue Lotus cultivators head-on. One man was fighting with nothing but his spear and his steed. He was fighting alone by every definition of the term. Regardless of who he fought against, all fell under his spear. Not a single dragon steed could withstand a blow from Miao Yi. This was too terrifying!


    Not to mention, Miao Yi¡¯s indomitable spear art had everyone watching in awe. Who would dare challenge him after this?


    Even the intermediary standing beside Wu Menn couldn¡¯t help revealing an expression of shock. He gasped, "I¡¯ve never seen a Blue Lotus cultivator with such a frightening disy of attack power. To be able to overwhelm a dragon steed¡¯s leg strength... Astonishing! I can¡¯t believe there are still such vicious generals among the Blue Lotus cultivators of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch. I fear that no one beneath the Red Lotus realm can match his strength. Not unless one uses a powerful transcendence artifact to suppress him."


    Even he believed that Miao Yi was an elite Blue Lotus cultivator.


    Wu Menn wanted to tell him that Miao Yi was just a White Lotus cultivator. However, he was so overwhelmingly powerful right now. Not to mention he was definitely using a Soul Concealing Paste or something simr on his forehead to hide his cultivation. Even she didn¡¯t know what to make of the situation right now, and how she should respond to the intermediary. She mumbled to herself, "I didn¡¯t think this kid would be so strong. Luckily, Huo Lingxiao sent him to the Sea of Constetions. Otherwise, I doubt anyone in my Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor could stop him. He¡¯d surely give them constant headaches..."


    Pang Rang was a little taken aback as well. It might be understandable for one dragon steed to be weak in the legs, but for so many to be unable to withstand a single blow from Miao Yi? That was truly too overwhelming.


    Watching from the crowd, Zhao Fei sucked in a breath of cold air. He was also a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator, but he believed that he himself couldn¡¯t overpower all those dragon steeds the way Miao Yi did. What strength!


    Qi Xiuhong was looking on with stars in her eyes, full of admiration as she watched Miao Yi. She definitely had a much bigger chance of survival if she followed behind someone like him.


    Those recruited by Miao Yi were all looking on with excitement.


    The two parties passed each other at blinding speeds. Even after knocking everyone off their steeds, Miao Yi didn¡¯t have the time to kill every one of them. However, thest person was a little unfortunate, as he¡¯d just so happened toe across Miao Yi right when he had the opportunity to strike. Miao Yi attacked once again without a backward nce as he pierced the back of his opponent¡¯s head, causing blood and brain matter to gush forth.


    This poor soul was none other than Li Yaoqi, who¡¯d been hiding in the back the whole time. He was thest person to cross des with Miao Yi, who killed him with a single strike. His eyes widened as the blow sent him flying off his already copsing dragon steed.


    With her dragon steed on the ground, Wan Yanhua witnessed Li Yaoqi¡¯s miserable state with utter terror. She hastily tried to scramble away, afraid that the soul-reaping spear woulde for her from behind as well. She couldn¡¯t care less about being a jadedy right now. Her image was not as important as her survival.


    Truth be told, she wasn¡¯t the only one who looked pitiful. Everyone who had crossed des with Miao Yi had either died swiftly or were knocked off their horses in a single blow. They were all in a sorry state. Practically none of them could withstand a single blow from Miao Yi.


    All the fallen dragon steeds struggled to get back up as though Miao Yi¡¯s attack had impacted them heavily.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t turn around and chase after those that fell either. Instead, he charged straight to the rear end, where Su Jinggong and his group were mounting another attack with their flying swords.


    All of the Sword Deviate Sect disciples werepletely terrified and tried to scramble away. Miao Yi¡¯s attacks were too devastating. Who could stand against such an assault!?


    "Attack! Kill him!" Holding his sword with both hands, Su Jinggong had lost hisposure as he ordered his fellow disciples to charge ahead.


    His words fell on deaf ears. When faced with Miao Yi, who was filled with an imposing aura and bursting with killing intent, Su Jinggong immediately turned around and ran away as soon as he gave the order. His fellow disciples weren¡¯t any slower either. The disciples of the esteemed number one sect in the Fifth Earthly Branch, the Sword Deviate Sect, instantly gave up the fight and ran away. None of them dared to fight against Miao Yi anymore.


    The sight was too shocking for the audience. They were all disciples of the number one sect in the Fifth Earthly Branch!


    "Wretched Su! Don¡¯t try to run. I¡¯ll have your life!" Miao Yi shouted as he raised his spear and chased after Su Jinggong.


    The steed of the one running away could barely even hope to match Charcoal¡¯s speed. Furthermore, there was a special reason why it was so slow. Su Jinggong and the rest all wondered why their steeds were performing so poorly today.


    Listening to the soundsing from behind him, Su Jinggong turned around and almost jumped out of his skin. In the blink of an eye, Miao Yi had almost caught up to him, with his spear at the ready. Su Jinggong hastily shouted, "Fellow disciples of the Sword Deviate Sect. Assist me!"


    He didn¡¯t even need to shout. These were fellow disciples of the Sword Deviate Sect within the Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s domain, and to see them lose so terribly... even those from the other pces felt ashamed as well. If they didn¡¯t offer their assistance now, how could they expect to join hands with one another and ovee their obstacles in the future?


    Among all the troops that had disembarked from each ship, all the Sword Deviate Sect disciples could be seen charging out on their steeds. One person, in particr¡ªan old man with a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade mark on his forehead¡ªswiftly charged out and shouted, "Don¡¯t try to run, you little rascal. I, Wang Tianlun, shall face you!"


    Miao Yi turned his head to look and cursed under his breath. To think it was a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade expert! Miao Yi himself couldn¡¯t be more clear as to how exactly he managed to defeat Su Jinggong and the rest just now.


    The Sword Deviate Sect disciples were not the only ones stepping up to fight. The disciples of the Jade Lady Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts all came charging out as well. In an instant, more than two hundred Blue Lotus cultivators were rushing at him.


    Miao Yi was dumbfounded to see another Blue Lotus Ninth Grade expert, only this time from the Jade Lady Sect. Simrly, the cultivators charging in front for the School of Imperial Beasts were all between Blue Lotus Seventh Grade to Eighth Grade.


    Aboard the ship, Wu Mennughed bitterly. ¡¯This kid just riled up the ho¡¯s nest. I¡¯m not sure if he can survive this.¡¯


    Seeing such a group of people rushing at him to assist Su Jinggong and the rest, Miao Yi didn¡¯t dare to give chase any longer. Beneath him, Charcoal quickly turned away and charged past the encirclement. He ran in circles around the deste ins, causing over two hundred disciples of the three major sects to chase after him.

 Chapter 335: Who Has The Larger Force?

    Chapter 335: Who Has The Larger Force?


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Why did Miao Yi have to lead the disciples of the three major sects around in circles? Because he was good at doing this, and because Charcoal¡¯s speed was top-tier among dragon steeds. He could catch up to others, but others could not catch up to him.


    The sound of galloping hooves resounded across the deste ins. With his spear at the ready, Miao Yi charged in front. He constantly looked behind him or to the side; two hundred steeds were chasing after him relentlessly.


    "Don¡¯t try to run, you little rascal! Do you dare fight me to the death!?" Pursuing from behind, the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator called Wang Tianlun shouted incessantly at him. With over two hundred people supporting him from the back, he was absolutely arrogant.


    "Don¡¯t try to run, you little rascal!" The two hundred supporters echoed his words.


    As he galloped away, Miao Yi turned around and pointed to the back with his spear, "You mangy old fool. I¡¯ll let you all be cocky for now. Don¡¯t you dare run away next time!"


    "Cowardly little rascal. Why don¡¯t you take a look at who¡¯s running away now? Stop and fight me to the death if you have the guts!" Wang Tianlun guffawed arrogantly. He wanted to take back the honor that the Sword Deviate Sect had lost earlier on.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t hope to match these people. The most logical option was to make use of Charcoal¡¯s speed and run away immediately. However, he couldn¡¯t run, not now. If he did, all the preparations he¡¯d made on the ship would be for naught. There were certain risks he had to take, some sacrifices he had to make. He needed to protect his honor right now as well. He couldn¡¯t let everyone believe that he was running away.


    He turned around and shouted, "Wait until I¡¯ve dealt with a few people I need to kill. Then, it¡¯ll be your turn, you mangy old fool!"


    He said these words to prove to the crowd that he, Miao Yi, wasn¡¯t scared of these people.


    Everyone watching nearby looked on as Miao Yi circled around and then led over two hundred disciples of the three major sects back to where he started.


    Wan Yanhua and her group revealed twisted expressions when they saw Miao Yie back in full force. They had just gotten their steeds back up and were still in their original spot. They were almost scared out of their skin. With Miao Yi in the middle, they couldn¡¯t group up with the main forces. All they could do was immediately turn their steeds around and run away.


    However, their steeds were but empty shells. Earlier aboard the ship, Miao Yi had their steeds methodically weakened over the span of three months. They couldn¡¯tpare with Charcoal¡¯s speed. Even if they were at their peak performance, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to, much less now.


    The dragon roared again as Miao Yi swung the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand. Beneath him, Charcoal raised his speed up a notch as well. Previously, he had been maintaining a constant speed to allow the troops of the three major sects to bunch up behind him, but now he was slowly pulling his distance away from the two hundred riders behind him. At the same time, he quickly closed in on Wan Yanhua and her group.


    Those cultivators watching the battle couldn¡¯t help revealing astonished expressions. ¡¯This steed has such powerful leg strength. It can run so fast even while wearing such heavy armor! With this speed, it could send cultivators beneath the Red Lotus realm halfway to the grave! No wonder its owner spared no effort to protect it with aplete set of Second Grade armor. Not only is he frighteningly powerful, but he¡¯s also donned on aplete set of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts and has a steed with such astonishing speed. This is practically a perfect set-up!¡¯


    Observing the battle from the ship, Wu Menn gently shook her head and sighed. She never expected a steed so prone to lying on its belly and sleeping could be so fast.


    "Where do you think you¡¯re running off to!?" Miao Yi bellowed, already striking with his Inversed-Scales Spear.


    The School of Imperial Beasts¡¯ disciple that he¡¯d caught up with hastily turned around and tried to block it with his scimitar.


    Bang! A loud noise echoed forth, and the dragon steed neighed in agony as it copsed. It was knocked down once more by Miao Yi¡¯s spear.


    Now, both the one giving chase and the ones running away were charging in the same direction, but at a much slower speed than at their earlier confrontation. Previously, Miao Yi could only knock them off as fast as possible. He didn¡¯t have the luxury to kill them. Now that he was the one chasing after them, things werepletely different. Not to mention, Wan Yanhua and her group were severely disadvantaged when they turned their backs on Miao Yi. Given the situation where they could quickly trade blows, it was easy to imagine what would happen once their dragon steeds lost their bnce.


    The School of Imperial Beasts¡¯ disciple had already experienced having his steed knocked down once. As soon as Miao Yi knocked his body off his already copsing dragon steed, he quickly stepped on its back and leaped upwards to try to escape his predicament.


    Miao Yi wore an emotionless expression on his face as he quickly moved past the falling dragon steed. He quickly twirled his spear around and shed through the air. His opponent had barely hastened to jump off when the sharp spear tip cleaved through his waist, his body erupting in a bloody burst.


    "AHH!" He screamed in agony as both halves of his body flung apart. Miao Yi charged past the rain of blood, terrifying the people running in front, their faces turning as white as snow.


    Bang! Miao Yi caught up with another person and again hammered down his spear.


    He sent another rider flying off his steed. Using the momentum, Miao Yi stabbed his spear into the opponent¡¯s back, then flicked him off. His scream echoed back to the main troops chasing Miao Yi from behind.


    Bang! He knocked yet another off his steed. Miao Yi¡¯s spear blurred with a quick flick. The next moment, another person was screaming in agony as he was sent flying off.


    Bang! A dragon steed neighed in agony as it fell. Then came another scream.


    In the blink of an eye, Miao Yi had already chased and killed eight people in quick session. Both his steed and his spear were equally fast. Every time he struck, his opponents were sent flying off their steeds, right before screaming out in pain. Furthermore, Miao Yi¡¯s massacre continued as though he wasn¡¯t being chased around by over two hundred cultivators.


    Whether it was the people chasing after Miao Yi from behind or the observing bystanders, they were all getting goosebumps from the sight. He had killed off so many Blue Lotus cultivators, and not a single one of them could withstand a blow from Miao Yi. He was actually killing off Blue Lotus cultivators as easily as if he were slicing up vegetables. It was truly too frightening.


    Within the crowd, Zhao Fei and the others were burning with excitement. It was such a horrific sight, but they were fully absorbed, ecstatic even. Originally, they were full of worry and restlessness as they came to the Sea of Constetions, now it felt as though they had found a cornerstone for their confidence.


    Observing the battle from the ship, Wu Menn continued to shake her head. Miao Yi had thoroughly impressed her. If she had the chance, she absolutely had to recruit him.


    Seeing the trail of corpses left under his feet as he chased after Miao Yi, Wang Tianlun bellowed towards Miao Yi¡¯s silhouette from afar, "You little rascal! Where is the honor in bullying the weak? Your opponent is right here. Do you dare fight me to the death!?"


    To say Miao Yi was bullying the weak was a little far-fetched. However, Wang Tianlun was already treating Miao Yi as a top-tier expert within the Blue Lotus realm.


    Miao Yi turned around and scoffed, "What a joke! You mangy old fool! I¡¯ll go and take your pitiful lifeter on!"


    He faced forward; there were only two people left still running away from him, and one of them was Wan Yanhua. Miao Yi shouted, "Vile woman! I¡¯ll have your life!"


    Bang! As her dragon steed copsed, Wan Yanhua shrieked in agony, blood gushing out the back of her chest.


    Then, Miao Yi dragged his spear across the ground, causing Wan Yanhua¡¯s body to tumble around in a bloody mess.


    Tossing aside the battered and bloody Wan Yanhua, Miao Yi was just about to kill thest person. However, his opponent made a smart choice in the midst of his predicament. He abandoned the one thing that cultivators relied on to survive in battle¡ª his dragon steed. He jumped up from his dragon steed and threw himself to the side.


    Normally, if he did something like this, it would spell death as soon as his opponent turned around. However, there was a two-hundred-strong army currently on Miao Yi¡¯s tail. Miao Yi passed him by in an instant, but couldn¡¯t possibly turn back and give chase as a result. He had actually managed to escape death just like that.


    Chasing after Miao Yi from behind, Wang Tianlun and his forces tensed up as Charcoal made a suddenrge turn. They thought that Miao Yi was about to meet them head-on in battle.


    ¡¯Could this bastard be this confident in his abilities? He dares to fight alone against so many of us?¡¯ Wang Tianlun and his forces immediately steeled themselves.


    "Everyone, strike together! Don¡¯t say¡ª" Wang Tianlun had yet to finish rallying his forces before he suddenly fell silent. He watched as Miao Yi suddenly changed his course again and broke to the sides. With nothing but a spear and his steed, he charged straight towards Su Jinggong and his party in the distance.


    The forces who were pursuing Miao Yi in a straight line found their formation in disarray and quickly altered their course to give chase.


    At first, Su Jinggong and his party had chased after Miao Yi alongside the main forces. However, their steeds were terribly slow. After Miao Yi led them along in two full circles, there was now some distance between them and the main forces. Now, when they saw Miao Yiing after them again, they were immediately scared out of their wits and didn¡¯t know where to run.


    They saw how that one person managed to escape from Miao Yi¡¯s spear just now. Although his experience would make a good reference, they couldn¡¯t just up and leave their steeds right now. How would that be different from digging their own graves? Miao Yi would just catch up to them and send them to their deaths with a thrust of his spear.


    "Spread out!" Su Jinggong had grown more quick-witted as well amidst the life-threatening situation and formed a good strategy.


    However, the situation he was most worried about had still presented itself. As he feared, Miao Yi was only going after him. Clearly, it didn¡¯t matter if the others managed to run away. He just wanted to kill Su Jinggong.


    Utterly terrified, Su Jinggong suddenly changed his course and led his dragon steed towards the sea. As soon as he reached it, he immediately dived under and managed to disappear into the deep waters instantly.


    As he chased him all the way to the sea, Miao Yi was a little speechless at Su Jinggong¡¯s actions. Chasing behind Miao Yi with arge number of troops in tow, Wang Tianlun bellowed, "Cowardly little rascal! Where do you think you¡¯re running off to now? Hurry up and fight me to the death!"


    Charcoal quickly changed his course and avoided shing head-on with the forces chasing them from behind. Instead, he continued to lead them in circles. Miao Yi turned his head around and shouted, "Why wouldn¡¯t I fight you to the death!? You old fool. Have your men step aside and face me in battle alone if you dare. If you can survive three strikes from my spear, I will spare your miserable life!"


    This was not Miao Yi boasting. This was Miao Yi unwilling to lose in spirit despite losing in strength. After all, anyone could see the strength his opponents carried with theirrge numbers. It was definitely a disadvantage to face off against two hundred people on his own.


    Seeing him this confident, Wang Tianlun became a little hesitant. It was truly too horrifying how Miao Yi had massacred the others as if he were chopping up vegetables. Wang Tianlun didn¡¯t dare respond, and only shouted, "Stop trying to run, you little rascal!"


    As he ran in front, Miao Yi shouted back, "Shameless old coot! Your bravery merely hinges on the advantage you have from your superior numbers. Do you really think I am alone? Since you want topare who has the greater number on their side, I will grant you that!"


    Still running away at full speed, Miao Yi suddenly took out from his storage ring a beautiful piece of red cloth embellished with a blue and green floral pattern. He hastily tied it on his arm, then charged towards the onlookers in the distance. As he raised his arm, he shouted, "Where is the Red Scarves Alliance!? When is a better time for you to fight than now!?"


    The crowd watching the battle from a distance suddenly looked around and noticed quite a number of people beside them were scurrying about. Even Wu Menn and those observing the battle from the ship cast their gazes over.


    Within the crowd, Qi Xiuhong was the first to sh out the red cloth adorned with a blue and green floral pattern and tied it around her wrist. Raising a silver spear, she charged out of the crowd on her steed.


    She was not the only one. After her, there were dozens, then hundreds of cultivators wearing the same red cloth on their wrists and charging out of the crowd.


    The people wearing the red cloth on their wrist all looked at each other and nced at the red cloth they were all wearing.


    Miao Yi had initially obtained these pieces of red cloth from the Sea Of Constetions. He procured the beautiful fabrics after killing Madam Wu Hua. He didn¡¯t know what they were made of and had overlooked them all this while. This time, because many of his recruits were not aware of the others¡¯ identities, there came a need for them to differentiate friend from foe. Seeing as these pieces of cloth were rather unique and not so easy to duplicate, Miao Yi tore off a piece for every person he recruited in order to achieve that distinction. This made it easy for them to recognize one another once they assembled.


    Seeing that there were indeed a few hundred of them charging out from all across the crowd, everyone realized that Miao Yi had not been lying to them at all. They were all brimming with vigor, not to mention, with Miao Yi¡¯s awe-inspiring performance in fighting solo against the three major sects, no one had any doubts anymore.


    Revealing the mark of Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator on his forehead, Zhao Fei was among the first to charge out. He waved his spear and shouted, "Fret not, Alliance Master! Zhao Fei is here to offer you his assistance!"


    The second person with the mark of a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator shining on his forehead quickly followed suit. "Worry not, Alliance Master! Wang Yuetian is here as well!"


    Those who were unaffiliated were already quite astonished to see two Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators charging out. Little did they expect a third Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator would charge forth as well. His hoarse voice echoed as he shouted, "How dare you try to bully our Red Scarves Alliance with numbers!? Sikong Wuwei is here as well!"


    From the back, a bunch of Blue Lotus Eight Grade, Seventh Grade, and Sixth Grade cultivators also charged out. They swiftly galloped forth on their dragon steeds, armed and ready to fight.


    Then, someone suddenly shouted, "Kill!"


    "KILL!!" All those charging full speed on their dragon steeds immediately echoed that voice. Their voices reverberated across the wild ins as more than four hundred riders came charging forth, the hooves of their steeds causing the ground to tremble as they galloped. Their forces were astonishing, and they were quickly advancing.

 Chapter 336: Fierce Battle Against The Three Major Sects

    Chapter 336: Fierce Battle Against The Three Major Sects


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡¯Red Scarves Alliance? Alliance Master?¡¯ Standing tall on the bow of the ship, Wu Menn nced towards the hundreds of ridersing to assist Miao Yi and was momentarily dazed. ¡¯Miao Yi is their Alliance Master?¡¯


    She wondered if she¡¯d misheard what they said. These people had alle from various ces throughout the ten pces within the Fifth Earthly Branch. And yet Miao Yi was able to call these people to arms just by raising his arm and shouting?


    This was no exaggeration, but a truth that she witnessed with her bare eyes. Miao Yi had indeed raised his arm and shouted, and immediately, hundreds of riders from all ten pces had rushed out to assist him.


    This was not Mount Calming Sea, and they were not ordinary cultivators. Almost all of them were Blue Lotus cultivators. And yet Miao Yi only needed to raise his arm and shout, and all of them had charged out to assist him with no hesitation whatsoever!


    As he galloped around, Charcoal suddenly raised his front hooves and came to a sudden stop, kicking up clouds of dust as he did. As his hooves came down, Miao Yi turned Charcoal around to face the enemy charging at him. With a wave of his Inversed-Scales Spear, the roars of a dragon resounded. He pointed it straight at Wang Tianlun, and shouted with a deep voice, "Kill!"


    "KILL!" The four hundred riders galloping forth behind him shouted in agreement. Those watching the battle felt their blood boil with excitement at their high level of morale.


    The effects of the thunderous charging were highly contagious. Charcoal seemed to be very fond of savage atmospheres where he could charge into enemy lines and wreak havoc. His eyes grew fervent with excitement as he shook his head and swished his tail, and his hooves were restlessly kicking about. However, Miao Yi held him down and sat firmly on his back, maintaining a cold expression. He kept a steady hand on the Inversed-Scales Spear as he continued to point ahead.


    What he needed to do was to rally together the people behind him, and he¡¯d done it.


    The four hundred riders behind Miao Yi shouted as they charged forward like a raging river. When they came up to Miao Yi, who hadn¡¯t moved a single inch, they quickly separated and swerved around him, before regrouping once more. Their morale was at an all-time high as they advanced, the red cloth tied around their wrists fluttering in the wind.


    Miao Yi could hear that one particr rider behind him had fallen back from the group and hadn¡¯t charged ahead like the rest. He cautiously turned his head and at the same time, pointed back with his spear. He then found Qi Xiuhong, in her light-yellow dress, looking at him restlessly. With his spear in her face, she came to a stop right behind him. Her face was slightly reddened as she lowered her head in embarrassment.


    Here, her cultivation was truly too low. She didn¡¯t even have a single transcendence artifact of her own. Regardless of who she fought, they would probably kill her after a single confrontation. She would only be sending herself to her death if she charged ahead.


    Miao Yi could sympathize with her. He moved the spear away from her face and didn¡¯t say anything else as he turned back to look in front. Qi Xiuhong stood quietly behind him.


    Wang Tianlun and the two hundred riders he led watched as a force double their own suddenly came charging towards them. Furthermore, the morale of this other force was evidently much higher than their own. The three Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators charging in front were the most conspicuous of the bunch. There were quite a number of Sixth to Eighth Grade cultivators behind them as well.


    They finally understood that Miao Yi hadn¡¯t been bluffing when he asked if they really believed that he was on his own. As it turned out, he really did possess a much bigger force than theirs.


    The disciples of the three major sects were utterly shocked, and evidently more than a little nervous.


    Wang Tianlun was even more surprised than the rest of them. After losing the advantage in numbers, they would suffer heavy losses if they shed head-on with the enemy, ultimately failing to disy the might of the three major sects. Just because they assumed Miao Yi was alone, they had acted too recklessly and fallen for his provocation. The sudden appearance of this peculiar army sent the troops into disarray. In the blink of an eye, the enemy was upon them. They no longer had enough time to either regroup or retreat.


    Truth be told, this was what a real battlefield in the cultivation realm was like. In battle, the use of strategy was highly important. This was what it meant to suffer an ambush.


    In his hastiness, all Wang Tianlun could do was fight back. He anxiously yelled, "Sword Deviate Sect disciples! Sword Formation!"


    The ten longswords strapped to his back shot out first before hundreds more followed suit. However, it did nothing to the enemy¡¯s momentum as they all used their weapons and transcendent artifacts to defend against the attack.


    A series of nging sounds erupted. On Miao Yi¡¯s side, the ones charging in front were unharmed, mostly because they were all people with a high cultivation like Zhao Fei. Instead, at least a dozen of those in the middle instantly fell. Even if some of them had suffered non-lethal wounds, they would be stomped into a bloody pulp by the thunderous hooves that followed behind them.


    This was something unavoidable for a massive army charging towards the enemy line. All of the present cultivators had experienced something simr before. No one would be sad, nor would anyone sympathize.


    "Wang Tianlun, you old coot! How dare you use numbers to bully my Red Scarves Alliance? I, Zhao Fei, am here! Now die!"


    Charging ahead of everyone else, Zhao Fei instantly reached the enemy line, furiously bellowing as he shed down with his Square Sky Decorated Halberd. This was such a great opportunity. After all, being a former Manor Head himself, how could he not notice that his troops already held the upper hand? How could he give the other party a chance to regroup? Naturally, he had to put everything at stake and charge forward to kill the enemy.


    ng! A sharp ringing erupted as Wang Tianlun crossed his dual des together and blocked the strike.


    The ground instantly cracked and crumbled under the weight of both their steeds. Clouds of dust were kicked up as their transcendence energy viciously rolled out. Two men of equal strength had instantly locked themselves in a fierce battle where only one could walk out alive.


    The troops from both sides collided with one another like a raging river.


    "Vile woman. Die!" With a long axe in hand, Sikong Wuwei charged ferociously towards the female Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator from the Jade Lady Sect and hacked at her head.


    Bang! The two instantly shed together. Following behind Sikong Wuwei, Wang Yuetian thrust out with his spear and battled the female Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator together with Sikong Wuwei. Their transcendence energy collided fiercely with one another, kicking up clouds of dust. It would be difficult for those with a low cultivation to interfere in their battle.


    Despite facing off against thebined attacks of two Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts, the female cultivator handled herself well. She held each end of her nine-jointed whip-like dual batons, blocking the attacks while striking back. Furthermore, she had the protection of a Second Grade Armor Artifact.


    Unexpectedly, a Blue Lotus Eighth Grade cultivator of the Red Scarves Alliance suddenly came charging at her from behind. As he passed her by, he found an opening and thrust downwards with his spear. It stabbed into the belly of the female cultivator¡¯s steed, and with a flick, the steed immediately copsed from the pain.


    The attack took the female cultivatorpletely by surprise. As her body fell, she managed to raise her arms to block Wang Yuetian¡¯s spear, when Sikong Wuwei¡¯s axe came hacking at her from behind.


    Spurt! Fresh blood started gushing out. It had only been a moment¡¯s work to chop off the head of the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade expert from the Jade Lady Sect.


    This was whatrge-scale battles were like. Regardless of how high your cultivation, a moment of carelessness could instantly spell death. All around you were hidden des, just waiting to exploit an opportunity. It was very normal to die like this.


    Now, both sides had already begun shing with one another. Dragon steeds neighed in pain and cultivators screamed in agony as seven hundred riders engaged in fierce battle.


    In such a chaotic battle, whatever flying swords or secret arts that one possessed were practically useless. All around, weapons would blindly fly about as dragon steeds charged at one another. It was every man for himself. No one dared to be careless for even a second and fought hard for their survival.


    Since both parties possessed a simr degree of strength, the advantage of having superior numbers revealed itself immediately. After all, one could not defend against four arms with just two fists. Not to mention, the experts of the three major sects¡ªthose with the highest attack potential¡ªwere held at bay by the enemy. The three major sects grew more nervous as the battle dragged on, feeling as if the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance was constantly around them, and that the Red Scarves Alliance had already surrounded them.


    After killing off the person with the highest cultivation in the Jade Lady Sect, Sikong Wuwei and Wang Yuetian looked at the red cloth tied around each other¡¯s wrist. They then shared a nce and smiled at one another. Wang Yuetian suddenly pointed his spear towards the battle between Zhao Fei and Wang Tianlun. It seemed as though Zhao Fei was on the losing end and was having difficulty fighting against Wang Tianlun.


    The two of them immediately charged over, cutting down any enemy in their path and helping the other members of the Red Scarves Alliance along the way. After killing approximately ten people, they finally reached Zhao Fei¡¯s side and surrounded Wang Tianlun.


    Zhao Fei was cursing under his breath when he suddenly saw two Blue Lotus Ninth Grade alliance membersing to aid him. It instantly restored his confidence, and his attacks became more aggressive.


    The three Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts surrounded Wang Tianlun and attacked. Under the heavy onught of spear, halberd, and axe, Wang Tianlun waved his dual des around, trying to defend himself. He feltpletely dismayed. In the past, these three had merely been a bunch of nobodies who cowered before the three major sects. But now, they were trying to send him to his death.


    Circling around on his steed, Sikong Wuwei made a sudden downwards strike with his axe. Then, Wang Tianlun¡¯s steed neighed in agony as he chopped off one of its limbs.


    As his steed fell, Wang Tianlun leaped up, only to meet with Zhao Fei¡¯s Square Sky Decorated Halberd from above. Wang Tianlun blocked it with his dual des and found himself immediately pressed back down.


    Before he could even touch the ground, his armor artifact suffered a heavy blow to the back with a ¡¯bang!¡¯ , causing his body to tremble. Even though he had a Second Grade Armor Artifact to mitigate the lethal blow, his eyes instantly caught the dark silhouette of an axe sweeping towards him. He then felt his vision blurring as the world tilted on its axis.


    He watched as Sikong Wuwei¡¯s axe swept down beneath him, as well as a headless body garbed in an armor artifact, with hot blood spurting out of its neck. Then, he no longer felt anything.


    "HAHA! This is fun!" Sikong Wuwei chortled as he raised his axe. Even though he hadn¡¯t done it alone, he had the pleasure of personally chopping off the heads of two Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators from the three major sects. Normally, he wouldn¡¯t have had the opportunity to deal a killing blow to one of their members.


    As soon as he was doneughing, he realized that Wang Yuetian and Zhao Fei had already charged off and joined a different battle. Sikong Wuwei¡¯s joyful expression disappeared and was quickly reced by a bloodthirsty one. He raised his axe and charged forward. Whenever he saw a disciple of the three major sects battling against the Red Scarves Alliance, his axe would immediately go straight for their heads.


    With the two most powerful experts of the three major sects killed, there was practically no one capable of stopping the three¡ªWang Yuetian, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei. Not to mention, they were not even the main attackers. All they did was charge around the battlefield assisting the other members of the Red Scarves Alliance. Since they were already involved in the fierce battle, how could the disciples of the three major sects be able to withstand against the ambush of such experts? Their casualties instantly skyrocketed, and the battle soon favored one side.


    After watching the battle anxiously, Miao Yi finally heaved a sigh of relief. He should be safe from the threat of the three major sects from now on. His efforts had not been for naught.


    Sitting quietly on her steed behind him, Qi Xiuhong pursed her lips and said nothing.


    The three major sects¡¯ greatest advantage for their expedition in the Sea of Constetions had been crushed just like that. They had suffered such a heavy blow before they had yet to achieve anything substantial. The other onlookers watched in awe. Even if there were survivors from the three major sects after this, they would probably need to lower themselves and take shelter elsewhere. They¡¯d have to be at someone else¡¯s beck and call if they wished to survive in the Sea of Constetions.


    Everyone couldn¡¯t understand why Su Jinggong and his party had wanted to offend someone as powerful as Miao Yi. Wouldn¡¯t they just be digging their own graves, as well as that of the three major sects?


    After escaping into the sea, Su Jinggong finally showed his face by resurfacing next to the fleet of ships, believing that hiding near Wu Menn¡¯s vicinity would be safer. However, just as he peeked his head out of the water to observe what was happening, he was left utterly bewildered. Not only had the disciples of the Sword Deviate Sect almost been eradicated, but even those belonging to the Jade Lady Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts were finding themselves in a simr situation. ¡¯How did this happen? Why did so many people show up to help that little rascal, Miao Yi?¡¯


    Wu Menn raised an eyebrow as she observed the battle from the ship. They had yet to battle against the participants of the other five nations, and they were already fighting amongst themselves. Not to mention, it was a full-scale battle to the death.


    Since the Fifth Earthly Branch had sent these people over, they naturally wished that they wouldn¡¯te back empty-handed. Obviously, the Fifth Earthly Branch had hoped that some of their participants could take a few spots among the one hundred survivors of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Truth be told, the three major sects still had a few tricks up their sleeve. At the very least, when fighting the enemy, their methods would not draw shame upon the forces of the Fifth Earthly Branch, and so the others would not belittle them. But in the end, before they could even disy their tricks, they had suffered an ambush from their own fellow Fifth Earthly Branch participants. The moment they stepped foot in the Sea of Constetions, those participants had almostpletely eradicated their forces.


    "He did something. That little rascal Miao Yi did something to our dragon steeds...." Peeking out from the surface of the water, Su Jinggong mumbled to himself, apparentlying to a realization.


    Wu Menn cast a sidewards nce at him. Then, she suddenly flew towards the side of the ship.

 Chapter 337: Sharing Life and Death for Nine

    Chapter 337: Sharing Life and Death for Nine


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    From the way she acted, it seemed like she had something to ask Su Jinggong.


    The man who¡¯d stood next to her turned his head as he watched Wu Menn descend to the side of the ship. He transmitted his voice over and warned, "Hall Master Wu, I believe you are aware of the rules. As soon as the participants have alighted from the ship and set foot in the Sea of Constetions, their fates are their own. I strongly advise you not to interfere!"


    Wu Menn gave a smile. "Of course I know. I¡¯m not going to interfere. I only have something I wish to ask him."


    The man fell silent. Wu Menn cast a long nce at Su Jinggong, who was still swimming in the sea. Even though she didn¡¯t know his name, she recognized him as one of the people Miao Yi had previously brought to see her. She transmitted her voice over and asked, "You mentioned that Miao Yi did something to your steeds?"


    She didn¡¯t notice exactly how Miao Yi had sabotaged the steeds of Su Jinggong and his party. They could run and jump just fine. However, with so many of them copsing as soon as they shed with Miao Yi, she found it rather suspicious as well.


    As soon as he heard the transmission, Su Jinggong immediately returned to his senses. He turned his head and saw Wu Menn standing above him on the side of the ship, her purple dress fluttering about. He replied with a distraught voice, "He must have done something. Even though I¡¯ve never traded blows with him myself, I asked someone who did. I wanted to know how Miao Yi became so powerful that we couldn¡¯t even withstand a single blow from him. That person told me that it wasn¡¯t because we couldn¡¯t withstand it, it was just that the moment both parties invoked their transcendence arts and traded blows, our dragon steeds weren¡¯t able to withstand the impact. It was like we were sitting on a trap and just suddenly fell in. There was no way to fight back. And earlier on, I clearly felt that my dragon steed was unable to unleash its full speed and that its performance had drastically worsened. I originally thought that being in the Sea of Constetions triggered certain changes, but when I saw everyone else¡¯s steeds, they didn¡¯t seem as affected. The more I think about it, the more I¡¯m sure that that brat did something to our dragon steeds."


    Wu Menn asked in response, "How could you not notice that someone was sabotaging your own dragon steeds when you were on the same ship for several months?"


    Su Jinggong replied in frustration, "That¡¯s where the problem started. Hall Master punished us and had us stand on the ship¡¯s bow for three months. During that time, Miao Yi was the one who took care of our mounts."


    Wu Menn was shocked. "When have I ever made you stand on the ship¡¯s bow for three months?"


    "We clearly heard Hall Master say that we were to continue standing back then...." Su Jinggong widened his eyes. He then reported what happened at the time.


    When she heard the whole story, Wu Menn abruptly turned her head and looked at Miao Yi, who was watching the battle. She couldn¡¯t help but scoff, ¡¯Well yed, brat. And here I was wondering how you suddenly became so powerful. To think you were bold enough to mess with me? You dared to pull the wool over my eyes even when your pitiful little life was within my grasp. Clearly, you take me for a fool. What impudence.¡¯


    Miao Yi seemed to have sensed something. He turned to see Wu Menn standing at the side of the ship, and Su Jinggong floating in the sea below her. His eyes narrowed, and Charcoal hastily turned around beneath him. Wielding the Inversed-Scales Spear at an angle behind his back, Miao Yi instantly shot forward like an arrow leaving its bow.


    As he approached the sea, Charcoal abruptly leaped up into the air. Riding on his back, Miao Yi waved his spear and shed through the wind. Using Charcoal¡¯s momentum as leverage, heunched a fierce strike at the surface of the water.


    Su Jinggong¡¯s expression drastically changed, and he hurriedly dived underwater, swimming away to hide at the bottom of the ship.


    Bang! Something seemed to explode on the sea¡¯s surface as a pir of water erupted dozens of meters upwards into the sky. An invisible barrier appeared in front of Wu Menn and shielded her from the ensuing downpour.


    Charcoal made a few quick turns in the water as Miao Yi scanned the surface, spear at the ready. As he surveyed their surroundings with his transcendence arts, he noticed Su Jinggong had already left the bottom of the ship and was hastily diving deeper into the ocean depths.


    Then, Wu Menn suddenly transmitted her cold questioning voice into Miao Yi¡¯s ears. "Miao Yi. How dare you sabotage their mounts back on the ship?"


    Miao Yi lifted his head and replied, "Su Jinggong has a grudge against me. You need not listen to his nonsense, Sister Meng."


    Anger was evident in Wu Menn¡¯s tone as she said, "Miao Yi, I see you¡¯re getting sick of living. How dare you trick me!"


    "Sister Meng is exaggerating. I have been very respectful to you all this time. How could I deceive you? It will be hard to predict my fate on this journey of mine into the Sea of Constetions, so I shall take my leave now." Miao Yi gave her a light smile as he cupped his fists with his spear in hand. Then, Charcoal dashed out of the water and went ashore, carrying Miao Yi away.


    Wu Menn was outraged. Even though Miao Yi¡¯s tone was polite, what he was trying to imply was clear as day¡ª ¡¯So what if I tricked you? I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯ll survive the Sea of Constetions. As if you¡¯d dare do anything to me now that I¡¯m here.¡¯


    She really wanted to kill Miao Yi with her own hands right now. Yet, she truly wasn¡¯t bold enough to interfere with whatever was going to happen here.


    At this moment, it was clear who the victor of the all-out battle between the Red Scarves Alliance and the three major sects was¡ªthe three major sects suffered a crushing defeat. With around thirty people remaining, they would not be able to overturn the situation. They no longer tried to engage in battle, and merely fought tooth and nail out of the encirclement just to run for their lives.


    The massive Red Scarves Alliance immediately chased after the ones that escaped. Sitting on his dragon steed with his spear in hand, Miao Yi scanned his surroundings and noticed there were still quite a number of people present. He didn¡¯t know what they were nning, so he immediately invoked his transcendence arts and shouted, "Stop running after the fallen enemy and quickly return to clean up the battlefield!"


    At the front of the charge, Zhao Fei and the others immediately led their troops back and began collecting the spoils of the battle. The onlookers watched on greedily as they did so. There were so many transcendence artifacts scattered around the area!


    "Keep an eye out on each other. Anyone who dares to embezzle the items shall face execution!" Miao Yi warned sternly. He led Qi Xiuhong over, then cast his gaze towards Zhao Fei, Wang Yuetian, and Sikong Wuwei.


    The three of them acknowledged his order. They were the ones with the highest cultivation all around and had been the ones with the most kills. Once the dust has settled, they were sure to be the ones most heavily rewarded. As such, they did not wish to see someone else steal what was rightfully theirs. They immediately raised their weapons and patrolled the area on their mounts. At the same time, they called a few people over and had them keep a watchful eye on the troops as well.


    Dusk had already fallen. A group of people was tossing around the corpses and picking up the scattered weapons and transcendent artifacts on the ground. They would take the storage rings as well as the armor artifacts still worn on the corpses...


    Under the red, blood-like hue of the sunset, Miao Yi sat firmly on his dragon steed, a steady grip on his spear, while Qi Xiuhong waited quietly behind him.


    Miao Yi swept a gaze across the troops and tallied the numbers. He estimated that their forces suffered a loss of around fifty people or so; the remaining troops barely reached a total of four hundred people. Furthermore, a majority of them suffered from various wounds.


    Finally, they finished gathering all the spoils of the battle. The troops also assembled in a rather disorderly manner. They had only just rallied together after all. Without a proper chain ofmand, it was understandable that they were a little disorganized. However, everyone was in good spirits. As soon as they¡¯d stepped foot into the Sea of Constetions, they had routed the forces of the three major sects. It was a pleasing thought to be had and even a little unbelievable. Normally, they wouldn¡¯t have dared to offend the three major sects.


    Zhao Fei and the other two delivered the spoils of battle before Miao Yi. Then, Zhao Fei cupped his fists and reported, "Alliance Master. We have killed 206 people, and have lost 53 of our own."


    Miao Yi nodded quietly. He sighed in his heart, ¡¯The three major sects are true to their name indeed. Even with an ambush like this, we still lost over fifty people. If we continue to bump into enemies as difficult to deal with as the three major sects, I fear we will not be able to survive.¡¯


    Sikong Wuwei was a dark-skinned man with two bulging eyes, a messy beard, and a thin stature. And yet of all things, his weapon of choice was that of a crude, long axe. He smiled, "Alliance Master. Everything is here."


    Miao Yi opened the bag and took a look. He noticed that the number of storage rings alone had already exceeded five hundred. There were sure to be plenty of items inside. For this ten-year expedition within the Sea of Constetions, everyone had clearlye as well-prepared as possible.


    Miao Yi casually tossed the bag over to Qi Xiuhong, then turned to the crowd and said, "It¡¯s best that we don¡¯t stay here for too long. Let us first find a safe ce to rest. Then, we can discuss the rewards."


    Zhao Fei and the other two nodded in agreement. There were still plenty of people keeping a close eye on them. It was indeed unwise to stay for too long.


    Everyone couldn¡¯t help ncing at Qi Xiuhong. Those who didn¡¯t know better would naturally assume that this beautiful woman was Miao Yi¡¯s lover. Otherwise, how could he let her take care of such arge amount of treasure? Everyone told themselves that they needed to be more respectful when dealing with this woman in the future.


    Qi Xiuhong looked gratefully at Miao Yi. She knew that he was doing this to take care of her.


    Miao Yi looked at the crowd. He knew that the only reason he could fool these people into forming an alliance was because they all didn¡¯t want to die. Despite knowing they had a slim chance of being one of the one hundred survivors, they still carried the hope that they¡¯d be able to survive this ordeal. Just like Miao Yi.


    "Red Scarves Alliance!" Miao Yi suddenly raised his spear and shouted. "In the end, there will only be one hundred survivors! Merely one hundred! I don¡¯t know how far we¡¯ll go, nor do I know how many of us will survive until the end. Maybe none of us will. I myself don¡¯t have much hope that I can survive this either. But I know that if we work together, we¡¯ll be able to live longer. I¡¯m also aware that even if we manage to survive to the end, we will eventually be enemies. Because out of 180,000 cultivators, only one hundred can live. Thus, in the next ten years in the Sea of Constetions, I won¡¯t wish for us to survive to the very end together, I will only hope that we can share our lives and deaths for the next nine years. In the final year, we shall return to being enemies once more!"


    Even though it was rather unprecedented to use this type of speech to boost morale, it reached everyone¡¯s hearts and eased much of the tension they all felt. At the same time, it ensured that everyone knew clearly that for the next nine years, they could rely on one another for help.


    Sikong Wuwei immediately broke out inughter. He turned towards the crowd, then raised his axe and shouted, "Red Scarves Alliance! Ten years in the Sea of Constetions, we shall only share life and death for nine! In the final year, it¡¯s back to being enemies for us!"


    This immediately roused the crowd as everyone raised their arms and loudly repeated, "Red Scarves Alliance! Ten years in the Sea of Constetions, we shall only share life and death for nine! In the final year, it¡¯s back to being enemies for us!"


    Their shouts continued endlessly!


    The onlookers exchanged nces with one another. The words of the Red Scarves Alliance had clearly struck a chord with them. Many of them looked uncertain, feeling a sudden urge to join the Red Scarves Alliance.


    As she slowly walked to the ship¡¯s bow, Wu Menn watched as Miao Yi roused the troops and rallied them together. Even though she was angry, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh in admiration. Regardless of what Miao Yi had done aboard the ship and how he¡¯d managed to bring so many people together, there was one thing she couldn¡¯t refute. The scene before her now was a testament to Miao Yi¡¯s capabilities. It was not sheer luck that this kid had managed toe this far.


    With his hand still up in the air, Miao Yi felt his ears twitching slightly. He quickly turned to look at Wu Menn standing aboard the ship.


    She transmitted her voice into his ears, "Miao Yi. The three major sects are not as simple as you¡¯d imagine. With this incident, you have firmly established a vendetta between you and the three major sects. They will be sure to seek revenge. You must know that the real experts of the three major sects do note from the administration. The Fifth Earthly Branch has chosen to send people over to participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, so naturally, they won¡¯t wish to see that none of their members are among the one hundred survivors in the end. Those who came from the system were all enlisted from the bottom-up, whereas the participants sent by the various major sects reported directly to the Overlord. Even if it were just to protect their honor as the three major sects, they would surely have sent their highly capable disciples over, and bestow upon them powerful transcendence artifacts to help them obtain a ranking in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. This is the case for all the respective Earthly Branches of every nation."


    Miao Yi looked at her in gratitude as he transmitted his voice, "Thanks for the advice, Sister Meng! If I make it back alive, I wille and thank you again!"


    Wu Menn gave him a light smile. "Little Brother. Take care of yourself!"


    "Let¡¯s go!" Beneath the sunset, Miao Yi suddenly raised his spear and shouted. He turned around and quickly led his troops away. Qi Xiuhong followed closely by his side as the massive army galloped towards the verdant forest.

 Chapter 338: Western Constellations Palace

    Chapter 338: Western Constetions Pce


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Everyone else watched as the Red Scarves Alliance dove into the maze-like forest. Night soon fell, and the remaining one thousand people left on the deste ins immediately scurried about.


    Regardless of whichever pce or manor they belonged to, all the disciples of the various sects would party up with members of their respective schools. Those who were older and had a higher cultivation would take the lead. Everyone grouped up together and relied on each other for support.


    Arge sect would have dozens of people in a group, whereas a small one would only have a few members. Soon, over 1,200 people divided themselves into more than sixty different groups.


    "Senior Uncle. Didn¡¯t that Zhao Fei say he would follow our Sect of the Three Founders?"


    A few dozen green-robed individuals had gathered together. A middle-aged man asked the question towards a white-haired old man. These people were the disciples of the Sect of the Three Founders that Zhao Fei had mentioned to Miao Yi before. The white-haired old man was called Yan Baichuan, and he was also a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator.


    "Water flows downwards; man struggles upwards. He has found a better ce to serve, so naturally, he wouldn¡¯t lower himself by grouping up with us," Yan Baichuan scoffed. He was displeased that Zhao Fei didn¡¯t keep his word, butcked the nerve to do anything to him.


    The reason was simple. Anyone who wasn¡¯t blind could see that Zhao Fei had already be one of the pirs of the Red Scarves Alliance. Their forces were strong and mighty. With just a few dozen people in their party, there was no reason for the Red Scarves Alliance to care about the Sect of the Three Founders, much less fear them. Especially that terrifying Alliance Master of theirs. He¡¯d managed to crush the three major sects in a single breath¡ªhow much more of a threat could the Sect of the Three Founders be? Since they couldn¡¯t afford to offend him, there was no need for them to go seeking trouble.


    Hoofbeats resounded within their vicinity. Another disciple of the Sect of the Three Founders shouted, "Senior Uncle. Look!"


    They saw small sects of various sizes charging towards a certain direction, one after another. They were heading in the same direction that the Red Scarves Alliance left. It seemed like they were chasing after the Red Scarves Alliance.


    "Do they wish to submit to the Red Scarves Alliance?" one of them mumbled.


    Yan Baichuan¡¯s eyes shone as he suddenly spoke to his fellow disciples, "Among the 180,000 cultivators of the six nations, not only do therge sects hold the advantage in numbers, but they¡¯re full of experts as well. Even if we could regroup with the disciples that the school personally sent over, there are only a few dozen people in our Sect of the Three Founders. It will be very difficult for us to gain a steady foothold in the Sea of Constetions. I wish to submit to the Red Scarves Alliance. What do you all think?"


    "Senior Uncle. I was thinking the same thing."


    "Since Senior Uncle has decided, we shall naturally follow your n."


    "I think the schools chasing after the Red Scarves Alliance are having the same thoughts as well, Senior Uncle."


    Even though it wasn¡¯t nice to hear that a sect was submitting to a different group, this was a matter concerning life and death. Naturally, there would be people who would try to coax and reassert the rationality of the idea.


    However, some expressed their doubts as well. "I wonder whether the Red Scarves Alliance will even ept us."


    Yan Baichuan exined, "There are so many dangers within the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Don¡¯t tell me that the Red Scarves Alliance Master willin about gaining an extra helping hand?"


    Someone else pointed out, "Why don¡¯t we contact the other schools and form an alliance instead?"


    Yan Baichuan shook his head, "Each school has their own agenda to follow. We wouldn¡¯t be at ease if we formed an alliance. If this were possible, someone would have done it by now. We wouldn¡¯t even have a chance. By contrast, I¡¯m not sure if any of you have noticed, but that Red Scarves Alliance is full of cultivators like Zhao Fei; theyck a background of a school. So even if he recruited them, it¡¯s not much of a concern. Not to mention, the motto of the Red Scarves Alliance made it very clear. Ten years in the Sea of Constetions, they would only desire to share life and death for nine. In the final year, they¡¯ll all revert back to being enemies! There¡¯s nothing wrong in submitting to them now. Even if the dayes when we go back to being enemies, our Sect of the Three Founders will still be as one, so we¡¯ll still hold an advantage even within the Red Scarves Alliance."


    Many thought to themselves, ¡¯The question is how many of us can survive till the end and still act as one. Where is the so-called advantage in that?¡¯


    However, it was true that they were just a small force right now. Everyone wished to live another day and hoped to survive, so naturally, no one objected. They all exchanged nces, then cupped their fists and shouted in unison, "We shall follow as Senior Uncle (Senior Grand-Uncle)mands!"


    Yan Baichuan nodded and waved his hand, "Let¡¯s go!"


    Under Yan Baichuan¡¯s lead, the Sect of the Three Founders galloped away towards the direction that the Red Scarves Alliance had disappeared off to.


    One after another, the troops on the deste ins headed towards the same direction. Some chose a different path¡ªafter all, not everyone shared the same ideas.


    Aboard the ship, Wu Menn watched the troops run off to the same direction and muttered, "Are they going to submit to the Red Scarves Alliance?"


    The intermediary came down from the balcony and approached Wu Menn with a smile. "This Red Scarves Alliance is rather interesting. I hope I¡¯ll see their forces in the ¡¯Western Constetions Pce¡¯ in the end. Hall Master Wu. Let us finish our official business then."


    Wu Menn turned around and nodded. Both parties signed a document detailing the sessful delivery of the participants, and bid their farewells.


    Wu Menn and Pang Rang quickly flew off. A red light suddenly shot out from the intermediary¡¯s sleeves and instantly destroyed the tenrge ships. He then withdrew his transcendence artifact and flew off into the distance.


    Countless wooden nks floated on the surface of the sea. With a swishing sound, Su Jinggong resurfaced, and with light steps,nded back on the shore. His eyes were full of grief when he saw the corpses of those from the three major sects all over the ce.


    There were still plenty of dragon steeds unwilling to leave their owners¡¯ side. Su Jinggong mounted one and departed alone...


    Atop the vast, turquoise ocean was a certain location, its mighty reefs towering thousands of feet tall, spread out unevenly over the clear, jade ocean like a forest. At the same time, it resembled the massive fangs found in a monster¡¯s mouth. The water that flowed between the reefs were either still and quiet or raging and turbulent. The color of the water was either a clear blue or a dark ck. Within these waters, sometimes sharks could be seen swimming around with their dorsal fins peeking out of the surface. Other times, some unknown w-like object could be seen moving around. It was a horrifying sight. Normal people wouldn¡¯t even be able to get close to this ce at all.


    At the peak of a mountain tens of thousands of feet high, the scenery was entirely different. Lush, verdant forests stered the area as flowers blossomed in all their splendor. It looked like spring all year round, as though they were unaffected by the weather conditions. Lofty trees surrounded a massive pce, its pavilions spread out at uneven heights, as dozens of horned pythons slithered about. They had an extremely keen sense of hearing and would turn their heads whenever they noticed signs of movement. Their red eyes gleamed dangerously as they stuck out their red tongues.


    This ce was the Western Constetions Pce, one of the four divine pces belonging to the one of the four Constetions Masters of the Sea of Constetions. It was the divine pce of the Western Constetions Master, Fu Qing.


    Near the gates of the pce, within one of the subsidiary halls, there was a giant golden astrbe. This astrbe was a transcendence artifact refined back when the Six Sages had first established the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, and the four Constetions Masters held it for safekeeping. They took turns to guard it, and since this year the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was held in the Western Star Sea, they ced the astrbe here.


    Two horned pythons slithered about the hall, carrying with them a fishy stench. At times, they would coil up around one of the pirs, causing many visitors to crease their brows. But s, the Western Constetions Master intended to creep them out in the first ce, so it wouldn¡¯t do them any good to chase these snakes away.


    Everyone knew that Fu Qing was displeased that they were carrying out the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade in the Western Star Sea. Truth be told, no one would be happy to host such a bloody affair on their own property. If Yao Sage Ji Huan hadn¡¯t pressured him, Fu Qing would definitely kick out all the people from the hall and leave them to fend for themselves. Why should he even bother providing a hall for them?


    Ever since all eighteen people had arrived in the hall, no one had caught sight of Fu Qing. Even if they wanted to go and pay their respects, he refused to grant them an audience, and simply said that he was in closed-door cultivation. He wouldn¡¯t even show his face to the people sent over by Ji Huan, and merely instructed them to look for his subordinates if they had any problems. Ji Huan¡¯s subordinates weren¡¯t offended at all and simply returned obediently.


    From this, it was evident what extraordinary existences the four Constetions Masters of the Sea of Constetions were. The four of them were the mighty Demonic Behemoths after all. No one knew how many tens of thousands of years they had been cultivating. They were an existence even older than the Six Sages themselves. Unless the Six Sages personally stepped out, Fu Qing really didn¡¯t need to give face to anyone else. Most importantly, even if he didn¡¯t give face, no one would be offended by it. Anyone that dared to challenge his authority was wee to try.


    There was a good reason why the Sea of Constetions inflicted such terror in the cultivation realm. The four Constetions Masters were called as such because they were the original owners of this ce. It wasn¡¯t a simple thing to chase them out.


    The Six Sages had each sent three people over to observe the battle for this year¡¯s Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. The ones sent over this time were a little different from normal; they were mostly people who were rtively close to the Six Sages themselves.


    It was because the nature of this year¡¯s Subjugation Crusade was a little different than normal. The new generation under the Six Sages was also participating, and so the Subjugation Crusade quickly became a tform for their respective disciples to gauge their own strengths. As such, the 180,000 cultivators in the Subjugation Crusade this year had be mere sideshows. These new participants were the main performance.


    This was done to ensure the fairness of the Subjugation Crusade. But to be more urate, everyone was simply afraid of sabotage, which was why the Six Sages had all sent over their trusted aides to oversee the situation.


    The respective overseers of the six nations each stood at one side of the astrbe. The astrbe disyed a holographic map of the Western Sea, and the overseers were looking at the glowing dots scattered on it. Most of the dots were white, but six, in particr, were an eye-catching red. These six red dots were the participants that the six nations were truly concerned about. The other white dots were probably nothing but weeds in their eyes.


    One of the Devil Nation overseers was the Devil Sage Yun Aotian¡¯s youngest son, Yun Guang. It was because Yun Guang¡¯s son¡ªor the Devil Sage¡¯s grandson¡ªwas participating in the crusade this time. Yun Guang looked very much like his father, and his countenance carried a dominating aura. Crossing his hands behind his back, he swept a sharp gaze at the astrbe.


    Two people were standing behind Yun Guang, one of which Miao Yi was slightly familiar with. It was the man who had taken Luo Shuangfei away¡ªSir Zuo.


    One of the Buddha Nation overseers was the Buddha Sage Cang Lei¡¯s subordinate, Grandmaster Qi Jie. The old monk was bald and had two long, snow-white eyebrows which extended all the way to his chest. His face possessed a gentle bearing, and despite being old and thin, he seemed to brim with vigor. His eyes shone with energy, but at the same time, were deep and mysterious. He garbed himself in monk¡¯s robes which were as white as snow, with a ck satin cloth hanging across his sides. The ck satin cloth was adorned with an borate branching pattern of a golden cloud design, giving him a regal and kind appearance.


    Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s disciple was a participant as well, but he was not the main representative. He was merely here to assist the Buddha Sage¡¯s direct disciple. It was only because Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s disciple was also participating that the Buddha Sage had him oversee the situation.


    One of the overseers of the Yao Nation was the Yao Sage Ji Huan¡¯s daughter, Ji Meimei. The main representative that they sent over was her son. As a mother, she had to personallye and give her support.


    One of the overseers of the Ghost Nation was the Ghost Sage Situ Xiao¡¯s disciple, Hei Yun. The main representative was his son.


    One of the overseers of the Boundless Nation was the Dao Sage Feng Beichen¡¯s disciple, Hua Yu. The main participant representing their nation was his disciple.


    From the Celestial Nation, the Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun had sent two disciples over. One was called Tang Jun, and the other was the highly renowned beauty in the cultivation realm, Fairy Hong Chen. Thetter had requested toe because she had a close rtionship with their main representative, who was another disciple of the Celestial Sage. The girl was just as famed for her beauty as Fairy Hong Chen¡ªFairy Yue Yao.


    The reason why the Six Sages sent their members over to participate was because of Fairy Yue Yao. Fu Manjun originally wanted to let Fairy Yue Yao participate as a form of training. Then, when the other five Sages heard of this, they werepletely amused. They were all people with too much free time on their hands, so they immediately decided to take part as well. Although it was just a game to them, it was a disaster for the other 180,000 cultivators participating in the crusade.

 Chapter 339: A Decisive Murderer

    Chapter 339: A Decisive Murderer


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Eh? A battle has already started over there!"


    As he swept a sharp gaze across the astrbe, Yun Guang suddenly pointed to the spot just in front of Tang Jun. Everyone cast their gazes over and saw a cluster of bright dots in front of Tang Jun that were flickering vigorously. This was a sign that some of the people who¡¯d disembarked had already begun crossing des.


    Yun Guang asked, "Tang Jun. These are troops from your Celestial Nation, right? Which Earthly Branch are they from?"


    Tang Jun invoked his transcendence arts over the astrbe. He immediately hid away the other locations on the Western Star Sea as he zoomed in on the area with the glimmering lights and projected it over the entire astrbe. The cluster of dots instantly spread out into two thousand individual ones. They were all clearly visible now.


    The voluptuous Ji Meimei giggled. "That should be the disembarkation point for the troops of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch. From the looks of it, quite a number of people are battling."


    Yun Guang chuckled. "Interesting. A preemptive strike, I see!"


    Behind him, Zuo Nanchun¡¯s gaze was darting across the astrbe.


    Tang Jun¡¯s expression slowly darkened; he was clearly a little displeased. They had just disembarked at the Sea of Constetions and wouldn¡¯t be bumping into the cultivators from the other five nations for the time being. And yet, the troops of the Celestial Nation had already begun killing one another. If all of their troops perished because of this, how would they be able to face off against the other five nations after this?


    Everyone stared at it for a while and watched as white dots of light began to disappear. Soon, over two hundred dots hadpletely disappeared.


    Shrouded in a deathly aura, Hei Yun snickered. "How decisive. More than two hundred have died already."


    "Amitabha!" Grandmaster Qi Jie pped his palms together and prayed.


    Tang Jun had a nk look on his face and simply kept quiet.


    In order to ensure fairness, the troops under the six nations had timed their departure schedules properly to arrive around the same time. Half a dayter, the intermediaries who were sent to ensure the sessful delivery of the participants returned and handed over the confirmation documents.


    These intermediaries were all members of the Western Constetions Pce. Eventually, the person responsible for receiving the forces of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch delivered by Wu Menn returned. As he was about to leave, Tang Jun suddenly asked, "Hold on, what exactly happened to the participants of my Fifth Earthly Branch? Why did they start killing each other as soon as they alighted?"


    The man was startled. But he quickly gave a smile. As a member of the Western Constetions Pce, he had no reason to fear the overseers sent by the Six Sages. His tone was neither too humble nor too overbearing as he replied, "This incident started from the three major sects of the Fifth Earthly Branch. As soon as the troops alighted, the disciples of the three major sects from the Traversing Moon Pce immediately surrounded a man called Miao Yi¡ª"


    "Miao Yi?" Standing quietly behind Tang Jun all this while, Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s eyes suddenly shone, and she identally interrupted the man, causing many to cast their gazes towards her.


    Tang Jun turned around and asked, "Does Junior Sister know this person?"


    Fairy Hong Chen regained herposure, then shook her head. "I don¡¯t. I just find it peculiar that someone would dare stand against the three major sects on their own."


    Tang Jun gave her a long look, but he cast his suspicions aside after thinking it through. This Junior Sister of his had a cold personality and didn¡¯t like making friends, much less with a no-name little brat. He turned back and said, "Please continue."


    The man smiled as he continued, "That Miao Yi is quite impressive indeed. I¡¯ve never seen a Blue Lotus cultivator as powerful as him. More than twenty people from the three major sects surrounded him, and yet he single-handedly triumphed against them and almost massacred the entire group. None of them could even withstand a single blow. He was even capable of knocking down dragon steeds with the residual force of his strikes, and with just one blow, no less. Then, all the disciples of the three major sects from the twelve pces of the Fifth Earthly Branch sought to crush thismon enemy. Over two hundred of them tried to kill him. Then out of nowhere, this Miao Yi suddenly rallied together a Red Scarves Alliance...."


    After everyone heard the story, Yun Guang chuckled, "It is indeed quite rare to see a Blue Lotus cultivator capable of matching the endurance of a dragon steed with brute strength. And to be able to recruit so many of those with no background and bring them together shows that he¡¯s quite capable as well. I wonder how long he¡¯llst."


    Behind him, Zuo Nanchun¡¯s eyebrows creased heavily.


    ¡¯Miao Yi?¡¯ When he first heard this name, Grandmaster Qi Jie raised a white eyebrow. His unruly disciple, who had a mind filled with thoughts of betraying the school, would always mention this name to him, so much so that he felt as if his ears would develop calluses. However, he shook his head and dismissed the thought. That person shouldn¡¯t be the same as the one he¡¯d heard about¡ªthat person¡¯s status was lowly, and he couldn¡¯t even cultivate, much less possess such strength. There were plenty of people with the same name in this world. This should only be an example of that.


    Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s breathtaking face, whose beauty could overthrow nations, remained expressionless. However, she secretly grasped her hands in a tight grip as her delicate fingersy intertwined over her abdomen.


    As soon as that man finished his story and departed, Tang Jun turned back and invoked his transcendence arts over the astrbe again. The astrbe glowed as it zoomed out of the previous image and presented the entire map of the Western Star Sea to everyone once more.


    In the blink of an eye, that earlier discussion about Miao Yi was cast to the back of everyone¡¯s minds. It was because a minor character like this was truly not worth their attention. Even if it were someone with the rank of a Hall Master, the people present probably wouldn¡¯t be too concerned either. Tang Jun had only asked because he wanted to understand the situation...


    Miao Yi led his troops across the deste ins, past the verdant forest filled with lofty trees, and up to the snowy peaks of the mighty mountains. Snow billowed down as the frosty wind howled. Night had already fallen when Miao Yi had everyonee to a stop. They could all hear something moving, so they opened their transcendence vision and cast their gazes down the mountain, finding a bunch of people following them from behind.


    "Why are they still following us? If they don¡¯t stop, our mounts will eventually copse from fatigue." Zhao Fei gazed towards the foot of the mountain. "We have already crushed the three major sects. Could they be hoping to seek vengeance for them?"


    Sikong Wuwei chuckled, "Seek vengeance for the three major sects? As if they¡¯d be so kind. My guess is that they desire the treasures we earned and n on joining hands to steal them away."


    Wang Yuetian looked at Miao Yi and remarked, "Alliance Master. Regardless of what they¡¯re plotting, we should be ready, just in case!"


    Miao Yi kept quiet as all three looked at him. After the previous battle, everyone had already epted him as the Alliance Master. They were not only impressed by hisbat strength but his intellect as well. If he hadn¡¯t drawn the attention of the three major sects, the Red Scarves Alliance wouldn¡¯t have caught them unprepared and wouldn¡¯t have been as sessful in their ambush. If they had shed with the three major sects while at their peak performance, the Red Scarves Alliance might not have been able to gain much of an advantage.


    After crossing des with the three major sects, everyone became aware that their strength was not just for show. The Sword Deviate Sect aside, both the School of Imperial Beasts and the Jade Lady Sect didn¡¯t even get to use a single one of their unique skills. It was purely because the Red Scarves Alliance had managed to catch them unprepared that they were able tounch a preemptive strike and triumph against them. Otherwise, if they¡¯d waited for the School of Imperial Beasts to summon those nasty creatures of theirs, the Red Scarves Alliance would have found themselves in a tight spot.


    Miao Yi scanned the topology around the area before he pointed down and said, "The other party outnumbers us heavily. We won¡¯t be able to win. We need to make use of the height advantage here. If they¡¯re really plotting something against us, we shall trigger an avnche. With the avnche behind us, we will rush down at full speed. Stop for nothing and don¡¯t engage in battle with anyone. Just kill as many as you can."


    He raised his hand and pointed to a mound at the foot of the mountain. "Focus on charging down. Once we¡¯re at the foot of the mountain, we shall regroup at that spot. If the other party suffers heavy losses, we shall strike back in full force and kill them all. The rewards from that will surely be bountiful. If we can¡¯t deal a mighty blow to the other party, we will circle around the foot of the mountain and ascend from a different location. By then, I believe they¡¯ll have to think twice if they wish to continue chasing after us. Unless they wish to experience a second avnche."


    As the three of them listened, they looked around at the pockets of ice and snow that had built up over countless years and couldn¡¯t help but feel a foreboding chill. If they really triggered an avnche, then the sheer might of it would be akin to ten thousand volts of lightning. If they charged down with such a terrifying force behind them, how many of those down below would be able to withstand it? They would surely perish with a single stroke.


    The only problem was that even their own troops would have to avoid being crushed under the avnche while they were running away. If they were any slower, the massive force of the avnche would definitely squash them all. This was nothing short of fighting while putting their lives on the line.


    But then again, this was a great move. The people down below numbered almost a thousand, whereas they were only four hundred. If they didn¡¯t use the terrain to their advantage, they wouldn¡¯t be able to win.


    The three of them were thoroughly impressed by Miao Yi, but at the same time, they concluded that this Alliance Master of theirs was a ruthless man. In order to win, he was not only ruthless to the enemy, but to his own forces as well. It was reassuring to follow behind someone like this, but they just didn¡¯t know whether this would end up a blessing or a curse.


    "Those afraid to battle and only know how to hide in the backlines will naturally be the first to die to the avnche. If you charge ahead with courage, then with the dragon steeds¡¯ speed as well as the downward momentum, it should be possible to outrun the avnche. Go and make the arrangements! Execute those who don¡¯tply!" Miao Yi seemed to have guessed everyone¡¯s doubts, but he was intent on following through with his n; he¡¯d issued themand in an irrefutable tone.


    The three acknowledged his orders and quickly made the necessary arrangements as Miao Yi instructed.


    As the troops got into their positions, all of them looked at Miao Yi like he was some kind of monster. After all, he was gambling with their lives! And at the same time, they were in awe. This Alliance Master was a ruthless man who should never be offended.


    As he watched the troops ready themselves, Miao Yi suddenly turned around to Qi Xiuhong, who¡¯d been behind him this whole time, and said, "Don¡¯t panicter on. Just follow closely behind me, and you¡¯ll be fine."


    "Understood!" Qi Xiuhong nodded. She felt conflicted as she gazed at Miao Yi¡¯s back. ¡¯This Alliance Master is a very decisive person. He truly is someone who will kill another without hesitation.¡¯


    As soon as their group finished preparations and assembled into formation, with their riders ready to charge down at a moment¡¯s notice, the troops situated a few hundred meters away seemed to have noticed that something was amiss. They all stopped and stared at the forces above them. They tried not to show any signs of hostility, as though afraid to cause a misunderstanding.


    Miao Yi creased his eyebrows, unsure of what the other party was plotting. He turned his head and said, "Sikong Wuwei. Bring a couple of people with you to go and ask what¡¯s going on. If you notice anything wrong, send us a signal immediately. We will rush down straight away and save you."


    He already had a Second Grade Mountain Cleaving Talisman in his hands. If they were to bump into a strong opponentter, he would immediately use it to cut open a path.


    Everyone tensed up at his words.


    "You, you, and you. Follow me!" With his long axe raised, Sikong Wuwei called out a few people, then galloped downwards.


    The forces at the top were ready. At the bottom, Sikong Wuwei had brought several people with him and met up with the forces down below. After a short discussion, it didn¡¯t seem like they were hostile. Then, Sikong Wuwei brought a few people back with him.


    Once they were only a hundred meters away, Sikong Wuwei had them stop and ordered the others to keep an eye on them. Then, he came back alone to report his findings.


    "Alliance Master. They said they wish to submit to our Red Scarves Alliance. I¡¯m afraid they might be lying. For now, I¡¯ve brought a few of them over. Do you wish to talk to them or kill them?"


    Everyone immediately exchanged nces. ¡¯The disciples of thoserge sects have always treated everyone else with contempt just because they had the backing of a school. But now they wish to submit to our Red Scarves Alliance?¡¯


    Miao Yi mulled it over for a while, then nodded, "It is naturally a good thing that they¡¯re willing to submit to us. Let those peoplee over."


    "Hold on!" Wang Yuetian called for Sikong Wuwei to stop. Then, he cupped his fists towards Miao Yi. "Alliance Master. Disciples from a school will always form groups of their own. If anything happens, the first thing they¡¯ll do is group together amongst themselves. If they join our Red Scarves Alliance, I fear that they will try to wrest control over our forces. This will not be to our benefit."

 Chapter 340: Mark of Fealty

    Chapter 340: Mark of Fealty


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    As soon as the words left Wang Yuetian¡¯s mouth, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei both nodded in agreement and looked towards Miao Yi. They all hoped he would change his mind.


    Miao Yi could hear a series of mumbling behind him as well. As he turned around, he saw everyone nodding their heads. Clearly, they also shared Wang Yuetian¡¯s opinion.


    These people still had an aversion towards therge sects in their minds. After battling the three major sects, everyone saw how much force they wielded. They didn¡¯t need to rely on the other sects to advance. The Red Scarves Alliance had already be their sole means of support within the Sea of Constetions. At the very least, they wouldn¡¯t betray one another, because everyone had no other alternative for survival. However, if they allowed the people from those sects and schools to join in... It was a cause for worry.


    Miao Yi was pleased that everyone had this mentality of protecting the interests of the Red Scarves Alliance, but he felt that their disinclinations still restrained them. How long could they survive in the Sea of Constetions with just their numbers? Obviously, the greater the force, the better. He was not afraid of having too many members¡ªhe was afraid they wouldn¡¯t have enough. He was confident in himself, so he wasn¡¯t afraid he wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it.


    "Are you scared of them?" Miao Yi asked in a somber tone.


    Wang Yuetian bounced his question back, "Alliance Master. Didn¡¯t you choose from the start not to ally with those belonging to the sects precisely because you had the same concerns as we do?"


    "That was then, and this is now. If we hadn¡¯t disyed our strength, do you think they would even care who we are? Now, things are different. They are the ones who wish to submit to us!" Miao Yi raised his hand and pointed downwards. He asked, "Who can tell me how many sects these people belong to?"


    Zhao Fei answered, "At least a few dozen."


    "Indeed. A few dozen sects. If they could form an alliance of their own, why would they need to rely on us? It shows that there is no trust between them. We are a force of four hundred. Let me ask you: what other sect would be able to match our strength on their own?" Miao Yi pointed downwards and asked, "Why is everyone socking in confidence? With just our numbers, how difficult would it be to survive in the Sea of Constetions for the next nine years? I¡¯m not afraid that we have too many people, I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t have enough. We will let them join us, and whoever dares to betray our interests shall simply face execution. We don¡¯t need to fear them!"


    The crowd remained silent. ¡¯Is it that easy to kill?¡¯


    Miao Yi asserted, "I know what I¡¯m doing. I won¡¯t let the situation that everyone¡¯s worried about arise. Sikong Wuwei, bring their respective representatives over to talk to me. Tell them this¡ªall who are sincere about joining cane up!"


    He also had to make preparations of his own. After all, there were numerous experts out of the one thousand people down there. He gave orders to have them leave their steeds behind. Then once they were up here, even if they had any ulterior motives, they wouldn¡¯t be able to cause too much trouble. At least they wouldn¡¯t be able to chase after him and his troops.


    Sikong Wuwei cast a nce at everyone else, and seeing as no one was against it, he cupped his fists and acknowledged his order. He turned around and left on his dragon steed while carrying his long axe. After a short while, he brought around forty people over to their side.


    The group walked up, and as soon as they saw Miao Yi, they cupped their fists and paid their respects. Among them, Yan Baichuan of the Sect of the Three Founders saw Zhao Fei and even cupped his fists with a smile. "Little Brother Zhao."


    Zhao Fei forced a smile and returned the greeting, evidently feeling a little awkward.


    Dressed in armor with a spear in hand, Miao Yi swept his gaze over the group as he sat on his dragon steed, and noticed there were only around forty representatives present. This didn¡¯t align with the names list in his hands. He spected that a number of them didn¡¯t share the same opinion and went on a different path, which exined their absence. This made sense seeing as there were barely a thousand of them down there. Otherwise, there should be at least two hundred more people.


    Miao Yi cut straight to the chase and asked, "Why do you wish to join our Red Scarves Alliance? If you can¡¯t give me a satisfactory answer, don¡¯t expect to return alive!"


    With a simple wave of his spear, the four hundred people behind him instantly moved and surrounded the representatives as though they might charge at them at the drop of a hat. It was a tant threat.


    All these people without their steeds were instantly flustered. The people looking up from the foot of the mountain were equally startled as well.


    Yan Baichuan forced a smile and said, "We came solely because of one line from the Alliance Master."


    Miao Yiughed. "Oh? May I know which line of mine had such influence for all of you to wish to submit yourselves to us?"


    Yan Baichuan replied, " ¡¯Red Scarves Alliance! Ten years in the Sea of Constetions, we shall only share life and death for nine! In the final year, it¡¯s back to being enemies for us!¡¯ ¡ª Those of us from the Sect of the Three Founders havee willingly to submit to you precisely because of these words of yours, Alliance Master." He turned around and added, "I believe everyone else is here for the same reason as well."


    All the representatives nodded their heads as if they had rehearsed the entire thing. "That¡¯s right. We are willing to work alongside the Red Scarves Alliance in order to survive the Sea of Constetions."


    "Work alongside the Red Scarves Alliance?" Miao Yi¡¯s gaze turned cold as he said, "I believe there is something wrong with what you¡¯ve all said. You are not working alongside my Red Scarves Alliance; you will be joining it and be a member. There are some things I must let you all know firsthand. Once you join my Red Scarves Alliance, you will be a full-fledged member. As long as the Red Scarves Alliance exists in the Sea of Constetions, I suggest that every one of you forget about your identities as a sect member for the time being. Forget about working for the benefit of your individual sects, and focus on the overall benefit of the Red Scarves Alliance. I will not allow any sect member to form their own circles. Once you join, I will consider your groups immediately disbanded."


    The representatives were taken aback once more. They all looked at one another, and once they seemed to have reached an agreement, they cupped their fists and replied, "We are willing toply with the Alliance Master¡¯s orders."


    "Don¡¯t be so hasty to agree!" Miao Yi waved his hand and smiled, "Let me make one other thing clear. I know that there are still many of your fellow disciples who are not part of the administration participating in this crusade and that they¡¯re waiting to meet up with all of you. However, once you join the Red Scarves Alliance, you will not be allowed to act on your own. We will not change our course for the interest of your sects. That is why I suggest for everyone to put the matter of meeting up with your fellow disciples aside for now. If you are able to agree to these terms, the Red Scarves Alliance will wee you with open arms. If not, you are free to leave!"


    Everyone¡¯s faces darkened. ¡¯Is he trying to strip away the autonomy of the various sectspletely? They¡¯re just a bunch of bastards with no background to speak of, yet they¡¯re audacious enough to think of holding full authority over the sects and have them work under their thumb!¡¯


    However, these people had lost their steeds. Against the four hundred people surrounding them from all sides with watchful gazes, they didn¡¯t dare to speak against this affront.


    A Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator called Lu Siping cupped his fists and said, "May I ask the Alliance Master what we should do if we bump into our fellow disciples? Are we not allowed to meet them as well? If this is the case, then I¡¯m afraid I must decline. Even if I manage to survive the Sea of Constetions in the end, I fear I will not be able to answer to my school."


    Miao Yi smiled, "I am not such a stubborn man. If we bump into the other members of your sect, and if we can recruit them into our Red Scarves Alliance and gain an extra helping hand, we will naturally wee them. If not, we won¡¯t hold you down either. We will, of course, let you leave together with your fellow disciples."


    This was more eptable. Many nodded in agreement as their expressions rxed slightly.


    "Everyone. These are my terms. If you are willing to adhere to them, you are free to stay. If not, please leave!" Miao Yi told them all as he swept his gaze across. Then, he raised his hand and had his troops open a path down the mountain for them.


    One of them cupped his fists decisively, "Farewell!". They then immediately turned around and left.


    To some of the more prideful representatives, they had already given face to the Red Scarves Alliance by offering to join them. And yet it came with so many restrictions. Who did they think they were?


    Around ten people left because of this. Yan Baichuan was evidently not very pleased with the verdict either and was also among those that departed. Now, around thirty representatives remained.


    Miao Yi looked at the people descending the mountain and scoffed. Then, he turned to face the remaining thirty and began asking about them.


    After his questioning, he discovered that within the names list of all the cultivators aboard the ship, six out of the sixteen Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts now stood before him, not including Zhao Fei and the other two. They were Lu Siping, Yu Baixing, Fei De-an, Jia Zifeng, Dong Quan and Hu Zhiyuan.


    That left seven other Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts. It seemed as though four of them had already taken their troops and headed elsewhere from the beach. Lu Siping and the rest could vouch for this as well¡ªthey had confirmed this when they met the others during the hike up the mountain. It did seem as though there were three Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts among the people that descended the mountain earlier.


    This was in ordance with the names list in Miao Yi¡¯s hands.


    The remaining thirty people each gave a list of their respective forces. There were around six hundred, almost seven hundred of them in total.


    Miao Yi smiled as he asked, "I believe that my conditions must seem quite harsh to everyone. Why do you still wish to join the Red Scarves Alliance?"


    The others exchanged nces. Lu Siping smiled. "We are in unknown territory, and our future is an equally difficult subject of question. We will only be able to survive longer by working together. And only by surviving longer will we have a hope of leaving the Sea of Constetions alive. Otherwise, everything is but a pipe dream." He was implying that they sought the unity attained by the Red Scarves Alliance.


    Jia Zifeng smiled and added, "Strict as they were, the Alliance Master¡¯s conditions were all for the sake of the Red Scarves Alliance..."


    Beside him, Hu Zhiyuan continued, "Since the Alliance Master cares so much for the Red Scarves Alliance, once we join in, the Alliance Master¡¯s concerns for the Red Scarves Alliance will apply to us as well. So why shouldn¡¯t webine our forces?"


    The thirty representatives looked at one another and smiled. It seemed they all shared the same thoughts.


    Miao Yi immediately burst intoughter. He pointed at the crowd as he shook his head and said, "My conditions were harsh because I didn¡¯t want a rotten apple spoiling the whole barrel. I needed to force those with ulterior motives to back away of their own volition. As the saying goes, it is better to be without than to have something of inferior quality. Indeed, we are in unknown territory. And it is no lie that our days and nights are a subject of question. If we don¡¯t work together, then as a disorderly group, how can we hope to survive? Now, it seems like I was overthinking things. I can see that all of you understand this point very well."


    "Alliance Master thinks too highly of us." Lu Siping and the rest smiled and cupped their fists. Regardless if they were being truthful or not, at the very least they acted as if they sincerely wished to serve right now.


    Zhao Fei and the other two exchanged nces; they realized they had been overthinking things. Even though the Alliance Master seemed young, he was an intelligent man who clearly knew where his boundaries were. They looked at Miao Yi with admiration. With the uncertainty of the road ahead, everyone did need to rely on such a strong leader.


    Miao Yi wiped the smile off his face and asked, "Does everyone know what I¡¯m nning to do after this?"


    Lu Siping cupped his fists. "This matter concerns our futures as well. Naturally, we wish to know."


    Miao Yi scanned his surroundings before his gaze fell upon them once again. He said in a somber tone, "This is the ce where we disembarked from, as shown on the map of the Western Star Sea we received. We can also see the areas where the other Earthly Branches have touched ground on. If we wish to, we can head straight for them. At the same time, they could attempt toe to us as well. Even if one does not wish to harm a tiger, it will still bare its fangs. We need to prepare ourselves. That¡¯s why we shouldn¡¯t stay here for too long."


    Everyone nodded in agreement.


    Miao Yi continued, "I wish to bring everyone away from this ce. We shall take advantage of the fact that the forces from the other Earthly Branches have also just disembarked, as well as the distance between us, and then find a secluded spot to hide for a few years. It¡¯s best if we can hide for the next ten years until the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade is over. I think everyone doesn¡¯t wish to risk their lives for the hollow title of the top one hundred survivors either. It¡¯s perfectly fine to return empty-handed. But if we can¡¯t hide for that long, that¡¯s fine as well. Once the various forces have had their strengths reduced from all the fighting, our Red Scarves Alliance will once again disy the might that we have stored away for so long. I simply doubt that anyone would be able to withstand the charge of a thousand-strong army. What do you all think?"


    "Alliance Master is wise. This is a brilliant n!" Lu Siping and the restplimented. Even Zhao Fei and the rest nodded in agreement as their eyes brightened.


    "However..." Miao Yi said with some reluctance, "If we wish to hide away from the public eye for a few years, we need to make ample preparations. Naturally, the more resources we have, the better." He said as he pointed downwards. Then, everyone followed his gaze.


    "These three hundred people are not of the same mind as us. We would be enemies if we were to meet them again. How could we not eliminate such a potential threat!? I wish to take the resources they have in preparation for us to use when we are hiding. However, many of the brothers behind me suffered heavy wounds before when we battled the three major sects. Even though we wish to take their resources, weck the strength to do so. Would everyone be so kind as to eliminate this potential threat and retrieve the resources they possess for the sake of our Red Scarves Alliance?" Miao Yi asked politely.


    Lu Siping and the rest exchanged nces. In the end, all he wanted was for them to submit a mark of fealty!

 Chapter 341: Splitting the Loot

    Chapter 341: Splitting the Loot


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    He wanted them all to fight as soon as they joined. They all felt quite conflicted.


    Even though the Alliance Master was beating around the bush, his words couldn¡¯t have been any clearer¡ªsince those three hundred were unwilling to join the Red Scarves Alliance, it meant that they were enemies and must be eliminated. Furthermore, if Lu Siping and the rest didn¡¯t go and deal with those people, it would prove that they were insincere in in their wish to join the Red Scarves Alliance. Then, they would also be branded as enemies of the Red Scarves Alliance. From the looks of things, it was unlikely that they would be able to leave unscathed if they declined the Alliance Master¡¯s request.


    Zhao Fei and the rest exchanged nces and kept quiet. The Alliance Master had a better grasp of the situation than they did, and didn¡¯t need them to chime in.


    Amidst the falling snow, all four hundred troops of the Red Scarves Alliance suddenly turned eerily quiet. Their doubts were instantly dispelled by Miao Yi¡¯s words. They kept a watchful gaze on Lu Siping and the rest. So long as Miao Yi said the word, they would immediately pounce on them without hesitation.


    "Right now, they will not be on guard against you. Use the element of surprise and your superior numbers to deal them a swift and lethal strike. You will definitely be able to triumph over them in a single stroke. I dare say there is hardly any difficulty in that." With an indifferent expression, Miao Yi then reminded them, "If all of you are unwilling to even do such a simple task, how can I believe that you all are sincere in joining my Red Scarves Alliance? How will I be able to trust that you will follow my orders once you join?"


    He had already made it very clear¡ª ¡¯That¡¯s right! I want you all to submit a mark of fealty!¡¯


    After Lu Siping and the rest had a short discussion among themselves, they came to agree that the task indeed wasn¡¯t very difficult, as Miao Yi said. Even if they fought with them head-on, they wouldn¡¯t at a disadvantage either, much less with a sudden ambush.


    After they all came to an agreement, they cupped their fists and said, "We acknowledge the Alliance Master¡¯s orders."


    Miao Yi looked down towards Yan Baichuan and the others who had already returned to their own forces, then said, "Time is of the essence. Don¡¯t let them escape."


    Lu Siping and the rest immediately descended the mountain. By the time they caught up, Yan Baichuan and the rest had already exined the situation to their fellow disciples and were about to leave.


    As he watched the situation unfold down below, Miao Yi issued amand, "Follow our original n and prepare to trigger the avnche. If Lu Siping and the others will not make their move, we will eliminate them as well in one fell swoop!"


    Behind him, Qi Xiuhong trembled slightly when she heard this.


    "Understood!" For the first time, Zhao Fei and the rest cupped their fists and acknowledged the order wholeheartedly. They hade to understand that Miao Yi¡¯s every action was truly for the sake of everyone in the Red Scarves Alliance. Now, they were truly ready to serve.


    After bing more earnest in following Miao Yi¡¯smands, the speed at which Zhao Fei and the rest made their preparations was significantly faster as well.


    Down the mountain, Yan Baichuan and the rest had just led their troops a short distance away when they heard amotioning from behind them. When they turned to look, they saw Lu Siping and the rest leading their troops down at a moderate pace as well. Yan Baichuan couldn¡¯t help shouting, "Brother Lu. Didn¡¯t you all agree to the terms of the Red Scarves Alliance? Why have you returned?"


    "The Red Scarves Alliancees with too many restrictions. It is too unbearable. We might as well look to other alternatives." Lu Siping replied.


    Yan Baichuan had everyonee to a stop with a wave of his hand. Together with ten other representatives from the various sects, he turned back and began approaching Lu Siping¡¯s group. "That little rascal is clearly trying to make things difficult for us, Brother Lu. We just had a short discussion earlier. Why must we heed another¡¯smands? Why can¡¯t we just form an alliance of our own?"


    With a raise of Lu Siping¡¯s hand, the people behind him came to a stop as well. Slightly amused, he asked, "Might I ask who would give the orders then, once the alliance is formed?"


    Yan Baichuan immediately replied in earnest, "We can slowlye to an agreement on that. If everyone doesn¡¯t mind, I am willing to take up the mantle and work for the benefit of everyone."


    ¡¯Working for the benefit of everyone is a lie. The truth is you just want to be the alliance master,¡¯ thought Lu Siping, but just gave a nod and said, "I doubt we will be able toe to an agreement no matter how much we discuss. I don¡¯t have anything against Brother Yan bing the alliance master. But let me ask you this¡ªif we were to suffer an enemy attack, would Brother Yan be willing to let the disciples from the Sect of the Three Founders be at the head of the charge?"


    After he said those words, one of the disciples from the Sect of the Three Founders behind Yan Baichuan already began shouting, "The alliance master himself belongs to the Sect of the Three Founders. To have himmand his fellow disciples to take the front charge¡ªwhat logic is this? Of course everyone has to follow the orders of the alliance master."


    Yan Baichuan turned around and red at that disciple, indicating that he should keep his mouth shut. Turning back, he smiled and said, "Brother Lu. Rest assured, I will not let any of the sects suffer like that. I definitely won¡¯t dictate the decisions on my own. When the timees, we can all reach a consensus together."


    "You want to discuss when the enemy is already upon us? I fear it will be toote by the time wee to a consensus, if any at all. Our forces would already be engulfed in chaos before we could even get to an agreement on anything. How can we survive in the Sea of Constetions like that?" Lu Siping mocked.


    Slightly displeased, Yan Baichuan said, "If Brother Lu has a better idea, then do share with us."


    "As a matter of fact, I do. It¡¯s to kill you!" With a sudden shout, Lu Siping suddenly thrusted with his spear.


    As though it was a signal for the attack, the moment he struck, six hundred troops behind him immediately charged down. Using the height to their advantage, they rushed down and instantly engaged in a chaotic melee.


    Yan Baichuan reacted quickly and managed to defend himself just in time, blocking Lu Siping¡¯s thrust beforeunching a swift counterattack of his own. As both sides engaged in fiercebat, Yan Baichuan bellowed, "Lu Siping! You and I have no ill-will between us. I even courteously extended my hand to you. Why did you choose tounch an ambush against me?!"


    "By my Alliance Master¡¯s orders, I am here to kill the enemy!" Lu Siping bluntly replied with the truth, his barrage continued without letting up. Soon, another Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator, Yu Baixing, joined the fray and both of them started to corner Yan Baichuan.


    Whilst anxiously defending himself, Yan Baichuan repeatedly cursed, "Bastards! How dare you set me up!?"


    Meanwhile, Jia Zifeng and Fei De-an had already taken down another Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator in mere moments with the help of two other Blue Lotus Eighth Grade cultivators from their respective sects.


    As soon as they finished, both parties nodded at one another. Fei De-an led one of his fellow disciples over to Lu Siping and Yu Baixing¡¯s side, while Jia Zifeng and one of his fellow disciples rushed to Dong Quan and Hu Zhiyuan¡¯s side, where they were battling another Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator.


    How could Yan Baichuan defend against the joint attack from three Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts and one Blue Lotus Eighth Grade expert. He couldn¡¯t even run away. His armor artifact shed with blue light as it endured blow after blow for him. Then, his dragon steed neighed in agony as it copsed.


    Just as Yan Baichuan wanted to leap up, Lu Siping pierced his thigh with his spear and pinned him down.


    "Bastard-" Yan Baichuan was cursing when he was suddenly interrupted by the dimming blue light of his armor artifact after enduring countless attacks, and his head being abruptly chopped off.


    Once they were done, they all immediately looked towards Jia Zifeng¡¯s battle only to find that it was already over. The other party had already charged into the surrounding melee. They quickly followed suit, taking lives wherever they went; their killing potential was no joke.


    With Yan Baichuan and the other experts gone, there was no one who could keep these superior fighters at bay. Like wolves diving into a pack of sheep, Lu Siping and the rest charged into the fray. It was easy to imagine what would happen when six Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts went into an all-out offensive. The only things that could be heard were the agonized screams of the enemy.


    Standing in the blistering wind and snow, Miao Yi and the rest looked on coldly as the battle unfolded. The one-sided fight didn¡¯tst very long.


    Lu Siping and the rest even went so far as to personally chase after the remnants that managed to escape and put an end to them. As the final screams died and gave way to the stillness of night, Lu Siping and the rest returned and immediately began cleaning up the battlefield.


    After retrieving the spoils of war, Lu Siping and the rest came back up the mountain and stopped several dozen meters away from Miao Yi and his forces.


    Lu Siping and the rest dismounted from their steeds and carried arge bag over, revealing arge pile of storage rings inside as they offered it up to Miao Yi. "There are no survivors. We have aplished our mission!"


    "Good!" Miao Yi received the bag and tossed it over to Qi Xiuhong. Then, he turned to Zhao Fei and the rest. "The sects have already shown their sincerity. They wish to partake in our fates for the next nine years. What say you?"


    Lu Siping and the rest raised their heads to the crowd. They finally understood that the reason Miao Yi wanted them to submit a mark of fealty was so that he could convince the rest.


    Zhao Fei and the rest cupped their fists, "We acknowledge the Alliance Master¡¯smand!"


    Miao Yi immediately turned back to Lu Siping and ordered him to list down all the surviving members of each sect. Then, hemanded the other representatives to tally their forces. There were over fifty casualties in this battle. As Miao Yi read through each jade archive delivered to him, he concluded that the number of troops had decreased from almost seven hundred, to around six hundred and twenty people.


    Everything was quiet under the wind and snow. Miao Yi turned to everyone and tallied together the list of names of these six hundred new members and the original four hundred. He raised his head and said, "We cannot operate as a headless snake. A disorderly organization will only invite ruin in the Sea of Constetions. Dong Quan!"


    "Present!" Dong Quan stepped forward.


    "By my decree, you shall be the Captain of the Red Scarves Alliance¡¯s First Division!" Miao Yi issued his firstmand as the Alliance Master of the Red Scarves Alliance.


    "Dong Quan acknowledges!"


    "Those whose names I call out shall be members of the First Division from now on. You will heed Captain Dong¡¯smands!" Miao Yi then quickly listed out one hundred and fifty names. There were both sect members as well as the original members of the Red Scarves Alliance. Those who were called out then gathered behind Dong Quan.


    Dong Quan was ecstatic. This was a muchrger force than that of his own sect.


    "Wang Yuetian!"


    "Present!"


    "From now on, you will be the Captain of the Second Division!"


    Everyone was divided into their own groups in quick session. Dong Quan became the First Division Captain, Wang Yuetian the Second Division Captain, Hu Zhiyuan the Third Division Captain, Jia Zifeng the Fourth Division Captain, Fei De-an the Fifth Division Captain andstly, Yu Baixing the Sixth Division Captain. Each of the six Blue Lotus Ninth Grade Captainsmanded a force of a hundred and fifty people.


    As for the remaining one hundred and thirty people, they became the Red Scarves Alliance¡¯s Enforcer Division because their cultivations were rather high. They were personally led by Miao Yi, and managed by the three Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei and Lu Siping. The three of them were dubbed the Elder Enforcers and became Miao Yi¡¯s trusted aides.


    Qi Xiuhong was not bequeathed with any title. Needless to say, her cultivation was much too low to survive in the Sea of Constetions. She already considered herself fortunate that Miao Yi was willing to let her stay, and was satisfied with just doing menial chores for him.


    Miao Yi then ordered each Captain to divide their own troops into ten subdivisions and allowed them to choose a suitable leader for each of them. He didn¡¯t interfere with their choices and instead, spent time tallying the rewards from the previous two battles with Zhao Fei and the others.


    The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade heavily emphasized the importance of the golden bangle on everyone¡¯s wrists; it was the whole purpose of the Subjugation Crusade. After tallying everything, the total number of golden bangles came up to almost seven hundred. There couldn¡¯t be so many from just the enemy numbers. Clearly, they retrieved some of the golden bangles from their dead allies as well. This was inevitable. They couldn¡¯t just leave them be.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t take more for himself as a sign of equality and took the same amount as the other Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators such as Zhao Fei and the rest. Each of them kept ten for themselves. Since even the Alliance Master himself took so little, Zhao Fei and the rest wouldn¡¯t have any reason toin. With approximately five hundred pieces remaining, there wouldn¡¯t be enough to distribute equally to the other one thousand members either. As such, one was given to each member of the Enforcer Division, and the rest were handed to the six Division Captains to be rewarded to their members for their deeds.


    In contrast, there was a surplus of transcendent artifacts. Just Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts alone exceeded an amount of one hundred and seventy. The amount of First Grade Transcendent Artifacts were even more staggering in amount, exceeding the number of fatalities to reach an approximate total of eight hundred pieces. Needless to say, Miao Yi and the nine Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts first picked out a few outstanding pieces among the Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts for themselves. It wouldn¡¯t be wise to take too many. The rest were given to the Enforcer Division to be rewarded to their members ording to their performance.


    Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t stop grinning. Normally, it was hard enough to find a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact, but in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, with all these cultivators throwing all their fortune on treasures to increase their chances of survival, there was bound to be a whole lot of the good stuff.


    "I say, Alliance Master, our forces are strong and mighty. We should just stop hiding and focus on looting the other forces within the Sea of Constetions. Once we survive the Subjugation Crusade, we can bring home a pile of treasures to sell to the Chamber of Commerce. When the timees, what couldn¡¯t we possibly buy?" said Sikong Wuwei with a chuckle.

 Chapter 342: Splitting the Loot (2)

    Chapter 342: Splitting the Loot (2)


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    When everyone heard the reckless things he was saying, their hands stopped as they turned to look at him.


    "Great idea!" said Miao Yi, pping his hand on his thigh. Sikong Wuwei¡¯s eyes instantly brightened. Zhao Fei and the rest were staring at Miao Yi in disbelief, thinking¡ª ¡¯You can¡¯t be serious, right? We all know how measly our strength is. Our ultimate goal isn¡¯t to make a fortune, nor are we aiming to be the top one hundred survivors. We just want to stay alive as long as we can.¡¯


    Then, Miao Yi pointed at Sikong Wuwei and hollered, "Sikong Wuwei. We will give you our full support. Go ahead and do it. You can go alone, and we won¡¯t take anything you manage to plunder. You can keep it yourself. If you die, we will definitely avenge you when we get the chance."


    "Uh..." Sikong Wuwei was dumbfounded. He gave a dryugh, then kept his mouth shut and ceased his delusions.


    Zhao Fei and the restughed out loud. They had almost jumped in surprise. The tension within their hearts eased up when they realized Miao Yi was just messing around with the fool.


    Sikong Wuwei was embarrassed from theughter and became enraged. Pointing at Lu Siping, he shouted, "What are youughing at? If you guys had made any other move earlier, the Alliance Master ordered us to trigger an avnche and charge over to kill you all. I might have even chopped off your heads already, and you still have the gall tough at me?"


    Lu Siping and the rest instantly froze, losing all desire tough.


    ¡¯Trigger an avnche?¡¯ They scanned their surroundings and couldn¡¯t help feeling a foreboding chill when they finally realized it. If they hadn¡¯t made their move on Yan Baichuan earlier on, the Red Scarves Alliance already had a n on how to deal with the whole lot of them in a single stroke¡ªand such a vicious n at that!


    Everyone felt a little conflicted as they stared at Miao Yi. He gave a dry cough and said, "Everyone belongs to one big family now. Don¡¯t say such hurtful things. We mustn¡¯t stay here too long. Hurry up and finish whatever you are doing."


    Everyone went back to sorting out the Orbs of Will within the storage rings.


    Miao Yi¡¯s brows creased when he saw the total amount of the Orbs of Will. There were only about ten thousand low-grade Orbs of Will. With over a thousand of them, even if it was divided equally, each person wouldn¡¯t even be able to get ten low-grade Orbs of Will.


    "We killed so many. Some were even Manor Heads and Mountain Chieftains. Why are there so little Orbs of Will?" said Miao Yi, eyeing the crowd suspiciously. He couldn¡¯t help wondering if one of them pocketed some for themselves while they were cleaning up the battlefield. His gaze made everyone understand that he wanted answers.


    In order to make sure everything was fair, he barely touched anything and would always immediately toss them over to Qi Xiuhong for safekeeping. Under everyone¡¯s watchful gazes, Qi Xiuhong wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything even if she wanted to. If there was a problem, then that could only mean that it happened during the time they were cleaning up the battlefield. Miao Yi would not tolerate such dishonorable deeds. He would definitely deal with the culprit if he found out someone did it. He didn¡¯t mind killing off one or two people as a warning.


    Seeing the iciness in his gaze, Zhao Feiughed bitterly, "Alliance Master. You may be mistaken. This situation is understandable. I am a Manor Head myself, but for this journey into the Sea of Constetions, I traded off almost all of my Orbs of Will. You could say that I practically spent my entire fortune. Yet, all I managed to obtain in the end were a pair of wristguards. After all, once you enter the Sea of Constetions, your cultivation is not as important as staying alive. By the time I left, I only had several hundred Orbs of Will on me. Usually, the lower-ranking officials wouldn¡¯t be able to stock up as much either, so they are probably even more worse off than I am."


    "It¡¯s true!" The others nodded in agreement, clearly in a simr predicament themselves.


    Miao Yi was startled, but after giving it some thought, he had to agree as well.. He was in a simr predicament himself, after all. Back then, he almost expended his entire fortune just to gain even the slightest bit of protection. It was only that his pockets were much deeper than those of the average person. He sighed, "Ultimately, all we did was help the Chambers of Commerce of the six nations earn some profit."


    Lu Siping sighed, "Indeed. Every time there is a Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, that is the time when the Chambers of Commerce of each nation makes the most money. It might seem like a hefty sum for each of the Six Sages to offer a hundred thousand low-grade Orbs of Will as a reward, but the truth is the Chamber of Commerce would earn so much more. I¡¯ve heard that the reward isn¡¯t even given out by the Six Sages themselves, but by the Chamber of Commerce working under them."


    Sikong Wuwei cursed, "Here we are sending ourselves to our deaths while they¡¯re earning a fortune off of it. Damn it all! And they didn¡¯t even have to spend a single dime for it. To think they even had the face to offer a mere ten thousand low-grade Orbs of Will!"


    However, everyone could onlyin amongst themselves. Normally, they might not even dare mention it. But there was no helping it, because the rules of the game were set up by the other party after all.


    No one dared to take too many of the Orbs of Will. If they took even just a little bit more, the others might not even get a single orb, and that would look really bad. So after tallying the numbers, they divided it equally among their members and each person managed to take just a few Orbs of Will.


    The total amount of crystal coins was equally paltry. Just like with the Orbs of Will, when would they be able to use crystal coins once they were in the Sea of Constetions? Obviously they had to invest in their own survival. If they could trade it off for something to protect themselves, they would have done so without hesitation. After tallying the amount, it was also divided equally among everyone, with each person getting a measly amount of crystal coins.


    In contrast, the total amount of Yao Cores, Yin Cores, Inner Cores and the like were a little beyond everyone¡¯s expectations. There were over ten thousand gradeless cores and five thousand First Grade Cores, but not a single one was Second Grade or above.


    Everyone understood why immediately. This was a necessity for the Sea of Constetions. They had to use these to replenish the energy within their transcendent artifacts.


    Miao Yi and the others needed these cores as well. To them now, besides high-grade transcendent artifacts, items like Yao Cores were the most useful. The more transcendent artifacts one possessed and the higher the grade, the more Yao Cores they would need to replenish its energy.


    With Miao Yi getting first pick, the ten leaders of the alliance didn¡¯t hold back and each took two hundred First Grade cores for themselves. They gave the rest to the others to divide among themselves.


    As for the pile of storage rings, Miao Yi and the others didn¡¯t take a single one. They couldn¡¯t superpose these on one another, so it would just be a hassle to keep it on them. There was no point in having ten fingers full of rings either. Thus, Miao Yi and the others gave the storage rings to their subordinates. After all, they were not short of fingers.


    Then there was a whole bunch of misceneous items and daily necessities inside the storage rings. After they sorted everything together, they needed over twenty storage rings just to store them all. These rings were given to the members of the Enforcer Division to carry.


    After everything was sorted out, Miao Yi took out two empty storage rings and handed them to Qi Xiuhong.


    Qi Xiuhong didn¡¯t have a single transcendent artifact on her. Even her silver spear was something she had scraped together. She didn¡¯t have a single storage ring either. The person that had sent her here to the Sea of Constetions was utter scum. Even Miao Yi couldn¡¯t bear to watch and decided to take her in out of pity. It was nothing much for the Alliance Master himself to give away a storage ring or two, since the strongest group of people in the alliance didn¡¯t want them either.


    Receiving the items, Qi Xiuhong forced a smile and said, "Thank you, Alliance Master."


    "You have yet to aplish anything. Our brothers have fought with their lives on the line to obtain these items, so I can¡¯t simply reward you as I please," said Miao Yi.


    "I understand." Qi Xiuhong said, lowering her head. It was fortunate enough that these people were willing to let her stay when she couldn¡¯t even offer the slightest bit of help. How could she hope for anything more? Having two storage rings was enough. She had never even felt what it was like to have a storage ring of her own in her many years cultivating.


    If she was given a second chance, she wouldn¡¯t have chosen the path of cultivation. She would much rather be a normal human, get married and have a family of her own. If she hadn¡¯t been epted into the administration simply because of her beauty, she would probably still be a Loose Cultivator right now.


    In the midst of carrying a pile of items with them to hand out to their subordinates, the six Captains exchanged nces. Then, Dong Quan took out a First Grade Spear Artifact and presented it before Qi Xiuhong. "This is a small gift from the brothers of the First Division. Please ept it, Auntie."


    When he did this, Wang Yuetian quickly followed suit and took out a First Grade Armor Artifact. "Auntie. This is a small gift from the brothers of the Second Division."


    "This is a small gift from the brothers of the Third Division."


    The six Captains were able to read the situation well and didn¡¯t pick out two of the same kind to give to her. Soon, they had presented Qi Xiuhong with aplete set of transcendent artifacts.


    However, the title of ¡¯Auntie¡¯ didn¡¯t sit well with her. It more or less meant that they assumed she was Miao Yi¡¯s woman. Qi Xiuhong¡¯s face was flushed with embarrassment as she waved her hands to indicate that she couldn¡¯t ept their gifts.


    Beside her, Miao Yi said, "Now that you¡¯re here in the Sea of Constetions, I suggest you put your dignity aside for the moment. There is nothing more important than your own life. If you are able to return alive, nothing can defeat you. Since the brothers are offering these items to you, you may as well ept them."


    When she heard him, Qi Xiuhong bit her lip then epted everyone¡¯s gifts, softly replying with, "Thank you!"


    To someone who wasn¡¯t rtively thick-skinned, it was hard for them to ept such gifts.


    The six Captains noticed the embarrassment on her face, and snuck a nce at Miao Yi. They didn¡¯t say much and just chuckled as they turned around to leave.


    Soon afterwards, with the addition of a massive pile of treasures to their arsenal, everyone¡¯s equipment was taken up a notch. Many of them now had aplete set of battle armor. Even though it was mostly pieced together from random scraps of Second Grade and First Grade Transcendent Artifacts, it was better than having none at all.


    After everyone was done with their preparations, the previously disorganized group had now be disciplined and orderly.


    Under the wind and snow, with the map of the Western Star Sea in their hands, the leaders of the alliance assembled together and discussed on a location to hide themselves. Then, Miao Yi ordered Sikong Wuwei to lead a small group from the Enforcer Division to scout the road ahead while the rest of the troops followed behind on their mounts. Then they began crossing the giant snowy mountain...


    Under the vast, starry night sky, and atop the mighty ocean, the Western Constetions Pce was as quiet as ever.


    Standing before the astrbe, Hei Yunughed in a maniacal voice, "Tang Jun. The forces of your Fifth Earthly Branch are rather fascinating. A few hundred more have died in such a short span of time. Almost seven hundred have already kicked the bucket out of the original two thousand. As for the rest, I think they¡¯ll probably die too before the forces of my Ghost Nation can even reach them. Well, this works out too. It won¡¯t disrupt the harmony between us then."


    Tang Jun had a dark expression on his face as he stared at the astrbe. However, he replied mockingly, "You think too highly of your own forces. What¡¯s really fascinating is how something that¡¯s neither ghost nor human like you is able to have a son. Are you sure he¡¯s your son? I seem to have heard that he¡¯s not rted to you?"


    "What did you say?" Hei Yun barked. His eyes began glowing with a green sheen and the entire hall was instantly filled with a dark ghostly aura. The horned pythons coiled up on the pirs immediately stuck their tongues out.


    Yun Guang was instantly amused. This Tang Jun had a pretty nasty tongue. The other person had just mocked him a little, and Tang Jun immediately shot back with a personal attack. Yun Guang couldn¡¯t help asking in jest, "Tang Jun. How do you know whether his son is rted to him or not? Do I hear a pinch of jealousy in your tone? That¡¯s right. I seem to have heard you are quite familiar with that ghost woman?"


    His tongue was clearly much nastier than Tang Jun¡¯s.


    Tang Jun merely shrugged his shoulders and chuckled, as though admitting to it.


    "Bullshit!" roared Hei Yun. He pointed at Yun Guang and shouted, "I¡¯ll rip off that dirty tongue of yours!"


    Yun Guang cast a sidewards nce at him and scoffed, "I¡¯d like to see you try. Do you think that I won¡¯t cut your head off and use it as a chamberpot!?"


    Seeing both parties about to throw it down, a white silhouette abruptly flew over. The benevolent Grandmaster Qi Jie stood between both sides and pped his palms together. "Amitabha. Both of you, please do not forget that we are in Fu Qing¡¯s Constetions Pce."

 Chapter 343: Extra Incentive

    Chapter 343: Extra Incentive


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    After Fu Qing¡¯s name was mentioned, Yun Guang and Hei Yun huffed at each other and turned their heads away, deciding to put the matter to rest. If they really incurred Fu Qing¡¯s wrath, neither of them would get off easy.


    "You two can continue bickering. I¡¯m going back to rest. Bai Li, watch over things here." Acting like an innocent bystander, Tang Jun gave an order to the old man behind him and left with hands behind his back. The Western Constetions Pce had arranged amodations for them beforehand.


    Fairy Hong Chen suddenly walked up to the astrbe, and said in a sweet voice, "Bai Li. You should go and rest too. I¡¯ll keep watch on things here."


    The old man didn¡¯t argue and nodded to her as he left.


    The other representatives from the Six Sages started retreating back to their quarters as well, until Yun Guang was the only one left. With his hands behind his back, he circled over to Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s side. He stared at her enchanting face and chuckled, "Hong Chen. You shouldn¡¯t be too picky when ites to men. I have always treated women kindly. You should consider me."


    Fairy Hong Chen remained quiet and aloof. Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on the astrbe, undisturbed by the voice beside her. Forget turning to look at him, she didn¡¯t even cast a sidewards nce at Yun Guang andpletely ignored him.


    Losing interest, Yun Guangughed dryly before turning to the two entourage he had brought with him and said, "One of you stay here and keep watch. I¡¯ll be heading back to rest."


    Zuo Nanchun voted to stay.


    When there were only six people left in the anciry hall, Fairy Hong Chen suddenly waved her sleeve over the astrbe then zoomed in on one point in particr, projecting it over the astrbe. Zuo Nanchun cast his gaze over as well...


    Over a thousand people rode through the night for hours on end before reaching another seaside. To allow the dragon steeds to reserve their strength in case there was any trouble, and to take advantage of the time before all the cultivators of the six nations spread out too far, Miao Yi had everyone chop down trees and build rafts.


    The troops immediately dove into the forest behind them. Under the night sky, trees began getting chopped down. The logs were then fastened together using vines, creating wooden rafts before being tossed onto the ocean. With arge group of cultivators doing this, the task was aplished at a breakneck pace.


    In less than an hour, about three hundred wooden rafts were thrown onto the sea. The cultivators invoked their arts to steer the rafts against the waves, with over a thousand cultivators swiftly sailing across the vast ocean.


    Above the ocean, the night sky was illuminated by a brilliant moon; the cool, glimmering light of the stars further adding to its splendor. Sitting atop of Charcoal, Miao Yi gazed at the night sky. He felt a little forlorn deep down. In the past, he never thought the day woulde when he wouldmand a force numbering over one thousand, much less with most of them being Blue Lotus cultivators. He didn¡¯t know how they would react if they found out he was merely a White Lotus cultivator.


    ¡¯Would they lose faith and no longer acknowledge me then? Perhaps...¡¯


    They all drifted across the ocean for a full five days, circling around inds whenever they came across one, until they finally reached the ind they decided would be their hiding ce.


    This ind was neither too big, nor too small. At least among the countless other inds visible on the map of the Western Star Sea, it was rather inconspicuous.


    Everyone was in no hurry to go ashore. Miao Yi ordered two Captains to bring their forces and scout the area. After half a day, both teams came back and reported that they didn¡¯t discover anyone else on the ind. Only then did Miao Yi order everyone to destroy the rafts and go ashore.


    Everyone roamed the ind. After having a basic understanding of the terrain, they chose a giant gorge within the mountains as their hiding ce. After releasing the dragon steeds into the valley, some of them started carving out caves along the rocky mountain side.


    There was a waterfall within the canyon, so they wouldn¡¯t need to worry about water for their daily needs; the surroundings were quiet and peaceful as well. Forget ten years, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for them to hide here for the next hundred years.


    Once the preparations were finished, the leaders all heaved a sigh of relief and smiled at one another.


    Standing alongside the others on the edge of a cliff, Miao Yi sighed, "Even the Six Sages have sent participants over. We shouldn¡¯t dream of taking a spot in the top one hundred survivors and should just focus on staying alive. Let¡¯s hope we will be able to hide until the Sea of Constetion Subjugation Crusade ends!"


    Everyone nodded in agreement. This was their desire as well.


    To ensure security, Miao Yi had everyone spread out over the ind and take turns keeping watch on a rotation system everyday.


    After their forces were finally settled down, Qi Xiuhong decided to stay with Miao Yi, and opened up a small cave right along the path to Miao Yi¡¯s cave. She also slowly began to ustom herself to having the others call her ¡¯Auntie¡¯. She took it upon herself to manage Miao Yi¡¯s daily chores and began taking care of menial tasks for him.


    Given her cultivation wasn¡¯t on par with the others of the Red Scarves Alliance, she couldn¡¯t participate in battle, so she couldn¡¯t be independent. She could only do whatever was possible for her in order to continue staying in the alliance...


    In the blink of an eye, a year had passed. Regardless of how much happened outside, the forces that had been hiding within the canyon were living a secluded life of cultivation,pletely cut off from the outside world. They weren¡¯t bothered by any outsiders either. It seemed as though the situation had turned out as everyone had expected from the beginning. Over the year, their previously tensed nerves slowly eased and there was no trouble among them either. They all got along, only intent on surviving for these ten years.


    As for the matter of taking a spot in the rankings and bing a Manor Head, everyone merely joked about it. Before, they hadn¡¯t known that the Six Sages had sent representatives over to participate as well. They only found out when Miao Yi told them. Everyone instantly felt a chill run down their spines when they heard it, and no longer dreamt of the impossible.


    One stormy night as he was cultivating, Miao Yi was startled by the violent tempest. He got down from his stone seat and walked over to the entrance of the cave. The winds outside howled furiously as he cast his gaze downwards at a violent stream of water. Seeing as there was still some distance before the flood could reach the cave where the dragon steeds were hidden at, he sighed in relief.


    The sound of the thunder was deafening. Miao Yie raised his head and looked into the distance; he couldn¡¯t help thinking about Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er back in Mount Calming Sea. He reminisced of what it was like to be in their warm embrace, and wondered about the current situation in Mount Calming Sea. Now that he was gone, those subordinates of his surely wouldn¡¯t just stay put. He was worried if the two girls were doing alright.


    As for his Little Brother and Little Sister, he was no longer too worried about them. He missed Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er more than he missed his two younger siblings.


    Ever since he found out that the person who took his Little Brother away was probably another strong cultivator, and realized that both his younger siblings were faring well now, Miao Yi began to live for his own sake. He knew that if his cultivation was not high enough, it would be pointless to reunite with his Little Brother and Little Sister. A useless Big Brother like him wouldn¡¯t be able to help them at all, and might even drag them down. That was why he had to live on, so that one day he could stand tall in front of his Little Brother and Little Sister, and not just be a burden to them.


    "Alliance Master. What are you thinking about?"


    Having heard his footsteps, Qi Xiuhong hade out as well. She had been standing behind him for a while when she heard him sigh, and couldn¡¯t help herself from asking that question.


    The two had already lived together in the cave for over a year. They were no longer as unfamiliar with one another as they initially were.


    A thunderous st resounded as Miao Yi turned his head to look. With the sudden brightness from the lightning, his gaze fell upon Qi Xiuhong¡¯s beautiful face.


    Miao Yi was just thinking about being wrapped in Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s warm embrace, so the sight of her beauty before him tugged at his heartstrings. He very naturally extended his hand and touched her face, then slowly slid it down towards her elegant neck.


    "Alliance Master. What... do you think you¡¯re doing?" Startled, Qi Xiuhong reached out and grabbed Miao Yi¡¯s wrist, gazing at him fearfully. Yet at the same time, she felt a little conflicted.


    They had lived together in the cave for so long. It would be difficult not to develop some feelings of attraction. Even if they didn¡¯t, they were sure to feel some kind of affection for each other. At the very least, they wouldn¡¯t act distant to one another.


    Miao Yi smiled, "You should know what I¡¯m nning to do. Rest assured. I won¡¯t force you. If you don¡¯t want to, that¡¯s fine."


    Still gripping his wrist, Qi Xiuhong¡¯s hand trembled slightly. She didn¡¯t think it would be appropriate to do it, but in the end, for some reason, her grip slowly loosened. Maybe it was the effects of the storm outside that caused a woman like her to want a shoulder to lean on. Under the raging tempest, one would either hide restlessly, or simply find it difficult to stay still.


    Miao Yi grabbed onto her falling wrist with his other hand, and immediately pulled her into his embrace. Her body was soft and carried a gentle fragrance.


    Then, Miao Yi lifted her up and carried her back to his cave withrge strides. He ced her down on the couch, and slowly undressed her. Soon afterwards, a slender, fair-skinned figure was revealed before him, while a set of jade-like limbs were shyly covering the sensual parts.


    To a man, they would not feel anything if they have not experienced intercourse with a woman. But once they did, they would have a low tolerance towards such temptations. As such, Miao Yi¡¯s hands moved deftly and with incredible familiarity.


    The wind continued to howl outside. Between the sound of booming thunder, the aching cries of a woman could be heard, followed by soft moans of pleasure...


    In the blink of an eye, three years had passed. The most chaotic period of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was over.


    These past three years had the highest death rates of participants. It was always like this during the early stages of the Subjugation Crusade. Out of the 180,000 participants, almost 120,000 cultivators had perished; only thirty percent was left.


    As for the ones remaining, they were either searching for prey to fulfill their obligations, or hiding themselves away like Miao Yi and the rest. There were plenty of people who had the same idea as Miao Yi and his group. In fact, they were the majority of the participants.


    Western Constetions Pce¡ªthe people clustered around the astrbe had obviously had an idea of what was going on. On the projection of the Western Star Sea, the ones moving about the most were the six red dots, apanied by a few white ones. Meanwhile, most of the other white dots remained fixed in their current positions.


    Since the Western Star Sea was so wide, if one were to go into hiding, it would be incredibly difficult to track them down even if there were plenty of people vying for the top one hundred ces. The number of deaths in the Subjugation Crusade was getting less and less. Not a single white dot had disappeared in the past ten days.


    The crowd around the astrbe were losing their patience. Ji Meimei pointed at a red dot and scoffed, "How dare they make my son run around so much? Do these bastards think they can escape just by hiding like cowards?"


    Hei Yun waved his hand over the astrbe and zoomed in on a certain spot. He pointed at it and said, "Have a look at this. This ce is the worst. There are over a thousand people cooped up together. It seems like they have been hiding here for at least two years with no one disturbing them at all. What do they think they¡¯re doing? Are they here in the Sea of Constetions to participate in the Subjugation Crusade, or to cultivate? Whose forces are these?"


    The participants were constantly running around the Western Star Sea, and since everyone couldn¡¯t keep watch on the astrbe all the time, it became hard to identify whose forces belonged to whom at first nce. They were afraid that they would end up scolding their own side.


    Among the crowd, only Fairy Hong Chen and Zuo Nanchun had kept a watchful eye on the movements of this group of people the entire time. Even though they hadn¡¯t moved for three years, the two of them couldn¡¯t be clearer that these people were the troops of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch who began killing one another the moment they alighted.


    When both of them saw how these people had behaved right upon reaching the Sea of Constetions, they thought these people were going to be a troublesome bunch. Surprisingly, they didn¡¯t cause another incident at all since then. Over a thousand people went into hiding and actually managed to live in peace for a few years.


    However, Fairy Hong Chen and Zuo Nanchun kept quiet and didn¡¯t make any mention of them.


    Yun Guang said, "If this keeps up, forget ten years, the Subjugation Crusade won¡¯t even finish in one hundred. It¡¯s time to give them a little something extra to motivate them."


    The majority nodded in agreement.


    Yun Guang waved his hand, "Someone! List down the positions of all the participants and send it to all of them."


    Soon afterwards, dozens of red lights shot out from the Western Constetions Pce and headed towards various locations within the Western Star Sea...

 Chapter 344: No Escaping Fate

    Chapter 344: No Escaping Fate


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Within the deep gorge, Miao Yi was seated cross-legged on his stone couch cultivating. Suddenly, he heard the howl of onrushing wind from outside, followed by a loud booming noise. Startled, Miao Yi quickly rushed to the entrance of the cave. Simrly, many heads popped out from the neighboring caves as well.


    They found a jade archive firmly embedded in what was originally a giant boulder along the mountainside.


    Zhao Fei rushed over and retrieved the jade archive. When he read its contents, his expression instantly twisted in dismay.


    "What does it say?" asked Lu Siping as he rushed over to his side.


    Zhao Fei didn¡¯t reply. He simply handed the jade archive over to him. When Lu Siping read it, his expression immediately darkened as well. This was the same for everyone that came over and read the jade archive.


    "Damn it all!" Sikong Wuwei cursed aloud.


    Qi Xiuhong and Miao Yi came over as well. From the looks of things, she still appeared to be her usual self. It was difficult to tell that she had a physical rtionship with Miao Yi.


    Ever since that night, Miao Yi would asionally invite her to bed, and she never rejected nor resisted. But after putting her clothes back on, everything went back to normal, as if nothing had ever happened between them. Then she would just go on with her daily chores. Miao Yi wanted to get closer to her, but she wanted to keep him at arm¡¯s length. This situation made him quite speechless.


    "What does it say?" Miao Yi asked. The jade archive was then handed to him. After reading it, his expression contorted as well.


    Inscribed on the jade archive was a map of the Western Star Sea. The one they were given from the beginning only had the point of disembarkation for all the Earthly Branches marked, whereas this one highlighted everyone¡¯s current positions. The gorge that the Red Scarves Alliance was hiding in was listed within as well.


    This was clearly not a prank. Since the other party could find this ce and hand this over to them, they obviously knew they had been hiding here.


    There was something else written on the jade archive. They were not the only ones to receive the jade archive. All the other forces had received them as well. Furthermore, depending on the situation, the current location of every force would be updated without a set schedule. This would go on until the final one hundred survivors have been decided, meaning no one could dream of hiding this out.


    Everyone finally understood why it was always only a hundred people who would survive the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade and return in the end.


    "They¡¯re forcing us to our deaths!" Miao Yi roared furiously.


    "Alliance Master. What should we do now?" Zhao Fei asked.


    "We mustn¡¯t stay here for long! However, from the looks of things, it will be the same no matter where we go. As such, it is not yet imperative that we leave. We have already be familiar with they of this ind, so how can we not use this to our advantage!? Not to mention, our one-thousand-strong army is not just for show. Whoever tries to take our lives must make sure that theirs are equally hard to take. We will adapt to the situation as we see fit. This is our home turf!"


    Miao Yi cast a sharp gaze to the crowd as he said this. Then, he abruptly turned to Dong Quan and ordered, "Dong Quan. Have the First Division cut down trees and start constructing rafts right now. Once you¡¯re finished, hide them between the reefs on the southern end of the ind. Make sure they are properly hidden. If we encounter a strong enemy we cannot face, that will be our quickest route of escape. Do not fail me."


    "Understood!" Dong Quan cupped his fists and acknowledged the order. Then, he called for his First Division troops and rushed out of the gorge.


    "Wang Yuetian. Spread the Second Division out across the ind. Have them make a report immediately if they find any enemies approaching."


    "Understood!" Wang Yuetian acknowledged the order. Then, he assembled his forces and hurriedly began making preparations.


    Everyone¡¯s gaze followed Miao Yi¡¯s finger as he pointed to the stream in the center of the gorge. Then, his hand followed the river¡¯s course to stop on the waterfall at the end of the gorge. "Assemble the troops and follow me upstream past the waterfall, to theke at the peak of the mountain."


    No one knew what he was nning, but they had all seen his capabilities and knew that he wouldn¡¯t give orders without a purpose. They immediately acknowledged his orders.


    Soon after all the forces were assembled, they followed after Miao Yi and rushed out of the gorge. Following the river¡¯s course, they charged up the valley as they headed towards the peak of the ind situated thirty miles off.


    Their forces rushed through the forest and finally reached the mountaintop. Whaty before them was a tranquil scene of quiet serenity. At the peak of the mountain was a giantke, with the clear blue sky reflected off its surface as though a cerulean jewel was peacefully lying between heaven and earth. By thekeside, wild flowers blossomed spectacrly.


    No one knew how thiske had been formed. Over the years, everyone would oftene here. They discovered that no matter rain or shine, the water level of theke would remain the same all year long. It would not elevate or fall at all.


    Across the crystalline surface, various creatures could be seen swimming about.


    However, no one was in the mood to admire the beauty of theke. Miao Yi pointed to various points around theke and ordered, "Dig up eighteen canals along the perimeter of theke! If we encounter a small force with our numbers, we need not fear them. But if we are attacked by arger force, we shall lure them into the canals and open the floodgates to give them a nice long soak. After that, it will only take half the effort to kill them!"


    Everyone was overjoyed. This was truly a great n. Even though it was a little unscrupulous, it was better than losing their lives.


    Their hiding ce had been revealed, so they worked with haste and immediately executed the Alliance Master¡¯s orders. And with such a great n for their survival, everyone was brimming with vigor. No one dared to ck off since the matter concerned their survival. Nobody was concerned whether or not such a beautiful ce would be damaged.


    With so many Blue Lotus cultivators working together, the speed of the works was phenomenal. In just half a day, eighteen canals were built alongside theke on the mountaintop.


    After circling the perimeter on Charcoal, Miao Yi ordered for boulders to ced beside the opening of the canals, to stop the flow of water so that they could reuse the strategy again. If they could rely on thiske to fight against strong enemies, they would naturally try to stay here for some time, so they needed to make ample preparations. It wouldn¡¯t be toote to leave the ind once they were no longer able to make use of this strategy.


    All the Blue Lotus cultivators were covered in dirt and mud likemon porters. They gathered boulders from within the mountain and strapped them onto the backs of their dragon steeds, making use of the strength of their legs to carry the boulders up to the peak.


    Once preparations wereplete, they dug out caves around the peak of the mountain to stay in. They had given up on hiding within the gorge and decided to stand guard along the peak in preparation for battle...


    Western Constetions Pce ¡ª Hei Yun wasughing maniacally as he stood before the astrbe.


    Once the jade archives pin-pointing everyone¡¯s locations were distributed, the specks of light across the astrbe were immediately startled. Clearly, the participants knew they could no longer hide and were busy running for their lives. It would be hard for others to imagine the difficulty and hardships they were experiencing as they lived everyday in worry and fear.


    The rate at which the white dots disappeared started increasing again. Even though it wasn¡¯t as high as the beginning, for every white dot that disappeared, it meant that another cultivator had died within the Sea of Constetions.


    "They¡¯ve finally started moving again," said Hei Yun, giving vile cackle. His gaze fell upon the red dot that was his son¡¯s. He could clearly see that he was hunting those white dots, as all the white dots that approached this red one were quickly disappearing one after another.


    "Not all of them." Garbed in ck Daoist robes, Hua Yu, Dao Sage Feng Beichen¡¯s disciple pointed towards a particr location, "These one thousand are still cooped up in this area."


    With the map covering such arge area, it was hard to show the movements of these specks of light within a small radius, even if there were over a thousand of them.


    Fairy Hong Chen and Zuo Nanchun had noticed this long ago, since that they had been watching this area the entire time. They just hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about it.


    Holding his hands behind his back, Yun Guang chuckled, "It seems like they¡¯re quite confident because of theirrge numbers."


    Hei Yun¡¯s eyes glowed with a green sheen as he said, "This is a nice juicy b of meat. Whoever manages to reach this area first and take these people down will be able to obtain a thousand golden bangles in one fell swoop. Their ranking will surely skyrocket."


    Everyone nodded in agreement. That was indeed the case.


    There were 180,000 cultivators. Even if the top one hundred survivors all had an equal score, they would still only need to gather one thousand and eight hundred golden bangles. They wouldn¡¯t need too many to guarantee a ce in the top one hundred. Thus, whoever managed to obtain the one thousand golden bangles here would definitely soar through the ranks.


    To those participants representing the Six Sages, the cement of their rankings represented the Six Sages¡¯ honor. So they would definitely have their hearts set on this ce.


    However, the people here could only yearn for it from where they stood. They couldn¡¯t inform their representatives to charge straight for it.


    They still had to maintain proper decorum. They couldn¡¯t just cheat in the Sea of Constetions because they were sent by the Six Sages. If they really did that, the name of the Six Sages would be tarnished. If that happened, regardless of how powerful the Six Sages were, if they didn¡¯t give others even the slightest of chance for survival when they were already at the brink of death, chaos would surely erupt across thend. Then, they could kiss goodbye to organizing any more Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusades in the future.


    Tang Jun pointed at a red dot, his tone carrying hostility as he said, "Yun Guang. Your son is running quite fast. Did he receive someone¡¯s instruction to intentionally target the forces of my Celestial Nation?"


    Even Yun Guang himself was a little puzzled when he saw this, much less Tang Jun. Ever since his son touched ground, he immediately led several men straight for the disembarkation points of the Celestial Nation¡¯s forces. He was practically the fastest to reach the area where the first battle in the Western Star Sea had broked out¡ªthe disembarkation point of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch.


    After that, he was running around the areas where the Celestial Nation¡¯s forces had disembarked from. He was clearly going on a full-out hunt against the Celestial Nation¡¯s forces. It was hard not to believe that his son had a vendetta against the Celestial Nation¡¯s forces. Then, he started running around the entire Western Star Sea like a mad dog, killing all he met.


    Then again, on the entire map of the Western Star Sea, no one had been running around more than his son was. It was like he wasn¡¯t even tired at all.


    Yun Guang coughed dryly and said, "Tang Jun. Don¡¯t speak nonsense if you don¡¯t have any proof. My son is clearly running around the entire Western Star Sea. How can you say that he is intentionally targeting your Celestial Nation¡¯s forces? There¡¯s no helping it if they bumped into one another."


    Hei Yun interrupted, "The truth is right before you. Even a blind man can see it. Tang Jun, someone is taking you for a fool."


    Yun Guang raised an eyebrow and changed the subject. He mocked, "Something that isn¡¯t even a human or a ghost, and yet he¡¯s still able to have a son. How fascinating. You didn¡¯t so happen to have someone else help you, did you? Tang Jun, I hear you¡¯re quite familiar with that ghost woman?"


    Again with the cheap shots. Hei Yun was instantly enraged. He pointed at Yun Guang and bellowed, "I¡¯ll rip your dirty tongue off!"


    Yun Guang narrowed his eyes and said, "I¡¯d like to see you try."


    Tang Jun scoffed. How could he not see that both of them were trying to provoke him? He kept quiet and watched as the two of them argued...


    Regardless of whether it was a blessing or a curse, one¡¯s fate could not be escaped.


    A group of riders rushed to the peak of the mountain and reported to Miao Yi, "Alliance Master. There is a group of about a hundred approaching us from the sea."


    Miao Yi immediately assembled the troops. He left several behind to guard the site, and led the remaining seven hundred down the mountain. They immediately split into three and set up an ambush at the gorge where they had hidden themselves in previously.


    Regardless of who the other party were, if they managed to find this ce, it meant that they saw the indicator on the jade archive.

 Chapter 345: Mystic Yin Mirror Artifact

    Chapter 345: Mystic Yin Mirror Artifact


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Waves crashed onto the shores of the beach as a hundred and ten riders approached on wooden rafts. Before they had even reached the shore, they were already leaping up from their wooden rafts tond on the beach.


    Under the zing sun, their leader could be seen wearing a silver mask with only two holes, his nosepletely hidden from sight. Behind the holes of his mask, a frightening pair of eyes scanned the surroundings.


    The troops behind him wore steel masks as well. Not a single one of them exposed the slightest bit of skin. They were even wearing gloves on their hands.


    As soon as these riders came ashore, it was clear that a ghastly aura surrounded their bodies.


    The strangest part about them was their dragon steeds. At first nce, they looked almost the same as a normal dragon steed, only much thinner.


    However, if one looked closely enough, one would notice that the biggest difference between these dragon steeds and normal ones were their eyes, which were a grayish-white, with no visible pupils.


    All one hundred and ten of these dragon steeds had white eyes. They alsocked the vigor that a normal dragon steed possessed. When they stood still, they resembled statues.


    "ording to the indicator on the jade archive, this should be the ind. I wonder if they¡¯re still here?" mused the silver-masked person, giggling. He looked around, then turned back and said, "Regardless, we should still be careful. I want two riders to go scout the path ahead."


    Two riders immediately shot out from behind him and dived into the forest before them.


    From far away, hidden in the dark, Miao Yi creased his brows when he saw the other party acting so cautiously. It would likely be difficult to ambush them.


    To boost morale, he¡¯d personally led twenty troops over to lure in the enemy. But by the looks of things, they were the ones who needed to make the first move.


    Raising his hand, Miao Yi said, "Get rid of those two scouts first. Attack!"


    Twenty riders immediately charged out of the mountain to kill the two scouts. They could not afford to let the other party know of their ambush.


    By the seaside, the silver-masked man narrowed his eyes at the troops that suddenly appeared in the distance. "Woo!!" He abruptly pulled back his head and howled.


    The two scouts immediately backed away and swiftly rushed back to their main forces. Then, all one hundred and ten riders immediately shifted into an attack formation.


    After Miao Yi and his troops had charged all the way to the edge of the forest, they were able to see the formation of the troops by the beach. They were instantly taken aback by this scene. Miao Yi swiftly raised his spear and had everyone stop by the edge of the forest.


    "Undead dragon steeds!" Behind Miao Yi, someone gasped in surprise.


    Miao Yi was no longer the greenhorn he once was when he first entered the cultivation realm; he obviously knew what an undead dragon steed was at this point.


    Undead dragon steeds were made by transforming normal dragon steeds into zombies and usually ridden by Ghost Cultivators. It didn¡¯t mean that the average Ghost Cultivator was unable to ride a normal dragon steed¡ªthe Yin energy on a Ghost Cultivator¡¯s body was simply too heavy, and not even a spirit beast with tremendous amounts of stamina like a dragon steed could withstand it for long. It would be fine for a Ghost Cultivator to ride a normal dragon steed for a few days, but any longer than that and the Yin energy would start to corrode the dragon steed¡¯s body, gradually decreasing its speed. It would surely die within half a month.


    Meanwhile, zombified dragon steeds were stronger than normal dragon steeds as well. These undead dragon steeds were not afraid of pain. Even if someone made thousands of cuts on their bodies, it was pointless. Unless you pierced their hearts or chopped off their heads, they could not be killed.


    Another unique trait of theirs was that other cultivators could not ride them. Only Ghost Cultivators could ride on undead dragon steeds.


    Needless to say, the troops before Miao Yi were all Ghost Cultivators.


    Miao Yi had fought only once against a Ghost Cultivator back then in the Mystic Arts Temple. He hadn¡¯t encountered another Ghost Cultivator since then. It was his first time seeing so many of them. The Ghost Cultivators nominated to participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade were obviously not something the ghost woman in the Mystic Arts Temple couldpare to.


    What Miao Yi found even more astonishing was that almost all one hundred and ten of these Ghost Cultivators had fully equipped themselves with Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts¡ªonly some of them still carried First Grade Transcendent Artifacts.


    For a group of people who¡¯d taken the initiative to go around hunting for prey and survived this long, they¡¯d obviously taken quite a number of powerful treasures from their enemies to rece their inferior ones.


    "State your identities, Ghost Cultivators! Why have youe to my territory!?" Miao Yi raised his spear and shouted.


    "What a joke. Since when did the Western Star Sea be your domain? So what if we¡¯re in your territory?" the silver-masked man scoffed. "I am Kuang Lianqiu of the Yin Congregate Sect. If you and your troops dismount and submit to us, I shall spare your lives."


    No one believed his words. Someone who could go around the Sea of Constetions looking for trouble was definitely not one for kindness! Miao Yi quickly turned around and with a wave of his spear, shouted, "The enemy¡¯s forces outnumber us. We cannot defeat them. Retreat!"


    "Since I¡¯m already here, do you think you can run?" Kuang Lianqiu gave an oddugh; then with a wave of his hand, he took out a ck-colored bronze mirror. The front of the mirror disyed its reflective surface; engraved on the sides and the back were depictions of hundreds of skeletons. It was a rather horrific sight to behold.


    The bronze mirror in his hand began to glow with a blue light and emitted hissing sounds. Then, a cloud of ck smoke abruptly shot out from the mirror. In mere moments, it extended beyond a hundred meters and enveloped the forest in front of it, covering a surface area of several dozen feet.


    Miao Yi and his troops had barely turned around to retreat when they suddenly felt a cold piercing chill. The ck smoke immediately enveloped them. They couldn¡¯t even defend against it because of the smoke¡¯s formless substance.


    Miao Yi tried to defend himself by invoking his arts and waving his spear around, but he soon felt his consciousness fading as his body quickly began to freeze. This ghastly Yin energy was astonishingly powerful.


    With thest of his consciousness, Miao Yi cursed. As the Alliance Master, it was dangerous for him to be charging in front all the time. The problem was that his cultivation was not up to par, yet he couldn¡¯t just sit in the back the whole time. How would his fellow alliance members look at him then? He initially believed that it wouldn¡¯t be risky to lure the enemy, and since he wouldn¡¯t need to sh head-on with the enemy, he figured he could lead the troops on this mission as their Alliance Master. Even if he didn¡¯t fight after that, it wouldn¡¯t look too bad for him.


    Little did he expect that he¡¯d bump into someone so vicious right from the start. With just a single transcendent artifact, the opponent had defeated them all. He¡¯d been too careless this time, and now he was paying the price.


    After the cold, ck smoke gushed out in its entirety, it quickly retracted back into the bronze mirror with a whoosh.


    Under the shade of the forest, Miao Yi and his troops sat utterly paralyzed on their mounts. Even their dragon steeds stood fixed in their positions. Their bodies were covered in white frost andpletely frozen in ce.


    The forest around them was also covered in snow. In ces where the sun shone, the snow turned to ck mist and disappeared. A trail of snow extended across the forest. Wherever the cold Yin aura touched, so long as it was not under the sun, it would be covered in white snow.


    Holding the bronze mirror in his hand, Kuang Lianqiu burst outughing, "Do you honestly think a bunch of vermin like yourselves can escape my Mystic Yin Mirror? Go! Turn them into the undead and retrieve their Yin Cores!"


    To help ensure fairness in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, the usage of Third Grade Transcendent Artifacts were not permitted. Otherwise, the majority of participants wouldn¡¯t be able topete as few could afford a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact in the first ce.


    This Mystic Yin Mirror of his was already at a rtively high-tier even among Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts. A normal Second Grade Transcendent Artifact, which had little else besides killing potential, couldn¡¯tpare at all. Even though it was still within the boundaries of a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact, after taking into ount its special effects, it could be considered a pseudo-Third Grade Transcendent Artifact. The mirror had arge amount of Yin aura stored within.


    The rules of the game were fixed, but that didn¡¯t mean the participants had to adhere to them. They could exploit loopholes if there were any to be found. If the usage of Third Grade Transcendent Artifacts were permitted, his Yin Congregate Sect had an even more powerful transcendent artifact at hand.


    While heughed, full of conceit, he failed to notice the immediate repulsion of the Yin aura as soon as it approached the art source within Miao Yi¡¯s body. Inside his art source, specks of starlight glimmered and soon spread outwards. It emitted a beautiful radiance as it swiftly circted throughout Miao Yi¡¯s body like a typhoon, repelling the Yin aura that corroded him. It carried an indomitable ze of holiness, as though it hade from a divine presence from across the vast gxy.


    "What!?" Kuang Lianqiu suddenly gasped when he saw that the frost on Miao Yi¡¯s body had almost instantaneously vanished.


    Regaining consciousness, Miao Yi immediately realized that earlier attack bore simrities to the effects carried by the tiny mantids. He thanked his good fortune and hastily invoked his arts to save Charcoal.


    He couldn¡¯t save the rest in time as the enemy was already charging over from behind. Charcoal was still in a daze when Miao Yi urged him into a full gallop, and they made a hasty retreat.


    "He was able to dispel the Yin aura of my Mystic Yin Mirror. Is it possible he holds some kind of treasure?" Kuang Lianqiu clicked his tongue in wonder, then raised his hand and shouted, "After him!"


    All one hundred and ten steeds, himself included, immediately rushed after Miao Yi, disregarding the other twenty riders still frozen in ce.


    The jade archive sent by the Western Constetions Pce didn¡¯t highlight how many were hiding in this ce. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been so daring in their pursuit.


    As he ran for his life, Miao Yi would asionally turn back to look at the enemy and felt both depressed and happy at the same time. He was happy because, at this rate, he would lure the enemy into the ambush without fail. But he also felt troubled from knowing that the opposing transcendent artifact was too powerful. That single transcendent artifact could fight against an entire group of cultivators in one go. Even if the hidden troopsunched a joint attack, they might not even be able to win against it.


    After considering his options, Miao Yi steeled himself and came to a decision. He was the only one who could counter the Yin aura of that mirror artifact. If he didn¡¯t step up and fight, this small group of cultivators might just force his entire army to retreat in shame. It seemed like he had to put his life on the line this time.


    As he charged in front and led the enemy into the ambush, Miao Yi turned his head for onest look. Then, he brought Charcoal to a sudden halt and turned to face the enemy.


    "Kill!" Miao Yi raised his spear and shouted out the signal to begin the attack.


    Arge number of riders immediately charged out from behind him. Anotherrge group of troops appeared along both sides of the mountain as well.


    Taken aback, Kuang Lianqiu and his troops hastily came to a stop. They didn¡¯t expect to find such arge force hiding out here.


    However, Kuang Lianqiu immediately readied the Mystic Yin Mirror in his hands, and a mocking grin could be seen in his eyes. He hadn¡¯t expected there to be this many cultivators hiding out here. Once he took care of them all and robbed them of their golden bangles, his position among the top one hundred was all but assured.


    "I want you all to take on those on the side. Leave this area to me!" Kuang Lianqiumanded arrogantly.


    His fellow disciples acknowledged the order because they knew he had the qualifications to be arrogant. It was precisely due to the Mystic Yin Mirror in his hands. He could handle one, even two thousand men single-handedly, much less two hundred.


    With a spear in hand, Miao Yi brought Charcoal to a full gallop and charged in front of the troops as he shouted for blood. With two teams beside him, they charged together in an arrowhead formation.


    "Alliance Master, you don¡¯t need to fight personally. Just leave this to me and Lu Siping!" Sikong Wuweiughed as he rode by Miao Yi¡¯s side with Lu Siping. Their enemies had practically equipped themselves from head to toe with Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts. If he managed to steal them, he would strike gold yet again.


    This bastard was such a kleptomaniac that Miao Yi wondered if he¡¯d originallye from the same ce as Luo Shuangfei.


    "The both of you won¡¯t be able to handle it!" Miao Yi remarked, charging in front with a spear at the ready. He was headed straight for Kuang Lianqiu.


    "Alliance Master, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re underestimating me a bit¡ª" Before Sikong Wuwei could finish, he was left dumbfounded.


    He watched as the silver-masked man raised a bronze mirror glowing with a blue light. Then, a cold, piercing ck mist erupted from the ss and enveloped his surroundings. Before it even hit him, the chill already caused him to tremble and instantly shut him up mid-brag, recing his previously boastful expression with that of surprise.

 Chapter 346: A Risky Plunder

    Chapter 346: A Risky Plunder


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    The cold, piercing ck mist rolled out like waves. The chill not only affected the body, but caused the soul to quiver as well. It was devastatingly powerful.


    Seeing his attack was effective, Kuang Lianqiu burst outughing. He waved the Mystic Yin Mirror in his hand at the troops charging towards him. Once he was done dealing with them, he would quickly eliminate the onesing from the sides as well.


    After being frozen, the sudden drop in momentum caused Sikong Wuwei and the others to immediately copse together with their steeds. Of about two hundred men, not a single one escaped as they crashed to the ground andy there frozen stiff. Both them and their mounts were covered in white frost, with ck mist rising from their bodies as the frost slowly dissipated under the sun. It was a peculiar sight to behold.


    However, there was one man who was not afraid of the devastating chilling from the Yin aura. Both his body and his steed shone with a brilliant blue radiance as they continued charging towards Kuang Lianqiu.


    This man was none other than Miao Yi. Having expected this, Miao Yi had activated his art source beforehand and shielded both Charcoal and himself with it.


    Kuang Lianqiu was taken aback. He knew that Miao Yi could nullify the Yin aura, but he managed to freeze Miao Yi before. Why did it not have any effect this time?


    The opponent instantly closed the distance. Kuang Lianqiu could no longer afford to be concerned about therge number of troops that had begun shing with his fellow disciples beside him. The Yin aura gushed out from the Mystic Yin Mirror and billowed towards Miao Yi. Although it was the middle of the day, it still left a trail of frost on the ground.


    As Miao Yi charged forward with his spear at the ready, he freed his other hand and released a session of white lights. Ten First Grade Mountain Cleaving Talismans shot out randomly in quick session.


    ¡¯Boom boom boom ...¡¯ a series of explosions could be heard.


    Kuang Lianqiu attacked while keeping one hand on the Mystic Yin Mirror. Wielding his spear with the other, he deflected the explosions of white light. He withstood the brunt of the explosion from the First Grade Mountain Cleaving Talismans and shielded his body from damage with his strong cultivation. Such low-level talisman seals were not enough to harm him.


    ¡¯BOOM!¡¯ Suddenly, a blue light erupted among the white ones. Kuang Lianqiu felt his ears ringing from the noise. Even the spear in his hand was almost knocked away by the shockwave.


    A Second Grade Mountain Cleaving Talisman!


    Kuang Lianqiu immediately realized he had been tricked. His enemy had intentionally thrown out a bunch of First Grade Mountain Cleaving Talismans to fool him. The real attack was from the Second Grade Mountain Cleaving Talisman that came after.


    ¡¯No, wait! The real attack has yet toe!¡¯ After being shaken by the mighty explosion, Kuang Lianqiu had yet to steady himself when he was suddenly caught by surprise once again. Another blue light shot towards him and exploded right before his eyes. This time, the sound of the explosion was not as deafening as the first, nor was it as devastating. However, the figure of an ox shrouded in blue light instantly charged over and swiftly pinned him down.


    A Second Grade Paralysis Talisman!


    Kuang Lianqiu was utterly dumbstruck. It was his first time shing with someone like this. The opponent didn¡¯t even know what his cultivation was, nor had they traded blows directly. Yet, he was casually tossing out so many talisman seals to suppress him. Did his opponent possess such a terrifying amount of talisman seals that he could afford to use it so wastefully?


    Still caught in the binding of the blue ox silhouette, Kuang Lianqiu struggled with all his might to try and break free.


    If he relied on his cultivation alone, it would have taken him some time to escape the shackles of a Second Grade Paralysis Talisman. However, the armor artifacts on his body started emitting a blue light. With thebined might of several Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts, he swiftly bent the blue ox silhouette restraining him out of shape.


    ¡¯BANG!¡¯ The figure of the blue ox erupted and the effect of the paralysis was instantly lifted.


    However, this was what Miao Yi had been waiting for all along. He didn¡¯t mind spending all those talisman seals in order to gain this bit of time.


    One man, one steed, one spear. Miao Yi closed in on his opponent in an instant. As it wasn¡¯t likely he could break past his opponent¡¯s Second Grade Armor Artifact in such a direct confrontation, he targeted the small opening made by this slight dy. His spear swiftly streaked over like a shooting star, a dragon¡¯s roar erupting as he struck.


    Having just escaped his bindings, Kuang Lianqiu was almost scared out of his skin and swung his spear to defend himself. However, the oing spear moved like ck lightning as it scraped against the shaft of his spear. Then, he felt a sudden pain from his neck. rmed, he couldn¡¯t help thinking¡ª ¡¯What terrifying spear art!¡¯


    When his spear struck Kuang Lianqiu¡¯s neck, Miao Yi freed one hand and unsheathed the sword artifact by his waist. It emitted a gray light as it chopped down on Kuang Lianqiu¡¯s arm. As he cut down, he didn¡¯t have time for extra movements and simply sucked the severed arm along with the Mystic Yin Mirror and his sword artifact into his storage ring.


    Hepleted a series of movements with no hesitation or dy whatsoever.


    This mirror artifact was too powerful. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t let it fall into the hands of the other Ghost Cultivators, otherwise his gamble on spending all those talisman seals in one go would have been for naught. The same methods may not work twice in a row.


    The severed arm, Mystic Yin Mirror and his sword artifact was inside the storage ring now. And after flicking Kuang Lianqiu¡¯s head off, Miao Yi quickly ced both hands on his spear andunched a counterattack.


    As soon as they saw Kuang Lianqiu defeated, a few of the Ghost Cultivators behind him attacked Miao Yi in a frenzy, anxious to take the Mystic Yin Mirror back.


    As Charcoal charged forward, he almost copsed, but quickly propped himself up and spun about to avoid confronting the enemy. Draconic roars echoed from Miao Yi¡¯s spear as he struck out anxiously. His spear danced like a dragon, blocking the joint attack of multiple opponents and mitigating the impact of their blows at the same time.


    A flurry of nging sounds rang out; Miao Yi¡¯s arms felt numb from the impact. If the Inversed-Scales Spear hadn¡¯t been able to mitigate twenty percent of the impact, it would already have been knocked away by his opponents already. He could feel that his opponents¡¯ cultivations were higher than his by more than a few levels.


    If his opponents were not wielding Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts, Miao Yi would have been able to hold his ground. However, they were in fact, wielding them. And with their superior cultivations, the oue of the fight was imaginable.


    His arms were alreadypletely numb and he no longer had any way of fighting back. It was difficult to even swing his spear, let alone make any significant counterattacks. All he could do was try his best to protect his vitals.


    Within a few moments, he and Charcoal had received multiple spear strikes. The armor artifact protecting them had several frightening dents beaten into them, and they felt like their organs were being tossed around inside their bodies.


    ¡¯PUU...¡¯ The mouthful of blood that Miao Yi wanted to keep from coughing out, ultimately made its way out. He had been holding it back, but under the onught of these heavy strikes, he couldn¡¯t help vomiting it out in the end.


    ¡¯Harrumph!¡¯ Charcoal neighed in agony as well, then dashed with all his might, relying on his strong legs to escape the frenzied attacks as he carried Miao Yi away.


    After suffering such heavy blows, Miao Yi was almost thrown off of Charcoal¡¯s back. The difference in strength between him and his opponents was too wide; his opponents could basically kill him with a single blow. Miao Yi had only managed to stay on Charcoal by holding onto the stirrups of Charcoal¡¯s armor for dear life, and using them to support himself.


    Both him and Charcoal had to thank Yao Ruoxian for their armor sets. If it didn¡¯t have the effect of mitigating impact within itself, they might not have been able to escape their predicament. It was also fortunate that they were Second Grade Armor Artifacts. If they were First Grade Armor Artifacts instead, Miao Yi and Charcoal would have surely been crushed from the heavy strikes together with their armor artifacts.


    This was the case back when Miao Yi had his First Grade Armor Artifact. His helmet had been promptly destroyed with a single strike from Zhang Decheng¡¯s flying sword, being crushed almost instantly.


    Charcoal ran like the wind as the blue radiance of the Second Grade Armor Artifact on both him and Miao Yi swiftly dimmed from the attacks.


    "Fret not Alliance Master!"


    Realizing the situation was bad, Dong Quan and Wang Yuetian immediately rushed down with their steeds. They came up behind Miao Yi as he ran and blocked the frenzied assault of his pursuers.


    The Red Scarves Alliance possessed therger force in the first ce, so the battle immediately favored one side. They didn¡¯t have any problem sending a few people over when they saw Miao Yi on the losing end. Yu Baixing immediately led another group of riders over and swiftly eliminated the Ghost Cultivators who were ganging up on Miao Yi.


    After seeing Miao Yi safe from harm, they dived back into the surrounding battlefield. Without the support of Kuang Lianqiu and his Mystic Yin Mirror, the five-hundred-strong army dominated the group of one hundred as easily as slicing up vegetables.


    It didn¡¯t take long before they vanquished all the Ghost Cultivators.


    The others were cleaning up the battlefield while Wang Yuetian and the other leaders galloped towards a cliff in the distance. There, Miao Yi was quietly sitting alone on his dragon steed.


    As they approached him, they could see the extensive damage on his armor and couldn¡¯t help feeling a little rmed.


    "Alliance Master. Are you alright?" A few of them asked.


    ¡¯... pu! ¡¯ Miao Yi originally wanted to say that he was fine, but with the damage he suffered, his body couldn¡¯t keep up and he spat out another mouthful of blood as soon as he opened his mouth.


    The rest of them were startled. They jumped down of their dragon steeds to help him. However, Miao Yi raised a hand and stopped them.


    After spitting out another mouthful of blood, Miao Yi felt much better and found it easier to breathe now. Even though his face was still pale, he said, "What a powerful transcendent artifact. Even I almost lost my life to it. Fortunately, after risking life and limb, and suffering such heavy wounds, I managed to kill the enemy in the end. Otherwise, it would have been dangerous for our Red Scarves Alliance."


    There were times when one needed to defend one¡¯s honor, otherwise the consequences would be severe. He did not say that he was wounded so heavily because his cultivation was low, but exined that he had only failed to defend against his opponents because he was already injured by the transcendent artifact, and that he had risked his life to kill the enemy only because of the threat he posed to the Red Scarves Alliance.


    If he could, he wanted to act like he waspletely fine. However, his body couldn¡¯t keep up with his thoughts. He was unable to suppress the blood in his chest and ultimately couldn¡¯t help spitting it out.


    No one doubted him at all. Even if Miao Yi hadn¡¯t exined himself, they wouldn¡¯t have questioned him at all.


    It was because that transcendent artifact was truly too powerful. When they charged in from both sides for the ambush, they saw the catastrophic effects of Kuang Lianqiu¡¯s transcendent artifact and watched as Sikong Wuwei and the rest had fallen to the ground. To defeat almost two hundred cultivators in the blink of an eye..., they were all shocked by it.


    It would be terrible if the fight had gone on that way. Regardless of howrge a force they were, they wouldn¡¯t even have the slightest chance of victory. Fortunately in the crucial moment, the Alliance Master had withstood the dreadful might of that transcendent artifact and braved the dangerous situation, killing the artifact holder and stealing the artifact in one fell swoop. Thus, the predicament of the Red Scarves Alliance was resolved.


    In the eyes of the group, they had only managed to turn this battle around because of Miao Yi.


    Normal cultivators would not be able to resist such a powerful transcendent artifact. As cultivators who were equal in strength to them, Sikong Wuwei and the rest were living examples of that. To them, it was understandable for Miao Yi to suffer wounds. If he werepletely fine instead, then that would make him too much of a monster.


    What¡¯s more, to be able to escape even whilst suffering so many attacks was a clear sign of his cultivation to begin with. If his cultivation wasn¡¯t high, he would have been knocked off his steed a long time ago.


    Of course, they did not know that this was mostly attributed to the armor artifacts refined by Yao Ruoxian. If the attacks hadnded directly on Miao Yi¡¯s body, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to endure them.


    They couldn¡¯t help being more impressed by Miao Yi as they thought back to how he had massacred the disciples of the three major sects as easily as chopping up vegetables when they had just alighted. Then to earlier on, when Miao Yi had single-handedly turned the tides of the battle by killing the enemy and stealing that powerful artifact of his. Theyuded the Alliance Master in their hearts; he was truly beyond impressive.


    Only... the group turned to Sikong Wuwei and the rest, who were frozen on the ground. They couldn¡¯t help feeling a little depressed after losing so many in a single battle.


    Miao Yi knew what they were thinking about. As he panted for air, he said, "Don¡¯t worry. It might be difficult to say what will happen once some time has passed, but I have already found a way to dispel the effects of that transcendent artifact when I fought against it earlier. I should be able to help Sikong Wuwei and the rest recover. Go and finish up what you all need to do. Let me rest for a bit first."


    Since he put it that way, they all gave him the benefit of the doubt and took their leave.

 Chapter 347: Unequal Distribution

    Chapter 347: Unequal Distribution


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    After the rest had stepped down, Miao Yi raised a hand to his face, allowing specks of stardust to flow out from his storage bangle and into his lungs. A cool, refreshing feeling quickly spread throughout his body and started to mend his wounds. He could feel the stardust quickly repairing his wounds. As expected of the divine panacea of the cultivation realm.


    The reason he was so sneaky about it was not that he didn¡¯t trust everyone else, but because in this ce of carnage, the Glorious Star immortal herb was a treasure even more heavily sought after than any transcendent artifact. It was a remedy for all ailments that everybody desperately needed. If he could help it, he wouldn¡¯t choose to show it. Otherwise, he might attract some nasty trouble.


    After absorbing plenty of stardust to recover, Miao Yi flexed his arms as his and Charcoal¡¯s armor immediately morphed into a ck mist, enveloping them both. Then, he tossed out over a dozen First Grade Yao Cores for his armor artifact to absorb and replenish its energy.


    Using the cover of the mist to his advantage, he blew specks of stardust into Charcoal¡¯s nose. This one had suffered heavy wounds as well from the fight just now.


    The ck mist enshrouding thempressed itself and reverted back to its armor form, and by then all the dents had already been repaired.


    On the battlefield, ck smoke rose from the corpses of the Ghost Cultivators as they slowly turned to ash under the sun.


    Brimming with energy once again, Charcoal galloped over to Sikong Wuwei and the rest. Miao Yi jumped down and invoked his arts to first dispel the cold Yin aura within Sikong Wuwei¡¯s body, before proceeding to Lu Siping. Sikong Wuwei groaned as he slowly regained consciousness.


    Zhao Fei and the rest soon came over and helped him up.


    "Sikong. How do you feel?" asked Zhao Fei.


    "That son of a bitch. What kind of shitty item is that? I waspletely frozen stiff. For a second there, I thought I was going to die from the chill. Eh!? What happened to those Ghost Cultivators?"


    "We vanquished them all already."


    "Are you serious? You were all able to withstand the effects of that transcendent artifact?"


    "We have the Alliance Master to thank for that. He risked life and limb to single-handedly kill the Ghost Cultivator wielding that artifact..." They recounted the situation and at the same time, told Sikong Wuwei that Miao Yi was the one who saved him.


    Sikong Wuwei turned around and watched as the others and their mounts slowly got back to their feet after Miao Yi invoked his arts to save them. He clicked his tongue in astonishment. "As expected of the Alliance Master. To think he was able to triumph over such a powerful transcendent artifact."


    After Miao Yi saved the troops in that area, he swiftly dashed back to the beach. There were still people there waiting to be saved by him. If he took too long, he might not be able to rescue them.


    Everyone was afraid he would meet some kind of mishap after being so heavily injured and followed closely behind him.


    When they came to the beach and saw the twenty people frozen on their dragon steeds, everyone felt a chill run down their spines. Fortunately, the Alliance Master was the one who took the initiative to lure the enemy in. If they were in his ce instead, they might not have been able to escape.


    After saving everyone, they all returned and met up with the troops who were cleaning up the battlefield. Then, they retreated back to theke at the mountaintop together.


    Qi Xiuhong was startled when she saw Miao Yi returning with a trace of blood on the corner of his lips. She instantly knew that he was wounded and rushed over, her face full of worry as she wanted to ask what happened.


    Miao Yi waved his hand and suggested that exnations wouldeter. There were more pressing matters to attend to now.


    Everyone gathered around and began dividing the loot.


    They made a quick tally of their numbers. In this battle, they had the superior numbers. It was a few hundred of them against a mere one hundred; several people fought against one person at a time, but still, their Red Scarves Alliance had about thirty casualties. Their numbers which were originally over a thousand had now fallen below that. It was because their opponents had almost fully equipped themselves with Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts, and none of them had been pushovers. It had not been as easy a battle as they thought it would be.


    However, the spoils of war were equally bountiful. They already found several Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts on a single Ghost Cultivator. Once they had taken everything into ount, the number of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts came up to about eight hundred. There were almost nine hundred golden bangles as well. It was easy to imagine how many cultivators had died at the hands of these Ghost Cultivators on the Western Star Sea. There was also a huge pile of First Grade Transcendent Artifacts and Yao Cores. And as usual, the number of Orbs of Will were pitifully low.


    Miao Yi only took two hundred First Grade Yao Cores and ten golden bangles. He told the crowd, "I already possess a transcendent artifact. Piece together a set of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts for Qi Xiuhong. I don¡¯t want the rest. You can all divide them amongst yourselves."


    Qi Xiuhong wanted to decline, but the words caught in her throat. When she saw Miao Yi cast a nce at her and slowly shake his head, she decided to keep quiet.


    Even though Qi Xiuhong wanted to keep some distance from Miao Yi, they had slept together after all, and more than once. They would still live together after this and would definitely continue sleeping together as well. She couldn¡¯t treat it as if nothing had happened between them.


    Miao Yi¡¯s words made it clear that the Mystic Yin Mirror would belong to him.


    Anyone would have selfish desires. Several people in the crowd thought to themselves, ¡¯That single transcendent artifact of yours is equal to a hundred treasures. If I had it, I wouldn¡¯t need the other treasures either.¡¯


    Everyone witnessed the might of the Mystic Yin Mirror. With such a powerful transcendent artifact, their chances of survival in the Sea of Constetions would surely skyrocket. No one wouldn¡¯t want it.


    However, the reality before them was clear. There was only one Mystic Yin Mirror, and only one person could have it. They couldn¡¯t share it with everyone. Miao Yi was the one who had taken it upon himself to kill the enemy and steal the mirror. Not to mention, he was the Alliance Master. Besides Miao Yi, no one else in the entire Red Scarves Alliance had the right to take this treasure for himself. If it were in the hands of another, there would undoubtedly be discord within the Red Scarves Alliance.


    In spite of this, they held back their objections, even though none of them truly agreed with it. It was because the might of the Mystic Yin Mirror was too overwhelming. Everyone coveted it. As long as one possessed some strength, why wouldn¡¯t one try to obtain it?


    Many of them already had a n. Once the situation became unmanageable, they might be able to fight for a fair method to decide who would obtain the Mystic Yin Mirror. They didn¡¯t even mind drawing straws because then they would still have a chance to obtain the mirror. It was fine even if they failed to acquire it in the end. They just couldn¡¯t give it up so easily.


    Miao Yi swept a cold gaze across the crowd and scoffed to himself, ¡¯As I thought, it¡¯s hard to stay loyal when such temptation lies right before you. If I hadn¡¯t risked my life this time, do any of you think you¡¯d still have the chance to split the loot right now?¡¯


    Not to mention, he¡¯d earned this Mystic Yin Mirror and had no reason to hand it out. Miao Yi finally realized how shameless these people could be.


    Sikong Wuwei knew what everyone else was thinking. He immediately readied his long axe and slowly brought his dragon steed before Miao Yi. He chuckled at the crowd and said with an air of nonchnce, "There is only one of this transcendent artifact. We can¡¯t split it. What¡¯s more, the Alliance Master himself was the one who managed to steal it away. Obviously, it should go to him. I don¡¯t have any objections against the Alliance Master¡¯s words, and with this, I shall be the first one to ede. Come on, you all should stop being so wishy-washy. Consider this matter settled!"


    The way he was waving about that long axe of his so boastfully gave everyone the impression¡ª ¡¯Anyone who dares to oppose will first have to go through me.¡¯


    Zhao Fei immediately nodded in agreement, "I agree." He then moved his dragon steed to stand beside Sikong Wuwei.


    The other leaders all exchanged nces.


    Seeing how the situation was escting, even though Qi Xiuhong didn¡¯t know what had happened, she could see that it was because the loot was not being ¡¯equally divided¡¯. It seemed like Miao Yi had obtained a treasure that everyone coveted.


    Qi Xiuhong could sense an encroaching danger. The unequal distribution of treasures was the easiest way for internal conflict to rise within an organization. Countless people had died because of this.


    Sikong Wuwei scanned the crowd and seeing that they still did not wish to relent, began to feel incensed until he suddenly burst out in anger. Waving the long axe in his hand, he pointed at Lu Siping and bellowed, "You, surnamed Lu! I understand if the rest of them choose to keep quiet, but what are you ying coy for? I am a simple man and might not know much, but I do know how to repay an act of kindness. The Alliance Master was the one who just saved your pitiful life. Have you forgotten this already? Did you feed your conscience to the dogs!?"


    Sikong Wuwei¡¯s words were too straightforward and didn¡¯t leave a shred of dignity for Lu Siping. After being reprimanded so, Lu Siping¡¯s face contorted. It was hard for him to swallow, but eventually, he cupped his fists and said, "I don¡¯t have any objections."


    "Sikong Wuwei, you can¡¯t just put it simply like that," Dong Quan objected. He turned to the crowd and continued, "If we¡¯re going to talk about saving lives, then when the Alliance Master was in trouble just now, the other Captains and I had fought to save him as well. If we are to follow Sikong Wuwei¡¯s logic, then wouldn¡¯t that mean this transcendent artifact should be divided among us Captains then?"


    Then he turned to Miao Yi with cupped fists and said, "Alliance Master! I mean no disrespect. That transcendent artifact wouldn¡¯t fall into my hands anyway since I don¡¯t have that kind of luck. I just mean to set things right. Our Red Scarves Alliance has to fight our enemies as one, so we should treat one another equally. I believe we should look for a fair method to resolve this."


    Truth be told, even if Dong Quan and the others hadn¡¯te to his rescue just now, with Charcoal¡¯s speed, Miao Yi would have managed to escape as well. But he felt there was no need for him to dispute this. Miao Yi smiled and said, "Oh? What fair method do you have in mind?"


    "It might be a little too much to say that all who bore witness deserves a chance. So let¡¯s keep it simple. Such a powerful transcendent artifact will do more harm than good for those whose cultivations are not high enough anyway. I believe us Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators should still be able to protect ourselves. As the saying goes, opportunities should be given to those who are capable. I believe it is rather relevant in this situation. So why don¡¯t the ten of us draw straws to decide then? We¡¯ll leave everything up to fate. The transcendent artifact shall go to whoever manages to draw the right straw. The rest can only me their luck and will not be allowed make any objections." Dong Quan turned back to the crowd and cupped his fists. "Everyone. What do you think of my idea?"


    "Good idea...! This works...! This definitely works...!"


    His fellow disciples, who were spread out in the crowd, immediately shouted in agreement.


    "This is a great idea!" Yu Baixing, Fei De-an, Jia Zifeng, Hu Zhiyuan, and Wang Yuetian all nodded and voiced their agreement.


    Because he had already agreed to relent, it wouldn¡¯t be good for Lu Siping to suddenly change his mind. However, from the subtle reactions on his face, it was clear that this idea was to his liking as well.


    As soon as these people nodded, their fellow disciples immediately shouted in agreement as well.


    Of course, among those who didn¡¯t have the chance to participate, some shouted that they should all draw straws. Why should it be just among the ten of them? However, no one paid heed to these voices.


    "Bullshit!" Sikong Wuwei barked. With a wave of his axe, he bellowed, "Insubordination! You¡¯ll all have to go through me first!"


    Zhao Fei brought out his Square Sky Decorated Halberd as well and shouted, "Everyone. Listen to me. This transcendent artifact can only go to one person in the end. It is most suitable in the Alliance Master¡¯s hands. If not, and it falls into the hands of someone from one of the sects, then that particr sect will assume that they possess an advantage over the others. In the face of benefit, they might eveny their hands on the people beside them. When that happens, the entire Red Scarves Alliance will fall into chaos. We will no longer be able to work together to survive until our nine years are up. We mustn¡¯t let the greed of a few people ruin us all! Don¡¯t you all want to live for a few more years? Only by surviving until the end will we have the chance to leave the Sea of Constetions. Otherwise, everything is but a pipe dream!"


    "Why are you bbering so much? Both of you, stand down!" Miao Yi abruptly shouted.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei turned back to look at Miao Yi, confused as they thought, ¡¯We¡¯re helping you out here. Why are you ming us instead?¡¯


    "Stand down!" Miao Yi reminded them.


    The two of them exchanged nces and were at a loss for words. In the end, they turned their dragon steeds around to stand behind Miao Yi.


    Dong Quan immediately cupped his fists and asked, "So Alliance Master thinks Dong Quan¡¯s words are correct then?"


    Miao Yi replied indifferently, "I think your words are bullshit!"

 Chapter 348: Secrets of the Mystic Yin Mirror

    Chapter 348: Secrets of the Mystic Yin Mirror


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "..." Dong Quan was wide-eyed and at a loss for words. He didn¡¯t think Miao Yi would be so straightforward and leave him without a shred of dignity. His expression darkened as he said, "Why are you insulting me so, Alliance Master? Do you not agree to draw straws then? Was your talk of sharing life and death for nine years all just a lie? You would prioritize your own benefit over the entire Red Scarves Alliance?"


    The reason he tried to pressure Miao Yi using the Red Scarves Alliance was precisely because he wanted Miao Yi to think of the potential consequences. He wanted him to see which side was the bigger force so he wouldn¡¯t make the wrong judgment.


    His words were enough to spark anger in another. Sikong Wuwei red at Dong Quan, almost bursting out in rage. If Miao Yi hadn¡¯t told him to stand down earlier, he would have definitely cursed at Dong Quan.


    In contrast, Miao Yi seemed unfazed as he replied, "What a glib tongue. I have no objections to drawing straws, but since you¡¯ve been going on and on about the benefit of the entire Red Scarves Alliance, you made it seem like I¡¯m the one at fault here. Dong Quan, since you are so considerate for everyone¡¯s well-being, then to prove that you have no ulterior motives, why don¡¯t you just give it up as Sikong Wuwei did? Leave the matter of drawing straws to the others." He swept his gaze across the crowd, "Everyone. What do you think?"


    Dong Quan¡¯s expression froze.


    Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei exchanged nces. They didn¡¯t think Miao Yi would really agree to hand out the transcendent artifact by drawing straws to decide.


    "This works as well."


    "Let¡¯s do as the Alliance Master says."


    Fei De-an and the others quickly agreed. If they took Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, Lu Siping, and Dong Quan out of the equation, then their chances of obtaining the transcendent artifact would be higher. As such, they obviously wouldn¡¯t object.


    Dong Quan¡¯s expression twisted as he realized that after all that talk, all he did was y the viin to benefit another. It was uneptable. Furious from the embarrassment, he immediately replied, "I can¡¯t make this decision on my own. I am merely acting on behalf of my fellow disciples¡¯ when I draw straws. If I don¡¯t participate, I won¡¯t be able to give them a satisfactory answer."


    His fellow disciples immediately shouted, "Participate! Participate! We won¡¯t agree to it if he doesn¡¯t!"


    It was a good thing to have your fellow disciples¡¯ support. You could always use them to force a point.


    Sikong Wuwei was utterly furious.


    Zhao Fei felt conflicted as he swept his gaze across the crowd. He knew their allegiance was gone. They had vowed to share life and death for nine years, but it had only been a little over three, and a single transcendent artifact had already ruined them. There was no need for someone else to do it either. They were the ones who brought it upon themselves.


    Miao Yi sighed to himself as well. He was a little regretful of the decision he made now. Back then when Zhao Fei and the rest had objected to epting these sect members, he was the one who stubbornly decided to recruit them into the Red Scarves Alliance. And now, a problem really did arise.


    But then again, if he didn¡¯t have their help, and if experts like Lu Siping didn¡¯t join the alliance, they would probably already be in deep trouble if they¡¯d fought against those Ghost Cultivators with just their original forces.


    That was indeed the case. Kuang Lianqiu could deal with half of them on his own, whereas the rest might not be a match for those Ghost Cultivators, who were all almost fully equipped with Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts. Even if Miao Yi had been able to steal the transcendent artifact away, he would still end up retreating in shame. As for the rest, it was uncertain whether or not they would triumph as they did.


    "It¡¯s pointless even if you shout." Miao Yi¡¯s expression remained indifferent as he continued, "The truth is, you¡¯re all aware deep down that this transcendent artifact should rightfully belong to me. However, some of you are beguiled by greed and harbor unrealistic expectations. Fine then, since you want it so badly, I¡¯ll grant your wish. However, drawing straws would be too childish. I have a better idea."


    "May I know what the Alliance Master has in mind? We are willing to listen," Dong Quan cupped his fists and asked.


    "Even though your words were utter bullshit, I do agree with one thing though. That is, we should give opportunities to those who are capable!" Miao Yi narrowed his eyes at Dong Quan. "Before I came to the Sea of Constetions, I liked to say this to my subordinates as well. Don¡¯t you all desire this transcendent artifact?"


    He took out a sword artifact from his storage ring and sheathed it back into the scabbard by his waist. Then, he withdrew Kuang Lianqiu¡¯s severed arm, which was still holding onto the Mystic Yin Mirror. Miao Yi then rode Charcoal onto a small hill and stood there.


    Everyone watched as Miao Yi ripped the severed arm off and simply tossed it aside, allowing it to vaporize into ashes under the sunlight. Holding the Mystic Yin Mirror in one hand and holding the Inversed-Scales Spear in the other, Miao Yi raised the mirror artifact and said aloud, "This transcendent artifact shall go to whoever is capable of obtaining it. Cut the crap if you don¡¯t have the skills. Isn¡¯t it too absurd to think of taking away the transcendent artifact I risked my life to obtain with just a few simple words? This matter isn¡¯t thatplicated. I don¡¯t mind parting with this transcendent artifact either. If you desire this, feel free to challenge me for it. Whoever manages to take it away from me is free to keep it. Stop beating around the bush by bbering on and on."


    Miao Yi pointed his spear at Dong Quan and shouted, "I am still recovering from my wounds. Dong Quan, this will be your best shot at obtaining this transcendent artifact. Do you dare battle me!?"


    It would be a lie for Dong Quan to say he wasn¡¯t tempted to be the first to have such an opportunity before him. However, there was a good reason why Miao Yi was able tomand such respect over the entire Red Scarves Alliance for the past few years.


    They were not back in their little system outside the Sea of Constetions where they had to do things by the book. There, the higher ranked officials could always step over their subordinates. Here, the one with the bigger fist had thest say.


    Dong Quan himself saw how ruthless Miao Yi could be. Even if he was injured now, Dong Quan didn¡¯t dare to act rashly. There was a perplexed look on his face. The item was in Miao Yi¡¯s hands, and he was intent on using strength to decide and not by drawing straws. Dong Quan wouldn¡¯t be able to make a difference even if he was any better with words.


    Seeing Dong Quan was afraid to speak, Miao Yi ignored him and pointed his spear towards the others. "What about you lot? This is the only chance any of you will get. You won¡¯t get another once it¡¯s gone."


    Everyone exchanged nces, but none of them answered.


    Dong Quan looked at the people beside him and transmitted his voice over, "Why don¡¯t we join forces and kill him? After that, we can draw straws to decide who the transcendent artifact should belong to. How about that?"


    Everyone felt instantly tempted by the offer and began secretlymunicating with one another via transmission.


    When he saw everyone exchange nces, Miao Yi could make a rough guess as to what was happening between them. He scoffed, "Those who wish to challenge me are free toe. But if any of you have any ulterior motives, I don¡¯t mind giving the might of this Mystic Yin Mirror a try. When that happens, don¡¯t me me for disregarding our friendship and starting a bloodbath!"


    ¡¯So that item is called the Mystic Yin Mirror!¡¯ All their ns instantly went up in smoke when he said this. Join hands to steal the transcendent artifact? They¡¯d all borne witness to the might of the Mystic Yin Mirror. Their n was pointless no matter how many of them joined forces.


    They finally ceased their desires! Strength was truly the best way to solve an argument. No one said anything after that.


    After a brief pause, Miao Yi said inly, "I think we¡¯ve messed around long enough. Everyone, return and do what it is you¡¯re supposed to do. Let me be blunt. Should any of you dare to neglect his duties, don¡¯t me me for being discourteous!"


    He wouldn¡¯t let this matter rest so easily if he was his usual self. But in truth, he was already teetering on the brink of copse. Not only had he not fully recovered from his wounds from their earlier battle, but he had also used up a great deal of transcendence energy to activate all his Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts to engage in such a massive battle. With his cultivation base, there was no way he could battle again so soon. He wasn¡¯t confident that he could use the Mystic Yin Mirror in his hands either. At the very least, he still didn¡¯t know how to operate it.


    To put it simply, he still didn¡¯t know how the tides of battle in the Sea of Constetions could shift in the future. It was better to have allies next to him than none at all. Not only did arge force act as a deterrent for other forces, but it could also be used to gather all sorts of information on the enemy so that he could make preparations beforehand. Some things couldn¡¯t be done by him alone.


    Since he put it that way, everyone thought that they had indeed messed around long enough. All they could do was treat the whole thing as a farce, that it had all been an unrealistic dream. Even though they weren¡¯t exactly satisfied, they could do little else besides go on with their tasks.


    Sikong Wuwei burst out inughter whereas Zhao Fei looked worried. Everyone¡¯s allegiance was already gone!


    Once he returned to his cave, Miao Yi turned and pulled on Qi Xiuhong¡¯s arm, whispering, "Be more careful from now on."


    Qi Xiuhong was no fool and knew what Miao Yi was reminding her about. She nodded, a worried expression hanging on her face as she then walked out the cave and kept watch by the entrance.


    She was relying on Miao Yi right now. Just this alone meant that if anything were to happen to Miao Yi, she would be in trouble as well. She had no choice but to be extra careful.


    After he took off his armor, Miao Yi quickly tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth and sat cross-legged as he began to recover his transcendence energy.


    Miao Yi¡¯s wounds and transcendence energy were only fully recovered to normal the next day.


    The first thing he did after opening his eyes was to take out the Mystic Yin Mirror and examine it. He needed to know how to operate this transcendent artifact as soon as possible in order to face any problems that may arise.


    As soon as he imbued his transcendence energy into the Mystic Yin Mirror, Miao Yi was startled to find arge amount of Yin aura stored within. He didn¡¯t know where it hade from, but as soon as his transcendence energy came into contact with the Yin aura, he immediately felt dazed by the sudden feeling of chilliness.


    If Qi Xiuhong, who was at the entrance of the cave, could see what Miao Yi looked like now, she would definitely jump in fright. He was covered entirely with frost like a snowman.


    However, thatyer of frost quickly evaporated. After he was back to normal, Miao Yi became more cautious as he invoked his arts to examine the mirror once again.


    He only managed to understand how to operate the Mystic Yin Mirror after an hour. Holding the mirror artifact in his hand, it glowed with a blue light before a cold, ck Yin aura immediately spewed out from the ss andnded on the walls of the cave, instantly covering them in a thickyer of ice.


    However, as he invoked his arts to use the transcendent artifact, Miao Yi¡¯s expression changed. Then, the Yin aura that rushed out quickly retracted back into the mirror once more.


    As she was standing guard outside the cave, Qi Xiuhong abruptly turned her head when a st of cold wind came from inside the cave, fluttering her dress. Her expression drastically changed when she felt the piercingly cold chill in the air. It was a little unbearable, and she wondered what was happening inside the cave.


    Once the biting coldness was gone, Qi Xiuhong rushed in to find the walls of the cave covered inyers of frost. It was like she had fallen inside a cave of ice. Then she saw the mirror artifact in Miao Yi¡¯s hand and spected that he¡¯d probably just used it.


    However, when she saw how pale Miao Yi was, she couldn¡¯t help asking, "Alliance Master. What¡¯s wrong?"


    "Nothing!" Miao Yi shook his head and continued examining the transcendent artifact in his hands.


    Qi Xiuhong pursed her lips and didn¡¯t say anything else. Then, she walked back out of the cave to stand guard.


    Inside the cave, Miao Yi sighed as he held onto the mirror artifact and felt both happy yet worried at the same time. He wondered how this transcendent artifact had been refined. Even though it didn¡¯t seemrge, it contained a different dimension within, much like storage rings. At the same time, it was of a much higher grade since it could be shrouded and stored within a storage ring.


    By the looks of it, arge number of Crystalline Obsidians had probably been used to refine this item, and rightfully so. As a transcendent artifact that was able to house a separate dimension within, the amount of Crystalline Obsidians used to refine it was probably at a jaw-dropping amount. It had probably taken up over fifty Second Grade Yao Cores and various profound methods in order to create such a transcendent artifact.


    Which was to say that operating this transcendent artifact was equal to operating over fifty Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts simultaneously. Miao Yi had only used it for a short while, and he could feel that almost half of the transcendence energy within his body had already been used up. With his cultivation base at the White Lotus Seventh Grade, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use this for long. Any longer than this and he would end up using all his transcendence energy. If that happened while he was fighting the enemy, he would eventually lose all means of resistance.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t helpughing when he thought about the expressions on Dong Quan and the rest. If his guess were correct, they wouldn¡¯t be able to use this transcendent artifact even if he had given it to them. They would suffer a terrible bacsh as soon as they tried to activate it. This transcendent artifact had probably been made so that only Ghost Cultivators could wield it.


    Whereas Miao Yi was only able to operate it because the cultivation arts he practiced could counteract the corrosion effects of this Mystic Yin Mirror. However, with his cultivation base, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it for long periods of time as his transcendence energy wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up.

 Chapter 349: Plot

    Chapter 349: Plot


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The air around the Red Scarves Alliance had be awkward. The subordinates all eyed the transcendent artifact the Alliance Master possessed but weren¡¯t bold enough to act on their desires due to the strength he wielded. On the other hand, the Alliance Master was wary against his subordinates as well. It was easy to imagine how unpleasant the situation was.


    That said, the incident was notpletely a bad thing. At least it had revealed the true colors of some people.


    After that, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei moved next to Miao Yi¡¯s cave. They carved out two new caves, keeping Miao Yi¡¯s safe in the middle.


    Then Wang Yuetian joined in as well and carved out another cave along the sides, protecting Miao Yi together with the others.


    Miao Yi had Qi Xiuhong prepare a few dishes and invited the three of them over.


    As soon as they sat down, Miao Yi smiled and asked, "Why are you doing this? Do you not desire that transcendent artifact?"


    The three of them knew what he meant. Zhao Fei smiled bitterly and replied, "It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want it, but I know that it won¡¯t fall into my hands either way even if the Alliance Master chooses to give it up. I won¡¯t be able to win against the others since I don¡¯t have the background of a sect, nor do I havemand of my own forces. I only mean to maintain the bnce of the situation by keeping close to the Alliance Master. Together with these two, we will protect you. By the looks of things, if the Red Scarves Alliance falls, those without a background like us will definitely be unable to survive in the Sea of Constetions. We will only end up as prey. Together with the Alliance Master, the three of us Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators will be able to maintain a bnce within the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance. The others will not act rashly with us around. This way, the Red Scarves Alliance can still exist. All we can do for now is to stabilize the situation. Then, we can slowly find other alternatives... Forgive me for being blunt, but the allegiance of everyone in the Red Scarves Alliance is already gone, and I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯tst much longer. If a new situation suddenly develops, it will surely crumble. Has the Alliance Master thought of where to go after this?"


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t reply to his question and merely shifted his gaze towards Sikong Wuwei. "What about you? Is it simply because I saved your life?"


    "Please stop mentioning that matter, Alliance Master. Now it seems like I owe you my life." Sikong Wuwei chuckled and continued, "I am a simple man. Unlike Zhao Fei, my reasons aren¡¯t as practical. I merely do what my heart tells me to. There is no other reason besides the fact that I just hate seeing those sect members act all haughty because they have the backing of many people."


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t press the matter and cast his gaze towards Wang Yuetian.


    Wang Yuetian understood and smiled. "I was the first person to object when the Alliance Master decided to recruit those sect members in the first ce, but you were insistent, and now the situation has escted thus far. Thinking back, the three of us were the ones who followed behind the Alliance Master right from the start. Since the two of them are this adamant, I obviously can¡¯t fall behind as well. It¡¯s just my luck that I¡¯m also someone without a background."


    Miao Yi chuckled. He then raised his cup and said, "Cheers!"


    They knocked their cups together when suddenly they heard the beating hooves of dragon steedsing from outside. Everyone exchanged nces, then ced down their cups before rushing out the cave.


    Outside, one person jumped off his mount and reported, "Alliance Master. There is a group of five approaching us from the northern sea."


    "Only five?" Sikong Wuweiughed, "This will be too easy."


    Zhao Fei said somberly, "Don¡¯t be careless. Since they¡¯re daring enough to recklessly wander around the Sea of Constetions with just five people, they surely possess something that they can rely on. If it¡¯s another item like the Mystic Yin Mirror, then it¡¯s still uncertain who¡¯ll have thestugh."


    "Zhao Fei speaks the truth!" Miao Yi nodded in agreement. After their experience with Kuang Lianqiu, he didn¡¯t dare to try another ambush. Not to mention, everyone¡¯s hearts were wavering right now. It was better to utilize the strategy they had prepared beforehand. Regardless of how many enemies there were, the chances of sess would still be higher. There was no need for him to do something as risky as thest time. Miao Yi quicklymanded, "Gather the troops and send a few people to lure them over. If they turn out to be experts with special skills, then they shall face the surging waters of our peacefulke."


    Soon, all the troops readied themselves for battle as they waited for the other party to approach. Qi Xiuhong also donned a set of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts and waited behind Miao Yi.


    They hid in the forest as they waited. Little did they expect that the people they¡¯d sent to bait the enemy would soon return with five others. They came up to the foot of the mountain and shouted, "Senior Uncle Lu, they¡¯re allies! Allies! It¡¯s Senior Uncle Zhao and the others!"


    Miao Yi and the others exchanged nces, whereas Lu Siping was already galloping down the mountain to receive them. He then offered his greetings as soon as he met up with the other party.


    The people at the top didn¡¯t know what they were talking about, but seeing how submissive Lu Siping was acting, it seemed like the other party was reproaching him.


    Soon, Lu Siping came back up on his own and rode over to Miao Yi. He cupped his fists and said, "Alliance Master. They are not our enemies. They are all the Senior and Junior Brothers from my sect. I have already convinced them to join our Red Scarves Alliance. To avoid a misunderstanding, they are waiting down the mountain for an audience with you."


    Everyone exchanged nces. They¡¯d all been worked up for nothing. Since they obviously didn¡¯t need to hide any longer, they stepped out to show themselves.


    Miao Yi nodded. "Since they are allies, let theme over."


    Lu Siping immediately shouted, "Senior Brother Zhao,e on over!"


    Soon, the five riders at the foot of the mountain came up. Once they ascended, they scanned their surroundings and were startled by what they saw.


    Earlier at the foot of the mountain, they had heard Lu Siping exin the situation, but when they saw for themselves the number of people hiding here, they were still quite taken aback.


    The person in front was the Senior Brother Zhao whom Lu Siping had mentioned. His face was thin and gaunt, with a goatee under his chin. He wore a nk expression as he coldly sized Miao Yi up.


    "Senior Brother. This is Alliance Master Miao Yi whom I mentioned to you. Alliance Master, this is my Senior Brother Zhao Lingtu. He is the one leading the team of participants dispatched directly by my sect..." Lu Siping introduced both sides to one another. He didn¡¯t miss out the other four as well.


    Zhao Lingtu cupped his fists and said arrogantly, "I greet the Alliance Master."


    "Since you have decided to join our Red Scarves Alliance, that makes you family. No need to be so courteous." Miao Yi cupped his fists as well. He then asked, "Since Brother Zhao was able to lead your fellow disciples across the Western Star Sea, I trust you are someone capable. We have been hiding in this ce for so long, so we don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like outside. Would Brother Zhao care to tell us what the current situation is like outside?"


    "The strong go around hunting for prey, while the weak flee for their lives. It¡¯s a dog-eat-dog world out there." Disinclined to speak further, Zhao Lingtu merely spat out a few words. It was no different than having said nothing at all.


    Miao Yi¡¯s smile disappeared when he saw how unsociable and arrogant the other party was acting. He turned his head towards Lu Siping and said inly, "They must be tired after fleeing so much. Bring them somewhere that they can rest."


    He made use of the word ¡¯flee¡¯ as the other party had when he said ¡¯the strong go around hunting for prey, while the weak flee for their lives¡¯, implying that they were weaklings who had fled for their lives.


    Since the other party was being so rude, he didn¡¯t have to act so graciously. With the hearts of everyone in the Red Scarves Alliance currently wavering, it was all the more reason for him not to show any signs of weakness before them. Otherwise, the situation could take a turn for the worse.


    Sikong Wuwei chuckled when he heard Miao Yi¡¯s words. In contrast, Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples¡¯ expressions slowly darkened as they stared coldly at Miao Yi, a vicious aura around their bodies. It was easy to tell that they had killed a lot of people.


    Lu Siping hurriedly stepped forth to mediate the situation. "Senior Brother must be tired. Please follow me. I¡¯ll bring all of you to a resting ce." At the same time, he transmitted his voice, "Senior Brother. It is not wise to offend this person."


    As he watched them depart, Miao Yi dispersed the troops with a wave of his hand. Then, he turned over to Sikong Wuwei and transmitted his voice, "Have a few people keep an eye on them."


    Sikong Wuwei nodded and took his leave.


    Lu Siping brought his Senior and Junior Brothers back to his cave. Before he even sat down to take a breather, Zhao Lingtu asked, "Junior Brother, why did you stop me? The sect has bestowed the Mountain Suppressing Hammer to me. With it by my side, I have killed many strong enemies throughout our journey. Are you actually afraid that I won¡¯t be able to win against him?"


    Lu Siping immediately gasped in surprise. "Senior Brother, you brought the Mountain Suppressing Hammer with you?"


    "How about it? Do you think I can fight against that Alliance Master?"


    "I¡¯m not worried that Senior Brother will lose against him, but I am concerned about the number of his supporters. We shouldn¡¯t attempt to fight when it¡¯s obvious we will lose," Lu Siping exined, trying to help his Senior Brother save face. Then, he talked about Miao Yi¡¯s strength, starting from how he recruited everyone back on the ship and formed the alliance, to how he¡¯d killed Blue Lotus cultivators as easily as slicing up vegetables right when they disembarked. Finally, he revealed the way Miao Yi had recently vanquished the Ghost Cultivator and stolen his artifact. Lu Siping cupped his fists. "Even though the Mountain Suppressing Hammer is a powerful transcendent artifact, it cannot fight multiple opponents simultaneously. On the other hand, the Mystic Yin Mirror he carries is capable of contending against an entire army on its own. It is definitely not something you should make light of. That¡¯s why I would advise Senior Brother not to act rashly."


    "How fortunate for him to obtain such a powerful transcendent artifact." Zhao Lingtu felt a twinge of jealousy as he narrowed his eyes and continued, "If we can obtain such a transcendent artifact, our chances of cing within the top one hundred will surely increase. Not only will we be able to win praise for our school and be heavily rewarded once we return, all of us will also be able to be Manor Heads. How can you just stand aside and watch such an opportunity pass you by, Junior Brother?"


    "I am fully aware of Senior Brother¡¯s intentions. However, let me ask you this: if the thousand-strong-army stationed here were to fight against us, will Senior Brother¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer be able to oppose them?"


    "This..." Zhao Lingtu hesitated. He continued in a somber tone, "If I get the chance, I can use the Mountain Suppressing Hammer to pulverize that Alliance Master in a single stroke. However, once I use the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, I will be vulnerable in close-quartersbat. If I am surrounded by a thousand troops, even with the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, I fear I won¡¯t be able to block them all. It will be a matter of time before I am defeated." He shifted his gaze, then asked, "With Junior Brother¡¯s cultivation base, is there not a single person in the entire Red Scarves Alliance we can use to aid us?"


    Lu Siping smiled bitterly and replied, "I am just an Elder Enforcer within the Red Scarves Alliance. I don¡¯t have a lot of subordinates. Even if I did, aside from our fellow disciples, why would anyone else risk their lives for us?"


    Someone beside him asked, "Senior Brother Lu, is there really no other way?"


    His other Senior and Junior Brothers also felt tempted by the idea of cing within the top one hundred together. No one would willinglye all the way here just to die and help someone else to survive.


    "We aren¡¯tpletely out of ideas. At this moment, everyone¡¯s allegiance to the Red Scarves Alliance is wavering..." Lu Siping exined how the Red Scarves Alliance had changed after Miao Yi obtained the Mystic Yin Mirror. He then posed an idea, "The Red Scarves Alliance takes advantage of the local terrain to fight against its enemies. Senior Brother, you¡¯re the second batch of troops to arrive. There will surely be others after you. Since Senior Brother wields the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, you can use it to show off your might when we are under an enemy attack..."


    His n was not overlyplicated. Once they encountered an enemy attack, Zhao Lingtu would use the Mountain Suppressing Hammer against the enemy. With that, he would disy his might for the others to see that he possessed the means to fight against Miao Yi. Then, Lu Siping would secretly contact the others¡¯ forces and inform them that Zhao Lingtu wished to be the Red Scarves Alliance Master. Once Zhao Lingtu killed Miao Yi, they would use the method of drawing straws that Dong Quan had mentioned to decide the ownership of the Mystic Yin Mirror.


    As long as the others cooperated, it would work to Lu Siping¡¯s favor even if they stayed still. Once Zhao Lingtu killed Miao Yi and obtained the Mystic Yin Mirror, even if the others came to regret their decision, what could they possibly do to him?


    "What a brilliant n!" Zhao Lingtu praised, pping his hands. He turned to his other Junior Brothers and smiled. "Then we shall try not to reveal our hand by acting more respectfully to that Alliance Master for the time being. And when the opportunity presents itself, I will hammer him into a bloody pulp."


    His Senior and Junior Brothers were overjoyed when they heard him. They thought about how they would all ce within the top one hundred, bing Manor Heads once they returned. They would then have control over ten million followers, living a life of riches and beautiful women all within their reach. Not to mention, they would obtain arge number of Orbs of Will every year without lifting a finger. It was a wonderful feeling to have.

 Chapter 350: Looks Impressive

    Chapter 350: Looks Impressive


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Zhao Lingtu and his group were not the only ones fantasizing about bing Manor Heads. Ba Wenjing, who was adrift on the vast ocean, was also one of them.


    On a wooden raft, Ba Wenjing was seated atop his dragon steed, as the blue waves pushed the raft forward. Garbed in gray Daoist robes, he had a face as white as jade and a beautifulplexion. He carried an air of elegance about him, and even though he looked very young, his cultivation was already at the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade. It was a given that he would be a little arrogant because of this.


    His fellow disciples steered the raft while he leisurely admired the vast blue ocean. Even though he wore Daoist robes, his face and bearing was elegant and attractive, simr to the pampered young masters of those wealthy families. He was surely popr with women.


    He was the most talented cultivator among his peers in the Boundless Nation¡¯s Azure Sea Sect. To possess such a level of cultivation at his age, it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say he was gifted in both appearance and strength. He also had a caring master helping him to foster his talent. And in his many years cultivating, he had yet to taste defeat from any of the opponents he faced. He was truly a person of outstanding talent!


    Many of his Senior and Junior Sisters secretly harbored feelings of affection for him and desired to be his dual-cultivation partner. Even that high and mighty daughter of the Sect Master would shower him with attention. Her intentions were nothing if not obvious.


    However, Ba Wenjing had high expectations for himself. There were only ten thousand disciples in the entire Azure Sea Sect, and all his Senior and Junior Sisters were simply too average-looking. Even the Sect Master¡¯s daughter herself was the same case. So what if he could be the Sect Master? He would still need to lower his head towards the officials. Furthermore, the number of people he couldmand would be at most, a mere ten thousand. Not to mention, the position itself came with plenty of other restrictions as well.


    A man must have ambition and aplish great deeds in his life. When sober, he would lord over the realm, and when he was drunk, he would sleep upon the thighs of beautiful women. If Ba Wenjing decided to marry the Sect Master¡¯s daughter, wouldn¡¯t he be forced to live out his entire life in the tiny Azure Sea Sect? Not to mention, how could the Sect Master¡¯s daughter possibly allow him to sleep with multiple women? Ba Wenjing¡¯s ambition was to one day wieldmand over hundreds of millions of followers, with all the realm¡¯s riches at the tips of his fingers, beautiful women at his beck and call, and mighty heroes bowing before him!


    If he could be a Pce Lord, then even the entire Azure Sea Sect would have to submit to him, and so would countless other schools like it. He could cause these schools to tremble in fear with but a single word.


    What if he could be an Overlord, or even rece the Six Sages one day? Ba Wenjing believed that this wasn¡¯t impossible for him.


    Thus, he came to the Sea of Constetions. Truth be told, with Ba Wenjing¡¯s talent for cultivation, he could have been a prime candidate for the sect to foster with great care. And with his master¡¯s status within the sect, he could havepletely avoided going on this risky venture to the Sea of Constetions. But still, he hade. What¡¯s more, he¡¯d chosen this path for himself. He bore within him a grand ambition and sought topare himself against the champions of the realm. Whether he would live or die did not matter!


    Before his departure, the Azure Sea Sect bestowed upon him the transcendent artifact: ¡¯Spirit Illusion Greatsword¡¯. During his time in the Sea of Constetions, as soon as he met up with the fifty fellow disciples behind him, they had yet to suffer a single casualty under his protection. With the Spirit Illusion Greatsword by his side, he had vanquished no less than five hundred opponents within thest few years. Most of the enemies encountered by the Azure Sea Sect had essentially died by his hand alone.


    With a single greatsword in hand, hardly anyone could contend against him in the Western Star Sea! Ba Wenjing often sighed in disappointment because of this. At the same time, his ambition would grow stronger every time. He believed that bing a Manor Head andmanding ten million followers would be nothing but a starting point for him upon his return to the Boundless Nation. He would still have higher ranks to climb up to beyond that!


    "Senior Brother. The location highlighted on the map is right before us." Pointing ahead, a fellow disciple approached Ba Wenjing, who was getting lost in his thoughts.


    Ba Wenjing gazed into the distance and could begin to see a vague strip ofnd. With his long robes billowing in the wind, he sighed. "Let¡¯s hope its inhabitants are still around, and this isn¡¯t another wild goose chase. I came to the Sea of Constetions in hopes of facing against the realm¡¯s mightiest champions. Even if I were to spill blood and lose my life in the process, at least I will have an answer to my ambition. Little did I expect that we¡¯d find nothing but cowards who only knew how to hide and make us run ceaselessly. How disappointing!"


    Behind him, a few of his followers looked on with contempt when they heard him. Many hated how he was always so full of himself. That said, they couldn¡¯t help feeling excited as well. They had indeed defeated every single enemy they¡¯d faced on their journey, and they had yet to fail even once. Now all of them were equipped with aplete set of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts.


    Currently, only three years had passed. If they could endure the full ten years, then it was likely Senior Ba wouldn¡¯t be the only one to ce within the top one hundred.


    Everyone felt a feverish excitement just thinking about it. How could the strict, unbending rules and minimal cultivation resources of a sectpare to a Manor Head of the system, whomanded over ten million followers...


    The Azure Sea Sect disciples immediately invoked their arts to speed up the raft, and they soon reached the shore. Astride their mounts, they hurriedly galloped up the beach and cautiously scanned their surroundings.


    The sound of beating hooves suddenly came from the forest ahead. Everyone immediately readied their spears and stared at the forest before them. Ba Wenjing remained calm and graceful as he sat on his dragon steed, his expression nk.


    Suddenly, ten riders appeared on the hill before them. As they stood atop the hill, the riders stared at the Azure Sea Sect disciples.


    The person leading them was none other than the Red Scarves Alliance¡¯s Sixth Division Captain¡ªYu Baixing. He pointed at the group before him and shouted from a distance, "Who goes there?"


    Ba Wenjing smiled, "I am Ba Wenjing of the Boundless Nation¡¯s Azure Sea Sect. To whom am I speaking to? Do you dare to fight me!?"


    "We don¡¯t mean to be enemies with anyone and have been hiding peacefully in this ce. Why do you choose to force our hand?" Yu Baixing asked angrily.


    Ba Wenjingughed as he responded, "Don¡¯t you think your question is a little tooughable in this Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?"


    Seeing that the other party outnumbered their forces and were unwilling to let them go, Yu Baixing no longer hesitated. He simply said, "The enemy outnumbers us. We will not be able to win. Retreat!" before turning around to run like the wind.


    Ten riders immediately followed after him.


    "A bunch of cowards indeed! After me!" Ba Wenjing raised his spear and shouted.


    Everyone immediately followed after him. However, one of his fellow disciples beside him warned, "Senior Brother Ba. The other party ran away as soon as they saw us. This feels suspicious, and I fear an ambush awaits us. I suggest we be extra careful about this!"


    "If we don¡¯t catch up to them soon, they might escape us and cross the seas. So what if there¡¯s an ambush? I¡¯m not afraid of such tricks. I¡¯m only worried they won¡¯t fight me. The enemy will only step up to fight us if we make light of their forces. Junior Brother, we only need to show that we are careless when in truth we are vignt. Even if there¡¯s a scheme at hand, we have the ¡¯Spirit Illusion Greatsword¡¯ to ovee it. There¡¯s no need to fear!" Ba Wenjin was full of confidence and continued to lead everyone on the chase.


    At the heart of the ind where the mountaintopke was situated, a thousand-strong-armyy hidden within the forest.


    From a high vantage point, Miao Yi gazed into the distance and saw troops approaching from afar. In a somber tone, he said, "Since they are bold enough to pursue us so recklessly, they surely possess something that gives them that much confidence. Prepare to open the canals and trigger the flow of water!"


    "Understood!" Zhao Fei acknowledged the order and was about to depart.


    "Hold on!" Suddenly, a voice called for Zhao Fei to stop. He halted in his tracks, and everyone turned to the source of the voice.


    Zhao Lingtu came over on his dragon steed and cupped his fists towards Miao Yi. "Alliance Master. There are only fifty riders. We don¡¯t need to use such strong measures against them. My fellow disciples and I have yet to aplish anything ever since we joined the Red Scarves Alliance, and it has gued our thoughts all this while. Please allow us to vanquish the enemy and earn our ce!"


    These past few days, they had obediently abided by Miao Yi¡¯smands. Additionally, they were also very respectful towards him. Miao Yi had tried probing them a few times, but they followed his everymand withoutint. Since they were behaving so well, he didn¡¯t want anything to happen to them. Miao Yi¡¯s brows creased as he said, "It is highly likely our visitors are hostile. It is best to remain cautious. There is no need for you to take such a risk when we can easily triumph."


    Zhao Lingtu cupped his fists and replied, "Don¡¯t worry Alliance Master. We are no pushovers."


    In an instant, Lu Siping also stepped forth with cupped fists. "Alliance Master. The sect has bequeathed a way for Senior Brother Zhao to protect himself. Indeed, just a few dozen steeds will not be a problem for Senior Brother Zhao."


    Miao Yi replied with a simple ¡¯Oh.¡¯ He also believed that Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples had their own methods for staying alive since they dared to venture around the Western Star Sea. Miao Yi wanted to see what sort of means they possessed so that he would know what to expect. And since they were so confident in themselves, he quickly nodded. "Then go ahead and try. If it bes too difficult, retreat immediately and lure the enemy into the canals."


    "Understood!" Zhao Lingtu acknowledged the order. He then quickly gathered his fellow disciples together to charge down the mountain.


    When Yu Baixing reached the foot of the mountain and saw Zhao Lingtu and his party charging over, he couldn¡¯t help feeling taken aback. "This isn¡¯t right! This isn¡¯t how the n is supposed to go. I¡¯ve already lured the enemy here. Why are you acting on your own?" He transmitted his voice over and asked.


    Zhao Lingtu briefly exined what happened. He then smiled and said, "Don¡¯t worry, Brother Yu. Just stand back and watch. I know how to deal with them!"


    Both sides passed each other by. Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples positioned themselves in a straight line and blocked the path at the foot of the mountain.


    Now that he was at the foot of the mountain, Yu Baixing was no longer afraid since there was still arge army hiding behind him, ready to give support. He led his troops to the back and stopped. He then turned around to see what was going on.


    Zhao Lingtu rested his spear on the back of his dragon steed. Then, with a wave of his arm, a giant ck metal hammer appeared in his hand. He pointed the hammer towards the troops approaching them and shouted, "Who goes there? Why are you trespassing on our territory? Quickly dismount from your steeds and surrender. Only then will we spare your lives!"


    When he saw that there were only an additional five people on the enemy¡¯s side, Ba Wenjing raised his hand, and all fifty riders came to a sudden stop. He shouted, "Impudent! Observe my ¡¯Spirit Illusion Greatsword¡¯!"


    The mark of a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator shone on his forehead as he waved his hand and a ck greatsword hovered before him. The greatsword emitted a blue radiance and instantly multiplied into ten, then to a hundred, then a thousand. In the blink of an eye, over ten thousand ck greatswords hovered in mid-air, each of them shining with a blue radiance.


    This was an incredibly terrifying sight. Hiding at the mountaintop, Miao Yi and the rest sucked in a breath of cold air. ¡¯What sort of transcendent artifact is this? How can a Blue Lotus cultivator use so many Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts simultaneously?¡¯


    Assisting his Senior Brother in battle, Lu Siping also widened his eyes at the sight and jumped up in terror.


    Even Zhao Lingtu, who had been so confident in himself, was utterly dismayed, let alone Lu Siping. How could his Mountain Suppressing Hammer possibly block so many transcendent artifacts at the same time? He would surely be diced up into minced meat. He instantly regretted not heeding Miao Yi¡¯s advice.


    But it was already toote even if he wanted to run. As Ba Wenjing pointed with his finger, ten thousand ck greatswords, all shining with a blue radiance, immediately billowed over like a hurricane.


    Yu Baixing and his team looked deathly pale. They regretted staying to watch the battle. Now they would be dragged into this mess.


    Hiding at the mountaintop, Miao Yi and the rest could feel their hearts getting caught in their throats.


    Having lost the chance to run, Zhao Lingtu had no choice but to fight with everything he had. The giant ck metal hammer shone with a blue radiance and instantly expanded in size. In the blink of an eye, it became a twenty-meter-tall hammer, its head with a circumference of at least ten meters. The sight of a tiny Zhao Lingtu holding onto such a massive hammer painted a funny picture, as though he was lifting a mountain.


    Miao Yi and the rest were staring wide-eyed in disbelief.


    The ck greatsword was upon him like a typhoon. Zhao Lingtu hastily hurled out his hammer in response.


    Even though the giant hammer was incrediblyrge, it flew out at a speed unbefitting of its size, creating a thunderous boom as it shot towards the encroaching typhoon. Its might was astonishing.


    The giant hammer crashed into the ck greatsword typhoon enveloping all in its path.


    Boom! A loud noise erupted across the sky as though a sudden bolt of lightning had crashed down.


    Then something happened that almost caused everyone¡¯s eyes to pop out of their sockets¡ªthe storm of ck greatswords suddenly disappeared. They saw as the giant hammer knocked away a ck greatsword, its blue radiance quickly fading.


    Everyone finally understood. In truth, there was only one ck greatsword. The rest were illusions, albeit rather frightening ones. They couldn¡¯t discern its nature even with their transcendence vision as the artifact had the ability to conceal itself from that.


    Earlier on, everyone was taken aback by how a Blue Lotus cultivator could wield so many Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts simultaneously, but now they finally knew the reason. Its appearance was the only thing that was impressive. However, this was a terrifying transcendent artifact indeed. It was indiscernible by transcendence vision. Once it struck, no one would be able to tell the difference between the real greatsword and the illusions, and would surely fall prey to the actual attack hiding at its core. It was truly a great artifact for murdering and piging others.

 Chapter 351: The Might of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer

    Chapter 351: The Might of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Zhao Lingtu had broken the illusion with a single throw of his hammer; the immense pressure was immediately gone. Even so, he was still a little dumbfounded. He had only thrown his hammer out to save his own life, but it actually managed to hit the true artifact hidden among the ten thousand illusions? Wasn¡¯t this a little too good to be true?


    The crowd all heaved a sigh of relief, especially Yu Baixing and the rest behind Zhao Lingtu. They had almost broken out in cold sweat. Only now did they feel that they had simply been paranoid. Since Zhao Lingtu dared to step up to the battlefield with just these numbers, he surely had a way.


    As the person controlling the Spirit Illusion Greatsword, Ba Wenjing¡¯s expression took a turn for the worse. ¡¯What sort of transcendent artifact is he wielding? How could it pinpoint the true body of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword and strike it with such uracy? This has never happened before!¡¯


    At the same time, he was awestruck by the incredible strength of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. As the artifact wielder, Ba Wenjing had a psychic connection with the Spirit Illusion Greatsword and knew that it was already in a terrible state. It was severely damaged after being struck by the enemy, and arge portion of the energy stored within had been dispersed by the blunt force. Unless he could replenish its energy, there was no way he could use its ability again.


    However, he was now on the battlefield. The enemy would never give him time to replenish the artifact¡¯s energy.


    Ba Wenjing never expected the Spirit Illusion Greatsword that was undefeated throughout his journey in the Sea of Constetion would meet its match today. The enemy had ovee the Spirit Illusion Greatsword in a single stroke.


    However, the Spirit Illusion Greatsword was a rather powerful artifact in and of itself. Even though it suffered extensive damage in the process, it still managed to block the attack of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer.


    Afterwards, the Spirit Illusion Greatsword was knocked into the air, and the Mountain Suppressing Hammer swooped back to its wielder.


    When he saw the dimming light on the opponent¡¯s transcendent artifact, Zhao Lingtu knew his chance hade. As the giant hammernded back in his hands, he grasped onto the shaft tightly and hurled it back out.


    Even though the size ratio between man and hammer seemed disproportionate, Zhao Lingtu hurled the hammer out with ease, as though he possessed a herculean strength.


    Those with a discerning eye could see that this had nothing to do with how strong he was; it was the technique used to wield the Mountain Suppressing Hammer.


    The giant Mountain Suppressing Hammer released another resounding boom as it arced through the air. It charged straight towards Ba Wenjing with unbelievable speed, swirling through the air with a vicious momentum.


    In the blink of an eye, a giant shadow was falling from the sky, carrying with it the rumbling might of a vicious storm as though nothing could escape its fury. Before the hammer evennded, strong winds were already billowing and kicking up clouds of dust.


    The Azure Sea Sect disciples quickly raised their heads, and caught sight of the giant hammer falling upon them. They werepletely scared out of their wits, but it was simply toote for them to run. They all brandished their weapons and struck at the oing giant hammer in ast-ditch attempt to save themselves.


    However, such an attempt did little to save the situation. It was easy to imagine how much force was being carried behind such arge hammer travelling at such great speeds.


    ¡¯Bang bang bang!¡¯ The webbing of their hands ripped as their weapons were all knocked flying away. All they could do was stand and watch in utter horror as the giant hammer crashed down above their heads. The terror they felt was indescribable.


    With both his arms broken, the bones visibly protruding and blood gushing out from the terrible wounds, Ba Wenjing had fallen into despair. It was his first time feeling his very soul quaking with fear and experiencing such horror; he realized now how arrogant and self-centered he had been. He finally understood howughable his dream of standing at the apex of all existence had been, realizing how worthless his graceful attitude and elegance was in the face of death. There were many who did not wish to join the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. What made him think he would be stronger than everyone else, that he ended up signing up of his own volition? There were countless experts across the realm. He just hadn¡¯t met any of them yet. This was why he had be so arrogant...


    In the blink of an eye, thest vestiges of his despair and horror were enveloped by the massive hammer and smashed to a pulp as everything before him turned dark.


    "AH..."


    "NEIIIGHH..."


    ¡¯BOOM!¡¯ The earth trembled and cracked. The screams of people and the neighs of the dragon steeds rang out for an instant before being silencedpletely.


    Streams of blood immediately sttered out from under the hammer as it crashed down and lodged itself deep into the ground. Everyone felt chills when they saw the webbed cracks on the ground.


    Strong wind kicked up clouds of dust and almost sted off the people around the hammer as they struggled to regain their bnce.


    It was hard to describe the amount of fear in the eyes of the remaining Azure Sea Sect disciples as they looked upon the sight of that mighty hammer. Who would still dare to fight? They immediately turned tail and ran.


    With a vicious smile on his face, Zhao Lingtu spread his palm. Then, the giant hammer that had been lodged deep into the ground immediately rose up and flew back to him.


    There were five bloody clumps of flesh within the hole formed in the ground. The flesh and blood of both humans and dragon steeds were mashed together. Even the armor artifacts had been crushed to dust. It was no longer possible to tell which of the bloody pancakes belonged to the elegant Ba Wenjing. One could only specte based on their positions.


    Miao Yi and the other onlookers higher up the mountain couldn¡¯t keep their faces from twisting as they watched on. The might of this hammer was a little too overwhelming. Why did it feel as though it was a little cruel to use this hammer to kill? What kind of psychopath refined such a transcendent artifact?


    "Still trying to run!?" said Zhao Lingtu as heughed aloud and gave chase along with his fellow disciples. Once more, he hurled the mighty hammer in his hand back out.


    A deep boom erupted through the sky once more. The fleeing Azure Sea Sect disciples twisted their heads in fear, only to find a ck shadow enveloping their entire line of sight. Then, several more screams were heard before being abruptly silenced yet again.


    After ttening another pitiful group into bloody pancakes, the Mountain Suppressing Hammer rose back out from the ground and flew back into Zhao Lingtu¡¯s hands before being hurled back out the next instant as he charged forth on his dragon steed.


    The giant hammer flew all about the sky, constantly crashing into the ground.


    Hammering one at a time, the Mountain Suppressing Hammer would chase after its victims and pulverize them as though ttening dough. No one could withstand it for even a second. All who faced its might were pummeled into a bloody pulp without exception.


    The crowd of onlookers felt chills run down their spine as the scene unfolded before them. Even though they were far away, they could feel the heavy tremorsing from the soles of their feet. They didn¡¯t dare imagine what it would be like if they went up against the Mountain Suppressing Hammer.


    It took some time for everyone to calm their nerves. When they saw Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples returning, that giant hammer was gone and only the Spirit Illusion Greatsword rested on Zhao Lingtu¡¯s hands now as he flipped it back and forth to examine it. He was clearly in a good mood after obtaining a transcendent artifact.


    Unfortunately, most of the energy within the Spirit Illusion Greatsword had been dispersed by his hammer. It would take more than a few Yao Cores to fully replenish the energy within a transcendent artifact like this. He would also have to spend some time figuring out how to wield it afterwards.


    Everyone in the mountain came out of hiding, while Yu Baixing and the others who were at the foot of the mountain were asked to gather up the spoils of the battle.


    As Zhao Lingtu brought his Junior Brothers up the mountain, everyone watched him with awe and admiration in their gazes. Holding onto the Spirit Illusion Greatsword, he walked up to Miao Yi with cupped fists and said, "Reporting to the Alliance Master. The enemies have all been vanquished. Zhao Lingtu has sessfullypleted his mission."


    "Good work, Brother Zhao." Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help clicking his tongue as he praised, "It has truly been an eye-opening experience. Brother Zhao. You are virtually undefeatable as long as you have your hammer!"


    Zhao Lingtu was different from the self-absorbed Ba Wenjing. He smiled bitterly and replied, "Alliance Master. You think too highly of me. I still don¡¯t know if I will be able to walk out of the Western Star Sea alive. I wouldn¡¯t dare think of myself as undefeatable."


    "What sort of transcendent artifact is that hammer of yours, Brother Zhao? Its might is so overwhelming!" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help asking.


    Zhao Lingtu replied, "It is called the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. It was bestowed upon me by my sect prior to my departure. It is merely a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact. To say its might is overwhelming is a bit of a stretch. There are countless other transcendent artifacts in the realm which possess even more astonishing might than the Mountain Suppressing Hammer."


    Miao Yi scanned the crowd andughed, "All of us jumped in shock when we saw the ability of that Daoist¡¯s Spirit Illusion Greatsword. If it were us, we wouldn¡¯t be able to contend against it. However, with Brother Zhao¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer, it was instantly forced back to its original form. This Mountain Suppressing Hammer is truly a great artifact!"


    Everyone nodded in agreement with his words.


    "Please, you are just ttering me!" said Zhao Lingtu, cupping his fists towards the crowd sheepishly.


    Everyone simply thought that he was being humble. However, they wouldn¡¯t have thought that Zhao Lingtu was truly feeling embarrassed, because he knew better than anyone else that he had only won this battle out of pure luck.


    One must know that it requires more than just brute force for a transcendent artifact to be unbeatable. There were many who won simply by pitting their strengths against their opponent¡¯s weaknesses. Zhao Lingtu¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer was exactly one that was weak against Ba Wenjing¡¯s Spirit Illusion Greatsword.


    When both parties revealed their transcendent artifacts, Zhao Lingtu knew he was going to lose this battle and almostpletely despaired in fear. However, since he knew it would be difficult to escape from such a transcendent artifact, he had no choice but to make ast-ditch attempt at survival.


    He never expected a miracle would happen when he hurled his hammer out and actually destroyed the illusion of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. If he couldn¡¯t break the illusion, he wouldn¡¯t be able to locate the true body of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword hiding within even with his transcendence vision. If that happened, he would most definitely have lost. What¡¯s worse was that he might not even realize how he was defeated.


    After all, the illusion cast by the Spirit Illusion Greatsword could fool one¡¯s sense of sight and sound as it billowed like a violent hurricane. The real attack waspletely indiscernible from the illusions.


    At first, even Zhao Lingtu himself couldn¡¯t understand how he had ovee the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. The onlookers all thought it was because his transcendent artifact was powerful enough to suppress the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. Only Zhao Lingtu himself knew that that wasn¡¯t the case at all. However, since he had been in the midst of battle, he couldn¡¯t spare time to think about the reason.


    Only after he had won the battle and obtained the Spirit Illusion Greatsword, did Zhao Lingtu ponder over the matter and realized how he managed to win. The only reason why the Mountain Suppressing Hammer was able to defeat the Spirit Illusion Greatsword was because it had arge enough surface area and its attack was capable of extending over a potentially wide zone. Simply by throwing his hammer out, with therge area it covered, Zhao Lingtu just so happened tond a lucky strike exactly where the true body of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword was hiding in. It was aplete coincidence.


    If his Mountain Suppressing Hammer had been any smaller, based on the situation earlier, he might not have had the fortune ofnding a strike on the Spirit Illusion Greatsword¡¯s true body.


    If the Spirit Illusion Greatsword¡¯s true body had not been hiding within that area at the time, the one lying dead on the ground right now could be Zhao Lingtu instead.


    After he realized everything, Zhao Lingtu had felt a cold chill run down his spine. How was it possible that he actually managed to win that way? How fortunate was he? He had a little suspicion whether Ba Wenjing was such a terrible person that even the heavens found him annoying and used Zhao Lingtu¡¯s hand to vanquish him.


    In the end, Zhao Lingtu had won this battle simply because he was more fortunate than his opponent was. It was pure luck.


    Naturally, he didn¡¯t feel the need to exin the truth to everyone else. It was good enough to say a few modest words. His objective was to instill a certain degree of awe within the crowd after all.


    "Alliance Master. What should we do with this Spirit Illusion Greatsword?" With his hand on the Spirit Illusion Greatsword, Zhao Lingtu suddenly adopted a respectful and sycophantic tone and asked for Miao Yi¡¯s advice.


    Everyone¡¯s gazes instantly locked onto his hands. Who wouldn¡¯t want such a transcendent artifact?


    Miao Yi was a little speechless, thinking, ¡¯Would you even give it up if I ask you to? So why bother pretending?¡¯


    "There is but one of this transcendent artifact. Furthermore, Brother Zhao was the one who obtained it after defeating a strong enemy. Naturally, it should go to him."


    Miao Yi had no choice but to reply in such a way. He had used the same logic to take the Mystic Yin Mirror for himself earlier on. He couldn¡¯t be so shameless that he would deny that same im to another right now. The other party had clearly used this logic to his advantage as well. Not to mention, he possessed the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. Everyone had borne witness to its might¡ªwho would dare to steal this Spirit Illusion Greatsword away from him?


    "Thank you, Alliance Master!" Zhao Lingtu very naturally tucked the Spirit Illusion Greatsword away.


    His fellow disciples were equally proud and happy that their Senior Brother obtained another powerful transcendent artifact. This meant that they had a bigger chance of cing within the top one hundred. If they could sessfully obtain the Mystic Yin Mirror in Miao Yi¡¯s hands after this, that would be even better...

 Chapter 352: Retreat is the Only Option

    Chapter 352: Retreat is the Only Option


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Even though Ba Wenjing was a person of outstanding talent among his peers in the Azure Sea Sect and possessed a bright future, it was something that mattered only to the Azure Sea Sect. Outside of their group, no one would care who he was. This was especially true in the Sea of Constetions. Who even knew who this Ba Wenjing character was? Naturally, no one felt concerned whether he lived or died. They only cared about what he left behind after he perished.


    The Spirit Illusion Greatsword had already fallen into Zhao Lingtu¡¯s hands. Everything else that Ba Wenjing had stolen in the Western Star Sea over the past few years¡ªgolden bangles, Inner Cores, Orbs of Will, transcendent artifacts and the like¡ªwere naturally divided among Miao Yi and the rest. No one pitied him. They would only resent him for not leaving enough valuables after he died.


    Just as everyone was happily splitting the loot, a rider approached from afar.


    A scout came and dismounted from his dragon steed, then reported, "Alliance Master. The Sword Deviate Sect, Jade Lady Sect, and the School of Imperial Beasts are approaching us from the sea as we speak."


    Everyone¡¯s gazes almost instantly fell on Miao Yi as soon they heard what the scout had said. When they had just disembarked from their fleet several years ago, Miao Yi was the one who¡¯d almost massacred everyone from the three major sects. Now, his nemeses were almost upon him.


    Miao Yi¡¯s brows creased as he asked, "Are you sure they belong to the three major sects?"


    The scout replied, "Based on their attire, there should be no mistaking it."


    The participants from the Fifth Earthly Branch had all arrived on the same fleet of ships and had seen the uniforms of the three major sects. Since he had put it that way, there was definitely no mistaking it then.


    Miao Yi asked, "How many of them are there?"


    The scout replied, "There are about a dozen wooden rafts in total. I¡¯ve tallied the numbers from afar, and I specte that there are about fifty of them."


    Miao Yi asked in a somber tone, "Why would the three major sects show up together?"


    Back when they had just disembarked, the three major sects had only banded together because they¡¯d all run afoul of Miao Yi, thereby making him theirmon enemy. Miao Yi was a little puzzled as to why they could still work together even now.


    Based on their numbers, he spected that the group shouldprise of those that managed to escape the culling during the disembarking of participants, as well as the disciples formally sent over by their respective sects. Otherwise, it was impossible to have so many of them, since most participants should be based within the administration. There would always be a limit on the number of participants.


    The scout replied, "I don¡¯t know the reason."


    Miao Yi could only concede. The scouts stationed around the ind were only there to ward against an enemy ambush and would report to him as soon as they discovered any iing hostile forces. They wouldn¡¯t have much information.


    "I can¡¯t believe they¡¯reing here too." Beside Miao Yi, Zhao Lingtu creased his brows and muttered to himself. He continued, "I might have an idea as to why they¡¯re together."


    Miao Yi turned around and asked, "What do you mean?"


    "The disembarkation point of the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s forces were situated next to that of the Yao Nation¡¯s forces. One time, we came across arge army of Yao cultivators. Back then, my Junior Brothers and I fought against them alongside the three major sects, and thus we stayed together for a little over a month. On one asion, a Sword Deviate Sect disciple told me that before their arrival to the Sea of Constetions, the Overlord had summoned all three Sect Masters of the three major sects. It was easy to imagine how fierce thepetition must be for the forces of all seventy-two Earthly Branches across the six nations to ce within the top one hundred. What the Overlord was trying to tell them was that he didn¡¯t wish to see the names of the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s participants missing from the top one hundred once the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was over. He wanted the three major sects to fulfill their responsibilities and live up to their names. I suspect this is why the three major sects are working together."


    Zhao Lingtu was observing Miao Yi¡¯s reaction as he spoke. He hadn¡¯t known of the grievances between Miao Yi and the three major sects before this and had only found out about it after arriving here and hearing it from Lu Siping. Now that the elites sent over by the three major sects to participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade were upon them, he wanted to see whether or not Miao Yi was afraid.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi was quiet as he went into deep thought. From Zhao Lingtu¡¯s words, he remembered the gentle reminder that Wu Menn had given him back when he¡¯d just disembarked. She had told him that the true experts of the three major sects were not among those in the administration. The three major sects had to answer to the Overlord. This was in ordance to Zhao Lingtu¡¯s information.


    At the time, he hadn¡¯t thought much of it. The Western Star Sea was incredibly vast, and with 180,000 participants, he believed he wouldn¡¯t be so unfortunate as to bump into them. Not to mention, he¡¯d been looking for a ce to hide at the time. As long as he could hide until the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade ended and make it back alive, the forces of the three major sects wouldn¡¯t dare act rashly towards someone belonging to the administration, regardless of how powerful they were.


    Little did Miao Yi expect that he¡¯d be unable to hide it out and would still end up bumping into them. Since they were about to cross paths, Miao Yi obviously had to find out his opponents¡¯ strengths and weaknesses, so he asked, "Brother Zhao. What do you make of the strength of the three major sects? Can our forces contend against them?"


    Zhao Lingtu shook his head and said bluntly, "We won¡¯t! The number one disciple sent over by the Sword Deviate Sect is called Gu Sanzheng. He is a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade expert and is seemingly the youngest and most talented out of them all. He wields the ¡¯Thunderp Sword Furnace¡¯ bestowed upon him by the sect. Within the furnace lies a hundred and one Thunderp Flying Swords. I saw him use it against the Yao cultivators once. The swords shot out like lightning, slicing through normal Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts like a knife through butter, and easily piercing through Second Grade Armor Artifacts. In the blink of an eye, he butchered over two hundred Yao cultivators as easily as tearing away a withered stump; none managed to survive. Its might was absolutely astonishing. Even if Gu Sanzheng were toe at us alone, I fear not many of us can contend against him."


    Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air when they heard his words.


    "The number one disciple of the Jade Lady Sect is called Ye Xin. Possessing extraordinary beauty and a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivation, she is also the most talented out of all the Jade Lady Sect disciples. She wields the ¡¯Ruyi Whip¡¯ bestowed upon her by her sect. Next, the number one disciple of the School of Imperial Beasts is called Tan Lao. He is also a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade expert and is simr in status to the other two within his own sect. He equipped himself with an array of peculiar items. Furthermore, all three of them do not ride on dragon steeds, but instead on ¡¯Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts¡¯, which are bred by the School of Imperial Beasts. Rumors say that if there were no limitations on flying mounts in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, the Sword Deviate Sect and the Jade Lady Sect had even nned to borrow spiritual beasts from the School of Imperial Beasts. Alliance Master, now that these three forces are joining hands, we won¡¯t be able to withstand them at all with just our forces alone!"


    ¡¯Goddamnit...¡¯ Miao Yi cursed inwardly. If he were to bump into themter on, how could he possibly survive?


    "Our Red Scarves Alliance holds the advantage in terms of location. If we trigger the floods, will we be able to deal a heavy blow to their forces?" Miao Yi asked.


    "It might work against any other opponent. But since the School of Imperial Beasts is among their forces as well, I fear it will inevitably fail."


    "Why is that so?"


    Everyone followed Zhao Lingtu¡¯s gaze as he suddenly looked upwards and saw several rainbow-colored birds circling above them. Miao Yi and the rest had never seen these types of creatures before in the years they lived here.


    "The School of Imperial Beasts¡¯¡¯Seeker Birds¡¯ are already here to scout for them. The School of Imperial Beasts will be able to see our every move. Do you think they will fall for our trap, Alliance Master?" Zhao Lingtu asked.


    Beside him, Sikong Wuwei was outraged, "We can¡¯t do this, we can¡¯t do that. Don¡¯t tell me you want us to sit and wait for death toe?"


    Miao Yi said somberly, "Since that¡¯s the case, we mustn¡¯t stay here any longer. I suggest we gather our troops and leave. It¡¯ll save us a lot..." He suddenly nced at the smile on Zhao Lingtu¡¯s face. His expression held no trace of anxiety at all. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help asking, "Does Brother Zhao have a better n to deal with them?"


    Zhao Lingtu chuckled, "Perhaps Alliance Master is unaware, but I know a thing or two about them from the time we stayed together. As long as we don¡¯t offend them, the three major sects will not harm our Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s forces. Let me reiterate my point. As the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s Overlord has given his orders, they have to fulfill their responsibilities as the three major sects. If they really were to eliminate all of the participants from the Fifth Earthly Branch and unwittingly feed the arrogance of the other Earthly Branches, I am willing to bet that they will have a hard time answering to the Overlord afterwards. That is why we should be fine. However, I have heard that the Alliance Master bears a deep grievance with the three major sects, so I cannot guarantee that they will let you go!"


    ¡¯As if they will let me go!¡¯ Miao Yi nced at the crowd and noticed that everyone was looking at him strangely.


    Miao Yi understood in an instant. Since they knew they were no match for the three major sects, it would be impossible for him to have them risk their lives and help him settle his personal vendetta.


    "It has been my honor to share life and death with all of you for the past three years. My grievance with the three major sects is mine alone. I will not drag you all into it." Miao Yi scanned the crowd and said, "I trust everyone understands the situation we¡¯re in. The best thing I can do is leave! I just wish to say one thing¡ªIs there anyone who wishes to follow me and fulfill our promise of sharing life and death for nine years?"


    The whole ce was quiet. No one said a peep. Only Qi Xiuhong quietly brought her mount to stand behind him.


    Miao Yi turned to look at her and smiled. He had thought she wouldn¡¯t leave with him because she¡¯d always kept her distance from him.


    "Haha! I have long been bored of this stupid ind. Why not go for an adventure?" Sikong Wuwei revealed a nonchnt smile and brought his mount to stand behind Miao Yi as well.


    Zhao Fei seemed to ponder over something. His brows creased as he turned to look at the crowd. He didn¡¯t say a word as he slowly brought his steed behind Miao Yi as well. His stance on the matter was clear.


    Wang Yuetian¡¯s eyes brightened as he inly said, "Count me in too?" He then urged his steed behind Miao Yi.


    Zhao Lingtu was confused as he never expected for three Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts to still be willing to follow Miao Yi. The circumstances were obvious. If they followed Miao Yi, they would fall under the three major sects¡¯ hitlist as well.


    When he heard the three major sects wereing, Zhao Lingtu revealed the truth so that everyone would be too afraid to help Miao Yi, and Lu Siping wouldn¡¯t need to spend time to pull them together secretly. That way it would be easier for him to steal the artifact. Most importantly, once the three major sects were here, they wouldn¡¯t spare Zhao Lingtu the time to slowly look for the artifact before exacting their revenge on Miao Yi. That said, he was still puzzled as to why Sikong Wuwei and the others had chosen to take Miao Yi¡¯s side.


    Granted, only four people were willing to follow Miao Yi. The rest of them kept quiet. Zhao Lingtu looked to his sides and felt reassured.


    ¡¯So this is the Red Scarves Alliance that I created!¡¯ Miao Yi swept his gaze across the crowd and chuckled. He could understand everyone¡¯s feelings. Sucking in a breath of air and repressing the conflicting emotions inside him, he cupped his fists towards the crowd, "Take care, everyone. I shall hereby bid you all farewell!"


    He was about to lead his group away when Zhao Lingtu suddenly said, "Wait!"


    Miao Yi stopped and asked, "Does Brother Zhao still have something to say?" His eyes quickly shrank in surprise when he saw Zhao Lingtu abruptly readying his ck hammer.


    Sikong Wuwei and the others instantly tensed up as they cautiously watched Zhao Lingtu¡¯s every move.


    Zhao Lingtu smiled, "Since the Alliance Master wishes to leave, we won¡¯t stop you. We don¡¯t wish to do something so heartless either. However, even though the three major sects won¡¯t harm us, the other forces might not be as merciful. It seems a little irresponsible for you to leave us just like that, Alliance Master. Don¡¯t you think you should leave us a little something to protect ourselves?"


    Miao Yi asked slowly, "What is it you want?"


    "I think that the Alliance Master should leave the Mystic Yin Mirror behind! If you are still in the Red Scarves Alliance, then we won¡¯t have any objections since that transcendent artifact will be able to serve its purpose for the benefit of the alliance. However, things are different now that you¡¯re leaving. After all, everyone did put in their fair share to obtain that transcendent artifact. Many of our brothers even died for it. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little irresponsible for you to take away the Mystic Yin Mirror and leave us to our fates just like that, Alliance Master?" Zhao Lingtu asked.

 Chapter 353: A Sudden Change

    Chapter 353: A Sudden Change


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Even though his words didn¡¯t make sense, it sounded like it did. Logic was always determined by how one¡¯s words were phrased, and most importantly, from the audience¡¯s perspective.


    Miao Yi was unperturbed and maintained a nk expression as he asked, "You wish to have the Mystic Yin Mirror?"


    "I¡¯m not the one who wants the Mystic Yin Mirror." Zhao Lingtu had obviously prepared his elegant speech beforehand. He raised his hand and pointed to the crowd, "Rather, all of us need the Mystic Yin Mirror to protect ourselves! Junior Brother Lu told me that when they obtained the Mystic Yin Mirror, everyone had originally intended to draw straws toe to a fair decision regarding its ownership, but Alliance Master was unwilling to do so. And if Alliance Master were still in the Red Scarves Alliance, then it would be fine to leave it in your hands since it would benefit the alliance. However, now that you¡¯re leaving, the Mystic Yin Mirror naturally has to stay, and we will draw straws to decide its ownership!"


    Everyone intended to keep quiet at first. After all, Miao Yi was the one who single-handedly created the Red Scarves Alliance, and he was the Alliance Master himself. However, he ended up making a powerful enemy, and everyone didn¡¯t want him to drag them into the scuffle. They would be lying if they said they didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit guilty for doing this.


    Not to mention, from the looks of things, it was obvious that Zhao Lingtu intended to take over the Red Scarves Alliance. Earlier on, they all saw what he could do. It seemed like he was even more powerful than Miao Yi. It didn¡¯t matter who was the Alliance Master as long as everyone could stay alive, so they weren¡¯t particrly bothered about following behind Zhao Lingtu.


    They originally meant to keep their true feelings to themselves, which was why they had kept quiet the entire time. It was fine to let Zhao Lingtu y the viin by himself. However, his final sentence caught the attention of Dong Quan and the others¡ª ¡¯Keep the Mystic Yin Mirror so that everyone can draw straws for it? ¡¯


    "Alliance Master, we won¡¯t stop you if you wish to leave. But please leave the Mystic Yin Mirror behind!" Dong Quan voiced out his agreement.


    "Yes! We don¡¯t wish to part with you on such bad terms either." Yu Baixing and the rest echoed their sentiments as well.


    Zhao Lingtu was overjoyed to see those who had kept quiet were finally speaking up. The prospect of treasure was alluring indeed.


    Earlier, when he¡¯d seen that everyone remained silent, he hadn¡¯t felt very confident. Miao Yi was still the Red Scarves Alliance Master after all. If he were to attack Miao Yi and the others were to retaliate against him, then he would be in deep trouble. With such a short distance between them, he wouldn¡¯t be able to handle most of them with the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, whereas the Spirit Illusion Greatsword was temporarily out ofmission. He couldn¡¯t risk losing his life without even being able to obtain the transcendent artifact, so he had to y it safe.


    Now that all of them were standing on his side, everything was fine.


    There was a vicious glint in Sikong Wuwei¡¯s eyes as he red at the crowd. However, he didn¡¯t dare to do anything rash because they currently had the upper hand.


    Miao Yi¡¯s gaze instantly turned cold as he slowly swept it across the crowd. With a flip of his hand, the Mystic Yin Mirror appeared in his grasp. He slowly asked, "What will you do if I won¡¯t hand it over?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s tone carried a sense of hostility, and with the emergence of the Mystic Yin Mirror, everyone¡¯s expressions drastically changed. Dong Quan and the others quickly retreated further away because they had seen the terrifying might of the Mystic Yin Mirror. All that was left were Lu Siping and his fellow disciples, who quickly fell into a defensive formation behind Zhao Lingtu.


    Other than Lu Siping, Zhao Lingtu and his other fellow disciples had never seen what the Mystic Yin Mirror could do. They only heard stories about it. When they saw how terrified everyone was, even they suddenly felt a sense of anxiety as an immense pressure fell upon them.


    Zhao Lingtu¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer shone with a blue radiance and instantly expanded. Even though it wasn¡¯t asrge as when he¡¯d killed Ba Wenjing, it was enough to block his entire body.


    He ced the hammer before his body and readied the Spirit Illusion Greatsword with his other hand. Keeping a vignt eye on Miao Yi, he said, "I know that you can contend against whole armies with the Mystic Yin Mirror. However, my Mountain Suppressing Hammer is enough to block the Yin aura from reaching me. As long as you miss the first strike, I will be able to pummel you into a bloody pulp. Not to mention, I have the Spirit Illusion Greatsword as well. You will definitely lose! Miao Yi, I suggest you obediently hand over the Mystic Yin Mirror. As a member of the Red Scarves Alliance, I¡¯d rather not be forced to kill the Alliance Master! Miao Yi, I¡¯ll give you onest chance. As long as you leave the Mystic Yin Mirror behind, we definitely won¡¯t stop you from leaving."


    Even though he sounded confident, he was still a little fearful of Miao Yi¡¯s Mystic Yin Mirror at such a close distance. If he didn¡¯t absolutely have to, he wouldn¡¯t dare fight head-on against it. The giant hammer stood before his entire body like a wall, ready to block the Mystic Yin Mirror¡¯s Yin aura at a moment¡¯s notice.


    As for the Spirit Illusion Greatsword, it was merely for the sake of intimidating Miao Yi. The current Spirit Illusion Greatsword was but an empty shell. Zhao Lingtu couldn¡¯t use it at all as he¡¯d had no chance to replenish its energy.


    However, it was enough to pressure Miao Yi and deter him from acting rashly. After all, he had never touched the Spirit Illusion Greatsword and thus, didn¡¯t know that it was not in its optimal condition at the moment.


    Granted, even without the Spirit Illusion Greatsword, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t dare act rashly either way. He knew his limits; he couldn¡¯t use the Mystic Yin Mirror for too long. His transcendence energy reserves wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up once time passed. If he missed the first strike, that giant hammer would definitely crash onto him like a thunderbolt and pulverize him into a bloody pulp.


    Both sides were wary of the other. However, the ¡¯tide¡¯ was in Zhao Lingtu¡¯s favor.


    Zhao Fei and the others exchanged nces, and after a brief moment of silence, Miao Yi said, "I can give you the Mystic Yin Mirror, but will you swear you will allow us to leave in peace?"


    Seeing as the other party was willing topromise, Zhao Lingtu was overjoyed, thinking that Miao Yi must really be afraid of him. All he wanted was the Mystic Yin Mirror, and even more so after he saw how afraid everyone was. It didn¡¯t matter to him whether or not to kill Miao Yi, so he had no problem letting him go. He immediately vowed, "I swear upon the heavens, so long as you leave the Mystic Yin Mirror behind, we will let all of you leave in peace. If I go back on this promise, I will die a terrible death!"


    "Alright!" Miao Yi agreed to his terms.


    Zhao Lingtu was still worried and said, "Don¡¯t make any sudden movements. Toss the Mystic Yin Mirror over."


    Miao Yi looked at the Mystic Yin Mirror in his hands and smiled, "Truth be told, only Ghost Cultivators can wield this transcendent artifact. Anyone else won¡¯t be able to use it at all. It¡¯s useless to me even if I keep it."


    He tossed out the Mystic Yin Mirror as he said so.


    Zhao Lingtu caught the mirror artifact with one hand and finally felt relieved. He tucked the Spirit Illusion Greatsword away into his storage ring. Holding the Mountain Suppressing Hammer with one hand just in case, he flipped the Mystic Yin Mirror over with the other and couldn¡¯t help asking suspiciously, "Only Ghost Cultivators can wield it?"


    Miao Yi nodded.


    Suddenly, as he held onto the Mystic Yin Mirror, Zhao Lingtu¡¯s eyes became hazy. With his mind in a daze, the Mountain Suppressing Hammer in his other hand abruptly shrunk back to its original size as well.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed as they shone with an almost undetectable, yet terrifying glint.


    "Kill!" He suddenly shouted, and Charcoal shot out like an arrow, carrying Miao Yi along with him. A dragon¡¯s roar echoed forth from the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand.


    Sikong Wuwei, Zhao Fei, and Wang Yuetian quickly followed his charge whereas Qi Xiuhong turned her dragon steed around and swiftly departed.


    Lu Siping and the rest were astonished; the change had happened so suddenly. They thought, ¡¯How can Brother Zhao be so careless that he¡¯d deactivate the Mountain Suppressing Hammer and lower his defenses at such a crucial moment?¡¯


    When their gazes fell upon Zhao Lingtu, they discovered that he waspletely frozen, his whole body instantly encased in ayer of white frost. Each of his hands held onto a transcendent artifact and were utterly still.


    With such a short distance between both sides, Miao Yi¡¯s spear struck out like a shooting star and viciously pierced the area between Zhao Lingtu¡¯s throat and chest. There wasn¡¯t a single trace of blood. It was like stabbing into a dead piece of wood. He was truly frozen still.


    Having failed to react in time, Lu Siping and the others frantically attacked. Then Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei swooped in from both sides and quickly assisted Miao Yi. Together with Wang Yuetian, they withstood the attacks of Lu Siping and the others. The three Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts didn¡¯t have a problem keeping these people at bay.


    Zhao Lingtu had already fallen. Lu Siping was the only remaining Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator nearby, and Zhao Fei restrained him, while Sikong Wuwei and Wang Yuetian held the others back.


    As soon as Miao Yinded his strike, he pulled back his spear. Then the reversed de on the speartip dragged Zhao Lingtu along as Miao Yi turned around and ran.


    At the back, Dong Quan and the others felt dumbfounded by the sudden change and even found it a little difficult to realize what just happened. How could Zhao Lingtu, with all his transcendent artifacts, die to Miao Yi in just a single confrontation? This was a little too sudden, so much so that everyone couldn¡¯t possibly react in time.


    When Dong Quan and the rest saw Miao Yi carrying Zhao Lingtu¡¯s corpse and the transcendent artifacts away, they finally realized what had happened and rushed forward to help Lu Siping and the rest to retake those transcendent artifacts.


    "Kill!" Several Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts immediately charged along with a great number of troops.


    "Harrumph..." Charcoal came to a stop a short distance away from the battlefield. Holding his spear at an angle, Miao Yi turned Charcoal around and shouted, "Don¡¯t engage! Run! I will stop the pursuers myself!"


    Zhao Fei and the other two knew they couldn¡¯t stop such arge force either. It would be disastrous if they were held at bay by the enemy. They immediatelyunched an all-out attack to create an opening to escape, then turned around and ran.


    When they turned around, they saw Miao Yi holding his spear with one hand, and the Mystic Yin Mirror with the other.


    When the three of them passed him by, they could hear the swishing sound of rushing wind from behind. Sikong Wuwei gulped out of reflex when he heard this sound, as an unforgettable memory etched deep into his mind suddenly resurfaced.


    The three of them quickly turned their steeds around and saw the cold Yin aura gushing out of the Mystic Yin Mirror in Miao Yi¡¯s hand. The piercing chill of the Yin aura instantly spread out and sted towards Lu Siping and the rest who were charging towards Miao Yi.


    Lu Siping and the others were dismayed when they saw the Yin auraing at them, as though wanting to say, ¡¯Didn¡¯t you say that only Ghost Cultivators can wield the Mystic Yin Mirror?¡¯


    They had only dared to give chase because they saw Zhao Lingtu falling under the Mystic Yin Mirror¡¯s trap and thus believed what Miao Yi said. Not to mention, Miao Yi had only just managed to obtain the other two transcendent artifacts and hadn¡¯t figured out how to operate them yet. Obviously, they had to take advantage of this opportunity to kill him as soon as possible and retake those transcendent artifacts.


    As though they were experiencing a rush of adrenaline, Dong Quan and the others who charged forth with their forces had the same idea as well. While Miao Yi was still unable to use those transcendent artifacts, now would be the best time to take them back. How could they let such an opportunity slip by?


    However, the sight before them reminded them of the Mystic Yin Mirror¡¯s terrifying might once more.


    The frosty Yin aura quickly retracted back into the Mystic Yin Mirror. Lu Siping and the rest werepletely frozen, and they all fell to the ground from the sudden drop in momentum. Encased in ayer of frost, theyypletely still and stuck in whatever movements they were performing before they fell.


    "If you dare take another step, don¡¯t me me for disregarding our past rtionship and showing you no mercy!" Miao Yi waved the Mystic Yin Mirror in his hand and shouted at the forces chasing after him.


    The galloping hastily came to a stop. Dong Quan and the others stared wide-eyed at Miao Yi, then towards Lu Siping and the others on the ground. Against Miao Yi with the Mystic Yin Mirror in his hands, no one dared to make any sudden movements and stood in ce,pletely terrified.


    After running off to a safe distance, Qi Xiuhong waited for the others to catch up. When she saw that the battle was over on the other end, she felt a heavy sense of relief. She bit her lips when she gazed upon the sight of Miao Yi intimidating an army numbering almost a-thousand-strong on his own.


    Seeing as the crowd no longer dared to make any sudden movements, Miao Yi immediately flipped Zhao Lingtu¡¯s corpse over from Charcoal¡¯s back. He would be punished by heaven if he still acted courteously now.

 Chapter 354: Break Off All Ties

    Chapter 354: Break Off All Ties


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Zhao Lingtu¡¯s armor artifact was forcefully removed and all his valuables which could be stored inside a storage ring were subsequently kept away by Miao Yi. As for his storage rings and the like, Miao Yi wore them on his own hand. He didn¡¯t have time to sort them out now and nned to do thatter on.


    Everyone watched as Zhao Lingtu was stripped bare of all his treasures. Dong Quan and the rest almost drooled from the sight. Those were three top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts¡ªthree of them! And all of them had fallen into Miao Yi¡¯s hands.


    Then, Miao Yi tossed Zhao Lingtu¡¯s corpse into the air. With one arm, Miao Yi raised his spear and shed down, and the corpse which had yet to drip a single drop of blood after being frozen soon fell to the ground in two separate halves.


    Miao Yi then jumped off his dragon steed and walked towards Lu Siping and the rest, who were simrly still in a frozen state.


    Bang! Stabbing the Inversed-Scales Spear into the ground, Miao Yi gripped it as he stood staring at Lu Siping¡¯s frost-covered face.


    This person lying on the ground was the same person who had once submitted to him and said that he wished to share life and death for nine years together. And yet just now, he had tried to kill him.


    This person lying on the ground was the same person who had fallen to the effects of the Mystic Yin Mirror before but had been saved by him. And yet now, he had fallen once more to Miao Yi¡¯s Mystic Yin Mirror.


    The path of cultivation was long and bloody, filled with death and betrayal. A person could be an ally in one moment, and an enemy the next.


    Miao Yi spread his fingers and slowly released the Inversed-Scales Spear lodged in the ground.


    Shing! He abruptly unsheathed the sword artifact by his waist, and it emitted a gray sheen. With an indifferent expression on his face, Miao Yi didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately chopped off Lu Siping¡¯s head with his sword. Then, he stripped Lu Siping bare of all his valuables.


    Afterward, he walked to the side and shed down again, chopping off another head and taking away everything he deemed valuable.


    Then, he turned around and chopped off another head with his sword...


    After sweeping clean everything that Zhao Lingtu and his Junior Brothers had, he shook off the bloodstains on his sword artifact and sheathed it back into the empty scabbard by his waist. He jumped up and pulled the Inversed-Scales Spear off the ground, then spread his legs andnded on Charcoal¡¯s back.


    Miao Yi swept a cold gaze across the crowd and slowly turned Charcoal around.


    Seeing as he was about to leave, several people jumped out from the crowd on the opposite side and shouted, "Alliance Master! I will follow you!"


    With someone taking the lead, soon more people jumped out as well. "Alliance Master, take us with you!"


    Eventually, about a hundred people jumped out shouting that they wanted to leave with Miao Yi.


    He recognized all of them. They were the ones he¡¯d personally recruited back on the ship¡ªthose with no sect background whatsoever.


    They were the earliest to follow behind him, and yet were the same ones who wanted to cut all ties with him after seeing him in trouble. They were also the ones who supported the rest of the crowd in killing him earlier on. And now, they were saying that they wanted to follow him again.


    Miao Yi scoffed coldly at their actions, causing those who wished to follow him to stop dead in their tracks.


    He could hear the beating hooves of dragon steeds from afar. Miao Yi turned his head to look at where the sound wasing from, ¡¯Are the forces of the three major sects already here?¡¯


    "I am not a sentimental man. The only reason I¡¯m not killing you all is out of regard for the time we spent together! From now on, we shall have nothing to do with each other. Take care, everyone!" Miao Yi left them with a few cold words of parting. He couldn¡¯t stay here too long, so he turned Charcoal around and broke into a gallop. He passed by Sikong Wuwei and the other two and simply spat out, "Let¡¯s go!"


    The three of them nced at the crowd on the other side, all of whom stared hollowly back at them. They were once fellow members of the same alliance, but now they would go their separate paths. The three turned their dragon steeds around and chased after Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi hadn¡¯t chosen to spare those disloyal bastards because he didn¡¯t want to kill them. Given his personality, even though he¡¯d said it was out of regard for their past rtionship, in truth it was simply because his strength was severely limited, and he couldn¡¯t use the Mystic Yin Mirror for too long. Ergo, he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill all those unfaithful bastards either way. Instead, it could plunge him into even greater danger. As such, all he could do was say a bunch of pleasant-sounding words to lie to everyone.


    Miao Yi led the charge down the mountain and up another, reaching the peak of a different mountain where Qi Xiuhong had been waiting by herself.


    Miao Yi gave her a faint smile when he saw her. When he was facing off against Zhao Lingtu earlier on, he transmitted his voice over to Sikong Wuwei and the other two to have them cooperate with his sudden attack. As for Qi Xiuhong, he only told her to go on ahead as soon as they made their move.


    The reason was simple. Speed was of the essence for his sudden attack. If Qi Xiuhong were to charge with them, not only would she be unable to provide any assistance, there was a chance that she could hinder them instead. Even though Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t use the word ¡¯hindrance¡¯ when talking to Qi Xiuhong, it was an apt description. All he could do was order her to leave ahead of them.


    Not to mention, this sudden attack of his carried with it a great risk. It wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to say that he needed to fight with his life on the line. Miao Yi didn¡¯t want to put his life at risk either. He wanted to live, but when it was time for him to fight like his life depended on it, he would never hesitate. And it was all because he¡¯d never believed that Zhao Lingtu would let him go once he handed over the Mystic Yin Mirror!


    As such, if he were to fail, disaster would definitely fall upon Qi Xiuhong as well, since she had already chosen to stand by his side in front of everyone. He let her go ahead in case he failed, to give her onest chance to fight for survival, allowing her to run as far as she could and live as long as she could.


    The people in the Sea of Constetions now all had that same mentality of living through their days as long as they could. Even though Miao Yi had slept with Qi Xiuhong, he didn¡¯t have to drag her into the grave as well.


    However, Qi Xiuhong had only gone far; she didn¡¯t go away and had waited for him at this ce this whole time. As a result, she received a heartfelt smile from Miao Yi. The cold and ruthless Great Alliance Master Miao had instantly softened up, like well-tempered steel turning into cotton.


    Qi Xiuhong heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Miao Yi had escaped in one piece. He called out to her with a nod, and she immediately rode her steed over and fell in line with the other three.


    Leading the charge down the mountain, Miao Yi ripped off the red cloth tied around his wrist and tossed it away. A self-mocking smile hung on his lips as he looked at it with disdain.


    The rest who were behind him also ripped theirs off. Four pieces of red cloth fluttered in the wind as Miao Yi¡¯s group galloped away and slowly disappeared into the forest.


    At the mountaintopke, many among Dong Quan and the rest heaved a sigh of relief when they could no longer see Miao Yi and the others. Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples had died, and Miao Yi had left. After spending several years in peace, the crowd suddenly felt a sense of loss. Their hearts were full of anxiety, as well as fear towards the uncertainty of their futures.


    After watching Miao Yi and the others depart, the crowd turned to face the other direction. Several dozen riders were already in their line of sight and were quickly advancing towards them.


    "Everyone, get ready to open the floodgates." Dong Quan took up the responsibility of leading everyone of his own volition. He cupped his fists towards the crowd and sighed. "Let¡¯s hope that Zhao Lingtu wasn¡¯t lying to us before he died. If the situation doesn¡¯t feel right, all we can do is fight with our lives. And if that doesn¡¯t work, we will have to run for it!"


    Against the fear of uncertainty, the crowd didn¡¯t disobey the order and proceeded to make their preparations as Miao Yi had instructed them to in the past. The water of this stillke could be considered the final piece of protection that Miao Yi had given to the Red Scarves Alliance.


    At the foot of the mountain, three vicious beasts came to a stop. They had sharp fangs and ws, with robust statures covered in a hard crystal armor. Low snarls emitted from these beasts, their savagery in full disy.


    Seated upon each beast were two young men and a young woman. These three youngsters all had a cold expression on their faces as they lifted their heads to look at the mountaintop. There were about fifty people behind them. Based on their attire, they were undoubtedly the forces of the three major sects.


    At the mountaintop, Dong Quan and the others all cast their gazes upon the troops at the foot of the mountain as well. Those three terrifying beasts should be the ¡¯Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts¡¯ that Zhao Lingtu had mentioned. Based on the attire of the three major sects, the handsome, yet cold-faced individual in the center should be Gu Sanzheng of the Sword Deviate Sect; the stern-looking youngster with the brawny physique on the left should be Tan Lao of the School of Imperial Beasts; and needless to say, the voluptuous and elegant woman on the right was definitely Ye Xin of the Jade Lady Sect.


    From the looks of things, Zhao Lingtu was indeed telling the truth.


    A rainbow-colored bird descended from the sky andnded on Tan Lao¡¯s shoulder. Then, it chirped by his ear.


    It seemed like Tan Lao could understand what the bird was saying. He turned to the side and said, "There is ake at the top of the mountain with signs of digging at its edges. It seems like they have ns to trigger a trap to flood us using the canals. What a vicious n. Therger the force that attacks the mountain, the greater the number of casualties. We mustn¡¯t be lured in by them. Just attack at your own pace and advance while avoiding the ces where the canals are situated."


    Gazing towards the peak of the mountain, Ye Xin furrowed her brows and said, "Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, have you noticed their attire? It seems like they¡¯re the forces of the Fifth Earthly Branch."


    Gu Sanzheng had noticed it a long time ago. He remarked with interest, "Why are there so many of the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s troops gathered here?"


    At the mountaintop, Dong Quan invoked his arts and shouted, "Are the ones down below the disciples of the three major sects under the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch?"


    "Senior Brother Gu. They are indeed the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s forces. I have seen quite a number of them before!" Behind the three leaders, Su Jinggong suddenly stated.


    It was evidently a little strange for an old man to call a youngster Senior Brother. That said, this Su Jinggong was a rather fortunate man indeed.


    Ever since he¡¯d escaped Miao Yi¡¯s hand, he had traveled alone to the disembarkation point for non-administration forces of the Fifth Earthly Branch. There, he had actually managed to meet up with his fellow disciples in one piece. He was fortunate that the forces of the respective Earthly Branches had yet to spread out at the time. Otherwise, he might not have been so lucky.


    It was also fortunate that the School of Imperial Beasts had their ¡¯Seeker Birds¡¯. As soon as the non-administration forces of the three major sects alighted, Tan Lao immediately sent out the ¡¯Seeker Birds¡¯ towards the disembarkation points of the administration forces to assemble their fellow disciples.


    However, it was evident that they hadn¡¯t managed to assemble all their fellow disciples. Most of them had died to Miao Yi and the Red Scarves Alliance¡¯s hands. Only a meager twenty to thirty survived out of the original two hundred. They¡¯d barely managed to amass their current numbers of a little over fifty troops after adding on the non-administration forces.


    Gu Sanzheng was even more curious after hearing what Su Jinggong said. "I can see there are around seven to eight hundred troops up there. After the most tumultuous three-year period, almost half of the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s administration forces have actually managed to survive. Furthermore, they are all gathered together. What is going on?"


    Then, Su Jinggong widened his eyes and shouted, "Senior Brother Gu. They are the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance. Look at the red cloth tied around their wrists. They are all troops of the Red Scarves Alliance. Some of them have surrounded the forces of our three major sects before. I recognize them."


    "Indeed! They are all forces of the Red Scarves Alliance. I can¡¯t believe they are still alive and have been hiding here all this time." Behind him, there were others who affirmed his spection.


    "Senior Sister! They were the ones who killed Senior Auntie." A Jade Lady Sect disciple shouted, "Senior Sister! You have to avenge Senior Auntie!"


    Ye Xin turned around and asked, "Didn¡¯t you say that there were only about four hundred members in the Red Scarves Alliance?"


    It was evident that this Senior Sister was much more sensible than a certain murdered Senior Auntie.


    Su Jinggong replied, "The others probably joined afterward."


    At the mountaintop, Dong Quan couldn¡¯t help feeling a little anxious when he saw that the people down below didn¡¯t respond. He invoked his arts and repeated, "Are the ones down below the disciples of the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s three major sects?"


    After hearing the remarks from the people behind him, Gu Sanzheng invoked his arts and replied, "Are the ones up the mountain the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance?"


    "We are! Are you Gu Sanzheng of the Sword Deviate Sect? The incident in the past was a misunderstanding. We have nothing to do with it!" Dong Quan shouted in reply.


    Gu Sanzhengmanded, "Bring Miao Yi out to see me!"

 Chapter 355: A Liar?

    Chapter 355: A Liar?


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Miao Yi has run away. He just left. When he found out you were alling, he simply left us behind!" Dong Quan replied.


    "Why are you wasting your breath on them? Don¡¯t you feel tired talking from so far away? Let¡¯s just head up there first." Tan Lao scoffed, then turned to the Seeker Bird by his shoulder and chirped to it. The bird immediately flew off in front of them, keeping at a low altitude to guide them up.


    Gu Sanzheng and the others agreed with him and quickly followed behind the Seeker Bird, avoiding the entrance of the flood trap as they galloped up the mountain.


    When the people up the mountain saw this, they knew that they wouldn¡¯t be able to trigger their flood traps. It seemed that Zhao Lingtu had spoken the truth. Subsequently, this bolstered the confidence of Dong Quan and the rest that the three major sects would not easily harm the forces of the Fifth Earthly Branch.


    At the mountaintop, the three Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts led the way and only came to a stop right in front of Dong Quan and the rest. Only now did the forces of the three major sects realize that there were almost a thousand troops up here, and not just seven to eight hundred people. It was truly apt to say that almost half of the administration forces of the Fifth Earthly Branch had gathered here.


    The forces of the Red Scarves Alliance tried not to disy any signs of hostility or arrogance. Dong Quan cupped his fists and asked, "Are the three of you Gu Sanzheng of the Sword Deviate Sect, Ye Xin of the Jade Lady Sect, and Tan Lao of the School of Imperial Beasts?"


    The three of them felt slightly taken by surprise and couldn¡¯t help but exchange nces with one another. Gu Sanzheng furrowed his brows and asked, "We don¡¯t seem to be acquainted. How do you know who we are?"


    "Brother Zhao Lingtu was the one who told us."


    The three suddenly came to a realization. Gu Sanzheng nodded and said, "So it was Brother Zhao. We¡¯ve fought together for a time before. I still remember the awesome might of Brother Zhao¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer as clearly as if I¡¯d just seen it yesterday. Since Brother Zhao is around, why isn¡¯t he here to meet us?"


    Dong Quan smiled bitterly. "If you had arrived even half an hour earlier, you might have been able to see Brother Zhao for thest time."


    ¡¯See him for thest time?¡¯ The three were taken aback once more. Gu Sanzheng¡¯s brows creased as he asked, "Did something happen to Brother Zhao?"


    Dong Quan turned around and waved his hand to gesture those behind him to make way. He extended his hand and said, "Go and take a look for yourself."


    Therge army instantly split into two and allowed the forces of the three major sects to pass through.


    The fifty troops passed through the middle of the thousand-strong army of the Red Scarves Alliance. Gu Sanzheng and the other two did not fret and were not the least bit afraid that the Red Scarves Alliance would suddenly make a move against them. The talented and skilled are bold indeed.


    On the other hand, Su Jinggong and the rest who managed to escape certain death during the disembarkation swept cold gazes across the people around them, searching for a certain someone.


    Those who Miao Yi had instigated into acting against the three major sects were all feeling anxious from their stares, worried that the three major sects would seek revenge against them as Zhao Lingtu said. They were a little regretful that they didn¡¯t choose to follow Miao Yi. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be so restless now.


    Dong Quan brought the forces of the three major sects to where the corpses of Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciplesy. The frost on their bodies was already crackling away under the sunlight.


    Gu Sanzheng and the other two fell silent after seeing that Zhao Lingtu¡¯s body had been split into two halves. After all, they were acquaintances who had fought together against Yao cultivators for a time. The three of them never expected that he¡¯d die here.


    Truth be told, back when the three major sects had teamed up with Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples to fight against the Yao cultivators, the three of them witnessed the powerful might of Zhao Lingtu¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer and had invited him to apany them on their journey across the Western Star Sea. This was simply because they had their orders to fulfill and would have a greater chance of aplishing the mission handed down to them if they had another powerhouse supporting them. They¡¯d never once thought of taking anything away from Zhao Lingtu.


    However, Zhao Lingtu was firm in his narrow-minded perception of them. When he saw the disparity in numbers between his own forces and that of the three major sects, he became worried that they would plot against him and insisted on leaving. Gu Sanzheng and the rest couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    Tan Lao noticed that there wasn¡¯t a single drop of blooding from the wounds on Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples. Perplexed, he asked, "There is something peculiar about the way they died. How exactly did this happen?"


    Dong Quan shook his head and sighed. "If you¡¯d all arrived even half an hour earlier, you would have been able to see it. This is the doing of Miao Yi¡¯s Mystic Yin Mirror. It is a Ghost Cultivator¡¯s transcendent artifact..."


    He recounted the events that happened after the Red Scarves Alliance had obtained the Mystic Yin Mirror, to Miao Yi recruiting Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples, as well as the incident that had just urred.


    Naturally, he hid certain details from them and didn¡¯t mention that it was because they coveted Miao Yi¡¯s transcendent artifact. After all, he couldn¡¯t admit that they were the ones at fault in front of outsiders. He only mentioned that Miao Yi had been afraid of the three major sects closing in on him and insisted on leaving. Seeing this, Zhao Lingtu wanted Miao Yi to leave the transcendent artifact behind for the members of the Red Scarves Alliance to protect themselves. However, Miao Yi was unwilling to do so and was determined to take the transcendent artifact away with him. Afterward, he shed with Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples and employed sneaky tricks to kill them all. Everyone else couldn¡¯t even save them in time.


    "I have long heard that this Miao Yi person is devious and despicable. Today, I can see that the rumors are true. We cannot let this little rascal roam free!" Ye Xin scoffed disdainfully.


    On the other hand, Gu Sanzheng felt as if certain crucial parts were missing from Dong Quan¡¯s story. He narrowed his eyes at Dong Quan and asked, "If this Miao Yi is really that despicable, how were you all able to live with him for so many years? If he is truly such a heartless person, given that you all forced him to hand over the transcendent artifact which he insisted on taking away, why did he spare you all when the Mystic Yin Mirror in his hands could kill Zhao Lingtu and the others so easily? Unless the Mystic Yin Mirror is not as powerful as you described... or is there something you¡¯re not telling us?!"


    Ye Xin felt that Gu Sanzheng had a point and furrowed her brows as she swept a cold gaze at Dong Quan, feeling as if he¡¯d fooled her.


    "You lot,e over here!" Tan Lao pointed towards several of Zhao Lingtu¡¯s surviving fellow disciples who were spread out among the crowd. It was easy to recognize them because they all wore the same uniform.


    Dong Quan¡¯s expression changed slightly.


    Those that Tan Lao called out didn¡¯t dare to disobey and stepped forward restlessly.


    "What happened exactly? Tell me the truth. If there is even a single lie, don¡¯t me me for showing you no mercy!" Tan Lao shouted coldly.


    Dong Quan hastily cupped his fists and interrupted, "I have told you nothing but the truth. It is absolutely¡ª"


    "We didn¡¯t ask you. Keep your mouth shut!"


    He was abruptly cut off by Ye Xin. With a flip of her wrist, a ck whip suddenly appeared within her grasp. It glowed with a blue radiance and instantly extended out.


    A strange and sharp rustling noise resounded as the ck whip, covered in thorns, coiled around like a vicious snake. It grew longer and longer, and the sharp, thorny tip stopped short of Dong Quan¡¯s eyes, as though warning him¡ª ¡¯Your life is mine the instant you say another word!¡¯


    Dong Quan frozepletely in ce. Ye Xin then turned back to the people who were called out and yelled, "Speak!"


    Startled, those people answered Tan Lao¡¯s every question as best they could, afraid to keep anything secret from them. Soon, the truth of the matter was made known to Gu Sanzheng and the others.


    Dong Quan was so nervous that beads of sweat started to drip down his forehead. He had lied to Gu Sanzheng and the others, and he didn¡¯t know what they would do to him now that they¡¯d found out the truth. If there were truly no other choice, then he would have to fight for his life.


    After realizing the truth, Gu Sanzheng and the other two fell silent and couldn¡¯t help sighing inwardly. Miao Yi was clearly the one who¡¯d managed to steal that Mystic Yin Mirror all by himself and had even rescued everyone. The Mystic Yin Mirror should rightfully belong to him. If they were in his shoes, they wouldn¡¯t hand it over either. However, these people before them repaid his kindness with treachery and plotted to steal his transcendent artifact multiple times. It just so happened that Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples drew the short end of the stick and fell into Miao Yi¡¯s trap, resulting in their deaths. If it weren¡¯t for Miao Yi¡¯s consideration for the time they spent together, Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples might not have been the only ones to die.


    Furthermore, these people who managed to survive still intended to push the me onto Miao Yi. Where was the justice in that? s, justice did not exist within the hearts of men; truth and deceit were always decided solely by one¡¯s strength!


    Naturally, regardless of how the three of them felt, they wouldn¡¯t uphold justice on Miao Yi¡¯s behalf. On the other hand, Su Jinggong and the others who were fortunate enough to escape Miao Yi¡¯s culling were secretly gloating. They didn¡¯t feel that Dong Quan and the others were despicable at all. Rather, they thought that Dong Quan and the others hadn¡¯t done enough and shouldn¡¯t have let Miao Yi escape.


    "To be able to lead such arge force and hide in the Western Star Sea for so many years, taking advantage of the local terrain to fortify defenses, as well as ensuring the survivability of so many people¡ªthis Miao Yi is truly a capable man of both intellect and bravery. It¡¯s a pity we cannot walk the same path," Tan Lao said inly.


    "I have heard stories of him before as well. Despite being a White Lotus cultivator, he has aplished great deeds while he was in the South Edict Manor. When he was still a Cave Master, he charged all the way from Suppressing Second Hall to Suppressing Third Hall and killed an opposing Manor Head. Afterward, he sessfully made a full retreat. Furthermore, he even demoted all the troops of our three major sects. How can a man like this not be capable? Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to be Mountain Chieftain while he was still a White Lotus cultivator, much less pull together so many people to create the Red Scarves Alliance here in the Sea of Constetions. And he did all that with just a White Lotus cultivation base. Not only was he able tomand so many Blue Lotus cultivators, but he also managed to contend against strong foes and defeat numerous experts while taking their treasures away with him. It is not possible to aplish all this simply out of luck. I must meet with him after this and see if he really is such a monster!"


    There was a trace of admiration in Gu Sanzheng¡¯s tone. Those who were proud possessed a certain fire within them. Having yet to be fully shaped by the giant mold that is the cultivation realm, it was easy for him to feel sympathy for Miao Yi.


    After he came to this stillke, witnessing with his own eyes and listening with his own ears about what happened, Gu Sanzheng felt even more strongly about pulling Miao Yi in to journey across the Sea of Constetions together. But s, Miao Yi bore a deep grievance with the three major sects. While in the Sea of Constetions, Gu Sanzheng made all the decisions for the Sword Deviate Sect, so it would be a simple matter to let Miao Yi go. However, not only did Miao Yi kill Ye Xin¡¯s Senior Auntie, but he also murdered the grandson of Elder Wu of the School of Imperial Beasts. As far as he knew, all the disciples of the School of Imperial Beasts had received clear instructions from Elder Wu that Miao Yi was not to be pardoned and to ensure that he died in the Sea of Constetions.


    Earlier, Ye Xin had remarked that Miao Yi was a despicable man, so even if she now knew that he was not the one truly at fault, it was hard for her to correct herself. However, a thoughtful expression hung on her face as she retracted the Ruyi Whip with a sweep of her hand.


    Heaving a sigh of relief, Dong Quan was a little puzzled as he cautiously asked, "Brother Gu, just now you mentioned that Miao Yi only possesses a White Lotus cultivation?"


    Gu Sanzheng replied with his own question, "Was I mistaken then? You have lived together for several years. Wouldn¡¯t you know better than I do?"


    "...." Dong Quan was speechless. Before this, no one had ever seen Miao Yi¡¯s level of cultivation. He shook his head repeatedly and said, "That¡¯s impossible. His other feats aside, I saw for myself how he single-handedly battled against arge number of troops from your three major sects back when we¡¯d just disembarked. He couldn¡¯t possibly have faked that level of skill."


    Behind the crowd, Su Jinggong was immediately outraged when he heard this, as though someone had revealed an embarrassing scar of his. He shouted, "Bullshit! You truly think that little rascal is some mighty champion with a high cultivation who can contend against powerful warriors on his own? That little rascal tampered with our dragon steeds while we were on the ship and weakened them terribly, thus they easily copsed from just the slightest pressure. As a result, we were helpless against him and handed him arge opening to strike us down. Otherwise, we would have definitely ripped that little rascal to pieces!"


    "Ah!" Not only Dong Quan but even the others were left wide-eyed with their mouths agape. The Alliance Master whomanded the respect of almost a thousand Blue Lotus cultivators all this while was actually a liar whose strength was only skin deep?


    ¡¯Is this true? He has really been lying to us these past three years?¡¯ The crowd still found it difficult to believe, since they had borne witness to what Miao Yi was capable of several times already.


    Dong Quan shook his head in disbelief, "This can¡¯t be possible, can it? Even if he faked the incident during the disembarkation, on our end, we all bore witness to how he single-handedly defeated strong foes several times now. We have also seen for ourselves how he killed Blue Lotus cultivators. That cannot possibly be a ruse!"

 Chapter 356: New Alliance Master

    Chapter 356: New Alliance Master


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    When he said this, Gu Sanzheng and the other two exchanged nces. Even though they didn¡¯t say anything, they were sighing inwardly, feeling even more impressed by Miao Yi deep down. He was truly a man who was as cunning as he was brave. He must be full of boldness to dare to attempt such trickery in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Gu Sanzheng and the other two didn¡¯t think he was despicable at all. The disciples of the three major sects had not suffered losses against such a man without reason, and it was the same case for all the people he had fooled.


    When Su Jinggong saw that they still didn¡¯t believe him, it made it seem like he was making up stories to cover up his embarrassment after Miao Yi defeated him. He ground his teeth with frustration and said, "Have any of you seen him fight with just his cultivation alone?"


    Dong Quan thought, ¡¯Didn¡¯t he use his cultivation when he fought against you?¡¯ However, since the other party said that Miao Yi tampered with their mounts beforehand, he put the matter aside for the time being. After giving it some thought, Dong Quan found it rather suspicious as well that he¡¯d truly never seen Miao Yi fight against his opponents simply by using his own cultivation and without relying on external support. He had triumphed against his foes simply through sheer courage and wit!


    "Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s really been lying to us all this time?" Dong Quan gulped as he tried toe to terms with the situation. Soon, his suspicions piled up, and he abruptly smacked his thigh and shrieked, "Oh no! We¡¯ve all been tricked by him. No wonder he didn¡¯t make a move on us after killing Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples. In truth, given his cultivation, his transcendence energy was already depleted after using a top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifact. He¡¯d be a hollow shell... and we allowed him to steal three transcendent artifacts just like that!"


    Dong Quan was so furious he almost spat out blood. Those were three top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts. How could he have let them slip away from his fingertips so easily?!


    He was not the only one feeling pained from the loss after realizing the situation. Yu Baixing and the others were grinding their teeth in hatred as well.


    Gu Sanzheng and the other two scoffed inwardly. ¡¯Tricked? Go and try it if you all think you can even attempt such trickery. Some things are easy to understand but difficult to do. Aplishing them without extraordinary courage and intellect is impossible. Those whock even slightly in both departments would never dare to attempt this sort of trickery!¡¯


    "He¡¯s fooled you good! This is the consequence of following behind such a cunning rascal andmitting evil!" Su Jinggong mocked coldly. He cupped his fists towards Gu Sanzheng, "Senior Brother Gu. Many among them participated in the culling of disciples of our three major sects back when the administration forces of the Fifth Earthly Branch first disembarked. Please avenge the deaths of our fellow disciples!"


    Many of the Red Scarves Alliance members felt nervous when they heard him. To make matters worse, the survivors from the Jade Lady Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts were shouting in agreement for Ye Xin and Tan Lao to avenge their dead disciples.


    Tan Lao and Ye Xin looked towards Gu Sanzheng. He lowered his gaze and said, "It is easier to bury one¡¯s enemies than to forgive them. We are in trying times and should unite together as members of the Fifth Earthly Branch. Just forget about what happened in the past."


    The eyes of those feeling anxious suddenly brightened as they caught a glimpse of hope.


    Su Jinggong widened his eyes in disbelief and asked, "Senior Brother, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ll let our Sword Deviate Sect brothers die in vain?"


    "Obviously they won¡¯t have died in vain. Miao Yi has fooled all these people. We shall only pursue the mastermind behind these foul deeds. We can offer the rest a chance to redeem themselves," Gu Sanzheng said inly.


    Dong Quan and the others immediately cupped their fists and praised, "Brother Gu is a virtuous man indeed."


    In truth, Gu Sanzheng was secretly transmitting his voice over to Su Jinggong, "Do you think I don¡¯t wish to avenge the deaths of our fellow disciples? But the Overlord has given strict orders to our Sword Deviate Sect. If we kill this many of the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s administration forces, then if we fail to ce within the top one hundred at the end of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, the Overlord will me us all. How then will our Sword Deviate Sect continue to exist within the Fifth Earthly Branch? These people must die. However, they cannot die by our hands. Not openly, at least. There are so many troops gathered here. Since they will die either way, why not use forgiveness as a pretense to pull them under our banner and have them fight for us? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a good idea to have them fight at the frontlines so that our Sword Deviate Sect will have fewer casualties and our disciples can then live longer, even if only by a few more years? How can we let such an opportunity slip by!?"


    Reason finally dawned upon Su Jinggong, and he transmitted his reply, "Senior Brother is truly wise!"


    "I¡¯m no virtuous man!" Gu Sanzheng turned back to Dong Quan and the rest and said, "It¡¯s just that I¡¯d rather not kill among ourselves. However, let me make things clear. We cannot let that evil mastermind roam free. Will everyone assist our three major sects in our crusade to take him down?"


    Everyone from the Red Scarves Alliance exchanged nces with one another. ¡¯Is he intending on having us work together with the three major sects to kill our own Alliance Master?¡¯


    Gu Sanzheng added inly, "I¡¯ll leave it to you to decide who your friends and foes are. However, we don¡¯t have that much patience!"


    When he said he would rather not kill among themselves, he was referring to how he didn¡¯t wish for the three major sects to suffer casualties. This same sentiment did not apply to the enemy. It was a tant threat! That said, the members of the Red Scarves Alliance were no longer confident that they could continue to hide out here. There was nothing wrong with following behind a powerhouse anyway. Thus, the members of the Red Scarves Alliance quickly came to a consensus. They all cupped their fists and said, "We are willing to follow the lead of the three major sects!"


    Dong Quan turned to the crowd and shouted, "From this day forth, the Red Scarves Alliance is no more."


    "That isn¡¯t necessary." Gu Sanzheng stopped him and said, "This Red Scarves Alliance is not a bad name. Not to mention, all of us do need a title now that we¡¯re together. That said, we cannot operate without a proper leader. May I know who should be the next Red Scarves Alliance Master?"


    Who else could do it outside of these three? Tan Lao rolled his eyes and said, "I don¡¯t want to be some Alliance Master. Gu Sanzheng, you do it."


    Ye Xin didn¡¯t want to spend so much effort as well. Tilting her head to the side, she said, "I¡¯m not interested, either."


    The result was obvious. Everyone voted for Gu Sanzheng to be the new Alliance Master, and the Red Scarves Alliance began receiving his orders.


    As soon as Gu Sanzheng became Alliance Master, he immediately got to the task at hand and handed down his first official decree. He simply said a single sentence, "Anyone who disobeys orders will be punished with death!"


    Hemanded total authority over the Red Scarves Alliance. There was no need for him to be courteous because he had the strength to uphold his authority. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to spend so much effort as Miao Yi did.


    Then he asked, "Which way did Miao Yi run off to?"


    "He was heading towards the south. There are wooden rafts hidden between the reefs by the sea there. He should be nning on crossing the sea that way," Dong Quan said as he pointed out the path for Gu Sanzheng.


    "Since this Miao Yi is still alive, I think it¡¯s time for us to meet up with him." Gu Sanzheng looked at the two beside him and inquired their opinions. He might be able to bark outmands at the original members of the Red Scarves Alliance, but he couldn¡¯t treat the Jade Lady Sect and the School of Imperial Beasts in the same fashion. They still needed to discuss certain matters ande to a consensus.


    Tan Lao chirped, and the Seeker Bird immediately soared to the sky and flew off towards the south. With this, he disyed his stance on the matter.


    Ye Xin nodded as well.


    "We can¡¯t let Miao Yi escape. Let¡¯s go!" Gu Sanzheng waved his hand, and the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast beneath him immediately charged out, followed by the disciples of the three major sects.


    Now under a new leader, the members of the Red Scarves Alliance quickly followed suit as well and gave chase to take down their previous Alliance Master. Gratitude and resentment would always be a subject of mystery.


    The Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast was true to its name. It was much faster than the average dragon steed and was capable of crossing mountains and treading through forests with greater flexibility and speed. There was a good reason why it had the word ¡¯hurricane¡¯ in its name. With its sharp ws, it could even climb up trees and scale mountains as if it were t ground.


    Racing at full speed, Gu Sanzheng and the other two quickly pulled away from the forces behind them.


    The three of them charged at full speed, intent on catching up to Miao Yi and killing him.


    From a different point of view, the three of them were indeed impressed by Miao Yi¡¯s feats in the Sea of Constetion Subjugation Crusade despite being a White Lotus cultivator. However, it was precisely because of how impressed they were that they felt even more strongly about eliminating him. The three arrogant youngsters wished to see if Miao Yi was as impressive as they imagined, and whether or not he could escape their grasp. They wanted to meet the bastard that had caused their three major sects to suffer losses on numerous asions. How could they let him make light of their three major sects as though none of them could do anything against him...


    Meanwhile, as soon as Miao Yi reached the shore and found the hidden rafts, he immediately ordered Zhao Fei and the others to destroy all the other wooden rafts but one. The five of them swiftly got on the remaining raft and invoked their arts to cross the ocean.


    Once they were far away from shore, Miao Yi and the others heaved a sigh of relief after seeing that no one was chasing after them yet. They changed the direction of their raft and didn¡¯t continue heading southwards.


    Then Wang Yuetian inquired, "Alliance Master. There is something I don¡¯t understand. I cannot fullyprehend what happened when you killed Zhao Lingtu."


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei cast their gazes over as well. Both of them had the same question in their minds. Back then, they were taken aback when Miao Yi had transmitted his voice over asking for them to cooperate. That giant hammer was not something to be trifled with so easily. They could only grit their teeth and did as he¡¯d said because of the respect and awe they had for him. Unexpectedly, Zhao Lingtu had frozen still and subsequently killed by Miao Yi with a single strike.


    "I am no longer the Red Scarves Alliance Master, so stop calling me that from now on. Now that we will be sharing life and death, we shall address one another as brothers. As for your question, allow me this secret for now. When the chancees in the future, I shall tell you all."


    At the moment, they were all stuck on the boundless ocean, and Charcoal wouldn¡¯t be able to utilize his speed at all. Against three Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators, it would be hard for Miao Yi to escape if anything were to happen. Thus, he had no choice but to take extra precautions. He was relying on the fact that the three of them didn¡¯t know about the true extent of his cultivation as well as the terrible feedback from the Mystic Yin Mirror. If he revealed all his cards, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t have any ulterior motives.


    In truth, Zhao Lingtu had only fallen into his trap because of the Mystic Yin Mirror. When Miao Yi had obtained the Mystic Yin Mirror, he realized that it was unusable by any other cultivator besides a Ghost Cultivator. After invoking his arts to examine the Mystic Yin Mirror, he¡¯d suffered the nasty bacsh from the vast amounts of Yin aura stored within, which froze himpletely in ce. He was only able to wield it because the cultivation arts he practiced were able to negate the effects of the Yin aura.


    When he tossed the Mystic Yin Mirror over to Zhao Lingtu, he intentionally told him that it was only usable by Ghost Cultivators. He knew that by saying this, Zhao Lingtu definitely wouldn¡¯t store it away immediately. Anyone would want to examine it and see what was wrong with it.


    As he expected, as soon as Zhao Lingtu invoked his arts to examine the Mystic Yin Mirror, he immediately suffered the bacsh of the Yin aura. As a result, he¡¯d easily eliminated Zhao Lingtu.


    Otherwise, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t have handed over the Mystic Yin Mirror to Zhao Lingtu even if his life depended on it. Since he had no other options, and he didn¡¯t believe that Zhao Lingtu would let him go, he decided he might as well take a gamble with the Mystic Yin Mirror.


    Seeing as Miao Yi didn¡¯t wish to share this information with them now, Zhao Fei and the other two didn¡¯t ask further.


    How many people in the world could share in the moment of the sun setting upon the ocean? The sky soon darkened, and the bright moon hung between the clouds as a nket of stars draped the night sky. The waves ebbed and flowed as a lonely raft drifted upon the ocean¡¯s surface.


    By afternoon the next day, the group finally arrived on an unfamiliar ind. It wasn¡¯t particrlyrge in size. Everyone cautiously rode on their dragon steeds as they circled around the ind a few times. They didn¡¯t discover anyone else but instead found an empty fort in a cavern along the mountain.


    Recently, this was amon urrence in the Western Star Sea. Those Yao cultivators who were not participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade would be forced to move away temporarily and were only allowed toe back once it was over. As such, there were many simr-looking caves in the Western Star Sea.


    The conditions on the ind were not bad. There were mighty waterfalls and verdant forests, as well as a peaceful serenity to the mountain range.


    Miao Yi and the others were fortunate enough to stumble upon a fort with such a fine environment to rest and recuperate. However, they didn¡¯t know how long they could stay here. It was no longer possible to think about hiding until the end of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. They couldn¡¯t guarantee that there wouldn¡¯t be another jade archive dropping from the sky one day.

 Chapter 357: No Rest for the Weary

    Chapter 357: No Rest for the Weary


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "The one-thousand troops cooped up in that ind have finally decided to leave."


    In the Western Constetions Pce, Ji Meimei chuckled as she stared at the astrbe.


    Everyone cast their gazes over and noticed that the cluster of white lights had indeed left the ind they had stayed on for the past three years.


    Yun Guang clicked his tongue and said, "I wonder if they were forced to leave or if they¡¯re nning to disy their might to thepetition by relying on theirrge numbers."


    "Disy their might?" Hei Yunughed maniacally. "I think courting death is more like it."


    Everyone had only casually paid attention to the matter. Most of their focus was still on the six bright red dots on the astrbe. Only Zuo Nanchun and Fairy Hong Chen had kept a close eye on that ind¡¯srge number of troops the entire time.


    The major movements on the Western Star Sea were in full disy before them. From what they could see on the astrbe, the 180,000 participating cultivators were now reduced to less than 50,000. It was less likely for the various groups to bump into each other now, but it also signified that the remaining participants were much stronger than those that had perished. It would undoubtedly be a heated battle once these participants crossed paths.


    The inds in the Western Star Sea were as numerous as the stars in the sky. It was impossible for the participants to scour every single ind. It was even more dangerous for the forces of the Fifth Earthly Branch now that they¡¯d started to run around. A trace of worry involuntarily shed through Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s eyes.


    She had always wondered whether that Miao Yi was the same young man she had chanced upon in the Ancient City back when the Boundless Secr World had opened.


    Her junior sister Yue Yao had once told her that she and her two brothers had hidden under an old willow tree by the city walls and had managed to see Hong Chen up close.


    Remembering this incident, Fairy Hong Chen seemed to recall something simr. At the time, when she¡¯d stood upon the walls of the Ancient City, she did remember seeing three people hiding under a willow tree. She just never paid much attention as it had merely been a passing glimpse.


    If that Miao Yi of the Fifth Earthly Branch really was her junior sister¡¯s big brother, she wouldn¡¯t know how to exin to her afterward if anything were to happen to him in the Sea of Constetions.


    She could see that her junior sister cared very much for the big brother separated from her for so many years. She had also heard her junior sister talk about her past and how her big brother had been the one who, despite not being much older than them, supported them throughout the toughest time of their lives, when they had no one else to rely on.


    From a young age, he¡¯d taken up a butcher¡¯s knife to support his family. In the beginning, he couldn¡¯t kill a single pig and would always end up getting knocked over by a giant boar as it charged at him. He would have wounds all over his body, but that big brother of hers would always stand back up every time he stumbled.


    Contrary to what one would expect, a pig¡¯s bite was terribly painful. The two younger siblings had seen a giant boar frantically biting their big brother¡¯s arm and caused it to bleed profusely.


    The two younger siblings couldn¡¯t do anything to help. They were hungry and had to watch their big brother stand back up time after time as he fell, his arm dripping with blood no less. The two younger siblings cried as they waited outside the pig sty.


    That relentlessness in standing up every time he stumbled was the exact reason why that big brother of theirs eventually managed to support their family.


    To prevent his little brother and little sister from being sent to the Manor of Merciful Hope, that same big brother had even stabbed himself with the butcher¡¯s knife.


    Every time she listened to her junior sister talking about this story of her past, her junior sister would always end up bawling in front of her.


    Their family was poor at the time, so that big brother would use whatever resources they had on his little brother and little sister. He would always leave them with the delicious food and worked hard to give them an education so that they¡¯d have a future ahead of them. However, in doing so, he¡¯d forsaken his own opportunities, and could barely read a few words.


    He didn¡¯t just forsake his own education. The existence of his two younger siblings had simrly jeopardized the big brother¡¯s love life. No one would wish to have their daughter marrying a poor brat with two kids in tow.


    Her junior sister remembered how her big brother had been kicked out along with his dowry when he proposed to marry Old Li¡¯s daughter from the tofu shop on the opposite side of the street. After that, many would point fingers at her big brother and mock him every time they passed by the butcher¡¯s stall. The two younger siblings had heard plenty of baseless remarks against their big brother. Because of this, the second brother would always pick fights with other people. He even tossed stones at the tile roofs of someone else¡¯s house in the middle of the night, causing it to leak. Meanwhile, standing behind the butcher¡¯s stall, their big brother would look as he normally did, setting up shop as though he wasn¡¯t concerned at all. He would ignore all the mockingments and baseless rumors.


    At the time, the little sister would alwaysfort her big brother and tell him that none of the daughters from the other families were good people and that they didn¡¯t deserve her big brother. She would tell him not to worry, and that she would marry him once she grew older. The big brother wouldugh in response and rub her head as he called her an idiot. Afterward, the little sister swore upon the heavens that she would be her big brother¡¯s wife once she grew older and asked her big brother to wait for the day toe. She would never agree to her big brother marrying anyone else. Her big brother would always just smile and shake his head as he said, "How can I let my little sister marry a butcher?!"


    Maybe anyone else would think it was simply a child¡¯s promise. However, Fairy Hong Chen knew that her junior sister had always kept it in mind. Many years ago, she couldn¡¯t stand her junior sister¡¯s nagging and ended up apanying her back to her home, both disguised as men. Afterward, her junior sister turned the entire City Lord¡¯s manor upside-down and almost killed the daughter of Old Li from the tofu shop who¡¯d once rejected her big brother¡¯s proposal many years back.


    When they returned, her junior sister managed to calm herself down. She repeatedly mentioned how Old Li¡¯s daughter was not good enough for her big brother, and that she would be the one to marry him.


    All Fairy Hong Chen could do was listen to her rant, and maybe offer a fewforting words. It was because she understood that women of their status and beauty could never marry a normal man. Their Master Mu Fanjun would never agree to them marrying an average cultivator, let alone an average mortal. Thosecking in status could never even dream of getting their Master¡¯s approval.


    So many years had passed. ording to her calctions, her junior sister¡¯s big brother should have passed away already. Unexpectedly, another Miao Yi popped out in this Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. ¡¯Didn¡¯t Junior Sister¡¯s big brother fail to obtain the opportunity for cultivation?¡¯


    She wasn¡¯t sure if this was the same Miao Yi as the one she knew. If they really were the same person, then it would be much better for him to die at someone else¡¯s hands. In case these two siblings couldn¡¯t recognize each other after so many years, and if her junior sister were to identally kill her own big brother, what should Hong Chen do then?


    She hated not being able to leave the Western Constetions Pce to go to the Western Star Sea and find out the truth. However, to ensure fairness in the Subjugation Crusade, all those sent from the six nations to the Western Constetions Pce had been cut off from allmunications with the outside world and were not allowed to leave as they pleased. They would have to wait obediently until the Subjugation Crusade was over...


    On the ind, after finding their own resting ces within the fort, Miao Yi and the others gathered together once more.


    "We can finally rx." Sikong Wuwei looked at the empty fort andughed, giving the impression as though¡ª ¡¯It¡¯s my territory and I can do whatever I want with it¡¯.


    Zhao Fei said somberly, "Don¡¯t celebrate too soon. We should still keep up the basic precautions!"


    "Zhao Fei is right!" Miao Yi nodded. He raised his hand and pointed to the tallest peak as he told them, "From this day forth, aside from Qi Xiuhong, we shall take turns keeping guard."


    Everyone nodded as it was something that needed doing.


    Wang Yuetian smiled, "I noticed the smallke at the bottom of the waterfall by the mountains has quite a good rity to it. Come! The three of us should go and take a bath together." He pulled on Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s wrists and dragged them along as he said this.


    "Hey, surnamed Wang. It¡¯s fine if you want to bathe, but why are you taking us with you?" Sikong Wuwei yelled and insisted on not following.


    Zhao Fei also didn¡¯t have the habit of bathing together with a couple of brawny men.


    Wang Yuetian winked at him and said, "Sikong, since we¡¯ve just managed to escape danger, now is precisely the time to let loose. Let¡¯s not interrupt Brother Miao and Sister Qi and let them rest." His tone was full of innuendo.


    Looking as if they¡¯d suddenly realized something, Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei turned their attention to Miao Yi and Qi Xiuhong.


    Even though Qi Xiuhong had always tried to maintain her distance from Miao Yi while in public, but after living together for so long, everyone could see the nature of their rtionship. They weren¡¯t fools after all. Qi Xiuhong and Miao Yi¡¯s rtionship had long been an open secret.


    ¡¯Did Wang Yuetian notice that Miao Yi wanted to do it with Qi Xiuhong? Then we really shouldn¡¯t be bothering them!¡¯ Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei exchanged nces and nodded repeatedly. "Let¡¯s go for a bath! Come, let¡¯s go!"


    The two of them quickly followed behind Wang Yuetian.


    How could Miao Yi and Qi Xiuhong not understand what they were implying? Qi Xiuhong blushed in embarrassment, and Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether he shouldugh or cry as he thought, ¡¯I don¡¯t have that kind of intention at all. We¡¯ve just found a ce to rest. How can I be in the mood for that?¡¯


    "I¡¯ll have Qi Xiuhong prepare us some wine and a few dishes and wait for the three of you to return from your bath!" Miao Yi shouted, trying to prove his innocence.


    The three of them paid him no heed and headed straight to the mountain. Miao Yi looked helplessly at Qi Xiuhong, who immediately turned around and left after leaving him with a single sentence, "I¡¯ll go prepare the dishes!"


    At theke in the mountains, Sikong Wuwei and the other two had already taken off half their clothes and were soaking their bodies in the cool waters.


    "Refreshing and rxing!" Sikong Wuwei let out a deep breath and leaned by the edge of theke.


    Wang Yuetian poured water over his shoulder as he chuckled. "Brother Miao is the one most rxed right now. He still has the mood to have a woman serving by his side even when he¡¯s in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. We cannot contend against such nonchnce."


    Zhao Feiughed. "This simply means that he doesn¡¯t feel threatened by the dangers of the Sea of Constetions. If he can enjoy such leisure, doesn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s safer for us who follow him?"


    Given the situation they were in, the three of them couldn¡¯t help discussing their futures, especially now that they¡¯d left the Red Scarves Alliance.


    Wang Yuetian¡¯s eyes shed with a sudden glint when he saw smoke rising from the fort. He turned to the other two and said, "Aren¡¯t we a little too rxed? What if an enemy suddenly attacks? You two can slowly enjoy your bath. I¡¯ll take up sentry duty on the mountain today."


    Waving his limbs about in the water, Sikong Wuwei nonchntly replied, "We¡¯ve circled around the ind just now and couldn¡¯t see any traces of people. I think we should be fine for the moment. You don¡¯t need to be so nervous."


    "Better safe than sorry," said Wang Yuetian as he got up and invoked his arts to dry himself. Then, he picked his clothes up and started putting them on.


    "There¡¯s no harm in being a little more cautious." Zhao Fei nodded, then continued, "We¡¯ll take turns each day. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll switch with you."


    Since Zhao Fei was saying the same thing, Sikong Wuwei could only resign himself and replied, "Then I¡¯ll take the day after tomorrow."


    After getting dressed, Wang Yuetian nodded to them and rushed off, disappearing into the forest.


    However, he didn¡¯t show up at the highest peak of the ind where they were able to get a bird¡¯s-eye view of their surroundings. Instead, he rushed through the forest and back to the fort.


    Seeing Qi Xiuhong busily working in the kitchen, Wang Yuetian didn¡¯t interrupt her. Instead, he headed straight for Miao Yi¡¯s cave. Standing outside, he asked, "Brother Miao. Are you free?"


    Miao Yi was in the midst of sorting out the loot he¡¯d obtained from Zhao Lingtu and his fellow disciples. When he heard Wang Yuetian calling to him, he kept the items away for the moment and replied, "Come on in."


    Wang Yuetian came in with a sk of wine, cing it on the table as he took a seat opposite Miao Yi.


    Confused, Miao Yi asked, "Didn¡¯t you all go to take a bath?"


    "Aii! Zhao Fei was being overly cautious and said that we shouldn¡¯t be too careless, so he went to patrol the ind one more time. And that bastard Sikong said that it was pointless taking a bath with a man, so he followed Zhao Fei. In the end, I was the only one. Then, I saw smoke rising from the fort and figured we must have misunderstood something earlier on. That¡¯s why I just washed myself quickly and came back." Wang Yuetian smacked the sk of wine on the table and said, "I heard you say that Sister Qi will be preparing some food and wine. Then I remembered I just so happened to have a sk of fine wine in my hands, so I quickly brought it out to share with you, Brother Miao."

 Chapter 358: Never Betray Those Who Place Their Faith in Me

    Chapter 358: Never Betray Those Who ce Their Faith in Me


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Wang Yuetian took out several wine cups as he spoke, and was about to open the sk of wine.


    Miao Yi raised his hand and stopped him, "Since it¡¯s fine wine, how can we just share it between ourselves? Why not wait for Zhao Fei and Sikong toe back and try it together?"


    "They just left, and I don¡¯t know when they¡¯ll return. You and I can start drinking first. Don¡¯t worry about it; I¡¯ve prepared more just for them." Wang Yuetian opened the seal and lifted the sk over two jade cups, pouring a transparent liquid into them as an inviting aroma spread through the air.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly as he silently stared at the clear liquid in the cup.


    cing the wine sk aside, Wang Yuetian extended his hand and said, "Go on, have a taste." Then he raised his cup, lifted his head and drank it all up. He wiped his mouth with his sleeves and ced his cup down when he saw Miao Yi had yet to drink. He asked curiously, "Does Brother Miao think my wine isn¡¯t good enough?"


    "How would I know whether it¡¯s good or not if I haven¡¯t even drunk it yet?" Miao Yi smiled and raised his cup. His hand briefly came to a stop before his lips, but he eventually gulped it all down. He ced the cup down and wiped his lips, nodding as he praised, "What a great wine indeed!"


    His words were notpletely true. Even though this wine wasn¡¯t bad, it couldn¡¯tpare to the pile of bejeweled nectar he¡¯d sold to the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce.


    "Then drink some more! We shall drink while we wait for the other two to return." Wang Yuetian was smiling brightly. This time, he didn¡¯t pour the wine. Instead, he invoked his arts and made two crystalline rivers of wine flow out from the sk and into the jade cups.


    Then he raised his cup and finished it all in a single gulp again.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi was in no rush to drink. He smiled and asked, "Brother Wang. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re here just to share some wine with me. Do you have something you wish to say?"


    "Ai!" Wang Yuetian shook his head and smiled bitterly. "I¡¯m just trying to drown my sorrows with alcohol. I don¡¯t know if any of us will be able to make it out of the Sea of Constetions in one piece."


    He refilled his cup and raised it to Miao Yi as he said, "Let¡¯s not talk about such depressing matters and get drunk while we still can. Cheers!"


    Miao Yi raised his cup and bumped it with Wang Yuetian¡¯s before taking another sip. He ced the jade cup down and said, "Brother Wang. You don¡¯t have to be so pessimistic. At the moment, we have three top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts in our hands. We might just be able to make it out of the Sea of Constetions alive."


    "In truth, we all know deep down that our hopes are slim. Out of 180,000 cultivators, only one hundred can make it back alive! Will we be so fortunate?"


    "As long as we stick together, there is still a chance."


    "Let¡¯s hope so. Forget it. Drink up!" Wang Yuetian seemed depressed as he refilled both jade cups to the brim once more.


    Miao Yi lifted his cup and was about to knock their cups together when his hand suddenly trembled, spilling the alcohol inside. He shook his head and widened his eyes at the empty jade cup in his hand.


    Wang Yuetian gasped, "Brother Miao! What¡¯s wrong?"


    Smack! Miao Yi mmed the jade cup onto the table and shook his head vigorously. He could feel extreme pain from his stomach, like thousands of knives were stabbing it. The pain was so intense thatrge beads of sweat dripped down from his forehead, and his mind felt unbearably dizzy.


    "This wine..." Miao Yi supported himself with both hands on the table and barely managed to get to his feet. His breathing was ragged as he red at Wang Yuetian and said weakly, "You¡¯ve poisoned it!"


    Wang Yuetian looked at him in surprise. After confirming the symptoms were as he had imagined, the shock on his face slowly receded as he sighed in relief. He ced the jade cup in his hand on the table, then pointed at Miao Yi and said, "Fall!"


    ¡¯It was him indeed!¡¯ With both hands on the table, Miao Yi suddenly lost strength in his body and fell to the ground. His body twisted as he stared at Wang Yuetian slowly standing up and groaned, "Why... did you do this?"


    Wang Yuetian revealed a vicious expression and replied, "I had no other choice. You are simply too powerful, capable of killing cultivators of the same level as easily as slicing up vegetables. I¡¯ll admit that I¡¯m not your match. Not to mention, you possess three top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts. If I had to take you down, I needed to use some drastic measures. Before I came to the Sea of Constetions, while everyone else equipped themselves with various transcendent artifacts, I prepared an odorless and colorless poison called the ¡¯Fallen Immortal¡¯. I never thought I would actually get to use it."


    Miao Yi¡¯s voice quaked as he asked, "You... Zhao Fei... and Sikong Wuwei... are working together?"


    "Why would I work together with them? Isn¡¯t it better to have three top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts all to myself? ¡¯We will be able to survive the Sea of Constetions as long as we stick together?¡¯ You¡¯ll have much better luck fooling a child. The greatest chance anyone has of surviving the Sea of Constetions is by possessing three top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts! That¡¯s the greatest chance any one of us can get to be part of the top one hundred. Otherwise, what chance would any of us have? Why did you think I left the crowd to follow after you? It¡¯s because my chance to strike will onlye if I stayed beside you and earned your trust! While I¡¯m on the subject, those three transcendent artifacts were destined to be mine from the start. Before this, I had only intended to take away that Mystic Yin Mirror. Little did I expect that you¡¯d kill Zhao Lingtu and take both the Mountain Suppressing Hammer and Spirit Illusion Greatsword as well. This must be fate. Even the heavens are helping me!"


    Having revealed his true intentions, Wang Yuetian waved his fists and inched closer to Miao Yi. He said, "Miao Yi, this is a dog-eat-dog world. You can¡¯t me me. Just me your own ignorance for being too young and trusting!"


    With great effort, Miao Yi turned to lie on his stomach and crawled forward. He was apparently trying to escape, although his speed was much too slow.


    Wang Yuetian walked towards him and stepped on his back. He didn¡¯t need to exert much force, and with a single shove, he stopped Miao Yi dead in his tracks.


    He flipped Miao Yi over with his leg and bent down to remove his storage bangle and storage ring. Suddenly, he heard the sound of rushing wind from behind. Wang Yuetian quickly turned his head to find a creepy mantis the size of a crab zooming in on him.


    Wang Yuetian felt taken aback. He didn¡¯t know where it had popped out from and was about to flick it away. Suddenly, Miao Yi, who he¡¯d just flipped over, took advantage of the moment Wang Yuetian turned his head and brandished a sword artifact from his storage bangle, then swung a cold arc across with his sword.


    Splurt! Blood gushed forth as the de cut Wang Yuetian in half across the waist, his upper body flying off and crashing onto the ground. His eyes widened in disbelief as he watched his lower half fall to the ground. Then he witnessed Miao Yi standing back up like a zombie. He cast an icy gaze towards Wang Yuetian, standing with both hands gripping tightly onto the hilt of the sword as he leaned his stomach against it, the de stabbing firmly into the ground.


    A cluster of mantises the size of crabsnded on Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder, crawling down both his arms and into his storage ring. It was a very peculiar sight.


    Propping his upper body up with both arms, Wang Yuetian saw his guts spilling onto the floor and the pool of blood underneath. His face was as white as a ghost as he lifted his head to look at Miao Yi, who was visibly sweating. Wang Yuetian¡¯s voice trembled as he said, "You weren¡¯t poisoned!"


    "I was! It was a terrible experience, suffering the effects of the ¡¯Fallen Immortal¡¯. How could I deceive you if I hadn¡¯t fallen for it? At least now I know what it¡¯s like to suffer from the ¡¯Fallen Immortal¡¯. In the future, I won¡¯t have to endure this pain in order to put up a good act."


    Wang Yuetian gasped, "You knew all along that I poisoned the wine?"


    "I couldn¡¯t confirm it. But how could I not take extra precautions given the dangerous situation we¡¯re in? I only felt it was a little suspicious. s, you can¡¯t really expect to take me down simply by using poisoned wine. If that were possible, then I wouldn¡¯t have been able to live for as long as I have either."


    "You still drank it even though you knew it was suspicious?"


    Miao Yi replied indifferently, "Because I wanted to find out if the other two were working together with you. That¡¯s why I drank your poisoned wine. Naturally, I had hoped that I was simply overthinking it. However, the fact remains that you were indeed trying to kill me. I trust you won¡¯t me me for killing you in return then."


    "me you?" Wang Yuetian revealed a smile on his pale face, "I¡¯d like to know¡ªif I¡¯d never made a move against you, can you guarantee that you would¡¯ve never acted against us until the end of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?"


    Miao Yi responded with his own question, "There are a hundred open spots. Did you think there wouldn¡¯t be enough space for the five of us?"


    Wang Yuetian felt incredibly irritated when he heard Miao Yi¡¯s response. He screamed, "You¡¯re lying! You¡¯re lying!"


    Slowly regaining the color on his face, Miao Yi maintained a cold expression as he resolutely replied, "After being surrounded by countless betrayals and deceit, how many could remain as honest men? I will not me another for lying, nor am I afraid of the consequences. However, as a person, one must always have a line that they shouldn¡¯t cross. Kindness must be repaid with kindness, and vengeance must simrly be repaid in kind. I will never betray those who have ced their faith in me!"


    "I don¡¯t believe you! I don¡¯t believe you!" Wang Yuetian¡¯s expression contorted from the pain, as he shouted hoarsely, "I don¡¯t want to listen to your lies. Finish me. Finish me!"


    Miao Yi inly replied, "As long as there are people who believe in me, I will not disappoint them. The pain I endured just now, I will naturally return them all to you. I am not a forgiving man, nor am I able to repay treachery with kindness. I will watch you die slowly!"


    Wang Yuetian wouldn¡¯t let Miao Yi have his way. He dispersed the final vestiges of his transcendence energy guarding his heart and instantly started bleeding out as he slowly breathed hisst.


    He then heard the sound of footstepsing from outside the cave. Qi Xiuhong called out, "The food is ready."


    "Come in!" Miao Yi replied coldly.


    Qi Xiuhong was carrying a tray full of delicious food and wine when she caught the deep stench of blood the moment she stepped into the cave. She saw Miao Yi covered in dirt as he leaned on a blood-stained sword artifact. Then, she saw Wang Yuetian¡¯s miserable state as hey in a pool of blood. She was instantly bewildered.


    Crash! The tray dropped to the ground, spilling the food and wine all over the ce. Qi Xiuhong could feel that Miao Yi¡¯s murderous aura had yet to dissipate, and her voice trembled as she asked, "What happened?"


    With a cold expression on his face, Miao Yi replied, "Go and see if Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei are still bathing in theke by the mountains. If they are, call them over."


    ¡¯He wants me to see if a couple of men are still in the middle of their baths?¡¯ Qi Xiuhong froze, but when she saw the sight before her, she simply bit her lip and departed. She wondered if Miao Yi intended to kill Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei as well and if he would kill even her in the end?


    She departed the fort in a daze. When she saw the two half-naked men in theke by the mountains, Qi Xiuhong quickly turned her back towards them. Tilting her head slightly, she shouted, "Big Brother Zhao, Big Brother Sikong, pleasee back!"


    After she said this, Qi Xiuhong nervously walked back to the blood-stained room and reported back to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi could do nothing but wait. Soon, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei returned.


    "Why is there a stench of blooding from inside?" Sikong Wuwei asked curiously.


    Both Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei were startled when they saw the situation inside the cave. They stared at Wang Yuetian lying lifelessly in a pool of blood, then turned to Miao Yi, who wielded a blood-stained sword in his hands. It was obvious who had killed Wang Yuetian.


    The two immediately felt their hair standing on end. Since Miao Yi could kill Wang Yuetian, it meant that he could kill them too. The both of them instantly went on full alert.


    "Why did you kill him?" Zhao Fei asked, creasing his brows.


    Miao Yi waved his sword and pointed to the wine on the stone table. He said, "He brought a sk of wine just now and invited me for a drink. The taste isn¡¯t bad. If the two of you are interested, feel free to take a sip. Then you will naturally find out why I killed him!"


    "This...." The two of them felt suspicious of the wine and exchanged nces. Sikong Wuwei cautiously asked, "Is there something in the wine?"

 Chapter 359: Sharing the Artifacts

    Chapter 359: Sharing the Artifacts


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "He called it the Fallen Immortal..."


    Miao Yi shook off the blood stains and sheathed his sword artifact, then briefly recounted the incident that had just happened.


    When he heard the story, Sikong Wuwei immediatelyshed out, "Son of a bitch. I was wondering why this bastard suddenly dragged us along to take a bath. And while we were bathing, he suddenly said we should be careful then ran off to take up sentry duty. So he was trying to draw the two of us away."


    Zhao Fei walked to the table and picked up a cup. He took a whiff and couldn¡¯t find anything wrong with it. If it were so easily detectable, then it wouldn¡¯t be called the ¡¯Fallen Immortal¡¯.


    Then he turned around and walked off, leaving everyone else wondering what he was trying to do. Soon, he brought back a mouse. And only then did they understand his intentions.


    He invoked his arts to draw out a small globule of wine and forced it down the mouse¡¯s throat.


    Zhao Fei was a man who could think for himself. He was not like the ignorant masses who believed everything they heard. Simply put, he was not someone who would believe whatever Miao Yi told him. He only believed in himself.


    However, he was being too obvious about it. Sikong Wuwei snuck a nce to see Miao Yi¡¯s reaction. Miao Yi didn¡¯t react at all and kept his face carefully nk. He allowed Zhao Fei to experiment as he pleased.


    Soon, the mouse began trembling heavily on Zhao Fei¡¯s palm. It quickly started bleeding out from all its orifices and eventually died. How could a mere rat withstand something not even a cultivator could?


    Zhao Fei casually tossed the mouse¡¯s corpse aside. His brows creased as he asked, "I have two questions. Since you suspected there was something wrong with the wine, why did you still drink it? Secondly, why are you still fine after drinking it?"


    "I only drank it down because I wanted to confirm if the two of you had anything to do with this incident." Miao Yi didn¡¯t hide anything and replied truthfully.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei immediately exchanged nces.


    "As for why I¡¯m still fine after drinking it, I cannot divulge that to you." Miao Yi brandished the Mystic Yin Mirror as he said this.


    His actions caused Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei to jump in fright, especially Sikong Wuwei, who had experienced the terrible effects of the Mystic Yin Mirror. Unexpectedly, Miao Yi tossed the Mystic Yin Mirror over to him.


    Catching the Mystic Yin Mirror with his hands, Sikong Wuwei felt puzzled, as did Zhao Fei. They didn¡¯t know what Miao Yi¡¯s intentions were.


    Miao Yi pointed at the Mystic Yin Mirror and told Sikong Wuwei, "Why don¡¯t you take a look at this Mystic Yin Mirror and see what profound secrets it possesses?"


    Even if he didn¡¯t say so, Sikong Wuwei was curious to find out as well. He immediately imbued his arts into the mirror artifact to examine it. As a result, he stood dazed in ce.


    Zhao Fei looked at him in astonishment¡ªhe could feel a deep chilling from Sikong Wuwei¡¯s body. What was even more astonishing was that Sikong Wuwei became encased in ayer of ice in the blink of an eye, and waspletely frozen still.


    "You..." Zhao Fei abruptly turned to Miao Yi with his Square Sky Decorated Halberd in his hand. He looked cautiously at Miao Yi, thinking that he was trying to make a move against both of them.


    "Don¡¯t be nervous. I mean no harm!" Miao Yi walked over and took back the Mystic Yin Mirror. He ced a hand on Sikong Wuwei¡¯s shoulder, and the white frost surrounding his body instantly melted away.


    Soon, Sikong Wuwei groaned, "Ugh...", as he slowly came to. He spat out a breath of cold air as he shivered. Then, he stared at the Mystic Yin Mirror in Miao Yi¡¯s hands, a lingering fear within him, as he said, "There such a dense amount of Yin aura within this damned item. No wonder..." His gaze shifted to Zhao Fei, and he couldn¡¯t help jumping up in surprise as he asked, "Zhao Fei, why are you wielding your weapon?"


    Zhao Fei heaved a sigh of relief and tucked his Square Sky Decorated Halberd away when he saw that Sikong Wuwei was alright. Suddenly, Miao Yi handed him the Mystic Yin Mirror and said, "You give it a try, too."


    "This..." Zhao Fei was speechless. On the other hand, Sikong Wuwei¡¯s eyes brightened, and he took up the Mystic Yin Mirror and shoved it into Zhao Fei¡¯s hands as he urged, "Try it. Invoke your arts and try it."


    Zhao Fei didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. Why did the artifact that everyone coveted seem so difficult to ept now? However, after he received the Mystic Yin Mirror and briefly looked it over, he eventually gritted his teeth and imbued his arts into the mirror to examine it. He also wanted to figure out the mysteries of this Mystic Yin Mirror.


    The result was obvious. Zhao Fei turned frozen, just like Sikong Wuwei had.


    "Hehe!" Sikong Wuwei instantly sniggered at Zhao Fei¡¯s misery.


    Miao Yi hadn¡¯t nned on ying a prank on Zhao Fei either. However, it was much easier to convince someone of certain matters through demonstration rather than exnation. He then quickly helped Zhao Fei recover.


    Afterward, Miao Yi said, "Weren¡¯t you two curious about how I killed Zhao Lingtu so easily? I believe you should understand the reason now."


    Both of them nodded. They looked at the Mystic Yin Mirror in Miao Yi¡¯s hands and didn¡¯t know whether to love it or hate it. Zhao Fei sighed, "Indeed, it seems like only Ghost Cultivators can wield this Mystic Yin Mirror. No, wait..." He turned to Miao Yi and continued, "How are you able to wield it then?"


    Miao Yi replied, "Didn¡¯t my dispelling of the Yin aura within your bodies earlier serve as an exnation as to why I can wield it?"


    The two pondered for a moment, then nodded. Since Miao Yi was unwilling to reveal it, it wouldn¡¯t be wise for them to pry into his personal information.


    Miao Yi tucked the Mystic Yin Mirror away. Then with a flip of his hands, the Spirit Illusion Greatsword appeared in one hand, while the Mountain Suppressing Hammer appeared in the other. He tossed the former over to Zhao Fei, and thetter over to Sikong Wuwei.


    Each of them received an artifact. They exchanged nces, confused as to what Miao Yi nned to do next. Did he want them both to give these a try as well?


    "Even though it¡¯s better to have an extra artifact on hand, the Mystic Yin Mirror is unsuitable for the both of you. As for the other two, the both of you should be able to use them. There are three transcendent artifacts, so it will be fairer if we take one each," Miao Yi said.


    The two werepletely surprised by his words. Even Qi Xiuhong looked shocked.


    So many had died just to steal these transcendent artifacts. Zhao Lingtu and Lu Siping, as well as their fellow disciples. Even Wang Yuetian had perished because of them. And now Miao Yi was willingly giving them away. One could imagine how shocked the three of them were.


    Sikong Wuwei asked cautiously, "Are you really giving them to us?"


    Miao Yi nodded in confirmation. Zhao Fei asked curiously, "Why are you giving them to us?"


    "Have I not been clear in highlighting the problem?" Miao Yi raised his hand to point at Wang Yuetian¡¯s corpse and said somberly, "It¡¯s because I don¡¯t wish to see something like this happening ever again! At the same time, it¡¯s for my own protection. Even if one of you obtain the Mystic Yin Mirror, you won¡¯t be able to use it. Even if you somehow managed to steal it, it¡¯s nothing but a piece of scrap metal to you two in this Western Star Sea. You will only be able to trade it off once you leave the Sea of Constetions alive. I don¡¯t wish to see internal discord between us anymore. If this keeps up, none of us will be able to survive the Sea of Constetions. Should either of you feel that one transcendent artifact isn¡¯t enough, and since you can¡¯t use my Mystic Yin Mirror anyway, there¡¯s no need for the two of you to fight me to the death for it. You might even lose your own life in the process. After all, I¡¯m no pushover either. As such, you can just fight among yourselves. I¡¯ll have nothing to do with it. Since I gave you those transcendent artifacts, I will not interfere if either of you decides to steal from one another. You need not be on your guard against me."


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei both broke out in a cold sweat when they heard him. ¡¯You¡¯re simply passing your problems onto us! You¡¯ll be fine after this, but the two of us will constantly be wary of each other now.¡¯


    "Zhao Fei. You wouldn¡¯t really think of stealing my transcendent artifact, would you?!" Sikong Wuwei shouted, his eyes wide.


    Zhao Fei anxiously waved a hand and replied, "Even though it¡¯s a good artifact, it¡¯s not as important as my own life. To me, staying alive is my top priority. Nothing is more important than making it out of the Sea of Constetions in one piece. Don¡¯t worry. I definitely won¡¯t think about stealing your Mountain Suppressing Hammer."


    "Are you telling the truth? One should never judge a book by its cover. Didn¡¯t he seem like he was getting along with us earlier on as well?" Sikong Wuwei pursed his lips towards Wang Yuetian. Then, he barked, "Why should I trust you? Let me warn you, if you have any vile thoughts towards me, I will tten you to a bloody pancake with my hammer! You¡¯ve seen the might of my Mountain Suppressing Hammer. It can suppress your Spirit Illusion Greatsword!"


    If Zhao Lingtu were alive right now, he would definitely tell Sikong Wuwei, ¡¯You¡¯re overthinking it. The Mountain Suppressing Hammer can¡¯t suppress the Spirit Illusion Greatsword at all. I was simply lucky back then!¡¯


    ¡¯Why would I have any vile thoughts towards a brawny man like you? Even if I did have vile thoughts, it would be for the transcendent artifact in your hands. You can¡¯t even phrase your words properly!¡¯


    Zhao Fei rolled his eyes, waving his hand as he exined, "Sikong, listen to me. Anyone would love to have three transcendent artifacts in their possession, but it¡¯s impossible for one person to unleash the full potential of all three artifacts. At the same time, it isn¡¯t sustainable for one person to wield three top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts simultaneously with their limited transcendence energy reserves. Furthermore, both of us are unable to operate the Mystic Yin Mirror. Brother Miao has clearly shown this to us. If we each wield a transcendent artifact, thereby making up for each other¡¯s weaknesses, only then can we truly unleash the full potential of all three. We have the greatest chance of making it out of the Sea of Constetions alive only if the three of us work together. If we can¡¯t survive even with thebined might of three transcendent artifacts, what use will there be even if one of us takes all three for himself? In the end, that person would just lose it to someone else. That¡¯s why we can never fight among ourselves ever again, nor shall we sabotage each other¡¯s strength! To put it simply, even if we were to fight among ourselves, now is definitely not the time. We need to do as Brother Miao said. We will share life and death for nine years, then turn on each other in thest year. Is that fine with you?"


    "It¡¯s good that you understand!" Sikong Wuwei huffed, but his expression quickly turned to that of joy. He turned around and rushed off after throwing back a single sentence, "I¡¯ll go test the might of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer!"


    Zhao Fei looked at the Spirit Illusion Greatsword in his hands and felt a little curious as well, so he followed behind Sikong Wuwei.


    Watching by the side the entire time, Qi Xiuhong looked at Miao Yi strangely¡ªshe¡¯d seen a different side to him. Those were two top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts, and Miao Yi had gifted them away just like that. How decisive he must be!


    Miao Yi slowly heaved a sigh of relief. Anyone would love to possess a transcendent artifact. However, sometimes it was necessary to be willing to part with them for the greater good. His own strength was severely limited, so he needed people he could rely on by his side. With his cultivation, even if he had all three transcendent artifacts, it would be a dead-end either way. In that case, there was no need for him to hold onto them so tightly. He should be decisive and part with them now since they were unnecessary. Otherwise, there would be no end to his distress in the future!


    He turned to look at Wang Yuetian¡¯s corpse and couldn¡¯t helpmenting over it. He was starting to miss Lao Bai a little now. The cultivation art that Lao Bai taught him had proved to be of great assistance several times already. There were numerous asions where he¡¯d only been able to escape certain death because of this cultivation art. Otherwise, he would¡¯ve died countless times already, and wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive for as long as he had.


    When he remembered that exceptionally graceful and aloof man, unperturbed by anything, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but sigh. In the blink of an eye, so many years had passed. A mortal¡¯s lifespan was limited, after all. Lao Bai should have already passed away a long time ago. It was a pity that he couldn¡¯t see him onest time.


    Boom! A loud earth-shaking sound came from outside and pulled Miao Yi back from his thoughts.


    He walked over to Wang Yuetian¡¯s corpse and removed his storage ring and other valuables. Then, he turned to Qi Xiuhong and said, "I¡¯ll be changing to a different room."


    Qi Xiuhong nodded in acknowledgment. The two walked outside the cave and caught sight of Sikong Wuwei repeatedly hurling away then recalling the mighty hammer in his hands. It carried an overwhelming amount of force, smashing entire mountains into rubble. Its might was astonishing.

 Chapter 360: Tiny Mantids vs. Seeker Birds

    Chapter 360: Tiny Mantids vs. Seeker Birds


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    There were also tens of thousands of Spirit Illusion Greatsword projections circling around in the sky. It was an equally astonishing sight.


    When they saw Miao Yiing out, both Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei recalled their transcendent artifacts and happily walked over. They were clearly pleased with the results.


    Sikong Wuwei waved the shrunken hammer in his hands, acting humble as he said, "It¡¯s not bad, but itcks flexibility. It¡¯s not possible to wield it like a normal weapon once you erge it since it¡¯ll be too heavy. Otherwise, it¡¯s going to be so awesome carrying this giant hammer around as I ride on my steed and duke it out with the enemy. Sadly, I can only hurl it around. Well, I suppose it¡¯s good enough for the moment."


    "Then just make do with it for now." Miao Yi gave a cursory reply, then changed the subject, "At the moment, we are the only ones on the ind. First, we need to prepare ourselves in case anything happens."


    Zhao Fei¡¯s expression immediately turned serious now that they were discussing official matters. He tucked the Spirit Illusion Greatsword away and asked, "What sort of preparations?"


    Miao Yi pointed to his surroundings. "Our numbers are few. If a strong enemy attacks us, and we are unable to triumph, we must retreat. I wish to prepare a few wooden rafts around the ind so that we can run away in any direction at a moment¡¯s notice."


    "What¡¯s there to fear?!" Sikong Wuwei waved the hammer in his hands andughed aloud. "Whether it¡¯s one enemy or two, or even an entire group, I¡¯ll pulverize anybody and everybody whoes my way!"


    Zhao Fei sighed. "Sikong, stop fooling around. Miao Yi is right. There is nothing wrong with being prepared. In the event that our transcendent artifacts can¡¯t contend against the enemy, at least we won¡¯t have to panic."


    Sikong Wuwei waved his hand and replied, "Fine, fine!"


    As soon as the group came to an agreement, they began acting on their n and went off on their dragon steeds to prepare wooden rafts all along the shores of the ind.


    It was better to be safe than sorry. Everyone worked throughout the afternoon and hid wooden rafts across fifty different locations along the ind¡¯s shore. They only managed to finish the task by nightfall.


    As soon as they returned to the fort, Zhao Fei pointed to a steep mountain in the distance, the tallest one on the ind, and said, "I¡¯ll take up sentry duty today. Around this time tomorrow, one of youe and switch with me."


    "Alright! Everyone will take turns keeping guard." Miao Yi nodded in confirmation.


    Zhao Fei then departed.


    They were all covered in dirt after trudging in and out of the forest the whole afternoon, so Sikong Wuwei pulled Miao Yi along to theke by the mountains to bathe.


    It was inappropriate for a woman to follow them, so Qi Xiuhong went to the kitchen on her own. After she barricaded all the gaps and openings, she boiled water and cleaned herself.


    There was a channel dug out that drew spring water from the mountains into the kitchen, so there was no need to go outside and collect water.


    It was an interesting experience to drink wine while bathing in an open spring under the moonlight.


    The two men reeked of alcohol when they returned. When he saw Qi Xiuhonge out of the kitchen, fresh from her bath, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes brightened. He rushed over and immediately lifted her off her feet and into his embrace. Her body was soft to the touch, surrounded by a soothing fragrance. The temptation grew stronger the longer he held her.


    Qi Xiuhong was startled. Someone else was still present. Her face grew flushed as she tried to push Miao Yi away, requesting him to let her down.


    Miao Yi paid her no heed. It wasn¡¯t as if the others didn¡¯t know about their rtionship already. Takingrge strides, he carried her away and proceeded into the cave.


    Sikong Wuwei felt dazed. He clicked his tongue and retreated back into his own cave.


    Meanwhile, in Miao Yi¡¯s cave, an erotic atmosphere filled the air as Qi Xiuhong¡¯s stifled moans resounded, her luscious body caving to the throes of passion...


    The next day. The man and woman were still sleeping in each other¡¯s embrace when suddenly the sound of a galloping dragon steed could be heard. The naked Qi Xiuhong jumped up, startled, and quickly shoved at Miao Yi, whose arms were still around her. She covered herrge bosom with one hand, then hastily picked up her clothes and put them on.


    None of the caves in the entire mountain fort had doors. It would be terrible if someone were to walk in and see her.


    As expected, someone rushed towards this particr cave, causing Qi Xiuhong to jump up in fright.


    Fortunately, outside the cave, Sikong Wuwei called for the other person to stop in time, "Zhao Fei, don¡¯t go inside. Miao Yi and a certain someone are still sleeping."


    He¡¯d revealed the situation inside the cave so casually, causing Qi Xiuhong to feel utterly embarrassed.


    As he was getting dressed, Miao Yi saw how frantic she looked and couldn¡¯t help butugh. "Why do you still need to keep up appearances? It¡¯s not like they don¡¯t know about our rtionship."


    Qi Xiuhong bit her lip and lowered her head silently as she arranged her clothes. She had already done what she shouldn¡¯t have. As soon as she got off the bed and put on her clothes, she maintained her distance from Miao Yi. No one knew what she was thinking.


    Even after they went outside the cave, Qi Xiuhong still distanced herself from Miao Yi. When Miao Yi saw the two people outside, he asked, "Zhao Fei, what¡¯s wrong?"


    Zhao Fei swept his gaze across the two. He was in no mood to concern himself with their personal affairs. He was not some child after all. Sex was amon urrence among adults. What was there to be so excited about? Not to mention, there were more pressing matters to attend to at the moment, so one would naturally ce the topic of sex aside. He raised his hand to point at the sky and said, "Take a look!"


    Miao Yi lifted his head to see two ck dots circling high above them. When he opened his transcendence vision, he saw tworge rainbow-colored birds circling around the sky like eagles. It was not his first time seeing these birds. Immediately, he eximed, "The Seeker Birds of the School of Imperial Beasts? The three major sects have found us already?"


    Zhao Fei said somberly, "There were three of them before this. They were randomly flying around this ind when they discovered me. Sadly, they are unbelievably agile and quickly flew off before I could attack them. And now one of them has left. I fear it has gone to report to its master. We¡¯d best prepare ourselves soon."


    "It¡¯s not a good thing to be targeted by these feathered beasts. Even if we leave now, they will continue to keep an eye on us from the sky," Miao Yi said with frustration, staring at the sky.


    "Damn it! Why did they have to fly so high? Otherwise, I could just smash them down with my hammer!" Sikong Wuwei cursed. They had barely gotten to rest, and now they were starting to feel uneasy again.


    At his words, Miao Yi seemed to have thought of something. His eyes brightened, and with a flick of his sleeve, he shouted, "Go!"


    Thirty-five tiny mantids then shot up to the sky. Sikong Wuwei gasped, "What are these crab-sized things? Are they mantises? They¡¯re so damn fast!"


    The tiny mantids were fast indeed. When they had just hatched, their speed allowed them to easily catch up to a sparrow and kill it. Now that they had grown up a bit, they were naturally much faster.


    "Can those mantises win against the Seeker Birds?" Zhao Fei couldn¡¯t help feeling a little worried. Birds were the natural predators of insects like mantises.


    Miao Yi was a little worried as well. After all, a Seeker Bird was not a regr bird, but a spiritual beast bred by the School of Imperial Beasts. He was afraid of losing the tiny mantids. After all, they were still quite fragile. Even a White Lotus cultivator could easily kill them. They were still a long ways away from being a terrifying Hell Mantis from the Boundless Secr World, imprable by all manners of weaponry. Usually, he couldn¡¯t even bear to use them. Now that Lao Bai had probably passed away already, there were no other means for him to obtain them anymore. He would permanently lose them if they died.


    However, these Seeker Birds were truly hateful. There would be no way to hide once they targeted someone. Miao Yi had to eliminate them.


    s, in the end, he was worried for nothing. Everyone watched with their transcendence vision and soon discovered that the tiny mantids were much faster than the Seeker Birds. As soon as they saw the tiny mantids, the two Seeker Birds screeched in fright and quickly flew away.


    The thirty-five tiny mantids were absolutely vicious. They split into two groups and swiftly chased after the two Seeker Birds. Soon, the tiny mantids caught up to them and stabbed them with their sickles. Their attacks were extremely precise, and in the blink of an eye, they eliminated the two Seeker Birds, frozen still as they fell from the sky.


    However, the tiny mantids didn¡¯t let the matter end there. They swooped down, surrounded the two Seeker Birds, and instantly tore them apart in mid-air as rainbow-colored feathers scattered about.


    "Are those mantises spiritual beasts?" Sikong Wuwei asked in astonishment. Zhao Fei and Qi Xiuhong were also taken aback by the sight.


    Miao Yi heaved a sigh of relief when he saw them eliminate the two Seeker Birds. He didn¡¯t intend to show off the tiny mantids and quickly called all thirty-five of them back. As he extended his arm, the thirty-five tiny fellows quickly flew into his storage ring and disappeared without a trace.


    Everyone else cast their gazes at Miao Yi¡¯s storage ring. Zhao Fei gasped, "These mantises can live inside a storage ring?"


    The storage ring was a vacuum. Any living creature that stayed inside for too long would definitely perish.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t willing to talk about the matter. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Time is of the essence. We have already gotten rid of the two Seeker Birds. We mustn¡¯t stay here any longer. We should retreat now!"


    "Don¡¯t!" Sikong Wuwei lifted his hand and interrupted, "Aren¡¯t they just the three major sects? Now that we each possess a top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifact, we need not be afraid of them. I can pummel them into the ground with my hammer! Not to mention, we can¡¯t keep running away like this. We will need to face them eventually. This is not a permanent solution."


    Miao Yi was speechless. He knew that this idiot simply wished to use the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. If he had known this would be the case earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have given it to him so soon.


    Unexpectedly, Zhao Fei echoed his sentiment, "Miao Yi, Sikong has a point. We can¡¯t keep hiding from our enemies. We will eventually need to conclude this Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade."


    Miao Yi furrowed his brows and said, "There is surely a reason why the three major sects are ranked so highly among all the schools of the Fifth Earthly Branch. I fear we might not be able to handle them."


    Zhao Fei remarked, "We can first give it a try and see how strong our opponents are. If it looks like we can win, we¡¯ll fight. If not, we¡¯ll run. There¡¯s no need to force ourselves against a strong enemy!"


    Miao Yi mulled over the idea, then gently nodded. He took out the map of the Western Star Sea and looked it over, then called for Qi Xiuhong. Pointing to an ind on the map, he said, "Xiuhong, once we determine where our enemies areing from, I want you to leave in the opposite direction immediately. Head to this ind and wait for us!"


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei both nodded. They agreed with this idea as well. With Qi Xiuhong¡¯s strength, if anything were to happen, she would only end up being a burden and would jeopardize their chances of escape.


    Qi Xiuhong knew her faults as well and understood that this was for her own good. She didn¡¯t want to drag everyone else down, so she quietly nodded in acknowledgment.


    After everyone donned their battle armor, they rode on their dragon steeds to the tallest peak on the ind and scanned their surroundings.


    About four hourster, they could vaguely see a ck shadow upon the blue ocean, swiftly approaching them.


    "They¡¯re here!" Zhao Fei remarked with a solemn expression.


    Miao Yi immediately turned to Qi Xiuhong and said, "Go now!"


    "Be careful, everyone. I will wait for you!" said Qi Xiuhong. Then she swiftly turned her dragon steed around and charged down the mountain.


    Suddenly, a rainbow-colored Seeker Bird flew towards them from the enemy side. It seemed like they realized that someone had left. The Seeker Bird flew off in the same direction that Qi Xiuhong left in. Miao Yi raised an eyebrow, and with a flick of his hand, he sent out two tiny mantids.


    He had already seen how strong the tiny mantids were whenpared to the Seeker Birds. It would be overkill to send out arge group again.


    As expected, even against two tiny mantids, that Seeker Bird became so frightened that it lost its way, screeching as it randomly flew about the sky. It seemed like it was absolutely terrified of the tiny mantids.


    In the blink of an eye, the two tiny mantids caught up to the Seeker Bird. After theytched themselves onto the Seeker Bird, they swiftly eliminated it with great ease. The Seeker Bird then fell from the sky.

 Chapter 361: Completely Impressed

    Chapter 361: Completely Impressed


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    After dismounting from her steed, Qi Xiuhong dug up a wooden raft hidden by the beach and tossed it into the sea. Then, not far away, a rainbow-feathered bird dropped to the ground, its body almost beyond recognition.


    Qi Xiuhong recognized it as the Seeker Bird and couldn¡¯t help lifting her gaze. She saw two tiny mantids swiftly flying back to the tallest peak on the ind.


    She gazed longingly at the peak for a moment. Then, she cast aside all her doubts and quickly brought her dragon steed up to the wooden raft. Invoking her arts, she pushed it forwards and swiftly drifted towards the open sea.


    Meanwhile at the peak of the mountain, Miao Yi and the other two exchanged nces, then nodded to one another and charged down the mountain together.


    They headed towards the direction the enemy wasing from. After swiftly charging past the mountains and forests, they finally came to a stop on a leveled hill. There, they gazed towards the army approaching from the ocean.


    When the three could finally clearly make out the crowd, they were shocked. They weren¡¯t surprised to see that the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance were among them as well but rather, none of them were riding on dragon steeds, nor were they on wooden rafts. Instead, they were all leaping across the waves, approaching Miao Yi and the others with great speed.


    The only benefit of doing this was that it was an incredibly rapid form of travel. Regardless of how fast one pushed a wooden raft with their transcendence energy, it would not be faster than directly stepping on the ocean surface and leaping across the waves.


    Why did the enemy do such a thing? It wasn¡¯t hard to guess. After realizing the direction Miao Yi and the others had run off to, they obviously wanted to avoid letting them escape again and came over as soon as they could.


    Miao Yi and the other two thought that the enemy had abandoned their mounts. With that, even if something were to go wrong, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for them to escape.


    However, they were soon caught by surprise as dragon steeds began appearing out of thin air the moment the enemy came ashore. There were also three vicious-looking Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts. The army quickly mounted their dragon steeds and brandished their weapons as they scanned their surroundings.


    The three quickly came to understand what just happened. These people had used the beast sacks of the School of Imperial Beasts to store all their mounts.


    "Damn it. Why didn¡¯t we pick up some beast sacks for ourselves when we killed those School of Imperial Beasts disciples back then?" Sikong Wuwei cursed.


    Zhao Fei somberly said, "The reason we didn¡¯t take them at the time was because they were full of peculiar insects and beasts inside. We can¡¯t control them at all. It would only cause problems for us if we released them. Back then, there were also still plenty of troops keeping a watchful eye on us. Who would have the patience to slowly sort those things out then?"


    Miao Yi eyed the three people at the fore. They were two men and one woman, each riding a beast covered in crystalline armor. Even the surrounding dragon steeds had backed away, obviously fearful of these three beasts.


    Needless to say, Miao Yi guessed that these three were probably the number one disciples sent over by the three major sects!


    The army noticed the three figures quietly standing atop the hill as well. The original members of the Red Scarves Alliance had mixed feelings when they saw Miao Yi and the others. It had only been a few days. The head of the Red Scarves Alliance had now be the target they needed to eliminate.


    Even though Gu Sanzheng and the other two never met Miao Yi before, they could tell that the person seated on the dragon steed in the center was their primary target upon first nce.


    It was because Miao Yi seemed to be the youngest out of the three; Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei clearly looked much older. Not to mention, Miao Yi¡¯s mount was the only one known to be equipped with battle armor. Gu Sanzheng and the other two had heard their fellow disciples describing him before, so it was easy for them to recognize him.


    However, just to be safe, Gu Sanzheng tilted his head slightly and asked, "Su Jinggong. Is Miao Yi the man in the center?"


    Su Jinggong ground his teeth in hatred and shouted, "It¡¯s definitely that little rascal!"


    "A valiant and heroic bearing. He trulymands an extraordinary presence!" Gu Sanzheng simply remarked.


    Peering about his surroundings, Tan Lao glumly said, "He is quite exceptional indeed. Be careful, everyone. I¡¯ve lost the psychic connection with all three of the Seeker Birds I brought with me. I believe they have been eliminated. I wonder how these people managed to do it?"


    Gu Sanzheng and Ye Xin threw him a look, feeling a little puzzled as well. The Seeker Bird was a very agile and sensitive creature, possessing an incredible flight speed. If it sensed anything wrong, it would immediately ascend high into the sky. Not even Gu Sanzheng and Ye Xin could do anything to it at those heights. Yet now all three of them had been eliminated?


    Even though there were only three tiny Seeker Birds, they were exceptionally useful in the Sea of Constetions. With the Seeker Birds being their eyes and ears, the three major sects would know immediately whether there were enemies or ambushes on the road ahead.


    Now that the three Seeker Birds were gone, their ¡¯eyes in the sky¡¯ were obviously destroyed. This would likely cause quite a bit of trouble for them on the road ahead in the Sea of Constetions. Even Gu Sanzheng and Ye Xin felt a pang in their hearts, let alone Tan Lao with his already darkened expression.


    Thest few days had been rough for those Seeker Birds. When Miao Yi and the others escaped from the ind where they had hidden themselves for the past few years, they suddenly changed their route just to be safe, causing their pursuers to continue southwards on a wild goose chase. In the end, not only did they fail to catch up to Miao Yi and his group, they bumped into a group of Yao cultivators on one ind, and a group of monks on another, resulting in a vicious sh on both asions.


    As they proceeded southwards without catching sight of Miao Yi and his group even once, Gu Sanzheng and the rest guessed that they had probably gone off in the wrong direction. Otherwise, they should have caught up with them a long time ago, given that Miao Yi and his party couldn¡¯t possibly travel faster than the Seeker Birds on the ocean.


    As a result, the Seeker Birds were then ordered to return and search every single ind in the immediate vicinity. The Seeker Birds had searched tirelessly for days on end, and when they finally discovered Miao Yi and his group, they immediately died to his tiny mantids. It was truly pitiful.


    Both parties maintained a distance of about a thousand meters away from one another, with each side keeping a close eye on the other with their transcendence vision. Neither group made any sudden movements and continued to keep each other a safe distance away.


    Miao Yi and the other two were unsure of how powerful Gu Sanzheng and his group were, whereas thetter had heard of the might of the Mystic Yin Mirror belonging to the former. Gu Sanzheng and his group knew that the Mystic Yin Mirror was immensely powerful againstrge groups. Once they entered its attack range, their transcendence artifacts might not be able to contend against it. Not to mention, the Seeker Birds had perished for reasons unknown to them, so they were a little apprehensive.


    Eventually, Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. He pointed his long axe to the enemy and said with a hoarse bellow, "You aren¡¯ting to fight, and you aren¡¯t retreating away. What is it you all are trying to do?!"


    On the other end, Gu Sanzhengpletely ignored him. He gave a reply, albeit directed at Miao Yi instead, "Miao Yi. Have you ever thought this day woulde when you killed the disciples of my three major sects?!"


    As though in response to how Gu Sanzheng had ignored Sikong Wuwei, Miao Yi directed his reply towards Dong Quan and the rest, "Dong Quan! I had spared all of you out of consideration for the time we spent together. How dare you all follow behind these bastards now?! Do you really think I won¡¯t dare to take your heads?!"


    Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t help ncing at Miao Yi as he praised inwardly, ¡¯You¡¯re really a good brother!¡¯


    Dong Quan guffawed, "Miao Yi, you fraud! You¡¯re just a mere Mountain Chieftain with a White Lotus cultivation. You really fooled us all back then, calling yourself a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator and stealing the three transcendent artifacts belonging to our Red Scarves Alliance. We haven¡¯t even settled our score with you yet. How dare you act so impudent? Zhao Fei. Sikong Wuwei. I suggest the both of you don¡¯t fall for his lies anymore. As long as the two of you dismount and surrender, out of consideration for our past rtionship as fellow alliance members, I can plead to Alliance Master Gu for the two of you to be spared. Stop refusing to realize your own mistakes!"


    Su Jinggong showed himself from behind Gu Sanzheng, and pointed to Miao Yi, shouting, "Miao Yi, you little rascal. How dare you tamper with our mounts back on the ship. Today is the day of your reckoning!"


    Miao Yi was speechless. Heughed bitterly to himself. He never expected this bastard to be here too. No wonder his secret was exposed.


    Looking to his side, he saw that Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were looking at him, utterly confused.


    Sikong Wuwei cautiously asked, "Miao Yi. Your cultivation is only at the White Lotus realm?" It seemed like he found it a little hard to believe as well, thinking that the enemy was intentionally trying to sow discord between them.


    Miao Yi nodded, no longer hiding his secret from them. He couldn¡¯t keep it secret anyway at this point.


    "..." Sikong Wuwei was speechless.


    Zhao Fei gave a dry cough and asked, "Didn¡¯t you say you were a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator? And the Manor Head of Changfeng Manor?"


    "I don¡¯t know whether a Changfeng Manor actually exists or not, but I do know where Changfeng City is!" Miao Yi raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, invoking his arts to wipe off the Soul Concealing Paste hiding the mark of his cultivation. A White Lotus Seventh Grade mark shone between his brows.


    "You..." Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei were renderedpletely speechless. This guy was almost at the same level as Qi Xiuhong, butpared to Qi Xiuhong, he was much too bold. He was ying this game with no regard for his own life at all¡ªa White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator actually dared to surround himself with so many Blue Lotus experts; even managing to act like it was the most natural thing in the world and made everyone to feelpletely terrified of him.


    "Damn. You really had us all fooled!" Sikong Wuwei didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry.


    Curious, Zhao Fei asked, "What is a White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator like yourself doing in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade? Logically speaking, your cultivation wouldn¡¯t be able to threaten the Manor Head¡¯s position anyway. You didn¡¯t somehow offend the Manor Head just like Qi Xiuhong did, did you?"


    Miao Yi replied coolly, "Is offending the Manor Head such a big deal? The one I offended was the Hall Master. He overruled the Manor Head and drafted me personally. I had no choice but toe!"


    "...." The two stared at Miao Yi wide-eyed in disbelief, thinking that he was truly an amazing man indeed to even dare offend a Hall Master, a being at the Red Lotus cultivation realm.


    "That can¡¯t be! If you¡¯re just a White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator, why did Traversing Moon Pce choose you to be the Steward of the ships then?" cried Zhao Fei, looking like he was still in disbelief.


    As before, Miao Yi frankly replied, "Perhaps you two had failed to notice when we were boarding, but the ce we boarded the ships from was precisely my territory. In truth, I am the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea. My Mount Calming Sea was exactly the one in-charge of all the preparations. Since the authority was in the palm of my hands, how hard could it be to give myself a mere Steward¡¯s position? I could have easily set all ten ships aze at the time if I weren¡¯t pleased."


    "..." The other two exchanged nces, utterly lost for words once more. They had really beenpletely duped.


    Many among the forces on the other side gloated when they saw Miao Yi and his group conversing. They were ready to see them break apart. How could two Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators continue to follow behind a mere White Lotus cultivator?


    "Both of you, I have now told you the truth. It is not toote for regrets. If you two wish to submit to the other side, I will not me you. However, I think you two will have to cooperate with me on one thing at least!" said Miao Yi,pletely unperturbed.


    Sikong Wuwei asked, "Cooperate with you on what?"


    Miao Yi calmly exined, "If you two surrender, I would no longer need to fight since I will be alone. Obviously then, I would choose to run. And you two will definitely need to cooperate with me so that I can escape."


    Curious, the two asked simultaneously, "Why?"


    Miao Yi faintly smiled, "They surely believe that all three transcendent artifacts are still in my possession. If I die here and they fail to locate the transcendent artifacts on my body, they will definitely turn their suspicions towards you two afterwards. Let me ask you two this¡ªdo you still think you are able to keep those two transcendent artifacts then? Only by helping me escape will you two be able to push all the me onto me and say that the transcendent artifacts are all in my possession. Everybody wins. So why not rejoice?!"


    The other two exchanged nces again.


    Zhao Fei eyed Miao Yi up and down. Suddenly, he raised his thumb and offered his heartfelt praise, "Miao Yi, oh, Miao Yi. You have mepletely impressed. It was not without reason indeed that we were sopletely fooled by you. If someone were to tell me a White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator like you could make it out of the Sea of Constetions alive, I would no longer doubt it in the least!"


    Sikong Wuwei rolled his eyes, "Damn it, you win! I swear, someday I will die because of you!"

 Chapter 362: Might of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword

    Chapter 362: Might of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The both of them finally understood why this guy had given them the two transcendent artifacts so easily.


    "The blue mountains never change, and the jade waters flow on forever. Take care, you two. If an opportunity presents itself in the future, the three of us can reminisce about old times once more. I will be going on ahead now!"


    Miao Yi was not nervous at all. He bid his farewells and was about to turn around and leave. He really had no way of fighting this battle on his own. He had no choice but to escape!


    Suddenly, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei exchanged nces, then called for Miao Yi to stop simultaneously, "We¡¯re not done here. Where do you think you¡¯re going?!"


    This was contrary to Miao Yi¡¯s expectations. Puzzled, he couldn¡¯t help replying, "I say, you two, you¡¯re not thinking of trying to hand me over to them to redeem yourselves, are you? Aren¡¯t you familiar with how those people are already? They¡¯re all scoundrels who are even willing to throw their lives away upon seeing a transcendent artifact. Not to mention, I¡¯m not a pushover either. Will you believe that? If I wished to escape, you two might not be able to catch me either! And besides, even if you two could catch me, they definitely won¡¯t allow you two to keep those transcendent artifacts either. Do you two really want to spit out the treasures that you¡¯ve only just received? You¡¯re not sick in the head, are you?"


    He wasn¡¯t lying. Given the current situation, if he really wanted to escape, the other two might not even catch him.


    The reason behind that was simple. He already had two tiny mantids awaiting orders next to their mounts¡¯ bellies. Right behind Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s calves, next to their mounts¡¯ bellies, the two tiny mantids raised their sickles, ready to stab into their calves at any time.


    If they let him go, then Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t make his move. Since these two would wish to protect their own transcendent artifacts, there was a high chance that Miao could use them to his advantage. If they were both in the enemy camp, then if the Red Scarves Alliance were to catch up to Miao Yi, he could have those two continue to help him escape. That was why he¡¯d given away the two transcendent artifacts so willingly. It was necessary to part with certain things when he needed to.


    If the two of them wouldn¡¯t let him go, or if they even tried to attack him, then Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be courteous either. He didn¡¯t mind using the tiny mantids to kill them both where they stood, take back the treasures, and immediately make his escape.


    In short, whether they chose to be his friends or foes, and whether it would end in life or death, it all depended on the both of them.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei didn¡¯t know that Miao Yi still had a backup n. Seeing this guy act so calmly even at such a crucial moment, and without even an ounce of nervousness, they inwardly praised him, ¡¯This guy ispletely unshaken!¡¯


    Sikong Wuwei chuckled. "If we let you go so easily, then we really are sick in the head."


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes slowly narrowed, ready to make his move. Suddenly, Zhao Fei sighed. "I¡¯ll have to agree with one point of yours. There are enough open spots for the few of us to join the top one hundred survivors in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Naturally, we¡¯ll have to work together to take them. Sikong, do you think everyone on the other side can ce within the top one hundred?"


    Sikong Wuwei chuckled. "Of course not. There are over a thousand of them on the other side."


    Zhao Fei then asked, "Sikong, our cultivation can be considered to be at the highest level out of all the participants in the Sea of Constetions. Even if we can ce within the top one hundred in the end, do you think the three major sects would be willing to see us there once we submit to them?"


    Sikong Wuwei shook his head. "They won¡¯t. The three major sects will definitely surround us and eliminate us first in order to raise the chances for their own disciples to ce within the top one hundred."


    Miao Yi revealed a faint smile on his face as he listened to the both of them. He said, "But I am only a White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator. Your chances of sess will be lower if you work with me."


    Zhao Fei replied, "Didn¡¯t you, a White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator, kill plenty of Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators already? Can a White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator that¡¯s capable of killing a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator still be measured by normal definitions?"


    Sikong Wuwei nodded and said, "A White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator that even dares to offend the Hall Master is pretty badass."


    Zhao Fei added, "Our enemies have been so relentless in their pursuit. They clearly intend to avenge the deaths of the fallen disciples of the three major sects. Maybe they will pardon the others who only participated in the culling of the three major sects¡¯ disciples, but I fear those who led the charge like us will likely suffer quite a bit. Even if they are willing to let us go, our fates will definitely be that of servitude to them!"


    Sikong Wuwei said, "In that case, why don¡¯t we fight for our own fates instead?!"


    Zhao Fei replied, "That¡¯s right! In the past, we didn¡¯t have anything that could contend with them. But now that we each carry a mighty artifact, do we still need to fear them? They are being so cautious about making the first move and are trying to sow discord between us instead. Clearly, they are a little afraid of us as well. Sikong, for what reason did we choose to stay and face them earlier on?"


    "To beat the shit out of them!" Sikong Wuwei chortled, suddenly brandishing a ck hammer in his hands. It instantly shone with a blue light and expanded to gargantuan proportions. With a swing of his arms, he immediately hurled it out towards the enemy a thousand meters away.


    A loud boom suddenly resounded, causing the crowd on the other side to jump up in fright. They had been waiting to see Miao Yi and his group fall out with one another. They¡¯d never thought that it wouldn¡¯t happen, much less that Miao Yi and his group would retaliate so suddenly.


    Dong Quan and the rest were shocked to see Sikong Wuwei wielding the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. If one were to say that Miao Yi would fail to demonstrate such a might if he was the one wielding it, then this issue obviously became non-existent when Sikong Wuwei was the one brandishing it.


    Gu Sanzheng waved his hand, and a long ck box instantly appeared on his back. Resembling a box that was used to store a qin, ity tilted towards one shoulder and was inscribed with various holy scriptures. Countless sword hilts were protruding from the end of the box closest to Gu Sanzheng¡¯s shoulder, all shining with a resplendent silver sheen. It was none other than the ¡¯Thunderp Sword Furnace¡¯ that Zhao Lingtu had mentioned before.


    Pointing once with his finger, the Thunderp Sword Furnace on Gu Sanzheng¡¯s back started to shine with a blue light.


    Shing shing shing shing shing...


    A series of crisp, ringing sounds echoed forth as the flying swords shot out of their scabbard in rapid session like a thunderp. Their might was astonishing. One after the other, a hundred and one silver flying swords shot towards the oing massive hammer. Each of them carried an amber-like hue and seemed almost transparent to everyone else.


    "He actually refined this Second Grade Transcendent Artifact using Crystalline Silver?" Miao Yi gasped.


    Zhao Fei quickly remarked, "This is no ordinary Crystalline Silver. It is a high-density Crystalline Silver, free from any impurities. Only then is it be possible to see such an amber hue. It is extremely difficult to purify to such a state. A transcendent artifact refined using such a material will not be any weaker than one refined using normal Crystalline Obsidian. However, its conductivity of transcendence energy will be much higher than thetter. It is a great material for refining transcendence artifacts."


    Miao Yi instantly thought about the tiny mantids. Yao Ruoxian seemed to have mentioned that the tiny mantids could excrete high-density Crystalline Silvers which were free of any impurities.


    Boom boom boom...


    A series of explosions quickly resounded. Gu Sanzheng¡¯s Thunderp Flying Swords had already started shing with Sikong Wuwei¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer.


    Noticing that the situation wasn¡¯t good, Zhao Fei brandished the Spirit Illusion Greatsword with a flip of his hands and tossed it skyward. The Spirit Illusion Greatsword instantly multiplied to ten, to a hundred, a thousand, and finally to ten thousand duplicates. In the blink of an eye, the sky was instantly shrouded by flying greatswords, causing everyone¡¯s hair to stand on end.


    Miao Yi and his group didn¡¯t understand the capabilities of Gu Sanzheng¡¯s Thunderp Flying Swords at all, whereas Gu Sanzheng and his group understood the Mountain Suppressing Hammer very well. Gu Sanzheng was aware of the impressive might of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. Even with his Thunderp Flying Swords, he didn¡¯t dare sh against it head-on.


    The first Thunderp Flying Sword left its scabbard and shot towards the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. It didn¡¯t try to block it from the front, but viciously struck the side of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer instead.


    However, the raw power of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer was immense indeed. The vicious onught of a single Thunderp Flying Sword had actually done nothing to change its speed or trajectory. When they saw this, the expressions on the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance twisted in fear. Would they be able to survive at all if that Mountain Suppressing Hammer really were to descend over their heads?


    As the controller of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, Sikong Wuweiughed maniacally, feeling rather good about himself.


    Gu Sanzheng¡¯s expression turned serious. He extended two fingers on both hands, forming sword-like gestures as he hastily waved his arms towards the sky.


    Then, the Thunderp Flying Swords all swooped in, one after another, and viciously struck the side of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. The hundred-and-one Thunderp Flying Swords quickly circled about the air like a silver halo, constantly attacking the Mountain Suppressing Hammer with an unbelievable speed. The scene it created was nothing short of beautiful.


    In an instant, the halo of swords had circled around the air countless times and struck against the Mountain Suppressing Hammer countless more. Finally, they were able to send the Mountain Suppressing Hammer flying off to the side.


    Sikong Wuwei felt dazed by the sight.


    Ye Xin¡¯s ck thorny whip suddenlyshed out. Shining with a blue radiance, it extended through the air like a snake. The originally several-meter-long whip grew to a hundred meters in length as it flew out, instantly wrapping around the shaft of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, and was about to pull it over.


    Sikong Wuwei lost all semnce of a smile and quickly invoked his arts to call back the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. How could he possibly allow the treasure he¡¯d just received to fall into the enemy¡¯s hands on its first battle?


    Fortunately, Zhao Fei realized something was amiss beforehand and countered with his Spirit Illusion Greatsword. The rain of greatswords in the sky viciously bombarded the enemy.


    When Ye Xin saw this, she immediately loosened the whip¡¯s grip on the Mountain Suppressing Hammer and called it back. Ye Xin twirled the whip around her like a dragon, creating a nigh-imprable barrier as she hastily protected herself and her mount.


    Boom! The Mountain Suppressing Hammer crashed to the ground, creating arge crater. Then, it swiftly spun back to its wielder.


    Gu Sanzheng pped his palms and called back the hundred-and-one Thunderp Flying Swords. The swords flew around him, creating a barrier.


    Tan Lao raised his arms, then the battle armor on his chest and back immediately split into sixteen individual tes of armor. They shone with a blue radiance and quickly expanded, transforming into sixteen mighty shields with sharp spikes around their edges. The sixteen shields whirled around Tan Lao to protect him.


    Therge army behind these three felt utterly dismayed. Even though they knew most of the flying greatswords were illusions, they were unable to discern whether they were real or not. These people frantically waved their weapons to block the Spirit Illusion Greatswords raining down on them. However, they were wasting their strength as they mostly struck the illusions instead.


    But even if it was a waste of strength, none of them dared to stop as they could hear screams of agony around them from time to time. There were people already being struck down by the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. In mere moments, dozens had already fallen to the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. The screams continued to echo about, causing the survivors to feel anxious and afraid.


    A single Spirit Illusion Greatsword had not only forced the three number one disciples of the three major sects to be on their toes, but it had also struck terror in the hearts of the thousand-strong army. Its might was extraordinary.


    The illusions cast by the Spirit Illusion Greatsword were simply too real. It not only projected the form of the original, it fully emted all its aspects, including sound and smell. It was indiscernible from the real one even with transcendence vision. It was a mystery how such an artifact had possibly been refined.


    If someone were to see a greatsword flying towards them, even if they knew it was most likely a fake, they would still be afraid to lower their defenses. What if it was the real one?


    A series of nging noises would constantly echo forth from the Thunderp Flying Swords circling around Gu Sanzheng, the whip dancing about Ye Xin, and the sixteen shields flying about Tan Lao. They were clearly under attack by the enigmatic Spirit Illusion Greatsword.


    The screams of agony behind those three were also a testament to the terrifying strength of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword.


    It was not without reason that Ba Wenjing had been so confident in sweeping thepetition in the Western Star Sea with just a single Spirit Illusion Greatsword. The artifact was indeed deserving of such arrogance. Sadly, his luck had not been so good, resulting in him suffering such a crushing defeat under Zhao Lingtu¡¯s hammer. One could never be too careful in this Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade.


    "What a powerful transcendent artifact. How could that crude Mountain Suppressing Hammer suppress such a mystifying transcendent artifact? I fear not even the Mystic Yin Mirror is a match for this Spirit Illusion Greatsword!" Ye Xin eximed. She was a little perplexed as to how the Spirit Illusion Greatsword could have lost to the Mountain Suppressing Hammer.


    "To think this Miao Yi would willingly give away two mighty artifacts to another..." Time and again, Gu Sanzheng was kept feeling bewildered by this sequence of events. Suddenly, he shouted, "Tan Lao, assist me!"

 Chapter 363: Charcoal on a Rampage

    Chapter 363: Charcoal on a Rampage


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    With a malicious smile on his face, Sikong Wuwei swung his arms and hurled his hammer out again. That was the reason Gu Sanzheng had called for help so anxiously.


    Miao Yi was just watching the show from the sidelines. Even though he wanted to join in the fray as well, the enemy had long been wary of his Mystic Yin Mirror and kept themselves at a safe distance. The Yin aura from the Mystic Yin Mirror could only extend up to a few hundred meters. A distance just barely short of a thousand meters waspletely out of its range. As such, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t do anything to help. He wasn¡¯t bold enough to charge over there either.


    All one hundred and one Thunderp Flying Swords swiftly shot out and struck the Mountain Suppressing Hammer in the same way it did before.


    Meanwhile, out of the sixteen shields protecting Tan Lao, eight separated from the group and quickly flew over to Gu Sanzheng to protect him.


    "We can¡¯t keep dragging it out like this," said Ye Xin.


    Gu Sanzhengmanded, "Dong Quan. I will throw them off bnce in a single stroke. Take eight hundred of our forces, charge over there, and surround them from both sides! Don¡¯t let them escape!"


    "Ah!" shrieked Dong Quan, as he frantically swung his spear against the projections of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. He added, "Alliance Master, we can¡¯t get close to them at all. Miao Yi has the Mystic Yin Mirror."


    Ye Xin turned to him and yelled, "You dare disobey a direct order?!"


    "..." Dong Quan fell silent. All he could do was grit his teeth and charge out with around four hundred troops in tow to strike at the enemy from the sides. It was the same for Yu Baixing and the others as well.


    "This is bad!" Miao Yi could tell the situation was dangerous the moment he saw the enemy forces splitting off to the sides.


    Having been knocked to the side again, the Mountain Suppressing Hammer quickly flew back. As soon as it did, the hundred-and-one Thunderp Flying Swords flew off as well, hot on its tail.


    Zhao Fei immediately invoked his arts, causing the ten thousand greatsword projections to focus their assault on Gu Sanzheng alone. Gu Sanzheng hastily called back his Thunderp Flying Swords, forming a web of swords around him to protect himself. At the same time, he had to split off a portion of the Thunderp Flying Swords to deal with the constant attacks of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer.


    Both sides were exhausting each other¡¯s strength.


    "Tan Lao, cover me!" Ye Xin shouted.


    The eight shields flying around Gu Sanzheng swiftly shot over to Ye Xin. Ye Xin retracted her thorny whip, which then immediately dived underground like a snake. A crack appeared on the surface of the earth and quickly extended towards Miao Yi and the others.


    "Our transcendent artifacts are only capable of offense and not defense. All we can do is hold them back temporarily. Once they be ustomed to our attacks and manage to find an opportunity to strike back, we won¡¯t be able to withstand it! We need to retreat now!" shouted Zhao Fei, ncing at the forces approaching them from the sides.


    "Retreat!" Miao Yimanded decisively.


    However, right when they turned their dragon steeds around, the ground beneath them suddenly erupted. Then, a ck shadow shot over and viciously swept under the bellies of all three dragon steeds.


    "Harrumph..." Both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s dragon steeds neighed in agony and crashed to the ground, their intestines spilling out into the open. Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were both startled by this sudden turn of events.


    On the other hand, Charcoal was fine because he was wearing armor. However, the thorny, snake-like object had caught one of his legs. He tried hard to leap up, but he was unable to move even a single inch forward.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were feeling anxious from their predicament, but they didn¡¯t dare to slow down their attacks.


    Sikong Wuwei had no choice but to continue hurling his hammer out. Otherwise, if those terrifying Thunderp Flying Swords were to obtain the chance to strike back, none of them would be able to defend against it.


    Zhao Fei was also in a simr situation. He needed to use the Spirit Illusion Greatsword to put a damper on the enemy¡¯s assault. Once he stopped, the enemy¡¯s counterattack would immediately rain upon them like a violent storm. That was not something they could withstand at all.


    It was because their transcendent artifacts were not as flexible as their enemy¡¯s. Unfortunately for them, all their artifacts were only capable of attacking. To make matters worse, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t use his Mystic Yin Mirror at all at the moment. All he could do was use it to intimidate the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance and deter them froming too close.


    Ye Xin flicked her whip and immediately wrapped it around the body of the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast below her. Then, she urged her mount to turn around.


    "Grahh!" The Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast ferociously bellowed, charging forward on its four-wed hooves as it pulled Ye Xin¡¯s whip along with it.


    On the other end of the whip, Charcoal was constantly rearing back and had almost fallen over several times from being dragged by the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast. His eyes widened as he exerted more force on his legs. It seemed even he was highly anxious as well.


    Miao Yi immediately struck his spear at the whip coiled around Charcoal¡¯s leg. However, it was useless. He couldn¡¯t break it apart at all.


    "Charcoal! You useless buffoon. If we don¡¯t leave sometime soon, all of us are going to die here!" Miao Yi bellowed.


    "Harrumph..." Feeling Miao Yi¡¯s intense rage, Charcoal suddenly lifted his head and neighed. It was as though he was venting out all his frustration. Then, his eyes widened and started glowing in a demonic crimson color. The whip had almostpletely pulled back his leg, but like a wrathful demon, Charcoal¡¯s eyes turned blood-red, and his leg muscles abruptly expanded, before shrinking back just as quickly.


    Bang! The ground beneath Charcoal erupted, and a mighty crevice appeared across the battlefield, suddenly forcing the whip hiding underground to burst up to the surface along with the rubble.


    A whip almost a thousand meters long had suddenly burst out of the ground. One end was coiled around Charcoal¡¯s hind leg, while the other had wrapped itself around the body of the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast. The whip waspletely stretched taut from being pulled by the two spiritual beasts.


    Miao Yi was ecstatic as he could feel the unrelenting force of will within Charcoal¡¯s eyes. His body was bursting with a sudden onset of power.


    "Get up here!" Miao Yi turned over to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei and shouted.


    "Can he handle all three of us?" Sikong Wuwei anxiously asked, then added, "His leg is trapped. Will he be able to run?"


    "Stop wasting your breath! If I say he can, he can! If you two aren¡¯t going toe along anytime soon, I¡¯ll leave you behind!" Miao Yi shouted.


    Right now, they could only try whatever was possible. Zhao Fei leaped and sat backward on Charcoal, while Sikong Wuwei stood between him and Miao Yi. Sikong Wuwei had no choice. Neither he nor Zhao Fei could afford to cease their attacks. In addition, he couldn¡¯t wield that giant hammer of his unless he was standing up. Otherwise, he would end up smashing the heads of the two beside him.


    "This is bad. They¡¯re trying to escape!" Gu Sanzheng turned to Ye Xin and shouted, "Ye Xin, hold them back. They can¡¯t keep this up much longer!"


    Ye Xin kept kicking the sides of her Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast, urging it to push the enemy over. She didn¡¯t believe that the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast, which was better than a dragon steed in all aspects, could ever lose to Charcoal.


    "Charcoal! What are you waiting for? Let¡¯s move!" Miao Yi was also urging Charcoal on as if his life depended on it.


    Charcoal slowly moved forward, one step at a time. Behind him, the thorny whip started emitting cracking sounds, causing others to wonder if it would suddenly just snap. Every time Charcoal stepped forward, the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast on the other end would fall a step backward.


    Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin werepletely dumbstruck as they watched the dragon steed slowly drag the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast backward. How was this possible? How could a Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast lose to a dragon steed in terms of strength?!


    As the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast began to lose its footing, Charcoal finally found a point to force his way through. He suddenly exerted force into his legs, which were embedded deeply into the ground, and jumped up in a single stroke. Then, he started kicking his hooves in full force.


    "Good boy!" Sikong Wuwei was bursting with joy by the sudden turn of events and praised Charcoal.


    Zhao Fei was simrly taken aback by what just happened.


    Their enemies immediately lost their bearings as the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast crashed to the ground. Charcoal dragged the beast along as he galloped away, kicking up clouds of dust in the process. Fortunately, Ye Xin responded in time and jumped off her mount. Otherwise, Charcoal would have dragged her along as well.


    Then, Charcoal started picking up speed, and the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast began to crash into one rock after another as it struggled. Evidently frantic, it growled incessantly. However, it couldn¡¯t regain its footing at all. Every time it almost managed to stand up, it ended up being dragged to the ground. In such a situation, how could it ever find the opportunity to regain its footing again?


    It was an unbearable sight. The Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast, which was supposed to be on an entirely different levelpared to a dragon steed, was now suffering immense torment at the hands of a dragon steed.


    Ye Xin was dumbfounded. She felt like she had gone for wool but hade home shorn instead. Not only did she fail to stop the enemy¡¯s mount, but her own mount was also being dragged away by the enemy.


    Tan Lao shouted, "Ye Xin, stop daydreaming. Hurry up and retract your Ruyi Whip. Do you want it to end up dragged to death?!"


    Snapping to her senses, Ye Xin hastily invoked her arts and loosened the whip¡¯s grip on Charcoal¡¯s leg.


    After being dragged all over the ce, the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast finally managed to stand back up, albeit pitifully. It howled towards the sky, as though it had suffered a terrible humiliation.


    The distance between both sides had widened. Given their cultivations, neither side was able to attack the other as they were both out of each other¡¯s range.


    When he saw how miserable that Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast looked, Sikong Wuwei lightly stomped on Charcoal in approval andughed aloud, "How amusing! Even a Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast is barely a match!"


    "Stop them!" Gu Sanzheng bellowed, then charged on his Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast along with Tan Lao to chase after the enemy.


    Ye Xin rode with Gu Sanzheng for a short distance, then leaped off and quickly tucked away her Ruyi Whip. She couldn¡¯t be bothered by how dirty her own mount was at the moment. She simply jumped onto its back and quickly gave chase.


    As a beautiful woman, to be so humiliated in front of so many people, Ye Xin was unbelievably furious. She wanted to catch Miao Yi and that mount of his right away and skin them alive.


    Fortunately, Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts were born with an incredibly tough carapace. Otherwise, it would have either suffered heavy injuries or ended up dead after being tossed around like that.


    "Those who stop me shall die!" shouted Miao Yi, with one hand wielding the Inversed-Scale Spear, and the other holding the Mystic Yin Mirror.


    However, he didn¡¯t need to move at all. Zhao Fei randomly bombarded the enemy with thousands of greatsword projections cast by the Spirit Illusion Greatsword, while Sikong Wuwei incessantly hurled out his giant hammer. Screams of agony resounded throughout the battlefield from their massacre. Who would dare to stop these three?


    The three of them rode on a single mount and carved a path of blood out of the enemy encirclement. In mere moments, they broke past the enemy¡¯s formation and escaped. It was unfortunate that they didn¡¯t have the time to gather their spoils.


    Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao¡¯s Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts were not for show after all. They quickly pulled away from the fellow disciples behind them. Even Ye Xin, who was thest to get on her mount, was quickly overtaking her fellow disciples on her Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast.


    "You useless idiots!" Gu Sanzheng barked at the Red Scarves Alliance members as he swiftly passed by the opening that Miao Yi and the others had broken past from.


    When he saw the enemy was catching up to them, Zhao Fei turned to Sikong Wuwei, who wasughing cheekily as he held the giant hammer over his shoulder, and shouted, "Your giant hammer is affecting our speed! Hurry up and tuck it away!"


    Sikong Wuwei coughed. It wouldn¡¯t be wise to continue showing off. He hastily shrunk the hammer down in his hand, then sat himself down between the other two.


    It wasn¡¯t because the hammer was so heavy that it was difficult for Charcoal to endure the weight. No such thing at all, as Sikong Wuwei had already taken up its entire bulk when he invoked his arts to wield the hammer. Therefore, the weight wouldn¡¯t fall onto Charcoal¡¯s body at all. However, it was easy to imagine the degree of wind resistance with such a massive hammer sitting atop Charcoal like a mountain. Even Sikong Wuwei could feel that the wind resistance was immense, so naturally, it affected Charcoal¡¯s speed as well.


    As soon as Sikong Wuwei stored the hammer away, Charcoal¡¯s speed immediately increased by leaps and bounds.


    With the sound of rushing wind by his ears, Sikong Wuwei clicked his tongue and said, "Miao Yi. Who exactly refined your mount¡¯s transcendent artifact? This eleration effect is really incredible."


    He believed that Charcoal was only able to run this fast because his armor artifact had an eleration effect.


    "Can you still afford to be concerned about this issue right now?" Miao Yi changed the subject and avoided the question. It wouldn¡¯t be wise for him to answer it either way.


    Chasing after them from behind, Gu Sanzheng and the rest grew more astonished by the second as they continued their pursuit. The dragon steed before them was actually able to contend on equal grounds with their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts, which were known for their speed. Nay, it was a little inappropriate to say they were contending on equal grounds. Because that dragon steed was carrying three people on its back, while their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts were only carrying one person each. Yet they were still unable to catch up?

 Chapter 364: Encountering Heart-Devouring Bats Again

    Chapter 364: Encountering Heart-Devouring Bats Again


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao were in close pursuit, while Ye Xin was hot on their trail from behind, her lips pursed all the while. The three of them had already shaken off the troops behind them in the distance. The speed of those dragon steeds could neverpare to theirs.


    "No wonder that bastard equipped his steed with a set of battle armor. It looks like there¡¯s something odd about it." Gu Sanzheng tilted his head to look at Tan Lao.


    Tan Lao nodded in reply. "The steed¡¯s armor is a worthy treasure."


    They were giving the armor all the credit for Charcoal¡¯s speed.


    The ind wasn¡¯t massive to begin with, and it could never amodate the spiritual beasts from their rampage. As Charcoal rushed to the coast, he suddenly soared about a couple of hundred meters high up into the air.


    In midair, Miao Yi and the others rose up from Charcoal¡¯s back. The armor on Charcoal¡¯s body transformed into a ck mist as it seeped into Miao Yi¡¯s storage bracelet.


    With a ssh, they stirred up the surface of the water. Crashing into the sea, Charcoal dove ferociously to the bottom of its depths and swam off.


    Miao Yi and the other twonded on top of the water, and they quickly made their move by treading on the waves. Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei each grabbed Miao Yi¡¯s arms as they ran across the waves, lugging Miao Yi with them as fast as they could to make their escape.


    They were out of options. If they used a wooden raft, then they¡¯d travel at a speed slower than this. On top of that, Charcoal¡¯s swimming was not as fast as treading the waves. The reason why they were lugging Miao Yi with them was because Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation base was too low. Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be able to run far if he insisted on struggling with his cultivation like this.


    This time around, Miao Yi had finally separated himself from Charcoal. They wouldn¡¯t be able to travel as swiftly if they brought Charcoal along. If they did, then they might even implicate Charcoal instead since the three great sects were targeting the three of them after all, and not a mere mount. Letting the enemy¡¯s forces focus on them would be a good thing for Charcoal who¡¯d run off on his own.


    Storing away Charcoal¡¯s armor would make it more convenient for Charcoal to move about in the sea.


    So long as both parties were safe, Miao Yi was not afraid that Charcoal wouldn¡¯t be able to locate him. It goes without saying that a spiritual beast like the dragon steed had the ability to sense where their masters were.


    Upon charging to the coast, the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts simrly leaped into the sky. While still in the air, looking as though they were about to fall, Gu Sanzheng and the others opened up their beast sacks, instantly putting away the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts. In a sh, theynded on the surface of the sea, hot in pursuit as they too, rode the waves. Judging by their actions, it was obvious that they didn¡¯t want to let Miao Yi and the others escape.


    The trio in front pressed on urgently as they tried to escape, while the other three tenaciously gave chase from behind. Further back, arge troop of forces was falling behind a great deal, struggling to keep up due to the difference in cultivation. Thousands of men were tied up in close pursuit on the sea¡¯s surface. It was a magnificent sight.


    At the very back, once the crew passed him by, Charcoal poked his head from the depths of the sea and surveyed his surroundings. Upon discovering that he was far from danger, he flicked his tail above the sea, seemingly pleased with himself. Soon after, he dived once again into the waves and swam off.


    Among the six people running at the very front, they all had a cultivation base of a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade, with the exception of Miao Yi. However, even if their cultivation was at the same grade, there was a difference in their strength as well. Based on this alone, Zhao Fei¡¯s and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s strengths were no less inferior to that of Gu Sanzheng and the others, so when the two of them joined forces to escape with Miao Yi, they did not fear that the others would catch up to them.


    Both parties maintained the distance separating them. They could neither pull further away, nor could they shorten the distance between them.


    "Now we¡¯re in deep shit. We can¡¯t beat them, regardless of what we do, and we also lost our mount. Surely we can¡¯t keep running on the sea forever. We will be at a severe disadvantage once we reach the shore." Sikong Wuwei swore angrily while he kept stealing nces behind them.


    "This is all your rotten idea. When we killed the Seeker Birds, I already said we should go, but you insisted on trying out your giant hammer. Now the deed is done. It¡¯s difficult for us to escape anymore," Miao Yi retorted.


    Sikong Wuwei instantly tried to pass his responsibility in the matter. "You can¡¯t me me alone. Zhao Fei yed a part in this as well. He also agreed to test the enemy¡¯s strength."


    Zhao Fei remarked in a low voice, "What¡¯s the purpose of pointing fingers now? If you gave me the choice again, I would still choose to fight them. It¡¯s something we¡¯ll have to face sooner orter. Since we each had a good transcendent artifact at hand, it was a given that we¡¯d test their strength."


    "Okay, then let¡¯s not go there." Sikong Wuwei tilted his head to look at Miao Yi. He chuckled, "I didn¡¯t know that Little Brother could be such an affectionate man. The reason you didn¡¯t want to leave in Qi Xiuhong¡¯s direction was because you were afraid of implicating her, right? Little Brother, you might not want to hear this, but even if you could bring her along and survive the Sea of Constetions together, she might not even want to go with you. If she went back, no matter how low her cultivation, she will still be a Manor Head. She will never remain at your side, warming your bed. Can¡¯t you tell that she was purposely keeping her distance from you?"


    Zhao Fei shook his head in reply. "That might not even be true. She can choose to take up the Manor Head post in a region adjacent to Miao Yi¡¯s. If something bad were to happen, she could get help from him, given the level of her cultivation."


    Sikong Wuwei clicked his tongue and said, "Then wouldn¡¯t that make Manor Head Miao someone who sleeps with his neighboring Manor Head? How could the neighboring Manor Head¡¯s subordinates put up with this?"


    Zhao Fei rolled his eyes. He realized that everything that came out of this man¡¯s mouth was always so vulgar.


    As expected, Miao Yi shouted angrily. "I can sleep with whoever I want! What does this have anything to do with you two?!"


    "Forget it. Pretend I didn¡¯t say anything. I said it out of goodwill, and you aren¡¯t even grateful." Strangely, Sikong Wuwei only spat in disdain.


    Zhao Fei gave a dry cough and replied, "Worstes to worst, we¡¯ll have to keep running on the sea. I don¡¯t believe that they can keep up with us on it. Once it¡¯s dark, we¡¯ll dive into the sea and randomly choose a direction to escape. They won¡¯t be able to find us."


    Sikong Wuwei also took the chance to change the subject. "Although it¡¯s a dumb idea, it¡¯s still a n. I just fear that we¡¯ll bump into some kind of sea monster. The Sea of Constetions is never calm. If they hadn¡¯t already driven out most of the demons in the Western Star Sea for the sake of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, I would never have dared to run on top of it like this!"


    Zhao Fei berated, "Your f***ing mouth! Can¡¯t you say something nice for a change?!"


    "I¡¯m an honest man. And I¡¯m only telling it like it is." Sikong Wuweiughed dryly.


    Those hot on their trail weren¡¯t able to close in on the trio regardless of what they did. It was a difficult feat to attack from afar. Gu Sanzheng turned around to utter, "Tan Lao, we won¡¯t be able to achieve anything if we continue to chase them in this manner. If they keep running on the sea, they¡¯ll have reached the boundless sea by the time the sky turns dark. We won¡¯t be able to find them! So don¡¯t hide the monsters inside your beast sack anymore! Release them!"


    Tan Lao shook his head in rejection. "If I could release them earlier, I would have done it already. Miao Yi has the Mystic Yin Mirror with him, which will prevent my beasts from getting close. It will be a loss if I let them out."


    Gu Sanzheng frowned and asked, "You are still worried about that now? With Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation base, he will definitely struggle if he tries to use a transcendent artifact like the Mystic Yin Mirror. Having exhausted his transcendence energy, Miao Yi will drag the others down, slowing their speed in the process. Even if the other two use the Mystic Yin Mirror, that could also exhaust their transcendence energy too. Sacrificing some things to hold them up is a necessity. Otherwise, if we wait until dark, and they make their escape by diving deep into the sea, it will be hard for us to find them again in the vast Western Star Sea, especially since we don¡¯t have the Seeker Birds anymore. How are you going to report this to Elder Wu once you return?"


    They still believed that Miao Yi had lied with his bullsh*t about how ghost cultivators are the only one who can wield the Mystic Yin Mirror. After all, Miao Yi had already used it before.


    His lips pursed, Tan Lao finally made his decision since Gu Sanzheng¡¯s words had some truth to them. They had to kill Miao Yi no matter what, otherwise even if they could leave the Sea of Constetions alive, they wouldn¡¯t be able to survive past Elder Wu.


    Lifting his hand, he smacked the beast sack hanging around his waist. Following the sounds of pping, thousands of strange ck bats with sharp ws and teeth, each with a pointy horn on their heads, charged out into the sky. They released a foul stench as they spiraled upwards with a loud piercing screech. Tan Lao ced a finger on his lips and shushed them. The thousands of strange bats instantly surged towards the trio on the run before them.


    Miao Yi and the others turned to look, their expressions changing immediately.


    Never underestimate the School of Imperial Beasts. Those strange and queer beings looked quite frightening, to say the least. When Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were engaged in battle with them earlier, they noticed that the School of Imperial Beasts hadn¡¯t released any beasts. By then, they had vaguely figured out that they were fearful of Miao Yi¡¯s Mystic Yin Mirror. They didn¡¯t expect that their enemy would eventually set them free.


    "What¡¯s up with those bats?" Sikong Wuwei asked as he turned to Zhao Fei. Zhao Fei shook his head in reply. Although their cultivation level was high, they had never seen these bats before in their life.


    "Those are the Heart-Devouring Bats!" On the contrary, Miao Yi was a person who had met them before. He quickly exined to the two, "They are exceptionally fast. And their ability to pierce through things is astonishing. The horns on their heads can even pierce through a defensive shield! Anyone with a cultivation base of Red Lotus and below won¡¯t be able to withstand it! They can impale a person¡¯s body in one go and devour your heart. Not only that, they are incredibly poisonous as well. They¡¯re savage beasts! However, it¡¯s not possible for them to break through our armor. They can only aim at ces which aren¡¯t covered by our protective armor, so they¡¯re not that much of a menace to us yet."


    "What¡¯s there to be afraid of?" Sikong Wuwei chuckled. "It¡¯s the appropriate time for you to use your Mystic Yin Mirror against these bastards."


    As though they were reacting to his words, the bats which were hot on their trail instantly dispersed, trying to avoid bing a target in one go.


    Zhao Fei¡¯s face sunk. "Not good. You can¡¯t use your Mystic Yin Mirror for too long. They also don¡¯t give a damn about the Heart-Devouring Bats. They only want to force us to make a move and use the bats to slow us down."


    Sikong Wuwei also noticed this and eximed with hatred in his voice, "Let¡¯s dive into the sea!"


    "We can¡¯t run fast in the water. They¡¯ll quickly catch up to us from above."


    "If not, let¡¯s fight them head-on!"


    "Using what exactly?" Zhao Fei asked hoarsely. "The resistance in the water is too strong! Your hammer will not be able to exhibit its strength in the sea! Previously, it was already difficult for the two of us to hold back their attacks. If we¡¯re in the sea, my Spirit Illusion Greatsword won¡¯t be able to hold them off on its own. It¡¯s suicidal!"


    "Go!" Miao Yi suddenly cried out. Thirty-five small mantids flitted their wings, flying out in a hurry.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei watched as the mantids scuttled out in a frenzy. Their eyes flickered as they asked in unison, "Your mantids can deal with the Heart-Devouring Bats?"


    "I don¡¯t know!" Miao Yi smiled bitterly. But what other choice did he have now?


    Normally, it was rare for him to use the tiny mantids. Even if he did, he only used them sneakily. It was a fair contrast to now, when he¡¯d released them to fight to their deaths in broad daylight.


    Therge nket of Heart-Devouring Bats pounced on them. Although only thirty-five mantids were rising up into the air, they were fearless against the thousands of bats. The mantids brazenly collided with the Heart-Devouring Bats, and the terrible battle instantly reached a climax.


    The Heart-Devouring Bats were fast, but the tiny mantids were faster. It was obvious that they were twice as fast as the bats. No wonder they were the direct descendants of the Hell Mantids from the Boundless Secr World.


    Letting out a screeching sound, the Heart-Devouring Bats bared their fangs at the tiny charging mantids and began to bite them upon collision, scratching them with their ws or attempting to stab them with their horns.


    The tiny mantids were not weak. Under Miao Yi¡¯s desperate orders, these little ones who usually seemed cute gave off an intense savage aura, finally revealing their sinister side. When faced with the enemy, their eyes slowly revealed a green light, their incisors beginning to chew nonstop.


    They quickly avoided the bats, and akin to the grim reaper wielding two scythes, they brandished their way through the cloud of bats, each pair of winding sharp scythes shing down and retracting like a bolt of lightning.

 Chapter 365: Monsters at Sea

    Chapter 365: Monsters at Sea


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    A single w viciously descended as a single sickle hacked away like lightning. Like a knife through butter, the sickle instantly cut through the w.


    The w waspletely unable to contend against the sickle whether it was in terms of sharpness or toughness. After the sh, the Heart-Devouring Bat and the tiny mantid quickly passed each other by. However, the Heart-Devouring Bat continued falling forwards as its body gradually stiffened, ayer of frost enveloping it as it fell into the ocean.


    In this battle with over a thousand Heart-Devouring Bats fighting against thirty-five tiny mantids, this was the initial moment of contact between the members of both sides. And in that one moment, victory was decided with a single stroke.


    As soon as the first tiny mantidunched its attack and triumphed, it instantly locked its eyes onto its second target. Once again, its sickle struck like lightning, severing a bat wing like a knife through butter. The second bat then fell lopsided.


    At the same time, all thirty-five tiny mantids had already dived into the cluster of bats and started their massacre.


    The tiny mantids were around the size of a crab and were almost as big as the Heart-Devouring Bats. However, their front limbs had a longer reach than their opponent¡¯s. At the same time, they had more limbs which they could use to attack, and which were much sharper than their opponent¡¯s.


    The first tiny mantid to battle had already killed dozens of Heart-Devouring Bats in mere moments.


    A Heart-Devouring Bat charged over and attacked with the sharp horn on its head. The tiny mantid responded with its sickle and immediately hacked the horn away. It was evident which side had the sharper tools.


    Another Heart-Devouring Bat charged over and attacked with its sharp horn. The sickle shot out once more and stabbed into the eyes of the Heart-Devouring Bat, cutting away half its face and reaching down to its abdomen. However, another Heart-Devouring Bat quickly swooped in and grabbed onto the tiny mantid with its wings as it bit down with its sharp teeth.


    Both the tiny mantid and Heart-Devouring Bat fell. The tiny mantid¡¯s sickles were stuck in the Heart-Devouring Bat¡¯s mouth. However, the Heart-Devouring Bat couldn¡¯t leave a single mark on the sickles no matter how much it gnawed on them. At the same time, screeching noises resounded as it scratched on the tiny mantid¡¯s abdomen with its ws.


    Using four of its sharp legs, the tiny mantid stabbed the Heart-Devouring Bat holding it down. Ayer of white frost soon enveloped the Heart-Devouring Bat.


    Splurt! The tiny mantid simply ripped apart the Heart-Devouring Bat, immobilizing it. Spreading its wings, it flew back up and rejoined the fight against the army of Heart-Devouring Bats.


    Even though the Heart-Devouring Bats had the superior numbers, they were no match for the tiny mantids. The tiny mantids were not afraid in the slightest of the venomous toxin covering the Heart-Devouring Bats¡¯ bodies, nor were they fearful of the overwhelming number of opponents.


    In the blink of an eye, the tiny mantids that dived into the cloud of bats had already killed over two hundred Heart-Devouring Bats. One after another, the Heart-Devouring Bats fell, their bodies covered in white frost. They were dropping like flies.


    "What are those?" Gu Sanzheng turned to Tan Lao in astonishment and asked, "Are those mantids? What kind of mantids are those?"


    "I¡¯ve never seen these kinds of mantids before either!" Tan Lao¡¯s expression contorted in frustration upon seeing his Heart-Devouring Bats ughtered before his eyes. "I never expected Miao Yi to be a fellow practitioner. To think he knew how to tame beasts as well. It seems like these mantids were the ones that killed the Seeker Birds."


    He immediately pursed his lips and made a sharp whistle.


    The tiny mantids hadpletely blindsided the cloud of bats when they charged in, but the bats immediately flew around the tiny mantids to avoid engaging with them. Their objective was to hold back Miao Yi and the others. Such was the purpose of their sacrifice.


    asionally looking back, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were in astonishment. Thetter clicked his tongue and praised, "Awesome. Where did you get these tiny fellows from?"


    Miao Yi was equally astonished, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered to make small talk. He realized that he had underestimated the tiny mantids¡¯ strength. Feeling a sense of relief, he conveyed his thoughts to order the tiny mantids toe back and help them kill the crowd of bats on their tail.


    At the moment, the tiny mantids were still not strong enough to fight against cultivators. If they didn¡¯t return, and then ended up engaging against Gu Sanzheng and his group, then that would be the end for them.


    The tiny mantids quickly returned and resumed their massacre from within the cloud of bats. A tiny mantidtched itself onto the back of a Heart-Devouring Bat, stabbing its sickle into the back of the bat¡¯s head before immediately shooting over to its next target.


    Miao Yi and his group were running for their lives in front, while the cloud of bats was quickly approaching from the back. Meanwhile, the tiny mantids were ughtering the cloud of bats, killing their way to the front of the pack and preventing the bats from approaching Miao Yi and his group.


    Throughout the chase, the bats kept falling, one after another. By the time they managed to get close enough to attack Miao Yi and the others, the thousand-strong-army of Heart-Devouring Bats had shrunk down to a mere dozen. The tiny mantids had speedily killed them all.


    A Heart-Devouring Bat swooped in on Miao Yi¡¯s face, but a tiny mantid killed it before it was able to seed. Just a dozen meters away from Miao Yi, the head of the Heart-Devouring Bat was immediately hacked off with a sickle.


    In just a short two-thousand-meter-long chase, the tiny mantids hadpletely decimated the thousand-strong-army.


    Not a single one of the thirty-five tiny mantids had fallen. They all descended upon Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder and awaited his inspection.


    Miao Yi heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that all of them were intact. He would lose each one permanently if they died after all. He could clearly feel that the tiny mantids had be much stronger after growing up.


    "Haha! These things are awesome!" Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t help praising the mantids when he suddenly remembered something. He turned his head and shouted, "Even the School of Imperial Beasts isn¡¯t much of a fight!"


    Tan Lao had opened his transcendence vision and watched theplete annihtion of his army of Heart-Devouring Bats. He was already feeling a terrible pain in his heart, and when he heard what Sikong Wuwei said, he fumed with rage from the humiliation. However, there was nothing he could do.


    He still had some creatures he could use inside his beast sack. However, they were either too slow or would have little effect at sea. He could give them a shot if they were onnd, however. Otherwise, he would be a fool if he still decided to send them to their deaths while knowing that he wouldn¡¯t get much in return. He cursed, "Cowardly scoundrel that only knows how to shoot his mouth off. If you¡¯ve got the guts, stop running and fight me to the death!"


    "Kiss my ass! Why don¡¯t you catch up to me first if you¡¯ve got the balls?" Sikong Wuwei chortled in his hoarse voice.


    Tan Lao almost spat out blood from rage. He bellowed, "F*** you!"


    "F*** you!" Sikong Wuwei returned the gesture.


    "You won¡¯t be able to keep on running forever!" Tan Lao roared.


    Then, Sikong Wuwei barked back, "F*** you!"


    As they pulled him along, Miao Yi rolled his eyes and said, "Can¡¯t you save your energy instead?"


    Sikong Wuwei chuckled. "Those mantids of yours are quite impressive. Let them have a go at those three and shut them up."


    "..." Miao Yi was at a loss for words. It was possible to have the tiny mantids fight against the Heart-Devouring Bats. Even setting up ambushes were fine. But to have them fight against Gu Sanzheng and his group head-on was nothing short of courting death. Miao Yi immediately waved his hand and said, "Just continue cursing to your heart¡¯s content!"


    The chase continued upon the mighty ocean from midday till the afternoon, then until evening. Even as they saw the sun setting in the west, Sikong Wuwei and Tan Lao were still at each other¡¯s throats.


    At this moment, they noticed a distant stretch ofnd before them.


    Sikong Wuwei finally stopped cursing and asked, "Are we going to continue running on the ocean or go ashore?"


    Zhao Fei replied, "We¡¯ll circle around the ind. It¡¯ll be hard for them to find us once it¡¯s dark. Then, we¡¯ll dive underwater and escape."


    Miao Yi nodded in agreement as well when suddenly, a whirlpool appeared on the surface of the ocean.


    The three of them had yet to understand what was happening. Ssh! A giant pir-like object erupted from the surface of the ocean, dragging along a massive indigo-blue pincer. The whole thing was dozens of meters long. The seawater cascaded off of it as it smashed down on the trio¡¯s heads. Its might was astonishing.


    Sikong Wuwei let go of Miao Yi and brandished a small hammer with a wave of his hand. It shone with a blue radiance, and the mighty hammer was immediately tossed out. Sikong Wuwei had reacted very quickly.


    Boom! It instantly smashed the hard-shelled, tail-like object to pieces, causing bits of its shell and flesh to fly about.


    The hammer then flew back into Sikong Wuwei¡¯s hands. A low, pained growl could be vaguely hearding from under the sea. Then, mighty waves stirred as several more tails, each as peculiar as thest, appeared above the ocean before Miao Yi¡¯s group. It was unknown what manner of creature they were.


    Sikong Wuwei wanted to continue attacking, but Miao Yi, after turning around to look at their pursuers, suddenly brandished the Mystic Yin Mirror with a flip of his hands and shouted, "Don¡¯t stop! Just press onwards and head to shore. Leave these monsters for the people behind us to deal with."


    Zhao Fei quickly surveyed his surroundings and realized there wasn¡¯t anything stopping them from running ashore to the ind in front. He said solemnly, "Why does it feel like these monsters are intentionally stopping us from circling around the ind and instead are forcing us to go ashore?"


    "We don¡¯t have time to be thinking about all this right now," Miao Yi noted.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei quickly dashed towards the ind with Miao Yi in tow.


    Boom boom boom! Mighty waves rose and fell as the giant tails came crashing down, sshing water everywhere. It was unknown what kind of monsters were hiding at the bottom of the sea.


    A giant tail descended upon Miao Yi¡¯s group, but Sikong Wuwei once again sted it to bits with his hammer. The Mountain Suppressing Hammer had an overwhelming advantage during head-on collisions like this.


    Miao Yi and his group ran across the surface of the ocean and managed to escape the towering pirs protruding from the depths of the sea. They swiftly leaped across the water andnded on the shore. Then, they turned their heads to see Gu Sanzheng and the rest still hot on their tails. They hastily dived into the forest in front.


    As they continued to chase after Miao Yi¡¯s group, Gu Sanzheng and the other two quickly came to a stop and eyed the strange towering tails sticking out of the ocean.


    They could also quickly pass by these monsters like Miao Yi¡¯s group had done. However, things were not as easy for them. Although they could escape from these monsters unscathed, they still had plenty of fellow disciples following behind them. Even though the three of them could easily pass through these monsters, the people behind them might not find it so simple.


    "Unsheathe!" Gu Sanzheng shouted. Then, ringing sounds immediately echoed forth from the Thunderp Sword Furnace on his back, and the one hundred and one Thunderp Flying Swords shot out like dragons.


    nging noises reverberated across the ocean as the sluggishly giant tails were all chopped off in the blink of an eye. The might of the Thunderp Flying Swords was extraordinary indeed.


    Immediately, from the bottom of the ocean, roars could be heard. It was like an earthquake had happened in the depths of the sea. With their feet on the rumbling waves, Tan Lao and Ye Xin quickly scanned their surroundings.


    Gu Sanzheng raised his arms and dived into the ocean depths. He opened his transcendence vision and caught sight of numerous massive creatures, partly resembling lobsters and partly resembling scorpions. It was a terrifying sight. They waved their mighty pincers about as they rose to the surface.


    Gu Sanzheng rose to the surface as well. When he saw their shelled exteriors floating over the ocean surface, he quickly performed his sword arts with both hands, and the Thunderp Flying Swords that were circling in mid-air immediately rained down.


    After a bout of shing and cleaving, they soon dyed the ocean red with blood. The Thunderp Flying Swords then returned to the sword furnace on Gu Sanzheng¡¯s back, a vibrant ringing noise resounding as they did.


    In mere moments, he hadpletely annihted the monsters that had just surfaced.


    Realizing the carcasses of the monsters were about to sink back down, Ye Xin¡¯s whipshed out and pulled one of them over, which she then flipped around to examine.


    "This is strange. For a creature to grow so big, even if they couldn¡¯t be demons, they would still have some self-awareness. How could they be killed so easily?" Tan Lao mused. His gaze then fell upon an old wound on the creature¡¯s stomach. Gu Sanzheng¡¯s flying swords obviously hadn¡¯t caused that wound.


    He broke off a te of armor from his chest and tossed it out. It shone with a blue radiance and immediately transformed into a spiked shield. Then, he used it to cut open the wound on the creature¡¯s stomach.


    He jumped onto the creature¡¯s stomach and examined it. As he called back his shield, he shook his head and sighed. He lifted his head towards the other two and said, "I don¡¯t know who could have done this. What impressive skill. Someone had actually extracted the Yao Core within these creatures while they were still alive. No wonder they barely put up a fight."

 Chapter 366: Meeting Pi Junzi Again

    Chapter 366: Meeting Pi Junzi Again


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Finally, Dong Quan and the rest of the Red Scarves Alliance had arrived as well.


    Ye Xin turned to the ind and said, "This is quite suspicious. Could there be something strange happening on that ind?"


    "We don¡¯t have time to think about this right now. We need to catch up to them first. We can¡¯t let Miao Yi escape." Gu Sanzheng signalled with his hand, ordering everyone to charge towards the ind.


    As soon as they reached shore, Gu Sanzheng and the other two immediately summoned their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts, as did the rest with their dragon steeds once they were ashore...


    Meanwhile, having arrived much earlier than Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group and presently deep within the mountains, Zhao Fei suddenly raised his hand to stop the other two beside him before whispering, "There¡¯s demonic energy."


    Miao Yi and Sikong Wuwei immediately opened their transcendence vision and saw, amidst the afterglow of twilight, a blurry gray fog before them. It was undoubtedly demonic energy. If they hadn¡¯t opened their transcendence vision, they wouldn¡¯t have noticed.


    "Damn! This demonic energy has already coalesced into fog. How many demons must be hiding within the mountains ahead?" Sikong Wuwei cursed. "We don¡¯t even know how strong they are. Can we charge past them?"


    "It would be better to circle around. Now¡¯s not the time to be making more enemies if we can help it." Miao Yi said.


    Zhao Fei nodded in agreement and said, "We don¡¯t have a clear enough understanding of the enemy forces in front, and from behind, our pursuers are closing in. It would be terrible if we were to suffer a pincer attack. It¡¯s best not to engage."


    The trio scanned their surroundings, then headed towards the canyon on their right.


    Right after they entered the canyon, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei suddenly shared a look. Sikong Wuwei¡¯s hammer abruptly erged, and he quickly hurled it out. A sonic boom sted out as it swung towards a giant boulder on the mountain.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t understand what was going on. Suddenly, someone jumped out from behind the boulder, sounding terribly frightened as he shouted, " Great Celestial Niu, spare me please! "


    Miao Yi was astonished when he saw who it was, and shouted, " STOP! "


    Sikong Wuwei had no way to stop such a big hammer that was already set on its course. Its speed and might were simply too overwhelming to be controlled once it left its wielder¡¯s hands. It could only be summoned back using the force of the rebound. This was also why the Mountain Suppressing Hammer could only travel back and forth between its target and its wielder¡¯s hands.


    However, he was notpletely out of options. Sikong Wuwei quickly invoked his arts, and the Mountain Suppressing Hammer swiftly shrunk back to its original size. However, it still carried the residual force from when it was erged and smashed into the giant boulder with a loud boom, pulverizing it into rubble. The person begging for his life was scared out of his wits and dived to the ground, hugging his head as his whole body trembled in fright.


    Calling back the hammer to his hand, Sikong Wuwei looked to Miao Yi and asked curiously, "What¡¯s going on?"


    "Great Celestial Niu?" Zhao Fei was also looking at him in a puzzled manner.


    "Let¡¯s go have a look at him first." Miao Yi led the other two over to the groveling man.


    The thin man groveling on the ground slowly lifted his head; his two long whiskers were disheveled like unkempt grass, his eyes shifty and cunning. He lookedpletely miserable.


    Miao Yi was happy when he found out it was really who he thought it was. It was none other than the rat spirit Pi Junzi, the second demonic spirit he met back when he had arrogantlye over to the Sea of Constetions to hunt for treasure.


    "Great Celestial Niu, we meet again. This humble one has missed you terribly."


    After barely escaping with his life from the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, Pi Junzi scrambled up to his feet. He forced a smile and acted incredibly subservient. He cast a furtive nce towards the Mountain Suppressing Hammer in Sikong Wuwei¡¯s hands, a lingering fear in his heart. If he hadn¡¯t been acquainted with the man before him, he would probably be a ttened clump of blood and flesh by now.


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "Pi Junzi. What are you doing here?"


    Pi Junzi sheepishly replied, "This humble one is here to patrol the mountain."


    "Patrol the mountain?" Miao Yi was shocked. His memory wasn¡¯t that bad. He was positive this wasn¡¯t Pi Junzi¡¯s original territory. There was a fair amount of distance between them.


    His gaze fell upon the golden bangle on Pi Junzi¡¯s wrist, and he immediately understood everything. It seemed like this unlucky fool was also a participant for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade.


    At this moment, the sounds of battleing from the ocean behind them had quieted down. Miao Yi didn¡¯t have time to ask too many questions and simply said, "Since you¡¯re patrolling the mountain here, you should be familiar with the area. Take us to a safe ce to hide."


    Pi Junzi was no fool either. He could guess that the trio were probably under pursuit from a strong opponent. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Then please follow this humble one."


    He quickly led the trio deep into the canyon.


    They eventually came into a dangerously precipitous canyon. Pi Junzi pushed away arge boulder along the side of the canyon, revealing a dark cave behind. He extended his arm and invited the other three inside.


    The trio exchanged nces and were immediately on alert. Miao Yi leveld his spear at Pi Junzi and warned, "You had better not be ying any tricks. Otherwise, I can assure you that you will die a horrible death."


    Pi Junzi had experienced Miao Yi¡¯s ruthlessness before. He waved his hand anxiously and said, "No tricks. No tricks at all. This is a cave that this humble one dug out himself. However, I will have to ask everyone to suppress their human auras."


    They were running against time. They could already make out the sound of hoofbeatsing from the distance. They had no choice but to go inside. Once they were in the cave, Pi Junzi ced the giant boulder outside back in its original ce to hide the entrance.


    Although the entrance was not big, the inside of the cave was quite spacious. There was no end in sight, with stone steps descending downwards. The path itself was pitch-ck, but with their transcendence vision, they were not afraid of losing sight of the path.


    When he saw this, Miao Yi immediately felt something amiss. The passage within the cave was quite wide, and the steps were in such good conditions. It didn¡¯t seem like a ce to stay alone. Furthermore, there was a mix of different demonic auras in the air, which couldn¡¯t possibly belong to just Pi Junzi alone.


    He suddenly brandished the Inversed-Scales Spear, fixing the hook of the spearhead around Pi Junzi¡¯s neck and grimly said, "Pi Junzi. You¡¯d better not tell me you are temporarily staying here all by yourself."


    Pi Junzi immediately shook his hands and carefully replied , "Lord Niu. This humble one wasn¡¯t lying. This humble one was the one who dug out all the underground caves on this ind for the past few years. Please lower your voice. Most of the Yao cultivators on the ind are staying here. That is why I asked you all to suppress your human auras. It will be better if you can release some of the demonic aura on your Yao Cores to camouge yourselves. I trust you have experience in this?"


    ¡¯He has experience?¡¯ Both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei looked at Miao Yi.


    However, Miao Yi was enraged and said, "How dare you bring us into a demon¡¯s nest?!"


    ¡¯You¡¯re afraid of a demon¡¯s nest? It¡¯s not like you¡¯ve never infiltrated one before. You even killed Commander Yuan!¡¯ Pi Junzi thought mockingly to himself. He anxiously shook his hands once again and said, "This humble one is honestly doing it for your sake. There are many tree demons on the ind. If I didn¡¯t bring all of you here, we will surely be discovered if we travel outside. I am the one who dug out all these underground passages, so I am most familiar with them. I wouldn¡¯t dare bring Lord Niu here if I was not confident!"


    After hearing what he said, Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei were confident that this man was definitely a demonic spirit from the Sea of Constetions. But why would Miao Yi be acquainted with a Yao cultivator from the Sea of Constetions? And why did he call Miao Yi the Great Celestial Niu, or Lord Niu?


    In the end, the trio followed Pi Junzi¡¯s instructions and suppressed their human auras, then used the demonic aura from the Yao Cores to camouge themselves. Afterwards, Pi Junzi instructed them to take off their battle armor and undo their hair buns. They did as instructed, spreading their hair to cover half their faces, then proceeded down the depths of the underground passage.


    Miao Yi remained vignt. He ced several of the tiny mantids on Pi Junzi, and the group proceeded with Pi Junzi in the center.


    After walking a short distance, Sikong Wuwei could feel his heart beating hard. It was his first time infiltrating a demon¡¯s nest. This was a little too exciting. He couldn¡¯t help transmitting his voice over to Miao Yi and asking, "Miao Yi. What is going on here? It looks to me like this Yao cultivator is very afraid of you!"


    Zhao Fei was also feeling nervous. Never in his whole life had he yed such a risky game before.


    "It¡¯s a long story. The point is, he¡¯s a rat spirit who suffered defeat at my hands. I¡¯ll exin in detail if we get the chanceter on." Miao Yi replied telepathically...


    The forces of the Red Scarves Alliance were finally all ashore. They mounted their dragon steeds and charged into the forest ahead.


    "There¡¯s demonic energy ahead!"


    After passing by a mountain, Gu Sanzheng suddenly raised his hand and gave a shout. The rest of the troops came to an abrupt halt.


    Everyone else opened their transcendence vision and noticed the demonic energy as well. It seemed like the ind was infested with demons. However, because of this, Ye Xin furrowed her brows and remarked, "Since there are so many demons on this ind, it isn¡¯t likely Miao Yi and his group were able to travel freely. Why isn¡¯t there anymotion at all?"


    "We can¡¯t be sure how many Yao cultivators are on the ind. It won¡¯t be wise to spread out and search." Gu Sanzheng turned to Tan Lao, "You¡¯re up."


    Tan Lao nodded, "As long as they are still on the ind, they won¡¯t be able to escape."


    With a flip of his hand, Tan Lao took out a red-nosed ck fox from his beast sack and held it before him. He made some squeaking noises at it, then ced it on the ground.


    The ck fox stuck its nose to the ground and sniffed around. After a while, it seemed like it caught the scent of something peculiar. It raised its head towards the canyon that Miao Yi and the others had previously escaped into and took a whiff. Then, it turned to Tan Lao and squeaked, before turning back and darting out towards the canyon.


    "It found them. They fled that way!" said Tan Lao, pointing in the direction the ck fox had run off to.


    The troops immediately followed after the ck fox. Soon, they reached the same rocky canyon where Miao Yi and the others had been.


    Almost effortlessly, the red-nosed ck fox found the ce where Miao Yi and the others had entered from. It wed around the gap between therge boulder and the face of the canyon...


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi and the others had safely passed through thebyrinthine underground maze with Pi Junzi¡¯s guidance. If it weren¡¯t for him leading the way, they would definitely have lost their way in this undergroundplex. They came straight to Pi Junzi¡¯s personal quarters.


    Just to be on the safe side, as Pi Junzi feared something would happen to him, he had dug out even more secret passageways in his own cave. He continued to lead the others through these secret tunnels.


    As soon as they entered Pi Junzi¡¯s secret room, he heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Lord Niu. We can talk in peace now."


    The others looked at the narrow space inside. Zhao Fei furrowed his brows and said, "There¡¯s only one entrance. If someone were to barricade it from the outside, given how deep underground this ce is, wouldn¡¯t we be buried alive?"


    Pi Junzi cupped his hands and said, "My lord does not need to worry." He pointed to a corner of the cave that was no different from the rest, and said, "I have prepared an escape route over there which goes straight into the ocean depths. Lord Niu, if you all wish to leave, I can escort you right away."


    It was not Pi Junzi¡¯s first time dealing with Miao Yi. Even though Miao Yi was ruthless, as long as heplied obediently, he should be alright. When they first met, Miao Yi had honored his end of the bargain and spared Pi Junzi. Otherwise, Miao Yi could have easily killed him while he was unconscious.


    That was why Pi Junzi couldn¡¯t wait to send these three disaster-attracting demons away, then he wouldn¡¯t have to be so anxious. This was why he didn¡¯t y any tricks at all.

 Chapter 367: So It Had Been A Major Incident

    Chapter 367: So It Had Been A Major Incident


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Pi Junzi was really doing it for Miao Yi¡¯s sake. However, Miao Yi didn¡¯t appreciate his goodwill and was suspicious of his intentions.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t simply go along with his n just like that. First, he had to make certain of several things. Otherwise, he might end up failing when he was all but confident of sess. He asked, "Pi Junzi, why are you digging out caves all the way here?"


    Pi Junzi smiled bitterly and replied, "Lord Niu, forgive me for being rude. But the reason I am digging out caves here is because of you."


    "Because of me?" Miao Yi was confused.


    Pi Junzi nodded. With a pained expression, he recounted the tragic events that led to his current situation.


    Pi Junzi already possessed a cultivation equal to a White Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator all those years ago and was slightly short of breaking through to the Blue Lotus realm. However, ever since his loss to Miao Yi, many years passed, and he had only just broken through to Blue Lotus First Grade several years before.


    However, throughout all those years, he had never once escaped the consequences of Miao Yi¡¯s actions.


    First, Niu Youde killed his master, Madam Wu Hua, then took her Jade Stream Manor que to infiltrate the Bejeweled Nectar Conve. After that, he killed all seventy-two Fort Masters present and even Commander Yuan Kaishan himself. Afterwards, Miao Yi had returned to South Edict Manor, so he didn¡¯t know how big of a mess it was at the time. That said, it was normal that he wouldn¡¯t know, given the informationwork at the shabby old ce he¡¯d been in.


    It was easy to specte how the Sea of Constetions reacted at the time if he considered how the Celestial Nation would react if a Yao cultivator somehow traveled into its borders, and killed not only Suppressing Second Hall Master Huo Lingxiao but all his Manor Head subordinates as well.


    The death of Yuan Kaishan and his seventy-two Fort Masters shook the entire Sea of Constetions. It was understandable if it was a result of internal conflict. However, it was an act done by a foreigner. This was an act of arrogance that tantly disregarded the authority of the Sea of Constetions. As a result, the Yao Generals themselves came to investigate. Soon, even the Supreme Yao Lord had joined in. In the end, it had even caught the eye of Constetions Master Fu Qing, who personally came over to conduct an investigation.


    The investigation explored all known aspects of the case. First, the Yao cultivators of Brass Gong Fort all confirmed that the criminal was a man riding a fat dragon steed called Niu Youde. However, it was beyond difficult to find Niu Youde because he had long since escaped.


    Then, the investigation looked into the Jade Stream Manor que that Niu Youde had used to infiltrate the Bejeweled Nectar Conve. Initially, no one had dared to probe the master of the Jade Stream Manor, Bi Youpo. It was because Bi Youpo had a powerful background. However, even Fu Qing himself had personally stepped out. As one of the Four Constetion Masters of the Sea of Constetions, Fu Qing¡¯s authoritypletely outranked Bi Youpo¡¯s background. To avoid inciting Fu Qing¡¯s wrath, Bi Youpo obediently responded to his summons and underwent the interrogation.


    At first, Bi Youpo didn¡¯t know that his concubine Madam Wu Hua had died. When he confirmed that the que really did belong to Madam Wu Hua, Bi Youpo was enraged. How dare that vile woman cause harm to his sworn brother? He then ordered all the water tribes to search for her. In the end, they managed to find Madam Wu Hua¡¯s broken corpse in the ocean. Only then did Bi Youpo realize that someone had first killed his concubine, took her que, and then used it to kill his sworn brother.


    He waspletely humiliated. This murderer had gone too far. In his rage, Bi Youpo dered, "He¡¯d better hope that I don¡¯t find him. Even if the Six Sages themselves are responsible, I demand an exnation!"


    Pi Junzi obviously couldn¡¯t escape from the investigation as well. As soon as they figured out that Madam Wu Hua was involved, he was the first one brought over for interrogation.


    However, given how serious the matter was, how could Pi Junzi dare to speak the truth? If he really confessed that he was Niu Youde¡¯s aplice, even though he had been forced toply, he would definitely die horribly. That was why regardless of how painful the punishment he suffered, he didn¡¯t dare to speak the truth. He simply denied having any knowledge from start to finish.


    After that, Pi Junzi became hated by everyone. The water tribes treated him as someone from thend, and the people onnd treated him as a member of Jade Stream Manor. No one bothered with him as both sides hadpletely cut him off and he ended uppletely stripped of his wages.


    At first, Pi Junzi thought he would at least be free this way. However, when it came time for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, both sides drafted him in to make up for the numbers. With both the Brass Gong Fort and Jade Stream Manor enlisting him, he had no choice but toe. His luck was incredibly terrible.


    Given how dangerous the Subjugation Crusade was, as and-dwelling Yao cultivator, he obviously had to find allies. However, everyone rejected him because his cultivation was too low. As such, Pi Junzi turned to Jade Stream Manor once more. Fortunately, Jade Stream Manor was in need of help onnd. After all, shes were more likely to happen onnd than in water during the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Not to mention, Pi Junzi had a talent for digging caves. That was how he was able to meet with Miao Yi again.


    When Pi Junzi was patrolling the mountain, he had hidden himself well. However, when he saw Miao Yi, he jumped up in shock and caught the attention of Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. As a result, Sikong Wuwei¡¯s hammer had almost smashed him to death.


    Miao Yi was at a loss for words at Pi Junzi¡¯s story. He¡¯d never thought that the incident would escte to such an extent and that even Yuan Kaishan¡¯s death was attributed to him as well. Yao Ruoxian was clearly the one behind it.


    However, it was understandable. At the time, even Yuan Kaishan had thought that Yao Ruoxian was Niu Youde. Thus, it was obvious that Niu Youde would take all the me.


    He finally understood why Yao Ruoxian would always think abouting to the Sea of Constetions to hunt, but no longer dared toe here secretly as he did before. He probably figured out that the situation had escted, and didn¡¯t dare risk stepping foot in the Sea of Constetions so easily...


    There was something that neither Pi Junzi nor Miao Yi knew about. At the time, Western Constetions Master Fu Qing had even sent a notice to the Six Sages requesting them to hand over a man. Who? A man called Niu Youde.


    In response, the Six Sages gave face to Fu Qing and investigated all the names of the cultivators within the administration. After their investigation, they told him that there was no such person. Even if there were, they wouldn¡¯t admit it either. Who would be willing to deal with such a troublesome matter? What¡¯s more, this person truly didn¡¯t exist anyway.


    Then, Fu Qing dered, "If I ever find out which of the six nations did this, don¡¯t me me for killing my way into your territory to personally apprehend the culprit..."


    After listening to Pi Junzi¡¯s story, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were wide-eyed in disbelief, and they stared at Miao Yi like he was some kind of monster.


    Even though they had seen many courageous men, they had never seen one so fearless. A White Lotus cultivator actually dared toe to the Sea of Constetions to hunt for treasure, and even killed seventy-two Fort Masters as well as a Commander, causing such a major incident as a result. This was beyond fearless!


    The both of them were notpletely ignorant. The administration system here in the Sea of Constetions was slightly different from that of the six nations. A Fort Master here would be around the same level as a Manor Head, and a Commander would be equivalent to a Hall Master.


    ¡¯This bastard actually killed seventy-two Manor Heads and a Hall Master. How did he do it?¡¯


    Both of them had initially doubted Miao Yi when he said he¡¯d only been sent to participate in the Sea of Constetions because he had offended the Hall Master. How could a White Lotus cultivator dare to upset a Hall Master at the Red Lotus realm? However, theypletely believed him now. ¡¯Damn. This bastard even dares to kill someone at the Hall Master level. What else could he possibly be afraid of?¡¯


    Miao Yi felt ufortable from their stares. He rubbed his nose and coughed, "Why are you two looking at me like that?"


    Sikong Wuwei clicked his tongue and said, "So I guess it¡¯s not your first timeing to the Sea of Constetions!"


    "I was lost. I lost my way and stumbled into this ce. I wasn¡¯t the one who did those things either. I¡¯m merely a scapegoat," Miao Yi gave a cursory reply. Then, he turned to Pi Junzi and asked, "Then the one overseeing this ind right now is from the Jade Stream Manor?"


    Pi Junzi replied truthfully, "Yes, his name is Hei Langjun. He¡¯s a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade sea serpent demon, and a subordinate of Bi Youpo. He wields the mighty artifact, the ¡¯Seamless Net¡¯, bestowed upon him by Bi Youpo."


    "What sort of transcendent artifact is the Seamless Net?"


    "It¡¯s a transcendent artifact resembling a fisherman¡¯s. It¡¯s very difficult for a person to escape once caught inside."


    Miao Yi nodded. He furrowed his brows and asked, "I can see that there is an abundance of demonic aura on this ind. There should be quite a number of Yao cultivators, correct?"


    "Not many. There are about three hundred Yao cultivators in total. They were all recruited from various locations by Hei Langjun, and everyone heeds hismand. Ever since the Subjugation Crusade started, we have been hiding on this ind, awaiting the arrival of cultivators from the other nations." Pi Junzi told them everything he knew. He only wished for Miao Yi to be out of his hair as soon as possible.


    Suddenly, Pi Junzi¡¯s expression drastically changed. He quickly lied down and ced his ears to the ground.


    The others didn¡¯t know what he was doing. Then, Pi Junzi suddenly jumped up and said, "This is bad. Someone has discovered the cave that we came in from. They¡¯ve destroyed the giant boulder I used to seal the cave. I can hear the sounds of many mounts. Are these the peopleing after you?"


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t hear anything at all. He turned to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. They both shook their heads to indicate that they didn¡¯t hear anything either.


    "Pi Junzi, you¡¯re not trying to scare us on purpose, are you?" Miao Yi asked coldly.


    Pi Junzi smiled bitterly, "Lord Niu, this humble one is not capable of many things, but my sense of hearing is a talent I was born with. As long as this humble one ces his ears on the ground and listens, nothing within a ten-mile radius can escape my hearing. I can even hear the sound of a rabbit hopping, let alone something that¡¯s causing such a hugemotion."


    The trio exchanged nces. They never thought this rat demon would have such a unique talent.


    Pi Junzi added, "If they¡¯ve entered the cave, Hei Langjun will surely wish to gather the troops to fight them. This humble one will have to answer the summons as well. I suggest you all take this opportunity and quickly leave through the secret passage."


    However, Miao Yi said somberly, "This is strange. How did Gu Sanzheng manage to find the entrance to the cave?" He turned to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, and continued, "They surely have some kind of method to track us. If we can¡¯t be sure of what that method is, I fear we might not be able to escape."


    Within the rocky canyon, the red-nosed ck fox jumped onto Tan Lao¡¯s shoulder. The boulder blocking the entrance was then ground to dust by Ye Xin¡¯s whip, revealing a pitch-ck entrance to a cave behind it.


    Gu Sanzheng swept his sleeves and blew away all the dust in the air. He furrowed his brows and said, "This ce is indeed quite suspicious. But how did Miao Yi and his group be so familiar with this area that they managed to hide inside without anyone noticing?"


    Tan Lao said glumly, "We don¡¯t have the slightest clue what¡¯s inside this cave. If we enter rashly, I fear we will be at a disadvantage!"


    Ye Xin gritted her teeth and asked, "Are we just going to let them escape like this?"


    She was gnashing her teeth with hatred as she thought about how Miao Yi had almost dragged her along the ground earlier on.


    "It seems like only a few people can enter this cave as well. Ye Xin, takemand and stand watch outside. Tan Lao and I will go in!" Gu Sanzheng turned around andmanded, "Dong Quan, Hu Zhiyuan, Fei De-an¡ªthe three of you will go in front of us and scout the path ahead. Yu Baixing, Jia Zifeng¡ªthe two of you will follow behind us both."


    He listed five Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators in one go to apany him.


    "Ah!" The faces of Dong Quan and the others twisted in dismay. Dong Quan cupped his fists and said, "Alliance Master. The situation inside is unclear. Shouldn¡¯t we first confirm what is going on inside before we do anything?"


    Gu Sanzheng swept him a cold nce, "You wish to disobey my orders?"

 Chapter 368: Push the Blame

    Chapter 368: Push the me


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    He wasn¡¯t trying to disobey orders. It was simply too dangerous to blindly enter an underground cave. However, Dong Quan and the others had no choice but to ept theirmands. It was different from when Miao Yi was Alliance Master, who at least made room for negotiation. Gu Sanzheng didn¡¯t give them any room to negotiate at all.


    They could only bite the bullet and obey. They jumped off their dragon steeds and proceeded into the cave. Even though the passageway wasn¡¯t narrow, it was not wide enough for a dragon steed to gallop. Instead, it would be rather inconvenient to bring a dragon steed through the serpentine passageways.


    The ck fox on Tan Lao¡¯s shoulder jumped down and led the way as it sniffed around the path ahead. Dong Quan and the other two followed after the fox, with Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao behind them. Protecting their backs at the end were Yu Baixing and Jia Zifeng.


    The sixteen miniaturized spiked shields continued to circle around Tan Lao quietly.


    The faint demonic aura hovering around the cave greatly unnerved Dong Quan and the others. This was the price of relying on a strong force. Even though by relying on the strength of others, they would be able to live longer. However, they had to be obedient.


    Gu Sanzheng was also a little on edge when he felt the demonic aura within the cave. He couldn¡¯t understand why Miao Yi and the others would choose to hide within such a ce. Even he himself was a little dubious and wondered if Tan Lao¡¯s fox had mistaken the location...


    Now with disheveled hair, both Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei were also feeling on edge. They followed behind Miao Yi, with Miao Yi behind Pi Junzi. Their group proceeded down one of the underground passageways.


    They would sometimes bump into Yao cultivators rushing to and fro along the way. Because the Red Scarves Alliance had suddenly barged into their base camp, the Alliance Master Hei Langjun was already calling all Yao cultivators to arms.


    "Pi Junzi, who are these three?! Why have I never seen them before?" A Yao cultivator suddenly stopped to ask Pi Junzi as he passed by.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei werepletely on edge. They had never yed such a thrilling game before. The two of them originally intended to follow Pi Junzi¡¯s secret passageway and leave, but Miao Yi had a point. They weren¡¯t sure whether the three major sects still had some unknown tricks up their sleeve that could track down their group. Even though the three of them had secretly entered the demon¡¯s nest, Gu Sanzheng was still able to find them. They didn¡¯t know when they would be able to stop running if it were to keep up like this. They weren¡¯t even sure whether or not they could escape. That was why they needed to think of a way to render it impossible for the three major sects to follow after them.


    As such, Miao Yi forced Pi Junzi to go to Hei Langjun to report on a certain development.


    It would be fine for Pi Junzi to make the report on his own. However, Miao Yi was afraid that Pi Junzi would y some tricks behind his back, and so he insisted on following him. The feeling of prancing around a demon¡¯s nest and asionallying face-to-face with demons was a first for Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. Even though they were not afraid, they couldn¡¯t help feeling quite restless.


    "They¡¯re new recruits. They¡¯re also good at digging out caves, so the Alliance Master has ordered them to follow behind this humble one," Pi Junzi bowed as he replied.


    Miao Yi immediately followed suit and bowed. Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei werepletely at a loss for words. They could do nothing but bow as well.


    When that person heard it was the Alliance Master¡¯s orders, he didn¡¯t suspect anything else. He simply gave a curt response and left. It was because Pi Junzi had always been cowardly and would never use the Alliance Master¡¯s name to lie. Unless he was tired of living, that is.


    As soon as that person left, Pi Junzi couldn¡¯t help wiping his forehead, afraid that he¡¯d start sweating and raise suspicion.


    Every time he saw Miao Yi, he truly felt afraid. It was because Miao Yi always did something to bring him anxiety every time they met.


    They continued forward, and from the back, Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t help transmitting his voice, "Brother. This is a very risky game we¡¯re ying. That Hei Langjun has never even seen us before."


    "You don¡¯t have to worry about him finding out about us. If that Hei Langjun realizes our scheme, I will freeze him immediately with the Mystic Yin Mirror. Simply put, with thebined might of our three transcendent artifacts, he will surely die. We might even get to take that Seamless Net for ourselves," Miao Yi replied boldly.


    Sikong Wuwei was speechless. He wondered why this guy¡¯s train of thought was so different from his own. However, when he heard Miao Yi¡¯s n, he thought, ¡¯He¡¯s right. With all our transcendent artifacts, is there a need to fear that demon?¡¯ He suddenly felt a spark of confidence, although he still thought that this was a rather risky n.


    They continued down the serpentine passageway, but before they had even reached Hei Langjun¡¯s residence, Pi Junzi suddenly turned around and transmitted his voice to the other three, "Hei Langjun is here."


    Pi Junzi then turned his body to stand beside the wall. The other three immediately followed suit, repressing their human auras as best they could while invoking the Yao Core in their clothes to emit demonic auras to camouge themselves. They snuck a nce through the small gaps in between their messy hair and saw a slender man garbed in ck robes quickly drawing close with two voluptuous women following behind him. Miao Yi and the other two followed after Pi Junzi and bowed.


    Hei Langjun stopped when he saw the four of them and said solemnly, "Why haven¡¯t you prepared for battle yet? Are you disregarding my orders?"


    Pi Junzi hurriedly stepped forward and answered, "Reporting to the Alliance Master. This humble one has something to tell you."


    Hei Langjun was examining Miao Yi and the others, who had their hair covering their faces, and asked, "What is it?"


    Pi Junzi was afraid he would notice something amiss, so he quickly cut to the chase and said, "It has to do with Madam Wu Hua."


    "Madam Wu Hua?" Hei Langjun was surprised. His gaze quickly shifted back from Miao Yi and the others back to Pi Junzi. He asked, "Madam Wu Hua has been dead for so many years, why are you bringing her up?"


    Pi Junzi replied weakly, "When this humble one was patrolling the mountain just now, I think I saw the one that killed Madam Wu Hua all those years ago. I think I saw Niu Youde."


    "Is this true?!" Hei Langjun¡¯s eyes instantly widened. As Bi Youpo¡¯s subordinate, how could he not know the significance Niu Youde carried for Bi Youpo. He immediately shouted, "Pi Junzi, you really saw that Niu Youde?!"


    Pi Junzi¡¯s heart was beating wildly, but he still gritted his teeth and replied, "Alliance Master, you should know that I saw many of the Madam¡¯s things when I was serving her all those years ago. Why don¡¯t you guess what I saw just now on the red cloth tied around the wrists of the people outside?"


    "Stop beating around the bush!" Hei Langjun barked, "Tell it to me straight!"


    "If I¡¯m not mistaken, the cloth wrapped around their wrists should be the same fabric that Madam Wu Hua loved the most all those years ago."


    When they heard this, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei immediately looked at Miao Yi secretly, realizing that he intended to kill with a borrowed knife. However, would this n work?


    The both of them were a little doubtful whether this Hei Langjun and the demons on this ind would be able to contend against Gu Sanzheng and his forces.


    "Based on this alone? You are sure that Niu Youde is among them with just this?" Hei Langjun furrowed his brows and asked.


    Pi Junzi cupped his fists and said, "Your subordinate is naturally not so quick to jump to conclusions. Just now, your subordinate saw the man leading the enemy. He was carrying a long box embedded with swords on his back. He was the same one who appeared around the area where Madam Wu Hua died that year. At the time, he was riding on a fat dragon steed. If I add this to the red cloth they have around their wrists, then I have very good reason to believe that that person is Niu Youde. However..."


    "However what?" Hei Langjun shouted, "Speak!"


    Pi Junzi immediately trembled as he replied, "However, just now I overheard the people beside him calling him Gu Sanzheng. That is why I couldn¡¯t be sure!"


    "Gu Sanzheng?" Hei Langjun was briefly surprised. Suddenly, he pushed Pi Junzi against the wall, then left while scolding, "Idiot. A name can be changed anytime. As if he would dare to use his true name while hemitted crimes in the Sea of Constetions back then! Someone! Send out my orders. There will be a great reward for capturing the one called Gu Sanzheng. It doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s dead or alive!"


    The two beautiful women in revealing clothes behind Hei Langjun watched as Pi Junzi hit the wall and how he clumsily regained his bnce. They then left snickering.


    After Hei Langjun and the two women were some distance away, Pi Junzi immediately ced his ear on the wall to listen for anymotion. He then heaved a sigh of relief, his forehead finally breaking out in a cold sweat. He folded his arms and bowed to Miao Yi as he whispered, "Lord Niu. This humble one has already done what you asked. Please let me go. If you keep using me like this, you don¡¯t even have to kill me¡ªthis humble one will surely die from shock."


    Miao Yi patted his shoulder and smiled. "You did well."


    Pi Junzi smiled bitterly. ¡¯As if I had any other choice. Do you think I¡¯m doing this willingly?!¡¯


    Zhao Fei looked around, then furrowed his brows and whispered, "Brother. Why does it seem to me like your n is full of holes? Even I found it hard to believe my ears. Not to mention, I don¡¯t think Hei Langjun and his troops will be able to triumph over Gu Sanzheng¡¯s forces."


    Miao Yi whispered, "That¡¯s why we can¡¯t leave just yet. We need to give Hei Langjun a hand at the crucial moment."


    Sikong Wuwei shouted, "You¡¯re kidding! You¡¯ve already done what you need to do. Yet you still want to stay?!"


    "Quiet down!" Miao Yi said as he held a finger to his lips. He looked around, then whispered, "If Hei Langjun is really no match for Gu Sanzheng and the others, we need to help him escape so that he can spread the word. The three major sects have been on our tail for so long. I want to let them experience the feeling of being chased down as well. It¡¯s also high time for those unrepentant traitors in the Red Scarves Alliance to suffer some payback!"


    His eyes shone with a vicious glint when he said thest line.


    Pi Junzi felt a chill run down his spine when he heard Miao Yi¡¯s n. If this piece of news were to leak out, worstes to worst, a major portion of the Yao cultivators participating in the Sea of Constetions woulde to hunt these people down... ¡¯Why did these three major sects people have to offend this guy? I just knew this guy shouldn¡¯t be trifled with.¡¯


    Sikong Wuwei folded his hands and bowed to Miao Yi as he whispered, "Fine, fine, I¡¯ll call you lord, alright? We are no match for them at all. We¡¯ve been running around trying to escape them all this time, and now you want to help Hei Langjun fight against them? Aren¡¯t we basically delivering ourselves over to Gu Sanzheng then? Are you tired of living?"


    Miao Yi waved his hand and said, "Listen to me first. We are only going to help Hei Langjun escape just in case he loses. We don¡¯t need to sh head-on against Gu Sanzheng and his forces. If they really do have some special method to track us down, it makes no difference whether we escape now orter. They will still catch up with us eventually. Simrly, we still won¡¯t be a match for them. In the future, they will definitely continue to harass us to death. If they don¡¯t have any special methods, we can dive into the sea once the sky is dark and escape just as easily."


    Sikong Wuwei smiled bitterly. "I fear it might not be so easy to make it to the ocean once we reveal ourselves!"


    "We will need to rely on Pi Junzi for this." Miao Yi turned and tapped Pi Junzi on the shoulder again, smiling as he said, "You¡¯ve dug out all these underground tunnels. Surely, you left a few escape routes for yourself somewhere. Let me repeat myself. If you dare sabotage us and make it impossible for us to survive, then even if you manage to escape, I will let everyone know that you were an aplice for the deaths of Yuan Kaishan and the others that year!"


    Pi Junzi smiled bitterly. "If Hei Langjun and his forces are defeated, I will have no one else to rely on. I fear I won¡¯t be able to survive till the end of the Subjugation Crusade."


    Miao Yi continued to tap on his shoulder, and said, "We won¡¯t leave you behind. As long as you can help us escape sessfully, you can juste along with us then. You can¡¯t let these skills of yours go to waste."


    Pi Junzi replied weakly, "You won¡¯t kill me when that happens, will you?"


    Miao Yi huffed and said, "Is there a need for me to kill you? You¡¯re a part of this as well. Feel free to spread the word if you¡¯re not afraid of death."


    Pi Junzi was speechless. He truly didn¡¯t dare to speak casually about this.


    Zhao Fei was frowning this whole time. He noted, "Have you ever thought about this? If Gu Sanzheng and the rest were to truly end up falling into the Yao cultivators¡¯ hands, they¡¯ll definitely say that the red cloth tied around the wrists of the Red Scarves Alliance came from you!"

 Chapter 369: The Overwhelming Thunderclap

    Chapter 369: The Overwhelming Thunderp


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Miao Yi immediately asked, "If Gu Sanzheng can deny that the red cloth came from him, then why should I admit it if he says it¡¯s mine?"


    Zhao Fei sighed, "You were the one who personally handed it out to everyone. With so many people testifying against you, do you think anyone will believe you?"


    Miao Yi replied indifferently, "It doesn¡¯t matter whether anyone believes me or not. I will simply say that Gu Sanzheng was the one who handed it to me, then had me pass it down to everyone else."


    "..." Zhao Fei was at a loss for words. He asked, "Aren¡¯t you worried at all?"


    "Is there anything that doesn¡¯t have its fair share of risk? Sometimes, you can¡¯t think too hard about certain things. Otherwise, nothing will ever get done." Miao Yi shook his head and added, "I only know that Gu Sanzheng¡¯s forces are the biggest threat to us right now. If we can¡¯t even ovee this hurdle before us, and instead cower away from them out of fear for the future, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a bitughable? We should prioritize surviving our current predicament over everything else. We¡¯ll worry about the future when ites!"


    Boom!


    A loud crashing sound came from the other end of the passageway. The four of them turned to look, then exchanged nces with one another. They knew that both sides had already begun fighting...


    Deep within the underground passage, Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group quickly turned around when they heard themotion and watched as the path behind them caved in, kicking up clouds of dust.


    Boom! The path ahead suddenly copsed as well, trapping the seven of them underground.


    "This is bad! We¡¯re trapped!" Dong Quan eximed.


    Tan Lao squeaked to the ck fox leading the way for them. It swiftly returned back into the beast sack at Tan Lao¡¯s waist.


    Boom! The wall beside them suddenly exploded. Two giant pincers cut through the walls in front and behind them, thenunched an attack towards the seven of them in the middle.


    In front, Dong Quan, Hu Zhiyuan, and Fei De-an brandished their weapons and blocked one giant pincer, and at the back, Yu Baixing and Jia Zifeng blocked the other.


    Trapped in the middle, Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao quickly swept a cold nce at their surroundings. They were worthy of being the number one disciples of the three major sects indeed. Even in such a perilous situation, they were able to maintain theirposure. The two of them had already prepared themselves beforeing in. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been so rash to enter.


    Dong Quan and the others were astonished by the feeling in their hands when their blows connected. They had no idea what sort of monstrosity these pincers attacking them belonged to. Its shell was extraordinarily hard. Even with their Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts, they couldn¡¯t break it at all.


    Furthermore, the monster had incredible strength. Even with five Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators working together, they were unable to stop the two pincers from closing in. The three in front and the two behind were gradually pushed towards the center where Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao were positioned.


    Boom! The wall in the center exploded, finally revealing the true appearance of the monster. It turned out to be a giant crab. Amidst the rubble and dust, its sharp mandibles viciously bit at Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao.


    The sixteen miniature shields flying about Tan Lao shone with a blue radiance. Three of them quickly erged and fused together at a single point, creating a shield in the form of a three-diamond emblem. Tan Lao then gave it a push.


    Bang! A loud sound reverberated throughout the passage. The three-diamond shield blocked the giant mouth biting down.


    The ground beneath Tan Lao¡¯s feet started to crumble, and he sank into the ground up to his knees. The pressure exerted by the monster above him was simply too heavy.


    Tan Lao quickly turned to Gu Sanzheng. However, that man with the sword-case on his back seemed to be oblivious to what was happening around him. He continued to sweep a cold nce at his surroundings, clearly vignt against another possible ambush.


    Tan Lao could do little but persevere as he continued to hold up the three-diamond shield on his hand. His remaining thirteen shields started glowing blue and expanded. They then began spinning rapidly, bing thirteen rotating des that swiftly shed at the giant crab.


    However, the carapace of the giant crab was simply too hard. Sparks flew, and sharp screeching noises resounded as the rotating des only managed to leave little scratch marks on the giant crab¡¯s carapace. They were unable to prate through it.


    Tan Lao was in shock. He didn¡¯t know what kind of crab spirit this was for it to have such a hard shell. Even his own transcendent artifact was only able to leave minor scratches on it.


    Gu Sanzheng was taken aback as well. He originally thought that Tan Lao could handle it, which was why he felt safe leaving his back to him and focused on keeping guard against his surroundings instead. However, even Tan Lao was unable to keep the monster at bay, and Dong Quan and the others were slowly being pushed back as well, despite their best efforts.


    Seeing as they were running out of options, Gu Sanzheng turned around, raised his arms and shouted, "Unsheathe!"


    Shing shing shing shing...


    A sharp ringing echoed forth as a series of silver lights as bright as lightning shot out in quick session from the sword-case on Gu Sanzheng¡¯s back. They erupted from the case like a thunderp.


    "Wuwu..." Deafening cries rang out from above Tan Lao¡¯s three-diamond shield.


    As soon as the Thunderp Flying Swords shot out, they quickly crushed the tough shell of the giant crab pincers that Dong Quan and the others were trying so hard to stop, sttering blood and flesh about. The thunderp swords prated through the pincers, slicing them into pieces. The giant-shelled body pushing down on Tan Lao was mutted by dozens of Thunderp Flying Swords as well.


    Gu Sanzheng pointed his finger to the wall, and dozens of silver lights crashed into it. They swiftly ripped apart what remained of the giant crab¡¯s body. Blood and flesh sttered about, kicking up clouds of dust. The wallpletely copsed, revealing a neighboring passageway. On the other side, there were a group of Yao cultivators frantically backing away.


    Dong Quan and the others were dumbstruck. Zhao Lingtu had told them long ago about the might of the Thunderp Sword Furnace. It didn¡¯t seem so impressive back when Gu Sanzheng had used it to fight Miao Yi and the others before. But now, they finally came to see the true might of this Thunderp Sword Furnace. It instantly killed the monster that everyone else had tried so hard just to inflict some damage on. As expected of the Sword Deviate Sect, the number one sect in the Fifth Earthly Branch, to possess such a powerful Second Grade Transcendent Artifact. They had powerful tricks up their sleeve indeed.


    "Attack!" A vicious shout came from the opposing tunnel.


    The retreating Yao cultivators immediately charged forward in a frenzied manner. Gu Sanzheng swept them a cold gaze, then with a flip of his hand, the Thunderp Flying Swords hovering around the passageway immediately rained down like a hurricane, cleaving through the demons like a raging thunderstorm.


    Just to be safe, Tan Lao directed eight of his flying shields to protect Gu Sanzheng, enabling him to focus on killing the enemies.


    In moments, blood and flesh covered the area as screams of agony resounded throughout the passageway. The Thunderp Flying Swords easily prated through the Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts worn by the Yao cultivators, which did little to protect their owners.


    As the cries and wails continued, the surviving Yao cultivators frantically ran towards both ends of the underground tunnel, leaving dozens of corpses behind. None dared to face the might of the Thunderp Flying Swords again.


    Gu Sanzheng approached the corpse of a demon that had reverted to its original form. He formed a fist with his right hand and lightly knocked on his left chest. Once again, ringing noises resounded as the Thunderp Flying Swords swiftly flew back into the sword furnace.


    He continued to keep a vignt eye on his surroundings. Tan Lao gestured towards Dong Quan and the others and said, "Hurry and clean it up!"


    Dong Quan and the others quickly removed the Yao Cores from the Yao cultivators¡¯ corpses, as well as other valuables such as the golden bangles. They then handed them all over to Tan Lao.


    Tan Lao immediately split them into two shares and tossed Gu Sanzheng¡¯s share over to him while he kept one share for himself.


    The both of them had simply stored away the spoils of war, without the slightest intention of splitting with Dong Quan and the others. They turned around and proceeded down the other tunnel.


    Dong Quan and the others exchanged nces. Even though they hadints, they didn¡¯t dare to voice them out. They couldn¡¯t help feeling nostalgic for the days when Miao Yi was Alliance Master. Those days, they were the ones who took the biggest share. But s, they didn¡¯t dare mention this to the grim reaper Gu Sanzheng, and could only keep their grievances to themselves.


    After they proceeded a hundred meters down the passageway, Gu Sanzheng pointed to the side and said to Tan Lao, "We still need to get back to our original passageway so your ck fox can continue to track Miao Yi."


    Tan Lao nodded. "We¡¯ve been walking for a while now. We should have already passed the area where the tunnel copsed ." He turned around and immediately ordered Dong Quan and the others to destroy the wall between the two passages.


    Dong Quan and the others didn¡¯t dare to hesitate at all. They worked together and quickly destroyed the stone wall that was a dozen meters thick. As expected, they found the tunnel they were previously in.


    Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao took the lead and walked over first. They turned around and saw a pile of rubble stacked together just ten meters behind them. When they were in the other tunnel earlier on, they had walked over a hundred meters. Based on these estimates, those Yao cultivators had caused a cave-in at least several hundred feet in size in order to seal them in.


    Tan Lao summoned the red-nosed ck fox once again. As expected, it soon picked up the scent of Miao Yi¡¯s group and darted off. The rest of them immediately followed after...


    In one of the underground pces, some of the Yao cultivators that managed to escape certain death were now reporting to Hei Langjun about what happened. They were still in shock.


    Hei Langjun gasped in astonishment, "He even killed the Hercules Crab in a single stroke? That cultivator is actually so powerful?"


    Beside the gates of the underground pce, Pi Junzi and the trio were hiding among the crowd of Yao cultivators.


    They were mixing in with the Yao cultivators so tantly. Pi Junzi¡¯s heart was full of trepidation, and his knees felt weak from the fear that someone would notice something amiss. However, he had no choice but to do exactly as Miao Yi said. On the other hand, Miao Yi waspletely unfazed. It wasn¡¯t his first time doing such a thing in the Sea of Constetions anyway. What¡¯s more, he had experts beside him now and a mighty artifact in his possession. There was nothing to be afraid of. In contrast, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were feeling incredibly frustrated. Their hearts couldn¡¯t take ying such a risky game. This was simply too reckless. From time to time, they would secretly size up the Yao cultivators beside them.


    Both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were on full alert, afraid of revealing themselves. Then, they watched as Miao Yi approached the other Yao cultivators beside them of his own ord, asking about the battle that happened earlier. The both of them were utterly speechless. Theypletely gave up on this guy and no longer felt a shred of doubt that he actually did dare to step foot in the Sea of Constetions to hunt for treasure with just his White Lotus cultivation all those years ago.


    "Damn. This bastard really thinks of himself as one of them now!" Sikong Wuwei transmitted his voice over to Zhao Fei and grumbled.


    Zhao Fei was at a loss for words and simply shook his head. They had alreadye this far. There was no backing out now. All they could do was continue dancing to Miao Yi¡¯s tune.


    Inside the pce, after a discussion with his lieutenants, Hei Langjun abruptly stood up from his throne and bellowed, "We can always dig new passageways if our current ones are destroyed! My mind is set. We will trigger a major cave-in and bury them alive!"


    His lieutenants acknowledged the order and left to assemble their forces and begin preparations.


    Miao Yi gave Pi Junzi a light push. Pi Junzi gave him a sign of understanding, then the four of them quickly ran behind the other Yao cultivators. When they came to a fork in the path, they swiftly left the group and proceeded down the other way. They didn¡¯t want to sh head-on against Gu Sanzheng¡¯s forces.


    This was the upside of running behind Pi Junzi in these underground tunnels. He was the one who dug all of them out. There probably wasn¡¯t anyone else in this entire ind more familiar with these underground passages than he was.


    Another upside was that Pi Junzi didn¡¯t have much status among the Yao cultivators. His main responsibility was to protect the underground tunnels. In his free time, he was required to patrol the mountain as well. When it was time for battle, no one would notice whether he was present or not. Thus, Miao Yi and the others could follow him and freely move around thebyrinthian underground passages.


    This was a demon¡¯s nest after all. With all the Yao cultivators on the move, Gu Sanzheng¡¯s party quickly met with another obstacle. As they rushed onwards, the entire tunnel suddenly started caving in again. They immediately destroyed the adjacent wall, but soon discovered that the neighboring passageway was copsing as well.

 Chapter 370: Asking For Trouble

    Chapter 370: Asking For Trouble


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The earth trembled as the walls began to cave in, kicking up clouds of dust. The ground shook heavily as though there was an earthquake. Trapped inside, all seven of them invoked their arts and protected themselves, sweeping all the falling rubble away from their bodies.


    Swoosh! Sixteen shields expanded and flew out, protecting them from all sides, including the ceiling, so the space around them somehow remained intact. However, it didn¡¯t stop the rumbling noisesing from all around them.


    Small grains of dirt and rock cascaded down the gaps between the shields overhead. Dong Quan gasped, "These demons are trying to bury us alive!"


    They were at least a hundred meters underground. If such a major cave-in were to crash down on them, they wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it with their cultivation.


    Tan Lao looked to Gu Sanzheng. "It seems like we won¡¯t be able to find them using the underground path anymore. We should head out!"


    A trace of resentment shed through Gu Sanzheng¡¯s eyes. He abruptly lifted his head to look at the ceiling and shouted, "Out of my way!"


    The shields hovering overhead quickly spread out. The dirt and rocks above them were about to crash down when a sharp ringing noise suddenly echoed forth. Streaks of silver light instantly whirled around Gu Sanzheng akin to an inverted tornado. Dust and rubble flew about within the tiny space as the Thunderp Flying Swords formed a tornado that ascended upwards like a drill.


    Like a knife through butter, it ground the cascading rubble to dust. The tornado broke through the earth like a silver dragon. Gu Sanzheng quickly swept his sleeves and dusted the falling dirt off his clothes. Under the protection of the silver tornado, he leaped upwards. He nimbly bounded from one falling rock to another as he continued to ascend through the earth.


    Tan Lao hurriedly followed behind. Dong Quan and the others were overjoyed. They never thought that Gu Sanzheng still had such a trick up his sleeves. They immediately followed after him.


    Shooting stars streaked across the sparkling night sky. Within the dense forests of the mountain range, a loud boom suddenly erupted. A silver dragon had risen from the ground, spreading out dust and rubble from the mighty winds stirred by its ascent.


    Beneath the silver dragon, Gu Sanzheng and the others leaped out as well. They gentlynded on the ground and swept a cold gaze across the surrounding mountain range under the night sky.


    The silver dragon spinning rapidly above them suddenly shot down, reverting back to streaks of silver light as they returned to the sword-case on Gu Sanzheng¡¯s back.


    Dong Quan and the rest heaved a sigh of relief. They couldn¡¯t believe that they actually managed to force their way up a depth of a hundred meters underground just like that. They looked at Gu Sanzheng in awe.


    There was a darkness in Gu Sanzheng¡¯s eyes. Garbed in battle armor and with a sword-case on his back, he stood proudly against the howling wind, the bright moon and starry sky hanging over his head. He swept a gaze at his surroundings.


    If he didn¡¯t have some skill, how could he possibly put himself in such danger and enter the underground passage? This was the very definition of being bold and talented.


    The Red Scarves Alliance forces were keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. Suddenly, a Blue Lotus Eighth Grade Sword Deviate Sect disciple pointed to the distance and shouted, "Ye Xin, look! It¡¯s Senior Brother Gu¡¯s Thunderp Flying Swords. They came out from over there!"


    Ye Xin noticed it too. She turned her Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast around and shouted, "Let¡¯s go! Follow me to the Alliance Master¡¯s side!"


    Therge army immediately galloped off.


    After they met up with Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group, Ye Xin asked, "Have you vanquished Miao Yi?"


    Tan Lao shook his head. "The demons on the ind got in our way, and so we couldn¡¯t find him. This whole incident is very fishy."


    Ye Xin raised an eyebrow, scanning their surroundings as she said, "These insolent demons. How dare they get in our way. If so, we shall purge them all!"


    Suddenly, a voice from afar shouted, "Niu Youde! Come out and answer me!"


    The members of the Red Scarves Alliance all opened their transcendence vision and looked towards the source of the sound. Under the silver radiance of the moon, dozens of figures appeared on the peak of a distant mountain. In the front, a ck-robed man was pointing at them. Behind him stood two voluptuous women.


    Niu Youde? Everyone was confused. They didn¡¯t know who this man was talking to, but from the direction his finger was pointing at, it seemed like he was talking to them.


    The crowd looked around out of reflex. Even Gu Sanzheng and the others did the same. However, they didn¡¯t see anyone else besides themselves.


    "I forgot. I should be calling you Gu Sanzheng now!" The ck-robed man was none other than Hei Langjun. He barked, "Gu Sanzheng! Why won¡¯t you answer me?!"


    ¡¯So he was talking to me. What did he mean by Niu Youde then?¡¯ Gu Sanzheng took a step forward, invoking his arts as he proudly responded, "I am right here. Who is the insolent fool who speaks so offensively?!"


    Hei Langjun replied, "Gu Sanzheng. You killed Madam Wu Hua of my Jade Stream Manor, then infiltrated Brass Gong Fort and caused the death of its seventy-two Fort Masters. You even killed Commander Yuan. Do you plead guilty to these charges?!"


    Everyone from the Red Scarves Alliance that didn¡¯t enter the underground passage all looked to Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group in shock. They never thought that they had already killed so many in the short time they were down there. Impressive indeed!


    On the other hand, Ye Xin knew how powerful Gu Sanzheng¡¯s Thunderp Sword Furnace was, so she was not surprised to hear what he did and felt that it waspletely normal.


    What Madam Wu Hua? What seventy-two Fort Masters? What Commander Yuan? Gu Sanzheng didn¡¯t know a thing about all these people. So many had died to his Thunderp Flying Swords just now. How could he possibly know who the hell they were?


    Gu Sanzheng scanned his surroundings. ¡¯So this ce is called Brass Gong Fort...¡¯


    However, there was something he didn¡¯t understand. It was understandable if he had killed that Madam Wu Hua and those seventy-two Fort Masters or whatever. As far as he knew, the Fort Masters of the Sea of Constetions was equivalent to Manor Lords. It was notpletely out of the question for them to die to a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator like him. However, he wouldn¡¯t dare say he¡¯d killed that so-called Commander. Commanders were Red Lotus experts on a par with Hall Masters. Logically speaking, it shouldn¡¯t be so easy to kill them. Was it possible that the crab spirit just now was that so-called Commander?


    ¡¯That¡¯s not right. All the Yao Cores that we took just now were only First Grade Yao Cores. If we had killed a Red Lotus realm Yao cultivator, we should have gotten a Second Grade Yao Core. Did that crab spirit hold a high-ranking position merely due to its background?¡¯


    Gu Sanzheng thought that the chances of that happening were notpletely imusible. Simr cases would often happen within the administration system of the Celestial Nation as well.


    "So what if I killed them? What can you possibly do to me?" Gu Sanzheng scoffed, "So you are the demons who got in my way back in the cave just now. Since you dare to show yourselves, are you brave enough to battle me?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s group followed Pi Junzi and came out from a secret tunnel. When he saw Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group had actually made it out, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help clicking his tongue, and said, "This bastard is powerful indeed. Even after all this, they¡¯re still alive and kicking."


    As he said this, the group then heard how Gu Sanzheng responded. The four of them couldn¡¯t help exchanging nces. Sikong Wuwei covered a hand over his mouth and tried to stifle hisughter as he said, "He actually admitted it himself. How can such a lucky thing happen? As the saying goes, you can escape the troubles sent from heaven, but you can¡¯t avoid the ones you bring upon yourself. Now he won¡¯t be able to wash this sin off even if he jumps into the ocean. This is quite interesting."


    Miao Yi and his group couldn¡¯t stop snickering.


    Pi Junzi was totally bbergasted. Earlier on, he was worried that once Hei Langjun spread the news, the higher-ups would eventuallye to get him to testify. Now, it was all good. The scapegoat had admitted it all himself. Pi Junzi wouldn¡¯t need to testify anymore.


    On the mountaintop, when he heard what Gu Sanzheng said, Hei Langjun was fuming with rage and bellowed, "Gu Sanzheng, so it really was you! What insolence! Commander Yuan is the sworn brother of the master of my Jade Stream Manor. You killed not just my master¡¯s sworn brother, but hisdy as well. You¡¯ve alreadymitted a grave sin. All the Yao cultivators participating in the Crusade will surelye after you. You can forget about leaving the Western Star Sea alive!"


    When he heard this, Gu Sanzheng was even more confident that his conjecture was correct. ¡¯It seems like that crab spirit did indeed have quite a bit of background.¡¯


    However, he was not afraid. As a participant of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, how could he show mercy because of the opponent¡¯s background? That wouldn¡¯t make sense. So what if he killed the guy? The only chance these Yao cultivators had for revenge was to kill him here in this Sea of Constetions. Otherwise, if Gu Sanzheng were to make it back alive, even if he didn¡¯t be a Manor Head of the system, would these Yao cultivators even dare to step foot into the Celestial Nation to settle the score with him then?


    "Stop bbering so much!" Gu Sanzheng pointed a finger at Hei Langjun and shouted, "Do you dare meet me in battle?!"


    What Gu Sanzheng didn¡¯t know was that his words had greatly shaken the Yao cultivators. So this bastard was the Niu Youde who stirred up such a majormotion in the Sea of Constetions all those years ago. Whoever was able to capture this man or kill him would aplish a great merit. With such a merit, they wouldn¡¯t need to wait for the Subjugation Crusade to end and could simply head straight to the Western Constetions Pce. Even if he didn¡¯t reward them heavily, Western Constetions Pce Master Fu Qing would surely help that person escape the Subjugation Crusade and grant them an early release. Given Fu Qing¡¯s background, such a thing could easily be done. Otherwise, who would heed themands of the Western Constetions Pce ever again?


    In that moment, the Yao cultivators looked towards Gu Sanzheng fervently. Standing arrogantly, Gu Sanzheng was still unaware that he had be a hotmodity in the eyes of the Yao cultivators.


    "Insolence! What¡¯s there to be afraid of?!" Hei Langjun turned to his sides and shouted, "Attack!"


    The dozens of forces beside him immediately leaped down the mountain and disappeared into the night.


    Soon, among the trees before Gu Sanzheng¡¯s forces, the ground cracked as human figures started climbing out of the ground. Their expressions were dazed and their bodies covered in dirt. There were also several frail-looking dragon steeds. These figures brandished weapons and mounted the dragon steeds, then speedily charged towards the Red Scarves Alliance. There were about two hundred of them.


    Several figures leaped over the hiding ce of Miao Yi and the others. Miao Yi identally saw one of the figures with half of the flesh on his face missing, revealing the pale white skull underneath. There was also another dragon steed still charging towards the enemy despite missing a leg. He gasped, "Zombies? And undead dragon steeds?"


    Pi Junzi whispered, "They are fiends and fiend dragon steeds. The fiends bear simrities to the zombies reanimated by Ghost cultivators and can be controlled by another to fight one¡¯s enemies. You can also kill them for their inner cores. The fiend dragon steed is very simr to the undead dragon steed as well."


    Miao Yi finally understood. No wonder some of their clothes seemed familiar. They were obviously wearing the uniforms of a certain sect of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch. It seemed like these were all the cultivators who had stumbled onto this ind and then reanimated into fiends.


    On the other side, Gu Sanzheng summoned the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast and mounted it. With a wave of his hand, he shouted, "Red Scarves Alliance, heed mymand! Attack!"


    Tan Lao, Ye Xin, and Gu Sanzheng took the front charge. Their forces immediately galloped after them from behind.


    Soon, the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance began shing with the fiends within the dense forest before them.


    How could these fiends contend against the Red Scarves Alliance given their dulled senses? Not to mention, they didn¡¯t have any armor artifacts protecting them either. Even if they originally did, they had probably been stripped of their artifacts already. These fiends were all treated as mere sacrifices for battle.


    As such, the fiends were either knocked off their steeds with a single strike of the spear or split into two with a single sh of the sword.


    However, what struck fear into everyone¡¯s hearts was that even when those fiends were chopped into two halves, as long as they could move their upper bodies, they would continue wielding their weapons and attack the Red Scarves Alliance¡¯s dragon steeds. They would hack off a leg from a dragon steed or simply sh at the dragon steed¡¯s belly.


    Furthermore, even when those fiend dragon steeds had lost their riders, they would continue to charge into the Red Scarves Alliance¡¯s formation without any regard for their own safety. There was no reaction even when they were stabbed multiple times to the point where their stomachs bled, and their guts spilled out. They simply continued charging. Even when they were sliced in two and lying on the ground, they would open their jaws and bite crazily.


    For a while, the Red Scarves Alliance was in disarray. Some of those without experience with such creatures suffered terribly because of them. Their eyes widened in regret as they fell, their souls forever at rest in the Sea of Constetions.


    Soon, everyone became ustomed to the enemy and simply aimed to lop off their heads.


    After this battle, those who made it back alive would attain the riches and glory found along the path of cultivation, as well as the experience that they had used fresh blood to trade for. That was why all those who could make it back alive from the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade were the cream of the crop, seasoned by blood!

 Chapter 371: Great Losses for the Red Scarves Alliance

    Chapter 371: Great Losses for the Red Scarves Alliance


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "That Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast is indeed stronger than your average dragon steed." Miao Yi clicked his tongue as he hid in the dark and watched the excitement.


    This was the truth. He had witnessed it with his own eyes how nimble those Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts were. That was not something the average dragon steed could match. What was even more astonishing was that the beasts could both attack and defend on their own.


    Most of the others steeds had suffered terribly when faced with those fiends who were still capable of attacking despite having been chopped in half. Only the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts were fine. They would simply attack with their ws and knock the fiends¡¯ weapons away. Additionally, whenever they passed by an enemy that was not fully dead yet, the beasts would immediately crush their skulls under their feet. And whenever they passed by a fiend dragon steed, they would abruptly turn their heads, biting down on its legs with their sharp jaws and drag it down.


    Miao Yi¡¯s group was rmed by the sight. If one day they had to fight someone riding such a spiritual beast, they would really need to be careful.


    Miao Yi wondered whether Charcoal would be able to win if he fought against a Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast. He spected that there was a high chance that Charcoal would suffer badly.


    As soon as he thought about Charcoal, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but worry if he was okay right now. However, his attention was soon drawn back by the sudden turn of events on the battlefield.


    The Red Scarves Alliance had the superior numbers to begin with. What¡¯s more, with the number one disciples of the three major sects and their mighty artifacts working in tandem with them, the battlepletely favored one side. But suddenly, the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance were thrown into disarray once more.


    As he charged past a giant tree, Dong Quan¡¯s mount suddenly tripped and fell. Dong Quan couldn¡¯t even process what just happened before realizing something was gripping his leg. He looked and saw a tree branch wrapped around his ankle like a tentacle, which then dragged him away from his fallen mount.


    Dong Quan was in shock. He quickly tried to swing his weapon at the branch, but soon realized something tightening around his wrist. The same thing soon happened to his other wrist, and then his waist. In an instant, several tentacle-like tree branches were constricting his limbs. The branches wrapped round and round his body then dragged him away and hung him over arge tree.


    Before he could think of a method to escape, an old wrinkly hand broke off from the bark of the ancient tree. The hand also looked like a branch. It then reached for a de from within its body.


    Scared out of his wits, Dong Quan struggled hard to escape. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Alliance Master, save¡ª"


    His voice was abruptly cut short as fresh blood spurted out of his neck. The giant tree behind him had beheaded him with a scimitar.


    Dong Quan¡¯s decapitated head was casually thrown aside, his eyes wide with fear. Even in his wildest dreams, he¡¯d probably never imagined that his long and arduous path of cultivation woulde to such an unremarkable end.


    No matter if he was apassionate saint or a vile criminal, death came like the blowing of a candle. All the lies he told, the grudges he held, the debts he carried. All of them became dust in the wind the moment his headless, bloodied corpse fell to the side.


    A cultivation base at the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade was already the highest level possible in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Any higher than that would be a cultivation at the Red Lotus realm. People with strength like that would not participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. However, even a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade expert like Dong Quan had died to a treant* without even being able to put up so much as a fight. This was a testament to the cruelty that was the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade.


    After that treant finished Dong Quan off, it became like the thousand-hand bodhisattva, brandishing dozens of weapons on its arms, and started viciously attacking the people around it. Its roots assisted it further, which were protruding out of the ground. It could coil around a dragon steed¡¯s hooves and bring it down, or simply stab it with a scimitar from underground and kill it instantly.


    That treant possessed many arms, and each of them was long. It also had plenty of weapons. The troops of the Red Scarves Alliance would attack it frantically, but even then they still had difficulty approaching its body. Even if they managed to chop off an arm, the treant remained unperturbed, giving others the impression as though they had merely chopped off a normal tree branch. One of the treant¡¯s roots would then shoot out from the ground and grab the fallen weapon before continuing to attack once more.


    Gu Sanzheng had turned his head over to look and pointed forth with his finger, directing three Thunderp Flying Swords to quickly save Dong Quan. But s, he was toote.


    The treant that had killed about five to six people in session seemed to know of the might of Gu Sanzheng¡¯s Thunderp Flying Swords. It immediately gathered a dozen of its mighty arms and swung its weapons towards the three swords. The sound of shing steel echoed forth as it knocked them away.


    However, as it had been hasty, several openings were created from its defensive maneuver. And with the surrounding forces closing in on it, not even the treant dared to fight against them all by itself. The ground then suddenly trembled and sunk in, causing the troops charging over to lose their bnce and fall into disarray.


    The giant tree then retracted its branches. It was trying to escape. Swoosh! It instantly dived underground.


    A vicious glint shed past Gu Sanzheng¡¯s eyes. Once again he used his fingers to direct dozens of Thunderp Flying Swords to stab into the sunken ground.


    "Ah...!" A wail rang out from underground, and a fountain of blood instantly erupted from the surface.


    However, how could there only be one treant in this area? Countless roots suddenly erupted from the ground. Like tentacles, they wrapped around the mounts of the Red Scarves Alliance. Otherwise, they simply struck from underground using their weapons.


    The countless roots had even caught the three Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts. Fortunately, they possessed an incredibly tough carapace which could not be easily prated by all manner of weaponry. Otherwise, their fates would have been tragic.


    There was no end to the trouble caused by the roots underground. Meanwhile, beside them were giant trees that coulde alive at any moment and attack them. The forces of the Red Scarves Alliance couldn¡¯t move from their spot at all; every step was an obstacle. Furthermore, using the chaos created by those treants, the few remaining fiends started charging blindly and attacking as well.


    At this moment, several Yao cultivators who were not treants showed themselves. They dove into the chaotic battlefield between the trees and dealt another heavy blow to the Red Scarves Alliance¡¯s forces.


    The entire Red Scarves Alliance plunged into terror. The casualties were rapidly increasing. They couldn¡¯t run away even if they wanted to now that they were deep inside the forest. Everyone instantly felt like they were in purgatory.


    "Haha...!" On the distant mountaintop, Hei Langjun lifted his head and bellowed. He was overjoyed. The two voluptuous women beside him immediately dove into his embrace, allowing him to caress their bodies in front of everyone else.


    Watching from the dark, Miao Yi¡¯s group exchanged nces. Only Pi Junzi seemed used to the sight already.


    Miao Yi and the others finally understood. No wonder Hei Langjun still dared to fight against Gu Sanzheng¡¯s forces despite knowing how powerful they were. As it turned out, he had something he could rely on. And the way these treants hid between the trees and attacked was truly terrifying indeed. Their opponents were not able to differentiate which were normal trees, and which were the treants. Those on the battlefield would definitely feel restless every time they saw a giant tree. And in this dense forest, there was a great number of them.


    "The Red Scarves Alliance has suffered many casualties this time!" Zhao Fei shook his head and sighed.


    This was the true nature of the cultivation realm. There are times when victory was not guaranteed, even with a higher cultivation and superior numbers. The scenery right now was a prime example of that. It was truly not guaranteed.


    Suddenly, something swept past their backs. The four of them looked back in shock and saw a twig rising from the ground, pointing at Pi Junzi¡¯s nose.


    Miao Yi and the others were taken further by surprise when, on the bark of a giant tree behind them, a wrinkly human face suddenly appeared. The human face opened its mouth, its finger pointing at Pi Junzi as it berated him in a low voice, "Pi Junzi, why are the four of you hiding here? Everyone is already fighting. Why aren¡¯t you helping?!"


    Their nerves suddenly lost their tension, as they thought they had been discovered. But the treant was just here to ask them to join the fight.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t wait for Pi Junzi to respond and immediately scolded, "Go away. The Alliance Master has ordered us to lie in ambush here. He naturally has ns of his own. He doesn¡¯t need you to question them." Zhao Fei and the others were left speechless. Miao Yi then turned to them, and with a wave of his hand, said, "We¡¯ll continue observing!"


    Miao Yi turned his head back to the battlefield. The other three followed suit. Suddenly, Miao Yi added, "Help us keep watch and warn us immediately if anyone approaches. If anything happens to the Alliance Master¡¯s ns, you¡¯ll have to answer to him."


    Puzzled, that treant asked, "Who are you? Why have I never seen you before?"


    "We¡¯re the Alliance Master¡¯s backup n. Don¡¯t ask too many questions if you don¡¯t need to know. It will do you no good to know too much," Miao Yi haughtily ended the discussion with a single line. He turned back to face the battlefield, no longer bothering with the treant.


    The treant was speechless. The wrinkly old face on the tree bark slowly faded away and it reverted back to the appearance of an average tree.


    Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, and Pi Junzi would asionally look at Miao Yi. They noticed that he¡¯d focused his entire attention on the battlefield. He wasn¡¯t concerned about the treant behind them at all. He simply gave it a scolding then ignored itpletely.


    The three of them weren¡¯t as thick-skinned as Miao Yi and couldn¡¯t cast the matter aside just like that. Their nerves tensed up as they remained vignt of their backs.


    Back on the battlefield. Gu Sanzheng quickly sliced off the tree branches coiled around his mount with the Thunderp Flying Swords hovering around him.


    Once Ye Xin¡¯s Ruyi Whip extended, it became like a thorny, nimble snake, and she quickly twirled it around her body. It was quite terrifying. All the branches that approached her were immediately ground to splinters. The other riders followed after her as she charged towards a treant that was attacking the people around it.


    Noticing the situation was bad, the treant quickly retracted its branches and burrowed itself underground.


    "Trying to run?" Ye Xin shouted. The whip rapidly twirling around her body suddenlyshed out. Bang! It dove straight into the ground and caught the escaping treant.


    Ye Xin didn¡¯t contend with the treant in strength. With a tug, the thorny whip coiled around the treant underground and immediately tightened its grip, its barbs digging into the treant¡¯s body.


    "Ah...!" Another wail erupted from underground as blood gushed forth. Ye Xin tore the treant in half from underground.


    Tan Lao was simply charging on his steed, striking at ces where a treant could be found. Four spiked shields rapidly rotated alongside the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast as it charged, immediately slicing off the roots as soon as they rose from the ground.


    He was not afraid of the vast number of weapons the treant wielded either. The shields hovering about him were also able to block its rain of attacks. He separated one rotating spiked shield from the group andunched it away, tearing the treant apart from the waist down. Blood spurted out from the broken bark as the treant wailed in agony.


    Gu Sanzheng seemed enraged as well. The Thunderp Flying Swords shot out like a raging storm, ripping apart all the trees in sight. He didn¡¯t care if they were actually treants or not.


    The wails of the treants echoed throughout the battlefield, although most of the fallen wood belonged to actual trees. Soon, all the giant trees within a thousand meter radius were chopped off by his Thunderp Flying Swords.


    The flying swords shot back, clearing away all the obstacles in its path.


    With everyone¡¯sbined efforts, they quickly dispatched all the treants within the area. The Red Scarves Alliance¡¯s advantage of having superior numbers was soon disyed as they exterminated all the fiends and fiend dragon steeds shortly after. The surviving Yao cultivators immediately dove into the forest behind them and started retreating.


    The troops of the Red Scarves Alliance all gathered within this thousand-meter radius. They didn¡¯t dare to charge blindly as they didn¡¯t know how many more treants could be hiding among the countless trees in this forest.


    The battle had yet to conclude, but the numbers of the Red Scarves Alliance were already down to half, with only about five hundred troops remaining. When he saw this, Gu Sanzheng¡¯s expression turned icy.


    This was his greatest loss throughout his journey in the Sea of Constetions. There were so many of them fighting against just a few Yao cultivators, but the number of casualties they suffered was even greater than the sum of Yao cultivators attacking. Even Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts like Dong Quan, Fei De-an, and Hu Zhiyuan had fallen in battle.


    What pained him even more was that the disciples of the three major sects were all but exterminated in this battle. There was less than ten of them now.


    Gu Sanzheng ground his teeth in hatred and bellowed, "Set this forest aze! I want to exterminate every living creature on this ind!"

 Chapter 372: Broken Net

    Chapter 372: Broken Net


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Broken Net


    Everyone heeded hismand and started making torches. They then tossed out the lit torches as they circled around the forest. Under the starry night sky, it looked like a scene of shooting stars from afar.


    The Yao cultivators in the forest immediately responded. They hastily covered the mes on the ground with dirt and put it out. The treants also invoked their arts and used those long limbs of theirs to put out the mes on the trees as they darted across the forest.


    A human face appeared on the bark of a tree, pursing its lips and as if mocking Gu Sanzheng, casually blew out the final ember.


    There were so many demons staying in this forest. How could it catch fire so easily?


    The n to start a fire had failed! Gu Sanzheng¡¯s expression contorted in frustration. This waspletely humiliating for him.


    "Hmph! I¡¯ll kill you all!" Ye Xin suddenly huffed. Then, she swung her arm, tossing out over a hundred ze resins to the sky. These were all the spoils obtained in the Sea of Constetions.


    The whip in her hand suddenlyshed out, quickly brushing past all the Red ze Resins. nging noises erupted as sparks of me shot out. As they streaked across the sky, the embers quickly grew to be zing fireballs and dove straight into the forest. It was an incredible sight.


    The Yao cultivators hiding in the forest were all astonished. The mes from ze resins were not so easily extinguished, and couldn¡¯t be put out even with water. Even if they buried the mes underground, they could still burn their way up to the surface. Furthermore, the mes were usuallyrge, and their temperatures extremely high.


    This was a material for refining artifacts, but now it was being used to start fires. That said, it was a prime material for starting fires indeed.


    But that was still not the end. Ye Xin continued to beat her whip as she tossed out over a thousand more ze resins, knocking the fireballs all across the surrounding forest. Then, she twirled her long whip like a tornado and created strong winds to blow at the zing mes. With the wind bolstering the fire, it quickly spread throughout the forest, setting the whole ce aze in mere moments.


    Ye Xin then wrapped her whip around the broken pieces of wood on the ground and tossed them into the mes.


    There was no need to instruct the rest of the Red Scarves Alliance. They immediately imitated her and tossed all the broken pieces of wood nearby into the sea of mes. They wanted revenge against those treants.


    Fire was the bane of trees, to begin with. With such a raging ze, the treants in the forest could no longer remain hidden. Some that caught fire immediately burrowed underground to escape, while the others morphed into their human forms and hastily retreated from the sea of mes.


    The Yao cultivators that escaped the sea of mes quickly dug out ditches and started burying the trees underground in order to iste the fire. Otherwise, all life on this heavily forested ind would truly be exterminated.


    On the distant mountaintop, Hei Langjun could no longerugh anymore. His expression twisted when he saw the zing sea of mes before him. The two voluptuous women beside him covered their lips, equally shaken by the sight.


    "Gu Sanzheng, how dare you?!" Hei Langjun furiously bellowed.


    Gu Sanzheng looked at him and scoffed. The deed was already done. What else could he be afraid of?


    With a flip of his hand, he grabbed arge pile of ze resins. Not just Red ze Resins, but Blue ze Resins and Gold ze Resins were added to the mix as well. These were all the things he obtained in the Sea of Constetions. They were worth quite a fortune, but he already said that he wished to exterminate all life on this ind, so how could he possibly care about such a measly price?


    "Attack!" Gu Sanzheng raised his arm and shouted.


    The three riding the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts led the charge into the sea of mes. The hundreds of troops behind followed after them in a triangle formation.


    The riders all plunged into the zing sea of mes. No one could stay too long in the fire, but they could use their arts to protect them and their steeds from the mes for a short period of time.


    Plunging into the depths of fire, Gu Sanzheng hurled out a bunch of ze resins. As soon as they came into contact with the mes, the ze resins were immediately ignited, forming blue, red, and gold mes respectively. The mes expanded into fireballs in mid-air as they flew off into the distance.


    Ye Xin and Tan Lao also continued to toss out ze resins. Balls of fire flitted across the sky andnded far away.


    ¡¯Trying to iste the fire using ditches? Dig as much as you want. I¡¯ll set the other side aze as well. Let me see how much you all can dig then! Let me see whether you treants can still cause trouble then!¡¯


    "No!" Frantically waving their hands about, the treants looked to the forest in the distance which had also started burning and screamed in agony. The ones who felt more deeply for the forest over anyone else were none other than these treants.


    The massive forces of the Red Scarves Alliance charged out of the sea of mes, carrying waves of heat as a vicious hatred enveloped their bodies. They charged straight for those Yao cultivators digging the ditches and screams of agony resounded as they began ughtering them en masse.


    The zing mes burned bright and illuminated the ind. The Yao cultivators couldn¡¯t put up any resistance at all. Their casualties skyrocketed in mere moments. The few surviving Yao cultivators then frantically tried to escape into the forest.


    Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin carved out a path of blood as they charged straight for the mountaintop where Hei Langjun was at.


    Watching the fire rapidly spreading from the mountaintop, Hei Langjun¡¯s eyes were stretched wide and bloodshot. Not only was this ind going to be destroyed, but they had almost annihted his forces as well.


    The radiance of the fire illuminated the night sky as the rolling smoke blurred the stars.


    This was one of the reasons why Fu Qing of the Western Constetions Pce was so displeased to have the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade organized on the Western Star Sea. With 180,000 cultivators brutally massacring each other on the Western Star Sea, it was no different than having his domain trampled on. It would be strange if he could feel happy with the idea.


    Miao Yi¡¯s group was still safe from the conflict. Watching the battle from their hiding spot in the dark, they shook their heads in pity.


    Pi Junzi sighed, "This ind that we have been hiding in for the past few years is done for." He kept the followingment to himself, ¡¯If this Niu Youde hadn¡¯t run here, would the ind even suffer from such a tragedy?!¡¯


    "Gu Sanzheng and those bastards are really pulling out all the stops!" Miao Yi clicked his tongue, then said to Zhao Fei and the rest, "This idea of his is not bad. If possible, we should also try to gather ze resins from now on. We might be able to put them to use. Better to be safe than sorry."


    He felt a little regretful now for selling off all his ze resins back then.


    Zhao Fei and the others were speechless. ¡¯Aren¡¯t you concerned that the treant behind us can hear you?¡¯


    Everyone turned around and watched as the giant tree behind them shook off its leaves and retracted its branches. Its whole body was quickly shrinking, and in an instant, it became a white-haired old man. The old man jumped out of the hole and fearfully ran to hide behind the giant rock like everyone else.


    Everyone else was stunned. Miao Yi eyed the old man and bluntly asked, "Why are you hiding here? Shouldn¡¯t you be helping out with the fight?"


    From the way he looked, it seemed like he was just one step away from kicking this annoying treant away.


    Help out with the fight? Only an idiot would go out to help now! With a nervous expression, the old man said, "It looks like they won¡¯t be able to hold out much longer. Aren¡¯t we going to retreat?"


    It was easy to tell what he was implying. Since Miao Yi had said that they were stationed here as Hei Langjun¡¯s backup n, the old man was clearly trying to ask, ¡¯The battle has already escted thus far, so why are you still not doing anything for the backup n?¡¯


    "It¡¯s none of your business whether we retreat or not. Go away!" Miao Yi said disdainfully. He then turned back to watch the battle.


    However, the old man wasn¡¯t willing to leave on his own and just kept quiet as he continued to hide along with everyone else. From the looks of the situation, it was more reassuring to have more people by his side.


    The Red Scarves Alliance had almost annihted the Yao cultivators on the ind. Their forces killed their way out of the second forest fire and charged straight for the mountain peak where Hei Langjun was at.


    "Die!" On the mountaintop, Hei Langjun suddenly shouted. He swung his arms and hurled out a giant ck. The ck shone with a blue radiance and instantly expanded a hundredfold mid-air. However, the holes of the did not erge. It flew straight towards the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance charging up the mountain.


    Miao Yi¡¯s group widened their eyes and stared at the artifact. This must be Hei Langjun¡¯s Seamless Net. They wondered about its might and whether it was as its namesake described, capable of trapping Gu Sanzheng¡¯s forcespletely in a single stroke with none being able to escape.


    It seemed as though Gu Sanzheng¡¯s forces had not expected Hei Langjun to possess such a transcendent artifact either. A transcendent artifact that could change its form was clearly not an average Second Grade Transcendent Artifact, which was only capable of increasing one¡¯s raw power.


    Additionally, since Hei Langjun looked rather confident in himself, Gu Sanzheng and the others didn¡¯t dare to be careless. Tan Lao used his full strength from the start. Sixteen flying spiked shields quickly spun through the air and shot towards the giant descending over the troops. However, despite the raining sparks, the barbs were unable to cut even a single thread.


    When they saw the entire Red Scarves Alliance army about to be caught in the web, Miao Yi and the others were immediately excited. This was a good artifact indeed. It seemed like it was really capable of trapping Gu Sanzheng¡¯s forces in a single stroke.


    Tan Lao tried to use the flying shields to stop the from falling onto them, but it was also useless. As soon as the edges of the giant fell on the ground, the quickly shrunk. Like a knife through butter, all the trees and rocks were easily diced into bite-sized pieces under the¡¯s sharp strings as it closed in on itself.


    The forces of the Red Scarves Alliance caught within the were immediately stricken with fear. The strings of the were so sharp. If it caught them, wouldn¡¯t they turn into meat cubes?


    "Haha..." Hei Langjun lifted his head andughed maniacally. The sound of hisughter echoed throughout the mountain.


    Miao Yi quickly transmitted his voice over to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, "Once Hei Langjun seeds, Sikong, I want you to hammer him to a pulp immediately. With the two of you working together, that Seamless Net is as good as ours."


    Sikong Wuwei implied that he understood. He was already readying the small hammer in his hands in secret.


    "Burst!" With a grim expression, Gu Sanzheng suddenly roared with a deafening shout.


    As he raised his hand and pointed at a certain direction, the one hundred and one Thunderp Flying Swords shot out like a crack of thunder, and amidst the ringing, focused their attacks on a single point on the Seamless Net. The swords were attacking only a single point on a single thread of the Seamless Net.


    Laughing maniacally as he watched the about to entrap all the troops of the Red Scarves Alliance, Hei Langjun looked at Gu Sanzheng¡¯s actions with disdain. However, before he couldugh to his heart¡¯s content, his expression suddenly froze as his eyes instantly widened.


    "Ding..." Like the sound of the strings on a qin breaking, a clear ringing sound reverberated across the night sky. The thin thread finally broke under the relentless assault from thebined might of the Thunderp Flying Swords.


    Bang! The entire exploded into a cloud of gray dust.


    Transcendent artifacts were not so easily damaged. As long as there was enough energy to replenish it, it would be able to repair itself and be as good as the day it was first refined. The only concern one would have would be the damage made to the transcendent artifact¡¯s base structure. If that were to happen, the rampant energy within would immediately crumble along with the destruction of the transcendent artifact¡¯s base structure.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes widened as he sucked in a breath of cold air. To think these Thunderp Flying Swords were so sharp that they could actually destroy a top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifact. He finally understood why Yao Ruoxian coveted the high-density, pure Crystalline Silver that the tiny mantids excreted out.


    However, he was sure that this had to do with the threads of the Seamless Net being too thin. If it were Sikong Wuwei¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer instead, the Thunderp Flying Swords would not be able to break it no matter how much they attacked.


    As he watched the gray mist billowing across the sky, Sikong Wuwei clicked his tongue and said, "How much Crystalline Obsidian must have gone inside such a thin Seamless Net? And it¡¯s destroyed just like that. It will be hard to collect them now that they¡¯re all dispersed over the ground. What a waste!"


    "Alliance Master is valiant!" The members of the Red Scarves Alliance couldn¡¯t help shouting with glee. It was hard to hide the joy of being able to survive an ordeal.


    On the mountaintop, Hei Langjun¡¯s expression contorted as he eximed in shock, "My Seamless Net!"


    After a sigh of relief, Gu Sanzheng¡¯s eyes turned sharp. With a raise of his arms, the Thunderp Flying Swords hovering in the air immediately shot out towards the peak of the mountain.

 Chapter 373: Miserable Old Man

    Chapter 373: Miserable Old Man


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The two beautiful women beside Hei Langjun quickly brandished their weapons, their faces full of horror as they watched the storm of swords rain down on them. They doubted whether they could block a transcendent artifact that was capable of destroying the Seamless Net through sheer force.


    Truth be told, even Hei Langjun felt the same way. Thus, he ced his palms on the twodies¡¯ backs and simply shoved them forward.


    The two beautiful women who had wanted to rely on Hei Langjun¡¯s protection immediately shrieked from the shock. They never thought that Hei Langjun would actually use them as meat shields.


    But s, it was pointless to think further. The two women frantically swung their weapons to block the oing torrent of swords.


    "Ah...!" Amidst the ringing sound of shing swords, the two women screamed in agony. Although they managed to knock away a significant portion of the Thunderp Flying Swords, their bodies were still littered with holes in the end. Their figures covered in blood, they reverted back to their true forms¡ªa fox and a wildcat¡ªand fell down the mountain.


    Hei Langjun frantically blocked the attacks with hisnce. Even though the twodies had greatly reduced the pressure, one of the Thunderp Flying Swords still managed to find its way through to his stomach, and he was immediately knocked back into his true form. Under the bright, shining moon, he transformed into a giant ck-scaled serpent upon the mountaintop.


    However, he somehow managed to survive the first wave of attacks from the Thunderp Flying Swords. Having obtained a brief reprieve, Hei Langjun lowered his vicious-looking head and quickly slithered towards a cave down the mountain as he tried to escape. The might of the Thunderp Flying Swords was truly too overwhelming.


    "Despicable!" Miao Yi cursed. That Hei Langjun had actually used the women beside him as meat shields. However, Miao Yi had no choice but to save him regardless.


    He quickly stood up and urged Sikong Wuwei, "Save him quick."


    The Thunderp Flying Swords hovering about in mid-air were about tounch their second attack, and Tan Lao, Ye Xin, and the others were also charging off to stop Hei Langjun from running away.


    "Big Bro Hei, run away quick. I will hold the pursuers back!" Sikong Wuwei bellowed, "Gu Sanzheng, witness my hammer!"


    He then lifted a giant hammer and hurled it out. With a deafening boom, the mighty hammer shot ferociously across the sky, straight towards Gu Sanzheng.


    Zhao Fei also hurled out the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. It instantly multiplied a thousandfold and rained down on Tan Lao and Ye Xin.


    Miao Yi also readied a sword artifact in one hand and the Mystic Yin Mirror in another. As he was preparing himself, he rolled his eyes at Sikong Wuwei. ¡¯Since when did Hei Langjun be your Big Bro Hei?¡¯


    Beside him, the white-haired old man was utterly dumbstruck by them. ¡¯They were actually this ferocious?¡¯


    As soon as they made their move, they could no longer conceal their human auras any longer. The old man was even more astonished when he realized that these people were not Yao cultivators, but were human cultivators instead. The backup reinforcements that the Alliance Master had prepared were actually these human cultivators?


    Gu Sanzheng abruptly turned to look and found Miao Yi and his group popping out from the side of the mountain. Obviously, he wouldn¡¯t miss such a giant hammer flying towards him either. It took him by surprise, and with a swing of his arms, the Thunderp Flying Swords immediately turned around and viciously attacked the giant hammer. It was noughing matter to receive a direct attack from the Mountain Suppressing Hammer.


    Tan Lao and the others were also shocked to see the Spirit Illusion Greatsword again and hurriedly held back their attacks to protect themselves.


    Gu Sanzheng and the other two were both shocked and happy at the same time. They thought that Miao Yi and the others had already escaped. They never expected them to still be here. It was no wonder that they had hidden themselves in the demon¡¯s nest. Judging from the sound of that ¡¯Big Bro Hei¡¯, they must be friends!


    As he slithered towards the cave, the giant ck serpent suddenly raised his head and caught a fleeting nce of Miao Yi and the others. He looked ¡¯warmly¡¯ at his saviors, and found them somewhat familiar. Then he remembered that he had met them in the underground passage earlier on. He would never have thought that the same people trembling before him back then would turn out to be this powerful.


    Seeing these people actually trying to save him at such a crucial time, a trace of gratitude shed past Hei Langjun¡¯s eyes. Even the way they called him ¡¯Big Bro Hei¡¯ sounded endearing.


    However, this ¡¯Big Bro Hei¡¯ was not a loyal person at all. Without any hesitation, he quickly slithered into the cave. In the blink of an eye, his long body slid inside and disappeared without a trace.


    As soon as the two parties remaining on the battlefield began to sh, Gu Sanzheng and the other two were already feeling a little frustrated because they were at an impasse yet again.


    When it came to transcendent artifacts, there was no guarantee that the stronger one would always triumph. If based on raw power alone, Sikong Wuwei¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer was arguably many times stronger than the other transcendent artifacts present on the field. Not even Gu Sanzheng dared to use his Thunderp Flying Swords to fight against it head-on.


    However, if it were a true one-on-one battle between the Mountain Suppressing Hammer and the Thunderp Flying Swords, Sikong Wuwei would definitely lose to Gu Sanzheng. This was why transcendent artifacts each possessed their particr strengths and weaknesses.


    "Stop attacking! Retreat!" Miao Yi shouted. Then he quickly turned around and dove into the cave behind him.


    Pi Junzi immediately followed behind. Without so much as a word, the white-haired old man also ran inside the cave. After tucking their transcendent artifacts away, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei followed suit as well.


    Seeing the enemy enter the underground cave once again, Gu Sanzheng was utterly enraged and bellowed, "After them!"


    They no longer bothered about the cave that Hei Langjun had escaped into. The Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts led the charge straight towards the cave that Miao Yi and his group had run into.


    This time, Gu Sanzheng didn¡¯t arrange for anyone to scout ahead. He continued to have Ye Xin lead the troops and stand watch outside, while he and Tan Lao went straight in on their own. Their movements were incredibly fast.


    As soon as they reached a fork in the path and didn¡¯t know which way to go, the red-nosed ck fox was released once again. Then, the two followed from behind as it darted towards the target.


    "Pi Junzi, do you think Hei Langjun will be able to escape?"


    In the underground passage, Miao Yi asked Pi Junzi, who was leading the way.


    "The cave that he ran into connects to three secret routes which lead straight to the ocean floor. I dug them all out under hismands. Since he was already someone from the water tribe to begin with, it¡¯s unlikely that thend dwellers will be able to catch up to him once he reaches the ocean floor," Pi Junzi replied.


    "Then he should be alright. The ones who need to be careful are us. Gu Sanzheng and the others are most likely going to chase after us..." Miao Yi turned his head to speak with Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, but he ended up seeing a white-haired old man following behind him. It was the treant from before. He was escaping alongside them. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but say scoldingly, "Old man, why are you following us?"


    Sikong Wuwei immediately asked, "Eh? You didn¡¯t n to bring this old monster with you?"


    He and Zhao Fei had seen this old man following after Miao Yi back when they ran into the underground passage, so they thought he had recruited him. If they¡¯d known that wasn¡¯t the case, why would they even allow this old man to follow them for so long?


    The old man hurriedly replied, "Since you¡¯re all the Alliance Master¡¯s friends, as his subordinate, I obviously have to escort you!"


    Even though he didn¡¯t know exactly how these people were rted to Hei Langjun, but since they were able to save him, and one of them had even called him ¡¯Big Bro Hei¡¯, he was sure that they were allies. What did it matter if they were Yao cultivators or human cultivators? Thew of survival was shared by all and was definitely capable of transcending racial barriers.


    Miao Yi and the others were no fools. Anyone could tell that this old man was simply saying nice words. The ind had already been taken over by the people outside. Most likely the old man was simply trying to escape alongside them out of fear.


    At this moment, Pi Junzi suddenly came to a halt and pressed his ear to the wall. His expression turned worried as he said, "This is bad! There are two people following us. They¡¯ve pinpointed our trail."


    Miao Yi abruptly turned to the old monster and said, "I¡¯ll give you a chance to protect us. Go block their path and help us hold them back."


    "Ah!" The old man went instantly pale. ¡¯If I could hold them back, why would I need to follow behind you guys? You can¡¯t even hold them back with your mighty artifacts, so what chance do I have?¡¯


    "Let¡¯s go!" Miao Yi immediately called out for the others and continued running away.


    "I can¡¯t stop them!" shouted the old man as he chased after them.


    "You have to stop them even if you can¡¯t. I..." As he turned around a corner of the underground passage, Miao Yi suddenly raised his arm and said, "Wait!"


    Everyone¡¯s footsteps came to a halt. Sikong Wuwei anxiously asked, "I say, young master, what are you trying to do this time?"


    Miao Yi seemed to have thought of an idea. He raised his head and looked around the area. Then, he quickly pressed himself against a tight corner and readied the Mystic Yin Mirror. He was getting ready tounch an ambush.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei looked around the underground passage, and their eyes instantly brightened. There was no ce to hide here. They understood Miao Yi¡¯s intentions; he was preparing to use the Mystic Yin Mirror tounch an ambush.


    Miao Yi signaled Pi Junzi over with his finger. He pointed towards the wall and said, "Listen up. When you hear them enter this passageway, as soon as they are a hundred meters away, give me a signal."


    Pi Junzi nodded and quickly ced his ear next to the wall.


    Then Miao Yi told the old man, "If the ambush seeds, that¡¯s that. But if it fails, I want you to cut off their path immediately."


    The white-haired old man was on the verge of tears as he begged, "My lord, I really can¡¯t hold them back!"


    Miao Yi exined, "I¡¯m not asking you to fight against them head-on. I¡¯m saying if I cannot suppress them, we will all immediately escape. I just need you to be behind us, triggering a cave-in while you run and making sure they have no way of catching up. This shouldn¡¯t be too dangerous."


    "How is it not dangerous? They easily broke through from a depth of over a hundred meters underground..."


    Before the old man could voice all his concerns, Miao Yi immediately instructed Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei, "If he doesn¡¯t do his jobter on, kill him immediately. Or just toss him over to Gu Sanzheng and let them deal with him."


    "Ah..." Before the old man could react, Sikong Wuwei, with a devious grin on his face, had already pulled out a sword artifact from his storage ring and held it by the old man¡¯s neck, forcing him to swallow his words.


    Zhao Fei also drew out a sword artifact and held it against the old man¡¯s back. He and Sikong Wuwei looked at each other. They then grabbed the old man¡¯s arms and kicked the back of his knees at the same time. With one foot each on the back of his knees, they forced the old man to the ground and restrained himpletely, not giving him an opportunity to y any tricks.


    The white-haired old man was distressed and turned his eyes to Pi Junzi for help.


    Pi Junzi could do little but feel sympathetic towards the old man. It wouldn¡¯t be wise for him to say anything as there was no guarantee that this Lord Niu wouldn¡¯t use him to hold off Gu Sanzheng instead. It¡¯s not like he had never experienced how ruthless he could be before. It was every man for himself.


    Soon, Pi Junzi, with his ears perked up on the wall, suddenly tensed up. Everyone immediately held their breaths and went on full alert. They didn¡¯t dare make a single sound and even tried to quiet the beating of their hearts.


    Afterward, there was no need for Pi Junzi to warn them as even Miao Yi was able to hear the sound of rushing footsteps approaching them.


    Almost at the same time that Pi Junzi gave the signal, Miao Yi jumped out from the corner, and a wave of Yin aura gushed out ferociously from his Mystic Yin Mirror.


    Even the people behind were shivering from the intense coldness as the Yin aura rolled out.


    Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao had been rushing after the ck fox. They were still wondering which path to take when they saw a fork in the road. Then suddenly the Mystic Yin Mirror popped out from the corner, and they quickly nced upon the devious smile on Miao Yi¡¯s face. The two of them were almost scared out of their skin.


    There was no ce to hide in such a straight path even if they wanted to, and there was no time to break through the wall either.


    Tan Lao used everything in his power to send out the sixteen flying shields circling about him. The shields instantly came together, their spikes filling the gaps between one another, forming a gigantic barrier against the wave of Yin aura rushing towards them, blocking the underground passageway entirely.


    "Damn, you got me!" Miao Yi didn¡¯t expect them to have yet another trick up their sleeves. He quickly retreated, and without another word, kicked the old man to the ground before he turned around and left.


    If he seeded, he obviously wouldn¡¯t need this old Yao cultivator to hold Gu Sanzheng off. Miao Yi¡¯s kick indicated that he had failed. Zhao Fei and the others obviously didn¡¯t need to verify it. They immediately left the old man behind as they turned around and ran.

 Chapter 374: Neither Task Will Be Neglected

    Chapter 374: Neither Task Will Be Neglected


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    That one heartless kick clearly proved who his allies were.


    With a miserable expression, the old man scrambled to his feet and brandished a mace. Boom! He immediately knocked down the ceiling above him.


    He swung his mace around, causing the dirt and rocks overhead to crumble down and kick up clouds of dust behind him as he chased after Miao Yi and the others.


    The shield blocking the underground passage was already covered inyers of frost. Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao had finally witnessed the might of the Mystic Yin Mirror. They were freezing from the cold despite hiding behind the shield.


    When they heard the sound of the passage caving in, they knew that something was wrong. Tan Lao carefully retracted a piece of the shield, and after confirming there was no one hiding behind it, he called all of them back. It was like an icy world before them. White frost covered the entire path, and around the corner, the frost waspletely hidden under rubble.


    Tan Lao picked up the ck fox on the ground. It had been caught in the Mystic Yin Mirror¡¯s attack and was already frozen stiff. At the time, Tan Lao had his hands tied. He was barely able to save Gu Sanzheng and himself, how could he possibly have the time to be worried about the ck fox in front of them?


    Gu Sanzheng was furious knowing that they had almost fallen into Miao Yi¡¯s trap. It didn¡¯t matter if the ck fox could no longer lead the way. The trail of rubble was a clear indicator of the path they should take. Gu Sanzheng turned around the corner and then sent out his Thunderp Flying Swords, kicking up clouds of dust as they drilled through the rubble.


    Plowing through the newly caved-in passageway was easy. Furthermore, the white-haired old man was too busy escaping to focus on his task. There were many ces which were only partly covered in rubble. As such, it was not difficult for the two to continue their pursuit as they drilled their way through the dirt.


    Miao Yi and the others quickly entered Pi Junzi¡¯s cave. The white-haired old man followed them in as well with a mace in hand.


    Miao Yi turned around to look at him and asked suspiciously, "I asked you to cut them off. Why did you run so fast? Are you sure you fully destroyed the path behind us?"


    ¡¯Would I still be alive if I didn¡¯t run any faster?¡¯ The white-haired old man repeatedly nodded, "I destroyed it all."


    Miao Yi had no way to confirm it either way. His expression changed when he vaguely heard a crashing sound approaching them. He thought, ¡¯Those bastards are persistent indeed. Even after all of that, they still won¡¯t let us go and areing after us.¡¯


    There was no choice but to continue running. The group passed through Pi Junzi¡¯s cave and into a secret room. Pi Junzi broke a section of the wall, revealing another secret tunnel behind it. Everyone jumped in and continued running like mad through the secret tunnel.


    After a while, they reached the end of the underground passage. The path was cut off by a body of water. Pi Junzi led the way and plunged in.


    After swimming for several dozen meters, a ray of light appeared before them. Everyone realized they had reached the ocean floor. As they opened their transcendence vision and scanned their surroundings, they saw schools of fish of various colors swimming about; the sight of the world on the ocean depthsy before them.


    Miao Yi pointed to a certain direction, and everyone quickly swam towards it.


    Once they broke past the path of rubble, Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao made their way to Pi Junzi¡¯s cave as well. However, they found out that it was a dead end.


    "They can¡¯t just disappear like that. There is definitely another path somewhere."


    Just as the words left Tan Lao¡¯s lips, Gu Sanzheng¡¯s Thunderp Flying Swords were already shooting randomly across the room. Bang! It immediately revealed the entrance to the secret passage. Tan Lao instantly readied his shield and entered the path. The both of them then entered the secret room and found the secret passage that Miao Yi and the others had escaped through.


    They continued their pursuit into the passage and soon came across a body of water at the end of the path. The Thunderp Flying Swords shot into the water and flurried about. Then, Gu Sanzheng took the lead and jumped in.


    When the both of them resurfaced on the ocean, they could no longer catch sight of Miao Yi¡¯s group. The sky was dark, and with the vast ocean concealing their tracks, Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao wouldn¡¯t be able to see which way they ran off to even with their transcendence vision.


    The Thunderp Flying Swords returned to their sheath as Gu Sanzheng cursed, "What a cunning bastard. He still managed to run away."


    "Do you think he intentionally made it seem like he escaped just to hide back on the ind?" Tan Lao asked.


    "That¡¯s very likely!" Gu Sanzheng nodded.


    They were both unwilling to give up. They went straight ashore and continued looking for traces of Miao Yi¡¯s group. After losing the ck fox, Tan Lao released several more red-nosed rats. The rats scurried about looking for a scent. However, they were unable to find anything even after searching across the immediate vicinity of the shore. This was clear proof that Miao Yi¡¯s group had not gone ashore and had truly escaped through the open sea.


    After a whole night of searching, Tan Lao narrowed his eyes as the sun peeked over the horizon and said, "Fortunately, it¡¯s already dawn. I doubt they can hide in the ocean forever."


    With a flip of his hand, a bronze flute suddenly appeared. He ced it by his lips and started blowing on it, and the woeful melody resounded across the area.


    Soon, arge group of flying animals resembling seagulls flew towards them under the light of dawn andnded next to them.


    Tan Lao held a silver needle and quickly pierced it into the heads of the several thousand flying beasts. Then, he held the flute by his lips again and began ying a sharp screeching tune. As though they had just woken up from sleep, the birds spread their wings and flew off towards various directions under the sound of the flute.


    Gu Sanzheng understood his intentions and praised inwardly, ¡¯He has so many tricks. As expected of the School of Imperial Beasts.¡¯ However, he remarked somberly, "Although, with the speed of these average birds, by the time they find Miao Yi and the others and return, who knows how much time would have passed already?"


    Tan Lao replied, "At least we will be able to confirm which way that bastard ran off to. It¡¯s still better than us searching blindly across the vast ocean. If we were to go off in the wrong way, with how big the Western Star Sea is, it would be difficult to find them again. Furthermore, we can use this opportunity to recuperate our expended transcendence energy and sort out the spoils of our battle. I believe it should be quite a sum this time. Now that I think about it, it doesn¡¯t seem like such a waste of time to be following that bastard after all. Nowadays, it¡¯s extremely difficult to find so many participants gathered together for us to attack!"


    Gu Sanzheng nodded in agreement. They both turned around and summoned their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts. They then charged up the peak of a mountain and saw the entire ind wrapped in humongous mes. At the center of the ind, aside from the still-burning ze resins they had tossed out, the trees within the area were all reduced to ash, and the fire had died down. However, the mes outside of that area continued to spread across the entire ind...


    Western Constetions Pce.


    Standing before the astrbe with a devious grin, Hei Yun pointed to a certain spot and said, "It¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve seen so many participants dying in one go. Seven to eight hundred have perished, and that group with thergest number of troops have been reduced to almost half their original numbers. What a pity indeed."


    Yun Guang nodded and said, "It seems there are about five hundred of them left. It looks like they bumped into a strong foe!"


    Behind him, Zuo Nanchun remained silent, but his eyes were shining with a glint.


    A trace of worry fleeted past Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s eyes as she believed that the chances of that person surviving were slim. If it truly was the same person as the one in her memory, maybe it was a good thing for him to perish like this, for the sake of her Junior Sister and his own...


    Upon the vast ocean, the sun was already high in the sky when Miao Yi¡¯s group finally resurfaced after swimming tirelessly under the sea. They were already far away from the ind they were onst night and proceeded to escape while running atop the waves.


    "We can¡¯t keep running like this. We¡¯ve barely stopped at all these past two days. We need to recover some of our transcendence energy. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be in trouble if we bump into a strong opponentter on," Zhao Fei suddenly remarked.


    Everyone then looked towards the direction he pointed in and saw a small ind in the distance. Zhao Fei was indicating that they should head to the ind and rest for a while.


    Sikong Wuwei nodded in agreement. But then, Miao Yi signaled the white-haired old man toe over.


    The white-haired old man was anxious as he wondered what this guy was going to ask him now. He slowly approached Miao Yi.


    Unexpectedly, Miao Yi smiled and asked, "May I know what¡¯s your name and your cultivation?"


    "This subordinate is called Tao Ruchun. I¡¯m embarrassed to say that even after cultivating for eight thousand years, my cultivation is just at the Blue Lotus Seventh Grade," the old man cautiously replied.


    Miao Yi turned to look at Pi Junzi and saw thetter gently nodding. After making sure that the old man wasn¡¯t lying, he asked, "If I remember correctly, you are a Peach Blossom Treant?"


    "That is correct." Tao Ruchun nodded.


    Miao Yi chuckled and asked, "You¡¯ve seen what happenedst night. That group of people is truly powerful. Naturally, we need to run as far as we can to ensure our safety. I wonder if Brother Tao is nning to go off on his own oring along with us?"


    Tao Ruchun carefully replied, "Although this subordinate is not very powerful, I can still offer some assistance. It¡¯s much better to stick together and look out for one another." To put it bluntly, he simply felt much safer being with a group instead of on his own. Most of the participants in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade shared this mentality.


    "I feel the same way as well." Miao Yi suddenly sighed, "But s, my brothers and I have expended most of our transcendence energy after such a major battle. If this keeps up, it will be troublesome if we bump into a strong foe. That is why we wish to find a ce to rest and recover some of our transcendence energy."


    ¡¯ Go and rest if you want to rest. Do you even need to tell me?¡¯ With a smile and a curious expression on his face, Tao Ruchun replied, "But of course."


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were also a little puzzled as to what Miao Yi was trying to say. Was there a need to ask for this demon¡¯s opinion?


    As soon as the treant agreed, Miao Yi said, "Aren¡¯t you a Peach Blossom Treant? It¡¯s easy for trees to float on the ocean. Hurry up and change into your true form so that we can rest on your body. This way you can also bring us along as you drift through the ocean. Neither task will be neglected."


    "Ah! This..." Tao Ruchun instantly widened his eyes in shock.


    Pi Junzi felt pity for the treant whereas Zhao Fei lifted his head to look at the sky. He refrained frommenting and acted like it was none of his business.


    Sikong Wuwei pped his hands andughed, "That¡¯s a great idea! Old monster, didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d us offer some assistance? Now is the time to live up to your words. Why are you still hesitating? Whether you wish to be our friend or foe, it all depends on a single word!" The Mountain Suppressing Hammer appeared in his hands. This was already a threat of force.


    Tao Ruchun¡¯s expression contorted. Yet s, he was outnumbered, and there was clearly no room for negotiation.


    He cast a sideways nce at the hammer in Sikong Wuwei¡¯s hands. In the end, heughed dryly and nodded. His body shone with a blue radiance and transformed into a giant peach blossom tree which was almost ten thousand years old. His leaves and roots retracted as the tree fell onto the ocean.


    Miao Yi was the first to jump on, followed by the rest of them. To the Peach Blossom Treant, he then pointed out the direction they needed to move towards.


    The branches on the Peach Blossom Treant, both long and short, immediately swayed in the water like countless rotors of different sizes. With so many branches paddling together, the speed in which the tree drifted across the ocean was fast and wasn¡¯t much slower than the speed of them traveling by foot.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei looked at each other. Judging from the direction, Miao Yi must be nning to look for Qi Xiuhong.


    They were correct. He was nning to look for Qi Xiuhong indeed. At first, Miao Yi had nned to look for a ce to wait for Charcoal. However, he was afraid that something might happen to Qi Xiuhong if he left her alone for too long. After all, they could not notify Qi Xiuhong of their whereabouts, whereas Charcoal had an inborn aptitude for finding Miao Yi.


    The group sat cross-legged on the Peach Blossom Treant¡¯s body. Miao Yi had Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei recover their transcendence energy first. He still needed to rely on them if something were to happen after all. And it wouldn¡¯t be wise to have everyone lower their guards. As such, Miao Yi decided to stand guard himself while talking to the giant mouth that appeared on the bark of the tree, asking about the events of the Sea of Constetions...

 Chapter 375: The Demons Start to Move

    Chapter 375: The Demons Start to Move


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. On the surface, it looked the same as all the previous Subjugation Crusades. However, major changes were beginning to happen in the dark.


    The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade might seem like it was fair, and in fact, that was what it strived for. However, there was no such thing as absolute fairness in this world. The participation of the new generation under themand of the Six Sages was a prime example of inequality. Furthermore, since the Subjugation Crusade was organized in the Sea of Constetions, no one would believe it if someone were to say that the forces of the Yao Nation didn¡¯t hold an upper hand in terms of location.


    Some things were not visible from the surface. But in the dark depths of the ocean, the water tribes were already beginning to spread the news, especially those that were already capable of thought but had yet to step foot through the gates of the cultivation realm. They did not fall within the criteria to be kicked out of the Subjugation Crusade and were already starting to spread the word about a certain individual.


    The murderer behind the bloody incident of the Western Star Sea¡¯s Brass Gong Fort all those years ago, ¡¯Niu Youde¡¯ had appeared once more and was a participant of the Subjugation Crusade. His true name was called Gu Sanzheng. He¡¯d previously battled Yao cultivators at a certain location and brutally murdered arge number of them. Hei Langjun of Jade Stream Manor had revealed his true identity. Hei Langjun then requested all the Yao cultivators of the Western Star Sea to join hands and hunt this criminal down!


    The various water tribes quickly spread the information, and a majority of the Yao cultivators participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade began to make their move after hearing the news.


    That Niu Youde was the one who angered Western Constetions Pce Master Fu Qing. Fu Qing had dered that any who could apprehend or kill him would be heavily rewarded!


    What kind of person was Fu Qing? He was one of the four most high-ranking Demonic Behemoths! Not even the Six Sages dared to offend him so easily. Whoever was capable ofpleting the task given by Fu Qing and gain his approval would definitely be granted a limitless future within the demonic tribes!


    If someone were to aplish this deed and report it to the Western Constetions Pce, at the very least, Fu Qing only needed to give the word, and they would be able to escape the turmoil that was the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. The Six Sages would not deny Fu Qing this right. After all, he had a good enough reason to do so.


    The majority of the Yao cultivators participating in the Subjugation Crusade immediately began to move. They were all rushing to the area where Niu Youde was spotted.


    The sands were clean as the waves gently rolled to shore. A man and a woman suddenly surfaced from the depths of the sea and went ashore.


    The woman was garbed in a light blue muslin dress. Her lush hair tied high in a bun, her brows delicate as though taken from a portrait, and her figure seductive and alluring. She exuded an aura of nobility, her blue muslin dress gently fluttering in the wind with every step she took.


    And the ck-robed man running after her was none other than the man who had barely escaped death by the skin of his teeth, Hei Langjun. At the moment, he seemed a little restless.


    The two of them stopped in front of an abandoned cave on the ind. The woman turned around and said, "Wait here. I will send word to the Young Master."


    Hei Langjun nodded and humbly said, "This lowly one understands."


    The woman then quickly entered the cave. By the sides of the entrance, two people stood unfalteringly and next to them, a peculiar looking beast was lying on the ground. It seemed like a Qilin. Its body was crimson and covered in fish scales. It had the head of a lion, the mouth of a dragon, the tail of an ox, the ws of a tiger, and the antlers of a deer.


    The beast had only opened its eyes by a little, and yet Hei Langjun was already feeling anxious by the look directed at him.


    Hei Langjun waspletely surprised. If he guessed correctly, this should be what the ¡¯Tempest Beast¡¯ was supposed to look like. But wasn¡¯t the Tempest Beast supposed to be Yao Sage Ji Huan¡¯s personal mount? Why would it appear here? Could Ji Huan have loaned his own mount to some Young Master participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?


    Hei Langjun thought that wasn¡¯t likely to be the case. The Tempest Beast was capable of treading on clouds and riding on the wind. Needless to say, it could gallop upon the waves of the ocean as well. It was a top-tier spiritual beast in the cultivation realm. It was truly too much of a cheat to ride on such a beast in the Subjugation Crusade.


    He had only just heard from the woman in the blue muslin dress that the Six Sages had sent participants over as well. Wasn¡¯t this setting everyone else up for failure then...


    Inside the cave, a beautiful-looking youngster dressed in luxurious robes sat upon the throne. A golden crown adorned his hair, his handsome face exuded a regal aura, and his bearing was modest and gentle. A ck gourd hung by the jade belt on his waist.


    Two burly men stood by the side below the throne, unmoving and expressionlessly in ce. Theymanded a domineering presence just like the two outside the gates that made Hei Langjun feel anxious and tense.


    The woman in the blue muslin dress walked to the base of the throne and cupped her fists as she greeted, "I respectfully greet the Young Master!"


    The youngster seated above smiled lightly and asked, "Lan Susu, have you rified the story?"


    This youngster was none other than Ji Meimei¡¯s son, which also meant that he was Yao Sage Ji Huan¡¯s maternal grandson, Bai Ziliang. Ji Meimei had personallye over to the Western Constetions Pce to support him.


    And the woman called Lan Susu was his handmaiden.


    "I have already asked the water tribes to find the person in question. He is waiting outside for an audience with you, Young Master," Lan Susu politely replied.


    Bai Ziliang nodded, "Since you¡¯ve already brought him here, let him enter."


    "Understood!" Lan Susu turned around and shouted, "Hei Langjun, the Young Master has granted you an audience. Hurry up ande in!"


    As he waited outside, Hei Langjun hurriedly lowered his head and entered upon hearing her. He walked up to the base of the throne, not daring to lift his head even once to nce upon the Young Master. Their statuses were simply too far apart. The other party could send him to a miserable death with a single word. He didn¡¯t dare do anything disrespectful without approval. With his head lowered, Hei Langjun cupped his fists and said, "Hei Langjun respectfully greets the Young Master!"


    Bai Ziliang asked, "I hear you belong to the Jade Stream Manor?"


    Hei Langjun politely replied, "Yes."


    "I¡¯ve met Bi Youpo a few times myself. I guess you can consider us acquaintances," Bai Ziliang said idly, then asked, "I heard that the Niu Youde that made a big mess of the Western Star Sea and angered Lord Fu Qing has reappeared, and that you crossed fists with him?"


    "That is correct! His true name is called Gu Sanzheng."


    "Gu Sanzheng? What is his background?"


    "This... This lowly one is not sure. I did not have the chance to find out at the time and went straight to battle."


    "You don¡¯t even know what background he possesses. How can you be so sure that this Gu Sanzheng is the same Niu Youde who made Lord Fu Qing so furious?"


    "This lowly one¡¯s subordinate was one of the people who served Lord Bi Youpo¡¯s concubine, Madam Wu Hua, back then. When Niu Youde killed her, that subordinate saw his face. He discovered that this Gu Sanzheng looked very simr to Niu Youde, so this lowly one had personally asked Gu Sanzheng himself. This Gu Sanzheng was absolutely arrogant. He proudly admitted that he was the one behind the bloody incident of Brass Gong Fort all those years ago!"


    "He admitted it himself?" Bai Ziliang raised an eyebrow and mused, "Does he not know the consequences of admitting to such a crime?"


    "He had indeed admitted it himself. This lowly one is willing to stake his life on it. Furthermore, this lowly one was not the only one who heard him. He admitted it in front of many others." Hei Langjun cupped his fists and added, "Even if this lowly one were any bolder, he would never dare lie to the Young Master! Not to mention, if this lowly one were to utter even a single lie in regards to this matter, this lowly one would not be able to shoulder the responsibility of inciting Lord Fu Qing¡¯s fury!"


    Bai Ziliang gently nodded. This, he believed. He added, "Exin what happened to me."


    "Understood!" Hei Langjun then politely recounted the incident, albeit adding his own touch to the story.


    Obviously, he adorned himself with various des, such as how he exposed the true identity of the criminal behind the bloody incident of Brass Gong Fort. He had to tightly hold this glory to himself. The few words that Pi Junzi had said were not worth mentioning. Hei Langjun was not strong enough to kill Gu Sanzheng, so it was all he could do to take this glory for his own. He also glossed over certain parts of the story. Naturally, he refrained from saying how miserable he was at the time, and not a word was mentioned about how he pushed his own women out as meat shields.


    After the story was rified, Lan Susu excused Hei Langjun.


    "Young Master, time is of the essence. We should head out immediately and apprehend that Gu Sanzheng before anyone else does," said Lan Susu, her eyes brightening.


    Bai Ziliang mused glumly, "Won¡¯t it look bad for us if we tried to take this honor away from the others?"


    Lan Susu was hesitant to speak. She looked at the two standing below Bai Ziliang¡¯s throne. Then calmly signaled them to leave, "You are both dismissed for now."


    The two turned to look at Bai Ziliang. Seeing as he did not refute her, they immediately turned around and took their leave.


    Only then did Lan Susu say excitedly, "We are not trying to take the honor away from them. Even if Lord Fu Qing wishes to reward us, we cannot ept it. Instead, we will simply use this as a tform to establish a good rtionship with Lord Fu Qing."


    Bai Ziliang shook his hand and said, "Let¡¯s just forget about it. I didn¡¯t n oning to this Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade in the first ce. If Mother hadn¡¯t forced me toe... I¡¯ve already done as you two instructed. I¡¯ll simply try my best to ce higher in the rankings. As for currying favor with Fu Qing, leave me out of it. I¡¯m not interested."


    When she heard him, Lan Susu, in all her excitement, felt like she had suddenly been doused with a bucket of cold water. Her expression darkened as she said, "Young Master, you not being interested in this is the same as not willing to improve yourself. I am sure that the Madam would agree with me if she knew of this."


    Bai Ziliang shot her a re and said in a foreboding tone, "Lan Susu, are you the master or am I?!"


    Lan Susu sucked in a deep breath, and bluntly replied, "You have to go even if you don¡¯t want to. How can we miss such an opportunity?! The Sea of Constetions is the Lord Sage¡¯s ce of origin, and he shares glory as well as shame with the Four Constetion Masters. With those four working together, even Lord Sage would have to give them face. As long as you can be on friendly terms with Fu Qing, it will be the same as being on friendly terms with the Four Constetion Masters. The countless expert Yao cultivators of the entire Sea of Constetions would stand behind you then. If you can get the Four Constetion Masters to support you, even Lord Sage would hold you in a much higher regard. You should be aware of your status within the ¡¯Realm of Ten Thousand Demons¡¯. If you do this, you¡¯ll no longer have to sway to the whims of other people to survive! The Madam has asked me to look after you. I can¡¯t neglect my responsibilities and stand idly by and watch you miss this opportunity!"


    Bai Ziliang slowly replied, "Lan Susu. Don¡¯t overstep your boundaries!"


    "I¡¯m overstepping my boundaries?" Lan Susuughed sarcastically and said, "Young Master, why don¡¯t you think clearly about who is overstepping his boundaries? Initially, you would never be chosen to participate in this Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. You are just the Lord Sage¡¯s maternal grandson. Furthermore, one that isn¡¯t kindly weed. With the Lord Sage¡¯s direct lineage of grandchildren around, the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons would never choose a maternal grandchild like you to be its representative! Madam was the one who got you this opportunity. She was the one who went around begging her brothers to give you a chance. She was the one who humbled herself and pleaded for this opportunity from the other families. Did you really think there was no one else who wanted this? Otherwise, given your awkward status within the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, who could you even win against?"


    She then raised her hand and pointed to the gates, and added, "Do you know exactly how you got that infant Tempest Beast? At first, Lord Sage declined from lending it out. But Madam wanted to raise your chances within the Subjugation Crusade, so she knelt before Lord Sage and painfully begged him with her tears."


    She then pointed to the gourd by Bai Ziliang¡¯s waist and said, "That ¡¯Demon Refining Gourd¡¯ you have is also due to the Madam running off to the Boundless Nation to beg the Exquisite Refinement Sect Master to refine it. At first, the Sect Master declined, considering the Boundless Nation was sending participants over as well. He only reluctantly agreed to it after Madam went down on her knees and shamelessly knelt at the Exquisite Refinement Sect for over half a month. She did this just so you could possess a transcendent artifact that was within the limitations of the Subjugation Crusade but at the same time better than what the other participants had. Madam was even willing to cast aside her shame. Yet you say you¡¯re not interested?"


    Lan Susu¡¯s voice cracked as she said, "Back then when Madam wished to be with thete Master, she received so many criticisms and suffered so much pain. Even now, the Master¡¯s death is shrouded in mystery! In order for you to not be frowned upon by others and for you to gain a foothold within the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, Madam went through painstaking lengths to get you this opportunity to prove your worth! Yet you don¡¯t appreciate it? Just to show you her support, Madam personally came over to the Sea of Constetions to be confined for an entire decade. She did this just to see you seed. Yet you don¡¯t know how to cherish it?"

 Chapter 376: Continue Waiting

    Chapter 376: Continue Waiting


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Don¡¯t say anymore!" Bai Ziliang abruptly stood up and bellowed like an angered beast. His body was trembling as he tightly clenched his fists and said, "I just want to cultivate in peace. I don¡¯t want to be involved in all those politics. Why does everyone keep pushing me?"


    "Young Master. It¡¯s not that I am trying to push you!" Lan Susu harped on, "Even though the realm is vast and wide and the cultivation resources might seem plentiful, in truth there is only so much to go around. Yet there are many peoplepeting for a share. Even though you don¡¯t wish topete with others, they will not be as courteous with you. Don¡¯t you realize that Madam is the one who gave you everything you have right now at her own expense? You¡¯re enjoying Madam¡¯s share of resources, yet you say you wish to cultivate in peace. What right do you have to cultivate in peace when Madam is shouldering all the burden? Do you think that just because you are Madam¡¯s son, you can live off her for the rest of your life? Back then, Madam was such a proud princess. But now, she has be a pitiful woman who has to go around begging for charity because of her son. And for what purpose? Young Master, wake up! Even if not for yourself, you have to spare a thought for the misery that Madam goes through for you!"


    "Don¡¯t say anymore!" Bai Ziliang bemoaned dejectedly, "I¡¯ll go..."


    The two of them quickly exited the cave. The gentle bearing on Bai Ziliang¡¯s face had turned cold. It seemed he had suffered quite the impact.


    There was no one outside the cave. Everyone knew better than to eavesdrop on their personal conversation and had gone away.


    "Hong¡¯Er!" Bai Ziliang called out. The Tempest Beast lying on the ground immediately opened its eyes and stood up. Its scaled shell expanded slightly, and its breath kicked up clouds of dust like a surging wind.


    Bai Ziliang mounted the beast, then stood quietly by the entrance.


    Soon, Lan Susu assembled the troops. The Six Sages had each sent six people over. However, there was only one representative. The other five were simply aides. Basically, they were here to protect the representative.


    Hei Langjun joined the group as well. It was his first time seeing Bai Ziliang face-to-face. Earlier on, he hadn¡¯t dared to raise his head. But now as he looked at the awe-inspiring Bai Ziliang sitting atop the Tempest Beast, he felt a sense of admiration for the boy.


    "Lead the way!" Lan Susumanded Hei Langjun.


    The party rushed to the seaside. Hei Langjun reverted to his original form and continued to lead the way across the sea.


    The Tempest Beast stepped upon the waves as though it were nds. Wherever it stood, steam would rise, making it seem like it was mounted on a cloud. It was truly a magical sight.


    Four people treaded across the waves behind it, while Lan Susu ran alongside it.


    Besides asionally looking at Bai Ziliang beside her, Lan Susu¡¯s face was turned to the far reaches of the mighty ocean, a sense of longing in her gaze as she remembered clearly what her Madam had personally told her before she departed. "Susu, I have never thought of you as an outsider. With you by my son¡¯s side, I have nothing to worry about! If someday he manages to distinguish himself and gain a stable foothold in the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, I will have him officially take you as his bride. I hope you will work hard for my son¡¯s sake. Don¡¯t let me down..."


    "This ind is huge! How the hell are we going to find Qi Xiuhong?"


    After a long journey at sea, Miao Yi¡¯s group finally went ashore. They had arrived at the ind where they promised to meet up with Qi Xiuhong. Sikong Wuwei scanned his surroundings and shook his head at the difficulty of the task ahead.


    Miao Yi also realized that he had been too careless before. In his haste, he forgot to decide on a general area where it would be convenient for Qi Xiuhong to meet up with them.


    He pulled out the map of the Western Star Sea and scrutinized it. Examining the most direct route from the ind where they were separated from Qi Xiuhong to this one, a certain area protruding off the edge of the ind caught his eye. He immediately pointed his finger along the edge of that shore and said, "Around thirty miles from this ce, there is a hammer-shaped plot ofnd extending off the edge of the ind which is rather conspicuous. If Qi Xiuhong is waiting for us, she will definitely think of waiting at a ce that can easily attract our attention. Let¡¯s go there and look."


    Sikong Wuwei asked, "Brother, are you sure it was alright to let her travel across the vast ocean on her own? What if she didn¡¯t make it to this ind? Or what if something happened to her along the way?"


    Miao Yi narrowed his eyes at him. Zhao Fei noticed the tension in the air, and hurriedly stepped in, "Let¡¯s not quibble around. Lady Qi has been waiting for us for several days. She must be feeling anxious. Let us hurry and go look for her."


    Sikong Wuwei also came to realize that his words might not be too pleasant to hear. Heughed dryly, "I didn¡¯t mean anything by it. What I was trying to say was, if we can¡¯t find her, are we just going to stay here until we do?"


    Miao Yi replied inly, "I¡¯ve said it before that I will never betray those who put their faith in me. We¡¯ve made a promise to share life and death for nine years. As long as she doesn¡¯t give up, I will not cast her aside. Even if it were either of you, I would still do the same! It¡¯s not because she¡¯s a woman!"


    A trace of respect shed past Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s eyes. If Miao Yi had told them something like this when they first met, they may not have felt much about it. But throughout the past few days together, the both of them somewhat understood now what kind of person he was. He definitely had a sentimental side to him.


    Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun looked at each other, not sure of what was happening.


    Zhao Fei nodded, "Rest assured, we won¡¯t give up so easily either. Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ve already been dyed quite a bit by Gu Sanzheng and the others. Lady Qi might think that something happened to us."


    Everyone quickly rushed along the shoreline. They could only rely on their own two feet now that none of them had mounts.


    They then came to the edge of the hammer-shaped plot ofnd extending several miles out from the ind onto the open sea. Before them was the boundless ocean. The waves crashed and ebbed, but there was no sign of anyone.


    Sikong Wuwei turned back to look at the seemingly endless mountain range on the ind, andughed bitterly, "This is such a big ce. How are we going to find her?!"


    "You¡¯re the one yapping the most. Just focus on looking for her." Zhao Fei scolded.


    Sikong Wuwei shrugged and said, "I didn¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t going to look. I was just speaking the truth. Why do you all hate it so much?"


    " XIUHONG! " Miao Yi suddenly invoked his arts and bellowed; his voice echoing far and wide. After several shouts, he gave a bitter smile and said, "It looks like she¡¯s not here. She would¡¯ve replied if she were."


    "Wait!" Zhao Fei suddenly raised his hand. Sikong Wuwei¡¯s expression also turned serious as his ears perked up to pick up any sound.


    Soon, Miao Yi heard it as well. It was the sound of hoofbeats. Everyone looked to the distance and found a steeding into sight at the peak of the mountain before them. A woman garbed in armor and wielding a spear brought her steed to a halt at the mountaintop and gazed at them. Who else could it be other than Qi Xiuhong?


    Everyone instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Sikong Wuwei pped his hands andughed, "Good thinking, Brother. She is indeed here."


    Qi Xiuhong quickly rushed over when she saw who it was. She abruptly came to a halt before everyone, then tucked her spear away and dismounted. There was no one in her eyes except Miao Yi. Ignoring everyone else, she ran before Miao Yi and examined him, anxiously asking, "Are you alright?"


    "Couldn¡¯t be better!" said Miao Yi, opening up his arms. Qi Xiuhong dove into his embrace without holding back. Her heady on Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder as she said in a soft voice, "I¡¯ve been waiting for several days. If you all didn¡¯t show up, I was prepared to wait another day. And if there was still no sign of you then, I would¡¯ve gone back to the ind to take a look."


    Beside them, Sikong Wuwei clicked his tongue, and Qi Xiuhong snapped back to her senses. She finally remembered that they were not alone, and hurriedly backed away from Miao Yi¡¯s embrace. She couldn¡¯t hide the redness on her face even with her helmet on, and quickly diverted the topic by saying, "I¡¯ve been watching the sea from the tallest peak of the mountain at the end. How was it that I didn¡¯t see you all approaching?"


    Miao Yi looked to the surroundings and pointed along the shoreline as he said, "We didn¡¯te ashore from this ce. We simply got here as we ran along the shoreline. Perhaps due to the way the terrain is shaped, it ended up blocking your line of sight instead."


    "Alright, now everyone is here." Sikong Wuwei asked, "What should we do now?"


    Miao Yi turned to the ocean and sighed, "We¡¯ll continue waiting until my mount arrives."


    "We are going to wait for your mount? We¡¯ve been running around quite a distance. How long will it be by the time your mount manages to find us?" said Sikong Wuwei, astounded. "What point is there in waiting for a single mount? Just find a way to get some more."


    Miao Yi quietly looked to the ocean and shook his head. He didn¡¯t know how fast Charcoal could swim and how long he would take to cross this vast ocean to find him. Most importantly, the journey would be significantly dangerous. However, Miao Yi had no other option at the time. None of them could have survived if he brought Charcoal along. He had to separate from him.


    Zhao Fei looked at Miao Yi for a bit. Then suddenly spoke up, "Then let¡¯s wait."


    "Are you all mad?" Sikong Wuwei found the situation absurd.


    Everyone then followed Qi Xiuhong back to her hiding ce. It was a cave by the side of a remote stream along the mountain. There were too many of them to stay in this ce, so they went looking for a tall mountain suited for observing their surroundings and dug out caves at its peak instead.


    Pi Junzi was the most skilled in doing things like this. On the other hand, Tao Ruchun was forced to shapeshift into a peach blossom tree and take up sentry duty on the mountaintop. He did not have any right to refuse.


    Inside the new cave, as he watched the figure of Qi Xiuhong busily cleaning, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t control himself. He released several tiny mantids to stand guard by the door, then walked over to Qi Xiuhong and hugged her from behind.


    It seemed Qi Xiuhong was also feeling rather responsive this time. Perhaps it was from the joy of being able to reunite. As the passion welled within her, she allowed her dress to be taken off without resistance, and even took a little initiative herself. Her voluminous breasts were exposed and she was pushed onto the bed. Soon, the sound of her gasping and moaning could be heard...


    However, after she got down from bed, Qi Xiuhong kept her distance from Miao Yi once again, which made him utterly speechless. He didn¡¯t have any experience when it came to love. It was different from when he was with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. He didn¡¯t know if Qi Xiuhong¡¯s behaviour was normal or not either. He simply felt like something was wrong, but he didn¡¯t have anyone to properly consult with.


    The next day. After giving their surroundings a look through, everyone didn¡¯t find anything amiss, and there was no sign of Gu Sanzheng¡¯s forces. Sikong Wuwei gazed at the mighty ocean andughed aloud, "It seems like those bastards¡¯ method of tracking us is only effective onnd. We¡¯re finally rid of them. It¡¯ll be hard for them to find us again given how vast the Western Star Sea is!"


    Miao Yi nodded in agreement. Otherwise, Gu Sanzheng and his forces would have caught up with them by now.


    He would never have suspected that the Red Scarves Alliance had already figured out which way they went. They had just been a little caught up from sorting out their loot and replenishing their transcendence energy.


    Once they were done with their preparations, the five-hundred-strong army immediately set forth in the direction that Miao Yi¡¯s group had run off to. Along the way, Gu Sanzheng and the others noticed something was amiss. There were various water tribes following them from the side, and it seemed as though they were being observed by the fishes that would asionally leap out of the water.


    This situation persisted throughout their journey, unnerving the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance. It was too abnormal!


    Indeed, after half a day, the first wave of Yao cultivators that came after Gu Sanzheng had arrived. These Yao cultivators burst out of the ocean and blocked their path, then their leader bellowed furiously, "Which of you is Gu Sanzheng?!"


    Gu Sanzheng proudly replied, "I¡¯m right here!"


    Without any warning whatsoever, the other party abruptly raised his hand and shouted, " ATTACK! "

 Chapter 377: Strange Movements

    Chapter 377: Strange Movements


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    A bloody battle was breaking out at sea.


    The Thunderp Flying Swords were unsheathed, and were as spectacr as ever!


    For the sake of glory. For the sake of fulfilling their responsibility to the Overlord, and to safeguard their position within the Fifth Earthly Branch, the Sword Deviate Sect had handpicked Gu Sanzheng to represent them. Like a reaper, he single-handedly wiped out almost every single one of the enemies in his path. No one could stop him!


    And this was just the beginning. Along the way, Gu Sanzheng and the others constantly met with Yao cultivators. After they eliminated one group, another batch of Yao cultivators would show up. The Yao cultivators were constantly appearing like crazy and attacking them endlessly.


    It was one bloody battle after another on the ocean. The forces of the Red Scarves Alliance were about to go insane with how often their enemies were showing up. As the Yao cultivators of the water tribes held the territorial advantage when it came to aquatic battles, the Red Scarves Alliance suffered greatly and their numbers quickly dwindled.


    The water tribes abruptly began stirring up mighty waves at sea, triggering a colossal hundred-meter tall tsunami to bear down on them. Underneath the cerulean and jade-like beauty of the wave, the demons brandished their fangs and ws, intent on inflicting destruction upon everything.


    Ye Xin¡¯s barbed whip stretched out to a thousand meters in length as sheshed it across the colossal wave, creating a ferocious white streak.


    Sixteen flying spiked shields shot in and out of the wave in rapid session, and flowers of blood blossomed within the cerulean wall.


    Surrendering was not an option in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade as everybody knew that it signified death. The members of the Red Scarves Alliance also realized that even if they were to retreat, the chances of them escaping the grasp of these Yao cultivators on their own were slim in this vast ocean. All they could do was fight to their deaths. Only by killing their enemies would they be able to w their way to survival.


    " ATTACK! " Yu Baixing and Fei De-an raised their spears and bellowed.


    After a series of bloody battles, there were about two hundred troops left in the Red Scarves Alliance. Raising their weapons, they followed after Yu Baixing and Fei De-an, roaring, "ATTACKKKKK!" With incredible speed, they leapt across the sea and charged straight towards the mighty wave, intending on fighting the demons hiding behind it to the death.


    All two hundred of them joined forces to form a wall of transcendence energy to resist the tidal wave¡ªthey had never before been so united!


    ¡¯BOOOOOMM!¡¯ The tsunami copsed; a mighty downpour fell in the wake of its destruction.


    These two hundred people actually managed to stop such a massive tsunami head-on and destroy it. As he controlled his Thunderp Flying Swords to kill the Yao cultivators underneath the ocean surface, Gu Sanzheng abruptly turned his head as he caught sight of something that left himpletely dumbstruck. Even as the seawater rained down over him, he did not so much as bat an eyelid.


    He watched as Yu Baixing took a direct hit to his face from the foot of a giant sea tortoise, knocking his helmet off. Yu Baixing¡¯s face was crushed beyond recognition¡ªa crumpled mess of flesh and blood as his lifeless body was sent flying backwards.


    With the force of a small mountain, the foot of the giant sea tortoise swept towards the Red Scarves Alliance once again. Fei De-an and several others were sent flying with blood spewing from their lips. It made no difference that they had Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts protecting them. The opponent¡¯s attack was too fierce!


    Their weapons did manage to prate through the enemy¡¯s thick outer shell. Like tiny needles, they were jabbed into the foot of the giant sea tortoise. However, they couldn¡¯t inflict any significant damage to the monster at all.


    " AGHH! " Gu Sanzheng roared to the heavens and ran like the wind across the waves. Commanding a hundred-and-one Thunderp Flying Swords with his hands, he sent them shooting straight into the monster¡¯s mouth and bursting out from the hard shell on its back.


    " GUUUGUuu... " The giant monster wailed in agony as the Thunderp Flying Swords flew in and out of its body. However, it was unable to do anything about them with its massive size and sluggish body, and simply became a live target for Gu Sanzheng¡¯s fury. Soon, the shell on its head broke, blood and flesh sttered about in the path of the Thunderp Flying Swords as they viciously pierced through its body.


    The colossus finally fell upon the ocean, and slowly began sinking as its blood dyed the sea red.


    "Ye Xin. Send me up there!" Gu Sanzheng suddenly yelled.


    Ripping a Yao cultivator¡¯s head off with her whip, Ye Xin turned to look and saw that Gu Sanzheng was already leaping towards her. Flicking her whip, she twirled it around the sole of his foot.


    The whip stretched, sending Gu Sanzheng straight to the sky. With one foot on the whip, he spread his arms out as the Thunderp Flying Swords immediately soared to the sky alongside him.


    As the whip snapped straight, it sent Gu Sanzheng up another hundred meters into the sky from its original thousand-meter length. As the Thunderp Flying Swords hovered about him, he opened his transcendence vision and gazed down at the ocean.


    Whilst he was upon the blue ocean himself, he could not get a clear view of the battlefield. Now that he was high up in the sky, none of the Yao cultivators, whether battling underneath or above the ocean surface, were able to escape his sight.


    He pointed out with his finger, and over a hundred Thunderp Flying Swords viciously rained down on the ocean.


    The swords shot out of the ocean as he pulled back his arm, then rained back down again as he once more gestured with his hand.


    While he was still in mid-air, Gu Sanzheng invoked his arts to reduce the speed of his descent. His hands constantly rose and fell, causing the Yao cultivators below to scream in terror from the onught of his swords¡ªit was a massacre! Those fortunate enough to survive knew that they were no match for his strikes and frantically fled.


    As he descended onto the ocean dyed red with blood, the Thunderp Flying Swords returned into the sword-case on his back.


    Gu Sanzheng scanned his troops. Seeing that there were less than two hundred of them left, he grimly said, "From now on, don¡¯t get caught up in battle. If anyone gets in your way, just charge past them as quickly as you can and don¡¯t stop for anything. Let¡¯s go!"


    They had no time to gather their spoils as they couldn¡¯t afford to waste even a single second. All they could do was let the water tribes take them.


    There was less than two hundred of them now, and they all immediately dashed away across the mighty ocean. However, those despicable water tribes continued to nk them. Although the sight of fishes leaping out of the ocean surface was usually a beautiful sight, it was one that caused them great unease now. Yet, they there was nothing they could do about these creatures. There were simply too many of them in this mighty ocean. They couldn¡¯t kill them all!


    Why were they only being hunted down by Yao cultivators? Everyone could only remember what Hei Langjun had said several nights ago¡ª ¡¯You¡¯ve alreadymitted a grave sin. All the Yao cultivators participating in the Crusade will surelye after you. You can forget about leaving the Western Star Sea alive!¡¯


    Now, things had turned out just as Hei Langjun prophesied. So long as one wasn¡¯t a fool, one would be able to tell that almost all the participating Yao cultivators in the Western Star Sea were on the move. Furthermore, the fish-like creatures from the water tribes seem to serve as the eyes of those Yao cultivators, keeping a constant watch on Gu Sanzheng and the Red Scarves Alliance as they travelled across the ocean.


    The result of this was obvious. No matter where they ran off to, the Red Scarves Alliance would never be able to escape the eyes of these water tribes. It was pointless even if they escaped ontond.


    The moment the Red Scarves Alliance stuck to drynd and chose to barricade themselves in, they would suffer an even worse fate. The Yao cultivators would swarm in droves and surround thempletely. Then, they would have to face an even greater number of foes in one go.


    On the other hand, if they were to keep away from drynd, they would fall back under the watchful eyes of the water tribes.


    Gu Sanzheng was seething with rage. Just because he killed several Yao cultivators with some background, he ended up being targeted by so many Yao cultivators. Where was the fairness in this Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?


    The situation in this Subjugation Crusade was beginning to be more and more peculiar as a vast horde of Yao cultivators were rushing to one spot. Given the scale of such a movement, it was inevitable that others would catch wind of the development. All those from the six nations who were intrigued by the situation came to join in on the fun as soon as they heard the news, since it was precisely a good opportunity to hunt.


    Upon the blue seas, a snow-white beast stood atop ayer of ice. Its body was covered in white scales cold as jade, and resembled a Qilin. Its four legs were equipped with sharp ws, whilst its head was like that of a lion¡¯s, crowned with a snow-white mane. Besides its pair of golden eyes, its body was otherwise a pure white.


    This creature partly resembled a Qilin and partly a lion at the same time. It was called the Jade Lion. On its back was a jaw-droppingly handsome young man. Hisplexion was fair like wless jade, and his facial features borately delicate, apanied by a pair of big, beautiful eyes. His neck was fair and slender, with his lush, dark hair tied high in a ponytail. Garbed in long, white robes, and together with the way he was seated upon the Jade Lion spiritual beast, it was truly a breathtaking sight. Even women would feel ashamed whenparing themselves to the beauty this young man possessed.


    However in truth, this young man was a woman. She was none other than the youngest disciple of Celestial Sage Fu Manjun, Fairy Yue Yao.


    Her mortal name had long been forgotten by the public. Those that knew her all called her Yue Yao.


    The reason she had to cross-dress was because being too beautiful carried its own share of burdens as well. As such, she figured she should just dress up like a man to hide it. But s, even dressed as a man, it was hard to conceal a beauty capable of toppling nations. Anyone who saw her would be wide-eyed in astonishment.


    As a nation¡¯s representative, she also had five aides by her side. The movements of the Yao cultivators had caught her eye as well, and she just apprehended a Yao cultivator for interrogation.


    After spilling everything, the Yao cultivator didn¡¯t even have time to beg for mercy before his head was lopped off by one of Yue Yao¡¯s aides.


    Yue Yao furrowed her brows and said, "I¡¯d heard about the incident that year involving that Niu Youde as well. I never expected him to be a member of my Celestial Nation. This Gu Sanzheng is quite bold indeed. However, I can¡¯t stand idly by now that this matter has been brought to my attention!"


    The handmaiden beside her cupped her fists and said, "Lord Sixth. This incident involves Lord Fu Qing as well. Even the Venerable Sage would have to give him some face regarding this matter. I¡¯m afraid it would be unwise for us to interfere!"


    Naturally, the reason Yue Yao was called Lord Sixth was because she needed to hide her true name, and also because she was Celestial Sage¡¯s Mu Fanjun sixth disciple. The honorific was simply made up following her position.


    "Normally, I wouldn¡¯t concern myself either. But arge horde of demons are currently on the move. If I stand idly by and allow them to bully the cultivators of our Celestial Nation, others might think that our Realm Beyond Heaven is afraid of Fu Qing. Even if I get first ce then, so what? Anyone else can ignore this matter, but I alone cannot! Not to mention, with so many Yao cultivators gathering together, this is a good chance to increase my ranking. If we don¡¯t go, won¡¯t it just benefit others instead?" Yue Yao said as she shook her head gently, then she nudged her mount.


    The Jade Lion immediately carried her away as it darted upon the waves. It truly seemed as though it were stepping on drynd.


    All her aides could do was simply rush after her...


    Western Constetions Pce.


    Yun Guang and the others couldn¡¯t watch the astrbe all the time. Each of them were apanied by two subordinates, who took turns keeping watch. However, the peculiar developments on the astrbe now made the ones keeping watch call for Yun Guang and the others.


    The supervisors from each of the six nations all came to look and saw a great number of white dots rushing towards a certain location on the astrbe. Even the six red dots around the various points of the astrbe were exhibiting the same behaviour.


    "Eh?! What¡¯s going on here?" Yun Guang asked, gasping in astonishment. "What the hell happened exactly? Why are all our little youngsters headed this way too?"


    Zuo Nanchun stepped forward and invoked his arts, erging a certain location upon the entire astrbe. He pointed at a cluster of about two hundred white spots and exined, "It is impossible for us to know what exactly happened from where we are at right now, but these are the troops belonging to the thousand-strong army which hid themselves for several years. The ones we were previously observing..."


    Completely surprised, Hei Yun interjected, "There¡¯s less than two hundred of them left. How did they get cut down so much?"


    Zuo Nanchun shot him a nce. He ignored Hei Yun and continued exining to Yun Guang, "The forces you see gathering across the map are all targeting them. Their five-hundred-strong army suffered severe losses, and now there are less than two hundred of them. That being said, they are quite impressive indeed. I estimate that there were over two thousand casualties along their path. None could hold them back."


    Shocked, Hei Yun asked, "Over two thousand casualties? Why are there still people rushing to their deaths if they are so strong?"


    Tang Jun mused, "I¡¯ve never heard of such a situation in the past Subjugation Crusades. What is happening here?"


    Fairy Hong Chen was silent despite having noticed the situation long ago. A trace of worry would asionally flit past her eyes. The red dot representing her Junior Sister was also on its way to them. Would she end up meeting that person?!


    Ji Meimei frowned and said, "The Western Star Sea is Lord Fu Qing¡¯s territory. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s the only one who best knows what is happening!"


    Tilting his head askance, Hua Yu said, "This ce can be considered the Yao Nation¡¯s domain as well. Ji Meimei. Why don¡¯t you go and ask Lord Fu Qing about it?"


    Ji Meimei¡¯s expression became diforted as she stubbornly declined, "Why bother Lord Fu Qing for such trivial matters?"


    In truth, when she just arrived in the Western Constetions Pce, Ji Meimei went to pay her respects to Fu Qing, believing that he would meet her as she was Ji Huan¡¯s daughter. However, Fu Qing hadn¡¯t given her any face at all and didn¡¯t even grant her an audience. As such, why would she ever do something so fruitless again?

 Chapter 378: Back On Their Trail

    Chapter 378: Back On Their Trail


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Judging from the situation, the youngsters from our six nations will be bumping into each other earlier than we expected." Grandmaster Qi Jie sighed. pping his hands together in prayer, he recited, "Amitabha!"


    Everyone was reminded of the purpose of their being there by his words, and exchanged nces with one another.


    As Ji Meimei had said, the Western Star Sea was Fu Qing¡¯s territory. There was no way he wouldn¡¯t know what was happening given the hugemotion.


    One man was hastily making his way into the deeper recesses of the Western Constetions Pce. All the horned pythons slithering about the pce courtyards made way to allow him passage.


    There stood a lofty, spacious pavilion, antiquated and intricately decorated. It towered over ten feet tall, with an unshakeable sense of power hidden within its stillness. It was thergest building in the entire Western Constetions Pce.


    Standing five feet tall, the tightly shut gates of the pavilion were a murky bronze color. On it were engravings depicting the various water tribes. It must require tremendous strength to push open suchrge gates. The man seemed incredibly tiny as he stood before these pavilion gates.


    Standing outside the gates, the man bowed and loudly called out , "My Lord!"


    A deep, old voice reverberated from deep within the pavilion, "What is the matter?" It invoked an instinctive sense of awe and respect in others.


    The man replied, "I¡¯ve just received reports that the perpetrator behind the bloody massacre of Brass Gong Fort all those years ago, Niu Youde, has reappeared."


    The voice asked, "Where is he?"


    "He is currently participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. His true name is Gu Sanzheng..." The man proceeded to exin the current situation of the Subjugation Crusade.


    The old voice asked, "Do you think he is capable of killing Yuan Kaishan?"


    The man replied, "Should we bring him over for questioning?"


    The old voice didn¡¯t answer his question and instead responded with, "Regardless of whether or not this person is the culprit, we have only our own ipetence to me for failing to apprehend him earlier. Now that he has brought himself over to our doorstep, you have the gall to overpower him with numbers still? He is here to participate in the Subjugation Crusade. Since it is being organized here on the Western Star Sea, we must at least retain a basic degree of fairness. Don¡¯t do something so shameful such as using this as a pretense to settle our personal vendetta. Send out my order! Have the water tribes stop their pursuit immediately. Tell them not to butt in if it doesn¡¯t concern them! Let the participants handle it themselves!"


    "...Understood!" The man was a little reluctant to speak. In the end, he acknowledged his orders and left.


    Like a ripple, news of Fu Qing¡¯s official decree soon spread from the Western Constetions Pce to the entire Western Star Sea. The various water tribes immediately heeded the order and stayed still.


    However, some time was still required for the ripples to fully spread. News would not reach the scene of the incident in such a short amount of time.


    At this point, the Red Scarves Alliance had gone through yet another gruesome battle. There were less than a hundred of them now. As the Thunderp Flying Swords returned to the sword-case on his back, Gu Sanzheng himself had already lost count of how many he had killed along the way.


    There was no time for him to think about these things anyway. He pointed to a nearby ind and said, "Let¡¯s head to the ind!"


    The miserable bunch rushed to the ind. Then, someone finally thought of something, and gasped, "Alliance Master. We¡¯ve lost our mounts."


    Amotion started to brew among the group. They scanned about and discovered that other than Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin, all the others disciples from the three major sects had died along their carnage-filled path. Everyone¡¯s mounts had been kept inside the beast sacks of the School of Imperial Beasts disciples, and now they were all lost.


    What did losing their mounts mean? Not only was their battle prowess severely diminished, they also couldn¡¯t escape as quickly as they could before anymore.


    "We¡¯ll talk about thister. First, let us find a ce to hide!" Gu Sanzheng called everyone to head into the mountains deep within the ind.


    After hiding themselves in the mountains, Gu Sanzheng turned to the crowd and said, "Dragon steeds are creatures native to the Sea of Constetions to begin with. There is no shortage of them here. We can simply find more if we lost them. This is not something difficult."


    Then someone voiced out, "But Alliance Master, we are being hunted down right now. Without any help from the speed of our mounts, we won¡¯t be able to run fast onnd!"


    "Everyone!" Gu Sanzheng cupped his fists towards the crowd and said, "I have caused you all much suffering this time! We cannot continue to run like this. If we run in such arge group, we will be unable to escape all the eyes hidden underneath the ocean surface. There is only one option avable for us now. I would like to suggest we go our separate ways from now on. Otherwise, if you continue to follow behind us, it will only result in death. I do not wish to drag everyone down any longer!"


    These were his heartfelt thoughts. The Red Scarves Alliance had fought by his side against strong foes throughout this entire journey. Even though they were forced to do so, he had borne witness to how hardily they fought. He had already talked it over with Tan Lao and Ye Xin beforeing ashore. Since the disciples of the three major sects were alreadypletely decimated anyway, there was no need to drag even the remaining survivors down as well.


    Someone said in frustration, "They¡¯ve definitely marked this ind already. If we were to separate, I fear we won¡¯t be able to run far before... If we go off on our own, I fear we will die even faster."


    At this point, it wasn¡¯t as if everyone desired to follow Gu Sanzheng and the other two, it was more like they had no choice but to follow the three of them. Given the trio¡¯s strengths, everyone would at least be able to stay alive a little bit longer under their protection.


    Another person shouted, "When Alliance Master Miao was around, we were able to get by peacefully for three years in the Sea of Constetions. Our days then were easy and we repeatedly defeated strong enemies. We even had enough loot to share. However, it has been less than a month since we followed the three of you, and not only did we not receive any benefits, but our once mighty force numbering over a thousand has since been dwindled to such measly numbers! How many of us are left now? Whose fault is this? It is easy for you to say you wish to go your own separate ways now. Why didn¡¯t you do so when we were still fighting for you?"


    Another oneined, "That¡¯s right! Back when we burned down the ind, we all witnessed how close Alliance Master Miao and the others were with those demons. They even tried to stop us for the sakes of Alliance Master Miao and the others! If Alliance Master Miao was the one who brought us onto the ind back then, surely nothing would have happened to us! We might even be able to form an even stronger alliance. But ever since your three major sects joined us, our Red Scarves Alliance has suffered more and more casualties. Almost everyone is dead!"


    "Even after they ran around the Sea of Constetions, nothing happened to Alliance Master Miao and the others. You, on the other hand, became the public enemy of the Yao cultivators, and even dragged us down with you!"


    Everyone was furious when they heard Gu Sanzheng say he was going to leave them to their fates. Since it was going to be death either way, they no longer had much to fear and spoke out their true thoughts.


    Ye Xin¡¯s expression turned cold as she thought, ¡¯Why didn¡¯t you all say these things when you wanted to kill Miao Yi and take his transcendent artifacts? You¡¯re finally remembering his nice traits now?¡¯


    Tan Lao was all the more taken with rage and was about to teach these bastards a lesson. However, Gu Sanzheng raised his hand and stopped him. He shook his head and allowed the others to vent out their frustrations.


    After everyone made theirints, Gu Sanzheng motioned with his hand and requested for them to let him speak.


    "I will admit that I am no match for Miao Yi when ites to certain things. This, I will not deny. However, it is pointless to speak of such things right now."


    Gu Sanzheng was not lying. He trulymented falling behind Miao Yi. A White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator being able to survive in the Sea of Constetions was already a miracle in and of itself. Yet he was even able to pull together a group of people and create the Red Scarves Alliance. And after being betrayed by everyone, he still managed to escape their pursuit. Furthermore, there were still people who were willing to follow him after his White Lotus cultivation was revealed. And even now, he was still capable of running about the Sea of Constetions. Gu Sanzheng couldn¡¯t help being impressed by Miao Yi even if he didn¡¯t want to. If it were him, he would have died countless times already.


    Maybe one or two incidents could be attributed to one¡¯s luck. However, with so many of them stacked together, it became a clear indication of one¡¯s capabilities. Gu Sanzheng could not deny that Miao Yi was a capable man.


    Gu Sanzheng shouted, "I am not trying to throw everyone aside. I truly do not wish to cause trouble to you all any longer. Those Yao cultivators are after me. When theye here, the three of us will ughter our way out of their formation and draw their attention away from all of you. I also would like to suggest that everyone remove the red cloth around their wrists and bury them. Otherwise, it will only attract trouble. As for whether you all n to join forces or go your separate ways after this, I will leave that for you to decide. The point is, do not rally under the banner of the Red Scarves Alliance any longer! Just pretend as if it never existed. Of course, if you wish to continue this perilous journey with the three of us, we will not refuse you either!"


    So that was what he meant. Everyone kept quiet as soon as they heard him. It was still unclear whether they would go their separate ways after this. However, with Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group willingly drawing the enemies¡¯ attention away from them, everyone definitely wouldn¡¯t choose to follow them anymore.


    After the matter was resolved, Gu Sanzheng immediately ordered everyone to spread out across the ind and stand guard, and to report immediately if a situation were to arise.


    After the preparations wereplete, Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group tossed Orbs of Will into their mouths and hurriedly began to replenish their transcendence energy. They had truly expended too much of it throughout this journey. The three of them were barely able to hang on.


    s, after a brief four hour rest, a scout came to report that a force of about fifty people hade ashore. Judging from their attire, they must be Yao cultivators.


    Gu Sanzheng and the other two stood up and summoned the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast, then mounted them. Gu Sanzheng turned to the crowd staring at him and cupped his fists before bidding them farewell, "Take care, everyone!"


    The others all hid in the forest and watched as the three of them dashed towards the enemy. The Thunderp Flying Swords shot out as Gu Sanzheng bellowed, "Gu Sanzheng is right here! All who stand in my way shall perish!"


    The sound of battle soon rang out. Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group did not engage with the enemy and simply broke through from the center of their formation. They rushed to the seashore, then quickly stored their mounts away and leapt upon the waves, making like the wind across the mighty ocean. They truly managed to lure the Yao cultivators into pursuing them...


    Miao Yi obviously had no idea that the Red Scarves Alliance he had created from scratch had now be a thing of the past.


    In the end, he was the cause for both the rise of the Red Scarves Alliance, as well as its undoing. If it weren¡¯t for him, the Red Scarves Alliance would not have been reduced to such a pitiful end so quickly.


    Even though he knew that by setting up Gu Sanzheng, the Red Scarves Alliance would most likely perish, he never expected it to happen so quickly. The main reason was because he never imagined that the water tribes of the Western Star Sea would also participate, making the news spread so quickly and causing the demons to gather so soon.


    As he waited for Charcoal on the ind, the former Alliance Master Miao originally thought that they hadpletely thrown Gu Sanzheng and the others off their trail after not seeing any sign of them for the past few days. However, Gu Sanzheng and the others would catch up to him first instead of Charcoal.


    Tao Ruchun, the Peach Blossom Treant that was standing guard atop the mountain, immediately noticed a group of people approaching the ind and quickly reverted back to his human form. He rushed down to the caves below and began frantically shouting, "This is bad. Run!"


    Miao Yi and the others immediately rushed out of their caves as soon as they heard him. Miao Yi asked, "What is it?"


    Tao Ruchun anxiously replied, "Those three bastards with the flying-sword user are here."


    "Son of a bitch! How are they still able to find us after so long!?" Miao Yi shook his hands and shouted, "What are you standing in a daze for? Let¡¯s make a run for it!"


    Miao Yi barely took a few steps before abruptlying to a halt, and said, "Wait!" He was the one who asked them to run, and now he was the one to say stop as well.


    With his hand already on the hammer, Sikong Wuwei widened his eyes and said, "What are we still waiting for? They clearly have no intention of letting you go. Are we going to wait for our deaths!?"


    Miao Yi ignored him and proceeded to ask Tao Ruchun, "How many did you say wereing just now? Only three? No one else?"


    Tao Ruchun nodded, "Only three. No one else."


    "Only three..." Miao Yi seemed to be thinking of something. He suddenly rushed to the peak of the mountain and opened his transcendence vision. He caught sight of Gu Sanzheng and the other two approaching the shore, but there was no sign of a single person from the massive Red Scarves Alliance. He then quickly rushed back down the mountain.

 Chapter 379: Five Mighty Artifacts

    Chapter 379: Five Mighty Artifacts


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    "Why are you still hesitating?" Sikong Wuwei stomped his feet and said, "Let¡¯s hurry and make a run for it!"


    Miao Yi replied, "Where to? Are you going to go cut them off?"


    "Uhh..." Sikong Wuwei turned to look at Zhao Fei, who was furrowing his brows in silence, then to Qi Xiuhong, and finally to Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun. He was a little lost for words, finally realizing why Miao Yi didn¡¯t want to leave.


    At the moment, they didn¡¯t have their mounts, so it was impractical for them to continue their escape onnd. Even if they did, they would have a hard time outrunning the enemy¡¯s Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts. And although they could simply escape to the seas, they would eventually have to leave one person behind. The two demons didn¡¯t have any objections to this, but Miao Yi may not feel the same way if Qi Xiuhong had to be left behind.


    The present state of the affair was that without their mounts, escaping onnd was impossible, and if they were to escape to the ocean, Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei would only be able to bring Miao Yi along. Their speed would drop if they had to carry more people, and the enemy would surely catch up to them then. This was a pickle indeed.


    Sikong Wuwei sighed, "Don¡¯t tell me you want to fight them head-on?"


    Miao Yi whispered to the group, "You all had best get ready..."


    After reaching shore, the Gu Sanzheng trio quickly summoned their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts and mounted them. Tan Lao somberly said , "This should be the ce."


    With a flip of his hand, a bronze flute appeared in his grasp. cing it by his lips, he started ying a sharp tune. Following which, arge flock of flying beasts swiftly flew out from the forests and circled above a certain area in the skies before him.


    Miao Yi¡¯s group had been hiding in the dark. Their expressions contorted in shock when they lifted their heads and saw the birds marking their location out. Sikong Wuwei cursed under his breath, "What sorcery is this? Why are the birds of the ind helping them too?"


    Tan Lao tucked away his flute and pointed to the area where the birds were hovering about, and said, "They¡¯re right there."


    "Let¡¯s go!" said Gu Sanzheng with a wave of his hand. The Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts immediately rushed up the hill, but they soon came to a sudden stop. There was a man atop the following hill before them. Seated on his dragon steed with a body full of armor, he held a spear in one hand and the Mystic Yin Mirror in the other. Who else could it be besides Miao Yi?


    Both parties were about four hundred meters apart at this moment, and within the range of the Mystic Yin Mirror, much to the shock of Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group. Tan Lao¡¯s spiked shields instantly hovered about him, ready to defend against the attack of the Mystic Yin Mirror at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Miao Yi smiled and said, "I have been waiting long for you!"


    Ringing sounds echoed forth as the Thunderp Flying Swords shot out of their sheath. Ye Xin also readied her whip to attack at the drop of a hat.


    Miao Yi raised his spear and said, "Hold your des for a moment. We can battle all the same once you hear me out!"


    Ye Xin mocked coldly, "What more is there to say? You are quite bold to face us alone. Today shall be the day you die."


    Miao Yiughed heartily and said, "I suggest you don¡¯t act rashly. There¡¯s no guarantee that I will be the one to die if we battle. I hope the three of you will not waste my kindness!"


    The three of them quickly scanned their surroundings. Despite knowing that he was not a match for them, the other party still dared to face them on his own. This was highly dubious to begin with, and at a time when he still had those two helpers no less.


    Gu Sanzheng bluntly asked, "Where are your two helpers? Why didn¡¯t you call them out to help you?" In truth, he was trying to figure Miao Yi out as he knew that things could not be so simple.


    "The reason I have been awaiting your arrival on my own is just to show you my sincerity. I hope that we can set aside our grievances for the time being." Miao Yi put on a candid face and continued, "Only three years have passed in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. The future is perilous. Why don¡¯t we join forces and fight against the dangers together? With our respective strengths, there is much we can aplish if we work together!"


    Tan Lao scoffed disdainfully, "Even in the face of death, you still have a slick tongue!"


    Miao Yi reminded once more, "I¡¯ll say it again. If we really do battle, there¡¯s no guarantee that I will be the one to die."


    Gu Sanzheng¡¯s gaze darted about his surroundings as he asked, "Simply because those two helpers of yours are lying in ambush?" He continued to probe Miao Yi. He doubted that someone as intelligent as him would rush to his own death.


    Miao Yi replied sarcastically, "That¡¯s odd. I have already disyed my sincerity in negotiating with you. Do you really want to see my helpers so badly?"


    Ye Xin understood Gu Sanzheng¡¯s intentions. She then tried to provoke Miao Yi, "My guess is that his cultivation was simply too low for his two helpers. It would be a burden to bring him along, so they left him and escaped."


    Tan Lao nodded and said, "True. It¡¯s very likely that this bastard is trying to trick us. Why don¡¯t we just kill him off first?"


    "You don¡¯t need to provoke me. I don¡¯t fight battles I am not confident in winning. Don¡¯t you wish to see my helpers?!" Then Miao Yi suddenly shouted, "Brothers. Come out and let them have a look!"


    Four people showed up along the side of the mountain behind Miao Yi. Obviously, they were Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun.


    Qi Xiuhong didn¡¯te out as the other party should be aware of her strength. She wouldn¡¯t have any impact even if she showed herself.


    Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group all raised a brow as they thought, ¡¯Why are there two more people?¡¯ Back when they burnt the ind down, the ones that showed themselves were only Miao Yi, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. They didn¡¯t see Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun, who had hidden themselves in the corner. Even if Gu Sanzheng and the other two saw them, they wouldn¡¯t know their backgrounds anyway.


    The three of them had seen the might of Zhao Fei¡¯s Spirit Illusion Greatsword and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer before. However, they had never seen the ck crescent-shaped object on Pi Junzi¡¯s shoulder and the ck pagoda in Tao Ruchun¡¯s hands before. These two items were clearly different from the average weapon. They could tell they were transcendent artifacts with transformation capabilities at a nce.


    "I believe you all are aware of Zhao Fei¡¯s Spirit Illusion Greatsword and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer. Let me introduce the other two to you. The one wielding the ¡¯Almighty Transcendence Wheel¡¯ is Pi Junzi, and the one holding the ¡¯Demon Imprisonment Pagoda¡¯ is Tao Ruchun. The two of them are my new Yao cultivator friends. It might be a little exaggerating to say that Brother Pi¡¯s Almighty Transcendence Wheel is capable of tearing heaven and earth asunder. However, it at least has the power to split entire mountains. On the other hand, Brother Tao¡¯s Demon Imprisonment Pagoda is capable of trapping cultivators within it, and there is almost no chance of survival for those entrapped inside."


    Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group were taken aback by his words. It went without saying that they could underestand just how powerful those artifacts seemed. They couldn¡¯t help thinking, ¡¯How can this guy manage to gather so many mighty artifacts by his side?¡¯


    By the mountainside, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei maintained stoic expressions on their faces. Thetter was on the verge of having stomach cramps from trying to stifle hisughter.


    In contrast, Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun were in great trepidation. They were already feeling a little weak in the knees as they silently prayed for the fight to not break out.


    The things in their hands were not transcendent artifacts at all. They simply ground some rocks and added some color to them. They were forgeries through and through. How could Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun not feel restless when they were lying so tantly to Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group?


    However, Miao Yi said that they needed to instill confidence when negotiating and insisted on doing it this way, so what choice did they have?


    At first, Zhao Fei objected a little and told Miao Yi, "It¡¯s fine if you want to do it this way. Just don¡¯t get too close to them. That way, it will be easier for us to respond ordingly if a situation arises."


    However, Miao Yi said, "We need to show that we have nothing to fear from them. If we still choose to keep our distance despite having so many transcendent artifacts in our possession, how could they not grow suspicious of us?"


    They also discussed and settled on a n for retreat. If a fight were to break out, Miao Yi would immediately activate the Mystic Yin Mirror while the enemies were still in its effective range and provide support for Zhao Fei¡¯s Spirit Illusion Greatsword and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer. On the other hand, Pi Junzi, Tao Ruchun and Qi Xiuhong would immediately escape to a different location. Miao Yi¡¯s group would then continue to make their escape across the sea as Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group would probably still choose to chase after Miao Yi anyway.


    Miao Yi smiled and said, "As for the Mystic Yin Mirror in my hands, I believe no introductions are necessary. Spirit Illusion Greatsword, Mountain Suppressing Hammer, Almighty Transcendence Wheel, Demon Imprisonment Pagoda and Mystic Yin Mirror. With thebined forces from these five mighty artifacts, am I capable of contending against the three of you on equal ground now, I wonder?"


    Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group exchanged nces with one another. Just the Spirit Illusion Greatsword and Mountain Suppressing Hammer alone were enough to hold them back. With the addition of that Almighty Transcendence Wheel and Demon Imprisonment Pagoda, of which their capabilities were still unknown, as well as the Mystic Yin Mirror, they would undoubtedly lose. No wonder that bastard was so sure of himself.


    Miao Yi sighed, "Again, the reason I came here to meet you all on my own is to show my sincerity. I don¡¯t wish to threaten you with force, which is why I had them hide themselves earlier."


    Ye Xin stubbornly said, "Threaten us with force? We have ughtered our way here. As if we will be scared. Why don¡¯t you give it a try then?!"


    Even though she was trying to sound tough, she was already feeling a little fearful inside. Otherwise, she would have made her move already, and not ask Miao Yi to give a try.


    Miao Yi felt a surge of confidence. He knew that the three of them wouldn¡¯t dare act rashly anymore.


    "Alright fine. You all are indeed very capable. I can¡¯t shake you off no matter how hard I try. To be able to pursue me so relentlessly... Just consider me terrified, alright? Is it fine if I just admit defeat now?" Miao Yi put on a troubled expression and sighed, "Truth be told, just now my brothers were thinking, since you all intend to go against me no matter what, we will first kill you, and then take away your transcendent artifacts. However, I believe that will do more harm than good. Yes! I know you wish to kill me, but I still believe that I should take a chance, because even if we were to kill the three of you and take your transcendent artifacts, all that woulde of that would be another three upied spots in our storage rings. Would the strength of eight mighty artifacts be greater with five people wielding them, or eight? If we were to join forces andbine the strengths of our eight mighty artifacts, not only will we be able to easily traverse the Sea of Constetions with hardly anyone capable of standing against us, we will surely be able to ce within the top one hundred rankings of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade as well. Are you really not going to consider forming an alliance with us?"


    Tan Lao scoffed, "You killed the grandson of my Elder Wu and many of the disciples of our three major sects. Yet you still wish to form an alliance with us?"


    Miao Yi mocked disdainfully, "That grandson of that Elder Wu of yours acted so arrogantly simply because of his background. Despite just being a lowly grunt, he dared to act insolent towards this Mountain Chieftain. Even if I didn¡¯t deal with him, someone else from the administration would have done the same to such a petty moron. And that Elder Wu of yours is an even greater imbecile. cing his personal vendetta above the interests of the sect, and yet you all are still trying to take revenge on his behalf? Your fellow disciples are no kind samaritans either. I humbly tried to befriend them, and they thought I was actually afraid of them? They were utterly full of themselves simply because they were disciples of the three major sects. As we wereing here aboard the ship, they dared to invade my room and threatened me right to my face, telling me that they would end me as soon as we reached the Sea of Constetions. And as expected, they immediately made their move on me as soon we alighted the ship. Don¡¯t tell me you expect me to just sit around and wait for them to kill me? Tell me, what logic is this?"


    The three of them fell silent. Even though they were not there to witness everything, but given how much they knew about their fellow disciples, they knew that Miao Yi¡¯s words were most likely true.


    Ye Xin said indifferently, "Then wouldn¡¯t the disciples of our three major sects have died for naught?"


    "Yeah, that¡¯s right! You all are very impressive. After all, you are the disciples of the three major sects. Wherever you go, you will never forget to announce that fact again and again. What arrogance. Acting as if you are the number one sect in the realm, as if even the Six Sages themselves would also have to bow to your will. You made it seem like anyone and everyone has to give you face. But in reality? Your three major sects aren¡¯t worth shit in the Sea of Constetions. You are thought of even less in the eyes of those from the administration. All it takes is a single word and your three major sects will have no way to support yourselves. What is there to be arrogant about? I¡¯ve seen egomaniacs before, but I¡¯ve never seen ones as self-absorbed as you lot!"

 Chapter 380: A Strong Foe Arrives

    Chapter 380: A Strong Foe Arrives


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Miao Yi held nothing back and gave them a brutal scolding. He truly didn¡¯t give them any face at all. It was because he knew that he could not afford toe off as weak right then. He needed to show the other party that he was full of confidence.


    Although the three of them felt incredibly ashamed, they had no way to refute Miao Yi. Even though his words were harsh, they were not wrong. How could they be? Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin had always felt proud of the fact that they were disciples of the three major sects, but now they felt as if a tub of cold water had been doused over their heads. When they actually considered it, they were indeed quite snobbish.


    However, Gu Sanzheng then stubbornly replied, "No matter how many reasons you have, it doesn¡¯t change anything. Unless we settle our grievances, an alliance is impossible!"


    Miao Yi asked, "Did your sects send you over to the Sea of Constetions just to kill me? Isn¡¯t cing within the top one hundred your top priority? Let me put it simply. Don¡¯t you wish to leave the Sea of Constetions alive? Why must you harm others and yourselves just to settle this dispute now?"


    Gu Sanzheng asked, "What are you trying to imply?"


    "I¡¯m not implying anything!" Miao Yi loudly said, "As I said before, we can share life and death for nine years, and go back to being enemies in the final year! As long as we work together, with thebined strengths of our eight mighty artifacts, it is very likely that we can ce within the top one hundred. We can fight to the death once we¡¯ve aplished thismon objective. What do you say?"


    This was not a bad idea indeed. Feeling a little tempted by the notion, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin looked at each other. However, they were a little hesitant as they were worried that this was another one of Miao Yi¡¯s ploys. If they joined forces, they would surely be together for a long time. It would be easy for him to sabotage them if he had the thought.


    Seeing as they were quiet, Miao Yi added, "You don¡¯t have to worry about me. You might not like the sound of it, but we have five mighty artifacts on our side. It is easy for us to overpower you right now. If we really wanted to kill you, we could do it straight away. I didn¡¯t have to risk anything bying here on my own and talking to you face-to-face. I have already shown you my sincerity. For the greater good, I am willing to ce my personal grievances aside. It all depends on how you think now. Are you willing to join forces for the sake of the greater good, or will you fight to the death for your personal vendetta? Peace or conflict. You choose!"


    He then turned his dragon steed around and confidently returned. Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group watched as he left, but didn¡¯t try to strike him from behind. Instead, they slowly tucked away their weapons.


    As soon as Miao Yi returned to the others, he dismounted the dragon steed and immediately said to Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun in a low voice, "Why are you still holding on to them? Hurry up and keep your ¡¯transcendent artifacts¡¯ away. Do you want to wait until they can see through our ruse?"


    The two of them quickly stored their imitations away. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help rolling his eyes and whispering, "The paint came off. Hurry up and clean the ck stains on your hands."


    Sikong Wuwei¡¯s eyes widened and noticed that Tao Ruchun and Pi Junzi¡¯s palms were indeed stained ck. This... He quickly turned around, afraid that the other party would notice something was amiss. His cheeks were twitching hard as he almost broke out inughter; he continued to gasp for air from the tiny gaps in his mouth.


    He had always had the impression that the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade would be filled with danger, and in truth, it was. However, ever since he became Miao Yi¡¯spanion, he started feeling as though danger was nothing to be afraid of, and that it was fine for him to be a little more bold. He always felt like he was having fun instead.


    On the other hand, Zhao Fei couldn¡¯t find it in himself tough. Although he was impressed by Miao Yi¡¯s actions earlier on, he felt more sympathetic than not. If only Miao Yi were strong enough, he wouldn¡¯t need to take such risks. This was because he had no other choice. For the sake of survival, he had toe up with many ideas. Zhao Fei didn¡¯t believe that Miao Yi was not afraid of death. Perhaps only Miao Yi himself would know best about the struggles he faced. He was a strong person who faced the obstacles in his way head-on.


    On the other side, Gu Sanzheng faced his two quietpanions and said, "He is waiting for our reply!"


    What he implied was was, ¡¯What do the two of you think?¡¯


    Ye Xin asked, "How do you take this situation?"


    Gu Sanzheng sighed, "He has a point. We¡¯ve been too narrow-minded in the past, and were too focused on our personal vendetta. On the other hand, he is willing to make peace despite already holding the upper hand. He is much more forbearing than we are."


    Ye Xin asked, "You wish to join forces with them?"


    Gu Sanzheng replied, "As long as you two are fine with it. There is merit in us working together."


    "I don¡¯t have anything against it," said Ye Xin as she turned to Tan Lao.


    Tan Lao had been silent the entire time. Gu Sanzheng asked him, "Tan Lao, are you worried that you won¡¯t be able to answer to Elder Wu once news of you working together with Miao Yi reaches the sect?"


    Tan Lao quietly nodded.


    Gu Sanzheng reasoned, "Perhaps a third party is the one who has the clearest picture. To be honest, he is right. Killing him is not our top priority. The most important mission our sects assigned to us is to ce within the top one hundred and make it back alive. We are clear on the current situation. Those Yao cultivators will continue toe after us. The ones we faced before were all just the tip of the iceberg. If we bump into the expertster on, I fear we won¡¯t be able tost. If news of us working together really travels back to the School of Imperial Beasts, you can try exining it from a different perspective. We are simply trying to use Miao Yi and the others to our advantage. And in truth, I do n to make use of them with this alliance."


    Beside him, Ye Xin echoed the sentiment, "I feel the same way as well."


    Gu Sanzheng tapped on Tan Lao¡¯s shoulder and said, "Rest assured. It is as Miao Yi said. We are only working together for the sake of surviving till the end. Once we reach the final stretch, we will still end up fighting him. He has killed so many disciples from my Sword Deviate Sect. You are not the only one who needs to kill him. I have a share in it too."


    Ye Xin nodded, "He¡¯s killed my Senior Auntie and my fellow disciples. When we kill him, I will not simply stand by and watch."


    Tan Lao finally blew out a breath and said, "Alright then!"


    When he saw the three of them approaching on their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts, Miao Yi nced at his own side, then scolded in a low voice, "Can you two not look so nervous? Have a little confidence will you? Right now, they¡¯re the ones afraid of us. Not the other way around. Why are you two feeling so restless for?!"


    Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun felt rather uneasy. However, it was true that they could not ck off as it was a matter of life and death. They quicklyposed themselves once more and tried their best to look like experts.


    Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group came before them, then jumped off their mounts. This was already a sign that they hade here on friendly terms. Gu Sanzheng stepped forward and nodded as he said, "We will agree to working together with you."


    Miao Yiughed heartily and praised, "As expected, a great person is able to adapt in times of need. I just knew the three of you were not the narrow-minded type." He took a look behind them and asked, "Where are the members of the Red Scarves Alliance? Did theye across an even stronger group and decided to betray you guys as well? Don¡¯t tell me even your fellow disciples betrayed you too?"


    Gu Sanzheng coolly replied , "Thanks to you, we¡¯ve incited the wrath of people we shouldn¡¯t offend. Our fellow disciples have all perished, and most of the members of the Red Scarves Alliance have met their ends as well. There are less than a hundred of them now, and we¡¯ve parted ways with them. The Red Scarves Alliance no longer exists."


    Miao Yi grew slightly apprehensive as he thought, ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me he knows about me pinning the me of Niu Youde on him?¡¯ He pretended to be surprised and asked, "Howe?"


    Gu Sanzheng then briefly exined the events that transpired after they left the razed ind.


    Miao Yi felt relieved when he realized that the other party was still oblivious to his involvement.


    Sikong Wuwei and Pi Junzi snuck a nce at the mastermind, Miao Yi. Only Tao Ruchun was unaware of the actual situation.


    Zhao Fei furrowed his brows and said, "So what you are trying to say is that those Yao cultivators have been hunting you down all this while, which also means that they will being here very soon?"


    Gu Sanzheng frankly said, "Correct!"


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression froze when he realized what was going on. ¡¯What a terrible err in judgement. This is no alliance. This is clearly bringing trouble upon ourselves. Now, we¡¯re no different than the unfortunate souls of the Red Scarves Alliance who followed their lead before. Crap! We are the ones being set up instead.¡¯


    He knew that the Red Scarves Alliance would suffer, but he never expected that all the water tribes would take part as well and act as scouts to keep tabs on the movements of Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group. Having allied together, wouldn¡¯t that mean that Miao Yi¡¯s group would also be hunted down then?


    Gu Sanzheng bluntly asked, "Why? Are you scared now? Do you regret forming an alliance with us already?"


    Miao Yi coughed and said, "I wouldn¡¯t go so far as to say we regret it. Though I do think this move of yours is a little cheap."


    Gu Sanzheng was about to argue, but Sikong Wuwei, while gazing into the distance, suddenly spoke up, "Speak of the devil. They¡¯re already here."


    Everyone turned to follow his gaze and noticed a group of people quickly approaching the ind. Based on their attire, they were, without a doubt, Yao cultivators. At a rough estimate, there were about thirty to forty of them.


    "There are only but a few dozen of them. We possess eight mighty artifacts in our hands. There is no need to fear them." Miao Yi turned to Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group and changed the subject, "Earlier on, I showed you my sincerity by meeting you on my own. Shouldn¡¯t the three of you show some sincerity for this alliance as well? Since you were able to kill your way here, I believe it should be easy for you to eliminate a few dozen enemies! Rest assured, if the situation worsens, we will not stand idly by."


    There was no choice. He didn¡¯t expect enemies to show up the moment they formed the alliance. If all of them were to attack, the ¡¯artifacts¡¯ that Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun had would immediately be revealed as imitations. Miao Yi was already prepared to make a show of the two of them ¡¯losing¡¯ their transcendent artifacts in order to avoid Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group seeing through their ruse and turning against them.


    Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin were all proud individuals and disdained against pushing the responsibility around. As such, they didn¡¯tin and simply nodded towards one another.


    The three of them quickly turned their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts around and waited for the Yao cultivators toe ashore. They were about to charge over, when suddenly a galloping noise could be hearding from the other side of the forest. Everyone turned to look and noticed seven riders approaching quickly. They all widened their eyes and sucked in a breath of cold air when they noticed how fearsome the leader¡¯s mount was.


    Tan Lao eximed in shock, "The Tempest Beast from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons!" As a member of the School of Imperial Beasts, he was naturally able to recognize all manners of spiritual creatures.


    Tao Ruchun and Pi Junzi exchanged nces because they noticed Hei Langjun was among the group as well.


    Zhao Fei and the others were also shocked.


    "The three of us can¡¯t guard against both sides. Since Brother Miao has arranged for us to face therger force, we will naturally abide by it. I believe that with the transcendent artifacts in Brother Miao¡¯s possession, you should be able to handle such a small group!" Gu Sanzheng then turned around and shouted, "Attack!"


    He then quickly charged towards the shore alongside Tan Lao and Ye Xin. They were no fools after all. How could it possibly be easy to deal with people from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons? They had just formed an alliance with Miao Yi and his group, and there was barely any sentiment between them. There was no need for them to die together. Naturally, Gu Sanzheng and the other two quickly took up Miao Yi¡¯s request and rushed off as far as they could. If anything went wrong, it would be easier for them to escape as well.


    "Brother Gu..." Miao Yi had only just held his hand up to ask them to wait, wanting to trade opponents. However, the three of them made like the wind, not turning their heads back even once. They just simply pretended like they hadn¡¯t heard him.


    Miao Yi was lost for words. It was difficult indeed to predict what the future held. He finally understood what it meant to shoot oneself in the foot.

 Chapter 381: Demon Refining Gourd

    Chapter 381: Demon Refining Gourd


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Miao Yi¡¯s group watched as the other group closed in on them. There was no way they could escape even if they wanted to as only Qi Xiuhong had a mount. It was probably pointless running off to join Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group as well.


    "Based on what Tan Lao said just now, they should be the group sent over by Yao Sage Ji Huan. It¡¯s easy to see that we¡¯re no match for them." Zhao Fei asked, "What should we do now?"


    Miao Yi was out of ideas. He shot a look at the troops approaching them and saw Hei Langjun. He had to give it a shot with him. However, he was unsure whether his n would work given that the other party had seen them together with Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group earlier on.


    Miao Yi quickly instructed, "Pi Junzi, Tao Ruchun, we¡¯ve saved Hei Langjun before. Just go and tell them that we¡¯re allies..."


    Tao Ruchun didn¡¯t mind because he was Hei Langjun¡¯s subordinate to begin with. He had only stayed with Miao Yi for the time being to protect himself. After seeing Hei Langjun¡¯s glorious return, Tao Ruchun was ecstatic. Obviously, he wanted to go back to being his subordinate. Then he wouldn¡¯t have to stay with Miao Yi any longer and feel restless all the time.


    On the other hand, Pi Junzi couldn¡¯t refuse because Miao Yi had dirt on him. The two of them quickly ran towards Hei Langjun¡¯s group.


    The group of people approaching them was none other than Bai Ziliang¡¯s, the representative of the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons. Seated upon the Tempest Beast with his aides closely following by his side, the sight of him was truly awe-inspiring.


    When he saw two Yao cultivators approaching and Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group in the midst of a battle with the Yao cultivators on the other side, Bai Ziliang raised his hand and called for everyone to halt.


    "Alliance Master!" Tao Ruchun and Pi Junzi rushed over and bowed to Hei Langjun.


    Beside Hei Langjun, Lan Susu turned to ask, "These are your subordinates?"


    Hei Langjun replied, "Just two traitors. You still have the gall to face me?!"


    Tao Ruchun and Pi Junzi were a little confused. Carefully approaching from the back, Miao Yi and the others also came to a stop when they heard him. What was going on?


    Before they could understand what was happening, Hei Langjun pointed at Gu Sanzheng, who was already in battle and said, "Young Master. That man is Gu Sanzheng. Since these people were beside him just now, what are they, if not traitors?"


    Sikong Wuwei immediately eximed, "Brother Hei! Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t recognize us anymore? We saved your life before!"


    Hei Langjun cupped his fists and said, "Young Master. This lowly one does not know what their intentions are. This lowly one does not know who they are at all."


    The reason he was turning against them was obvious. Since there was no way he could obtain the aplishment for killing or capturing Gu Sanzheng, he wanted to keep the merit of revealing the identity of the culprit solely to himself. However, strictly speaking, the one who achieved this task was Pi Junzi. If Pi Junzi were to reveal the truth, Hei Langjun felt worried that he would no longer have anything to do with the matter and the reward would go to Pi Junzi. At the same time, he worried that Bai Ziliang would discover that he didn¡¯t tell him the whole truth.


    It was also simple to figure out why he pretended not to recognize them. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to acquaint himself with Bai Ziliang, who was definitely a powerful backer in this expedition in the Subjugation Crusade. How could he let such a strong protector slip through his fingers? If he said he knew Miao Yi¡¯s group, they might reveal how he miserably fled after pushing his two women out to take the attack for him. He would definitely suffer terribly if this were to leave a bad impression on Bai Ziliang.


    Why were narrow-minded people described as such? It was because they were afraid of even the tiniest possibility of retribution as a result of their actions. These people always acted in their own interests and were incapable of tolerating others. As the saying goes, it is better to offend a nobleman than a petty man, because the moment you offended a petty man, you might not even know how you incited their wrath before tragedy fell upon you.


    Hei Langjun was such a petty man, and Miao Yi and the others were the innocent victims who unknowingly incited his wrath.


    "You son of a bitch! I¡¯ll rip your eyes out, you unfaithful dog! You don¡¯t recognize me, eh? Are you familiar with my hammer then?!" Sikong Wuwei bellowed furiously. He never expected that the person he saved would be a disloyal piece of scum. With a flip of his hands, he brandished the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. It abruptly expanded as he held it over his shoulder.


    However, even though he was far away and in the midst of battle, Gu Sanzheng was someone to be reckoned with. He had long since assumed that Miao Yi¡¯s group was in cahoots with Hei Langjun. When he noticed Hei Langjun among the crowd and saw Miao Yi and the others talking to him, Gu Sanzheng immediately invoked his arts and shouted, "Brother Miao! You and I have already formed an alliance, so why are you still not dealing with those demons yet?"


    How could he possibly allow Miao Yi¡¯s group to escape on their own now that they hade this far? He obviously had to think of a way to force Miao Yi and the others to keep the strong enemies at bay.


    Miao Yi¡¯s face slightly twitched as he cursed to himself, ¡¯Gu Sanzheng you son of a bitch. You¡¯re intentionally setting me up.¡¯


    Naturally, Hei Langjun pointed towards Miao Yi¡¯s group and shouted, "Young Master! They are together indeed."


    Although there were a few doubtful points in the conversation, Lan Susu couldn¡¯t bear to wait any longer. They had finally caught up to their target. She didn¡¯t want Niu Youde to fall into anyone else¡¯s hands. Tired of the bickering, she waved her hand and shouted, "Let¡¯s seize them for now!"


    The expressions on Miao Yi and the others¡¯ faces twisted in shock.


    One of Bai Ziliang¡¯s aides immediately tossed out a ck bell. It shed with a blue radiance and abruptly expanded in mid-air as it hovered towards Miao Yi¡¯s group.


    Sikong Wuwei cursed, "Damn it!" There was no other option. The Mountain Suppressing Hammer immediately grew to its maximum size, and he flung it out with a bang.


    Bang! A thundering boom rang out as the giant hammer collided with the giant bell. The impact was so loud that it seemed to echo across the realm. Everyone could feel their eardrums turn numb from the sound.


    When it came to transcendent artifacts at that level of power, there were few which couldpete with the Mountain Suppressing Hammer in terms of raw strength. God knows which artisan could have produced such crude creations.


    The light on the giant bell dimmed and it instantly shrunk back down as it was sent flying away. It was on the verge of crumbling from the impact.


    Its wielder was a little stupefied. He never thought his transcendent artifact would meet its match right from the start. It was immediately knocked back into its original form and sent flying back to him.


    Gu Sanzheng shot a nce from the other side, while Tan Lao gasped in astonishment, "That hammer is powerful indeed!"


    Now that things had escted thus far, there was no choice but to fight. With a flip of his hand, Miao Yi readied the Mystic Yin Mirror. The cold Yin aura abruptly gushed forth like a whip as he swept it across the battlefield.


    Against the Yin aura rushing towards him, Bai Ziliang remained unperturbed as he sat on the Tempest Beast. He didn¡¯t consider this level of attack a threat at all.


    Beside him, Lan Susu casually tossed out a silver handkerchief. It shone with a blue radiance, and the erged handkerchief immediately hovered before their group, effectively blocking the attack of the Mystic Yin Mirror.


    s, with Miao Yi¡¯s transcendence energy levels, he couldn¡¯t use the Mystic Yin Mirror for too long. When he saw that the other party had something that could nullify his attack, he quickly recalled the cold Yin aura back into the Mystic Yin Mirror, as it was difficult for him to sustain it for long anyway.


    Lan Susu made a w with her hand, and the handkerchief reverted back to its original form as it flew back into her grasp.


    Then, Zhao Fei activated his Spirit Illusion Greatsword. It instantly formed ten million other projections of itself and rained down on the enemy.


    The opponents were immediately in disarray from the attack. They soon found that most of them were simply illusions, but there was no way to discern which one was the real artifact. In the face of the onught from both the real artifact and its projections, they were a little unsure of how to guard themselves.


    Taking advantage of the momentum, Sikong Wuwei hurled the Mountain Suppressing Hammer out once more, and the sonorous boom echoed forth with fury.


    Finally, Bai Ziliang made his move. He pulled out the ck gourd by his waist and took off the cap. A dense, demonic aura instantly gushed forth from the opening. Like a tornado, the gray mist shot straight towards the Mountain Suppressing Hammer.


    Enveloping the Mountain Suppressing Hammer within, the gray mist then quickly shrank back into the gourd. Oddly enough, the Mountain Suppressing Hammer also disappeared along with it. It seemed as though it was also sucked into the gourd together with that demonic mist.


    Sikong Wuwei eximed, "My Mountain Suppressing Hammer!" He was feeling incredibly pained.


    A glint shed by Zhao Fei¡¯s eyes, and the Spirit Illusion Greatsword immediately focused its attacks on Bai Ziliang. Once again, the demonic mist burst forth from the gourd in Bai Ziliang¡¯s hands. The tornado then quickly expanded to envelop all the projections of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword hovering about the air.


    A sharp, ringing sound rang out from within the demonic mist. However, Bai Ziliang coldly scoffed, and the ringing sound immediately died down.


    Zhao Fei eximed, "This is bad!" He could feel that some unknown force had caught the true Spirit Illusion Greatsword.


    The demonic mist shrunk back into the gourd once more, and along with it, the myriad of Spirit Illusion Greatsword projections in the sky as well.


    Even though they were far away and in the midst of battle, Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group was utterly shocked by the sight, whereas Miao Yi and the others were already breaking out in a cold sweat. What sort of transcendent artifact was that gourd? How could it be so powerful?


    Bai Ziliang then turned the opening of his gourd to face Miao Yi and the others.


    Miao Yi shouted, "This is bad! Run!" Even though they had no mounts at the moment, they still turned around and tried their best to escape.


    Whoosh! As dense as a tornado, the demonic mist shot out from the inside of the gourd and enveloped Miao Yi and the others in an instant. They soon realized that this demonic mist was not as simple as it seemed. There were countless iron chains inside it, dancing about like tentacles.


    Before they were able to put up any resistance, the iron chains had already coiled around their wrists, legs, waists, and necks, and dragged them away.


    The demonic mist then shrunk back into the gourd, and all of them were gone. Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, Qi Xiuhong, Pi Junzi, and Tao Ruchun. They disappeared without a trace alongside that demonic mist.


    Using their short break to nce over to this side, Gu Sanzheng and the others were inplete disbelief. What sort of transcendent artifact was this? How was it able to absorb everything?


    The three of them could onlyment deep down that this was a strength expected of someone from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons. This was not someone they could fight against at all.


    Gu Sanzheng shouted, "Retreat!" This was no longer a battle they could win. Retreating was the wiser choice.


    They immediately gave up on killing the remaining enemies and rushed to shore. They leaped up, stored their mounts in mid-air, thennded on the surface of the sea and made a hasty retreat.


    Bai Ziliang plugged his gourd and with a wave of his hand, shouted, "After them!" He then quickly led his group after Gu Sanzheng.


    Upon the ocean, as Gu Sanzheng and the other two were frantically trying to escape, Tan Lao voiced out, "We can¡¯t run like this. The Tempest Beast is capable of treading clouds and mist. Needless to say, it can run on water too. We won¡¯t be able to outrun it."


    Ye Xin cursed, "They banned the use of flying mounts in the Subjugation Crusade. The representatives of the Six Sages don¡¯t even follow their own rules. This is utterly preposterous!"


    Gu Sanzheng asked, "Tan Lao, regarding the art you used when you controlled those birds with your flute, was it your School of Imperial Beasts¡¯¡¯Great Art: Mystical Voice of Myriad Beasts¡¯?"


    Tan Lao shook his head and replied, "I know what you¡¯re trying to say. I¡¯ve only cultivated that great art to the second stage. It is possible for me to control small animals, but even dragon steeds are beyond me, much less the Tempest Beast."


    Gu Sanzheng shot a nce at their pursuers, and said hurriedly, "There¡¯s no time to think about all that right now. Whatever the method, we have to give it a try."


    Tan Lao smiled bitterly. There was no choice but to try out all possible avenues now. He took out his bronze-colored flute, ced it by the side of his lips, and started blowing on it. The melody reverberated across the surface of the ocean, gentle and soothing at certain times, and sharp and ear-piercing at others.


    The Tempest Beast was true to its fame indeed; its speed was not something dragon steeds could match. Bai Ziliang had already left his subordinates far behind. The Tempest Beast continued to gallop across the waves as it rushed towards its target. Regardless of whether it was onnd or on water, its speed did not diminish in the slightest.


    The distance between both sides slowly decreased, when suddenly a peculiar flute melody resounded from the front. Bai Ziliang felt astonished as he discovered the speed of his Tempest Beast evidently dropping. However, soon it became highly agitated. It then charged away from the enemy and ran wildly about the ocean. It would also asionally raise its head and roar furiously, as though trying to escape something that was binding it.

 Chapter 382: Trapped

    Chapter 382: Trapped


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Lan Susu and the others soon caught up to Bai Ziliang and were shocked to see the Tempest Beast thrashing about and ignoring its master¡¯s orders.


    Lan Susu turned to look at where the melody wasing from, and shouted, "Young Master! It¡¯s because of that flute. Quick, store away your spiritual beast."


    Bai Ziliang was already aware that the flute was behind this. However, he wanted to see if the Tempest Beast could ovee its melody. How could the mighty Tempest Beast lose itsposure over a mere flute?!


    However, when he saw how difficult it was to calm the Tempest Beast down, Bai Ziliang had no choice but to store it away in his beast sack.


    "After them!" Bai Ziliang was a little angered from this setback. He gave up the speed advantage of being on a mount and led his forces after Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group across the waves.


    asionally turning their heads back to look, Gu Sanzheng and the other two were pleasantly surprised. Needless to say, Tan Lao¡¯s Great Art: Mystical Voice of Myriad Beasts must have been effective.


    Even Tan Lao himself was in shock. The beast-controlling art of the School of Imperial Beasts was actually effective against Yao Sage Ji Huan¡¯s mount. How was this possible?


    Out of all the cultivators participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade was the highest cultivation level. Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin were already among the highest tier of participants. Now that Bai Ziliang had lost the speed of his Tempest Beast, the three of them were not afraid that he¡¯d catch up to them at all.


    Since the other party had stored away his spiritual beast, Tan Lao stopped ying the flute, and the trio continued to dash across the ocean.


    Ye Xin praised, "Tan Lao! That was impressive! You can even tame spiritual beasts from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons."


    "I didn¡¯t tame it at all. You two saw it too. There was no way I could tame it. All I did was interfere with it a little. But I keep feeling like there¡¯s something wrong with this. I have only cultivated the Great Art: Mystical Voice of Myriad Beasts to the second stage. There¡¯s no way I could cause interference to such a spiritual beast. Only those weak-minded infants would¡ª" Tan Lao suddenly stopped and repeatedly turned his head back to look.


    Gu Sanzheng asked, "What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t think too hard about it. As long as it¡¯s effective, it¡¯ll be useful to us."


    Tan Lao suddenly tapped on his forehead and eximed, "I see now!"


    Ye Xin asked curiously, "What is it?"


    Tan Laoughed and said, "I see now. This isn¡¯t Yao Sage Ji Huan¡¯s mount at all. It¡¯s an infant Tempest Beast and not a fully matured adult. It hasn¡¯t reached the stage where it can tread clouds and mist yet. And here I wondered¡ªsince the Six Sages banned the use of transcendent artifacts above the Second Grade as well as flying mounts in the Subjugation Crusade, why would the Yao Sage break his own rules so tantly? So it was an infant beast. No wonder my great art affected it."


    "So that¡¯s why!" Gu Sanzheng and Ye Xin smiled at each other. Thetter revealed a rare smile and said, "It seems like our luck is pretty good. What are the chances?"


    "I¡¯m afraid this is not something to celebrate." Tan Lao shook his head and smiled bitterly.


    Gu Sanzheng asked, "How so?"


    Tan Lao sighed. "Each of the Six Sages has sent someone from their newest generation to participate in the Sea of Constetion Subjugation Crusade to battle over which side is stronger. Now that I¡¯ve found a weakness in the guying after us, I have effectively be a liability in his battle with the other five representatives. With that in mind, he will surely want to kill me. Gu Sanzheng, I think the number one person on their hit list right now is no longer you, but me. There is a high chance they won¡¯t let us go so easily!"


    Gu Sanzheng and Ye Xin looked at each other. When he put it that way, there was indeed a high chance of that happening.


    Still a little resentful, Ye Xin huffed and said, "It¡¯s just that his gourd is too powerful. Otherwise, we might not have to fear him!"


    "He would obviously have a powerful transcendent artifact to rely on since he is representing the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons. Otherwise, how could he possibly fight for the top spot?!" Gu Sanzheng shot a nce back and couldn¡¯t help but sigh. "Miao Yi was also a capable man. I never imagined he would lose to that person in a single confrontation. But maybe it¡¯s better this way. Now that he¡¯s dead, we can answer to our sects once we make it back alive. This saves us quite a bit of trouble. All we need to do now is focus on getting away."


    Inside a gray, enclosed space. The scene that unfolded before Miao Yi and the others as soon as they opened their eyes was that of countless iron chains of different sizes intertwining around them.


    The demonic aura in their surroundings was as dense as fog. Miao Yi opened his transcendence vision and soon realized he was trapped inside a giant gourd-shaped space. Given the situation before this, it was easy to figure out where they were currently. Clearly, that guy¡¯s tiny gourd artifact could act like a storage ring. Despite its small appearance, it carried a pocket dimension within itself.


    Miao Yi tried to move but soon discovered that his limbs and waist were bound tightly. He couldn¡¯t budge an inch. He invoked his transcendence arts throughout his body and struggled for a bit, but still couldn¡¯t budge an inch, let alone break free. All he could hear was the sound of the chains rattling.


    "There¡¯s no use. We can¡¯t break free." The sound of Zhao Fei sighing came from behind Miao Yi. He had clearly tried to do the same thing as well. Since even he couldn¡¯t break free with his cultivation level, Miao Yi obviously didn¡¯t have a chance.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t move his body, so he struggled to turn his head back to look. Indeed, Zhao Fei was tied up in chains behind him with his limbs spread out.


    Miao Yi asked loudly, "Is everyone alright? Xiuhong, where are you?" His voice echoed throughout the gourd.


    "I¡¯m right above you." Qi Xiuhong¡¯s voice called out. Miao Yi lifted his head to look and found not only Qi Xiuhong bound above him, but her mount was caught and tied up beside her as well, still in Charcoal¡¯s armor.


    "We¡¯re here too." Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun¡¯s voice came from under Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi looked down and found the two of them tied up not far away from his feet.


    "Damn it! My Mountain Suppressing Hammer!"


    Miao Yi turned to look at the source of the sound and saw Sikong Wuwei in his eight o¡¯clock position. He was struggling to reach the tiny hammer chained up not far away from him. It was none other than his Mountain Suppressing Hammer. Although it was within arm¡¯s reach, he couldn¡¯t grab it no matter how much he struggled.


    "That son of a bitch! If I get my hands on the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, I¡¯ll crush this rotten gourd of his into pieces." After a round of useless struggling, Sikong Wuwei ultimately gave up and rxed his body.


    Top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts like the Mountain Suppressing Hammer had extremely borate designs and were not as simple as their appearance seemed. In order for them to have a transformation ability, it was inevitable that the inner structure would beplex. As such, they could not transform into mist and be easily stored like one would normal Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts. If they were able to casually shapeshift into mist and restructure themselves back, their internal structure could go haywire with just a single error.


    There was also another reason. Even though the Mountain Suppressing Hammer might seem small, once erged and its true form revealed, it was easy to tell how much Crystalline Obsidian had gone into the process of refining it. If it were to form mist, it would be enough to envelop an entire ocean. Then it would be a problem of whether or not it was possible to store it all away.


    Therefore when it came to refining transcendent artifacts of this level, the internal structure had to be clearly defined in order to avoid a mishap. They couldn¡¯t be like Miao Yi¡¯s Inversed-Scales Spear, capable of forming into a mist to be stored away at any time. The internal structure of those types of transcendent artifacts was simple and vastly different from those of top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts like the Mountain Suppressing Hammer.


    When he saw how Sikong Wuwei was acting, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t helpughing aloud. "It seems like everyone is just fine."


    "Fine, my ass!" Sikong Wuwei blew at his mustache and shot Miao Yi a re. "Why don¡¯t you take a look at what¡¯s exactly going in and out of our bodies as we¡¯re breathing right now? It¡¯s demonic aura!"


    After his reminder, Miao Yi finally realized that he was actually breathing in the demonic aura and was shocked. Furthermore, the demonic aura was capable of slowly invading the insides of his body through the pores of his skin. He couldn¡¯t stop breathing in the demonic aura even if he wanted to since itpletely filled the air. Unless he was somehow able to hold his breath for an eternity, that is.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help gasping, "What is the meaning of this? Why go this far just to kill us?"


    Behind him, Zhao Fei sighed, "Don¡¯t you understand yet? They¡¯re trying to reanimate us into fiends! In just a few days, we will all die from an overdose of demonic aura. When we wake up, we will no longer be ourselves. We will either have to surrender to someone else¡¯s control or be killed for our Yao Cores. Out of all of us, the only ones truly not affected by this are the two down below, since they¡¯re Yao cultivators to begin with."


    Miao Yi could feel his skin crawl from hearing Zhao Fei¡¯s words. As he thought about how he would be reanimated into a fiend and how he would either be killed for his Yao Core or be someone else¡¯s mindless tool, he couldn¡¯t help trembling. Out of instinct, he struggled against the chains once more, but it was still useless.


    "Aii!" Sikong Wuwei suddenly made a long sigh, then said in a resigned tone, "After so many years of cultivation, I never thought that my path woulde to an end in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade!" Then his voice suddenly became agitated as he cursed, "If I had known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have saved that son of a bitch, Hei Langjun! I should have just let Gu Sanzheng kill him. That bastard better hope I don¡¯t get out, or else I¡¯ll rip him to shreds! And Miao Yi, damn it, kid, what sort of messed-up n is this? Not only did we fail to sabotage our target, we ended up falling into a trap ourselves."


    "How was I supposed to know they could still catch up to us even with so many people on their tail?" Miao Yi retorted, then struggled against the chains again. Still unwilling to give up so soon, he looked downwards and shouted, "Pi Junzi! Tao Ruchun! You¡¯re both Yao cultivators. Is there any way to negate the threat from this demonic aura?"


    Tao Ruchun sighed. "None, unless you can make it out."


    Suddenly, Pi Junzi shouted, "Miao Yi, you damn rascal! Meeting you in this life is equivalent to having eight lifetimes¡¯ worth of misfortune! Every time I meet you, I experience such terrible luck and I can¡¯t even run away from it. This time, I even have to forfeit my life. Aren¡¯t you arrogant? Let me see how arrogant you can be now. I am going to watch as you die. This is karma..."


    This was such a satisfying scolding indeed. All the things he didn¡¯t dare say before, he was blurting them all out now.


    "Wow!" Sikong Wuwei was immediately amused andughed aloud. "This rat demon has finally be bold. He¡¯s finally saying all the things he didn¡¯t dare say before. This is what you call speaking your true thoughts. Keep on scolding. We¡¯re all ears!"


    Miao Yi red downwards and bellowed, "Pi Junzi, just you wait! Once I get out of here, I¡¯ll show you who¡¯s boss!"


    "Get out? You still think you can get out? Dream on!" Pi Junziughed arrogantly, "If you can get out of here, I¡¯ll bow before you and call you granddaddy!"


    "Son of a bitch!" Miao Yi cursed, "Just you wait!"


    "Pui!" Pi Junzi said disdainfully, "Your granddaddy is right here. What can you possibly do to me? Come,e. Your granddaddy is just sitting still here and waiting for you!"


    Miao Yi was seething with rage. He shouted, "You¡¯ve got some guts, Pi Junzi! You¡¯lle to regret this!"


    "You scolded him well!" Tao Ruchun suddenly began scolding as well, "Pi Junzi, I have long thought this brat deserved a painful death. Back in the underground tunnel, he forced me to stay behind to cut off his path. Then on the ocean, he treated me like some kind of boat. And even here, he forced me to the mountaintop¡ª"


    The two of them suddenly went silent, wide-eyed as they looked upwards. They were stricken with terror.


    "Keep on scolding! You two bastards can continue scolding to your hearts¡¯ content! Did you think I had no way to deal with you just because I¡¯m tied up? Let me tell you, I can take care of trash like you anytime and anywhere I want!" Miao Yi revealed a vicious grin and spread his palm open, brandishing the Mystic Yin Mirror and pointing it straight down at the two people under him.

 Chapter 383: Danger

    Chapter 383: Danger


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were struck speechless from the sudden turn of events.


    Sikong Wuwei¡¯s Mountain Suppressing Hammer was wrapped in chains and so was Zhao Fei¡¯s Spirit Illusion Greatsword. Both their transcendent artifacts were held captive by the Demon Refining Gourd as soon as they hurled them out. Out of the three mighty artifacts they possessed, only Miao Yi¡¯s Mystic Yin Mirror had never left his grasp.


    Everyone had merely forgotten about it. They were all bound so tightly, they thought there were no other options left. As the Mystic Yin Mirror wouldn¡¯t be much use at all in this enclosed space, everyone had instinctively cast it to the back of their minds.


    And trouble had broken out the moment they forgot about this tiny detail. Despite everyone being stuck in such a desperate situation, Miao Yi had still asked Pi Junzi about ways to negate the demonic aura and continued to boss him around. Having been bullied all this while, Pi Junzi thought enough was enough. Since Miao Yi was going to die anyway, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him, so he figured, ¡¯Why not just vent out all my frustration before he dies?¡¯


    And he really did give him a darned good scolding! All the things Pi Junzi had bottled up inside, he let them all out andmbasted him until he was satisfied.


    Realizing this, Tao Ruchun had followed suit as well. Little did he expect, before he could vent it all out, he would be left dumbstruck. How could he have forgotten about the Mystic Yin Mirror? How could he have forgotten that this bastard still had it in his possession? How could he have forgotten that even though the person in question was tightly tied up, he could still move his hands, and that it was easy as pie to simply change the direction the Mystic Yin Mirror was facing?


    Indeed, the Mystic Yin Mirror did not have much use in such an enclosed space. However, it was enough to shut the dirty mouths of those two up. In fact, it was more than enough. It would be a simple matter to kill two wretched scoundrels, as Miao Yi did not need to move much at all. He simply needed to twist his wrist a little and point the Mystic Yin Mirror down. Since those two bastards were bound in ce anyway, all they could do was just sit there and suffer his wrath.


    In truth, even Miao Yi had forgotten that he still held the Mystic Yin Mirror. Right after falling into a trap, hispanions immediately started bashing and berating him. It was just one misfortune after another. Furthermore, he couldn¡¯t do anything to them and thought that all he could do was just sit there and suffer the humiliation until he died.


    In his rage, even Miao Yi himself had forgotten about the mighty weapon in his arsenal.


    Just then, he only wanted to find something to deal with the two bastards below him. He wouldn¡¯t even have minded tossing a steamed bun onto their heads.


    However, he was instantly overjoyed the moment he peered into his storage ring. What was he acting all hasty for? As expected, the more one was swept by his emotions, the easier it was to be careless. Not only did he still have the Mystic Yin Mirror in his possession, he also had the tiny mantids. Miao Yi wasn¡¯t sure if the tiny mantids could adapt to a ce filled with such dense demonic aura, but it was more than enough for the Mystic Yin Mirror. With a vicious grin, he immediately pulled it out.


    The two down below watched as Miao Yi slowly twisted his wrist and pointed the Mystic Yin Mirror down at them.


    Tao Ruchun¡¯s eyes widened in shock and horror. His heart was filled with regret at this point. Initially, he would have been fine. Why did he have to follow Pi Junzi¡¯s lead and join themotion? Wasn¡¯t this basically asking for death just because he was itching to vent out his frustration? At least Pi Junzi was able to berate to his heart¡¯s content. On the other hand, he had barely said a word and now he had to pay for it with his life. This was not worth it at all.


    Not only was Pi Junzi¡¯s eyes widened in shock, his mouth was agape equally as wide. He was already on the verge of tears. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to get the chance to scold this bastard as much as he wanted, and he hadn¡¯t even had his fill yet. In his mind he thought, ¡¯Is this bastard my natural enemy or something? How is he still able to hold the upper hand over me at a time like this? Why is this world so unfair?¡¯


    "What are your jaws opening so wide for? Do you want to bite me?" Slowly adjusting the Mystic Yin Mirror¡¯s position, Miao Yi smirked and said, "Go ahead and tell me off then! Why did you stop?"


    Sikong Wuwei had chuckled lightly at the turn of events. However, when he saw Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun¡¯s expressions changed from arrogance to one of regret as though they had just swallowed dog shit, the transition was so fast and so smooth that he just couldn¡¯t hold himself back and ended up bursting out inughter, "Hey! Don¡¯t be afraid if you are men! Keep on telling him off!"


    Zhao Fei couldn¡¯t helpughing at the scene as well. These two demons truly couldn¡¯t hold themselves back at all. However, he understood where they wereing from. Before this, Miao Yi had treated them both quite harshly. Now that a rare opportunity had presented itself, they obviously had to take advantage of it and vent out their frustration. They just never expected it toe back and bite them so soon.


    Tied up at the highest level, Qi Xiuhong also revealed a smile. Initially, when she saw the two demons berating Miao Yi, she was also quite angered by it. But now, all she could think about was how funny it was.


    "Lord Miao! I was only joking earlier. Don¡¯t take it to heart!" Pi Junzi had always been one to adapt as the situation called for. He immediately humbled himself and put on a forced smile.


    Like a little chick, Tao Ruchun blindly followed suit and repeatedly nodded, saying, "That¡¯s right! That¡¯s right! Lord Miao, we were only joking earlier."


    "Lord Miao? I wouldn¡¯t dare be addressed by such a lofty title!" Miao Yi said as he continued tough coldly. "Who was it that called himself my granddaddy just now? I remember it quite clearly. Whoever said it, repeat it again! I¡¯m all ears!"


    Pi Junzi cried as he pleaded, "Lord Miao. This humble one was wrong. Can you please forgive this humble one just this once considering all the hard work I¡¯ve done for you? This humble one is asking for your forgiveness. I won¡¯t do this again!"


    "Again? You still think there will be a second time?" Miao Yi roared. "Do you think I will give you the chance to scold me again?!"


    "Lord Miao. I beg you, have mercy!" Pi Junzi was practically begging in tears.


    "Pi Junzi. I¡¯m impressed. You¡¯ve managed to keep this to yourself quite well all this time. I see that you¡¯ve always been prepared to kick me when I¡¯m down!" Miao Yi chuckled, "Don¡¯t you wish to watch me die? Now I want to see which one of us is going to watch the other die instead. I¡¯ll teach the both of you who exactly has the final say around here. How dare you admonish me, you bastards!"


    The two demons immediately wailed and cried as they begged for mercy. Originally, they thought that since they didn¡¯t need to fear this demonic aura, Miao Yi would at least die before they would. Now look where it got them. Because they couldn¡¯t keep their mouths shut, the situation was immediately reversed.


    "Miao Yi! Forget it, don¡¯t hold it against them anymore. It¡¯s normal for them to feel that way," remarked Zhao Fei from behind him. "Now is not the time to be wasting your transcendence energy. What¡¯s most important right now is to focus on protecting yourself against the invasion of the demonic aura and think of a n to escape."


    He was trying to remind Miao Yi that he would be expending arge amount of transcendence energy if he were to use the Mystic Yin Mirror. Earlier on, he had already used it once when they were outside. His transcendence energy reserves wouldn¡¯tst if he were to use it again. Now was not the time to lose focus. It was not worth forsaking the greater good for these two demons.


    "Yes yes yes!" Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun repeatedly nodded in agreement as they looked at Zhao Fei gratefully.


    Miao Yi was actually just trying to scare them a little. He understood the situation well enough without Zhao Fei exining it to him. He had truly been a little careless back then. But now that he had the Mystic Yin Mirror in his hand, he immediately calmed down knowing that he had the ability to deal with those two bastards. He wouldn¡¯t waste his transcendence energy so rashly at a time like this.


    As the saying goes, a cornered dog will jump over a wall. That was something that would only happen if he was desperate. Now that he calmed down, he obviously wouldn¡¯t do something rash and risk suffering the consequences.


    Miao Yi tucked away the Mystic Yin Mirror, acting as though he did it at Zhao Fei behest. However, even though he was sparing those two, he still warned them, "You two had better pray to the heavens for my well-being. Otherwise, I will be sure to kill the both of you first before I die. I won¡¯t give you the chance to watch me die."


    "Yes yes yes. Thank you for showing us mercy, Lord Miao." The two of them quickly thanked Miao Yi. They were truly praying to the heavens deep down for Miao Yi to be fine. Otherwise, the bastard would definitely take care of them first. Pi Junzi especially, firmly believed in this, as he had experienced Miao Yi¡¯s ruthlessness before.


    Survival was more important at a time like this. Miao Yi was no longer in the mood to argue with those two, and quickly invoked his arts to guard against the invasion of the demonic aura in his body.


    Unexpectedly, the moment he started to circte his art source and allow it toe in contact with the demonic aura, starlight started to flicker within it. In an instant, starfire ignited throughout his body and vaporized all the demonic aura it came in contact with.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes instantly brightened. He never expected his cultivation art to not only be capable of eradicating poison and cold Yin aura, but this demonic aura as well. This meant that it was impossible for him to be reanimated into a fiend.


    Right when his mind was eased, it tensed back up again as he lifted his head to look at Qi Xiuhong. Her eyes were shut and she had been quiet the whole time. Miao Yi noticed herplexion was oddly a little pale, and thought, ¡¯This is bad. Qi Xiuhong has the lowest cultivation here. It¡¯s even lower than mine.¡¯


    "Zhao Fei. How long can you two guard against the reanimation effect of this demonic aura?" Miao Yi suddenly asked.


    Annoyed, Sikong Wuwei interjected with, "Why don¡¯t you just experience it for yourself and find out?"


    Miao Yi was speechless. He was not affected by this demonic aura so he couldn¡¯t estimate the proper length of time for its effect to take hold.


    However, Zhao Fei was clearly more well-mannered than Sikong Wuwei. After pondering a little, he gave a rough estimate. "With Sikong and my cultivation levels, we can probablyst about three days. I¡¯m afraid for you and Qi Xiuhong, even one day will be... You two won¡¯t be able to hold against it for too long. We need to think of a n as soon as possible."


    Zhao Fei¡¯s words verified Miao Yi¡¯s suspicions. He looked back at Qi Xiuhong and noticed her eyelids were slowly twitching; herplexion was pale. He knew that she was already feeling the effects of the demonic aura on her body. Only a short while had passed. How could she have a reaction so soon?


    Such was a clear disy of the difference between a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade and a White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivation. Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei couldst about three days, whereas Qi Xiuhong could barely endure even half a day. Her situation was considerably dire.


    Miao Yi was bing more anxious. "Do you guys have any ideas?"


    Once again, Sikong Wuwei snappily replied, "We would have long since made our escape if we had one. Why would we torment ourselves by staying here?"


    "You shut your damn mouth if you don¡¯t have a n!" Miao Yi roared.


    "Wow! Acting up again, are you now? Do you think you¡¯re all that just because you have the Mystic Yin Mirror? I¡¯m not like those two measly demons. You don¡¯t scare me!" Sikong Wuwei was also fuming with rage. No one could be in a jolly mood in such a dire situation.


    Zhao Fei looked at Qi Xiuhong¡¯splexion, then turned his head and yelled, "Sikong, shut your mouth for a bit. No one will think you¡¯re dead if you just keep quiet."


    At the same time, he transmitted his voice over, "Just look at Qi Xiuhong. Her cultivation is too low. I fear she won¡¯t be able to hold out for long. Do you want the kid to be even more anxious than he already is?"


    "..." Sikong Wuwei raised his head and looked at Qi Xiuhong¡¯s reaction, then fell silent. His anger was immediately dissipated as he mumbled, "Fine fine. My opinion was unnecessary. I¡¯ll shut up, alright?"


    Zhao Fei gravely said, "There are only two ways for us to get out. One, the artifact wielder himself lets us out willingly; two, we are somehow able to break this artifact¡¯s base structure from the inside and destroy it, consequently effecting our release. We¡¯ll need to think along these two lines if we want to figure out a way to get out. However, neither of them seem very usible."


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression was dark. Why would the artifact wielder ever let them out willingly? This ce was in a dimension of its own. Even if he wanted to negotiate, the other party wouldn¡¯t be able to hear him either way. The only way was to break this transcendent artifact. But how?

 Chapter 384: End of the Road

    Chapter 384: End of the Road


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    The most powerful transcendent artifact in his possession right now was the Mystic Yin Mirror, and that was all he could use. However, even though the Mystic Yin Mirror was effective for killing, it wasn¡¯t particrly useful in terms of destruction. It couldn¡¯t do anything against this gourd artifact. In addition, Miao Yi didn¡¯t have any other long-ranged weapons in his storage ring...


    Suddenly, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes shone as he remembered that he still had a weapon he could use for long-range attacks¡ªthe tiny mantids. He could control those little fellows remotely to attack his enemies. However, although they could ingest crystal coins, Miao Yi wasn¡¯t sure if they could chew through a transcendent artifact that was refined using Crystalline Obsidian.


    That said, he had no other options. Regardless of the method, he had to try. However, he worried whether or not the tiny mantids could survive the demonic aura in this ce.


    He slowly spread his palms. Awoken from its slumber, a tiny mantid flew out of his storage ring. It perched atop Miao Yi¡¯s palm and spread its wings, standing there silently like a butterfly.


    Miao Yi stared intently as the fog-like demonic aura enveloped the tiny mantid¡¯s body. After a brief observation, he didn¡¯t find anything wrong with it. While he was relieved, he was also quite astonished to see that the little fellow was not the least bit afraid of the vile demonic aura.


    Then he thought back to what Lao Bai had told him, "The Hell Mantis is a demonic beast of the underworld to begin with!"


    In other words, the tiny mantids were also a breed of demon. Since Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun were not afraid of the demonic aura, naturally, it should be fine as well.


    Miao Yi looked up at the asionally neighing dragon steed hanging above him. With a thought, he invoked his arts and dissolved its armor. The armor immediately reverted into ck mist and was sucked back into his storage ring. Miao Yi then proceeded to carefully examine the dragon steed.


    Logically speaking, this dragon steed should be even worse off than Qi Xiuhong since it didn¡¯t have any cultivation to speak of. However, from the looks of it, it waspletely fine. As expected, there was no need to fear this demonic aura at all if you are a demon.


    Once his doubts were cleared, Miao Yi scanned his surroundings again. The ends of all the intertwining iron chains were embedded into the walls of the gourd. Based on the experience from his capture, Miao Yi was positive that each of these iron chains was equivalent to a single Second Grade Transcendent Artifact. He couldn¡¯t imagine how many Second Grade Yao Cores must have gone into refining so many of them.


    To refine such a transcendent artifact, even the amount of Crystalline Obsidian that needed to be spent would be an astronomical figure, much less the number of Second Grade Yao Cores. It was not something Miao Yi could afford with his fortune. It would still be a tall order even if Yao Ruoxian were to sell off everything he owned. Although such a transcendent artifact was still within the limits of a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact, it was even more costly than the average Third Grade Transcendent Artifact. Even normal individuals at the Hall Master-rank would have a hard time putting something like this together. Only those high-ranking officials or major sects, after pooling all the resources of their sect together, would be able to bring about such a contraption.


    The tiny mantid climbed up to the iron chain around Miao Yi¡¯s wrist, then spread its jaws and began gnawing. Its mandibles shone with a dark gleam and a piercing screech rang out as it chewed on the iron chain.


    Down below, Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun lifted their heads to look, but they couldn¡¯t figure out what Miao Yi was doing. Due to the angle, Sikong Wuwei also couldn¡¯t see clearly what was happening. They only knew that the screeching noise wasing from Miao Yi.


    Only Qi Xiuhong who was above Miao Yi, and Zhao Fei directly behind him, could really make out what he was doing. Unfortunately, Qi Xiuhong¡¯s eyes were tightly shut. On the other hand, Zhao Fei was wide-eyed in astonishment as he watched the chewing motion of the tiny mantid on Miao Yi¡¯s wrist.


    Slowly, a trace of excitement could be seen in Zhao Fei¡¯s eyes as he noticed the tiny mantid had actually chewed out a small hole on the iron chain.


    ¡¯Heavens! What manner of creature is this tiny mantid? Not only is it not afraid of this demonic aura, it is even capable of chewing through a transcendent artifact refined from Crystalline Obsidian. And Miao Yi has more than just one of them. If he were to let them all out...¡¯


    There was no need for him to remind Miao Yi. He had already released all thirty-five tiny mantids and the little fellows were soon on his wrists, gnawing at the iron chains. The incessant screeching noise they made was enough to send chills down one¡¯s spine.


    Everyone was taken aback when they finally understood what Miao Yi was trying to do.


    Zhao Fei immediately understood everything. Just then, Miao Yi wasn¡¯t confident in his n, which was why he had only released one to test things out.


    Zhao Fei quickly scanned about, then told Miao Yi, "Each of these iron chains is equal to a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact. Just like with an octopus¡¯ tentacles, there¡¯s a chance you won¡¯t be able to destroy the base structure of the artifact just by chopping off one of them. At the rate your tiny mantids are going, how long will it take for them to free youpletely? The gourd¡¯s walls! Focus your tiny mantids on a single point on the wall. As long as they can chew through, this transcendent artifact will surely be destroyed. Hurry! Qi Xiuhong won¡¯t hold for long!"


    Zhao Fei¡¯s reminder came in the nick of time. Miao Yi nodded in agreement, then quicklymanded the thirty-five tiny mantids to fly towards the wall and focus their chewing on a single point.


    At this point, no one wouldin about the noise they were making. Instead, it was like music to their ears. Everyone was excited to glimpse a chance for survival.


    "Hehe. It seems like there¡¯s hope for our escape yet!" Sikong Wuweiughed maniacally.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t find it in himself to smile. He pursed his lips as he looked up, and saw Qi Xiuhong¡¯s pale face already starting to turn blue.


    "Xiuhong. Hold on just a little bit longer. We¡¯ll be able to get out soon." Miao Yi said, as he ground his teeth and tried to cheer Qi Xiuhong on.


    When they heard him, everyone else turned to look at her; then shifted their gazes to the tiny mantids. Although the tiny mantids were capable of chewing through the walls of this transcendent artifact, the speed at which they were going was unbearably slow. After all, it wasn¡¯t as though the artifact was made of tofu. Realistically speaking, there was no way Qi Xiuhong could make it until the escape. Everyone immediately fell silent.


    Miao Yi shot the tiny mantids a re, a trace of rage in his eyes. The little fellows immediately quickened the pace.


    Outside, Bai Ziliang and his group were still in pursuit of Gu Sanzheng and the others. However, it was difficult to catch up to them without the help of the Tempest Beast.


    On the other hand, Gu Sanzheng and the others found it odd that all those water tribes that had been tailing them closely all this while seemed to have suddenly disappeared.


    Inside the gourd, time passed slowly. No one said a word as Qi Xiuhong¡¯splexion gradually worsened; her neck and palms had already turned blue.


    Miao Yi shut his eyes tightly and hung his head low. He could only clench fists tightly as both his wrists and his body were heavily bound. Outsiders could not possibly fathom the pain he was feeling within himself.


    However, the others could roughly sense the struggle he was going through. No one made a peep to disturb him. Only the screeching from the tiny mantids could be heard within the gourd.


    Truth be told, because of their own predicament, everyone was more concerned for Miao Yi than Qi Xiuhong. They worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out, and would end up following after Qi Xiuhong. After all, his White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivation was not much higher than her White Lotus Fifth Grade cultivation.


    Judging from the pace at which the tiny mantids were going, it was hard for them not to worry. Miao Yi was the only one capable of controlling those little fellows. If he died, then it would truly spell the end for everyone.


    Deep down, everyone was earnestly praying for the Great Lord Miao to hold on!


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know how much time had already passed. All he could feel was how unbearably slow it was.


    Above him, Qi Xiuhong weakly called out all of a sudden, "Miao Yi..."


    Everyone turned to look at her. Miao Yi also abruptly lifted his head.


    Her face ghastly pale, Qi Xiuhong finally opened her eyes. Although her gaze was weak, she still managed to put on a smile for Miao Yi. In that instant, Miao Yi felt like his heart was on the verge of crumbling. He struggled against the iron chains, but it was all in vain. His efforts did little besides make them rattle slightly.


    Helpless, Miao Yi took a deep breath and put on a smile. "Xiuhong. It won¡¯t be long. Just hold on a little longer. We¡¯ll be able to escape soon!"


    Qi Xiuhong weakly replied, "I can¡¯t hold on anymore!"


    Miao Yi struggled against the chains again. Then he calmed his breathing and continued to cheer Qi Xiuhong on, "You can! Just hold on. Don¡¯t give up! You have to trust me. You have to believe that I will definitely bring you out of this Sea of Constetions alive! I can do it! Trust me!"


    Qi Xiuhong weakly replied, "When I came here, I already knew. With my cultivation, it was impossible for me to make it back alive. I am already very satisfied to have lived this long."


    Miao Yi yelled, "Don¡¯t give up! Look at me. Just look at me! My cultivation isn¡¯t much higher than yours, but even so, I still have faith that I will make it back alive. You can¡¯t give up too! Try not to speak. Focus your efforts on guarding against the demonic aura!"


    Qi Xiuhong replied, "I¡¯m different. You are a capable person. You have a strong will and you never fear danger. I¡¯m much too different from you. I was simply lucky... lucky enough to meet you. It¡¯s why I have been able to live to this day."


    Miao Yi yelled, "It¡¯s not like that. Right now, it¡¯s just a matter of who can hold on with their cultivation. Your cultivation is almost the same as mine. Since I can hold on, you surely can too!"


    Sikong Wuwei suddenly chimed in, "Girl. It wasn¡¯t easy for us to be able to walk this path together as long as we did. You can¡¯t just give up in this crucial moment! You have to hold on! Brother Miao has already found a way to escape. It won¡¯t be long now. Take a look. Brother Miao is going to destroy this transcendent artifact soon. Just hold on a little while longer!"


    Zhao Fei also spoke up, "Qi Xiuhong. You have to hold on. Don¡¯t let Brother Miao down! Rest assured. If we can survive this ordeal, none of us will ever give up on you. We will make sure you make it out of the Sea of Constetions alive. Once we return, we will help you take revenge. Whoever sent you to suffer in this Sea of Constetions, they will be hearing from us! I, Zhao Fei, give you my word as a man! You have to hold on!"


    "That¡¯s right! That¡¯s right!" Sikong Wuwei repeatedly nodded, "You still have unfinished business. Don¡¯t say you¡¯ll give up so easily. You can¡¯t allow those who wronged you to go unpunished! Count me in if you want to take revenge. No matter how high of an authority that guy holds, let us all go skin him alive!"


    "Lady Qi. You have to hold on!" Although they were simply pretending to care, Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun also joined in and cheered her on.


    There was no choice. Since everyone else was already encouraging her, it would look bad on them if they kept quiet. If theirck of sympathy were to somehow anger Miao Yi, he wouldn¡¯t even need to use the Mystic Yin Mirror, he could simply have those tiny mantidse over and tear them apart. Their hides were not so hard that they couldpare against the robustness of transcendent artifacts. Since those tiny mantids could even chew through a Crystalline Obsidian transcendent artifact, it would be a cakewalk for them to devour the two of them to death.


    Qi Xiuhong simply smiled weakly, as though she didn¡¯t even have the strength to thank everyone anymore. She looked at Miao Yi and asked, "Miao Yi. Have you ever thought less of me?"


    "Never!" Miao Yi repeatedly shook his head, "Why would I think less of you?!"


    Qi Xiuhong replied, "I was afraid you would think less of me. I was afraid you thought that I was only sleeping with you to survive in the Sea of Constetions. That was never my intention. I am truly in love with you. You have treated me very kindly, and your kindness touched me deeply. That was why I willingly chose to sleep with you. I wish to be together with you forever. However, the first time was simply too abrupt. I was really afraid you would think less of me!"


    In that instant, Miao Yi understood everything. He finally realized why she would always intentionally keep her distance from him after sex. It was because she was afraid he would think less of her and treat her as some kind of easy woman.


    Miao Yi felt like his heart was being pierced by knives. He shook his head vigorously in response.


    "Miao Yi. Have you ever truly loved me?" Qi Xiuhong¡¯s voice suddenly grew slightly stronger. Within her gentle gaze, there was a visible trace of expectation towards his answer.


    However, Miao Yi was instantly struck dumb when he heard the question. ¡¯Had he ever truly loved her?¡¯


    He couldn¡¯t lie to himself¡ªhe did not!


    The kind of carnal lust he had was different from the feeling Qi Xiuhong had in mind. This, he understood. He never felt that way about her. All he felt was a sense of obligation for her. He was not some irresponsible man.


    There was no need to exin further. Miao Yi¡¯s reaction had said it all.


    At that moment, Qi Xiuhong seemed to understand everything. A trace of anguish could be seen in her eyes as they gradually moistened. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and as her tears gently rolled down her cheeks, her head suddenly fell. Her breathingpletely stopped.


    Two teardrops fell upon Miao Yi¡¯s face, snapping him back from his thoughts. He twisted to look at Qi Xiuhong, his eyes filled with horror...

 Chapter 385: A Strong Helper

    Chapter 385: A Strong Helper


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    The two teardrops were quickly evaporated into nothingness by the demonic energy.


    " XIUHONG! " Miao Yi howled, his voice trembling.


    However, there was no response.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei quickly spread their transcendence energy over to scan Qi Xiuhong¡¯s body hanging limply above them.


    Soon, the two of them quietly retracted their transcendence energy. Sikong Wuwei let out a deep sigh and said, "Brother. My condolences."


    His attempt to console Miao Yi ultimately revealed the unfortunate result of their examination.


    The iron chains binding Miao Yi abruptly rattled as he struggled to break free; his fists clenched and loosened repeatedly. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared upwards, and he struggled with all his might, but s, it was to no avail.


    He wanted to save her. He believed that since his cultivation art could eradicate the demonic energy, he could do the same for her as well; just like he did with the cold Yin energy before.


    He knew that there was still a chance to save her. If he could eradicate the demonic energy in Qi Xiuhong¡¯s body in time and use the Glorious Star Immortal Herb to help her regain some vitality, then there was definitely a chance she could be saved. After all, her breathing had only stopped moments ago.


    However, Miao Yi had no way of getting close to her. No matter how hard he tried to reach out, he couldn¡¯t touch her at all. Although they were so close to each other, he felt like they were miles apart.


    He watched as Qi Xiuhong slowly died right before his eyes. Even though she was so close, he couldn¡¯t do a single thing. His entire body felt numb from that sense of helplessness. It was starting to be difficult to breathe, as though even his soul was suffocating.


    His eyes bulged as he stared up at Qi Xiuhong¡¯s pale face, growing redder by the moment.


    He had never felt this way before. His breathing was ragged and strained. He had never wanted to be stronger as badly as he did now.


    A deep resentment birthed within him as he continued to struggle against the iron chains binding him.


    He hated himself. He hated how he had been dazed in that final moment! In his many years of cultivation, he had killed countless people and told so many lies. Why couldn¡¯t he just tell her that he truly loved her? Why did he have to let her die in tears? In grief?


    He would never forget it. The sensation when those two teardrops fell upon his face¡ªso vivid, it was instantly etched into his soul. He couldn¡¯t imagine how sad Qi Xiuhong must have felt at that moment. And it was all because of him.


    Then it shed into his mind. Back on the ship, the moment he knocked on that one door and behind it, a beautiful girl in a yellow dress was cautiously peering at him. It was the scene from where they first met.


    He never knew what love was because he had never experienced it before. It was an unknown emotion to him, but now he understood. s, the price for it was simply too great, and too painful!


    "GRAHHH!!"


    Having experienced such loss, Miao Yi could only lower his head and cry out, shaking his head weakly as he did so. He screamed from the depths of his soul; it sounded as though it came from the deepest pits of hell, as though a devil that had been sealed for eternity was trying to break free from the underworld, to crush the gourd that was its shackles, and scorch the world ck!


    The bead under Miao Yi¡¯s neck shone with a dull light, and Lao Bai¡¯s silhouette suddenly appeared out of thin air. He was the epitome of elegance. Like a snow pear blossom kissed with gentle specks of blue, he was garbed in a light blue cloak, and slowly made his descent upon one of the iron chains.


    His white robes and light blue cloak, and the two strands of white hair beside his cheeks all floated gently amidst the whirling mass of demonic energy.


    Lao Bai gazed down at Miao Yi screaming at the top of his lungs, then slowly closed his eyes and sighed, "If you are truly able to reach those heights one day, I hope you will note to resent me! This is the path you chose. You have to shoulder every single consequence yourself. The road of cultivation is a long one. Not everything will always work in your favor!"


    He then let out a long sigh, tinged with mixed emotions, before vanishing into thin air.


    That horrifying howl continued on. The sound of it was capable of sending chills down one¡¯s spine. Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei exchanged a nce. They never thought that a person could make such a terrifying sound.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t help but worry that Miao Yi would go mad. However in the end, they were simply overthinking things!


    ¡¯CRACK!¡¯ Miao Yi suddenly clenched his fists tightly, popping the joints on his fingers with the pressure.


    Then, he slowly rxed his hands and fingers. His expression gradually regained its calm as well. It was almost frightening how tranquil he seemed. His gaze was still, and his expression quiet, as though nothing had happened at all.


    After quietly observing him for a while, Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t help asking, "Brother Miao, are you alright? Death is amon urrence in the path of cultivation. Brother. You must ovee your sorrow! Once we get out of here, we will help avenge Qi Xiuhong."


    "I¡¯m alright!" Miao Yi calmly replied. "Ever since I started walking this path, bloodshed has been a normal urrence. I cannot me anyone else for this. I have only my own weakness to me. So ipetent that I couldn¡¯t even protect my own woman!"


    "..." Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei looked at each other, unsure of what to say.


    The two of them were worried that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be able to control his emotions to the point that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out until they made their escape. But now it seemed like they had simply been overthinking it. That said, he regained hisposure much too soon. Both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had witnessed how agitated he was earlier on. Was he truly alright now?


    On the ocean, a group of people was approaching Gu Sanzheng and the others from the front. The leader was riding atop a snow-white beast that resembled both a Qilin and a lion at the same time, which galloped across the blue waves with astounding speed.


    Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group was caught by surprise. With opponentsing from the front and back, they were at a loss on what to do.


    "It¡¯s the Jade Lion! The spiritual beast being bred by the Realm Beyond Heaven!" Tan Lao said. "It should be the representative from the Realm Beyond Heaven then. Normal participants wouldn¡¯t be qualified to have such a high-tier spiritual beast. We can try using the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons as a reason to ask for help. These two parties have always been at odds with one another. Maybe we can use this as a chance to escape pursuit."


    Gu Sanzheng quickly invoked his arts and shouted, "Is the one before us the expert from the Realm Beyond Heaven? We are loyal subjects of the Celestial Sage, belonging to the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch. We are currently under pursuit from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons. I would like to humbly ask for your assistance!"


    A clear voice then rang out from the front and replied, "Who is the insolent fool who dares persecute the cultivators of my Celestial Nation?"


    Gu Sanzheng and the others were overjoyed by the response. They knew that their gamble had been worthwhile. Turning back to look, they saw that their pursuers were already slowing down. Clearly, they were quite afraid of these people as well.


    The person riding atop the Jade Lion sped up and separated from the rest of the group, meeting up with Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group earlier than the others. Raising its legs, the Jade Lion came to an abrupt stop on the ocean. As it rested its legs on the turquoise waves, the water underneath immediately formed thickyers of ice, allowing it to stand firmly.


    Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group quickly came to a halt. When they saw who it was, they couldn¡¯t help being taken aback. It was because the man riding atop the Jade Lion was simply too beautiful. No one would have been able to resist stopping to stare.


    That person was obviously none other than Yue Yao.


    Perhaps her disguise would work on mortals. However, in the careful eyes of cultivators, it was easy to tell she was cross-dressing with a nce.


    Even Ye Xin couldn¡¯t help losing focus. Yue Yao in men¡¯s clothing exuded a different sense of charm. One that was capable of beguiling even women.


    Soon, Yue Yao¡¯s group caught up to her. When one of her handmaidens saw how Gu Sanzheng and the other two were staring, she immediately yelled, "What impudence! Why are you still not paying your respects upon seeing Lord Sixth?"


    The trio immediately snapped back to their senses. They quickly bowed with their fists cupped and said, "Wee from the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch. Gu Sanzheng of the Sword Deviate Sect. Ye Xin of the Jade Lady Sect. Tan Lao of the School of Imperial Beasts. We respectfully greet Lord Sixth of the Realm Beyond Heaven!"


    Even though they didn¡¯t know why this cross-dresser was called ¡¯Lord Sixth¡¯, but since the other party had addressed her as such, they may as well follow suit.


    From her appearance, the three of them wondered if she was one of the legendary ¡¯Twin Fairies Beyond Heaven¡¯¡ªFairy Yue Yao, who also seemed to be Celestial Sage Fu Manjun¡¯s sixth disciple. They were thinking, ¡¯This title of Lord Sixth couldn¡¯t possibly havee from that, right?¡¯


    "Gu Sanzheng?" When Yue Yao heard their introduction, her gaze immediately fell upon Gu Sanzheng. In a man¡¯s voice, she asked, " You¡¯re Gu Sanzheng?"


    Gu Sanzheng was taken aback. ¡¯How did she know my name?¡¯


    Ye Xin and Tan Lao also looked at Gu Sanzheng in confusion.


    Gu Sanzheng courteously replied, "Indeed I am, Lord Sixth!"


    Yue Yao then asked, "Are you ¡¯Niu Youde¡¯?"


    ¡¯Why am I hearing this name again?¡¯ Gu Sanzheng cupped his fists again and replied, "Lord Sixth. I am Gu Sanzheng, not Niu Youde."


    "Lord Sixth!" Beside Yue Yao, one of her handmaidens pursed her lips towards Bai Ziliang¡¯s group, who was slowly approaching them, and reminded her of their presence.


    Yue Yao instantly understood. Gu Sanzheng definitely wouldn¡¯t admit that he was Niu Youde at a time like this, so she didn¡¯t question him any further. She gestured for the three of them to stand behind her, then shifted her gaze to the group opposite her.


    Bai Ziliang had already released his Tempest Beast once again and was riding it towards them. Coming to a stop nearby, he cupped his fists and smiled, "Yue Yao. Long time no see!"


    As soon as she saw Yue Yao, Lan Susu cast a sideways nce at Bai Ziliang. Upon seeing the joyful look on his face, she pursed her lips and shifted her gaze back to Yue Yao, albeit with a little more hostility now.


    Clearly, it was not the first time that Yue Yao and Bai Ziliang had met each other.


    Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group exchanged nces when they heard how Bai Ziliang had addressed this Lord Sixth. As expected, she was Fairy Yue Yao. No wonder she possessed such nation-toppling beauty.


    "And here I was wondering who the cheeky bastard could be. Bai Ziliang, why are you persecuting the cultivators of my Celestial Nation?" Yue Yao bluntly rebuked.


    Bai Ziliang appeared to be at a loss as he replied, "Then what else would you have me do? This is the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade you know." He pointed towards Gu Sanzheng and continued, "That man is Niu Youde, the perpetrator of the Brass Gong Fort murder incident here in the Sea of Constetions all those years ago. Who else would I hunt down, if not him?"


    Yue Yao indifferently asked , "What evidence do you have that he is Niu Youde?"


    Bai Ziliang smiled, "Simple. Once I take him to the Western Constetions Pce and hand him over to Lord Fu Qing, all will be revealed."


    Gu Sanzheng furrowed his brows. The more he listened to the conversation, the less he followed. What did he mean by the Brass Gong Fort murder incident all those years ago? Didn¡¯t it just happen recently? Why did it even involve the Western Constetions Pce?


    Yue Yao scoffed, "Stop trying to use Fu Qing to scare me. I won¡¯t let you take anyone from my Celestial Nation without any proof. I suggest you be on your way. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being discourteous!"


    Suddenly, Lan Susu asked, "Hei Langjun. Is he Niu Youde?"


    Hei Langjun immediately stepped out and pointed at Gu Sanzheng, saying, "Your subordinate can vouch for it. He admitted it to me himself. At the time, I was not the only one who heard him!"


    ¡¯So this guy is Hei Langjun. The one that spread the news!¡¯ Yue Yao eyed him coldly, then called out, "Lan Ruo!"


    Her handmaiden Lan Ruo immediately pointed at Hei Langjun and said, "I can verify that it is this Hei Langjun who is the one called Niu Youde."


    Yue Yao then said, "Bai Ziliang. I think my handmaiden¡¯s testimony should be more trustworthy than this no-nameckey¡¯s, don¡¯t you?"


    "Young Master!" Anxious, Hei Langjun looked to Bai Ziliang for help.


    Before Bai Ziliang could reply, Yue Yao shot over a ck streak of light with a flick of her fingers. Hei Langjun screamed in agony as he was instantly sliced in two.

 Chapter 386: Demon Refining Gourd Destroyed

    Chapter 386: Demon Refining Gourd Destroyed


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    No one expected Yue Yao tounch a sudden attack. At such a short distance, and with her speed, no one was able to react to it in time. Hei Langjun reverted back to his true form, and the two halves of a snake soon floated upon the ocean surface, dyeing the waves red with its blood.


    When that ck streak of light had shot out, it was just a tiny little speck. But the moment it cut down Hei Langjun, it abruptly expanded and caught himpletely off guard. As expected, the attack connected without fail, and the ck light instantly returned to its owner. It hovered behind Yue Yao, slowly rotating.


    Bai Ziliang¡¯s group immediately locked their gazes on this transcendent artifact and discovered that it resembled a sharp crescent moon. Measuring roughly ten feet long, it possessed an almost ethereal transparency upon its ck frame, just like a ck-colored piece of jade or amber.


    The sharp ck-colored crescent artifact hovered behind Yue Yao who was garbed in a snow-white attire, while down below, the Jade Lion stood gantly upon the thick ice. The sight of her was an absolute attack on the senses, and her nation-toppling beauty further gave it an enchanting allure.


    Many of them inadvertently sucked in a breath of cold air. What did it mean for a Crystalline Obsidian transcendent artifact to possess a sense of transparency? It meant that said transcendent artifact had been refined with high-density Crystalline Obsidian, free of any impurities! Both its sturdiness as well as its conductivity for transcendence energy would not be any weaker than the transcendent artifacts refined from Crystalline Gold.


    Furthermore, it was about ten feet long! How much pure Crystalline Obsidian would one need in order to create such arge structure?


    It was not as though high-density Crystalline Obsidian was difficult to find. Rather, it was hard to refine normal Crystalline Obsidian to such a high purity, and especially into such great quantities. This was not something that could be done with wealth alone. It also required an iprehensible amount of time andbor.


    Even Gu Sanzheng was shocked by the sight. His Thunderp Flying Swords were refined from high-density Crystalline Silver, so naturally, he knew how much time and effort the Sword Deviate Sect had expended just to gather the materials. They had only managed to umte this paltry amount of high-density Crystalline Silver after saving up for thousands of years.


    Even if he were to add up all one hundred and one Thunderp Flying Swords on his back together, they couldn¡¯tpare to the ten-foot-long crescent artifact before him now. It was likeparing a dwarf to a giant. Howrge was the gap in the number of materials used? What¡¯s more, thetter was refined with the much rarer, high-density Crystalline Obsidian!


    Bai Ziliang¡¯s gaze fell upon Yue Yao¡¯s slender fingers, and his eyes widened in shock when he saw a set of small, ck-colored fake nails on the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger of both her hands. They were shaped like the waning moon and were slightly transparent. Only the middle finger of her left hand was missing a piece. Why?


    Bai Ziliang then turned to the sharp crescent moon behind Yue Yao. He was thunderstruck. Yue Yao didn¡¯t just possess one of these crescent artifacts, she had six of them!


    How much high-density Crystalline Obsidian would one need to refine six of these massive transcendent artifacts? Even the Six Sages would have difficulty in gathering the materials. However, Mu Fanjun had actually bestowed six of these mighty artifacts upon Yue Yao in a single stroke!


    Bai Ziliangughed bitterly in his heart, finally realizing what it meant to have a difference in status. His position in the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons couldn¡¯tpare to the one Yue Yao held in the Realm Beyond Heaven at all. His mother even had to beg others just to help him obtain one powerful Second Grade Transcendent Artifact. In contrast, Mu Fanjun had actually used such precious materials to produce several Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts for his own disciple.


    Obviously, the reason Mu Fanjun had used such precious materials to refine the Second Grade Transcendent Artifact was because Yue Yao was participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. He had to adhere to the restrictions set upon the participants. Otherwise, Mu Fanjun could have gifted Yue Yao with the mightier Third Grade Transcendent Artifact. Even a Fourth Grade Transcendent Artifact was not an impossibility. Of course, it could also be due to Yue Yao¡¯s cultivation, which only allowed her to wield transcendent artifacts at that level.


    Bai Ziliang thought, ¡¯If my guess is correct, the six crescent artifacts probably belong to a single set, and will be able to exhibit a much greater might when used together. Never mind whether or not my Demon Refining Gourd can suck it in, but even if it can, I mustn¡¯t take it in. There is a high chance that such a powerful transcendent artifact can break my Demon Refining Gourd from within!¡¯


    He was having mixed feelings. s, he never considered how all the other five sages had each sent members from their ¡¯grandchildren¡¯ generation to participate, whereas Fu Manjun was the only one to send a direct disciple. If he didn¡¯t gift Yue Yao with a transcendent artifact to hold her ground, then even if she were to obtain second ce in this Subjugation Crusade, it would still be a dishonor to the name of Mu Fanjun.


    Looking at Hei Langjun¡¯s corpse, Lan Susu ground her teeth in frustration. In the end, she raised her head and yelled, "Yue Yao, you¡¯re disregarding the authority of my Realm of Ten Thousand Demons!"


    "Is there a need for me to hold it in any regard at all? Who do you think you are? Do you think you¡¯re fit to bark at me so?" Yue Yao scoffed. As someone from the Realm Beyond Heaven, there was no way she would let someone from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons take away the cultivators of her Celestial Nation right from her face. Since she¡¯d already killed the witness anyway, she turned the Jade Lion around and said, "We¡¯re leaving!"


    Gritting her teeth, Lan Susu immediately turned to Bai Ziliang, "Young Master!"


    Bai Ziliang¡¯s expression turned grim as well. "Yue Yao, don¡¯t go too far. Leave Gu Sanzheng behind!"


    The Jade Lion stopped and turned around. Atop the beast, Yue Yao replied indifferently, "And what if I don¡¯t? If you all wish to fight me so badly, don¡¯t me me if something happens to you!"


    As representatives of the Six Sages in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, they both understood deep down that sparring was still eptable, but if either party were to cause heavy casualties or even death, the issue would be drastically exacerbated. By then, it would be a matter beyond the Subjugation Crusade and could destroy the long-established bnce between the Six Sages. However, it was a different case if the other party were the ones to force their hand. After all, one couldn¡¯t simply avoid lifting a finger against their aggressors, right?


    The other party was clearly quite fearful of Yue Yao¡¯s crescent artifact. Bai Ziliang said gravely, "Let¡¯s see how you n to answer to Lord Fu Qing!"


    "That¡¯s none of your concern! Let¡¯s go!" Once again, Yue Yao turned her Jade Lion around and led her group away.


    Following behind her, the Gu Sanzheng trio would asionally turn back to look, feeling ted whenever they saw the dark expressions on Bai Ziliang and the others. After being chased around by Yao cultivators for so long, they had quite a bit of pent-up frustration building inside them. Then when the representative from the Realm Beyond Heaven appeared, shepletely disregarded the facts and covered for them. Indeed, the Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun was deserving of the reverence that the Celestial Nation sects had for him.


    At this moment, Bai Ziliang¡¯s expression had suddenly changed. Utterly horrified, he looked at the Demon Refining Gourd by his waist and quickly reached for it.


    However, he was toote. The Demon Refining Gourd trembled heavily before violently erupting.


    Bang!


    The loud noise echoed across the ocean, startling Yue Yao¡¯s group into turning their heads back. All they could see was arge ck mist bursting forth; it rolled out from the powerful energy of the st and instantly enveloped Bai Ziliang¡¯s group within.


    "Witness my hammer!" A hoarse voice furiously bellowed from within the ck mist, followed by the sound of a thunderous boom.


    Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin were utterly shocked. It was obvious that they weren¡¯t strangers to this hoarse voice. Soon, they saw a myriad of greatsword projections flying in and out of the ck mist.


    Yue Yao and the others were taken aback as well. By the looks of it, some transcendent artifact must have been destroyed. They weren¡¯t sure of the situation and simply felt curious that someone would actually make a move against people from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons.


    ¡¯Could Miao Yi and the others have escaped from that gourd artifact?!¡¯ The Gu Sanzheng trio looked at one another.


    "How dare you destroy my Demon Refining Gourd!" Bai Ziliang¡¯s enraged voice could be heard.


    Mighty waves stirred on the ocean surface as five shadows quickly shot out from the ck mist. Who else could it be beside Miao Yi and the others? They all had disheveled appearances, resembling madmen, and were frantically making their escape!


    Miao Yi held onto Qi Xiuhong¡¯s corpse while Zhao Fei grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along as he ran. At the same time, he was also controlling the Spirit Illusion Greatsword to defend against the enemy¡¯s attacks.


    With a loud boom, Sikong Wuwei furiously hurled his mighty hammer into the ck mist.


    "Die!" Furious, Bai Ziliang charged out of the ck mist on the Tempest Beast and hurled a giant ck seal, which shot out with the sound of crashing thunder equal to that of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. At the same time, he brandished a ck spear that glistened with an amber hue. It was his Flood Dragon Spear, and he viciously swept it against the Spirit Illusion Greatsword projections that shot at him.


    "Roar!" Below Bai Ziliang, the Tempest Beast howled in rage and spat out a red mist that viciously swept towards Miao Yi and the others.


    The red mist possessed an astonishingly high temperature, instantly evaporating the seawater wherever it passed.


    For the sake of survival, Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun no longer cared whether or not Bai Ziliang was someone from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons. What could be more important than their own lives? In the first ce, that was the only reason why they were scared of the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons.


    The two of them had never thought the day woulde where they would have to fight against people from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons. Invoking their arts simultaneously, the two of them stirred up mighty waves on the ocean to stop the red mist from approaching.


    However, the temperature of the red mist was absurdly high. It instantly vaporized a hole through the waves and continued to sweep towards them.


    A loud boom erupted as the giant, ck seal collided with the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. The two artifacts were equally matched, and the light surrounding them dimmed quite a bit as they shot back to their respective owners.


    Holding onto Qi Xiuhong¡¯s corpse, Miao Yi saw that the situation was dire, so he quickly freed one hand and brandished the Mystic Yin Mirror. Whoosh! The cold Yin aura viciously gushed forth.


    A crackling sound could be heard as the gray mist of extreme coldness collided with the red mist of extreme heat. For some unknown reason, visible sparks that resembled lightning actually began to fly.


    As Miao Yi¡¯s group frantically fought for their lives, the battle was instantly at its climax. Even Yue Yao¡¯s group was astonished to see someone actually fighting to such an extent against the people from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons. However, Bai Ziliang¡¯s side clearly had the upper hand, as he alone was already able to keep the other group on their toes.


    Having identally caught a glimpse of Gu Sanzheng and the others, Zhao Fei furiously bellowed, "Gu Sanzheng, since we have already formed an alliance, why are you still sitting around?! That gourd artifact has already been destroyed. We have nothing to fear!"


    Right when he said this, the remaining member of Bai Ziliang¡¯s group had rushed out of the ck mist and attacked with their transcendent artifacts.


    Shing shing shing...


    A sharp ringing echoed forth as the Thunderp Flying Swords left their sheath, and all one hundred-and-one flying swords shot out like lightning to help Miao Yi and the others. They instantly joined the fierce battle of the five mighty artifacts and relieved the pressure that was on Miao Yi¡¯s group.


    To be honest, the moment he saw them, Gu Sanzheng was already considering if he should help Miao Yi, as Fairy Yue Yao was right by his side at the moment. Since she was willing to save them on ount of their identities as cultivators of the Celestial Nation, she obviously wouldn¡¯t turn a blind eye to the others as well. If Yue Yao were toter find out that Miao Yi and the others were also cultivators of the Celestial Nation, and that despite being saved by her, Gu Sanzheng and the others had chosen not to save them, she might not look too kindly on them.


    It was at that moment that Zhao Fei pointed out their status as allies and that the gourd artifact he had been afraid of was already destroyed. If Gu Sanzheng still chose to ignore them after all this, then he would really have no idea how to exin himselfter on. He might even end up inciting Fairy Yue Yao¡¯s wrath because of this.


    Not to mention, Fairy Yue Yao was behind him right now, so there was no need to fear Bai Ziliang¡¯s group. Those people wanted him dead anyway. No longer hesitating, Gu Sanzheng immediately extended Miao Yi and the others a helping hand!


    At the same time, Tan Lao¡¯s spiked shields also quickly shot out towards the battle.


    Ye Xin¡¯s barbed whip trembled and rapidly lengthened as it made its way under the water,unching its attacks from underneath the ocean surface.


    In an instant, transcendent artifacts were flying about the sky, and both sides were engaged in a heated battle.

 Chapter 387: Yue Yao to the Rescue

    Chapter 387: Yue Yao to the Rescue


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Boom boom boom!


    The giant ck seal continuously collided with the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. Sikong Wuwei wouldn¡¯t stop hurling his giant hammer out with all his might. He would rather it end up destroyed than dare to let up his attacks.


    Heavy winds started to billow and mighty waves began to stir from the shock of the powerful sh of transcendence energy and transcendent artifacts.


    The ck mist from the Demon Refining Gourd was not as light as actual mist and had already sunken down into the depths of the water.


    Just a single Demon Refining Gourd required an iprehensible amount of Crystalline Obsidian. Most cultivators wouldn¡¯t even be able to earn such a sum in their entire life. And now there was not even a speck of it left.


    With Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group joining the fray, the numbers on Miao Yi¡¯s side increased to eight, along with six transcendent artifacts. At the moment, Tao Ruchun and Pi Junzi were unable to contribute to the fight, and neither could Miao Yi. Given his cultivation, he would not be able to use the Mystic Yin Mirror for too long.


    However, even though Bai Ziliang only had six people on his side, they had over a dozen transcendent artifacts in their arsenal, with each person possessing at least two to three of them. Although they were only able to use one at a time, they were able to switch the transcendent artifacts ordingly. Under the heavy pressure from their assault, Miao Yi¡¯s group continued to fall back, struggling to keep their guard up.


    Nevertheless, as one who held the upper hand, Bai Ziliang was quite frustrated that they were still unable to triumph after such a long time. It was mainly because Zhao Fei¡¯s Spirit Illusion Greatsword had too great of an impact on their progress. The myriad greatsword projections darting across the sky assaulted them endlessly, and there was no way to discern which was the real attack. However, Bai Ziliang and the others did not dare be careless and continued to protect their vitals as best they could.


    The Spirit Illusion Greatsword managed tond its attacks on several of them. Had they not been wearing protective artifacts equally powerful in their own right, they could have ended up dead already. Even Bai Ziliang was no exception, suffering a vicious blow to his back and almost spat out blood, his internals quaking from the impact. He had experienced firsthand the might of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword.


    Little did he know that even Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group had suffered terribly under this Spirit Illusion Greatsword. Using the Thunderp Flying Sword, the three of them paved a path of blood through countless Yao cultivators, but as soon as they encountered the Spirit Illusion Greatsword, they were rendered helpless. If Miao Yi didn¡¯t have the Spirit Illusion Greatsword by his side, he would have been exterminated by Gu Sanzheng a long time ago.


    Despite having so many transcendent artifacts in their arsenal, Bai Ziliang¡¯s group was still having difficulty dominating the five used by the other party. He was incredibly frustrated. Sadly, the one thing that could hold the Spirit Illusion Greatsword back¡ªthe Demon Refining Gourd¡ªwas already destroyed. Bai Ziliang finally realized that the cultivators of this realm truly weren¡¯t to be underestimated. There truly were all kinds of transcendent artifacts in the world.


    Although Bai Ziliang was no stranger to illusion-type transcendent artifacts, he had never seen one with illusions that seemed so real, capable of mimicking sound, shape, and form to such an extent that they were indiscernible even with his transcendence vision. With just this one flying greatsword, Bai Ziliang¡¯s group and their mighty arsenal of transcendent artifacts were heavily suppressed to the point that they were unable tounch an attack without staying on guard.


    Not to mention, Gu Sanzheng¡¯s Thunderp Flying Swords were added into the mix as well, making things even more confusing. Bai Ziliang¡¯s forces could feel their vision blurring and their minds in terrible fatigue as they struggled to deal with the situation. Just these two transcendent artifacts were enough to keep them on their toes. Meanwhile, there was also an elusive whip striking at them from under the water.


    Bai Ziliang had no way of venting his frustration. He wanted to mount a swift and aggressive strike at the opposition, but this method was too risky and he could end up failing miserably. Bai Ziliang felt he had really embarrassed himself in front of Fairy Yue Yao today.


    Yue Yao was truly astonished as well. She never thought these people could fight against Bai Ziliang to such an extent.


    She could tell that Bai Ziliang and the others had the most trouble with the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. Otherwise, these people would not be their match at all.


    However, Miao Yi¡¯s group was also having it just as rough. If it weren¡¯t for the asional spout of hot red mist from the Tempest Beast, they wouldn¡¯t have to fear Bai Ziliang and the others, especially since they had already lost the Demon Refining Gourd.


    Although Tan Lao had a way to deal with the Tempest Beast, but given the intensity of the battle, he couldn¡¯t spare the attention to y his flute at all. His hands had to constantly move to control the flying shields. Fortunately, Tan Lao¡¯s flying shields were always able to form a single, mighty shield to guard against the red mist. Otherwise, Miao Yi and the others would have been defeated a long time ago.


    Tan Lao was aware that Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation was low and unable to sustain the Mystic Yin Mirror for too long, which was why he helped to guard against the red mist.


    The major battle going on now was simr to when Gu Sanzheng and the others first encountered the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. At first, Bai Ziliang¡¯s group was in disarray, but they slowly grew ustomed to the situation and started to hold their ground. They began tounch their attacks, immediately increasing the pressure Miao Yi and the others were already under.


    Yue Yao found the situation a little confusing. Earlier on, Miao Yi¡¯s transcendent artifact was clearly able to contend against the attacks of the Tempest Beast. Why was he hiding all the way at the back now and just sitting still? Why was he still holding onto a woman¡¯s corpse in such a dire situation?


    How could she possibly know that Miao Yi was forced to this Sea of Constetions despite only having a White Lotus cultivation? It was not that he didn¡¯t want to help, but his transcendence energy was severely not up to par.


    The rumbling transcendence energy invoked a terrible storm upon the ocean, causing Miao Yi¡¯s hair to flutter vigorously from the wind. Holding onto Qi Xiuhong, he heaved a sigh of relief.


    The blue-ck tone on Qi Xiuhong¡¯s face was already gone and her skin had turned fair once again, albeit a deathly pale shade.


    Miao Yi had already dispelled all the demonic energy within Qi Xiuhong¡¯s body. At first, it trembled heavily and was on the verge of beingpletely demonified, but Miao Yi managed to stop it in time.


    Qi Xiuhong was already dead. Miao Yi would not allow her to be transformed into a mindless fiend as well.


    "Just half a day more and we could have escaped! But you couldn¡¯t even hold on for that long!" Miao Yi stared at Qi Xiuhong expressionlessly and said, "Don¡¯t worry. As long as I¡¯m still alive, I will definitely bring you away from this ce. I won¡¯t leave you behind. As long as I¡¯m still alive, I will eventually make this ¡¯Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade¡¯ your funeral offering!"


    Transcendence energy was rumbling heavily and the sound of battle was very loud so no one had heard what Miao Yi said. They only saw him take out an empty storage ring and ce Qi Xiuhong¡¯s corpse inside before putting it on his finger.


    He abruptly raised his head and looked in front. Realizing that they were slowly losing their ground and the situation was dire, Miao Yi quickly readied a talisman.


    At that moment, Yue Yao finally made her move when she saw how bad things looked for Miao Yi¡¯s group. A crescent moon transformed into a streak of light and shot over. Boom! It hacked at the giant ck seal Bai Ziliang had tossed out and immediately left a deep imprint on it.


    Taking advantage of this opening, Sikong Wuwei hurled out his Mountain Suppressing Hammer, which crashed onto the giant ck seal. Bang! The light surrounding the giant ck seal instantly dimmed, the impact flinging the seal away.


    Bai Ziliang was both surprised and enraged. He quickly called back the shrunken ck seal, and snarled, "Yue Yao. What are you doing?!"


    The moment the words ¡¯Yue Yao¡¯ came out, Miao Yi felt as though he was struck by lightning. His hair billowed in the wind, covering his face as he abruptly turned to look at the young man who attacked with the crescent moon. It was a very beautiful man, or rather, a cross-dressing woman with a beauty capable of toppling nations. As for her mount, he could tell from a single nce that it was one of those extremely rare spiritual beasts.


    ¡¯The people from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons called her Yue Yao? Yue Yao was the one representing the Realm Beyond Heaven? She...is she Little Sister?¡¯ Miao Yi¡¯s heart started beating loudly as he continued to stare at Yue Yao. He could see some resemnce on her face from the one he remembered. ¡¯Little Sister...¡¯


    Yue Yao shouted, "Bai Ziliang. Stop this instant. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being discourteous! All of you, stop right now!"


    Under her order, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin were the first to stop. Then Bai Ziliang also raised his hand and had his subordinates stop attacking.


    Finally managing to catch their breath, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei stopped as well. Since there was someone that could force the people from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons to stop, they would be able to escape their predicament. The two of them obviously couldn¡¯t hope for anything more.


    "Yue Yao! What is the meaning of this? Are you absolutely intent on going against my Realm of Ten Thousand Demons?!" said Bai Ziliang, gritting his teeth in hatred.


    "Don¡¯t misunderstand!" Yue Yao slowly rode the Jade Lion over, "Bai Ziliang. Don¡¯t you see I¡¯m doing this for you? The honorable forces from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, and yet you could only fight to a draw against them. I¡¯m worried you will continue to lose face like this, which is why I stopped the battle, all so you wouldn¡¯t look too bad. How could you doubt my goodwill?"


    "A draw? What a nice way of putting it!" Bai Ziliangughed sarcastically. She clearly only made her move when she saw that he was about to win. If the tables were turned, this woman definitely wouldn¡¯t concern herself. She was clearly trying to cover for the cultivators of the Celestial Nation. Bai Ziliang retorted, "Then let us fight again and see if it will still end in a draw!"


    Yue Yao smiled faintly, "Bai Ziliang, as someone of your status, aren¡¯t you ashamed to hold them back over such a tiny detail? As acquaintances, I was trying to help you save some face, but you didn¡¯t give me any face and even doubted my goodwill. In that case, I¡¯ll give you two choices now. You can either beat it immediately, or you can choose to fight me instead. However, the chance to fight me won¡¯te cheap. If you lose, you will have to leave all your Geotranscendence Bangles behind. Make your choice!"


    "You..." Bai Ziliang pointed a finger at her in fury, but he was helpless against her.


    Yue Yao gently touched the ck crescent moon floating beside her and said inly, "Cut to the chase. My patience is limited. If you don¡¯t make a choice soon, I will make it for you!"


    This was already a tant threat. Bai Ziliang¡¯s face paled then reddened. However, the situation was not in his favor. He could already gauge how powerful the crescent moon was from Yue Yao¡¯s attack just now. If they really were to fight, he would probably end up experiencing even more shame.


    He took a deep breath and abruptly turned the Tempest Beast around, then barked out, "We¡¯re leaving!"


    The group held in their frustration and swiftly departed. Biting her lip, Lan Susu turned back and shot a resentful gaze. This time, their losses were severe; the Demon Refining Gourd had actually been destroyed!


    Seated atop the Jade Lion, Yue Yao watched as they departed. When she turned around, she inadvertently met with Miao Yi¡¯s gaze staring directly at her. She couldn¡¯t help being taken aback as she actually felt a sense of familiarity in his gaze. It was an affectionate and warm feeling. However, she didn¡¯t seem to recall ever meeting this person before.


    Zhao Fei and the others could already guess Yue Yao¡¯s identity. After their initial astonishment at her beauty, they quickly lowered their heads as they didn¡¯t dare to appear too disrespectful. Only Miao Yi kept staring straight at her.


    Greed, lust, ambition, astonishment, admiration, or even reverence. Yue Yao had long since gotten used to the various gazes of men when they looked at her. However, she could not see any of those from this person¡¯s eyes. She couldn¡¯t tell what it was exactly. They just seemed like they were very conflicted. Nothing more than that.


    Yue Yao was a little curious, but when she was about to ask, Lan Ruo, the handmaiden beside her, saw how intently Miao Yi was staring at Yue Yao, and a little infuriated by his impudence, snarled, "Insolent! Why are you still not greeting Lord Sixth?!"


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei didn¡¯t notice Miao Yi¡¯s reaction, so they thought she was talking about them.


    Zhao Fei bent down with cupped fists and greeted, "Celestial Nation Fifth Earthly Branch, White Cloud Manor Head Zhao Fei respectfully greets Lord Sixth!"


    Sikong Wuwei also lowered his body and cupped his fists. "Celestial Nation Fifth Earthly Branch, Faithful Loyalty Manor Head Sikong Wuwei respectfully greets Lord Sixth!"


    No one could understand how Miao Yi felt at this moment. He quietly bowed down, causing his long hair to fall over his face, then cupped his fists with difficulty and greeted, "This humble one respectfully greets Lord Sixth!"

 Chapter 388: Distracted

    Chapter 388: Distracted


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    He knew that the Realm Beyond Heaven had sent someone over to participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, but he never thought that the representative would actually be his own little sister.


    He never thought that right after escaping with Qi Xiuhong¡¯s body, he would end up meeting the little sister he had missed for so many years. Right now, he didn¡¯t know if he felt joy or surprise, feeling pain or happiness. His heart was a cocktail of emotions.


    ¡¯Little Sister is sessful now. She is no longer the same snot-nosed brat that lived in that dirty, worn-down house behind the butcher¡¯s stall. She is now the prestigious disciple of one of the Six Sages, and one of the Twin Fairies Beyond Heaven¡ªFairy Yue Yao.¡¯


    When he was staring at Yue Yao, Miao Yi almost couldn¡¯t help calling out ¡¯Little Sister¡¯. However, when he saw the astonishing presence of Fairy Yue Yao, then looked at his own wretched state, he swallowed the words back down.


    What right did he have to recognize her as his little sister? When she was with him, she had cried from hunger and from the cold. She never had anything good to eat, never had anything nice to wear, and stayed in a dirty, shabby house. Back then, he had sent her off when she was at such a young age. All these years, his little sister had shouldered everything on her own. Had he even fulfilled a little of his responsibility as her big brother? Now that his little sister had made something of herself, he was going to recognize her immediately? Then what about the times she suffered? No one could be free of sufferingpletely. Where was he when she experienced hardship? What had he done to help her?


    ¡¯Right now, Little Sister has be Fairy Yue Yao, who is equal in status to Fairy Hong Chen! Her prestige is illustrious and invible. I¡¯m sure the Realm Beyond Heaven will help protect her honor as well, and ensure that all her acquaintances are highly distinguished people in their own right. If everyone finds out that the renowned Fairy Yue Yao had an elder brother who was a butcher and had gone through such a rough childhood, would theyugh at her?¡¯


    ¡¯If Little Sister were to see how miserable her Big Brother was right now, that he couldn¡¯t even protect his own woman, how would she think of me?¡¯


    ¡¯Would she pity me? Ask to take care of me? Then would I be the target of ridicule in front of all her influential acquaintances?¡¯


    Miao Yi thought about how miserable he looked when he fought Bai Ziliang andpared it to Yue Yao, who managed to scare him off with just a couple of words. He could finally rest easy. Perhaps he might never reach the heights his little sister had reached even if he spent his whole life trying. However, she also no longer needed this big brother to take care of her anymore.


    In truth, when Miao Yi saw the radiance that was Fairy Yue Yao, the one thing that he was scared of finding out the most was whether this little sister was still willing to recognize such a worthless big brother or not...


    Zhao Fei and the others secretly nced at Miao Yi, confused as to why he didn¡¯t report his own identity when he greeted Yue Yao.


    Yue Yao was not very concerned about this matter, so she didn¡¯t ask any questions. She looked at the direction Bai Ziliang and the others had disappeared to and said, "They¡¯re already gone. This is the most I can do. I cannot simply gather all the Celestial Nation participants together and protect every single one of you. It will be a vition of the rules. All I can do is just act unreasonable and force my logic on him to scare him off. You can try to kill him, whereas I am not in the position to. In the road ahead, you all must take extra care not to bump into him again. Avoid him whenever possible. I hope I will be able to meet you all at the Western Constetions Pce in the end. This ce will not be safe for long. I am sure there will be more Yao cultivatorsing here to hunt you, Gu Sanzheng. This is all I have to say. All of you had best leave quickly!"


    "Thank you, Lord Sixth!" Miao Yi and the others cupped their fists in gratitude.


    Yue Yao nodded, then rode the Jade Lion away as she left with her subordinates.


    Miao Yi continued to stare at the back of the person atop the Jade Lion.


    "I thought you guys were already dead. I never expected you to actually be able to destroy that transcendent artifact and escape!" Gu Sanzheng cupped his fists towards Miao Yi and the others, "Impressive!"


    Sikong Wuwei said arrogantly, "How could a mere gourd hold us down?!" Then heughed aloud, "We truly must be blessed by fate! To think we would meet our savior at such a crucial moment and escape two dire situations in session. We surely have the devil¡¯s luck!"


    Everyone smiled, feeling a sense of joy after managing to survive a life-threatening ordeal. Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun were the only ones who felt a little ufortable, as the Sea of Constetions was still part of the Yao Nation after all. Being members of the Yao Nation, they actually offended that young master in their home country. How should they live from now on?!


    "Where should we go now?" Tan Lao looked towards Gu Sanzheng and asked. He had always been the one taking the lead amongst the three of them.


    "Let¡¯s ask him!" Gu Sanzheng nodded towards Miao Yi. "In this regard, he is much smarter than we are."


    This was no lie. Everyone had borne witness to Miao Yi¡¯s prowess when it came to nning.


    Obviously, Gu Sanzheng had another reason for saying this. Earlier on, Yue Yao¡¯s words reminded him that there were still other Yao cultivators aiming for his head. The number of experts would only continue to increase as the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade proceeded to itster stages. Gu Sanzheng was in need of help as well and clearly indicated that both parties were still in an alliance with his words.


    Everyone cast their gazes at Miao Yi, but they soon noticed that he was still in a daze, looking at the direction Fairy Yue Yao had departed in.


    Sikong Wuwei leaned his head in front of Miao Yi and chuckled as he said, "So this is the legendary Fairy Yue Yao! Brother Miao, I bet you¡¯ve never seen such a pretty girl before, right? Stop being in such a daze. A woman like this is high on the socialdder and beyond the reaches ofmon folk like us. We can only admire her, and at most fantasize about her deep down. We must never entertain the thought of reaching something that is beyond our grasp. Otherwise, there will be a buttload of trouble toe. The people attempting to court such a woman are all surely elites of the cultivation realm. Meanwhile, we don¡¯t even have the qualifications to stand by her side. If we¡¯re careless, someone could get the wrong idea. Then we might even end up dead before even knowing why! Well, how do I put it? Beautiful women alwayse in tow with misfortune. We had best worry about the situation before us. As long as we make it back alive, we¡¯ll have a Manor to our name and beautiful women by the dozen upon our request. Snap out of it!"


    "Shut up if you¡¯ve got nothing good to say!" Zhao Fei bellowed, signaling to the storage ring on Miao Yi¡¯s finger with his eyes.


    Sikong Wuwei was stunned. He narrowed his eyes at the storage ring, then obediently shut his mouth. Qi Xiuhong had just died. It was not like he hadn¡¯t seen the state Miao Yi was in back when they were trapped inside the gourd. How could he possibly be in the mood to think about another woman?


    Qi Xiuhong¡¯s body was still warm, yet he¡¯d actually said something like this. Sikong Wuwei also realized he had said the wrong thing¡ªPa!¡ªand pped his own cheeks!


    Miao Yi snapped back from his thoughts when he heard Zhao Fei admonishing Sikong Wuwei. He asked, "What?"


    "..." Sikong Wuwei was dumbfounded. The other party didn¡¯t hear a single thing he said. His words had fallen on deaf ears, and he had pped himself in vain.


    Everyone exchanged nces, perplexed as to why Miao Yi was in such a daze. Was he really so stupefied by Fairy Yue Yao¡¯s beauty? This was not a good sign at all!


    Truth be told, Zhao Fei and the others were fully aware that even though Sikong Wuwei¡¯s words were unpleasant, women like Fairy Yue Yao were indeed existences beyond the grasp of people like them. If they were to carelessly approach her, they could end up attracting the murderous intentions of another. Furthermore, the person who would kill them was someone they had no way of opposing at all. It was not purely because Fairy Yue Yao was beautiful, but rather she had a powerful background. It was all the more fearsome when such outstanding beauty and background came together.


    "Hmph! You men are all the same. Don¡¯t you look at one another like you¡¯re confused!" Ye Xin suddenly scoffed.


    Tan Lao immediately consoled, "You¡¯re an outstanding beauty yourself!"


    "Tan Lao, are you trying to pick a fight?" Ye Xin snapped back at him. However, her eyes secretly nced at Gu Sanzheng.


    Noticing this, Tan Lao sighed deep down. There was no denying that Ye Xin was beautiful indeed. As the saying goes, affection blossoms over time. To be honest, he was quite fond of her. However, the same logic applied to Ye Xin as well. Tan Lao could see that Ye Xin seemed to have an interest in Gu Sanzheng, and felt a little depressed at this.


    Gu Sanzheng examined Miao Yi, who had juste to his senses, then brought the topic back on track and said, "We were discussing where to go after this. You¡¯re more experienced in this aspect, so you should make the decision."


    Originally, Miao Yi wanted to continue waiting for Charcoal. However, Yue Yao¡¯s words made it clear that the longer they stayed, the more dangerous it would be. Their main concern now was to figure out a way to stay safe.


    Miao Yi quickly kept his emotions in check and calmed himself down. After a moment of thought, he said, "I recall there are several locations highlighted on the map of the Western Star Sea that are forbidden areas because they are dangerous. We should rush to the closest one immediately and set up base there temporarily. We¡¯ll decide on our next course of action after we manage to avoid the first wave of enemies hunting down Gu Sanzheng. If we are to bump into a strong foe, we can use the dangerous surroundings to our advantage."


    "Doesn¡¯t this seem a little unwise?" Tan Lao said, "If we were to rush in towards the forbidden area, then wouldn¡¯t it be a p to the face if we ended up dying inside that forbidden area instead of at the hands of a powerful foe?"


    Miao Yi exined, "We¡¯re not going to rush into the forbidden area and seek death. I¡¯m just saying that when we encounter a powerful enemy, we can use their apprehension towards the forbidden area to make it easier for us to escape. We don¡¯t have to enter too deeply inside."


    Gu Sanzheng nodded. "True. The most dangerous ce is also the safest one. We have no objections," he said on behalf of Tan Lao and Ye Xin.


    Sikong Wuwei chuckled and said, "We¡¯ve been together for so long. I trust Brother Miao¡¯s judgment."


    Zhao Fei also nodded in agreement.


    Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun didn¡¯t have any right to make an objection, and could only follow along. Miao Yi and the others wouldn¡¯t mind if they didn¡¯t want to follow them either. They could just go their separate ways. It wouldn¡¯t make much difference with or without the two of them.


    The group quickly took out the map of the Western Star Sea that was given to them. After finding his own location, Gu Sanzheng examined the map, then raised his head and said, "There is a ratherrge ind to the southwest corner with a location marked on it called ¡¯Skyfire Mountain¡¯. It¡¯s not too far away as well. How about it?"


    There were no area names marked on the map of the Western Star Sea. If there were, it meant that the location belonged to a forbidden area. For example, there was one marked as ¡¯Western Constetions Pce¡¯. That ce was definitely a forbidden area. No participant would dare venture inside.


    Miao Yi nodded. Since there were no objections, the decision was set. Everyone then quickly identified the right direction and departed...


    It was not a good thing indeed to offend people from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons in the Sea of Constetions. There was no way they could just sweep this under the rug and live like nothing happened.


    Even though Fu Qing had already given the order for the water tribes that weren¡¯t participating in the Subjugation Crusade to stop interfering, when Lan Susu used the name of the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, there were naturally still some who would try to curry favor with Bai Ziliang and secretly obey hismands.


    Along the way, Lan Susu also used the name of the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons to recruit two groups of Yao cultivators hunting down Niu Youde for Bai Ziliang.


    As soon as the water tribes managed to confirm that Miao Yi¡¯s group had already separated with Fairy Yue Yao and identified the direction they were heading in, Bai Ziliang immediately led a force of over a hundred Yao cultivators to pursue them.


    What caused Bai Ziliang and Lan Susu great distress was that along the way, they noticed a group of six monks from afar. After that, this group of monks continued to follow behind them. Their intentions were unknown.

 Chapter 389: Persistent Spectre

    Chapter 389: Persistent Spectre


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Those six monks didn¡¯t look very old. The leader was garbed in red monk¡¯s robes and rode atop a white deer. The deer had four horns on its head and a set of golden hooves, and on its body were golden tattoos depicting plum blossoms.


    His aide was beside him, garbed in white monk¡¯s robes, and behind them were four monks in gray robes.


    The six of them continued to follow behind Bai Ziliang¡¯s forces at a safe distance. However, Bai Ziliang couldn¡¯t do anything about them, simply because the monk riding atop the golden-tattooed white deer was somebody he knew. It was none other than Buddha Sage Cang Lei¡¯s grand-disciple, the representative of the Realm of High Paradise¡ªKong Zhi.


    Anyone would feel pressured when continuously followed by someone else in the Sea of Constetions. Bai Ziliang turned to Lan Susu and told her, "Susu, go ask Kong Zhi why he¡¯s following us."


    Lan Susu acknowledged the order and left the group of Yao cultivators. She waited in ce for the six monks to approach.


    The six monks soon came to a stop as well. Riding atop the white deer, Kong Zhi pped his hands together in prayer as he greeted Lan Susu. His aura was solemn and dignified.


    Lan Susu returned the greeting, then asked, "Kong Zhi, my Young Master would like to ask why you¡¯re following us. What are you plotting?"


    Before Kong Zhi could speak up, beside him, the handsome-looking monk dressed in white robes pped his hands together and said, "Amitabha. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name, Miss?"


    As soon as he said this, Kong Zhi and the other four monks behind him couldn¡¯t stop their lips from twitching.


    Lan Susu noticed this monk had a handsome appearance and that his presence gave off a sense of gentle serenity. His white monk¡¯s robes further gave him an aura of elegance and made him seem very approachable. She replied, "Lan Susu."


    "Mydy, you possess a dazzling beauty that is capable of shutting out the moon and putting even the flowers to shame. Even the fishes and cranes would shy away from your radiance. Why are you here in such a dangerous ce?" the white-robed monk asked with a straight face.


    "..." Lan Susu was speechless. ¡¯Isn¡¯t this a pointless question? I¡¯m obviously here for the same reason you are.¡¯


    She was about to retort, when the white-robed monk sighed and said, "This ce is dangerous. I can see that mydy is a pure and beautiful lotus, untainted by the filth of the world. This must be fate then. Why not take this opportunity to cast away your de, and enter into the teachings of Buddha? I am willing to be your humble guide on your path to enlightenment."


    Lan Susu¡¯s expression grew darker. "I¡¯m a Yao cultivator, and you want me to follow the teachings of Buddha. Are you joking?"


    The white-robed monk shook his head. "All life is equal. Whether they are Yao, Ghosts, or even Devils. So long as one casts away one¡¯s de, all can reach nirvana!"


    "I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying!" Lan Susu didn¡¯t want to deal with this guy. She looked towards Kong Zhi and said, "Kong Zhi, my Young Master is asking why you continue to follow us!"


    The white-robed monk cut in again, "Mydy, perhaps you are still unaware of who I am. My Master is Mount Dui¡¯s Grandmaster Qi Jie, one of the sixteen Reverends under the Buddha Sage. If you let me¡ª"


    This bastard was using his own master to trick someone again! The four gray-robed monks had weird expressions on their faces, while Kong Zhi seemed to have reached the limits of his patience. Furrowing his brows, he interrupted, "Ba Jie. You¡¯re messing around again!"


    The white-robed monk known as Ba Jie turned around and replied, "Kong Zhi. I¡¯m trying to guide someone onto the path to enlightenment. How am I messing around? Looking back to all those years ago, it was when a certain someone peeked on another in the bath that¡ª"


    Kong Zhi¡¯s voice abruptly grew louder as he cut him short once again, saying, "Can you slow down for a minute?"


    Seeing as the two of them were about to break out into an argument, Lan Susu interjected, "Who is the one in charge here?"


    Ba Jie pped his hands together and replied, "Amitabha. All life is equal!"


    This clearly meant that anyone could be in charge. Kong Zhi was a little infuriated. No longer caring about appearances, he announced loudly, "Miss, go and tell Bai Ziliang that we are free to go wherever we please. We have no need to exin ourselves to him!"


    Ba Jie smiled at Lan Susu and added, "Regardless of where either of us goes, all will eventually return to the same ce. Why not take this opportunity to seek paradise? Mydy, I suggest..."


    Now that she had her answer, Lan Susu obviously wouldn¡¯t stay and listen to his drivel. She quickly turned around and departed.


    "This is bad! This young miss could have been trying to stall us for time. Everyone, quickly now. We mustn¡¯t lose them!" Ba Jie said to the group.


    The six monks continued to chase after the group of Yao cultivators. His face darkening, Kong Zhi asked, "Ba Jie, how much longer do we have to keep following them?"


    Ba Jie replied, "Kong Zhi. Admit your loss with honor and stopining. We both grew up together. I won¡¯t trick you."


    Kong Zhi¡¯s expression twisted as he quickly looked to the other four behind him. Seeing as they didn¡¯t seem to understand the meaning behind Ba Jie¡¯s words, he turned his head back and said angrily, "I should at least know what you¡¯re nning, right?"


    Ba Jie said excitedly, "The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade has progressed thus far, and given the size of the ce and the gradual decrease of participants, it will only be more and more difficult to bump into someone else. We can¡¯t simply run around randomly either. Didn¡¯t you say that Bai-something fellow was a member of the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons? Since the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons has gathered so many troops and seem to be in a rush somewhere, they¡¯re surely getting ready for a big fight. That¡¯s why we¡¯re following them. Once they have almost exhausted themselves, we¡¯ll go and collect alms from them. If they don¡¯t submit, we¡¯ll take by force... I mean, we¡¯ll have them cast away their des!"


    Kong Zhi pped his hands together and prayed, "Amitabha!"


    The other monks were evidently excited as well, and the group rushed along quickly...


    The light of dawn peeked out from the horizon as Miao Yi and the others finally reached the rocky shores of their targeted ind. They immediately scanned their surroundings carefully.


    The stormy waves crashed violently on the rocky shores as Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin released their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts and checked around the vicinity. They then noticed Miao Yi and the others approaching them on foot.


    Gu Sanzheng asked, "What happened to your mounts?"


    Sikong Wuwei scoffed, "Ask yourselves that question."


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t want any conflict to rise in the group anymore, so he said, "We¡¯ll need to first look for mounts. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be hard for us to escape if something were to happen. This ind is quiterge. I believe it should have dragon steeds."


    Gu Sanzheng nodded. "Then for now, you can ride along on our mounts instead."


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei leaped up to Gu Sanzheng¡¯s mount and stood behind him, while Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchun were behind Tan Lao, with Miao Yi behind Ye Xin.


    The three beasts quickly passed the rocky reefs and rushed into the nearby forest. Once they were out of the forest, a wide, grassy expansey before them.


    They soon came into that which they desperately needed. The sound of hoofbeats could be hearding from the front as a herd of dragon steeds galloped towards them from across the grassy ins. A dark mass upon the verdant ins, the dragon steeds galloped without a care in the world.


    When they noticed the group of foreigners, the herd of dragon steeds immediately turned back and ran. There were at least ten thousand of them in this one herd.


    Gu Sanzheng¡¯s Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast immediately gave chase, and all three beasts rushed after the fleeing herd of dragon steeds.


    The Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts¡¯ speed was evidently higher than the dragon steeds¡¯, and they soon caught up. However, they didn¡¯t dare venture too deeply into the herd as it was noughing matter to have all these dragon steeds charge straight at them.


    The three beasts stuck closely to the edge of the herd and galloped alongside the dragon steeds.


    As soon as they maintained a constant pace, Miao Yi and the others leaped up from the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts andnded on the backs of the dragon steeds. They quickly reached towards the manes of the dragon steeds and grabbed the feelers they used tomunicate with riders, which also happened to be the weakest point on a dragon steed¡¯s body. Miao Yi and the others then pulled on the feelers and attempted to subjugate the dragon steeds.


    The five dragon steeds immediately fell out of the fleeing herd and galloped wildly about on the grassy ins, neighing as they struggled to knock off the people above them. However, it was to no avail. Finally, Miao Yi and the others seeded in subjugating the dragon steeds, who obediently formed a connection with their riders and allowed themselves to be controlled.


    The three Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts and five dragon steeds continued onwards across the grassy ins and soon met up with the herd of dragon steeds from before. The five dragon steeds that submitted to Miao Yi and the others neighed towards the passing herd, their voices filled with a longing attachment.


    "Harrumph..." The entire herd neighed back in response, their voices enough to cause one¡¯s heart to tremble, as they stood in ce and watched their previouspanions departing...


    After passing by the grassy expanse, the eight riders traveled past an ancient mountain range and after about a half day, came to the top of a hill. They gazed towards the boundless desert before them, a hodgepodge of cinnamon-colored peaks both near and far, devoid of any greenery. Some of the peaks stood tall and wide, others were short and small. There were peculiar rock formations scattered about, and the whole ce gave off an ancient, deste vibe.


    Up in the sky, wild birds hovered around, hunting for prey. A wave of hot air rushed in from the desert before them. Where they stood, the vegetation under their feet that extended towards the desert was a stark contrast against those on the opposite side of the mountain.


    "Skyfire Mountain is located in the center of the desert before us. Why don¡¯t we just set up base here along this mountain? If anything were to happen, we can immediately rush towards Skyfire Mountain and hide out there temporarily." Gu Sanzheng pointed towards the desert before them, then turned around and asked, "What do you all think?"


    Miao Yi nodded. "I suppose that¡¯s the best option we have for now. We should first avoid the first wave of enemiesing after you. If it¡¯s possible, we¡¯ll decide on our next course after one or two years."


    Everyone then made their way back to set up base at the mountain valley they saw on the way here.


    The air within the mountain valley was chilly and refreshing, with gentle crystalline streams and numerous nameless wildflowers blooming in full splendor. Insects and small birds flew about, whilst tiny animals hid between the bushes. It was an entirely different world from the desert on the other side of the mountain.


    Everyone dug out their own caves along the mountainside and made preparations to stay for the long term.


    Tao Ruchun chose to take up sentry duty on the mountaintop of his own volition. He was originally a Peach Blossom Treant to begin with. Instead of hiding out his days inside a cave, revealing his true form and experiencing the baptism of nature was much more beneficial for his cultivation.


    Pi Junzi had also shifted into his true form while he cultivated inside his own cave. Whilst everyone was busy cultivating, the dragon steeds and Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts were kept within the valley.


    Although their ns were ideal, reality would always be harsh and cruel. It would never act ording to the way you wanted it to.


    The day was nearing sunset. A two-meter tall gray rat with vicious fangs was sitting cross-legged in the cave, focusing on its cultivation when it suddenly opened its eyes in shock.


    It shed with a blue radiance and soon took the form of Pi Junzi. He quicklyid his head on the ground and listened. Suddenly, his expression contorted, and he rushed out of the cave shouting, "Someone is here!"


    As soon as they heard him, everyone hastily left their caves andnded in the beautiful valley.


    Miao Yi asked, "What¡¯s going on?"


    Pi Junzi pointed towards a certain direction and said anxiously, "There are about a hundred riders, separated into four groups. Using the topology of the mountain as their cover, they are slowly creeping towards this ce. There¡¯s a high chance they are targeting us."


    The Gu Sanzheng trio exchanged nces, then looked up towards the peach blossom tree on the mountaintop. Ye Xin asked, "Tao Ruchun, do you see anyone approaching?"


    Up on the mountaintop, Tao Ruchun transformed into his human form and shouted, "I don¡¯t see anyone."


    Ye Xin didn¡¯t believe him, so she quickly leaped up the mountain. When she reached the peak, she gazed towards the distance, then shook her head at the people down below, "I don¡¯t see anyone either."


    Frowning, Gu Sanzheng asked Pi Junzi, "We can¡¯t see anything from the peak of the mountain. Our cultivation is higher than yours, but we didn¡¯t hear anything either. How did you know that there are people approaching and that they even have over a hundred riders?"


    "These bastards are really persistent!" Miao Yi said gravely, "You can trust him. If he felt like it, he can even hear the sound of a rabbit hopping from ten miles away. Almost nothing can escape his ears. This is his inborn gift. We need to hurry and make preparations!"


    When they heard what Miao Yi said, Gu Sanzheng and the others cast curious gazes at Pi Junzi. They never thought this demon could have such a talent.

 Chapter 390: Skyfire Mountain

    Chapter 390: Skyfire Mountain


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "We have no idea who¡¯sing. How did they manage to find this ce so quickly?" Zhao Fei asked curiously.


    "We¡¯ve forgotten about one thing¡ªthis is the Yao cultivators¡¯ home turf!" Miao Yi looked up at the sky and noticed a few birds still hovering about. He thought back to his first time in the Sea of Constetions, when a group of birds came looking for him after he had killed the seventy-two Fort Masters back in Brass Gong Fort.


    Everyone followed his gaze and immediately understood.


    "If we don¡¯t get rid of these eyes, I fear there¡¯ll be no ce we can hide." Tan Lao turned and said, "Miao Yi. It¡¯s time for your mantids to shine."


    Judging from his tone, it seemed he still bore a grudge against Miao Yi for killing his Seeker Birds.


    With a wave of his hand, Miao Yi released several of his tiny mantids, then said, "We should prepare ourselves. Let us see who it is that¡¯s rushing to die."


    By the time they rode their mounts up to the peak, the birds had already fallen from the sky. After sessfullypleting their mission, the tiny mantids flew back into Miao Yi¡¯s storage ring.


    Pi Junzi ced his ears to the ground and listened. After that, he pointed out four separate directions before them, indicating where their enemies were approaching from. Everyone then hid between the trees and started watching...


    "Young Master, if we proceed any further we will be entering the vicinity of Skyfire Mountain. That ce is Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan¡¯s personal residence. To avoid damage to the private residences of the Supreme Yao Lords during the Subjugation Crusade, these ces have all been marked as forbidden areas and are not to be ventured into. If Lie Huan were to find out that we trespassed inside, he will be infuriated. I fear it will be very problematic then."


    Within the mountain forest, a big man stood beside Bai Ziliang and carefully warned him. He hadntern-like eyes, a curly mustache, and a face swelling with muscles.


    Bai Ziliang frowned. "Haven¡¯t they cleared out everyone from the Western Star Sea already?"


    Seeing as he casually dismissed the fact, the curly-mustached man added, "Yes, they have. However, Lie Huan has a cultivation at the Golden Lotus First Grade!"


    Beside them, Lan Susu rebuked, "Pang Duo. Even if Lie Huan were to be any more impressive, could he possibly be more powerful than Lord Fu Qing? Or even more powerful than the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons?"


    "Auntie is correct. Obviously, he couldn¡¯t." Pang Duo gave a dryugh and apologized. However, he still advised, "I¡¯m just trying to say that Skyfire Mountain is a dangerous ce. Even if Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan isn¡¯t around, it will still be extremely risky to venture inside!"


    "Those people aren¡¯t scared, so why should we be?" Lan Susu scoffed, "You just need to worry about doing your job right. Once the deed is done, the Young Master will naturally reward you handsomely!"


    Pang Duo nodded humbly and said, "Yes yes yes! This lowly one will naturally follow the Young Master¡¯s everymand!"


    To Pang Duo, the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons was a legendary existence, and Bai Ziliang being the grandson of Yao Sage Ji Huan meant his background was already plenty extraordinary. As for whether or not Bai Ziliang was respected in the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, it was not something a lowly Yao cultivator like him could possibly be aware of.


    When they noticed the group of Yao cultivators approaching the valley, Miao Yi and the others gasped in surprise when they realized it was Bai Ziliang again. ¡¯Wasn¡¯t he scared off by Yue Yao? Why is he stilling after us?¡¯


    At first, they were wondering who the other party could possibly be. Having several mighty artifacts on hand, they were getting ready for a big fight. Little did they think it would be Bai Ziliang again.


    Bai Ziliang wasn¡¯t at all someone they could fight against. Not to mention, he had so many helpers with him right now. Miao Yi and the others quickly signaled to one another and began to quietly make their escape.


    "Eh?! What happened to those tracking birds?" Lan Susu suddenly gasped.


    "There¡¯s no way they could just vanish into thin air!" Pang Duo said curiously. Then, he suddenly eximed, "This is bad! We might have been discovered!"


    Bai Ziliang immediately ordered, "Stop hiding around and think of a way to fish them out immediately. We can¡¯t let them escape!"


    To be honest, he didn¡¯t feel a strong resentment towards Gu Sanzheng. Miao Yi, on the other hand, made him suffer terribly and caused him to lose face in front of Yue Yao. He even destroyed the Demon Refining Gourd his mother humbled herself to obtain for him. With one less mighty artifact to contend against the other five representatives, his prospects for the final battle had drastically plummeted.


    If he couldn¡¯t even dispose of such a no-name peon, once the news spread, he would be the joke of the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons. He must kill this person!


    "Understood!" Pang Duo nodded. He immediately looked to the sky and made a buzzing sound, invoking his arts as he did so. rmed, the birds in the surrounding forest immediately started hovering about the sky, while beasts started popping out from the bushes. Then, with a sharp whistle, all the creatures immediately spread out across the forest.


    Therge flock of birds hovering about the sky suddenly started flying towards a certain direction. Pang Duo indicated with his finger, "Young Master. They¡¯re over there!"


    With a wave of his hand, Bai Ziliangmanded, "Charge! Full speed ahead!" His Tempest Beast quickly bolted off, and his mighty army immediately charged past the trees and hills as fast as they could.


    As soon as the six monks behind them caught wind of themotion, Ba Jie immediately felt a surge of excitement. He waved his hand and said, "The show is about to start. Quickly, let¡¯s catch up to them."


    Kong Zhi said gravely, "Ba Jie, we can¡¯t go any further. Skyfire Mountain is marked as a forbidden area. If memory serves, that ce is Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan¡¯s private residence. Lie Huan is a Golden Lotus First Grade expert. Even my Master has to give him some face. We mustn¡¯t offend him so easily!"


    "Kong Zhi. Did you hit yourself in the head? You are a member of the Realm of High Paradise. Why do you need to fear this Lie Huan or whatever he¡¯s called? If Lie Huan dares to seek us, you can immediately use your Supreme Master Cang Lei to knock him down a peg! Not to mention, I¡¯m doing this for you. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re willing to ce behind that Bai Ziliang brat? If you were to rank atst ce among all the representatives of the Six Sages, how would you be able to answer to everyone back home?! I was trying to help you out of the kindness of my heart, but you don¡¯t even appreciate it. Fine! You don¡¯t want to go, right?"


    Ba Jie asked, pointing a finger at Kong Zhi¡¯s face. When he saw that he was still hesitating, Ba Jie immediately turned around and waved his hand, saying, "Everyone, let¡¯s go. We can go back now. He can getst ce for all we care. We¡¯ve already gotten enough bangles to ce within the top hundred anyway. There¡¯s no point in continuing to risk our lives anymore. From now on, he can forget about us exorcising evil together with him. It¡¯s not worth the effort!"


    Kong Zhi had an ugly expression on his face, and quickly called out to stop him, "Hold it!"


    Seated atop a dragon steed, Ba Jie turned around and asked, "Are you willing to go now?"


    Kong Zhi nodded awkwardly.


    "Ha! You¡¯re the one that agreed to this. We didn¡¯t force you. If that Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan or whatever he¡¯s called really doese looking for trouble, you have to be the one to hold him back. Your Supreme Master is the Buddha Sage Cang Lei. You can totally take him. We¡¯re just helping you. You can¡¯t push the me on us!" Ba Jie turned to the other four monks and said, "Don¡¯t you guys agree with me?"


    The monks all remained silent. To not disagree in front of Kong Zhi was already a good enough sign of their thoughts.


    "Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go!" Ba Jie waved his hand, and the six monks quickly darted off. It was truly a mystery who exactly was the person-in-charge among them.


    Ba Jie seemed to be a little worried when he saw how Kong Zhi was still frowning. He sighed, "Oh Kong Zhi! You have to understand my pain. Your Master was the one who said that I was the most suitable person to apany you to this Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, so he made the request to my Master. Then that old baldy Qi Jie promised me that if I can help you ce within the top three, he will allow me to travel the realm. Otherwise, I really wouldn¡¯t take part in such a foul matter. You have to understand my pain! I¡¯m not trying to make things difficult for you. Ever since we were young, whenever I had anything nice to eat or drink, when have I ever forgotten about you? I treat you..."


    When he heard the words ¡¯anything nice to eat or drink¡¯, Kong Zhi¡¯s face twitched, as though he just remembered something. He quickly raised his arms and stopped Ba Jie from saying anything further. "Shut up! I get it!"


    Ba Jie chuckled lightly before restoring his appearance of a tranquil, righteous man. His monk¡¯s robes were as white as snow, further making him seem pure from filth...


    As they slowly crossed the forest and entered the desert, Miao Yi and the others suddenly heard a strange sounding from the sky behind them. When they turned to look, they saw arge dark cloud made up of various birds flying straight at them. Their faces instantly twisted in shock.


    Gu Sanzheng yelled, "We¡¯ve been found! Quickly, to Skyfire Mountain!"


    The eight riders quickly charged at full speed ahead, no longer trying to move silently. Their mounts bolted across the desert as fast as they could.


    Charging up to the top of the mountain between the desert and the forest, Bai Ziliang gazed out towards the direction the birds were flying in and could vaguely make out several fleeing riders. He quickly galloped down the mountain, and the Tempest Beast traversed through the desert as though it were solid ground.


    How could a mere desert possibly affect the speed of a spiritual beast that was capable of even treading on water?


    His mighty army soon came down the mountain as well, but Bai Ziliang was riding further and further away, pulling apart the distance between them. Lan Susu had to shout, "Young Master! Please don¡¯t be anxious. Those people are crafty. Be careful not to fall into their trap!"


    She was trying to put things nicely, making sure that Bai Ziliang didn¡¯t lose face in front of all these Yao cultivators. However, she was actually trying to remind him, ¡¯Those people are not to be underestimated. If you leave everyone behind to fight them alone, you will lose.¡¯


    Bai Ziliang gritted his teeth in silence. However, he knew that Lan Susu had a point. Even though his mount surpassed all of them in terms of speed, he didn¡¯t have the strength to face all those people on his own. It would be a different matter if he still had the Demon Refining Gourd, but it had already been destroyed.


    As such, he had no choice but to slow down and continue to follow after Miao Yi¡¯s group, making sure that they didn¡¯t disappear from his sight.


    The Gu Sanzheng trio in front was also in a simr situation. Since they had their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts, they could also run much faster, but they were wary of Bai Ziliang¡¯s Tempest Beast, which was why they didn¡¯t dare to separate from Miao Yi and the others. They understood that if the eight of them were to separate, they would definitely be routed one by one.


    In the eyes of the Gu Sanzheng trio, Bai Ziliang¡¯s main priority was to apprehend Gu Sanzheng, or as he was called, ¡¯Niu Youde¡¯. The one to suffer the most after separating would definitely be them.


    Both parties continued to maintain a set distance from one another as they rushed headlong into the vicinity of Skyfire Mountain.


    "We can¡¯t go in any further. Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan¡¯s personal residence is up ahead. If we trespass inside, we¡¯ll be in big trouble. From what I¡¯ve heard, that ce is highly dangerous."


    Miao Yi turned around and yelled, "Even if we get into trouble, that¡¯s a matter for the future. Our present situation is far more dangerous right now. We¡¯ll worry about the future after we manage to stay alive! If you don¡¯t wish to enter, you¡¯re free to look for an alternate route. We won¡¯t stop you!"


    Now that he had offended people from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, how could Tao Ruchun possibly dare to go off on his own? At least he had some security with these people. He immediately shut himself up and continued to charge ahead.


    However, the further in they went, the hotter it was. The desert before them gradually disappeared and gave way to a deste, ashennd. The uneven terrain was ck and hard, with peculiar rock formations littering the area. There was not a single sign of soil or sand.


    As they went further down, even the dragon steeds were starting to lose themselves to the heat. The sweat fell off their bodies and made a sizzling sound as it touched the ground, turning into white steam. It was evident how hot the ground was.


    They were surrounded by a deste in, and there wasn¡¯t a single thing in sight that even remotely resembled a volcano, causing them to wonder how this ce could possibly be so hot. Exnations were no longer necessary as Miao Yi and the others finally understood why this ce was called Skyfire Mountain.*


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help asking, "What kind of monster is this Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan? How is he able to stay in such a ce?"


    Tao Ruchun replied, "A Drought Demon!"

 Chapter 391: A Test of Endurance

    Chapter 391: A Test of Endurance


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "A Drought Demon?" Miao Yi and the others gasped in surprise.


    This was not amon demonic spirit, but a force of nature demonified and could be considered to possess supernatural powers by birth. It was not something themon beast demons couldpare to. Furthermore, the Drought Demon was a demonic spirit of supreme Yang energy and the bane of Ghost cultivators. Upon meeting a Drought Demon, escape was the only option for the average Ghost cultivator, unless they possessed a superior cultivation capable of forcibly suppressing it.


    Miao Yi thought back to the time he killed the red-clothed ghost woman back in the Mystic Arts Temple. Back then, using a bunch of ashes, he had created a mock-Yin Dispersal Powder, a substance originally refined from the Yao Core of a Drought Demon. With it, he was able topletely scare the ghost woman off. With this, it was evident how much of an impact Drought Demons had towards Ghost cultivators.


    And this Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan even had a Golden Lotus First Grade cultivation. How terrifying was that? There probably wasn¡¯t a single participating Ghost cultivator that dared to approach this ind.


    "No wonder he¡¯s staying in such a weird ce!" Miao Yi sighed. As he breathed in and felt the extreme heat in his lungs, he suddenly felt an odd sense of relief.


    Miao Yi wondered if he was some kind of pervert to actually feel excitement from being in such a harsh environment. How else could he possibly exin this then?


    Then he suddenly went into a daze as he felt a sense of familiarity from this odd, alleviating sensation. It seemed like he had felt it somewhere before...


    The surrounding heat and the familiar sensation immediately helped him remember. It was the time when Yao Ruoxian had refined a transcendent artifact for him right after their escape from the Sea of Constetions.


    Back then, something strange had happened while he was cultivating beside the furnace. He seemed to have felt something being absorbed into his own art source from the mes of the furnace Yao Ruoxian was refining the transcendent artifact in. At the time, he was utterly shocked, and hurriedly stopped that particr breathing motion out of fear that he would lose control of his transcendence energy.


    Thinking back, he seemed to have been able to control the surrounding temperature with his arts as well. This, he was sure of. It was such a peculiar experience that he was able to remember it clearly.


    Among the group, Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation was the weakest, so his ability to forcibly resist the heat was the worst as well. At the same time, he still had to invoke his arts to help protect his mount from the heat. Looking down at his dragon steed sweating buckets, it was a matter of time before it died of dehydration. The method he was using right now wouldn¡¯tst much longer.


    Miao Yi no longer hesitated. He quickly gave up on the simplistic method of using his arts to shield against the heat and started circting the Fiery Star Technique within himself at full speed. Aligning his mental energy with his transcendence energy, the mysterious phenomenon happened once again. It was a simr situation to when he was cultivating beside Yao Ruoxian¡¯s artifact-refining furnace.


    The surrounding heat was supposed to be something without shape or form. However, it began to quake in ordance to the waves of transcendence energying from Miao Yi and was gradually being pushed away like an ethereal mist.


    Miao Yi was overjoyed. As expected, he was able to control the surrounding heat.


    Originally, he wasn¡¯t sure about the effects of this ability and was afraid of losing control. As such, he only tried it once and didn¡¯t dare to attempt it again. However, his life was at stake right now so he couldn¡¯t afford to be too deeply concerned. He quickly tried to ustom himself to controlling the surrounding heat, and before too long, was able to regain the proficiency he had back when he first did it all those years ago.


    The heat around him was immediately forced away. However, as his cultivation was still low, he couldn¡¯t use his ability over arge area, and only barely managed to shield himself and his mount. He didn¡¯t have the strength to help the others as well.


    But looking at their situation, as their cultivation was evidently much higher than his, they would still be able to forcibly resist the surrounding heat with their arts for the time being. Out of all the dragon steeds, Miao Yi¡¯s mount was the one that was sweating the most after all.


    At first, the dragon steed underneath Miao Yi was already a little uneasy, but soon it slowly regained itsposure. Miao Yi was able to sense this directly due to their connection. He heaved a sigh of relief when he noticed the dragon steed had also stopped sweating.


    On this boundless, ashennd, the entire ground resembled a giant crust that had formed after an extended period of burning by a zing me. Regardless if it were the sloping mountains or the towering boulders, they looked like they were all one and the same. Furthermore, the earth was iparably hard, and the galloping of dragon steeds rang clearly amidst the raging heat.


    Western Constetions Pce.


    Standing before the astrbe, Hei Yun shot the voluptuous Ji Meimei a nce and snickered. "Ji Meimei. Your son is quite bold to trespass into Lie Huan¡¯s forbidden area. Is he not afraid of angering Lie Huan?"


    A trace of worry could be seen in Ji Meimei¡¯s eyes. Fu Qing had nine subordinate Supreme Yao Lords, and each of them was a Demonic Behemoth, possessing a cultivation of the Golden Lotus realm. To be able to oversee one of Fu Qing¡¯s domains naturally meant that he trusted them deeply. If Lie Huan was angered, and Fu Qing decided to support him, even her father Ji Huan would have to give him a suitable exnation.


    The reason why the Six Sages still had to give some face to the old demons of the Sea of Constetions was because of the strength the Four Constetions Masters and their thirty-six Supreme Yao Lords possessed. They were all powerhouses of the Golden Lotus realm. If these people were to join forces, who in the cultivation realm would dare to disrespect them? Unless the Six Sages were willing to join forces and hold them down. Otherwise, no one would dare offend these old demons!


    ¡¯Ziliang, why are you so naughty? Skyfire Mountain is clearly marked as a forbidden area. Why do you still choose to trespass inside? The two of us still need to gain the support of the Four Constetions Masters. Why are you already trying to offend them?¡¯ Ji Meimei inwardly sighed. She couldn¡¯t figure out what was happening from looking at the astrbe, and wondered who exactly her son was chasing for him to even risk venturing into Lie Huan¡¯s personal residence!


    "What is there to be afraid of? Even Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s disciple dares to enter. Why can¡¯t my son do the same?" Ji Meimei scoffed. Although she was still worried deep down, she had to look unflustered. She mustn¡¯t cast aside her status and pride, otherwise, it would be difficult for both her and her son to stand up tall in the future!


    "What¡¯s the big deal about Lie Huan? He doesn¡¯t have the guts to pick a fight with Ji Huan. The only ones afraid of him are shadowy bastards like you," Yun Guang mocked Hei Yun.


    Hei Yun immediately red at him and retorted, "You think my Yin Yang Realm is afraid of Lie Huan?"


    Yun Guang scoffed, "Stop using the Yin Yang Realm to intimidate people! If you¡¯re not afraid of him, I¡¯ll go help you look for Lie Huanter on and tell him you wish to duel with him. Then we shall see whether or not Lie Huan can p you into the afterlife!"


    Duel against Lie Huan? A trace of fear shed by Hei Yun¡¯s eyes. Even though Lie Huan was no match against his Master, Ghost Sage Situ Xiao, he was still a crazy bastard who¡¯d dared to fight his Master and still escape with his life. That was mostly because that old demon Lie Huan was capable of suppressing Ghost cultivators by nature, which was why very few of them could do anything against him.


    As if Hei Yun would dare pick a fight with that old demon Lie Huan. He immediately shrieked, "Yun Guang! You don¡¯t need to be such a busybody!"


    "If you¡¯re scared, just say so. Don¡¯t act tough!" Yun Guang mocked. Then he turned to Ji Meimei, who was watching the argument from the side, and shamelessly cast his gaze up and down her mature, sexy figure. Chuckling, he said, "Ji Meimei, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯ll be fine even if your precious son dies. Since your man is dead anyway, as long as you¡¯re willing, then once this is over, I¡¯ll work extra hard and give you another child!"


    This bastard was not the typical arrogant character. After he was done picking a fight with one person, he immediately tried to take advantage of another.


    When he said this, Grandmaster Qi Jie pped his hands together silently, while all the men in the room chuckled. Even Hei Yun seemed to have forgotten how Yun Guang had just made a fool out of him. His eyes darted across Ji Meimei¡¯s body as he gave a vile snicker.


    Tang Jun wasughing along when he seemed to have noticed something amiss. Realizing he still had two fellow disciples behind him who were both women, he figured it seemed rather unbing of him tough along, and he gave a couple of dry coughs.


    Ji Meimei was obviously infuriated. She red at Yun Guang and snarled, "Shut your mouth!"


    "Feisty!" said Yun Guang as he winked at Hei Yun.


    Hei Yun nodded like he understood what he meant, his shoulders shaking as he struggled to contain hisughter.


    The two of them were both cunning bastards, and when it came to certain things, they were practically birds of a feather...


    Skyfire Mountain.


    "Young Master! If we go any further, I¡¯m afraid our mounts will not be able to withstand the heat!"


    Chasing behind Bai Ziliang, Pang Duo couldn¡¯t help offering a reminder.


    As he chased after Miao Yi¡¯s group, Bai Ziliang thought back to how he¡¯d embarrassed himself in front of Yue Yao. To lose face in front of an enchanting and beautiful woman was something absolutely infuriating. He responded, "They¡¯re not afraid, so why should we?"


    Pang Duo could only keep his mouth shut.


    Behind them, Ba Jie scanned about and asked, "What is this nasty ce? It¡¯s almost like the inside of a furnace."


    Kong Zhi sighed. "I don¡¯t mind if you want to continue chasing after them, but I don¡¯t think your mounts will be able to take it!"


    "Don¡¯t act smug just because you¡¯re riding on that shitty deer! Are you saying that they¡¯re riding on dragon steeds while we¡¯re riding on pigs? I won¡¯t believe it! Since they can hold on, there¡¯s no reason we can¡¯t too!" With a flip of his hand, Ba Jie revealed a set of prayer beads. The ss-like beads emitted a cold chill, and Ba Jie ced them on the back of the dragon steed, praising, "This hot and cold feeling is the best!"


    Kong Zhi gasped in surprise. "Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s Ice Soul Beads?"


    "I can¡¯te empty-handed after all. It¡¯s too bad we can¡¯t eat this though." Ba Jie smiled and added, "Why don¡¯t I trade these beads for your mount?"


    ¡¯Eat?¡¯ Kong Zhi looked at his own mount and felt a chill down his spine. He shook his head and rejected the offer.


    At this point, therge flock of birds in the sky was already gone. It was evident how hot this ce was since even the birds were unwilling toe close.


    The environment around them was severe. When Miao Yi and the others saw that they were still being chased, their expressions instantly darkened, all of them realizing that the situation was dire and there was little chance of escape. None of them had ever been to Skyfire Mountain before, and they never expected it to have such an environment.


    The fear was already evident on Pi Junzi¡¯s face, as he and his mount were both drenched in sweat. Trying his best to hold on with his transcendence energy, he said anxiously, "We can¡¯t go any further. The heat will only continue to increase as we go along, and I can¡¯t hold on much longer. Let¡¯s circle around from the side instead."


    Gu Sanzheng said gravely, "We won¡¯t be able to shake them off if we circle around. We need to venture deep into this perilous area in order to force them to back off. Now that there are no eyes watching us from the sky, we¡¯ll be able to make our escape once we force them away!"


    Pi Junzi cried, "It seems like that Bai Ziliang¡¯s mount is not afraid of the heat. We won¡¯t be able to shake him off."


    Gu Sanzheng scoffed, "We just need to shake everyone else off. There¡¯s no need to fear that surnamed Bai bastard now that he¡¯s lost his gourd artifact. If he dares toe after us on his own, we can simply kill him together! It¡¯s all a matter of endurance now!"


    Pi Junzi was dismayed by his words. To him, this was no different than rushing to his own death!


    Perhaps the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade group would still be able to take it, and Tao Ruchun had a much higher cultivation than him, so he should be able to hold on for a while too. The ones who had the lowest risk were the Gu Sanzheng trio, as their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts obviously had a much higher heat resistance than dragon steeds. It was no wonder they were higher in gradepared to dragon steeds.


    However, everyone found it odd that Miao Yi, who had the lowest cultivation in the group, seemed to bepletely fine. It appeared as though he had it even easier than Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei.


    Miao Yi wanted to pull Pi Junzi up to his mount as well so that he could help shield him from the heat. However, he could tell how fast this dragon steed of his could go after a single ride. It couldn¡¯tpare to Charcoal at all. If he gave Pi Junzi a ride as well, there was no chance he would be able to outrun the pursuers behind them.


    However, it was also evident that they couldn¡¯t go on like this. Their pursuers did not seem like they were going to let up the chase anytime soon. If they continued down this path, it would inevitably result in death.


    Miao Yi suddenly frowned, as though he¡¯d made some kind of decision. He said, "Gu Sanzheng, I want you to leave the group, then head towards the right and circle back. Meanwhile, I will circle to the left. The rest of you will continue straight. If Bai Ziliang suddenly changes his direction, we will immediately reassemble!"

 Chapter 392: False Benevolence

    Chapter 392: False Benevolence


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Everyone was taken aback. Gu Sanzheng asked, "What are you nning?"


    "You¡¯ll know once you try it!" Miao Yi gave a simple retort, then turned his dragon steed to the left and rushed off on his own.


    Everyone looked towards Gu Sanzheng. After a moment of hesitation, he too turned his Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast to the right and charged off alone, under the worried gazes of Tan Lao and Ye Xin.


    "Trying to escape separately?" Behind them, Bai Ziliang scoffed. He looked back and yelled, "I¡¯ll go after that little rascal! The rest of you go after Gu Sanzheng. Ignore the ones in the middle for now!"


    He still didn¡¯t know what Miao Yi¡¯s name was. This fueled his frustration even further.


    Bai Ziliang was worried that they wouldn¡¯t split up. As long as they weren¡¯t together, he had no reason to fear facing Miao Yi on his own. He strongly believed that the rest would have no problem handling a single Gu Sanzheng as well.


    The Tempest Beast quickly turned as Bai Ziliang rushed after Miao Yi. Meanwhile, the people behind him headed straight for the lone Gu Sanzheng.


    "What¡¯s going on?" At the back, Ba Jie and the others were a little dumbfounded. Why did they split up all of a sudden?


    Kong Zhi asked, "Are we going to go after Bai Ziliang, or should we go after the biggest group?"


    "If we catch up to Bai Ziliang, will you be able to take him down?" Ba Jie pointed towards the crowd and said, "We¡¯ll go after that young miss."


    Obviously, he was referring to Lan Susu¡¯s group. However, everyone felt it was odd hearing those wordsing from his mouth. Their expressions twitched as they considered the idea of a group of monks chasing after a youngdy...


    As he continued to flee from his pursuers, Miao Yi kept turning his head back to look. When he saw Bai Zilianging after him on his own, he couldn¡¯t help revealing a bitter expression on his face. Earlier on, he wasn¡¯t sure who was more important to Bai Ziliang¡ªhim or Gu Sanzheng (Niu Youde). But from the looks of it, it seemed as though Bai Ziliang would much rather give up on ¡¯Niu Youde¡¯ than let him go!


    All I did was destroy one of your artifacts. Do you really need to be so persistent ande after me so relentlessly in this forbidden area?


    At first, he assumed that Bai Ziliang would at least be slightly apprehensive of this forbidden area. But s, his hopes were dashed.


    Unfortunately, when the tiny mantids were in the middle of breaking open the gourd artifact, Bai Ziliang noticed the discrepancy and managed to figure out what was happening inside. After that, he almost strangled Miao Yi and the others to death with the iron chains. Otherwise, Miao Yi could have destroyed the gourd artifact undetected. After all, he wasn¡¯t the only one trapped inside.


    Miao Yi quickly turned his dragon steed around and headed back towards Zhao Fei and the group. At the same time, he readied a tiny mantid in his hand.


    s, despite the outstanding performance of the tiny mantids all this while, it seemed that they were quite fearful of the intense heat. Miao Yi could feel their apprehensiveness. He instantly discarded the idea of having the tiny mantids sacrifice themselves tounch a sneak attack on Bai Ziliang and his forces, quickly storing them back into his storage ring.


    Following their original n, both Miao Yi and Gu Sanzheng returned to the group. Gu Sanzheng looked at Miao Yi with astonishment. At this point, anyone could tell that Miao Yi was the one Bai Ziliang was truly after. Gu Sanzheng also understood that Miao Yi was simply trying to probe Bai Ziliang¡¯s intentions just then.


    Having chased after separate targets for a short while, Bai Ziliang eventually regrouped with the rest. They were all a little confused as to what Miao Yi and the others were trying to pull.


    "What are these people doing? Are they trying to prank us?" To the back, Ba Jie also felt like he¡¯d just been taken for a fool.


    As they ventured deeper into the hard, ckened wastnd, they came across more and more jagged, towering hills. It was as though they had run into a forest of stone, and their speed was greatly affected by this change in terrain. In addition, the incline was bing increasingly steeper. In the distance, a tall mountain loomed over the horizon.


    The closer they got to that mountain, the hotter it became. As the dragon steeds galloped, the rubble kicked up from the ground instantly turned into sparks. It was quite a spectacr sight to watch as a whole group of dragon steeds from front to back kicked up sparks under their hooves.


    Miao Yi had a serious expression on his face, as though he was debating about something. No one knew what he was thinking about.


    "I really can¡¯t hold on much longer!" Pi Junzi voiced out again. His tone seemed incredibly pained.


    Fear was also evident on Tao Ruchun¡¯s face. He too was close to his limits.


    When he heard this, Miao Yi seemed to have finally made up his mind. He turned back and said, "Gu Sanzheng. They won¡¯t be able to hold on much longer if they have to keep taking care of their dragon steeds. Let the four of them ride on your Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts!"


    Gu Sanzheng nodded. Tan Lao and Ye Xin waved their hands, and the three of them immediately brought their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts next to Zhao Fei and the others.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei quickly jumped over andnded behind Gu Sanzheng, while Pi Junzi and Tao Ruchunnded behind Tan Lao. Thetter group instantly felt better now that they no longer needed to take care of their dragon steeds.


    "Harrumph...!" Everyone turned back and watched as the four dragon steeds neighed in agony after losing the transcendence energy¡¯s protection. They instantly caught fire and thrashed about within the zing mes, before ultimately falling to the ground. It was a horrific sight to behold.


    "Alliance Master, we really can¡¯t hold on much longer!"


    "Alliance Master, we can¡¯t go on any further!"


    This act had also shocked the forces behind them, as many Yao cultivators began pleading with their Alliance Master Pang Duo.


    Pang Duo immediately shouted to Bai Ziliang, "Young Master, the ones with a lower cultivation are really at their limits!"


    Even Bai Ziliang felt a chill in his heart at what just happened. He finally relented and said, "Those with a lower cultivation no longer need to continue the pursuit!"


    When they received the order, a great number of Yao cultivators immediately came to a stop. They were sick and tired of this horrible ce, and they began to head back. Only three Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators¡ªPang Duo included¡ªremained. Together with Bai Ziliang¡¯s original party of six, a total of nine riders continued chasing after Miao Yi and the others.


    Ye Xin suddenly turned to look at Miao Yi. The space behind her was still vacant, and she was already riding right beside him. There was no time to be feeling reserved because of their gender differences. Ye Xin kept on waiting for Miao Yi toe over, but he simply put on a serious face, with no signs of jumping up to her at all.


    Ye Xin thought he was worried about riding together with a woman, and so she yelled, "What are you still waiting for? Quickly get over here!"


    However, Miao Yi simply turned to Gu Sanzheng and asked, "Can the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts outrun Bai Ziliang¡¯s mount?"


    Tan Lao answered on his behalf, "His mount is known as the Tempest Beast. Once it matures, it will be able to tread on clouds and mist. Even though it¡¯s still just an infant, its speed is not something our Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts can contend with."


    Miao Yi asked, "When we were at sea, I noticed that spiritual beast was able to walk upon the waves, so how did you manage to outrun it then? Unless you guys bumped into Fairy Yue Yao right from the start?"


    That didn¡¯t seem likely. If they had met Fairy Yue Yao from the beginning, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch sight of them still in a stalemate after being stuck inside the gourd for so long.


    A sh of inspiration could be seen in Gu Sanzheng¡¯s eyes. He immediately said, "Tan Lao. Quickly, use your Great Art: Mystical Voice of Myriad Beasts to disorient it."


    Tan Lao understood what he was aiming for. The n was for him to use his beast-taming art to disorient the Tempest Beast while they took advantage of the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts¡¯ speed to outrun all the other dragon steeds.


    Heughed bitterly. "I¡¯ve already disoriented it once. The other party already knows about this method. I fear it will no longer be effective."


    Ye Xin yelled, "How will you know if you don¡¯t try?!"


    Tan Lao resigned himself and readied his bronze-colored flute.


    "Wu...Wuwuwu..."


    The melody of the flute resonated across the deste wastnd. At times, it was woeful and sad; other times, it was sharp and powerful. "Roar!" Behind Miao Yi and the others, the Tempest Beast immediately roared out painfully, bing restless and agitated. It hadpletely lost its bearings.


    Seeing this, everyone revealed expressions of joy. Miao Yi¡¯s eyes also shone as though he¡¯d seen a glimpse of hope. Suddenly, Bai Ziliang bent down and quickly stuffed something into the Tempest Beast¡¯s ears. After that, the Tempest Beast quickly calmed down and continued chasing after them.


    Their faces contorted in shock as their hopes of outrunning Bai Ziliang werepletely dashed.


    Miao Yi grimaced as he slowly turned back to look ahead. Even that final glimmer of hope was lost now...


    Even further behind, the ny Yao cultivators were on their way back when they were stopped by a group of six monks standing in a row. When they saw Kong Zhi¡¯s mount, the Yao cultivators didn¡¯t dare to act rashly. Especially since Bai Ziliang had already informed them of Kong Zhi¡¯s identity beforehand.


    The Yao cultivator in the lead greeted him and said, "Grandmaster Kong Zhi. Buddhism is all aboutpassion and forgiveness. I hope you will be merciful and let us go!"


    Kong Zhi was incredibly troubled! The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was indeed unsuitable for Buddhist monks like themselves. That said, they couldn¡¯t simply let these people go, although it was contradictory to the Buddhist doctrine. After all, for all intents and purposes, they hade here under the pretense of exorcising evil. He turned to look at Ba Jie beside him.


    "Amitabha!" Not only was Ba Jie dressed in a set of clean, white monk¡¯s robes, he also had a handsome appearance. As though hemented for the entire realm, he pped his hands together and sighed, "The Great Buddha indeed valuespassion. He couldn¡¯t bear to see carnage run rampant in this Western Star Sea, which is why He sent us here to spread the word of peace! I can tell that all of you bear an overwhelming murderous aura. It disrupts the harmony of the realm! As long as one delivers oneself from the boundless sea of tribtions and repent, one will be able to reach salvation. As such, I urge you all to cast away your des!"


    The Yao cultivator in charge immediately nodded. "Grandmaster is right. We have already repented and were just about to leave."


    How dare you try to y me for a fool! Ba Jie raised an eyebrow, and with pped hands, said, "Since you¡¯ve already repented, why not cast away those des of yours that spread chaos? Everyone, please leave all your belongings behind, including the Geotranscendence Bangles on your wrists. Those are the evil roots of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. They must be culled! How else will you all be able to repent if you don¡¯t rid yourselves of them?"


    The Yao cultivator was slightly distraught, but still forced a smile and replied, "Grandmaster, this Geotranscendence Bangle is locked firmly onto our wrists, and can change its size ording to the person. There¡¯s no way we can take it off!"


    Ba Jie sighed, "Since you have decided to repent, why not disy your resolve and cut the evil away at its roots? If you chop off your hand, you will naturally be able to take it off!"


    The faces of the Yao cultivators¡¯ all twisted in shock. If they chopped off their hands, they could indeed take off the Geotranscendence Bangles. However, they had already imnted their unique art source signature inside. As long as the person in question was still alive, the indicator would not disappear on the astrbe. Once the Geotranscendence Bangle was taken off, the indicator on the astrbe would immediately change color, and the enforcers for the Subjugation Crusade would rush over to exact disciplinary action at the drop of a hat. That was the same as courting death! They were all notified of this in the jade archive handed down to them.


    The Yao cultivator in charge asked in a somber tone, "Is Grandmaster trying to make things difficult for us?"


    Ba Jie shook his head, "You¡¯ve all fallen too deeply into the bogs of chaos and are still intent on being ignorant. It seems like you will not know how to repent unless wepletely exorcise the evil from you!"


    There were several Yao cultivators on the other side who were infuriated by Ba Jie¡¯s overbearing demands, and they barked out, "Cut the false benevolence act! In the end, all you want to do is rob us!"


    "It¡¯s not the first time my intentions have been misunderstood. If you all insist that we¡¯re mistreating you, then so be it! As Buddha once said, ¡¯If I am not the one to bear this sin, then who shall?!¡¯ " The gentle,passionate expression on Ba Jie¡¯s face abruptly changed to one of mockery as he scoffed, "You guys really thought I was some kind of *y idol. Let me tell you, as far as the six of us are concerned, peace andpassion were never in our books. The only thing we like to do is punish crooks!"


    *y idol:es from the saying, ¡¯a y idol that crosses the river will not be able to save itself.¡¯-- meaning helpless/a pushover

 Chapter 393: A Dire Situation

    Chapter 393: A Dire Situation


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    What do you mean by the six of us? You¡¯re the only one who prefers spreading violence over promoting peace. Don¡¯t drag us in too!


    Kong Zhi and the others were rolling their eyes in disdain. However, they had long since gotten used to how this bastard behaved. It was not like it was their first time hanging out together after all.


    This bastard was practically the greatest stain to the Realm of High Paradise¡¯s name. He would always badmouth his master behind his back and from a young age, he kept trying to run away from the sect. Although he would be caught and taken back every time, soon afterward he would try to escape again. If his master was anyone else, he would have long been executed already. Or at the very least, have both his legs broken and his cultivation crippled before being exiled from the sect.


    But s, Grandmaster Qi Jie would always protect him. Even though Ba Jie would always be severely punished each time he caused trouble, the bastard was not deterred in the least. The ¡¯Jie Line¡¯ could only have one sessor and after so many years, Grandmaster Qi Jie had only taken on a single disciple, Ba Jie, who was under his protection. If not for these reasons, Ba Jie would have been sentenced to death by the people of the Realm of High Paradise a long time ago.


    In a nutshell, when it came to the Realm of High Paradise, all the disciples were strictly reminded to stay as far away as they could from Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s disciple. They were warned not to fall under his bad influence, otherwise, the punishment would be severe. There were already a few cases of this urring beforehand.


    "I¡¯ve already yed my role as the viin. It¡¯s your turn now!" Ba Jie turned around and waved, "Kong Zhi, go!"


    Kong Zhi was speechless. Who exactly is the one in charge of this trip? To have me make the first move... are you the viin here or am I?


    The Yao cultivators began to panic when they heard him. They didn¡¯t dare to fight and quickly rushed off to the side.


    Meanwhile, Ba Jie was just enjoying the show from the sidelines and watched on as they made their escape. His face pretty much said ¡¯it¡¯s none of my business¡¯.


    Kong Zhi could do little but resign himself. With a wave of his hand, he revealed the ¡¯Blood Kasaya¡¯. It abruptly expanded a few hundredfolds in midair, almost nketing the entire sky, and descending down just as suddenly. It wrapped up all the Yao cultivators along with their dragon steeds within, then quickly shrank down...


    "Miao Yi. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re waiting for me to invite you over?" Ye Xin said to Miao Yi in an agitated tone. She didn¡¯t know what he was still hesitating for. Why hadn¡¯t he discarded his dragon steed ande on to her Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast already?


    Gu Sanzheng and the others were also looking at Miao Yi. Because it was taking him so long to get on Ye Xin¡¯s mount, the other two Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts couldn¡¯t run at their full speed either.


    Miao Yi stared at the giant deste mountain before them and sucked in a deep breath, as though he hade to a final decision. He turned to the rest of the group and said gravely, "All of you, turn away immediately. I¡¯ll help lure Bai Ziliang away from you!"


    Everyone was taken aback. How could he possibly survive then? Sikong Wuwei red, "Kid, in this group, regardless of whether it¡¯s cultivation or seniority, it¡¯s not your turn to y the hero yet. If we¡¯re going to run, we¡¯re going to run together!"


    "Run together?" Miao Yi asked, "Gu Sanzheng. Can your three Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts outrun Bai Ziliang¡¯s Tempest Beast?"


    "Not a chance!" Gu Sanzheng gritted his teeth and continued, "If we¡¯re really out of options, we can split up the three Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts and escape separately. That way, we¡¯ll at least get to cut our losses!"


    "Then I might as well just go off on my own!" Miao Yi continued, "Your side won¡¯t lose anything if I leave. Even if I were to go with you guys, I wouldn¡¯t be able to be of much help anyway. However, if we were to split up and Bai Ziliang finishes one of us off, the rest of us would lose the advantage we might have had from thebined might of our transcendent artifacts. If that happens, you might not even have the power to resist him."


    Tan Lao said gravely, "Then we can continue to string them along like this. After all, Bai Ziliang is the only one who can keep up with us. Not a single one of the others dare to approach us."


    "You¡¯re just trying to lie to yourself. Your mounts don¡¯t have enough stamina tost running along this ind for too long. However, his can. He can simply wait until your mounts have exhausted all their energy. When that happens, he can simply take his time dealing with us and no one will be able to escape." Miao Yi shook his head.


    Sikong Wuwei barked in frustration, "Then we¡¯ll just leave this shitty ind and find our chance of survival on the open sea!"


    Miao Yi replied, "On the ocean, we¡¯ll lose the speed advantage our mounts can give us. We¡¯ll have even less of a chance outrunning his Tempest Beast then. At least on this Skyfire Mountain, Bai Ziliang will still have some reservations and not act too rashly. Furthermore, there is no one else he can turn to for extra support. As a member of the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, once he¡¯s on the ocean, the number of resources at his disposal should be staggeringly high. The Western Star Sea is their turf after all."


    "Are you saying there¡¯s no other way but yours?" Sikong Wuwei growled, "Then we might as well turn back and fight!"


    "Do I even need you to tell me whether we stand a chance at winning that fight?" Miao Yi told everyone gravely, "Listen to me. I will lure Bai Ziliang away on my own and try to buy you all as much time as I can. Once your Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts start running at full speed, the others won¡¯t be able to catch up to you even if they try. Now that there are no eyes in the sky watching us, you can make use of this opportunity to sweep them off your tail. It doesn¡¯t matter which way you decide to run off to. After this, even if Bai Ziliang¡¯s Tempest Beast tries to speed up, he¡¯ll have a harder time finding you guys once he loses sight of you. This will be a chance for you guys to think of an idea to escape himpletely. I¡¯ll leave the details for you all to decide ording to the situation. This is the most I can do for you!"


    Zhao Fei frowned silently. Gu Sanzheng asked, "Then what will you do?"


    "I have my own ways of handling the problem. Who knows? My luck may even be better than yours!" Miao Yi joked, "On the off-chance that Bai Ziliang decides not to chase me andes after you all in full-force instead, you guys will end up being the ones luring the enemy away from me!"


    Gu Sanzheng remarked grimly, "You¡¯ve already tested out Bai Ziliang¡¯s actions just now. You know what the result will be!"


    "We¡¯re getting close to that mountain. The speed of my mount is much lower than Bai Ziliang¡¯s, so I still need you all to help me buy some time for now. Slow down a little so that I can go ahead. Bai Ziliang wouldn¡¯t dare to approach you all on his own anyway. Once I reach the foot of the mountain, you can all turn away immediately. I¡¯ll think of a way to hold him back for as long as I can!" Miao Yi said.


    "The closer you get to the mountain, the hotter it¡¯ll be. Will you be able to take it?" Gu Sanzheng asked.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t answer. Instead, he turned to the two people behind Gu Sanzheng and said, "Zhao Fei, Sikong, don¡¯t forget about the promise you two made to Qi Xiuhong back when we were imprisoned inside the gourd artifact!"


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei looked at Miao Yi in shock! Tao Ruchun and Pi Junzi were also staring at him in astonishment!


    "Go!" Miao Yi yelled. In order to lessen the weight on his mount as well as the consumption rate of his transcendence energy, he recalled his armor artifact. With a swing of his sword artifact, he made a gash on the dragon steed¡¯s rear. It neighed in agony and immediately started galloping much faster. It charged in front of the three Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts, its beating hooves kicking up sparks on the ground as it hurriedly bolted straight towards the mountain.


    "Let¡¯s do what he says and help him slow down the people at the back!" Zhao Fei said as he tossed his Spirit Illusion Greatsword up into the sky. It instantly formed ten million projections and began assaulting their pursuers.


    Chasing Gu Sanzheng and the others from behind, Bai Ziliang was taken by surprise from the sudden assault and immediately slowed down. However, he soon realized that the other party could not possibly attack him from such a long distance. They were merely trying to scare him. Regardless, Bai Ziliang didn¡¯t dare to increase his speed too much. His gaze was locked onto Miao Yi who was galloping at the front of the group.


    As soon as Bai Ziliang slowed down, the group behind him led by Lan Susu gradually pulled closer to him.


    "Qi Xiuhong is the name of that woman who died?" After separating from Miao Yi, Gu Sanzheng asked, "What promise did you guys make to her?"


    "Her cultivation was only at the White Lotus Fifth Grade. Her Manor Head coveted her for her beauty, but because she was unwilling toply, he sent her here to the Sea of Constetions to die. Before she passed, we promised her that if we ever made it back alive, we will help avenge her!" Sikong Wuwei said in a grave tone.


    Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin looked at one another. They hadn¡¯t expected that Miao Yi would still be concerned over a matter like this in such a dire situation. Their gazes followed his gradually departing silhouette, and they instantly understood. He had already made preparations in case anything were to happen to him.


    Their gazes were a little conflicted as they wondered whether Miao Yi would survive and give them a chance to avenge their three major sects too.


    Gu Sanzheng looked up at the sky and heaved a deep sigh. There had been many a time when he could only remain helpless in thisnd. Perhaps it was better to live a boring life instead of fighting against the machinations of fate.


    As soon as Miao Yi reached the foot of the mountain in front, he charged straight up. Gu Sanzheng immediately shouted, "Let¡¯s go!"


    The three Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts quickly changed directions and ran off. No longer required to slow down their pace to match the other dragon steeds, the three spiritual beasts abruptly elerated, increasing their speed to the very limits as they darted away from the foot of the mountain.


    Behind them, Bai Ziliang furrowed his brows as he watched the three quickly departing mounts, then turned to look at Miao Yi who was charging towards the mountaintop.


    As expected, Bai Ziliangmanded with a wave of his hand, "You all go after them. I¡¯ll take care of the one heading up the mountain myself!"


    "Young Master! Be careful of any traps! I shall apany you!" Lan Susu hastily advised, afraid that something might happen to Bai Ziliang.


    However, her mount couldn¡¯t keep up at all with the Tempest Beast that was running at full speed. Not to mention, her forehead was already beading with sweat. Knowing that she wouldn¡¯t be able to endure much more of this and that it would be even harder on her up the mountain, Bai Ziliang quickly nodded and said, "Come sit behind me! The rest of you, go after the others. Make sure to keep an eye on them and don¡¯t let them escape. Once I¡¯ve dealt with the one up the mountain, I¡¯ll immediatelye looking for you!"


    Pang Duo and the others acknowledged the order and hurriedly gave chase towards Zhao Fei and the rest.


    Lan Susu leaped up to sit behind Bai Ziliang, her mount immediately neighing in agony as it tossed around in the mes. The Tempest Beast then quickly sped up, shooting out like a lightning bolt.


    When he turned around and saw that Bai Ziliang was really going after Miao Yi as expected, Sikong Wuwei pounded on his thigh and let out a heavy sigh!


    Everyone could tell that Miao Yi was in a perilous situation and that his chances of survival were slim. If he really did have some method of handling the situation as he told them before, why didn¡¯t he use it sooner? Why would he need to risk himself for it?


    "Let¡¯s not waste Brother Miao¡¯s good intentions!" Gu Sanzheng gritted his teeth and barked, "As long as we survive, we might just get the chance to avenge him!"


    The speed of a Tempest Beast was much too fastpared to a dragon steed¡¯s. Although Gu Sanzheng and the others had tried to stall some time for Miao Yi, Bai Ziliang still managed to catch up to him before he could even reach the mountaintop.


    Behind them, Ba Jie was riding alongside Kong Zhi on his four-horned, golden-hooved white deer. For some reason, his own mount was gone. Evidently, it was because their group had been slightly dyed from their recent scuffle, and Ba Jie figured his dragon steed would be too slow, so he decided to ride together with Kong Zhi on his mount and go ahead of the rest instead.


    When he saw the prestigious representative of the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons chasing after Miao Yi so relentlessly, Ba Jie assumed that there was definitely some great treasure to be had and was insistent on catching up to them.


    Miao Yi also never expected the Tempest Beast to be so fast. Turning back to look, he realized that the other party had already caught up to him before he could even reach the mountaintop.


    Feeling the heat of the mountain, Bai Ziliang was deeply astonished as he hadn¡¯t expected Miao Yi¡¯s dragon steed to actually be able to make it up here. Had he not been riding on the Tempest Beast, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to endure this at all.


    Bai Ziliang brandished a giant ck seal in his hand and hurled it out, causing the artifact to expand abruptly. Much like the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, it shot towards the fleeing Miao Yi with a crack of thunder.


    Turning back to look, Miao Yi was greatly surprised. He quickly tossed out six Second Grade Mountain Cleaving Talismans in response, and the six blue streaks of light abruptly shot out.


    Boom boom boom...!


    A series of eruptions resounded. The six Second Grade Mountain Cleaving Talismans were able to alter the trajectory of the giant ck seal, but they were still unable to stop its momentum. The giant ck seal crashed nearby, kicking up plumes of dust and rubble as the ground beneath it trembled heavily.


    Miao Yi¡¯s dragon steed continued to frantically dash towards the peak of the mountain. He was a little exasperated. Didn¡¯t they say that this was Lie Huan¡¯s personal residence? Why wasn¡¯t there even a single sign of a pce or a cave?

 Chapter 394: A Pitiful Broken Body

    Chapter 394: A Pitiful Broken Body


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    His idea was very straightforward; he would simply charge straight into Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan¡¯s pce or cave to hide from this predicament. He was sure that even Bai Ziliang wouldn¡¯t be so rash that he¡¯d fight inside Lie Huan¡¯s personal quarters.


    Behind him, Bai Ziliang¡¯s expression was cold, looking as though he had finally cornered a rat. He hurled out the giant ck seal again, and it flew off with a thunderous boom.


    With Miao Yi¡¯s strength, there was no way he could fight against Bai Ziliang. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t have any transcendent artifacts capable of long-distance attacks either. The only things at his disposal were a few talismans. These were all that he had to muster up a struggle, however short-lived it may be. With a sweep of his hand, he tossed out six more Second Grade Mountain Cleaving Talismans.


    Eruptions resounded as the oing giant ck seal was deflected once more, crashing to the side and causing the ground to tremble. Plumes of dust and rubble rose up as tiny res darted about. The shockwave was immense.


    At this point, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t be bothered even if the sky were to cave in or the ground were to crumble. He simply charged to the peak as fast as he could.


    He heard another loud booming from behind him. Evidently, the giant ck seal was flying towards him again. Miao Yi quickly grabbed arge stack of talismans and tossed them all out. Fifty First Grade Mountain Cleaving Talismans shot out behind him, bombarding the attack aiming for his back. As for the Second Grade Mountain Cleaving Talismans, he¡¯d used them all up already. He¡¯d only brought fifteen of them on this journey to the Sea of Constetions.


    Even Bai Ziliang was taken aback by this attack. If those were fifty Second Grade Mountain Cleaving Talismans, they would probably cause severe damage to his transcendent artifact, and he would need to use arge amount of Yao Cores to replenish its energy. However, when he saw that the talismans were emitting a white light instead, he heaved a sigh of relief as he realized that they were simply First Grade talismans.


    The sound of explosions continuously erupted. However, Miao Yi seemed incredibly frustrated as the explosive might of fifty First Grade Mountain Cleaving Talismans had barely affected the giant ck seal¡¯s momentum. They only managed to slow down its flight speed a little, buying him just a bit of time to escape.


    The looming ck shadow was quickly descending upon him. Without much time to dodge, Miao Yi frantically jumped up from the back of his dragon steed and dove to the side in an attempt to escape.


    However, he was still one step toote. The dragon steed was instantly shrouded in mes, neighing in agony before it was then crushed underneath by the giant ck seal.


    Spurt! Failing to dodge in time, Miao Yi spat out a mouthful of blood as hey painfully on the ground. One of his legs was buried underneath a corner of the colossal ck seal. It was surely beyond saving already.


    This was already the best oue from a bad situation. If the explosion of fifty First Grade Mountain Cleaving Talismans hadn¡¯t slowed down the momentum of the giant ck seal, his entire body would have already been crushed t.


    Seeing that he¡¯d finally managed to catch Miao Yi, Bai Ziliang revealed a cold smirk. He was about to charge over to wash himself of the shame Miao Yi had put him through when he was suddenly caught by surprise.


    Bai Ziliang watched as Miao Yi brandished a sword artifact and without hesitation, hacked down at his own leg. With a cold sheen, the sword artifact immediately chopped off the leg that was crushed under the ck seal. Then, Miao Yi frantically crawled back and leaped up onto one foot before continuing to madly charge up the mountain.


    Even Bai Ziliang couldn¡¯t help feeling impressed by this sight, realizing that this person was truly a ruthless and decisive character. He didn¡¯t seem to hesitate at all before he cut off his own leg. What decisiveness! But s, so what?


    Having watched the whole thing y out from behind Bai Ziliang, Kong Zhi and Ba Jie were equally astounded by this sight. Ba Jie clicked his tongue and said, "Who exactly is this guy Bai Ziliang is after? How is he so ruthless even to his own self?"


    Perhaps it wasn¡¯t a big deal to cut off one¡¯s leg. The important thing was that he didn¡¯t hesitate at all, as though he was simply cutting up a vegetable. This was what unnerved everyone.


    After painstakingly making his way to the top of the mountain, Miao Yi was in despair. He saw no sight of Lie Huan¡¯s personal residence before him, only a crevice simr to the mouth of a volcano. A hundred meters below the opening, orange mes burned vigorously. However, the way the mes burned were extremely peculiar; they were somehow spiraling like a whirlpool.


    Don¡¯t tell me Lie Huan¡¯s personal residence is within the sea of mes underneath me? Miao Yi felt as though all hope was lost. He suddenly heard the sound of the giant seal summoned back from behind him and he turned around to find Bai Ziliang already closing in on him.


    With a flip of his hand, he brandished the Mystic Yin Mirror. He then made his final attack and shot out a ferocious gust of cold Yin aura.


    However, the cold Yin aura seemed to have been affected by the high temperature of the surrounding area, and its might was drastically decreased. The Tempest Beast simply spat out a mouthful of red mist, and it instantly canceled out the attack of the cold Yin aura.


    Already seriously wounded in the first ce, Miao Yi lost another significant portion of his transcendence energy. Standing on one foot on the peak of the mountain, his body was already beginning to wobble. He only managed to prop himself up by stabbing his sword into the ground and leaning against it. Furthermore, he still had to invoke his arts to control the surrounding temperature and prevent it from harming his body any further. Both his body and mind were in a terrible state.


    Seeing that Bai Ziliang was going to throw the giant ck seal back at him again, Miao Yi waved his hand and said, "Please wait!"


    Bai Ziliang saw how Miao Yi could still retain hisposure despite how pitiful he looked¡ªhis clothes all torn up and battered, his hair in a mess, his face covered in blood, and with one leg gone as he leaned on his sword to stand up¡ªand he felt a sense of awe inside. He momentarily stopped his attack and mocked, "So now you¡¯re afraid?"


    "Afraid?" Miao Yi scoffed, then asked, "I simply wish to know why you¡¯ve been chasing after me so relentlessly. Don¡¯t tell me it was simply because I destroyed your transcendent artifact?"


    How could a normal bystander possibly know how he came to possess the Demon Refining Gourd? This was a deeply shameful matter for Bai Ziliang. Slightly angered from the embarrassment, he asked, "You¡¯re still concerned over a matter like this when you¡¯re about to die?"


    "Even if I die, I should at least know the reason for it, don¡¯t you think?" Miao Yiughed wryly.


    Since he was going to die either way, he might as well try to stall for as much time as he could for Zhao Fei and the others. Maybe this favor from him would influence those that were fortunate enough to survive to do something for him in the future. This was the best scenario.


    How could Bai Ziliang possibly reveal to Miao Yi that the Demon Refining Gourd was something his mother had painstakingly begged to obtain? He didn¡¯t wish to waste any more time talking and began raising his hand to strike, when Miao Yi hastily shouted, "Don¡¯t you wish to know the reason why I took the risk to leave the group and lure you here on my own?!"


    Bai Ziliang¡¯s hand stopped. He was also wondering about this matter and was curious to know the answer. Why would someone rush to their death so willingly? He asked, "Why did you do it?"


    "We would also like to know the reason." Ba Jie¡¯s voice could be heard. The golden-hooved white deer descended, carrying two people on its back. Ba Jie smiled at Lan Susu, who was seated behind Bai Ziliang, and said, "Young miss, we meet again!"


    Lan Susu silently furrowed her brows. Bai Ziliang turned and said somberly, "Kong Zhi, you¡¯ve been following me nonstop. What are your intentions?"


    "Cast aside your de and attain enlightenment!" Ba Jie answered on behalf of Kong Zhi, who simply nodded at his response.


    "Spare me the charade!" Bai Ziliang scoffed.


    Miao Yi seemed to have caught a glimmer of hope. Pointing a finger to Bai Ziliang, he told Ba Jie, "Grandmaster is absolutely correct. This person¡¯s bloodlust is too strong. You should advise him to quickly put aside his de."


    Ba Jie nodded and smiled, "A strong sense of bloodlust always stems from the root of evil. I fear it will be difficult for him to cast aside his de if we don¡¯t eliminate this wicked root. My good sir, are you perhaps carrying some kind of treasure that is tempting him so? If so, then that must be the root of evil. I suggest you hand it over to us. Once the root of evil is eliminated, he will naturally let you go!"


    Miao Yi grimaced. He initially thought that help hade, but it turns out that an even more shameless character had arrived instead. He couldn¡¯t helpughing coldly, "I don¡¯t mind handing over the treasure to you two, but I don¡¯t think the surnamed Bai person will agree to it!"


    Ba Jie ced down his sped hands and revealed his true desires. He simply said, "As long as you agree to hand the treasure over to us, then it will be our possession. If someone dares to try and take it, then don¡¯t me me for using force to exorcise evil!"


    Miao Yi replied inly, "These people should not be carelessly offended. They are from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons."


    Ba Jieughed, "My good sir, you may be unaware of our background. We are from the Realm of High Paradise. My Master is Grandmaster Qi Jie of Mount Dui." He then pointed at Kong Zhi and added, "His Supreme Master is Buddha Sage Cang Lei. Why then, should we be afraid of the people from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons?!"


    Kong Zhi was utterly lost for words. This bastard always used his background to intimidate others whenever he had the chance. When it was useful to him, he would use his Master¡¯s name. When it wasn¡¯t, he would call him an old baldy behind his back.


    Miao Yi nodded. "As long as the two Grandmasters are willing to let me leave, I shall hand over my treasure to you."


    Bai Ziliang quickly yelled, "Kong Zhi, stop listening to his drivel! The only thing I want is his life. You two can have the rest!"


    Ba Jie quickly asked, "Are you for real?!"


    Bai Ziliang was afraid they would get in his way. He wasn¡¯t tempted in the least by Miao Yi¡¯s things, so he firmly stated, "It¡¯s a promise!"


    Ba Jie sped his hands together and nodded. "Life and death are two sides of the same coin. There is neither sadness nor joy to be found within. Like an ethereal dream, everything within is but an illusion." He turned to Kong Zhi and said, "Kong Zhi. We have been too blinded by the mirages of life. We should learn to let go of our desires when we can. Only then will we be free of our shackles and achieve enlightenment."


    Kong Zhi remained silent. You¡¯re the one deciding what¡¯s right and what¡¯s wrong anyway. Why bring me in again?


    When he saw how they immediately changed their stance as soon as he promised to give them some benefits, Bai Ziliang couldn¡¯t help but say mockingly, "Kong Zhi. You people really are noble examples of a monk!"


    Ba Jie raised an eyebrow and said, "Are you trying to force us to break our sacred creed?"


    What a fickle pair indeed. This was practically a mockery of the teachings of Buddha. Bai Ziliang was lost for words. What sort of failure of a monk was this person? He turned his head and kept quiet. He couldn¡¯t afford to upset these two.


    Seeing as the situation was not to his favor, Miao Yi said grimly, "Grandmaster, to save a life is better than building a sevenyered pagoda for Buddha. What happened to your merciful hearts?"


    Ba Jie pped his hands together and said inly, "In this life, I do not favor cultivating a benevolent heart. I prefer carnage and bloodshed instead! I wouldn¡¯t count on building a sevenyered pagoda. After all, I am already here in hell. As Buddha once said, if I do not venture into the depths of hell, then who will? Amitabha!"


    This was his answer. Bai Ziliang and Lan Susu grimaced as they looked at Kong Zhi, as though trying to ask, ¡¯Is this really how the saying is interpreted in Buddhism?¡¯.


    Kong Zhi simply lowered his gaze and kept quiet. He¡¯d long been used to this. If he was bothered by it every single time, he wouldn¡¯t be able to live with himself.


    Miao Yi was so furious he broke out intoughter. Forget meeting such a shameless monk, he had never even seen a person so shameless to begin with.


    He tried hard to regain hisposure. Not waiting for Bai Ziliang to make his move, he quickly changed the subject and asked, "Bai Ziliang, do you know why Gu Sanzheng and I suddenly ran off in separate directions just now when you were chasing us, and regrouped as soon as you came after me?"


    Just as Bai Ziliang was about to strike, his curiosity stopped his hand yet again. He asked coldly, "Why?"


    Miao Yi still wanted to drag on as much time as he could for Zhao Fei and the others, so he slowly replied, "Because I wanted to see whether the person you didn¡¯t want to let go of the most would be Gu Sanzheng or me. And evidently, your desire to kill me is slightly stronger."


    "So?" Bai Ziliang scoffed, "You still ended up falling into my hands in the end!"


    Miao Yiughed, "I¡¯m d to see you understand. Your mount is simply too fast, so there had to be someone to lure you away. Which was exactly what happened. You were sessfully lured away by me. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be possible for those subordinates of yours to catch up to my friends¡¯ Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts anymore."


    Bai Ziliang scoffed, "Even so, you will still die!"


    Miao Yi wanted to borate further, but Lan Susu¡¯s expression suddenly changed as she quickly said, "This is bad. He¡¯s intentionally trying to stall for time so that those three Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts can escape our forces!"


    Bai Ziliang was astonished.


    Miao Yi revealed a vicious grin and said, "It¡¯s a littlete to be finally realizing this, don¡¯t you think? I think it¡¯ll be hard for you to even find where the other members of your group ran off to. You still think you can catch up to my friends?"


    "Die!" Bai Ziliang was furious.


    His hand jerked, but before he could toss out the giant seal, Miao Yi leaped up with his leg and fell backward into the mouth of the volcano behind him.


    "You want to kill me? It¡¯s not your turn yet!" Miao Yi¡¯s furious howl resounded from within the volcano.

 Chapter 395: Lao Bai Makes His Move

    Chapter 395: Lao Bai Makes His Move


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    This roar was Miao Yi¡¯s final disy of spite, made to frustrate the other party on purpose. After being on the receiving end of such a long and arduous pursuit, he would not let the enemy have his way even as he took hisst breath.


    Although Bai Ziliang had been the one to push Miao Yi to such dire straits in the end, this parting bellow really managed to tick him off.


    The Tempest Beast jumped andnded by the mouth of the volcano. The golden-hooved white deer also leaped forward at almost the same time.


    Everyone peeked over the edge and looked down. Unwilling to let Miao Yi go so easily, Bai Ziliang readied his giant ck seal to send Miao Yi on his way even sooner. However, he stopped his hand when he saw the situation down below.


    The swirling mass of orange mes was a captivating sight. Everyone watched as Miao Yi slowly sank under, his clothes and hair instantly catching fire as he submerged deeper into the ming whirlpool.


    "Ughh..." Despite the extreme pain, Miao Yi muffled his cries. However, it was still a bone-chilling sound for everyone present.


    Ashes and sparks flew up as the hot air ascended. It was all that remained of Miao Yi¡¯s hair and clothes.


    The heat right above the mouth of the volcano was simply too extreme, so much so that everyone there was barely able to endure it with their cultivation. Bai Ziliang¡¯s Tempest Beast seemed unperturbed by this heat, whereas the golden-hooved white deer bleated in agony. Clearly, the heat had exceeded its level of tolerance.


    The two spiritual beasts leaped back, away from the mountaintop. Bai Ziliang and the others all looked at one another. It was a heat that none of them could even tolerate. How had Miao Yi managed to act soposed and talk to them when he was already in such a terrible state? It was utterly inconceivable.


    "The mouth of this volcano is a little strange. It doesn¡¯t seem like that of the average volcano. The me within is also no ordinary fire; the way it burns is quite different. Clearly, this is a fire array that someone intentionally set up. To be able to set up a fire array at this spot, that person should be none other than Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan himself. It seems like his personal residence is truly underneath this ce. This fire array is probably used to guard the entrance from trespassers," said Ba Jie, clicking his tongue.


    Lan Susu asked, "If Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan¡¯s personal residence is truly below this ce, couldn¡¯t that guy have escaped by jumping down?"


    Bai Ziliang answered tly, "He is definitely dead! Maybe he could have survived if the fire array wasn¡¯t here. After all, could just anyone break through a fire array set up by that Supreme Yao Lord? He¡¯s dead, without a doubt!"


    Ba Jie shook his head. "That bastard was quite the character. His other traits aside, the fact that he was willing to risk his own life to lure the enemy away from his friends was not something anyone could do. It¡¯s a shame that he died." As though remembering something, Ba Jie extended his hand towards Bai Ziliang and continued, "What about the items you promised us?"


    Bai Ziliang was stunned. "What are you talking about?"


    "Don¡¯t y dumb with me. That¡¯s my thing." Pointing to the mouth of the volcano, Ba Jie continued, "Just now, you clearly said that all you wanted was his life and that you¡¯d hand over everything else to us."


    Bai Ziliang was caught in a daze, but then inly replied, "He already jumped down. How could I possibly hand anything over to you? If you want it so badly, then go jump down there and look for it yourself."


    Ba Jie chuckled and said, "Regardless of whether or not he jumped down, the fact that he was ultimately forced down by you means that you were the one whonded the killing blow. Are you trying to go back on your promise now that you¡¯ve achieved your objective? If I hadn¡¯t agreed to your offer, I would have taken him and his treasure away with me by now. I wouldn¡¯t have lost either of them. But now you want me to jump down myself to take it back? I¡¯m warning you, you¡¯d better jump down right now and bring back everything I want. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for tossing you both down with him!"


    "How arrogant. Who do you think you are? As if you¡¯re fit to speak to me!" Bai Ziliang scoffed, then turned to Kong Zhi, "Kong Zhi, you saw it for yourself. That bastard jumped down willingly. I couldn¡¯t do anything about it. So what¡¯s done is done¡ªthis matter is settled!"


    Bai Ziliang¡¯s attitude made it very clear that as a representative from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, he would only speak to the representative of the Realm of High Paradise, who was equal to him in status. There was no room for Ba Jie to cut in.


    Kong Zhi kept quiet. He knew a certain someone would not let this matter end just like that, so he naturally allowed him to y his part.


    Ba Jie was overjoyed. He jumped down the golden-hooved white deer, then revealed a wooden fish drum in his hand. The drum was ck and carried an amber-like translucence. Ba Jie began to beat the wooden fish drum, the steady sound echoing across the mountaintop, its sheer volume capable of making one¡¯s eardrums go numb. With a cold smile, Ba Jie said, "Trying to leave without handing over anything?"


    Right as he was leaving, Bai Ziliang turned back and stared at the transcendent artifact in Ba Jie¡¯s hands. With a cautious gaze, he said, "What are you trying to do?"


    "Do you really think I¡¯m some kind of pushover?" Ba Jie pointed at Bai Ziliang with the stick of the wooden fish drum and said, "Surnamed Bai, we clearly came to an agreement after discussing the terms just now. You even made a promise to us. Yet once the matter is over, you wish to let bygones be bygones? I¡¯ve seen shameless people before, but I¡¯ve never met one as unscrupulous as you." He turned to Kong Zhi and asked, "Kong Zhi, this bastard has just forced a person to end his own life. If we allow him to roam free, he will surely sow more bloodshed along his path. As Buddhist monks, we have an obligation to eliminate such a savage brute and exorcise the evil!"


    "Amitabha!" Kong Zhi sighed, and with a wave of his hand, draped the Blood Kasaya over his shoulders. At the same time, he brandished a monk¡¯s staff, which was simrly ck in color with an amber-like hue. As he shook the staff, the hoops hanging from it immediately started spinning, giving others the impression that they might fly out at any moment.


    It was a terrible feeling to be bullied to such an extent. Lan Susu bit her lips and Bai Ziliang said gravely, "I strongly advise you two to think it over. There is still no telling who¡¯ll have thestugh once we start fighting!"


    Ba Jie chuckled, "Spare me the excuses. If you were really confident in yourself, you wouldn¡¯t have agreed to our proposition so easily back then. You want to try to weasel your way out of this now? Sorry, but it¡¯s toote! Either you hand over a thousand Geotranscendence Bangles now or give us your mount as coteral for the time being. After that, we¡¯ll let you go. Otherwise, don¡¯t me us for exorcising the evil by taking them from your cold, dead bodies!"


    Bai Ziliang hated the fact that his Demon Refining Gourd had been broken. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have to be intimidated by these two at all. Grinding his teeth, he said, "You two had better think this through. Our movements are clearly disyed on the astrbe in the Western Constetions Pce. Regardless of what happens to either of us, there will be no escaping the consequences!"


    "Don¡¯t worry. The only one who should be afraid of anything happening to him is you, not us!" Ba Jie told Kong Zhi, "Give it your all. No one else is here to see who started the fight anyway. If the higher-ups really do start an investigation, just push all the me onto me. You can simply say that I was the one who exterminated these two vile creatures. Worstes to worst, all they¡¯re going to do is kick me out of the school!"


    Kong Zhi was dumbfounded. ¡¯As if you¡¯re afraid of being exiled from the sect. You can¡¯t wait to be exiled is more like it.¡¯ However, this was not a bad situation as it meant that he could freely make his move now!


    Truth be told, Kong Zhi greatly admired Ba Jie deep down, mostly because thetter was never afraid of the consequences.


    Bai Ziliang snarled, "Don¡¯t overstep yourselves!"


    "Cut the crap and stop testing my patience!" Ba Jie gently knocked on the drum and asked, "I¡¯ll ask you one more time, are you going to hand it over or not?!"


    Eventually, Bai Ziliang had no choice but to hand over a thousand Geotranscendence Bangles, before leaving in resignation. There was no way he could hand them the Tempest Beast. Yao Sage Ji Huan had loaned the creature to his mother¡ªhe would still need to give it back when he returned.


    "You be on your way now. Sorry we can¡¯t send you off!" Ba Jie shouted with glee as he knocked on his drum. Afterward, he pointed to the pile of Geotranscendence Bangles on the ground and said to Kong Zhi, "Take a look. All we did was scare them a little, and we managed to get a thousand Geotranscendence Bangles. Every single one of these is equivalent to a person¡¯s life. It¡¯s great that we didn¡¯t have to shed any blood to obtain them."


    One thousand Geotranscendence Bangles! With a wave, Kong Zhi tucked them all into his storage bangle. His heart was filled with a fervent excitement.


    "Kong Zhi, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re secretly feeling overjoyed inside right now. I y the viin while you reap the rewards."


    Kong Zhi couldn¡¯t deny he really was feeling that way right now. However, he still said, "I¡¯ll split half of them with you then!"


    "We¡¯ve been together since we were kids. Whether it¡¯s drinking alcohol, eating meat, or even peeping on girls bathing, we¡¯ve done it all together. Do you think I don¡¯t know how you are? You don¡¯t have to put up an act in front of me. We all came here to help you get a high rank in the first ce. Why would we need these things? It¡¯s fine as long as you remember to charge ahead of us whenever we make our move!" Ba Jie sighed. Looking around, he caught sight of the other four monks who had just reached the foot of the mountain. He leaped onto Kong Zhi¡¯s mount and steadied himself, then said, "Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ve stayed long enough in this damn ce already. Any more and our transcendence energy reserves will soon run dry! If I didn¡¯t have the old baldy¡¯s Ice Soul Beads on me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to endure this at all!"


    Kong Zhi immediately urged his steed down the mountain...


    Meanwhile within the volcano, as the mysterious, whirling mes engulfed Miao Yi¡¯s body, he knew that this would be his end. The heat was nothing like what he¡¯d imagined; there was an immensely powerful destructive force behind it.


    This was a result of hisck of knowledge and inexperience when it came to arrays. Take Ba Jie and the others for example; they could tell that this was a me array with a single nce. This was the gap in knowledge between them.


    If he had known that it would be like this down here, he would¡¯ve never jumped down. He would have tried to coax those two monks into helping him escape his predicament instead. At the very least, he wouldn¡¯t have jumped down so rashly. The reason why he¡¯d dared to do so was because he thought he could use his heat-manipting arts to escape Bai Ziliang¡¯s pursuit within the sea of mes. Then, once Bai Ziliang left, he would make his escape. Little did he know that he had forfeited his own chances of survival instead.


    As soon as Miao Yi came into contact with the mes, he could immediately feel an intense force pulling him down. And with his level of cultivation, there was no way he could put up any resistance. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t that proficient in his heat-manipting arts. To put it bluntly, he had barely even learned how to walk; he hadn¡¯t even trained properly. He was simply using it on the fly.


    The moment the mes touched him, it instantly broke past his defenses and reduced all his hair and clothes into cinders. The burning pain made him feel as though he had fallen into the depths of hell, and he almost lost consciousness. There was but a single thought racing through his mind. As he desperately used his heat-manipting arts to protect himself, he constantly repeated in his head¡ªI want to live! I want to live!


    It was a scream from the deepest parts of his soul.


    And the moment Miao Yi was enveloped in the sea of mes, the ck pearl around his neck started shining with a dull glow, and an angelic silhouette garbed in a light blue robe appeared within the mes, its long white sleeves and silvery locks down the sides of its face fluttering wildly about.


    This person was none other than Lao Bai!


    With one hand, Lao Bai grabbed onto the grotesque figure that was Miao Yi, then instantly dove down into the depths of the mes.


    The whirling mes swiveled with an intense pulling force, but Lao Bai was not fazed in the least. He waved his arm and pointed to a single spot, and the whirling mes were instantly reversed with an even stronger momentum. Boom! The encroaching mes were instantly sent backward.


    As soon as Lao Bai dove past the whirlpool of mes, he was met with a countless number of ming swords. Lao Bai¡¯s light blue robes fluttered violently, forming just as many illusory bodies to protect him.


    Amidst the constant explosions, not a single one of the ming swords were able toe close to Lao Bai and Miao Yi; they were all dispersed by Lao Bai¡¯s robes.


    Right past the sea of ming swords, hordes of fire dragons soon arrived, all baring their fangs viciously as they charged towards Lao Bai.


    As he dragged Miao Yi¡¯s body along, Lao Bai¡¯s eyes shone with a cold glint and he quickly formed a w with his hand. As though the entire realm was within his grasp, the fire dragons were instantly broken apart, and a spatial tunnel was created across the sea of mes. The unleashed force was absolutely astounding.

 Chapter 396: Rebirth

    Chapter 396: Rebirth


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Atop a giant crystalline te embroidered with beautiful engravings of fire, a sea of mes violently swirled about. Suddenly, a spout of fire burst forth, and a tunnel emerged from within. Two figures then hastily shot out from the tunnel before it closed back up the next instant.


    To think that someone could actually forcibly break through the mighty fire array protecting this ce. The thousand-meter-deep fire array did little to stop its intruders as they made their way through to the bottom almost instantly.


    A ckened figure groaned in pain as hended on the crystalline te.


    His hair and clothes gently fluttered in the wind and with an air of elegance about him, Lao Bai slowly descended onto the te as well.


    His figure seemed to have suddenly lost its color somehow, a stark contrast to how he had broken through the mighty array mere moments ago in a powerful disy of force. There was a fleeting, almost hollow air about him. So much so that his figure could no longer be clearly made out, giving off an impression of weakness. Staring down at the ckened figure on the ground, Lao Bai let out a small sigh.


    On the other hand, as a result of the intense pain, Miao Yi had no idea where he was right now or how much time had passed.


    Having been burnt to a ck crisp from head to toe and losing all visible traces of a normal human being, Miao Yi did his utmost to circte transcendence energy around his body, no matter how depleted it already was. He was also still subconsciously using his heat-manipting arts to defend himself.


    If Lao Bai hadn¡¯t saved him in time, if he had beente by even a fraction of a moment, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t have gotten away with mere burns all over his body; he would most likely have been incineratedpletely. As if the private residence of a Supreme Yao Lord, a powerful being with a Golden Lotus cultivation, was a ce that anyone could just set foot into. If that were the case, then chaos would surely ensue!


    Having fallen to the ground rather abruptly, Miao Yi, in his hazy consciousness, was slightly jolted by the shock. He could feel a slight chilling from the ground beneath him. It was like a breath of fresh air, and he could feel his consciousness gradually bing clearer.


    He wanted to open his eyes to find out where he currently was, but he was still unaware that his eyelids had been burnt shut from the mes. All that remained were two deformed slits on his face. He couldn¡¯t make out anything at all. At the same time, his breathing was ragged.


    He managed to open his eyes in a stroke of force, but he ended up ripping his skin apart and as a result, blood dripped down his face. It was utterly terrifying to watch.


    "Ugh..." Miao Yi winced in pain. As he tried to use his hand to touch his eyes, the burnt skin on his arm cracked, revealing the flesh underneath and causing even more blood to gush forth.


    "Ugh..." He groaned in pain again. There were no words to describe the agony of one¡¯s flesh being torn apart. Miao Yi wanted to open his mouth, but he could feel the tearing sensation there as well. He immediately froze, no longer trying to move about, as it seemed like no matter whichever body part he tried to move, he would feel the sensation of his skin ripping apart.


    He invoked his arts to scan his surroundings, but he couldn¡¯t probe too far as his transcendence energy reserves were simply too low. In the end, he couldn¡¯t find anything out and remained just as oblivious to his current location as before.


    He ultimately decided to endure the intense pain around his eyes and slowly opened them. A curtain of blood draped over his eyes, forming a crimson screen over his vision as he looked at his surroundings. He noticed the crystalline floor he was on, as well as the swirling sea of mes just above. Most importantly, he finally realized the current state of his body.


    There was no semnce of a normal human left; he was practically a block of burnt wood. It didn¡¯t take him long to piece two and two together and realize what had happened to him. He also finally understood why it hurt so badly whenever he tried to move.


    At present, his body was rapidly weakening. Not only was he severely injured by Bai Ziliang¡¯s giant ck seal, but he¡¯d even lost a leg to boot. And after that tribtion just now, his body couldn¡¯t be in a more perilous state. Miao Yi understood perfectly what he needed the most right now¡ªhe needed something that could save him, and without a moment to spare!


    "Ugh..." Forcing a pained breath through his nose, Miao Yi used all of the remaining transcendence energy he could muster to take out the ny-thousand-year-old Glorious Star Immortal Herb from his storage bangle. As he tried to grab the immortal herb, the crisp, ckened skin around his fingers cracked open, revealing the flesh underneath and causing his hand to bleed even further.


    He slowly brought his hand closer to his face, once again having to endure excruciating pain as blood gushed out from the cracks on his ckened arm. After much suffering, he finally managed to bring the lustrous Glorious Star Immortal Herb to his nose. He wrapped the immortal herb with a very faint amount of transcendence energy, and slowly started to breathe in with his one functioning nostril, which was also almost burnt shut, one might add. A touch of stardust then made its way into his body.


    As soon as the stardust permeated his lungs, it instantly brought him a sense of relief. After having to endure such terrible pain for so long, this wondrous feeling was practically divine to Miao Yi.


    Heypletely still on the ground, not moving a single finger, as he greedily absorbed as much stardust as he could into his body. He didn¡¯t stop for anything. This was because it was the only thing he could do to save himself.


    He felt thankful that he hadn¡¯t given away this lifeline back when he was still in danger. In the end, it proved to be useful in his current predicament. Otherwise, he would have been a goner already.


    Little did he know that even Lao Bai had almost decided to deal with Yao Ruoxian himself just to help Miao Yi hold onto this immortal herb. This was because, at the time, Yao Ruoxian deeply coveted this immortal herb and wanted to forcefully take it for himself.


    Given that no one had ever seen such arge Glorious Star Immortal Herb before, it was no surprise that Yao Ruoxian was so easily tempted.


    Furthermore, the Glorious Star Immortal Herb had even borne fruit. This was somethingpletely unprecedented. As such, its medicinal qualities must be just as astonishing; perhaps even if one suffered fatal wounds, so long as a single breath remained, one could be brought back from the gates of hell with this immortal herb. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration in the least to say that it could offer one the chance of rebirth. Knowing this, how could Yao Ruoxian not be enticed by it?


    In truth, it was indeed possible for one to be reborn through the use of this immortal herb. For example, Miao Yi did not originally possess a physique suited for cultivation. However, Lao Bai had used a Glorious Star Immortal Herb even more potent than this one, with fruits brimming with a crimson, jewel-like sheen unlike the ones on this immortal herb, which were only a faint red, and helped reshape Miao Yi¡¯s body, thereby allowing him the chance at cultivation.


    All this while, Lao Bai was quietly standing beside Miao Yi. When he saw him painfully taking out the Glorious Star Immortal Herb and absorbing its stardust, he finally heaved a sigh of relief as this meant that Miao Yi¡¯s life had been pulled back from the gates of hell.


    With his silvery locks of hair gently fluttering about, Lao Bai looked up towards the swirling mass of mes above, and in a gentle tone, remarked to himself, "I didn¡¯t n on saving you originally. But since I left that woman to die back then, I decided to break the rules just this once. If one day you get the opportunity to discover the truth ande to resent me for turning a blind eye to that woman¡¯s death, then I¡¯ll really be at a loss for words."


    As soon as he said this, his hazy figure grew even fainter. The dark green jewel around Miao Yi¡¯s neck shone with a dim light, and Lao Bai was gone without a trace.


    Miao Yi would never have thought that Lao Bai had broken the rules to save him only because he¡¯d let Qi Xiuhong die earlier on, so he saved him as a form ofpensation. To put it in another way, Qi Xiuhong had sacrificed herself so that Miao Yi could be saved.


    However, that wasn¡¯t entirely correct either. Lao Bai could have chosen not to save either of them. After all, what did it matter to him whether Qi Xiuhong lived or died?


    The world was filled with countless living creatures, many of whom Lao Bai wasn¡¯t even acquainted with, so why would hee to their rescue every time someone was in need of help? Not to mention, it¡¯s not like he had to save every girl Miao Yi fell in love with. That was not his reason for staying beside Miao Yi. If that were really the case, what would that make Lao Bai?


    The passage of time outside was not known to the underground world beneath the mes.


    Time quickly passed by, and Miao Yi began to absorb the stardust at a more rapid pace. This was a sign that his bodily functions were making a speedy recovery. Once again, the divine herb of the cultivation realm managed to perform another miracle. Soon, the ckened skin on Miao Yi¡¯s body gradually began to crack. However, there was no bleeding this time, and he was not in pain.


    Some time had passed, and a crack could be hearding from Miao Yi¡¯s lower body. The ck crust around the area where his leg was chopped off had fallen to the ground, revealing an upper thigh with smooth and silky skin, almost like a newborn baby¡¯s. Across his thigh, grantion tissues could also be seen forming slowly.


    The feeling of his limb rapidly growing out was so vivid to the point of being excruciatingly painful. Miao Yi clenched his fists as he tried to endure it, his knuckles cracking loudly. At the same time, his hunched up body was trembling heavily, causing the ck crust over his skin to fall off rapidly.


    Underneath the ck crust was Miao Yi¡¯s new body. His creased brows were no different than how they were originally, and a slick, ck head of hair cascaded over his shoulders, even longer than before it had been burnt into ashes.


    Gritting his teeth through the agony, Miao Yi would asionally open his eyes to see the flesh around his decapitated leg slowly growing out. As long as he could recover, there was no pain he couldn¡¯t endure. He had already experienced the excruciating baptism of fire when he fell into the volcano, so how could he be afraid of this measly difort? It was just that the amount of time he had to endure was much too long.


    After two full days, the immortal herb in Miao Yi¡¯s hands had be wrinkled and wilted, and the halo of light surrounding it had dimmed extensively.


    Miao Yi nced at his leg and saw that the growth had already reached his ankle. It would be noughing matter if the recovery were to stop now. He quickly molded the wilted immortal herb into a ball and stuffed it into his mouth. There was a hint of sweetness in it and after two quick bites, he swallowed the whole thing into his stomach.


    Afraid that it still wasn¡¯t enough, Miao Yi took out the light-red immortal fruit from his storage bangle and quickly bit down. The fruit was sweet and juicy; its refreshing sweetness and crunchiness made its way down Miao Yi¡¯s throat and into his stomach. It was truly a delicacy. After swallowing the entire fruit, Miao Yi could even feel his newly formed pores wafting with a refreshing fragrance. He was instantly rejuvenated and felt as though the mental exhaustion he¡¯d umted from enduring all the pain was all blown away. Indeed, as expected of an immortal fruit.


    As soon as the fruit made its way into Miao Yi¡¯s stomach, the growth around his leg started increasing in speed, and with it came another bout of pain and torment.


    "Ouch! I¡¯m still alive! I¡¯m still alive..."


    After one whole day, Miao Yi had finally recovered his lost limb. He stood there naked, with lush dark hair over his shoulders and his arms spread out,pletely unabashed as he shouted in euphoria from having survived such an ordeal.


    His entire physique was restored to its former state. Only his newly formed skin looked much too fair, even more so than a woman¡¯s. It would still require some time for it topletely recover to its original appearance.


    Once Miao Yi had had his fair share of fun, he took out a set of clothes from his storage bangle and put them on. After he was done getting himself dressed, he finally started to seriously examine his surroundings.


    He soon discovered that he was outside of a floating pce. The entire structure seemed like it was made of crystals, and what was even more astonishing was that something this massive could actually float in the middle of a sea of mes. All around, the whole pce was surrounded by a zing fire. However, it seemed as though the mes could not approach the crystal pce at all; they would always maintain a certain distance regardless of how violently they burned.


    Miao Yi lifted his gaze to look at the sign on the main entrance and saw three giant letters engraved upon it: ¡¯Supreme Fire Pce¡¯!

 Chapter 397: Supreme Fire Palace

    Chapter 397: Supreme Fire Pce


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Supreme Fire Pce? Turning his head away from the shrine, Miao Yi looked up at the zing mes above him, then nced down at the ckened husk by his feet.


    Thinking back to how he¡¯d jumped down into the mouth of the volcano, it became evident to him that he was currently standing at the bottom of it.


    "It looks like this Supreme Fire Pce is Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan¡¯s personal residence. I never would have thought such a massive pce could be hidden within moltenva. No wonder there weren¡¯t any signs of it on the outside. But why does theva around this ce look more like the mes emitted by Red ze Resins instead of actualva?" Miao Yi muttered to himself.


    The entire crystal pce was still and quiet, and only the surging sound of the fiery ze around it could be heard.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t sure if there was anyone present in this Supreme Fire Pce, so at first he was a little hesitant about entering it. But after some thought, he figured he was probably over-analyzing it. If there really was someone in there, there was no way they wouldn¡¯t have discovered his presence, given that so many days had passed since hended here.


    It looks like this ce was truly vacated due to the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade! Although he had already made up his mind, Miao Yi still carefully proceeded down the te, then went up the steps into a rtively small za.


    Looking back, he examined the crystalline te he was previously standing on. Measuring several dozen feet in diameter, it was positioned in such a way that it seemed as though the crystal pce was extending one of its arms out. At the same time, the entire structure seemed to resemble the decorated tip of a *Ruyi scepter; it was very unique and intricate. Clearly, it was a tform specifically used for receiving any guests entering from the top of the volcano.


    Around the za, stone railings hung overhead, while a suspended staircase led to the main entrance of the pce. At the bottom of those steps stood two jade-like sculptures portraying the Inferno Qilin.


    Miao Yi jumped towards the entrance, then peeped in through the open door.


    Inside, there was a spacious hall with a mighty throne sitting loftily at the far end. Behind the throne stood a wall engraved with twelve zing mes. The mes were no simple decorations; there seemed to be an actual zing red fire hidden inside each one. Their presence provided the hall with a vibrant ambiance. Miao Yi had no idea how they came to be, but he didn¡¯t find it odd to see such marvels within this pce hidden beneath moltenva.


    All around the hall, majestic and well-crafted decorations stood solemnly in ce.


    "Anyone there?!" Miao Yi suddenly shouted, feeling a little guilty about barging into someone else¡¯s property.


    This was the pce of a Supreme Yao Lord, a being with a Golden Lotus First Grade cultivation. Even if Miao Yi knew the ce was empty, he was still feeling a little uneasy about suddenly barging in like this. After all, the owner in question had a cultivation at the Golden Lotus First Grade! And what did that signify? A being such as that had already reached the realm of ¡¯Soaring the Heavens¡¯ as described by Lao Bai. They were able to break free from the shackles of the earth and willfully traverse the unending universe.


    Even Miao Yi was a little afraid to imagine what would happen to him if he upset such a person. Perhaps a single breath would be enough to erase him.


    His voice reverberated through the pce, its echoes slowly fading off before once again giving way to a deathly silence.


    Once he made sure there was truly no one inside the hall, Miao Yi gently ced his hand on the doorframe. It was cold to the touch, but it didn¡¯t seem to be made of either ice or jade. Miao Yi wasn¡¯t sure what it was, but it was actually capable of isting the entire pce from the intense mes that surrounded it and keep the interior cool.


    He proceeded inside, making his way around the spacious hall and examining his surroundings with a curious gaze. He then made his way to the rear pce and into the harem.


    The harem was rtively small; it only had around a dozen lodgings. Miao Yi explored them all one by one, and he even found women¡¯s clothing being hung up in some ces. He examined the clothing, pulling them with his hands as he wondered whether they belonged to Lie Huan¡¯s consorts or perhaps even Lie Huan himself. Or maybe Lie Huan was actually a woman to begin with.


    After confirming that the pce was empty, Miao Yi heaved a sigh of relief. He then exited the hall and reexamined the fiery vortex surrounding the entire ce.


    He was desperately searching for a way out. If he continued staying here, once Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan returned, he would definitely be in deep trouble.


    But s, he couldn¡¯t think of any way to escape at all. Furthermore, the surrounding mes were still approximately a hundred meters away from the crystal pce he was standing on.


    Miao Yi walked out of the pce, making his way towards the crystalline te. He lifted his gaze up towards the zing firestorm from which he fell. Although he could think of a way to get up there, the mes that awaited him were simply too terrifying. He had already experienced their ferocity once. If he hadn¡¯t been so lucky¡ªfalling on this te instead of dropping into the sea of mes underneath¡ªhis life would have already been forfeit.


    Coming down, he could let gravity do the work for him. But going back up required a much greater amount of effort and time. There was no way his cultivation would be of any help in shielding himself against that zing heat. Not to mention, he was already out of immortal herbs to use. At present, he only had a single immortal fruit left. If he were to be burnt to a crisp again, there would be no way for him to recover.


    He stood on the crystalline te thinking long and hard about how to get out. As he paced around the te, arms crossed behind his back, his gazended on the ground, and it suddenly hit him. He quickly took out the Mystic Yin Mirror and stared at its round, reflective surface before lifting his gaze back up.


    Maybe I¡¯ll be able to leave if I shield myself with the cold Yin energy inside the Mystic Yin Mirror!


    However, he dismissed the idea the next instant with a bitter smile. Even if he used the Mystic Yin Mirror, with his cultivation, he wouldn¡¯t be able to sustain it for long. When it came down to it, his cultivation was simply much too low.


    Having failed toe up with any ideas on how he could leave after circling around the Supreme Fire Pce for the whole day, Miao Yi ultimately decided to give up. All he could do was hope that some kind of inspiration would hit him someday.


    Sighing in resignation, Miao Yi returned to the pce and sat himself upon what was most likely Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan¡¯s throne. Crossing his legs, he tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth and began cultivating.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t have any better ideas. If he couldn¡¯t go out, he would have to wait until Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan returned and think of a way to exin himself. The question was whether or not the person in question would pay heed to his excuses.


    On the bright side, spending his time hiding out in this ce didn¡¯t really seem like a bad idea. He might even be able to stay hidden until after the Sea of Constetion Subjugation Crusade ended. There was no way this ce could be so easily essed by his pursuers.


    "I¡¯m just afraid that I won¡¯t be able to step out even if I manage to hide until the end of the Subjugation Crusade!" Miao Yiughed bitterly.


    Miao Yi temporarily cast aside his worries and calmed himself. Forget it. I¡¯ll just treat this ce as a rare opportunity to cultivate in peace during the Subjugation Crusade. This was the only way he could console himself.


    As soon as he activated his Fiery Star Technique to refine the Orb of Will, behind him, the twelve blurry red silhouettes hidden within the fire engravings on the wall started flickering restlessly and were rapidly flowing out of the decorated wall.


    Tiny red specks of light were also starting to appear from every corner of the crystal pce and slowly floated towards the throne on which Miao Yi was sitting, before entering the pores of his skin.


    This was especially the case for the twelve fire engravings behind him, in which their red lights could practically be described as ¡¯surging¡¯ out of the wall, creating twelve hollow bridges connecting to Miao Yi as they rapidly flooded into his body. At the same time, the red silhouettes behind the wall seemed greatly disturbed, flickering wildly inside the wall.


    Even Miao Yi himself soon noticed something was amiss. As he examined the internal status of his body, he discovered a situation simr to those times he cultivated next to Yao Ruoxian as he was refining transcendent artifacts. Those same red spiritual essences were currently flowing into his art source, forming small crimson lights within the void.


    However, the amount of red spiritual essences flowing into his body this time was much greater than his cultivation sessions next to Yao Ruoxian and his furnace. If he were to describe the current amount of red spiritual essences flowing into him as a mighty river, then the amount received beside Yao Ruoxian could hardly even be considered a tiny stream.


    The red spiritual essences pouring into his art source continued to form small crimson lights without end, adding a profound sense of vigor to the void of his art source and making it seem more vibrant.


    It appeared again! And there¡¯s so much of it this time! Miao Yi was shocked. Ever since he noticed this phenomenon, he always wondered whether it was something good or bad. He quickly deactivated his technique and examined his surroundings. His eyes shone as he was positive that it had something to do with him being surrounded by moltenva.


    Miao Yi stepped out of the hall and walked around the ce. He came to the conclusion that unless he just idly waited without cultivating, there was no way he would be able to stop himself from absorbing the spiritual essencesing from theva around him.


    Continue to wait without doing anything? Miao Yi shook his head andughed bitterly. Rather than simply waiting to die, why don¡¯t I just keep on cultivating and find out whether this is a good or bad thing?


    "Aii! Lao Bai never exined this either. No, perhaps even he himself is unaware of it. After all, he never cultivated this technique before. It¡¯s no wonder he..." Miao Yi mumbled to himself and shook his head. He then walked inside and sat back down at the throne, resuming his cultivation as though he owned the ce.


    Soon, red spiritual essences started floating around every corner of the pce once more. The twelve blurry red silhouettes within the fire engravings behind the throne also started to move restlessly again. It was as though they were prisoners trying to break free of their shackles but their attempts were always short of seeding.


    After cultivating this way for three days, Miao Yi abruptly opened his eyes. There was a sense of great shock reflected in them, shocked that his refining speed for Orbs of Will had somehow increased!


    Miao Yi knew perfectly well how fast his cultivation progressed. For him to break through from White Lotus Seventh Grade to Eighth Grade, he required 320 low-grade Orbs of Will. At his original pace, he would be able to refine about fifty orbs in a year, which meant that he would need another six to seven years to break through to White Lotus Eighth Grade. Previously, he was able to refine a single low-grade Orb of Will in seven days on average. However, he just discovered that it had only taken him six days to fully refine this one.


    "Did I lose track of time somehow?" Miao Yi mused. His timing shouldn¡¯t have been wrong. He was not so foolish as to even lose count of the number of days.


    Obviously, there was a need to reaffirm this situation, so he tossed another Orb of Will into his mouth and began refining it.


    However, this time it was even faster than before; it had barely taken him six days to fully refine the Orb of Will.


    "What is going on here?" Miao Yi waspletely bbergasted. Even though it was only quicker by a day, it was no small matter.


    He tossed another Orb of Will into his mouth and started to refine it, closely examining it this time to figure out the cause of this phenomenon. Soon, he discovered what was causing the increase in his cultivation speed; it was rted to the fire spiritual essences he was absorbing into his art source. Once absorbed, the fire spiritual essences would further bolster the might of his Fiery Star Technique. Simply put, the speed at which the Fiery Star Technique was purging the individual emotions and desires inside the Orb of Will had increased.


    Absorbing these fire spiritual essences can actually increase my cultivation speed? Miao Yi was shocked once again, but he was soon experiencing a surge of joy and excitement.


    Once again, Lao Bai¡¯s hazy figure appeared elegantly out of nowhere. He watched as Miao Yi jumped with joy, and sighed to himself, "In the end, you still managed to discover it earlier than I expected!" He swept a nce across the Supreme Fire Pce, then gently shook his head, "Is this destiny? Miao Yi, oh Miao Yi, since you have realized the truth behind my technique, I hope that you will not disappoint me!"


    As soon as he said this, his figure grew fainter before silently vanishing.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi was excitedly jumping around the Supreme Fire Pce, knocking down and destroying many of the pce¡¯s furnishings. The bastard was practically wrecking another person¡¯s home.


    To make matters worse, he even randomly took a few of the dresses from the harem and waved them in circles over his head. He waspletely out of control. Towards the end, he even pulled the dresses over his face and ripped them apart. "AHH!!" He roared upwards in a sense of uplifting freedom.


    "Phew..." After regaining hisposure, he finally realized that he had ripped the dresses apart. He wondered whether they belonged to Lie Huan or his consorts.


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression froze the moment Lie Huan came to mind. No matter how fast my cultivation has be, I still need to escape this ce! If I don¡¯t make it out by the time Lie Huan returns, I¡¯ll end up in deep shit!


    "Aii!" He casually tossed aside the torn dress and returned in low spirits to the main hall to resume his cultivation.

 Chapter 398: Fearsome Fiery Star Technique

    Chapter 398: Fearsome Fiery Star Technique


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    A monthter, realizing that his refining speed was not increasing as much as he initially assumed, Miao Yi was no longer as excited as he was before. Even though he never stopped absorbing the fire spiritual essences into his art source and made it more vibrant, the improvement was no longer as apparent as when he first started, when he could feel the change in the span of a few days.


    At first, it had taken him a couple of weeks to shorten his refining time for a single Orb of Will from seven days to six. After that, it took him over a month to shorten his refining time down to five days.


    That said, there was one irrefutable fact: so long as there were fire spiritual essences for him to absorb and make his art source even more radiant, his refining speed for the Orbs of Will would continue to increase.


    A yearter. The seven-petaled White Lotus mark on Miao Yi¡¯s forehead finally grew another beautiful petal and was brimming with vigor.


    With a light smile on his face, Miao Yi slowly opened his eyes. He never thought that it would only take him one year to break through to White Lotus Eighth Grade.


    Originally, it would have taken him six to seven years. Aside from his time cultivating for almost a year in Mount Calming Sea, and three years while he was hiding on the ind, he would have needed approximately another three years to break through. However, he actually managed to achieve a breakthrough in roughly a year. His refining speed hadpletely doubled.


    Miao Yi quietly closed his eyes and examined his body. Sure enough, the number of Orbs of Will necessary for him to break through to Ninth Grade had doubled once again, meaning that he would need around 640 orbs.


    At the moment, he had spent over a year simply focused on cultivating, which meant that he hadn¡¯t eaten anything for a year. As such, he felt an intense hunger the moment he stopped his cultivation.


    There was no one to take care of him here, unlike at East Arrival Cave and Mount Calming Sea, where Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were always there to look after him. Even when he was cultivating in his hideout on the ind, Qi Xiuhong was there to take care of him. However, now he had no choice but to rely on his transcendence energy to sustain himself and endure an entire year of fasting.


    The moment he deactivated his technique, his body felt iparably weak. His current cultivation still wasn¡¯t strong enough for him to go without any food or water indefinitely.


    Miao Yi came down the throne and exited the main hall. He made his way up to the circr te outside and gazed up at the exit.


    Since the Supreme Fire Pce was constantly surrounded by mes, it was always bright inside; the concept of night didn¡¯t exist at all. The light reflecting into the main hall through the crystal walls was always so illusory. But s, there was no way of grasping the passing of time outside.


    After spending a year in solitude, Miao Yi was no longer as anxious about his current situation as he was before.


    Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan hadn¡¯t returned for over an entire year. Clearly, the rules of the Subjugation Crusade were able to restrict even him as well. As such, Lie Huan probably wouldn¡¯t return to the Supreme Fire Pce until the Subjugation Crusade ended, which meant that Miao Yi would be able to live the next five to six years in peace at least.


    Making his way down the circr te and onto the small za, Miao Yi tossed some firewood and a pot together and made some food for himself.


    The dishes were a thick soup and arge meat skewer.


    He then realized that it had been a year since hest took a bath. Although he wasn¡¯t exactly dirty, psychologically, it still bothered him. He made his way to the rear pce and took a well-decorated bath basin from the room where he once ripped up those dresses. The basin was made from an extremely beautiful jade and had the voluptuous figure of a woman engraved upon it.


    Miao Yi wondered what sort of woman the basin belonged to. Either way, since he caught sight of it thest time he was in this room, he naturally thought to make use of it now.


    Once the food was prepared, Miao Yi took out a giant leather pouch from his storage ring and poured a hefty amount of water into the basin.


    He couldn¡¯t find any sources of water in the Supreme Fire Pce. Fortunately, he had made the necessary preparations for the Subjugation Crusade. And not just him, almost every participant had prepared sufficient material goods tost them a decade. And with the extra loot Miao Yi previously obtained, there was no need to worry about living in the Supreme Fire Pce at all. If Lie Huan was in no rush to return, Miao Yi could easily live here for another twenty to thirty years.


    He ced a board over the giant basin, then set his dishes down on top of it. There were even fruits prepared. The storage rings¡¯ ability of preservation was unquestionable indeed. He then added a couple sks of fine wine before stripping himself down and hopping into the bath.


    It was a delightful feeling to savor his meal while bathing. As he ate, Miao Yi paid no heed to etiquette, casually tossing aside the leftover bones from his meat and the cores from his fruits. Even when he finished his wine, he simply threw the sks over his head, causing them to shatter with a loud crash.


    The once clean and majestic crystal za of the Supreme Fire Pce was now an absolute mess. Bones, fruit cores, shattered sks and burnt up chunks of firewoody about.


    Since there was a chance that Lie Huan would kill him anyway, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t be bothered about it anymore. After all, he wasn¡¯t here to help clean up the Supreme Fire Pce. Since he couldn¡¯t leave, he might as well just do as he pleased for now. If he did manage to find a way to leave, then to save himself some trouble, he wouldn¡¯t mind helping Lie Huan clean up the mess a little.


    In just half a day, Miao Yi ate over a hundred catty of food, using his arts topress them inside his stomach. He needed this meal tost him for a rtively long period of time, so he ate as much as he could. He couldn¡¯t just spend his time making food every day.


    After his appetite was sated, Miao Yi just took a rxing nap while soaking inside the bath basin. Once he was well-rested, he used his arts to clean the basin and the pot, since he would still need to use them again someday. After that, he just poured the dishwater out onto the ground.


    He then returned to the main hall, sitting cross-legged on the throne as he resumed his cultivation.


    There were no words to describe the benefits of using the Fiery Star Technique to cultivate in the Supreme Fire Pce. Slowly but surely, Miao Yi¡¯s refining speed was constantly growing faster and faster. After umting his efforts for another month, his speed had visibly improved yet again. This was enough for Miao Yi to jump with joy, as itpletely overturned his previous calctions.


    In one year and a half, Miao Yi finished refining 640 Orbs of Will, and a ninth petal slowly grew out from the White Lotus symbol on his forehead.


    It took him only a year and a half to break through from White Lotus Eighth Grade to Ninth Grade. This speed was absolutely inconceivable. Even Miao Yi himself was quite taken aback by it.


    ording to his estimates from before the Subjugation Crusade began, it would require at least several dozen years to achieve the same results. Furthermore, he believed that this was already quite fastpared to the other cultivators at his level. He never imagined that his cultivation speed could increase to such an extent.


    This experience had allowed him to realize the most fearsome aspect of the Fiery Star Technique! Perhaps there were other cultivation techniques of simr quality which allowed for an even greater refining speed, but the most terrifying part about his Fiery Star Technique was that it could continuously increase his refining speed without limit. No matter how powerful another cultivation technique might be, it still required the user to break through to the next grade before they could increase their refining speed even further. In contrast, Miao Yi¡¯s Fiery Star Technique had no such limitation. As long as the circumstances allowed it, his refining speed would increase indefinitely. And if he continued umting his efforts like this, the result would be absolutely terrifying.


    "AHH!!!" Miao Yi raised his arms and roared, his voice echoing across the entire Supreme Fire Pce. "Blue Lotus realm! Blue Lotus realm..."


    This was it. Miao Yi was now one step away from the next major realm, and the entrance to it was already within his reach. The feeling of being able to easily break through made Miao Yi feel as though all the pain and suffering he¡¯d endured this entire time had been worth it.


    He quickly moved out of the main hall to prepare his meal and bath. He didn¡¯t want to waste a single second, yearning to break through to the realm he had always dreamed about for so long. He had been stuck in the White Lotus realm for several decades after all.


    Having been pushed around by Blue Lotus realm cultivators all this while, Miao Yi was very eager to experience what it felt like to finally close the gap!


    With the spear art personally taught by Lao Bai, the impact-mitigating transcendent artifacts refined by Yao Ruoxian, as well as a Blue Lotus cultivation, Miao Yi was confident he could face any cultivator below the Red Lotus realm in battle!


    There was the Mystic Yin Mirror as well, which would only truly be a practical transcendent artifact once he reached the Blue Lotus realm!


    Maybe he would even be able to use the Mystic Yin Mirror to escape this ce and avoid being captured by Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan. As long as he was able to escape, Miao Yi believed that Lie Huan wouldn¡¯t have the capacity to hunt him down.


    As such, he hurriedly rushed inside the main hall and sat on the throne, leaving another great, big mess outside. He then double-checked the number of Orbs of Will in his storage bangle.


    Once again, the number of Orbs of Will necessary to break through from White Lotus Ninth Grade to Blue Lotus First Grade had doubled from what was previously required; Miao Yi now needed around 1,300 orbs¡ª1,280 orbs, to be exact.


    When he left Mount Calming Sea, he left behind arge portion of his Orbs of Will, and only brought four thousand with him.


    Although there was plenty of loot from when he was still in the Red Scarves Alliance, the number of Orbs of Will constituted just a paltry amount. And once they were divided among the members, there was barely any left. Most importantly, there were fewer opportunities to cultivate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. The participants only kept a small number of orbs on them to replenish their own transcendence energy. There was no point in carrying arge number of Orbs of Will with you in the Sea of Constetions. As such, most participants traded their Orbs of Will away for utility items instead.


    However, when Miao Yi killed Zhao Lingtu and his aplices, he managed to obtain over two thousand Orbs of Will and three hundred Geotranscendence Bangles from Zhao Lingtu alone. Most likely, Zhao Lingtu had also taken them from all the people he killed.


    When Miao Yi was busy running for his life, he gave the Mountain Suppressing Hammer and Spirit Illusion Greatsword to Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei. The two of them were already satisfied with that, so they didn¡¯t ask for a share in the rest of the loot. Thus, most of the items owned by Zhao Lingtu and his aplices were solely in Miao Yi¡¯s possession, Orbs of Will included.


    Add that to the four thousand orbs he originally brought with him, Miao Yi had approximately 6,400 Orbs of Will in total. While in the Supreme Fire Pce, he had used up around 900 Orbs of Will to break through to White Lotus Ninth Grade. Therefore, he still had around 5,500 Orbs of Will left.


    With that in mind, he would still have around 4,000 Orbs of Will after spending 1,280 of them to break through to Blue Lotus First Grade. There would still be enough left over if he wanted to break through to Blue Lotus Second Grade, which required 2,560 orbs. However, he was unlikely to break through to Blue Lotus Third Grade. To do that, he would need over 5,000 Orbs of Will.


    Miao Yi felt thankful that he had brought enough Orbs of Will with him when he came to the Sea of Constetions, otherwise, he would have missed out on this opportunity.


    After confirming that he had enough resources, Miao Yi calmed himself down and quickly entered a state of cultivation...


    Far beyond Skyfire Mountain, in a ce near the ind, dark clouds rolled and thunder cracked. Mighty waves tossed above the ocean, apanied by a terrifying storm. It was this very ce that a dragon steed and a giant octopus were currently locked in a fierce battle.


    His eyes shining a demonic crimson, the dragon steed bit down on one of the octopus¡¯ tentacles. And as he turned his head, his sharp jaws instantly ripped the tentacle off. The dragon steed then turned back to bite down on another tentacle and ripped that one off as well. At the same time, his four hooves stomped wildly on the octopus¡¯ body. Both creatures were viciously fighting one another under the sea.


    A dragon steed¡¯s legs were undeniably strong, even more so for this particr crimson-eyed dragon steed. Even though it wasn¡¯t the first time the giant octopus was fighting a dragon steed, it never imagined that it would bump into one so tenacious and savage. Its body was being ripped apart from the force of thetter¡¯s stomps. Unable to tolerate the intense pain, the giant octopus quickly retracted its tentacles and dove down into the ocean depths.


    However, the dragon steed was extraordinarily tenacious. With a swing of his head and tail, he hastily dove down as well, the sight of his crimson eyes creating a horrifying visage within the ocean as he relentlessly pursued the giant octopus that hade after his life.

 Chapter 399: Charcoal’s Subjugation Crusade

    Chapter 399: Charcoal¡¯s Subjugation Crusade


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The dragon steed was moving his body in a peculiar fashion as he dove down; he was swinging his body from side to side like a snake. He quickly caught up to the giant octopus, biting down on one of its tentacles as he continued to tussle with the creature on the ocean floor. With a firm grip on the tentacle, the dragon steed started to drag the giant octopus¡¯ massive body onto drynd.


    In contrast, the giant octopus had coiled its tentacles around a reef and was holding on for dear life. However, the dragon steed suddenly released his grip. Kicking his hooves on the ocean floor, he leaped onto another reef and headbutted the giant octopus, and the impact destroyed even the reef it was holding on to.


    Soon, at the edge of the turbulent seas, a dragon steed emerged, dragging the corpse of a giant octopus with him ashore.


    "Harrumph~" Looking at his spoils, the dragon steed raised his hooves and neighed at the stormy skies in a disy of pride.


    As his hooves came down, the dragon steed turned around and lowered his head to feast on the meat of the octopus he had just in in this heavy storm.


    Naturally, this dragon steed was Charcoal. Having survived countless hardships on his own for the past several years, his robust body was now covered with both fresh wounds and old scars alike. He gained the newest addition just recently; a deep, bloody gash on his chest received from the giant octopus.


    To have a dragon steed swim across the vast Western Star Sea on his own was nothing short of pitting the odds against him in his very own Subjugation Crusade. After all, there was no shortage of predators in the ocean. While Miao Yi was preupied with running for his life, he ended up making Charcoal face his own set of troubles.


    For example, when Miao Yi left the ind where Qi Xiuhong had died, Charcoal had to face a giant shark. And like his owner, he too almost died in battle. In the end, while shouldering heavy wounds all over his body, he managed to escape to the ind. After that, he had to hide for an entire year before his wounds recovered.


    Following which, Charcoal attempted to cross the vast ocean once again, making a beeline for Skyfire Mountain. It would be no exaggeration to say that his path was filled with blood and carnage. Under the sea, he had to fight the water tribes, while up on drynd, he had to face ferocious beasts. He was either always on the run or in hiding, stopping only for brief periods of time before continuing his journey again. It was truly a road of hardship and suffering.


    That said, the changes brought forth from surviving difficult ordeals were also one of the greatest. At the moment, the crimson light in Charcoal¡¯s eyes had dissipated, but he still had an overwhelming air of ferocity about him, wearing his body of scars like a symbol of pride.


    After eating his fill, the rush from his berserk state had died down and Charcoal started to feel the effects of his wounds. He then slowly strode towards the forest several miles away and went inside a cave he found. Once he drove away the bear inside, hey on the ground and quietly rested.


    The next day, the storm had blown over, and the bright sun took its ce in the sky. However, Charcoal was in no rush to leave the cave.


    It seemed his recovery speed was also rather astonishing. After a few days of rest inside the cave, the wound on his chest had slowly formed a new scar. Charcoal then charged out of the cave, moving straight past the forest and onto a vast grasnd.


    It seemed like he could sense that Miao Yi was already nearby, and his feet galloped faster and faster.


    However, when he bumped into a herd of dragon steeds on the grasnd, Charcoal came to a sudden halt, and quietly sized the other side up.


    The leader of the pack was evidently displeased to see an uninvited guest like Charcoal barge in on its territory. It then led the whole herd in a charge towards Charcoal.


    Regardless of how strong Charcoal thought of himself, he wouldn¡¯t dare face so many dragon steeds head on. He quickly turned around and ran, circling around the herd with all the other dragon steeds hot on his heels.


    Clearly, these dragon steeds were nowhere near as fast as Charcoal, thetter was always able to maintain a certain amount of distance between them.


    Seeing as they couldn¡¯t catch up to him, the dragon steeds all gave up the chase. They turned back haughtily, feeling as though they had sessfully driven off the intruder.


    Charcoal turned to look back, wondering why they stopped chasing him. Then for some reason, he quickly rushed after them.


    The dragon steeds were infuriated by this and started chasing after him again. However, Charcoal quickly turned around and ran off once more, avoiding a direct confrontation with the herd. Once again, an entire herd of dragon steeds galloped across the grasnd with Charcoal in the lead.


    This time, the herd chased him all the way to the edge of the grasnd before stopping.


    Unexpectedly, Charcoal stopped as well. He raised his hooves and neighed, showing his rump to the herd in a taunting manner.


    Angered by this, the leader of the herd neighed furiously and immediately led the other dragon steeds after Charcoal, who hastily turned tail and ran.


    Both parties went back and forth like this as they ascended the mountains, came back down and then continued out onto the desert. Charcoal wouldn¡¯t let the dragon steeds leave at all. Whenever he sensed they were about to retreat, he would immediately provoke them again.


    Thus, a herd of over ten thousand dragon steeds galloped wildly across the desert, eventually making their way into the hot, barren region of the ind.


    As they delved deeper into the area, the temperature gradually increased. Eventually, the herd of dragon steeds stopped, a little fearful of the journey ahead. And no matter how much Charcoal tried to provoke them again, they wouldn¡¯t go any further.


    Charcoal seemed to be a little disappointed. His difficult journey had taught him that it was dangerous to be by himself. It had been pure luck that he managed to meet so many of his kinsmen, so he wanted to rope them in for the ride as best he could. He did this so that he could use their collective strength to his advantage if he was ever in trouble.


    Sadly, aftering all this way, they refused to move any further. Charcoal had no choice. He couldn¡¯t win against all of them in a fight, and since they wouldn¡¯t fall for his taunts anymore, he decided to give up on trying to pull them along. After making a long, sorrowful neigh towards the sky, Charcoal turned around and ran off, continuing the journey on his own.


    The other dragon steeds snorted and tapped their heads against one another, looking as though they were gossiping. Their gazes were locked onto Charcoal¡¯s departing figure, wondering at his boldness in venturing into such a dangerous ce, and at the same time, a little astonished by his bravery.


    Moving forward, the temperature gradually became even more terrifying for Charcoal. After running a great distance, he too had toe to a stop, his body now drenched in sweat. Kicking his hooves about, Charcoal paced around the area, but he didn¡¯t dare move another inch forward.


    "Harrumph!" Eventually, Charcoal roared towards the sky and decided to charge ahead anyway. Stomping his hooves madly on the ground, he threw caution to the wind and galloped off into the distance. Under the extreme sense of danger, his eyes began to glow a demonic crimson once more.


    Like a hurricane, the lone dragon steed charged ahead, leaving naught but a blurry figure in his tracks. As though he was a lone wolf, Charcoal¡¯s feet moved faster and faster, and his stomps were loud and clear.


    However, right when the lofty Skyfire Mountain was within eyeshot, Charcoal stopped. In the end, he had no choice but to admit defeat towards the harsh environment. The ce in front of him was not somewhere he could venture into with his current level of strength. He really did try his best. There was just simply no way for him to go any further.


    "Harrumph~ Harrumph~" Stomping his hooves restlessly, Charcoal raised his head and cried out nonstop. He could feel that Miao Yi was just in front of him, but he was not strong enough to go any further than this. All he could do was hope that Miao Yi would be able to hear his voice. But s, there was no response even after a long while.


    Having difficulty enduring the intense heat around him, Charcoal had no choice but to turn back. There simply was no way for him to stay here for too long; being able to run this far had already reached his tolerance limit.


    He made like the wind, charging past the rocky ins, to the desert, the mountains, and finally to the grasnds, where he caught up with the herd of dragon steeds.


    As the herd stared at him, Charcoal jumped back and forth and neighed continuously towards their leader. He was issuing a challenge to it.


    To protect its own dignity, the leader decisively struck out and charged straight towards Charcoal.


    However, right before it was about to crash into Charcoal, thetter suddenly dodged to the side. Then, Charcoalunched an attack on the leader¡¯s nk, instantly knocking it over.


    Who knew when this bastard of a horse had learned all these new moves? To think he actually knew how to perform feints and nking attacks.


    Before the leader could stand back up, Charcoal charged at it again, crashing straight into its side and knocking it over again.


    Charcoal repeatedly knocked down the muscr leader a total of five times, seizing victory with an overwhelming advantage.


    Finally, the leader no longer stood back up. It lowered its head and made a light snort in defeat.


    Charcoal walked towards it, looking down at the now former leader of the pack with a sense of superiority.


    "Harrumph~ " Charcoal raised his hooves and roared towards the sky, announcing to the rest of the herd that from this moment onwards, he would be their new leader.


    It seemed as though the herd had already epted this result. They all came over and surrounded Charcoal, snorting as they lowered their heads in acknowledgment of their new leader.


    The heavily-scarred Charcoal was the only dragon steed standing tall.


    The wind of the grasnds sending his mane aflutter, Charcoal turned his head and stared at the direction of Skyfire Mountain, where he could feel Miao Yi¡¯s presence. His eyes shone brightly as he resolved to take advantage of the power of the herd while lying here in wait...


    Two yearster. Sitting cross-legged on the throne of the Supreme Fire Pce, Miao Yi¡¯s forehead shone as the symbol of a single-petaled blue lotus slowly bloomed.


    However, Miao Yi didn¡¯t stop just yet. Only after he hadpletely refined the Orb of Will in his mouth did he slowly open his eyes. As he raised his arms, a powerful surge of transcendence energy rolled out, stirring up a mighty wind inside the Supreme Fire Pce, which knocked down and even destroyed some of the furnishings.


    Miao Yi abruptly stood up, spreading his arms as plumes of dark mist flowed out of his storage bangle and hovered around his body. With his armor artifacts fully equipped and the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hands, Miao Yi leaped up to the sky, jumping over several dozen meters beforending outside the main hall.


    Then, draconic roars could be heard as Miao Yi swung and stabbed his Inversed-Scales Spear around, the speed of his strikes blindingly fast. It seemed as though with the increase in his cultivation, his strikes had grown significantly faster as well.


    His entire body was shrouded in a blue light as he activated multiple Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts simultaneously. His strikes were as powerful as a dragon¡¯s, with no wasted movements whatsoever, a result of total unity between the user, the technique and the spear.


    An invisible force shot out from the spear andnded across the pce halls. However, the mysterious, crystalline material that made up the walls was unbelievably hard, and only a small piece was chipped off from such a vicious attack.


    After familiarizing himself with his spear, Miao Yi tucked it behind his back with one hand and took out the Mystic Yin Mirror with the other. Activating it with his arts, the cold Yin energy rushed out of the artifact and shot straight at the Inferno Qilin statue next to the stairs.


    This time, Miao Yi was able to sustain the usage of the Mystic Yin Mirror for half an hour before he could feel his transcendence energy reserves depleting. This was already many times stronger than before, when he could only activate it for brief moments at a time!


    "So this is the strength of a Blue Lotus cultivator!" The excitement was evident on Miao Yi¡¯s face.


    Even as he was simultaneously activating his full set of Second Grade Armor Artifacts, Miao Yi didn¡¯t feel any difort at all. There wasn¡¯t the usual tension he¡¯d always felt before. They were just as easy to handle as his Crystalline Silver armor artifacts. However, the dense, destructive force behind his current attacks was not something his previous, White Lotus realm self couldpare with; it was an entire world¡¯s difference in strength.


    Tucking away all his armor artifacts, Miao Yi jumped up to the circr te, then lifted his head to look at the surging mes up above. Raising the Mystic Yin Mirror in his hand, he sted a wave of cold Yin energy straight to the sky.


    Unfortunately, the moment it came into contact with the intense zes up in the sky, the cold Yin energy drastically weakened. Miao Yi was aghast. He quickly recalled the cold Yin energy into the Mystic Yin Mirror. After a quick examination, he discovered that a significant amount of the cold Yin energy was gone. Not only were the intense mes able to suppress the cold Yin energy, but they were able to eradicate thempletely too.

 Chapter 400: Extinguished Flames

    Chapter 400: Extinguished mes


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Truth be told, deep down Miao Yi doubted whether he would be able to leave with the help of the Mystic Yin Mirror. Back when he jumped into the volcano, he had tried using the Mystic Yin Mirror and discovered that the high temperature had suppressed its cold Yin energy. He was simply a little unwilling to face the truth and wanted to allow himself a shred of hope.


    Now that his hope was gone, he had no choice but to face reality.


    Miao Yi tucked away the Mystic Yin Mirror, eyes locked onto the trail of fire above him. He wasn¡¯t sure how far it extended, nor was he confident he would be able to escape with his Blue Lotus cultivation and heat-manipting arts.


    With a flip of his hand, he readied a Second Grade Spear Artifact. Leaping several dozen meters upwards, Miao Yi tossed the spear artifact into the sky in an attempt to see how far the fire trail extended.


    Whoosh! The spear called up mighty gusts of wind, parting the clouds of mes in its path as it shot upwards.


    However, Miao Yi waspletely befuddled by what happened afterward.


    Before Miao Yi had evennded back down, he watched as the rumbling mes quickly formed thousands upon thousands of incredibly lifelike, vicious fire dragons. It was a terrifying sight to behold. Several fire dragons then quickly slithered towards the spear, brandishing their zing jaws and viciously biting down on it.


    Boom! The spear was instantly reduced into countless cinders and fell back down.


    Miao Yi was utterly dumbfounded. ¡¯A Second Grade Spear Artifact wasn¡¯t even able to take a single hit from that fire dragon. What in the world is this? How can it be so powerful? Could it be one of those infamous arrays?¡¯


    A single fire dragon¡¯s attack most likely possessed the might of a Red Lotus expert, and there were thousands of them up there. Who could possibly escape this?


    In his astonishment, Miao Yi was unable to figure out how he had managed to fall down here in the first ce. How did he manage to dodge the attacks of all these fire dragons and sessfullynd down here?


    Soon, the raging fire dragons copsed back into the fiery vortex and sealed the path.


    Afterward, Miao Yi continued to toss Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts up into the sky.


    As expected, the moment the transcendent artifacts came in contact with the fiery clouds, the zing mes instantly formed thousands of fire dragons to receive it. The end result was the same; all the transcendent artifacts were destroyed and spat back down with a single bite.


    Miao Yi finally understood a Golden Lotus cultivator¡¯s might. They definitely weren¡¯t pushovers. The other party didn¡¯t even need to raise a finger; a simple array like this was enough to give his enemies a run for their money! Even if Miao Yi was already in the Blue Lotus realm, he still didn¡¯t have the qualifications to help the other party carry their shoes.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether he shouldugh or cry. How in the world did he manage to stumble into the home of such a powerful expert? This was absolutely illogical. This wasn¡¯t a ce that just anyone could simply enter. Perhaps even Red Lotus experts would have no way of breaking in.


    However, after probing the fire passage at the expense of several of his transcendent artifacts, Miao Yi somehow managed to figure it out. As soon as he tossed out the transcendent artifact, the mes extending the first few hundred meters upwards would instantly disappear and solidify themselves into the form of fire dragons. However, beyond this long passage of fire dragons was another fiery vortex. Miao Yi had no idea how much further it was to the mouth of the volcano at the top.


    ¡¯I¡¯m dead!¡¯ Miao Yi was anxious. There was no way out at all. Did he really have no choice but to wait until Lie Huan returned to deal with him?


    Miao Yi despondently walked down the circr te and onto the small za. Suddenly, he felt a sensation under his feet and came to a stop. Unsure of what it was, he lowered his head to look. It turned out to be the crystal fragment he chipped off from the ground back when he was swinging his spear around.


    Miao Yi spread his palm and sucked up the crystal fragment into his grasp. He then strongly hurled it out in frustration. He was about to continue on his way back when suddenly, he came to a halt. Quickly turning his head, he looked back at the crystal fragment he had just tossed out.


    He watched as the raging fires immediately parted the moment they came in contact with the crystal fragment, creating a small empty passage about half a meter wide. Pa! The crystal fragment then made its way across the passage and actually managed to knock onto the rocky surface behind the mes.


    Utterly dazed, Miao Yi watched the mes seal the gap back up. He slowly paced around while examining his surroundings, especially the zing mes that constantly surrounded the Supreme Fire Pce, but never once approached it. He opened his palm once again and sucked in another crystal fragment, carefully studying it as he nced back from time to time at the pce floating in the middle of the moltenva.


    Miao Yi seemed to have thought of something. He hurled out the crystal fragment in his hand once again, and sure enough, the fiery vortex formed another passage. Pa! The crystal fragment hit the rocky surface again.


    Miao Yi then quickly took out a Second Grade Helmet Artifact and hurled it out as well.


    nk! Although the transcendent artifact was able to reach the rocky surface behind the mes as well, the mes did not part because of it. That said, the fire dragons did not try to attack it as well. Evidently, Lie Huan¡¯s array was only concerned with sealing the entrance.


    Miao Yi then grabbed a pile of crystal fragments and quickly ran up to the circr te. With a swing of his arm, he hurled out the several dozen crystal fragments upwards. Under Miao Yi¡¯s observation, the fiery vortex previously guarded by fierce fire dragons had actually formed a passage instead this time, allowing the crystal fragments to easily cross through the mes.


    The fire dragons no longer appeared, but the crystal fragments Miao Yi tossed out soon rained back down on the pce. Miao Yi used his arts to gather them back together, then continued tossing them back out.


    Once again, the zing mes parted for the crystal fragments. It was no coincidence. Miao Yi tossed them up multiple times to make sure, and as expected, the fire dragons didn¡¯t appear even once.


    Miao Yi then tossed out a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact. Boom! The fire dragons appeared and reduced the entire transcendent artifact to dust with a single bite.


    He tossed out the crystal fragments afterward, and sure enough, no fire dragons appeared.


    The crystal fragments fell back down, but Miao Yi didn¡¯t try to catch them this time. He simply allowed them to scatter over the circr te.


    As the ttering noise rang about, Miao Yi brandished a Second Grade Sword Artifact and started wildly chopping down on the stone railings surrounding the za. However, the crystalline material was extremely robust. Even with Miao Yi¡¯s current Blue Lotus cultivation, he was having a hard time damaging it.


    After much difficulty, Miao Yi finally managed to cut down one of the columns from the stone railing. Carrying the column in his embrace, he ran back to the circr te. Once he was there, he jumped up with all his might. While in midair, he channeled all his strength into his arms, then hurled the massive column upwards. He was being very careful in testing out his conjecture. After all, the matter concerned his well-being, so he hardly had any other choice.


    As expected, not a single fire dragon appeared when the column was hurled into the fiery vortex. Instead, an even wider passage was formed. Clearly, therger the size of the crystalline object, the wider the passage it would create.


    Miao Yi caught the crystal column with one hand as it fell back down. He then ced it on the ground, propping it up as heughed aloud, "I get it now! I see! So that was it!"


    He finally found a way to escape. As it turned out, the trick to leaving was hidden in this Supreme Fire Pce.


    "Lie Huan, you old coot. You sure are devious as hell. Who would have thought that the secret to escaping the fire array would be hidden in the pce right in front of me? One who is directly involved in the matter is most easily blinded to the truth behind it indeed. If I hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to discover the hint by ident, I would have been stuck here waiting to die!" Miao Yi chortled as he looked at his surroundings. He was absolutely ecstatic.


    Truth be told, he was simply overthinking it. Lie Huan was truly not as devious as he imagined, nor was there a need for him to be.


    Think of it this way. Someone with the ability to break through the mighty fire array and enter the Supreme Fire Pce naturally had the strength to leave as well. Someone like that didn¡¯t need to figure out any tricks to leave the ce. In contrast, someone without the strength to make it inside would have definitely lost their lives within the array already. Why would Lie Huan need to make such aplicated setup then?


    Perhaps Lie Huan could have never imagined in his wildest dreams that a White Lotus cultivator would break into his Supreme Fire Pce, be trapped inside, and ultimately decide to make his escape by destroying his property. Not only that, the person in question had even called him a devious man.


    Miao Yi was simply being petty, unfairly passing judgment onto someone else based on his own standards. Was there even a need for Lie Huan to trap Miao Yi, some weakling cultivator who wasn¡¯t even fit to enter his vision?


    Bang! The crystal column fell to the ground.


    Miao Yi rushed to the za and started preparing his meal. He wanted to eat and sleep to his heart¡¯s content. Then once his body was well-rested, he would kiss this ce goodbye.


    Having found a way to escape, Miao Yi was feeling incredibly relieved. After eating and drinking his fill, he drifted off to a wondrous sleep while soaking in the basin. He didn¡¯t need to be worried about anything at all. With Lie Huan¡¯s mighty array protecting him, no one would be able to disturb him.


    After waking up, Miao Yi got dressed and prepared himself to leave. However, right as he was about to go, he nced back at the Supreme Fire Pce and hesitated. Did he really have to leave now?


    ¡¯Looking back at how much time has passed, I have already spent seven years here in the Sea of Constetions. The Subjugation Crusade will only end in another two years or so, and Lie Huan won¡¯t return until then either. In that case, why don¡¯t I just hide out here until the Subjugation Crusade is nearing its end and leave then instead? If I leave now, I won¡¯t be able to find another ce where I can cultivate as fast as I do here. Cultivating for even a single year in this ce is already equivalent to spending many years outside! Not to mention, it¡¯s extremely dangerous outside.¡¯


    It seemed to Miao Yi that staying was obviously the better choice. He then rushed back into the main hall, sat himself down on the throne and continued to cultivate...


    Eight monthster. Sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, Miao Yi was in the midst of cultivation when he suddenly noticed a drastic drop in the speed at which the fire spiritual essences were being absorbed into his body. He no longer felt a connection behind him, which previously consisted of the twelve power sources providing him with the greatest support.


    Miao Yi stopped cultivating and turned around to look. He found that the blurry crimson fire silhouette hidden within the twelve engravings on the wall were all gone; he couldn¡¯t see anything inside at all.


    No wonder his absorption rate had decreased. He needed every second he could get to raise his cultivation right now. There wouldn¡¯t be a second chance if he missed this opportunity. Why did it have to disappear now of all times?


    Miao Yi jumped up to stand beside the wall, but he couldn¡¯t figure anything out even after a close examination. He then took out a Second Grade Toothed Club Artifact from his storage ring. The transcendent artifact shone with a blue light as he raised his arms and hammered down on the wall.


    Miao Yi had no idea what sort of material this crystal was. Not only was he unable to probe it with his transcendence energy, but it was also unbelievably tough. It took him several dozen whacks with the Second Grade Toothed Club Artifact before he managed to break open one of the fire engravings on the wall. To his surprise, there was a spherical space inside, and besides the hole he just made, there was no other way to take something out from the inside.


    "That¡¯s strange. Why did the mes inside suddenly disappear? Don¡¯t tell me I absorbed them all already?" Miao Yi mused. His gaze flitted to the other engravings, unwilling to give up so easily. In truth, he had realized long ago that whatever was sealed inside the wall was highly important to his cultivation.


    Since he was unwilling to give up, he obviously wouldn¡¯t let the matter lie like this. Bang! Bang! Bang! He gave the beautiful fire engravings on the wall a good beating with his toothed club, and only stopped once he broke them all open.


    However, even after examining each and every one of them, he still didn¡¯t discover anything new. As he was thinking long and hard about how to solve this predicament, the entire pce suddenly started shaking.


    Miao Yi was immediately jolted from his thoughts. He rushed out of the pce and looked about his surroundings, but he didn¡¯t find anything amiss.


    As he wondered what the tremor just now was all about, the floating pce trembled lightly once again. Miao Yi was in shock. Why did it feel as though the pce was falling down?


    However, the pce soon stabilized itself. Miao Yi quietly waited for a while, but there was no longer any signs of movement from the pce.


    That said, he no longer dared to waste another second. Tucking his toothed club away, he readied a Second Grade Greatsword Artifact, and after leaping onto the back of the Inferno Qilin statue, he then began to hack away at its neck.

 Chapter 401: Reuniting With Charcoal

    Chapter 401: Reuniting With Charcoal


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Boom! The head of the Inferno Qilin statue fell to the ground.


    Miao Yi jumped down as well. Using all the weapons in his arsenal, he began scraping out the inside of the statue¡¯s head and waspletely hard at work!


    This was crucial to his escape. After all, he had reason to believe that something might happen to the pce soon. Firstly, the twelve mes were extinguished. After that, the entire pce began trembling for no reason.


    Of course, this was just a suspicion of his for now. However, given that strange things were beginning to happen, he had no choice but to prepare himself quickly. He didn¡¯t wish to perish alongside the Supreme Fire Pce after all. It was best to leave this ce as soon as possible. If he was too greedy, he could very well end up missing the chance to escapepletely.


    After straining himself for almost two days, he finally managed to hollow out the crystalline head of the Inferno Qilin statue. Even though his handiwork was a little rough, the gap was wide enough to shield him entirely.


    Miao Yi repeatedly checked to see whether the size would fit. He then tucked it away, and quickly took out a giant steel chain and started modifying it.


    After the modifications were finished, he stored the chain back into his storage ring. He leaped onto the back of the decapitated Inferno Qilin statue and jumped up to the roof of the pce.


    Standing at the tallest point in the pce, Miao Yi looked at the raging mes above, then nced back down at the Supreme Fire Pce. Evidently, he was still a little hesitant about leaving.


    This ce was simply too perfect for his cultivation. In these past eight months, he had refined about six hundred Orbs of Will. At this point, he was already able to refine three orbs in a single day. He only needed to refine around two thousand more. ording to his estimates, he would have been able to break through to Blue Lotus Second Grade if he continued cultivating here until the end of the Subjugation Crusade, simply because his refining speed would continuously increase.


    If he cultivated outside, then his refining speed would temporarily be stuck at three orbs a day. This meant that he would need to cultivate for at least another two years before he could break through to Blue Lotus Second Grade. By then, the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade would be over already.


    Thus, Miao Yi was truly reluctant to leave this ce. Seeing as the floating pce seemed to have stabilized itself, he jumped back down from the roof and went back inside.


    However, when he saw how messy the Supreme Fire Pce had be because of him, Miao Yi felt a chill run down his spine. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he could repair the wall that he destroyed. And if Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan were to see this, he would probably use the most brutal of punishments to torment Miao Yi to death. If he didn¡¯t flee as far away as he could to throw off some suspicion, and instead chose to wait until the Subjugation Crusade ended, the chances of his escape would be drastically slim. If Miao Yi waited that long, then even if he did manage to leave in time, the Supreme Yao Lord only needed tomand it and he most likely wouldn¡¯t be able to get very far before being captured.


    Not to mention, the twelve mes had already been extinguished. His cultivation speed would no longer increase as fast as it did before, so when should he leave if not now?


    ¡¯I¡¯m leaving!¡¯ Miao Yi no longer hesitated. He turned around and walked off, making his way out the pce and jumping up to the rooftop. He then leaped several dozen meters up into the air and swung his arm around,unching the steel chain skyward. Ding! The chain shot across the zing mes,ing to a stop when its sharp tip pierced through the rocky surface up above.


    While still free falling, Miao Yi tugged on the other end of the steel chain and used the leverage to pull himself even higher. As he approached the mes, he quickly took out the massive head of the Inferno Qilin statue and used it to protect himself before diving straight in.


    In just a short amount of time, the steel chain was already glowing red from the raging heat. Clearly, it would not be able tost long before it melted offpletely.


    However, this was more than enough for Miao Yi. Going up, he was undaunted by the blistering heat of the steel chain as he only needed to grab it for a brief moment to pull himself up to the hole where the other end of the chain was. Making his way to the top of the gap in the wall, he held on with a vice-like grip. There was only enough space for one hand to hold onto, and this was good enough. Strapping the head of the Inferno Qilin statue to his back, Miao Yi quickly climbed up towards the exit. In the meantime, the steel chain hadpletely melted off and fell back down.


    Miao Yi rushed towards the fiery vortex in the center but gradually slowed his ascent as he got closer, still apprehensive towards the fire dragons. He was prepared to jump back down to the circr te if anything were to go wrong.


    In the end, the hypothesis he had painstakinglye up with after much careful consideration was proven to be true; the fire dragons no longer appeared and the violent mes continued to maintain a certain distance away from the head of the Inferno Qilin statue.


    Miao Yi immediately sped up, climbing up the volcano with his body close to the wall and a shell over his back like a snail. No matter how one looked, he seemed to be behaving exactly like how a burr would.


    It turned out that the fiery vortex sealing the entrance was almost a thousand meters long. If Miao Yi hadn¡¯t experienced it for himself, he wouldn¡¯t have known how far up it went. He waspletely clueless about how he managed to survive the fall in the first ce.


    As he climbed up, Miao Yi didn¡¯t even get the chance to see the ming swords in the middle region of the fire array. Soon, at the edge of the fiery vortex, a crystalline Qilin head popped up along the side of the rocky wall. It looked as though an Inferno Qilin was rising from the mes.


    After making his way out of the inferno, Miao Yi rapidly sped up his ascent, shortly making his way up the mouth of the volcano while lugging the head of the Qilin statue on his back. Once he was out of the volcano, Miao Yi relieved himself of the Qilin head and ced it aside. Standing on the summit of the volcano, he scanned his surroundings, excitedly taking a deep breath of fresh air. He finally managed to make it out alive.


    He had been trapped in the Supreme Fire Pce for several years with no other sights to see aside from the mes that constantly surrounded the ce. Now that he finally made it out, no matter how deste the view outside was, it seemed to him like a beautiful, boundless scenery!


    Miao Yi turned around, preparing to toss the Qilin head back into the volcano, but after some thought, he figured that this item was rather useful. Thinking that he might need it someday, he tucked it away into his storage bangle.


    Now that he was out, he definitely wouldn¡¯t stay long in this ce! Miao Yi quickly scanned his surroundings and started rapidly descending down the mountain after deciding on a path. His first priority right now was to travel as far away from this ce as he could in order to avoid suspicion.


    Even though Miao Yi wanted to avoid being suspected, he was unaware that the locations of the participants were constantly visible to the people in the Western Constetions Pce through the astrbe. Fortunately for him, none of them were concerned with the status of a single white dot. Furthermore, the projection of the astrbe was maximized to fit in the entire Western Star Sea. If one did not zoom in on his location, they wouldn¡¯t be able to pinpoint where he was. Otherwise, him avoiding suspicion would be nothing more than a pipe dream...


    At the grasnds, Charcoal was lying down on top of a grassy hill, his tail swingingzily as he napped. At the foot of the hill, there were over ten thousand dragon steeds leisurely walking around.


    Suddenly, Charcoal¡¯s eyes shot open. He abruptly stood up and gazed into the distance, kicking his hooves in a restless manner as he snorted continuously.


    All the other dragon steeds down below lifted their heads to look at him, wondering what was wrong with their ¡¯king¡¯.


    "Harrumph!" Charcoal abruptly stood up and started stomping his two front hooves with excitement.


    As his hooves came back down, Charcoal looked back at all his subordinates. Suddenly, he rushed down and headed straight towards the leader he had once beaten and started snorting to it before chasing it up to the hill he was previously on.


    That hill that was perfect for taking naps had already be Charcoal¡¯s throne over the years. He usually never allowed any other dragon steed to use it, but now he was actually urging the former leader to go up.


    As a dragon steed, Charcoal fully understood what form ofmunication worked best between his kind.


    "Harrumph!" Facing the other dragon steeds, Charcoal raised his hooves to the sky and shouted out once more.


    As soon as his hooves came back down, Charcoal immediately turned around and galloped off. Like a lone wolf crossing the grassy ins, he decisively abandoned his kinsmen and made like the wind.


    The mysterious bloodline sleeping within him had already been rekindled with a new vigor, so he no longer took delight in this primitive lifestyle.


    Thex everyday life of normal dragon steeds no longer suited Charcoal. He was not satisfied with lying on the grasnd all day just feeling the warmth of the sun and the breeze of the wind until the day he died as his kinsmen did. He wanted to sleep under a beautiful roof once more and have an intelligent cultivator as his partner.


    Living life on this grassy in, Charcoal didn¡¯t find any value in gaining the respect of so many of his kinsmen. Instead, he yearned for the well-embellished cities where the mortals would kneel by the side of the streets and bow their heads to him as though he were a god.


    Living life on this grassy in, Charcoal no longer found sparring with his kinsmen nor battling the wild beasts here worthwhile. Instead, he wanted to be d head to toe in armor, dashing through a vicious battlefield with transcendence energy violently shing all around him. Those bloody warzones in his memories had always filled him with great excitement and made him feel as though he possessed unlimited strength.


    The mysterious bloodline sleeping within him had already awakened, and he could no longer be satisfied with living a mundane, average life. Charcoal knew exactly what he needed to make himself even stronger. However, there were no Yao Cores avable to him on this grassy in.


    He wanted to fight andpare himself against spiritual beasts even stronger than normal dragon steeds. Thinking back to when the Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts couldn¡¯t even catch up to him once he started running at full speed, there was a sense of exhration from subduing the other party that he could not find on this grassy in. In fact, there wasn¡¯t even a single opponent here who could make Charcoal go into his berserk state.


    Charcoal could sense that his partner had reappeared. The man who was also fully d in armor like he was. The person who, when together with him, formed an unstoppable duo. Charcoal had waited a long time for him to return and now he was finally back.


    Charcoal did not wish to restrict himself to this tiny ind, simply because he could run faster than a Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beast!


    On the other hand, his kinsmen enjoyed this boring lifestyle very much. As such, Charcoal did not hesitate in abandoning them and left like the wind. He believed there was an even greater world waiting for him out there.


    "Harrumph~" All the other dragon steeds continued neighing as they watched their ¡¯king¡¯ leave on his own. They were very confused as to why he would abandon the ¡¯throne¡¯ that so many dragon steeds dreamed of having, and they couldn¡¯t figure out why ¡¯their liege¡¯ chose to abandon such afortable lifestyle...


    While running across the deste ins, Miao Yi¡¯s hand was raised with a mutton leg in his grasp. Droplets of fat seeped through its skin and made sizzling noises as they trickled onto the ground.


    Miao Yi was already far away from Skyfire Mountain, but he was still within the region. On the bright side, there was no ce better to cook something. With the intense heat around him, there wasn¡¯t even any need for fire. Soon, he managed to roast a mutton leg until it was golden-brown.


    It had been eight months since hest ate. After such strenuous exercise, his body was indeed feeling rather weak. Hence, he made use of the opportunity to replenish himself.


    Once the mutton leg was almost thoroughly cooked, Miao Yi took out a sk of wine. With one hand, he held the mutton leg close to his mouth and bit down, and with the other, he raised his sk and chugged down the wine. It was quite a delightful feeling.


    After he was done with his meal, he casually tossed away the leftovers. All the while, he maintained a constant pace towards the edge of the barren region.


    Right when he made his way out of the barren region and into the desert, he suddenly heard the sound of beating hooves from afar. His nerves instantly tensed as he quickly turned his head to see a dragon steed charging towards him from the left.


    Miao Yi immediately rubbed his palms together. He just so happened to be in need of a mount. He never thought one would just show up at his doorstep like this. He must capture it!


    However, when he looked closely at the dragon steed¡¯s face, he was utterly shocked by the familiar visage. He muttered to himself, "Is that... Charcoal?"


    Who else could it be besides Charcoal?! Charcoal ran over to Miao Yi¡¯s side, raised his hooves and started crying out. Then, as hey on the ground beside him and started rolling around, Miao Yi could feel his eyes glistening.


    Miao Yi never expected that Charcoal would still be alive after so many years and that he could actually cross the vast, treacherous ocean just to find this ce. Most importantly, he never thought that Charcoal would refuse to give up on him after so many years.


    Miao Yi looked on at Charcoal¡¯s heavily-scarred body in astonishment. He could tell from a single nce how much danger he must have gone through to reach this ce.


    "Damn fatso, get up!" Miao Yi kicked at his rump.


    Charcoal slowly stood back up. Miao Yi then leaped on top of him, stroking his mane as heughed aloud, "Damn fatso! We¡¯re both still alive! We¡¯ll definitely make it back in one piece too! Let¡¯s go!"


    "Harrumph!" To show his own excitement, Charcoal raised his hooves and cried out as well. The two then shot forward like an arrow.

 Chapter 402: Yan Beihong Furious

    Chapter 402: Yan Beihong Furious


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    When he felt the rushing wind on Charcoal¡¯s back, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help feeling nostalgic. Back then, if he and Charcoal hadn¡¯t been separated, then perhaps Bai Ziliang wouldn¡¯t have been able to force him to jump into the volcano. Then again, if he hadn¡¯t jumped down, he might have never discovered the truth behind the Fiery Star Technique.


    A lone man and his mount charged across the barren desert and over the lofty mountains beforeing to a stop by the ocean shore.


    While Charcoal stomped over the shallow waters of the beach, Miao Yi took out a map to figure out his next location; he needed to be as far away from Skyfire Mountain as possible.


    Once he decided on a location, he started preparing for a long voyage at sea. He gathered wood from the forests and made a robust yet intricate raft. Then, after pushing the raft out to sea, Miao Yi and Charcoal hopped on. Hoisting the sails, Miao Yi began to steer the raft using his arts while the wind carried it forward.


    He wasn¡¯t in a rush anyway, so on days when the wind was favorable, he simply allowed the raft to be carried along the waves while he cultivated. Other days, he would lower the sails and use his arts to steer the raft instead.


    The journey was rtively uneventful. While there were plenty of times when they were attacked by sea monsters, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with them, so he simply defeated them with a single st of the Mystic Yin Mirror.


    After two months, they finally reached their destination. After staying in one ce for a while, Charcoal galloped across the beach excitedly while Miao Yi pulled the raft ashore and hid it away for future use.


    Both man and steed made their made way up to the summit of a mountain and gazed into the distance. Before them was a vast mountain range; the terrain was dangerous, the air was still, and the whole ce was surrounded by fog.


    Miao Yi nodded in approval. The reason he chose this ce was because this ind was highly inconspicuous and the difficult terrain meant that it would be easy to escape in a rush if he needed to.


    He was prepared to hide here and cultivate for as long as he could. He wanted to drag the current situation as close to the end of the Subjugation Crusade as possible.


    However, it seemed as though Miao Yi wasn¡¯t the only one in this ce. Sitting on Charcoal¡¯s back, Miao Yi charged down the mountain and was making his way deep into the mountain range when Charcoal suddenly halted. He could smell the scent of his kin nearby. The bastard truly had above average senses for a dragon steed.


    The terrain here was not suitable for spiritual beasts like dragon steeds, who enjoyed wide expanses where they could stretch their legs. Sensing the change in Charcoal, Miao Yi immediately tensed up. He spread his arms out and let the ck mist surround his body. The Inversed-Scales Spear instantly appeared in his hand, and both man and steed carefully surveyed their surroundings.


    Suddenly, hoofbeats could be hearding from the surrounding forest. It seemed as though the other party realized that he was already prepared to fight. Charcoal immediately circled around, and on his back, Miao Yi raised his spear and vigntly scanned the area.


    The hoofbeats came to a stop, and nine people showed up from the surrounding forest. They each guarded one side of a circle, trapping Miao Yi and Charcoal in the center.


    Atop a hill, a young man with a sinister-looking face pointed his spear at Miao Yi and shouted, "Who goes there?! Alight from your steed and surrender, and we shall spare your life!"


    These nine cultivators¡¯ faces were tense with vignce; it seemed they didn¡¯t dare to act too recklessly. After all, who would dare belittle a person like Miao Yi, who was able to survive this long in the Subjugation Crusade on his own?


    Miao Yi noticed they were all wearing the same brownish-yellow fabric under their armor. It looked like they all belonged to the same sect. He thought that the color seemed a little familiar and wondered where he saw it before. After some thought, he remembered. It was the Glorious Cloud Sect! Miao Yi asked loudly, "Could all of you possibly be disciples of the Glorious Cloud Sect?"


    The nine cultivators exchanged nces. The young man with the sinister face asked, "May I ask, who are you? Could you possibly be a cultivator of the Celestial Nation¡¯s First Earthly Branch as well?"


    Seeing how he was speaking on behalf of the others, Miao Yi assumed this person was the leader. He replied, "I am a cultivator of the Fifth Earthly Branch, and a good friend of your sect¡¯s record-keeper Deacon, Deacon Liu."


    Well, they weren¡¯t exactly good friends. Back then, Miao Yi had visited the Glorious Cloud Sect to figure out the whereabouts of his little sister and managed to have a conversation with Deacon Liu. At the very least, they could be considered minor acquaintances. That said, Miao Yi only knew the other person was surnamed Liu; he didn¡¯t even know his full name. However, he didn¡¯t know how strong these people were. For a group of this size to be able to survive this long in the Subjugation Crusade, they were clearly not as simple as they seemed either. Miao Yi didn¡¯t dare to act too recklessly, so all he could do was first try to curry some favor with them.


    Seeing as Miao Yi knew the name of their Glorious Cloud Sect¡¯s record-keeper Deacon, the nine cultivators became slightly less hostile. However, they were still rtively vignt. After all, the Glorious Cloud Sect was a huge school and had many connections. It would not be surprising for an outsider to know the identities of its members.


    "So you are Deacon Liu¡¯s friend!" The young man in charge adopted a slightly more courteous tone. Cupping his fists, he greeted, "My name is Song Zeming. May I know¡ª"


    However, before he could finish, a sharp voice suddenly came from the bottom of the ridge yelling out, "Die!"


    Miao Yi quickly turned around and saw a burly man jumping straight at him. He had a shaggy and unkempt face and wore a set of armor with a dark red cape on his back. Longsword in hand, the man charged straight at Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi had never seen a longsword like that before. Or at least he had never seen this particr type of longsword before. The de was at least two meters long and half a meter wide, while the hilt itself was half a meter long. The entire sword towered over its wielder and looked absolutely badass.


    After getting a close look at the man¡¯s face, Miao Yi asked in surprise, "Big Brother Yan?"


    Correct. It was none other than Yan Beihong.


    However, Yan Beihong acted like he didn¡¯t recognize Miao Yi at all. With a dark expression on his face, he charged ahead on his mount and began wildly shing down at Miao Yi with his sword.


    Miao Yi was startled. Charcoal quickly turned around as Miao Yi hastily struck back with the Inversed-Scales Spear. ng! A loud ringing erupted as the spearhead slid across the de right towards Yan Beihong¡¯s wrist.


    Yan Beihong flicked the spear away, then flipped the sword around and violently shed down on Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder.


    Miao Yi was utterly annoyed by Yan Beihong¡¯s persistent attacks and decided to stop pulling his punches. Charcoal quickly circled around the trees as Miao Yiunched his spear out in a violent sh against Yan Beihong.


    The nine cultivators spectating the battle were a little stunned. Just based on the fact that Miao Yi called Yan Beihong ¡¯Big Brother Yan¡¯, they could tell that the two knew each other. And it seemed they were very well-acquainted at that. Otherwise, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t have addressed Yan Beihong as ¡¯Big Brother¡¯. Yet now they were at each other¡¯s throats. What in the world was going on?


    At times, their two dragon steeds would charge at one another, while other times, gallop alongside one another as both riders attacked with their weapons.


    Miao Yi¡¯s spear art was overwhelmingly sharp. And with a mount as speedy as his spear, hemanded a terrifying aura that seemed capable of erasing everything from existence.


    Yan Beihong¡¯s giant sword was just as imposing. Even though it was absurdly huge, somehow he still managed to swing it about with the momentum of a forceful storm as though the weight of heaven¡¯s wrath was behind it. It was truly awesome.


    The two seemed quite evenly matched, and the sheer intensity of their battle had the nine cultivators utterly stupefied.


    They had never seen someone this skilled in a head-on battle before. They were all aware of how powerful Yan Beihong¡¯s sword was, but they never thought that there was still someone out there who could give him a run for his money and even force him to up his attacks by a few notches.


    Yan Beihong was equally astonished by Miao Yi¡¯s prowess. He never thought Miao Yi would be this capable, and that even the sword art he was so proud of couldn¡¯t suppress him.


    Miao Yi was also in awe. Ever since he started being a cultivator, when it came to head-on battles, there were hardly any contenders who couldst longer than three moves against him. He never thought that Yan Beihong could actually exchange over a hundred moves with him and still not fall.


    Miao Yi felt a surge of excitement. Finally, there was someone he could go all-out against. He wanted to see exactly how many of his moves Yan Beihong would be able to receive.


    The Inversed-Scales Spear struck faster and faster, each time carrying the roar of a dragon behind it. Like threading through a needle, Miao Yi¡¯s attacks were precise and deadly, and almost every move was aimed at a vital spot.


    The nine cultivators spectating the battle werepletely dazzled by the sight.


    On the other hand, Yan Beihong was in utter shock. He swung his sword wildly, doing all he could to receive the attacks, but after several dozen strikes, Yan Beihong immediately found himself at a disadvantage. There was little he could do but simply try his best to guard against Miao Yi¡¯s spear. However, he was still struck multiple times in the blink of an eye. Were it not for the armor artifact protecting him, he would have already died from Miao Yi¡¯s attacks.


    Thrusting at the horse, piercing the throat, and stabbing the wrist. Realizing that it was difficult to ovee the armor artifact Yan Beihong was wearing, Miao Yi immediatelyunched his spear at his opponent¡¯s weak points with pinpoint uracy.


    Yan Beihong quickly became anxious. He never imagined that the young man that required his protection back then would have grown so much. If his sword wasn¡¯t so freakishlyrge that it was capable of providing a wide area of defense, his mount might have already perished.


    Yan Beihong had always thought that his cultivation speed was already quite fastpared to his peers. However, this Miao Yi was actually able to fight head-on against him. Then wouldn¡¯t it mean that he too was at the Blue Lotus realm already?


    That said, Yan Beihong was clearly a battle veteran in his own right. Very soon, he discovered Miao Yi¡¯s weakness¡ªhis spear. The speed at which Miao Yi was capable ofunching a strike was unbelievably fast and at the same time urate. Yan Beihong had no idea how he¡¯d managed to train to such an extent. Nheless, he figured that in order to have a chance at defeating Miao Yi, he needed first to quell his momentum. And the easiest way to do that was by targeting the three sharp, inverted des on his spearhead.


    Once again, Miao Yi struck at his throat. As Yan Beihong deflected the attack, he abruptly turned his body to the side and swept his giant sword across the shaft of the spear. In the next instant, he managed to jam his sword between the three inverted des on the spearhead.


    ¡¯I¡¯ve got you!¡¯ Yan Beihong let out a snicker. As he tried to grab onto the spear shaft, he suddenly heard a clicking from the spearhead. Suddenly, the three inverted des joined together as one. Having caught Yan Beihong by surprise, the giant sword quickly slid past the spearhead and off the spear. His n to jam the spear had instantly fallen apart, and he was now vulnerable against Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi was already pulling back the Inversed-Scales Spear, drawing a straight line towards his opponent¡¯s throat. Yan Beihong panicked. ng! He hurriedly raised his arm and used his vambrace to block the strike.


    As they passed by each other, Miao Yi quickly turned back andunched his spear again, twirling it in circles and twisting Yan Beihong¡¯s dark red cape around it. Rip! Miao Yi tore part of the cape into pieces, and the shredded cloth fluttered about like tiny red butterflies. At the same time, like a water mantis skidding across the water surface, he lightly pricked the rump of Yan Beihong¡¯s dragon steed. However, he didn¡¯t inflict a mortal wound.


    Once the two passed by each other, they came to a stop several dozen meters apart from one another. However, Yan Beihong no longer charged at Miao Yi. He knew that Miao Yi had gone easy on him just now; he had already lost this battle.


    "Yan Beihong, what in the world do you think you¡¯re doing?!" Miao Yi pointed his spear towards Yan Beihong and barked.


    Things would have been better if he hadn¡¯t asked, as Yan Beihong was instantly enraged by the question. Pointing his sword furiously back at Miao Yi, he said, "And here I¡¯ve always thought you were my brother. I even sent Hong Xiu and Hong Fu over to you. So why are you here in the Sea of Constetions?"


    Miao Yi was stunned. ¡¯So that¡¯s why he¡¯s so angry. I was wondering why he suddenly started attacking me out of nowhere.¡¯ He asked sarcastically, "Do you honestly think I WANT toe to this damned ce?"


    The question caught Yan Beihong by surprise. However, after some thought, he couldn¡¯t help agreeing. Why would someonee here of their own ord if they had the choice? He had truly been too lost in fury when he caught sight of Miao Yi.


    Although he realized he was in the wrong, Yan Beihong still acted tough and said, "If anything happens to Hong Xiu and Hong Fu, you¡¯ll be answering to me!"


    Miao Yi replied, "Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already made the necessary arrangements. If neither of us makes it back alive, someone will take them to a safe ce."


    "That¡¯s more like it. Otherwise, I¡¯ll chop you in half!" Yan Beihong huffed as he sheathed his sword. He then cupped his fists to Song Zeming and said, "Senior Uncle Song, Miao Yi is my little brother. You¡¯ve all seen what he can do. We need the extra help right now. Please take him in!"


    Appearance-wise, even though Yan Beihong looked much older than Song Zeming, he still had to call thetter Senior Uncle. Then again, in the world of cultivation, one should never judge another¡¯s age based on their appearances. What¡¯s more when there was seniority involved.


    Song Zeming pondered for a while, but quickly smiled and said, "Since he is a friend, then he is free to join us. That way, we can look out for one another too." He then turned to wave at the others. "He¡¯s one of us. You can all go back now."


    The other cultivators then disappeared into the forest along with their mounts. On the other hand, despite having sessfully recruited a member, Yan Beihong cast a knowing gaze at Miao Yi and announced loudly, "Brother Miao, it has been a while since west met! It so happens that I¡¯m on watch duty today. Come, take a walk with me."

 Chapter 403: May Heaven and Earth Bear Witness to My Oath

    Chapter 403: May Heaven and Earth Bear Witness to My Oath


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Alright!" Miao Yi agreed, feeling that there was something odd going on with Yan Beihong. Turning his dragon steed around, he followed behind Yan Beihong to his patrol duty.


    The duo then made their way to the peak of the tallest mountain in the area. It was a suitable ce to have a secret conversation as they would be able to see if anyone approached.


    Under a great pine tree, Yan Beihong stripped himself of his armor, revealing a long dark red cape on his back. He then dismounted from his dragon steed and stood motionlessly by the side of the tree. With his untied hair swaying with the wind and a shaggy beard hanging over his face, he cast a deep, pondering gaze over the distant ocean.


    "Little Brother, you truly are a capable man! When I saw you, I thought that you were a different person. First of all, the chances of a White Lotus cultivator participating in the Subjugation Crusade were slim. And second of all, how could a White Lotus cultivator possibly survive this long on his own? However, it was only when I crossed des with you that I realized that your strength even overshadows my own." Yan Beihong turned his head around and smiled, "I can¡¯t believe that in just a few dozen years, your cultivation has also broken through to the Blue Lotus realm. Congrattions!"


    Miao Yi dismounted from his dragon steed, walked up to Yan Beihong and asked, "Big Brother Yan, your cultivation probably isn¡¯t only at the Blue Lotus Second Grade as well, I believe?"


    Miao Yi was feeling a little skeptical as he posed the question. When Hong Xiu and Hong Fu came to him for help, Yan Beihong¡¯s letter had clearly stated that he was in the Blue Lotus Second Grade. However, when they fought just now, Miao Yi could sense that Yan Beihong¡¯s cultivation was much higher than that. If his Inversed-Scales Spear didn¡¯t have some unique features of its own, he would have had a much harder time dealing with Yan Beihong¡¯s sword art.


    "To be frank, I¡¯ve already broken through to Blue Lotus Fifth Grade," Yan Beihong said inly.


    Surprised, Miao Yi replied, "Weren¡¯t you only at Blue Lotus Second Grade right before you came to the Sea of Constetions?"


    Yan Beihong nodded. "Little Brother, I know perfectly well the kind of person you are. Since I was willing to entrust Hong Xiu and Hong Fu to you, it meant that I¡¯ve never thought of you as an outsider. Right before I came here, I truly was at Blue Lotus Second Grade. I hope you¡¯ll keep this matter a secret for me."


    Miao Yi was shocked by his answer. If Yan Beihong had already been at Blue Lotus Fifth Grade beforeing to the Sea of Constetions, then he wouldn¡¯t find it strange. After all, there were plenty of powerful cultivation techniques across the realm. What was shocking was that Yan Beihong was only at Blue Lotus Second Grade before that. It meant that in a span of time just shy of nine years, Yan Beihong broke through three consecutive grades. This cultivation speed was a little too terrifying to wrap his head around. It was not any less impressive than his cultivating in the Supreme Fire Pce!


    One must know that the further one progressed in their cultivation, the more difficult it would be. To break through these three grades as Yan Beihong did was a significantly harder task than all the effort and time he previously spent cultivatingbined.


    "How did your cultivation progress so quickly?" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help asking.


    Yan Beihong shook his head, "Little Brother, that¡¯s a personal secret of mine. Your cultivation speed isn¡¯t exactly slow either. I won¡¯t ask you about it." What he was implying was pretty clear¡ªI won¡¯t ask about your secrets, so don¡¯t ask about mine.


    Since Yan Beihong had already put it that way, then it would be rude for Miao Yi to try and probe further. He too wouldn¡¯t divulge the secret of his Fiery Star Technique to anyone else.


    With furrowed brows, Yan Beihong asked, "Howe you¡¯re in the Subjugation Crusade as well?"


    "I was forced to do so. The Hall Master personally drafted me in. I had no choice but toe..." Miao Yi told Yan Beihong the truth. Since the other person could share his matter of breaking through three consecutive grades in less than nine years, he didn¡¯t mind letting him know something this insignificant inparison. As such, Miao Yi told Yan Beihong the full story behind his friction with Huo Lingxiao.


    As he listened to the story, Yan Beihong turned his head to face the wind and allowed his hair to flutter about. He said, "Little Brother, do you understand now? In this world, there is only the survival of the fittest. Justice and equality do not exist. In the eyes of the powerful, the lives of weaklings are as insignificant as the weeds on the ground. Since you and I have already embarked on this path, we should simply put our feet forward with courage!"


    Miao Yi looked deeply at Yan Beihong. Even though he was working together with the Glorious Cloud Sect disciples, Miao Yi noticed that Yan Beihong¡¯s attire waspletely different from theirs. He couldn¡¯t help asking, "Didn¡¯t you write in your letter that you had a falling out with the Glorious Cloud Sect? Why are you guys still working together?"


    Yan Beihong shook his head and replied, "Initially, there was hardly any chance of us working together. But not long after the participants from the First Earthly Branch disembarked, who do you think we bumped into?"


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "Who?"


    Yan Beihong said solemnly, "The Great Devil Realm!"


    ¡¯So it was the representative sent by Devil Sage Yun Aotian!¡¯ Miao Yi was wondering who it was that could evoke such a major reaction from the Glorious Cloud Sect disciples.


    Noticing that Miao Yi was unperturbed by his answer, Yan Beihong asked curiously, "It seems like you¡¯re not surprised to find out that the Six Sages sent their members over to participate in the Subjugation Crusade?"


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly. "What is there to be surprised about? Out of the six representatives sent over, I have already met with three of them. I even nearly lost my life to them."


    "No wonder!" Yan Beihong immediately understood. Then, with an awkward expression, he asked, "Then do you know who the Realm Beyond Heaven sent over?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression instantly turned glum. He gently nodded and said, "Let¡¯s talk about your story first."


    With a single nce, Yan Beihong could tell that Miao Yi must have already met with Fairy Yue Yao. And judging by the look on his face, it seemed that they didn¡¯t exactly have an official reunion. Otherwise, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t still be traveling on his own. There was also the possibility that Fairy Yue Yao didn¡¯t want to recognize him. In any case, it wasn¡¯t something pleasant to talk about, so Yan Beihong did not probe any further and continued to share his story.


    Originally, the Glorious Cloud Sect couldn¡¯t do anything to Yan Beihong for rebelling against them due to his status as an official. After all, he didn¡¯t need the Glorious Cloud Sect¡¯s cultivation technique. It didn¡¯t matter to him whether they wanted to hand him the more advanced teachings of the technique or not. However, since he was going to participate in the Subjugation Crusade, the Glorious Cloud Sect obviously wouldn¡¯t let this opportunity slip by. It was logical for them to think of ¡¯cleaning up their organization¡¯.


    However, little did they expect that the representative from the Great Devil Realm would join the fray as well. It seemed that the Great Devil Realm had sent over Devil Sage Yun Aotian¡¯s grandchild, Yun Feiyang. And this person somehow seemed to be messed up in the head. This whole time, he merely hunted down Celestial Nation cultivators, and because of this, the Glorious Cloud Sect disciples had suffered terribly. Under such circumstances, they had no choice but to ept all the help they could get. Not to mention, Yan Beihong could do little on his own, so he needed to join a group as well. Song Zeming and the others saw that Yan Beihong had some skill, so they decided to take him in. And for the time being, they were at peace with one another.


    That said, the Glorious Cloud Sect disciples were also quite unfortunate to have crossed paths thrice with Yun Feiyang and his crusaders. Both parties fought each time, and a majority of the Glorious Cloud Sect disciples had died in the skirmishes. However, they weren¡¯t exactly pushovers either. After all, their school was one of the top major sects in the entire Celestial Nation and was much more powerful than the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s Sword Deviate Sect. Naturally, they had a few tricks up their sleeves and had managed to kill one of Yun Feiyang¡¯s subordinates in battle. But as a result, they ended up utterly infuriating Yun Feiyang, and he became even more persistent in hunting them down ever since.


    These past few years, Song Zeming had been the one leading his fellow disciples around while Yun Feiyang hunted them down. Since then, their numbers had been reduced from what was originally over a hundred fellow disciples to the ten that were present today.


    Actually, Yan Beihong and his group had just recently arrived on this ind as well. They were simply a couple of days earlier than Miao Yi. It was pure coincidence that they managed to bump into each other.


    Astonished, Miao Yi asked, "That Yun Feiyang still won¡¯t let you guys go after so many years?"


    With creased brows, Yan Beihong answered, "It¡¯s really frustrating. Regardless of wherever we hide, he¡¯ll manage to track us down at least five to six times a year. As a result, we¡¯ve always had to switch our hiding locations constantly. Song Zeming also regrets killing Yun Feiyang¡¯s subordinate. Otherwise, things wouldn¡¯t have been so hard for us. I suspect these devil cultivators have some sort of secret art. As long as we¡¯re within a certain range, Yun Feiyang will always manage to locate us. If not, how else could he find us every single time?"


    Miao Yi could imagine how harsh things must have been to switch their hiding spots all the time. He couldn¡¯t helpughing, "That said, you guys are pretty impressive as well, to be able to avoid being persecuted by the Great Devil Realm for so long. I doubt the average person would be able to handle that. But then again, the participants from the Great Devil Realm would probably feel humiliated because of this and hunt you guys down even more relentlessly!"


    Yan Beihong shook his head. "We¡¯re not the ones who are impressive. It¡¯s all thanks to Song Zeming¡¯s mighty artifact called the ¡¯Flowing Cloud Killer¡¯. Time after time, it helped us escape through the ocean, and not even Yun Feiyang could do anything to us because of it."


    "Flowing Cloud Killer..." Miao Yi muttered as he thought, ¡¯What a peculiar name. I wonder what sort of transcendent artifact it is.¡¯


    Yan Beihong suddenly turned around and asked, "I wish to take this powerful artifact for my own. Little Brother, will you help me?"


    After such a long talk, they were finally at the crux of their secret conversation.


    Miao Yi was shocked. "You wish to make a move against your fellow disciples?"


    "Hmph!" Yan Beihong scoffed, "What fellow disciples?! Any camaraderie between us is long gone! Even if I don¡¯t make a move against them, they will eventually try to strike me down as well, so why not take the initiative before then?! I¡¯ve always wanted to take that Flowing Cloud Killer for myself, but I never had anyone else to rely on, so I couldn¡¯t make any rash moves. Now that you¡¯re here, the timing couldn¡¯t possibly be better. Why don¡¯t us brothers work together again on this Western Star Sea as we did all those years ago back in the Boundless Secr World?!"


    Miao Yiughed. "I am only at Blue Lotus First Grade. I¡¯m sure that those guys have a high cultivation too. How can you be so confident in me?"


    "Blue Lotus First Grade? Forgive my bluntness, but so what if you¡¯re at Blue Lotus Ninth Grade? In this Western Star Sea, there is no shortage of powerful artifacts specially-crafted by all those sects and schools. Even if your spear art is any more powerful than this, it cannot contend against the might of a powerful artifact. If you didn¡¯t have some kind of trump card up your sleeve, how else could you have dared to venture across the Western Star Sea on your own? If I¡¯m guessing correctly, you should have some kind of mighty artifact to protect yourself as well don¡¯t you, Little Brother?" Yan Beihong smiled and added, "Little Brother, you¡¯re not going to just sit by and watch as I die in the hands of the Glorious Cloud Sect one day, are you?"


    ¡¯No wonder he didn¡¯t even bother informing me of anything before inviting me in just now. So this was his n!¡¯ Miao Yi sighed, "I do have a powerful artifact in my possession..."


    He wanted to tell Yan Beihong that he didn¡¯t really survive on his own all this while and that he had onlye out of his hiding ce not too long ago. However, since the other party was this insistent about it, there was no point in arguing. Miao Yi shook his head lightly and smiled. "Big Brother Yan is my savior. Since the matter concerns your wellbeing, how can I just stand by and not do anything?!"


    Seeing as Miao Yi agreed, Yan Beihong gave his shoulder a heavy p and announced cheerfully, "Brother, I did not misjudge you after all! I hope you will forgive me for forcefully pulling you in without getting your consent! I, Yan Beihong, swear that from this day forth, all your problems are also my problems. From this moment on, if anyone dares to touch even a single hair on my Little Brother, they¡¯ll have to answer to me! May heaven and earth bear witness to my oath!"


    Miao Yi smiled, "Big Brother Yan, you¡¯re too serious about it. I am not a disloyal man!" He was implying that he would offer his help even if Yan Beihong hadn¡¯t made such a serious oath.


    Yan Beihong pped Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder again and said, "I know!" As he lowered his arm, he gazed into the distance and said, "If I didn¡¯t trust you, Little Brother, then why would I entrust Hong Xiu and Hong Fu to you? Back then, you and I had barely escaped death in the Boundless Secr World. And after that, it wasn¡¯t easy for us toe this far either. I am now eager to see how far us brothers will be able to go!"

 Chapter 404: Complete Annihilation

    Chapter 404: Complete Annihtion


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Song Zeming and the others, what are their cultivation levels, and how strong are they?"


    Now that he had already made the promise, he had to live up to his word. And since they were going to make their move, Miao Yi wanted to know exactly what he would be up against.


    Yan Beihong told him that all nine of them were at Blue Lotus Ninth Grade. They wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive Yun Feiyang¡¯s persecution for this long if they weren¡¯t. Three of them possessed powerful artifacts given by the Glorious Cloud Sect. The strongest one was naturally Song Zeming¡¯s Flowing Cloud Killer. After that would be Duan Hongfei¡¯s Mother-Child Flying Sword, followed by Kong Yulian¡¯s Mist Pearl.


    After listening to Yan Beihong¡¯s exnation, Miao Yi gently nodded his head. He now had a pretty good idea of what he was dealing with. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t help being impressed by Yan Beihong. He was the only Blue Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator in the group, yet he had managed to survive this long. Clearly, he was much stronger than his cultivation suggested.


    Yan Beihong asked, "Little Brother, you know best how you should utilize your own transcendent artifact. How do you think we should make our move?"


    Miao Yi replied, "The best way is to ambush them!"


    After they discussed the n, Yan Beihong nodded. "There is no time like the present. This is your first day with us so it wouldn¡¯t be strange for you to greet everyone. Why don¡¯t we strike now?"


    Miao Yi nodded. He never imagined that the first thing he would do aftering out of his long years of hiding would be to pige and plunder someone else. Who would have thought the opportunity would present itself to him so quickly?


    The ce they were currently residing in was a temporarily vacated fort in the mountains. The first target on Miao Yi and Yan Beihong¡¯s list was Song Zeming. After making their way back to the fort, the duo made a beeline straight for Song Zeming¡¯s quarters, which also happened to be the original Fort Master¡¯s living quarters. As the number one disciple sent over by the Glorious Cloud Sect, this was Song Zeming¡¯s rightful ce to stay.


    Evidently, the Glorious Cloud Sect disciples were also wary of Yan Beihong and had an old man secretly stationed outside to guard the fort. When he noticed Miao Yi and Yan Beihong approaching, the old man jumped out and asked brusquely, "Yan Beihong, you should be on patrol right now. Why are you back already? What if that devil spawn Yun Feiyang were to find us suddenly? We would have no time to run should that happen."


    "I will be returning shortly!" Yan Beihong said as he cupped his fists. He then pointed to Miao Yi. "This is my Little Brother Miao¡¯s first day here. He is unfamiliar with the ce, so I am bringing him around to greet everyone and arrange his quarters for him. After that, I will immediately return to my watch. I will not let it affect my duties. Come, Little Brother! This is my Senior Uncle Wang Bo. He is a powerful cultivator with a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivation!"


    "Greetings, Senior Wang!" Standing beside Yan Beihong, Miao Yi smiled and cupped his fists towards the old man.


    The old man nodded arrogantly, and the formalities ended at that. He then told Yan Beihong curtly, "Hurry it up. Don¡¯t dawdle around. There¡¯s no telling when that devil spawn will catch up to us."


    Yan Beihong cupped his fists in acknowledgment, then quickly led Miao Yi into the fort.


    Miao Yi now understood why Yan Beihong had no hesitation whatsoever in choosing to make a move against these people. He could tell just by looking at their attitudes that they didn¡¯t regard Yan Beihong as one of their own at all. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t treat him so coldly, given his position as a Manor Head as well as a fellow disciple.


    The duo soon made their way to Song Zeming¡¯s quarters. Yan Beihong shouted from the outside, "Senior Uncle Song, it¡¯s Miao Yi¡¯s first day here, so I brought him over to greet you!"


    "Come in!" a voice from inside said politely. After all, Miao Yi had proven that he could hold his own in a fight earlier on. Not to mention, Song Zeming was still unsure whether or not Miao Yi had any other aces up his sleeve. As the leader, he had to think for the sake of the group, so he was still rather clear-headed.


    As soon as the two walked in, they could see a ck cloth draped over the stone bed, with Song Zeming¡¯s obscure figure sitting cross-legged behind it.


    Miao Yi offered his greetings when he saw Song Zeming. After that, he was prepared to attack with his Mystic Yin Mirror. He was a decisive man after all. Since he decided to make his move, he wouldn¡¯t pull his punches. However, Yan Beihong¡¯s voice transmission suddenly warned him, "Stop! He is not defenseless!"


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know what sort of defenses Song Zeming had at hand, but since Yan Beihong insisted, he decided just to let it go.


    "May I know what sort of status Brother Miao holds in the Fifth Earthly Branch, as well as your cultivation?" Behind the curtain, Song Zeming smiled and asked.


    Miao Yi wiped off the Soul Concealing Paste on his forehead, revealing his Blue Lotus First Grade symbol, and replied, "I am the Mountain Chieftain of Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s Mount Calming Sea."


    Song Zeming was somewhat astonished to see that Miao Yi was only at Blue Lotus First Grade. He smiled. "I am highly impressed that Brother Miao could travel the Western Star Sea on his own with just a Blue Lotus First Grade cultivation. I believe you must have some powerful artifact at your disposal!"


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly. "Truth be told, I was once working with a group of my own. However, we were decimated by a powerful enemy. After that, I simply hid myself this whole time. It¡¯s not because I have a powerful artifact or anything like that. The reason I came here was also because I noticed that this was a rather inconspicuous ind on the map. I never thought that I would bump into Big Brother Yan here. I am eternally grateful that Senior Song decided to ept me into your group!"


    "Haha, I see!" Song Zeming forced augh. Even though Miao Yi¡¯s words were within reason, he didn¡¯t buy itpletely. For a mere Blue Lotus First Grade cultivator to survive this long, there was no way things could be as simple as Miao Yi put it.


    After a short talk, Yan Beihong and Miao Yi excused themselves from Song Zeming¡¯s quarters.


    Once they were outside, Miao Yi transmitted his voice over to Yan Beihong and asked, "That was a good chance just now. Why did you stop me?"


    Yan Beihong replied, "Didn¡¯t you see he was hiding behind that ck curtain the whole time? He clearly isn¡¯t willing to trust you just yet. That ck curtain is precisely Flowing Cloud Killer!"


    "That¡¯s Flowing Cloud Killer?" Miao Yi asked curiously, "How powerful can something like that be?"


    "Little Brother, you mustn¡¯t underestimate it. That artifact is unbelievably versatile. When it¡¯s soft, it can be as nimble as a cloud, capable of easily infiltrating a person¡¯s orifices and destroying them from the inside. And when it clumps together, it bes hard as steel and is impermeable by both water and fire. This also allows it to carry people inside and quickly traverse through the ocean depths, and it¡¯s the reason why that devil spawn Yun Feiyang has failed to catch us for so long. I also heard that this artifact was supposedly created by the famous artisan Sir Zi Yang. It is extremely powerful. You mustn¡¯t underestimate it!" Yan Beihong warned.


    ¡¯Sir Zi Yang?¡¯ Miao Yi was lost for words. ¡¯Is this for real? I actually have to face the transcendent artifact that the old coot refined?¡¯


    Miao Yi wanted tough out of exasperation as hepared the transcendent artifact that the old coot refined for someone else against his own. This was too unfair. And he had even let him adopt Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er as daughters.


    That said, he could roughly imagine why. After all, not just anyone could wield a transcendent artifact this powerful. Only those major sects would have the resources to create such a thing. Just the cost for the materials alone was not something he could afford. Even Yao Ruoxian himself was not that rich to be able to refine something like this on his own.


    "Little Brother, you don¡¯t believe it?" Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t help asking after seeing the peculiar expression on Miao Yi¡¯s face.


    "It¡¯s not that." Miao Yi shook his head, "I¡¯m just wondering how we should make our move after this. Since he is this guarded, it won¡¯t be wise for us to try and ambush the others anymore. Otherwise, once we¡¯re exposed, it¡¯ll be just like you said, we will surely have a hard enough time dealing with Song Zeming¡¯s Flowing Cloud Killer alone, much less with everyone else in the mix. We need to think of a more fool-proof n... If only there were a way to gather them all together and take care of them in one go. That would save us the trouble of dealing with the consequences!"


    Yan Beihong immediately asked, "Are you confident you can take them all down in one fell swoop if we gather them together?"


    Miao Yi nodded. "As long as Song Zeming isn¡¯t as guarded with me as he was just now, I am highly confident that a close-quarters ambush will seed!"


    Yan Beihong¡¯s eyes shone as he replied, "Leave this to me. I have a n. You just worry about making your own preparations."


    "What sort of n?" Miao Yi asked.


    "Now¡¯s not the best time to talk about it. Let¡¯s hurry and greet everyone for now. They might get suspicious if we take too long!" Yan Beihong reminded him.


    Miao Yi nodded. The duo then made their way around everybody¡¯s quarters, and Miao Yi offered his greetings.


    After that, Miao Yi chose his own living quarters, which was located right beside Yan Beihong¡¯s. There were plenty of rooms inside the fort after all.


    As he led Miao Yi into his quarters, Yan Beihong quickly transmitted his voice and said, "Around two hours. In around two hours, I will create amotion and gather them up. Little Brother, you just wait for the opportunity to make your move! But remember, this method will only work once. If you were to fail somehow, we would have no choice but to make a run for it!"


    ¡¯Run?¡¯ Miao Yi was surprised. He asked, "You haven¡¯t even told me what your n is. How do you expect me to be sure of anything?"


    "I¡¯m just afraid that you won¡¯t be able to act naturally if I tell you!" Yan Beihong then continued slowly, "Yun Feiyang is attacking!"


    Miao Yi immediately understood. They really did only have one shot at this. If Song Zeming and the others were to find out the rm was fake, they would definitely suspect that he and Yan Beihong were plotting something. After that, they surely wouldn¡¯t allow potential threats like them to stay by their side. If that happened, Yan Beihong and Miao Yi would end up having to run for their lives.


    Seeing as Miao Yi understood his words, Yan Beihong quickly turned around and left. He was still on watch duty. It wouldn¡¯t be wise for him to leave his post for too long.


    Miao Yi then sat cross-legged on the stone bed and quietly waited for time to pass, paying close attention to anymotion outside.


    Just as the two-hour mark passed, the sound of hurried hoofbeats could be heard, and Miao Yi¡¯s eyes shot open. How punctual indeed.


    As expected, Yan Beihong¡¯s agitated voice could be heard shouting from the outside, "An enemy attack! It¡¯s an enemy attack!"


    The entire fort immediately became rowdy. Miao Yi quickly ran outside as well and saw everyone else rushing to their mounts. Song Zeming was also present and was no longer hiding behind that ck curtain.


    Miao Yi quickly made his way to Charcoal and hopped on. His movements were a little slower than the rest. Song Zeming and the others had already donned their armors and readied their weapons as they assembled.


    "What¡¯s going on?" Song Zeming shouted to Yan Beihong.


    Yan Beihong appeared restless as he pointed into the distance. "He¡¯s here! That devil spawn Yun Feiyang has caught up with us again! He¡¯s alreadying ashore from the northwest!"


    Everyone was shocked. Yun Feiyang had really done quite a number on them. They didn¡¯t even bother thinking about anything else. Song Zeming waved and said, "We cannot stay here any longer. Head to the shore!"


    Miao Yi was situated right behind everyone. And just as they were about to charge, he revealed the Mystic Yin Mirror and unleashed a powerful surge of cold Yin energy from the back. Everyone was instantly enveloped inside the gray mist, Yan Beihong included.


    As he had been secretly watching Miao Yi¡¯s reaction the whole time, Yan Beihong was utterly shocked and angered by his actions. But before he could react, the surge of cold Yin energy had already surrounded him.


    Within the deathly chill, Song Zeming and the others werepletely stunned by the sudden turn of events. However, as their backs were facing towards Miao Yi, they didn¡¯t have the time to turn around and defend themselves. Soon, their consciousness faded away, and they began crashing forward along with their mounts from the sudden spike in inertia. Even Yan Beihong was no exception.


    The cold Yin energy then rushed back into the Mystic Yin Mirror. With one hand on the Inversed-Scales Spear and another on the Mystic Yin Mirror, Miao Yi swept a cold gaze across the people lying on the snow-crusted ground. Song Zeming and the others were all lyingpletely frozen stiff on the ground, covered in ayer of snow-white frost.

 Chapter 405: Dividing the Spoils

    Chapter 405: Dividing the Spoils


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Miao Yi dismounted from his dragon steed and pulled Yan Beihong up while invoking his arts to dispel the cold Yin energy in Yan Beihong¡¯s body.


    "Ugh..." Still a little groggy from having just regained consciousness, Yan Beihong slowly opened his eyes. When he saw Miao Yi looking at him with a menacing smile on his face, his eyes instantly widened in shock.


    However, before he could burst out in anger, Miao Yi hurriedlyughed and exined, "It¡¯s your fault for not finding a better ce to hide. My Mystic Yin Mirror can¡¯t differentiate between friend or foe. If I had tried to avoid hitting you, I would have risked letting some of them escape. I wasn¡¯t setting you up on purpose."


    Yan Beihong¡¯s consciousness was still quite hazy, and his body couldn¡¯t help shivering a little. As he gradually came to, he slowly got up, then quickly looked over to see how Song Zeming and the others fared. It seemed his main concern was still the sess of the n. He didn¡¯t mind enduring a little chill if it meant aplishing their goal.


    When he saw Song Zeming and the others all frozen stiff on the snow-crusted ground, his body started shaking again out of reflex. But soon, he raised his head andughed aloud. "Glorious Cloud Sect! You wished to eliminate me, but sadly my life is not yours to take! Just wait! Eventually, I will utterly annihte all of you and thrash your tens of thousands of years of legacy down to the ground!"


    Yan Beihong then turned around and saw Miao Yi treating his mount. His mouth still quivering, Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t help asking, "Little Brother, you really scared me just now. I thought you were going to take me down along with them too. There aren¡¯t going to be any after-effects on my body, right? Why do I keep shivering?"


    "Perhaps there is still some Yin energy left inside your body. You can just use your arts to dispel them. It¡¯ll be fine. At most, your stamina will be a little expended." As he said this, Miao Yi unsheathed his sword artifact and was about tond the killing blow on Song Zeming and the others. Since he had already made his move, he wanted to make sure there were no loose ends. After all, he too was a ruthless man!


    "Wait!" Yan Beihong raised his hand and shouted.


    With sword raised and ready to sh down, Miao Yi turned his head around and asked, "Why? Do you wish to spare them? Big Brother Yan, forgive me for being blunt, but since we¡¯ve already attacked them, there is no longer any need to be courteous. We will just be inviting trouble for ourselves if we let them go."


    "That¡¯s not what I mean. Please don¡¯t misunderstand me, Little Brother!" Yan Beihong strode over and asked excitedly, "Are they all still alive?"


    "For the time being, they won¡¯t die just yet. But who can say what will happen if they stay like this for too long?"


    "Can they still be saved the same way you saved me?"


    "So what if they can?" Miao Yi asked curiously, "You¡¯re not asking me to save them, are you?"


    Yan Beihong raised his hand and pressed down on Miao Yi¡¯s sword. Then, as he gently tapped on Miao Yi¡¯s wrist, he turned to face the people frozen on the ground. A peculiar light could be seen in his eyes as he said, "All these years, these bastards have been saying whatever the hell they pleased to my face. They didn¡¯t even treat me like a proper human being. In order to survive in the Subjugation Crusade, I¡¯ve had no choice but to take it quietly. How could I possibly think of sparing them? I just think you¡¯ll be letting them off too easily if you simply kill them like this. Let me deal with them instead!"


    Miao Yi cast a careful nce at Yan Beihong. He kept feeling as though something was wrong with him somehow, but he couldn¡¯t be sure what it was. He just felt that Yan Beihong seemed rather temperamental. However, since he already made it clear that he was going to deal with them himself, Miao Yi simply nodded quietly and sheathed his sword back into its scabbard.


    Then, he watched as Yan Beihong brandished that absurdly huge sword of his. With deft movements, he chopped off the limbs of Song Zeming and the rest. This way, even if they could somehow move again, they would still be crippled, and not be a threat.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help frowning at the sight as he wondered how much hatred Yan Beihong had for these people. He should just kill them straight if he wanted them dead. Why did he need to do something so cruel?


    Having gathered a whole pile of storage rings and bangles in one fell swoop, Yan Beihongughed aloud, "Little Brother! We¡¯re rich! Comee. Let¡¯s divide the spoils now. This is a time of celebration!"


    Miao Yi was indeed quite interested in splitting the loot. He walked up to Yan Beihong and sat down on the opposite side.


    From one of the storage bangles, Yan Beihong took out a longsword about four feet long and as wide as a palm. The sword waspletely ck with an amber-like hue like a piece of semi-transparent ck jade.


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes instantly brightened. This transcendent artifact was definitely made from high-density Crystalline Obsidians that were free of any impurities.


    Yan Beihong shot him a nce and teased, "Little Brother, your eyes are shining."


    Miao Yi chuckled. "This is good stuff!"


    "This is Duan Hongfei¡¯s Mother-Child Flying Sword," Yan Beihong exined. He then tossed it along with the storage bangle over to Miao Yi and said, "They¡¯re yours."


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t reject the offer. He knew that Yan Beihong had his sights set on something even better, so he quickly epted the Mother-Child Flying Sword. He then erased the transcendent mark imbued inside and reced it with his own, thereby seizingplete control of the transcendent artifact.


    As Miao Yi probed the Mother-Child Flying Sword with his transcendence energy to figure out how to operate it, Yan Beihong took out another transcendent artifact from a different storage bangle. This time, the artifact was a semi-transparent, silvery orb the size of a fist. Holding it in his hand, Yan Beihong exined, "This is Kong Yulian¡¯s Mist Pearl."


    Miao Yi nodded in approval and said, "As expected of one of the top major sects in the Celestial Nation¡ªto actually bestow so many powerful artifacts to their participating disciples in a single stroke."


    "These are also yours now." Yan Beihong tossed the pearl and the storage bangle over to Miao Yi.


    Catching the items in his hands, Miao Yi asked in surprise, "You¡¯re giving these to me too?"


    "Just take it. Don¡¯t try to argue with me." Yan Beihong waved his hand and said in an adamant tone.


    Miao Yi smiled. "Then I shall humbly ept them!"


    Then, Yan Beihong took out another artifact from thest storage bangle. This time, it took the form of a ck muslin cloth with glimmering gold embellishments. Raising it up in his hands, heughed aloud. "This is the thing I wanted! Little Brother, I¡¯ll be taking this transcendent artifact."


    Miao Yi smiled. "The goal of the n this time was to help you obtain it, after all."


    Yan Beihongughed as he tucked away the Flowing Cloud Killer. After that, he continued searching Song Zeming¡¯s storage bangle. After a while, he suddenly clicked his tongue and said, "I can¡¯t believe the Glorious Cloud Sect even gave this to Song Zeming for the Subjugation Crusade."


    As he was examining the Mist Pearl, Miao Yi raised his head and noticed Yan Beihong holding onto an immortal herb. However, this immortal herb was nowhere near the size he had used; it was only one-third of it.


    "I¡¯ll be taking this immortal herb, but if you ever need it, I won¡¯t hesitate to use it on you. That said, it¡¯s best if us brothers never get the chance to use this thing!" Yan Beihong didn¡¯t beat around the bush and simply let Miao Yi know that he would be taking the immortal herb then quickly tucked it away. After that, without even bothering to check the other storage rings and bangles, he casually slid them over to Miao Yi and said, "The rest is all yours." He was as easygoing as ever.


    Miao Yi was stunned. "You¡¯re giving them all to me?"


    "You deserve it. If not for you, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to obtain a single one of these," said Yan Beihong. Then, he suddenly sighed. Staring at Miao Yi, he shook his head and continued, "Brother, I am very happy today. I really didn¡¯t misjudge you after all! If you had been taken by greed and had even the slightest selfish intention just now, I fear my life would have alreadye to an end at this very spot. The cultivation realm is full of deceit and trickery. It is hard to find someone that you can really trust. Meeting you was my blessing, and I would never trade that away for any amount of treasure in the world!"


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly. "Still, you don¡¯t have to give them all to me. Why don¡¯t we do it this way then? You have another look and see if there¡¯s anything else you need. I can have the rest after that."


    "Don¡¯t be such a girl. Us brothers are ambitious men. What¡¯s a little treasurepared to that? When the dayes that we can look down on the rest of the cultivation realm, what couldn¡¯t we obtain for ourselves?!" Yan Beihong casually waved his hand and stood up, then started pacing around the frozen bodies of Song Zeming and the others. There was a strange glint in his eyes, and he seemed to be deep in thought.


    Miao Yi then gathered all the storage rings and bangles in his hands and said, "You¡¯re not going to say that you don¡¯t want the Geotranscendence Bangles inside these as well, are you? Let¡¯s at least split them in half. As for the rest of the items, I¡¯ll humbly ept them."


    Yan Beihong simply waved his hand and answered, "Why would I want those worthless things? Not only can you not bring them out of the Sea of Constetions, but even if you could, you won¡¯t be able to trade them off for anything."


    "Worthless things?" Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry as he continued, "You sure are generous. There are countless participants fighting tooth and nail just to get these in the Western Star Sea."


    "That¡¯s because they¡¯re idiots." Yan Beihong then turned around and revealed the shimmering Geotranscendence Bangle on his wrist. He said, "There¡¯s actually no difference between having just the one on my wrist and the whole stack that you¡¯re lugging around there. It all depends on how you look at it. The reason these bastards and I managed to survive this long was all because we weren¡¯t fixated on these things."


    Miao Yi was confused. He asked, "What do you mean?"


    Yan Beihong pointed a finger towards Miao Yi, shaking his head as he said, "Are you just ying dumb, or do you really not understand? At the end of the Subjugation Crusade, there will only be one hundred survivors. Even if we fail to take even a single Geotranscendence Bangle, but as long as we survive till the end and have the ones on our wrists, we¡¯re guaranteed a position in the top one hundred. We¡¯re not like those major forces who need to fight for a high ranking. For us, the main priority isn¡¯t how many Geotranscendence Bangles we can get, it¡¯s how we can survive until the end. "


    Yan Beihong¡¯s words hit Miao Yi like a bucket of cold water. He was instantly thunderstruck as he realized that Yan Beihong had a point. However, he soon shook his head and replied, "That¡¯s not entirely true. With a higher ranking, at least we¡¯ll get arger portion of the Orbs of Will in the prize pot. Not to mention, once we return, the priority in choosing the domain to be a Manor Head will be entirely dependent on our ranking. So if our ranking is higher, we will be able to obtain richernds."


    Yan Beihong scoffed, "The participants sent over by the Six Sages alone would easily seize over thirty spots. Even if each of the seventy-two Earthly Branches had only one cultivator left, there won¡¯t be enough spots left over. Do you think there¡¯ll be a lot of people left topete against you for the richestnds once you return? Hence, Little Brother, as long as we make it back alive, there is no need to worry about not getting any good territories."


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help nodding in agreement as he listened to Yan Beihong¡¯s exnation.


    Yan Beihong continued, "As for the Orbs of Will, if you¡¯re really keen on them, then all the more reason for you to keep the Geotranscendence Bangles for yourself. That way you will be able to get a higher ranking, which might be even better than if we split them in two resulting in both of us getting lower rankings individually. Perhaps you could obtain even more Orbs of Will like this. If that happens, you can simply gift me with a small portion as thanks."


    Miao Yi was utterly dazed. He watched as Yan Beihong continued to pace around the crippled bodies of Song Zeming and the others. It seemed like he wasn¡¯t even the slightest bit interested in the Orbs of Will. Rather, he seemed more intrigued by Song Zeming and the others instead. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help feeling puzzled. What kind of cultivator didn¡¯t desire to have more Orbs of Will? How could Yan Beihong be so unperturbed? Wasn¡¯t this a little too strange?


    "Little Brother! I need your help to carry these bastards over to Song Zeming¡¯s quarters." As soon as he said this, Yan Beihong carried a few of them and left, leaving four bodies for Miao Yi to deal with.


    Miao Yi was lost for words, thinking, ¡¯How sick can you get? Why do you need to carry these limbless people somewhere else? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking of torturing them even further to vent out your frustration?¡¯

 Chapter 406: Mysterious Satanic Arts

    Chapter 406: Mysterious Satanic Arts


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Even though he was appalled by the idea, Miao Yi still helped him carry the remaining four cripples.


    As soon as he entered the Fort Master¡¯s living quarters, Miao Yi dumped the four people to the side. He then turned to find Yan Beihong frowning at him with a strange glint in his eyes. Miao Yi had no idea what was going on in his mind.


    Miao Yi was no fool. He knew that something was off about Yan Beihong and had been feeling worried about him this whole time. Seeing the light in his eyes now, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help feeling a little wary inside.


    "Little Brother, I just tried using my arts to dispel the cold Yin energy inside their bodies, but the speed is much too slow. By the time Ipletely get rid of the cold Yin energy inside them, I¡¯m afraid they will already be dead. I won¡¯t be able to use them then. That¡¯s why I hope you can help me one more time!" Yan Beihong said in a grave tone.


    ¡¯Can¡¯t use them?¡¯ Miao Yi then asked curiously, "What are you going to do with them?"


    Yan Beihong shook his head, "Don¡¯t ask. There are some things I can¡¯t tell you just yet. For the time being, just help me treat them!"


    Miao Yi hesitated for a moment, but upon looking at the frozen, crippled bodies on the ground, he felt that his concern was unwarranted. Even if he defrosted them now, they wouldn¡¯t be able to put up much resistance.


    Meanwhile, Yan Beihong had already lined the nine of them up and beckoned to Miao Yi with his arm.


    Miao Yi sighed and nodded. He then leaned down and pressed his hand on the chest of one of the victims, and quickly used his arts to dispel the cold Yin energy inside the person.


    As Miao Yi treated Song Zeming and the others, one by one, Yan Beihong quickly followed behind and used his arts to seal the wounds on their limbs to prevent them from dying due to blood loss. At the same time, he also used his arts to restrain their movements.


    When Song Zeming and the others came to and realized the terrible state of their bodies, they were utterly horrified. Song Zeming shot a re at Yan Beihong and cursed furiously, "Yan Beihong, how dare you collude with an outsider and ambush me?! You disloyal traitor!"


    Yan Beihong looked down on them with disdain and replied indifferently, "Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little toote to be saying this? What about all those times the Glorious Cloud Sect bossed me around? And how about all those times you bastards ordered me around like I was your ve? Did any of you ever think of me as a fellow disciple? But don¡¯t worry¡ªyou won¡¯t be the only ones to suffer my wrath. I remember quite clearly all the ¡¯kindness¡¯ that the Glorious Cloud Sect has shown me. If the dayes that I, Yan Beihong, be a highly powerful being, then it shall be the day of Glorious Cloud Sect¡¯s reckoning!"


    Miao Yi stood silently by the side. He could tell from Yan Beihong¡¯s letter that the Glorious Cloud Sect had done something awful to him, but it hadn¡¯t specified what it was. As he observed the current situation, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help wondering what exactly the Glorious Cloud Sect had done to Yan Beihong that would make him wish to destroy the entire sect so badly.


    However, Yan Beihong¡¯s goals were a little unrealistic. A force asrge as the Glorious Cloud Sect was sure to have an army of experts at their disposal. It was easier said than done to destroy an organization like that. Unless Yan Beihong could be as powerful as the twelve Overlords, it was unlikely that he would be able to achieve his goal. This ¡¯ambition¡¯ of his was a little too great.


    It seemed Song Zeming realized he had no chance for survival now that he was in Yan Beihong¡¯s grasp. He didn¡¯t beg for his life, and instead barked out, "Delusional fool! You bastard, my Glorious Cloud Sect will definitely hunt you down, and you will surely die a miserable death!"


    "Even if I do, none of you will get the chance to see it happen!" Yan Beihong scoffed. He thenunched several quick punches.


    The sound of cracking bones reverberated in the air as Yan Beihong broke the jaws of all the cripples in the room. Their mouths then bled uncontrobly; they had no way of closing them shut. After that, Yan Beihong turned to Miao Yi and said, "Little Brother, I still have a few things left to do. I ask that you leave me be for now!"


    ¡¯What exactly is he going to do to them that he even needs me to leave him alone?¡¯ Furrowing his brows, Miao Yi asked curiously, "Is it something I shouldn¡¯t see?"


    "Please let me keep this from you for now!" Yan Beihong shook his head, then continued, "Little Brother, I¡¯d like to trouble you to help stand guard outside for me!"


    Miao Yi figured he shouldn¡¯t pry too deeply into it. He nodded his head, then turned around and left.


    Once Yan Beihong made sure that Miao Yi was outside, he turned back to his victims. Taking out a crimson steel needle, he pulled the moaning Song Zeming off the ground and started pushing needle after needle into his pressure points. He even stuck a few into Song Zeming¡¯s head. Soon, Song Zeming entered into a deep stupor.


    As Yan Beihong held on to Song Zeming¡¯s lower jaw with his other hand, his hair and dark red sleeves began fluttering about for no apparent reason, and his eyes gradually became as dark as ink.


    Then, rumbling noises could be heard as his belly rapidly expanded and contracted. A strange energy also began to gradually envelop the cave. As Yan Beihong¡¯s eyes grew darker and darker, they slowly began to emit an ominous glow. Suddenly, he opened his mouth wide, and a gray mist started surging out from it and rushed straight into Song Zeming¡¯s open jaw.


    Lying paralyzed on the ground, Duan Hongfei and the others widened their eyes in disbelief as they witnessed a white Inner Core slowly floating out from Yan Beihong¡¯s mouth. Floating within the gray mist, the Inner Core gradually entered Song Zeming¡¯s mouth.


    An Inner Core? There was actually an Inner Core inside Yan Beihong¡¯s body? With evident fear in their eyes, Duan Hongfei and the others came upon a terrifying realization¡ªsatanic arts! A Manor Head of the Celestial Nation had actually fallen onto the path of the devil and was cultivating satanic arts!


    And just then, the youthful-looking Song Zeming began to rapidly age at a visible pace, as wrinkles quickly began to form on his face. It was as though the youth he had obtained from his long years of cultivation was being hastily returned to the heavens.


    In less than an hour, Song Zeming had transformed from an exuberant youth into a frail, old man. It was absolutely mind-boggling.


    The whistling sound of wind could be heard as Yan Beihong took in a deep breath, and the white-colored Inner Core re-emerged from within Song Zeming¡¯s body. Then, it was sucked back into Yan Beihong¡¯s body along with the gray mist that surrounded it.


    After that, Yan Beihong speedily pulled out all the needles, and Song Zeming¡ªwhom no one knew whether he was still alive or not¡ªwas casually tossed aside. Yan Beihong then took a step forward, locking his eyes on his next victim¡ªDuan Hongfei.


    With fear evident in his eyes, Duan Hongfei moaned and repeatedly shook his head, clearly trying to beg for his life.


    The dark-eyed Yan Beihong was not sympathetic in the least. He pulled Duan Hongfei up, then deftly pushed the steel needles into the major pressure points of his body...


    By the time the rotating Inner Core and gray mist made its way out of thest person¡¯s mouth, it had transformed from its original white color into a semi-blue shade.


    The deep, ck glow still apparent in his eyes, Yan Beihong quickly pulled out the crimson steel needles and released his grip on the body. As he gently shook his head in pleasure, he praised, "What a wonderful feeling! I¡¯ve never had the chance to taste Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators before. To think I was actually able to get nine of them in one go... Still, the Red Lotus realm is truly not as simple as I imagined. I can¡¯t believe I am still unable to break through after absorbing the cultivation of nine Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts. But no matter. In another ten years, once I¡¯ve fully assimted their powers, the Red Lotus realm should be within arm¡¯s reach. The future is promising!"


    Soon, his eyes gradually reverted to normal, and the fluttering of his hair and dark red sleeves also slowly died down.


    A Red ze Resin then appeared in his grasp. Turning around, he tossed it over to the stone bed, instantly igniting a mighty me on the withered corpses.


    Paying no heed to the mes behind him, the crimson-caped Yan Beihong strode forward and left...


    Outside the fort, Miao Yi was in the middle of testing out the Mother-Child Flying Sword, remotely controlling it to hover around him. Before himy a giant boulder with the name of the Fort Master engraved upon it. As he pointed his finger out, the flying sword instantly shot out like a streak of light, striking the giant boulder and instantly splitting it into seven pieces.


    Boom!


    As the giant boulder burst into pieces, seven streaks of light shot upwards, before making a nosedive straight towards Miao Yi. The seven lights then quicklybined into one and gentlynded upon Miao Yi¡¯s palm.


    Miao Yi raised the sword happily and examined it. He realized that while only one sword was used to strike the enemy, the moment the attacknded, it was capable of splitting seven ways and instantly killing the target. The enemy would surely have a hard time dealing with this.


    "Little Brother! So what do you think about this transcendent artifact?" Yan Beihong¡¯s voice suddenly came from behind.


    Miao Yi turned his head around and nodded. "It¡¯s not bad."


    As he said this, he was suddenly startled, noticing a thick plume of smokeing out of the residence behind Yan Beihong. He couldn¡¯t help asking, "What did you do?"


    Yan Beihong turned around and nced back, replying bluntly, "I simply burned those corpses, that¡¯s all."


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help feeling a little puzzled. Killing them should have been enough. This was just the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Why was there a need to go so far by eliminating all traces of their bodies?


    However, the other person clearly wished to hide his affairs, so Miao Yi figured it would be imprudent of him to pry too deeply. Thus, he proceeded to tuck away the Mother-Child Flying Sword, then took out the Mist Pearl in its ce. As he tossed it into the sky, the artifact began glowing with a blue light and started spinning about as it soared upwards. At the same time, a dense fog quickly enveloped the area.


    In a few short moments, there was nothing but a field of white before Miao Yi. He couldn¡¯t see anything at all. The fog was so thick it seemed as though he wouldn¡¯t even be able to see his fingers if he put out his hand right now. Since this wasn¡¯t an illusion, not even his transcendence vision would work in a situation like this; there was something actually hindering his sight.


    The Mist Pearl fell back into Miao Yi¡¯s hand, but the surrounding fog was still there.


    Yan Beihong slowly approached from within the fog. Looking at the Mist Pearl in Miao Yi¡¯s hand, he smiled, "This transcendent artifact doesn¡¯t have any attack capabilities. I know it seems a little unimpressive, but it can quickly envelop a five-kilometer radius in fog, making it somewhat useful for escaping. However, I doubt it will be of any use if you¡¯re ever up against an expert who can discern your location just by sound alone. Little Brother, make sure you fill it up with water after you use it. This transcendent artifact is useless if it runs out of water."


    "It¡¯s still better than nothing." Miao Yi chuckled, "Just the high-density Crystalline Silver alone would be worth quite a sum." Tucking away the Mist Pearl, he suddenly remembered something. He told Yan Beihong, "Oh right. Why don¡¯t you show me how powerful that Flowing Cloud Killer of yours really is?"


    Even though Miao Yi had never seen a high-tier transcendent artifact that was refined by Yao Ruoxian before, he had heard of the old coot¡¯s fame more than once. Since there was an opportunity to witness its might, he obviously wanted to try it out. This way, he could also gain a better grasp Yao Ruoxian¡¯s level of refining skill when it came to transcendent artifacts.


    Yan Beihong didn¡¯t try to hide it either. He quickly took out the ck cloth on the spot and imbued his transcendence energy inside to understand how to operate it.


    As soon as the sea breeze swept away the dense, white fog, Yan Beihong hurled out the ck cloth. Shining with a blue radiance, it slithered up the sky like a snake. Then, it spread itself open, gently fluttering in the wind as it rapidly expanded. Soon, it grew sorge that the entire mountain seemed to be surrounded by a giant dark cloud.


    "The reason why this artifact is so powerful is due to its ability to transform at will and can shape its matter ording to the situation. Little Brother, do you want to test its might for yourself?" Yan Beihong asked as he looked at the ¡¯gray cloud¡¯ floating in the sky.


    Miao Yi was just thinking about testing the strength of Yao Ruoxian¡¯s handiwork, so he quickly agreed, "Sure! But I hope Big Brother Yan will go easy on me." He then readied the Inversed-Scales Spear and leaped several dozen meters away. With eyes locked onto the sky, he was already prepared to take what wasing.

 Chapter 407: Doomed

    Chapter 407: Doomed


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Suddenly, the ck cloth enveloping the sky started to shrink, transforming into a whip which quickly shot down into the forest below. Like a phantom, it quickly faded in and out of the trees. However, there was no sign of it approaching the fort at all. Rather, it looked as though someone was just running across the forest with a sheet over their bodies as a prank.


    With a full body of armor and his spear at the ready, Miao Yi turned back to look at Yan Beihong in confusion, as though asking, ¡¯What are you ying at?¡¯


    Yan Beihongughed. "Careful. It¡¯s starting."


    Miao Yi quickly turned his head back. To his surprise, there was no longer any sign of the ck cloth among the trees below. His eyes then quickly darted from side to side as he raised his spear and slowly turned; he didn¡¯t dare to miss out on the slightest signs of movement around him.


    Suddenly, there was a rustling in the grass nearby. Miao Yi instantly shot a nce over but noticed it was just a snake slithering across the grass. He paid it no heed and continued to survey his surroundings.


    ¡¯No, wait! That¡¯s a ck snake!¡¯ The thought suddenly shed through Miao Yi¡¯s mind.


    By the time he reacted, the ¡¯ck snake¡¯ in the grass was already shooting towards him like an arrow.


    ng! Miao Yi quickly knocked it away with his spear.


    As soon as it touched the ground, the ¡¯ck snake¡¯ shot back out. Its speed was incredibly fast. Fortunately, Miao Yi¡¯s spear didn¡¯t exactlyg behind either.


    However, even though this ¡¯ck snake¡¯ was as tough as a steel arrow when it attacked, the instant the Inversed-Scales Spear struck it, it became as soft as cotton. As such, Miao Yi was unable to push such a flimsy transcendent artifact any considerable distance away, and although it was being knocked away each time, the ¡¯ck snake¡¯ was gradually pulling closer to Miao Yi. What¡¯s more, given its extraordinary speed, Miao Yi soon found himself under attack from all sides.


    As he turned round and round, Miao Yi had to defend himself with his spear constantly. Meanwhile, the ¡¯ck snake¡¯ continued to slither around him with blinding speed as itunched its attacks from near-untraceable angles.


    Suddenly, Miao Yi closed his eyes. Immediately, his movements were no longer influenced by the ¡¯ck snake¡¯s¡¯ misdirection, and even though his strikes were no longer as fast as they were before, his attacks became more effective. Every time the ¡¯ck snake¡¯unched an attack, it was as though it was being drawn towards Miao Yi¡¯s spear.


    With a single spear in his hand, Miao Yi attacked. At times, it would be a thrust with the razor-sharp spearhead, and other times, it would be a backward shove with the tail of the spear. Regardless of how deceptive the ¡¯ck snake¡¯s¡¯ attacks were, it was unable to get close to Miao Yi at all.


    Yan Beihong watched in amazement as Miao Yi fought with his eyes closed. He never imagined that Miao Yi still had such a trick up his sleeve, and couldn¡¯t help praising, "You are quite skilled indeed, Little Brother."


    When it came to the spear, Miao Yi was quite confident in his skills after all. He replied, "It seems this Flowing Cloud Killer isn¡¯t as powerful as you said it was!"


    Yan Beihong was slightly taken aback by Miao Yi¡¯sment. However, he quicklyughed aloud. "Don¡¯t underestimate it, Little Brother. If I were to activate the full extent of Flowing Cloud Killer¡¯s powers, I fear you won¡¯t even be able to put up any resistance!" Evidently, he too had a lot of confidence in the transcendent artifact that he had just obtained.


    "Are you telling me this is still not the full extent of its attacks?" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help nodding in approval. "I know Big Brother Yan is just trying to go easy on me."


    "It¡¯s not just about the extent of its attacks." Yan Beihongughed, "Little Brother, open your eyes. I will have it attack you head-on. Try to block one strike if you can!"


    "One strike?" Miao Yi¡¯s eyes shot open, locking on to the ¡¯ck snake¡¯ that hade to a stop before him as he said curiously, "Let me give it a try then!"


    "Careful now!" Yan Beihong cautioned.


    The ¡¯ck snake¡¯ abruptly shot out in very much the same way as it did previously.


    At the same time, Miao Yi struck out with his spear, his attacknding precisely on target. However, the ¡¯ck snake¡¯s¡¯ body suddenly became incredibly soft, and instead of being knocked away, it quickly wrapped itself around the Inversed-Scales Spear. Coiling around the spear with unbelievable speed, the ¡¯ck snake¡¯ quickly approached Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi was utterly shocked by the sudden change of attack. He quickly realized that he had no way of shaking the ¡¯ck snake¡¯ off. With his other hand, he hastily grabbed on to the head of the snake in a panic and tried to pull it off. However, regardless of how long one¡¯s hand was, there was no way it could outmatch the speed at which the ¡¯ck snake¡¯ could elongate itself. Before Miao Yi could pull the ¡¯ck snake¡¯ away, it had already stretched out to wrap around his neck and even nearly cut off his breathing.


    Tossing the Inversed-Scales Spear away, Miao Yi hurriedly pulled on the ¡¯ck snake¡¯ coiled around his neck. However, he soon noticed that he had no way of moving his arms at all. The ¡¯ck snake¡¯ had wrapped itself around his body with incredible speed, locking his limbs in ce and subduing himpletely.


    Yan Beihong¡¯s eyes brightened at the sight of this. The precise reason he wanted this transcendent artifact so badly was because it could capture his targets alive.


    As Miao Yi struggled to free himself, he copsed to the ground, utterly immobilized. The sharp ¡¯snake head¡¯ then slowly hovered in front of his face, as though trying to decide if it should pierce through his eyes or burrow through his ears. Eventually, it decided to slip in through Miao Yi¡¯s nostril.


    How could he possibly survive if this thing went inside him? The instant his nostril started to expand, Miao Yi immediately broke out in cold sweat. He hurriedly eximed, "I admit defeat!"


    The ¡¯ck snake¡¯ instantly came to a halt. Miao Yi felt the bindings on his body loosen, as the ¡¯snake¡¯ constricting his body quickly shrunk away. It transformed back into a ck cloth in mid-air, then gently floated off towards Yan Beihong, who wasughing uncontrobly as the ck clothnded on his palm.


    Yan Beihong teased, "So what do you think of my transcendent artifact, Little Brother?"


    "It is powerful indeed!" Miao Yi praised as he jumped back up and tucked the Inversed-Scales Spear away. There was still a lingering fear in his mind as he looked at the ck cloth. If he had to face something like this, he really would be utterly helpless. This Flowing Cloud Killer was virtually invincible against everything. He couldn¡¯t think of any cultivator below the Red Lotus realm capable of oveing this transcendent artifact. The only way to win would be to first kill the artifact wielder.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help feeling exasperated as he thought about how Yao Ruoxian actually refined a transcendent artifact like this for someone else. ¡¯It seems the old coot really does live up to his name!¡¯


    But after some thought, he grew puzzled, and couldn¡¯t help asking, "Big Brother Yan, if this Flowing Cloud Killer is this powerful, why do you all still have to run from Yun Feiyang?"


    "When ites to transcendent artifacts, it is very normal to have bothplementing and opposing archetypes. I don¡¯t know what kind of transcendent artifact it is exactly, but that bastard possesses a bag that is capable of sucking away other transcendent artifacts. If Song Zeming hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to find a tiny crack in the ground at the time and allowed the Flowing Cloud Killer to slither off, I¡¯m afraid it would have already fallen into Yun Feiyang¡¯s hands by now." Yan Beihong shook his head and sighed. It seemed like he was rather traumatized.


    ¡¯Isn¡¯t that the same as Bai Ziliang¡¯s gourd artifact then?¡¯ Miao Yi thought. Then, he asked, "The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade will be ending in another year or so. Big Brother Yan, what are your ns now?"


    "Out of all those remaining in the Subjugation Crusade, only a small margin of them have survived out of pure luck. The others are likely a force to be reckoned with in their own right. Even though we now possess several powerful transcendent artifacts, it is still better to take heed as much as possible." Yan Beihong said gravely, "Little Brother, if you ask me, I think it¡¯s better for us to continue searching for ces to hide and avoid confrontation for as long as we can. We should only fight if there is absolutely no other choice. What say you?"


    "I was thinking the same thing!" Miao Yi nodded. He looked around, then asked, "Should we continue hiding on this ind then? Will that Yun Feiyang somehow find us?"


    "I also have no idea how Yun Feiyang always manages to locate us. However, I¡¯m sure it had something to do with the ten of us. Now that Song Zeming and the others are dead, let¡¯s hope we¡¯ll be able to throw off Yun Feiyang¡¯s pursuit. Even though I¡¯ve already burned their bodies, they did stay on this ind for a while after all. Just to be safe, I think it¡¯s better for us to find a new hiding spot."


    Miao Yi had no objections. It was always better to be safe than sorry after all.


    The duo then took out their maps and set their sights on a new ind to hide in. Once they did, they immediately departed. Cultivators like them would always have their belongings in their storage rings after all; there was no need to pack anything up.


    Once they reached the shore, Miao Yi proceeded to take out the raft he had hidden away, since he still had to ount for Charcoal. He would not separate from Charcoal so easily ever again.


    Waving his hand, Yan Beihongughed, "Now that we have the highly convenient transcendent artifact that is the Flowing Cloud Killer, why do we still need to use wooden rafts? Let me show you what it can do."


    Yan Beihong tossed out the Flowing Cloud Killer. Drifting in the wind, the ck cloth gradually expanded as it gentlynded on the ground. Yan Beihong then rode his mount onto the Flowing Cloud Killer. As he dismounted, he beckoned to Miao Yi, who immediately followed suit out of curiosity.


    The two of them were standing in the middle of the open, ck cloth. Then, as Yan Beihong waved his hand, the ck cloth quickly closed itself up. As he looked around, Miao Yi noticed how they and their dragon steeds had all been wrapped inside a dark cylindrical space. However, before he could even react, he suddenly felt his body shake. The ck cloth they were in had already dove into the ocean, and the light around them was wavy from being refracted by the water around them.


    Miao Yi quickly realized that the Flowing Cloud Killer was truly impermeable to water. The seawater around it had no way of prating the fibers of the ck cloth. Like a sea snake, the Flowing Cloud Killer slithered upon the ocean depths. Its speed was extraordinary. Miao Yi could see the scenery on the ocean floor quickly moving past him through the fibers of the ck cloth.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help giving praise, "This is a really versatile transcendent artifact!" However, deep down, he was cursing Yao Ruoxian¡¯s entire lineage, ¡¯What kind of junk did that old coot refine for me?¡¯


    Even though he understood it was mainly because he couldn¡¯t provide the materials, he still couldn¡¯t help cursing from the sense of injustice he felt.


    Evidently pleased by thepliment, Yan Beihongughed heartily. "If it wasn¡¯t, how could we have possibly managed to escape Yun Feiyang time after time?"


    Half a dayter, the duo emerged from the ocean depths and reached shore. What was originally a ce that needed weeks of travel to reach had only taken them half a day to reach. Casting a vignt eye on their surroundings, Miao Yi and Yan Beihong proceeded to scout the ind.


    After making sure the ind was safe, the duo then decided on a ce to hide and dug out two caves to stay in.


    In theing days, even though the both of them lived close to each other, they barely met one another.


    One was busy assimting the cultivation he had absorbed; the other was unwilling to waste the chance of rapidly growing stronger every day now that he was able to refine three Orbs of Will a day and had sufficient resources.


    However, they would still meet up once a day. After all, unless they had a death wish, they couldn¡¯t simply cast everything aside and just focus on their cultivation. They still had to take turns standing guard.


    But s, in such perilousnds, a longsting peace was always nothing more than a pipe dream.


    Two monthster. Miao Yi was in the middle of cultivating inside his cave, when suddenly, Yan Beihong, who was on watch duty, rushed in and shouted, "Run! Yun Feiyang¡¯s men have found their way to this ind."


    Miao Yi was startled. He quickly jumped up, and the two of them rushed out the cave and ran straight to their mounts. As soon as they got on their dragon steeds, they immediately made for the opposite direction of the encroaching enemy forces.


    But before they could even start running to shore, two riders suddenly emerged from the mountain ridge before them and blocked their path.


    One of them was riding on a dragon steed, while the other person¡ªwith both hands on his waist as heughed maniacally¡ªrode on a rather terrifying creature¡ªa muscr, ck-skinned bull. With six sharp horns on its head, the bull didn¡¯t have eyes as most animals normally would; instead, it had one eye the size of a fist on its forehead. It also had a mouth full of sharp teeth and was constantly shrouded in a thin, ck fog.

 Chapter 408: A Friend of Luo Shuangfei?

    Chapter 408: A Friend of Luo Shuangfei?


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Go on, run! Let¡¯s see how far you can go! You think you can escape after killing one of my men?"


    Riding on top of the ferocious-looking bull monster was a big-eyed, bushy-eyebrowed young man dressed in highly exquisite garments. At the moment, he wasughing coldly with an unbearably smug look on his face. Although he wasn¡¯t particrly good-looking, his attitude sure was bigger than the average guy.


    With a single nce, one could tell that he was different from your everyday cultivator. Miao Yi turned to Yan Beihong and transmitted his voice, asking, "He¡¯s Yun Feiyang?"


    With a grave expression, Yan Beihong slowly nodded.


    With furrowed brows, Miao Yi asked, "Didn¡¯t you say they wereing from the north? How did they manage to show up from the south and cut off our escape?"


    To which Yun Feiyang responded on Yan Beihong¡¯s behalf, ever so haughtily, "You¡¯ll have my brilliant wit to thank for that. After letting you slip away so many times, I¡¯ve finally figured out the pattern of your escape. I just knew that as soon as I started amotion on the north side of the ind, you¡¯d definitely run in the opposite direction. And as nned from the start, you fell into my grasp just like that. Let me see how you intend to escape this time!"


    Then, the person beside him remarked, "Young Master Yang, there¡¯s only two of them."


    "Uhh..." Yun Feiyang¡¯s expression turned awkward. Feeling a little embarrassed, he pointed to his subordinate and scolded, "Do you think I need you to tell me that? I¡¯m not blind, you know!"


    Feeling sheepish, the subordinate immediately shut his mouth. Yun Feiyang then pointed over to Miao Yi and Yan Beihong and barked, "Tell me the truth. Where are the others?"


    Yan Beihong cupped his fists and replied, "Young Master Yang, the others have already perished at the hands of a powerful enemy. We really had nothing to do with the murder of your subordinate. Please let us go just this once!"


    Yun Feiyang red at them. "Stubborn, I see! Alright then. Let¡¯s see if you can still be this tight-lipped once I show you two what it means to beg for your own death."


    Seeing that a negotiation was impossible with someone so obstinate, Miao Yi quickly unleashed the Mystic Yin Mirror, setting forth a raging surge of cold Yin energy. Before his opponent could even react, he had already made the first move. What decisiveness.


    "Moo...!" An ear-crackling guttural sound erupted as the bull monster abruptly spread its jaws, and despite how the cold Yin energy had spread out over a wide area, the bull monster was pulling it all straight down its throat.


    ¡¯This bull can actually eat cold Yin energy?¡¯ Startled, Miao Yi quickly tried to pull back the Yin energy. However, he was still a little toote. Before he could finish reabsorbing it all, the bull monster had already managed to gobble up a significant portion.


    Miao Yi watched as the bull monster remainedpletely fine even after swallowing so much cold Yin energy. Pu! It then let out a loud fart, and the cold Yin energy shot out from its anus and instantly covered the forest behind it with frost.


    "Wow! You¡¯ve got some guts to be making the first move!" Yun Feiyang was ecstatic.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi was in for a penny, in for a pound as he abruptlyunched the Mother-Child Flying Sword out of his storage bangle, which shot out in a streak of light.


    Despite knowing they had no chance, Yan Beihong still decided to risk it all and hurled out the Flowing Cloud Killer. Since they were going to die either way, he had to die fighting at the very least.


    Meanwhile, with a flip of his hand, Yun Feiyang revealed a ck, *Pixiu -like object, which jumped out of his palm and transformed into a giant bag. The giant bag opened wide and quickly darted across the air, immediately swallowing up the Mother-Child Flying Sword and Flowing Cloud Killer before sealing itself shut just as quickly. It then reverted into a Pixiu andnded in Yun Feiyang¡¯s grasp.


    Miao Yi and Yan Beihong were distraught as they realized they had lost the psychic connection with their transcendent artifacts. ¡¯In the blink of an eye, two transcendent artifacts are gone just like that?¡¯


    Miao Yi finally realized the difference between this artifact and Bai Ziliang¡¯s gourd artifact. Thetter stole away another person¡¯s artifacts by forcibly taking them away, whereas the former cut off the psychic connection between the artifact and its wielder by swallowing it whole.


    Yun Feiyang clicked his tongue and said, "Go ahead and use whatever transcendent artifacts you have left."


    Miao Yi still had the Mist Pearl, but against Yun Feiyang¡¯s transcendent artifact, it would hardly be of any use. He would only be giving it away to thetter if he brought it out.


    Suddenly, a series of hoofbeats could be heard from the other side. Miao Yi and Yan Beihong turned back to find two more ridersing up behind them. Clearly, they were the ones who had intentionally stirred up themotion up north earlier on. They immediately surrounded Miao Yi and Yan Beihong from both sides.


    Miao Yi and Yan Beihong exchanged nces. Then, as they both flexed their arms, ck mist surrounded them, and the duo donned on their respective battle armors. One wielded a spear, while the other held onto a greatsword.


    "What¡¯s wrong? You still wish to put up ast-ditch effort to struggle?" Yun Feiyang disdainfully raised an eyebrow.


    Miao Yi pointed over with his spear and shouted, "Yun Feiyang, you¡¯re just relying on your powerful background and that you have plenty of mighty artifacts at your disposal! Without your artifacts, you¡¯re nothing. Do you dare to fight me on your own without their support?" At this point, there was nothing he could do but try to provoke the other party into epting his challenge.


    Yan Beihong also raised his sword and bellowed, "Do you dare to fight me without your transcendent artifacts?!"


    "You think I¡¯m afraid of you punks?!" Yun Feiyang red at them and with a wave of his hand, revealed a long spear.


    The subordinate beside him quickly cautioned, "Young Master Yang¡ª"


    "What?!" Yun Feiyang immediately cut him short, and almost gave him a face full of spit as he said, "Don¡¯t tell me you think I won¡¯t be able to win against them?"


    "That¡¯s not what I mean." The subordinate nervously waved his hand. Pointing to Miao Yi, he continued, "Young Master Yang, don¡¯t you think that person slightly resembles the guy we¡¯re looking for?"


    Yun Feiyang was suddenly taken aback. The rage in his expression quickly dissipated as his gaze repeatedly shifted up and down Miao Yi¡¯s body. The subordinate then pointed at Miao Yi again and continued, "Young Master, have a look at the shape of his spear. Not to mention, his dragon steed is actually wearing armor. How many of those can there be?"


    "He is a little simr." Yun Feiyang nodded, quickly taking out a jade archive with the portrait of a man and dragon steed dressed in silver armor drawn on it. As hepared Miao Yi¡¯s figure with the person in the portrait, he soon noticed that regardless of whether it was the spear or the design of the mount¡¯s armor, there was a striking resemnce between the two. Only the color of the armor was different.


    The face of the man in the portrait was also simr to Miao Yi¡¯s. It was just that one of them had on a helmet, while the other didn¡¯t, thus giving a slight contrast between the two.


    "HE IS A LITTLE SIMILAR!" Yun Feiyang nodded again. However, he soon pointed out curiously, "But one of them is wearing a set of First Grade Armor Artifacts, while the other is wearing a set of Second Grade Armor Artifacts. There also seems to be a slight difference in the armor design."


    His subordinate replied, "Since he is a Subjugation Crusade participant, it is possible that he changed his First Grade Armor Artifact set to a Second Grade Armor Artifact set."


    "That¡¯s true," said Yun Feiyang as his gaze moved back and forth between Miao Yi and the jade archive in his hands.


    Miao Yi and Yan Beihong exchanged nces, equally puzzled as to what these people were ying at.


    Tucking away the jade archive, Yun Feiyang suddenly pointed his spear at Miao Yi and asked, "What¡¯s your name? I don¡¯t kill fools who don¡¯t name themselves before a fight!"


    Miao Yi returned the gesture and replied, "My name is Miao Yi. Do you dare fight me to the death?!"


    "It really is him!" Yun Feiyang and his subordinate immediately looked at one another, almost shouting simultaneously.


    Yun Feiyang then switched to voice transmission and asked, "It can¡¯t be such a coincidence, right? We couldn¡¯t find him all these years, and you¡¯re telling me we actually managed to bump into him by ident? Could they just be sharing the same name?"


    His subordinate replied in kind, "It¡¯s possible for them to share the same name, but for the dragon steed¡¯s armor to look so simr as well? That seems a little unlikely. Young Master, why don¡¯t you just ask him a few more questions?"


    Yun Feiyang¡¯s stance instantly weakened as he said, "You ask him on my behalf. If it turns out he really is that person, and I actually offended him, that little ancestor will have my head when I get back."


    Seeing Yun Feiyang mumbling to his subordinate again, Miao Yi asked once more, "So are we fighting or not?"


    Yun Feiyang¡¯s subordinate replied on his behalf, "Miao Yi, where are you from?"


    Miao Yi answered, "What does that have to do with you? Are we going to fight or not? If you¡¯re scared to face us, then step aside and let us leave!"


    ¡¯He¡¯s not willing to reveal it?¡¯ The subordinate turned to look at Yun Feiyang. Seeing thetter¡¯s look of encouragement, the subordinate turned back and asked, "Miao Yi, do you know Luo Shuangfei?"


    "..." Miao Yi was immediately taken aback. ¡¯How do these people know Luo Shuangfei? Could he be in the Subjugation Crusade as well? Or are there other circumstances involved?¡¯


    He couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of the situation right now, so he wasn¡¯t quite sure how to respond. The matter concerned his life and death, so he was afraid of letting the other partytch onto anything they could use to hold over his head.


    Yan Beihong immediately noticed that something was amiss. He transmitted his voice over and asked, "Little Brother, what¡¯s the deal with this Luo Shuangfei?"


    Miao Yi calmly replied, "Luo Shuangfei was once a capable subordinate of mine. He helped me achieve many feats and aplishments but after that... he disappeared."


    "Your subordinate? How does someone from the Great Devil Realm, the grandson of Devil Sage Yun Aotian, the strongest of the Six Sages, know the name of your subordinate?" Yan Beihong was utterly confused.


    "I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either. There should be some kind of connection somewhere." Miao Yi was just as lost himself.


    "They can easily overwhelm us. They shouldn¡¯t need to use this Luo Shuangfei to threaten you or anything, right?" Yan Beihong asked.


    Miao Yi agreed. He immediately asked, "You know Luo Shuangfei?"


    The subordinate replied, "Luo Shuangfei is a friend of Young Master Yang."


    Miao Yi and Yan Beihong exchanged nces again.


    Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t help feeling skeptical of the whole situation. How could a mere subordinate of Miao Yi¡¯s be a friend of Devil Sage Yun Aotian¡¯s grandson? Was this even possible?


    On the other hand, Miao Yi recalled that Luo Shuangfei had mentioned he was from a powerful n before he left. Not to mention, his Red Lotus Ninth Grade Senior Brother had even shown up at the time. It was quite the terrifying experience. Luo Shuangfei¡¯s background was indeed a little mysterious. There might be a chance that he really did know this Young Master Yang on a personal level. Most importantly, as things stood, there was no need for the other party to make up such a lie.


    Miao Yi immediately stated, "That¡¯s right. I know Luo Shuangfei. Since we¡¯re both friends of Luo Shuangfei, why must we fight each other?"


    The subordinate turned to look at Yun Feiyang. Thetter then instructed via voice transmission, "First confirm his identity. Don¡¯t let any misunderstandings arise. If we mess up that little ancestor¡¯s affairs, we¡¯ll be in deep shit."


    The subordinate then immediately shouted, "Whether we¡¯re friends or not is still a matter of debate! First state your background."


    Miao Yi replied, "I am Mount Calming Sea¡¯s Mountain Chieftain, Miao Yi. I serve the Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch, under themand of South Edict Manor of Moon Traversing Pce¡¯s Second Suppressing Hall!"


    Now that he had finally confirmed Miao Yi¡¯s identity, Yun Feiyang pped his thigh andughed aloud. "Oh goodness! **The flood has truly dashed against the temple of the Dragon King. It¡¯s all a misunderstanding. A great, big misunderstanding!"


    Yun Feiyang then quickly rode over on that vicious-looking bull monster of his. What¡¯s more, he was still holding onto his weapon. Miao Yi and Yan Beihong immediately raised their guard. No one would dare be negligent when the matter concerns their life and death.


    Seeing the way they were acting as he approached, Yun Feiyang immediately tucked his weapon away and dismounted. Trying to disy his friendliness, he cupped his fists and smiled. "Brother Miao, I¡¯ve finally managed to find you."


    The grandson of the Devil Sage¡ªthe number one individual in the entire cultivation realm¡ªwas actually being so courteous to them. Miao Yi and Yan Beihong were a little lost on how to respond, both feeling overwhelmed by the sudden amiable treatment Yun Feiyang was showing them.


    The other party was already being this friendly, how could they dare remain on their dragon steeds and put on airs? The two quickly dismounted their dragon steeds and returned the gesture.


    Miao Yi then cupped his fists and asked, "Young Master Yang, you said you were looking for me?"

 Chapter 409: I Have An Older Sister

    Chapter 409: I Have An Older Sister


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    It would¡¯ve been better if Miao Yi hadn¡¯t mentioned this topic at all, as Yun Feiyang was close to breaking out in tears when he brought it up.


    With a bitter expression, Yun Feiyang grabbed onto Miao Yi¡¯s arm, unconcerned as to whether he would agree to it or not, as though he was afraid Miao Yi would run away. He then started shaking his head and said, "Lord Miao, oh Great Lord Miao, I¡¯m just your humble servant, alright? Do you know how much trouble I went through just to find you? Ever since the day I arrived on the Western Star Sea, I¡¯ve been going at full speed and without rest, killing my way straight to the area you were supposed to have alighted from. I¡¯ve practically looked through the entire Celestial Nation forces. There was no ce I didn¡¯t search! Do you have any idea how I spent thesest nine years? I pretty much traveled across the whole fucking Western Star Sea and even circled it a few times. This ind that we¡¯re currently standing on, it¡¯s already my second time here. Otherwise, how else do you think I could be so familiar with the terrain and manage to cut off your escape so urately? In order to find you, I almost worked my two legs to the breaking point. Fortunately, fate isn¡¯t cruel to those pure of heart, and I managed to find you in the end!"


    Miao Yi almost broke out in a cold sweat at suddenly being called Great Lord Miao. He hadn¡¯t even cleared up the situation yet, and he was already the lord of the Devil Sage¡¯s grandson? Miao Yi didn¡¯t dare wield such prestige!


    ¡¯This is too strange!¡¯ Yan Beihong was absolutely confused.


    "Young Master Yang, did Luo Shuangfei ask you to find me?" Miao Yi asked. Besides this, he could think of no other reason for Yun Feiyang¡¯s actions.


    "ASK?! Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re underestimating that little ancestor a little too much to be using the word ¡¯ask¡¯? Does he really seem that benevolent to you?" Yun Feiyang continued in frustration, "I was FORCED. He forced me to look for you. You think I wanted toe to this ursed ce of my own free will? That guy set me up. I had no choice but to look for you!"


    Miao Yi and Yan Beihong exchanged nces, the former then asking, "Young Master Yang, surely you¡¯re joking? You are the Devil Sage¡¯s grandson. Who would dare force you to do anything?!"


    "As if!" Yun Feiyang cried out, "So what if I¡¯m the grandson of the Devil Sage?! My grandfather has eight children and over fifty grandchildren. It¡¯s a matter of question whether the old man even remembers all our names..."


    Seeing that he was starting to get out of hand, Yun Feiyang¡¯s subordinate quickly grabbed onto his wrist and made a deep cough.


    Yun Feiyang was startled. Realizing that he was indeed mouthing off a bit too much, he too made a deep cough, before continuing, "The point is, Luo Shuangfei knew you were going to join the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade and was worried that something might happen to you. So he came to me and made me join the Subjugation Crusade as well. Initially, I was againsting here. Why would I throw my peaceful days away just to put myself through such torture? Unfortunately, he managed to get ahold of my weakness. Thus, I had no choice but toe here, and once I arrived, I still had to ensure that you safely leave the Sea of Constetions. Now that I found you, I can finally breathe easy!"


    Miao Yi was lost for words. He knew perfectly well how queer Luo Shuangfei could be. He wondered what sort of weakness Luo Shuangfei was holding over the grandson of the Devil Sage that could make the guye looking for him. This was the most puzzling thing in his mind right now. Like how a mere mortal could never threaten Miao Yi, the same logic could be applied to Luo Shuangfei. Even if he wanted to threaten the Devil Sage¡¯s grandson, he needed to have a certain degree of status first.


    "How did Brother Luo manage to get acquainted with Young Master Yang?" Miao Yi asked, trying to find out what sort of background Luo Shuangfei possessed.


    Yun Feiyang was slightly taken aback, but he soonughed aloud. "How could he not? Do you think that he¡¯s someone ordinary? His n can be considered one of the few major forces in the entire cultivation realm, and they frequently have dealings with the Great Devil Realm. You can say that he and I have known each other since we were kids."


    Miao Yi immediately asked, "May I know which mighty n Brother Luo is from?"


    Yun Feiyang shook his head andughed. "Since he kept it from you, then he should have his own reasons for doing so. It wouldn¡¯t be wise for me to tell you. If I upset that little ancestor, I wouldn¡¯t hear the end of it. He can be really annoying when he¡¯s persistent. Brother Miao, I suggest you don¡¯t think too hard on it. I am sure Brother Luo simply wishes to speak with Brother Miao as equals and not let his background constrain your rtionship with one another. Why should Brother Miao be so bothered by it then? Do you still not see Brother Luo¡¯s intentions? All you need to know is that he does not hold any malice towards you!"


    Even though he seemed loud and boisterous, Yun Feiyang was actually a careful and considerate man deep down and was not someone easily swayed by the heat of the moment.


    Seeing as the other party was not willing to divulge Luo Shuangfei¡¯s background, Miao Yi figured it would be uncouth of him to ask any further. All in all, regardless of what sort of background Luo Shuangfei possessed, Miao Yi was still quite touched by his actions deep down. He¡¯d never imagined that Luo Shuangfei would be so concerned about his safety here in the Sea of Constetions and had even asked such a powerful protector to look after him. Miao Yi was sure that Luo Shuangfei must have paid a hefty price to do so. Otherwise, how could anyone request a favor from a person of the Great Devil Realm so easily?


    ¡¯I wonder if I¡¯ll ever get the chance to meet Luo Shuangfei again!¡¯ Miao Yi sighed inwardly, thinking, ¡¯This Young Master Yang is unwilling to reveal Luo Shuangfei¡¯s background. I imagine it¡¯ll be quite difficult to find him again.¡¯


    "Young Master Yang, since it¡¯s all just a misunderstanding, then our transcendent artifacts..." Yan Beihong suddenly gave a reminder. That Flowing Cloud Killer was highly important to him.


    "Oh! I nearly forgot." Yun Feiyang pped his forehead, and with a flip of his hand, revealed the Pixiu. As he invoked his arts, the Pixiu immediately opened its mouth and spat out the Flowing Cloud Killer and Mother-Child Flying Sword.


    Miao Yi and Yan Beihong received the two transcendent artifacts and thanked Yun Feiyang. As he looked at the two transcendent artifacts, Yun Feiyang chuckled and asked, "Seeing how these two transcendent artifacts are in your possession now, then I trust the others must have perished at your hands?"


    "They did!" Miao Yi boldly admitted. They wouldn¡¯t be able to hide it anymore anyway.


    "That saves me a lot of trouble then," Yun Feiyang said as he raised his arms and stretched his backzily. He then waved to his four subordinates and said in a rxed tone, "Everything¡¯s fine now. We can finally rest easy."


    Miao Yi and Yan Beihong exchanged nces and quickly understood what the other was thinking. For them, every day in the Sea of Constetions was fraught with anxiety and fear for their own safety, but to someone like Yun Feiyang, it was like nothing more than a game. The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was not over; the most dangerous part of it had yet toe. However, to Yun Feiyang, everything was fine already. There really was noparison between the two parties.


    "Young Master Yang is a benevolent man for letting us go. It looks like we won¡¯t have to run around anymore!" Miao Yi said to Yan Beihong with a smile, trying to curry favor with Yun Feiyang.


    Yan Beihong also wished to do the same. After all, there was strength in numbers. The two of them wouldn¡¯t survive two seconds if they aggravated the other party. However, before Yan Beihong could even open his mouth, Yun Feiyang suddenly turned around and eximed, "Oh my dear Great Lord Miao, please stop running around already. It wasn¡¯t easy at all for me to find you. If I lose you again... This ce is highly dangerous to you two. If anything were to happen to you, I wouldn¡¯t be able to exin it to Luo Shuangfei. When that happens, that bastard will surely tarnish my reputation to the point of no return!"


    Miao Yi and Yan Beihong exchanged nces again, wondering what sort of weakness Luo Shuangfei held over Yun Feiyang that could tarnish thetter¡¯s reputation to the point of no return.


    Miao Yi smiled and courteously replied, "Since Young Master Yang has shown us mercy, the two of us can obviously stop running."


    "That¡¯s right! You don¡¯t have to run around anymore. This ind has a pretty decent environment. Why don¡¯t I stay here and apany you two then?" Yun Feiyang said, looking around with a captivated expression on his face. Now that he was free of worry, any scenery could be a beautiful one in his eyes.


    "You will stay here and apany us?" Miao Yi was startled. He couldn¡¯t bear the honor of having such an esteemed guest by his side.


    "Of course! I have to be here to protect you. Once the Sea of Constetions Subjugation is over and you have safely returned, my mission will finally be over." Yun Feiyang then waved his hand and continued, "Don¡¯t try to convince me otherwise. I¡¯ve already run back and forth across this damned ce for almost nine years. My legs are on the verge of breaking already. I can finally rest easy, and whoever tries to stop me will face my wrath!"


    Miao Yi was lost for words. With such a reliable protector looking after him, he should be able to safely survive the ordeal that was the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. He hurriedly cupped his fists and said gratefully, "Thank you so much for amodating us, Young Master Yang!"


    With a wave of his hand, Yun Feiyang replied, "Don¡¯t thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Luo Shuangfei."


    Yan Beihong immediately nodded and said, "Yes, yes, of course. When the opportunityes, I will be sure to thank Brother Luo in person and have a look at his esteemed countenance."


    The other party had never once said that they would protect him too, so Yan Beihong had to take the initiative to kiss up to them.


    Miao Yi could understand his feelings, and in order to help Yan Beihong garner some favor, he intentionally noted, "Big Brother Yan, actually you¡¯ve met Brother Luo as well."


    Yan Beihong was taken aback. "I¡¯ve met him too?"


    Miao Yi continued, "When I came to look for you, he was beside me. Do you remember? The one who looked the most ¡¯unique¡¯ of all."


    Yan Beihong thought for a moment before asking, "The brother with the giant mole on his face that even had a few strands of hair growing out of it?" Luo Shuangfei¡¯s facial features were simply too vivid for him to forget. If they were talking about someone with a unique face, then there was only that person.


    Miao Yi nodded. "That¡¯s him alright."


    "A hairy mole? Pfft..." Yun Feiyang suddenly broke out intoughter, chortling with his head thrown back all the way. It took him some effort to finally regain hisposure. Seeing the perplexed look on the other two¡¯s faces, he hurriedly waved his hand and said, "I didn¡¯t mean anything by it. Brother Luo¡¯s esteemed bearings are indeed not something pleasant to look at. Your descriptions were truly very appropriate!"


    He quickly changed the subject, issuingmands to his subordinates with a wave of his hand, "Find a ce with a good view and build us a few houses. We will be staying here from now on!"


    The subordinates acknowledged the order and immediately left to survey the ind to find a ce that offered the best view.


    After they decided on a location, they went into the mountains to find some high-quality lumber. They were prepared to build a few wooden houses between the quiet, verdant mountains sitting in the back, and the turquoise ocean and clean white sands of the beach resting in front.


    Miao Yi and Yan Beihong figured they shouldn¡¯t just sit around and wanted to help out with the heavy work, even if it was just to curry some favor with Yun Feiyang. They really didn¡¯t have the privilege to be acting haughtily before that man.


    "Just let them handle these kinds of things. How could I have you do it yourself? Let us sit down and chat for a bit!" Yun Feiyang pulled Miao Yi aside, but then casually waved his hand to Yan Beihong and said curtly, "You should go with them."


    Yan Beihong was not someone who was ignorant of his own standing. The other person was only willing to let him go out of respect for Miao Yi, so how could he hope to be treated the same way too? What was a little heavybor if it meant he could continue to live on?


    Yun Feiyang grabbed Miao Yi and pulled him over to sit by the white beach. He then constantly asked him questions about Luo Shuangfei, much to Miao Yi¡¯s annoyance. He was practically a chatterbox.


    "Brother Miao, I heard from Luo Shuangfei that you have a thing for big-chested women? Is this true?" Yun Feiyang seemed to hold quite a bit of interest for certain kinds of gossip.


    Miao Yi immediately remembered the time he met Lin Pingping in the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s capital city. He was a little distressed, thinking, ¡¯This Luo Shuangfei really likes to blurt just about everything out. It seems like he¡¯s truly quite close to this guy.¡¯ Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry as he said, "Young Master Yang, nothing of the sort. Brother Luo simply misunderstood."


    Blinking his eyes excitedly, Yun Feiyang made a sly grin and chuckled. "I have an older sister. She¡¯s quite beautiful, and her chest isn¡¯t exactly small either. Would you be interested? Why don¡¯t I introduce you to her?"

 Chapter 410: Assemble!

    Chapter 410: Assemble!


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    As he heard the wordse out of Yun Feiyang¡¯s mouth, Miao Yi was instantly thunderstruck, and he looked at him in shock.


    Miao Yi was no fool. He understood what Yun Feiyang meant by introducing his sister to him. However, it was hard for Miao Yi not to be taken aback when the guy was promoting his sister¡¯s big chest while he talked about introducing them to each other. To be able to even go this far, as expected of someone on the path of the devil. Truly outrageous!


    "Why are you looking at me like that?" Yun Feiyang seemed to have realized his words were a little inappropriate. He coughed drily and exined, "She¡¯s not my actual sister, but a cousin of mine."


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help quipping, "Even if she is your cousin, she¡¯s still your elder sister. She¡¯s still the granddaughter of the Lord Devil Sage!"


    "Even the Lord Devil Sage¡¯s granddaughter needs to find a man, right? I¡¯m doing this for her sake too. You have no idea, but that sister of mine is a little entric. All she does is y around. She never pays attention to her cultivation. That¡¯s why even though she¡¯s older than me, her cultivation is miles behind mine. The sooner she gets married off, the sooner our family will be free of trouble... and we also won¡¯t have to worry about her so much," Yun Feiyang gleefully remarked as he tried to promote his sister as much as possible.


    ¡¯Wouldn¡¯t I be shooting myself in the foot if I married a woman like that? The difference in status is simply too outrageous!¡¯ Miao Yi anxiously replied, "Young Master Yang, thank you for your kind proposition. However, I am but amon cultivator. I am simply not deserving of your sister."


    "How do you know you¡¯re not? With me ying matchmaker, as long as you agree, I guarantee my sister will like you. Just rest assured and prepare yourself for that beauty to fall into your arms!"


    "I¡¯m really not worthy of her. Your sister has such fine qualities; Young Master Yang should find someone more suitable for her. There are countless cultivators much better than me across the realm."


    Yun Feiyang grew a little impatient and said, "But my sister likes yo¡ª men like you!"


    "I¡¯ve never even met your sister before. How could she like someone like me?" Afraid he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape this topic, Miao Yi turned around and noticed Yun Feiyang¡¯s mount, then quickly stood up and ran off. Trying to change the subject, he asked, "I¡¯ve never seen nor heard of a creature like this before. May I know what manner of creature this is, Young Master Yang?"


    "Mad Satan Bull! Our talk is not over! What are you running away for?! Come back here!" Yun Feiyang grabbed Miao Yi¡¯s arm and pulled him back to sit beside him. Eyes blinking excitedly, he asked, "Don¡¯t you like big chests? My sister¡¯s boobs are actually quite big. You can tell even when she¡¯s wearing clothes."


    Miao Yi was on the verge of tears as he said half-pleadingly, "Young Master Yang, I told you that was simply Luo Shuangfei¡¯s misunderstanding. Please don¡¯t listen to his gibberish. That guy is definitely an oddball."


    "Of course I know he¡¯s an oddball. Why would I look for you if he wasn¡¯t..."


    "Young Master Yang, so you¡¯re saying I¡¯m an oddball too?"


    "That¡¯s not what I meant." Yun Feiyang coughed, then with a serious tone, brought the conversation back on track as he said, "Brother Miao, I¡¯m serious. Marrying my sister is an auspicious affair. Who knows how many cultivators across the realm have dreamt of gaining my sister¡¯s favor but to no avail? Let me tell you something. Out of his fifty or so grandchildren, my grandfather adores my sister the most. As long as you marry her, you¡¯ll be one family with our Great Devil Realm. Think about it. With my grandfather behind you, who would dare touch you?"


    "Young Master Yang! I really can¡¯t. I¡¯m notpatible with your sister."


    "What do you mean you can¡¯t? How would you know you¡¯re ipatible if you don¡¯t marry her and see for yourself? Even shoes need to be worn at least once before you know whether they fit or not, yes? The same logic applies!"


    ¡¯Goddammit! Why did I have to meet such a weirdo? Do you think it¡¯s even possible for me to marry your sister and see for myself? I wouldn¡¯t dare return the goods even if I found her ipatible with me. That¡¯s the Devil Sage Yun Aotian¡¯s granddaughter we¡¯re talking about! Even if I didn¡¯t like it, I¡¯d have no choice but to put up with it!¡¯


    At the moment, Miao Yi really wanted to say to Yun Feiyang¡ª ¡¯Can I not have you protect me anymore?¡¯


    Trying his best topose himself, Miao Yi said, "Young Master Yang, don¡¯t you think you should be asking your sister¡¯s opinion first? How can you make such an important decision on her behalf just like that?"


    "What¡¯s important right now are your thoughts on the matter. As long as you agree, I guarantee my sister won¡¯t have any objections! If you just nod your head, I¡¯ll call you brother-inw right now!" Yun Feiyang tugged on Miao Yi¡¯s arm, winking to him as he said in an endearing tone, "Brother-in-Law!"


    He really went and did it. What a straightforward guy.


    Miao Yi felt chills run down his spine as he thought, ¡¯As expected of someone on the path of the devil¡ªto simply throw away his own sister like she was a vegetable. If even you think your sister is entric, then how strange must she be? Who would dare want her then?¡¯ He hurriedly brushed off Yun Feiyang¡¯s arm and tried to reject him as gently as possible. "Young Master Yang, then let me put it this way. You are a cultivator of the Devil Nation, while I am a cultivator of the Celestial Nation. We simply walk different paths!"


    Yun Feiyang was instantly overjoyed, replying, "Devil Nation, Celestial Nation, it¡¯s all just a difference in territory. My grandfather once said that not all who practice satanic arts are necessarily devils. Everyone in the world has dark desires. Only those who let their dark desires corrupt their hearts are the true devils. As such, every person can be considered a devil. Not to mention, those of us on the path of the devil have never been bothered by things such as status and have always lived true to our hearts. Otherwise, it would tarnish our reputation as devils! Rest assured, my sister definitely doesn¡¯t care about things like that. Your identity and background are not a problem. All you need to do is nod your head!"


    ¡¯Even if your sister doesn¡¯t care, I do! Why do you still not understand what I¡¯m trying to tell you after I said so much?¡¯ Miao Yi wanted to knock this bastard as far away as he possibly could. But s, he couldn¡¯t afford to offend the other party. So instead, he abruptly stood up and said, "I don¡¯t even know what your sister looks like. Young Master Yang, I cannot agree to this!" He then turned around and left.


    Miao Yi still had a little bit of self-esteem. He wasn¡¯t about to be someone¡¯s kept man. If he were that kind of person, he would have told Fairy Yue Yao his true identity a long time ago. Why would he be sitting here talking about someone else¡¯s sister?


    Most importantly, it was no small matter to be dual-cultivation partners with the Devil Sage¡¯s granddaughter, much less as a Celestial Nation cultivator. If that happened, it would surely cause an uproar. Worstes to worst, his true identity might even be revealed to the world and make its way to his little brother¡¯s and little sister¡¯s ears.


    What would his little brother and little sister think if they found out their big brother was a man who lived off another person to survive? If their rtionship as siblings were to be revealed as well, then Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be the only one to live in shame¡ªeven his siblings would have trouble lifting their heads as well. Hence, there was no way he would agree to such a proposition.


    That said, even if he had to reject Yun Feiyang¡¯s proposition, he still tried to do it as gently as possible and gave him a very appropriate reason. After all, he couldn¡¯t afford to offend the other party. What¡¯s more, it was a very gracious proposition indeed.


    However, perhaps only Yun Feiyang himself knew whether or not he had truly offered the proposition from the kindness of his heart...


    Western Constetions Pce.


    Standing before the astrbe, Hei Yun giggled deviously, "Yun Guang, your son has finally stopped moving about. But the boy sure can run!"


    "Of course! There are no cowards in my Yun family!" Yun Guang boasted. However deep down he was cursing, ¡¯You shitty brat, my eyes could barely keep up with how much you¡¯ve been moving around. Since you like running so much, once you get back, I¡¯ll break those legs of yours!¡¯


    Behind him, Zuo Nanchun¡¯s eyes brightened as he thought, ¡¯Did Yun Feiyang really manage to find that person? Otherwise, why did he suddenly stop after running around for nine years?!¡¯


    He was one of the few who knew the true reason behind Yun Feiyang¡¯s crusade, mostly because a certain someone had forced him to watch over Yun Feiyang and check whether he was really trying hard or not. That way, Yun Feiyang wouldn¡¯t be able to make up any borate stories once he returned.


    It was also the biggest reason why Yun Feiyang hadn¡¯t dared to take a breather and had forced himself to run across the Western Star Sea for nine straight years, even to the point of almost breaking his own two legs. He didn¡¯t dare ck off with someone watching over him!


    Fairy Hong Chen was not present in the room. Ever since those from the Red Scarves Alliance either perished or went their separate ways, she had no way of identifying which of them was Miao Yi, nor did she know if he was even alive for that matter. As such, she figured that it was sufficient for just one of them to be present to watch over Yue Yao¡¯s movements. What¡¯s more, she didn¡¯t really wish to hear the men¡¯s dirty talk. At times, their unscrupulous discussions would involve her as well. Who asked her to be born beautiful? And so, whenever her Senior Brother Tang Jun was around, she would normally retreat back to her quarters...


    In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed. Looking at the astrbe, about 20,000 participants remained from the initial 180,000.


    Evidently, those still moving about the Western Star Sea were people who possessed powerful trump cards going around looking for prey. However, those going around looking for ces to hide were the ones that formed the majority.


    Even though it seemed like there was still a lot of participants left, but given the vastness of the Western Star Sea, it was no easy task to find the 20,000 people spread over it. Hence, the mortality rates continued to drop. At times, there wouldn¡¯t even be a single death for several days.


    There was still half a year¡¯s time before the Subjugation Crusade would officially end. However, if the current situation were allowed to persist, perhaps there still wouldn¡¯t be a conclusion even if they gave it another ten years.


    Standing before the astrbe, Hei Yun snickered and said, "Yun Guang, didn¡¯t you say there are no cowards in your Yun family? Out of the six representatives, your son is actually the best at hiding. He hasn¡¯te out of his shell for half a year already. Astounding!"


    Yun Guang immediately scoffed, "You sure talk a lot of crap. Laugh one more time, I dare you. I¡¯ll knock your damn teeth out!"


    Hei Yun was unfazed by the threat. He looked to the crowd, pointing at Yun Guang as he mocked, "Everyone, did you see that? Looks like I struck a nerve for a certain someone and now he¡¯s trying to cover up his embarrassment with anger!"


    Yun Guang huffed and said, "Cover up my embarrassment with anger? When Tang Jun goes to meet that ghost slut in privateter on, we¡¯ll see who¡¯s the one trying to cover up his embarrassment with anger!"


    "Yun Guang! Fuck you! I¡¯ll rip that stinky mouth of yours to pieces!" Hei Yun was really aggravated this time.


    No one knew exactly what sort of rtionship Hei Yun¡¯s wife had with Tang Jun, but Yun Guang would always use this to push Hei Yun¡¯s buttons happily. And every time he did, Hei Yun would always bellow in a fury. Yun Guang would never get sick of it. What¡¯s more, Tang Jun would always just keep quiet, never denying the statement even once. Thus, for those who didn¡¯t know any better, this matter indeed seemed highly sketchy.


    "Always giving off this weird vibe. No one pay attention to this rabid dog!" Yun Guang scoffed. Turning to the crowd, he continued, "I think it¡¯s high time for the Subjugation Crusade toe to an end. Otherwise, there¡¯s no telling when we¡¯ll be able to reach the final oue. Does anyone have any objections?"


    As soon as he said this, the crowd immediately cast the aggravated Hei Yun aside. After a period of discussion, Ji Meimei gently stroked her hair and strutted towards the astrbe, swaying her voluptuous figure side to side as she said, "Let¡¯s shrink down the area and assemble all the participants onto one ind. We¡¯ll get them to have a final showdown there!"


    Hei Yun was also in no mood to argue with Yun Guang now that they were talking about official business. He nodded and said, "I agree with this n!"


    "If no one has any objections, then let¡¯s set it on this ind!" Tang Jun pointed to a certain ind on the astrbe which was closest to Fairy Yue Yao. Since he decided to speak, he naturally had to fight for the benefit of his own faction. At the very least, he would be able to save his Junior Sister some unnecessary legwork. She had been running around for more than nine years. It was hard enough for her.


    This was a trivial matter, so no one bothered to argue with him. If they really did, there would be no end to this discussion.


    Grandmaster Qi Jie was the one with the highest cultivation among them, but he had always maintained an outsider¡¯s stance on their discussions. In the nine years he was in the Western Constetions Pce, he had always kept to himself. He never had any objections to whatever they were discussing and most of the time he just quietly watched over their debates.


    After their discussion, Yun Guang pped on the table and announced, "It¡¯s decided then. Messenger! Send out our official decree and inform all surviving participants to assemble on this ind within the next three months for the final showdown. Those who fail to meet the deadline will be shown no mercy!"

 Chapter 411: Site of the Final Battle

    Chapter 411: Site of the Final Battle


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Half a year was ample time for the borately-designed wooden houses by the shore to look a little worn-down.


    Sitting cross-legged on the elevated wooden nk, Miao Yi was focused entirely on his cultivation, paying no heed to the sound of rolling waves outside.


    He had to admit that only with Yun Feiyang¡¯s presence could he have the luxury of living inside these beautifully-decorated wooden houses, all set by the scenic shores of the ind. Before this, he would simply try to hide in the most remote ces he could find.


    There were a few times when visitors would arrive at their doorstep, but the oue was pretty self-exnatory. As soon as Yun Feiyang showed up on his Mad Satan Bull, the other party would be scared out of their wits. By then, it was already toote to escape.


    To Miao Yi, having such a powerful protector watching over him was even more reassuring than when he was cultivating back in the Supreme Fire Pce, where he always had to worry whether or not Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan was going to return. For a being with a Gold Lotus First Grade cultivation like Lie Huan, the rules of the Subjugation Crusade probably wouldn¡¯t be able to constrain him very much.


    Over ten months had passed since Miao Yi had left the Supreme Fire Pce. With his refining pace of three Orbs of Will a day, he had already refined approximately 900 orbs and would be able to break through to Blue Lotus Second Grade with another 1,000 orbs. This meant that he only needed to continue cultivating for another year.


    "Young Master Yang, the Subjugation Crusade will be ending in half a year. Are you sure you don¡¯t have to fight for a higher ranking?"


    "Do you think I¡¯ve been running in vain for the past nine years? Back when there were still plenty of people around, I was the one who traveled the most out of everyone else. I¡¯ve already made quite the killing for myself. A one-year break won¡¯t affect me that much."


    "Young Master Yang, you shouldn¡¯t be careless. Of course, there are plenty of people in the beginning. However, at this stage, the Geotranscendence Bangles have all been gathered together in the hands of a small minority. Just killing one of them would be equivalent to killing several of them."


    "You have a point, but I¡¯ve also bumped into a few rich fellows myself. I¡¯ve already obtained almost 30,000 Geotranscendence Bangles before this. Nothing is stopping me from getting a spot in the top six."


    "With Young Master Yang¡¯s skills, you should be getting first ce!"


    "Yan Beihong, there are some things you don¡¯t understand. It¡¯s fine as long as I don¡¯t shame myself and the Great Devil Realm. It isn¡¯t necessarily a good thing for me to return home with the champion title. Those living in major ns have their fair share of troubles too. You wouldn¡¯t understand even if I told you. In the end, it¡¯s still much better for me to just focus on safeguarding Brother Miao. That way, even if something were to happen, someone will be there to stand up for me once I return..."


    As he heard the sound of Yun Feiyang and Yan Beihong¡¯s conversationing from outside, Miao Yi¡¯s closed eyelids twitched slightly.


    Miao Yi was growing more puzzled on what to make of Yan Beihong. Before they bumped into Yun Feiyang, he had absolutely no interest in Geotranscendence Bangles and simply focused on his cultivation. But now, whenever Yun Feiyang was outside, Yan Beihong would surely step out to apany him. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that he was trying to curry favor with Yun Feiyang. It seemed as though he wasn¡¯t even concerned about his cultivation anymore, and instead now cared more about whether or not Yun Feiyang had taken enough Geotranscendence Bangles.


    Perhaps it would be a more believable story to say that Yan Beihong was simply trying to improve his rtionship with Yun Feiyang because he was afraid that thetter wouldn¡¯t protect him like he did Miao Yi. Although that might have been the case in the beginning, there was no longer any need to worry about that now, so why was Yan Beihong still doing it? Miao Yi felt as though Yan Beihong was very concerned about improving his rtionship with Yun Feiyang, perhaps to the point of forgetting his own identity as a Celestial Nation cultivator. This was getting a little out of hand.


    Whoosh! The sound of rushing wind came from the sky as a blurry silhouette flitted past. Standing along the shore, Yun Feiyang and Yan Beihong raised their heads and saw a figure toss out an item as he flew by.


    Boom! The sands on the beach erupted, and the figure in the sky had already moved far off into the distance.


    Yun Feiyang and Yan Beihong were puzzled. They then walked over to the crater to have a look and found a jade archive embedded deep in the sand.


    Miao Yi and Yun Feiyang¡¯s four subordinates all rushed out upon hearing themotion. Spreading his palm, Yun Feiyang sucked the jade archive into his grasp. After looking it over, he cursed. "These guys really have too much free time on their hands! Everyone, it¡¯s no longer possible for us to hide out the rest of our days on this ind until the Subjugation Crusade is over. Have a look for yourselves!"


    Everyone then took turns reading it. Afterward, Miao Yi and Yan Beihong had solemn expressions on their faces. It was an official decree from the Western Constetions Pce.


    "Gathering over 20,000 people to such a small ind... are they trying to force everyone into a final showdown?" Miao Yi asked.


    "That¡¯s definitely the case." Yun Feiyang was unperturbed. He then said with glee, "I can¡¯t believe that there are still so many people alive when the Subjugation Crusade is almost over. What are the other five representatives doing? That said, given how vast the Western Star Sea is and with everyone ying hide and seek, there¡¯s almost zero chance of fishing them all out. It¡¯s probably for the better to end this quickly."


    He turned to Miao Yi and continued, "Don¡¯t worry. With me around, I guarantee nothing will happen to the two of you." He then looked at the crowd and with a wave of his hand, continued, "There¡¯s quite some distance to the designated ind. I¡¯m guessing it will take us a month to travel there. Everyone, let¡¯s make our move as soon as possible and not waste any more time. The enforcers from the Western Constetions Pce won¡¯t show me any face if we¡¯rete. And it¡¯s best we don¡¯t trifle with that old coot, Fu Qing. He¡¯s someone who managed to cross fists with my grandfather a few times after all."


    Miao Yi and Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t help feeling a chill run down their spines when they heard Yun Feiyang¡¯s words. Someone who could cross fists with Devil Sage Yun Aotian several times and live to tell the tale was definitely not someone ordinary.


    The group then quickly left the ind, and thanks to Yan Beihong¡¯s Flowing Cloud Killer, the original month-long journey was drastically shortened, thus earning him Yun Feiyang¡¯s praise. Throughout the journey, Yan Beihong continued to be as chummy with Yun Feiyang as ever.


    As they speedily traversed across the ocean depths, Yun Feiyang shared a conversation with Yan Beihong. asionally, he would nce over at Miao Yi. Seeing how he wouldn¡¯t even let this bit of time go to waste and remained fixated on his cultivation, Yun Feiyang shook his head and said, "That guy sure is boring. He doesn¡¯t know how to enjoy himself at all. All he does is cultivate like mad. I doubt there are a lot of women who could tolerate someone like that. It looks like I¡¯ll have to reconsider my proposition now. I can¡¯t just push my sister into a fire pit knowing she¡¯ll burn." He then turned and pped on Yan Beihong¡¯s shoulder, "Old Yan, at least you know how to have some fun. How can a man spend his whole life immersed in cultivation? We should all rx when the opportunity presents itself."


    Yan Beihong thought to himself, ¡¯That¡¯s easier said than done. Not everyone can be as blessed as you are. Who wouldn¡¯t want to enjoy their own lives? The problem is that we can¡¯t afford such luxuries. If we don¡¯t try our best to cultivate, we could very well lose our lives.¡¯ However, he still put up a friendly smile and said, "Little Brother Miao simply wishes to improve himself."


    "Wouldn¡¯t that make things simpler? Marrying my sister would be the same as spending another thousand years improving himself!" Yun Feiyang scoffed.


    Yan Beihong was at a loss for words. He couldn¡¯t help wondering what this guy saw in Miao Yi exactly. Or perhaps he had a few loose screws in his head. He wouldn¡¯t stop trying to give his sister away to be Miao Yi¡¯s woman. To the point that Miao Yi himself was a little afraid of getting close to this guy.


    Yan Beihong was a little depressed, thinking, ¡¯I think I handled my rtionship with you much better than Miao Yi did? Yet why have you never once mentioned marrying off your sister to me? Am I really that ugly?¡¯


    Across the vast turquoise ocean rests a single ind, remote and unchanging.


    The ind had no name. It was simply because there were too many inds across the Sea of Constetions. Normally, only those inds that served as an abode to Immortals were given a namesake ordingly. Aside from those, names would also be given to the rtivelyrger inds. Inds such as this one with a rtively harmless terrain and nothing special of note were plentiful across the Sea of Constetions, and all of them were nameless.


    The Flowing Cloud Killer emerged atop the waves, and Yun Feiyang and the others leaped to shore with their respective mounts. Around them, they could see other cultivatorsing ashore as well.


    "Why do I feel something is amiss? With so many people rushing towards this ce, how is there not even the tiniest sign of conflict?" Yun Feiyang mused. He then pointed to a rtively short hill nearby. There were a few tall mountains on this ind. Riding on his Mad Satan Bull, Yun Feiyang took the lead, with Miao Yi and the rest following behind.


    As they charged up the mountain and gazed into the distance, they could see all the way to the other side of the ind. With 20,000 people gathered on this ind, there would not be a lot of space to maneuver around, and a dragon steed running at full speed would be able to reach one end of the ind from the other in a short amount of time. It really would be an arduous task to try and hide on this ind. There was literally nothing the participants could do but fight for their survival.


    No matter how you looked at it, this seemed like a punishment from the Subjugation Crusade¡¯s organizingmittee for those cultivators who did nothing but hide the entire time. Now that everyone was gathering here, let¡¯s see how they intend to keep hiding!


    However, for Yun Feiyang and the others, what astonished them the most was that there were mighty pennant gs erected on six different mountains, across six different locations on the ind. Each of the giant gs had a name inscribed¡ªCelestial Nation, Ghost Nation, Buddha Nation, Boundless Nation, Yao Nation, and Devil Nation.


    Most startling was that not only did each nation¡¯s cultivators seem to be gathering under the g of their respective countries, but there was even smoke rising from a few of the mountains as though someone was actually making food! There was no sign of violence. Just peace and quiet. It looked nothing like the site of the final battle of the Subjugation Crusade.


    "What is the meaning of this? Impudence! Someone actually dares to use my g so tantly to try and trick the masses!" Yun Feiyang bellowed, "Come! Let¡¯s kill them all!"


    "Young Master Yang!" Yan Beihong hurriedly tried to calm him down, "Please calm yourself, Young Master Yang. I don¡¯t think there is anyone bold enough to forge all six nations¡¯ gs in a single stroke. This could be the work of the Western Constetions Pce."


    "Uhh..." Yun Feiyang was slightly taken aback. After some thought, he nodded. "This is indeed quite possible. Well, what can I say? We shouldn¡¯t offend that old coot Fu Qing. Everyone, remember to act a little more humble. Come! Let¡¯s go see what¡¯s going on."


    He then charged downhill on the Mad Satan Bull, leading the group straight to the mountain where the Devil Nation¡¯s g was erected.


    As they reached the site, they noticed that there really were people cooking. From the looks of things, it seemed as though there were over a thousand devil cultivators gathered here already.


    Naturally, there were some who¡¯d managed to meet Yun Feiyang while he was still busy running around the Western Star Sea. They hastily came over and gave a greeting, "We respectfully greet Young Master Yang!"


    Once his identity was exposed, the rest of the crowd immediately rushed over to pay their respects as well.


    Yun Feiyang proudly nodded. Then, pointing at the towering g, he barked, "Who is the person who put up the g of my Devil Nation without this young master¡¯s permission? Can anyone exin to me what¡¯s happening here?"


    Someone immediately stepped forward and responded, "Reporting to Young Master Yang. It was the Realm Beyond Heaven¡¯s Fairy Yue Yao who made the arrangements, saying that this is a momentary truce for the participants of the six nations. She also asked that Young Master Yang go meet up with her once you¡¯ve arrived. She says she has something to discuss with you."


    As he listened on, Miao Yi slowly lowered his head in silence. Yan Beihong also quietly snuck a nce at Miao Yi¡¯s reaction.


    "Yue Yao? What the heck does that preposterously beautiful woman think she¡¯s doing?" Yun Feiyang turned to look at one of the mountains in the distance, noticing an extremely extravagant wooden house already fully built under the giant g of the Celestial Nation. He then looked towards the other mountains. There were also signs of construction happening under the gs of the Ghost Nation and Boundless Nation. Only the Buddha Nation, Yao Nation, and Devil Nation¡¯s territories were still an empty plot ofnd.


    Judging from the looks of things, the representatives from the Celestial Nation, Ghost Nation, and Boundless Nation should have already arrived. Only the two from the Buddha Nation and Yao Nation had yet to appear.


    "Hmph! Seeing how that Yue Yao is so outrageously beautiful, this young master will forgive her this once for taking matters into her own hands! What are you people still standing around for? Hurry up and build me a house under the g, and make sure it¡¯s bigger and more beautiful than theirs! It mustn¡¯t lose the awesomeness of our Devil Nation!" Yun Feiyang barked out a few orders to the Devil Nation cultivators, then turned to Miao Yi and the others, beckoning them over as he said, "Come, let me show you guys what a true beauty looks like. At the same time, I¡¯ll go have a look at what that woman is nning!"

 Chapter 412: Yue Yao’s Decision

    Chapter 412: Yue Yao¡¯s Decision


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The group charged up the Celestial Nation¡¯s mountain with the Mad Satan Bull leading the way. There were a few Celestial Nation cultivators who tried to stop them and ask for identification, but Yun Feiyang paid them no heed and simply continued forward.


    Arriving at the newly-built flooring outside thevish wooden house, Yun Feiyang jumped off his mount and shouted, "Little Sister Yue Yao, this young master hase to pay you a visit!"


    The rest of the group dismounted as well. Miao Yi feelings were extremelyplicated right now. He really wanted to meet his Little Sister, but at the same time, he was afraid to see her.


    Lan Ruo, Yue Yao¡¯s handmaiden, soon appeared beside the entrance. With a wave of her hand, she gestured for the guards to make way, then extended her arm over to Yun Feiyang and said, "Young Master Yang, Lord Sixth would like you toe inside!"


    Yun Feiyang happily led his men forward. However, Lan Ruo only allowed him passage before cutting off the rest, saying inly, "The rest of you should wait outside!"


    Lan Ruo had met Miao Yi before. As she swept her gaze across, she was a little surprised to see his face. Noticing how he was with Yun Feiyang, her brows creased a little.


    Yun Feiyang stopped in front of the entrance. He then turned around and asked curtly, "Why the hell are you blocking my men?"


    Lan Ruo replied, "How can one simply enter the quarters of Lord Sixth? I am sorry for the inconvenience, Young Master Yang."


    "What¡¯s the point of having such a big house if it can¡¯t fit a few people? They¡¯re all my trusted subordinates who worked hard for me throughout the Subjugation Crusade. I brought them here precisely to let them see a beautiful woman and rx a little." Yun Feiyang huffed, "Lan Ruo, you¡¯re not going to deny this young master such a simple request, are you?"


    For Yun Feiyang to be able to call out Lan Ruo by name, it was evidently not their first time meeting each other.


    "Young Master Yang, please be more respectful towards Lord Sixth. When Hei Wuya and Feng Ruxiu came, they both went in alone."


    The two that Lan Ruo mentioned were the son of Hei Yun and the disciple of Hua Yu respectively.


    "That¡¯s their choice. How can they bepared to me? Situ Xiao and Feng Beichen are no match for my grandfather, and neither is your Mu Fanjun. So obviously, I have to be more special than the others," Yun Feiyang retorted, his tone tantly insulting. *He really was as overbearing as his name implied.


    Below the steps, Miao Yi suddenly voiced out, "Young Master Yang, you should just go in. We will wait for you outside."


    "No way!" Yun Feiyang red at him and said, "If I simply do as she says, won¡¯t I lose face? Even if I¡¯m shameless enough to do so, the Great Devil Realm isn¡¯t!"


    Miao Yi was instantly speechless. The reason he spoke up was because deep down he was standing on Lan Ruo¡¯s side. However, now that Yun Feiyang had dragged the face of the Great Devil Realm into the mix, he didn¡¯t dare to continue arguing with him.


    Yan Beihong was about to speak, but he too decided to keep his mouth shut. As someone who knew Miao Yi¡¯s story, he had wanted to help him say a few words at first. However, it was no longer wise for him to speak up now. Simply put, his own life was nowhere near as important as the face of the Great Devil Realm.


    With creased brows, Lan Ruo said, "Young Master Yang, can you please stop being so unreasonable?"


    "I¡¯m unreasonable? You¡¯ve got some guts, Lan Ruo. How can a handmaiden like you dare to mock me? Why don¡¯t I get my grandfather to ask Mu Fanjun to make you my mistress? Then I can discipline you every day. Do you want that?" Yun Feiyang brazenly threatened.


    Lan Ruo¡¯s expression immediately tensed up. Yun Aotian would truly be giving face to Mu Fanjun if he personally journeyed to the Realm Beyond Heaven for this. And it would be unlikely for Mu Fanjun not to return the favor just for the sake of a disciple¡¯s handmaiden. Furthermore, most disciples wouldn¡¯t want to make things difficult for the Celestial Sage either. It was quite possible that she really would be handed over.


    However, she soon thought about Yue Yao¡¯s disposition and felt confident that there was no way she would agree to this. After regaining some of her confidence, Lan Ruo¡¯s expression immediately turned icy as she said, "Young Master Yang, can you please show some ss?"


    "This has nothing to do with ss. What if you have assassins hidden inside? You¡¯re not even going to let this young master bring in his own bodyguards?" Waving his hand dismissively, Yun Feiyang started to leave as he said, "She¡¯s just a pretty face anyway. It¡¯s not like this young master has never seen a beautiful woman before. Since you¡¯re not going to let my men in, then I¡¯m not going in either. Bunch of snobs. We¡¯re leaving!"


    Right as Yun Feiyang walked down the steps, the sharp voice of a man came from the inside, saying, "Lan Ruo, let them in!"


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes brightened slightly. He¡¯d met Yue Yao before and knew she was cross-dressing as a man. He had also heard her speak, so he knew that this voice definitely belonged to Yue Yao. His emotions were in utter turmoil.


    "Haha! Little Sister Yue Yao, I just knew you were listening in on the conversation from back there. You should¡¯ve just spoken up sooner. Then we wouldn¡¯t have wasted so much time bickering!" Yun Feiyang turned to Miao Yi and the others and beckoned them over. "Come! Let me show you what a top-ss beauty looks like!"


    Miao Yi had the urge to give him a couple ps to the face. He had never seen such a shameless person before. However, he still followed him in, unable to stop his urge to sneak a couple of nces at his little sister.


    Yan Beihong was also curious about Miao Yi¡¯s little sister, wondering what the nation-toppling beauty known as Fairy Yue Yao¡ªone of the Twin Fairies Beyond Heaven¡ªlooked like.


    The group walked up the wooden steps of the miniature, pce-like wooden house. As they entered the main hall, they couldn¡¯t help internally eximing at how luxurious it was!


    On the floor was a fur carpet as white as snow, with the esteemed countenance of the Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun embroidered upon it. A wealthy assortment of intricate furniture, as well as beautiful pearls and jades, decorated the room. The sporadically arranged flower pots gave the ce a refreshing scent, and masterfully written calligraphy scrolls hung on the walls.


    Not that it was luxurious to have such furnishings, but given the current circumstances, for the owner to still be able to decorate her temporary quarters to such an extent showed how stringent she was in her own living environment.


    There was no sign of said owner in the main hall. However, Miao Yi was already feeling a bit teary-eyed as he saw whaty before him, and couldn¡¯t help thinking back to those days when he and his two siblings used to live in that old, worn-down courtyard. He remembered those chilly, winter nights when a certain snot-nosed brat, all wrapped up in a thin nket, would cry to him about how cold and hungry she was.


    Miao Yi felt a strong sense of self-me upon seeing the sight before him. He saw the kind of life his little sister was living now, then thought back to the life that he, as a big brother, had given to her. ¡¯What can I possibly do for Little Sister now? Even if we were to reunite, not only will I be unable to provide anything for her, she¡¯ll have to be the one looking after me instead. What right do I have to proim myself as her big brother then?¡¯


    "Where are you?!" Pacing around the hall, Yun Feiyang yelled out.


    The sound of gentle footsteps then came from the back of the hall. Lan Ruo quickly walked over to escort the owner. Soon, a young man walked through one of the doors by the side, his hands behind his back. He had a wlessplexion and wore snow-white robes.


    The brilliance in those big, bright eyes; eyebrows that seemed as though they hade out of a painting; her dainty nose and captivating lips that could pull a person into an endless dream; her lush hair tied neatly in ce by a single jade hairpin; and her tall, slender body. These all elevated her already noble aura and made her seem even more dignified. Her radiance was truly divine.


    The hall immediately fell into silence, and almost all the men¡¯s gazes were fixed onto this person. It was as though they had even forgotten to breathe.


    Needless to say, this person was the cross-dressing Fairy Yue Yao. However, even while dressed as a man, there was no hiding her beauty.


    Yan Beihong was astonished. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration at all to say a woman born with such looks would bring chaos wherever she went. Fortunately, as she was the Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun¡¯s disciple, no one would dare to make a move on her. Otherwise, who knew the kind of uproar she would bring?


    To Yan Beihong at least, it was not necessarily a bad thing for Miao Yi that his disastrously beautiful younger sister was not by his side. It really saved him a lot of trouble. Otherwise, there was no way that Miao Yi could protect her with his meager strength.


    Yue Yao had long be ustomed to receiving these types of looks from men. However, as she swept her gaze across the room, she suddenly felt that something was amiss. She reversed her gaze, her eyes homing in on Miao Yi.


    It was because this person wasn¡¯t looking at her in the same way as all the other men did. It was not the way a man would look at a woman. There was no lust hidden behind his gaze, only a sense of conflicting emotions.


    ¡¯I feel like I¡¯ve seen this gaze before!¡¯ Yue Yao then quickly realized where. ¡¯Isn¡¯t this person the Celestial Nation cultivator I saved from Bai Ziliang? How did he end up mixing with this hooligan, Yun Feiyang?¡¯


    Yue Yao¡¯s wless brows creased a little. However, she was not concerned with the affairs of amon cultivator. Turning to Yun Feiyang, she extended her hand and said, "Have a seat!"


    "Haha! Little Sister Yue Yao is still as beautiful as ever. I want to thank you for being so considerate of your Big Brother and putting up my g for me." Yun Feiyang acted excessively enchanted to the point he made it seem like he was about to start drooling. He then turned around to look behind his butt and sat down.


    Miao Yi and the others very naturally stood behind him.


    "I¡¯ve heard enough ttery already. It matters not whether I hear it from you as well," Yue Yao scoffed, lowering her wless arm. As she sat down, she said in a serious tone, "Yun Feiyang. I called you here because I have something to discuss with you."


    "Go on then! You have my undivided attention. We can talk for as long as you want. This big brother has all the time in the world." Yun Feiyang spread his arms out in an exaggerated manner. At the same time, he took the tea that Lan Ruo was serving and chugged it down.


    Yue Yao said, "I was the first one to arrive on this ind, and while I was here, I met several of my Celestial Nation cultivators. They told me that our participation in the Subjugation Crusade was too unfair for them, saying that we were robbing them of their chances of survival and dashing their hopes of making it out alive. Theyined to me that the Six Sages were treating them very unfairly. I can sympathize with their situation, so after that, I had a short discussion with Hei Wuya and Feng Ruxiu. They both agreed to give the other participants an equal opportunity to fight for their own survival."


    Truth be told, she was well aware that the other five nations had sent their own representatives purely because the Realm Beyond Heaven had dispatched her to the Sea of Constetions to train. The reason why she had even called Yun Feiyang over for a conversation in the first ce was all because she felt very ufortable about this.


    Yun Feiyang was nowhere as brash and lustful as his appearance suggested. As soon as they started talking about official business, his back straightened slightly, and his expression grew serious. He asked, "How are we going to give them this equal opportunity to fight for their own survival?"


    Yue Yao answered, "All participants are forbidden from using extremely powerful transcendent artifacts, and must fight for a spot in the top 100 using their own strength!"


    "This..." Yun Feiyang asked, "Does it include the six of us as well?"


    Yue Yao gently shook her head, "Even if the six of us were to join, they probably wouldn¡¯t dare make a move against us. That is why we will not be taking part in the fighting, but instead we will be leading the remaining survivors of our respective nations. I¡¯ll discuss the specifics once Bai Ziliang and Kong Zhi have arrived."


    Yun Feiyang pointed out, "This is just as unfair to thoseing from the major sects. They brought powerful artifacts to this Subjugation Crusade precisely to increase their chances of survival. And now you want them to put down their transcendent artifacts and fight with their own strength? I doubt they will be too pleased about that."


    Yue Yao replied, "If they don¡¯t wish toply, we can offer them a different kind of opportunity. Since they like topete using their transcendent artifacts, they can try to take on the six of us. If they¡¯re confident in defeating us, then we shall simply let them be. We won¡¯t force them to pick an option. Besides, the disciples of those major sects aren¡¯t pushovers either. They all have their own unique strengths, and may not necessarily be afraid of fighting without their transcendent artifacts."

 Chapter 413: Wager

    Chapter 413: Wager


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "You do have a point, but..." Yun Feiyang paused for a bit, then raised his gaze and said, "Why should I agree? Wouldn¡¯t I lose face if I do as you say? How can this young master simply follow a woman¡¯s bidding?"


    "Is your pride that important?" Yue Yao continued, "The space on this ind is severely limited, and only a hundred participants can make it out alive. If we were to start a full-scale battle, are you sure you could kill your Devil Nation cultivators?"


    "..." Yun Feiyang was speechless. He really would have a hard time doing so. Not because he couldn¡¯t, but because of his background.


    All devil cultivators fall under themanding authority that was the Great Devil Realm. This was even more so for Devil Nation cultivators, who collectively revered the Yun n as their leaders. Perhaps on a normal day, Yun Feiyang could kill a devil cultivator that upset him. However, he was now in the Subjugation Crusade. How would it look if he killed his own people just so he could get a higher ranking? Even if he won, there wouldn¡¯t be any glory in it.


    The other devil cultivators could kill one another to their hearts¡¯ content in the Subjugation Crusade, but as the representative of the Great Devil Realm, Yun Feiyang alone could not. It was simply because these people were all subjects of the Great Devil Realm. Simr to how they couldn¡¯t make a move against Yun Feiyang, he too couldn¡¯t make a move against them.


    Truthfully, over the years in the Sea of Constetions, aside from several insolent fools, Yun Feiyang had never once killed a Devil Nation cultivator. He even had to give them a helping hand if he ever saw them in trouble.


    This was the same case for the other five representatives. For example, when Yue Yao saw Gu Sanzheng and the others in trouble, she still chose to save them even though she had to face Bai Ziliang. Those who enjoyed the privileges of a high status always had certain responsibilities they needed to fulfill.


    Yue Yao then asked, "This ind is not that big. You¡¯ll be able to see everything that¡¯s happening here. If you catch sight of your Devil Nation cultivators being killed by the other participants, will you turn a blind eye to them? There are only a hundred spots avable. How many do you think you can save? Are you sure you¡¯ll be able to save them all?"


    "..." Yun Feiyang felt dazed. There was no way he wouldn¡¯t save his own people, but how? If the cultivators from all six nations were to start an all-out skirmish, it would be utter chaos. People from this side would kill people from that side and vice versa. There would even be murders happening within a single faction. How then, could he save everyone?


    Yue Yao sighed, "If the six of us hadn¡¯t decided to join the Subjugation Crusade, we could have just as easily let them be. But since we¡¯re here now, we can¡¯t just sit idly by and look the other way. Even though this doesn¡¯t change anything, at least we¡¯ll be able to rest easy. Once word spreads out, at least they will say that the six of us have fulfilled our responsibilities to our own nation¡¯s cultivators."


    Yun Feiyang nodded. He agreed with Yue Yao¡¯s point, but upon recalling his earlier words, he stubbornly stood his ground and said, "You want me to agree with you just because of this?"


    Yue Yao huffed. Narrowing her gaze at him, she asked, "You really won¡¯t agree to it?"


    Yun Feiyang chuckled. "If you promise to marry me, I will immediately agree without hesitation!"


    Behind him, Miao Yi immediately felt an urge to stab Yun Feiyang to death with his spear. ¡¯What kind of joke is this? Earlier on, you wanted me to marry your sister. And now you want to marry mine? Preposterous!¡¯


    Evidently, Yue Yao was no stranger to men who desired to win her hand in marriage. It was simply because she was too beautiful. The number of admirers she had was as numerous as the fish in the sea. After countless simr experiences, she naturally developed a way to deal with them, and she wouldn¡¯t be angered by their attempts at all. She would just end up frustrated if she let herself be angered by people like Yun Feiyang.


    Yue Yao calmly replied, "You want to marry me? Not a problem! However, you have to show that you have what it takes first!"


    ¡¯I really have a chance to bag this beautiful woman?¡¯ Yun Feiyang stood up excitedly, his eyes glowing with vigor. Initially, he¡¯d said it as a joke and didn¡¯t put too much thought into his words as he knew it was an impossible offer. Mu Fanjun and Yun Aotian were from the same generation. How could Mu Fanjun allow a direct disciple to marry Yun Aotian¡¯s grandson? Wouldn¡¯t that just lower Yue Yao¡¯s status?


    However, now he was impatiently asking, "Then tell me, Yue Yao, what do you want me to do?" What kind of man wouldn¡¯t like to have such a beautiful woman?


    Yue Yao inly replied, "Do you think an average cultivator would be a good match for me?"


    Yun Feiyang¡¯s eyes widened immediately as he eximed, "Of course not! Whichever toad wishing to eat the meat of the swan will incur the wrath of the masses. I wouldn¡¯t even have to step in!"


    Yue Yao calmly exined, "Correct. The person I marry obviously can¡¯t be some average cultivator. Thus, Yun Feiyang, if you manage to defeat Yun Aotian and bring him to his knees, thereby bing the strongest devil cultivator, I can consider marrying you."


    "I¡ª" In his haste, Yun Feiyang almost agreed to her terms. However, he hurriedly shut his mouth in time, almost biting his tongue in the process. His gaze remained fixed on Yue Yao with an utterly stupefied expression on his face.


    Yue Yao narrowed her eyes and continued, "I¡¯ve already told you my terms. If you ever say anything like wanting to marry me again, I¡¯ll take it that you have prepared yourself to defeat Yun Aotian. There are many people here who can act as a witness."


    Yun Feiyang quickly looked back at his escorts and sent them a warning re. If word got out that he wanted to defeat Yun Aotian, he would definitely be beaten until he was crippled.


    Yun Feiyang felt a chill run down his spine. He sat back down and said angrily, "Yue Yao, how dare you y me for a fool?! I won¡¯t agree to your terms. Just watch as my Devil Nation cultivators start a bloodbath then!"


    "You won¡¯t agree?" Yue Yao huffed, "No matter then. The other four representatives will surely agree to it anyway. When that happens, our five nations will join hands to eliminate all your Devil Nation cultivators. That way, we¡¯ll be able to increase the chances of survival for our own nation¡¯s cultivators too. Of course, we won¡¯t kill all of you. We still have to show the Great Devil Realm some face. I think it should be fine if we spare only you."


    Yun Feiyang¡¯s expression twisted as he knew deep down that the others would definitely agree to Yue Yao¡¯s idea. If he was the only one that disagreed, there really was a high chance that the others would join hands against him. It seemed like he had no choice but to concede!


    Miao Yi stared at Yue Yao¡¯s beautiful face and watched how confidently his little sister now carried herself. He sighed inwardly, ¡¯Little Sister has really grown up now. She can think for herself already. She is no longer the same snot-nosed brat who would alwayse crying to her big brother after getting bullied. Now no one can easily take advantage of her anymore.¡¯


    Yan Beihong snuck a nce at Miao Yi as he thought to himself, ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯s sister is definitely not one to mess with!¡¯


    "Stop trying to scare me. Do you think the others will agree to it so easily? I will first talk this over with Hei Wuya and the others before deciding." Yun Feiyang quickly gave himself an excuse to retreat. Waving his hand, he said, "Let¡¯s go!"


    However, right as he reached the exit, Yue Yao¡¯s voice suddenly came from behind, "Hold it!"


    Yun Feiyang and the others stopped. Turning around, Yun Feiyang smiled and asked, "Little Sister Yue Yao, don¡¯t tell me you want me to stay for a meal as well? I¡¯d be happy to oblige though."


    Yue Yao stood up and asked, "Who was the one who said that Situ Xiao and Feng Beichen couldn¡¯t beat Yun Aotian and that even my master was no match for him?"


    Yun Feiyang pped his chest and replied, "I said it. What about it? Do you think I¡¯m lying? Your master and the rest of them are indeed no match for my grandfather."


    Yue Yao said proudly, "As far as I know, Yun Aotian is the one who¡¯s no match for my master at all."


    "What a joke! You can¡¯t twist a fact that¡¯s known across the realm just to suit your needs."


    The matter concerned not just his grandfather¡¯s reputation, but the reputation of the Great Devil Realm as well. Naturally, Yun Feiyang had to stand his ground.


    "I don¡¯t wish to argue with you. Bickering will not prove who is stronger and who isn¡¯t. Let¡¯s do it this way then. You represent the Great Devil Realm, while I represent the Realm Beyond Heaven. After the fight, we¡¯ll be able to make clear which side is stronger!" Yue Yao looked at Yun Feiyang in disdain as she continued, "Yun Feiyang, do you dare to ept my challenge?"


    Yun Feiyang immediately shot her a re and said, "Bring it on! You think I¡¯m scared of you?!"


    "I can¡¯t simply fight you without anything to gain just because of your nonsense. Why don¡¯t we make a wager for ten thousand Geotranscendence Bangles as well?" Yue Yao asked.


    "Ten thousand..." Yun Feiyang was taken aback, thinking, ¡¯How can she be so confident?¡¯ But he soon dismissed the thought, feeling that he mustn¡¯t show any weakness. Not to mention, he really didn¡¯t have anything to fear anyway. Puffing his chest out, he eximed, "You¡¯re on! Like I¡¯m afraid of you!"


    "In order to avoid someone being a sore loser, we need two more witnesses." Yue Yao turned around and said, "Lan Ruo, go ask Hei Wuya and Feng Ruxiu toe over."


    Lan Ruo quickly acknowledged the order and departed.


    The rest of them soon left the main hall as well. They couldn¡¯t fight inside after all. This wooden house wouldn¡¯t be able to take it.


    At the foot of the mountain, Yun Feiyang and Yue Yao stood facing each other. One was arrogantly looking around, while the other simply stood elegantly like a flower.


    Soon, one man appeared, dressed in an intricately-designed set of ck armor, with a ck cape draped over his shoulders. His face was covered by the visor of his helmet, which only revealed his eyes.


    Underneath him was a savage ck wolf the size of a bull. The wolf had a mouth full of sharp fangs and three glowing green eyes. It was quite the terrifying creature.


    The man wore intricate scaled gloves on his hands, and his whole body was almostpletely covered up¡ªonly his eyes remained visible. However, his eyes were very beautiful and seemed very pure and refined. The skin around his eyes was also extremely fair.


    Escorted by several subordinates, this person gave off a dark yet elegant aura. It was hard to describe the feeling he imparted on other people. This man was none other than Hei Yun¡¯s son, Hei Wuya.


    Shortly afterward, another man with an equally noble bearing showed up. Dressed in Taoist robes, the man quickly approached atop a golden-furred Hou while escorted by his subordinates. This person was none other than Hua Yu¡¯s disciple, Feng Ruxiu.


    The two witnesses had finally arrived. Hei Wuya sat quietly on his mount, while Feng Ruxiu smiled as he watched the pair that was facing off and said, "Yue Yao, why must you lower yourself to Yun Feiyang¡¯s level? It¡¯ll damage your reputation."


    ÔÆ·ÉÑïÁ¢¿ÌŤͷºðµÀ:"³ôÅ£±Ç×Ó,ÄãʲôÒâ˼?"


    Yun Feiyang immediately turned his head and snarled, "Shitty bull-nose, what do you mean by that?!"


    "Cut the chit-chat!" Yue Yaomanded, then continued, "I don¡¯t have time to waste on you. Hurry up and make your move!"


    Riding atop his Mad Satan Bull, Yun Feiyang saw that Yue Yao was still just standing with her hands behind her back. She wasn¡¯t even bringing out her mount. Her actions were absolutely arrogant; she wasn¡¯t holding him in any regard at all. Gnashing his teeth in frustration, Yun Feiyang couldn¡¯t help asking, "Yue Yao, where¡¯s your mount?"


    Yue Yao scoffed, "Like I need my mount to deal with you."


    Laughing in exasperation, Yun Feiyang replied, "Good! Then don¡¯t me me for not showing mercy to a woman! You¡¯d better not be a sore loser and go back on your word once I beat you!"


    Yue Yao couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste any more time arguing with him now that everyone was watching. She abruptly leaped upwards, shooting out six streaks of light with a flick of her sleeves. The six lights then quickly formed a crescent moonposed of ck jade that hovered in the air. Standing atop the sharp end of the crescent moon, Yue Yao gracefully poised herself in the sky.


    If one didn¡¯t know she was actually cross-dressing, they would really think of her as some Prince Charming from the majestic aura she was currently giving off.


    As she levitated in the sky, Yue Yao lithe fingers danced, forming various hand signs. Then, the crescent moon beneath her abruptly split open, forming six carbon copies which protected Yue Yao in the center.


    People both near and far were starting to shift their gazes over to the battlefield, and many of them couldn¡¯t help admiring Yue Yao¡¯s transcendent artifact. Yun Feiyang¡¯s expression twisted slightly as well.


    Up in the sky, the six crescent moons surrounding Yue Yao suddenly began rapidly orbiting around her as she made a sharp descent straight towards Yun Feiyang.

 Chapter 414: Mu Fanjun is a Woman?

    Chapter 414: Mu Fanjun is a Woman?


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Seeing Yue Yao¡¯s aggressiveness, Yun Feiyang revealed a devious look. He quickly readied the Pixiu-like transcendent artifact in his hand, then hurled it out.


    As the transcendent artifact opened its jaws, it instantly transformed into a giant bag and shot through the sky, gobbling up Yue Yao along with her six crescent moons in one go.


    As he shut the bag, Yun Feiyangughed aloud, "Yue Yao, you¡¯re still a little too inexperienced to be fighting against me."


    Quite a number of people were greatly shocked to see the oue decided in an instant. Hei Wuya and Feng Ruxiu looked to one another in astonishment. They never thought Yun Feiyang would still have such a powerful transcendent artifact.


    Miao Yi too had an anxious look on his face.


    However, as he wasughing to himself, Yun Feiyang¡¯s expression suddenly froze. He spread his palm open and quickly tried to grab the airborne bag. Sadly, he was already toote.


    Bang! A crescent moon suddenly ripped through the giant bag and burst forth into the sky. At the same time, the giant bag exploded into a great plume of ck fog.


    Seeing the state of his transcendent artifact, Yun Feiyang bellowed with fury, "You...!" However, his expression suddenly twisted as the Mad Satan Bull beneath him hastily turned around and retreated as though it sensed a great danger.


    Whoosh! With five crescent moons rapidly orbiting around her, Yue Yao burst through the fog with blinding speed, in hot pursuit of the hastily retreating Yun Feiyang and his Mad Satan Bull.


    She was practically flying. There were a few among the audience who looked on in admiration, but the majority were indignant. Could this still be considered a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact?


    Seeing Yue Yao quickly catching up to him from behind, Yun Feiyang threw out an alms bowl. The bowl shone with a blue light, instantly expanding to the size of a house as it shot towards the rapidly approaching Yue Yao.


    Whoosh! A cold streak of light shot down like a sh of lightning, smashing straight into the alms bowl blocking Yue Yao¡¯s path. It was the crescent moon that had broken the Pixiu-like transcendent artifact.


    Boom! A loud noise erupted as the alms bowl instantly exploded into ck fog.


    Almost simultaneously, Yue Yao¡¯s figure dove straight into the ck fog, then leaping out the next instant.


    His expression contorting with distress, Yun Feiyang decided to go all-out and tossed out over ten transcendent artifacts in rapid session with both hands, which then fiercely shot towards Yue Yao. This guy really had a lot of transcendent artifacts. It was as though there was no end to it.


    Boom boom boom! A series of explosions reverberated across the area as plume after plume of ck fog burst forth.


    The five crescent moons orbiting around Yue Yao tore through the transcendent artifacts that Yun Feiyang tossed out like they were crushing rotten wood. The crowd couldn¡¯t conceal their astonishment at the sight before them. This hadpletely surpassed the level of conflict one would expect between two Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts.


    "Stop!" Yun Feiyang suddenly bellowed.


    The eruption of more ck fog concealed the state of the battle from sight, and no one could see what was happening.


    The ck fog gradually dissipated, and the crowd soon noticed Yun Feiyang with a small ck pennant g in his hand. Unfortunately, before he could even get the chance to hurl it out, a sharp crescent moon was already being held against his neck. In that moment, his expression was incredibly dark.


    Orbited by five crescent moons, Yue Yao stopped at an arm¡¯s length behind the Mad Satan Bull. Everyone had seen how powerful those crescent moons were. If the battle had continued, Yue Yao would have definitely turned the Mad Satan Bull and Yun Feiyang into mincemeat altogether.


    Finally, Miao Yi could calm his rapidly beating heart.


    "You¡¯ve lost!" Hovering in mid-air, Yue Yao dered simply.


    "I won¡¯t ept it!" Yun Feiyang said angrily, "What difference is there between your transcendent artifact and a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact?!"


    "What right do you have to ask this? If you were in a simr situation with those participants who didn¡¯t have a single mighty artifact on them, then I might be able to ept your argument. But you¡¯re not," Yue Yao said disdainfully, "Yun Feiyang, admit your loss. Stop looking for excuses and hand your half of the wager over."


    Laughing in exasperation, Yun Feiyang eximed, "I¡¯m not handing it over! What can you possibly do to me then? Kill me if you dare!"


    "It¡¯s just a wager. There¡¯s no need for anyone to die. After all, with so many witnesses here, it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea either to show everyone how big of a sore loser the people from the Great Devil Realm can be. I definitely wouldn¡¯t mind trading off a mere ten thousand Geotranscendence Bangles for the reputation of your Great Devil Realm!" As Yue Yao waved her hand, the crescent moon pressing against Yun Feiyang¡¯s neck flew back to her.


    Whoosh! Yue Yao turned around and flew back to the mountain. As she gracefullynded, the six crescent moons immediately shrunk down into her palms. Looking back at Yun Feiyang still frozen in ce, the corners of her lips curved slightly upwards as she gave off a soft smile.


    Her objective wasn¡¯t to win the ten thousand Geotranscendence Bangles. It was simply because as a disciple, she had to teach Yun Feiyang a lesson for insulting her master, Mu Fanjun.


    Yun Feiyang nced across the crowd; his expression was absolutely terrible. He¡¯d really made a fool of himself today. However, he wasn¡¯t that much of a sore loser. He took out a pile of Geotranscendence Bangles from his storage bangle, then scattered it on the ground.


    Not that he couldn¡¯t afford to fork out his half of the wager, but the problem was that if he didn¡¯t, then even if he managed to get a high cementter on, he would still be the target of mockery and ridicule. So why would he let himself earn the reputation of a sore loser on top of that?


    "Let¡¯s go!" Yun Feiyang barked, then turned around and left.


    Miao Yi cast a deep gaze up the mountain towards Yue Yao, who was standing elegantly with her hands behind her back. After which, he turned around and followed after Yun Feiyang along with the rest.


    Even if Yun Feiyang didn¡¯t hand over the Geotranscendence Bangles, Yue Yao wouldn¡¯t feel upset about it. But since he did, there was no point in rejecting the spoils. She gestured with a slight tilt of her head, and Lan Ruo immediately led two other subordinates over to collect the spoils.


    Looking at Yun Feiyang departing with a darkened expression on his face, Feng Ruxiu burst intoughter. He exchanged nces with Hei Wuya, and the two of them rode their mounts up the mountain. After which, they dismounted and followed after Yue Yao, chatting merrily as they entered the main hall of the wooden house at the top of the mountain.


    At the foot of the mountain, the spectating cultivators couldn¡¯t helpmenting over the broken transcendent artifacts. Seeing over a dozen of them destroyed in the blink of an eye, they couldn¡¯t help wondering how many Crystalline Obsidians must have been wasted in that one fight.


    "Why are you all looking at me like that? You think I can¡¯t afford to lose? The only reason she beat me was because of her transcendent artifact. It doesn¡¯t count as her true strength!"


    Back at his own mountain, Yun Feiyang noticed that Miao Yi and the others were looking at him weirdly, so he quickly made a show of his own magnanimity.


    However, he was clearly feeling spiteful deep down. Turning to point at the mountain with the Celestial Nation g, he waved his hand and said, "It¡¯s just ten thousand Geotranscendence Bangles anyway. I¡¯ll just think of it as paying the prostitution fee on my grandfather¡¯s behalf for fooling around with that old hag Mu Fanjun all those years ago!"


    When they heard him, Miao Yi and Yun Feiyang were utterly dumbstruck, while Yun Feiyang¡¯s subordinates immediately started coughing uncontrobly, trying to hint to Yun Feiyang that he had gone too far.


    Meanwhile, Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t help asking, "Young Master Yang, did you just say that Mu Fanjun is an old hag?"


    Miao Yi also had the same doubts in his mind.


    Yun Feiyang chuckled and said, "Of course, she wasn¡¯t always an old hag. My grandfather doesn¡¯t have such strong tastes. Although, I did hear that Mu Fanjun was quite the rare beauty when she was young. However, her attitude was simply too nasty. That¡¯s why my grandfather dumped her."


    "No!" Yan Beihong cried out, then asked curiously, "What I mean is, Mu Fanjun is a woman?"


    Shocked, Yun Feiyang asked, "You don¡¯t think my grandfather is interested in men, do you?"


    "This..." Yan Beihong and Miao Yi exchanged nces, then remarked, "But all the statues seem to depict Mu Fanjun as a man."


    Yun Feiyang was taken aback. However, he soonughed aloud. "But of course. Don¡¯t you see? The precise reason Yue Yao developed a cross-dressing habit was because of her master. It looks like you two dock quite a bit of knowledge. Who in the other five nations didn¡¯t already know that Mu Fanjun is a woman? But then again, I can see why you would have that assumption. Coming from the Celestial Nation, I doubt someone would even dare mention Mu Fanjun¡¯s name, much less badmouth her behind her back. Unless they¡¯re tired of living, that is. And with the passage of time, people just naturally forgot about it. Hence, it¡¯s understandable for those working at the bottom like you two to not be aware of this."


    Yan Beihong and Miao Yi were utterly speechless. Despite living in the Celestial Nation for so many years, they had only just found out that Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun was actually a woman. However, Yun Feiyang¡¯s words were extremely insulting indeed, even going as far as using the words ¡¯prostitution fee¡¯. And he had the gall to say he wasn¡¯t a sore loser. He was clearly venting out his frustration because he couldn¡¯t ept his loss!


    What took Miao Yi and Yan Beihong even greater by surprise was that Devil Sage Yun Aotian and Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun had actually been lovers when they were young. Howplicated could their rtionship get?!


    "You two¡ªYoung Master Yang didn¡¯t mean what he said. I hope you won¡¯t take it too seriously. You can just think of some things as idle chatter. Never repeat what you¡¯ve heard!" Yun Feiyang¡¯s subordinate suddenly warned Miao Yi and Yan Beihong with a threatening gaze in his eyes.


    It was noughing matter to use the words ¡¯prostitution fee¡¯. If Mu Fanjun were to hear about this, she would definitely be enraged. Perhaps even Devil Sage Yun Aotian himself would want to beat Yun Feiyang until he was crippled. Some things must never be joked about.


    Yun Feiyang seemed to have sensed the terrible consequences from his subordinate¡¯s warning and realized that his words had indeed gone overboard. Feeling a little scared, he coughed a couple times and started whistling as he turned his head to the side, pretending as if nothing had happened...


    After which, the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade entered a rare period of peace and quiet. When the people in the Western Constetions Pce observed the astrbe and noticed that not a single person was dying even after gathering them all into one ce, they were all utterly confused as to what was happening.


    Half a monthter. In order to help Yun Feiyang re-establish some dominance, an extremelyvish house was constructed on the mountaintop.


    At the same time, Kong Zhi of the Buddha Nation and Bai Ziliang of the Yao Nation both arrived on the nameless ind alongside their subordinates. All the other cultivators from each nation continued pouring into the ind as well.


    Now that all six representatives of the various nations had arrived, they could finally decide on the rules for the final battle of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade.


    To ensure fairness, the six of them would not join in the battle, and the use of highly powerful transcendent artifacts was also restricted. However, this didn¡¯t mean that they would not be involved, nor did it mean that they had stopped fighting for a high cement. Only the way in which theypeted had changed.


    The six of them each led their own nation¡¯s cultivators, who wouldpete by challenging one another to battle.


    The participants would be able to freely challenge anyone from the other five nations if they were confident in defeating said person!


    Victors would keep all the dead¡¯s riches for himself, while the Geotranscendence Bangles would be handed over to the leader of their respective faction.


    Of course, thepetition wasn¡¯t entirely fair. The six leaders each had five free passes for avoiding battle entirely. This was clearly prepared for their subordinates.


    Thus, the killing would continue round after round in this manner, until only a hundred survivors remained!


    When the rules of thepetition came out, most of the six nation¡¯s cultivators were jumping with joy, filled with gratitude for the six representatives. It was because they simply had no hope against powerful artifacts, but now that they were actually given a chance to survive, how could they not be thankful?


    Of course, while there were people who rejoiced at the new rules, there were some who were dissatisfied with the verdict as well. Those who possessed powerful artifacts but couldn¡¯t use them evidently had to face a much greater risk now.


    There was still some time before the end of the three-month deadline to reach the nameless ind. During this period of time, most of the participants were working likemoners, plowing the ground as they tried to level the mountain at the center of the ind in preparation for the final battle. With so many powerful cultivators at work, it was not a difficult task toplete.


    At the same time, all six factions used this opportunity to wait for the remaining participants who had yet to arrive. Once the three months were up, the final battle would officially begin.


    Of course, not every participant returned to their own supposed faction. Take Miao Yi for example. By staying with Yun Feiyang, he would have a surefire chance of entering the top one hundred, simply because it just so happened that Yun Feiyang had one extra spot. But even if he didn¡¯t, Yun Feiyang would have definitely freed up one of the spots for him anyway.

 Chapter 415: Openly Challenged!

    Chapter 415: Openly Challenged!


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Another benefit for Miao Yi to stay with Yun Feiyang was that he didn¡¯t need to do any manualbor like plowing the ground.


    However, Miao Yi still circled the area a few times, trying to see if he could find anyone he knew. Yet, it was to no avail. Zhao Fei, Gu Sanzheng, and the others were nowhere to be found.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help feeling a tinge of sorrow¡ªit looked like Zhao Fei and the others couldn¡¯t survive until the end after all.


    On the sixth day, just as Miao Yi returned to the room that Yun Feiyang had prepared for him to continue his cultivation, seven people rushed ashore atop the waves. They were Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, Ye Xin, Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, Pi Junzi, and Tao Yongchun. Not a single one of them was missing.


    When they finally reached the shore, all seven of them heaved a breath of relief. Sikong Wuwei chuckled and said, "There are still two days until the deadline. We finally made it."


    Back when Miao Yi had sacrificed himself to let them escape, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin immediately gave up their ns of trying to win a high cement and of elevating the reputation of their sects. Instead, they simply focused their efforts on surviving until the end. The three of them no longer tried to pick a fight with anyone and instead hid alongside Zhao Fei and the others.


    Pi Junzi¡¯s abilities truly made a huge impact during this period. Ever since the seven of them separated from Miao Yi, they simply tried their best to avoid bumping into anyone whenever possible. Thanks to that, they managed to live through the rest of the Subjugation Crusade without fighting anyone at all.


    The group climbed up one of the hills to scan the surroundings. Whaty before them was a mountain range with six mighty gs, and in the middle was a freshly dug, massive plot of evennd. Cultivators from each nation could be seen walking about, and there was no sign of carnage anywhere. It was all peaceful and quiet.


    The seven of them were utterly dazed by what they saw. They even suspected that they¡¯d arrived in the wrong ce. Other cultivators that just arrived experienced the same thing as well. Obviously, the first thing to do in this scenario was to ask someone what was going on.


    Once they confirmed the situation, the seven of them exchanged nces. Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun looked utterly dismayed.


    "The two of us have already offended Bai Ziliang. We will simply be rushing to our deaths if we return to his camp!" Pi Junzi was on the verge of tears. He never thought he would still end up in Bai Ziliang¡¯s grasp after sessfully hiding for so many years.


    The other five exchanged nces. Gu Sanzheng then suggested, "Why don¡¯t you two follow us back to the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp then? That way, we can look out for one another too. But if so, then even if you are fortunate enough to make it out alive, youring days in the Sea of Constetions won¡¯t be easy."


    Tao Yongchun nodded, "Nothing is more important than surviving! We¡¯re also aware that there¡¯s no longer a ce for us in the Sea of Constetions now that we¡¯ve offended Bai Ziliang. As such, the two of us have already talked it over several years ago. If we can survive the Subjugation Crusade, we won¡¯t ask for a Fort Master¡¯s position, but use that to try and get our immortal records revoked instead. After that, we¡¯ll live out our days in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea."


    "Since you¡¯ve already made up your mind, thene with us!" Gu Sanzheng nodded.


    During this time, the cultivators of every nation were busy contacting one another and trying to form parties. After all, it wasn¡¯t practical for 20,000 people to fight purely in one-on-one battles. As such, they were allowed to form parties with a maximum of up to ten people. Of course, if you believed yourself to be strong enough, you could choose not to form parties, and challenge the other groups by yourself.


    The moon was bright on the final day of the three-month deadline, as a giant shipnded along the shores of the nameless ind, drawing the gazes of many participants standing on the mountaintop.


    Soon, a powerful voice came from the ship, reverberating across the skies of the nameless ind. "The one hundred participants that survive at the end shall board this ship to the Western Constetions Pce. Remember! This ship will only carry one hundred participants. And in the entire cultivation realm, the opportunity to set foot in the Western Constetions Pce is not freely given to just anyone!"


    Their words seemed to imply that it was already a great honor just to be able to set foot in the Western Constetions Pce.


    After which, ten red streaks of light spread out across the night sky. No one knew where they were headed.


    Yun Feiyang, Bai Ziliang, Feng Ruxiu, Kong Zhi, and Hei Wuya were all gathered in the main hall of Yue Yao¡¯s wooden house. They were drawing straws to decide the order of battle for the six nations¡¯ cultivators.


    On the following day, at daybreak, the cultivators of each nation moved in their respective groups. All 20,000 participants gathered around the newly developed plot of tnd in the center of the ind, with Yue Yao and the other representatives taking the lead for their respective camps.


    It was a truly grand sight. Perhaps throughout the entire cultivation realm, few had the chance to witness such arge gathering of people. Especially when almost all of these people were garbed in Second Grade Armor Artifacts, forming a giant ck mass.


    Clearly, the belongings of those 160,000 cultivators that perished were now gathered in the hands of these people.


    The Celestial Nation and Yao Nation had the least members, numbering less than two thousand each. The former was a result of Yun Feiyang wreaking havoc and thus allowing other parties the opportunity to strike, whereas thetter was a result of Gu Sanzheng being pegged with the name ¡¯Niu Youde¡¯, consequently stirring up a major movement among the Yao cultivators, which also happened to give other parties the chance to attack them.


    The Buddha Nation had the most members, numbering over eight thousand participants. However, at the moment, it was hard to tell that they were monks as all of them were riding on dragon steeds and had on armor and helmets.


    The Devil Nation, Ghost Nation, and Boundless Nation camps were almost equal in size, numbering about four thousand participants each.


    Thus, the final battle of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade had finally begun.


    As the person who drew the straw to start the first round the night before, the one to kick things off was none other than the Yao Nation¡¯s Bai Ziliang.


    As Bai Ziliang swept his gaze across the other nations¡¯ cultivators, he suddenly froze, staring in shock at the person beside Yun Feiyang¡ªMiao Yi! Bai Ziliang was in disbelief that Miao Yi was actually still alive. How could this be possible?


    He thought he was mistaken at first, but when Miao Yi stared right back at him with a cold, unconcealed killing intent in his eyes, Bai Ziliang was sure that this person was Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi was not such a benevolent man. Bai Ziliang had almost caused him to lose his life. It was due to sheer luck that he managed to survive. No one else could imagine the pain that Bai Ziliang had caused him. Miao Yi was not so magnanimous that he would let Bai Ziliang go so easily!


    Sadly, he wouldn¡¯t get the opportunity to kill Bai Ziliang even when his mortal enemy was right in front of him! Miao Yi clenched his fists so tightly that the sound of his joints cracking could be heard.


    Beside him, Yan Beihong heard the noise and cast a curious gaze over. He then followed Miao Yi¡¯s gaze and saw the look in Bai Ziliang¡¯s eyes¡ªhe immediately understood what was going on.


    Yun Feiyang also looked towards Miao Yi when he heard the noise, and he too followed Miao Yi¡¯s gaze and saw Bai Ziliang¡¯s reaction.


    They had already announced that thepetition had begun., but as the first group to go up, Bai Ziliang was still not responding. Everyone cast their gazes towards Bai Ziliang, then looked towards the direction Miao Yi was in. One after another, all 20,000 heads were turning to face Miao Yi.


    "Tsk tsk! Kong Zhi, do you see that? That kid is actually still alive, and he even recovered his lost leg!" In the Buddha Nation¡¯s camp, Ba Jie suddenly gasped in surprise.


    Beside him, Kong Zhi was equally astonished. What kind of man was Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan? How did this person manage to survive the perils of a Golden Lotus First Grade cultivator¡¯s mighty array?


    "I can¡¯t believe one of my Celestial Nation cultivators is actually in the Devil Nation¡¯s camp!" Standing quietly in her own camp, Yue Yao scoffed.


    Behind her in the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp, Gu Sanzheng, Zhao Fei, and the others exchanged looks of surprise with one another. Miao Yi was actually still alive!


    But why was he in the Devil Nation¡¯s camp instead of the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp? They had no idea what to make of this situation!


    Bai Ziliang also felt displeased that he couldn¡¯t even take the life of some nameless peon. With his back facing the crowd, he took a deep breath, and without even turning his head, slowly asked, "Who is willing to be the first to step up to the te for my Yao Nation?!"


    The response from the crowd behind him was utter silence. No one said anything as they all wanted to assess the situation first.


    Suddenly, several figures flew over from the direction of the ship. As they hovered in the sky, they dropped over two hundred dead bodies from their storage bangles right onto the center of the battlefield.


    After dumping the bodies, the figures immediately flew back to the ship. Everyone was wondering what was going on when a cold,manding voice suddenly came from the direction of the ship, "This is what happens to those who try to get through the Subjugation Crusade using tricks!"


    The crowd immediately realized the situation. So there were still so many participants who wanted to hide their way through the Subjugation Crusade!


    At the same time, the crowd was in shock. It had only been one night, and all those participants who wanted to cheat their way through had already been killed?


    They roughly understood what the Red Lotus experts had flown off to do the night before. Those people were probably the Subjugation Crusade¡¯s enforcers.


    After some time, seeing as there was still no one behind him willing to step out, Bai Ziliang slowly turned his Tempest Beast around, a cold expression on his face as he swept his gaze across the Yao Nation cultivators. Randomly pointing in a certain direction, he thenmanded, "You lot, get out there!"


    The ten people who were called out could only grit their teeth and step forward. They circled around the battlefield on their dragon steeds, scanning the participants from the other nations to try and see if they could find someone rtively weaker to challenge. That way, their chances of victory would be higher at least.


    As they continued circling around, their leader¡¯s ears suddenly perked up. He turned to look at Bai Ziliang, then shifted his gaze back as he quickly zeroed in on Miao Yi. After a short discussion with his teammates, the party of ten immediately moved towards the Devil Nation¡¯s camp.


    "Hehe!" Perched atop the Mad Satan Bull, Yun Feiyang had both hands on his waist with his nose slightly raised, as though trying to say¡ª ¡¯You must be tired of living to dare issue a challenge against my Devil Nation cultivators.¡¯


    Miao Yi could feel that something was amiss, simply from the brief interaction that group of people had with Bai Ziliang earlier on.


    Just as Miao Yi expected, the leader immediately pointed towards him and said, "You! We challenge you!" He was unsure whether or not Miao Yi had formed a party.


    The arrogant Yun Feiyang was taken aback by this. However, he quickly chuckled and said, "You guys made the wrong choice. He¡ª"


    Before he could finish his sentence, Miao Yi suddenly raised his hand and interrupted him.


    Miao Yi faced Bai Ziliang¡¯s cold gaze. The only reason he could stay in the Devil Nation¡¯s camp was because of Yun Feiyang¡¯s protection; it was simply because of the free pass that Yun Feiyang possessed.


    Before this, he had always thought that nothing was more important than making it back alive!


    However, the moment he was openly challenged under so many gazes, Miao Yi immediately realized he was wrong¡ªthere was no way he could continue hiding!


    Much like how Bai Ziliang wanted to kill him, he too wanted to show Bai Ziliang who¡¯s the boss!


    More importantly... Miao Yi¡¯s gaze shifted from Bai Ziliang onto Yue Yao, who was also looking over to this side. Feeling something heavy on his chest, he realized he could no longer cower and hide. How could he let his little sister watch her big brother cower away in front of such arge audience, hiding in the enemy camp and shamelessly enjoying his free pass?


    If his little sister were to find out about his true identity one day... he wanted to let her know that even though her big brother wasn¡¯t especially capable and couldn¡¯t amount to much, he was no coward!


    "Young Master Yang!" Miao Yi took a deep breath before continuing, "Let me fight!"


    Yun Feiyang¡¯s eyes widened in shock as he barked, "What kind of joke is this? Did you hit yourself in the head? How am I going to exin myself to Luo Shuangfei if something happens to you?"

 Chapter 416: Spear of Dazzling Destruction

    Chapter 416: Spear of Dazzling Destruction


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Miao Yi asked, "Young Master Yang, do I look that helpless in your eyes? Rest assured. I will be back soon enough. These people won¡¯t be able to do anything to me!"


    "No!" Yun Feiyang was strongly against letting Miao Yi take on such a risk.


    To Yun Feiyang, it didn¡¯t matter whether or not he could get a good cement so long as he could ensure Miao Yi¡¯s safety. At least that way, once he returned, there would naturally be someone to act coy in front of his grandfather, Yun Aotian, and help cover for him. However, if anything were to happen to Miao Yi, then he would be in big trouble.


    Miao Yi argued back, "Bai Ziliang and I have a score to settle. Since he wishes to kill me, I can¡¯t let him have thestugh either! Young Master Yang, I cannot back down from this challenge!"


    Yun Feiyang gave him an excuse, saying, "No! It¡¯s toote even if you want to step up now. There¡¯s no one to team up with you!"


    The people facing them shouted once more, "Why do you shrink from our challenge?!"


    "As if I need to form a team to kill off a few grunts!" Miao Yi scoffed. He couldn¡¯t be bothered trying to gain Yun Feiyang¡¯s approval any longer. As he spread his arms out, a ck mist quickly enveloped him, equipping both him and Charcoal in armor while the Inversed-Scales Spear appeared in his grasp.


    Beside him, Yan Beihong saw how adamant he was, and said, "I¡¯ll go with you!"


    "No need! I¡¯ll be back soon enough!" Miao Yi abruptly turned his head around to answer. Then, he quickly transmitted his voice over, asking, "Big Brother Yan, please let me use your name for a while!"


    ¡¯Use my name?¡¯ Yan Beihong was startled. ¡¯What did he mean by that?¡¯


    Looking at the situation, Yun Feiyang thought, ¡¯This guy is just too stubborn!¡¯ He then furiously bellowed, "This young mastermands you to stop!"


    Miao Yi knew there was no persuading Yun Feiyang, so like an arrow, he immediately shot ahead on Charcoal without another word!


    "You...!" Pointing his finger at Miao Yi, who left without his permission, Yun Feiyangughed in exasperation. ¡¯I¡¯ve stopped at nothing to protect you, but still, you insist on rushing to your death. Who the hell do you think I am?¡¯ Gnashing his teeth in frustration, he snarled, "He doesn¡¯t appreciate my concern at all! Fine! Go rush to your death! This young master is washing his hands of you!"


    He was speaking purely out of rage.


    As a close friend of Miao Yi¡¯s, there was no way Yan Beihong could just sit by and watch him step up to the battle alone. A plume of ck mist quickly enveloped his body, and he was about to charge out with his longsword in hand!


    Miao Yi abruptly brought Charcoal to a stop, draconic roars erupting as he pointed his spear over at Yan Beihong to stop him in his tracks. With a sharp gaze in his eyes, Miao Yi looked at Yan Beihong, transmitting his voice over and solemnly asked, "Big Brother Yan! Even though I may not be a capable man, I do not wish to look shameful in front of my long-lost sister! This is a battle for my pride. I will not regret it even if I end up dying. Please allow me to be selfish just this once!"


    Yan Beihong nced at Yue Yao, who was watching the battle while unaware of what was actually going on, and he couldn¡¯t help feeling a pang in his heart. He then sighed deeply, turning the sword in his hand and¡ª whoosh! ¡ªstabbed it into the ground. His hand still holding onto the hilt, he turned his head away and shut his eyes. There was nothing he could say!


    The leader of the other party shouted, "Name yourself!" He too wanted to know exactly what kind of person this was to make Bai Ziliang order him via voice transmission to challenge and kill.


    Miao Yi turned his head back and shouted, "My name is Yan Beihong!"


    Underneath him, Charcoal kicked his hooves excitedly. It was moments like these that were most exhrating to him.


    As soon as he said the words ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯, Bai Ziliang, Yue Yao, Kong Zhi, and the others all noted it down in their heads. ¡¯So this person is called Yan Beihong!¡¯


    "Yan Beihong?" Still huffing furiously, Yun Feiyang was suddenly taken aback. He looked to the others in confusion, asking, "Who did he say he was?"


    Yan Beihong abruptly opened his eyes. Initially, he couldn¡¯t fathom why Miao Yi had transmitted his voice over asking to borrow his name. However, now he seemed to vaguely understand why.


    Taking in a deep breath, he exined softly on Miao Yi¡¯s behalf, "Brother Miao has a grudge against Bai Ziliang, so he doesn¡¯t wish to divulge his true name in order to avoid Bai Ziliang¡¯s retaliation."


    "Will this even work?" Yun Feiyang asked in skepticism.


    In the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp, Gu Sanzheng and the others exchanged nces with one another, thinking, ¡¯What¡¯s going on? How did Miao Yi be Yan Beihong? Did we mistake him for someone else?¡¯


    "Zhao Fei, what do you make of this? That¡¯s definitely Miao Yi! That sound his spear is making is proof enough!" Sikong Wuwei transmitted his voice over to Zhao Fei.


    Zhao Fei replied in kind, "Brother Miao must have his own reasons for doing this. We should just y along with him!"


    As they were discussing this, the two of them quickly looked about to see if anyone from the Red Scarves Alliance was around. Fortunately, there wasn¡¯t a single one. Although they had already realized this back when they were finding members to team up with, they still couldn¡¯t help ncing around out of concern for Miao Yi.


    In this cultivation realm where everyone was constantly on guard against one another, Miao Yi¡¯s selfless sacrifice had finally brought him a few friends in return.


    "Why are your teammates noting out? Is the Devil Nation¡¯s camp filled with nothing but cowards?"


    "Why would I need extra help just to kill off a few grunts? I alone will be enough to deal with all of you!" Miao Yi replied loudly before charging out on Charcoal.


    The crowd instantly fell silent. As this was just the first battle, everyone was still trying to test the waters. Little did they expect a lone contestant would pop up right from the start. Everyone immediately held their breaths and widened their eyes as they focused all their attention on the thousand-meter wide arena.


    As for the challengers, they were a little anxious at first because Bai Ziliang had forced them to step up. However, when they saw that there was only one contender, they immediately regained some vigor.


    "You have only yourself to me for seeking death. Attack!" the leader shouted, and the ten riders immediately split into two groups, charging straight towards Miao Yi.


    In an instant, a lone rider shed with ten others.


    Sharp ringing noises erupted as the lone rider instantly charged past the other ten like a sword cleaving through an ocean wave.


    Like a raging dragon, the spear shot out, dancing with eye-dazzling speed as cold sparks shimmered in its wake like billowing snow.


    "Harrumph!" Charcoal released a deafening roar as he abruptly raised his hooves and came to a stop. With a sharp and icy gaze in his eyes, Miao Yi waved his spear with one hand, sttering the blood away from the spearhead as he pointed it straight towards Bai Ziliang.


    The Inversed-Scales Spear¡¯s draconic roars erupted across the battlefield. Meanwhile, the oue of the battle had already been decided in that single moment!


    The ten mounts that passed Miao Yi by were already far away, but currently, their riders had all already copsed to the ground. Thest thing they did was clench onto their bleeding necks out of reflex, before they burst open abruptly and their headspletely flew off. Their bodies were still violently twitching on the ground, not yetpletely dead.


    The speed at which Miao Yiunched his spear was simply too fast, too sharp, and too precise! The overwhelming force he just disyed made it seem as if he could even pulverize an entire mountain if it were in front of him right now.


    No one in the crowd had been able to see what had happened. All they could tell was that Charcoal¡¯s speed had grown increasingly fast, charging past the opposition in an instant. They couldn¡¯t make out the blinding fast movements of Miao Yi¡¯s spear at all. All they saw was the blurry shadow of a spear, as well as the blossoming flowers of blood that came with its every flicker.


    It truly seemed as though Miao Yi had cleaved through an ocean wave. The instant he charged past those ten riders, they were immediately blown away as though swept by a gale of glowing snow.


    The crowd of 20,000 participants was unnaturally silent. Their eyes were wide-open, their pupils shrunken, as they all stared at the sight before them.


    Not just the normal participants, but even Yue Yao, Hei Wuya, Feng Ruxiu, Kong Zhi, and Ba Jie were utterly dazed. The astonishing might of that attack was even capable of leaving experienced people such as them lost in stupefaction. That illusory, yet destructive spear was so breathtaking it caused everyone¡¯s hearts to pound furiously!


    They wondered to themselves whether they would be able to withstand that spear without their transcendent artifacts, and the answer was no!


    Seeing that spear pointed at him, Bai Ziliang felt as though there was a sharp needle pricking his heart. As he looked at that spear, he sensed an immense pressure on his body as though he was under a giant rock. The air was so heavy that he even felt difficulty breathing.


    Beside him, Lan Susu couldn¡¯t help revealing a sign of fear in her eyes. That spear was simply too terrifying, and the sound of its draconic roars echoing across the battlefield was enough to cause her to tremble anxiously.


    Within the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp, Gu Sanzheng, Zhao Fei and the others werepletely dumbstruck. Even though they knew long ago that Miao Yi possessed an incredibly powerful spear art, they never imagined it could be this terrifying!


    Yan Beihong was also in awe, slowly turning his head to look at the longsword in his hand. He too was quite confident in his own sword art. But it was only now that he realized that Miao Yi hadn¡¯t used his full strength when they were fighting.


    However, Yan Beihong believed he could understand Miao Yi¡¯s reasons for doing so. That overwhelmingly powerful attack was simply not something to be used when holding back against someone. The moment such an attack was used, it would signify that the user was out to kill. Miao Yi clearly didn¡¯t think it was suitable to use such a level of attack against Yan Beihong, because he had never thought about killing him!


    Yun Feiyang was still looking at Miao Yi furiously, but at the moment, his expression waspletely frozen. His mouth gradually grew wider, so much so that he could fit an egg inside, and his previously furious expression was eventually reced with that of utter disbelief!


    ¡¯Little Sister! Did you see that? What do you think of your Big Brother¡¯s spear art? Will you be proud of it?¡¯


    Such was Miao Yi¡¯s thoughts as he pointed his spear towards Bai Ziliang. He then felt a sudden dizziness in his head as though his mind had gone nk, and he had difficulty breathing. It was as if all his stamina and transcendence energy had been used up in that one moment.


    He felt as though he could keel over from his mount at any second. However, with nothing but a single thought in his mind, he stubbornly forced himself to hold on.


    As Charcoal¡¯s hooves came back down, Miao Yi slowly lowered the spear that was aimed towards Bai Ziliang. It was simply because he couldn¡¯t hold it up much longer. Keeping himself upright on Charcoal¡¯s back, Miao Yi tried his best to stay conscious and breathe in some air, doing all he could to look fine.


    As his mind gradually regained some lucidity, he slowly recalled what had happened earlier on.


    Just now, he had onlyunched a single attack towards the ten riders that charged at him. It was just a single attack, but somehow it multiplied tenfold, forming ten seemingly separate strikes. This one attack was the culmination of his ten bitter years of training with the spear on the ind as well as the dozens of years of experience he had gained afterward.


    As heunched his spear, his thoughts and wishes all coalesced into a single desire. There were no distractions in his mind, and he entered a state where every fiber of his being was devoid of all but a single desire¡ªhe simply wished to show a certain someone that this big brother of hers was not so weak after all!


    As a result of this one desire, Miao Yi managed tobine all his years of experience with the spear into this single attack, which was capable of transforming into ten different strikes. Each transformation hade from a near-absolute melding of Miao Yi¡¯s power of will, transcendence energy, spear, and body, allowing him to attain a realm he had never set foot in before.


    When heunched his spear, Miao Yi had even ignored the attacks from the ten ridersing at him. Although the riders had hastily pulled back their weapons in self-defense, they couldn¡¯t retract all of them in time, and Miao Yi freely allowed these weapons tond on his body, relying on his armor artifact to block them as he forced his way through.


    Having regained some rity of mind, Miao Yi felt weak all over his body. That one move had really taken a toll on him. However, there was an indescribable excitement inside him. He had always thought that his spear art had already reached the limit of what he could perform with his ability, as there was no visible difference even as his cultivation increased.


    It was only at this moment that he realized he had broken through a bottleneck and brought his spear art to an entirely new level. Before this, he only knew how tobine man, spear, and technique into his strikes. Now, he understood how to add his spirit into the mix as well.


    However, the consequences of such prematureprehension were severe. The level of skill he used to transform this one spear attack into ten strikes had far surpassed the limits set by his cultivation, nearly draining him of all he had.


    Miao Yi himself knew best the status of his body. He probably shouldn¡¯t fight anyone for the next ten days at least. Not because his transcendence energy wouldn¡¯t recover in time, but that his mind was already on the brink of copse. Perhaps even if a mortal were to try and cut him with a sword right now, he wouldn¡¯t be able to gather enough focus to dodge it precisely. What more if it was a cultivator.

 Chapter 417: Pi Junzi is a Burden

    Chapter 417: Pi Junzi is a Burden


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡¯No wonder this person dared to fight against a group of ten on his own!¡¯


    All the other participants slowly calmed themselves down from their state of shock, and they exchanged nces with the people beside them. Who among them could block this person¡¯s spear without their transcendent artifacts? Not to mention, the other party had onlyunched his spear once. What if he were to make a few more attacks? Who could withstand it then?


    "WAHAHA!" With both hands on his waist, Yun Feiyang raised his head up high andughed wildly. He was unbelievably conceited at the moment.


    The other party was the one who challenged his camp. Meanwhile, he had only sent out one man. And this one man decimated their entire group in a single move, shaking the whole crowd with his spear. Yun Feiyang felt he had really earned face big time!


    Yun Feiyang believed that Miao Yi was venting frustration on his behalf. Back when he had fought against Yue Yao, he lost not because he was weaker than her, but because his transcendent artifact was simply weaker than hers. ¡¯Do you all see now? If no transcendent artifacts are allowed, who among you could fight against us?!¡¯


    The sound of Yun Feiyang¡¯s arrogantughter and the way Miao Yi pointed the spear at him earlier on made Bai Ziliang feel as though he had just been brutally pped in the face. His expression turned dark and gloomy, and his body felt incredibly tense.


    "No wonder this guy can still be alive and kicking after jumping into Lie Huan¡¯s mighty fire array. He is indeed a highly capable individual. Kong Zhi, this is bad news. If thepetition continues like this, even with eight thousand of us, it won¡¯t be enough for that guy to kill! We can¡¯t let this be. We have to think of a way to change the rules somehow!"


    Kong Zhi disdainfully rolled his eyes at Ba Jie, thinking, ¡¯What do you think this is? With so many people watching, do you think you can change the rules as you please just because you said so?¡¯


    "Why is such a capable cultivator from my Celestial Nation in the Devil Nation¡¯s camp?" Yue Yao asked Lan Ruo with a tense expression on her face.


    Lan Ruo was speechless. How the hell would she know?


    "There are few spear arts across the realm that are more powerful than the ¡¯Venomous Spear Technique¡¯. I had previously thought that Sister Shuangshuang was simply boasting because of her infatuation with this guy. But now it seems like she was right after all! This guy¡¯s spear art is truly impressive. It can easily outss Sister Shuangshuang¡¯s spear art." With both hands on his waist, Yun Feiyang was trembling with excitement as he transmitted his voice over to his subordinate, "With him going up to battle for us, we¡¯ve pretty much got this in the bag!"


    His subordinate was also quite speechless, thinking, ¡¯Weren¡¯t you against sending him out to battle just now?¡¯


    Miao Yi tried his best to stabilize himself and not reveal any signs of his actual condition. Underneath him, Charcoal slowly walked back to the Devil Nation¡¯s camp to Yun Feiyang¡¯s side. As for the belongings of the ten people he had killed, even if Miao Yi wanted to jump down and pick them up, he didn¡¯t dare to as he was afraid that it would reveal his fatigue.


    However, that didn¡¯t mean that someone else wouldn¡¯t pick them up. With a wave of his hand, Yun Feiyangmanded, "Go and pick up our things!"


    Two people immediately rushed out from the side, carrying back all the armor, weapons, storage rings and the like from the ten corpses on the ground.


    Several dozen Geotranscendence Bangles were also collected. Yun Feiyang raised the pile of golden bangles in his hand, lightly chuckling as he unted his spoils.


    As per the rules of thepetition, all the belongings of the ten riders besides their Geotranscendence Bangles were handed over to Miao Yi. However, he just casually epted them,cking the energy even to tally them properly.


    Naturally, there were people to clean up the corpses lying on the arena. After that, it was time for the next battle to begin.


    The Celestial Nation¡¯s camp, meaning Yue Yao¡¯s forces, was the next in line to battle. A group of riders then stepped up to the arena and started circling around.


    Miao Yi had only opened his eyes slightly. He didn¡¯t have the energy to pay attention to the fight even if he wanted to. Tossing a few Orbs of Will into his mouth, he shut his eyes and slowly started to refine them, gradually replenishing his exhausted transcendence energy reserves as well as his severely depleted stamina.


    As they circled the arena, the Celestial Nation team had only cast a brief nce at Miao Yi before shifting their gaze away. Who would dare challenge such a terrifying person? Not unless they were sick in the head and tired of living, that is.


    The Celestial Nation team eventually decided to challenge a group of people from the Buddha Nation, and after an intense series of battles, they managed to eliminate all the members of the Buddha Nation team.


    Yue Yao¡¯s side had lost four members, but still, she had won the first battle,ting all the Geotranscendence Bangles from both the victor¡¯s side as well as the loser¡¯s. Naturally, the Buddha Nation didn¡¯t gain anything from the battle, and they even lost a whole group of people in addition to all their belongings.


    With eyes closed as he recovered, Miao Yi quietly sat on top of Charcoal, oblivious to all themotion around him. Before he knew it, it was already time for the fifth round to go underway. Now it was the Devil Nation¡¯s, or more precisely, Yun Feiyang¡¯s turn to send out challengers.


    "Ahem! Umm, Yan Beihong? Would you care to help this young master take this match?" Yun Feiyang asked, making a couple of dry coughs as he looked to Miao Yi, who was beside him.


    His actions immediately drew the attention of every single person in the other five nations. Many of them felt a nervous tension in their hearts as they thought, ¡¯It looks like that young master is going to send out that Yan Beihong again. Who in the world would be able to stop that guy?!¡¯


    Yan Beihong immediately pulled out his longsword from the ground, and he was prepared to step up to the arena alongside his teammates. Yun Feiyang had specially enlisted the help of nine Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts and assembled this team for him. After seeing how Miao Yi wowed the whole crowd just now, Yan Beihong too wanted everyone to recognize the might of his longsword!


    However, Yun Feiyang suddenly rolled his eyes and said to him, "What are you in such a hurry for? I wasn¡¯t talking about you. I was talking about ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯!" He then pouted his lips at Miao Yi¡¯s direction.


    Yan Beihong was taken aback. In his moment of carelessness, he had nearly forgotten that his name was no longer his own.


    Meanwhile, Yun Feiyang stared mischievously at the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp and cast a devious grin towards Yue Yao. It was obvious what he was scheming.


    Yue Yao secretly gnashed her teeth in frustration. How could she not understand what Yun Feiyang was implying? He clearly wanted to humiliate her as payback!


    However, Miao Yi shook his head and replied, "Young Master Yang, please look for someone else instead!"


    With a conceited look on his face, Yun Feiyang was immediately dumbfounded by Miao Yi¡¯s response. After all, the guy had been so eager to fight just now, stepping up to the arena the moment someone challenged him. Why was he so uninterested now? Confounded, Yun Feiyang asked, "You¡¯re kidding, right? This is like child¡¯s y to you! What exactly were your words again?"


    Yun Feiyang then turned to look at his trusted subordinate, who immediately responded for him, "¡¯I will be back soon enough!¡¯"


    "That¡¯s right!" Yun Feiyang pped his thigh and praised him, "This is something that will only take you a little bit of time. All you need to do is just go out there and make a couple of thrusts with your spear. It won¡¯t take too much effort. Go on, go on. This young master will cheer you on!"


    How could Yun Feiyang possibly know that it hadn¡¯t been easy for Miao Yi to make that move just now? Rather, it had taken him a great deal of effort to execute it. Ever since Miao Yi walked onto the path of cultivation, he had been in countless savage battles, but he had never once felt as tired as he did today. One could say that he had never felt this tired before in his entire life even. It was nowhere near as simple as ¡¯just a couple thrusts¡¯ as Yun Feiyang had described it.


    Miao Yi still shook his head, asking, "Young Master Yang, is the Devil Nation devoid of skilled participants?"


    There really was no way Miao Yi could fight anymore, so he had to try and taunt Yun Feiyang into picking someone else.


    Yun Feiyang¡¯s eyes immediately widened. These were the kind of words he didn¡¯t like hearing at all. Abruptly turning his head around, he asked, "Who will step up to the battle?"


    No one responded. Eventually, under Yun Feiyang¡¯smanding gaze, a group of people gritted their teeth and stepped up to the arena.


    Within the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp, Yue Yao heaved a sigh of relief as she turned to Lan Ruo and whispered, "It seems like deep down that Yan Beihong is loyal to my Celestial Nation after all. That¡¯s why he refused to step up to the battle. I wonder why he¡¯s in the Devil Nation¡¯s camp though. Nheless, with him around, there will be a higher chance for more of my Celestial Nation participants to enter the top one hundred. Since he is willing to help out this much, I should look for an opportunity to try and recruit him back to my camp!"


    Within the Yao Nation¡¯s camp, Bai Ziliang too sighed in relief. He was worried that Miao Yi would challenge his Yao Nation¡¯s cultivators the moment he stepped up to battle. If that were to happen on every rotation, the results would be disastrous. Every time it was the Devil Nation¡¯s turn to send out challengers, Miao Yi could just step up and pick his victims from the Yao Nation¡¯s camp. If that were to ur, Bai Ziliang worried that all the participants on his side would be singled out.


    The participants from the other camps more or less felt the same way. They were simply too astounded by Miao Yi¡¯s performance in the first battle, so they all hoped he wouldn¡¯t step up. If they were to judge solely on the current rules of thepetition, Miao Yi definitely had an unshakeable spot in the top one hundred already, so there was no need for him to bother with people like them anymore.


    From issuing challenges to epting challenges, then to full-out battles, thepetition proceeded round after round, starting from daybreak, to midday, to sunset, and finally to nightfall. It was only when the stars dotted the night sky that the killing came to a stop.


    The entire time, Miao Yi sat on Charcoal with his eyes shut, unperturbed by all themotion around him, giving the impression of being bored and reclusive.


    In one day, fifty battles were held. And in each battle, all the losers perished, whereas the victors were notpletely safe of casualties themselves either. There were even some instances where there was only one person remaining on the victor¡¯s side!


    After fifty battles, the number of casualties had already surpassed seven hundred, while about two hundred participants managed to emerge victorious and survive the day. And on the arena, a faint, bloody stench loomed in the air.


    Under the night sky, all the participants were moving about, returning to their respective camps in order to prepare themselves for the next day. There were many teams who had suffered casualties and thus needed new members to replenish their numbers.


    The party led by Gu Sanzheng was one of the lucky ones to have avoided all fifty battles held today. However, how long could thatst? Even if they managed to avoid fighting today, there was no guarantee that they could do the same tomorrow. Then there was still the day after that, and the day after that.


    At the moment, there was only seven of them in this team. Under such circumstances, it was obviously better to have as many members as they possibly could. Only with ample numbers and preparation could they increase their chances of surviving.


    Once the battles were over, Gu Sanzheng led their group towards one of the parties who had suffered casualties today. There were only three people left in this group, making them a perfect fit for Gu Sanzheng and the others. Not to mention, they had already seen how powerful these three people were from the battle earlier on. It would be best if they could get them to join their party.


    Both parties greeted each other courteously, then proceeded into the cave together.


    "Brother Gu, what are your cultivation levels?" asked one of the trio, a person called Hong Jian.


    Gu Sanzheng turned to Zhao Fei and the others, and he gently nodded. The seven of them then revealed the mark of cultivation on their foreheads.


    Hong Jian and his group had no problems with the cultivation levels of Gu Sanzheng, Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin, as the three of them were also at the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade. However, they couldn¡¯t help furrowing their brows when they noticed Tao Yongchun¡¯s Blue Lotus Seventh Grade cultivation and Pi Junzi¡¯s Blue Lotus First Grade cultivation.


    Pi Junzi had a sheepish look on his face. The reason their team hadn¡¯t been able to find anyone to pair up with all this time was because he was holding them back.


    "Yao energy? These two are Yao cultivators?" Hong Jian asked with creased brows.


    Gu Sanzheng nodded and replied, "Indeed! However, the main issue isn¡¯t whether they are Yao cultivators or not, but whether we can work together and survive until the end!"


    In a somber tone, Hong Jian said, "Brother Gu, I¡¯m not against working with Yao cultivators. But you should all be well aware of the battle we had today. It was precisely because we were held back by two of our Blue Lotus Third Grade fellow disciples that we suffered such heavy losses. Once a member of the team is down, the other party will immediately gain an extra set of hands, creating a scenario where one person would have to fight against two enemies. I¡¯m worried about the consequences from such a chain reaction. Forgive me for being blunt, but if you kick out this Blue Lotus First Grade Yao cultivator from your team and find a more suitable candidate to take his ce, then the three of us will be willing to join your group!"


    Suddenly, another group of seven entered the cave. As the leader noticed Gu Sanzheng and the others, he chuckled and said, "Sorry to bother you, I didn¡¯t know someone was already here. That said, Hong Jian, you might as well have a look at the strength of my team before making up your mind."


    Judging from his tone, this person seemed to be acquainted with Hong Jian.


    All seven of them then revealed the mark of a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator. The leader then continued, "We even kicked out the other three members from our team to amodate the three of you. Brother Hong, you should give us some consideration!"


    When life and death were in the bnce, there was no need for further consideration. Hence, Gu Sanzheng and the others became the ones to leave the area quietly.

 Chapter 417: Yue Yao Poaching Talent

    Chapter 417: Yue Yao Poaching Talent


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Those that survived the culling of the first day immediately became hotmodities in many people''s eyes. After all, they had already disyed their strengths and abilities.


    Some teams would secretly send someone over to contact these people, and once a consensus was reached, these teams would immediately kick out the weaker members of their team. There were also teams that would go the other way round and kick their weaker members out first, much like the group that was trying to recruit Hong Jian''s party of three earlier on.


    Those with low cultivations were already in a state of restlessness to begin with, and the sudden revtion of being kicked out of the team was like a bolt from the blue on top of that. And no matter how hard they pleaded, it was to no avail.


    Reality had always been, and would always be, so cruel and merciless. Some people would decisively cast aside those weaker than them in order to survive.


    The brutality of the first day that saw only a fifth of the participants surviving had opened many people''s eyes to the truth. They immediately cast aside all notions of pity andpassion, and many of the originallypleted teams were suddenly breaking apart. The weak continued to be cast aside, while the strong continued searching for other equally powerful people to pair up with.


    In just one night, most of the participants had reformed new groups, with the stronger teams growing even stronger, and the weaker teams bing even more powerless. One''s cultivation was the sole determinant of whichever circle one could join.


    In the end, arge number of new teams were formed. From Blue Lotus Ninth Grade all the way to Blue Lotus First Grade, all these new parties were distinctly segregated based on their members'' grade of cultivation, and the rift between different grades became highly apparent.


    While the strong were drinking and celebrating with their newfound members, the weak were pitifully huddling up together and encouraging one another to believe that they would be able to survive until the end.


    Gu Sanzheng and the others were walking out of yet another cave. Naturally, they too hoped to recruit powerful candidates to increase their chances of survival. However, this was already their fourth rejection so far.


    "Senior Brother! Senior Brother! On ount of us being fellow disciples, you can''t just abandon us like this! We are brothers of the same sect!"


    "It''s not that we want to abandon you. But if this keeps up, none of us will be able to leave. We have to think for the benefit of the sect as well. Stop pulling on me already. Let go!"


    "Senior Brother, didn''t you say you liked me before? The truth is, I''ve always liked you too!" a woman cried out in a terrified voice.


    "Junior Sister, don''t you think it''s a little toote to be saying things like this? What happened to your principles?"


    Gu Sanzheng and the others had just stepped out of the cave when they bumped into another group of people approaching through the darkness. These people were closely followed by several others, who at the moment, were pulling on their clothes and pleading for them to stop. They were practically on the verge of tears.


    However, the people in front simply swept their hands and ruthlessly brushed them aside. As they passed Gu Sanzheng''s group, both parties sized up one another. The former then quickly revealed a smile and walked into the cave that Gu Sanzheng and the others had just stepped out of. "Brother Li, sorry for the wait. I''ve brought my Senior and Junior Brothers here to meet you all."


    The sounds of joy andughter could be heard inside, whereas a group of people stood outside, their faces either covered in shock or resentment. There was even a rtively beautiful woman standing amongst them.


    Gu Sanzheng and the others exchanged nces. From the looks of their attire, these people should belong to the same sect. However, it seemed as though even fellow disciples were not spared from the cold fate of being thrown aside now.


    "Let''s go!" Gu Sanzheng said with a wave of his hand, and the seven of them continued on their way under the night sky.


    Pi Junzi was growing more terrified as time passed. Regardless of who they looked for, the first thing the other party would always say was to have him kicked out of the team. With his cultivation and strength, there was absolutely no hope for survival unless he had an expert protecting him.


    When he saw how the other group had even abandoned their fellow disciples, he became even more horror-struck, and he couldn''t help asking, "Brother Gu, you guys won''t abandon me, right?"


    Tao Yongchun''s eyes glinted. He was worried about the same thing as well. Truth be told, with Gu Sanzheng, Ye Xin, Tan Lao, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei''s Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivations, they could find a much better team at any time. However, not a single one of them had even mentioned abandoning him and Pi Junzi.


    Gu Sanzheng walked over and ced his hand on Pi Junzi''s shoulder. He then smiled and said, "Rest assured! The only reason we were able to survive the past few years without a hitch was due to your efforts. There''s no reason we would burn this bridge at the final stretch after you''d contributed so much!"


    Sikong Wuwei ced his hand on Pi Junzi''s other shoulder,ughing as he said, "Don''t be afraid. If we go up to battle, just stand behind me. I''ll make sure you''re safe."


    Zhao Fei chimed in as well, saying, "You''ve known Brother Miao longer than we have, so you can be considered an old friend of his. There''s no way we would abandon you, not after Brother Miao risked his life to save us!"


    Pi Junzi sheepishly looked at everyone. When he saw the gentle smiles on their faces as they tried to reassure him, he immediately felt aforting sense of warmth, and two teardrops actually streamed down his cheeks. He quickly lowered his head, sniffling as he wiped his nose. For the first time, he felt it was truly nice to be human.


    "Gross! This rat spirit actually started crying!" Sikong Wuwei hastily pulled back his hand from Pi Junzi''s shoulder.


    Everyone burst out intoughter. Gu Sanzheng then turned towards the mountain region, looking at the flickering lights inside the caves as he said, "Let''s continue looking around. If all else fails, we should just find those participants with a rtively lower cultivation. It''s always better to have a few more helping hands than not."


    To be honest, he was feeling quite worried himself. Without the Thunderp Flying Swords, he didn''t have much of an advantage over other Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators.


    The group continued on their path in the dead of night, hoping to find a ray of light within...


    Meanwhile, within the halls of the wooden mansion in the Devil Nation''s camp, things were getting incredibly rowdy as the sound of Yun Feiyang''s crazedughter constantly echoed about.


    Yun Feiyang was absolutely ecstatic today. After all, his camp had benefited the most from the first day due to Miao Yi''s spear, whichpletely had everyone aghast. After that, none of the other five representatives dared tomand their members to issue a challenge to Yun Feiyang''s camp. They were all afraid that they would provoke him into sending out the grim reaper that was Miao Yi.


    The result of that was obvious¡ªonly Yun Feiyang''s camp could challenge whoever they wanted, whereas no one else dared to challenge his camp. Thus, his camp suffered the least amount of casualties, and this naturally meant that his profits were the greatest as well. Hence, not only did he benefit greatly today, he even had the pleasure of having the other five representatives bend to his whims. The moment the battles were over, and he returned to his wooden mansion, Yun Feiyang immediately broke out intoughter. It was simply too exhrating to be able to oppress the other five representatives to the point where they couldn''t even fight back, and he quicklymanded his subordinates to put together a celebratory feast.


    With one hand on his waist and the other waving a chicken drumstick about, Yun Feiyang sprayed saliva everywhere as he incessantly bbered on.


    In contrast, Miao Yi was just sitting quietly beside him like an old monk, still in the middle of recovering.


    Originally, he wanted to return to his quarters to rest, but he couldn''t refuse Yun Feiyang''s fervent invitation, and he was forcefully dragged here in the end. After all, he was the guest, so he had to show some face at least.


    Suddenly, someone rushed in and reported, "Young Master Yang, Fairy Yue Yao is requesting an audience with you!"


    "What is she doing here?" Yun Feiyang was taken aback. However, he then waved his hand and dered haughtily, "Big deal, she''s just a pretty face anyway. This young master has already seen plenty enough women with beautiful faces. I won''t miss not seeing hers. Ask her to get lost!"


    Yun Feiyang felt a boiling fury every time Yue Yao''s name was mentioned, simply because his loss that day had been too humiliating. And now, that incident was practicallymon knowledge among the participants. If Miao Yi hadn''t refused to fight and instead followed his instructions, Yun Feiyang would definitely have had Yue Yao lose until she was stark naked before his anger could be sated.


    "Yun Feiyang, you arrogant bastard!" Yue Yao''s voice came from outside.


    Miao Yi immediately opened his eyes to look. Everyone turned their heads to gaze outside the house as well. They then saw that Yue Yao was already at the door, sitting on top of her Jade Lion.


    Yue Yao and her group quickly dismounted and were about to head inside the house, when suddenly, Yun Feiyang barked out, swinging the drumstick in his hand, "Hold it! I have my own set of rules here too. Only the pretty girl is allowed to enter. As for the rest of you, I dare you to try and set foot inside here!"


    This bastard was clearly getting payback for the time his subordinates were denied entry into Yue Yao''s residence. He really was a bitter and petty guy through and through.


    However, Yue Yao didn''t seem to care much for his attitude. Tilting her head, she told Lan Ruo and the rest, "Wait for me outside." She then proceeded into the main hall alone.


    Yun Feiyang turned and sat back down on the host''s chair. Resting one foot on the other thigh, he took a bite of his drumstick, then said brusquely, "Hurry up and state your business. This young master is an extremely busy man!"


    "I have no business with you. I''m here to look for a member of my Celestial Nation!" Yue Yao''s eyes swept across the hall, beforending straight on Miao Yi. She then calmly said, "And he just so happens to be right here! Yan Beihong,e out for a bit. I have some matters to discuss with you."


    Miao Yi was startled by her words. He suddenly felt a surge of emotion, thinking, ''Don''t tell me Little Sister has figured out who I am? Could there still be someone alive in the Celestial Nation''s camp who knew who I was and revealed to her my true name?''


    He then stood up while trying to calm the swelling emotions deep inside his heart.


    Yun Feiyang''s eyes widened in shock as though something had juste to his mind. ''Don''t tell me this woman is here to steal my guy?''


    As he casually tossed his drumstick to the back, itnded on the head of Devil Sage Yun Aotian''s esteemed sculpture. Yun Feiyang then abruptly stood up and said, "Hold it! If you''ve got something to say, say it here. Why do you need to be so sneaky about it? Don''t tell me you''re trying to do something sleazy?"


    Yue Yao''s expression instantly turned cold, and she felt the urge to rip Yun Feiyang''s dirty mouth off his face. However, after some thought, she realized he did have a point. It was indeed easy for others to get the wrong idea when they see a lone man and woman sneaking off to have a talk. Perhaps some scandalous rumor really would arise from that and damage her reputation.


    Slowly walking up to Miao Yi, Yue Yao stared straight at his face as she asked, "Yan Beihong, do you still consider yourself a cultivator of my Celestial Nation?"


    Beside Miao Yi, Yan Beihong was utterly speechless. ''The real Yan Beihong is standing right here, okay? Oh, my Little Brother! You''ve really made your Big Brother famous now.''


    From this distance, Miao Yi was able to get a clear look at Yue Yao''s unparalleled beauty, and it was truly captivating indeed. He could even smell the gentle fragrance wafting from her body. Trying his best to control his emotions, Miao Yi nodded and replied, "I do!"


    Yue Yao asked, "Then why are you not in my Celestial Nation''s camp? Instead, you''re working for the Devil Nation''s camp. Is it because you cannot stay in my Celestial Nation?"


    ''She''s clearly trying to poach him! This is bad!'' Yun Feiyang immediately grew anxious, waving his hand as he said, "Time to escort our guest out! Yue Yao, it''s time for us men to hit the sack. A woman like you shouldn''t stay any longer. I''m afraid it will damage your reputation. Well, best be on your way then. I won''t be seeing you off!"


    Miao Yi raised his hand and stopped Yun Feiyang, then replied to Yue Yao, "It''s not like that, Lord Sixth. It''s because Young Master Yang was asked by an old friend of mine to protect me. All these years, he had been searching for me across the Sea of Constetions, and ever since he found me, he''s been staying close by my side to ensure my safety. I am not serving the Devil Nation. I am simply under the protection of Young Master Yang."


    "Did you hear that, Yue Yao? Let me be honest with you. Initially, one of my five free passes was reserved for him. However, he chose to step up to fight of his own ord. I''m different from you, onlying to find him when it''s convenient for you. What were you doing before this, huh?" Yun Feiyang walked forward, chuckling as he continued, "There''s no way he will go with you. Stop wasting your time and clear out already. We want to sleep!"


    Yue Yaopletely ignored him, and said, "So it''s because you''re being protected. Yan Beihong, if I recall correctly, I believe I saved your life once from Bai Ziliang!"


    Yun Feiyang was startled, and he slowly turned his head to look at Miao Yi. Things were problematic now that Yue Yao happened to be his benefactor.


    "That is indeed so! I dare not forget Lord Sixth''s benevolence!" Miao Yi cupped his hands and said.


    "You are a Celestial Nation cultivator after all. You should understand exactly where you should be standing. Back then, I wouldn''t have saved you if you weren''t a Celestial Nation cultivator. This is what you call a standpoint. I will be waiting for you at the foot of the mountain for one hour. You''d best think of what you should be doing. I will not force you!" Yue Yao did not beat around the bush, and after saying her piece, she immediately turned around and left.

 Chapter 418: Yue Yao Poaching Talent

    Chapter 418: Yue Yao Poaching Talent


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Those that survived the culling of the first day immediately became hotmodities in many people¡¯s eyes. After all, they had already disyed their strengths and abilities.


    Some teams would secretly send someone over to contact these people, and once a consensus was reached, these teams would immediately kick out the weaker members of their team. There were also teams that would go the other way round and kick their weaker members out first, much like the group that was trying to recruit Hong Jian¡¯s party of three earlier on.


    Those with low cultivations were already in a state of restlessness to begin with, and the sudden revtion of being kicked out of the team was like a bolt from the blue on top of that. And no matter how hard they pleaded, it was to no avail.


    Reality had always been, and would always be, so cruel and merciless. Some people would decisively cast aside those weaker than them in order to survive.


    The brutality of the first day that saw only a fifth of the participants surviving had opened many people¡¯s eyes to the truth. They immediately cast aside all notions of pity andpassion, and many of the originallypleted teams were suddenly breaking apart. The weak continued to be cast aside, while the strong continued searching for other equally powerful people to pair up with.


    In just one night, most of the participants had reformed new groups, with the stronger teams growing even stronger, and the weaker teams bing even more powerless. One¡¯s cultivation was the sole determinant of whichever circle one could join.


    In the end, arge number of new teams were formed. From Blue Lotus Ninth Grade all the way to Blue Lotus First Grade, all these new parties were distinctly segregated based on their members¡¯ grade of cultivation, and the rift between different grades became highly apparent.


    While the strong were drinking and celebrating with their newfound members, the weak were pitifully huddling up together and encouraging one another to believe that they would be able to survive until the end.


    Gu Sanzheng and the others were walking out of yet another cave. Naturally, they too hoped to recruit powerful candidates to increase their chances of survival. However, this was already their fourth rejection so far.


    "Senior Brother! Senior Brother! On ount of us being fellow disciples, you can¡¯t just abandon us like this! We are brothers of the same sect!"


    "It¡¯s not that we want to abandon you. But if this keeps up, none of us will be able to leave. We have to think for the benefit of the sect as well. Stop pulling on me already. Let go!"


    "Senior Brother, didn¡¯t you say you liked me before? The truth is, I¡¯ve always liked you too!" a woman cried out in a terrified voice.


    "Junior Sister, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little toote to be saying things like this? What happened to your principles?"


    Gu Sanzheng and the others had just stepped out of the cave when they bumped into another group of people approaching through the darkness. These people were closely followed by several others, who at the moment, were pulling on their clothes and pleading for them to stop. They were practically on the verge of tears.


    However, the people in front simply swept their hands and ruthlessly brushed them aside. As they passed Gu Sanzheng¡¯s group, both parties sized up one another. The former then quickly revealed a smile and walked into the cave that Gu Sanzheng and the others had just stepped out of. "Brother Li, sorry for the wait. I¡¯ve brought my Senior and Junior Brothers here to meet you all."


    The sounds of joy andughter could be heard inside, whereas a group of people stood outside, their faces either covered in shock or resentment. There was even a rtively beautiful woman standing amongst them.


    Gu Sanzheng and the others exchanged nces. From the looks of their attire, these people should belong to the same sect. However, it seemed as though even fellow disciples were not spared from the cold fate of being thrown aside now.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Gu Sanzheng said with a wave of his hand, and the seven of them continued on their way under the night sky.


    Pi Junzi was growing more terrified as time passed. Regardless of who they looked for, the first thing the other party would always say was to have him kicked out of the team. With his cultivation and strength, there was absolutely no hope for survival unless he had an expert protecting him.


    When he saw how the other group had even abandoned their fellow disciples, he became even more horror-struck, and he couldn¡¯t help asking, "Brother Gu, you guys won¡¯t abandon me, right?"


    Tao Yongchun¡¯s eyes glinted. He was worried about the same thing as well. Truth be told, with Gu Sanzheng, Ye Xin, Tan Lao, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivations, they could find a much better team at any time. However, not a single one of them had even mentioned abandoning him and Pi Junzi.


    Gu Sanzheng walked over and ced his hand on Pi Junzi¡¯s shoulder. He then smiled and said, "Rest assured! The only reason we were able to survive the past few years without a hitch was due to your efforts. There¡¯s no reason we would burn this bridge at the final stretch after you¡¯d contributed so much!"


    Sikong Wuwei ced his hand on Pi Junzi¡¯s other shoulder,ughing as he said, "Don¡¯t be afraid. If we go up to battle, just stand behind me. I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re safe."


    Zhao Fei chimed in as well, saying, "You¡¯ve known Brother Miao longer than we have, so you can be considered an old friend of his. There¡¯s no way we would abandon you, not after Brother Miao risked his life to save us!"


    Pi Junzi sheepishly looked at everyone. When he saw the gentle smiles on their faces as they tried to reassure him, he immediately felt aforting sense of warmth, and two teardrops actually streamed down his cheeks. He quickly lowered his head, sniffling as he wiped his nose. For the first time, he felt it was truly nice to be human.


    "Gross! This rat spirit actually started crying!" Sikong Wuwei hastily pulled back his hand from Pi Junzi¡¯s shoulder.


    Everyone burst out intoughter. Gu Sanzheng then turned towards the mountain region, looking at the flickering lights inside the caves as he said, "Let¡¯s continue looking around. If all else fails, we should just find those participants with a rtively lower cultivation. It¡¯s always better to have a few more helping hands than not."


    To be honest, he was feeling quite worried himself. Without the Thunderp Flying Swords, he didn¡¯t have much of an advantage over other Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators.


    The group continued on their path in the dead of night, hoping to find a ray of light within...


    Meanwhile, within the halls of the wooden mansion in the Devil Nation¡¯s camp, things were getting incredibly rowdy as the sound of Yun Feiyang¡¯s crazedughter constantly echoed about.


    Yun Feiyang was absolutely ecstatic today. After all, his camp had benefited the most from the first day due to Miao Yi¡¯s spear, whichpletely had everyone aghast. After that, none of the other five representatives dared tomand their members to issue a challenge to Yun Feiyang¡¯s camp. They were all afraid that they would provoke him into sending out the grim reaper that was Miao Yi.


    The result of that was obvious¡ªonly Yun Feiyang¡¯s camp could challenge whoever they wanted, whereas no one else dared to challenge his camp. Thus, his camp suffered the least amount of casualties, and this naturally meant that his profits were the greatest as well. Hence, not only did he benefit greatly today, he even had the pleasure of having the other five representatives bend to his whims. The moment the battles were over, and he returned to his wooden mansion, Yun Feiyang immediately broke out intoughter. It was simply too exhrating to be able to oppress the other five representatives to the point where they couldn¡¯t even fight back, and he quicklymanded his subordinates to put together a celebratory feast.


    With one hand on his waist and the other waving a chicken drumstick about, Yun Feiyang sprayed saliva everywhere as he incessantly bbered on.


    In contrast, Miao Yi was just sitting quietly beside him like an old monk, still in the middle of recovering.


    Originally, he wanted to return to his quarters to rest, but he couldn¡¯t refuse Yun Feiyang¡¯s fervent invitation, and he was forcefully dragged here in the end. After all, he was the guest, so he had to show some face at least.


    Suddenly, someone rushed in and reported, "Young Master Yang, Fairy Yue Yao is requesting an audience with you!"


    "What is she doing here?" Yun Feiyang was taken aback. However, he then waved his hand and dered haughtily, "Big deal, she¡¯s just a pretty face anyway. This young master has already seen plenty enough women with beautiful faces. I won¡¯t miss not seeing hers. Ask her to get lost!"


    Yun Feiyang felt a boiling fury every time Yue Yao¡¯s name was mentioned, simply because his loss that day had been too humiliating. And now, that incident was practicallymon knowledge among the participants. If Miao Yi hadn¡¯t refused to fight and instead followed his instructions, Yun Feiyang would definitely have had Yue Yao lose until she was stark naked before his anger could be sated.


    "Yun Feiyang, you arrogant bastard!" Yue Yao¡¯s voice came from outside.


    Miao Yi immediately opened his eyes to look. Everyone turned their heads to gaze outside the house as well. They then saw that Yue Yao was already at the door, sitting on top of her Jade Lion.


    Yue Yao and her group quickly dismounted and were about to head inside the house, when suddenly, Yun Feiyang barked out, swinging the drumstick in his hand, "Hold it! I have my own set of rules here too. Only the pretty girl is allowed to enter. As for the rest of you, I dare you to try and set foot inside here!"


    This bastard was clearly getting payback for the time his subordinates were denied entry into Yue Yao¡¯s residence. He really was a bitter and petty guy through and through.


    However, Yue Yao didn¡¯t seem to care much for his attitude. Tilting her head, she told Lan Ruo and the rest, "Wait for me outside." She then proceeded into the main hall alone.


    Yun Feiyang turned and sat back down on the host¡¯s chair. Resting one foot on the other thigh, he took a bite of his drumstick, then said brusquely, "Hurry up and state your business. This young master is an extremely busy man!"


    "I have no business with you. I¡¯m here to look for a member of my Celestial Nation!" Yue Yao¡¯s eyes swept across the hall, beforending straight on Miao Yi. She then calmly said, "And he just so happens to be right here! Yan Beihong,e out for a bit. I have some matters to discuss with you."


    Miao Yi was startled by her words. He suddenly felt a surge of emotion, thinking, ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me Little Sister has figured out who I am? Could there still be someone alive in the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp who knew who I was and revealed to her my true name?¡¯


    He then stood up while trying to calm the swelling emotions deep inside his heart.


    Yun Feiyang¡¯s eyes widened in shock as though something had juste to his mind. ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me this woman is here to steal my guy?¡¯


    As he casually tossed his drumstick to the back, itnded on the head of Devil Sage Yun Aotian¡¯s esteemed sculpture. Yun Feiyang then abruptly stood up and said, "Hold it! If you¡¯ve got something to say, say it here. Why do you need to be so sneaky about it? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re trying to do something sleazy?"


    Yue Yao¡¯s expression instantly turned cold, and she felt the urge to rip Yun Feiyang¡¯s dirty mouth off his face. However, after some thought, she realized he did have a point. It was indeed easy for others to get the wrong idea when they see a lone man and woman sneaking off to have a talk. Perhaps some scandalous rumor really would arise from that and damage her reputation.


    Slowly walking up to Miao Yi, Yue Yao stared straight at his face as she asked, "Yan Beihong, do you still consider yourself a cultivator of my Celestial Nation?"


    Beside Miao Yi, Yan Beihong was utterly speechless. ¡¯The real Yan Beihong is standing right here, okay? Oh, my Little Brother! You¡¯ve really made your Big Brother famous now.¡¯


    From this distance, Miao Yi was able to get a clear look at Yue Yao¡¯s unparalleled beauty, and it was truly captivating indeed. He could even smell the gentle fragrance wafting from her body. Trying his best to control his emotions, Miao Yi nodded and replied, "I do!"


    Yue Yao asked, "Then why are you not in my Celestial Nation¡¯s camp? Instead, you¡¯re working for the Devil Nation¡¯s camp. Is it because you cannot stay in my Celestial Nation?"


    ¡¯She¡¯s clearly trying to poach him! This is bad!¡¯ Yun Feiyang immediately grew anxious, waving his hand as he said, "Time to escort our guest out! Yue Yao, it¡¯s time for us men to hit the sack. A woman like you shouldn¡¯t stay any longer. I¡¯m afraid it will damage your reputation. Well, best be on your way then. I won¡¯t be seeing you off!"


    Miao Yi raised his hand and stopped Yun Feiyang, then replied to Yue Yao, "It¡¯s not like that, Lord Sixth. It¡¯s because Young Master Yang was asked by an old friend of mine to protect me. All these years, he had been searching for me across the Sea of Constetions, and ever since he found me, he¡¯s been staying close by my side to ensure my safety. I am not serving the Devil Nation. I am simply under the protection of Young Master Yang."


    "Did you hear that, Yue Yao? Let me be honest with you. Initially, one of my five free passes was reserved for him. However, he chose to step up to fight of his own ord. I¡¯m different from you, onlying to find him when it¡¯s convenient for you. What were you doing before this, huh?" Yun Feiyang walked forward, chuckling as he continued, "There¡¯s no way he will go with you. Stop wasting your time and clear out already. We want to sleep!"


    Yue Yaopletely ignored him, and said, "So it¡¯s because you¡¯re being protected. Yan Beihong, if I recall correctly, I believe I saved your life once from Bai Ziliang!"


    Yun Feiyang was startled, and he slowly turned his head to look at Miao Yi. Things were problematic now that Yue Yao happened to be his benefactor.


    "That is indeed so! I dare not forget Lord Sixth¡¯s benevolence!" Miao Yi cupped his hands and said.


    "You are a Celestial Nation cultivator after all. You should understand exactly where you should be standing. Back then, I wouldn¡¯t have saved you if you weren¡¯t a Celestial Nation cultivator. This is what you call a standpoint. I will be waiting for you at the foot of the mountain for one hour. You¡¯d best think of what you should be doing. I will not force you!" Yue Yao did not beat around the bush, and after saying her piece, she immediately turned around and left.

 Chapter 419: A Lecherous Fellow

    Chapter 419: A Lecherous Fellow


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Given her status, it wouldn¡¯t look good if she talked to Miao Yi for too long or even asked him to return to the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp. All she needed to do was to get her point across.


    The meaning behind her words was obvious¡ª ¡¯Simply put, if you don¡¯t return right now, there will no longer be a ce for you in the Celestial Nation!¡¯


    "Oh wow! How dare that woman threaten you!?" Yun Feiyang said, in an attempt to sow discord. He then pped on his chest and continued, "Don¡¯t pay any attention to her. So what if you don¡¯t return? It¡¯s just a Manor Head¡¯s post anyway. Come with me to the Devil Nation, and I¡¯ll rmend you to a Hall Master¡¯s post."


    Yan Beihong inwardly sighed as he thought, ¡¯Fairy Yue Yao has even personally stepped out for him. How could Miao Yi not go with her? Thinking back, this Little Brother sure is a ruthless character. I can tell just from the way he wanted to quickly kill off Song Zeming and the others right after setting them up. But, the moment he¡¯s up against his little sister, he turnspletely soft.¡¯


    And just like Yan Beihong had expected, right after he watched Yue Yao leave, Miao Yi said, "Young Master Yang, in the end, I am still a Celestial Nation cultivator!"


    "What are you saying?" Yun Feiyang¡¯s eyes widened as he continued, "Don¡¯t tell me you want to go back to the Celestial Nation and be my enemy?"


    "Rest assured, Young Master Yang! As long as the Devil Nation¡¯s participants don¡¯t try and challenge me, I will not stand in their way as well!" As he said this, Miao Yi noticed the displeasure on Yun Feiyang¡¯s face, and he sighed. "Young Master Yang, if someone were to betray your Devil Nation, what would you do?"


    "..." Yun Feiyang didn¡¯t know how to respond to the question.


    Miao Yi cupped his hands and said, "Young Master Yang, out of respect for Brother Luo, I hope you¡¯ll give my free pass over to Big Brother Yan!"


    Yan Beihong asked in surprise, "You want me to stay here by myself?"


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly and replied, "I am Yan Beihong right now!"


    Yun Feiyang and the others might not know what his words meant, but Yan Beihong instantly understood¡ªif the real Yan Beihong didn¡¯t show himself, then the fake one wouldn¡¯t be so easily exposed.


    "Little Brother, even if you manage to fool everyone now, have you thought about what you¡¯re going to do once we¡¯re at the Western Constetions Pce?" Yan Beihong sighed and asked.


    "I¡¯ll see what I can do when the timees. There are a few things I still wish to confirm. Once I¡¯ve managed to do that, then I¡¯ll make my decision!" Miao Yi said glumly.


    "What exactly do you wish to confirm?" As he said this, Yan Beihong transmitted his voice over, "Little Brother, is your little sister the one you don¡¯t have faith in, or is it yourself? I hope you¡¯ll forgive me for speaking out of turn, but if she was really your blood-rted sister, I believe you would¡¯ve chosen to reunite with her a long time ago. The reason you¡¯re afraid to do so... I think it¡¯s because she¡¯s not your sister by blood at all. It¡¯s made you hesitate, fearful even, and it¡¯s made you lose the courage to do something as simple as reuniting with your long-lost sister!"


    Miao Yi trembled at Yan Beihong¡¯s words, and he immediately felt stifled. All this time, he had been giving himself various excuses to hide the truth that he didn¡¯t wish to face, but Yan Beihong mercilessly tore down his facade.


    Miao Yi hastily turned around and left, as though he was running away.


    "Hey hey hey! Hold up!" No matter how many times Yun Feiyang shouted, Miao Yi didn¡¯t turn back. In his rage, he ced both hands on his waist and bellowed, "You ungrateful bastard! Fine! Go, then! And don¡¯t you daree back!"


    If Yun Feiyang weren¡¯t afraid of Luo Shuangfei, he would¡¯ve just tied Miao Yi up and given him a good beating.


    At the edge of the cliff, Miao Yiy perched on top of Charcoal. Looking down, he caught sight of the figure waiting at the foot of the mountain, seated on her Jade Lion.


    Charcoal then abruptly beat his hooves and charged down. As she heard the noiseing from behind her, Yue Yao turned around to look, revealing a gentle smile when she saw Miao Yi approaching. She figured it had been worth making this trip personally after all.


    Truth be told, given her status and position, she didn¡¯t need to humble herself to look for ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯, much less make such a trip in the middle of the night just for one man. However, she couldn¡¯t simply act ording to her whims when it came to certain things. She was here as the Realm Beyond Heaven¡¯s representative. None of her senior brothers and sisters were around to act on her behalf. Hence, she had to temporarily put aside her thoughts and feelings on the matter for the benefit of the Realm Beyond Heaven.


    Yue Yao and Miao Yi faced each other, the former sizing up thetter as she nodded and said, "Let¡¯s go then!"


    "Please wait!" Miao Yi raised his hand to stop her.


    Yue Yao frowned and asked, "Are you not here to follow me back?"


    "There are a few things I wish to make clear to you first, Lord Sixth." Miao Yi then switched to voice transmission and continued, "Although that one attack I showed today might seem powerful, the truth is it took all of my strength to execute. My stamina and transcendence energy are allpletely drained right now, and I¡¯mpletely running on fumes. I doubt I¡¯ll be able to fight anyone for the time being. To put it bluntly, I¡¯m no better than a handicapped person right now. Are you still willing to take me back to the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp, Lord Sixth?"


    He hadn¡¯t told this secret to Yun Feiyang, and even Yan Beihong didn¡¯t know about it. However, he was now revealing it to Yue Yao.


    ¡¯There was even something like this?¡¯ Yue Yao was taken aback. She then turned the Jade Lion around and said, "Let¡¯s go then!"


    ¡¯She¡¯s not even going to check if I¡¯m lying?¡¯ Miao Yi was briefly surprised. He then quickly hurried after the other party as they left.


    When they were halfway up the Celestial Nation¡¯s mountain, someone suddenly called out, "Brother Mia¡ª Yan!"


    Miao Yi turned around and was pleasantly surprised when he saw that it was Sikong Wuwei calling out to him. Zhao Fei, Gu Sanzheng, and the others were all alive as well. Miao Yi nodded at them, gesturing for them to wait for now.


    Yue Yao turned back to look as well, surprised to see that there were still people who were acquainted with ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ in her own camp.


    Sikong Wuwei and the others were happy to see Miao Yi as well, and they waited for him in ce as they watched him go up the mountain alongside Yue Yao.


    Once they reached the peak of the mountain, everyone got off their mounts. Lan Ruo then followed Yue Yao into the house while the others waited outside. Miao Yi was called in as well.


    There were no outsiders around now. Yue Yao was walking in front of them when she abruptly turned around, then awkwardly reached out her hand to Miao Yi and said, "Show me your hand!"


    ¡¯And I thought she really wasn¡¯t going to check if I was lying!¡¯ Miao Yi gently smiled. He could roughly guess why Yue Yao was doing this now. After all, if a woman were to do anything to a man in public that could potentially raise a few eyebrows, she would undoubtedly have a great deal of trouble exining herself.


    Miao Yi extended his arm out, and Yue Yao¡¯s slender fingers slowly grabbed his wrist. She then turned her head to the side and began invoking her arts to examine his body.


    Truth be told, Yue Yao was a little nervous. Ever since she started living in the Realm Beyond Heaven, she had never touched a man¡¯s body, much less taken the initiative to do so. As such, her heartbeat slightly increased, and she found it difficult to look Miao Yi in the eye, so she turned her head away to hide her bashfulness.


    The moment Yue Yao¡¯s fingers touched his wrist, Miao Yi could vaguely feel them trembling. However, he didn¡¯t think too much about it, and he freely allowed her to examine his body.


    He was not a timid person after all. After interacting with Yue Yao on several asions, he had gradually grown ustomed to being around her.


    Lan Ruo¡¯s jaw widened slightly as she watched, clueless as to what Yue Yao was trying to do. She was very surprised to see Yue Yao grabbing onto a man¡¯s wrist. However, she quickly realized that it wasn¡¯t for the reasons she¡¯d initially assumed.


    Despite that, Lan Ruo couldn¡¯t conceal the awkward expression on her face. After all, there were plenty of men who had taken a liking to Yue Yao, and all of them were highly esteemed and powerful individuals in the entire cultivation realm. If they were to see what was happening right now, this ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ would probably end up dead before he even knew it.


    Yue Yao, still feeling a little awkward and unnatural, was suddenly shocked by what she found. She abruptly turned to look at Miao Yi, and slowly released her grip on his wrist.


    It was just as Miao Yi said. She found out that his body was in an abnormally debilitated state. His physiological response to the infiltration of a foreign transcendence energy signature was incredibly slow, signifying the severe depletion of his stamina. Furthermore, even the flow of blood in his body was extremely stagnant. It waspletely through the use of transcendence energy that he had been able to make himself look fine.


    She found it a little difficult to fathom that a single attack could weaken a person¡¯s body to such a state!


    Miao Yi sighed. "Does Lord Sixth still think there¡¯s a need for me to return to your camp?"


    Yue Yao didn¡¯t answer his question. Instead, she asked, "Does Yun Feiyang or anyone else know about this?"


    Miao Yi shook his head and replied, "No, I¡¯ve only told you."


    Yue Yao was taken aback, but she soon thought about themon disease that gued all men who saw her, and she guessed that this guy was probably just infatuated with her beauty. She immediately felt regret for grabbing his wrist just now.


    Beside them, Lan Ruo was utterly confused. She couldn¡¯t understand what the two of them were talking about at all.


    "Then that¡¯s good enough! Rest up for now. Tomorrow morning, you just need to stay beside me and show your face. I won¡¯t ask you to do anything else." Yue Yao quickly made up her mind. Regardless of whether or not she regretted holding the other party¡¯s hand, now was not the time for her to act as she pleased. Ensuring the benefit of the Realm Beyond Heaven was her top priority right now. "Lan Ruo, find him a ce to stay nearby."


    As he exited the house, Miao Yi followed after Lan Ruo and found a ce to settle down. After which, he rode down the mountain on top of Charcoal, meeting Zhao Fei and the others at the midway point...


    The next morning, all the participants from the six nations gathered around the arena once more.


    Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, Ye Xin, Tao Yongchun, and Pi Junzi had a renewed sense of vigor on their faces, and they excitedly formed a line behind Miao Yi. They no longer had to hide at the back of the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp anymore.


    Sikong Wuwei was even looking around excitedly, and when he met the surprised gazes of Hong Jian and the others, who had previously rejected forming a party with them, he chuckled merrily.


    Meanwhile, at the head of the group, Miao Yi stood publicly beside Yue Yao. He was firmly seated on Charcoal, his eyes shut as he continued refining Orbs of Will to replenish his energy.


    Meanwhile, in the Devil Nation¡¯s camp, Yun Feiyang¡¯s expression was incredibly dark. He snuck a nce at Miao Yi, but since thetter wouldn¡¯t so much as look at him, Yun Feiyang cast his gaze at Yue Yao instead. Gnashing his teeth in hatred, he cursed, "That vile woman!"


    At first, he was attracted by Yue Yao¡¯s beauty. Now he felt no love for this woman at all. Not only did she humiliate him, but she was also stealing his thunder at this point. Truly appalling.


    Miao Yi was one of the focal points of thepetition to begin with, so everyone quickly noticed his whereabouts. When they saw how Miao Yi was in the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp instead of the Devil Nation¡¯s, whispers of gossip immediately broke out among the crowd.


    "So it turns out he¡¯s just a lecherous fellow!" Feng Ruxiu of the Boundless Nation stared at Miao Yi and scoffed.


    Within the Buddha Nation¡¯s camp, Ba Jie clicked his tongue and said, "Poor Yun Feiyang. He just had to be born as a man. There¡¯s no way he could outmatch that beautiful woman, Yue Yao."


    The world was a vast ce, and most of these people normally just stayed in the domains of their respective nations. Furthermore, as their cultivations had yet to reach the Red Lotus realm, it was highly difficult for them to cross into one another¡¯s borders, making it highly unlikely for someone of one nation to be acquainted with someone from another. As such, no one knew that Miao Yi was a Celestial Nation cultivator to begin with, and they simply assumed he was a Devil Nation cultivator.


    When the crowd saw how Miao Yi had defected from Yun Feiyang¡¯s camp over to Yue Yao¡¯s side, it was hard to believe that he hadn¡¯t been attracted by her beauty.


    Once again, the carnage resumed on the arena. The presence of Miao Yi had a prominent effect on the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp. As the overwhelming might of his spear was still vivid in everyone¡¯s minds, none of the other nations dared to challenge the Celestial Nation. They were all afraid that Yue Yao would send Miao Yi out if she were pissed.


    As no one came to challenge them, while they had free pick over who to fight against, the Celestial Nation participants all felt as though a great load was off their chest.


    Yue Yao was also secretly filled with joy that she had humbled herselfst night to pull Miao Yi over. As their forces were small to begin with, it would be a great joke if everyone else in the entire Celestial Nation camp were to die except for those with free passes. As Mu Fanjun¡¯s dearest and final disciple, she couldn¡¯t bring such shame to the Realm Beyond Heaven.

 Chapter 420: Don’t be Afraid, I Am Here!

    Chapter 420: Don¡¯t be Afraid, I Am Here!


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    After another day fraught with battles, about 700 more participants had perished. However, as there were only about 30 casualties on the Celestial Nation¡¯s side, Yue Yao was greatly pleased with the results. As they returned, she snuck a couple of nces at Miao Yi, only to discover he was simply just sitting there quietly the entire time with his eyes closed.


    The days passed, and in the blink of an eye, twenty days hade and gone. At this stage, the total casualties of all six nations numbered about 15,000 participants, with less than 10,000 survivors remaining.


    The Yao Nation camp had less than three hundred members left, while the Celestial Nation, Boundless Nation, Devil Nation and Ghost Nation camps were almost equal in number at about one thousand members respectively. As the Buddha Nation camp was thergest group to begin with, they still had over four thousand participants remaining. Initially, the Celestial Nation and Yao Nation camps were almost equal in number, but as the former had Miao Yi watching over them, their number of casualties were greatly reduced, causing the paltry numbers of the Yao Nation to be even more prominent.


    Truth be told, they only had themselves to me. If they hadn¡¯t made such a big fuss about catching ¡¯Niu Youde¡¯ all those years ago, how could they have drawn the thirstful gazes of all the other participants? At the very least, they wouldn¡¯t have been reduced to such a state otherwise.


    Bai Ziliang and Lan Susu¡¯s faces darkened as they were worried that by the end of it all, all those in the Yao Nation¡¯s camp would perish, excluding those with free passes such as themselves. If that were to happen, it would truly be too shameful for them.


    Fortunately, the three hundred still remaining were the cream of the crop, being able to have survived thus far, thereby making it a bit more difficult for the others to take them down. On the other hand, things were not so lucky for the Buddha Nation. Even though theirrge numbers meant that they had plenty of experts, it also meant they were notcking in weaker members either. Thus, they became the prime target of the other five nations.


    The death of over 10,000 participants had stained almost the entire surface of the battle arena with the deep red of blood, and the heavy stench of iron assaulted the nostrils as soon as one approached.


    Once again, the battles of the day hade to an end, and the participants returned back to their respective camps. And as for those groups with casualties, they inevitably needed to reform their parties.


    In the distant mountain range, the woeful wails of spiritual beasts who had lost their owners could be heard. In order to ensure fairness in battle, the use of spiritual beasts besides dragon steeds was disallowed. Even Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin had to keep away their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts. As such, after their owners had perished in battle, many of the creatures roamed the ind aimlessly, crying every night.


    As most of the participants were still unsure of their own fates, no one bothered to deal with these spiritual beasts for now. Even if they wanted to tame these creatures, they had to wait until the battles werepletely over to do it. After all, it would be pointless if they tamed the creatures, only for they themselves to die in the end.


    "Brother, what are you staring at?"


    Miao Yi had been looking out in a daze towards the direction the cries of the beasts wereing from. Seeing how he showed no signs of moving even after everyone else had left, the seven people behind him exchanged nces with one another, before Sikong Wuwei stepped forward and asked the question.


    Miao Yi snapped out of his daze, shaking his head as he smiled and said, "It¡¯s nothing. I was just thinking it¡¯s a waste to leave these precious creatures like this. I wish to take a couple of them back to present to my handmaidens as mounts, but s, I don¡¯t know how to tame them. Even if I could catch them, there¡¯s no point."


    Not long after they returned, Miao Yi and the others had suddenly lost sight of Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin. Even after searching outside the cave, there was no sign of the three of them.


    By the time they saw the trio again, they found them each carrying a beast sack in hand. Tan Lao tossed one of the beast sacks over to Miao Yi and said, "There are two ¡¯ck-Scaled Drake Beasts¡¯ inside. Strength-wise, they aren¡¯t any weaker than our Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts. The taming technique is inside here." He then tossed a jade archive over.


    Surprised, Miao Yi examined the beast sack with his transcendence energy, and found two ferocious creatures inside. Armed with sharp fangs and ws, the creatures¡¯ bodies were covered with scales as dark as ink; their heads were shaped like that of a vicious tiger with a savage-looking horn protruding out of it, and a mane of fur surrounded their necks like lions. At the moment, because of the iron needle stuck onto their heads, the creatures were in a state of deep sleep inside the beast sack.


    Miao Yi then noticed that Gu Sanzheng and Ye Xin had tossed beast sacks over to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei as well. They didn¡¯t leave out Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun either, who were overjoyed by the gifts.


    Miao Yi never expected that the three of them would really go and catch these spiritual beasts for them right after that one casual remark he made. Of the three of them, he was positive that Tan Lao had been the most significant contributor. As he was a disciple of the School of Imperial Beasts, Tan Lao most certainly had his ways of dealing with spiritual beasts like these.


    As he watched the three of them sit down in meditation beside them, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help asking, "Didn¡¯t you guys want to take revenge for your three major sects? Yet now you¡¯re handing me something like this. What if I end up dying by your hands still? Wouldn¡¯t you have wasted these gifts then?"


    Ye Xin rolled her beautiful eyes before shutting them. Tan Laoughed bitterly, then did the same as well.


    Gu Sanzheng replied coolly, "As the rules have been changed by the representatives of the Six Sages, you have be a necessity right now. Otherwise, even we are not confident we¡¯ll be able to make it back alive to report to our schools. Now that we have a legitimate reason to keep you alive, we¡¯ll be able to give our schools a proper exnation."


    Miao Yi chuckled lightly in response. He had long been aware that the three of them no longer had any intention of seeking revenge.


    Zhao Fei also shook his head and smiled. Meanwhile, Sikong Wuwei chuckled and remarked, "We¡¯ve been watching other people battle all this time. My hands are starting to get itchy already. Say, Brother, given the current conditions set, you are pretty much unbeatable with your skills. And right now, the belongings of all 180,000 participants, each an umtion of wealth over millennia, are gathered in the hands of the remaining survivors. Just one victory would be equivalent to years of profit as a Manor Head. You can¡¯t tell me you¡¯re not tempted in the least by the prospects?"


    "Let¡¯s see how it goes for now. It won¡¯t be toote to make our move once all the treasures have been gathered in the hands of the few. After all, there¡¯s nowhere to run!" Miao Yi smiled and said. After which, he sat cross-legged beside them and tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth.


    Truth be told, he had fully recovered a few days ago. He simply didn¡¯t wish to go out and fight, and instead was using the opportunity to cultivate.


    He wasn¡¯t afraid or anything like that. It¡¯s just that there would always be risks involved with stepping up to battle. Now that thepetition had progressed thus far, the remaining participants were all true-blue experts. It would not be difficult at all to find a team consisting of ten Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators. After all, those who were able to survive this long were hardly pushovers.


    Most importantly, that ultimate spear move of his simply required too much energy to pull off. There was no way he could sustain such a massive consumption of energy, so he could only use it sparingly. Hence, either he would choose to not use it at all, or use it to its maximum effect. If he stepped out to fight at this stage, there wouldn¡¯t be much to gain. It was better to wait until the final stages of thepetition, when most of the treasures would be even more concentrated among the participants. It wouldn¡¯t be toote even if he decided to make his move then. If he got too greedy, he wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to reap the greatest benefit.


    On the next day, all six nations¡¯ participants were gathered once again, and the carnage for survival resumed once more. After Sikong Wuwei¡¯s reminder, Miao Yi finally decided to take a break from cultivation and opened his eyes to spectate the battles. Ever since this six-sidedpetition started, he had never truly watched them properly.


    Since he had decided to make a fortune in one fell swoop at the final stretch, he didn¡¯t wish to go in unprepared. He wanted to see who were the strong ones and who were the weak ones to find out which of them were easier to kill.


    At times, the participants would cry out in agony as their heads were ripped off their bodies. Other times, they would simply copse in a pool of blood. As he watched the battles unfold, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help quietly shaking his head. This so-called alternative to ensure fairness was simply a facade for the six nations¡¯ representatives to kill off the normal participants. It wouldn¡¯t look too good for them toy hands on their own nation¡¯s cultivators, so they simply borrowed one another¡¯s hands to do it, in order for they themselves to have peace of mind. There wasn¡¯t much of a difference in the end result; the number of survivors in the end wouldn¡¯t increase anyhow.


    "Has your body recovered?" The sound of Yue Yao¡¯s voice transmission suddenly rang in Miao Yi¡¯s ear.


    Miao Yi thought to himself, ¡¯This is bad. Don¡¯t tell me Little Sister is hoping to see me step up and fight?¡¯ Turning his head to face Yue Yao, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes met her captivating gaze, and he nodded his head in resignation as he replied, "Almost."


    Yue Yao¡¯s eyes glinted. She always thought that it was strange how there seemed to be no trace of lust or desire at all in this guy¡¯s eyes as he looked at her. It was almost as though he were looking at a man. Could this guy be sick somehow?


    She then felt a rush of heat up her cheeks as the thought crossed her mind. She secretly rebuked herself, thinking, ¡¯Where¡¯s your sense of shame? It¡¯s like you are hoping he would lust after you or something!¡¯


    "Given your strength, to be able to wield the spear to such an extent is already nothing short of an extraordinary feat. Even if you don¡¯t use that ultimate move, I doubt there will be anyone here who is able to contend against you. In light of that, I ask you this: Are you willing to help take in a few Geotranscendence Bangles for me?!" Yue Yao asked.


    ¡¯Her sights ARE set on me!¡¯ Miao Yi sighed inwardly. However, he was also quite happy that he was not apletely useless big brother at least. He could still manage to help his little sister out.


    Furrowing his brows, Miao Yi asked, "Yue Yao, are these Geotranscendence Bangles very important to you?"


    "Of course they are. I am here on behalf of the Realm Beyond Heaven. As their representative, how can I allow myself to lose to the other five nations?"


    "How many Geotranscendence Bangles do you have right now?¡¯


    "I have over thirty thousand currently."


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "Including the ten thousand that Yun Feiyang lost to you?"


    "Yes!"


    "Before Yun Feiyang lost that wager to you, he was already in possession of over thirty thousand Geotranscendence Bangles. Had you not won these ten thousand Geotranscendence Bangles, I fear it would have been quite difficult for you to get first ce!"


    Yue Yao asked in shock, "Yun Feiyang already had that many before this?"


    Miao Yi nodded, then asked, "Yue Yao, do you really want to get first ce?"


    "Of course! But judging from what you just said, I fear that the other representatives will have quite a substantial amount in their possession as well."


    "Don¡¯t be afraid. I am here!" As he said this, Miao Yi quickly scanned about, furrowing his brows slightly as he tried toe up with a n.


    Little did Miao Yi know that his words had caught Yue Yao by surprise. She looked at him in an utter daze, as her thoughts were immediately taken back to her childhood, to the person who would always rub her head whenever she got into trouble and tell her confidently, "Don¡¯t be afraid. Big Brother is here!"


    Yue Yao¡¯s heart pounded a little at Miao Yi¡¯s words, feeling as though she was being wrapped in a soothing warmth. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the person before her looked nothing like the man in her memory, and that their names werepletely different, she would have really wondered if her big brother was standing right in front of her.


    As her mind slowly snapped out of it, Yue Yao thought about the words this Yan Beihong had said and realized that he had been talking down to her this entire time without her even realizing it. As though he was meant to use this kind of tone to speak to her since he was born. It had been so natural that even Yue Yao herself hadn¡¯t noticed anything wrong with it and just followed along with the conversation.


    What made her even more speechless was that this Yan Beihong seemed to have forgotten to address her as ¡¯Lord Sixth¡¯. Instead, he was very casually calling her Yue Yao, as though the two of them had quite a close rtionship with one another.


    Yue Yao secretly clenched her teeth as she thought, ¡¯This insolent bastard. No wonder I couldn¡¯t sense any lust in his eyes. It¡¯s probably because he doesn¡¯t hold me in any regard at all. So what if your spear technique is powerful? Had I not suggested these new rules for the Subjugation Crusade, how do you think you would fare against everyone else¡¯s transcendent artifacts?!¡¯


    But even so, Yue Yao couldn¡¯t me Miao Yi, as she knew that he hadn¡¯t said anything wrong. Not to mention, he just made such a big promise to her. She wanted to see how this bastard was nning to help her get first ce!


    Night had fallen. After the end of yet another battle-packed day, Miao Yi immediately called Zhao Fei and the rest back to the cave for a discussion.


    Not long after that, they all stepped out with strange looks on their faces.


    Miao Yi led the Gu Sanzheng trio towards the battle arena. Breathing in the air that was already heavily polluted by the stench of blood, he gazed upwards at the starry sky.


    Meanwhile, Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, Tao Yongchun and Pi Junzi split up and headed towards the respective camps of the Yao Nation, Ghost Nation, Boundless Nation, and Buddha Nation.


    Given the current state of affairs, the six nations need not be too guarded against one another. As such, Sikong Wuwei was able to easily infiltrate the Buddha Nation¡¯s territory. Coming to a stop in front of a cave, he jumped off his dragon steed and peeked his head inside. Seeing ten monks seated in meditation, he immediately barged in, chuckling as he cupped his fists and said, "Greetings, esteemed grandmasters."


    "Why are you here, sir?" rmed, the monks hastily stood up. They couldn¡¯t help but feel that they had seen this person somewhere before.


    "Please don¡¯t be nervous. I am here to pass a message from Yan Beihong." Sikong Wuwei said with glee, "He is currently waiting for you at the battle arena. Please hurry over."


    "Yan Beihong?" The monks were taken aback. How could anyone not know Yan Beihong¡¯s name at this point? At the same time, they finally recognized the man before them as therade of that very same Yan Beihong.


    The leader of the monks asked, "May I know why Sir Yan is looking for us? Why doesn¡¯t he juste over and tell us if he has something to say? Why must we go to the battle arena?"


    Sikong Wuwei shrugged and replied, "This I don¡¯t know! All I¡¯m told is that Yan Beihong noticed how simr you guys are to the enemies he previously met in the Sea of Constetions, so he¡¯s prepared to issue a challenge to you all tomorrow. However, he isn¡¯t absolutely sure himself whether or not you all are indeed his enemies. After all, you guys all look very alike with your shaved heads. Which is why he wishes to confirm your identities by meeting you face-to-face. Esteemed grandmasters, if it is simply a misunderstanding, you might as well go and exin it to him directly."

 Chapter 421: A Suspicious Party

    Chapter 421: A Suspicious Party


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    ¡¯What¡¯s going on? Yan Beihong wants to challenge us?¡¯


    The monks werepletely shocked. The leader immediately transmitted his voice over to hisrades, asking, "Which one of you has a grievance with Yan Beihong?"


    The answer was obvious. They all replied saying they had never even met Yan Beihong before, so how could they possibly have a grievance with him?


    ¡¯It looks like that Yan Beihong really mistook us for someone else!¡¯ When it came to matters that concerned life and death such as this, how could they not go and properly exin themselves? What¡¯s more, Sikong Wuwei even added, "Esteemed grandmasters, you should be well aware that individuals who wield a certain amount of strength are typicallycking when ites to patience. If you keep dragging on, I doubt he will continue waiting for you."


    ¡¯He has a point!¡¯ The ten monks immediately rushed out of their cave, leapt onto their mounts and hastily made for the battle arena.


    They were not afraid that ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ was going to ambush them, as the six representatives had already set out rules forbidding private battles. Else, there was no way that security could be sox here, that Sikong Wuwei was able to barge inside so easily.


    As he watched the ten monks leave, Sikong Wuwei let out a sly chuckle, before he turned around and swiftly made his way towards a different cave.


    Under the night sky, Miao Yi and the Gu Sanzheng trio sat quietly atop their mounts. Soon, ten riders hastily charged over, gradually slowing down as they carefully approached. Both parties then examined one another.


    As Miao Yi was pressed for time, he didn¡¯t even bother greeting the other party and just immediately asked, "Are you the ones who ambushed me a few years ago?"


    "Sir Yan, we¡¯ve never even met before this. How could we possibly ambush you? I am sure you¡¯ve mistaken us for someone else." The leader of the monks said as he ced his palms together.


    "But why do I find you so familiar then?" Miao Yi scornfully said. "Do you all have any proof that it wasn¡¯t you?"


    "This..." The leader looked to therades beside him, then helplessly said , "Sir Yan, how do you expect us to show you proof for something like this? We really didn¡¯t know who you were before this!"


    "You men are sure brushing this off rather easily. You think this matter can be settled just by saying you don¡¯t know me?" Miao Yi then coldly added, "In that case, we shall meet tomorrow on the battlefield! Let¡¯s go!"


    Miao Yi and the others immediately turned their mounts around and acted like they were leaving.


    The ten monks were immediately flustered by this. Misunderstandings like this could kill a man if allowed to persist. Who could possibly block that man¡¯s terrifying spear attack?!


    The leader anxiously called out, "Sir Yan, how can I get you to believe us?"


    The group of four stopped. Miao Yi then turned Charcoal around and said, "To be honest, I cannot confirm whether or not you all are the culprits either. However, the death of my subordinates still linger vividly in my mind. I won¡¯t be able to rest easy if I just let you off so easily. What if I¡¯m wrong in sparing you? Wouldn¡¯t I have to live with that regret for the rest of my life then?!"


    "Sir Yan, your spot in the top one hundred is all but assured. On the other hand, we still have a long, difficult path ahead of us. From the very beginning, those of us who follow in Buddha¡¯s teachings never wished to partake in such strife. But s, we are helpless against the whims of the mighty. We are not even sure if we¡¯ll live or die in the end. Why must Sir Yan push us so then? Why not stay your hand of vengeance, and show generosity to your fellow man?" said the leader, pping his hands together.


    Miao Yi turned to look at the people beside him, and asked, "What do you guys think?"


    Gu Sanzheng replied, "He does have a point. Even if we don¡¯t kill them, there¡¯s still a chance that they would end up dying to someone else. In that case, must we really go so far, that we would rather kill wrongly than to show them mercy?"


    Miao Yi sighed, "But I am quite dissatisfied with this. What if I¡¯m wrong in sparing them?"


    Gu Sanzheng simply replied, "Why don¡¯t we let them off with a light punishment then? Let¡¯s just have them hand over their belongings, then let them go."


    After some thought, Miao Yi nodded and said, "A sound n. Let¡¯s do as you say." He shifted his gaze back to the leader, and continued, "I¡¯ll cut to the chase then. Hand over all your belongings, and I won¡¯t make things hard on you tomorrow."


    The ten monks exchanged nces with one another. Wasn¡¯t this a bit too much?


    Gu Sanzheng growled, "Hey monk, didn¡¯t you just say that those of you who follow in Buddha¡¯s teachings don¡¯t wish to partake in such strife? I was finally able to get you a shred of hope at survival. Why do you still care so much for your worldly possessions? How is this the attitude of a monk?"


    "It looks like these monks would rather part with their lives than their wealth. No matter. Even if you don¡¯t hand them over tonight, I can still take them publicly tomorrow!" Miao Yi turned around and shouted, "Let¡¯s go!"


    Miao Yi¡¯s words were nothing short of decalring their death, and he was absolutely correct. Even if they didn¡¯t capitte to his demands today, Miao Yi would still be able to take their belongings away tomorrow, and by then, he would be taking them along with everyone¡¯s lives added to the basket. If that was the case, why must they waste their lives as well?


    "Please wait!" All ten monks called out almost simultaneously.


    Miao Yi¡¯s departing figure immediately stopped, and he turned to look at them coldly.


    The ten monks nces at one another. There was no longer any need to think about which option to take. Simply put, the other party hadn¡¯t give them much of a choice to begin with. They could either hand over their belongings and be able to keep their lives, or lose both to Miao Yi.


    What¡¯s more, as long as they were able to keep their lives, and not get in this guy¡¯s crosshairs in the uing battles, they would still have a chance to recoup their losses from the otherpetitors. Even if they died fighting, then there wouldn¡¯t be much point holding onto these things either way. Was there even a need for consideration then?


    "We are willing to hand over our belongings. But I hope that Sir Yan will hold up your end of the bargain!" The leader said dejectedly with a sigh.


    Miao Yi let out a breath, and said, "Rest assured! I am a man of my word. If I don¡¯t live up to my promise, you are more than wee to expose me tomorrow!"


    As such, the ten monks reluctantly took off the storage rings on their fingers, clearly still a little unwilling to part with them. After all, even monks needed these so-called worldly possessions to survive. This was everything that they had saved up over the years. How could they possibly not be bothered?


    Miao Yi tilted his head and shot a nce at Tan Lao, who immediately got down from his dragon steed, bent down into a half-crouching position, and took away all the storage rings. He then proceeded to search the monks¡¯ bodies. Miao Yi and the others were practically robbing these monks blind. If it weren¡¯t so troublesome to chop off their hands, there was no guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t take away their Geotranscendence Bangles as well.


    Meanwhile, Ye Xin and Gu Sanzheng stood vigntly to the side, in case the monks suddenly fought back in desperation.


    Miao Yi had brought the three of them along precisely to act as a safeguard against any mishaps. He wasn¡¯t afraid of a fight breaking out. Rather, he was just worried that these monks wouldn¡¯t be able to tolerate the humiliation and started retaliating with their transcendent artifacts. Thus, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin¡¯s transcendent artifacts were precisely there to keep him safe.


    Seeing how thoroughly Miao Yi was robbing them, the leader immediately became flustered. "Sir Yan, we are willing to give you most of our belongings, but if you even take away the weapons we defend ourselves with, the Orbs of Will needed to recover our transcendence energy, and the medicine to treat our wounds, how is this any different from killing us? What do you expect us to do once someone decides to challenge us?"


    After some thought, Miao Yi had to agree as well. If he forced the other party all the way to the edge, they would surely retaliate. It would do him no good to escte such an incident as it would make it much more difficult for him to make his move on the other participants. As such, he quickly had Tan Lao return some of their necessities back to them.


    Under the moonlight, ten monks left in low spirits. After which, as he was watching from the Yao Nation¡¯s camp, Zhao Fei immediately released ten Yao cultivators over...


    After cleaning out around a dozen groups back to back, Miao Yi finally noticed something off about the situation. Even though there were plenty of monks, the loot they gained from these groups was far less than the others. Some of them only had just that one Geotranscendence Bangle on their wrist, and no matter how hard Miao Yi and the others searched, they couldn¡¯t find a second Geotranscendence Bangle anywhere. There wasn¡¯t anything much inside the storage rings either. These monks were really pitiful.


    "What¡¯s the deal with this?" Miao Yi asked curiously.


    Ye Xin answered, "It¡¯s simple. The reason why we¡¯re seeing so many monks at this stage of the Subjugation Crusade is because they rarely participate in the murdering and piging of others, and instead are normally in hiding. Thus, there are so many survivors among them. This also of course means that they haven¡¯t gotten much loot either."


    Everyone else nodded in agreement. Gu Sanzheng then said in a sombre tone, "We were only able to clean out three groups in the span of fifteen minutes. In two hours, we would only be able to deal with two hundred people at most. And by daybreak, we would have only gone through a thousand. This isn¡¯t a practical approach. If we get all these people mixed up, there¡¯s a chance we would mistakenly rob the same group the next day. This would inevitably waste our time. Not to mention, while those monks are plenty in number, they don¡¯t carry much on them. There¡¯s no need for us to waste so much time on them then. I suggest we start with just the Ghost Nation, Yao Nation, or Boundless Nation participants tonight. After we¡¯re done cleaning out one camp, we¡¯ll move on to the next one the following day. Since each camp has about a thousand participants left anyway, it¡¯s just the right amount for us to work on if we do one camp per day. We should first target the ones with the greatest amount of loot. That way, even if our n is revealed, we don¡¯t have to be afraid of losing the chance to make our move on the rest of the participants. Once the big fish is out of the way, we can still take our time dealing with the Buddha Nation participants. By then, they would have even more loot to be gained."


    "You have a point!" Miao Yi nodded and said, "Ye Xin, go contact the others and tell them to stop. We¡¯ve already spent a fair amount of time on this tonight. For today, we¡¯ll simply clean out all the belongings of those several hundred Yao Nation participants. Then tomorrow, we¡¯ll make our move on the Ghost Nation participants."


    Ye Xin nodded, then immediately rode off on her dragon steed...


    As the next day came, the forces of all six camps gathered together, and the carnage resumed once more.


    Once again, Miao Yi was just sitting with his eyes shut and refining an Orb of Will, having stayed up the whole night earning a fortune.


    Behind him, Gu Sanzheng and the rest had also lost interest in watching the battles. After all, with Miao Yi here acting as a deterrent, they need not concern themselves with much of what was going on. Furthermore, they wouldn¡¯t be getting any rest tonight either, and still needed to prepare themselves to stay awake for the uing nights as well. When else could they rest then, if not during the day?


    All in all, this was just an extremely suspicious group of people. Their eyes were all closed and they were simply resting.


    Yue Yao was in no mood to concern herself with the people at the back. However, she would still cast a nce at Miao Yi from time to time. She couldn¡¯t help but clench her teeth a little when she saw how he was still resting today. He wasn¡¯t showing any sign of going up to fight despite making her such a big promise yesterday.


    Right at this moment, the group sent out by the Celestial Nation waspletely decimated by a powerful foe. It was a terrible loss for the Celestial Nation! On the other hand, following Yun Feiyang¡¯s lead, the victorious Devil Nation participants all cheered in joy.


    Yue Yao had finally reached the limit of her patience, and transmitted her voice over to Miao Yi, asking, "When will you finally go out and fight?"


    Miao Yi opened his eyes slightly and turned his head to face her, then transmitted his reply back, "Yue Yao, don¡¯t be hasty. A watched pot never boils. Even if I step out now, what can I possibly achieve? The six camps will challenge one another following a set rotation sequence. Even if I step out every time it¡¯s our turn to be the challenger, I will only be able to fight nine battles a day at best. We won¡¯t be able to earn many Geotranscendence Bangles that way. What¡¯s more, I won¡¯t be able to sustain myself for that long."


    Initially, Miao Yi was prepared to make a giant killing in one fell swoop at the final stretch of thepetition. However, it was Yue Yao¡¯s desire for first ce that got him thinking about a different way. Now that he had an ever better solution at hand, was there really a need for him to go risk his life?


    ¡¯He¡¯s calling me Yue Yao again!¡¯ Yue Yao was feeling incredibly exasperated. Regardless of whether it was his gaze or his tone, she realized that this man truly didn¡¯t see her as the stunning beauty that all the other men perceived her to be. What else could it possibly mean, but him not holding her in any regard? Thus, Yue Yao was irritated and pressed him, "I¡¯m asking you again, when are you going to make your move?"


    "When the timees, I will naturally make my move." Miao Yi smiled, "Don¡¯t worry. Even if you hadn¡¯t ask me to, I would still try my best to help you!"


    Yue Yao was speechless at the tone Miao Yi was taking with her. She felt as though before him, she was nothing more than a weak, little girl who always needed him to take care of her.


    However, she still conducted herself with dignity. After all, it wouldn¡¯t look good for her to continue arguing with this fellow. She was practically grinding her teeth in frustration, yet she was helpless to do anything about it at the same time. She thought, ¡¯I¡¯ll just wait and see. If you can¡¯t do what you said you would after being so rude to me several times now, you will be in for a whole lot of trouble once we get back to the Celestial Nation!¡¯

 Chapter 422: Doubting One Another

    Chapter 422: Doubting One Another


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    After dealing with Yue Yao, Miao Yi went back to resting. He was not concerned with the battles of the others. After all, he held no sway over the rules of the Subjugation Crusade. Those that needed to die would still perish regardless. His sympathy andpassion wouldn¡¯t make any difference to the end result. Sometimes, it was better to just ignore some matters and save yourself from getting negative feelings about them.


    As for the Geotranscendence Bangles he lootedst night, Miao Yi wasn¡¯t nning on handing them over to Yue Yao for the time being. He was afraid that some kind of mishap would ur to her if he handed them over now.


    That same night, after the day¡¯s battles were over, Miao Yi and the others returned to the Celestial Nation¡¯s mountain for a while. Then once they excused themselves, they snuck back to the foul smelling, blood-drenched battle arena.


    They had already cleaned out all the Yao Nation participants the night before. Tonight, it was the Ghost Nation¡¯s turn, and this time, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were the ones who left to gather the victims...


    The next day, the bloody battles resumed once more. Yue Yao looked to her side and saw that Miao Yi was simply resting again today. Her frustration immediately peaked, but she held it in as she thought, ¡¯Keep it in! Let¡¯s see how he¡¯s going to fulfill his promise to me in the end!¡¯


    "What¡¯s going on here? All ten of them only had ten Geotranscendence Bangles in total?"


    In the Devil Nation¡¯s camp, after sacrificing three of their members, one party managed to emerge victorious. However, they were only able to gain ten Geotranscendence Bangles from the ten Ghost Nation members that they had just killed. Rather, it was their own fallen members who had been the ones to provide them with several dozen Geotranscendence Bangles instead. Yun Feiyang immediately expressed disbelief and red at the party members, asking, "Tell me truthfully, did you men conceal them?"


    "Young Master Yang, there were so many people watching us. We wouldn¡¯t dare do such a thing!" The members exined, then took out all the storage rings that they had won for Yun Feiyang to examine.


    "And they only had ten storage rings on them as well?" stressed Yun Feiyang, eyeing them with the piercing re that he liked to scare others with. He couldn¡¯t help having doubts after all. Those that were killed by his subordinates before each carried several storage rings at least, and with plenty of loot inside to boot.


    "Young Master Yang, it¡¯s true. Everyone was watching our every move. There¡¯s no way we could¡¯ve done anything!"


    They made a sound argument. However, when Yun Feiyang examined the contents of the storage rings, he was immediately enraged, and coldly said, "There¡¯s only one storage ring on each person, and it¡¯s almost empty inside as well. Do you take me for a three year-old brat?"


    The members¡¯ expressions contorted in dismay as they tried to exin themselves, "Young Master Yang, they were already like this when we got them."


    "You still deny it?!" Yun Feiyang raged and roared, "Men! Come and confiscate all their belongings."


    He didn¡¯t care how they were trying to justify themselves. His first thought was to punish them and vent his frustration...


    As the battles of the following day proceeded, Yun Feiyang¡¯s camp managed to barely win yet another battle. However, after tallying the rewards, Yun Feiyang could be heard eximing, "What IS going on here?!"


    That same night, the demonic ws that had robbed the Yao Nation, Ghost Nation and Boundless Nation clean were at it again. Under the guise of darkness, Miao Yi and the others called group after group of monks out to ¡¯settle a grievance¡¯.


    Only when it was nearing daybreak did they finally stop. They didn¡¯t have much a choice. After all, the six camps would resume their battles once the sun was up.


    As he weed the first rays of sunlight from the distant horizon, Sikong Wuwei chuckled and said, "In another couple nights or so, we¡¯ll have almost cleaned out all those monks¡¯ belongings."


    "It¡¯s dawn. Let¡¯s head back!" said Miao Yi. He turned Charcoal around, and the whole group quickly returned back to their cave.


    Once again, when it was time for everyone to gather, the eight of them simply followed along like nothing happened.


    As the battles continued, Yue Yao¡¯s expression slowly darkened. Even when her members emerged victorious, there wasn¡¯t much loot to be gained. Like Yun Feiyang, she had long since noticed that there was something suspicious with the current state of affairs. For some reason, the rewards were starting to be less and less. It was a different case for the other representatives, who were still able to gain some spoils from both her and Yun Feiyang¡¯s members.


    Having noticed something was amiss as well, Lan Ruo said, "Lord Sixth, do you think the other representatives are behind this? Confiscating their own participants¡¯ Geotranscendence Bangles beforehand?"


    "Outrageous!" Yue Yao cursed, "How dare they use such underhanded methods!"


    Miao Yi quietly cast a sideways nce over.


    "Young Master Yang, we¡¯ve been set up. Besides the Celestial Nation¡¯s camp and ours, the other four representatives must have first taken away the belongings of their own participants."


    Yun Feiyang¡¯s subordinate said to him, whose face waspletely dark at the moment.


    "How dare these little bastards y me for a fool!" Yun Feiyang scoffed, "I¡¯m going to get back at them for this!"


    "You mustn¡¯t, Young Master Yang! There¡¯s only one of us, but there are four of them. If we fight against them, we will surely be on the losing end. By then, not only will we fail to receive justice, we might even end up being humiliated." His subordinate warned.


    Yun Feiyang furiously roared, "Then do you want me to simply take this lying down? Even if I had to suffer such injustice, I would rather it happen to me openly rather than with such underhanded methods!"


    Beside him, Yan Beihong advised, "Young Master Yang, back when the Celestial Nation members challenged us and lost, I noticed that the amount of things inside their storage rings was still the same as before. Hence, I believe they are suffering the same injustice we are. Surely Fairy Yue Yao isn¡¯t pleased with this as well. You should contact her afterwards. Given Fairy Yue Yao¡¯s strength, and with the both of you working together, we might not have to fear the other four houses. It wouldn¡¯t be toote to seek justice then."


    "Seek justice my ass!" Yun Feiyang cursed. "Old Yan, you don¡¯t know the situation between our six houses. This six-sided rtionship between us has always been one of mutual exploitation. You¡¯re dreaming if you think you can get them to spit out the things that they have already swallowed down. Not even Yue Yao would dare to kill them so easily."


    Yan Beihong was speechless, thinking, ¡¯You were the one who said you didn¡¯t want to take this lying down and wanted to get back at the others. Here I am, offering you a suggestion, and you make it seem like I¡¯m just poking my nose in unnecessarily.¡¯


    Yun Feiyang then ordered his subordinate, "After this, I want you to record down all the things that everyone has in their possession right now. Ask them to first hand in their belongings and tell them we¡¯ll return it back to them afterwards. Else, we¡¯re going to suffer heavy losses!"


    Meanwhile, the Yao Nation¡¯s Bai Ziliang, Ghost Nation¡¯s Hei Wuya, Boundless Nation¡¯s Feng Ruxiu, as well as Kong Zhi and the others from the Buddha Nation were all beginning to notice the discrepancy in the situation as well.


    They all had the same suspicions as Yue Yao and Yun Feiyang. However, they didn¡¯t think Yue Yao and Yun Feiyang had anything to do with it though, as the amount of loot gained from both the Celestial Nation and Devil Nation was still the same as before.


    They never would have suspected that it was because Miao Yi couldn¡¯t rob the Celestial Nation participants, being a member of the same camp himself. And as for the Devil Nation¡¯s participants, he didn¡¯t make a move on them out of respect for Yun Feiyang.


    Bai Ziliang, Hei Wuya and Feng Ruxiu were all secretly cursing one another for being despicable. They didn¡¯t cast much suspicion towards Kong Zhi however, as the Buddha Nation¡¯s members had yet to be fully cleaned out by Miao Yi and the others. Hence, there was still some loot to be gained from defeating them.


    On Kong Zhi¡¯s side however, Ba Jie was cursing Bai Ziliang, Hei Wuya and Feng Ruxiu altogether. Grinding his teeth in hatred, he said, "Those three shameless sons of bitches! Kong Zhi, in the end, it looks like us monks are still too kind!"


    As much as they hated the other three, there was little Ba Jie and Kong Zhi could do besides secretly cursing them. Since the other party hadn¡¯t broken any rules, there was no way Ba Jie and Kong Zhi could force them to spit out the things that they had already gobbled. It wasn¡¯t as though they could kill the other representatives. No one would be able to shoulder that kind of responsibility. After all, the ones standing behind them were the Six Sages themselves.


    As the day¡¯s battles came to an end, the six representatives immediately gathered up their members¡¯ belongings.


    As soon as Miao Yi and the others returned to their cave, Sikong Wuwei immediately rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "We¡¯re going to make a fortune again tonight."


    "We can¡¯t continue doing this anymore!" Miao Yi shook his head and continued, "The matter is already bing suspect. If we get too greedy, we risk digging our own graves."


    Zhao Fei nodded, "It wouldn¡¯t be wise to go too far. We should quit while we¡¯re ahead."


    Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin nodded as well. Even Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun were in agreement. This dangerous game they were ying had gone on long enough. They could feel their hearts racing like mad every night. Even though it was exciting and fun, it was beginning to be a little too thrilling for them. After all, this was the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade they were talking about! Not even in their wildest dreams did they ever think they would y with fire like this!


    That said, Sikong Wuwei was a little disappointed. It seemed he still hadn¡¯t had his fill of the excitement. After all, they were making a significant fortune every night. Sikong Wuwei had never felt this exhrated before!


    "Seeing as the situation is starting to be suspicious, I¡¯ll go hand the Geotranscendence Bangles over to Lord Sixth right now. That way, we¡¯ll be able to sleep easy at night at least. As long as the Geotranscendence Bangles are safely delivered to Lord Sixth, having received her share of the benefits, she¡¯ll have to protect us even if we¡¯re ultimately exposed. Otherwise, it would damage the Realm Beyond Heaven¡¯s reputation." Miao Yi said to everyone.


    Zhao Fei and the others nodded in agreement. Even Gu Sanzheng was feeling a little terrified from this game they were ying. There was just so much in their possession right now that it had be scary to keep holding them. Waving his hand repeatedly, he said, "Hurry on then!"


    Everyone was anxious to see how Yue Yao would respond. If she threw them under the bus, the other representatives would surely have their heads.


    Miao Yi immediately rushed out of the cave and made a beeline for the peak of the mountain.


    Inside the main hall of the wooden house on the mountaintop, Yue Yao had just returned, and was in the middle of discussing the matter of temporarily gathering everyone¡¯s belongings together with a few of her subordinates. Suddenly, someone gave a shout from outside the door, "Yan Beihong requests an audience with Lord Sixth!"


    Yue Yao frowned for a moment, then said, "Let him in."


    A short whileter, Miao Yi calmly walked in. Cupping his fists towards Yue Yao, he said, "I respectfully greet Lord Sixth!"


    Yue Yao asked, "What business do you have?"


    "I¡¯ve brought you the items you wanted, Lord Sixth." Miao Yi replied, then took off a storage ring from his finger and handed it over to Lan Ruo.


    There was no way that Lan Ruo would simply hand anything over to Yue Yao. Obviously, she needed to first check the storage ring herself. However, after she examined it with her transcendence energy, she was immediately stupefied where she stood, and stared at Miao Yi in shock.


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi was just standing there quietly.


    "Lan Ruo... LAN RUO! "


    Only after Yue Yao called out her name twice did Lan Ruo finally snap out of it, letting out a yelp as she gave a start. Her body movements were still a little jittery as she hurriedly handed the storage ring over to her mistress.


    ¡¯What could possibly have caused Lan Ruo to lose herposure like this?¡¯ Yue Yao thought. The moment she examined the storage ring with her transcendence energy, those captivating lips of hers immediately turned half-agape with wonder. She slowly lifted her head to look at Miao Yi with an expression of utter disbelief.


    Miao Yi then calmly stated, "There are thirty-two thousand, three hundred and seventy-seven Geotranscendence Bangles. Sadly, my abilities are limited. For the time being, I can only collect this many for you, Lord Sixth."


    In reality, most of the Geotranscendence Bangles were already in the hands of Yue Yao and the other five representatives. Miao Yi had worked for four consecutive nights, cleaning out nearly five thousand cultivators from the other four nations, and was only able to collect around thirty thousand of them in the end.


    There was no guarantee that every surviving participant would have arge sum of Geotranscendence Bangles. On the contrary, there were quite a number of them who didn¡¯t even have a single one. It was out of pure luck that they managed to survive until now. And as for the ones who had killed many people before this, just one of them would possess over a thousand Geotranscendence Bangles. From this it could be seen that there was a great disparity in the amount of wealth owned between the participants.


    In conclusion, out of nearly five thousand participants, each had about six Geotranscendence Bangles on average.


    Furthermore, among these numbers in excess of thirty thousand Geotranscendence Bangles, about seven hundred of them hade personally from Miao Yi. Besides the one on his wrist, Miao Yi had given Yue Yao all the Geotranscendence Bangles he could afford to hand over.


    He did this simply because of the fact that he hadn¡¯t been able to take care of his little sister all these years. It was with much difficulty that he could finally meet her again. Since his little sister had said that she wanted the Geotranscendence Bangles, he naturally wanted to do whatever he could to fulfill her wish, and ease the guilt in his heart in the process.


    Yue Yao¡¯s subordinates all sucked in a breath of cold air and stared at Miao Yi as they thought, ¡¯Did he say over thirty thousand Geotranscendence Bangles?¡¯


    " Thirty-two thousand, three hundred and seventy-seven... " repeated Yue Yao. She slowly snapped out of her daze. She couldn¡¯t help herself from standing up in shock and, furrowing her brows, asked, "Yan Beihong, how on earth did you collect so many Geotranscendence Bangles?"

 Chapter 423: Busted

    Chapter 423: Busted


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Sadly, my abilities are limited. I couldn¡¯t get them anywhere else besides the pockets of the participating cultivators." Miao Yi shrugged helplessly. It¡¯s not as if he could have obtained them from the representatives, right?


    Yue Yao¡¯s eyes brightened as she thought about the mysterious phenomenon that had been happening ofte. She asked suspiciously, "You were the one who took all their things?"


    Miao Yi naturally knew the meaning behind her question. He nodded, admitting to it.


    Yue Yao was lost for words, unable to fathom why those people would hand their possessions over to him. She asked, "Did you take them by force?"


    "Currently, private battles aren¡¯t permitted. How could I dare take them by force?" Miao Yi replied honestly, "I just called them out separately, and threatened to challenge them if they didn¡¯t hand their things over. At this stage, Geotranscendence Bangles no longer hold any meaning to them. Even if they defeated any more opponents, they would still need to hand them over to you guys. Their highest priority right now is survival. Thus, it was easy for them to make up their minds."


    Yue Yao immediately understood, realizing that the root of the problem was in her own camp this whole time. And she even had the gall to push the me onto the others and cursed them for being despicable. If the other representatives were to find out about this, they would surely call her all manner of names. She didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry as she asked, "Aren¡¯t you afraid that they¡¯ll report you?"


    "As long as they handed over their things, they wouldn¡¯t dare to report me. Not only is it something shameful for them, but by handing their Geotranscendence Bangles over to someone else, they have undoubtedly caused trouble for their own representatives. Hence, they would obviously want to keep this under wraps and pretend like nothing ever happened. How could they dare expose me?" Miao Yi said casually.


    Yue Yao red at Miao Yi and said, "There¡¯s no way such a major incident can be concealed for long. The other representatives will eventually find out the truth. When that happens, they¡¯ll even think that I was the one behind your actions. How would I exin it if theye looking for me?"


    Miao Yi firmly nodded in agreement and said, "Since Lord Sixth thinks that these Geotranscendence Bangles will attract trouble, and you¡¯re afraid that the other representatives will make things difficult for you, then I¡¯ll go and return them." He then walked up to Yue Yao and extended his arm to take back the storage ring in her hands.


    Yue Yao immediately hid her hand behind her back. She had no intention of handing the Geotranscendence Bangles over at all!


    The two stood facing each other. Since they were standing so close to each other, and because of the difference in height, Yue Yao realized she was looking up at the other party. The cid, self-assured look in his eyes made Yue Yao feel as though she was just a little girl being twisted around his little finger, causing her heart to race slightly.


    ¡¯How did it end up like this?¡¯ Yue Yao was feeling a little flustered, but when she caught sight of the fleeting trace of mockery in Miao Yi¡¯s eyes, she immediately snapped back in anger, "What a joke! As if I¡¯d be afraid of them. It¡¯s not like I got these Geotranscendence Bangles by breaking any rules, nor did I harm any of their members. They handed these over to me themselves. Who can me me for it?"


    ¡¯Little Sister, you¡¯re still a little wet behind the ears in front of your big brother!¡¯ Miao Yi smiled. Yue Yao¡¯s words obviously meant that she would ept the responsibility. He took a few steps back, cupped his fists and said, "Lord Sixth is wise. I shall take my leave now!"


    As she watched Miao Yi leave, Yue Yao clenched her teeth. ¡¯This bastard is so despicable. How dare he manipte me!¡¯


    "Congrattions, Lord Sixth. With the thirty thousand you just received, you now have almost seventy thousand Geotranscendence Bangles in your possession. The number one spot of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade is as good as yours. The Venerable Sage will surely reward you handsomely once we¡¯ve returned to the Realm Beyond Heaven!" Lan Ruo stepped forward to congratte Yue Yao, then smiled and said, "Luckily, we pulled this Yan Beihong over to our camp. He really has been a great help."


    Yue Yao scoffed at her words, "Had I not convinced the other representatives and changed the rules of the endgame, how could he have possibly gotten the opportunity to take all of this?"


    Lan Ruo smiled wryly in response. However, she soon creased her brows and remarked, "Lord Sixth, something doesn¡¯t feel right. If I recall correctly, Geotranscendence Bangles weren¡¯t the only things that werecking from those people¡¯s bodies."


    Yue Yao¡¯s eyes glinted as she turned to look towards the door...


    Just as Yue Yao had said, such a major incident could not be kept secret for long. Besides Yun Feiyang, the other representatives immediately noticed something was off the moment they gathered all their members¡¯ belongings.


    On the Buddha Nation mountaintop, Ba Jie stood beside Kong Zhi and was fiercely knocking on the wooden fish drum in his hand, a clear indication of the rage in his heart. A group of monks was standing quietly in front of him, their heads lowered as Ba Jie said coldly, "Yan Beihong! You¡¯ve got some skill indeed! Not even in all the years I ran amok in the Realm of High Paradise have I ever suffered such a major setback. I¡¯ve truly underestimated my opponent this time. How dare this bastard y this kind of game right under my nose!"


    Kong Zhi said in a somber tone, "The one pulling the strings behind this is surely Yue Yao. He wouldn¡¯t dare do such a thing if he didn¡¯t have her support!"


    The incessant knocking on the drum then stopped as Ba Jie revealed a cruel smile and ordered, "All of you, return to your original positions immediately. Pretend as if nothing happened. When that bastardes tonight, I want you to catch him on the spot. I¡¯ll have him spit everything out the same way he swallowed them. That motherfucker. How dare he steal from a monk!"


    On the Devil Nation mountaintop. Yun Feiyang was busy gathering his members¡¯ belongings,pletely oblivious to the truth of the incident.


    On the Yao Nation mountaintop, Bai Ziliang wore a dark expression on his face, while beside him, Lan Susu gnashed her teeth in hatred and cursed, "Yue Yao! That despicable bitch!"


    On the Ghost Nation mountaintop, Hei Wuya was standing on the roof, staring at the Celestial Nation mountain. While his face remained unseen, his gaze was filled with mixed feelings as he muttered softly, "Yue Yao..."


    Down below, one subordinate shouted, "Young Master, let¡¯s get back at that bitch, Yue Yao!"


    Hei Wuya lowered his gaze at that subordinate and asked coldly, "What did you just call Yue Yao?"


    The subordinate immediately realized his mistake, and he lowered his head and shut his mouth.


    On the Boundless Nation mountaintop, Feng Ruxiu was standing at the edge of the cliff, gazing towards the Celestial Nation mountain and shaking his head as he smiled bitterly. "Yue Yao, I can¡¯t believe you would y such a trick. My impression of you is somewhat damaged now!"


    Inside a certain cave on the Celestial Nation mountain, Zhao Fei and Gu Sanzheng suddenly rushed in from outside, the former nodding towards Miao Yi and the others, who were sitting cross-legged, and said, "As expected, Fairy Yue Yao has already set up a defensive perimeter!"


    Sikong Wuwei immediately began rubbing his hands excitedly as he said, "Comeee, with Yue Yao guarding our backs, we can rx and tally our spoils."


    Miao Yi turned to Pi Junzi and said, "Pi Junzi, keep a close ear and warn us immediately if you hear someone approaching."


    Pi Junzi repeatedly nodded, and immediately syed himself across the ground, cing his ear towards the earth.


    Meanwhile, the other seven immediately sat in a circle to begin splitting the loot. Over thirty thousand storage rings and bangles were then taken out and spread across the ground. There were not many storage bangles; the pile mostly consisted of storage rings.


    "Let¡¯s sort them ordingly. Orbs of Will in one storage bangle, crystal coins in one storage bangle, transcendent artifacts in one storage bangle..." Miao Yi waved his hand and instructed.


    The seven of them then immediately took out several storage bangles from within the pile and ced them in front of where they sat. They would use these to store the different categories of items. After which, fourteen hands began to quickly sort out the items inside every storage ring.


    As he sorted out the things, Sikong Wuwei would sometimes chuckle like an idiot to himself, his shoulders trembling in tion. The others would asionally shake their heads and revealed smiles as well. Even Miao Yi had difficulty hiding the excitement on his face.


    Little did they know that up in the sky, a crescent moon was silently descending upon the cave, and standing elegantly on that crescent moon was Yue Yao.


    Still lying on the ground and listening for sounds, Pi Junzi couldn¡¯t help his astonishment when he saw Yue Yao gracefullynding in front of the cave.


    As Miao Yi and the others were sorting out their loot, someone suddenly barged inside the cave. Everyone immediately turned their heads and barked, "Who¡¯s there?!"


    When they saw it was Yue Yao, they were all dumbfounded.


    Yue Yao was a little bbergasted as well, staring at the group of people surrounding an entire pile of storage rings. How many storage rings did it take to form such a massive heap?


    Still sitting cross-legged on the ground, Miao Yi and the others didn¡¯t know whether they should sit or stand up, or if they should put all their stuff away. More importantly, the other party was already looking at their pile of loot. It was toote to put them away even if Miao Yi and the others wanted to. Hence, they simply stared at Yue Yao, eyes wide and mouths agape, as they waited for her response.


    ¡¯Just as I suspected!¡¯ thought Yue Yao. She scoffed, "Yan Beihong, it looks like you guys have struck gold."


    To be caught by your own sister while you were splitting loot behind her back was simply too awkward! Miao Yi hurriedly stood up,ughing drily as he said, "Yue Yao, I mean, Lord Sixth, we haven¡¯t sorted everything out yet, so we figured it would be unwise to report an indefinite amount to you. We¡¯re just getting ready to tally everything. Once we have the exact figures, we¡¯ll report them to you."


    As she watched how flustered Miao Yi was being, when he was normally soposed in front of her, Yue Yao suddenly felt a sense of pleasure in her heart. She teased, "You¡¯ve got so much stuff here. I wonder if I can have a share as well?"


    Before Miao Yi could say anything, the others were already scrambling up to their feet and nodding. "Yes, yes, of course!"


    Miao Yi nodded as well, and added, "If Lord Sixth had not set the new rules for thepetition, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to make such a fortune to begin with. You will surely get the lion¡¯s share of the profits."


    They didn¡¯t have a choice. It was simply too dangerous to be carrying around such a huge pile of treasure. Without Yue Yao holding off the other representatives, there was no way Miao Yi and the others would be able to keep all this stuff. It would have been fine if Yue Yao hadn¡¯t discovered them, but since she did, it wouldn¡¯t be wise to still keep it for themselves. Nheless, Miao Yi thought, ¡¯Little Sister, you¡¯re notcking all these things anyway since you¡¯re already in the Realm Beyond Heaven. Not to mention, you already earned quite a significant benefit as well. Just let your big brother handle the rest for you.¡¯


    Yue Yao raised her eyebrow slightly as she thought, ¡¯Do you guys really think I¡¯m that stupid? As if I would believe you all. If you really wanted to let me know, why did you keep quiet about it this whole time?¡¯


    At this moment, Lan Ruo appeared outside the cave as well. As she slowly walked in and saw the massive heap of storage rings on the ground, her mouth fell open and she was frozen on the spot.


    "Lan Ruo!" Yue Yao called out clearly.


    "Here!" Lan Ruo quickly snapped out of it and responded.


    "They just told me that I¡¯ll be getting the lion¡¯s share of all the stuff here. I want you to keep watch as they sort everything out. Once they¡¯re done, I¡¯ll be taking half. Let them split the rest among themselves!"


    "Understood!" Lan Ruo replied excitedly.


    ¡¯Half?¡¯ Miao Yi¡¯s expression twisted in dismay as he thought, ¡¯She¡¯s my little sister alright. Even after so many years, some things never change. I only have myself to me for not teaching her properly all those years ago, causing her to follow in Little Brother¡¯s bad habits. Just look at how unseemly it is for such a beautifuldy to act so greedy. I hope she won¡¯t have trouble finding someone to marry in the future.¡¯


    As she snuck a nce at the defeated Miao Yi, Yue Yao released a light, yet taunting snort. She raised her fair chin proudly, then turned around and walked away. There was a trace of joy on her beautiful face from having taken her revenge.


    Miao Yi simply didn¡¯t know about the situation within the Realm Beyond Heaven. It¡¯s not as if Yue Yao had a limitless supply of Orbs of Will simply because she was Mu Fanjun¡¯s disciple. The tributes that were handed in from the entire Celestial Nation belonged to Mu Fanjun alone, and unless she decided to reward someone, it wasn¡¯t likely that she would share it with anyone else. As for her disciples, the source of their ie came from the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce.


    Currently, Yue Yao¡¯s cultivation was low, so she wouldn¡¯t use too big a sum of Orbs of Will for her cultivation. But once her cultivation was high enough, she would have to deal with the shortage of Orbs of Will as well. Yue Yao had been in the Realm Beyond Heaven long enough to be fully aware of this predicament. Hence, when there was such a massive heap of treasure in front of her, how could she possibly say no to it? Not unless she was an idiot, that is.


    Miao Yi and the others looked at one another, then simultaneously shot Pi Junzi a vicious re, evidently ming him for not keeping a good lookout.


    Pi Junzi was distressed as well. He quickly exined via voice transmission, "It¡¯s not my fault. Yue Yao is simply too cunning,ing down from the sky. My ability only allows me to hear thingsing from the ¡¯ground¡¯, not the ¡¯sky¡¯..."

 Chapter 424: Made a Killing

    Chapter 424: Made a Killing


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Stop dawdling around and sort everything out already. Lord Sixth is still waiting for my return," Lan Ruo pressed.


    Although everyone couldn¡¯t help feeling a sense of helplessness at the situation, they also felt relieved that they didn¡¯t need to hide around anymore. Miao Yi called Pi Junzi over to help out, then smiled bitterly at Lan Ruo and said, "Auntie, it¡¯s going to take quite a bit of time to go through such a huge pile of treasure. Why don¡¯t you help out as well? It¡¯ll be quicker if we have more hands working together."


    Lan Ruo didn¡¯t have anything against the suggestion. Most people probably wouldn¡¯t reject the notion of sorting out some treasure anyway. She proceeded to give them a hand, and the nine of them swiftly went through the massive heap of loot...


    They worked through the entire night, and by the time the sun was starting to peek from the horizon, they finally managed to tally everything.


    Although most of the participating cultivators had traded off their Orbs of Will for protective treasures, their vast numbers more than made up for the shortage. They had to keep some at hand for when they needed to replenish their transcendence energy during the Subjugation Crusade after all. Not to mention, not all of them were poor. In fact, quite a number of them were quite wealthy. Take Miao Yi for example, who brought several thousand Orbs of Will with him to the Sea of Constetions.


    The sum of Orbs of Will umted from tens of thousands of participants was incredible, reaching over 2.7 million orbs in total.


    Once converted to gold crystals, the total number of crystal coins tallied up to 8 million gold crystals. Money was useless in the Sea of Constetions. As such, this wasn¡¯t a jaw-droppinglyrge sum.


    The number of Second Grade Armor and Weapon Artifacts numbered at exactly 65,802 pieces.


    On the other hand, there were much fewer First Grade Armor and Weapon Artifacts, at approximately 3,000 pieces.


    Yao Cores, Yin Cores, Inner Cores and the like were at even more staggering proportions. Evidently, all the participants had fully stocked themselves with such necessities. In addition to the ones they had obtained from killing one another, the total sum amounted to approximately 9.8 million pieces. There wasn¡¯t a single Second Grade Core; they were all at the First Grade, only because it was impractical to bring a Second Grade Core to the Sea of Constetions. Not to mention, one would need to kill a Red Lotus cultivator to obtain a Second Grade Core. For those participating in the Subjugation Crusade, there was no chance of that happening. Even if there were, they didn¡¯t have the ability to carry out the deed either.


    Even more astounding was that there were thirty-five top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts as well.


    As for the other misceneous items, they were simply too numerous to be counted.


    This massive heap of treasure was the umtion of wealth of tens of thousands of participating cultivators over millennia. It would be more strange if it weren¡¯t bountiful. What¡¯s more, this was only a portion of the wealth from the cultivators participating in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade.


    "What a fortune!" cried Sikong Wuwei as he rubbed his hands excitedly, his eyes bing slits from hisughter.


    The others were feeling the same way as well. Even the typically stern Gu Sanzheng found it hard to conceal the joy on his face.


    "Not really. It¡¯s a pretty average amount," Lan Ruo suddenly added, instantly putting a damper on everyone else¡¯s excitement.


    Sikong Wuwei¡¯sughter immediately froze, and he stared at Lan Ruo in a daze. Not only was her remark unnecessary, but she was also meddling directly in their joyous asion as well. With a bright smile on her face, Lan Ruo took out arge cloth and ced it on the ground, then quickly wrapped up half of the massive pile of storage rings.


    "Considering there are eight of you, it would be rather troublesome to split an uneven amount. So I¡¯ll do you a favor and hand the remainder over to Lord Sixth," Lan Ruo said cheerfully. Her smile was so wide she could barely close her mouth.


    That was over 2.7 million low-grade Orbs of Will they were talking about! It wasn¡¯t just 207 orbs, but 2.7 ¡¯million¡¯ orbs. The woman left them with only 1.35 million low-grade Orbs of Will. The rest she packed away into a single storage bangle.


    Over 8 million gold crystals and she left them with just 4 million. And not only did she take the more significant portion away with her, but she even chose gold crystals specifically. As for the white and ck crystals, she didn¡¯t touch them at all. She probably thought it was a hassle to be carrying so much small change.


    As for First Grade Cores, only 4.9 million remained. Lan Ruo had even taken some of the ungraded ones into her storage bangle.


    For First Grade Weapon and Armor Artifacts, only 1,500 remained, while for Second Grade ones, 32,000 were left behind. Lan Ruo really wasn¡¯t showing any mercy as she took the bnce with her.


    Fortunately, for the thirty-five top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts, Lan Ruo still had some self-awareness. These things were simply too precious. She only took away eighteen pieces, leaving seventeen behind.


    But Lan Ruo didn¡¯t go easy on the other misceneous items either, taking therger half whenever she could. How was this the attitude of someone from the Realm Beyond Heaven? More like a hungry ghost that had risen up from hell. It was a little too unseemly the way she was gobbling everything up.


    The others all watched as she took away the treasure they had toiled away the past few nights and risked their lives to obtain. But s, they couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Her background was just too powerful; they didn¡¯t stand a chance at winning.


    However, Miao Yi ultimately couldn¡¯t keep it in any longer. With a dark expression on his face, he said, "For someone from the Realm Beyond Heaven, why do you act as if you¡¯ve never seen treasure before? I doubt Lord Sixth would be this stingy about it. I think you¡¯re the one who wants the remainder for herself, more like it."


    Lan Ruo immediately tossed him a charming smile and said, "Lord Sixth will definitely be rewarding me. And since it¡¯s my reward, I will ept it happily of course. It¡¯s none of your concern anyway."


    After which, she lifted up her giant bag of treasure and even skipped merrily away out the cave. It was no surprise she was happy, being able to earn a fortune without having to lift a finger.


    Miao Yi¡¯s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. It wasn¡¯t as though he was unwilling to give these things to his little sister. As long as she needed them, he would definitely hand them over to her. But for her to do this was no different than setting him up. This was the reason he was so profoundly dissatisfied.


    "I see Yue Yao¡¯s butt is itching for a good spanking!" Miao Yi said with a dark expression on his face.


    Sikong Wuwei replied helplessly, "Brother, if you have the guts to spank Fairy Yue Yao¡¯s butt, then you can take all of this for yourself."


    The others nodded in agreement. Still slightly fuming with rage, Miao Yi casually remarked, "It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never spanked it before..."


    As he said it, he immediately realized his slip of the tongue and hurriedly shut his mouth.


    He did spank her before, but his little sister was still young at the time and had followed his little brother¡¯s bad habits. He had punished her many times whenever she went overboard with her little games. Kids would always be naughty after all. Being spanked once or twice was inevitable.


    The people beside him were utterly confounded by his words, and Zhao Fei asked in shock, "You¡¯ve hit Fairy Yue Yao¡¯s butt before?"


    Sikong Wuwei was also dumbfounded, asking, "Brother, are you serious? How does it feel?"


    "What I mean is, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never hit a woman before. There are plenty of women who have died by my hand," Miao Yi quickly corrected himself.


    Everyone immediately rolled their eyes at him. What a shock it was. They all thought that Miao Yi had really spanked the butt of such a nation-toppling beauty. That would be incredible if it were true!


    Being the only woman in the group, after Ye Xin saw how intrigued these men were with the notion of spanking a woman¡¯s butt, she secretly cursed, ¡¯What a bunch of dirty perverts!¡¯


    Afraid that they would read too deeply into his words, Miao Yi immediately waved his hand and said, "Come on everyone, let¡¯s continue splitting our loot. We¡¯ll just think of this as paying some money to avoid misfortune. Since Lord Sixth has already epted a portion of the treasure, then she¡¯s partly responsible for it as well. With her holding off the other five houses, we¡¯ll be able to rest easy and keep all of this."


    When he put it that way, everyone couldn¡¯t help agreeing, and the dissatisfaction in their hearts abated slightly. After all, theycked the ability to keep all this loot on their own. Without Fairy Yue Yao protecting them, once the other five representatives found out the truth, they would surely be forced to spit everything out the same way they swallowed them. What¡¯s worse was that they might even have to fork over their lives as well. They were truly spending money to avoid misfortune.


    Once they were talking about dividing the loot, Miao Yi immediately remembered one person, and said to the rest of the group, "Regardless of cultivation, everyone will be getting an equal share. However, I would like to have one extra share."


    Sikong Wuwei waved his hand and replied, "You deserve it. Forget one extra share, you can even take a few more if you want to. After all, we were only able to get all this treasure because of you. The rest of us only helped out a little if we¡¯re being honest. With such arge fortune, even if we split it unevenly, we would still end up with quite a sum."


    Everyone else nodded in agreement. They still had a sense of priority after all. Besides, even though at times one may possess the ability to earn a fortune, one would need the ability to enjoy said fortune as well. They still needed to rely on Miao Yi¡¯s protection if they wanted to survive until the end of the Subjugation Crusade in peace. Why else would those people they threatened obediently hand over their belongings? For survival, of course!


    To have fortune without life is to end up losing both. To have a life without fortune is simply a matter of waiting for the riches toe. This was the rule of survival in the cultivation realm. Simr to when Miao Yi had just met Yao Ruoxian, he couldn¡¯t do anything about the other party even as they took his stuff. He couldn¡¯t be reckless and try to fight Yao Ruoxian. If he really did that, he would have ended up with nothing.


    Miao Yi waved his hand and said, "That¡¯s not what I mean. There¡¯s actually one more person who helped us out for this n, but you just haven¡¯t met him."


    Everyone exchanged nces, then Gu Sanzheng asked, "Who is this person?"


    "Yan Beihong!" Miao Yi smiled as he said the name, then continued, "He¡¯s an old friend of mine, and also a Celestial Nation cultivator. Originally, he was supposed toe back here with me, but because I was borrowing his name, I had him stay at the Devil Nation¡¯s camp for the time being. With me carrying out such misdeeds under his name, I¡¯m undoubtedly damaging his reputation, and might even bring him trouble. If I don¡¯t split some of the loot with him as well, then it wouldn¡¯t be right."


    ¡¯So that¡¯s why!¡¯ Everyone nodded, and Zhao Fei said, "You can just do as you like."


    And so the matter was decided, and the treasure was split nine ways. As Yan Beihong didn¡¯t participate in the n directly, Miao Yi made the decision on his behalf to give him a smaller portion of the stuff whenever they couldn¡¯t split it evenly. For example, out of the seventeen top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts remaining, the eight who were present now each got two pieces, while Yan Beihong would only receive one. Any remainders from the other items were dealt with simrly as well.


    After everything was divided, each person received about 150,000 low-grade Orbs of Will, 440,000 gold crystals, 540,000 First Grade Yao Cores, 166 First Grade Transcendent Artifacts and 3,555 Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts. For the top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts, besides Yan Beihong, everyone else received two each. As for the other misceneous stuff, there was just too much to be properly tallied, and since dawn was breaking soon, everyone couldn¡¯t be bothered to count the exact figures, and just casually divided them into nine portions along with all the storage rings. Each person then took a single portion with them. They weren¡¯t concerned with such trivialities anymore.


    The eight of them were in rather high spirits. Sikong Wuwei would asionally let out a couple of snickers as he¡¯d never thought in his wildest dreams that he would one daye to own so much treasure. Forget everything else. Just the Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts alone was a big enough fortune to make one smile in their sleep.


    Miao Yi had spent a fortune just to get a whole set of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts, so it was evident how expensive they were. With over three thousand of them in his possession, it was more than enough to make three hundredplete sets.


    As he held onto the pile of treasure, Pi Junzi felt as though he was still dreaming. Did he really just be filthy rich just like that?


    Meanwhile, Tao Yongchun couldn¡¯t even stop smiling. His contribution to the team was even less than that of Pi Junzi, so he never thought that Miao Yi would give him an equal share as well. That was an equal share they were dealing with! It wasn¡¯t the same as Miao Yi just casually giving him a small portion of the treasure.


    As they basked in their excitement, the Gu Sanzheng trio looked at Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun, then cast their gazes out of the cave, where Miao Yi was currently scanning his surroundings. Who wouldn¡¯t be tempted by such arge pile of treasure? Even Fairy Yue Yao had cast her status aside just to take a portion of it away with her. On the other hand, Miao Yi had decided that they should split it equally. What took them more by surprise was that Miao Yi had actually given Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun an equal portion of the loot as well. The fact that he¡¯d made such a decision so easily caused the three of them to sigh at their own inferiority.

 Chapter 425: Demanding Justice

    Chapter 425: Demanding Justice


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The three of them couldn¡¯t helpughing at their own thoughts. Back then, they had tried all they could to kill Miao Yi, but now they had somehow be his friends. What else could they be if not friends? And good friends who had fought side by side at that. It seemed as though it was no longer important whether or not they couldplete the mission handed to them by their schools.


    Judging from the reactions on Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun¡¯s faces, it looked like Miao Yi would be getting two good Yao cultivator friends from now on too.


    There was a tinge of sorrow in Zhao Fei¡¯s gaze as he looked at Miao Yi. Those people from the Red Scarves Alliance who had betrayed Miao Yi, where were they now? Zhao Fei hadn¡¯t seen a single one of them on this nameless ind. On the contrary, him and Sikong Wuwei were the ones who managed to survive until now because of the decision they made in that one moment. And by the looks of things, they would be able to leave the Sea of Constetions in one piece as well. On top of that, they had just obtained an incredible fortune. With ample time and a safe environment, if they used the cultivation resources they had now, the two of them could break through all the way to Red Lotus Fifth Grade!


    Originally, there had been one more person by Miao Yi¡¯s side. It was a woman, and her name was Qi Xiuhong! Zhao Fei couldn¡¯t helpmenting as he thought about it. It was such a pity that Qi Xiuhong¡¯s cultivation had been much too low in this perilous ce. If only she could have held out for another half day. But sadly she couldn¡¯t even endure past the first half. If she had, she¡¯d still be alive and leaving the Sea of Constetions together with them. She would have a bountiful supply of cultivation resources, and a bright future ahead of her. But s, it was all toote.


    "Wu..."


    A loud howling noise came from outside. Looking around by the cave¡¯s entrance, Miao Yi turned back and said, "It¡¯s time to assemble. Let¡¯s go!"


    Everyone touched the storage rings wrapped under their clothes,ing to realize that it was truly a hassle to have too many storage rings. But s, they didn¡¯t have those high-grade storage rings that could stack their effects upon one another, so they could only carry them along.


    Things were easier for the men. However, being a woman, Ye Xin couldn¡¯t just take off her clothes in public and hang the storage rings on her body, so she just tied it directly over her clothes. She then added on a few extra clothes on top of them. Her slim figure was immediately gone after that.


    "Pfft!" Tan Lao couldn¡¯t resist breaking out intoughter. He quickly stifled it, but his gaze continued to look up and down Ye Xin¡¯s body.


    Ye Xin shot him a vicious re.


    "Tsk tsk! We can even use this as armor if we ever need to step up and fight. You won¡¯t have to worry even if the opponent strikes you with his sword," Sikong Wuwei said as he felt around his body.


    The Celestial Nation forces soon gathered and began making their way to the arena together. Yue Yao cast a sideways nce at Miao Yi, who was riding beside her, then turned back to see the slightly plumped up Zhao Fei and the others. She secretly transmitted her voice over to Miao Yi, "Yan Beihong, looks like you guys have made quite a fortune."


    Miao Yi became a little furious the moment Yue Yao brought up this topic. ¡¯How could you even set up your own brother?¡¯ He replied in kind, "How can wepare to you, Yue Yao? You¡¯re the one who took the lion¡¯s share of the profits with you. We¡¯re just getting your leftovers."


    Yue Yao then shed the transparent, golden-amber storage ring on her slender finger in front of Miao Yi. It was the kind that could ovey its storage space. Miao Yi could tell from a single nce that it was very intricately designed. The storage ring looked very beautiful on Yue Yao¡¯s finger.


    Moving her fingers around in a unting manner, Yue Yao teased, "Just look at yourselves. You barely have any room left to keep all your things. I¡¯m doing you all a favor by taking some away."


    ¡¯She¡¯s mocking me for not having a high-grade storage ring! Hmph! Now that I have so much treasure with me, I¡¯ll get Yao Ruoxian to refine one for me as soon as I get back. If he can¡¯t then I¡¯ll just buy one directly!¡¯ Miao Yi replied coolly, "Fairy Yue Yao is so beautiful. I¡¯m just scared you won¡¯t be able to find someone to marry if you¡¯re branded as a greedy woman. Wouldn¡¯t I be causing trouble for you then?"


    "That¡¯s funny! Me, have trouble finding someone to marry?" Yue Yao acted as though she¡¯d just heard the biggest joke in her life. She said disdainfully, "There are countless men across the realm who wish to marry me. As long as I spread word that I¡¯m looking for a partner, men will surely flock in droves to my side like schools of carp, and I can just choose as I please. I may be afraid of many things, but I never have to worry about my marriage!"


    "Is that so?" Miao Yi asked sarcastically, "Then why not try and spread the word then? Let¡¯s see who wishes to marry you."


    ¡¯Trying to provoke me?¡¯ Yue Yao scoffed, "Thanks for the kind reminder, but I already have a standard for the type of man that I wish to marry. I don¡¯t need to spread the word out."


    Miao Yi was surprised by her answer. He immediately stopped trying to tease her, and looked at her earnestly as he asked, "You already have someone in mind?"


    "Yes, I do!" Yue Yao admitted without hesitation.


    Miao Yi mulled this over for a while, then asked, "Can you tell me who it is?"


    "What right do you have to know this?" Yue Yao felt his question wasughable. "I see where you¡¯reing from. Are you jealous?"


    "As if I would be jealous. I just wish to give you my blessing!" There was a trace of mncholy in Miao Yi¡¯s expression as he shook his head and sighed. "You¡¯ve really grown up I see. You even have someone you want to marry! You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t have the right. I probably don¡¯t even have the qualifications to attend your big day either. Very well then! Since my strength is limited, I won¡¯t be able to give you anything too luxurious. So I won¡¯t be angry anymore. You can just think of all the stuff you tookst night as your dowry. Don¡¯tin that it¡¯s too little. If I ever get the chance, I will add on a more expensive gift in the future."


    Yue Yao found Miao Yi¡¯s words truly insufferable. He made it seem like he was her father or something. She found it infuriating andughable at the same time, and replied, "You, give me my dowry? What a joke. Who do you think you are? Even if I¡¯m willing to ept it, do you think you can afford my dowry? You think a paltry amount like that is enough to be my dowry?"


    Miao Yi immediately lowered his head and sank into silence. ¡¯Even if I revealed my identity. Even if... Given Little Sister¡¯s status now, the person she wishes to marry is definitely someone extraordinary. But as her big brother, I probably don¡¯t even have the ability to represent the bride¡¯s family and fork out an appropriate dowry for her wedding. How can I shamelessly reveal my identity then...¡¯


    Seeing how Miao Yi had suddenly quieted down, Yue Yao wanted to continue mocking him. However, she quickly stopped herself as she thought, ¡¯What am I doing? I¡¯m not acting like myself. Why did I even say such things to a man I barely know?¡¯


    "Sorry!" Miao Yi suddenly apologized with a pained expression.


    "..." Yue Yao was speechless. The sudden apology hadpletely broken her train of thought, and she couldn¡¯t fathom what Miao Yi was thinking of at all. ¡¯He couldn¡¯t possibly be apologizing just because I said he couldn¡¯t afford my dowry, right?¡¯


    Yue Yao didn¡¯t know what to say. She turned back to look at Zhao Fei and the others, then said to Miao Yi via voice transmission, "You divided all the loot with themst night?"


    Miao Yi lowered his head a little, and replied absent-mindedly, "We divided it equally."


    ¡¯Equally?¡¯ Yue Yao was shocked, and she looked on at Miao Yi in confusion. That amount of treasure was no small sum even to her. After she took away half, they actually divided the rest equally?


    The six camps soon gathered around the arena, however, there were no signs of anyone starting the battle. Instead, Hei Wuya, Feng Ruxiu, Kong Zhi, and Bai Ziliang all headed over to Yue Yao¡¯s side. Meanwhile, Yun Feiyang was rubbing his hands excitedly and giving his men a pep talk as he saw this. Confused, he then said, "What¡¯s going on? We aren¡¯t fighting anymore? These guys better stop trying to y tricks behind my back. Come on! Let¡¯s go over and see what¡¯s up!"


    Afterwards, he quickly charged over with a few of his men.


    Several dozen people stood before Yue Yao in a semicircle. She eyed them calmly, then asked, "What do you think you¡¯re doing?"


    "Stop ying dumb. What do we think we¡¯re doing, you say? Motherfucker. How dare you steal from a monk? That¡¯s just too unscrupulous. I will definitely get justice today!" Ba Jie was the first one to speak. He was absolutely boiling with rage. Not only did the other party set him up, but they didn¡¯t even show up to the trap he¡¯d prepared the night before. He ended up waiting an entire night for nothing and suffered a second time.


    Yue Yao cast a sideways nce at him, then said, "Kong Zhi, where did this scoundrel of a monke from? As if he¡¯s fit to speak with me!"


    "My master is Mount Dui¡¯s Grandmaster Qi Jie. You dare say you¡¯ve never heard of him?" As soon as the other party questioned his identity, Ba Jie immediately announced the name of his master.


    "Grandmaster Qi Jie is a noble and honorable monk. How can he possibly have such a disrespectful disciple like you? Beat it!" Yue Yao scoffed.


    "You¡ª" Ba Jie had just pointed out with his finger, when suddenly¡ª ¡¯Whoosh!¡¯ ¡ªa crescent moon appeared directly over his head, giving him a fright as it almost cut him down on the spot.


    No matter how sharp his tongue was, he couldn¡¯t make any snidements when faced with absolute strength. Ba Jie¡¯s expression twisted in dismay as he stared at the razor-sharp edge that was merely half an arm¡¯s length away from his face. ¡¯I almost got turned into a cross-eyed guy. A good monk does not make himself suffer willingly. I¡¯ll keep quiet and endure this for now.¡¯


    Meanwhile, Bai Ziliang pointed at Miao Yi and scoffed, "We all know what the issue is here. Let¡¯s not beat around the bush. Have him return all the things he stole!"


    Seeing as the issue was rted to Miao Yi, Yun Feiyang asked curiously, "Bai Ziliang, what¡¯s going on? Exin it to me."


    Bai Ziliang then briefly exined to him the deeds that Miao Yi hadmitted. After which, Yun Feiyang looked at Miao Yi in shock, and asked, "Are you for real?"


    Finally realizing who was behind the weird happenings ofte, Yun Feiyang was instantly overjoyed. He thought, ¡¯This Miao Yi is a loyal friend indeed. He only set up everyone else¡¯s members and not mine.¡¯


    Beside him, Yan Beihong looked at Miao Yi in astonishment. ¡¯This Little Brother of mine sure is crazy as hell.¡¯


    The floating crescent moon then drifted over to Yue Yao¡¯s back as she said coolly, "I was the one who ordered him to do it. The rules didn¡¯t explicitly forbid participants from doing this after all. If you have the strength, you can do it too. All your things are in my possession now. You want me to hand them over? Fat chance. So what can you do about it then?"


    "You¡ª" Before Bai Ziliang could finish his sentence, Yue Yao immediately cut him short and said, "Bai Ziliang, you¡¯d better stop acting so rude in front of me. Even your mother, Ji Meimei, has to be respectful when speaking to me. This is no ce for you to point fingers and boss me around. If you continue acting out of turn, don¡¯t me me for teaching you a lesson on behalf of Ji Meimei!"


    Bai Ziliang clenched his fists in anger, and behind him, Lan Susu was evidently displeased as well. However, they couldn¡¯t do anything about it as they knew that they were no match for her. They heard that Yue Yao had even taught Yun Feiyang a lesson the moment he arrived.


    Feng Ruxiu raised his hand in a friendly manner and tried to y the mediator as he said, "Yue Yao, everyone is here to talk things out. You don¡¯t need to get so angry!"


    "What a joke. I¡¯ve never heard of someoneing to the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade to talk things out." Yue Yao snorted contemptuously, "All your things are with me now. If you want to take them, then bring it! But let me make things clear¡ªdon¡¯t me me if my hand slips and you get into an ident!"


    Everyone exchanged nces with one another. Yue Yao had no intention of yielding, and the others couldn¡¯t do anything about it either. It¡¯s not like they could just kill her off. More importantly, there was no telling who would win either if they started fighting.


    Yun Feiyang was overjoyed to see all these people disadvantaged like this. And because of Miao Yi, he immediately decided to y the good guy, waving his hand as he said, "Let¡¯s just forget about it. It¡¯s not like they fought privately. Our members were the ones who willingly handed their things over. So long as they didn¡¯t break any of our rules, there isn¡¯t much we can do about it. Come on, let¡¯s move along now. We wouldn¡¯t want to cause any dys to the Subjugation Crusade."


    Feng Ruxiu and the others all rolled their eyes at him. ¡¯What do you mean ¡¯our members¡¯? How are your people even rted to this? It¡¯s easy for you to say that since they didn¡¯t touch a single hair on your members¡¯ heads.¡¯


    "We shall continue the matches!" Hei Wuya dered coldly. He then turned his mount around, his ck cape fluttering in the wind, and quickly led his subordinates away.


    "Let¡¯s go back!" Yun Feiyang said joyfully. He shot a wink over to Miao Yi, then turned his mount around and led his subordinates away.


    "Oh, Yue Yao!" Feng Ruxiu smiled bitterly at Yue Yao, shaking his head as he led his men away as well. His words and actions made it seem as though he was extremely close to Yue Yao.

 Chapter 426: Frenzied

    Chapter 426: Frenzied


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Bai Ziliang and Kong Zhi were the only two people left. Lost for words and feeling helpless by the situation, they returned in the end, albeit resentfully.


    Following beside Kong Zhi, Ba Jie grumbled, "This woman had better not let me catch her. One day, I swear I¡¯ll have her return everything with interest."


    Meanwhile, Yue Yao tilted her head to look at Miao Yi and transmitted her voice over, "Yan Beihong, I¡¯d say you didn¡¯t hand those things over to me in vain, wouldn¡¯t you?"


    Miao Yi remained silent. On the other hand, Zhao Fei and the others behind him were overjoyed. They were lucky to have Yue Yao shoulder the responsibility for them. Otherwise, the matter probably wouldn¡¯t end with them returning all the things they stole.


    Yue Yao called out to Miao Yi again and said, "I asked you a question. Why aren¡¯t you replying?"


    "Thanks!" Miao Yi gave a short word of thanks.


    "Don¡¯t just pay me lip service. You still have two vacant spots on your team. After this, I¡¯ll arrange for two more members to join you. If you can help ensure the survival of two more Celestial Nation cultivators, then try your best to do just that." As she said this, Yue Yao couldn¡¯t help but sigh softly. There was a trace of helplessness in her eyes. Here in the Sea of Constetions, she had no choice but to y the role of a strong woman and consider the benefit of the Realm Beyond Heaven whenever she could.


    At the end of the day, women were different from men. Truthfully, no woman in the world was willing to act strong and give the impression that she was more powerful than a man.


    The carnage then resumed once more. The battles were as brutal as ever. Heads were constantly flying, and blood spurted everywhere as agonizing screams asionally resounded. This was definitely a type of baptism to all the cultivators present. Those who were able to live through such bloodshed would never be the same once they returned, particrly the aura they wielded.


    The sun rose and set as the days passed. The members of all six camps were gradually decreasing, but the air around the arena seemed to grow even tenser instead.


    Those who were still alive knew that there was nothing left to do but push on even harder than before now that they¡¯de this far. The chance to make it out of this alive was right before their eyes, and everyone going up to battle was pulling out all the stops. Even though the number of participants was decreasing, the battles were bing more intense, and the frequency at which the same participants were stepping up to the arena was steadily increasing. Every single participant was constantly surpassing their own limits and performing beyond their normal standards.


    Gu Sanzheng and the others couldn¡¯t contain their astonishment as they bore all this violence before them. They probably wouldn¡¯t be able to hold their own if they were in the other party¡¯s shoes. Those who were able to kill their way this far were evidently in another league of their own. They were definitely the top-tier elites of the battlefield.


    During this time, Yue Yao realized that Miao Yi seemed to be acting strangely. He no longer acted nonchntly in front of her. Instead, he was strangely quiet. Even when she tried to start a conversation from time to time, Miao Yi would just give short answers, causing Yue Yao to feel somewhat disheartened.


    It was soon time for the final battle. As both parties stepped up to the battlefield and started shing with one another, they immediately pulled out all the stops and went into a murderous frenzy.


    Hoofbeats constantly resounded as the dirt on the ground was sent flying about by the waves of transcendence energy. The riders charged madly, shing with one another time and again. As the battle waged on, men were overturned from their mounts, and dragon steeds neighed in agony.


    Hei Wuya of the Ghost Nation and Yun Feiyang of the Devil Nation were both watching with widened eyes¡ªthe final battle was between their two camps.


    Eighty-nine participants weren¡¯t currently on the battlefield, which meant that out of the twenty participants involved in the final battle, only eleven needed to survive for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade to be over. The final eleven survivors would be borne from this group of twenty. And although their hopes of survival were quite high, it was almost equally slim at the same time. They were walking a fine line between heaven and hell.


    Those who had to fightst were the most pitiful, having to walk a fine line between life and death. The chance to leave the Sea of Constetions alive was just before their eyes, yet they had to face the maddened attacks of their opponents before they could get there. The feeling of hope and despair existing simultaneously was enough to drive one insane.


    As the riders continued to be overturned from their mounts, the Devil Nation managed to seize the upper hand. There were casualties on both sides. As the fight became a seven versus five battle, the spectators could feel their hearts racing. Even the silent Miao Yi was holding his breath and observing the battle attentively.


    After toiling tirelessly for almost ten years, the final oue rested upon the shoulders of one man. It could be said that there was still one final spot left. Who wouldn¡¯t be nervous about that?


    When a Ghost cultivator finally fell to the hands of three other Devil Nation cultivators, the other four participants from the Ghost Nation immediately retreated, unconcerned for the status of theirrade. "AHH!" They raised their heads to the sky and shouted, announcing to the crowd that they had survived until the end.


    All the other participants immediately shouted in glee as well.


    However, something unprecedented suddenly urred. One of the Devil Nation cultivators had lost himself in a frenzy, failing to hear even the cheers of so many people. He continued on in a murderous rage, charging out on his dragon steed and madly attacking with his sword.


    "Psh!" As his sword fell, the head of an unprepared Ghost cultivator was instantly chopped off.


    All the participants were startled by this, and the cheers immediately stopped. Even the two groups on the arena were utterly dazed.


    Meanwhile, that Devil Nation cultivator had clearly lost himself in a frenzy. Hepletely ignored the reactions of everyone around him, and just proceeded to charge straight for the other three Ghost cultivators.


    Who would still continue to risk their lives going against this guy? Even if they could win, the three Ghost Nation cultivators didn¡¯t want to take the risk against such a lunatic, and hastily bolted back to the Ghost Nation¡¯s camp.


    "You¡¯re courting death!"


    A furious bellow resounded, then a ck cape fiercely billowed as a massive three-eyed wolf instantly rushed out like a typhoon.


    Hei Wuya suddenly brandished his spear and charged straight towards that crazed Devil Nation cultivator on his own. He was really pissed. The final oue had already been decided, and everything was over, but the other party had still caused his Ghost Nation to lose one survivor.


    "Hei Wuya! You dare!"


    Yun Feiyang also bellowed angrily. He brandished his spear, then immediately charged out on his Mad Satan Bull.


    As the members of both camps came to realize the gravity of the situation, they rushed out almost immediately as well, following the backs of their leaders. These were the trusted subordinates of the two representatives. The normal participants wouldn¡¯t be risking their lives any more at this point.


    Meanwhile, as he saw the people beside him rushing out, Yan Beihong actually decided to follow suit as well. Miao Yi was utterly lost for words when he saw Yan Beihong shouting and charging forward with a longsword in hand.


    Everything was supposed to be already over. Who could have thought something like this would actually happen? The other nation¡¯s cultivators all exchanged nces with one another. ¡¯We won¡¯t get dragged into this as well, right?¡¯


    Hei Wuya¡¯s mount was evidently stronger than the frenzied Devil cultivator¡¯s dragon steed. As soon as both parties shed, the three-eyed wolf abruptly brandished a jaw full of sharp fangs and bit down on the heel of the frenzied Devil cultivator¡¯s mount, causing blood to instantly gush out everywhere.


    The dragon steed lost its leg, then¡ª boom! ¡ªthe Devil cultivator was immediately sent flying away by Hei Wuya¡¯s spear.


    Coming from behind, Yun Feiyang swiftlyunched his spear and shed head-on with Hei Wuya. Beneath the two, one mount bit down with its sharp fangs, while the other tackled with its fearsome horn as the two sides quickly brushed past one another.


    As he passed by Hei Wuya, Yun Feiyang rushed straight towards the Devil cultivator, who was now sane after his fall to the ground and pulled thetter onto his back.


    There was no helping it. Currently, Hei Wuya had to take justice for the Ghost Nation cultivators, while Yun Feiyang couldn¡¯t just watch as his Devil Nation cultivators suffered. It was just like how Yue Yao had saved Gu Sanzheng and the others from Bai Ziliang.


    As he passed by Yun Feiyang, Hei Wuya rushed straight for the Devil Nation¡¯s cultivators who were charging over. He was dead set on killing a few Devil Nation cultivators to vent out the frustration of his Ghost Nation members.


    The three-eyed wolf he was sitting on was incredibly powerful. It continued to bite here and there, helping Hei Wuya knock several of the Devil Nation cultivators off their steeds.


    Hei Wuya was about to take this opportunity to kill off a few members and vent out his frustration when suddenly a longsword came swinging by the corner of his eyes. The force behind that de was like a mad devil, causing Hei Wuya to jump up in fright. It would have killed him if he hadn¡¯t been careful. Fortunately, his three-eyed wolf had swiftly bitten down with its fangs and helped him avoid the perilous situation.


    The attacker was none other than Yan Beihong.


    However, as Yan Beihong¡¯s cultivation was inferior to the other party¡¯s, and because his weapon and armor didn¡¯t have an impact-mitigating effect like Miao Yi¡¯s, he ended up slightly on the losing end. That said, relying solely on his powerful sword art, Yan Beihong ultimately forced Hei Wuya to go on the defense, not giving him the chance to turn around and kill Yun Feiyang¡¯s trusted subordinates who had been knocked off their mounts.


    The battle between the two of them actually persisted for a while. Even with the three-eyed wolf supporting him, Hei Wuya was unable to gain much of an advantage.


    The crowd waspletely amazed as they wondered who the attacker was. Given Hei Wuya¡¯s strength, and with the three-eyed wolf supporting him, he was actually unable to defeat this person in a head-on battle!


    Yan Beihong was frustrated with the three-eyed wolf as well. Its fur was iparably supple and tough. He couldn¡¯t damage it in the slightest even after dozens of strikes. Instead, he was the one being helplessly pushed back.


    Meanwhile, Yun Feiyang was quickly holding off Hei Wuya¡¯s subordinates and preventing them from attacking his own. Both parties were incredibly stubborn. Neither side was using their transcendent artifacts, as they didn¡¯t want to look weak in front of the other party.


    When he saw that Yan Beihong was gradually losing, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t sit still any longer. He unfastened the bag strapped around his back and tossed it behind him to Zhao Fei. He then spread out his arms, and the ck fog wrapped around his body, donning both man and steed in armor, and the Inversed-Scales Spear appeared in his hand.


    Yue Yao was utterly shocked. She shouted, "What do you think you¡¯re doing?"


    However, Charcoal had already shot out like an arrow. With spear in hand, Miao Yi charged straight towards the fight between Hei Wuya and Yan Beihong, wishing to help save thetter from his predicament. He bellowed furiously, "Yan Beihong is here!"


    The crowd waspletely astonished. ¡¯The reaper that tricked everyone is making his move. Is he after Hei Wuya¡¯s life?¡¯


    Casting a sideways nce at Miao Yi, Hei Wuya was shocked by his sudden appearance. ¡¯Why is this guy suddenly joining in? Oh shit. I forgot he was from the Devil Nation¡¯s camp to begin with.¡¯


    Zhao Fei and the others were jolted as well. ¡¯This fight is between the Devil Nation and Ghost Nation. Brother, what are you involving yourself for?¡¯


    When they saw Miao Yi donning his armor, Zhao Fei and the others quickly put theirs on as well. Zhao Fei hurriedly fastened the bag onto his back, then charged after Miao Yi with his square-sky decorated halberd in hand.


    And the moment he charged out, Sikong Wuwei also brandished his broadaxe and followed suit.


    Behind them, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, Ye Xin quickly bolted out as well. Even Tao Yongchun and Pi Junzi held no regard for their own feeble strength and recklessly charged out. Not a single one of them hesitated.


    Only the two people who were subsequently forced into the group by Yue Yao stood there helplessly,pletely lost on what to do. They initially thought that they were lucky to be able to join this team. They never expected something like this to actually happen. Were these people trying to get them killed or something?


    Yue Yao was going mad. ¡¯I know Yan Beihong has the strength, but why are you all joining in the mix as well? Do you really think Hei Wuya is some kind of pushover? Once you guys step in, even if Hei Wuya were to use his transcendent artifact, he wouldn¡¯t be breaking the rules. Do you all think that my Celestial Nation has too many survivors, so you wish to kill off a few of your own volition?¡¯


    Yue Yao flicked both her hands, and six crescent moons quickly shot out afterward, cutting in between the two parties who were in the middle of battle. And at the same time, she shouted, "Stop!"


    She was breaking the rule of using a top-tier transcendent artifact on the battlefield. However, at this point, there probably wouldn¡¯t be anyone who would criticize her for it.


    Under the terrifying might of the six crescent moons, as well as the sudden re of golden light emanating from the Geotranscendence Bangles on everyone¡¯s wrists, the battle came to a standstill. There was also a rumbling voice echoing from the direction of the ship that had stopped on the nameless ind, saying, "Board the ship! No dys will be tolerated!"


    This message was evidently an announcement marking the end of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade.


    Only now did everyone on the battlefield calm themselves down. They finally managed to find a reason to stop.


    Hei Wuya and Yun Feiyang looked at one another, then snorted in contempt almost simultaneously. Their men quickly followed after them as they left.


    Yun Feiyang saw how valiant Yan Beihong was, that he could actually contend head-on against Hei Wuya. Not to mention, Miao Yi had suddenly stepped in to help as well. Yun Feiyang couldn¡¯t help give out a hearty guffaw as he looked at the two of them.


    Meanwhile, Hei Wuya, whose eyes were the only facial feature visible, had turned around to gaze deeply at Miao Yi and Yan Beihong. Yan Beihong, in particr, had almost caused him to lose his life just now, had he not been careful. Hei Wuya could sense that Yan Beihong was only inferior in terms of cultivation. Once his cultivation was high enough, with his skills, he would be a force to be reckoned with.

 Chapter 427: Glory of the Survivors

    Chapter 427: Glory of the Survivors


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy


    Yan Beihong ced his sword on his shoulder. He never thought that Miao Yi would charge out at a time like this just to help him. After all, the other party was a high-ranking person from the Ghost Nation. Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t help letting out a heartyugh as he looked at Miao Yi. His expression was full of exhration and openly screamed out¡ª¡¯A brother like this makes life worth living!¡¯


    At the same time, Miao Yi turned back to look at Zhao Fei and the others who had charged out with him. As his gaze fell upon Pi Junzi, Miao Yi was a little surprised. He never thought that the same Pi Junzi, who was always so afraid of death that he could kneel before a man and call him his granddaddy if it meant he could survive, would actually be able to risk his life.


    Pi Junzi felt sheepish when he caught Miao Yi¡¯s gaze. He smiled awkwardly, then turned his head away, feeling a little embarrassed.


    He didn¡¯t know what he was thinking either. He had just felt a rush of blood to his brain, and then before he realized, he was already charging out as well. It should be recalled that back when they were all trapped inside the Demon Refining Gourd, Pi Junzi had cursed Miao Yi mercilessly and wished for nothing more than for thetter to be dead.


    Yet because something like this did happen, one could say that it allowed quite a number of people to see the truth of some matters.


    In the end, an incident that was on the verge of bing a major scene passed by rather uneventfully. When they heard the announcement to board ship, most of the participants simply stared at the golden re of the Geotranscendence Bangle on their wrist.


    Miao Yi was no exception either. With a joyless expression, he looked at the shining golden bangle on his wrist, thinking, ¡¯The Subjugation Crusade is really over? I really survived to the end?¡¯


    Most of the participants shared the same thought as well. Their mixed feelings were simrly reflected on their expressions.


    "Yan Beihong, am Ipletely invisible to you?" Yue Yao slowly strode over on her Jade Lion, ring at Miao Yi as she rebuked him.


    For the Celestial Nation, besides those who had free passes like them, the rest of the survivors consisted of normal participants, like Miao Yi and his team. With much difficulty, their camp managed to have a total of twenty-three survivors, thergest number out of all six nations. Seeing the Subjugation Crusade finallying to an end, the Celestial Nation members were already jumping with joy at getting first ce. Then, right when everyone least expected it, Miao Yi suddenly charged out on his own,pletely disobeying Yue Yao¡¯s instructions. It would have been devastating if their camp still suffered casualties right at the end of it all. And as Yue Yao was trying all she could to ensure the survival of as many Celestial Nation cultivators as possible, Miao Yi¡¯s actions had undoubtedly caused her much distress.


    Miao Yi had no words to respond. Under Yue Yao¡¯s cold gaze, Zhao Fei and the others sheepishly kept their silence as well.


    Yue Yao didn¡¯t know what to say as she red at this group of cultivators. Given the circumstances, she never would have thought that Zhao Fei and the others would follow after Miao Yi with no regard for their own safety the moment they saw him charge out. Their actions were trulymendable.


    Yue Yao then turned to look at the other two people whom she had forced onto this group previously. Seeing them simply standing in ce without following after the others, Yue Yao couldn¡¯t help having mixed feelings about them.


    Previously, she wanted to try and help two more Celestial Nation cultivators still, and heavily objected to Miao Yi taking in two Yao cultivators into his team. From her standpoint, when fighting against outside forces, her own Celestial Nation cultivators had toe first. As such, she had asked Miao Yi to kick out the two Yao cultivators, so that his team could offer their protection to another two Celestial Nation cultivators. However, Miao Yi rejected her idea. At the time, she was very displeased with his decision but now, she couldn¡¯t tell who was right and who was wrong.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi had no way of seeing things from Yue Yao¡¯s point of view. To him, there was no Celestial Nation cultivator who would dare kill Yue Yao in the Subjugation Crusade, but there were many who wanted him dead. He couldn¡¯t think of any reason to not protect the people who had shared life and death with him, and instead shield those he barely even knew. Even if he protected them, there was no guarantee that they would share the same sentiment. The way those two Celestial Nation cultivators just stood in ce while he and the others charged out clearly highlighted this underlying matter.


    "Let¡¯s board the ship!" Deciding not to say anything else, Yue Yao slowly strode away on her mount with the others in tow.


    Zhao Fei unfastened the bag on his back, and tossed it to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi rushed over to Yan Beihong¡¯s side and pushed the bag into his hands. "This is for you."


    Yan Beihong was puzzled at first. After he examined it with his transcendence energy, the sheer volume of treasures inside gave him quite the shock.


    Originally, the wealth of all 180,000 participants gathered over millennia was supposed to be split between the top one hundred survivors of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. However, most of that wealth had now ended up being divided between Miao Yi¡¯s group as well as the representatives of the Six Sages. As for the other survivors, they barely had anything left¡ªMiao Yi had tricked them of most of their possessions. One must know that even a single portion of such massive wealth was enough to cause a person to jump up in fright.


    Yan Beihong looked at Miao Yi in shock, and transmitted his voice over, asking, "Little Brother, are you serious¡ªthis is for me? Are these the spoils you obtained from ¡¯that incident¡¯?"


    Miao Yi nodded and replied, "All myrades have a share as well. We have split it all equally. How could I miss you out? It¡¯s just... since you weren¡¯t physically there, and we couldn¡¯t divide everything evenly, I took the liberty of giving you a slightly smaller share."


    Yan Beihong meekly said, "You didn¡¯t have to do so much just for me. I didn¡¯t contribute anything at all. How can I ept such riches from you? I wouldn¡¯t mind if it was just a small gift, but this is simply too much. I can barely count them all."


    "What do you mean you didn¡¯t contribute anything? Big Brother Yan, you stayed in the Devil Nation¡¯s camp and covered for me, allowing me to use your name to conduct such misdeeds. This is the greatest help I could have ever received. Brother, you¡¯ve always been an easygoing man. When did you be so indecisive?" Miao Yi said.


    Yan Beihong was slightly taken aback by Miao Yi¡¯s response. But soon, he simply shook his head and smiled. Fastening the bag around his torso, he said, "Since you put it that way, I will gratefully ept it."


    A massive ship was anchored about ten meters away from shore. Standing on deck with their hands behind their backs were three cultivators from the Western Constetions Pce, gazing over the forces approaching the ship.


    Ny-nine cultivators then quickly leaped across the waves andnded on the ship.


    Bai Ziliang¡¯s expression was incredibly gloomy. All the other Yao cultivators had beenpletely decimated besides the six of them with free passes. He didn¡¯t know how he should face his mother, who had painstakingly gotten him this opportunity, once he reached the Western Constetions Pce.


    There had been simply too little Yao Nation cultivators gathered on the nameless ind to begin with. As the battles proceeded, their numbers dwindled while the frequency at which they had to battle increased. And the weaker they seemed, the more likely it was for the cultivators of the other five nations to try to take advantage of them. It was easy to predict the eventual oue of that¡ªthree days before the Subjugation Crusade would end, besides Bai Ziliang and his subordinates, the Yao Nation camp had beenpletely decimated.


    To be fair, not all of them were dead. Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun were considered Yao Nation cultivators as well. However, Bai Ziliang was still not aware of this fact. It would probably have been an even greater p to his face if he did. None of the Yao Nation cultivators that served him had survived, whereas those that worked for others had instead. How could he possibly ept that?


    Initially, Yue Yao and the Celestial Nation camp weren¡¯t that much better off than Bai Ziliang either. However, they never expected that Miao Yi would suddenly pop up in their camp and be such a great boon to Yue Yao. With him around, only the Celestial Nation cultivators dared to challenge other cultivators, whereas none of the other five nations¡¯ cultivators dared to challenge them. This saved the Celestial Nation cultivators from having to fight many battles, and the further the battles progressed, the more advantageous they became. Ultimately, Yue Yao caused a great upset and dominated the entirepetition, helping the Celestial Nation ensure the greatest number of survivors among the six nations.


    Out of the thirty-six people sent by the Six Sages, only Yun Feiyang lost one subordinate, bringing it down to thirty-five persons. Together with the twenty-three normal survivors from the Celestial Nation, that made for a total of fifty-eight positions already taken. After which, of the forty-two remaining survivors, there was one casualty towards the end of it all. With all the other Yao Nation members under Bai Ziliang being wiped out, the remaining forty-one spots were all taken up by the other four nations. The oue was clear as day¡ªthe Celestial Nationpletely dominated thepetition.


    After boarding the ship, Yue Yao was being escorted by her trusted subordinates to her room to rest when she suddenly came to a halt. Turning her head around, she swept a gaze across the crowd. Her eyes sparkled as she caught sight of Miao Yi, who at that moment, had just met up with Yan Beihong atop the deck. She couldn¡¯t deny that Miao Yi had been a great help to her.


    Then, she watched as the jubnt Yun Feiyang joined the crowd, grabbing onto Miao Yi¡¯s wrist and pulling him away. Her brows unconsciously creased as she wondered why this guy was always so close to the people from the Devil Nation...


    The ship started sailing as soon as everyone was on board. Dragon steeds weren¡¯t used as the driving source this time. Instead, transcendence artifacts were used to power the Western Constetions Pce¡¯s ship, making it incredibly fast, and the ship rode across the waves at breakneck speed.


    The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was actually meant to end in another month or so. But considering it had already gone on for almost ten years, it was no big deal to end it a month before its supposed due date. After all, everyone still needed to spend an extra two to three months to get back home.


    There was a ce within the boundless, jade sea, where the jagged reefs easily stood over three hundred meters tall, their craggy tipsid out sporadically across the surface of the blue ocean. Like the massive fangs of a monstrous living behemoth of nature, it instilled a sense of awe and amazement within all who looked upon it. This was the Western Constetions Pce.


    Almost everyone who was on the ship came out to look. Some stood on deck, some on the rooftops, and some on the ship¡¯s bow. They all stared in awe at the towering structure before them. Even Yue Yao and the others had never been to the Western Constetions Pce before.


    To be able to visit the Western Constetions Pce while possessing a Blue Lotus cultivation was indeed an honor in its own right. This was a privilege enjoyed only by those who have survived the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Once they returned, they would be able to boast to the other cultivators¡ª" I have been to the Western Constetions Pce!"


    Normal cultivators would surely be astonished by this. Although the Western Constetions Pce was not extremely extravagant or situated within an extremely beautifulndscape, most cultivators would probably never have the chance to see it in their entire lives. Simply because within the vastness of the Sea of Constetions, various demonic creatures ran amok. One could hardlye close to the Western Constetions Pce, much less pay it a visit.


    The ship slowly turned and twisted its way into the ¡¯great fangs¡¯ of the ind, as though they were entering a maze upon the surface of sea. At times, the waters would crash violently against the mighty reefs; other times, they would be deathly still. In some parts, the surface of the ocean was a bright turquoise in color; and in others, a murky ck. And within those waters, a shark¡¯s dorsal fin would be seen moving about the surface from time to time. There would also be an asional mysterious w bursting forth from the ocean depths. It was truly terrifying to behold. There was no way an average person could even approach this pce at all.


    The giant ship soon reached a dead end. With no further way to continue, it came to a stop. As they set up anchor, the enforcers of the Western Constetions Pce asked everyone to have their mounts remain aboard the ship. For the final bit of their journey, everyone had to make their way up a towering wall of rock.


    Whaty before them was a steep precipice! As everyone looked up, they could see the rough, jagged face of the wall they had to climb. They couldn¡¯t help feeling like they were trapped within an underwater prison, as though they had be frogs sitting in the bottom of a well staring up at the sky. asionally, they would either see a frightening tentacle emerging from the surface of the water, swaying about beside the ship, or feel as though something was crashing into the bottom of it.


    Miao Yi and the others decided to store their mounts in their beast sacks and bring them along.


    After Yue Yao and the others leaped up and started climbing the rock wall, the other cultivators quickly followed their lead, beginning their speedy ascent as they propped themselves up against the wet precipice.


    One after the other, all the participants made their way up to the peak of the wall a thousand feet above the surface of the water, as though crawling out of hell and onto the mortal realm. Up there, it was an entirely different scene altogether. Lush trees were abound as colorful flowers blossomed everywhere in sight. Before themy an immense pce, surrounded by ancient trees, with a myriad of terraces and pavilions of different heights. It was a grand and imposing structure indeed.


    The infinitely grand and ancient aura surrounding the pce caused everyone¡¯s hearts to race. This was the Western Constetions Pce¡ªone of the four divine pces belonging to the Sea of Constetions¡¯ Four Constetions Masters. This was the divine residence of Western Constetions Master Fu Qing, a person who was rumored to have once fought against the Six Sages.


    Prior to joining the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, none of them had ever expected normal cultivators like themselves would have the opportunity to visit the Western Constetions Pce. However, as their eyes fell upon this lofty pce overseeing the realm, everyone was hit with a wave of excitement, feeling as though all the pain and struggles they went through to get here was worth it after all.


    Only the dead would rest eternally in silence...

 Chapter 428: Limitless Future

    Chapter 428: Limitless Future


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    There were two statues of a beast carved from stone standing on either side of the pce doors. And as the mighty doors opened themselves, Grandmaster Qi Jie, Yun Guang, Hei Yun, Tang Jun, Hua Yu, Ji Meimei and the rest of the attendees appeared from within. Each person carried an exalted aura about them, as though without their presence, this ce wouldn¡¯t be called the Western Constetions Pce.


    Most of the cultivators who made their way up to the top of the cliff didn¡¯t know who these people were. However, their attention soon fell upon a woman in a red dress, whose near-divine beauty instantly drew in everyone¡¯s focus. There was no helping it as she was simply too beautiful. So enchanting was her captivating beauty and graceful aura that even the women had no choice but to admit their inferiority before her. Even a woman like Ji Meimei, who was already extremely beautiful in her own right, didn¡¯t wish to stand too close to this person, for fear of being overshadowed by her allure. This showed just how much of an impact she had on men.


    And besides Fairy Hong Chen, who else could have drawn everyone¡¯s gazes sopletely? Many of the men were utterly stupefied as they looked at her.


    Seeing Fairy Hong Chen again, Miao Yi¡¯s lips curled into a bitter smile. Once upon a time, this red-clothed woman had been nothing but a pipe dream for him. Because the difference in status was simply too vast, he¡¯d thought he would never get the chance to see her again in this life. He never would¡¯ve imagined that he¡¯d get the chance to meet her again today. ¡¯Does this mean I¡¯ve improved a little?¡¯


    The more experience one gained, the harder it was to be lost in one¡¯s fantasies. Back then, Fairy Hong Chen was the type of woman that Miao Yi wanted to marry even in his sleep. However, he now knew how unrealistic that was.


    Behind Yun Guang, someone was looking straight at Miao Yi. When Miao Yi noticed this person, he couldn¡¯t help feeling shocked. ¡¯Is that Luo Shuangfei¡¯s Senior Brother Zuo? Why is he here?¡¯


    Seeing Miao Yi alive and kicking, Zuo Nanchun heaved a sigh of relief. Otherwise, that little ancestor from the Great Devil Realm would surely kick up a fuss. After all, he was the one who took her back against her will.


    When they caught sight of the people appearing by the pce doors, Kong Zhi, Yun Feiyang, Yue Yao, Hei Wuya, Feng Ruxiu, and Bai Ziliang all rushed forward to pay their respects.


    "Senior Brother!" Yue Yao greeted Tang Jun.


    Tang Jun swept his gaze across Yue Yao¡¯s body, heaving a sigh of relief when he noticed that she was alright. However, he still couldn¡¯t help shaking his head and smiling bitterly as he looked at her attire.


    "Senior Sister, I¡¯ve missed you terribly." Yue Yao then hugged Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s arm and began cheerfully chattering away at her ear.


    Fairy Hong Chen simply smiled at her junior sister. The smile was enough to topple nations indeed. Even a hundred flowers paled inparison to its beauty.


    Many onlookers couldn¡¯t help feeling envious at the sight of this. Fortunately, they all knew that Yue Yao was a woman. If it were a man hugging Fairy Hong Chen like this instead, they would all surely die of jealousy.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi was pleased to see that Yue Yao was close to Fairy Hong Chen. ¡¯Nothing matters as long as Little Sister is doing well...¡¯


    "Reverend!" Kong Zhi and the other monks pped their hands together and greeted Grandmaster Qi Jie.


    The white-haired, gentle-looking Grandmaster Qi Jie revealed a tender smile in response. As he cast a piercing gaze at Ba Jie who was standing at the side, he asked, "Kong Zhi, I hope Ba Jie didn¡¯t cause you too much trouble?"


    Ba Jie immediately nced sideways at Kong Zhi. There was a trace of hostility in his gaze.


    Kong Zhi responded courteously, "Reverend, there is no cause for concern. Ba Jie has been of great help on this expedition."


    Ba Jie then chuckled and said, "It¡¯s my duty, after all."


    Grandmaster Qi Jie simply shook his head and smiled. It seemed he was fully aware of his disciple¡¯s personality.


    ¡¯Pa!¡¯ Yun Guang sent Yun Feiyang staggering back with a kick, then held a finger up to thetter¡¯s nose and barked, "Damned brat, you sure can run! Your old man¡¯s eyes could barely keep up with your antics these past nine years."


    Aggrieved, Yun Feiyang mumbled softly, "There are so many outsiders here. Can¡¯t you show me a little face?"


    "Does your old man still need to give you face? I¡¯ll break your damn legs once we get back. Let¡¯s see how much you can run then!" Yun Guang scolded harshly. He then asked, "Now tell me the truth. Why were you blindly running around?!"


    Immediately, Yun Feiyang puffed up his chest and said proudly, "I wasn¡¯t running around blindly. I was simply being fearless. All these years, I was constantly looking for opponents. Having failed to taste a single defeat, your son felt terribly lonely, so all I could do was keep looking for people to fight with. Little did I know that they would all run away the second they met me. What killjoys!"


    Indeed, he knew full well the kinds of things his old man liked to hear. When Yun Guang heard his answer, his rage instantly turned to joy. While he was feeling happy inside, Yun Guang still put up a straight face and asked coldly, "Then why did you suddenly stop running towards the end?"


    Yun Feiyang earnestly replied, "It would be unwise to act too showy. If I single-handedly dominated everyone, how will the others feel about themselves? I have to show them some face after all."


    A brilliant answer indeed. Yun Guang couldn¡¯t conceal his delight any longer, and he instantly let out a hearty guffaw as he pped Yun Feiyang¡¯s shoulder and said, "You are indeed my son!"


    Beside them, Hei Yun gave a derisive snort. However, when his son, Hei Wuya, went over to pay his respects to him, Hei Yun immediately revealed a look of concern. Reaching out and pulling at Hei Wuya¡¯s clothes, he asked with an affectionate and tender tone, "I didn¡¯t want you toe, but you stubbornly insisted anyway. These past few years you¡¯ve been constantly on the go, having nowhere to settle down. It must have been hard on you, right?"


    "It wasn¡¯t hard at all!" It seemed that Hei Wuya found his old man to be a little unbearable as well. Noticing Tang Jun by the side, he cupped his fists and greeted, "Uncle Tang!"


    Tang Jun smiled and nodded in response as he said, "It¡¯s good to see that you¡¯ve safely returned. Hurry and tell your mother. Don¡¯t make her worry!"


    It appeared that Yun Guang was right. This Tang Jun really was quite close with Hei Yun¡¯s wife, and abnormally so at that.


    "Yes, sir!" Hei Wuya answered politely.


    "Hmph!" Seeing this, Hei Yun made a loud snort, then turned his head to the side. He was clearly displeased.


    Meanwhile, Feng Ruxiu and his master Hua Yu were quietly conversing in a businesslike manner, with the former replying to thetter¡¯s questions in an orderly fashion.


    With heavy footsteps, Bai Ziliang gradually made his way to the expectant Ji Meimei and paid his respects, "Greetings, Mother."


    Seeing the look on her son¡¯s face, and how Lan Susu was too scared to even face her, Ji Meimei could already roughly imagine what happened. Forcing a smile, she said, "It¡¯s good to see you back safe and sound."


    Even though she had put it gently, Bai Ziliang still noticed the fleeting look of disappointment in his mother¡¯s eyes. He felt a terrible ache in his heart as he could already imagine how the people would mock him and his mother once they returned to the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, and how his mother would pretend to be alright in front of him.


    Whaty before the other participants¡¯ eyes were either the sight of a family reunion or theing together of master and disciple. While afraid to take a step forward, they still couldn¡¯t help mocking them deep down, ¡¯Who would dare touch a single hair on your children and disciples¡¯ heads in this wholepetition? You all make it seem as though they¡¯ve just suffered some terrible ordeal. The truly unlucky ones, the ones who struggled and wed their way through perilous dangers these past ten years are us.¡¯


    After a brief conversation with their children and disciples, Yun Guang and the others finally cast their gazes towards Miao Yi and the rest.


    There was no helping their disy of concern towards their close ones, but that didn¡¯t mean that Yun Guang and the rest were fools. They all knew full well that the ones standing before them now were the actual cream of the crop¡ªthey who had survived the grueling baptism of blood and ughter. If transcendent artifacts were taken out of the equation, these people would not be any weaker than their children and disciples. Yun Guang and the others believed that they might even be stronger.


    They also knew that by allowing their children and disciples to participate in the Subjugation Crusade, they had ced the lives of these normal participants in even greater danger and subjected them to further injustice. Hence, they decided to add another prize to the pot, allowing these people to choose the ce they would be a Manor Head in once they returned to their own respective Earthly Branches. As long as you had what it took, you would be free to choose the most lucrative areas for yourself. This was theirpensation.


    And needless to say, most of those that survived the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade were Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators already. After oveing such an ordeal, and with therge number of cultivation resources that they would obtain, it was merely a matter of time before they broke through to the Red Lotus realm.


    There was no denying the strength and abilities of those who had ovee the trial that was the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have survived in the first ce. As such, once these people broke through to the Red Lotus realm, their respective Pce Lords would surely hold them in high regard. Their futures were limitless indeed.


    Naturally, any Pce Lord would wish to have more capable subordinates that they could trust to handle their business for them. What¡¯s more, it would take a long time before these people could catch up to their Purple Lotus realm Pce Lords, given that they would¡¯ve just broken through to the Red Lotus realm. Hence, there was no need to worry that these people would take one¡¯s ce, allowing the Pce Lords to use them freely.


    This also meant that as soon as these people returned from the Subjugation Crusade, they would be an object of attention and be heavily cultivated by their respective Pce Lords. As such, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult at all for them to jump from Manor Head to Hall Master.


    History had already proven that, besides a few of the unfortunate ones, most of the cultivators who survived the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade had already be Hall Masters. The probability, as well as the ratio of these people being promoted, were significantly higher than the average cultivator. They were the ones who had the greatest chance of taking a Hall Master¡¯s seat while only having a Red Lotus First Grade cultivation. Hence, it was evident that risks and rewards always coexisted with one another. Everything that these people would obtain, they had earned with their lives.


    These people standing before Yun Guang and the rest were all likely to be Red Lotus cultivators and Hall Masters in the near future, overseeing an entire domain andmanding the respect of over a hundred million followers. Hence, there was a sense of acknowledgment in the eyes of Yun Guang and the others as they looked at these people. After all, these were the elites who would one day help oversee and protect the domains of their respective nations!


    They would naturally see them in a new light!


    When facing Grandmaster Qi Jie, Yun Guang still had to conduct himself more respectably. After seeking the former¡¯s opinion, Yun Guang abruptly spread his arm out towards Miao Yi and the rest, and with a boisterous voice, said, "Come! The wonderful children of our six nations, show us what you¡¯ve gained in these past ten years, and prepare yourselves to receive the admiration of cultivators from across the realm. Enjoy the rightfully deserved glory that you risked your lives to obtain, and let thosemon peasants grovel at your feet!"


    His words set everyone feverish with excitement. As they thought about their struggles during the past ten years, they finally felt that it had been worth it now that they hade this far!


    Miao Yi and the others followed behind the crowd, making their way through the imposing pce doors and into the majestic Western Constetions Pce.


    At first, when they heard Yun Guang describing them with such splendor and how great of an honor their aplishments were, everyone assumed that they would enter that most ancient and majestic-looking manor situated deep within the pce. However, contrary to their expectations, right after walking past the door, they were led into a small side manor.


    Many of them couldn¡¯t helpining deep down, ¡¯You all sure know how to lead us on. You made it seem as though we were an impressive bunch. But as it turns out, we stillck the qualifications to officially step foot inside.¡¯


    Little did they know that even Yun Guang and the others couldn¡¯t step foot inside that particr manor. For that matter, they couldn¡¯t even venture too deeply into the main hall and were only allowed to walk around the front. How could they possibly bring the participants on a tour then?


    As everyone entered the side manor that held the astrbe, they immediately noticed the two-horned pythons coiled around the pirs. At the same time, they could smell the heavy fish stench that wafted between the halls, mixed with an overwhelming Yao aura.


    "Yao Nation cultivators shall hand over their Geotranscendence Bangles on this side."


    "Devil Nation cultivators shall hand over their Geotranscendence Bangles on this side."


    One after the other, the six groups of people sent over by the Western Constetions Pce called out their instructions.


    While walking over to the Yao Nation side to hand over his things, Bai Ziliang unintentionally turned his head and noticed Tao Yongchun and Pi Junzi were behind him. At first, he was initially surprised, but then his expression gradually darkened as he cast a piercing gaze at the duo, causing them to feel much apprehension.


    Ji Meimei looked at the number of people behind her son, then nced at the numbers in the other camps. The difference was just too prominent. Her expression instantly took a turn for the worse, bing a little pale.


    On the Celestial Nation¡¯s side, when he saw the number of peopleing up to hand over their things, Tang Jun was immediately overjoyed. Tilting his head to Fairy Hong Chen, he said via voice transmission, "Junior Sister, looks like Little Junior Sister didn¡¯t fail to meet Master¡¯s expectations after all. If our final results are significantly better than the other five nations, I¡¯m sure Master will be pleased. Perhaps we¡¯ll both earn Master¡¯s praise as well."

 Chapter 429: One Missing

    Chapter 429: One Missing


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Senior Brother is right," Fairy Hong Chen coolly replied.


    Truth be told, she wasn¡¯t too concerned with how high of a cement Yue Yao could get, as she knew that her junior sister hadn¡¯t been too keen on participating in the Subjugation Crusade. Her little junior sister possessed a high cultivation aptitude due to her Phoenix form, and with her naturally innocent disposition, she was not as easily susceptible to the various human desires that gued all cultivators. What¡¯s more, Yue Yao had always been a gifted child. Thus, their master had always ced high hopes on her junior sister and sent her here so that she could be more experienced when it came to carnage and bloodshed. As a result, her junior sister had no choice but to participate in the Subjugation Crusade.


    But then again, their master had always been fond of her little junior sister. If she could get a good cement, their master would surely dote on her even further. Things were different for Fairy Hong Chen, who didn¡¯t really have their master¡¯s fancy due to her detached and unemotional personality.


    After everyone handed over their Geotranscendence Bangles, the six groups of people that the Western Constetions Pce had assigned to supervise immediately gathered together to tally the final sum. Yun Guang and the others quickly rushed over to take a look, afraid that someone would tamper with the results and cause them to suffer.


    Both Grandmaster Qi Jie and Fairy Hong Chen were people who were not too interested in matters like these, so they didn¡¯t join the others.


    As she looked around, Yue Yao made her way over to Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s side. She then took out two storage bangles and tapped on Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s wrist, telling her via voice transmission, "Senior Sister, take a look at what I got."


    Fairy Hong Chen revealed a gentle smile. She took the two storage bangles and examined them with her transcendence energy. As she scanned the contents, a trace of shock could be seen in her eyes. She said to Yue Yao via voice transmission, "How did you get so much?"


    Yue Yao¡¯s lips curled into a mischievous snicker as she said, "Therger portion is my own earnings. The smaller one was given to me by some guy for my dowry."


    "Dowry?" Fairy Hong Chen asked curiously, "Are you marrying someone? Why else would someone give you a dowry?"


    "Hmm! It¡¯s that guy." Yue Yao pursed her lips towards Miao Yi and added, "Speaking of which, I really have to thank that guy. He really helped me out..."


    She then secretly told Hong Chen a brief summary of what happened.


    After hearing the story, Fairy Hong Chen finally understood that it wasn¡¯t some kind of dowry, but something that Yue Yao had used her position to take. Still, she couldn¡¯t help looking at Miao Yi with curiosity. She wasn¡¯t interested in why Miao Yi would help Yue Yao to this extent, nor did she want to know why he¡¯d even called it Yue Yao¡¯s dowry. What puzzled her was why Yue Yao was so spirited when talking about this ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯. It was a little different from the way Yue Yao normally behaved. Perhaps Yue Yao herself was unaware of it, but to someone who¡¯d spent as much time with her as Fairy Hong Chen had, the contrast was evident.


    As Hong Chen returned the two storage bangles over to Yue Yao, thetter immediately shoved one back into her hands and said, "Senior Sister, you¡¯ve been stuck in the Red Lotus Sixth Grade for over two hundred years. I¡¯ll give you this storage bangle with therger portion so that you can break through to Red Lotus Seventh Grade sooner."


    Hong Chen shook her head and returned the storage bangle to her. "You should keep it for yourself."


    "Senior Sister, I¡¯ll get angry if you don¡¯t ept it." Yue Yao acted like she was displeased when she was actually just trying to think of a way to help her senior sister.


    Because she knew that her senior sister was the kind of person who, whenever she wasn¡¯t cultivating, could standpletely still in one spot for an entire day. Her distant and somewhat antisocial personality was not well-liked by their master. As such, her senior sister was often quite disadvantaged in the Realm Beyond Heaven.


    Her senior sister¡¯s personal handmaiden once told her that someone was secretly cutting down her senior sister¡¯s share of Orbs of Will from the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce. Her senior sister had mentioned this once to their master. However, their master simply replied, ¡¯You¡¯ve always been distant and aloof. Do you really think someone would have a grudge against you and intentionally try to make things difficult for you? If you¡¯re really determined, go to the Chamber of Commerce and check their records. Talk to me when you¡¯ve found some evidence.¡¯


    And after that, her senior sister never mentioned it again. She would never really go to the Chamber of Commerce and check their records, so all she could do was suffer this injustice in secret. And after noticing that her senior sister was somewhat of a pushover, it seemed the cut had be even more drastic since then.


    Hong Chen had mostly been the one who single-handedly brought up Yue Yao. Thus, Yue Yao felt very frustrated on Hong Chen¡¯s behalf. However, she knew that there were certain people whom she couldn¡¯t afford to offend. It didn¡¯t matter that she was prized by their master. If she offended certain parties, they would likely retaliate in secret. Their master couldn¡¯t possibly stay by her side all the time and protect her.


    Realizing that Yue Yao wasn¡¯t going to give in, Hong Chen took that piece of ¡¯dowry¡¯, and said, "You keep the bigger portion for yourself. I¡¯ll hold on to this for you for the time being."


    Yue Yao corrected her, "You¡¯re not holding on to it for me. I¡¯m giving it to you."


    Hong Chen lightly smiled in response, neither denying nor acknowledging her statement. Without much of a response, she tucked the storage bangle into her high-grade storage ring.


    Meanwhile, the oue of the tally was finallypleted. Herst shred of hope dashed, Ji Meimei looked with disappointment at her son. However, as they were still out in public, she didn¡¯t make any explicit disys of emotion.


    In contrast, Tang Jun was looking at Yue Yao with glee. The meaning behind his smile couldn¡¯t be more obvious.


    However, Yun Guang and the rest were looking at the other cultivators in the room, all with seemingly awkward expressions on their faces.


    It was simply because the rankings of the Subjugation Crusade this time were a little tricky to evaluate, with there being too many participants who had cedst. Yun Guang and the others had never seen a Subjugation Crusade with such a peculiar oue before.


    Putting aside the other participants, Yue Yao had over 68,000 Geotranscendence Bangles to her name, and thus was seated firmly in first ce, miles ahead of the second ce spot.


    Yun Feiyang was no pushover either. Even though he¡¯d lost 10,000 bangles to Yue Yao, the bastard still managed to ce second with approximately 31,000 bangles. It seemed those nine years he spent running around without rest weren¡¯t in vain after all. If he hadn¡¯t lost those 10,000 bangles, and Miao Yi hadn¡¯t meddled in halfway, the bastard might have actually gotten first ce.


    Kong Zhi ced third with a sum of over 24,000 bangles.


    Hei Wuya took fourth ce with a little over 20,000 bangles.


    Feng Ruxiu fell a little behind. Although he also had over 20,000 bangles, he was approximately one hundred bangles short from fourth ce, thus cing fifth overall.


    On the other hand, Bai Ziliang was in a rather terrible state, cing sixth with just about 12,000 bangles.


    This was not a bad position to have among the top one hundred. However, between the six representatives, it was actuallyst ce. None of the representatives wouldpete with the normal participants. After all, it wouldn¡¯t be much of an achievement even if they won. Thus, theirpetition was naturally between each other.


    Then again, if Miao Yi hadn¡¯t destroyed his Demon Refining Gourd and caused him to lose his sole method of achieving a quick victory, he wouldn¡¯t have been so restrained in the six years that followed, ultimately falling to his current state. Truth be told, he¡¯d also run around rather fervently during the past decade, though he couldn¡¯t reallypare to the running skill of that maniac Yun Feiyang, who¡¯d even gone as far as circling the vast Western Star Sea multiple times.


    In seventh ce was none other than Gu Sanzheng.


    Eight and ninth ce were Ye Xin and Tan Lao respectively.


    Tenth ce was ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯, with twenty-six bangles.


    This ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯ was actually Yan Beihong. The reason he had so little bangles was due to his time with Song Zeming and the others¡ªhe had taken part in the fighting, but not in the sharing of loot. However, Yan Beihong wasn¡¯t really concerned about these things. He only wished to survive. After Song Zeming and the others were taken care of, Miao Yi wanted to give him a portion of their Geotranscendence Bangles as well, but even then he couldn¡¯t be bothered to take it.


    Eleventh ce went to Tao Yongchun, with seventeen bangles.


    Twelfth ce was surprisingly Pi Junzi, with three bangles. How confounding it must be to still be able to get twelfth ce with just three bangles.


    At the moment, none of them knew what their positions were. Otherwise, Pi Junzi would surely be shocked, thinking, ¡¯Not only did I survive, but I even managed to get into the top twelve?¡¯


    ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ and the remaining eighty-seven participants had each handed over just one Geotranscendence Bangle, so they all ced thirteen, which also meant that they were all inst ce.


    The reason why the final oue had turned out so peculiar was because the six representatives had confiscated the Geotranscendence Bangles from all the normal participants. Those that weren¡¯t seized were swindled away by Miao Yi. After confiscating their members¡¯ Geotranscendence Bangles, Yun Feiyang and the others never returned them, only giving back all the other stuff they took. They also divided the things whose owners had died in battle among the remaining members, using it as a bargaining chip to obtain everyone¡¯s Geotranscendence Bangles.


    The normal participants were happy to oblige as well. After all, it was better to have more treasure than getting a high cement which the six representatives had been so desperately trying to achieve. Had this not been the case, the six representatives wouldn¡¯t have been able to obtain so many Geotranscendence Bangles.


    The reason why Gu Sanzheng and the others had so many bangles on them was because they were together with Miao Yi; Yue Yao didn¡¯t take away theirs. This was also the reason why even Pi Junzi managed to get such a high cement.


    When Yun Guang and the others saw the rankings, they thought to themselves, ¡¯Our six representatives surely had something to do with this strange cement. The Six Sages probably won¡¯t attempt such a thing again in the future. Otherwise, there won¡¯t be any point in having the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade.¡¯


    As they questioned their respective representatives via voice transmission, they found out the reason why so many had cedst¡ªthose six indeed had something to do with it. The normal participants had all been ¡¯bought¡¯ over. If they¡¯d been able to take off the ones on their wrists, all the normal participants would most likely have ended up with zero bangles.


    As ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯, Miao Yi had also drawn the attention of Yun Guang and the others. However, given their status, they weren¡¯t about to give him all the credit for everything that happened so far. He couldn¡¯t possibly shoulder such responsibility on his own, and there was no way the Six Sages would ept such an exnation. In the end, if the Six Sages hadn¡¯t sent over their representatives and messed things up, this Subjugation Crusade wouldn¡¯t have ended in such a manner.


    Still, at least in Tang Jun¡¯s eyes, ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ had done a good job. As a Celestial Nation cultivator, it was his civic duty to give his all for the sake of the Realm Beyond Heaven. And even if something were to happen, Tang Jun would have to do his utmost to protect ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯. Otherwise, who would heed their authority ever again?


    "We¡¯re stillcking one bangle!"


    After repeatedly tallying all the Geotranscendence Bangles, one of the supervisorymittees from the Western Constetions Pce suddenly voiced out this problem.


    The person-in-charge walked over as soon as he heard. After making sure of the news, his brows creased heavily. He then walked over to the astrbe located in the center of the hall. All he could see was that the Geotranscendence Bangles shown on it had all turned into a bright red color.


    He swept his gaze across the astrbe, making sure that all the Geotranscendence Bangles were gathered in a single spot. He then repeatedly invoked his arts and zoomed in. At thergest possible size, he was able to confirm that all the Geotranscendence Bangles were inside this side manor. However, he couldn¡¯t find out who was in possession of the missing one.


    He swept a cold gaze across the crowd and said, "Whoever has the final Geotranscendence Bangle, I suggest you hand it over immediately. If we find out that you¡¯re hiding it intentionally, no one will be able to protect you in this Western Constetions Pce! Not even the Six Sages themselves!" What an audacious im.


    Everyone looked at one another. Miao Yi was also ncing around when he suddenly thought of something. Biting hard on his lip, he slowly stepped out from the crowd.


    Then, Qi Xiuhong¡¯s body suddenly appeared in his embrace. That missing Geotranscendence Bangle was currently on her wrist. He had no way of removing it. After all, he couldn¡¯t just chop off Qi Xiuhong¡¯s arm!


    The entire hall instantly fell into silence. The sight of Miao Yi holding onto Qi Xiuhong¡¯s corpse was very much a pitiable one. An icy gaze in his eyes, Miao Yi slowly turned to look at Bai Ziliang.


    Bai Ziliang didn¡¯t like him either, so he looked back with a gaze just as menacing.


    Yue Yao and Hong Chen looked on in astonishment. ¡¯He¡¯s kept this woman¡¯s corpse with him all this time. Was she his lover?¡¯


    Women were the more sentimental sex after all. The two of them couldn¡¯t help having mixed feelings as they looked at Miao Yi.


    "Hiss!" Suddenly, one of the giant pythons coiling around the pirs shot over, its bloody jaws opened wide as it tried to bite down on Miao Yi. Its speed was incredibly fast. The momentum was not something Miao Yi could stop.


    Then, a figure hastily rushed out with even greater speed, retaliating with a palm strike of his own in an instant. The entire hall shook from the st of wind behind his palm.


    Bang! That person actually sent a python that massive flying with a single palm strike!

 Chapter 430: Tenth Place, Miao Yi!

    Chapter 430: Tenth ce, Miao Yi!


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The python that was sent flying backward began to glow red, then transformed into a big, muscr man. He cast a furious gaze at his assant.


    The one that attacked him was none other than Tang Jun.


    ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ had just done a great deed for the Realm Beyond Heaven. Even if Tang Jun wasn¡¯t going to reward him for it, he couldn¡¯t possibly allow him to suffer. If he¡¯d really just stood by and watched, who would be willing to serve the Realm Beyond Heaven in the future? And even if he could ignore that possibility, he still couldn¡¯t avoid the ridicule of others. Hence, as the one in-charge on this expedition, Tang Jun couldn¡¯t just turn a blind eye at seeing ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ in trouble.


    With his hands behind his back, Tang Jun nced at that python spirit, and said, "I believe there is a valid reason for this. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t intentionally hiding it. We all saw what just happened. I don¡¯t think I need to say much about this."


    Ji Meimei suddenly chimed in and scoffed, "This man is clearly an unscrupulous individual. If we hadn¡¯t discovered him, he would have surely tried to smuggle the Geotranscendence Bangle away."


    There was a fleeting resentment in her eyes as she looked at Miao Yi¡ªshe had just found out from Lan Susu that the reason her son had been so unsessful on this expedition was precisely because of this ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ person. Ji Meimei wanted nothing more than to cut Miao Yi into tiny little pieces, so she would obviously use this opportunity to take advantage of his slip-up.


    As soon as the words left Ji Meimei¡¯s mouth, Zhao Fei and the others started to worry about Miao Yi. In contrast, the person in question appeared untroubled, standing in ce like he just didn¡¯t care.


    "Ji Meimei, don¡¯t take it out on my Celestial Nation members just because your son is ipetent!" Tang Jun abruptly turned around, a piercing gaze in his eyes as he bluntly retorted. He wasn¡¯t showing the other party any face at all.


    Although Ji Meimei had Yao Sage Ji Huan standing behind her, Tang Jun too had Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun standing behind him. He had no reason to be afraid of the other party, so how could he possibly step back at a time like this? If he really allowed someone else to kill ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯, he would be losing face first and foremost.


    "Tang Jun!" His words struck a nerve, and Ji Meimei angrily barked, "I¡¯m merely stating the facts here! Don¡¯t go spouting off something that¡¯spletely irrelevant!"


    "I¡¯m spouting off?" Tang Jun scoffed, "There is no grievance between you two, so why do you wish to sentence him to death for such a minor incident?"


    Ji Meimei snapped back aggressively, "I¡¯m merely speaking the truth. If we hadn¡¯t discovered him, he would¡¯ve surely smuggled that Geotranscendence Bangle away. Tang Jun, the Western Constetions Pce is no ce for you to act as you please!"


    "Senior Ji, I can be a witness. One of Bai Ziliang¡¯s top-tier artifacts was indeed destroyed by ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯. Otherwise, Bai Ziliang wouldn¡¯t have fallen as far behind as he did."


    From the Devil Nation¡¯s side, Yun Feiyang had suddenly raised his hand and voiced out in a meek tone.


    Everyone looked over curiously, wondering why this brat was suddenly chiming in as well. His words were clearly proving that Ji Meimei was indeed trying to make things worse for ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ to sate her hatred.


    Bai Ziliang threw Yun Feiyang a furious re, to which thetter responded with a simple snicker, as though saying, ¡¯I¡¯m not afraid of you¡¯.


    Ji Meimei turned around and snarled, "Yun Guang, keep an eye on your son¡¯s dirty mouth!"


    Yun Guang shot a couple nces at her voluptuous figure, then¡ª ¡¯Pa!¡¯ ¡ªhe pped the back of Yun Feiyang¡¯s head. What a show of respect indeed. Yun Feiyang staggered forward, almost falling down even, as Yun Guang said, "Brat, don¡¯t be so disrespectful. The adults are talking here. Do you think a brat like you has the right to say anything?"


    Yun Feiyang turned his head around resentfully, telling Yun Guang via voice transmission, "At the end of the Subjugation Crusade, Hei Wuya and I started to battle. In that crucial moment, the only reason why our Devil Nation didn¡¯t suffer any casualties was because this ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ helped us. Everyone saw this. Don¡¯t tell me you want me to pretend like nothing happened and just hide here in my corner? How will I ever show my face in public then?"


    ¡¯Oh, I see!¡¯ Yun Guang was momentarily taken aback. He coughed drily, then pointed at Ji Meimei as he corrected his previous statement and told Yun Feiyang, "There¡¯s a good chance that your old man will be taking that woman as my mistress in the future. We¡¯ll all be a family soon enough. This is no ce for you to spout off nonsense. Hurry up and call her Aunt Ji!"


    How was this even rted? Many in the crowd were lost for words. Yun Feiyang was a little dumbfounded, asking, "Are you serious?"


    "Pfft!" Hei Yun couldn¡¯t help himself fromughing. However, realizing his son was just beside him, he figured he shouldn¡¯t look too undignified, and hurriedly held back the lecherous smile on his face.


    Ji Meimei¡¯s body was quaking with anger. This Yun Guang was simply too arrogant! It was bad enough that he spouted this kind of nonsense on a regr basis, but now he was even making fun of her in front of her son. How could the two of them possibly endure such humiliation!


    And as Ji Meimei expected, Bai Ziliang was absolutely furious. His facepletely flushed, he charged over with reckless abandon, shouting, "I¡¯ll fucking kill you!"


    Yun Guang narrowed his eyes at Bai Ziliang. Waving an arm, he formed a w with his hand, stopping Bai Ziliang in mid-air as thetter jumped towards him. They weren¡¯t on the same level at all.


    As Yun Guang clenched down slightly on his hand, Bai Ziliang¡¯s expression immediately contorted in pain. Yun Guang scoffed, "Impudent brat. You dare try to fight me? You must be tired of living!"


    "Yun Guang, don¡¯t you dare!" Anxious and afraid that Yun Guang would kill her son, Ji Meimei immediately rushed over and attacked him furiously.


    Yun Guang looked at her actions with contempt. With one hand still holding Bai Ziliang in mid-air, the other moved like a shadow, swiftly shing with Ji Meimei¡¯s attack. In an instant, violent winds began surging around the entire manor, and terrifying booms resounded.


    "Mmm..."


    Suddenly, a cold, questioning voice echoed across the entire Western Constetions Pce. While there was no anger reflected in that voice, itmanded an authority that overlooked no transgressions. The sheer intensity of that voice caused everyone to feel pain in their eardrums, and their very souls trembled in awe.


    Yun Guang¡¯s expression finally changed. He quickly withdrew his hand and released Bai Ziliang. Ji Meimei didn¡¯t dare act rashly as well, and she quickly rushed over to help Bai Ziliang up.


    "Yun Guang, you old fart! I¡¯ll have your life one day!" Bai Ziliang pointed at Yun Guang and shouted menacingly. He could tolerate losing in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, but he could never endure his mother being humiliated in public. Bai Ziliang could only me himself for being powerless.


    Ji Meimei hurriedly pulled her son aside and asked him to keep quiet. Even with both their cultivations stacked together, they were no match for Yun Guang. So why make things more difficult for themselves? Not to mention, the master of the Western Constetions Pce himself had spoken up. This was no ce for them to act out of turn.


    Back then, Ji Meimei had disobeyed the words of her father, Yao Sage Ji Huan, and insisted on marrying Bai Ziliang¡¯s father. At the time, Ji Huan warned her: ¡¯You¡¯d better not regret it!¡¯


    Ji Meimei could still remember how she replied to her father. She loudly replied: ¡¯I will never regret it!¡¯


    Her father scoffed: ¡¯How impudent. It looks like I really have spoiled you too much. Whether it be demonic spirit or man, one must always pay the price for one¡¯s wilfulness. Don¡¯te to hate me, because this is the path you chose for yourself. I can only care for those who walk the same path as me!¡¯


    Ever since ancient times, single mothers had always been an easy target to push around. After enduring years of humiliation, Ji Meimei would be lying if she said she didn¡¯t regret her choice at all.


    From a highly respected princess to a widowed, single mother. Ji Meimei had lost much of her authority as well as her cultivation resources. This was the price she paid for disobeying her father. However, what has happened has already happened. It didn¡¯t matter if she regretted it or not. All she could do was put up a facade and show that she was alright.


    That being said, oftentimes certain consequences were simply a result of one¡¯s own actions. If Ji Meimei hadn¡¯t voiced out and tried to make things worse for Miao Yi, the situation wouldn¡¯t have escted thus far. If she hadn¡¯t forced her son to participate in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade altogether, then nothing would have happened at all.


    "You¡¯ll have to get past me first!" Yun Feiyang said to Bai Ziliang.


    Yun Guang quickly pulled his son back. He too didn¡¯t wish to offend the master of the Western Constetions Pce. As though in mockery, he said, "Your old man has heard even worse things before. There are plenty of people in this world who can make exaggerated promises, but how many of those actually follow through? Don¡¯t mind him!"


    The person-in-charge of the side manor suddenly spoke, "Are you all done fooling around?"


    Both parties immediately quieted down.


    The normal participants couldn¡¯t help secretly exchanging nces. They finally caught a glimpse of how these high-ranking people normally behaved.


    The person-in-charge then walked over to Miao Yi¡¯s side and gripped the Geotranscendence Bangle on Qi Xiuhong¡¯s wrist. The Geotranscendence Bangle was instantly bathed in a golden light and began to expand. It was then easily removed from Qi Xiuhong¡¯s wrist. The person casually tossed it aside to one of themittee members, nodding to Miao Yi as he said, "Add this Geotranscendence Bangle to his name."


    Thus, the argument was finished with a single statement. ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ then became the only person in thirteenth ce, knocking all the other participants down to fourteenth ce.


    Zhao Fei and the others were secretly relieved for Miao Yi¡¯s sake. At the same time, they watched as Miao Yi stored Qi Xiuhong¡¯s body away, sighing inwardly in sorrow.


    Meanwhile, themittee members from the Western Constetions Pce were quite frustrated. They had absolutely no idea how to divide those 600,000 Orbs of Will ording to the original arrangements!


    Eventually, after a discussion with Yun Guang and the others, it was decided that the Orbs of Will would be divided ordingly for the first thirteen cements, and the remainder of which would be equally shared between the other eighty-six participants.


    "First ce, Yue Yao!" The Western Constetions Pcemittee began calling up the names of the participants to receive their prizes.


    Yue Yao stepped forward and received one-fifth of the prize pot worth 600,000 Orbs of Will, taking a total of 120,000 orbs for herself.


    The next person in line would get one-fifth of the remaining pot, and so on and so forth.


    Thinking that her son would be too ashamed to go up and im his prize, Ji Meimei was prepared to step forward on his behalf. However, when Bai Ziliang¡¯s name was called, he still walked forward and epted his prize on his own, albeit with a darkened face.


    Ji Meimei was rather puzzled by his actions. But then, carrying his prize over, Bai Ziliang shed it in front of his mother, and said via voice transmission, "Mother, this is the prize we earned by humbling ourselves. We deserve every single piece! I swear that from this day on, I will work hard to be stronger, and you won¡¯t have to push me any longer. When the dayes, I will wash away this shame with the blood of our enemies! I will make all those who humiliated us pay the price!"


    Ji Meimei was on the verge of tears. With reddened eyes, she turned away from the crowd and replied to Bai Ziliang in kind, "Mother is useless for making you suffer!"


    "It¡¯s not your fault, Mother. I was the one who was too naive all this while!" Bai Ziliang said painfully.


    "Tenth ce, Miao Yi!"


    Yue Yao was in the middle of talking to her senior sister via voice transmission when this particr name was announced. Her body suddenly trembled, and she hurriedly swept a gaze across the participants in search of a certain someone.


    Dressed in monk¡¯s robes as white as snow, and with a benevolent-looking countenance on his face, Ba Jie was standing beside Kong Zhi when he heard the announcement. He too was instantly thunderstruck, and he abruptly lifted his head and madly swept a look across the crowd. Even his breathing had be a little ragged.


    Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s white eyebrows were furrowed as well, and he surveyed the crowd with a watchful gaze.


    ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me that Miao Yi from the Red Scarves Alliance is actually still alive? But then why did Junior Sister not realize this when she was leading the remaining Celestial Nation cultivators on the nameless ind? Could that person have figured something out and is intentionally hiding his identity?¡¯ Fairy Hong Chen also had an expression of shock on her face, and she quickly scanned the crowd.


    Miao Yi secretly cast a quick look at Yue Yao¡¯s reaction. He clenched his fists tightly within his sleeves, but still acted like he was unperturbed.


    Aii! Sighing inwardly, Yan Beihong gritted his teeth and stepped out of the crowd to ept his prize.


    Fairy Hong Chen didn¡¯t remember what Miao Yi looked like. When she saw that he was this burly, bearded man, she quickly turned to her junior sister. However, all Hong Chen saw was confusion on her junior sister¡¯s face as she stared intently at ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯.


    On the other side, Ba Jie was equally perplexed as well. At the same time, he was a little suspicious about the situation, as though feeling something was amiss.


    Although a person¡¯s face normally changed as they grow older, they didn¡¯t usually change this much. This was nothing like that person¡¯s face at all. Even the shape of their heads waspletely different. Did they just share the same name?


    Yue Yao and Ba Jie watched as ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯ went back to stand by ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯s¡¯ side. If they really had to choose, the two of them felt that ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ looked more simr to that person in their memory instead.

 Chapter 431: Second Bro?

    Chapter 431: Second Bro?


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Yun Feiyang clenched his teeth as he watched Yan Beihong passing himself off as ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯ to receive his prize. One impersonated ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ to rob others, while the other impersonated ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯ to ept his prize. Yun Feiyang had no idea what the heck these two were plotting.


    "Why the fuck are you both so ashamed to reveal your true identities?" Yun Feiyang mumbled softly to himself. He added, "Fine, you guys win. I can¡¯t believe you would dare to y such games when we¡¯re right inside the Western Constetions Pce."


    Among the Western Constetions Pcemittee, there was one person who was puzzled by the current situation as well. This person was the one who had received the participants from the Fifth Earthly Branch, and they had talked with Wu Menn during the beginning of the Subjugation Crusade. At the time, a battle had broken out right after the participants disembarked, and the Red Scarves Alliance¡¯s Miao Yi left a deep impression on him. But how did he be Yan Beihong ten yearster? And why was that Yan Beihong posing as Miao Yi? What was going on?


    He secretly conveyed the matter to the person-in-charge via voice transmission, and thetter swept his gaze across both Yan Beihong and Miao Yi. However, he didn¡¯t say anything about the situation.


    None from the Western Constetions Pce had any love for the Subjugation Crusade in the first ce. All they wanted was to end it smoothly. They didn¡¯t wish for there to be any trouble. The person-in-charge decided to only mention this peculiar incident when he reported to his superiors.


    Creasing his brows, Zuo Nanchun was just as confused. However, he too wouldn¡¯t expose this secret.


    "Thirteenth ce, Yan Beihong!"


    As soon as this name was announced, several gazes immediately fell upon Miao Yi. And as expected, since Yan Beihong had stepped forward as ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯, Miao Yi was receiving his prize as ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ as well.


    Even Zhao Fei and the others couldn¡¯t help worrying deep down, ¡¯Brother, what in the world are you doing? Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡¯


    As thirteenth ce, Miao Yi was entitled to over eight thousand Orbs of Will.


    The remaining eighty-something participants were no longer called out individually to receive their prize. They were all in fourteenth ce, and the leftover thirty thousand-something Orbs of Will were equally divided between them. Hence, each person was only able to get a rather paltry amount. It was a prize only in name indeed.


    At this point, the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade could be considered to be officially over. However, the organizingmittee didn¡¯t immediately dismiss all the participants from the Western Constetions Pce.


    As Yun Guang said, today was their glorious day. Hence, they were allowed to stay within the Western Constetions Pce for three days. This was a different kind of prize for the survivors of the Subjugation Crusade. In the future, they would be able to boast to their peers¡ª ¡¯I¡¯ve stayed in the Western Constetions Pce before. I wasn¡¯t just kicked out right after the Subjugation Crusade.¡¯


    Even though the master of the Western Constetions Pce wasn¡¯t too keen on the idea, this was the rule set by the Six Sages for every single Subjugation Crusade. It was a disy for all the cultivators across the realm. A show to those who were skeptical of the Subjugation Crusade. It was an announcement to the world that, while the Subjugation Crusade was indeed dangerous, the honor entailed was not something that anyone could enjoy. How many cultivators were there in the world who could have the honor of staying in the divine pce of one of the Four Constetions Masters?


    And this was still just the beginning. After this, once the surviving participants returned to their respective domains, they would still receive the invitation from their Overlords! Whichever territory you fancied, you could just mention to the Overlord, and they would surely grant your request!


    That said, while the rules were set by the Six Sages, there was no way the master of the Western Constetions Pce would allow these people to roam around his residence as they pleased.


    Within the side manor, the person-in-charge announced, "You¡¯re all free to choose your living quarters anywhere within one-third of a distance from the front of the pce. Also, you¡¯re free to walk and take a look around the pce, but you are forbidden from venturing too deep inside. Otherwise, don¡¯t me us for not informing you earlier."


    "Once you¡¯ve chosen your living quarters, let us know. We will have someone send over food and fine wine straight to your rooms. All your basic needs will be provided for. I¡¯m sure you will find our arrangements to your satisfaction!"


    After making this announcement, the person-in-charge led the othermittee members and left.


    "Let¡¯s go! Children of my Devil Nation, I have already arranged your living quarters for you. Follow me!" Yun Guangmanded as he waved his hand. Laughing heartily, he then led the Devil Nation cultivators away.


    Distressed, Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun looked towards Miao Yi and the others in reluctance. However, they had no choice but to follow behind Ji Meimei.


    Miao Yi transmitted his voice over, saying, "Don¡¯t worry. Even if they wish to deal with you two, they still need to wait until everything is over. While we¡¯re in here, they won¡¯t have the guts to do anything to you."


    The duo turned back and shot him a nce. They could only hope that were the case.


    Tang Jun swept a nce across his Celestial Nation cultivators and smiled as he said, "Follow me then. I¡¯ve arranged your living quarters as well."


    Miao Yi and the others naturally followed. However, in front of them, Yue Yao would look back at Yan Beihong from time to time. Fairy Hong Chen would toss him the asional nce as well.


    Originally, it was supposed to be a pleasurable experience to be following such beautiful women. It wasn¡¯t so bad to be able to admire the twodies¡¯ alluring figures from behind either. However, their intent stares made Yan Beihong¡¯s hair stand on end, and his whole body couldn¡¯t help feeling restless.


    On the Buddha Nation¡¯s side, when he saw Ba Jie sneakily following behind the Celestial Nation participants like an idiot, Grandmaster Qi Jie shouted, "Ba Jie, where are you off to?"


    "Uhh... Master, it¡¯s my first timeing to the Western Constetions Pce, so I¡¯m going to have a look around. I¡¯lle back and find you guyster," Ba Jie curtly replied, then immediately disappeared around the corner.


    "Stubborn child!" Grandmaster Qi Jie smiled bitterly and shook his head. Apparently, he had a good hunch as to what was going on in his disciple¡¯s mind.


    Those who had never been to the Western Constetions Pce could scarcely imagine that upon the vast, turquoise ocean, at the peak of a jagged cliff, there rested such an enormous and magnificent pce.


    Ancient, domineering, lofty, and beautiful. These were the words with which one would use to describe the Western Constetions Pce. A variety of flowers bloomed here, as though it were spring all year round. And atop its tall pavilions and terraces, the boundless ocean stretched as far as the eye could see, and the clouds hung low and within arm¡¯s reach. The vastness that surrounded the pce gave one the impression that the entire structure floated in the sky, and that it truly was situated away from the mortal realm.


    The Celestial Nation cultivators had just picked their individual rooms when a voice suddenly came from the garden outside, saying, "Can Gu Sanzheng please step out for a moment?"


    When they heard the voice, everyone couldn¡¯t help looking out to see what was going on. Tang Jun walked up to that person and asked, "What¡¯s the matter?"


    The other party replied, "The Minister of the Left wishes to see him."


    "The Minister of the Left wishes to see him?" Tang Jun was incredibly puzzled. The so-called Minister of the Left was a reference to Fu Qing¡¯s two arms. In short, they were his second-inmands. And as one of the Western Constetion Pce¡¯s two Ministers, such a person undoubtedly possessed an extraordinary status. Why would someone like that wish to see a normal Celestial Nation cultivator? Tang Jun couldn¡¯t help asking, "May I know what for?"


    "I do not know. All will be revealed once he meets the Minister of the Left." The other party shook his head. Then, seeing Gu Sanzheng walking over, he asked, "You are Gu Sanzheng?"


    Gu Sanzheng obediently paid his respects and replied, "Yes, I am!"


    "Follow me then!" The messenger immediately turned around and left. Gu Sanzheng was slightly confused, but s, he had no choice but to follow behind the other person.


    Just as Tang Jun was wondering what the issue was, he saw Miao Yi rush out from the side to follow behind Gu Sanzheng. And the moment Miao Yi stepped out, Yan Beihong hurriedly went after him as well.


    However, before Tang Jun could say anything, the messenger from the Western Constetions Pce halted. Turning around, he said indifferently, "All those who are not rted remain here. The Minister of the Left wishes to see Gu Sanzheng, and Gu Sanzheng alone. Disobey, and there shall be no mercy!"


    Furrowing his brows, Miao Yi came to a stop. There was a trace of worry on his face. If his guess was correct, this matter should be rted to ¡¯Niu Youde¡¯.


    "You¡¯d better not run off to the restricted areas. Otherwise, no one can save you. I¡¯ll go and see what¡¯s going on," Tang Jun said inly, then departed.


    After pacing about for a while, Miao Yi figured there was little he could do besides return to his little courtyard and wait for the news. ¡¯I¡¯ll think of something again if the situation starts to turn bad. In this damned ce, even a python spirit can be a Red Lotus cultivator.¡¯ There was really nothing he could do.


    Yan Beihong shared the same little courtyard with him. After everyone around them was gone, Yan Beihong noticed Miao Yi pacing back and forth beside the pond, and couldn¡¯t help walking up to ask, "What¡¯s the matter?"


    "It¡¯s a long story¡ª" Right as Miao Yi was about to exin, someone suddenly shouted, "Miao Yi!"


    The two of them then turned around to find Yue Yao and Fairy Hong Chen walking through the moon gate.


    Fairy Hong Chen stopped under the shade of a nearby tree, while Yue Yao walked straight up to Yan Beihong¡¯s face to examine him closely.


    The Great Official Yan was feeling incredibly restless under Yue Yao¡¯s intent gaze. Casting a sideways nce at Miao Yi, who was also feeling embarrassed by the current situation, Yan Beihongughed bitterly deep down, ¡¯Look at what you¡¯ve done.¡¯


    Suddenly, Fairy Hong Chen turned around and barked, "Who is sneaking around over there?"


    Everyone turned to find a rather attractive bald head peeking out from the side of the moon gate. With a bright smile on his face, the person walked out, pping his hands in prayer as he said to the crowd, "Greetings, everyone."


    It was none other than Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s disciple, Ba Jie.


    Raising an eyebrow, Fairy Hong Chen asked, "What is a Buddha Nation cultivator doing all the way here?"


    "I have business with him!" Ba Jie pointed to Yan Beihong. He then strode over to Yan Beihong and carefully examined thetter back and forth. With a little excitement in his tone, he asked, "Are you called Miao Yi?"


    Yue Yao was very displeased at being interrupted. She said, "Dirty monk, what do you think you¡¯re doing?"


    Ba Jie ignored herpletely, and just stared at Yan Beihong, waiting for his answer.


    Yan Beihong was already cursing Miao Yi deep down, ¡¯What the heck is going on here? I¡¯ve been known as ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ for almost a hundred years already. How the heck did I turn into ¡¯Miao Yi?¡¯ However, he still gritted his teeth and nodded. "Yes, I am Miao Yi!"


    Ba Jie then asked excitedly, "Then may I ask, is your old home located in Changfeng City of the Celestial Nation? And did you used to have a younger brother and sister?"


    When he heard what Ba Jie said, Miao Yi¡¯s body trembled, and he abruptly looked towards him.


    Yue Yao was also looking at Ba Jie in a daze.


    Fairy Hong Chen was taken aback as well, her eyes shimmering anxiously.


    "..." Yan Beihong was silent for a while. He shot a nce at Miao Yi, then pretended to be confused as he replied, "What younger brother and sister?"


    Ba Jiepletely ignored everyone else and only stared at Yan Beihong as he pressed, "Try to think about it. Like really think about it. Did you use to own a butcher¡¯s stall outside your house? Your younger brother is called Zhang Fengbao, and your younger sister is called Lu Xuexin. Am I right?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s breathing had be a little ragged. Clenching his fists tightly, the other party¡¯s words made him think of a certain possibility, ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s Second Bro? But how did that fatso Little Brother be such a handsome monk?¡¯


    He tried his best to fit the monk before him with the little brother in his mind. If he really had to say they were simr, then it was just a slight resemnce between the brows. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t imagine how that fat, wretched-looking kid could be so handsome, and a monk at that.


    Suddenly, he remembered what Hong Changhai had told him when he visited the School of Blue Jade. He said that it was entirely possible that the yellow-robed cultivator that Miao Yi saw sitting on a lotus throne back in Changfeng City was a Boundless Nation or Buddha Nation cultivator. Everything could have been an illusion created using transcendence energy. Normal cultivators wouldn¡¯t materialize some lotus throne.


    ¡¯Then does that mean the person who brought Second Bro away was really a monk?¡¯ Miao Yi scrutinized Ba Jie closely, thinking about the time he was forced to jump down Skyfire Mountain. The way this unscrupulous monk behaved was indeed quite simr to his little brother¡¯s style of doing things.


    Ba Jie widened his eyes at Yan Beihong, carefully examining his reaction. Beside them, Yue Yao stared at Ba Jie, and suddenly asked in a meek tone, "Second Bro?"

 Chapter 432: Siblings Reunited

    Chapter 432: Siblings Reunited


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Ba Jie¡ªwho had focused on ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯ and ignored everyone else the entire time¡ªwas suddenly thunderstruck, as if he had been stabbed with a needle. He slowly turned his head to look at Yue Yao, his mouth widening as he carefully lifted a finger to point at her. "Y-y-you..."


    He was in utter disbelief, stuttering as he simply mumbled the words ¡¯you¡¯ to no end.


    Like the sweet chimes of silver bells, Yue Yao changed her tone. With a truly captivating voice, she asked in a cautious, yet excited manner, "Second Bro?"


    Ba Jie took deep, heavy breaths. His expression twisted, he stuttered out, "Y-y-you¡¯re Ol¡¯ Third?"


    Ordinary outsiders wouldn¡¯t know how the three siblings addressed one another. And in that one moment, both Miao Yi and Yue Yao were able to confirm Ba Jie¡¯s identity.


    Yue Yao¡¯s eyes immediately reddened, tears streaming down her cheeks like pearls as she nodded repeatedly and said, "I am Ol¡¯ Third! Are you really Second Bro?"


    Ba Jie started crying as well, his voice choking as he said, "You¡¯re lying! How can that snot-nosed brat Ol¡¯ Third be such a beautifuldy? Stop trying to cheat this monk with your sphemous words! This monk¡¯s all-seeing eye is like a candle in the dark. Nothing can be concealed under my transcendent gaze!"


    "I like being this beautiful. Like it¡¯s any of your business!" Yue Yao wiped her tears and replied with a voice as muffled as Ba Jie¡¯s, "Second Bro, you¡¯re the one who shouldn¡¯t lie to me. You used to be so fat. How did you be so thin?"


    "It¡¯s because I was forced to live on a vegetarian diet every day. Had I not cherished my own body, and ate meat to replenish myself every now and again, I might have ended up even thinner..." Ba Jie spread his arms, and Yue Yao immediately dove into his embrace. As the two hugged it out, they made stifled, soft cries, afraid that other people would hear them if they cried too loud.


    Even though she was already in Ba Jie¡¯s embrace, and even though she had already confirmed that he was her Second Bro, Yue Yao still felt as though she was dreaming. She was afraid of believing that she managed to bump into her long-lost Second Bro under such circumstances. Crying on Ba Jie¡¯s shoulder, she asked, "How can you prove that you¡¯re really my Second Bro?"


    "Of course I can prove it. I have a method that not only proves I¡¯m your Second Bro, it can also prove if you¡¯re my Ol¡¯ Third," Ba Jie said while crying, "My Ol¡¯ Third has a red birthmark on her butt. You just need to take off your pants and show me. Then all will be revealed."


    As soon as he heard this, Miao Yi tightly clenched his lips. His eyes reddened as well.


    Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t believe that he could listen in on something so private and hurriedly raised his head to the sky, pretending that he hadn¡¯t heard anything. But in his mind, he was thinking about what an exquisite sight a red birthmark on Fairy Yue Yao¡¯s buttocks must be...


    "Ouch!" Ba Jie screamed, his leg having been furiously stepped on by Yue Yao. As thetter hurriedly pushed him away, he wiped away his tears and widened his eyes at her and said, "Ol¡¯ Third, why did you step on me? Can¡¯t you see that your Second Bro is pitiful enough already, being forced to be a monk since childhood? How can you bear to hurt me still?"


    "Shameless!" Yue Yao said furiously. How could he reveal such a private thing in front of outsiders? She was still a woman. What would be of her dignity then?


    That said, she jumped back into Ba Jie¡¯s embrace the next moment, crying as she said, "Second Bro, it really is you! But how did you be a monk?"


    Even though Ba Jie had revealed her private information, but precisely because it was information most personal to her that she could confirm that he really was her Second Bro.


    "You think I wanted to be a monk?! Back then in Changfeng City, that old baldy Qi Jie used some kind of great art to beguile our senses. And after he kidnapped me, that was when I found out he was a monk. After that, he took me straight to the Realm of High Paradise. I couldn¡¯t resist even if I wanted to! Every time I tried to escape, I would be caught and brought back. It was truly a life filled with suffering..." Ba Jie exined his sorrowful past.


    "Second Bro, I¡¯ve missed you and Big Brother terribly!"


    "I¡¯ve missed you too! Ol¡¯ Third, how did a snot-nosed brat like you be so beautiful? How about I renounce my faith and take you in as my wife? That way we won¡¯t have to be separated ever again!"


    "Shameless!" Yue Yao pushed him away again. Her tears turned toughter, and she pointed at Ba Jie¡ªwho was still trying to hug her¡ªand said, "Get away from me. And don¡¯t touch me!"


    It was only now that Yue Yao realized how inappropriate it was for men and women to be touching each other so much. She was even a little suspicious whether Ba Jie was intentionally trying to take advantage of her just now. But then again, that did fit her Second Bro¡¯s personality indeed. When they were kids, she knew that her Second Bro would always go and spy on the neighboring widow in the bath. He would even try to sneak inside the brothels with a few of his friends as well. Yue Yao felt like she¡¯d suffered a terrible loss by letting him hug her like that just now.


    Wiping his tears away, Ba Jie made a hearty chuckle, then abruptly turned towards Yan Beihong and said, "You haven¡¯t answered my question!"


    Yue Yao was staring at Yan Beihong as well.


    Yan Beihong snuck a nce at Miao Yi. Smiling bitterly, he then shrugged and said, "I think you have the wrong guy? I really have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. I¡¯m about a hundred years of age, and I originally hailed from the Fourth Earthly Branch¡¯s Mulberry Earth City. My original name is called Yan Debiao. I used to be a militarymander in Mulberry Earth City, but after I killed the City Lord¡¯s mistress, I became a fugitive. It was also then that I changed my name to ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯ and started to pursue the path of cultivation. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask around Mulberry Earth City. Perhaps you can still find my wanted poster."


    Yan Beihong wasn¡¯t lying. His original name was indeed called Yan Debiao. It was just that while he was still on the run, he had caught sight of a rainbow on the northern sky, and beingpletely wowed by it, he decided to change his name to Yan Beihong out of self-assertion. Even if there was someone still alive in Mulberry Earth City who knew about him, they couldn¡¯t possibly know that he had already changed his name to Yan Beihong. Thus, if Ba Jie and Yue Yao were to investigate, they wouldn¡¯t be able to find anything substantial. All they would find was ¡¯history¡¯.


    Yue Yao and Ba Jie exchanged nces. Could it really just be a coincidence that he was called ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯ as well?


    ¡¯But why of all names did he choose to change his name to Miao Yi? Isn¡¯t this too much of a coincidence?¡¯ Ba Jie asked suspiciously, "Why did you change your name to Miao Yi?"


    Yan Beihongughed bitterly and said, "While I was still a mortal, there was a time when I was on the verge of giving up from the hardship of constantly being on the run. That was when I coincidentally noticed the tiny grass by the side of the road. Weak and fragile they were, but still, they cling to life. This struck a chord with me, and thus, I changed my name to ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯ as a form of self-encouragement. There isn¡¯t any other meaning behind it."


    Since the other party had exined his backstory to them so clearly, he obviously wasn¡¯t afraid that they would look it up! Yue Yao and Ba Jie were immediately disappointed. ¡¯So that¡¯s why. No wonder they look nothing alike.¡¯


    But could it really be such a coincidence? In contrast to Ba Jie and Yue Yao, Fairy Hong Chen would cast a nce from time to time at Miao Yi, who had been standing at the side throughout the conversation.


    Perhaps the onlooker was the one who saw it best after all! Yue Yao and Ba Jie hadpletely forgotten that Miao Yi was standing right next to them, but Fairy Hong Chen had watched the entire conversation y out. She noticed how Yan Beihong would secretly look at Miao Yi from time to time as he spoke, and thetter¡¯s tightly clenched fists and reddened eyes as he struggled to keep his emotions in check made her even more suspicious! It was a reunion between Yue Yao and her Second Bro. Why was this person so agitated?


    ¡¯Dowry!¡¯ Fairy Hong Chen suddenly remembered Yue Yao¡¯s story about ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ giving her her dowry. Hong Chen then took out the storage bangle and fiddled with it in the palm of her hands.


    Why would a normal person tell Yue Yao something like giving her her dowry? Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s eyes shimmered, having seemingly figured something out.


    Having pretty much confirmed that this Miao Yi was not the one they were looking for, Ba Jie spread his arms towards Yue Yao once more and said, "Ol¡¯ Third, your Second Bro has missed you dearly. Come and give me another hug!"


    "Go to hell!" Yue Yao clenched her teeth andunched a kick at his stomach.


    Rubbing his stomach, Ba Jie forced a smile and said, "Ol¡¯ Third, I¡¯ve already seen you naked before. What¡¯s wrong with a little hug?"


    "Stop talking already! You perverted monk!" Yue Yao was fuming with rage.


    She was no longer the same little girl she was before. As a full-grown woman, how could someone just casually talk about taking off her pants and showing off her butt, or seeing herpletely naked? She was already feeling incredibly embarrassed. How could she possibly continue crying? Flushed with anger and embarrassment, she hastilyunched a crescent moon from her fingertips and dangled it right above Ba Jie¡¯s bald head.


    Ba Jie stared cross-eyed at the razor-sharp edge. Tucking his neck in, heughed drily and said, "It was just a joke. Just a joke! Can¡¯t you tell that I was praising your beauty? Why are you so testy? I¡¯m a monk, for crying out loud. How can I possibly be perverted? Even if you¡¯re any prettier, in my eyes, it¡¯s all nothing but a beautiful bag of flesh surrounding a skeleton!"


    "Okay, that¡¯s enough. Someone¡¯sing. You two,e with me. I have something to discuss with you," Fairy Hong Chen said.


    "Ol¡¯ Third, this should be your senior sister, Fairy Hong Chen, right?" Ba Jie immediately walked over. With a sanctimonious tone, he pped his hands in prayer and said, "I have long heard stories of the famous fairy¡ª"


    Yue Yao saw him getting close to Fairy Hong Chen and hurriedly cut his words off before he could finish, yelling, "Get away from my senior sister!"


    However, Fairy Hong Chen didn¡¯t need Yue Yao¡¯s reminder; she was already instinctively backing away. She had just seen how shameless this monk could be, so how could she not be wary of him?


    Then, Yue Yao abruptly turned towards Miao Yi and Yan Beihong and said, "I hope the two of you will pretend this entire conversation never happened. I believe you should know the consequences if word of this spreads out!"


    Yan Beihong cast a sideways nce at Miao Yi, and the both of them acknowledged the order.


    Before she left, Yue Yao turned around to take another look at Miao Yi. She suddenly remembered something, ¡¯This guy only had two Geotranscendence Bangles, including the one on that dead woman¡¯s wrist. Don¡¯t tell me he gave me all his other Geotranscendence Bangles?¡¯


    Miao Yi silently watched as Yue Yao and the others departed.


    Beside him, Yan Beihong sighed and shook his head. Deep down, he was absolutely astonished to find out that both Miao Yi¡¯s younger brother and sister had such powerful backgrounds now. As their big brother, how could Miao Yi feel good about that? After all, this little brother of his was not the type who liked to live off of other people!


    Outside the moon gate, Gu Sanzheng had just returned. Zhao Fei and the others rushed over as well; all of them had also felt worried when he was taken away.


    Miao Yi regained hisposure, then walked over to Gu Sanzheng and asked, "What did that Minister of the Left call you over for?"


    Gu Sanzheng shook his head and said, "It was so random. In the end, it was about that time all those Yao cultivators were chasing after me, and how all of them kept on insisting I was this ¡¯Niu Youde¡¯ character. I only just found out that this Niu Youde was actually the culprit behind a terrible massacre at Brass Gong Fort in the Western Star Sea many years ago. That Hei Langjun really caused me a great deal of trouble!"


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei exchanged nces and secretly looked at Miao Yi. The two of them couldn¡¯t helpughing deep down. However, Gu Sanzheng had been their enemy at the time. Back then, nothing they did would have been too much.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help feeling a little guilty. That said, this wasn¡¯t exactly the perfect ce to exin himself. Figuring he should just tell Gu Sanzheng the whole story in the future, Miao Yi asked, "Then did they do anything to you?"


    "It¡¯s quite the coincidence actually. Right when Brass Gong Fort was struck by that catastrophe, a Yao General from the Western Star Sea was visiting my Sword Deviate Sect as a guest. He stayed for quite some time, and back then, the school had arranged for me to be his guard. I even talked to him as well, so I clearly remember him. I never thought he would end up bing a key witness in proving my alibi. I¡¯m sure the people from the Western Constetions Pce will call him in for questioning afterward. Then my innocence will surely be proven!" Gu Sanzheng sighed in relief. Truth be told, he was quite frightened during the questioning just now. That Minister of the Left was simply too terrifying. The guy could easily st him to smithereens with a flick of his fingers.


    "That¡¯s great then!" Miao Yi was just as relieved as he was. It was great that everything was fine. He was in the middle of contemting whether or not he should step out and confess if Gu Sanzheng was in trouble, but from the looks of things, it seemed he didn¡¯t need to worry about it any longer.


    Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t help asking Gu Sanzheng what it was like in the deeper sections of the Western Constetions Pce.


    Everyone then talked for a bit before going their own ways. After which, Miao Yi¡¯s thoughts were quickly brought back to his little brother and sister, and he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little dispirited inside. Then, with leaden steps, he proceeded out the Western Constetions Pce to take a walk.


    Upon the boundless ocean, atop the jagged cliff, a lone pavilion rested along the side of the precipice. Shaking his head and sighing, Yan Beihong followed the despondent Miao Yi into said pavilion. However, unbeknownst to the two of them, a figure in a red dress had flown over as well, slowly and elegantly descending upon the roof of the pavilion like a fairy.

 Chapter 433: Fairy Hong Chen’s Past

    Chapter 433: Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s Past


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The words ¡¯Cliff¡¯s Edge¡¯ were inscribed on the small horizontal signboard at the top of the pavilion.


    Here, the sea winds blew softly, as the cerulean skies and blue ocean extended as far as the eye could see. Just by standing here, a person could get easily lost in their thoughts. Leaning against the railings, Miao Yi gazed into the distance.


    Inside the pavilion, sitting with one leg crossed over the other, Yan Beihong simply watched as Miao Yi stood pensively. After some time, Miao Yi still showed no signs of moving. Yan Beihong then looked around, and seeing that they were alone, he tried to strike up a conversation. "This is truly a great ce to cultivate in peace!"


    Miao Yi finally snapped out of it. As though just realizing that Yan Beihong had been with him this entire time, he asked, "Big Brother Yan, you¡¯ve been following me?"


    Yan Beihong shook his head and said, "I saw you looking distracted and was afraid that you would lose your way, so I decided toe warn you."


    Miao Yiughed softly and said, "You¡¯re exaggerating. I¡¯m not a child, so how could I lose my way?"


    Yan Beihong then stood up and walked over to him. cing his hand on Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder, he sighed, "Since it¡¯s so hard for you to let go, why not just tell them who you are? They¡¯ve already found you anyway."


    "I¡¯m content with just knowing that they¡¯re leading better lives than I am. There¡¯s nothing I can do to help them. I shouldn¡¯t add any unnecessary burdens to them." Miao Yi softly sighed.


    ¡¯The dowry!¡¯ Standing elegantly on top of the pavilion, Fairy Hong Chen flipped her hand and took out a storage bangle. She finally understood everything!


    "Little Brother, I think you¡¯re overthinking it..."


    It seemed Miao Yi didn¡¯t wish to talk further on this matter. Seeing how Yan Beihong was still trying to console him, he interjected, "Big Brother Yan, I wish to be alone for a while."


    "..." Yan Beihong didn¡¯t know what to say. In the end, he simply tapped on Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder and didn¡¯t say anything else as he turned around and left. He understood that Miao Yi¡¯s emotions must be in turmoil right now and that he needed some time to himself.


    Not long after Yan Beihong departed, a few of the Subjugation Crusade participants came over, pointing at the scenery around them. When they saw Miao Yi inside the pavilion, they went over to greet him, and both parties acquainted themselves with one another.


    Miao Yi was not in the mood for conversation and left soon after exchanging pleasantries with the other party.


    As he slowly walked alone around the outskirts of the Western Constetions Pce, Miao Yi eventually stumbled his way into a forest. Before he knew it, the sky had already darkened. He theny down on the grass, hands behind his head as he gazed at the starry night sky. And just like that, he spent the night with muddled thoughts. Cultivators wouldn¡¯t normally leave themselves so vulnerable, as it made them susceptible to attacks.


    Eventually, dawn broke on the next day. The sun gently peeked over the horizon, casting the lofty Western Constetions Pce in a juxtaposition of light and darkness, as stars illuminated the iridescent sky. It was an almost illusory sight to behold.


    Stepping upon the fallen leaves, a figure in a red dress slowly approached from within the thin, morning fog. Oblivious to her presence, Miao Yi only jumped up in shock when she drew too close to him. When he saw the beautiful woman staring quietly at him from within the thin veil of fog, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help his surprise, as it was none other than Fairy Hong Chen!


    Miao Yi quickly scanned his surroundings. After seeing no one else around, his gazended back on Fairy Hong Chen, confused as to why she was here. Perhaps she was admiring the scenery of dawn and had merely bumped into him by coincidence.


    Miao Yi cupped his fists in greeting, then turned around and began to leave.


    "Miao Yi!" As she watched him leave, Fairy Hong Chen called out in a captivating voice.


    Miao Yi¡¯s body trembled, and he immediately froze in ce. The shock in his eyes was evident as he slowly turned around. ¡¯How did she know who I was?¡¯


    He stared nkly as Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s alluring figure slowly came closer. As restless as Miao Yi felt, the two eventually stood face-to-face with one another. It was then that Miao Yi realized how beautiful the woman before him was. Every part of her was simply perfect. However, Miao Yi was in no mood to admire her beauty. There was only confusion in his eyes.


    "Fairy, were you calling for me?" Miao Yi tried to show hisposure.


    "Is there another Miao Yi here?" Hong Chen smiled gently, "Yue Yao¡¯s big brother!"


    Miao Yi was speechless. Hong Chen then asked, "Even though you didn¡¯t tell her your true identity, yet deep down you¡¯re wondering why Yue Yao didn¡¯t try to find you, even though as a member of the Realm Beyond Heaven, it should be easy for her to look for someone in the Celestial Nation?"


    Her words cut deep into Miao Yi¡¯s heart. He dodged the question, asking, "How did you know about me?" What he was really asking was¡ª ¡¯How did you know I¡¯m Miao Yi?¡¯


    "I just so happened to be standing on top of this pavilion yesterday and overheard the conversation between ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ and ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯!" Hong Chen bluntly exined. Seeing the shock on Miao Yi¡¯s face, she added, "Yue Yao doesn¡¯t know anything. And I don¡¯t n on telling her either."


    Miao Yi quietly mused over this, then asked, "Then why are you talking to me? I doubt this is just a coincidence."


    Hong Chen sighed, "Regardless of your reasons for not telling them who you are, I simply wish that you will note to hate Yue Yao. Some things are not as simple as you think. The reason I¡¯m here is to tell you a story about my past."


    ¡¯Tell me a story about your past? Don¡¯t tell me this woman has got the hots for me or something?¡¯ Miao Yiughed at his own thoughts. Thinking that his imagination was running wild, he replied, "You have my attention!"


    cing her soft, supple arms over her waist, Hong Chen turned to face the dimly lit orb peeking over the edge of the ocean. She was utterly captivating from every angle. With a pained expression on her dainty face, she said, "Back when I¡¯d just entered the Realm Beyond Heaven, I wasn¡¯t much older than Yue Yao when she first joined. I too had a mortal family then. And because of my connection to the Realm Beyond Heaven, my family was able to enjoy a life of fame and fortune. Then, as I grew older, everyone started praising me for my beauty. The number of suitors I had wouldn¡¯t pale inparison to the number of suitors Yue Yao has now." As she said this, she looked at Miao Yi, as though asking, ¡¯Do you believe me?¡¯


    Miao Yi nodded. "Fairy¡¯s beauty is second to no one. It¡¯s natural for you to have plenty of admirers." He thought to himself, ¡¯If I had what it took, I think I¡¯d try to court you too.¡¯


    Hong Chen continued, "At the time, as I¡¯d just embarked on my path of cultivation, I was not too concerned with the affairs of love. I simply admired the way those powerful experts could soar across the skies and go wherever they pleased. I had dedicated my entire being to cultivation, and as a result, rejected many of my suitors. However, those people kept thinking of ways to obtain my favor. Quite a number of them had even set their sights on my family and tried to win them over. My family thus ended up bing even more prosperous overnight. s, every woman has a period in their lives when they¡¯re blinded by the notions of romance. I was a young girl once too. And one day, I finally met a man who managed to steal my heart. Out of adoration for that person, I slowly tried to get closer to him. But precisely because of my actions¡ªbecause I had revealed just the tiniest hint of fancy towards that person¡ªa great deal of trouble ensued. First, my Master reproached me. She scolded me for involving myself with matters rting to love at such a young age. After that, my family members repeatedly asked me to stop contacting that person. And those suitors of mine also started sending me warnings, either secretly or overtly. At the time, my mind waspletely blinded by these new feelings, so I didn¡¯t heed their advice and stubbornly tried to start a rtionship with that person. My actions were nothing short of insubordination against my Master! And that person ignored the warnings of others as well, intent on being together with me... In the end, before our courtship had even begun, he was murdered, his head chopped off and stored in a box and then delivered to me. Even his entire family was ughtered. As for my mortal family... they too were killed overnight, servants and all. On that day, over two hundred heads were severed and tossed onto the streets. To think, an affluent family was reduced to nothing but cinders in the span of one night. Those people took back all the things they had gifted to my family, and more!"


    Shocked, Miao Yi asked, "Then did you take revenge after that?"


    "At the time, I didin to my Master, in hopes that she would avenge me. In the end, my Master was indeed furious. The entire Realm Beyond Heaven mobilized in full force, and we were soon able to track down the culprits, who turned out to be several of my suitors, all of whom were highly influential people in the cultivation realm. Even so, my Master still vanquished them and their entire families with little effort. It would be no exaggeration to say that the amount of blood on her hands back then was enough to form a river! Even those who¡¯d escaped to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea weren¡¯t spared, as my Big Senior Brother personally led the charge to ughter thempletely! But afterward, my Master told me that this was all a consequence of my actions. The reason she massacred all those people was not to take revenge for me, but because those people had dared toy their hands on the followers of the Celestial Nation!" With a pained look on her face, Fairy Hong Chen continued, "As the saying goes, beauty is often followed by cmity. I am a prime example of this. And Yue Yao¡¯s beauty doesn¡¯t pale inparison to mine. You should now understand why I hope you will not reveal your true identity to her, yes?"


    ¡¯Judging from her tone, it seems like she¡¯s trying to protect me!¡¯ Miao Yi mused quietly, then said, "Fairy, you¡¯re overthinking it. You¡¯ve seen for yourself what my stance is on the matter."


    Fairy Hong Chen gently nodded, "Again, I hope that you will note to hate Yue Yao. To tell you the truth, Yue Yao has been looking for you and your brother from the day she set foot inside the Realm Beyond Heaven. I¡¯ve also told her long ago the same story I just shared to you, in hopes that she¡¯ll understand that it isn¡¯t necessarily a good thing for her to find you both. But even still, Yue Yao has never given up searching for the two of you. For ten consecutive years, I secretly helped her look through the immortal records of all the cultivators in the Celestial Nation, as well as the names of the disciples from every known sect and the records of all our followers. However, I never came across the names ¡¯Miao Yi¡¯ and ¡¯Zhang Fengbao¡¯ even once. I couldn¡¯t continue searching year after year to no end, so I let the matter rest at that. What¡¯s more, I had noticed from the start that there was someone else doing the same thing as me. I figured my Master was searching for you two from her side as well. But seeing how the investigations never went anywhere for so many years, she gave up just one step ahead of me!"


    Miao Yiughed bitterly. "Back then, I was cultivating in a remote ind and was nothing more than a loose cultivator. Even I don¡¯t know where I was at the time. How could you possibly find out anything about me then?"


    "I see. No wonder I couldn¡¯t find you anywhere!" Hong Chen nodded in understanding, then continued, "Many years ago, I resigned myself to Yue Yao¡¯s persistent nagging, and secretly apanied her back to Changfeng City. It was then that we found out that your home had be a warehouse for silks and fabrics. When Yue Yao found out that you didn¡¯t actually be a cultivator, and was instead forced to go on the run, she directed her rage towards Head Guard Huang, who was already City Lord at the time. She went straight for the City Lord¡¯s manor, intent on killing that Head Guard Huang. However, we soon discovered that someone was actually one step ahead of us. Head Guard Huang was already lying dead on his living room floor!"


    Astonished by the revtion, Miao Yi asked, "The two of you went inside the City Lord¡¯s manor after Head Guard Huang was killed?"


    Hong Chen nodded. "You can look it up yourself if you don¡¯t believe me. You¡¯ll surely be able to find out about the incident. Yue Yao did go back to your old home to look for you!"


    "I don¡¯t need to look it up to know that it did happen." Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help shaking his head. He¡¯d always wondered who¡¯d taken the me for him back then. He never thought that it would actually be Yue Yao. What an absolute coincidence. How could they just miss one another like that?


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t hide anything from Hong Chen. Laughing bitterly, he continued, "Because I was the one who killed Head Guard Huang. I never thought you two were just one step behind me!"


    "Ah..." Hong Chen was stunned. Didn¡¯t that mean that these two siblings had brushed past one another? And with that single missed opportunity, their paths no longer crossed until dozens of yearster!


    ¡¯Could this be the work of fate?¡¯ Hong Chen sighed despondently. "Locating a fugitive on the run is a task easier said than done. There are countless people across the realm, and even my Master can¡¯t investigate every single person in the Celestial Nation. Because of this, Yue Yao was grief-stricken for a very long time. She knew that a life on the run was undoubtedly difficult. And as more than ten years had passed, we figured you were either already dead, or leading a new life under a new name. Even if we still wanted to try to find you, we didn¡¯t know where to start looking. Many years have passed since then, and even if you were still alive at the time, any mortal would have passed away by now. At least that¡¯s what we¡¯ve been thinking all this time¡ªuntil I met you. I never imagined that you¡¯d also step onto the path of cultivation and that you¡¯d meet up with Yue Yao here in the Sea of Constetions!"

 Chapter 434: Waiting for the Day of Overturning the Heavens

    Chapter 434: Waiting for the Day of Overturning the Heavens


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    A golden resplendence rose over the horizon, shining across the vast ocean. And while the surface of the water at the bottom of the towering cliffs was still wrapped in gloom, the Western Constetions Pce was already bathing in the yellow sunlight. As always, darkness eventually gave way to light.


    The giant rock that had always weighed down on Miao Yi¡¯s heart was finally gone, and his whole body suddenly rxed. As it turned out, his little sister did try to look for him, but the machinations of fate had kept them apart this whole time. He thought about the look on Yue Yao¡¯s face when she reunited with Ba Jie. Clearly, she hadn¡¯t forgotten about her Eldest Bro either.


    Miao Yi¡¯s mood gradually lightened up, and he felt as though the air was flowing infortably through all the pores on his skin. His face a glimmering golden from the rays of the sun, he curled his lips into a gentle smile, and narrowed his eyes at the radiant star in the distance.


    His heart was still made of flesh after all. In order to support the family from a young age, he was forced to endure all kinds of suffering. For his little brother and sister, he had already made too many sacrifices to count. And while he didn¡¯t think it was essential to get anything in return, he was terribly afraid of the possibility that his sacrifices could have been in vain. That same feeling of dread had caused him to run away from Yan Beihong, back when thetter had found out about his little sister. At the time, Miao Yi was too scared to even speak about the matter to Yan Beihong. But now, the seeds of doubt that had caused him so much suffering were all gone.


    He felt like his heart was now strong enough to face anything life could throw his way.


    "I believe you already understand why I¡¯m telling you this!" Fairy Hong Chen said.


    "I understand. You¡¯re hoping that I don¡¯t tell her who I am." Miao Yi nodded.


    Seeing that he understood, Fairy Hong Chen flipped her hand and took out the storage bangle that Yue Yao had given her. She handed it over to Miao Yi and said, "Take this."


    Back then, Yue Yao insisted on giving this to her, and as Hong Chen thought it would be impolite to keep on rejecting her, she eventually epted the gift. But now Hong Chen figured it would be better to hand this over to Yue Yao¡¯s big brother instead. At the very least, it could be a token of Yue Yao¡¯s appreciation.


    ¡¯What¡¯s this?¡¯ Miao Yi wondered. As he took the storage bangle and examined it with his transcendence energy, he was immediately shocked to find it full of cultivation resources. Oddly enough, they slightly resembled the things he had stolen during the Subjugation Crusade. Creasing his brows, he lifted his head to look at Hong Chen and asked, "What is this supposed to mean?"


    Hong Chen said, "Not telling Yue Yao who you are is good for your sake, as well as hers. You should understand now from what I just told you. Even though Yue Yao is in the Realm Beyond Heaven, she is in no position to take care of you, so you should take this aspensation instead! But don¡¯t worry¡ªwe¡¯re not casting you aside. If you ever find yourself in serious trouble that you can¡¯t handle on your own, you can take this to the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch and show it to Lan Hou of the Martial Manor and ask for his help."


    She then prepared a jade archive on the spot and handed it over to Miao Yi.


    ¡¯Who do you think I am?¡¯ Miao Yi red at Hong Chen furiously andughed in exasperation. He grabbed the jade archive, then tightened his grip¡ª ¡¯crack!¡¯ ¡ªturning the jade archive into dust.


    As Hong Chen frowned, Miao Yi suddenly grabbed her wrist. Hong Chen¡¯s eyes glimmered with fury, but before she could even respond, Miao Yi pped the storage bangle back into her hand and pushed it back to her. He scoffed, "Do I look like a damned beggar to you? My life was fine even without the protection of your Realm Beyond Heaven, and I survived the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade all the same. Take this back with you, and help me take care of Ol¡¯ Third. If I ever find out that she¡¯s being bullied in the Realm Beyond Heaven, then I don¡¯t care who that person is¡ªeven if it¡¯s Mu Fanjun herself¡ªI won¡¯t forgive them! When that happens, don¡¯t me me for turning the entire Realm Beyond Heaven upside down!"


    "Insolent!" Hong Chen yelled. Miao Yi¡¯s words were utterly sphemous to her. How could he be brazen enough to disregard her Master as well?


    "Insolent?" Miao Yi was absolutely boiling with rage from Hong Chen¡¯s act of charity just so he wouldn¡¯t tell his sister the truth. He scoffed, "Hong Chen, let me make this clear. I will eventually tell Ol¡¯ Third who I really am. Nobody can get in the way of this. The day I overturn the heavens shall be the day Miao Yi and his little sister officially reunite!"


    If he weren¡¯t rted to Yue Yao, Hong Chen probably wouldn¡¯t still be so polite to him. She continued to offer the storage bangle, saying, "A praiseworthy ambition! I¡¯m very eager to see that day arrive. But with your feeble cultivation, staying alive should be your top priority. It¡¯s always important to face reality, so you should really take this! At least it will be of some use to you."


    Even though she was being polite about it, she was clearly telling Miao Yi that his ambitions were unrealistic. After all, anyone could talk about their grand, lofty ideals, but how many could actually attain greatness?


    Looking at how she was still trying to brush him off with charity, Miao Yi became absolutely furious. Pointing a finger at her nose, he said solemnly, "Hong Chen, your meager forces don¡¯t scare me. If there truly exists an evesting beauty, then she only waits for the day when the one to ravage her wille along. Someday, I will overturn the heavens, and on that day I will definitely make you my woman. I want you to see who can stop me then!"


    ¡¯How rude can he get?!¡¯ Hong Chen was already raising her hand out of anger, wanting to kill Miao Yi off with a single p. However, in the end, she just waved it aside, saying, "Out of respect for Yue Yao, I won¡¯t argue with you! Since you¡¯re being this obstinate, then do as you please! However, I still ask that you remember what you just said. For Yue Yao¡¯s sake, don¡¯t get in her way if you don¡¯t have the strength. As long as you have what it takes, I will ept your demand. If such a day doese, then Hong Chen bing your woman is but a trifling matter!"


    She was speaking purely out of anger and clearly didn¡¯t believe that Miao Yi would ever have this so-called day of overturning the heavens. In her rage, she actually responded to his demand of making her his woman. At the same time, she intended to taunt Miao Yi into keeping his promise of not burdening Yue Yao. There was no helping it. His words were simply too infuriating.


    Miao Yi was rather agitated as well. Clenching his teeth, he snapped, "You¡¯d better sit tight then!"


    There was a hint of rage in Hong Chen¡¯s face as she huffed and tucked away the storage bangle. Her attitude was clear¡ª ¡¯Since you don¡¯t want it, then forget it. Don¡¯t tell me you want me to beg you to take it?¡¯


    Hong Chen then flew away furiously, her red dress fluttering around her.


    As he stood in ce, Miao Yi still felt quite peeved. Even as a cultivator, there weren¡¯t many things that he could protect to begin with. His rtionship with his siblings was the most important thing in his heart, and yet it was actually being used as a bargaining chip. If he didn¡¯t already know that he was no match for Hong Chen, he would have definitely gotten physical and dealt with the vile woman himself. So what if she¡¯s pretty?


    However, as his emotions began to settle down, Miao Yi somewhat regretted his actions. After all, Fairy Hong Chen didn¡¯t mean any harm, and it seemed like she was quite close to Ol¡¯ Third as well. Did he go a little too far, saying such rude things to her in his anger?


    The more he thought about it, the more regretful he was, feeling that his words were indeed a little too much. He was practically ndering her. How was he any different from Second Bro if he used vulgarities like that?


    He couldn¡¯t helpughing bitterly as he thought about Ba Jie. So many years had passed, and Second Bro was still the same as before. Even though he was dressed like a monk now, it seemed that in the end, there was no teaching an old dog new tricks!


    Suddenly, a brushing noise could be hearding from between the trees nearby, snapping Miao Yi out of his thoughts. He then noticed an old man sweeping away the dead leaves of the forest with a giant broom.


    Surprised, Miao Yi swept a nce around the quiet forest. ¡¯When did this old man appear? I hope he didn¡¯t happen to overhear my conversation with Hong Chen just now.¡¯


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help furrowing his brows as he stared at the old man who was gradually sweeping his way towards him. The old man had a head of blue hair tied up in a topknot, a pair of bushy eyebrows, and a short mustache, all of which were blue in color as well. He had an abnormally muscled physique and bronze-colored skin, and his face seemed calm and tranquil. His sleeves and pants were rolled up high, revealing a set of bronze-colored limbs. He also wore a pair of canvas shoes. The impression he gave Miao Yi was that of an everyday farmer.


    At this moment, the forest was already dyed golden by the radiance of the sun. The old man eventually swept his way towards Miao Yi, and seeing that thetter showed no signs of moving, he raised his head to look at him and said, "Youngster, can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m sweeping here? Move aside!"


    Miao Yi immediately made way for the other party. Standing to the side, he asked, "Senior, did you hear anything just now?"


    As he swept the ground, the old man said, "What did you want me to hear?"


    Miao Yi was speechless, feeling as though his earlier question had been in vain. He then asked again, "By any chance, did you hear someone talking just now?"


    But contrary to his expectations, the old man was unexpectedly honest.


    "It¡¯s your fault for not being careful and making such a big ruckus this early in the morning. Even if an old man like me is hard of hearing, I couldn¡¯t help but overhear your conversation. But first, let me make things clear, I wasn¡¯t intentionally eavesdropping. I¡¯m always sweeping around these parts, and I just happened to see you two by coincidence... Why are you looking around so sneakily anyway?" The old man stopped his sweeping and propped up the broom, and said, "You¡¯re not thinking of silencing me, are you? Let me give you a fair warning: you¡¯re no match for me. Don¡¯t be deceived just because you see me as an old man sweeping the ground. My cultivation is higher than the Blue Lotus realm. You¡¯d best reconsider your decision!"


    This old man was quite an honest character indeed. He practically revealed all there was to know. What else was there for Miao Yi to reconsider? Being higher than the Blue Lotus realm meant that this old man was at least a Red Lotus cultivator.


    As he scanned their surroundings, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help revealing an expression of dismay when he heard what the old man said. He did have that intention in mind¡ªhis transcendence energy was already infusing into his storage bangle, ready to attack the other party with the Mystic Yin Mirror. However, the old man¡¯s warning left him with no choice but to give up that idea.


    Miao Yi quickly pretended like the thought never crossed his mind and said, "Senior, you must be joking. Who would dare try to harm others in this Western Constetions Pce?"


    "Why the false modesty? You were just thinking about making that beautifuldy your woman. Nothing more. Admit it with pride. Why do you have to be so scared? Love is nothing to be ashamed about! When ites to women, incapable men will settle for whoever they can get, while capable men will take their pick from the pretty ones. This is nothing to be shy about!" The old man shook his head, as though puzzled. He went back to sweeping the ground, and continued, "I know you youngsters are full of pride. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m the perfect example of someone who was bullied so much I could no longer lift my head up, bing an old man who can do nothing but quietly sweep this ce. I won¡¯t tell anyone what just happened. There¡¯s nothing in it for me anyway, so what¡¯s the point of bbering?"


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help agreeing with what he said. No matter how esteemed the Western Constetions Pce was, anyone who was forced to do menial chores was surely not very weed by others. Seeing that there weren¡¯t any grievances between them, Miao Yi figured the old man had no reason to make life difficult for him and quickly loosened up.


    Miao Yi followed behind the other party, asking, "Has Senior been sweeping around the Western Constetions Pce for long?"


    "Yeah! I¡¯ve been sweeping around this ce for many years already. Since Ick strength, the most I can do is stay here and make do with this ce."


    "May I have the privilege of knowing your name?"


    "We only met by chance. I¡¯ll go on with my sweeping, while you chase after your future. To what purpose do you need to know so much about me then? It¡¯s questionable whether you¡¯ll even get a second chance toe back to this ce after you leave. Therefore, there¡¯s no point trying to acquaint yourself with me! Don¡¯t tell me you wish to find out about my background so that you can consider whether or not you should take my life afterward?"


    "Senior, you¡¯re exaggerating. Even if we¡¯ve only met by chance, to be able to cross paths is surely destiny..."


    "Stop wasting your breath. I say, how can a youngster like you be this oblivious? Youthful as you are, how can you stand idly by with your hands behind your back after seeing an old man like me sweeping the ground? And you still want to talk to me about destiny? How about you try to be a little more sincere instead of just buttering me up with shallow courtesy?"

 Chapter 435: A Hard Place to Sweep

    Chapter 435: A Hard ce to Sweep


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Uhh..." Miao Yi was taken aback. ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me this old-timer is asking me to help him sweep the ground?¡¯


    As Miao Yi feared, the old man then held his broom up to him.


    "This..." Miao Yi reluctantly asked, "Senior, are you perchance, asking me to help you sweep the ground?"


    "Don¡¯t y dumb!" The old man said bluntly, "I may have no reason to gossip about you to the people of the Western Constetions Pce, but it just so happens that we have other outsiders like you right now. If you make this old man unhappy, then I don¡¯t mind flexing my tongue a little."


    Miao Yi was speechless. He cursed the old-timer deep down, ¡¯This old man is clearly taking advantage of my predicament. What an unscrupulous person.¡¯ However, he still put up a dry smile and said, "Senior, that¡¯s not what I meant. I just think it¡¯s a little inappropriate for an outsider like me to sweep this ce."


    "How is it inappropriate? Even though I can only sweep around this Western Constetions Pce, but this broom of mine is made from the bark of a ¡¯Ten-Thousand Year Old Ice Chrysanthemum¡¯. Everyone in the Western Constetions Pce knows about it. As long as you¡¯re carrying this broom, even if someone sees you sweeping, they won¡¯t say anything against you." The old man then indifferently shoved the broom into Miao Yi¡¯s hands.


    Hearing the old man¡¯s guarantee, Miao Yi immediately took up the broom. The moment he grabbed it, he could feel an intense chill emanating from it. And as he examined it, he was shocked to discover that this mere broom actually weighed about five hundred kilograms, and was as tough as steel. If he used this broom to sweep the ground, wouldn¡¯t it scrape off all the grass from thewn?


    He quickly turned around to look at the ces that the old man had swept. To his surprise, there wasn¡¯t a single visible scar on the dark greenwn. What impressive control of strength. No wonder he was tasked with sweeping the ground here.


    "You don¡¯t have to sweep the other ces. Just work on clearing up the dark green grass around thiswn. Remember: you can¡¯t use any other method to sweep this ce. You must use this ¡¯Ten-Thousand Year Old Ice Chrysanthemum¡¯ broom. Make sure you cover all the ces that haven¡¯t been swept yet."


    Miao Yi¡¯s interest was piqued at the old man¡¯s words, and he asked curiously, "Why is it necessary to use this particr broom? Is there some kind of reason?"


    "Why do you care so much about it? Just do as I ask and sweep. Let me tell you, you absolutely mustn¡¯t use any tricks to finish this task. You have to sweep using this broom alone. Otherwise, within two days, the grass around thiswn will definitely dry up from the sunlight. Another thing¡ªdon¡¯t damage the grass. That will make it dry up as well. I¡¯m warning you, if you so much as damage thiswn, don¡¯t me me for telling everyone what you said to that prettydy."


    As soon as the old man said this, he ced his hands behind his back, then turned around and left.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. ¡¯How did I end up sweeping the ground aftering all the way out here to the Western Constetions Pce?¡¯ But s, with the risk of his words being exposed hanging over his head, Miao Yi had no choice but to sweep the ground. Looking at the broom in his hands, Miao Yi suddenly thought about something. He shouted, "Senior, once I¡¯m done sweeping, where can I find you to return this precious broom of yours?"


    Without even turning around, the old man replied, "Just toss it down here. As long as outsiders like you don¡¯t try to steal it, no one else in this ce would dare to steal... anything."


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t say another word to the old man as he left. He then turned to look at the patch of grass in the forest. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t very wide, so he figured he should just do as the old man said. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could be rid of his worries.


    "Even if it was Fu Manjun herself, I won¡¯t forgive them... Turn the entire Realm Beyond Heaven upside down... I¡¯ll definitely make you my woman on the day I overturn the heavens..." Walking away in the distance, the old man was mumbling to himself. He then chuckled and said, "What an interesting youngster."


    Meanwhile, as he was sweeping the ground, Miao Yi soon realized the task wasn¡¯t nearly as easy as he imagined it would be. While he had no problems waving around an object that weighed five hundred kilograms, the amount of precision it took to sweep said object over thiswn¡ªall without damaging the grass¡ªwas akin to embroidering fabric. Imagine how difficult it would be to create borate designs on cloth using something that weighed almost five hundred kilograms?


    After a while, Miao Yi realized he was already feeling a little tired. It wasn¡¯t nearly as easy for him as it was for that old man.


    "Little Brother, I was looking everywhere for you. I was worried that something had happened. Why are you sweeping out here?"


    When he heard someone calling for him, Miao Yi turned around and found Yan Beihong quicklying over.


    Yan Beihong had a look of confusion on his face. As he and Miao Yi shared a single courtyard, when he noticed Miao Yi hadn¡¯t returned the entire night, Yan Beihong worried that something might have happened to him, and hurriedly went out to find him. He never thought that he¡¯d catch Miao Yi sweeping all the way out here. How very peculiar indeed.


    "How are you sweating just from sweeping the ground?" Yan Beihong noticed the sweat beading on Miao Yi¡¯s forehead and couldn¡¯t help asking, "Are you alright?"


    "Give this a try, and you¡¯ll find out. I was just about to ask you guys toe help me." Miao Yi then handed him the broom.


    Yan Beihong¡¯s arm sank the moment he held onto the broom, and it almost slipped out the palm of his hand. He never imagined that a broom could be this heavy, and he quickly stabilized his grip with his transcendence energy. With an astonished expression, he said, "What kind of broom is this?"


    "Let¡¯s not talk about it. Just my luck to be caught off guard by an old man sweeping the ground..." Miao Yi told Yan Beihong about how Fairy Hong Chen had overheard their conversation and came to talk to him early in the morning. However, he didn¡¯t mention the words he¡¯d said to Fairy Hong Chen out of anger. If he were to reveal that he told Fairy Hong Chen he¡¯d make her his woman, he would surely end up aughing stock.


    "Fairy Hong Chen knows?" Yan Beihong was taken aback. He then said apologetically, "It¡¯s all my fault. If I hadn¡¯t blurted out so much, then she wouldn¡¯t have found out."


    "It isn¡¯t your fault. I think my emotions might have gotten the better of me when Second Bro and Ol¡¯ Third came looking for you. She probably noticed something amiss by then and started eyeing me since." Miao Yi sighed.


    Yan Beihong mused for a bit, then nodded. He then looked at the broom in his hand, and said, "Then what¡¯s the deal with you sweeping the ground after that old man caught you?"


    "Consider this a lesson learned. From now on, I have to be careful whenever I¡¯m talking about something important. That old timer overheard the things I said to Fairy Hong Chen..." Miao Yi didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. He then briefly exined the sequence of events leading up to his current predicament.


    After hearing his story, Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t help breaking out intoughter, saying, "And here I thought it was something serious. All he asked was for you to sweep the ground. This could very well be an interesting story to share in the future. Just think about it. How many cultivators in the world can say that they¡¯ve swept the grounds of the Western Constetions Pce? You may even end up being the subject of envy for many!"


    "I¡¯m not sweeping the grounds of the Western Constetions Pce, but the grounds outside of it. If you¡¯re so jealous, then you give it a whirl..." Miao Yi then ryed to Yan Beihong the old man¡¯s instructions on how to sweep the ce.


    Yan Beihong was relieved to hear that Miao Yi was capable of making jokes now. It seemed to him that Miao Yi¡¯s mood had improved somewhat.


    "This dark green grass seems a little strange. Could there be something out of the ordinary here?" Yan Beihong mused. He thenughed and said, "How hard can this be? You can just use your transcendence energy to blow the fallen leaves away, then give the ce a sweep using this broom."


    Miao Yi then immediately stood aside. With an expectant look on his face, he extended his arm and said, "If you think it¡¯s so easy, give it a try for yourself then!"


    Yan Beihong was slightly taken aback by Miao Yi¡¯s actions. He quickly examined the patch of grass around him, but still couldn¡¯t find anything out of the ordinary. He then activated his transcendence energy, his sleeves fluttering vigorously as he stirred up a gust of wind at the grass.


    To his surprise, while the grass did rustle about, the leaves that were on them seemed firmly stuck in ce, not budging even a bit.


    Withdrawing his hand, Yan Beihong said in astonishment, "What the heck?"


    "Just watch, and you¡¯ll understand." With a wave of his hand, Miao Yi sucked in one of the leaves from the branch of a tree, then tossed it onto the grass right in front of Yan Beihong. He then used his feet to pick at it, but the leaf was already melded together with the grass beneath it.


    "What?!" cing the broom on his shoulder, Yan Beihong squatted down to pick up the leaf. While the leaf did crumble and break off, the part that was stuck to the grass waspletely glued stiff. "There¡¯s definitely something weird about this grass!"


    Yan Beihong was about to pull out some of the grass, when Miao Yi hastily shouted, "Don¡¯t pluck the grass!"


    However, he was toote. Yan Beihong had already pulled out a patch of grass from the ground.


    At this moment, the grass¡ªas well as the broken leaf on Yan Beihong¡¯s palm¡ªbegan decaying at a visible speed, emitting tiny plumes of ck smoke.


    Yan Beihong waspletely bbergasted, saying, "What in the world is this?"


    "I have no idea either. But simply put, the leaves that fall on this grass can only be swept away by this broom, and not to mention, you can¡¯t use too much force. Otherwise, you risk damaging the grass. That¡¯s why I¡¯m so exhausted right now. You came at just the right time. Help me out a little. I¡¯m going to take a short break."


    Yan Beihong didn¡¯t say anything and simply tried his hand with the broom. He soon discovered that it was just as Miao Yi said. The moment he gave the broom in his hands a sweep across thewn, that strange grass immediately released the leaves that were stuck on it. Yan Beihong clicked his tongue in astonishment, and he continued experimenting with the broom.


    As his cultivation was much higher than Miao Yi¡¯s, it was not as taxing for him to sweep thewn. However, after sweeping for almost two hours, even Yan Beihong was feeling a little worse for wear himself.


    It wasn¡¯t as though he couldn¡¯t wield this five hundred kilogram broom. If he were asked to wield something so heavy into battle, he wouldn¡¯t be the least bit afraid. The thing was, he needed to handle this heavy thing with near surgical precision. He had to adjust his strength ordingly so that he wouldn¡¯t damage the grass on the ground. Otherwise, they would immediately dry up.


    At the same time, he had to use his transcendence energy to control his own body weight as well. Not to mention, he wasn¡¯t walking on thewn empty-handed; he still needed to carry along a five hundred kilogram broom. With something like that in hand, he would leave a deep footprint on the grass the moment he stepped on it. And with the amount of force he would exert if he didn¡¯t use his transcendence energy, it would be odd if the grass could withstand it and remain in one piece.


    As such, Yan Beihong had to be extremely careful with every single movement he made. This was way different from riding on a dragon steed, where he could freely fight with his hands while relying on the dragon steed to maneuver. Instead, it felt like he was ying a skipping game while carrying a five hundred kilogram object, and using said object to make delicate embroideries. With his transcendence energy being rapidly exhausted like a gushing stream, it would be strange if he wasn¡¯t feeling worn out after some time. Even the Great Official Yan no longer dared to say sweeping this grass was an easy task anymore.


    "This Western Constetions Pce is indeed not a ce that anyone can just set foot in. Even sweeping the ground is something beyond the capabilities of the average cultivator. This is no longer a chore. It¡¯s clearly a form of punishment!"


    When he heard Yan Beihongining, Miao Yi could tell that he was already exhausted, and hurriedly went over to take his ce.


    The two of them took turns and were only able to finish sweeping this tinywn when the sky was about to darken. They then immediately tossed the broom aside and made like the wind. They would never try to approach this area ever again. If they were caught and forced to sweep this ce a second time, they would surely weep...


    Skyfire Mountain, Sea of Constetions. Upon the skies, a beautiful, giant crimson bird was flying over, its two long tail-feathers dancing nimbly in the wind, and on its back stood about a dozen people.


    At the front was a burly man dressed in a ming-red robe, his fiery crimson robe on his back fluttering in the wind. The man had red hair and a red mustache, and his red, bushy eyebrows rose above his sideburns. The burning spirit reflected in his eyes seemed as if two zing mes were alight inside his eyeballs.


    Beside him was a woman garbed in a devilishly beautiful, seven-colored robe. The woman was fair of skin and had a voluptuous figure. The two bountiful mounds of flesh thaty half-exposed on her chest were enough to bewitch one¡¯s eyes. And while her appearance was highly seductive, she possessed a uniquely noble air about her.


    This towering man was none other than a member of the nine Supreme Yao Lords under Western Constetions Master Fu Qing, and the master of Skyfire Mountain¡ªSupreme Yao Lord Lie Huan. The tantalizingly beautiful beside him was his wife¡ªHu Fei.

 Chapter 436: Lie Huan’s Wrath

    Chapter 436: Lie Huan¡¯s Wrath


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Seeing the lofty Skyfire Mountain in the distance, Hu Fei sighed, "We¡¯re finally home. This damned Subjugation Crusade is finally over."


    "Aii! Lord Fu Qing didn¡¯t have a choice. If he could, he wouldn¡¯t let these people mess around in his own territory either. Just bear with it. They only hold it once every three hundred years. And with the four sides taking turns, the next time the Western Star Sea hosts it will be 1,200 years from now. It¡¯s only for ten years¡ªthat will pass by in the blink of an eye." Lie Huan smiled and saidfortingly.


    "They can do their Subjugation Crusade however they want. Why do they have to force people away from their homes? I can¡¯t help but feel vexed," Hu Fei grumbled.


    Lie Huan sighed. "Things are no longer as they used to be! Back then, this world was still under the control of our lords. But ever since the Boundless Secr World appeared, and the Six Sages got their hands on the mighty cultivation arts hidden inside, they rose up in force and changed thews of this world!"


    As he said this, the giant crimson bird had reached the top of the mighty Skyfire Mountain. It circled around the sky, then dove down straight into the mouth of the volcano. The mysterious, swirling zes underneath immediately opened up a path through the mes, allowing the giant crimson bird passage.


    Once they exited the tunnel of fire, Lie Huan and the others leaped off andnded onto the crystal te that resembled the ornamental tip of a Ruyi scepter. Meanwhile, the giant crimson bird continued downwards into the sea of fire.


    "Ouch!" Hu Fei suddenly eximed. She lifted up her dress with both hands, revealing a pair of wless, jade-like feet. As it turned out, she had been going around barefooted all this while.


    Startled, Lie Huan and the others looked down while Hu Fei stood on tiptoe and lifted up her feet. As it turned out, she¡¯d just been pricked by a piece of broken crystal underneath. And here they thought it was something major.


    Why were there broken crystals? Everyone exchanged nces, then turned to look at the Supreme Fire Pce, and were instantly stupefied.


    Everyone was no longer concerned that the mistress¡¯s feet were pricked. Lie Huan immediately rushed to the za. Even Hu Fei herself was no longer bothered by the state of her feet and hurried straight to the za as well. Once there, her alluring eyes immediately widened in shock and disbelief.


    "Why is my wash basin here?!" Hu Fei suddenly eximed again, pointing at an intricately designed wash basin carved from jade.


    There was more to the za than just an out-of-ce washbasin. There were decaying bones, fruit cores, broken wine sks and burnt pieces of wood as well. Even the statue at the edge of the za was broken. One of the two Inferno Qilin statues guarding the main entrance of the Supreme Fire Pce was actually missing a head. This was simply too mind-boggling!


    To think that the beautiful, illusory Supreme Fire Pce that hovered in the middle of a sea of mes was actually reduced to such a state. Hu Fei was utterly speechless, her mouth agape, her eyes widened in consternation.


    The dozen or so handmaidens also looked at one another speechlessly. They were all wondering the same thing¡ª ¡¯Who did this?¡¯


    Lie Huan¡¯s eyes were as wide as the mouth of a bell, and his expression was as dark as the bottom of a pot. As his face twisted in dismay, he rushed inside the Supreme Fire Pce.


    The dozen or so handmaidens followed behind Hu Fei to examine the rest of the ce. Hu Fei lifted up her dress, afraid that she would step on the ashes of the burnt wood. It would be too disgusting if she ended up stepping on the leftover bones and fruit cores of someone¡¯s meal with her bare feet.


    Compared to the outside, it was the inside of the Supreme Fire Pce that actually looked ransacked. At least the outside still had some signs of life, whereas the inside was aplete mess, with all their things lying on the ground.


    Lie Huan stood before his throne, staring at the twelve newly opened holes on the wall behind it. As he looked fixedly at the broken wall, his lips couldn¡¯t help fiercely quivering from time to time.


    "My lord!" Hu Fei cried as she rushed over to the front of the hall from the back, carrying several torn dresses with her. She raised her ripped clothes up to Lie Huan¡¯s face, and said, "Not only was my washbasin used, but even my clothes were also torn apart. What kind of pervert could have done such a thing? My skin is crawling just thinking about it. This is simply too horrifying! My lord! Don¡¯t tell me this is the work of one of those skanks you fooled around with on the outside? Is she deliberately trying to gross me out? There¡¯s no way something like this could have been done by a man!"


    Staring at the ripped up dresses in her hands, Lie Huan clenched his fists tightly in anger. And as he listened to Hu Fei¡¯s words, he curled his lips furiously. His house was already wrecked to such a state, and this woman still had the cheek to be jealous and spout such drivel at a time like this. He roared furiously, "Shut your mouth!"


    Hu Fei was startled and was about to employ the ¡¯throwing a tantrum when things don¡¯t go your way¡¯ method on Lie Huan. However, she soon noticed he was trembling in anger as he stared at the broken up wall.


    ¡¯There are twelve holes on the wall?¡¯ Hu Fei dropped the clothes she was holding onto the ground and raised her hand to cover her gaping mouth.


    Other people might not know what was hidden behind this wall, but as the mistress of the house, Hu Fei was perfectly aware. Inside this wall were twelve ¡¯Fire Spirits¡¯ that her husband had painstakingly spent over 20,000 years to capture. It was something that Lie Huan was saving for future use. But now they werepletely gone. How could this have happened?!


    Compared to these twelve ¡¯Fire Spirits¡¯, her issue wasn¡¯t even a minor problem. Utterly stupefied, Hu Fei decided to shut her mouth.


    "Who is responsible for this?!" Lie Huan roared furiously.


    Hu Fei and the others quickly covered their ears from the sound. Even the entire Supreme Fire Pce was trembling, and the fiery zes that surrounded it quaked vigorously. mes were soaring furiously.


    With a wave of his fiery red cape, Lie Huan turned around and walked out the pce. Hu Fei hastily chased after him and grabbed his arm, asking, "My lord, where are you going?"


    Lie Huan swung his arm and shoved her away. As she fell to the ground, Hu Fei continued to shout, "My lord, where are you going?"


    With a furious look in his eyes, Lie Huan gnashed his teeth in hatred and said, "I¡¯m going to settle the score!"


    ¡¯Whoosh!¡¯ Before he even finished his sentence, Lie Huan was already gone. As the sound of rushing wind came from the exit of the fire array, a human figure had already shot out like lightning.


    Two handmaidens hurriedly rushed to help Hu Fei up from the ground. However, thetter didn¡¯t appreciate their concern and swept the two handmaidens aside. Hu Fei¡¯s voice cracked as she yelled at the dozen or so handmaidens, "What are you all looking at? What happened to those lustful eyes you usually have when you¡¯re trying to seduce my lord? What are you still standing there for? Hurry and clean this ce up. If my feet are stained by even the tiniest speck of dust, you¡¯ll all be in deep trouble!"


    Terrified, the handmaidens immediately went to work...


    "This is truly a good ce to cultivate! It¡¯s a pity we can¡¯t stay for too long and have to go back tomorrow. Little Brother, have you thought about where among the Fifth Earthly Branch you¡¯d like to be Manor Head in? Let me know if you¡¯ve already made up your mind. That way, it¡¯ll be easier for us tomunicate in the future."


    Overseeing a tranquil garden, was avish house,plete with intricately designed furnishings. Leaning against the window, Yan Beihong cast a sideways nce at Miao Yi and posed a question.


    Walking up to the window, Miao Yi cast a quiet look at the assortment of rare flowers in the garden. He shook his head, asking, "You¡¯ve already made up your mind?"


    "Of course. I¡¯m going to pick a ce with an abundance of resources. I¡¯ve never thought about this before, so once I get back, I¡¯ll find out which ce is the most lucrative, and choose to go there." As he said this, Yan Beihong couldn¡¯t helpughing to himself. Having learned his lesson after being overheard by Fairy Hong Chen, he switched to voice transmission and continued, "Your Fifth Earthly Branch is going to be famous now. After all, within the Celestial Nation, the Fifth Earthly Branch alone has taken up six out of the total twenty-one spots. Even though I received the tenth ce reward on your behalf, the ranking still belongs to you. If we follow the cement order, then in the Fifth Earthly Branch, you should be fourth in line to pick your new territory, since Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin are ced in front of you. For me, since everyone else from the First Earthly Branch is already dead, I¡¯m now the only one to return alive. So even though I¡¯m in thirteenth ce, once I¡¯m back, I¡¯ll be allowed to freely pick my new territory. Thus, even though my cement is lower than yours, I¡¯m actually getting more benefits than you are."


    Miao Yiughed bitterly as he listened to Yan Beihong. Speaking of this matter, he felt quite sorry for Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, as he had also given away their Geotranscendence Bangles to help Yue Yao. He didn¡¯t ask the Gu Sanzheng trio as they still needed to fulfill their responsibilities to their respective schools, and Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun needed to answer to the Yao Nation as well.


    At first, Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei and him had all promised to takest ce together. However, as Miao Yi hadpletely forgotten about Qi Xiuhong¡¯s Geotranscendence Bangle, he ended up cing just slightly higher than the other two and thus would be taking his pick of the new territory before them as well. Miao Yi was ridden with guilt over the two of them.


    ¡¯Whoosh!¡¯ A golden light streaked across the sky andnded just outside the Western Constetions Pce.


    It was so fast that Miao Yi and Yan Beihong would not have noticed it if they weren¡¯t looking out the window at the time! Standing by the window, the two of them exchanged nces as a shocking thought shed through their minds¡ªa Golden Lotus cultivator!


    Landing outside the main entrance of the Western Constetions Pce, Lie Huan swept a watchful gaze across his surroundings. With a wave of his red cape, he then strode in through the entrance. Perhaps if this were anywhere else, he wouldn¡¯t think twice about barging inside. But as it was the Western Constetions Pce, even Lie Huan had to follow the rules. He was still Fu Qing¡¯s direct subordinate after all. Lie Huan didn¡¯t dare to fly straight in and instead chose to walk in on his own two feet. That said, he was still walking in unannounced.


    Of the two guards standing by the main entrance, one immediately approached Lie Huan and asked, "My lord, how may we be of assistance?"


    Lie Huan said furiously, "Report to the Constetions Master. Say that Lie Huan requests an audience!"


    "Understood!" The guard immediately rushed in to make his report.


    Perhaps they were startled by the presence of a Golden Lotus cultivator, but as Lie Huan walked in, Tang Jun, Hei Yun, Grandmaster Qi Jie, Hua Yu, Yun Guang, Ji Meimei, and even people like Fairy Hong Chen and Zuo Nanchun all came to see who had arrived.


    As for the rest, they didn¡¯t notice Lie Huan¡¯s arrival because their cultivations were too low. Miao Yi and Yan Beihong had only seen him by coincidence, but they weren¡¯t as confident as Yun Guang and the others and didn¡¯t dare stick their heads out so easily and risk offending a Golden Lotus cultivator.


    "Lie Huan!" When Yun Guang saw that it was Lie Huan, he raised his hand in greeting.


    "Hmph!" Lie Huan huffed coldly and ignored him.


    Yun Guang then chuckled and said, "It looks like this old demon woke up on the wrong side of the bed today!"


    As Lie Huan passed by Ji Meimei, thetter approached with smiles and asked, "What brings Big Brother Lie here?"


    "Piss off!" Lie Huan barked with no regard to Ji Meimei, causing her to be stunned in ce, as an awkward expression hung across her face.


    With a darkened expression, Lie Huan strode forward, his fiery red cape fluttering behind him. There was a domineering aura about him. He didn¡¯t care if they were sent over by the Six Sages. He didn¡¯t show face to almost everyone in his path. However, when he saw Grandmaster Qi Jie, even he couldn¡¯t help being slightly surprised.


    Even though Grandmaster Qi Jie had only smiled at him in gesture, Lie Huan immediately walked up to him. pping his hands in prayer, Lie Huan even politely made a Buddhist greeting, and the tension on his face rxed as he asked curiously, "How could they trouble the Grandmaster toe personally to a mere Subjugation Crusade? That Cang Lei is simply too overbearing!"


    Grandmaster Qi Jie smiled, pping his hands in prayer as he said, "It seems like the Supreme Yao Lord has some matters to attend to. I shall not get in your way then."


    "Very well. After this, I shall find Grandmaster to reminisce about old times!" Lie Huan pped his hands in prayer again and nodded before bidding farewell and continuing on his path.


    As he made his way to the za of the main manor, the massive doors of an ancient, yet grand pcey before him, standing outside of which was a man garbed in blue robes. Lie Huan cupped his fists in greeting to the man from a distance.


    "Brother Lie, you¡¯vee." Standing at the top of a flight of tall steps, the blue-robed man returned the gesture. He then turned his body to the side, and extended his arm and said, "The Constetions Master is waiting for you within the manor."


    Having been granted entry, Lie Huan immediately rushed up the tall flight of steps.


    The blue-robed man walked up to the enormous, ancient doors that stood five feet tall, and had various depictions of demonic creatures carved upon it. He reached out and gently pushed open a tiny gap on the door. The door creaked heavily as it opened, the sound of which was enough to fill one¡¯s heart with great solemnity.


    Even though it was said to be a tiny gap, that description was only apt when referring to the massive door. In truth, the opening was wide enough for two people to walk in side-by-side.

 Chapter 437: Might of a Supreme Yao Lord

    Chapter 437: Might of a Supreme Yao Lord


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    A long time ago, this door was fully open. However, ever since Fu Qing submitted to Yao Sage Ji Huan, the door was never fully opened again, and entry was only allowed through the small opening. No one knew what Fu Qing meant by this.


    The inside of the manor was very spacious. Lie Huan and the blue-robed man walked in, feeling incredibly small before its vastness. And indeed, there was a lot of space inside. The floors were paved with crystal-clear jade, and the ceiling was embellished with various gemstones, making the interior decor seem as though it was an entire gxy in itself.


    The dozen or so pirs that supported the entire manor were all made of wood. It was unknown what type of wood it was, but it measured almost thirty meters in height and stood perfectly straight. It would take at least five to six adults holding hands to wrap around the entirety of a single pir. The color of the wood itself was a deep ck, and it had carvings of various demonic creatures engraved upon it. It was truly a strange sight to behold.


    At the center of the spacious manor, there was an old man dressed in a short-sleeved robe. The old man had blue hair tied in a top knot, blue brows, and a blue mustache. His pants and sleeves were rolled up high; he sat cross-legged with his eyes closed in meditation on the crystalline floor. There was a lot of space around him, which gave the old man an air of profoundness and solitude.


    If Miao Yi saw this person, he would surely recognize him as the old man who had forced him to sweep the ground from before. However, at this moment, the old man wasn¡¯t even wearing his canvas shoes and was barefooted instead. As for this old man¡¯s identity, he was none other than a member of the Sea of Constetions Four Constetions Masters, and one who struck terror upon all those in the cultivation realm¡ªWestern Constetions Master Fu Qing.


    Walking up to the old man, Lie Huan came to a stop about five meters away, then cupped his fists in greeting, "Lie Huan respectfully greets my lord!"


    The blue-robed man took a few steps forward and automatically stood next to the old man, hands ced to the side.


    Fu Qing sat quietly with eyes closed on the ground. Although he was not seen opening his mouth, an old, deep voice suddenly echoed within the spacious manor, "Why have youe?"


    "Someone has wrecked my Supreme Fire Pce..." Lie Huan then described the current state of his home.


    The old voice reverberated throughout the manor, saying, "Who is the one responsible?"


    This domineering voice echoed through every corner of the spacious manor. However, not a single sound could be heard outside it. From the outside, the ancient manor was as quiet as it had always been.


    Lie Huan gnashed his teeth in hatred and said, "In this period of time, who else could it be besides those participating in the Subjugation Crusade?"


    The old voice echoed, "What do you intend to do?"


    Lie Huan replied decisively, "I¡¯m going to fish out the culprit and punish him severely."


    "First, get the story straight. Qing Feng." The old voice echoing throughout the manor then quieted down.


    "Understood!" The blue-robed man cupped his fists and bowed, then left together with Lie Huan.


    And the giant doors of the ancient manor closed once again...


    Yun Guang and the others were soon notified that Qing Feng, the Western Constetions Pce¡¯s Minister of the Right, wished to see them. As they were brought to the za of the main manor, they realized they were not the only ones that were summoned; the other five families were called upon as well, including their aides such as Zuo Nanchun and Fairy Hong Chen. All eighteen overseers who had watched over the astrbe were present.


    Qing Feng and Lie Huan stood at the top of the tall flight of steps, just outside the manor¡¯s giant tightly shut doors. Casting a downward gaze upon the six families, the two of them slowly walked down the steps.


    Yun Guang and the others exchanged nces, transmitting their voices to one another and asking about the situation. However, not a single one of them knew what was going on. The six people that brought them here had them stop just before the steps, then took their ces to the side.


    Qing Feng and Lie Huan continued to walk down slowly, thetter furiously sizing up the crowd at the bottom of the steps.


    Yun Guang and the others creased their brows at the way Lie Huan was looking down upon them. Yun Guang said, "Just cut to the chase and state your business. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re trying to seek an audience or anything. Stop putting on airs!"


    As Lie Huan and Qing Feng slowly walked down the stairs, they came to a stop at the final step. Lie Huan red at Yun Guang and snarled, "Someone has wrecked this lord¡¯s pce. Even if Yun Aotian himself is standing in front of me, I will not let this slide without a proper exnation!"


    When they heard this, Yun Guang and the others couldn¡¯t help looking at each other in shock. Who would be so bold as to wreck the pce of Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan?


    Now that something like this had happened, it would be unwise of Yun Guang to continue arguing against Lie Huan. The reason he did so earlier was to let Lie Huan know that the authority of the Six Sages was not something that could be easily challenged. However, he now understood that Lie Huan¡¯s rage was fully justified. If he were to really make this old demon blow his top, then even if every one of them worked together, they wouldn¡¯t be a match for the guy.


    However, Yun Guang still remarked, "I say, Lie Huan! You¡¯re not suspecting us, are you? We¡¯ve been stuck inside the Western Constetions Pce for the past ten years, and we¡¯ve never even set half a foot outside this ce. Even if you¡¯re out for blood, you shouldn¡¯t be targeting us!"


    Qing Feng replied, "You people have been standing guard before the astrbe this whole time. I trust that you would¡¯ve noticed any peculiar movements on the astrbe. The reason why we¡¯ve summoned all of you here is to ask if you¡¯ve seen anyone that¡¯s been to Skyfire Mountain."


    Hei Yun cast a sideways nce at Grandmaster Qi Jie. He smiled menacingly, then said, "Aren¡¯t you just asking for the impossible? There were more than a hundred thousand participants running across the astrbe. How can you possibly expect us to remember where each of them went?!"


    Lie Huan immediately roared, "Bullshit! As if anyone can easily set foot in this lord¡¯s Skyfire Mountain. Those under the Red Lotus realm will find it difficult to even get close, much less trespass into this lord¡¯s Supreme Fire Pce. And the average cultivator wouldn¡¯t be so bold that they¡¯d set foot upon the gates of this lord¡¯s dwelling. The culprit is definitely among the members of your six families! There can be no one else!"


    Even though Lie Huan was simply making his own assumptions, his words did have some sense in them. As such, Qing Feng didn¡¯t say anything and just coolly stood beside him.


    "Say it! Who is the one behind this?! If you hand over the culprit now, this lord might be willing to give a lighter punishment. However, if you let this lord personally discover the culprit, then don¡¯t me me for not giving face to the Six Sages!" Lie Huan swept a vicious gaze across the crowd.


    Feeling a little guilty, Ji Meimei avoided Lie Huan¡¯s gaze. If she remembered correctly, her son did indeed go to Skyfire Mountain. And it seemed that Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s disciple and hisrades were there as well. However, she seemed to recall that Grandmaster Qi Jie was not present at the time and thus did not see it happen.


    Everyone else kept quiet. If Ji Meimei¡¯s son was the only one who went to Skyfire Mountain, perhaps one of them would have revealed the truth to Lie Huan, in order to save themselves some trouble. However, things were moreplicated now that it involved Grandmaster Qi Jie as well. A benevolent character through and through, this monk had formed countless bonds from his goodwill over the years, and he was extremely well-known in the cultivation realm. Even when up against the Six Sages, his position was highly-distinguished. All that saw him treated him with courtesy and respect. Hence, it wouldn¡¯t be too wise to offend such a person.


    "Your silence indicates that you do acknowledge that the culprit is among your members!" Lie Huanughed coldly and yelled, "Men! Bring every single one of their members over to me. This lord wishes to interrogate them personally. I want to see if they can still be this tight-lipped then!"


    How could those youngsters possibly withstand this old demon¡¯s questioning? He would surely leave them crippled, if not dead. Worried about his precious son, Hei Yun immediately grew anxious, and shouted, "Lie Huan, stop being so unreasonable. My son really didn¡¯t go to your Skyfire Mountain!"


    Boom! An intense ze suddenly enveloped Lie Huan, and the temperature in the vicinity instantly shot up to astonishing heights. The symbol of a single-petaled Golden Lotus shining on his forehead, Lie Huan extended his arm and formed a w with his hand. As they faced him, the crowd on the other side immediately felt as though they were being suffocated.


    Like an arrow, Hei Yun shot out, instantly sucked over by Lie Huan. He dove straight into the mes around Lie Huan, who caught him by the neck.


    "This lord likes to be unreasonable. What can you do about it?" Within the mes, Lie Huan gripped Hei Yun¡¯s neck and said menacingly, "Don¡¯t think that just because you¡¯re with the Six Sages that you can simply do as you please. One of your members has even gone as far as to wreck this lord¡¯s pce. Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a bit too much? Why would this lord still need to be reasonable with you then?!"


    Regardless of how he looked, Hei Yun was still a Purple Lotus Third Grade cultivator. However, Lie Huan could still pull him in across the air as though he was taking something out of his pocket. And now, having been caught by Lie Huan, Hei Yun couldn¡¯t even move a single muscle. Surrounded by mes, ck smoke started rising from his body, and his face twisted in pain.


    Lie Huan was the bane of all Ghost cultivators to begin with. He had crossed fists with Ghost Sage Situ Xiao and even lived to tell the tale. How could Hei Yun possibly be a match for him? It was simply his misfortune to have incurred Lie Huan¡¯s wrath.


    The strength of one of the nine Supreme Yao Lords of the Western Star Sea left no room for doubt. Ji Meimei and the others were shocked. They never thought that Hei Yun couldn¡¯t even muster up an ounce of resistance against Lie Huan.


    "Amitabha!" Grandmaster Qi Jie couldn¡¯t watch any longer. He pped his hands in prayer and said, "Please stay your hand, Supreme Yao Lord. Let us discuss this matter slowly. I¡¯m sure we will be able to talk it out."


    "It¡¯s not that Lie Huan doesn¡¯t wish to give the Grandmaster face, but this time I¡¯ve really been pushed too far. I swear I won¡¯t rest until I get to the bottom of this. Lie Huan understands the Grandmaster¡¯s character. This incident is surely unrted to you. Just now, we weren¡¯t thinking clearly and ended up making Grandmastere all the way here as well. But since you¡¯re already here, please just humor me for now. After this, Lie Huan shall make a formal apology to Grandmaster!" As he stood within the me, Lie Huan nodded apologetically to Grandmaster Qi Jie.


    When they heard Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s words, Yun Guang and the others couldn¡¯t help looking at him awkwardly. However, the person in question was still unaware of the reason why.


    Lie Huan turned back to Hei Yun and said coldly, "Seeing as you¡¯re this worried for your son, he must be the one behind this. That¡¯s why you¡¯re feeling guilty! Men! Bring me his son¡¯s head!"


    As he said this, the crowd secretly cursed in distress, and Ji Meimei was all the more terrified. They all knew how dearly Hei Yun thought of his son. There was no way he could tolerate the old demon¡¯s threats!


    As they feared, while still in pain, Hei Yun widened his eyes, and with all his might, uttered, "I...know...who...did...it..."


    These were the words Lie Huan wanted to hear all along. Like dropping a te, he swung his arm and dismissively tossed Hei Yun down the steps.


    The mes surrounding Lie Huan receded, and he ordered, "Speak!"


    As he rolled on the ground, Hei Yun fumbled to his feet. With ck smoke still rising from his body, he touched his neck,pletely terrified as he coughed and answered, "I don¡¯t know who the actual culprit is, but what I can confirm from the astrbe is that two groups of people have been to Skyfire Mountain."


    There were only six red dots on the astrbe, so it was easy to keep track of where each of them went. As for the tens of thousands of white dots that scrambled around, who could possibly identify which was which.


    Having finally found a clue, Lie Huan made a menacing smile and asked, "Which two groups?"


    Hei Yun could no longer make any excuses. Covering his throat with one hand as he coughed, he raised his other arm and pointed at Ji Meimei, then reluctantly pointed to Grandmaster Qi Jie. As he pointed to thetter, he wore an apologetic expression on his face, because the only reason his son was able to live this long was due to Grandmaster Qi Jie.


    It was precisely because of this that he didn¡¯t reveal Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s involvement even as Lie Huan grabbed him by the throat earlier on. It was only when Lie Huan threatened to kill his son that Hei Yun had no choice but to sell out Grandmaster Qi Jie.


    Grandmaster Qi Jie was taken aback and quickly turned to look at the two monks behind him, who lowered their heads when they met his gaze.


    Lie Huan was shocked as well. He never thought that Grandmaster Qi Jie would also be involved in this matter. However, when he saw Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s expression, and as he trusted the Grandmaster¡¯s character, Lie Huan was positive that he must have been unaware of the whole incident. He quickly assured him, "Please don¡¯t worry, Grandmaster. We still haven¡¯t gotten to the bottom of this yet. I¡¯m sure it was done by the people from the Yao Nation."


    ¡¯How can he simply make assumptions like this?¡¯ Ji Meimei immediately grew anxious, and said, "Big Brother Lie, don¡¯t listen to Hei Yun¡¯s nonsense!"


    Despite Lie Huan¡¯s assurance, Grandmaster Qi Jie still couldn¡¯t help feeling anxious. He wasn¡¯t worried about Kong Zhi and the others; it was his own disciple that he was most concerned about. He knew better than anyone what Ba Jie¡¯s temperament was like. ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me Ba Jie is really behind this?¡¯


    As he was now involved in the matter as well, it was difficult for Grandmaster Qi Jie to say anything else.


    "Whether he¡¯s spouting nonsense or not, all will be revealed once we interrogate the suspects!" Lie Huan barked, "Men! Go bring me the people from those two families!"


    Qing Feng nodded, and the six people standing by the side of the steps immediately flew off...

 Chapter 438: Cat’s Out of the Bag

    Chapter 438: Cat¡¯s Out of the Bag


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Soon, Bai Ziliang and Lan Susu, Kong Zhi and Ba Jie, as well as their respective subordinates, were all brought over.


    When they saw the gathered members of the six families and noticed the two people looking down on them from above, the twelve of them wondered what was going on. They only knew that the people who brought them here weren¡¯t exactly in the best of moods.


    "Which of you have been to this lord¡¯s Skyfire Mountain?" Lie Huan asked coldly.


    The twelve of them were immediately shocked. ¡¯Could this be Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan?¡¯


    As they still couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of the situation, the twelve of them were afraid to answer his question. Ji Meimei and Grandmaster Qi Jie transmitted their voices to their respective members, asking if they¡¯d gone to Skyfire Mountain and wrecked Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan¡¯s Supreme Fire Pce. Both sides gave simr answers¡ªthey did go to Skyfire Mountain, but they had never even seen this Supreme Fire Pce.


    Lie Huanughed coldly. "It looks like you won¡¯t speak until I teach you some pain! Men! First, chop off their hands, then their legs! If these stubborn fools won¡¯t talk, then keep on cutting at them, and don¡¯t stop until you take down their heads!"


    Bai Ziliang and the others were horrified. Since Yun Guang and the others weren¡¯t involved in the matter, they just stood by and watched.


    With an indifferent expression, Qing Feng gently nodded. The six men standing on both sides of the za immediately moved to carry out Lie Huan¡¯s orders. Suddenly, Ji Meimei yelled, "Wait!"


    Lie Huan leaned his body forward and asked mockingly, "Ji Meimei, do you think that just because you¡¯re Ji Huan¡¯s daughter, I won¡¯t dare to touch you? It¡¯s not like this lord offended anyone, and yet your members destroyed my home without rhyme nor reason. Don¡¯t you think my anger is quite justified? Even if Ji Huan were to question me himself, I wouldn¡¯t be afraid to stand my ground!"


    Ji Meimei cupped her fists and said, "Big Brother Lie, you¡¯re exaggerating. We¡¯ve known each other for a long time. Do you think your little sister is someone so unreasonable?"


    Lie Huanughed and said, "Before you got married, you were quite the unruly princess. With your old man Ji Huan backing you, you didn¡¯t hold anyone in regard. I¡¯ve actually never seen you speak so reasonably before. But I guess you¡¯ve learned some humility after getting married."


    A sense of bitterness flitted past Ji Meimei¡¯s eyes. Forcing a smile, she said, "I was naive in the past. If I¡¯ve ever offended Big Brother Lie, I ask that you forgive me. However, let us talk about the current issue instead. Big Brother Lie wishes to find the culprit who ransacked your Supreme Fire Pce. But if you kill all of them now, wouldn¡¯t you be cutting off the trail of clues and letting the true culprit go?"


    "How do you know I¡¯ll be letting the true culprit go if I kill them all?" Lie Huan narrowed his eyes at her, and asked, "Do you know something?"


    "I don¡¯t know much either. However, I¡¯ve just asked my son, and he said that while they had indeed gone to Skyfire Mountain, they didn¡¯t enter the Supreme Fire Pce. Although they did witness a certain someone enter it."


    Lie Huan immediately pointed at her and asked, "Who?"


    Ji Meimei extended her arm to the side and gestured for her son to step forward and answer in her stead. "Ziliang, hurry up and tell your Uncle Lie what you saw. Be honest and don¡¯t hide anything."


    "This young one greets Uncle Lie." Bai Ziliang stepped forward and cupped his fists in greeting. Deep down, he was overjoyed. ¡¯Looks like I was scared for nothing. Let¡¯s see how that bastard is going to escape this time!¡¯ However, he still put up a serious expression and said, "The one that intruded into the Supreme Fire Pce is a Celestial Nation cultivator called Yan Beihong. He¡¯s presently inside this Western Constetions Pce!"


    Tang Jun, Hong Chen, and Zuo Nanchun were all shocked by his words. Although Tang Jun was oblivious to the fact, the other two were aware that the Yan Beihong everyone now knew was actually Miao Yi!


    "Foolish child. How dare you make such irresponsible remarks!" Tang Jun pointed at Bai Ziliang and abruptly yelled. Even though he wasn¡¯t exactly acquainted with Miao Yi, he obviously needed to protect thetter at a time like this. Cupping his fists at Lie Huan, Tang Jun said, "Lie Huan, this child has an ulterior motive. He has a grievance with Yan Beihong, and is using this opportunity to sabotage him!"


    Lie Huan raised an eyebrow, then Bai Ziliang pointed towards Kong Zhi and said, "If Senior Tang doesn¡¯t believe me, you can ask them. They too are witnesses. You¡¯ll know whether or not this junior was lying if you just ask them."


    Everyone immediately looked towards Kong Zhi and the others. Lie Huan swept a gaze across, and said curtly, "If you mutter even a single lie, I will show you no mercy!"


    As Lie Huan said this, Ba Jie immediately nodded repeatedly, and said, "He¡¯s right. It¡¯s that bastard. I¡ª"


    Seeing how everyone was behaving so timidly before Lie Huan, the bastard wanted to rid himself of this troublesome affair as quickly as he could. ¡¯Better that someone else dies than me.¡¯ However, before he could finish, Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s voice transmission suddenly rang by his ears, saying, "Hush! If any mishap were to befall upon that Yan Beihong, I can guarantee that your sister will never forgive you!"


    She couldn¡¯t tell him outright that he was about to expose his big brother.


    ¡¯Never forgive me? What could it be that¡¯s so serious? Don¡¯t tell me that asshole is in a rtionship with my sister, and could be my future brother-inw?¡¯ Ba Jie was greatly shocked. However, as he still wasn¡¯t clear about the situation, and since Fairy Hong Chen had already put it like that, he could only change his sentence midway, "I¡ªI wasn¡¯t really paying attention, to be honest!"


    Bai Ziliang was taken aback by his answer. Pointing at Ba Jie angrily, he snarled, "You¡¯re lying. You saw everything. At the time, you even talked to him and wanted to steal his belongings!"


    "You can eat whatever you want, but you can¡¯t simply say whatever you please. How can a kind and benevolent monk like myself possibly want to steal someone else¡¯s belongings?" Ba Jie pointed back at Bai Ziliang and asked, "Bai Ziliang, I ask you this: at the time, did that guy lose a leg because of you?"


    Bai Ziliang was surprised by the arbitrary question. Confused as to what the other party was ying at, he hesitated to answer.


    Noticing his hesitation, Ba Jie immediately pped his hands in prayer and said to Lie Huan, "Supreme Yao Lord, no manner of deceit can escape your judgment. Just look. This kid is feeling guilty now."


    Lie Huan narrowed his eyes at Bai Ziliang. It did look as though he was feeling guilty.


    Ji Meimei was instantly flustered, and Bai Ziliang was just as shocked. He replied loudly, "That¡¯s right. I made him lose a leg. But so what? It¡¯s survival of the fittest in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade to begin with. What¡¯s so strange about it then?"


    "I didn¡¯t say it was strange at all. I was purely asking you a question. You could have just said yes or no. Why do you have to be so restless? Are you feeling guilty, perhaps?" Ba Jie asked curiously.


    "You... What do I have to be guilty about?!" Bai Ziliang waspletely flustered by Ba Jie¡¯s words. ¡¯We were clearly talking about ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯. Why is this bastard pointing the arrow back to me?¡¯ He was worried that Ba Jie was trying to set him up.


    "If you¡¯re not feeling guilty, then just answer honestly!" Ba Jie shook his head and sighed, as though it was an exhausting task to speak to Bai Ziliang. He asked, "Bai Ziliang, I¡¯ll ask you a different question: was that guy¡¯s clothes all torn up, and his appearancepletely unkempt that he barely looked like a person?"


    Ji Meimei looked at Ba Jie apprehensively, not sure what this dirty monk was trying to achieve by talking in circles like this. She was also worried that he was trying to sabotage her son.


    Bai Ziliang also felt quite restless from Ba Jie¡¯s questions. He hesitated briefly, then grit his teeth and answered, "That¡¯s right!"


    When Bai Ziliang said this, Zuo Nanchun lowered his gaze slightly. He never thought that Miao Yi had actually gone through so much suffering.


    Fairy Hong Chen felt a tinge of sorrow as well. The guy had one leg chopped off, and was reduced to such a miserable state that he lost all semnce of a person. How much pain did he have to go through? If Yue Yao were to find out, she would surely be heartbroken.


    However, even then, the two were unaware of the torment Miao Yi felt as he was being burned to a crisp.


    "Then what more needs to be said? You made him lose a leg, tore up his clothes, and ruined his appearance so much he barely looked human. You acknowledged this yourself. As such, how can you possibly expect me to be sure of what he looks like? On the other hand, the Yan Beihong we saw had both legs intact, has a handsome and noble countenance, and is charismatic to boot. He¡¯s like an entirely different person. How can I be sure then? As a monk, I will never make up stories. You don¡¯t expect me to lie, do you?" Ba Jie pped his hands in prayer and said in a sanctimonious tone.


    Grandmaster Qi Jie was lost for words. No one understood this disciple of his better than he did. ¡¯What do you mean you never make up stories?¡¯


    "..." Bai Ziliang was utterly speechless. ¡¯It looks like this dirty monk was just trying to prove that he actually wasn¡¯t paying attention. Damn it, he made me scared for nothing.¡¯


    Ji Meimei too sighed in relief. ¡¯This dirty monk. If you didn¡¯t see him properly, then just say so. Why did you have to lead us on a big circle and scare us?¡¯


    Lie Huan¡¯s face darkened. He too thought that there was some profound meaning behind Ba Jie¡¯s questioning. As it turned out, this monk was just spouting a pile of nonsense. And he had even listened on so intently like a fool. Turning to the other monks, Lie Huan asked, "Did the rest of you fail to see his face as well?"


    Grandmaster Qi Jie sighed and said, "Kong Zhi, regardless of the oue, just tell it as it is. Don¡¯t hide anything!" He simply had no confidence in his own disciple¡¯s words.


    Ba Jie rolled his eyes in disdain. ¡¯How can you show such ack of faith for your own disciple¡¯s words in front of other people? And you still have the gall to call yourself my master!¡¯ Suddenly, Kong Zhi¡¯s voice transmission rang by the side of this ear, asking, "Ba Jie, what¡¯s the situation? Should I tell the truth?"


    "Of course you should. Did you forget how that surnamed Yan bastard set us up back on the nameless ind? If he manages to return to the Celestial Nation, it¡¯ll be hard for us to do anything to him. Now that such a rare opportunity has presented itself, go send him to his grave for me!" Ba Jie replied in kind.


    Feeling a little dubious, Kong Zhi asked, "Then why did you speak up for him just now? Don¡¯t try to set me up!" Evidently, this was another monk who had no confidence in Ba Jie¡¯s character.


    "I had no choice. I really can¡¯t y the viin in this!" Ba Jie felt a little conflicted. He was quite positive that Yan Beihong had some kind of romantic affair with his sister. Otherwise, Fairy Hong Chen wouldn¡¯t have said those things to him. His sister was so beautiful, how could he allow an asshole that set him up to have her so easily? If he weren¡¯t trying to be considerate towards Yue Yao¡¯s feelings, Ba Jie wouldn¡¯t even give Kong Zhi the opportunity to y the viin here.


    "Kong Zhi!" Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s said in a deeper tone.


    Helpless, Kong Zhi could only tell everyone the story of how Bai Ziliang forced Miao Yi down the volcano. He also confirmed that the person in question was ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯. What he didn¡¯t know was how ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ had managed to escape unscathed.


    As they listened to his story, many in the crowd felt awed as they thought about how that ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ sacrificed himself to lure the enemies away from hisrades. Even when he had lost a leg, he was still trying to stall the enemy so that hisrades could escape. And in the end, he was forced to jump down to the Supreme Fire Pce. It was rare to see such a loyal person in the current cultivation realm.


    Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s eyes were filled with worry. She too never imagined that the man who¡¯d said such rude things to her was actually such a faithful person. Now she was worried about how Miao Yi was going to survive this. She didn¡¯t have the capability to safeguard him from Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan at all.


    "Kong Zhi, I ask you again, are you speaking the truth?"


    "Every word is true. This disciple swears there wasn¡¯t a single lie," Kong Zhi replied.


    "Amitabha!" Grandmaster Qi Jie pped his hands together and sighed.


    It¡¯s not that he had anything against Miao Yi, but with the situation being such a mess right now, it was hard for Grandmaster Qi Jie to save so many people from Lie Huan¡¯s grasp. However, if it was just one person, then Grandmaster Qi Jie still had some confidence that he could offer his protection.


    Ji Meimei suddenly giggled and said, "How about it then? Tang Jun, do you doubt Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s words as well?"


    Bai Ziliang also felt a rush of glee deep down. It was no exaggeration to say that both mother and child utterly detested Miao Yi.


    Tang Jun said solemnly, "That¡¯s just your side of the story. Which one of you saw him wreck the Supreme Fire Pce with your own eyes? Who dares step forward and say you witnessed himmitting this crime?!"


    "That¡¯s not a problem!" Lie Huan narrowed his eyes at Tang Jun, then said coldly, "Now that we have a prime suspect, I naturally have my own ways of getting the truth out of him. Men! Bring this person to me!"


    However, it seemed as though hismand had fallen on deaf ears. The six people just stood motionlessly to the side; there wasn¡¯t any response at all.

 Chapter 439: Give the Youngster a Chance

    Chapter 439: Give the Youngster a Chance


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    If the forces of the Western Constetions Pce could bemanded by just anyone, chaos would surely ensue!


    Lie Huan swiftly turned to Qing Feng. The reason why Lie Huan¡¯smands had worked earlier was due to the Western Constetions Pce¡¯s Minister of the Right¡ªhe¡¯d been quietly standing beside him the entire time. Those six men had heeded Lie Huan¡¯smands only when Qing Feng nodded his head.


    However, now Qing Feng was just standing there motionlessly like a y idol. Lie Huan couldn¡¯t help feeling puzzled.


    He was just about to ask Qing Feng what the problem was when thetter nkly said, "Brother Lie, I believe that you should give it some more thought. Do you think this matter can be settled with the life of a single peon? Is Lie Huan¡¯s Supreme Fire Pce worth only so little, that you can resolve this dispute so easily?"


    When they heard what he said, Ji Meimei and the others were immediately confused. It should be known that this Minister of the Right was in no way weaker than any of the nine Supreme Yao Lords. Once upon a time, he too was someone who ughtered without even batting an eye. Countless powerful cultivators had died by his hands back when Fu Qing was still fighting against the Six Sages. Hence, Ji Meimei and the others couldn¡¯t help feeling a little apprehensive at hearing him say such a thing.


    Lie Huan furrowed his brows and was about to ask Qing Feng what he meant by that, when suddenly, an old voice rang by his ears, "Lie Huan, give that youngster a chance!"


    Lie Huan was taken aback, but he instantly understood why those men had suddenly stopped heeding hismands. It was because of Fu Qing¡¯s interference all along. Lie Huan immediately transmitted his voice over, asking, "My lord, you know that Yan Beihong?"


    "I only met him once by coincidence. I wouldn¡¯t say we¡¯re acquainted. Give him a chance!"


    "My lord, there¡¯s a high chance that he was the one who wrecked my Supreme Fire Pce. The twelve Fire Spirits I spent thest 20,000 years gathering are also gone. Lie Huan cannot ept this injustice!"


    "I believe Qing Feng has already made it pretty clear to you. Would killing such a nobody sate the frustration in your heart?"


    "Since my lord has only met him once, it means that there isn¡¯t much of a rtionship between you two! If my lord wishes Lie Huan to let him go, then I dare not disobey. But I wish to know the reason why. If not, I wouldn¡¯t be satisfied even if I agreed with it!"


    "Then I¡¯ll give you a reason why! Simply because that youngster wishes to take Mu Fanjun¡¯s disciple as his woman! Because he said that he would turn the entire Realm Beyond Heaven upside down, right to the face of Mu Fanjun¡¯s disciple! Are these two reasons enough for you? Now that the world is in the hands of the Six Sages, how many people are out there who would still dare say such words? It¡¯s been a long time since I heard something this gratifying. Compared to the humiliation we¡¯ve suffered all these years, what does it matter what happens to your Supreme Fire Pce? In the first ce, if not for this Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, do you think your Supreme Fire Pce would have been ransacked? The one to me isn¡¯t some nameless peon. Even if you killed such a person, it wouldn¡¯t prove the might of Lie Huan."


    Lie Huan was astonished. "A mere Subjugation Crusade participant dared to say he would overturn the entire Realm Beyond Heaven right to the face of Mu Fanjun¡¯s disciple?"


    The old voice sighed, saying, "There is no shortage of braggarts in the world. If he had simply spoken out of arrogance, then he¡¯s not worth mentioning, nor is he worth my protection. After all, why should I care whether he lives or dies? It was only when I found out that he went to your Supreme Fire Pce that I suddenly felt like giving that youngster a chance!"


    "Why so?"


    "When I met that youngster by coincidence, I touched his hand and found out he only has a Blue Lotus First Grade cultivation. With such feeble strength, he still has the audacity to make such sphemous ims. By right, he should be immediately punished for it. But let me ask you this: is your Supreme Fire Pce a ce where a cultivator of such feeble strength can easily set foot in?"


    Lie Huan mused for a while, vaguely understanding what Fu Qing was hinting at. He then replied, "Of course not!"


    "Since he has some skill, then his words were not spoken out of arrogance, but confidence. And since the youngster is so certain of himself, why not give him a chance and see what he can do? After all, the world does notck such nobodies. It won¡¯t affect you at all whether you kill him or not. Even if you do kill him, it won¡¯t bring your Supreme Fire Pce back to its original state. Since he¡¯s crossed paths with me once, give the youngster a chance! In three hundred years, if his cultivation has yet to break through to the Red Lotus realm, and if you still choose to bear this grudge, I will have him return to the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade and allow you to do as you please with him. I am still capable of doing this much at least."


    "I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible to break through from a Blue Lotus First Grade cultivation to the Red Lotus realm in just three hundred years!"


    "Do you think this is important? No, what¡¯s important is whether you¡¯ll remember this grievance or not! This is all I have to say. To kill him. Or to give him a chance. You decide." The old voice then gradually faded away.


    Everyone was simply looking at Lie Huan, who had suddenly fallen silent and was furrowing his brows. They thought that he was still contemting Qing Feng¡¯s words.


    Since Fu Qing had already said so much, how could Lie Huan not give him face? Was there even a need to consider anything anymore?


    However, there was still a lot of frustration pent up inside him. Sweeping his gaze across Bai Ziliang and the others, Lie Huan said angrily, "Brother Qing is right. The life of a single peon cannot possiblypare to my Supreme Fire Pce! That Yan Beihong only jumped down because he was out of options. The ones that truly deserve contempt are those who don¡¯t hold this lord in any regard simply because they have some background. Those are the true culprits who messed up my Supreme Fire Pce!"


    Standing with hands behind his back, Qing Feng slowly closed his eyes. He could already guess what had happened. Hence, he just stood expressionlessly to the side, no longer concerned about what would happen next.


    What did Lie Huan¡¯s words mean? Ba Jie was calmly standing with hands pped in prayer, when he suddenly widened his eyes in shock, almost bulging out even. He was no longerposed, thinking, ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me that I failed to set up that Yan Beihong and ended up digging my own grave instead?¡¯


    Ji Meimei and her son¡¯s faces instantly twisted in dismay, and they nervously looked at Lie Huan.


    Yun Guang and the others were also curious to see what Lie Huan meant by those words.


    Lie Huan pointed to Bai Ziliang¡¯s group, then to Kong Zhi¡¯s, and said, "I can spare that Yan Beihong. However, if I don¡¯t kill these overbearing bastards, I will not be satisfied. Men! Off with their heads!"


    If he wasn¡¯t in the right, even Lie Huan wouldn¡¯t dare touch the Six Sages¡¯ members. Since he actually had a perfectly valid reason for once, he definitely wouldn¡¯t hold back!


    With shut eyes, Qing Feng was also thinking the same thing. Or perhaps it was Fu Qing, who was behind him, who shared the same thought. Regardless, Qing Feng lightly nodded.


    As soon as he nodded, the six men standing by the side immediately made their move. Shocked, Ji Meimei hastily jumped in front of her son and yelled, "Big Brother Lie. Minister Qing!"


    "Amitabha!"


    Weng! The air rippled as though it had taken form, as Grandmaster Qi Jie suddenly shot to the center, hands pped in prayer as a nine-petaled purple lotus appeared on his forehead. His body gave off an aura of solemnity, as well as benevolence. The six Red Lotus cultivators from the Western Constetions Pce were then fixed in midair by a powerful transcendence energy wave.


    Qing Feng, who had been standing with hands behind his back, suddenly opened his closed eyes. There was a cold glint within them as the mark of a Golden Lotus Second Grade cultivator appeared on his forehead, and his whole body instantly vanished as though he¡¯d just teleported.


    A blue silhouette suddenly appeared before Grandmaster Qi Jie and was soon revealed to be Qing Feng. With one hand behind his back, Qing Feng extended two fingers out. Like a sword, they easily ripped through the transcendence energy barrier and headed straight for Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s forehead,ing to a stop just inches away from their target.


    Yet, the sheer force behind this one move caused Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s snow-white robes and ck satin cloth, as well as his white brows and hair, to flutter wildly in the wind. Even the skin on his face started to ripple, starting from his forehead where Qing Feng¡¯s fingers were pointing at.


    Yun Guang and the others hastily invoked their arts to defend against the powerful wave of transcendence energy, but even then they still rapidly skidded a considerable distance across the floor.


    Meanwhile, Ba Jie and the others were blown away like leaves, swirling around in midair before falling badly over a hundred meters away.


    The six Western Constetions Pce cultivators were also freed, and theynded on the ground.


    "Qi Jie, even though the Western Constetions Pce is not as mighty as the Realm of High Paradise, it is still not a ce where anyone can just do as they please. If it were anyone else, they would be dead already. If you continue to be stubborn, then don¡¯t me me for being discourteous!" Qing Feng said loudly as he pointed at Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s forehead. His words were clear¡ª ¡¯I¡¯ve already shown you your due respect, so hurry up and stand down!¡¯


    Grandmaster Qi Jie smiled wryly. At first, he thought that it would be easier for him to step in by singling out ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯. That way, it wouldn¡¯t involve too many people. Unexpectedly, however, Lie Huan suddenly decided to change his mind and still intended to target the majority. Grandmaster Qi Jie said unfalteringly, "Minister Qing, if killing me will save the lives of these youngsters, then feel free to take my life!"


    As he got to his feet, Ba Jie couldn¡¯t help rolling his eyes in disdain. ¡¯The old baldy is at it again.¡¯


    "Minister Qing, sir, you have the wrong idea!" Ba Jie shouted, "Please let me exin."


    Who did he think he was? Qing Fengpletely ignored Ba Jie. Suddenly, an old voice echoed from the ancient manor, "Qing Feng, don¡¯t be disrespectful to Grandmaster Qi Jie. Let Lie Huan settle this issue himself!"


    As he heard this, Qing Feng immediately pulled back his arm, cing it behind him as he shot back to his original spot. He then continued to stand there expressionlessly with eyes closed as though nothing had happened.


    That terrifying aura instantly disappeared as well, and Ba Jie heaved a deep sigh of relief. While he didn¡¯t really like Qi Jie¡¯s way of doing things, at the end of the day, he was still his master. Most importantly, if his master were to die, his chances of escape would shrink.


    "Amitabha!" Grandmaster Qi Jie pped his hands in prayer at the ancient manor and bowed in gratitude. He then faced Lie Huan andughed bitterly. "I beseech you to show mercy, Supreme Yao Lord!"


    Lie Huan¡¯s expression twisted awkwardly as he thought, ¡¯Why did I have to forget about this monk and end up summoning him here as well? I¡¯ve made such a big mess for myself!¡¯


    "Lie Huan will never forget the kindness that Grandmaster had shown me all those years ago. Since Grandmaster has spoken up for them, then I will spare them out of respect for you!" Lie Huan then pointed to Bai Ziliang and the others, and continued, "I will not take their lives. However, while death can be avoided, they must still be taught a lesson. Those who don¡¯t wish to die,e over obediently and receive your punishment!"


    "Supreme Yao Lord, why hold it against these youngsters¡ª"


    Grandmaster Qi Jie still wanted to plead, but Lie Huan raised his hand, vehemently denying, "Grandmaster! You are not involved in this. If you wish to make this a personal affair, then I can let go of the fact that my Supreme Fire Pce was wrecked. Consider it repayment of my debt to you. Now, I¡¯ve already promised you that I won¡¯t take their lives. However, that is my limit. If Grandmaster forces me any further than this, I¡¯m afraid I might have to take back that promise!"


    Lie Huan didn¡¯t give Grandmaster Qi Jie the chance to reply further. He pointed at Bai Ziliang and said curtly, "Didn¡¯t you all hear what this lord just said? My patience wears thin!"


    "Big Brother Lie, please spare your little sister¡¯s child out of respect for me!" Ji Meimei approached with a smile on her face.


    Lie Huanughed aloud. "Ji Meimei, back when I fancied you, you didn¡¯t even spare me so much as a nce. Instead, you insisted on being together with that wimpy fellow. But no matter, I¡¯m not such an unforgiving person. Let the past be the past. I see that you¡¯re even more beautiful now than you were before. If you¡¯re willing to be my mistress, then I¡¯ll spare your son. How about it?"


    Ji Meimei¡¯s face was instantly flushed with embarrassment and anger. Suddenly, Bai Ziliang stepped forward and bellowed furiously at Lie Huan, "Make your move!"


    Before Ji Meimei could react, Lie Huan was already pping down with his hand. He didn¡¯t give her time to think at all. Evidently, his words were only meant to embarrass her and weren¡¯t meant to be taken seriously.


    Lie Huan wouldn¡¯t really take Ji Meimei to be his mistress. It was fine to embarrass her while he still had a valid reason to be angry. However, if he really forced her to that point, that would undoubtedly mean that he was shaming Ji Huan. At the end of the day, Ji Meimei was still Ji Huan¡¯s daughter. How could she possibly lower herself to be someone¡¯s mistress? It would not be a good idea at all to anger Ji Huan.

 Chapter 440: Unexpected Returns

    Chapter 440: Unexpected Returns


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡¯Pa!¡¯ As Lie Huan¡¯s palmnded on Bai Ziliang¡¯s cheek, thetter shot out like an arrow, spitting out a mouthful of blood and broken teeth. With blood gushing out of his nose and mouth, Bai Ziliangnded a dozen meters away and fell unconscious.


    "Ziliang!" Ji Meimei shouted and rushed off to hold her son. Noticing that there was no danger to his life as she examined him, she held his head against her chest and cried, regretting that she had forced him to join the Subjugation Crusade.


    Lie Huan coldly dered, "Next!"


    ¡¯Pa!¡¯ Lan Susu was also sent flying with a single p, spitting out a mouthful of blood as shended on the ground and fainted.


    "Next!"


    ¡¯Pa!¡¯ Another one spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying away.


    Ba Jie couldn¡¯t help his trepidation as he watched these people obediently walk up to be pped by Lie Huan. After everyone from the Yao Nation had been pped, Lie Huan immediately started on the Buddha Nation members.


    After seeing Kong Zhi sent flying with a single p, Ba Jie cast a pitiful gaze at Grandmaster Qi Jie.


    However, Grandmaster Qi Jie simply kept quiet. Initially, Lie Huan wanted to kill these youngsters, but now, he was only punishing them with a single p; there was no threat to their lives. This was already a show of respect to Grandmaster Qi Jie. In the end, it was merely a little corporal punishment. Lie Huan was letting these youngsters off easy indeed. As such, it would be unwise of Grandmaster Qi Jie to try and defend them any further. Even Kong Zhi was punished. What more could Grandmaster Qi Jie say for his own disciple?


    However, Ba Jie was not someone who would knowingly let himself suffer. Even though Lie Huan¡¯s ps did not endanger one¡¯s life, they could still knock one¡¯s teeth out, their bodies sent flying with blood spilling from their mouths, before ultimately passing out. It was terrifying to even watch. Who would be willing to suffer this quietly?


    Just because Grandmaster Qi Jie wouldn¡¯t say anything, it didn¡¯t mean that Ba Jie would obediently ept his punishment as well. As thetter walked up to Lie Huan to be pped, he said to Qi Jie as he passed him by, "Master! I am your only disciple and the only sessor to the ¡¯Jie Line¡¯! If some mishap were to fall upon me, you must take care of yourself!"


    No one knew whether his words were meant for Grandmaster Qi Jie or Lie Huan.


    Grandmaster Qi Jie smiled bitterly in response.


    Yun Guang and the others were speechless as they thought, ¡¯What a crafty monk. Lie Huan has shown so much respect for Grandmaster Qi Jie. Now that you¡¯ve made things so clear for him, how can he possibly p you now?¡¯


    Fairy Hong Chen lowered her head slightly and sighed. ¡¯How is a guy like this Yue Yao¡¯s second brother?¡¯


    Lie Huan¡¯s eyes shone as he nced at Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s reaction. ¡¯It seems like this monk is really Grandmaster Qi Jie¡¯s direct disciple.¡¯


    Looking at Ba Jie, who was cautiously walking up to him with pped hands, Lie Huan scoffed, "Cunning little monk. Don¡¯t dirty this lord¡¯s hand. Move aside!"


    "Amitabha!" Ba Jie bowed, then immediately turned around and bolted. He heaved a deep sigh in relief as he thought, ¡¯This old demon respects the old baldy indeed. I somehow escaped by the skin of my teeth.¡¯


    The monks that were next in line were not as fortunate as Ba Jie. ¡¯Pa!¡¯ They were all sent flying with a single p.


    Out of the twelve youngsters, eleven spat out a mouthful of blood and broken teeth and lost consciousness. The only exception was Ba Jie, who was now hiding behind Grandmaster Qi Jie.


    After he was done exacting his punishment, Lie Huan turned to the ancient manor and cupped his fists and bowed. He then cupped his fists towards Qing Feng, to which Qing Feng nodded in response. Turning back and sweeping his gaze across the crowd, Lie Huan huffed coldly, before flying off in a streak of light.


    Yun Guang and the others looked at the ancient manor in deep thought. To be willing to spare that Yan Beihong, yet still wanting to punish the members of the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons and the Realm of High Paradise¡ªit was worth pondering the reason behind this decision.


    "Does Minister Qing still have anything to ask of us?" Grandmaster Qi Jie pped his hands in prayer and asked.


    "Remember to be punctual and leave at the break of dawn tomorrow!" Qing Feng said curtly, then turned around and left. He was clearly implying that the Western Constetions Pce didn¡¯t wee outsiders like them.


    Grandmaster Qi Jie sighed, and with a wave of his sleeve, the five unconscious monks on the ground floated along behind him as he left.


    Ba Jie obediently followed. ¡¯This ce is totally not safe. I think it¡¯s better to stay close to Master...¡¯


    The next day. Miao Yi and the others were on the ocean as all twenty-one of the Celestial Nation survivors traveled aboard a moderately-sized ship. Thentern of the Western Constetions Pce was hung on the ship¡¯s bow, and with it, not a single demonic spirit dared to get in their way.


    The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was already over, and the countless demonic spirits who had been forced to leave the Western Star Sea were beginning to return to their homes. This was evident from the asional silhouette that could be seen flying across the sky or passing under the sea. Without the Western Constetions Pce¡¯sntern hanging on the ship¡¯s bow, it wouldn¡¯t be an easy affair to leave the Western Star Sea.


    Obviously, Yue Yao and the others weren¡¯t taking the ship back like Miao Yi and the rest; they had already flown off with Tang Jun and the others. And as normal cultivators like Miao Yi weren¡¯t qualified to have people like Tang Jun personally send them home, they could only return using the same method as when they¡¯d first arrived.


    The people on the ship had no idea that Lie Huan had visited yesterday, and had no idea what happened. Tang Jun wouldn¡¯t deign to exin anything to them either. As such, the people aboard the ship were filled with pure excitement at the notion of returning home,pletely oblivious to the events that had transpired under their noses...


    Traversing Moon Pce, Fifth Earthly Branch. Inside thevish sleeping quarters of the Pce Lord. An incense burnery before the bed, emitting plumes of blue smoke. An alluring womany on the bed, propping herself up on her elbows, as her luscious ck hair fell over the front of the bed. Her eyes seemingly closed, she took deep breaths of the swirling plumes of blue smoke with a euphoric expression.


    Her chest was half-exposed, and her fair and bountiful mounds of flesh could bring a rush of excitement to anyone¡¯s blood. Her light yellow gown had fallen down her shoulders, revealing a portion of her snow-white back. And at the moment, at the slit of her dress, her white, slender legs were being caressed by another person.


    As she inhaled the smoke around her, the alluring woman couldn¡¯t help letting out a light chuckle whenever her sensitive areas were touched. Loungingzily on the bed, she bent her leg and ced the bottom of her foot on the man¡¯s face.


    That man was none other than the Suppressing Second Hall Master Huo Lingxiao. He had one hand on the woman¡¯s foot, kissing the leg extended to him, as his other hand continued tracing down and reached the area between her legs. The woman then let out a light moan.


    His hand continued moving towards the woman¡¯s ample buttocks, then up her smooth back, before sliding around to grab her buxom chest.


    The sight before him was simply too arousing, and Huo Lingxiao¡¯s breathing grew ragged. As though he couldn¡¯t control himself any longer, he abruptly pulled the woman¡¯s gown down to her waist, exposing her voluminous chestpletely.


    The woman immediately buried her face onto the bed, chuckling so much that even her shoulders were quivering.


    Huo Lingxiao clenched his teeth and forcefully took off his robes, revealing his upper body, as he pressed down on the woman¡¯s body like a hungry wolf. He madly pressed kisses on her back, as his hands anxiously tried to remove her final piece of clothing.


    Suddenly, the woman waved her hand and pushed Huo Lingxiao away. Flipping her hair to the back, she turned to her side, supporting her head with one arm.


    It seemed Huo Lingxiao was a little unwilling to give up. The feeling of being able to touch the other person but not being able to sink one¡¯s teeth in drove him insane, and he aggressively dove forward to embrace her. However, he soon noticed the woman¡¯s narrowed eyes. Although seemingly gentle, there seemed to be a hidden sharpness in those bright, seductive eyes of hers.


    Huo Lingxiao¡¯s expression immediately froze, as though his mind had suddenly cleared up. He slowly took hold of the gown by the woman¡¯s waist and pulled it back up to her shoulders, covering her exposed bosom. And as he touched the woman over her clothes, he lowered his head to kiss her half-exposed shoulder, and asked, "May this subordinate know why the Pce Lord has called for him?"


    The woman was none other than the Traversing Moon Pce Lord, Zhang Tianxiao. One would normally expect a person with such a name to be a man; they would never think that it could be such an alluring woman. When her parents gave her this name, they must have hoped that she would be happy every day. However, it was unclear what exactly was the nature of her rtionship with Huo Lingxiao.


    Actually, Miao Yi had met this woman before as well. Back when he bumped into Huo Lingxiao in the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s capital city, this was the woman who he¡¯d caught him with on Jade Lake¡ªXiao Xiao.


    Zhang Tianxiao lowered her eyelids slightly, relishing the other party¡¯s embrace and kisses as she saidzily, "Nothing much, really. The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade has just ended, and the survivors are already on the way back. I¡¯m guessing they will reach here in around two to three months. Are you not concerned about the results?"


    Embracing her from behind, Huo Lingxiao smiled bitterly and said, "It doesn¡¯t matter whether I¡¯m concerned about it or not. My Suppressing Second Hall didn¡¯t send anyone worthy of note to participate either way. I¡¯m sure the final result has got nothing to do with me. Pce Lord, why are you suddenly mentioning this? Did our Traversing Moon Pce manage to gain some unexpected returns this Subjugation Crusade?"


    Zhang Tianxiao chuckled lightly and said, "We do indeed have some unexpected returns. In this Subjugation Crusade, the Fifth Earthly Branch has managed to obtain six spots."


    Relishing the touch of her body obsessively, Huo Lingxiao abruptly raised his head in shock and asked, "Six? That many?"


    "Yup. The Overlord was quite astonished as well. After all, even the Six Sages had sent their representatives over to participate this time around. With so many spots being taken up right from the start, it¡¯s natural to be surprised that a single Earthly Branch could still obtain six spots in a single stroke."


    "The Six Sages sent representatives to participate as well?" Huo Lingxiao was shocked again. He wasn¡¯t aware of this information at all. His old buddy Wu Menn had managed to find out about it when she was delivering the participants, but it would be inappropriate of her to divulge it to outsiders. The only reason she had told Miao Yi was because he was a participant.


    Zhang Tianxiao nodded lightly. "Because of this, there is an extra prize in the Subjugation Crusade this time around. Those that survive will be able to take up a Manor Head¡¯s position anywhere they wish within the Fifth Earthly Branch, ording to their cement number."


    Huo Lingxiaoughed. "May I know how many among these six elites are the Pce Lord¡¯s subordinates?"


    "How many can there possibly be? I¡¯m already quite surprised to even have one. Ever since I took charge of the Traversing Moon Pce, I¡¯ve never had a single subordinate make a name for themselves during a Subjugation Crusade." Zhang Tianxiao smiled at him and said, "Speaking of which, I still have to thank you."


    "Thank me?" Taken aback, Huo Lingxiao asked curiously, "Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s someone from my Suppressing Second Hall? That can¡¯t be true, right?"


    "Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know the person named Miao Yi?" Pce Lord Zhang chuckled.


    "Miao Yi?!" Huo Lingxiao was absolutely shocked.


    Zhang Tianxiao giggled and said, "At first, I only found this name to be awfully familiar, as though I¡¯d heard it somewhere before. Yet, I couldn¡¯t remember where. However, as I investigated deeper, I was hit with a sudden revtion. As it turns out, not only has this person met me a long time ago, he was also this Great Hall Master Huo¡¯s sworn brother. Don¡¯t you think I should be thanking you then?"


    "How... How is this possible?" Huo Lingxiao was in utter disbelief. ¡¯That miserly little brother of mine actually survived the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?!¡¯


    "When I rechecked the name list, I found that he only had a White Lotus cultivation at the time of participation." As she looked at him, Zhang Tianxiao¡¯s lips curled into a yful smile, and she teased, "Huo Lingxiao, at the end of the day, he¡¯s still your sworn brother. How could you bear to send him to the Sea of Constetions and risk his life with just a White Lotus cultivation? Don¡¯t tell me you knew all along that he had some ace up his sleeve? Were you so confident that he¡¯d return in one piece, so you were nning to surprise me?"

 Chapter 441: Fall From Grace

    Chapter 441: Fall From Grace


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    ¡¯Give you a surprise? I gave myself a big shock, is more like it!¡¯ Huo Lingxiao didn¡¯t know how to reply to her at all. Even though he had jokingly pledged brotherhood with Miao Yi, they were still sworn brothers in name after all. Logically speaking, by sending thetter off to the Sea of Constetions, it was inevitable that he would eventually be forgotten. ¡¯To think that he actually made it back alive. How did that kid manage to survive?¡¯


    Huo Lingxiao smiled bitterly. "My subordinates sent over that name list. I didn¡¯t want to interfere with the decisions of the respective Manor Heads under me, so I didn¡¯t really look through them. To be honest, if Pce Lord hadn¡¯t mentioned this to me, I wouldn¡¯t have known that Miao Yi had gone off to join the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. In the first ce, our oath of brotherhood was sworn as a joke; our paths never crossed at all before that. Outsiders don¡¯t know of my rtionship with him, and neither does he know of my actual identity.


    "Oh, I see!" Zhang Tianxiao chuckled. It was unclear whether she believed him or not. With eyes shut, she inhaled the blue smoke and said with a euphoric expression, "I told you just now that the survivors will be allowed to take up the position of Manor Head wherever they please within the Fifth Earthly Branch. My Traversing Moon Pce doesn¡¯t have much to offer in terms of location, but now that I finally have a subordinate who¡¯s survived the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, there¡¯s no reason for me to idly let the others have him. That would make me look like such a fool. At the end of the day, you are still his sworn big brother, so it¡¯ll be easier for you to talk to him. I want you to convince him to stay within our Traversing Moon Pce. I can put him in charge of the crystal coin mine within my domain."


    ¡¯You want me to talk to Miao Yi? Wouldn¡¯t my identity be revealed then? How exactly should I talk to him when that happens?¡¯ Slightly dumbstruck, Huo Lingxiao said reluctantly, "To my knowledge, Advisor Lu¡¯s men are the ones managing that crystal coin mine. I doubt he¡¯ll be too pleased if we suddenly force someone into the basket like this!"


    "That¡¯s not something you should worry about. Let Miao Yi handle it himself. If he can¡¯t even manage his connections properly, what use is he to me?" Zhang Tianxiao narrowed her eyes at him slightly and asked, "Are you not confident that you can convince him, or are you reluctant to meet because you¡¯ve done something mean to him?"


    "I¡¯m just worried that Advisor Lu will think badly of me once he knows I¡¯m the one pulling the strings. There¡¯s no other reason. However, since the Pce Lord has asked this of me, I will finish this task well even if I have to go through hell to do it!" Huo Lingxiao smiled and hugged her tightly, as his hands squeezed her breasts once again.


    "You can dismiss yourself now!" Zhang Tianxiao bluntly ordered, inhaling the blue smoke as she closed her eyes.


    Huo Lingxiao¡¯s expression froze. Too afraid to disobey her again, he slowly released Zhang Tianxiao, got up to put on his clothes, then got down from the bed. He bowed before the Pce Lord, saying, "Please excuse this subordinate!"


    Still in rapture, Zhang Tianxiao didn¡¯t respond to him at all. Flustered, Huo Lingxiao then quietly took his leave...


    Once he was back in Suppressing Second Hall, Huo Lingxiao was like an entirely different person. Descending from the sky, he then strode towards his own harem. His aura was proud and dignified, a stark contrast from how he tried to please the Pce Lord earlier on. His handmaidens Tian Yu and Liu Xing came forward to wee him back, "Hall Master!"


    "Tell Shen Fenghua toe see me!" Huo Lingxiao strode into the hall andmanded.


    As she followed behind him, Tian Yu replied, "Deacon Shen is out on patrol. Does Hall Master have some business with him?"


    "Out on patrol?" Huo Lingxiao was taken aback. Turning around, he sat down on his chair, changing the subject of the conversation as he smiled bitterly and said, "Miao Yi ising back."


    "Miao Yi?" His other handmaiden, Liu Xing, asked, "The one that joined the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade? That Miao Yi?"


    "Who else?" Huo Lingxiao shook his head and continued, "How inconceivable! To think he could actually make it back alive. He¡¯s really made it big this time. Even the Pce Lord won¡¯t stop talking about him. I can¡¯t believe that something I did in passing has helped him find sess."


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing exchanged nces. They too were in utter disbelief.


    Huo Lingxiao asked, "If my memory serves me well, he was already the Mountain Chieftain of Calming Sea before he left, correct?"


    Tian Yu answered, "Yes! Is Hall Master nning to promote him?"


    "The Pce Lord has already set her sights on him. It¡¯s no longer my ce to promote him." Huo Lingxiao took the teacup Liu Xing offered, ced it down after a sip, then said solemnly, "There¡¯s an idiom that goes: to fall from grace. I doubt anyone could have imagined that he would actually make it back alive. It¡¯s inevitable that some people will stir up trouble in Mount Calming Sea. Tell Shen Fenghua toe see me immediately once he¡¯s back. I want him to carry my official decree to Mount Calming Sea and take charge of the situation there. Don¡¯t let that miserly little brother of mine find a reason to be upset once he returns. That way, it¡¯ll be easier for me to persuade him as well. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to answer to the Pce Lord."


    "Hall Master, isn¡¯t it a little inappropriate to send Deacon Shen to Mount Calming Sea?" Liu Xing advised. It was a handmaiden¡¯s duty to provide support to her master whenever possible.


    Huo LIngxiao asked curiously, "Why?"


    Tian Yu replied, "Hall Master, have you forgotten? Before the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, Miao Yi was tasked with the construction of the ships. And at the time, Deacon Shen was the one assigned to confirm their progress. However, not only did he fail to get any bribes, but he also had a falling out with Miao Yi. After that, Deacon Shen came to you to lodge aint. However, in your rage, you gave the order to cut off his supply of Orbs of Will for the next ten years. If we have Deacon Shen go over to sort things out in Mount Calming Sea, there¡¯s a chance something terrible will happen when he bumps into Miao Yi."


    "I do seem to recall something like this happening." Huo Lingxiao immediately understood. He lightly nodded and said, "Indeed, it does seem rather inappropriate to send Shen Fenghua. I¡¯ll send Fan Zizhang instead then. He doesn¡¯t have any grievances with Miao Yi, right?"


    The two women smiled and shook their heads...


    Speaking of Deacon Shen Fenghua, the ce he was currently patrolling was none other than Mount Calming Sea.


    After being punished by Huo Lingxiao and having his supply of Orbs of Will cut off for the next decade, for the past few years, Deacon Shen had no other alternative but to try and fish for whatever he could get from the people working down below. This was especially the case for Mount Calming Sea, the ce that had put him in this position in the first ce. He would survey this ce year after year. And with Miao Yi absent, there would naturally be someone to indulge him.


    At this moment, Deacon Shen was having a feast in Mount Calming Sea, apanied by two beautiful women. These two were none other than the interim Mountain Chieftains of Mount Calming Sea assisted by Yan Xiu¡ªQian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    Before Miao Yi left for the Sea of Constetions, he had decreed: "In theing days while I am not in Mount Calming Sea, under Yan Xiu¡¯s assistance, Elder Auntie and Little Auntie will temporarily have the authority and responsibilities of a Mountain Chieftain. Everyone must carry out their orders without fail. Those who choose to defy their superiors and incite rebellion; kill them! Those who deign to plot conspiracies; kill them! For those who would defy orders and act in contempt; kill them!"


    While official decrees were indeed useful when the person handing it out was still around to enforce it, who would still obey it when said person was dead?


    Sitting on the table was Yan Xiu, Tian Qingfeng as well as Sword Deviate Sect¡¯s Zhou Huan, Jade Lady Sect¡¯s Liu Qian, and the School of Imperial Beasts¡¯ Mao Yifan.


    Thest three were the original Mount Calming Sea advisors who had been demoted by Miao Yi before he left. Their positions had been reinstated a few years ago. And as for the School of Blue Jade disciples who were previously promoted, they were knocked back down by the members of the three major sects.


    And while the reason for their reinstatement had much to do with the authority of the three major sects, the main factor was still the presence of this Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s deacon¡ªShen Fenghua.


    Considering how Huo Lingxiao would look for him whenever he had something that needed to be done, it was evident that Shen Fenghua still had some ce in the Suppressing Second Hall Master¡¯s heart. And with Shen Fenghua repeatedly breathing down Yang Qing¡¯s neck, Yang Qing had no choice but to re-evaluate his decisions. Was it worth it to offend Shen Fenghua for the sake of someone who was as good as dead?


    In the end, while Yang Qing had no choice but to yield to Shen Fenghua¡¯s demands, he wouldn¡¯t really openly agree to them. Yang Qing was a man who knew how to handle his business well, after all. At most, he would simply turn a blind eye to Shen Fenghua¡¯s misdeeds and not expose him publicly. As for the School of Blue Jade disciples, how could they fight against the forces of the three major sects now that they had lost the backing of their school? Even Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t do anything against them.


    In the first ce, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were handmaidens and were not required to entertain others. However, much to the twodies¡¯ dismay, they were the interim Mountain Chieftains of Mount Calming Sea. And since Shen Fenghua insisted on discussing business while eating, the two of them couldn¡¯t possibly decline.


    Shen Fenghua enjoyed himself indeed¡ªwith Qian¡¯Er sitting to his left, and Xue¡¯Er to his right, it looked like they were his women. He was only short of grabbing their waists toplete the picture.


    "Miss Qian¡¯Er,e, let us drink another!" With bloated, red cheeks, Shen Fenghua raised his cup and brought his face close to Qian¡¯Er, with his lips just inches away from her face.


    Qian¡¯Er immediately leaned back and forced a smile as she said, "Deacon Shen, I¡¯m not a very good drinker. I hope you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯m feeling a little ufortable. Sister,e help me."


    Xue¡¯Er immediately left her seat to help Qian¡¯Er up, and the twodies were about to take their leave.


    "Hold it!" Shen Fenghua suddenly reached out and grabbed Qian¡¯Er¡¯s wrist, saying, "It looks like the two of you are not showing this deacon any face!"


    Beside him, Zhou Huan and Mao Yifan let out a light chuckle, and being a woman herself, Liu Qian simply pretended to ignore what was happening in front of her.


    The three of them knew long ago that Shen Fenghua wanted to get into bed with these twodies. Not because he fancied them, but just purely out of spite. Many years ago, he ended up in conflict with Miao Yi. Unfortunately, thetter had gone to the Sea of Constetions, dashing his hopes for revenge. Hence, even if he could only vent some of his frustration, Shen Fenghua didn¡¯t want to let Miao Yi¡¯s handmaidens off.


    Much to his dismay, however, before he left, Miao Yi had delegated these twodies to act as interim Mountain Chieftains in order to protect them. Thus, Shen Fenghua couldn¡¯t really force them to sleep with him. If word of that were to spread out, how would it look on him? Shen Fenghua wasn¡¯t that muddleheaded, but still, he made his intentions significantly clear to the twodies every time he visited, repeatedly hinting at them to take the initiative. If the twodies were the ones to make the first move, there naturally wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    "Deacon Shen, please show some dignity!" Qian¡¯Er cried out as she swept her hand. However, with her cultivation, she couldn¡¯t possibly brush Shen Fenghua aside.


    ¡¯Pa!¡¯ Yan Xiu pped the table and stood up, furiously bellowing, "Shen Fenghua, what do you think you¡¯re doing?!"


    Hong Xiu and Hong Fu, who were acting as wine servers, also immediately dropped the wine pots in their hands. They brandished swords from their storage rings, ring at Shen Fenghua with murderous intent.


    Shen Fenghua seemed to have realized that he had gone too far. He loosened his grip and released Qian¡¯Er, then scoffed, "Zhou Huan, to draw their des in front of me, could your Mount Calming Sea be trying to harm this deacon?"


    ¡¯Pa!¡¯ Zhou Huan pped on the table and stood up as well. Pointing at Hong Xiu and Hong Fu, he barked, "Throw down your weapons immediately!"


    Hong Xiu and Hong Fupletely ignored him. Yan Xiu then yelled in a somber tone, "Zhou Huan, are you the interim Mountain Chieftain or is it the two Aunties? What right do you have to yell at their friends?" He then turned to Tian Qingfeng and said, "Tian Qingfeng, the Mountain Chieftain has treated you well when he was around. Why are you keeping quiet?"


    Tian Qingfeng had an awkward expression on his face, but he still pretended not to have heard Yan Xiu¡¯s remarks, simply lowering his head to drink his wine. Miao Yi had indeed treated him well when he was around, but it was evident that the era of Miao Yi in Mount Calming Sea was already gone. Given Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation, there was no way he could make it back alive from the Sea of Constetions. And in Mount Calming Sea, the two Aunties barely had any weight behind their words. Now, the entire Mount Calming Sea was already in the grasp of Zhou Huan and the others. It was questionable whether Tian Qingfeng himself would be able to survive. To stick his nose into their conflict was inevitably courting death. Thus, he could only pretend to be deaf and mute.

 Chapter 442: Good News

    Chapter 442: Good News


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Now that the school itself was gone, the one factor that held all the School of Blue Jade disciples together was no more, and everyone began venturing on their own paths. The only reason Tian Qingfeng could sit here was due to his high cultivation, which meant that regardless of who would take over Mount Calming Sea, there would still be a use for him. Thus, why should he go out of his way to offend Shen Fenghua and risk jeopardizing his future?


    Seeing how Tian Qingfeng didn¡¯t so much as utter a peep, Shen Fenghuaughed coldly, and cing his hands behind his back as he left, he said, "The two women who drew their des, send them to my roomter."


    No one knew who he was talking to, nor did they know who would exact thismand. Nheless, Hong Xiu and Hong Fu were both appalled and infuriated. No one dared to bully them like this when they were with Yan Beihong.


    Even Qian¡¯Er couldn¡¯t endure it any longer. She swept a cold gaze across the crowd and barked, "Sisters, please don¡¯t fret. I sure would like to see who dares to touch you!"


    She and Xue¡¯Er still had a godfather behind them. Right now they needed to wait for Miao Yi to return, and Yao Ruoxian couldn¡¯t interfere with matters concerning the administration lest he be exposed, forcing them to flee from Mount Calming Sea. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t need to fear Shen Fenghua at all. However, now that Shen Fenghua was already acting shameless to this extent, the two of them could tolerate him no longer.


    Seeing how hostile the situation was turning, Zhou Huan and the others were at a loss. If they couldn¡¯t send these two red-dressed women to Shen Fenghua¡¯s room, they would risk offending him. However, if they were to really do such a thing, they would surely be ridiculed, above all else. After all, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were still the interim Mountain Chieftains.


    Shen Fenghua halted as he heard Qian¡¯Er¡¯s response. Abruptly turning around, he swept a gaze across Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er and scoffed, "Fine! I¡¯ll let you two act smug for now. I¡¯ll have you know that the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade is almost over, and the appointment of a new Mountain Chieftain is nigh. With this deacon pulling the strings, the new Mountain Chieftain will surely be among the three of them! Regardless of which one is appointed as the new Mountain Chieftain, they have all already promised to gift the two of you to this deacon to sleep with. When that happens, I¡¯ll rip your clothes apart piece by piece! Let¡¯s see how smug you can be then!"


    Actually, the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was already over. Shen Fenghua no longer had any need to conceal his intentions. He clearly wasn¡¯t going to let the twodies off.


    Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er, Yan Xiu, Hong Xiu, and Hong Fu all immediately looked towards Zhou Huan and the others. Seeing how the three of them were keeping quiet, it became evident to them that what Shen Fenghua said was true.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were both embarrassed and enraged. They never thought that these people would have already used them as bargaining chips in such unscrupulous dealings behind their backs.


    Xue¡¯Er pointed towards Liu Qian and shouted, "Liu Qian, you¡¯re a woman as well! Is this true?!"


    Liu Qian was a little embarrassed to speak. However, this was a crucial time for the three of them to see which among them would obtain the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s seat, and she needed Shen Fenghua¡¯s help to achieve this. Thus, when she saw Shen Fenghua narrowing his eyes at her, Liu Qian grit her teeth and nkly replied, "It¡¯s not like the two of you are someone¡¯s dual-cultivation partners anyway. You handmaidens are tasked to sleep with men to begin with. It¡¯s all the same regardless of who you sleep with!"


    When she said this, Shen Fenghua broke intoughter, pping as he praised, "Well said, Advisor Liu!"


    Zhou Huan and the othersughed drily as well, with Liu Qian looking a little awkward. As a woman, saying such things was not something to be proud of.


    Yan Xiu was utterly infuriated, pointing at the three of them as he barked, "Shameless! Liu Qian, you vile woman, you will surely pay for this. I¡¯d like to see how the three of you will face the Mountain Chieftain once he returns!"


    Liu Qian was a little furious from the shame. She scoffed, "Do you really think that Miao Yi will be able toe back alive?"


    "Mountain Chieftain will definitely return!" Qian¡¯Er replied resolutely.


    Zhou Huan and the othersughed in disdain, while Shen Fenghua smiled and said, "No need to argue with these two. Just let them live in their fantasies for a couple more days. Where is that Su-something woman at? She¡¯s quite the attentive one in bed. I¡¯ll just continue to have her serve me tonight." He then left with a hearty guffaw.


    Atrociously enough, Shen Fenghua resided in the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters. Every time he came, he would not deign to sleep in the guest¡¯s courtyard and insisted on staying here. This was also in hopes that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would read the signs and be a little more proactive in approaching him. However, the twodies never indulged him. Hence, every time he visited, the twodies would be forced out of their own house and had to sleep in the side courtyard.


    The feast thus ended sourly. As Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er, Hong Xiu, and Hong Fu left the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters resentfully, they bumped into Su Yuhuan on their way out.


    As for this survivor of the cmity that befell the School of Blue Jade, after being taken in by Miao Yi, she too was unable to escape the power struggle within Mount Calming Sea. All the School of Blue Jade disciples were out to save their own skins, and she too was no exception. However, her cultivation wasn¡¯t high, and she truly didn¡¯t have much to offer except her beauty. Thus, she took the initiative to dive into Shen Fenghua¡¯s embrace. Every time he came, she would surely offer herself up and do her utmost to serve him in bed.


    Having just cleaned herself up, Su Yuhuan noticed the contemptuous gazes of Yan Xiu and the others. With an awkward expression, she lowered her head and bit her lip as she hurriedly rushed into the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters.


    "Shameless woman! To think Mountain Chieftain actually took her in out of kindness all those years ago!" Xue¡¯Er grumbled.


    The group left in hurried steps and Yan Xiu whispered, "Take heed. Do not forget Yan Xiu¡¯s warnings."


    A trace of helplessness in their eyes, the twodies bit their lips and nodded. Given the situation right now, they didn¡¯t have much of a choice. They had to make the necessary preparations in case Miao Yi didn¡¯t return.


    Yan Xiu¡¯s n was: in the event that Miao Yi is unable to return, the twodies are to immediately bring Hong Xiu and Hong Fu to Yao Ruoxian and leave. Otherwise, it would be dangerous the moment Zhou Huan and the others decide to trap them, and if Yao Ruoxian were to be oblivious to their predicament. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had kept the situation in Mount Calming Sea from Yao Ruoxian all this while because they feared that he would act rashly and push things past the point of no return.


    As for Yan Xiu, he would make his escape from Mount Calming Sea before Zhou Huan and the others could react to the situation. He would then look for Qin Weiwei in Mount Shaotai. This was the escape route that Miao Yi had nned for him before he left. As Yan Xiu still had an immortal record, he could not escape unless Qin Weiwei terminated it for him. He didn¡¯t think he would be able to carve out a future for himself by staying in the administration. After all, his abilities were limited. Although Qin Weiwei could look after him temporarily out of respect for Miao Yi, she couldn¡¯t shield him forever. If Miao Yi were unable to return, their rtionship would inevitably weaken with time. And with the massive authority held by the three major sects in the two Manors, to avoid any unforeseeable mishap, Yan Xiu figured he might as well leave together with Yao Ruoxian.


    The closer they were getting to the final moment, the greater the pressure on everyone¡¯s hearts. Faced with the current situation, Yan Xiu¡¯s heart was overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness. He finally understood with deep rity how great the difference was between Miao Yi and the rest of them. Wherever Miao Yi went, he would be able to hold firm to his ground. As for them, they were still unable to control the situation even when Miao Yi had paved the road ahead for them. No matter if it was strength or tactics, they were still no match for Miao Yi even if they stacked everything they had together. He thought back to how Miao Yi had trampled over the School of Blue Jade disciples when he¡¯d just taken charge of East Arrival Cave, toter on when he took over Mount Calming Sea. He¡¯d easily turned the tables on the forces of the three major sects and made their disciples dance to his tune, Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t help his astonishment at the immense gap between them!


    The five of them eventually came to the side courtyard. The fourdies made their way to the back of the courtyard, while Yan Xiu stood watch at the front. The forces of Mount Calming Sea were no longer under their control. Thus, they had no choice but to stick together for extra protection, as they were simply too afraid to trust anyone else.


    Yan Xiu had just hidden atop a big tree at the front of the courtyard when he suddenly heard a shrieking from the back. Startled, he hastily brandished his chained axe and leaped from the canopy of the tree, jumping over the roof tond at the back of the courtyard. When he saw the fourdies excitedly hugging one another, and seeing as there were no signs of an intruder, Yan Xiu asked curiously, "What¡¯s the matter?"


    Qian¡¯Er pointed to the spirit eagle under the eaves, then hurriedly rushed over to Yan Xiu and handed him a jade archive. Her face flushed from excitement, she said, "News from the capital. Master is back. Master has returned from the Sea of Constetions!"


    Xue¡¯Er repeatedly nodded, her eyes glimmering as she said, "I just knew that a mere Sea of Constetions wouldn¡¯t be able to trouble Master and that he would definitely return!"


    Yan Xiu hurriedly took the jade archive and examined it. He¡¯d also known some time ago that Miao Yi had long since arranged for a spy in the capital city. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would frequently keep in touch with Lin Pingping from the capital city, and had thetter be on the lookout for any news concerning the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. After all, if there were any news, the capital city would be the first to hear about it.


    The news written in the jade archive was sent over directly by Lin Pingping. She had contacted Luo Ping from the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce and had him look up the name list of the Fifth Earthly Branch survivors from the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. And not only was Miao Yi¡¯s name on that list, but he was also in tenth ce! Now, he was already on his way back and should return to Mount Calming Sea in a couple months.


    It was evident from the way the characters were written that Lin Pingping was quite beside herself with excitement. She had only found out that Miao Yi was sent to the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade after getting in touch with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. Miao Yi¡¯s safety concerned her future as well, so naturally, she would be worried. Now that she knew he was returning, she wasn¡¯t any less excited than everyone else here.


    With trembling hands, Yan Xiu eximed, "Tenth ce! Tenth ce! My lord actually managed to get tenth ce in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade!"


    As the representatives of the Six Sages had taken part in this particr Subjugation Crusade, only the cement numbers were announced, unlike the previous Subjugation Crusades where the number of Geotranscendence Bangles obtained by each participant was made public as well. This was simply because there was a risk that the Six Sages¡¯ reputation would be affected if they made this information public¡ªthe Subjugation Crusade this time around seemed more like the Six Sages wreaking havoc than an actual Subjugation Crusade.


    With this, however, no one would know the exact weight behind Miao Yi¡¯s tenth ce position.


    Xue¡¯Er said proudly, "With Master¡¯s strength, getting tenth ce isn¡¯t something surprising at all!"


    Qian¡¯Er tilted her head to look outside the courtyard as she scoffed, "I sure would like to see how those people are going to cause trouble once Master returns!"


    "When Master is back, I doubt they¡¯ll even have the guts to breathe!" Xue¡¯Er felt excited just thinking about it. They all knew that Miao Yi was not a merciful character.


    Having finally gotten news of Miao Yi¡¯s return, the gloom in everyone¡¯s hearts instantly vanished, as though they had just found the bedrock of their faith. They believed that all their problems would be solved once Miao Yi was back. Those people wouldn¡¯t be his opponents at all.


    Yan Xiu repeatedly looked over the jade archive as he stroked his beard and shook his head. He simply found it hard to believe that with Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation, he not only survived the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade but managed to obtain tenth ce as well. Yan Xiu was now thoroughly impressed by Miao Yi, realizing that there was almost nothing he couldn¡¯t do!


    Amidst their excitement, the three of them soon noticed the downcast expressions on Hong Xiu and Hong Fu¡¯s faces. When Qian¡¯Er saw this, she could guess what was going on in thedies¡¯ heads. Evidently, they were still worried about their master, Yan Beihong. She then walked up and grabbed the twodies¡¯ hands and consoled them, "Sisters, please don¡¯t worry. Since Master is able to return, he surely wouldn¡¯t have forgotten about Master Yan as well. The two of them might even be on their way back together."


    Hong Xiu and Hong Fu forced a smile and nodded. They were aware of how forced Qian¡¯Er¡¯s reasoning was, and that she was simply trying tofort the two of them. There was no guarantee that their own Master would also be able to return just because Miao Yi had survived. The Sea of Constetions was iparably vast. It was questionable whether the two of them had even bumped into each other at all.


    Xue¡¯Er and Yan Xiu soon realized the mood as well. They were simply too engrossed in their own celebration. The two of them then quickly walked up tofort Hong Xiu and Hong Fu...

 Chapter 448: Same Old Trick

    Chapter 448: Same Old Trick


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Zhou Huan, Liu Qian, and Mao Yifan were overjoyed. It seemed like all their ttery over the past few days hadn¡¯t been in vain after all. They didn¡¯t believe that Miao Yi would dare act rashly with this deacon around.


    The three of them crowded around Fan Zizhang, while everyone else surrounded the four of them, and the group marched up the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s manor. From the way they walked, it seemed more like they were nning a coup if anything.


    "Roar!!"


    Several roars could be hearding from within the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters. Everyone immediately looked at one another, puzzled as to what sort of creature could have made such a noise.


    Standing guard outside the gates, Tian Qingfeng extended his hand and called for everyone to halt. "The Mountain Chieftain only asked to see Zhou Huan alone!"


    Zhou Huan, Liu Qian, and Mao Yifan immediately shot him an icy re. Tian Qingfeng couldn¡¯t helpughing bitterly deep down, ¡¯It looks like Miao Yi was right after all. Now that we¡¯ve knocked these people around so much, if we still let them live, we will surely have a rough road ahead of us.¡¯


    Fan Zizhang scoffed, "Are you saying I¡¯m not allowed to go in too?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s reply came from inside the courtyard, "Let Deacon Fan in. If any of the others wish to defy my orders, then they are free toe in too. For every single person that sets foot in here, there will be one extra corpse to haul out!"


    ¡¯Whoosh!¡¯ A giant ck shadow shot out from inside the courtyard, crashing into the ground with a deafening boom. Dirt and dust rolled about as the earth shattered in a terrible quake that shook everyone.


    Everyone turned their heads to look and found a ridiculously giant hammer embedded in the ground. Then, with a thunderous noise, the hammer shot back up and flew back into the courtyard!


    ¡¯A top-tier transcendent artifact?!¡¯ The crowd was utterly horrified. If something like this were to crash down on them, how could they possibly survive? They finally realized the extent of Miao Yi¡¯s confidence after his return from the Sea of Constetions. This was not something they could fight against at all. If Miao Yi were to really use force, it wouldn¡¯t take him much effort to deal with all of them.


    Tian Qingfeng and the others who were standing guard by the gate were alsopletely stunned.


    Even Fan Zizhang couldn¡¯t help the envy on his face for a brief moment. He turned to Zhou Huan and said, "I¡¯m here. Don¡¯t be afraid. The rest of you, wait here. Youe with me."


    Zhou Huan felt a little regretful. When Miao Yi had assembled the School of Blue Jade disciples, all of them had already gathered together to make a run for it. But in the end, Miao Yi only came to seize them after the School of Blue Jade disciples had left. And now, it looked like it would¡¯ve been better to have fled to South Edict Manor and wait things out. However, it was toote to run now that they were already at Miao Yi¡¯s doorstep.


    That said, Zhou Huan believed things should be fine with Fan Zizhang around, and quickly followed behind thetter as he went inside.


    As they entered the courtyard, the two ferocious-looking ¡¯ck-Scaled Drake Beasts¡¯ immediately caught Fan Zizhang and Zhou Huan¡¯s attention. They watched as Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er stroked the beasts¡¯ heads and fed them. The mysterious roar just now must havee from these two creatures.


    As for Charcoal, he was taking a nap under the eaves,pletely unperturbed by these two terrifying beasts.


    "Mountain Chieftain Miao." Fan Zizhang cheerfully greeted Miao Yi, then cupped his fists towards Zhao Fei and the others. "Manor Head Zhao. Manor Head Sikong. Brother Yan."


    Seeing as everyone else was exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Huan went forward to greet Miao Yi and the others as well. Fan Zizhang pointed at the two strange creatures and asked, "What manner of creature is this? It bears some resemnce to a lion, yet looks like a tiger at the same time. It even has scales."


    Miao Yi smiled and answered, "These two are spiritual beasts that I brought back with me from the Sea of Constetions. They¡¯re called ¡¯ck-Scaled Drake Beasts¡¯. I gifted them to my two girls as mounts."


    Fan Zizhang chuckled and said, "What fine creatures indeed. Mountain Chieftain Miao, your handmaidens are truly lucky to have you."


    Hearing someonepliment their Master¡¯s gifts, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t hide the exhration in their eyes. The two of them were very happy to have received such unique gifts from their Master.


    Miao Yi waved his hand and said, "That¡¯s not true. In the years I¡¯ve been away, these two girls have suffered quite a bit and were bullied pretty badly!"


    Knowing full well what Miao Yi meant, Fan Zizhang chuckled. Everyone then cast Zhou Huan aside and began talking amongst themselves. As he finished his tea, Fan Zizhang eventually cupped his fists and said, "It¡¯s gettingte. Since Mountain Chieftain Miao still has business to attend to, I shall not bother you any longer."


    "Goodbye then!" Miao Yi extended his arm towards the exit. When he saw Zhou Huan intending to leave with Fan Zizhang, he called out, "Zhou Huan, stay for a bit!"


    Zhou Huan initially thought that Miao Yi was ignoring him because he couldn¡¯t do anything with Fan Zizhang around. Thus, when he heard Miao Yi calling out to him, he couldn¡¯t help feeling startled. He nervously voiced out to Fan Zizhang, "Deacon Fan..."


    Fan Zizhang turned around and smiled at Miao Yi, saying, "Mountain Chieftain Miao, if anything happens to Zhou Huan, you¡¯ll be answering to me!" He then told Zhou Huan, "It¡¯s fine!" He left immediately after.


    This deacon just walked in here and left without saying anything useful. Zhou Huan couldn¡¯t help feeling that something was amiss. He wanted to stubbornly tag along with Fan Zizhang, but Miao Yi¡¯s voice suddenly came from behind, saying, "Zhou Huan, if you dare defy this mountain chieftain¡¯s orders and take one foot out the moon gate, you will immediately die a miserable death. Do you believe me?"


    Zhou Huan immediately froze and watched as Fan Zizhang nonchntly departed as though he hadn¡¯t heard a single thing.


    Miao Yi walked inside the pavilion and sat down, then asked, "Do you know Gu Sanzheng? I¡¯ve already promised him that I won¡¯t go against your Sword Deviate Sect anymore, so you¡¯d best not force me to not honor my agreement with him."


    Having caught a glimpse of hope, Zhou Huan was a little overjoyed. He quickly rushed into the pavilion, then cupped his fists and asked, "Gu Sanzheng is my Senior Uncle. Mountain Chieftain, you are acquainted with Senior Uncle Gu?"


    As he watched Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er tame their ck-Scaled Drake Beasts, Zhao Fei suddenly voiced out, "The Sea of Constetions is full of perils. Gu Sanzheng was ourrade-in-arms through it all, and you ask if we¡¯re acquainted with him? Had the two of us not convinced Brother Miao to spare you out of respect for Gu Sanzheng, do you think you¡¯d still be able to stand there and talk for so long? Do you honestly think your meager Sword Deviate Sect disciples will be able to hold out against Brother Miao¡¯s transcendent artifact?"


    "So both Seniors are Senior Uncle Gu¡¯s friends." Zhou Huan was beside himself with joy, cupping his fists from afar as he said, "This junior has been impolite."


    Sikong Wuwei chuckled and said, "When you go back and see Gu Sanzheng, tell him that he now owes us another favor. He¡¯ll have to buy us drinks the next time we meet."


    "Yes, yes, of course!" Zhou Huan hurriedly cupped his fists and replied. It seemed he was safe now. He then turned back to Miao Yi with cupped fists and asked, "Then may I know why the Mountain Chieftain has called for me?"


    Miao Yi said nkly, "In short, I didn¡¯t call you here to kill you. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t even waste my breath talking to you. I want you to first ask everyone outside to leave. I have matters to discuss with you in private."


    "This..." Zhou Huan was a little hesitant.


    Miao Yi raised an eyebrow and said, "If I really wanted you dead, then it makes no difference whether there¡¯s a crowd outside or not."


    Zhou Huan had to agree with his words. He quickly cupped his fists and departed. As he rushed outside, he waved his hand and said, "Leave, all of you. Everything¡¯s fine now."


    The people outside were confused. Liu Qian and Mao Yifan asked, "What happened?"


    "It¡¯s all just our misunderstanding. I¡¯ll tell you about itter. Just leave for now." After Zhou Huan had everyone leave, he returned to the pavilion in the courtyard and awaited further instructions.


    "Sit down and talk!" Miao Yi nodded, then continued as Zhou Huan took a seat, "I can let you Sword Deviate Sect disciples off out of respect for Gu Sanzheng. However, that doesn¡¯t mean I will spare the others. Hence, I need you to do something for me to atone for your transgressions. If not, what will be of this mountain chieftain¡¯s esteem?"


    Zhou Huan felt a thump in his chest as he thought, ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s trying to get my Sword Deviate Sect to betray the other two sects?¡¯ He then asked carefully, "What does Mountain Chieftain intend for this subordinate to do?"


    Miao Yi replied, "I need a written testimony describing all the instances of insubordination, conspiracy plotting, and defiance of a superior¡¯s ordersmitted by every single person from the other two sects. That Deacon Shen Fenghua is the main focus here! You were a part of it too, so surely you know what they did, right? I want you to write down everything you know!"


    Zhou Huan was not an idiot. If he were to sell out the other two sects, then as one of the masterminds, he wouldn¡¯t escape unscathed either. By then, the other two would surelye back to bite him. Zhou Huanughed drily and said, "I can¡¯t really remember every single thing that happened these past ten years on such short notice. But don¡¯t worry, Mountain Chieftain. I will go back and think long and hard about it, and give to you the testimony you need as soon as possible."


    Zhou Huan was nning to make a run to South Edict Manor immediately after excusing himself. It was best for him to go into hiding for now. ¡¯So what if you¡¯re acquainted with Gu Sanzheng? I¡¯m not going to do something stupid like this.¡¯


    However, Miao Yi was no fool either, and said, "I will be leaving Mount Calming Sea in a few days. I don¡¯t have that much time to waste on you. I suggest you start writing now. If you can¡¯t give me what I want by sunrise, then don¡¯t me me for not honoring my agreement to Gu Sanzheng!"


    In order to give Zhou Huan some assurance, Miao Yi added, "I won¡¯t spare a single member from the other two sects. As long as you hand me the testimony I need, I can guarantee that none of them shall live. You don¡¯t have to worry about them singling you out either. If you choose not to write, then you can forget about leaving this ce alive!"


    ¡¯Won¡¯t spare a single member from the other two sects?¡¯ Zhou Huan was heavily shocked. He was feeling rather conflicted, but with his back pushed against the wall like this, there was nothing he could do but just try to save his own skin for now...


    As dawn began to break, Zhou Huan¡¯s testimony was finally approved, after going through repeated rewrites and reviews from Miao Yi. With a bitter expression, Zhou Huan imprinted his transcendent seal. Miao Yi then tucked the jade archive away.


    "Please excuse this subordinate then!" Zhou Huan bitterly asked to be excused. Now that he had written this down, he was practically a member of Miao Yi¡¯s heinous ship already.


    "Hold on!" Miao Yi said inly.


    Zhou Huan was startled, thinking that Miao Yi was about to attack him. He asked anxiously, "Is Mountain Chieftain nning to go back on his word?"


    "I¡¯ve already sent out an official decree calling for all Sword Deviate Sect disciples from every Cave. I believe they should be reaching here soon. Once they¡¯re here, I want you to get them to write down everything that the people from the Jade Lady Sect and School of Imperial Beasts have done. I told you that I won¡¯t let a single one of them live. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t wish to see any survivorse back to bite you as well, correct?"


    "This..."


    On that following afternoon, all the Sword Deviate Sect disciples from every Cave had finally arrived. Zhou Huan stepped out and gathered all his fellow disciples in the assembly hall, then had them write down their testimonies. Liu Qian and Mao Yifan didn¡¯t know what Zhou Huan was trying to do, and they tried to investigate, but they were stopped by the members from the School of Blue Jade.


    Meanwhile, the spirit eagles flew out once more. This time, it was to call every single disciple from the School of Imperial Beasts to gather in Mount Calming Sea.


    Guarding outside the main assembly hall, Yan Xiuughed bitterly deep down. He thought, ¡¯It¡¯s this trick again. The same old ¡¯written testimony¡¯ strategy. It seems the Mountain Chieftain likes doing these kinds of things!¡¯


    "To avoid the other two sects trying to pry information from you and put you on the spot, I will iste you all for the time being!"


    Having gotten the written testimonies, Miao Yi ordered all the Sword Deviate Sect disciples to be locked inside one of the courtyards at the back of the mountain. He also had the School of Blue Jade disciples watch over them and prevent them from contacting anyone on the outside. As for Zhou Huan, he was forcefully bound and locked within the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters.


    Soon, Mao Yifan was also ¡¯invited¡¯ to the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters. Miao Yi took out the taming method that Tan Lao had given him for training the two ck-Scaled Drake Beasts, pointing towards the two spiritual beasts as he said, "Do you know Tan Lao from the School of Imperial Beasts? He gifted me these two spiritual beasts back in the Sea of Constetions..."


    The cycle pretty much repeated itself. The next day, the School of Imperial Beasts disciples also ended up being isted. And inside the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters, Mao Yifan was forcefully bound and tossed in together with Zhou Huan before he even realized what happened.


    Themotion created by the first two groups had already turned Liu Qian into a restless chicken. It was no longer possible to employ the same tactic on her.


    When Liu Qian was asked toe over, not only did the ¡¯invitation¡¯ fall on deaf ears, it scared Liu Qian so much she immediately made a run for it with the other Jade Lady Sect disciples.

 Chapter 444: Day of His Return

    Chapter 444: Day of His Return


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Won¡¯t even hold Master in any regard?" Qing Mei said in disbelief. She then coldly added, "Did he forget who it was that made him what he is today? If not for Master, he would have already been a dead man back in Transient Light Cave."


    "There¡¯s no point bringing this up any longer. He too has risked his life for me. We don¡¯t owe each other anything anymore. It¡¯s all in the past! Transient Light Cave..." Yang Qing sighed. "How time flies! To think that in just a few short decades, the Horse Deputy of a tiny Cave would grow to be my equal. When I was his age, I wasn¡¯t even a Cave Master, and back then, the two of you had yet to follow me. I¡¯ve always held high hopes for this kid¡¯s capabilities, but I never thought he would find sess this early, and the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade would end up being his golden opportunity, no less. Now that he has even caught the attention of the Pce Lord, it¡¯s safe to say that he¡¯s made it big!"


    Qing Ju asked slowly, "Will he me Manor Head for not taking care of his people?"


    "me me? How does he expect me to take care of them? If not for me turning a blind eye to the situation, do you think those two little girlies, devoid of any real authority as they are, would have managed to hold out for ten whole years in Mount Calming Sea? Miao Yi was the one who offended the members of the three major sects and left such a mess for himself. Does he expect me to offend everyone else just for the sake of someone who may or may not return? There¡¯s more than just Mount Calming Sea in my two Manors. I cannot neglect the bigger picture just for the sake of one Mountain!" Yang Qing said coolly, "Don¡¯t worry. That kid isn¡¯t someone who can¡¯t look at his problems from a different perspective."


    Mount Calming Sea. After staying here for close to a fortnight, Shen Fenghua finally took his leave. He couldn¡¯t just stay in Mount Calming Sea forever, after all.


    Having finally sent away that despicable bastard, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er sighed in relief. The two then proceeded deep into the mountains to tell Yao Ruoxian the good news about Miao Yi¡¯s return.


    Yao Ruoxian originally wanted to persuade the two girls into leaving with him. But when he heard what they had to say, he couldn¡¯t help his surprise. "The brat has actually made it back alive?"


    He never had a single ounce of faith that Miao Yi would survive. If he hadn¡¯t been afraid of upsetting the twodies, he wouldn¡¯t have even given Miao Yi the thirty-five tiny mantids back then.


    Xue¡¯Er announced proudly, "Master took tenth ce in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade!"


    "Tenth ce!" Yao Ruoxian was greatly shocked. He then danced about excitedly and said, "Wahaha! That brat must have brought back a ton of treasure with him! Girlies, have the brate see me immediately once he¡¯s back!"


    No one in Mount Calming Sea expected that just two days after they had sent Shen Fenghua away, another deacon from Suppressing Second Hall¡ªDeacon Fan¡ªwould pay them a visit. Once again, every person in Mount Calming Sea was busily toiling away to entertain their guest.


    However, this Deacon Fan¡¯s behavior was significantly better than Shen Fenghua¡¯s. He would treat everyone in a friendly manner, and was not at all disrespectful to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. Whenever he was free, he would pull along Zhou Huan and the others and go visit the Caves under Mount Calming Sea¡¯s jurisdiction. Given that it was a crucial period for the selection of the new Mountain Chieftain, the three of them were happy to oblige as well.


    No one in the entire Mount Calming Sea could tell that Deacon Fan Zizhang was actually here to take charge of the situation under the Suppressing Second Hall Master¡¯s orders. They all thought that he was merely here for leisure purposes.


    In truth, almost no one within the entire Suppressing Second Hall knew about Fan Zizhang¡¯s mission. Had Fan Zizhang not told Yang Qing, he wouldn¡¯t have known about it either. Since Huo Lingxiao had even bypassed his Advisors to task his Deacon with this mission, it was evident that he didn¡¯t want too many people aware of it. After all, the issue concerned the Pce Lord as well. Not to mention, how would it look for a Hall Master like him to suck up to a mere Mountain Chieftain?


    Huo Lingxiao really didn¡¯t want to do something as demeaning as this. s, the Pce Lord had personally ordered him to persuade Miao Yi to stay within Traversing Moon Pce; he had no choice.


    Some time had passed since the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, and the news of the survivors would have to be announced sooner orter. The Fifth Earthly Branch Overlord also desired to let the public know of the astounding results of his division.


    When the people in South Edict Manor received the news, they were absolutely shocked. ¡¯Mount Calming Sea¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Miao Yi actually survived? And he even managed to get tenth ce!¡¯


    Mount Calming Sea was especially affected by the blow. Many people started breaking out in panic, like a bunch of ants on a hot stove.


    "He actually made it back alive..." said Tian Qingfeng absent-mindedly, as he stood within the courtyard of the cultivation quarters. Lost in a daze, he ended up standing in ce for an entire day.


    Zhou Huan, Mao Yifan, and Liu Qian were still outside, apanying Deacon Fan on his leisurely excursion to the various Caves. Currently, they were drifting on a boat across a glisteningke. After finding out about the news from their fellow disciples in one of the Caves, Zhou Huan and the others started panicking as well. They wanted to return immediately and devise a way to save their skins.


    However, Fan Zizhang stopped them and asked, "Do the three of you not wish to apany this deacon?"


    Beside him, Zhou Huanughed drily and replied, "The Mountain Chieftain¡¯s return is nigh. We have to hurry and prepare his weing ceremony. Otherwise, it would look disrespectful of us."


    Fan Zizhang acted like he was unaware of the shameful things they had done and asked, "What are you in such a rush for? Isn¡¯t your Mountain Chieftain still on his way back? The way I see it, the three of you simply do not hold this deacon in any regard. Are you telling me that I am inferior to a mere Mountain Chieftain?"


    The three of them were absolutely restless, but they couldn¡¯t simply offend the other party either. Liu Qian knew perfectly well the horrible things she had said to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er back then. Gritting her teeth, she said, "To tell you the truth, my lord, in my Mountain Chieftain¡¯s absence, we have been somewhat ill-mannered to his two handmaidens. If we don¡¯t make our preparations soon, I fear that Mountain Chieftain will not let us off once he returns."


    "So that¡¯s why!" Fan Zizhang suddenly broke out intoughter and added, "You are overthinking it. I guarantee that you¡¯re all simply panicking for nothing!"


    The three of them exchanged nces, then anxiously asked, "How so?"


    Fan Zizhang shook his head and smiled, "To tell you the truth, I¡¯ve already known that your Mountain Chieftain is returning before I came here. I don¡¯t mind sharing some information with you. Once Miao Yi returns, he will be leaving South Edict Manor and be reassigned to a different location as Manor Head. As such, what do you have to be scared of from someone¡¯s who¡¯s about to leave?"


    The trio were both shocked and overjoyed. However, Liu Qian still asked nervously, "But what if he makes his move against us before he¡¯s reassigned?"


    Fan Zizhangughed coldly. "All of you can put your minds at ease. Do you honestly think I¡¯m here just for a simple routine patrol? To tell you the truth, I am here on official business from the Hall Master. If I were to express my desire to protect you three, do you think Miao Yi would still dare go against the Hall Master? But of course, if the three of you wish to seek help elsewhere, I won¡¯t stop you either. Do as you wish!"


    The three of them were immediately beside themselves with joy. They repeatedly apologized to Fan Zizhang and became even more fervent in entertaining him...


    In Suppressing Second Hall, Shen Fenghua was also feeling a little apprehensive after hearing the news. ¡¯Miao Yi actually survived?¡¯ However, he also listened to a little whispering from Huo Lingxiao that Miao Yi was about to be reassigned elsewhere. Hence, he didn¡¯t put too much thought into it after that. All he had to do was hide inside the Suppressing Second Hall. Could that Miao Yi still dare charge into Suppressing Second Hall and do anything to him then?


    Shen Fenghua quickly sent someone to deliver the news to Zhou Huan and the others to tell them about Miao Yi¡¯s reassignment from South Edict Manor. He instructed them to stay calm and hold their ground! Once Miao Yi was gone, all of them would naturally be safe.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t just rely on Zhou Huan and the others. He still needed to put some effort into Huo Lingxiao¡¯s side as well. As long as Huo Lingxiao was happy, Shen Fenghua believed that a mere Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him. Thus, he immediately started doing his utmost to please Huo Lingxiao, not forgetting about Tian Yu and Liu Xing as well.


    Zhou Huan and the others soon received news from Shen Fenghua that Miao Yi was soon to be reassigned away from South Edict Manor. And with Fan Zizhang over here to hold Miao Yi back for them, their hearts were greatly at ease. The three of them then quickly replied to Shen Fenghua and assured him that their three major sects were no pushovers and that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t dare do anything against them.


    They made no mention of the fact that they had a foot in two camps and had sought help from Fan Zizhang as well. As long as they weren¡¯t idiots, they wouldn¡¯t do such a thing.


    Shen Fenghua soon received their reply and was relieved as well to see the three of them so confident. He just felt it was a pity to let those twodies in Mount Calming Sea off.


    In Mount Calming Sea, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er could clearly feel the change around them. Their Master had yet to return; only news of his return had spread, but everyone in Mount Calming Sea had already started treating them respectfully whenever they saw the twodies. They would also visit from time to time and ask how the two Aunties were doing.


    Even those subordinate Cave Masters began sending the twodies reports on the current status of their respective territories, despite already getting assurance from Zhou Huan and the others that nothing would happen to them. None of them wanted to push tensions past the point of no return.


    As the twodies¡¯ aide, Yan Xiu could finally feel the full weight of Miao Yi¡¯s name. The man himself wasn¡¯t even back yet, and those wretched people were already feeling restless.


    South Edict Manor. A few riders charged through the mountain gates. Dressed in a white gown, Qin Weiwei leaped off her mount. After asking for the Manor Head¡¯s whereabouts, she immediately rushed towards the back of the mountain.


    At the back of the mountain, Qin Weiwei noticed Yang Qing sitting cross-legged in meditation all by himself. After she paid her respects, she immediately asked, "Father, is it true that Miao Yi has returned?"


    Yang Qing stepped down from the bed and nodded, "It¡¯s true."


    Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes glimmered as she asked, "Were you already aware of it a long time ago?" What she meant was¡ª¡¯Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner?¡¯


    Yang Qing frowned deeply, "As an esteemed Mountain Chieftain, you came all the way here just to ask me this?"


    Qin Weiwei avoided his gaze, "I am his friend, so I just wish to know a little about his well-being."


    "Friend?" Yang Qing narrowed his eyes at her. He walked up to the railing, then said nkly, "It is normal for friends to be concerned for one another. There¡¯s no need for you to feel nervous about it. I might as well tell you that Miao Yi has gained the Pce Lord¡¯s favor, and will soon leave Suppressing Second Hall and be reassigned to a separate location as Manor Head. After this, he will no longer have any connection to our South Edict Manor. As the saying goes, a tree that towers over the forest shall be toppled by the wind. It may not be such a bad thing to minimize your contact with him now that the both of you will be separated. Everything is fine as long as you keep your rtionship as normal friends. That way, you won¡¯t be implicated in whatever trouble the kid stirs up."


    He was subtly persuading Qin Weiwei to give up on this love of hers.


    ¡¯Leave Suppressing Second Manor and reassigned elsewhere as Manor Head?¡¯ Qin Weiwei quivered slightly and bit her lips in silence.


    Yang Qing tilted his head and cast a sideways nce at his own daughter. From the moment she set foot here, he just knew that she hadn¡¯t given up. It wasn¡¯t as though Yang Qing hated Miao Yi or anything, but judging from his experience, although Miao Yi was bathing in glory now, the risk factor he carried was just too high. It was only a matter of time before something bad would happen to him. If it were someone else¡¯s daughter, Yang Qing wouldn¡¯t be bothered to care. However, he couldn¡¯t just let his own daughter fall into the fire pit like this...


    One monthter. Taking into ount the amount of time that had passed since the announcement of the Subjugation Crusade survivors, the day of Miao Yi¡¯s return was now close at hand. In a rather borate show of respect, Yang Qing not only assembled all his subordinate Mountain Chieftains, but he was even making the trip to Mount Calming Sea himself to wee Miao Yi back.


    On the way, he bumped into Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, who were leading their own forces. All the Cave Masters under Mount Calming Sea were present too. As their Mountain Chieftain was returning, they obviously had to be there to receive him.


    There was an enigmatic smile on Yang Qing¡¯s face as he greeted Fan Zizhang, who had been staying at Mount Calming Sea this whole time. After which, he exchanged a few pleasantries with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, and casually swept his gaze across Zhou Huan and the others. He then brought his mount to Fan Zizhang¡¯s side and led the hundred over forces straight to East Arrival Cave...

 Chapter 445: Welcome Back

    Chapter 445: Wee Back


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    After drifting across the seas for two to three months, the ship bearing the Western Constetions Pce¡¯sntern had finally reached the oceanic border between Suppressing Second Hall and Suppressing Third Hall.


    Even though Miao Yi seemed calm, his heart was filled with excitement as he stood on the ship¡¯s upper deck for a whole day, gazing into the distance as he thought, ¡¯I¡¯m back! I¡¯ve finally made it back alive!¡¯


    "Little Brother! We¡¯re almost at your ce. We should get ready to alight soon." Yan Beihong came up to the upper deck as well, waving a jade archive with the map of the sea in his hands.


    It was evident that Yan Beihong was also feeling a little excited. After all, he had left his two handmaidens here as well.


    The ship proceeded along the shoreline of the Celestial Nation, and ording to the original route of their return, Yan Beihong should have gotten off the ship two days ago. However, he couldn¡¯t just leave his two women aside. Obviously, he needed to go fetch them. Thus, he decided to tag along with Miao Yi.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei also appeared upon the ship¡¯s upper deck. It was not yet time for the two of them to alight, but they intended to pay Miao Yi¡¯s ce a visit, so they were getting ready to get off the ship early as well.


    Miao Yi turned around and nodded. The four of them then proceeded into a small cabin on the upper deck of the ship and announced their leave to the Western Constetion Pce¡¯s ship attendant.


    The other party didn¡¯t waste time talking either. He took out a jade archive and had the four of them sign off on being sessfully delivered to their destination.


    Now that the relevant documents had been signed, the other party nodded inly and said, "Have a safe trip!"


    "Farewell!" The four of them cupped their fists and said in unison. After which, they immediately departed.


    The four of them headed down to the middle deck and waited by the ship¡¯s bow. Miao Yi was very familiar with the waters around this area. By the time the port of East Arrival City was within sight, that would be when they needed to alight.


    Soon, another seven to eight people came up to the middle deck. Ye Xin was among the crowd as well. Gu Sanzheng and Tan Lao had already gotten off around five to six days ago. It wasn¡¯t time for Ye Xin to disembark yet.


    "Take care!" Everyone came over with cupped fists to send Miao Yi and the others off. After staying together on the ship for so long, they naturally became familiar with one another.


    "Take care!" Miao Yi and the others replied in kind.


    "Ye Xin, want to visit my ce for a cup of tea?" Miao Yi asked Ye Xin jokingly via voice transmission.


    Ye Xin gently smiled. "It wouldn¡¯t be appropriate!"


    It was indeed inappropriate as Ye Xin¡¯s fellow disciples were in Miao Yi¡¯s territory as well. How would it look if she were to return with him? If that were to happen, she wouldn¡¯t be able to exin herself no matter how hard she tried.


    Finally, the port of East Arrival City could be vaguely seen. Miao Yi and the others cupped their fists again and bid farewell to the crowd, "Everyone! If fate wills it, let us meet again!"


    "See you soon!" The crowd cupped their fists as well.


    Miao Yi then secretly transmitted his voice over to Ye Xin, saying, "Let us meet again in the capital city!"


    Ye Xin replied in kind, "See you in the capital city!"


    The reason for this meeting was because before they left, Tang Jun had informed them that once they finished the handover procedures for their respective territories, they were to head to the capital city and meet the Overlord. There, they would receive a formal decree on their new appointments, and after which, they would then head to their new territories to take up their posts. As Ye Xin, Tan Lao, and Gu Sanzheng were all members of the Fifth Earthly Branch as well, they would obviously be meeting up again in the capital city after this.


    Miao Yi turned to Yan Beihong and the others and gently nodded. Yan Beihong then raised his voice and shouted, "Let¡¯s go!"


    The four of them immediately leaped off the ship and ran across the waves towards the port of East Arrival City, as Ye Xin and the rest watched them leave...


    The port of East Arrival City was now under temporary lockdown, and the passage of ships was being heavily restricted. A single cultivator stood atop a wooden tower that was built along the port. Gazing towards the ocean, the cultivator suddenly turned his head, activating his transcendence energy as he shouted, "They¡¯re here! They¡¯re here!"


    The entire port immediately resounded with the sound of footsteps as crowds of people rushed out from the offices and warehouses. As for Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, they were running at the front of the crowd with the hems of their dresses raised.


    Even Wen Fang was caught up in the excitement as well and followed at the back of the crowd. This woman had stubbornly stayed in Mount Calming Sea for close to two months now. She didn¡¯t care about those small business deals that she had in South Edict Manor¡¯s Chamber of Commerce. As long as she could ride on the coattails of Mister Big Shot Miao, she was sure to aplish her quota for the year. It needn¡¯t be said which option she should take. If someone else were to take even one step ahead of her to nab this opportunity, she would surely be beside herself with regret. As such, she obviously needed to guard over it like her life depended on it.


    Yang Qing and the others hade out as well, gazing out to the sea as they walked.


    Qin Weiwei stared at the ocean with a slight restlessness in her glistening eyes.


    As for Zhou Huan and the others, their expressions looked somewhat distressed as they suddenly felt an immense pressure weigh upon them.


    These people had already been waiting at the port for a few days now, as they couldn¡¯t confirm the precise date that Miao Yi would arrive. Hence, they estimated the day of his return and waited here several days in advance.


    A crowd soon congregated at the port. As four figures quickly approached atop the ocean waves, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er abruptly pointed towards the ocean and eximed joyfully, "It¡¯s Master! It¡¯s Master! Master is back!"


    "Master is back!" Hong Xiu and Hong Fu were also holding one another¡¯s hands in joy.


    Soon, the four figures running across the waves leaped andnded on the port. Yang Qing was slightly startled and exchanged nces with Fan Zizhang beside him¡ªthe moment Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuweinded, the nine-petaled blue lotus mark on their foreheads could be seen fading away. These two people were actually Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts!


    As for Miao Yi and Yan Beihong, they clearly shared the same habit of hiding the lotus mark on their foreheads, which was an indicator of their cultivation. It was as though they were ashamed of themselves.


    Miao Yi swept his gaze across the crowd, and couldn¡¯t help feeling a little startled. He never thought that he would receive such an entourage for his return.


    Unable to contain themselves any longer, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er hurriedly stepped forward and lowered their bodies as they paid their respects. "Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er respectfully greets Master!"


    "Hong Xiu and Hong Fu respectfully greets Master!" With reddened eyes, Hong Xiu and Hong Fu lowered their bodies and paid their respects as well. The two of them had beenpletely unaware of Yan Beihong¡¯s return before this, as the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch simply didn¡¯t deign to announce the news concerning the other Earthly Branches besides their own. Hence, the twodies never expected that Yan Beihong would actually return alongside Miao Yi¡ªboth were moved to tears.


    Miao Yi let out a gentle smile and nodded as he extended his arm and beckoned them to stand.


    In contrast, Yan Beihongughed heartily as he spread his arms and hugged Hong Xiu and Hong Fu, fiercely spinning the two around in a circle before finally releasing them.


    Zhou Huan and the others¡¯ expressions slightly turned for the worse, as they had offended these twodies on more than one asion in the past. They simply had no idea who Hong Xiu and Hong Fu¡¯s master was, and why these twodies had hidden in Mount Calming Sea since ten years ago.


    Starting from Yan Xiu, all the subordinates of Mount Calming Sea greeted in unison, "Wee back, Mountain Chieftain!"


    "No need to stand on ceremony!" Miao Yi raised his hand and swept his gaze across the crowd. He raised his eyebrow slightly, and the joy he felt from being weed instantly sank when he noticed the people that he had promoted in the past were now standing at the back of the crowd, whereas the people that he once demoted had now taken their ce in front. The members of the three major sects had risen to power once again.


    However, Miao Yi didn¡¯t say anything about it and just walked past between Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, heading straight for Yang Qing. The twodies naturally followed behind their Master as they once did.


    "Miao Yi respectfully greets the Manor Head!" Miao Yi walked up to Yang Qing and bowed. Even though he would soon be a Manor Head himself, that was still toe muchter in the future. It would be unwise to think of something that had yet to happen as a matter of fact. At the moment, Yang Qing was still his superior.


    Yang Qing noticed that Miao Yi was slightly different now. To be urate, there was an air of confidence about him now, even when he was standing before him. Even though Miao Yi was politely bowing to him, Yang Qing could already feel a little pressure from his unflinchingposure. This was charisma!


    "No need to be so formal. I¡¯m just d to see you back. I¡¯ve always known that you would survive, and sure enough, you didn¡¯t disappoint me!" Yang Qing stretched out his hand and pulled Miao Yi up by the arm. He then proceeded to introduce Miao Yi to the Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s Deacon Fan Zizhang.


    Standing beside them, Qin Weiwei watched as they exchanged pleasantries. She wanted to go up and greet Miao Yi as well, but she figured now was not the time for her to cut into the conversation.


    "And these three people are?" Pulling on Miao Yi¡¯s arm, Yang Qing asked as he looked at Yan Beihong and the others.


    "They are all myrades-in-arms who fought alongside me in the Subjugation Crusade. This is the Manor Head of Traversing Land Pce¡¯s White Cloud Manor¡ªManor Head Zhao Fei. And this is..." Miao Yi then introduced the other three members in his group.


    Yang Qing was shocked to find that there were two Blue Lotus Ninth Grade Manor Heads in the group as well. Judging by rank, they were equal to him. Judging by cultivation, however, they were much higher than he was. Yang Qing didn¡¯t dare put on any airs. He immediately let go of Miao Yi and walked up to greet them alongside Fan Zizhang. As they were all equal in status, they shared many conversation topics, and thus very naturally mingled together.


    Yan Beihong only exchanged a few short pleasantries for the sake of formality, as he was different in rank from the rest of them. When it came to administration officials, the order of seniority was highly important in determining the circles one could join. Yan Beihong didn¡¯t have to force his way into the conversation. He turned his attention to Hong Xiu and Hong Fu beside him and asked how the twodies had been living these past few years.


    The twodies then conveyed to him via voice transmission on a few things which weren¡¯t appropriate to share in public. It was unclear what exactly Yan Beihong had heard, but from time to time, he would let out a cold chuckle, while sweeping an icy gaze across the crowd.


    Yang Qing was nothing if not highly observant. As he noticed the expressions on Yan Beihong and the twodies¡¯ faces, the corner of his eye twitched slightly. He then continued on his merry conversation with Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei like nothing happened.


    Once Yang Qing was done talking, the other Mountain Chieftains from the two Manors finally had their chance to speak. They all crowded around Miao Yi and cupped their fists, congratting him on his safe return, regardless of whether they truly felt that way deep down. This was all just typical social convention. In actuality, there wasn¡¯t much of a rtionship between them.


    Naturally, Miao Yi also cupped his fists and thanked every one of them.


    "Big Brother, do you still remember Little Sister?" Having finally gotten her chance to speak, Wen Fang suddenly voiced out and asked.


    ¡¯Big Brother?¡¯ Startled, Miao Yi instinctively tilted his head to the source of the voice. Realizing it was this woman, he couldn¡¯t help asking in surprise, "Why are you here too?"


    ¡¯What kind of a response is that?¡¯ Wen Fang revealed an awkward expression and rolled her eyes in disdain as she asked, "Little Sister came all the way here just to wee you back. Do you not want me here?"


    Miao Yi could immediately guess what she was doing here. He awkwardly replied, "Of course not! You are most wee to be here! Xue¡¯Er, help me entertain her for a bit!" Deep down, he thought, ¡¯Damn it, woman, why do you have to show up and bother me now? Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m busy?¡¯


    Wen Fang was utterly lost for words, while Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er curled their lips into a snicker.


    Miao Yi then continued to exchange pleasantries with the other Mountain Chieftains. Once almost everyone had said their piece and made way, Qin Weiwei finally stepped forward in front of Miao Yi, smiling as she asked, "You¡¯ve finally returned. How have you been these past few years?"


    Miao Yi cupped his fists and politely replied, "Mountain Chieftain Qin is even more beautiful than I remembered. Thank you for your concern."


    This was just too formal of a reply. Qin Weiwei couldn¡¯t help feeling somewhat disappointed. However, she also knew that now was not the right time to reminisce about the past, when there were so many people around them. Hence, she simply returned the courtesy.


    Miao Yi cast a nce at those subordinates of his who were feeling a little afraid toe close. He nodded apologetically at Qin Weiwei, then abruptly turned around and shouted, "Where is East Arrival Cave Master Jiang Yunlu?"


    As he said this, the crowd instantly quieted down quite a bit. Most of the subordinates of Mount Calming Sea exchanged nces with one another. Standing at the back of the crowd, Jiang Yunlu looked utterly dismayed, unsure of whether he should step forward or not.


    Miao Yi actually noticed Jiang Yunlu some time ago. However, he pretended not to have seen thetter and repeated loudly, "Where is East Arrival Cave Master Jiang Yunlu?"


    This time, the whole crowd fellpletely silent. Yang Qing and Fan Zizhang turned to look at Miao Yi, then instinctively exchanged nces with one another. However, they decided not to say anything either.


    "Just because this mountain chieftain has been gone for ten years, do you no longer heed mymands?" Miao Yi coldly asked, "If the East Arrival Cave Master still doesn¡¯t step forward and respond, are you expecting the Manor Head and everyone else to continue standing out here on the port and under the zing sun?"


    Only now did someone step forward from the crowd. With an awkward expression, he walked up to Miao Yi and bowed, saying, "Your subordinate, Liu Xinggong, respectfully greets Mountain Chieftain!"


    Miao Yi said nkly, "I¡¯m looking for the East Arrival Cave Master. What are youing out for?"


    Tiny beads of sweat instantly formed on Liu Xinggong¡¯s forehead as he replied haltingly, "This subordinate is the current East Arrival Cave Master!"

 Chapter 446: The Calm Before the Storm

    Chapter 446: The Calm Before the Storm


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "If I recall correctly, didn¡¯t I demote you already? How did you get reinstated?"


    Liu Xinggong didn¡¯t know how to answer this question and only stuttered unintelligibly. Zhou Huan hurriedly stepped forward with cupped fists and responded, "Mountain Chieftain, Liu Xinggong is a highly capable subordinate. After gaining the two Aunties¡¯ approval, he was reinstated to his former position."


    Miao Yi sized him up and asked, "Don¡¯t tell me you were also reinstated to your former position because you are a highly capable subordinate?"


    This was a rather strange question to ask. Zhou Huan revealed an awkward expression, unsure of how he should answer.


    Miao Yi turned around and looked at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, who lowered their heads quietly¡ªthey had failed to live up to their Master¡¯s expectations. However, so much had happened these past ten years that they couldn¡¯t exin it all on such short notice.


    Since he was still unsure about what happened, Miao Yi said nothing else on the matter. He then walked up to Yang Qing, the crowd making way for him as he did, cupped his fists and said, "Manor Head, your subordinate originally nned to set up a feast nearby in East Arrival Cave to entertain you and Deacon Fan. However, I¡¯ve just found out that there¡¯s a new Cave Master in charge of East Arrival Cave. Your subordinate is unsure of this person¡¯s capabilities. I fear he will cause dys in your and Deacon Fan¡¯s affairs. If Manor Head and Deacon Fan don¡¯t mind, the environment in Mount Calming Sea is much better than it is here. We should be able to make it there and organize another feast before sundown. What do you think?"


    His words were as blunt as they could get. This was practically a p to Liu Xinggong¡¯s face. He was clearly saying¡ª¡¯I don¡¯t acknowledge you as Cave Master!¡¯


    Yang Qing could tell that Miao Yi was trying to figure out his stance on the matter. He smiled and said, "You are the Mountain Chieftain of Calming Sea. We will naturally follow your arrangements!"


    Fan Zizhang alsoughed and said, "Us guests shall follow the host¡¯s arrangements!"


    Miao Yi turned around and swept his gaze across the crowd. With a slight chillness in his tone, he decisively ordered, "Back to Mount Calming Sea!"


    East Arrival Cave Master Liu Xinggong smiled awkwardly. Before Miao Yi reached, he had already ordered some of his men to head back and prepare a feast. However, it was clearly unnecessary now. The crowd on the port began moving en masse, and everyone was gone shortly after.


    Over a hundred riders galloped across the highway with Yang Qing, Fan Zizhang, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei in the front, and Miao Yi directly behind them.


    The reason Miao Yi wished to head back to Mount Calming Sea was not simply to spite East Arrival Cave Master Liu Xinggong, but because he could sense there was something amiss with the current situation. However, as he had no idea about the past events, he couldn¡¯t just deal with it however he saw fit. It would be bad if things were to end up being just a misunderstanding.


    And with the rtively long journey ahead of them now, he could use this opportunity to ask Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er about the situation.


    All in all, Miao Yi¡¯s face gradually darkened along the course of their journey. By the time it was sundown, and they had reached Mount Calming Sea, he understood the gist of the situation. In a nutshell, with Zhou Huan in the lead, the members of the three major sects had turned the whole Mount Calming Sea upside down while he was away. Not only did they strip Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er of their authority, they even made unscrupulous agreements with that Fat Bastard Shen, promising him the twodies for him to humiliate.


    And speaking of that Shen Fenghua, every time he visited Mount Calming Sea, he would sleep in Miao Yi¡¯s quarters and even drag Miao Yi¡¯s women with him for a drink!


    If the twodies hadn¡¯t mentioned him, Miao Yi would have almost forgotten that this Shen Fenghua existed. However, he definitely left a deep impression in Miao Yi¡¯s mind now, so much so that Miao Yi was almost bursting with rage!


    When they had reached their destination, Miao Yi was still looking calm andposed, and he didn¡¯t treat Zhou Huan and the others any differently. He ordered the three of them to entertain Yang Qing and his other guests while he returned to the home he¡¯d been away from for all these years.


    As he sat himself down in the living room, Qian¡¯Er asked slowly, "Master, you¡¯ve had a long journey. Would you like to take a bath first?"


    "No rush." Miao Yi shook his head. He looked at the twodies and smiled as he continued, "You two must have suffered in the years that I¡¯ve been away."


    Feeling a lump in their throats, the twodies raised the hems of their dresses and knelt down as they said, "It is we who have failed to live up to Master¡¯s expectations."


    "It¡¯s not your fault! Things are sure to be hard on you two when you don¡¯t have any real authority! Now that I¡¯m back, I will naturally take care of everything. You don¡¯t have to worry about it anymore," Miao Yi said consolingly as he reached out and helped the twodies up. He then took out several jade archives and wrote down official decrees on each of them, before handing them over to the twodies, saying, "Send these out to all the Caves immediately and have every School of Blue Jade disciplee to Mount Calming Sea and meet me."


    "Understood!" The twodies acknowledged their order and left. After which, ten spirit eagles flew off from Mount Calming Sea, disappearing into the night.


    Soon, Yan Xiu reported, "The feast has been prepared."


    Miao Yi rose to his feet, and with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er in tow, proceeded to the ce Yang Qing was residing in and personally invited thetter to attend the feast. This was a standard courtesy.


    Miao then apanied Yang Qing to the feast. As they proceeded along the stone steps of the mountain, Yang Qingughed and said, "Miao Yi, I have good news for you. You¡¯re about to be promoted. I hear that the Pce Lord is looking on you quite favorably, and intends to promote you to Manor Head some ce away from Suppressing Second Hall. This is truly something worth celebrating! When I was your age, I hadn¡¯t even be a Cave Master yet."


    Miao Yi thought, ¡¯The Pce Lord? What does this have to do with the Pce Lord? I earned my promotion to Manor Head by risking my life in the Sea of Constetions. The Pce Lord¡¯s favor has nothing to do with it.¡¯


    Miao Yi was unaware that Yang Qing didn¡¯t know much about the matter. Thetter didn¡¯t even know that the Six Sages had sent their members to participate in the Subjugation Crusade. But then again, this particr Subjugation Crusade was indeed quite the debacle, and hence news about this was not widespread. Yang Qing also didn¡¯t know that all the survivors were given the privilege of choosing to take up Manor Head positions wherever they pleased, and naturally assumed the Pce Lord had something to do with it.


    Still, Miao Yi replied politely, "It¡¯s all thanks to Manor Head¡¯s care all these years. Miao Yi shall never forget your kindness!"


    Yang Qing could tell that Miao Yi was merely being courteous. He chuckled and replied, "The Hall Master has already instructed that I send you to Suppressing Second Hall as soon as you¡¯ve finished the handover procedures for Mount Calming Sea. He wishes to meet with you."


    ¡¯Huo Lingxiao still has the gall to show his face in front of me?¡¯ Miao Yi acknowledged the order, then said somberly, "This subordinate has been gone from Mount Calming Sea for many years. As I¡¯m still rather unfamiliar with the current situation, I fear it will take a few more days for me toplete the handover procedure."


    ¡¯He¡¯s not even excited about the promotion?¡¯ Yang Qing could already figure out what the other party was thinking. As he narrowed his eyes at Miao Yi, Yang Qing couldn¡¯t helpughing bitterly deep down, ¡¯I just knew this kid wouldn¡¯t let things rest so easily.¡¯ With a nk face, he said, "I will leave Qing Ju here. Once you¡¯ve settled your affairs in Mount Calming Sea, you can just hand things over to her. When the timees, I will send someone to take over."


    Miao Yi gratefully cupped his fists and said, "Once I¡¯ve dealt with everything in Mount Calming Sea, I will head to South Edict Manor and formally resign."


    Yang Qing thought, ¡¯Don¡¯t you dare try to cause me trouble. Hurry up and go on your own path already.¡¯ He then smiled and said, "Why trouble yourself to make so many trips? There¡¯s no need for such formality between us. Besides, aren¡¯t you seeing me now already? When you¡¯re done, you can just head straight to Suppressing Second Hall."


    The feast was held in the main hall of Mount Calming Sea. The whole ce was filled with a festive air, and things seemed peaceful for the time being, as though there weren¡¯t any problems at all.


    However, after the feast was over, Yang Qing suddenly said that he had urgent matters to attend to and needed to ride through the night back to South Edict Manor.


    Having been made to stay for the handover procedure, Qing Ju was a little confused. Why wasn¡¯t she informed that there were urgent matters to attend to in South Edict Manor? As she escorted Yang Qing to the exit, she couldn¡¯t help asking him via voice transmission.


    However, Yang Qing wanted to inform her of his ns even if she hadn¡¯t asked. Transmitting his voice over, he instructed, "This kid is so reluctant to finish the hand over procedures for Mount Calming Sea. He clearly intends to get payback! Most of the Mountain Chieftains and subordinates that came with me are members of the three major sects. With me around, he¡¯ll have a hard time making his move. Since he has already made up his mind to do this, if I continue to stay any longer, the bastard might decide to openly go against me. Why should I do something as pointless as exacerbating the situation and push things past the point of no return? Qing Ju, during this period of time, try not to go out if you can help it. You just need to wait for him to finish the handover procedures. Don¡¯t get yourself involved in what happens next. I don¡¯t wish to see the problems of Mount Calming Sea extend to the two Manors. Just let it all end quickly. Understand?"


    "I understand," Qing Ju replied in kind.


    Miao Yi and the others escorted Yang Qing and his entourage to the mountain gates. From time to time, Qin Weiwei would look back at Miao Yi. As a woman, she couldn¡¯t really say much to Miao Yi with so many people around. Thus, besides exchanging some formal pleasantries, the two of them had barely talked to each other at all. She originally intended to stay in Mount Calming Sea a little while longer, but Yang Qing had strictly ordered her to go back with him. There was no room for discussion.


    There was a glint in Miao Yi¡¯s eyes as he watched the crowd disappear into the night. Sighing inwardly, he mused, ¡¯Yang Qing is subtly doing me a favor here!¡¯ He thought that he had already maintained a pretty infallible facade, but it seemed that Yang Qing saw through his intentions all the same. If Yang Qing¡¯s cultivation weren¡¯t so low, he would surely be a force to be reckoned with. Miao Yi had never met someone as smart as Yang Qing.


    As he thought about this, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help finding his thoughts amusing. His own cultivation was even lower than Yang Qing¡¯s, and yet he was actuallyining that Yang Qing¡¯s cultivation was too low. It looks like he¡¯d truly seen too many powerful experts in the Sea of Constetions.


    Soon, all the Cave Masters of Mount Calming Sea stepped forward and asked to be excused as well. It was simply too nerve-racking being close to Miao Yi, and they wanted to hide as far away from him as they could. If they could hide until Miao Yi left, then all their worries would be resolved.


    However, Miao Yi waved his hand and said, "There¡¯s no rush. Everyone, please stay here for the time being. This mountain chieftain has been away from Calming Sea for far too long. Later on, I will need you all to bring me up to speed on the current situation!" As he said this, he instructed Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to take Qing Ju away to rest. With a nk expression, he then ced his hands behind his back and left.


    As the Cave Masters exchanged nces with one another, they immediately rushed to Zhou Huan, Mao Yifan, and Liu Qian¡¯s side. The air surrounding Mount Calming Sea was now that of a heavy and oppressive silence.


    Once he was back in his own quarters, Miao Yi ordered his servants to prepare another feast and invited Yan Beihong, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei for a drink. Earlier on, he was only entertaining everyone out of professional courtesy. Now, he was officially ying the host for just the three of them.


    "Little Brother, isn¡¯t your Mount Calming Sea a little too dangerous? Not only are there people trying to sleep with your women, but they¡¯re even trying to sleep with mine too. How can you still endure this?"


    As they sat down, Yan Beihong noticed how calm Miao Yi was and found it difficult to contain himself.


    Miao Yi replied coldly, "Rest assured, Big Brother Yan. I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer for this!"


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had no idea what they were talking about. The two asked curiously, "What¡¯s going on?"


    Yan Beihong then exined to them the nasty affairs that had happened in Mount Calming Sea. As they listened on, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were quite infuriated as well.


    At this moment, Yan Xiu reported, "Mountain Chieftain, Tian Qingfeng requests an audience."


    Miao Yi nonchntly replied, "I am entertaining my guests at the moment. If he has something to say, save it for tomorrow. I will naturally look for him then."


    Yan Xiu then headed back out and sent Tian Qingfeng away.


    On the afternoon of the following day, all the School of Blue Jade disciples from the various Caves arrived in Mount Calming Sea. Zhou Huan and all the other three major sect disciples were immediately unnerved by this, wondering what Miao Yi intended to do. They were even prepared to fight Miao Yi if it came down to it, and were carefully watching things y out with bated breath.


    In the beginning, there were twenty School of Blue Jade disciples who had followed Miao Yi to Mount Calming Sea. After which, when there was a shortage of manpower in Mount Calming Sea, School of Blue Jade Elder Tong Renmei had personally sent over another twenty disciples to fill the gaps. At the moment, all forty of them were standing restlessly in Mount Calming Sea¡¯s main assembly hall, awaiting further instructions.


    As the evening approached, Miao Yi finally came out from the back of the hall, with Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er in tow.


    As Miao Yi sat down on the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s throne, the crowd immediately bowed and cheered in unison, "We respectfully greet the Mountain Chieftain!"


    "Rise!" Miao Yi said with a wave of his hand, then nodded to Yan Xiu and the others. Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er then immediately walked out the hall and stood guard to prevent anyone from approaching.


    When they saw this, the crowd felt even more restless.

 Chapter 452: Big Brother Xiao?

    Chapter 452: Big Brother Xiao?


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    After Qing Ju tucked away the handover documents, Miao Yi handed her another jade archive, "I¡¯d like to trouble you for one more thing, Little Auntie. Once I¡¯ve confirmed the location of my new appointment, I¡¯d like to have these people handed over to me. I trust that this shouldn¡¯t be a big problem for you so I won¡¯t be bothering Manor Head over this."


    Qing Ju looked through the jade archive, then cast a sideways nce to the Orbs of Will on the teapoy, asking, "Is that why you¡¯re giving me this gift?"


    "Please don¡¯t tease me about it, Little Auntie!"


    "I¡¯ll see what I can do!" Qing Ju sighed. She then extended her arm and personally escorted Miao Yi to the exit.


    At the door, Miao Yi cupped his fists and bade Qing Ju farewell. With a bitter smile, Qing Ju said, "You¡¯ll bepletely offending the three major sects by doing this. Even if they don¡¯t have an excuse toe after you right now, but when they do, they surely won¡¯t let you go!"


    Miao Yi originally didn¡¯t n on saying much, but hearing Qing Ju¡¯s heartfelt concern, he couldn¡¯t help smiling as he replied, "Do you think that the three major sects would have let me go if I didn¡¯t kill these people? Perhaps you didn¡¯t know this, but the three major sects even sent their members to take my life in the Subjugation Crusade. If I don¡¯t give them some response, they might think that I¡¯m a pushover. Even if I were to suck it up and just leave, those bastards might not necessarily give up on trying to humiliate me. To still cower in fear when my own women were almost sent to warm someone else¡¯s bed... Such mockery will continue to haunt me wherever I go. Let me ask you this, Little Auntie. When this happens, how could I face my subordinates as their leader? How would I get the authority I need to stand firm in my position? If I don¡¯t do this, how will I get them to shut up? "


    "It looks like you¡¯ve already thought things through. I was worried for nothing then." Qing Ju no longer wished to discuss this further. What¡¯s done has been done. What she needed to do now was to clean up the mess in Mount Calming Sea. She extended her arm and said, "Sorry I can only send you this far. Take care on the road ahead!"


    "Take care, Little Auntie!" Miao Yi cupped his fists, then strode off.


    After which, Miao Yi told Fan Zizhang that he was leaving. It ¡¯just so happened¡¯ that Fan Zizhang was about to return to Suppressing Second Hall as well, so he tagged along with Miao Yi.


    The School of Blue Jade disciples escorted Miao Yi and the others to the mountain gates, then watched as they departed.


    "How fast indeed! It¡¯s only been around a dozen years or so since my lord was promoted to Mountain Chieftain, and now he¡¯s being promoted to Manor Head already. It¡¯s truly a futile attempt topare ourselves to him!" Tian Qingfeng couldn¡¯t help letting out a sigh as he watched the figures slowly disappearing in the distance. He naturally felt regretful for his decision. If he hadn¡¯t changed his allegiance back then, Miao Yi would¡¯ve surely brought him along as well. And as soon as Miao Yi became a Manor Head, he would¡¯ve definitely be a Mountain Chieftain.


    But s, there was no medicine that could cure regret in this world. Tian Qingfeng knew deep down, that even if he were given a second chance, he would¡¯ve made the same decision as back then. When faced with such a threat, he had no choice but to prioritize his own life...


    South Edict Manor. At the mountaintop, a spirit eagle perched itself under a great tree. Qing Mei curiously took out the storage ring from the cylinder by the spirit eagle¡¯s feet, and almost couldn¡¯t help her surprise when she examined its contents with her transcendence energy. There were so many heads inside. She soon noticed a stack of jade archives inside as well. She took out the one at the top of the pile and realized that it was from Qing Ju.


    Her expression turned grave as she read the jade archive, and she quickly rushed inside the pavilion, where Yang Qing was sitting in meditation. Qing Mei said, "Master, something big just happened in Mount Calming Sea, and it¡¯s much more serious than you initially thought. Qing Ju sent this over!"


    Yang Qing¡¯s eyes immediately shot open. He received the storage ring and examined it, and in the next instant, jumped down the bed furiously. He snatched the jade archive from Qing Mei and quickly went over it.


    Once he was done reading and had some understanding of the situation, he took out the other jade archives inside the storage ring and read through every single one of them. As he finished reading one, he handed it over to Qing Mei to look through as well.


    Once every jade archive was handed over to Qing Mei, Yang Qing ced his hands behind his back and sighed. "Not bad indeed. He¡¯s a bold one alright. This must be the exuberance of youth!"


    "His grudge against the three major sects is pretty much set in stone with this. They definitely won¡¯t let him go!" Qing Mei said.


    "Since he¡¯s brave enough to go this far, then he must be able to shoulder the responsibility!" Yang Qing scoffed. He was a little displeased that Miao Yi was bringing the other half of the written testimonies to Suppressing Second Hall. This was clearly a precautionary measure against him.


    With a flip of his hand, Yang Qing took out a jade archive and wrote down an official decree. He then handed it over to Qing Mei and instructed, "Send this over to Qing Ju!¡¯


    Qing Mei looked through the contents, and couldn¡¯t help feeling a little surprised. She asked, "You¡¯re appointing Tian Qingfeng as Mountain Chieftain? I don¡¯t think the members of the three major sects will agree to this!"


    "Is there anyone who knows Mount Calming Sea better than Tian Qingfeng at this point? Their own three major sects¡¯ members have already exposed so many of their heinous deeds. Don¡¯t you think they would want to avoid the limelight, at least for the time being? The moreplicated the power struggle between the forces within the two Manors, the better. It¡¯s not a good thing for them to be united, so just let them continue fighting against one another. Miao Yi has just sent me such a perfect excuse, how could I not use it to its maximum potential?!" Yang Qing calmly exined...


    When Miao Yi and the others were about to reach South Edict City, Yan Beihong, Hong Xiu, and Hong Fu separated from the rest of them, as they still needed to rush back to the First Earthly Branch. They couldn¡¯t just continue staying in the Fifth Earthly Branch after all. Wen Fang returned to South Edict City as well.


    Along the way to Suppressing Second Hall, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er rode behind Miao Yi and the others atop their ck-Scaled Drake Beasts. It was truly an imposing sight to have these two spiritual beasts as mounts.


    As they were about to reach Suppressing Second Hall, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei broke off from the others as well. Both parties agreed to meet again in the capital city.


    The remaining five people proceeded into the vast mountains, heading straight for Suppressing Second Hall.


    When they reached Suppressing Second Hall, Miao Yi and the others waited in front of the lofty pce while Fan Zizhang went in to announce their arrival. As it was their first time visiting, Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t contain their astonishment at the rolling clouds, the precipitous cliffs, and the overall beautiful scenery around them. It would be no exaggeration to call this ce heaven on earth. Mount Calming Sea was nothingpared to this.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi was staring in deep thought towards the inside of the tall pce gates.


    "Mountain Chieftain Miao, the Hall Master has permitted you all to ride in on your mounts. This is a great honor indeed!"


    After he made his report, Fan Zizhang came back out bearing good news. However, his expression didn¡¯t seem too good. After all, he had failed toplete the task the Hall Master assigned to him. Even though he managed to sabotage Shen Fenghua and ced all the me on him, he didn¡¯t expect that Huo Lingxiao would also scold him for being useless.


    What did it mean to be called useless? Fan Zizhang felt terribly vexed deep down.


    Miao Yi cupped his fists as a show of thanks for the Hall Master¡¯s kind consideration. He didn¡¯t reject the offer and led Yan Xiu and the others straight in on their mounts.


    They then made their way across the wide za and came before the main entrance of the harem. After noticing that Tian Yu and Liu Xing were already waiting by the entrance, Miao Yi hurriedly waved his hand and signaled for Yan Xiu and the others to dismount.


    Just as they were getting ready to bow, Tian Yu and Liu Xing had already curtsied and greeted, "We respectfully greet Lord Miao!"


    Despite already knowing the truth deep down, Miao Yi feigned a look of surprise and quickly stepped forward to bow back. "Aunties, this won¡¯t do. It is I who should be respectfully greeting you instead!"


    To the side, Fan Zizhang, Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er were absolutely dumbfounded. To think the two Aunties of Suppressing Second Hall would actually call Miao Yi ¡¯Lord Miao¡¯. Even if it was a show of respect, this was simply too great of an honor.


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing¡¯s lips curled into a smile as they pretended to be mysterious. They turned their bodies to the side and extended their arms as they said, "Lord Miao, pleasee inside!"


    Miao Yi immediately followed them in timidly. He didn¡¯t dare put on any airs and left his mount outside.


    They entered the tranquil garden and eventually made their way to the center of the harem, where they saw Huo Lingxiao standing at the top of the steps leading to the main hall¡ªhe was looking at them with a face full of smiles.


    "Big Brother Xiao?" Miao Yi asked in confusion.


    Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er had seen Huo Lingxiao before back in East Arrival Cave, so they were naturally surprised as well.


    ¡¯What Big Brother Xiao?¡¯ Fan Zizhang was absolutely puzzled.


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing stepped forward and reported, "Hall Master, Lord Miao has arrived."


    "Hall Master?!" Miao Yi eximed, his face in apparent shock.


    Yan Xiu and the others were obviously even more startled!


    "Haha!" It seemed as though Huo Lingxiao was quite pleased with Miao Yi¡¯s and the others¡¯ reactions. He let out a hearty guffaw and quickly walked down the steps, then grabbed Miao Yi¡¯s arm in a very familiar manner and said, "My dear Little Brother, I have waited for you for a long time. Come! Have a seat inside!"


    Tian Yu couldn¡¯t help smiling as she followed them in, whereas Liu Xing tried to stifle herughter as she invited Yan Xiu and the others into the side hall.


    Fan Zizhang was so shocked that he kept turning to look back with every step he took.


    As Miao Yi entered the main hall, he seemed to still have trouble believing the situation before him. He asked slowly, "Big Brother Xiao is the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall?"


    "Huo Lingxiao, Suppressing Second (Yi) Hall¡¯s master (Zhu). Hence, Xiao Yizhu. Is there something wrong with that?" Huo Lingxiao spread his arms out and teased, "Have you still not figured it out yet, my dear Little Brother?"


    Miao Yi hastily bowed, "This subordinate respectfully greets the Hall Master!"


    Huo Lingxiao reached out and pulled him up, saying, "There¡¯s no need for such formalities between us brothers. Rx. Show me that courage of yours back when you threatened me in the plum garden."


    "Pfft!" Tian Yu stifled herughter as she served some scented tea.


    "Let¡¯s sit down and talk. Today, there shall be no difference in status between us. Just two brothers meeting together." Huo Lingxiao pulled Miao Yi down to his seat. The two of them were separated by a teapoy.


    Miao Yi said sheepishly, "Hall Master, surely you jest. This subordinate cannot handle such jokes."


    "I just said there isn¡¯t going to be any difference in status between us here. Why are you still calling me Hall Master?" Huo Lingxiao feigned an angry look and said, "Little Brother, if you continue to be so polite, your Big Brother here is going to be angry."


    "Since Big Brother has put it that way, then your Little Brother will speak freely then!" Miao Yi revealed an expression of relief and added, "Truth be told, I¡¯m at fault for being too dumb not to have realized this sooner. I should¡¯ve pieced everything together back when I saw Hall Master Wu in charge of the fleet heading to the Sea of Constetions.


    Speaking of this matter, Huo Lingxiao sighed and said, "Little Brother, I¡¯m deeply sorry for the matter with the Sea of Constetions. I didn¡¯t think about it too much at the time and left everything to Tian Yu¡¯s discretion." He pointed a finger to Tian Yu, then added, "Who would¡¯ve guessed that my subordinates had drafted you in as well. It¡¯s my fault for being too concerned for my own status that I didn¡¯t reveal that you and I are actually sworn brothers. Tian Yu didn¡¯t know about this either, and as a result, she blindly approved your participation and put you through such perilous dangers. I only realized that I¡¯d almost made a big mistake when I saw the list of returnees from the Sea of Constetions. It was most fortunate that you were able to return safely, dear Little Brother. Otherwise, your Big Brother would be racked with guilt for the rest of his life!"


    Miao Yiughed bitterly. "Big Brother, you really had me fooled. If I¡¯d known you were the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall, I would have definitelye looking for you back then."


    "Aii! I hope you will not take this matter to heart, Little Brother. Please forgive your Big Brother for his moment of carelessness." Huo Lingxiao put on an embarrassed face. He believed that Miao Yi was speaking the truth. If thetter had known about his identity, he would¡¯ve surelye looking for him back then.


    Miao Yi replied earnestly, "You didn¡¯t mean to do it either. There¡¯s no need to me yourself, Big Brother. I never thought that the brother I swore an oath with in the heat of the moment would turn out to be a Hall Master. I¡¯m a lucky one indeed."


    In Huo Lingxiao¡¯s eyes, Miao Yi had indeed made an acquaintance with someone of a higher standing. As such, Huo Lingxiao fully believed that Miao Yi was speaking the truth. He chuckled and said, "Since I have no way to take back the mistake that I¡¯ve made, it¡¯s obvious that I should make up for it somehow. To that end, I¡¯ve sought the Pce Lord¡¯s help specifically, and the Pce Lord has also agreed that if you choose to stay within the Traversing Moon Pce, you would be ced in charge of the area with the only crystal coin mine within the Pce Lord¡¯s domain. My dear Little Brother, this is a truly rewarding, yet cushy job to have!"

 Chapter 448: Same Old Trick

    Chapter 448: Same Old Trick


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Zhou Huan, Liu Qian, and Mao Yifan were overjoyed. It seemed like all their ttery over the past few days hadn¡¯t been in vain after all. They didn¡¯t believe that Miao Yi would dare act rashly with this deacon around.


    The three of them crowded around Fan Zizhang, while everyone else surrounded the four of them, and the group marched up the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s manor. From the way they walked, it seemed more like they were nning a coup if anything.


    "Roar!!"


    Several roars could be hearding from within the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters. Everyone immediately looked at one another, puzzled as to what sort of creature could have made such a noise.


    Standing guard outside the gates, Tian Qingfeng extended his hand and called for everyone to halt. "The Mountain Chieftain only asked to see Zhou Huan alone!"


    Zhou Huan, Liu Qian, and Mao Yifan immediately shot him an icy re. Tian Qingfeng couldn¡¯t helpughing bitterly deep down, ¡¯It looks like Miao Yi was right after all. Now that we¡¯ve knocked these people around so much, if we still let them live, we will surely have a rough road ahead of us.¡¯


    Fan Zizhang scoffed, "Are you saying I¡¯m not allowed to go in too?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s reply came from inside the courtyard, "Let Deacon Fan in. If any of the others wish to defy my orders, then they are free toe in too. For every single person that sets foot in here, there will be one extra corpse to haul out!"


    ¡¯Whoosh!¡¯ A giant ck shadow shot out from inside the courtyard, crashing into the ground with a deafening boom. Dirt and dust rolled about as the earth shattered in a terrible quake that shook everyone.


    Everyone turned their heads to look and found a ridiculously giant hammer embedded in the ground. Then, with a thunderous noise, the hammer shot back up and flew back into the courtyard!


    ¡¯A top-tier transcendent artifact?!¡¯ The crowd was utterly horrified. If something like this were to crash down on them, how could they possibly survive? They finally realized the extent of Miao Yi¡¯s confidence after his return from the Sea of Constetions. This was not something they could fight against at all. If Miao Yi were to really use force, it wouldn¡¯t take him much effort to deal with all of them.


    Tian Qingfeng and the others who were standing guard by the gate were alsopletely stunned.


    Even Fan Zizhang couldn¡¯t help the envy on his face for a brief moment. He turned to Zhou Huan and said, "I¡¯m here. Don¡¯t be afraid. The rest of you, wait here. Youe with me."


    Zhou Huan felt a little regretful. When Miao Yi had assembled the School of Blue Jade disciples, all of them had already gathered together to make a run for it. But in the end, Miao Yi only came to seize them after the School of Blue Jade disciples had left. And now, it looked like it would¡¯ve been better to have fled to South Edict Manor and wait things out. However, it was toote to run now that they were already at Miao Yi¡¯s doorstep.


    That said, Zhou Huan believed things should be fine with Fan Zizhang around, and quickly followed behind thetter as he went inside.


    As they entered the courtyard, the two ferocious-looking ¡¯ck-Scaled Drake Beasts¡¯ immediately caught Fan Zizhang and Zhou Huan¡¯s attention. They watched as Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er stroked the beasts¡¯ heads and fed them. The mysterious roar just now must havee from these two creatures.


    As for Charcoal, he was taking a nap under the eaves,pletely unperturbed by these two terrifying beasts.


    "Mountain Chieftain Miao." Fan Zizhang cheerfully greeted Miao Yi, then cupped his fists towards Zhao Fei and the others. "Manor Head Zhao. Manor Head Sikong. Brother Yan."


    Seeing as everyone else was exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Huan went forward to greet Miao Yi and the others as well. Fan Zizhang pointed at the two strange creatures and asked, "What manner of creature is this? It bears some resemnce to a lion, yet looks like a tiger at the same time. It even has scales."


    Miao Yi smiled and answered, "These two are spiritual beasts that I brought back with me from the Sea of Constetions. They¡¯re called ¡¯ck-Scaled Drake Beasts¡¯. I gifted them to my two girls as mounts."


    Fan Zizhang chuckled and said, "What fine creatures indeed. Mountain Chieftain Miao, your handmaidens are truly lucky to have you."


    Hearing someonepliment their Master¡¯s gifts, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t hide the exhration in their eyes. The two of them were very happy to have received such unique gifts from their Master.


    Miao Yi waved his hand and said, "That¡¯s not true. In the years I¡¯ve been away, these two girls have suffered quite a bit and were bullied pretty badly!"


    Knowing full well what Miao Yi meant, Fan Zizhang chuckled. Everyone then cast Zhou Huan aside and began talking amongst themselves. As he finished his tea, Fan Zizhang eventually cupped his fists and said, "It¡¯s gettingte. Since Mountain Chieftain Miao still has business to attend to, I shall not bother you any longer."


    "Goodbye then!" Miao Yi extended his arm towards the exit. When he saw Zhou Huan intending to leave with Fan Zizhang, he called out, "Zhou Huan, stay for a bit!"


    Zhou Huan initially thought that Miao Yi was ignoring him because he couldn¡¯t do anything with Fan Zizhang around. Thus, when he heard Miao Yi calling out to him, he couldn¡¯t help feeling startled. He nervously voiced out to Fan Zizhang, "Deacon Fan..."


    Fan Zizhang turned around and smiled at Miao Yi, saying, "Mountain Chieftain Miao, if anything happens to Zhou Huan, you¡¯ll be answering to me!" He then told Zhou Huan, "It¡¯s fine!" He left immediately after.


    This deacon just walked in here and left without saying anything useful. Zhou Huan couldn¡¯t help feeling that something was amiss. He wanted to stubbornly tag along with Fan Zizhang, but Miao Yi¡¯s voice suddenly came from behind, saying, "Zhou Huan, if you dare defy this mountain chieftain¡¯s orders and take one foot out the moon gate, you will immediately die a miserable death. Do you believe me?"


    Zhou Huan immediately froze and watched as Fan Zizhang nonchntly departed as though he hadn¡¯t heard a single thing.


    Miao Yi walked inside the pavilion and sat down, then asked, "Do you know Gu Sanzheng? I¡¯ve already promised him that I won¡¯t go against your Sword Deviate Sect anymore, so you¡¯d best not force me to not honor my agreement with him."


    Having caught a glimpse of hope, Zhou Huan was a little overjoyed. He quickly rushed into the pavilion, then cupped his fists and asked, "Gu Sanzheng is my Senior Uncle. Mountain Chieftain, you are acquainted with Senior Uncle Gu?"


    As he watched Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er tame their ck-Scaled Drake Beasts, Zhao Fei suddenly voiced out, "The Sea of Constetions is full of perils. Gu Sanzheng was ourrade-in-arms through it all, and you ask if we¡¯re acquainted with him? Had the two of us not convinced Brother Miao to spare you out of respect for Gu Sanzheng, do you think you¡¯d still be able to stand there and talk for so long? Do you honestly think your meager Sword Deviate Sect disciples will be able to hold out against Brother Miao¡¯s transcendent artifact?"


    "So both Seniors are Senior Uncle Gu¡¯s friends." Zhou Huan was beside himself with joy, cupping his fists from afar as he said, "This junior has been impolite."


    Sikong Wuwei chuckled and said, "When you go back and see Gu Sanzheng, tell him that he now owes us another favor. He¡¯ll have to buy us drinks the next time we meet."


    "Yes, yes, of course!" Zhou Huan hurriedly cupped his fists and replied. It seemed he was safe now. He then turned back to Miao Yi with cupped fists and asked, "Then may I know why the Mountain Chieftain has called for me?"


    Miao Yi said nkly, "In short, I didn¡¯t call you here to kill you. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t even waste my breath talking to you. I want you to first ask everyone outside to leave. I have matters to discuss with you in private."


    "This..." Zhou Huan was a little hesitant.


    Miao Yi raised an eyebrow and said, "If I really wanted you dead, then it makes no difference whether there¡¯s a crowd outside or not."


    Zhou Huan had to agree with his words. He quickly cupped his fists and departed. As he rushed outside, he waved his hand and said, "Leave, all of you. Everything¡¯s fine now."


    The people outside were confused. Liu Qian and Mao Yifan asked, "What happened?"


    "It¡¯s all just our misunderstanding. I¡¯ll tell you about itter. Just leave for now." After Zhou Huan had everyone leave, he returned to the pavilion in the courtyard and awaited further instructions.


    "Sit down and talk!" Miao Yi nodded, then continued as Zhou Huan took a seat, "I can let you Sword Deviate Sect disciples off out of respect for Gu Sanzheng. However, that doesn¡¯t mean I will spare the others. Hence, I need you to do something for me to atone for your transgressions. If not, what will be of this mountain chieftain¡¯s esteem?"


    Zhou Huan felt a thump in his chest as he thought, ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s trying to get my Sword Deviate Sect to betray the other two sects?¡¯ He then asked carefully, "What does Mountain Chieftain intend for this subordinate to do?"


    Miao Yi replied, "I need a written testimony describing all the instances of insubordination, conspiracy plotting, and defiance of a superior¡¯s ordersmitted by every single person from the other two sects. That Deacon Shen Fenghua is the main focus here! You were a part of it too, so surely you know what they did, right? I want you to write down everything you know!"


    Zhou Huan was not an idiot. If he were to sell out the other two sects, then as one of the masterminds, he wouldn¡¯t escape unscathed either. By then, the other two would surelye back to bite him. Zhou Huanughed drily and said, "I can¡¯t really remember every single thing that happened these past ten years on such short notice. But don¡¯t worry, Mountain Chieftain. I will go back and think long and hard about it, and give to you the testimony you need as soon as possible."


    Zhou Huan was nning to make a run to South Edict Manor immediately after excusing himself. It was best for him to go into hiding for now. ¡¯So what if you¡¯re acquainted with Gu Sanzheng? I¡¯m not going to do something stupid like this.¡¯


    However, Miao Yi was no fool either, and said, "I will be leaving Mount Calming Sea in a few days. I don¡¯t have that much time to waste on you. I suggest you start writing now. If you can¡¯t give me what I want by sunrise, then don¡¯t me me for not honoring my agreement to Gu Sanzheng!"


    In order to give Zhou Huan some assurance, Miao Yi added, "I won¡¯t spare a single member from the other two sects. As long as you hand me the testimony I need, I can guarantee that none of them shall live. You don¡¯t have to worry about them singling you out either. If you choose not to write, then you can forget about leaving this ce alive!"


    ¡¯Won¡¯t spare a single member from the other two sects?¡¯ Zhou Huan was heavily shocked. He was feeling rather conflicted, but with his back pushed against the wall like this, there was nothing he could do but just try to save his own skin for now...


    As dawn began to break, Zhou Huan¡¯s testimony was finally approved, after going through repeated rewrites and reviews from Miao Yi. With a bitter expression, Zhou Huan imprinted his transcendent seal. Miao Yi then tucked the jade archive away.


    "Please excuse this subordinate then!" Zhou Huan bitterly asked to be excused. Now that he had written this down, he was practically a member of Miao Yi¡¯s heinous ship already.


    "Hold on!" Miao Yi said inly.


    Zhou Huan was startled, thinking that Miao Yi was about to attack him. He asked anxiously, "Is Mountain Chieftain nning to go back on his word?"


    "I¡¯ve already sent out an official decree calling for all Sword Deviate Sect disciples from every Cave. I believe they should be reaching here soon. Once they¡¯re here, I want you to get them to write down everything that the people from the Jade Lady Sect and School of Imperial Beasts have done. I told you that I won¡¯t let a single one of them live. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t wish to see any survivorse back to bite you as well, correct?"


    "This..."


    On that following afternoon, all the Sword Deviate Sect disciples from every Cave had finally arrived. Zhou Huan stepped out and gathered all his fellow disciples in the assembly hall, then had them write down their testimonies. Liu Qian and Mao Yifan didn¡¯t know what Zhou Huan was trying to do, and they tried to investigate, but they were stopped by the members from the School of Blue Jade.


    Meanwhile, the spirit eagles flew out once more. This time, it was to call every single disciple from the School of Imperial Beasts to gather in Mount Calming Sea.


    Guarding outside the main assembly hall, Yan Xiuughed bitterly deep down. He thought, ¡¯It¡¯s this trick again. The same old ¡¯written testimony¡¯ strategy. It seems the Mountain Chieftain likes doing these kinds of things!¡¯


    "To avoid the other two sects trying to pry information from you and put you on the spot, I will iste you all for the time being!"


    Having gotten the written testimonies, Miao Yi ordered all the Sword Deviate Sect disciples to be locked inside one of the courtyards at the back of the mountain. He also had the School of Blue Jade disciples watch over them and prevent them from contacting anyone on the outside. As for Zhou Huan, he was forcefully bound and locked within the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters.


    Soon, Mao Yifan was also ¡¯invited¡¯ to the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters. Miao Yi took out the taming method that Tan Lao had given him for training the two ck-Scaled Drake Beasts, pointing towards the two spiritual beasts as he said, "Do you know Tan Lao from the School of Imperial Beasts? He gifted me these two spiritual beasts back in the Sea of Constetions..."


    The cycle pretty much repeated itself. The next day, the School of Imperial Beasts disciples also ended up being isted. And inside the Mountain Chieftain¡¯s quarters, Mao Yifan was forcefully bound and tossed in together with Zhou Huan before he even realized what happened.


    Themotion created by the first two groups had already turned Liu Qian into a restless chicken. It was no longer possible to employ the same tactic on her.


    When Liu Qian was asked toe over, not only did the ¡¯invitation¡¯ fall on deaf ears, it scared Liu Qian so much she immediately made a run for it with the other Jade Lady Sect disciples.

 Chapter 454: Getting Him to Leave Quickly

    Chapter 454: Getting Him to Leave Quickly


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Standing by the gate to the side hall, Fan Zizhang found it difficult to watch as Miao Yi quickly beat Shen Fenghua to a bloody pulp. He couldn¡¯t help musing to himself, ¡¯Shen Fenghua, of all the people you could have offended, why did you have to choose to upset the Hall Master¡¯s sworn brother?¡¯


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er hated Shen Fenghua to the core, so they were quite gratified to see him in such a miserable state.


    Yan Xiuughed bitterly in secret, realizing that Miao Yi was truly not a man that one should easily offend. The guy could even take his revenge all the way out here.


    Miao Yi soon realized that something was off. It was no coincidence that the Fat Bastard Shen could make it this far in life. He was quite the ruthless one even to himself. Not only was he not retaliating, but he was even putting up a pitiful disy to show his loyalty to the Hall Master, or perhaps just to gain his sympathy. Even though Miao Yi could pummel him hard, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate if he killed one of Huo Lingxiao¡¯s men without his permission.


    Bang! Miao Yi suddenly sent Shen Fenghua flying off with a kick.


    "Puhh..." Shen Fenghua spat out a mouthful of blood andnded in the rockery nearby.


    Miao Yi quickly gave chase.


    Lying on the ground, Shen Fenghua vomited several more mouthfuls of blood. As he turned around, a murderous glint flitted past his eyes, before turning back into a pitiful gaze as he pleaded for mercy.


    ¡¯I dare you to keep up the act!¡¯ Miao Yi mocked deep down. As hended, he continued pping Shen Fenghua. At the same time, he scanned his surroundings. Seeing as there was no one around the rockery, he immediately brandished a Second Grade Wolf Teeth Club Artifact from his storage ring and viciously swung it down at Shen Fenghua¡¯s head.


    Shen Fenghua was absolutely horrified. He didn¡¯t mind suffering a few ps, but how could he possibly survive against a wolf teeth club. The only reason he was putting up this pitiful disy was just so that he could live. If he couldn¡¯t survive, then what was the point? The other party was clearly adamant on killing him, and he was even thinking up new ways to achieve his objective!


    Whoosh! Despite his fat stature, Shen Fenghua was surprisingly light on his feet. He rolled along the ground and scrambled up, then leaped up from the rockery.


    "AH!" Suddenly, a scream came from down below. "Bastard! How dare you ambush me!"


    Still in mid-air, Shen Fenghua looked back to see Miao Yi suddenly lying on the ground for some reason. Worse yet, Shen Fenghua saw Miao Yi quickly rubbing something onto the corner of his lips; it was the blood Shen Fenghua had spat out on the ground. Miao Yi then examined himself in the mirror.


    Shen Fenghua¡¯s eyes immediately widened in horror.


    The people outside were startled by the sound of Miao Yi¡¯s scream. They then saw a violent gray fog gush out from amidst the rockery, enveloping the sky-borne Shen Fenghua within.


    The temperature in the courtyard quickly plummeted, causing everyone to feel chills. Like a whip, the violent wave of gray fog retreated to the rockery, and Shen Fenghua crashed to the ground like a statue. They then saw Miao Yi leaping out from the rockery, raising a wolf teeth club in his hands before he viciously swung it down.


    "Little Brother! Wait¡ª" Huo Lingxiao cried out, but he was toote!


    Bang! Miao Yi turned a deaf ear to Huo Lingxiao¡¯s pleas and ruthlessly mmed down, his wolf teeth club crushing Shen Fenghua¡¯s skull into pieces. There was no saving him now.


    With his hand raised to stop Miao Yi, Huo Lingxiao¡¯s expression darkened. He slowly lowered it back down and gently dispersed the transcendence energy he had gathered around his fingers. The man was already dead; it was toote to say anything anymore.


    The courtyard was in utter silence. Everyone was just too amazed by the sudden turn of events that they had yet to even realize what just happened.


    Miao Yi stuck the wolf teeth club to the ground, gasping for air as he pointed to Shen Fenghua and said furiously, "This bastard was only pretending to look pathetic, when in truth he was trying to ambush me. What a devious man!"


    Seeing the blood on the corner of Miao Yi¡¯s mouth, Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er, and Yan Xiu were all greatly startled and quickly rushed to his side. "Master! Are you alright?"


    "I¡¯m fine! I¡¯m a man who carved out a path of blood through 180,000 cultivators back in the Sea of Constetions. What manner of trickery haven¡¯t I seen already? What could Shen Fenghua¡¯s puny little ploys possibly do to me? All it made me do was spit out a couple of mouthfuls of blood!" Miao Yi scoffed. He tucked the wolf teeth club away and wiped the blood on the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. He was a truly valiant man indeed.


    However, in truth, it was because the blood by his lips was simply too suspicious. Anyone could tell the difference between blood that came from the person himself, and blood that was rubbed onto his face. Even Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er noticed the discrepancy and swallowed their initial concern back down their throats. How could Miao Yi not rub it off quickly then?


    ¡¯Shen Fenghua died just like that?¡¯ Still in shock, Fan Zizhang turned his eyes around a couple of times as he mused, ¡¯Why do I feel as though things aren¡¯t that simple?!¡¯


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing were at a loss for words. The two of them could clearly tell that Huo Lingxiao wished to keep Shen Fenghua alive. However, everything had happened too suddenly. Perhaps even the Hall Master himself had never thought that Miao Yi would kill Shen Fenghua right in front of his face without even getting his permission. Otherwise, with the Hall Master¡¯s cultivation, there was no way he would¡¯ve allowed Miao Yi to seed.


    Huo Lingxiao slowly walked over. He quietly stared at Shen Fenghua¡¯s corpse and noticed the headless, frost-covered body was somehow emitting plumes of ck smoke under the rays of the sun. It was a very peculiar death indeed.


    He then proceeded to the edge of the rockery and looked inside. Noticing the bloodstains on the ground showed signs of being rubbed off, he immediately connected it to the oddly suspicious blood marks on Miao Yi¡¯s lips. Having understood everything, Huo Lingxiao slowly turned his head back to look at Miao Yi and said indifferently, "Little Brother, you have some ability indeed!"


    Miao Yi immediately said via voice transmission, "Big Brother, you truly are observant. There is no hiding these tiny little tricks of mine from your eyes. I know that it¡¯s hard for you to make a move against one of your own subordinates just because of me. If word spreads out, the others will mistakenly think you were being biased. That¡¯s why, to avoid your subordinates losing faith in you, I quickly devised a simple n to rid this despicable vermin!"


    ¡¯You¡¯re quite the honest one!¡¯ Huo Lingxiao was a little annoyed, but s, Shen Fenghua was already dead. There was no use saying anything anymore, and no point trying to do anything for someone who was already dead.


    It was not hard for Huo Lingxiao to make up his mind on which choice he should make now. He walked back, asking, "Little Brother, may I know what transcendent artifact you used to kill Shen Fenghua just now?"


    Miao Yi immediately took out the Mystic Yin Mirror and handed it over, saying, "It¡¯s something I took from a Ghost cultivator back in the Sea of Constetions. In Big Brother¡¯s eyes, it¡¯s probably just a little trinket."


    Huo Lingxiao was slightly surprised as he didn¡¯t think Miao Yi would be so generous and let him see it. He quickly flipped it over and examined it, and as he did, his body abruptly turned stiff. Ayer of white frost quickly enveloped his body, emitting strange plumes of ck smoke under the sunlight.


    "Master!" Tian Yu and Liu Xing eximed in shock as they rushed forward. Because the state of Huo Lingxiao¡¯s body was exactly the same as Shen Fenghua¡¯s, they thought that he had fallen into a trap.


    Suddenly, while he was still covered in frost, Huo Lingxiao raised his hand and stopped the twodies.


    Bang! Huo Lingxiao¡¯s body suddenly shook, and the frost surrounding him crumbled to the ground. He opened his mouth and spat out a breath of cold air, then continued to examine the Mystic Yin Mirror as if nothing had happened, lowering his head and repeatedly flipping the transcendent artifact around.


    Deep down, Miao Yi was shocked. The reason why he had readily handed it over to Huo Lingxiao was because he knew that thetter would try to examine the mysteries within the Mystic Yin Mirror. Miao Yi wished to see how the Mystic Yin Mirror fared against Red Lotus realm experts. However, he never thought that it would have no effect whatsoever against experts at Huo Lingxiao¡¯s level.


    "This is a powerful treasure indeed!" A sense of desire flitted past Huo Lingxiao¡¯s eyes. However, he immediately felt a little confused and raised his head to ask curiously, "Little Brother, you¡¯re able to wield this artifact?"


    Miao Yi nodded and said, "There¡¯s a trick to using this particr artifact, but I hope you¡¯ll allow me to keep this information secret for now. However, if Big Brother is fond of it..."


    Huo Lingxiao¡¯s eyes brightened, believing that the other party was going to give this transcendent artifact to him. If that were the case, it wouldn¡¯t be nice of him to refuse. At most, he would just show a little reluctance, then very naturally, ept the gift.


    Contrary to his expectations, however, Miao Yi suddenly said, "Big Brother, my cultivation is feeble, and for the time being, I will still need this transcendent artifact to establish my footing. When I have firmly established myself in my new Manor, I will give this to you as a gift!"


    Even though his words were meant to please the other party, in truth it served no purpose whatsoever. Given the situation in the cultivation realm, what constituted as ¡¯establishing a footing¡¯? Miao Yi didn¡¯t n on giving Huo Lingxiao the Mystic Yin Mirror in the first ce, not even as a meeting gift. ¡¯You sent me to my death in the Sea of Constetions, and you still want me to thank you with gifts?¡¯


    Huo Lingxiao was speechless, feeling as though his excitement had been for nothing. However, the other party¡¯s words had made it very clear. As the older brother, how could Huo Lingxiao try to take the thing that his little brother needed for survival? With so many people looking at him, how would he have his subordinates view himter on? Huo Lingxiao was a proud man after all. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have sent Miao Yi to the Sea of Constetions in the first ce.


    Hiding his awkwardness with augh, Huo Lingxiao ced the Mystic Yin Mirror back in Miao Yi¡¯s hands. With a wave of his hand, he then said, "As the Big Brother, I don¡¯t have anything I can give to you. How could I take my Little Brother¡¯s things instead?"


    "You have a point! With Big Brother¡¯s position, you wouldn¡¯t deign to fancy such a measly thing. I was too imprudent!" Miao Yi nodded. He didn¡¯t hold back and immediately tucked the Mystic Yin Mirror away. Noticing a fleeting gloominess in Huo Lingxiao¡¯s eyes as he cast a sidelong nce at Shen Fenghua¡¯s body, Miao Yi quietly mused for a bit, then suddenly asked, "Big Brother! Where is Sister-in-Law? After ourst meeting on Jade Lake in the capital city¡ª"


    How could something like this be discussed publicly? Startled, Huo Lingxiao quickly interrupted Miao Yi, "Little Brother, let¡¯s talk inside." He then smiled and dragged Miao Yi by the wrist back into the main hall.


    As the two of them sat down, Huo Lingxiao extended his arm and said, "Shen Fenghua has already been executed. You can let this matter rest now, Little Brother. Have some tea!"


    "The tea can wait. I still haven¡¯t given Sister-in-Law¡ª"


    ¡¯Again?!¡¯ Huo Lingxiao cut him off a second time. "Little Brother!"


    Miao Yi had a puzzled look on his face, as though trying to ask¡ª ¡¯Why do you keep interrupting me?¡¯


    The helplessness was evident on Huo Lingxiao¡¯s face as he warned gravely, "Little Brother, that person isn¡¯t your Sister-in-Law. For the time being, you don¡¯t have a Sister-in-Law. Never mention anything about this again, lest you wish to invite cmity upon yourself. This is all I can tell you!"


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help feeling confused as he thought, ¡¯That woman was already lying in your embrace. What more do you have to be afraid of?¡¯ He then remembered that Wu Menn was also quite reluctant to discuss this person during the journey to the Sea of Constetions back then. What kind of person was that woman, that she could make these two Hall Masters so fearful of her?


    Miao Yi grew even more curious about her identity. However, since Huo Lingxiao had already made it very clear that they shouldn¡¯t be talking about this topic, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate of him to ask any further. He definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to get any answers out of Huo Lingxiao anyway.


    Miao Yi intentionally tried to creep Huo Lingxiao out, asking, "Big Brother, are you afraid that Hall Master Wu will get jealous if she knows?"


    Huo Lingxiao was taken aback, puzzled as to why Miao Yi would say such a thing. He then remembered that he once mentioned that he was trying to woo Wu Menn back in East Arrival Cave.


    He didn¡¯t wish to discuss this topic with Miao Yi any further, as he didn¡¯t think thetter had the qualifications to talk about such things with him. Had this kid not gained the favor of that esteemed person in Traversing Moon Pce, Huo Lingxiao wouldn¡¯t even deign to meet up with him, much less be sitting here sharing his private life. He quickly changed the topic...


    However, Miao Yi just wouldn¡¯t read between the lines, much to his chagrin, and would always turn the conversation around after a while. He would say that as a brother, he was concerned about Huo Lingxiao¡¯s love life, as though he truly felt that way inside. Huo Lingxiao felt as though he was going to go insane from Miao Yi¡¯s pestering. Unable to take it any longer, he hurriedly found an excuse to get Miao Yi to leave.


    In truth, Miao Yi also didn¡¯t want to stay here just topete and see which of them was the better liar.


    Eventually, both parties bade farewell to one another. Huo Lingxiao had ¡¯matters¡¯ to attend to, so he had Tian Yu and Liu Xing escort Miao Yi out on his behalf.


    Back in the main hall, Huo Lingxiao gave Fan Zizhang a brutal scolding.


    Upon reaching the main entrance of the pce, Miao Yi looked around him and suddenly came to a stop. He took out two low-grade Orbs of Will, handing each to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er as he pointed to the two guards posted by either side of the gate, and said loudly, "The Hall Master is my sworn older brother, and they are his loyal subordinates. I should reward them!"


    There were only two low-grade Orbs of Will, and they had to be handed out to two people, no less. Could they really hand out such a paltry amount inside Suppressing Second Hall? Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er felt a little embarrassed, but they still did as instructed.


    The two guards looked at Tian Yu and Liu Xing in confusion, unsure of whether they should ept the gift or not.


    There was no describing the expressions on the two Aunties¡¯ faces. Theyughed drily and nodded to the two guards to ept the gift, grumbling deep down, ¡¯Is this guy afraid that everyone else won¡¯t know the Hall Master is his sworn older brother or something?¡¯

 Chapter 455: So That Bastard Has Some Background

    Chapter 455: So That Bastard Has Some Background


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Tian Yu, Liu Xing. You don¡¯t need to escort me any further." Miao Yi called out the twodies¡¯ names directly, causing them to feel much irritation. Worse yet, they still had to reply to him with a smile.


    This was still better than what Miao Yi did next. Under the gazes of the two guards by the entrance, Miao Yi took out twenty low-grade Orbs of Will and handed the twodies half each. This reward was significantly higher than that of the two guards; it was tenfold of what they had gotten.


    Yan Xiu couldn¡¯t help his lips from twitching. If he recalled correctly, Miao Yi had given Qing Ju a thousand low-grade Orbs of Will. This difference was a little too much to be put into words!


    With forced smiles, Tian Yu and Liu Xing tried to refuse, but Miao Yi insisted on rewarding them. He firmly stuffed the Orbs of Will into their hands and said with an earnest look, "You two deserve this much. When I¡¯m not around, you must take good care of my Big Brother!"


    ¡¯Do you think we need you to tell us that?¡¯ Tian Yu and Liu Xing felt incredibly awkward and could only grit their teeth and ept the reward. The problem was that epting such a gift was a difficult thing to do. Once they chose to ept it, they naturally had to thank the other party, or else it would be impolite. The twodies had no choice but to curtsy under the gazes of the two guards, saying, "Thank you for the gifts, Lord Miao!"


    As they heard what the twodies said, the two guards immediately felt a surge of respect for Miao Yi. ¡¯It seems this person really is the Hall Master¡¯s sworn brother!¡¯


    "We¡¯re a family. You don¡¯t need to be so formal. You can stop sending me off now." Miao Yi waved his hand as he called for the twodies to halt.


    Tian Yu smiled and said, "It¡¯s alright. We will escort Lord Miao down the mountain."


    "Stay!" Seeing how they weren¡¯t listening, Miao Yi immediately adopted amanding tone. He then leaped onto his mount, with Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er quickly following as well.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t give Tian Yu and Liu Xing a chance to say anything else. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Let¡¯s go!"


    Miao Yi then galloped out the pce gates, with Yan Xiu and the others closely following behind him. Tian Yu and Liu Xing could only bid them farewell, saying, "We wish Lord Miao a safe journey ahead!"


    As they watched the four riders make their way down the mountain, Tian Yu immediately turned to the guards and warned, "You two are not to mention what happened just now to anyone. If not, the consequences will be dire!"


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing were obviously aware that Huo Lingxiao actually didn¡¯t wish to recognize the existence of this sworn brother of his.


    The two guards exchanged looks of confusion, but they still cupped their fists and acknowledged, "Understood!"


    The twodies then walked to the edge of the cliff, gazing at the departing figures in the distance. Tian Yu sighed. "This Lord Miao has finally left. Let¡¯s hope that he will go as far away as possible and never set foot in Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s domain ever again. Otherwise, given his lordship¡¯s behavior, he would surely be a burden to Master!"


    "Something¡¯s not right, Elder Sister. Look. He¡¯s stopped again," Liu Xing said, pointing towards the mountain gates.


    Tian Yu immediately looked over with her transcendence vision and saw that Miao Yi had stopped by the mountain gates. He was waving his hands around and seemed to be saying something as he sat on his mount. After which, Yan Xiu jumped down from his dragon steed and proceeded to stuff something into the hands of the two cultivators standing guard by the mountain gates.


    Liu Xing asked in confusion, "Why is he still loitering around the mountain gates? Why isn¡¯t he leaving yet?"


    Tian Yu replied in exasperation, "Why else? He¡¯s clearly handing out rewards again and telling everyone that the Hall Master is his sworn older brother."


    Liu Xing immediately turned to look at the two guards by the entrance. It turned out it wasn¡¯t enough to just seal the lips of the other two. She couldn¡¯t imagine how many more people Miao Yi was going to notify. Her expression twisted in dismay as she said, "It¡¯s all over. Now every single person in Suppressing Second Hall will know that he¡¯s Master¡¯s sworn brother."


    "Let¡¯s go! We have to inform Master."


    After making sure that Miao Yi and the others were truly gone this time, the twodies quickly rushed back inside the pce. Along the way, they bumped into Fan Zizhang. With a face full of cold sweat, he greeted the two Aunties, who only slightly nodded in response. The twodies then quickly made their way into the harem, where they saw Huo Lingxiao with a dark expression on his face. They then exined to him the matter of Miao Yi going around announcing that he was the Hall Master¡¯s sworn brother.


    ¡¯I just knew nothing good woulde from revealing my identity to this sworn little brother of mine. This is truly frustrating!¡¯ With his hands behind his back, Huo Lingxiao paced around the main hall for a while, then grabbed a teacup from the teapoy and gulped it down in an attempt to calm himself. As he slowly sat down, he asked, "What do you two think of this miserly little brother of mine?"


    The twodies looked at one another, a little reluctant to answer their Master¡¯s question. They simply didn¡¯t have anything nice to say.


    Huo Lingxiao could see what the twodies were concerned about. He waved his hand and said, "Speak your mind. I will not me you for it."


    Liu Xing said cautiously, "Master, forgive me for being blunt, but this Lord Miao seems a little... conceited after finding out about your identity!"


    Pa! Huo Lingxiao pped down on the teapoy, nodding as he said, "I can¡¯t even describe how angry he¡¯s made me. You hit the mark exactly. That¡¯s right¡ªhe¡¯s conceited! This is absolutely outrageous! How dare he kill one of my men in front of me without my approval!"


    Tian Yu mused to herself, ¡¯Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little toote to be saying this? He clearly made it so that you wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him even if he did such a thing. You didn¡¯t say anything to him earlier, so what¡¯s the point in mentioning it now?!¡¯ However, she still offered a different perspective on the matter and remarked carefully, "Master, why do I feel as though this Lord Miao is not as simple as he seems? I get the feeling that he¡¯s actually very smart. While his actions might look brash and reckless at first, in truth, he¡¯s very clear on how far he can push things so that no one can do anything to him. Think about it. If he really were such a simple man, how could he have possibly carved a path of blood through the other 180,000 cultivators in the Sea of Constetions and make it back alive?"


    Huo Lingxiao nodded.


    "Carved a path of blood through the other 180,000 cultivators?" Liu Xing couldn¡¯t helpughing. "Elder Sister, why are you using the same words as Miao Yi when he was boasting about himself? Do you think someone that¡¯s truly capable would toot their own horn like that? I think that this Lord Miao might have just gotten lucky. He¡¯s also a little... a little..."


    Huo Lingxiao lifted his head and asked, "Also a little what?"


    Liu Xing whispered, "I think he¡¯s also a little soft in the head."


    Huo Lingxiao nodded and said, "Liu Xing is absolutely correct. He is a little dim-witted. If he wasn¡¯t, then he wouldn¡¯t have threatened me at spearpoint and forced me to swear an oath of brotherhood in the plum garden." He then got up and walked to the entrance with his hands behind his back, sighing as he said, "It matters not if he¡¯s moronic or intelligent. I do wish this kid would try to use his head a little more and not create problems for me. The thing I fear the most is that his hubris will lead him to use my name to go around causing trouble. When that happens, what should I do? Should I help him or not? If I don¡¯t help him, how will the others view me as his sworn older brother? And if I do, I¡¯m afraid it will only feed his arrogance even further. Do I have no choice but to keep on cleaning up his messes?"


    Just as Tian Yu and Liu Xing expected, a few dayster, the news had already spread like wildfire: Mountain Chieftain Miao Yi of South Edict Manor¡¯s Mount Calming Sea was Hall Master Huo Lingxiao¡¯s sworn brother. Itpletely drowned out the fact that Miao Yi had killed all of Mount Calming Sea¡¯s three major sect¡¯s disciples.


    Many were secretly specting¡ª ¡¯No wonder this Mountain Chieftain Miao was so arrogant and dared to kill so mercilessly. It turns out he¡¯s Hall Master Huo Lingxiao¡¯s sworn brother. With Huo Lingxiao supporting him from behind, it¡¯s no wonder he could be so fearless!¡¯


    Despite the pile of written testimonies Miao Yi had given him, the three major sects were still a great pain in Yang Qing¡¯s back. They all demanded that Yang Qing punish Miao Yi for taking matters into his own hands and killing his subordinates without first consulting his superiors. They wanted Yang Qing to appeal to the other territories and apprehend Miao Yi so that he could be dealt with ordingly. After all, the bastard had killed so many without any warning whatsoever. If the forces within the two Manors had known Miao Yi was going to go this far, they would never have allowed him to seed. ¡¯Do you really think the forces of the three major sects within the two Manor were only there for show? Damn it, you killed all of our disciples in Mount Calming Sea in a single stroke and didn¡¯t even leave a single survivor. How do you expect us to exin this to our schools?! You should¡¯ve spared a few of them at least!¡¯


    It was at this moment that everyone caught wind of the news concerning Miao Yi and Huo Lingxiao¡¯s pledge of brotherhood. Naturally, Yang Qing would not let such a perfect excuse pass him by. ¡¯I was just doing my job properly. If you have something to say, tell it to the Hall Master.¡¯


    The weight of a Hall Master¡¯s name was nothing to sneeze at. That title would only belong to a cultivator of an entirely different ss. That said, there were still a few members from the three major sects who ran to the Hall Master andined.


    As a result, Huo Lingxiao dropped a pile of jade archives on their faces and chastised¡ª ¡¯These testimonies were written by your own members themselves. I have read through all of them from front to back. Are you telling me that those who havemitted insubordination, plotted conspiracies, and defied their superior¡¯s orders should not be killed? Do you think that just by bundling up your three major sect disciples together, that you can ignore the rules of the Celestial Nation? Are you trying tomit treason? All those who are guilty will be punished with death, just like Shen Fenghua!¡¯


    Huo Lingxiao was an extremely proud person, so he didn¡¯t announce to the public that Shen Fenghua had been killed right in front of him, and instead said that he was rightfully executed for colluding with those scum from the three major sects in their insubordination! ¡¯This proves that I¡¯m a fair and just leader; I even killed my own trusted aide!¡¯


    As soon as news of this spread, the three major sects immediately stopped their advances, having found the perfect excuse to exin themselves to their schools¡ª ¡¯It¡¯s not that we¡¯re incapable. It¡¯s just that Miao Yi has someone backing him up!¡¯


    That said, the forces within Suppressing Second Hall were also secretly specting behind closed doors¡ª ¡¯It sure is nice to have someone backing you up like Miao Yi does. Even after making such a hugemotion, there¡¯s still someone to support you!¡¯


    On the other hand, Yang Qing couldn¡¯t help but feel suspicious about this incident. On one rainy day, where the verdant mountains were enveloped by the misty droplets, Yang Qing was pacing around within a beautiful pavilion. He mused, "Miao Yi really is the Hall Master¡¯s sworn brother?"


    Qing Mei replied, "Everyone within the entire Suppressing Second Hall¡¯s domain already knows about this, and the Hall Master doesn¡¯t seem to be refuting it either. It should be true."


    Yang Qing reached out to touch the trickling raindrops, lightly shaking his head as he remarked, "If Miao Yi had been the Hall Master¡¯s sworn brother right from the start, why did the Hall Master draft him in for the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?"


    Qing Ju asked, "Could they have pledged brotherhood only recently?"


    Yang Qing waved his hand and replied, "Impossible! Huo Lingxiao isn¡¯t a fool. To swear an oath of brotherhood with Miao Yi at a time like this means that he¡¯s cing himself directly against the forces of the three major sects. Huo Lingxiao wouldn¡¯t make such a careless mistake, not unless he had nothing better to do... Also, I feel as though Miao Yi has always had a rtionship with Huo Lingxiao. This whole incident seems like a n that Miao Yi has intentionallyid out. That¡¯s why he dared to brutally ughter so many people¡ªbecause he knew that Huo Lingxiao would step forward and clean up his mess for him. He had absolutely nothing to fear from the start. However, this doesn¡¯t exin why Huo Lingxiao would want to send Miao Yi to his death in the Sea of Constetions... How perplexing. How truly perplexing!"


    Yang Qing repeatedly shook his head in confusion. Even if he was some kind of omniscient celestial, he had no way of understanding the underlying motives behind these recent events...


    Within the mountain forest situated five kilometers away from the illustrious capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch, Lin Pingping and Luo Ping stood atop one of the mountains, taking turns to be on the lookout.


    Qian¡¯Er had already sent news to Lin Pingping some time ago that Miao Yi would being to the capital city, and she¡¯d asked her to make the necessary preparations for his arrival. After estimating the duration of Miao Yi¡¯s journey, Lin Pingping left the capital city ahead of time to receive him. She had already been waiting at this spot¡ªfive kilometers away from the capital city¡ªfor almost two days now, afraid of being disrespectful to Miao Yi by beingte.


    Luo Ping obviously knew that Miao Yi would being to the capital city to meet the Overlord, and had looked for Lin Pingping many times to find out about the approximate date of his arrival. As the other party had taken great care of her on many asions, Lin Pingping couldn¡¯t refuse him. It wasn¡¯t something that she had to keep secret anyway. This was how Luo Ping ended up waiting together with her at this particr location.


    Who was he kidding?! Miao Yi was a survivor of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade¡ªhe surely had a great amount of wealth on him. Such a major customer was enough for Luo Ping to temporarily cast aside all his other affairs, just so he could wee him. If he managed to handle this connection well, then he¡¯d be able to make a profit equivalent to multiple transactions in a single sitting. How could Luo Ping possibly miss out on such a golden opportunity to improve rtions?


    "They¡¯re here!" Luo Ping suddenly shouted as he pointed towards the distant ck dots along the highway.


    Lin Pingping hastily came out of the tree shade and activated her transcendence vision. After confirming that it was really the person they¡¯d been waiting for, she anxiously nodded. Perhaps it was because she hadn¡¯t seen Miao Yi for a long time, but she felt even more in awe of him from a distance.


    The two of them quickly pulled out their mounts, then rushed down the mountain on horseback. As they reached the highway, they dismounted again and continued to wait by the side.

 Chapter 451: Handover

    Chapter 451: Handover


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Name card?" Wen Fang was still a little dazed from being too excited.


    "Weren¡¯t you quite the brazen-faced and intelligent girl? Why did you suddenly turn dumb now?" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help feeling amused by Wen Fang¡¯s expression. He pointed towards Yan Beihong and the others and remarked, "The three of them are all major customers. Don¡¯t you want to give them a name card? What if they forget about you?"


    "Uhh... AH!" Wen Fang eximed. She repeatedly apologized, then hurriedly took out three name cards and handed them out with both hands as she said, "My name is Wen Fang. Please do visit me often!"


    Yan Beihong and the others burst outughing. Wen Fang¡¯s face looking as though a pie had just dropped from the sky onto her head was simply too entertaining. Even Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er, Hong Xiu, and Hong Fu couldn¡¯t help themselves.


    Wen Fang couldn¡¯t help feeling a little embarrassed. She knew that her ¡¯appearance¡¯ had looked a little too undignified, but she didn¡¯t care about that. She was simply too happy right now. With such huge transactions in hand, the managerial position of the Chamber of Commerce¡¯s South Edict City branch was as good as hers.


    "Big Brother, I have no words to thank you with, nor do I have anything I can give to you in return, but I¡¯ll definitely repay this favor someday." Wen Fang cupped her fists and deeply bowed. She was sincerely grateful to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi simply waved his hand. He never expected any form of repayment from her.


    Wen Fang then dragged the other girls away to talk about the business deal.


    Miao Yi stopped her, saying, "They still have some things left to do. You can discuss thatter on the way back."


    Puzzled, Wen Fang asked, "On the way back?"


    "We¡¯re leaving immediately. It¡¯s going to be a long journey," Miao Yi exined. He then told Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, "Go inform that guy in the mountains."


    ¡¯Who does he need to inform?¡¯ No one understood the meaning of Miao Yi¡¯s words except for Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er; he wanted them to let Yao Ruoxian know they were leaving. The twodies acknowledged the order and left.


    Yao Ruoxian had instructed the twodies to have Miao Yi see him once he was back. However, Miao Yi knew that the old fart was not a kind soul. He didn¡¯t have the time to fool around with him right now, so it was best to avoid him if possible.


    Miao Yi then had Yan Beihong and the others stay while he and Yan Xiu left for the guest quarters in the mountains at the back to see Qing Ju.


    "I respectfully greet Little Auntie." Miao Yi bowed.


    The moment she saw him, Qing Ju sneered, "Wow! Master Miao is soon to be promoted to Manor Head. Qing Ju dares not ept this bow. The next time we meet, my lord, it¡¯ll be my turn to bow. If you have anything you wish to ask of me, please don¡¯t hesitate to tell me."


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t have a good impression of Qing Mei, but he was still quite fond of Qing Ju. He gently smiled, "You¡¯re exaggerating, Little Auntie. I¡¯ve already finished settling my business with Mount Calming Sea, so I¡¯m here to hand it over to you."


    ¡¯Finished his business?¡¯ Qing Ju had heeded Yang Qing¡¯s words and stayed here to wait for Miao Yi to finish his business. But she hadn¡¯t heard of anymotion at all. And Miao Yi was telling her he was done already? ¡¯Was the Manor Head wrong in his judgment?¡¯


    Since he was here on official business, Qing Ju turned to the side and extended her arm, inviting him into the living room.


    As the two sat down, Miao Yi nodded towards Yan Xiu, and thetter immediately brought a jade archive over to Qing Ju. Written on it was the status of all one million followers under Mount Calming Sea¡¯s jurisdiction. This meant that Miao Yi was handing over the one million followers within his authority, which was also the main objective of this so-called handover procedure. After all, the source of Orbs of Will was something everyone was concerned about.


    Yan Xiu then ced a storage ring on the teapoy next to Qing Ju and opened a small wooden box, pushing it next to her as well. After which, he retreated back to Miao Yi¡¯s side.


    Qing Ju was just about to examine the jade archive in her hand when she caught sight of something in the corner of her eye¡ªthe gentle shimmering from the open box next to her. She roughly tallied the contents and estimated that there were about one thousand Orbs of Will inside.


    Qing Ju¡¯s lips curled into a yful smile as she asked, "And what is this for?"


    "These are one thousand low-grade Orbs of Will!" Miao Yi smiled, "Little Auntie has taken great care of me all these years. This is just a small token of my appreciation. Please ept it!"


    "Wow! So these are for me! One thousand orbs are equivalent to five years worth of profits from Mount Calming Sea." Qing Ju clicked her tongue and added, "Everyone says that those who make it back alive from the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade all end up ridiculously rich. I can see that the stories are true now. Is this storage ring for me too? What kind of treasure did you put inside?"


    Miao Yi coolly answered, "I¡¯d like to trouble Little Auntie to pass this over to Manor Head."


    Qing Ju gave a short response, then took up the storage ring on the teapoy. It would¡¯ve been better if she hadn¡¯t looked inside¡ªthe moment she probed it with her transcendence energy, she was utterly appalled by what she saw. Stored inside was a pile of heads, and after a brief examination, Qing Ju recognized that these were all the heads of the three major sects¡¯ disciples in Mount Calming Sea!


    Qing Ju abruptly stood up and cried out in surprise, "What is this supposed to mean?!"


    Miao Yi stood up as well and said inly, "During the time I was in the Sea of Constetions and away from Mount Calming Sea, the disciples of the three major sectsmitted crimes of insubordination, plotting conspiracies and have defied their superior¡¯s orders. As Mountain Chieftain, I obviously cannot ignore such misdeeds now that I¡¯ve returned. I am merely administering the proper punishment!"


    Qing Ju quickly infused her transcendence energy back into the storage ring and counted the number of heads inside. There were approximately ny in total. She had always been by Yang Qing¡¯s side, so she knew exactly how many members there were in his two Manors. Thus, she also knew the number of disciples from the three major sects within Mount Calming Sea. She lifted her head and said in disbelief, "You killed all the three major sects¡¯ disciples in Mount Calming Sea?"


    "Yes!" Miao Yi nodded.


    Qing Ju said furiously, "Miao Yi! Have you gone mad?! There are some things we all know but don¡¯t say out loud. It would¡¯ve been fine if you just killed some of them to vent your frustration. That way, the Manor Head could havee up with an exnation for you somehow! But now that you¡¯ve killed them all, the three major sects would surely lose face if they take this lying down. How could they possibly let you off then?! When theyeining to Manor Headter on, he won¡¯t be able to cover for you either. Do you think that just because you came back from the Sea of Constetions and had an audience with the Overlord that no one would dare me you for such a massacre? The Sect Masters of the three major sects are people who can meet the Overlord face-to-face! They are a million times stronger than you! Do you really think your own subordinates are just meat on a chopping block that you can freely cut up however you please? What do you think the rules of the Celestial Nation are there for?! If everyone acted like you, the entire cultivation realm would surely fall into chaos!"


    "Little Auntie is exaggerating!" Miao Yi dered solemnly, "Let¡¯s say that the Manor Head had external matters to attend to and so he designated you and Elder Auntie Qing Mei as interim Manor Heads. What if all the subordinates didn¡¯t hold you two in regard, or didn¡¯t bow to you in respect, or even made tant remarks about your appearances? What would the Manor Head do if he were to find out? Let¡¯s say that the subordinates never reported to you and instead consulted the people from the three major sects. That they ignored your official decrees and even colluded with one another to wrest away authority from your hands? That they even went as far as to have you entertaining guests and nned to sell you both to wait on someone else in bed? How would the Manor Head have reacted to all that? Killing them was already a light punishment. I just hate that I couldn¡¯t kill more of them!"


    Qing Ju waspletely taken aback. She sighed and said, "I know that you¡¯re angry, but given that the situation was not yet irretrievably bad, you only needed to endure it for a little while longer and it would have all been over!"


    "Endure it? I have to endure the people I can¡¯t win against, and now I even have to endure the people I can win against? Why am I Mountain Chieftain then? I might as well go back to being a Horse Deputy. At least that way I won¡¯t have any subordinates to anger me!"


    "What¡¯s the point in saying these things in anger? Have you never thought about the consequences of your actions?"


    "I¡¯m not a reckless man. I have written testimonies with me. If I can¡¯t even kill those who havemitted such treacheries, then the entire cultivation realm would truly fall into chaos!"


    "Written testimonies?" With a scornful expression, Qing Juughed coldly and said, "Oh! I remember now. You still have those School of Blue Jade disciples. You¡¯re not that naive to think that their written testimonies would actually work, right? The people from the three major sects could simply argue that they¡¯re colluding with you. After all, you were the one who recruited them to Mount Calming Sea in the first ce. The three major sects could easily dismiss whatever the School of Blue Jade disciples have written down against their members. When that happens, you will be in a great deal of trouble! And when they notice how bad the situation is to them, do you think those School of Blue Jade disciples won¡¯t turn against you? By then, there will be no escaping death for you!"


    As she said this, she couldn¡¯t helpmenting, "Oh, Miao Yi! You were too rash! You have such a bright future ahead of you. Why couldn¡¯t you just hold it in? Don¡¯t you men always say that it¡¯s never toote for revenge? Why did you have to be so reckless? What are you going to do about this now?!"


    "I appreciate Little Auntie¡¯s concern." Miao Yi nodded, then took out a bunch of jade archives and continued, "I would like to trouble Little Auntie to hand these over to Manor Head. You might as well go through them before you decide whether or not to reprimand me!"


    These were none other than the written testimonies of the three major sects¡¯ disciples exposing one another¡¯s crimes.


    Qing Ju immediately looked through the jade archives, her face growing more confused the more she read. When she was done, she asked in shock, "How can this be? Why would the disciples of the three major sects expose each other¡¯s crimes?"


    Miao Yi asked, "Does Little Auntie think it¡¯s possible for me to forge their transcendent seals? I think perhaps not even the Six Sages themselves can achieve such a feat. Look closely. Compared to the written testimonies from the School of Blue Jade disciples, there are actually more written testimonies from the disciples of the three major sects themselves in the pile. This is the truth admitted by every single person in the entire Mount Calming Sea. There isn¡¯t a more irrefutable piece of evidence than this. Dare I ask, would this shut the mouths of those from the three major sects then?"


    Qing Ju was at a loss for words. She asked, "How did you manage to do this?"


    Miao Yi dodged the question and said, "To tell you the truth, Little Auntie, I¡¯ve only given you half of the written testimonies to be handed over to Manor Head. To avoid any mishaps, I will be personally taking the other half over to Suppressing Second Hall to seek justice! I hope that Little Auntie will ask Manor Head on my behalf to judge this matter professionally!" What he was implying was¡ª¡¯Yang Qing shouldn¡¯t let himself be influenced by the forces of the three major sects. I still have a card up my sleeve!¡¯


    He was even on guard against Yang Qing now! Qing Ju¡¯s expression twisted in dismay as she asked, "How did you do it? Why would those people dig their own graves like this?!"


    ¡¯I don¡¯t need to exin that far!¡¯ Miao Yi cupped his fists and said, "If Little Auntie doesn¡¯t have any other questions, please sign the handover documents. I still need to report to Suppressing Second Hall!"


    Qing Ju couldn¡¯t help feeling conflicted as she stared at Miao Yi for a while. Truth be told, she was kind of hoping that Miao Yi would get together with Qin Weiwei, as she thought that they made quite a nice pair with one another. Not to mention, with Miao Yiing back alive from the Sea of Constetions and bing Manor Head at such a tender age, his status wouldn¡¯t be any lower than Yang Qing¡¯s. This made Qing Ju even more sure of herself. However, now she finally understood how Yang Qing felt. It could be said that Miao Yi¡¯s actions had caused her nerves to bepletely on edge. What kind of parent would dare hand their daughter over to such a dangerous man?!


    She had watched this man slowly climb his way up from the bottom, and now he would no longer be bound by Yang Qing and was about to spread his wings and soar. Qing Ju didn¡¯t know how much further he would be able to fly, or if his wings would end up being clipped in the near future. In conclusion, she didn¡¯t know where Miao Yi would go after this. From now on, it would be hard for him and Qin Weiwei to meet again. Perhaps it was best for their paths to never cross again!


    Qing Ju sighed deeply, then signed on the handover documents...

 Chapter 452: Big Brother Xiao?

    Chapter 452: Big Brother Xiao?


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    After Qing Ju tucked away the handover documents, Miao Yi handed her another jade archive, "I¡¯d like to trouble you for one more thing, Little Auntie. Once I¡¯ve confirmed the location of my new appointment, I¡¯d like to have these people handed over to me. I trust that this shouldn¡¯t be a big problem for you so I won¡¯t be bothering Manor Head over this."


    Qing Ju looked through the jade archive, then cast a sideways nce to the Orbs of Will on the teapoy, asking, "Is that why you¡¯re giving me this gift?"


    "Please don¡¯t tease me about it, Little Auntie!"


    "I¡¯ll see what I can do!" Qing Ju sighed. She then extended her arm and personally escorted Miao Yi to the exit.


    At the door, Miao Yi cupped his fists and bade Qing Ju farewell. With a bitter smile, Qing Ju said, "You¡¯ll bepletely offending the three major sects by doing this. Even if they don¡¯t have an excuse toe after you right now, but when they do, they surely won¡¯t let you go!"


    Miao Yi originally didn¡¯t n on saying much, but hearing Qing Ju¡¯s heartfelt concern, he couldn¡¯t help smiling as he replied, "Do you think that the three major sects would have let me go if I didn¡¯t kill these people? Perhaps you didn¡¯t know this, but the three major sects even sent their members to take my life in the Subjugation Crusade. If I don¡¯t give them some response, they might think that I¡¯m a pushover. Even if I were to suck it up and just leave, those bastards might not necessarily give up on trying to humiliate me. To still cower in fear when my own women were almost sent to warm someone else¡¯s bed... Such mockery will continue to haunt me wherever I go. Let me ask you this, Little Auntie. When this happens, how could I face my subordinates as their leader? How would I get the authority I need to stand firm in my position? If I don¡¯t do this, how will I get them to shut up? "


    "It looks like you¡¯ve already thought things through. I was worried for nothing then." Qing Ju no longer wished to discuss this further. What¡¯s done has been done. What she needed to do now was to clean up the mess in Mount Calming Sea. She extended her arm and said, "Sorry I can only send you this far. Take care on the road ahead!"


    "Take care, Little Auntie!" Miao Yi cupped his fists, then strode off.


    After which, Miao Yi told Fan Zizhang that he was leaving. It ¡¯just so happened¡¯ that Fan Zizhang was about to return to Suppressing Second Hall as well, so he tagged along with Miao Yi.


    The School of Blue Jade disciples escorted Miao Yi and the others to the mountain gates, then watched as they departed.


    "How fast indeed! It¡¯s only been around a dozen years or so since my lord was promoted to Mountain Chieftain, and now he¡¯s being promoted to Manor Head already. It¡¯s truly a futile attempt topare ourselves to him!" Tian Qingfeng couldn¡¯t help letting out a sigh as he watched the figures slowly disappearing in the distance. He naturally felt regretful for his decision. If he hadn¡¯t changed his allegiance back then, Miao Yi would¡¯ve surely brought him along as well. And as soon as Miao Yi became a Manor Head, he would¡¯ve definitely be a Mountain Chieftain.


    But s, there was no medicine that could cure regret in this world. Tian Qingfeng knew deep down, that even if he were given a second chance, he would¡¯ve made the same decision as back then. When faced with such a threat, he had no choice but to prioritize his own life...


    South Edict Manor. At the mountaintop, a spirit eagle perched itself under a great tree. Qing Mei curiously took out the storage ring from the cylinder by the spirit eagle¡¯s feet, and almost couldn¡¯t help her surprise when she examined its contents with her transcendence energy. There were so many heads inside. She soon noticed a stack of jade archives inside as well. She took out the one at the top of the pile and realized that it was from Qing Ju.


    Her expression turned grave as she read the jade archive, and she quickly rushed inside the pavilion, where Yang Qing was sitting in meditation. Qing Mei said, "Master, something big just happened in Mount Calming Sea, and it¡¯s much more serious than you initially thought. Qing Ju sent this over!"


    Yang Qing¡¯s eyes immediately shot open. He received the storage ring and examined it, and in the next instant, jumped down the bed furiously. He snatched the jade archive from Qing Mei and quickly went over it.


    Once he was done reading and had some understanding of the situation, he took out the other jade archives inside the storage ring and read through every single one of them. As he finished reading one, he handed it over to Qing Mei to look through as well.


    Once every jade archive was handed over to Qing Mei, Yang Qing ced his hands behind his back and sighed. "Not bad indeed. He¡¯s a bold one alright. This must be the exuberance of youth!"


    "His grudge against the three major sects is pretty much set in stone with this. They definitely won¡¯t let him go!" Qing Mei said.


    "Since he¡¯s brave enough to go this far, then he must be able to shoulder the responsibility!" Yang Qing scoffed. He was a little displeased that Miao Yi was bringing the other half of the written testimonies to Suppressing Second Hall. This was clearly a precautionary measure against him.


    With a flip of his hand, Yang Qing took out a jade archive and wrote down an official decree. He then handed it over to Qing Mei and instructed, "Send this over to Qing Ju!¡¯


    Qing Mei looked through the contents, and couldn¡¯t help feeling a little surprised. She asked, "You¡¯re appointing Tian Qingfeng as Mountain Chieftain? I don¡¯t think the members of the three major sects will agree to this!"


    "Is there anyone who knows Mount Calming Sea better than Tian Qingfeng at this point? Their own three major sects¡¯ members have already exposed so many of their heinous deeds. Don¡¯t you think they would want to avoid the limelight, at least for the time being? The moreplicated the power struggle between the forces within the two Manors, the better. It¡¯s not a good thing for them to be united, so just let them continue fighting against one another. Miao Yi has just sent me such a perfect excuse, how could I not use it to its maximum potential?!" Yang Qing calmly exined...


    When Miao Yi and the others were about to reach South Edict City, Yan Beihong, Hong Xiu, and Hong Fu separated from the rest of them, as they still needed to rush back to the First Earthly Branch. They couldn¡¯t just continue staying in the Fifth Earthly Branch after all. Wen Fang returned to South Edict City as well.


    Along the way to Suppressing Second Hall, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er rode behind Miao Yi and the others atop their ck-Scaled Drake Beasts. It was truly an imposing sight to have these two spiritual beasts as mounts.


    As they were about to reach Suppressing Second Hall, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei broke off from the others as well. Both parties agreed to meet again in the capital city.


    The remaining five people proceeded into the vast mountains, heading straight for Suppressing Second Hall.


    When they reached Suppressing Second Hall, Miao Yi and the others waited in front of the lofty pce while Fan Zizhang went in to announce their arrival. As it was their first time visiting, Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t contain their astonishment at the rolling clouds, the precipitous cliffs, and the overall beautiful scenery around them. It would be no exaggeration to call this ce heaven on earth. Mount Calming Sea was nothingpared to this.


    On the other hand, Miao Yi was staring in deep thought towards the inside of the tall pce gates.


    "Mountain Chieftain Miao, the Hall Master has permitted you all to ride in on your mounts. This is a great honor indeed!"


    After he made his report, Fan Zizhang came back out bearing good news. However, his expression didn¡¯t seem too good. After all, he had failed toplete the task the Hall Master assigned to him. Even though he managed to sabotage Shen Fenghua and ced all the me on him, he didn¡¯t expect that Huo Lingxiao would also scold him for being useless.


    What did it mean to be called useless? Fan Zizhang felt terribly vexed deep down.


    Miao Yi cupped his fists as a show of thanks for the Hall Master¡¯s kind consideration. He didn¡¯t reject the offer and led Yan Xiu and the others straight in on their mounts.


    They then made their way across the wide za and came before the main entrance of the harem. After noticing that Tian Yu and Liu Xing were already waiting by the entrance, Miao Yi hurriedly waved his hand and signaled for Yan Xiu and the others to dismount.


    Just as they were getting ready to bow, Tian Yu and Liu Xing had already curtsied and greeted, "We respectfully greet Lord Miao!"


    Despite already knowing the truth deep down, Miao Yi feigned a look of surprise and quickly stepped forward to bow back. "Aunties, this won¡¯t do. It is I who should be respectfully greeting you instead!"


    To the side, Fan Zizhang, Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er were absolutely dumbfounded. To think the two Aunties of Suppressing Second Hall would actually call Miao Yi ¡¯Lord Miao¡¯. Even if it was a show of respect, this was simply too great of an honor.


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing¡¯s lips curled into a smile as they pretended to be mysterious. They turned their bodies to the side and extended their arms as they said, "Lord Miao, pleasee inside!"


    Miao Yi immediately followed them in timidly. He didn¡¯t dare put on any airs and left his mount outside.


    They entered the tranquil garden and eventually made their way to the center of the harem, where they saw Huo Lingxiao standing at the top of the steps leading to the main hall¡ªhe was looking at them with a face full of smiles.


    "Big Brother Xiao?" Miao Yi asked in confusion.


    Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er had seen Huo Lingxiao before back in East Arrival Cave, so they were naturally surprised as well.


    ¡¯What Big Brother Xiao?¡¯ Fan Zizhang was absolutely puzzled.


    Tian Yu and Liu Xing stepped forward and reported, "Hall Master, Lord Miao has arrived."


    "Hall Master?!" Miao Yi eximed, his face in apparent shock.


    Yan Xiu and the others were obviously even more startled!


    "Haha!" It seemed as though Huo Lingxiao was quite pleased with Miao Yi¡¯s and the others¡¯ reactions. He let out a hearty guffaw and quickly walked down the steps, then grabbed Miao Yi¡¯s arm in a very familiar manner and said, "My dear Little Brother, I have waited for you for a long time. Come! Have a seat inside!"


    Tian Yu couldn¡¯t help smiling as she followed them in, whereas Liu Xing tried to stifle herughter as she invited Yan Xiu and the others into the side hall.


    Fan Zizhang was so shocked that he kept turning to look back with every step he took.


    As Miao Yi entered the main hall, he seemed to still have trouble believing the situation before him. He asked slowly, "Big Brother Xiao is the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall?"


    "Huo Lingxiao, Suppressing Second (Yi) Hall¡¯s master (Zhu). Hence, Xiao Yizhu. Is there something wrong with that?" Huo Lingxiao spread his arms out and teased, "Have you still not figured it out yet, my dear Little Brother?"


    Miao Yi hastily bowed, "This subordinate respectfully greets the Hall Master!"


    Huo Lingxiao reached out and pulled him up, saying, "There¡¯s no need for such formalities between us brothers. Rx. Show me that courage of yours back when you threatened me in the plum garden."


    "Pfft!" Tian Yu stifled herughter as she served some scented tea.


    "Let¡¯s sit down and talk. Today, there shall be no difference in status between us. Just two brothers meeting together." Huo Lingxiao pulled Miao Yi down to his seat. The two of them were separated by a teapoy.


    Miao Yi said sheepishly, "Hall Master, surely you jest. This subordinate cannot handle such jokes."


    "I just said there isn¡¯t going to be any difference in status between us here. Why are you still calling me Hall Master?" Huo Lingxiao feigned an angry look and said, "Little Brother, if you continue to be so polite, your Big Brother here is going to be angry."


    "Since Big Brother has put it that way, then your Little Brother will speak freely then!" Miao Yi revealed an expression of relief and added, "Truth be told, I¡¯m at fault for being too dumb not to have realized this sooner. I should¡¯ve pieced everything together back when I saw Hall Master Wu in charge of the fleet heading to the Sea of Constetions.


    Speaking of this matter, Huo Lingxiao sighed and said, "Little Brother, I¡¯m deeply sorry for the matter with the Sea of Constetions. I didn¡¯t think about it too much at the time and left everything to Tian Yu¡¯s discretion." He pointed a finger to Tian Yu, then added, "Who would¡¯ve guessed that my subordinates had drafted you in as well. It¡¯s my fault for being too concerned for my own status that I didn¡¯t reveal that you and I are actually sworn brothers. Tian Yu didn¡¯t know about this either, and as a result, she blindly approved your participation and put you through such perilous dangers. I only realized that I¡¯d almost made a big mistake when I saw the list of returnees from the Sea of Constetions. It was most fortunate that you were able to return safely, dear Little Brother. Otherwise, your Big Brother would be racked with guilt for the rest of his life!"


    Miao Yiughed bitterly. "Big Brother, you really had me fooled. If I¡¯d known you were the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall, I would have definitelye looking for you back then."


    "Aii! I hope you will not take this matter to heart, Little Brother. Please forgive your Big Brother for his moment of carelessness." Huo Lingxiao put on an embarrassed face. He believed that Miao Yi was speaking the truth. If thetter had known about his identity, he would¡¯ve surelye looking for him back then.


    Miao Yi replied earnestly, "You didn¡¯t mean to do it either. There¡¯s no need to me yourself, Big Brother. I never thought that the brother I swore an oath with in the heat of the moment would turn out to be a Hall Master. I¡¯m a lucky one indeed."


    In Huo Lingxiao¡¯s eyes, Miao Yi had indeed made an acquaintance with someone of a higher standing. As such, Huo Lingxiao fully believed that Miao Yi was speaking the truth. He chuckled and said, "Since I have no way to take back the mistake that I¡¯ve made, it¡¯s obvious that I should make up for it somehow. To that end, I¡¯ve sought the Pce Lord¡¯s help specifically, and the Pce Lord has also agreed that if you choose to stay within the Traversing Moon Pce, you would be ced in charge of the area with the only crystal coin mine within the Pce Lord¡¯s domain. My dear Little Brother, this is a truly rewarding, yet cushy job to have!"

 Chapter 458: Some Happy, Some Sad

    Chapter 458: Some Happy, Some Sad


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Brother Ding hase!"


    "Brother Ren is here as well."


    Outside one of the mansions on Jade Capital Peak, there stood a teller of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce, surnamed Ding. As he arrived, he soon discovered many of his colleagues were here as well. There were about a dozen of them standing under the shade of a tree.


    Teller Ding proceeded to cup his fists and exchange pleasantries with his colleagues. Among them, Ren Xuanming swept his gaze across the crowd and remarked sarcastically, "It looks like other than those who are on duty, everyone else has temporarily ced all other business aside toe here."


    The crowd chuckled as they thought, ¡¯We could say the same for you.¡¯


    Having just arrived, Teller Ding didn¡¯t know why everyone else was just waiting here. He didn¡¯t bother asking either and simply proceeded to cup his fists towards the servant guarding by the gates of the mansion, saying, "My name is Ding Haoran, and I¡¯m a teller from the Chamber of Commerce. I request an audience with Manor Head Zhao. Please help me send the word to him."


    When his colleagues under the shade heard this, they couldn¡¯t help revealing an awkward expression. The servant was then seen replying politely, "Manor Head Zhao is not here."


    Ding Haoran asked curiously, "Hasn¡¯t he registered himself already?"


    The servant replied, "Yes, he has. But he only briefly looked around the ce before going back out. It looks like he went off to visit a friend."


    As a servant, he shouldn¡¯t be revealing so much information. However, at the end of the day, this ce was still the property of the Chamber of Commerce, and these people were all its employees. Hence, as a lowly loose cultivator who needed to rely on the Chamber of Commerce to survive, he didn¡¯t dare offend them and had no choice but to reply honestly.


    Ding Haoran was stumped as he slowly turned to look at his colleagues standing under the shade of the tree. He finally understood why they were waiting here.


    After musing to himself for a while, Ding Haoran cupped his fists towards his colleagues, then turned around and went on his way. He intended to visit the other person who had just arrived¡ªManor Head Sikong.


    Under the shade, Ren Xuanming yelled, "Brother Ding, stop wasting your energy! That Manor Head Sikong and this Manor Head Zhao arrived together. Afterward, they left together as well. You¡¯d be running around for nothing, so you might as well wait here with us. When this Manor Head Zhao returns, he¡¯ll surely pass by this ce and we¡¯ll be able to see him clearly then. We won¡¯t miss him."


    Ding Haoran was stunned. In the end, there was little he could do butugh bitterly as he walked on over to the shade.


    Not long after, the crowd noticed another person approaching with rushed steps through a small path in the forest. This person was none other than Luo Ping.


    He was supposed to be on duty in the Chamber of Commerce today, but after finding out from someone that Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had registered themselves in Jade Capital Peak, he immediately applied for emergency leave and rushed here. No matter how low his odds of sess were, he had to give it a shot somehow.


    When he arrived, he immediately noticed the crowd that was already here and couldn¡¯t help remarking deep down, ¡¯These bastards sure react quickly.¡¯


    Little did Luo Ping know that by taking the initiative with Miao Yi before this, he¡¯d taught these people a lesson and caused them to keep such a close eye on the mansions at Jade Capital Peak. Thus, the moment Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei registered themselves, there was an immediate reaction from these people.


    Like all the others before him, Luo Ping was quite puzzled as to why these people were waiting here. Facing the sneaky smiles of his colleagues, he cupped his fists at them, then proceeded to ask the servant by the gate about Manor Head Zhao. Unsurprisingly, he received the same response as the rest of them.


    Luo Ping immediately understood everything. Just as he was about to go visit the other Manor Head, Ren Xuanming was already beckoning him over with his hand and said teasingly, "Brother Luo, don¡¯t trouble yourself any further. Just wait here with us..."


    These were the same words as before, and it caused the entire crowd to break out intoughter.


    ¡¯No wonder all these people are waiting here!¡¯ Luo Ping was feeling quite helpless, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to live with himself if he gave up now. Hence, he too started walking towards the shade of the tree.


    However, he had only taken a few steps forward when he suddenly halted, turning to look at the mansion behind him. He then shifted his gaze towards another mansion on the mountain and thought, ¡¯Ah! This seems like one of the two other mansions that Lin Pingping had reserved in addition to Miao Yi¡¯s. Then could it be... visiting a friend...¡¯


    Luo Ping¡¯s eyes instantly brightened, and he bade farewell to his colleagues with cupped fists.


    ¡¯He¡¯s not waiting anymore?¡¯ The crowd was puzzled from Luo Ping¡¯s sudden retreat. However, Ren Xuanming noticed something suspicious from the shift in Luo Ping¡¯s expression. He shouted, "Brother Luo, you¡¯re not going to wait anymore?!"


    Luo Ping didn¡¯t even turn around. He simply waved his hand and answered, "I have to be on duty."


    This was obviously just a cursory reply. In truth, Luo Ping headed straight for Miao Yi¡¯s mansion immediately after. The people standing guard knew that he was Miao Yi¡¯s acquaintance, so they let him in soon after announcing his arrival.


    When Luo Ping entered the rear garden, he noticed there were a few unfamiliar faces standing guard. He made his way along the small winding path to the quiet pavilion atop the rockery. There, he noticed three people sitting down. Miao Yi was among them, but the other two werepletely unfamiliar faces.


    Luo Ping¡¯s heart thumped as he figured his hunch was all but assured at this point. He quickly made his way up the rockery, then cupped his fists at Miao Yi, while his gaze was focused on Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei instead. He asked, "Brother Miao, are these two friends..?"


    Miao Yi lightly pped on the table andughed. "Zhao Fei, Sikong, it looks like someone is here to buy you two dinner."


    Zhao Fei replied with a simple ¡¯Oh.¡¯ After which, he and Sikong Wuwei proceeded to examine Luo Ping, a little confused as to what was happening.


    Miao Yi had even called out their names already. Luo Ping was immediately beside himself with joy. The people he was looking for were here as expected. Since Miao Yi had reserved mansions for these two, they must have a rather close rtionship. Luo Ping was relieved to have finally found a solution to his problem. He hastily took out his name card and handed it to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei as he introduced himself.


    As Luo Ping sat down, heughed bitterly at Miao Yi, "Brother Miao, why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier that you¡¯re friends with these two Manor Heads? I had to go through so much trouble because of you. Just now, I was at one of the mansions the two Manor Heads were staying in, and much to my dismay, the people in question weren¡¯t there at all."


    However, deep down he was sighing in astonishment, ¡¯It looks like this man is quite close to all the Subjugation Crusade survivors of the Fifth Earthly Branch. What a stroke of luck.¡¯


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei looked at one another. They understood the purpose of Luo Ping¡¯s visit now, but the two of them couldn¡¯t simply agree to do business with him, as they had already promised Miao Yi¡¯s ¡¯Little Sister¡¯.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t reply to Luo Ping and instead shouted to Yan Xiu, who was standing guard at the bottom of the rockery. "Yan Xiu, go prepare a weing feast for the two Manor Heads."


    "I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯m very familiar with the capital city. I¡¯ll go make the arrangements." Luo Ping immediately jumped at the chance to organize the weing feast, and stated clearly to everyone around¡ª ¡¯Don¡¯t anyone take this away from me¡¯ . He then quickly departed to make the preparations.


    When Luo Ping left, Sikong Wuwei asked, "What¡¯s up with that?"


    Miao Yi briefly exined the story to them. He then said, "Last time, I only told him about how I promised my business to Wen Fang after the meal. This time, you two can do the same as well. When you guys get to know each other better afterward, you can use his name as a deterrent to deal with all the other annoying people from the Chamber of Commerce. He¡¯s already used to it anyway."


    As such, after the weing banquet that night, it was to no one¡¯s surprise that Luo Ping¡¯s reaction was that of a bitterugh. He shook his head in resignation as he pointed at Miao Yi who had him fooled.


    As the banquet ended, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei went back to their own mansions, their bodies reeking of alcohol. And as expected, they were met with arge group of people by the entrance. They didn¡¯t beat around the bush and quickly used Luo Ping¡¯s name to turn down all these people and send them away. That way they wouldn¡¯t be offending the other party either.


    All the tellers could simply go back crestfallen. One of them grumbled, "We waited the whole day here for nothing."


    Anotherined resentfully, "That bastard Luo Ping has actually taken hold of three of them on his own. It looks like he¡¯ll surely take the top spot for the sales rankings at the end of the year. How lucky can he get..."


    "Luck? How can he be so lucky all the time..." Ren Xuanming mumbled to himself as he stood alone in front of the gates of Zhao Fei¡¯s mansion. Suddenly, his eyes brightened as he seemed to have figured something out. He quickly rushed to Miao Yi¡¯s mansion. However, he didn¡¯t go inside and only asked the servant guarding the gate a few questions via voice transmission.


    After confirming that Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had indeed left this ce after having drinks, Ren Xuanming departed with a grim face...


    Over the next few days, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin of the three major sects had arrived as well. The day for the Fifth Earthly Branch survivors of the Subjugation Crusade to report to Jade Capital Peak was just around the corner. None of them would think of arriving precisely on the day itself, as they wouldn¡¯t be able to shoulder the responsibility if something were to happen to cause them to bete. Hence, they all made it a few days ahead of time.


    Even though there were people from the Chamber of Commerce assigned specifically to deal with the trades from the three major sects on a regr basis, Ren Xuanming was still unwilling to give up. He didn¡¯t want to lose out to Luo Ping in the sales rankings at the end of the year. Hence, when he heard that the members of the three major sects had arrived, he still chose to look for them, despite everyone else having already given up.


    As the first one to arrive, Gu Sanzheng did grant Ren Xuanming an audience, surprisingly. As the two of them sat in the living room, Ren Xuanming took out a gift box again and smiled as he pushed it to Gu Sanzheng. "Brother Gu. I hope you¡¯ll ept this small gift of mine tomemorate our first meeting."


    When the other party told him of his identity, Gu Sanzheng immediately knew what he was here for. He didn¡¯t wish to meet with him originally. However, he figured he shouldn¡¯t go around offending people carelessly, so he ultimately decided to grant Ren Xuanming an audience.


    Gu Sanzheng showed no signs of epting the gift. He was always the frigid type. He wasted no time in exining the harsh truth to Ren Xuanming right from the start. "Brother Ren, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t wish to work together with you. It¡¯s just that my school has always maintained a partnership with one of the seniors in your Chamber of Commerce. I cannot make such a decision on my own."


    Ren Xuanming was still unwilling to give up. He chuckled and said, "Even if we can¡¯t do business, we can still be friends. I have long admired Brother Gu. Tonight, I¡¯ll be organizing a weing banquet in Spring Glory House for Brother Gu. I hope you¡¯ll do me the honor of attending."


    In the end, Gu Sanzheng declined Ren Xuanming¡¯s gift, as well as his invitation for the weing banquet using the excuse saying that he had some other matters to attend to. Ren Xuanming ultimately left with an awkward expression on his face.


    He unexpectedly bumped into Luo Ping as he exited the gate. The two of them were not particrly close to begin with. Luo Ping could tell what just happened from the look on Ren Xuanming¡¯s face. He mocked, "Brother Ren, you really don¡¯t know when to quit! Why torment yourself so?"


    "Hmph!" Ren Xuanming flicked his sleeves and left.


    Luo Ping didn¡¯t want to waste time with him either. He proceeded to ask the guard by the entrance to announce his arrival, and after getting permission to enter, he walked inside the mansion.


    Having not gone far, Ren Xuanming creased his brows as he thought, ¡¯I ended up failing. How can that bastard be so confident? Otherwise, why would he mock me so?¡¯


    He walked to the forest with quick steps, then abruptly turned around and hid himself between the trees.


    Inside the living room of the mansion, as Luo Ping presented to Gu Sanzheng his name card and introduced himself, he noticed a slight annoyance from thetter¡¯s face. He immediately took out Miao Yi¡¯s ¡¯rmendation letter¡¯ and handed it out with both arms as he said, "Brother Gu, I was asked to hand this to you by a friend."


    Gu Sanzheng was somewhat confused. As he took the jade archive and examined it with his transcendence energy, he couldn¡¯t help his surprise...


    By the time Luo Ping came out from the gate, his expression was practically glowing. Miao Yi¡¯s rmendation letter was very effective indeed. Even though the other party hadn¡¯t openly promised him anything, and had refused the weing banquet as well, his expression was significantly better after reading the letter. Gu Sanzheng even said to Luo Ping that he would have to trouble him if he ever needed his help.


    Luo Ping was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, while the other person was going to be a Manor Head who would oversee an entire domain. What could he ever need Luo Ping¡¯s help with? It wasn¡¯t as though Luo Ping could fight and kill Gu Sanzheng¡¯s enemies for him. Obviously, the other party meant that he would look for him whenever he had something to sell. Having gotten a major customer, Luo Ping¡¯s mood was naturally good.


    After Luo Ping left, Ren Xuanming slowly walked out of the forest he was hiding in. Luo Ping was in the mansion for a longer time than he was, and judging from his expression, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what had happened. Ren Xuanming¡¯s expression instantly darkened!


    Over the next few days, Ren Xuanming went to look for Tan Lao and Ye Xin as well. However, it was to no avail. None of them were willing to trade with him.


    The other tellers from the Chamber of Commerce seemed to know it would end like this, so none of them came to visit those three. The only ones that did were him and Luo Ping. However, judging from his secret surveince of the situation, it was evident that he and Luo Ping had received two entirely different treatments.


    Hiding in the darkness as he watched Luo Ping leave Ye Xin¡¯s mansion in a jubnt manner, Ren Xuanming gnashed his teeth in hatred and said, "The three major sects are just bullying me!"


    That said, it wasn¡¯t as though he could do anything to the three major sects. One, the three major sects had a rather decent rtionship with the Chamber of Commerce. And two, not anyone could afford to offend the forces of the three major sects within the Fifth Earthly Branch. Their Sect Masters were individuals who could meet the Overlord directly. If he were to offend them, then given the connections they had, they didn¡¯t need to spare much effort to take care of a measly employee from the Chamber of Commerce. There was nothing Ren Xuanming could do but leave resentfully...

 Chapter 459: Sudden Calamity

    Chapter 459: Sudden Cmity


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Elder Sister Shao Ah. Come look!"


    As she walked along the crowded market, Xue¡¯Er turned around and shouted to a beautiful girl dressed in an elegant off-shoulder robe. The girl was looking around with curiosity, but immediately rushed over to Xue¡¯Er when she heard thetter call her name.


    Behind her, Qian¡¯Er, Tai Ah, Wang Fang, and Wang Lian also came over to see what the fuss was about.


    Tai Ah and Shao Ah were Zhao Fei¡¯s handmaidens, and Wang Fang and Wang Lian were Sikong Wuwei¡¯s handmaidens. All three masters had given their girls a few days off, insisting that they need not worry about their duties and to have fun in the capital city instead. Perhaps it was a form ofpensation on their part for having worried thesedies for so many years.


    That said, this highly populous capital city was as unbelievably huge as it was extravagant. It was not a ce that the sixdies could fully enjoy to their hearts¡¯ content in just one or two days. What¡¯s more, considering it was such a hard-toe-by opportunity, thedies decided to make full use of their time here, heading off early every single morning anding backte every single night as they fully immersed themselves in all that the capital city had to offer.


    Thedies gathered together and looked towards an intricately-designed crystal fish tank. Slowly swimming around inside it was a group of fish which were almost bloated like balls. Their sheer cuteness immediately garnered thedies¡¯ affection.


    As thedies surrounded the fish tank and pointed at the swimming creatures excitedly, a tall, thin man holding a fan swaggered by with around half a dozen escorts following behind him. The stall owners on both sides of the street immediately revealed frightened looks.


    When the thin man passed by thedies, he slightly raised an eyebrow at them, then sent an abrupt p towards Qian¡¯Er¡¯s supple buttocks; since she was staring at the fish tank, her upper body was already bent forward. The crisp sound of the p quickly echoed throughout the area.


    "AH!" Against this sudden assault, Qian¡¯Er eximed in shock and quickly covered her butt. When the otherdies turned around, they watched as Qian¡¯Er sent out a kick by reflex. Two of the thin man¡¯s escorts quickly stood in front of him to block Qian¡¯Er¡¯s retaliation, but not only were they unable to protect their master, the three of them spat out a mouthful of blood and were sent flying altogether.


    The trio crashed into a stall on the opposite end of the street and knocked down several fish tanks, spilling water everywhere and causing the different types of fish to flop around on the ground.


    All three men were sprawled on the floor. The escort standing in front who¡¯d taken the brunt of the attack was already dead in a pool of his own blood, while the other escort kept vomiting blood. As for the thin man, he felt a strong haziness in his mind, and vigorously shook his head to dispel the dizziness. If there weren¡¯t two other people standing in front of him just now, being a mortal, he would have surely died from the attack of an immortal cultivator like Qian¡¯Er.


    The other three escorts quickly helped the thin man up. Two of them even pointed to Qian¡¯Er furiously and were about to retaliate. However, when they saw the three-petaled white lotus mark on her forehead, they were instantly dazed. Still, their fingers pointed at her furiously as they barked, "How dare you attack someone in the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch. Do you have any idea who you just hit?"


    The otherdies could already guess what had happened based on the loud pping sound earlier and after seeing that Qian¡¯Er was covering her butt. They were all utterly infuriated. Seeing her elder sister being taken advantage of, Xue¡¯Er was all the more beside herself with rage. Thedies immediately stepped forward and caused those escorts that stood in their path to wail in agony as they sent them flying with a kick, which had most likely killed these mortals on the spot.


    Fortunately, Lin Pingping had been standing close by. With a worried look on her face, she quickly rushed over to stop Xue¡¯Er and the others as she hastily warned, "We cannot use force here."


    Xue¡¯Er waspletely blinded by fury. She barked angrily, "Move aside! Let me kill him!"


    The thin man had regained his senses but was immediately thrust into a state of fear the next second. He frantically backed away, but soon fell back to the ground and stumbled his way backward. He waspletely terrified. He¡¯d never imagined that someone would dare attack him in the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch.


    Standing in a shop nearby, Ren Xuanming couldn¡¯t help his surprise at the boldness of thesedies. He also hadn¡¯t expected that they would dare to use physical force against someone in the capital city. If thesedies had really killed the person who¡¯d taken advantage of them just now, they would definitely end up in big trouble.


    Lin Pingping hastily stopped thedies, and warned them in a low voice, "That man is Huyan Shou, the 38th generation¡¯s grandson of the Celestial Sage¡¯s eldest disciple Huyan Taibao. He¡¯s not someone we can afford to offend."


    Thedies were astonished to hear that this thin man was actually a descendant of the Celestial Sage¡¯s disciple, and they quickly quelled the fury in their hearts. Even though they knew that the other party was just a mortal, they understood that he was not someone to be trifled with.


    Her face pale from anger, Qian¡¯Er clenched her teeth and said, "Forget it. Let¡¯s go!" The only reason she decided to let this matter go was because she didn¡¯t want to cause trouble for her master.


    But s, it was no longer possible for them to leave, as an rm had already begun to ring nearby. Soon, nine cultivators flew over from three separate directions. They were all wearing the same uniform and had a badge engraved with the word ¡¯Martial¡¯ hanging around their waist. Clearly, these people were the Martial Manor¡¯s cultivators who were tasked with regting safety and security within the capital city.


    When they saw Huyan Shou¡¯s miserable state, the nine enforcers couldn¡¯t help their surprise. They never thought that someone would actually dare to hit him within the capital city. They quickly interrogated some of the bystanders on what happened in the area, then surrounded thedies as they barked coldly, "As a cultivator, how dare you ignore thews andmit murder in the capital city. You all must be tired of living!"


    Noticing that the enforcers had arrived, Huyan Shou instantly felt a surge in confidence. Having regained some strength in his knees, he quickly got to his feet and bellowed furiously, "How dare you hit me!"


    Lin Pingping hurriedly stepped forward to stop him. She repeatedly bowed her head and apologized, "Young Master Huyan. This is their first time in the capital city. Please don¡¯t hold it against them!"


    "And where the hell did you sprout from?!" Huyan Shou raised his hand¡ª ¡¯Pa!¡¯ ¡ªand viciously pped Lin Pingping¡¯s face. He then walked up to Qian¡¯Er, raised both hands¡ª ¡¯Pa! Pa!¡¯ ¡ªand mercilessly pped her as well.


    And that was still not the end of it. Huyan Shou continued to give Xue¡¯Er, Tai Ah, Shao Ah, Wang Fang, and Wang Lian a brutal p as well.


    Thedies had used their transcendence energy to protect themselves. Not to mention, a mortal like Huyan Shou couldn¡¯t damage them to begin with. But even so, they didn¡¯t dare to retaliate against him at all, and just stood in ce as Huyan Shou pped their faces. For such beautiful women to be publicly humiliated like this, the sixdies all felt terribly ashamed inside.


    After going through a bout of pping, Huyan Shou wanted to have another go at thesedies, but someone suddenly grabbed his hand, yelling, "Huyan Shou, that¡¯s enough!"


    Huyan Shou retorted angrily, "What do you mean that¡¯s enough? They killed my subordinates. I want them to pay with their lives!"


    The enforcer who grabbed his hand replied coldly, "The Martial Manor will punish them ordingly. If you continue to fool around, you would be offending the Governor. Are you aware of the consequences? We might be giving you face, but the Governor won¡¯t show you that same courtesy!"


    Huyan Shou¡¯s rage instantly calmed down when he heard the Governor¡¯s name. He timidly retracted his hand, no longer daring to disobey this enforcer.


    Within a ce like the capital city, it was natural for there to be plenty of bigwigs. However, in spite of all that, Governor Lan Hou of the Martial Manor was still able to enforce thew in this ce. This naturally proved that hemanded an unquestionable authority within the capital city. Otherwise, chaos would surely ensue.


    Seeing that Huyan Shou had obediently stopped, the enforcer raised his hand and said, "Take them away!"


    Several ck chains were then taken out, and thedies were cuffed and taken away under the public eye. Not a single one of them dared to retaliate.


    "Huyan Shou, you¡¯reing along as well!" The leader of the enforcers extended his arm in a beckoning gesture.


    Huyan Shou¡¯s eyes instantly widened as he cried out, "They were the ones whomitted murder. Just take them away. Why do you have to drag me in as well?"


    "You are the injured party here. If you don¡¯te with us, how will we exin to our superiors?" The enforcer gave him a slight push and asked coldly, "Would you prefer the Governor to send someone to bring you over instead?"


    Huyan Shou was unable to retort and could only follow them obediently.


    "Aii!" With a worried expression, Lin Pingping hurriedly left the scene. She never expected something like this to happen. Not only had there been cultivatorsmitting murder in the capital city, they were even taken away by the enforcers from the Martial Manor. Given the severity of this issue, it was no longer something she could solve on her own. Lin Pingping quickly turned around and rushed off...


    Coincidentally, today was also the day that Miao Yi and the others had to report to the Martial Manor. It wasn¡¯t anything serious really. Someone in the Martial Manor was just waiting for them to sign in their attendance to indicate their arrival, and to confirm they were ready for the Overlord to grant them an audience at his convenience.


    Gu Sanzheng and the others had naturally joined in as well. All six of them registered with the Martial Manor, stating their temporary addresses within the capital city so that they could be readily summoned.


    After the administrative staff confirmed their information, he waved his hand, gesturing that they were all free to go.


    As the six of them left the office, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xinpletely ignored Miao Yi and simply went on their own paths along with their subordinates, as though he was aplete stranger to them.


    Miao Yi had no intention of greeting them either. Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had both witnessed what happened in Mount Calming Sea with their own eyes, so they knew why both parties were behaving so coldly to one another.


    Even though they didn¡¯t greet each other openly, Gu Sanzheng still secretly transmitted his voice over to Miao Yi and asked, "Miao Yi, when I returned to the school, I had originally nned to convince everyone to let go of our past grievances. I tried to mediate between our two parties using the events in the Sea of Constetions as a reason. So don¡¯t you think you went a little overboard with what you did in Mount Calming Sea? You killed my Sword Deviate Sect disciples like they were mere ants. How do you expect my school to feel good about that? How do you expect me to feel good about that?!"


    He clearly knew what had happened in Mount Calming Sea. In fact, it was precisely because he was so focused on this matter that his arrival in the capital city had been somewhat dyed.


    Miao Yi replied in kind, "Don¡¯t push all the me onto me. Don¡¯t you think the disciples of your three major sects were a little too overbearing as well? Not only did they rob the authority away from their superiors while I wasn¡¯t around, they even forced my women to entertain scoundrels and used them as bargaining chips. These are the disciples produced by your three major sects. I should be the one asking how you expect me to feel good about that. Don¡¯t tell me you want me to feel grateful to them instead? If you were in my shoes, what would you have done?"


    Gu Sanzheng couldn¡¯t make a single retort. He was also aware of how the disciples of the three major sects had exposed each other¡¯s crimes, and he agreed that they had indeed gone a little too far. However, that was merely based on his own personal judgment. If he stood from the school¡¯s point of view, the three major sect disciples didn¡¯t do anything wrong at all. To use any means necessary to obtain more benefits for the school was an approach that should beuded, not scorned. After all, the sess of a major sect was built upon the diligent efforts of every single one of its disciples. There was no way he could me them for what they did.


    But with this, it seemed it would be very difficult for Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin to walk alongside Miao Yi publicly in the future.


    Miao Yi¡¯s group had barely left the vicinity of the Martial Manor within Jade Capital Peak and were about to enter the sector of rental properties provided by the Chamber of Commerce when they saw Lin Pingping anxiously pacing around the mountain gates of the Martial Manor.


    When she saw Miao Yie out, Lin Pingping lifted her skirt and knelt down on the spot as she cried out, "Your subordinate has been unfaithful in her task! I failed to look after the Aunties, and now they¡¯re in trouble."


    Zhao Fei and the others were shocked, while Miao Yi gestured for Lin Pingping to stand as he asked solemnly, "Stand up and speak. What happened?"


    Walking on the other side, Gu Sanzheng and the others were also taken aback by Lin Pingping¡¯s words. They came to a stop and looked over, clearly wishing to know what had happened as well.


    Lin Pingping stood up and calmed herself, then quickly exined everything to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi and Zhao Fei looked at each other in shock. They never thought that such an incident would strike them out of the blue like this. That said, this problem was indeed a little too much to handle. They were in no mood to be angered about the fact that Qian¡¯Er was taken advantage of or how their girls were humiliated in public. The Martial Manor¡¯s enforcers had already taken them away anyway. Miao Yi and the others couldn¡¯t help worrying that the sixdies would suffer due to Huyan Shou¡¯s background. However, with their capabilities, they didn¡¯t really have the qualifications to get the Martial Manor to release the girls either.


    Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin exchanged nces with one another, and the trio couldn¡¯t help frowning. In contrast, the other three major sect disciples apanying them were revealing looks of delight. They clearly wanted nothing more than for Miao Yi to suffer.

 Chapter 460: Spoke Too Much

    Chapter 460: Spoke Too Much


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Since they now knew that the sixdies were taken away by the Martial Manor¡¯s enforcers, their first thought was to head back and check with the Martial Manor. The group quickly turned around to try and reenter the manor.


    However, they were stopped by the guard stationed at the mountain gates. That said, the other party knew that these people would soon have an audience with the Overlord, so he didn¡¯t make things too difficult for them and simply gave a reminder, "This is the entrance to the administrative department. If you wish to look for detained criminals, you should head to the judicial department."


    The group immediately rushed down the mountain. As Lin Pingping only possessed a limited amount of influence within the capital city, Miao Yi decided to head straight for the Chamber of Commerce to look for Luo Ping.


    Luo Ping was shocked to hear what happened. It was taboo for a cultivator to kill a follower, no matter the country. After all, followers were the source for Orbs of Will for every single cultivator in the world. What¡¯s more, the incident had happened right inside the capital city. Things were as bad as it could get now that the girls had fallen into the hands of the Martial Manor.


    Things were even more troublesome considering that the person they offended was someone from the Huyan family, the number one major n within the entire Celestial Nation. It wasn¡¯t as though the Huyan family was a terrifyingly powerful n or anything. No matter how much influence a mortal n possessed, it was nothing in the eyes of a cultivator. The problem was that the person standing behind the Huyan family was Huyan Taibao, the first disciple of Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun. His status within the Celestial Nation was second only to the Celestial Sage herself, and his influence paled only inparison to Mu Fanjun and no other!


    "Wait a moment. I¡¯ll go seek help from a senior," Luo Ping said quickly before rushing back into the Chamber of Commerce.


    Soon, a white-haired old man walked out with him. The old man had a flushed nose and rosy cheeks that came from drinking alcohol. Miao Yi was familiar with this person as well. It was the appraiser who once visited Mount Calming Sea to evaluate all his wine¡ªUncle Hua. Miao Yi quickly stepped forward and bowed, "Miao Yi greets Uncle Hua!"


    "So it¡¯s really you, kid! Your subordinates sure have some guts. They even dared to kill people from the Huyan family!" Uncle Hua shook his head and clicked his tongue. He then waved his hand and said, "Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll see how bad the situation is for now."


    Miao Yi and the others followed Uncle Hua around the back of Jade Capital Peak. Evidently, the old timer was quite familiar with the officers from the judicial department. It didn¡¯t take long for Miao Yi and the others to be granted special entry into the judiciary office. As for Yan Xiu as well as Zhao Fei¡¯s and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s subordinates, they remained outside. The judicial department was not some marketce where they could just enter in droves without a care, after all.


    As they walked into the Martial Manor¡¯s judiciary office, Uncle Hua made use of his connections again and brought Miao Yi and the others straight to High Magistrate Pu Yigong. If they had solely relied on Luo Ping instead, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to meet such a person.


    Uncle Hua was clearly quite close to Pu Yigong. It didn¡¯t take long for him to find out from thetter that the interrogation was already over. During the interrogation, the sixdies stated that Huyan Shou was the one who sexually harassed them first. And in contrast, Huyan Shou denied their usations and said that he simply bumped into them identally. High Magistrate Pu only briefly exined what happened, as it would be inappropriate for him to reveal too much inside information to Uncle Hua.


    "Since the interrogation is already over, you should be announcing your verdict now, right?" Sitting on the chair, Uncle Hua asked as he raised a cup of tea to his lips. Miao Yi and the others stood behind him.


    High Magistrate Pu chuckled and said, "Old Hua, I¡¯m not going to lie to you. As this incident involves the Huyan family, I don¡¯t have much say in the matter either. I need to ask the Governor to make the decision. Once he¡¯s made up his mind, you will naturally get your verdict. For now, all you can do is wait for the news toe."


    The other party¡¯s words made the current situation very clear. As such, being the hot-headed one, Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t contain his anger and spoke out resentfully, "It sure must be nice to have a good background."


    Magistrate Pu was not fond of these words at all. He cast an icy nce at Sikong Wuwei and asked, "Are you trying to suggest that the Martial Manor is biased? If you have some background, you are free to use that influence to your advantage as well. Who knows? Maybe you¡¯ll even get to change the Martial Manor¡¯s verdict!"


    "Shut up!" Uncle Hua immediately snapped at Sikong Wuwei furiously. Zhao Fei also pulled him aside, transmitting a voice message over to thetter and reminding him that now was not the time to lose his temper.


    Uncle Hua then smiled at Magistrate Pu and said, "Alright, stop giving us that nasty attitude of yours already. Aren¡¯t you going to consult the Governor? Hurry along then. We¡¯ll wait here for you."


    High Magistrate Pu chuckled and lifted his cup to his lips. Casting a suspicious smile towards Miao Yi and the others, he asked, "These people are all the ones that came back from the Sea of Constetions, right?"


    Uncle Hua rolled his eyes in disdain. He seemed to have caught on to what Pu Yigong was implying. He quickly turned around and asked Miao Yi and the others, "Normal folk will never be able to set foot in this ce. You youngsters are lucky to be here and have Magistrate Pu personally clearing your doubts for you. Didn¡¯t you guys juste back from the Sea of Constetions? Isn¡¯t there something you can show to Magistrate Pu?"


    Anyone who wasn¡¯t a fool would understand what Uncle Hua was trying to say¡ªthis man was openly demanding bribes!


    Miao Yi immediately took out a storage ring and handed it over to High Magistrate Pu. "I have a tiny trinket inside here. Feel free to admire it as long as you please, High Magistrate."


    Pu Yigong took the storage ring and examined it to find a set of Second Grade Armor Artifacts inside. This was something that was worth quite the fortune. He smiled and tucked it away, then nodded and said, "Since you¡¯re being this sincere about it, I¡¯ll keep it with me for now then."


    Miao Yi smiled and added, "The Hall Master of Moon Traversing Pce¡¯s Suppressing Second Hall is this junior¡¯s sworn big brother. Big Brother has always thought of the girls as his own younger sisters. They¡¯ve never experienced the hardship of prison before, so I wish to trouble High Magistrate to help keep an eye on them for me. Afterward, I will be sure to bring Big Brother along to thank you personally."


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t care if Huo Lingxiao¡¯s name was effective here or not; he had to use any connection at his disposal right now so that the girls wouldn¡¯t suffer too much in prison. He was even thinking of ways to drag Huo Lingxiao here if all else failed. Since thetter had been a Hall Master for so many years, Miao Yi was confident that he had some degree of influence in the capital city.


    Pu Yigong was somewhat surprised. He asked curiously, "Huo Lingxiao is your sworn big brother?"


    He wasn¡¯t the only one taken aback; even Uncle Hua and the others were just as shocked by this revtion.


    "Yes!" Miao Yi smiled and nodded.


    "I¡¯m quite close to Huo Lingxiao. We even drank together on several asions." Pu Yigong stood up and continued, "Just wait here for now. I¡¯ll go look for the Governor right away."


    Surprisingly, the other party was acquainted with Huo Lingxiao. Miao Yi immediately cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, High Magistrate!"


    Outside of the Martial Manor rested a quiet pavilion, and inscribed on the overhead que were the words ¡¯Transient Life¡¯.


    There was one man seated within the Transient Life Pavilion. His hair was neatly tied up, and he wore a golden-purple diadem on his head. His body was garbed in a broad purple robe beautifully decorated with gold embroidery, and around his waist hung a jade belt. His face exuded an aura of solemnity. Below his sharp eyebrows shone a pair of deep, piercing eyes brimming with rity. His facial features were sharp and delicate, and hisplexion was wless like jade. Like a hawk, his gaze was cold and sharp, and his presence was strong andmanding. With his natural good looks, it was easy to tell that this man was not your average cultivator.


    This man was none other than Governor Lan Hou. He had both sleeves pulled back as he vigorously brushed ck ink across a sheet of white paper that was being held down by several paperweights. Mountains and rivers came alive upon the sheet of paper under the stroke of his brush. He was painting the scenery of the capital city under Jade Capital Peak. His masterful strokes belied a profoundness that few wouldprehend.


    Two beautiful handmaidens were by his side. One of them was grinding up an inkstone, while the other was focused on Lan Hou¡¯s brushwork.


    High Magistrate Pu arrived and was just about to greet Lan Hou, but one of his handmaidens quickly turned around and gestured for him to keep quiet. He immediately stopped outside the pavilion and patiently waited.


    Lan Hou didn¡¯t even turn his head around as he asked, "What is it?"


    Pu Yigong finally entered the pavilion and greeted Lan Hou, then reported, "There¡¯s a bit of a problem down the mountain. Several cultivators just killed a few of Huyan Shou¡¯s subordinates."


    "Huyan Shou? That good-for-nothing descendant from the Huyan family?" Lan Hou asked.


    For even someone like Lan Hou to know of Huyan Shou¡¯s name, it was evident that his infamy had preceded the person himself.


    "That¡¯s the one!" Pu Yigong replied.


    "Who are the ones bold enough to attack people from the Huyan family?"


    "They¡¯re just a few handmaidens! However, these handmaidens coincidentally belong to those returnees from the Sea of Constetions who are waiting for the Overlord¡¯s summons..." Pu Yigong briefly described the situation at the time of the incident, then continued, "Eyewitness ounts from the scene of the crime prove that Huyan Shou was indeed the one who sexually harassed the other party first. However, those witnesses soon changed their statements and simply said that they didn¡¯t see what happened clearly. As such, the situation is looking rather unfavorable for those handmaidens. And as it involves the Huyan family, I dare not make a decision on my own. Thus, I implore you to make the verdict instead, Governor!"


    Lan Hou said indifferently, "All they did was kill a bunch of ruffians. It¡¯s not like anyone¡¯s expecting these loafers to contribute any willpower to begin with. If they¡¯re dead, then so be it. It saves everyone else the hassle of dealing with a bunch of troublemakers. As for those handmaidens, just let them go. Try not toplicate their masters¡¯ meeting with the Overlord if you can. As for Huyan Shou, lock him up for ten years for the time being. Since his family is rich anyway, you can think about whether to release him or not after you¡¯ve profited enough from them!"


    Lan Hou never stopped his subordinates from taking in bribes, but he had one rule: ¡¯You are free to take in as many bribes as you please, but once you do, you must make sure to fulfill your responsibility to the person who bribed you. I will not forgive anyone who abuses their authority for personal gain!¡¯


    "Lock him up for ten years?" Pu Yigong couldn¡¯t help feeling a little surprised. Mortals were different from cultivators after all. They could only live for a handful of decades. He asked cautiously, "Huyan Taibao is the one standing behind the Huyan family. Won¡¯t we be upsetting him by doing this?"


    Lan Hou¡¯s brush didn¡¯t even stop for a moment as he scoffed, "Huyan Taibao has thousands upon thousands of descendants all over the capital cities of every Earthly Branch in the Celestial Nation. Does he even have the luxury to be concerned about every single one of them? I¡¯m spending effort to properly educate his descendant here. He should be thanking me instead. Don¡¯t worry. He won¡¯t be too concerned about the wellbeing of some descendant from god knows how many generations away. Just do as I say. If Huyan Taibou does step forward, I will report to the Overlord and let him take care of it!"


    "Understood!" Pu Yigong cupped his fists and acknowledged the order.


    As he was about to turn around and leave, Lan Hou¡¯s voice suddenly came from behind, questioning, "To give me such a quick report on something that happened not too long ago; the ones meeting the Overlord must have some connections of their own, yes?"


    For Lan Hou to wield such high authority in a ce like the capital city, he was clearly no fool. His subordinate had swiftly sought him out for a verdict despite knowing full well the influence that the Huyan family possessed¡ªthis was undoubtedly a p to their face. As such, Lan Hou was sure that the other party must have had someone step forward for them as well.


    Pu Yigong¡¯s figure instantly froze. Since Lan Hou was already asking him so bluntly about it, he didn¡¯t dare conceal the truth any longer. With an awkward smile, he replied, "Governor is perceptive indeed. Truth be told, it wasn¡¯t anyone special. They simply asked that drunkard Hua from the Chamber of Commerce to look for me. You know him as well, sir. He and I drink together quite often. Besides him, there¡¯s also the one from the rankings¡ªMiao Yi. His sworn big brother is the Hall Master from Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s Suppressing Second Hall. Your subordinate is rather well-acquainted with him, and I suppose you can consider us friends. I must say, sir, even though your subordinate might have acted a little biased towards these people, I have not lost my professionalism on this matter."


    "Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s Suppressing Second Hall?" The brush in Lan Hou¡¯s hand finally stopped. He slowly turned his head to Pu Yigong and asked, "You mean Huo Lingxiao?"


    Pu Yigong was surprised to hear that the Governor was familiar with Huo Lingxiao as well. He immediately replied, "Yes, it¡¯s him!"


    Lan Hou turned back to the painting, then dipped his brush on the inkstone. As he slowlythered the brush with ink, he mildly instructed, "Continue to keep those handmaidens under lockdown for now. Also, I want you to detain those three Subjugation Crusade rank holders."


    Pu Yigong was taken aback. He didn¡¯t understand why things had turned out this way, and he couldn¡¯t help asking, "Governor, may I ask on what charges are we to detain them?"


    With an indifferent expression on his face, Lan Hou replied, "Allowing their servants tomit murder! Besides that, I want you to send a message to Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s Suppressing Second Hall. Tell Huo Lingxiao toe look for me himself if he wants me to let these people go!"


    Pu Yigong waspletely lost for words. He could only cup his fists and acknowledge the order, then take his leave...


    By the time he returned to the judiciary office, there were already several other people following behind him.


    When he saw Pu Yigong returning, Uncle Hua noticed the peculiar expression on his face. He stood up and asked, "How did it go?"


    Suddenly, with a deadpan expression on his face, Pu Yigong pointed towards Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei and thenmanded, "Apprehend them!"


    The people behind him immediately rushed over and restrained the trio by the wrists,pletely subduing them before they even had a chance to react to the sudden development.

 Chapter 456: Revisiting the Capital City

    Chapter 456: Revisiting the Capital City


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    The sound of hoofbeats gradually approached. At the front was Miao Yi and Charcoal, followed by Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er on their ck-Scaled Drake Beasts, and closing the rear was Yan Xiu.


    As the group turned around the corner, they immediately noticed Luo Ping and Lin Pingping waving to them from the side of the road. Miao Yi slowly raised his hand, and all four riders gradually slowed down before making aplete stop.


    Lin Pingping naturally knew what Miao Yi looked like. She cast a quick nce at the twodies behind him and was able to immediately guess who they were, despite having never seen them before. She had already been notified beforehand of their numbers as well as the identities of the peopleing. She quickly stepped forward, then cupped her fists and bowed. "Your subordinate Lin Pingping respectfully greets you, my lord. I also respectfully greet Elder Auntie and Little Auntie!"


    Miao Yi straightened his back and received her bow. At the same time, he quickly examined Lin Pingping, noticing that this woman had changed quite a lot.


    She wore a beautiful violet dress that was tightly wound around the waist, bringing out the alluring features of her body. Her hair was tied up neatly without even the tiniest strand out of ce, and her skin had also be fairer. The impression of a ¡¯vagrant¡¯¡ªteetering from ce to ce for the sake of survival¡ªthat Miao Yi had of her during their first meeting was no more. In its ce was a graceful poise that had finally revealed itself, an innate trait that Lin Pingping had originally possessed from her background as a member of an affluent family. Not to mention, she wasn¡¯t bad-looking to begin with. Her beauty had only been weathered down by all the hardship she endured. After going through ¡¯recovery¡¯ these past few years, it was safe to say that she now gave off an impression that was quite pleasing to the eye.


    Lin Pingping was also secretly examining Miao Yi, realizing that thetter had an even stronger air ofposure about him than before. She didn¡¯t know if it was because she was feeling nervous, but she could feel a bit of pressure at seeing Miao Yi again.


    Miao Yi lightly nodded with a smile, while Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were curiously staring at Lin Pingping¡ªthe two of them had heard of what happened to her.


    "Brother Miao!" Luo Ping cupped his fists and smiled.


    "How could I have troubled Brother Luo toe receive me personally?" Miao Yi returned the gesture.


    "Haha. Brother Miao has returned triumphantly after experiencing a decade of perils. It¡¯s only right that Ie to congratte you!" Luo Ping cast a sidelong nce at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s mounts, musing inwardly, ¡¯Looks like he struck gold indeed. Even his handmaidens have such rare spiritual beasts as mounts.¡¯


    After both parties exchanged pleasantries, they continued on their way back to the capital city, riding side by side as they chatted amicably. Lin Pingping apanied the other three in a discussion of their own.


    As the group crossed over the bridge leading into the city, whaty before them was a beautiful union of mountains and rivers. Various architectural structures stretched as far as the eye could see, and atop the seemingly countless serpentine water channels both big and small, were an endless line of ships and boats. The boundlessness of the capital city struck the first-time visitors in the group with awe, causing them to wonder just exactly how big the ce was. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er werepletely beside themselves with excitement at the glorious splendor that stretched out before them. They had never seen such an extravagant sight before.


    As it was his first time here, Yan Xiu also couldn¡¯t help sighing in awe. "As expected of the capital city!"


    Meanwhile, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would ask Lin Pingping random questions from time to time, and Lin Pingping would also reply to their every inquiry, pointing to multiple ces as she introduced the sights and sounds of the city to the twodies.


    "If only Master could oversee this ce someday," Xue¡¯Er suddenlymented carelessly.


    Luo Ping immediately turned his head in shock, as Qian¡¯Er hastily rebuked her in a low voice, "Little Sister, don¡¯t speak such nonsense!"


    Xue¡¯Er quickly realized her mistake. This was the capital city, and it was also the vassal city of the Overlord of the Fifth Earthly Branch. To oversee this ce meant that Miao Yi would need to overthrow the current Overlord. The youngdy immediately turned to Miao Yi nervously, afraid that she had caused trouble with herment.


    In contrast, Miao Yi didn¡¯t lose his calm and simply smiled at Luo Ping, "Sorry you had to see that, Brother Luo. The two of them have been stuck in a small ce all this while and have never seen the world outside. They¡¯re a little excited by all thevish sights they¡¯re seeing for the first time, and so ended up making such a rashment. I hope Brother Luo will not take it to heart."


    Luo Pin chuckled and said, "It was just a slip of the tongue. I won¡¯t take it seriously!"


    Miao Yi then smiled to the twodies and said, "There¡¯s still some time before the appointed day of the meeting with the Overlord. You two can have Lin Pingping take you around the capital city afterward. But for now, let¡¯s just settle down somece first."


    The twodies nodded excitedly.


    The group went straight to Jade Capital Peak. There, Lin Pingping took out a numbered que to show to the guard, and the group was granted passage up the mountain. As Lin Pingping led the group along the way, Miao Yi asked, "Did you reserve the two extra mansions as I requested?"


    He had already promised Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei that they would meet here and had told them that he would have someone in the capital city make the necessary arrangements for them.


    Lin Pingping immediately replied courteously, "Yes, my lord. It has already been prepared."


    As they reached the mansion at the top of Jade Capital Peak, Qian¡¯Er looked around the picturesque scenery that surrounded them and sighed in astonishment, "It¡¯s so pretty!" Xue¡¯Er repeatedly nodded in agreement.


    Even though the ces they had stayed in previously also had nice sceneries, they were all situated in the middle of deep mountains and ancient forests, away from the mortal realm. No matter how beautiful a scenery was, one would eventually grow bored after having to see it day after day. In contrast, thevish extravagance of the mortal realm wasid out at the doorstep of their divinely beautiful abode, and the various facets of mortal life could be found right underneath their feet. The delight that came from having such an exalted status was indescribable. It was only natural to sigh in astonishment.


    Yan Xiu¡¯s reaction was much moreposedpared to the twodies. Women would always tend to be more exaggerated in their reactions toward beautiful things.


    As Miao Yi and the others settled down in their lodgings, Luo Ping bid them farewell, saying that they should rest up after their long journey and that he would prepare a feast to wee them in the evening.


    Miao Yi called out to Luo Ping as he was about to leave, "Brother Luo, I¡¯m not too familiar with the Manors that are within the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s domain. Can you tell me where I can find a suitable map?"


    Luo Ping was slightly taken aback by the question, but he soon remembered that Miao Yi was going to choose the location of his new post soon, so it was obvious that he needed to understand the situation before doing so. Luo Ping smiled. "A trivial matter. The trade routes of the Chamber of Commerce extend throughout the entire Celestial Nation. We are not short of such things. I will get one for you after this."


    Miao Yi cupped his fists as a show of thanks, and Luo Ping finally excused himself.


    Now that his guest was gone, Miao Yimanded all the servants that originally came with the mansion to leave them. He then sat himself down in the living room, looking at Lin Pingping as he said, "Lin Pingping, you have done well during the years of my absence. The two Aunties have given you much praise."


    Lin Pingping immediately bowed and said, "I don¡¯t deserve suchpliments, my lord. Had my lord not shown me kindness by taking me in, I would not be where I am today. It¡¯s only right that I do this much."


    Miao Yi turned his head to the side and lightly nodded. Qian¡¯Er then immediately brought forward a storage ring and handed it to Lin Pingping. "This is Master¡¯s reward for you."


    Lin Pingping thanked Miao Yi. As she examined the storage ring, she couldn¡¯t help her surprise when she found a thousand low-grade Orbs of Will inside. She then immediately thanked him again.


    "You deserve this. As long as you stay faithful to your task, I will reward you ordingly." Miao Yi waved his hand to gesture that she didn¡¯t need to be so polite. He then added solemnly, "You¡¯ve worked alone in the capital city all this while. With the limited amount of resources you have, it must have been difficult to go around scouting information. Some expenditures are inevitable when working in the capital. After this, I will have Qian¡¯Er set up an ount in the Chamber of Commerce for you, and I¡¯ll give you the appropriate amount of resources. You can make withdrawals as you like, and to make it easier for you to scout for information, you are hereby authorized to spend the money as you see fit before reporting it to me. In addition, I will grant you five vacancies within the administration. You can recruit five reliable subordinates among the loose cultivators. They will all be assigned to you and will work in tandem with your operations within the capital city. Remember, quality before quantity. I would rather the positions remain vacant than to have someone ipetent fill their spots. The people you recruit must be reliable. Once you¡¯ve made your choice, report to me. I will settle the issue concerning their status."


    Aftering back from the Sea of Constetions this time, Miao Yi had looked through all of Lin Pingping¡¯s reports over the years. He realized that she was quite knowledgeable and was able to do her job fairly well. As expected of a woman from an affluent family. She had never once caused any trouble. From this, Miao Yi could see her loyalty as well as her capabilities, and he was prepared to delegate even more authority to her. To make things more convenient for her was to do the same for himself as well.


    Lin Pingping was overjoyed by Miao Yi¡¯s words and cupped her fists once more, "Thank you for having such faith in me, my lord. I will not betray your expectations."


    Miao Yi nodded, then took out a jade archive and wrote down a few things before imprinting it with his transcendence seal. He handed it to Lin Pingping, saying, "I want you to find two loose cultivators immediately and have them wait by the entrance of the mountain. Once the two people listed on that jade archive arrive, bring them to me. The other two mansions were prepared specifically for them."


    Lin Pingping received the jade archive and read it. Written on it were Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s names.


    ¡¯Weren¡¯t these two names on the list of the Subjugation Crusade returnees as well...¡¯ Lin Pingping mused to herself. After making sure that Miao Yi had no other instructions for her, she acknowledged the order and left.


    "Yan Xiu!" Miao Yi called out. This time, he wasn¡¯t as polite as he was with Lin Pingping, casually tossing over a storage ring as he said, "This is for you."


    Yan Xiu caught the storage ring and examined it and was shocked to find a full set of Second Grade Armor Artifacts inside as well as ten thousand low-grade Orbs of Will. This was a heavy reward indeed.


    In his astonishment, Yan Xiu didn¡¯t even get to thank Miao Yi in time before thetter said the words ¡¯bath¡¯, then rose to his feet and led Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er away.


    As for the twodies, they no longer needed any reward from Miao Yi. Given their cultivations, the number of cultivation resources currently in their possession was already more than enough tost them for a long time. As long as they stuck with Miao Yi, whatever he had, they wouldn¡¯tck. This is what is meant by a trusted aide.


    The twodies need only serve Miao Yi with undying loyalty. Their fates were tied together¡ªif Miao Yi was showered with glory, so would they; if he were to lose his standing, so would they. Even though their rtionship was that of master and servant, that was only limited to when the twodies were facing Miao Yi. When facing the other people in Miao Yi¡¯s territory, their status was akin to that of mistresses. It was something that many would be envious of.


    Inside the bathroom. Clear waves arose from the tranquil waters. Two voluptuous bodies clung to Miao Yi¡¯s side, their private areas covered with but a piece of cloth. The scene was enough to make a man hot with excitement.


    Perhaps due to it being their first time visiting the capital city, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er felt a little excited from the unfamiliarity and were a little more clingy than usual. The arousal was apparent on their faces as they eagerly awaited Miao Yi¡¯s tender loving.


    However, it seemed Miao Yi wasn¡¯t in the mood to fool around with them. Ever since he came back from the Sea of Constetions, he didn¡¯t touch the twodies at all. Even now, as they were helping clean his body, he remained unperturbed and just sat there resting with his eyes closed. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help feeling disappointed over this.


    After his bath, Miao Yi went back to cultivating.


    As the sky began to darken, Luo Ping organized a celebratory banquet in a mountain pavilion right outside the mansion. The beautiful radiance of a thousand newly-litnterns could be seen at the foot of the mountain. It was a truly wonderful feeling to drink wine with such a magnificent sight before them. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would frequently sweep their gazes across the mountain, evidently excited.


    At the banquet, both Yan Xiu and Lin Pingping had seats arranged for them, while Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had to stand behind Miao Yi.


    At the end of the day, the twodies were still servants, whereas Yan Xiu and Lin Pingping were subordinates. It was normal for thetter to sit with their superiors. If Miao Yi wasn¡¯t around, everyone else would be asking the twodies to take a seat instead. It was simply because their statuses were different. In public events like this, the twodies still needed to maintain the proper decorum expected of a master-servant rtionship. Outside of these situations, however, they could sit or even sleep together with Miao Yi, and no one would be able to say anything against it.


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi sat in his seat, examining the map on the jade archive that Luo Ping had brought over. The map was a detailed one that contained the entire expanse of the Celestial Nation. However, Miao Yi didn¡¯t bother concerning himself with the other ces and simply focused on the Fifth Earthly Branch. The respective domains of each Pce, Hall, and Manor were indicated very clearly on the map.


    Luo Ping had spent quite a bit of an effort on this map. He had intentionally marked out which of the Manors were more lucrative than the others, as well as the mainmodity of each Manor. This was clearly done to make it easier for Miao Yi to decide on which ce to pick for his new appointment, and also so that Luo Ping could show his sincerity.

 Chapter 457: Scarce Opportunities, Fierce Competition

    Chapter 457: Scarce Opportunities, Fierce Competition


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Throughout the banquet, Luo Ping only talked about the scenery and didn¡¯t mention a single thing about business. He believed that Miao Yi should understand his intentions.


    Miao Yi could also tell what Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were thinking about. Since it was their first time here, he knew that the twodies were very interested to see the sights of thevish capital city. As such, Miao Yi immediately announced that they would go exploring the night views of the city after the banquet, and instructed Lin Pingping to ready a shipter on. Thest time he was here, he hadn¡¯t been able to enjoy the capital city properly due to a few bumps along the way.


    Lin Pingping could tell that the twodies were very eager to look around, and at the same time, she also felt a little bad to be sitting while they were standing, so she quickly excused herself to make the necessary preparations.


    However, right when the banquet was about to end, one person showed up along the narrow stone path just outside the pavilion. Everyone turned to look at this person and noticed it was a handsome young man dressed in the same blue uniform Luo Ping wore. They could tell he was a member of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce from a single nce.


    Luo Ping was a little surprised at first to see this visitor. However, he soon furrowed his brows and stood up.


    The other party was also shocked to see that Luo Ping was here. He cupped his fists from a distance and smiled, "Luo Ping, I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d be here too."


    Luo Ping returned the gesture and asked, "Ren Xuanming, why are you here?"


    The young man called Ren Xuanming chuckled lightly but ignored the question. He turned his head to look at the mansion, then shifted his gaze back to the pavilion outside. He scanned the crowd inside and immediately locked eyes with Miao Yi, who was seated higher than the rest. With cupped fists, he smiled and asked, "May I have the courtesy of knowing if this young lord is the tenth ce holder of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade¡ªMiao Yi?"


    "It was merely a stroke of luck that I managed to get tenth ce." Miao Yi stood up, then politely cupped his fists and answered, "Yes, I am Miao Yi. Why are you looking for me?"


    Ren Xuanming immediately stepped forward with zeal, handing over his name card with both hands as he said, "My name is Ren Xuanming, and like Luo Ping, I am also a teller from the capital city¡¯s Chamber of Commerce. I have long heard tales of Manor Head Miao¡¯s valor, so I came here just to pay you a visit." He shot Luo Ping a nce as he said, "I never thought that Brother Luo would have been one step ahead of me. It looks like in my haste, I ended up putting a damper on Manor Head Miao¡¯s banquet. As a token of my apology, I will be organizing a banquet in ¡¯Spring Glory House¡¯ tomorrow. I hope that Manor Head Miao will do me the honor of attending."


    Miao Yi received the name card and looked over it, then cast a sidelong nce at Luo Ping. Noticing the deep frown on thetter¡¯s face, he could vaguely guess the purpose of this Ren Xuanming¡¯s visit; he was most likely here to try and take Luo Ping¡¯s business away. However, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but wonder how this Ren Xuanming had caught wind of his arrival. After all, he didn¡¯t have too many acquaintances in the capital city, and Luo Ping had only found out through Lin Pingping, which was understandable.


    Miao Yi tucked the name card away but didn¡¯t reply to the invitation for tomorrow¡¯s banquet. He waved his hand and said, "Brother Ren, you are too kind. I wouldn¡¯t dare call myself a Manor Head. I am simply a Mountain Chieftain."


    "Aii! Brother Miao is too humble. Everyone knows that all the vacant Manor Head seats in the entire Fifth Earthly Branch are just waiting to be chosen by you." Ren Xuanmingughed. He then took out a gift box from his storage ring and presented it to Miao Yi, "I came here in a rush. This is a small gift tomemorate our meeting. Please ept it, Manor Head Miao."


    Things wouldn¡¯t look too good for Luo Ping if Miao Yi epted this gift. Hence, he could no longer keep quiet and said, "Brother Ren, Brother Miao is my customer."


    Ren Xuanming was undisturbed by his words. He simply smiled and said, "Brother Miao has just arrived today. I¡¯m sure that Brother Luo has only gotten to know him today as well. There is only the difference of a single step between us. I¡¯m sure that Brother Miao wouldn¡¯t mind making another friend."


    Miao Yi pushed the gift box back to Ren Xuanming, smiling as he said, "I don¡¯t mind bing friends with you, Brother Ren, but the gift isn¡¯t necessary. To be frank, Brother Luo and I are actually old friends. We¡¯ve known each other even before I was sent to the Sea of Constetions. Brother Luo was also the one who waited five kilometers outside the city to receive me today."


    The meaning implied behind his words were clear¡ª ¡¯If I¡¯m going to do business, then I¡¯m definitely going to help an old friend out.¡¯


    Beside him, Luo Ping felt greatly relieved deep down. He smiled at the colleague in front of him, and there was even a slight sense of schadenfreude in his gaze.


    With an awkward expression, Ren Xuanming forced a smile and said, "I see. Then it looks like I really was imprudent by barging in like this. But no matter, even if we can¡¯t do business, we can still be friends. I¡¯d still like you to ept this small gift of mine," he replied as he handed out the gift box again.


    It wouldn¡¯t look good to ept someone¡¯s gift right after rejecting them. Miao Yi refused to ept the gift box and pushed it back to Ren Xuanming again.


    Ren Xuanming was simply being courteous in the first ce, so he didn¡¯t continue to argue. Realizing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get this customer, he politely excused himself, saying that he wouldn¡¯t get in the way of everyone¡¯s fun. He also made no further mention of the banquet he was going to organize the next day. Deep down, everyone already knew how that was going to turn out.


    As he watched the other party depart, Miao Yi asked curiously, "It¡¯s not like he knows me personally. How did he know I arrived?" He was wondering if Lin Pingping had leaked the news of his arrival somehow. If she really was going around revealing such information, then he had to reconsider whether or not he could still use Lin Pingping.


    Luo Ping scoffed, "It¡¯s simple. He must have heard something from the people managing this ce."


    After some thought, Miao Yi agreed with Luo Ping¡¯s answer. Even though this mansion was already reserved prior to his arrival, the residents still needed to register using their actual names. After all, this was still the Overlord¡¯s territory. No one could simply ignore the rules and do as they pleased. That said, Miao Yi still frowned, "Are you saying that the people here will just casually reveal their customers¡¯ information?"


    "Brother Miao, don¡¯t think too much about it. This ce is also one of the businesses owned by the Chamber of Commerce. If anything, the information will only be avable to its internal members alone. It won¡¯t be casually revealed to the public," Luo Ping exined. He then advised Miao Yi, "That said, I would still like to give you a fair warning. Ren Xuanming is a person who likes using underhanded methods to conduct his business. It¡¯s best that you don¡¯t get too close to him."


    Miao Yi thought that Luo Ping was telling him this because he was afraid Ren Xuanming would try to take his business away. He teased yfully, "Brother Luo, you don¡¯t seem to be too fond of this Ren Xuanming."


    Luo Ping was taken aback. He then shook his head and smiled, "It looks like Brother Miao has some misconception about me. But it¡¯s fine. You can just think of it as there being no room for agreement between two of the same trade."


    Everyone smiled at Luo Ping¡¯s words. They¡¯d originally thought that it was easy being a member of the Chamber of Commerce, but it seemed the internalpetition was quite fierce indeed.


    "Brother Luo, there¡¯s something I have to tell you. Actually, one of your Chamber of Commerce employees has alreadye to me before you did." As he faced the surprised look on Luo Ping¡¯s face, Miao Yi gently nodded and continued, "As I¡¯m quite close to the other person, I promised her that she would be the first one I¡¯d look for if I ever have anything to trade. Brother Luo, there will still be a chance for us to work together in the future."


    It wasn¡¯t hard to understand what he was trying to say! As he recovered from his initial shock, Luo Ping let out a bitter smile. It turned out he was still too careless in the end. He should have rushed to Mount Calming Sea right from the start¡ªit¡¯s just that there was too much of a distance between here and there. And without first confirming if there would be a trade, it wouldn¡¯t be too good to trouble a Red Lotus expert to send him there either. Not to mention, Luo Ping figured that Miao Yi would being to the capital city soon anyway, which was why he chose to wait here. He never thought that someone else would still be one step ahead of him.


    Unexpectedly, Miao Yi then asked, "Brother Luo, are you familiar with Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin?"


    Luo Ping nodded, "You mean the ones who took seventh to ninth ce in the Subjugation Crusade?"


    Miao Yi smiled, "Those three have an even higher ranking than me, and they¡¯ve also amassed quite the fortune from the Sea of Constetions as well. Why don¡¯t you give them a try, Brother Luo?"


    Luo Ping sighed. "It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to, but there are simply too many people from the Chamber of Commerce eyeing you all. The opportunities are scarce, and thepetition is fierce! Will you believe me if I tell you that the others wille looking for you soon enough? And as for those three, they belong to the three major sects, which naturally have some rtion to our Chamber of Commerce. Hence, it¡¯s even possible for them to bypass the low-ranking tellers and make their trades with the higher-ups directly. How could one such as myself have a chance with them then? Even if I were to go look for them, I doubt they would deign to meet with me. I was only able to seize the initiative with you since we were old acquaintances. I never thought that in the end, someone had got to you first. Aii!" He let out a deep sigh, feeling rather dejected. He could only me himself for not being careful enough.


    "Have the three of them arrived?" Miao Yi asked.


    Luo Ping shook his head. "Not yet."


    Miao Yi immediately took out three jade archives and wrote down three rmendation letters. He imprinted them with his transcendence seal, then handed them to Luo Ping and said, "Then you¡¯ll have to work hard and keep an eye out. Once the three of them have arrived, you must pay them a visit immediately. I have a bit of a grievance with the three major sects, so when you go look for them, don¡¯t mention my name. You just need to hand these letters to the three of them privately."


    Luo Ping read the letters, which stated that he was an employee of the Chamber of Commerce, and also a friend of Miao Yi¡¯s. It also asked that Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin help him out if it was convenient for them.


    Since Miao Yi was able to write such a rmendation letter, it was obvious that it would have some use. Else, he wouldn¡¯t write such a thing just to embarrass himself. Luo Ping was a little beside himself with joy. Since Miao Yi had told him to handle this matter discreetly, he figured he shouldn¡¯t inquire too much about it and just cupped his fists in gratitude. He was truly thankful to Miao Yi. At least with this, it seemed his efforts had not been in vain.


    After the banquet was over, Luo Ping took the opportunity to y the host once again, insisting on joining Miao Yi and the others on their nightly excursion of the capital city. He even offered to pay all their expenses for the night.


    As they all left Jade Capital Peak and boarded the ship that had been reserved for them, Luo Ping finally realized that he had been too rash in making his decision tonight.


    At night, the capital city was as extravagant as ever, and even more beautiful than it was during the day. There was a different atmosphere that could not be found while the sun hung in the sky. Amidst the splendor of the city, however, Luo Ping was dismayed when he discovered that Miao Yi¡¯s two handmaidens wereplete and utter spendthrifts. They were intrigued by every single thing in the capital city, buying all sorts of random junk and stuffing them into their storage rings and storage bangles. He asked them once¡ª ¡¯Why do you even need to buy two stone lion statues?¡¯ And from the way they replied, it seemed they were nning to ce it in front of Miao Yi¡¯s new Manor.


    As he paid for the purchase, Luo Ping was a little lost for words. ¡¯Do you think that no one would send any good presents to an esteemed Manor Head? Do you really need to ce this piece of junk at your doorstep? Do you really need to spend money so frivolously?¡¯


    Luo Ping turned to Miao Yi, thinking, ¡¯My brother, are you not going to stop them?¡¯


    After spending over five hundred thousand gold crystals, Luo Ping was starting to feel weak in the knees. If this were to keep up, how much money would he have to spend?


    Had Miao Yi not secretly transmitted his voice over to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er and told them to stop, Luo Ping would have definitely ended the night in shame.


    When they returnedte at night, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er still seemed like they had yet to reach their fill of fun.


    The next day, Miao Yi had Lin Pingping take the twodies out to enjoy themselves once again. As for Yan Xiu, he stood guard by Miao Yi¡¯s door to help him block all the guests.


    The reason for this was due to the incessant flow of Chamber of Commerce employeesing to visit Miao Yi, just as Luo Ping had told him. Yan Xiu heeded Miao Yi¡¯s instructions and used Luo Ping as an excuse to send all these guests on their way.


    A few dayster, despite being situated in two different areas, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei met up with one another along the way to the capital city. They then rode to Jade Capital Peak together, and the moment they arrived, they naturally went looking for Miao Yi.


    The two of them had brought along a few of their trusted subordinates, as well as their personal handmaidens. Because their masters had such a close rtionship between them, the moment Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er met up with the other handmaidens, it was like a spark had been lit between them as well. These six women clearly didn¡¯t n on letting the capital city off so easily. Lin Pingping could only resign herself to her fate.


    After sending the women on their way, the men sat down together and talked about important matters. Miao Yi asked the other two about how they fared after returning to their territories.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei got upset the moment this matter was brought up. They too experienced something simr to what Miao Yi did with Mount Calming Sea. However, at the end of the day, the two of them were still Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators. The chances of them surviving the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade were not small. Hence, their subordinates didn¡¯t dare to act too out of turn, and therefore, the situation did not develop to be as bad as the one at Mount Calming Sea. That said, the only difference was that it wasn¡¯t too difficult for Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei to clean things up.

 Chapter 458: Some Happy, Some Sad

    Chapter 458: Some Happy, Some Sad


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Brother Ding hase!"


    "Brother Ren is here as well."


    Outside one of the mansions on Jade Capital Peak, there stood a teller of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce, surnamed Ding. As he arrived, he soon discovered many of his colleagues were here as well. There were about a dozen of them standing under the shade of a tree.


    Teller Ding proceeded to cup his fists and exchange pleasantries with his colleagues. Among them, Ren Xuanming swept his gaze across the crowd and remarked sarcastically, "It looks like other than those who are on duty, everyone else has temporarily ced all other business aside toe here."


    The crowd chuckled as they thought, ¡¯We could say the same for you.¡¯


    Having just arrived, Teller Ding didn¡¯t know why everyone else was just waiting here. He didn¡¯t bother asking either and simply proceeded to cup his fists towards the servant guarding by the gates of the mansion, saying, "My name is Ding Haoran, and I¡¯m a teller from the Chamber of Commerce. I request an audience with Manor Head Zhao. Please help me send the word to him."


    When his colleagues under the shade heard this, they couldn¡¯t help revealing an awkward expression. The servant was then seen replying politely, "Manor Head Zhao is not here."


    Ding Haoran asked curiously, "Hasn¡¯t he registered himself already?"


    The servant replied, "Yes, he has. But he only briefly looked around the ce before going back out. It looks like he went off to visit a friend."


    As a servant, he shouldn¡¯t be revealing so much information. However, at the end of the day, this ce was still the property of the Chamber of Commerce, and these people were all its employees. Hence, as a lowly loose cultivator who needed to rely on the Chamber of Commerce to survive, he didn¡¯t dare offend them and had no choice but to reply honestly.


    Ding Haoran was stumped as he slowly turned to look at his colleagues standing under the shade of the tree. He finally understood why they were waiting here.


    After musing to himself for a while, Ding Haoran cupped his fists towards his colleagues, then turned around and went on his way. He intended to visit the other person who had just arrived¡ªManor Head Sikong.


    Under the shade, Ren Xuanming yelled, "Brother Ding, stop wasting your energy! That Manor Head Sikong and this Manor Head Zhao arrived together. Afterward, they left together as well. You¡¯d be running around for nothing, so you might as well wait here with us. When this Manor Head Zhao returns, he¡¯ll surely pass by this ce and we¡¯ll be able to see him clearly then. We won¡¯t miss him."


    Ding Haoran was stunned. In the end, there was little he could do butugh bitterly as he walked on over to the shade.


    Not long after, the crowd noticed another person approaching with rushed steps through a small path in the forest. This person was none other than Luo Ping.


    He was supposed to be on duty in the Chamber of Commerce today, but after finding out from someone that Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had registered themselves in Jade Capital Peak, he immediately applied for emergency leave and rushed here. No matter how low his odds of sess were, he had to give it a shot somehow.


    When he arrived, he immediately noticed the crowd that was already here and couldn¡¯t help remarking deep down, ¡¯These bastards sure react quickly.¡¯


    Little did Luo Ping know that by taking the initiative with Miao Yi before this, he¡¯d taught these people a lesson and caused them to keep such a close eye on the mansions at Jade Capital Peak. Thus, the moment Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei registered themselves, there was an immediate reaction from these people.


    Like all the others before him, Luo Ping was quite puzzled as to why these people were waiting here. Facing the sneaky smiles of his colleagues, he cupped his fists at them, then proceeded to ask the servant by the gate about Manor Head Zhao. Unsurprisingly, he received the same response as the rest of them.


    Luo Ping immediately understood everything. Just as he was about to go visit the other Manor Head, Ren Xuanming was already beckoning him over with his hand and said teasingly, "Brother Luo, don¡¯t trouble yourself any further. Just wait here with us..."


    These were the same words as before, and it caused the entire crowd to break out intoughter.


    ¡¯No wonder all these people are waiting here!¡¯ Luo Ping was feeling quite helpless, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to live with himself if he gave up now. Hence, he too started walking towards the shade of the tree.


    However, he had only taken a few steps forward when he suddenly halted, turning to look at the mansion behind him. He then shifted his gaze towards another mansion on the mountain and thought, ¡¯Ah! This seems like one of the two other mansions that Lin Pingping had reserved in addition to Miao Yi¡¯s. Then could it be... visiting a friend...¡¯


    Luo Ping¡¯s eyes instantly brightened, and he bade farewell to his colleagues with cupped fists.


    ¡¯He¡¯s not waiting anymore?¡¯ The crowd was puzzled from Luo Ping¡¯s sudden retreat. However, Ren Xuanming noticed something suspicious from the shift in Luo Ping¡¯s expression. He shouted, "Brother Luo, you¡¯re not going to wait anymore?!"


    Luo Ping didn¡¯t even turn around. He simply waved his hand and answered, "I have to be on duty."


    This was obviously just a cursory reply. In truth, Luo Ping headed straight for Miao Yi¡¯s mansion immediately after. The people standing guard knew that he was Miao Yi¡¯s acquaintance, so they let him in soon after announcing his arrival.


    When Luo Ping entered the rear garden, he noticed there were a few unfamiliar faces standing guard. He made his way along the small winding path to the quiet pavilion atop the rockery. There, he noticed three people sitting down. Miao Yi was among them, but the other two werepletely unfamiliar faces.


    Luo Ping¡¯s heart thumped as he figured his hunch was all but assured at this point. He quickly made his way up the rockery, then cupped his fists at Miao Yi, while his gaze was focused on Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei instead. He asked, "Brother Miao, are these two friends..?"


    Miao Yi lightly pped on the table andughed. "Zhao Fei, Sikong, it looks like someone is here to buy you two dinner."


    Zhao Fei replied with a simple ¡¯Oh.¡¯ After which, he and Sikong Wuwei proceeded to examine Luo Ping, a little confused as to what was happening.


    Miao Yi had even called out their names already. Luo Ping was immediately beside himself with joy. The people he was looking for were here as expected. Since Miao Yi had reserved mansions for these two, they must have a rather close rtionship. Luo Ping was relieved to have finally found a solution to his problem. He hastily took out his name card and handed it to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei as he introduced himself.


    As Luo Ping sat down, heughed bitterly at Miao Yi, "Brother Miao, why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier that you¡¯re friends with these two Manor Heads? I had to go through so much trouble because of you. Just now, I was at one of the mansions the two Manor Heads were staying in, and much to my dismay, the people in question weren¡¯t there at all."


    However, deep down he was sighing in astonishment, ¡¯It looks like this man is quite close to all the Subjugation Crusade survivors of the Fifth Earthly Branch. What a stroke of luck.¡¯


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei looked at one another. They understood the purpose of Luo Ping¡¯s visit now, but the two of them couldn¡¯t simply agree to do business with him, as they had already promised Miao Yi¡¯s ¡¯Little Sister¡¯.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t reply to Luo Ping and instead shouted to Yan Xiu, who was standing guard at the bottom of the rockery. "Yan Xiu, go prepare a weing feast for the two Manor Heads."


    "I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯m very familiar with the capital city. I¡¯ll go make the arrangements." Luo Ping immediately jumped at the chance to organize the weing feast, and stated clearly to everyone around¡ª ¡¯Don¡¯t anyone take this away from me¡¯ . He then quickly departed to make the preparations.


    When Luo Ping left, Sikong Wuwei asked, "What¡¯s up with that?"


    Miao Yi briefly exined the story to them. He then said, "Last time, I only told him about how I promised my business to Wen Fang after the meal. This time, you two can do the same as well. When you guys get to know each other better afterward, you can use his name as a deterrent to deal with all the other annoying people from the Chamber of Commerce. He¡¯s already used to it anyway."


    As such, after the weing banquet that night, it was to no one¡¯s surprise that Luo Ping¡¯s reaction was that of a bitterugh. He shook his head in resignation as he pointed at Miao Yi who had him fooled.


    As the banquet ended, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei went back to their own mansions, their bodies reeking of alcohol. And as expected, they were met with arge group of people by the entrance. They didn¡¯t beat around the bush and quickly used Luo Ping¡¯s name to turn down all these people and send them away. That way they wouldn¡¯t be offending the other party either.


    All the tellers could simply go back crestfallen. One of them grumbled, "We waited the whole day here for nothing."


    Anotherined resentfully, "That bastard Luo Ping has actually taken hold of three of them on his own. It looks like he¡¯ll surely take the top spot for the sales rankings at the end of the year. How lucky can he get..."


    "Luck? How can he be so lucky all the time..." Ren Xuanming mumbled to himself as he stood alone in front of the gates of Zhao Fei¡¯s mansion. Suddenly, his eyes brightened as he seemed to have figured something out. He quickly rushed to Miao Yi¡¯s mansion. However, he didn¡¯t go inside and only asked the servant guarding the gate a few questions via voice transmission.


    After confirming that Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had indeed left this ce after having drinks, Ren Xuanming departed with a grim face...


    Over the next few days, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin of the three major sects had arrived as well. The day for the Fifth Earthly Branch survivors of the Subjugation Crusade to report to Jade Capital Peak was just around the corner. None of them would think of arriving precisely on the day itself, as they wouldn¡¯t be able to shoulder the responsibility if something were to happen to cause them to bete. Hence, they all made it a few days ahead of time.


    Even though there were people from the Chamber of Commerce assigned specifically to deal with the trades from the three major sects on a regr basis, Ren Xuanming was still unwilling to give up. He didn¡¯t want to lose out to Luo Ping in the sales rankings at the end of the year. Hence, when he heard that the members of the three major sects had arrived, he still chose to look for them, despite everyone else having already given up.


    As the first one to arrive, Gu Sanzheng did grant Ren Xuanming an audience, surprisingly. As the two of them sat in the living room, Ren Xuanming took out a gift box again and smiled as he pushed it to Gu Sanzheng. "Brother Gu. I hope you¡¯ll ept this small gift of mine tomemorate our first meeting."


    When the other party told him of his identity, Gu Sanzheng immediately knew what he was here for. He didn¡¯t wish to meet with him originally. However, he figured he shouldn¡¯t go around offending people carelessly, so he ultimately decided to grant Ren Xuanming an audience.


    Gu Sanzheng showed no signs of epting the gift. He was always the frigid type. He wasted no time in exining the harsh truth to Ren Xuanming right from the start. "Brother Ren, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t wish to work together with you. It¡¯s just that my school has always maintained a partnership with one of the seniors in your Chamber of Commerce. I cannot make such a decision on my own."


    Ren Xuanming was still unwilling to give up. He chuckled and said, "Even if we can¡¯t do business, we can still be friends. I have long admired Brother Gu. Tonight, I¡¯ll be organizing a weing banquet in Spring Glory House for Brother Gu. I hope you¡¯ll do me the honor of attending."


    In the end, Gu Sanzheng declined Ren Xuanming¡¯s gift, as well as his invitation for the weing banquet using the excuse saying that he had some other matters to attend to. Ren Xuanming ultimately left with an awkward expression on his face.


    He unexpectedly bumped into Luo Ping as he exited the gate. The two of them were not particrly close to begin with. Luo Ping could tell what just happened from the look on Ren Xuanming¡¯s face. He mocked, "Brother Ren, you really don¡¯t know when to quit! Why torment yourself so?"


    "Hmph!" Ren Xuanming flicked his sleeves and left.


    Luo Ping didn¡¯t want to waste time with him either. He proceeded to ask the guard by the entrance to announce his arrival, and after getting permission to enter, he walked inside the mansion.


    Having not gone far, Ren Xuanming creased his brows as he thought, ¡¯I ended up failing. How can that bastard be so confident? Otherwise, why would he mock me so?¡¯


    He walked to the forest with quick steps, then abruptly turned around and hid himself between the trees.


    Inside the living room of the mansion, as Luo Ping presented to Gu Sanzheng his name card and introduced himself, he noticed a slight annoyance from thetter¡¯s face. He immediately took out Miao Yi¡¯s ¡¯rmendation letter¡¯ and handed it out with both arms as he said, "Brother Gu, I was asked to hand this to you by a friend."


    Gu Sanzheng was somewhat confused. As he took the jade archive and examined it with his transcendence energy, he couldn¡¯t help his surprise...


    By the time Luo Ping came out from the gate, his expression was practically glowing. Miao Yi¡¯s rmendation letter was very effective indeed. Even though the other party hadn¡¯t openly promised him anything, and had refused the weing banquet as well, his expression was significantly better after reading the letter. Gu Sanzheng even said to Luo Ping that he would have to trouble him if he ever needed his help.


    Luo Ping was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, while the other person was going to be a Manor Head who would oversee an entire domain. What could he ever need Luo Ping¡¯s help with? It wasn¡¯t as though Luo Ping could fight and kill Gu Sanzheng¡¯s enemies for him. Obviously, the other party meant that he would look for him whenever he had something to sell. Having gotten a major customer, Luo Ping¡¯s mood was naturally good.


    After Luo Ping left, Ren Xuanming slowly walked out of the forest he was hiding in. Luo Ping was in the mansion for a longer time than he was, and judging from his expression, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what had happened. Ren Xuanming¡¯s expression instantly darkened!


    Over the next few days, Ren Xuanming went to look for Tan Lao and Ye Xin as well. However, it was to no avail. None of them were willing to trade with him.


    The other tellers from the Chamber of Commerce seemed to know it would end like this, so none of them came to visit those three. The only ones that did were him and Luo Ping. However, judging from his secret surveince of the situation, it was evident that he and Luo Ping had received two entirely different treatments.


    Hiding in the darkness as he watched Luo Ping leave Ye Xin¡¯s mansion in a jubnt manner, Ren Xuanming gnashed his teeth in hatred and said, "The three major sects are just bullying me!"


    That said, it wasn¡¯t as though he could do anything to the three major sects. One, the three major sects had a rather decent rtionship with the Chamber of Commerce. And two, not anyone could afford to offend the forces of the three major sects within the Fifth Earthly Branch. Their Sect Masters were individuals who could meet the Overlord directly. If he were to offend them, then given the connections they had, they didn¡¯t need to spare much effort to take care of a measly employee from the Chamber of Commerce. There was nothing Ren Xuanming could do but leave resentfully...

 Chapter 459: Sudden Calamity

    Chapter 459: Sudden Cmity


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Elder Sister Shao Ah. Come look!"


    As she walked along the crowded market, Xue¡¯Er turned around and shouted to a beautiful girl dressed in an elegant off-shoulder robe. The girl was looking around with curiosity, but immediately rushed over to Xue¡¯Er when she heard thetter call her name.


    Behind her, Qian¡¯Er, Tai Ah, Wang Fang, and Wang Lian also came over to see what the fuss was about.


    Tai Ah and Shao Ah were Zhao Fei¡¯s handmaidens, and Wang Fang and Wang Lian were Sikong Wuwei¡¯s handmaidens. All three masters had given their girls a few days off, insisting that they need not worry about their duties and to have fun in the capital city instead. Perhaps it was a form ofpensation on their part for having worried thesedies for so many years.


    That said, this highly populous capital city was as unbelievably huge as it was extravagant. It was not a ce that the sixdies could fully enjoy to their hearts¡¯ content in just one or two days. What¡¯s more, considering it was such a hard-toe-by opportunity, thedies decided to make full use of their time here, heading off early every single morning anding backte every single night as they fully immersed themselves in all that the capital city had to offer.


    Thedies gathered together and looked towards an intricately-designed crystal fish tank. Slowly swimming around inside it was a group of fish which were almost bloated like balls. Their sheer cuteness immediately garnered thedies¡¯ affection.


    As thedies surrounded the fish tank and pointed at the swimming creatures excitedly, a tall, thin man holding a fan swaggered by with around half a dozen escorts following behind him. The stall owners on both sides of the street immediately revealed frightened looks.


    When the thin man passed by thedies, he slightly raised an eyebrow at them, then sent an abrupt p towards Qian¡¯Er¡¯s supple buttocks; since she was staring at the fish tank, her upper body was already bent forward. The crisp sound of the p quickly echoed throughout the area.


    "AH!" Against this sudden assault, Qian¡¯Er eximed in shock and quickly covered her butt. When the otherdies turned around, they watched as Qian¡¯Er sent out a kick by reflex. Two of the thin man¡¯s escorts quickly stood in front of him to block Qian¡¯Er¡¯s retaliation, but not only were they unable to protect their master, the three of them spat out a mouthful of blood and were sent flying altogether.


    The trio crashed into a stall on the opposite end of the street and knocked down several fish tanks, spilling water everywhere and causing the different types of fish to flop around on the ground.


    All three men were sprawled on the floor. The escort standing in front who¡¯d taken the brunt of the attack was already dead in a pool of his own blood, while the other escort kept vomiting blood. As for the thin man, he felt a strong haziness in his mind, and vigorously shook his head to dispel the dizziness. If there weren¡¯t two other people standing in front of him just now, being a mortal, he would have surely died from the attack of an immortal cultivator like Qian¡¯Er.


    The other three escorts quickly helped the thin man up. Two of them even pointed to Qian¡¯Er furiously and were about to retaliate. However, when they saw the three-petaled white lotus mark on her forehead, they were instantly dazed. Still, their fingers pointed at her furiously as they barked, "How dare you attack someone in the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch. Do you have any idea who you just hit?"


    The otherdies could already guess what had happened based on the loud pping sound earlier and after seeing that Qian¡¯Er was covering her butt. They were all utterly infuriated. Seeing her elder sister being taken advantage of, Xue¡¯Er was all the more beside herself with rage. Thedies immediately stepped forward and caused those escorts that stood in their path to wail in agony as they sent them flying with a kick, which had most likely killed these mortals on the spot.


    Fortunately, Lin Pingping had been standing close by. With a worried look on her face, she quickly rushed over to stop Xue¡¯Er and the others as she hastily warned, "We cannot use force here."


    Xue¡¯Er waspletely blinded by fury. She barked angrily, "Move aside! Let me kill him!"


    The thin man had regained his senses but was immediately thrust into a state of fear the next second. He frantically backed away, but soon fell back to the ground and stumbled his way backward. He waspletely terrified. He¡¯d never imagined that someone would dare attack him in the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch.


    Standing in a shop nearby, Ren Xuanming couldn¡¯t help his surprise at the boldness of thesedies. He also hadn¡¯t expected that they would dare to use physical force against someone in the capital city. If thesedies had really killed the person who¡¯d taken advantage of them just now, they would definitely end up in big trouble.


    Lin Pingping hastily stopped thedies, and warned them in a low voice, "That man is Huyan Shou, the 38th generation¡¯s grandson of the Celestial Sage¡¯s eldest disciple Huyan Taibao. He¡¯s not someone we can afford to offend."


    Thedies were astonished to hear that this thin man was actually a descendant of the Celestial Sage¡¯s disciple, and they quickly quelled the fury in their hearts. Even though they knew that the other party was just a mortal, they understood that he was not someone to be trifled with.


    Her face pale from anger, Qian¡¯Er clenched her teeth and said, "Forget it. Let¡¯s go!" The only reason she decided to let this matter go was because she didn¡¯t want to cause trouble for her master.


    But s, it was no longer possible for them to leave, as an rm had already begun to ring nearby. Soon, nine cultivators flew over from three separate directions. They were all wearing the same uniform and had a badge engraved with the word ¡¯Martial¡¯ hanging around their waist. Clearly, these people were the Martial Manor¡¯s cultivators who were tasked with regting safety and security within the capital city.


    When they saw Huyan Shou¡¯s miserable state, the nine enforcers couldn¡¯t help their surprise. They never thought that someone would actually dare to hit him within the capital city. They quickly interrogated some of the bystanders on what happened in the area, then surrounded thedies as they barked coldly, "As a cultivator, how dare you ignore thews andmit murder in the capital city. You all must be tired of living!"


    Noticing that the enforcers had arrived, Huyan Shou instantly felt a surge in confidence. Having regained some strength in his knees, he quickly got to his feet and bellowed furiously, "How dare you hit me!"


    Lin Pingping hurriedly stepped forward to stop him. She repeatedly bowed her head and apologized, "Young Master Huyan. This is their first time in the capital city. Please don¡¯t hold it against them!"


    "And where the hell did you sprout from?!" Huyan Shou raised his hand¡ª ¡¯Pa!¡¯ ¡ªand viciously pped Lin Pingping¡¯s face. He then walked up to Qian¡¯Er, raised both hands¡ª ¡¯Pa! Pa!¡¯ ¡ªand mercilessly pped her as well.


    And that was still not the end of it. Huyan Shou continued to give Xue¡¯Er, Tai Ah, Shao Ah, Wang Fang, and Wang Lian a brutal p as well.


    Thedies had used their transcendence energy to protect themselves. Not to mention, a mortal like Huyan Shou couldn¡¯t damage them to begin with. But even so, they didn¡¯t dare to retaliate against him at all, and just stood in ce as Huyan Shou pped their faces. For such beautiful women to be publicly humiliated like this, the sixdies all felt terribly ashamed inside.


    After going through a bout of pping, Huyan Shou wanted to have another go at thesedies, but someone suddenly grabbed his hand, yelling, "Huyan Shou, that¡¯s enough!"


    Huyan Shou retorted angrily, "What do you mean that¡¯s enough? They killed my subordinates. I want them to pay with their lives!"


    The enforcer who grabbed his hand replied coldly, "The Martial Manor will punish them ordingly. If you continue to fool around, you would be offending the Governor. Are you aware of the consequences? We might be giving you face, but the Governor won¡¯t show you that same courtesy!"


    Huyan Shou¡¯s rage instantly calmed down when he heard the Governor¡¯s name. He timidly retracted his hand, no longer daring to disobey this enforcer.


    Within a ce like the capital city, it was natural for there to be plenty of bigwigs. However, in spite of all that, Governor Lan Hou of the Martial Manor was still able to enforce thew in this ce. This naturally proved that hemanded an unquestionable authority within the capital city. Otherwise, chaos would surely ensue.


    Seeing that Huyan Shou had obediently stopped, the enforcer raised his hand and said, "Take them away!"


    Several ck chains were then taken out, and thedies were cuffed and taken away under the public eye. Not a single one of them dared to retaliate.


    "Huyan Shou, you¡¯reing along as well!" The leader of the enforcers extended his arm in a beckoning gesture.


    Huyan Shou¡¯s eyes instantly widened as he cried out, "They were the ones whomitted murder. Just take them away. Why do you have to drag me in as well?"


    "You are the injured party here. If you don¡¯te with us, how will we exin to our superiors?" The enforcer gave him a slight push and asked coldly, "Would you prefer the Governor to send someone to bring you over instead?"


    Huyan Shou was unable to retort and could only follow them obediently.


    "Aii!" With a worried expression, Lin Pingping hurriedly left the scene. She never expected something like this to happen. Not only had there been cultivatorsmitting murder in the capital city, they were even taken away by the enforcers from the Martial Manor. Given the severity of this issue, it was no longer something she could solve on her own. Lin Pingping quickly turned around and rushed off...


    Coincidentally, today was also the day that Miao Yi and the others had to report to the Martial Manor. It wasn¡¯t anything serious really. Someone in the Martial Manor was just waiting for them to sign in their attendance to indicate their arrival, and to confirm they were ready for the Overlord to grant them an audience at his convenience.


    Gu Sanzheng and the others had naturally joined in as well. All six of them registered with the Martial Manor, stating their temporary addresses within the capital city so that they could be readily summoned.


    After the administrative staff confirmed their information, he waved his hand, gesturing that they were all free to go.


    As the six of them left the office, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xinpletely ignored Miao Yi and simply went on their own paths along with their subordinates, as though he was aplete stranger to them.


    Miao Yi had no intention of greeting them either. Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had both witnessed what happened in Mount Calming Sea with their own eyes, so they knew why both parties were behaving so coldly to one another.


    Even though they didn¡¯t greet each other openly, Gu Sanzheng still secretly transmitted his voice over to Miao Yi and asked, "Miao Yi, when I returned to the school, I had originally nned to convince everyone to let go of our past grievances. I tried to mediate between our two parties using the events in the Sea of Constetions as a reason. So don¡¯t you think you went a little overboard with what you did in Mount Calming Sea? You killed my Sword Deviate Sect disciples like they were mere ants. How do you expect my school to feel good about that? How do you expect me to feel good about that?!"


    He clearly knew what had happened in Mount Calming Sea. In fact, it was precisely because he was so focused on this matter that his arrival in the capital city had been somewhat dyed.


    Miao Yi replied in kind, "Don¡¯t push all the me onto me. Don¡¯t you think the disciples of your three major sects were a little too overbearing as well? Not only did they rob the authority away from their superiors while I wasn¡¯t around, they even forced my women to entertain scoundrels and used them as bargaining chips. These are the disciples produced by your three major sects. I should be the one asking how you expect me to feel good about that. Don¡¯t tell me you want me to feel grateful to them instead? If you were in my shoes, what would you have done?"


    Gu Sanzheng couldn¡¯t make a single retort. He was also aware of how the disciples of the three major sects had exposed each other¡¯s crimes, and he agreed that they had indeed gone a little too far. However, that was merely based on his own personal judgment. If he stood from the school¡¯s point of view, the three major sect disciples didn¡¯t do anything wrong at all. To use any means necessary to obtain more benefits for the school was an approach that should beuded, not scorned. After all, the sess of a major sect was built upon the diligent efforts of every single one of its disciples. There was no way he could me them for what they did.


    But with this, it seemed it would be very difficult for Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin to walk alongside Miao Yi publicly in the future.


    Miao Yi¡¯s group had barely left the vicinity of the Martial Manor within Jade Capital Peak and were about to enter the sector of rental properties provided by the Chamber of Commerce when they saw Lin Pingping anxiously pacing around the mountain gates of the Martial Manor.


    When she saw Miao Yie out, Lin Pingping lifted her skirt and knelt down on the spot as she cried out, "Your subordinate has been unfaithful in her task! I failed to look after the Aunties, and now they¡¯re in trouble."


    Zhao Fei and the others were shocked, while Miao Yi gestured for Lin Pingping to stand as he asked solemnly, "Stand up and speak. What happened?"


    Walking on the other side, Gu Sanzheng and the others were also taken aback by Lin Pingping¡¯s words. They came to a stop and looked over, clearly wishing to know what had happened as well.


    Lin Pingping stood up and calmed herself, then quickly exined everything to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi and Zhao Fei looked at each other in shock. They never thought that such an incident would strike them out of the blue like this. That said, this problem was indeed a little too much to handle. They were in no mood to be angered about the fact that Qian¡¯Er was taken advantage of or how their girls were humiliated in public. The Martial Manor¡¯s enforcers had already taken them away anyway. Miao Yi and the others couldn¡¯t help worrying that the sixdies would suffer due to Huyan Shou¡¯s background. However, with their capabilities, they didn¡¯t really have the qualifications to get the Martial Manor to release the girls either.


    Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin exchanged nces with one another, and the trio couldn¡¯t help frowning. In contrast, the other three major sect disciples apanying them were revealing looks of delight. They clearly wanted nothing more than for Miao Yi to suffer.

 Chapter 460: Spoke Too Much

    Chapter 460: Spoke Too Much


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Since they now knew that the sixdies were taken away by the Martial Manor¡¯s enforcers, their first thought was to head back and check with the Martial Manor. The group quickly turned around to try and reenter the manor.


    However, they were stopped by the guard stationed at the mountain gates. That said, the other party knew that these people would soon have an audience with the Overlord, so he didn¡¯t make things too difficult for them and simply gave a reminder, "This is the entrance to the administrative department. If you wish to look for detained criminals, you should head to the judicial department."


    The group immediately rushed down the mountain. As Lin Pingping only possessed a limited amount of influence within the capital city, Miao Yi decided to head straight for the Chamber of Commerce to look for Luo Ping.


    Luo Ping was shocked to hear what happened. It was taboo for a cultivator to kill a follower, no matter the country. After all, followers were the source for Orbs of Will for every single cultivator in the world. What¡¯s more, the incident had happened right inside the capital city. Things were as bad as it could get now that the girls had fallen into the hands of the Martial Manor.


    Things were even more troublesome considering that the person they offended was someone from the Huyan family, the number one major n within the entire Celestial Nation. It wasn¡¯t as though the Huyan family was a terrifyingly powerful n or anything. No matter how much influence a mortal n possessed, it was nothing in the eyes of a cultivator. The problem was that the person standing behind the Huyan family was Huyan Taibao, the first disciple of Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun. His status within the Celestial Nation was second only to the Celestial Sage herself, and his influence paled only inparison to Mu Fanjun and no other!


    "Wait a moment. I¡¯ll go seek help from a senior," Luo Ping said quickly before rushing back into the Chamber of Commerce.


    Soon, a white-haired old man walked out with him. The old man had a flushed nose and rosy cheeks that came from drinking alcohol. Miao Yi was familiar with this person as well. It was the appraiser who once visited Mount Calming Sea to evaluate all his wine¡ªUncle Hua. Miao Yi quickly stepped forward and bowed, "Miao Yi greets Uncle Hua!"


    "So it¡¯s really you, kid! Your subordinates sure have some guts. They even dared to kill people from the Huyan family!" Uncle Hua shook his head and clicked his tongue. He then waved his hand and said, "Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll see how bad the situation is for now."


    Miao Yi and the others followed Uncle Hua around the back of Jade Capital Peak. Evidently, the old timer was quite familiar with the officers from the judicial department. It didn¡¯t take long for Miao Yi and the others to be granted special entry into the judiciary office. As for Yan Xiu as well as Zhao Fei¡¯s and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s subordinates, they remained outside. The judicial department was not some marketce where they could just enter in droves without a care, after all.


    As they walked into the Martial Manor¡¯s judiciary office, Uncle Hua made use of his connections again and brought Miao Yi and the others straight to High Magistrate Pu Yigong. If they had solely relied on Luo Ping instead, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to meet such a person.


    Uncle Hua was clearly quite close to Pu Yigong. It didn¡¯t take long for him to find out from thetter that the interrogation was already over. During the interrogation, the sixdies stated that Huyan Shou was the one who sexually harassed them first. And in contrast, Huyan Shou denied their usations and said that he simply bumped into them identally. High Magistrate Pu only briefly exined what happened, as it would be inappropriate for him to reveal too much inside information to Uncle Hua.


    "Since the interrogation is already over, you should be announcing your verdict now, right?" Sitting on the chair, Uncle Hua asked as he raised a cup of tea to his lips. Miao Yi and the others stood behind him.


    High Magistrate Pu chuckled and said, "Old Hua, I¡¯m not going to lie to you. As this incident involves the Huyan family, I don¡¯t have much say in the matter either. I need to ask the Governor to make the decision. Once he¡¯s made up his mind, you will naturally get your verdict. For now, all you can do is wait for the news toe."


    The other party¡¯s words made the current situation very clear. As such, being the hot-headed one, Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t contain his anger and spoke out resentfully, "It sure must be nice to have a good background."


    Magistrate Pu was not fond of these words at all. He cast an icy nce at Sikong Wuwei and asked, "Are you trying to suggest that the Martial Manor is biased? If you have some background, you are free to use that influence to your advantage as well. Who knows? Maybe you¡¯ll even get to change the Martial Manor¡¯s verdict!"


    "Shut up!" Uncle Hua immediately snapped at Sikong Wuwei furiously. Zhao Fei also pulled him aside, transmitting a voice message over to thetter and reminding him that now was not the time to lose his temper.


    Uncle Hua then smiled at Magistrate Pu and said, "Alright, stop giving us that nasty attitude of yours already. Aren¡¯t you going to consult the Governor? Hurry along then. We¡¯ll wait here for you."


    High Magistrate Pu chuckled and lifted his cup to his lips. Casting a suspicious smile towards Miao Yi and the others, he asked, "These people are all the ones that came back from the Sea of Constetions, right?"


    Uncle Hua rolled his eyes in disdain. He seemed to have caught on to what Pu Yigong was implying. He quickly turned around and asked Miao Yi and the others, "Normal folk will never be able to set foot in this ce. You youngsters are lucky to be here and have Magistrate Pu personally clearing your doubts for you. Didn¡¯t you guys juste back from the Sea of Constetions? Isn¡¯t there something you can show to Magistrate Pu?"


    Anyone who wasn¡¯t a fool would understand what Uncle Hua was trying to say¡ªthis man was openly demanding bribes!


    Miao Yi immediately took out a storage ring and handed it over to High Magistrate Pu. "I have a tiny trinket inside here. Feel free to admire it as long as you please, High Magistrate."


    Pu Yigong took the storage ring and examined it to find a set of Second Grade Armor Artifacts inside. This was something that was worth quite the fortune. He smiled and tucked it away, then nodded and said, "Since you¡¯re being this sincere about it, I¡¯ll keep it with me for now then."


    Miao Yi smiled and added, "The Hall Master of Moon Traversing Pce¡¯s Suppressing Second Hall is this junior¡¯s sworn big brother. Big Brother has always thought of the girls as his own younger sisters. They¡¯ve never experienced the hardship of prison before, so I wish to trouble High Magistrate to help keep an eye on them for me. Afterward, I will be sure to bring Big Brother along to thank you personally."


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t care if Huo Lingxiao¡¯s name was effective here or not; he had to use any connection at his disposal right now so that the girls wouldn¡¯t suffer too much in prison. He was even thinking of ways to drag Huo Lingxiao here if all else failed. Since thetter had been a Hall Master for so many years, Miao Yi was confident that he had some degree of influence in the capital city.


    Pu Yigong was somewhat surprised. He asked curiously, "Huo Lingxiao is your sworn big brother?"


    He wasn¡¯t the only one taken aback; even Uncle Hua and the others were just as shocked by this revtion.


    "Yes!" Miao Yi smiled and nodded.


    "I¡¯m quite close to Huo Lingxiao. We even drank together on several asions." Pu Yigong stood up and continued, "Just wait here for now. I¡¯ll go look for the Governor right away."


    Surprisingly, the other party was acquainted with Huo Lingxiao. Miao Yi immediately cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, High Magistrate!"


    Outside of the Martial Manor rested a quiet pavilion, and inscribed on the overhead que were the words ¡¯Transient Life¡¯.


    There was one man seated within the Transient Life Pavilion. His hair was neatly tied up, and he wore a golden-purple diadem on his head. His body was garbed in a broad purple robe beautifully decorated with gold embroidery, and around his waist hung a jade belt. His face exuded an aura of solemnity. Below his sharp eyebrows shone a pair of deep, piercing eyes brimming with rity. His facial features were sharp and delicate, and hisplexion was wless like jade. Like a hawk, his gaze was cold and sharp, and his presence was strong andmanding. With his natural good looks, it was easy to tell that this man was not your average cultivator.


    This man was none other than Governor Lan Hou. He had both sleeves pulled back as he vigorously brushed ck ink across a sheet of white paper that was being held down by several paperweights. Mountains and rivers came alive upon the sheet of paper under the stroke of his brush. He was painting the scenery of the capital city under Jade Capital Peak. His masterful strokes belied a profoundness that few wouldprehend.


    Two beautiful handmaidens were by his side. One of them was grinding up an inkstone, while the other was focused on Lan Hou¡¯s brushwork.


    High Magistrate Pu arrived and was just about to greet Lan Hou, but one of his handmaidens quickly turned around and gestured for him to keep quiet. He immediately stopped outside the pavilion and patiently waited.


    Lan Hou didn¡¯t even turn his head around as he asked, "What is it?"


    Pu Yigong finally entered the pavilion and greeted Lan Hou, then reported, "There¡¯s a bit of a problem down the mountain. Several cultivators just killed a few of Huyan Shou¡¯s subordinates."


    "Huyan Shou? That good-for-nothing descendant from the Huyan family?" Lan Hou asked.


    For even someone like Lan Hou to know of Huyan Shou¡¯s name, it was evident that his infamy had preceded the person himself.


    "That¡¯s the one!" Pu Yigong replied.


    "Who are the ones bold enough to attack people from the Huyan family?"


    "They¡¯re just a few handmaidens! However, these handmaidens coincidentally belong to those returnees from the Sea of Constetions who are waiting for the Overlord¡¯s summons..." Pu Yigong briefly described the situation at the time of the incident, then continued, "Eyewitness ounts from the scene of the crime prove that Huyan Shou was indeed the one who sexually harassed the other party first. However, those witnesses soon changed their statements and simply said that they didn¡¯t see what happened clearly. As such, the situation is looking rather unfavorable for those handmaidens. And as it involves the Huyan family, I dare not make a decision on my own. Thus, I implore you to make the verdict instead, Governor!"


    Lan Hou said indifferently, "All they did was kill a bunch of ruffians. It¡¯s not like anyone¡¯s expecting these loafers to contribute any willpower to begin with. If they¡¯re dead, then so be it. It saves everyone else the hassle of dealing with a bunch of troublemakers. As for those handmaidens, just let them go. Try not toplicate their masters¡¯ meeting with the Overlord if you can. As for Huyan Shou, lock him up for ten years for the time being. Since his family is rich anyway, you can think about whether to release him or not after you¡¯ve profited enough from them!"


    Lan Hou never stopped his subordinates from taking in bribes, but he had one rule: ¡¯You are free to take in as many bribes as you please, but once you do, you must make sure to fulfill your responsibility to the person who bribed you. I will not forgive anyone who abuses their authority for personal gain!¡¯


    "Lock him up for ten years?" Pu Yigong couldn¡¯t help feeling a little surprised. Mortals were different from cultivators after all. They could only live for a handful of decades. He asked cautiously, "Huyan Taibao is the one standing behind the Huyan family. Won¡¯t we be upsetting him by doing this?"


    Lan Hou¡¯s brush didn¡¯t even stop for a moment as he scoffed, "Huyan Taibao has thousands upon thousands of descendants all over the capital cities of every Earthly Branch in the Celestial Nation. Does he even have the luxury to be concerned about every single one of them? I¡¯m spending effort to properly educate his descendant here. He should be thanking me instead. Don¡¯t worry. He won¡¯t be too concerned about the wellbeing of some descendant from god knows how many generations away. Just do as I say. If Huyan Taibou does step forward, I will report to the Overlord and let him take care of it!"


    "Understood!" Pu Yigong cupped his fists and acknowledged the order.


    As he was about to turn around and leave, Lan Hou¡¯s voice suddenly came from behind, questioning, "To give me such a quick report on something that happened not too long ago; the ones meeting the Overlord must have some connections of their own, yes?"


    For Lan Hou to wield such high authority in a ce like the capital city, he was clearly no fool. His subordinate had swiftly sought him out for a verdict despite knowing full well the influence that the Huyan family possessed¡ªthis was undoubtedly a p to their face. As such, Lan Hou was sure that the other party must have had someone step forward for them as well.


    Pu Yigong¡¯s figure instantly froze. Since Lan Hou was already asking him so bluntly about it, he didn¡¯t dare conceal the truth any longer. With an awkward smile, he replied, "Governor is perceptive indeed. Truth be told, it wasn¡¯t anyone special. They simply asked that drunkard Hua from the Chamber of Commerce to look for me. You know him as well, sir. He and I drink together quite often. Besides him, there¡¯s also the one from the rankings¡ªMiao Yi. His sworn big brother is the Hall Master from Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s Suppressing Second Hall. Your subordinate is rather well-acquainted with him, and I suppose you can consider us friends. I must say, sir, even though your subordinate might have acted a little biased towards these people, I have not lost my professionalism on this matter."


    "Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s Suppressing Second Hall?" The brush in Lan Hou¡¯s hand finally stopped. He slowly turned his head to Pu Yigong and asked, "You mean Huo Lingxiao?"


    Pu Yigong was surprised to hear that the Governor was familiar with Huo Lingxiao as well. He immediately replied, "Yes, it¡¯s him!"


    Lan Hou turned back to the painting, then dipped his brush on the inkstone. As he slowlythered the brush with ink, he mildly instructed, "Continue to keep those handmaidens under lockdown for now. Also, I want you to detain those three Subjugation Crusade rank holders."


    Pu Yigong was taken aback. He didn¡¯t understand why things had turned out this way, and he couldn¡¯t help asking, "Governor, may I ask on what charges are we to detain them?"


    With an indifferent expression on his face, Lan Hou replied, "Allowing their servants tomit murder! Besides that, I want you to send a message to Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s Suppressing Second Hall. Tell Huo Lingxiao toe look for me himself if he wants me to let these people go!"


    Pu Yigong waspletely lost for words. He could only cup his fists and acknowledge the order, then take his leave...


    By the time he returned to the judiciary office, there were already several other people following behind him.


    When he saw Pu Yigong returning, Uncle Hua noticed the peculiar expression on his face. He stood up and asked, "How did it go?"


    Suddenly, with a deadpan expression on his face, Pu Yigong pointed towards Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei and thenmanded, "Apprehend them!"


    The people behind him immediately rushed over and restrained the trio by the wrists,pletely subduing them before they even had a chance to react to the sudden development.

 Chapter 461: A Different Mastermind

    Chapter 461: A Different Mastermind


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    Everyone waspletely dumbfounded. Uncle Hua asked, "Pu Yigong, what is the meaning of this?"


    Pu Yigong shook his head and replied, "This was not my intention; I¡¯ve been instructed by the Governor. He said that the three of them are guilty of allowing their subordinates tomit murder. I¡¯m just following orders!"


    Uncle Hua waspletely dumbstruck when he heard that this was Lan Hou¡¯s instruction. Perhaps in the entire Fifth Earthly Branch, only the Overlord would be able to change his mind now.


    Having his movements restrained, Sikong Wuwei snapped out of pure rage. "The Huyan family must be pulling the strings behind this. One who intends to use others will never be afraid of running out of excuses!"


    He wasn¡¯t the only one who believed this; even Miao Yi and Uncle Hua thought the same.


    "Ignorant child. How dare you make such baseless usations!" Pu Yigong red at Sikong Wuwei and barked, "p his mouth!"


    "Please wait!" Miao Yi suddenly yelled, "High Magistrate Pu, I wish to see the Governor!"


    Pu Yigong scoffed, "You really are ignorant. Do you think the Governor is someone the likes of you can meet just because you want to? I see¡ª"


    Before he could finish his sentence, Miao Yi¡¯s voice transmission suddenly rang in his ear, "I have a message from Fairy Hong Chen for the Governor!"


    Given how bad the situation was, Miao Yi waspletely out of any other ideas. Against such powerful individuals, there was no way he could take them on by himself. He finally understood howughable he was back when he stood up to Fairy Hong Chen. At the time, he had crushed the jade archive that she had given him. He never thought that at this moment, he would still need to use her name to save himself. He didn¡¯t know how he could still face Fairy Hong Chen if he were to meet her again. To think that he even wished to make her his woman. What a joke of an idea! Fairy Hong Chen would surelyugh at him when she finds out about thister on.


    Pu Yigong raised his hand and signaled for his subordinate to stop from pping Sikong Wuwei.


    Everyone wondered why Pu Yigong suddenly decided to change his mind mid-sentence.


    Pu Yigong transmitted his voice back to Miao Yi, warning, "Why didn¡¯t you bring up Fairy Hong Chen right from the start? Kid, you must be careful of what you say. Right now, you¡¯re only guilty of allowing your subordinates tomit murder. This isn¡¯t a crime that warrants death. Are you aware of the consequences of making false ims?"


    Miao Yi replied, "If I¡¯m really lying, the Governor will know immediately once he asks Fairy Hong Chen. Why would I dig my own grave like this?!"


    Pu Yigong had to agree with Miao Yi¡¯s words. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Lock them up for now."


    The trio was then taken away and immediately ced behind the sturdy bars of a prison cell.


    As they entered the prison, they soon heard the screams of one of their fellow prisoners. When said prisoner heard the sound of someoneing in, he fiercely bellowed, "Let me out! Hurry up and let me out! My ancestor is Huyan Taibao! How dare you imprison me?! My ancestor definitely won¡¯t forgive you all for this! Hurry up and let me out!"


    The prisoner¡¯s voice was a little hoarse, most likely from a long period of yelling.


    Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s expressions instantly darkened as they exchanged nces with one another. There was no need to guess. This prisoner must be that Huyan Shou. Unfortunately, he was being held in the innermost cell in the prison, so they couldn¡¯t see his face.


    "May I ask where those handmaidens are being held?" As the jailer locked the cell, Zhao Fei hurriedly took the opportunity to ask a question.


    However, the jailer didn¡¯t reply. Zhao Fei then took out two pearl-sized mid-grade Orbs of Will and stuffed it in the jailer¡¯s hands. With a in expression, the jailer tucked the Orbs of Will away, then pointed towards the wall behind Zhao Fei and the others and said, "They¡¯re in the women¡¯s prison next door!"


    "What handmaidens?" Huyan Shou¡¯s voice resounded from the end of the corridor. "Who is it?! Who just came in?!"


    Sikong Wuwei wanted to snap back at Huyan Shou, but Miao Yi raised a hand and stopped him. He transmitted his voice over to Sikong, saying, "Try not to cause a scene for now. We should be focused on getting ourselves out of here. After that, I will definitely have this scumbag¡¯s life!"


    "Who is it?! Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?!" Huyan Shou continued to scream.


    The three of thempletely ignored him and simply sat down cross-legged on the floor.


    Soon, Pu Yigong appeared alongside a jailer. Standing behind the cell doors, he cast a nce at the trio, then gestured for the jailer to open the doors. After which, he turned to Miao Yi and said, "Come with me!"


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were shocked. Miao Yi stood up and said, "I¡¯ll be fine!"


    The prison doors were then closed back up, and Miao Yi left with Pu Yigong. Meanwhile, Huyan Shou¡¯s hoarse screeches continued to echo throughout the prison walls...


    Outside of the Transient Life Pavilion, Pu Yigong and Miao Yi stood waiting.


    Inside the pavilion, Lan Hou dipped his brush in red ink, then painted vibrant flowers around the side of the mountain in the painting. He continued to paint across the other simr areas in the painting, then handed the red-tipped brush to one of his handmaidens, who then continued painting on his behalf.


    After which, he grabbed a wet towel from the other handmaiden, and wiped his hands as he slowly turned around. He nced at the two people waiting outside the pavilion, then said to Pu Yigong, "Wait down below!"


    "Understood!" Pu Yigong immediately departed.


    Lan Hou handed the wet towel back to his handmaiden, then sized up Miao Yi. Simrly, Miao Yi examined Lan Hou. He had long heard stories about this Governor, and today he was finally able to meet him in person.


    "Didn¡¯t you say that Fairy Hong Chen asked you to pass a message to me? Say it then!"manded Lan Hou as he stood at the top of the steps. His presence was absolutely overbearing, and even Miao Yi felt an immense pressure weighing down on him. The auraing from a person that had long stood over the shoulders of many was simply too intense to ignore.


    Miao Yi cupped his fists and replied, "Governor, to be honest, Fairy Hong Chen didn¡¯t ask me to pass any message at all. However, she did tell me that I cane look for you if I ever encounter any trouble."


    Lan Hou replied with a simple "Oh", then asked, "How do I know you¡¯re not lying to me?"


    Miao Yi answered, "I have no means to prove myself. However, just a few months ago, I have had the honor of meeting Fairy Hong Chen in the Western Constetions Pce. This was something she said to me personally at the time. I dare not make any false ims before you, Governor. You will immediately know the truth if you just ask Fairy Hong Chen."


    Lan Hou said, "I doubt very much that Hong Chen would allow a measly nobody like you toe find me."


    Miao Yi replied, "During the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, I was able to provide some help to Fairy Yue Yao in her endeavors. Hence, Fairy Hong Chen decided to tell me this. As for why she told me to look for you specifically should I ever encounter any trouble, that I do not know."


    Although Miao Yi didn¡¯t understand why Fairy Hong Chen had asked him to look for Lan Hou, Lan Hou did. Hong Chen herself didn¡¯t have many friends, but Lan Hou was definitely one of the few she had. She didn¡¯t have many acquaintances after all. Actually, Lan Hou already knew that Miao Yi was telling the truth right from the start. If he had been lying, he could¡¯ve named any of the other influential people instead of just randomly mentioning Hong Chen.


    Lan Hou then asked, "In that case, why didn¡¯t you look for me from the start?"


    ¡¯If I wasn¡¯t out of options, would I need to embarrass myself in front of Fairy Hong Chen like this?¡¯ Miao Yi felt helpless deep inside. He smiled bitterly and answered, "Governor, if I had any other choice, I wouldn¡¯t trouble you like this."


    "Alright then! I already understand where you¡¯reing from. Go back to prison and wait obediently for now!" Lan Hou waved his hand and gestured for Miao Yi to leave.


    ¡¯I still have to go back to prison?!¡¯ Miao Yi was startled, and he hastily asked, "Governor, do you not believe my words?"


    "That¡¯s not something for you to decide. I still need to confirm whether what you say is true or not." Lan Hou dismissed Miao Yi¡¯s pleas with a simple excuse.


    Miao Yi waspletely unable to retort. Soon, Pu Yigong returned, then brought Miao Yi back to his cell.


    When he returned to the cell, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei immediately asked what happened. Miao Yi simply shook his head helplessly. All he could do now was hope that Lan Hou would contact Fairy Hong Chen as soon as possible. If even his sworn big brother¡¯s name had no effect, then out of all the people he knew, only Fairy Hong Chen would be able to save him now.


    Not long after, a well-dressed old man walked into the prison, apanied by two jailers. He passed by Miao Yi and the others¡¯ cell and headed straight towards the edge of the prison.


    "Father!" Huyan Shou¡¯s terrified screams resounded once again. "Father! Save me quickly please!"


    Suddenly, a loud pping sound could be heard! Huyan Shou screeched, "Father! Why did you hit me?"


    "You damned bastard! Are you trying to anger me to death?! How dare you publicly take advantage of an immortal?! Are you tired of living?!" The furious bellow of the old man could be heard.


    Huyan Shou said in indignation, "What immortal? Aren¡¯t they just a bunch of female cultivators? I can¡¯t even count with both hands how many I¡¯ve fooled around with already. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like either, Father!"


    "You..." The old man was quaking with anger. He pointed at Huyan Shou from behind the cell doors and barked, "Come here this instant!"


    Huyan Shou had backed far away. He didn¡¯t dare walk up to the old man just to be pped, and he shook his head and said, "I¡¯m not going there if you¡¯re not going to get me out!"


    The old man bellowed, "You still think you can get out? The Governor himselfmanded that you be locked up for ten years! You¡¯ll only get to see the light of day again after ten years!"


    "Ten years!" Huyan Shou eximed in terror. He immediately rushed to the prison bars and got to his knees, pulling on his father¡¯s robes as he cried anxiously, "Father! I don¡¯t want to be locked up for ten years! I¡¯ll die! There are so many disciples from prestigious families who ended up dead in the Governor¡¯s hands already. He¡¯ll surely kill me. Father! You have to look for Ancestor toe save me!"


    ¡¯Pa! Pa!¡¯ In his anger, the old man gave Huyan Shou a couple more ps. There were some things that he simply couldn¡¯t say in front of strangers. What kind of person was their ancestor? Was he someone that anybody could just meet because they wanted to? There was a reason why no one dared to bully any of Huyan Taibao¡¯s countless descendants and even allowed them to live in fame and fortune¡ªit was precisely because of the awe that this ancestor of theirsmanded. Are they still not satisfied with that? Did they also wish to trouble their ancestor with the problems of a single descendant? This was an impossible favor to ask. Huyan Taibao would not step out unless it was a truly major issue. Otherwise, given the number of his descendants, where would he find the time to take care of every single one of them?


    "I can¡¯t save you!" The old man pointed at his own robes and roared, "Let go of me!"


    "Father! You can¡¯t leave me here! This incident has nothing to do with me actually. I¡¯m just a victim as well. There¡¯s a different mastermind. He¡¯s the one who instigated me into provoking those female cultivators. He should be the one who¡¯s locked up, not me!" Huyan Shou desperately pulled on his father¡¯s robes and was unwilling to let go. Already in tears, he cried desperately for help.


    "Mastermind?" The old man¡¯s eyes immediately widened. He yelled, "Who is the one manipting our Huyan family? You better tell me the truth!"


    ¡¯There¡¯s a different mastermind?¡¯ In the other prison cell, Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s ears immediately perked up.


    "His name is Ren Xuanming, a teller from the capital city¡¯s Chamber of Commerce! He was the one who came to me and told me to humiliate those women. He said that the moment they show even the slightest disrespect, that I shouldn¡¯t let them off and immediately reveal my identity as a member of the Huyan family to intimidate them and their masters. After which, Ren Xuanming would step forward as the savior of the day and settle the dispute for them, and at the same time, use this as leverage to force their masters to trade with him. Ren Xuanming told me that their masters are Subjugation Crusade survivors or something, and they possess a ludicrous amount of wealth. He said that this would be a major transaction, and told me that once the deed is done, I¡¯ll get sixty percent of the profits, while he takes forty percent. I was blinded by greed at the time and did as he told me to. I never thought that those women would be crazy enough to kill people so openly in the capital city, which then caught the attention of the Martial Manor¡¯s enforcers." Huyan Shou was so terrified that he spilled the beans on this entire incident immediately. He bawled, "Father! I didn¡¯t want it to be like this either! I was just tricked by someone else! I¡¯m not the one at fault here! Father! You have to save me! I¡¯ll die if I¡¯m locked up in here!"


    "Outrageous! How dare a measly teller try to set up my Huyan family!" The old man was furious. He forcefully tried to pull his robes away from his son¡¯s grasp. However, Huyan Shou simply wouldn¡¯t let go. The old man then immediately took off his robes, allowing his son to pull on it as much as he wanted, and then stormed off.


    "Father! You can¡¯t leave your son like this!" Huyan Shou¡¯s desperate cries echoed within the prison walls.


    "Ren Xuanming!" Miao Yi muttered with a dark expression on his face. He remembered that Luo Ping had told him this Ren Xuanming liked to use underhanded methods to conduct his business. At the time, he thought that Luo Ping was simply scorning a fellow colleague. He never thought that his words were actually true.

 Chapter 462: My Man’s Sworn Brother

    Chapter 462: My Man¡¯s Sworn Brother


    Trantor: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit


    "Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei have been apprehended by the Martial Manor?" Ye Xin gasped.


    Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin were currently gathered in Gu Sanzheng¡¯s mansion. They had sent their fellow disciples away and invited Luo Ping over to ask about what happened.


    "Why were they apprehended?" Gu Sanzheng asked.


    "For allowing their servants tomit murder, apparently." Luo Ping sighed.


    Tan Lao scoffed, "These people would really use all sorts of excuses to pin the me on someone. Their handmaidens only retaliated because they were being humiliated. Not to mention, it was nothing more than an ident. How did it end up with Miao Yi and the others being charged with the crime of allowing their servants tomit murder?"


    Luo Ping helplessly replied, "It¡¯s a direct order from the Governor."


    The trio couldn¡¯t help frowning at this. Their three major sects might have been able to help with the situation, but the person in question just had to be Miao Yi of all people. It would already be good enough if they didn¡¯t relish in his suffering. How could they possibly be willing to help him out...


    Suppressing Second Hall, Traversing Moon Pce.


    "Master! There¡¯s a letter from the capital city¡¯s Martial Manor." Liu Xing rushed into Huo Lingxiao¡¯s room.


    "The Martial Manor?" Seated in cultivation, Huo Lingxiao¡¯s eyes instantly shot open. Slightly puzzled, he took the jade archive from Liu Xing and examined it.


    Everything seemed in order until Huo Lingxiao read through the letter and was absolutely shocked by its contents. The letter came from the judiciary office of the Martial Manor, written by his old acquaintance, Pu Yigong. It exined how Miao Yi was caught up in an incident and had been apprehended by the Martial Manor. However, Huo Lingxiao wasn¡¯t too disturbed by this. His distress came from the part where Pu Yigong mentioned that Governor Lan Hou wished him to go personally to get Miao Yi and the others out of prison.


    "Son of a b*tch! I just knew that this little brother would bring me nothing but trouble once I revealed my identity! This time, he¡¯s even gone as far as wreaking havoc in the capital city!" Huo Lingxiao bellowed as he jumped straight to his feet. Hands behind his back, he began pacing back and forth around the room like an enraged beast.


    Liu Xing asked, "Master, are you going to meet Governor Lan Hou?"


    Huo Lingxiao stopped, his expression twisted in dismay. He had absolutely no idea what Lan Hou was trying to do at all. ¡¯If Miao Yimitted a crime, you can just punish him ordingly. Why do you want me to go fetch him personally? Isn¡¯t this a little beneath me? This is just too strange!¡¯


    Huo Lingxiao was thoroughly confused by Lan Hou¡¯s intentions. However, he did once hear from a certain someone that Lan Hou and the Traversing Moon Pce Lord, Zhang Tianxiao, were originally husband and wife. However, on the very night they were married, Lan Hou took advantage of the Zhang family¡¯s moment of carelessness and murdered Zhang Tianxiao¡¯s parents in cold blood. After which, he continued to massacre the entire Zhang family as well. Not a single person survived besides Lan Hou¡¯s newly-wedded wife, Zhang Tianxiao. And because of this, it was naturally no longer possible to continue with their marriage.


    And now, Huo Lingxiao was in a secret rtionship with that same Lan Hou¡¯s ex-wife... He originally thought that it would be fine considering the two of them had already be enemies. However, now that Lan Hou was arbitrarily calling him out, Huo Lingxiao couldn¡¯t help growing anxious. How could he possibly have the guts to go then? He wouldn¡¯t step foot in the Martial Manor even if he was beaten to death.


    That said, he couldn¡¯t pretend like he didn¡¯t know what happened either! Huo Lingxiao continued to pace back and forth, then suddenly said, "I¡¯m heading to Traversing Moon Pce!"


    He hurried out the house and immediately took to the skies...


    Huo Lingxiao flew like the wind, not slowing down for even a second, and quickly reached the outskirts of the majestic Traversing Moon Pce. He then immediately asked the guard stationed outside the pce gates to report his arrival to the Pce Lord.


    Huo Lingxiao was soon granted entry into the pce. As he hastily made his way to the harem and into the Pce Lord¡¯s sleeping quarters, he finally caught sight of the person he was looking for. Her lush hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall and herplexion fair like snow, the alluring woman was lying on her side, sucking in plumes of blue smoke from the incense burner beside her. Her voluptuous figure was only half covered by a thin set of robes, enough to drive any man mad with lust.


    Two men were kneeling next to the bed, softly massaging the woman¡¯s legs at the top. Another man was slightly bent over at the head of the bed, and from time to time he would grab a piece of freshly-cut fruit from the fruit bowl and feed it to her lips. Lastly, there was one man seated on his knees at the head of the bed, gently massaging her shoulders. Meanwhile, the one relishing all this pleasure was none other than the highly seductive and voluptuous Pce Lord Zhang Tianxiao.


    As for the four men fighting for her affection, they were all beautiful beyond belief, and each person had his own charms. One was gant and handsome; one was devilishly beautiful; one was cheery and energetic; and one was elegant and debonair. These men were personally handpicked by Zhang Tianxiao from tens of thousands of men to be her male servants, and they were changed once every twenty years. Even though they were mere mortals, Huo Lingxiao still couldn¡¯t help the gloom from creeping up on his face as he watched the scene before him.


    In this world, men might be allowed to have a bunch of women by their side, but for it to be the other way around was somewhat unsettling for most people. That said, the Pce Lord of Traversing Moon Pce was not your average woman. If she wished to do something like this, no one could stop her. And even if there were such a person, there wasn¡¯t a need to do such a thing either.


    Huo Lingxiao wasn¡¯t sure if it was because he was feeling jealous, but whenever he saw these four male servants, he couldn¡¯t help but see himself as one of them as well, and this made him feel a sense of humiliation.


    The four beautiful men turned to look at him with eyes filled with hostility, as though Huo Lingxiao was also another contender for this beautiful woman¡¯s affection. When he met their gazes, Huo Lingxiao gnashed his teeth in hatred. How dare these mortals look at him in such a way!


    Her face in rapture, the Traversing Moon Pce Lord breathed in the blue smoke andzily opened her eyes as she nkly asked, "What is it?"


    "My lord!" Huo Lingxiao immediately walked up to the bed and presented a jade archive to her.


    Zhang Tianxiao slowly extended her arm and sucked the jade archive into her grasp. As she read through it with her transcendence energy, her eyes immediately widened, theziness in them instantly reced by a powerful sharpness. The four male servants were trembling in fear from the overbearing aura she was suddenly exuding.


    Huo Lingxiao also lowered his head, afraid to meet her gaze. However, he soon noticed a pair of bare feet walking up to him. As he lifted his gaze, he noticed a pair of half-exposed, heaving breasts in front of him. Without even realizing it, Zhang Tianxiao was already standing before him, coldly asking, "Do you normally cross paths with Lan Hou?"


    Huo Lingxiao cupped his fists and replied, "I¡¯ve only seen him from afar. We¡¯ve never even had a conversation before, much less cross paths with one another. That¡¯s why I¡¯m a little confused by this issue. I don¡¯t dare to act recklessly on this, so I decided toe to you for advice, Pce Lord."


    "Allowing their servants tomit murder, I see! Hmph! I sure would like to see what that Lan Hou dares to do to my people. Leave this matter to me!" The melodious, yet scornful voice quickly trailed off.


    Before Huo Lingxiao even realized what was happening, the Pce Lord had already drifted outside, the hems of her robes trailing behind her. That alluring figure didn¡¯t even touch the ground once and just flew off into the distance. There was no describing the elegance of that silhouette.


    Seeing this, Huo Lingxiao heaved a sigh of relief. He never thought that the Pce Lord would step forward without him having to coax her into it first. He was even getting ready to cut Miao Yi offpletely if all else failed, and tell Pu Yigong to just handle this matter professionally. In short, Huo Lingxiao just didn¡¯t want to meet that Governor Lan Hou...


    Jade Capital Peak. Lan Hou was standing beside a pond. He had one hand behind his back, while the other hand grabbed some feed from a bowl his handmaiden was carrying and tossed it into the water. A school of koi fish quickly began fighting for the feed, stirring up ripples across the otherwise tranquil pond.


    Suddenly, Lan Hou turned to the horizon, noticing a streak of light flitting past the skies of the capital city. In the next instant, the figure of a woman floated above him. The woman gracefully descended, her wless, bare feet gently touching the railings of white jade along the edge of the pond as shended. With a cold expression on her face, the woman looked down at Lan Hou.


    Lan Hou frowned. "Why are you here?"


    Zhang Tianxiao raised her hand and tossed something out, which shot towards Lan Hou in a streak of light. Immediately, the air surrounding Lan Hou began to ripple, and the jade archive that was hurled at him was stopped in mid-air.


    Lan Hou flipped his palm over and let the jade archivend in his grasp. As he looked it over, he asked solemnly, "You came just for this?"


    The figure on the railings hovered past his face, and the hems of her light-yellow robes pped across his cheeks withplete disregard for his presence. Lan Hou soon detected a familiar fragrance. It was as though Zhang Tianxiao was trying to tell him¡ª¡¯So what if I¡¯m mistreating you?¡¯


    Standing motionlessly, Lan Hou slowly turned his head around to see that Zhang Tianxiao had already flown into his room. He then looked to the side andmanded, "Leave us!"


    "Understood!" The two handmaidens acknowledged the order and swiftly departed. After which, Lan Hou entered the room.


    As he entered the room, he was greeted with Zhang Tianxiao¡¯s alluring back. The curves on her figure were highly seductive when she stood upright.


    Lan Hou walked to the side and poured a cup of tea, then brought it to her face as he asked, "Did you really have toe here personally for such a small issue?"


    Her hand holding onto a handkerchief, Zhang Tianxiao swung her arm and tantly knocked the teacup to the ground, smashing it to pieces. She scoffed, "Allowing their servants tomit murder? What a good excuse you thought up there. Is this how the fair and just Governor Lan Hou does things? You¡¯re holding my man¡¯s sworn brother captive. Did you really think I wouldn¡¯te after something like that?"


    ¡¯Your man?¡¯ Lan Hou tightly clenched his fists under his sleeves. He sucked in a deep breath, then rxed his grip, saying, "Xiao Xiao¡ª"


    "Xiao Xiao??" Zhang Tianxiao abruptly turned around, puffing her chest out as she took a step forward. "What right does a two-faced bastard like you have to call me by that name?"


    As the other party¡¯s bust was almost pressed against him, Lan Hou took a step back. He sighed, "I didn¡¯t mean anything by it. I simply wanted to use this opportunity to test whether or not that man is suitable for you. If he really cares for you, I won¡¯t object to your rtionship. But if he¡¯s just trying to use you to better his own position, I will not forgive him!"


    "Fufu..." Zhang Tianxiao burst into uncontrobleughter as though she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. It even seemed like she was close to tears fromughing too hard. Then, as her slender finger repeatedly jabbed at Lan Hou¡¯s chest, she said in amanding tone, "Even if he¡¯s just using me, he¡¯s still better than you! Anyone else in the world can say these words to me, but not you! Who are you to me? What right do you have to control my life? We are both equal in status and position. I don¡¯t need you telling me what to do. I¡¯ll only ask you one thing: are you going to free my man¡¯s sworn brother or not..."


    Not long after, the prison doors were opened. Pu Yigong unlocked them himself, smiling as he said, "The Governor has pardoned all of you. You are free to go!"


    The three people inside the cell exchanged nces with one another, and Miao Yi heaved a sigh of relief, assuming that Lan Hou must have contacted Fairy Hong Chen and confirmed with her what he told him. This time, he had really embarrassed himself in front of Fairy Hong Chen. Miao Yi didn¡¯t know how he could face her from now on.


    As they walked out to the corridor, Miao Yi cupped his fists and asked, "High Magistrate, what about our handmaidens?"


    Pu Yigong smiled and said, "The Governor said they are to be released as well. Let¡¯s go!"


    His attitude had taken an abrupt turn, bing much more courteous than before. In truth, Pu Yigong also believed that the Governor had only changed his mind because of his conversation with Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei cupped their fists and thanked Pu Yigong, and everyone then proceeded out the prison. Within its halls, Huyan Shou¡¯s hoarse screeching continued to echo, "It¡¯s not my fault! Let me out of here! Father! Save me..."


    No one bothered paying any attention to him, and no one noticed that hidden within the corner of the cell that Miao Yi and the others were in, was the figure of a tiny mantid.


    After Miao Yi and the others exited the prison, they continued to wait outside. Several jailers proceeded into the women¡¯s prison, and not long after, they brought out the sixdies, who looked slightly weakened after being locked up.


    When they saw their masters, the sixdies immediately knelt down. They knew that they had caused great trouble for their masters this time.


    "Everything is alright now. Stand up, all of you!" the three masters said.


    The group then proceeded to leave the judiciary office. Waiting anxiously outside the mountain gates, Lin Pingping and the other subordinates heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Miao Yi and the othersing out.


    Not long after everyone returned to Miao Yi¡¯s mansion, Luo Ping rushed over. When he saw that they were all alright, he heaved deeply in relief and said, "Uncle Hua told me that High Magistrate Pu has already released all of you. Thank the heavens that you¡¯re all alright!"


    He continued tough and said, "Anyway, you all came out just in the nick of time. You almost missed something interesting. Come with me, quickly. I have something nice to show you!"

 Chapter 463 Forefather Chops the Wood

    Miao Yi and the others had no idea what Luo Ping meant by a nice show. Thetter simply dragged them along to the forest behind the Chamber of Commerce and even specifically requested them to bring along their mounts.


    "Brother Luo, what do you mean by a nice show?" Being the impatient one, Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t help asking.


    Luo Ping pointed to the Chamber of Commerce¡¯s backyard in the distance and said, "It should be starting soon. You¡¯ll find out soon enough."


    Miao Yi and the others were speechless, wondering why Luo Ping was acting so mysterious. In the end, they could only be patient and wait. After an hour or so, they finally caught sight of the rear gates of the Chamber of Commerce opening. A bunch of people both old and young walked out, and walking unsteadily within the crowd was a downcast young man. This young man was none other than Ren Xuanming. However, he was no longer wearing his Chamber of Commerce uniform.


    "So it¡¯s this weasel. He really caused us a great deal of trouble!" Sikong Wuwei snarled, gnashing his teeth in hatred.


    Luo Ping was somewhat surprised as he asked, "Don¡¯t tell me you guys knew about this already?"


    Miao Yi lightly nodded and recounted the conversation that happened in the prison to Luo Ping, who then finally understood everything. Meanwhile, thedies were clenching their jaws in hatred when they discovered that this was all just a ploy of some nasty scoundrel.


    Zhao Fei asked, "This is what you meant by a nice show?"


    Luo Pingughed and replied, "Of course it is. I think everyone here only knows one side of the story. While Ren Xuanming¡¯s methods are indeed ingenious in a sense, he messed with the wrong people this time and ended up provoking Huyan Shou¡¯s old man, Huyan Kang¡¯an. Everyone knows that the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce is under the management of Huyan Taibao of the Realm Beyond Heaven; he¡¯d held it firmly in his grasp from the day of its inception. You can say that Huyan Taibao single-handedly founded the Chamber of Commerce. As a result, since these bountiful resources are easily essible to Huyan Taibao, any familiarity with the local nobility and the prestigious n members could be easily construed in a suspicious light. That¡¯s precisely why he actively maintains his distance from them. And because of this, the Huyan family doesn¡¯t hold too much influence over the local nobility either. You can see this from the way that Lan Hou dares to offend them without even batting an eye. That said, because of their ancestry, the Huyan family still possesses a significant amount of power over the Chamber of Commerce. Huyan Shou¡¯s old man, Huyan Kang¡¯an, brought hisints straight to the Director of the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s Chamber of Commerce, and after an internal investigation, Ren Xuanming was supposed to be given a death sentence. However, because Vice-Director Long Maosen stuck his neck out to protect him, Ren Xuanming ended up being spared. Long Maosen pleaded for his life by bringing up one of Ren Xuanming¡¯s ancestors, citing his past achievements and the fact that he died in battle for the sake of the Celestial Sage.


    "Nheless, while death can be avoided, some form of punishment needs to be handed down regardless. Ren Xuanming has already been sacked from the Chamber of Commerce and is now reduced to a mere loose cultivator. What¡¯s more, he is not to be employed by the administration in any way for the next five hundred years."


    Sikong Wuwei immediately cursed, "Goddammit! To think this weasel actually managed to escape with his life!"


    "Aii! There¡¯s no helping it. Vice-Director Long Maosen used to be a subordinate of Ren Xuanming¡¯s ancestor, and he received much support from thetter when he was still alive. Long Maosen would be disloyal if he didn¡¯t step forward now." Luo Ping sighed, sounding a little rueful. However, he soon smiled and said, "But it might be even better to die than to live at this point!"


    Zhao Fei asked, "How so?"


    "Simple. By protecting Ren Xuanming, the Vice-Director is already pitting himself directly against Huyan Kang¡¯an¡¯s interests. There¡¯s no way he can continue to ruffle up thetter¡¯s feathers just for Ren Xuanming¡¯s sake. Given how much influence the Huyan family wields within the capital city, Ren Xuanming will inevitably be heavily targeted by the Huyan family should he choose to stay. As such, he will surely think about running as far away as he can from here. However, the Chamber of Commerce has branches all over the entire Celestial Nation, meaning that the Huyan family¡¯s influence extends across the entire nation as well. Thus, Ren Xuanming will not have a ce to call home within the whole Celestial Nation. As soon as he leaves the capital city, he will likely have to go on the run. God knows if he¡¯ll be able to escape the Huyan family¡¯s clutches!"


    Luo Ping was feeling a little delighted at Ren Xuanming¡¯s misfortune, and as he spoke, he couldn¡¯t help tilting his head towards Qian¡¯Er, who was silently biting her lips. If Qian¡¯Er¡¯s actions hadn¡¯t gonepletely beyond Ren Xuanming¡¯s expectations¡ªdaring tomit murder in the capital city¡ªwhich attracted the attention of the Martial Manor¡¯s enforcers, Ren Xuanming might not have ended up in such a miserable state. Perhaps his little scheme would have even seeded. Ren Xuanming had sorely underestimated his opponents this time, and he was now paying the price. As the saying goes: ¡¯when you y with fire, you will get burned.¡¯


    ¡¯So that¡¯s why!¡¯ Everyone revealed a look of understanding.


    At the Chamber of Commerce¡¯s backyard, the despondent Ren Xuanming mumbled something to the crowd, and after making a deep bow, he proceeded to draw out a dragon steed and leaped onto it. With a pitiful expression, he dashed out of the backyard and headed straight towards the city gates.


    "Everyone, shall we send him off?" Luo Ping smiled and asked the crowd.


    Miao Yi and the others immediately understood why Luo Ping had them bring along their mounts as well. It seemed he wished to give them the opportunity to pay Ren Xuanming back for what he did.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t particrly interested, but he told Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei nheless, "We¡¯ll go have a look. The rest of you, go back."


    The two of them immediately exchanged knowing looks. Then, with Luo Ping tagging along, the four riders swiftly departed.


    Within the city, Luo Ping was about to rush straight towards Ren Xuanming, but Miao Yi raised a hand to stop him, asking, "Brother Luo, why must you be so hasty?"


    Luo Ping was somewhat confused at first. However, he soon realized that while he had never personally been involved with fighting and killing as a Chamber of Commerce employee, what about the three people before him? Any one of them was a lord in his own right, as well as an overseer of his respective territory. Not to mention, they hade out alive from the Subjugation Crusade, their sess paved with the blood of 180,000 participants. It was impossible to put a number on the number of lives these three had already taken. They probably didn¡¯t intend to let Ren Xuanming leave with his life to begin with!


    Luo Ping couldn¡¯t help feeling a little nervous. But at the same time, he was a little expectant as well. Ren Xuanming had Vice-Director Long Maosen backing him up, and because of that, Luo Ping was always bossed around. That¡¯s why he wanted Ren Xuanming dead as well. However, he¡¯d never taken part in anything involving murder and plunder before, so he was inevitably a little nervous.


    Luo Ping turned to look at the other three and noticed their expressions werepletely calm, a stark difference from his own.


    The four riders followed behind Ren Xuanming from a distance. They didn¡¯t want to startle thetter, and just quietly followed along, all the way until he exited the city¡¯s boundaries.


    After going several kilometers away from the capital city, Miao Yi suddenly waved his hand, and together with Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, they quickly elerated forward. Utterly flustered by the sudden signal, Luo Ping hurriedly followed behind them.


    Soon, Ren Xuanming noticed the sound of movement behind him. When he saw it was Miao Yi and the others, his expression twisted in horror, and he immediately bolted for his life.


    Draconic roars soon began to echo as Miao Yi brandished the Inversed-Scales Spear. Underneath him, Charcoal burst forth in a spurt of energy and pulled away from the four-man formation, rapidly drawing closer to Ren Xuanming.


    Luo Ping¡¯s heart was beating wildly as he watched this. These people were indeed nning to take Ren Xuanming¡¯s life. As he thought, these lords were all ruthless characters. Not a single one of them should be easily offended, as things could turn to a life-or-death situation at the drop of a hat!


    When he saw Miao Yi pulling in close from behind, Ren Xuanming waspletely struck by terror. He drew his sword and pricked his mount¡¯s rump repeatedly as he tried to make it run faster. However, Miao Yi continued to shorten the distance between them, not allowing Ren Xuanming to throw him off at all. Thetter¡¯s face was already white as a sheet.


    After closing the distance to about ten meters apart from Ren Xuanming, Miao Yi tilted his spear at an angle and was about to strike out. Suddenly, a purple streak of light flitted across the skies, rapidly descending and fleeting past Miao Yi¡¯s line of sight as it dragged Ren Xuanming away from his impending peril and up to the skies.


    In the blink of an eye, the purple light disappeared into the horizon. Its speed was extremely fast, and not something that Charcoal could catch up to at all. But even if he could, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t dare give chase to that purple streak of light. After all, that was a Purple Lotus cultivator!


    Charcoal slowly stopped by the side of the road. As he held onto his spear, Miao Yi¡¯s face was gloomy as he stared in the direction the purple light had disappeared off to.


    Zhao Fei and the others came to a stop behind him, asking, "Who could have saved that bastard?"


    Luo Ping pursed his lips and replied solemnly, "It¡¯s probably the Vice-Director. Since we were able to guess that the Huyan family wouldn¡¯t let Ren Xuanming off so easily, the Vice-Director probably had the same idea as well and knew that he would be in danger! That Ren family¡¯s ancestor must have really umted some good karma for Vice-Director Long to protect his descendants to this extent. But I wonder where he could have taken Ren Xuanming?"


    "He spoiled our fun!" Sikong Wuwei tucked his poleaxe away in dissatisfaction.


    They had wanted to take revenge but unexpectedly had to return in disappointment.


    Once they returned to the capital city, Miao Yi asked Luo Ping to bring them to Uncle Hua. Regardless of whether or not the other party had been of any help, he did put in the effort for their sakes after all. Now that Miao Yi and the others were free, they naturally needed to go thank him in person. If they didn¡¯t even understand such a basic moral courtesy, they could forget about finding sess in life.


    The location was at a small mountain near to Jade Capital Peak. This piece ofnd belonged to the Chamber of Commerce, and almost all its members resided here.


    It seemed Uncle Hua had quite a high position within the Chamber of Commerce as he owned a very decent courtyard for his own use. This was pretty good considering the scarcity ofnd within the capital city.


    Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei wanted to leave Uncle Hua with a good impression, so they handed him a few gifts as a token of their appreciation. Uncle Hua didn¡¯t hold back either and just epted their gifts light-heartedly. After which, he invited them inside to have a seat and had the servants offer them some tea.


    Miao Yi and the others thanked Uncle Hua for the gesture, then brought up the matter of Ren Xuanming¡¯s escape. However, Miao Yi didn¡¯t mention they were hunting him down to kill him, just that they wished to get payback for what he did. He slowly asked, "Does Uncle Hua know where Vice-Director Long might have taken Ren Xuanming?"


    At this, Luo Ping secretly cast a sideways nce at the other two and saw that they were listening very intently. From the looks of it, these people still had no intention of letting Ren Xuanming off. Their ruthlessness was not something that cultivators from the Chamber of Commerce, who lived their days in peace and quiet, couldpete with. They were the type who would not hesitate to kill as long as they had the chance!


    "The forefather chops the wood for his descendants to bear the cold. It is understandable that Long Maosen wishes to ensure Ren Xuanming¡¯s safety. From what I¡¯ve heard, Ren Xuanming¡¯s ancestor saved Long Maosen¡¯s life on multiple asions and was a tremendous benefactor to him. You can say that Long Maosen wouldn¡¯t be living the peaceful days he has now if not for Ren Xuanming¡¯s ancestor. Long Maosen has survived in the cultivation realm for many years, so it shouldn¡¯t be surprising for him to have a few connections. I¡¯m positive that he sent Ren Xuanming to a safe location. As for its exact whereabouts, that¡¯s no longer something I can pry into."


    Uncle Hua seemed to have guessed what Miao Yi and the others were thinking. He didn¡¯t wish to stir up any trouble and immediately changed the subject, pointing right at Miao Yi¡¯s nose as he sighed, "Speaking of that matter a few days ago, kid, you really screwed yourself over on that one. You were originally about to go scot-free, but you just had to mention that sworn big brother of yours, Huo Lingxiao. You practically brought this whole mess onto yourself!"


    The trio was shocked by Uncle Hua¡¯s words. Miao Yi immediately cupped his fists and asked, "How so?"


    Uncle Hua lifted the wine sk to his lips and took a gulp, swallowing a couple of mouthfuls as he leaned back on his chair. He then exined, "At first, I didn¡¯t quite understand it either. Pu Yigong received your gift, so logically speaking, everything should have been alright. That¡¯s why, after they took the three of you away, I dragged him over for a drink, and while we were drinking, I took the opportunity to ask about you. I then found out that when Pu Yigong sought Lan Hou for a verdict, thetter had already decided to release your handmaidens and imprison Huyan Shou for an entire decade as punishment. However, Pu Yigong spoke a little too much and mentioned that you were Huo Lingxiao¡¯s sworn brother, causing Lan Hou to immediately change his stance on the matter. Not only did he decide not to release your handmaidens anymore, he even pped you three with the crime of allowing your servants tomit murder, and demanded that Huo Lingxiaoe get you himself. Let me ask you this: does your sworn big brother have some kind of personal grievance against Lan Hou?"


    Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei exchanged nces with one another¡ªso that¡¯s why they were imprisoned. If they hadn¡¯t been respectful and visited Uncle Hua to show their gratitude, they probably would have never known about the truth of the matter. This was the power of having connections. At the very least, Miao Yi and the others would know better next time, and wouldn¡¯t suffer from the same mistake again.


    Miao Yi was speechless, and he awkwardly replied, "Uncle Hua, I really didn¡¯t know that they had a vendetta against each other. If I did, why would I mention my big brother in the first ce? Wouldn¡¯t I just be digging a grave for myself by doing that?"


    "I think so too!" Uncle Hua nodded in a carefree manner, then gulped down another mouthful of wine...

 Chapter 464 The Overlord Summons

    After leaving Uncle Hua¡¯s ce, Miao Yi and the others had just returned to Miao Yi¡¯s mansion on Jade Capital Peak when Xue¡¯Er and the others informed them that the people from the Martial Manor had stopped by. They informed them that the Overlord wished to meet them tomorrow morning, and reminded them to not be tardy!


    Then, just as they were discussing what time they should leave tomorrow, one of the guards stationed at the gates outside came in and reported that Huyan Kang¡¯an was requesting an audience!


    The trio exchanged nces, wondering what the old man wanted. Miao Yi frowned and said, "Let him in!"


    Not long afterward, the old man that they had previously met in prison walked in. As both parties exchanged nces, Huyan Kang¡¯an repeatedly cupped his fists towards Miao Yi and the others and apologized, "It is all this old one¡¯s fault for not properly teaching my own child. I humbly ask that you forgive his transgressions, Oh great immortals!"


    Miao Yi and the others felt a little strange hearing the words ¡¯great immortal¡¯e out of this person¡¯s mouth. One should know that there were countless ¡¯great immortals¡¯ in the cultivation realm who couldn¡¯t even measure up to the mortal standing before them right now!


    Miao Yi smiled and replied, "We already know about this matter. Huyan Shou only did what he did because he was tricked by someone else. He isn¡¯tpletely at fault."


    Behind him, Qian¡¯Er quietly bit her lips and lowered her head when she heard this.


    Huyan Kang¡¯an humbly waved his hand, as though saying¡ª¡¯I know full well what kind of person my son is¡¯. He then turned around and beckoned for his three attendants toe in. Upon his signal, the attendants revealed six palm-sized decorative gift boxes, then ced two of them on the teapoy closest to Miao Yi and Zhao Fei.


    "Oh great immortals, you are magnanimous indeed. Thank you for not holding it against us mere mortals. This might not be much, but here is a simple token of my apology!" Huyan Kang¡¯an greatly humbled himself, to the point that it was hard to believe that he was a descendant of the great Huyan Taibao.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know what gifts Huyan Kang¡¯an had brought over to ¡¯redeem himself¡¯, but he put up a smile nheless and said, "Your ancestor Huyan Taibao is someone we deeply respect. Since you¡¯ve humbled yourself to deliver these gifts to us personally, there is not much for us to say. Consider it all water under the bridge! However, I still need to remind you of something!"


    Huyan Kang¡¯an cupped his fists and replied, "Please enlighten this old one, Oh great immortal!"


    Miao Yi replied solemnly, "We can spare your child. However, a certain someone might not share our goodwill, because you ruined his life!"


    Huyan Kang¡¯an¡¯s eyes immediately brightened. Despite fully understanding what Miao Yi was implying, he still asked, "Do tell me more, Oh great immortal."


    "To be frank with you, not too long after we found out that Ren Xuanming was exiled from the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce, we immediately trailed after him out the capital city, in hopes of getting payback for what he did." Speaking up to here, Miao Yi shook his head and sighed.


    Huyan Kang¡¯an was evidently quite interested in the oue and asked, "Then what happened?"


    Miao Yi waved his hand and said, "Regretfully, even with the three of us working together, that Ren Xuanming wasn¡¯t even the least bit scared. Instead, he made sphemous ims, saying that he will have his revenge on you and your son for ruining his life. He also warned the three of us that our time wille too. At first, we didn¡¯t think too much about his ravings and had only nned on teaching him a little lesson. However, in that crucial moment, a Purple Lotus expert suddenly appeared and rescued him!"


    Huyan Kang¡¯an¡¯s eyes instantly narrowed as he mumbled to himself, "A Purple Lotus expert..."


    "We then realized that Ren Xuanming wasn¡¯t simply being full of himself; he really had a card up his sleeve." Miao Yi smiled and continued, "This might sound a little harsh, but we cultivators can at least defend ourselves. It¡¯s best if you and your son prepare yourselves while you still can. That Ren Xuanming is definitely not the forgiving type!"


    Huyan Kang¡¯an chuckled. He cupped his fists, replying, "Thank you for the reminder, Oh great immortal! This old one has already lived a long life. It matters not whether I live or die. And my son is already sentenced to a decade of imprisonment by Governor Lan Hou. You can say that he reaped what he sowed. Whatever happens to him, that shall be his penance!"


    Huyan Kang¡¯an thought that Miao Yi was only giving him this reminder because thetter wished to borrow the strength of his Huyan family to eliminate Ren Xuanming, or perhaps he was just trying to curry favor with him. Huyan Kang¡¯an believed he had seen too many of these kinds of cultivators. After all, even though he may be mortal, Huyan Kang¡¯an had quite the number of cultivators sucking up to him.


    After both parties peacefully resolved their grievances, Huyan Kang¡¯an excused himself. Surprisingly, Miao Yi personally walked him out the door. Both parties were very polite towards one another.


    As he watched Huyan Kang¡¯an leave, Miao Yi returned to the living room and noticed that Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had already opened their boxes. They each took out a fruit the size of a quail¡¯s egg, which bore an appearance simr to that of ck jade. Zhao Fei and Sikong were clicking their tongues at the fruit, which was emanating a soothing fragrance.


    Miao Yi opened both his boxes as well and found two pieces of the same fruit inside. He held one of them up and asked curiously, "What did that old man give us?"


    Zhao Fei smiled wryly and replied, "Fretless Fruits! Many cultivators can only dream of obtaining even one. For a mortal family to give us six in one go... as expected of the number one family within the Celestial Nation."


    "This is a Fretless Fruit?" Miao Yi was somewhat taken aback, and he held the fruit up to his nose to take another whiff.


    Even though he had never seen it before, he¡¯d heard tales of it. When a cultivator used up too many Orbs of Will, he would, to some degree, be affected by the turbulent emotions and desires within the orb. The more Orbs of Will one used, the more frequently one would have distracting thoughts from the various emotions and desires umted deep inside his body. Normally, a cultivator would be able to suppress these wild thoughts and retain hisposure with his cultivation. However, whenever a cultivator had to go through a major breakthrough, like from Blue Lotus realm to Red Lotus realm, or from Purple Lotus realm to Golden Lotus realm, he would be highly susceptible to the disruption from all these muddled emotions. In other words, this was a tribtion!


    This situation fell in line with Lao Bai¡¯s theory of the four major realms, which was from the First Art of Traversing to the Second Art of Levitation, then to the Third Art of Soaring the Heavens, and finally, to the Fourth Art of Infinity.


    As his cultivation grew stronger, Miao Yi made an unsettling discovery. In the eyes of lowly cultivators like themselves, there was meaning in the segregation of the realms of cultivation into the various grades, such as White Lotus First Grade or Second Grade, or Blue Lotus First Grade or Second Grade and the like. However, for experts with a powerful cultivation, such a division was practically pointless. To them, there was probably only a difference between White Lotus, Blue Lotus, Red Lotus and so on and so forth. And for people with an even higher cultivation, it was likely that Lao Bai¡¯s theory of the four major realms alone was of any significance to them.


    Take for example the individuals who were on the same level as the Six Sages. Regardless of whatever grade your White Lotus or Blue Lotus cultivation was in, it was nothing but a joke to them. Perhaps even for Red Lotus Fifth or Sixth Grade cultivators, in their eyes, was there really a difference?


    When it came to such major breakthroughs, it was easy for a cultivator to enter an uncontroble frenzy after being taken over by all those chaotic desires. Should he be unable to suppress his inner demons, that would be where the Fretless Fruit woulde in handy. Once the spiritual fruit was ingested, it would, to some degree, quell the turbulent emotions inside the cultivator.


    Miao Yi had also heard that for Ol¡¯ Third who had the Phoenix form, her innately pure body made her highly resistant to the various chaotic emotions that gued normal cultivators, which also meant that she wouldn¡¯t be easily disrupted by her inner demons. In this aspect alone, she was much more capable than the average cultivator already. This was the power of an inborn cultivation aptitude. And because it made cultivation smoother and faster, the cultivators all coined it with the term ¡¯Phoenix form¡¯.


    "A single Fretless Fruit is worth at least as much as a hundred thousand low-grade Orbs of Will. That old man sure is generous. Zhao Fei, this thing is useful to us for when we break through to the Red Lotus realm. That old man sure sent these gifts over at the right time," Sikong Wuwei said with a chuckle.


    Zhao Fei nodded and said, "With his background, he actually didn¡¯t even need to go this far. For him to willingly humble himself and spend so much money just to resolve this grievance, I can see that not all whoe from an affluent family areyabouts. It is clear that the Huyan family wasn¡¯t solely relying on their background to remain an influential family for so long."


    Zhao Fei and Sikong soon took their leave after a brief discussion amongst themselves. Miao Yi then handed the two gift boxes containing the Fretless Fruits over to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. This was clearly what the old man intended by bringing six of these gifts, as his son had taken advantage of sixdies. However, Miao Yi soon noticed that Qian¡¯Er had silently kept her head lowered this entire time, biting her lips fretfully. Actually, he already noticed this when she came out of prison. He just didn¡¯t have the time to ask her about it with so many things happening. Finally, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help asking, "Qian¡¯Er, what¡¯s wrong?"


    Beside her, Xue¡¯Er timidly asked, "Elder Sister was taken advantage of by that scoundrel... Master, are you going to abandon Elder Sister?"


    When she heard this, Qian¡¯Er bit even harder on her lips, almost causing them to bleed, as two teardrops rolled down her cheeks.


    Miao Yi was taken aback at first, but he soon understood everything. This was how society worked. Ever since ancient times, it was eptable for a man to take in multiple wives. However, if a respectable woman was even slightly touched by another man, it would mean that her purity was tainted, and the oue of that was terrible indeed.


    "Silly girl, you¡¯re overthinking things. This isn¡¯t your fault to begin with. I¡¯m not such an intractable man." Miao Yi lifted Qian¡¯Er¡¯s chin up, then wiped away her tears for her.


    "But then Master..." Xue¡¯Er continued to stutter as she said, "You... you epted their gifts... and said that it¡¯s all water under the bridge..."


    Even though her words were all over the ce, Miao Yi understood what she was trying to say. He shook his head and replied, "Just because I epted his gifts, it doesn¡¯t mean that I n to let this matter rest. Qian¡¯Er had to go through such a terrible experience. How can I just forget about it so easily? You are both my women. If either of you were humiliated, that means I¡¯m being humiliated as well! However, the incident this time has taught us how feeble we really are. If we go head-to-head against our foes, the ones to suffer will still be us. Don¡¯t you two worry about it. Before we leave the capital city, I will definitely have that scoundrel¡¯s life!"


    Hearing Miao Yi¡¯s assurance, Qian¡¯Er finally felt a sense of relief. At the same time, she broke out in tears, and dove straight into Miao Yi¡¯s embrace, her shoulders quivering uncontrobly. She was really worried that Miao Yi would abandon her...


    Morning the next day. The light of dawn was just barely peeking out from the horizon, but Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin had already begun their ascent to the summit of the lofty Jade Capital Peak.


    At the summit, there weren¡¯t many clouds, only the wide expanse of the clear, blue sky surrounding a lofty tower. The tower was massive, ancient, and most importantly, solemn.


    Arriving ahead of time, Miao Yi and the others patiently waited at the foot of the steps leading up to the tower. They couldn¡¯t help feeling a little pensive about climbing up to the top of Jade Capital Peak for the first time. Within the cultivation realm, there weren¡¯t many who could make it up to this ce. This was something that the six of them had risked their lives for in the Subjugation Crusade; it was an honor they deserved.


    Meanwhile, along the mountain, within the prison walls of the Martial Manor¡¯s judiciary office, Huyan Shou had already lost all sense of time after being held behind bars for so long without seeing the light of day. He continued to mumble incoherent sentences, as though he had already gone insane.


    Suddenly, a peculiar-looking mantid propped up against the bars of the prison cell started to beat its wings. It flew over to Huyan Shou andnded on his head. Huyan Shou then lifted his hand and touched his head out of reflex, but his body suddenly froze the next second, and he was instantly covered by ayer of white frost.


    And as his body fell stiffly to the ground, the tiny mantid flew off and disappeared...


    The strange noise that came from the prison cell startled the jailer, who quickly ran over to check what happened. When he found the peculiar state that Huyan Shou¡¯s body was in, he immediately dashed inside to examine him.


    How could a mere mortal possibly withstand the powerful frost venom of the tiny mantid? Huyan Shou had instantly died on the spot...


    As the first golden rays of light rose above the horizon, Miao Yi and the others noticed about a dozen purple streaks of light flying overhead and descending upon the summit. The six of them were standing at the bottom of the steps, and because of the difference in height, they couldn¡¯t make out the faces of the people who had just arrived. Nheless, they couldn¡¯t help their astonishment when they noticed the appearance of so many Purple Lotus experts!


    As the golden light of dawn dyed the ancient tower in a bright, shimmering yellow, a beautiful woman dressed in elegant attire appeared at the top of the steps. She cast a gentle smile at Miao Yi and the others, and said, "The six of you who have returned from the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, you have proven the might of our Fifth Earthly Branch. You have done the Overlord a great service, and he has specially granted you an audience!"


    "We humbly ept the order!" The six of them stood in a line and cupped their fists in acknowledgment of the order. After which, they ascended the steps.


    In the distance, the rolling clouds cast a beautiful contrast against the rising sun, creating an extraordinarily dreamlike sight to behold.


    And right beside them was a scenic garden like that of paradise. Along the way, they could see a group of beautiful women dressed in noble attire, carrying a jade pot in their hands as they collected the dew that dripped from the various flowers that surrounded the area...

 Chapter 465 Choosing Their Own Manors

    Miao Yi and the others separated themselves into two lines, based on their rankings in the Subjugation Crusade. They followed behind the woman in the elegant robes who read them the Overlord¡¯s decree. Soon, they made their way to the massive, open gates of the tower.


    The woman walked up to the gates and stood to the side, extending her arm towards the tower in a beckoning gesture for Miao Yi and the others to enter.


    As the six of them entered, they immediately noticed the majesty of the inner halls of the tower. It was as though the whole ce could naturally inspire people with a sense of awe. Five people stood on either side of the hall. There were men and women, and they were all either middle-aged or an elder. These ten people were the Pce Lords of the Fifth Earthly Branch.


    Situated high within the hall was a shimmering golden throne, and seated above it was a in-looking, middle-aged man dressed in thin, peach-colored robes. The man had a calm expression, and despite not moving a single muscle, his overbearing dominance could be clearly felt by everyone in the room. As one could imagine, the only person able to sit on this very seat, was none other than the Fifth Earthly Branch Overlord¡ªYue Tianbo!


    Next to Yue Tianbo were two astonishingly beautiful women, and one step below them stood two men, followed by two other men another step further down. Between the pair standing on the third step was a familiar face to Miao Yi; it was the Governor of the Martial Manor¡ªLan Hou. The four men stood along the staircase in an eight (¡¯°Ë¡¯) formation.


    The most powerful people within the entire Fifth Earthly Branch were gathered here today, and they were all staring at the six Subjugation Crusade returnees. Even though Miao Yi and the others had already conquered the Subjugation Crusade, they still couldn¡¯t help feeling nervous before the powerful aura these people exuded. The pressure that came from them was many times stronger than what Miao Yi and the others felt when they faced Yun Guang and the others back in the Western Constetions Pce.


    One could say that they were two entirely different feelings. The pressure that came from Yun Guang and the others was that of someone with a noble status, whereas the awe that these peoplemanded was an oppressive one that the strong possessed; it was an aura that was naturally born through the taking of countless lives.


    One type of pressure was that of an undefiable authority; whereas the other was that of an indomitable killing intent. It was evident that thetter was the more terrifying of the two!


    Miao Yi and the other returnees didn¡¯t know why they felt such pressure from these people. They had no idea that the people before them also had to step on countless corpses before they could reach their current statuses and positions. On the other hand, Yun Guang and the others were people who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Given their background, there weren¡¯t many people who would darey a hand on them, and thus, they naturallycked the oppressiveness that this group had.


    For Miao Yi and the others to be able to meet these people with their current cultivation levels¡ªit was indeed a great honor. Naturally, they wouldn¡¯t let such an opportunity go to waste, and every one of them etched the faces of these top cultivators within the Fifth Earthly Branch into their heads.


    When Miao Yi noticed the alluring woman in the thin garments standing in between the ten Pce Lords, his mouth nearly fell open with shock... It was Xiao Xiao! The one he met back on Jade Lake!


    He confirmed again that his eyes didn¡¯t deceive him. Xiao Xiao¡¯s looks and attire were simply too easy to recognize, and even now, she clearly stood out among the rest. Not to mention, she even secretly casted him a yful wink. This was even greater proof that Miao Yi was not mistaken!


    To think the woman that bastard Huo Lingxiao was fooling around with was actually one of the ten Pce Lords of the Fifth Earthly Branch... Dear god! Huo Lingxiao sure has some balls!


    Miao Yi finally understood why Wu Menn held such contempt for Huo Lingxiao back then. It seemed she suspected that miserly big brother of his was sponging off of a woman! It also finally made sense to Miao Yi why Wu Menn was so hesitant to bring up Xiao Xiao; she was definitely not someone Wu Menn should trifle with.


    The six returnees walked up to a suitable distance and stopped. They then bowed and said in unison, "We respectfully greet the Overlord!"


    High on his throne, Yue Tianbo replied with a simple "Mm", then said in a calm voice, "The six of you have returned after enduring much hardship, your names shaking the entire Sea of Constetions. And more importantly, you¡¯ve showcased the might of our Fifth Earthly Branch. As a sign of my appreciation, I have called for all those who are Pce Lords and above to wee you!"


    The six returnees immediately replied with the response they previously agreed on, once again bowing in unison as they said, "We thank the Overlord for this prestigious honor!"


    Yue Tianbo then called out, "Feng Ze!"


    As his name was called out, the man standing next to Lan Hou turned towards Yue Tianbo and gave a light bow, then turned back to Miao Yi and the others and said, "It is by the Overlord¡¯s benevolent grace that you will all be rewarded ording to your merits! Of the one thousand Manors under themand of the ten Pce Lords of the Fifth Earthly Branch, the six of you are free to take your pick from any one of them!"


    The six returnees bowed once again and said, "We thank the Overlord for his benevolent grace!"


    Feng Ze continued, "The privilege of choosing first shall go in tandem with your respective rankings in the Subjugation Crusade. Gu Sanzheng!"


    Gu Sanzheng immediately cupped his fists and answered, "Present!"


    Feng Ze said, "You are free to take your pick from a thousand Manors. The Overlord shall grant to you whichever ce you decide to go!"


    "I thank the Overlord for his benevolent grace!" Gu Sanzheng clearly had his sights set on a certain ce right from the start, or it could be said that the Sword Deviate Sect had already decided one for him right from the beginning. Without any hesitation, he answered, "On behalf of the Overlord, this subordinate is willing to oversee the Traversing Heavens Pce¡¯s Bright Pearl Manor!"


    As its name implied, Bright Pearl Manor was the pearl of the Fifth Earthly Branch, and the absolute best ce that these returnees could choose. It was to no one¡¯s surprise that the first one to choose, Gu Sanzheng, would set his sights on this ce.


    Feng Ze then asked, "Does the Traversing Heavens Pce Lord have any objections?"


    The stout man standing at the front of the line to the left cupped his fists towards Yue Tianbo and replied, "As the Overlordmands!" He then proceeded to take out a jade archive and personally wrote down a decree of appointment for a Manor Head¡¯s position, then tossed it over to Gu Sanzheng.


    After making sure that there was no error in the jade archive, Gu Sanzheng bowed thankfully to Overlord, then paid his greetings to his new Pce Lord.


    After him, Tan Lao and Ye Xin pretty much followed the same sequence as well. Needless to say, the ces they picked were only second to Gu Sanzheng¡¯s.


    Fourth in line was Miao Yi. In a well-rehearsed manner, Feng Ze called out, "Miao Yi! You are free to take your pick from a thousand Manors. The Overlord shall grant to you whichever ce you decide to go!"


    This was obviously just a figure of speech. The best ces were already taken by those before him. Even if Miao Yi were to choose the ce that Gu Sanzheng had picked, the Overlord would not grant him that request. Naturally, Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be so bored that he would make things difficult for the Overlord. Not unless he was tired of living, that is.


    "I thank the Overlord for his benevolent grace!" Miao Yi cupped his fists and answered calmly, "On behalf of the Overlord, this subordinate is willing to oversee the Traversing Water Pce¡¯s Raincloud Manor!"


    The entire hall immediately fell silent.


    The Traversing Water Pce Lord was the old woman holding onto a golden dragon-head cane, Tao Yulin. Within the cultivation realm, she was moremonly known as Grandma Tao, and at the moment, the weary eyes on her wrinkly face had widened, a clear indicator of the surprise she felt inside.


    She looked around, wondering if in her old age she had misheard what Miao Yi just said. She even transmitted her voice over to one of the Pce Lords to confirm her doubts. Consequently, the Pce Lord shook his head to confirm that she was not mistaken. Grandma Tao was utterly speechless, and she looked at Miao Yi in confusion.


    Even though there was some distance between her vassal Manors and her own Pce, she had been the Pce Lord of Traversing Water Pce for quite some time after all¡ªshe was fully aware what kind of ce Raincloud Manor was. There was nothing but a fisherman¡¯s vige over there. Besides its somewhat fresher seafood, all it had was a slightly more exotic scenery. Grandma Tao recalled that there didn¡¯t seem to be many lucrative opportunities there. While its local seafood was indeed a delicacy, she didn¡¯t think that would be a relevant factor to cultivators at all. Not even mortals would think of eating seafood three meals a day for the rest of their lives, yes?


    Overlord Yue Tianbo quickly examined Miao Yi. He had been overseeing the entire Fifth Earthly Branch for over ten thousand years. Even if he were azy person through and through, he couldn¡¯t possibly be ignorant of the circumstances rting to the one thousand Manors under his jurisdiction. As such, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit surprised by Miao Yi¡¯s choice as well.


    All the Pce Lords were equally confused for this very reason. In their long years governing their respective territories, even if they weren¡¯t all that familiar with every single Manor in the Fifth Earthly Branch, they could still make out which ces were better than others. What was so good about this Raincloud Manor?


    The seductive and provocatively-dressed Traversing Moon Pce Lord¡¯s lips twitched as she red at Miao Yi. It seemed she was a little resentful for this sudden p to her face.


    Meanwhile, standing in front of Miao Yi, the Gu Sanzheng trio seemed to have figured something out. There was a wistfulness in their eyes as they all disregarded the absolute authority of their surroundings just to turn around and look at Miao Yi; their emotions were in utter turmoil.


    Standing at the furthermost end of the line, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei exchanged nces with one another. Their expressions seemed to say that Miao Yi¡¯s choice was within their expectations.


    Even Feng Ze, who was in charge of the entire procession, was taken aback. He stared at Miao Yi for a bit, wondering if his own ears had heard wrongly. To avoid making a fool of himself, he transmitted his voice over to the person standing next to him, "Lan Hou, did I mishear what he just said?"


    "I heard him mention the Traversing Water Pce¡¯s Raincloud Manor," Lan Hou replied in kind. How could he possibly know what Feng Ze heard? Nheless, it seemed even Lan Hou didn¡¯t dare assume whether Feng Ze had heard wrongly or not, so he simply told thetter what he heard for him to confirm his own doubts himself.


    After receiving Lan Hou¡¯s answer and confirming that he didn¡¯t mishear, Feng Ze asked, "Does the Traversing Water Pce Lord have any objections?"


    Grandma Tao¡¯s lips curled into a smile as she replied, "It¡¯s up to him to decide where to go. What objections can I possibly have? This old one will simply do as the Overlordmands!" She then wrote down a decree of appointment on the spot and tossed the jade archive over to Miao Yi.


    As Miao Yi received the jade archive, he confirmed that there were no issues with it. After which, he bowed in thanks to the Overlord, then cupped his fists towards Grandma Tao and said, "This subordinate respectfully greets the Pce Lord!"


    Grandma Tao casually waved her hand to signal for Miao Yi to be at ease. However, there was still a sense of curiosity in her eyes as she looked at thetter.


    Seeing that Miao Yi was actually choosing that ce, Feng Ze didn¡¯t dally on and continued to call out, "Zhao Fei! You are free to take your pick from a thousand Manors. The Overlord shall grant to you whichever ce you decide to go!"


    Zhao Fei cupped his fists and replied, "On behalf of the Overlord, this subordinate is willing to oversee the Traversing Water Pce¡¯s Thousand Lake Manor!"


    When Zhao Fei¡¯s words came out, Miao Yi abruptly turned to look at him, a little hesitant to speak.


    The other Pce Lords all exchanged nces with one another, and Grandma Tao was even more dumbfounded. However, given how Miao Yi had already given them quite the shock before this, it didn¡¯t take too long for them to regain theirposure the second time around.


    And because of this, Feng Ze no longer doubted his own ears, and simply asked Grandma Tao, "Does the Traversing Water Pce Lord have any objections?"


    "Stop teasing an old woman like me already!" Grandma Tao sighed, then continued, "This old one will do as the Overlordmands!" She then wrote down another decree of appointment and tossed it over to Zhao Fei.


    Zhao Fei made the necessary confirmations, thanked the Overlord, then paid his respects to Grandma Tao.


    Feng Ze called out again, "Sikong Wuwei! You are free to take your pick from a thousand Manors. The Overlord shall grant to you whichever ce you decide to go!"


    Sikong Wuwei cupped his fists and answered, "On behalf of the Overlord, this subordinate is willing to oversee the Traversing Water Pce¡¯s Mulberry Cloud Manor!"


    Again! All the Pce Lords were confused. Three out of the six returnees had chosen Grandma Tao¡¯s territory. What was going on here? Today¡¯s events within the golden halls of the Overlord¡¯s pce were quite puzzling indeed.


    Miao Yi pursed his lips as he stood in ce.


    Meanwhile, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin turned back to look at the other three once again. There were looks of sheepishness on their faces as they finally confirmed the reason Miao Yi and the other two had chosen such a ce.


    Back in Skyfire Mountain, when Miao Yi acted as bait to lure away the enemy, Gu Sanzheng and the others had managed to escape in one piece. At the time, they weren¡¯t sure if Miao Yi would be able to survive, so after finding a suitable hiding spot, the group discussed if Miao Yi had any unfinished business left to resolve. When they mentioned taking revenge for a certain someone, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin had promised that they would help Miao Yi fulfill this wish of his. But right now, only Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were standing alongside Miao Yi. The Gu Sanzheng trio wasn¡¯t given much choice from their sects, so they had to go back on their words, and thus, they felt immensely remorseful deep down!


    Feng Ze asked again, "Does the Traversing Water Pce Lord have any objections?"


    "As the Overlordmands! Aii! Youngsters nowadays sure have some spunk. How can this old one not respect that? That said, I do have a couple of good spots in my territory, but these youngsters just had to go and take their picks so recklessly. I don¡¯t understand at all what they¡¯re trying to do! I just hope that they¡¯re not trying to pull a prank on me!" Grandma Tao shook her head helplessly, then tossed out another jade archive. The other Pce Lords couldn¡¯t help chuckling at herical attitude.

 Chapter 466 The Power of Seniority

    Sikong Wuwei acknowledged the order and thanked the Overlord!


    Feng Ze turned back and cupped his fists towards Yue Tianbo to indicate that the procession had been sessfully finished.


    Yue Tianbo didn¡¯t have much else to say to Miao Yi and the others. There was simply too wide of a difference in status between the two parties after all. Even the gap between heaven and earth wasn¡¯t an apt enough description for their rift. Not to mention, these six returnees were not worth him meeting them in the first ce. Yue Tianbo was onlyplying with the formalities of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade as dictated by the Six Sages. It was nothing more than a performance made to unt the prestige of the Subjugation Crusade survivors!


    Yue Tianbo delivered a brief speech out of decorum, then got up from his throne, walked down, and left!


    Following which, the Pce Lords gradually left the golden pavilion of the tower as well. Miao Yi and the others didn¡¯t dare walk in front of these people, so they waited for them to leave.


    After all the other Pce Lords had left, the Traversing Moon Pce Lord was the only one remaining behind, standing in ce as she smiled at Miao Yi.


    If she wasn¡¯t leaving, then Miao Yi and the others couldn¡¯t leave either. Suddenly, the Traversing Moon Pce Lord began striding forward, cing one bare, beautiful foot over the other as she walked straight up to Miao Yi; her figure was absolutely enticing to behold. She lightly waved her arm and said to the other returnees, "The rest of you can go ahead and leave now!"


    Gu Sanzheng and the others didn¡¯t know what was happening, but they didn¡¯t dare disobey hermand. They secretly nced at Miao Yi, feeling a little curious and worried at the same time. In the end, they cupped their fists and bowed to the Traversing Moon Pce Lord, then left.


    Even after all the others had left, the Traversing Moon Pce Lord, Zhang Tianxiao, still didn¡¯t speak, and just smiled at Miao Yi. There was something deep within that smile of hers that made Miao Yi feel greatly uneasy.


    Ultimately, Miao Yi decided to take a leap of faith, tossing the other party a smile as he cupped his fists and greeted, "Sister-in-Law!" He had no other cards to y besides this rtionship.


    "Sister-in-Law..." Zhang Tianxiao was momentarily dazed. However, she soon covered her lips and began to chuckle. As she burst into hearty, yet charmingughter, she lightly patted her half-exposed chest and teased, "What a nice title to have! Miao Yi, you just publicly gave a p to your sister-inw¡¯s face!"


    Miao Yi was surprised by her statement. He plucked up his courage and asked carefully, "Sister-in-Law, why do you say such a thing?"


    Zhang Tianxiao sighed and replied, "Did Huo Lingxiao not tell you anything? I was willing to let you manage the most profitable area within Traversing Moon Pce, but youpletely disregarded my sentiments, choosing to go to some backwater ce instead. Wouldn¡¯t you call that a p to my face? And to think I even stepped forward personally to get Lan Hou to release you, yet you don¡¯t know how to appreciate the favor at all. Is my Traversing Moon Pce so unworthy in your eyes? How do you expect me to feel about this?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s eyes were already widened in shock. "You are the Traversing Moon Pce Lord. Then, you and¡ª" His words stopped halfway. ¡¯So that bastard Huo Lingxiao really is spooning off a woman! No wonder he sent me off all the way to the Sea of Constetions!¡¯


    Zhang Tianxiao seemed to have guessed what Miao Yi was thinking. Smiling, she spread her arms and turned around charmingly as she asked, "Do I not look like the Traversing Moon Pce Lord?"


    "This subordinate respectfully greets the Pce Lord!" Miao Yi cupped his fists bashfully. Secretly, he cursed that bastard Huo Lingxiao. He was really too good at keeping this rtionship a secret. Miao Yi then tried to confirm Zhang Tianxiao¡¯s words, asking, "Pce Lord was the one who had Governor Lan Hou release me?"


    Zhang Tianxiao lightly smiled, as though saying¡ª¡¯Do you think I need to lie to you?¡¯ She then changed the topic and asked, "I wish to know why you¡¯re so unwilling to remain in my Traversing Moon Pce? Is it because Huo Lingxiao sent you off to the Sea of Constetions?"


    Miao Yi hurriedly waved his hands and said, "That isn¡¯t the case! Big Brother Huo already exined to me that he didn¡¯t know that I¡¯d been sent to the Sea of Constetions. The truth is... if I may, Pce Lord, I wasn¡¯t supposed to be locked up originally. However, Governor Lan Hou suddenly decided to throw myrades and me into prison after finding out that I am Big Brother Huo¡¯s sworn brother! This is something I discovered after getting out of prison. Even now, I have no clue why he would do such a thing. I do not wish to suffer such an injustice a second time, and at the same time, I do not wish to cause any more trouble to Big Brother Huo. That is why I decided to go somece else."


    This was the excuse Miao Yi had originally prepared for Huo Lingxiao. Little did he know that it would be put to use so quickly.


    Zhang Tianxiao immediately understood everything. If it were someone else, they might not necessarily believe Miao Yi¡¯s words. However, she knew full well why Lan Hou had chosen to imprison Miao Yi because of Huo Lingxiao.


    "Lan Hou, that despicable bastard! Why do you have to lower yourself to his standards? Forget it! You¡¯re not to me for this!" The smile on Zhang Tianxiao¡¯s face seemed to immediately turn sour the moment Lan Hou¡¯s name was mentioned. She no longer continued talking to Miao Yi, and simply huffed coldly and left.


    Her actions made Miao Yi wonder whether she was angry at him or at Lan Hou. After all, he knew nothing about the rtionship between Lan Hou and Zhang Tianxiao. He was simply curious why Lan Hou didn¡¯t release him even after he had mentioned Fairy Hong Chen¡¯s name. If thetter didn¡¯t even have this much influence, why did she tell him to use her name back then?


    As he nced around the spacious golden pavilion, Miao Yi noticed that he was finally alone, and he heaved a sigh of relief. He closely examined the golden pavilion for a while, then started walking towards the exit.


    Outside, within the beautiful garden, the Pce Lords were all conversing amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei stood in the corner, waiting for Miao Yi toe out. Surprisingly, Gu Sanzheng and the others didn¡¯t leave either and were patiently waiting alongside Zhao Fei and the others.


    Miao Yi walked up to the five of them. Facing their worried gazes, he gently shook his head to show that he was alright. After which, the group decided to leave together.


    Miao Yi and the others made their way to the edge of the steps and were about to descend the mountain. Off to the side, Lan Hou was listening to Pu Yigong¡¯s report with furrowed brows. Following which, his eyes gleamed, and he suddenly barked towards Miao Yi and the others, "Hold it!"


    Miao Yi and the others turned their heads and saw that Lan Hou was staring right at them. Clearly, he was talking to them. While the rest of them were confused, Miao Yi had a hunch why Lan Hou wanted to talk to them, so he wasn¡¯t too perturbed by the sudden development.


    Lan Hou¡¯s voice startled the Pce Lords as well. They all turned to look and saw Lan Hou leading Pu Yigong towards Miao Yi¡¯s group. He then waved his hand at the Gu Sanzheng trio and said, "This has nothing to do with the three of you. You may leave. As for you three, stay behind!"


    Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin exchanged nces with one another. They were afraid to disobey Lan Hou¡¯smand, so they cupped their fists in acknowledgment. After which, they looked at Miao Yi and the others for a while, then began their descent down the mountain ahead of them. Along the way, they couldn¡¯t help thinking to themselves¡ª¡¯Why do these three like to get into trouble so often?¡¯


    "Do you know why I had the three of you stay behind?" Lan Hou asked coldly.


    Miao Yi and the others exchanged nces with one another, then cupped their fists as a gesture for Lan Hou to enlighten them.


    "You will find out soon enough!" Lan Hou turned his head to look at Grandma Tao standing nearby, then shouted, "Take them away!"


    The three of them were utterly bbergasted. Pu Yigong extended his arm and said, "If you will!"


    "Hold it!" An old voice suddenly resounded, and Grandma Tao started to slowly walk towards Lan Hou, the golden dragon-head cane in her hands tapping on the ground as she approached.


    The other Pce Lords looked at one another, then out of curiosity, started walking towards Miao Yi and the others as well¡ªthey were simply being nosy!


    Her face was heavily wrinkled and her eyelids were drooping, Grandma Tao walked up to Lan Hou, chuckling as she said, "Governor Lan Hou, would you care to exin what you¡¯re doing right now? You¡¯re taking my subordinates away right in front me. Don¡¯t you think you need to give me a proper exnation first?"


    Lan Hou creased his brows, but he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be right to take these three away without giving Grandma Tao a proper exnation, so he nodded to Pu Yigong.


    After paying his respects to all the Pce Lords in the vicinity, Pu Yigong then recounted the recent events involving Miao Yi and the others, the most important one being the one that just happened¡ªHuyan Shou had just died in his prison cell! Not to mention, the way he died was a little too mind-boggling; it was clearly done by a cultivator!


    The Pce Lords couldn¡¯t help feeling a little astonished. They never thought that such a thing had happened so recently.


    "I see!" Grandma Tao sighed, then asked curiously, "ording to you, that person has just died not too long ago. However, these three subordinates of mine were in an audience with the Overlord this whole time. They weren¡¯t anywhere near the prison at all. Everyone here can vouch for this, even you yourself, Governor Lan Hou. What makes you think that they¡¯re the ones responsible for the murder of Huyan Shou? Do you have some kind of reasoning to convince me with?"


    Beside them, Zhang Tianxiao let out a chuckle and remarked, "Someone¡¯s clearly just trying to abuse his authority to get payback!"


    Lan Hou ignored her and replied to Grandma Tao, "If a cultivator wishes to attack a mortal, the number of methods at his disposal are simply too many to count! I¡¯m not saying that they¡¯re responsible for this crime. However, they are involved in some way, and thus, they warrant my suspicion. I naturally need to take them back to do a proper investigation. Innocent or no, all will be proven in time!"


    Holding onto her cane, Grandma Tao shook her head gently and asked, "Meaning you don¡¯t have any evidence! Am I right to look at it that way, Lan Hou?"


    Lan Hou frowned and asked, "Does Grandma Tao n to obstruct my investigation?"


    Grandma Tao waved her hand and said, "I didn¡¯t say that. But what right do you have to arrest my subordinates if you don¡¯t have any proof? Do you really think I¡¯m easy to push around because of my old age? Even the Overlord himself has seen the three of them and can prove that their alibi is solid. If I allowed you to take my men away so easily, how could I show my old face to the world? Governor Lan Hou, all I have to say is this: if you have evidence, then even if youe all the way to my Traversing Water Pce to arrest my menter on, I won¡¯t make so much as a peep! As for now, though... since you don¡¯t have any proof..."


    She turned to Miao Yi and the others and said, "You can excuse yourselves for now. Run along to your new posts! If something does happen, you will be summoned once again. When that timees, you won¡¯t be able to run either way!"


    Miao Yi and the others cupped their fists in acknowledgment. However, Lan Hou¡¯s face instantly darkened, and he held out his hand to stop them. "Wait! You can leave after the investigation is over! It won¡¯t take too much time anyway!"


    "I have long heard stories of how Governor Lan Hou is a stickler when ites to enforcing thew. But I see that mere hearsay doesn¡¯t do your reputation any justice!" Grandma Tao giggled menacingly and said, "Lan Hou, are you nning to use force against me? Do you really think I¡¯m that easy to bully just because I¡¯m old?"


    The other Pce Lords were all smiling expectantly. Especially the Traversing Moon Pce Lord. Her face literally screamed¡ª¡¯Show me what you can do against Grandma Tao!¡¯


    Lan Hou said solemnly, "The one who died isn¡¯t just any normal riff-raff. This incident involves the Huyan family as well. If I let the suspects go so easily, the Huyan family could use this as an excuse to exacerbate the situation. Who will handle this issue then?"


    "So what if it¡¯s the Huyan family?" Grandma Tao continued to chuckle and said, "Lan Hou! Don¡¯t try to use Huyan Taibao to intimidate me. When I was still a young woman fighting alongside Mu Fanjun for dominance of the realm, Yue Tianbo¡¯s position was still lower than mine, and Huyan Taibao himself was but a child. They would even bow their heads whenever they saw me. God knows where you were at the time. You¡¯re right! I am useless. After so many years in the cultivation realm, I watched as one youngster after another climb above my head, and every single one of them dared to bark at this olddy. I do regret it! But Lan Hou! Even if I¡¯m old and useless, I still very much have the right to speak! I¡¯d sure like to see who dares to arrest my men without any evidence! Forget about you, Lan Hou, even if Huyan Taibao himself were to daree to my Traversing Water Pce and take my men away without any proof, I will go straight to the Realm Beyond Heaven and report this matter straight to Mu Fanjun myself! I¡¯ll ask her how can she possibly treat an old, loyal subordinate in such a way. I¡¯ll ask her if it¡¯s because this sisterhood from a bygone age is no longer of any value to her that she wishes to kick me aside like this?!"


    She then mmed her cane into the ground, creating a loud, deep sound, much like the tone of her voice!

 Chapter 467 Henceforth, Our Paths Diverge

    Grandma Tao¡¯s words were a little harsh. Some of the younger Pce Lords couldn¡¯t help scratching their noses bashfully, wondering if the ¡¯arrogant youngsters¡¯ that Grandma Tao mentioned included them as well.


    Miao Yi and the others were a little taken aback. This Pce Lord of theirs just called the Overlord by name! Hold on, she was even casually calling out the Celestial Sage as well! What fearlessness! This was way past being bold! And from the sound of it, she must be quite old indeed; she just referred to Mu Fanjun as her sister!


    The three of them finally realized that not a single one of these people were pushovers. As expected of someone who oversaw a massive domain on the Celestial Sage¡¯s behalf. A normal person would not be able to shoulder such a task!


    Well, it was to be expected. If Grandma Tao really had so many years of experience under her belt, there was no way she would let someone else take her men away so easily!


    Grandma Tao seemed very angry at Lan Hou¡¯s forceful methods. After venting her frustration out on him, she started chastising Miao Yi and the others as well. "What are you three still standing in a daze for? Hurry along to your new posts already! Or do you three whipper-snappers think my words are unimportant as well?"


    Everyone knew what she was trying to say. It was pretty much the same as what she boldly announced before¡ª"I¡¯d like to see who dares stop me!"


    Miao Yi and the others immediately bowed their heads and excused themselves. At the same time, they snuck a nce at Lan Hou¡ªwhile his expression was as dark as it could be, he didn¡¯t dare to try and stop them. Miao Yi and the others couldn¡¯t help their astonishment at Grandma Tao¡¯s influence when they saw this.


    Standing by Lan Hou¡¯s side, Pu Yigong had his head timidly lowered and just kept perfectly silent. There was no ce for him to speak here. Since Lan Hou didn¡¯t say anything, he wouldn¡¯t dare to stop Miao Yi and the others either. Otherwise, that grandma¡¯s cane could very easily send him straight to his grave!


    "This old one is getting on in years, so I won¡¯t be sticking around with you scamps any longer!" Grandma Tao turned to the crowd and nodded her head in farewell, then flew off into the distance in a streak of light.


    The other Pce Lords werepletely speechless. There were some among them who were rather old as well, and these people couldn¡¯t help smiling bitterly at Grandma Tao¡¯s words. For someone at their age to still be called a scamp. How could this make sense? But s, the other party was indeed much older, and thus had the right to call them that. This was why none of them could make a single rebuttal!


    "Aii! Even though Grandma Tao¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t high, her attitude ispletely overbearing!" Zhang Tianxiao covered her lips and smiled coyly. It seemed she was very pleased to see Lan Hou suffering a setback. She teased, "Governor Lan, why did you have to put yourself through such misery? Grandma Tao is a very proud individual. For someone of her age to still be equal in position to us, it¡¯s evident that her greatest fear is being looked down upon by others. And you just had to try and seize her men right in front of her face. If she let you acted as you pleased, how could she possibly live with the shame?! Governor Lan, why don¡¯t you ask the Overlord to lend you a hand instead?"


    "Hmph!" With a flutter of his sleeves, Lan Hou turned around, crossing his arms behind his back as he gazed down the mountain. However, contrary to his actions beforehand, there was an almost undetectable look of slyness in his eyes.


    How could he possibly not understand what kind of person Grandma Tao was? If he had truly intended to take Miao Yi and the others away, he wouldn¡¯t have done it right in front of her face. The reason he did so was precisely because he knew she would try to stop him! If he had let things be, he wouldn¡¯t be able to give a satisfactory exnation to the Huyan family, given that there was a dead body involved. Now that someone else had forcibly taken the suspects away, he wouldn¡¯t be med for not doing his job properly. If Huyan Taibao had the guts, he was more than wee to take hisints straight to Grandma Tao¡¯s face!


    It didn¡¯t matter who killed Huyan Shou while he was in prison. It was likely that the Huyan family wouldn¡¯t let a single suspect go. Now that Grandma Tao was there as a deterrent, things would turn out just as she said. Even Huyan Taibao¡ªthe Huyan family¡¯s ancestor¡ªhad to walk on eggshells in front of her, much less the normal members of the Huyan family.


    Even though Lan Hou put up a grim face, he was sighing in relief deep inside. It didn¡¯t matter if he lost a bit of face. The most important thing was fulfilling his obligation to his friend without sacrificing his principles...


    On the way down the mountain, Miao Yi and the others bumped into the Gu Sanzheng trio. Since none of the other three major sect disciples were around, they were able to speak freely. Gu Sanzheng asked in a low voice, "What happened?"


    Miao Yi replied calmly, "Huyan Shou is dead!"


    Gu Sanzheng and the others were astonished. Ye Xin asked, "Who killed him?"


    Miao Yi shook his head and answered, "I don¡¯t know!"


    ¡¯Then why the heck did Lan Hou have the three of you stay behind?¡¯ The Gu Sanzheng trio looked at Miao Yi and the others suspiciously.


    Meanwhile, Sikong Wuwei chuckled and said, "Who cares who killed him? God knows how many people that good-for-nothing guy has already offended. It¡¯s not surprising for someone to want to kill him. Well, the guy¡¯s already dead now. Not like it matters much to begin with though. More importantly, that Pce Lord was so freaking cool! I¡¯m thoroughly impressed!"


    "Which Pce Lord?" Tan Lao asked curiously.


    Miao Yi and the others smiled at one another, then simply shook their heads, refraining from revealing any more about the topic. Grandma Tao had helped them out after all. Not to mention, she was also their direct superior. It would be inappropriate for them to talk behind her back like this.


    Since Miao Yi and the others were unwilling to divulge anything further, the Gu Sanzheng trio didn¡¯t bother prying for more details. After all... In the end, Gu Sanzheng still decided to speak up, "Brother Zhao, I know why you guys chose to take up your new posts in Traversing Water Pce. The three of us are ashamed for not being able to do the same."


    Hearing Gu Sanzheng mention this, Tan Lao and Ye Xin felt a little awkward as well. Compared to the camaraderie between Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei, the three of them felt terrible at having to go back on their promise. It should be known that Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were Manor Heads to begin with, and their original territories were likely not any worse off than what they¡¯d chosen. Not to mention, they had been overseeing their ces for many years. But now, they had given it all up just to follow Miao Yi and fulfill a single promise. The Gu Sanzheng trio couldn¡¯t help cursing their own situations when they saw what Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei did!


    Zhao Fei smiled and said, "We understand! The three of you have an obligation to ensure the benefit of your respective sects. The choices you made were not entirely your own. Not to mention, given the rtionship between Miao Yi and your three major sects, you guys don¡¯t really have to beat yourself up about it..."


    As they approached the Chamber of Commerce¡¯s sector, the six of them split into two groups and went their separate ways as though they were mortal enemies!


    The meeting with the Overlord was finally over, and with danger lurking in every corner of the capital city, Miao Yi and the others had no intention of staying for another second¡ªespecially when they had just gotten out of a sticky situation themselves.


    After handing down several instructions to Lin Pingping, Miao Yi and the others went to bid farewell to Uncle Hua and Luo Ping before going on their way.


    And as there were many acquaintances of the three major sects within the capital city, the Gu Sanzheng trio had to visit them one by one before they could leave. Hence, their departure could only take ce a littleter. Nevertheless, even if they could leave at the same time as Miao Yi, they could not be seen together.


    Once again, Luo Ping escorted Miao Yi and the others out the city, insisting on sending them off five kilometers out the gates.


    "Brother Luo, this is far enough!" dered Miao Yi, turning Charcoal around.


    "No matter how far one wishes to see a friend off, the moment of parting will eventuallye." Luo Ping cupped his fists and smiled, "Take care, everyone!"


    "The verdant mountains never wither, and the turquoise rivers shall continue to flow. We shall meet again!" Zhao Fei cupped his fists as well.


    "We shall meet again!" Sikong Wuwei replied, cupping his fists. He then let out a heartyugh, turned his dragon steed around and chased after Miao Yi and the others.


    More than twenty riders galloped off, stirring up a streak of dust as they disappeared into the horizon!


    Standing between the mountain and river, Luo Ping cast a longing gaze towards the departing figures. Those three were each the master of their own Manors and would oversee massive plots ofnd. With over ten million followers under their feet, they had vast armies under theirmand. It was no exaggeration to say they were all little lords of their respective areas. Luo Ping believed that such a life¡ªwhere one could fall into a beautiful woman¡¯sp when drunk, and wield an unquestionable authority when sober¡ªwas an exciting one worth living!


    Little did he know that he was the one truly fortunate; there were countless cultivators out there who wished to have the peace and quiet of working in the Chamber of Commerce.


    About 50 kilometers out of the city, the party stopped for a brief moment as Miao Yi suddenly dove into a nearby forest on his own. No one knew what he was trying to do.


    Inside the forest, a group of tiny mantids that had been hiding in the trees flew into Miao Yi¡¯s storage bangle.


    When he was making his move on Huyan Shou, Miao Yi was worried that someone would investigate him, so he had the tiny mantids take a different path out of the city right from the start. That way, even if he were caught, he could still deny all ims against him!


    After making his way back out the forest, Miao Yi continued to lead the troops along the journey...


    More than twenty riders galloped unabated by the wind and rain, crossing numerous mountains and rivers, only stopping to rest once every five days!


    In the middle of their journey, they passed by Suppressing Second Hall. As they entered the area, the troops stopped at the foot of the mountain. Miao Yi continued up the mountain alone to bid farewell to Huo Lingxiao.


    Regardless of what happened, Miao Yi didn¡¯t wish to be at odds with Huo Lingxiao any longer. Consider it a gesture of respect for the Pce Lord who stood behind him. Not to mention, who could say that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t have a use for this rtionship in the future?


    Truthfully speaking, after the incident in the capital city, Miao Yi realized that he could no longer afford to offend powerful individuals so carelessly. To be able to climb up to his current status with just strength alone was already the best result he could ask for. From now on, the people that he would cross paths with would only get stronger and stronger. At the very least, they would be individuals at the level of a Hall Master. These people were an entire major realm stronger than he was. There was no way he could defeat any of them on his own. From now on, he needed to be a turtle, hiding in his shell. As such, regardless of how much he hated Huo Lingxiao, he needed to preserve this rtionship, even if just in form alone. He had to continue to feign ignorance regarding the Sea of Constetions incident!


    The two brothers soon met one another. Huo Lingxiao wore a dark expression, evidently aware that Miao Yi had chosen a different path than what he originally assumed. However, when thetter answered him with the same reasoning he had told the Traversing Moon Pce Master, Huo Lingxiao couldn¡¯t help growing a little anxious. To think that Governor Lan really did imprison Miao Yi just because of him. It seems that person has really been looking at him quite unfavorably for some time now!


    As Huo Lingxiao pondered over Miao Yi¡¯s ¡¯reason¡¯, he realized it wasn¡¯t such a bad idea to send this miserly little brother of his as far away from him as he could. Not only would he be able to avoid having that loose tongue spouting nonsense wherever he went, but it would also save him quite a bit of trouble as well. He wouldn¡¯t have to continue cleaning up Miao Yi¡¯s messes for him all the time. Things were all the better since the Pce Lord herself wasn¡¯t entirely against Miao Yi¡¯s decision to begin with.


    The color of Huo Lingxiao¡¯s face switched in the blink of an eye. After thinking things through, his mood was as jovial as it could get. He even wanted to invite Miao Yi to stay for a few more days so he could give him a proper send-off.


    Miao Yi politely refused, saying that his men were still waiting for him down the mountain and that the Traversing Water Pce Lord herself had ordered him to report to his post immediately.


    Huo Lingxiao didn¡¯t really want him to stay, but he didn¡¯t try to keep this brotherhood a secret any longer either. There was no need to anyway. After all, the entire Suppressing Second Hall was already aware that Miao Yi was his sworn brother. As such, he took it upon himself to personally escort Miao Yi out the door. Once they were at the front gates, Huo Lingxiao cupped his fists and said, "Safe travels, dear brother!"


    "Take care, Big Brother! If the opportunity arises, I will be sure to pay you a visit!" Miao Yi cupped his fists in farewell.


    "Yes, yes, of course!" Huo Lingxiao let out a dryugh as he thought, ¡¯Please don¡¯t evere back here again. Just think of it as me being scared of you, alright?¡¯


    "Safe travels, Lord Miao!" Tian Yu and Liu Xing curtsied as they bade farewell.


    "Send my regards to Sister-in-Law for me. If I get the chance, I¡¯ll be sure to visit!" Miao Yi said as he climbed on to his mount.


    Huo Lingxiao¡¯s expression instantly froze, the smile on his face twitching under Tian Yu¡¯s and Liu Xing¡¯s curious gazes...


    After leaving Suppressing Second Hall, the party marched onwards to South Edict Manor without rest, where Miao Yi went to say his goodbyes to Yang Qing.


    Miao Yi¡¯s current status was already equal to Yang Qing¡¯s at this point, and both parties addressed each other as Manor Head when they met. This was the perfect example of returning to one¡¯s roots after obtaining fame and fortune.


    After hearing that Tian Qingfeng had been promoted to be the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Calming Sea, effectively taking up his previous position, Miao Yi simply smiled in gesture. Yang Qing was an unfathomable person through and through, and Miao Yi had no idea what he was plotting this time around. Nheless, this was no longer something he should be concerned with. From this day forth, their paths would no longer cross with one another, so he didn¡¯t question Yang Qing too deeply on the subject.


    Yang Qing was also a little confused as to why Miao Yi would choose somewhere as remote as Raincloud Manor for his new post, but sensing that Miao Yi was intentionally avoiding the topic, he didn¡¯t dwell on it for too long either. The two of them would probably never get to see one another ever again. As a token of goodwill, Yang Qing invited Miao Yi to stay for a few more days. It wasn¡¯t too much trouble for him anyway, and at the very least, it would help leave a more favorable final impression of him in Miao Yi¡¯s heart. However, thetter politely refused the same way he had denied Huo Lingxiao!


    Yang Qing personally escorted Miao Yi all the way down the mountain, then bade his farewell!


    As this sight fell upon the cold gazes of the three major sect disciples, they couldn¡¯t help feeling a sense of admiration and jealousy. In just a few short decades, Miao Yi had gone from Cave Master to Mountain Chieftain, and now he was making the leap to Manor Head. The speed of his promotions was enough to cause their eyes to stir with envy. That said, they were aware that Miao Yi had only managed to reach his current position by risking his life in the Sea of Constetions. Even if they themselves had the chance to join in the next Subjugation Crusade, they might not necessarily be willing to go. After all, only one hundred participants would be able to survive out of a staggering 180,000 cultivators. These odds were a little too terrifying!


    "Looking back to Transient Light Cave all those years ago..." Yang Qing mused to himself as he saw Miao Yi and his party off from the mountain gates. He then shook his head andughed bitterly, "How time flies!"


    Beside him, Qing Mei and Qing Ju looked on at the departing figures with mixed feelings as well. They still remembered when they first met Miao Yi, and how he¡¯d awkwardly presented them with gifts. But now... He had used just a few short decades to cross a distance that normal cultivators required hundreds, maybe thousands of years to reach!


    Qing Ju seemed to have thought of something else, and gently sighed...

 Chapter 468 Once Upon A Place, And An Old Acquaintance

    His next destination was Mount Shaotai, but before that, Miao Yi decided to take a detour and pay Changfeng City¡ªhis birthce, as well as the home he grew up in¡ªa visit.


    Changfeng City was situated within South Edict Manor¡¯s domain, so it wasn¡¯t too much of a detour for Miao Yi and his party. Back when Miao Yi had assumed his duties at South Edict Manor, he didn¡¯t really feel much about it. However, as he would be leaving to a ce far away from his hometown this time, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help feeling a sense of mncholy, and thus decided to pay this city a visit. It was unlikely for him toe back without any reason, so this could very well be thest time he would visit Changfeng City!


    Miao Yi had the troops looking after the mounts in the forest outside the city. There was no need to bring such arge force inside. Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei casually went in alongside their handmaidens.


    The city was just as he remembered. Perhaps the thing that changed the least in this ce would be the slightly weathered city walls. As for what changed the most, it would definitely be the new generation recing the old one. Miao Yi didn¡¯t see a single familiar face anywhere in the street. Besides which, there was also the buildings that were constantly being erected or renewed, regardless of rain or shine.


    The people residing in this world lived their lives one day at a time, never craving for too much change. And as for the cultivators who controlled this vastnd, they too had no desire for these people to change; they only needed their faith and belief.


    Miao Yi stood at the edge of the street, gazing towards the silk shop on the other side¡ªhis home from a bygone age. There wasn¡¯t the slightest sense of familiarity in it anymore. Compared to when he first visited several decades ago, it seemed that business had been good for the silk shop these past few years. It was even bigger than before and had taken in several of the neighboring lots now.


    Zhao Fei and the others didn¡¯t know why Miao Yi was looking at the silk shop in a daze, so he asked, "Brother Miao, have you been here before?"


    Miao Yi snapped out of it and briefly nced at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, pointing to the silk shop as he smiled and told them, "If I remember correctly, there used to be an old house right above that front gate. That was the ce I grew up in."


    Everyone couldn¡¯t help musing at his words. They finally understood why Miao Yi decided toe here.


    All the passersby circled around the group as they walked along the street, casting curious gazes at Miao Yi and the others as they did so. The men in the group had a lordly presence, while the women were as beautiful as fairies. The passersby found it a little difficult to get too close to them.


    Suddenly, Miao Yi reached out and stopped a young man on the street, cupping his fists and asking, "Excuse me, Brother, but do you know where City Lord Huang¡¯s family lives?"


    "City Lord Huang? What City Lord Huang?" The young man was a little confused. He added, "I¡¯ve never heard of any City Lord Huang in this city before. Mister, could you be mistaken?"


    Miao Yi was surprised, but he soon revealed a smile, cupping his fists again in response and said, "Sorry to bother you!"


    Sometime after, Miao Yi asked a much older person the same question. The old man replied with a couple "Oh"s at first, then proceeded tough as he shook his head and said, "Oh, the Huang family! They¡¯ve already fallen on hard times a long time ago!" The old man didn¡¯t disappoint Miao Yi at all and even offered to lead him personally to the Huang family.


    The group made their way down several streets, eventuallying to a stop in front of a butcher¡¯s shop.


    There, they saw a middle-aged man covered in grease. As he watched the middle-aged man bark out orders, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help giggling as he realized that the man was actually the child that he saw back when he snuck into the City Lord¡¯s manor all those years ago. To think that after marrying a much younger woman, Head Guard Huang¡¯s child would actually be in the same line of work as him from back then. What goes around truly doeses back around indeed.


    An olddy came out from behind the butcher¡¯s stall, carrying a basket of vegetables. Although her attire was in, her expression seemed vibrant enough for her age. Her posture still looked rather robust as well.


    The old guide immediately walked over and grabbed the olddy¡¯s hand, pointing to Miao Yi and the others as he said, "Old Sister, you have a guest."


    After being zealously pulled over by the old man, the olddy turned to look at Miao Yi curiously. She was a little hesitant to speak as she didn¡¯t recognize him at all, and had no idea where he¡¯de from. It had been far too long since she had guests with such an exalted presence.


    "This is Head Guard Huang¡¯s wife, the daughter of Old Li who ran the tofu shop," the old man exined to Miao Yi. His voice was a little loud, possibly a result of his failing ears.


    Miao Yi was a little surprised. He never thought that the daughter of Old Li from the tofu shop would still be alive, and from the looks of it, she seemed rather healthy for someone her age. For a mortal, she had lived for quite a long time already. Miao Yi just couldn¡¯t recognize her at first because she was so old.


    Miao Yi casually took out a gold crystal and stuffed it in the old man¡¯s palms, then sent him off. After which, he ced another gold crystal in the olddy¡¯s vegetable basket. He didn¡¯t say a single word, and simply turned and led the rest of the group away.


    The olddy waspletely stunned, and a little frightened even. Why did this stranger give her so much money for no reason? She took small, but hurried steps and stopped in front of Miao Yi, stammering as she asked, "Esteemed One, for what reason are you giving this old one so much money? This is simply too much for me to bear. Are you a rtive of the Huang family or..."


    There was no way she wouldn¡¯t recognize this person if he was a rtive of her Li family. He was most likely a rtive of the Huang family whom she had never met before.


    Miao Yi pondered for a bit, then asked, "Do you really wish to know who I am?"


    The olddy asked cautiously, "Is it something you can¡¯t say?"


    Miao Yi hesitated for a while, but soon smiled and asked, "Sister Li, do you still remember the young butcher from the butcher shop opposite your tofu shop¡ªMiao Yi?"


    The olddy was instantly thunderstruck, and she widened her eyes at Miao Yi. After Head Guard Huang died, his daughter had told her that the young butcher boy all those years ago had be an immortal. This was a very distant memory for the olddy, but it immediately resurfaced in her mind this very moment. Disbelievingly, she stuttered, "C-could you be..."


    Miao Yi smiled and nodded. "Yes, I¡¯m that Miao Yi!" He then cupped his fists and said, "Sister Li, take care!"


    After which, he turned around and led the rest of his group away.


    The olddy didn¡¯t know that Miao Yi was the one who killed Head Guard Huang. She only stared dazedly at his youthful figure, as well as the beautiful women apanying him by his side. She couldn¡¯t help thinking back to the time that same young man was kicked out of her house when he came asking for her hand in marriage. But that was a very long time ago, and the olddy was left speechless for quite some time.


    "Mother! Who was that?" After he was done dealing with a customer, the olddy¡¯s son quickly came over and asked his mother, hurriedly hiding away the money in the vegetable basket. It was dangerous to be holding onto so much money so openly in the middle of the street.


    The olddy awkwardly turned around, reaching out her hands to help fix her son¡¯s clothes. She had already experienced much of life¡¯s ups and downs in her age and was no stranger to the vicissitudes of fate. With a calm smile, she said, "I don¡¯t remember. He should be an old acquaintance to the Huang family and decided to lend us a helping hand after seeing our situation. Hold on to that money. It¡¯s gettingte. I¡¯m going to go buy some groceries and get started on dinner..."


    As he left the city, Miao Yi¡¯s mood was bright and cheery. He never thought he would still be able to meet an old acquaintance. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that he had managed to fulfill a long-time wish.


    Miao Yi and the others proceeded into the forest and mounted their steeds. Miao Yi cast a distant gaze towards Changfeng City, then resolutely turned his head, bringing the rest of the party to ride towards their next destination.


    Mount Shaotai! This was not Miao Yi¡¯s first visit to the ce. Back when he was fighting Xiong Xiao, he had assaulted this area in full force, driving Xiong Xiao to abandon his handmaidens to save himself!


    Mount Shaotai had already been informed by South Edict Manor that Miao Yi would be arriving, and they had scouts keeping a lookout right from the start. Before Miao Yi and the others had even reached the mountain gates, Qin Weiwei¡ª garbed in her usual, white dress¡ªwas already standing by with the rest of her men. And as always, her expression was as staunch as ever.


    This time, Miao Yi only brought a few of his subordinates along. It wasn¡¯t something that would take long after all. There was no need to have Zhao Fei and the others go back and forth as well. At the same time, Miao Yi didn¡¯t want to pressure Qin Weiwei by having so many Manor Heads dropping in.


    As he approached the mountain gates and got off his mount, Qin Weiwei immediately stepped forward and bowed, "I respectfully greet Manor Head Miao!"


    "At ease!" Miao Yi raised his arm and gestured for Qin Weiwei to rise. His gaze swept past Qin Weiwei to Hong Mian and Lu Liu standing behind her, then to Chen Fei, who he had not seen for quite a while. He nodded and tossed a smile towards thetter.


    After several decades of cultivation, Chen Fei was now at the White Lotus Sixth Grade and a Cave Master under Qin Weiwei¡¯s care. Facing Miao Yi¡¯s friendly gesture, Chen Fei acknowledged him with a somewhat restrained smile. After all, there was a huge difference in status between the two of them now. It wouldn¡¯t be appropriate of him to address Miao Yi as his brother anymore. The reason Miao Yi came here this time was precisely because of Chen Fei, and the person himself knew about it as well. This was also why he was so urgently called over to Mount Shaotai from his own territory.


    Qin Weiwei couldn¡¯t act too friendly with Miao Yi in front of outsiders. She turned her body to the side and extended an arm, inviting Miao Yi politely, "Manor Head Miao, pleasee inside!"


    Miao Yi respectfully rejected her, saying, "I won¡¯t be staying long. I still have a few friends waiting for me outside. I came here for Chen Fei."


    Even though he would be leaving South Edict Manor to take up his new post in Raincloud Manor, Miao Yi didn¡¯t bring a single South Edict Manor subordinate along with him. He only asked for Yan Xiu and Chen Fei. Naturally, Yang Qing wouldn¡¯t deny him such a small request. He wouldn¡¯t hold onto these two men just to spite Miao Yi!


    "Chen Fei! Will youe with me?" Miao Yi grabbed Chen Fei¡¯s arm and asked.


    Chen Feiughed bitterly as he thought, ¡¯Your rtionship with the three major sects has already worsened to such a terrifying extent. And now that you¡¯re doing something like this in public, everyone will know that I¡¯m close to you. It looks like I can¡¯t stay even if I wanted to.¡¯ He cupped his fists and replied, "This subordinate is willing to serve the Manor Head!"


    Meanwhile, Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes brightened as she asked, "I see that the ones waiting outside are your friends. Then does Manor Head Miao think my status is too lowly to be your friend, that you won¡¯t even spare the time to have a cup of tea with me?"


    Since she put it that way, what else could Miao Yi say? He had no choice but to trouble her for a little while longer.


    Once they were inside the living room, Qin Weiwei cast Hong Mian and Lu Liu a nce, to which they acknowledged secretly. The two girls then invited Miao Yi¡¯s subordinates to rest in a different area.


    Now, Hong Mian and Lu Liu could no longer address Miao Yi as Lord Miao anymore. Simply because his status had be higher than Qin Weiwei¡¯s. Thus, they could only address him as Manor Head.


    Qin Weiwei personally prepared the tea, then sat down beside Miao Yi, smiling as she asked, "I see that Manor Head Miao remembers to take care of Chen Fei, but not me. Evening in for a short while seemed to be a difficult request to ask of you. It looks like I really am too lowly for you."


    Miao Yi raised his cup and smiled bitterly. "There are no outsiders here. You can spare me the sarcasm. The way you¡¯re calling out ¡¯Manor Head, Manor Head¡¯ just sounds way too prickly. I owe Chen Fei a debt of gratitude, so it¡¯s only right that I take care of him. You, on the other hand, have Manor Head Yang looking after you. You don¡¯t need me."


    "That¡¯s not necessarily true. I actually wish to break free from my father¡¯s shadow and learn to get by on my own. I¡¯m sure everyone knows it as well. No matter what is it I do in South Edict Manor, everyone simply obeys because of my father. I¡¯m nothing more than a decoration! If you really think of me as a friend, why don¡¯t you ask to take me under your wing too?" Qin Weiwei asked in a ¡¯somewhat¡¯ yful manner.


    Miao Yi shook his head and remarked, "Do you think Manor Head Yang will be able to rest easy letting youe along with me? Ever since that time I brought up marrying you, he¡¯s been on full alert against me. It looks as though he¡¯s scared I¡¯ll eat you up or something. So, even if I¡¯m willing to take you with me, Manor Head Yang will surely oppose it!"


    Qin Weiwei fell silent. She obviously knew that it wouldn¡¯t be possible, but still... She then forced a smile and asked, "Do you really think of me as a friend? You¡¯re not just saying that because of my father?"


    Miao Yi was puzzled, and replied, "Why wouldn¡¯t I? If I didn¡¯t think of you as a friend, why would I entrust my friend to you?"


    Qin Weiwei stared into his eyes and asked, "If I can get my father¡¯s permission one day, and he¡¯s willing to let me go, will you take me in?"


    Miao Yi teased, "If he¡¯s willing to let you go, then I¡¯d be more than happy to take you in."


    Qin Weiwei then brought up a palm to Miao Yi¡¯s face. Miao Yi was a little confused at first, but he soon caught on. It was this thing again. As he saw the expectant gaze in Qin Weiwei¡¯s eyes, he raised his own palm helplessly and¡ª¡¯Pa!¡¯¡ªpped hands with her!

 Chapter 469 Traversing Water Palace, Suppressing Tenth Hall

    Since he was here just to have a cup of tea, that was exactly what he did. Miao Yi soon attempted to excuse himself, "I told my friends that I won¡¯t be long. I should get going now!"


    Qin Weiwei ordered Hong Mian and Lu Liu to bring the mounts over. After which, the three women proceeded to send off Miao Yi and his subordinates. And since they had even brought the dragon steeds out for them, they naturally wouldn¡¯t just stop at the mountain gates.


    Miao Yi told Qin Weiwei that it was far enough, but thetter was adamant in sending him all the way out, saying, "All whoe here are my guests. Since you and I are friends, that makes your friends my friends too. And since they¡¯re already at my doorstep, I naturally need to show my face!"


    The group continued out the gates of Mount Calming Sea, riding on their dragon steeds through the nearby forest, eventuallying to a stop at the entrance of a major road. More than twenty riders soon showed up from the surrounding forest.


    Qin Weiwei didn¡¯t think that Miao Yi¡¯s friends would turn out to be Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. She¡¯d met the two of them before back at Mount Calming Sea. She immediately stepped forward to greet them.


    "Safe travels!"


    "Take care!"


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t say anything much and simply smiled as he cupped his fists towards Qin Weiwei, bidding farewell. He then led the rest of his group to a charge, resuming their journey!


    Qin Weiwei brought her own mount to gallop up the top of a nearby mountain.


    The surrounding mountains were lonely and deste, and standing at the peak was a girl, her white dress fluttering like a daisy flower in the wind. Her face was of astounding beauty, but as she gazed towards the distance, her expression was forlorn and downcast. The person that had risked his life to save her, protected her in his embrace, was now gone, off to a faraway ce!


    Hong Mian and Lu Liu stood quietly behind her.


    "He¡¯s really changed ever since he came back from the Sea of Constetions. His whole aura seems different now. Even the people apanying him are Manor Heads. I still remember the time back in Transient Light Cave when he was beaten to a pulp by the young miss. Who would¡¯ve thought that he¡¯d be a person equal in status to the Manor Head after a few short decades? His position now is even higher than the young miss. Talk about a speedy promotion! If one day his position bes even higher than the Manor Head¡¯s, maybe..." Lu Liu stopped and sighed.


    Hong Mian sighed as well, "Traversing Water Pce, huh? That¡¯s really far! There are quite a few Pces between that ce and our Traversing Moon Pce. And I think Raincloud Manor is almost at the border of the Boundless Nation itself. Even if we were to ride nonstop on our dragon steeds, it would take at least half a month to go that far. Who would possibly make such a trip without a viable reason? I wonder if we¡¯ll ever get the chance to meet again in the future."


    The two girls nced at the lonely figure seated atop the dragon steed in front of them, then looked back at each other and sighed...


    Traversing Water Pce, Suppressing Tenth Hall.


    Once again, more than twenty riders galloped through the wind and rain, sheltered by the zing sun and the starry night sky, trekking over mountains and rivers, only stopping to rest once every five days.


    Halfway through the journey, a spirit eagle from the capital city came andnded on top of Yan Xiu. Yan Xiu proceeded to take out the jade archive tucked away in the small tube by the spirit eagle¡¯s feet and handed it over to Miao Yi.


    After Miao Yi read through the document, he passed it to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei so that they could make their own copies. Naturally, the jade archive came from Lin Pingping, containing information regarding the situation in Traversing Water Pce and its Suppressing Tenth Hall, all gathered with the help of Luo Ping, of course.


    There were no two ways about it. The ce was indeed much too far this time, to the point that none of Miao Yi¡¯s acquaintances had any idea what it was like down there. He didn¡¯t even know what kind of person the Hall Master of Suppressing Tenth Hall was like, much less the other Manor Heads that he would soon be working with. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t just sit like a helpless duck before this pitch ck road before him.


    That said, during his time in the capital city, Miao Yi didn¡¯t inform Luo Ping beforehand that he would being here, causing thetter some difficulty in fulfilling his request on such short notice. All Luo Ping could do was gather as much information as he could after Miao Yi had left. It was only now that he¡¯d managed to send the documents over.


    Miao Yi then wrote a reply to Lin Pingping, and after feeding the spirit eagle, Yan Xiu ced the jade archive into the hollow cylinder by its legs, then sent it off.


    "Suppressing Tenth Hall Master Shen Huaixin! Tsk tsk! A cultivator at the Red Lotus Seventh Grade!" After reading Lin Pingping¡¯s letter, Sikong Wuwei clicked his tongue a few times, then chuckled and remarked, "It seems that Brother Luo can be rather useful in this aspect as well. Zhao Fei, since we¡¯re not short of money anyway, it looks like we should also begin cultivating some people of our own in the capital city. Things will be a lot easier with someone like Lin Pingping working for us there."


    Zhao Fei nodded in full agreement!


    After traveling on horseback for almost an entire month, the party finally entered Suppressing Tenth Hall territory.


    As none of them had been there before, no one knew the directions at all. Amidst the thundering hoofbeats of the dragon steeds, Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei each held a map as they led the way ahead.


    Soon, they reached a fork in the road, the path to the side leading up towards the mountain. Zhao Fei confidently pointed to said path, and the rest of the party hastily followed, their mounts making such an abrupt turn that they were almost skidding across the ground. Their bnce was quickly regained, and without a drop in momentum, rushed up the mountain path.


    The birds that soared overhead and the beasts that hid amongst the shrubbery cast cautious gazes as the party charged their way into the mountain depths.


    The surrounding forest was full of greenery; vines dangled from the trees and a rich assortment of flowers and nts nketed thendscape, apanied by the rushing torrent of waterfalls. The path was heavily uneven, but under the powerful legs of the dragon steeds, a towering mountain soon came into view, upon which sat a colossal structure.


    As the party made their way to the mountain gates, two men suddenly appeared before them with hands raised, asking in a cold,manding tone, "Who goes there?!"


    Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei raised their hands and called for their men to stop. Heeding their lords¡¯ order, the rest of the party immediately came to a halt just in front of the mountain gates.


    "Zhao Fei! Miao Yi! Sikong Wuwei!" The trio reported their names, then Sikong Wuwei announced, in his gruff voice, "By the orders of the Traversing Water Pce Lord, we havee to Suppressing Tenth Hall to take up our new posts!"


    The two gatekeepers looked at each other. They had already received news from Traversing Water Pce that there would be three Subjugation Crusade survivorsing here to their Suppressing Tenth Hall. Because of this, they had to free up three Manor Head positions, which, unsurprisingly, caused quite themotion over the past few weeks.


    The Manor Heads of Thousand Lake Manor, Raincloud Manor, and Mulberry Cloud Manor had already received instructions regarding their transferral. As soon as the new Manor Heads arrived, the three of them would have to cede all authority and take up new posts within Suppressing Tenth Hall. Naturally, they would no longer be treated as well as they were before.


    To put it lightly, those three Manor Heads were clearly not enthused about the idea. The three of them were unlucky, even for normal standards. This incident had already be a running joke within Suppressing Tenth Hall, and as for those who disliked these three Manor Heads, their stomachs were practically cramping fromughing too hard.


    It would still have been eptable if only one of them came, but for three to swoop down here in one go? This surprise was a little too much!


    The people of Suppressing Tenth Hall couldn¡¯t help wondering whether these Subjugation Crusade survivors were sick in the head or something. The fact that they could have chosen any territory they pleased within the Fifth Earthly Branch had already be public knowledge at this point. And those three unfortunate Manor Heads never even dreamed that their territories would be chosen. You people could have chosen somewhere even better. Why did you have toe here and make life hard for us? How unlucky must one be to bump into something like this? And for three fellows to appear in one go was even more inconceivable.


    However, there was no room for discussion. Even the Traversing Water Pce Lord had to ept this decree, much less her subordinates!


    The people who could make it back from the Subjugation Crusade were a symbol of strength to begin with, making it easy to instill a sense of respect in others. And this was true for Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei as well. The three of themmanded an indomitable presence; there wasn¡¯t a single shred of uneasiness in their eyes, which was somon among first-time visitors. When the two gatekeepers witnessed the auraing off of them, the sharpness of their expressions immediately gave way to humility, and one of them hurriedly, but cautiously, approached.


    After checking through their official decrees of appointment, the gatekeeper smiled and said, "Please wait for a moment, Manor Heads. I will report this immediately!"


    Zhao Fei nodded expressionlessly, and the gatekeeper hastily departed.


    After a while, several streaks of light could be seen zooming in from the surrounding mountains and congregating on the pce at the peak of the highest mountain. Soon, the gatekeeper that had left came back and allowed Miao Yi and the others passage into the mountain.


    At the foot of the mountain, Miao Yi¡¯s, Zhao Fei¡¯s, and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s subordinates halted, and only the three of them proceeded up the mountain.


    Once they were at the pce gates, the three of them alighted from their steeds. Of the Suppressing Tenth Hall Master Shen Huaixin¡¯s two handmaidens¡ªRu Meng and Ru Huan¡ªRu Huan was already standing by the pce gates, ready to wee them. Miao Yi and the others were only able to receive such treatment because it was their first time visiting; it was unlikely that they¡¯d enjoy this same pleasure all the time in the future.


    As both parties had already been informed beforehand, Miao Yi and the others immediately cupped their fists and said, "We respectfully greet Little Auntie!"


    "Pleasee in, Manor Heads!" Ru Huan turned and guided Miao Yi and the others inside, heading straight for the assembly hall.


    The throne within the hall was still empty, indicating that Hall Master Shen Huaixin had yet to arrive. However, there were nine other people presently waiting to the side. Needless to say, these must be the three Advisors and six Deacons of Suppressing Tenth Hall.


    Ru Huan received Miao Yi and the others¡¯ decrees of appointment and proceeded to the back of the pce to inform the Hall Master. Meanwhile, the nine people in the hall carefully eyed the three neers and acquainted themselves with one another.


    Shortly after, Shen Huaixin strode out, apanied by his two handmaidens.


    Garbed in ck from head to toe, Shen Huaixin¡¯s appearance was rather ordinary for someone of his status. The most prominent feature on his face would probably just be his distinctly crooked nose. As he swept a cold nce past Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei, he sat down on his throne and said, "Sorry to have kept you waiting!"


    The twelve people below him immediately bowed and called out in unison, "We respectfully greet the Hall Master!"


    "Miao Yi! Zhao Fei! Sikong Wuwei!" Shen Huaixin called out the three neers¡¯ names, receiving a response from each person as his name was called. Shen Huaixin now knew which one was which, and wouldn¡¯t likely mistake them for one another.


    These three people simply dropped in too abruptly. Not to mention, Shen Huaixin was also meeting them for the first time, so he didn¡¯t have any other choice but to use such a method to figure out who was who. He would end up aughingstock if he couldn¡¯t even differentiate the Manor Heads under hismand.


    "The three of you have survived the onught of 180,000 cultivators that is the Subjugation Crusade, and you are without a doubt, the elites of our Fifth Earthly Branch! However, there is something that I can¡¯t quite figure out. You three had the chance to pick a better ce, but instead, you all chose toe here to my Suppressing Tenth Hall. Why? Even though I may not be a capable man, I do know my own strengths. Nheless, I can¡¯t think of a single thing that could have attracted the three of you to this ce!" Shen Huaixin was dying to ask this question.


    Standing shoulder to shoulder in the center of the hall, Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei exchanged nces with one another. Miao Yi then cupped his fists and replied on everyone¡¯s behalf, "If I may, Hall Master, the three of us are loose cultivators by origin, and have no background to speak of. The ces that are typically well-regarded tend to have powerful forces working in the background. Even if we force ourselves into them, it is likely that we won¡¯t be able to enjoy any of the benefits!"


    "Yes, this is a logical reason. Powerful forces do like to stick their fingers in ces like those. It is indeed questionable whether or not you would be able to enjoy any of the benefits there. At the very least, establishing your footing will be a rtively arduous task. However, while I do agree that this is a valid reason, I believe it only applies to the two of them. As for you, I think it¡¯s a little far-fetched. Wouldn¡¯t you say?" Shen Huaixin¡¯s expression was cold as he continued, "As far as I know, Hall Master Huo Lingxiao of the Traversing Moon Pce¡¯s Suppressing Second Hall is your sworn brother. And you say you don¡¯t have a background? I meet up with Huo Lingxiao almost every year whenever I have to apany the Pce Lord to the capital city to handover the tributes, and we tend to share a drink quite regrly. I guess you can say we¡¯re close acquaintances. For you to not work under your sworn brother, and insteade over to my ce... this reason just seems a little forced to me!"


    The people in the hall exchanged looks of surprise when Shen Huaixin revealed that Miao Yi¡¯s sworn brother was actually a Hall Master!


    Miao Yi was rather speechless. It seemed this Hall Master had done his homework on them already. Miao Yi cursed inwardly, ¡¯Huo Lingxiao, you bastard. You didn¡¯t mention that you were close to this guy. Would it kill you to help me drop a message at least? Fine! You¡¯d better watch your back! I swear, if I get the chance, I¡¯ll give you hell!¡¯


    "The Hall Master is well-informed. It is precisely because I do not wish to stay under my Big Brother¡¯s wing that I decided to go off on my own. Otherwise, why would I have personally asked to take part in the Subjugation Crusade?! Otherwise, I would¡¯ve surely asked my Big Brother to write you a letter of rmendation for me as well!" At this point, Miao Yi could only grit his teeth and y along. It would do him no good to say that he had a poor rtionship with Huo Lingxiao. That two-faced bastard could still be of use to him someday.


    "I see! I was wondering why Huo Lingxiao let you join the Subjugation Crusade when he was your sworn brother!" Shen Huaixin nodded in understanding. However, he was no fool, and he continued to probe, "This still doesn¡¯t exin why all three of you decided toe to my territory though. It all just feels like a dream to me, and even now, I can¡¯t make heads or tails regarding your motives, no matter how hard I think about it!"


    Miao Yi thought to himself, ¡¯Why do you need to ask so many questions? The Pce Lord has already given the order. It¡¯s not like you can chase us away anyway!¡¯

 Chapter 470 Await the Day

    All Miao Yi could do was curse Shen Huaixin deep down. Since the Hall Master himself was nning to get to the bottom of this, then as a Manor Head, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to tell him to shut up.


    Seeing the reluctance on the three neers¡¯ faces, Shen Huaixin¡¯s expression darkened as he asked, "Should I not have asked that question?"


    Miao Yi drew in a sharp breath. With what he nned to do, he would eventually have to face Shen Huaixin anyway. In that case, why not just tell him the truth, and save him the trouble of worrying about this problem in the future? Since he was already in this hall, Miao Yi knew what he had to do. He quickly took off a storage ring from his finger and offered it up as he said, "The three of us came here for only one reason¡ªher!"


    Everyone else in the hall was confused by his actions, wondering what was being kept inside that storage ring.


    Shen Huaixin was naturally intrigued as well. He tilted his head to the side, and his handmaiden Ru Huan soon walked down to receive the storage ring. As soon as she examined its contents, she was utterly shocked and she looked to the three neers in surprise. There was even a hint of sorrow on her face as she handed the storage ring over to Shen Huaixin.


    When Shen Huaixin noticed the corpse inside the storage ring, he was quite surprised as well. Seeing the diposure on Ru Huan¡¯s face, he asked, "You know her too?"


    When she saw the corpse inside the storage ring, and after remembering the three locations that Miao Yi and the others had chosen for their new posts, Ru Huan immediately understood what they nned to do.


    It was safe to say that Ru Huan waspletely touched by their decision. Women did like this sort of thing after all.


    Ru Huan nced down at the three neers, then to everyone else in the hall. She nodded her head and told Shen Huaixin through voice transmission, "Master, the Manors that these three have chosen creates a triangle formation around Tranquil Sun Manor, of which the cultivator inside this storage ring came from. I¡¯ve been on several excursions to Tranquil Sun Manor, and during those visits, this girl hadined to me that her Manor Head had unscrupulous intentions towards her. However, it is not my ce to interfere with the Manor Head¡¯s authority, so I couldn¡¯t help her at all. After which, I mentioned it to you, Master, but you said that it would be going overboard to control a Manor Head¡¯s authority to such an extent. I believe you should have some recollection of this girl as well. She¡¯s the White Lotus cultivator that our Suppressing Tenth Hall sent to join the Subjugation Crusade¡ªQi Xiuhong!"


    Shen Huaixin had really forgotten that Ru Huan had discussed this matter to him. After all, it was only about a single, lowly cultivator. However, when she mentioned that his Suppressing Tenth Hall had sent this person to join the Subjugation Crusade, it instantly jogged his memory. Shen Huaixin narrowed his eyes at the three neers down below; he knew what they nned to do now.


    Shen Huaixin turned back to Ru Huan, who continued to speak via voice transmission on Miao Yi and the others¡¯ behalf. After some thought, he waved his hand andmanded, "I want everyone unrted to leave this instant!"


    The three Advisors and six Deacons couldn¡¯t help exchanging nces. What could warrant such secrecy? Even though they were even more intrigued now, they couldn¡¯t afford to go against the Hall Master¡¯s orders, and stepped down immediately!


    When all nine of them had left, Shen Huaixin tossed the storage ring back to Miao Yi. Miao Yi grabbed it then quietly put it back on his finger.


    "I can¡¯t believe that Qi Xiuhong actually befriended the three of you in the Sea of Constetions!" Shen Huaixin stared at the three of them and continued, "Will the three of you insist on going this far?"


    Miao Yi cupped his fists and replied, "Whatever the cost!"


    "Well said!" Shen Huaixin smiled coldly and continued, "You three were even willing to give up the opportunity to go to a better ce just so you coulde here. It seems you are quite adamant indeed! But... what if I¡¯m against your n?"


    Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei fell silent. After a while, Zhao Fei said solemnly, "The three of us could have kept this matter to ourselves originally, and report to you only once the deed was done! Hall Master, if you¡¯re willing to let us do this, then the three of us will immediately swear a Commandment of Conformity to never attempt to take the Suppressing Tenth Hall Master¡¯s seat from you!"


    When he heard Zhao Fei¡¯s words, Miao Yi immediately turned to look at him, then turned the other way to Sikong Wuwei, who was also cupping his fists in agreement!


    Ru Huan was even more moved by their actions, her eyes already turning a little hazy. On the other hand, Ru Meng waspletely lost as to what was happening!


    Shen Huaixin¡¯s eyes brightened for an instant. Truth be told, he wasn¡¯t too enthused about the arrival of these three neers. After all, once they broke through to the Red Lotus realm and managed to catch the Pce Lord¡¯s eye, his position would be in danger. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t do anything to the three of them with the Pce Lord looking over his shoulder.


    If the three of them were willing to swear a Commandment of Conformity to never try and take his position away, not only would his seat be secure, he would even gain three capable subordinates. To Shen Huaixin, this would be the best possible oue. To ensure the stability of his position for the long-term, or to go against these three neers, this wasn¡¯t a hard choice to make at all.


    Shen Huaixin didn¡¯t respond to Zhao Fei¡¯s offer and simply chuckled. It would be inappropriate for him to show his true intentions with regards to such an offer. After all, he would end up aughingstock if people found out that he had forced his subordinates to swear such a Commandment of Conformity.


    However, for him not to respond meant that it was time for the other party to take the initiative. Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei exchanged nces. Miao Yi was hesitating whether or not he should speak up, but Zhao Fei quickly said via voice transmission, "Brother! It¡¯s not like the three of us can share this Suppressing Tenth Hall anyway. There¡¯s no need for us to be at odds just because of this. There are so many other ces in Traversing Water Pce. Why be so fixated on a single Suppressing Tenth Hall?"


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t mind, but Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were already close to breaking through to the Red Lotus realm!


    Once they were done discussing between themselves, Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei each took out a jade archive and immediately wrote down a Commandment of Conformity and presented it up to Shen Huaixin.


    Having an intuitive understanding of the situation, Ru Meng immediately walked over and received the three Commandments of Conformity, then handed them over to Shen Huaixin.


    After reading through them, Shen Huaixin was greatly relieved. He immediately tucked them away, then took out several jade archives and wrote down three decrees of appointment. He then handed them over to his handmaiden to pass to the three neers down below.


    Rules were rules after all. The decrees of appointment written by the Pce Lord were meant for Shen Huaixin, and his eyes alone. Not even Mu Fanjun from the Realm Beyond Heaven would write down an official decree directly appointing a mere Manor Head. If she really did something like that, what use would there be for all her Overlords, Pce Lords, and Hall Masters? Her subordinates would surely bear some resentment if she made a move like that. By then, no matter Mu Fanjun¡¯s strength, with no one willing to work for her, she would be nothing but an empty husk.


    After receiving the decree of appointment from the Suppressing Tenth Hall Master, only then were Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei the official Manor Lords of their new territories.


    The three of them thanked Shen Huaixin. Thetter no longer mentioned their discussion from just moments ago, as though nothing had happened at all. Instead, he warned in a somber tone, "Whatever you do, remember to follow the rules. If you break them, not even the Pce Lord will be able to protect you. You are here to take control on our behalf, not wreak havoc. If you cause any disturbances to the mortals that could affect the tributes of willpower, you will be severely punished! Since it¡¯s your first time here, whatever you don¡¯t know, feel free to ask the three Advisors!"


    Rules weren¡¯t meant to be applied to a single person. A system that only a single person adhered to could not be considered a system. Only when everyone followed the rules could it be called a system. If everyone said you broke the rules, then there was no refuting it. However, if everyone said you didn¡¯t break any rules, then even if you sowed utter chaos, you would still be considered innocent.


    It was evident what Shen Huaixin was implying¡ª¡¯Make sure you tie all the loose ends properly. I won¡¯t be covering for you if anything happens. If you really go and make a mess of things, I will punish you without hesitation!¡¯


    Basically, his words were nothing but a shallow reminder; there was no point to it whatsoever. This meant that even if something were to happen, Miao Yi and the others would not be able to argue that Shen Huaixin had promised them anything.


    Standing down below, the three neers sniggered to themselves as they immediately branded a title to this new Hall Master of theirs¡ª¡¯Coward!¡¯


    However, the three of them each took out a storage ring as a ¡¯weing gift¡¯ for their new Hall Master. There was no helping it. Everyone knew that Subjugation Crusade survivors like them were loaded.


    Towards the end, Shen Huaixin gave Miao Yi and the others a few encouraging words. After which, thetter excused themselves.


    Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei soon left the assembly hall and descended the mountain, heading to pay their respects to the three Advisors¡ªXu Jinsong, Ji Ze, and Huang Jizhang.


    The gift that Shen Huaixin had received was a set of Second Grade Armor Artifacts that the three of them had pooled together. The three Advisors received pretty extravagant gifts themselves; Miao Yi and the others had pooled together a set of First Grade Armor Artifacts for each of them. This caused the three Advisors to burst with joy.


    Inevitably, the three Advisors tried to pull the three neers into their own factions. On the other hand, as Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei didn¡¯t want to offend any one of them, they promised each Advisor that they would heed his instructions. This meant that the three of them would need to prepare a gift for all three Advisors every single year from now on. It was no easy task to have one¡¯s finger in every pie. A normal Manor Head would not be able to sustain such an expenditure.


    After the incident in the capital city, Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei promised one another on the way here that they would tuck their heads in and hide in their shells from now on! They had to avoid confrontation as much as possible. Otherwise, no matter how many treasures they possessed, they wouldn¡¯t be able to stay safe. Right now, all they could do was wait. Wait until the day their cultivation had grown strong and powerful. Powerful enough to call the shots!


    Naturally, the three Advisors tried asking them why they chose toe to Suppressing Tenth Hall. And after sessfully dealing with Shen Huaixin, Miao Yi and the others already had their excuses prepared; they told the Advisors that Shen Huaixin had ordered them to keep it a secret. Shen Huaixin would never divulge that he had secretly approved of their ns anyway.


    In the end, the Advisors merelyughed it off.


    After taking their leave from the three Advisors, Miao Yi and the others proceeded to visit the six Deacons. As these people were the same rank as them, they were significantly much easier to deal with. All they did was get to know each other a little better. And after stuffing a few storage rings into the other party¡¯s hands, Miao Yi and the others were good to go. The three of them were not short of things like this anyway, having juste back from the Subjugation Crusade.


    The sky had already darkened by the time Miao Yi and the others were done paying their respects to everyone. They didn¡¯t tarry on in Suppressing Tenth Hall, leaving in the dead of the night. They split up along the way, each person heading towards their respective new territories...


    Meanwhile, in a faraway ce, the ck sky of the night was apanied by a thunderous storm, and on the muddied road, a lone dragon steed galloped. One girl was riding through the darkness, alone and hurried.


    It was dangerous for a girl to ride alone, especially on such a long journey. There was no guarantee that there wouldn¡¯t be any vile scoundrels along the way. As a precautionary measure, and in order to save as much transcendence energy as she could, the girl didn¡¯t even try to shield herself from the rain. Her entire body was already soaking wet, but still, she raced through the night, constantly having to wipe the water off her face.


    This girl was none other than Wen Fang, the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce¡¯s employee from the South Edict Manor branch. And her destination was none other than the Raincloud Manor that Miao Yi had just taken up a post in. She too was heading there to take up a new post.


    With the major deals that she managed to close while in South Edict Manor, Wen Fang had undoubtedly be one of the most prospectivepetitors for the manager¡¯s position in South Edict City.


    However, when she heard that Miao Yi had decided to go all the way to Raincloud Manor to take up post, Wen Fang was as confused as anyone else. That said, her connections weren¡¯t strong enough to be reassigned to such a faraway ce. As such, Wen Fang found anotherpetitor and promised the other party that if they could figure out a way to have her reassigned to Raincloud Manor, she would step down from thepetition for the manager¡¯s seat.


    In the end, Wen Fang got what she wanted, and was reassigned to Raincloud Manor as amon teller.


    When she got the news, Wen Fang left without a moment¡¯s hesitation. Who was she kidding? She wasn¡¯t a fool. She clearly knew which ce had better prospects for her. Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei were all headed to the same ce. That meant that these three big customers were all gathered in a single location. How could Wen Fang let someone else take advantage of this, after all the effort she had put in to establish a rtionship with them? She had to go there as well, even if she had to crawl her way there. And with the support of those three big customers, it would only be a matter of time before she could contend for the manager¡¯s seat again.


    At her generation, her family had already lost much of its original influence in the Chamber of Commerce. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have had to spare so much effort just to get herself reassigned, and to be amon teller, no less. However, Wen Fang believed that as long as she worked hard, she would eventually be sessful!


    This was also why she wanted to reach Raincloud Manor as fast as she could. She needed to let those three see her sincerity. As long as she could appear before Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei on time, Wen Fang believed that no one would be able topete with her for them. Thus, forget this tiny drizzle, even if it were raining des, Wen Fang would still move forward!

 Chapter 471 Strange New Land

    Dawn was breaking, and along the path that one would normally take to enter Raincloud Manor territory, ten Mountain Chieftains¡ªas well as all their subordinate Cave Masters¡ªwere waiting by the side. They had been informed beforehand that their new Manor Head would soon be arriving, and thus waited under a long pavilion that they had built on the spot.


    Even Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er werepletely awed by the grandeur of such an envoy. Looking back, Miao Yi had been nothing but a mere Cave Master a few short decades ago. But now, he was the master of ten Mountain Chieftains and over a hundred Cave Masters.


    Surrounded by a lush forest and tranquil waters, Miao Yi¡¯s identity was confirmed by the other party. After which, the hundred over cultivators bowed and shouted in unison, "We respectfully greet the Manor Head!"


    Miao Yi sat quietly on his mount and received their bows. Meanwhile, Yan Xiu and Chen Fei couldn¡¯t help the sparkle in their eyes.


    The crowd then proceeded to invite Miao Yi into the long pavilion to take a short break. Inside, the ten Mountain Chieftains each stepped forward and introduced themselves. As for the hundred over Cave Masters, they could only stand guard outside. They had no qualifications to speak in such a setting. And even if they could talk to Miao Yi, he wouldn¡¯t be able to remember so many names anyway.


    While Miao Yi was busy talking to the Mountain Chieftains, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were equally upied, surrounded by the handmaidens that the Mountain Chieftains had brought over. These handmaidens continuously gave praise to the two youngdies, attempting to establish an amicable rtionship between their own respective masters and the Manor Head. As for those Cave Masters, they didn¡¯t have the qualifications to bring their own handmaidens to try and steal the show from the Mountain Chieftains¡¯ handmaidens.


    "Elder Auntie, is this hairpin a present from the Manor Head? It¡¯s very beautiful!"


    A certain handmaiden finally hit the sweet spot. The hairpin that Qian¡¯Er was wearing was something she bought while shopping by herself. Immediately, her initially reserved demeanor turned into excitement. She subsequently took down her hairpin and began talking enthusiastically about how she got it.


    All hell broke loose after that. Those twenty handmaidens started taking turns borrowing the hairpin and offeringpliments one after the other. This chain reaction was triggered by a single hairpin. The group of women immediately started exchanging shopping tips, each person rmending certain items in their respective vassal cities and inviting the two Aunties to pay them a visit sometime. Some also promised that they would send Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er presents if they saw something nice in the future.


    As the tide rises, so too does the ship. This adage had effectively manifested itself on Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    Miao Yi cast a sideways nce at the two youngdies being surrounded by a group of women, and couldn¡¯t help being amused. The style of conduct in this Raincloud Manor was quite intriguing indeed. Yang Qing¡¯s South Edict Manor didn¡¯t seem to favor such dealings too well.


    Inside the pavilion, having acquainted himself with the ten Mountain Chieftains, Miao Yi felt like something was missing, and couldn¡¯t help asking, "Are any of the main troops of Raincloud Manor present?"


    The ten Mountain Chieftains exchanged nces with one another, all looking a little awkward. Finally, someone replied in a low voice, "Manor Head Sun is currently waiting for you to finish the handover procedure. As such, the main troops can¡¯t make it all the way out here."


    Miao Yi immediately understood everything after hearing this. He initially thought that Manor Head Sun Lianping had sent these people over to receive him, but it turns out they hade here of their own ord to try and get into his good books. And because Sun Lianping was still inside Raincloud Manor, the main troops were unable toe out this far.


    Miao Yi finally understood what was going on with the group of handmaidens outside. When the master was already acting like this, the servants would naturally behave the same way!


    "Everyone! We shouldn¡¯t keep Manor Head Sun waiting. Let us be on our way then!"


    Miao Yi stood up and walked out as he said this. The Mountain Chieftains immediately followed after him in an obsequious manner.


    As he got onto his mount, Miao Yi looked back at the crowd behind him. Figuring he should be a little considerate towards Manor Head Sun¡¯s feelings, he immediatelymanded, "I don¡¯t need so many of you with me. All Cave Masters, return to your own territories!"


    The Mountain Chieftains immediately ordered their respective Cave Masters to return. Soon after, the remaining crowd set off towards Raincloud Manor.


    True to its name, there werekes of all sizes along the road towards Raincloud Manor. Various fishing boats could be seen on the surface of thekes, and as it was still quite early in the morning, there was ayer of mist enveloping the surroundings.


    Miao Yi soon reached the outskirts of Manor, and whaty before him was an even wider expanse of water, as though he was facing the ocean. A stone bridge about several kilometers long extended towards the center of theke, its widthrge enough for ten dragon steeds to walk side by side. God knows how much effort it took to construct such a bridge.


    Miao Yi led the group across the bridge towards the ind at the center of theke. The ind itself was surrounded by several other inds, both big and small, and each linked by the stone bridge. The architecture of the ce was indeed beautiful, and at the same time, awe-inspiring!


    Once they reached the mountain gates, Miao Yi raised his hand and called for everyone to stop. He didn¡¯t charge straight in just because the gatekeepers were already informed of his identity, and instead waited for them to report his arrival to Manor Head Sun.


    Not long after, Manor Head Sun Lianping appeared with a somewhat forced smile on his face, heartilyughing as he personally stepped forward to wee Miao Yi. "Manor Head Miao, I have been waiting for your arrival!"


    "I have long heard tales of Manor Head Sun! It troubles me to have you personally receive me like this!" Miao Yi said, cupping his fists.


    Holding each other by the shoulder as though they were brothers, both the new and old Manor Heads proceeded towards the Manor Head¡¯s quarters, and simply left the Mountain Chieftains standing outside.


    Manor Head Sun clearly didn¡¯t wish to see their annoying faces either. Sitting down with a teapoy between them, Miao Yi and Sun Lianping exchanged a few pleasantries, and before long, started discussing the handover procedure.


    After they talked everything out, Manor Head Sun received the handover documents from Miao Yi and was about to take his leave. He didn¡¯t wish to stay and dampen everyone¡¯s mood. However, Miao Yi insisted that he stay so he could throw him a proper send-off banquet.


    When the rest of the troops realized that the handover procedures werepleted, they immediately revealed their true colors. The Mountain Chieftains and the main Raincloud Manor troops all fought to offer a toast to Miao Yi¡¯s name. Sun Lianping waspletely given the cold shoulder by these former subordinates of his. These people had almost turned Sun Lianping¡¯s farewell banquet into Miao Yi¡¯s weing banquet.


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression turned grim at this. He smashed a jade cup and coldly asked the crowd, "If I were to leave my post one day, would all of you treat me in the same way as well?"


    Only then did the crowd start paying more attention to Sun Lianping. However, Sun Lianping was no longer in the mood for drinks after their earlier behavior. He didn¡¯t even wish to stay for formality¡¯s sake anymore, and quickly excused himself.


    Miao Yi gathered all the troops to send him on his way. No one was allowed to be absent.


    As they reached the bridge, Sun Lianping politely remarked that this was far enough. However, Miao Yi insisted on having five Mountain Chieftains send him all the way to Suppressing Tenth Hall.


    Sun Lianping gently tapped on Miao Yi¡¯s arm, declining, "Thank you for your consideration, Brother Miao. The world is a cold ce, but at the same time, there is also the warmth of human kindness to be found. This, I know well enough. You don¡¯t have to force them to do such a thing. It¡¯ll only make them unhappy. I can go on my own. It¡¯s more rxing for me that way as well!"


    Miao Yi fell silent. These subordinates no longer held Sun Lianping in any regard. Figuring the other party probably didn¡¯t wish to worry about them on the road ahead, he didn¡¯t force things anymore. Taking out a storage ring and stuffing it in Sun Lianping¡¯s hand, Miao Yi said, "This is a small gift from me. Please ept it, Brother Sun!"


    There was a First Grade Armor Artifact inside. Miao Yi wasn¡¯t expecting Sun Lianping to be grateful because of it. No, it was merely a token of his apology, as he was the main cause for all this to begin with!


    Sun Lianping happily epted it, then got on his mount and left.


    The sun set upon theke, casting an orange hue over its gentle surface. Amidst the reddish-yellow hue, Sun Lianping departed, apanied by his two handmaidens. It was truly a lonely sight to behold. He only had two handmaidens by his side; there wasn¡¯t a single person here who was willing to leave with him. They didn¡¯t even wish to escort him all the way out.


    Miao Yi looked back coldly at the crowd. However, he didn¡¯t feel any sympathy for Sun Lianping. The guy had been in charge of Raincloud Manor for over two hundred years, yet still ended up in such a state. There was a high chance that Sun Lianping himself had yed a major role in there being so many apple-polishers here.


    To someone like Miao Yi, who had been used to living in the deep mountains, the sunset at Raincloud Manor was indeed an exotic sight. The orange glow on the surface of theke perfectly reflected the color of the vast sky, giving a soothing feeling to all those who beheld it. Back on the stone bridge, Miao Yi slowly led his troops away, so as to fully take in the beautiful sight around him.


    Once they were back at the Manor Head¡¯s quarters, Miao Yi ordered for two of the spirit eagle¡¯s rainbow feathers to be sent to Thousand Lake Manor and Mulberry Cloud Manor respectively. These were to be handed to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei for ease ofmunications in the future.


    Meanwhile, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er instructed the other handmaidens in Raincloud Manor to clean up the ce. Not everyone liked the things that their predecessor had left behind. Under Qian¡¯Er¡¯s and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s instructions, whatever needed to be changed was either moved, reced, or washed anew. After all, this would be their home from now on. Naturally, everything had to fit their tastes. And since Miao Yi never bothered with such things, the two youngdies were in charge of the refurbishing.


    Not to mention, they just so happened to have a bunch of helpers in this ce right now. Hence, the Manor Head¡¯s quarters was quickly bustling with activity. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er kept walking around, examining the ce and handing out orders to the other handmaidens, who continuously scuttled back and forth the mansion. Not a single one of them dared to slow down the pace.


    The most basic disy of a Manor Head¡¯s authority was thepletemand of almost all cultivators under the Red Lotus realm. The Hall Master would rarely ever step in unless their subordinates caused some kind of major trouble. And in ordance to the Manor Head¡¯s authority, their handmaidens¡¯ prestige was also not to be easily challenged. Thus, how could the other handmaidens possibly dare to ck in their duties?


    In the dead of the night, Miao Yi led Yan Xiu and Chen Fei up to Raincloud Pavilion, situated at the highest point of Raincloud Manor. Here, they began discussing the state of things within the Raincloud Manor¡¯s territory. It would be foolish of them to act haphazardly without first assessing the situation.


    However, their discussion was soon disrupted by the incessant reports from the Mountain Chieftains, Deacons, and Advisors, each denouncing one another for the heinous crimes that they had helped Sun Lianpingmit before. This guy med that guy, and so on and so forth... It seemed there wasn¡¯t a single decent person in this entire Raincloud Manor. All in all, they were trying to use these reports to draw the line between themselves and Sun Lianping in an effort to prove to Miao Yi their loyalty.


    Besides those, there were also some who noted down rmendations on ces to visit around Raincloud Manor, as well as the beautiful women in their vassal cities, who, as per their words, were quite exquisite and absolutely alluring.


    Yan Xiu and Chen Fei looked at each other. They had never heard of such a situation happening between Yang Qing¡¯s subordinates back in South Edict Manor. Wasn¡¯t this Raincloud Manor a little too strange?


    Miao Yi felt a terrible ache in his head. He had never encountered such a situation before. This Raincloud Manor was a little too messy for him to handle. Miao Yi didn¡¯t know how to reply to these people at all.


    He then asked the main troops of Raincloud Manor, who exined to him that the situation here waspletely different than that of South Edict Manor. Here, they did not engage in war to take another person¡¯s territory. Instead, they employed the use of ttery.


    How did things turn out this way? The reason was simple. For these people to climb up the careerdder, they had to win the favor of their superiors. After all, to them, no matter how hard and how brutally one fought for a particr territory, in the end, they would still have to spit everything back out if their superiorsmanded them to. The use of force did not hold any ground here. The only time it would be employed was when the superiors needed to quell their subordinates by pure strength.


    What a joke! From the dawn of civilization, the strong and powerful were the ones who had thest say in any situation. In Miao Yi¡¯s perspective, if one truly had the strength, who could stop them? Even the Hall Master would have to make himself scarce, lest he wished to suffer the consequences.


    After which, a few of his subordinates secretly revealed to him that this was the way things were run in the entire Traversing Water Pce and not just Raincloud Manor alone. As for why such a culture came to be, they had no idea. They just noted that this practice had existed ever since they had entered the cultivation realm. In a nutshell, it was notmon practice to solve problems by force here in Traversing Water Pce. Instead, they preferred to talk things out peacefully instead. No one had heard of anyone who had earned their territories here through battle before.


    Miao Yi, Chen Fei, and Yan Xiu suddenly felt like they had stumbled upon another world. What kind of situation was this? This ce waspletely out of line with the culture of the entire cultivation realm!


    By this time, Miao Yi understood a little better why Shen Huaixin had acted so irresponsibly and even hinted for them to properly tie up all loose ends. As it turns out, this situation pervaded throughout the entire Traversing Water Pce. Much like its name, it was indeed soft like water. What a strange ce to be in this dog-eat-dog world that was the cultivation realm. And for it to be so peaceful all this while, no less... It was as if he was seeing a ghost in broad daylight!

 Chapter 472 Wu Menglan Strikes!

    It seems Miao Yi had misunderstood Sun Lianping. This was not his own personal issue, but a mindset instilled upon the entire Traversing Water Pce.


    Miao Yi could even understand why the bastard that sent Qi Xiuhong to the Subjugation Crusade was able to do so so easily, when even Huo Lingxiao, as powerful a Hall Master as he was, had to cover up the fact that he had sent him to the Subjugation Crusade. For a mere Manor Head to be able to publicly do such a thing just because he coveted his subordinate¡¯s body, without fear of repercussions of any sort, it was easy to imagine how preposterous the rules around this ce were!


    Miao Yi continued pondering all the way till dawn, but he still couldn¡¯t figure out what to do with this situation. He pushed open the window and stood by it, gazing out into the distance from within Raincloud Manor as he helplessly released a sigh.


    Hearing him, Yan Xiu and Chen Fei, who had also racked their brains the entire night, walked towards the window. Outside, they could see a seemingly borderless and tranquilke, shrouded in ayer of white mist. This scenery gave the entire Raincloud Manor a mystical air, as though it were a ce of legend, where only fairies resided. It was a truly breathtaking view.


    The view was all the more enchanting at the break of dawn.


    Within the Raincloud Manor assembly hall, the ten Mountain Chieftains, three Advisors, and six Deacons were all gathered together. This was the first assembly meeting hosted by their new Manor Head.


    After everyone had reported on the current status within their respective territories, they awaited Miao Yi¡¯s response to the reports they had sent himst night, but to no avail.


    Miao Yi decided topletely ignore everything he sawst night. It was all such a mess that he couldn¡¯t make heads or tails as to who was right and who was wrong, so he decided to turn a blind eye to itpletely. Most importantly, he still had no grasp on the state of affairs around this ce!


    As the saying goes, the new boss would always crack the whip thrice. Yet oddly enough, Miao Yi didn¡¯t crack the whip even once. He merely increased the number of officers in the main troops. This new officer was naturally Yan Xiu, who wasn¡¯t too keen on the idea of being in charge of an entire Mountain. As such, he was tasked with managing the one million followers within the Manor Head¡¯s personal vassal city¡ªRaincloud City.


    Miao Yi barely changed anything else within Raincloud Manor. But just before everyone was about to take their leave, he tossed out a little spark to the crowd, pointing down to Chen Fei as he said, "Chen Fei is a close subordinate of mine from my previous position, and he shall be granted a seat within my ten Mountains. I will decide who to rece in a month!"


    Clearly, Miao Yi intended to promote Chen Fei to be a Mountain Chieftain. Although he didn¡¯t seem too surprised by it, Chen Fei was feeling quite excited deep down.


    The three Advisors and six Deacons of Raincloud Manor immediately heaved a sigh of relief. For the time being, their positions were still secure. However, the ten Mountain Chieftains couldn¡¯t help looking at one another. One of them would be reced! They were all contemting who they should offer up to be this unfortunate scapegoat so that they could save themselves.


    "That will be all for now. Return to your respective Mountains and manage your territories well. If I find out there¡¯s someone who dares to cause a ruckus when I have just stepped into office, I will make them pay!" Miao Yi stood up and waved his hand, then took his leave.


    "We acknowledge the Manor Head¡¯s decree!" the crowd shouted in unison.


    After the ten Mountain Chieftains had left, Miao Yi figured he needed to better understand the situation around these parts, and thus went patrolling with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    As he patrolled the area, Miao Yi was close to losing sight of himself in this paradise. This was a truly rxing ce. Whatever his gaze fell upon, whatever he needed to ask, someone would immediatelye forward and exin it to him without him even needing to open his mouth. If he wished to admire the scenery, someone would immediately ce a chair behind him; if he was even the slightest bit thirsty, someone would instantly appear with a cup of tea in hand; and no matter what he said, someone would always be there to shower him with praises. His mind couldn¡¯t help feeling incredibly rxed as he basked in this wondrous feeling...


    All in all, Miao Yi was given the most attentive treatment possible, making him feel as though he was one of those ancient kings from the age before cultivation started to prosper. This feeling was simply too soothing, to the point that Miao Yi contemted whether or not he should just enjoy this moment as long as he could. Why must he put himself through all these bloody struggles?


    However, Miao Yi snapped himself out of it the moment he thought about it. How long had it been since he set foot here? How could he harbor such thoughts already? Thexness in this ce really did have a way of seeping into one¡¯s bones.


    Miao Yi was no longer in any mood to look around. He pointed to the furthest ind connected by the stone bridge andmanded, "Clear away all the people on that ind. From this day forth, no one is allowed to set foot on that ce without my permission!"


    After which, Miao Yi returned to his quarters. He wrote down a report describing the situation here and sent it to Lin Pingping in the capital city, instructing that she request Luo Ping¡¯s help in figuring out what the hell was up with this ce!


    Soon, Miao Yi received news from Zhao Fei¡¯s Thousand Lake Manor and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s Mulberry Cloud Manor. The two wrote that they were in a simr situation, and were racking their brains on the state of affairs in their respective areas. They both remarked that this ce was a little too strange, and for the time being, they didn¡¯t dare to recklessly bring in any of their old subordinates here, wondering if Miao Yi had any idea about what was going on in this ce.


    How could Miao Yi possibly know? He was the one who was seeking answers! Miao Yi quickly replied, saying that he had sent people to investigate and that the two of them shouldn¡¯t make any reckless moves for the time being. First and foremost, they needed to at least wait until they had some information on the Tranquil Sun Manor which the three of their Manors surrounded.


    For the three of them, who had nned tounch their attack on Tranquil Sun Manor without a moment¡¯s dy, the peculiar state of affairs around this ce left them no choice but to sit around and twiddle their thumbs!


    To make matters worse, the three Suppressing Tenth Hall Advisors¡ªXu Jinsong, Ji Ze, and Huang Jizhang¡ªeach sent Miao Yi a list of names, noting that these were the people in their factions, and requested Miao Yi to arrange a Mountain Chieftain¡¯s seat for each of them.


    Miao Yi was utterly enraged by this, realizing that these superiors of his didn¡¯t follow any rules at all in the way they operate. They didn¡¯t even bother discussing with him before deciding to slide all these people in under his wing. Yet, there was no point in throwing a tantrum. This was their culture, and this was the way things were handled in these parts. After all, it was his mistake for trying to curry favor with all three of them in the first ce.


    Miao Yi would never let such a thing happen in his own territory. If he really paid heed to these unreasonable requests from his superiors, then how was he different than all those apple-polishers out there? If he allowed his Manor Head¡¯s authority to slip away so easily, then he would really end up the same kind of person as all these scum. However, much to his dismay, this kind of thing was actuallymon practice in these parts. It was probably useless toin to Shen Huaixin as well.


    Fortunately for Miao Yi, he had just stepped into office, and thus had a valid reason to dy these instructions. He simply needed to reply saying that he was still unfamiliar with the situation in his Manor and requested for more time.


    Miao Yi needed to buy himself some time. He would only make up his mind one he could grasp the situation before him clearly. He immediately sent word to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, asking that they reply in the same manner he did. He suspected the two of them were in the same predicament he was in as well. After all, there was no reason for the three Advisors to ask merely him to do such a thing...


    On a certain night, Miao Yi was in the middle of cultivation in his silent quarters. Suddenly, he felt a gentle breeze on his face. ¡¯Something¡¯s not right,¡¯ he thought, ¡¯How can there be wind inside my silent quarters?¡¯ Besides which, Miao Yi also caught a whiff of a fragrant scent in the air. It felt as though there was someone beside him. His eyes shot open, and much to his surprise, there really was someone next to him. The other person was standing just by his bed, and he had absolutely no idea how they had managed to get so close to him in the first ce.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er wouldn¡¯t creep up on him like this, and neither would Chen Fei or Yan Xiu. Miao Yi instinctively jumped away and struck back with the Inversed-Scales Spear at the same time.


    A slender hand was quickly raised, grabbing onto the shaft of the spear and immediately stopping it in its tracks. The other hand pressed down on Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder, sealing his movements entirely.


    Miao Yi was utterly shocked. When he saw who the other person was, he was immediately dazed.


    With a cold smile on her face, Wu Menn stood in front of him, saying sarcastically, "Your skills really aren¡¯t half-bad!"


    As she raised her hand, Miao Yi immediately slid backward, taking a few steps back to regain his bnce. Completely caught off guard by the sudden visit, he asked, "Hall Master Wu, what brings you here?"


    "What brings me here, you ask?" Wu Menn smiled coldly and continued, "You ran all the way here after tricking me, but did you think you could really escape me?"


    Miao Yi felt a little guilty, and grumbled inwardly, ¡¯Did you really have to chase me all the way here?¡¯ Tucking his Inversed-Scales Spear away, heughed drily and said, "Surely you jest, Sister Meng. How could I dare to trick you?"


    "Is that so?" Wu Menn raised an eyebrow and said, "Then tell me, in what way is this Raincloud Manor better than any of the ten Manors under my care. I even offered to let you be in charge of two Manors, yet still, you chose toe here. What do you mean by that? And you dare say you¡¯re not ying me for a fool?!"


    Back when she realized that Miao Yi wasn¡¯t going to live up to his promise, Wu Menn was utterly enraged. It would¡¯ve been somewhat more eptable had he chosen to go to a better ce than what she had offered. However, the bastard ended uping to this dump instead. Adding insult to injury, by the time she realized all this, Miao Yi was already gone with the wind, journeying all the way to Traversing Water Pce. Wu Menn¡¯s hands werepletely tied. She didn¡¯t dare travel to Traversing Water Pce just to cause a scene. If anyone were to find out that she did, then her career woulde to an end on the spot. As such, she couldn¡¯t do anything to Miao Yi.


    However, she then discovered that Miao Yi was not the only one that chose this ce. Even Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, the two whom she met back in Mount Calming Sea, had chosen toe here as well. This piqued Wu Menn¡¯s interest. The Thriving Ten-Thousand Manor under hermand had tasted many defeats against Miao Yi, so she was fully aware that this guy was not someone to ept any injustices without a fight. Wu Menn heavily suspected that Miao Yi hade here with ulterior motives, especially when he had given up such a great opportunity to do so. She couldn¡¯t help wondering to herself, ¡¯Can there possibly be an even greater treasure hidden here?¡¯


    As such, using the fact that Miao Yi didn¡¯t live up to his promise as an excuse, she came all the way here to get to the bottom of it.


    Suddenly, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, who had been cultivating just outside the door, came inside. Obviously, it was because they noticed themotioning from inside the room. When they noticed the figure of a woman inside Miao Yi¡¯s silent quarters, they were utterly shocked. There was no other entrance to the silent quarters other than the door that they were just guarding. How did this person sneak inside without them noticing?


    Miao Yi waved his hand to the two youngdies to indicate that he was fine and that they should leave for now.


    After the two youngdies left, Miao Yi sighed and said, "Sister Meng, your little brother really didn¡¯t cheat you. It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t want to go to your ce. I just didn¡¯t wish to drag you into my mess, so I came all the way here to avoid a cmity."


    "Avoid a cmity?" Wu Menn¡¯s eyes brightened as she asked, "What kind of cmity are you trying to avoid by running all the way here?"


    Miao Yiughed bitterly and answered, "I found out the rtionship between Huo Lingxiao and the Traversing Moon Pce Lord. How is this not a cmity?"


    "You already found out that she¡¯s the Traversing Moon Pce Lord?" Wu Menn said yfully. After which, she continued to scoff, "But ording to what I know, your rtionship to Huo Lingxiao has already be public knowledge. I am more familiar with that bastard¡¯s character than you are. He¡¯s the type of guy who cherishes his pride more than anything else. It isn¡¯t likely for him toy a finger on you, especially considering what you know now. Besides, don¡¯t tell me Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei also came all this way to avoid this cmity of yours? Stop trying to trick me!"


    Miao Yi sighed withment and said, "Sister Meng, you only know part of the story. To tell you the truth, Governor Lan Hou of the capital city¡¯s Martial Manor is involved in this affair as well. I have no idea what sort of rtionship there is between Lan Hou, Zhang Tianxiao, and Huo Lingxiao, but Lan Hou had us detained in the capital city¡¯s prison precisely because my rtionship to Huo Lingxiao was revealed to him. In the end, one of Huyan Taibao¡¯s descendants even died. This whole incident was bing more serious by the second, so the three of us had no choice but to run away!"


    Wu Menn furrowed her brows. She had heard a little about the incident in the capital city, and asked suspiciously, "It isn¡¯t because your handmaidens were taken advantage of?"


    Miao Yi shook his head and replied, "Things weren¡¯t that simple. Initially, that incident was supposed to be concluded at that. Lan Hou had even decided to release our handmaidens and sentence Huyan Shou to ten years in prison. However, right after he found out about my rtionship to Huo Lingxiao, Lan Hou personally sent out a decree for the three of us to be detained as well. After which, Huyan Shou even ended up dying a mysterious death inside the capital city¡¯s prison. This entire incident was utterly baffling. Even now, I don¡¯t have the slightest clue about what happened."

 Chapter 473 Granny Tao’s Intentions

    ¡¯Why did Lan Hou detain this guy just because of his rtionship to Huo Lingxiao?¡¯ Wu Menn couldn¡¯t figure out the reason at all. However, as she frequented the capital city quite often, she did notice that there seemed to be a mysterious connection between Zhang Tianxiao and Lan Hou. That said, she didn¡¯t fully know the details. She asked Miao Yi, "If that¡¯s true, then why did you guys have to run all the way here, specifically?"


    "To be honest with you, things were simply too hectic at the time. We didn¡¯t have any other choice. We happened to find out that Granny Tao, the Traversing Water Pce Lord, was capable of offering us protection. That¡¯s why we told the Overlord we wished toe here. But even then, right as we were walking out of the golden pavilion of Jade Capital Peak, Lan Hou immediately passed down a decree to capture us. He had no intentions of letting us go. Fortunately, Granny Tao stepped in, forcing Lan Hou to back off, thereby ensuring that we made it out in one piece! You can go ask around if you don¡¯t believe me. All the Pce Lords saw what happened with their own eyes. Sister Meng, do you really think you can offer us protection when even Zhang Tianxiao couldn¡¯t?" Miao Yi asked.


    Miao Yi was just trying to patronize Wu Menn with lies and half-truths.


    "So that¡¯s what happened! I can¡¯t believe so much has happened during your short trip to the capital city. I have to hand it to you. It looks like interesting things tend to happen to you no matter where you go." Wu Menn clicked her tongue and scrutinized Miao Yi. She suddenly curled her lips into a smile, saying, "Granny Tao is the oldest cultivator in the entire Fifth Earthly Branch, and indeed possesses the ability to shelter you three. Even the Overlord has to give her some face. That said, given your restless disposition, I doubt you¡¯ll be able to get used to life here in theid-back Traversing Water Pce."


    "..." Miao Yi was a little surprised. His eyes brightened a little as he thought, ¡¯It looks like this woman knows something.¡¯ Cupping his fists, he said, "No one knows me better than you, Sister Meng. I just so happen to have something I¡¯d like to ask you."


    "..."


    Wu Menn immediately put up an annoyed look, but in the end, she couldn¡¯t help her curiosity, and asked, "What is it?"


    "I¡¯m not trying to brag or anything, but I was able to grow ustomed to a ce as dangerous as the Sea of Constetions. Yet, the moment I came here, I couldn¡¯t help but notice the situation is a little bit peculiar. It feels like I¡¯m in another world, and I¡¯m a little lost about what to make of this..." Miao Yi didn¡¯t hide anything and exined to Wu Menn the entire situation here. This time, he was earnestly seeking answers, and not just trying to patronize the other party.


    ¡¯And I thought it would be something major!¡¯ Wu Menn couldn¡¯t helpughing when she heard Miao Yi¡¯s story, and said, "The situation in Traversing Water Pce is indeed a little different. I¡¯ve heard about it as well. Normal cultivators tend to find it difficult to grow ustomed to the culture here, especially those who wed their way up through bloodshed and carnage like you. Simply put, it¡¯s because... Are you aware of Granny Tao¡¯s cultivation level?"


    "I heard that it¡¯s at the Purple Lotus Fourth Grade," Miao Yi answered.


    This was what he learned from Luo Ping. When he heard this, Miao Yi even wondered if Luo Ping had made a mistake somewhere, or if Granny Tao had the same habit he did of hiding her own cultivation. Otherwise, there was no way someone who came out of the same era as the Celestial Sage could have such a low cultivation.


    Wu Mennughed and said, "That¡¯s where the problem lies. Granny Tao is someone who can be considered an elder in the entire Celestial Nation. When the Celestial Sage was fighting for dominance over the realm, Granny Tao was already by her side, and I heard that she had a pretty close rtionship with the Celestial Sage as well. After the realm was split into the six nations you see today, all those trusted subordinates of the Celestial Sage were granted their own domains ording to their merits in the war. Originally, given Granny Tao¡¯s cultivation at the time, she couldn¡¯t have sat on the Pce Lord¡¯s seat. Back then, her cultivation was only at the Red Lotus Sixth Grade. However, because of her rtionship with the Celestial Sage, no one dared to refute that order. Thus, ever since the birth of the Six Nations, Granny Tao has been a Pce Lord. And over the years that passed, many new powerhouses emerged and reced the older generation. Yet, only Granny Tao¡¯s position remains unchallenged. Perhaps it is because of her rtionship to the Celestial Sage. Some also say that it is because her cultivation progress is slow and doesn¡¯t pose a threat, which is why a certain someone has allowed her to live peacefully until now, as an act of honoring an old subordinate¡ª"


    Something stirred deep down inside of Miao Yi as he listened to Wu Menn¡¯s story, and he cut her off, asking, "Is that ¡¯certain someone¡¯ the Celestial Sage?"


    "Those are your words, not mine," said Wu Menn as she rolled her eyes at him.


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "How can she only be at the Purple Lotus Fourth Grade after so many years of cultivation? Could it be a problem with her cultivation arts?"


    Wu Menn shook her head and said, "I don¡¯t know. Some rumors say that Granny Tao¡¯s cultivation art is something quite extraordinary and that it¡¯s a lost art taken from the Boundless Secr World. However, it seems that the art she obtained was iplete, thus allowing for a speedy cultivation progress in the early stages, but bing dreadfully slow during the advanced phases."


    Miao Yi continued to ask, "Given her status and rtionship to the Celestial Sage, couldn¡¯t she have gotten a better cultivation art then?"


    Wu Menn raised an eyebrow and said, "There¡¯s also another rumor that says that the lost art Granny Tao obtained wasn¡¯t iplete at all. She simply destroyed the other half right in front of a certain someone when she obtained it."


    A ¡¯certain someone¡¯ again. Growing a little anxious to know the truth, Miao Yi asked, "If the rumors are true, why did she destroy it then?"


    Wu Menn rolled her eyes again. Seeing how he was so oblivious to it, she decided to change the topic and said, "It seems that Granny Tao knows her limits, and willingly stays in her ce upon the Pce Lord¡¯s seat. If no onees and offends her, then she wouldn¡¯t go around picking fights either. Otherwise, all she needs to do isin to the Realm Beyond Heaven. This is also the reason why Granny Tao is able to shelter the three of you."


    "I see!" Miao Yi nodded, but he was still confused, and asked, "What does this have to do with what I just asked you?"


    Wu Menn asked in response, "Are you aware that Granny Tao adopted a granddaughter in herter years?"


    Miao Yi had read about this from Luo Ping¡¯s report. That granddaughter was now one of the Advisors of Traversing Water Pce. Nodding his head, he said, "Yes, I heard about her. I think her name was Tao Qingli, and her cultivation seems to be at the Red Lotus Sixth Grade."


    "Wow! It seems you¡¯re quite well-informed. Are you sure you don¡¯t already know all the answers then?" Wu Menn smiled and said.


    "It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have anything better to do. Why would I ask you if I already know the answer? All I¡¯m aware of is the structure of the people here in Traversing Water Pce." He shrugged and continued, "I¡¯m clueless about the rest!"


    Wu Menn figured he had a point, and said, "It was only after Granny Tao adopted this Tao Qingli that things started to change in Traversing Water Pce. This air ofxness that you see around Traversing Water Pce today is precisely the handiwork of Tao Qingli. And because she holds this granddaughter of hers very dearly, Granny Tao simply turns a blind eye to all this and allows her to do as she pleases!"


    Miao Yiughed coldly and said, "So that¡¯s why. And here I was wondering why the rules of the system are so different here than it is outside. In the end, it seems like the root of the problem lies with Granny Tao herself. It¡¯s no wonder why the subordinates can¡¯t enforce any change. She¡¯s someone who fought alongside the Celestial Sage all those years ago. Doesn¡¯t she know it¡¯s dangerous to destroy her own cultivation arts like that? If someone wishes to seize her territory, how will she defend it? This isn¡¯t an act of love for her granddaughter. It¡¯s pushing her to her death! If someday, someone else decides tounch an attack, subordinates like us will end up suffering as well!"


    Wu Menn narrowed her eyes at him and said, "With the Celestial Sage behind her, who in the Celestial Nation would dare touch her territory?"


    Miao Yiughed coldly and said, "No one will be bold enough to do so while Granny Tao is alive, yes, but given her cultivation speed, I believe the day of her passing shouldn¡¯t be too far away."


    Wu Menn nodded, saying, "I heard that Granny Tao is indeed reaching the end of her lifespan, but I don¡¯t know approximately how long that will take. To sum things up, if she¡¯s unable to break through the Purple Lotus Fifth Grade in time, the oue would be disastrous! However, your concern is a little unnecessary. Granny Tao brings her granddaughter, Tao Qingli, to visit the Celestial Sage in the Realm Beyond Heaven every year. Supposedly, the Celestial Sage is quite fond of the girl as well. Word goes that once Granny Tao passes away, the Celestial Sage will allow her granddaughter to take her ce as the Traversing Water Pce Lord. When that happens, you can be sure that everything will remain the same here in Traversing Water Pce. Basically, as long as you guys don¡¯t go around causing any trouble, no one will dare pick a fight with Traversing Water Pce, not with the Celestial Sage behind the Pce Lord¡¯s back. And you three can continue enjoying your privileges without a need to worry about anything else. Wouldn¡¯t that be wonderful?"


    "Something like this can be passed down as well? If that happens, then the others will..." As he helplessly groaned about the situation, Miao Yi suddenly stopped, as though he¡¯d caught on to something from Wu Menn¡¯s words. His eyes darted about anxiously for a second, and he asked cautiously, "Are you saying..."


    "I didn¡¯t say anything. I just spouted out a little more than necessary on ount of you calling me your sister. Well then, you take care now. And don¡¯t you dare pin your imaginations on my head!" Wu Menn scoffed. She flicked her sleeve and turned that alluring body of hers away, then left immediately.


    "Wait, Sister Meng! I still have something to ask!" Miao Yi chased after her all the way out of his quarters, startling Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    "It¡¯s not like I have all the answers. Stop asking me for every single thing." Within the courtyard, Wu Menn curtly told him off, then flew away in a streak of light.


    Her trip here ended up being a fruitless one. Not only was she unable to get any information out of Miao Yi, she even ended up telling him a lot more than needed.


    "Master!" Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er called out.


    Miao Yi waved his hand at them as a gesture that he wished to be left alone for a while. He then ced his hands behind his back and stared up at the starry sky.


    He continued standing in the courtyard all the way until morning. Throughout the night, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er hade to check on him a few times but didn¡¯t wish to interrupt his thoughts.


    The ind in the middle of theke was very humid. After standing outside for the entire night, Miao Yi¡¯s clothes were soaking wet. Finally, as the sun rose over the horizon, he snapped back from his thoughts and quickly paced around the courtyard.


    After what Wu Menn told him, if his conjecture on Granny Tao¡¯s intentions were correct, then he must make haste in attacking Tranquil Sun Manor. If he did it now, he could still make up an excuse saying that he was still unaware of the rules around these parts, and nothing would happen to him. After all, he had just been recently appointed after receiving the decree from Granny Tao back in the capital city. Not to mention, this position was offered to him as a reward from the Six Sages for surviving the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Granny Tao wouldn¡¯t be so brash as to p the Celestial Sage¡¯s face so soon.


    If he waited to act until he made clear of the whole situation, it was likely that Granny Tao wouldn¡¯t forgive him for wrecking the long-standing rules in her Traversing Water Pce. If that happened, then he would really be in trouble.


    As his legs came to a halt, Miao Yi quickly took out two jade archives, writing to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei and telling them to wait no more. They must immediately n a time to attack andunch a collective assault on Tranquil Sun Manor with the forces of their three Manors. All the cultivators in Tranquil Sun Manor must be eliminated for Qi Xiuhong¡¯s revenge!


    If Miao Yi hadn¡¯te here, then he would¡¯ve wanted to kill the Tranquil Sun Manor Head alone. However, aftering here, his heart was filled with nothing but the word ¡¯hate¡¯!


    These people could even treat a retiring Manor Head like Sun Lianping so coldly. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t imagine how the entire Tranquil Sun Manor must have treated Qi Xiuhong after she offended the Manor Head. How many people must have humiliated her?!


    His heart felt pain every time he thought about the time they were trapped in the Demon Refining Gourd. The feeling of helplessness when she was just right in front of him, the two drops of tears that fell on his face. He couldn¡¯t forget this for even a second!


    Within the courtyard, Miao Yi¡¯s heart was soon filled with the word ¡¯kill¡¯. Like an agitated beast, he shouted up to the sky, "Bai Ziliang!!!"

 Chapter 474 Do You Still Recognize Her?

    A ce that had plenty of water was sure to have plenty of rain as well!


    The sky was overcast above Suppressing Tenth Hall, as droplets of rain poured down in a torrent!


    Dark clouds stretched as far as the eye could see. No one knows when it would be sunny again, or if it woulde again at all. The troops of every single Cave from Raincloud Manor, Thousand Lake Manor, and Mulberry Cloud Manor rallied out, totaling a force of over three thousand riders. They marched from three separate directions, and their destination¡ªTranquil Sun Manor.


    Cheng Hailiang, the Mountain Chieftain of Raincloud Manor¡¯s Mount Hongdong, galloped across the muddy road, circling back and forth beside his marching army.


    "Formation! Formation! Stay in formation!" bellowed Cheng Hailiang as he waved his sword towards the areas where the troops were slightly out of formation.


    He then galloped to the rear end of the formation and continued to yell out, "Stay in line! Stay in line! Liu Gui! Are your Yellow Gate Cave men incapable of walking? They can¡¯t even stay in a proper formation! Why do I still need a Cave Master like you then?! Just tell me if you don¡¯t want the job. I¡¯ve got a whole line of people waiting to take your ce!"


    After being called out like that, Liu Gui immediately turned around and barked, "All of you, look alive! You bastards, stop looking around like idiots already! If you dimwits can¡¯t even walk properly, I¡¯ll have you crying when you get your pay at the end of the year!"


    "What the hell is up with this? Why do we have to go through such torture on such a rainy day?!" One of the cultivators couldn¡¯t help grumbling to himself.


    The uncannily sharp hearing of Cheng Hailiang naturally noticed this littleint. He immediately turned his steed around, pointing back towards the source of the voice and shouted, "Who was talking just now? I want everyone to be silent while we¡¯re marching! No whispering amongst yourselves! I¡¯m warning all of you, the Manor Head will be personally examining the forces under all the Mountain Chieftains today! What kind of person is the Manor Head? He¡¯s someone who cut his way out of that dreaded Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade! In short, a battle expert! In contrast, look at your sloppy selves. You¡¯ll never catch the Manor Head¡¯s eye this way! Damn it! If one of you causes me to lose face in front of the Manor Head and I lose my position, I¡¯ll make sure you suffer too! We¡¯ll all go to hell together!"


    This situation didn¡¯t just ur in Mount Hongdong but in every single one of the Mountain Chieftains¡¯ forces within Raincloud Manor. Manor Head Miao Yi already told them that one person would be reced from the ten. Fearing that this whole thing was a test of sorts, all the Mountain Chieftains didn¡¯t dare to be careless. They spared absolutely no effort in making sure everything was perfect!


    Simr situations were happening amongst the forces of Thousand Lake Manor and Mulberry Lake Manor as well.


    Within the main forces of Raincloud Manor, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er sat, garbed in armor, on their ck-Scaled Drake Beasts. The two of them were right beside Miao Yi, and behind them were the three Advisors, six Deacons, and the rest of the main troops. They all galloped in the rain towards the stone bridge upon theke.


    Staying behind to look after the ce, Yan Xiu saw them off from outside the assembly hall.


    As Miao Yi and his forces made it onto the other side of theke, he noticed someone galloping towards them. This person was none other than Wen Fang, who braved the rain and came all this way to see him.


    "Big Brother!" Wen Fang hastily stopped her steed and shouted. Her face lit up with glee.


    Sadly, Miao Yi simply nodded at her before leading his men to charge right past her. He didn¡¯t slow down for even a second.


    Wen Fang¡¯s smile immediately froze. Her body entirely drenched, she pouted her lips, and her eyes looked dispirited. However, she soon gave herself an encouraging smile and brought her steed to a gallop towards the other side of the stone bridge...


    Braving the storm and charging relentlessly through the muddy roads, Miao Yi led his troops to the rendezvous point for his Raincloud Manor forces. However, when he arrived, he was met with a surprise!


    The ten Mountain Chieftains stepped forward to greet him. Coming to a halt before Miao Yi, they alighted their mounts and bowed deeply. "We respectfully greet the Manor Head!"


    Miao Yi forgot to reply, still staring in a daze at the nds between the two mountains nearby. There, over a thousand troops stood at the ready. Both solemn and orderly, there was not a single person who stood out of line. Miao Yi had never seen nor heard of an army that could be so well-trained and organized. The shock had himpletely tongue-tied for a second.


    He wasn¡¯t the only one. Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er, and Chen Fei were also in awe.


    Miao Yi turned back to look at his own troops. Compared to them, his group was an absolute hot mess, causing Miao Yi to feel a little ashamed of himself.


    "Thank you foring all this way, everyone!" Miao Yi raised his hand and signaled for everyone to be at ease. He then rode alone towards the massive army.


    The ten Mountain Chieftains immediately followed behind him. Miao Yi circled around that unbelievably organized army a couple times, then tried shouting out amand for them to be at attention. However, not a single one of them paid him, the Manor Head, any heed. Their eyes didn¡¯t so much as dart towards his direction; they all just stood incredibly still.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t hide his surprise as he turned around and asked, "Are these the forces of our Raincloud Manor?"


    "Yes!" said the ten Mountain Chieftains. They continued, "We are all at yourmand, Manor Head!"


    "Good, good, good..." said Miao Yi as he nodded repeatedly. He then offered them a heartfeltpliment, "It looks like I have underestimated you all!"


    Miao Yi¡¯spliment had the ten Mountain Chieftains behind him bursting with delight deep down. They cupped their fists and replied, "You tter us, Manor Head. We are merely doing our duties!"


    Miao Yi suddenly felt more motivated to do this. Initially, he was worried about what to do with these people and even considered making an example out of some of them. However, from the looks of things, it seems that these people were not only good at kissing their superiors¡¯ butts. He hadpletely underestimated them.


    After another bout ofpliments, Miao Yi handed down the necessary instructions to the ten Mountain Chieftains, then proceeded to call out one of his Advisors named Mu Tai. Hemanded Mu Tai to lead some of the men from the Raincloud Manor¡¯s main division and follow after him to Tranquil Sun Manor.


    Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er, and Chen Fei were to wait here on standby. Miao Yi was still notpletely sure he could trust these people, so he decided to leave his trusted subordinates to monitor the ones left behind.


    However, it seemed as though the heavens were not on their side. There was no sign of the rain stopping, rather, it seemed as though it was getting heavier instead. As Miao Yi and his forces reached the border of Tranquil Sun Manor territory, he bumped into Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. Their three forces numbered over a hundred people in total.


    At this moment, both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were riding atop the spiritual beasts they had brought back from the Sea of Constetions, courtesy of Tan Lao, of course. One was a Steelhead Panther, and the other was a Six-Eyed Vampiric Fox. Both looked incredibly ferocious, with bodies as tough as an ox, and a set of incredibly sharp fangs.


    "Damn this stupid weather!" Sikong Wuwei barked at the clouds.


    "Let¡¯s not waste time! Begin the attack!" Zhao Fei shouted.


    The rest of the troops couldn¡¯t believe their ears. ¡¯Didn¡¯t wee here to attend a banquet? What do you mean ¡¯begin the attack¡¯?¡¯


    Miao Yi and Sikong Wuwei nodded. The three Manor Heads each wrote down a decree, ced it inside the messenger tube of the spirit eagles they brought along with them, then released the birds from their cages and into the sky.


    They then handed down the jade archives that they¡¯d prepared beforehand down to their respective subordinates.


    "The defenses here are hopelessly weak. There is no need to fear them at all. I want all of you to head down to your assigned locations andy in wait. Once you hear the signaling from Tranquil Sun Manor, attack immediately!"


    Miao Yi barked out his orders coldly. Not only were his men utterly aghast by the suddenmand, but the Advisor Mu Tai that he had brought along was also horrified. He immediately cupped his fists and said, "My lord, what are you doing? Are you thinking of attacking Tranquil Sun Manor? My lord, I must advise against it!"


    "Shut up! Do I need you to teach me what to do?" Miao Yi pointed to his face and yelled, "If I catch you letting even a single person slip, I will have your head! That goes for the rest of you as well. Whichever one of our enemies manages to survive, your life will be used to rece theirs! I¡¯m a man of my word. There¡¯s no use asking for someone else¡¯s help to save you either. I don¡¯t give a damn about that! Today is the day for you all to prove your worth! The Mountain Chieftain¡¯s seat is up for grabs. But which among you have what it takes to seize it?"


    Mu Tai was speechless in his horror, and so were the rest of them!


    "You heard him!" Sikong Wuwei pointed at Miao Yi and barked towards his own men, "Those are the rules!"


    Zhao Fei also yelled, "If any of our enemies manages to escape, one of you will be chosen to take their ce. If you wish to be Mountain Chieftain, then fight for it with your actions!"


    Suddenly, someone from Mulberry Cloud Manor cupped his fists towards Sikong Wuwei and said, "Manor Head, you mustn¡¯t take such a risk alone. I am willing to follow you and ensure your safety!"


    Sikong Wuwei rolled his eyes in disdain and scoffed, "Stop trying to kiss ass! I cane and go as I please in the Sea of Constetions. Do you think I need your protection for a little Tranquil Sun Manor?"


    Zhao Fei barked, "What are you hesitating for? Do you intend to defy my orders?"


    The trusted aide that Zhao Fei had brought with him to Thousand Lake Manor immediately waved his hand and shouted, "Let¡¯s go!"


    After their forces split into three directions and headed into the forest, Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei exchanged nces, then immediately charged up the mountain.


    "When they reached the mountain gates, they were stopped by two umbre-carrying gatekeepers. They asked, "Who goes there?"


    Miao Yi and the others didn¡¯t force their way in. Instead, they showed the other party their decree of appointment from Hall Master Shen Huaixin. Zhao Fei then said, "The three of us are Manor Head Chang¡¯s new neighbors, and we specifically arranged to pay him a visit together today!"


    "Please wait for a moment, Manor Heads!" The gatekeepers nodded humbly and immediately tucked his umbre away before running off to report to the people inside.


    Within the Manor Head¡¯s quarters, Chang Zijiu had received the report and was presently standing in the hall. He was a rather burly man and had a prominent amount of stubble on his face. He mused, "And here I was wondering when to find the time to visit them. I can¡¯t believe they¡¯re even more anxious than I am, and came all the way here in the rain."


    He turned to his handmaiden and said, "We have some rather important guests today. I shall go and meet them. Tell the men to ready the main hall for a feast!"


    His handmaiden acknowledged the order and left. Chang Zijiu then strode out the door, where a servant was already waiting for him with an umbre. However, he pushed the servant aside. Since his guests had braved the rain toe here, then naturally he had to wee them in a simr fashion as well.


    Soon, Manor Head Chang Zijiu arrived before the mountain gates, braving the pouring rain. He cupped his fists from afar and smiled, "I am truly sorry for making youe all this way, Manor Heads!"


    Miao Yi and the others jumped off their mounts and exchanged pleasantries with Chang Zijiu. Highly impressed with Zhao Fei¡¯s and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s mounts, Chang Zijiu couldn¡¯t resistplimenting them.


    As they all possessed a simr status, the four of them walked side by side, talking amicably as they made their way to the Manor Head¡¯s quarters. Naturally, they had servants tending to their needs.


    Once Chang Zijiu¡¯s handmaiden informed them that the feast was ready, he rose from his seat and extended his arm, "Please, after you!"


    As they entered the main hall, dozens of tray tables with gorgeous-looking dishes of food were spread out before them in rows of two. Tranquil Sun Manor¡¯s three Advisors and six Deacons were already here waiting for them.


    Chang Zijiu introduced Miao Yi and the others to his subordinates, then sat down upon his seat. After the crowd mingled around for a while, they also went to their assigned seats.


    The atmosphere within the main hall was quite festive, with beautiful women serving wine, the fervent hospitality from the host, and even a wondrous dance performance from several handmaidens in the center. After everyone had a few drinks, Chang Zijiu took the initiative and asked for stories about the Sea of Constetions. "My friends, my subordinates and I have never been to the Sea of Constetions before. I wonder what kind of ce it is. Can you share with us some tales?"


    The crowd immediately cheered in agreement. With a faint smile on his face, Miao Yi stood up and said, "Speaking of the Sea of Constetions, it just so happens that I have a friend I¡¯d like you all to meet."


    Chang Zijiu asked curiously, "Could there still be a guest waiting outside in the rain?"


    Miao Yi stood up from his seat and walked towards the center of the hall, waving his hand to dismiss the group of dancers in his way. The dancers stopped and looked towards Chang Zijiu, who also waved his hand for them to be dismissed.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei sat quietly behind their tables and watched as Miao Yi spread his arms out before the crowd. Then, Qi Xiuhong¡¯s body suddenly appeared out of thin air and was held in Miao Yi¡¯s embrace.


    The hall instantly fell silent. Miao Yi slowly spun around the hall, eventually stopping before Chang Zijiu. His voice as cold as ice, he asked, "I brought her back all the way from the Sea of Constetions, just so I can ask everyone in this very hall this question: Do you still recognize her?"

 Chapter 475 Hollow Strength

    When the people from Tranquil Sun Manor were able to see clearly who it was in Miao Yi¡¯s embrace, they were all stupefied.


    Chang Zijiu immediately froze in the middle of taking a sip of wine, and his eyes widened in shock. His gazended on Qi Xiuhong¡¯s fair face, then slowly shifted towards Miao Yi, where he suddenly felt a sense of forebodinging from the killing intent that was faintly showing on thetter¡¯s face.


    "Qi... Qi Xiuhong!" someone eximed.


    Another person quickly turned to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. However, when he saw that one of them was just looking on expressionlessly, while the other was giving out a cold chuckle, the wine cup in his hand immediately dropped to the table. Evidently, this person also felt an imminent threating from these three guests.


    Chang Zijiu nced towards the man who dropped his cup sitting at the end of the row and noticed he was slowly getting up from his seat. Clearly, he was trying to get away. Chang Zijiu didn¡¯t say anything against this, and simply looked towards Miao Yi and asked, "Brother Miao, what is the meaning of this?"


    Suddenly, Miao Yi held Qi Xiuhong with one hand, while the other readied the Mystic Yin Mirror. Sweeping it towards the back, a violent gust of cold Yin energy quickly burst out, before retreating back into the mirror the next instant. However, the cultivator who had reached the door was already covered in frost, and he fell to the ground like a statue.


    The temperature within the hall fell rapidly, and the crowd was beginning to shiver from the cold. Many of them had looks of shock on their faces as they wondered, ¡¯What sort of transcendent artifact is this?!¡¯ They were all so terrified that none of them dared to move a muscle. When had such a situation ever happened in their Tranquil Sun Manor before?!


    Having experienced the terrible effects of the Mystic Yin Mirror himself, Sikong Wuwei seemed to be still rather traumatized by it, and couldn¡¯t help trembling a little as well. He brandished a hammer in his hand, which rapidly expanded to humongous proportions. With a powerful swing of his arms, the massive hammer cracked through the air with a sonorous boom and instantly smashed the front door wide open, before crashing onto the ground right outside.


    The people in the hall shook with horror, utterly terrified by the scene they just witnessed. The massive hammer then shrunk back to miniature size and flew back into Sikong Wuwei¡¯s hands.


    With the loudmotioning from the Manor, the thunderous hoofbeats of dragon steeds quickly erupted forth from the outside. And soon, amidst the pouring rain, the sounds of people yelling and screaming could be heard as well.


    "Have you all gone mad¡ª!" Chang Zijiu shouted in horror.


    ¡¯Splurt!¡¯ A person¡¯s head suddenly flew off. With a bloodied halberd in hand, Zhao Fei slowly rose from his seat. The person sitting beside him screamed and copsed to the ground, and Chang Zijiu immediately fell silent.


    "Nothing but a bunch of ipetent fools! Today is the day we shall avenge Miss Qi. Remember not to let any of them escape. Sikong, let¡¯s head outside!" Zhao Fei said disdainfully as he raised his halberd, then left the hall. Sikong Wuwei also had a look of mocking contempt on his face as he lifted his hammer and followed behind Zhao Fei.


    The two of them proceeded to arrogantly walk out of the hall, where the rest of the crowd was so aghast that they didn¡¯t even have the strength to stand. Once outside, Zhao Fei and Sikong summoned their spiritual beasts and rode off, leaving Miao Yi to deal with the people remaining inside the hall. They weren¡¯t worried in the slightest about him.


    "Brother Miao, there¡¯s no point going this far for a woman..."


    Before Chang Zijiu could finish, Miao Yi barked out, "Kneel!"


    The crowd looked at one another in fear. Miao Yi then raised his hand and shot out another wave of cold Yin energy, freezing one of the Advisors sitting on the side instantly and causing him to fall backward to the ground. Miao Yi then pointed the Mystic Yin Mirror towards Chang Zijiu.


    "I¡¯ll kneel!" Chang Zijiu hurriedly shouted and rose to his feet, circling around his tray table to kneel on the ground.


    Since their master was kneeling, the two handmaidens immediately prostrated themselves as well. After which, the rest of the crowd as well as their respective handmaidens anxiously stepped forward and knelt on the ground.


    Miao Yi looked around him, but he felt no satisfaction at finally being able to avenge Qi Xiuhong. He turned to look at her, her eyes shut forevermore, and shook his head in sorrow as he said, "To think that even a bunch of useless idiots like you couldmit such a heinous deed! Killing you will only dirty my hands!"


    The crowd suddenly felt a glimmer of hope and thought that Miao Yi would spare their lives. Some of them were even nning to lodge aint to the top brass about this act of tyrannyter on.


    However, contrary to their expectations, the cold Yin energy suddenly erupted forth from the mirror in Miao Yi¡¯s hands, sweeping through the crowd encircling him. Soon, the crowd was frozen on their knees, their bodies covered entirely in frost.


    As Miao Yi tucked away the Mystic Yin Mirror, he brandished the Inversed-Scales Spear and swept through the entire hall like a hurricane.


    The sound of grating steel echoed through the hall as Miao Yi dragged the Inversed-Scales Spear across the floor. One hand held the spear, dragging it across the floor, as the other held onto Qi Xiuhong.


    Within the hall, Miao Yi said softly, "We¡¯re leaving."


    It seemed like he was talking to another person, but there was not a single living soul beside him left inside the hall. There was a slew of shattered remains of heads on the ground, along with the fallen corpses to which those heads previously belonged to. From start to finish, not a single one of them put up any resistance. They didn¡¯t even try to escape. They were all simply too intimidated, not just by the power of the Mystic Yin Mirror, but by the fame behind Miao Yi¡¯s name of being a Subjugation Crusade survivor!


    Outside, under the looming, dark clouds, and braving the violent storm, one man stood atop a tform. He had one hand on the spear, while the other wrapped around a person¡¯s waist, as though he wished to let the dead woman in his arms witness the fruit of hisbors!


    Suddenly, from the mountains at the back, the hoarse sound of Sikong Wuwei¡¯s voice resounded, "Don¡¯t leave a single survivor! Anyone who disobeys will be beheaded! Like so!"


    Following which was a wail of agony!


    Sikong Wuwei continued, "Listen up, men! It¡¯s firste, first serve here! So take whatever you want!"


    Not long after, the sounds of shing steel in the rain subsided, and Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei led the rest of their troops towards the main hall.


    The men were either pale with horror or suffering from battle wounds. They cast respectful gazes towards the man standing atop the tform, wondering at the identity of the woman in Miao Yi¡¯s embrace.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei leaped atop the tform. Zhao Fei coldly remarked, "To think that a group like this was able to peacefully enjoy their lives here... I could send any of my former subordinate Mountain Chieftains here and they would sweep the entire Tranquil Sun Manor clean!"


    "These people deserve to die, but their treasures are not at fault. We shouldn¡¯t waste them!" As he said this, Sikong Wuwei rushed inside the hall and scoured the ce clean. By the time he came out, he had ignited a Red ze Resin with the handle of his poleaxe and tossed it back inside the hall...


    However, elsewhere things were not as simple as Zhao Fei had described. The scenario where a single Mountain Chieftain and his forces were enough to sweep through the entire Tranquil Sun Manor did not ur.


    At the gathering ce for the forces of Raincloud Manor, Thousand Lake Manor, and Mulberry Cloud Manor, the crowd was utterly shocked when they had received the decree. They never thought that they were actually here for battle! What a joke! Not a single one of them in all three Manors had ever even seen what an actual battle looked like from the moment they set foot in the cultivation realm!


    The other two Manors aside, the two Advisors, six Deacons, and ten Mountain Chieftains from Raincloud Manor all voiced their disagreement with this n and tried to advise against it!


    Qian¡¯Er immediately pulled out the decree that Miao Yi had prepared beforehand and read it to the crowd. There, he clearly stated: ¡¯By the time you all receive this decree, the head of the Tranquil Sun Manor Head will have fallen to the ground. Chen Fei, the two Advisors, and six Deacons will each hold a Troop Inspector title. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er will also share a single Troop Inspector title. Anyone who disobeys the order will be punished ordingly. If Cave Masters disobey, then off with their heads! If Mountain Chieftains disobey, then off with their heads! If Troop Inspectors disobey, then off with their heads! There will be no exceptions!¡¯


    ¡¯Those who fight valiantly in battle will not only be heavily rewarded, but the position of Cave Master and Mountain Chieftain is also up for the taking to those who deserve it! Trample Tranquil Sun Manor to the ground! Don¡¯t leave a single survivor!¡¯


    When they heard the decree, the crowd was utterly terrified and felt helpless at the same time. However, after Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Erid out the attack formations for the Mountain Chieftains and Troop Inspectors to see, they gasped in relief; they hadn¡¯t thought that all three Manors would be joining forces for this attack. In that case, things didn¡¯t seem so dangerous after all!


    The ten Mountain Chieftains and their forces formed divisions of three, with the remaining group joining together with two other Mountain Chieftains¡¯ forces from Mulberry Cloud Manor. The army split into four and proceeded towards their designated routes.


    Initially, in order to secure their own positions, the troops were very eager to prove themselves and marched onwards with zeal. After all, even if things went south, their superiors would be the one to take the me.


    However, after the battles began, even Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er began to realize things were not as simple as they thought it would be.


    The two youngdies were in charge of one group of soldiers, along with another two Troop Inspectors and their respective groups, meaning they had three Mountains¡¯ worth of men. Their troops were tasked with attacking a single Mountain¡ªMount Hui Yan. And in order to cut offmunications between Mount Hui Yan and its subordinate Caves, the two youngdies personally led the charge straight to its headquarters.


    There weren¡¯t too many people within Mount Hui Yan¡¯s main forces. Logically speaking, the two youngdies should be able to triumph easily with the Mount Hongdong forces they led. However, much to their dismay, Mount Hongdong Mountain Chieftain Cheng Hailiang wanted to charge right through Mount Hui Yan with their overwhelming numbers. In the end, he was promptly stopped by Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. Even though they hadn¡¯t participated in that many battles, the two youngdies could see that these people had no clue how to fight a war at all. It was precisely because they had overwhelming numbers on their side that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help wondering how these people didn¡¯t even think of surrounding the enemy at all, and instead wanted to plow right through them. Wouldn¡¯t that mean they would be allowing the enemy a path to retreat? How would they ensure that there would be no survivors then?


    Before the two Aunties, Cheng Hailiang behaved very obediently, and quickly changed his attack strategy to that of surrounding the enemy force.


    As soon as the battle began, the main troops of Mount Hui Yan crumbled before the opposition,pletely horrified by the sudden assault. However, because they werepletely surrounded on all sides, they soon realized that surrender was not an option, and quickly turned desperate in their retaliation.


    "Brothers! Since we¡¯re going to die either way, then let us fight to ourst breaths!" shouted the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Hui Yan, as he led what remained of his troops in a violent retaliation against their enemies.


    A person is always most frightening when they¡¯re desperate. Even though there were only around a dozen of them left from Mount Hui Yan, they actually managed to cut open a path of blood from an encirclement of more than a hundred people. In the blink of an eye, over thirty had died from their counterattack, causing so much distress amongst the forces of Mount Hongdong that they even tried to avoid fighting the Mount Hui Yan troops altogether, thereby creating an opening in the formation.


    As they witnessed the battle, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er immediately grew anxious. Even though they were naturally nervous about fighting such arge battle for the first time, they were more worried about not being able to fulfill their Master¡¯s wishes. As the Manor Head¡¯s personal handmaidens, how could they look him in the eye if they failed in their task?!


    "Attack!" the two youngdies shouted. Raising their spears, they quickly charged out on their ck-Scaled Drake Beasts. With the speed of their two spiritual beasts, they were able to fill the opening in the formation on time.


    The two youngdies rode side by side as they faced the remnants of Mount Hui Yan¡¯s forces. However, once the battle erupted, they found that it wasn¡¯t as scary as they thought it would be. There was hardly anyone who could contend against their powerful spear art. Not to mention, they each had a set of Second Grade Armor Artifacts and the ck-Scaled Drake Beasts on their side. With the two youngdies working together, they were able to take down the Mount Hui Yan Mountain Chieftain in a single confrontation.


    Like cleaving through a tidal wave, the two youngdies swept through the remaining Mount Hui Yan members with ease, killing most of them in the process. Almost none could fight against the two of them working together.


    When they saw the two Aunties fighting so valiantly, the rest of the troops quickly regained their morale. They were no longer afraid of the remaining forces that had managed to escape Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯sbined attack, and quickly surrounded and decimated them into a bloody pulp. More importantly, they were also afraid of anything happening to the Manor Head¡¯s handmaidens.


    That said, with Qian¡¯Er¡¯s and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s cultivation, it was truly difficult for them to properly utilize a set of Second Grade Armor Artifacts. In just a short while, the two of them were already running low on their transcendence energy reserves.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er ordered the rest of the troops to quickly clean up the battlefield. Even though they noticed that some of them were secretly taking the spoils of the battle for themselves, there was little the two youngdies could do but feign ignorance. One of the people they saw doing this was the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Hongdong himself.


    After which, the two youngdies quickly led their troops to assist the other two groups. Along the way, they each tossed an Orb of Will into their mouths to speed up the recovery of their transcendence energy. Throughout the journey, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help worrying about the situation on the other side as they realized that these people behind them only seemed impressive in their formation. In truth, their strength was nothing but a shallow facade! They were practically as weak as tofu, causing Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er much distress!


    When they finally got in contact with the other two groups, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help sighing in resignation at these Raincloud Manor troops. The forces of the other two Mountains were actually utilizing their overwhelming numbers to attack each Cave one by one. They had split their forces in two, with each group going after a single Cave at a time. It was fortunate that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had crippled Mount Hui Yan, the center ofmunication between these Caves. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t the forces from the other Caves have made their escape by now?!


    That said, dumb methods did have their uses, after all. It was precisely because they had such absolutely overwhelming numbers on their side that these otherwise useless troops could fight with such high morale. Not to mention, there wasn¡¯t much risk involved for them either. With their numbers, they could quite easily drown their enemies with their spit alone. As a result, the troops of Mount Hui Yan werepletely eliminated.

 Chapter 476 Quelling the Chaos

    The forces of all three groups soon met up with one another. Besides Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s forces sustaining about forty casualties, the other two groups barely suffered any damage to their troops. No surprise there, given the way they had been fighting.


    When the three Mountain Chieftains met one another, they were filled with excitement. Not only did they sessfully finished the Manor Head¡¯smands, they evenpletely eliminated all their enemies.


    "Brothers, we¡¯ve won!" shouted Mount Spiritual Longevity¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Xiang Dongliu. Naturally, he didn¡¯t miss the chance to offer some shallow ttery as well. "This is all thanks to the Manor Head¡¯s brilliant strategy!"


    "All hail the Manor Head!" the crowd cheered fervently.


    Everyone was in high spirits and even felt a little full of themselves. After all, no one knew how many years it had been since a battle wasst fought in the entire Suppressing Tenth Hall domain, much less Raincloud Manor alone. They could totally boast to the others after this¡ª¡¯We¡¯ve actually participated in a full-scale war! And one where wepletely eliminated all our enemies, at that!¡¯


    As for the consequences, none of them were too worried about that. After all, the Manor Head would be the one to take responsibility if anything were to happen. They were just following orders. No matter what happened, they would not be med for it. In short, this experience alone was significant enough as bragging material tost them a long time in the Suppressing Tenth Hall.


    However, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t find it in themselves to rejoice. They were extremely worried about the situation in the other groups, and immediately assembled the remaining Mountain Chieftains and Troop Inspectors, requesting that they go forward to assist the others.


    Since the two Aunties had spoken, and them realizing that the war wasn¡¯t actually as scary as they thought it would be, the crowd quickly cheered on in agreement without any hesitation.


    Right as Xue¡¯Er released the spirit eagle to send a message to Miao Yi, the Mountain Chieftain of Mount Spiritual Longevity raised his arm and shouted, "Brothers! Let us go assist the other groups! If things don¡¯t look too good, we¡¯ll give them a hand!" The crowd immediately cheered in response.


    And thus, the massive army hastily galloped towards their next destination.


    When they met up with the forces of Chen Fei and the other two Troop Inspectors, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er found out that the other party had met with the same situation they had when they were attacking Mount Hui Yan earlier on. The enemies became desperate as Chen Fei and the others surrounded them, and around a dozen of them managed to escape. Chen Fei himself had sustained severe injuries as well. He was not as well-equipped as Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were, and had almost lost his life fighting against a Blue Lotus cultivator on the enemy side. Had the enemy not been frantic about escaping¡ªand the other troops had not been worried about something happening to the Manor Head¡¯s trusted aide and thus, risked their lives to save him¡ªChen Fei would havein permanently to rest in this ce.


    However, Chen Fei could not ept this failure. He was Miao Yi¡¯s trusted aide who carried his master¡¯s expectations. How could he allow himself to suffer such a setback? He immediately rallied the troops and gave chase to the enemy.


    Worried that something would happen to Chen Fei, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er immediatelymanded Mountain Chieftain Xiang Dongliu from Mount Spiritual Longevity to gather all the troops under hismand and assist him. Meanwhile, the two youngdies led the remaining forces and rushed to meet up with the other groups.


    When they met up with another group, they found that the other party hadmitted the same mistake that Mount Hongdong¡¯s Mountain Chieftain Cheng Hailiang had almost made earlier on. Troop Inspector and Advisor Hu Defu had ordered his troops to charge straight into the enemy lines and thus were only able to eliminate some of them. The enemy Mountain Chieftain was able to lead around several dozen men away in an escape.


    Perhaps he thought the enemy could be easily defeated, or just simply afraid of failing in the Manor Head¡¯s task, Advisor Hu Defu also rallied a significant portion of his troops to chase after the ones that had escaped.


    When Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had finally reached the battlefield of a different Advisor, Advisor Han Chunfeng, they found that the other party wasn¡¯t engaged in battle at all. The two youngdies bumped into several of the Raincloud Manor troops and asked what happened. The answer shocked them greatly.


    Even the other Raincloud Manor troops under the two youngdies couldn¡¯t help their shock!


    After Advisor Han Chunfeng had met up with the other two groups from Mulberry Cloud Manor, which also had two Advisors as their Troop Inspectors, the three of them shared the same detestable notion of escaping. They believed that there wasn¡¯t any point to winning to such a battle, and were worried that the top brass would pin the me on them for this incident, so they thought¡ª¡¯Why should we risk our lives for such a thing?¡¯ Thus, after some discussion between themselves, the Advisors from both Manors decided to encourage their troops to run away.


    Of course, by running away, they didn¡¯t mean to run back to Raincloud Manor. They were not that stupid. They would just be delivering themselves into Miao Yi¡¯s grasp if they did such a thing. Naturally, they weren¡¯t intending on escaping to Mulberry Cloud Manor either. Instead, they nned to circle around Raincloud Manor and escape to the neighboring Pure Dream Manor. Once Suppressing Tenth Hall was done settling this troublesome affair, it would be safe for them toe back out again.


    Furthermore, out of the three Mountains¡¯ worth of forces the three Advisors had brought along with them, almost two hundred of them agreed with their ns of escape. Meanwhile, the remaining forces decided to head back to their own respective factions. After all, it was rather dangerous to fight with their numbers alone. It was already good enough of them not to have escaped along with the others!


    However, this subsequently caused the members of the entire Mount Iron Bar¡ªwhich was their supposed attack target¡ªalong with the forces of their subordinate Caves, to rally together to defend themselves. It was likely that they had already gone and requested help from Tranquil Sun Manor as well.


    Coincidentally, Miao Yi and his Raincloud Manor troops were rushing towards the battlefield here as well.


    When he caught wind of the shocking news, Miao Yi bellowed furiously, "Deserters!" He turned his head and continued, "Mu Tai!"


    "Here!" Advisor Mu Tai hurriedly stepped forward with cupped fists. The Manor Head¡¯s inconceivably speedy subjugation of the entire Tranquil Sun Manor already had him trembling at his feet.


    Miao Yi quickly wrote down a letter and tossed it to him, instructing coldly, "Imand you to lead the troops of our Raincloud Manor headquarters, and bestow upon you the authority tomand five Mountains¡¯ worth of soldiers. Chase after those traitors this instant! Head straight into Pure Dream Manor territory. Regardless of where Han Chunfeng and the others choose to hide, surround them immediately! Don¡¯t let them escape! At the same time, present this letter to the party harboring them, andmand them to hand over those traitors immediately. Otherwise, the next one to suffer my wrath after Tranquil Sun Manor will be them! I will personally lead my forces to trample all over their Pure Dream Manor and give them hell! Go now! I will join you after taking care of the remaining enemies! Remember to leave signs along the way!"


    "Understood!" Mu Tai immediately acknowledged the order, swiftly departing after takingmand of the troops!


    Miao Yi swept a cold gaze across the ones left behind. He pointed forward with his hand and yelled, "The rest of you, surround Mount Iron Bar this instant! Those who disobey will be shown no mercy!"


    With around two hundred members remaining, Miao Yi galloped towards Mount Iron Bar. Once there, his forces immediately surrounded the one hundred people bundled up together. They still had no idea why all this was happening, primarily because there still hadn¡¯t been any word from Tranquil Sun Manor after their request for support.


    "Our Tranquil Sun Manor has never done anything to offend your Raincloud Manor. Why are you doing such a thing?!"


    The Mount Iron Bar Mountain Chieftain who had gathered about one hundred of his subordinates together shouted in bewilderment.


    Miao Yipletely ignored him, andmanded his troops, "Make sure you don¡¯t leave any gaps in the formation. If any one of them makes it past, I¡¯ll kill you! Same goes to those who shirk away from battle. Your Manor Head will be joining in the struggle, so you idiots better open your eyes wide and watch how a battle should actually be fought!"


    As he said this, the Inversed-Scales Spear danced in his arms and roared like a dragon. Miao Yi pointed the spear forward, and Charcoal neighed excitedly before charging out like a storm. Neither man nor steed was wearing a single piece of armor as they bolted straight into enemy lines.


    ¡¯My god, he¡¯s going in alone!¡¯ The troops from Raincloud Manor were actually wide-eyed with shock.


    When he noticed there was only one person charging towards them, even though he had heard that the other party was a Subjugation Crusade survivor, the Mount Iron Bar felt a surge of confidence as he shouted, "How dare you underestimate our Tranquil Sun Manor! All of you, attack! The one who takes Miao Yi¡¯s head shall be heavily rewarded!"


    Immediately, his forces charged out. However, Miao Yi was already upon them, the spear in his hand flickered coldly, the powerful momentum behind itparable to a fierce dragon.


    As though a mighty wave had crashed onto a pir, agonizing screams echoed forth as one person after another was overturned from their steeds wherever the cold glint passed. It was as though the vast sea had been split with a single stroke of the sword. A single rider charged headfirst into the enemy lines, with not a single person being able to stop him in his path! The Mount Iron Bar Mountain Chieftain didn¡¯t even have time to be astonished, not when Miao Yi was already in front of him the next instant. Despite how he anxiously tried to defend himself with a reckless swing of his sword, Miao Yi¡¯s spear struck through, piercing through his skull in a single breath and killing him instantly.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t stop there. He continued to thrash his way through the crowd, killing from one end of the group to the other. If there were any dragon steeds that dared to stand in his way, they were either knocked flying by Charcoal or sent tumbling across the ground.


    In a single gallop, almost thirty people had died to Miao Yi¡¯s Inversed-Scales Spear. Those still alive were utterly horrified, and not a single one of them was brave enough to try and stop Miao Yi.


    The troops from Raincloud Manor couldn¡¯t help sucking in a breath of cold air as they watched what was happening before them. ¡¯This Manor Head is too ferocious! No wonder he managed to cut his way through the other 180,000 cultivators in the Subjugation Crusade and make it back alive!¡¯


    Even Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help looking at one another in surprise, their eyes gleaming with admiration. As expected of their Master! It was nothing but a piece of cake for him to deal with these people. There was no need to worry at all!


    Soon, Miao Yi turned his dragon steed around and chased after those that were trying to escape. Both his steed and spear were so impably fast that all who stood before it perished almost instantly. In just a few moments, the battlefield was filled with the screams of people dying here and there.


    Miao Yi constantly went back and forth on his dragon steed, the spear in his hand utterly cold and merciless. In the blink of an eye, over seventy percent of the hundred-strong army had died. As for the rest, they threw caution to the wind and charged straight up against the forces surrounding them, no longer caring whether there were enemies in their path or not. It was simply because they couldn¡¯t withstand Miao Yi¡¯s assault at all. After all, they didn¡¯t see a single person survive a single strike of his spear. Thus, they grew incredibly desperate, running frantically against the encirclement in an attempt to break free.


    Meanwhile, with Miao Yi¡¯s strength so vividly disyed before them, none of the people encircling the Mount Iron Bar troops dared to dally in their duties, and they immediately cut off all possible paths of retreat for the enemy.


    In a little under an hour, the entire battle had ended. The ground was littered with corpses, their blood seeping into the earth along with the pouring rain.


    Miao Yi stood in the center of the encirclement. Seeing that the battle was over, he hastily charged out. He didn¡¯t slow down in the slightest as he passed everyone by, and simply said, "I want ten of you to stay behind and clean up the battlefield. The others will follow me to Pure Dream Manor and take care of those traitors!" He then continued charging off into the distance.


    Still in trepidation over the scene that their Manor Head had just shown them, the forces of Raincloud Manor didn¡¯t dare to drag their feet, and they quickly followed after Miao Yi.


    If they spared the time to look at the situation before them at the moment, they would realize that when faced with an actual battle, it didn¡¯t matter how nice their formation looked.


    The grey clouds soon parted and made way for the radiant sun. Miao Yi rode in front, leading his troops across the muddied ins. They didn¡¯t stop for anything, charging day in and day out as they galloped all the way across Raincloud Manor, heading straight for Pure Dream Manor.


    Miao Yi needed time. He had already cutmunications between Tranquil Sun Manor and Suppressing Tenth Hall. And for Pure Dream Manor to get in touch with Suppressing Tenth Hall evidently required a little bit of time as well. As such, he needed to deal with all these traitorous bastards before Suppressing Tenth Hall could even react to this incident. Those bastards must not be let off. Otherwise, it would be hard for him to establish dominance over his subordinatester on!


    Little did Miao Yi know that Sikong Wuwei was also stomping his feet in rage when he met up with his own troops. It was bad enough that these new subordinates were utterly useless. To think they were traitorous on top of that as well!


    Without any hesitation, Sikong Wuwei immediately led some of his troops in the direction of Pure Dream Manor as well. He too, intended to clear out these seeds of discord and treason from his camp!


    Meanwhile, the battles had gone quite smoothly on Thousand Lake Manor¡¯s side. After all, Zhao Fei had brought quite a number of his old subordinates along with him, and each of them had strong leadership abilities. However, presently, Zhao Fei was still wearing a cold expression on his face. It was because one of his subordinates had actually done something ridiculous simply because none of his trusted aides acted as Troop Inspectors for that particr group.


    His decree clearly stated that all their enemies must die. However, even though those idiots did manage to win in the end, and almost effortlessly at that, they had the bright idea of convincing their enemies to surrender. As a result, there wasn¡¯t a single casualty on either side of the battle. Rather, their troops had managed to easily obtain over a hundred prisoners of war!


    When Zhao Fei arrived on the battlefield, he asked, atop his mount, "Troop Inspector, Mountain Chieftain, are you two aware of the decree I passed down?"


    The Troop Inspector replied, "Yes, my lord!"


    "Repeat it again for me!" Zhao Fei said coldly.


    After the other party repeated his decree word for word, Zhao Fei said nkly, "Seize them!"


    The trusted aides that he brought along with him immediately charged over and restrained the Troop Inspector along with the Mountain Chieftain. The two of them were still wondering whether it was wrong of them to have won the battle, when Zhao Feimanded coldly, "Death awaits those who disobey my orders!"


    Before the Troop Inspector and Mountain Chieftain could even react, Zhao Fei¡¯s trusted aides already chopped down with their swords. Two heads then rolled on the ground, shocking all the other troops from Thousand Lake Manor!


    Shortly after he had killed those two idiotic subordinates of his, Zhao Fei pointed towards the bound captives they had taken and shouted, "I said not to leave a single survivor. Kill them!"


    His trusted aides immediately dashed forward to execute hismand. They weren¡¯t fazed in the slightest by the other party¡¯s pleas at all¡ªno matter how hard they begged, all of them were quickly dispatched. Soon, the battlefield was filled with bloodied corpses.


    Zhao Fei turned back to the Thousand Lake Manor troops and said inly, "On the battlefield, if any of you make the same mistake of disobeying mymands, you will suffer the same consequences. I will kill all of you if I must. There shall be no mercy!"

 Chapter 477 Surrounding Pure Dream Manor

    The enemies must die! The captives must die! Even allies would not be shown any mercy!


    As they looked at the corpses lying on the ground, the forces from Thousand Lake Manor all felt their hairs standing on end, their faces as pale as a sheet. They finally understood what it meant for someone to view human life as though it were an insignificant weed. What it meant to kill without even batting an eye. What it meant to be shown no mercy for those who disobeyed their superior¡¯smands!


    However, the worst of their fears were far from over! Zhao Fei coldly ordered, "I want to ask all of you if there was anyone who shied away from battle or did not perform their duties properly. Was there anyone who caused unrest amongst our troops? Give me their names!"


    There were too many people who fit those criteria. Zhao Fei¡¯s trusted aides each wrote down a list of names on a jade archive, and those they named all stepped forward with deathly pale faces.


    There were also some who immediately turned their steeds around and tried to escape the second their name was called. With a swing of his arm, Zhao Fei tossed the Spirit Illusion Greatsword, and immediately, a flurry of greatswords erupted forth.


    When those running away noticed the swirling mass of greatswords surrounding them, they werepletely filled with despair. They screamed out like madmen and frantically waved their spears around.


    Splurt! Hot blood gushed skyward as one person¡¯s head was sent flying, his body subsequently falling off from his galloping steed.


    The Spirit Illusion Greatsword quickly reverted into a single sword and shot back into Zhao Fei¡¯s storage ring. The scene just now had the rest of the crowd trembling in fear, and none of those that were called out dared to run away anymore; they all obediently stepped forward and awaited their punishment!


    Soon, over two hundred people stepped forward. Moreover, these were simply the ones whom the Troop Inspectors believed to havemitted the more serious crimes. Otherwise, the number of offenders would have been even greater. After all, they couldn¡¯t really sentence everyone to death.


    "Bind them!" Zhao Fei barked.


    The two hundred offenders felt relieved at thismand. Naturally, they would much rather be tied up than dead. Soon, they were all stripped off their mounts and weapons and then bound tightly in ce.


    However, Zhao Fei¡¯s followingmand caused all of them to be thunderstruck. He mercilessly shouted, "Off with their heads!"


    This time, Zhao Fei didn¡¯t have his trusted aides act upon his order. Instead, he ordered all the other subordinates to do it.


    Those tied up cried and begged for forgiveness. Some were groveling on their knees, while others were already in tears. Some were even cursing Zhao Fei out loud.


    Seeing the troops hesitating to enforce hismand, Zhao Fei asked coldly, "Are you going to disobey my orders as well?"


    ¡¯Better someone else dies than me!¡¯ A group of them gritted their teeth and rushed out, raising their swords against those bound and helplessrades of theirs. Soon, the area was filled with cries of agony.


    It didn¡¯t take too long for the ground to be filled with even more dead bodies than before, and the air was all the more putrid with the stench of blood. Over two hundred people from Thousand Lake Manor were tied up, and not a single one of them was spared. Even the number of enemies they had just killed was less than this!


    The Thousand Lake Manor troops were all pale as a ghost, seeming so terrified as though they just had their souls sucked out of them. They finally came to understand the consequences of disobeying their superior¡¯s orders. They finally realized that on the battlefield, themander¡¯s orders were not to be made light of. It finally dawned on them that they were currently engaged in war.


    Zhao Fei narrowed his eyes and shot a cold gaze across the crowd, carefully watching their reaction...


    Evidently, regardless of whether it was Zhao Fei, Miao Yi or Sikong Wuwei, they had long found these subordinates an eyesore. Previously, they didn¡¯t have a valid reason to do anything against them, and could only hold in their displeasure. Now that Zhao Fei had the opportunity to properly educate them, he didn¡¯t hesitate in the slightest, taking advantage of this situation to massacre a great portion of them and set these useless fools straight. In truth, back when the three Manors had deployed their troops, Miao Yi and the others already made up their minds that this wouldn¡¯t be as simple as just killing Chang Zijiu and avenging Qi Xiuhong.


    The three of them felt it was unforgivable for these people to continue their lives peacefully in the cultivation realm! They had fought tooth and nail to survive the Subjugation Crusade, and this helped them develop a sense of intuition towards danger. They didn¡¯t believe that such peaceful days could go on without any consequences and didn¡¯t wish to one day leave their lives in the hands of such useless subordinates...


    The wounded Chen Fei continued chasing after the enemy troops all the way to the border of Raincloud Manor and Pure Dream Manor before inevitablying to a stop. Without an official decree, he didn¡¯t dare trespass into someone else¡¯s territory with such arge force in tow. As such, he could only sigh in resignation as he watched the enemy forces escape his grasp.


    Coincidentally, just as he was about to head back, Chen Fei bumped into Advisor Han Chunfeng and the other two Advisors from Mulberry Cloud Manor, as well as the two hundred people they were currently leading in their escape. As Raincloud Manor had plenty of rivers andkes in its domain, there weren¡¯t many routes one could take in and out of the area. As such, it was not surprising that these two parties managed to bump into one another.


    Chen Fei had no idea why these people hade this way and thus was easily tricked by Han Chunfeng into allowing them passage. After a while, Chen Fei met up with Mu Tai and his forces and finally realized that he had been lied to. Chen Fei was instantly outraged. He joined Mu Tai and his troops, and together with a force seven hundred strong charged straight into Pure Dream Manor territory.


    Han Chunfeng and the others didn¡¯t dare to make any stops in their escape. They just ran and ran, and eventually met up with the remnants from Tranquil Sun Manor who had also escaped into Pure Dream Manor.


    Suddenly, the mountain gates of Pure Dream Manor was filled with people. It was only then that Han Chunfeng and the others realized that none of the Mountains nor Caves they previously crossed over had sent word of theiring. Evidently, this was howx security was in these parts.


    Moreover, the gatekeepers didn¡¯t seem anxious in the slightest when faced against such arge crowd. The two of them stepped forward boldly and stood up against a crowd of over two hundred people without any hesitation, shouting coldly, "Who goes there?!"


    Han Chunfeng and the others hastily reported the situation and requested the gatekeepers to send word to their Manor Head. The gatekeepers looked at them suspiciously and asked that they wait here before they went inside to make their report.


    Later on, inside Pure Dream Manor¡¯s main assembly hall, in front of Manor Head Xu Huihuang and his Advisors and Deacons, Han Chunfeng and the others immediatelyined about Miao Yi and hisrades¡¯ misdeeds!


    Initially, the members of Pure Dream Manor were slightly dubious of the report. However, they were soon greatly shocked by what they heard.


    m! Manor Head Xu Huihuang pped on the armrest of his seat and stood up, bellowing furiously, "Preposterous! What do those three think they¡¯re doing?! Do they really think that no one would challenge them just because they survived the Subjugation Crusade?"


    One Advisor stepped forward and said solemnly, "Manor Head, we should report this incident to the Hall Master immediately and punish these hooligans!"


    Another Advisor quickly followed suit, cupping his fists as he said, "Manor Head! Our Pure Dream Manor lies right next to his Raincloud Manor. If we allow him to do things as he pleases like this, we will only be feeding his arrogance! I suggest we rally our Pure Dream Manor forces and head over to Raincloud Manor¡¯s border immediately to give them a little scare. We must show these brutes that our Pure Dream Manor is not so easily pushed around like Tranquil Sun Manor."


    The final Advisor also stepped forward with cupped fists and added on, "I agree wholeheartedly. We cannot allow Miao Yi to act so insolently!"


    Xu Huihuang nodded and said, "Very well! Then it¡¯s decided!"


    However, right as he was about to write down a jade archive to rally his forces, Xu Huihuang heard the sound of hoofbeats quickly approaching. And judging from the sound of it, there was quite a number of them.


    Xu Huihuang and the others were greatly astonished, and they quickly rushed outside to take a look, only to find arge army encroaching on their doorstep. They didn¡¯t slow down at all, dividing into two as they promptly surrounded the entire Pure Dream Manor.


    When Han Chunfeng saw who the other party was, he was immediately filled with dread. He never thought that the forces from Raincloud Manor would actually dare toe all this way to Pure Dream Manor¡¯s doorstep. When he saw Chen Fei retreating from Pure Dream Manor¡¯s border earlier on, Han Chunfeng thought it would be safe here. However, it seemed his assumptions had turned out false in the end. He anxiously yelled, "Manor Head Xu! Miao Yi and his forces are upon us!"


    Even a fool could tell that these people did note in peace. Xu Huihuang immediately imbued his voice with transcendence energy and shouted, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"


    The whole Pure Dream Manor instantly fell into chaos, as its members frantically ran around searching for their mounts. And by the time they readied themselves, the enemy troops had alreadypletely surrounded the ce, immediately forcing all of them to bundle up into a small corner.


    Even though the more than seven hundred members from Raincloud Manor didn¡¯t have much experience in battle, but after all the things they had seen earlier on, they were no longer behaving as stupidly as they did before. They now possessed some degree of awareness that they were in a war. And it was that very realization that further boosted the ferocity they now carried, making them appear more overwhelming than the forces of Pure Dream Manor. Moreover, they had the advantage in numbers, allowing them to continuously back the frightened enemy troops into a corner.


    Even Xu Huihuang himself felt a little bit scared, much less the others. All he sensed from the other party was a terrifying viciousness. He bunched up together with his troops, the fugitives that escaped here, as well as a group of terrified handmaidens. Altogether, nearly four hundred people were crowded together.


    As the space gradually became more and more cramped, Xu Huihuang ultimately raised his sword and shouted, "Why are you trespassing on my Pure Dream Manor¡¯s territory? Answer me!"


    The surrounding forces immediately parted, as Mu Tai and Chen Fei stepped forward. By order of position, Mu Tai was currently the person-in-charge, while Chen Fei was second inmand.


    As it was his first time leading such arge force, Mu Tai proudly sat upon his mount with his head held high and his chest pumped out. Not only did he feel a little bit more confident after personally killing several people back in Tranquil Sun Manor, when he saw how a Manor Head was actually quaking in fear against the mighty force behind him, Mu Tai felt a surge of arroganceing through. He even started to think that doing something like this was much more worthwhile than all that shallow ttery and bullshit he had to deal with in the past. It felt as though he could walk on with his back straight now!


    Mu Tai cast a disdainful look at the ones being surrounded, and said, "We havee on orders from Raincloud Manor¡¯s Manor Head to apprehend a group of traitorous deserters! Manor Head Xu, we do not wish to trespass on your domain either. However, you¡¯d best hand over those traitors to us. Otherwise, once Manor Head Miao arrives, things will not end so smoothly for you."


    He then tossed over a jade archive to Xu Huihuang. As the other party read through the jade archive, he found that it was nothing more than a tant threat from Miao Yi, stating that Tranquil Sun Manor had been housing traitors from Raincloud Manor and that he had already decimated the entire Tranquil Sun Manor and taken Chang Zijiu¡¯s head because they refused to hand those individuals over. He also warned that if Pure Dream Manor wished to house these traitors as well, then they would be meeting the same end as Tranquil Sun Manor!


    Having already heard Han Chunfeng¡¯s side of the story, Xu Huihuang naturally knew that all that was written on the jade archive was a lie. Clearly, Thousand Lake Manor, Raincloud Manor, and Mulberry Cloud Manor were the ones who joined forces to attack Tranquil Sun Manor. All this talk about housing traitors was nothing but a lie. Obviously, Miao Yi was only trying to use this as an excuse to intimidate him into handing those people over.


    Xu Huihuang didn¡¯t want to deal with such a troublesome affair either. If only the people from Raincloud Manor hade to him secretly, then he would dly chase Han Chunfeng and the others out for them to deal with it themselves. But now, they were on his doorstep with a massive army in tow, demanding that he hand those people over. How would the public look at him if he were to obediently surrender them?


    However, this was nothing but an unrealistic wish on his part at this point in time. Had Miao Yi not threatened him with brute force, Xu Huihuang probably wouldn¡¯t be willing to hand over Han Chunfeng and the others, as he was quite repulsed by the way Miao Yi had rallied his army and assaulted a fellow Manor Head. As such, it was quite possible that he would¡¯ve sent Han Chunfeng and the others to Suppressing Tenth Hall instead.


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi was trying to buy himself as much time as he could before Suppressing Tenth Hall made their move¡ªwhy would he waste time with Xu Huihuang using such a roundabout method?


    "Are you fully aware of the consequences of doing such a thing?" Xu Huihuang asked angrily.


    Mu Tai replied, "This is not something I should be worried about. All I know is that if Manor Head Xu does not hand those people over, then you must be prepared to ept the oue!"


    Suddenly, another wave of thundering hoofbeats was hearding from the distance. Miao Yi had arrived, along with Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, a few steps earlier than the remaining troops. In order to save himself some time, Miao Yi and the two girls used the powerful speed of their mounts to their advantage and left everyone else behind, thus arriving here earlier than the rest.


    The troops immediately made way for Miao Yi and the two Aunties to pass. Miao Yi swept a nce across the ones being surrounded, then turned his head to the side and asked, "What happened?"


    Mu Tai immediately reported the situation. Miao Yi then pointed a finger over and barked, "Xu Huihuang! What are you nning by housing those traitors?! Are you perhaps the one secretly sowing discord in my Raincloud Manor?!"


    Xu Huihuang yelled back, "By any chance, are you Manor Head Miao Yi? You can¡¯t simply make these baseless usations. Your men were the ones who ran to me! How can you use me of sowing discord?!"


    "Do you think I¡¯m easy to push around because I¡¯m new here?! Why didn¡¯t they run anywhere else then? Why did they only choose to seek help from you? And you dare say you¡¯re innocent?!" Miao Yi turned around and shouted, "Listen up, all of you! If Pure Dream Manor doesn¡¯t hand over those traitors within the hour, attack!"

 Chapter 478 Off With Their Heads!

    Those that were surrounded were in a state of unease to begin with. When they heard Miao Yi¡¯s threat, some of thempletely lost hope for survival. Naturally, the ones most anxious were none other than Han Chunfeng and the others. They stared at the frustrated Xu Huihuang, hoping that he could show some spine.


    One Advisor cupped his fists towards Xu Huihuang and said, "My lord, this is ultimately, Raincloud Manor¡¯s internal affair. It¡¯s not in our best interests to involve ourselves!"


    Another Advisor also voiced out, "My lord, Manor Head Miao is using us of sowing discord behind his back. I suggest we hand these people over and prove the innocence of our Pure Dream Manor!"


    Then, the Advisor that previously suggested they rally their troops at the border of Raincloud Manor and scare Miao Yi¡¯s forces also cupped his fists and said, "My lord, we don¡¯t even know how this whole thing happened. Why should we put our foot in such a troublesome affair?"


    The Deacons too, suggested that they should send these people, whom they had nothing to do with, away.


    Xu Huihuang knew his subordinates were trying to give him a valid excuse to back away from this troublesome affair. However, the problem was... How were they going to send these people out there? They had over two hundred cultivators on their side. In contrast, how many men did they have in Pure Dream Manor¡¯s headquarters? And with everyone bundled up together, how were they going to send these people away? Talk them into leaving?


    When he heard how these people were dead set on chasing them off, Han Chunfeng immediately grew desperate. He cupped his fists, bluntly threatening, "Manor Head Xu, please give us a chance to live. Otherwise, we won¡¯t go down without a fight!"


    Suddenly, one of the Advisors from Mulberry Cloud Manor voiced out, "Brother Han, since your Manor Head has alreadye all this way, you should go back to him. Don¡¯t drag us down with you."


    They didn¡¯t wish to suffer the same fate as Han Chunfeng. They were only hoping for Miao Yi and his forces to retreat as soon as possible, then they would leave Pure Dream Manor and rush to Suppressing Tenth Hall immediately. There was simply no sense of security in staying in Pure Dream Manor. If even Miao Yi coulde all this way, then their own brute of a Manor Head Sikong Wuwei was likely to do the same for them as well.


    Han Chunfeng and the others were greatly shocked to hear this. There were only a few dozen people under him. Most of the forces here belonged to Mulberry Cloud Manor. If all of them were to stand on Xu Huihuang¡¯s side, then what could he possibly change even if he fought to the end? He immediately yelled, "Tong Cheng! What are you saying?! Trying to burn the bridge now that you¡¯ve crossed it?!"


    Suddenly, Tong Cheng pointed his spear towards the other party and shouted, "Listen up, brothers! We shall join forces with Manor Head Xu and chase these people away!"


    The forces of Mulberry Cloud Manor immediately understood what Tong Chen was suggesting. They quickly brandished their weapons, pointing them at Han Chunfeng and the rest of the Raincloud Manor forces, while thetter also hurriedly drew their des in response. Both sides started hurling threats at one another, but none of them dared to make the first move!


    Xu Huihuang cast a sideways nce at Tong Cheng, who continued to yell threateningly at Han Chunfeng. He was not an idiot. Since he had already decided to hand them all over to Miao Yi, why would he involve himself in their scuffle any further? Originally, he was worried because they had the advantage in numbers, but now that there was a rift between them... Xu Huihuang said, "I¡¯ll go talk things over with Manor Head Miao."


    He secretly called for his handmaidens using voice transmission, and the three of them rode over on their dragon steeds. When they reached the other side, Xu Huihuang cupped his fists and said to Miao Yi in a low voice, "Manor Head Miao, I never wanted to involve myself in your affairs, but you saw it for yourself. I¡¯m not the one refusing to hand those people over to you. They¡¯re the ones who are using their overwhelming numbers to oppress us and refuse toe out. It¡¯s obvious that they¡¯re quite desperate. Why don¡¯t youpromise a little, and let my men escape first? You can deal with the rest of them as you please after that. I assure you my Pure Dream Manor will not interfere."


    Miao Yi was a little lost for words as he thought, ¡¯How useless are your troops?¡¯ However, he soon remembered that all the cultivators here seemed to suffer from this godforsaken condition, and was able to somewhat understand Xu Huihuang¡¯s predicament. He then turned towards Mu Tai and nodded.


    After which, Mu Tai waved his hand and gestured for the men to make way.


    Standing beside Miao Yi, Xu Huihuang immediately shouted, "Pure Dream Manor troops, listen up! You cane out now!"


    Miao Yi looked at him speechlessly as he thought, ¡¯How can a person like you be a Manor Head? I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve ever even fought an actual battle before. Do you think that all those other guys are idiots? Why did you have to say it like that? My brother, do you not want your men to make it out alive?¡¯


    Naturally, the Pure Dream Manor troops were all ecstatic at the news. ¡¯We¡¯ve got nothing to do with this anymore. You guys can go and do whatever the hell you want. We¡¯ll be making our move now. Once this is over, we can go back to our own lives again.¡¯ All of them could be seen pulling their handmaidens onto their mounts and were getting ready to leave all this chaos.


    Tong Cheng and Han Chunfeng were still going at each other¡¯s throats when Xu Huihuang¡¯s words struck them like a bolt out of the blue. ¡¯That son of a bitch Xu Huihuang is trying to cut us off!¡¯ The two of them bellowed almost simultaneously, "No one leaves!"


    The others weren¡¯t that dumb either. Upon Tong Cheng and Han Chunfeng¡¯smand, they immediately blocked the way to prevent the Pure Dream Manor forces from leaving, effectively surrounding them. Noticing their predicament, the Pure Dream Manor forces were absolutely thunderstruck.


    The two forces that were at each other¡¯s throats just seconds ago had suddenly joined forces, perfectly establishing an alliance without so much as a verbal cue beforehand. The decisiveness and reaction speed they were showing now were on a whole other levelpared to what they disyed when they were ordered to attack Tranquil Sun Manor. Miao Yi was utterly speechless at this sight. ¡¯If you lot had this kind of courage to kill in the first ce, then why did you have to run all the way here and cause me so much trouble? Do you think dying here is somehow a more morous way to go? I don¡¯t understand these guys at all!¡¯


    Meanwhile, Xu Huihuang was fuming with rage at the sight. He pointed towards the other side and bellowed, "What do you traitorous bastards think you¡¯re doing?! How dare you surround my Pure Dream Manor forces! Imand you to stand aside this instant!"


    Han Chunfeng shouted back, "Manor Head Xu, either we all leave together, or no one does!"


    "How dare you threaten me! You must be tired of living!" Xu Huihuang shouted furiously. Now that he was out of danger, his confidence had greatly soared!


    On the other hand, his subordinates on the other side were all looking at him nervously. ¡¯My lord, you mustn¡¯t be hasty!¡¯


    Standing beside Xu Huihuang, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes inadvertently brightened. He never thought that things would develop into such a peculiar situation. Indeed, a ce as bizarre as this would naturally give birth to equally strange characters. He turned his head to Xu Huihuang and said, "Manor Head Xu, now do you see that I was speaking the truth? These people are nothing but a bunch of traitors!"


    "Indeed they are!" Xu Huihuang furiously nodded. However, he couldn¡¯t helpmenting inwardly, ¡¯If you hadn¡¯t surrounded them with your army, how could the situation have developed to such a state?¡¯


    Miao Yi then tossed him a sudden question, "Manor Head Xu, I wonder if you have reported this situation to Suppressing Tenth Hall?"


    "I haven¡¯t!" Xu Huihuang immediately denied having made any reports. When he noticed Miao Yi raising an eyebrow at his reply, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a chill in his soul, and quickly added, "I did n to report it initially. However, I didn¡¯t expect your forces to arrive so soon. I didn¡¯t even have the chance to write down the report! You can look at this if you don¡¯t believe me!" He immediately handed his half-finished jade archive over to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi took the jade archive and read it through, sighing in relief after he was finished. ¡¯Crack¡¯¡ªhe then crushed the jade archive into pieces, as though he was just shattering one of his own belongings. He asked, "Manor Head Xu, I n to storm the ce and rescue your subordinates. What say you?"


    Xu Huihuang looked at his surroundings and thought, ¡¯Do I even have a choice? You¡¯re the boss here. Though I guess things won¡¯t end well for my subordinates...¡¯ However, he soon realized, ¡¯Well, at least I¡¯ll be fine. Even if I lose my old subordinates, I can still get new ones. I won¡¯t really lose anything, to be honest!¡¯ He then made up his mind and said, "Very well!"


    "Then I¡¯d like to trouble Manor Head Xu to prepare a report to Suppressing Tenth Hall about our current predicament," said Miao Yi.


    Xu Huihuang was somewhat puzzled as he thought, ¡¯Are you serious? Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll lodge aint against you?¡¯ He said in an insinuating manner, "The situation is a little bitplicated here! How should I write it?"


    "It¡¯s indeed quiteplicated!" Miao Yi honestly agreed. However, as for the nature of theplication itself, that didn¡¯t need to be said out loud. He then instructed Xu Huihuang, "Just say that Tranquil Sun Manor had ulterior motives and incited a rebellion within Thousand Lake Manor, Raincloud Manor, and Mulberry Cloud Manor. Some of the traitors then escaped into your Pure Dream Manor and surrounded your forces. As such, you asked me to help you take out the trash!"


    ¡¯A rebellion, you say? Can¡¯t youe up with a more believable excuse?! A rebellion is practically the stuff of legends in the entire Suppressing Tenth Hall!¡¯ However, Xu Huihuang still smiled drily and said, "Very well! Once this whole incident is over, I will immediately make a report to Suppressing Tenth Hall!"


    "Oh, you can just write the report down and send it now! That way, I can give my hardworking subordinates some peace of mind as well!"


    "But I don¡¯t have a spirit eagle with me right now, so I can¡¯t send it through."


    "No worries, Manor Head Xu. When I was still in Traversing Moon Pce, I constantly had to take part in battles. And with how often I had to be away from my own territory, how could I not be prepared to always keep mymunication channels active? I have a spirit eagle formunicating with Suppressing Tenth Hall right here. You can use it to send your report!"


    "Heh heh, alright then!" Xu Huihuang immediately wrote down the report. However, after he was done writing, Miao Yi took it over and read it through. After making sure that the contents were okay, he handed it to his subordinate to send to Suppressing Tenth Hall!


    At the same time, given how things had deviated from their original n, Miao Yi wrote down two letters to send to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, telling the two of them to match his story in their reports and push all the me onto that dead bastard Chang Zijiu. As for whether or not the top brass would believe them, that was not their concern. After all, there was no harm in having a few more excuses up their sleeves.


    After which, Miao Yi whispered a few things to Xu Huihuang, to which thetter nodded in understanding. Xu Huihuang then shouted to the other side, "Pure Dream Manor forces, heed mymand! Hold out for one hour! That¡¯s all you need to do! I have already asked Manor Head Miao and his Raincloud Manor troops to rescue you. All they need is for you to hold out for one hour, and work alongside their army to force those traitors out from the inside! We¡¯ll be able to exterminate these traitors in just one hour!"


    The Pure Dream Manor troops grew anxious as they heard what their Manor Head just said. ¡¯Are we really going into battle?¡¯


    ¡¯They¡¯re going to work together and force us out from the inside??¡¯ The group of ¡¯traitors¡¯ also turned restless!


    Miao Yi waved his hand and shouted, "Attack!" His voice echoed across the mountain.


    Miao Yi and his forces once again pressed in from the outside, while the Pure Dream Manor troops all brandished their weapons from within. The ¡¯traitors¡¯ trapped in between both sides were instantly thrown into disarray. In the presence of such a major battle, Han Chunfeng and the others felt an immense pressure weighing down on them. They were truly frantic now!


    They never wanted to battle in the first ce. If they really had such boldness, they wouldn¡¯t have tried to run away!


    Meanwhile, the forces attacking them were also feeling terribly anxious.


    "I surrender! I surrender!" Eventually, one of the ¡¯traitors¡¯ caved in from the fear and shouted.


    "We¡¯ll surrender! We¡¯ll surrender..." Simr cries immediately began to echo across the crowd as the ¡¯traitors¡¯ jumped down from their mounts and threw down their weapons one after another.


    Seeing their forces crumble under the pressure, Han Chunfeng, Tong Cheng as well as the other Advisor werepletely dismayed. They too threw down their weapons, and slowly got down from their steeds.


    In the blink of an eye, all the ¡¯traitors¡¯ from the two Manors as well as the runaways from Tranquil Sun Manor dismounted themselves and surrendered!


    Xu Huihuang waspletely dazed. ¡¯It resolved itself that easily?¡¯ The Pure Dream Manor troops that were surrounded immediately cheered excitedly, "A brilliant move, Manor Head!"


    "Bind them!" Miao Yi gave out a newmand.


    Soon, over two hundred people were restrained in the za right outside the Pure Dream Manor¡¯s main assembly hall. Every single one of them was on their knees, oblivious to the punishment they were about to face.


    Chen Fei stepped forward and reported, "My lord, they have all been restrained!"


    Standing at the top of the steps before the entrance to the main assembly hall, Miao Yi was in the middle of making light conversation with Xu Huihuang, when Chen Fei¡¯s report came in, and the two Manor Heads walked over side by side.


    At this point, Xu Huihuang had regained the aura of a Manor Head. And after interacting with Miao Yi, he realized that the other party wasn¡¯t such a difficult person to talk to at all. He walked alongside Miao Yi over to Han Chunfeng, where Miao Yi pointed towards thetter and smiled, "I¡¯m sorry for making you see such an unsightly scene, Brother Xu. To think that one of my own Advisors would actually stoop to bing a traitor!"


    "Haah!" Xu Huihuang shook his head and sighed as he looked at Han Chunfeng, as though he was pitying thetter on Miao Yi¡¯s behalf. He then asked, "Brother Miao, how do you intend to punish them?"


    Miao Yi then coldly waved his hand andmanded, "Off with their heads!"

 Chapter 479 Old Habits

    The area soon trembled with the sound of thundering hoofbeats as another two hundred riders arrived. These were all the Raincloud Manor forces that Miao Yi had left behind previously!


    When they saw this, the members of Pure Dream Manor mused to themselves, ¡¯They actually came in full force! What kind of ce do they think Pure Dream Manor is toe as they please like this...¡¯


    Once again, hoofbeats echoed across the area as Miao Yi finally departed with hisrge army in tow.


    Behind them, Xu Huihuang was waving goodbye with a forced smile on his face as he saw them off. The reason for the awkward look on Manor Head Xu¡¯s face was because Miao Yi had left him with over two hundred decapitated heads and blood-soaked bodies at the za right outside his main assembly hall.


    He actually killed them! The whole crowd consisted of Raincloud Manor¡¯s troops, Mulberry Cloud Manor¡¯s troops, as well as the remnant forces from Tranquil Sun Manor. And not a single one of them was spared; they were all killed without exception!


    The members of Pure Dream Manor couldn¡¯t help quivering in fear at the sight of such brutality. After all, they had never witnessed anything like this before. It was quite likely that most of them would be having nightmares tonight!


    As he watched therge army leave, the awkwardly smiling Manor Head Xu couldn¡¯t help gnashing his teeth in hatred. He wanted to go and lodge aint against Miao Yi after this. However, he soon thought, ¡¯Hold on, what if I¡¯m unable to take this bastard down? He lives just right next to me! God knows what this madman can do. Tranquil Sun Manor is the perfect example of what will happen if that guy gets offended!¡¯


    ¡¯Forget it, let¡¯s just see how Suppressing Tenth Hall is going to handle the situation in Tranquil Sun Manor for now! If they n to pin the me on Miao Yi, then I can still give him the final nail in the coffin!¡¯ As Manor Head Xu breathed in the stench of blood in the air, he suddenly felt a little disgusted, turning around and barking, "Stop standing around and clean up this mess already!"


    Meanwhile, along their journey back, the Raincloud Manor troops hadpletely lost the orderly formation they previously had, and simply galloped onwards without a thought. Many of them were still thinking about the helplessness they felt back in that massacre. Their gazes asionallynded on that Manor Head of theirs riding in front, and were filled with an unconceble sense of terror!


    Within their pack of sheep, a fierce wolf had suddenly emerged as the leader!


    Along the way, Miao Yi bumped into Sikong Wuwei, who was also rushing to take care of the traitorous bastards within his camp. Miao Yi informed thetter, "You don¡¯t have to trouble yourself anymore. I¡¯ve already helped you take care of those bastards. I also left their heads to Xu Huihuang as a gift!"


    "Those bastards should count themselves lucky then!" Sikong Wuwei cursed. Deserting a battle was something he showed absolutely no tolerance for.


    Both forces then went back together, separating again not too long after. After such arge battle, Sikong Wuwei was in no mood to tarry in one ce for too long. He still needed to clean up things on his side.


    Along the way back, Miao Yi tallied his forces. He had lost one hundred men in the battle, consisting of those that died fighting as well as the ones that he had beheaded.


    Once he was back in Raincloud Manor territory, Miao Yi gathered all nine Mountain Chieftains together. The missing Mountain Chieftain was among Han Chunfeng¡¯s band of traitors and had already been beheaded. Miao Yi instructed the remaining Mountain Chieftains on how they should exin this whole incident should anyone ever ask them¡ª that way they could match their ounts with his. After which, hemanded them to return to their own forces and tell them the same thing.


    The troops began to disperse as each Mountain Chieftain led their respective forces back to their own territories. Chen Fei immediately took the spot of the guy who was beheaded, and left directly to take up his new post...


    "Big Brother!"


    Once Miao Yi and his forces had returned to Raincloud Manor itself, he was greeted by Wen Fang, who had been waiting here all along. Naturally, Miao Yi was curious as to why this woman hade all the way here.


    When he found out that Wen Fang actually gave up the chance to sit in the manager¡¯s seat back in South Edict City just toe here and be a normal teller, Miao Yi feltpletely speechless at this woman¡¯s tenacity.


    Meanwhile, the only reason why Wen Fang had waited all this time was just so she could meet up with Miao Yi. She still had to pay Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei a visit after this, so she quickly left without staying too long. Recognizing her efforts, Miao Yi told Wen Fang that after she was done visiting Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, she coulde back here if she had the time, as Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had some things they needed her to settle. Wen Fang¡¯s lips immediately curled into a wide smile at the sound of this. It was as though someone had smeared honey on the edges of her mouth. The glee on her face didn¡¯t weaken in the slightest as she excused herself and left...


    After he saw Wen Fang off, Miao Yi led Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to the ind that was furthest away from the Manor Head¡¯s quarters.


    This ind had be a forbidden site. Yao Ruoxian, who hade to Raincloud Manor from Mount Calming Sea on his own, was currently staying here.


    The ind had a decent environment, with quiet pavilions surrounded by lush forests. One could even take a boat out onto theke if one felt like it. The ind was a quiet ce to begin with, and now that no one could set foot on this ind, Yao Ruoxian had the entire area to himself. This was much better than his previous living arrangements, where he had to coop himself up in a cave and avoid being seen all the time.


    Yao Ruoxian was lying on a chair under a tree¡¯s shade,zily rocking back and forth, when he saw Miao Yi and the two youngdies approaching. He quickly scoffed, "Well, well, kid, aren¡¯t you a busy one? It¡¯s hard for me to even meet up with you, what with you constantly running around here and there like this! I say, you¡¯re not intentionally avoiding me, are you?"


    Miao Yi smiled wryly and said, "I¡¯m not avoiding you. If I was, I wouldn¡¯t have told you I wasing here. I just came back from a battle. I¡¯ve just finished decimating the neighboring Tranquil Sun Manor. You can ask the girls if you don¡¯t believe me!"


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s expression froze as he asked, "Did he really decimate the neighboring Tranquil Sun Manor?"


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er repeatedly nodded their heads.


    Turning back to look at Miao Yi, Yao Ruoxian was a little speechless as he thought, ¡¯Looks like the brat has indeed grown up quite a bit. For him to decimate an entire Manor just like that... how many people must he have killed to do such a thing?¡¯


    However, Yao Ruoxian wasn¡¯t really too concerned with that. He cast a sideways nce at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. Seeing the two youngdies were fine, he stood up and extended his arm before Miao Yi, asking, "I heard you got tenth ce in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Surely you brought plenty of treasure back with you. Let me have a look at them!"


    If his daughters weren¡¯t around, he wouldn¡¯t have asked so politely like this; he would¡¯ve straight out used force to take them.


    Miao Yi revealed a faint smile and took a few light steps to an empty space nearby. He extended his arms, and Qi Xiuhong¡¯s body emerged in his embrace. Yao Ruoxian and the two youngdies looked on in confusion as Miao Yi slowly ced Qi Xiuhong on the ground, then tossed out a Red ze Resin, enveloping her body within a violent me.


    Miao Yi slowly backed away from the me, smiling faintly as he watched the person within the fire gradually disappear into ashes. After which, he ced his hands behind his back and turned around, heading back to where Yao Ruoxian and the others were.


    Yao Ruoxian gestured towards the me with his lips, asking curiously, "Kid, who was that girl? Why did you bring her around all this while just to cremate her here?"


    Miao Yi pointed to his surroundings and answered, "Normally, as a Subjugation Crusade survivor, I could¡¯ve chosen to take up my new post at a ce much better than this. The reason why I chose this ce was primarily because I wanted to avenge her. She was the trigger for my decision to decimate Tranquil Sun Manor."


    Yao Ruoxian was puzzled. "What do you mean?" The two youngdies were equally confused.


    "I met her aboard the ship to the Sea of Constetions. She hade from Tranquil Sun Manor, and at the time, her cultivation was even lower than mine¡ªonly at the White Lotus Fifth Grade..." Miao Yi turned to the rumbling me, telling the story of how he became acquainted with Qi Xiuhong, and even how he forced himself onto her during one stormy night. He also talked about how they bumped into Yao Sage Ji Huan¡¯s grandson, Bai Ziliang, then finally to how Qi Xiuhong lost her life within the Demon Refining Gourd. It was as though he was pouring his heart outpletely.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were already in tears as they stared at the billowing mes. This woman was really too pitiful. The two of them couldn¡¯t imagine how tough life must have been for her back in Tranquil Sun Manor. And in the end, she still died. They were even more touched when they heard of how she kept her distance from Miao Yi, from fear that he might look down on her, and how she asked if he liked her right before she died. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help crying their hearts out.


    As he remembered that final moment, Miao Yi¡¯s face was full of wrath. He turned his head to the side and slowly closed his eyes. Then, two droplets gently rolled down his cheeks.


    In the past, he was merely ¡¯living¡¯ for the sake of ¡¯living¡¯, and didn¡¯t know what love truly meant. However, when he understood its significance, he realized that it was actually such a painful feeling, so much so that it felt like his heart was being ripped apart. It was a feeling he would never forget for the rest of his life. No matter how many lives he took, he would never be able to get that person back, nor could he atone for his mistakes in any way!


    "Haah! Since time immemorial, love has always been such a perplexing thing..." Yao Ruoxian released a gentle sigh as he turned his head to gaze at the vastke in the distance. There was some haziness in his eyes, as a certain memory resurfaced in his mind.


    When he snapped back to reality, he asked, "How did you escape the Demon Refining Gourd?"


    Miao Yi opened his eyes, the tear streaks on his face instantly evaporating as he flipped his palm and thirty-five tiny mantids flew out into the open. He pointed to the little fellows and exined, "Luckily, I brought them with me. The little fellows helped me gnaw open a hole from inside the Demon Refining Gourd and break it, thereby allowing me to escape with my life."


    Seeing all thirty-five of the tiny mantids intact, Yao Ruoxian sighed in relief. He then released the other tiny mantids that had been hibernating inside his storage bangle. With Miao Yi being away for so long, he had no way of controlling them, so he simply kept them inside the storage bangle.


    As he issued a mentalmand to the tiny mantids to perch themselves onto a tree, Miao Yi said in a low voice, "It¡¯s a pity they were much too small at the time. If only they were a little bigger then, I might have saved Qi Xiuhong in time." He then tossed over a storage bangle to Yao Ruoxian, saying, "Didn¡¯t you always say you wanted to raise them? The things you told me to get before I left, I have them right here. There are five hundred thousand First Grade Yao Cores inside. I¡¯m cing the other things here with you as well. It¡¯s not safe for me to carry them around since I¡¯m always on the move. I¡¯m scared something might happen and I¡¯ll end up losing them to someone else."


    As Yao Ruoxian caught the storage bangle and peered inside, his mouth was instantly agape in shock. With his mouth wide open, he tallied the contents inside the storage bangle. After which, he couldn¡¯t help drawing a sharp breath and clicked his tongue repeatedly. Within the storage bangle, besides the five hundred thousand First Grade Yao Cores that Miao Yi mentioned, there were also one hundred thousand low-grade Orbs of Will as well as three thousand Second Grade Armor Artifacts, with the Armor Artifacts being the most valuable in the bunch!


    Yao Ruoxian was utterly surprised, raising his head to the sky and remarking, "I never thought there was so much fortune to be found in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade. Kid, how much stuff did you bring back exactly? I¡¯m sure this is just a small portion. You definitely have even more of these on you."


    Miao Yi smiled wryly and said, "I told you it¡¯s not safe for me to carry around these things with me. I¡¯ve already given you most of them. I also handed some over to the girls. I¡¯m only keeping the scraps for myself."


    "Don¡¯t you try to trick me. Do you think I don¡¯t know how much of a cunning brat you are?!" Yao Ruoxian immediately reverted to his old ways and abruptly grabbed Miao Yi by the hand. However, he soon realized something and turned around, and as expected, he was met with the displeased gazes of Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er. Yao Ruoxian immediately chuckled drily and said, "Now, now, girls. Be good. I didn¡¯t mean anything by it. I just wanted to take a look. Heh heh... just a look!"


    After exining himself, Yao Ruoxian immediately scanned through Miao Yi¡¯s belongings. He found that the other party still carried with him one hundred thousand low-grade Orbs of Will, approximately forty-thousand First Grade Yao Cores, a little over a hundred First Grade Transcendent Artifacts, and about five hundred Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts. These were indeed much fewer than the things he had just given him. Besides these, Miao Yi also carried a few misceneous items. It seems the kid really did give him therger portion of his treasure.


    However, as a highly-renowned artisan of the artifact-refining world, Yao Ruoxian possessed a viciously keen eye for treasures. He immediately locked in on the Mystic Yin Mirror, a ck cane, as well as a beaded ne formed by eighteen egg-sized pearls. Taking them out, he asked, "What about these three?"


    "Just three top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts!" Miao Yi immediately warned, "You old coot, I¡¯m keeping these to protect myself. You¡¯re not going to take them as well, are you?"


    Hearing this, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er immediately protested, "Father! What are you doing?!"

 Chapter 480 A Transcendent Artifact’s Formation Core

    "You girls are really misunderstanding me. I¡¯m just going to take a look." Yao Ruoxian chuckled and released his grip on Miao Yi. He then took the Mystic Yin Mirror and wiped away the transcendence energy signature inside, intending to try his hand at the artifact.


    Miao Yi slightly raised his eyebrow and looked on with anticipation.


    As expected, Yao Ruoxian froze up on the spot, his body quickly covered with ayer of frost, greatly shocking Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    Soon, Yao Ruoxian gave his body a shake, and the frost around him cracked and fell onto the ground. It then turned into a ck mist and disappeared.


    Seeing he was alright, the two girls sighed in relief. On the other hand, Miao Yi felt it was somewhat a pity. Once again, it proved that weapons of this grade had very little effect on Red Lotus cultivators. What a shame.


    After a light shiver, Yao Ruoxian looked at Miao Yi suspiciously and said, "Kid, don¡¯t you dare tell me you know how to use this transcendent artifact. Under the Red Lotus realm, only Ghost Cultivators are able to do such a thing!"


    ¡¯No wonder this old coot is an expert at refining artifacts!¡¯ Miao Yi nodded and answered, "Why would I be holding onto it if I can¡¯t use it? There¡¯s a trick to using this Mystic Yin Mirror. You just don¡¯t know about it!"


    "Mystic Yin Mirror, eh? The name isn¡¯t bad at least!" Yao Ruoxian scoffed, "I can figure out everything there is to know about this simple little transcendent artifact with just a single look. There is no trick to speak of. Stop trying to patronize me!" His eyes suddenly shed as though he just thought of something, then he continued to fumble around with the Mystic Yin Mirror.


    After which, Yao Ruoxian was frozen in ce yet again. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help musing to himself how easily duped this old man was. However, Yao Ruoxian suddenly turned the Mystic Yin Mirror in his direction, and a powerful Yin energy erupted in his face. With such a short distance between them, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t even dodge in time and was helplessly frozen on the spot, his body encased in frost.


    "Father! What are you doing?!" the two youngdies eximed.


    Whoosh! The frost covering Miao Yi¡¯s body instantly transformed into a ck mist and evaporated into thin air, and he was normal again.


    At this point, Yao Ruoxian had also shaken off the frost on him. He lifted a hand to stroke that slovenly beard of his, narrowing his eyes at Miao Yi as he chuckled and said, "No wonder! So you practice a fire-type cultivation art. Any single one of the Five Elemental Arts is highly exceptional. I never thought you actually had the chance to learn one of them. Those that practice fire-type cultivation arts are all highly-renowned in the cultivation realm. Kid, just who is your master?"


    Miao Yi finally realized that the old coot was simply testing him out. He shook his head and replied, "That¡¯s private and confidential."


    Yao Ruoxian simply huffed in response. He also knew that asking such a thing was taboo in the cultivation realm. Since the other party was unwilling to divulge this information, it would be inappropriate of him to pry any further. It was simr to how he himself had never shared his past with anyone else. He tossed the Mystic Yin Mirror back to Miao Yi, then said, "And I thought it was some kind of powerful treasure. The only thing worth noting is the powerful Yin energy stored inside. There isn¡¯t much technique involved at all."


    Miao Yi tucked away the Mystic Yin Mirror, then watched as Yao Ruoxian held up the ck cane. The cane in his grasp abruptly transformed, lengthening itself at times, then shortening back down, changing its width and size ordingly with each transformation.


    "So the smallest size is only this big... Not that impressive!" Yao Ruoxian said disdainfully as he waved the cane in his hand around, then tossed it back to Miao Yi.


    After which, the beaded ne in Yao Ruoxian¡¯s hand abruptly separated themselves into eighteen individual parts, and each pearl started hovering about him in a circle. These pearls could also change their sizes, growing to about the size of a round table. It was quite impressive to see eighteen table-sized orbs circling about him in mid-air like that.


    "Aha! Out of these three items, it seems this is the only one that requires some level of skill. Interesting... These are indeed quite suitable for someone of your cultivation to use to protect yourself." As he gave his appraisal, Yao Ruoxian opened his hand, and the eighteen giant orbs circling around him instantly shrunk back into his grasp. He then tossed it back to Miao Yi, turning to the two girls and smiled, "I¡¯ll let the kid use these for now. It¡¯s simply because your cultivations are not high enough, so even if I gave them to you, you wouldn¡¯t be able to use them."


    Suddenly, Yao Ruoxian let out a shout. It seemed the crazy old man had just thought of something again. He abruptly shot over to Miao Yi and grabbed him by the wrist, scanning through his belongings a second time. He then let go of Miao Yi¡¯s hand and said coldly, "I knew you were still keeping something for me. You must have hidden away the actual good stuff. What happened to that precious immortal herb of yours?"


    Miao Yi sighed and said, "I¡¯m really not hiding anything. Back when the Subjugation Crusade was at its most dangerous, I almost died. With thest of my strength, I used that immortal herb to save myself."


    Yao Ruoxian asked suspiciously, "Given that thing¡¯s capabilities, it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that it could reshape one¡¯s body entirely. How badly injured were you to use it uppletely?"


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly and shook his head, waving his hand to indicate that he didn¡¯t wish to talk about the matter. Even now, his body still couldn¡¯t help shaking whenever he remembered the pain he had experienced at that time.


    Yao Ruoxian noticed the fleeting dread in Miao Yi¡¯s gaze. That wasn¡¯t something that could be feigned. The old man guessed that the other party had indeed been in quite a bit of danger at the time. Well then again, it wasn¡¯t surprising for someone to experience danger in that godforsaken Sea of Constetions. Seeing the anxious looks on Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s faces, Yao Ruoxian was afraid of letting the two girls worry, so he didn¡¯t pry further.


    However, he still couldn¡¯t help asking, "Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll run away with your belongings if you hand such arge portion over to me?"


    "If I didn¡¯t trust you, I wouldn¡¯t have let you adopt Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er as your daughters. Whether or not you choose to believe me, I have long seen you as a member of my family. Because I know you¡¯ll keep an eye on the two girls, I¡¯m able to rest easy and go off on my own. However, let me make things clear. I¡¯m only keeping the things with you for the time being. If I have any use for them, I¡¯ll ask Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to retrieve them from you," Miao Yi exined.


    Hearing how the other party saw him as a family member, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s eyes shed with warmth. However, he quickly shot back with a re and said, "Bullshit! Doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯m just your personal storage keeper then?!"


    Miao Yi nodded and said, "You can use them too if you need to! If you don¡¯t have enough Orbs of Will when you¡¯re cultivating, you can have Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er get some more from Wen Fang. As long as you¡¯re using them to raise your own cultivation, you can use as many Orbs of Will as you want. Don¡¯t worry about using them all up. I won¡¯t mind a single bit. I¡¯ve already handed you my belongings. Isn¡¯t that solid enough proof of my sincerity?"


    Hearing these words, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t help feeling a little conflicted. It was indeed quite a show of trust for the kid to hand such a vast fortune to him. No one had ever treated him this nicely before.


    Yao Ruoxian looked at the two girls, then turned his gaze to Miao Yi. His heart was filled with a sense of warmth, and he even felt a little sniffle in his nose. However, he simply huffed and said, "I guess you have some conscience after all, brat."


    Suddenly, Miao Yi coughed drily and asked, "Hey old man, umm... Can you help refine a high-grade storage ring for me? I got my hands on several thousand storage rings back in the Sea of Constetions, but I can¡¯t stack their effects onto one another. They¡¯re a little too conspicuous to be carrying around with me all the time. I¡¯m scared I¡¯ll get robbed."


    Yao Ruoxian immediately scoffed, "I just knew this sudden politeness meant you wanted to ask me for something. To refine a high-grade storage ring, I¡¯ll need Crystalline Gold or at least highly-purified Crystalline Obsidian. We can talk about this once the two girls have the items prepared."


    ¡¯That means he¡¯s agreeing to it!¡¯ Miao Yi was absolutely ecstatic. Making full use of this opportunity, he quickly asked, "Then can you refine a top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifact for me as well?"


    He had witnessed the might of the Flowing Cloud Killer before. That artifact was incredibly powerful, with its ability to transform into all kinds of shapes and sizes. He didn¡¯t even stand a chance when he fought against it. And apparently, the old man was its creator. While he was still in the Sea of Constetions, Miao Yi kept reminding himself that he must get the old man to make him something simr once he returned. The guy was living right next to him, so how could he let such a perfect opportunity slip away?


    "How greedy can you get, you brat?!" Yao Ruoxian waved his hand and continued, "Buzz off!"


    Naturally, Miao Yi had his methods of dealing with Yao Ruoxian. He quickly threw Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er a nce, and the two girls immediately scurried over. They each grabbed Yao Ruoxian by the arm and pleaded, "Father!"


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s face immediately contorted with dismay. He ultimately gave up, and sighed, "Girls! It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to refine one for him, but it¡¯s really out of my capabilities! You can¡¯t expect me to give him this old life of mine, can you?!"


    Hearing how pitiful he sounded, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er slowly let him go and turned to look at Miao Yi.


    "How is that possible..." Miao Yi said dejectedly. He was close to mentioning the incident with the Flowing Cloud Killer, but out of fear that the old man would overthink things and run away, he quickly changed his approach, saying, "Don¡¯t you always boast about how skilled you are with refining artifacts? Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t even refine a single top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifact?"


    Hearing theck of faith in his artifact-refining skills, Yao Ruoxian was obviously unhappy. He pointed at Miao Yi¡¯s nose and said, "Alright, listen closely, you brat! Anyone capable of refining a high-grade storage ring can refine a top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifact without a problem. It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t refine one for you. However, in order to create a transcendent artifact with transformative abilities like that, it needs something to act as a keystone. You didn¡¯t give me anything like that, and I don¡¯t have any with me either. If I did, I wouldn¡¯t have to depend on those two damn maces to protect myself. I would¡¯ve just made myself a powerful artifact right from the start!"


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "A keystone? What¡¯s that?"


    "You won¡¯t understand even if I exin it to you. Why waste the effort?" Yao Ruoxian huffed. However, when he saw the pleading gaze in both his daughters¡¯ eyes, he quickly gave in and sighed, "Fine! I really don¡¯t know what to do with you girls. I¡¯ll just think of it as exining to you two and imparting some knowledge."


    He then turned to Miao Yi and exined, "Within any transforming transcendent artifact, there must always be a transcendent formation of some kind. And the so-called keystone of a transcendent artifact refers to the formation core within. Take that Mystic Yin Mirror of yours for example. Its formation core is none other than the Yin energy that¡¯s stored within. The person who made it must have gathered arge amount of Yin energy and arranged it so that it works as the formation core for the Mystic Yin Mirror. If it didn¡¯t have that Yin energy, your Mystic Yin Mirror would be nothing but a piece of scrap metal. Understand?"


    Miao Yi and the girls immediately understood. Yao Ruoxian¡¯s informative method of exining had indeed helped them gain some knowledge. Qian¡¯Er asked, "Where can we find something that can be used as a formation core then?"


    "You can use all sorts of things to create a formation core. It¡¯s just that if you use materials that are subpar, you¡¯re essentially wasting your time and resources just to create a garbage transcendent artifact, so it¡¯s pretty pointless to do such a thing. Of course, you can always buy high-quality materials from the Chamber of Commerce, but those nevere cheap. Girl, why are you looking at me like that? Don¡¯t you dare make me use the things that he just gave me to create a formation core. He already has three top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts to protect himself. That¡¯s more than enough unless he bumps into a Red Lotus expert. However, even then, it¡¯d still just be a waste of resources to refine one more top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifact for him. The gap in cultivation cannot be ovee so easily, so why waste that money?"


    Yao Ruoxian turned around and started walking away as he said this. He even tried to change the topic, pointing to the two stone lion statues outside the gates of his courtyard as he asked, "I must say, girls, where did you get such an ugly-looking piece of rock? How lousy do you want my front door to look?"


    Qian¡¯Er had bought those lion statues during her big shopping spree in the capital city previously. Seeing her father questioning her tastes, Qian¡¯Er felt as though her goodwill was just spat on. Displeased, she immediately dashed over to one of the lion statues, then ced a giant crystalline head on top of it, and snapped brusquely, "There, I changed it to a Qilin for you. It looks better now, right?!"


    Yao Ruoxian simply chuckled in response and refrained from arguing with her any further. Just as he was about to step inside his courtyard, his body suddenly froze up. Slowly, he turned his head around as his eyes started to widen in shock, and even his nostrils began ring up from his deep breaths. With shrunken pupils, he red straight at the crystalline Qilin head atop the lion statue, looking as if he had seen a ghost!

 Chapter 481 Supreme Fire Crystal

    Miao Yi and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t see Yao Ruoxian¡¯s expression from their angle, and they simply thought that Qian¡¯Er¡¯s reaction was a little funny. It seemed she was a little agitated.


    Originally, Qian¡¯Er had ced those lion statues in front of Miao Yi¡¯s sleeping quarters. She seemed to think that they looked mighty and impressive. However, not only did Charcoal feel annoyed at these stone statues for taking up his sleeping spot, even Miao Yi himselfined that they looked terrible. Of course, he didn¡¯t know that it was Qian¡¯Er who ced them there at first, and as he walked in and out of his sleeping quarters, he casuallymented: "It looks like all these butt-kissers in Raincloud Manor have a problem with their taste as well. I can¡¯t believe they don¡¯t feel ashamed about sending me something that looks so lousy."


    As such, Qian¡¯Er hurriedly, but quietly shifted those lion statues away. After which, Xue¡¯Er secretly informed Miao Yi that it was actually Qian¡¯Er who bought them. Realizing that he had misspoken, Miao Yi hastily praised the lion statues in an effort to get Qian¡¯Er to ce them back, but she never did. He never thought that she had actually shifted them to Yao Ruoxian¡¯s front door.


    She was probably trying to regain some dignity through Yao Ruoxian. Unexpectedly, Yao Ruoxian alsoined that it looked terrible. If even a slovenly old man like Yao Ruoxian said it looked lousy, then evidently everyone shared the same belief that Qian¡¯Er¡¯s tastes were bad. Charcoal the animal thought it looked bad, Miao Yi also thought it looked horrible, and now even the slovenly old man Yao Ruoxian wasining. How did they expect a woman to feel about this? Of course, she would be agitated!


    Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t notice this at all. He simply walked over to the lion statue with widened eyes, touching the crystalline Qilin head on top of it. He even climbed on top and took a few whiffs. Astonished, he asked, "My daughter, where did you get this from? Was it a gift from a subordinate?"


    Qian¡¯Er simply looked at the clouds and kept quiet.


    Seeing how concerned Yao Ruoxian was, Miao Yi seemed to realize that this could be something serious. He walked over and exined, "I was the one who gave it to her. Is something wrong?"


    Among the massive heap of stuff he brought back from the Subjugation Crusade, he gave all those that were inconvenient to carry around to the two youngdies, like the several thousand storage rings. Besides those, there was also the unbelievably plentiful stash of living necessities, which he had Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er pass to Yan Xiu to distribute to the impoverished civilians of his vassal city.


    "It¡¯s from you?" Yao Ruoxian turned to Miao Yi and asked, "Kid, don¡¯t you know what this thing is?"


    Miao Yi touched the crystal Qilin head and said, "This thing is actually pretty amazing because it can repel fire. I had Qian¡¯Er take it to some artisans and got them to make a few fire-repelling essories to carry around. After all, you never know when you might need something like this. At least this way, the girls will be safer."


    Yao Ruoxian waited for Miao Yi to continue exining. However, that was already the extent of his knowledge. There was no further exnation. Hearing the casualness in the other party¡¯s tone, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s expression twitched slightly, and he asked, "Where did you get it from?"


    "From the Sea of Constetions." Miao Yi stopped for a moment, before continuing, "It was from a decoration in front of the Supreme Fire Pce¡¯s gates. I chopped its head off and brought it back."


    "Supreme Fire Pce?" Yao Ruoxian asked curiously, "What kind of ce is that?"


    "Even you don¡¯t know about the Supreme Fire Pce?" Miao Yi was surprised.


    Yao Ruoxian rolled his eyes and retorted, "Do you think I know every little thing there is to know? The world is a big ce. There are plenty of things that I have no knowledge about. Cut the chatter. Where did you get it from exactly? This is just the head of the statue. After this, I¡¯ll figure out a way to bring back the whole thing."


    Miao Yi suddenly sized up the old man with a surprised look on his face. He clicked his tongue and said, "Old man, are you sure you can bring the whole statue back?"


    Yao Ruoxian scoffed, "If it¡¯s somewhere even you can venture into, then obviously I can do it too. Judging by the size of the head, it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to carry the whole statue back."


    "That¡¯s true. Your cultivation is much higher than mine, after all." Miao Yi nodded repeatedly, then egged on the other party as he fervently continued, "Go then! The Western Constetions Master Fu Qing has nine Supreme Yao Lords under hismand, one of which is called Lie Huan, who stays in Skyfire Mountain. Within Skyfire Mountain, there¡¯s a ce called the Supreme Fire Pce. That¡¯s where Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan resides. I¡¯ll let you in on a little something as well. He has more than one Qilin statue. It¡¯s actually one half of a pair that¡¯s ced in front of the pce gates of Lie Huan¡¯s private residence. Oh also, the entire Supreme Fire Pce is made out of this material. It¡¯ll be too easy for you to just carry one or two Qilin statues back. You should just take the entire Supreme Fire Pce with you instead."


    "..." Yao Ruoxian was a little dazed by what he heard, and his mouth had involuntarily fallen agape for quite a while. He mumbled, "Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan..." His body inadvertently shivered as he said the name. Clearly, he was quaking from fear. It seemed he had heard stories of Lie Huan¡¯s might as well.


    As he snapped back to reality, Yao Ruoxian looked a little embarrassed, and he barked at Miao Yi, "Are you kidding me, brat? Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan is someone who can cross fists with Ghost Sage Situ Xiao and still be able to retreat in one piece. He¡¯s a genuine Golden Lotus cultivator! You¡¯re asking me to go steal from his pce? Any one of his subordinates can utterly destroy me. Are you trying to kill me?!"


    Miao Yi teased, "You were the one who said you wanted to bring the whole statue back. Why are you ming me now?"


    "..." Yao Ruoxian had no words to refute. He waved his hand and continued, "Stop talking nonsense. How did you manage to enter Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan¡¯s pce?"


    Miao Yi sighed and answered, "Through the Subjugation Crusade, of course!"


    Yao Ruoxian was stupefied. However, realization soon struck as he said, "Of course! They had to be shifted out during that period of time! No, that¡¯s not right. Even if there wasn¡¯t anyone there, there¡¯s no way that Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan¡¯s home is somece that anyone can just waltz into. There must be some kind of major protection array ced upon the area. How did you manage to venture inside with your cultivation?!"


    ¡¯I didn¡¯t want to talk about this, yet it still managed to make its way back into the conversation!¡¯ Miao Yi turned his head around with a pained expression on his face, then answered, "I didn¡¯t want to go inside either. However, at the time, I was being chased by my enemies and was forced to run to Skyfire Mountain. You have no idea how miserable the state I was in back then¡ªI even had to chop off one of my own legs. As I was slowly backed into a corner, with no way of retreat, I had no choice but to jump into the mouth of the volcano that is Skyfire Mountain. Back then, I didn¡¯t know there was a major array within the sea of mes underneath, and I lost consciousness soon after I jumped in. When I came to, I realized that I¡¯d already fallen down to the Supreme Fire Pce, and my whole body was burnt to a ckened crisp. It was then that I used up the immortal herb. That feeling of wing your way back to life... Even now, my skin crawls whenever I think about it!"


    As they listened to Miao Yi¡¯s story, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help covering their mouths as tears streamed down their cheeks. They didn¡¯t need to imagine to know how painful that must have been!


    Yao Ruoxian couldn¡¯t help sighing either, and said, "It looks like you endured some hardship in the Sea of Constetions indeed."


    It was so much more than just enduring some hardship. With Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation at the time, it was out of sheer luck that he managed to survive through to the end. Back then, if he hadn¡¯t calmly dealt with the situation and recruited arge number of people back on the ship, he would¡¯ve died at the hands of the three major sects the moment he set foot on drynd. Moreover, if he hadn¡¯t carried the tiny mantids around with him, and broken through the Demon Refining Gourd, he would¡¯ve been killed by Bai Ziliang.


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly and said, "It¡¯s not all bad that I fell into the Supreme Fire Pce. At least no one coulde in from the outside. I managed to spend most of the Subjugation Crusade hiding inside the Supreme Fire Pce and cultivating. If I had been outside, who knows what kind of danger I would get into? After all, bumping into another person usually ended up being a fight to the death in that damned ce. If I got myself wrapped up in something like that, I really might have died in the Sea of Constetions."


    Truth be told, Miao Yi sometimes felt a little grateful that the Six Sages had sent representatives to participate in the Subjugation Crusade. Otherwise, even if he did get through the early stages safely, he¡¯d still have to fight against the remaining experts in theter stages¡ªhe probably wouldn¡¯t survive the whole ordeal even if he joined forces with Gu Sanzheng and the others. Regardless of how skilled he was with the spear, with transcendent artifacts flying around in the chaos, the oue was easy to figure out. Miao Yi could imagine how bloody it must¡¯ve been during the final stretch of previous Subjugation Crusades. All the participants would be assembled together, with no way of backing out, and they would all be forced to fight to the death. And for the sake of survival, they would use any and every method in their arsenal, no matter how underhanded it may be. Undoubtedly, that would be a terrifying ce indeed. This time, however, because the representatives of the Six Sages had changed the rules slightly, he was able to narrowly escape with his life.


    The Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade was a terrifying site of carnage and bloodshed to begin with. This much was public knowledge! Yao Ruoxian shook his head, refraining from dwelling on the topic any further. Otherwise, the girls probably wouldn¡¯t stop crying. He turned around and removed the giant Qilin head that was over the stone lion statue. As he flipped it over, he suddenly widened his eyes at the hollow Qilin head and eximed in shock. He then asked, "Why is the carving on the inside so crude?"


    Miao Yi answered, "It¡¯s not that the carving is crude. It was originally solid all the way through, but I dug out the insides."


    "What?!" Yao Ruoxian immediately stomped his feet in anger and asked, "You¡¯re saying you hollowed out so much of the insides? What happened to the pieces you scraped out then?"


    Miao Yi casually replied, "I just tossed them away."


    "You..." Yao Ruoxian felt a sudden urge to smack this kid in the head and send him to his grave on the spot. He quickly ced the Qilin head back on the lion statue, then pointed a finger at Miao Yi¡¯s nose and scolded, "Kid, do you have any idea what this thing is? It¡¯s the rare Supreme Fire Crystal that one can only dream of getting! You rotten child! You managed to obtain this after almost losing your life, and you¡¯re telling me you tossed most of it away just like that?! You bastard, why didn¡¯t you just get burned to death in the Supreme Fire Pce?!"


    Seeing how Yao Ruoxian was ring up, Xue¡¯Er hastily walked forward to mediate, asking, "Father, what is a Supreme Fire Crystal?"


    Still feeling incredibly irritated, Yao Ruoxian exined, "It¡¯s the crystallized essence of a me!"


    "mes can turn into solid crystals?" Astonished, Xue¡¯Er ced a hand on the crystalline Qilin head and asked, "Then why does it feel so cold to the touch? It¡¯s almost like a block of ice!"


    "Oh, my daughter! Have you not heard that the elements take contrasting forms when pushed to their extremities? This thing is the product from a site of exceedingly high heat, thus it¡¯s called the Supreme Fire Crystal. Meanwhile, an example of something on the other side of the spectrum would be the Frostme."


    "Frostme? Ice can turn into fire as well?"


    "My daughter, I told you that the elements take contrasting forms when pushed to their extremities. Since a site of intense heat is able to form ice, a site of absolute frost can naturally give birth to mes as well. However, this type of me is quite different than most mes. Themon mes that we usually see are known as Yang Fire, whereas mes such as the Frostme or Ghostfire are called Yin Fire."


    Miao Yi¡¯s interest was immediately piqued by this. ¡¯If I could absorb the spiritual essence from Yang Fire to increase my cultivation speed, I wonder if I could do the same with Yin Fire. If it¡¯s possible, then what would happen if I put these spiritual essences of contrasting natures together?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t help asking, "What would happen if youbine Yang Fire and Yin Fire together?"


    Yao Ruoxian replied with an annoyed tone, "Obviously, Yin and Yang would counteract one another and kill a fire-type cultivation art practitioner like you!"


    Miao Yi sheepishly rubbed his own nose, knowing that the old man still resented him for throwing away the Supreme Fire Crystal. He couldn¡¯t help wondering how much it cost. However, at the time, with the Supreme Fire Pce looking like it was about to copse, there was simply no room for hesitation in order to save himself.


    The two youngdies couldn¡¯t bear to see Miao Yi being reprimanded. Qian¡¯Er hastily jumped in and tried to change the topic, asking, "Father! What can this Supreme Fire Crystal be used for?"


    "It¡¯s got plenty of uses! Didn¡¯t you hear the kid say it can repel mes? Do you know about the Fire-Repelling Pearl? It¡¯s made of the same material as this Qilin head, only carved into the shape of a bead." Yao Ruoxian pointed to the crystalline Qilin head and exined.


    Xue¡¯Er smiled and said, "Yes, I do know about the Fire-Repelling Pearl. I¡¯ve also heard of the Water-Repelling Pearl and Dust-Repelling Pearl."


    Yao Ruoxian rolled his eyes and said, "Those are another two types out of the five elemental attributes. Naturally, the Supreme Fire Crystal falls under the fire element. Meanwhile, the Water-Repelling Pearl is made from the Supreme Water Crystal, whereas the Dust-Repelling Pearl is made from the Supreme Earth Crystal. There is also the Supreme Wood Crystal and Supreme Metal Crystal. All five of these are very suitable to be used as the formation core of a transcendent artifact."

 Chapter 482 We Have More Than Enough Yao Cores

    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er couldn¡¯t help looking at each other at the sound of this.


    Miao Yi asked in astonishment, "This thing can act as the formation core of a transcendent artifact too?"


    With a flick of his wrist, Yao Ruoxian grabbed the Qilin head and raised it up. Suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed forth as the entire Qilin head burst into mes. The fire billowed violently, and the Qilin looked as if it had instantlye to life, casting a furious gaze at the crowd through the roaring mes. The temperature immediately skyrocketed to jaw-dropping heights, and was already much hotter than the mes produced by ze Resins.


    Terrified, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er quickly backed away. Meanwhile, Miao Yi found a sense of familiarity within the powerful ze, as though he was back in the sea of mes of the Supreme Fire Pce. However, this fire did not possess the menacing attack capabilities that the sea of mes around the Supreme Fire Pce did. Miao Yi was able to quickly repel the heat through his heat-controlling technique.


    Outside the gate, the two lion statues instantly exploded from the intense heat. The stone tiles on the ground started to fracture, while the grass around the area quickly withered and went up in mes. Cracks also appeared on the courtyard walls, and therge wooden gates that were pushed to the side were already set aze.


    It seemed that Yao Ruoxian couldn¡¯t take such a powerful heat for too long either. After a while, he quickly tossed the burning Qilin head over to Miao Yi. Strangely enough, the second it left Yao Ruoxian¡¯s grasp, the terrifying mes instantly vanished, and an icy Qilin head statue fell into Miao Yi¡¯s hands instead.


    Yao Ruoxian then quickly turned around, and with a flick of his sleeves, he activated his transcendence energy and immediately put out the burning grass in the area. The mes on the door swiftly subsided, and plumes of gray smoke rose from its ckened husk.


    Holding onto the icy Qilin head, Miao Yi asked, "Did this mee from the Qilin head?"


    "No shit!" Yao Ruoxian turned back and said sarcastically, "Do you think my body can generate mes?"


    Miao Yi clicked his tongue in astonishment as he fumbled around with the Qilin head. He asked, "Old man, how did you do it?"


    "Simple. Just imbue it with your transcendence energy!" Yao Ruoxian replied in an irritated manner.


    As Miao Yi messed around with the Qilin head, a rumbling sound soon echoed forth, and it erupted with a violent me once again. Moreover, the intensity of the me was quickly rising, as though it was going to reduce everything to cinders.


    Yao Ruoxian immediately cried out, "Are you trying to burn down my house?!"


    The moment Miao Yi stopped channeling his transcendence energy, the rumbling fire instantly vanished. Yao Ruoxian then hurriedly put out the surrounding mes, while Miao Yi hugged the Qilin head excitedly. It was just as the old man had said¡ªonly by channeling transcendence energy would this Supreme Fire Crystal be ignited. If the supply of transcendence energy was stopped, then the fire would instantly die out. Moreover, the intensity of the mes was entirely dependent on the amount of transcendence energy being channeled into the Qilin statue. This meant that even without any refining, this thing was practically a natural transcendence artifact!


    Miao Yi lovingly fumbled around the Qilin head in his grasp. However, when he noticed its hollowed insides, his expression immediately froze as he felt a terrible pang in his heart. He finally understood how significant the material he had scooped out and tossed away was, and also why Yao Ruoxian was so frustrated over it.


    "Now do you feel the pain?" Yao Ruoxian scoffed, "You rotten child. Other people could normally only dream about entering a ce like the Supreme Fire Pce, and you... You bastard, after painstakingly making your way inside, you actually overlooked such an important thing! Not only did you neglect to take as much of this precious material as you could back with you, worse yet, but you also threw it all away! Do you know how much the thing you threw away is worth, how many Orbs of Will it can be exchanged for?! I¡¯ve never seen anyone as big an idiot like you!"


    "Don¡¯t say it anymore!" Miao Yi groaned. He had one hand on the Qilin head, while he raised the other one with its palm facing Yao Ruoxian. His heart wouldn¡¯t be able to take it if the other party continued scolding him like this. With a pained expression, he said, "You have no idea how bad the situation was back then. The entire Supreme Fire Pce actually hovers within a giant fire array, and I didn¡¯t know why, but something must have happened at the time, causing the ce to be on the verge of copse. I was too scared to spend another second there. Besides that, I didn¡¯t want to wreck the Supreme Fire Pce. After all, I was still in the Sea of Constetions. Out of fear of offending Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan, I didn¡¯t dare to go overboard with my actions."


    Yao Ruoxian stomped his feet angrily and barked, "Then why did you have to hollow out the insides of the Qilin head?! Did you have nothing better to do?! How bored must you be to go this far, you pig-brained idiot?!"


    Miao Yi replied helplessly, "Do you think I had that much free time on my hands?! I had toe up with a way to save myself, you know! You have no idea how terrifying that giant fire array was. I nearly lost my life trying to pass through it, and even now, I have no clue how I managed to do it! I had to empty out this Qilin head and hide inside to go through the fire array the second time. If I didn¡¯t, I probably wouldn¡¯t have brought it out in the first ce! Shit, that was the pce of Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan, I tell you! How many people would dare to go inside and tear the ce apart?! Old man, even if you were inside, I doubt you¡¯d have the guts toy a finger on a single piece of rock. It¡¯s good enough that I managed to chop down such a giant head and bring it back. Not to mention, it¡¯s not like I knew what this Qilin head was made of. Who would¡¯ve guessed that the stones used to construct that massive pce was actually such a precious material?! Back then, I thought that it could only repel fire!"


    "Even so, you didn¡¯t have to throw away the pieces you scraped out! Would it kill you to bring them back?!"


    "I told you, there was too much stuff to take back then! I didn¡¯t have time to pick up the more valuable things that were right beside me. What kind of person would go and pick up the shattered chunks of rock he¡¯d dug out and tossed on the ground?! Even if I did dig up a couple of pieces of brick from the floor, I wouldn¡¯t bother cleaning up any stone fragments lying around!"


    "Damn it, I¡¯m so angry! I¡¯m not going to argue with you anymore!" Yao Ruoxian quickly went over and grabbed the Qilin head, then tucked it away into his storage bangle. He then flicked his sleeves and started walking away.


    "Wait up! Say, old coot, now that you have the necessary material to act as a formation core, aren¡¯t you going to refine a top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifact for me?" Miao Yi quickly followed behind and asked.


    "Stop bugging me. I get annoyed every time I look at you and your rotten face," Yao Ruoxian said curtly, before disappearing into thin air.


    Miao Yi halted his footsteps, and without even turning around, he made a beckoning gesture to the two girls standing at the back. Both Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er then immediately walked over, ready to receive his orders.


    Just as Miao Yi was about to instruct the two youngdies to work their magic, the sound of rushing wind suddenly resounded, and Yao Ruoxian re-appeared before the three of them.


    "What are the three of you sneakily talking about?" Yao Ruoxian swept a cautious gaze at Miao Yi and the girls, then warned, "You girls! You can¡¯t always help the outsider, understand?"


    "Heh heh... You¡¯re overthinking things..." Miao Yiughed drily as if nothing happened.


    Yao Ruoxian ced his hands behind his back, then said inly, "Well, I don¡¯t mind helping refine one for you. However, you have to stop bringing that fatso around with you from now on. You already have three treasured artifacts on you, and after this, I¡¯ll be making another for you as well, so even without the damned fatso¡¯s legs, I doubt you¡¯ll be in too much danger. Have the fatso stay here for the time being so that I can deepen our rtionship. I get pretty bored staying here on my own anyway."


    Miao Yi gave the proposition some thought. He guessed that the old man was probably itching to use up some of those Yao Cores now that he had plenty of them to burn. Well, the other party did have a point. As long as he didn¡¯t bump into any Red Lotus experts, he¡¯d be able to handle the situation well enough with the treasures he had at hand. Not to mention, if he did end up having to fight a Red Lotus expert, chances were he¡¯d be dragging Charcoal down as well. In that case, why not have Charcoal stay here? At least that way, the damned fatso would be able to eat his fill of Yao Cores and improve his strength. Miao Yi had already confirmed that Charcoal grew stronger after eating Yao Cores. However, back then, he didn¡¯t have enough of them to feed the damned fatso. Now that he did, he wouldn¡¯t be skimping out any longer.


    Miao Yi turned around and blew a sharp whistle.


    In the distance, the surface of theke immediately started rippling, and amidst the tossing waves, Charcoal popped his head out from under the water as he swiftly swam over to shore.


    Ever since he arrived, Charcoal was as happy as he could be. This ce had plenty of water in the area, which to him meant seafood galore. This was practically his heaven! Whenever he didn¡¯t have to go out with Miao Yi, his daily cycle consisted of purely eating and sleeping. After filling his appetite, he would go to sleep. Then after waking up, he would jump into the water and eat some fish.


    When he saw Charcoal swimming over, Yao Ruoxian looked like he¡¯d already forgotten his frustration from before. His eyes started gleaming as if he was looking at some sort of treasure, and he quickly walked over to the edge of theke to wee Charcoal. He even held out a bunch of Yao Cores in an enticing manner and said, "Hey fatso, over here, over here!"


    On the other hand, it seemed Charcoal was still a little afraid of Yao Ruoxian. When he saw the old man, he immediately remembered the time he was buried alive by thetter, and couldn¡¯t help thinking of Yao Ruoxian as a bad man. Charcoal immediately swam away, going ashore from a different area, then quickly strutted over to Miao Yi.


    Seeing his warm wee being received so coldly, Yao Ruoxian was a little lost for words. He couldn¡¯t help grumbling, "It¡¯s already been so many years. How can you still be holding a grudge against me?!"


    Seeing that his ploy didn¡¯t work, Yao Ruoxian coughed drily, then walked over to Miao Yi with his hands behind his back. However, his eyes quickly widened in shock when his gaze fell upon Charcoal¡¯s body. Pointing at the horrifying scars all over Charcoal¡¯s skin, he asked, "How the hell did this happen?"


    "How else could it have happened? How many dragon steeds do you think could survive the entire Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade? He¡¯s already very fortunate!" Miao Yi sighed and replied. Back then, he never thought he¡¯d have the chance to see Charcoal again after being separated for so many years.


    "You scoundrel! Back then, I told you not to take him with you, but you never listened. If anything were to happen to him, you¡¯d definitely regret it!" Yao Ruoxian pointed a finger at Miao Yi¡¯s nose and scolded him as though the other party had done something incredibly infuriating.


    Unwilling to continue further on this subject, Miao Yi waved his hand and said, "There, I¡¯ve already called the fatso over for you. You can refine the transcendent artifact for me now, right?"


    Yao Ruoxian paid no attention to him at all and simply focused on Charcoal. Grabbing a bunch of Yao Cores, he raised them up to the side of Charcoal¡¯s mouth. However, Charcoal simply avoided his hand, unwilling to eat the things that he was offering. What if he got buried again after eating this old guy¡¯s stuff?


    "Who doesn¡¯t know what a big glutton you are? Stop pretending like you¡¯re innocent!" Miao Yi immediately walked over and kicked Charcoal right in the rump. He then pulled Charcoal by the ear and pointed over to Yao Ruoxian, saying in amanding tone, "He was only joking with you before. He actually treats you better than I do. From now on, you¡¯re going to stay here obediently."


    Charcoal seemed to understand what Miao Yi was telling him. His expression looked a little dejected as he finally stopped hiding behind Miao Yi.


    "Why do you always have to be so violent to him?" Yao Ruoxian said with a chuckle. He yed the role of a ¡¯harmless¡¯ old man perfectly as he offered the Yao Cores back up to Charcoal¡¯s mouth to feed him.


    Charcoal turned his head away again, afraid of eating whatever Yao Ruoxian was giving to him. He still felt a deep sense of rejection towards this old man. However, Miao Yi quickly gave a resounding p to his head and said, "If you don¡¯t want to eat it, then stop drooling whenever you see Yao Cores from now on!"


    Charcoal immediately turned his head back and cautiously rolled out his tongue, sweeping up the five to six Yao Cores in Yao Ruoxian¡¯s hand in a single breath. As he swallowed them down his throat, he couldn¡¯t help licking his lips, and his eyes looked a little brighter than before. It seemed those Yao Cores tasted quite well indeed.


    Yao Ruoxian then suddenly raised both hands up to Charcoal, holding another two batches of Yao Cores in them. Charcoal¡¯s tongue swiftly whipped back and forth, sweeping up all the Yao Cores in the blink of an eye.


    After which, Yao Ruoxian took out another two batches again. Seeing this, Miao Yi started to grow anxious, and he hurriedly raised his hand to stop the other party. He asked, "Old man, are you sure it¡¯ll be alright to feed him so many in one go?"


    "He can even digest Second Grade Yao Cores. What can a few First Grade Yao Cores possibly do to him?" Yao Ruoxian replied as he brushed Miao Yi¡¯s hand aside. He continued to take out more and more Yao Cores, as though they didn¡¯t cost a single dime. On the other hand, Charcoal looked like he¡¯dpletely forgotten about his dissatisfaction from before, and he quickly cozied up to Yao Ruoxian while swishing his tail excitedly.


    Seeing that the rift between him and Charcoal had been effectively healed, Yao Ruoxian burst out with joy. With a swing of his arm, he tossed out a pile of Yao Cores on the ground as though he was just throwing out some candy, and had Charcoal eat them on his own. Miao Yi and the two girls couldn¡¯t help their astonishment at the sight of this.


    Stroking his beard with one hand, Yao Ruoxian rubbed Charcoal¡¯s mane with the other and chuckled, "Don¡¯t worry, no one is going to take them from you. Take your time and eat. We have more than enough Yao Cores for you!"

 Chapter 483 You Killed My Men

    Miao Yi and the two girls instantly felt ufortable chills run up their spines. It was because Yao Ruoxian¡¯s behavior was simply too repulsive to watch.


    "Hey old man, when are you going to refine my transcendent artifact?" Miao Yi asked.


    Yao Ruoxian was in a great mood for once. He cheerfully waved his hand and said, "Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯m a man of my word. Since I already agreed to do it, I will definitely get it done. Besides, it¡¯s not like I can finish something like that overnight. What¡¯s the rush?"


    As Yao Ruoxian said this, Charcoal suddenly let out a yawn, and his eyes looked a little zed over. Against his best efforts to keep them open, his eyelids felt heavier and heavier, and his body started staggering around as if he was drunk. Fortunately, everyone had seen this happen before, so they weren¡¯t too surprised by the situation. They all understood that this was Charcoal¡¯s usual reaction after eating Yao Cores.


    Everyone watched as Charcoal slowly wobbled to a nearby pavilion. Finally, his legs gave in, and he curled himself up on the ground. Soon, a heavy nasal breath started echoing throughout the area.


    There was still arge pile of Yao Cores left over on the ground. With a flick of his sleeves, Yao Ruoxian tucked all of them away, then walked inside the pavilion with hands behind his back. He began circling around the sleeping Charcoal, looking on as though he would never get sick of the sight.


    Suddenly, atop the bridge leading to this ind, Yan Xiu was hastily rushing over. Within the entire Raincloud Manor, he was pretty much the only one besides Miao Yi and the two Aunties who could step foot on this ind. Yan Xiu had met Yao Ruoxian before as well, and he cupped his fists from afar when he noticed thetter. He then quickly walked over to Miao Yi and presented a jade archive to him, "Master, there¡¯s a message from Suppressing Tenth Hall."


    Miao Yi took the jade archive and read it through. As expected, he was being summoned to leave for Suppressing Tenth Hall immediately.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t even need to guess why he was being summoned! He scoffed, "It¡¯s finally here. That was rather quick! I¡¯m sure Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei have received one as well. Yan Xiu, inform Mu Tai and Hu Defu to escort me on this journey." He then nced at the sleeping Charcoal inside the pavilion. After eating several hundred First Grade Yao Cores in a single sitting, god knows how long the fatso would be sleeping for this time. Miao Yi added, "Oh, and prepare a mount for me as well!"


    "Understood!" Yan Xiu acknowledged the order and departed.


    "Master! Let use with you." Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er requested.


    "No need!" Miao Yi waved his hand and said. He knew what the two of them were worried about, so he smiled and added, "It¡¯ll be fine. Since I dared to do such a thing, I already know what¡¯sing. The three of us were sent here by Granny Tao on the Overlord¡¯s orders just recently. It¡¯s understandable for us to be a little ignorant of the rules. We¡¯re the three Manor Heads whose positions were personally promised by Mu Fanjun herself. If the top brass is so quick to punish us without even giving us a chance to prove ourselves, then it will inevitably raise the question on whether these people are suitable to be in charge. Don¡¯t worry. We can easily gloss over this incident with some kind of excuse. At most, we¡¯ll just need to fork out a little treasure. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be this lucky next time though, but that doesn¡¯t matter since we¡¯re going to hide in our shells after this anyway!"


    As he said this, Miao Yi waved his hand, causing the tiny mantids perched on the tree in the distance to immediately fly over. They proceeded to fly around him in circles, but soon after, they shot straight towards the pavilion and started beating their wings around Yao Ruoxian instead.


    Yao Ruoxian was a little dazed at first, but he soon burst with joy as he hurriedly took out a pile of Yao Cores. He was then able to soothe the tiny mantids.


    Miao Yi was already leaving in strides. When he reached the bridge over theke, he turned back and gazed at the fire by thekeside. A sense of determination shed in his eyes before he resolutely turned his head and continued to walk away.


    Once he was outside the Manor, his two Advisors¡ªMu Tai and Hu Defu¡ªwere already waiting for him on their dragon steeds. Yan Xiu was also awaiting his arrival with a mount already prepared. Miao Yi proceeded to leap onto the dragon steed that Yan Xiu had readied for him.


    This dragon steed was evidently not used to its new master. Miao Yi had to pull on its feelers quite a bit before he got it to move the way he wanted it to. When he finally broke into a gallop, Mu Tai and Hu Defu also got on their steeds and hurriedly chased after him.


    The three of them rode in a triangle formation, with Miao Yi taking the lead, as they galloped full speed towards their destination. Somewhere along the journey, Miao Yi called for the other two to ride next to him and started asking about their situation.


    Miao Yi and his two Advisors rode continuously across Raincloud Manor¡¯s domain, eventually crossing its borders and reaching Mulberry Cloud Manor¡¯s territory. However, they still showed no signs of stopping. Shortly after exiting Mulberry Cloud Manor¡¯s territory, along the crossroads that one needed to pass through to reach Suppressing Tenth Hall, the three of them bumped into Sikong Wuwei, who was also apanied by two of his subordinates.


    As expected, Sikong Wuwei had also received a decree of summons. Guessing that both Miao Yi and Zhao Fei had received one as well, he decided to wait here for their arrival.


    Zhao Fei had yet to arrive, but Miao Yi and Sikong Wuwei were in no rush and continued to wait for theirrade. Around half a dayter, the two of them finally saw Zhao Fei approaching with two of his subordinates. The three Manor Heads then continued on their journey to Suppressing Tenth Hall.


    The sun soon fell, and the moon took its ce. However, that eventually gave way to the radiance of dawn as well. Finally, around noon the next day, the three Manor Heads had reached Suppressing Tenth Hall. However, they were in no rush to meet the Hall Master. Instead, they went to pay their respects to Advisor Xu Jinsong.


    At the moment, Xu Jinsong was sitting on his chair with a terrible expression on his face. Both his handmaidens were standing to the side, but it didn¡¯t seem like they were going to prepare any tea, nor did they show any intention of asking the three Manor Heads present to take a seat.


    Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei stood shoulder to shoulder in the center of the hall, as Xu Jinsong slowly swept a cold gaze across each of their faces.


    Bang! Xu Jinsong suddenly pped on his teapoy and stood up, bellowing, "The three of you are very bold indeed! Do you hold me in any regard at all?!"


    The three Manor Heads cupped their fists and said, "Please calm down, Advisor!"


    "Calm down?" Xu Jinsong said coldly, "Let me ask you three. Did you or did you not join forces and kill every single person in Tranquil Sun Manor?"


    Zhao Fei cupped his fists and replied, "If I may, Advisor, we had no choice but to do so. Chang Zijiu took advantage of our recent initiation to sow discord amongst our troops and incite a rebellion. As such, we were forced to rally our troops and fight back. Pure Dream Manor Head Xu Huihuang can vouch for us as well!"


    "Nothing but lies and fabrications! Do you take me for a fool?!" Xu Jinsong shouted angrily, "I finally understand why the three of you chose ces that so conveniently sealed off Tranquil Sun Manor back then. You were nning this all along! Ever since Chang Zijiu entered the cultivation realm, he has never left Traversing Water Pce¡¯s domain. The people here are not the type to go around stirring up trouble either. If my guess is correct, Chang Zijiu probably never even met you three before. Let me ask you then, what sort of grudge do you bear against him that would make you take his life like this?!"


    Miao Yi cupped his fists and replied, "We bear no grudge against him! I suppose now that things have gone this far, there¡¯s no need to keep it a secret any longer. If I may be blunt, Advisor, the only thing that caught our eye was his territory. The three of us were already prepared to divide his domain amongst ourselves. Regardless of who it was in-charge of Tranquil Sun Manor, Chang Zijiu or otherwise, we would¡¯ve still done the same thing."


    "..." Xu Jinsong¡¯s expression instantly froze as he stared wide-eyed at the three of them.


    Then, Sikong Wuwei cupped his fists and said, "Rest assured, Advisor! The gifts you receive from Tranquil Sun Manor will not be affected in any way. However, we would like it if you could help put in a few good words for us in front of the Hall Master!"


    "Screw your gifts!" Xu Jinsong bellowed furiously, "Chang Zijiu is one of my men. You killed one of my men!" The implications in his words were obvious¡ª¡¯Even if the three of you didn¡¯t attack Tranquil Sun Manor, the gifts I receive won¡¯t be affected in any way. However, you actuallyid waste to one of the people under my protection. How can I ept such a humiliation?!¡¯


    ¡¯If we didn¡¯t already know that he was one of your men, we wouldn¡¯t havee looking for you first!¡¯ Miao Yi and the others thought to themselves.


    Zhao Fei said in surprise, "This... we really didn¡¯t know. We¡¯re still quite new here."


    Miao Yi continued, "Rest assured, Advisor! Attacking Tranquil Sun Manor is just the first step of our n. The truth is, we¡¯ve actually noticed how severelycking the defenses of the surrounding Manors are. After this, the three of us n to take over all the other Manors as well. Once we¡¯ve aplished that, you can expect gifts from all of the Manors under Suppressing Tenth Hall!" He was trying to say that the loss of Tranquil Sun Manor was just the tip of the iceberg.


    Heavens! Xu Jinsong was absolutely horrified as he thought, ¡¯Are these three bastards mad?! It seems that decimating Tranquil Sun Manor is nothing more than a warm-up to them. Taking over the remaining six Manors is the main show!¡¯


    Both his handmaidens were also in shock. To them, things like war and bloodshed were somethingpletely out of their reach. They were already quite disturbed for one incident to pop up after so many years of peace and quiet. To think there was still more toe!


    Sikong Wuwei said solemnly, "My lord, if you¡¯re willing, then once our cultivations are stronger, the three of us are willing to assist you in stealing the Hall Master¡¯s seat!"


    Sikong Wuwei¡¯s voice was both hoarse and loud. However, how could such a thing be mentioned so casually, and in such a loud volume, no less? Things would be disastrous if rumors started to spread! Xu Jinsong was scared witless by the thought of this, and hurriedly yelled, "Shut up! Shut up!" He then waved his hand to his handmaidens and said, "You two, go outside and stand watch!"


    When both handmaidens passed by Miao Yi and the others, they cast a sideways nce at the three of them as though they were looking at freaks.


    Naturally, Xu Jinsong was looking at Miao Yi and the others in the same manner as well. He was then reminded that these three imbeciles hade from beyond the borders of Traversing Water Pce. He also recalled that the world outside was different, and was always in a state of carnage.


    ¡¯Holy shit! They¡¯ve only just arrived and they already n on decimating Suppressing Tenth Hall and all its subordinate Manors. Aren¡¯t the cultivators from the other Pces a little too terrifying?!¡¯


    Xu Jinsong gnashed his teeth and said, "I will pretend that I didn¡¯t hear the insolent statement you just said. And the three of you better take it to your graves as well! Don¡¯t mention something like that ever again! I¡¯m warning you, forceful takeovers don¡¯t work here in Suppressing Tenth Hall. No matter how many ces you seize control of, you will have to spit them all back out eventually!"


    Zhao Fei asked in surprise, "Why is that so? Doesn¡¯t the rule of ¡¯might makes right¡¯ apply to the entire Celestial Nation when ites to the management of a domain? The three of us specifically chose this ce because we heard that the Traversing Water Pce cultivators are not skilled in battle!"


    Xu Jinsong¡¯s expression twisted as he thought, ¡¯I was wondering why these three didn¡¯t choose to go to somece better and wanted toe here instead. So it¡¯s because they think the people here are easy to push around, so they specifically picked this ce as a shortcut for their career paths. What insolence! They will eventually realize the strength...¡¯ As Xu Jinsong thought about this, he realized that no one else throughout the ten Manors of Suppressing Tenth Hall could possibly fight against these three anymore. The incident with Tranquil Sun Manor likely had all of them quaking in fear already. It would be fortunate enough for these three to not go around picking fights; who would dare challenge them? Where would he find an opponent that could show these three the strength of Suppressing Tenth Hall?


    "That¡¯s enough chatter! I don¡¯t need to exin this to you. You will eventuallye to understand the situation on your own. If the three of you still have the guts to spout such nonsense after that, then I¡¯ll really be impressed!" Xu Jinsong cut the topic short and suddenly scoffed, "I heard that the three of you went to pay a visit to Advisor Ji Ze and Advisor Huang Jizhang after leaving my cest time¡ªit seemed the conversation went quite well?"


    Miao Yi and the others couldn¡¯t help musing to themselves, ¡¯So forceful methods are a no-go, but when ites to ying politics, he¡¯s as sharp as a whistle. Problem is, who would be intimidated by you if your fists aren¡¯t hard enough?¡¯


    "As far as the other two Advisors are concerned, we¡¯re just showing our respects for formality¡¯s sake. Otherwise, why would we visit you first every time, my lord? It¡¯s clear to see who is the one we truly prioritize first and foremost. I¡¯m sure the others are aware of this deep down as well!" Miao Yi said sincerely.


    ¡¯Hmph, well he does have a point. The three of them always visit me first. Isn¡¯t it already obvious who they truly belong to?¡¯ Xu Jinsong¡¯s expression slightly improved as he said, "It¡¯s impossible for the three of you to divide Tranquil Sun Manor amongst yourselves. Even if I agree with it, the others will surely be against it. I don¡¯t me you for being new and thus, unfamiliar with how things are done in these parts. However, with the mess you caused, there¡¯s no telling whose hands Tranquil Sun Manor will end up falling into after this. Who¡¯s going to make this up to me?"


    Miao Yi had survived this long despite his weak cultivation, while Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were able to climb up to the Manor Head¡¯s seat even before they joined the Subjugation Crusade. This naturally meant the three of them weren¡¯t fools. They could already tell that Xu Jinsong was trying to get something from them again. It was because he knew that these three Subjugation Crusade survivors were loaded as hell, and intended to use every opportunity he had to gain something from them!


    However, the three of them still feigned ignorance. Sikong Wuwei yelled in his hoarse voice, "The three of us are your men, my lord. The ces that we take over are naturally yours as well."


    Xu Jinsongughed coldly and said, "That¡¯s easy for you to say. Do you think that the Hall Master and the other two Advisors are just there for show? There are plenty of people vying for a bite of the pie!"


    Miao Yi cupped his fists and said, "So what if that¡¯s true? It doesn¡¯t matter who gets sent to take over Tranquil Sun Manor after this. With the three of us paving the way for you, my lord, then even if the new Manor Head isn¡¯t one of ours initially, he will eventually have to obey you. If he dares to fight back, we will immediately bring our forces right up to his borders. Let¡¯s see if he dares to go against us then!"

 Chapter 484 I Dare Not Say

    Miao Yi¡¯s words werepletely overbearing! Xu Jinsong was so shocked he didn¡¯t know how to reply. However, it did seem that the other party had a point! Why did it seem like problems start to be simpler in front of these three imbeciles?


    Xu Jinsong quickly found an answer¡ªthese three only knew how to act, not think! So they simply plowed through all their problems with brute force!


    Miao Yi and the others knew it was pointless to mince words. Talking was just so they could give themselves an excuse, and to give the other party some peace of mind. They still needed to hand over the gifts that were due. After all, once someone is used to receiving gifts from you, if you fail to deliver even once, they would feel upset. It was as though you owe them the gifts. In short, it was easier to get someone to do things for you after providing them the necessary incentive. The concept of trust and friendship did not exist in this equation.


    As such, the three Manor Heads once again offered up a set of First Grade Armor Artifacts, which they had already prepared beforehand. After receiving the gift, Xu Jinsong¡¯s expression immediately brightened up quite a bit. However, he still gave a reminder, "Given how serious this incident is, I can¡¯t overly vouch for the three of you on my own. You¡¯ll still have to seek help from Ji Ze and Huang Jizhang. Remember, don¡¯t be so hard-headed and clench onto your treasures so tightly. If you die, then even if you had all the treasures in the world, you won¡¯t be able to keep a single one of them!"


    This was more like the attitude of someone trying to solve a problem for Miao Yi and the others.


    The three of them acknowledged Xu Jinsong¡¯s instructions, then started discussing how they should deal with the Hall Master.


    After a while, Xu Jinsong called for his two handmaidens to send the three of them off. Following which, he slowly walked out with hands behind his back, staring down at Miao Yi and the others as they descended the mountain.


    His two handmaidens walked to his side and asked, "Master! The three of them caused such a major incident. Can you really help them get past this predicament?"


    "Even without my help, they¡¯ll be able to get through this. They simply don¡¯t know the rules here because they just arrived, and thus assumed that they could do things here in the same way they did in the outside world. Regardless, Traversing Water Pce won¡¯t be so quick to disrespect the Overlord and the Celestial Sage. At most, these guys will only be punished lightly." As he said this, he rubbed the storage ring on his finger with the set of First Grade Armor Artifacts stored inside. Xu Jinsong was in a good mood. After all, how many years would it take the other Manor Heads within his camp toe up with such an expensive gift? To think he got it so easily just by scaring those three a little. Xu Jinsong scoffed, "Hmph. Just three brainless idiots who only know how to solve their problems with brute force!"


    After their visit to Xu Jinsong, Miao Yi and the others went to look for Advisors Ji Ze and Huang Jizhang, where they received yet another bout of scolding. They then went to see the Hall Master, who gathered the three Advisors and six Deacons to the main assembly hall shortly after they arrived.


    There was no avoiding the public reprimanding of their actions. Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei stood in the center of the hall, while the people from both sides chastised their deeds one after the other. However, even though they berated the three new Manor Heads, the three Advisors still put in a few good words for them. As for the six Deacons, they each belonged to their respective Advisors¡¯ camps. But since all three Advisors were already trying to help Miao Yi and the others, the six Deacons naturally showed their support as well.


    In the end, the lie became the truth, and all the me was pushed onto Chang Zijiu. It was then decided that Tranquil Sun Manor was guilty of sowing discord and the one who started this whole incident. And since Chang Zijiu was already dead, he had no way of arguing his case. Nothing could be done even if he was paintedpletely ck with sin.


    As for Hall Master Shen Huaixin, he was already aware that Tranquil Sun Manor would be in trouble the moment these three set foot here. And since his subordinates were all already pinning the me on Chang Zijiu, he had a solid excuse to let this matter rest as well.


    Truth be told, it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that he had silently given his permission for Miao Yi and the others to attack Chang Zijiu. However, he never thought that the three of them would cause such a major incident, and eliminate every single person in Tranquil Sun Manor.


    Although the me was pinned onto Tranquil Sun Manor, there was no way Miao Yi and the others could bepletely free of fault either. While they were able to avoid being held responsible for a major crime, they still needed to be given a light punishment for their misdeeds.


    In the end, it was decided that the three of them would be suspended from their share of the tribute for ten whole years!


    After which, Shen Huaixin alsomanded Miao Yi and the others to send some of their forces to look over Tranquil Sun Manor for the time being while he gathered new troops to take over. The ce waspletely empty after all.


    The assembly continued on as Shen Huaixin and the others discussed who they should appoint to take over Tranquil Sun Manor. Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei were naturally kicked out of the hall and this discussion. These three heinous masterminds were not allowed to take part in the assembly any more than this.


    As they walked out of the Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s pce gates, Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei exchanged nces with one another. Although they already knew that they wouldn¡¯t get into too much trouble this time, they still found it hard to believe that the punishment was so light. Evidently, this was a result the three of them had bought with their treasures. Otherwise, if they hadn¡¯t bribed the three Advisors, they might not have spoken up on their behalf at all.


    However, Miao Yi and the others also knew that they couldn¡¯t continue concealing their allegiance to all three Advisors. Xu Jinsong and the others would find out about this eventually. There was simply no helping it. When Miao Yi and the others took up office, they never expected the state of affairs in this ce to be like this. And despite not possessing any real authority, the three Advisors each sent them a name list of the people they wanted to be promoted without even so much as a discussion beforehand. Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei only had ten Mountain Chieftain positions under each of them, but those three Advisors actually listed more than ten people in total in a single breath. No matter how capable Miao Yi and the others were, there was no way they could make the arrangements. Thus, it woulde as no surprise for them to be found out.


    That said, Miao Yi and the others didn¡¯t really mind either way. When theyunched their attack on Tranquil Sun Manor, they had already thought things through. ¡¯If they find out about us, then so be it. Once we get past this incident, we¡¯re not nning to involve ourselves in meddlesome affairs any longer. We¡¯ll hide in our shells as long as we can. What can they do to us anyway? The only thing they have up their sleeves is to figure out ways to make things hard for us. But how can we possibly be troubled by such a soft and weak-spirited ce?¡¯ To Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei, who had long gotten used to the sight of bloodshed and carnage, as long as their lives weren¡¯t at risk, then all the problems in the world wouldn¡¯t prove to be a challenge at all. This ce was different from the world outside, where their lives could be threatened upon a moment¡¯s carelessness. Those were the situations where they would have no choice but to deal with the looming predicament.


    The three of them already possessed more than enough cultivation resources on hand, so now was the perfect time to focus their efforts on their cultivation. They wouldn¡¯t have to worry about stealing cultivation resources for a long period of time. As such, even if the three of them ended up being alienated by the rest of Suppressing Tenth Hall, they weren¡¯t concerned in the least!


    They walked out the pce and got on their mounts, and as they continued their descent down the mountain, Sikong Wuwei suddenly chuckled and asked, "Have you guys realized that hiding out here has its perks too?"


    Zhao Fei smiled faintly and continued, "There¡¯s no fighting and no need to worry about our lives all the time. We can fully cultivate in peace here. Truth be told, it¡¯s not a bad ce for us."


    The three of them looked at one another, then immediately burst out inughter. When they plotted out their revenge for Qi Xiuhong, they never thought that things would end up this way. After all, this peaceful environment wasn¡¯t something money could buy. And as for the other Subjugation Crusade survivors, even though they might have chosen the more thriving areas to take over, they would inevitably have to wrestle authority against the other local powerhouses as well, and battles would be just as unavoidable for them. Thinking about this, Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei couldn¡¯t help thinking it wasn¡¯t such a bad idea toe here after all. Perhaps this was Qi Xiuhong¡¯s way of repaying them from the beyond.


    Mu Tai and the others were waiting at the foot of the mountain for Miao Yi and the others. When they saw the cheerful looks on their masters¡¯ faces, they knew that things must have ended well for them. However, they couldn¡¯t help musing to themselves in astonishment, ¡¯They¡¯repletely fine even after causing such a huge mess?¡¯


    Nine riders proceeded to leave Suppressing Tenth Hall together, galloping at full speed back to their respective territories without rest. Along the way, they split up once again, as each group continued on their way back home separately.


    Back in Raincloud Manor, as Miao Yi was getting down from his mount, Yan Xiu hurriedly came over and told him that he had an important guest waiting for him. This guest was none other than the Advisor of Traversing Water Pce¡ªTao Qingli!


    ¡¯Granny Tao¡¯s granddaughter, Tao Qingli?¡¯ Miao Yi was shocked by the news, but it didn¡¯t take him long to figure out why the other party hade. He understood that there was no way to keep such a huge incident under wraps from the higher-ups. After all, who could conceal the sudden demise of over a thousand cultivators? However, he didn¡¯t think that Suppressing Tenth Hall wouldn¡¯t even give him a warning beforehand. There wasn¡¯t even enough time for him to make any preparations at all. That said, for Tao Qingli to havee here personally, it was evident how serious this incident was to her. And this also helped confirm Miao Yi¡¯s suspicions!


    After handing down several instructions to Yan Xiu, Miao Yi hurriedly entered the Manor.


    As he stepped inside the main hall, he noticed a gentle-looking girl dressed in blue robes sitting on the high seat. She carried a certain elegance about her, and standing next to her were her two handmaidens. Meanwhile, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were obediently standing at the bottom and answering her questions.


    "This subordinate is the Manor Head of Raincloud Manor¡ªMiao Yi! I respectfully greet the Advisor!" Miao Yi quickly stepped forward and bowed. At the same time, he quietly cast a sideways nce at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, noticing that their foreheads were already beading with sweat.


    The two girls quickly transmitted their voices over to Miao Yi and informed him that the other party had indeede for the incident rting to Tranquil Sun Manor.


    "So you¡¯re the guy who took tenth ce in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, Miao Yi?" Tao Qingli shot him a cold gaze and asked.


    "Yes, it is I!" Miao Yi replied.


    Tao Qingli didn¡¯t mince words and cut straight to the point, "Who gave you the audacity to attack Tranquil Sun Manor?"


    Miao Yi answered, "I was truly unaware of the situation here in Traversing Water Pce. When I was still working under Traversing Moon Pce, the rights to a single territory rested upon those who had the biggest fist. I never thought... I¡¯ve just returned from Suppressing Tenth Hall, and have already been made aware of my mistakes. I will never do it again!"


    "Excuses! When you, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei chose your respective territories, I found it odd that the three of you picked areas that so coincidentally surrounded Tranquil Sun Manor in the center. Now I see that you¡¯ve all been plotting this right from the start!" Tao Qingli barked, "What are you trying to achieve exactly? Answer honestly!"


    Miao Yi smiled wryly and said, "I really don¡¯t have any ulterior motives. We got into a bit of a sticky situation back in the capital city, so when the three of us picked this ce, we were only thinking about hiding ourselves. At the time, we heard that the Traversing Water Pce Lord would be able to shelter us, so we decided on this ce then and there. And it was also thanks to the Pce Lord that we were able to get out of the capital city unscathed. You can ask her yourself if you don¡¯t believe me!"


    Tao Qingli stared daggers at him, asking, "Don¡¯t you think your story has a little too many holes? Previously, you said that you did it for the sake of taking over another territory. Now, you¡¯re telling me it was because you wanted to find a ce to hide. Which excuse should I trust? Or is there still something you¡¯re not telling me?"


    Miao Yi cupped his fists and said, "If I may, Advisor, I dide here seeking a ce to hide. At first, I didn¡¯t n on attacking Tranquil Sun Manor either. However, I was ultimately forced to do so. I wasn¡¯t given a choice!"


    Tao Qingli smiled coldly. "I sure would like to know who would be bold enough to force you to attack Tranquil Sun Manor. Is it Shen Huaixin?"


    Miao Yi smiled wryly and said, "I dare not say. I¡¯m afraid they wille after me if I do!"


    "If you don¡¯t, I¡¯lle after you right now!" Tao Qingli said coldly, "Don¡¯t make me do things the hard way. Even if I killed you right here right now, no one would dare say a thing against me!"


    "Since you insist, then I have no choice but to tell you the truth!" Miao Yi ced his hands by the side and stood up straight, saying loudly, "Before I came to Suppressing Tenth Hall, I really had no idea... no idea how big of a mess this ce is! Even for someone like me who¡¯s been to many different territories, I must say I¡¯ve never seen a ce as chaotic as this. What an eye-opener indeed!"


    Tao Qingli was a little confused by Miao Yi¡¯s words, and asked, "Chaotic? How is this ce chaotic? Do you think I have no idea what the outside world is like? In the entire Celestial Nation, where can you find a ce more peaceful than Traversing Water Pce? Out there, there¡¯s always a constant threat to one¡¯s life, and wars are a dime a dozen. The three of you are lucky to be able toe here. Normal cultivators can only dream of working under our banner. Had it not been out of respect for the Celestial Sage, do you think the three of you would be so lucky? It¡¯s bad enough that you don¡¯t know how to appreciate it, how dare you make such sphemous ims on top of that?!"


    "Peaceful?" Miao Yi suddenly burst out inughter, nodding repeatedly as he said, "Yes, it is peaceful! So peaceful indeed! To the point that everything is thrown out of order! Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, and I have only just stepped into office not too long ago, but the three Advisors of Suppressing Tenth Hall didn¡¯t even inform us¡ªor even start a proper discussion for that matter¡ªbefore sending a whole stack of names right up to our doorstep! Even with the three of usbined, we only have thirty Mountain Chieftain positions at our disposal. However, the three Advisors want us to make preparations for over forty Mountain Chieftains! And we can¡¯t even say no! Since the three of us have just recently arrived, we¡¯re still rather unfamiliar with the area, and thus didn¡¯t wish to offend anyone! If I may be so bold as to ask, Advisor Tao, do you have any tips you can share with the three of us on how to assign over forty Mountain Chieftain positions without offending anyone?"

 Chapter 485 Grasping the Opportunity

    "..." Tao Qingli was utterly stupefied, and she simply stared at Miao Yi.


    Her handmaidens also couldn¡¯t help exchanging nces with one another. And down below, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er simply lowered their heads and kept quiet. Miao Yi was the only one looking like he still had plenty toin about.


    Tao Qingli was about to argue, but it seemed she was also aware of what type of people her subordinates were. Her tone instantly lost some of its sharpness as she said, "How absurd! How can our subordinate Advisors be so careless with their conduct?!"


    "Absurd?" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help sneering at this. He then took out three jade archives and handed them directly to Tao Qingli. "Advisor Tao, you¡¯d best not ce abel on it so soon. It¡¯s not toote to decide after reading this!"


    "Insolence!" Tao Qingli¡¯s handmaidens yelled.


    Tao Qingli raised her hand to indicate that it was all right. She then took the jade archives from Miao Yi and read them through. It would¡¯ve been better had she not, because after reading everything, she couldn¡¯t help furrowing her brows in displeasure.


    With a look of contempt on his face, Miao Yi shook his head and continued, "Fortunately, I still kept the decrees from the three Advisors with me. Otherwise, judging from your attitude, Advisor Tao, I doubt I would¡¯ve been able to exin myself no matter how hard I tried. I should also mention that these are just the ones that I received. If you wish to look at Zhao Fei¡¯s and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s as well, I can let them know immediately and have them send theirs over. Moreover, these are only the instructions I received from the three Advisors. I¡¯ve gotten a few more from several other people as well, but those aren¡¯t worth mentioning since they¡¯re mostly verbal. More importantly, I¡¯m scared I¡¯ll vomit blood in my fury if I do bring them up!" Hisst sentence was a little exaggerated, but that was fine. He simply needed to show how angry he was regarding the matter.


    "Insolence!" Tao Qingli¡¯s handmaidens barked again. How dare this guy talk so rudely in front of their mistress!


    Tao Qingli raised her hand once again. With creased brows, she looked up from the jade archive and asked Miao Yi, "Is this the reason why the three of you chose to attack Tranquil Sun Manor?"


    As Miao Yi was the one standing up, he was able to look down on Tao Qingli. His saliva almostnded on her face as he said, "It¡¯s not like I had nothing better to do. Why would I go and attack Tranquil Sun Manor without fully understanding the situation first?! What other reason could I possibly have besides this? With the three Advisors dropping such a huge bombshell on the three of us, where else could we find empty spots to slot in their men? You don¡¯t expect us to let them have our Manor Head seats, do you? The problem is that even then we wouldn¡¯t have enough vacant positions! The three of us soon found ourselves at an impasse. Fortunately, there was a Tranquil Sun Manor right in the middle of our territories. Realizing this, we decided to join forces and wipe out every living soul there. And in the blink of an eye, we were able to get over a thousand empty slots. Those Advisors can now slot in their men however they like! What worries me is that I¡¯m not even sure if that¡¯s enough for the three of them! If it¡¯s still not enough, then worstes to worst, Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, and I will just have to put in some more effort and take down another two Manors for them!"


    "Don¡¯t you dare speak such nonsense!" Even though Tao Qingli was reprimanding Miao Yi, her tonepletely indicated otherwise. She furrowed her brows and continued, "To embark on a massacre just because of this, do the three of you honestly believe that you had done the right thing? You should¡¯ve just talked it over with the three Advisors and resolve the issue peacefully!"


    "I never said we did the right thing. If that were the case, then Advisor Tao wouldn¡¯t havee looking for me. And as for resolving the issue, I¡¯d like to ask you, Advisor Tao, how do you propose this should be done?" Miao Yi took a step back and bowed respectfully, then raised his index finger and said, "I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re only going to say that we should talk to the three Advisors about our problems. However, they already made it quite clear what their stance is on the matter; ¡¯You only need to worry about making the arrangements for my men. No need to worry about the other two Advisors. Simply put, you must figure out a way to slot in my men, and my men alone. Otherwise, I will hold you responsible for this ipetence!¡¯ Fine, then! In that case, the three of us have no choice but to free up some slots from Tranquil Sun Manor! We thought that the three Advisors would be satisfied with that, but, we were wrong yet again! In the end, we still had to go around presenting gifts... Advisor Tao! How many days has it been since the three of us started working in Suppressing Tenth Hall? We¡¯ve already had to go around handing gifts twice in a row! Do you honestly think that the treasures we fought tooth and nail to obtain back in the Sea of Constetions simply fell from the sky?! It¡¯s fine if you want our treasures, but at least try to deliver your promises. All you lot do is take our things but don¡¯t do what¡¯s asked. And in the end, the problem still fell on our heads. We ended up having ten years¡¯ supply of the annual tribute cut off from us! You want us to work for free for ten years? Fine! However, we still have to offer up gifts to our superiors every year. And who can me them? Everyone knows how rich Subjugation Crusade survivors like us are. Every time someone sees us, they¡¯ll be reaching their hands out to demand something. And if we refuse, they¡¯ll immediately start mming tables and make things difficult for us. Do you really think we have an unlimited amount of treasures?! Advisor Tao, me and the others have only just returned from Suppressing Tenth Hall. I haven¡¯t even had any time to rest, and I already found you waiting here. And even then, I¡¯m not given any options and is forced to speak the truth. If I don¡¯t, you¡¯ll kill me. Okay, fine! Now, I¡¯m telling you the truth! Then after this, you and the other higher-ups will be offended by the three of us for calling this ce out for what it is. You¡¯ll find us an eyesore ande up with a way to make things hard on us again. How far do you want to back the three of us into a corner? I finally see it now, Advisor Tao. I understood everything after speaking to you. You¡¯re actually in cahoots with the others too. You all intend to make life miserable for the three of us just because we¡¯re new. If your Traversing Water Pce is unwilling to take the three of us in, then please just give us the official decree already. We will find another path on our own. You don¡¯t have to keep pushing us around like this!"


    "Insolence!" Tao Qingli¡¯s handmaidens barked a third time. How dare this man use their mistress of colluding with others?


    "Can you stop saying insolence for once?! Can¡¯t youe up with something new?" Miao Yi immediately retorted.


    "You..!" The two handmaidens were furious.


    "What about me? It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never seen powerful individuals before. I¡¯ve met all ten Pce Lords of the Fifth Earthly Branch, and I¡¯ve even been in the presence of the Overlord himself! And while I was in the Sea of Constetions, I didn¡¯t so much as bat an eye at the sight of bloodshed in every corner. I¡¯ve slept upon a pile of corpses, bathed in a puddle of blood, fought side-by-side with the disciple of the Celestial Sage, swept the grounds of the Western Constetions Pce. Hell, I¡¯ve even been in the capital city¡¯s prison! I¡¯ve called the grandson of the Devil Sage my brother and fought against the grandchild of the Yao Sage. Even the Celestial Sage¡¯s disciple¡ªTang Jun, once helped me in my time of need. The people that worked alongside each of the Six Sages, I¡¯ve met almost every one of them. And even though I¡¯ve met with certain people who were hard to deal with, I¡¯ve never seen anyone as difficult as you lot! I can¡¯t even pretend to be humble. You¡¯re not going to give me the chance to survive anyway. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to force me to keep quiet and ept such treatment on top of all that?!" Miao Yi yelled furiously.


    Both Tao Qingli¡¯s handmaidens were renderedpletely speechless, and everyone in the room couldn¡¯t help widening their eyes at Miao Yi!


    Tao Qingli was a little out of it for a while, but she soon realized her diposure and quickly snapped out of it. She slowly stood up, staring at Miao Yi as she asked, "So you¡¯re ming me, then?"


    Miao Yi cupped his fists and said, "No, I wouldn¡¯t dare!"


    "What strong resentment! You¡¯re already taking out your frustration on me, and you still say you don¡¯t dare?" Tao Qingliughed coldly and said, "Since the three of you are new, I will not hold this incident against you. However, if something like this happens again, I¡¯ll make an example out of the three of you by taking your heads!"


    "I¡¯m eternally grateful for mydy¡¯s benevolence!" Miao Yi continued with cupped fists, "However, I don¡¯t think the people from Suppressing Tenth Hall will feel the same way!"


    Tao Qingli narrowed her eyes at him and said, "So long as the three of you follow Traversing Water Pce¡¯s rules, you can leave Suppressing Tenth Hall to me!"


    "Your subordinate shall do his utmost to live up to your expectations!" Still looking a little resentful, Miao Yi continued, "However, there is something I¡¯d like to ask of you, mydy!"


    "Speak!"


    "Since I¡¯ve already been so blunt with you, I would like to ask, while you¡¯re in Suppressing Tenth Hall, could you help me tell those people to return my gifts to me? Since I¡¯ll inevitably offend them anyway, why should I let them have anything?!"


    The hall instantly fell silent. Tao Qingli emphasized each word as she said, "If you want them back, GET. THEM. YOURSELF!"


    Who was this guy kidding? There were certain under-the-table dealings that Tao Qingli simply turned a blind eye to, and this was one of them.


    Miao Yi said expressionlessly, "Since Advisor Tao ismanding me to do so, then I have no choice but to heed the order and take everything back from them. I doubt they would dare to go against your word!"


    Tao Qingli was a little annoyed, and couldn¡¯t help mocking him, "Manor Head Miao, have you no shame asking someone to return something that you¡¯ve already given to them?"


    Miao Yi replied inly, "My life is almost forfeit anyway. What use do I have for shame?"


    Tao Qingli said coldly, "I¡¯ve already told you that I won¡¯t be holding this incident against the three of you. Did you not hear me?" What she meant was¡ª¡¯If I said you¡¯re fine, you¡¯re fine.¡¯


    Miao Yi fell silent. Suddenly, he cupped his fists and said, "If I may be so bold, I would like to ask you for a spirit feather, Advisor Tao! If any of the higher-ups continue to make things difficult for me, then it¡¯ll be easier for me to seek guidance from you!"


    "Give him one!" Tao Qingli turned to the side andmanded.


    One of her handmaidens immediately walked over and gave the rainbow-colored feather of a spirit eagle to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi hurriedly epted, then turned back and said, "Qian¡¯Er, go bring us a spirit feather."


    Qian¡¯Er quickly rushed outside and plucked a rainbow-colored feather off the neck of a spirit eagle resting under the eaves. She then went back inside and handed it over to Miao Yi, who presented it to Tao Qingli with both hands as he said, "Advisor Tao, seeing how well you¡¯re treating me, I hereby swear my allegiance to you until death, and shall heed your everymand!"


    This was more like what a subordinate should be saying! What a melody to the ears! Tao Qingli tilted her head, and one of her handmaidens stepped forward to ept the spirit feather from Miao Yi.


    "Take care of yourself, Manor Head Miao!" Tao Qingli said curtly, then left with her two handmaidens in tow.


    Miao Yi hurriedly chased after her and said, "Advisor Tao, since you¡¯ve alreadye all this way, why not stay here for a few more days? That way, I¡¯ll have the chance to thank you properly."


    "There¡¯s no need. You can thank me by obediently following the rules of our Traversing Water Pce!" said Tao Qingli as she continued walking off.


    Miao Yi immediately took out a storage ring and said, "This is a small token of my appreciation. Please ept it, Advisor Tao!"


    Tao Qingli¡¯s steps halted, and she said inly, "I wouldn¡¯t dare ept your gifts. What if youe looking for me to take them back afterward? Just because you can be shameless, it doesn¡¯t mean I can!"


    Miao Yi was a little thrown off by Tao Qingli¡¯s response. He smiled dryly and said, "How could I possibly do such a thing? This is a gift that I¡¯m sincerely offering of my own ord, unlike the ones that those people forced me to hand over!"


    Tao Qingli paid him no heed and simply leaped up to the roof with both her handmaidens. Suddenly, a giant bird with jade-like wings flew over from across the sky. Tao Qingli and her handmaidens jumped onto the bird, then swiftly disappeared into the sky.


    As the giant bird soared away, a powerful gale swept across the courtyard. As the wind beat against his body, Miao Yi cupped his fists and shouted, "Have a safe trip, Advisor!"


    Standing on the back of the giant bird, with her sleeves fluttering violently in the wind, Tao Qingli had a solemn expression on her face. She never expected the situation amongst the subordinates to be in such a state of chaos. However, when she heard the muffled voice of the person sending her off from down below, she suddenly came to a realization. ¡¯Why does it feel like things didn¡¯t go exactly the way I nned them to? I came here demanding answers, yet somehow it feels as though I was the one who had to exin...¡¯


    Yan Xiu was standing guard by the gate, while Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er slowly walked over to Miao Yi¡¯s side. Looking at their master quietly standing in the courtyard, the three of them couldn¡¯t help thinking to themselves how hard it must be for him to lower his head andpromise like this.


    However, what they didn¡¯t see was the cunning smile on Miao Yi¡¯s lips. He raised the rainbow-colored feather between his fingers and stared intently at it. If Wu Menn¡¯s words were correct, then this Tao Qingli would eventually be the Traversing Water Pce Lord. With the gap between their statuses, it was bound to be difficult for him to establish a connection with such a person through normal means. And since she¡¯d alreadye all this way, how could he let the opportunity slip? From now on, he¡¯d better look for this Advisor Tao for guidance, regardless if he had any problems!


    He then passed the spirit feather in his hands to Qian¡¯Er. After which, he took out a couple of jade archives and started writing. Once he was done, he handed them to Qian¡¯Er and told her to send them to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei.


    Miao Yi then turned around and called Yan Xiu over, telling him, "Tomorrow morning, I want you to make a trip to Suppressing Tenth Hall and look for the three Advisors. Tell them to hand over every single thing I gave them."


    "Ah!" shouted Yan Xiu, his eyes widening in shock!

 Chapter 486 Teaching Them a Lesson

    Yan Xiu thought he must have misheard. To get back the gifts that were already given, this was a little...


    "Why are you screaming?" Miao Yi said curiously, then continued, "I can¡¯t trust anyone else to do this! Once you get them back, you can go ahead and keep them. I¡¯d much rather leave them with you than with those bastards!"


    He didn¡¯t give a damn about how Xu Jinsong and the others would think of him. They would eventually find out that he¡¯d secretly allied himself to all three of them either way. When that happened, they sure as hell wouldn¡¯t treat him nicely. If Tao Qingli hadn¡¯te looking for him, then he¡¯d just let them have all those treasures. However, since she did, that meant that Miao Yi would be cutting ties with those Advisors ahead of time. In that case, why wait for them to make things difficult for him? He should just be the one to make the first move. Otherwise, he would surely feel annoyed at having to suffer the Advisors¡¯ tantrums and being unable to take back his stuff on top of that.


    If this were anywhere else, Miao Yi definitely wouldn¡¯t be bold enough to do such a thing. After all, the three Advisors were already experts at the Red Lotus realm. Normally, the Advisors of this rank wouldn¡¯t darey a hand on a subordinate Manor Head, but they could still manipte one of their men to try and take away that Manor Head¡¯s territory. Just like how Zhang Decheng had attacked Yang Qing. Such methods would surely make one anxious about their next move. However, there was no need to worry about any of this here, precisely because battles were strictly forbidden. As such, why should Miao Yi be afraid of these guys at all?!


    "Master! Isn¡¯t it a little inappropriate to take back something that you¡¯ve already given away?" Yan Xiu asked hesitantly, "It¡¯s too shameful to do such a thing. I can live without those gifts, and if word starts to spread, I don¡¯t want it to reflect badly on you, Master."


    "Yan Xiu! Since when did you learn to disobey mymands as well? I haven¡¯t been treating you poorly, have I?" Miao Yi ced both hands behind his back, then continued in dissatisfaction, "If it wasn¡¯t shameful, then I would¡¯ve already done the deed myself. It¡¯s precisely because it¡¯s shameful that I¡¯m sending you over. Do you want me to go and bring dishonor upon myself, or are you going to do it for me?"


    "..." Yan Xiu had no words to refute. He smiled bitterly and replied, "I will do as you say! However... the three of them are still Red Lotus cultivators. What if they refuse to hand the things over?"


    "Yan Xiu! You¡¯ve been my subordinate for so many years now. After listening in on the conversation just now, do you still not understand what I¡¯m trying to do? Those three bastards are definitely going to cut all ties with me. It¡¯s not as simple as just getting back my things; I want you to also mention that Advisor Tao¡¯s name. Just tell those three that she demanded I take everything back from them. They won¡¯t dare to disobey. If I keep quiet and just let them have all that treasure, they will surely use everything at their disposal to make life miserable for me. On the other hand, if I take my gifts back, they wouldn¡¯t dare to recklessly act against me. If they do, then people will start thinking they¡¯re doing it out of resentment. Didn¡¯t you see me ask for a spirit feather from Advisor Tao? If those three ever attempt to make the slightest transgression against me, I will lodge aint immediately. I will tell Advisor Tao that they¡¯re taking revenge against me for getting back my gifts. This is what you call an excuse. Understand?"


    Yan Xiu finally understood how important his mission was. He immediately cupped his fists and replied, "I understand. I will definitely get them to return the gifts."


    "It¡¯s not enough to just get them to return the gifts. If they don¡¯t return them, then you must know how to throw a tantrum and exacerbate the situation at Suppressing Tenth Hall. Do the same if the gifts are any less than what I¡¯ve already given to them. And even if they do return everything, you have to make sure news of this is known by every living person in Suppressing Tenth Hall." Seeing how Yan Xiu still had difficulty understanding his intentions, Miao Yi had no choice but to exin it clearly to him. He continued, "You won¡¯t be the only one going this time. I just sent a message to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei and told them to send one of their trusted aides as well. However, there are some things that cannot be explicitly stated in the letter, out of fear that it will fall into the wrong hands. When you meet up with them, make sure to exin my intentions to them clearly. Otherwise, they won¡¯t have enough confidence to do this."


    "Understood!" Yan Xiu nodded. Once he made sure there were no further instructions, he excused himself.


    After leaving Raincloud Manor, Tao Qingli headed straight for Suppressing Tenth Hall and gave Xu Jinsong, Ji Ze, and Huang Jizhang the scolding of a lifetime the moment she set foot there. It basically went as follows: ¡¯I¡¯ve never seen anything so ridiculous in my entire career! How could you three imbeciles try to force so many of your men down to them in one go?! How do expect them to make the arrangements? Are you trying to make them start a rebellion?!¡¯


    And with their personally-written jade archives pped right on their faces, the three Advisors found it hard to dispute against Tao Qingli. Regardless of their reasoning, they were irrefutably in the wrong now that the superiors had caught wind of their involvement. It was pointless no matter what they said.


    The three of them could do little but curse to themselves, ¡¯Those bastards! It¡¯s bad enough to be colluding with multiple parties simultaneously, but those assholes actually tried to join all three of our camps! And they even had the gall to tattle on us on top of that! How frustrating!¡¯


    ¡¯Worse still, that bastard from Raincloud Manor actually framed us for forcing them to attack Tranquil Sun Manor! That¡¯s not what he said when we were questioning them! Still, we can¡¯t talk about that openly either. Otherwise, Advisor Tao will surely me us for not leading our case with that, and for even helping them escape their charges.¡¯


    ¡¯You three bastards better look out for yourselves from now on. There¡¯s plenty of time for us to make you suffer after this!¡¯ The three Advisors couldn¡¯tin no matter how badly they wanted to, and thus simply cursed deep down!


    Meanwhile, Shen Huaixin¡¯s position was a little more superior. After all, he was the Hall Master. The whole of Suppressing Tenth Hall was his domain. As such, he was not chastised as badly as the three Advisors and was simply reprimanded for not managing his subordinates properly.


    However, even when she left Suppressing Tenth Hall, Tao Qingli made no mention of the incident with the three Advisors receiving gifts from Miao Yi and the others, as there were some things she simply turned a blind eye to. If the three Advisors hadn¡¯t made such a debacle this time, she probably wouldn¡¯t have said anything at all...


    Mulberry Cloud Manor. Sikong Wuwei was pacing around his courtyard with a jade archive in hand. He walked inside the pavilion, sat down, then opened up the jade archive and read through it. He scratched his head, then got up and returned to the hall. He sat down on his chair, then started scratching his head again.


    Seeing how puzzled he looked, his handmaidens¡ªYu Fang and Yu Lian¡ªwalked over and asked, "Master, is something the matter?"


    "I don¡¯t get it at all!" eximed Sikong Wuwei as he shook his head. He clicked his tongue and gestured towards the jade archive. "I don¡¯t want to let those assholes keep my treasures either, but to take back something you¡¯ve already given away... Wouldn¡¯t I end up aughingstock once people hear about this? When have I, Sikong Wuwei, ever done something so shameful? What exactly is Brother Miao thinking?"


    Thousand Lake Manor. As he sat before the tray table, Zhao Fei also had a look of confusion on his face. He had one hand on the jade archive, while lightly tapping the fingers of his other hand against the table in thought. He also had no idea what Miao Yi was trying to achieve.


    However, as they both trusted Miao Yi, they knew that he must have some sort of n in mind. In the end, they both did as he asked and sent out their trusted aides...


    Suppressing Tenth Hall, inside Advisor Xu¡¯s manor. A single cultivator walked inside the main hall and bowed. Xu Jinsong raised his hand and said, "Liu Fen, sit down and talk!"


    "I thank you, my lord!" Liu Fen the cultivator said politely, then sat down on one of the lower chairs in the hall.


    Xu Jinsong smiled and said, "Oh, Liu Fen! Didn¡¯t you tell mest time that you didn¡¯t wish to go to Raincloud Manor? I gave it some thought after that, and I have to agree. Raincloud Manor is much too disorganized. You should go to Tranquil Sun Manor instead! I¡¯ve already helped secure a Mountain Chieftain¡¯s seat for you. Heh heh! Truth be told, with your cultivation level, you are definitely suitable to be Manor Head. However, just bear with it for now. You¡¯ll have plenty more chances in the future."


    As he said this, Xu Jinsong waited for the other party¡¯s words of gratitude. Contrary to his expectations, however, Liu Fen looked rather hesitant instead. Xu Jinsong¡¯s expression quickly darkened. "What? Are you not satisfied?"


    "No, not at all!" Liu Fen hurriedly waved his hands and continued, "My lord, I¡¯m in no rush. Why don¡¯t you make arrangements for the others first? I can wait."


    Deep down, Liu Fen was thinking, ¡¯Who would dare go to Tranquil Sun Manor?! That ce has just been swept clean of its members from top to bottom! And even now, the three masterminds are safe and sound, and still lurking around Tranquil Sun Manor like a predator waiting to strike. Even though they¡¯re already forbidden from dividing Tranquil Sun Manor amongst themselves, but what if one day the blood goes to their heads and they decide to paint the whole ce red again?! When that happens, there won¡¯t even be a chance to cry for mercy. No matter how good the benefits are, they don¡¯t weigh more than life itself!¡¯


    Xu Jinsong¡¯s expression gradually worsened. Normally, these guys would be fawning over him to try and get a better position for themselves, but now they were all shirking away. This was already the second person to reject him. Xu Jinsong was no fool. How could he not figure out the reason why?


    Just as he was about to scold this spineless subordinate of his, one of his handmaidens walked in and reported, "Master! Raincloud Manor, Thousand Lake Manor, and Mulberry Cloud Manor have sent people over, and they¡¯re requesting an audience with you!"


    "I haven¡¯t even begun to show them who¡¯s boss. To think they still have the gall toe and meet me!" Xu Jinsong was immediately infuriated. He vented out some of his frustration on Liu Fen and said, "You¡¯re excused! I¡¯ll have you know that an opportunity like this onlyes around once. You¡¯d best think it through!"


    Liu Fen timidly stepped down.


    Soon, Yan Xiu, Lian Babai, and Zhang Yaocheng stepped in. The other two were Zhao Fei¡¯s and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s trusted aides respectively.


    Naturally, Xu Jinsong wouldn¡¯t bother being polite with them at all. With a cold look on his face, he said, "State your business!"


    The three of them each handed over a jade archive. As he read through them, Xu Jinsong didn¡¯t really understand what they meant, so he asked, "What is this supposed to mean?"


    Yan Xiu cupped his fists and replied, "In ordance with the official decree of Traversing Water Pce¡¯s Advisor Tao, the Manor Head has ordered the three of us to take back the gifts that were presented to you!"


    "..." Xu Jinsong waspletely wide-eyed in astonishment. He remained speechless for a while before his face quickly darkened like the bottom of a wok.


    His handmaidens were also lost for words. Where was the logic in taking back a gift you¡¯ve already given out...


    As Yan Xiu and the others walked out, they turned back to look at Xu Jinsong¡¯s manor. They then heard the sound of something shatteringing from inside.


    The three of them looked at each other weakly. Yan Xiu then raised his hand and said, "Let¡¯s move on. We still have to visit two more!"


    After the three of them exited Advisor Ji¡¯s and Advisor Huang¡¯s manors, they proceeded to move around Suppressing Tenth Hall for a while.


    When the three of them finally left Suppressing Tenth Hall on their mounts, the whole ce instantly erupted like a volcano.


    The gifts that were offered to the three Advisors were taken back. It was easy to imagine how fast the news of such a major incident would spread.


    Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s Little Auntie Ru Huan hurriedly rushed into the Hall Master¡¯s silent quarters to report the situation.


    As he sat in cultivation, Shen Huaixin was shocked by the news. He then asked, "Did theye looking for us to take back their things as well?"


    Ru Huan shook her head and said, "No, they¡¯ve already left."


    Shen Huaixin was slightly relieved, but his expression reflected his displeasure. He said, "Those three are getting more and more out of hand. Do they think I¡¯m merely a piece of decoration?! If I don¡¯t teach them a lesson and make them shape up a little, who knows what kind of mess they¡¯ll stir up in the future?!"


    Two dayster, Thousand Lake Manor, Mulberry Cloud Manor, and Raincloud Manor received an official decree at the same time, stating that the forces they had each sent to protect Tranquil Sun Manor did not have to return any longer, as those troops would be permanently stationed as Tranquil Sun Manor¡¯s new forces. This meant that the three Manors were effectively stripped of six hundred men in a single stroke.


    Miao Yi and the others could do little but ept the decree. After all, they were the ones whopletely decimated Tranquil Sun Manor to begin with. They couldn¡¯t just let the ce sit vacant for too long. What excuse could they possibly give to decline having their forces taken away?


    That was not the end of it either. A few dayster, the forces in all the Manors were forced to undergo restructuring. The reason given was that some members would easily develop a certain attachment to their daily lives after being stationed in a ce for too long, and thus necessitated a periodic cirction of every Manors¡¯ troops. Therefore, a total of six hundred troops were taken away from the other six Manors besides Miao Yi and the others¡¯ to replenish Tranquil Sun Manor¡¯s forces.


    At first, Miao Yi and the others thought that they wouldn¡¯t be involved in all this. However, another decree came a few daystermanding each of the three Manors to transfer two hundred of their men respectively to make up for the six hundred that were previously stationed away in the other six Manors.

 Chapter 487 We Will Definitely Count You In Next Time

    On one particr day, two guests paid a visit to Raincloud Manor. It was Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. The two of them headed straight for the Manor Head''s quarters, while their subordinates were taken care of by the other servants.


    When they met up with Miao Yi, Sikong Wuwei chuckled and said, "Brother, do you see it already? It turns out they made up this whole thing about transferrals just so they could make things harder on the three of us."


    "The moment they ordered our forces to be permanently stationed in Tranquil Sun Manor, I knew this was Suppressing Tenth Hall''s response to our actions. This payback is a little faster than I expected." Miao Yi waved his hand in a weing gesture, and the three of them proceeded to Raincloud Pavilion together. As they sat down, Qian''Er and Xue''Er opened up all the windows, revealing the vastke that surrounded them. What serenity!


    One small round table was neatly ced inside the pavilion, furnished with three chairs. Tea was soon served, and one of the two youngdies excused herself to the side, while the other walked down the pavilion.


    The three Manor Heads sat together. Sikong Wuwei cast a nce at the other two sipping their tea and said, "Judging by the looks of things, I''m assuming those six hundred men we''re about to send out won''t being back either. It''s like trying to hit a dog with a meat bun. Periodic cirction, my ass! In the end, it''s still up to them when to return our forces to us. Are we supposed to just quietly wait for danger toe knocking on our doors? If this keeps up, we won''t have any troops at our disposal."


    With Suppressing Tenth Hall''s actions, their three Manors had effectively lost four hundred troops each in a single breath. Not to mention the losses sustained when they took over Tranquil Sun Manor, along with the people they had personally sentenced to death. Each of them had lost at least five to six hundred of their troops. Zhao Fei''s situation was especially dire since he had ruthlesslyid to rest over two hundred of his own subordinates. After Suppressing Tenth Hall''s ''restructuring'', their three Manors'' forces were practically reduced to almost half their original numbers.


    Among the three Manor Heads, Miao Yi was youthful and proud, while Sikong Wuwei was rambunctious and loud. Zhao Fei was the more elegant of the three in terms of both appearances and mannerisms, at least at first nce. Slowly cing down his cup of tea, he said, "Once the troops are sent out, we can assume that they won''t be returning for a while. One of my subordinates has some connections to Suppressing Tenth Hall and managed to get some intel. Apparently, for a ce like this that''s overloaded with manpower, it isn''t actually a bad thing for Tranquil Sun Manor to have so many vacant spots. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that the three of us have indirectly helped solve a problem for Suppressing Tenth Hall. The problem is, after our massacre of Tranquil Sun Manor, the rest of the troops are too terrified to take over the ce. Given howplicated interpersonal rtionships are in this ce, the troops are able to use their connections to ask for benefits, but at the same time, they can use them to avoid bringing trouble onto themselves too. That''s why Suppressing Tenth Hall is finding it hard to get people to replenish the members of Tranquil Sun Manor."


    Listening to Zhao Fei''s exnation, Miao Yi''s lips curled into a disdainful smile, while Sikong Wuwei coldly chuckled. "What a bunch of cowards!"


    Zhao Fei continued, "Initially, the three Advisors proposed to separate the three of us so that we wouldn''t pose as big a threat to the others. However, the Hall Master disagreed, and it''s pretty easy to understand why. It''s because we aren''t the real threat to his position; the three Advisors are. The Hall Master clearly couldn''t be happier to see the three of us continue to go against the three Advisors. Moreover, it was also his idea to transfer our troops away, most likely to shackle our movements and make it harder for us to threaten the other Manors. Naturally, the three Advisors were all supportive of this proposition. And had there not been a surplus of troops in the other Manors, I''m sure we would have suffered even more losses than what we do now."


    Miao Yi said calmly, "Let them take as many people as they want. We can do without such weaklings. Not to mention, we''re not nning on stirring up any waves anymore. The battle with Tranquil Sun Manor alone has done enough to shake up the masses."


    Zhao Fei nodded. "Besides, the cut in manpower has allowed us to save up on precious resources and made it easier tomand the remaining forces. This saves us some trouble."


    Sikong Wuwei huffed, "But they''re clearly making an example out of us for everyone to see. I can''t take this lying down!"


    "We''ve even taken back the gifts we gave them. It''s not like we haven''t already done something even more shameful, so why bother with this little p to the face?" Miao Yi slowly sipped his tea, then ced it down and said contemptuously, "If they want more manpower, then let them have it. Advisors, Deacons, Mountain Chieftains, Cave Masters, and even those useless subordinates. Whoever we don''t find capable, we can just send to them and let them make all the arrangements. They can promote or demote them however they please. We won''t interfere at all. These are their connections after all. Let them rack their brains about it. Don''t they wish to keep our manpower low? Well, let''s see how long they can do that. I want to make it so that they''re stuck between a rock and a hard ce. I want them to taste hell. Don''t let any of the subordinates know about this for now. I know that a lot of them aren''t willing to work under us for long. Afterward, just announce the official decree to them directly and let them leave happy. Once they reach their new posts, I have no doubt they''ll have plenty of topics to talk about. Since they''re not willing to work under us, let''s see how happy they can be then!"


    "Ohh¡­" Sikong Wuwei''s eyes brightened as he imagined the scene of a bunch of Mountain Chieftains bumping into one another only to realize that there weren''t enough vacant positions for them. How dumbfounded would those people look then? Sikong Wuwei almost burst out inughter. However, his brows quickly creased, "If the higher-upsin that their positions aren''t suitable to be transferred away, then what?"


    Having already caught on to Miao Yi''s n, Zhao Fei shook his head and lightly smiled, "Sikong, didn''t the official decree from the higher-ups state that it was going to be a periodic cirction? It''s not like the men won''t be returned to us. They''re just going to be used as normal subordinates in the other Manors for the time being. We''re not relieving them of their positions. They are still our forces, at least on paper. We''re only waiting for the transferred people to be returned to us. Why would the higher-upsin then?"


    Miao Yi raised his cup towards Sikong Wuwei and asked, "So, do you think the higher-ups are going to return them to us or not?"


    Sikong Wuwei stroked his stubble and chuckled cunningly, "At this point, everyone knows that the higher-ups are doing all this just to get back at the three of us. If they returned our troops to us, wouldn''t they be pping themselves in the face? Would they still return them then?"


    Miao Yi chuckled. "That''s why I said I''d make it so that they''re stuck between a rock and a hard ce!"


    After some thought, Sikong Wuwei said, "But what if they still return them to us?"


    Zhao Fei waved his hand, "The higher-ups aren''t going to be shameless to that extent. Even if they''re just pretending, they won''t be returning our forces to us in the foreseeable future! Once we''ve sorted out the remaining troops on our side, it will be hard for those that have been returned to take back their original positions. Simply put, the ones currently in position will be more useful to us than those who left. We won''t use a bunch of ipetent fools! And once these people are returned to us, what else can they do but follow ourmand?"


    Pa! Sikong Wuwei pped his thigh, "What a brilliant n! We can use people with the right aptitude to take over the vacated positions in our domain, thus making it easier to take control of our respective territories. After all, why waste our time fooling around with those idiotic higher-ups?"


    The three of them then burst intoughter and raised their cups to one another.


    As she listened in on the conversation from the side, Qian''Er couldn''t help musing to herself, ''It''s no wonder Master took care of Mount Calming Sea so easily after returning from the Subjugation Crusade; much betterpared to us who had such a hard time dealing with the situation.'' She couldn''t help but admit that this was the gap between them. There were some positions that only individuals with a certain capability had the qualifications to take up. Qian''Er found herself learning something new.


    Suddenly, Xue''Er walked up to the pavilion, then handed a jade archive over to Miao Yi. After reading it through, Miao Yi looked like he was trying to stop himself from bursting intoughter.


    Sikong Wuwei asked curiously, "What''s got youughing so slyly, Brother?"


    Miao Yi tossed the jade archive over to the other two Manor Heads, then immediately wrote a reply and handed it to Xue''Er to be sent out.


    Only the words ''You deserve it'' were written on the jade archive. Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei didn''t recognize the transcendent seal ced upon it either, so they simply looked on in confusion.


    Miao Yi exined, "This was sent from Advisor Tao of Traversing Water Pce. Back when I received news that our men were to be permanently stationed in Tranquil Sun Manor, I immediately lodged aint to her saying that Suppressing Tenth Hall is taking their resentment out on us!" He then tossed over two jade archives to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. These were both Tao Qingli''s replies.


    Back when Miao Yi lodged the firstint, Tao Qingli immediately responded with a question: ''Who was it who went asking to take their gifts back, iming it was under mymand?''


    This woman was extremely well-informed on the events happening in Suppressing Tenth Hall. She definitely had an informant on the inside. But then again, that particr incident did cause quite amotion, so it was probably not surprising that she knew about it.


    Miao Yi immediately defended himself: ''You did say that I can take them back myself. I wouldn''t dare go against your orders.''


    Tao Qingli was probably quite annoyed by his reply. However, she really did tell him to take those treasures back himself. As such, her response became: ''Are you telling me Suppressing Tenth Hall has no right to restructure the subordinates serving under them? Stop bothering me with these inconsequential matters from now on.''


    Not long after that, Suppressing Tenth Hall released another official decree to transfer their three Manors'' forces away again. Miao Yi immediately lodged anotherint stating that the higher-ups were treating them unfairly!


    Clearly, Tao Qingli didn''t have as much patience for him this time, which led to the simple, yet curt statement on the jade archive: ''You deserve it!''


    Once he put together Miao Yi''s exnation with the contents of the jade archives, Sikong Wuweiughed aloud. "Well done, Brother! You''ve already established a connection with that future Pce Lord."


    Back when the three of them went to Suppressing Tenth Hall to receive their punishment, Miao Yi had already told the other two about the current situation in Traversing Water Pce. Therefore, both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei now knew that this Advisor Tao would very likely be the next Pce Lord.


    As the three of them continued to talk about Advisor Tao, Yan Xiu came in and reported that the new Manor Head of Tranquil Sun Manor had arrived and was currently requesting an audience.


    This new Manor Head was none other than the guy who''d been transferred away from Raincloud Manor not too long ago¡ªSun Lianping. He was actually on his way to his new post but decided to stop by Raincloud Manor and pay Miao Yi, whom he was already acquainted with, a visit before proceeding to Tranquil Sun Manor.


    It''s not like he had any other choice but toe here first! These new Manor Heads were all too ferocious. They didn''t even leave a single person alive in the neighbor''s house. Just thinking about living next to them made Sun Lianping shudder. Since he was somewhat acquainted with Miao Yi, he decided he''d best capitalize on it while he still could. Otherwise, he was afraid he would be following in Chang Zijiu''s footsteps.


    Visiting Miao Yi was just the first step. He still nned on visiting Thousand Lake Manor and Mulberry Cloud Manorter on. Little did he expect he would bump into all three Manor Heads together.


    Manor Head Sun was extremely polite. However, he couldn''t help musing deep down, ''As I suspected, these three are indeed allied together. I''m just about to step up to my new post, and I find these three together. Isn''t this too much of a coincidence?''


    Sun Lianping was so terrified that he couldn''t help being on his best behavior.


    They had a guest! Within the cool pavilion at the center of theke, Miao Yi yed the role of host and entertained Manor Head Sun.


    Seated amongst Miao Yi and the others, Sun Lianping behaved in a very friendly manner. He was just short of swearing an oath of brotherhood with the three of them. He pped his chest and dered, "Brothers, if you need any help in the future, just let me know. I absolutely won''t refuse!"


    Sikong Wuwei pped the table and said, "Well said! It just so happens that the higher-ups have cut our forces. In the future, if we ever decide to rally our troops and attack some bastard that we don''t like, we''ll be sure to count you in as well!"


    "..." With his cup raised, Sun Lianping suddenly tilted his head with a contorted expression on his face. ''I didn''t say anything about that¡­''


    "Heh heh! Please don''t mind him, Manor Head Sun. He just likes to joke around. We''re all civilized people. Why would we go around causing trouble for no reason?" Miao Yi tried to soothe Manor Head Sun.


    Manor Head Sun agreed repeatedly. However, he thought to himself, ''You people consider yourselves civilized? You just killed every single person in Tranquil Sun Manor. That''s over a thousand lives, my brother¡­''


    In the cultivation realm, lies and deception were extremelymonce. Those that managed to survive through all the violence and betrayals were people who gambled with their lives on multiple asions. Miao Yi and the others were not the type of people who easily trusted someone else. They''d had their fair share of life-threatening situations to be able to survive as long as they had. How could they possibly treat Sun Lianping as one of their own so easily? Not to mention, their impression of the people here was bad to begin with. As such, there was no way they could think of him as arade so quickly.


    However, it wasn''t necessarily a bad thing for there to be an obedient fellow standing behind their backs. The three of them also showed respect to Sun Lianping by giving him some peace of mind...

 Chapter 488 Three Advisors In A Headache

    "We¡¯ve finally left that worrisome ce!"


    The original Mountain Chieftain of Mount Hongdong¡ªCheng Hailiang¡ªsaid in relief as he led his troops out of Raincloud Manor territory.


    Turning back to look at the ce he¡¯d called home for many years, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little saddened at this departure. But s, he was simply too terrified of the way Miao Yi killed people. The guy didn¡¯t so much as bat an eyelid when chopping a man¡¯s head off! So many of hisrades were beheaded with just a singlemand from that lunatic. As he recalled the sight of blood gushing out from sliced necks and heads rolling across the ground, Cheng Hailiang couldn¡¯t help but shudder. This subsequently made him restless every time he had to receive an official decree from Raincloud Manor.


    Maybe it was because he had been rather obedient as ofte, but the Great Manor Head Miao was actually generous enough to transfer him to Pure Dream Manor during this cirction of Suppressing Tenth Manor¡¯s forces. Not to mention, he was also allowed to bring along his subordinates, with all his Advisors, Deacons as well as the ten Cave Masters being permitted to join him in this transferral. This way, he wouldn¡¯t have to build up awork of trust from scratch in his new post and was saved from quite a fair bit of trouble.


    In the past, he had thought this was all just a dream. It could also be said that Cheng Hailiang was afraid that Miao Yi would suddenly change his mind, so the moment he received the decree, he immediately gathered his men and left. They didn¡¯t stop for anything, and only found some peace of mind after leaving Raincloud Manor territory.


    Looking at his subordinates and their handmaidens down below, the grief on Cheng Hailiang¡¯s face soon gave way to excitement. He raised his arm high towards the crowd and yelled, "Brothers, we¡¯ve finally left Raincloud Manor! From now on, we don¡¯t have to live so anxiously anymore! Once we¡¯ve paid our respects to the Pure Dream Manor Head and receive our decrees of appointment, we¡¯ll head straight to our respective territories, where we¡¯ll finally be able to rest easy. Let¡¯s move on!"


    The crowd felt a rushing excitement at the sound of this and cheered on, "We shall follow after our lord till death!"


    "Let¡¯s move!" Cheng Hailiang waved his arm, then continued leading his troops towards their destination...


    "What is Miao Yi doing? Another Mountain Chieftain? My Pure Dream Manor has only transferred one Mountain¡¯s worth of forces away, so I only need one Mountain Chieftain. Why is he pushing so many of them onto me? Not to mention, I¡¯m the one who has to appoint the Mountain Chieftains in my territory. Does he really think he can teach me what to do? Even if I do respect the guy, there isn¡¯t really a need to send so many of them in one go, don¡¯t you think?"


    Soon, one of his servants reported that Mountain Chieftain Cheng Hailiang of Raincloud Manor¡¯s Mount Hongdong was here to take up his new post. Manor Head Xu Huihuang frowned at this, then waved his hand in dismissal and said, "I¡¯m not meeting him. Let him wait. I¡¯m going to ask Suppressing Tenth Hall about this. Could there be a change in the official decree that I wasn¡¯t informed about?"


    Cheng Hailiang didn¡¯t get to meet Manor Head Xu Huihuang as thetter was too busy, so he simply brought his troops to wait at the mountain at the back. As he arrived, he saw a single rider approaching. The rider came to a halt before Cheng Hailiang, then shouted, "Cheng Hailiang, you¡¯re here too?"


    Cheng Hailiang immediately recognized this person as Mountain Chieftain Xiang Dongliu of Raincloud Manor¡¯s Mount Spiritual Longevity. He couldn¡¯t help eximing, "Xiang Dongliu, why are you here?"


    With a dark expression, Xiang Dongliu chuckled in exasperation and said, "Why am I here? The same reason you are, of course! We¡¯ve all been tricked by that Miao Yi. Pure Dream Manor only needs one Mountain Chieftain. With you included, we now have five Mountain Chieftains here!"


    "What?!" Cheng Hailiang was shocked. ¡¯Five Mountain Chieftains are here to take up a post? I wasn¡¯t the only one? How can five people share one position?¡¯


    Noticing Xiang Dongliu galloping away, Cheng Hailiang anxiously called out, "Brother Xiang, where are you going?"


    Xiang Dongliupletely ignored him. Then, as Cheng Hailiang turned around, he saw another four riders galloping off. They were all familiar faces, and each of them was a Mountain Chieftain of Raincloud Manor.


    "Heh heh! Even this Cheng Hailiang is here. Damn it! It was only four people vying for a single position, but now that number has been raised to five! That Miao Yi is such a sly dog. He can¡¯t screw with us like this!" One of the people who rushed past Cheng Hailiang cursed.


    Cheng Hailiang waspletely dazed and just stood in ce, as did his troops.


    It took him a while before he finally snapped back to reality. Finally realizing what the other Mountain Chieftains were heading off to do, Cheng Hailiang hurriedly leaped onto his steed. He told his subordinates solemnly, "This is bad! I want all of you to wait here while I head to Suppressing Tenth Hall to look for Advisor Ji. Things could turn serious if I wait too long!"


    "Please hurry, my lord. We will wait for you here!"


    "My lord, you mustn¡¯t stop for anything along the way!"


    "My lord, if you need to offer gifts, then don¡¯t hold back. Worstes to worst, we¡¯ll all chip in for it!"


    All his subordinates hastily urged him to go. Evidently, they realized how serious the matter was as well.


    "Hiyahh!" barked Cheng Hailiang, then shot out with his mount like an arrow.


    Raincloud Manor had received an official decree from the higher-ups ordering the transferral of over two hundred men to two other Manors. Things were better on Pure Dream Manor¡¯s side of things. Out of some respect to Manor Head Xu Huihuang, Miao Yi had only sent five Mountain Chieftains his way. In contrast, he had sent away three Raincloud Manor Mountain Chieftains and four Deacons to the other Manor. This meant that the other Manor Head would have to make arrangements for a total of seven Mountain-Chieftain-ranked individuals.


    There were two Mountain Chieftains left in Raincloud Manor. One was Chen Fei, who was Miao Yi¡¯s trusted aide. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t be sent away. As for the other Mountain Chieftain, he was beheaded by Miao Yi back in Pure Dream Manor, and his position remained vacant all this while, so there was no one to send away.


    As for Miao Yi¡¯s six Deacons, only two remained. The other four were all kicked out. As for Mu Tai and Hu Defu, perhaps it was because they apanied Miao Yi quite often; they were able to switch gears rather quickly. As such, Miao Yi figured he could give them a chance and let them stay by his side. He still needed subordinates after all.


    As for the more than one hundred subordinate Cave Masters, Miao Yi barely remembered any of them, so he sent most of them away.


    Just as a bunch of Deacons and Mountain Chieftains were rushing to Suppressing Tenth Hall to plead their case, Raincloud Manor¡¯s Mount Spiritual Longevity, which currently did not have a Mountain Chieftain, was suddenly under attack by a group of masked men covered in ck.


    Most of the people quickly surrendered out of fear. However, one particr cultivator risked his life to break the encirclement. In the end, he was knocked down his steed by a single spear.


    With blood dripping down the edge of his mouth, the cultivator quickly stood up, his eyes bloodshot as he raised his spear, and cautiously scanned the four masked men surrounding him. Much to his surprise, the person that previously knocked him down suddenly pulled down the mask covering his face. The cultivator asked in shock, "Advisor Mu?"


    This person was none other than Raincloud Manor¡¯s very own Advisor Mu Tai.


    Another masked man approached on his dragon steed. He also took off the mask on his face and was revealed to be Raincloud Manor¡¯s senior administrator of General Affairs, Yan Xiu. Yan Xiu nodded towards the cultivator and asked, "What is your name?"


    Still a little confused by the situation, the cultivator cautiously replied, "This subordinate is called Yang Zhaoqing!"


    Yan Xiu tossed a jade archive over to Yang Zhaoqing, then solemnly announced, "Yang Zhaoqing, by the Manor Head¡¯s decree, from this moment onward, you shall temporarily take up the position of Mount Spiritual Longevity¡¯s Mountain Chieftain! You are hereby ordered to immediately take control of the Mountain and sweep out any remnants of stagnation." Yan Xiu then pointed towards the men who surrendered and continued, "If something like this happens again in the next ambush, then we will have someone else take your ce as Mountain Chieftain. The Manor Head has given you one year. If you are able to reach his standards by the end of the year, then he shall permanently appoint you as Mountain Chieftain of Mount Spiritual Longevity!"


    Yang Zhaoqing¡¯s expression gradually turned to joy and excitement, but before he could offer his thanks, Yan Xiu had already turned his mount around and shouted, "Move out!"


    The group of masked men immediately galloped away, leaving the defeated troops in a daze.


    Yang Zhaoqing read through the jade archive in his hand and noticed that Manor Head Miao¡¯s transcendence seal was indeed on it. Generally, it stated that Yan Xiu was tasked with surveying each of the Mountains on behalf of the Manor Head and that he possessed the authority to delegate someone to be an interim Mountain Chieftain for that particr Mountain. The interim period wouldst for a year, and the person delegated would be given full authority to make all the decisions pertaining to his particr Mountain. If anything were to happen, the Manor Head would take responsibility for it! Once the one year period was up, those who passed the test would be permanently appointed, whereas those who failed would be kicked aside as the Manor Head had no use for such ipetent fools!


    Once he was finished reading, Yang Zhaoqing was feverish with excitement. This surprise that fell from the sky was a little too abrupt for him to handle. He never thought that a chance beyond his wildest dreams would just suddenly appear before him, and couldn¡¯t help thinking that this must be some sort of hallucination.


    He gave himself a vicious pinch... and felt a sharp pain! This was not a dream.


    Yang Zhaoqing reread the decree a few more times, just to make sure that he was not mistaken. He pursed his lips tightly, then looked towards the direction of Raincloud Manor. Raising the jade archive in his hands, he bowed down, his voice stuttering from excitement as he said, "Subordinate Yang Zhaoqing hereby epts Manor Head¡¯s official decree. I shall not fail my lord¡¯s hopes!"


    As long as one was not a fool, they would be able to understand what kind of Mount Spiritual Longevity the Manor Head wished to see with this method of choosing a suitable sessor. It was definitely not the old Mount Spiritual Longevity. Yan Xiu¡¯s words had made things very clear¡ªthe remnants of stagnation are to be swept away!


    Yang Zhaoqing quickly turned around. With bloodstains still on his mouth, he raised the jade archive up high with one hand as he walked proudly towards his otherrades. He then shouted excitedly, "Mount Spiritual Longevity troops, heed mymand..."


    In the next few days, Raincloud Manor¡¯s Mountains kept getting ambushed one after the other. Naturally, the person behind all this was Yan Xiu, who was obviously acting under Miao Yi¡¯s orders. Without Miao Yi¡¯s approval, Yan Xiu wouldn¡¯t dare do such a thing.


    It was not exactly a foolproof n to employ such a strategy to find capable individuals to take over, but Miao Yi was out of options. For now, he needed to stabilize the situation, then slowly make the necessary adjustments. It was impractical to think of solving the situation in one go.


    He wasn¡¯t like Zhao Fei or Sikong Wuwei, who brought along a bunch of trusted aides with them who could immediately help out with sorting out the troops.


    Miao Yi finally understood why Yang Qing took him in under his wing all those years ago, and why Wu Menn had wanted to recruit him. Without any capable subordinates looking after his vassal territories, chaos would surely rein, with ipetent subordinates either constantly failing to meet his expectations or stirring up troubles for him. There was no way he could cultivate in peace like that. Given the vastness of the domain under a Manor Head, it was physically impossible for Miao Yi to go around and solve every single problem that would pop up. If that were the case, then even if his cultivation rose higher, he wouldn¡¯t have the time for anything else.


    While Raincloud Manor was keeping busy in the shadows, the three Advisors of Suppressing Tenth Hall were toiling away in the light. They enjoyed it back when they received the benefits and just pushed the names to their subordinates. But now, with a bunch of Advisors, Deacons, and Mountain Chieftains knocking on their doorstep, the three Advisors couldn¡¯t help feeling a terrible headache.


    Moreover, Raincloud Manor wasn¡¯t the only one; those kicked out of Thousand Lake Manor and Mulberry Cloud Manor were here as well. Normally, the three Advisors wouldn¡¯t feel troubled making arrangements for one person. But to have so many of the people they¡¯d received benefits from over the years suddenly pounding on their door like this, and for the same damned problem no less, the three Advisors couldn¡¯t help feeling a little overwhelmed.


    The three Advisors soon met up with one another and decided to look for Hall Master Shen Huaixin together to lodge aint against Raincloud Manor, Thousand Lake Manor, and Mulberry Cloud Manor¡¯s actions. They intended to request that the Hall Master order the three Manor Heads to take their men back.


    Shen Huaixin couldn¡¯t help feeling amused deep down. He had long received news from the other Manors asking about the situation. When Shen Huaixin saw the report, he immediately knew that those three were at fault and that they were trying to make things difficult on the three Advisors on purpose. Normally, it was beneath an esteemed Hall Master like himself to get in the way of someone else¡¯s benefits. After all, he would still have something to gain by not interfering. As such, he was in no rush at all with regards to the current situation. It wasn¡¯t as if those Mountain-Chieftain-ss subordinates couldin to him anyway.


    Shen Huaixin also never thought that this transferral strategy would incite Miao Yi and the others to retaliate in such a way. ¡¯Things have really escted now. Those three are fully intending to go head-to-head against the three Advisors! This is a good thing!¡¯


    ¡¯This is definitely a good thing for me!¡¯

 Chapter 489 I Have One Too

    Shen Huaixin asked, "I¡¯ve only just released the decree ordering their subordinates to be transferred away. And now you want me tomand them to take all these people back? I seem to recall that the three of you were supportive of reducing their three Manors¡¯ forces back then. Why have you suddenly changed your minds? Are you so free that you simply wish to look for something entertaining to do, or is it because you think this Hall Master¡¯s official decree is something that can be taken back on a whim?"


    The three Advisors were a little helpless at his words. They all knew that it was inappropriate for a Hall Master to take back his official decree, but things had really gotten out of hand... Huang Jizhang forced a smile and cupped his fists, "We¡¯re simply having them take back those who already have a certain position within the three Manors, not everyone."


    Shen Huaixin asked again, "So you¡¯re saying that they should take back some of the men, while the others remain?"


    The three Advisors fell silent for a while. Shortly after, Ji Ze cupped his fists and answered weakly, "Yes, that is what we¡¯re saying."


    Shen Huaixin asked curiously, "Then how is that any different from having me revoke my official decree? Even if I do somehow agree to this, don¡¯t you think you should give me a valid reason at least?"


    The three Advisors grumbled to themselves, ¡¯Like you don¡¯t already know why.¡¯


    Xu Jinsong cupped his fists and said, "The three Manors have sent both their high and low-ranking troops to be transferred away to the other six Manors. There aren¡¯t that many positions within the six Manors to begin with. I¡¯m positive those three Manor Heads have some kind of ulterior motive, and they¡¯re using this method to retaliate against the official decree from their superiors. For the sake of the greater good, the three of us would like to request that the Hall Master make another official decree in regards to the transferral."


    "Ulterior motive? Going against their superior¡¯s official decree? I¡¯m sure the three of you are just overthinking things. I have just received reports from the three Manors not too long ago. Why don¡¯t you take a look?" Shen Huaixin then tossed out three jade archives.


    Standing down below, the three Advisors caught the jade archives and started to read through them. The archives stated: ¡¯Our three Manors fully agree with Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s stance that the troops can be susceptible to feelings of attachment from staying in one ce for too long. After a thorough investigation, we found that the troops in both the higher and lower upper echelons of our administrations were indeed exhibiting such behavior. As such, our three Manors shall support Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s ns in whatever way we can. We have already sent most of our forces to be transferred away. And while we will help retain the positions of those transferred away, if the other six Manors find any of our subordinates to be of use, they are free to keep them permanently. If not, then they are allowed to demote them ordingly as well. The other six Manors are free to think of this as a form of training for the troops. Our three Manors shall simply wait patiently for the day our forces return.¡¯


    ¡¯They¡¯re still thinking of waiting for their troops to be returned?¡¯


    ¡¯In the first ce, this whole n was a ruse to cut your forces so that the people from the other Manors wouldn¡¯t get scared sh*tless! We¡¯ve never even thought of returning those men back to you three!¡¯


    The looks on Xu Jinsong¡¯s and the others¡¯ faces twisted horribly. ¡¯Retaining their subordinates¡¯ positions! What a cunning move! They¡¯vepletely blocked off all possible ways of retreat for us! They don¡¯t have the slightest intention of going against the official decree or making things difficult for their superiors. Instead, they said that we¡¯re free to return their three Manors¡¯ subordinates whenever we please!¡¯


    The problem was that they couldn¡¯t return these subordinates, at least not for the time being. Even if they¡ªthe three Advisors¡ªwere willing, the Hall Master Shen Huaixin would surely be against it. No Hall Master would treat his own official decree like a toy that he could just toss back and forth as he pleased.


    Even if they waited until enough time had passed to send all these people back, there were too many uncertainties involved. It would most likely be toote by then.


    As he watched the three Advisors leave, Shen Huaixin turned to his handmaidens standing beside him and gently sighed, "He whoes surely bears ill-will, as those with good intentions shall never arrive! People always say that those who¡¯ve made their way out of the bloody massacre that is the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade are real men amongst men. I see the rumors aren¡¯t exaggerated in the least!"


    As they walked out the door, Xu Jinsong and the others were grinding their teeth in hatred. There was simply nothing they could do. Since the other party had dared to make such a move, it was evident that threats wouldn¡¯t work on them. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have asked to take back their gifts in the first ce. These people were clearly more than ready to put up a fight against them!


    What they found most frustrating was that there was still a bunch of people waiting for them in their homes. They¡¯d really embarrassed themselves this time. All those people had only gotten promoted by offering gifts to the three of them. They even sent them tributes every year. But in the end, they couldn¡¯t even help them secure a position. Moreover, they ended up failing so many of them in one go. How would the public look at the three Advisors from now on?


    "Brother Xu, Brother Huang, why don¡¯t we go for a drink somewhere?" Ji Ze suddenly asked.


    The other two Advisors nodded. None of them wished to go back to their manors and face all those people. They figured they could just look for someone to send the crowd awayter on...


    A bunch of people from the three Manors hade to Suppressing Tenth Hall in a rush, but in the end, they all had no choice but to leave in low spirits. The three Advisors no longer showed their faces after leaving. It couldn¡¯t be clearer what that meant for them.


    Although these people hated Miao Yi, they despised the three Advisors even more. ¡¯We can¡¯t afford to offend that brute Miao Yi, but you three have received so many gifts from us over the years...¡¯


    It was evident what would await these people once they returned. The Manor Heads of the six Manors would surely promote their own people if they could. After all, if not even the three Advisors could help them, then how could the Manor Heads?


    Raincloud Manor, Thousand Lake Manor, and Mulberry Cloud Manor. These three Manors had each sent out nearly four hundred of their forces to be transferred away, and a majority of their Advisors, Deacons, Mountain Chieftains, and Cave Masters were all demoted to normal troops to be used by the other six Manors. When word spread about this, the public was utterly shocked by the overwhelming prowess disyed by the three Manors.


    Among the Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s ten Manors, only those three Manors remained with half their forces cut away from them; the rest had all their troops replenished. Even Tranquil Sun Manor, which was previously wiped clean, had all its positions filled out. In the eyes of the other Manors¡¯ forces, Manor Head Miao and the others had openly gone up against the three Advisors of Suppressing Tenth Hall. Yet, both parties actually ended up fighting to a draw. One side had half their forces cut, while the other was forced to offend so many people.


    However, one thing was certain; this was not over. It was unlikely that the three Manors¡¯ forces would ever be replenished. As long as those three Advisors were still in power, they would surely reject the idea even if it killed them. This was something the other Manors all wished to see. They couldn¡¯t let those three brutes have too many men under their control. Otherwise, they would all have to live in fear; fear that they would follow in Tranquil Sun Manor¡¯s footsteps...


    Raincloud City. Within the Celestial Chamber of Commerce¡¯s branch shop, a few tellers were surrounding a cultivator that hade here to trade, listening to thetter talk about the recent urrences in Suppressing Tenth Hall. Listening in by the side, Wen Fang quietly clicked her tongue as she thought, ¡¯Those three are vicious indeed. They¡¯ve only just arrived and they already brutally murdered over one thousand Tranquil Sun Manor cultivators in a baptism of blood without a single survivor. Right after that, they defied the Advisors of Suppressing Tenth Hall and ended up shaming the three Red Lotus realm cultivators to such a degree!¡¯


    Traversing Water Pce. At the peak of the mountain surrounded by mighty waterfalls on all sides, the rear pce sits loftily upon the edge of the cliff. Next to the bright, red-colored railings connected to a beautifully carved moon-shaped arch gate, Granny Tao stood gazing at the clouds in the distance, her golden dragon-head staff in hand. Facing the breeze, she was inches away from the railing, where the sharp drop of a cliff awaited those who crossed it.


    As she listened to Advisor Tao Qingli¡¯s report on the current state of affairs in Suppressing Tenth Hall, Granny Tao chuckled, "Those three runts have really done it now. As expected of Subjugation Crusade survivors. I never thought that I¡¯d bring back such interesting people. What a pity!"


    Tao Qingli supported Granny Tao by the arm and asked, "Grandmother, why do you say it¡¯s a pity?"


    Granny Tao turned to look at her and replied, "A pity that I¡¯ve grown old. I fear that you won¡¯t be able to hold these three down in the future! They don¡¯t even hold the three Red Lotus realm Advisors in any regard. It¡¯s evident that their ambition isn¡¯t small. For now, let¡¯s just wait and see what happens next!"


    All those in the cultivation realm spent most of their time cultivating, unlike mortals who met the challenges of daily life as they came. And with the gradual passage of time, the waves that were stirred in Suppressing Tenth Hall slowly died out. The grudge between Miao Yi¡¯s posse and the three Advisors was set in stone, and it was only a matter of time before something happened that would cause both parties to sh once again.


    Half a yearter, the three Manors¡¯ forces had still yet to be replenished. After all, they could try to recruit people as much as they want, but none of the higher-ups would approve of it.


    That said, although the forces within the three Manors had dwindled, they no longer carried themselves in the same way they did before, as all their old practices had beenpletely swept aside. The fact that the three Advisors weren¡¯t able to push any of their subordinates into the three Manors¡¯ forces yed a huge role in ensuring that internal reforms could bepleted so sessfully. Otherwise, if the higher-ups suddenly slotted someone into their forces or talked about using their connections and whatnot, then all their efforts would have been wasted.


    The only thing worth regretting was that battles for territory weren¡¯t allowed here. As such, Miao Yi could onlymand his subordinates to do mock ambushes on one another periodically. They were free to use any method at their disposal. However, since they didn¡¯t have many members in the first ce, they couldn¡¯t really start to kill one another. Therefore, they were only allowed to use wooden sticks and their dragon steeds. The losing side would have to pay a certain number of Orbs of Will to the winning side, which would be tabted during the annual tribute at the end of the year.


    Chaos immediately ensued after that announcement was made. Miao Yi¡¯s subordinates battled each other constantly, and would always end up with heavy injuries on both sides. Suffering wounds became a daily routine for them.


    Even though it was stressful having to go through every single day being wary and cautious of enemy attacks, the change it brought to the troops was significant. The disastrouslyid-back attitude previously exhibited by the Caves and Mountains was now gone, slowly reced by an aura of vignce and ferocity. This was what Miao Yi wanted to see.


    Within the silent quarters, a two-petaled blue lotus bloomed on Miao Yi¡¯s forehead.


    As he opened his eyes, Miao Yi gently breathed out. There was a happy look on his face. With the increase in his cultivation, he could now refine four Orbs of Will a day instead of his previous rate of three orbs a day. He never thought that after breaking through to the Blue Lotus realm, his daily orb-refining speed would increase by a whole orb every time he broke through to the next grade. This was not to be underestimated, as this seemingly minor improvement indicated a very significant increase in his cultivation in the long run.


    As for breaking through to the Blue Lotus Third Grade, it seemed Miao Yi would need to refine about 5,120 Orbs of Will. Once again, it was two times the previous amount.


    This also meant that he would need around three and a half years to break through to the Third Grade. To most cultivators, such a cultivating speed was already quite terrifying.


    Miao Yi ceased his cultivation and stepped outside. He would do this almost every month. He then called for Yan Xiu, Qian¡¯ Er, and Xue¡¯Er and asked them about the state of things in his absence. He was particrly interested in any movements from the three Advisors of Suppressing Tenth Hall, as he was worried they would use some underhanded methods while he wasn¡¯t around.


    As always, nothing unusual of note had happened this time around as well. After making sure everything was okay, Miao Yi led the two girls away from his manor and headed straight towards the forbidden site, which was also the ind where Yao Ruoxian resided in. Every time Miao Yi stepped out of cultivation, he would be concerned about the progress of his transcendent artifact. He was very excited to see a transcendent artifact on par with the Flowing Cloud Killer!


    The ind was quiet. Under the Manor Head¡¯smand, no one dared to set foot here. As Miao Yi and the two youngdies arrived, they headed straight for the courtyard, where they were immediately greeted with the sound of something snoring. This obviously came from Charcoal, who was all curled up and sleeping under the eaves of the main hall.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know how many Yao Cores Yao Ruoxian had fed to Charcoal, but in short, he practically never saw the damned fatso awake every time he visited.


    Within the main hall, Yao Ruoxian was sitting atop a bamboo bed and cultivating. Miao Yi¡¯s eyes immediately brightened as he saw this. In all the times he visited before, the old man would be refining artifacts inside a cave that he dug out. Why was he cultivating all of a sudden? Could it be that his transcendent artifact waspleted?


    The old coot had never once treated him with courtesy. If he recklessly set foot inside, there was a chance that he would get hammered to a bloody pulp by the old coot¡¯s mace. As such, Miao Yi quickly tossed a nce at the two youngdies.


    While Miao Yi waited outside, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er walked inside the main hall and bowed, "Father!"


    "You¡¯re here!" Yao Ruoxian opened his eyes and revealed a faint smile. Then when he saw Miao Yi standing outside acting cool, he couldn¡¯t help letting out a cold huff.


    "Senior Yao!" Miao Yi finally walked in. He cupped his fists and said, "This junior is here to see you."


    "You¡¯re here to see the transcendent artifact I refined for you is more like it," Yao Ruoxian said with contempt. With a flip of his hand, he then handed four crystalline bracelets to the two girls. "These are for you two."


    From a single nce, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes were sharp enough to tell that these were made from the Supreme Fire Crystal. His expression froze, but not in time to watch as Yao Ruoxian took out yet another intricate jade tablet made from the Supreme Fire Crystal. The old man chuckled and said, "I have one too! Girls, remember to always wear this on you. You never know when you might need it. It¡¯s one heck of a fire-repent!"

 Chapter 490 Black-Scaled Light Armor

    ¡¯What the hell?¡¯ Miao Yi¡¯s expression looked a little horrible as he asked, "You old coot, weren¡¯t you going to use this material to refine the formation core for my transcendent artifact? Why did you make these instead?"


    Yao Ruoxian narrowed his eyes at him, "Anyone else can say this to me, but not you. How many of these little toys do you think I could have made with the amount you threw away?"


    "..." Miao Yi was speechless. The old coot was bringing this matter up again. He really knew how to hit him where it hurt. Every time this matter was brought up, Miao Yi felt a terrible pain in his chest. But s, he couldn¡¯t possibly go back to the Supreme Fire Pce to pick up all those shattered fragments. He quickly tossed a nce at Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    Qian¡¯Er immediately pulled on Yao Ruoxian¡¯s arm and asked, "Father, have you finished refining Master¡¯s transcendent artifact?"


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s lips twitched, and he tossed Miao Yi a hateful gaze. He knew that this bastard was intentionally avoiding the subject and unwilling to argue with him. The brat was fully aware that the two girls were his weak spot, and so he made them speak on his behalf for everything he found difficult to ask. Had he not found it unbearable to see the pleading gazes on the two girls¡¯ faces, Yao Ruoxian would¡¯ve long given Miao Yi a good beating to let off some steam.


    "Take it!" The object rattled as Yao Ruoxian tossed it straight at Miao Yi¡¯s face.


    Afraid that this was another one of the old man¡¯s tricks, Miao Yi quickly dodged to the side and caught the artifact as it passed him by. After making sure that it was safe, he opened it up and found that it was actually a ck-colored leather armor which took the shape of a sleeveless, scaled vest. Miao Yi didn¡¯t really care what it looked like. He quickly injected the artifact with his transcendence energy signature and gained ownership of it. He then put it on straight away, wanting to test out its capabilities.


    "Don¡¯t test it out here. Go inside the cave. This house can¡¯t handle your pyromaniac tendencies!" Yao Ruoxian suddenly barked.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er immediately left their father behind and excitedly went after Miao Yi. They were curious about the artifact¡¯s capabilities as well.


    Yao Ruoxian couldn¡¯t help rolling his eyes at those two ungrateful girls. He then jumped down the bamboo bed and followed after them.


    Everyone soon made their way to the cave that Yao Ruoxian had dug out to refine his artifacts. Miao Yi immediately closed his eyes to feel the changes within the armor artifact. As he slowlyprehended the basic mechanics, he suddenly let out a gasp of astonishment. He looked down at the Qilin head ornament ced where the armor¡¯s cors intersected; he had just discovered that the ornament actually contained a very profound design. There was a small pocket dimension inside, and quietly floating within that pocket dimension was the Supreme Fire Crystal Qilin head that he¡¯d brought back from the Supreme Fire Pce.


    The formation core for this transcendent artifact was so tantly out in the open. This was something Miao Yi had never seen before, at least not in the transcendent artifacts he was familiar with.


    He looked up at Yao Ruoxian who was slowly walking into the cave. He pointed to the Qilin head ornament on his cor and asked, "What¡¯s up with this?"


    Yao Ruoxian briefly exined, "It¡¯s a bit of a waste to use such arge chunk of Supreme Fire Crystal to refine a mere Second Grade Transcendent Artifact. That¡¯s why I decided to refine it into an unsealed formation core instead of just hiding it away permanently. That way, you can take out the keystone that is the Supreme Fire Crystal anytime you want. Once your cultivation is high enough, I can recycle it into a formation core for a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact. In doing so, you¡¯ll be able to make greater use of the Supreme Fire Crystal¡¯s effects and also avoid wastage. The downside to this is that if someone were to steal the formation core, then this artifact of yours is as good as garbage. This is also the reason why most transcendent artifacts tend to have their formation cores hidden away and sealed off. It¡¯s just like how transcendent arrays normally hide the heart of the array away so that it can¡¯t easily be found by the enemy. Otherwise, once the heart is broken, so too shall the array crumble!"


    "I can take out the keystone?" Miao Yi asked curiously.


    Yao Ruoxian nodded.


    Miao Yi quickly examined the artifact again with his transcendence energy. He focused on sensing the inner dimension hidden within the Qilin head ornament, and soon enough, he found the method of opening it.


    As he manipted his transcendence energy, the Qilin head on the cor of the artifact opened its mouth and released a white radiance which quickly expanded. Miao Yi hurriedly reached out and grabbed at the light. Seeing that it was indeed the Supreme Fire Crystal Qilin head, he couldn¡¯t help clicking his tongue. He figured that this Qilin head ornament contained simr capabilities to a storage ring, but the dimension within seemed a little moreplex than that. There were holes of various sizes situated around the spatial walls of the pocket dimension.


    Miao Yi then brought the Qilin head closer to his chest, and the ornament on his cor opened its mouth once more, sucking the Qilin head back inside and returning it back to its original position.


    "Back away a little. I¡¯m going to give this a go."


    There wasn¡¯t a lot of space inside the cave and there was no ce to hide. Miao Yi was afraid of identally hurting the other three, so he warned them beforehand.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were about to exit the cave when Yao Ruoxian suddenly took out a crystal tablet. He then pointed at the crystal bracelets on the two youngdies¡¯ wrists and said, "You two don¡¯t have to be afraid. We have something that can counteract the effects of his transcendent artifact!"


    Since the old man had put it that way, then Miao Yi had nothing left to worry about. He spread his arms, and mes started bursting forth from the tiny gaps between the scales of his armor. In the blink of an eye, Miao Yi waspletely wrapped in mes. The fire quickly expanded, and with a violent rumble, the whole cave was instantly swept by an intense wave of heat.


    With his entire body shrouded in mes, Miao Yi looked absolutely imposing, and his presence was nothing short of astonishing. Meanwhile, Yao Ruoxian, Qian¡¯Er, and Xue¡¯Er looked as if they were wrapped inside an eggshell. The burning fire was around one foot away from them, but it had no way of getting any closer than that. It was a rather peculiar sight indeed. That said, the three of them could still feel a tiny amount of heating from the powerful mes beyond the safety zone.


    As he examined himself, Miao Yi chuckled in delight. With this, there was no way an enemy would be able to get close to him by normal means.


    The powerful ze quickly subsided and was reabsorbed back into Miao Yi¡¯s ck-scaled armor, and the cave returned to its gloomy self once again.


    "Let¡¯s see what you can turn into!" shouted Miao Yi with one arm raised and his palm spread open.


    The ck-scaled light armor he wore immediately started revolving around him as individual scales quickly gathered on his wrist. The scales then continued upwards to his palm, where they immediately grew longer and bigger. In the blink of an eye, the scales had morphed into the Inversed-Scales Spear in Miao Yi¡¯s hand.


    The difference between this Inversed-Scales Spear and the old one was that instead of a dragon¡¯s head being attached to the tail of the spear, it was now reced by a Qilin¡¯s head. And the scales that were originally on Miao Yi¡¯s armor had now transformed into the inverted scales that formed the spear.


    Draconic roars erupted as Miao Yi struck forward with his spear. Then from the tip of his spear, a powerful me burst forth. Having been imbued with Miao Yi¡¯s transcendence energy, the destructive power of the me was extremely powerful, and was capable of creating a ckened hole about the size of a pir on the walls of the cave, with smoke rising from its incinerated remains.


    Miao Yi pulled back the Inversed-Scales Spear and held it up at an angle. Then, violent mes started spewing forth again from the spear, encasing itpletely with fire from top to bottom.


    "Nice!" Miao Yi eximed. The mes on the Inversed-Scales Spear quickly subsided, and the spear itself immediately started revolving up his arm, turning back into the ck-scaled light armor over his body.


    Feeling the armor on his body, Miao Yi was ecstatic. With his spear artbined with the devastating force of this fire, it was easy to imagine the oue if he ever had to battle someone. Even if he went up against an entire army by himself, he was confident he would still be able to hold his own. This was truly a powerful transcendent artifact!


    Even Yao Ruoxian, the one who refined the artifact himself, couldn¡¯t help shaking his head. He turned to his two daughters and sighed, "Oh my girls, I¡¯m so sad for you two! All you can do is watch in envy as someone else gets the precious artifact! Initially, I wanted to cut that chunk of Supreme Fire Crystal into three pieces and make two transcendent artifacts for you as well. Sadly, even if I did do such a thing, you girls wouldn¡¯t be able to control the finished product anyway. It¡¯s tough even for me. All those who don¡¯t practice any fire-type cultivation arts will naturally have difficulty controlling such a transcendent artifact¡ªunless their cultivation was high enough that they didn¡¯t need to fear the feedback from the intense mes. But even then, they wouldn¡¯t be able to utilize this transcendent artifact to its full potential. Transcendent artifacts of the Five Elements are different from normal transcendent artifacts. They can only be wielded by someone who practices the corresponding element¡¯s cultivation art. Thus, I have no choice but to let this brat have all the benefits. Haa¡ª!"


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er hurriedly waved their hands and said, "It¡¯s alright, Father!"


    Hearing the old man say that he had difficulty guarding against the might of the ming spear, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help asking, "Old coot, do you think I can fight you with this transcendent artifact?"


    Deep down he thought that if he could defeat the old coot with this transcendent artifact, then he would no longer have to act humble in front of him in the future.


    Yao Ruoxian was taken aback by Miao Yi¡¯s question. He had never thought of the brat as a good person in the first ce, so as his mind steered towards the negative side of things, he quickly guessed the heinous intentions of the Great Manor Head Miao. Whoosh! A dark red mace artifact instantly appeared by his side. With a raised eyebrow, Yao Ruoxian said coldly, "I¡¯ve always known you were a stinking brat! Go ahead and try me! We¡¯ll see whether or not I can smash you and your artifact into a bloody pulp!"


    As his gaze fell upon the old man¡¯s Third Grade Transcendent Artifact, Miao Yi was a little dazed, and instantly broke out into a cold sweat. He had always been fearful of the old coot¡¯s Third Grade Transcendent Artifact. How could he forget about this crucial fact in his excitement? ¡¯Shit, that¡¯s a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact for crying out loud. If that ms down on me, then this ming spear will definitely turn into scrap metal right on the spot!¡¯


    He saw firsthand how the battle went down between the old man and that Commander Yuan back in the Sea of Constetions. A Third Grade Transcendent Artifact was enough to tten a whole mountain in a single stroke. How could his ming spear possibly withstand such a terrifying force!


    Miao Yi hurriedly scrapped all his nasty intentions and smiled drily, "What are you thinking about? That¡¯s not what I mean. I just feel that this transcendent artifact you refined for me is a little off."


    Hearing someone criticizing the transcendent artifact he refined, Yao Ruoxian¡¯s upational habit immediately crept up. With furrowed brows, he asked, "What do you mean a little off?"


    "Aren¡¯t there too little transformations on this transcendent artifact? It can only morph into either a spear or light armor. I¡¯ve seen other transcendent artifacts in the Sea of Constetions. Some of them can change into all kinds of shapes and sizes." Miao Yi could still remember the might of that Flowing Cloud Killer till this day.


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s expression instantly darkened, and he was practically shouting at Miao Yi as he said, "Kid, do you have any idea what you¡¯re talking about? If you don¡¯t, then stop spouting nonsense like an ignorant fool! For a normal transcendent artifact, once the formation core is broken, then the artifact itself will be destroyed as well. Meanwhile, not only is the transcendent artifact I refined for you capable of transformation, you can even take out the formation core anytime you want and the transcendent artifact will not be destroyed. You can use it as a spear, or turn it into an armor artifact to protect yourself. Do you think that there are many people in the artifact-refining industry who can aplish such a feat? If you want it to transform into all kinds of shapes and sizes, then that¡¯s simple enough. However, you should know this: a transcendent artifact that¡¯s capable of taking on multiple forms requires an equallyrge number of materials to refine. Do you think that something that can change into a mountain can just magically pop out of nowhere? Of course, you would first need enough materials to fill up an entire mountain to make it! As long as the transcendent artifact isn¡¯t generating an illusion, then all its transformations require real materials to be refined. It would normally take the whole fortune of arge sect to create such a thing. How can your paltry little savings evenpare?! And you¡¯re still dreaming of having it transform into various shapes and sizes... Are you tired of living? You don¡¯t like my transcendent artifact? Fine! Then give it back to me!"


    "Don¡¯t be so hasty! That¡¯s not what I meant. I was just casually asking." Miao Yiughed drily, then secretly nced at the two girls, who immediately went up to cate Yao Ruoxian¡¯s anger.


    "You two... there¡¯s really no helping you. I¡¯m so frustrated!" Yao Ruoxian pointed at the two girls, then helplessly flicked his sleeves and left.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er turned to look at Miao Yi. He chuckled and said softly, "It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s normal for someone that¡¯s agitated to behave a little strangely. I don¡¯t mind it at all." He mused to himself, ¡¯How many cultivators out there get to have their own personal Artifact Artisan?¡¯


    Feeling his light armor, Miao Yi felt that it might be a little too offputting to wear this over his clothes. He activated his transcendence energy, and the armor quickly transformed into the Inversed-Scales Spear in his hand. The spear artifact then immediately morphed again, revolving around his arm and into his sleeves, sessfully bing armor under his clothes. It was impossible to discern it from the outside.


    Touching his body again, Miao Yi didn¡¯t feel too unpleasant. The old man was definitely skilled when it came to refining transcendent artifacts. Miao Yi chuckled in satisfaction and waved his hand, "Let¡¯s go! It¡¯s almost time for the annual tribute. We have to be more alert."

 Chapter 491 Those Who Share The Same Pillow

    As Miao Yi and the two girls walked across the stone bridge, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er nced back at the forbidden ind with some hesitation in their eyes. Eventually, Qian¡¯Er said, "Master! Father wishes to teach us both how to refine transcendent artifacts."


    "Teach you how to refine artifacts?" Miao Yi was surprised. He smiled and continued, "This is a good thing! Why were you so hesitant to mention it then?"


    Xue¡¯Er answered, "Father told us that his artifact-refining technique is also a type of skill that can be handed down, with many of its previous generations¡¯ masters having already passed on. He said that this technique can only be handed down to those who are direct disciples, and since we can be considered his students, Father tells us that he can teach this technique to us as well. However, since Master is an outsider, Father wants us to swear to never leak this technique out, not even to you!"


    Miao Yi¡¯s footsteps came to a halt as he looked at the two youngdies curiously. Qian¡¯Er then quickly added, "We haven¡¯t agreed to it yet. We told Father that we have to ask for your permission first, and because of this he got very angry!"


    "And here I was wondering why it felt like the old man had a strong urge to punch me in the face. So it turns out it was because of this!" Miao Yi shook his head andughed. Waving his hand, he continued, "There¡¯s no difference between teaching it to you two and teaching it to me. I doubt you two are going to be as small-minded as your father, who treats his own junk as if it was treasure, just because you¡¯re learning his technique. Go ahead and learn it. I¡¯m fine. I still have to focus my efforts on my own cultivation. There¡¯s no time for me to learn other skills. That said, even though I said its fine for you to learn your father¡¯s artifact-refining technique, remember to pay attention to your own cultivations as well. Don¡¯t neglect it because of this."


    The two youngdies were ecstatic¡ªthey no longer needed to mull over this dilemma. They repeatedly nodded in excitement...


    As the seasons passed, the time for the annual tribute eventually came, much like it did every other year. This event was the whole basis on which the rules of the present-day cultivation realm were established, and how everything came to be. It was the biggest happening of the year.


    As always, the time for the annual tribute fell upon the winter season. However, the climate within Raincloud Manor was not seasonal, but warm and humid all year round. While South Edict Manor was most likely covered in heavy snow around this time of the year, there was no chance of seeing even the tiniest snowke here. The trees and forests were still evergreen, the flowers were in full bloom as usual, and thekes rippled gently like they always did. The notion of winter waspletely unheard of here.


    Wen Fang came early on to visit her Big Brother and bring gifts, making sure to see him before things started getting busy with the annual tribute. It could also be considered her first visit of the year, as she knew that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t have the time to see her if she camete.


    She managed to rack up a bunch of sales this year, so she was able to bring more luxurious gifts than the ones presented the first time she met Miao Yi. With her connections in the Chamber of Commerce, she was able to procure some very unique items. However, she knew that her Big Brother Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t be interested in such frivolous things, so she simply brought items that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er would like. After all, fawning over those who share the same pillow as her Big Brother was just as effective. And indeed, she was able to catch the two youngdies¡¯ fancy.


    After visiting Miao Yi, Wen Fang quickly galloped off again on her own. Naturally, she still had to visit Thousand Lake Manor¡¯s Zhao Fei and Mulberry Cloud Manor¡¯s Sikong Wuwei as well. She even mentioned that she was going to head to the First Earthly Branch and visit Yan Beihong after everything was settled on this side. That was going to be quite the journey.


    Miao Yi asked Wen Fang to send Yan Beihong his regards. At the same time, he handed her a spirit feather to pass to thetter and instructed her to get another one from Yan Beihong to bring back to him once she returned. That way, they would be able to get in touch with each other easily. Naturally, Wen Fang epted the task with glee and guaranteed she would seed!


    Since he¡¯d handed the other party a task, Miao Yi naturally needed to send her off personally. As he stood by the edge of theke and watched Wen Fang leave, Miao Yi turned to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er and smiled, "This girl isn¡¯t afraid of hard work at all, and always greets people with a smile on her face. For the sake of achieving her objectives, she can be as persistent as a cockroach. It¡¯s too bad she¡¯s with the Chamber of Commerce. Otherwise, I¡¯d use any means necessary to get her to be my subordinate!"


    Covering her smile, Xue¡¯Er said, "Wen Fang isn¡¯t doing too poorly in the Chamber of Commerce either. Earlier, she told us that she has a high chance of being promoted to a managerial position within the Raincloud City branch next year, as her superiors were all very satisfied with her performance this year. She told us that it was thanks to Master¡¯s grace."


    "That¡¯s not entirely true. Even though we did lend her some assistance, she was the one who persevered and took the opportunity with her own hands. Why else would I help her for no reason?" Miao Yi shook his head and smiled.


    Raincloud City was Miao Yi¡¯s vassal city with a poption of up to ten million followers. As the time for the annual tribute neared, the City Lord visited with an entire envoy of carriages filled with gifts. Miao Yi didn¡¯t meet him, however, and instead left it to Yan Xiu to take care of everything. He had to hand over his share of the tribute for the next ten years anyway, as part of his punishment from Suppressing Tenth Hall.


    However, halfway through the procedure, Yan Xiu ran over to meet Miao Yi. When he saw that Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er were present as well, he became a little hesitant to speak, as though the matter he wished to talk about wasn¡¯t appropriate to share out loud. Just as he was prepared to use voice transmission, Miao Yi asked, "What¡¯s the matter? There are no outsiders here!"


    Yan Xiu had no choice but to grit his teeth and say, "The Raincloud City Lord has brought five exquisitely beautiful women here. He says that they¡¯re a gift to you, my lord. Should I ept them?"


    When he said this, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er immediately sent him a piercing re. If looks could kill, then they probably would have turned Yan Xiu into a beehive already. The intensity of their gazes caused Yan Xiu to almost break out into a cold sweat.


    The two youngdies¡¯ eyes were filled with discontent. If their Master wished to partake in beautiful women from the outside, then as servants, they couldn¡¯t reallyin. They would still need to serve him like they always did, and maybe even ask if he was satisfied after the fact. However, Yan Xiu could be considered as half their teacher and master. How could he report such a thing to their Master? He should have just declined that City Lord straight away. Why did he need to mention it in front of their Master?


    "Master Yan, how could you do such a thing? Little Sister and I can serve Master well enough. We don¡¯t need any outside help!" Qian¡¯Er was alreadyining through voice transmission.


    Yan Xiu replied in kind, "Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m doing this for you two? Otherwise, I could¡¯ve just told the Master when you weren¡¯t around, or just use voice transmission to inform him. Once the Master makes up his mind, then it would no longer be appropriate for you two to say anything against his decision."


    The two girls finally realized that they had misunderstood Yan Xiu, who had actually thought of such a method to help them.


    Miao Yi also noticed the indignant gazes in the two girls¡¯ eyes as they nced at him furtively. He coughed drily in response, realizing that some things were indeed better left unspoken even when there were no outsiders around. To be precise, some things were better discussed when outsiders were around, but absolutely not when one¡¯s own people were present.


    Truth be told, Miao Yi was quite curious about the five beautiful women the City Lord had brought for him. Since the other party had used the term exquisite, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help wondering if they were as beautiful as Fairy Hong Chen, and was very interested in taking a look.


    Given his current status and prestige, it wasn¡¯t much of a problem if he slept with multiple women. Even mortals who didn¡¯t have his exalted position could do something like this without any issue. Meanwhile, he was an esteemed Manor Head with over ten million followers in his grasp. It wouldn¡¯t be strange at all for him to ept those five beautiful women. Rather, it would be a verymon thing to do. In the eyes of others, abstaining from other women was perhaps the more peculiar thing to do. This had nothing to do with whether he liked those women or not, nor was there anything rted to love. It was just something that everyone did. It was a kind ofmon sense. Miao Yi never thought of wanting to be some saint that was different from everyone else.


    However, Miao Yi also had to consider the person behind the two girls¡ªYao Ruoxian. If he were to take in any woman that came his way, that old coot would definitely pummel him to death with his mace. Sometimes, he couldn¡¯t help wondering if it had been a good idea to let the two girls ept Yao Ruoxian as their adoptive father.


    As he considered the consequences, Miao Yi eventually calmed his stirring heart. He waved his hand and said, "Have him take them back! Tell him to just focus on managing Raincloud City¡¯s affairs, and to not put so much effort in such frivolous things from now on."


    ¡¯Don¡¯t put so much effort in it? That means he can still put in some effort then?¡¯ A woman¡¯s mind was capable of creating deep misunderstandings at times!


    At Miao Yi¡¯s side, Qian¡¯Er quickly suggested, "Master! Why don¡¯t you just bestow those girls to Master Yan then?"


    She was afraid that a certain someone would try toe up with ways to send those women to her Master¡¯s bedside afterward. After all, she had borne witness to how skilled the people in Raincloud Manor were at currying favor. There was no choice but to take precautionary measures. Once those women were gifted to Yan Xiu, then there was no chance of her Master touching them no matter how pretty they were.


    Still oblivious to her true intentions, Miao Yi immediately jumped at the idea. He nodded and teased, "Yan Xiu, it¡¯s not good for you to stay single for so long either. You need someone to take care of you. Do you want them? If you do, then I¡¯ll just gift them to you."


    Yan Xiu hurriedly waved his hands and said, "I¡¯m already old. I wouldn¡¯t be able to take them. Why don¡¯t we just send them back then?"


    Xue¡¯Er also suddenly chimed in, "Since these girls are a token of the City Lord¡¯s appreciation, why don¡¯t you just ept them, Master? The subordinate Deacons and Advisors have worked hard as well. Maybe you can just gift those girls to them instead?"


    "Little Sister is right!" Qian¡¯Er nodded expressionlessly.


    Yan Xiu and Miao Yi looked at one another wordlessly, with one set of big eyes staring straight at another set of smaller eyes.


    With how efficient the two girls were at finding ways to deal with those five women, Miao Yi finally had a vague idea of their intentions.


    "I¡¯ll leave it to you then." Miao Yi smiled drily.


    Yan Xiu immediately acknowledged the order and left.


    With just a couple of words from Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, the fates of those five so-called ¡¯exquisitely beautiful women¡¯ had been decided. It wasn¡¯t as though the two girls were merciless. Rather, there was probably no woman in the world who would stay her hand when it came to matters such as this. Even though they both knew that their Master would most likely get married and have a legitimate spouse one day, that was something to think about in the future. At the very least, that person hadn¡¯t appeared yet. The two of them still called the shots in the rear pce. It didn¡¯t mean that any woman coulde in here if they felt like it. At least not the ones right now!


    To decide a person¡¯s fate with just a couple of words! From this incident, it was evident how prestigious the two Aunties¡¯ positions were in this Manor. They stood only second to one person, but above countless others.


    "Have some tea, Master!" Qian¡¯Er suddenly became very gentle, causing the Great Manor Miao to feel a little unnerved. However, he failed to notice the nce that Qian¡¯Er had secretly tossed to Xue¡¯Er.


    Meanwhile, Xue¡¯Er had already followed Yan Xiu out. When she saw the City Lord, she immediately berated him, "The Manor Head is not interested in gifts like this. If you ever do such a thing again, then you can kiss your City Lord¡¯s position goodbye. You¡¯d better watch out for your head!"


    Within Raincloud Manor, Xue¡¯Er definitely had the right to say such things! If this City Lord made her unhappy, then she didn¡¯t even need to mention anything in front of Miao Yi. She could just let Yan Xiu know, and he would immediately change this City Lord to a new one!


    The City Lord was utterly terrified. He had never seen the new Manor Head ever since thetter took up post, and always just received his official decrees through Yan Xiu. As such, he couldn¡¯t help wondering if the Miao Yi didn¡¯t like him or something. This was also why he had spent so much effort to obtain these five beautiful women, and viewed them as precious gifts. He had thought that he would finally be able to meet the Manor Head with this, but little did he expect he would end up shooting himself in the foot.


    When the five beautiful women were revealed, they were truly as exquisite as the City Lord had boasted. It was hard not to be tempted by them indeed, and even a woman would find her heart pounding a little once she saw them. Could things possibly get any worse then? Xue¡¯Er immediately ordered for these women to be gifted to the subordinates. She wasn¡¯t going to give Miao Yi the slightest chance at all, and had even gotten thanks from the subordinates on his behalf!


    A little less than two days since the frightened City Lord was sent off, the interim Mountain Chieftains and their respective interim Cave Masters arrived in Raincloud Manor with the tributes they had collected.


    Within Raincloud Pavilion, the tabting of the annual tribute was naturally left to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to handle. After their experience in Mount Calming Sea, the two youngdies were already quite adept at these things. Meanwhile, Miao Yi started questioning the Mountain Chieftains that arrived one after the other.

 Chapter 492 Impeachmen

    The next day, the ten interim Mountain Chieftains were all present in the main assembly hall.


    Chen Fei, Ji Sixiu (female), Shi Man, Yang Zhaoqing, Dan Dandan (female), Ding Jie, Jiao Yongtian, Niu Ligong, Gu Ping, and Ning Zai. Seated on the high chair, Miao Yi swept his gaze across these ten interim Mountain Chieftains.


    Within the past six months, Raincloud Manor had undergone a massive change, and these ten people were part of the reason why. They had all worked hard, and Miao Yi was quite satisfied with their performance. Or to put things in another perspective, Yan Xiu had really thought things through when selecting these people. He didn¡¯t disappoint Miao Yi at all.


    During the final assembly of the year, everyone was free to discuss about any topic, no matter how big or small the issue. It was a way to settle the grievances of the year.


    Ding Jie stood out with cupped fists and reported, "This subordinate wishes to lodge aint against Yang Zhaoqing. When he ambushed my troops, he used underhanded methods and poisoned our water supply. His victory was not honorable!"


    Dan Dandan also stepped forward with cupped fists, "This subordinate also wishes to lodge aint against Yang Zhaoqing. He hired a group of loose cultivators to act as sentries in his own territory, preventing my troops from approaching his domain. This is highly unfair to my troops and is not reflective of theirbat prowess. I would like to request my lord to punish Yang Zhaoqing for making use of those who are outside of the administration to achieve his own ends."


    Even Chen Fei stepped forward. With a dark expression, heined, "This subordinate also wishes to protest against Yang Zhaoqing. It was already stated that the use of weapons was disallowed, and wooden sticks were to be used instead. However, in our battle, right as my troops were charging forward with their wooden sticks, Yang Zhaoqing and his forces suddenly brandished their weapons. It was not an honorable victory!"


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help his surprise at Chen Fei¡¯s words. He could imagine what it must have been like at the time. Chen Fei was leading his troops to attack with their wooden weapons when suddenly Yang Zhaoqing¡¯s troops retaliated with the real deal. Miao Yi could see how Chen Fei and his troops must have immediately fled at the sight of that.


    Besides Chen Fei, Miao Yi didn¡¯t have much of a recollection for the others. However, after hearing repeatedints about the same person, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help looking at Yang Zhaoqing in surprise, sizing up thetter as he renewed his perception of the guy. He then asked, "Yang Zhaoqing, what do you have to say for yourself?"


    "This subordinate doesn¡¯t need to make any exnations!" Yang Zhaoqing stepped forward, then cupped his fists and continued, "All I know is that the Manor Head¡¯s official decree stated that I am to temporarily take charge as Mount Spiritual Longevity¡¯s Mountain Chieftain, that I am given full authority to make any decision on the spot, and if anything happens, my lord will shoulder the responsibility! I would also like to note that the others were free to use all the methods I had employed as well. No one¡¯s stopping them. If they manage to defeat me, then I will reflect on my mistakes and think of a way to regain victory, rather thanining to the Manor Head at the main assembly hall! If I were to cause Mount Spiritual Longevity to fall when the Manor Head specifically left it in my care, then that would be my greatest crime!"


    Miao Yi asked, "How many loose cultivators have you employed?"


    Yang Zhaoqing cupped his fists and replied, "Sir! Not too many, just around eighty or so."


    The other Mountain Chieftains immediately rolled their eyes. How was eighty not too many? Right now, everyone¡¯s forces were halved, but this guy practically had an entire Mountain¡¯s worth of forces in surplus.


    Miao Yi frowned. "Around eighty people? How are you able to hire so many?"


    "Actually, I didn¡¯t need to spend any resources to hire them. I just provided them with some food and drink..." Yang Zhaoqing seemed a little hesitant as he said this. He was wondering if it was appropriate to reveal his tricks in public like this. However, when he met Miao Yi¡¯s piercing gaze, he eventually spat out the truth. "Actually, I didn¡¯t really hire them. I captured them."


    "You captured them?" Miao Yi asked curiously, "Where did you catch so many loose cultivators from?"


    Yang Zhaoqing replied, "I had issued amand to my subordinate Caves to station their troops next to the public roads as well as outside all the major and minor cities. As soon as they find cultivators trying to cross the border on their dragon steeds or simply wanting to enter the city to buy things, my men will immediately stop them for questioning. If we find that those people are loose cultivators, we will immediately set them up with a crime and punish them to work for our Mount Spiritual Longevity for a year. And should they ever think of escaping, we will threaten to issue a manhunt for them. There have been no loose cultivators who dared to go against the administration to this day. Besides, we only asked them to work for a year. As the request wasn¡¯t too difficult, those loose cultivatorsplied very easily!"


    Even Miao Yi was a little bbergasted at this, much less the other Mountain Chieftains. Was this even fair? The guy was practically bullying those loose cultivators because he knew they wouldn¡¯t dare go against the administration.


    Yang Zhaoqing cupped his fists and continued, "I have only stationed them as sentries. The others can all vouch for this. In our battles, I have never once allowed those loose cultivators to participate in the conflict, as I have not been given permission to do so.


    Miao Yi clicked his tongue in admiration as he looked at Yang Zhaoqing. He never thought that someone capable would actually emerge from this group of subordinates. As he continued sweeping his gaze across the other Mountain Chieftains deep in thought, he couldn¡¯t help musing to himself, ¡¯Given the other party¡¯s wits, it was no surprise that you guys would lose.¡¯ He then pointed to Yang Zhaoqing and said, "Well, you heard him. You are free to use all the underhanded methods at your disposal to win against him. And as long as you triumph, he will ept his loss with grace and notin to me."


    The crowd was speechless. Since the Manor Head had already put it that way, it was clear that he was taking Yang Zhaoqing¡¯s side.


    "However, let me make things clear. Even though I said that you can use as many underhanded methods you want, you are not to go beyond the boundaries set by our Traversing Water Pce and the Celestial Nation. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t be able to save you if anything happens!" Miao Yi warned solemnly.


    "We acknowledge the Manor Head¡¯s decree!" The Mountain Chieftains cupped their fists and responded.


    Miao Yi looked back at Yang Zhaoqing and asked, "How is your win rate over the past six months?"


    Yang Zhaoqing replied, "This subordinate has been through a total of twenty-eight battles, and has fought against each of the other nine Mountains¡¯ forces at least once. Up until now, I have yet to taste a single defeat!"


    Although his tone was reserved, his words were overflowing with a sense of dominance! This basically meant that this Yang Zhaoqing had never lost even once, or it was better said that he had won every single battle. No wonder there were so many peopleining about him! Miao Yi¡¯s eyes shed with astonishment as he carefully re-assessed his evaluation on this guy. He himself was someone who had experienced his fair share of defeats back in the day. However, the guy standing before him right now seemed to be an even bigger hard-ass than that!


    ¡¯Hot damn, are all those with the surname Yang this overpowered?¡¯ Miao Yi mused to himself as the thought of South Edict Manor Head Yang Qing came to mind.


    "The way I see it, the rest of you should just admit your losses! Make use of this opportunity while I¡¯m here as a witness to settle all the bets you guys made in the past six months!" said Miao Yi while chuckling on his high seat.


    The ten Mountain Chieftains then started with the proceedings. They didn¡¯t bet too much on their battles; it was only ten low-grade Orbs of Will per battle. To a bunch of Mountain Chieftains who received over a hundred Orbs of Will from their vassal cities every year and not to mention, the tributes they got from their subordinates, this wasn¡¯t such arge sum. However, if the bet was any greater, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to suffer the loss.


    Yang Zhaoqing was the biggest winner of them all, even pulling far ahead of Chen Fei. With all twenty-eight battles ending in victory, he managed to win a total of two hundred and eighty Orbs of Will, causing the other Mountain Chieftains to look on in envy.


    After which, Miao Yi decided to take out his share of the tribute as well. The subordinates had presented him with over a thousand Orb of Will as gifts. Besides the four hundred or so he needed to spend on and reward the main troops of Raincloud Manor, he split the remaining six hundred into individual prizes and handed them over to the top three performers of the battle royale.


    This meant that Yang Zhaoqing managed to earn another three hundred low-grade Orbs of Will in a single stroke. He thanked Miao Yi for the generosity, while the other Mountain Chieftains looked on in admiration. They couldn¡¯t help thinking how Mount Spiritual Longevity had really struck gold this time. It was easy to imagine how heated Yang Zhaoqing¡¯s subordinates would be once he returned to Mount Spiritual Longevity and rewarded them for their good performance. He was sure to obtain his subordinates¡¯ respect and admiration, thereby cementing his authority within Mount Spiritual Longevity. And the next time their Mountains fought, Yang Zhaoqing¡¯s subordinates would definitely fight even harder.


    However, this caused Mu Tai and the other main troops of Raincloud Manor to be a little tempted, and they contemted whether they should ask the Manor Head for a Mountain Chieftain¡¯s position instead. That was definitely a more profitable position than being some Advisor.


    That said, Miao Yi didn¡¯t give out all these Orbs of Will because he was feeling generous. Rather, it was because his share of the tribute for the next ten years had to be confiscated either way. The more than one thousand Orbs of Will from his vassal city was sure to be handed over to Suppressing Tenth Hall. However, he didn¡¯t need to give them the ones that his subordinates had gifted him as well. As such, he figured he might as well just use that share to reward his subordinates.


    The handover procedure for each Mountain was soonpleted. Miao Yi had no intention of hosting some kind ofbat tournament the way Yang Qing did to reward his subordinates. There was already enough of that from the past six months. He didn¡¯t ask the Mountain Chieftains to stay and escort the tribute over to Suppressing Tenth Hall either. There was no need for that. If he couldn¡¯t even protect the tribute with the number of transcendent artifacts he had on hand right now, then no amount of extra help would change anything.


    Even though the use of gifts and ttery was no longer practiced in the current Raincloud Manor, the subordinates still needed to strengthen their connections with one another. Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t go so far as to cut off his troops¡¯ source of ie either. The Advisors and everyone else working under him only earned about a dozen Orbs of Will at most every year. Without any tributes from the subordinates, it would be hard for them to get by. If Miao Yi were to limit this source of ie as well, then those troops would no longer wish to work for him. They would definitely try to fight against him in the shadows.


    Naturally, this matter was left up to the Mountain Chieftains to resolve. Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er had received a fair share as well,ing to a total of nearly thirty orbs from all the subordinates. Each Mountain Chieftain had gifted them with two orbs each, with Yang Zhaoqing offering the most. He gave ten orbs to each Auntie, which was almost the annual ie of an entire Cave. Yan Xiu also received quite a bit as well.


    Perhaps in the eyes of the two Aunties and Yan Xiu, this was not arge sum. Compared to what Miao Yi gave them, it wasn¡¯t worth mentioning at all. However, they all knew that to these subordinates, this was already quite arge amount. After all, they still had their own subordinates to care for and had to make sure that every single Orb of Will counted.


    Miao Yi revealed a faint smile when he found out about this. ¡¯It seems that Yang Zhaoqing really isn¡¯t just someyabout. He¡¯s got potential!¡¯


    Once the subordinates had left for their respective territories, Miao Yi called his two Advisors¡ªMu Tai and Hu Defu¡ªto apany him in delivering the tribute to Suppressing Tenth Hall.


    Having already nned to meet up with one another beforehand, Miao Yi was soon joined by Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, and the three groups continued the journey together.


    In the past six months, the three of them had ced most of their efforts in their own cultivations and thus didn¡¯t talk to each other as often as before. As such, they couldn¡¯t help asking about one another¡¯s affairs. When the other two heard about Miao Yi¡¯s method of training the subordinates by having them fight against one another, they immediately praised it for being a great idea and made ns to implement it in their own territories once they returned.


    The three of them soon reached Suppressing Tenth Hall, was granted an audience with the Hall Master, and then handed over the tribute. After which, they continued to stay in Suppressing Tenth Hall. There was no longer any need for them to visit the three Advisors.


    When all the Manor Heads had arrived and the handover of the tributes waspleted, it was naturally time for everyone to assemble in the main assembly hall and settle the year¡¯s past grievances. Oddly enough, not a single person mentioned the massacre of Tranquil Sun Manor by the three Manors, and even the Hall Master himself had merely given Miao Yi and the others some light scolding.


    The three of them couldn¡¯t help their surprise at this. Why were the Advisors not taking this opportunity to criticize them?


    However, right as they were about to be dismissed, trouble managed to find its way back to them indeed. Seated on his high chair, Hall Master Shen Huaixin said, "If there¡¯s nothing else, you are all dismissed."


    Suddenly, Xu Jinsong stepped forward with cupped fists and said, "This subordinate wishes to impeach the three Manor Heads of Raincloud Manor, Thousand Lake Manor, and Mulberry Cloud Manor!"


    The crowd immediately cast their gazes at the three Manor Heads, thinking to themselves, ¡¯I just knew that this wouldn¡¯t end so easily. Looks like it¡¯s finally happening.¡¯ Those unrted to the incident were all idling around as they prepared themselves to watch the show.


    Shen Huaixin nkly asked, "On what grounds?"


    Xu Jinsong replied, "The punishment issued by Suppressing Tenth Hall to the three Manor Heads was the confiscation of their ten years¡¯ worth of ie. However, I just found out that the three of them had only handed over about a thousand Orbs of Will per person. May I ask, Hall Master, is this true?"

 Chapter 493 Three Heroes vs. Three Advisors

    "It¡¯s true!" Shen Huaixin acknowledged.


    Ji Ze immediately stepped forward and continued, "Hall Master, normally, the annual ie of a Manor Head is far greater than one thousand Orbs of Will. There should at least be another five hundred Orbs of Will that each of them have yet to hand over!"


    Naturally, Huang Jizhang weighed in as well, "The three of them are dishonest and show no regard for their superior¡¯s official decree. If the others start to follow in their example, then the consequences will be dire! They must be punished! I suggest that their Manor Head positions be revoked!"


    A Deacon by the name of Gao Sheng immediately stepped forward and added, "Disobeying a superior¡¯s decree is a heavy crime. If such habits were allowed to persist, then everyone will start to think they can simply ignore their orders. Where will Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s authority be then? I suggest that these three be beheaded on the spot!"


    Miao Yi and the others were just quietly listening when they heard this sudden statement. They immediately turned their heads towards that Deacon Gao Sheng. They never thought someone would actually give an even more ruthless suggestion and have them suffer a death sentence.


    The other five Deacons also voiced their approval for the idea.


    ¡¯So they held it in for half a year just to join hands and kill the three of them in a single stroke!¡¯ the crowd mused in astonishment.


    Shen Huaixin gazed at Miao Yi and the others and asked, "Do the three of you have anything to say for yourselves?"


    Miao Yi replied, "What a load of bullcrap. Hall Master, I would advise against paying these mangy mutts any heed. They are clearly trying to get payback under the pretense of punishment!"


    Although the other party¡¯s words were ruthless, his weren¡¯t any weaker either. The crowd¡¯s lips inadvertently twitched. To think someone would actually use the words ¡¯mangy mutt¡¯.


    Meanwhile, the Deacons and Advisors were immediately inmed. Xu Jinsong shouted furiously, "Who did you just call a mangy mutt?!"


    Miao Yi mocked, "Whoever was the one trying to use punishment as an excuse for his own ends. Why? Are you telling me I can¡¯t even scold such a petty man? I¡¯m already being very lenient. Otherwise, I would¡¯ve asked the Hall Master to kill such a scoundrel right away for trying to sow discord in Suppressing Tenth Hall!"


    Xu Jinsong snarled, "Then are you actually going to tell me that the three of you have handed over all the Orbs of Will as nned?"


    Miao Yi replied with a question, "Don¡¯t tell me that handing over all the Orbs of Will received from our vassal cities didn¡¯t count as everything?"


    Ji Ze barked, "What about the Orbs of Will gifted to you from your subordinate Mountains then?"


    Sikong Wuwei asked, "Are you saying you want us to hand over the Orbs of Will that we use to provide for our subordinates as well? Where will the main troops get their resources if we do that? They¡¯re different from you lot. They don¡¯t have that many people handing presents to them!"


    Huang Jizhang immediately pointed at him and shouted, "Sikong Wuwei! You¡¯re way out of line! This is no ce for you to spout such drivel! In normal circumstances, after deducting the amount used to provide for the main troops, a single Manor should still have at least five hundred Orbs of Will. Where is the rest of it?"


    Zhao Fei scoffed, "Advisor Huang, you said it yourself. In normal circumstances, that would certainly be the case. However, given the unusualness of the current situation, it is natural that we need to employ different means. We have already rewarded the remaining Orbs of Will to our subordinates."


    Huang Jizhang shouted, "What do you mean by unusual situation?"


    Zhao Fei also raised his voice, "I mean the very situation we are in right now! With the forces of our three Manors halved, there aren¡¯t enough hands to go around maintaining the safety of our domains. As a consequence, the troops have had to work overtime, with one person requiring several days to finish the job of an entire squadron. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s only right that they be properly rewarded then? Or are you saying that that¡¯s against the rules? If the rest of you can return our forces to us, then with sufficient manpower, things will naturally go back to the way they were before. What¡¯s wrong with calling this anything other than an unusual situation?"


    Since the three of them had dared to do such a thing, they naturally had a valid justification.


    The other party hadn¡¯t thought that they would use this as an excuse against them at all! Huang Jizhang scoffed, "Excuses! The three of you are clearly rewarding your subordinates as a ploy to challenge Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s decree!"


    Zhao Fei tilted his head and looked over. He said bluntly, "As far as Manor Heads like us are concerned, I believe it is entirely up to us whether or not to reward our subordinates, as well as the size of said reward. You have no ce toment on that. This does not fall under the control of an Advisor like you! If you have the authority to question how much each Manor Head should reward his subordinates from now on, then I have nothing to say! However, let me be so bold as to ask, does that mean that the Hall Master must also report to Traversing Water Pce every single reward he so rightfully gave out?"


    Xu Jinsong scoffed, "Regardless of how you put it, the three of you are still challenging Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s decree under the guise of rewarding your subordinates. Anyone who isn¡¯t blind can see it!"


    Miao Yi said, "Advisor Xu, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being a little too controlling? Let¡¯s say we were indeed rewarding our subordinates as a pretense. So what? As long as it¡¯s within our authority, we can reward the troops however we want. It¡¯s not like we broke any rules. Why do you need to interfere?"


    Zhao Fei flicked his sleeves, "I suggest you Advisors just stick to your own jobs. Once you be Hall Master, you will then have the right to decide how to reward your own troops."


    There wasn¡¯t the slightest hint of consideration in their words. But then again, the other party was already trying to kill them. What was the point in trying to keep up appearances now?


    "You..." The three Advisors were fuming with rage. Xu Jinsong cupped his fists towards Shen Huaixin, "The three Manor Heads have no respect for their superiors. Hall Master, I¡¯d like to ask that they be heavily punished!"


    Ji Ze, Huang Jizhang, and the other six Deacons also cupped their fists, "We wholeheartedly agree!"


    Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei looked at each other. They cupped their fists towards Shen Huaixin as well. "We would like to ask that the Hall Master punishes these scoundrels for misuse of authority, harboring ill intentions, and transgressing beyond their jurisdiction!"


    The rest of the people in the hall couldn¡¯t help their astonishment. These two parties were out for blood, with neither side willing to give their opponent any time to rest. What a spectacr show indeed!


    Bang! Shen Huaixin suddenly mmed on his armrest and stood up. He barked, "Are all of you done messing around?! Dismissed!"


    With a swing of his arm, he turned around and left, followed by his two handmaidens. He didn¡¯t n on punishing anyone at all.


    "We wish the Hall Master farewell!" Everyone cupped their fists and bowed.


    The remaining crowd soon left the main hall one after the other. Xu Jinsong turned his head to look at the three Manor Heads walking together and scoffed, "A bunch of conceited fools who don¡¯t know their own limits!"


    Sikong Wuwei casually looked up to the sky and replied, "A bunch of narrow-minded, greedy scum!"


    "Insolence!" Xu Jinsong couldn¡¯t hold back his anger any longer. He had never seen someone act so arrogant towards him. He barked, "p his mouth!"


    The two Deacons beside him immediately rushed over to subdue Sikong Wuwei and give him a pping.


    Miao Yi and Zhao Fei obviously couldn¡¯t let this pass. They brandished their Inversed-Scales Spear and halberd respectively, then quickly forced away the two Deacons. Miao Yi yelled, "Who dares to be impudent?!"


    "How dare you take up arms within the confines of Suppressing Tenth Hall!" A two-petaled red lotus shone on Xu Jinsong¡¯s forehead. Having found a perfect excuse, he swiftly shot over with his hand outstretched.


    Not just Miao Yi and the others, but everyone else was also taken by surprise. They never thought that Xu Jinsong would reallyunch an attack.


    A powerful wave of Yin energy quickly erupted from Miao Yi¡¯s hand. He had wasted no time in using the Mystic Yin Mirror to protect himself against Xu Jinsong¡¯s attack. The bastard was attacking them in a fit of rage. There was no telling what he would do. All Miao Yi was sure of was that Xu Jinsong definitely wouldn¡¯t be merciful, so how could he allow himself to fall into the other party¡¯s grasp so easily?


    Not a single person in the hall dared to make light of that powerful Yin energy. Moreover, no one knew what kind of transcendent artifact it was. Xu Jinsong was also taken by surprise. With a flick of his sleeves, he swiftly changed his trajectory mid-air and shot up to the sky, narrowly brushing against the wave of Yin energy that swept by.


    The Mystic Yin Mirror¡¯s attack had missed its target. Xu Jinsong was now hovering up in the sky. He brandished a spear that glowed with a blue hue, pointing it downwards as he bellowed, "Impudence! How dare you attack me!"


    Not every single White Lotus cultivator could afford to use a First Grade Transcendent Artifact, and not every single Blue Lotus cultivator could afford to use a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact. It¡¯s the same for Red Lotus cultivators; not all of them could afford to use a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact. Just the Third Grade Yao Core inside a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact cost one million Orbs of Will. Naturally, the spear in Xu Jinsong¡¯s hand was just a Second Grade Transcendent Artifact.


    There were three people standing on top of the roof of the main assembly hall. They were the solemn Shen Huaixin and his two handmaidens. Evidently, they hade back out after hearing themotion.


    Strangely, Shen Huaixin was just narrowing his eyes down at Miao Yi and the others. He didn¡¯t say anything to stop the battle.


    Realizing the situation, Miao Yi and the others immediately exchanged nces with one another. If not even the Hall Master was nning to put a stop to this, then there was no chance for Xu Jinsong to let them off easily. The three of them cursed at the situation!


    As for the rest of the crowd, they instinctively backed away. Xu Jinsong charged towards Miao Yi and the others and swung his spear down at them. The powerful waves of transcendence energy he emitted were astonishing.


    Miao Yi and the others immediately backed away from the za as best they could. A flying sword then rushed out from Miao Yi¡¯s sleeves and shot towards Xu Jinsong.


    Xu Jinsong let out a coldugh. He didn¡¯t think much of that little flying sword at all and swung powerfully against it with his spear.


    Suddenly, right as Xu Jinsong¡¯s spear met the flying sword, it abruptly split into two. This transcendent artifact was Miao Yi¡¯s Mother-Child Flying Sword.


    Boom! A powerful explosion erupted in mid-air as the Mother Sword was blown into a plume of ck mist by Xu Jinsong¡¯s attack.


    "Ahh!" Xu Jinsong also let out a painful wail. The suddenness had caught him off guard, and he was almost killed by the Child Sword.


    Fortunately for him, he had reacted quickly enough. However, there was too little time and too short of a distance to evade the attack properly. One of his arms had already been sliced off, and blood was gushing out in the sky.


    In a single confrontation, a Red Lotus Second Grade cultivator actually had one of his arms chopped off by the Child Sword of the Mother-Child Flying Sword.


    However, because the Mother Sword was destroyed by Xu Jinsong¡¯s attack, the transcendent artifact¡¯s formation core was broken, and the Child Sword also turned to ck mist upon cutting off Xu Jinsong¡¯s arm. To think a top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifact couldn¡¯t even withstand a single attack from the other party.


    That said, it was evident from this that Xu Jinsong didn¡¯t have much battle experience, and was too careless for his own good. Otherwise, how could a Red Lotus Second Grade expert get his hand cut off by a top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifact in a single confrontation?


    On the other hand, Miao Yi and the others were all hardened veterans of war. Their every strike was filled with decisiveness. Once theyunched their attacks, there was no hesitation or mercy whatsoever.


    Xu Jinsongnded on the ground, clenching his wounded arm. As Zhao Fei waved his arm, arge swarm of greatsword illusions started circling around and attacking Xu Jinsong.


    Xu Jinsong was horrified. He frantically attacked, one armunching his spear at great speed to knock back the flying greatswordsing at him. While he quickly discovered they were all illusions, he had no way of telling which was the real one. Perhaps even normal Red Lotus cultivators would have trouble dealing with this transcendent artifact.


    Xu Jinsong then stomped on the ground, creating arge boom as dozens of blue bricks erupted from the floor of the za. Using his powerful transcendence arts, he controlled these bricks to rapidly hover around him and guard against the countless greatsword illusions trying to attack him.


    "Die!" Sikong Wuwei bellowed as a mighty hammer was hurled out of his grasp, creating a thunderous roar as it broke past the countless greatsword illusions that nketed the sky.


    The force of this hammer was too overwhelming. The crowd spectating the battle couldn¡¯t help feeling as though their hearts were about to jump out of their chests.


    The blue tiles hovering around Xu Jinsong were instantly crushed to dust. Using one arm, he hastily struck out with his spear.


    Boom! The massive Mountain Suppressing Hammer was knocked back, its glow turning dim after receiving Xu Jinsong¡¯s attack.

 Chapter 494 Fallou

    Even though the Mountain Suppressing Hammer was a crude weapon, it had its redeeming features as well. Most notably, its enormous size. The artifact wasrge in every sense of the word and wasn¡¯t as fragile as the Mother-Child Flying Sword. Even if Xu Jinsong wanted to destroy the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, his cultivation wasn¡¯t high enough to do so.


    The overwhelming blunt force of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer had shocked everyone present. It was true to its namesake of being able to suppress entire mountains indeed. Even though Xu Jinsong had managed to knock it away with a single attack, the massive weight behind the Mountain Suppressing Hammer had caused the ground beneath Xu Jinsong¡¯s feet to cave in as well, stirring up a powerful eruption of dust and rubble. Like a nail in the ground, the lower half of Xu Jinsong¡¯s body sank into the earth, and the wound on his arm which he had previously sealed using his transcendence energy started gushing out blood once again.


    At this moment, the silhouette of a greatsword struck at the opening in Xu Jinsong¡¯s defenses, piercing through his lower back anding out the front of his stomach in a spurt of blood. Xu Jinsong spat out a mouthful of blood. His body was suffering from both massive internal injuries and external ones!


    The spectators werepletely dumbfounded. They couldn¡¯t believe that a powerful Red Lotus Second Grade Advisor of Suppressing Tenth Hall was actually being pushed to the brink of death by three Manor Heads!


    "Ji Ze! Huang Jizhang!" Xu Jinsong bellowed frantically, having no way of discerning between the swarm of greatsword illusions that surrounded him.


    "How dare you!" Ji Ze and Huang Jizhang shouted furiously.


    They didn¡¯t step in not because they were concerned for Xu Jinsong¡¯s safety. Truth be told, neither of them had expected Xu Jinsong to lose his temper here. This was the Hall Master¡¯s manor after all. The two of them didn¡¯t want to get themselves mixed up in the mess. Not to mention, they had also assumed that Xu Jinsong wouldn¡¯t have any difficulty in dealing with those three either. If they could use Xu Jinsong¡¯s hand to handle those three bastards, they wouldn¡¯t need to take any responsibility. What could possibly be better than that? As such, the two of them simply thought that they only needed to sit back and watch.


    However, the results of the battle hadpletely caught them by surprise. Not only did Xu Jinsong fail to get the upper hand, but his own life was also now at risk.


    With things having escted to such an extent, if Ji Ze and Huang Jizhang were to allow those three to kill Xu Jinsong, then they would lose face as well.


    Just as they were about to step in, a ck shadow abruptly descended from the sky. At the same time, Shen Huaixin¡¯smanding voice yelled, "Stop!"


    Boom! A ck pagoda with a vermillion glow suddenly expanded in mid-air, then shot down instantly, pressing down on Xu Jinsong who was already half-buried in the ground and causing the entire za to tremble.


    A Third Grade Transcendent Artifact! Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s Master Shen Huaixin had stepped in at the crucial moment!


    Bang! A dull sound echoed forth. Just before it could take Xu Jinsong¡¯s life, the true body of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword crashed into the ck pagoda, igniting sparks as it was knocked backward.


    Suffering heavy injuries and with no way of retaliating, Xu Jinsong would have definitely been killed had the ck pagoda been a little slower.


    The myriad of greatsword illusions in the sky instantly reverted into a single weapon, and the Spirit Illusion Greatswordnded back in Zhao Fei¡¯s palm. He had a double-headed il in his other hand, ready to strike at a moment¡¯s notice. It was unknown what sort of transcendent artifact that was. Sikong Wuwei also grabbed his Mountain Suppressing Hammer and tucked it away. At the same time, he also readied a steel hoop. It had seven bells dangling around it and was just as unrecognizable as Zhao Fei¡¯s artifact. The dragon-tip Inversed-Scales Spear in Miao Yi¡¯s hand was also substituted by the Qilin head Inversed-Scales Spear. The three of them turned their heads to look at Shen Huaixin up on the roof, their murderous intent not subsiding in the least.


    Ji Ze and Huang Jizhang also looked to the roof, and so did the rest of the crowd.


    Shen Huaixin swept his gaze across Miao Yi and the others. He originally wanted to use Xu Jinsong to test these three and see where they got their confidence from and was prepared to step in right before Xu Jinsong dealt the finishing blow. Much to his surprise, however, Xu Jinsong was actually defeated by them. If he had stepped in a little bit slower, Xu Jinsong¡¯s life would most likely have been forfeited by now.


    He didn¡¯t wish for Miao Yi and the others to be killed by Xu Jinsong, but he also didn¡¯t wish for Xu Jinsong to die by their hands either. This ce was still his manor after all. If he¡¯d stood by the sidelines while something serious happened, then once the higher-ups started investigating, he would surely be held responsible as well. Moreover, he also wanted Miao Yi and the others to continue going against the three Advisors. That way, he would be able to use the conflict between them to his advantage.


    The current situation was clear. Besides he himself, there was no longer anyone in Suppressing Tenth Hall who dared to oppose the three Advisors. After all, they had connections to some of the higher-ups as well. Because of this, he couldn¡¯t just oppress them without reason like a tyrant. And much like the three Advisors, there wasn¡¯t a single person in all his ten Manors who could contend against Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei. By maintaining the bnce of power between these two parties, he would be able to use Miao Yi and the others to slow down the progress of the three Advisors and protect his position from being threatened. One example of this would be how their three Manors would no longer provide the three Advisors with any cultivation resources as gifts. On the other hand, the three Advisors were also able to prevent Miao Yi and the other two from growing too powerful. Whenever he felt that Miao Yi and the others were slipping out of his control, he would simply allow the three Advisors to suppress them.


    Everyone watched as Shen Huaixin leaped down andnded in the center of the za. As he spread his palm, the iron pagoda on the ground quickly ascended, then shrunk to the size of a normal mace. It then quickly shot over to Shen Huaixin and entered into his storage bangle.


    Miao Yi mused to himself, ¡¯So it¡¯s a transforming Third Grade Transcendent Artifact. That¡¯s better than Yao Ruoxian¡¯s mace artifact. As expected of someone who¡¯s sat on the high seat of Suppressing Tenth Hall for so many years; he¡¯s had abundant sources of Orbs of Will at his disposal until he reached the Red Lotus Seventh Grade. He definitely has quite a bit of capital saved up.¡¯


    Shen Huaixin gently waved his hand, and two Deacons immediately rushed over to Xu Jinsong¡¯s side, whose lower half was buried in the ground. They then dug him out using their transcendence energy.


    Xu Jinsong¡¯s face was already deathly pale. It was evident that his body was in a very weakened state. However, the look in his eyes as he stared at Miao Yi and the others was full of hatred. It was fortunate enough that he was able to survive.


    The sight of Xu Jinsong had all the Manor Heads in shock. ¡¯That¡¯s a Red Lotus Second Grade cultivator, for crying out loud! To think he was actually beaten up like this. Those three are too ferocious! As expected of Subjugation Crusade survivors. There¡¯s no telling what sort of transcendent artifacts they¡¯re holding onto right now either. Don¡¯t they seem to have a little too many of those at their disposal? It¡¯s no wonder they can be so cocky.¡¯


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi and the others knew deep down that they were only able to defeat Xu Jinsong so decisively because of their transcendent artifacts. Moreover, they had even worked together to do so. If they were to fight with their own strengths, then there was no chance for the three of them to even take a single blow from Xu Jinsong.


    "How dare you start a fight in my manor! It looks like none of you hold this Hall Master in any regard!" Shen Huaixin suddenly barked, "Ji Ze, Huang Jizhang! Who was the one who made the first move?!"


    Ji Ze and Huang Jizhang wordlessly looked at each other. Even though they wanted to help Xu Jinsong, there were simply too many witnesses at the time. Furthermore, it had happened right under the Hall Master¡¯s nose. They didn¡¯t dare to lie.


    Their attitude had proved it all. Shen Huaixin slowly turned to look at the frail Xu Jinsong and said, "Xu Jinsong, seeing as how you¡¯ve worked for my Suppressing Tenth Hall for so many years, I will forgive you this one time. This better not happen again. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for not showing any mercy! Go back and treat your injuries!"


    "I am aware of my mistakes. Thank you for your magnanimity, Hall Master!" Carried by two people at the side, Xu Jinsong lowered his head and thanked Shen Huaixin. After which, the Deacons swiftly brought him away. However, as he turned around, the gaze he tossed Miao Yi and the others looked like he wanted to rip them to shreds.


    Miao Yi thought to himself, ¡¯What a pity. This enmity is definitely set in stone now. We might not get such a good opportunity again in the future. This Hall Master Shen sure knows how to step in at the right moment. One of my top-tier Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts just got destroyed for nothing. Then again, it wasn¡¯t entirely for nothing. At least I was able to cut off one of Xu Jinsong¡¯s arms. And if he wishes to make a full recovery, there will definitely be a hefty cost to pay.¡¯


    Shen Huaixin looked at Miao Yi and the others, then pointed to the numerous cracks and craters on the za caused by their battle.


    Even though Xu Jinsong was the one who struck first, the cost of repairs still fell on their heads. Moreover, it was very expensive too. Who asked the three of them to be rich in the first ce? If someone had a valid reason to make money off them, then they definitely wouldn¡¯t let the chance go...


    Having caused such a bigmotion at the top of the mountain, it was natural that all the people in Suppressing Tenth Hall would be rmed. Even though they didn¡¯t dare to go up the mountain, there was no stopping them gathering at the foot of the mountain to figure out what happened.


    When the two Deacons brought the heavily wounded Xu Jinsong down the mountain, the crowd was utterly shocked. Who else but the Hall Master could injure a Red Lotus Second Grade cultivator to such an extent?


    Earlier on, they had heard the sound of Xu Jinsong and Sikong Wuwei yelling amidst themotion. Many people started specting that the three Manor Heads hadpletely fallen out with the three Advisors, thinking that Miao Yi and the others were in for some trouble if Xu Jinsong and the others were to abuse their authority to make things hard on them.


    The aides that Miao Yi and the others had brought with them couldn¡¯t help their restlessness as they waited at the foot of the mountain. When they saw how Xu Jinsong was being carried down the mountain, they couldn¡¯t help growing more anxious as they wondered how much worse their three Manor Heads would be.


    The crowd then noticed the Manor Heads walking down the mountain one by one. Miao Yi and the others were at the very end. Although their faces were solemn, they seemed to be fine otherwise. Everyone was astonished. ¡¯Even Advisor Xu was injured to such an extent, but these three... what exactly happened inside the manor?¡¯


    "My lord! What happened?" Mu Tai approached and asked.


    "We¡¯re going back!" Miao Yi said curtly. He didn¡¯t answer Mu Tai¡¯s question.


    Miao Yi and the others led their subordinates and quickly departed Suppressing Tenth Hall, unwilling to stay there for another second. The three of them were quiet on the way back as well. This was not the oue they wanted to see.


    Initially, they had only nned to ¡¯oppose in moderation¡¯ against the three Advisors. That way, they would be able to maximize the potential of their benefits. They could avoid having the three Advisors interfere in their business too much, and at the same time maintain the delicate situation between their two parties.


    The three of them had never expected Xu Jinsong to actually attack them in a ce like that. It seemed the guy had never been this agitated by a subordinate before. As a result, Miao Yi and the others¡¯ ns werepletely thrown off the rails.


    It wasn¡¯t good if the situation was exacerbated to such an extent. Once Xu Jinsong recovered fully, he was likely to use every opportunity possible to get back at them. And not just through petty squabbling, but by actual use of force this time. Miao Yi and the others regretted not killing Xu Jinsong and eliminating this potential threat¡ªhe was the one who unreasonably picked a fight!


    The three of them felt pressed for time. They separated along the journey and went back to their own Manors. After returning, Miao Yi handed down a few instructions to his troops, then looked for Yao Ruoxian to have a serious discussion. After which, he immediately entered closed-door cultivation.


    It was impossible to conceal a me with a sheet of paper. With such a major incident happening in Suppressing Tenth ce, and with so many eyewitnesses at the time, the news quickly spread. Not only was the rest of Suppressing Tenth Hall greatly shocked, but the entire Traversing Water Pce as well. Together, three Blue Lotus cultivators had actually managed to defeat a Red Lotus Second Grade cultivator!


    The other Manors in Suppressing Tenth Hall were even more terrified of the three Manors now. On the other hand, the cultivators working under the three Manors were filled with a sense of pride. They¡¯d never thought that their Manor Heads were actually this powerful.


    As for the ones who were most shocked by this news, they were none other than Yan Xiu and Chen Fei. They could hardly believe that the Miao Yi from all those years ago had already grown this powerful!


    However, no one knew that Miao Yi and the others didn¡¯t want such fame that had nothing to do with their actual strength. They all knew that Xu Jinsong had only lost due to hisck of battle experience. The guy¡¯s cultivation was purely just for show! The three of them suddenly felt worried that this news would continue to spread further and further. This was because the more people talked about this, the more humiliated Xu Jinsong would feel, and the more desperate he would be in trying to regain his dignity!


    Spring Glory House, inside the capital city. As they escorted their respective Pce Lords to deliver the annual tribute, it was inevitable that some of the Hall Masters would meet up with one another.


    "Brother Huo! That sworn brother of yours who¡¯s currently working under me has really got some spunk to him! He even defeated one of my Advisors and nearly killed the guy, and he¡¯s a Red Lotus Second Grade expert!" Shen Huaixin announced as he knocked cups with Huo Lingxiao.


    "..." Huo Lingxiao finally seemed to recall that he had a sworn brother working under the other party. He couldn¡¯t help asking, "What happened?"


    Not far away, Wu Menn¡¯s eyes brightened at the sound of this, and she slowly walked over to listen in on Shen Huaixin¡¯s story...

 Chapter 495 Strange Things

    To a cultivator, the years passed by very quickly. In the blink of an eye, a whole year had passed. However, it seemed as thoughst year¡¯s incident in Suppressing Tenth Hall during the handover of the annual tribute had only just happened yesterday.


    For this year¡¯s handover, neither Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, nor Sikong Wuwei attended. They had sent a message to the Hall Master beforehand telling him straight up that they wished to avoid meeting Xu Jinsong for the time being, for fear that the air would be awkward between them. Shen Huaixin obliged.


    Their three Manors had each sent a squadron to carry the annual tribute over to Suppressing Tenth Hall. Once his troops had returned, Miao Yi immediately called for Mu Tai and Hu Defu¡ªwho were tasked with leading the troops¡ªand asked about the situation.


    Within the main hall, after reading through the signoff document on the tribute given to Mu Tai and Hu Defu, Miao Yi raised his hand and gestured them to sit down and talk. He casually asked, "Were you able to hand over the tribute smoothly?"


    They replied, "Everything went smoothly!"


    Miao Yi then asked, "The three Advisors didn¡¯t try to make things hard on you?"


    They shook their heads, "We were also worried about this before we left for Suppressing Tenth Hall, and were afraid that we would fail the Manor Head¡¯s task. However, the three Advisors didn¡¯t say anything at all. As a result, our mission waspleted rather smoothly."


    "Good!" Miao Yi nodded, then continued, "How is Advisor Xu¡¯s injury?"


    ¡¯Is he actually being nice and showing concern for the enemy?¡¯ Mu Tai and Hu Defu looked at one another, then the former replied, "A whole year has passed after all. Even if his recovery was slow, his injuries are mostly healed. From the looks of it, he seemed fine enough!"


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help his surprise. He asked, "Then he¡¯s already grown back his severed arm?"


    ¡¯So that¡¯s what he¡¯s concerned about. I seem to have heard that the person who chopped off Advisor Xu¡¯s arm was this very man before me!¡¯ Mu Tai replied, "No, not yet. His arm has not regrown!"


    Miao Yi finally heaved a sigh of relief. After being heavily wounded by him in a single battle, Xu Jinsong probably wouldn¡¯t be bold enough toe looking for trouble without first making a full recovery...


    Suppressing Tenth City, Suppressing Tenth Hall. This was a major city with a poption of over five million people, and also the vassal city of Hall Master Shen Huaixin.


    Within the quiet streets of the city sat the branch shop of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce. After making his payment, Xu Jinsong opened a jade box, and lying quietly inside of it was a Glorious Star Immortal Herb that was half a meter long.


    With the passing of a year, all his wounds besides the severed arm had fully recovered. Just like how Mu Tai had reported to Miao Yi.


    After making sure that the goods were fine, Xu Jinsong closed up the box and tucked it away. He cast his gaze at the fair, well-shaven man facing him and asked, "Chu Zhehui, why did you have mee all the way here for this? Don¡¯t tell me the sum was too little for me to call you over?"


    In front of him, Chu Zhehui hurriedly cupped his fists and said, "Advisor Xu, your words hurt me deeply. If you think the price of a Glorious Star Immortal Herb is considered a small deal, then there¡¯s a little too many of such small deals in the world. The reason I called you here this time is because there is someone else who would like to talk about a different deal with you."


    Xu Jinsong looked around, but found nothing amiss in the trade room. He nkly responded, "Ohh? Who is the expert who wishes to talk business with me?"


    "Please wait a moment, Advisor Xu! I¡¯ll go get them right away." Chu Zhehui cupped his fists and excused himself, then quickly stood up and left the room.


    Xu Jinsong waited on his own for a short while, when the doors to the room were opened, and a middle-aged woman walked in. Her hair was tied up high in a bun, and she adorned a ck silk dress. As she stepped inside the room, she turned around and shut the door, then gracefully made her way to sit right in front of Xu Jinsong.


    "Don¡¯t tell me the person that Chu Zhehui wanted me to meet was Manager Su? If it¡¯s you, then why did he need to be so secretive about it? We¡¯re old acquaintances anyway." Xu Jinsong huffed. He knew the identity of the woman sitting before him. The Manager for the Chamber of Commerce¡¯s Suppressing Tenth City branch by the name of Su Yanran. This was not their first time meeting each other.


    Su Yanran smiled, "Yes, it¡¯s me. It¡¯s just that some things don¡¯t exactlyply with the rules of the Chamber of Commerce, so it¡¯s best to be a little careful."


    "Stop beating around the bush. Just tell me what you want!" Xu Jinsong was a little irritated. The Chamber of Commerce and the local administration never interfered in one another¡¯s business, so he had no idea what this woman was nning to do.


    Su Yanran was a little confused, "Didn¡¯t Chu Zhehui tell you that I¡¯m here to make a deal with you, Advisor?"


    "Manager Su, there¡¯s no point in speaking riddles between intelligent people. If there really was some kind of trade, then it can be easily dealt with between me and Chu Zhehui. There¡¯s no need for you to get involved. What are you plotting?"


    "Advisor Xu, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being a little too hasty? I am indeed trying to make a trade with you." Su Yanran raised her slender finger, then pointed at Xu Jinsong¡¯s hollow sleeve. She said, "It¡¯s a deal that would help you restore your severed arm."


    Xu Jinsong¡¯s eyes brightened slightly. He chuckled, "Then I¡¯d really like to hear what you have to say. What sort of deal are you going to give me to help restore my severed arm?"


    Su Yanran sighed, "Haa! I¡¯ve also heard the tragic stories about you, Advisor Xu. I¡¯m just a little curious. Don¡¯t you wish to take revenge for that severed arm?"


    Naturally, this was not a topic that Xu Jinsong was happy to discuss. His face darkened as he replied, "What does my revenge have to do with you?"


    Su Yanran smiled, "Advisor Xu, if the only thing stopping you from taking revenge is the rules of the administration, then rest assured. Someone is willing to help you settle this vendetta, and eliminate Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei for you!"


    "There¡¯s actually something that¡¯s this convenient?" Xu Jinsong scoffed.


    Su Yanran then pointed to his storage ring and said, "If you wish to recover that severed arm of yours, I¡¯m afraid just a thousand-year old immortal herb is not enough. However, if you had a ten thousand-year old Glorious Star Immortal Herb or two Spiritual Recovery Pills, then you can definitely restore that arm in one go. A certain someone heard that Advisor Xu was patient enough to recover his arm slowly, and guessed that maybe you were short on funds. As such, they are willing to lend you a hand."


    "Then I¡¯d really like to know who this kind soul could be."


    "That¡¯s not something I can say."


    Xu Jinsong wasn¡¯t a fool. He shook his head and said, "I don¡¯t believe in lucky coincidences. Cut to the chase. What do you need me to do?"


    Su Yanran leaned forward slightly and rested her arms on the table in front of her. She whispered, "You only need to find an excuse to force the three of them out of Celestial Nation territory. After that, someone will naturally help you take care of them."


    Xu Jinsong raised an eyebrow at this. He immediately guessed that the person who wished to kill Miao Yi and the others were most likely afraid to breach the rules of the administration. After all, everyone knew that those three Manor Heads were assigned by the Celestial Sage¡¯smand, and their individual domains each make up ten million followers. They weren¡¯t just any minor characters. If they were killed under unusual circumstances within the Celestial Nation¡¯s domain, then news of it would immediately spread across the nation. The higher-ups would definitely get to the bottom of it, and wouldn¡¯t rest until they did. The other party evidently knew how troublesome this would be as well, so they didn¡¯t dare to make their move recklessly.


    Xu Jinsong scoffed, "Those bastards don¡¯t even have the slightest hint of respect for me. How could I possibly send them out of the Celestial Nation?"


    "That¡¯s not true. As long as you¡¯re willing to lend us a hand, then there will naturally be someone to create an opportunity from the outside and set up the perfect conditions for Advisor Xu to send those three away."


    "Forgive my ignorance, but I can¡¯t think of any way that would be convenient for me to send those three out of our nation¡¯s borders."


    Su Yanran suddenly switched to voice transmission and conveyed, "Let¡¯s say for example, the legendary Netherdragon Ship of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea has resurfaced, and there is a need for a group of capable individuals to scout it out."


    Xu Jinsong was taken aback. He asked curiously, "Then what excuse can I use to delegate the three of them specifically?"


    "Let¡¯s say for example that your domain was coincidentally selected to send a group of people over." Su Yanran revealed a teasing look as she smiled and said, "Forgive me for being blunt, but in these parts, there aren¡¯t many cultivators who could be considered capable individuals. In contrast, those three that just came back from the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade couldn¡¯t be a better fit for such a task. Is this not a good enough excuse for you, Advisor Xu? As long as you put some more thought into it, I believe it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for you toe up with something."


    As Xu Jinsong contemted the underlying notions, he couldn¡¯t help his shock. Who exactly were these people who wanted Miao Yi and the others dead? Spreading the rumor on Flowing Cloud Dunes Sea wasn¡¯t the scary part. What¡¯s scary was that these people were able to get the higher-ups on this side to send people over. Logically speaking, someone capable of doing such a thing could easily take care of Miao Yi and the others. All they needed to do was send them somewhere dangerous and the problem would be settled. Yet, they were doing things in such a roundabout manner. This was a little too unusual.


    Things were a little too mysterious, and Xu Jinsong couldn¡¯t help shuddering. Since the other party had such capabilities, they wouldn¡¯t kill him after the deed was done... would they?


    It was a little risky for him to get too deeply involved in this matter. He immediately stood up and scoffed, "Why do I need to go so far to eliminate those three? If I want to take revenge, then I¡¯ll do it myself. I much prefer settling my vendettas with my own two hands! I will pretend I didn¡¯t hear what you said today. I won¡¯t tell it to anyone either. So long!"


    Su Yanran had yet to realize that her words had frightened the other party. Hearing Xu Jinsong say that he wished to take revenge himself, she also stood up and smiled, "Then I shall await for your good news, Advisor Xu. If things don¡¯t go as smoothly as you hope, you are wee to look for me anytime. I am always avable."


    Xu Jinsong didn¡¯t want to continue on this topic. Even though he wanted Miao Yi and the others dead, he didn¡¯t want to risk his life to do so. For someone from the Chamber of Commerce to suddenlye to him and say they were going to help him take revenge, and even made everything so mysterious on top of that, it gave him chills just thinking about it. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with this affair, and hurriedly took his leave...


    In the blink of an eye, two more years had passed. Sitting cross-legged within his silent quarters, Miao Yi let out a smile as the mark of a Blue Lotus Third Grade cultivation shone on his forehead.


    As he predicted, after breaking through to the Third Grade, his refining speed had gone up once again from four orbs a day to five. He would also need to refine about 10,240 Orbs of Will to break through to Blue Lotus Fourth Grade. He expected that he should be able to reach this stage in five and a half years.


    After roughly doing the calctions, he immediately tossed in another Orb of Will into his mouth and resumed his cultivation...


    On a certain day five yearster, Miao Yi was specting that it wouldn¡¯t be long before he broke through to Blue Lotus Fourth Grade, when suddenly, Qian¡¯Er¡¯s voice came from the outside, "Master!"


    Miao Yi slowly opened his eyes and asked, "What¡¯s the matter?"


    After hearing his response, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er entered the room. They looked a little hesitant to speak.


    Miao Yi grew a little anxious at the sight of this. He immediately put his cultivation to a stop and got down from the bed and asked, "Did something happen outside?"


    The two girls shook their heads, and Xue¡¯Er said, "Wen Fang came by just now. She left not too long ago."


    Miao Yi was thinking that the Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s three Advisors were at it again, but it turns out, it was just Wen Fang. He got a little nervous for nothing. However, as he thought about it, he couldn¡¯t help feeling curious. Why would the two girls interrupt his closed-door cultivation just because of Wen Fang? He asked, "What happened?"


    Qian¡¯Er replied, "Wen Fang told us about something just now. However, we¡¯re not sure if she did it intentionally, or if we¡¯re just overthinking things."


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "What did she say?"


    Xue¡¯Er answered, "She said that both Master Zhao Fei and Master Sikong had looked for her to procure three pieces of Fretless Fruits."


    Miao Yi pondered over the matter, then slowly nodded and said, "They¡¯re both at the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade. This isn¡¯t too surprising. They¡¯re probably just preparing for their breakthrough to the Red Lotus realm. Any cultivator would need a Fretless Fruit to break through to the Red Lotus realm. It¡¯s just that some cultivators might only need one fruit, whereas others would require a few extra. Typically, three would be enough. The two of you should know about this as well. What¡¯s so wrong about that?"


    Qian¡¯Er shook her head and said, "Master, this is not the point of the story. As Wen Fang was talking about the other two Masters, she started mentioning Master Yan Beihong as well. She said that she had juste back from his ce, and told us that there was something strange with the Fretless Fruit that he¡¯d bought."

 Chapter 496 Mountain-Crossing Dragon

    Westwards they went, chasing after the setting sun upon the barren desert. The darkness of the night sky loomed behind their backs, while the path ahead was stained by the orange-golden glow of the sunset.


    As the bright crimson star gradually descended over the horizon, a turbulent wind began to pick up. The three that rode at the front suddenly changed directions and galloped off to the side. Seeing this from behind, Miao Yi shouted in reminder, "Cheng Yingwu, I think you¡¯re going in the wrong direction!"


    Cheng Yingwu turned her head and shouted back, "Brother Niu, it looks like it really is your first timeing to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea!"


    Miao Yi quickly scanned his surroundings, then pulled his mount around and led the others to change their path. As he chased after Cheng Yingwu, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"


    "Have you not noticed that the direction of the wind has changed?" Cheng Yingwu asked.


    Miao Yi immediately urged his mount to its highest possible speed and chased after Cheng Yingwu. Once he was riding next to her, he asked, "So what if it did?"


    Cheng Yingwu tilted her head to look at him and smiled, "Around these parts, there¡¯ll always be a Mountain-Crossing Dragon just before sunset."


    "What¡¯s a Mountain-Crossing Dragon?" By asking this question, Miao Yi was undoubtedly admitting that it was indeed his first time here. He knew that he could no longer keep it a secret anyway.


    There was a yfulness on Cheng Yingwu¡¯s small, attractive face as she said, "So you admit it¡¯s your first timeing here then?"


    Miao Yi asked, "Is this important?"


    "Of course it is. If it isn¡¯t your first time here, then you would naturally know about the Mountain-Crossing Dragon, and I wouldn¡¯t have to exin it to you."


    "Please enlighten me."


    "That¡¯s more like it! That¡¯s how a person should act when humbly asking for guidance! The Mountain-Crossing Dragon refers to the strange winds that blow over these giant sand dunes. Once it starts blowing, it will at least persist for a whole hour. The winds are so strong that you won¡¯t be able to see where you¡¯re going, and your whole body might even get blown away entirely. That¡¯s why it¡¯s impossible for mortals to make it to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea through this path, given their traveling speeds. For the wind to suddenly change directions at this time, it means that the Mountain-Crossing Dragon is upon us."


    "So where are we going then? Finding shelter?"


    "Yup! Well, actually there aren¡¯t that many ces that we can hide in. The terrain around this area is pretty much the same everywhere." Cheng Yingwu turned back and shouted, "Open your eyes wide, everyone. We need to look for low ground to ride this sandstorm out."


    The wind was beginning to pick up and was already letting out a loud whooshing sound as the granules of sand on the ground rolled across the dunes. The whole group stood before a giant sand pit. Miao Yi and the others¡¯ mounts were evidently a little unustomed to this weather and were a little restless. The nine Manor Heads also shared that same feeling.


    "It¡¯s here!" Cheng Yingwu suddenly turned her head around and said.


    Everyone turned their heads as well and gazed in the direction she was looking in, then noticed an iparablyrge brownish-yellow wall quickly closing in on them. Within that wall, a giant pir of wind that extended to the skies could be vaguely seen whipping about, emitting loud rumbling noises. It was an astonishing sight indeed!


    "Get down!" Cheng Yingwu suddenly shouted. She took the lead and jumped into the sand pit. The rest of the group quickly followed suit.


    The Mountain-Crossing Dragon was upon them without any forewarning at all. The fierce, mountain-shaking whirlwind came abruptly, bringing with it a massive and powerful wall of sand. The whole group was instantly enveloped in darkness, but they could still feel the overwhelming force blowing above their heads. Perhaps even a normal Red Lotus cultivator would have difficulty withstanding such a sandstorm.


    Miao Yi was cursing in his mind. Why didn¡¯t Yao Ruoxian mention anything about such a vicious threat? However, he knew deep down that the worst of the sandstorm had already passed by hiding in this sand pit.


    The sand pit was filled up almost instantly, burying Miao Yi and the others within a giant pile of sand. They had invoked their arts to keep themselves protected, but nevertheless, they could do nothing to stop themselves from being buried under.


    Before Miao Yi and the others even had the chance to be shocked, they suddenly felt the immense pressure weighing down on them quickly receding. Soon, they popped their heads out of the sand.


    As the invoked their arts to guard their faces against the unrelenting wind and sand, they opened their transcendence vision and noticed arge number of mighty wind pirs rapidly whirling around them. It was hard to tell how many of those there were. Meanwhile, an endless rumbling sound echoed in their ears.


    It was the arrival of these tornadoes that helped blow off theyers of sand that piled up over their bodies. First their heads were above ground, then gradually, their bodies.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t concerned about the changes in his surroundings. As he invoked his arts and gazed through the murky, yellow shroud, he paid extra attention to the reaction of Cheng Yingwu and the others.


    Bang! Cheng Yingwu and her group suddenly burst out of the sand mound covering them on their mounts.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Miao Yi imbued his voice with transcendence energy and shouted, then his mount immediately carried his half-buried body and abruptly broke out of the sand.


    Despite their fear, when they heard Miao Yi¡¯smand, the nine Manor Heads hastily burst out of the sand as well and quickly followed after him on their dragon steeds amidst the powerful sandstorm.


    Their dragon steeds¡¯ eyesight was rendered useless by the sandstorm at this point, and Miao Yi and the others not only had to use their transcendent arts to protect themselves, they had to shield their mounts from the storm as well. Using their transcendence vision, they scanned their surroundings, thenmanded their dragon steeds to move using their intent. Meanwhile, the weight of the dragon steeds helped anchor them somewhat against this terrifying gale.


    Arge tornado swiftly swept past the ce where they were just buried, and Miao Yi finally understood why Cheng Yingwu had broken out of the sand mound so abruptly; they were avoiding those things.


    The powerful suction force of the storm nearly swept Miao Yi and his team up into the tornadoes, along with all their mounts.


    "Follow me closely!" Miao Yi furiously shouted as he hurriedly followed behind Cheng Yingwu and her group. Whatever they were doing, he would do too.


    He then watched as Cheng Yingwu and her group galloped through the gaps between the tornadoes like nimble spirits dancing in a hurricane¡ªhe was in utter disbelief.


    However, Miao Yi soon realized the trick behind their movements. Although these tornadoes seemed terrifying, but as long as they could proceed at an equal distance between them, there wouldn¡¯t be much of an issue. The suction force from the tornadoes would cancel each other out, creating a safe zone where the force of the wind was at its weakest. This was also the reason why Miao Yi and his group was able to move forward through this terrifying sandstorm.


    If they were even slightly off course, it was easy to imagine what the consequences would be; they would surely be sucked away by the tornadoes.


    As she continued to gallop in the front, Cheng Yingwu suddenly waved her hand, and her two escorts quickly broke into the gaps between the tornadoes at the side, while she proceeded forward.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know why their group was moving in such a manner. He just focused on following Cheng Yingwu.


    Suddenly, an agonizing scream came from behind. Miao Yi abruptly turned his head around and saw several figures suddenly flying off into the tornadoes along with their mounts.


    He then saw the two figures that ambushed their group quickly disappearing using the tornadoes as their cover.


    "Niu Er! They¡¯re ambushing us!" Behind Miao Yi, Deng Hu shouted in terror.


    Miao Yi immediately turned his head forward. With a flick of his wrist, his sleeve quickly fluttered, and the Qilin Spear suddenly appeared in his grasp. Miao Yi hurriedly chased after Cheng Yingwu. He nned to cut off the head of the snake!


    But s, Cheng Yingwu was evidently more ustomed to this weather phenomenon than Miao Yi was. With just a couple maneuvers, she swiftly lost him.


    Meanwhile, terrifying wails continued to echo from behind Miao Yi. As he turned around, he saw two giant balls of sand flying straight towards Deng Hu from the gaps between the tornadoes beside them.


    With a horrified expression, Deng Hu frantically attacked with his spear and obliterated the balls of sand that came for him.


    In such conditions, Deng Hu¡¯s actions were nothing short of folly. However, he simply had no other choice. The balls of sand that erupted immediately blinded Deng Hu, which made things even worse given that it was already hard enough to see as it is.


    "Ahh!" An agonizing scream resounded as Deng Hu¡¯s headless corpse along with his dragon steed broke past the shroud of sand and was subsequently swept up into the skies, instantly disappearing into the tornado.


    The two figures that had attacked him disappeared into the gaps between the tornadoes once again. At this point, there was no longer anyone else following behind Miao Yi!


    Their team hadn¡¯t even reached Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. This was still just the outskirts, and nine out of the ten Manor Heads that Traversing Water Pce had sent over were already dead!


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression turned cold as he continued to ride between the tornadoes on his own. He scanned the area around him vigntly as he waited for the other three to ambush him!


    However, he no longer saw any trace of Cheng Yingwu and her group. He simply traversed through the storm on his own in search of them.


    By the time the Mountain-Crossing Dragon finally passed and the tiny specks of sand in the air had somewhat settled, the sky was already half in darkness, and half in light.


    Where the sky was dark, a pale crescent moon hung up high, adorned by a myriad of tiny stars. And where it was bright, the sun shone as proof that it was disappearing on this side.


    Miao Yi stood alone atop a sand dune as the rumbling noises gradually faded off into the distance.


    He scanned his surroundings, but there was no one else in sight. It was utterly silent!


    He and his mount shook off the sand that was on them. Miao Yi then looked up at the starry sky and figured out his bearings based on the direction of the setting sun. He then continued on his path alone.


    However, he didn¡¯t make it very far before stopping at another sand dune. He saw, under the fading light of the setting sun, three riders atop the sand dune on the other side. They were none other than Cheng Yingwu and her group. Miao Yi then watched as Cheng Yingwu took out her flower circlet and gracefully put it back on her head.


    Miao Yi pointed his spear at the other party and asked calmly, "Why did you only attack them and not me within the Mountain-Crossing Dragon?"


    Cheng Yingwu smiled. "Because they were in the way. There¡¯s quite an attractive price on your head. If I let you get blown away by the Mountain-Crossing Dragon, how would I ever find it?"


    Miao Yi suddenly narrowed his eyes and asked coldly, "Someone¡¯s put a bounty on me? May I know who it is who wants me dead?"


    Cheng Yingwu simply responded with a smile.


    Miao Yi then asked, "Since the three of you have been waiting here for me, I trust that you¡¯re confident in taking my life. Can¡¯t you let someone who¡¯s about to die know the reason why he must be killed?"


    Cheng Yingwu replied, "I would if I could, but sadly, I don¡¯t have any idea either."


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t sure whether or not the other party was really telling the truth. But from the looks of it, it seemed Cheng Yingwu wouldn¡¯t tell him anything even if she did know the reason. He changed his question, "Who are you people?"


    Cheng Yingwu smiled, "For someone to hear the name ¡¯Cheng Yingwu¡¯ and not know that I¡¯m the Sixth Young Lady of the ¡¯Hive Gang¡¯ of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, it proves that it¡¯s your first timeing here."


    "Hive Gang? Sixth Young Lady?" Miao Yi had no recollection of these terms at all. He asked, "These are the so-called desert bandits you mentioned?"


    Cheng Yingwu nodded. "Thergest desert bandit gang in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. You don¡¯t have to feel ashamed to die by our hands!"


    Miao Yi said coolly, "Then may I know how much this life of mine is worth?" He wanted to use the price of the bounty to figure out which of his enemies were the ones behind this.


    "Not much! For someone that hasn¡¯t reached the Red Lotus realm, you won¡¯t be worth that much to begin with. The price is just about ten million Gold Crystals!"


    This wasn¡¯t such a high price, but it definitely wasn¡¯t low either. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t figure out anything from this. He nodded and said, "I can¡¯t believe my head is actually worth ten million Gold Crystals! Then what are you still waiting for? Come and take it!"


    "As you wish!" Cheng Yingwu brandished a wooden whistle and began blowing on it.


    Miao Yi¡¯s mount suddenly neighed anxiously as multiple white silhouettes began bursting out of the sand dune underneath them.


    ¡¯It¡¯s a trap!¡¯ Miao Yi jumped up almost instantly andnded a few dozen meters away. He then saw that his own dragon steed was alreadypletely enveloped by many half-foot long white centipedes.


    His dragon steed neighed in agony and tried to charge out. However, it didn¡¯t make it very far before crashing onto the ground, struggling in vain. Miao Yi could vaguely hear a chirping noise as the centipedes bit down on his mount.

 Chapter 496 Heaven-Defying Cultivation

    ¡¯Yan Beihong also bought a Fretless Fruit?¡¯ Miao Yi found this a little strange. Back in the Subjugation Crusade, Yan Beihong¡¯s cultivation was only at the Blue Lotus Fifth Grade. He couldn¡¯t possibly break through from that to the Red Lotus realm in less than ten years, could he? If that was true, then that was a little too inconceivable. Everyone knows that the time it took to raise one¡¯s cultivation grade only grew longer the higher their cultivation was.


    However, it wasn¡¯t as if everyone knew about Yan Beihong¡¯s cultivation grade. How could an outsider possibly tell that it was strange, especially Wen Fang? Miao Yi asked, "What¡¯s wrong about it?"


    Qian¡¯Er replied, "Wen Fang said that this was already Master Yan¡¯s fourth time buying a Fretless Fruit from her within the year. The first time, he had bought three fruits. However, after a few days, he bought another ten fruits. And a monthter, he looked for her to buy fifty more. This time, he¡¯s actually bought two hundred Fretless Fruits from Wen Fang."


    "So many?" Miao Yi eximed in shock. A single Fretless Fruit cost about ten thousand low-grade Orbs of Will. Wouldn¡¯t this mean that Yan Beihong had spent almost 2.6 million Orbs of Will on buying Fretless Fruits? That was equivalent to 2.6 billion Gold Crystals!


    How much exactly were 2.6 billion Gold Crystals worth? He had once spent almost all his savings just to refine a set of Second Grade Armor Artifacts, so he was fully aware of the gravity behind such arge sum. At the time, he had purchased 150 urns of Crystalline Obsidian at a total of 300 million Gold Crystals.


    This amount was not only enough to refine his entire set of Armor Artifacts, but Charcoal¡¯s as well. And because of Charcoal¡¯s size, that was where most of the spending had gone to. So in truth, his own set of Armor Artifacts had only cost about 100 million Gold Crystals. If he was going by the market rates, then he would have to take into ount Yao Ruoxian¡¯sbor fees as well as the Second Grade Yao Cores he had used for the refining process. That put the total cost of his Second Grade Armor Artifact set at about 200 million Gold Crystals. A single low-grade Orb of Will cost around the same as a thousand Gold Crystals, which meant that his Armor Artifact set was worth about 200,000 low-grade Orbs of Will.


    This meant that Yan Beihong had actually used up over ten sets of Second Grade Armor Artifacts just to buy Fretless Fruits. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help wondering why he was spending so much money.


    "Why did he buy so many Fretless Fruits?" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help asking. He knew that Yan Beihong¡¯s cultivation speed was fast, but still, regardless of how quickly his cultivation grew, did he really need to buy so many Fretless Fruits?


    Qian¡¯Er replied, "Wen Fang also has no idea why Master Yan is buying up so many Fretless Fruits. She said that during the first two times he made the purchase, she was still able to see him in person. However, during the next two purchases with the fifty and the two hundred Fretless Fruits, Hong Xiu and Hong Fu were the ones who signed off on Master Yan¡¯s behalf. The person in question was nowhere to be seen. Wen Fang wanted to pay him a visit, but it seemed that Hong Xiu and Hong Fu stopped her from doing so, which was very strange. Moreover, it would be inappropriate of Wen Fang to pry into why the other party had bought so many Fretless Fruits. Back when she was talking to us, Wen Fang even made a joke about it. She noted how there aren¡¯t too many cultivators that could break through to another major realm within a year, and as such, there aren¡¯t a lot of Fretless Fruits circting around the market. Moreover, the orchards responsible for producing the Fretless Fruits only release a very limited amount at any one time as a means to control their market value. Now that Master Yan has bought so many Fretless Fruits, there¡¯s a shortage of it in the market. Wen Fang spectes that the price will drastically increase soon enough. She joked that Master Yan had a businessman¡¯s cunning, and wondered if he was preparing to make a huge profit of the Fretless Fruits once the price has soared."


    Xue¡¯Er continued, "Even though Wen Fang was just saying it in jest, but both of us felt like she¡¯d caught on to something, and was intentionally leaking this information out to us so that we could inform you, Master."


    Miao Yi quietly nodded. The Chamber of Commerce wouldn¡¯t normally reveal the details of a transaction with its customers, and Wen Fang wasn¡¯t such a loose-lipped woman either. She definitely had her own reasons for doing so. In short, she was likely trying to do him a favor, as she was aware that he had a close rtionship with Yan Beihong.


    "It looks like that woman made yet another killing this time." Miao Yi chuckled. He raised his hand and added, "Let¡¯s go! We¡¯re going to see your father."


    The two girls looked at each other, then immediately followed after Miao Yi. Deep down, they pondered, ¡¯I wonder why Master is looking for Father? He normally doesn¡¯t meet with him if it¡¯s nothing major.¡¯


    The trio soon reached the forbidden ind and entered the quiet courtyard. There, they saw Charcoal still sleeping under the eaves of the main hall, while Yao Ruoxian was cultivating on the bed inside.


    Yao Ruoxian¡¯s cultivation seemed to be picking up speed at a steady pace. It seemed he had just sold off thirty sets of Second Grade Armor Artifacts in one fell swoop and had the two girls exchange them for five million low-grade Orbs of Will for him. At his cultivation grade, every breakthrough required millions of low-grade Orbs of Will. Now that he had an adequate supply of orbs, it was natural for his cultivation speed to pick up.


    Miao Yiughed bitterly as he thought about this. Other things aside, not only did he have to provide for the old man, he still had to spend a relentless amount of Yao Cores for Charcoal and the tiny mantids as well. Had he not earned a fortune in the Subjugation Crusade, there was no way he could afford such luxury. Just the amount of Orbs of Will for Yao Ruoxian¡¯s cultivation alone was an astronomical sum.


    However, Miao Yi knew that this was money he needed to spend. After going through the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, he became aware of the importance of transcendent artifacts. Moreover, he realized that Yao Ruoxian was indeed quite the expert. This Artifact Artisan was someone he definitely needed by his side. Once his own cultivation had increased and he had a powerful transcendent artifact at his disposal, why should he ever have to worry about not getting enough Orbs of Will? Therefore, it was important to have foresight. There was no such thing as profit without investment.


    "Father!" The two youngdies called out as they entered the main hall.


    Yao Ruoxian opened his eyes and smiled, then tucked away therge mounds of Orbs of Will in both his hands. Once a cultivator was at the Red Lotus realm, they could easily emanate their own internal arts outside of their body. There was no longer a need for them to ce the Orb of Will in their mouths.


    "The damned fatso has eaten so many Yao Cores, but he doesn¡¯t look any different than usual. He still sleeps like a pig all day long," Miao Yi grumbled as he sent a couple of kicks to Charcoal¡¯s body. However, there was no reaction from Charcoal at all. As Miao Yi then walked inside the house, he lifted his head up to the eaves and noticed the tiny mantids silently perched up on the beam. Compared to Charcoal, these little fellows had undergone quite the change. At the very least, they were around the size of two fists now and were almost twice asrge as they were before. It seemed the food wasn¡¯t wasted on them, at least.


    "What are you here for?" Yao Ruoxian scoffed. It seemed he was always pissed at seeing Miao Yi.


    But then again, there was probably no way a man would be pleased to see the guy sleeping with his two precious daughters.


    Miao Yi let out a chuckle and cupped his fists. "I¡¯vee here just to see you, Senior."


    Yao Ruoxian huffed disdainfully, "Spare me the crap. Like I don¡¯t know you well enough. You would never show your face in front of me if you didn¡¯t have anything urgent to talk about. Saying that you¡¯re here just to see me is a lie. It¡¯s more like you want to know about that high-grade storage ring of yours, correct?"


    "You¡¯re overthinking things, Senior. You¡¯ve been in the cultivation realm for so many years. Surely, you know about a great many things. I havee to seek guidance from you." Miao Yi didn¡¯t wait for another scornful reply, and quickly added, "Senior, do you know if there is a purpose to gathering arge supply of Fretless Fruits?"


    Yao Ruoxian was taken aback. "Why are you asking this for?"


    Miao Yi said somberly, "I have a friend who suddenly purchased arge supply of Fretless Fruits. Over two hundred pieces, to be exact. I felt this was a little strange, so I came here to ask if you know anything about it."


    Yao Ruoxian said casually, "Obviously, a Fretless Fruit is used for breaking through to the next major realm. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know this much... Over two hundred pieces? There¡¯s no need to have so many of them to break through from the Blue Lotus realm to the Red Lotus realm, but it¡¯s a little too few to break through from the Purple Lotus realm to the Golden Lotus realm as well."


    Miao Yi asked, "Are you saying it can only be used for breaking through a major realm? There¡¯s no other purpose to it?"


    Yao Ruoxian responded, "What other purpose can there be? It¡¯s precisely because there aren¡¯t too many uses for it that the Western Constetions Pce intentionally limits the number of Fretless Fruits they sell and avoid its price from falling."


    "Western Constetions Pce?" Miao Yi was surprised. "The Fretless Fruit came from the Western Constetions Pce? I¡¯ve been around the area before, but I didn¡¯t see any ce that grew these Fretless Fruits!"


    Yao Ruoxian huffed irritably. He himself had never been to the Western Constetions Pce before, but the brat before him did. He said in annoyance, "Then it¡¯s probably because you just can¡¯t tell trash from treasure. The Sea of Constetions is a ce where demonic creatures of all kinds reside. There are no followers in that ce, only rare and mysterious nts and herbs. And the Fretless Fruit itself is a very important bargaining chip for the Western Constetions Pce to get their share of cultivation resources from the Six Sages. As a result, Western Constetions Master Fu Qing keeps a tight grip on its production rights. Where else can you find it if not in the Western Constetions Pce? Moreover, I heard that this is a very tough nt to grow. It cannot take the heat, nor can it withstand the cold. And although it¡¯s a type of nt, it cannot be affected by the presence of other nts. It needs to grow in an environment without worry, hence, why it¡¯s called the Fretless Fruit."


    Hearing this, a thought suddenly shed by Miao Yi¡¯s mind. He asked, "What does the nt of the Fretless Fruit look like? Is it dark green in color?"


    "Like hell would I know. I¡¯ve only seen the fruit itself, not the nt..." As he said this, Yao Ruoxian seemed to have caught on to something, and asked, "You¡¯ve seen it before?"


    "I don¡¯t know if I have. But hearing what you just said, I think I did..." Miao Yi then briefly recounted his experience sweeping the grounds of the Western Constetions Pce.


    After hearing Miao Yi¡¯s tale, Yao Ruoxian pped on his thigh and shouted, "That¡¯s definitely it! The grassy area where you swept is definitely the ce! Tsk tsk, to be able to care for the garden where the Fretless Fruits grows. This isn¡¯t something that anyone can experience. Most of the cultivators in the world have only seen the fruit and not the nt itself. Kid, you were quite lucky. Now you¡¯ve be more knowledgeable."


    ¡¯You call this lucky? I almost died from fatigue sweeping that ce!¡¯ Miao Yi shook his head. He didn¡¯t find such an experience to be something to be enthused about.


    Since he couldn¡¯t get any answers from Yao Ruoxian, Miao Yi didn¡¯t stay too long and returned back to his manor. He then wrote a letter to Yan Beihong asking him how he was doing.


    However, for some reason, Yan Beihong didn¡¯t reply for quite a while. Hong Fu only sent back a perfunctory reply on his behalf saying that everything was fine!


    Miao Yi grew even more suspicious that something had happened. Why was Hong Fu replying to his letter instead of Yan Beihong? This wasn¡¯t normal! Yan Beihong would never be so busy that he couldn¡¯t even write back a single letter!


    If his position didn¡¯t make it difficult for him to leave his post without first getting his superior¡¯s permission, then Miao Yi would have definitely gone straight to the First Earthly Branch to find out what was going on.


    By the time Yan Beihong wrote back to him, half a year had passed.


    Currently, Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation was at the Blue Lotus Fourth Grade, and his cultivation speed had already increased from refining five orbs a day to six. Furthermore, he would need to refine over twenty-thousand Orbs of Will to break through to the Blue Lotus Fifth Grade. Miao Yi spected that it would probably take him around ten years to make the next breakthrough.


    He believed that his own cultivation speed was quick enough, so much so that it was dangerous for him to reveal it to outsiders. However, when he read through Yan Beihong¡¯s letter, even though he was already prepared for it, he still couldn¡¯t help his shock.


    Yan Beihong¡¯s reply went as follows: ¡¯The reason I didn¡¯t reply to your letterst time was because my cultivation had already reached its crucial stage for breaking through to the Red Lotus realm, and I had ordered that no one is to disturb me. I¡¯m sorry! Right now, my cultivation has already broken through to the Red Lotus First Grade. I¡¯ve also caught the Pce Lord¡¯s eye and have already been promoted to Hall Master!¡¯


    Within the silent quarters, Miao Yi held onto the jade archive and went deep in thought as he slowly recovered from his shock. He was simply too astonished by Yan Beihong¡¯s cultivation speed. After so many years, even Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, who had already reached the door to the Red Lotus realm, have yet to break through. However, Yan Beihong, who was several levels behind the two initially, had alreadypletely overtaken them in one fell swoop. This was just too inconceivable.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help wondering what kind of cultivation art Yan Beihong was practicing in. This cultivation speed was just heaven-defying! He hoped that Yan Beihong wouldn¡¯t be too outstanding and attract some unsavory attention to himself!

 Chapter 497 Good Things Come In Pairs 1

    There was no use thinking too hard about it. Knowing Yan Beihong was fine was good enough for Miao Yi.


    After replying to Yan Beihong¡¯s letter, Miao Yi resumed his closed-door cultivation. It was safe to say that he was desperately trying to catch up, hoping that the others wouldn¡¯t leave him too far behind...


    That year, just before it was time for the annual tribute to be handed over, the Manor Heads of Thousand Lake Manor, Mulberry Cloud Manor, and Raincloud Manor once again requested to take a leave of absence in order to avoid bumping into the three Advisors. However, this time around, not only did Hall Master Shen Huaixin decline their request, he even reprimanded them. ¡¯It¡¯s been so many years. Do the three of you think you won¡¯t have to set foot in Suppressing Tenth Hall ever again? How do you think this will look in front of the other Manor Heads whoe every year to hand over the annual tribute?¡¯


    There was no helping it. Shen Huaixin had a point. If the three of them continued to hide like this, it was inevitable for the others to start talking about it.


    The three Manor Heads arranged a time to meet, then rendezvoused with one another before heading off to Suppressing Tenth Hall together.


    Along the way, Miao Yi remembered the matter with Yan Beihong. He suddenly turned around and told the aides, "The six of you, go scout the path ahead."


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei looked at one another. They could tell that Miao Yi had something he wanted to discuss, and so the three of them slowed down their mounts.


    The six aides continued to gallop in front. Once they were out of sight, Sikong Wuwei asked, "Brother, is there something you wish to talk about?"


    Miao Yi smiled, "It¡¯s nothing much. I just wanted to ask: you two have been in the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade for so many years now, and you both told me that you were close to breaking through to the Red Lotus realm way back during the Subjugation Crusade. Why has nothing happened even after so many years?"


    When the other two heard this, they exchanged nces and helplessly shook their heads. Zhao Fei smiled bitterly and replied, "To tell you the truth, I¡¯ve discussed this issue quite often with Sikong as well. We¡¯ve been facing this problem for many years now. It always feels as though we¡¯re just a little bit short of breaking through, almost as if we¡¯re only one step away from seeding. We¡¯ve even prepared the Fretless Fruits that were required during the breakthrough. However, we just can¡¯t seem to seed!"


    Sikong Wuwei also sighed and said, "This feeling is so suffocating. It¡¯s like you¡¯ve been locked up inside a small room for a long time with no way of getting out. Even though you¡¯re lying right before the window and can already feel the vastness of thend outside, you just can¡¯t punch through those paper sheets. This thin veil is the only thing standing in your way. That feeling when you¡¯re close to breaking through yet not seeding at the same time can really drive a man crazy."


    Zhao Fei nodded. "It is indeed a very annoying feeling. Sometimes when we¡¯re cultivating, we¡¯ll find that our refining speed just suddenly increases to many folds its usual pace. However, right as we¡¯re getting excited and start thinking that the breakthrough is just around the corner, downes a bucket of cold water over our heads, and we realize it was all nothing but a fantasy. We¡¯re still right where we were. We¡¯re still unable to break through that thin veil trapping us inside the room. That feeling can make you wish you were dead sometimes."


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "Which means that although you¡¯re still refining Orbs of Will and absorbing the essence of nature, your cultivations are not progressing?"


    The other two nodded. "Exactly!"


    "That¡¯s strange." Miao Yi clicked his tongue in astonishment. His cultivation had yet to reach that level, so he didn¡¯t understand that feeling they were both talking about.


    Zhao Fei sighed, "We can¡¯t rush these sort of things. Perhaps our chance just hasn¡¯te yet. Since there¡¯s no forcing it, we might as well just let it follow its course!"


    Miao Yi could do little but offer a few consoling words. He wondered what it would be like for him once he reached that stage...


    After reaching Suppressing Tenth Hall, the trio continued with the usual proceedings. They visited the Hall Master, handed over the annual tribute, then when it was time for all the Manor Heads to gather once again in the main assembly hall, they stood inconspicuously at the back.


    Seeing these three finally showing up, many people harbored expectations that they would get to see another sensational performance again.


    Unfortunately, the three Advisors disappointed them. Besides exchanging a few words out of formality, they didn¡¯t provoke Miao Yi and the others.


    As for the other three, they simply answered what was asked, and just kept silent otherwise. Their gazes asionallynded on Xu Jinsong¡¯s severed arm and noticed the arm that was cut off from the shoulder had now grown back quite a bit.


    Seated on his high chair, Hall Master Shen Huaixin swept a nce at how calm both parties were, and couldn¡¯t help feeling somewhat disappointed.


    Xu Jinsong and the others weren¡¯t fools either. Back then, during their battle in Suppressing Tenth Hall, the Hall Master had clearly arrived on time. However, he didn¡¯t try to intervene until both sides hadpletely fallen out with one another. Not only were the three Advisors clear on Shen Huaixin¡¯s motives for doing so, but even Miao Yi and the others could also guess what he was nning.


    Without any assurance that they could deal with Miao Yi and the others once and for all, the three Advisors were prepared to bide their time for now. There was no reason for them to keep giving Shen Huaixin excuses to punish them. Besides, it would do them no good to be branded as ipetent fools over at Traversing Water Pce¡¯s side, as it would affect their future. There would always be someone who would use this sort of poor reputation to nder a person right before their promotion. That would be a terrible thing to happen to the three Advisors. This was probably what Shen Huaixin had hoped to see as well.


    To put things in a different perspective, the fact that Miao Yi and the others were able to heavily injure Xu Jinsong during thest battle was shocking news in itself. Optimistically speaking, that battle managed to earn them the other party¡¯s respect. Xu Jinsong no longer dared to underestimate them, and he wouldn¡¯t make any reckless moves if he didn¡¯t have enough assurance, even though his arrow was already nocked and primed!


    The journey back from Suppressing Tenth Hall was as smooth as the trip going there. Miao Yi and the others all safely reached their respective territories, and after handing down several instructions, all three of them proceeded back to their closed-door cultivations.


    The one thing that Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei were thankful for was that there were no battles within Traversing Water Pce territory. If they didn¡¯t have any grudges to settle, then this ce was indeed quite suitable for cultivating in peace, especially for people like them who had plenty of cultivation resources in their hands.


    Another ten years or so passed, and Miao Yi managed to break through to Blue Lotus Fifth Grade as expected.


    The refining speed for Orbs of Will had once again increased from six orbs a day to seven, while the number of orbs Miao Yi needed to refine to break through to the Blue Lotus Sixth Grade was almost at forty-one thousand orbs. This would likely take him at least another sixteen years to break through to the next grade.


    Over the years, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er hadn¡¯t been cking off either. Their cultivations were both at the White Lotus Fifth Grade now. On the other hand, Yan Xiu¡¯s cultivation speed was falling a little behind, and he was still at White Lotus Eighth Grade. If this continued, then he would eventually be overtaken by the two youngdies.


    It wasn¡¯t easy to have such a loyal subordinate in the cultivation realm. Miao Yi was already thinking about getting a better cultivation art for Yan Xiu and had even consulted Wen Fang about it. However, even though the Chamber of Commerce sold arge number of things, cultivation arts were not in their catalog. The ck markets of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea might have some, but there were just too many fraudulent ones. Moreover, there was no telling if a cultivation art was the real deal or not until you¡¯ve actually practiced it. And by the time you realize there¡¯s a problem, it would be toote.


    To this end, all Miao Yi could do was try toe up with other ways!


    On a certain day fifteen yearster, under the vast, starry night sky, a red streak of light shot past the clouds and descended right on the courtyard of Miao Yi¡¯s private residence in Raincloud Manor. An energetic-looking Zhao Fei lightly hovered in the sky with a faint smile on his face.


    Soon, after hearing the news while he was still in closed-door cultivation, Miao Yi quickly rushed out. He cupped his fists and said, "Congrattions, Brother Zhao, on finally breaking through like you¡¯ve always wanted! You¡¯ve finally made it past that single immensely wide step!"


    Zhao Fei waved his hand and humbly said, "I¡¯ve already been stuck in the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade for close to three hundred years. I¡¯m truly ashamed at my own ipetence. And yet, here I am, showing off to you, Brother, the second after I broke through. How embarrassing!"


    Miao Yi immediately joked, "Then have you boasted about this to Sikong as well, Brother Zhao?"


    "I visited him first beforeing to your ce. I¡¯ve already lost count how many times Sikong kept circling around me. He was restlessly scratching his head and waspletely envious. He kept asking how I managed to break through. Sadly, I myself have no idea how it happened. It just did!"


    As Zhao Fei described Sikong Wuwei¡¯s reaction to Miao Yi, the two of them looked at each other, then abruptly burst intoughter simultaneously. It was easy to imagine how Sikong Wuwei must have reacted in that situation.


    And for the normally serious Zhao Fei to crack jokes like this, it was evident how joyful he must be feeling inside at the moment. That was why he came looking for a friend to share his happiness with right after breaking through.


    "Now that you¡¯ve finally made this step, you can go anywhere you want in the world. It¡¯s a joyous affair indeed. God knows how many cultivators there are across the realm who live to a ripe old age without ever being able to cross that bridge. We should have a big celebration!" Miao Yi turned around and waved his hand, "Qian¡¯Er, Xue¡¯Er, set up a feast in Raincloud Pavilion!"


    "Yes, Master!" The two youngdies also happily came forward and congratted Zhao Fei on his sess.


    Both the two youngdies knew that the stronger their Master¡¯s friends were, therger the support their Master would have, which also meant the safer it would be for him.


    Zhao Fei then took out a couple of Second Grade Armor Artifacts and rewarded the two youngdies.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Being just as happy as his friend, Miao Yi grabbed Zhao Fei by the wrist and pulled him straight to Raincloud Pavilion.


    This was because Zhao Fei¡¯s breakthrough to the Red Lotus realm was simply much too important for him and Sikong Wuwei. All these years, the three of them couldn¡¯t help their restlessness as they watched Xu Jinsong¡¯s severed arm grow longer and longer with each passing year. They constantly worried that trouble was just around the corner. Now that Zhao Fei had broken through to the Red Lotus realm, he had effectively be the greatest threat to the three Advisors!


    Raincloud Pavilion. The two Manor Heads were drinking joyfully under the moonlight. The two youngdies stood behind them, helping to refill their cups whenever they were empty.


    As they talked about Zhao Fei¡¯s breakthrough, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help getting absorbed in his own thoughts. Back when they journeyed together to Suppressing Tenth Hall, the other party had already mentioned that it was difficult to reach a breakthrough. However, Miao Yi had no idea it was actually this hard. Just this seemingly small step had taken Zhao Fei over twenty years to do so.


    Zhao Fei let out a bitter smile. That said, he felt more relieved of a heavy burden than not. From this day onwards, an even greater realm would beid out before him!


    As Miao Yi and Zhao Fei gradually calmed down from all the excitement, the former ced his cup down and asked, "Brother Zhao, what are your ns from now on?"


    Now that they were talking about serious issues, Zhao Fei quickly calmed himself. He gently ced down his wine cup and said solemnly, "Now, I¡¯ve broken through to the Red Lotus realm. Although the three Advisors are still higher than me in terms of cultivation, but the way I see it, they¡¯re nothing more than a joke. Those three bastards don¡¯t have the slightest clue how to fight a battle. If we were to actually start fighting, there¡¯s no telling which side would be the one trembling in fear. There¡¯s no need to be scared of them at all! The only person in Suppressing Tenth Hall who can actually pose a threat to us is Shen Huaixin. That man definitely has some hidden agenda of his own. I¡¯m not interested in his Hall Master¡¯s seat, however. Now that I have plenty of cultivation resources in hand, I can¡¯t wish for anything more than to cultivate in peace. That being said, even if one doesn¡¯t fret over what happens tomorrow, one still needs to think about the distant future. Brother, do you still remember the pagoda artifact he wielded?"


    Miao Yi nodded, "That is a problem. If we ever sh against the three Advisors again, and Shen Huaixin decides to help them out, then given the strength of his Third Grade Transcendent Artifact alone, you definitely won¡¯t be a match for him."


    Zhao Fei sighed, "To protect oneself, one must first possess the power to intimidate their opponents. After this, I¡¯m nning to look for Wen Fang. I must get a suitable Third Grade Transcendent Artifact for myself, no matter the cost! Otherwise, I¡¯m not confident I¡¯ll be able to hold my ground!"


    "Speaking of transcendent artifacts, I might be able to help you get one that¡¯s suitable..." Miao Yi mused.


    "Brother, if you have a way, then that¡¯s even better!"


    "Wait here for a while. I¡¯ll be back in a bit." Miao Yi then called for Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er and left together.


    The ce they were headed to was none other Yao Ruoxian¡¯s ind. With such a mighty Artifact Artisan expert living in his backyard, how could Miao Yi let the opportunity slip?


    They soon met up with Yao Ruoxian. When he heard that Miao Yi wanted him to refine a transcendent artifact for someone else, Yao Ruoxian immediately declined. But s, he couldn¡¯t defend against Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s pleading in the end.


    Although he ultimately agreed to it, Yao Ruoxian gave his own set of conditions as well. Firstly, Zhao Fei had to provide all the materials for the transcendent artifact himself, and he couldn¡¯t skimp out on thebor costs, which was double the amount for a normal Artifact Artisan. Most importantly¡ªand Yao Ruoxian couldn¡¯t stress how serious this next condition was¡ªonce Zhao Fei had gotten his transcendent artifact, he can never reveal to anyone that it hade from Raincloud Manor, even if someone were to ask him about its origins. Simply put, Zhao Fei must swear to never reveal Yao Ruoxian¡¯s location. God knows what the old man was so scared about.


    If Zhao Fei were unable to satisfy these conditions, then Yao Ruoxian wouldn¡¯t agree to make the transcendent artifact for him. He wouldn¡¯t budge even when Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er pleaded.


    After that, Miao Yi mentioned these conditions to Zhao Fei and gave him time to think it over. Although Zhao Fei was a little curious as to the identity of this Artifact Artisan, since Miao Yi had told him not to ask so many questions, he didn¡¯t pry any further.


    Since this Artifact Artisan was rmended by Miao Yi, Zhao Fei didn¡¯t mind the high price tag and agreed to it immediately. He then told Miao Yi he would go look for Wen Fang after this to gather the necessary materials and send them over.


    Perhaps Miao Yi and the others were in some sort of lucky streak, as the day right after Zhao Fei had left, another red sh of light shot over from the distant skies and descended on Miao Yi¡¯s private quarters in Raincloud Manor.


    The person that had arrived was none other than Mulberry Cloud¡¯s Manor Head Sikong Wuwei. When he saw Miao Yiing out, he ced his hands by the side of his waist and chortled towards the sky. He was absolutely filled with delight!


    "What? You¡¯ve broken through as well?" Miao Yi said in astonishment as he walked forward and circled around Sikong Wuwei. He had just beenughing with Zhao Fei the day before about how this guy must be scratching his head in frustration.


    The smile instantly froze on Sikong Wuwei¡¯s face. He rolled his eyes and said in annoyance, "Why can¡¯t I break through too? What do you mean by that? Are you unhappy that I¡¯ve broken through?"


    Truth be told, he himself was a little confused by all this. Logically speaking, he must have been stimted by Zhao Fei, and thus when he was breaking through, he gave everything he had and beyond. Or at least, it seemed that way at the time. As a result, he identally managed to break through that thin veil that was the paper sheet of the window. Naturally, he would never admit that Zhao Fei¡¯s instigation was the cause of his breakthrough!

 Chapter 498 Good Things Come In Pairs 2

    "Of course I¡¯m happy! Why wouldn¡¯t I be?" Miao Yi hurriedly cupped his fists and smiled, "Congrattions!"


    Sikong Wuwei immediately broke into loud, arrogantughter. He was simply much too happy. To a cultivator, this was indeed a joyous affair. No one wouldn¡¯t be excited by this achievement.


    Beside him, Miao Yi asked, "Sikong, now that your cultivation has increased, when are you going to pull the Celestial Sage off her seat?"


    "Uhh...." As though someone had caught him by the throat, Sikong Wuwei immediately lost the smile on his face. How could such words be spoken so casually like this? Wouldn¡¯t it spell disaster for him if someone heard it? He immediately red at Miao Yi and said angrily, "What do you mean by that? Are you intentionally trying to spoil my fun?"


    Miao Yi sighed, "Zhao Fei was here yesterday, and boasted to my face just before leaving. Now, you¡¯re here to do the same as well. Do the two of you really have to p your breakthroughs in my face back and forth like this? So what if you can fly? Do you two expect me to feel good about this?"


    "Jealousy! I see it now. You¡¯re feeling jealous. Nothing but pure, tant jealousy!" Sikong Wuwei felt utterly conceited as he pointed at Miao Yi¡¯s face and said scornfully.


    "Stop feeling so full of yourself. Jealousy? You¡¯ve only just broken through to the Red Lotus First Grade after cultivating for a couple thousand years. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never seen fast cultivators before. What¡¯s there to be jealous about?" If Miao Yi really had to be jealous of someone, then it would be Yan Beihong. However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to p this harsh reality in Sikong¡¯s face. The other party was already a Hall Master, for crying out loud!


    "You¡ª"


    Before Sikong Wuwei could release a mouthful of spit on his face, Miao Yi grabbed the wrist that was pointing at him, then dragged him to Raincloud Pavilion. "Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll throw you a feast to celebrate!"


    "That¡¯s more like it!" Sikong Wuwei huffed.


    Needless to say, after downing a few drinks, the matter of Sikong Wuwei¡¯s Third Grade Transcendent Artifact was tasked to Yao Ruoxian as well.


    Yao Ruoxian couldn¡¯t help sighing to himself. He thought he had hidden himself well enough, but business was still making its way to him somehow. Indeed, when one¡¯s skills are too dazzling, there¡¯s just no way to conceal it!


    As he watched Sikong Wuwei fly off into the sky, Miao Yi let out a bitter smile. If he was sessful, he would only just break through to Blue Lotus Sixth Grade next year!


    He would be lying if he said he wasn¡¯t the slightest bit envious of Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. Since time immemorial, man had admired birds for their ability to freely traverse the skies. This was something that all mortals dreamed about the moment they were born, and was also the desire of the cultivators who were able to travel thend as they pleased.


    After seeing one after another of his friends breaking free of the shackles of the earth and soaring into the skies, while he himself was still stuck on the ground, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but feel how small he was as he gazed into the distant blue sky. How could he possibly not feel envious?


    He was still able to ept the fact that Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei were able to break through. However, even Yan Beihong¡ªwho started cultivating around the same time he did¡ªhad also reached this realm. On the other hand, he was still far from being able to reach their level. Miao Yi had to remind himself deep down, ¡¯You have to work harder! If you fall too far behind, then no matter how close our friendship is, a rift will eventually form. Because you can no longer catch up to them!¡¯


    His rtionship with Chen Fei was a good example of this. It was no longer possible for the two of them to revert to being friends and treat each other as equals. Although Miao Yi himself could be casual, Chen Fei had to disy proper courtesy and humility when speaking to him. In front of Miao Yi, he hadpletely be an obedient subordinate, and whatever Miao Yi said, to Chen Fei, it was the same as an official decree. Chen Fei had gone from being a friend to bing nothing more than a close subordinate. There was no way for them to go back to the way things were before!


    A few dayster, both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei sent over a massive heap of artifact-refining ingredients. The two of them had really expended much of their fortunes for this.


    There was simply no helping it as they both knew that when facing a more powerful opponent, if they wished to survive, then they needed the strength to protect themselves. Otherwise, they would be no different than a piece of meat on the chopping board. If someone wished to dice them up, then they could do it with the simple drop of a knife. Only by covering themselves in a coat of thorns like a hedgehog would their enemies be forced to think twice before messing with them.


    Just for refining the keystone that would be the formation core of the transcendent artifact alone, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had used up about eight million low-grade Orbs of Wills¡¯ worth of spending. Moreover, the keystone itself wasn¡¯t even of a particrly high quality. After which, they each had to prepare twenty-five Third Grade Yao Cores as well. A single Third Grade Yao Core cost around one million low-grade Orbs of Will, so twenty-five Yao Cores were equivalent to twenty-five million low-grade Orbs of Will.


    On these two things alone, the two of them had each spent over thirty million low-grade Orbs of Wills¡¯ worth of purchases. They also had to include the cost of other materials as well as the exorbitantbor costs Yao Ruoxian was charging them. Just for making the whole set of artifacts for each person, both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had already spent over forty million low-grade Orbs of Will.


    To recount, the two of them had each managed to obtain around three hundred sets of Second Grade Armor Artifacts from the Subjugation Crusade, and now they were practically spending over two hundred of them in one fell swoop. This was a great expense indeed. That said, there weren¡¯t too many cultivators who could obtain a whole set of Third Grade Transcendent Artifact for themselves right after breaking through to the Red Lotus First Grade. If Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were really able to do such a thing, then unless they were fighting against a really tough opponent, there wouldn¡¯t be too many Red Lotus cultivators who would dare challenge them. Even Hall Master Shen Huaixin might not necessarily be their match. Evidently, this was also the reason why both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had spared no expense in procuring themselves a full set of Third Grade Transcendent Artifacts.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help sighing to himself when he realized how easy it was for Yao Ruoxian to make a living out of his artifact-refining skills. Why did the old man need to force himself to go through such a miserable life then? He was always hiding around here and there, and even after running all the way to the Sea of Constetions, he wasbeled as a thief and was hunted down.


    At the same time, Miao Yi could imagine how big the smile on Wen Fang¡¯s face must be right now. Themission from this alone was probably quite the hefty profit for her already. It probably wouldn¡¯t take her too many years to be the Manager for Raincloud City. Her promotion was all but assured...


    Word that two of Suppressing Tenth Manor¡¯s members had simultaneously managed to break through to the Red Lotus realm soon spread, and the whole ce was shaken to the core. And even the people from Traversing Water Pce were now focusing their attention on Suppressing Tenth Hall.


    There was no way Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei could keep the news under wraps now that they had both broken through to the Red Lotus realm. There were certain rules they had to oblige, after all. Once a cultivator reached this stage, their strength would clearly bepletely different than before their breakthrough. Naturally, the respective Pces needed to keep a close eye on these people. As such, they must report their statuses to the higher-ups as soon as possible. Otherwise, they would be severely punished!


    Many of Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s members were once again expecting to see another performance. Presently, the three Advisors and the three Manor Heads were about evenly matched. If they fought, then that would surely be quite the battle to watch.


    While news of Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s breakthrough was still spreading like wildfire throughout Suppressing Tenth Hall, Traversing Water Pce had sent a messenger over to deliver an official decree straight to the two Manor Head¡¯s hands. They were being summoned by the Pce Lord!


    Both of them then met up at Miao Yi¡¯s ce to brainstorm about the possible reasons behind the Pce Lord¡¯s summons.


    However, they couldn¡¯te up with anything at all. It was equally possible for this to be a good and bad thing at the same time. In the end, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had no choice but to fly off into the skies.


    Atop the ind resting upon the vast, serene waters of theke, Miao Yi stood on top of the roof and looked up to the sky, his figure gradually bing smaller and smaller...


    There were absolutely no roads leading to the precipitous cliff that was surrounded on all sides by massive waterfalls, and sitting at the peak was the structure of a lofty pce. It was evident that this was not a ce that mere mortals can make their way into, and its name was Traversing Water Pce!


    Within the fluttering curtains of the main assembly hall, a gentle breeze drifted into the room from all sides. It was as though the building itself was floating on air, and it made one feel as if it existed separate from the mortal ne.


    The main hall itself was empty, and within its fluttering curtains, only Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei stood shoulder to shoulder in silence as they waited for the Pce Lord to arrive.


    Soon, a steady knocking sound reached their ears. The two of them were not unfamiliar with this sound, as they had heard it before back in Jade Capital Peak as well. Their expressions immediately tensed up as they knew that the Pce Lord¡ªGranny Tao¡ªhad arrived.


    Tao Qingli supported Granny Tao as they walked in from behind Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. The two Manor Heads then quickly retreated to the side and vacated the center of the room.


    As they waited for Granny Tao to walk by, both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei cupped their fists and said, "Your subordinates¡ªZhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei¡ªrespectfully greet the Pce Lord and Advisor!"


    After passing through the center between the two of them, Granny Tao chuckled, then raised her hand and said, "At ease!"


    Once Granny Tao had passed them bypletely, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei returned to their original positions and stood side by side as they faced forward.


    After she helped Granny Tao sit down on her Pce Lord¡¯s seat, Tao Qingli stood to the side, then cast a scrutinizing gaze at the two Manor Heads. Out of the three Manor Heads of the ¡¯Iron Triangle¡¯ that surrounded Tranquil Sun Manor, she had only ever seen Miao Yi. It was her first time meeting these two.


    "The two of you were brought back by me from the Overlord¡¯s ce. How time flies. It has been over thirty years since then, yes?" Granny Tao asked.


    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei cupped their fists, "Yes, Ma¡¯am!"


    "You don¡¯t have to be so tense. You should be more like what¡¯s-his-name... Out of the three that I brought back all those years ago, the little scamp that isn¡¯t here today. That¡¯s right. His name is Miao Yi. Qingli, how exactly did hein to you again?" Granny Tao turned her head to look at Tao Qingli and asked.


    Tao Qingli was slightly taken aback. After some thought, she answered, "Miao Yi said: ¡¯It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never seen powerful individuals before. I¡¯ve met all ten Pce Lords of the Fifth Earthly Branch, and I¡¯ve even been in the presence of the Overlord himself! And while I was in the Sea of Constetions, I didn¡¯t so much as bat an eye at the sight of bloodshed in every corner. I¡¯ve slept upon a pile of corpses, bathed in a puddle of blood, fought side-by-side with the disciple of the Celestial Sage, swept the grounds of the Western Constetions Pce. Hell, I¡¯ve even been in the capital city¡¯s prison! I¡¯ve called the grandson of the Devil Sage my brother and fought against the grandchild of the Yao Sage. Even the Celestial Sage¡¯s disciple¡ªTang Jun, once helped me in my time of need. The people that worked alongside each of the Six Sages, I¡¯ve met almost every one of them...¡¯ It was something along those lines!"


    ¡¯OH MY GOD!¡¯ Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei secretly turned to look at one another. They were a little speechless. Miao Yi had actually said such a thing to Tao Qingli? Why didn¡¯t the bastard ever mention this to them before? Wasn¡¯t this a little too bold of him?


    "That¡¯s it! The three of you arerades, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been through simr situations as well. You¡¯ve already had so many valuable experiences. There¡¯s no need to be nervous. I only called you two here today to have a little chat and nothing else besides that." Granny Tao smiled and said.


    Down below, Sikong Wuwei smiled wryly and said, "We have indeed been in prison with him before, but he was the only one who¡¯s ever swept the grounds of the Western Constetions Pce. Nevertheless, most of those experiences were simply a result of our bad luck. The two of us haven¡¯t had as many random experiences as that guy."


    Zhao Fei slightly frowned. However, as he thought it over, he realized Sikong Wuwei did indeed have a point. Those were unfortunate situations that they were in most of the time. How was being in prison not being unlucky? It seemed that that bastard Miao Yi had only swept the grounds of the Western Constetions Pce because he was forced to as well. He wouldn¡¯t stopining about it afterward. And back when they were fighting the grandson of the Yao Sage, things were even worse for them; they had almost lost their lives. Moreover, if that bastard Miao Yi hadn¡¯t gotten himself into a sticky situation after that, then Tang Jun wouldn¡¯t have helped him to resolve the troublesome affair as well. Not to mention, there was also the time when they were almost taken away by Lan Hou back when they were meeting the Overlord and ten Pce Lords in the capital city.


    As he recalled each affair, Zhao Fei soon realized that most of them had nothing good worth noting at all. It was just that Miao Yi had talked about them in a way that made it sound like they were impressive experiences. Those who knew the full story would probablyugh their heads off at this. Who would be so shameless as to boast about such experiences to try and intimidate another person?


    Granny Tao asked, "Were you friends before joining the Subjugation Crusade?"


    "No, Ma¡¯am! We got to know each other during the Subjugation Crusade itself!" Sikong Wuwei replied.


    "The three of you came to my Traversing Water Pce together, stirred up trouble together, and even your fights, you fight hand-in-hand. What camaraderie! That¡¯s why you¡¯ve got this old one intrigued. Not many cultivators out there share as close a rtionship the way you three do!" Granny Tao sighed.


    ¡¯Stirring up trouble? Fighting?¡¯ Sikong Wuwei¡¯s expression froze. ¡¯She¡¯s not trying to punish us, is she?¡¯ He furtively nced at Zhao Fei.


    Zhao Fei cupped his fists and replied, "The three of us have been through life and death and overcame countless tribtions together in the Subjugation Crusade. We were only able to make it back alive by supporting one another. It¡¯s understandable that our rtionship will be close after such an experience. However, we¡¯re definitely not the type who like to go around causing trouble. At most, we¡¯re the type of people who won¡¯t go offending others, provided they don¡¯t offend us first!"


    "Yup! You are all faithful individuals! It is good to have such loyalty! That¡¯s the kind of person I like the most! Let¡¯s do this then! I¡¯ll let the two of you oversee the Suppressing Second Hall and Suppressing Third Hall that¡¯s at the foot of this mountain!" As she said this, Granny Tao quickly wrote down two decrees of appointment. She gently raised her palm, and the decrees floated right down to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei.

 Chapter 499 No Longer The Same

    Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei reached for the jade archives. After reading through them, they both couldn¡¯t help exchanging nces. In the blink of an eye, Zhao Fei had be the Suppressing Second Hall Master, and Sikong Wuwei the Suppressing Third Hall Master. The decrees in their hands were the proof. However, they couldn¡¯t help but feel as though they were dreaming. Did they seriously get promoted after just breaking through to Red Lotus First Grade?


    They had heard of something like this happening before. The moment that those who survived the Subjugation Crusade broke through to the Red Lotus realm, there was a chance of them being recognized by the Pce Lord and were subsequently promoted to Hall Master. If they both said they didn¡¯t harbor such expectations themselves, then they would be lying.


    It was a truly wonderful feeling to finally aplish your dreams!


    From this day forth, or specifically, the instant that Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had grabbed on to their decrees of appointment, they instantly became the lords of over a hundred million followers, and their authority would ce them over just as many people!


    "We thank the Pce Lord for this great esteem!" The two of them hurriedly cupped their fists in gratitude.


    Granny Tao chuckled and pointed to Tao Qingli beside her, "Since the two Halls are close by anyway, you can seek guidance from her on anything you don¡¯t understand. I will also have her visit your territories often."


    "Understood!" The two of them then cupped their fists towards Tao Qingli, "We are in your care, Advisor!"


    Tao Qingli gently nodded and smiled. "We should get in touch more often from now on!"


    Her words made the other two feel as though they were being treated too nicely, because they seemed to recall Miao Yi saying that this woman wasn¡¯t the easygoing type at all. They hurriedly responded, "Yes, mydy!"


    Tao Qingli then helped Granny Tao back up, and thetter walked towards the other two as she said, "Go then! Head to Suppressing Tenth Hall and hand over all the duties that were given to you, then hurry along to your new posts as soon as possible!"


    "Understood!" The duo responded. However, Zhao Fei hurriedly cupped his fists and added, "Pce Lord, this subordinate would like to make a request to transfer Miao Yi over to my division."


    Sikong Wuwei also cupped his fists and said, "He cane to my division as well."


    Now that they would soon be leaving Suppressing Tenth Hall territory, they clearly couldn¡¯t leave Miao Yi all alone there. If the two of them were able to transfer him over to their side, then it would be easier for them to take care of him as well.


    However, it must be noted that the two of them had yet to be officially installed as Hall Masters. Their positions were still that of Manor Heads at the moment, and they were still equal in rank to Miao Yi¡¯s own status back in Suppressing Tenth Hall. Where was the logic in a Manor Head taking away another Manor Head to be his subordinate? After all, the other party only had a total of ten Manor Heads. Now that the two of them were already leaving, they still nned on taking one more?


    This was not the way a person should take another under their wing. It was against the rules. Even when they¡¯d just arrived at Traversing Water Pce, they only brought along the subordinates who were lower than them in rank by a single level at most. Even the time when Miao Yi went to Suppressing Tenth Hall to be Manor Head, he didn¡¯t take any of the Mountain Chieftains under Yang Qing along with him, as he couldn¡¯t do so.


    It wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to ask Shen Huaixin for such a thing after they were appointed. As such, getting Granny Tao to agree right now was their best shot.


    Granny Tao continued walking as she shook her head and said, "There¡¯s no such rule! You can worry about this after you¡¯re done sorting everything out in your respective territories! That should be the more pressing concern for you two right now."


    This meant that she declined! The duo was lost on what to say. All they could do was cup their fists towards Granny Tao as she passed them by. "Understood!"


    In the end, the two of them were left alone in the vacant main assembly hall once again, staring at one another nkly.


    After leaving Traversing Water Pce, they immediately rushed over to Miao Yi¡¯s ce and informed him of the situation. The three of them couldn¡¯t figure out Granny Tao¡¯s intentions for the time being, and Miao Yi could do little but congratte the other two on their promotions.


    They felt sorry that they couldn¡¯t take Miao Yi along with them. However, Miao Yi didn¡¯t mind and assured them not to worry about it. Instead, he urged that they first try to stabilize their footing in the two Halls.


    As both Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei still needed to head to Thousand Lake Manor and Mulberry Cloud Manor respectively to settle the proceedings, they couldn¡¯t stay for too long and quickly departed.


    When Suppressing Tenth Hall received the decree from Traversing Water Pce, they immediately sent people over to the two Manors for the handover procedure. The original Manor Heads for Thousand Lake Manor and Mulberry Cloud Manor were jumping with joy. Initially, they were the ones forced out of their own Manors. Now that the two Manor Head seats were being vacated, the rights to the posts naturally fell back to them with little effort.


    After both Manors had sessfully finished the handover procedures, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei immediately rushed to Suppressing Tenth Hall to sign off.


    "Hall Master Zhao, Hall Master Sikong, please!"


    Shen Huaixin personally led the three Advisors and six Deacons to wait outside the manor and wee the two, while the rest of his subordinates, as well as the two Aunties, had now be the ones toe forward and bow to the both of them. Now that their positions were that of Hall Masters, their statuses were equal in rank to Shen Huaixin and were no longer the same as they were before.


    Xu Jinsong and the others had a terrible expression on their faces. The other party was ranked lower than them the day before, but now their positions hadpletely overtaken their own. The three of them had been working for Traversing Water Pce for so many years, but the Manor Head seats for both Suppressing Second Hall and Suppressing Third Hall had actually fallen onto these two neers¡¯ hands instead. Moreover, they were the ones with a higher cultivation than the other two. It was hard to describe what the three Advisors were feeling right now. They resented Traversing Water Pce for this unjust treatment.


    To add insult to injury, there was even a banquet held within the main hall, and the three Advisors had to offer up toasts to the other two, all while giving words of congrattions. The forced smiles on their faces surely lived true to the saying: ¡¯The river flows east for thirty years, then rushes west in the next thirty.¡¯ Everyone else couldn¡¯t help sighing inwardly as they watched on. This was also a testament to the might that Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei now wielded.


    Halfway through the banquet, the two Hall Masters asked Shen Huaixin if they could take away some men. Naturally, they had to bring along their old subordinates as well as the newly-trained troops with them too.


    Since the subordinates were willing to follow these two and make a better future for themselves, it wouldn¡¯t be right of Shen Huaixin to get in the way of that. Not to mention, this would free up some positions in Suppressing Tenth Hall as well. As such, he easily agreed to the request.


    Using the opportunity, Zhao Fei asked, "I wish to take Raincloud Manor Head Miao Yi along as well. Please grant me this request, Hall Master Shen."


    Since Granny Tao had declined, he wished to try his hand with Shen Huaixin instead.


    Shen Huaixin was slightly taken aback. He swept his gaze across Xu Jinsong and the others, then lightly smiled as he said, "Manor Head Miao already has a Manor Head position over on this side. Even if he followed you, he would still be a Manor Head at most. If people hear about this, they might think that our Suppressing Tenth Hall isn¡¯t a weing ce to be in. How about this then? If you¡¯re really insistent on taking him along, Hall Master Zhao, then why not try asking the Pce Lord for permission? That way, I will have a valid reason to hand Miao Yi over as well."


    Now that two of the three were leaving, there would only be one person remaining to contest against the three Advisors. As such, how could Shen Huaixin possibly let him go? Not to mention, it was also against the rules for Zhao Fei to take along a person who was of the same rank as him back in Suppressing Tenth Hall. ¡¯I only let you take away those at a lower rank as a gesture of respect. What are you trying to do by taking away those equal in rank to you as well? You are the Hall Master of Suppressing Second Hall, not Suppressing Tenth Hall. I can¡¯t let you have this. This line should be drawn clearly.¡¯


    Zhao Fei smiled and raised his cup. He no longer mentioned taking Miao Yi away, as he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be possible to do so anymore. Granny Tao had also refused him already as it was against the rules.


    Suddenly, SIkong Wuwei pointed towards Deacon Gao Sheng, who was sitting in his seat and said, "Hall Master Shen, I have great admiration for Deacon Gao¡¯s capabilities. Will you be so kind as to show me some face and let me have him?"


    The hall instantly fell silent as all eyes fell on Gao Sheng, who was so scared upon hearing Sikong Wuwei¡¯s request that the cup in his hand was already trembling, and the alcohol inside was already pouring out. He immediately widened his eyes at Shen Huaixin.


    This was revenge! Nothing but tant revenge! Everyone had heard how he suggested that Zhao Fei and the others should be beheaded back then. If he was really taken away to Suppressing Third Hall, there was no telling what Sikong Wuwei would do to him.


    Shen Huaixin lightly smiled, "Hall Master Sikong, you said it yourself how Deacon Gao is a capable individual. Naturally, I have need of him as well here in Suppressing Tenth Hall. Besides, we can¡¯t force these things, and should first get Deacon Gao¡¯s opinion on the matter, no? Gao Sheng, what say you? Would you like to go? If you do, then I shall release you of your duties here!"


    It didn¡¯t matter what Gao Sheng thought of the transferral. In front of his subordinates, there was no way Shen Huaixin could just stand by and allow one of them to fall into the hands of an outsider when he knew that there would be danger.


    Naturally, Gao Sheng wouldn¡¯t agree to it at all. Since the Hall Master had already given him the perfect excuse, he hurriedly responded, "Your subordinate is willing to stay with you, Hall Master!"


    The three Hall Masters simply chuckled as though nothing had happened earlier on, and they no longer dwelled on the subject any further.


    Halfway through the banquet, Shen Huaixin courteously encouraged Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei to stay for a few more days, so that he could entertain them properly as the host.


    Although he had spoken purely out of formality, after pondering it over for a short while, Zhao Fei nodded. "Since the Hall Master is willing to have us, then it wouldn¡¯t be right for the two of us to decline. However, I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to stay for too long. We still need to finish the handover procedures on the other side. How about we stay for just one more night?"


    Deep down, Shen Huaixin was a little lost for words. However, he still put up a joyful and weing expression.


    Ultimately, having settled down in their courtyard, that same night, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei ordered for Xu Jinsong, Ji Ze, and Huang Jizhang to be brought over to them.


    When the three of them arrived, Zhao Fei ordered the servants to leave. He then walked together with Sikong Wuwei up to the three of them and asked coldly, "Advisors, are you aware of the reason why the two of us have summoned you?"


    Although they could vaguely guess the reason why, they still cupped their fists and answered, "We do not! Please give us some guidance, Hall Masters."


    Zhao Fei waved his hand and said, "It¡¯s a bit of a stretch to call it guidance. Let¡¯s not beat around the bush. The reason why the two of us are staying for one more night is precisely so that we could have a talk with you Advisors. Although we will be leaving Suppressing Tenth Hall, it doesn¡¯t mean that we will no longer be involved in Miao Yi¡¯s affairs. We hope that the three of you won¡¯t go too far."


    Xu Jinsong sucked in a deep breath and said, "Hall Masters, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re misunderstanding the situation here? We take our orders from the Suppressing Tenth Hall Master. It seems a bit inappropriate for the two of you to be giving usmands, no?"


    Zhao Fei asked point-nk, "Does that mean you fully intend to continue fighting against Miao Yi?"


    Xu Jinsong replied, "That¡¯s not what I said, Hall Master Zhao. I won¡¯t fight against anyone on purpose. I shall simply do my job ording to the rules of Suppressing Tenth Hall."


    By Zhao Fei¡¯s side, Sikong Wuwei suddenly chuckled and pointed straight at Xu Jinsong¡¯s nose and said, "Stop talking in circles. I¡¯m going to make things clear for you right this instant. Try and touch a single hair on Miao Yi¡¯s head, and I¡¯ll cut your head down and turn it into a ser ball. Don¡¯t think that we won¡¯t be able to do anything to you because you¡¯re in Suppressing Tenth Hall. Just because everyone else is afraid to do it, it doesn¡¯t mean we are!"


    Xu Jinsong immediately red at him with fury. Zhao Fei narrowed his eyes at him and asked, "What? Do you want to try us now?"


    Ji Ze and Huang Jizhang hurriedly pulled Xu Jinsong to the side and replied, "We shall remember your guidance, Hall Masters. If there isn¡¯t anything else, then please excuse us!"


    "Beat it!" Sikong Wuwei said with a wave of his arm. He showed them no courtesy at all.


    With a dark expression on their faces, Xu Jinsong and the others left the courtyard...


    The next day, as soon as Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei left Suppressing Tenth Hall to rush to their new posts, Xu Jinsong headed to the Chamber of Commerce branch within Suppressing Tenth City on his own.


    "Advisor Xu!" Chu Zhehui politely greeted when he saw Xu Jinsong. He then extended his arm outwards and continued, "Let¡¯s talk in the private room!"


    He assumed that Xu Jinsong was here to talk business with him. Otherwise, there was no reason for thetter toe all this way.


    Contrary to his expectations, however, Xu Jinsong waved his arm and said, "There¡¯s no rush. Is Manager Su around?"


    Chu Zhehui was surprised. He quickly revealed a smile and said, "Yes, she¡¯s here! Would Advisor Xu like to meet her?"


    "Help me call her out."


    "Heh heh! Alright then, please wait for a moment. I¡¯ll go call her immediately!" Chu Zhehui gestured for Xu Jinsong to have a seat, then quickly departed.


    It didn¡¯t take him too long to return. He told Xu Jinsong that Manager Su was waiting for him in the rear courtyard, and asked him to follow after him.


    Once he brought Xu Jinsong over to Su Yanran, Che Zhuhui quickly excused himself. Su Yanran then led Xu Jinsong over into the silent chambers, away from prying eyes.


    Truth be told, Su Yanran could vaguely guess the reason why Xu Jinsong was here. Else, he wouldn¡¯t look for her specifically. When the two of them were finally alone, she asked probingly, "Is Advisor Xu here for ¡¯that¡¯ matter?"

 Chapter 500 Secret Decree

    Xu Jinsong slowly nodded, "Is the offer you made back then still valid, Manager Su?"


    He didn¡¯t wish to get involved with the Chamber of Commerce initially, butst night¡¯s humiliation was just too much. There was no way he could ept it. That said, he didn¡¯t have the guts to go against Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei either. He simply wasn¡¯t confident at all that he¡¯d be able to beat them. But then how could he not take revenge for his severed arm?!


    Su Yanran said solemnly, "From what I know, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei seem to have already be the Hall Masters of Suppressing Second Hall and Suppressing Third Hall respectively. Forgive me for being blunt, but they are no longer people that you can control, Advisor Xu."


    "But Miao Yi is still here!" Xu Jinsong announced.


    "This..." Su Yanran was a little hesitant. Twenty to thirty years had already passed since then, and the person who originally sent her the request was already dead. Su Yanran wasn¡¯t sure if that person¡¯s descendants would be willing to carry on with the n or not. After some thought, she said, "Can I think it over for a bit? I will give you an answer in a few days!"


    "Then I shall wait for the news, Manager Su!" Xu Jinsong stood up and excused himself. Feeling a little guilty deep down, he didn¡¯t dare to stay in this ce for too long...


    The time for the next annual tributes soon came to pass, and as always, Wen Fang brought gifts over to Raincloud Manor. At the same time, she also let Miao Yi in on some good news, "Big Brother! I¡¯m going to be promoted again! The Chamber of Commerce is preparing to transfer me over to a major city with a poption of five million people to be Manager, and they want to know if I¡¯m willing to go. What do you think?"


    "Oh!" As he walked down the flower garden with hands behind his back, Miao Yi smiled and said, "Looks like I really have to congratte you then." After a slight pause, he continued, "You should go to either Zhao Fei¡¯s or Sikong Wuwei¡¯s ce. At least you¡¯ll have someone to look after you. Of course, this is just my suggestion. You can decide for yourself which is the best option for you. You don¡¯t need my opinion for matters like this."


    "It¡¯s a given that little sisters should listen to their big brother¡¯s opinion." As she walked beside him, Wen Fang smiled cheerfully and said, "Since that¡¯s how you feel about it, I¡¯ll do as you say and go to Manor Head Zhao¡¯s Suppressing Second City! Big Brother, take your time and walk. I¡¯ll go look for Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er."


    Truth be told, Wen Fang didn¡¯t really need Miao Yi¡¯s opinion at all. It wasn¡¯t as if the local powerhouses had any sway on the Chamber of Commerce anyway, as both sides practiced non-interference in each other¡¯s business. Moreover, Wen Fang had long decided to go to either Zhao Fei¡¯s or Sikong Wuwei¡¯s ce as well. She had to follow her major clients after all. However, she was worried that Miao Yi would overthink things. After all, out of the three men that hade here, two were already Hall Masters, while Miao Yi himself was still standing in the same spot. Wen Fang couldn¡¯t imagine what Miao Yi must be feeling right now. All she knew was that if she suddenly left without saying a word, it could be very hurtful to him. However, the only reason why she had worked so hard in the first ce was precisely so that she could be promoted.


    She was very torn by this matter. However, she really didn¡¯t want to miss this chance. In the end, she made up her mind toe here to talk things out and save Miao Yi some face.


    As he went on with his leisurely walk, Miao Yi turned back to look at Wen Fang¡¯s silhouette, then shook his head and smiled wryly. He didn¡¯t know if he was overthinking things, but it seemed like all the people around him were being extremely cautious with their words when speaking to him as ofte, as though they were afraid he would misunderstand them. Did he seem so narrow-minded that he couldn¡¯t bear to see someone else being promoted? He knew full well where his limitsy. How could he possibly be promoted to a Hall Master with his cultivation? Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were already extremely lucky to be Hall Masters with their Red Lotus First Grade cultivations. A Hall Master that was under the Red Lotus realm had never even been heard of before...


    After all the Mountains under him had finished handing over their annual tributes, Miao Yi and his two aides immediately left for Suppressing Tenth Hall. They made no stops along the way, as there would be no one else apanying them this time around.


    Miao Yi visited the Hall Master on his own and handed over the annual tribute. Then, once it was time for all the Manor Heads to gather around, he proceeded into the main assembly hall along with everyone else, where he quietly stood at the back of the crowd on his own.


    Even though him, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei have always done this in the years past, and evidently he was doing the same thing now, but in everyone else¡¯s eyes, Miao Yi was finally cowering away and no longer daring to stir up any trouble. After all, the other two had already left to a much higher position, and could no longer interfere in Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s affairs.


    However, the scene that everyone eagerly anticipated did not ur. The three Advisors didn¡¯t do anything that would trigger Miao Yi. They didn¡¯t even mention anything about Raincloud Manor. This caused the rest of the Manor Heads to be secretly astonished. Those three Advisors were not the forgiving type.


    However, Miao Yi knew the reason why. Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei had already sent him a message and told him that they had given a warning to those three bastards. They also told him to let them know if there was any trouble, and they would immediately rush over!


    As the handover of the annual tribute drew to a close, the Manor Heads all returned to their respective territories. After which, Shen Huaixin immediately departed to Traversing Water Pce to hand over Suppressing Tenth Hall¡¯s share of the annual tribute.


    In Traversing Water Pce, he bumped into Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei. It was inevitable for both parties to greet one another. And as he was meeting the Pce Lord, Shen Huaixin felt a little bit restless as the original Hall Masters for Suppressing Second Hall and Suppressing Third Hall had already been transferred away. He had heard that they were shipped off to the Overlord so that their positions could be taken up by Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei.


    Over the past few years, all those in Traversing Water Pce that had a higher cultivation than Tao Qingli were transferred away by Granny Tao, one after the other. There was no helping it. Granny Tao simply carried that much influence! She was even able to use the power of seniority to slot people into the Overlord¡¯s office! First, it was the other two Purple Lotus Advisors of Traversing Water Pce, followed by a few others, and now the two Hall Masters for Suppressing Second and Third Hall.


    Shen Huaixin¡¯s cultivation was higher than Tao Qingli¡¯s as well. He couldn¡¯t help wondering when it would be his turn to be transferred away. However, there was still the even more powerful guy from Suppressing First Hall. As long as he yed his cards right, he should be able to stay in the clear for the time being.


    No one was willing to be transferred away to foreign territory, as it was impossible to wield their current authority once they were under another person¡¯s roof. The only jobs they would be entitled to do was keep to the side and stay out of trouble. It was easy to imagine what kind of treatment they would receive then.


    After the handover of the annual tribute waspleted, the Hall Masters all apanied Granny Tao on her journey to the capital city, much like how the stars stayed beside the moon.


    Whilst in the capital city, the two newly promoted Hall Masters, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, naturally needed to acquaint themselves with the other Hall Masters. They also bumped into Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin.


    In the first ce, those three already wielded a high amount of prestige within the three major sects, and they were able to obtain arge number of cultivation resources on top of that. Even though they had offered most of those resources up to their respective sects, the remainder was still enough for the three of them to achieve a breakthrough. Thus, they had broken through to the Red Lotus realm a little bit earlier than Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei and were promoted to Hall Masters before the two as well.


    The Gu Sanzheng trio couldn¡¯t help secretly asking about Miao Yi¡¯s situation. They couldn¡¯t help feeling a tinge of sorrow after hearing what happened. Out of the six of them that returned to the Fifth Earthly Branch from the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, Miao Yi was the only one still shackled to the earth. And yet, he was also the one who contributed the most in the entire Subjugation Crusade.


    None of them could understand why Miao Yi had proimed himself as Yan Beihong back in the Subjugation Crusade. Through their own channels within the three major sects, Gu Sanzheng and the others had secretly heard that the Realm Beyond Heaven looked upon ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ quite highly after the Subjugation Crusade. It seemed Fairy Yue Yao had put in quite a few good words for the guy in front of the Celestial Sage, and Gu Sanzheng and the others also heard that the Celestial Sage had this to say about ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ before the entire Realm Beyond Heaven: ¡¯He has a bright future to look forward to!¡¯


    When they heard this, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were utterly lost for words. With the Celestial Sage looking upon ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ so favorably, and given what she had to say about him, there might have been a chance for ¡¯Yan Beihong¡¯ to be promoted as an exception to the rule. After all, he had been a major help to the Realm Beyond Heaven in their achievements during the Subjugation Crusade, allowing them to pull far ahead of the other five Sages¡¯ camps. No matter how they chose to reward him, it would not have been over the top. At the very least, in the future, whoever had any ideas towards Miao Yi would have to consider the Realm Beyond Heaven as well.


    Now that Miao Yi had missed such an opportunity, not only was there no telling when he would be able to break through to the Red Lotus realm, there might not even be a position of authority for him after breaking through. His otherwise bright future could have been ruined because of this. The five of them felt great pity for Miao Yi. Why did he have to put himself through such difficulty?


    Within the capital city, after the handover of the annual tribute waspleted, Granny Tao didn¡¯t go along with the other Hall Masters back to Traversing Water Pce. She had them all return to their respective domains first, while Tao Qingli and her proceeded to the Realm Beyond Heaven to visit the Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun.


    As soon as Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei returned, they headed straight for Raincloud Manor and told Miao Yi that they had bumped into Gu Sanzheng and the others in the capital city.


    Upon hearing that the three of them had also broken through to the Red Lotus realm and became Hall Masters, Miao Yi stood by the window of Raincloud Pavilion with hands behind his back, gazing into the vast, sereneke as he smiled and said, "It¡¯s too bad I can¡¯t congratte them due to my rtionship with the three major sects."


    "They don¡¯t need your congrattions. It¡¯s better for you to worry about yourself," Sikong Wuwei said snidely.


    "With you two Hall Masters behind my back, what do I possibly have to worry about?" Miao Yi joked.


    However, simr to how one couldn¡¯t reliably predict the fickleness of weather, so too was man¡¯s destiny prone to unforeseeable situations. There were times when even the two Hall Masters could not protect him. After Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei left, Miao Yi received a decree from Tao Qingli,manding him to go to Traversing Water Pce in secret and demanding his discretion.


    Although Miao Yi was a little perplexed, he still decided to ride alone to Traversing Water Pce after making the necessary arrangements.


    There were no paths leading up to the lofty Traversing Water Pce sitting at the peak of the mountain, so Miao Yi had to climb his way up as quickly as he could.


    When he saw Tao Qingli, he realized that he wasn¡¯t the only one who was summoned. For each of the Halls under Traversing Water Pce, a single person was called over. These people were all the more capable Manor Heads within their respective Halls.


    When all ten Manor Heads had arrived, they were brought together to the rear pce to meet Pce Lord Granny Tao.


    "We respectfully greet the Pce Lord!" The ten of them stood in a straight line and greeted.


    "At ease!" Granny Tao raised her arm, palm faced down, then said to Tao Qingli, "Tell them!"


    Tao Qingli nodded, then faced the ten Manor Heads and said, "The ten of you are the most capable candidates among your respective Halls. The reason why you were called over this time is because we will be sending you to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea on a secret mission. This missiones from the Realm Beyond Heaven, and it is handed down by the Celestial Sage herself. If you canplete it sessfully, you will be heavily rewarded!"


    "Flowing Clouds Dune Sea?" The crowd was shocked. ¡¯They want us to go to that Flowing Clouds Dune Sea? That ce is filled with all sorts of dangerous characters and has no rules to speak of. In fact, utter chaos reigns throughout the entire area. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that it¡¯s a ce that¡¯s forsaken by the rest of the cultivation realm. Even a ce like the Sea of Constetions is only dangerous to cultivators from the other five nations. It¡¯s still heaven to those Yao cultivators at least. However, Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is a perilous ce to any cultivator no matter the country.¡¯


    Someone immediately cupped their fists and asked, "May I be so bold as to ask, Advisor, what sort of mission is it that requires us to head to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea?"


    Tao Qingli replied with her own question, "Flowing Clouds Dune Sea used to be apletely deste area. Do you know how it became the chaotic ce that it is today, where all sorts of dangerous characters lurk around?"


    Somebody answered, "The rumors say that many years ago, arge ship filled with treasure suddenly appeared out of nowhere, drifting through the dark waters of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. Apparently, the ship itself hade from the Higher Realm, filled with treasures from said dimension. And every time it appears, the entire cultivation realm is sure to be thrown into an uproar. However, it¡¯s nigh impossible to track this ship. It would randomly show itself at times, then disappear just as sporadically. Hence, it came to be known as the Netherdragon Ship. As time passed, more and more people continued to travel into Flowing Clouds Dune Sea in search of treasure, which gradually turned it into awless ce where dragons and fishes swim side by side."


    As the conversation led up to here, someone else suddenly asked, "Advisor, could our mission have something to do with the Netherdragon Ship?"


    Miao Yi had very limited knowledge on Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, and simply listened on in confusion as he thought to himself, ¡¯You¡¯re kidding me, right? It was so hard for me toe back alive from the Subjugation Crusade. I haven¡¯t even had that many years of peace. And now you want to send me to that wretched Flowing Clouds Dune Sea? Do you really have to mess with me like this? Don¡¯t tell me the capable candidates are only good for doing the most dangerous things? Then how the hell are we supposed to live?¡¯

 Chapter 501 No Room For Refusal

    "You¡¯re right!" Tao Qingli nodded, "When I apanied the Pce Lord to the Realm Beyond Heaven to visit the Celestial Sage, she secretly told us that someone had spotted the Netherdragon Ship reappearing. Fortunately, the Pce Lord is one of the Celestial Sage¡¯s most trustedrades, which is why she handed this mission down to our Traversing Water Pce to aplish."


    What really happened was, after Granny Tao and Tao Qingli met up with the Celestial Sage, they began talking about the usual things and reminiscing about the past. At the time, the Celestial Sage¡¯s disciples were present as well. Then, all of a sudden, someone came in looking for the eldest disciple of the Celestial Sage ¡ª Huyan Taibao. Huyan Taibao followed that person out, then hurriedly rushed back. No one knew what he had secretly conveyed to the Celestial Sage through voice transmission, but her expression instantly changed afterward.


    All the people standing down below were afraid to say anything, and simply cast their gazes at the Celestial Sage. And after a rather long silence, the Celestial Sage turned to Granny Tao and had her and Huyan Taibao stay while everyone else was dismissed. After which, Mu Fanjun said to Granny Tao, "The Netherdragon Ship has resurfaced!"


    Granny Tao was greatly shocked...


    Although saying that it was a mission personally handed down by the Celestial Sage had a nice ring to it, and was indeed something that excited the hearts of subordinates like them, all ten Manor Heads present, including Miao Yi, felt incredibly helpless. It would¡¯ve been better had they not heard about this mission. Now that they did, it meant that there was no room for refusal. The only option given to them was to go along with it.


    Miao Yi regretted not feigning some kind of illness so that he could have avoideding here. That said, who could have known that this would happen?! Before this, he never thought he¡¯d receive such an ¡¯honor¡¯, even in his wildest dreams.


    The other nine Manor Heads were sure to be thinking the same thing he did.


    Someone gritted their teeth and asked, "With our cultivations, what can we possibly achieve in that Flowing Clouds Dune Sea? Surely there are even more suitable candidates in the Realm Beyond Heaven for such a task?"


    Tao Qingli replied, "This mission is of grave importance. If word leaks out, it will surely stir up a major uproar in the entire cultivation realm! Even now, the information is on a very strict need-to-know basis, and only a selected few have been briefed about the matter. The Celestial Sage has intentionally kept this information secret from her other disciples as well. After all, the Six Nations know everything there is to know about one another. This makes it harder for the members of the Realm Beyond Heaven to show their faces. If the people from the Realm Beyond Heaven were to suddenly show up around Flowing Clouds Dune Sea for extended periods of time, they will surely arouse suspicion. It¡¯s the same case for Red Lotus cultivators, who tend to have vastworks and are familiar with a lot of people¡¯s faces. In contrast, those in our Traversing Water Pce don¡¯t have too many interactions with the outside world, which is why we picked you all."


    The crowd fell silent. Then, someone said hesitantly, "It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t wish to go, but given the kind of ce that Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is as well as the level of our cultivations, I¡¯m afraid we might fail the Pce Lord¡¯s important task!"


    Tao Qingli said, "Rest assured, you won¡¯t be going there to fight or anything dangerous like that. Your primary objective is simply to infiltrate the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea and search for traces of the Netherdragon Ship. Dig up whatever information you can find. As soon as you notice anything out of the ordinary, report it immediately to the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce branch within Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. The Realm Beyond Heaven will have experts hidden within the Chamber of Commerce. Naturally, someone will take care of all the fighting for you. All you have to do is report your findings. You won¡¯t have to fight anyone else for profit. I trust that it won¡¯t be a risky job."


    ¡¯It won¡¯t be a risky job? It won¡¯t?¡¯ The crowd was speechless.


    Tao Qingli continued, "To make it easier for you all to aplish your mission, we¡¯ve specifically arranged for an experienced veteran to be your Captain on this expedition. With him takingmand, I am sure that it will be much safer for all of you."


    The crowd immediately looked around, but they couldn¡¯t find anyone else in the room. Where was the guy?


    Miao Yi was also ncing around as well. He wanted to take a gander at the ballsy fellow who would be helping them avoid the dangers of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. Unexpectedly, Tao Qingli pointed a finger right at him and said, "Miao Yi! Don¡¯t you have anything you would like to say?"


    "I..." Miao Yi was dazed. Almost all of the ten Manor Heads present had posed their own questions, whereas he¡¯d simply stood quietly to the side the entire time. He immediately shook his head and answered, "No, Ma¡¯am!"


    The thing was, it didn¡¯t matter what he said. The other party had even used the name of the Celestial Sage. And now that he knew about this grave secret, did he have any right to refuse? Why speak any nonsense then?!


    "It seems Manor Head Miao is quite confident about this expedition!" It was hard to tell if Tao Qingli was mocking him or honestlyplimenting him.


    Miao Yi smiled wryly and waved his hand, "Surely you jest, Advisor! This subordinate doesn¡¯t even have an ounce of confidence."


    "Why so modest? Of all the cultivators in Traversing Water Pce that are under the Red Lotus realm, there probably isn¡¯t anyone else who can be more confident than you!" Tao Qingli pointed at Miao Yi, then announced to the other nine Manor Heads, "Everyone! I trust that you¡¯re all already familiar with this person. He is the one who cut his way through the other 180,000 cultivators of the Subjugation Crusade, and the tenth ce holder¡ªManor Head Miao Yi! To be able toe and go as he pleases in a ce as perilous as the Sea of Constetions, there¡¯s no question to his skill. Naturally, I believe he already has a course of action nned out for this expedition. With him coordinating everyone¡¯s actions in the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, I am confident that the risks will be reduced to a minimum."


    "You¡¯re praising me too much, Advisor. I¡¯m really... really..." Miao Yi repeatedly waved his hand around. However, he couldn¡¯t continue with his words of ¡¯modesty¡¯ any further. His eyes gradually widened and his expression became more and more exaggerated. It seemed he finally realized the situation. He pointed at his own face and asked in shock, "The Captain that Advisor was talking about is me?"


    The other nine Manor Heads cast a sidewards nce at him, as though trying to say, ¡¯Even a fool can understand that much.¡¯


    Tao Qingli nodded and said, "There really isn¡¯t anyone that¡¯s a more suitable candidate for Captain than you! The others have stayed in Traversing Water Pce for far too long, and have very little interaction with the outside world. As such, you can say that they don¡¯t have a lot of experience. The only good thing that they have for this mission is the fact that not many people know who they are. Once you¡¯re in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, they will have to obey your everymand. While you¡¯re there, you will be undertaking a mission on the Pce Lord¡¯s behalf, and as such, your decrees are equivalent to the Pce Lord¡¯s decree. If anyone disobeys you, you are free to kill first and ask questionster! Even if you kill them by mistake, no one will me you! The point is, all you have to do is to lead them and make sure to aplish the mission handed to you no matter the cost! For the sake of the mission, all will be tolerated!"


    The nine Manor Heads werepletely dumbfounded. Wasn¡¯t this authority a little too great? His decrees were equivalent to the Pce Lord¡¯s decree? And he could even kill first and ask questionster?


    It was evident from this how determined Granny Tao and Tao Qingli were to aplish this mission.


    Truth be told, the two of them had no choice either. They still needed to rely on Mu Fanjun for certain things in the future. And for thetter to trust them so deeply by personally assigning them this important mission, letting them in on such top-secret information that she¡¯d even withheld from a majority of her disciples¡ªthey naturally had toplete it sessfully no matter the cost. What did it matter if a few people died?


    On their way back, the two of them thought about who they should send for this mission. Both grandmother and granddaughter didn¡¯t even need to think to know that Miao Yi would be the most suitable candidate for such a task. Given the state of things in Traversing Water Pce, who else would be better suited for this mission?


    Tao Qingli wasn¡¯t just giving shallow praise to Miao Yi earlier on. Given all the things the guy had done in Suppressing Tenth Hall, she knew that he was a man of both courage and wit. He really did live up to the name of a Subjugation Crusade survivor who killed his way out of 180,000 cultivators. There was no exaggeration at all!


    Originally, both Granny Tao and Tao Qingli had other ns for Miao Yi. However, when this mission was suddenly dropped onto their shoulders, all their ns had to be put aside for the time being. It was more important than anything for them to aplish the Celestial Sage¡¯s task. This was why the situation had turned out in such a way.


    "..." With widened eyes, Miao Yi was a little speechless. He immediately waved his hand and said, "I really can¡¯t, Advisor. I don¡¯t know anything about Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. Besides, it is apparent that the others are much more informed than I am. I suggest you pick another candidate!"


    ¡¯Who gives a damn about this kind of authority? I¡¯d much prefer if you had given me the ability to hand out a decree on the Pce Lord¡¯s behalf within Traversing Water Pce itself. Once we¡¯re in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, there¡¯s nothing more important than thinking of ways to survive. What¡¯s the point in ordering these nine guys around? If any of them wishes to take charge over these ipetent fools, they¡¯re free to take the job. I, for one, don¡¯t want to be dragged down with them. That damned Netherdragon Ship can kiss my ass. There¡¯s nothing more important to me than surviving the entire ordeal.¡¯


    Miao Yi was already thinking about how to keep himself alive in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. He wouldn¡¯t waste his energy on this bunch at all. He¡¯d much rather be the person receiving the orders instead. The other guys could have that authority for all he cared. It wasn¡¯t as if these bastards would dare to do anything to him anyway. There was no telling who would be the one actually doing the killing if that were to happen. After all, who could possibly find out who killed who in that wretched ce?!


    "Haa! This old one doesn¡¯t like to force others." Resting on her high seat, Granny Tao suddenly opened her eyes. She waved her hand and said, "If Manor Head Miao doesn¡¯t wish to go, then never mind. I won¡¯t force you. You can go back to Raincloud Manor."


    The other nine Manor Heads immediately shot their gazes over to Miao Yi, wanting to see if he could read between the lines of Granny Tao¡¯s words.


    "..." Miao Yi¡¯s expression twisted. ¡¯As if you¡¯re really asking me to go back, you old granny! You¡¯re clearly trying to kill me! If I still don¡¯t take part in the mission after being told such a grave secret, will you let me return alive?¡¯


    Miao Yi immediately put on a humble expression as he cupped his fists and said, "I really do think that I¡¯m not good enough for the job! However, since the Pce Lord has such high expectations of me, how could I dare disobey?! As long as the Pce Lord doesn¡¯t mind the possibility of disappointment, I¡¯m even willing to go through a sea of mes!"


    Granny Tao nodded, "Mmm. Good show! You have a bright future ahead of you! Then it¡¯s decided! There¡¯s no one better suited for the task than you, so I shall entrust this mission to you. Don¡¯t let me down!"


    Miao Yi had a solemn expression as he said in seriousness, "Your subordinate shall spare no effort to aplish his task! The nine Manor Heads and I will work together as one!" He then cast a sideways nce at the other Manor Heads and found that they all seemed to be looking at him a bit strangely?


    ¡¯What the hell are you looking at? Compared to butt-kissers like you, this is me adapting to the situation!¡¯ Miao Yi returned with a cold re.


    The nine Manor Heads were taken aback by Miao Yi¡¯s sharp gaze. It finally dawned on them that their fates were in the hands of this little lord. They immediately turned to Granny Tao with cupped fists and said, "We shall do our best!"


    Now that the issue was settled after having forced the whole thing through, Granny Tao shut her eyes once again.


    Tao Qingli then said, "All of you must hide your identities for this mission. Just think of yourselves as loose cultivators. That way, it¡¯ll be easier for you to slip in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. And to avoid rming the other nations, your escort will only send you halfway there. You will have to travel the rest of the way on your own. Then, once you return, you are not to mention this mission to anyone. If news of this is somehow leaked, you will not be shown any mercy! Everyone, you are to assemble at the designated locations assigned to each person at the exact time. Tardiness will not be tolerated! Do you have any questions?"


    Everyone looked at one another. They had plenty of questions, and they all didn¡¯t want to go. But would it help to ask such a thing?


    Since no one had any questions, the matter was immediately settled. Tao Qingli personally gave each and every one of them a storage ring and a beast sack. Besides which, they were also given ten million Gold Crystals as well as a spirit eagle each. As ¡¯Captain¡¯, Miao Yi was given slightly more funds; fifty million Gold Crystals, to be exact.


    After briefing them on some of the finer details of the mission, Tao Qingli finally released the ten Manor Heads.


    When they reached the foot of the mountain, Miao Yi proceeded to look for his mount, while the nine Manor Heads quickly came over to make some small talk. They had no choice but to be respectful to this little lord who had the call over their life or death in the palm of his hands.


    "Everyone!" Since he already wielded the authority, Miao Yi decided not to hold back. He extended his hand out to the other nine men, "To avoid some people not doing their jobs properly after epting the reward, I¡¯d like all of you to hand over the money that the Advisor just gave out. When the timees, I will tally everything and return it to you ordingly!"

 Chapter 502 Legend of the Ghost Ship

    This guy was too savage! He just reached out and asked for ten million Gold Crystals without batting an eye! That was equivalent to ten thousand Orbs of Will!


    The nine Manor Heads that came to talk to Miao Yi were utterly dumbfounded. If they handed all their Gold Crystals to him now, who would dare to ask for them backter on?


    But s, they had no choice but toply. They didn¡¯t dare disobey this little lord that had full control of their life and death. If they offended him now, god knows if he would abuse his authority to get back at themter on? They heard that this bastard had killed all one thousand members of a certain Manor the moment he came to Traversing Water Pce. He didn¡¯t leave a single survivor!


    As a result, all nine Manor Heads obediently handed over the storage rings that Tao Qingli had just given to them.


    Ny million Gold Crystals in the bag! Miao Yi quickly tucked all the storage rings away. He never thought of returning them at all. The old granny was simply too petty. He would be going to such a dangerous ce, and she didn¡¯t even bestow upon him a transcendent artifact or two to protect himself. What was the point in giving them this money? Would they be able to avoid danger with just this little bit of cash? What a joke!


    Miao Yi suspected that the old granny didn¡¯t have any expectations of their sess in the first ce. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have sent a bunch of small fry like them to undertake such an important mission.


    ¡¯Someone else will take care of all the fighting? Do you take me for a fool?! This clearly implied that the Realm Beyond Heaven actually had another trick up their sleeves. They surely sent out other troops in secret as well. Saying that our little group was being relied on was a lie. We¡¯re probably nothing more than mere scouts.¡¯


    ¡¯I¡¯d better use these funds to prepare a few extra talisman seals to protect myself. These Manor Heads probably aren¡¯t so desperate for funds that they can¡¯t even put food on the table anyway.¡¯


    "Everyone, return to your respective territories and finish your preparations as soon as possible!" Miao Yi instructed them briefly, then charged out on his mount, leaving the rest of the group in the dust.


    He didn¡¯t even wish to make small talk, and was going to leave right after taking their money? The hearts of the nine Manor Heads turned cold. Why did they have to leave their lives in the hands of such a man?!


    The nine of them turned back to look at Traversing Water Pce at the peak of the mountain. But s, nothing would change even if they tried to lodge aint...


    When he got back to Raincloud Manor, Miao Yi immediately leaped off his mount and took Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er to meet Yao Ruoxian. As he hastily charged into the courtyard, he saw that Charcoal was still sleeping soundly under the eaves. He proceeded to give a couple of rough kicks to Charcoal¡¯s rump as he said, "Damned fatso, get up! Stop sleeping!"


    However, Charcoal continued sleeping like a log. It was as though he was dead. No matter how hard Miao Yi kicked, there was no response from him at all. The sight had the two youngdies absolutely at a loss for words.


    Within the house, Yao Ruoxian was next to a table and in the middle of painting. No one knew exactly what he was painting. Normal people wouldn¡¯t be able to understand his art anyway. When he heard themotion outside, he raised his head and peered out the door. Noticing Miao Yi kicking Charcoal so roughly, his eyes instantly turned sharp as he asked coldly, "What the hell are you doing here?"


    "Old coot! I¡¯m in big trouble now. There¡¯s a chance I might die!" Miao Yi hastily barged inside Yao Ruoxian¡¯s house without his permission.


    A mace artifact instantly appeared in Yao Ruoxian¡¯s grasp. He pointed it over and asked, "Who let youe in? What¡¯s it to me if you die? Beat it!"


    ¡¯Damn it! This is my territory, okay? So what if your cultivation is higher? Just you wait. Once you¡¯ve finished refining Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei¡¯s transcendent artifacts, I¡¯ll ask them to take care of you!¡¯ Miao Yi grumbled in his mind. However, he soon realized the w in his n. There was no telling if he could even make it back alive from Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. If he ended up dying there, how would he get the chance to have them take care of this old geezer for him?


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t leave. He sighed and said, "I¡¯m really in a bit of trouble here. The higher-ups are sending me off to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea for some dumbass secret mission..."


    Earlier on, Tao Qingli had specifically instructed that those who divulged the contents of the mission wouldn¡¯t be shown any mercy. However, Miao Yi didn¡¯t have the slightest hesitation whatsoever and just spilled the beans the second he got here. What¡¯s more, he revealed every single little piece of information, sparing none of the details from Tao Qingli¡¯s story. He didn¡¯t hide anything from Yao Ruoxian at all.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t have that many concerns, because he knew that the people around him right now probably wouldn¡¯t leak the information out. More importantly, he had no choice but to reveal everything he knew. After all, he was utterly clueless about the kind of ce Flowing Clouds Dune Sea was. He had to get Yao Ruoxian to teach him a thing or two. He¡¯d heard from Huo Lingxiao that the old geezer had spent a bit of time in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, so he probably had some experience in dealing with the dangers of that ce. If he didn¡¯t tell him everything he knew, then how would Yao Ruoxian be able to offer him any tips? It was no exaggeration to say that a single stone left unturned could very well cost him his life.


    ¡¯Do it for the Celestial Sage? As if she even gives a damn about me. Even though I¡¯ve looked up to the other party for a long time, clearly she doesn¡¯t have the tiniest sentiment towards me. Is it really necessary for me to go so far for such a woman? There are hundreds of millions of people out there willing to serve her. I¡¯m no one special!¡¯


    When they heard that he was going to go to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s mouths were agape from shock.


    "The Netherdragon Ship? It has resurfaced?" The mace artifact in Yao Ruoxian¡¯s hand fell and pierced through the table as he solemnly asked. He didn¡¯t show any signs of attacking Miao Yi anymore.


    Miao Yi asked, "Have you seen it before?"


    Yao Ruoxian shook his head, "I¡¯ve heard tales, but I¡¯ve never seen the actual thing myself. However, I can assure you that the haunted vessel known as the Netherdragon Ship does indeed exist in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. One of the main reasons why so many people gather at that godforsaken ce is precisely because of this particr ghost ship."


    Miao Yi walked up to the table, then pulled out a chair and sat down. He nced at the scribbly artwork on top of the table, then raised his head and asked, "I hear that the Netherdragon Ship is filled with treasures from the Higher Realm. Is it true?"


    The considerate Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er moved another chair behind Yao Ruoxian. The old manpletely forgot about beating up Miao Yi and very naturally sat down. He then slowly shook his head and said, "There was a time when I tried to search for the Netherdragon Ship as well, eager to gaze upon its splendor. However, I couldn¡¯t even find the slightest trace of it. Instead, I was only graced with the various rumors concerning its otherworldly existence, the validity of which are all heavily doubtful. In short, there are plenty of exaggerated descriptions regarding the Netherdragon Ship, making it hard to tell which is real and which is fake. A lot of people said that they had seen the vessel, but the way they described its appearance were all different. Although it waster proven that a majority of those people were just making empty boasts to stir up the public, there is indeed a high chance that the ghost ship came from the Higher Realm. As for whether it contains any treasure, no one knows. Some people say it¡¯s empty, while others im that it¡¯s filled with transcendent artifacts from the Higher Realm. Who can tell which is the truth?"


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "Then how do you know that it could havee from the Higher Realm?"


    Yao Ruoxian answered, "That ghost ship only started appearing after the Boundless Secr World did. This much is for sure. ording to the rumors, when it first appeared, the Six Sages were among those who saw it. And it¡¯s precisely because they were fortunate enough to obtain the cultivation arts within the ghost ship that they ended up bing the Six Sages we know of today. It¡¯s said that Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun and Devil Sage Yun Aotian were originally lovers, but because of a certain treasure on the ghost ship, they ended up bing enemies. However, some rumors also say that the Six Sages obtained their cultivation arts from the Boundless Secr World instead. Perhaps no one else can verify these ims but the Six Sages themselves. Regardless, that ghost ship definitely appeared after the Boundless Secr World came to be."


    "Ghost ship? Isn¡¯t it a dragon ship?"


    "It¡¯s just a figure of speech. Even though there are many versions to the story, there are only two spections which are slightly more believable than the rest. The first one says that the ghost ship is a transcendent artifact that came from the Higher Realm, which is why it can appear and disappear like a ghost. I¡¯m leaning more towards this exnation. If it isn¡¯t a transcendent artifact, how can such arge ship just disappear without a trace under the eyes of so many people? What other exnation can there be other than it¡¯s a ghost ship? The other exnation is that there¡¯s actually a group of people bound together by an iron chain that¡¯s constantly dragging the treasure-loaded dragon ship around day and night. I myself find this highly skeptical, but there are plenty of people who swear this is true."


    "Why are there so many people iming it¡¯s true?" Miao Yi asked.


    Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er also perked up their ears and listened on, their eyes gleaming with curiosity. Such strange urrences naturally had a way of arousing a person¡¯s interest.


    "It was around fifty thousand years ago when the ghost shipst appeared, which also sparked a majority of the cultivation realm¡¯s firm belief in the Netherdragon Ship¡¯s existence. Following its appearance, people started giving various spections and embellishments to the story behind the ghost ship¡¯s origins. No one knows if those people have actually seen it for themselves or are just making stuff up. Although, it seems that there were indeed many witnesses at the time. Moreover, the Six Sages had even broken out into a full-scale battle to im the ship¡¯s treasures as their own. Naturally, this was a significant event that took the entire cultivation realm by storm. There were also countless others who wished to obtain the treasures on board the ship as well. However, there were a group of chained humans protecting the Netherdragon Ship, and almost all those who lusted after the treasure on board were killed, leaving only a tiny handful of survivors. It seemed that even the Six Sages themselves had difficulty boarding the ghost ship with their cultivation at the time. All they could do was watch as the ghost ship disappeared. If that¡¯s true, then it doesn¡¯t fit the story that the Six Sages obtained their cultivation arts from the Netherdragon Ship. If they couldn¡¯t even board the ship fifty thousand years ago, how could they have possibly gotten on board and obtained their cultivation arts at a time when their powers had yet to fully develop? Not to mention, this story was a little too far-fetched. Would a group of people with such insanely high cultivations really pull around the dragon ship obediently like a bunch of mere ves? This is why I find it more believable that the ghost ship is actually a transcendent artifact."


    Miao Yi was a little dazed. Even after giving it some thought, he couldn¡¯t figure out which one was true and which one wasn¡¯t. He asked, "So in short, the only thing we can be sure about is that the Six Sages¡¯ cultivation arts came from either the Boundless Secr World or the Netherdragon Ship. Is that correct?"


    "That much should be true. It¡¯s because prior to that, no one in the cultivation realm had even thought about gathering followers and harnessing their power of will to speed up one¡¯s own cultivation. Thus, the cultivation realm at the timey firmly in the hands of those old farts. Meanwhile, the method for harnessing the followers¡¯ power of will to cultivate hade from the Six Sages themselves, which is why their cultivations had soared at such a breakneck pace. By the time those old farts wanted to follow the same practice and fight for the rights to the willpower of the mortals across the realm, it was already toote. They couldn¡¯t stop the Six Sages anymore. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t as if they could juste up with a simr cultivation method. That was a closely-guarded secret by the Six Sages. As such, there¡¯s a high chance that it had something to do with either the Boundless Secr World or the Netherdragon Ship."


    Pa! Miao Yi pped on the desk, "So in the end, it¡¯s all just a bunch of folktales. There¡¯s no substantial information at all! I don¡¯t care whether it¡¯s a ghost ship or dragon ship, but Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is such a dangerous ce! Senior Yao, since you¡¯ve been there before, then please share some of your experience on how to survive!"


    Yao Ruoxian huffed in contempt. He originally wanted to ignore Miao Yi and leave the kid to his fate. However, when he saw the pleading gazes of Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, as though they were soon-to-be widows, his lips couldn¡¯t help twitching. He red at Miao Yi and said resentfully, "Who says Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is dangerous? You¡¯ve never even been there before. How would you know it¡¯s a perilous ce?"


    "You¡¯re joking, right?" Miao Yi stood up and bowed with his hands cupped, "I admit that I¡¯ve upset you on numerous asions in the past. I ask your forgiveness for all my past transgressions. However, you can¡¯t just joke about these kinds of things! It could cost a man his life! How can a ce that everyone thinks is dangerous be anything but?"


    Yao Ruoxian scoffed, "That so-called danger depends on who you¡¯re talking to. Naturally, it¡¯s a dangerous ce for any of the cultivators within the administration of the Six Nations. After all, Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is a ce of exile for the Six Nations. As a result, there are plenty of folks there who bear a grudge against the cultivators under the administration of the Six Nations. You are someone that¡¯s working for the administration, and so are the people close to you, so obviously, all you¡¯re ever going to hear is how dangerous Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is. Remember, once you¡¯re there, never put on your Manor Head airs. Otherwise, I can guarantee that you¡¯ll die a horrible death. Also, the folks in that ce are a pitifully poor bunch, so don¡¯t ever unt your wealth around. Those guys will do anything to get cultivation resources. After all, there are nows governing that ce. Besides that, just be more cautious and you¡¯ll be fine."


    Miao Yi was appalled. "How is that still not dangerous?"


    Yao Ruoxian replied point-nk, "If you really encounter any trouble you can¡¯t solve, just head to ¡¯Tempest Tavern¡¯!"

 Chapter 503 An Uncertain Future

    "Tempest Tavern? What the heck is that?" Miao Yi asked.


    Yao Ruoxian casually replied, "Don¡¯t you understand human speech anymore? It¡¯s a tavern! A ce where people go to eat, drink and sleep."


    ¡¯Damn it, do I freaking look like I don¡¯t know what kind of ce a tavern is?¡¯ Miao Yi put on a resigned expression, and humbly asked, "What I¡¯m asking is, why should I go to that Tempest Tavern if I ever encounter a problem I can¡¯t resolve?"


    "To hide, of course! What else?" Yao Ruoxian was clearly just messing around with him. But when he noticed Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s gazes, he coughed drily and added, "The safest ces in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea are the Six Nations¡¯ Chamber of Commerce branches found there. Besides those, there is also the Tempest Tavern. Everyone knows the temperament of the people from the Chamber of Commerce. Outsiders won¡¯t be able to rely on them at all. Not to mention, there¡¯s no guarantee that it would be safe there in the first ce. As such, if anyone were to find themselves in a dangerous situation that can¡¯t be resolved, they would immediately take shelter in Tempest Tavern. No one would dare stir up any trouble in that ce."


    ¡¯Why is it so exhausting to talk to you?¡¯ Miao Yi had the urge to just flip the table and beat someone up. s, he couldn¡¯t win against the other party in a fight. He simplyposed himself and asked, "Why doesn¡¯t anyone dare to stir up trouble in that tavern?"


    "Naturally, it¡¯s because they don¡¯t want to get themselves involved in any trouble." Yao Ruoxian stroked his beard and shook his head as he said, "As the saying goes, ¡¯The tavern that sits within the storms of the realm. No grudges are kept, only guests. Bringing in trouble is strictly forbidden!¡¯ This is the phrase that¡¯s carved on the Tempest Tavern¡¯s sign."


    Miao Yi clicked his tongue and said, "Even though it sounds a little pacifistic, there¡¯s a sense of power within those words. I believe the person who opened this tavern isn¡¯t just your average cultivator. Otherwise, how could they keep trouble outside their doors in such a ce? What¡¯s the story behind the owner?"


    Yao Ruoxian narrowed his eyes and asked, "What¡¯s it to you where the owneres from? All you need to know is to carry some money with you and enter the tavern, and all danger will be halted at the door."


    Miao Yi nodded, then asked, "Okay, and?"


    "And what?"


    "And is there any other method to avoid danger?"


    "There is!"


    "This junior is humbly asking for your guidance."


    "Just don¡¯t go."


    "..." Miao Yi was speechless. How was this helpful to him? Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er cried, "Father!"


    "Didn¡¯t I already tell him that it¡¯s not as dangerous as he thinks?" Yao Ruoxian raised his finger and said, "Firstly, never reveal your identity as an administration official. You must think of yourself as a loose cultivator. Secondly, don¡¯t unt your wealth around and cause anyone to think that you¡¯re a fat juicy prey. Remember to act poor at all times. As long as you can do these two things, you will be no different than the folks in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. And with that, you¡¯ll be able to avert the biggest danger of them all. What makes you think that it¡¯s normal for people to go through so much danger? Who would be willing to risk their lives just for fun? That is, of course, unless you have a face that¡¯s naturally asking for a beating. That being said, it is true that Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is awless ce. The ones with thest say are the people with the hardest fists in the room. Even if you¡¯re killed, robbed or set up, there¡¯s nowhere for you toin to. And as such, thirdly, head immediately to Tempest Tavern if you ever encounter any danger that you can¡¯t resolve. As long as you¡¯re behind Tempest Tavern¡¯s gates, you will definitely be alright. As for the other stuff, well, as long as you don¡¯t go around causing trouble, kid, you should be fine. Even the weakest of loose cultivators can survive in that ce. Do you think someone like you, who made it back alive from the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, won¡¯t be able to?"


    After some thought, Miao Yi had to admit that Yao Ruoxian did have a point. Even those weak loose cultivators were able to survive in that ce, there shouldn¡¯t be any reason why he couldn¡¯t. It seemed he really had been overthinking things. Having regained some confidence, he stood up, turned around and walked towards the door, "I¡¯ll be taking the fatso with me. He¡¯s got good legs. I¡¯ll be able to escape quickly if I encounter any danger."


    Charcoal, who was lying on the ground outside sleeping, was indeed quite stocky once upon a time. However, it seemed that the nickname ¡¯damned fatso¡¯ would continue to haunt him for days toe.


    Inside the house, Yao Ruoxian chuckled, "Don¡¯t count on it. The fatso just swallowed five hundred Yao Cores yesterday. He¡¯s probably not going to wake up for at least half a year. Come on, is this necessary? Just the fact that you¡¯ll be taking a trip to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea has already got you this restless."


    Miao Yi quickly turned around, "He swallowed five hundred Yao Cores in one go? Are you sure he¡¯s going to be alright?"


    "The amount is only equivalent to five Second Grade Yao Cores. What could possibly happen?" Yao Ruoxian suddenly tossed something over as he said this.


    Miao Yi reached out to grab the item, then realized it was nothing but a normal storage ring. He didn¡¯t know what was inside it, so he quickly injected his transcendence energy to examine its contents. After discovering that the storage space inside was equivalent to that of a storage bangle¡¯s, he asked in surprise, "And this is?"


    "The high-grade storage ring you asked for. What? You don¡¯t want it?"


    High-grade storage ring? Miao Yi¡¯s eyes instantly brightened and he quickly took out a normal storage ring to test it out. And as expected, he was able to sessfully ce the storage ring inside. He then took off the storage bangle on his wrist, and indeed, he was able to ce it safely inside as well. This was great! He could stack the storage effects of his storage rings now. No longer would he have to worry about not having enough storage space for his items.


    However, this high-grade storage ring didn¡¯t look any different from a normal one. Yao Ruoxian knew what Miao Yi was confused about, and exined, "It¡¯s not good for someone with your cultivation to be too showy, so I helped you mask it a little. It¡¯s perfect for your expedition to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea."


    Miao Yi was overjoyed. So the old man had already finished refining this storage ring a long time ago. He just didn¡¯t give it to him until now. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Miao Yi had to go to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, then the old man was probably going to wait until he came crying to him.


    All the storage rings Miao Yi wore, as well as the ones he had tucked inside his clothes, he continued stuffing them into the high-grade storage ring one after another, until eventually, he had just the one storage ring on his finger. He said contentedly, "This high-grade storage ring is quite mysterious indeed. I wonder who invented the method of refining it?"


    "It was a Yao cultivator!" Yao Ruoxian casually replied.


    "A Yao cultivator?" Miao Yi was taken aback. He asked, "What do you mean?"


    "The reason why transcendent artifacts can change their sizes and how entire dimensions can be hidden inside storage rings is because the refining process utilizes thews of space to a certain extent, thereby allowing their powers to be contained and extracted freely. And the first person who grasped the profound mysteries of space was none other than a Yao cultivator. The reason why Yao cultivators can freely change the size of their massive bodies is because theyprehended this concept of space as they cultivated. After which, they applied this knowledge to artifact refining, and gradually, the human race seized the technique as their own. That¡¯s why, you can say that the progenitors for all artifact-refining techniques are the Yao cultivators!"


    "So that¡¯s why!" Miao Yi understood Yao Ruoxian¡¯s words. It seemed he¡¯d managed to learn something new.


    As he looked at Charcoal sleeping by his feet, with no telling when he would be able to wake up, Miao Yi felt a little conflicted. Traversing Water Pce had already assigned him a specific time and ce to set out. He couldn¡¯t just wait until Charcoal woke up to take his leave. All he could do was put Charcoal in the beast sack and bring him along that way.


    Suddenly, Yao Ruoxian said, "Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is nothing but a giant desert. There won¡¯t be much use in bringing a dragon steed with you there. In some cases, you might even run faster on your own. Why put the fatso through the risk by bringing him along?"


    "I see!" Miao Yi walked back inside the house, then lifted his head to look at the unmoving mantids perched upon the beams of the ceiling. He then opened his palm and sucked in fifteen of them. Even though he wasn¡¯t bringing as plenty as he did for the Subjugation Crusade, he still took some of the tiny mantids with him as a precautionary measure.


    This time, however, Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t say anything, and simply raised the brush and continued with his painting...


    In the end, Miao Yi spent the next few days making his preparations. He also instructed Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er not to reveal his whereabouts. The two youngdies asked what they should do if Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were to ask about him. Miao Yi then told them that Traversing Water Pce would give those two a reasonable exnation on his behalf. After all, they each had one Manor Head going on this expedition as well.


    When it was time for him to leave, Miao Yi didn¡¯t have the two girls send him off. He didn¡¯t alert anyone either and simply rode off slowly on his dragon steed, as though he was just going on a vacation. Once he was out of eyeshot, he swiftly galloped away on his dragon steed and charged straight towards the rendezvous point.


    He continued to ride alone out of Traversing Water Pce¡¯s borders without stopping and eventually came to a halt upon the rendezvous point which was at the summit of a mountain. As he scanned his surroundings, he noticed that no one else was here aside from him. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help being confused. ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m the earliest one?¡¯


    He took out the map he was given during his meeting with the Pce Lord andpared it to the surrounding area. After making sure that he was in the right ce, he finally settled down and waited. However, after waiting for an entire day, he still didn¡¯t see anyone else. It was already time for everyone to meet up, but why wasn¡¯t anyone here? Miao Yi quickly began to worry.


    Suddenly, a ck-clothed person descended from the sky. The cultivator with the mark of a Red Lotus Second Grade cultivation on his forehead looked at Miao Yi and said two words: "Morning sun!"


    Miao Yi was slightly taken aback. As it turned out, this person was their intermediary. He quickly replied, "Evening star!"


    The intermediary nced at the mount beside him and said, "You can put it away now."


    Miao Yi acknowledged and quickly tucked the dragon steed away into the beast sack. However, before he could even react, the other party had already lifted him up into the sky, and swiftly shot out into the clouds.


    "May I know your name, Senior?" Up in the sky, Miao Yi stared at the intermediary and asked.


    The other party didn¡¯t reply. Miao Yi then asked, "Am I the only one?"


    Finally, the intermediary gave an answer. "I¡¯m only responsible for sending you off. I don¡¯t know about anything besides that."


    "..." Miao Yi fell silent. The path ahead was too uncertain!


    The day after Miao Yi had left, Qin Weiwei arrived at Raincloud Manor with several other riders. Garbed in her usual snow-white dress, she had journeyed long and far to visit her friend...


    Meanwhile, Xu Jinsong of Suppressing Tenth Manor had also arrived in the silent chambers at the rear courtyard of Suppressing Tenth City¡¯s Chamber of Commerce branch. He was meeting up with Su Yanran. "Why were you looking for me?"


    Su Yanran gestured for him to sit down, then pushed up a tiny jade box to him. She smiled and said, "This belongs to you now."


    Xu Jinsong was confused. He opened up the jade box and found two spiritual pills quietly ced inside. Like the color of fresh blood, the pills were a bright red and were exuding a soft crimson glow. He asked, "And these are?"


    "Spiritual Recovery Pills!" Su Yanran pointed to his severed arm and smiled, "Advisor Xu is impressive indeed to be able to send Miao Yi away so easily. This is what was promised to you. However, I hope that Advisor Xu will remember one thing, and that is to take this secret with you to the grave. If any word of it leaks out, you won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences."


    Advisor Xu asked in shock, "What do you mean by sending Miao Yi away?"


    Su Yanran was taken aback. She then covered her mouth and chuckled, "Yes, yes, you¡¯re right! I must have misspoke. Nothing has happened at all. It¡¯s best for us to meet up less frequently in the future. Now then, I won¡¯t have you stay here any longer." She then got up and extended her arm, gesturing for Xu Jinsong to be on his way.


    After receiving two spiritual pills out of the blue from the Chamber of Commerce, Xu Jinsong¡¯s head was full of questions. He couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of the situation at all. He knew that this was the reward that the Chamber of Commerce had promised him from before. However, he hadn¡¯t heard anything from the higher-ups at all. And he himself hadn¡¯t even taken any action whatsoever. How was it that the reward was already handed to him?


    In the end, during the handover of the annual tribute at the end of the year, Xu Jinsong noticed that Miao Yi wasn¡¯t around. And when he asked Shen Huaixin about it, thetter told him that Miao Yi was out on a mission. Xu Jinsong finally had a vague idea of what happened, but he couldn¡¯t be sure...


    The days continued to pass as Miao Yi spent almost every second of it up in the sky. They only stopped to rest once during the entire journey, possibly because the other party was too tired from carrying another person along. And after a half day¡¯s break, Miao Yi and the intermediary continued on their journey westward. All Miao Yi could do was watch as the rivers and mountains quickly shrunk behind him. He had no idea where he was at all.

 Chapter 504 Niu Er

    The vast skies and boundless earth stretched out in what seemed like an eternal expanse.


    Five dayster, the intermediary brought Miao Yi to descend within a dense forest. As though the two had never met before, he then handed thetter a jade archive, and said expressionlessly, "You¡¯ll find the details of your location on this jade archive. You just have to wait here!" The intermediary then flew off without giving so much as an exnation.


    "Hey! Who am I supposed to wait for?" Miao Yi shouted, but the other party paid him no heed.


    As he watched the intermediary disappear out of sight, Miao Yi opened up the jade archive and read it through. He noticed that his current location was within the Buddha Nation¡¯s borders, and that there was still a three-day journey to reach the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea that was marked on the map.


    Initially, Miao Yi didn¡¯t know why the intermediary had him wait here, but after one whole day, he finally understood. One after the other, the nine Manor Heads had galloped on their dragon steeds and assembled at this location to meet up with him. It was then that Miao Yi realized that his current position was the rendezvous point with the other Manor Heads, and that Traversing Water Pce hadn¡¯t assigned them to the same location like they¡¯d all thought. Moreover, there were intermediaries assigned to deliver them to different locations within the Buddha Nation prior to their meet-up. That way, there would be no chance of the intermediaries bumping into one another, and thus, they wouldn¡¯t know what Miao Yi and the others were sent here to do. The entire setup was quite secretive indeed.


    That said, it was necessary for the intermediaries to send them here. If they were to make the trip on horseback, there was no telling when they¡¯d arrive.


    Now that everyone was here, Miao Yi scanned through the crowd and sighed, "From this moment on, we can only rely on ourselves."


    As though they¡¯d practiced it beforehand, the nine Manor Heads cupped their fists and said, "We shall follow the Captain¡¯s decree."


    "You don¡¯t have to call me Captain. You just need to hold onto that sense of respect in your hearts. Otherwise, we will all die in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. As a safety precaution, I suggest we all change our names. From now on, you can call me Niu..." Miao Yi almost wanted to say Niu Youde out of habit, but he quickly realized that this name might be a little too conspicuous. There was no guarantee that someone might not have heard it before. Either way, if he used the name Niu Youde, then he was sure to attract some trouble. Miao Yi quickly corrected himself, "Just call me Niu Er!"


    He really hadn¡¯t put much thought into this name. Still, it was easy to remember. The crowd quickly noted it down and started changing their own names as well.


    "Deng Hu, Hu Yibai." Miao Yi called out two simple and easy-to-remember names and said, "There¡¯s a city fifty miles east. I want the two of you to go there and steal a few sets of clothes for the team. We¡¯re all too well-dressed and well-equipped to be loose cultivators. From this moment on, we have to act like poor folk..." He then turned his gaze towards everyone¡¯s storage rings, took off his own and said, "Take off your storage rings and hide them well." He pointed back to the two men he just called out and said, "Of course, I¡¯m not asking you to steal clothes that have been torn and ripped. Just get ones that look a little worn from being washed. Now go. We will wait for you here."


    The two men that were called out were speechless. For esteemed Manor Heads like them to steal the clothes of mortals... That said, they didn¡¯t dare disobey, as Traversing Water Pce had simply given Miao Yi too great of an authority. The two quickly acknowledged the order and departed.


    Given their cultivations, stealing a few clothes from a mortal¡¯s house was obviously child¡¯s y. After two hours, they returned with a pile of old clothes, and the group then took their pick.


    The team changed into the old clothes, and slightly ruffled up the hair that their handmaidens had neatlybed for them. They then got on their mounts and charged off under Miao Yi¡¯s lead.


    The team rode on horseback for the next three days without pause and made their way out of Buddha Nation¡¯s territory. As they journeyed further and further, their surroundings grew more deste. Eventually, they made their way into a vast arid desert.


    Here, the scorching sun zed vigorously, and the air was as dry as the winds were hot. The skies were oft patrolled by scavenging vultures, while the asional little scorpion could be seen scuttling on the barren sands.


    There was no one else in sight. The ten riders came to a halt atop a sand dune and scanned their surroundings. It seemed to them as though nothing but a deste yellow was all that remained of the world.


    It was Miao Yi¡¯s first time seeing a desert. He looked down at the map in his hand, then raised his head to look ahead as he mumbled, "Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, Flowing Clouds Dune Sea..."


    He had nevere to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea before, and his knowledge of the ce was also very limited. Moreover, he had toe on very short notice, so he didn¡¯t have enough time to fully understand the situation here. Before this, he¡¯d never thought that he woulde to this ce. Who¡¯d have guessed that he would be forced toe here so suddenly?


    Many years ago when he just met Yao Ruoxian, the old man had told him about the geographical position of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea.


    The Celestial Nation, Buddha Nation, and Boundless Nation had upied one major continent, whereas the Yao Nation, Ghost Nation, and Devil Nation had upied another major continent. The tworgest and most suitable ces for human life in the Lower Realm were thus divided amongst the Six Sages. Meanwhile, those that would not resign themselves to the Six Sages¡¯ rule were cast aside to live in other ces.


    These two major continents were shaped like crescent moons, and were adjoined by the tip. And the small piece ofnd that joined the Lower Realm¡¯srgest continents was none other than Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. This ce was not suitable for human life at all, and even cultivators were unwilling toe here; its barren and destends were like a dead zone. This all changed when the Netherdragon Ship appeared and attracted arge group of cultivators to stay here, thereby turning the whole ce into the infamous Flowing Clouds Dune Sea of the cultivation realm.


    As he stared at the barren wastnd before him, a memory from a forgotten time resurfaced in Miao Yi¡¯s mind. If someone were to ask if he had any acquaintances here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, it seemed he did have a few. Thinking back to the encounter he had in the Mystic Arts Temple all those years ago, Miao Yi remembered what the wild, sexy woman and her ragtag group said after she tricked him. She told him to look for her if he ever had the chance to visit Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, and said that she would buy him a drink and entertain him as a host.


    How time flies! In the blink of an eye, a hundred years had passed since then. If Miao Yi didn¡¯t have toe to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, he probably would¡¯ve forgotten that he actually had such an encounter. He couldn¡¯t even remember how long it had been since hest thought back to that night. It seemed he¡¯d never once thought about it after leaving the Mystic Arts Temple. The only reason why that particr memory had left such an impression on him was because of that exotic woman.


    Even if he did look for that woman in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea now, she¡¯d probably forgotten about the whole affair already, as he himself had barely remembered it. The other party¡¯s cultivation was extremely high, and he was probably nothing but a brief passerby in her eyes. She didn¡¯t even want to tell him her name. Why would she bother remembering the name of a weakling like him?


    To think he had wanted to save the damsel in distress, when the damsel herself was someone with an insanely high cultivation. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help shaking his head andughing as he thought about what happened that night.


    "Niu... Niu Er, what¡¯s wrong?" The Manor Head that had changed his name to Deng Hu asked.


    "It¡¯s nothing!" Miao Yi looked around and continued, "We still have to trek through the desert for three more days to reach our destination. The terrain here looks almost the same all throughout. Since it¡¯s our first time here, we need to remember the direction properly so that we don¡¯t get lost."


    "Understood!" the crowd replied.


    Miao Yi barked, "You¡¯d all better keep those butt-kissing habits of yours in check. Get a clue already. The folks in this ce utterly despise those of us from the administration. You should change those wretched habits of yours if you don¡¯t want to die!"


    The crowd timidly acknowledged the order.


    Just as they were about to continue onward, the sound of muffled hoofbeats suddenly came from behind. It was the sound of mounts galloping across the desert.


    As the team turned back to look, they noticed three riders approaching them. There were two men and one woman, and they were all dressed in a very exotic manner. What caused the whole group to be rmed was that the other party was actually charging straight for them!


    The three riders approached, then brazenly circled around and slowly examined the ten of them.


    Their leader was the girl with numerous tiny braids on her hair, decorated with a circlet made up of an assortment of multi-colored flowers. She had a dainty appearance, but at the same time, her facial features were sharp and well-defined, causing her to give off the aura of a young man. The girl tilted her head, her big, bright eyes narrowing at Miao Yi as she examined thetter. She then smiled cheerfully and asked, "Are you all heading to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea as well?"


    Miao Yi nodded. "Yes, indeed!"


    The girl smiled. "You must be first-timers here. I¡¯ve never seen any of you in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea before."


    Miao Yi smiled. "I¡¯ve never met any of you before either."


    The girl replied cheerfully, "I¡¯m Cheng Yingwu. The Cheng for journey, Ying for eagle, and Wu for dance."


    "A good name!" Miao Yi also introduced himself, "My name is Niu Er. Niu for stubborn as a bull, and Er for two."


    The two men behind the girl exchanged nces when they saw Miao Yi¡¯s reaction. In these parts of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, for someone to act calmly even after hearing the name Cheng Yingwu, it must definitely be his first time visiting. Not to mention, the name that Miao Yi gave sounded outright fake.


    Cheng Yingwu shrugged and smiled. "Well, I suppose we¡¯re formally acquainted now." She then turned to the other Manor Heads and asked, "May I know what your names are?"


    Miao Yi replied on their behalf, "I don¡¯t think we¡¯re on such good terms that we need to know so much about one another."


    "Brother Niu is quite the cautious one." Cheng Yingwu pointed to the surroundings and said, "This desert is full of bandits. Why don¡¯t we go together? That way, we can look out for each other!"


    Without any hesitation, Miao Yi answered, "Sure!"


    Cheng Yingwu smiled, revealing the dimples on her face, as she waved her hand and led away the other two in her group.


    Miao Yi also charged out on his mount and followed behind.


    The other Manor Heads exchanged looks of worry with one another. Hu Yibai chased after Miao Yi and transmitted his voice over, "Niu Er, we need to be careful around these parts. People who take the initiative toe up to you like this could very well be hiding ulterior motives!"


    Miao Yi replied in kind, "We are not familiar with this area. If the other party really does have a hidden agenda and intends to make a move on us, we won¡¯t be able to avoid it either way. Rather than having to constantly stay vignt and deal with our enemies from the shadows, it¡¯s much safer to keep them close by our side. That way, we¡¯ll be able to deal with them if any abnormal situation arises. Tell the others to loosen up a bit. Stop looking so nervous. Are you that worried that the other party won¡¯t be able to sense your fear? The more frightened you appear, the higher the chances of them taking advantage of you!"


    He suddenly raised his hand, pinching a little flower petal that flew over with his fingers, then brought it to his nose and took a whiff of its fragrance. He then looked forward. The petal had drifted over from the flower circlet on Cheng Yingwu¡¯s head. Several of them flew by in the wind from time to time.


    Hu Yibai was a little speechless at Miao Yi¡¯s exnation. This logic was a little different from what hismon sense dictated. That said, he didn¡¯t dare disobey Miao Yi¡¯smand, and quickly transmitted his voice over to the others, conveying Miao Yi¡¯s message.


    At this time, one of the men behind Cheng Yingwu transmitted his voice over to her, asking, "Sixth Young Lady, this Niu Er looks like the person in the portrait. When should we make our move?"


    Cheng Yingwu replied in kind, "I already know that. Don¡¯t act recklessly! Despite meeting us for the first time and having just a brief conversation, this guy still dares to follow us. Even though his eyes lookid-back and he doesn¡¯t seem to be anything but an ordinary guy, I¡¯m sure there must be something else to him. Otherwise, his life wouldn¡¯t be worth a whopping ten million Gold Crystals. We can make our move once the preparations are all set. We must seed in one go!"


    "This Niu Er is obviously a made-up name. Why¡¯s the client not even willing to reveal this guy¡¯s true background?"


    "That¡¯s not our concern. We just need to worry about bringing his head over to redeem our reward."


    The sun was so furiously bright that it was a little too dazzling to the eyes, while the colors of the surrounding environment remained constant all throughout. It was like the inside of an oven.


    Just like Yao Ruoxian had said, dragon steeds were unable to run freely in the desert. What¡¯s more, they had to expend a lot of energy just to gallop and even then, they weren¡¯t much faster than Miao Yi if he was running at full speed. That said, their stamina was much stronger. That much was unquestionable. Miao Yi roughly calcted in his mind. It seemed the three-day trip would be much longer than originally anticipated...

 Chapter 505 Mountain-Crossing Dragon

    Westwards they went, chasing after the setting sun upon the barren desert. The darkness of the night sky loomed behind their backs, while the path ahead was stained by the orange-golden glow of the sunset.


    As the bright crimson star gradually descended over the horizon, a turbulent wind began to pick up. The three that rode at the front suddenly changed directions and galloped off to the side. Seeing this from behind, Miao Yi shouted in reminder, "Cheng Yingwu, I think you¡¯re going in the wrong direction!"


    Cheng Yingwu turned her head and shouted back, "Brother Niu, it looks like it really is your first timeing to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea!"


    Miao Yi quickly scanned his surroundings, then pulled his mount around and led the others to change their path. As he chased after Cheng Yingwu, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"


    "Have you not noticed that the direction of the wind has changed?" Cheng Yingwu asked.


    Miao Yi immediately urged his mount to its highest possible speed and chased after Cheng Yingwu. Once he was riding next to her, he asked, "So what if it did?"


    Cheng Yingwu tilted her head to look at him and smiled, "Around these parts, there¡¯ll always be a Mountain-Crossing Dragon just before sunset."


    "What¡¯s a Mountain-Crossing Dragon?" By asking this question, Miao Yi was undoubtedly admitting that it was indeed his first time here. He knew that he could no longer keep it a secret anyway.


    There was a yfulness on Cheng Yingwu¡¯s small, attractive face as she said, "So you admit it¡¯s your first timeing here then?"


    Miao Yi asked, "Is this important?"


    "Of course it is. If it isn¡¯t your first time here, then you would naturally know about the Mountain-Crossing Dragon, and I wouldn¡¯t have to exin it to you."


    "Please enlighten me."


    "That¡¯s more like it! That¡¯s how a person should act when humbly asking for guidance! The Mountain-Crossing Dragon refers to the strange winds that blow over these giant sand dunes. Once it starts blowing, it will at least persist for a whole hour. The winds are so strong that you won¡¯t be able to see where you¡¯re going, and your whole body might even get blown away entirely. That¡¯s why it¡¯s impossible for mortals to make it to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea through this path, given their traveling speeds. For the wind to suddenly change directions at this time, it means that the Mountain-Crossing Dragon is upon us."


    "So where are we going then? Finding shelter?"


    "Yup! Well, actually there aren¡¯t that many ces that we can hide in. The terrain around this area is pretty much the same everywhere." Cheng Yingwu turned back and shouted, "Open your eyes wide, everyone. We need to look for low ground to ride this sandstorm out."


    The wind was beginning to pick up and was already letting out a loud whooshing sound as the granules of sand on the ground rolled across the dunes. The whole group stood before a giant sand pit. Miao Yi and the others¡¯ mounts were evidently a little unustomed to this weather and were a little restless. The nine Manor Heads also shared that same feeling.


    "It¡¯s here!" Cheng Yingwu suddenly turned her head around and said.


    Everyone turned their heads as well and gazed in the direction she was looking in, then noticed an iparablyrge brownish-yellow wall quickly closing in on them. Within that wall, a giant pir of wind that extended to the skies could be vaguely seen whipping about, emitting loud rumbling noises. It was an astonishing sight indeed!


    "Get down!" Cheng Yingwu suddenly shouted. She took the lead and jumped into the sand pit. The rest of the group quickly followed suit.


    The Mountain-Crossing Dragon was upon them without any forewarning at all. The fierce, mountain-shaking whirlwind came abruptly, bringing with it a massive and powerful wall of sand. The whole group was instantly enveloped in darkness, but they could still feel the overwhelming force blowing above their heads. Perhaps even a normal Red Lotus cultivator would have difficulty withstanding such a sandstorm.


    Miao Yi was cursing in his mind. Why didn¡¯t Yao Ruoxian mention anything about such a vicious threat? However, he knew deep down that the worst of the sandstorm had already passed by hiding in this sand pit.


    The sand pit was filled up almost instantly, burying Miao Yi and the others within a giant pile of sand. They had invoked their arts to keep themselves protected, but nevertheless, they could do nothing to stop themselves from being buried under.


    Before Miao Yi and the others even had the chance to be shocked, they suddenly felt the immense pressure weighing down on them quickly receding. Soon, they popped their heads out of the sand.


    As the invoked their arts to guard their faces against the unrelenting wind and sand, they opened their transcendence vision and noticed arge number of mighty wind pirs rapidly whirling around them. It was hard to tell how many of those there were. Meanwhile, an endless rumbling sound echoed in their ears.


    It was the arrival of these tornadoes that helped blow off theyers of sand that piled up over their bodies. First their heads were above ground, then gradually, their bodies.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t concerned about the changes in his surroundings. As he invoked his arts and gazed through the murky, yellow shroud, he paid extra attention to the reaction of Cheng Yingwu and the others.


    Bang! Cheng Yingwu and her group suddenly burst out of the sand mound covering them on their mounts.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Miao Yi imbued his voice with transcendence energy and shouted, then his mount immediately carried his half-buried body and abruptly broke out of the sand.


    Despite their fear, when they heard Miao Yi¡¯smand, the nine Manor Heads hastily burst out of the sand as well and quickly followed after him on their dragon steeds amidst the powerful sandstorm.


    Their dragon steeds¡¯ eyesight was rendered useless by the sandstorm at this point, and Miao Yi and the others not only had to use their transcendent arts to protect themselves, they had to shield their mounts from the storm as well. Using their transcendence vision, they scanned their surroundings, thenmanded their dragon steeds to move using their intent. Meanwhile, the weight of the dragon steeds helped anchor them somewhat against this terrifying gale.


    Arge tornado swiftly swept past the ce where they were just buried, and Miao Yi finally understood why Cheng Yingwu had broken out of the sand mound so abruptly; they were avoiding those things.


    The powerful suction force of the storm nearly swept Miao Yi and his team up into the tornadoes, along with all their mounts.


    "Follow me closely!" Miao Yi furiously shouted as he hurriedly followed behind Cheng Yingwu and her group. Whatever they were doing, he would do too.


    He then watched as Cheng Yingwu and her group galloped through the gaps between the tornadoes like nimble spirits dancing in a hurricane¡ªhe was in utter disbelief.


    However, Miao Yi soon realized the trick behind their movements. Although these tornadoes seemed terrifying, but as long as they could proceed at an equal distance between them, there wouldn¡¯t be much of an issue. The suction force from the tornadoes would cancel each other out, creating a safe zone where the force of the wind was at its weakest. This was also the reason why Miao Yi and his group was able to move forward through this terrifying sandstorm.


    If they were even slightly off course, it was easy to imagine what the consequences would be; they would surely be sucked away by the tornadoes.


    As she continued to gallop in the front, Cheng Yingwu suddenly waved her hand, and her two escorts quickly broke into the gaps between the tornadoes at the side, while she proceeded forward.


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know why their group was moving in such a manner. He just focused on following Cheng Yingwu.


    Suddenly, an agonizing scream came from behind. Miao Yi abruptly turned his head around and saw several figures suddenly flying off into the tornadoes along with their mounts.


    He then saw the two figures that ambushed their group quickly disappearing using the tornadoes as their cover.


    "Niu Er! They¡¯re ambushing us!" Behind Miao Yi, Deng Hu shouted in terror.


    Miao Yi immediately turned his head forward. With a flick of his wrist, his sleeve quickly fluttered, and the Qilin Spear suddenly appeared in his grasp. Miao Yi hurriedly chased after Cheng Yingwu. He nned to cut off the head of the snake!


    But s, Cheng Yingwu was evidently more ustomed to this weather phenomenon than Miao Yi was. With just a couple maneuvers, she swiftly lost him.


    Meanwhile, terrifying wails continued to echo from behind Miao Yi. As he turned around, he saw two giant balls of sand flying straight towards Deng Hu from the gaps between the tornadoes beside them.


    With a horrified expression, Deng Hu frantically attacked with his spear and obliterated the balls of sand that came for him.


    In such conditions, Deng Hu¡¯s actions were nothing short of folly. However, he simply had no other choice. The balls of sand that erupted immediately blinded Deng Hu, which made things even worse given that it was already hard enough to see as it is.


    "Ahh!" An agonizing scream resounded as Deng Hu¡¯s headless corpse along with his dragon steed broke past the shroud of sand and was subsequently swept up into the skies, instantly disappearing into the tornado.


    The two figures that had attacked him disappeared into the gaps between the tornadoes once again. At this point, there was no longer anyone else following behind Miao Yi!


    Their team hadn¡¯t even reached Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. This was still just the outskirts, and nine out of the ten Manor Heads that Traversing Water Pce had sent over were already dead!


    Miao Yi¡¯s expression turned cold as he continued to ride between the tornadoes on his own. He scanned the area around him vigntly as he waited for the other three to ambush him!


    However, he no longer saw any trace of Cheng Yingwu and her group. He simply traversed through the storm on his own in search of them.


    By the time the Mountain-Crossing Dragon finally passed and the tiny specks of sand in the air had somewhat settled, the sky was already half in darkness, and half in light.


    Where the sky was dark, a pale crescent moon hung up high, adorned by a myriad of tiny stars. And where it was bright, the sun shone as proof that it was disappearing on this side.


    Miao Yi stood alone atop a sand dune as the rumbling noises gradually faded off into the distance.


    He scanned his surroundings, but there was no one else in sight. It was utterly silent!


    He and his mount shook off the sand that was on them. Miao Yi then looked up at the starry sky and figured out his bearings based on the direction of the setting sun. He then continued on his path alone.


    However, he didn¡¯t make it very far before stopping at another sand dune. He saw, under the fading light of the setting sun, three riders atop the sand dune on the other side. They were none other than Cheng Yingwu and her group. Miao Yi then watched as Cheng Yingwu took out her flower circlet and gracefully put it back on her head.


    Miao Yi pointed his spear at the other party and asked calmly, "Why did you only attack them and not me within the Mountain-Crossing Dragon?"


    Cheng Yingwu smiled. "Because they were in the way. There¡¯s quite an attractive price on your head. If I let you get blown away by the Mountain-Crossing Dragon, how would I ever find it?"


    Miao Yi suddenly narrowed his eyes and asked coldly, "Someone¡¯s put a bounty on me? May I know who it is who wants me dead?"


    Cheng Yingwu simply responded with a smile.


    Miao Yi then asked, "Since the three of you have been waiting here for me, I trust that you¡¯re confident in taking my life. Can¡¯t you let someone who¡¯s about to die know the reason why he must be killed?"


    Cheng Yingwu replied, "I would if I could, but sadly, I don¡¯t have any idea either."


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t sure whether or not the other party was really telling the truth. But from the looks of it, it seemed Cheng Yingwu wouldn¡¯t tell him anything even if she did know the reason. He changed his question, "Who are you people?"


    Cheng Yingwu smiled, "For someone to hear the name ¡¯Cheng Yingwu¡¯ and not know that I¡¯m the Sixth Young Lady of the ¡¯Hive Gang¡¯ of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, it proves that it¡¯s your first timeing here."


    "Hive Gang? Sixth Young Lady?" Miao Yi had no recollection of these terms at all. He asked, "These are the so-called desert bandits you mentioned?"


    Cheng Yingwu nodded. "Thergest desert bandit gang in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. You don¡¯t have to feel ashamed to die by our hands!"


    Miao Yi said coolly, "Then may I know how much this life of mine is worth?" He wanted to use the price of the bounty to figure out which of his enemies were the ones behind this.


    "Not much! For someone that hasn¡¯t reached the Red Lotus realm, you won¡¯t be worth that much to begin with. The price is just about ten million Gold Crystals!"


    This wasn¡¯t such a high price, but it definitely wasn¡¯t low either. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t figure out anything from this. He nodded and said, "I can¡¯t believe my head is actually worth ten million Gold Crystals! Then what are you still waiting for? Come and take it!"


    "As you wish!" Cheng Yingwu brandished a wooden whistle and began blowing on it.


    Miao Yi¡¯s mount suddenly neighed anxiously as multiple white silhouettes began bursting out of the sand dune underneath them.


    ¡¯It¡¯s a trap!¡¯ Miao Yi jumped up almost instantly andnded a few dozen meters away. He then saw that his own dragon steed was alreadypletely enveloped by many half-foot long white centipedes.


    His dragon steed neighed in agony and tried to charge out. However, it didn¡¯t make it very far before crashing onto the ground, struggling in vain. Miao Yi could vaguely hear a chirping noise as the centipedes bit down on his mount.

 Chapter 506 Substitute Horse

    Miao Yi raised his hand and looked at the white centipede squirming around on his spearhead. This was the one that had attacked him just before he jumped away. At the moment, he could feel the pressureing from his spearhead as it struggled. It had a fearsome appearance, and its body was slightly translucent.


    Looking at the dragon steed that had just been killed, the corners of Cheng Yingwu¡¯s lips curled into a smile. In fact, all three of them were smiling. Their n was precisely to get rid of Miao Yi¡¯s mount and prevent him from running away.


    "Sixth Young Lady!" one of the escorts called out.


    Cheng Yingwu raised her arm and waved it down, and her two escorts immediately broke off on their mounts to attack Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi flicked his spear and prepared for battle. However, he suddenly felt a strange vibrationing from underneath his feet. He immediately guessed that those centipedes were probably crawling underground again.


    Draconic roars resounded as the Qilin Spear danced under the moonlight. Miao Yi then fiercely stabbed it into the sand dune beneath his feet.


    A powerful ze instantly erupted from his spearhead underground, and the centipedes that were preparing to attack from below ground immediately twisted in pain and was turned to ash.


    Besides Miao Yi, no one knew what happened underground. Cheng Yingwu and the others could only see a bright glow quickly spreading underneath the sand dune Miao Yi was standing on, as though the sand was being melted away.


    As the two attackers approached on their mounts, the dragon steeds immediately felt something amiss as a wave of intense heat suddenly assaulted them.


    "Harrumph...!" The dragon steeds broke out of their riders¡¯ control and attempted to get away, but it was already toote. As a rumbling sound echoed forth, zing mes quickly crept up from underneath their hooves and ignited both dragon steeds.


    The two attackers frantically jumped from their dragon steeds. They werepletely caught off guard because they assumed that it would be a simple matter to take Miao Yi¡¯s head now that he¡¯d lost his dragon steed¡¯s support. Not to mention, they had centipedes ambushing him from underground as well. They never expected to be the ones to suffer a setback instead, with their dragon steeds goingpletely out of control, then copsing right before their eyes and set aze. Feeling the high temperaturesing from the ground even while they were in the air, the two of them werepletely bewildered. They didn¡¯t dare tond on the ground at all.


    While still in mid-air, the two of them brandished their weapons and swung them at each other. They wanted to use the impact to knock each other away from the danger.


    Suddenly, atop the sand dune on the other side, Cheng Yingwu widened her eyes and anxiously called out, "Watch out!"


    At the same time, her hands moved deftly, tossing out two curved des.


    By now, Miao Yi had already pulled his spear out of the ground, shooting up to the sky like an arrow towards the two attackers.


    The two attackers had no choice but to change their ns as soon as they saw this, and decided to first attack Miao Yi.


    Amidst the furious roars of the dragon, two cold glints shot out under the moonlight. Following which, two streaks of hot blood gushed out in the sky.


    Miao Yi¡¯s spear had found its way into the chest of one of the attackers. And as he drew back the spear and gave it a flick, he beheaded the other person. His spear moved iparably fast, killing the two attackers in the blink of an eye. He somersaulted backward in mid-air just as swiftly, then knocked away the two curved des that were thrown at him with a powerful swing of his spear. Finally, he descended on the ground, wielding his spear at an angle. This was the strength of Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi¡¯s legs didn¡¯t stop even after making hisnding. He quickly kicked off from the ground, light as a feather, with the spear tracing behind him as he rushed towards Cheng Yingwu who was atop the sand dune on the opposite side.


    Behind him, the two corpses that had fallen onto the glowing sands immediately burst into mes. It was evident how high the ground¡¯s temperature was.


    Cheng Yingwu was utterly shocked. The enemy¡¯s spear was simply so fast that she barely saw what had happened before realizing her two subordinates were already dead. Was this attack speed normal for a Blue Lotus cultivator? She immediately understood that this was a powerful foe she was facing. She hastily garbed herself in her Armor Artifact and brandished a pike in her hands.


    She made a w with her other hand, and the two curved des that were knocked away instantly made an about turn, gunning for Miao Yi once more.


    As he quickly closed in on Cheng Yingwu, Miao Yi extended an arm. However, what he had in his grasp was a mirror. As he brandished the Mystic Yin Mirror, a powerful Yin energy instantly erupted forth.


    Cheng Yingwu¡¯s eyes widened in horror, but there was no longer enough time to turn her steed around and escape. She quickly leaped up, but still couldn¡¯t escape the Mystic Yin Mirror¡¯s range of attack.


    Her mount was frozen on the spot, and Cheng Yingwu herself was encased in ayer of frost and stiffly fell onto the sand.


    Miao Yi tucked away the Mystic Yin Mirror and quickly twirled his spear. Two sharp rings resounded as he knocked away the curved des that were flying towards him. Miao Yi then spread open his palm, drawing in the curved des that no longer had anyone controlling them.


    With a flick of his sleeves, he instantly tucked the curved des away. He then jumped back, sweeping up the spoils from the ashes of the two corpses behind him and storing them away. After which, he quickly leaped back andnded next to the frozen Cheng Yingwu.


    He first ced his palm on the frozen dragon steed and dispersed the Yin energy inside its body. And before it could regain its senses, he quickly tucked it away into his beast sack for future use.


    After which, Miao Yi crouched down next to Cheng Yingwu and started taking off her clothes. To be more urate, he was taking off the Armor Artifact she was wearing. He then felt all around her body, even touching all the parts he wasn¡¯t supposed to. As he stripped the other party of all her belongings, he noticed that she had plenty of random items. As expected of someone in the robbing trade. Miao Yi guessed that Cheng Yingwu was probably one of the richer folk here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea.


    However, Miao Yi wasn¡¯t concerned about her material wealth. What he was interested to know was if she had any documents on her that could help him figure out the identity of the person after his life. In the end, all he found was a bunch of women¡¯s stuff. There was nothing that could tell him anything substantial about the person who had ced the bounty on him. All he found was a jade archive with a portrait of himself. This was probably the only piece of information that was somewhat relevant to him.


    He then ced his palm on Cheng Yingwu¡¯s chest and dispelled the Yin energy in her body. However, before she could regain her senses, he swiftly tied her up with an iron chain.


    As Cheng Yingwu gradually found her bearings, she noticed that she was already tightly bound. She struggled around for a bit, but there was no use at all. She then turned her head to Miao Yi¡ªwho was standing with his back facing her and his spear lodged into the ground¡ªand immediately shouted, "Niu Er, you¡¯d better let me go! If not, you¡¯ll die a horrible death!"


    "Let you go? It¡¯s not like I was expecting you to let me live anyway!" Miao Yi replied coolly. He then turned around and pulled his spear off the ground, pointing the sharp spearhead right onto Cheng Yingwu¡¯s chest. "Spill it! Who paid you guys to kill me?"


    Cheng Yingwuughed coldly. "I don¡¯t know anything at all!"


    "Stubborn, eh? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill you. I¡¯ll just strip you naked and take you to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. You¡¯re the Sixth Young Lady of the Hive Gang. I¡¯m sure you have plenty of other members as well. After this, I¡¯ll let the members of your gang know what their Sixth Young Lady looks like when she¡¯s stark naked!" Miao Yi was a man of his word. He was already leaning over with a hand on her skirt, about to tear it off.


    Cheng Yingwu immediately screamed in horror, "Stop! I really don¡¯t know anything! We just receive the payment and do as we¡¯re told. Our clients wouldn¡¯t reveal any information about their own identities either. All our assassination targets are given to us through a middle-man. The client first pays a deposit, then once the job is done, they¡¯ll pay us the bnce. They never show their own faces!"


    As Miao Yi gave it some thought, he figured this might be the case. He then asked, "How do I find the true culprit that wants me dead then?"


    Cheng Yingwu gnashed her teeth and said, "That¡¯s impossible, unless you can force the middle-man to confess."


    "Who¡¯s the middle-man?"


    "I don¡¯t know! The Sub-Leader is the one in charge ofmunicating with the middle-man. Besides the Boss and the Sub-Leader, no one knows who the middle-man is."


    "You three are the only ones sent to kill me?"


    Cheng Yingwu replied resentfully, "That¡¯s right! There¡¯s no need to deploy arge group to kill a cultivator that isn¡¯t at the Red Lotus realm."


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t sure if she was telling the truth. He didn¡¯t say anything much and just lifted her up, then took out a Second Grade Spear Artifact and ran it through the chain around her shoulders, quickly turning her into the shape of a ten (Ê®) character. With her arms spread out and bound so tightly, Cheng Yingwu really lived up to her namesake of a ¡¯dancing eagle¡¯.


    Miao Yi continued to take out a bunch of stuff from his storage ring. He ced a metal frame on top of Cheng Yingwu¡¯s shoulders, then attached a chair over it.


    Cheng Yingwu waspletely horrified by his actions. She screamed, "What are you doing?!"


    Miao Yi loosened the bindings around her legs, then jumped up and sat himself on the chair behind her back. With both feet on her shoulders, he leaned over and pulled on her tiny braids, tugging at her scalp with force as he said, "You killed my mount, so now, the only thing I can do is use you as a substitute horse. Now, onwards to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea!"


    Having to carry a full-grown man over her shoulders, Cheng Yingwu bellowed furiously, "Are you even a man?!"


    "Not like I thought of you as a woman anyway. Now, hurry up and run!"


    "No way! You might as well just kill me!"


    "Do you want me to strip you naked THEN make you run?"


    "You f*cking lowlife!" Cheng Yingwu let out a shrill scream.


    Rip! Miao Yi lowered his spear and gave a light flick, and arge portion of Cheng Yingwu¡¯s skirt was instantly torn off by the spearhead. Fortunately for her, she also had a pair of pants underneath.


    "Stop! I¡¯ll run!" Cheng Yingwu shouted in horror. She immediately dashed forward with Miao Yi sitting over her shoulders.


    As he gently swayed back and forth on top of Cheng Yingwu¡¯s shoulders, Miao Yi pulled on her braids again and said coldly, "Run faster! When will we reach Flowing Clouds Dune Sea at this rate?"


    There was no describing the frustration on Cheng Yingwu¡¯s face. She immediately invoked her arts and broke out into a desperate sprint. She was trying to vent out her frustration this way as well. However, deep down, she was cursing Miao Yi, ¡¯Just you wait. I¡¯ll definitely make you wish you were deadter on."


    This sight painted a strange picture under the moonlight. A woman was carrying a chair over her shoulder with her arms spread out, and seated on that chair was a man. And the woman was carrying this man while frantically running.


    As he continued to swayfortably over Cheng Yingwu¡¯s shoulders, Miao Yi took out a jade archive and wrote down a letter. After which, he took out a spirit eagle from his beast sack, attached the letter to it and sent it off.


    The letter was addressed to Traversing Water Pce. It reported that Miao Yi and his team were ambushed by the Hive Gang not long after entering the desert and that all the members except him had perished. Miao Yi reported that the situation here was perilous and that it was hard for him to finish this mission on his own. He requested to be called back!


    He didn¡¯t mention anything about subduing Cheng Yingwu alive, however. He also didn¡¯t write down that someone had employed the Hive Gang toe after his life. How was it possible for a bunch of thieves from Flowing Clouds Dune Sea to be so informed of such a top-secret mission from the administration? The thought itself was preposterous. The only exnation there could be was that someone from the administration had leaked the information out. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t figure out who that person was for the time being. However, there was no way his enemies in Suppressing Tenth Hall would have any idea about this, given that he himself hadn¡¯t known about the journey or the arrival time beforehand. There was a good chance that this was orchestrated by someone from a much higher level.


    That said, this made things more confusing for him as well. If someone from the administration wanted him dead and had a high enough status that they could ess information regarding this top-secret mission, why didn¡¯t they just kill him straight away? Why make their move in such a roundabout manner? Did Cheng Yingwu and her group really think that he was a Subjugation Crusade survivor for show¡ªthat they believed they could kill him with their puny force? This was proof that the Hive Gang didn¡¯t know anything about him at all. Perhaps they didn¡¯t even know his true name. Else, they wouldn¡¯t have sent such a small group to kill him. This was also the reason why Miao Yi believed Cheng Yingwu¡¯s words and didn¡¯t go too hard on her.

 Chapter 507 Tempest Tavern

    Even though he wasn¡¯t pushing the girl too hard, he was still making her suffer a fate worse than death. The beautiful Sixth Young Lady of the Hive Gang, reduced to bing someone¡¯s horse!


    But to Miao Yi, this woman had killed nine of his subordinates soon after she showed up. He was already being merciful by not killing her. If he didn¡¯t have any use for her, her head would be rolling on the ground by now. He wasn¡¯t the type of man to pull his punches just because his opponent was a woman.


    The thing he wanted to know most right now was the person who¡¯d employed bounty hunters to kill him. Since that person wielded so much authority within the administration, there was no need for them to do things in such a roundabout manner. There should¡¯ve been plenty of other methods at their disposal. Maybe it was the three major sects? That didn¡¯t sound right either! If the three major sects had caught wind of him undertaking this top-secret mission, they could¡¯ve just sent over one of their experts to kill him right from the start and no one would be the wiser. The three major sects had plenty of killers themselves, so why would they spend money to hire this Hive Gang? Not to mention, there was a risk of mission failure and having their involvement uncovered this way.


    This was too strange. However, no matter how hard Miao Yi thought about it, he couldn¡¯t figure out who was behind this. Even afterbing through all the enemies he had in his head, he couldn¡¯t pinpoint any single person with surety. The only thing he was positive of was that someone from the upper echelons of the administration had leaked out the details of this mission.


    The reason why Miao Yi didn¡¯t mention in his report to Traversing Water Pce that someone had hired bounty hunters to kill him was simply because he was too afraid to do so...


    Two dayster, Cheng Yingwu staggered back and forth under the zing sun. Eventually, she fell to the ground, sweat pouring all over. As shey on the scorching sands, she gasped heavily and said, "I¡¯m sorry. Please forgive me. I can¡¯t move another inch."


    Having jumped off before she fell, Miao Yi downed a couple gulps from his wine sk, then tucked it away. After which, he took out a water sk, opened the cap, then sshed some clean water on Cheng Yingwu¡¯s face.


    Cheng Yingwu immediately struggled to her knees. With her arms spread out like the ¡¯big¡¯ (´ó) character, there was no longer any semnce of a woman¡¯s gracefulness on her. As she knelt on the ground, she took in big gulps of water. The sight of her drenched chest heaving up and down was rather alluring.


    Once she finished all the water, Miao Yi tucked away the sk, then looked around and asked, "Why hasn¡¯t anyonee to rescue you yet?"


    As she gasped for air, Cheng Yingwu replied, "They¡¯lle. Quite some time has passed since Ist contacted them. They¡¯ll know that something must have happened to me so they¡¯ll send in backup. If you hadn¡¯t killed the spirit eagle inside my subordinate¡¯s beast sack, I could¡¯ve sent them a message much earlier and let them know about the situation."


    "Why couldn¡¯t they just send a spirit eagle to get in touch with you then?"


    "The spirit feather they use to contact me was inside my flower circlet. Who asked you to toss it away?"


    "Wow! So it¡¯s my fault now." Miao Yi smiled and asked, "Say, if I hold you hostage like this, will I be able to force your Boss to hand over the middle-man?"


    "He will do as you say." Cheng Yingwu was already on the verge of tears. "Boss Cheng Yaowei is my father!"


    Miao Yi then drew out a sword artifact and used it to lift Cheng Yingwu¡¯s head. "That¡¯s more like it. You should¡¯ve just said so sooner. Why put yourself through so much misery only to spill the beans little by little? Here! Take it." He stuffed an Orb of Will into her mouth and said, "I¡¯ll give you four hours to recover. You¡¯d better make good use of it. Once your time is up, you¡¯re going to keep on running for me. Who knows if you¡¯re still keeping something from me?"


    "Why don¡¯t you just kill me?!" Cheng Yingwu yelled, pursing her lips.


    Miao Yi lowered the tip of the sword to her chest. "You want to die? That¡¯s simple enough. Just push yourself forward. Whether you want to live or die, the choice is up to you!"


    Cheng Yingwu shut her eyes and pushed her body slightly forward. However, when she felt the prick of the sword on her skin, she instinctively moved back.


    She lowered her head and bit her lip, feeling ashamed of her ownck of conviction. She then sat down on the hot sand, arms spread out as she closed her eyes and started refining the Orb of Will to recover her stamina and transcendence energy.


    Miao Yi revealed a faint smile. If Cheng Yingwu had reallymitted suicide just because of a little humiliation, then her life was only worth this much. Not many people would be willing to take their own life unless they were pushed to the very edge.


    Suddenly, the squawk of an eagle could be hearding from the sky. Cheng Yingwu lifted her head up to look, and so did Miao Yi. They then noticed a mighty eagle hovering above them, which then quickly flew off.


    Cheng Yingwu pursed her lips and said, "It¡¯s here to look for me. The backup should be arriving soon."


    Judging from the way the eagle behaved, Miao Yi agreed with Cheng Yingwu. He nodded. "Uh huh! That¡¯s good. Looks like your old man isn¡¯t going to disappoint me."


    "Can I ask you for something?" Cheng Yingwu suddenly lowered her voice and said weakly. For her to say something like this, it obviously meant that she had cast away all her pride. That said, after being tormented by Miao Yi like this, there was probably none of it left to begin with.


    "The Sixth Young Lady is asking me for a favor?" Miao Yi smiled. "Say it then."


    "Can you not sit on top of me anymore? If the people from the Hive Gang saw me like this, I won¡¯t be able to show my face anymore." Cheng Yingwu lowered her head and asked.


    Miao Yi said curiously, "What does your dignity have anything to do with me?"


    Cheng Yingwu abruptly raised her head and said angrily, "If my father finds out how you¡¯ve been treating me, he definitely won¡¯t let you go. My father¡¯s cultivation is at the Purple Lotus First Grade. He¡¯s not someone you can mess with!"


    Purple Lotus First Grade! Miao Yi was taken aback. However, he soon scoffed, "You dare threaten me?" He then sized up Cheng Yingwu and slowly approached her.


    Frightened, Cheng Yingwu quickly stood up and backed away. "What do you think you¡¯re doing? Don¡¯t be hasty!"


    Throughout the journey, Miao Yi had constantly threatened to strip her, forcing her to work herself to the bone like some domesticated animal. She was really terrified that he would go through with it, and now... She quickly turned around and tried to run, but her legs were already soft from all the torture Miao Yi put her through. Even though her cultivation was already at the Blue Lotus Ninth Grade, four levels higher than Miao Yi¡¯s, she still couldn¡¯t muster up the strength to escape.


    Miao Yi dashed over, easily pressing her down to the ground with a stomp of his foot. With one foot on her back, hepletely subdued her. He then dislodged the chair off her back and took away the Second Grade Spear Artifact across her shoulders, before proceeding to tie her arms up once again.


    After he made sure she was bound tightly, he pulled her onto the chair and allowed her to experience what it felt like to be sitting on it.


    Cheng Yingwu was a little confused, but she soon said softly, "Thanks!"


    "No need to thank me! Just remember to get your father to be more cooperativeter on. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for not showing you any mercy!" Miao Yi looked around and continued, "How much longer before they arrive?"


    "They¡¯ll be here within half a day!"


    "Then let¡¯s continue on our way!" Miao Yi released Cheng Yingwu¡¯s dragon steed, then lifted her up to its back. He had her control her own dragon steed, while he instantly donned his Armor Artifact and the Qilin Spear. He then sat behind her, fully prepared for any sudden moves.


    The dragon steed galloped off towards Flowing Clouds Dune Sea with the two of them on its back. However, even though she was sitting back on her own mount once more, Cheng Yingwu no longer looked as imposing as she did before; her appearance was quite ragged.


    And just as Cheng Yingwu had predicted, by the time night began to fall, a giant ck eagle flew over from across the sky. There were two people on its back; one man and one woman. They were looking around from high up in the sky.


    When they noticed Miao Yi and Cheng Yingwu down below, the eagle swiftly swooped down, stirring up a powerful gale as it stopped in front of the dragon steed.


    The galloping dragon steed quickly came to a halt, and the bound Cheng Yingwu shouted with glee, "Second Sister, Third Brother!"


    The man and woman bore simr facial features to Cheng Yingwu. They both jumped off the eagle¡¯s back; the woman disyed a Red Lotus Second Grade mark on her forehead, and the man disyed a Red Lotus First Grade mark. They looked at Miao Yi angrily, like they were ready to pounce on him at any moment.


    The woman shouted anxiously, "Fourth Sister! Are you alright?"


    "I¡¯m alright! Save me, Second Sister!" Cheng Yingwu wanted to jump off, but when the sharp edge of Miao Yi¡¯s spear was pressed against her slender throat, she immediately fell silent.


    "I told you to bring more help with you, but you didn¡¯t listen!" the woman reprimanded in a harsh tone, while the man pointed his finger at Miao Yi and said angrily, "If anything happens to my Fourth Sister, I guarantee you¡¯ll die a horrible death!"


    Miao Yi originally thought Cheng Yingwu¡¯s Purple Lotus First Grade father had arrived, and was extremely anxious about the situation. He had seen the power a Purple Lotus cultivator wielded back when he was in the Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s capital city. Seeing that the other party was just a couple of Red Lotus First and Second Grade cultivators, he sighed in relief.


    He quickly pulled Cheng Yingwu off the dragon steed, then tucked the mount away. With a flip of his hand, he brandished the Mystic Yin Mirror and shot out a wave of cold Yin energy at Cheng Yingwu, immediately freezing her on the spot.


    "What did you do to her?!" the man and woman eximed.


    Pressing the hooked edge of his Qilin Spear against Cheng Yingwu¡¯s neck, Miao Yi warned, "I wouldn¡¯t make any sudden moves if I were you. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me if she dies!"


    The man shouted, "You dare?!"


    "I¡¯ve alreadye this far. What could I possibly be afraid of? If you so much as make any rash moves, do you think I won¡¯t drag your little sister down with me?" Miao Yi scoffed and tightened his grip on the spear. The woman quickly shouted, "Stop! Don¡¯t be so hasty! We can talk things through!"


    "This isn¡¯t the best ce to have a conversation." Miao Yi gestured to the giant eagle behind the other two with his lips. "First, send me to Tempest Tavern. Then we¡¯ll talk things out!"


    The man pointed a finger at him and barked furiously, "Do you think you can hide in Tempest Tavern forever?!"


    "That¡¯s none of your concern. What you should be worried about right now is your little sister. If she stays in this state for too long, then you might not even get the chance to save her."


    "You..." The man still wanted to curse at Miao Yi, but the woman hurriedly stopped him. She then said to Miao Yi in a grim tone, "You¡¯d better not let anything happen to my little sister. Otherwise, I guarantee you¡¯ll die miserably!" After which, she turned her head and whistled. The giant eagle immediately spread its wings and flew over to Miao Yi, hovering above his head at a low angle.


    Miao Yi lifted up the frozen Cheng Yingwu and quickly jumped up on the eagle¡¯s back. At the same time, he said to the other two, "Both of you, lead the way!" He didn¡¯t dare turn his back on them.


    The man clenched his fists tightly, but the woman pulled him away, and the two of them quickly took to the skies. They flew in front while the giant eagle carrying Miao Yi followed a few hundred meters behind them...


    The moon was bright tonight, and the darkness was further illuminated by a myriad of radiant stars. As the cold wind of the night beat down on him, Miao Yi could vaguely see a bunch of tiny flickering lights in front of him. However, before he could admire them properly, the giant eagle suddenly swooped down at great speed. Following after the man and woman, it swiftlynded within the walls of what seemed like a castle.


    The atmosphere within the castle was quite rowdy with peopleing and going constantly. As they passed by, they all cast curious looks at Miao Yi, who was holding onto another person while standing on a giant eagle.


    Cheng Yingwu¡¯s sister pointed to a double-storied wooden structure situated in the center of the castle. "We¡¯re here. Now, please!"


    Miao Yi turned his head to look, but he found it a little hard to believe that this rundown little wooden house that was surrounded by a stone fence was the notoriously famous Tempest Tavern. However, he soon noticed, next to where thenterns hung, upon the sign ced above the gate where people entered and left, the words ¡¯Tempest Tavern¡¯ were carved. There was an extra line beside it as well which said: ¡¯The tavern that sits within the storms of the realm. No grudges are kept, only guests. Bringing in trouble is strictly forbidden!¡¯

 Chapter 508 One Tough Family

    Judging from the old signboard¡¯s appearance, it didn¡¯t seem like it was fake. The phrase carved out next to the sign was exactly as how Yao Ruoxian described. There was also the scent of food and wineing from inside, so it should indeed be a tavern.


    What Miao Yi found most perplexing was that there were actually palm trees growing around it. How could there be palm trees in a desert?


    The walls of the tavern were built with thick logs like a wooden rampart, making it seem both old yet sturdy.


    Around the tavern was a circr mud fence about shoulder height, and there seemed to be a stable as well. At the center of it all was the main tavern building itself.


    Miao Yi lifted Cheng Yingwu and jumped off the eagle¡¯s back, then slowly backed into the tavern, eyeing his surroundings cautiously as he looked for the entrance.


    Suddenly, a purple streak of light¡ªfollowed by two other red streaks of light¡ªquickly descended just outside the tavern. There was a white-haired old man with a braided ponytail; a curvaceous middle-aged woman in a luxurious dress; and a man with big eyes and thick eyebrows.


    "Father, Mother, Big Brother!" Cheng Yingwu¡¯s sister and brother greeted the three that had arrived.


    "Looks like all six of the Hive Gang leaders are here!" someone from the crowdughed excitedly.


    Having already reached the door to the tavern, Miao Yi was surprised to hear that the leaders of the Hive Gang were actually one family. That Purple Lotus old man was probably Cheng Yaowei.


    The old man with the braided ponytail was dressed in arge-fitting robe. He stared at Miao Yi and asked, "What happened?"


    "Fourth Sister slipped up and fell into the enemy¡¯s hands," Cheng Yingwu¡¯s Second Sister exined.


    "It¡¯s about time that girl paid the price for her cocky attitude. She should consider herself lucky that the other party didn¡¯t kill her," Cheng Yaowei scoffed. He slowly walked towards Miao Yi and said, "Friend! If you¡¯re not going to kill her, then please just let her go. I¡¯ll promise that my Hive Gang will not trouble you from now on."


    Judging from the look on the old man¡¯s face, Miao Yi guessed that he probably wasn¡¯t bold enough to make a move here in the courtyard. That said, he still didn¡¯t feelpletely at ease. He stuffed Cheng Yingwu straight into the beast sack and tucked away his Qilin Spear, then backed into the tavern. Cheng Yaowei and his family followed him in as well, giving off the impression that they were preparing for a gang war.


    A waiter with a white towel over his shoulders walked towards them from the side and greeted, "Everyone, we have eighty tables for dining and eighty rooms for resting in our humble establishment. We provide both dining and amodation services. Anyone that¡¯s willing to spend money is our customer. Those that aren¡¯t are free to go. Our little tavern can¡¯t amodate so many freeloaders."


    Miao Yi scanned his surroundings. Even though the interior was quite big and had arge number of tables, there weren¡¯t a lot of customers, making the ce seem a little bleak. He thought to himself that it was probably because it was alreadyte at night. There was even a person dressed as a schr taking a nap behind the receptionist¡¯s desk. He turned back and said, "Prepare us a table with your best dishes and wine. I have a matter to discuss with Boss Cheng."


    "Yes, of course! One table with our best dishes and wine. Please,e in!" The waiter led Miao Yi to a table at the innermost corner facing a wall. He proceeded to take the white towel off his shoulders and quickly wiped down the table and chairs, then gestured for Miao Yi to take a seat. "Please wait for a moment. Your food and wine will be served shortly."


    After he sat down, Miao Yi invited the Hive Gang leaders to take a seat as well. Cheng Yaowei and the middle-aged woman sat down, while Cheng Yingwu¡¯s Big Brother, Second Sister, and Third Brother stood behind them.


    "Boss Cheng, may I have the courtesy of knowing the names of your family members?" Miao Yi looked to the people next to Cheng Yaowei and asked.


    Cheng Yaowei couldn¡¯t help taking a second look at Miao Yi when he realized howid-back the bastard seemed. He didn¡¯t look afraid of him at all.


    The luxuriously-dressed middle-aged woman beside him immediately introduced herself, "Wu Qunfang!"


    "Cheng Yingfei, Cheng Yingxia, Cheng Yingxiang." Cheng Yingwu¡¯s siblings all reported their own names firmly. There was some resemnce between their facial features as they all stared coldly at Miao Yi. They were one family indeed.


    Cheng Yaowei then said, "Kid, let¡¯s cut to the chase. Tell me: what do you want in exchange for my young one¡¯s life?"


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t want to waste time either. "I want to know who¡¯s trying to kill me!"


    Cheng Yaowei replied, "We don¡¯t know the identity of the client. We just ept the payment and do as we¡¯re told. The only person that keeps in touch with the client is the middle-man. I won¡¯t be able to tell you anything, not unless the client deals with us directly."


    "Then that middle-man should know who your client is. If you can help me get the name of the person from them, then I¡¯ll return Cheng Yingwu to you." Miao Yi listed out his demands.


    Wu Qunfang then said, "Kid, let¡¯s not consider whether we can get the name of the client out of the middle-man. Even if we could, we wouldn¡¯t. The Hive Gang is only able to hold its ground here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea because of our fists and our reputation. If we betray our client¡¯s trust, then there¡¯s no way we can continue doing business in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. Change your terms!"


    Miao Yi shook his head. "It¡¯s none of my concern whether or not you can do business here. All I know is your daughter¡¯s life is in my hands. I just want to know who the client is!"


    Cheng Yaowei said grimly, "Release my daughter, and I promise that the Hive Gang will nevery a finger on you from this moment on. I¡¯ll consider this mission a failure for us. We¡¯ll make the necessary remunerations to the client and the middle-man as well, and retire ourselves from this mission. This is the most that we can agree to. You can forget about the rest!"


    Miao Yiughed. "Boss Cheng, you seem to be misunderstanding the situation here. You¡¯re the ones begging me, not the other way around. Your daughter¡¯s life is in my hands!"


    Cheng Yaowei replied, "So what? Let go of the young one, and we¡¯ll let go of you. Otherwise, I guarantee that you¡¯ll die miserably the moment you step out of Tempest Tavern. Try and stay here for the rest of your life if you can!"


    Miao Yi scoffed, "I¡¯m not some kind of saint. Your daughter doesn¡¯t look half-bad. I can¡¯t guarantee that I won¡¯t do anything else other than kill her."


    When they heard this, Wu Qunfang and her three children immediately turned furious.


    Cheng Yaowei mmed on the table and stood up, ring at Miao Yi as he mocked, "In my life, I¡¯ve had six wives and more than twenty children. The ones standing before you now are all those that are left; the others have all died in various ways. I¡¯ve even had two of my wives and four of my daughters raped before being brutally murdered, with some of their corpses stripped naked and tossed right before my feet. But even then, I did notpromise for one reason, and one reason alone. It¡¯s because if this family falls, then none of us will be able to live in peace. I cannot allow one person¡¯s life to destroy the reputation of the Hive Gang and drag my entire family down into ruin. Do what you will with my daughter¡ªI¡¯ll just avenge her afterward. Even if my children die, I can always have more. You cannot threaten me with this! If you don¡¯t hand over my daughter in one piece by dawn, then you can forget about ever taking a foot out of these tavern doors. Let¡¯s go! We¡¯re going to get ready to recover your little sister¡¯s corpse!"


    He then turned around and beckoned for his wife and children as he left. Wu Qunfang briefly looked back with sorrow in her eyes, but she still resolutely followed her husband.


    Miao Yi¡¯s face twisted up. To think that his threats to kill Cheng Yingwu wouldn¡¯t work on this old man at all. Wasn¡¯t the guy a little too ruthless? Miao Yi never thought he would bump into such a man. He¡¯d finallye to understand the brutal nature of those who reside in this Flowing Clouds Dune Sea.


    "Hold it!" Miao Yi stood up and shouted.


    The whole family stopped and looked back as Miao Yi smiled wryly and asked, "If I let her go, then you promise that you won¡¯te back for me?"


    Wu Qunfang immediately answered, "The Hive Gang¡¯s reputation is built upon our promises. We can even forsake our family member¡¯s life for it. Do you think your life will be worth more to us than my daughter¡¯s?"


    Miao Yi paused for a while, then said, "Then I¡¯d like to add on another condition!"


    Cheng Yaowei let out a cold huff and turned his head back as he continued to leave, but Wu Qunfang grabbed his arm and remarked, "We can at least listen to what he has to say. If it¡¯s too much for us, we can always ignore him." Her daughter¡¯s life was at stake after all. She then turned to Miao Yi and said, "Speak your terms!"


    Miao Yi answered slowly, "If I¡¯m ever to leave Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, then you must ensure that I can safely depart! This is also my bottom-line. Right now, my life is on the line, and I don¡¯t even know who put out the hit on me. If I can¡¯t leave in one piece, then I might as well drag your daughter down with me! Even when she almost killed me, I still kept her alive this long. I¡¯m already giving you face by doing this. Don¡¯t push me!"


    This was not an unreasonable request! Wu Qunfang looked to her husband, and seeing how he hadn¡¯t refused, she immediately answered, "Fine! We ept your terms!" She then looked expectantly at Miao Yi.


    "I hope you¡¯ll live up to your promises!" Miao Yi carried Cheng Yingwu out of the beast sack, removed her bindings out in the open, then tossed her over to the other side.


    As Wu Qunfang caught her daughter, her other children immediately crowded over. Then, the mark of a Red Lotus Eighth Grade cultivation shone on her forehead. Evidently, she was activating her arts to force out the poisonous Yin energy within Cheng Yingwu¡¯s body. Soon, the frost surrounding Cheng Yingwu grew thicker and thicker.


    After a while, a loud shattering noise could be heard as theyer of frost on Cheng Yingwu¡¯s body cracked and fell to the ground. As her mother used her transcendence energy to stabilize her condition, she slowly opened her eyes. She then weakly called out to her mother when she saw her face.


    Cheng Yingwu¡¯s vitality was a little strained due to her body¡¯s prolonged exposure to Yin energy. Fortunately, she was saved in time. Otherwise, she would¡¯ve been crippled, if not dead.


    After examining her daughter, Wu Qunfang turned to Cheng Yaowei and said, "She¡¯ll be fine. Her vitality is just a little strained from the Yin energy. She should feel better after some rest."


    Cheng Yaowei nodded in acknowledgment, then cast a look at Miao Yi. He didn¡¯t hope for the other party to return the things he had stolen from his daughter. He simply turned around and said, "We¡¯re leaving!"


    And thus, the whole family left just like that.


    Miao Yi felt a little helpless. He had wanted to use Cheng Yaowei as a bargaining chip to get the name of the mastermind that orchestrated this whole scheme. Little did he expect to bump into such a hard-boiled family. He didn¡¯t even have the energy to get angry right now. As he looked at the little groups of people staring at him from the other tables, he sat himself down.


    After a while, the waiter carried over a tray full of food and wine and ced them on the table. He smiled and said, "Please enjoy, dear customer!"


    ¡¯The taste is not bad!¡¯ Miao Yi slowly enjoyed his meal while scanning the interior of the tavern. Besides being clean and tidy, there was nothing much to write home about. At most, there was just an exotic air about the ce. He couldn¡¯t help wondering what kind of person the owner must be for even a Purple Lotus expert like Cheng Yaowei to be so afraid to cause any trouble.


    However, it was simply toote in the night for that. It was now long past midnight. Miao Yi didn¡¯t even see that many customers, much less the owner.


    By the time he almost finished his meal, Miao Yi shouted, "Bill, please!"


    The waiter came over and said politely, "Ten thousand Gold Crystals!"


    Miao Yi was taken aback. He pointed to the dishes on the table and asked in surprise, "Just these dishes cost ten thousand Gold Crystals?"


    The waiter smiled and said, "It looks like it¡¯s your first time here, dear customer. No matter. I shall exin it to you. This is the rule of our humble establishment. Once you step inside these doors, it doesn¡¯t matter what you order, it all costs ten thousand Gold Crystals. You can pay for it using Orbs of Will if you don¡¯t have the funds. Or if you¡¯re absolutely broke, you can trade for it with your items as well. If you do, then I will immediately call over the people from the Chamber of Commerce to negotiate the trade. Also, this cost not only covers the food and wine, but also entitles you to a one-night stay in one of our rooms. Naturally, you pay the same price regardless of whether you choose to stay here or not. This rule applies to all our customers. We¡¯re not trying to scam you."


    ¡¯The food and wine are just so-so at best. What a shady tavern!¡¯ Miao Yi grumbled to himself. However, being able to stay here for a night, he figured ten thousand Gold Crystals wasn¡¯t too hefty a price to pay for a day of safety. It truly wasn¡¯t an expensive sum at all. As such, he quickly followed the waiter over to the counter to settle his payment.

 Chapter 509 Dim Sum

    "Innkeeper!" The waiter knocked on the receptionist¡¯s desk.


    "Ughh..." The schr-esque innkeeper lying down on the deskzily opened his eyes and raised his head. At the same time, he wiped off the drool from the corner of his mouth with his sleeves.


    At first, Miao Yi thought this guy was just pretending to be asleep. After all, given the kind of ce this was, it was unlikely for someone who wasn¡¯t a cultivator to be here. There was no way he could actually sleep here. However, when he saw the sleepy-faced expression on the other party and the drool trailing from his lips, he realized the guy had really been asleep all this while! Howid-back was this guy?


    Seeing the schr wake up, the waiter smiled and said, "Innkeeper, this customer is here to settle his bill. One table of food and wine, and he also wishes to stay in a room."


    The schr yawned and rubbed his face with both hands, quickly energizing himself. He thenughed and said to Miao Yi, "My apologies, what is your name, dear customer?" At the same time, he took out a jade archive from his sleeves to start registering Miao Yi in.


    "Niu Er!" Miao Yi replied.


    "Niu Er! Ten thousand Gold Crystals! This is the que for your room. Inner courtyard, second floor." The schr noted it down on the jade archive, then took out a que from under the desk. After making sure that it was for the correct room, he pushed the que over to Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi then handed over a pile of Gold Crystals. Ten thousand Gold Crystals was not a small sum. Arge pile of shimmering gold rested upon the receptionist¡¯s desk.


    The schr ced his hand on the pile and swept his transcendence energy across it. After making sure it was the correct amount, he promptly tucked it away into his storage ring, then extended his arm towards the back to gesture Miao Yi to head inside. However, what he found was Miao Yi staring at him suspiciously.


    "Dear customer! Please follow me." The waiter also extended his arm in gesture.


    However, Miao Yi had only begun walking forward half a beatter. It was because after the sleepy-faced schr returned to his normal expression, and Miao Yi was able to get a closer look at his face, he found him rather familiar. It felt like he had seen this face somewhere before.


    Because of the other party¡¯s reaction, the schr also looked closer at Miao Yi and found him rather familiar.


    However, Miao Yi soon recognized the identity of the person before him. After all, he didn¡¯t have many acquaintances here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. As soon as he identified the person from his memory, he immediately found himself in disbelief. Wasn¡¯t this the schr who¡¯d been traveling with that Lady Boss he¡¯d met in the Mystic Arts Temple that rainy night? If he was the innkeeper here, then could the Lady Boss be...?


    "You..." The schr pointed at Miao Yi as though he had also remembered something. He repeatedly lowered and raised his head, but he couldn¡¯t figure out who the person before him was. He simply ced a hand on his chin and mumbled, "Niu Er... Niu Er..." However, Miao Yi¡¯s fake name had him confused. If Miao Yi had told him his name, then he might have already figured things out. It was understandable that he couldn¡¯t remember him. A hundred years had passed after all.


    Miao Yi wanted to tell him the truth, but as he looked at the customers that were still in the hall, he figured now was not the best time. He then nodded to the waiter and followed him off.


    As he led the way, the waiter couldn¡¯t help looking back at Miao Yi, who had his head lowered like he was in deep thought. He¡¯d apparently found the innkeeper¡¯s reaction a little strange as well. As a result, the waiter almost mmed his face on the door. He pushed against the door, smiling as he continued guiding Miao Yi into the tavern¡¯s innermost courtyard.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t paying attention to his surroundings at all; he was still thinking about that coincidental meeting from earlier. It wasn¡¯t until the waiter had brought him to one of the rooms at the second floor of the inner courtyard, pushing it open for him to enter, that he finally snapped back to reality and thanked him.


    After lighting up thenterns, the waiter left. Miao Yi then examined the moderately-sized room. There was a single set of furniture; a wooden table, chair, and bed. It was a very simple set-up. That said, although theyout of the room couldn¡¯t be any more minimalistic, it was kept extremely clean.


    He then unbolted the tightly shut windows. As with the rest of the room, these werepletely made of wood and didn¡¯t have the typical paper sheet over them. A gentle breeze soon drifted into the room. The night was still, illuminated by a myriad of stars. There were also several specks of lighting from the other rooms which Miao Yi didn¡¯t know to whom they belonged to.


    "So this is Flowing Clouds Dune Sea..." Miao Yi mumbled to himself. The window frame wasn¡¯t veryrge, so he couldn¡¯tpletely make out the surroundings outside. He then closed the windows, deciding to leave all his thoughts until the morning came, and proceeded to sit cross-legged on his bed.


    However, he couldn¡¯t keep his mind focused at all. Soon enough, he straightened his legs and lied down on the bed with both hands tucked under his head as he inadvertently thought about the schr whom he just met.


    If memory served him right, back in the Mystic Arts Temple all those years ago, the schr and the others all called that woman Lady Boss. And now that same schr was here working as the innkeeper? Then could that woman be the Lady Boss of Tempest Tavern? Was she really so strong that she could establish her own order here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea? Then again, it was also possible that the schr had already changed masters, given that so many years had passed...


    As various thoughts continued to race back and forth through his mind, Miao Yi kept tossing and turning on his bed. He could¡¯ve gone up to the other party and told him the truth just now, but he was afraid that the schr would recognize his name. After all, back in the Mystic Arts Temple, he had introduced himself using his true name. Following the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, his title as the tenth ce holder had undoubtedly been spread all across the realm. If he were recognized, then there was a high chance that his identity as an administration official would be revealed as well. Miao Yi didn¡¯t know where the schr and the others stood regarding those from the administration. All he knew was that if his identity was somehow revealed, then trouble would likely ensue.


    Miao Yi kept tossing around on his bed as he racked his brain over this dilemma. He couldn¡¯t help feeling that this was all too much of a coincidence. He was just thinking about whether he¡¯d meet the Lady Boss and the others back when he¡¯d first entered the desert, feeling a little excited even at the prospect. However, now that he¡¯d actually bumped into them, he was a little scared to face them...


    Meanwhile, the schr was also swinging himself back and forth behind the receptionist¡¯s counter outside. As he repeatedly tilted his head, he mumbled to himself, "I¡¯ve definitely seen him somewhere before. Niu Er... Niu Er... Do I know anyone by that name? It feels like the first I¡¯ve ever heard of it." He then took out the jade archive and looked at the name registered on it. "Niu Er... there¡¯s no way I could forget such an easy-to-remember name. Why does it feel like a fake name? Well, it¡¯s not umon for our customers to use fake names while they¡¯re here. Hmm...? Fake name... fake name..."


    As he cast his gaze towards the night sky outside, it suddenly dawned on him. It was during a certain rainy night, within the confines of a dpidated temple¡ªa young man who battled furiously against a group of zombies...


    "It¡¯s him!" The schr¡¯s eyes gleamed. He raised a brow and grumbled to himself for a bit, then abruptly left the counter, telling one of the employees nearby, "Help me man the reception for a while."


    The rectangr-shaped courtyard was split into three individual sectors, and the rooms situated along the path between the middle and inner gates were those of the tavern¡¯s kitchen and storage. The schr rushed inside, and seeing that the fire in the kitchen had already been put out, he quickly entered the storage room beside it, where he saw the cook sitting cross-legged on his bed in cultivation.


    "What are you doing here?" The cook opened his eyes slightly to cast a sidewards nce at the schr, then closed them again.


    The schr sidled up to him and whispered, "You¡¯ll never guess who just came to the tavern."


    The cook cast another sidewards nce at him. "There are plenty of people who fit that criteria. What¡¯s there to be shocked about?"


    "This guy is different."


    "How is he different? Does he have three heads and six arms?"


    "Of course not! What I mean is; he¡¯s hugged the Lady Boss before, and even touched her chest and butt..."


    "What?!" The cook widened his eyes in shock. "Who is it? Has the Boss finally returned?"


    "Don¡¯t say things like that so casually. If your Old Lord hears about it, he¡¯ll knock all your teeth out. The Boss and Lady Boss haven¡¯t gone that far yet!" the schr scoffed, then whispered, "Celestial Nation, the brat from the Mystic Arts Temple. Do you remember now?"


    "Him..." The cook eximed, "Miao Yi?!"


    Some people could leave asting impression on others precisely because they possessed some traits that separated them from the rest. Evidently, Miao Yi was one of those people. Otherwise, there was no way the cook could have remembered his name so easily.


    The schr nodded. "He¡¯s using a different name now, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s him. And I¡¯m certain he recognized me as well..."


    Soon enough, someone was knocking on Miao Yi¡¯s door. Standing outside, the cook shouted, "Dear customer, I¡¯ve brought you some tea."


    As hey on the bed, Miao Yi replied, "There¡¯s no need."


    The cook was a little lost for words. He scratched his head and carried the tray back. However, he soon returned and knocked on the door again. "Dear customer, I¡¯ve brought you some dim sum."


    Lying on the bed with both hands behind his head, Miao Yi curiously turned to the door. Even though ten thousand Gold Crystals was quite a hefty price, but it certainly seemed to be worth every penny. Not only did they provide you with tea in the middle of the night, but they served you dim sum as well.


    He didn¡¯t really want to have tea, but he was a little curious about the kind of dim sum they served thiste at night. Tempest Tavern¡¯s dim sum? Miao Yi got down from the bed and opened the door. When he saw that it was the cook, the two of them stared at each other for a good half-second.


    They¡¯d both met each other before. Not to mention, they each had their own suspicions regarding the other party¡¯s identity before this, so they were able to instantly recognize each other the second their eyes met.


    Miao Yi silently stepped aside for the cook toe in. As he ced the food on the tray onto the table, the cook smiled and said, "Please enjoy."


    Then, right as the cook stepped out of Miao Yi¡¯s room, someone downstairs opened their door and shouted, "Get me one serving of dim sum too!"


    As he walked down the stairs, the cook replied, "It¡¯s very expensive. Head to the reception and pay for it first if you want to eat it."


    After shutting the door, Miao Yi ced both hands behind his back and circled around the table, staring at the giant bowl of steaming hot roasted pork elbow ced on top of it. There was even a sk of wine included. He had never seen roasted pork elbow being served as dim sum in the middle of the night before. As expected, this was a strange ce indeed.


    ¡¯Well, I might as well give it a taste!¡¯ Miao Yi poured himself a cup of wine and raised his chopsticks to try the roasted pork elbow. He found that the taste wasn¡¯t bad at all...


    Meanwhile, as the cook returned to the kitchen, the schr immediately walked over and asked, "Did you see him? I¡¯m not mistaken, right?"


    "It IS him!" The cook ced the tray down, then nodded and said, "Some people cultivate for ten years only to change as much as the mortals do in a single year. Meanwhile, some cultivators go through a hundred, or a thousand years even to go through that same process. I can see that that kid¡¯s cultivation is progressing quite well. It¡¯s been around a hundred years since then, right? Although he doesn¡¯t look very different, his aura has be much more reserved. It seems he¡¯s doing rather well for himself. I remember that he¡¯s a member of the Celestial Nation¡¯s administration, yeah? What¡¯s he doing all the way out here?"


    Suddenly, one of the employees walked in. As he looked around, he smiled and said to the schr, "Innkeeper, there¡¯s someone who wishes to try our dim sum."


    The schr furrowed his brows. "What dim sum? Where will you find a tavern that serves dim sum? It¡¯s almost daylight. Tell him toe eat breakfast in the morning if he¡¯s hungry."


    The employee smiled wryly. "He says he¡¯s a regr customer here, but he¡¯s never tried our tavern¡¯s dim sum before. Apparently, he saw one of our employees serving it to a customer¡¯s room just now and feels that he shouldn¡¯t miss out on such an opportunity. He¡¯s outside waiting by the counter right now with a heap of money."


    The schr and cook looked at each other. They could vaguely understand why things had turned out this way.


    The schr turned to the cook, who had a twisted expression on his face, and said, "Well, we are running a business after all. There¡¯s no reason to ignore a paying customer when he¡¯s standing right in front of us. I¡¯ll go ept the payment, and I¡¯ll make sure to charge a high price. You go start the fire. Tsk tsk! I can already see that more people will start flooding in to have a taste of our ¡¯dim sum¡¯ after this." He proceeded to swing the towel over his shoulder andughed as he left.


    Flowing Clouds Dune Sea! As dawn broke, Miao Yi left his room and climbed up to the rooftop to get a better look at his surroundings. It was then that he finally understood why this ce was called Flowing Clouds Dune Sea.


    Upon the dry sands of the desert, a faint mist hovered around the palm trees that filled the area. It was not known where these lumps of moisture had originated from, but it seemed like they were present wherever the palm trees stood.


    And next to the palm trees, there were buildings as well. One to the east, and one to the west. As Miao Yi gazed into the distance, he could see a group of houses made from wood and mud around the area, arranged in no specific order. These houses weren¡¯t tall at all and were mostly single-storied. It was rare to see a double-storied structure like the Tempest Tavern.

 Chapter 510 Devious Four

    There were so many houses around the area that Miao Yi couldn¡¯t even see where they ended. They weren¡¯trge in any way, and were mostly made out of mud and y. If he hadn¡¯t seen all these houses, he wouldn¡¯t have known that Tempest Tavern was definitely considered one of the more luxurious buildings around. Moreover, these houses weren¡¯t adjoined together at all. There was at least a few dozen meters between each one. They also didn¡¯t face in the same direction; the front gate for each house was ced wherever the owner desired. The onlymonality between them was that they were all built away from the lower terrain.


    This city could be considered a poor, yet crowded one. There were no roads. All the buildings were built upon the desert. Perhaps it was better said that the gaps between the houses were the roads.


    From time to time, dragon steeds could be seen galloping about. All the people in the city went silently about their own business. It was rare to find people walking together in groups. The whole city was very quiet. With the mist hovering about ten feet above the ground, it gave the city a serene vibe.


    Miao Yi found it hard to believe that such a peaceful ce was the same notorious danger zone known by everyone from the Six Nations¡ªthe same ce that struck fear in cultivators from all across the realm.


    Did the Netherdragon Ship really appear in a ce like this? Where should he go to find more information about it? And where was the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce branch? Before he came here, the higher-ups had told him to report to the people from the Chamber of Commerce if he had any findings.


    Miao Yi couldn¡¯t decide if he should head outside and look around for a bit. There was no telling if the Hive Gang would really live up to their promise of not troubling him anymore, and there would definitely be people out there still trying to kill him. As long as he stepped outside of Tempest Tavern, he would be in serious danger.


    After some contemtion, he figured he should wait for now. He could at least n out his next step once the reply from Traversing Water Pce came. He estimated that their answer would probably arrive within ten days. Even though the prices here were indeed outrageously expensive, but with the wealth he possessed, he could still afford to stay a few years, no problem.


    As Miao Yi looked around, his gaze soon fell upon the ¡¯third floor¡¯ of the tavern. It was a small house constructed upon the roof of the second floor. Miao Yi wondered who was staying there. Was it the Lady Boss?


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t know and wasn¡¯t interested to find out either. If that Lady Boss really was the owner of this ce, then there was no guarantee someone with an exalted status like that would be concerned about him at all. He then jumped down towards the second floor¡¯s corridor facing the courtyard, opened the door to his room and stepped inside. He returned to his bed and resumed his cultivation.


    Not long after Miao Yi returned to his room, one of the tavern waiters carried two giant wooden buckets filled to the brim with warm water and walked up the wooden circr steps. He made his way to the small room up on the roof, then ced one bucket down, knocking on the door with his hand as he said, "Lady Boss!"


    Azy moan came from inside, then a tapping sound could be heard, followed by the sound of the door being unbolted. The waiter pushed open the door and walked in. Not long after, he walked back out empty-handed, closing the door behind him.


    Soon, the sound of sshing water could be hearding from the room. It seemed that the person inside was taking a bath.


    About an hourter, the tightly shut windows of the room were pushed open. An exotic and voluptuous woman stood by the window with her hair loosely tied up behind her head, with several lush strands resting gently upon her shoulder. Although she wasn¡¯t wearing any makeup, her beauty remained unquestionable, like that of a hibiscus flower.


    Her slender arm reached out, grabbing two wooden stoppers from the window frame, then wedged them into the gaps at the bottom of the open window, preventing the wind from blowing her windows shut.


    The room instantly brightened up. This woman sat in front of her dressing table and took up a brush, looking in the mirror as she gave her hair a briefbing through. A set of yellow shoes with beautiful cloud engravings soon made its way past the door as she slowly walked out onto the roof of the second floor, her beautiful eyes leisurely taking in her surroundings.


    She wore a slightly translucent red leather top, the lines of her voluminous chest could be vaguely seen. Her slender bare shoulders donned a light green robe that gently swayed in the breeze. Underneath her green muslin robe, at the bottom of her leather top, was a seductively lean waist that any man would find difficult to resist. Her belly button was slightly out in the open, making it hard for anyone to take their eyes off her.


    She donned a slightly crinkled vibrant green dress over her alluring thighs. The edges of her dress weren¡¯tpletely even, adorned with tiny golden pearls that shimmered under the light of thenterns. This added weight on her dress brought out the shape of her butt even more as she walked, making the beautiful lines of her thighs evident with every step she took.


    Her figure was absolutely divine; there wasn¡¯t a trace of unnecessary fat, nor were there any areas that werecking in volume. Although her skin carried a healthy bronze tone, it was wless beyondpare, which was further entuated by her revealing choice of attire. There was a seductiveness about her that was tempered by a wild air; she was truly an exotic beauty.


    This woman was none other than the Lady Boss whom Miao Yi had met back in the Mystic Arts Temple all those years ago. She was as beautiful now as she was then, but there was an added air of seductiveness to her in this barren desert.


    The waiter that brought her water soon came back up, proceeding to enter her room to take the two buckets of bath water, then made his way back downstairs.


    The Lady Boss stood quietly in the breeze for a while. When the sun had fully risen over the horizon, she finally turned around and walked downstairs. She started by walking full-circle around the corridors of the guest rooms on the second floor, then did the same thing in the courtyard on the first floor. After which, she took a look inside the kitchen.


    This was her daily routine. As long as she was here and there was nothing else happening, she continued day after day in the exact same manner, never changing even once.


    She could see a few chefs busy working in the kitchen, but there was no sight of the cook. The Lady Boss asked, "Where is the cook?"


    "He¡¯s in the front hall," one of the chefs politely answered.


    The Lady Boss gave a quick nce around, then turned to leave. She walked straight across the courtyard and into the front hall where there were plenty of tables.


    As soon as she went outside, a number of guests immediately stopped in the middle of their meals to take a look. They had difficulty tearing their eyes off her figure. These people were all the tavern¡¯s regrs, and they clearly knew about her daily routine. Even though they knew they couldn¡¯t have such a beautiful woman for themselves, they were satisfied with just taking a look at her.


    The Lady Boss had obviously grown ustomed to these gazes a long time ago. As she passed by one of the tables, she casually rubbed her finger across the surface to check if it was clean. She then turned to look at the four people gathered behind the receptionist¡¯s desk, who were coincidentally looking back at her with weird expressions.


    If Miao Yi was here right now, he would recognize this group. They were the ones he¡¯d met in the Mystic Arts Temple¡ªthe schr, the cook, and the twoborers.


    The Lady Boss walked up to the reception desk and knocked on the counter. She asked curiously, "What are all of you doing here?"


    The four of them shook their heads and replied in unison, "Nothing."


    The Lady Boss didn¡¯t believe them at all. She made her way to the entrance at the side and gestured for them toe out, saying curtly, "All of you, get out here this instant!"


    The four of them immediately walked out obediently. The Lady Boss proceeded to the back of the counter and looked around to try and figure out what devious deed these four men were secretly doing.


    What she didn¡¯t know was that they weremunicating to one another telepathically.


    "Do you think that kid wille out?"


    "I don¡¯t know. It sure as hell will be interesting if he bumps into the Lady Boss though."


    "Back then, the kid didn¡¯t know the Lady Boss¡¯s identity. If he finds out... Do you think the Lady Boss will try to kill him if she finds out he¡¯s here?"


    "Not likely. The Lady Boss wouldn¡¯t hold such a tiny grudge. Not to mention, she was the one at fault at the time. Even if she was taken advantage of, who can she me but herself? I¡¯m more concerned that she¡¯ll think we¡¯re ying a prank on her when she sees the kidter on, and maybe even punish us."


    "That¡¯s quite possible. I remember back then, Old Hou joked about this matter after we returned, and he ended up having to clean all the tavern¡¯s toilets for a whole year."


    The four of them were getting ready to watch a good show. It was as though they had nothing better to do. Then again, they DID have nothing better to do. After staying here for so many years, they were already bored stiff. As soon as something remotely interesting came their way, they would immediately jump at it excitedly. Not to mention, this was a chance to see the Lady Boss in an awkward situation. It was no exaggeration to call it a once in a lifetime opportunity! They wouldn¡¯t miss the chance even if it killed them.


    After fumbling her way through the back of the counter to no avail, the Lady Boss walked back out. She circled around the four of them, then said coldly, "Tell me honestly: what are you plotting? If you don¡¯t tell me now, and I find out about it on my own, there will be hell to pay."


    The four of them smiled wryly. "We¡¯re not plotting anything!"


    The Lady Boss raised an eyebrow. "This is the receptionist¡¯s desk. What¡¯s a cook like you doing all the way here instead of the kitchen? And you two, a stonemason and a carpenter, what are you doing here in the reception? What exactly are you plotting?"


    The cook exined, "The Sixth Young Lady of the Hive Gang failed in her mission and was captured by the enemy. Last night, Cheng Yaowei and his whole family rushed here to talk to the guy. We¡¯ve just been discussing this matter."


    "Is that so?" Even though the Lady Boss still had her doubts, she realized that she wouldn¡¯t be able to get anything out of these guys, so she stopped wasting her time. She then walked out the front gate and began her patrol of the tavern.


    As soon as she left, the four of them immediately hustled together and traded whispers. Aftering to a conclusion, two of them hastily made their way into the rear courtyard.


    The cook returned to the kitchen, while the schr headed to Miao Yi¡¯s room and knocked on his door.


    Miao Yi opened the door. When he saw that it was the schr, he asked, "Innkeeper, is something the matter?"


    "Dear customer, I hope your stay has been satisfactory so far?"


    "It¡¯s alright."


    "It¡¯s like this. The money you paid for covers all your expenses for the whole day, meaning you won¡¯t have to spend extra for food. Right now is our tavern¡¯s breakfast time. I noticed you didn¡¯te, and I was worried that you might not have known about it, so I came here to give you a reminder."


    ¡¯So that¡¯s why!¡¯ Miao Yi thought. It seemed that those ten thousand Gold Crystals were indeed well spent. He nodded. "Got it. I¡¯m not hungry though. Thanks for the reminder, innkeeper."


    He then turned around, took up the wine sk and te that the cook had brought over the night before, and passed them to the schr. He then extended his arm and gestured for the schr to excuse himself.


    As he looked at the things in his hands, the schr was a little lost for words. However, he lifted his head with a smile and said, "Dear customer, I can¡¯t help finding you rather familiar. Have we met before?"


    Miao Yi feigned ignorance and replied, "Maybe. If there¡¯s nothing else..." He gestured for the schr to leave once more.


    "Oh! It¡¯s like this." The schr quickly found another excuse. "I was wondering if you¡¯ll be leaving after today, or would you like to stay for a few more days? If you n on staying, then can I trouble you toe with me to the counter and settle the payment first? That way, I can help keep the room for you. You won¡¯t have to worry about the room being identally assigned to someone else."


    Miao Yi thought for a bit. He still needed to wait for Traversing Water Pce¡¯s reply either way. He quickly nodded. "I¡¯ll be staying for a few more days."


    "Then please follow me!" The schr cheerfully turned around and led Miao Yi into the front hall.


    He quickly handed the dirty dishes in his hands over to one of the employees, then made his way to the back of the counter. He asked Miao Yi, "How many more days will you be staying? You can just give me a rough estimate."


    Miao Yi thought about it for a while, then answered, "Ten days!"


    ¡¯Ten days? Looks like I¡¯ll get to see the Lady Boss¡¯s awkward face then.¡¯ The schr immediately smiled. "Alright. Niu Er. Ten days. That¡¯ll be a hundred thousand Gold Crystals. You can use items of a simr value as a deposit for the time being if you want."


    Miao Yi immediately handed over arge pile of Gold Crystals. The schr gave them a quick tally, then tucked them away with a flick of his sleeve.


    Now that there was nothing else for him to do, Miao Yi was about to retreat into his room. However, as he turned around, one of the waiters came up to him with a bowl of noodles, smiling as he said, "Dear customer, this is our tavern¡¯s breakfast special. You can¡¯t say that you¡¯ve been to our Tempest Tavern if you haven¡¯t tried it. This is a must-eat dish for anyone who visits our tavern. I was about to call you over to sample it. I never thought you would be down here already. Anyway, this way please!"


    The waiter ced the noodles down on one of the tables next to the walkway. He then took the white towel off his shoulder and wiped down the chair, before gesturing for Miao Yi to take a seat.

 Chapter 511 Lady Boss

    ¡¯I can¡¯t say that I¡¯vee to Tempest Tavern if I don¡¯t try their noodles?¡¯ Miao Yi stared dazedly at the bowl of noodles on the table. ¡¯Is it really that good?¡¯


    Given how much the waiter was praising the dish, anyone would be curious to try it out, let alone Miao Yi. Since he was in no rush to get back anyway, he quickly pulled out a chair and raised his chopsticks. After sampling the noodles, he had to admit that it was indeed delicious, but it didn¡¯t seem as great as the waiter made it out to be; he couldn¡¯t taste anything special with them.


    Thinking back, he¡¯d had dinnerst night, followed by a braised pork elbow that was delivered to his room, and now he was having a bowl of noodles for breakfast. In his many years as a cultivator, Miao Yi realized that it had been a long time since he¡¯d had consecutive meals like this. Nowadays, he only dined once every ten days or so just to sate his tongue.


    However, Miao Yi did find the passionate service of this tavern quite agreeable. It was worth every penny spent.


    Just outside the door, the Lady Boss had returned from her daily patrol of the area around the tavern.


    The schr was lying over the receptionist¡¯s counter when she came in. The moment he saw her figure appear by the door, he quickly straightened his back and pretended to sh through one of the jade archives lying around. God knows what he was reading.


    With a white cloth in hand, the cook was acting as one of the tavern¡¯s waiters. And he, the carpenter and the stonemason all quickly took their eyes off Miao Yi and started wiping down the tables feverishly.


    As if these guys did such tasks on a normal basis. As soon as she swept a nce through the room, the Lady Boss noticed something was amiss, and couldn¡¯t help raising an eyebrow. Not only had these guys gathered around the reception earlier for no apparent reason, they were taking the jobs of the normal employees now. It would be strange if nothing was up!


    She raised her flower-patterned shoe, angling her foot over one of the long benches, then pulled it behind her and sat down. cing her elbow on one of the tables to the side and resting her head upon her hand, she crossed her legs and said, "All of you, get your butts over here."


    This was the Lady Boss¡¯ style indeed! She didn¡¯t even need to call their names; the four of them obediently walked over.


    Upon hearing her voice, Miao Yi lifted his head up to look and was instantly dumbfounded. Her exotic allure was something he would never be able to forget.


    As she nced through the room, the Lady Boss was astonished as well, feeling as though she might have missed something. She slowly looked back, her gazeing to a halt before Miao Yi. When their eyes met each other, she was also taken aback!


    As the person who¡¯d been taken advantage of herself, she definitely had a much deeper impression of Miao Yi than anyone else in the room.


    The schr, cook, carpenter, and stonemason furtively watched with awkward faces as they slowly made their way to the Lady Boss¡¯s side.


    Miao Yi quickly lowered his head, acting as if he was taking a few small bites of his meal, then stood up and returned to the rear courtyard.


    As she watched Miao Yi slowly stand up and take his leave, the Lady Boss cast a sideways nce to the group of four and asked in a suggestively menacing tone, "Do you want to say it willingly, or do you want me to force it out of you?"


    "His name is Niu Er."


    "He arrivedst night."


    "He¡¯s the guy who was arguing with Cheng Yaoweist night..."


    After hearing what the four of them had to say, the Lady Boss stood up. The schr and the others immediately stepped aside for her to pass. As for the one person who was a little slower than the rest in getting out of her way, the Lady Boss immediately gave a swift kick to his shin.


    The cook immediately clutched his leg and hopped around in absolute pain. This was a truly brutal kick.


    As she made her way past the four of them, the Lady Boss spread her palm and reached out for one of the wine sks lying on the counter. She calmly said, "Bring up a couple of dishes."


    As he gritted his teeth painfully, the cook asked, "Where to?"


    The Lady Boss couldn¡¯t be bothered replying to him. As she left him to figure it out on his own, she made her way towards the rear courtyard with the wine sk in hand.


    Miao Yi was standing next to one of the open windows when a knocking sound came from his door. He asked, "Who is it?"


    The Lady Boss¡¯s voice called out, "It¡¯s me!"


    Miao Yi was taken aback. After some hesitation, he decided to just open the door, and his gaze finally met that of the Lady Boss.


    The Lady Boss swept her eyes over him, then turned to look at the dark room behind him. She then turned back and said, "Come with me."


    There was a certain allure to the sound of her voice. Miao Yi walked out of his room, closed the door, and obediently followed behind her.


    That said, it was not a bad feeling to walk behind this woman. Miao Yi stared intently at her voluptuous figure as she walked forward, taking in the dreamy fragrance exuding from her body. She possessed a unique attractiveness all on her own that Miao Yi had never seen before on another woman.


    The two of them walked, one in front and one at the back, and soon made their way into the Lady Boss¡¯s room.


    Her room had windows on all four sides and was very well-lit. It was obvious that this was a woman¡¯s room. Miao Yi swept his gaze across the soft bed and the dressing table. He couldn¡¯t see any trace of a man¡¯s belongings at all. It was clear that she was staying here on her own.


    With a wave of her hand, the Lady Boss pulled one of the small red tables at the side and moved it to the center of the room. Two of the round cushionsying in the corner then fell beside it.


    The Lady Boss gracefully extended her arm in gesture. "Have a seat."


    Miao Yi obediently sat down while the Lady Boss walked over to the door and pped open the seal on the wine sk beforeing back to sit herself down. He didn¡¯t know where she pulled the two jade cups from, but the clear liquid from the wine sk was subsequently poured into them. The Lady Boss then gracefully ced one of the cups in front of Miao Yi and smiled as she said, "I promised to buy you a drink all those years ago, and I intend to live up to that promise."


    Miao Yi held the jade cup with both hands and asked in astonishment, "You still remember?"


    The Lady Boss¡¯s face reddened slightly as she cursed deep down, ¡¯I have never been taken advantage of to that extent in my entire life. How could I possibly forget?¡¯


    She tugged on her dress slightly, pulling up one knee and resting her arm upon it. Holding her wine cup with the other hand, she gestured for Miao Yi to drink. She then lifted her head and downed the wine in a single gulp, the clear liquid slowly entering her mouth.


    The seductive, yet spirited appeal that this woman possessed was apparent in her every move as she gulped down the wine. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help losing himself in a daze as he watched her.


    After finishing her wine, the Lady Boss turned to Miao Yi and smiled, showing him the empty cup as she held it with three fingers. "I don¡¯t have any fine wine here. But then again, I don¡¯t think the quality of the wine matters much to a cultivator anyway. We only drink for the fun of it."


    Miao Yi finally snapped back to reality, then hurriedly downed his drink as well.


    With the two empty cups on the table, the Lady Boss lifted up the wine sk with one hand and started refilling them as she asked, "Should I call you Miao Yi, or Niu Er?" She put down the sk. "I believe Miao Yi should be your real name, yes?"


    "Yes!" Miao Yi nodded.


    Just then, having made four small dishes on the fly, the cook came with a tray table in hand. He ced the dishes down on the table, then arranged two pairs of chopsticks before revealing a dumb smile as he hurriedly excused himself.


    The Lady Boss raised her chopsticks, grabbed one of the braised meats and ced it in her mouth. As she slowly chewed it, she stared intently at Miao Yi and asked, "The tenth ce holder of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade is also a man by the name of Miao Yi. I don¡¯t think there are that many cultivators with this name. Is it you?"


    ¡¯This was just what I was worried about!¡¯ Miao Yi smiled wryly and answered, "It¡¯s me!"


    "Apparently, all the survivors of the Subjugation Crusade were entitled to a Manor Head¡¯s seat after returning. What about you?"


    "I am the Raincloud Manor Head under the Celestial Nation Fifth Earthly Branch¡¯s Traversing Water Pce.""I hear that the people of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea don¡¯t have a very good impression of those from the administrations of the Six Nations. I hope mying here won¡¯t cause you any trouble, Lady Boss."


    "We¡¯re running a business here. Anyone that¡¯s willing to pay is a customer of ours. I¡¯ve been in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea for many years, and I never question a person¡¯s past. It¡¯s no concern of mine whether your arrival is trouble or not. You don¡¯t have to worry about it so much either. If I really was troubled, I wouldn¡¯t let you sit in my room and drink wine with me." The Lady Boss raised her cup and took a sip, then said, "I never would¡¯ve thought that the brat I coincidentally met in that decrepit temple all those years ago would be able to cause such a stir in the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade, bing a lord that presides over ten million followers. You climbed up fast indeed. I am a little curious though. As a Manor Head that has plenty of riches in his grasp, why did you abandon your peaceful days ande all the way here? I hear that you¡¯ve crossed swords with the members of the Hive Gang as well?"


    This time, Miao Yi didn¡¯t tell the truth. "I¡¯ve long heard tales about Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, so I came here to see if the stories were true. However, I don¡¯t who it is, but someone employed the Hive Gang to kill me. I¡¯ve been racking my brain over this matter this entire time." He then asked, "I think I still haven¡¯t had the pleasure of knowing your name, Lady Boss?"


    The Lady Boss¡¯s luscious lips gently traced the cup as she replied, "Yun Zhiqiu. Yun for cloud, Zhi for knowledge, and Qiu for autumn."


    "Yun Zhiqiu..." Miao Yi nodded as he made a mental note of her name. He asked, "Are you really the owner of Tempest Tavern?"


    "I¡¯m not the owner. I¡¯m the Lady Boss." The Lady Boss abruptly lifted her head and downed the drink in a single gulp, then raised the wine sk and refilled her cup as she said, "The owner is my husband."


    She secretly nced at Miao Yi to see how he would react. She was curious to see how this bastard who took advantage of her would respond after hearing about her husband.


    Recalling how he¡¯d embraced someone else¡¯s wife and even pped her on the butt, a trace of guilt shed across Miao Yi¡¯s face. However, he tried to feign ignorance and simply gave a perfunctory reply. As he tried to conceal his awkwardness by holding the wine cup in front of his face, he smiled and said, "There¡¯s no one in the cultivation realm that doesn¡¯t know of the Tempest Tavern. For your husband to be able to open such an establishment in a ce like this, I¡¯m sure he must be an outstanding individual. I will definitely have to pay my respects to himter on."


    The Lady Boss nkly replied, "Aren¡¯t you afraid that my husband will tear you to shreds once you meet him?"


    Miao Yi let out a dryugh. "I don¡¯t have anything against your husband. Why would he want to kill me?"


    The Lady Boss answered in a yful manner. "Don¡¯t you dare say you don¡¯t know what you did to a man¡¯s wife. Do you need her to remind you?"


    "Pfft... Kuh! Kuh!" Miao Yi quickly raised his hand and covered his mouth after nearly coughing out his wine. He widened his eyes at the other party, realizing that she really wasn¡¯t the type to mince her words. He almost died from the shock. He hurriedly put down his cup and waved his hands. "Lady Boss, listen to me. At the time, I really didn¡¯t know who you were. I was simply too hasty in trying to save you. I didn¡¯t do those things on purpose. By the time I realized the severity of my actions and wanted to apologize to you, you were already gone. I didn¡¯t harbor any indecent intentions, I swear."


    "I was just joking. Why do you need to feel so restless?"


    "I¡¯m not restless. I really didn¡¯t do those things intentionally," Miao Yi anxiously exined himself. Deep down, he thought, ¡¯How could I possibly not be restless? What kind of person was the Boss of Tempest Tavern? If I offended a guy like that, not even Cheng Yaowei can escort me out of here in one piece.¡¯


    "There¡¯s no need to exin. I know you weren¡¯t doing it on purpose. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t need my man to touch you; I would¡¯ve already killed you myself." The Lady Boss raised her wine cup and narrowed her eyes at Miao Yi as she said, "You don¡¯t need to be so frightened either. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll ever get the chance to see him anyway. He¡¯s being imprisoned right now. Even I have a hard time getting to see his face, let alone you."


    "Uhh..." Miao Yi¡¯s heart calmed down for a bit, but he couldn¡¯t help asking in shock, "Who would be so bold as to imprison the Boss of Tempest Tavern?"


    The Lady Boss downed her drink again, mming her cup on the table as she revealed an alluring smile and replied, "Let¡¯s not talk about it. This matter worsens my mood. Either way, it¡¯s not a big secret. You¡¯ll eventually find out about it if you stay in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea long enough, so why should I talk about such a displeasing topic then? It¡¯s not every day that I get to sit down with another person and enjoy a drink. Don¡¯t ruin it. So, let¡¯s talk about you. Since someone has employed the Hive Gang to take your life, I imagine you¡¯re in a rather precarious situation right now!"


    She was about to reach out to the wine sk, but Miao Yi took it up before she could and helped refill her cup. "Since Lady Boss is treating me to a drink right now, I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t just stand idly by and watch as I fall into danger here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea."


    The Lady Boss smiled. "Why should I help you? Just because you took advantage of me once?"

 Chapter 512 All Are Lonesome

    She was no fool, and as such, was also level-headed. Miao Yi had no qualms about confronting her head-on, so rather than embarrassing herself over petty matters and provide juicy entertainment for the subordinates, she might as well handle it magnanimously. It was but a misunderstanding, there was no right and wrong way to it. Better to just regard it as a joke andugh it off¡ªtrying to cover it up would only make things even more embarrassing.


    But for a certain someone, it really touched a sore spot, and Miao Yi was quite speechless. ¡¯If you¡¯re really helping me just because I took advantage of you, then wouldn¡¯t it give people more reason to take advantage of you in the future?¡¯


    Miao Yi felt inclined to speak out that, ¡¯It was fate that we have crossed paths, so let us be friends¡¯, yet felt diffident just thinking about it. This was the Lady Boss of Tempest Tavern¡ªhe had no idea what her actual cultivation level was. He should first inquire on her cultivation level and then decide whether some words were best uttered or not. Putting aside the matter of requesting for aid, he broached the question, "Lady Boss, may I know your cultivation level?"


    Just as soon as the words left his mouth, a Purple Lotus Third Grade bloomed in between her eyebrows, letting Miao Yi witness it with his own eyes. It was a wordless answer to his question.


    "..." Miao Yi was astounded¡ªthere was such an immense gap in their cultivation levels. The words he had intended to say about bing friends were stuck in his throat and left unuttered. With his cultivation level, he wasn¡¯t even qualified to carry her shoes. It was exactly as she said: for what reason should she help?


    The traces of the Lotus disappeared from the Lady Boss¡¯s forehead, "A cultivation level such as mine is nothing. The Tempest Tavern has always maintained an impartial stance within the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. We have never been involved in any conflicts and were able to survive thanks to the respect orded to it by the respective powers. This is also the real reason why the Tempest Tavern has remained towering in its sole existence amidst the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. Hence, I also won¡¯t be able to help you much. At most, I can only treat you to some free wine. Do drop by to enjoy a drink with me when you have the time."


    A tone of regret, filled with an extremely apologetic air, offering to apany him in drinking wine as a means topensate for her inability to extend assistance.


    Miao Yi forced a smile. She¡¯d left him with no possible words to counter.


    Seeing that he was silent, the Lady Boss remarked in jest, "Why? Is this Lady Boss not fair enough aspany fitting to drink with you? My looks are not too bad, right? I¡¯ve had smoldering gazes from countless men¡ªall akin to wolves¡ªfixed on me whenever I walk outside¡ªthat¡¯s already proof enough that I still possess some attractiveness. Such a pleasant task, one that so many men have wished for but never had the privilege, you would not decline, right?"


    ¡¯So what if your looks aren¡¯t bad? I can only gawk helplessly anyway. Just because your looks are rtively good, I have to apany you to drink wine?¡¯ Miao Yi silently scoffed in his mind, yet smilingly raised his cup in a toast, belying his thoughts as he remarked, "Lady Boss has given me face and shown me favor, I naturally have to ept with grace."


    The Lady Boss raised her wine cup and lightly bumped it with Miao Yi¡¯s, swallowed the wine in one gulp, then put down her wine bowl while she shook her head and exined, "I¡¯m not showing you favor, in truth, I myself feel empty and lonely. I just want to find someone to talk to."


    Miao Yi was startled and asked, "Why me?"


    "We share a previous acquaintance in the Mystic Arts Temple, and coincidentally you¡¯ve also taken advantage of me before. If I don¡¯t look for you then who else?"


    ¡¯Still bringing that up?¡¯ Miao Yi¡¯s face twitched.


    With a smile, the Lady Boss then waved her hand and said in jest, "I was just joking with you! As a woman, even I¡¯m not taking to heart the matters of the past, so what reason should you, a man, be affected by it? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to devour you! It is true, I genuinely feel empty and lonely, and I only want to find someone to talk to. I want someone that I can rx with, someone I can talk to casually as I please."


    Miao Yi tried to pry, "Don¡¯t you have anyone to talk to usually? You have quite a number of subordinates within the Tavern, right?"


    The Lady Boss shook her head with a smile, an expression implying ¡¯you do not understand¡¯ on her face, then pointed her finger into her now empty wine bowl, signaling him to pour wine for her. "If a rtionship between a man and a woman grows too close, it is easy to give rise to unbing gossip, especially for a beautiful woman like myself, who has always been prone to stir up a man¡¯s heart. Too close could also lead to him misunderstanding the rtionship. I do not wish to cause them any hurt. Little brother, you would not question my beauty, right?"


    ¡¯This woman is a real narcissist. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never seen beauties lovelier than you!¡¯ Miao Yi coughed dryly, then vaguely cited, "As beautiful as an angel! As beautiful as an angel!"


    "Why do I feel that there isn¡¯t an ounce of sincerity in these words of yours?" The Lady Boss rolled her eyes at Miao Yi and continued from where she left off, "There¡¯s not much to be said about them anyway. They know me very well¡ªsome words I don¡¯t even need to voice out yet they would already understand. What more is there for me to talk with them about? I only wanted to find someone whom I could casually talk to."


    "I know, it¡¯s just that..." Miao Yi nced to the left and right of the Lady Boss¡¯s room and asked hesitantly, "Then are you not afraid of gossip spreading about us?"


    The Lady Bossughingly replied, "Do you think that I would allow you to keep on taking advantage of me? Herein lies the disparity between you and me: you¡¯re hardly qualified to be associated in gossip with me. To put it coarsely, even if you have the evil intentions of a crook, you stillck a crook¡¯s guts!"


    Miao Yi was dumbfounded. This was being overly derisive, though he must honestly admit, that it really was the case¡ªpossessing an evil heart but not the evil courage.


    Then he must drink a few more bowls, damn it! It would be such a waste to let the opportunity pass! Miao Yi then vigorously gulped down a few bowls in session.


    "Hehe..." The Lady Bossughed as she pped the table in excitement, pointing her finger at Miao Yi while chuckling heartily.


    After leaving the Lady Boss¡¯s room, Miao Yi then used his transcendence energy to disperse the strong stench of liquor on his body and went back to his own room. He inwardly resolved to never be the Lady Boss¡¯s drinking partner after this, not ever again. A meal that you can look upon but not partake, why should he join in? It would only make one tempted with the enticement. He was still sane, and he had yet to settle his own problems, how could he have the mood to listen to her incessant chatter?


    He was just about to sit cross-legged on the bed, preparing to cultivate as a means of passing time while waiting for the decree from the Traversing Water Pce. Who would¡¯ve predicted that the previously bolted door would spring open by itself, while the shadows of three men leaped inside and drew the door shut. It gave him quite the scare as he reflexively jumped up. Was it not said that this Tempest Tavern was very safe?


    As soon as he could clearly make out who it was, he was rendered stupefied.


    The cook, carpenter, and stonemason moved to sit beside him like old acquaintances. The cook even had his arm around Miao Yi¡¯s shoulders as he snickered, "Niu Er, the Lady Boss didn¡¯t do anything to you, did she?"


    ¡¯Niu Er?¡¯ Miao Yi finally understood. This band of people had, in fact, recognized him earlier on. Now he could somewhatprehend the objective behindst night¡¯s braised pork leg in soy sauce and this morning¡¯s noodles. This band of bastards had intentionally set out to entrap him! He objected on the spot, "A man and a woman coexisting within a room, you tell me what could happen?"


    The three of them abruptly stared at Miao Yi in wide-eyed suspense and asked in unison, "So what happened?"


    Miao Yi moved from his cross-legged pose, unwinding and straightening his legs. His face was awash with an expression that spoke of a lingering, pleasant memory as he clicked his tongue and said, "The Lady Boss¡¯s figure is really perfect, almost too much to cope with!"


    This was clearly misleading them into thinking that he and the Lady Boss were up to indecent deeds just now. The eyeballs of these three people nearly popped out of their sockets, and the carpenter spoke doubtfully, "It¡¯s impossible, is it not?"


    With arms akimbo, Miao Yi countered, "How could it not be possible? If you don¡¯t believe me, you can go ahead and ask the Lady Boss yourselves."


    Astonishment was written on their three faces, and they gazed at Miao Yi, finding his im incredulous. Apparently, it was very hard to believe that Miao Yi could win over the Lady Boss after only just meeting her.


    But the cook¡¯s gaze then suddenly shifted¡ª"Pa!"¡ªa resounding pnded on the back of Miao Yi¡¯s head, almost toppling him off the bed.


    Miao Yi red up indignantly, "What are you doing?"


    The cook rose to his feet and pointed at Miao Yi, telling the other two, "Don¡¯t listen to him talk nonsense! We were almost tricked by him, this brat was trying to hoodwink us! If we really listened to him and went to the Lady Boss to probe, what do you think the consequences would be?"


    ¡¯I¡¯ve been exposed!¡¯ Yet, the Miao Yi who was thinking of exacting some payback said with an air of nonchnce, "I was just stating a fact. It¡¯s not my problem if you fellows think indecently and let your imaginations run wild with immoral thoughts. Why should you me it on me?"


    Both the carpenter and the stonemason were taken aback as they gasped in shock. The carpenter pointed at Miao Yi and said, "During that time at the Mystic Arts Temple, I thought that you were a pretty good kid. Howe you¡¯re now full of evil tricks?"


    The stonemason scrutinized Miao Yi up and down, trying to size him up. "Kid, you didn¡¯t deliberately take advantage of the Lady Boss all those years ago, did you?"


    Miao Yi was startled and said, "You¡¯ve seen through that too? I already confessed to the Lady Boss just now. The Lady Boss said never mind and even asked me to apany her in drinking wine more often. I was just pondering on what the Lady Boss could mean. You all know her well¡ªwhat did she mean by that?"


    Bang! The cook suddenly gave Miao Yi a kick knocking him onto the bed. At the same time, the other two also jumped onto the bed together, seizing Miao Yi as they rained down blows and kicks.


    How could the flimsy wooden bed frame withstand the rambunctious motions of four men tumbling over it? The bed copsed with a crash.


    The cultivation level of these three people was too high. They beat Miao Yi until he was too weak to strike back. He wrapped his arms around his head as he huddled against the wall in the corner and howled, "Quit it! If you don¡¯t, then don¡¯t me me for being uncivilized!"


    Were it not for his belief that the three of them bore no malicious intentions to deal him a deadly blow, and he dared not make matters blow up once again, he could have burned down this whole ce.


    "What does it mean? You¡¯re asking what it means?"


    "It means you need a good beating."


    "This brat is too spoiled; the Lady Boss has suffered a great loss."


    After the brawl, the three of them uttered these words respectively as they turned around and left.


    Miao Yi, who was covering his head and huddled against the wall in the corner, then stood up. He tentatively touched his rear¡ªone might say that his whole body was covered in footprints. He grimaced in pain, his butt had borne the brunt of the onught, receiving most of the hits.


    Miao Yi wanted toin to the Lady Boss right away. However, upon reaching her door he then changed his mind and retraced his footsteps. On further thought, he was the one who didn¡¯t manage to cheat them. If he tried toin about it to the Lady Boss, perhaps he¡¯d end up being the misfortunate one.


    He could only suffer in silence¡ªsuch unspeakable bitter suffering. He re-entered his room and vented his anger by tossing the shattered bed frame out the window, fragments and all!


    He withdrew to his room and closed the door. Without the bed, he then sat cross-legged on the floor. With his strength inferior to theirs, he intended to endure this grudge for the time being. Tossing an Orb of Will into his mouth, he diligently cultivated, in the hopes of being able to avenge, in the days toe, this grievance of blows and kicks he suffered.


    Who would¡¯ve expected that as night fell, the door bolt would swing open yet again? The schr entered once more, his hand at his back, and crouched down in front of Miao Yi who was staring wide-eyed back at him. The schr then smilingly said, "I heard that the cook and the other two gave you a beating? This band of rascals, really! Later, I will admonish them on your behalf..." He rattled on and on.


    In the days toe, Miao Yi, eventually realized that this Tempest Tavern was in fact not safe for him at all. The bolt on the door was just for decoration. The four rascals coulde in whenever they wanted and never once knocked on the door.


    The carpenterter hoisted over a big chunk of wood and built a solid new bed for him out of it, right inside his room.


    The stonemason would bring over a stone whenever he was free and did carvings in front of Miao Yi.


    Whenever the cook was free, he would bring over two dishes he personally made and have a drink with him.


    These three rascals acted like they¡¯d never beaten him. And the schr, who was stationed at the front desk and was considered as the busiest person, would also find the time to seek him out for a game of chess. Even though Miao Yi didn¡¯t know how to y chess, the knowledge was eventually forced onto him.


    What is this called? Miao Yi predicted that in another half year¡¯s time he would be able to break through to the Blue Lotus Sixth Grade. He wanted to make good use of his time to focus on cultivating, yet how could he cultivate in peace after being pestered in turns by these rascals?


    ¡¯I really can¡¯t win against them, damn it! Four Purple Lotus First Grades, how can I fight that?¡¯ Neither could he escape! If he could escape from this Tempest Tavern he definitely would¡¯ve fled outside and hidden from them. He could only hope that the news from Traversing Water Pce woulde sooner and if it gave him permission to return, he would certainly make haste to leave!


    He could be considered as having grasped the situation. What carpenter duties, or stonemason duties, or making dishes, drinking wine, and ying chess. Those were all just excuses. The four of them couldn¡¯t find anyone appropriate on a normal day and simply came to seek him out to chat, him being the fresh face around here. It seemed like the Lady Boss wasn¡¯t the only one feeling lonely and bored, they were all lonesome!

 Chapter 513 Captain Again?

    There were pros and cons to everything. Even though those bastards beat him up and made him severely ufortable, Miao Yi still got to know them better in the span of a few days.


    The Tempest Tavern was almost like his own house at this point; there probably wasn¡¯t any other guest who could go around as they pleased like he could. He had even entered the Lady Boss¡¯s room. Where else couldn¡¯t he go?


    Miao Yi asked about the devious four¡¯s background from time to time, but they always brushed him off with augh. More specifically, they wereughing wryly. They clearly didn¡¯t intend to discuss the issue. However, Miao Yi still managed to find out that the schr and carpenter originally worked under the Boss of Tempest Tavern, while the cook and stonemason belonged to the Lady Boss. But after the Boss was gone, the former naturally followed after the Lady Boss, and ended up spending more time with her than they did with the Boss himself. In actuality, the Lady Boss was the current owner of the Tempest Tavern. The so-called ¡¯Boss¡¯ was only there in name.


    Not long after the Tempest Tavern was established, the Boss was gone, and the whole ce had been managed single-handedly by the Lady Boss ever since.


    The one thing that Miao Yimented was that there was almost no point to how much closer he got to those four bastards. The Lady Boss and them pretty much stayed in the tavern all the time; they rarely ever stepped out and interfered with the problems outside. Otherwise, Miao Yi would definitely have a better time dealing with his troubles with four Purple Lotus experts by his side.


    He pretty much understood why those four woulde pestering him so often. Anyone would feel bored and lonely after being stuck in the same ce for several thousands of years.


    The other benefit to Miao Yi was that he got to know the general state of affairs in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea from them.


    Whatever happened in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, whoever got killed or robbed day after day, he was able to find out from the schr and the others. This made Miao Yi feel as though this ce was not as peaceful as its appearance seemed.


    Miao Yi was able to find out the Lady Boss¡¯s daily routine as well. In the mornings, she would walk around the tavern, then go back to her room to cultivate. Then, in the evenings, right when the sun was setting and the mist was dispersing away, she would bring a wine sk and head up to the roof to watch the sunset alone. It was a boring life indeed.


    Right on the tenth day of his stay in Tempest Tavern, Miao Yi was cultivating on top of his bed when a spirit eagle suddenly swooped in from his open window andnded on the head of his bed. The time taken for the reply was just as he had initially predicted.


    Miao Yi was instantly overjoyed. He hurriedly retrieved the jade archive from the tube on the spirit eagle¡¯s leg. As expected, it hade from Traversing Water Pce; the message was encoded with the cipher they had agreed upon.


    As he read through the jade archive, his expression gradually darkened. Traversing Water Pce hinted to him that the Realm Beyond Heaven had sent other groups to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea for the same mission as his, and told him to continue staying there to gather clues on the Netherdragon Ship. If he could achieve a great aplishment, he would be heavily rewarded once he returned.


    They also told him to head to the Chamber of Commerce branch in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea and look for the intermediary, and that he need not worry about Raincloud Manor.


    After feeding the spirit eagle, Miao Yi sent it off with his response to the decree. Once again, he politely stressed his desire to return, and that he felt he wouldn¡¯t be of much use on his own here.


    After sending off the spirit eagle, having made sure that he couldn¡¯t return just yet, Miao Yi wrote down another letter. He then took out another spirit eagle from his beast sack and sent it off. The letter was addressed to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, telling them that he was safe so that they wouldn¡¯t worry.


    At the front hall. Seated behind the counter, the schr was surprised to see Miao Yi walking out the front door. This was the first time he had stepped out of the tavern ever since his arrival.


    "Carpenter, care for a walk outside?"


    As he cautiously eyed his surroundings, Miao Yi made his way to the stable. He leaned on the railings, leisurely kicking the sand by his feet as he smiled and posed the question to the carpenter, who was in the middle of repairing the stable.


    In the entire tavern, the carpenter and stonemason were the only ones who frequently stepped out of the courtyard. They would often head out to bring back news regarding the current events of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, or to purchase supplies for the tavern.


    Even though Tempest Tavern had eighty tables and eighty rooms, ording to Miao Yi¡¯s observation, almost half the rooms were practically empty. The ones that dide to stay here were mostly trying to hide from their troubles outside and rarely set foot out the door. When they did, they would hurriedly leave. As such, not many people dined there either.


    Back then, he hade here in the dead of night, so he thought that was the reason why the ce was so empty. However, he now knew that there were barely more than three tables being upied in the front hall at any given time. Moreover, most of these people had onlye here to take a peek at the beautiful Lady Boss. Even though they couldn¡¯t have such a fine woman for themselves, they still wanted the eye-candy. As for the rest, they mostly had the employees bring their meals up to their rooms; there was barely any human interaction at all. Then again, most of them didn¡¯t want to talk to another person in the first ce. It was no wonder why the schr and the others hadtched themselves onto Miao Yi so tightly.


    "You¡¯re not afraid to walk outside?" The carpenter was astonished. He asked curiously, "What are you heading out for?"


    Miao Yi sighed. "I¡¯m going to the Chamber of Commerce to sell some things and exchange some crystals. The tavern¡¯s expenses are too high. And you guys won¡¯t make it free of charge for me either. I¡¯m running out of money to pay for my stay."


    The carpenter continued to cast a scrutinizing gaze at Miao Yi, before returning to his own chores. He didn¡¯t give any other response besides that.


    Miao Yi was lost for words. He asked, "Are you going or not? I¡¯m not familiar with these parts, so I don¡¯t know which direction I should go. Won¡¯t you lead the way for me?" He had already plotted out the path beforehand with the stonemason. The problem was that it wasn¡¯t safe for him to go out on his own. It was much safer to have an expert by his side.


    The carpenter put down his tools, turned around and pped the dust off his hands as he said, "I¡¯ll do it only this once. There won¡¯t be a next time!"


    "Fine fine fine! You only need to take me there once. I won¡¯t trouble you next time." Miao Yi hurriedly nodded.


    As soon as the they stepped outside the front gate, Miao Yi released the dragon steed. However, it immediately bolted off the second it left his grasp. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly as he watched it go.


    The carpenter asked curiously, "Why aren¡¯t you chasing after it?"


    "It belongs to Cheng Yingwu. Forget it. It¡¯s too much trouble to tame it since the owner is still alive. Just let it go look for its owner." Despite knowing the answer already, Miao Yi proceeded to ask, "Which way to the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce?"


    The carpenter raised his hand and gestured for him to head towards the right. The two of them then walked side by side, kicking up sand as they went.


    Within one of the nearby mud houses, behind a tiny gap on the window, a set of eyes quickly narrowed as they watched Miao Yi exit the Tempest Tavern. The person then turned and said to the ck-robed individual cultivating in the corner of the room, "The target has exited the premises."


    The ck-robed person immediately opened their eyes and walked to the window.


    These people were both donned in full ck attire. The taller one was called Liu Yun, while the shorter one was called Liu Sha, and these two were brothers. Evidently, these were not their real names, but that fact was unimportant. The important thing was that these two belonged to the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea¡¯s assassin organization¡ª¡¯Peony¡¯, and that they both possessed a Red Lotus First Grade cultivation.


    As he walked beside Miao Yi, the carpenter abruptly turned his head towards their direction. The two of them quickly hid themselves to the side, then quietly left the house.


    The Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce branch was not far from Tempest Tavern; it was only about five miles away. The building itself was much grander than Tempest Tavern, though, and was actually three stories high. It was also surrounded by a dense growth of palm trees all around.


    Miao Yi raised his head to look at the sign on top of the gate. He then proceeded to walk inside while the carpenter sat outside the door and waited.


    As he made his way past the giant mud-walled courtyard and into the main hall, one of the tellers quickly approached him with a business smile. "Good day, sir. Are you looking to make a purchase, or perhaps you wish to sell something?"


    The main hall had a very borate design, and there very few people inside. Miao Yi scanned his surroundings, then secretly took out a jade archive and handed it to the teller.


    The teller couldn¡¯t help his surprise as he read through the jade archive. He gave Miao Yi a scrutinizing gaze, then extended his arm in gesture. "Come with me."


    Miao Yi followed him back to the rear hall.


    The architecture of the Chamber of Commerce building was different from the Tempest Tavern. The tavern¡¯s design was that of three individual sectors separated by multiple entrances at the various levels of entry, whereas the Chamber of Commerce was essentially just one giant building.


    The rear hall was most likely only essible by Chamber of Commerce employees. There, a white-bearded old man could be seen cultivating upon a wide chair. The teller bade Miao Yi to wait for a moment, then stepped forward and handed the jade archive over to the old man.


    After the old man read through the jade archive, he instructed the teller to wait there, while calling out to Miao Yi, "Come with me."


    Miao Yi followed the old man from the rear hall, up a flight of stairs, all the way to the third floor, then entered an isted room.


    Inside the room, a tall, slender man was seen cultivating. He was a handsome man; fair of skin, with a set of beautiful sharp eyes.


    After reading though the jade archive the old man had brought, the handsome man had him step down. He then stared down Miao Yi and conveyed his thoughts through voice transmission. "So you¡¯re Miao Yi, the tenth ce holder of the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?"


    ¡¯My cultivation may not be high, but my fame sure is well-known!¡¯ Miao Yi thought in a self-deprecating manner. However, in front of the person before him now, he didn¡¯t even have the guts to breathe slightly louder than normal. The other party naturally emitted a sense of dominance that was present in those who stood inmand of the masses. Even though Miao Yi had seen several bigwigs himself, none of them seemed topare with the aura surrounding the man before him right now. His beautiful sharp eyes, especially, just seemed to naturally exude a sense of pride that caused those who beheld it to instinctively humble themselves; and his every word, coupled with that deep,manding voice, seemed to carry an immense weight that pressed down on a person¡¯s heart and forced them to be helplessly anxious.


    Miao Yi hurriedly replied with voice transmission, "Yes, sir!"


    The other person then said, "I hear that you even managed to keep the Ghost Sage¡¯s disciple on his toes with your long sword back in the Subjugation Crusade. Your actions undoubtedly caused our Celestial Nation cultivators to feel great pride."


    "Those are all just rumors!" Miao Yi politely replied. Deep down, he thought, ¡¯That¡¯s Yan Beihong, okay? Not me!¡¯ He then cupped his fists and asked, "May I have the pleasure of knowing your name, sir?"


    "Guo Shaohai! I¡¯m your liaison." The person continued, "I already know about the situation with your group. Now isn¡¯t the time to fight with the Hive Gang; we must prioritize the mission above all else. Your confrontation with the Hive Gang has undoubtedly proven your capabilities in killing your way through to the tenth ce in the Subjugation Crusade. Even after all yourrades have perished, you were still able to hold the Hive Gang¡¯s Sixth Young Lady hostage and save yourself. Your ability is remarkable indeed!"


    Miao Yi cupped his fists. "Senior Guo is exaggerating."


    "No need to be so humble!" Guo Shaohai straightened his legs and walked over. He handed the jade archive back to Miao Yi and said, "It just so happens that another group has arrived. I will shortly transfer you over to that team so that you may continue on with your mission. You shall lead them as Captain!"


    "Me? Captain?" Miao Yi pointed to himself in shock. ¡¯Appointing me Captain again? Are you kidding me? All the people under me have died, and you still want to hand me more troops?¡¯ He hurriedly waved his hand and said, "I am afraid my abilities are limited. Please appoint another more suitable candidate, Senior Guo."


    "Now is not the time for humility. If you have what it takes to handle the task at hand, then by right, you should showcase your skills. The mission should be your top priority. Once you¡¯ve seeded, you will naturally be heavily rewarded." Guo Shaohai waved his hand, indicating that the matter was decided, and continued, "You are currently staying in Tempest Tavern, correct?"


    "Yes, sir!"


    "The Chamber of Commerce has recruited fifty loose cultivators to harvest the ¡¯Moondawn¡¯ spiritual herb, and thirty of them consist of our people in disguise. Tomorrow morning, they will pass by the entrance of Tempest Tavern. During then, you can simply blend in with them."


    "Understood, sir!"


    "There¡¯s one other thing you should remember. After you¡¯ve managed to find traces of the Netherdragon Ship, send word back immediately. At the same time... to avoid the information from being leaked, leave no survivors among the other twenty unrted loose cultivators. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?"


    "..." Miao Yi hesitated for a moment, then cupped his fists and answered, "Your subordinate shall fulfill the task assigned to him!"


    "If you manage to do your task well, then a Hall Master¡¯s seat will surely be yours to take." Guo Shaohai waved his hand and continued, "Now, go!"

 Chapter 514 Demon-Subduing Vajra

    ¡¯You sure know how to talk big. I can be a Hall Master just because you said so?¡¯ Miao Yi grumbled in his head. It was no longer a matter of whether or not it was difficult for someone with his cultivation to be a Hall Master. Rather, it was outright impossible. If they really made him Hall Master, the higher-ups would end up being aughingstock.


    Think about it this way. During the handover of the annual tribute, all the other Hall Masters would be flying to Traversing Water Pce, whereas he would be riding over on his dragon steed. By the time he arrived, everyone was probably already escorting the Pce Lord to the capital city. Would he have to continue chasing after them on horseback then?


    ¡¯And this guy says that a Hall Master¡¯s seat is mine to take? He¡¯s just trying to beguile me. There¡¯s no way someone with a cultivation like mine can ever be a Hall Master. There never was, and there never will be. After all, there¡¯s no way the public can ept being subordinate to someone weaker than them. A heavy reward, though, is not entirely impossible.¡¯


    "Senior Guo, does the Chamber of Commerce have a dragon steed I can borrow?" Before he left, he continued, "My mount perished during my scuffle with the Hive Gang."


    "Just go ask one of the guys outside. Tell them I gave the order. Once you¡¯ve aplished your mission, we¡¯ll reward you with a flying mount."


    ¡¯And yet another empty promise. It sure is easy to give false hope like nobody¡¯s business when you don¡¯t have to deliver them. Do you honestly take me for a fool?¡¯ Miao Yi grumbled deep down again. He politely gave his acknowledgment, then excused himself.


    The second Miao Yi set foot outside the door, another person appeared inside the room. Lao Bai¡¯s graceful visage had abruptly formed out of thin air, his gaze calmly scanned Guo Shaohai, who stood before the window with his hands behind his back.


    Guo Shaohai abruptly turned around, casting a piercing gaze across the room with his beautiful sharp eyes. His re reflected the powerful aura underneath that was capable of causing men¡¯s hearts to quake in fear as he instantly locked onto the ce Lao Bai had just been standing on.


    It seemed he was able to sense something, but he couldn¡¯t see anything. After briefly appearing, Lao Bai had disappeared just as silently.


    Guo Shaohai slowly turned around and scanned the room. Seeing that there was nothing amiss, he frowned. It seemed he still harbored some suspicions...


    As Miao Yi walked down the corner of the stairs, he bumped into the white-bearded old man who had guided him up previously. He continued following the old man down, then said, "I¡¯m in need of a mount. The one inside has asked for you to give one to me."


    "Alright!" The white-bearded old man immediately agreed.


    ¡¯That was quick. He didn¡¯t even bother asking if it¡¯s true!¡¯ Miao Yi then said jokingly, "I also need a decent Third Grade Transcendent Artifact!"


    "Alright!" The white-bearded old man immediately nodded and agreed again.


    "..." Miao Yi was utterly dumbfounded. ¡¯Are you serious? You¡¯re not even going to confirm with the person inside before deciding to give it to me?¡¯


    After making their way downstairs, the old man instructed the teller from before to prepare a dragon steed, then asked for Miao Yi to wait awhile.


    Miao Yi looked around the empty room with a hand on his chin in curiosity. ¡¯That old man isn¡¯t really going to give me a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact, is he?¡¯


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t have to wait too long before the old man returned, and in his hands was an actual sleek, ck vajra, which he proceeded to hand over to Miao Yi.


    Still a little addled, Miao Yi grabbed the vajra artifact, then injected it with his transcendence energy. The vajra immediately started emitting a red glow, causing Miao Yi to be even more astonished. ¡¯He¡¯s really giving me a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact?!¡¯


    The old man then extended his arm in gesture. "The dragon steed is already waiting in the courtyard outside. You can just take it yourself."


    "Okay!" Miao Yi turned around and walked out to the courtyard, where the teller from before pulled over a dragon steed and handed it over to him.


    Miao Yi turned back to look at the hall, then gave the vajra artifact in his hand a light shake, causing its nine hoops to ring vibrantly. He then scanned his surroundings and quickly tucked the vajra artifact away, deciding it was best not to reveal his treasure so publicly.


    He leaped onto the dragon steed¡¯s back, and after a brief exchange with the dragon steed in the courtyard, he ultimately managed to subdue it. He then charged out the gate and beckoned to the carpenter who was waiting for him outside. "Let¡¯s go!"


    The carpenter stood up and walked beside Miao Yi. Shortly after, he looked up at Miao Yi, who was seated on his dragon steed and still looking a little dazed, and said, "Are you trying to show that I¡¯m your subordinate by sitting so high up?"


    "Uhh..." Miao Yi snapped back to reality and hurriedly jumped down. He waved his hands and chuckled, "I didn¡¯t mean to do that. I was just a little too distracted to notice just now."


    The carpenter looked around, then replied in a casual tone, "Kid, this ce is none other than the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. You¡¯d better keep your wits about you now that you¡¯re out of the tavern. Otherwise, you won¡¯t just be losing focus, but your life as well!"


    "Yeah, yeah, you¡¯re absolutely right." Miao Yi gave a perfunctory reply, the absent-minded expression on his facepletely saying otherwise.


    "Are you high or something? Why are you smiling to yourself like an idiot?"


    "Ahh! It¡¯s nothing. Was I really smiling like an idiot?"


    "Moron!"


    "Hey, I¡¯m neither *freeloading here, nor am I taking advantage of the tavern. I¡¯ve paid all of my dues. Not to mention, I haven¡¯t forgotten about the time you guys beat me up."


    "You should be grateful that we didn¡¯t pummel you to death. You taking advantage of the Lady Boss is the same as taking advantage of the tavern."


    "Can¡¯t you people stop mentioning this for once? We¡¯re outside right now! It doesn¡¯t matter what happens to my reputation, but if the Lady Boss¡¯s dignity is damaged, won¡¯t all of us be held responsible?"


    The two continued to banter as they made their way back to the tavern. They then bumped into the stonemason, who was coincidentally walking around the courtyard. Miao Yi hurriedly pulled his dragon steed over to the stable and locked it in, then said, "Stonemason, take good care of my mount."


    The stonemason rolled his eyes in disdain, but he didn¡¯t refuse. It was his and the carpenter¡¯s job to take care of the mounts in the tavern in the first ce.


    "Kid, why are you running away so fast for?" The stonemason turned back and shouted. He had just pulled out a stone tablet for Miao Yi to register his dragon steed, but the guy just up and ran away without so much as a sign as if he had a nasty case of diarrhea.


    "Stonemason!" The carpenter called out, and the two started mumbling to one another.


    "Niu Er!" Sitting behind the reception counter, the schr called out to Miao Yi when he saw that he had returned.


    However, Miao Yi just returned a simple wave before hastily rushing off.


    Once he was back in his room, Miao Yi immediately shut all the windows and the door. He even took out a dagger to seal off the bolt around the doorpletely.


    He then perked up his ears and listened to his surroundings. After making sure there was no one outside, he took out the demon-subduing vajra artifact and quickly injected it with his transcendence energy signature to register himself as its owner. He then focused his transcendence energy throughout the artifact toprehend its inner workings.


    After getting a general understanding of how it works, he held out the vajra with one hand and activated it with his transcendence energy.


    The vajra artifact immediately started shining with a crimson glow, and the nine hoops attached around it slowly began to spin, gradually picking up speed.


    Ding ding ding...


    With nine chimes, the hoops abruptly broke out and flew off from the vajra, quickly expanding over ten times their original size. They transformed into nine giant, glowing red hoops, orbiting around Miao Yi in mid-air.


    With a vajra in his hand and nine shining hoops rapidly hovering about him, Miao Yi emitted an extraordinary aura as if he was some powerful saint. However, his expression was terribly pale.


    Ding ding ding...


    With another nine chimes, the hoops shrunk back into their miniature size and reattached themselves onto the vajra.


    Like a deted balloon, Miao Yi crashed onto his bed, clutching tightly onto his vajra artifact with a deathly pale expression on his face. However, despite how weak he looked, he couldn¡¯t help smiling idiotically to himself.


    ¡¯Calm down, me! This isn¡¯t just a normal Third Grade Transcendent Artifact; it¡¯s a transformative top-tier Third Grade Transcendent Artifact! I wonder how many Third Grade Yao Cores must have gone into making this. Well, either way, it¡¯s not like I can wield this transcendent artifact properly with my Blue Lotus Fifth Grade cultivation. I can barely change the forms of the nine hoops, let alone the vajra itself. How can I possibly use it to fight my enemies? It¡¯s not something I can control at all with my level of cultivation at the moment.¡¯


    ¡¯But what does that matter? Even if I can¡¯t use it for the time being, I can still hold onto it. What¡¯s most important is the value of this transcendent artifact. After trying it out once, I am positive that the worth of this demon-subduing vajra artifact alone is higher than all the loot I plundered during the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade.¡¯


    ¡¯Frickin¡¯ hell! Did that old man really need to go so far? I was only just kidding. He didn¡¯t even bother asking anything before handing me a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact, and a top-tier one at that! This is just way too generous, much more so than the fifty million Gold Crystals I had received from Granny Tao. In fact, it is so generous it¡¯s almost aggravating!¡¯


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t afraid that the other party would hold him responsible for thister on either. It wasn¡¯t as if he had asked to be given the transcendent artifact. He only casually mentioned that he needed one in passing. The old man was the one who gave it to him of his own ord. If they wanted to take it back afterward, then they were free to do so. But what if they really handed this vajra artifact over to him? Perhaps this would be the reward he was promised for the sessfulpletion of this mission.


    As Miao Yi thought about this, he started regretting not asking for a couple more expendable items. After all, there was no way they could get him to return the things that he had already used up.


    However, now that the transcendent artifact was already given to him, it wouldn¡¯t be as easy to get it back. After all, this was the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, a ce where it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for someone to be robbed...


    "If I said I needed a Fourth Grade Transcendent Artifact back then, I wonder if they would give me one..." Miao Yi held onto the transcendent artifact and mumbled to himself, then burst into crazedughter once more. ¡¯I¡¯m rich! I¡¯d better think of what to ask for next time and see if I can get away with it again.¡¯


    The sound of footsteps outside caused Miao Yi to be rmed, finally realizing that he had lost himself a bit in all the excitement. He quickly tucked away the demon-subduing vajra artifact and tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth as he began cultivating to restore his transcendence energy...


    Early the next morning, Miao Yi was in the front hall for once, enjoying his breakfast slowly.


    The ever-beautiful Lady Boss walked out onto the front hall from the rear courtyard. When she saw Miao Yi, she tossed him an alluring smile, then walked over to the table where he was eating and traced her finger across the surface the way she always did to check if it was clean. She wasn¡¯t in a rush to start her patrols. Pushing on the back of her skirt with both hands, she sat herself down next to Miao Yi, crossing her legs as shezily tilted her head to face him. While the cloud-patterned shoe on her foot gently swayed, her wless calves could be seen under the green frilly muslin skirt that was adorned with tiny golden pearls at its edges. Her every move carried a seductive allure about it; this was the true definition of sex appeal.


    Miao Yi raised his head to look at her and smiled. "Good morning, Lady Boss!"


    As she rested her chin on her arm, the Lady Boss smiled back with her beautiful eyes. "Why haven¡¯t youe to drink with me?"


    "I don¡¯t have the guts. After drinking with youst time, I almost got beaten up to death by three bastards. How could I possibly have the audacity to go looking for you for a drink again? Not unless I¡¯m tired of living, that is," Miao Yi scoffed, then said sarcastically, "They all say that Tempest Tavern is the safest ce in the entire Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, but the way I see it, there¡¯s no ce more dangerous. There¡¯s a Purple Lotus cultivator lurking in almost every corner, making even escape impossible."


    The Lady Boss was taken aback, turning her head towards the schr who was behind the receptionist¡¯s desk. Thetter hurriedly waved his hands and said, "That¡¯s not my fault. The cook and the others were the ones who did it. I¡¯ll go give them an earful after this."


    The Lady Boss turned back towards Miao Yi and smiled. "I can see that you guys must have gotten quite close for them to fool around with you like that."


    Miao Yi asked, "You call beating someone up fooling around? Why don¡¯t you let me beat you up then, and we can say I was just fooling around?"


    The Lady Boss winked yfully and nodded. "Sure, I don¡¯t mind. I won¡¯t move a single inch. Give me your best shot."


    Miao Yi rolled his eyes at her. ¡¯Even if you¡¯re willing, I need to have the balls to make my move too, you know?¡¯


    Suddenly, the sound of rumbling footsteps could be heard from outside. Miao Yi tilted his head towards the gate to listen. Once themotion quieted down, he put down his chopsticks and stood up with a smile. "I¡¯m done eating. Lady Boss, you¡¯re a busy woman. I won¡¯t be bothering you any longer!"

 Chapter 515 Dejected Old Acquaintances

    "I¡¯m not busy, and you¡¯re not bothering me either. I have plenty of time." As she rested her head upon her arm, the Lady Boss gestured with her chin. "Sit down and talk with me for a bit. Don¡¯t always coop yourself up in your room. Tell me about the time they beat you up. I¡¯ll help you deal with them afterward."


    "It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m afraid that once you deal with them, they¡¯ll just take it out on me again." Miao Yi sighed, then lifted his leg over the stool and walked off.


    The Lady Boss smiled. "Alright then. I¡¯ll be waiting for you on the rooftop tonight for a drink. My treat. Think of it aspensation for what they did. I won¡¯t leave until you show up."


    "This..." Miao Yi revealed an apologetic smile. "I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to attend."


    The Lady Boss immediately raised an eyebrow. "This Lady Boss is so beautiful. Many people can only dream of getting me to buy them a drink. And you¡¯re declining my invitation?"


    "I wouldn¡¯t dare!" Miao Yi pointed to the door. "I¡¯ve been staying here for too long. I¡¯m going to go out for a walk."


    "Go out?" The Lady Boss frowned. "Little boy, don¡¯t say your big sister didn¡¯t warn you. With your cultivation, you¡¯d best not run around outside before you possess enough strength. Otherwise, you might not even have enough money leftover to pay for your amodation fees."


    The schr also circled around the counter and said, "Niu Er, your stay will be terminated after tonight. Why don¡¯t you just pay the fees first? That way, you won¡¯t have to worry about not having enough money for amodation once you return."


    "I probably won¡¯t being back so soon! Lady Boss, innkeeper, let us meet again if fate wills it!" said Miao Yi as he cupped his fists.


    The other two were taken aback by his words. The Lady Boss stood up and asked, "You mean to say you¡¯re leaving?"


    "If I ever get another chance, I¡¯lle drink with you again!" Miao Yi cupped his fists again, then turned around and strode off.


    The Lady Boss and schr slowly followed him out the door and watched as he left!


    Miao Yi walked towards the stable and pulled his mount out. While he was fixing up the stable, the carpenter suddenly transmitted his voice over. "Niu Er, don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you. Someone has been watching you ever since you walked out yesterday. I suggest that you don¡¯t run around recklessly."


    Miao Yi was taken aback. He responded in kind and thanked the carpenter. "I have to leave this ce eventually. I can¡¯t spend the rest of my life cooped up in here."


    Even though he did want to stay and continue cultivating here, that was simply not possible. Not only did he have loved ones waiting for him, there was just no way he could ept that Third Grade Transcendent Artifact for free. If he really went against the higher-ups¡¯ order, then not even the Tempest Tavern would be able to keep him safe. After all, who would dare take the Celestial Sage for a ride? Not unless that person was truly capable of hiding themselves out till the end of time, that is.


    Miao Yi leaped up onto his dragon steed, then nodded towards the Lady Boss and the schr. After which, he rode out the earthen gate and took a gander at the crowd outside.


    As he swept his gaze across the crowd, Miao Yi was suddenly taken aback. Simrly, there were two in the crowd who shared the same reaction when they saw him as well. This was because these two people were none other than the Subjugation Crusade survivors¡ªPi Junzi and Tao Yongchun. The two of them were in quite the wretched state.


    It was a given that the three of them would be surprised to bump into each other again, and under such circumstances, no less.


    Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun wanted to greet Miao Yi, but thetter quickly turned away and pretended not to recognize them. They exchanged looks with one another, then decided it was best to stay quiet as well.


    As the person-in-charge issued themand, the people outside quickly leaped onto their mounts and started galloping towards the gate. Miao Yi quickly blended into the crowd as they passed by, and the whole group quickly departed.


    The three people inside the courtyard looked at each other. From the looks of things, anyone who wasn¡¯t aplete idiot could tell that the crowd outside had only been waiting for Miao Yi before continuing on their journey.


    The carpenter whispered, "I only went with him to the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce yesterday, and there¡¯s already a group of people waiting for him today. It looks like his trip here is not as simple as it seems."


    The Lady Boss huffed. "There¡¯s no way a Manor Head woulde all the way out here on a simple errand. Although I have no idea what they¡¯re nning, sending someone with that level of cultivation to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea."


    The carpenter said, "Let¡¯s not worry about what he¡¯s here to do. I just think it¡¯ll be dangerous for him now that he¡¯s out there. Yesterday, I found someone keeping an eye on him and tailing him from the shadows. If I wasn¡¯t around, I think that someone would have already made their move on him."


    The Lady Boss gave a simple reply, her eyes gleaming...


    Fifty riders galloped across the desert-scape filled with palm trees and houses, while a faint mist rolled about ten feet above their heads.


    This was indeed a strangend. Every morning, at the break of dawn, a thin nket of mist would envelop the skies, unabated by the zing sun and the billowing winds. Then in the evenings, just before sunset, the clouds would fade away quietly. It was a very peculiar phenomenon indeed, giving the otherwise destendscape of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea an added touch of mystery that was enough to inspire awe in one¡¯s heart the first time they saw it.


    Naturally, this strange phenomenon yed no small part in how Flowing Clouds Dune Sea got its name. However, the ¡¯Sea¡¯ in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea not only referred to the sea of sand that was all around, but also to the actual body of water that existed underneath theyer of sand and dirt. Below the ground, hidden away by the vast, boundless desert, was a great, dark ocean. Mysterious and profound, this ocean was tucked beneath the earth, never seeing the light of day.


    Oddly enough, no one knew if it was because of the sand or the ocean underneath, but there would constantly be battles going around Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. Every time the earth cracked and the sands cascaded down into the sea, it would immediately solidify into a hard crust, and almost instantaneously cover the water underneath back up. This was also the reason why this vast desert was not swallowed up by water this entire time.


    The reason why the locals had set up their houses on high ground was also quite simple; the higher areas were actually the inds on top of the ocean. It¡¯s just hard to tell because the whole ce was almost always covered by sand. Every time there was a strong wind, one would be able to see the ind that was hidden underneath. However, once the wind stopped, the sand would cover it all up again.


    On the other hand, it was much more dangerous to build a house on low terrain. If anything were to happen and the earthen crust beneath the desert were to crack, there was a high chance that the house and its owners would sink into the ocean depths altogether.


    Simply put, this ce was filled with a baffling sense of mystery. Miao Yi had also heard some rumors about it from before, but only aftering here did he finally get to know the whole story from the cook and the others.


    As Miao Yi and hispany passed by the numerous houses along the streets, the people inside would asionally peer out to take a gander at them. Meanwhile, the thirty administration officials that Guo Shaohai had arranged to go on this Moondawn harvesting excursion had already reported themselves to Miao Yi through voice transmission, indicating their adherence to hismand.


    "My lord, the entire Flowing Clouds Dune Sea has been divided into four search areas¡ªnorth, south, east, and west. We will be responsible for searching in the western sector. The higher-ups insist that we are not to let go of a single clue, whether it be above ground, or below it! We will also need to submit a progress report to them once every ten days. Later on, they will be sending us extra help in batches, allocating up to a total of five hundred men to us, as it would be too conspicuous to send too many people here in one go. However, those joining us in the future would be ignorant as to the true purpose of this mission, and will simply abide by ourmands."


    The leader of this group of people reported everything to Miao Yi. He was the one originally tasked with taking charge of the group, but because Miao Yi had suddenly appeared, he was demoted to bing his second-inmand.


    Miao Yi cursed deep down, ¡¯The whole Flowing Clouds Dune Sea is so damn huge. God knows when we¡¯ll find that ursed ghost ship thates and goes as it pleases by searching blindly like this? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if they just sent those that could fly to search for it?¡¯


    Even though he wasining, he knew that the idea itself was not practical. If the higher-ups had really sent arge batch of people flying around in search of the Netherdragon Ship, then it wouldn¡¯t just be the Celestial Nation troops searching for it; the other five nations would join the fray as well. Then there would be no point in keeping this whole thing a secret. Otherwise, this mission wouldn¡¯t have been so hush-hush in the first ce.


    ¡¯Good God! That Celestial Sage is nning to take the treasure of the Netherdragon Ship for herself! Is she plotting to unify the Six Nations?¡¯


    However, there was one thing he could be sure about¡ªthey weren¡¯t the only group that was sent on this mission. There were at least four groups searching the four sectors of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, which meant that the Celestial Nation had readied two thousand men to scour the whole ce.


    ¡¯That damned ship has been missing for so many years. It might as well just never show up. Why¡¯d it have to reappear and make my life so difficult? It would be fine if I can actually find it, but if not, god knows how much longer I would have to search for it in this god-forsaken desert before that woman the Celestial Sage is satisfied. Just think about the years of cultivation I¡¯m wasting here.¡¯


    As he grumbled deep down, Miao Yi transmitted his voice over to the other party. "Alright! I keep feeling as though someone is following us. Have the men be more vignt of their surroundings." He didn¡¯t forget the carpenter¡¯s warning before he left, and was prepared to break through the earth¡¯s crust and dive into the ocean the second he sensed something amiss.


    The Vice-Captain quickly scanned his surroundings, thinking, ¡¯Why am I not sensing anything?¡¯ However, he soon realized there must be something this ¡¯Niu Er¡¯ had that he didn¡¯t for the higher-ups to appoint him as Captain all of a sudden. There was no harm in staying alert in this ursed ce anyway, so he quickly conveyed the order down to the other subordinates.


    As the group marched on, their formation gradually changed. The administration officials quickly went on high alert and watched their surroundings vigntly. Miao Yi secretly nodded his head at this. This group of people was definitely much more capable than those sent over by Traversing Water Pce.


    Miao Yi quietly approached Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun, transmitting his voice to them as he asked, "Why are the two of you here?"


    "Didn¡¯t we tell you that we would be hiding our days out here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea after the Sea of Constetions Subjugation Crusade?" Pi Junzi replied.


    Tao Yongchun also asked curiously, "Why are you here?"


    Realization soon dawned on Miao Yi as he remembered that these two Yao cultivators had offended that bastard Bai Ziliang, and no longer had a ce of their own in the Sea of Constetions, and thus they came to hide in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea.


    "Let¡¯s not talk about why I¡¯m here. You will find out soon enough. I say, you two should have enough money in your pockets to live worry-free for a thousand years at least. How did you fall so far behind that you need to harvest Moondawn to survive? Were you guys robbed or something?" Miao Yi asked.


    Tao Yongchun smiled wryly. "You can put it that way! We handed over most of our belongings to Tempest Tavern to pay for our stay."


    "Tempest Tavern?" Miao Yi was taken aback, thinking, ¡¯Could that tavern be a shady establishment after all?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t help but voice out in disbelief, "Are you kidding me? You guys had so much on you back then. How is it possible that the amodation is that costly?"


    "What do you mean how? You just came out from the Tempest Tavern yourself..." Pi Junzi suddenly paused, then asked, "Did you juste here not too long ago? I can guarantee that you haven¡¯t been around for more than a month."


    "I¡¯ve been here for about ten days now. What¡¯s wrong with that?" Miao Yi asked curiously.


    "Of course something¡¯s wrong. Something¡¯s very wrong indeed." Tao Yongchun smiled wryly. "Back then, we made a great effort toe here. And since it was our first time around the area, we didn¡¯t dare venture out, and simply cooped ourselves up in Tempest Tavern immediately. Our first month was quite enjoyable. There was food and drink, and we didn¡¯t have to worry about our own safety. At the time, we figured it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to stay in the tavern until our cultivations had risen high enough for us to step outside. After all, we had more than enough resources, and ten thousand Gold Crystals a day wasn¡¯t too exorbitant a price tag for the room; only about ten low-grade Orbs of Will. That was a price we can live with too. Little did we expect that the amount would actually double upon the start of the second month. When we asked why, we were told that not only did the price double by the second month, it would continue to multiply itself twice over the price of the previous month every subsequent month. Our first month we spent about three hundred Orbs of Will, then our second month cost over six hundred orbs. You can go ahead and count yourself how much the room would cost after that."

 Chapter 516 Monopolizing the Marke

    "Uhh... Three hundred a month, then six hundred for the second month, then for the third month... You¡¯d be spending about six hundred thousand Orbs of Will per month after a year..." Miao Yi couldn¡¯t count further. He was in utter disbelief.


    "Now do you see the problem?" Pi Junzi sighed. "If someone stayed up to two years, they would have to pay over 2.5 billion low-grade Orbs of Will. Not even the Six Sages could afford it, let alone us! We couldn¡¯t keep up with the expenditure anymore after a year and a half, and were politely asked to leave the tavern."


    "A year and a half..." Miao Yi gasped. "Why were you guys so dumb?! How could you bear to stay there for a whole year and a half when it¡¯s so expensive?!"


    Tao Yongchun said dejectedly, "They didn¡¯t force us to stay either. After a few months, they politely told us about the pricing scheme and advised us to temporarily move out for a month. They said that the tavern only had eighty tables and eighty rooms and that there were simply too many people in the cultivation realm who wished to barricade themselves in the tavern, away from their enemies. If all these people were to stay there, then they wouldn¡¯t be able to run their business properly, hence they came up with this strategy. As long as someone stayed there every other month, then the pricing scheme would reset to the initial amount. That way, the guest would be able to save quite a bit of money. However, if they chose to stay there consecutively, then the tavern can only increase the price. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have enough rooms to amodate all the guests. They told us that the Tempest Tavern was a business establishment, not a safe house."


    "..." Miao Yi was utterly speechless. If that was the case, then what were those bastards plotting by trying to make him stay longer?


    Pi Junzi sighed again. "Still, how could we possibly dare to step outside? As we stayed in the Tempest Tavern, we heard that those who stay for several consecutive months were heavily targeted the moment they set foot outside. If we go out, we were sure to be robbed. And that¡¯s not even the worst part. We¡¯d be considered lucky if we didn¡¯t lose our lives as well. The people from the tavern kindly advised us to leave on several asions, but in the end, we were the ones who begged them to let us stay. This is how we ended up in such a miserable state. After staying for a year and a half, we couldn¡¯t afford to pay the amodation fees any longer. We only kept a couple of transcendent artifacts when we left, thinking we could still use them to put up a fight. However, the second we stepped outside the door, we were robbed by the Hive Gang. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t kill us and only took our transcendent artifacts. They even helped give us some pointers on how to survive in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. This is why you¡¯re seeing us here today."


    Miao Yi had no words to describe these two. He sighed in exasperation. "If I had known about this sooner, I wouldn¡¯t have given you two such arge share of the bounty during the Subjugation Crusade. How could you just hand over such a vast fortune so easily? Ahh, I¡¯m so annoyed!"


    Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun also sighed helplessly.


    "This ursed Tempest Tavern really is monopolizing its own niche market here in the cultivation realm. How much must they make in a year?" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help cursing.


    Pi Junzi sighed again. "You¡¯re telling me. Whether it be thieves on the run, people who embezzled money, or just wealthy folks who got caught in some kind of trouble, basically all those in the entire cultivation realm who offended the wrong people woulde and hide in the tavern in order to avoid certain death. And in the end, they would all give away their hard-earned resources to the Tempest Tavern. Even though the tavern might look like it doesn¡¯t have a lot of guests, but to be honest, all those staying there long-term are ridiculously wealthy. It is by no means a ce for poor folks to stay in. Although it¡¯s not a very big ce, I hear that it rakes in an astronomical figure in profits every year. The two of us have stayed there for over a year, and we¡¯ve seen many rich folks who were asked to leave the tavern after spending up all they had there. Naturally, the two of us belong in this category as well. Haa!"


    Miao Yi gasped in astonishment. "How is this any different than robbing someone when they¡¯re wounded? They¡¯re just doing it in a roundabout manner instead of forcing you to hand over your money like everyone else did... What a despicable way of doing things. And the guests are the ones who willingly hand over their belongings to them!"


    Tao Yongchun smiled wryly. "There¡¯s no helping it. Even if someone else wanted to start a simr business, they don¡¯t have the background for it. Not even the Six Sages could make a living out of this. In the entire cultivation realm, only the Lady Boss of Tempest Tavern has the qualifications to do such a thing. No one else can do what she¡¯s doing."


    Miao Yi had always been curious about the Lady Boss¡¯s background. Now that Tao Yongchun was talking about it, he couldn¡¯t help asking, "Why is that so?"


    Tao Yongchun replied, "Don¡¯t you know? The Lady Boss¡¯s name is Yun Zhiqiu. Yun is her surname!"


    Miao Yi answered, "I know this of course. But so what if her surname is Yun? You said that not even the Six Sages could make a living out of this. Even if she¡¯s somehow rted to Devil Sage Yun Aotian, what makes her so special?"


    Pi Junziughed. "You¡¯ve really hit the nail on the head. This Yun Zhiqiu is really rted to Devil Sage Yun Aotian; she¡¯s the daughter of his eldest son, which also means she¡¯s Yun Aotian¡¯s granddaughter. Moreover, she¡¯s his eldest grandchild. Out of all of the Devil Sage¡¯s grandchildren, she¡¯s the most senior, and also the one most favored by Yun Aotian himself!"


    "This..." Miao Yi was taken aback. This was indeed quite the powerful background. However, he couldn¡¯t help asking suspiciously, "You guys almost had me fooled there. If not even the Six Sages could do this kind of business, how is it possible that Yun Aotian¡¯s granddaughter can? Hold on, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s somehow rted to the Boss?"


    Pi Junzi acknowledged. "You got it right again. Do you know who the Boss is? His name is Feng Xuan, and he¡¯s the eldest grandchild of Dao Sage Feng Beichen. Those who didn¡¯t know probably would¡¯ve never guessed that the grandchildren of the two nemeses¡ªthe Devil Sage and Dao Sage, would actually get married to each other."


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "Yeah, exactly. How did those two get married?"


    Pi Junzi chuckled. "We only heard about this aftering here as well, but apparently, Feng Xuan was a tall, handsome young man back in the day. Not only was he blessed with good looks, but he was also a very approachable person, and had plenty of friends. Not only was he on good terms with the two Ancients of the North and South Poles, he made friends with a great number of mysterious experts and Demonic Behemoths. Moreover, the Five Emperors that ruled over Flowing Clouds Dune Sea were also his sworn brothers..."


    "Now wait just a minute!" Miao Yi cut him off. "Isn¡¯t Flowing Clouds Dune Sea under the control of the Two Braves? Since when were there ¡¯Five Emperors¡¯?"


    Tao Yongchun replied on Pi Junzi¡¯s behalf, "There were Five Emperors originally, but three were killed by Devil Sage Yun Aotian in a fit of rage. Even the Two Braves of today had almost lost their lives to Yun Aotian back then!"


    Pi Junzi continued, "This Feng Xuan really was quite the character back then. Not only did he possess a great aptitude for cultivation, he had friends all across the realm. You could say that he brought great pride to the Dao Sage Feng Beichen. Everyone would say that Feng Beichen had nothing more he could ask for with such a grandson. However, the problem arose fifty thousand years ago, when the Netherdragon Ship had suddenly resurfaced in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. The Six Sages all stormed towards it when they heard the news, but ended up with nothing after a vicious battle. And of all things, Feng Xuan and Yun Zhiqiu fell in love with each other right around that time as well. The two of them were nothing if not a match made in heaven, but their backgrounds only spelled terror for their love. It¡¯s because Yun Zhiqiu¡¯s parents, Yun Aotian¡¯s eldest son and daughter-inw had been killed by Feng Beichen way back when the Six Sages were still vying for control of the realm. And Yun Aotian himself had killed Feng Beichen¡¯s eldest son and daughter-inw out of revenge. Call it an eye for an eye. Because of this, not only would Yun Aotian never agree to Yun Zhiqiu marrying Feng Xuan, Feng Beichen himself was against the idea as well. That said, Feng Beichen loved this grandson of his very dearly, and in the end, he gave in to Feng Xuan¡¯s pleas and acknowledged Yun Zhiqiu as his granddaughter-inw. He even sent gifts over to the Great Devil Realm. However, this ended up sparking Yun Aotian¡¯s fury. He saw this as a disgrace, ming Yun Zhiqiu for even daring to fall in love with the grandchild of her parents¡¯ murderer. It was utterly sphemous to him. Unless he died, there was no way he would agree to her marrying the grandchild of the person who killed his son."


    Miao Yi clicked his tongue. "I never would¡¯ve guessed that that Lady Boss had such a backstory. So how did those two get together in the end?"


    Tao Yongchun smiled wryly. "Ultimately, those two decided to leave the rest of the world behind and cut themselves off from their respective families. They were going to abandon everything behind just so they could be together; they wanted to rely on themselves to live and not depend on the two Sages. And it just so happened that the Five Emperors of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea at the time were Feng Xuan¡¯s sworn brothers. Moreover, this is awless ce, making it the ideal location to start their new lives, away from the control of the Six Sages. Back then, Feng Xuan had secretly informed his five sworn brothers of the news ahead of time, and the Five Brothers immediately helped him set up a tavern right here and *named it after the couple, implying that the two of them had joined together in matrimony. This was also how the Tempest Tavern came to be. After which, Feng Xuan and Yun Zhiqiu sneaked themselves out and were about to marry each other and start their new lives here. The Five Emperors also nned out a major celebration for the two of them, decorating the entire Tempest Tavern in red. All that was left was for the two newly-weds to seal the deal. When the couple in question arrived, the entire group swarmed around them and immediately dressed them up in wedding robes. Apparently, right as the two of them were swearing their vows to heaven, a furious roar of thunder cracked across the skies and dark clouds quickly loomed over the ce. The Devil Sage Yun Aotian had personally chased them all the way here. Things started getting messy then!"


    ¡¯So something like that actually happened!¡¯ Miao Yi asked excitedly, "How messy was it?"


    Pi Junzi smiled and continued, "Devil Sage Yun Aotian is said to be the most powerful person in the entire cultivation realm. Besides the other Five Sages, who could possibly get in the way of such a man? Moreover, Yun Aotian had arrived in a blinding rage, causing the auspicious asion to turn into an unfortunate one. It is said that many people died at the time. While he was in his wedding robes, Feng Xuan was heavily injured by Yun Aotian, and even the Five Emperors who tried to stop him got hurt. Had Yun Zhiqiu not threatened to end her life if he didn¡¯t put a stop to it, then Yun Aotian probably would¡¯ve already turned Feng Xuan into mincemeat. At the time, Yun Aotian couldn¡¯t do anything against Yun Zhiqiu. She was adamant about killing herself if he didn¡¯tply. In the end, Yun Aotian decided to spare Feng Xuan. However, his stance remained the same; there was no way he would ever agree to Yun Zhiqiu marrying the grandson of the man who killed his child. He told Yun Zhiqiu that he was sorely disappointed in her, and even said that he would no longer acknowledge her as his granddaughter. He then took Feng Xuan away and imprisoned him within the Great Devil Realm. And even now, Feng Xuan is still trapped in there."


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "How could Feng Beichen possibly sit still knowing Yun Aotian had captured his grandson?"


    "Of course he couldn¡¯t. Not only did Feng Beichen go all the way to the Great Devil Realm to personally demand that his son be released, even the Five Emperors had gathered many of Feng Xuan¡¯s friends and rushed over to try and pressure Yun Aotian to release him. Yet, in the end, not only were they unable to force Yun Aotian to concede with their numbers, they even made him go into a burst of rage. It was nothing short of a massacre. Dao Sage Feng Beichen was heavily wounded; three of the Five Emperors were killed, resulting in the Two Braves you see today; and countless others perished under Yun Aotian¡¯s hands. Had the other Four Sages not tried to seize the opportunity to attack, forcing Yun Aotian to stay his hand, there might not even be the Two Braves in the current Flowing Clouds Dune Sea; they all would¡¯ve been killed by him." Pi Junzi chuckled.


    Miao Yi sighed in sorrow.


    Tao Yongchun then added, "Even though Yun Aotian said that he would never acknowledge Yun Zhiqiu as his granddaughter ever again, she was still his grandchild. Not to mention, Feng Beichen has personally acknowledged her as his granddaughter-inw, the Two Braves of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea call her their sister, and Feng Xuan¡¯s friends still support her for old times¡¯ sake. With the Devil Sage and the Dao Sage as her background, as well as the support from the local powerhouses of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea and several of those old geezers giving her face, even the other Four Sages would have to think twice before messing with Tempest Tavern. This was also the reason why it could monopolize this kind of business."

 Chapter 517 Inferno Qilin Spear

    "Tsk tsk! How much must they make in a year with such a monopoly?" Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help his astonishment.


    "I¡¯m not sure exactly how much they make, but anyway, I hear that the Lady Boss has to go to the Great Devil Realm and provide cultivation resources for the imprisoned Feng Xuan year after year. Haa! Feng Xuan is lucky to have such a woman. Even though he¡¯s been imprisoned for several tens of thousands of years now, it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to call it closed-door cultivation since there¡¯s no one to bother him. Who knows? He might even be able toe out and reunite with the Lady Boss one day. On the other hand, the Lady Boss is the one who has to maintain all these connections on her own... Apparently, when the Tempest Tavern just opened, it wasn¡¯t entirely smooth-sailing all the way. After all, it was no easy feat to get everyone to acknowledge an establishment like the Tempest Tavern. The Lady Boss must have gone through many difficulties to get the entire cultivation realm to slowly ept the rules set by the Tempest Tavern. As a result, she has earned the respect of a lot of people," Pi Junzi said.


    The beginning was always the hardest! Miao Yi nodded, gaining some new insight into the Lady Boss¡¯s personality. It was no wonder she and the others didn¡¯t want to talk about their past. It turned out they had such a trying period back then.


    The way ahead grew more deste, and there were no longer any houses to be seen around them. Miao Yi and hispany had already made it out of the area in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea where people congregated.


    Miao Yi scanned his surroundings vigntly and transmitted his voice over to Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun, "The two of you shouldn¡¯t havee here. There might be danger lurking about. If we encounter any danger, don¡¯t bother with anything else. Just remember one thing: Run!"


    Tao Yongchun refuted, "What danger could there possibly be? We couldn¡¯t be any more wretched than we already are. Most people wouldn¡¯t even bother robbing poor folk like us. As long as weply with the other party¡¯s demands obediently, then we can generally get by in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea."


    Pi Junzi responded in agreement. It was evident that the two of them had already gotten used to the lifestyle here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea after so many years.


    Miao Yi disagreed. "I¡¯m not joking around with you here. If there really is danger, then even I might have trouble staying alive. I won¡¯t be able to spare you two any extra attention."


    He didn¡¯t mention that someone had put a bounty on him, neither did he talk about the matter with the Netherdragon Ship. This was because once the Netherdragon Ship was found, the two of them would have to die.


    Tao Yongchun said, "Don¡¯t worry. With Pi Junzi around, we won¡¯t be in too much danger."


    Miao Yi was a little taken aback by how confident Tao Yongchun seemed. He asked, "How so?"


    "Did you forget what Pi Junzi is most skilled at? Digging!" Tao Yongchun smiled. "This desert is pretty much a yground to him. If there¡¯s any danger, we can always dig our way underground and escape. We¡¯re just two poor bastards. Not to mention, we¡¯ve hidden our true names and lived under the radar this whole time. Bai Ziliang doesn¡¯t know that we escaped all the way here, and it¡¯s not like we have any grudges with anyone else. No one will be persistent enough to try and kill us. This is what we¡¯ve always done whenever we encounter any danger. We¡¯ve long since grown ustomed to it."


    Miao Yi turned to look at Pi Junzi, and the rat spirit responded with a smile.


    Perhaps luck was just not on their side. Right as they were talking about danger, something happened. The crowd quickly scanned their surroundings but were unable to find anyone around them. Suddenly, just as they were approaching one of the sand dunes ahead, out came two ck-robed men. One wielded dual-swords, while the other wielded dual-deerhorn knives. Both of them stopped in front of Miao Yi and the others.


    These two men were none other than the assassins of Peony¡ªLiu Yun and Liu Sha.


    The crowd was greatly surprised, and Miao Yi¡¯s eyes instantly widened when he noticed that the other party was already staring straight at him. He firmly transmitted his voice over to his subordinates, "Circle around!"


    At the same time, he hoped that his judgment was wrong and that these two weren¡¯t here for him. He wanted to believe that things would be alright if they just circled around and tried not to get too close to those two.


    The second-inmand quickly raised his hand and gave the signal, riding in front and leading the rest of the troops away.


    Whoosh! With a swing of his hands, Liu Yun quickly tossed out two flying swords straight towards Miao Yi.


    With the two deerhorn knives in his hands, Liu Sha swiftly dashed over, with Liu Yun closely following behind as well.


    Judging from the faint blue hue on the transcendent artifact, it was evident that these two both wielded Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts. After all, it wasn¡¯t as if anyone could afford to use Third Grade Transcendent Artifacts.


    Two Red Lotus experts! The crowd was shocked.


    The loose cultivators of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea immediately broke off in different directions, whereas the officials that were hiding in the crowd viciously attacked the ground. Miao Yi did the same as well. With Qilin Spear in hand, he thrust it ferociously at the ground, thinking to dive into the ocean underneath.


    "So it¡¯s the two assassins from Peony¡ªLiu Yun and Liu Sha. These two also stayed at our tavern back when they just arrived at Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. This is bad! That kid Niu Er is done for. Their cultivation grades aren¡¯t even remotely on the same level!" The carpenter sighed.


    The Lady Boss, carpenter, and stonemason had suddenly appeared atop one of the sand dunes nearby. The Lady Boss¡¯s dress gently fluttered in the wind, entuating her beauty and her devastatingly enchanting figure. It was truly difficult for one to take their eyes off her.


    The three of them couldn¡¯t help feeling conflicted as they watched the situation before them y out. They had always taken a neutral stance to things and avoided getting involved in other people¡¯s problems. As such, they could do little but stand on the sidelines and watch on.


    Much like how Liu Yun and Liu Sha had kept their eyes on Miao Yi, so too did the carpenter keep his eye on the two of them. When Miao Yi and hispany had left, and the two of them quickly followed behind, the carpenter and the others quietly tailed them in turn. They wanted to see what these two were nning to do to Miao Yi.


    In the end, they quickly realized that Liu Yun and Liu Sha weren¡¯t simply following behind Miao Yi and his group. Rather, they determined the direction thetter was headed towards, then circled around and cut them off from the front. Evidently, the two assassins didn¡¯t want to make their move in a ce with too many people, and risk rming Miao Yi and his group. And meanwhile, the Lady Boss and the others had followed the two of them from behind.


    Within the cloud of dust and sand that billowed from the relentless attacks of over thirty cultivators, Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun quickly slipped away. They got off their mounts, holding each other¡¯s hands as they disappeared into the sand. Just as Tao Yongchun said, Pi Junzi was exceptionally skilled at burrowing into the sand.


    Miao Yi noticed something amiss the second his spear struck the ground beneath him; the sand was much too fragile, unlike normal soil. This meant that it had natural impact-dispersing capabilities. Without a high enough cultivation, there was no way one could hope to prate through the sand. Not even thirty people working together could hope to break through the sand and dive into the ocean underneath.


    They finally understood why those loose cultivators had immediately broken off into different directions earlier on.


    The situation wasn¡¯t as they assumed it would be, where it would be difficult to outrun a Red Lotus cultivator on a dragon steed on this vast, open desert. That way, they would still have a chance of surviving at least. Rather, it was even harder to make their escape trying to burrow into the sand. This was why those loose cultivators had chosen to split off and escape the second they encountered danger, instead of foolishly trying to dig their way underground like Miao Yi and the others did.


    Those cultivators had been living here for quite some time, and were evidently more well-informed as to the circumstances around these parts than Miao Yi and the others were. And it was precisely because of their inexperience that they had immediately plunged themselves into deeper peril.


    Just as Miao Yi had alighted from his steed, two flying swords immediately tore through his mount, creating a powerful spurt of blood as his dragon steed neighed in agony.


    Liu Yun and Liu Sha had closed the gap almost instantaneously. Anyone that stood in their way to killing Miao Yi were quickly dispatched of. With both deerhorn knives in hand, Liu Sha cleaved through the troops as though he was chopping up tofu. His hands moved deftly, cutting through the crowd and knocking them off their steeds, as he charged straight for Miao Yi with hardly a drop in momentum. No one could stand in his way. And closely following behind him was Liu Yun.


    Under Liu Yun¡¯s control, the two flying swords quickly changed directions after killing Miao Yi¡¯s mount, and started piercing through the bodies of both the cultivators and their dragon steeds who stood in his path, before quickly flying straight back for Miao Yi, who was frantically using the other troops as cover.


    Miao Yi was also dodging at impable speed. However, against thebined forces of two impossibly strong Red Lotus experts, his efforts could barely make any difference in the oue.


    "Haa!" Atop the sand dune, the Lady Boss sighed as she looked on, finding it a little difficult to watch. After all, Miao Yi could still be considered as one of her acquaintances.


    As he made another close dodge, Miao Yi tossed out a set of beads with a flick of the wrist. The eighteen beads glowed with a resplendent blue hue, and abruptly erged as they flew out. There was no longer any room for concern for hisrades. As the beads grew to table-sized orbs, they crashed into the other cultivators and their mounts who were beside Miao Yi.


    Bang bang! Two of the table-sized orbs were instantly cut down by the two flying swords; they were not capable of withstanding the attack of a Red Lotus cultivator.


    Fortunately, this transcendent artifact was a detached-type artifact. As long as the formation core wasn¡¯t damaged, it didn¡¯t matter if an orb or two was destroyed. Had it been one of those linked-type transcendent artifacts, the whole artifact might have beenpletely destroyed by now.


    The remaining sixteen giant orbs immediately bunched up together and protected Miao Yi in the center.


    As Liu Sha rapidly twirled his body, the pair of deerhorn knives in his hands made quick work of the troops around him. Screams of agony resounded as he then tossed out the knives, and they shot powerfully through the air.


    Boom boom! Another two orbs exploded in a cloud of ck mist.


    At that instant, wielding a pair of swords in his hands, Liu Yun quickly dashed forward and attacked through the opening between the orbs. He wanted to charge through and take Miao Yi¡¯s life in one fell swoop.


    Whoosh! A powerful wave of cold Yin energy abruptly gushed forth from the gap, instantly lowering the temperature in the vicinity.


    Liu Yun was startled. With a powerful stomp on the ground, he quickly shot to the skies like a shooting star. However, his legs were still caught in the attack radius of the cold yin energy, and was instantly covered in ayer of frost. That said, it didn¡¯t stop him from jumping up to the sky and avoid fallingpletely to the attack.


    Meanwhile, having just retrieved his deerhorn knives, Liu Sha didn¡¯t have enough time to dodge. However, he swung his arms across one another, and the sand beneath him exploded upwards, creating a defensive barrier that firmly blocked the Yin energy from reaching him.


    The two of them were greatly shocked. The tides were almost turned against their favor. However, it was evident that their experience in battle was not something the likes of Su Jinsong and the others from Suppressing Tenth Hall couldpare with.


    Within the bundle of orbs, when he noticed that his ambush with the Mystic Yin Mirror had failed, Miao Yi quickly realized that it would no longer be effective against the other two. The effect of the Mystic Yin Mirror was at its greatest only when used in a sneak attack.


    That said, using this time when the enemy wasn¡¯t attacking, the remaining fourteen orbs quickly tightened and sealed the gap between them back up, once again protecting Miao Yi in the center.


    Up in the sky, the frost around Liu Yun¡¯s legs quickly erupted. He had already dispersed the cold Yin energy, and to avoid falling for the same attack again, he viciously chopped down with both his flying swords.


    Meanwhile, Liu Sha pushed forward with his deerhorn knives, and the wall of sand in front of him immediately erupted towards the bead formation around Miao Yi like a hailstorm. At the same time, he tossed his deerhorn knives back out.


    The two of them no longer tried to engage Miao Yi in closebat. The reason for that was clear; they wanted to first break the transcendent artifact that was protecting Miao Yi.


    Boom boom boom boom! Another four orbs erupted into ck mist.


    Seeing the number of orbs protecting him gradually decreasing, Miao Yi realized that the transcendent artifact wouldn¡¯t be able to protect him for much longer. It would only spell death for him to continue turtling himself up like this. With a vicious expression, Miao Yi stepped onto the orb with the formation core hidden inside, then raised his spear and furiously bellowed, "Attack!"


    The sound of his fury echoed across the desert! The rage in his voice had even surprised the Lady Boss and the others, and they looked at each other in astonishment.


    It was important to note that there was no trace of fear in Miao Yi¡¯s shout from being in a perilous situation. Rather, he erupted with a fierce hostility instead!


    Vroom! A powerful ze suddenly erupted from the gap between the bundle of orbs. Following the intense wave of fire, the remaining ten orbs shot out and furiously swept through the surrounding area.


    Within the mes, Miao Yi stood like a fire god. Wrapped in his battle armor, he thrust his spear upwards, and a great me furiously erupted into the clouds above.


    The Inferno Qilin Spear that he had always refrained from using was now finally revealing its beastly fangs in the face of absolute danger!

 Chapter 518 Single Spear: Ten Deaths

    The sudden wave of heat caught Liu Yun by surprise. He hurriedly backed off, but arge piece of the robe around his back was already ckened and turned to ash.


    The raging ze swept through the surrounding area in a seemingly never-ending fury. It was as though it was a reflection of Miao Yi¡¯s anger, wanting nothing more than to swallow everything up in its path of destruction. With Miao Yi standing right at the epicenter, the powerful radiance resembled a giant blossoming flower of me. Miao Yi had stirred the Supreme Fire Crystal¡¯s destructive capabilities to its utmost potential.


    Noticing that the assassins¡¯ sole target was Miao Yi, and seeing that they could do little to stop them or save Miao Yi, the rest of the crowd immediately broke off into separate directions.


    Little did they expect that they would perish by the hands of their ownrade instead of the enemy¡¯s attack. The raging fires quickly caught up to them, then swallowed them up in an instant.


    "Ahh...!!" The agonizing screams were enough to make one¡¯s skin crawl.


    As he was too close to Miao Yi, Liu Sha had nowhere to run. The intense heat was immediately upon him, scaring him out of his wits. He swiftly swung his deerhorn knives and deflected two giant orbs that came straight at him.


    Then, in his haste, he hurriedly formed a cocoon of sand. The sand underneath his feet quickly gathered, forming an imprable barrier around him. The sand cocoon then abruptly shot upwards from the impact of the heatwave, its surface quickly melting from the zing mes, and the molten liquid slowly dripped down onto the desert below.


    Seeing that he failed to strike down Liu Yun, Miao Yi quickly twirled his spear around and beganunching his attack on Liu Sha instead.


    How could he miss such a good opportunity to attack at close-distance? Like a dragon, Miao Yi¡¯s spear shot out furiously. One thrust, two thrusts, three thrusts, four thrusts, five thrusts; the Qilin Spear wasunched out like a spark of lightning, with each strike quicker than thest.


    One after another, des of fire relentlessly charged at the cocoon of sand up in the sky. The intensity of the mes, along with the impable speed of Miao Yi¡¯s strikes, created numerous burnt holes on the cocoon in the blink of an eye.


    By the fourth strike, the cocoon of sand had crumbled away, and the person within was already charred ck. And by the fifth strike, the humanoid figure within the cocoon had instantly turned to ash; not even a scream could be heard from him.


    Meanwhile, a voice called out painfully, "Brother!"


    The pair of flying swords transformed into two streaks of light and abruptly shot towards Miao Yi through the mes. With a couple of flicks, Miao Yi drew forth two ming dragons from the fire with his Qilin Spear and sent them crashing towards the flying swords. However, a Red Lotus cultivator was still a Red Lotus cultivator after all. The two fire dragons instantly crumbled before the flying swords. That said, the force behind the swords had dropped significantly as well.


    The eight giant orbs circling around Miao Yi crashed against the flying swords repeatedly, eventually managing to knock them away.


    As Liu Yun swung his arms, the flying swords whirled about, then struck down at Miao Yi once more. Meanwhile, Miao Yi defended himself with another two ming dragons, then used the eight giant orbs to deflect the flying swords again.


    This exchange went on for a while, with neither side holding a decisive advantage over the other. Liu Yun didn¡¯t dare fight Miao Yi in close-quarters as he was wary of thetter¡¯s mes. This, in turn, allowed Miao Yi time to properly defend against his attacks. Meanwhile, Miao Yi had no way of dealing with Liu Yun, who was attacking from a distance.


    After a few bouts, the fiery ze beneath Miao Yi¡¯s feet quickly receded back into the Qilin Spear, and the eight giant orbs descended onto the ground and stopped moving about. Miao Yi pointed his spear up at the sky and bellowed, "Despicable fiend! Do you dare fight me to the death?!"


    After being burned through by the intense mes, arge area of the desert became a giant reflective surface, with Miao Yi standing at the center of it all.


    From Liu Yun¡¯s perspective, why should he be afraid of Miao Yi? His actual brother had just died. Not to mention, he wouldn¡¯t simply let slip away all the transcendent artifacts that Miao Yi had.


    With almost no hesitation whatsoever, Liu Yun swooped down andnded on one of the sand dunes in the distance. With both swords in hand, he stared coldly at Miao Yi.


    Miao Yi lowered the Qilin Spear, pointing it at the ground. Meanwhile, the eight giant orbs quickly shrank and formed a bracelet around Miao Yi¡¯s wrist.


    "Die!" Miao Yi shouted, then broke off into a sprint across the giant reflective ground. As he charged across the desert, his spear was aimed straight at Liu Yun in the distance. There was no hesitation in his movements as he charged forward with reckless abandon, giving others the impression that he was attacking out of pure desperation.


    The Lady Boss and the others were taken aback, and the stonemason furrowed his brows and said, "Has that kid gone mad? It¡¯s not like the other party could have done anything to him from a distance. He clearly could¡¯ve used that as an opportunity to escape? Isn¡¯t he just courting death by actively approaching the enemy?"


    As he stood atop the sand dune, Liu Yun revealed a vicious expression, crossing his swords in front of his face and biting down on them. With both swords held in his mouth, he stomped on the ground with one leg, causing the sand underneath to tremble violently.


    Then, a giant ball of sand created entirely using transcendence energy slowly rose from the ground like some glutinous pastry. Liu Yun pped on the ball with one hand, and the giant sand ball abruptly shot out.


    As he pushed the giant ball of sand from behind, Liu Yun charged straight towards Miao Yi. And although he was moving such a giant chunk of sand around, his speed was still much higher than Miao Yi¡¯s.


    Liu Yun was wary of Miao Yi¡¯s fire attack. Without anything to protect himself, he didn¡¯t dare get too close to Miao Yi with just his cultivation. And what better protection was there than the limitless sands of this vast desert underneath his feet? The reason why his brother Liu Sha had failed to avoid certain death was due to the suddenness of the attack. Neither of them expected Miao Yi to have such a transcendent artifact. Not to mention, Miao Yi¡¯s counterattack with the spear was uncannily fast, causing Liu Sha to pay the ultimate price for his moment of carelessness.


    To ovee Miao Yi¡¯s transcendent artifact, he had to rely on the desert sand! Liu Yun was confident that with his cultivation and some form of protection ready, then even if a mishap were to ur, he would still be able to hold off until he could escape to a safe distance.


    With the spear dragging behind him, Miao Yi charged over, meeting Liu Yun and his giant ball of sand head on.


    As the Lady Boss and the others watched these two quickly approaching one another, their eyes widened. The Qilin Spear behind Miao Yi was abruptly raised, leaving several afterimages in its path. At the same time, Miao Yi¡¯s running speed had suddenly increased as well, far beyond the limits of what a Blue Lotus cultivator should be capable of.


    "All those who stand in my way shall die!"


    As he struck out with his spear, Miao Yi let out a deafening roar to raise his own morale. This was the sound of a man who was putting everything he had on the line.


    A near-solidified me abruptly erupted forth from the spearhead of the Qilin Spear. Like a sh of crimson lightning, it measured half a foot wide and broke out with incredible speed. As the bright crimson streak shed by¡ª¡¯Whoosh!¡¯¡ªthe air sizzled and seared.


    The attack that was manifested from bringing out the full potential of the Supreme Fire Crystal within the Qilin Spear seemed to bear as much substance as a physical object.


    As he pushed the ball of sand forward from behind, Liu Yun immediately felt something was wrong. It seemed that even the air itself was teeming with a sense of danger.


    Bang! Like a rock smashing into tofu, the crimson lightning pierced straight into the ball of sand rolling towards it.


    The ball of sand had melted almost instantly, like a popped water balloon.


    Fortunately, Liu Yun had already sensed the danger beforehand and quickly activated his transcendent arts to protect himself from the piping hot liquid that was cascading over him. At the same time, he leaped up into the sky, tossing two flying swords straight at Miao Yi. However, what he saw next had him absolutely horrified.


    One strike, two strikes, three strikes...


    The crimson lightning that had pierced through the giant ball of sand was only the first strike.


    The Qilin Spear in Miao Yi¡¯s hand moved at an inconceivably high speed. Even though it was just a single thrust, it gave others the feeling that ten crimson bolts of lightning had flown out. It was another ten deaths with a single spear!


    "Ahh...!!" An agonizing scream resounded.


    As Liu Yun backed away from the exploded remains of the melting ball of sand, he was quickly severed in half while in mid-air, and instantly transformed into two balls of fire.


    Whoosh whoosh whoosh... Now that they had lost their target, the other crimson bolts of lightning that shot outnded in the distance and created several plumes of me. However, these soon disappeared with the wind.


    ng! With thest of his stamina, Miao Yi swung his spear again, knocking away one of the flying swords that wereing towards him. The Qilin Spear and the flying sword both flew off in the collision, and the skin on Miao Yi¡¯s hand ruptured with blood.


    Having just deflected one of the flying swords, he was too out of bnce to escape the second one, which then firmly struck his chest.


    "Pfft!" Miao Yi spat out a mouthful of blood as his entire body flew backward andnded heavily on the sand. Even though he struggled a bit with his limbs, he was unable to get himself back up; he could only lie down on the ground like a dead dog.


    Fortunately, he had killed Liu Yun first, ensuring that there was no longer any remote control on the two flying swords; the only thing that remained was the powerful inertia.


    It was also fortunate that the armor had helped him absorb some of the damage. Otherwise, he would already be following Liu Yun down to the grave.


    But even so, the chest area of the armor artifact was still dented inwards.


    As the yellow sands gently rolled under the ever-blowing winds, the Lady Boss and the others silently stared atop the sand dune in the distance, and so did the two little heads that popped out of the sand; they were all shocked!


    Lying down on the sand, Miao Yi panted heavily with a wry smile on his face.


    Initially, he thought that he would still have some stamina left after using this ¡¯Single Spear: Ten Deaths¡¯ technique now that his cultivation had increased by a few grades. However, as it turned out, only the might of the attack had be more powerful; he was stillpletely drained of almost all his stamina afterward.


    It seemed that there was an issue with controlling the power of this attack. There was definitely a need to practice it more once he had the chance.


    Miao Yi feared that he would turn out like this after using that technique. Otherwise, he would have already used it when killing Liu Sha. Given the state he was in now, even a mortal could kill him, much less a cultivator. This was also why he was so hesitant to use the technique. If he had any other option, he wouldn¡¯t even dare to try it!


    If he had used this technique against Liu Sha earlier on, then Liu Yun would probably be chopping his head down with ease by now.


    Popping their heads out from under the sand, Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun stared at the Lady Boss and the others for a while. Seeing that there was no movement from them, the two guessed that they were probably maintaining their neutral stance, as they always had been. Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun exchanged nces, then nodded and climbed out from under the sand.


    The two of them rushed over to Miao Yi¡¯s side and helped him up, asking, "Are you alright?"


    There was both a sense of joy and admiration in their eyes as they looked at Miao Yi. To them, he seemed even more ferocious now than he was back in the Subjugation Crusade. This time, he had even single-handedly killed two Red Lotus cultivators.


    Miao Yi coughed, spitting out another mouthful of blood as he cursed, "Like hell I am. We can¡¯t stay here for long. We should hurry and get away from this ce!"


    Pi Junzi asked, "Where to?"


    "Damn it all, that¡¯s it! I¡¯m done! First the Hive Gang, and now two Red Lotus cultivators. If a Purple Lotus cultivator is sent after this, there¡¯s no way I can survive no matter how many lives I have. Why won¡¯t they just give it a rest already?! I¡¯m not going to y this stupid game anymore, not even if they beat me to death! Send me to Tempest Tavern quickly!" Miao Yi cursed loudly.


    Tao Yongchun quickly rushed off to the side and picked up Miao Yi¡¯s Qilin Spear. He knew this was a very valuable artifact and shouldn¡¯t be left behind.


    With a pale expression, Miao Yi weakly waved his hand and said, "Don¡¯t forget the other stuff too. I earned this with my life. If I leave it be, I¡¯ll get bad karma. You two poor sods can have them. Quickly now, things will get messy once people start to show up!"


    So they could have these treasures! Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun carefully set Miao Yi down, then quickly ran around the battlefield and clearing up all the items. Even though their hearts were palpitating like mad, they were feeling a rush of excitement as well. Even though they would always meet with danger every time they met Miao Yi, the bastard seemed to always bring a get-rich-quick opportunity with him as well. It was truly a love-hate rtionship for them indeed!


    After sweeping up all the riches, Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun ran back to Miao Yi and lifted him up. Pi Junzi then dove towards the ground and opened up a path through the sand. The group then disappeared beneath the opening in the ground, which was subsequently closed up by the cascading sand...

 Chapter 519 Completely Drained

    The bloody aftermath of the battle was gradually shrouded under the rolling sands. The carpenter and stonemason looked at one another, then sighed simultaneously. They found the oue a little hard to believe.


    "Back at the tavern, I¡¯ve confirmed his cultivation. This kid has quite an astonishing cultivation speed. In just about a hundred years, he managed to climb up to Blue Lotus Fifth Grade all the way from White Lotus First Grade. There aren¡¯t many in the cultivation realm who possess such aptitude for cultivation. And now, he actually single-handedly defeated two Red Lotus cultivators with his Blue Lotus Fifth Grade cultivation. Not only was he not afraid of death, he actually went head-on against his opponent! This kid has got some balls!" The carpenter sighed in astonishment.


    The stonemason quipped, "Was he not ballsy already when we first met him? It was hard enough for a mere White Lotus First Grade like him to survive, yet he even tried to save us, and challenged the Ghost cultivator and all those zombies by himself. That said, this kid¡¯s spear technique is quite powerful indeed. Even though that final attack relied much on the transcendent artifact¡¯s abilities, the might behind that surekill technique seems to have far surpassed the limitations of his cultivation."


    With a cid expression on her face, the Lady Boss said, "Even all those years ago, I could already tell that the kid¡¯s spear technique wasn¡¯t ordinary, and I¡¯ve even spected on the identity of his master. Now, it seems his technique has be even more powerful than it was back then. It¡¯s as though it has already attained some kind of profoundness of its own. This isn¡¯t something that can be taught. That technique has long surpassed the limits of his cultivation. Even if someone were to teach him such a technique step by step, it would be a fruitless attempt. He could have only achieved such a feat through his ownprehension."


    The carpenter sighed. "For a Blue Lotus Fifth Grade cultivator to kill a Red Lotus cultivator, and two of them at that. Even though he relied heavily on the power of his transcendent artifact, this was still not a feat that anyone can achieve!"


    Suddenly, the stonemason noted, "If I remember correctly, the two guys that took him away just now seemed to be the two Yao cultivators that the tavern asked to leave all those years ago? There¡¯s no way they belong within the Celestial Nation¡¯s administration. Not only did they choose not to run away the second they encountered such a dangerous situation, they didn¡¯t covet the kid¡¯s transcendent artifact either. It seems like they¡¯re rather close to him! Even though he¡¯s a Manor Head from the administration, he¡¯s able to make friends with Yao cultivators. It seems the kid is quite the sociable guy!"


    As the stonemason said this, the carpenter quickly shot him a re. The stonemason was taken aback, but he quickly realized his poor choice of words. There was another sociable man once upon a time who ended up changing the Lady Boss¡¯s entire life. Feeling anxious, the stonemason shot a furtive nce at the Lady Boss.


    However, the Lady Boss simply pretended not to hear hisment. As she flew up to the sky, she said, "Stop dwelling on this already. Didn¡¯t the kid just say that he was going back to the tavern? Let¡¯s head back and take a look."


    With their cultivations, if they really wanted to eavesdrop, there was no way Miao Yi¡¯s loud voice could escape their ears...


    After making their way back to the tavern, the Lady Boss didn¡¯t return to her room to cultivate, for once. Instead, she took the schr¡¯s spot, checking through the ounts behind the counter. Meanwhile, the other two, now joined by the schr and the cook, sat themselves around a table, conversing amongst one another in hushed voices.


    However, even as the sun went down, there was no sign of Miao Yi returning. The Lady Boss and the others couldn¡¯t help wondering if the whole thing was just a ruse meant to deceive them. Miao Yi had realized that they were listening in, so he intentionally gave them false information. In truth, he wasn¡¯t nning on returning at all.


    Hanging by the front door of the tavern were a chain of rednterns on one side, and a chain of whitenterns on the other. These indicated the impartiality of the Tempest Tavern.


    As time passed, the Lady Boss guessed that Miao Yi probably wasn¡¯t going toe back, and she stepped out of the counter. As she was about to head back to her room, the rest of the group in the hall suddenly turned to look outside.


    Outside of the mud wall, an arm suddenly burst out of the sand, then a human figure, looking as if it was pushed out by a strong force. The person groaned in pain as he fell on the courtyard.


    The two people who pushed him out quickly disappeared into the hole; they didn¡¯t show their faces.


    Miao Yi struggled to get himself up, making his way to the door with staggered steps. He leaned on the railing, panting heavily, the pale expression on his face offset by the bloodstains. He looked weak and wretched, waving to the people inside as he said, "I¡¯m back. A business opportunity has just made its way right up to your doorstep. Someonee over and give me a hand!"


    It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t want toe back; he was simply too scared. As a safety precaution, he had Pi Junzi dig the entire way back. He had travelled such a long distance on his dragon steed. For Pi Junzi to dig the entire journey back, and avoid being noticed by anyone else on top of that, it was evident how strained Pi Junzi must have been.


    The Lady Boss tossed him a scrutinizing gaze. Seeing him make it back alive, she feigned ignorance and turned her head back around, showing off her voluptuous figure as she slowly strutted back to the rear courtyard.


    The schr and the others looked at one another, and also pretended not to have seen anything, returning back to their own work. They also stopped some of the employees who wanted to go help Miao Yi up.


    ¡¯Damn it! They charge such high prices, and they still treat their customers like this! This shady tavern!¡¯ Miao Yi grumbled to himself. Seeing how everyone was ignoring him, he gritted his teeth and struggled to the counter. Then, his legs finally gave way, and he had to lean on the counter. With heavy breaths, he knocked on the counter. "Innkeeper, give me a room!"


    The schr was also leaning on the counter. Looking straight at Miao Yi, he smiled and asked, "Oh wow! Didn¡¯t you say you weren¡¯ting back? Why are you here again so soon? And I even forgot to ask for your room que back in the morning. Were you trying to run away with our tavern¡¯s property?"


    Miao Yi¡¯s legs turnedpletely to jelly, and his whole body sank down on the counter. He revealed a weak smile, saying, "I must have forgotten about it. You guys should have reminded me. And, umm, stop teasing me already. You can see how I look like. I¡¯ll really copse if I waste any more time talking."


    The schr continued to show him that beaming face as he asked, "How many days would you like to stay, sir?"


    "Ten more days!" Miao Yi no longer had the energy to count his gold crystals properly. He simply gritted his teeth and firmly ced a hundred low-grade Orbs of Will down on the counter.


    Although he wanted to leave Flowing Clouds Dune Sea as quick as possible, he could barely even move in his current condition. Thest time he used this technique back in the Sea of Constetions, he had been unable to battle anyone afterward for days on end. He had a vague estimate of the duration; it would take him at least five days to recover this time as well.


    With a cheerful smile, the schr slowly counted the orbs. Seeing how annoyed Miao Yi was, desperately hanging by the counter with just his chin, the schr finally tucked the Orbs of Will away and said in a gentle voice, "That room is still vacant. You can just continue staying in your original room."


    "You son of a b*tch!" Miao Yi cursed with thest of his energy. He then crashed to the ground; he waspletely drained. The other party had drained him of whatever energy he had to keep himself up on the counter. He couldn¡¯t crawl back to his room even if he wanted to now.


    Fortunately, a kind-hearted person walked over to him. With hands behind his back, the cook circled around Miao Yi once, then pulled him up by the cor and dragged him back to the rear courtyard.


    Miao Yi rolled his eyes in disdain. He highly suspected that this cook was just thinking of dragging him into the kitchen and butchering him like livestock.


    Thankfully, his imagination didn¡¯te into fruition. The cook dragged him all the way back to the rear courtyard, then just tossed him onto the bed after entering the room. After that, the cook shut the door behind him and disappeared.


    "This shitty tavern! Shady tavern!" Miao Yi cursed. With much difficulty, he grabbed a bunch of Orbs of Will and tossed them into his mouth. He didn¡¯t even have the energy to count how many orbs there were, nor was he strong enough to sit cross-legged. He justy on the bed and recovered. Eventually, he fell asleep, with the Orbs of Will still in his mouth. That ¡¯Single Spear: Ten Deaths¡¯ technique was simply too exhausting to pull off...


    At the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce branch, inside the isted room on the third floor, Guo Shaohai was sitting cross-legged as the white-haired old man stood firmly by the side and reported, "Miao Yi¡¯s group has encountered a mishap. ording to the loose cultivators who escaped, they were attacked by two Red Lotus cultivators as soon as they stepped outside of this area. Some of the loose cultivators recognized their assants as the assassins of Peony¡ªLiu Yun and Liu Sha. Furthermore, based on what the loose cultivators said, it seems that the other party was after Miao Yi."


    Guo Shaohai¡¯s faintly shut eyes abruptly opened when he heard this, his eyes gleaming as he asked solemnly, "Miao Yi was attacked again?"


    The white-haired old man bowed slightly. "When those loose cultivators were running away, they saw that Miao Yi and the others were already engaged in battle with the two assassins. They don¡¯t know what happened after that though. However, we received word just now that Miao Yi has already returned to the Tempest Tavern. It seems he¡¯s heavily wounded. As for the other troops, there isn¡¯t any news on them at the present moment."


    His eyes gleaming as he fell into deep thought, Guo Shaohai was suddenly taken aback by the old man¡¯s statement. He asked in astonishment, "Miao Yi came back? He managed to escape from two Red Lotus cultivators?"


    "Yes, sir! The only thing we know is that he¡¯s wounded. However, we are unsure of the extent of his injuries."


    Guo Shaohai said solemnly, "First, it was the Hive Gang. And now, the assassins of Peony have set their sights on Miao Yi. The other groups are all fine. Why is he the only one who keeps getting into trouble? Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s something unnatural going on here?"


    The white-haired old man replied respectfully, "I am not sure. Perhaps Miao Yi has made some kind of enemy. Those loose cultivators have made it very clear that the two assassins were only after Miao Yi."


    "I sure wish that it¡¯s just a personal feud of his. But what if the Hive Gang was also after him specifically? As I recall, these two groups are up for hire, correct?" Guo Shaohai asked in a cold tone.


    The white-haired old man was slightly confused, but as he quickly pieced two and two together, he couldn¡¯t help his shock. He asked, "That can¡¯t be possible, can it?"


    Guo Shaohai scoffed. "If these two groups were after him specifically, then we have a big problem on our hands. The details of their route as well as the timing are all highly confidential information. There are only a handful of people who know about this. What does it mean for Miao Yi to be attacked the second he set foot in the desert? It means that someone on our side has leaked the information!"


    He then narrowed his eyes and asked coldly, "This entire mission was organized by Taibao, correct?"


    The white-haired old man immediately replied, "There is no way that Master Huyan would leak the information. And even if he did, there¡¯s no need for him to go to such an extent just for a little Miao Yi."


    Guo Shaohai¡¯s gaze turned incredibly icy as he slowly said, "I sure hope so! Arrange for someone to get in touch with Miao Yi and ask what happened exactly!"


    "Sir!" The white-haired old man acknowledged, then excused himself.


    That same night, an expressionless white-robed person entered the tavern. They handed over the payment at the counter and was then led to the rear courtyard by one of the employees.


    Not long after, a spirit eagle flew over from across the night sky. Miao Yi¡¯s windows and door were tightly shut, so the eagle had no way of going in. As such, itnded on the railing in front of Miao Yi¡¯s door and cawed. However, there was no sign of Miao Yi stepping out of his room.


    In contrast, the white-robed person who had just checked in quickly came over. They quietly made their way to Miao Yi¡¯s door, fed the spirit eagle then set it off into the sky.


    It seemed that this person was using this method to determine the exact location of Miao Yi¡¯s room. It wouldn¡¯t be wise to knock on every single door after all.


    The person walked up to Miao Yi¡¯s door and gently knocked. However, it seemed the door wasn¡¯t even closed. It easily opened up with a gentle knock. The white-robed person furrowed their brows, then pushed open the door and stepped inside, quickly disappearing into the darkness of the room.


    Meanwhile, inside the small house located at the tallest point of the tavern, the Lady Boss was standing right behind the window and saw all that just happened from the tiny gap in the window. She couldn¡¯t help frowning faintly...


    As soon as the white-robed person entered the room, they discovered Miao Yi snoring lightly as he slept on the bed. The white-robed person examined Miao Yi¡¯s face, and after making sure that this was the person they were looking for, they gently tapped on Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder. However, Miao Yi still didn¡¯t wake up. This was very strange. There was no way a cultivator could fall into such a deep sleep.


    The white-robed person quickly ced their fingers on Miao Yi¡¯s wrist and examined his body. As they quickly found the reason behind his fatigue, they gently ced a palm on Miao Yi¡¯s body and injected him with transcendence energy.


    Miao Yi slowly opened his eyes. When he saw that there was an unfamiliar face in the darkness, he was utterly startled. He then started coughing harshly, spitting out several dozen Orbs of Will. This ambush was a little too sudden, and the other party fell on the receiving end of Miao Yi¡¯s spit.

 Chapter 520 Almost Became In-Laws

    Their face suddenly covered in spit, the white-robed person raised their hand and pulled off an Orb of Will drenched in saliva. They were a little lost for words. Who would actually sleep while holding Orbs of Wills in their mouth?


    Even though the person had already examined Miao Yi¡¯s body and confirmed that he had lost the strength to even hurt a fly, the attack... had simplye too suddenly!


    "You¡ª" Miao Yi struggled to speak, but the white-robed person quickly subdued him and gestured for him to keep quiet. Thetter then quickly took out a jade archive and handed it over.


    With help from the other party, Miao Yi was somehow able to finish reading the jade archive, which allowed him to understand who this white-robed person was. He was also able to vaguely guess why they hade.


    The white-robed person transmitted their voice over. "Why did you suddenly retreat?"


    Miao Yi was instantly enraged. "You¡¯re asking me why? Look at how I am right now. What other choice did I have? I¡¯m the one who should be asking what the hell is up with this mission? Some top secret operation this is. Someone hired the Hive Gang toe and kill me, and I was ambushed the second I set foot on the desert. Clearly, they were fully aware of our timing and route. And now, the assassins of Peony are after me as well. What kind of shitty top-secret mission is this?"


    The white-robed person was shocked. They didn¡¯t even mind Miao Yi¡¯s tone and asked, "So the incident with the Hive Gang was actually under the orders of a third party?"


    "Did you think they were just fooling around with me? I captured the Sixth Young Lady of the Hive Gang and forced the information out of her. Someone¡¯s put a ten million Gold Crystal bounty on my head!" Miao Yi didn¡¯t even bother hiding the anger in his voice. He couldn¡¯t care less who the other party was. After all, they were the ones who were acting all dark and mysterious. Since the other party wasn¡¯t proving that their own status was higher than his, then why should he give them any face?


    The white-robed person asked solemnly, "Then why didn¡¯t you report it when you had the chance?"


    Miao Yi red back. "How could I? The details of this mission are of the highest order of secrecy. The person who leaked the information is surely someone with a very high status. I had no choice but to swallow this indignation and suffer in silence. I was afraid that if I revealed the truth behind this incident, the other party would stop at nothing to have me killed. Since I can¡¯t offend the other party, can¡¯t I just hide? But clearly, that¡¯s not enough for them. This time, they even got two Red Lotus experts after me. Since they¡¯re so insistent on killing me, then there¡¯s nothing holding me back anymore. Go back and tell this to Guo Shaohai¡ªif you don¡¯t find out who the rat is, then I won¡¯t y your stupid game even if you kill me!"


    The expression reflected in the white-robed person¡¯s eyes was a heavy one. They asked, "What about the other troops?"


    "They¡¯re all dead!" Miao Yi didn¡¯t even bother being polite. This was a rather touchy subject even for him. What kind of a captain was he? All his subordinates always ended up dead.


    "Then how did you make it back?"


    "Just look at me. How do you think I made it back?"


    "You were able to escape the two Red Lotus experts?"


    "Like hell I escaped. I risked life and limb and killed those two bastards."


    The white-robed person was shocked. "You managed to kill two Red Lotus experts?"


    Miao Yi still wanted to keep this matter a secret. "Just yesterday, the Chamber of Commerce gave me a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact to protect myself. The only reason I was lucky enough to kill those two was because I threw caution to the wind and risked being reduced to this state just so I could activate the artifact."


    ¡¯So that¡¯s why!¡¯ The white-robed person paused for a bit, before confirming all the details of Miao Yi¡¯s story. After which, they stood up and consoled Miao Yi, "Rest well. I will report this immediately!"


    "Once you find out who the rat is, give me a heads up," Miao Yi said in frustration.


    The other party didn¡¯t reply and simply left without a sound...


    The radiance of dawn glowed brightly in the distant horizon. Within the isted room on the third floor of the Chamber of Commerce, the white-haired old man was once again standing before Guo Shaohai, making his report.


    "Top secret operation? Even a group of desert bandits know the full extent of our movements. What an utter joke. Do I even have any secrets left to keep?" With hands behind his back, Guo Shaohai stood before the window and calmly said.


    The white-haired old man could feel the fury behind the other party¡¯s calm tone, and couldn¡¯t help shivering a little. He cautiously replied, "There is a very suspicious point about this incident. If there really was a leak, then the other five nations should have long gotten word of it by now. There¡¯s no point in doing such a thing just to kill a mere Miao Yi."


    "It doesn¡¯t matter who they¡¯re after. I just want to know how those desert bandits managed to know about our operation prior to its execution." With a nk face, Guo Shaohai continued to state calmly, "I want you to go and tell Huyan Taibao to give me an exnation!"


    "Understood!"


    "And send out a few trustworthy people to investigate this whole affair!"


    The white-haired old man was aghast. Was this a sign that Guo Shaohai no longer trusted Huyan Taibao? The old man acknowledged respectfully. "Sir!"


    "Nine more days!"


    Miao Yi ced ny thousand Gold Crystals before the counter; he nned to add another nine more days to his stay.


    There were a few reasons why he was extending his stay. Firstly, his body had yet to fully recover even though ten days had already passed. His transcendence energy had been fully replenished in just one or two days, thanks to the help of Orbs of Will. However, his mental strength was still in a very weakened state. That said, it was almost fully recovered as well. Another reason was that he had made another report to Traversing Water Pce and was currently awaiting their reply. Once again, he mentioned how his life had been targeted. This time, he was very insistent in his desire to return. There was simply no way for him to continue on with this mission. All he could do now was wait for Traversing Water Pce¡¯s reply.


    How could his current situation evenpare to theforts of his own territory? Back home, he had Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er taking care of his every need. Back home, there were beautiful women taking full care of him and waiting on him in bed every night, plenty of subordinates under hismand, and a bounty of riches at his disposal. But what did he have here?


    The schr asked curiously from behind the counter, "Why are you only staying nine days?"


    Miao Yi nkly replied, "It would be my second month if I add on another day. Why should I just sit here and wait for you to rack up the amodation fees? If you charge me at the original price, then I won¡¯t mind staying longer. I can even help bring in a few more customers for you."


    The schr was a little taken aback, but he quickly revealed a smile. It seemed that the other party had already figured out the situation here from hisst journey out. The schr shook his head. "There¡¯s no helping it. Rules are rules. It wouldn¡¯t be right if we gave you face but not to anyone else. Nine days, right? Got it. Are you leaving after that?"


    Miao Yi ignored his question and just turned around and left. He had been hassled nonstop by these bastards over the past few days. Otherwise, his body might have already made a full recovery by now.


    Right as he got up to the second floor of the rear courtyard, a voice transmission echoed in his ear. "Come up here!"


    He turned to the source of the voice and saw the Lady Boss standing at the rooftop, beckoning him over.


    Miao Yi had no choice but toply. He climbed up to the rooftop and made his way just outside the little house.


    The Lady Boss tossed a sk of wine over to him, then turned around and sat down on arge round log on the floor, the hems of her skirt twirling behind her. Sitting with one foot tucked underneath her, the Lady Boss reached for another wine sk to the side, then took a heavy gulp. After which, she turned to Miao Yi and smiled. "Wine¡¯s on me."


    The setting sun painted the vast desert in a resplendent golden hue, while the rolling clouds up above the sky slowly dissipated. There was a somewhat liberating feeling in seeing the sky open up.


    Miao Yi nced around, then pped open the seal on the sk and downed a mouthful. He sat down next to the Lady Boss, her gentle fragrance making its way to his nostrils. He asked, "I¡¯ve noticed you tend to sit here and drink wine around this time every day. Why is that?"


    Showing off her white teeth, the Lady Boss revealed a gentle grin, the setting sun casting a slightly yellow hue on her beautiful face. "It¡¯s a force of habit!"


    "A force of habit?" Miao Yi took another sip of wine. He wiped the alcohol off the edge of his mouth, then ced the sk down and said solemnly, "I heard about what happened to you thest time I went out."


    The Lady Boss revealed a self-deprecating smile. "Well, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s a big secret to begin with. To fall in love with the son of the murderer of one¡¯s parents¡ªDo you think that¡¯s something wrong or right?"


    "You¡¯re just wasting your breath asking me. Ever since I was young, I¡¯ve never received much education. To me, there¡¯s only the question of whether to do something or not. And if you do decide to do that something, you¡¯ll have to live with the consequences." Miao Yi shifted his posture a little, tucking one leg underneath him just like the Lady Boss. He asked, "Do you know Yun Feiyang?"


    "He¡¯s the son of my Neenth Uncle. I¡¯m older by my Neenth Uncle by at least a thousand years. What¡¯s the matter? You know Feiyang?"


    "We became friends during the Subjugation Crusade. I guess you can say we¡¯re on pretty good terms." Miao Yi suddenly chuckled. "Lady Boss, did you know that we almost became inws?"


    The Lady Boss was taken aback. She asked curiously, "What do you mean?"


    "That rascal Yun Feiyang kept insisting that I be his brother-inw, and was dead set on introducing his older sister to me. Fortunately, we belong to different camps. Or else, I might have really be one of your inws."


    "So something like that happened? I¡¯ll be sure to ask him about it when I meet him." The Lady Boss couldn¡¯t help a giggle. She then shook her head and asked, "Which of my little sisters was he trying to set you up with, I wonder?"


    Miao Yi sighed. "I want to know as well, but he wouldn¡¯t say a single word. And the more tight-lipped he was, the more scared I was of epting his proposal! That bastard Yun Feiyang looks a little unreliable. What will I do if he introduces an ugly girl to me?"


    The Lady Boss couldn¡¯t help bursting intoughter when she heard him. pping on Miao Yi¡¯s knee, she said, "You¡¯re absolutely right. From what I recall, that kid is indeed a little unreliable. However, you¡¯re mistaken about one thing. There is no doubting the appearance of our family¡¯s members. The women marry handsome men, while the men wed beautiful women. This has been the way of our family for many generations. So you can rest assured. No matter how ipetent the women of our Yun family may be, she will never be ugly."


    "Of course you would have nothing but good things to say about your own family. I¡¯ll believe it when I see her." Miao Yi then swept a nce at the Lady Boss and teased, "However, if the older sister that rascal was nning to introduce to me was you, then I think I would have to oblige."


    The Lady Boss narrowed her eyes at him. "What¡¯s the matter? Did I catch your fancy?"


    "You¡¯re so beautiful. How could I not be tempted? What kind of man would hate a beautiful woman?" Miao Yi raised his wine sk and sighed. "Sadly, even if I have the intention of taking you, I don¡¯t have the guts!" He then took another heavy gulp from his sk. "If I really married someone like you, then I¡¯d be rich. The Lady Boss of the Tempest Tavern. I can¡¯t imagine how loaded you must be!"


    "So it seems I¡¯m not the one who caught your fancy, but my money." The Lady Boss sighed. "Then I suggest you give up on that thought. I¡¯m actually not as rich as the rumors make me out to be."


    Miao Yi rolled his eyes. "You¡¯re not rich? I¡¯m sure this tavern of yours earns quite a fortune every year, no?"


    "We do make a lot every year, but half of it goes to my husband who is currently being locked up. The other half is used to maintain our connections. The scraps that remain are divided amongst the people in the tavern. Of course, whether I¡¯m rich or not depends on who you¡¯reparing me to. If anything, I¡¯m definitely more wealthy than you."


    "With your background, you still have to go out of your way to maintain connections?"


    The Lady Boss replied with a gentle smile and waved her hand, no longer wishing to dwell on this topic. After which, she raised her sk again and took a few more gulps.


    "Lady Boss, I have a question. But please don¡¯t get angry with me for asking you."


    "What¡¯s the point in me getting angry with you?"


    "What if, I¡¯m saying what if, your husband ends up being imprisoned indefinitely? Are you going to wait like this forever?"


    The Lady Boss gazed towards the sunset, her eyes a little hazy as she answered, "Now that I¡¯ve alreadye this far, do I have any other choice?"


    "What do you mean you don¡¯t have any other choice? With your qualities, the options are just lying right by your feet."


    "Niu Er, to give up on some things, you must first have a good reason to do so. You will need to give the person you¡¯re hurting a proper exnation. You can¡¯t just give it up for no reason."


    "There are way too many reasons for you to use. All you need to do is find a new love. Forgive me for being blunt, but why do you continue to wait like this?"


    The Lady Boss looked at him and asked, "If I ask you to be my new love, would you dare to?"

 Chapter 521 Save One Just In Case

    Miao Yi knew she was just giving him an example. He also knew why she said it; it was because her background usually drove men away. Heughed. "I should be the one asking: if I came after you, would you dare to follow me?"


    The Lady Boss asked curiously, "Is there a difference?"


    "Of course there¡¯s a difference! The difference is me liking you as a prerequisite." Miao Yi lifted up his sk and pped down hard, making a powerful disy that he was a man of great action. "If I was the one who followed you back then, if I was your man in that situation, if I really did like you, and you were willing toe along with me, then all your problems wouldn¡¯t even be problems at all!"


    The Lady Boss shook her head and smiled, giving him a look that said¡ª¡¯You¡¯re too naive.¡¯ "Pretty big talk. You know about our background and how our situation was like back then. If you were put in that situation, how would you have handled it? Let me hear your opinion."


    Miao Yi raised his sk and downed another mouthful of wine, then rested it upon his knee. He smiled. "It¡¯s not much of an opinion. I already told you, I¡¯ve never received a lot of education ever since I was young. The only thing I¡¯m ever concerned about is whether to take action or not. And if I do decide to act on it, then no matter how great the ordeal is, I will face it straight on. And to face it straight on means that I will solve my problems regardless of how difficult it may be. At the very least, I wouldn¡¯t have made the same choice your husband did. Despite not getting the agreement from both families, and despite knowing how much trouble would ensue, he still decided to elope with you. This isn¡¯t fair to both you and the two families. How could he just throw caution to the wind for the sake of his own self-interest like that? This isn¡¯t what a man should do to the woman he loves. Since the two of you love each other, then why didn¡¯t he try to be more patient and first solve the problem at hand? If it were me, I would spare no effort in first getting both families¡¯ approval. If that turned out impossible, then I would wait until it became possible. If it were really beyond salvaging, then I would at least try to leave you with an alternative. I wouldn¡¯t have let you be reduced to the state you¡¯re currently in right now. I wouldn¡¯t have let you shoulder all this responsibility on your own."


    His words caught the Lady Bosspletely off guard. She stared at him nkly; she was utterly astonished!


    Miao Yi turned back to look at her. "How many people actually get to live over ten thousand years? And you¡¯ve waited for one man for tens of thousands of years! Lady Boss, do you not regret your decision?"


    The Lady Boss snapped back to reality. She didn¡¯t answer his question and simply smiled. "You do have a way with words, but can you actually live up to them, I wonder?"


    Miao Yi chuckled. "I¡¯m not just all talk. I¡¯ve always lived up to my promises. It doesn¡¯t matter how hard it is, I would do my best to make sure that the people beside me have a fallback. I wouldn¡¯t have done what you guys did. Perhaps it¡¯s because I don¡¯t have the same sort of background you two did. Even after causing such a big mess, you still have a Tempest Tavern to bring in ludicrous amounts of fortune for you."


    The Lady Boss said yfully, "If you put it that way, then perhaps it would¡¯ve been better for me to elope with you instead back then."


    Miao Yi chuckled and teased, "It¡¯s still not toote if you want toe along with me."


    "Is that so?" The Lady Boss tossed him a wink and gestured forward with her mouth. "If you¡¯re brave enough to shout out right this instant that you want to be with me, loud enough that everyone can hear you, then I¡¯ll happily oblige and grant you the remainder of my days. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never done anything crazy before, so I might as well go all the way. I wouldn¡¯t mind being reckless a second time. Go on then, shout it out!"


    "This..." Miao Yi grew anxious as he thought to himself, ¡¯Who are you kidding? It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve already grown tired of living or anything. You¡¯re a married woman for crying out loud. If I really did something like that, then there¡¯s no need to wait for your Devil Nation and the Boundless Nation to kill me. The Celestial Nation itself will get first crack at butchering me. We haven¡¯t grown so close to the point that I¡¯m willing to die for you, I think? I didn¡¯t see you trying to save me either when I was fighting those two assassins.¡¯


    He suddenly coughed andughed dryly. "I¡¯m just joking. Why are you taking me so seriously? Come, let us drink some more. Forget about all those unhappy memories."


    The Lady Boss¡¯s leg suddenly flew out from under her skirt, reaching across the round log beneath her and firmlynding on the side of Miao Yi¡¯s thigh.


    How could a mere Blue Lotus cultivator withstand the attack of a Purple Lotus cultivator? Miao Yi groaned in pain and fell to the ground. The wine sk was also smashed, drenching his entire body in alcohol.


    "I just knew that you were nothing but a kid with a big mouth. How dare you try and tease me when you don¡¯t have the guts? Do you really think that anyone can just take advantage of me?" the Lady Boss said scornfully.


    "Every time I drink with you, I get beaten up. Don¡¯te looking for me next time." Miao Yi got back up and lightly pped on his wine-soaked body, then turned around and left.


    Suddenly, a woeful voice echoed from behind him. "Even though my heart was indeed swayed back then, I was aware that our actions were not well thought out, and I also knew full well the consequences that would follow. But he... Back then, he really shouted his heart out with reckless abandon in front of everyone. And that¡¯s why I decided to also throw caution to the wind and be with him. Perhaps it is as you said; he wasn¡¯t a very reliable man. But in this regard, he¡¯s definitely stronger than you!"


    Miao Yi halted his footsteps and turned back to look at her, watching as she raised her wine sk and downed a heavy gulp while facing the sunset. It was indeed a sight that tugged at his heartstrings, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little conflicted deep down.


    "That¡¯s a bit unfair. If you weren¡¯t married, do you think I really wouldn¡¯t dare to shout? I just don¡¯t want to be a home-wrecker!" Miao Yi replied in stubborn arrogance, before promptly leaving.


    At the same time, he decided that he would never drink with this woman again. Each time he drank with her, he would get beaten up. And to add insult to injury, he couldn¡¯t even fight back. No one in their right mind woulde back after that...


    That night, the white-robed person slipped into Miao Yi¡¯s room again. "How goes your recovery?"


    "Not too bad!" Miao Yi gave a perfunctory reply, then asked cautiously, "Why are you here again? I¡¯ve already sent word to my Pce Lord. I¡¯ll be returning to Traversing Water Pce soon enough."


    "Your Pce Lord has no say in this matter."


    "Even if she doesn¡¯t, I won¡¯t go out either way. I¡¯m going to give it to you guys straight. Before that rat is discovered, my life will continue to be in peril. If that¡¯s the case, then even if you beat me to death, I won¡¯t continue with this damned mission."


    "I¡¯m here precisely to talk to you about the matter with the rat."


    Miao Yi was taken aback. He was evidently intrigued by this topic, and quickly asked, "What about it?"


    The white-robed person replied, "We¡¯ve already replenished your troops for you. Tomorrow, you will continue to lead the team and proceed with the mission."


    Miao Yi immediately waved his hand in refusal. "Are you kidding me? The people sent to kill me just keep getting stronger and stronger. Death will be my only oue once I set foot outside the tavern. I¡¯m not going. Kill me right here in the tavern if you dare."


    The white-robed person exined, "This time, things are different. We¡¯ve specially arranged for two bodyguards to protect you, and they¡¯re both Purple Lotus cultivators."


    "..." Miao Yi was in disbelief. "Are you serious? Two Purple Lotus bodyguards?" He mused, ¡¯Isn¡¯t this treatment a little too much?¡¯


    The white-robed person didn¡¯t waste his breath and cut straight to the chase. "Your job is to proceed with the mission and lure out the culprit that¡¯s after your life."


    "Isn¡¯t this a little dangerous?" Miao Yi asked cautiously, "Don¡¯t you guys already know that the Hive Gang and Peony are involved in this matter? Couldn¡¯t you just go up to them and ask?"


    "Things are not as simple as you imagine. Firstly, this ce is not Celestial Nation territory. We¡¯ll need sufficient evidence if we wish to make an argument. Otherwise, the Hive Gang and Peony could always just deny all our ims. Secondly, after the two assassins¡¯ failure, it is highly usible that the culprit has already cut off all ties with Peony. That¡¯s why this time, we must act with haste and strike before the other party can even react, in hopes that we¡¯ll be able to draw out the mastermind behind this incident. All you have to do is lure out the culprit. You can leave the rest to us."


    ¡¯So I¡¯m nothing more than just bait! Are these guys really going to ensure my safety?¡¯


    "Can I not go?" Miao Yi asked.


    The white-robed person asked him back. "Are you sure this is what you want me to report to the higher-ups?"


    "..." Miao Yi sighed. "I can¡¯t win against you guys, but you should at least give me something to protect myself, right? What if the people who are supposed to protect me are too busy going after the assant, and it just so happens that the other party still has another trick up their sleeve? Can you help me get a Glorious Star Immortal Herb from the Chamber of Commerce to heal my wounds? And also a decent Third Grade Transcendent Artifact?"


    "Didn¡¯t we already give you a Third Grade Transcendent Artifact?"


    "That thing¡¯s way too powerful. You saw how I was after using it just once. I nearly died by my own hands instead of the assants¡¯."


    The white-robed person was utterly speechless at his excuse. Who in the world wouldin that their transcendent artifact was too powerful? "I can¡¯t promise you anything, but I¡¯ll ry your wishes to the higher-ups."


    "Oh! I also need a mount. The one you guys gave mest time already died in battle."


    A mount was indeed necessary. The white-robed person nodded in acknowledgement.


    However, Miao Yi quickly added, "It would be even better if you could give me two flying-type mounts as well. I can use them if I ever need to run away."


    "Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re requesting a little too much? You want two of them? What are you going to do with two? Ride one, and cook the other?"


    "Big Brother! Your joke isn¡¯t funny at all. You¡¯re not the one risking your life. Of course you can make things sound easy. What do you think my cultivation grade is? With my strength, death is all but certain once I step outside. Here I am, risking my life for the Celestial Sage, but you guys aren¡¯t even going to provide me with the basic necessities? Are you trying to jeopardize the Celestial Sage¡¯s affairs?"


    "You should at least tell me why you want two, right? Otherwise, how will I answer if the higher-ups ask me about it?"


    "Big Brother! I¡¯m saving one just in case of emergencies of course! If anything happens to one of the mounts, at least I¡¯ll still have another one I can use, right? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry? What if I end up dead, and you guys fail to catch the culprit? As long as I¡¯m alive, there¡¯ll be a chance for us to lure the culprit out into the open. What¡¯s wrong with asking for an extra mount? Do you guys actually think that I want it? If you guys are willing to retire me from this mission, then I¡¯ll return everything I was given back to you. How¡¯s that sound? I¡¯m just thinking on the Celestial Sage¡¯s behalf..."


    "Alright, stop talking already." The white-robed person raised his hand and gestured for Miao Yi to stop. He simply couldn¡¯t bear to listen to him any further. The guy pressured him with the Celestial Sage¡¯s name at every turn. "I already told you, I¡¯ll ry your wishes to the higher-ups. Whether or not they¡¯ll grant your request is up to them."


    "Sure thing! Can you help me tell this to the higher-ups as well¡ª¡¯We¡¯re all working for the Celestial Sage here. Don¡¯t risk the mission just for some minor details. A treasure that¡¯s not being put to use is as good as junk...¡¯ Oh, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m used to using spears. It would be best if you can give me a Spear Artifact this time around for the Third Grade Transcendent Artifact."


    At Miao Yi¡¯s current level, he was still barely able to control a normal Third Grade Transcendent Artifact. However, it was just that he was forced to go on this mission on very short notice, so Yao Ruoxian didn¡¯t have enough time to refine one for him on the fly. Not to mention, the strength of the Inferno Qilin Spear was greater than that of a normal Third Grade Transcendent Artifact to begin with. As such, he might as well put it to good use. Right now, he was just requesting for another Third Grade Transcendent Artifact as an excuse to pressure the higher-ups. If they gave it to him, then all was well. If not, then he would just continue to coop himself in here. As for the two flying-type mounts, he was nning on bringing them back to Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er as gifts. Of course, he could also use them himself.


    "Got it." The white-robed person immediately acknowledged, no longer wishing to argue with Miao Yi. After briefing Miao Yi on some of the details of the operation, he quickly left.


    Later on, in the dead of the night, the white-robed person returned. He handed a storage ring and a beast sack over to Miao Yi, not uttering a single word as he then promptly turned around and left.

 Chapter 522 Screwing One’s Own Ancestor

    "Hey!" Miao Yi shouted, but the other partypletely ignored him. Instead, he ran away even faster after that. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help grumbling, "Why are you in such a rush to leave? I still haven¡¯t checked the things you gave me."


    If he were put in the other party¡¯s shoes, he¡¯d probably run away as quick as he could too rather than deal with someone who incessantly asked for stuff like he did!


    The white-robed person couldn¡¯t help feeling the urge to give Miao Yi a good stomping. Even he himself had never received such treatment, but this little Blue Lotus cultivator just kept onining andining. To make things worse, there was a highly powerful person watching over their operation now, and they were afraid of giving him a bad impression. To put it simply, they wanted to show that highly important person that they were capable of handling things. As such, they had no choice but toply with this bastard Miao Yi¡¯s requests.


    Miao Yi excitedly took a look inside the beast sack. As soon as he saw what was inside, his face darkened slightly. He finally understood why the other party had left in such a hurry.


    The dragon steed was a given, but inside the beast sack there were also tworge Blue-Feathered Swallows sleeping as well. From the needle on their head, it was evident that they had been promptly subdued after being captured. Having received a spiritual beast from Tan Lao before, Miao Yi was able to tell this much at least. He knew that this Blue-Feathered Swallow was among the weakest of the flying-type mounts. They were normally docile in nature, didn¡¯t have much inbat capabilities, and had a short lifespan to boot. Furthermore, they weren¡¯t especially capable when it came to flying long-distance either. To put it simply, they couldn¡¯t even be considered spiritual beasts. The Chamber of Commerce was clearly messing with him by giving these two flying-type mounts to him.


    He continued to examine the contents of the storage ring, even taking out a Glorious Star Immortal Herb the size of an average palm. It had a faint glow to it, and although it was indeed a little small, it was still better than nothing. Miao Yi quickly tucked it away.


    He then took out a spear. After imprinting it with his transcendence energy signature and establishing himself as its master, he activated his arts and tried out the Spear Artifact. It immediately emitted a bright crimson glow.


    After closer inspection, Miao Yi realized that this was nothing more than a normal Third Grade Transcendent Artifact. It was the type that was merely refined with an average Third Grade Yao Core and normal Crystalline Obsidian.


    It was clear that they were giving him items that just barely met the minimum requirements. They were no longer as generous as they were the first time.


    As he spun the spear around a couple times, he couldn¡¯t help feeling as though something was missing. Suddenly, he pped himself on the forehead and moaned, "How could I forget? I¡¯m still missing one Third Grade Armor Artifact. Ah, forget it. It wouldn¡¯t be nice to ask for too many things in one go. I¡¯ll save that one for the next time I get to ask for stuff."


    He tucked away the spear and took out a jade archive from the storage ring. The document detailed the proper method to control the two Blue-Feathered Swallows. It was somewhat simr to the art that Tan Lao had taught him before. All he had to do was wake the Blue-Feathered Swallows up and make them recognize him as their master.


    He was going to set off tomorrow. He had to make use of the time he had now to properly tame them. He might really end up having to use them after all.


    The room was much too small to amodate the massive statures of the two Blue-Feathered Swallows, so Miao Yi went to the courtyard outside and released the two sleeping mounts. He promptly plucked out the needle in their heads, then ced a few chunks of raw meat and crouched down in front of the beasts as he waited for them to awaken...


    Inside the main assembly hall of the Chamber of Commerce, Celestial Nation¡¯s Fifth Earthly Branch capital city. All unrted personnel were asked to leave. One man was seated firmly on the high throne. The man was burly and muscr, with a youthful face that betrayed his actual age, ented by a very thin stubble. He adorned a golden crown above his head and was garbed in elegant and luxurious robes. Even though he was a very good-looking man, his expression at the moment was iparably dark.


    This person was none other than Celestial Sage Mu Fanjun¡¯s first and eldest disciple¡ªHuyan Taibao. This time, he had secretlye from the Realm Beyond Heaven to the capital city of the Fifth Earthly Branch; he didn¡¯t inform the Overlord of the Fifth Earthly Branch.


    Three people were kneeling down below. One of them was Huyan Yongpin, grandchild of Huyan Kang¡¯an, son of Huyan Shou, who had died in the prison of the capital city. The other was Cao Lu, the Chamber of Commerce¡¯s official auditor; his main task was to investigate into all the dealings of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce. The third and final person was Su Yanran, manager of Traversing Water Pce¡¯s Suppressing Tenth City¡¯s Chamber of Commerce.


    There was also a white-haired old man standing in front of them with his head lowered. The man was called Chen Yuan, a weakly old-timer with a buzz cut hairstyle, and he was one of the three Elder Deacons of the Celestial Nation¡¯s Chamber of Commerce.


    As a Deacon of the Chamber of Commerce, his authority was far beyond what the Deacons within the administration couldpare to. Those Deacons were nothing more than mere employees. In contrast, the Deacon of the Chamber of Commerce was someone that was tasked with managing a significant aspect of the organization. This was even more so for one who bore the title of the Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce¡¯s three Elder Deacons. It was easy to imagine the kind of prestige theymanded within the Chamber of Commerce.


    For Chen Yuan to be able to hold such a position, it was evident that he was one of Huyan Taibao¡¯s trusted aides, and was normally much trusted by thetter. However, he didn¡¯t even dare to raise his head right now.


    "Huyan Yongping, lift your head!" Huyan Taibao was grinding his teeth in frustration as he asked, "Are you truly the mastermind behind this incident?"


    Huyan Yongping shakily raised his head. As expected of someone that hade from an influential lineage; he was able to calm his emotions rather quickly. After kowtowing thrice to Huyan Taibao, he cried, "Ancestor, Father truly suffered an unjust death back in the capital city¡¯s prison. It¡¯s obvious that the deed was done by a cultivator. Back then, those people were the only ones who could bear a grudge against Father. The killer must be among them. Yet, after all this time, we still haven¡¯t been able to avenge Father¡¯s death. Even on his deathbed, Grandfathermented his inability to get revenge! If I can¡¯t get justice for Father and relieve Grandfather of his one regret in life, then I will be ashamed to call myself a son of the Huyan line! I won¡¯t be able to live up to Ancestor¡¯s undisputed strength and reputation! That was why I sought Ancestor Chen for help..."


    "You bastard!" Huyan Taibao shouted.


    Huyan Yongping was so frightened he hastily kowtowed, gluing his head back to the ground. The two kneeling beside him were also trembling with fear.


    Huyan Taibao red at the person standing below, pointing at Huyan Yongping as he said angrily, "Chen Yuan, he may be ignorant, but how could you also fail to understand the severity of the situation and follow along with his whims? How dare you leak out the information regarding the Netherdragon Ship just to kill a mere Miao Yi?! Are you tired of living?!"


    Chen Yuan cupped his fists. "My lord, please calm yourself! This Chen Yuan has followed you for many years, and is nothing if not absolutely loyal to you. For a mere cultivator to attempt murder on one of your descendants, they clearly don¡¯t hold you in any regard. This Chen Yuan cannot abide by such insolence. Hence, I had to take proper action against it. Forgive me for being blunt, my lord, but there has always been much uncertainty as to the rumors concerning the Netherdragon Ship. We¡¯re only using this opportunity to eliminate a little pest. Once enough time has passed without getting any leads on the Netherdragon Ship¡¯s whereabouts, this whole incident will gradually blow off as well in due time."


    "Why didn¡¯t you inform me about this earlier?"


    "My lord, I didn¡¯t wish to rm you with such a minor affair..."


    "Bullshit! A minor affair?!" Huyan Taibao looked as if he was going to eat Chen Yuan alive. He barked, "The Celestial Sage has already personally set forth to deal with this ¡¯minor affair¡¯ of yours. How dare you make light of the situation so?! Do you know how heavy amotion you¡¯ve caused? Are you aware of how many people we sent out, the amount of resources we¡¯ve spent on this whole affair?!"


    "The Celestial Sage has personally stepped in?!" Chen Yuan eximed. "How is this possible? The Celestial Sage has never gone this far before even when we received simr news in the past!"


    Perhaps Huyan Yongping couldn¡¯t understand what his own ancestor was talking about, but Cao Lu and Su Yanran who were kneeling beside him were utterly aghast, now quivering in fear.


    Huyan Taibao pointed a finger at Chen Yuan and bellowed, "Of all the times you could have picked... There just so happened to be a fifty thousand year gap between the first and second time the Netherdragon Ship resurfaced. And now, it¡¯s been another fifty thousand years since. The Celestial Sage predicts that there¡¯s a high chance of it resurfacing again, and is confident that the rumors are true!"


    Chen Yuan was absolutely dazed. Even though his cultivation was high, he still couldn¡¯t help the cold sheen of sweat from beading on his forehead. The reason why he spared no effort in getting Miao Yi to leave Celestial Nation domain to kill him was precisely so that the incident would be quickly brushed aside. But now, the matter hadpletely blown out of proportion!


    "Heavens!" Huyan Taibao pointed at each person, his eyes reflecting the stress he was feeling inside as he questioned, "What have you lunatics done?!"


    He was the one who had single-handedly spearheaded this Netherdragon Ship operation from the shadows. As such, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to get to the bottom of things and find out who had leaked the information. All he needed to do was go down the chain of trust and leave no stone unturned. Contrary to his expectations, it didn¡¯t take long for the investigation to reach a conclusion. Once suspicion was pointed towards Chen Yuan, the old man secretly revealed the truth to him. Huyan Taibao was nothing if not shocked by the revtion, to say the least.


    As it turned out, over the decades, Huyan Kang¡¯an had been seeking Chen Yuan¡¯s help with regards to this issue. It was because Chen Yuan was the one who had always been in charge of matters concerning Huyan Taibao¡¯s descendants. After all, where would the person in question find the time to deal with all these descendants from god knows how many thousands of generations apart? He already had enough on his te dealing with those that were actual cultivators.


    Against a few little weaklings, this matter should have originally been resolved with minimal effort. However, Chen Yuan didn¡¯t want to bring trouble to Huyan Taibao. After all, it was not a small deal to kill off a Manor Head within the Celestial Nation domain. The consequences would be dire once people started looking into it. The local powerhouses weren¡¯t pushovers either. Chen Yuan was simply thinking on Huyan Taibao¡¯s behalf.


    Coincidentally, Su Jinsong and the others from Suppressing Tenth Hall were at odds with Miao Yi, Zhao Fei, and Sikong Wuwei. As such, Chen Yuan centered his n around Su Jinsong, wanting to use thetter¡¯s hatred towards the other three for cutting off his arm to send them out of Celestial Nation territory, so that he could promptly deal with them afterward. However, Su Jinsong declined his offer. After which, Huyan Kang¡¯an passed away, and thus the whole affair was temporarily put on hold.


    Unexpectedly, yearster, Su Jinsong came looking for them of his own ord. Furthermore, Huyan Kang¡¯an¡¯s grandson also had the intention of avenging his father. As long as there was a suspect, he didn¡¯t want to let a single one of them go. It didn¡¯t matter to him if they were killed off one at a time, or even if he could only kill some of them. His hatred was understandable; there was no reconciling with the murderer of one¡¯s parents. As such, the n was once again set into motion.


    Chen Yuan knew that Granny Tao would always go to the Realm Beyond Heaven to visit Mu Fanjun after handing over the annual tribute every year, and that thetter trusted Granny Tao deeply. He knew full well that if he told Mu Fanjun news concerning the Netherdragon Ship around that time, then Granny Tao would surely be tasked with the responsibility of investigating its whereabouts. And with Su Jinsong on the other end rmending Miao Yi and the others into the special task force, the whole affair was pretty much a done deal.


    This was not something that required much effort on Chen Yuan¡¯s part. All he needed to do was casually let slip some information and all the pieces would just fall into ce after that. He didn¡¯t think much about it. After all, no one could be certain when it came to news regarding the Netherdragon Ship. As such, he assumed that nothing major would happen. Now that the conditions were set, all he needed to do was get Cao Lu¡ªhis subordinate auditor, to secretly hire someone to have Miao Yi killed. Chen Yuan didn¡¯t think that this would be a difficult thing to do.


    Was this really the truth behind everything? Huyan Taibao didn¡¯t want to believe it at first, which was why he had personallye all this way to interrogate all those in question.


    Now, after finally confirming the truth, Huyan Taibao felt as though he was about to go mad. As it turned out, this whole incident had happened because of some idiot descendant of his whose name he couldn¡¯t even remember! To think that the upper echelons of the entire Celestial Nation were thrown into disarray by the whims of a mere mortal!


    It would¡¯ve been fine if it were anyone else; he would be able to deal with the situation ordingly. However, the mastermind just had to be his own descendant. There was no way he could wipe his own te clean now no matter how hard he tried. Huyan Taibao couldn¡¯t bear to imagine the consequences that would befall him once the Celestial Sage found out about this. Although he had heard of prodigal sons before, he had never known that a prodigal descendant could exist as well. He was really screwed over this time!


    "You nned to kill four people. What about the other three? What else have you imbeciles done? You¡¯d better tell me everything right now. Don¡¯t try to hide anything. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be spending the rest of our lives cutting all the loose ends!" Huyan Taibao clenched his fists tightly as he tried to calm his own rage; he was afraid that he might just massacre everyone on the spot once he was unable to contain his fury!


    Terrified, Chen Yuan answered, "After Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei were promoted to Hall Master, it became difficult to make our move on them, so we didn¡¯t. The only people left were this Miao Yi and Ren Xuanming, who also happened to be in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. We¡¯ve tried our hand against Ren Xuanming twice as well, but we failed both times. It¡¯s because he¡¯s currently working under the subordinate of one of the Two Braves¡ªPang Wuji. On both asions, he was rescued by someone else. After that, hepletely cooped himself up, making it even harder to make our move on him."


    Huyan Taibao broke out into coldughter. "Great! So after putting in so much effort, it turns out you couldn¡¯t even manage to kill off a single person! Instead, you louts stirred up such a majormotion. What a great job you¡¯ve been doing!"

 Chapter 523 Twins

    No one said anything; they all knew that shit had hit the fan this time. The situation had already been exacerbated past the point of redemption.


    Huyan Taibao continued to ask, "Who else knows about this?"


    Chen Yuan replied, "Besides that Su Jinsong of Traversing Water Pce¡¯s Suppressing Tenth Hall, no one knows. Should we¡ª"


    Huyan Taibao immediately cut him off. "Are you still suggesting we silence them? That Miao Yi is already ced under heavy scrutiny. If something were to happen to any of the people involved with him at this time, it would most likely lead back to us. We mustn¡¯t act too hastily!"


    As they heard this, Su Yanran and Cao Lu immediately felt the tension in their hearts easing. Now that the situation had be so serious, the thing they were most worried about was being silenced.


    "Understood!" Chen Yuan acknowledged.


    Huyan Taibao then pointed at the three who were kneeling. "I want the three of you to listen closely. You¡¯d all better take this secret to the grave. Not a single word must be leaked out. Otherwise, there will be no point even if I¡¯m willing to spare you. You know full well what the consequences will be!"


    "Yes, sir!" The three of them replied nervously.


    Huyan Taibao ground his teeth in annoyance and continued, "Remember! Continue doing what you normally do every day! Don¡¯t show a single discrepancy!"


    "Yes, sir!" the three answered sheepishly.


    "Now get lost!" Huyan Taibao waved his hand in dismissal.


    The trio immediately fumbled their way out of the hall.


    After they left, Chen Yuan walked up to the side of the high throne and said, "My lord, now that the situation has gone this far, we mustn¡¯t leave these people alive lest it spell trouble for uster on."


    "For now, we need to ease their worries. To not act is the best course of action for us right now. Otherwise, we risk stirring up an even biggermotion." Huyan Taibao continued helplessly, "The Celestial Sage has already dispatched another team to investigate this incident. I¡¯m not the only one looking into this. As such, we mustn¡¯t do anything that will reveal any clues. As long as there¡¯s no substantial evidence, the other team will have a hard time tracing the whole affair back to us!"


    Clearly, his informationwork had high connections to be able to know about the other investigation team that was dispatched. It was evident that none of Mu Fanjun¡¯s movements within the Celestial Nation could escape the eyes and ears of her eldest disciple.


    Chen Yuan couldn¡¯t help his shock. Wouldn¡¯t this mean that the Celestial Sage was already beginning to suspect Huyan Taibao? He asked cautiously, "Then are we not going to do anything at all?"


    "Of course we¡¯re not just going to sit still. We have to continue investigating this incident down the chain ofmand, and we have to do it perfectly. Even if we know there won¡¯t be any conclusion to further investigation, we still have to do it. It¡¯s a different matter altogether whether our investigation leads anywhere. Even if we have nothing to show for it, at the very least, we can say that we did our best. Failing a task is still a million times better thanmitting a crime!"


    "I understand, my lord."


    "Also, we can¡¯t leave those three and that Su Jinsong alive. Otherwise, who knows what will happen in the future? However, we can¡¯t make our move now. We need to wait until the whole investigation goes cold, and take care of them one at a time, with a sufficient gap in time in between. We absolutely must not try to strike them all down at once. I want you to deal with this personally. Don¡¯t involve anyone else. Remember, kill them discreetly so that no one will be able to notice anything amiss. Understand?" Huyan Taibao turned back and red straight at Chen Yuan.


    As it turned out, he had only told Su Yanran and the others that he wouldn¡¯t be silencing anyone just to ease them of their tension. In the end, he was still nning on killing them off.


    Chen Yuan immediately cupped his fists. "Yes, my lord."


    At the front hall of the tavern, Miao Yi hade out for breakfast again.


    Gracefully walking out from the rear courtyard, the alluring Lady Boss¡¯s eyes gleamed as she noticed Miao Yi. With a yful smile on her face, she walked over to him, casually wiping down the table with her hand, then sat down and asked, "Niu Er, was it fun to y with those big birdsst night?"


    Miao Yi had caused a hugemotion in the rear courtyardst night trying to tame those Blue-Feathered Swallows. It was hard not to notice.


    The people sitting at the two tables beside Miao Yi¡¯s all nced over to him as they wondered who this ¡¯Niu Er¡¯ person was. It seemed to them that he was quite close to the Lady Boss. The white-robed person was also quietly looking over with a curious gaze from the corner of the hall.


    "It¡¯s definitely more fun than drinking with you. At least I won¡¯t get beaten that way," Miao Yi said begrudgingly as he ate.


    As she remembered how she¡¯d sent the other party flying with a kick yesterday, the Lady Boss couldn¡¯t help letting out a light chuckle. If nothing else, she felt as though her heart had lightened somewhat after that lively banter with Miao Yi yesterday. She yfully twirled her hair with her slender fingers, narrowing her eyes at him as she remarked, "Why are youining? Do you know how many people there are who can only wish to have a drink with this Lady Boss? Don¡¯t be so oblivious to your own good fortune."


    "Good fortune?" Miao Yi scoffed. "Feel free to find someone else to drink with you. This lowly one is unable to indulge in such an honor."


    The white-robed person sitting in the corner couldn¡¯t help his amazement; he was seeing Miao Yi in a new light now. Never did he imagine that this guy could actually spend time and drink together with the Lady Boss of Tempest Tavern.


    "Kid, you really can¡¯t tell chalk from cheese..." The schr circled around the counter and was about to give Miao Yi a talking to, when suddenly, the other party ced down his chopsticks and reached out his hand, saying, "Refund me eight days¡¯ worth of aodation fees!"


    The schr was taken aback. "What¡¯s that supposed to mean? You¡¯re not going to stay here anymore?"


    Miao Yi scoffed, "I¡¯ve only stayed here for a few days, and I¡¯ve already been beaten up twice. If this keeps up, my life is going to be in danger. Why the hell should I continue staying then? Now hurry up and give me back my money. You said that you¡¯ll only take the specified amount. Nothing more, nothing less. You¡¯re not going back on your word, are you?"


    "Are you serious?" the schr asked.


    At this moment, the sound of hoofbeats came from outside; it was another group that hade to a stop in front of the tavern.


    The Lady Boss and schr shared a nce, then looked towards Miao Yi, who quickly wiped his mouth and stood up with his hand outstretched. They immediately understood the gist of things; the kid¡¯s escorts had probablye again.


    What else could they do but refund his money? The schr walked to the back of the counter and put down a stack of Gold Crystals.


    Miao Yi counted everything, and after making sure it was the right amount, he quickly tucked it away. Before the schr could even say anything, Miao Yi then ced his room que down on the counter which shut the former up immediately. He then proudly ced his hands behind his back and walked off. Even though he couldn¡¯t hit them back for beating him, he could still do something like this to irritate them.


    "Arrogant brat!" The Lady Boss stood up and said mockingly, "Don¡¯t get beaten up like a dog and crawl back here again."


    Miao Yi didn¡¯t even turn around. With his back still facing them, he simply waved his hand as a gesture of farewell.


    It was likely that he wouldn¡¯t be returning again after this. With two Purple Lotus experts protecting him, there shouldn¡¯t be too much trouble anymore. He would either be roaming around in the desert, or be sent back afterpleting his mission. He figured it would be best for him to refrain froming to this ursed ce too often in the future.


    He made his way to the courtyard and released the dragon steed, then hopped on to its back. After fumbling his way with it for a while, he proceeded outside, where he was joined by several dozen other riders. They then promptly left afterward.


    "Lady Boss, what do you think he¡¯s here for? Given the influence of the person hiding behind him, it¡¯s clearly way beyond his Manor Head¡¯s pay grade." The schr transmitted his voice over.


    "Who cares what that ungrateful brat is here to do? It¡¯s not like it matters to us whether he lives or dies." The Lady Boss huffed, then walked out to the courtyard and watched as Miao Yi and his group departed...


    As he galloped through the desert, surrounded by several dozen other riders by his side, Miao Yi constantly turned to look at the two people right beside him. He noticed that they were rather small of stature, and had deadpan expressions on their faces. Even so, they still stuck close to him. It was rather clear that they were indeed trying to protect him.


    Eventually, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help asking, "Are you two here for that, umm..."


    "We¡¯re your bodyguards!" they both replied.


    "Seniors, are you really at the Purple Lotus realm?" Miao Yi asked.


    "Yes!" they both answered firmly.


    "May I have the courtesy of knowing your names?"


    "Wu Zhen. Wu Ming."


    ¡¯Wu Zhen, Wu Ming? No real name?¡¯ Miao Yi¡¯s expression twisted. Could these names be any more fake? They were even more dubious than his ¡¯Niu Er¡¯. Would it kill these two to think of slightly more believable names?!


    The group continued to gallop away from the gathering ce in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, eventuallying to a stop sometime at night. Miao Yi¡¯s second-inmand then started assigning the members to the various search areas.


    Officially, this second-inmand was the captain this time around; Miao Yi was just another loose cultivator. However, it was true that Miao Yi wouldn¡¯t have much to do on this excursion. This time, his most important job was to be the ¡¯bait¡¯ to lure out the assassin. Locating the ¡¯Netherdragon Ship¡¯ was merely his secondary objective. And after that, he was also to collect the ¡¯Moondawn¡¯ spiritual herb.


    Once everyone was assigned to their designated search zones, they then agreed on an assembly point afterward. Most of the members immediately spread out after that. The ones that remained were mostly those from the administration.


    These people quickly dug up the sand, and when they reached the hard shell underneath, theybined forces andunched a heavy strike against it, stirring up a powerful spurt of water. The shattered pieces of the shell quickly sank to the bottom, revealing the sea encased below. Meanwhile, as the sand around the edges of the hole gradually cascaded down into the pool, it quickly formed a new hard shell, sealing the hole back up bit by bit.


    As the captain waved his hand, he then led some of the members down into the water, disappearing into its depths in the blink of an eye as they began their underwater investigation.


    Miao Yi also wished to explore the environment in this ocean beneath the desert. However, just as he made a diving stance and was about to plunge headfirst into the water, he was suddenly stopped by a powerful wave of transcendence energy. His head was almost touching the water, but his entire body was just floating in the sky.


    ¡¯What the heck?¡¯ He turned around to look at Wu Zhen, who immediately pulled him back with the wave of a hand.


    As he stumbled to the ground, Miao Yi asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"


    Wu Zhen said solemnly, "Don¡¯t forget what you¡¯re here to do. You need to lure the assassin out. What will we do if you dive underwater and they can¡¯t find you?"


    Miao Yi was speechless. It was a first for him to want someone toe and kill him.


    He turned back to look at the pond being slowly sealed up by the cascading sand and couldn¡¯t help feeling a tinge of regret. He was curious as to how this subterranean ocean was any different from the one he knew.


    Nevermind. As long as he was still alive, there would always be another chance to visit.


    He then turned back and noticed Wu Zhen and Wu Ming had already hopped onto their mounts and were each heading off in separate directions. Confused, Miao Yi leaped onto his own dragon steed as well. He wondered, ¡¯Which one should I follow?¡¯


    "Seniors? Where are you running off to?" Miao Yi shouted.


    When they heard this, Wu Zhen and Wu Ming quickly turned back, both staring daggers at him. Wu Ming then said solemnly, "What are you shouting so loudly for? Are you afraid that the assassin won¡¯t know that this is a trap?"


    "It was a slip of the tongue. Forgive me, Seniors." Miao Yi cupped his fists apologetically. "When this junior noticed you two leaving separately, I didn¡¯t know who to follow, so I just called out for you."


    Wu Zhen replied, "Don¡¯t follow either of us! Just go on your own. If we¡¯re constantly around you, the assassin might grow cautious and won¡¯t show up so easily. Don¡¯t worry so much. We won¡¯t be too far away. As soon as anything happens, we¡¯ll rush straight over to rescue you."


    ¡¯Are you kidding me? The assassins that want this ol¡¯ life of mine just keep getting stronger and stronger. If the one they sent out this time is even more powerful than thest... And you want me to walk alone?¡¯ Miao Yi grimaced as he asked, "Seniors, are you two really Purple Lotus cultivators? Can you please prove it to me?"


    The other party knew what he was concerned about; he was worried that their cultivations weren¡¯t high enough and that they wouldn¡¯t be able to get to him in time.


    Wu Zhen and Wu Ming looked at each other, then got off their mounts and jumped into the sand pit that was previously dug up, avoiding any chance of being noticed by the various eyes and ears around them. They then proceeded to take off the porcin mask over their faces.


    A set of dainty, beautiful faces was revealed under the moonlight, with a Purple Lotus Second Grade mark shining on their foreheads.


    Miao Yi was astonished. These two were actually women? What was even more inconceivable was that they lookedpletely identical. Twins...

 Chapter 524 The Ascetic

    Great Manor Head Miao¡¯s gaze then fell upon the other party¡¯s busts reflexively.


    The other party wasn¡¯t put off by this. It seemed they were already ustomed to such looks. The reason why they cross-dressed as men was to avoid unnecessary trouble. Whenever someone found out that the two of them were actually women, they would always turn their gazes towards their chest, regardless if the other party was a man or a woman. It wasn¡¯t as though they both liked dressing up as men. However, they simply had no choice because of their circumstances. Otherwise, they would be too easily recognized.


    After proving their cultivations to Miao Yi, Wu Zhen, and Wu Ming helped each other arrange their masks neatly, before galloping off on their mounts, leaving the Great Manor Head Miao behind as they went off in separate directions.


    Alone on his dragon steed, Miao Yi turned to look at the person gradually disappearing to the east, then to the other fading off into the west. He was a little unsure of what to say. In the end, he looked down at the sandpit that was just dug up, then gazed upward at the starry sky. After getting his bearings right, he proceeded alone towards the next gathering point for the group.


    He was on high alert throughout the whole journey; he really didn¡¯t wish for the assassin to appear.


    Perhaps his wish had managed to reach the heavens; the assassin really didn¡¯t show up anymore after that. And in the blink of an eye, one year had passed...


    The roars of the dragon abruptly resounded as the Inferno Qilin Spear wasunched out. Seated on his dragon steed, Miao Yi thrust his spear to the side, its sharp spearhead fiercely stabbing into the body of a giant scorpion. A powerful wave of heat soon erupted from within the giant scorpion, casting its sleek, ck carapace in a luminescent glow.


    This creature was a savage beast unique to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, and went by the name ¡¯Flowing Clouds Desert Scorpion¡¯. It had the body the size of a carriage, with equally massive pincers and a stinger filled with deadly poison. It was a creature that possessed an innate aptitude for killing other living things. And because there wasn¡¯t much food to be found in the desert, it would hunt its prey down relentlessly if it ever met one.


    There was another terrifying beast Flowing Clouds Dune Sea was famous for, and that was the Sea Monkey. It possessed a vicious-looking face and was armed with sharp fangs and ws. It also had enormous strength, especially when underwater, and was exceptionally good at ambushing the people that dove into the subterranean ocean. Sometimes, it would also hide itself under the sand. And when an unsuspecting person passed by, it would suddenly reveal its ws and pull the victim down into the ocean. Then, it would make use of its aquatic superiority to slowly torture the person to death. As a creature that normally attacked in hordes, there was quite a number among their species who would eventually ascend into immortality.


    Because of these creatures, Miao Yi¡¯s group had already lost over half their members. However, as soon as the situation was reported to the higher-ups, they would quickly arrange for recements to be sent over.


    The Flowing Clouds Desert Scorpion before Miao Yi now wasn¡¯t toorge. A few months ago, he had killed a Scorpion Spirit that was the size of a small house and managed to himself a First Grade Yao Core.


    Apparently in the past, out of the Five Emperors of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, two of them were actually a Scorpion King and a Monkey King, and both had possessed a very high cultivation. However, they both perished at the hands of Devil Sage Yun Aotian because of the incident with Tempest Tavern.


    Miao Yi pulled out his spear and swung it around, chopping down one of the giant pincers with the reversed-edge of his spear, which he then promptly tucked away. He proceeded to circle around the corpse of the giant scorpion, constantly hammering down on its hard shell with his spear. The ces he hit were all the fleshy parts of the scorpion, and soon, a mouth-watering fragrance wafted in the air.


    He sprinkled a significant amount of salt on the giant scorpion¡¯s back, then allowed his dragon steed to go up to the scorpion and chow down on it. It ate up the meat in a delicious manner, asionally stopping to lick off the salt around its mouth.


    Miao Yi also released the two Blue-Feathered Swallows and let them join in on the feast.


    Miao Yi then took out the pincer that he had previously tucked away and smashed open the shell, immediately revealing the juicy, tender meat wrapped within. A tantalizing smell quickly wafted through the air. Miao Yi then used a small knife and thered a little bit of salt on the meat, before putting it into his mouth. The meat was fresh and delicious, and had a refreshing bite to it; it was truly a wondrous delicacy.


    As he ate while seated on his mount, his dragon steed ate around the corpse of the giant scorpion. The two Blue-Feathered Swallows were happily partaking in the meal as well. This was how it was when sharing one¡¯s good fortune.


    At first, his dragon steed would grow anxious when it first saw the Flowing Clouds Desert Scorpion. But now, the giant scorpion was like a delicious treat in its eyes. It would chase after the creature relentlessly every single time it saw one. Clearly, it had grown hooked to the taste.


    As he chewed on the delicious meat, Miao Yi nced at how his dragon steed was gnawing ravenously on the scorpion¡¯s body, shell and all, and couldn¡¯t help but notice a brief resemnce to Charcoal on it. He continued waving the small knife in his hand as he clicked his tongue and sighed. "Oh poor fatso, you¡¯re missing out!"


    Shortly after, Wu Zhen and Wu Ming came over on their dragon steeds after hearing the sounds of a battle. Miao Yi took out the other pincer and split it in half before tossing it over to them. "My two beautiful Seniors, I¡¯ve left these especially for you."


    The two of them rolled their eyes. After receiving the pincer halves, they quickly retreated to avoid being seen too close to Miao Yi. When Miao Yi noticed how they were lowering their heads in the distance, he knew that they were also breaking open the pincer¡¯s shell and eating the meat. After all, who would hate good food?


    After the two of them tried it once, they had be addicted to the taste as well.


    Miao Yi looked to the left and right and couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. He had always wanted to befriend the two beautiful twin Seniors, but most of the time, they maintained their distance with him as they went along. They would only meet up whenever the rest of the group did, making it very hard to have a proper conversation.


    Now that a year had already passed, even Wu Zhen and Wu Ming started to doubt that the assassin would ever show up. However, like Miao Yi, they too had their mission, and they had no other choice but to continue onwards. As long as the higher-ups didn¡¯t give them the green light, the two of them wouldn¡¯t be able to leave.


    After eating his fill, Miao Yi pped on his stomach and licked his lips, before giving off a resounding burp. This delicious meal was a reward to himself for finally breaking through to the Blue Lotus Sixth Grade. Yes, just a few short days ago, his cultivation had finally made another breakthrough.


    His daily refining speed for Orbs of Will had once again increased, from seven orbs a day to eight. And for him to break through to Blue Lotus Seventh Grade, he would need to refine approximately another 82,000 Orbs of Will, which meant that he would have to spend another twenty-eight years cultivating before he could make another breakthrough. Furthermore, this was under the condition that he would not be disturbed.


    Evidently, that was impossible in his current circumstances. Originally, he should¡¯ve been able to break through to Blue Lotus Sixth Grade six months ago. However, it ended up being dyed by half a year.


    A spirit eagle flew over from across the sky. Miao Yi extended his arm for it tond on, then took out the jade archive inside the cylinder by its legs. It was a letter from Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er.


    "Looks like you¡¯re in luck again. Go!" Miao Yi shook his hand, and the spirit eagle immediately swooped over to the giant scorpion and began gnawing down on it.


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi sat to the side and slowly read through Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er¡¯s letter. Currently, both parties would write to each other at least once a month. Simply put, it was just a way of telling each other that they were safe.


    As far as safety was concerned, there wasn¡¯t much danger on Traversing Water Pce¡¯s side. Everything proceeded as usual in Raincloud Manor, although there had been several asions where Sikong Wuwei and Zhao Fei pressed the two girls on where Miao Yi had gone. Clearly, they had noticed something was wrong, as they both also had subordinate Manor Heads disappearing on their end as well. The two girls ended up being put in a difficult spot because of this.


    The letter simply described the current situation as such, and towards the end, the two girls said that they missed him, and asked if it would be alright for them toe visit.


    Clearly, this was an impossible request! Miao Yi shook his head at the jade archive. And after some thought, he ultimately decided to write a letter to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei as well. He took out two jade archives and wrote down simr content in each one. In his letter, he asked them not to trouble Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er, and that he was fine, that it was difficult for him to exin to them his current situation, but promising that he would as soon as he got back. He also told them that their subordinate Manor Heads would no longer be returning and that they should be looking for recements soon. He told them not to wait any longer.


    He then proceeded to write his reply to the two girls. After writing them some words of reassurance, he asked that they hand the two letters he was sending them to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei.


    Miao Yi got down from his dragon steed and waited for the spirit eagle to finish eating before cing the three jade archives into the cylinder by its legs, then letting it fly off into the skies.


    With hands behind his back, Miao Yi watched as the spirit eagle gradually disappeared into the horizon, and couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh. He also missed Qian¡¯Er and Xue¡¯Er terribly. What did he have here? Beyond the neverending desert was still just more sand! He would constantly have to deal with sudden sandstorms or the attack of ferocious creatures. Not to mention, there was no one here to warm his bed at night. Although there was a pair of beautiful twins right beside him, it was impossible for him to sleep with them. If he had revealed even the slightest crude intention, they would most likely beat him into a bloody pulp. Their cultivations were simply too high.


    "Goddammit! Where the hell is that shitty ghost ship? If this keeps up, when will I be able to break through to Blue Lotus Seventh Grade? If it never shows up, then does that mean I¡¯ll have to continue wasting my time here and never be able to cultivate in peace ever again? Stop eating already! We¡¯re going to look for that ghost ship!"


    Miao Yi cursed aloud and tucked away the two Blue-Feathered Swallows. He then leaped up onto his mount, giving himself some motivation as he scanned his surroundings and continued forward with his search.


    There was no end to the boundless sandscape. Miao Yi didn¡¯t know if there was anyone in heaven who could hear his cries, but one person surely did.


    Lao Bai¡¯s graceful silhouette appeared under the shade of the palm tree. He nced at the messy aftermath that had been the giant scorpion, and slowly shut his eyes.


    Even though Miao Yi was just letting off some steam, Lao Bai also had to agree that his words had a point. This pointless search was not helping Miao Yi¡¯s cultivation at all. It was just a waste of time. It would have been better if there was some kind of benefit to it, but he was doing nothing more than just roaming around the desert.


    Lao Bai then spread his arms wide, his eyes closed as his figure slowly ascended into the skies. His light blue outer coat and white robes gently fluttered in the wind as his whole body quietly spun about in mid-air...


    As dusk approached, Miao Yi was galloping on his dragon steed, when suddenly, he brought it to a stop, and his eyes looked forward cautiously.


    In the desert ahead, there was an old man dressed in in robes walking right towards him. The man had a cane in one hand and a woven straw hat adorning his head.


    It was impossible for a mortal to be seen in these parts and even less of a chance for one to be traveling on foot. Having rxed his guard somewhat over thest six months, Miao Yi immediately went back on full alert. It didn¡¯t matter if the other party was the assassin sent to kill him or not; there was still a chance that he was a bandit.


    Whoosh! Miao Yi hastily garbed himself in armor and readied his Inferno Qilin Spear. He then quickly made his way to one of the sand dunes to the side in order to avoiding into direct contact with the other party.


    The old man walked by at a leisurely pace, lifting his head to look up at Miao Yi on the sand dune as he passed him by. He had a fair, clean face, with a set of deep, prating eyes. His expression was gentle, and he lightly smiled and nodded at Miao Yi. He didn¡¯t interact with Miao Yi beyond that and continued on his way with the cane in his hand.


    The way the old man quietly walked reflected a profound belief in his own faith. It seemed he was an ascetic, and bore no ill will towards other living creatures. However, Miao Yi still maintained his vignce, not turning his back on the other party for even a second.


    Once the other party was far away, Miao Yi finally heaved a sigh of relief and continued on his own journey. Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted from behind him. Miao Yi quickly turned his head around and saw a powerful upward st of sand and dirt, followed by a mighty gush of water. It looked as if some massive object had juste up to the surface of the ground.


    As the massive spurt of water rained down upon the powerful wave of sand and dust, the helm of a white ship revealed itself, and it was graduallying closer and closer.


    A ship! It was a giant ship! And it was white? Before he knew what was going on, Miao Yi had already turned his mount around and galloped straight towards the ship. By the time he realized that he was drawing close to it, he came to a sudden halt.


    It was indeed a giant white ship. It was at least a hundred meters tall and a hundred meters wide. There was no telling how long it was from the front.


    The colossal ship looked as though it was carved out of an enormous block of white jade, and under the sunset, it seemed even more imposing than normal. The cabins of the ship were both intricate, yet iparably ancient and massive at the same time. There was no telling what was inside those cabins. And as the giant ship drifted across the vast desert, it emitted a dull, nking noise.


    The ship wasn¡¯t gliding across the desert floor on its own. Rather, there was a nigh-uncountable amount of iron chains attached to the ship¡¯s hull, and surrounding the ship¡¯s body was an equallyrge crowd. The iron chains were cuffed onto these people, and they in turn, were pulling on the iron chains to drag that ancient, massive ship across the sand.

 Chapter 525 The Netherdragon Ship

    Therge rabble dragged the ship forward, looking like zombies lurching about under the light of dusk.


    There were some with disheveled hair, some in tattered armor, and some were even missing their limbs; there were men and women of all ages, and some among the crowd were even bald, clearly people of faith. They all heaved on the giant iron chains as though numb to all else. Even those who were missing limbs pulled on the chain as they crawled forth on the ground. Every single person marched forward while towing the colossal ship!


    At the helm of the ship was the head of a great dragon arched towards the sky. Under the dusk light, it looked extraordinarily imposing, as though it were about to break free from its shackles and soar into the clouds. Yet, it also seemed as if it was keeping the massive crowd below the ship in check. As the rabble pulled on the iron chains, they looked as though they were tiny, little ripples that were created whenever a ship sailed across the surface of the ocean.


    This sight was so shocking that Miao Yi had almost forgotten how to breathe! As he gawked at the colossal structure that was gradually drawing closer to him, he couldn¡¯t help but feel how small he was.


    ¡¯The Netherdragon Ship!¡¯ The thought suddenly shed through Miao Yi¡¯s mind. Even though he had never seen what it looked like before, he could tell that this was it at first sight.


    He finally understood why this vessel was called the Netherdragon Ship, and what it meant when people said the phrase¡ª¡¯Where there¡¯s smoke, there¡¯s fire.¡¯


    There was a huge mass of people around the dragon-looking ship, towing it along the desert. Thispletely matched the description told in the rumors. The story that Yao Ruoxian hadn¡¯t believed in¡ªMiao Yi was seeing it with his own eyes, and at such close proximity too!


    The uneven desert terrain was being ttened out by the massive vessel, and the air reverberated with loud rumbling noises as it drifted across the sand.


    Wu Zhen and Wu Ming had already rushed over after hearing such a hugemotion. Just then, the two women were hovering in the sky, utterly bbergasted by what they were looking at.


    Their mission this time was only to help Miao Yi catch an assassin. They hadn¡¯t been briefed about the search for the Netherdragon Ship beforehand.


    However, they also knew the legend of the Netherdragon Ship. With such arge vessel sitting just right before them, was there even a need to doubt what it was?


    ording to legend, there are countless treasures from the Higher Realm hidden aboard the Netherdragon Ship. And it was said that even the all-powerful cultivation arts that the Six Sages used to seize control of the realm hade from this very vessel!


    The two of them couldn¡¯t contain their shock. As though reading each other¡¯s minds, they shared a look¡ªnow that they had actuallye across this vessel of legend, how could they just pass it by?


    The two of them nodded to one another, then immediately flew off towards the ship.


    When Miao Yi looked up and saw the two of them flying off, he too felt a surge of excitement.


    ¡¯Damn, I can¡¯t let that old woman Mu Fanjun have all the loot. I¡¯m going to see if I can get something for myself as well.¡¯


    His eyes gleaming with greed, he hurriedly charged out on his dragon steed.


    When the prospect of riches is greater than a man¡¯s self-control, it is capable of driving him mad with greed and cause him to lose all sense of reason.


    At the foremost of the rabble was a muscr man with disheveled hair, his head lowered as he hauled the iron chain. Suddenly, he raised his head, revealing a face so dirty that it was hard to see what he even looked like. His milky-grey eyes red at the two people who were flying towards the ship. He abruptly pulled on the iron chain wrapped around his waist with great force, and swung it around with his bare arms.


    ¡¯Crack!¡¯¡ªas the brawny, corpse-like man swept his arms around, a beautiful, orange glow swept over the entire iron chain. Like a sh of orange lightning crackling across the sky, the iron chain arced with powerful momentum, causing the air to ripple as it viciously whipped forward; the crackling sound it made was ear-piercing.


    Wu Zhen and Wu Ming were greatly shocked, quickly realizing that the opponent¡¯s attack was not something they could withstand. Fortunately, their cultivations weren¡¯t low and their reactions were fast enough for them to quickly dodge to the side.


    Lucky for them, the iron chain held by the muscr man could only reach so far due to its length, allowing the two women to avoid certain death. However, the beautiful orange glow around the iron chain had been sweeping past with the ferocity of a dragonshing its tail, and a small portion of it lightly struck the two of them.


    ¡¯Spurt! Spurt!¡¯ Both twins spat out a mouthful blood and hurtled over Miao Yi¡¯s head.


    Miao Yi quickly arched his head and watched as the two women crashnded in the distance, still spewing out blood incessantly.


    Miao Yi was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped to the ground. ¡¯Holy shit! Those are two Purple Lotus Second Grade experts for crying out loud! And they can¡¯t even withstand a ncing blow from the opponent?! If all these people towing the ship were to work together, then there¡¯s not even a glimmer of hope at all! Fuck me, where did all these superpowered monsterse from?!¡¯


    ¡¯God help me!¡¯ Miao Yi was so terrified, his whole body was trembling; feeling as though his soul were about to leave his body. His forehead covered in cold sweat, he quickly turned his mount around and backed away. He had finally been woken up after realizing that he didn¡¯t have the slimmest chance of ever touching the treasures hidden aboard the ship. In fact, he didn¡¯t have the ability to even think about touching them!


    ¡¯Crack!¡¯ The orange glow receded from the iron chain whipped out by the brawny man, and it wound itself around his waist again. The man then continued to tow the ship along.


    As he made his hasty retreat, Miao Yi headed right for Wu Zhen and Wu Ming, who were still struggling to get on their feet. Reaching his hand out to them, he pulled them atop his mount before hurriedly taking them both away from the path that the Netherdragon Ship was being towed on.


    Once he had regained his sense, the Great Manor Miao was finally able to think clearly. He could now understand that as long as they didn¡¯t enter a certain distance from the ship, then those people wouldn¡¯t attack them.


    He then quickly charged out to the side and gazed at the Netherdragon Ship from afar.


    As therge rabble slowly dragged the ship past him, Miao Yi eyed the side of the ship and roughly estimated its length¡ªit was no less than two hundred meters. The ship was white all the way through, with an almost crystalline sheen to it. And at the stern of the ship, was a realistic engraving of a dragon¡¯s tail.


    ¡¯So that¡¯s the Netherdragon Ship! Sadly, I don¡¯t have what it takes to seize the riches inside!¡¯ thought Miao Yi, feeling dejected. There was little else he could do but take out a jade archive and write a report of his situation. He then released a spirit eagle from his beast sack, ced the jade archive inside it¡¯s leg cannister, and let it fly off into the sky.


    "Looks like I can only cede this opportunity to that old woman..." Miao Yi grumbled to himself. There was no helping it. He didn¡¯t even have the strength to get close to the Netherdragon Ship. All he could do was try to see if he could receive a reward forpleting the mission.


    After watching the spirit eagle safely fly off into the distance, Miao Yi then charged out on his dragon steed and continued following the Netherdragon Ship from a distance!


    He was able to glimpse an extremely rare sight, one that many people might not have the chance to see in their whole life. How could he just let it drift off like this? Obviously, he needed to follow after it.


    ¡¯Why can¡¯t the ship just drop me a treasure or two?¡¯ Miao Yi secretly wished. Suddenly, he froze. Slowly lowering his head to look down at his chest, he saw two fair, but bloodied hands stroking his chest.


    ¡¯What the heck?¡¯ Miao Yi turned back to look at Wu Ming. Her eyes were hazy, almost as if she were about to cry. And behind her, it seemed like Wu Zhen was caressing Wu Ming¡¯s body as well.


    Miao Yi was startled, and quickly jumped down his dragon steed. He then dragged the both of them down as well, but they continued to feel all over their own bodies, as though they were in incredible pain. Miao Yi asked, "Seniors, how are your wounds? Do they hurt?"


    Wu Zhen suddenly held tightly onto her own shoulders. The expression on her face was difficult to read, but she shook her head and painfully said to Miao Yi, "Run away! Quickly! Forget about us, just go!"


    Wu Ming also tightly hugged onto her own thighs and yelled, "Hurry up and go!"


    In full chivalrous fashion, Miao Yi sincerely said, "How could I just leave you two when you¡¯re injured?" He stabbed his Inferno Qilin Spear into the ground, then took out the tiny Glorious Star Immortal Herb that he had received from the Chamber of Commerce. "Seniors, if you don¡¯t mind this humble status of mine, then why don¡¯t we be friends? You can think of this little immortal herb of mine as a token tomemorate the beginning of our friendship."


    The guys running Tempest Tavern always maintained a neutral stance, so nothing really changed even when he got close to them. On the other hand, it was actually worth trying to pull himself closer to these two Purple Lotus experts. Now that he had the opportunity to help them in their time of need, how could he let the chance slip by? Besides, he had gotten this immortal herb for free from the Chamber of Commerce anyways. Miao Yi was dead set on giving it away if it meant he could establish a connection with these two.


    All of a sudden, Wu Ming abruptly snatched his immortal herb away and tossed it aside.


    Miao Yi¡¯s head followed the immortal herb¡¯s flight as it flew off into the distance. ¡¯Goddamnit. It¡¯s bad enough that you don¡¯t appreciate my goodwill. Don¡¯t you think throwing it away is going a bit too far? Fine then, you both can suffer and die for all I care.¡¯


    Miao Yi¡¯s face darkened. He turned around, wanting to go pick the immortal herb back up, but as he reached out with his hand to pull his Inferno Qilin Spear from the ground, he realized that his wrist was firmly frozen in ce; he couldn¡¯t move a single inch.


    The Great Manor Head Miao quickly turned back and saw that Wu Ming was already holding onto his arm after having thrown the immortal herb away. Her hazy eyes were on the verge of tears, and she seemed utterly intoxicated.


    Before Miao Yi could even process the situation, Wu Ming was already pouncing onto him, pushing him down to the ground. Wu Zhen joined in as well, and both of them continuosly feeling all over Miao Yi¡¯s body. Judging from their movements, it seemed like they were trying to take his clothes off.


    Fortunately for the Great Manor Head Miao, he was wearing armor. Not to mention, the armor artifact refined by Yao Ruoxian was the type that was tight-fitting to one¡¯s figure. Hence, they could neither take off Miao Yi¡¯s armor nor his clothes.


    "What are you two doing?" Miao Yi was horrified. There was no use struggling either. Against two Purple Lotus cultivators, he was nothing more than a ragdoll. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t crawl away even if he wanted to.


    There was no way to strip the tight-fitting armor away, but how could a mere Second Grade Armor Artifact defend against thebined might of two Purple Lotus cultivators. The twins immediately used brute force to forcefully rip the armor artifact off. They were like two starving wolves pouncing on their prey.


    A grating noise echoed forth as the armor artifact was ultimately destroyed, and a ck mist enveloped all three of them.


    "My armor... WHAT ARE YOU DOING... AHHH! Don¡¯t strip me... HELP...!" Within the ck mist, the sound of clothes being ripped could be heard... together with the sound of Miao Yi¡¯s screams.


    Once the ck mist dissipated, Miao Yi waspletely stark naked on the ground. He stared with widened eyes at the two people before him, and saw that they had already taken their own clothes off. As they tore off the bindings holding their chest down, two pairs of voluminous, white breasts were immediately released into the open.


    Miao Yi¡¯s jaw was wide-open in shock, but he finally understood what these two were nning to do now. He could only watch as their fair, slender bodies made their way on top of him.


    The Great Manor Head Miao could not bear to try resisting them any longer, and simply turned his head to the side, letting nature take its course. He could only allow the other party do as they pleased with him, but he still couldn¡¯t help from asionally gritting his teeth. He had never been with someone so rough before; they were going at him like two ferocious beasts¡ªas though they were spiritual beasts...


    Celestial Nation Chamber of Commerce branch. Not long after the spirit eaglended, the white-haired old man hurriedly rushed up to the highest floor and handed the jade archive over to Guo Shaohai. "NEWS from Miao Yi. IT has appeared!"


    From his cross-legged position, Guo Shaohai abruptly opened his eyes. There was a gleam in them as he hastily snatched the jade archive away from the old man.


    After reading through the jade archive¡¯s contents, Guo Shaohai instantly stood up. It was so fast that the old man hadn¡¯t even see him bend down. Holding the jade archive in his hand, he spoke excitedly, "Once every fifty thousand years... just as I expected! It looks like I made the right choice by taking charge of this ce. By the time the other five receive the news, there won¡¯t be a single dime left for them to take! Hahaha! That Miao Yi kid has performed beautifully!"


    ¡¯Crack!¡¯ The jade archive was instantly ground into dust in his hand, and its remains flew towards the window; which was subsequently destroyed as a powerful gale escaped from within the room, carrying the jade archive¡¯s remains with it. Meanwhile, the two men who were inside the room had disappeared without a trace.


    A golden streak of light shot into the distance and quickly disappeared, followed from afar by another simr streak of golden light...

 Chapter 526 Finally Aboard

    What did it mean to be in indescribable pleasure but at the same time, feel as though you want to die? What did it mean to push through with an impossible task?


    On this day, the Great Manor Head Miao learned the answer; he waspletely exhausted by the two Seniors.


    He had already lost track of how long they had been going at it, as Wu Ming, heavily panting and drenched in sweat as she was, rested weakly on top of his body. The madness had finally subsided. Meanwhile, Wu Zhen¡¯s fair, alluring body was already lying beside them, her face resting upon the sand with her eyes softly shut.


    As for the masks they had both been wearing, they were long gone, having been taken off by Miao Yi.


    His feelings were understandable. It was bad enough that he was being raped. How would he be able to stomach being raped by two women who wore masks that made them look like men? At the very least, looking at their natural female faces eased his distress somewhat.


    Within the boundless skies and sands of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, the sun had already set, but nheless, the vicious aftermath of their act remained bare for all to see.


    After he felt Wu Ming¡¯s breathing gradually calming down from under her, Miao Yi tried to move away. Now that the other party wasn¡¯t forcefully pushing him down, he was able to move her to the side. He hurriedly got to his feet then took out a set of clothes from his storage ring and put them on. He didn¡¯t even care how dirty he was right now. All he knew was that it felt as though his bones were all bent out of ce.


    He grabbed the Inferno Qilin Spear. It had been standing erect in the sand as it were, as if acting as some sort of lookout. The Glorious Star Immortal Herb that was soon-to-be buried under the cascading sand was also picked up and promptly tucked away.


    Miao Yi then took out two nkets and ced them on to the two naked women lying on the ground. After which, he quietly made his way to his dragon steed, who had spent half the day just watching the performance.


    "Where are you going?" Wu Zhen asked. Currently, she was using her natural, feminine voice. Truth be told, she could already no longer conceal her true voice back when they were fooling around.


    Miao Yi froze. He slowly turned around and saw Wu Zhen already standing up with a nket covering her body, coldly staring at him. Wu Ming was still lying on the ground with a flushed expression on her face; she was biting her lip, her eyes still firmly shut. She didn¡¯t dare to open them.


    As Wu Zhen took a step forward, her face immediately twisted in pain. However, she still grit her teeth and slowly hobbled her way forward.


    Miao Yi coughed drily and said, "Seniors, umm, how should I put it... I know you didn¡¯t mean to do what you did. I just thought it through. It must have been that orange glow that hit you earlier that made you act so irrationally. I won¡¯t me you for it!"


    ¡¯PAH!¡¯ A slender arm abruptly shot out from within the nket. Wu Zhen had just given him a loud, resounding p to the face.


    Miao Yi ced his hand on his face. While he was a rather dumbfounded at first, his expression quickly turned to anger. It was totally unfair to hit someone in the face. However, when he saw the wretched state that the other person was in, he ground his teeth and said, "Just my luck!" After which, he turned away to walk off.


    "SISTER!" Wu Ming suddenly shrieked.


    Miao Yi quickly swiveled back around and saw Wu Ming already on her feet with her nket around her. What took him by surprise was that Wu Zhen was somehow already holding onto a sword artifact and staring daggers at him. If Wu Ming hadn¡¯t stopped her in time, god knows what would have happened to him.


    Miao Yi immediately brandished the Inferno Qilin Spear and angrily warned, "What? Are you trying to kill me off? I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t get hasty. Even a rabbit can give a nasty bite when it¡¯s desperate."


    Wu Ming reached out with her arm and held down the sword artifact in Wu Zhen¡¯s grasp, staring at Miao Yi with a conflicted expression as she said, "Niu Er, you¡¯d better forget the things that happened today. Otherwise, us sisters will chase you until the ends of the earth and kill you!"


    Miao Yi returned with a scoff, "Those should be my words."


    "You¡ª!" Wu Zhen grew all the more furious from the embarrassment, but Wu Ming stopped her from acting rashly.


    "You don¡¯t have to worry. Even I¡¯m not such a shameless person. I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the embarrassment of being assaulted by two women either. Now then, this one still has a mission to attend to. Forgive me for not being able to stay longer!" Miao Yi turned back and swung back atop his dragon steed. He didn¡¯t forget to remind the other party, "I¡¯ve already reported the situation to the higher-ups. It¡¯s been some time since then. They should be arriving soon."


    There were two reasons why he was telling this to them. One was to remind them to quickly put on their clothes; the other was to warn them not to act rashly.


    After which, he charged off on his dragon steed, following the trail that the Netherdragon Ship had left behind on the sand.


    As expected, the two women were quickly flustered after hearing that the higher-ups were going to be arriving soon. This was what it meant to have a guilty conscience. After all, they were the ones who had raped the other party, not the other way around. The two of them had been sent here with the sole objective of protecting Miao Yi, but they actually ended up joining hands to assault him. Such an ount was simply too preposterous for anyone to take seriously. They hurriedly put on their clothes.


    Galloping across the desert with spear in hand, Miao Yi spat out a mouthful of saliva. The p from Wu Zhen hadpletely ¡¯brought him to his senses¡¯. At first, he thought he had gotten lucky. But after giving it some thought now, he realized that he had drawn the short end of the stick. Not only did he keep quiet during the whole ordeal, he even had to take a p from the other party afterward. What gave him the most grief was that those two crazy women had even destroyed his Second Grade Armor Artifact. Thinking back, he had almost spent his entire fortune just to have that Second Grade Armor Artifact made. He had suffered a terrible loss this time.


    To add insult to injury, there was no way anyone would sympathize with him if they were to ever hear about this story. After all, he was a man. Even after going through something like this, he still had to treat it as though he were the one taking advantage of them. If he ever told this to anyone, he would have to say it as a brag and make it sound like he was the one who managed to bag a pair of twins, rather than the other way around. Otherwise, he would end up aughingstock. Such was the way of the world.


    The Netherdragon Ship left a very clear trail on the sand. It had ttened all the sand dunes along its path after all. Not to mention, it was moving forward at a snail¡¯s pace so Miao Yi could catch up to it quite quickly.


    However, Miao Yi didn¡¯t dare approach it, and simply followed from afar. Deep down, he still couldn¡¯t help feeling a sense of awe as he wondered what that Higher Realm of legend must be like.


    Hearing the sound of hoofbeatsing from behind, he quickly turned around, where he saw Wu Zhen and Wu Ming approaching on their dragon steeds. The two of them had returned to their original masculine disguises; he could not tell what sort of expression they were wearing underneath their masks.


    Miao Yi immediately grew anxious. He hurriedly pulled his dragon steed around and ran off to the side, worried that those two women were still deranged and out for blood. It was better to maintain some distance with them.


    His actions greatly irritated the twins. ¡¯What are you trying to avoid us for? You¡¯re making it seem like we¡¯re a couple of perverts...¡¯ However, when they remembered the immoral and humiliating acts that had transgressed just earlier today, it seemed ¡¯pervert¡¯ was the right word after all. The tale would probably shock any who heard it.


    Truth be told, the twins didn¡¯t wish to see Miao Yi¡¯s face any longer. However, they didn¡¯t have a choice but toe since they were entrusted with ensuring his safety. Furthermore, Miao Yi had mentioned that the higher-ups were going to be approaching soon. This made it even harder for them to just abandon him. Else, they wouldn¡¯t be able to exin themselves to their superiorster on. They had toe, even if just for appearance¡¯s sake.


    Right at this moment, a golden streak of light rushed in from the horizon and abruptly stopped in the middle of the sky. As Miao Yi looked up, he was somewhat surprised to find that it was none other than Guo Shaohai himself.


    When Wu Zhen and Wu Ming saw who it was, they were rather shocked as well. It seemed they never thought that Guo Shaohai would personallye all this way. They hurriedly got off their mounts and bowed.


    Hovering up above in the sky, Guo Shaohai paid them no heed at all. It seemed there was only the Netherdragon Ship in his eyes. With a wave of his sleeves, he revealed a golden crystalline pagoda in the palm of his hand. As he tossed the pagoda out, the golden, jade-like transcendent artifact started to emit a purple glow, stirring up powerful gales as it quickly expanded to around a dozen meters tall.


    Miao Yi waspletely dumbfounded. That was a top-tier Fourth Grade Transcendent Artifact. Furthermore, it was one that was refined from high-density, pure Crystalline Gold. How much Crystalline Gold must have been used to refine such a massive structure? All the more so for one that¡¯s made out of such high-density, pure Crystalline Gold.


    As they stared upwards, Wu Zhen and Wu Ming were also in abject shock.


    Suddenly, another streak of gold light approached from the sky and stopped right beside Guo Shaohai. This person¡¯s gaze was locked onto the Netherdragon Ship, the excitement on his face was in for all to see.


    Miao Yi knew who this person was as well; it was the white-haired old man from the Chamber of Commerce. However, he never thought that this old man was a Golden Lotus cultivator as well.


    "Come aboard the ship with me!" Guo Shaohaimanded.


    The white-haired old man cupped his fists in acknowledgement. The golden pagoda shimmering in a purple light up above began spinning rapidly and descended, sucking in Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man in the process.


    Once the two of them were inside, the jade-like pagoda started spinning about even faster. It tilted the sharp tip of the roof downwards, then abruptly shot down towards the Netherdragon Ship that was slowly gliding forward.


    At almost the same time, the nk-faced crowd pulling the ship abruptly raised their heads. Then, one after another, an assortment of massive, multi-colored, tentacle-like chains flew out. It was a beautiful sight indeed; there were radiant colors of blue, red, green, azure, purple, ck and orange flying out. A total of seven colored streaks shot into the sky with an earth-shaking power, heading straight for the jade-like pagoda artifact that was rapidly descending from the clouds.


    The moment the two forces shed, it was as though heaven and earth were being torn asunder. The ground underneath shattered and erupted as if nothing more than a piece of decrepit wood, and the subterranean sea hidden underneath exploded upwards in a powerful st of water. When Wu Zhen and Wu Ming saw this, they quickly abandoned their mounts and flew away as fast as they could. They didn¡¯t even have the bare strength necessary to watch the battle this close.


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi felt as though he was a tiny little boat that was being tossed and turned amidst the mighty waves and terrifying storms of the great seas. He frantically donned several Armor Artifacts of varying sizes over his body.


    With the Netherdragon Ship at the center, the sh of the two forces caused a powerful shockwave that sent a massive wall of sand hurtling all over the ce. Miao Yi couldn¡¯t to see what was happening. All he knew was that he was currently surrounded by water. He frantically dove deeper and deeper into the sea, wanting nothing but to escape the terrifying catastrophe that was happening above the surface.


    Amidst the rumbling noises, the jade-like pagoda artifact that was shining with a powerful purple radiance used its high speed spin to counter the attacks that wereing at it from all sides. With that, it was able to mitigate most of the destructive force from the attacks.


    The reason why Guo Shaohai had brought this pagoda artifact here was because he had experience dealing with the Netherdragon Ship before, and knew that while the ship¡¯s guards were powerful, their attackscked fluidity.


    Even so, the purple radiance surrounding the pagoda artifact immediately dimmed from the raging onught. A resounding boom then erupted, and the jade-like pagoda artifact was reduced to dust.


    Just like that, a mighty artifact was destroyed. That being said, this transcendent artifact was meant to be used as a sacrifice in the first ce, all for the sake of buying just a single moment of time.


    As expected, the n seeded. Two silhouettes shot out through the golden plume of dust and safelynded aboard the ship. And as Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man touched down, the attacks immediately ceased.


    The massive waves along the surface of the ocean also gradually subsided, and the Netherdragon Ship glided above the waters. At the moment, the ship was surrounded on all sides by a boundless ocean. The vast body of water thaty hidden beneath the surface of the desert had finally shown itself in its true majesty!


    "HAHAHA...!" Guo Shaohai threw his arms out andughed maniacally. Beside him, the white-haired old man also excitedly said, "We did it. We actually did it. We¡¯re finally aboard the ship!"


    Suddenly, a strong wind blew away the golden dust that still lingered in the air, revealing the sight before them.


    Before them stood an ancient, towering castle. A beauty beyond what words alone could describe; the level of intricacy in its craftsmanship would bring even the most skilled artisans to shame. As the tightly shut jade gates slowly and quietly opened, Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man peered inside. Theughter on their faces immediately faded, and their expressions quickly froze.


    Behind the great gates that hung slightly ajar, was a ridiculously extravagant manor, with a majestic canopy bed situated high above in the distance. A white-robed man dressed in a light blue outer raiment quietly stood before the bed with his hands behind his back. As the gates to the castle opened up, he slowly turned his head to look at the two men outside.

 Chapter 527 The Wandering Warlock

    As the man turned to face them, his long, white sideburns gently rested upon his chest. His face portrayed a duality between good and evil, a contrasting mix of aristocracy and peasantry, and the coexistence of authority and benevolence. Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man couldn¡¯t help being taken aback when they saw his handsome face. How could there be a man with such an elegant bearing?


    There was even a trace of astonishment in Guo Shaohai¡¯s eyes. He was fairly confident that a man with such an appearance and presence would be able to captivate any woman and be the man of her dreams.


    However, the way he turned to look at them was like that of a powerful god from above the Nine Heavens. His tranquil gaze seemed as though he were just observing a bunch of ants. Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man couldn¡¯t help being taken aback by this. Who exactly was this man?


    If Miao Yi were here to see this, he would certainly be able to recognize him-who else could it be besides Lao Bai? Yet sadly, he did not even possess the strength to climb aboard the ship. And for Lao Bai to appear here, he clearly had no intention of letting Miao Yi climb aboard either.


    Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man had seen what the people dragging the Netherdragon Ship were like; they had all been transformed into zombies that didn¡¯t possess a single ounce of sentience. With their milky-grey eyes, they no longer had the sense of spirit that made one human. Because of that, these zombies could wield an inhuman level of strength, though they lost had the fluidity of their attacks in the process. However, things were clearly different for the man before Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man now. The most obvious indicator being that the man wasn¡¯t bound by an iron chain.


    Meanwhile, just below the distance canopy bed, before the elegant man¡¯s position, were eight people bound by eight sets of iron chains. There were men and women who looked to be of varying professions, all formed into two orderly lines right by the elegant man¡¯s side.


    Initially, the eight of them stood facing one another in four pairs. However, soon they all slowly turned to look outside the gate, their milky-grey eyes staring straight at the two intruders.


    The joy that Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man felt from boarding the ship quickly turned to apprehension. They watched as the person standing at the end of the line began turning towards them, dragging the iron chain by his feet along as he slowly approached, step by step. Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man immediately felt an immense pressureing from this person.


    Right as that person stepped outside the main hall, the two of them immediately felt a vast, powerful auraing off of him.


    Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man instantly felt something was off. This Netherdragon Ship was nowhere near as simple as they had imagined. However, their trip was not in vain. At least, they managed to learn something new about it. This way, they would still have a chance to deal with it the next time they came here. Guo Shaohai swiftly made up his mind and barked, "Let¡¯s go!"


    The two of them rapidly shot to the skies in a streak of light. However, right after they left the ground, they realized that they were frozen in mid-air as a terrifying suction force was pulling them back.


    The two of them twisted back and saw that, while the zombie was no longer able to take another step forward because of the iron chains, both his hands were stretched out towards them with his fingers hooked into ws. The terrifying suction force was actuallying from those two palms. Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man couldn¡¯t resist it at all and even after using their full strength! They couldn¡¯t slow down the speed at which they were being pulled back.


    The two of them were utterly horrified. They could not imagine how high this zombie¡¯s cultivation must have been back when he was alive.


    One must know that a person¡¯s cultivation drops by an entire realm once they are turned into a zombie¡ªthat¡¯s right, an entire realm, not just a single grade! For example, if a Red Lotus cultivator was turned into a zombie, they would only be able to retain the strength of a Blue Lotus cultivator. There was no way they could be as strong as they were when they were alive.


    However, even considering all that, this zombie could still manage to capture Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man with absolute ease.


    All of a sudden, the zombie changed his ws into fists and punched out at the air. While the entire movement was silent, the force generated by his fists created a visible path through the air. As he struck, the space before him rippled violently. It was a rather peculiar sight, but nheless, the attack coursed through empty space and connected solidly with Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man.


    ¡¯Spurt! Spurt!¡¯ Guo Shaohai and the white-haired old man violently spat out a mouthful of blood into the air as their bones let out a series of audible cracks.


    The two of them were hit by a terrifying, invisible force, and flying straight out like a shooting star, before crashing into the ocean several kilometers away and sinking down into the depths.


    Under the starry night sky, the Netherdragon Ship also slowly began its descent, stirring up turbulent waves as it sank beneath the surface of the ocean.


    Lao Bai was already underwater, with ayer of bubbles around his body. He watched as the Netherdragon Ship under his feet sank deeper and deeper into the darkness.


    Suddenly, the Netherdragon Ship abruptly began to expand, then imploded just as quickly. A ck hole appeared in the center of the ship and began sucking in the iron chains, as well as all the zombies bound to them. In just a few short moments, the massive Netherdragon Ship had shrunken down into the size of a little sphere. The sphere rapidly darted about the ocean, then quickly rose from the depths, where it suddenly transformed into the figure of a man. This person stood facing Lao Bai, and like him, was also surrounded by ayer of bubbles.


    The man was an ascetic. He had a fair, clean-shaven face, and a straw hat adorned his head. With a monk¡¯s staff in hand, he ced one hand before his chest and gave Lao Bai a religious greeting. This man was the same ascetic that Miao Yi had met walking alone on the desert.


    "I¡¯ve found the person to bring me out, just as you said." Lao Bai said, staring at him.


    The ascetic gave a faint smile. "I know. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be appearing here."


    Lao Bai asked, "Are you sure he¡¯s the one I¡¯m looking for?"


    The ascetic sighed. "I¡¯m not. I can only feel that the change has already begun. Nothing is permanent in this world. Who can possibly tell whether or not our actions will end up to our benefit."


    With a nk expression on his face, Lao Bai said nothing further, and simply shot down into the ocean depths.


    Meanwhile, the ascetic gently floated up to the surface, and continued walking across the ocean surface.


    In the far off distance, a wretched-looking Guo Shaohai had floated up to the surface as well; his hair waspletely disheveled. He had one hand on a Glorious Star Immortal Herb, absorbing its healing essence through his skin, while the other hand was dragging along the white-haired old man, who was just inches away from death. With the old man in tow, he quickly broke through the surface of the ocean and flew all the way to shore.


    After he dropped the old man on the ground, he split the immortal herb in half, swallowing one half of it down his throat, then pressed the other half into the white-haired old man¡¯s mouth, using his transcendence energy to help the other party swallow it down.


    After which, Guo Shaohai flicked his messy hair out of reflex; surprisingly, there was quite a feminine cast to his face. As he gazed back towards the ocean, there was no concealing the fear in his eyes. The situation just then had simply been much too frightening; that zombie definitely had the strength to kill them both with a single blow.


    Suddenly, Guo Shaohai¡¯s eyes widened, having noticed the ascetic who was treading across the surface of the ocean.


    As the ascetic stepped onto shore, he gave Guo Shaohai a religious greeting and asked, "How fare your wounds, Sir?"


    Guo Shaohai cupped his fists and bowed. "It¡¯s been many years since west met. I never thought I¡¯d see you here again, Warlock. Did you already know that the Netherdragon Ship would appear around these parts?"


    The ascetic nkly replied, "I only saw it coincidentally as I was passing by."


    If anyone else had said this, Guo Shaohai would believe them. However, he wouldn¡¯t trust this person before him in the least. "It is hard for one to even catch a glimpse of you, Warlock. Since fate has willed us to meet, how about we find a ce to have a little chat about old times?" he cajoled.


    "Sir, your wounds are rather dire. Since there won¡¯t be anything to gain by staying longer than this, it is best that you head back soon. With such argemotion, I believe the others will be reaching here soon enough." The ascetic kindly warned, whilst he gave the other party a faint, yet suggestive smile. After which, he gave Guo Shaohai another greeting, then slowly went on his way.


    His invitation was rejected! Guo Shaohai frowned, but it wouldn¡¯t be in his best interest to force the other party to stay. All he could do was watch as the ascetic slowly disappeared into the darkness of the night.


    Just then, a groaning sound came from behind him. Guo Shaohai turned back to look, and watched as the white-haired old man struggle to sit up. The old man then cupped his fists. "Venerable Sage!"


    Guo Shaohai gently raised his hand for the old man to be at ease. He then turned towards the newly-appeared ocean and sighed. "The Wandering Warlock is not one to lie. Since he says that we won¡¯t gain anything by staying any longer... Tell all our forces to retreat. There¡¯s no point in staying here any further."


    The white-haired old man slowly stood up. As he clutched his chest, he asked, "Should we silence them?"


    Guo Shaohai scoffed, "There¡¯s no need for that anymore. You saw what happened just now. Even if those bastards manage to find it, they won¡¯t be able to gain anything from the ship. It¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing to let the other five nations go on a wild goose chase for a while."


    Following which, he transformed into a streak of light and shot into the night sky. However, he was already much slower now than he was before. Clearly, his wounds were quite severe indeed...


    Meanwhile, deep in the depths of the ocean, after sensing that themotion above the surface had subsided, Miao Yi waited for a while longer. Once he was absolutely sure that the turmoil had died down, he quickly swam up to the surface of the ocean. All the while, he was surrounded by strange-looking fishes of all colors swimming about.


    As he broke through the surface, he stepped onto the waves and scanned his surroundings. How was this ce still a desert? It was nothing but boundless ocean all around. God knows how long it would take to seal up an opening thisrge.


    ¡¯Where did that ghost ship disappear to?¡¯ Miao Yi was brimming with curiosity. He released the Blue-Feathered Swallow then soared up into the sky, gazing down from above. With some help from the moonlight, he could see the massiveke that had formed in the middle of the desert. However, there was no sight of the Netherdragon Ship at all.


    Suddenly, a spirit eagle flew over. Miao Yi took down the letter and read it through, then promptly flew off on his Blue-Feathered Swallow. As for his dragon steed, he didn¡¯t have a single clue what had happened to it. He also couldn¡¯t care less about the other troops that were dispatched to the other search areas. All he was thinking about was getting away from this ce as quickly as he could.


    Along the way, he noticed various streaks of lights quickly rushing by him. Some were gold, and some were purple, but for the most part, they were all red. He was absolutely nerve-racked as these lights shot past him. Fortunately, it seemed they were all in a rush, and not a single one of them bothered with him at all. Miao Yi could vaguely feel that these were all the experts of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea who were rmed by themotion earlier today.


    Right as dawn was breaking, he finally reached the Chamber of Commerce, and in one piece at that. Luckily, he had gotten two flying-type mounts beforehand. Otherwise, there was no telling when he would be able to make it back.


    As hended beside the entrance to the Chamber of Commerce, he bumped into Wu Zhen and Wu Ming, who were just on their way out. The twins nced at him for a moment, then passed him by, as though nothing had happened between them at all. The first thought that shed by Miao Yi¡¯s head was the sight of them stark naked and writhing all over his body. After which, he felt a pang in his heart from the thought of his ruined Second Grade Armor Artifact.


    Once he was inside the Chamber of Commerce, he quickly found the manager who was in charge of handling the Flowing Clouds Dune Sea branch, which happened to be that white-haired old man. Miao Yi noticed that the old man¡¯s expression had paled significantly from what he remembered. He was currently cultivating inside the isted room that Guo Shaohai had stayed in before. Meanwhile, Guo Shaohai himself was nowhere to be found.


    Miao Yi asked curiously, "Manager, did we manage to seed?"


    The white-haired old man shook his head and revealed a faint smile. "I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still alive. You¡¯ve done a great job this time, so I won¡¯t be taking back the things I gave you back then. Think of it as your reward."


    ¡¯That¡¯s my reward?¡¯ Miao Yi¡¯s expression turned awkward. He coughed drily and reminded, "Manager, Senior Guo said that he would make me a Hall Master." His words implying¡ª¡¯You don¡¯t think you can just brush me off like that, do you?¡¯


    "You can think about your Hall Master post once you¡¯ve returned. Since the higher-ups have already promised you as much, we naturally won¡¯t go back on it. Your mission isn¡¯t finished yet either way. You still haven¡¯t lured out the person after your life."


    "That... I think we can just let that go for now. I¡¯m too tired to care about the nitty-gritty details anymore. Just get someone to send me back safely." Once he was back and promoted to Hall Master, who would dare touch him without reason? Not to mention, he would still have Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei backing him up. How could staying here as bait beat that?


    "Even if you don¡¯t care, the higher-ups do. Besides, we have a new mission for you."


    "Manager, this one¡¯s abilities are limited. I have already finished the mission that was given to me by my Pce Lord." Miao Yi chuckled and cupped his fists. "Farewell!"


    His words were clear enough¡ª¡¯I will only obey themand of my Pce Lord. Now that my mission ispleted, it doesn¡¯t matter how high your cultivation is. The Chamber of Commerce doesn¡¯t get to order me around.¡¯


    The old man didn¡¯t stop him. He simply chuckled and said, "You¡¯ve got guts! Then I guess we¡¯ll just have to wait and see what happens."

 Chapter 528 The Difficulty of Asking for Favors

    ¡¯Wait and see?¡¯ Miao Yi was a little dejected as he knew that there was no way he could defy the higher-ups¡¯mands. After making his way to the courtyard, he immediately wrote Traversing Water Pce a letter stating that he had sessfullypleted his mission. Once again, he requested that they allow him to return.


    Once he released the spirit eagle, he made his way to the courtyard¡¯s exit; but just as he was about to step outside the door, he stopped and pulled his foot back. Where was he supposed to go now?! There was a chance that a killer was out there just waiting to take his life!


    Initially, he thought that the people in-charge here would let him walk away after he hadpleted the mission. That way, he wouldn¡¯t have to ask Traversing Water Pce to take him back; he could just return immediately. However, now the other party was saying that the mission was still not over. As a result, there was no way he could just pack up and leave. Not without first getting Traversing Water Pce¡¯s approval. Thus, he needed to find a ce to stay and wait for their response.


    ¡¯Should I go to Tempest Tavern?¡¯ Miao Yi was clenching his teeth in frustration just thinking about it. ¡¯Better not. My life will be at risk again if I stay there.¡¯


    After mulling it over for a while, he ultimately decided to just head back to Tempest Tavern. This was still the safest ce in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. It wasn¡¯t as if he was short on money anyway.


    He released the Blue-Feathered Swallow and hopped on, then promptly flew off. Shortly after, hended right in Tempest Tavern¡¯s mud-walled courtyard. It wasn¡¯t too far off from the actual building itself.


    He jumped off the Blue-Feathered Swallow and tucked it away. As he made his way to the tavern¡¯s front door, he was suddenly greeted with a familiar fragrance.


    There would be no stories without coincidences. It just so happened to be around the time of day when the Lady Boss would head out for her daily rounds. As such, she bumped into Miao Yi right as she was heading out. The two of them stared at one another, with one person standing just outside the door, and the other standing on the inside.


    At that moment, Miao Yi¡¯s appearance was wretched beyond words. First, he had that ¡¯major scuffle¡¯ with the twins. After that, he was dunked in seawater for quite a length of time. It was hard to describe the stench about his body right now. His clothes were also inplete tatters, and his hair was a disheveled mess.


    Miao Yi forced out a smile and chuckled, "Mornin¡¯, Lady Boss!"


    The Lady Boss raised an eyebrow, thinking back to how this arrogant bastard had left her tavern a year ago. Back then, she couldn¡¯t do anything to him, but now that the ball was in her court... She pinched her nose and frowned, asking, "Where is this fishy smelling from? Do we know each other?"


    Miao Yi knew that payback would being for him. Heughed drily and said, "Lady Boss, you sure are forgetful. It¡¯s me, Niu Er! We drank together before! Do you remember?"


    "Oh! If it isn¡¯t Niu Er! You¡¯re still alive?" The Lady Boss continued to pinch her nose as though there was a really repulsive stench, and asked, "Which hole did you crawl out from? Why are you so smelly? You¡¯d better not scare all my guests away. If you don¡¯t have any business here, then leave. Don¡¯t just stand in front of my tavern."


    The schr was leaning over the counter, giggling as he watched the scene unfold.


    Miao Yi paid her words no heed. He hurriedly moved aside and said, "No need to worry about me. Feel free to continue on your rounds. I¡¯m just here to check-in to the tavern. See, I do have business here."


    "Oh you are, are you?" The Lady Boss sized him up, then let go of her nose and folded her arms before her chest. Then, swaying her hips to one side, she turned her head back to wink at the schr as she said, "Innkeeper, do we still have any more rooms?"


    Behind the counter, the schr immediately tilted his head to one side and replied, "Lady Boss, we don¡¯t have any more rooms. It¡¯s a full house."


    The Lady Boss then turned back and smiled. "Apologies, Niu Er. We¡¯re full. You should find somewhere else to stay." She lifted her chin up arrogantly, then strutted past Miao Yi dismissively.


    ¡¯Damn it! You¡¯re obviously screwing with me here. If I had anywhere else to stay, why would Ie here and suffer this humiliation from you?¡¯ Miao Yi¡¯s expression twisted. He hurriedly stepped in front of the Lady Boss and cupped his fists. "Lady Boss, please forgive me for my insolence. I know you still have rooms avable. Please don¡¯t let yourself stoop to my level of ignorance."


    The Lady Boss then curiously asked, "Who do you think you are? Why would I even need to be so petty with you? The Innkeeper just said that we don¡¯t have any more rooms. Go and ask him yourself if you don¡¯t believe me."


    Miao Yi was lost for words. ¡¯If you don¡¯t give him the go-ahead, then no matter how much I ask, that sadistic piece of shit will still definitely say that the tavern is full.¡¯


    He immediately cupped his fists again. "Lady Boss, out of respect for Yun Feiyang, please just forgive me already."


    "Does he even have anything to do with me? I¡¯ve already been exiled out of the Yun family. You should know this as well." The Lady Boss scornfully said as she circled around him.


    Miao Yi quickly stopped her again. "Lady Boss, I was wrong. Can you tell me what I need to do for you to let me stay here?"


    How difficult it must be for him to say such a thing. During his stay here, he was beaten up by the other party twice. And now, he even had to admit that he was the one in the wrong. Miao Yi now finally understood why so many people would just let themselves be taken advantage of by this woman right here.


    The Lady Boss narrowed her eyes at him and asked, "Are you begging me right now?"


    Miao Yi nodded repeatedly. "Yes, I¡¯m begging you. Please help me, Lady Boss."


    "In that case..." The Lady Boss paused to think for a while, then turned back and shouted, "Innkeeper,e here for a bit."


    "Ma¡¯am!" The schr cheerfully walked out and asked, "Lady Boss, what can I do for you?"


    The Lady Boss pursed her lips at Miao Yi Miao Yi and said, "He is one of our regrs after all. We should try to help him out if we can. Do we have any rooms we can vacate at the moment?"


    The schr shrugged. "We really don¡¯t."


    The Lady Boss put on a troubled face. Then, as Miao Yi continued to stare nkly at her, she acted as if she had juste to a huge decision. "Well, if I clear out the storeroom that¡¯s under my room, I think we can make some space for you to stay in. But I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s no ce to host a guest..." She turned to Miao Yi and added, "I simply can¡¯t have you stay in the storeroom. Why don¡¯t you wait outside for a couple more days? Once we have a vacancy, we¡¯ll make sure to keep it for you."


    "No. Don¡¯t! I¡¯m a simple man. A storeroom is more than enough." Miao Yi forced a smile and said, "I¡¯ll stay in the storeroom then."


    The schr then said in a troubled tone, "Lady Boss, how are we going to charge... for the storeroom?"


    "You¡¯re right!" The Lady Boss folded her arms over those seductive mounds of hers and looked up at the sky as though mulling over the problem.


    Miao Yi was grinding his teeth in frustration. ¡¯These two assholes are clearly making this shit up just to screw with me. I¡¯ll let you two have this satisfaction for now. If I ever get the chance, I¡¯ll make sure to burn this damned tavern to the ground.¡¯


    It wasn¡¯t worth it to throw his life away just to save some face. Miao Yi lied through his teeth with utmost sincerity and cheerfully said, "No need to worry so much about it. You can just charge me the usual rate!"


    Deep down, he grumbled, ¡¯It¡¯s not like your normal rooms are that fancy anyway. It¡¯s pretty much just an empty room with a few chunks of wood pped together. How is it any different from a storeroom? My Raincloud Manor on the other hand, is like heaven on earth. Even the simplest of rooms there is better than your most luxurious one here.¡¯


    "Haa.." The Lady Boss sighed helplessly, then said to the schr, "Since he is being this insistent about it, then out of respect for his sincerity, let¡¯s empty out the storeroom and have him stay there for the time being. If it isn¡¯t to his liking... we¡¯ll just see how it goes for now."


    The meaning behind her words were clear¡ª¡¯If you¡¯re obedient enough, then you can continue staying. Else, we¡¯ll use " the storeroom isn¡¯t good enough for a guest" as an excuse to send you packing.¡¯


    "Yes, Ma¡¯am!" The schr was all smiles as he turned and walked away.


    Miao Yi wished he could just sell this woman off to a brothel. However, for appearance¡¯s sake, he still cupped his fists repeatedly. "Thank you, Lady Boss! Thank you!"


    "No need to thank me. It¡¯s my duty to make sure my guests are well-cared for. Well, I¡¯m off to my duties now. If you don¡¯t like the living conditions, just tell the Innkeeper. Oh, I feel so terrible at having to make a guest stay in the storeroom!" As the Lady Boss said this, she intentionally flicked her hair and walked off proudly. The moment her back was turned to Miao Yi, she quickly bit on her lip, trying to stifle herughter. This payback was too simply satisfying.


    "Take care, Lady Boss!" Miao Yi didn¡¯t forget to kiss up to her as she left, before entering the tavern. He didn¡¯t have any other choice. The other party could just find any excuse to kick him out if he pissed her off.


    "How many days will you be staying?" Behind the counter, the schr asked in a cheery tone.


    "Ten days for now." Miao Yi said with a forced smile, then took out a hundred thousand Gold Crystals and ced them on the counter.


    After the schr tallied everything, he nodded and said, "Just bear with it for now. Once we have vacant rooms, I¡¯ll change it for you."


    "Sorry to trouble you." Miao Yi politely said with a chuckle.


    "You can sit here and wait for a moment." The schr turned to one of the employees and said, "Go clean up the storeroom upstairs and throw in a bed."


    Right as the storeroom was readied, the Lady Boss just returned from her daily patrols. She said, "Since it¡¯s on the way for me as well, Niu Er,e have a look with me."


    Besides ¡¯yes¡¯, what else could Miao Yi say? What ticked him off the most was that this woman had to pinch her nose as she walked up the stairs, as though he had just climbed out of a garbage heap.


    Surprisingly, the storeroom was rather wide; it was almost as big as three normal guest rooms in the tavern. It was possible that the Lady Boss staying right upstairs had something to do with such arge space being turned into a storeroom.


    All the random bits and bobs had already been cleared aside, and the bed was also prepared. It was easy to tell that the room had been kept rather clean all this while. Perhaps it had something to do with the Lady Boss¡¯s habit of keeping things neat and tidy. Besides which, the vacated space was also muchrger than that of a normal guest room. Miao Yi was quite satisfied with the result. The only thing he didn¡¯t like was that the Lady Boss would be staying right above his head.


    "What is the smell that ising off of you? It¡¯s gross!" Before the Lady Boss walked out the room, she said to the employee that had apanied them upstairs, "Get him some water to clean himself. Try not to let my room catch his stench too."


    Miao Yi forced a smile and said, "Okay okay, I¡¯ll wash myself right away."


    It was indeed about time for him to take a nice bath. The employee took out a giant bathing basin and filled it with clean water. Then, after disrobing himself, Miao Yi dipped himselffortably into the water and slowly closed his eyes. He was in absolute bliss.


    He had been roaming around the desert for over a year, and was forced to always remain vignt of his surroundings. He could finally rx.


    Just as he was about to finish with his bath, a loud thump suddenly came from above, and clumps of dirt immediately rained down on him.


    The ceiling was entirely constructed of wood, with ayer of mudid right above it to stabilize the structure. Naturally, the dirt had dropped down from the gaps in between the wood. Miao Yi didn¡¯t know what manner of heavy lifting must be going on upstairs for such arge pile of dirt to be raining down on him.


    Miao Yi quickly activated his transcendence energy and avoided the falling dirt. Then hurriedly put on his clothes on and bolted out into the alleyway. It was safe to say that he had barely escaped by the skin of his teeth. After all, he had only just finished his bath!


    Looking back into the room, he saw that it was nowpletely filled with dirt. The Great Manor Head Miao slowly gazed up at the ceiling. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that the bitch upstairs was intentionally messing with him again.


    Now that he was living under another person¡¯s roof, he had to lower his head. After all, he was staying here on the other party¡¯s ¡¯benevolence¡¯! He walked to the door and spread out his palm, opening the window with his transcendence energy. He then repeatedly swung his arms about, blowing away all the dust out through the window.


    After some difficulty, he was finally managed to get his room clean again. Miao Yi shut the window and sighed as heid down on his wooden bed. Just as he was thinking about how to return to Raincloud Manor, another loud thump came from above him, followed by another cascading pile of dirt.


    Miao Yi immediately shot up and rushed out of his room. He looked back at the dusty room, then moved his gaze up to the ceiling, cursing at a certain someone¡¯s family deep down.


    Meanwhile up above, the Lady Boss was already lying on her own bed, holding a hand up to her mouth. She wasughing so hard it almost hurt to even chuckle.


    "Do you really think I¡¯m so easily bullied? Fine. If you¡¯re taking it this far, then I won¡¯t just sit still either!" Miao Yi scoffed. He beat a temporary retreat to the other end of the alleyway, sat down cross-legged on the floor, and didn¡¯t return to his room for the rest of the day.


    The following morning, the Lady Boss walked down from her room with all her womanly charms. When she saw Miao Yi seated down in the alleyway outside his room, as if unable to hold her curiosity, she asked, "Niu Er, just what are you sitting there for?"


    Miao Yi immediately walked over and greeted her. As he followed her down the steps, he also asked back curiously, "Lady Boss, why does dirt keep falling down from the ceiling in my room?"


    The Lady Boss sighed. "The ceiling is quite old and worn out. It hasn¡¯t been repaired for many years, which is why I turned it into a storeroom. If it¡¯s not to your liking, then I think we should just forget about it. Why don¡¯t you..."


    Miao Yi immediately shed a smile and waved his hands. "No matter. It¡¯s a small issue. I can get used to it."

 Chapter 529 Going to Get Busted Eventually

    "That huge void in the desert is proof! I think it will need at least a year to seal back up."


    "That¡¯s right! Some even saw it for themselves. They spoke of a giant white ship that was a hundred meters tall, pulled along by a horde of zombies. The moment anyone approached that Netherdragon Ship, the zombies would immediatelyunch their attack. And apparently, the artifact they use can emit seven different types of colors. Plenty of experts here even sensed the waves of conflicting from miles away. It seems that that was the reason why so many experts left so suddenlyst night."


    As he walked out into the front hall, Miao Yi noticed that there was quite a crowd in the lobby, and they were all talking about the Netherdragon Ship.


    Miao Yi was a little puzzled. As he recalled, there were only a handful of people who actually witnessed the Netherdragon Ship back then? Even his own search party had been split up quite far from one another, and he himself had only bumped into the ship coincidentally. Yet, how did these people know so much about it? Who leaked out the information?


    He sat himself down in the corner and ordered something from one of the waiters. He then proceeded to eat breakfast whilst listening to the gossip around him.


    "Lady Boss." One of the guests called out in a cordial manner.


    Having just made her rounds in the rear courtyard, the Lady Boss entered the front hall and nodded to the exuberant person who called her.


    Her voluptuous figure instantly drew in many gazes from the crowd. s, they could do naught but stare.


    The Lady Boss asked the schr through voice transmission why there were suddenly so many people in the tavern. After the schr exined why, she circled behind the counter, pretending as though she was looking through jade archives, but in truth, she was listening in on everyone¡¯s gossip. Once in a while, she would cast a sideways nce at Miao Yi, who was seated in a corner.


    As an esteemed Manor Head for the Celestial Nation¡¯s administration, Miao Yi had a life full of riches and glory, with ten million followers under him. It was strange that he would be sent all the way to these harshnds in the first ce and forced to roam around the desert for almost a year. Not to mention, this kid had suddenly appeared in a miserable state the same night the Netherdragon Ship reappeared. The Lady Boss found it hard not to think that he was somehow rted to all this.


    Over theing days, various people of unknown origins started to congregate in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, causing it to be rather crowded. Even in the light of day, there were countless incidents of battle and murder. Miao Yi could asionally hear the sound of fists and des shing from his room in the tavern. If he climbed up to the rooftop, he would be able to see the battle happening in the distance. And at night, he could sometimes hear the sound of someone screaming in agony.


    The yful joke that the Lady Boss and the schr previously told Miao Yi had now be a reality; the Tempest Tavern was indeed full. Moreover, things were different from how it usually were with guests hiding in their rooms all day. These new mysterious guests tended to like ¡¯socializing¡¯ with their peers in the front hall. The normally quiet and pristine Tempest Tavern had now be unbelievably rowdy, so much that even Miao Yi could tell that all these people were just trying to dig up whatever information they could find. Devils, Yao, Ghost cultivators¡ªthere were all manner of folks in the tavern.


    This meant that it was a prime opportunity for those who involved themselves in unscrupulous acts to finally rake in a fortune. It was nothing much for one to have small trinkets stolen; rape, murder and various other heinous acts became the norm of everyday life. It was so eventful that even Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help himself from going out to the front hall everyday to listen in on the crowd discussing the incidents that had transpired the day before. Sometimes, they were even discussing about events that had urred within the Six Nations themselves. It truly was an ideal ce for gathering information.


    In one moment, one would be able to hear the sounds of a battle subsiding outside the tavern, and in the next, someone would be bringing in thetest news for everyone to talk about. The topics ranged from a certain crossdressing nun from the Boundless Nation having her disguise revealed, falling into a trap and consequently raped; to a Hall Master from a certain nation getting his identity disclosed, his belongings robbed, then his body diced into pieces; to a Sect Master from a certain school being surrounded by multiple experts and brutally murdered!


    Basically, it was utter chaos outside the tavern.


    It was a chance for the local powerhouses of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea to finally make a fortune. Naturally, the Tempest Tavern wasn¡¯t excluded as well.


    The twonterns hanging outside the tavern were constantly changed throughout this period of time. The redntern indicated that the tavern was full, while the white one indicated that there was vacancy.


    The tavern had eighty rooms and eighty tables. Each square table could seat eight people, meaning that each room could house eight people as well. Naturally, there had to be a group of eight that were all willing to stay in the same room together, first and foremost. Normally, no one would be willing to share a room with another, because the tavern charged its amodation fees based on the number of guests.


    That being said, there were quite a number of people who clearly came in their own groups. With danger lurking in every corner, it was normal for people to want to form groups. Not to mention, they would be able to look out for another by staying in the same room together.


    And because of this, there was a rise in those who tried to earn a profit from theck of rooms. These people would keep watch outside the tavern and, upon seeing the whitentern light up, would immediately take the room, only to resell it at a higher priceter on.


    Miao Yi sighed in astonishment at this; at least he still had a storeroom to stay in. The cook and the rest were already so busy that they didn¡¯t even have time to harass him anymore.


    Not to mention... with a loud thump from above, a final cloud of dirt cascaded into Miao Yi¡¯s room, and the middleyer of the ceiling was nowpletely hollowed out.


    As Miao Yi looked up at the ceiling, he was overjoyed. There were all sorts of junk scattered about in the room. It was like walking into a pig sty. Initially, he wanted to do something to the ceiling, so that the bitch would fall right through the floor the second she stomped down. However, after some thought, he figured that that wasn¡¯t the best idea. It wouldn¡¯t be good for him if he embarrassed the other party and she decided to toss him out in her rage. As such, he employed a different method. When the Lady Boss was out of her room, he made even more dirt fall from the ceiling.


    As she pressed her foot heavily on the floor, the Lady Boss stared down and gasped. She could feel that something was off; the floor underneath felt hollow. She quickly rushed downstairs and opened the door to the storeroom, where she found Miao Yi flipping his bed over. He was turning the side that was clean up to the top.


    Meanwhile, the floor of the storeroom was already covered in a thickyer of dirt. Miao Yi intentionally didn¡¯t clean it all up just so he could show it to a certain bitch. The Lady Boss stared dazedly at the ground, wondering to herself if she had gone too far.


    As he flipped his bed over, Miao Yi gave it a light sweep with his hand to brush all the dirt away. He smiled and said, "Lady Boss, you came. Pleasee in!"


    ¡¯Can a person even live in this room?¡¯ The Lady Boss looked to her feet, then up at the ceiling. She had no intention of walking in. She simply smiled drily and said, "I kept feeling that the floor was quite hollow upstairs, so I came down to see if the ceiling in your room had copsed."


    Miao Yi pointed to the ground and smiled wryly. "This dirt kept falling down like an endlessly torrential rain. Now, theyer of dry soil in the middle has beenpletely emptied out. It would be strange if you couldn¡¯t feel the hollowness of the floor."


    "It seems it is long overdue for repairs. I¡¯ll need to get it fixed properly once you¡¯re gone." The Lady Boss was clearly guilty. She brushed her hair, turned around then walked off as if nothing happened. She didn¡¯t even mention getting someone toe clean the ce up.


    Now that she had finally seen the state of the room for herself, Miao Yi took out a storage ring and sucked away all the dirt in the room. After cleaning the ce, he heaved a sigh in relief. It was all over now.


    That same night, as he was cultivating atop his wooden bed, Miao Yi suddenly heard the sound of running watering from above.


    ¡¯How am I able to hear what¡¯s going on upstairs so clearly now?¡¯ As Miao Yi thought this, he suddenly heard the sound of rustling clothesing from above. If he had tried to use his transcendence arts to eavesdrop, there was a chance that the other party could sense him. However, at the moment, he didn¡¯t even have to activate any transcendence arts to be able to hear every little detail of what was happening in the room above his.


    As he cultivated in the darkness of his room, Miao Yi abruptly opened his eyes and noticed a ray of light seeping through the cracks of the wooden ceiling up above. It would be hard to notice such a tiny gap in daylight if one couldn¡¯t find the correct angle.


    Miao Yi slowly lifted his gaze, and what he saw had himpletely shocked, so much that he didn¡¯t even dare to breathe too loudly.


    In the first ce, the tavern¡¯s roof was constructed from a row of sturdy wooden logs. Ayer of dried soil was then pped on top of it. After that, the Lady Boss built a tiny little cabin for herself above that. Naturally, the floorboards of her own room were constructed from wood as well.


    Originally, there was a very robustyer of dried soil between the upper and lower floor. However, the Lady Boss just had to go ying around with it. As a result, theyer of dried soil in the middle had beenpletely emptied out by her. Great... just great. There were bound to be some gaps between theyer of logs above Miao Yi¡¯s room and the wooden floorboards under hers; obviously there was a chance that something would happen.


    The Great Manor Head Miao was in luck indeed. The moment he looked up, he could vaguely see that someone was taking off their clothes; a voluptuous figure would pass by at random fleeting moments, her naughty little bits asionally bing visible through the gaps... Naturally, the other person¡¯s figure could be seen whenever she stopped moving. However, what was even more astounding was that he could even sometimes see her... It was truly a sight that made one¡¯s blood rush with excitement. The seductive figure through the gaps of the ceiling finally disappeared the moment the other person dipped herself into the bathtub. The sound of water sshing about could be heard, along with a soft, melodious humming.


    There was no need to guess who the person upstairs was. Besides that woman, who else could it be? Miao Yi waspletely flustered. He slowly lowered his gaze back down, afraid to even breathe too loudly. It would be the end of him if the person upstairs found out about this!


    ¡¯Oh, Lady Boss. This is your fault. I never meant to spy on you at all.¡¯ Miao Yi assuaged himself.


    However, when he heard the sound of a certain someoneing out of her bath upstairs, Miao Yi couldn¡¯t help looking back up again. Furthermore, his body swayed about side to side as his gaze chased after the naked figure that moved from one gap in the ceiling to another...


    Ever since that night, Miao Yi would always quietly enter and exit his room. He didn¡¯t even dare to open his door and windows to let any outside light in, much less light up any candles inside. If he could see the lighting from upstairs, that meant the person upstairs would be able to see any lighting from down below as well. If the Lady Boss were to find out about this, he would die a horrible death!


    He wanted to change his room badly, but there were simply no rooms avable for him at the moment. There was nothing he could do but wait for news from Traversing Water Pce to arrive.


    What made him feel even more speechless was that the person upstairs had the habit of taking her bath both in the morning and at night. The Great Manor Head Miao didn¡¯t have a single moment to catch a break! That being said, even though he was feeling uneasy, he still peeked every single time. He was not some noble gentleman after all. There were many out there who could only dream of seeing what he was seeing. How could he let such a prime opportunity go to waste?


    Besides, if the Lady Boss were to find out about this, then it wouldn¡¯t make any difference whether he peeked once or multiple times; he would still end up in shit.


    From time to time, Miao Yi would bump into the Lady Boss outside. As always, she had that same exotic allure about her, and Miao Yi pretended as if everything was normal. He didn¡¯t act suspicious in any way. However, he himself knew just how much he wanted to break away from this ce and run as far away as he could. He would definitely get busted for this eventually...


    As he anxiously waited for the days to pass, Miao Yi hated how far away from home he was. It would take a long time for even spirit eagles to make the journey.


    As the dreadfully long days passed, news from Traversing Water Pce finally came. However, much to Miao Yi¡¯s dismay, that old geezer from the Chamber of Commerce possessed quite a bit of influence indeed. Granny Tao ordered Miao Yi to assist with An Zhengfeng¡¯s operation. An Zhengfeng was the name of that white-haired old man, the person in-charge of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea¡¯s Chamber of Commerce branch. Miao Yi was only just then discovering his name. Clearly, the Realm Beyond Heaven held Flowing Clouds Dune Sea with much regard for them to send a Golden Lotus expert to oversee the area.


    However, given how chaotic this ce was, it was understandable that things would be hard to control without a powerful expert around.


    Naturally, the higher-ups wouldn¡¯t expect their subordinates to undertake missions with no reward. Else, who would still be willing to work for them? Granny Tao firstplimented Miao Yi on a job well done, that he had not disappointed her and brought her great pride. She also promised him that once he returned from his mission, she would immediately promote him to Hall Master of Suppressing First Hall.


    This was written on the jade archive, and it even had Granny Tao¡¯s transcendence seal on it. The Great Manor Head Miao no longer had to worry about his own cultivation not being high enough. His promotion to Hall Master was now set in stone; it wouldn¡¯t be able to escape his grasp now.


    But... Miao Yi looked up at the ceiling. He was already on the verge of tears as he thought, ¡¯Can I choose to not enjoy such fortune anymore? Even though being a Hall Master and having a hundred million followers under me is sorely tempting, I still need to be alive to take the job!¡¯

 Chapter 530 A New Mission

    As a member of the administration, Miao Yi could not refuse an official decree. As such, he risked his life once again by leaving the tavern at a time when Flowing Clouds Dune Sea was at its most chaotic, in order to get to the Chamber of Commerce. There, he found An Zhengfeng, the person in-charge of this particr branch.


    The moment he saw the old man, Miao Yi said in a respectful manner, "You win, Manager An. Go on and tell me how you want me to die this time."


    An Zhengfeng chuckled and said, "How could I bear to let such a useful subordinate like you kick the bucket? Sometimes, it¡¯s better to have one useful subordinate than a powerful cultivation. Everyone wishes to have someone like that working under them. I want to discuss something with you. Would you be willing to leave the administration ande work for the Chamber of Commerce? As long as you¡¯re willing, I¡¯ll think of a way to get you transferred over." He was trying to recruit Miao Yi.


    ¡¯I can¡¯t wait to get as far away from you as I can is more like it! Nothing good ever happens whenever I see your face!¡¯ Miao Yi cursed in his mind. He obviously knew that An Zhengfeng was not trying to recruit him just so he could live an easy life, but to put him to work. If he was working in an ursed ce like Flowing Clouds Dune Sea, a single moment of carelessness could result in him dying horribly. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t agree to such a proposition. "Manager An, I¡¯m not ustomed to working in the shadows. I still prefer living in the light and helping the Celestial Sage oversee her territory. I¡¯d like to ask, what kind of mission are you assigning to me this time?"


    An Zhengfeng smiled. "Your mission this time is very safe! I trust that you¡¯re aware of the state of things here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. Because of the Netherdragon Ship¡¯s reappearance, it is in utter chaos, and even the other five nations have begun sending their forces over. As such, I want you to continue staying in Tempest Tavern and gather information."


    Miao Yi was taken aback. "That¡¯s it?"


    An Zhengfeng nodded. "That¡¯s it."


    Miao Yi asked suspiciously, "Then I won¡¯t have to lure out the assassin anymore?"


    An Zhengfeng answered, "Of course you still have to! However, since the other party hasn¡¯t made their move in such a long time, it¡¯s clear that they¡¯ve already caught on to us. The harder we try to lure them out, the less likely they will actually show themselves. That¡¯s why you will continue staying in Tempest Tavern while acting as bait. When the other party feels that we have loosened up our guard, then our chance to catch them will finallye. You just need to remember one thing. Whenever you¡¯re about to leave the tavern, make sure to leave some kind of sign outside the window of your room an hour before. Once you¡¯re outside, our men will protect you from the shadows. After all, there¡¯s no guarantee that nothing would happen if we take our eyes off you for even a single moment. On the off-chance that our men fail to notice that you¡¯ve gone out, things will turn out badly for you if you encounter any trouble."


    Miao Yi was quite relieved to hear that he was getting full-time protection. He had been on edge throughout the journey here earlier on. However, he still couldn¡¯t help asking curiously, "You could¡¯ve just gotten anyone to gather information. Why pick me?"


    An Zhengfeng chuckled. "It¡¯s because you¡¯re capable, so we need to put you to good use."


    Miao Yi rolled his eyes. "Manager An, you¡¯re joking, right? How am I capable? If you think sending me to gather information is putting me to good use, then I¡¯m afraid I really don¡¯t deserve such a prestigious evaluation."


    An Zhengfeng shook his head and continued to chuckle. "When you and your team encountered the Hive Gang, weren¡¯t you the only one to make it out alive? And when the assassins of Peony tried to kill you, weren¡¯t you also the sole survivor of your group? Not to mention, you were also the one who found the Netherdragon Ship. And back in the Subjugation Crusade, it was also you who managed to ughter your way to victory out of 180,000 contestants. Do all these coincidences not speak volumes of your capabilities? And there¡¯s one other thing¨CI heard that you¡¯re quite close to Yun Zhiqiu of Tempest Tavern, and that the two of you even had a drink together before?"


    "Uhh..." Miao Yi was taken aback, but the white-robed person soon came to mind. That bastard was definitely the one who ratted him out to this old geezer. He helplessly shook his head and said, "Yeah, we did drink together before, but it¡¯s not like we¡¯re especially close or anything like that. Manager An, why are you asking me this?"


    An Zhengfeng smiled. "I heard that the Tempest Tavern is fully booked, and that there¡¯s arge number of people who are can¡¯t get themselves any lodging as a result. Yet, you somehow found a way to stay in the tavern¡¯s storeroom. Is this true?"


    When he heard about the storeroom, Miao Yi immediately recalled the naked figure he had seen above his head, and a sense of unease quickly welled up inside him. He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Do you think I had any other choice? Obviously, I had to find some ce to stay in, and this was the solution I came up with after racking my brain. What¡¯s wrong with that?"


    "There¡¯s nothing wrong! Nothing wrong at all!" An Zhengfeng¡¯s eyes gleamed as he abruptly stood up and started circling around Miao Yi, sizing up thetter as he paced about him a few times. Miao Yi felt chills run up his spine from the other party¡¯s fervent gaze. Finally, the old geezer clicked his tongue and said, "It doesn¡¯t matter where you¡¯re staying in. What I need is precisely this ability of yours toe up with solutions in order to aplish your goals. Kid, stop wasting your time elsewhere. Juste over to the Chamber of Commerce."


    "I¡¯m just staying in a storeroom. Manager An, do you need to get so agitated about it?"


    "No one else has been able to squeeze themselves into that tavern but you. Does this still not highlight how big of a deal this is for you?"


    "..." Miao Yi was lost for words. He waved his hands and refused, "Let¡¯s just talk about business instead. What kind of information do you want me to gather? I¡¯m sick of this ce already. The sooner I finish my job, the sooner I can leave."


    "You are aware of Yun Zhiqiu¡¯s background, yes?" An Zhengfeng asked.


    "Somewhat. She¡¯s Yun Aotian¡¯s granddaughter, as well as Feng Beichen¡¯s granddaughter-inw." As he said this, Miao Yi curiously asked, "Why are you so concerned about her? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve taken a liking to her? If you¡¯re really interested, then I don¡¯t mind hooking you guys up. I¡¯m not particrly close to her, but I can still help put in a few good words for you at least. If you pay me the matchmaker¡¯s fees up front, then I will definitely give it all I¡¯ve got."


    An Zhengfeng broke out inughter, tapping on Miao Yi¡¯s shoulder as he said, "That kind of good fortune is not for me, I¡¯m afraid. Personally, I would love to take you up on that offer, but I think Yun Aotian and Feng Beichen would surely want to rip me to pieces if I did that. I won¡¯t be able to beat either of them, so I think I should just leave the opportunity to you youngsters instead. However, I do require your ability to engage in a conversation with her. It should be clear now that the one I want you to keep an eye on is none other than Yun Zhiqiu herself. Your new mission is to get as close to her as you can and keep an eye on her every move."


    Miao Yi was shocked. "Why do you want me to keep an eye on her?"


    An Zhengfeng said solemnly, "That womanes in contact with the upper echelons of the Great Devil Realm and the Boundless Realm quite frequently. Unfortunately, these people almost always visit her in disguise, making it hard for us to recognize them. We¡¯ve tried to nt a spy next to her several times before, but the entire tavern is only so big, and we have limited manpower to spare. That¡¯s why we¡¯ve never been able to find our chance. Remember this: for normal guests, Yun Zhiqiu will only interact with them out of courtesy. As such, if you ever find someone that she¡¯s treating especially well, I want you to immediately make a note of that person and report it to us. After that, we will send in our scouts to follow them and investigate deeper. You don¡¯t have to worry about anything else."


    ¡¯What will you be investigating exactly?¡¯ The other party might not necessarily reveal that information to him, and Miao Yi himself wasn¡¯t that keen to find out either. He couldn¡¯t help smiling wryly as he realized just because he was a little closer to the Lady Boss than the average guest, he was immediately turned into the Celestial Sage¡¯s tool. It seemed the conflict between the Six Sages really was intense on all fronts, with each faction utilizing every opportunity they could get their hands on. Meanwhile, he was no more than a pawn in the midst of it all.


    "Manager An, even though I¡¯m staying in the storeroom, I¡¯m still being charged the amodation fees. I won¡¯t be able to sustain myself if I stay too long!"


    "You don¡¯t have to worry about this. We will cover your amodation fees for you. You won¡¯t be made to suffer any losses." An Zhengfeng then handed Miao Yi a storage ring. "You¡¯ll find ten million Gold Crystals inside. That¡¯s enough for you to stay in the tavern for half a year. After that, just quietly make your way back to the Chamber of Commerce and hide in here for a month. Once a month has passed, you¡¯ll go back to the tavern and stay for another six months. Otherwise, given the way that ursed tavern doubles their prices every month, there¡¯s no way anyone would be able to stay for too long."


    Miao Yi tucked the storage ring away and sighed. "Manager An, I have something I need to tell you. During the previous mission, my Third Grade Armor Artifact got destroyed when I found the ghost ship."


    An Zhengfeng¡¯s expression froze. "What are you trying to say?"


    Miao Yi answered disapprovingly, "Oh, nothing much. I just want to ask if the higher-ups n topensate me for my loss. By right, as a Manor Head from the administration, I don¡¯t need to be involved in the Chamber of Commerce¡¯s internal affairs. However now, not only am I risking my life to aplish your tasks, I¡¯ve even lost my Third Grade Armor Artifact for your cause. You don¡¯t seriously expect me to just suck it up like this, do you?"


    An Zhengfeng¡¯s expression instantly darkened. He asked angrily, "Kid, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re asking for a little too much? Do you really think the Chamber of Commerce is a bottomless pit of treasure? Go ahead and ask yourself honestly, how many things have you already taken from me? Even if you go back to be a Hall Master, you won¡¯t normally be able to save up such a vast amount of wealth in a thousand years. How are you still not satisfied? Third Grade Armor Artifact? How did you even get your hands on a Third Grade Armor Artifact? And you still want another? Do you think Third Grade Armor Artifacts are like the little grains of sand you can just casually pick up from the ground here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea? Do you have any idea how many Red Lotus cultivators out there don¡¯t even have a single Third Grade Armor Artifact? Stop lying to me already! Have I been too treating you too kindly?!"


    "Manager An, do you think I¡¯m trying to cheat you? After I came back from the Subjugation Crusade, I had painstakingly procured myself a Third Grade Armor Artifact. But when I found that ghost ship, I ended up suffering a terrible loss. Wu Zhen and Wu Ming were there as well the moment my armor artifact was destroyed. They saw it with their own eyes. Even my life was almost forfeit. You can ask the two of them if you don¡¯t believe me." Miao Yi continued in exasperation, "Why assign me such a mission if you don¡¯t even trust me?!"


    His armor artifact was indeed destroyed by Wu Zhen and Wu Ming, but it was only a Second Grade one. Miao Yi was confident that those two women wouldn¡¯t deny this im. ¡¯There¡¯s no way in hell you can expect me to suffer a loss after being assaulted. I¡¯m getting back what I¡¯m owed no matter what, and with added interest.¡¯


    Hearing his statement, An Zhengfeng asked suspiciously, "Wu Zhen and Wu Ming really saw it for themselves?"


    If that was truly the case, then he would believe Miao Yi¡¯s words. After all, he was the one who arranged for Wu Zhen and Wu Ming to protect him in the first ce. They were both his trusted subordinates.


    "Even though we were roaming around the desert for almost a year, we barely even spoke to one another. You don¡¯t honestly believe they would lie for my sake, do you? If you don¡¯t trust me, go ahead and ask them then! Oh, that¡¯s right. There¡¯s also a Glorious Star Immortal Herb as well. It¡¯s the one you gave me before. It¡¯s also gone now. Seeing as how you were the one who gave it to me, I didn¡¯t even want to mention it at first." Miao Yi begrudgingly continued, "I risked my life in the Subjugation Crusade just so I could bring back a meager fortune. For others, they would be rewarded by their higher-ups for undertaking their missions, whereas I, on the other hand, am forced to suffer losses instead. What kind of messed up logic¡ª"


    "Alright, alright, alright!" An Zhengfeng hurriedly raised a hand and stopped him. "I don¡¯t want to bicker with you any longer. I will confirm your story with the two of them first. If it¡¯s true, then I¡¯ll consult with the higher-ups and try topensate you as soon as possible. Stop being such a drama queen already. Are you a woman or something? First, focus on the task at hand. If you do your job well, then you will be rewarded ordingly."


    Miao Yi asked, "When you say pensate me as soon as possible¡¯, how soon do you mean exactly?


    "You¡ª!" An Zhengfeng red at him and continued, "Three days at most. Are you satisfied?!"


    "Manager An, you don¡¯t have to feel so troubled. If you would just let me return to Traversing Water Pce, then I can forget about that Third Grade Armor Artifact. Just think of it a token of my loyalty to the Celestial Sage..."


    "Piss off!" An Zhengfeng sharpyl retorted. As an esteemed Golden Lotus cultivator, most people would tremble before him. In contrast, this bastard just shamelessly tried to bargain with him. What impudence!


    Miao Yi became a little timid when he saw how furious the other party was and left the Chamber of Commerce dejectedly. That being said, he was able to say what he needed to say in the end. After all, he still had a bunch of people at home waiting for him to provide for them. Since he was already risking his life bying out here, he needed to make every single penny count.

 Chapter 531 Becoming an Employee?

    Right as he made it back to the tavern, Miao Yi snuck his way back into the storeroom, shut the door and windows, theny down on his wooden bed with hands ced behind his head in absolute joy.


    ¡¯Oh damn! To think such a fortunate thing would actually happen. Someone is actually willing to pay for me to stay and cultivate in Tempest Tavern, where no manner of cultivator would dare wreak havoc in! This is practically safer than staying in Raincloud Manor!¡¯ Moreover, in order to help him properly focused on his mission, Granny Tao had even promised Miao Yi that she would ensure Raincloud Manor¡¯s safety in his absence. Now that he had ieing in from both sides, why shouldn¡¯t he be happy?


    As for the matter of keeping tabs on Yun Zhiqiu... That woman spent most of her time in her own room anyway. Wouldn¡¯t he be keeping an eye on her already by cultivating in the storeroom beneath her cabin?


    Currently, the most distressing issue to Miao Yi was how he should resolve the peephole up on the ceiling. This was a grave matter. Once this matter was dealt with, Miao Yi would be able to focus on his cultivation in peace. He firmly believed that he did not have the fetish of peeping in on someone else¡¯s wife.


    That being said, how could he resolve the current situation without letting the other party catch on to his n? This was the crux of the issue. Now that he was nning to stay here for a while, even if he would be eventually switched to a different room, he still needed toe up with a way to seal up the gap in the ceiling properly. Otherwise, someone was bound to find out about it eventually, and when that happened, the Lady Boss would definitely suspect him of something.


    ¡¯Should I patch up the emptyyer from down here? Wouldn¡¯t that look like I¡¯m hiding something then? The Lady Boss will be able to tell that something¡¯s up the second she steps in here.¡¯


    After mulling it over again and again, Miao Yi believed that the best option he had was to just find an opportunity to destroy the ceilingpletely. No one would notice anything amiss once it was repaired. That being said, how should he destroy it without arousing any suspicion? This was something he needed some time to think over.


    An Zhengfeng stayed true to his word and got back to Miao Yi within three days, just as he promised. On the second day itself, the white-robed person found a way toe into contact with Miao Yi. As they were eating in the dining hall, he stuffed a storage ring into the Miao Yi¡¯s hand.


    Back in his room, Miao Yi took out a Glorious Star Immortal Herb from the storage ring and chuckled to himself. There was another stalk at his disposal now. He then quickly tucked it away.


    After which, he took out an armor artifact, imbued it with his energy signature to establish himself as its owner, then activated it with his transcendence energy. Plumes of ck fog quickly surrounded him, and the sound of metal nking could be heard as he took a couple steps forward. As his whole figure became enveloped in a crimson light, he hastily looked up at the ceiling, afraid that someone would notice the red shing glow. He was worried that the Lady Boss would soon return from her drinking session over at the rooftop and notice what he was doing in his room. As such, he hurriedly tucked the armor artifact away.


    ¡¯I¡¯m rich!¡¯ Miao Yi was ecstatic. As soon as he could return home, he would sell off this armor artifact and procure himself some materials for Yao Ruoxian to refine an even better one for him.


    He then sat down cross-legged on his bed, tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth and began his cultivation...


    In the blink of an eye, almost a month had passed. However, the rowdiness of Flowing Clouds Dune Sea didn¡¯t subside in the least. In contrast, it seemed as though it was bing even more hectic instead, with battles happening every single day. There was talk of people from the Yao Nation and Ghost Nationing to a disagreement because of some unknown reason, which soon erupted in a major battle. Many had perished from both sides.


    The more chaotic Flowing Clouds Dune Sea was, the rowdier the Tempest Tavern became. The cook and the others became so busy that they no longer had time to harass Miao Yi. They would only asionally bump into him whenever they needed to take something from the storeroom which they didn¡¯t often use. And whenever they saw Miao Yi cultivating quietly, they didn¡¯t try to bother him either.


    To Miao Yi, the excruciatingly long month was almost reaching its end, and the charges would soon double. As such, he went to the counter ahead of time to pay up.


    "I¡¯ll be staying for another month." Miao Yi took out a storage ring and ced it on the counter. He was talking to the schr using voice transmission.


    Currently, there were plenty of people walking around the main hall. It would not be wise toy arge pile of money out in the open.


    "Wow!" As he leaned over the counter, the schr smiled back and transmitted his voice over. "It looks like someone isn¡¯t nning to leave so soon!"


    "You guys should be happy I¡¯m here to bring you more profit!"


    "Since you¡¯re not nning to leave anytime soon... and seeing as how we¡¯re old acquaintances, why don¡¯t I offer you a proposition to save some money and stay here for free? Interested?"


    Miao Yi felt a little suspicious about this offer. "Save money? Stay for free? How can there be such a good offer? Tell me more."


    "We¡¯ve already talked it over with the Lady Boss a few days ago. Judging by the state of things around here, what with the Netherdragon Ship showing up, it¡¯s likely that the chaos in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea won¡¯t be subsiding anytime soon. You¡¯ve seen it for yourself as well. The tavern is iparably busy. Considering how our rtionship isn¡¯t so bad, we¡¯ve suggested to the Lady Boss to take you in and have you do some work around the tavern."


    "What are you saying?"


    The schr said nkly, "You¡¯ll work in the tavern as an employee."


    "Who are you kidding? It¡¯s not like you guys don¡¯t know about my background. How can I possibly work as an employee in the tavern?"


    "You can just think of it as if we¡¯repletely clueless about you. You¡¯ll be free to go whenever you please. No one will force you to stay. If someday you find that you don¡¯t want to continue with the job anymore, you can just leave. The sry for employees here in Tempest Tavern isn¡¯t any worse off than your Manor Head¡¯s ie; you¡¯ll get ten Orbs of Will a day. Come on! There¡¯s no ce safer for you than the tavern. Furthermore, if you do your job well, your sry might get increased too. At most, you¡¯ll only have to bear with the harsh living conditions. How about it? Will you think it over?"


    Miao Yi turned back to look at the rowdy bunch drinking and chatting behind him. The tavern¡¯s employees were so busy they barely had any time to catch a breath. If he really were to work here, he wouldn¡¯t have any time to cultivate at all. He quickly turned back to the schr and declined, "Thanks for the offer, but I don¡¯t like working as an employee. I much prefer being an extravagant spendthrift."


    "So you want to be a spendthrift, I see!" The schr chuckled, pushing the storage ring on the counter back to Miao Yi. "Then I¡¯m sorry, but as a respectful business, we can¡¯t allow such an esteemed customer like yourself to continue staying in the storeroom. Master Niu Er, please take your leave after today."


    "Innkeeper, stop messing around. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m skimping on payments. Aren¡¯t we old acquaintances? Help a brother out."


    "It really isn¡¯t right for us to have a guest stay in the storeroom for such an extended period of time. If word gets out, people might start to think that our Tempest Tavern runs a shady business. You can¡¯t expect us to ruin our own reputation, can you?"


    "Then when will you have vacant rooms? Can¡¯t you just reserve one for me?" The Great Manor Head Miao was nning to hide in the Chamber of Commerce temporarily. Once there were rooms avable, he woulde back here.


    "It¡¯s not like you can¡¯t see what the situation in the tavern is like right now. Anyone that steps through our doors is a guest. We can¡¯t just give you preferential treatment over everyone else, right?"


    ¡¯Damn it! In the end, you all still n on forcing a Manor Head like myself to work as your tavern employee! Have all of you gotten so addicted to taking me for a ride?¡¯ He sighed. "Innkeeper, can¡¯t you help me out a little?"


    "You want me to help you? How about this then? Around this time, the Lady Boss should probably still be drinking up on the rooftop. Why don¡¯t you go ask her for help? If the Lady Boss agrees, then naturally, I won¡¯t have any objections. For now though, you should take back your money." The schr took the storage ring and stuffed it back in Miao Yi¡¯s hand.


    Miao Yi grimaced, but the schr quickly waved his hand dismissively. "Now scoot. Don¡¯t get in the way of my business."


    With the storage ring in his hand, Miao Yi left dejectedly.


    At that moment, the carpenter stepped out from the shelf behind the counter and circled inside. He transmitted his voice over to the schr, "Do you think that kid will agree?"


    The schr let out a faint smile and replied, "We did say that the kid is fun to have around. The Lady Boss already has the perfect excuse. If she really wants him to stay, then our n will definitely work. But if she doesn¡¯t, then there¡¯s nothing we can do about it."


    The carpenter nodded. "Whenever the Lady Boss talks about messing with the kid, she will always let loose such heartfeltughter. I haven¡¯t seen her so happy in a very long time. But... won¡¯t something happen if this keeps up? I¡¯m scared that once time passes..."


    The schr reached for the abacus by his side and slowly said, "The Lady Boss has treated us well all this while. Some things are just not her burden to bear. She has already been carrying this responsibility long enough. As long as she¡¯s happy, I don¡¯t really care about anything else. Besides, it might not necessarily be a bad thing if something did happen. Hasn¡¯t Ol¡¯ Master Yun been hoping for some kind of spark to pull us away from this stagnant situation? With him backing us up, we won¡¯t have to worry even if the sky falls down on us. What are you so restless for?"


    The carpenter gravely said, "But the Feng family..."


    The schr grumbled, "Don¡¯t you think we¡¯ve already spent more time by the Lady Boss¡¯s side than with the Feng family? She has given us much more than they ever did as well. I¡¯ve repaid my debt to the Feng family a long time ago. All I know is that if anything happens to me, the Feng family probably wouldn¡¯t even bat an eyelid, but the Lady Boss definitely wouldn¡¯t sit still. I¡¯ll live true to my heart. Whatever happens, I¡¯ll definitely be standing by the Lady Boss¡¯s side."


    The carpenter quietly nodded...


    Miao Yi was standing on the rooftop. As always, he found the Lady Boss sitting on top of one leg above the round log outside her wooden cabin, downing her drink while facing the resplendent sunset, as the locks of her hair gently swayed in the wind. With the setting sun of the desert in the background, it was safe to say it was truly a beautiful sight indeed.


    As she wiped her lips, the Lady Boss turned back to look at Miao Yi. She tossed him an alluring smile, then enthusiastically waved her sk at him, signalling him toe over.


    Miao Yi wasn¡¯t sure if those from the Yun family were all such a hearty bunch. He had noticed a simr exuberance from Yun Guang and Yun Feiyang as well. The women just had an added sense of allure to them.


    As Miao Yi approached, the Lady Boss lightly flicked her leg with the cloud-pattern shoe, and a sk of wine flew straight into his grasp.


    Miao Yi pped open the seal and gulped down the drink as he sat down beside her.


    Due to a certain someone sitting here day in and day out, the round log had be so slick and smooth, that it could even reflect the light of the sunset.


    The Lady Boss¡¯s lips curled into a yful smile. Despite already knowing the answer, she still asked, "What¡¯s gotten you in such an agreeable mood today that you would actuallye and drink with me?"


    "I¡¯m here to offer you some money."


    "Oh? Feeling generous, are we? But for you to hand me presents like this, surely you have something to ask. Speak."


    "Nothing escapes you, Lady Boss." Miao Yi said in an obsequious manner. Heughed drily and exined the dilemma he had with the schr earlier on at the counter.


    The Lady Boss¡¯s smile receded. She narrowed her eyes at him and asked, "What¡¯s wrong with that? Are you not satisfied with the terms?"


    "It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not satisfied, but you know how it is with my background. I¡¯m not suitable for the job."


    "Since our little tavern is too lowly of an establishment for you, then you should just go back to that prestigious background of yours. I don¡¯t have the habit of forcing someone to do something against their will."


    Miao Yi was confused. "Lady Boss, there are so many people out there, and all of them want to enter Tempest Tavern. Why do you insist on choosing me, someone who¡¯s clearly unsuitable for the job?"


    The Lady Boss said nkly, "Because you¡¯ve taken advantage of me before. Is that a good enough reason for you?"


    Miao Yi was speechless.


    The Lady Boss suddenly chuckled. "I¡¯m just joking. The truth is, our tavern won¡¯t recruit those thate with ulterior motives or whose background we aren¡¯t fully aware of." She stared at him and added, "This is strange. I¡¯m not even bothered by your background, and I¡¯m not stopping you if you want to leave either. You can stay here for free, and it¡¯spletely safe. Why do you still decline? Does my Tempest Tavern really seem that undignified to you?"


    Miao Yi raised his head and chugged another mouthful of wine. He smiled bitterly and said, "Actually, I¡¯m one of those that havee here with ulterior motives..." He switched to voice transmission and continued, "Let¡¯s put it this way. Normally speaking, my mission should have already beenpleted a month ago, and I should have been sent back home. However, I was suddenly given a new mission, which is to keep an eye on your every move. Don¡¯t misunderstand. Since I¡¯m already telling you this, I don¡¯t n on spying on you. I just want to use the opportunity to hide here and cultivate in peace. After all, I¡¯m safe here, and my stay is even being paid for. What¡¯s there to be dissatisfied about? So now do you see, Lady Boss? I¡¯ve already shown you my sincerity. Won¡¯t you just help me out a little? It¡¯s a win-win situation."


    Intrigued, the Lady Boss said, "I suspected just as much. However, I never thought you would be so bold as to spill the beans yourself. Aren¡¯t you afraid I would leak this information out?"


    "What¡¯s there to fear? Even if you do tell someone else, you need to get them to believe you too! Who would actually think that I would be dumb enough to reveal my own secret and invite trouble with you? When that happens, I can just say that you¡¯re out to get me after realizing my identity. Do you think my superiors will trust your words over mine? Worstes to worst, they¡¯ll simply decide I¡¯m not cut out for this job and send me back to my little Manor Head duties. Either way, there¡¯s no need for me to sneak around. After all, it¡¯s better than getting discovered and then secretly killed off by you. Even if you hadn¡¯t asked me about this, I was going to tell you when I had the chance."

 Chapter 532 The New Employee

    The Lady Boss was pleased with his words. "You sure are a strange child! Whoever has a subordinate like you really has some rotten luck. I didn¡¯t even have to force anything out of you. You¡¯ve already sold out the organization backing you of your own volition!"


    "How am I selling out my organization?"


    "If you don¡¯t think of this as selling them out, then what is?"


    "My actions will not cause any harm to anyone. Not to you, nor to the organization behind me. Moreover, it allows me to ensure my safety. To put it bluntly, I¡¯m different from you. You can sit here and drink everyday, either celebrating your happy moments or drowning your sad ones in liquor. I, on the other hand, don¡¯t have the ability to indulge in such a life. I can only work my hardest so that I, and the people beside me, can stay alive and well. After all, I¡¯m only made of flesh and blood. I have my own emotions, my own troubles... However, I can only keep all these feelings in my heart, because I¡¯m nothing but an insignificant weakling. I don¡¯t have the leisure to waste my time on these things. I need to face every single thing in my life with all seriousness."


    The wine sk in the Lady Boss¡¯s hand came to a halt just before her lips. She stared dazedly at Miao Yi, and from the gently fleeting look in her eyes, it seemed his words had hit her soft spot.


    She then gulped down a mouthful of wine and after which, ced the sk down on the round log. She smiled and asked, "You mentioned that your mission should¡¯ve beenpleted a month ago. What sort of mission was it?"


    Miao Yi brows furrowed slightly. "That is not something that I can tell you. Firstly, it has nothing to do with you. Secondly, if I do tell you, then I would really end up bing a traitor who sold out his own organization."


    "Oh wow! So you have a bottom line after all." The Lady Boss ced her elbow on her knee, resting her chin above it. She smiled and continued, "Then let me guess, does it have something to do with the Netherdragon Ship?"


    Miao Yi nkly replied, "Lady Boss, you sure have a vivid imagination."


    The Lady Boss continued to smile, ignoring Miao Yi¡¯s reply as she asked, "You said youpleted your mission. Were you the one who discovered the Netherdragon Ship?"


    Miao Yi smiled bitterly. "Lady Boss, why do you insist that I have something to do with the Netherdragon Ship? We¡¯re twopletely separate matters altogether. I don¡¯t mind telling you this much. My mission here had nothing to do with the Netherdragon Ship at all. To me, the Netherdragon Ship is practically the stuff of legends. I don¡¯t even know what it looks like. To be honest, I do wish toy my eyes on it some day, but stuff like that is just too far off for a nobody like me to reach."


    Hearing the seriousness in his tone, the Lady Boss couldn¡¯t help musing, ¡¯Could I have been mistaken?¡¯ She brushed her hair aside and said, "Fine, then we¡¯ll move on from this topic! Right now, the whole tavern is incredibly busy, and we¡¯recking a set of hands. If you work here as an employee, you¡¯ll get ten Orbs of Will a day. The payment will be handed to you once a month. You don¡¯t have to pester me about your background either. It means nothing to me. When your mission is finished and you want to go back, you can just leave. I won¡¯t stop you. Otherwise, I¡¯ll really have to kick you out of the tavern this instant. The Innkeeper wasn¡¯t joking with you. We can¡¯t have a guest continue to stay in our storeroom. If we were to allow something like that, then once people hear about it, our regrs will want to find simr loopholes in the future. That will mess up the rules of my tavern. It won¡¯t be fair if we were to just help you alone and not anyone else."


    Miao Yi was lost for words. He asked, "I already told you that I¡¯m sent here to keep tabs on you. And yet you still dare to hire me?"


    "Big deal. Your organization isn¡¯t the only one who wants to keep an eye on me. Feel free to spy on me as much as you want. I have nothing to do with all those nonsensical struggles for power. I simply go about my social affairs as how I believe they should be handled. Complicated people always like to make things seem more difficult than they actually are, thinking that there¡¯s always a hidden agenda to everything when there isn¡¯t even any to begin with." The Lady Boss narrowed her eyes at him and continued, "I¡¯ve already said this much. Do you honestly think of yourself as such a preciousmodity? I¡¯ve given you enough face already. Stop ying coy!"


    "I¡¯m honestly not trying to y coy! Your tavern is just too busy. All I want to do is coop myself up in the tavern and cultivate. If I were to be an employee, when will I be able to do that? I doubt the rowdiness here would recede anytime soon. God knows how many more years the madness around the Netherdragon Ship will continue to persist. If it¡¯s just a passing trend, then I wouldn¡¯t mind..." As he said this, Miao Yi¡¯s eyes suddenly gleamed, as though something just came to mind. He said excitedly, "Lady Boss, didn¡¯t you say you need more manpower? I know two very suitable candidates that I can introduce to you."


    The Lady Boss narrowed her eyes at him frustratingly as she thought, ¡¯Do you really think anyone can just waltz into my tavern?!¡¯ However, she kept her cool and said nkly, "Tell me more."


    "They¡¯re both Yao cultivators who I met back in the Subjugation Crusade, but because they fought alongside me, they ended up offending Bai Ziliang, the grandson of Yao Sage Ji Huan. As a result, they didn¡¯t dare to stay in the Yao Nation any longer, and escaped all the way here to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. They hid themselves here for many years, and had even stayed in your tavern for a time. They ended up giving you almost all the wealth they brought back from the Subjugation Crusade."


    "Are they the two guys who brought you back here after your battle with those two assassins?"


    "That¡¯s right. They¡¯re the ones. The two of them don¡¯t have any sort of background, and are definitely reliable. If you don¡¯t mind the fact that they are Yao cultivators, why don¡¯t you take them in and let them make a living for themselves? If you agree, then I¡¯ll call them over right now and let you see them for yourself."


    The Lady Boss tilted her head slightly. "You sure know how to think for someone else¡¯s sake! But first, let¡¯s talk about the issue with you first."


    Miao Yi asked with a confused tone, "Weren¡¯t youcking manpower?" He was implying that he had already found two candidates for her.


    "If I really nned to just take in anyone, why would I need any rmendations from you? I can have as many as I want!"


    "It¡¯s not that! Lady Boss, those two guys are really suitable to be your employees. Just make it easy on yourself and take them in. They¡¯ve really had it rough..." Miao Yi patiently tried to convince her.


    The Lady Boss ced a hand up before her lips and yawned. She said, "Seeing as how you¡¯re being this sincere about it, bring them over to me then."


    "Okay! I¡¯ll help you call them right now." Now that he had resolved Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun¡¯s problem, Miao Yi put the wine sk down and prepared to take his leave.


    Suddenly, the Lady Boss¡¯s voice came from behind. "And you can move out of the storeroom tomorrow as well."


    Miao Yi immediately stopped dead in his tracks. He awkwardly turned around and slowly walked back. "Lady Boss, you¡¯re kidding, right?"


    "What do you mean? I¡¯ve already made things very clear for you. It¡¯ll be problematic for me if I allow you to continue staying in the storeroom. Of course, if you work here as an employee, there wouldn¡¯t be any issue whatsoever. No one will be able to argue with that." She waved her arm and continued, "Go then! Bring me those two guys you were telling me about."


    ¡¯How can I possibly leave now?!¡¯ Miao Yi sat back down with a firm expression, gritting his teeth as he said, "Lady Boss, I can work as your employee, but can you promise me something?"


    The Lady Boss¡¯ eyes gleamed. "My dear little brother, this big sister has already helped you plenty. Don¡¯t go too far!"


    "Lady Boss, since you¡¯re already offering me this much, you should just help me all the way. I have it pretty rough too..."


    "Can it! Stop nagging so much. Just tell me what it is."


    "Don¡¯t you see? The reason I¡¯m taking you up on your offer is precisely so that I can continue to stay here legitimately in the tavern. But umm... I don¡¯t need the sry. Instead of that, can you just give me less work to do? So that I¡¯ll have more time to cultivate."


    "I don¡¯t have the practice of withholding my employee¡¯s sries. You will be rightfully paid ording to the work you do. Otherwise, won¡¯t my employees have an excuse to ck off then? What will you do if they don¡¯t obey my instructions anymore?"


    "I promise I will obey your everymand. I just need you to give me some extra personal time."


    "Seeing as how you don¡¯t want to ept the sry, let¡¯s do it this way then! You don¡¯t need to work too much. Just show up in the lobby downstairs every day and do an hour¡¯s worth of work. Besides that, you will also have to bring two buckets of bath water to my room every day. Once in the morning, and once at night. And also, I want you to spend half an hour everyday to ensure that my room is clean and tidy. Lastly... you will have to drink with me around this time everyday. All these things shouldn¡¯t take up more than a couple hours of your everyday life. Are these terms eptable? If it¡¯s still too much for you, then get lost!"


    There was no room for negotiation at all. However, it was true that it wouldn¡¯t take up too much of his time. Miao Yi immediately nodded and smiled as he said, "Alright, alright, alright. Then umm... about the two guys I want to introduce to you..." If he wasn¡¯t trying to help Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun out, he would have surely tried to bargain a little bit more to ensure that he would get the maximum benefit.


    The Lady Boss seemed to be in a good mood. "I¡¯ll decide once you bring them over. For now..." As she turned back, she realized Miao Yi was already gone without a trace.


    Soon, she caught sight of him in the courtyard downstairs. He scanned his surroundings suspiciously, then stabbed a chopstick into the earthen wall of the courtyard. The Lady Boss was at a loss for words when she realized that he even had a secret sign ready.


    Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun only appeared outside the tavern¡¯s gates around sunset the next day. After all, they couldn¡¯t be just sitting outside the tavern the whole time. Some time had passed before they noticed Miao Yi¡¯s signal.


    Meanwhile, Miao Yi was already wearing the employee¡¯s uniform, with a trilby hat on his head and a white towel over his shoulder. He had been waiting for the two of them for a long time. He stood in the courtyard and waved to the both of them.


    As the two walked in, they couldn¡¯t help looking a little confused by Miao Yi¡¯s attire. Pi Junzi curiously asked, "What¡¯s with the getup?"


    Miao Yi transmitted his voice over. "Right now, I¡¯m one of the tavern¡¯s employees. Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t offer you guys any help. I painstakingly managed to convince the Lady Boss to take you two in and hire you as employees. Just tell me now if you¡¯re willing to take the offer or not. If you don¡¯t want it, then turn around and walk away this instant."


    Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun were overjoyed by his words. This Tempest Tavern was well-known for treating its employees generously. Not to mention, it waspletely safe here. To the two of them, there was nothing better than this. How could they possibly refuse? Like little chicks nibbling at rice grains, they nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes. Yes. We¡¯ll take it."


    "Good. Remember to be on your best behavior when you meet the Lady Bosster. Don¡¯t botch this up."


    "Okay, okay. We got it."


    "Come with me then!" Miao Yi waved his hand and led both of them into the tavern.


    Then, one of the employees approached them with a smile and said, "My apologies, dear guests, but we¡¯re fully booked."


    Miao Yi waved his hand and said, "They¡¯re one of ours. The Lady Boss wants to see them."


    As he slouched over the counter, the schr couldn¡¯t help chuckling to himself the second he saw Miao Yi¡¯s attire. He smiled and said, "Niu Er, so these two are the ones, eh? They look a little familiar!"


    "Yeah, that¡¯s right. Once everything is settled, I¡¯ll bring them over to see you." Miao Yi cupped his fists. Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun also politely bowed to the schr. They both knew that he was the innkeeper.


    When they reached the rear courtyard, Miao Yi said to them, "You two wait here for a bit. I¡¯ll be back soon."


    The two of them nodded. Soon, they saw Miao Yiing out of the kitchen with tworge buckets of water. He nudged his head at them, signalling them to follow behind.


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